Frederick Thompson was an Innkeeper and Sawyer who resided and had a business in Brunswick, Manvers Township, Canada West, during the mid-1800s. He had dealings with people in Bethany and Port Hope.
Professor Donald B. Smith is Professor Emeritus of History at University of Calgary. He was born in 1946 and is married to Nancy Townshend. He received a Ph.D. at University of Toronto in 1975 and has written several books related to the history of nineteenth century Canada and to Aboriginals in Canada, including Mississauga Portraits: Ojibwe Voices from Nineteenth Century Canada (2013); Honore Jaxon Prairie Visionary Regina (2007); Calgary's Grand Story: The Making of a Prairie Metropolis from the Viewpoint of Two Heritage Buildings (2005); Long Lance: The Glorious Imposter (1999); From the Land of Shadows: The Making of Grey Owl (1990); Sacred Feathers: the Reverend Peter Jones (Kahkewaquonaby) and the Mississauga Indians (1987), and others. In 2014, Professor Smith won the Floyd S. Chalmers Award for his book, Mississauga Portraits.
Professor Allan L. Sherwin was Professor Emeritus of Neurology at McGill University and Attending Neurologist Emeritus at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital. He was born in Montreal in 1932 and trained at McGill University. He received a Bachelor of Science in Honours Biochemistry (1953), Doctor of Medicine (1957), and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience (1965). He completed training as a Clinical Neurologist and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1963. He then practiced Neurology at the Montreal Neurological Institute where he directed research into the causes and treatment of epilepsy.
Professor Sherwin published two books and 140 scientific papers. For many years he was a neurologist at the Lachine General Hospital and often served as a neurological consultant to the nearby Mohawks of Kahnawake First Nation. In 2012 he published Bridging Two Peoples: Chief Peter E. Jones, 1843-1909, the biography of one of the first Aboriginals to obtain a medical doctors degree from a Canadian medical school (Queen’s University at Kingston in 1866).
Professor Sherwin died in 2016.
Mary Tuer of Port Hope, Ontario, travelled to Europe with a group of women in 1914. Unfortunately, their tour was caught in Freiberg, Germany at the time England declared war against Germany on 5 August 1914.
Larry Turner was born in Toronto in 1951. He graduated with a B.A. in History and Canadian Studies from Trent University in 1976, and completed his Master's degree at Queen's University in 1984. Turner was a well-known Ontario historian. He published nine books: Rideau with J. de Visser, Ernestown: Rural Spaces, Urban Places, Perth: Tradition and Style in Eastern Ontario, Voyage of a Different Style, Merrickville: The Jewel on Rideau, etc. and wrote a number of articles. After completing several research reports for Parks Canada on the history of the Rideau and Tay Canals, Turner compiled the extensive Rideau Canal Bibliography, 1972-1992. He also wrote several biographies for Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Between 1987 and 1994, he was principal historian with the Commonwealth Historical Management Ltd. of Perth and Vancouver. In 1995 he began operating his own research, publishing and consulting firm, Petherwin Heritage.Turner was past chairman of the Friends of the Rideau, and a member of the Canadian Canal Society, Ontario Historical Society, and the Merrickville Heritage Foundation and Historical Society. Larry Turner died 26 August 1996.
A. Douglas Vaisey worked for several years within the court system in Peterborough, Ontario and was an active member of Grace United Church. He was adult advisor of the Kala-Chi-Hi-Y Club of the Peterborough Young Men's Christian Association, a member of the Peterborough Humane Society, and executive member of The House of Four Seasons. He was an avid long-distance walker.
Margaret Van Every is the daughter of Janet and Alan Van Every. Her aunt, Molly Gibson, was a friend of Mary Northway's. Janet Van Every, Molly Gibson, and Mary Northway, were all campers at Glen Bernard Camp. Molly Gibson and Mary Northway were associated with the Brora Centre.
Henry Vansittart, Vice-Admiral with the British navy, was born at Bisham Abbey, Berkshire, England, in 1779. He entered the British navy as a midshipman in 1791, and served throughout the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. In 1830 he was promoted Rear-Admiral, and in 1841 Vice-Admiral. In 1834 he bought an estate near Woodstock, Upper Canada, on which he settled; and he died there in 1844.
Professor John Wadland was born in 1943. He was educated at the University of Waterloo where he received his M.A. in history, and at York University where he received his Ph.D in the same subject in 1976. He joined the staff of the Canadian Studies Department of Trent University when it was created in the 1972-73 academic year.
R. Waller was either a carpenter or wagon maker who lived and worked in Campbellford, Ontario, at the turn of the twentieth century.
L.V. Shier, son of Dr. Daniel Webster Shier and Helise Alberta Workman, was a lieutenant with the 20th Battalion Canadians, British Expeditionary Forces, during the World War I. . He was discharged from the army September 12, 1918 and later became a doctor. Shier married Blanche Relyea (d.1972).
Josiah Johnston Preston was born June 7, 1855, as the third son, to James Preston, of American Scots descent and Jane Johnston, of Fermanagh, Ireland. James Preston built one of the first gristmills in Manvers. Josiah was born in the Township of Manvers, County of Durham, Canada West. He had five brothers. He was a grain merchant and in 1887 formed a partnership, called Touchburn & Preston, with Robert Touchburn. Eventually he formed a grain merchanting partnership with his brother Sidney, called Preston Bros. Josiah was deputy reeve and reeve of the Township of Manvers and County Councillor for Division No. 3 in Durham County for 10 years from 1888 to 1897. He was elected 8 times by acclamation. He was elected Warden of the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham by acclamation in 1897. He was appointed clerk of Township of Manvers in 1898 and was holding that office as of 1918. He first returned to the Legislature at the general election of 1902 and was sworn in March 10, 1903 as a member of Provincial Government for Durham East. He was re-elected at the general elections of 1905, 1908 and 1911. He was defeated in the general election of 1919 at age 64. Josiah never married. He belonged to the Anglican church in Bethany and he was an Orangeman and a Mason. He died July 10, 1937. A memorial window was dedicated to Josiah on the west side of St. Paul's Anglican Church in Bethany, Ontario. (Taken from: "The Canadian Parliamentary Guide, 1918." Ottawa: The Mortimer Company Limited, 1918) and (taken from: Carr, Violet M. "The Rolling Hills." Lindsay: The Manvers Township Council, 1967.)
William Henry Seward was born in May 1801 in Florida, New York. His father was Doctor Samuel S. Seward, a medical doctor and merchant. His mother was of Irish descent. William entered Union in 1816 after preparation at Farmer's Hall academy, Goshen, New York, and graduated in 1820. He read law with John Anthon in New York City, and with John Duer and Ogden Hoffman in Goshen, and was admitted to the bar at Utica in 1822. Seward then settled in Auburn, New York in January 1823 as the partner of Elijah Miller, the first Judge of Cayuga county. In 1824 he married Elijah Miller's daughter Frances Adeline.
Throughout the late 1820's and 1830's Seward became involved in politics. The Whig party nominated him for governor in 1834, but Seward was defeated in the election by William L. Marcy. He was again nominated for governor in 1838 and won the election by a majority of 10,421. His liberal and democratic ideals caused much dissention within the Whig party, but he was once again re-elected in 1840 with a rather diminished majority. In February 1849, Seward was elected U.S senator and became known as the foremost opponent of slavery in the Whig party. In 1855, he was re-elected to the senate and again spent much of his time fighting slavery. In 1860, he was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination but he lost the nomination to Abraham Lincoln. Seward supported Lincoln's campaign, and in turn, after being elected President, Lincoln appointed Seward Secretary of State. After eight years of tenure, he retired from office in March 1869. In 1870 Seward embarked on a journey around the world and when he returned home, he dedicated his time to the writing of a narrative on his travels, and after its completion, he began a history of his life and times. Unfortunately, the autobiography was incomplete at the time of his death on October 10, 1872.
Allan Percival Way (fl. 1921-1945), was a farmer who owned property in Murray Township, County of Northumberland. He also lived in Trenton, Ontario and was married to Florence Mildred Way.
Joseph Wearing is Professor Emeritus at Trent University, having been a member of the Department of Political Studies for three decades and, for a time, serving as Chair of the Department. He is a graduate of the universities of Western Ontario, Toronto and Oxford (D.Phil.) and is the author of books and articles on Canadian political parties. His books include The L-Shaped Party: The Liberal Party of Canada, 1958-1980; Strained Relations: Canadian Parties and Voters; and The Ballot and its Message: Voting in Canada (edited collection of articles on Canadian voting behaviour). He also wrote a book about his father, Lumberjack in the Court House: The Remarkable Career of Judge Joseph Wearing and helped to produce “:30 Second Democracy: A Documentary on Political Television Advertising.” A more recent research interest is the role of party discipline in the Canadian House of Commons. Apart from his academic activities, Professor Wearing has also contributed to the musical life of Trent University and the City of Peterborough. He was the musical director of six Gilbert & Sullivan productions between 1969 and 1975 and performed in a seventh production. He conducted the Coventry Singers of Peterborough, 1967-1975, and was chair of Town & Gown Concerts that presented concerts by local performers as well as by prominent Canadian musicians including Lois Marshall, soprano, and Anton Kuerti, piano. He was also on the Board of Directors of the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra and held the position of president. As a pianist and member of the Master Class Players, Wearing performs regularly at community events in Toronto.
Young Nim You is a graduate of Haushin University in Korea and has taken courses in theology. She is married to Kwang Il Lee and has a son, Tae Ook Lee, who was born in 1980. You was involved with the Korean Women's Association for Democracy and Sisterhood and came to Canada as a missionary in 1989 under the auspices of the Partners in Mission Program of the United Church of Canada. You returned to Korea in 1992.
Henry White was a Barrister who lived in Port Hope, Ontario, at the turn of the century. He acted as an agent, collecting rents, for various estates in the area.
Phyllis Hope (Fox) White was born near Swift Current, Saskatchewan in 1917. She taught Normal School in Saskatchewan and served in the Canadian Women's Army Corp during WWII. After receiving a BA in Social Work from University of Toronto and an MA in Education from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, Phyllis moved to Peterborough in 1969 with husband Rodney F. White (1922-1995), a professor at Trent University. The couple had three daughters, Pat, Kathy, and Debbie. In Peterborough, Phyllis worked for the Kawartha-Haliburton Children's Aid Society and was a member of the Unitarian Church and the Peterborough Historical Society. She conducted historical research and and was interested in the Port Hope area, writing in particular about her paternal forefather, Elias Smith, who was a loyalist and who fought on the side of the British during the Revolution. Phyllis died in Peterborough in 2010. (Biography augmented with information extracted from the Peterborough Examiner, 24 April 2010).
Arthur James Marshall Smith was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1902. He was educated at McGill University and received his B.A. in 1925 and his M.A. in 1926. In 1931 he received his Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. At McGill University Smith edited the "McGill Daily Literary Supplement" from 1924 to 1925. When is was discontinued, Smith, along with F.R. Scott, founded and edited the "The McGill Fortnightly Review" in 1925. This was the first journal to publish modernist poetry and critical opinion in Canada. Throughout his lifetime, Smith's works were published in anthologies, and he became recognized nationally as a poet, critic and anthologist. He taught English at several American colleges before accepting a position, teaching English, at Michigan State University from 1936 until his retirement in 1972. Michigan University, upon his retirement, created the A.J.M. Smith Award, given annually for a noteworthy volume by a Canadian poet. Among Smith's most distinguished awards were the Governor General's Award in 1943, for "News of the phoenix and other poems", and the Lorne Pierce Medal in 1966. (Taken from: "Poets Between the Wars." Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Limited, 1969.) In 1978 A.J.M. Smith received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Trent University. Trent University received a number of books and papers from Smith and a room on the first floor of the Bata Library was dedicated to him. A.J.M. Smith died in 1980.
Frances Anne Stewart (nee Browne) was born May 24, 1794, daughter of Reverend Francis Browne and Anna Maria Noble, in Dublin, Ireland. In 1796, Rev. Browne died quite suddenly in front of his wife. The resulting shock left Frances' mother somewhat of an invalid until she died in 1809. Frances was left in the care of her great-uncle, Robert Waller in Allanstown, Ireland, where she was raised by Harriet Beaufort, who managed the household. Harriet was a well educated young woman, and sought to give Frances the same quality of education. Under Harriet's instruction, Frances received a much more academic education than was the norm for young girls of those days. In the summer of 1816, Frances, and her aunt Susan went to visit some distant friends, the Stewarts, who lived near Belfast. This is where Frances met her future husband, Thomas Alexander Stewart (1786-1847). They were married December 16, 1816. Thomas worked for the firm of Robert Reid and Son, which manufactured linen, cotton and silk. When the company ran into trouble, and eventually bankruptcy, Frances and Thomas decided to emigrate to Canada. The Stewarts went with Thomas' brother-in-law, and former business partner, Robert Reid and his family. The party of 27 set sail from Belfast Lough, on June 1, 1822. Seven weeks were spent on the ship before reaching Quebec. From there they traveled to Kingston, and then on to York, where Stewart and Reid were each granted 1200 acres, provided they settled in an unsurveyed township. Douro Township was suggested as a promising region. On September 9, 1822, Stewart and Reid traveled to the area with Richard Birdsall, the surveyor, and each chose land on the Otonabee River. Life in Douro Township was very isolated for Frances, but she managed well on her own, looking after her home and children. Thomas Stewart died in 1847 from typhoid fever, and Frances Anne died several years later on February 24, 1872 at Goodwood. Extensive biographical information on the Stewart family, plus friends, neighbours, and associates, may be found in accession 02-001.
Marisa Scigliano, formerly a Librarian at Trent University, retired in 2021 after more than 35 years of service. Over the course of her career, she published several library-related articles and papers. In 2013, she undertook a research project on the subject of Glenn Madill and launched a two-part exhibition, ‘Moccasin Mania’, in Trent University’s Bata Library.
Glenn Madill was a scientist employed by the federal government to undertake research on the “magnetic north.” He was educated at Queen’s University and was an assistant magnetician for the Dominion Observatory taking measurements at the north magnetic pole. He was also a canoeist, farmer, teacher and amateur photographer. He and his wife Olive were married in Peterborough, Ontario, in 1921 and lived in Lakefield, Ontario.
John Gourley Pierce was a Peterborough land surveyor and the son of John Wesley Pierce, also a land surveyor, and Mable Pierce. He graduated from Queen's University, served with the Royal Canadian Engineers in Italy and Europe during WWII where he won the Military Cross for Valour. On returning from the war, he joined his father's survey firm, which then became Pierce & Pierce Land Surveyors, in Peterborough, Ontario. In 1947 he completed the survey of the Ontario-Manitoba boundary started by his father in the 1920's. He was President of the Ontario Land Surveyors Association. He was also active in the community and earned numerous awards, among them a citation for outstanding contribution by the Ontario Land Surveyors Association, a City of Peterborough Award of Merit, Rotary's Paul Harris Fellowship, a Sir Sandford Fleming College Fellowship in Applied Education, and the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award.
John Wesley Pierce, father of John Gourley Pierce, was born in 1886 in Eaton, Quebec, the son of Reverend Barry Pierce and Catherine Farnswoth. He attended University of Toronto and was a member of both the Dominion and Ontario Land Surveyors Associations. He was responsible for the definition of the Ontario-Manitoba boundary, begun in 1921 and finally completed by his son in 1947. Until 1932, he worked for the Topographical Survey Branch of the Dominion Department of the Interior and traveled from New Brunswick to the North-West Territories. In 1932 he settled in Peterborough, Ontario and started the survey firm which would become Pierce & Pierce Land Surveyors. (Biographical account supplied by Catherine Cramer).
