Thomas Alexander Stewart Hay was born in Peterborough on August 14, 1849, the son of Thomas Hay of Seggieden, Scotland, and Anna Maria Stewart. Anna Maria was the daughter of Thomas A. and Frances Stewart, pioneer settlers in Douro Township. Hay married Elise Roux, of Montreal, June 27, 1881. Hay was a civil engineer by profession. He learned a great deal from his uncle, George Stewart, who was also an engineer. Hay was a charter member of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers. He was a Mason and he accomplished much in his career, working for the Midland Railway, the Trent Canal (where he assisted in the design of the Peterborough lift lock) and the City of Peterborough, as a City Engineer. In this capacity, he designed the Smith Street (now Parkhill Road) bridge at Inverlea, and aided in parkland development in the city. Hay was the first President of the Peterborough Historical Society, the active curator of its museum, and the author of "A Short History of Peterborough," an appendix in E.S. Dunlop's edited version of Frances Stewarts' letter "Our Forest Home." Hay died on March 28, 1917, leaving his wife and two daughters Frances Isabel and Helen.
The Millbrook and Cavan Historical Society was established November 24, 1978. The reason for forming the Historical Society was to try and save the old mill for which Millbrook was named after. The society helped mark the 100th birthday of Millbrook village with a historical display at the Masonic Lodge. They produced a four-page tabloid entitled "Millbrook Messenger" after an early newspaper. The tabloid contained articles of historical interest with photographs of the railway station, the Deyell monument, the fire of 1960 and three of the several mills in the Village. The Society helped organize Historical House tours in the township. In 1985 the Millbrook and Cavan Historical Society received a Heritage Award. In 1990 the Society produced and published "This Green and Pleasant Land: Chronicles of Cavan Township". Not only does the Historical Society provide a source of fundraising for historical projects it also acquires, preserves and makes available for research historical items and artifacts from quilts to furniture and from wills, deeds, debentures to marriage and birth certificates, photographs, diaries and other records. (Taken from: This Green and Pleasant Land: Chronicles of Cavan Township. The Millbrook and Cavan Historical Society, 1990.)
Hugh Atwood, a retired doctor, is understood to be a descendant of Catharine Parr Traill.
Charles Mcnamara was a photographer, entomologist, and historian born in Quebec City. He relocated to Arnprior, Ontario in 1936. He contributed photography to Frank Morris' and Edward A. Eames' book, "Our Wild Orchids -- Trails and Portraits" (1929).
Gordon S. Berry was a photographer and teacher in Peterborough, ON. He was born in Surrey County, England in 1930. In 1976, Berry mounted a collection of photographs taken by Edward A. Eames, Frank Morris, and Charles Macnamara between ca. 1915 and 1928 in a scrapbook for the Peterborough Field Naturalists.
The Peterborough Field Naturalists (PFN) was founded in 1940 as the Peterborough Nature Club. The club was incorporated in 1971 and became known as the Peterborough Field Naturalists. PFN had 32 adult members and 4 junior members at its founding.
The group’s mission statement is “Know Appreciate Conserve Nature in All its Forms.” Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, PFN hosted up 50 outings each year for members and the public. PFN has contributed to the publication of several books on the natural history and ecology of the region. PFN actively addresses issues concerning the environment and regularly contributes to environmental studies, makes presentations to city council, and provides financial support to acquire and preserve natural areas.
PFN publishes a periodical newsletter called The Orchid, which has over 50 contributors per year and documents natural history, trip reports, upcoming events, and photographs. The newsletter was named in 1956 in honour of Frank Morris, a past president who had been with the club since its founding.
Edward A. Eames was a photographer from Buffalo, NY. He worked with Frank Morris on Our Wild Orchids (1929).
Francis (Frank) J. A. Morris was a teacher, naturalist, and photographer. He taught at Trinity School, Port Hope, Ontario and Peterborough Collegiate Institute. He wrote “Our Wild Orchids – Trails and Portraits” (New York: Scribner and Sons, 1929) with Edward Eames.
Morris was born in 1869 in a parsonage near the town of Crieff, in Perthshire, Scotland. Living in the country, he developed a passion for nature early in life, and, with his brother, Charles, he investigated the various forms of flora and fauna in the countryside. Morris' father died when he was thirteen, and the family moved to a suburb of London. He studied classics and English literature at Dalwich College in London and continued to make excursions into the country to collect insects with his brother and a friend. Morris developed an interest in Darwin and the theory of evolution through his studies. He continued to study classics and English literature at Balliot College, Oxford. His encounters with Wordsworth's poetry added to his own emotional feelings towards nature.
In 1895, Morris moved to Canada and attended the School of Pedagogy in Toronto. He came under the influence of Dr. William Brodie who introduced him to Canadian natural history. In 1896, Morris joined the staff of Smith's Falls High School. There, the science teacher taught Morris some basic scientific botany and the use of identification keys. In 1899, he returned to Toronto to carry on more pedagogic study. By 1900, he had become the Classics Master at Trinity College School in Port Hope. He spent thirteen years there, during which time he married Miss Elma Walker. In 1911, he attended the University of Toronto to take a Master of Arts Degree and a Specialists Certificate in classics. In 1913, he was appointed to the staff of the Peterborough Collegiate Institute, where he first taught classics and later became head of the English Department. He remained in this position until ill health forced him to retire in 1936.
Morris was a founding member of the Peterborough Field Naturalists (Peterborough Nature Club) from c. 1939. The club named their periodic newsletter “The Orchid” in 1956 in his honour. An article titled "Honouring Frank Morris: A Legacy of Nature and Literature" was published in The Orchid in 2025 (vol. 71, no. 1). Morris died 31 December 1949.