George Barker Hall was born in Brooklyn, New York and later immigrated to Upper Canada. He was a lawyer, MPP, and a judge in Peterborough, Upper Canada and Canada West. He also owned a flour mill in the town of Peterborough in the late 1840's and 1850's.
George Mellis Douglas was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1875. He moved with his family in 1883 to Northcote Farm on the shore of Katchiwano Lake north of Lakefield, Ontario. In 1900 George went to work for his cousin, James Douglas, who was president of the American Institute of Mining Engineers. In 1911, at the suggestion of his cousin James, an expedition to the Coppermine River and Arctic Sea was planned, and George Douglas along with his brother Lionel and Dr. August Sandberg made the trip. The purpose of the expedition was to search for minerals in the watershed of the Coppermine above the Arctic Circle. What George and his associates discovered were huge copper deposits. Although it was known that the deposits existed since the 18th century, they were much larger than was suspected. George was also one of the first Barren Land explorers to extensively photograph the North-West Territories and the Inuit who lived in the region. Over the following thirty years, Douglas led copper explorations to the shores of the Arctic Sea and around the edges of the Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes. George also wrote about his explorations in the Arctic. He published articles in several professional journals and in 1914 he wrote "Lands Forlorn", an account of the 1911-12 expedition. George Mellis Douglas died at his home near Lakefield, Ontario in 1963.
Harry M. Robbins was born in 1887, and spent his early years on a farm in Oxford County. He became a career civil servant, and held the post of inspector of prisons and public charities in the Conservative regime of G. Howard Ferguson. He later became Deputy Provincial Secretary and Deputy Hospitals Minister. His civil service career ended abruptly in 1934, with the election of the Hepburn Liberals. Robbins was one of many civil servants who were fired in a general purge of the bureaucracy. Between the years of 1934 and 1939, little is known about his life, but it is generally believed that he was a bank manager in Northern Ontario. In 1939, he went to work for the Ontario Conservative party as its public relations officer, a post which he held with varying degrees of effectiveness until 1961, when he retired. He maintained an active interest in politics until his death in 1970, and he came out of retirement more than once to help local candidates in their bids for election to various offices.
Harold Reid, the creator of this collection is the great-great-grandson of Robert Reid, pioneer settler in Peterborough, Ontario, grandson of Robert Henry Reid and son of Frederick Henry Adolphus Reid.
Heather Dunlop graduated with a M.A. degree in Canadian Heritage and Development Studies from Trent University in May 1998.
Helen Lauder Marryat (nee Fowlds) was born at Hastings, Ontario, October 28, 1889. She was the only daughter of Frederick W. Fowlds and the former Elizabeth Sutherland, and the great granddaughter of Henry Fowlds, pioneer lumberman and founder of Hastings. On the maternal side, her grandfather was John Sutherland, Mayor of Cobourg, Ontario, in 1875. She received her education at Hastings, and the Norwood High School, and she graduated as a nurse from Grace Hospital, Toronto. During World War I, Helen served as a nursing sister in France, the Dardanelles, Salonica, and England, and she was awarded the Royal Red Cross decoration by George V in recognition of gallantry under fire (she was wounded while helping to evacuate a hospital in the Middle East). On April 25, 1921, Helen Fowlds married Captain Gerald Marryat who had served in the War with the Canadian Engineers. They lived in Montreal and then retired to Hastings where Gerald conducted an insurance agency (which Helen continued to run after his death). Helen Marryat is best known as a local historian who collected information and wrote many newspaper articles on Hastings Ontario, Asphodel Township and Peterborough County. Helen Marryat died in Hastings (Ashfield House) on June 16, 1965.
Howard Borden Hamilton was a carpenter and businessman who operated a building and supply company in McCracken's Landing, Ontario between 1937 and 1981. He built homes, cottages, and decks in the Peterborough and surrounding area. Hamilton was married to Mildred Hamilton and died between 199[8] and 2001.
Howard T. Pammett was born in 1909 at Young's Point, Smith Township, and he grew up in Ashburnham (Peterborough East). He was educated at the local schools, including the Peterborough Normal School. During the Depression (1930's) he spent his time teaching and taking university courses in English and History. He did his masters in History at Queen's University in 1934. His thesis topic was on the Peter Robinson emigration from Ireland to Upper Canada in 1825. In 1941 he joined the federal government service under the Department of Labour. He retired in 1970.
Throughout his life, Howard Pammett has written numerous articles and books relating to the economic and social history of Peterborough and the surrounding Kawartha region. He is the co-author of "Through the Years in Douro 1822-1967" and the author of "Lilies and Shamrocks: a History of the Township of Emily in the County of Victoria."
Hugh Atwood, a retired doctor, is understood to be a descendant of Catharine Parr Traill.
Norbert Erasmus Hyacinth Krommer was born in Latvia in 1930 and lived in Lindsay, Ontario. He had two brothers, Sven Krommer (of Austria) and Ivo Krommer. Krommer was a long-time collector of postcards and was a member of the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada, the International Philatelic Society of Joint Stamp Issues Collector, and the Monarchist League of Canada. It appears that he may also have been a member of the Meter Stamp Society and the British North America Philatelic Society although this is not confirmed. Krommer died in Lindsay in 2013 at the age of 83.
Norman McBain was born in 1914 and died in 1989. He had a long-standing interest in local history and offered great support to the Millbrook and Cavan Historical Society in the preparation of the history of This Green and Pleasant Land: Chronicles of Cavan Township. The McBain family homesteaded in northeast Cavan Township, and his interest in the family history led to McBain's extended research into all aspects of the history of the Township.
Olive Langley (nee Reinhardt) was born in 1891 in Montreal. She graduated from McGill University in 1913, and in 1914, married Gordon R. Langley of Peterborough. When the University Women's Club of Peterborough was formed in 1937, Langley became a Charter Member and was President of the Club from 1946-1947. Upon her death in 1962, the Club named its annual prize in Langley's honour - the Olive Langley Prize. This prize was awarded annually to the grade 13 female student with the highest standing in a Peterborough area high school. Langley's interests included nature study, painting, literature, badminton, and tennis. She is the author of a book of poetry and the novel, The Old Sentinel. (Taken from The Golden Year, 1987: A History of the University Women's Club of Peterborough, Ontario, 1937-1987 / ed. Kathleen R. Barclay Bowley, 1987 (see 89-010 Box 3))
George W. Bridges married, had a number of children and his family lived in Jamaica. When his wife deserted her family she took with her two children, the oldest son and daughter, and left behind three (four?) young daughters and an infant son. When George eventually followed his wife to England he found that he was barred from his family. He managed to regain his eldest daughter. Unfortunately all his daughters drowned upon his return to Jamaica. He eventually moved to Canada but due the climate's effect upon his young son he moved to a more temperate climate. He went to Palermo, Naples and eventually Malta. His youngest son William joined the British Navy and was always with his father when possible. George's wife died at age fifty-five at which point George found out a little about why she had deserted him in 1834.
Owen Hoey was a farmer who resided on the south half of Lot 16, Concession 3, Seymour Township from 1853, until his death in 1877.
Pat Bolger ( - 2007) was a teacher/librarian at Renfrew Collegiate.
Professor Peter Royle was born in Coventry, England in 1934, the only son of James and Doris Royle. He received a Masters degree from Oxford University and a PhD from the University of Natal.
A scholar whose research focused on the existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, Professor Royle taught in the French and Philosophy Departments at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario from 1969 to 1996. He wrote many books, articles, plays, and short stories; a few of these include: L'Enfer et la liberté: Étude de "Huis clos" et des "Mouches" (1973); The Sartre-Camus Controversy. A literary and philosophical critique (1982); L’homme et le néant chez Jean-Paul Sartre (2005); and The Kaffir Killer, a black comedy (2010). The Kaffir Killer was earlier read twice as a radio play on BBC Radio 3 in 1971 and performed in theatres in 1982 and 1986. After retiring from Trent University, Professor Royle, together with his life partner Maren Thomas, lived in Germany and England. He died in England in 2017 and is survived by Maren Thomas and his two daughters, Eleanor Royle and Frances Royle (Roger Brush), both of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Peter Russell, president and administrator of Upper Canada (1796-1799) was born at Cork, Ireland, in 1733, the son Captain Richard Russell, 14th Foot. He entered the army at an early age, but in 1722 sold his commission and came to America as one of the secretaries of Sir Henry Clinton. At the close of the American Revolution, he returned to England; and in 1791, came out to Canada with Sir John Graves Simcoe, as inspector-general of Upper Canada. In 1792, he was appointed a member of the Executive and Legislative Councils of the province; and from 1796 to 1799 he was the administrator of the government, with the title of president. He died at York, 30 September 1801; and his property was willed to his sister, Elizabeth Russell, who left it to William Warren Baldwin. (Taken from The Macmillan Dictionary of Canadian Biography, fourth edition. 1978)
John Beverley Robinson was the second son of John Beverley Robinson, baronet and chief justice of Upper Canada, and Emma Walker. He was married to Mary Jane Hagerman on June 30, 1847 and together they had three sons and two daughters.
After attending Upper Canada College between 1830 and 1836, Robinson became an aide-de-camp to Sir Francis Bond Head during the rebellion. During the years that followed the rebellion he articled with Christopher Alexander Hagerman, whose daughter he married, and later with the firm of James McGill Strachan and John Hillyard Cameron until he was called to the bar in 1844.
In 1851, 1853-54, and 1856-57, Robinson was an alderman for St. Patrick's Ward, and in 1856 Mayor of Toronto. By 1860, as solicitor for the Canada Agency Association, he had successfully negotiated the sale of 439,000 acres in Haliburton County, almost three times the total sales for all other crown land sales for 1860 combined. In 1862 he became president of the Executive Council in the Conservative government of the Cartier-Macdonald administration, but only for a short few months. He was returned to Parliament for Algoma in 1872 until the dissolution. In 1878 he was elected by a large majority to represent West Toronto, a position he held until he was appointed lieutenant-governor in 1880. During the period from 1864-1880 Robinson also served as city solicitor for Toronto.
Robinson served as lieutenant-governor for Ontario from 1880-1887. He retired in 1887 to his Toronto home, Sleepy Hollow. On June 19, 1896 Robinson was invited to speak to a hostile group of Liberals at Massey Music Hall, where he suffered a sudden stroke and died.
William John Standen was born in 1843 and emigrated to Quebec with his parents aboard the John Howell on April 26, 1856. Eventually he settled on land in Minesing near Barrie, Canada West. In Midhurst, Ontario in January, 1869 he married Mary White Ronald (1841-1907) and they had seven children. (Taken from: "A Standen Family History" 1956). Throughout his life he kept diaries relating to life in Ontario and on his farm and it is these diaries which make up this fonds. A complete family history is available in the fonds.
Vernon B. Wadsworth was born in 1844 and at the age of sixteen became an articled pupil of John S. Dennis, Provincial Land Surveyor, upon passing his preliminary surveying examination in Toronto in April 1860. Wadswoth assisted Dennison in the surveying of several colonization roads in the Muskoka, Parry Sound and Nipissing Districts. Wadsworth passed his final examination and became a licensed surveyor in 1864 and he continued to do surveys in the previously mentioned Districts. When John S. Dennis retired from his surveying practice and entered the Government Service as Surveyor General of Canada, Wadsworth arranged a partnership with Dennis' former partner B.W. Gossage and established a surveying office on Adelaide Street in Toronto. This partnership only lasted a few years. In 1868, Gossage gave up the surveying business, due to lack of business. In the same year, Wadsworth approached Charles Unwin, a successful and politically connected Toronto land surveyor, and the two formed the partnership of Wadsworth and Unwin. At the same time, the surveying business in Toronto and the Province took a turn for the better and Wadsworth and Unwin were able to develop a large practice. They received commissions from the Dominion and Ontario Governments, Railway Corporations and the City of Toronto. They were also employed as City Surveyors by the Corporation of Toronto and in 1872, they published the Wadsworth and Unwin's map of the City of Toronto which proved to be an invaluable resource to lawyers and those engaged in the real estate business. In February of 1875 Wadsworth married Laura Ridout. On 1 December 1876, Wadsworth entered the service of the London and Canadian Loan Agency Company as Chief Inspector. He also retained his name in his surveying firm. In 1899 he was made the General Manager of the company. On 1 April 1921, after 44 years of service, V.B. Wadsworth retired from the service of the London and Canadian Loan and Agency Company. He died in 1942 at the age of 98.
W. Burnett was a merchant and proprietor in Cobourg, Ontario, in the early 1900's.
Walter Kenyon was a noted Ontario archaeologist, and curator of Canadian archaeology at the Royal Ontario Museum for twenty-five years.
Lieutenant, later Captain, W.E. Massey-Cooke, was from Millbrook, Ontario. He served with the Canadian Engineers during the World War I and was at one time during his military career a prisoner of war at Gutersloh, Germany.
Ted Brock was Chair of the Camp Tonakela Association.
