Fonds consists of research materials and notes, modern correspondence, photocopies of historical documentation, and genealogical resources for the Need family as well as other people living in both England and Newcastle District. The historical documentation includes wills, gravesite information, lot and concession records, military records, correspondence. As well as the Need family, there is also biographical information on other families, including the Dunsfords, Langtons, Campbells, and Sawers.

These research materials were accumulated by Dawn Bell Logan and used to write books, articles, and biographical entries about Thomas Need, including Thomas Need : settler in the backwoods of Upper Canada (self published, 2022), and the Dictionary of Canadian Biography entry for Thomas Need (V. 12). Photographs are of some sites in Lincolnshire, U.K, Peterborough, Canada, the Trent Severn Waterway, Thomas Need’s descendants, and gravestones of Need family members.

Fonds is organized into four series: Thomas Need journals and correspondence; Research materials and manuscripts; Dawn Logan correspondence; and Files on Dawn Logan’s publications.

Thomas Need Biography

Thomas Need (1808-1895) emigrated from Nottingham, England to Upper Canada in May 1832 and settled in Verulam Township in Victoria County in 1833 around Sturgeon Lake. He had graduated from University College, London, in 1830 and rejected the idea of becoming a member of the clergy. This contributed to his decision to leave England.

While in Upper Canada, Need was a member of the government commission that oversaw the construction of what became the first lock of the Trent-Severn Waterway, founded the Village of Bobcaygeon in 1834, and served as a magistrate for the Court of Requests from 1835 to 1837.

Need anonymously published his book Six years in the bush or extracts from the journal of a settler in Upper Canada (London, 1838) on his experiences in Upper Canada. The book was based on his journal entries he made in his personal journal which he called the “Woodhouse Journal.” Need returned to Nottingham, England permanently in 1847 and died in 1895. His authorship was confirmed with the publication of John Langton’s letters in 1926 and he was subsequently recognized as a contributor to early Canadian literature.

Source: Biography – NEED, THOMAS – Volume XII (1891-1900) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/need_thomas_12E.html. Accessed 11 Jan. 2024.

Collection consists of miscellaneous photographs, engravings, posters, broadsides, and a newspaper supplement.

Collection consists of photographs and slides of businesses, landmarks and sites within and near the city of Peterborough. Images include Peterborough Lift Lock, Little Lake, Petroglyphs, Peterborough Square, Fairhaven Home for the Aged, Edmison Heights Public School, P.C.H. Nurses residence, Queen Mary Public School, Kinsmen Garden Club, Zeidler farm house, Peterborough Courthouse addition, Sir Sandford Fleming College, Hutchison House, Art Gallery of Peterborough, St. Peter's Cathedral, Peterborough Centennial Museum, Peterborough Public Library, Comstock Funeral Home, Peterborough Theatre Guild, Victoria Park, Kaos Cafe & Revue Cinema, etc.

Collection consists of genealogical material collected by Pat Bolger for her research on Percival J. Cooney (1871-1932) who wrote Kinsmen, published originally in 1916 and then reprinted in 1992. Cooney was born in Peterborough, Ontario. One of his brothers, Franklin Cooney, became Governor of Montana.

Folder 1 contains textual records, photocopied newspaper articles and genealogical charts. Folder 2 contains photographs of the Cooney family.

This accession consists of copy photographs, several of which are of originals in the Reid family photograph album and date from the 1840's to 1900's. One is of the Robert Henry "Harry" Devinish Reid family accompanied by an identification sheet with vital statistics for each member. Included also is a set of ten copy photographs of three generations of the Reid family. This set is accompanied by a family chart providing statistics for those listed.

This collection consists of a ledger dated 1880-1905 created by Robert Henry Reid which records transactions for goods sold or services exchanged for goods. The merchandise involved appears to be that of a general store or farm supply depot. Also included is a journal (and typescript) created by Frederick Reid describing his move west from Ontario to Edmonton between 1907 and 1909. A biographical note about Fred by his son is included at the end. Collection also includes a letter to Harold A. Reid from Florence Reid and two copy photographs: one of Fred and Louise Reid, 1949 and one of the school house which Frederick Reid attended, 1946.

Collection consists of three pamphlets, "Our Own Cookbook" / by the East Victoria Women's Institute, 1905, "Pioneer Gleanings from Verulam, 1867-1967" / by T.H. Martin, and "Bury's Green Branch of the Women's Institute, 1953-1993". Also included are items which were removed from a scrapbook: seven photographs, brochures, and several newspaper clippings relating to Fenelon Falls, Bobcaygeon, Lindsay, and Bury's Green, Ontario, 1961, 1984-1994. The photographs include Women's Institute members such as Nan McGhee, Phyllis Fell, Esther Humphries, Laura Flett, Mrs. Tiers, Clara Flett, and Grace Barker; also included are photos of Sherry L. Telford and Kim Chambers during the Olympic Torch Run, 1988. This collection also consists of a scrapbook entitled "Tweedsmuir History: Bury's Green Branch Women's Institute". Enclosed in it are approximately 70 photographs, a history of Bury's Green branch of the Women's Institute, maps, brochures, correspondence, historical accounts, and memorabilia, n.d. This collection also consists of research material for the Tweedsmuir History; Hand Books for the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario, 1949, 1971, 1983, and 1987; notebooks containing reports on the Tweedsmuir History, on Historical Research and Cultural Events, and on Education and Cultural Activities, 1953-1987; programs dated 1953-54 through 1993-94; 100th anniversary materials; and correspondence and brochures relating to an award given to a student at Fenelon Falls Secondary School, 1996.

Collection consists of 103 slides of various nature areas on the Symons Campus, Trent University, taken October 1996 as a record of the vegetation in 1996 for future comparison of vegetation change. The slides are accompanied by an index.

Collection consists of materials pertaining to Lakefield, Ontario, including Lakefield's Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (L.A.C.A.C.) meeting minutes, correspondence and research materials; issues of The Parish Magazine; medical receipts of Dr. John Rodger Fraser, Assessment Rolls; Fire Insurance Plans; business daybooks, one of which at least may have been related to the Hendren Funeral Home of Lakefield; and various other records.

Collection is comprised of approximately 4200 slides of photographs pertaining primarily to the Canadian and Greenland Arctic. The photographs were taken during the 1970s to 1990s by Roger Buxton and are identified and dated. Also included are aerial views of Trent University (14 September 1985), photographs of the aftermath of the Barrie, Ontario tornado (31 May 1985), and photographs of family and scenic landscapes.

This collection consists of a Glen Bernard Camp songbook, a large portrait of "Chief" Taylor Statten, press clippings from Canadian Camping, a Camp Ahmek certificate dated 1923, 70 photographs, and 3 postcards. Also included are the following artifacts: a Glen Bernard trophy engraved for Janet Gibson, 1923, Camp Ahmek counsellor's medal, 1924, a leather Camp Ahmek "Third" badge, 1923, and a plaque inscribed "2nd Stollery and Van Every", undated.

This collection consists of six published articles and booklets relating to Mary Northway, W.E. Blatz, the Brora Centre and child psychology. It also consists of two photographs, one of Taylor Statten at Camp Ahmek in 1929, and one of Camp Ahmek council members in 1923, with accompanying key to names. Also included is a share certificate issued to Marian Gibson by John Northway and Son, Limited, and 1982 reminiscences of Mary Northway of her days at Glen Bernard Camp.

This collection consists of a number of photographs which include John Butcher, sexton of St. John's Church in Peterborough. There is one photograph of his family outside their home as well as one photograph of John at age 34. There are also a number of photographs of the Hastings Lock, Healey's Falls and steam logging and boat with log boom. There is also one photograph of William Dawson's house in South Monaghan from 1910; a photograph of "Strathormond" in Peterborough and the Champion soccer team of Fairview School from around the 1970's.

Collection consists of photographs of Peterborough Lift Lock, members of the Hugh MacMillan family, Premier Leslie Frost, the Roosevelts visit to Ottawa, and numerous unidentified men and women.

Collection consists of photocopies and scans of copy photographs relating primarily to Curve Lake, Ontario. Subjects include people, scenery, and buildings. Information on some of the images indicates that the originals date ca. 1890 to ca. 1978.

This collection consists of an eclectic assortment of documents and papers pertaining to many parts of Canada including 3 documents prepared by Powadiuk for the government, 2 of which concern native peoples; 10 prints of 19th century personalities; 1905 map of the Niagara River; papers re Indian-Eskimo Association; deeds, mortgages and trust documents from Huron and Bruce Counties; Niagara peninsula documents including Hugh Alexander's account book; Lord Selkirk letter dated 1837; Charles G.D. Roberts letter dated 1892; notes on the inception of "Evangeline." A major element in the collection relates to Mr. James Ross of East Hawkesbury, stone mason and merchant and his family. The Ross quarry appears to have supplied stone for the Carillon lock and for Fort Henry. The family was involved in the East Hawkesbury school for 2 decades.

Collection consists of correspondence, surveys, notes, plans, and maps of Peterborough area surveyors John Huston, John Reid, Alfred J. Cameron, and John W. Pierce. Also included are speeches, newspaper clippings, biographical accounts of various local surveyors, miscellaneous published items re Peterborough, and documents and photographs relating to Pierce's survey of the Ontario-Manitoba border in 1921.

This collection consists of original and duplicate photographs of Lake Temagami, Camp Wanapitei, Camp Keewaydin, Camp Temagami and Lady Evelyn Lake.

The fonds consists of three copies of 8 X10 black and white photographs of William O. Mitchell used in Profiles in Canadian Literature (Dundurn Press).

This collection consists of miscellaneous ledgers and legal documents of businesses, doctors, etc. in Peterborough, surrounding counties and areas in southern Ontario.

This collection consists of 278 slides taken by Rosemary McConkey during her work as a nutritionist in Malaya (1962) and in Nigeria (1965). McConkey was part of a team of medical personnel and scientists from the University of Ohio who undertook surveys of nutritional needs in these two areas. McConkey has supplied a detailed listing of the slides (below) and has also included a 45 r.p.m. recording of the national anthem of Malaya "Negara Ku,", six books relating to the two areas and a map of Malaya. A complete listing of all slides prepared by Rosemary McConkey is available in the Reading Room

This collection consists of records collected by G. Wilson Craw such as school histories, Peterborough County; Barnardo's Canadian Homes Almanac 1901; a list of Peterborough Utilities Commissioners 1902-1965; biographies of Peterborough residents; deeds and mortgages; North Monaghan voters list 1883-4; 76 photographs of industries, schools and churches and sporting groups, as well as a history of Springfield, North Monaghan.

This collection consists of a photograph of John R. Marshall, possibly in his late 30s or early 40s, and newspaper clipping memorials to Marshall at the time of his death in April 1952.

This collection consists of assorted documents relating to Cobourg and vicinity. It includes marriage certificates, correspondence, indentures, opera house programmes, choral and church programmes, an oil sketch by Alice M. Duncan, and photographs and postcards. It also includes a copy of the "Cobourg World", April 8, 1898 Volume 25, and No. 43.

This collection consists of a number of photographs depicting various people such as Queen Victoria, William Lyon Mackenzie King (May 22, 1948 in Ottawa), two brass bands of which one is from Cobourg, Ontario and two photographs of a wood bee at Salem, Ontario, January 25, 1899, photographed by F. B. Jones of the Dominion Photo and View Co., Brighton, Ontario. There are also 4 photographs of unknown people.