This fonds consists of the personal and business records of the Geale, Hamilton, Peck, Barker and Rogers families. There are letters relating to World War I written by Beresford and Robert Hamilton and Heber and Harry Rogers; letters, diaries, journals of Richard Birdsall Rogers (superintending engineer of the Peterborough Lift Lock); the records of Hon. Robert Hamilton, a factor at the Hudson's Bay Company stationed at Fort Edmonton. The fonds also contains stereographs, approximately 1000 photographs, and a C.E. Goad fire insurance plan for the city of Peterborough, 1882. Items of interest include a group of photographs of the Trent Valley area and the building of the canal; Rogers family pictures of the Stoney Lake area and the Juniper Island Regatta; photos of early aircraft and the Curtiss Aviation School; photos of hydraulic lift lock at Peterborough; and one letter from Catharine Parr Traill to Robert Miles Hamilton.

This collection of family papers, correspondence, journals, photographs, newspaper clippings and published works spans the years 1834 to 1966 and measures approximately 3 1/2 linear metres. The papers were deposited in Trent University Archives through the courtesy of members of the Geale and Rogers families in 1983.

The papers are divided into two series:

Series A, the Geale family papers, consists of records pertaining to the descendants of the Hon. Robert Hamilton, a factor of the Hudson's Bay Company stationed at Fort Edmonton in northern Manitoba. Robert Hamilton married Annie Seabourne. One of their sons was Robert Miles Hamilton (1864-1939). He married Alice May Barker and resided at "Auburn" in Peterborough, Ontario. Their children were Miles Beresford Hamilton, Robert Barker Hamilton, (Alice) Seabourne Hamilton, and S.R. Hamilton (son). Alice Seabourne Hamilton married Charles Norman Geale. Papers of the Barker family (the Hon. Samuel Barker was Mrs. Robert Miles Hamilton's father) are included in this series as are the papers of the Peck family. Edward Armour Peck was the natural son of Arthur Henry Peck and the adoptive father of Charles Norman Geale. He married Kitty Revell. Both Miles Beresford Hamilton and Robert Barker Hamilton served overseas in the First World War and their correspondence is included in this series.

Series B of this collection consists of the Rogers Papers. Richard Birdsall Rogers was born at Ashburnham in 1857. He lived there until 1916 and then moved to "Beechwood Farm" in Douro Township. He was a land surveyor and was appointed superintendent engineer of the Trent Valley Canal in 1884. Richard married Clara Mina Calcutt of Peterborough in 1881. They had seven children. One daughter, Leah, married Herbert Geale, brother of Charles Norman Geale. Two sons, Heber and Harry served overseas in World War I. Their correspondence is included. R.B. Rogers designed and supervised the building of the hydraulic lift locks at Peterborough and Kirkfield. These papers included several files of plans and specifications for the locks, correspondence and documents accrued during the scandal preceding Rogers' resignation in 1906, the Holgate Report which condemned Rogers and the Keefer investigation which completely vindicated his work as Chief Engineer. We have created a major on-line exhibit focusing on the life and times of Richard Rogers and the Peterborough Lift Lock: http://digitalcollections.trentu.ca/exhibits/birdsall-rogers/zrptboll.htm

Collection consists of slides of Trent University. Most series include slides created for promotional presentations for Trent University. Slides document construction, buildings, campus scenery, special events, faculty and students, classrooms, and more.

The fonds consists of the literary and personal correspondence; literary and poetic manuscripts; and typescripts of reviews of anthologies, lectures and essays by and about Arthur J.M. Smith. Also included in the fonds are photographs and prints.

This fonds consists of the original and collected papers of E.C. Guillet, relating to his works and research on the Trent Valley/Peterborough/Kawartha area. Included is correspondence, primarily with George M. Douglas and Helen Marryat; maps (photocopies); newspaper articles regarding above area; collected manuscripts of historical authors; photographs; and Guillet's own unpublished manuscript of Canadian Literary Pioneers.

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.

The fonds consists of photocopies and typescripts of correspondence and journals of Reverend Robert Brooking and his wife Elizabeth relating to his service as a missionary in Africa, in Canada West and in the Hudson's Bay Territory. Also included are reports of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, 1851-1857. Some of the items relate to the Hiawatha and Rama Reserves, and Norway House. The original records date from 1839 to 1879. Also included is a modern print of a photograph of Rev Robert Brooking [ca. 1890] and 3 photographs of Elizabeth's tombstone at Chief Island, Lake Couchiching, Rama Reserve, near Orillia.

This fonds includes correspondence, receipts and other records of Reverend Peter McLaren Duncan, Leonora Duncan, James Duncan, and Annie Duncan. Also included are sermon notes, assessment notices, insurance policies and the marriage register of Colborne Presbyterian Church from 1896 to 1912. The fonds also includes an autograph album of Leonora (Singleton) Duncan, Brighton, Canada West.

This fonds consists of the "2001: Coming of Age in Canada" Conference materials. This fonds has various notes, documents and correspondence as well as reports and audio cassettes. Also included are documents and correspondence regarding the Retired Citizens in Residence Program at Trent, 1973-1978.

This fonds consists of publications, pamphlets, correspondence, journals, and reports concerning the International Peace Movement, socialism and communism.

The collection consists of copies of photographic slides from holdings of the Archives of Ontario relating to Indigenous life in Ontario, North West Territories and Northern Canada.

This fonds consists of 82 glass negatives of the Trent Canal waterway including shots of various locks along the route and several industries. Positive prints were made from the negatives in 2004.

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.

Fonds consists of correspondence, photographs, meeting minutes, certificates, membership lists, and committee by-laws pertaining to the Crawford’s Grove Chapter of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire in Peterborough, Ontario.

Fonds consists of records from the Trent University Athletic Centre, documenting the department's development, its facilities and program offerings, and varsity and intramural sports. Fonds includes records from Paul S.B. Wilson throughout his time as Director (1966-2002). Fonds also consists of records about the growth and development of the Athletics Department including architectural briefs, reports, correspondence, promotional materials, photographs, and slides. There are also many photographs, scrapbooks, and CD’s containing records about intramural, varsity, and community sports. The sports documented include synchronized swimming, rowing, volleyball, basketball, swimming, hockey, squash, soccer, rugby, curling, field hockey, fencing, cycling, and karate. Also included are Michael Treadwell's correspondence and brochures of various racing sailboats, and material gathered from other universities' athletics programs.

Fonds is organized into 6 series: Paul S.B Wilson files; Development of Athletics Department and facilities; Early files on sports and programs; Scrapbooks and newspaper clippings; Videos and photographs of sports teams and events; and Synchronized swimming.

The collection consists of photocopies, originals and typescripts, brought together by Howard Pammett, of newspaper articles and unpublished articles on a variety of subjects such as Mossom Boyd, lumbering in the Kawarthas, Katherine Wallis, Peterborough Canoe Company, Trent Valley Navigation Company, and steamboats on the Trent-Severn system. The newspaper articles are from the "Progress of Peterborough" series by Pammett (Peterborough Examiner, 1950-51). The unpublished articles are "A Survey of Kawartha Lumbering 1815-1965" by Pammett and "The Peterborough Canoe" by Donald Cameron. There is also correspondence of Katherine Wallis, Mossom Boyd, and the Trent Valley Navigation Company.

This addition to the fonds consists of programs, photos, correspondence and newspaper clippings relating to the 1986-1987 season of the Peterborough Petes hockey team.

This fonds consists of thesis research material relating to the role and image of wilderness and the aborigine in Ontario camps. It also contains various interviews with directors of Ontario camps, as well as information booklets and camp applications.

This addition to the fonds consists of Peterborough Petes memorabilia 1980-1981 and 1981-1982 seasons. Also include dare 10 issues of "Junior Hockey" and 1 issue of "The Leafs."

Fonds is comprised of the family papers of Sydney Helmer Standen and Euphemia Young Standen (nee McQueen). These papers include ancestral records and photographs dating from the 1860s to the 1970s and touch geographically on England, Scotland, Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. They pertain primarily to the families of Standen, McQueen, Drysdale, Ronald and Bensen and include such individuals as Sydney (Sid) Helmer Standen, Euphemia (Effie) Young Standen, Philip Andrew Standen, Neil McQueen Standen, Sydney Drysdale Standen, Eric James William Standen, James McQueen, Margaret (Maggie) McQueen, Elsie McQueen, and Peter Ian McQueen. Subjects include migration, settlement, farming, education, teaching, military service and war, and domestic life.

This fonds consists of four Peterborough residences of which two are framed. One of the photographs is of the Haultain home from approximately 1880 and another is of Maplehurst.

Photograph depicts the audience watching a performance of "Ileen Allanna" 14 March 1913 at the Opera House located on George Street in Peterborough, Ontario.

This photograph includes portraits of 66 male graduates and 62 female graduates of the 1912-13 Peterborough Business College graduating class. Also included in the photograph are portraits of six instructors and administrators.

This photograph is of the opening of the hydraulic lift lock on the Trent Canal at Peterborough, Ontario, July 9, 1904.

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.

This collection consists of original photographs, copy photographs, negatives and glass negatives of the City of Peterborough. Subjects such as street scenes, store fronts, churches, industries, cemeteries, the Peterborough Canoe Company and schools are included in the fonds. Most of the photographs were taken by Roy studios and used in "Peterborough Examiner" articles during the 1960's.