Fonds consists of 27 diaries of William Thornton Cust Boyd dated 1878 through 1917. Five of the diaries, 1884-1888, include financial records. The diaries recount the private and public life of Boyd, and include references to his wife, Meta, and their children, and social activities with family and friends including boating excursions and picnics. He refers throughout to Richard Birdsall Rogers (1857-1927), superintending engineer of the Peterborough Lift Lock, in social and business terms, and the two often conduct business relating to the Trent Valley Canal. Activities which Boyd participated in regularly include yachting and boating (on the "Calumet", "Ogemah", and "Ajax"), curling, hunting, gardening, tree planting, playing cards, skating, canoeing, and attending the theatre. He recounts details of the illnesses, deaths and funerals of acquaintances and family members, including his step-brother, Mossom (Mossie) Martin Boyd. Boyd recounts in detail the building of his house by John E. Belcher ([184-]-1915), architect, civil engineer, and surveyor. This house is now operated as Case Manor Nursing Home. The diaries speak of local and federal politics, World War I, and the activities of the church. They also detail the activities of the Lindsay, Bobcaygeon and Pontypool Railway Company, the Trent Valley Navigation Steamship Company, and the day-to-day operation of the family lumbering and cattle/buffalo enterprises.

This fonds consists of diaries written by W.J. Standen concerning life on his farm near Barrie, Ontario. The fonds also contains a photocopy of the Standen family history, a portrait of Standen and a portrait of Standen with his family.

This fonds includes the letters of Anna Leveridge, written to her mother and family friends in England, describing their boat trip to Canada and pioneer life in the backwoods of Hastings County, Ontario, near Coe Hill, Marmora, and Millbridge. The fonds also includes family genealogy and photographs.

Item is a rolled family tree with the title "Pedigree of the family of Dunsford." It was compiled in 1886 by George Lichigaray Dunsford of Exeter. The earliest information is dated 1631 and the latest 1884.

Fonds consists of one diary belonging to Hugh Caldwell, (Clydesdale Post Office), Chandos Township. Notes inside the cover indicate that Caldwell purchased Lots 16 & 17, 13th Concession, Chandos Township, Peterborough County, on 26 November 1872. Caldwell notes the dates he planted his garden and the varieties of vegetables planted.

Collection consists of nine Boyd family photograph albums, 14 glass plate negatives, and several strip negatives. The images depict the lives and activities of the Boyd family of Bobcaygeon, Ontario, and include lumbering scenes, Trent Canal steamboats, buffalo/Hereford animals, and travel excursions. Also included are three "Gypsy" photographs (Peterborough, 1909), and photographs of winter sporting activities. Several photographs depict family members; many are unidentified. Also included in this collection are copies of the wills of WT.C. Boyd and Mossom Boyd.

Fonds pertains to the life of Theodore Thorne Hamilton (1890-1959) and his extended family. The documents, comprised of original letters, vital statistic certificates, photographs, and postcards, are interleaved with detailed biographical information compiled by the donor, Mr. Jim Hamilton, a second cousin (twice removed) of Theodore Thorne Hamilton. Included are approximately 100 photographs pertaining to the Skeena River flood of 1936, approximately 30 early 20th-century Bobcaygeon area postcards, and two Bibles.

Fonds consists of four funeral notices. The first is of Eliza Ann Raper, wife of William Raper, who died in Millbrook, Ontario, 5 September 1890; the second, of Ann Jane Killenbeck, wife of Wm. H. Russell, who died in Millbrook, 4 August 1892; the third, of Mary Elizabeth Killingbeck, wife of Wm. Raper, who died in Township of Cavan, 18 August 1895; and the fourth, of Maria Richardson, wife of John Richardson, who died in Toronto, 28 November 1898, funeral at the residence of her brother, Wm. Raper, Millbrook.

The grasses scrapbook was compiled by Catharine Parr Traill for her friend James Fletcher and given to him 12 January 1894. The inside cover has the following inscriptions: "Grasses from Stony Lake gathered and mounted by Cathe Parr Traill - Aged 92 years." These specimens are from the Island of Minne Wa-Wa and Otter Island. July-September 1893" and "With Mrs.Traill's kind wishes to her much valued and esteemed friend James Fletcher F.S.L.S. & etc. January 12th, 1894". The scrapbook consists of 20 pages, 18 of which have pressed grasses, from the Stoney Lake area of the Island of Minne Wa-Wa and Otter Island, glued onto them. Also included in the scrapbook is a specimen list of the grasses and a photocopy of an article, entitled "Grasses from Stony Lake Gathered and Mounted by Cathe Parr Traill - Aged 92 Years". The article was written by William G. Dore and published in The Ontario Naturalist in 1966.

The framed mosses were gathered by Catharine Parr Traill in the Stoney Lake area. Prior to the Archives receiving this addition, the pages were taken apart, mounted and framed in two frames each containing three pages of mosses; one medium frame containing "Sedges & grass, with mosses, from the bank below the garden at Westove. Gathered and arranged for Katie. With Grandmother's dear love. Oct. 24th, 1889"; and one small frame with Traill's autograph.

Item is a death notice card for Luella Massie who died 2 November 1894 at the age of "1y., 2m., 18d.

Fonds consists of records relating to the Millbrook, Ontario and Cavan, Ontario area. Included are photographs, photocopies of newspaper clippings and articles, and scrapbooks. Several items pertain to St. Andrews United Church, Millbrook.

Fonds is primarily comprised of copies of research material. Included are reproductions of genealogical materials related to the Brownscombe family of Peterborough, Ontario, beginning with William Brownscombe (1830-1893), a descendent of Kenneth Brown's wife, Kathleen Brownscombe. Also included is material related to the Haliburton Scout Reserve, the Canadian Canoe Company and the Wm. English Canoe Company.

Fonds consists of one Order Book from the estate of Richard Prettie, [Vernonville, Ontario], listing the auction sale dispersal of the household. The name "Stanley McBride, Centreton, Ontario" is found on the fly leaf. Several items listed as sold in the estate auction relate to farming.

The fonds consists mostly of Helen Marryat's (nee Helen Fowlds) personal experiences as a nurse in World War I, and her activities as a local historian. There are clippings of her articles in local newspapers, historical maps (drawn by Gerald Marryat) and other materials relating to settlement of Hastings and district such as education and nursing. Also included are the correspondence and photograph collections of her brothers, Donald and Eric (mostly from World War I), and material on Frederick Marryat (1792-1848), navy captain and novelist. In December 2001, Trent University Archives launched an online exhibit which depicts Helen Fowld's experiences in World War I. All her letters and diaries are transcribed and are found at the following site: http://digitalcollections.trentu.ca/exhibits/fowlds/ffowldswelcome.htm

Fonds consists of 3 letters written to Wilfrid M. Hueston, Maria and Willie [Hueston], and Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Hueston, of Thorndale, Ontario in 1918 and 1919. The letters refer to the influenza pandemic of 1917, and World War I.

This fonds is a small collection of historical information on the people, places, mills, organizations in Cavan Township and the Village of Millbrook. Included are reminiscences from pioneer descendants, essays on the Cavan Blazers (an Orange vigilante group), early mills, prominent pioneer citizens and local legends.

This fonds consists of research material, manuscripts, published articles and correspondence of Blodwen Davies with the Saskatchewan Arts Board and the National Museum.

This fonds consists of research material, mostly in copy form, created during the writing of This Green and Pleasant Land.

Item is a photocopy of a 36-page unpublished typescript of the letters of Joseph Carrothers (1793-1870) and his brother Nathaniel (ca.1796-1881). The letters are dated 1839-1870 and were sent from London, Upper Canada to their father, William, in Enniskillen, Ireland.

The Irish emigrants' letters were posted mostly from Westminster, near London, Ontario, during the years 1839 to 1870. They were duplicated and bound by Edward Norman Carrothers of Belfast, Northern Ireland, for friends and relatives in Canada and Ireland. The authors of the letters, Joseph Carrothers (1793-1870) and Nathaniel Carrothers (ca.1796-1881), were brothers of Edward Norman Carrothers' grandfather, and the recipient of the letters was their father, William. The two brothers were born at Farnagh, Ireland. Nathaniel emigrated to Canada in [1835], and Joseph in 1847.

This is a microfilm collection of farmers diaries from Upper Canada dating from 1799 to 1894.

• Reel No. 1: Captain Wm. Johnson Diaries, 1832-1850
• Reel No. 2: George Leith Diary, 1834-1852
• Reel No. 3: Edward & James Wilson Diaries
• Reel No. 4: Daniel Fowler Diary, ca 1846, and Arthur J. Kingstone Diary, 1833
• Reel No. 5: Angus Mackintosh Diary, 1813-1814, and Mrs. E.G. O'Brien Journal, 1828-1838
• Reel No. 6: Wm. & Elizabeth Peters Diary, 1850, and Hamnett K. Pinhey Diary, 1829-1840
• Reel No. 7: Benjamin Smith Diary, 1799-1849, and Captain R.E. Vidal Diary, 1835
• Reel No. 8: Isaac Wilson Diary, 1811-1841, and Solomon D. Bagg Diary, 1858-1867

This fonds consists of oral history tapes made by George Cobb. Topics covered on the tapes include: Trent Canal, lumbering, early medicine and dentistry in Peterborough County, native studies, mills and so forth.

This 8-page, typewritten manuscript is entitled "Folk Songs of Peterborough" and consists of a brief overview of the folk song tradition of the Peterborough area. Fowke indicates that the Peterborough region is one of the richest in Ontario and credits this in large part to the significant Irish representation in the County. She mentions by name individuals who can sing old songs brought from the old country, or songs learned in the lumbering shanty and carried down from generation to generation. She quotes songs that give specific reference to places such as Kinmount, Omemee, Gannon's Narrows, Tory Hill, etc. Farming traditions, love ballads, and jail terms all find their places in the canon.

This item is a typescript of an autobiography written by Captain Charles Rubidge and published in 1870.

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.

This item is a spiral bound, privately printed genealogy of the McIntyre family of Otonabee.