Edward Horton Festival, Feversham

July 7 to July 15, Feversham, Ontario is going to be a busy community as it celebrates the Edward Horton Festival, [Facebook page] celebrating the 200th birthday of the founder of Feversham.

Feversham might not be on the radar of many Grey County residents, especially those who live in the northern part of the County, but I hope that this event will bring more attention to it. Visitors to the Feversham Gorge - the Madeleine Graydon Memorial Conservation Area might go into the village to explore. An Internet search for Feversham Gorge will provide links to sites with photographs of the beauty of the area.

Several years while exploring the southern part of Grey County for a presentation on "Place Names in Grey County", I was travelling with a friend where we discovered this pretty spot. Our luck that day, a barbecue was set up and we had lunch as we visited with some of the members of the Osprey Museum Board. This resulted in the Grey County Historical Society paying a visit to the Osprey Museum in Rob Roy for one of our meetings.

From information received from one of the organizers of the event:

Edward Horton was born in 1812 near Brockville, Ontario, settled in Osprey Township about 1853 with his wife Jane, nee Bolton and their young family. On the Beaver River that crossed his property, he built mills and laid plans for a village where tradesmen and merchants could settle and provide their services and goods in the surrounding area. Edward Horton also served two terms as Reeve and another as Councilor in Osprey Township.


Though he died in 1864 at the age of 52, his vision and efforts began the development of the village of Feversham which has evolved through the last century from a center of commerce to a quiet country village as roads improved and larger centers at a distance could be easily accessed.

Here are some of the events:
Saturday - July 7, 4 p.m. at the Methodist Cemetery, John St., Feversham =
Unveiling of an historical plaque to commemorate the burial site of Edward Horton

Sunday July 8, - 4 - 6:30 p.m. = Annual Garden Party at Old School House Rob Roy,
all you can eat buffet. $15 at door $12 advance

Monday, July 9, 7 to 9 p.m., Osprey Community Centre, Feversham, Free admission = Dr. John C. Carter -- presentation on Ontario's Historic Barns

Tuesday, July 10, 2 to 4 p.m. Osprey Community Centre, Feversham, Free admission = Janet Iles (that's me) -- Pioneer Churches followed by John Bruce Brigham --  Abandoned Buildings and Ghost Towns

Wednesday, July 11 -  Artist2 Go by Tom Thomson Gallery re-registration required

Thursday, July 12 - Dinner and Fashion Show - Osprey Community Centre 6 to 10:30  $16 at door, #12 in advance

Friday, July 13th Musical Jamboree Feversham Ball Park, Wellington St. 7-11 p.m. $2 per person or $5 family bring your own chairs

Saturday, July 14th - Re-enactment of Village Life - Mill Bridge Road, Feversham 10 to 4. Free admission. Free shuttle service from Osprey Community Centre

Saturday Dance  9 - 1, Community Centre arena, age of majority $15 at Door, $10 advance
in Community hall Teen Dance (13-18) $10 at door, $7 advance.

Sunday, July 15th Brunch at Osprey Community Centre 10 to 1 $8 per person
Church Services
1 p.m. Feversham Ball Park, Wellington St. Militia Demonstrations by Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada.

It sounds like a wonderful line up of events. I wish I lived closer to take in many of these events.

© 2012 Janet Iles

Nellie (Mooney) McClung - a true Canadian icon

Grey County has been home or birthplace for men and women who have made contributions beyond our county’s border. Nellie McClung was one of these.

Nellie McClung, born Letitia Ellen Mooney entered this world on 20 October 1873. [1] The Mooney family lived on a 100-acre farm at Lot 8, Concession 1, Sullivan Township (about 1 km or 1.5 miles south of Chatsworth). Her parents, John Mooney, a Methodist Irishman and Letitia McCurdy, a Presbyterian Scotswoman, were already parents to William (Will), George, Elizabeth (Lizzie), Jack and Hannah. Life was difficult in rural Grey County in the 1870s. All the family worked hard but the land was rocky and they could not get ahead. People were heading west. After hearing glowing reports about available land in Manitoba, her eldest brother Will, with the encouragement of his mother, headed west in the spring of 1879 to find a suitable property for the family. [2]

In May 1880 when Nellie was not yet seven, the family set off on a trip by land, water and rail via Minnesota that would take them to Manitoba. Nellie would live the rest of her life in Western Canada. The place where the Mooney family homesteaded was isolated at first with no neighbours. Nellie was ten by the time the Northfield School was built about two miles from their home. Although, Nellie did not learn to read until she began school, she appears to have been a quick learner. When she was sixteen, she travelled to Winnipeg to take her teacher training at the Normal School. [3]

Nellie McClung’s accomplishments were many. In addition to being the wife of R. Wes McClung and mother to five she was a teacher, an author, a temperance leader, a politician, a lecturer, a suffragette, a hard worker for women’s rights and a social activist. Canadians remember her for the role she played as part of the “Famous Five” with their petition to the British Parliament seeking clarification of the word ‘persons’ in the British North America Act as it related to the Canadian Senate. On 18 October 1929, the British Parliament decided that women were indeed persons in Canadian law. [4]

Nellie McClung returned twice to Grey County. In 1915, she spoke about temperance and in 1932 she spoke about her writing. [5]

In Grey County, a cairn and a historical plaque honour the many contributions of Nellie McClung. People gathered for the unveiling of the cairn near her birthplace on June 8, 1957. [6] The Ontario Historical Trust Foundation erected the historical plaque on September 28, 1975. [7]

During the winter of 2006-7, the plaque was damaged. A new plaque is now in place and the Grey County Historical Society will be the host to the rededication ceremony Sunday, October 19 at 10:30 a.m. by the roadside plaque on the grounds of the Chatsworth United Church. This date is most fitting as it falls between October 18 – Person’s Day and October 20 – her birthday.

We are pleased that some of Nellie McClung's relatives will be able to attend.

Never retreat, never explain, never apologize--get the thing done and let them howl.[8]

Sunday, October 19
9:45 a.m. Chatsworth United Church Congregation invites all who wish to attend their service
10:30 a.m. Rededication at roadside plaque
11:00 a.m. short presentations and displays with a lunch hosted by the congregation

Please RSVP by October 12 if you plan to stay for the lunch jiles AT bmts DOT com

[1] Letitia Ellen Mooney Ontario birth registration #04890 (17 November 1873); digital image, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 23 June 2008), citing microfilm MS 929 reel 10, Archives of Ontario, Toronto
[2]Charlotte Gray, Nellie McClung (Toronto: Penguin Group (Canada), 2008), 9-11.
[3]Gray, 11-22
[4] “BBC h2g2 Nellie McClung, author and activist” BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2398854 ; accessed 23 June 2008)
[5]“Nellie McClung of Grey County” Owen Sound Sun Times 5 September 1951; Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library, vertical file “Nellie McClung”
[6]“Grey W.I. Memorial to Nellie McClung Unveiled at Chatsworth, Saturday”, Owen Sound Sun Times Monday 10 June 1957; Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library, vertical file “Nellie McClung”
[7] “Historical Plaque to Commemorate Nellie McClung” Flesherton Advance, October 2, 1975; Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library, vertical file “Nellie McClung”
[8] Quote by Nellie McClung in Times Like These

The above is from an article I wrote about Nellie McClung that appeared in The Historian, July 2008.

Tweedsmuir Histories - a goldmine of information

Tweedsmuir Histories are a goldmine of information for genealogical and local history information for many localities in Ontario, Canada. What are Tweedsmuir Histories? Briefly, they are "village history books" in the form of scrapbooks produced by Women's Institutes in Ontario. On Saturday, Grey Roots launched the virtual exhibit of Tweedsmuir histories from Grey County. To date, 32 volumes have been digitized and are available for searching and reading by anyone with Internet access. Congratulations on completing this phase of the project. The Grey County Historical Society was one of the supporters of this project.

Tweedsmuir Histories are one source of information that has helped me in my own personal research, research for a client and as part of my research for Churches of Grey Presbytery of the United Church of Canada: Historical Highlights.

When I was beginning my early research into my ancestors in Markham Township, Ontario, I visited the Unionville Public Library and viewed the actual Tweedsmuir histories for the Unionville Institute. These have been digitized and are now available in the Markham Public Libraries as part of Lunauweb. They were very helpful in giving me an introduction to the family.

Several years ago, I had a client send me a photograph of a family grouping taken in Port Elgin, Ontario. He only knew the names of some of the people in the photograph. Would you believe that the same photograph was in the West Arran Women’s Institute. Tweedsmuir History. volume 1. It had the names that the client was missing. There is a photocopy of this Tweedsmuir History at the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library.

The Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library has some of the area Tweedsmuir histories on microfilm and the original copy of the Salem (Derby Township) Women's Institute.

When I was researching the church history book, I used the Federated Women's Institute of Ontario. St. Vincent. Tweedsmuir History; microfilm that included church history from St. Vincent Township. Of particular interest was the letter from Arthur G. Reynolds, archivist of the United Church of Canada to Jeanette Short concerning Bethesda Church, November 12, 1964. At Grey Roots, I used the Priceville Tweedsmuir History as a source when researching the Priceville churches.

At the Archives of Ontario, I found the Tweedsmuir histories that have been microfilmed for Manitoulin Island. Big Lake Institute (MS 8 Reel 13) to be very helpful in my research of that area. Almost every page had information that related to my families. The photographs unfortunately did not print out well. I would love to see the originals and to get copies of the family related photographs. One of the photos was of taken of the people who attended the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. James [Ernest] Johnston [Zella Beatrice Johnston]. Note: The Tweedsmuir History microfilms are not available for interlibrary loan from the Archives of Ontario. You may find them at libraries.

For information on the Women's Institutes check the Federation of Women's Institutes of Ontario web site. Wellington Ontario Tweedsmuir histories are available for searching and viewing. Elgin County Tweedsmuir Histories are available for browsing. King Township Tweedsmuir histories are available for browsing but a table of contents aids in the search. This is not an exhaustive list of those that have been digitized. Some are searchable while others can only be browsed.

Have you used the Tweedsmuir Histories? Have you made any discoveries? If you have any that you recommend please share it with the readers.

Agnes Macphail website

The Agnes Macphail website with its digital collection is now available online. This is a project of the Grey Highlands Public Library. The following is the introduction to the website. I hope you will take time to look at this project that highlights a fascinating woman who played an important role in Canadian parliamentary history.

Welcome to the Agnes Macphail Website
Agnes Macphail was the first woman elected to Canadian Parliament. During her lifetime, she was a dutiful daughter and sister, a willful teenager, dedicated schoolteacher, and champion for equal rights and fair treatment for everyone. This website and the Digital Collection showcase not just her political life, but the personal side of Agnes Macphail as she lived in Grey County and explored the world at large.

Remembrance Day 2007 - In Grateful Remembrance

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day. As I am preparing a talk I am giving to our women's group at Knox on Monday, I thought I'd share several web sites that I find helpful and interesting concerning Canadian military history. These are only a few of the sites that I have bookmarked or added to del.icio.us

The Dominion Institute's site The Memory Project Digital Archives includes photographs and audio clips relating to some who served who have shared some of their memories.

The Canadian Virtual War Memorial

In Flanders Fields Museum

A new web site Bruce County Military History will be interesting for those who have a Bruce County connection.

During my talk, I will be focus on the men and their families and how they have been remembered in memorials. During the last two years, I have been researching 30 men who paid the supreme sacrifice -- 23 affiliated from Knox who died in the First World War and 7 who died in the Second World War. The names are listed here I hope to share some information about these individuals in future blogs.

I just received this link to a tribute to the fallen from Canada in Afghanistan so I have added this link to the video clip (about 11 minutes long)

Queen's Hotel documentary

The Queen's Hotel - an old hotel that no longer stands in Owen Sound is the subject of a well-researched video documentary. Adminst controversy, the building was demolished.

Update: Queen's Hotel Blues (New) is no longer available on the Owen Sound Sun-Times blog.

I was never in the building but I found the information provided by people (many whom I know) to be very interesting. Thank you to all who contributed to the making of the video. It is well done. It shows both sides of the story.

The Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library has information on the hotel in the local history vertical file for anyone interested in reading about the hotel.

Goal setting - Historical Presentation

Althougth not all goals relate to learning, learning usually happens when you are working on your to do list.


As I look over the events that I have marked on my calendar for September and October, I see some that need preparation and along with that will be some learning.


For example, on Wednesday, October 17, I am the guest speaker at the Grey County Historical Society meeting to be held in Owen Sound at Knox United Church at 1:30 p.m. (all welcome). As we learnt in the tutorial on the 7 1/2 habits of successful life long learners, the importance of creating written list of goals with target dates. I need to define what needs to be done to prepare for that day. I will be speaking about the history of Knox United Church and its predecessors Knox Presbyterian and Chalmers' Free Presbyterian Church. When I was researching and preparing the book, The Churches of Grey Presbytery of the United Church of Canada: historical highlights, I discovered that this congregation had ties to other Churches in Grey County. I will share this information.

Knox Presbyterian Church (now United) circa 1908


So what are some of the tasks that will go out on the list to reach my goal of a highly informative and interesting presentation? I will be re-reading the appropriate sections of the book. I will look at my notes. I will go to Grey Roots to take photos of land records. As I will be doing a PowerPoint presentation, photos and other documents will have to be scanned. The presentation will have to be completed and tested with the equipment before the presentation date.


Although I have given PowerPoint presentations before I will read some tips to make a great presentation and use those that apply. ("using technology to your advantage"). A google search for blogs relating to PowerPoint, let me to find SlideShare It is searchable. This is an alternative to videos and podcasts as learning mediums, although you can get only key points. It gives examples and you can decide for yourself if the slides are effective in presenting a point.


I am not going to take the time to read the blogs now but will add them to del.icio.us with a tag - unread (thanks Tim for that suggestion). I will add other tags as appropriate. I love del.icio.us - how it brings up your list of tags when you starting typing a letter as well as suggestions for tags.


Do any of you who give PowerPoint presentations or those who have sat through them, do you have any great tips of your own?

Berczy Bunch

Back on the 14th of August, I talked about the Markham Berczy Settlers Association web page and the search Rollyo I had created, but I didn't explain the purpose of this group.

It is an association comprised primarily of descendants & spouses of the original settlers to Markham Township, Ontario who came from Germany to Markham in 1794 via the USA. The group promotes research about the group as a whole and the individual families. In 1993, I made the discovery that I was a descendant of one of these early settlers. Johan Stoeber (changed to Stiver)- his daughter Anna married Josiah Hemingway. Then his daughter Hannah married David Johnston and goes on from there.

http://www.bmts.com/~jiles

I knew from a handwritten chart (my mother's handwriting with information from her mother) that Hannah Hemingway and David Johnston were my ancestors and they lived in the Markham Township area. It was through reading the history of Markham that I had purchased at an Ontario Genealogical Society seminar in Toronto that I made the discovery. See my LibraryThing holdings to see books about Markham Township. http://www.librarything.com/catalog/researchergal

In 1994, the newly formed Markham Berczy Settlers Association had a large reunion of descendants of the early families. What a day! Since then, I have been an active member of the organization serving on the Board of Directors. I act as webmaster of the web site and this week updated the newsletter index. It is now on 10 pages. The annoucement of the upcoming meeting is also posted. Robert M. MacIntosh, author of Earliest Toronto will speak.

It is always fun to get together with other members of the group, especially the 5th cousins! This group is a combination genealogy and historical association. It is through this orgnization, I became really interested in combining the study of history and genealogy.
http://www.markhamberczysettlers.ca/

All roads lead to Walter's Falls - September 19, 2007

Around here, we have an expression -- "All roads lead to Walter's Falls".
See the map below.

On September 19th, 2007, the Grey County Historical Society invites those who are interested to tour the 1854 John Walter's Grist Mill at 12:00 noon sharp.

This will be followed by a buffet lunch** at the Falls Inn serving between 12:30 & 1 p.m. $15.00 per person (plus tax and gratuities)

Around 2 p.m. local historian, Norman Seabrook, will give a presentation on "The Mills on the Big Head River"

** Please note: For those wishing to join the group for the Buffet Lunch reservations are required. To reserve call Paula Niall at 519-372-0225 or Rod and Mary Saunders at 519-538-5944. No reservations are necessary for the Tour and the talk. Non-members are welcome to attend.

I have this event posted on all my calendars. I don't want to miss it.


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