A Nicht Wi’ Burns

An eloquent address by Prof McGoun on the Scottish Bard

An address on theBritish Empireby Prof Clarke Murray- the Concert

The one hundred and forty-first anniversary of Robert Burns was celebrated in a fitting manner last evening by the Montreal Caledonian Society.

The entertainment, which took place in the St Andrew’s Home, was entitled “A Nicht wi’ Burns.”  In that phrase its character is well described, for the various speeches, songs, recitations and other parts  of the programme had, for the most part, their inspiration in the well beloved bard of Auld Scotia.  Mr William Seath, president of the Society, occupied the chair, while on his right sat Prof Archibald McGoun and on his left Prof J Clarke Murray.

To Prof McGoun had been entrusted the task of delivering the oration to the memory of Robert Burns.  His speech was an eloquent  and masterly effort, showing the deep study and keen appreciation of the works of the great poet. The speaker, who was frequently interrupted by applause, showed the reasons why Burns has gained such a hold in the hearts of his countrymen.  It was the true instinct that made him break loose from the narrow, cramped, stifling atmosphere of the rude and harsh conditions of a society as he found it, and to seek the independence of thought and action, which is the inalienable birthright of every true man.  Professor McGoun concluded by reading a beautiful little poem, the composition of Mr John MacFarlane ofMontreal, entitled: “Burns inAmerica.”

Prof J Clarke Murray spoke on “The British Empire,” and showed why Britons the world over should be proud to belong to it; the spread of liberty, enlightenment and civilization being the noble mission ofGreat Britainand her people.  Incidentally, Dr Murray warmly praised the patriotic attitude of the people of the Dominion in the present difficulty inSouth Africa.

Those who contributed to the programme with music, songs and recitations were: Miss Nicholls, Miss Pringle, Miss Edna Clarke, Mrs Robert Reid, Mr S Dunn, Mr Robert Reid, Mr Cathcart Wallace, Mr Donald ofGlasgow,Scotland.  Mr Reid, among other things, recited a most touching poem of his own composition, entitled “General Wauchope’s Farewell toEdinburgh.”  A feature of the evening was the singing of many of “the auld Scots songs” by Mr Donald, a member of the company engaged this week at theAcademyofMusic.  Mr Donald’s father, inScotland, is noted as a Burns enthusiast; and had commanded his son, in whatever part of the world he might find himself, to assist in the celebration of the poet’s birthday, and sing for those assembled to do honour to the bard.  He fulfilled the injunction, and appeared before our Caledonian Society last evening where he fairly carried his audience by storm by the splendid manner in  which he rendered the beautiful old songs.  At the close of the concert dancing was begun, and continued until an early hour this morning.  Refreshments were served during the evening.

SCOTTISHHIGHLANDSOCIETY

Scottish song and music drew a large crowd last night to Drummond Hall, where the members of the Scottish Highland Society held a most enjoyable concert in honour of the birthday of Robert Burns.  In addition to songs and recitations, the pipes were strongly in evidence, the inspiring tune of the “Cock o’ the North” evoking great enthusiasm. Those who contributed were Mrs Forrester, Mrs Crawford, Miss Bella Forbes, Messrs Geo. H McLeod, Alex Smith, Robt. Crawford and Robt.Anderson.  At the close of the concert the large hall was cleared and until an early hour this morning dancing was indulged in.

“92 Resolutions”

Here is the twelfth installment of the 92 Resolutions. Again, because it is seriously long, I am parceling the resolutions out five at a time, and for interest’s sake, and I am providing biographical information on those mentioned by name in the document. Enjoy.

Taken from : “The 92 Resolutions” taken from Statutes, Treaties and Documents of the Canadian Constitution, 1713-1929 (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1930). (notes my own)

51. Resolved, That the approbation expressed by the Colonial Secretary, in his said despatch, of the present composition of the Legislative Council, whose acts, since its pretended reform, have been marked by party spirit and by invidious national distinctions and preferences, is a subject of just alarm to His Majesty’s Canadian subjects in general, and more particularly to the great majority of them, who have not yet yielded at any time to any other class of the inhabitants of this province in their attachment to His Majesty’s government, in their love of pace and order, in respect for the laws, and in their wish to effect that union among the whole people which is so much to be desired, to the end that all may enjoy freely and equally the rights and advantages of British subjects, and of the institutions which have been guaranteed to and are dear to the country; that the distinctions and preferences aforesaid have almost constantly been used and taken advantage of by the Colonial Administration of this province, and the majority of the Legislative Councilors, Executive Councilors, Judges and other functionaries dependant upon it; and that nothing but the spirit of union among the several classes of the people, and their conviction that their interests are the same, could have prevented collisions incompatible with the prosperity and safety of the province.

52. Resolved, That since a circumstance, which did not depend upon the choice of the majority of the people, their French origin and their use of the French language, has been made by the colonial authorities a pretext for abuse, for exclusion, for political inferiority, for a separation of rights and interests; this House now appeals to the justice of His Majesty’s Government and of Parliament, and to the honour of the people of England; that the majority of the inhabitants of this country are nowise disposed to repudiate any one of the advantages they derive from their origin and from their descent from the French nation, which, with regard to the progress of which it has been the cause in civilization, in the sciences, in letters, and the arts, has never been behind the British Nation, and is now the worthy rival of the latter in the advancement of the cause of liberty and of the science of government; from which this country derives the greater portion of its civil and ecclesiastical law, and of its scholastic and charitable institutions, and of the religion, language, habits, manners and customs of the great majority of its inhabitants.

53. Resolved, That our fellow-subjects of British origin, in this province, came to settle themselves in a country, “the inhabitants whereof, professing the religion of the Church of Rome, enjoyed an established form of constitution and system of laws, by which their persons and their property had been protected, governed and ordered, during a long series of years, from the first establishment of the province of Canada;” that, prompted by these considerations, and guided by the rules of justice and of the law of nations, the British Parliament enacted that, “in all matters of controversy, relative to property and civil rights, resort should be had to the laws of Canada;” that when Parliament afterwards departed from the principle thus recognised, firstly, by the introduction of the English criminal law, and afterwards that of the representative system, with all the constitutional and parliamentary law necessary to its perfect action it did so in conformity to the sufficiently expressed wish of the Canadian people; and that every attempt on the part of public functionaries or of other persons (who on coming to settle in the province, made their condition their own voluntary act) against the existence of any portion of the laws and institutions particular to the country, and any preponderance given to such persons in the Legislative and Executive Councils, in the courts of law, or in other departments, are contrary to the engagements of the British Parliament, and to the rights guaranteed to His Majesty’s Canadian subjects, on the faith of the national honour of England, and on that of capitulations and treaties.

54. Resolved, That any combination, whatever effected by means of Acts of the British Parliament, obtained in contravention to its former engagements, or by means of the partial and corrupt administration of the present constitution and system of law, would be a violation of those rights, and would, as long as it should exist, be obeyed by the people from motives of fear and constraint, and not from choice and affection; that the conduct of the Colonial Administrations and of their agents and instruments in this colony, has for the most part been of a nature unjustly to create apprehensions as to the views of the people and government of the mother country, and to endanger the confidence and content of the inhabitants of this province, which can only be secured by equal laws, and by the observance of equal justice, as the rule of conduct in all the departments of the government.

55. Resolved, That whether the number of that class of His Majesty’s subjects in this province, who are of British origin, be that mentioned in the said address of the Legislative Council, or whether (as truth is) it amounts to less than half that number, the wishes and interests of the majority of them are common to them and to their fellow-subjects of French origin, and speaking the French language; that the one class love the country of their birth, the other that of their adoption; that the greater portion of the latter have acknowledged the generally beneficial tendency of the laws and institutions of the country, and have laboured, in concert with the former, to introduce into them gradually, and by the authority of the Provincial Parliament, the improvements of which they have, from time to time, appeared susceptible, and have resisted the confusion which it has been endeavoured to introduce into them in favour of schemes of monopoly and protecting government.

Montreal Gazette, 9 December 1957, page 23

City Urged to Restore Historic Heart- Place Royale

Robillard Would Use Island for John Young Statue

By Bill Bantey

The spot where Maisonneuve first set foot when he discovered Montreal may get a face lifting to restore the historic heart of the city. The move would involve a new deal for Hon John Young and Neptune, who have been neglected by all but waterfront pigeons for many a year. The recommendations to create a park area in waterfront Place Royale to honour its historic past, and to move Young’s monument to Ile Ronde, near St Helen’s Island are contained in a report to the civic administration by Parks Director Claude Robillard.

The area contains a second monument, the sign, weather-scarred obelisk a memorial to Montreal’s first colonists. It would remain in its present setting. The condition of the monument to Young is a sorry tribute to the man “through whose foresight, public spirit and energy, Montreal has become the national port of Canada.”

Erected in 1906, with Neptune at its base, the monument was unveiled with much official fanfare. For several years the fountain at its base was filled with sparkling water which poured from a pitcher held by Neptune.

Neptune’s Leg Lost in Brawl

But as time wore on, upkeep of the monument was neglected until old newspapers and empty liquor bottles replaced the water, layers of grime crusted Young’s effigy and Neptune’s left leg was ripped off- in a waterfront brawl, the story goes.

The obelisk hasn’t fared much better. Its 65-year history has been one of practically nothing but trouble.

Robillard wants to change all this.

He has asked the administration to take over land and property to extend Place Royale because, he says, the site has “an historic value without equal in the entire territory of the Island of Montreal.”

The Young monument, Robillard noted, now stands on a “badly maintained parking lot,” which is the exact site of the oldest establishment on the island, the Place Royale de Champlain.

He calls for the moving of the Young monument to Ile Ronde where it would clearly show that “this hardy pioneer vanquished all the obstacles to free navigation below Montreal.”

Acquisition and development of Ile Ronde would be a first step in the project. The area between St Paul and Commissioner’s Streets was given the name of Place Royale in 1892 at the request of Archaeology and Numismatic Society, North of the Place, as it is now constituted, is the federally owned old customs building built in 1836 and extended in 1881. Since 1917, it has been used by the Federal Public Works Department.

Robillard maintains, however, that the federal property encroaches on homologated fines for Capitale St as well as on a city owned lot.

Began its Career in Wrong Place

The obelisk, tottering in front of the old customs building, began its unhappy career by being built in the wrong place.

There was no room for it in Place Royale so it was erected in Place d’Youville instead. As early as 1894, it was considered a traffic menace and became unpopular with all but tourists and historians.

Moved to its proper place in Place Royale in 1941, it became ignored. Historical societies, commemorating the birth of the city, celebrated at other shrines- in particular at the statue of Maisonneuve at Place d’Armes two blocks away.

On one of the obelisk’s four sides are the names of Montreal’s 1st original settlers. On another is a quotation there, a speech made to them at the monument’s present site in 1642 by RP Vimont.

“What you see here gentlemen as only the seed of a plant; but I have no doubt that this little seed will grow into a great tree which one day will marvelously progress and multiply and increase in every direction.

34,000 lb Obelisk Off Centre Twice

The obelisk 30 ft high and weighing 34,000 pounds has been out of plumb twice in its original site as well as at its present location.

Neptune, crouched at the feet of the Hon John Young in the second Place Royale monument, has not had a much happier life. Neptune’s broken leg was replaced by another, crudely fashioned in wood. But it, too, broke off, the paint disintegrated from the remaining portion. The Robillard plan would give the colonists’ memorial and the Young monument the respect they deserve.

John Young from flickrPlace Royale from Tourisme Montreal

There are many objects that litter our home that we hold dear because of their connection to members of our family, many of whom have since passed on.  These objects hold value to us because of their association with our memories of their owners, the situations where they were present.  As a historian, it is important to catalogue these values along with the other characteristics of these items in order to preserve their historical value.  

I thought I would use an example to illustrate the recording of the value of an item of historical interest.  

Behold: the hat!

Pink Hat, 2012 c. GLeitch

Any evaluation of a historical item must begin with a description of the item’s physical characteristics.  As you can see, it is a pink flowered hat, which dates from the 1960s.  When worn, the hat covers the entire head and much of the wearer’s hair.  It is made of pink and white silk, cut into flower petal shapes and a few green silk leaves.  

Close-up of pink flowered hat, 2012. c. GLeitch

From the inside of the hat is clear that these silk flowers were sewn onto a pink nylon mesh.  The hat has the label of the famous Canadian high end store “Holt Renfrew.” The hat is in good condition, and is relatively clean. 

Interior of pink hat, 2012. c. GLeitch

This hat belonged to my mother.  She bought it at Holt Renfrew for her ‘going away’ outfit for her wedding in 1966.  She affectionately called it her ‘Confetti trap’ because she found that the construction of the hat made it very good at keeping in the confetti from her wedding long after the fact.  She once said that even years after the wedding she was still shaking out the confetti from its depths.  She loved this hat, and wore it long after it was fashionable.   The last time she wore it was at my cousin’s wedding in 1977.

Going on the honeymoon in pink hat, 1966. c. Leitch family.

Looking at the pictures of Mom wearing the hat, it is clear that the hat, when worn does not have to cover all of the hair, and it was worn back from her forehead and fringe.  

Family at A's wedding, 1977. c. Leitch Family

The hat then has many values.  The first is as a piece of material history, a hat which was popular, and worn in the 1960s.  Its good condition, or excellent state of preservation is valuable to clothing historians who study the history of the construction and appearance of fashions over time.  The label indicates that it was an expensive item when originally purchased, and was also likely made by Holt Renfrew, inCanada.  This then stands as an example of a time long past when Canadian women could purchase fashionable accessories that were domestically produced. It likely also possesses a monetary value, as it is in excellent condition and there are a number of collectors of vintage clothing pieces, who seek out this kind of item for themselves.

From its history of a piece of clothing owned by my mother, the item represents how such a piece of clothing was worn.  While purchased for a specific event in her life, and a quite significant one at that, her wedding, the hat was not relegated to the heap after its use.  It was kept and re-worn at other special occasions, such as family weddings.  It was well kept during her lifetime, and treasured.  It also speaks to the traditions of wearing hats to weddings, and the need for this kind of formality in culture at specific occasions.

For me, the current owner of the hat, it too holds value.  I don’t wear it, as quite honestly I can think of no occasion where it would work.  This makes me sad, but realistic.  I have a lot of other hats myself, so Mom’s hat is a treasured piece in my collection.  I have distinct memories of her wearing the hat, happy occasions, and I do remember the odd piece of confetti falling out of it.  Sadly all the confetti is now gone, like my mother. But the hat is on display in my home as a testament to the happy memories I have of her, and of her wearing the hat.

The hat then is a piece of my family’s history, by virtue of it having belonged to my mother, who loved it, and by virtue of my keeping it and displaying it.

By taking into account of the various streams of history attached to an item, and by recording its specifities down, the genealogist, or family historian makes their family’s stories richer, and gives context to items valued by its members.

Canada’s Loyalty to Britain: A Careful Study in Causes by the Duke of Argyll

Why does it grow stronger rather than weaker as the years go by?

9th Duke of Argyll, photo from Wikipedia.

The Empire is no longer a geographical expression. It lives and moves and has being. Men doubter, and now they doubt no longer. For the first time in all history, a parent [illegible] has seen her sons, who successful builders of new states, throw themselves of their own free will into her quarrel, making it their own. They have watched how in one of the colonies, foreign influence has been working against the welfare of a community like their own. They have deliberately judged from their own experience it is not good for that colony or for themselves as constituent parts of the Empire, that the great experiment of nation-building should be marred or destroyed in South Africa. They have known among themselves how false is the theory or sentiment that racial differences should be crystallized into effective national governments. Free institutions are the solvents of racial eccentricities of seclusion, of partial privileges and unwholesome ambitions. They have proved, by union among themselves, that new nations can only grow where tolerance and a power of adoption and the reception of new ideas co-exist. They have in some instances gone through trials of great severity before they learned this truth. The blessings they have derived from their knowledge they have determined shall be gained in South Africa. Even if their ministers had for a long while held back, doubtful as many cautious statesmen are of entering upon a great experiment before knowing the mind of their constituents, they could not hesitate except for a moment. They will of the peoples was instantly declared with a determination which no popular government could have resisted, even if they had been as they were not, desirous to do so. From New Zealand, from Australia, from Canada, came the message, uttered as with one voice, “in the danger menaced Great Britain’s Empire through the peril affecting a great colony, we are with the Motherland, and with the loyalists in that colony. We will aid in removing the evil. We will [illegible] the action of the parent state, we are at her side and our blood shall seal with hers the young liberties of the country we hope to see with ourselves; a free dominion under our Queen.” Never was there conflict more grand in its immediate result. What ever the future may give, however blighted may the hopes of this hour, the grandeur of the desire to spread constitutional liberty as forth shown by our colonies, can never be darkened. The fairest hopes of nations as of men may miscarry, but it will ever be an encouragement to trust in the world’s progress that loyalty to freedom, and advancement has been the Empire’s watchword in the closing year of this century. “Loyalty to Freedom”—yes. That is the loyalty of Canada. She is the oldest of those peoples who have wrought for order and liberty among themselves, and have won by their own work what they have sought. It is because the British Government have left them free to build their new nation that they have fought for another kindred nation’s birth. This loyalty is allegiance to no government that does not stand as the champion of what they know to be liberty. They have not looked in vain to their old “home” for such championship. They have carried to their new lands the forms of procedure and legislation of law which they had at “home.” They are no fugitives from any rule: they are the apostles of the authority they knew and loved. This can be said of no other emigrants of any land or time. Others have fled from laws they found distasteful or oppressive, and have therefore not carried with them as household gods the institutions they were glad or content to leave behind them. It has been otherwise with us. New York and New Scotland and New South Wales did not want to have a renovated set of institutions, but desired the old to flourish in the new soils christened by the ancient names. Constitutional liberty was to flourish on lands where a wide area could be attained for desires common to those who stayed and those who went. The faults of the eighteenth century were as dead as Julius Caesar. The colonies had become strong enough to prove that they required no leading strings. They were strong enough to know they could give good value for the naval and military aid this grand old country had been ever ready to accord to them. They saw that she would be hard put to it should the jealousy of foreign powers tempt them to assist an attempt to bring under a strange flag a great part of a sister colony’s territory. They disliked the conceit and racial inclusiveness which made the secessionists of Dutch descent attempt to set up a separate nationality, holding British law and institutions as not good enough for them. They saw that a separate small nationality halfway between the Zambesi and the Cape blocking progress, was a thing that might enlist the sympathy of gallant individuals, but could not warp the judgment of statesmen in its favour. Such a state would always be trying to make itself important as it profession of independence prompted it to be and would inevitably mar the welfare of the larger area which should be under one government, working for the welfare of the whole. The new wine was bursting the old Dutch bottle. If the old bottle had the Old Testament in its favour, as its president declared, the New Testament had better texts for the hospitality and generous spirit of the new wine. The great colonists liked the demands for equal rights put forward for the Outlanders. They disliked the avoidance by the Boers. They disliked yet more the Boer declaration of war against the British to foster obsolete privilege. They said “this is a war that concerns all who practice freedom in government. We fight with England.” And then came the spectacle which stands alone as a world wonder. Volunteers begged to be enrolled, not in scores, but by thousands. Men occupying peaceful and profitable places in civil life, but enrolled in the Canadian and other militia, offered their services to sail 7000 or 10 000 miles to fight on the veldt for the Queen’s authority in Africa. Only a small representation from each enrolled regiment was taken, though in very many cases throughout the Canadian provinces, whole companies, and more on each battalion desired to go. A fine body of infantry selected from every province, three excellent batteries of artillery, and a force of cavalry unique not only for the efficiency of its men, but also because its equipment was the gift of a patriotic Canadian. Lord Strathcona, was the continent sent by the British North American Dominion. Had more been wanted, more would have gone. And when they arrived at the Cape, eager to take part in the warfare at the front, they were necessarily for a time obliged to guard communications and undergo the drudgery inseparable from all good work, but doubly hard to bear when comrades are reaping the harvest of battle and glory at the front. But the opportunity came before long to show of what metal they were made, and at Paardeberg led to the surrender of Cronje’s force, was led by the gallant son of the speaker of the Canadian House of Commons, Captain Pelletier. A worthy descendant of an ancient French stock, the bravest among the brave, he and his comrades were ready to lay down their lives for the former government which they knew at home as the outcome of freedom known of old to Norman and British ancestors, and enjoyed by their race in the England they colonized, as well in England’s Canadian colony. Colonel Otter, a most experienced and gallant officer, commanded the Dominion infantry. Colonel Drury, and old friend of mine of a New Brunswick English descent, was chief of the artillery, one of the batteries of which arm took part in Mahon’s wonderful march to the relief of Mafeking. At the Colonial Exhibition, I remember an old lady saying “How proud the Queen must be to think that all these countries belong to her.” The old lady was right in thinking that the Queen personally holds the hearts and allegiance of all. But she was mistaken if she thought that her British Governors could claim ownership. No, the great colonies have received and do receive Britain’s full support. They in turn are ready to give their aid. But it is on no basis of legal allegiance, because such cannot exist between grown-up son and parent. It is in free alliance, based on common advantage, the more to be fostered and cherished on account of love and historic sentiment, and common use of institutions, that the connection exists. The colonies belong to Great Britain only as Great Britain belongs to the colonies. It is the interest of the parent state to have these strong young men guard her doors and give no harbour to her enemies. It is the young states’ interest to keep their shores inviolate by the aid of the British navy, and their treasuries supplied by the confidence of British capitalists. Canada has more people than England in the days of Elizabeth. She has more than had the United States when they declared independence. More tonnage passes the Canadian main canal at the east of Lake Superior than passes the Suez Canal. Australia is following fast in Canada’s wake in population and prosperity. These are not states from whom allegiance can be exacted, or loyalty demanded save as loyalty comes from pride in common ancestry, in heart-hatred of the baser forms of government, in love of the glorious traditions of our history, in resolve to keep united whose union means freedom and progress, and a common effort toward one splendid ambition, namely one liberty, one grand civilization, one flag, one empire, that shall keep for its members the laws they themselves are ready to maintain by preference in peace, and in necessity by war.

Argyll.

[John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, also known as the Marquess of Lorne, and former Governor General to Canada 1878-1883]

Hier, après la Grand Messe, une foule de citoyens de diverses origines alla saluer M l’Orateur de la Chambre d’Assemblee a sa demeure, rue Bonsecours, et le féliciter sur son heureux retour au sein de sa famille et de ses concitoyens et lui témoigner l’approbat on de sa conduite et leurs remerciements.  L’affluence des personnes était telle qu’une faible portion de ceux qui était presens a pu pénétrer dans la maison ou M le Maire, a la sollicitation de ces derniers, a porte parole et exprime a M Papineau le but de ce concours et les vœux de ses compatriotes réunis.  A la vive satisfaction de tous ceux qui n’avaient pu entrer, on trouva le moyen de faire disparaître une des doubles-croisées, et M Papineau, au milieu des plus bruyantes acclamations, s’adressa a ses concitoyens, du second étage, et leur exprima son regret que la capacité de l’édifice qu’il occupait ne permit pas de les recevoir tous dans un même appartement.  Il les remercia de l’honneur distingue que lui faisait une assemblee aussi nombreuse et aussi respectable d’accueillir son retour avec autant d’empressement et d’approuver sa conduite publique.  « Cette approbation, continua M Papineau, je la prends comme adresse non moi individuellement, mais a la Chambre d’Assemblee et a cette majorité qui vient de sanctionner des principes lies au bien-être général et qui doivent faire le base de tout bon gouvernement.  Députée pour représenter les vœux et besoins des masses, l’Assemblee a veille à vos libertés et vos droits communs en déroulant le tableau des abus qui entravent le bien public parmi nous.  C’est a ses procèdes recens que vous venez rendre hommage dans ce moment; je vous en suis doublement reconnaissant, et pour moi et pour ceux qui ont pense que nous avions souffert assez longtems sous le poids de malversations continuelles et qu’il était tems d’user des voies légales pour repousser le désordre et l’injustice et leur substituer un meilleur ordre de choses et le règne de la loi. » Âpres s’être étendu plus au long sur ces considérations M Papineau répéta en anglais ce qu’il venait de dire en français.  Il descendit ensuite a sa porte et présenta la main a ses concitoyens jaloux de lui exprimer leur respect et leur approbation.

Des hommes qui se font un devoir de respecter la vérité le moins possible et de s’afficher comme menteurs publies dans les coconnes du Montréal Herald de ce matin, n’ont vu dans cette assemblee qu’une « tentative infâme de créer un tumulte le dimanche »  Les auteurs de ces assertions sont si connus, si méprises, qu’il est inutile de s’y attacher.  Ceux qui ont vu ce qui s’est passe hier l’ordre qui a règne et la respectabilité du concours, s’étonneront sans doute qu’il y ait des hommes assez dépraves pour tenir un tel langage dans un journal public.  Mais deux concitoyens respectables vienne de donner un exemple en discontinuant leur abonnement qui sera probablement suivi par tous les souscripteurs au Herald qui savent se respecter.  Ses dégoutants diatribes lui ont attire l’animadversion des honnêtes gens et il faut supposer bien de la folie ou de la perversité dans les lecteurs de cette feuille pour ne pas rougir de voir leur noms associes a de telles productions.  Qu’ils continuent, ces lâches détracteurs, leur œuvre de mensonge et d’iniquité : les Canadiens et leurs concitoyens qui aiment et chérissent la liberté et l’ordre, n’en revendiqueront pas moins leurs droits et n’exprimeront pas moins hautement leurs sentimens.

Ce témoignage de deux à trois mille personnes tendu presque spontanément à M Papineau doit lui être flatteur et fait voir l’effet des paroles de Mathieu Lord Aylmer a la clôture de cette dernière session de Parlement.  Mais les assemblées qui se tiennent déjà dans plusieurs Comtes, les Requêtes qui vont suivre, et la prochaine élection générales répondront a Mathieu Lord Aylmer que le pays partage les sentimens et les vœux exprimes dans les 92 Résolutions, et qu’en dépit de toutes les « manœuvres » de la bureaucratie, les réclamations du peuple seront entendues, appréciées, et le règne de la loi substitue au règne des abus et a l’arbitraie d’une fraction des habitans de ce pays.

By Gillian Leitch

I found out, through research in the Montreal newspapers of the late nineteenth century, that my great-great-grandfather had been a patient of the city’s lunatic asylum.  With a little more digging I found out that he had been put there because he had attacked his brother with shears.  Further digging found out that he had been a prominent part of a chapter in a book called “Fous, prodigues et ivrognes.  Familles et deviance a Montrea au XIXe siecle” by Thierry Nootens [McGill-Queen's University Press, 2007].  Yeah something to be proud of.

So how does one deal with this kind of information?

This is how I see it: my research into my family’s history is not really about me.  I am not my great-great-grandfather.  His life was his, and no matter how bad it turns out to be, I cannot take it personally.  Sure, I feel sad about his problems which, from research in the court records, I found to be quite serious.

He was apparently an alcoholic, and from the five years before his being locked up, he hounded his wife and children, accused them of poisoning him, visited them in the middle of the night to yell at them, and then watched as one by one they fled the house to live with one of his married daughters. He attacked his brother when he was over at the house to help his sister in law get some of her belongings. Then the law came into play, and he was locked up.  He fought the findings of his incompetence and actually won his freedom (which according to Nootens was extraordinary).  The judge stated that he was within his rights to control the actions of those in his home.  He died three weeks later.

In reality, finding an ancestor who lived a more than ordinary life is like winning the historical sources lottery.  Rather than hanging my head in shame for the actions of a dead man, I revelled in the material that I was able to find, when I found out that John Patrick Cuddy was put into the Longue Pointe Asylum.  His obituary mentioned his stay there, the newspapers covered the court proceedings, and the court records held over fifty pages of testimony from his family, his doctors, and others concerned with the case, and with the family.  I even found out, through these records, when he visited Ireland (and no I am not sure why this was an issue in the court case), how he did business, who lived with him, his relationships with all of his children, his maid, and how much property he owned. These people came alive.  It was gold.  Absolute gold.

When doing your family history you have to understand that there will be things that you will find out that won’t be comfortable.  Not everyone lived a simple, honest life. Rather than to fear it, I say embrace the oddballs, nutcases, and criminals.  They make the search more interesting, and are certainly not any reflection on you and how you live your life.

Montreal Daily Star, 3 October 1900, page 6

Children’s Testimonial to Queen Victoria and Patriotic Fund for Families of British Soldiers in the African Campaign

[List of Children pictured]

Harry and Alice Wills,WestmountQc

Isabel Maude Cox,Montreal

Margaret A Bain,Montreal

Gertie Curran,Montreal

Rosy Thorpe,Montreal

Gertrude Gittleson,Montreal

Louisa I Lanktree,Montreal

B Leinlein,Montreal

LawrenceSpellman,Montreal

CN Shanley,Montreal

Kenneth Ruttan Stevenson,Montreal

May and Ruth de Jersey,Montreal

Jessie E Douglas,St JohnsQc

Vanessa L Taylor,MillviewPEI

Irene Tait,St LaurentQc

Miss Sadie Askinshy,Montreal

Edith McDonell,Montreal

Rachel E Price,Montreal

Miss V Kerr and sister

Edith Loucks,Montreal

Jessie Patterson,Montreal

Ethel Campbell,Montreal

Dorothy Rhynas Coles,Montreal

Katie Homer, Carberry Man

FAdaRichardson,Montreal

Arthur Graham,Montreal

Hugh Davidson,Montreal

Blair M Clerk,Montreal

Lester Lander,Montreal

Miss Ethel Trotter,Montreal

S Silverman,Montreal

Nellie Warburton,Montreal

Miss Lilly Cohen,Montreal

Willie A Goodfellow,Montreal

Leonard W Moody, Musquash, NB

Elsie Barnes,Montreal

Foster F Duval,St JohnNB

Ethel Ida Lidstone,Montreal

Clyde McCunn,Montreal

Peter Whitehead,Montreal

S Corks,Brooklyn, Mass

Lillian Tippett,Montreal

Irene Jeffrey,Montreal

Beatrice V Cunningham,Montreal

FME Mainwaring,Montreal

If you are fortunate enough to have an address for where an ancestor once lived, and yet again fortunate in that the place of residence is still standing, then you will find that Google Maps, and its streetscape setting is an excellent tool for genealogical research. 

I thought that I would use an example of this by using this database to search out a house that my grandfather and his family lived in, in 1907.  22 Britannia Road, Ilford, Greater London.  The first picture you see is a long view of the road and a map which places it on a map of London. 

Image from Google Maps.

This is where you start to investigate the neighbourhood, and see what traces lie there from 1907, when the family lived at that house.  Looking at the street it is clear that these are late Victorian, row houses, and therefore the house at 22 is the same house that the family lived in.  The neighbourhood was therefore rather new when the family moved in.  The houses are all the same size, and features.  The house itself is white painted brick, but its neighbour at 24 probably reveals what it would have looked like when it was constructed, as its brick is not painted, and the lintels and cornices are also unpainted.    The front door at 22 is recessed and there is a paved brick walk, with a lovely little garden in front.  The house seems to have two rooms on the top front so there were probably around four bedrooms in the home.  This is good, because they had five children, four who must have still lived with them when they lived here.

If you travel along the road a bit, you hit a high street (Ilford Lane), which features now a number of shops, and no doubt had similar kinds of retail in the early twentieth century as the buildings seem to date from about the same period. 

If you flick back onto the map of Ilford, you will see where the local school is, on Cleveland Road, not that far a walk for the kids.  I know from consulting the school’s archives at the Ilford Library that my grandfather and great aunt both went there.

From jiggling around between streetscapes and map I cannot find an Anglican Church nearby.  So I am not sure where they worshiped (if they were attending Church regularly).  I also am unsure where my great grandfather worked, but it would most likely not have been in the immediate area, as the area appears mostly residential. 

So what happens when the house they lived in no longer exists, and the neighbourhood?  This is a problem I faced when I had to deal with the place where my great-great grandparents first lived when they had their first child and got married (circa 1860).  Their address was 18 Granby Terrace, Hampstead.  Well the street is still there, but the house is not.  Instead it made way mostly for the train tracks running into Euston Station. 

So instead I found a feature listed on the map and went from there.  First since I knew it was close to Euston I googled that, then I saw that even closer, there is a place called Stalbridge House, so I googled that, and that is when I started on my virtual walk in the neighbourhood.

Stalbridge House is on Hampstead Road, and is actually a mid to late Victorian apartment block.  It was clearly built after my family lived around here.  It is surrounded by 1970s concrete masterpieces, which must have clearly altered the nature of the neighbourhood.  Walking down Hampstead Road I am faced with even more ugly concrete and an overpass.  Turning right, I find myself on Granby Terrace.  To the right is a wall, and on the other side of it are the train tracks leading to Euston.  To the left is a pink apartment building, which dates probably from the 1970s, behind it are lower level blocks that are older, but still 20^th Century.   The street indicates nothing from its earlier past. 

So I return to Hampstead Road and go down it further from Granby Terrace.  One road up, Morning Crescent shows a much more interesting pattern of construction, which looks like it could date from earlier in the nineteenth century.   It is typical terraced row housing.  I went online then to google the name of the street, thinking that there was some architectural merit, or perhaps protection afforded to these houses.  I was right. According to Wikipedia, it was built in the 1820s, so it would have been standing at the time of my great-grandparents’ living in the neighbourhood.  Now according to Wikipedia, which honestly is not the most reliable source of information, when these houses were built, the neighbourhood was surrounded by green fields and open country, but was still close to town.  Later in the Victorian era (which is not a clear date for my purposes) the houses were split into flats and housed artists and artisans.  According to the article, there was a school at Granby Terrace, Wellington House Academy, where Charles Dickens went to school.  (Before the time, therefore of my family’s occupation).  

So while the neighbourhood is mostly changed, I can still use the visual images and the streetscape to ferret out some information on the neighbourhood, and then take my research further.

Walking virtually down the street then, provides the genealogist a way to connect in some manner to the lives that their ancestors lived.  What is even better, the person does not have to live in the same area to find things out.  It is a useful tool, and with a bit of imagination and creativity, can be made to assist your research endeavours further.

Once you know where your ancestor lived from birth certificates, marriage certificates, wills, census, etc., you should try and find out as much as you can about that place.  First think of the actual building where they lived.  If you are lucky that building might still be standing, if not, there are histories usually of areas in towns which provide some basic information about the neighbourhoods.  Are they the only ones to live in this dwelling?  Who are their neighbours?  Keep in mind these will be the people that your ancestors saw most everyday, they may not have liked them, but they certainly knew them.

Did their home have a garden?  Were they able to raise their own food, or did they have to rely completely on the markets?  Did they have indoor or outdoor plumbing?  Was there a well or a river nearby for their daily water needs?

Did they work from home or did they have to travel to work?  If they worked away from home how far did they have to travel?  Were they able to access public transportation to get to work? (After 1850 or so) 

How close were the shops, were they close to the High Street, the market?  How far did they have to go to get their daily rations?

Where was the nearest church of their denomination?  Did they have to travel far to go there?  Remember that religion was an important part of many’s lives and that their principle socialisation would have occured on their one day off, Sunday.  This was their social sphere. 

Where was the local school?  It might have been the Sunday school at the church, or a distinct purpose built school.  Not everyone went to school, and it was not compulsory for most until late in the nineteenth century.  The closeness of the school to your ancestors home might have seriously determined if your ancestor received even a rudimentary education.

Where were their nearest relatives?  After all, the family was and is important, and knowing that the grandparents or a sibling lived nearby, or not could greatly effect the way that your ancestor lived.  Family was a social safety net, and another location for socialisation. 

Distance to certain places determined how people lived, their quality of life, and their type of social life.  These are important considerations in genealogy.  After all it is not just about determining when people lived and died, but how they lived.  Their lives were full and interesting, and worth knowing about.