I have always called these gals ” The Sanderson Sisters” because of my love of the film Hocus Pocus, but in reality they were the Sutherland Sisters.
In the late 19th century, though, the most startling, erotic thing you could do as a stage performer is let down your Rapunzel-esque floor-length hair. In fact, according to their biographer, the first real celebrity models in the United States were known as the Seven Sutherland Sisters, who had 37 feet of hair among them. Sarah, Victoria, Isabella, Grace, Naomi, Dora, and Mary Sutherland sang and played instruments—but no one really cared about that. No, the crowd came to ogle their magical, mythical, uber-feminine hair.
Flaunting all that awesome hair onstage wasn’t quite enough to launch the Sutherlands from abject poverty to riches, so the sisters’ father, the Rev. Fletcher Sutherland, concocted a patent hair-growing tonic. Because Victorian women coveted the sister’s luscious locks, the cash came flooding in. The family grew rich beyond its wildest imaginations, as the sisters knocked serious political issues off the newspapers’ front page with their outrageous celebrity antics. By the mid-1880s, none of the sisters could walk down the street, their flowing tresses dragging behind them like dress trains, without being mobbed by starstruck fans.
The famous Sutherland Sisters Mansion. Located on Ridge Road. Built in 1892, it was destroyed in a fire in 1938. Cambria, New York
In 1893, the seven, now world-famous, returned home determined to live together, erecting a tremendous mansion in rural Cambria, New York, where their family’s log cabin once stood
There’s a new house, a modest modern one, where once stood the mansion of the Seven Sutherland Sisters. The showplace of the countryside, built on the Ridge Rd. northwest of Lockport, in 1893 with the hair tonic dollars of the Seven Sisters “with the longest hair in the world,” burned to the ground early on the evening of Jan. 24, 1938. Only two of the sisters were living then. Seven years before the fire, Grace and Mary had been forced to leave the farm on which Sutherlands had lived for 122 years. Their fortunes had gone into a tailspin, the hair tonic million had long been spent and for four poverty-pinched years, the last two sisters lived drably in the mansion where once all seven had lived so grandly.
The house had risen in all its Victorian elegance in the heyday of the Seven Sisters’ fame and wealth. They spared no expense when they built the ornate wooden pile on the family acres they called “Sutherland Farm.” It was the talk of the fruit country, that house with its 14 rooms, its term bedrooms, one for each sister; its seven hallways, its marble bathrooms with running water, novelty at the rime; its black walnut woodwork, its inlaid hardwood floors, its massive chandeliers and its three furnaces.
A life-size portrait of the Seven Sisters, in color and in all the splendor of their trailing tresses, adorned the wall of the higb-ceilinged living room. Once the roomy third story attic was crammed with Saratoga trunks, containing bottles of the hair grower. Expressmen at Lockport dreaded the sight of those trunks. They were inordinately heavy. In the old days there were spacious lawns and barns and stables for the numerous Sutherland pets. The main barn, unpainted for years, is still there. The stately oak trees which once shaded the front lawn are gone, victims of the fire. Gone too is the summer bouse where once the sisters, scantily clad and with their great masses of hair piled high upon their heads under towels, sunned themselves.
No trace is left of the cinder path where once the sisters rode their high-wheeled bicycles in bathing suits to the dismay of some of their prissy neighbors. This was Sutherland mansion on Ridge Road north west of Lockport where sisters “with the longest hair in the world” lived. It burned in 1938. their pets were buried, each in its casket with its individual name plate and each in a marked grave, long since yielded to the plow. Others tend the gardens where once the sisters flitted about, each wearing a cloth mask to protect features and treasured locks from the sun.
One by one the sisters passed on until only two were left. Naomi died in 1893 and Victoria in 1902 when the golden tide was running high. Isabella went in 1914, when the family fortunes were beginning to slump. Dora ran the Canadian business and kept the hair tonic sales going in Alberta until the bobbed hair craze which swept the States hit the prairies, too. She was killed in an automobile accident in Winnipeg in 1919. But she had her eccentricities among them 17 pet cats.
After her death the house was mostly unoccupied for eight years. Henry Bailey, and his children spent some summers there. In 1927 Grace and Mary retutned to the mansion, living only in the upstairs rooms. They were old ladies and there was that same year Sara died still with the famous locks at 73. Their tresses had lost their value and neighbours called her “the sensible one.” There was no gold in the family. She was the family balance wheel. Old neighbours recall the pitiful circumstances of the two sisters in their last stay in the big house. Mary was ill. She had “strange notions” and there were bars at the windows of her room. Sometimes there wasn’t enough to eat but Grace was proud and still held her head high and told her neighbours she wanted no gifts of food.
In 1932 the place was sold to the Cecil Carpenters of Lockport, who were restoring it to much of its oldtime elegance when fire leveled it. Mary lived until 1939. Some of her last days were in a sanitarium, some in the Niagara County Infirmary. Grace died in Buffalo in 1946. She was well over 90, the last of a fabulous sisterhood, which lives on in the lore of the fruit country. One afternoon when the apple blossoms were shedding their fragrance on the air, Clarence O. Lewis of Lockport, Niagara County historian, who has collected a mass of data on the Seven Sisters, drove out to Mike Gorman’s place on the McClew Rd. in the town of Newfane. Michael Gorman and his wife are getting along in years but their memories of the sisters were still alive.
They lived on a farm diagonally across the road from the Sutherlands. In those days Sara was the only permanent occupant of the residence. Grace and Mary, who “lived around” in Lockport and Buffalo, were there occasionally. The wheel of fortune was no longer spinning for the family but they tried to keep up appearances. Gorman was hired sometimes by Sara to drive the family carriage, usually to meet trains when one of the clan came home for a visit. He remembers when big Dora landed one day at Lockport wearing a muskrat coat so heavy it was hard for him to lift her.
Mrs. Gorman sometimes helped out at the mansion, especially when Sara had guests or there was one of the family’s extraordinary funerals. She well remembers the nearly two weeks that young Fletcher Bailey was laid out in the house before his aunts would bury him.The house was full of cats. Sara knew every one by name. One day a Gorman son caught one of them in a trap he had set for rats. The animal was so badly hurt it had to be shot. Mike told the boy to bury it and say nothing, hoping Sara It was a vain hope. The next week a newspaper advertisement appeared, offering a reward for the return of the missing pet. Sara was grief-stricken when a favorite horse was burned to death in a Lockport Mery stable fire. The animal was 15 years old and had been raised on the farm from a colt. Its carcass was identified by the gold-plated shoes it wore. So Sara had the horse’s remains hauled home. A carpenter made a casket and the animal was buried ceremoniously in the pet cemetery. – Mike Gorman still has one of those horseshoes but most of the gold plating has rubbed off.
There is an undocumented tale that a pet dog belonging to a Sutherland sister had its own bed and that at the head of the bed was a bell which the animal rang when he wanted attention. But there’s no fiction about the seven dolls. Each belonged to a particular sister and the hair of each doll came from the head of its owner. The dolls stood nearly 3 feet high. The seven dolls went with the Seven Sisters on tour and were part of the hair tonic sales ballyhoo. The maids who combed the seven magnificent heads of human hair also had to look after the seven dolls. The doll which had been Sara’s is now owned by Mrs. Thomas Buckley of North Tonawanda, the Gorman’s daughter. Sara gave it to Mrs. Gorman before she died. For all their almost incredible eccentricities, the Seven Sutherland Sisters are revealed as a warm-hearted, impulsive, open-handed lot. Shyness may have accounted in part for their clannishness. They loved their own so much they were loath to commit their bodies to the earth. They loved their pets in life and honored them in death. They made a fortune and they spent it grandly. They held their heads high to the last. They were colorful and different and will be remembered forever.
I know I have put up this photo but it boggles my mind even today LOLOL Driving on the ice on Mississippi Lake at Pretty Island-
These photos are from Darlene Page. When her aunt, Deloris Agnel, maiden name Julian, passed away she gave Darlene a photo album. Thank you for sharing Darlene.
It began with this..
Good Morning Linda, I was out on Pretties island this week-end and I hear a story about the causeway being built with old cars originally. Have you heard this tale before? is there any truth to it? Thanks Brad Hamilton
Lila Leach-JamesThe story I heard, a well known car dealer in Almonte owned a cottage on the island and residents needed a road so he supplied all the old wrecks and the road was built after a few loads of gravel put on top of the old cars….Supplied a good base, I suppose….I will not mention names although I’m sure most of the family have passed on…..
Glen FergusonYes it was a mr hill who put cars in there to make a solid base for the cos way. There was also a floating rd. Logs laid horizontally and like 2×12 wood to drive on. Its still there but grown in now
Laurie LewisYes that is what my father (David Willoughby) always said.
Photo from Joan Halpenny–These are from my grandparents and father. ( McRostie’s) I’m guessing late 1800s and early 1900 s. The people in the photos would all be dead now but perhaps relatives might recognize them. Can anyone help? — This was taken on Pretty Island 1898. Yesterday I found a newspaper clipping from August 11 1898 how a happy crowd was at Pretty Island
Glen FergusonLaurie Lewis my parents Bill and Shirley Ferguson and myself knew John Willoughby well. We were just down the road from him.
Michael LotanIt’s a true story, Almonte car dealer had the idea and did it. It was a good side island with a bay facing west with a sandy patch of beach, lots of blood suckers at that time. Every time we stopped there We had salt available.
Cynthia FordI do believe it was Mr Hill during or before he sold the island to a conglomerate of business men. Who later severed the land and sold as cottage lots.
Cathy DulmageAbsolutely, Gordy Hill owned the GM dealership in Almonte and was part of the development team. He put old cars in for the base. My dad was the Ford dealer and a friend of Gord’s and also supplied him with some junk cars. Paul Dulmage
Trisha AeckerlinMy parents had a home off Otterslide lane at the end of scotch corners that had a cosway out to it that was also built with old cars and buses.
Brad HamiltonSherri Iona I’m pretty sure anything harmful is long gone at this point. This type of thing happened a lot before.
John Armour posted this picture of Pretty Island yesterday.. Did you ever read about the Steamboat picnics on Pretty Island?
Karen Fleming FergusonMy husband thinks, if he is not mistaken, that A.H. McCoy from Stittsville was involved too. Before the cars were put there, everything else kept sinking, so then someone came up with using the old cars.
Robert McClellanDoes anyone know the precise location? We would like to dive it and document anything we find with images and video. Fascinating.
Karen Fleming FergusonEbbs Bay Road near the water here is where the “causeway” is. It doesn’t look like it here, but there is water on both sides, unless a very dry year. In the spring there can be so much water that you can’t drive across. People on the island will leave a canoe or boat there to get across and leave a car on the mainland.
Elisabeth HickRobert McClellan you aren’t going to find any water to swim in… it is swampland lol i know exactly where it is
Robert McClellan no possibility for diving , it has had a couple of thousand loads of rock rough fill and gravel added over the last 50 years and is swamp on both sides
Jane ChamneyThe original road to Pretties island was a floating causeway east of where the road is located now
It’s Photo Friday!This photo of Aberdeen Island in Mississippi Lake was taken by Annie E. Duff about 1902. Annie’s eldest brother William H. Duff and his 5 eldest children are in the boat. The following quote by Rev. William Bell, (the first ordained minister to hold services of religion in Carleton Place) was published in his “Hints to Emigrants” in 1823: “The Mississippi Lake …. affords an abundance of fish for the settlers in the neighbourhood, who kill them with spears in great numbers in the spring when ascending the river to spawn. Some of the islands in the lake are still inhabited by “Indians”, whose hunting ground is on the north side, and who are far from being pleased with the encroachments our settlers are making on their territories.”Let us be reminded that the community in which we live, work, and play is situated on traditional, unceded Algonquin First Nation territory.We acknowledge and thank the Anishinaabe people and express our respect and support for their rich history and culture.-Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum
Son of James Patterson and Bresaya Jane Pounder Patterson
Manassah was born February 17, 1848 and married Mary E. Peddar, born September 26, 1852. They married July 22, 1875. The marriage was announced in the Perth Courier as follows: “PATTERSON – PEDDAR At the residence of the bride’s uncle, Andrew Elliott Esq., Almonte, on the 22nd inst. by the Rev. John Bennett, minister of St. Andrew’s Church, Mr. Manasseh Patterson, Druggist, to Mary Elliott Peddar.” The Ontario Archives Microfilm lists the marriage of Manassah Patterson as follows:” Manassah PATTERSON, 27, druggist, Canada, Almonte, son of James PATTERSON and Bresaya POUNDER, married Mary Elliott PEDDAR, 22, Canada, Almonte, daughter of Joshua PEDDAR and Fanny HENLEY, witness Andrew ELLIOTT of Almonte, 22 July 1875 at Almonte.”
Two sons were born; James F.( born 1877) and Francis E.(born April 19, 1880), who was known as Frank. Manassah was a druggist and owned Patterson’s Drug Store on Mill Street in Almonte. In the 1880’s, the first telephone exchange in Almonte operated from the rear of the drug store. As an agent of the Bell Telephone Company, Manassah used a primitive switchboard to manage the calls from among the original 29 subscribers to the new service.
Manassah Patterson was involved in and promoted horse racing. An article in the Renfrew Mercury July 4, 1884 reported that a proposition had been made whereby Almonte could secure an excellent and convenient driving park and public recreation grounds at a minimum cost. “Mr. M. Patterson proposes, at his own expense, to purchase 20 acres of the Robert McFarlane farm, adjoining the corporation, at to lease it, to an association to be formed for that purpose for a term of years to be agreed on and at a minimal cost. The association will gradually fit it up with a driving track and suitable grounds for athletic sports.” In the fall of 1886, Manassah travelled to the great Glenview horse sale in Kentucky with Dr. Preston, A. C. Burgess of Carleton Place, and Mr. Lawson of Almonte. The group was looking to purchase horses and was impressed by the beauty and strength of the horses in Kentucky. In July, 1889, Manassah was a judge at the Renfrew horse races.
An interesting article in the Perth Courier dated August 7, 1896 was reprinted from the Almonte Gazette as follows. “Mr. Mannaseh Patterson has patented a new disc-adjusting, oil-retaining, dust-proof ball-bearing for bicycles that he himself invented. It has features that strongly recommend it, and it will doubtless be secured by some of the leading manufacturers in the near future. We trust the inventor may find at least a few thousand in it.”
From the Carleton Place Herald July 3, 1900, regarding Almonte affairs: “Cadet Frank Patterson has arrived home from the Royal Military College at Kingston this week and is receiving the congratulations of his friends on having graduated from that institution; he and Cadet Boyd Caldwell of Lanark being equal in number of marks won and both being well up in the list of graduates.”
From the Almonte correspondent to the Carleton Place Herald, May 7, 1901: Frank E. Patterson, son of M. Patterson, of this town, who graduated from the Royal Military College a year ago, has graduated from McGill College last week as a Bachelor of Science. He took the Civil Engineering course. Mr. Patterson returned home on Tuesday and is busy receiving the congratulations of friends.
At the 1901 census, Mannasah, druggist, and his wife Mary lived at Almonte with their son Francis E., who was at that time a student aged 20.
James Patterson married Minnie McArthur, the daughter of William McArthur and Elizabeth Manson. From the Almonte Gazette, November 23, 1906. “On Tuesday evening, the home of Mr. and Mrs. William McArthur was the scene of a happy event when their second daughter Minnie Iolene was united in the holy bonds of matrimony with James F. Patterson, eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. M. Patterson, Rev. Orr Bennett officiating. The ceremony took place in the presence of only the immediate friends of the contracting parties. The bride’s dress was pointe d’esprit over white silk and she carried a bouquet of white roses. There were no attendants. After congratulations were extended, the party repaired to the dining room which was beautifully decorated with white and pink roses, carnations, ferns and smilax and where the wedding supper was served. Rev. Mr. Bennett, in a short congratulatory speech, conveyed the felicitations of the company to the bride, and those were responded to on her behalf by the bridegroom. The bride was the recipient of many beautiful and useful tokens of esteem from friends among them being several substantial checks. The groom’s gift to the bride was a very pretty gold watch and chain. At half past ten Mr. and Mrs. Patterson, the latter gowned in a traveling suit of dark grey with hat to match left for Carleton Place where they took the midnight train to Toronto and other places. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson enjoy the hearty good wishes of many friends for a life of pleasure and prosperity such as rarely falls to human kind.” From the Carleton Place Herald December 4, 1906.”James Patterson, son of M. Patterson of Almonte, married Minnie McArthur, daughter of William McArthur last Tuesday evening. The young couple drove up here and took the train to Toronto, for their home.
The death of Manassah was reported in the Perth Courier on Friday February 15, 1907 as follows. ” M. Patterson, the well known druggist of Almonte died at Cobalt on Saturday of pneumonia.” A more complete obituary was published in the Almonte Gazette on the same date. This obituary has been provided to me by Jason Gilmore whose family currently resides in the home once owned by Manassah Patterson and his family.
“Death. At Cobalt, Feb. 9, 1907, Mr. M Patterson, of Almonte, aged 59 years.”
Another Citizen Gone
Mr. M. Patterson Dies After a Few Days’ Illness of Pneumonia
Another death following a startlingly brief illness has deprived Almonte of one more prominent citizen. Mr. Manassah Patterson, who passed away at Cobalt on Friday evening last after just one week’s illness from pneumonia. Mrs. Patterson and her sons, Mssrs. James and Frank, went up to Cobalt on Tuesday morning of last week, but on Thursday the two latter returned home, with little thought that the end was so near, on the contrary, buoyed up with the news coming home of their father’s early recovery and it was hard to believe the sad news that came Saturday morning announcing his death. Mr. Patterson had been in the Cobalt district looking after some mining property, and caught cold which developed into pneumonia and ended fatally. The remains were brought home and interment took place on Monday afternoon to St. Paul’s Church and cemetery, Rev. Rural Dean Bliss conducting the services. The pall bearers were Mssrs W. Thoburn, J.M. Rosamond, J. W. Wylie, J. B. Wylie, A. Young and A.M. Greig. Notwithstanding the bitter cold there was a large and representative gathering of townspeople to pay the last tribute of respect to one who was respected and esteemed by his fellow citizens and businessmen.
The late Mr. Patterson was born in Perth, a son of the late James Patterson of that town, and was 59 years of age. About thirty-six years ago he came to Almonte and took a position with Mr. Shaw, a druggist, and shortly afterwards he bought the business and conducted it for a time in the building now occupied by Mr. Therien. In later years he built the brick store on Mill Street, which he occupied for nearly thirty years. Mr. Patterson took a deep interest in military matters and went to the front with the Perth company in 1866, and afterwards retained continuous connection with the militia, and held the position of Staff Sargeant in the 42nd Regiment. His inclination led him into agriculture and stock-raising and for quite a few years he occupied the Lt. Col. Gemmill farm within the corporation. He was of a progressive disposition and had from time to time been connected with enterprises outside his regular business as druggist, and at the time he was taken ill he was looking after some mining properties in which he was interested. He also took an intelligent though quiet interest in public matters, and was prevailed upon one or two occasions to accept a position at the council board, which he filled in a most creditable manner.
About thirty years ago he was married to Miss Mary Peddar, of Doon, and to them two sons were born. Of these James is a druggist, and has had charge of the drug store here for the past three or four years. Frank is a civil engineer and has a good position with the government in Ottawa in the engineering department. Mr. Patterson was a quiet, unostentatious man, a good citizen and one who will be missed from the business and social circles of town.”
The Perth Courier of Sept. 17, 1909 reported that fire swept through the town of Almonte on Sept. 10th, completely destroying the chief business block on the Main Street. Patterson’s Drug Store owned by M. Patterson estate, was one of the affected businesses. J. T. Patterson, druggist lived over the store and had to hurry his family out of the building. The front wall of Patterson’s building fell over onto the sidewalk, breaking the telegraph pole which struck Mr. Henshaw. Bank Manager Henshaw of the Bank of Montreal died from his injuries.
The 1911 census shows that James Patterson, aged 33, born July, 1877, was living at 74 Argyle Street, Toronto West. He lived with his wife Minnie Patterson, aged 32, born June, 1878. James was a blacksmith, an Anglican of Scotch origin. The 1911 census also shows that Francis Patterson was living on Slater St. in Ottawa, single, aged 30 and working as a civil servant for the Dominion of Canada government. His religion was Unitarian.
Manassah Patterson’s wife, Mary Peddar Patterson died 1940 and is buried in the family plot in Almonte, Ontario. Francis E. Patterson who lived from 1880 to 1942 is buried with his parents at St. Paul’s Anglican Cemetery. –Rootsweb
Historical Notes: Druggist P.C. Dowdall opened his Almonte store in 1880, and was was still serving those with constipation in 1935. Druggist Manassah Patterson (also known as John) Manassah was a druggist and owned Patterson’s Drug Store on Mill Street in Almonte. He initially came to Almonte and took a position with Mr. Shaw, a druggist, and shortly afterwards he bought the business and conducted it for a time in the building now occupied by Mr. Therien. Read-Constipation Guaranteed to be Cured in Almonte
34, 36, and 38 Mill Street: When Stafford’s Hotel was destroyed in an 1877 fire, it was replaced by three, three-storey brick buildings, which were later also destroyed in a 1909 fire
and replaced by the current two-storey buildings.45 The first telephone service in Almonte operated from Patterson’s Drug Store, located in one of these buildings, during the late 19th century.
Ephraim George Patterson was educated at Perth Grammar School in Perth before attending Toronto University. An article in the Perth Courier on September 11, 1863 shows his potential. “Toronto University. At the recent examinations at the University College, Toronto, for the admission of students, and the distribution of Scholarships, we are pleased to observe that Master Ephraim Patterson, son of Mr. James Patterson of this town, took a scholarship for general proficiency worth $120. per year. Young Patterson possesses more than ordinary talent, and his standing in the university, where he had to compete with the cleverest students in the province, must be a source of gratification to his parents; besides it shows that the Perth Grammar School in preparing students for college, is equal if not superior to any similar institution in Canada”
From the Perth Courier, June 30, 1871. “Our Perth Readers will learn with pleasure that E.G. Patterson, son of James Patterson of this town and an assistant teacher in the Hamilton High School will deliver a lecture in the town hall of Perth on “The Progress of Astronomical Science” in about three weeks time. The subject of the lecture is a grand one for the man of thought and learning and we are confident that Mr. Patterson will do it justice. The lecture will be accompanied by a reading from Tennyson. In the future, we shall be able to name the date more definitely. In the meantime we only copy the following notice of the lecture where it was previously delivered: “Mechanics Hall E.G. Patterson, M.A., lectured to a large and intelligent audience in the Mechanics Hall last night in aid of funds of that institution, taking for his subject ‘Astronomical Science’. The lecturer sketched the progress of the science from its infancy in the times when naught but the ideas of the heathen were promulgated. He gave many of the theories and discussions of scientists, men through the centuries to the present including those of Ptolemy, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Laplane. He pointed out the sublimity and extent of this study and referred to the various phenomenon which now present themselves. The lecture was well received and exhibited great care in its preparation. It was delivered clearly, slowly, and with great taste and the display of facts, indicating an extensive acquaintance with the subject. Times.”
An article dated May 22, 1874 in the Perth Courier stated that, “our old friend, Mr. E. G. Patterson, at an examination held at the Law School, Toronto, passed for both an attorney and a barrister, without an oral. For barrister, he passed with unusual honours–beating all competitors, and obtaining 528 marks out of a possible 600–110 more than the next highest candidate.”
George Patterson started his law practice in Hamilton, as early ads indicated he and William Laidlaw formed the law firm of Laidlaw & Patterson. On the 1881 Canadian Census, George Patterson is 35 years old, a barrister living in Burlington, Halton, Ontario. His ethnicity is listed as Scottish. His wife is shown as Anna G. Patterson, age 29, background English. The children are: Harold, age 5, Anna, age 3 and Winford, 3 months. (Note, the names Anna and Winford are misspellings by the census taker of Amy and Winifred–see the children below.)George and his young family then moved to Winnipeg in 1882. At that time, he placed an ad in the Globe and Mail Saturday May 27, 1882 as follows: George Patterson, late of Hamilton, Barrister, has removed to Winnipeg to practise his profession. Offices No. 429 Main St., over Blue Store. George became a partner in a firm with his cousin-in-law, George William Baker, and they called themselves, Patterson & Baker. Barristers, Attorneys.
For more information on E. George Patterson’s law partner, George William Baker, see the Baker page of this website.
The 1901 census shows that George Patterson and his family were living in Winnipeg. George was a widowed barrister, aged 54, born April, 1847. His grown sons and daughters lived with him, along with a female servant. The family consisted of Amy, aged 22, born August 1878; Harold, aged 24, born May, 1976; Winifred, aged 19, born January 1891; and Gordon, aged 15, born May 1885. All but Gordon were born in Ontario. Gordon was born in Manitoba. Harold is listed as a clerk.
On August 24, 1908, George Patterson, a widowed barrister, aged 62, married Gertrude Viola Geddes, aged 31, at St Mark’s Church, Niagara-On-The-Lake. George is the son of James Patterson and Jane B. Pounder. Gertrude Viola is the daughter of Forbes Geddes, and Elizabeth Begue. Witnesses were Ambrose H. Beavin of Pittsburgh, PA, and Elsie H. Geddes of Niagara.
The 1911 census shows that George Patterson and his family were living in Winnipeg at the Dorchester Block. George was aged 64, born April, 1847. He is the Deputy Attorney General for Manitoba and his workplace is the Parliament Buildings. His wife Viola was aged 34, born February, 1877. Their son George G. Patterson was aged 2, born July 1909. A nurse named Mary Phillips also lived with the family. The family is listed as Scotch in origin and of the Anglican religion.
Obituary of Ephraim George Patterson
Taken from the Manitoba Free Press, Winnipeg, Monday, August 24, 1925
GEORGE PATTERSON, K.C. DIES SUNDAY, AGED 79
Was for Many Years Deputy Attorney-General of Manitoba
Was Active in His Duties Until Recently, Death Following Brief Illness
George Patterson, K.C., aged 79 years, 162 Lilac Street, died in the Winnipeg General Hospital at 1 p.m. Sunday. He was up to the time of his death, referee and master of the court of King’s bench, and for many years the deputy attorney-general of Manitoba. He had been ill but a short time.
He was born in Perth, Ontario, where his father, James Patterson, was a carpenter. His grandfather, George Patterson, was a veteran of Wellington’s armies in Spain and at Waterloo, came to Canada about 1820 and settled in Lanark County.
Mr. Patterson was educated at the public and high schools of Perth, Ontario. He was graduated from Toronto University, winning the gold medal in mathematics. He taught mathematics for some years in Hamilton, before studying law. For several years he was examiner in mathematics at Toronto University and later on, when coming to the west to the University of Manitoba.
He was a member of the university company of the Queen’s Own Rifles, and, having taken a lieutenant’s course at the Royal Military College, Kingston, he took part in the fight at Ridgeway with the Fenians in 1866, when he was wounded and for which he received the Fenian raid medal. He obtained a first class military school certificate in the same year.
When called to the bar of Ontario in 1876, Mr. Patterson was mathematical master in the Hamilton Collegiate Institute. He practised law in Hamilton until 1882, when he came to Manitoba, where he practised for a number of years. The first firm was Patterson and Baker, then Aikins, Culver and company, Aikins, Patterson and McClenigan, and finally, Patterson and Howard.
Appointed as deputy attorney-general in 1898, he held that position until his appointment as referee and master of the court of King’s bench. While deputy attorney-general, Mr. Patterson was for a time, law clerk for the government, and as deputy attorney-general, had been chief crown attorney for the province, conducting the prosecutions of all the chief criminal cases before the Winnipeg assizes for a number of years. He was made a K.C. in 1909 and had been editor of the Manitoba Law Reports since 1903.
Mr. Patterson was one of the original members of St. Luke’s Anglican Church and he had acted as both rector’s and people’s warden. He was an ardent golfer, a member of the Winnipeg Chess club and of the Winnipeg Lawn Bowling club.
He was twice married, his first wife being Annie Gertrude Baker, daughter of the late Hugh C. Baker of Hamilton, Ontario. She died in 1897. He married, some years later, Viola Geddes, daughter of the late Forbes Geddes, of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Three children of the first marriage and one of the second survive, with his widow. The surviving children are: Harold D. Patterson, Victoria, B.C.; Mrs. Amy Edwards, Winnipeg; Mrs. Leslie Ford, Perth, Australia; and George D. Patterson of Winnipeg.
Annie Gertrude Baker (October 18, 1851-1897) was the daughter of Hugh Cossart Baker (1818-1859) and Emma Wyatt (1824-1859). Hugh Cossart Baker, descended from Sir John Baker Kt of Sissinghurst, founded the Canada Life Assurance Company. Annie Gertrude’s brother, Hugh Cossart Baker started the first telephone exchange in the British Empire. George Patterson, Hugh’s brother in law, was an early stockholder and supporter. See the Baker page of this website.
MEMORANDA June 11, 1903. Made by George Patterson of Winnipeg, Barrister, for the information of his children and descendants.
I am the eldest son of James and Jane Patterson of Perth, Ontario and was born there on 20 April, 1846. My father, who died in October 1902 at Perth, was the last surviving son of George Patterson, a Scotch soldier in the Army of Wellington, who came to Canada about 1815 and settled near Perth. My grandmother Ann Patterson was English and came out with him. My mother was also born in Canada of Irish parents named Pounder. She was a most devoted and saintly mother and until the last few years of her long life had little rest from hard work except when laid up with severe illness. She literally gave herself wholly to the work of training up and caring for her large family without a thought of self. She was perhaps the meekest, most patient and most loving wife and mother that ever lived.–Rootsweb
Rick Roberts
Enjoyed seeing this article. Bresaya Jane Pounder was the sister of my gr gr gr grandmother Sarah Allan Pounder who married John Devlin in Perth, Ontario. The Pounder family emigrated from Enniscorthy, County Wexford to settle in Perth, Upper Canada.
Daniel Galbraith purchased land on the West half of Lot 11, Concession 5 in Ramsay township in 1855. He sold half an acre to the trustees in 1870 for $1.00. The first teacher was Nell Forest. Ratepayers became enraged when the Ramsay Township School Boarded voted to close the school, so in 1958, S.S. No. 5 became a separate school section. Ratepayers donated two cords of wood per family. A new piano was purchased and a music teacher was hired. In 1969, the rural pupils were bussed to Almonte or Carleton Place. The school was moved across the road to become Bert Hazelwood’s cabin in his bush. It was later used as sleeping quarters for retreats. Read- Recollections of Bert Hazelwood 1973
Jennifer E Ferris There are two Galbraith’s on the old maps. One very near Hazelwoods farm(now Arlee Sheets), and the other North of Middleville /Clayton area.
Lila Leach-James S S#5 was built on a piece of property given by the Leach family …The Leach property surrounded the school. I believe my Dad owned 200 acres at one time from the 6th Line to the 5th Line, plus bush in the Wolf Grove on the Old Perth Road. He took polio in 1952 at which time he sold Sutherland’s to Fred Toop where Ruth Boyce now lives…. I believe it was called Galbraith as they owned farm prior to the Leach in 1800’s…. When the school was closed in the 1960’s, Alex Hazelwood purchased land and school and moved school to their convention grounds! Mount Blow Farm was between the 7th and 6th Line of Ramsay! Galbraith Road is on the Clayton side of Taylor/Clayton Lake and use to join up with Floating Bridge! The two have no connection!
I have a love-hate relationship with IKEA. Whether you’ve just moved into a new place or are planning on renovating, you have to admit that IKEA has just about every piece of furniture you’ll ever need–if you can make it out of the store. I can sit for hours and read their old out- of- print catalogues at home and never get bored. Yet, when I enter that store I have to walk miles through areas I have no interest in. But, as I stroll casually through each department I realize the place is nothing but an obstacle course and somehow I find myself yet in another dead end. A dead end I don’t want to be in.
Do you list your next of kin address as IKEA on official documents and do you dream of Swedish meatballs? I have literally seen people bless themselves before entering those blue and yellow holy grail gates. It’s a well known fact that once you’re inside it’s fairly hard to escape, and once you do; you end up with a lot of things you didn’t even know you needed.I’ve heard customers complain about this same issue at Costco too: “Just came for milk and eggs” and $800 later, I still don’t see the milk and eggs. Sometimes I just like to stand in the IKEA parking lot and watch people try to fit everything into their small cars.
I must argue with the person who wrote that anyone that cannot assemble something from IKEA should go back to kindergarten. When no text is used in assembly instructions this should be the first warning that the bed you just bought that morning is not going to be slept in that night. I am sure whomever else is assembling the same product in another part of the world is having the same dilemma. Exactly what is that little illustrated Swedish man pointing at? Is he eating Salmon with Wheat Pilaf? A word of warning to remember is that your completed furniture is only as good as the “chosen one” who has volunteered to put it together. Welcome to IKEA, the people that sometimes throws in extra instructions, or nuts and bolts to mess with you. How about that Swedish plywood? Or is it really Swedish?
IKEA sells over 16,000 products online, of which they say approximately 9,209 items are now being resold on Kijiji. Half are dresser drawers that are missing knobs which have long fallen off and are lost. Most folks lose the instructions, so you know your end result will look like something conjured up by IKEA hackers working solely with tea lights guiding their way.
IKEA started making homes in Europe in 1996 called “BoKlok”. It was a move to allow first-time home buyers to have a chance at a cheaper place to live. What if the owners of one of these homes divorce? Who gets custody of the Allen wrench? Do they share? Didn’t that Allen wrench once put together the Eiffel Tower?
In the end it’s about who you want to spend the day at IKEA with, and the ultimate purpose of going to IKEA remains just as mysterious as the little dots they put over those very strange names. Even IKEA knows the struggle we mortals face when assembling their furniture! I would love to tell you more jokes about IKEA, but in the end the setup is too long and the final product is probably mediocre.
Yes, IKEA is a wonderful place, and no matter how many times we pay a visit, there always seems to be an endless array of new treasures to discover. Our children no longer want our old sturdy old furniture and antiques and insist on buying new things. I keep telling my kids my furniture was new when I bought it. At the end of the day, one does not simply ‘like’ IKEA – you either live and breathe it, or you don’t speak of it at all. I say everyone’s lips are sealed.
1973-Photo from Joy Sadler Baetz-Dad Norman Sadler owned and operated NT Sadler Ltd out on Highway 29 in Almonte–
Rose Mary SarsfieldSelena Sadler was Marilyn Snedden’s grandmother. George Sadler became a doctor and was the doctor in Clayton from 1904-1917 when he went overseas to care for the wounded in WWI. When he returned he went to Combermere to be the doctor there for the rest of his life.
George Sadler was born in 1875 and he’s likely be about 10 or so in this photo.
He moved to to Clayton in August of 1904 from Craigmount and would remain in the village until 1917. He lived in the house at 1258 Bellamy Mills Road and in 1907 he erected a fine poultry house and in 1910 had a cistern put in.
From – “Whispers from the Past, History and Tales of Clayton” by Rose Mary Sarsfield–If you want to purchase a book please email me at rose@sarsfield.ca or call her at 613-621-9300, or go to the Clayton Store, or Mill Street Books in Almonte.
Darling Township seems to have been mostly a timber area (red & white pine).
Tatlock: In 1864 Tatlock had a post office with James Guthrie as postmaster. Tatlock PO shows in the Historical Atlas for Lanark County
Brightside: Is on the town line between Darling & Lanark Twps. Brightside PO is marked on the in the Historical Atlas also. William Lochead was postmaster in the late 1880s.
White: White PO is showing in the Historical Atlas with roads linking it to Clyde Forks in Lavant Twp and Brightside/Tatlock.
William Caldwell and his wife Margaret McCallum, grandparents of the late T. B. Caldwell, a prominent resident of Lanark Village settled here as well as James McIlraith and his wife Euphemia Stewart. Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Currie of the south corner of Brightside as well as three families from the Stewart clan were residents at the Clatchan. Read–The Clachan – William Smith– The Buchanan Scrapbook
I see pictures of the Floating Bridge in several places bearing a date of 1890.
While it is a good picture of the bridge, the date is absolutely wrong.
First it shows the telephone line. We didn’t have telephones in these parts in 1890. I think 1910 is closer to the correct date.
Also as to the railing on the bridge. My neighbours and myself, helped build the railing shown, and it could be the last one before the bridge was closed in 1944. It could be in the (thirties) with wages at 25 cents or 30 cents an hour/
Rose Mary SarsfieldThe original post attributed to Eldon Ireton I believe did not refer to the above photo, but to one of the Floating bridge over the narrows between Clayton Lake and Taylor lake and was in Lanark township.. This bridge is another bridge in Ramsay Township.
With regards to an article in the book (Ramsay Reflections) recently published dating from 1836-1979 page 41, I beg a small space in your paper.
It concerns the late Joe Baye, his wife and family, Mrs. Baye who died October 5th, 1927, and Mr. Baye who died October 31, 1928. As the Baye’s nearest neighbour, for the first 20 years of my life, I was asked about three years ago for information as to the Baye’s way of life and home etc.
When I contacted Ramsay Residents I was very surprised to see that the Baye history refers to them as residents of Ramsay Township.
I made it clear at that time, that this was a mistake, and to my knowledge it was changed then.
I have absolutely no fault to finish with the ladies who have written the book I except they used the material as they received it.
However the truth is Joe Baye his wife and family never lived in Ramsay Township.
He may have camped along the river between Almonte and Appleton while trapping etc., but it never was a permanent place of abode.
His property comprised about one acre of land, more or less in the eleventh concession of Lanark Township.
He also had access to about half an acre in the twelfth concession, owned by a neighbour, on which he grew potatoes, corn and other vegetables.
It was known as the (Sand Hill) and he was never molested. This land was ploughed and worked by neighbours, and he was always ready to do a kind act in return.
His house, shop and other buildings were In the eleventh concession, and were always in A-1 condition.
Also the famous (Floating Bridge) which did form part of the twelfth concession just near his home is in Lanark Township.
Other books tell this bridge was first built to get people from Halls Mills and Galbraith to Ferguson Falls. This is quite true as it did separate Taylor’s Lake from Clayton Lake at the narrows, and is one mile west of Ramsay Township.
The bridge before it was destroyed was 300 yards long.
As I said before, I have no fault to find with the ladies, who no doubt have spent many hours preparing the book. I would say a job well done.
No doubt this article was printed as received, and was taken as a true story to a lot of people.
However like all my neighbours, who remember what fine people the Baye’s were that this part of the community, and especially the town of Almonte, join with me in remembering them as residents of Lanark Township.
