Women Artists–More on Anna Elexey Duff —Beckwith — Part 2

Photo- Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum from:The Female Artist from Carleton Place That Never Went Viral

Annie Elexey Duff was born in Carleton Place in 1871. Her early life was spent at “Oreno Villa”, the family homestead at Duff’s Bay on the 11th Concession of Beckwith. The Duff family was the last family to have logging rights on the Mississippi. She studied painting and fashion design in New York City in the late 1890’s and spent time working there for Vogue Magazine.

This was a new thing I found—Unknown art she held a patent on. Canadian Patent Office Record, Volume 43, Issues 1-3

ANNIE E. DUFF-

Temptation, Sin and it’s Antidote, 1893, oil on canvas. 7’ x 11’, National Gallery of Canada

In 1893 Duff painted Temptation, Sin and it’s Antidote which she had hoped to showcase at the World’s Columbian Exhibition. However, the work did not arrive in time. The painting was re-named Adam and Eve by the National Gallery of Canada upon its purchase in 1976 CLICK

ADAM AND EVE National Gallery of Canada

1893

Category: 

Later Canadian Art

Artist

Annie E. Duff

Title

Adam and Eve

Date

1893

Medium

Painting

Materials

oil on canvas

Dimensions

205 x 337 x 4.3 cm

Nationality

Canadian

Credit line

Purchased 1976

Accession number

18536

ANNIE E. DUFF —

Woman by the Sea, 1895, oil on canvas. 132.2 x 163.9 cm, National Gallery of Canada

In 1895, Duff painted Woman by the Sea, which was the first painting of maternity in Canada painted by a Canadian female artist, during a time in which female artists in Canada were not yet acknowledged for their contributions. The National Gallery of Canada purchased the work in 1976 in order to showcase Duff’s contribution to the art of Canada CLICK

WOMAN BY THE SEA — National Gallery

1895

Category: 

Later Canadian Art

Artist

Annie E. Duff

Title

Woman by the Sea

Date

1895

Medium

Painting

Materials

oil on canvas

Dimensions

132.2 x 163.9 cm

Nationality

Canadian

Credit line

Purchased 1976

Accession number

18537

Lost Ottawa
June 2, 2016  · 

Lover’s Walk around Parliament Hill (about half way up the cliff from the River). Sketched by Annie Duff from Beckwith Township, who studied art at Ottawa’s Coligny College beginning in 1890.

Coligny Ladies College

CLIPPED FROMThe Ottawa JournalOttawa, Ontario, Canada07 Sep 1889, Sat  •  Page 1

CLIPPED FROMThe Ottawa JournalOttawa, Ontario, Canada05 Jan 1897, Tue  •  Page 3

The CP&BM says that: “After graduation Annie worked at Topley’s Photography Studio on Sparks Street, and later went to New York City where she worked as an illustrator for Vogue Magazine.

William James Topley (1845-1930) produced many of the historic images seen in these pages. For a time he operated the most successful photographic studio in Ottawa, documenting the architecture and social life of the city as it grew from a raw outpost into a suave little capital. In 1875 W.J. Topley broke away from Notman and opened his own establishment – in an extravagant combined studio and residence designed by King Arnoldi at the southeast corner of Metcalfe and Queen Streets. Read more here CLICK

CLIPPED FROMThe Ottawa JournalOttawa, Ontario, Canada20 Jun 1906, Wed  •  Page 4

Mr. Newby dressed as a “Court Jester.” He wore this same costume again for a skating carnival that took place in 1881. (Source: MIKAN 3477362) CLICK here for more Topley Photos

DetailSource

Name:	Annie E Duff
Gender:	Female
Racial or Tribal Origin:	Scottish
Nationality:	Canadian
Marital Status:	Single
Age:	28
Birth Date:	5 Feb 1873
Birth Place:	Ontario
Residence Date:	1901
Province:	Ontario
Residence Place:	Canada
Relation to Head of House:	Daughter
Religion:	Presbyterian
Occupation:	Painter
Can Read:	Y
Can Write:	Y
Can Speak English:	Y
Language:	English
District:	Lanark (South/Sud)
District Number:	81
Sub-District:	Beckwith
Sub-District Number:	2
Dwelling Number:	106
Family Number:	106
Neighbours:	View others on page
Household Members (Name)AgeRelationshipWilliam Duff68HeadElizabeth A. Duff63WifeAnnie E Duff28DaughterDenzoa Duff20DaughterAlexander Duff66Brother

Intro	Canadian, 1873-1955; artist
Was	Artist
From	Canada
Field	Arts
Gender	Female
Birth	1873
Death	1955 (aged 82 years)

CLIPPED FROMThe Ottawa JournalOttawa, Ontario, Canada09 May 1955, Mon  •  Page 28

CLIPPED FROMThe Ottawa CitizenOttawa, Ontario, Canada25 Oct 1918, Fri  •  Page 5

A question to you and your followers is anybody know the names and possible location of this picture.

It says McNeely family, Denyson Duff- Verne Anne Elexy Duff- Bill Jim (or something like that.)

Lynda McNeely Fitzpatrick

The above picture is one of my family. My Great Grandfather , Great Grandmother, Great Aunts, Great Uncle and Grandfather. They are standing in front of their home on Moffat Street, Carleton Place. I spent many a summer with my Great Aunt Lex. I have meet all the above except for Uncle Bill and the Great Grand parents

Jennifer Fenwick Irwin said: “I have to look it up but one of Annie’s sisters married a McNeely and named her children after her sisters, so there was another generation with names like Denysa and Elexey. In fact, Denysa jr. was in here last winter donating stuff and just passed away.

CLIPPED FROMThe Ottawa CitizenOttawa, Ontario, Canada29 May 1950, Mon  •  Page 10

The Female Artist from Carleton Place That Never Went Viral

The Duff Dairy Diphtheria Scare

Orena Villa of Beckwith — Boy do I feel Stupid– Duff Williamson and McNeely Genealogy

Hay Look Me Over! Big Bill Duff

The Cottages of Mississippi Lake — Carleton Place Ontario

art

Bea Gladish — Artist — Looking for some Information for her Granddaughter

Found the Artist–Vera Alice Shaw (Morrison)– Lanark Children’s Haven

Getting the Family Paintings Home– Dr. Harold Box

Hallmark Moments Around Us This Week

Lost Family Art Found Creates A Hallmark Moment

The Wall Mysteries of Lake Ave East -Residential Artists

Mary Bell-Eastlake Almonte Artist- Allan Stanley

Looking for the Artist of this Carleton Place Painting

October 13, 1977 George W. Raeburn of Lake Ave East— Artist and C. P. R. Man

The Mystery of Cross Keys Part 2

On Sunday at Beckwith; the people in an old shanty that was in such a state of ruin that cats and dogs could pass between the logs; and they will neither repair nor provide firewood lest it might make the minister comfortable. And they are seeking a new one from Scotland. Six months later, he records in his diary: “I set out for Beckwith to aid Mr. Buchanan at Sacrament. The barn and all it contained had been burned. This had been used for a church and was erected by the congregation. No steps had been taken to rebuild anything. On Saturday I preached in an old shanty: and the Sunday services, which began at eleven o’clock and lasted till four o’clock in the afternoon, were held in an open field near by, the people having erected a tent for preaching in, using logs in parallel lines for seats.

One hundred umbrellas were used to protect from the sun’s rays. During these years the Buchanans endured many of the discomforts of pioneer life. Long afterward the youngest of the children published under the title “The Pioneer Pastor,” her recollections of her father’s pastorate in Beckwith. She describes the hardships borne by these men from the High lands. Harvesting was beginning when her family arrived. Cutting grain with the old-fashioned sickle and scythe on ground dotted thickly with stumps was slow, wearisome work.

Glengarry Pioneer Museum

Reaping machines, mowing machines, horse rakes and other labor-saving implements now in vogue to lighten the task and multiply a hundred-fold the efficiency of the farmer had not yet been evolved. A cumbrous plow, hard to pull and harder to guide, a V-shaped harrow, alike heavy and unwieldy, a clumsy sled, home-made rakes weighty as iron and sure to blister the hands of the user, forked-stick pitch-forks, and gnarled flails certain to raise bumps on the heads, of unskilled threshers, with two or three scythes and sickles, represented the average farm equipment. Not a grist-mill, saw-mill, factory, shop, school-house, post-office, chimney or stove to be found in Beckwith in those earliest days of its settlement.

Two arm-chairs, made for Dr. and Mrs. Buchanan by Donald Kennedy, were the first in the township. Sawed boards, shingles and plastered walls were luxuries. Split logs furnished the materials for benches, tables, floors and roofs. The first year men carried flour and provisions on their backs from Perth and Brockville. Families subsisted for months on scanty fare. Their homes were shanties, chinked between the logs with wood and mud, often without a window, cold in winter, stifling in summer, uncomfortable always. A hole in the roof let out such smoke as happened to travel in its direction.

And the women bore more than their share of the burden. Besides their care of house and children they worked in the fields all spring and summer, burning brush, logging, planting and reaping. Much of the cooking, washing and mending was done before dawn or after dark while the men slept peacefully. At noon they prepared dinner, ate a bite hastily and hurried back to drudge until the sun went down. Then they got supper, put the youngsters to bed, patched, darned and did a multitude of chores. For them, toiling to better the conditions of their loved ones, never striking for higher wages, sixteen hours of constant labor was a short day. No respite, no vacation, nothing but hard work.

Glengarry Pioneer Museum

The Sabbath was the one breathing-spell in the week. Autumn and winter only varied the style of work. The women carded wool with hand-cards and spun it on small wheels, for stocking-yarn and the weaver’s loom. Knitting was an endless task by the light of the hearth fire or the feeble flicker of a tallow-dip; and everybody wore homespun.

Threshing wheat and oats wth the flail employed the men until good sleighing came. Then the whole neighborhood would go in company to Bytown—now Ottawa— to market their produce. Starting at midnight the line of ox-sleds would reach Richmond about daylight, stop an hour to vest and feed, travel all day and be at Bytown by dark. Next day they’would sell their grain, buy a few necessary articles, travel all night to Richmond and be home the third evening.

At one time fifteen wolves walked past the Buchanan yard, heading for the sheep pen. R attling tin pans and blowing a horn frightened them off. On another occasion two of the girls, going to see a sick woman, were assailed by a fierce wolf on the way back. “He followed us some distance,” says the chronicler, “grew bolder, ran up and took a bite out of my dress, almost pulling me down. My loud exclamation,

‘Begone, you brute,’ and clapping our hands put the impudent fellow to flight. We skipped home in short metre, regardless of sticks, stones and mud holes.

Unhappily, the relations between the old Minister and some of his congregation became, in time, less cordial. Most of the members before coming to Canada had been in communion with the established Church of Scotland—the Auld Kirk. Dr. Buchanan was an adherent of the Secession Church, and strongly opposed to anything like union of Church and State. Besides, after ten years in this rough, new charge, old age was making him less, able to meet all the claims of his scattered congregation.

There was urgent need of a new church building. That enterprise brought to a head all the dissensions and discontent which had been brewing. At first logs were taken out to erect a better church. They lay unused. Finally in 1832 it was determined to put up a stone building. When the walls were nearing completion a meeting of the congregation was called and Dr. Buchanan was requested to join the Auld Kirk (the Established Church) if he expected to preach in the new edifice.

One of his daughters has left her account of what followed, and, whether strictly accurate or not, it is vivid and touching. She writes: “Always a seceder, opposed to the union of church and state, my father positively declined to give up his honest convictions. He asked if they found any fault with his preaching or conduct; all answered, “No, none whatever.” Father then reminded them of his long and arduous services. He said: “I have preached in the open air, in wretched cabins, and in cold school rooms. I have taught day school for years without receiving one penny for my labor. I have spent stormy nights and weary days visiting the pick and dying, walking through swamps and paths that no horse could travel, without any charge for my medical services. Now you wish me, when you propose to have a comfortable house of worship, to sell my principles. That I shall never do. The God that has brought me thus far is able to keep me to the end, and my trust, is in Him.”

These words moved not a few to tears. Others, determined to have their way, continued the discussion. ‘If you join the Kirk,” one man shouted, “you will get into the new building; if you don’t you will eat thin kale.” Father replied to this coarse assault in the language of the Psalmist—“I have been young and now I am old, yet give I never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed, begging bread.” Several of the leaders said: “We were born in the Kirk and we will die in the Kirk.” Some protested against the proceedings. But the opponents of the old minister prevailed, and by the time the stone church was completed, the new minister Rev. John Smith, arrived to occupy its pulpit.

At his own home Dr. Buchanan continued to hold services for the few who were loyal to him; but his bodily strength was, failing, and even th a t small rem nant dwindled away. Two or three years passed, and death claimed him in the 74th year of his age and the 45th of his ministry. He was buried in the old Craig Street cemetery at Perth. Rev. Mr. Bell gave up his own plot there so that the remains of the old clergyman might rest near those of his eldest daughter, Mrs. John Ferguson.

At the new stone church, under the faithful service of Rev. Mr. Smith, there was peace and progress for some years. Then came that conflict which led to the “Disruption” in the Established Church in Scotland, the history of which is familiar. There was an unselfish and heroic side to the fight against the claims of ‘Heritors’ and other secular powers to force Ministers into the charge of Churches against the wishes of the congregation. Almost four hundred ministers walked out of the General Assembly of the Church, protesting against this interference in Church matters by secular powers. They knew that in so doing they were sacrificing their comfortable manses, their glebes and their assured stipends. In cold cash this meant a yearly loss equivalent to more th an $1,000,000 today.

From that sacrifice and secession arose the Free Church of Scotland. The conflict on the principle involved spread to Canada. They took their Church politics seriously, those Presbyterians of a century ago.

How the Beckwith Scotch Turned Defeat into Victory

Tales of Beckwith — Edward Kidd 11 Years Old

The Man who Disappeared– Stories of Dr. G. E. Kidd

The Spirit of the 7th Line

The Beckwith Baptist Church

The Gnarled Beckwith Oak

So Where is that Gnarled Oak in Beckwith?

The Manse on the 7th Line of Beckwith

Update on The Manse in Beckwith

Beckwith Mystery — Anyone Remember a Meteor Coming Down on the 7th Line?

A Trip Along the Ramsay Sixth Line –W.J. Burns

The Haunted Canoe from the Jock River

The Mystery of Cross Keys –Part 1

Church cross keys

Four miles beyond Carleton Place on the Franktown highway is an interesting road which the old timers called the “Cross Keys.” It is the line between the sixth and seventh concessions of the township of Beckwith. It runs easterly, a mile or so between quiet homesteads; then comes to a dead end. A heavy cedar log fence bars further progress. There, inside the farm fence, near the roadside, are the crumbling walls of a ruined church.No one knows why they calledit Cross Keys but the corner was once called Ladies Corners.

Their story may interest those who love the records of old times in our county of Lanark. In 1819 some hundreds of Highland Scots, mostly from Perthshire, sailed from their home land in the ships Sophia, Curlew and Jean, and settled in the township of Beckwith. It is fairly certain that the last stage of their journey from Montreal was by way of Nepean and the new road through Richmond Village which the foxbitten Duke of that name had planned.

It led to Franktown—named after Col. Francis Cockburn, companion on that walk from Perth to Richmond Village which ended so tragically in the Duke’s death from hydrophobia in Chapman’s shanty near the Richmond road. Today a cairn at the roadside reminds the passer-by of that strange death of one of Canada’s governors. read-The Haunted Canoe from the Jock River

The new settlers were located in the usual way, and entered into the hard but hopeful life of settlers in the Upper Canada bush. Twenty miles of swamp and forest separated them from Perth, the capital of a community of retired army officers and discharged soldiers, and of Scotch immigrants, mostly of the mechanic class.

There, since 1817, Rev. William Bell had ministered to a Presbyterian congregation, and from that centre had travelled far and wide on missionary journeys. After the arrival of the Beckwith highlanders, he went there occasionally to preach and to baptize the children. He urged them to get a minister of their own, and prepared a petition to the Presbytery in Edinburgh for this purpose. He wrote, in 1820, enclosing this petition:—

“The petitioners are mostly from Perthshire. A minister who can preach in Gaelic will be very comfortable A fine gentleman’ will not suit the people here. A plain, pious and diligent minister is the one they want. A bond I sent to them has been returned with 54 names subscribed, each of them pledging two bushels of wheat yearly. Money for the last twelve months has almost disappeared, so that barter is the only means by which business can be transacted. People have now, however, plenty to eat.

Disputes on the subject of the KIRK have not yet been introduced among us. In the fall of 1821 the Beckwith people formally asked the Presbytery of Edinburgh to send them a Minister. A ‘Call’ was prepared, signed by nearly all the adults and forwarded in due course to Scotland. This interesting document stipulated that the man chosen must be:

“Of Godly carriage” and conversation, well qualified to expound the Scriptures, gifted in prayer, SKILLED IN THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE, and able to preach in Gaelic and English. For one who could satisfy these requirements the congregation would guarantee a yearly stipend of £75, about $300 in 1821. The call was answered and Rev. George Buchanan, a graduate in medicine of Edinburgh University and Licentiate of the Associated (Presbyterian) Synod consented to come to this rough field of labor in the new world.

His daughter writes of him that—“Although sixty years old his eye was not dimmed nor his natural strength abated. Gaelic and English he spoke with equal readiness, while scarcely less familiar with Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Of medium height and compact build, vigorous in mind and body, brisk in movement and pleasing in address. With his wife and ten children he sailed from Greenock in May, 1822, in the good ship the Earl of Buckinghamshire which had in previous years brought out hundreds of settlers for North Lanark. An ocean voyage of 38 days brought the travellers to Quebec. Thence part of the route was by water; and many a weary mile by land over roads and through swamps almost impassable.

From Brockville the tiring journey in wagons heavily loaded with furniture and supplies lasted alnost a week, ending at Franktown. McKim’s log tavern and three shanties in a patch of half cleared ground made up that so called village. More than one of the younger Buchanans tearfully begged their parents to be taken back to Scotland. No abode awaited them.

James Wall, a big-hearted Irishm and not a Presbyterian—offered them the use of a small log shack he had just put up; and in it the new Minister’s family lived for six weeks. It had one room, and neither door nor window. Quilts and blankets served as doors and partitions. Cooking was done on the flat stone which served as a hearth in the fireplace. More smoke stayed inside than found its way out. Millions of mosquitoes and black flies added to their discomfort. Wolves prowled around the house in the darkness, uttering dismal howls.

Their first Sabbath was clear and bright and a crowd gathered from far and near to the open air service. A huge tree had been cut down, the stump of which, sawed off straight, sufficed for a pulpit. First in English; then, after an intermisson, in Gaelic, Mr. Buchanan preached to his congregation. And aged men and women, not a few, shed tears of joy to hear the gospel again in the language of their native glens.

Children baptised at that time bore names still familiar in the district:

Peter Stewart, James McDiarmid, Alexander Campbell, Daniel Ferguson, Robert Scott, Mary Carmichael, Janet Cram: These appear on the first page of the Church Register of baptisms. And the congregation was Scottish through and through: Carmichael, Kennedy, Dewar, Ferguson, Stewart, Anderson, McGregor, McEwen, Cram, McArthur, McTavish, Snclair, McLaren are characteristic names among the heads of families which composed th at congregation of one hundred and fifteen years ago

Dr. Buchanan selected for his home lot 14 in the 7th Concession of Beckwith—on the road known as the Cross Keys. The family lived six weeks in Wall’s shack. Then, harvesting finished, the people turned out in force, cut logs, and built a large shanty for their minister. They roofed it with troughs, laid a big flat stone against the wall for a chimney, left a space at the ridge for smoke to escape, smoothed one side of split logs for the floor, and put in a door and two windows.

There was no lumber for partitions, so curtains were used to divide the interior. And this was the Beckwith Manse for about a year. That winter men were hired to clear some of the land and take out timber for a new house which was ready by September, 1823. It had plank floors, a stone chimney, several rooms and a cellar.

A rude building had been put up for church services. For years there was ” little” improvement in this respect.

Today all that remains is a sign hidden by the trees and the remains of scattered stone.

The Spirit of the 7th Line

The Beckwith Baptist Church

The Gnarled Beckwith Oak

So Where is that Gnarled Oak in Beckwith?

The Manse on the 7th Line of Beckwith

Update on The Manse in Beckwith

Beckwith Mystery — Anyone Remember a Meteor Coming Down on the 7th Line?

A Trip Along the Ramsay Sixth Line –W.J. Burns

The Haunted Canoe from the Jock River

Thanks to Donna she sent some more info on our cover photo today. Know your ancestors thanks to Donna Mcfarlane
This is the Rev. James Carmichael who preached one of the last sermons at the old church on the Beckwith Township 7th line….mentioned in one of your articles
jhe preached at the seventh line of Beckwith as a visiting minister,,,,, he was at the church in the photo for over 50 years it is a community called Strange in York…
The on line pamphlet regarding his 50 years as minister to that church… and on pager 43 it refers to his place of birth as Beckwith

The Goodwood Rural Telephone Company

Photo adin daigle

In 1915 the Carleton Place municipal waterworks system which was completed in the previous year, went into operation.  Electric lights were installed in the town’s schools.  The Hawthorne Woollen Mill, bought by Charles W. Bates and Richard Thomson, was re-opened and re-equipped to meet war demands.

War news and war service work dominated the local scene.  There were many district recruits joining the armed forces, reports of heavy casualties, the furnishing of a motor ambulance and the making of Red Cross Society supplies, industrial work on government orders, increase in price levels and some food restrictions.

CLIPPED FROM
The Weekly British Whig
Kingston, Ontario, Canada20 Sep 1915, Mon  •  Page 7

The Mississippi Golf Club was formed and acquired the old Patterson farm and stone farmhouse on the Appleton road.

The Goodwood Rural Telephone Company was organized.  By 1915 it had installed 1,100 poles and had contracts for installing forty-four miles of lines in Beckwith and in the west part of Goulbourn township. It was initially done through the Carleton Place Board of Trade with various meetings held in the Carleton Place Town Hall with the villages of Franktown and Ashton.Quickly a rivalry between Carleton Place and Franktown arose (southern and northern Beckwith) and two telephone companies began. Good wood and the Beckwith and Montague Rural Telephone Company. They both sold out to Bell in 1961.It was not until the 1960s that telephone lines were run to serve the cottages along Lake Park.

CLIPPED FROM
The Lanark Era
Lanark, Ontario, Canada30 Jun 1915, Wed  •  Page 4

CLIPPED FROM
The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada26 Oct 1933, Thu  •  Page 15

CLIPPED FROM
The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada11 Aug 1950, Fri  •  Page 28

Mary Cook and her Telephone Pin

Working on the Telephone Lines — Electrocution at Carleton Place

The Devil’s Telephone? The Ouija Board

Smiths Falls in 1955–3,031 Telephones!!

Telephone Tales from 569 South Street

For the Love of a Telephone Table

The Day the Balderson Telephone Co Disappeared

The Telephone and its History in Almonte

But I Can’t Spend my Telephone Money!

Number Please? Carleton Place

Where Did the 257 Telephone Exchange Come From in Carleton Place?

Jenny, Jenny, Who Can I Turn To?

The Telephone and its History in Almonte

Franktown Wedding Show June 22,2022

A big thank you to everyone who participated in the Luncheon & Bridal Fashion Show on Saturday June 25th at Brunton Hall in Blacks Corners. “Brides of St James & Friends”

Incredible gowns spanning the years 1909 to 2021 were presented, by the models who did a fantastic job of showcasing the gowns. From all accounts, everyone had a great time.

A huge THANK YOU to Beckwith Township who Hosted this event, celebrating the 200th Anniversary of St James, Franktown.– Cora Nolan

Author’s Note… so sad I missed this..:(

Photos by Sandra Powell who also did all the music for the show.

More then 34 vintage wedding gowns. Thanks again Sandra for the photos

Please play while looking at the photos..

All photos from St James Franktown

Flashback to 1941 and the wedding photo of Evelyn Currie and Eddie Campbell, shown with her parents George and Annie Currie. They were married in St. James Franktown.
(If anyone has photos that are related to St. James please let Janice Tennant Campbell know. Thanks!)

St James Franktown
Flashback Friday – The Wedding of Mid Currie and Joe Conlon in 1952

Flashback Friday – The Wedding of Mid Currie and Joe Conlon in 1952

Memories of a Wedding Dress — Lisa Franceschi Schnaidt

She Said Yes to her Grandmother’s Dress

1. The Wedding of Rosanna Ouellette
2. The Engagement of Rosanna Ouelette
3. The Wedding of Stanley Alexander Jackson and Margaret Elizabeth Forbes
4. The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 15- Code Family– Love and Runaway Marriages
5. If You Can’t Wear a Princess Dress on Monday — Then When Can You?
6. An “Absolutely Fabulous” White Wedding Day — May 19
7. Odd Ironic Wedding Stories –Or it was Almost Lonely Valley
8. Marriage Records Lanark County, Ontario, Canada–
9. Names Names NamesTill Death Do Us Part in Lanark County?
10. Taming of the Beckwith Shrew?
11. A Smith’s Falls “Frustrated Young Love’s Dream” Purdy vs Lenahan
12. Going to the Chapel? Hold on– Not so Fast!
13. Another Episode in Spinsterdom–The Armour Sisters of Perth
14. She Came Back! A Ghost Divorce Story
15. Slander You Say in Hopetown? Divorce in Rosetta?
16. Go Ask Alice – The Saga of a Personal Ad Divorce

What Happened to Samuel McEachan Who Ran Away from Beckwith?

CLIPPED FROM
The Kingston Whig-Standard
Kingston, Ontario, Canada11 Mar 1898, Fri  •  Page 4

I love finding a newspaper clipping and then trying to piece their life together. Here is what I found:

Samuel MacEachen Sr. who ran away from Beckwith

Samuel MacEachen, a native of Beckwith, Canada, who settled in North Scranton in the late 1870s, died in 1927 at the age of 82. The elder MacEachen had had wide experience as a gold prospector. He engaged in the drilling business there and before the turn of the century drilled hundreds of wells in Scranton. He was an associate of T. J. Foster, founder of the International Correspondence Schools, and was said to have been largely responsible for persuading Mr. Foster to transfer the headquarters of his mining publication. The Colliery Engineer, from the lower anthracite field to Scranton. The two men were at one time partners in the Standard Drilling Co. and son Sam MacEachen Jr. had been a salesman throughout most of his life.

CLIPPED FROM
The Times-Tribune
Scranton, Pennsylvania23 Oct 1940, Wed  •  Page 17

Samuel MacEachen who ran away- Death Info

Name:	Samuel MacEachen
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Death Age:	82
Birth Date:	abt 1845
Birth Place:	Canada
Death Date:	25 Mar 1927
Death Place:	Scranton, Lackawanna, Pennsylvania, USA
Father:	Samuel MacEachen
Mother:	Anna MacEachen
Spouse:	Ama Mc Tanmany

Died at age 82. Samuel was a widower.

Parents:
Samuel MacEachen.
Anna Unknown.

Married Anna McTamney.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Department of Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Certificate of Death #31930. Cemetery: Cathedral Cemetery. Date of Burial: March 28, 1927. Informant on death certificate: Samuel MacEachen, 817 Monroe Avenue.

---

Family Members

Spouse

• Anna McTamney MacEachen1841–1908

Children

• Daniel H. MacEachen1876–1954
• Samuel Francis MacEachen1884–1958

So What Happened to Doris V Mason? Runaways

The Runaway Wife of Carleton Place

The Thomas Alfred Code Journal – Letters-Part 15- Code Family– Love and Runaway Marriages

The Runaway Bridesmaid From Rosebank to Huntley

Wild Horses Could Not Drag Me Away

Some Halloween Haunts in Our Area

Friday Night October 29…. its all back up!!!

PLEASE NOTE due to the storm this week, this display got totaled. Hopefully it will be up by Saturday

Perry, Steph and Sophia have something new this year. A Halloween extravaganza up this week. 267 Stonewood Drive, Carleton Place every night from 6-9pm (off the Beckwith 9th line)– It’s off Country Lane estates drive,,. there is no light so drive slowly and go right to the end of the road. You can’t miss it.Halloween Town comes to the area..PLEASE do not go on the GRASS.. it would be appreciated.

PM me Linda Seccaspina for anything else we should add.. Happy Halloween

october 27–If you went to 267 Stonewood Drive, Carleton Place last night to see the big Halloween display Steph said the storm yesterday and wind took its toll so according to Steph -” He’s got a lot of work out there to do!” so be patient

Downtown Carleton Place– The Downtown Carleton Place scarecrow stroll starts this sunday and goes till Halloween night !!!

The Carleton Place Recreation & Culture Department is pleased to present the 2nd annual Carleton Place Halloween Scavenger Hunt
Grab a map, or online link, and travel through our Carleton Place neighbourhoods to participate in the scavenger hunt.
The Carleton Place Neighbourhood Halloween Scavenger Hunt will be taking place on October 30th & 31st.
Maps and links will be available starting October 29th, 2021. Interested participants can access Scavenger Hunt maps in the following ways:
-Pick up a paper copy of the map outside of the Carleton Place Arena (75 Neelin St) starting Friday October 29th at 10:00am,
-On the Recreation and Culture Department Facebook Page starting Friday October 29th at 10:00am,
-On the Town of Carleton Place website: www.carletonplace.ca starting Friday October 29th at 10:00am
Participants are reminded to remain on the sidewalk/street while participating in the Scavenger Hunt.
For more information, please contact Jessica Hansen: jhansen@carletonplace.ca / 613-257-1690

Haunted House on George Street Carleton Place

A house of Zombies or Witches #TheHauntedHouseOnGeorgeSt

Take a picture with the Hocus Pocus Sanderson Sisters at Springside Hall on Lake Ave East.. Remember to #supportlocal Photo by John Rayner and Family:0

4th Annual Carleton Place Pumpkin Parade! Monday November 1st from 6:00-7:30 PM, Pumpkin Drop Off and Contest Entry 5-6 PM
What are you doing the night after Halloween? Don’t throw out those pumpkins just yet! Bring your jack-o-lanterns for display to our FREE all ages event! Together we’ll light up the paths at Carleton Junction (beside Wool Growers & behind the Carleton Place Police and Fire Stations) Parking off of Lansdowne Ave. and side streets where permitted.
Monday November 1st! Come out and enjoy the pumpkins of Carleton Place, in an event led by the Carleton Place & District Youth Centre staff and volunteers.
ENTER YOUR PUMPKIN FOR A CHANCE TO WIN! Drop off your carved pumpkin with event organizers between 5-6pm to be judged in our Pumpkin Carving Contest! Local personalities will be judging designs at 6:30 pm with the winners being announced at 7:00 pm.
LED Battery Tea Lights will be provided for your pumpkin(s).
Hot chocolate and popcorn will be for sale to help raise funds for CP Youth Centre!
Pumpkins will be composted after the event.
Mask wearing and physical distancing encouraged. Please so kind as to wear a mask and to try to maintain distance when approaching staff and volunteers.
cpyouthcentre.org
https://www.facebook.com/events/1788768134657193/

PLEASE STAY SAFE!

This is from Jeff Maguire, from The Carleton Place Sister City Committee

Good Morning Everyone:

Jason Collins, president of the Franklin and Williamson County Sister City Board, arrived safely in Carleton Place this morning and Ralph Shaw loaded the 2021 Giant Pumpkin for Saturday’s Pumpkinfest in our American Sister City for the journey south. As you will see in the attached photos there has never been a better fit. It went onto the bed of Jason’s rental truck with about three inches to spare on each side. Ralph and I were amazed! We’ve never seen anything quite like it. A perfect fit!! This one isn’t orange/yellow in colour but more between brownish/green.

Ralph calls this “The COVID Pumpkin. It’s a little sick!” I love that! But in all honesty it is such a nice shape and size that the colour seems immaterial somehow. Thank you Jason for coming to Carleton Place and picking up the pumpkin. It wouldn’t have gone south without you and we appreciate you taking the time to carry out this important task. It was so nice to meet you! A bit of a “flying visit” Jason but I know you enjoyed visiting CP, briefly. Please bring your wife next time and stay longer! Safe travels tomorrow on your long drive back to Tennessee from the Thousand Islands.

Thanks Ralph for all your efforts in securing and managing another real beauty. Awesome Ralph! Thank you are well to our members Nancy Code-Miller (vice-chair) and Kathy Maguire for taking part today in the rain and cold. NOT a nice day here, to say the least! It was much warmer for all of us in the restaurant at lunch. Thank you as well to Amanda Charania, Joanne Henderson and the Town of Carleton Place for all of the nice souvenir items they were good enough to provide for our special guest Jason today.

Good to see you this afternoon at the Chamber office Jackie. Sorry we missed you at the Town Hall Doug. But Jason has left you a little something courtesy of Mayor Moore in Franklin. To Jackie and Kate Murray at the BIA, I’m sorry the pumpkin couldn’t be displayed downtown this year but getting it to Franklin was our first priority this time after the lost year in 2020 due to COVID. To our Franklin friends, we are now looking forward to hearing how Pumpkinfest goes on Saturday. Wish we could be there! Maybe next year? (Send photos please!)

BEST WISHES,Jeff Maguire,Chair,The Carleton Place Sister City Committee

Anyone Know About This? Via Dolorosa

Thank you for not trespassing.

If you read some of Daniel Keating’s rules on Abandoned – Ottawa/Gatineau & The Valley

Trespassing is not considered appropriate. It is understood that if we are alerted by a property owner about an area that is owned by them that we will remove your post.We must keep the integrity of the location intact for those that wish to view later.7. Absolutely no vandalism or theft from properties is condoned. Please keep these beautifully abandoned properties in their slowly decaying state.

Linda,

You don’t know me but I follow your posts in the various groups. I live in Beckwith Township and often take rides around the neighborhood. On one such ride I saw this on the side of the road on an old fence. It is located on the Brunton Side Rd. further along where the Beckwith /Montague border is. There is a farm opposite side with a large wooden gateway with a skull and some other stuff (also cool Lol)

Just wondering if you could shed some light on the significance of it relating to the area it is located. I took the photo of the Cross several yrs ago and a friend of mine recently jumped the fence and took the second photo. He did not want to venture any further inside the property as he was alone and probably trespassing. We know it’s religious significance just curious who owns the site etc etc. Any help solving this mystery would be much appreciated. Thanks.

Can anyone help?

The Via Dolorosa (Latin for “Sorrowful Way”, often translated “Way of Suffering”; Hebrew: ויה דולורוזה; Arabic: طريق الآلام‎) is a processional route in the Old City of Jerusalem. It represents the path that Jesus would have taken, forced by the Roman soldiers, on the way to his crucifixion. The winding route from the former Antonia Fortress to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — a distance of about 600 metres (2,000 feet)— is a celebrated place of Christian pilgrimage. The current route has been established since the 18th century, replacing various earlier versions. It is today marked by nine Stations of the Cross; there have been fourteen stations since the late 15th century, with the remaining five stations being inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Wikipedia click here

I assume this is a nature walk for the stations of the cross.. I hope someone knows something about it.But please respect it and keep it safe.

Linda

Have you Ever Seen the Praying Station? The Buchanan Scrapbooks

The Mysterious 5th Line ?????

The Spirit of the 7th Line

Beckwith Mystery — Anyone Remember a Meteor Coming Down on the 7th Line?

The Gnarled Beckwith Oak

So Where is that Gnarled Oak in Beckwith?

Beckwith Schools 1905

A little log school house traditionally has been the first school of many prominent persons in the professions, agriculture and business.  Like others of the province and nation, Lanark county’s humble early schools, despite their disadvantages, and aided by the family backgrounds of their students and teachers, filled this role well.  For a typical early list of eastern Ontario rural and village teachers, Beckwith township’s teachers of 1855 may be taken.  In order of school sections they were:

1U (Gillies) Alex McKay; 2 (Franktown) John Sinclair; 3 (Coocoo’s Nest) Wm. Kidd; 4 (Prospect) Donald McDiarmid; 5U (Tennyson) Donald Cameron; 5 (7^th Line E.) Alex Armstrong; 6 (The Derry) Duncan McDiarmid; 7 (9^th Line W.) Elizabeth James; 8 (9^th Line E.) Elizabeth Murdock; 9 (11^th Line E.) Fleming May; 10 (Scotch Corners) Helen Johnston; 11 (Carleton Place) Margaret Bell; 12U (with S.S.11 Goulbourn) Wm. McEwen.

A glimpse of rural schools of about fifty years ago may be gained in extracts from Lanark school inspector F. L. Michell’s reports of 1905 on Beckwith township schools:

“No 2 (Franktown) – The school suffers greatly from that evil so prevalent in our schools, irregularity of attendance.  School work is well done in the junior grades but unsatisfactory in senior grades.  The grounds are rough and not fenced along the road.

No. 3 (Cuckoo’s Nest) – The school house is small and worn out.  Doing excellent work under disadvantages.

No. 4 (Prospect) – An excellent school property.  Attendance is very large.  The old useless well should be filled in.

No. 5 (7^th Line East) – Always kept in first class condition.  The school work is excellent.  The attendance is small, but few schools in the county have to their credit a larger number of graduates who have taken prominent positions in our land.

No. 5U (7^th Line West) – This is also one of our banner schools.

No. 6 (The Derry) – This is also an excellent section, and like No. 5 it has sent out numerous young people to lives of usefulness.  Attendance is very small.  The school work is excellent.

No. 7 (9^th Line West) – A good site and in fine condition.  The school work was not up to average.

No. 8 (9^th Line East) – An excellent new school house, and work well done.

No. 9 (11^th Line East) – One of the richest sections of the county.  There is no library.  The school ranks excellent.

No. 14 (11^th Line West) – Some small repairs are needed.  The school work is generally good.”

School sections in Beckwith township which had their first teachers in the 1820’s about the same time as Carleton Place were those of the Derry and Franktown. Read –Beckwith One Room Schools– Leona Kidd

Beckwith One Room Schools– Leona Kidd

Beckwith Public School-Alternative School– Graduates 1995

Outhouses Need to Be Cleaned– Conditions of Our Rural School– 1897

The Fight Over One Room Schools in 1965!

Ladies & Gentlemen- Your School Teachers of Lanark County 1898

“Teachester” Munro and the S.S. No. 9 Beckwith 11th Line East School

Looking for Photos of ‘The Castle’ in Ashton

In the books that were donated I have come across some interesting information about a home that was once in Ashton that was called, “The Castle”. It was believed to be build by Mr. Archie Blair and was an imposing 3 storey, 14 room frame bulding painted white.

It had a high roof with four gables and the surrounding verandahs were supported by broad pillars. Over the large hospitable French doors was a very ornate fanlight. Mr. Blair operated a shoemaking business over at the Forester’s Hall and had two sons: Dr. Blair and Jack Blair.

The imposing home was destroyed by fire. Living there at the time of the fire was Mrs. Archie Blair, her sisters Tina and Jessie McEwen and a brother Sandy McEwen. Sandy was in bed with a broken hip when the fire broke out at noon hour. Hilton Fleming was at his home nearby for his midday meal, noticed the smoke and realized that Sandy was upstairs and helpless scaled two fences and enetered the burning building. He was able to snatch Sandy in his arms and head for safety. Sandy kept shouting for his pants, but Mr. Fleming just screamed back ” to hell with your pants’ as he carried him to the safety of the Forrester’s Hall. The hall later was a residence owned by Mr. Slade.

RALPH WALLACE BURTON OIL ON BOARD Grey Wet November Day” Ashton, Ontario

with files from the book donations “Country Tales” Donated by- Ed and Shirley (Catherine) Simpson

CLIPPED FROM
The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada10 Jul 1942, Fri  •  Page 12

The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada30 Dec 1925, Wed  •  Page 2

CLIPPED FROM
The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada27 May 1929, Mon  •  Page 2

Name:	Archibald Blair
Marriage Date:	4 Jan 1870
Marriage Place:	Lanark County, Ontario, Canada
Spouse:	Mary McEwen

1871 census

Name:	Archibald Blair
Gender:	Male
Marital Status:	Married
Widowed:	M
Origin:	Irish
Age:	24
Birth Date:	1847
Birth Place:	Ontario
Residence Place:	Goulburn, Carleton, Ontario
District Number:	78
Subdistrict:	d
Division:	02
Religion:	Weslyan Methodist
Occupation:	Shoe Maker
Family Number:	177
Neighbours:	View others on page
Household MembersAgeArchibald Blair24Mary Blair20

CLIPPED FROM
The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada30 Mar 1935, Sat  •  Page 46

The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada19 Feb 1897, Fri  •  Page 5

Memories of Ashton Station Road –Ashton Feed Mill –Jennifer Fenwick Irwin Photos

1. Wind Storm in Ashton- Heath Ridge Farms 1976 
2. Dust on the Wind –Ashton Social Notes 1887-1897 Names Names Names
3. Another Lanark County “Murdoch Mystery” –Elfreda Drummond of Ashton
4. When Trains Crash —Ashton Train Accident 1950
5. Mrs Crigger’s House in Ashton?
6. The Ashton Hotel– Questions Questions Flemmings and McFarlanes
7. McFarlanes –Stewart’s Fire– and Other Things in Ashton
8. Somewhere in Ashton-The Ashton Curmudgeon
9. The Ashton Funeral to end all Funerals
10. Did Anyone Ever Have Fun in Ashton?
11. Ashton 101
12. Did Anyone Have Fun in Ashton? Part 2- The Fleming House 
13. How to Catch a Pigeon in Ashton
14. The Ashton Carleton Place Car Theft Ring
15. Did Samuel Pittard of Ashton Murder His Wife?
16. Good Old Lanark County Music–From the 70s to now
17. The John Shore House
18. Jenkins: Ashton’s log and mortar-chinked history meets modern times