Documenting Winnifred McRostie –Janet Stewart

Janet Stewart· 

I power-washed The Shack (again) today and this was revealed! Winnie McRostie must have etched this in the metal siding on the back of our ‘hobby house’ when she was a child…80 years ago(?)

Update-the mystery continues. Winnie was born in 1903. The siding was installed mo earlier than the 1940’s…she’d have been an adult by then, and as we know, she was a strict school teacher…unlikely to deface the siding in this way…hmmmm

Joan Halpenny

LOL…can’t imagine she would ever do that!

Janet Stewart

Joan alternate explanations?

Anne Turner

The siding was put on in the early 70s and there is no way she’d deface it. Nice to hear your description of her, Trina, . So right!

David Robertson

Wow .. lol … the siding looks like aluminum siding which was popular from the 1940’s to early 1970’s in Canada .. it would be interesting to know when that siding was installed.. I imagine it was installed for less maintenance .. It also would sure be interesting at what age she carved that into the siding.. I am a bit surprised as I could not see her doing that but obviously she decided to make to record her presence .. I wish she would have added a date as that would have been interesting.. Winnie was born in 1903 so if the siding was from the 1940’s to 1970’s she would fairly old when that was carved .. tahnks for sharing

Joan Halpenny

I remember when the siding was added so she was definitely an adult then.

Janet Stewart

Today we hosted Anne Turner (who came up from Kingston for the visit) – granddaughter of Fred and Eliza McRostie who purchased The Shack in 1916 (original owner/builder yet to be uncovered).

They had three children one of them being the infamous Winnie whom we have come to know through the stories…she was Anne’s Aunt.

Originally a hunting camp (ducks hang out in the rice fields on the other side of the lake), many improvements were made by various family members over the years. Winnie kept the place in pristine condition as her summer home when she inherited it in 1948 through to 2000 when she died at the age of 97.

The next chapter of the story is a sad one and we could see that Anne was still very upset that the house had been sold out of the family in 2001 and fallen into disrepair since then. She had always expected her grandchildren to grow up with the same wonderful memories that she has of the place

Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum

The point at the lower end of Lake Park has had the name of Lookout Point for many years, and alternatively has been called Hammond’s Point and McRostie’s Point after cottage owners of the past fifty years. The bay and mainland shore behind it have been called Duff’s Bay and Duff’s Shore for the other William Duff and his family (Little Bill Duff) who lived there from the 1840’s.

Howard Morton Brown– summer cottages– Photo- Linda Seccaspina 2015

Collecting Carleton Place
June 12, 2019
·
#17: Central School, c.1962 ( where our post office is today)
John Edwards
Great photo. Lack of awareness and lack of our own cultural confidence is what causes destruction of our built heritage. Unfortunately, it still is happening. I remember teachers such as Winnie McRostie and Elsie Gardiner, who both taught at Central, who taught us about our proud Valley history. Not enough were listening

Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum 

This photo was taken in June of 1951. A teacher’s tea was held at Waves Inn on Franktown Road in honour of Mrs. Malloy who was retiring and Miss Cameron who was geting married.

Front Row (l-r): Margaret Galvin, Margaret Sturgeon, Iris Cameron, J.D. McAdam (Principal), Mary Malloy, Annie Anderson, Olive Robertson

Back Row (l-r): Dorothy Craig, Frances Churchill, Sadie Chamney, Janet Menzies, Hilda Cram, Alton Cassidy, Hector Dallamore (Music), Marray Kirkpatrick, Mary Cummings, Vivian Leach, Winnie McRostie, Verna Burnie, Stella McDiarmid, Leita Andison

David Robertson

I have many very fond memories of Miss McRostie.. I did a couple of jobs around her house as a kid and as with Bill Brunton payment was her famous shortbread cookies and a quarter ( I am older than Bill so pay a little less in my day) .. I used to go for math tutoring with Winnie and at the end of each lesson out came the shortbread cookies that were packed in her pantry in a black Magic or Moir’s chocolate box.. Winnie would usually give us 1 cookie as she did not want to spoil our dinner…. When I went to College, I would come for the weekend and if Winnie new I has home she often would stop over late Sunday morning (after church) with guess what shortbread cookies in a chocolate box for me to take back to Kingston. The other thing she will be remembered for is her love of stray cats.. She often would feed any stray cat in the neighborhood… After I graduated from college in Kingston , my first job was in Kingston.. As I walked home one night from work in Kingston, I heard this voice that was very familiar, so I walked around the corner of this small 3 storey apartment building to investigate.. I could not believe my eyes there was Miss Mcrostie trying to feed a stray cat.. She was visiting a friend at this building in Kingston and somehow befriended a Kingston stray cat. The next time I was home over comes Winnie with another box of shortbread cookies for me to take back to Kingston. I certainly miss Winnie McRostie. I have tried to make her cookies myself and I could never get it right .. Winnie shortbread cookies were old style Scottish shortbread about an inch think and cut into small rectangle shapes. PS: I never was introduced to her ruler.. I guess I was just good

Steven Anderson

She helped me with math and English when I was a wee lad. Our neighbor for first years of my life. Always had fresh baked cookies. When ever asked what was her secret to growing old and healthy. Her answer was I only drink boiled water. Lovely old sole.

Brenda Mattey

She was an amazing lady.

She would hand out homemade fudge on Halloween!

Paul Anthony Percy

She helped me with math sweet lady

Kelly Sherrard

She used to tutor me in math. Play me the piano on a break or go for a walk around the lake when she was at the cottage. Always loved spending time with her.

Caroline Anderson

Loved her, loved going to both her house and cottage for one whole year of math.

Gail Johnson

She taught my son in math for a free hair wash and sent him to the maple leaf dairy for cookies and asked for the change but was careful not to give him 2 didn’t want to ruin his supper

Janet Stewart

We now own her cottage on Mississippi Lake. We bought it ‘as is’ – full of her old treasures, and have since come to know her nieces Anne and Joan.  Thank you for sharing these memories here.

Julie Carey

I lived on Moffatt street as I kid just 2 doors down and went to Carambeck. Mrs.McRostie was my favourite person. Her fudge was the best! She made it at Halloween for all the kids. Kids and parents came for blocks for that homemade fudge. She was an amazing person who’s door was always open to anyone who needed it. 

Colleen Deschamp

I went to St.Mary’s and she would often be a substitute teacher. Nice lady-She had the best Halloween candy lived on Moffatt St. We would race to that side of town for her fudge.

Leslie Garagan

She tutored me in math. Grade 4, many many years ago but I can still picture her kitchen and smell the freshly baked cookies when I entered. More importantly She taught me to love math. I think of her every time I pass her house.

Bill Conall

From Miss Galvi to Miss McCrostie was quite a transition, though both of them were adept with the wooden ruler.

Corrie Lang

Her cottage is at the very end of Lake Park road.

It still stands

Ross Nichols

I remember Miss MacRostie clearly. For years I would run in to her we talked, she was a sweet little lady. In the classroom you did not cross her, back then The teacher had a prerogative of sending you to the principal or dealing with disciplinary problems. She never sent anybody to the principals office. Most pupils in her crosshairs would’ve preferred the principal over her. Lol

Andrea Nephin

Miss McRostie was my Grade 2 teacher @ Central School, taught both my parents & was great friends with my grandmother,Winnifred Armour, also a former teacher in a 1 room schoolhouse.

Ginny Huether

I only knew the sweet Miss McCrostie , as a neighbour . She did love to bake, and Halloween everyone went to her house looking for her fudge and some years she would make a really good toffee !

Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum · 

Elizabeth Beggs McRostie posed for a formal winter portrait at the G.E. Willis studio. It was located in the Bell Block on Bridge Street and in operation from 1884 to 1896. Eliza grew up in Watson’s Corners, worked as a seamstress, and in 1902 married Fred McRostie, who ran a grocery store here in town at the corner of Bridge and Bell Streets. They lived at 213 Moffat Street, and Elizabeth kept a daily diary until her death in 1948. Their daughter Winnifred (Winnie) was a well known school teacher in town

And one other thing does anyone remember Ms McCrostie, not sure I spelt that right, she was a teacher, I met her after she retired when she took on students to tutor. I went to her summer before I went into Grade 7. She had a house on Moffat St. just south of High st. and a cottage at Lake Park. I was down there tonight and can not remember or find the cottage. I remember swimming at the small beach and her cottage was near there.

James R. McIsaac

Mrs Winnie McRostie was a very strict teacher, would give you the ruler, on the other hand I went to her house to get tutored in Math and she would give me home baked cookies, very nice lady, I picked her up in the Ambulance later in her life and she would remember….

Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum— Photos above

March 7, 2019 ·

Labeled as the “CPHS Girls Basketball Team”, c. 1915.

Front row – Margaret Dunfield, Jean Bennett, Dora MacLane, Winifred McRostie.

Second row – Jean Findlay, Iva Shaw, Margaret Findlay

Top – Margaret Rintoul

The Ottawa Citizen

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • Tue, Nov 14, 2000Page 73

The Ottawa Journal

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • Wed, Sep 29, 1965Page 3 read- Carleton Place Main Street Fire — Okilman’s

The Ottawa Citizen

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • Thu, Aug 4, 1960Page 23

The Kingston Whig-Standard

Kingston, Ontario, Canada • Tue, Jun 3, 1947Page 12

The Ottawa Citizen

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • Fri, Aug 21, 1925Page 4

McRostie’s Store Looted!!

Old McRostie Had a Farm in Carleton Place

Carleton Place Then and Now–Bridge Street Series –Volume 13

The Family of Joan Halpenny– McRostie

Child Labour on Farms

The Ottawa Journal

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • Thu, Mar 13, 1913Page 12

Children had long had a place in domestic farming, unlike mill and factory work that grew out of the Industrial Revolution. During the Gilded Age (period between the Civil War and World War I when the United States population and economy grew quickly), two-thirds of child labor was done on the farm. As farms grew and shifted away from the family farm model of agriculture, children continued to support farming.

In 1900, 6 out of 10 male farmhands were sons of the farmer. Although some required farm duties had become increasingly mechanized, most tasks were still largely done by hand. The child was unlikely to interface with the operation of heavy machinery on a large scale, unlike in factory settings. Children on farms provided a beneficial source of manual labor; as one farmer remarked, “Every boy born into a farm family was worth a thousand dollars.”

If their labors were not needed on their family’s farm, children could usually find employment as a hired hand on a neighboring farm. For families without a farm of their own, oftentimes the entire family was hired to work as farmhands. Children sometimes as young as 3 years old could be found hulling berries. One review of the ages of child cranberry pickers in New Jersey in 1910 found that most children were between 8 and 10 years old. These children accounted for as much as an estimated one-third of the entire harvest. More broadly, one study found that one-fourth of those employed under the age of 16 in agriculture were under 10 years of age.

Regardless of whom in the family worked, or how old they were, the family received a fixed rate per bushel of berries picked or bushel of oysters shucked. Children in farming were seldom paid directly for their labor. Their wages were included in the amount paid to the family.This system made the head of the household responsible for oversight of all the laborers in the family and allowed the padrone only to deal with a minimum number of subcontractors. Under such an arrangement, a child, therefore, was an integral part of the productive capacity of the household.

For five years agriculture did a grand job by the use of child labor farm service forces increased mechanization and other devices. It was hard slugging but done more or less cheerfully with better priccs-and the impetus of the war effort as the stimulating factors. Patiently and hopefully all farmers looked to the termination of- the -war firm- in their conviction the situation would quicklv right itself. It is therefore with surprise and consternation we encounter the frustration of a worsened condition Selective Service officials were the first to warn of pending issues locally. The Standard

St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada • Fri, Apr 5, 1946

Waterloo Region Record

Kitchener, Ontario, Canada • Fri, Oct 11, 1974Page 33

More Ontario schools and farming communities turned thumbs down today on Premier Hepburn’s child labor farm help program At Lindsay R W Groves chairman of the board of education said feeling of the members was against the school closing plan and that Lindsay schools would probably reopen Sept 3 as usual. From Welland county came word that the provincial agricultural office in Welland had questionnaired 120 farmers concerning help and that only seven replied three desiring no help four asking for only experienced or semi-experienced” help.

At Hensall Midland Goderich and Iroquois boards of education have decided to open Sept 3 Hamilton District Trades and Labor council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution opposing extension of the vacation period ew of those released from school would work on farms and the majority members said would run the streets Board of education voted last night to open Niagara Falls’ schools Sept 3. High school classes may be suspended until Sept 16 if the number of students who want to work on farms is large enough . 1940

The Ottawa Citizen

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • Tue, Aug 14, 1928Page 24

British Home Children

The Ottawa Citizen

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • Mon, Dec 15, 1924Page 22

Years ago some children had to work on the farm or look after family and could not attend school so they needed a Home Permit.. Wanda Lee Morrison gave me this Carleton Place Home Permit and it is cherished.

Ellen Glinka

In time gone by children sometimes left home as early as 7-years-old to pursue another field of education or apprenticeship ( instances of cheap child labour in factories and shops) They were exempted only by attaining home permits that indicated their guardian needed them to be either home for sickness or farm work or apprenticeship.

Ray Paquette– That picture of the permit above and the reason for it’s issue brought some less than pleasant memories back to me. The McNeely family, and in particular Grant and Robert were childhood friends and I remember the night when Mrs. McNeely succumbed to her illness. I was attending an evening movie at the old Roxy of the Disney production of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” when the film was interrupted by a typewritten note asking Grant to come to the box office. When I returned home, following the movie, Grant was there to spend the night as neighbours stepped in to relieve Mr. McNeely of the responsibilities for the younger children. Joan and Glen were old enough to understand what was going on but I’m sure Grant, Bobbie and Wanda were having trouble taking this in the loss of their mother, who I still remember.

Thank you Ray for your comment

Related Reading

A Day With Children’s Aid in “Squatter’s Paradise” Tunney’s Pasture

Relief of the Destitute Poor in Ireland — Names Names Names

When Low Income was Really Low Income– Tragedy in Lanark County– the 60s

Some Memories of Irishtown

Union Almonte and Ramsay Contagious Hospital — “The Pest House”

Tragedy of the 60s — Cole Family Fire

Dark Moments in Ottawa History- Porter Island

Did Typhoid Come from Sinks? Lanark County Dilema..

Canadians Just Wanted to Use me as a Scullery-Maid

Irish Immigrant Girls Were in Demand Despite Hard Times

Poor Journalism or Mistaken Identity?

He Fired the Barn! The Orphans of Carleton Place

Great Social Evils —The Contagious Diseases Act of Canada

Was Working in One of Our Local Mills Like Working in a Coal Mine?

Babies in the Textile Mills

She’s Got the Look!

George Crittenden in our Albert Street, Cowansville family home.

She’s Got the Look!

My Grandfather George Crittenden used to visit us on weekends when I was a very young child. I always remember him rubbing his hands before he ate and saying “lordy, lordy, lordy”. I was always seated next to him and I mimicked everything he did. One fine morning at breakfast, I broke the seal on my 3-year-old voicebox with new words and said, “lordy, lordy, lordy” in sync with him. Funny, I never saw that documented in my baby book, and I still remember the looks I got from my family after saying it.

I seemed to irritate the man throughout my life, and one day he said to me,

 “You’d better wipe that smile off your face”, my Grandfather said.

I don’t know if I just had an angry resting face or something– but my facial expression was irking him that day as he tried my hula hoop. It was 1958, and it had been reported on the news that Filene’s in Boston had sold 2,000 hula hoops in one day and Canada was going to sell 15 million by November. I only owned one and I feared he might break it.

Some adults like my Grandfather could not seem to keep their mitts off of stuff kids liked, and he always wanted to see what the excitement was all about. There was no winning in that situation. I finally decided I just might as well amuse myself by refusing to show any emotion and watch him go ape over the hula hoop. He had heard it was good for his waistline, but in reality, if he did a few rounds with the hoop and then had a shot of gin, it might just have relaxed him more for the cribbage game after.

After I watched him struggle with it, my Mother came out and told him he was going to hurt himself. She looked at me laughing and said,

“You had better wipe that look off your face!”

I knew she would begin to lecture me, so I just nodded as I usually did, and replied,

“I didn’t know I had a look on my face!”

After I spoke those few words there was no more worrying if my Grandfather was going to break the hula hoop, and I tried to block out the words that were now flowing from my Mother. Was my expression constantly offensive? God forbid I have emotions, but you never argued with your parents in those days. Especially to a woman who had read Benjamin Spock’s “Baby and Child Care,”  back to back and had worn the book out. Children were meant to be “seen but not heard.” 

“Grampy Crit,” also used to love Milton Berle. He once heard the comedian say that he got the perfect gift–a leaky ant farm, so Grampy Crit asked my Mother for 20 dollars to buy an ant farm for his Birthday in 1961. She was furious, but I guess the novelty for him was having a whole world he could watch in the inner sanctum of his basement– leaky or not.

No one could figure out why after years of working for the C.N.R. in Montreal George just didn’t come home to the family farm in Brome Missisquoi County. Instead, he retired on Mercer Island just outside of Seattle, Washington to become the artist he always dreamed to be, and the owner of his own ant farm.

During the summer of 1964 I spent the summer with my grandparents on Mercer Island just across the Puget Sound from Seattle and every Friday night we went to the local Drive-In. It was the first place I had a Space Burger named after the Space Needle and then watching my first risque picture called Irma La Douce with Shirley MacLaine and Jack Lemmon. My grandparents warned me not to tell my father that they had subjected me to lust and hookers at such a young age

While Grampy Crit’s cartoonist occupation never panned out he did become one of the creators of those Chalkware “masterpieces” that he mass produced in his workshop.  From 1910 to the 1950s, chalkware evolved into garishly painted figures of cartoonish animals sold at carnivals and fairgrounds that you now see at estate sales and thrift shops.

My step-grandmother insisted on chores and one afternoon wiping the lunch dishes I spilled some grape juice all over the dishtowel. I don’t have to tell you what that dishtowel looked like and I immediately panicked. So, I did the only thing I could think of. I tossed the now purple tea towel into the raspberry bushes in the backyard. I figured landing in the midst of 30 bushes with long thorns would keep the dish towel hidden forever. 

For weeks my Grandmother Winnie looked for that towel deeming it a present from an old friend. I was questioned about it until she went on to something else I had done. A month later my Grandfather was picking some raspberries and up came that dish towel that now was spanking clean thanks to the rainstorms that had passed over. He didn’t say much, but he had this look on his face that said it all. He threw it on the lawn in my direction and I brought it in to Winnie saying it must have fallen off the clothes line. If I remember correctly she had the same look as my Grandfather. I never looked back as I turned around as I remembered it just wasn’t a good look.

The funny thing is I continued the tradition when I became a Mother to tell my kids to remove the look they had on their faces just like my Mother. After all, weren’t Mother’s just  motivational speakers for the selective listener? I guess that too is debatable. I think we all just need to understand that if you want to be old and wise you first have to be young and stupid.

See you next week!

Let’s All Go to The Drive-in!

Patriotic Stink Bugs Celebrating the 4th of July as an Ameri-Canadian Child

Is it all Relative? Linda Knight Seccaspina

I Am Who I am Because of You

My Name is Bernice — A Letter to a Daughter

The Old Church in Island Brook That Needs a Home

What Do You Do if You Just Can’t Walk Right In?

We Are Family

The Summer of 1964

Did They Try to Run the World?

Walter Cecil Reid-1903–1914

Walter Cecil Reid

1903–1914

DetailSource

Name	Walter Reid
Gender	Male
Age	11
Birth Date	abt 1903
Birth Place	Lanark County
Death Date	11 Oct 1914
Death Place	Lanark, Ontario, Canada
Cause of Death	Run Over By Waggon in A Muaway

BIRTH 14 JAN 1903 • Lanark, Ontario, Canada

DEATH 11 OCT 1914 • Beckwith Twp, Lanark, ON (accident)

• Birth14 Jan 1903 • Lanark, Ontario, Canada3 sources
• 19041Birth of sister Jean Reid(1904–1967)July 1904 • Carlton Place, Lanark Co, ON
• 19063Birth of sister Pearl Warren Reid(1906–1906)18 Feb 1906 • Lanark County, ON Canada
• 19063Death of sister Pearl Warren Reid(1906–1906)12 AUG 1906 • Lanark County, ON Canada
• 19074Birth of sister Edna Campbell Reid(1907–)8 Jul 1907 • Lanark, Ontario, Canada
• 19118Birth of sister Mary Marjorie Reid(1911–1994)10 Oct 1911 • Drummond Twp, Lanark Co, Ontario, Canada
• 19118Select factResidence1911 • Lanark North, Ontario, CanadaAge: 8; Marital Status: Single; Relation to Head of House: Son1 source
• 191310Birth of sister Jessie Gertrude Reid(1913–2009)30 Oct 1913 • Drummond Twp, Lanark Co, Ontario (R#033502)
• 191411Select factViewDeath11 Oct 1914 • Beckwith Twp, Lanark, ON (accident)

The Accidental Death of Thomas Lowe 1871

Murder in Carleton Place –Peter Cairns

The Media Then and Now–Johnny Gillies Had a Gun

Vintage Murders in Lanark County — Documented Titles

Murder or Accident — Bates & Innes Flume

Not Guilty in the Murder of His Grandmother –George Watt Jr.

Just Like a Clue Game –“Who Dun it” in Beckwith?

The Tragic Tale of the Accidental Axe — Warning: Not All History has Good Memories

John Raymond O’Neill, The Glen and the Death of Dan O’Neill — Almonte

Mc Mullin McMullen McMullan – Strange Death in Mississippi Mills

Putting Together Family History Through Clippings- White Pretty Harper Kirkwood

CLIPPED FROMThe Lanark EraLanark, Ontario, Canada06 May 1908, Wed  •  Page 1

I saw this clipping above last week and I clipped it thinking there might be a story. There sure was and it took me all of Sunday afternoon to dig it out. It’s not a happy story, but it was a story of what happened in the past and I wanted to document it. The beginning of the story was that William John White married Euphemia Pretty. She died at the age of 28 in childbirth along with their child William Delbert in 1903.

William having two small children like other widows in those days needed to find a wife and he married Nellie Harper whose father was Samuel Harper in 1904. They had a child Doris Irene White in 1905 and then tragedy struck. William John White drowned tragically in Drummond’s Rapids in June of 1905. So Nellie legally had to take guardianship of her children as it looks like family of the first wofe was fighting for them. At that time I had no idea that her daughter Doris Irene was their legal child. I thought it was one of the former wife’s Euphemia’s children. When the guardianship came to court Mary Cora and Ethel Jane had to go live with their uncle, Thomas Pretty, near Hopetown, Ontario. In those days, women had little rights and I assume family wanted them, but pretty strange for an uncle to have custody.

Nellie and Doris kind of disappeared under the radar until I found out they moved out to Saskatchewan and Nellie had married Alexander John Kirkwood in Frontenac County and they all moved out west. She had posession of Doris Irene and I figured out they had let her keep one. I was wrong, it was her child with William James, so it was her legal child. Still with me?

Nellie had three other children with John Kirkwood and Doris Irene was still listed–until she disappeared. She wasn’t even showing up on the geneaology charts of her half sisters Mary Cora and Ethel Jane White. I thought maybe she ran away. What happened to her? Well after a few hours I finally found her. By the age of 12, she had lost an eye and other maladies and fell off a wagon and perished. See all about her at the end.

This is what happens when you dig too hard. Sometimes you find unhappy endings, but people still need to be remembered. Now we know the rest of the story about Doris Irene White Kirkwood.

Linda

CLIPPED FROMThe Lanark EraLanark, Ontario, Canada02 Aug 1905, Wed  •  Page 1

Nellie Harper White– second wife

Second Husband

Name:	Mrs Nellie White
Age:	29
Birth Year:	abt 1881
Marriage Date:	27 Aug 1910
Marriage Place:	Frontenac, Ontario, Canada
Father:	Samuel Harper
Mother:	Lillian Easton
Spouse:	John Graham Kirkwood

Spouses and children

• Married 4 May 1904, Lanark , Lanark County, Ontario, to John White with
  •  Doris Irene White 1905-1917
• Married to LIVING ? with
  •  Alexander John Kirkwood 1911-1911

Name:	Nellie Harper
Gender:	F (Female)
Father:	Samuel K Harper
Mother:	Lillian Easton
Spouse:	John White
Child:	Alexander John KirkwoodDoris Irene White

Nellie Harper White– second wife

Second Husband

Name:	Alexander John Kirkwood
Gender:	M (Male)
Birth Date:	11 avr. 1911 (11 Apr 1911)
Birth Place:	Lang, Saskatchewan, Canada
Death Date:	28 juin 1911 (28 Jun 1911)
Death Place:	Lang, Saskatchewan, Canada
Mother:	Nellie Harper

Name:	Nellie Kirkwood
Gender:	Female
Racial or Tribal Origin:	Irish
Nationality:	Canadian
Age:	35
Marital Status:	Married
Birth Year:	1881
Birth Place:	Lanork County Ontario
Home in 1916:	Kindersley, Saskatchewan, Canada
Address:	33, 20, W3, 2nd Avenue
Relation to Head of Household:	Wife
Spouse:	John G Kirkwood
Sub-District:	28
Sub District Description:	Townships 32, 33 and 34, ranges 20, 21 and 22, W. 3. M., including the Villages of Dodsland and Druid
Enumeration District:	Low 33 Ran 20 M W 3
Enumerator’s Name:	G T Kidd
Dwelling House:	273
Religion:	Presbyterian
Can Speak English:	Yes
Can Speak French:	No
Can Read:	Yes
Can Write:	Yes
Occupation:	None
Household Members (Name)AgeRelationshipJohn G Kirkwood45HeadNellie Kirkwood35WifeDoris I White11DaughterJames A Kirkwood5SonMary N Kirkwood3DaughterFlorence J Kirkwood0Daughte

DetailSource

Name:	John G Kirkwood
Gender:	Male
Racial or Tribal Origin:	Scotch (Scotish)
Nationality:	Canada
Marital Status:	Married
Age:	50
Birth Year:	abt 1871
Birth Place:	Ontario
Residence Date:	1 Jun 1921
House Number:	49
Residence City, Town or Village:	33 20 W of 3rd Village of Dodsland
Residence District:	Kindersley
Residence Province or Territory:	Saskatchewan
Residence Country:	Canada
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Spouse’s Name:	Nellie Kirkwood
Father Birth Place:	Scotland
Mother Birth Place:	Ontario
Can Speak English?:	Yes
Can Speak French?:	No
Religion:	Presbyterian
Can Read?:	Yes
Can Write?:	Yes
Months at School:	94.10
Occupation:	Grain Buyer
Section:	Lot 73 Blk 7
Municipality:	Village Of Dodsland
Enumeration District:	217
Sub-District Number:	57
Enumerator:	Vivian T. N. Pellett
District Description:	Township 33 in ranges 20 and 21, township 34 in ranges 21 and 22 and the west half of township 34 in range 20, west of the third Meridian
Neighbours:	View others on page
Line Number:	40
Family Number:	49
Household Members (Name)AgeRelationshipJohn G Kirkwood50HeadNellie Kirkwood39WifeJ Andrew Kirkwood10SonM Lillian Kirkwood7DaughterFlorence Alen Kirkwood5DaughterErick Arline Kirkwood2Daughter

DEATH of William John White ( husband of Nellie Parker and Euphemia Pretty)

CLIPPED FROMThe Lanark EraLanark, Ontario, Canada28 Jun 1905, Wed  •  Page 1

CLIPPED FROMThe Ottawa CitizenOttawa, Ontario, Canada27 Jun 1905, Tue  •  Page 5

William’s second wife Nellie Harper

Name:	William J White
Age:	28
Birth Year:	abt 1876
Birth Place:	Darling
Marriage Date:	4 May 1904
Marriage Place:	Lanark, Ontario, Canada
Father:	Robert White
Mother:	Jane Menarie
Spouse:	Nellie Harper

Name:	Nellie Harper
Age:	23
Birth Year:	abt 1881
Birth Place:	Dalhousie
Marriage Date:	4 May 1904
Marriage Place:	Lanark, Ontario, Canada
Father:	Samuel Harper
Mother:	Lillie Easton
Spouse:	William J White

William’s first wife Euphemia Pretty

Euphemia Pretty ( died in childbirth along with child William

BIRTH unknown DEATH 25 Jan 1903 BURIAL

Clayton United Church CemeteryClayton, Lanark County, Ontario, CanadaMEMORIAL ID185528907 · 

---

Inscription

Wife of John White
Died aged 28 years

Name:	William John White
Age:	22
Birth Year:	abt 1876
Birth Place:	Darling
Marriage Date:	28 Sep 1898
Marriage Place:	Lanark, Ontario, Canada
Father:	Robert White
Mother:	Jane Manarey
Spouse:	Euphemia Pretty

Mary Cora White–Ontario, Canada

Name	[Mary Cora Whyte ][Mary Cora White ]
Age	18
Birth Year	1899
Marriage Date	21 Nov 1917
Marriage Place	Lanark, Ontario, Canada
Father	William John Whyte
Mother	Eugahemia Pretty
Spouse	Charles Lawrence Virginia

When Mary Cora Whyte was born on 13 August 1899, in Lanark, Ontario, Canada, her father, William John White, was 23 and her mother, Euphemia Pretty, was 25. She married Charles Lawrence Virgin on 13 November 1917, in Calabogie, Greater Madawaska, Renfrew, Ontario, Canada. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 2 daughters. She lived in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada in 1901 and Parry Sound, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada in 1901. She died on 7 July 1974, in Perth, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 74, and was buried in Lanark, Ontario, Canada.

Ethel Jane White

Name:	Ethel Jane White
Age:	21
Birth Year:	abt 1901
Birth Place:	Darling
Marriage Date:	5 Apr 1922
Marriage Place:	Lanark, Ontario, Canada
Father:	John White
Mother:	Euphemia Pretty
Spouse:	James Machan

By 1911, she and her sister Cora were living with their uncle, Thomas Pretty, near Hopetown, Ontario. She passed away about 1947 and is buried at Hopetown United Church Cemetery, Lanark Township, Ontario.

Children

• Five still living
• Charles Stuart Machan, died about 2010
• Willard Machan, died about 2010
• Marion Machan, died about 2008

Brief Life History of Ethel Jane

When Ethel Jane White was born on 21 August 1900, in Parry Sound, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, her father, William John White, was 24 and her mother, Euphemia Pretty, was 26. She married James Machan on 22 March 1922, in Lanark, Lanark, Ontario, Canada. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 4 daughters. She lived in Ontario, Canada in 1900 and Muskoka, Ontario, Canada in 1901. She died in 1947, in Dalhousie, Lanark, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 47, and was buried in Hopetown, Lanark Highlands, Lanark, Ontario, Canada.

Spouse and Children

Marriage

22 March 1922Lanark, Lanark, Ontario, Canada

Name	Mrs. Ethel Jane Machan
Gender	Female
Race	Irish
Age	47
Birth Date	21 Aug 1900
Birth Place	Ontario
Death Date	21 Nov 1947
Death Place	Lanark, Lanark, Ontario, Canada
Father	John White
Mother	Famie White
Spouse	James Machan
Certificate Number	036735

DORIS IRENE WHITE

Name:	Doris I White
Gender:	Female
Racial or Tribal Origin:	Scotch (Scotish)
Nationality:	Canadian
Age:	11
Marital Status:	Single
Birth Year:	1905
Birth Place:	Lanark County Ontario
Home in 1916:	Kindersley, Saskatchewan, Canada
Address:	33, 20, W3, 2nd Avenue
Relation to Head of Household:	Daughter
Father:	John G Kirkwood
Mother:	Nellie Kirkwood
Sub-District:	28
Sub District Description:	Townships 32, 33 and 34, ranges 20, 21 and 22, W. 3. M., including the Villages of Dodsland and Druid
Enumeration District:	Low 33 Ran 20 M W 3
Enumerator’s Name:	G T Kidd
Dwelling House:	273
Religion:	Presbyterian
Can Speak English:	Yes
Can Speak French:	No
Can Read:	Yes
Can Write:	Yes
Occupation:	None
Household Members (Name)AgeRelationshipJohn G Kirkwood45HeadNellie Kirkwood35WifeDoris I White11DaughterJames A Kirkwood5SonMary N Kirkwood3DaughterFlorence J Kirkwood0Daughter

Death of Doris Irene White

CLIPPED FROMThe Lanark EraLanark, Ontario, Canada13 Jun 1917, Wed  •  Page 1

CLIPPED FROMThe Lanark EraLanark, Ontario, Canada20 Jun 1917, Wed  •  Page 8

Friday, March 13, 1908. On a slow news day in Troy a divorce case involving a custody battle for a small child can command considerable space in The Record’s pages, especially when cases like this are still more rare and scandalous than they will be a century later.

Judge Wesley O. Howard presides over a habeus corpus hearing in which Nellie Gorman is obliged to show cause why she shouldn’t be compelled to give up custody of her 22-month old son to her husband, “local sporting man” James Gorman. The Gormans have sued each other for divorce, with the husband demanding custody of the child because the wife is “not a proper person to have charge of it.”

This description alone would raise the eyebrows of many Record readers. A “sporting man” is almost by definition a disreputable character, presumably involved in gambling and related activities. Our readers are likely to agree with Nellie Gorman’s contention that James “cannot have the child [because] he has no place to take it and cannot give it proper care.”

Nellie Gorman denies her husband’s charge that she’s endangering the boy’s morals. “Its morals endangered. That’s good,” she scoffs, “I won’t give the child up. I have not refused him the right to see the child, but he has not called to see it since January 1. He came spooking about the hall of the house I live in, but he did not come in to see the child.”

James Gorman interrupts to deny “spooking” his wife, while his attorney Thomas F. Powers explains that James has avoided contact with his son on advice of counsel pending the outcome of the divorce proceedings.

Nellie Gorman is represented by John P. Kelly, who requests a delay in the hearing. He complains to Howard that his client was only served with the writ at 10:30 last night.

“Mrs. Gorman has not refused to let her husband see the child, but she does refuse to surrender the baby entirely,” Kelly notes, “It would not be right to take so young a child from its mothers care. This will appeal to your honor as the father of children.”

Kelly quickly learns that he’s made a mistake.

“It does not appeal to me as the father of children,” Howard replies sharply, “My being the father of children has nothing to do with it. You are addressing the court and not the father.”

Despite rebuking Kelly, the judge approves a compromise on the custody issue. He allows James Gorman to have his son on Sundays and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., pending the outcome of the divorce proceedings. Since relations between the Gormans remain strained, James’s sister will pick up the boy and bring him back to Nellie’s house.

Ivan and Elizabeth Pretty Anniversary and Poem — Audrey Armstrong 1966

George Goodson Pretty Genealogy Part 2

Annie and Ethel Pretty Bridge Accident 1927

Clippings of George Goodson Pretty

Ken Manson– Interview with Helen & Jimmie Dodds, Side 1 -“Did you ever hear the story about the fellow who was shot up Bob Pretty’s there”?

The Harper Family of Perth

Is it all Relative? Linda Knight Seccaspina

Is it all Relative? Linda Knight Seccaspina

As they say, if you shake a family tree hard enough the nuts will begin to fall out. I spend a good part of my day writing history, and as of now I have about 5800 different stories on Lanark County in Ontario and the Eastern Townships. I never thought this would be what I would be doing in my later years, but after writing about what annoys me and celebrity gossip in for years I finally found my calling.

I don’t write text book history, I write about people that made our communities, the families. It wasn’t the politicians that helped our towns and cities grow, it’s the people that worked hard. As far as I am concerned everyone has a story and it’s all about chasing that information. But how far do you dig for these stories? What happens when you find the family stories that are like cornbread that isn’t done in the middle?

Last year each member of a local family all got Ancestry DNA kits for Christmas and their mother begged them to return them, assuring them that they were not accurate. Well, no one listened to her and most of them eventually found out that Dad wasn’t their real father. Apparently there had been a lot of unzipped genes in the family and family dinners were never the same after that.

What I have found odd with my own lot is that no one ever told me the stories about the good guys of the family. All I ever heard were stories of ancestors that never made it up to the standards of the Knight or Crittenden family. There was Cousin Odessa that was named after the Port of Odessa that was suddenly sent to Cowansville, Quebec from London. My grandparents soon found out that Odessa should have been named after Port Sherry instead of Odessa. As Alexander Fleming once said “If Penicillin can cure those that are ill, Sherry can bring the dead back to life!” I would like to believe Odessa is still out there somewhere like a good bottle of biologically aged sherry,

Last year I pieced my together my small family tree together while remembering the persistent repetitive stories of:

“She had to lock the door against the Fenians who were coming to her door- it was terrible!”

“He worked for Bell Telephone when he came from England in the early 1900s and froze to the poles in the dead of winter installing wires”

“She worked in the cafe in Devon where they sold the Devonshire Cream. Once she spilled soup on someone important and got fired”

“Every week your Grandfather gave her a 50 cent piece which she put in a small velvet bag that she wore around her neck. We never found it and wondered for years what she did with all the money.”

“He ran away to the USA without his family and if you look at this photo of his grave, that is why you should never leave your family- this is what happens– you die!!!”

Now this is only a tiny smattering of what I heard in my life, and every statement is true. I still have that postcard of my great grandfather’s grave and will probably pass the same message on to my sons.

I am wondering if I was told all these stories because there were far worse ones out there and they figured that would stop me from digging and finding something no family wanted to hear about. That however will never happen unless I win the lotto and then can afford another $25 dollars a month to join Ancestry in Europe.

As a writer I keep a buffer zone on family tragedy of 50 years, but I still have had some family tell me to take down a story that happened over 100 years ago. Personally I feel like Nancy Drew when I write as I feel like it’s solving a puzzle. But, when you find out a father’s name blank and crossed out on a delayed birth certificate be prepared for what you are going to discover. Ten to one some family is not going to want to hear that their great grandmother was caught with a man and morphine in a hotel room in Watertown N.Y in 1891 like I did this week.

So why do I write about past family stories? I am curious by nature, nosy, and I love the thrill of finding a story no one has heard about before. If I find a family mystery, I dig until I find the answer. I want people to know about the local individuals from the past whose lives helped make us what we are today. Our children and grandchildren need to hear about their ancestors- good and bad- it’s all history.

My youngest son’s favourite Tshirt reads:

“If you think I’m crazy you should meet the rest of my family!”

He’s right- crazy doesn’t run in our family– it gallops!

Coleman Family History–Just for Your Records

 

 

Mill Street as it appeared in 1889. This land was first purchased by a Mr. Coleman from the Morphy family in 1820. In 1822, Hugh Boulton purchased it and finished construction. The mill was later owned by Horace Brown as a flour mill. On the left-hand side are buildings used for the Boulton-Brown Grist Mill, and on the right-hand side is the residence of Horace Brown, grandfather of A. Roy Brown.–Photo–Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum

Read more at Down by the Old Mill Stream — Carleton Place

 

Clipped from The Ottawa Journal,  09 May 1942, Sat,  Page 22

 

 

 

Clipped from The Ottawa Journal,  24 Mar 1947, Mon,  Page 8

 

Darla Fisher Giles— D.C. Coleman lived in this house on William St. He is pictured here in front of his parents former house in 1924 during Home Week.

Robert Hawkins-Feduke– Again Linda, I thank you for keeping our local history alive and available to a new generation who may not be unaware of the people and events that shaped our community and indeed the country as a whole. When D’Alton Coleman was President and Chairman of the Board of the CPR, it was one of the largest employers in the country and one of the largest international transportation firms. He never forgot his childhood home and was always willing to meet railroaders from Carleton Place, should they be visiting Montreal.

 

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun andScreamin’ Mamas (USA)

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read. Also check out The Tales of Carleton Place.

 

Read more about James Coleman and where he lived here.. CLICK

Carleton Place Then and Now–Bridge Street Series– Volume 6-The Eating Place to…

 

 

Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum

This photo of 283 William Street, Carleton Place, was taken in 1923. This was the childhood home of Dalton Corrie Coleman.
Coleman worked as private secretary to Senator George Cox in 1897 and as editor of the Belleville Intelligencer before joining the CPR in 1899. He advanced rapidly and before turning 40 was put in charge of CPR’s western lines.
In 1934 Coleman became Vice President of CPR, and, as the health of president Sir Edward Beatty deteriorated, increasingly took over his duties. Coleman was appointed president in 1942 and chairman in 1943. The company was then engaged not only in railway work but in war production, shipping and air traffic. Under Coleman, Canadian Pacific Airlines was organized.
He retired in 1947. Coleman Street in Carleton Place, site of our CPR railway station, was named in his honour. http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx…

“They were Set Down in Dalhousie Township”– Effie Park Salkeld

 

Effie and her Husband Rae Salkeld of Gerald Saskatchewan 30th wedding anniversary.From the photo collection of Beverly Salkeld

Beverly Salkeld from Winnpeg Manitoba sent this to us yesterday:

Thought you might find this interesting as it was written by my Grandmother Effie Edna Park Salkeld. She was born to Duncan and Mary Mcintosh Park in Lanark County in October of 1892 and died at Langenburg Hospitial in Saskatchewan April 19th Easter Sunday in 1965. She is buried in Gerald United Cemetery Saskatchewan

 

“the company of people were set down in Dalhousie township on September 30th”

Dalhousie Township— see index of people link in Historical Facts

“Father borrowed a fancy cutter and robes to drive to St. James Church to be married”

 

Baby photo of Effie Edna Park born to Duncan and Mary Whyte Mcintosh Park on October 3 / 1892 in Lanark County Ontario. From the photo collection of Beverly Salkeld

“one of my first presents was a doll with a china head”

 

 

 

 “I went to the old Poland school with Ernie and Emma when I was 5”

The Old Poland School – Poland, Ont., which was replaced by a new “brick” school in the village, now being used as a private residence.

“I got a Lydia E. Pinkham’s pill box and filled it with peas for my pills”

 

 

          “Maggie Etta slept between us and died when she was one year old”

                          *Margaret Etta “Maggie” Park Dec 4th 1890-Dec 11-1890

 

 

“She met us at Rat Portage” (Kenora)

“We waited in an upstairs room sitting room in Renfrew. The Salvation Army Band played in the street- “Pass Me Not Oh Gentle Saviour”- I had never heard anything like it”

 

 

 

“She put turpentine in her homemade soap- I sure hated washing with it”

 

    “He would have the men haul wheat”

                                                     Ox cart of wheat and straw 1905

“the cream kept stirred until it was ripe in an old favourite Maxwell butter churn”

From the writings of Effie Edna Park Salkeld 

                                Index of the population in Dalhousie Township click here

 

From Perth Courier 1895- someone copied it out of the Perth Courier please feel free to use it.. Mrs. Duncan Park was my great grandmother . Effie Parks mother.. from  Beverly Salkeld

 

 

Watson’s Corners Cemetery

*Maggie Etta Park

Birth:	Dec. 4, 1890 Perth Ontario, Canada
Death:	Dec. 11, 1891 Ontario, Canada
Margaret Loretta Park. (Maggie Etta) was the seventh daughter of Mary Whyte McIntosh and Duncan Park she was born Dec 4 / 1890 in Dahousie Township,Lanark county and died there of pneumonia on the 11th of December 1891. Her and her mother are buried side by side in Watsons Corners Cemetery in Larnark Ontario. She was born between sisters Emma and Effie.
Burial: Saint Andrew’s Cemetery Watson’s Corners Lanark County Ontario, Canada
Created by: Beverly Salkeld Record added: Oct 18, 2010

Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read.

Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in Hometown News and now in The Townships Sun