George E. Willis studio in Carleton Place. He operated on Bridge Street and was a member of the Willis family whose log home stands today at the western end of Lake Avenue. George was a photographer, musician and bandmaster, who died in Vancouver in 1940 , aged 96 while living with his son Stephen T. Willis of Ottawa business college fame.
“The names of George Willis, Senior and Junior, appear with sixty others on the roll of the Carleton Place Loyal Village Guards which mustered in 1837 and 1838 at the time of the Upper Canada Rebellion and “Patriot War,” and again with that of Catin Willis in the St. James Church monster petition of November 1846 for maintaining tenure of the Church’s clergy reserve land in Ramsay against claims of Hugh Bolton and others”.- Howard Morton Brown–Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum
The Carleton Place Rifle Company numbering more than 50 men were formed in 1862 to protect Canada during the Fenian Raids. They replaced the ill-equipped and untrained Village Guard and were composed entirely of volunteer soldiers. It was officially designated the Carleton Place Volunteer Militia Rifle company and later they went on to Brockville to fight the Fenians. Captain James Poole and Lieutenant Brown commanded.
R. Bell, Carleton Place* S. Roche , J. Rosamond, Almonte* J. McLaughlin, (carpenter) Ed. Morphy, jr., Wellington Co* W. B. Ramsay Thos. Morphy P. Cram, jr. H. Willis J. Bond, Almonte* Wm. Burgess E. Rosamond Jas. Morphy, sr. H. Fitzpatrick , Duncanville* Dun. McKenzie J. Weathers, Andrew Fitzpatrick J. Lake , jr. David Morphy H. Boulton S. Acheson Ewen McEwen Wm. Fitzpatrick Peter Comrie, Lanark Township*
Wm. Dougherty, jr. D. McLean, jr. Alex. McLaren N. Lavallee John Morphy John McEwen L. Schofield Jas. Duncan Nich. O’Neil D. Pattie Jos. Dougherty, Carleton Place* J. Graham Adam Beck Dan Cram, Carleton Place* M. Nolan J. Kerr J. McRostie Allan McDonald Mich. Dunn E. Tweedy D. Stewart Robt. McLaren John Sumner Jas. Bell, Perth*
Colin McLaren Jos. Dougherty, sr. Jas. Coleman, jr. Wm. Coleman Robt. Johnson Geo. Willis, jr. Geo. Willis, sr. John Rorison John McLean Alex. McLean Jacob McFadden Nich. Tomlinson Wm. Henry, Braeside*
My Opinion and only mine 🙂
Through all the back and forth my story is: that William who was born in Carleton Place but grew up in Bells Corners might have been rejected from the Carleton Blazers and went back to his birth place to join the Canadian Rifle Company to help fight the Fenians. His father William Fitzpatrick was from Brocka, Kildellig, Queen’s Co., Ireland and emmigrated to Carleton Place as there was family living in the area. This is not to be confused with another Fitzpatrick who lived in Beckwith and seemed to make a living of housing those who came from Ireland to work on his farm. William and his wife went to live with his son in law and daughter in Belleville for the rest of their lives.
On the 5th of April. October 4, 1866, the Civil Service Rifle Company was merged into a new Civil Service Regime. After the first Fenian Raid in 1866, the old 43rd maintained its organization. In 1868, a brass band of 24 pieces was organized. The same year the regiment first went into camp at the rifle ranges, furnishing their own tents and equipments. The regiment was called out for active service May 25, 1870, and did garrison duty at Prescott with the Ottawa Field Battery and the 56th Battalion until relieved in the following July, when the 43rd returned to Ottawa, where the regiment was entertained to a civic dinner, and highly complimented by Sir George E. Cartier, then Minister of Militia, on its very fine appearance. Altogether the Fenian Raids had the effect of greatly stimulating the military spirit in the Ottawa district, and while all the enthusiasm was not very enduring, the impetus given to the volunteer movement during these stirring years has not been altogether without some enduring and satisfactory results.
By militia general order of March 27, the Civil Service Rifles were attached to the Ottawa provisional battalion under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Wily. The composition of this battalion w as follows: No. 1, Bell’s Corners Cnmpan), No. 2. Argenteull Rangers, lsi Co. No. 3. Ottawa Rifles. 2nd Co, No. 4, Buckingham Infantry Co. No. ft. Ottawa Rlflrs. 1st Co. No. (!, Ottawa Rifles, 3rd Co. No. 7, Civil Service Rifles
Irish Stick Fighters from Ottawa Valley Stickfighters, believed to be Beckwith Shiners from the Foresters Falls – Roche Fendu area…. Taken from The Perth Courier, Nov.29, 1872,
Between the 1840s and 1850s in the Gatineau district in the province of Quebec, there was a very wild stretch of country, with settlements few and far between. Supplies were carried up the more remote sections in canoes, and there were many cascades in the river. The voyager was frequently obliged to portage along with the freight until they could find a place where he could trust himself in the water again. There existed in that partof the area a body of men who the public called “Shiners”. The operations of the Shiners extended from Bytown (Ottawa) to many miles up the Gatineau and wary be the man or woman who fell under their displeasure.
This group of men were recruited from the ranks of the Irish emigrants who were coming in droves to Canada.These men were not content to let the old feuds from the old country rest in peace, but sought to escalate them in Canada. In the old land the Orange and Green had been at war for a very long time and neither side wanted to bury the hatchet. The Shiners were of the old school Irish Roman Catholic, and the tales emerged of how little value they put on human life.
Early in the 1840s a Scotchman named Stewart took up a large tract of land in the Gatineaus, about 150 miles from Hull, and he brought his wife and three children to settle. All his friends thought he was crazy to even think of taking his delicately bred wife so far away from civilization. However no amount of opposition could deter Stewart. His intention was to procure as much land as he could so later on his children could divy up the land for their families and call that tract of land ‘The Stewarts of Stewartsville’. A log home was put up in the wilderness and he finally sent for his wife and children.
Ill times began for the family as soon as they got there and their rations dwindled to nothing during the first long and lengthy winter. Mrs. Stewart fell ill and nearly died. A small grave was dug beside the home and in it was placed their first male child. Any other man might deal with half of this and decide to go home but not Mr. Stewart as he was a stubborn man.
When Stewart had been living up in the Gatineaus for almost six years, an incident happened that well cost him his life. Feelings were running high between the Shiners and their opponents. An election had been held in Hull, and Mr. Stewart having been down there at the time indulged a little more freely in consuming the spirits and during conservation and expressed how he really felt about the Shiners. That probably wasnot the best of ideas.
He made the journey home safely, but a few days later recieved word that the Shiners would be paying him a visit shortly. That surely meant trouble, but Stewart laughed at the threats. His wife however spent the next three days in hysterics. Three days later an old Scotch priest, Father Paisley, and a friend who were travelling down the river stopped at the Stewarts house to rest. Three of their children were then unbaptized. As the Stewarts were Presbyterian they were determined to seize the day and give them their family a good Christian baptism while Father Paisley was there. They were invited to dinner and stayed the night.
At one in the morning a loud door knock was heard. Mr. Stewart knew it was the Shiners and they told him to come outside. By this time the whole household was up and Mrs. Stewart was on her knees with her children around her praying. The Shiners were not happy with the delay and tried to force the door open. Suddenly Father Paisley with his supplice on and an uplifted crucifix in his hands, stepoed in between Stewart and the 20 masked and armed Shiners who have now broken the door.
Seeing the priest the Shiners backed up and demanded he stop protecting Mr. Stewart who is cowering behind the priest’s burly form. Father Paisley screamed that they would have to kill him first and commanded them to leave the house in the name of HIM who was on the crucifix. The Shiners retorted that he was an Orangeman. The priest replied that they had all been baptized in Ireland and he had baptized the Stewart children yesterday and because of the kindness of being taken in he would protect Mr. Stewart from their wrath. The Shiners had a war meeting and decided not to harm Stewart and would leave him alone.
This was not to be the last time there was to be a record of how religious intervention stopped the shed of blood in the Ottawa area. As for the Stewart family they lived in the Gatineaus for many years and are laid to rest in the vicinity. There is no doubt that stories were told through the generations about the visit from the Shiners.
Morning of Weirdness. Here is a stamp of Joseph Monterrand, known among English speakers as Big Joe Mufferaw.
Joseph was apparently a six foot four French Canadian — truly big for that time — famous as a lumberjack in the Ottawa Valley, but even more famous as one of the few people in the Outaouais willing to stand up against Ottawa’s infamous Shiners.
A real person, he died in 1864. Then his life was appropriated to become the stuff of legends—
James Ingram was indeed a son of Bellamy’s Mills. His father Alexander Ingram was born on W. Lot 25 Concession 3 –J
ames Ingram 1851–1940 BIRTH ABT 1851 • Ontario DEATH 23 DEC 1940 • Brockville, Leeds, Ontario, Canada. He said the reason he lived so long was because he was born in Clayton near Almonte, and people tend to live longer and are happy there.
His father Alexander joined him later in in Brockville and died in 1875. He was married to Wife Almira F. Fraelich(1840–1907) 8 Feb 1907 and her sister Elmira Fraelich after the death of Almira • Brockville, Leeds, Ontario, Canada. He had 4 children.
The Regiment was formed on 5 October 1866, as the 42nd Brockville Battalion of Infantry with Companies in Almonte, Brockville, Perth, Fitzroy, Landsdowne and Smiths Falls. In 1871, the Pembroke Infantry Company became the Battalion’s seventh Company In 1870, the Battalion (with its attached Brockville and Ottawa Battery (Railway) of Garrison Artillery) was called out on active service during the Fenian Raids. In the same year, a small detachment deployed with the Red River Expedition. The Battalion was reorganized in 1897, as the 42nd Lanark and Renfrew Battalion of Infantry located in the counties of Lanark and Renfrew. The Battalion was renamed the 42nd Lanark and Renfrew Regiment in 1900.
A private effort by veterans of the Queen’s Own Rifles recently restored the nine abandoned gravestones that had nearly vanished in the winds and rains of the last 146 years. Read more here.. CLICK
There were stirring times in the Ottawa district in the year 1866. That was the year that was set for the U.S. Fenians to raid and capture Canada. All the district south of Ottawa was agog with excitement, because, if the Fenians had been able to cross the St. Lawrence and gain a foothold, the district between the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers would have had to bear the brunt of the fighting.
Everywhere in the Ottawa district volunteer companies sprang into existence, and stood ready to leap to the country’s defence. Drill halls were built at Manotick and North Gower and the volunteer corps. In those districts began to drill feverishly. The whole district was on edge. A story of the excitement which prevailed in the country around Manotick, North Gower and Kars was told by Mr. W. J. Scobie, on Gladstone Avenue years ago.
From Amanda Armstrong– I was going through some hints on ancestry and found that my 3x great grandfather, Samuel Hawkshaw (If you’ll recall, he’s the husband of Carleton Place’s eldest lady, Martha Hawkshaw)-read–The Grand Old Ladies of Carleton Place
Samuel served in the Fenian Raids! His record states he was part of the 43rd Battalion, which at that time was known as the Carleton Blazers of Bell’s Corners. He was only there for 16 days, and doesn’t seem to be mentioned in any other Carleton Place records for the raids. But it’s still so cool to know he volunteered to fight!
Mr. Scobie was a very small boy then, but the events which took place were impressed on his mind. The Scobies lived on the River road between Kars and Manotick. Mr. Scobie’s father was the late Samuel Scobie. Mr. W. J. Scobie tells us that as soon as word spread that the Fenians might cross, all the people in North Gower township began to prepare. Old shot guns which had hung on the wall as ornaments were taken down, cleaned and oiled.
To provide against a sudden and unexpected raid every farmhouse at night was turned into a fort. At night, scythes, pitch forks. crowbars, etc, were carried into the houses and placed where they might best serve as weapons of defence. All doors were locked and barred after dark. Where there were numbers of boys in a family, the boys took their turn night after night doing outlook duty.
One night when the excitement was at its- height the Scobie house received a visit from Mr. John Ferguson, a son-in-law of Samuel Scobie. Mr. Ferguson was an officer in the militia company which had Its headquarters at Manotick. When Mr. Ferguson called it was fairly late, and young W. J. Scobie and his brothers were in bed upstairs. Mr. Ferguson had come to tell Mr. Samuel Scobie that a man who had come from the St. Lawrence had told that things were getting critical there, and that the Fenians might cross at anytime.
While the men were talking there came a loud rap at the door. Instantly Samuel Scobie, Mr. Ferguson and the older boys jumped to their feet and grabbed convenient weapons. Mr. Scobie advanced to the barred door and standing to one side, shouted,
“Who is there?”
A voice replied. “Is John Ferguson here?” “Yes,” Mr. Ferguson replied, “who wants him?” The voice continued, ‘The Queen wants him, The Fenians are coming and he is to report to Manotick at 6 am! The company marches to the front tomorrow at nine o’clock.
Mr. Scobie withdrew the bars, opened the door and invited the Queen’s messenger in. Mr. Ferguson put on his hat and left for his home. The next morning the village of Manotick responded to the bugle call, and the brave men of the Manotick corps set off on their 45 mile march to the front.
I am the last one standing from the Knight and Crittenden family dynasty and come from a lineage that not even Heinz 57 would understand. My bloodlines are thick with British and Irish roots and a few other tree branches slipped in between. My mother’s side from the Call’s Mills and Island Brook area were all from Ireland, and as a child, tales were told on a weekly basis about our Irish ancestors.
My favourite story was one about my great great aunt fighting off the Fenians during the fight at Eccles Hill on May 25, 1870. According to the Crittenden legend, she fought them off single-handedly using a spoon as a door lock. Knowing my mother’s side of the family, I assumed she probably invited them in to play cards and have a few pints.
Farmers in the vicinity of Eccles Hill near Frelighsburg, Quebec were constantly in dread of being robbed by the Fenians and complained that the Irish were invading the area like a hobby. Many of the locals took their valuable silverware to the woods and buried them in order to be safe. But, like the rest of my past dynasty, it seems that my family didn’t worry about their cutlery and used their silverware instead to lock their doors.
We all need to remember locking doors wasn’t a huge priority in those days. Even if they left home for a week or two, homes were unlocked as break ins didn’t happen that often. Knowing my family I am sure there were some big, scary looking dogs involved that would either deter robbers from trying, or ensure intruders would be caught and immediately maimed in the process. But these were the hopeless Fenians that were invading Eccles Hill, while presumably the Benny Hill Theme song was playing in the background.
So how did this great great aunt of mine with nerves of steel do it? This family folklore has stuck with me since I was a child, and instead of wondering for the brief years I have left; I decided to finally find out the truth for once and for all. Upon doing research I found out how to open a door with a spoon, but nothing was coming up until I found a story of a woman who went to the last Olympics and her room had no locks on it so she used a spoon.
I looked at the photo once, I looked at it twice and shook my head– it was that simple. All those years wondering. That was it? Yes, that was all she wrote as they say. So many chapters in my life lost in this little family tale. Some families have Kodak moments, some families have wonderful memories, but I swear my family has straight jacket moments.
From Amanda Armstrong– I was going through some hints on ancestry and found that my 3x great grandfather, Samuel Hawkshaw (If you’ll recall, he’s the husband of Carleton Place’s eldest lady, Martha Hawkshaw)-read–The Grand Old Ladies of Carleton Place
Samuel served in the Fenian Raids! His record states he was part of the 43rd Battalion, which at that time was known as the Carleton Blazers of Bell’s Corners. He was only there for 16 days, and doesn’t seem to be mentioned in any other Carleton Place records for the raids. But it’s still so cool to know he volunteered to fight!
As a regiment, The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh’s Own) traces its history back to the formation of the 43rd Battalion of Infantry in October 1866. This battalion, known locally as the Carleton Blazers, initially had its headquarters in Bell ‘s Corners in Carleton County and incorporated infantry companies located south and west of the City of Ottawa in Bell’s Corners, Goulburn, Huntley, Metcalfe, North Gower, Richmond and, later, others in Manotick and Vernon.
The very first time the 43rd gathered together as a battalion was on July 1, 1867, during the celebrations surrounding the founding of the dominion of Canada. Officers and men from all seven companies (325 personnel in total) travelled to Ottawa for the ceremonies on Parliament Hill. Volunteer militia units and cadet corps were assembled on the hill, performed a feu de joie, marched past the Governor General, and gave three cheers for the new nation.
Three years later, in May 1870, the battalion’s first active service resulted from fears of a Fenian invasion out of the United States. The perceived threat of these Irish-Americans against Canadian territory led to the mobilization of numerous militia units at locations in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes. By May 29 the 43rd Battalion’s headquarters and all nine infantry companies (approximately 400 officers and men) had been transported to Prescott, Ontario, across the river from Ogdensburg, New York. While in garrison the battalion provided sentries, carried out patrols, and stood guard duty at the local drill shed, the artillery stables, the local bank, the town’s wharf, at Fort Wellington, and at Windmill Point. The entire battalion returned to Ottawa on June 4 after the threat had passed without incident.
Unfortunately, the Carleton Blazers were unable to keep up their strength and, on December 3, 1875, the 43rd Battalion was disbanded. This was not an uncommon occurrence, as perhaps as many as two dozen other volunteer militia battalions – most of them based in rural areas – were disbanded between the 1860s and 1890s, victims of the difficulty in maintaining unit cohesion while spread out geographically in rural communities.
Surnames for Search Engine: Hugh Falls, Adam Abbott, John Nesbitt, James Corbett, Harry Harmer, John Sparks, Francis Clemow,
Alexander Mowat, Ambrose Bishop, William F. Powell, William Corbett.
At one point in time there were over 3.5 billion passenger pigeons in North America and flocks of giant numbers would blacken the sky– but, did you know the early settlers and their ancestors managed to wipe out most of the birds by 1914? In clearing the forests over the course of the 19th century the loss of natural wilderness paired with increased hunting may have triggered the passenger pigeon’s rapid extinction.
Was this the case in Pigeon Hill, Quebec? George Titemore, from Colombia County, N.Y. was the first person to set up his residence there in 1788, just a little less than 3/4 of a mile south where the knoll-top community of Pigeon Hill now exists. Local gossip speaks of a bank teller in Bedford that has said that Pigeon Hill got its name from a French man named Mr. Pigeon. Actually, it was when the early settlers arrived in the area, they supposedly found a ready food supply in the hoardes of passenger pigeons roosting upon the hill. But, according to the history books, it really wasn’t a Hitchcock moment. The original settlers basically only found pasturage and hay for their animals, and in 1792 a famine for the families living in this section of St. Armand threatened their existence. They had no choice but to go into their wheat fields and shell out the unripe grain and boil it for food. The Titemore family was so desperate that head of household George went to see a gentleman living just over the border in Berkshire, Vermont and purchased 100 pounds of flour for $9.00. George carried it on his back through the woods to his residence which was about 15 miles and also managed to bag a moose, not pigeons, that was grazing with his horses. He died in 1832 at the age of 76 and had 13 children, yet only two remained in the area.
George’s sister Sophia Titemore was the first white person buried in the Pigeon Hill Cemetery (Old Methodist Cemetery) on Rue Des Erable. Her brother John is also buried there, and his final resting place is marked by a small slate stone scribed JT Died July 31 1809 aged 87. There are four slate stones grouped in a square which would probably indicate family members, unfortunately, only JT’s is legible. Another Pigeon Hill resident Henry Groat had no descendants when he died in 1811, but the stream east of Pigeon Hill where he resided was named Groat Creek after him. The local pigeons have roosted since 1845 on Guthrie Bridge built over Groat Creek, and this is the shortest public covered bridge among the twenty-one authentic covered bridges remaining in the Eastern Townships. Adam and Eve Sager came to town in 1791 and once again the pigeons proved to be smarter than their human being counterparts after Mrs. Sager was found killed by lightning at the beginning of 1825. Even after that fateful accident, Pigeon Hill was still called Sagerville in honour of the Sagers, but due to the large amount of pigeons that frequented the area the name was soon changed to Pigeon Hill.
The first general store was opened by Pete Yeager about 1810, but he only traded for a couple of years until Adi Vincent and his son took over. Gath Holt was next with a new store by the Episcopal church, but rumour as the pigeon flies was that it was destroyed by gun powder 3 or 4 years later. Fortunately it happened on a Sunday, so few were out and about, and the cause of the explosion was unknown and never talked about.
One Thursday, in June of 1866, the Fenians left their camp in Franklin, Vermont for the sole purpose of stealing horses and plundering dwellings in Canada. One raid found the area around Pigeon Hill overrun with the ragged dirty and half armed Fenians, led by General Samuel Spear. I’m sure the local pigeons in the trees noticed that plundering and burning were more congenial to the Fenian’s tastes than fighting for military fame or taking over Pigeon Hill for their very own. They broke into old Noah Sager’s Hotel and stole and destroyed what they could. Even Edward Titemore’s home was destroyed in the 1866 Fenian Raid.
Not content with Thursday’s events they returned again on Friday, and 20 more scallywags joined Thursday’s original 40 and spent the day plundering some more. The poor locals were nothing but clay pigeons to these dastardly Fenians while they watched them march to the hotel of F.B. Carpenter and help themselves to a free dinner and then an additional 50 bucks in cash, which would be about $720 in today’s money.
For two days or three days the inhabitants of Pigeon Hill remained mostly unarmed and gossip was abound that there was a 1000 more wild Irishmen hovering nearby awaiting their chance to finish the place off. In the Detroit Free Press of June of 1866 it was reported that a fight was imminent with the British regulars prepared to fight the Fenians between the boundary lines at Pigeon Hill. Appearances indicated that the British would surround the Fenians, and it was also noted that numbers of discontented invaders were now returning to the States. On June 7, 1866 the Fenian raiders were finally expelled by members of the Canadian Militia after also causing massive chaos at nearby Frelighsburg and St. Armand.
They say that almost every last bird was wiped out in the community where the farmlands of Quebec look to the north and the hills of Vermont to the south. I could find very little mention of Pigeon Hill again except in the newspapers of January of 1896 and August of 1919. Pigeon Hill resident Thomas Hogan never found his Uncle Dandy Hogan after he placed a personal ad in the January St. Louis Dispatch of 1896. The man had been missing for a year and was last seen working at South Atlantic Mills in St. Louis, Mo. In August 1919, a well known open Pigeon Hill liquor joint was busted up at 2:30 am that morning. It was noted that it was the largest seizure made along the border in some time. There was no record of who the stool pigeon was after Deputy Collector L. D. Seward stopped an automobile containing 4 gallons on the Highgate Springs Road originating from Pigeon Hill.
William Shakespeare once said: “We know what we are, but know not what we may be”. Pigeon Hill may not have become one the great hubs of the Eastern Townships– but it will be remembered in the history books and forever debated why it was named Pigeon Hill.
I am the last one standing from the Knight and Crittenden family dynasty and come from a lineage that not even Heinz 57 would understand. My bloodlines are thick with British and Irish roots and a few other tree branches slipped in between. My mother’s side from the Call’s Mills and Island Brook area were all from Ireland, and as a child, tales were told on a weekly basis about our Irish ancestors.
My mother’s side in the Eastern Townships of Quebec were all from Ireland, and as a child tales were told on a weekly basis about what our Irish scallywags did when they came to Canada. Most came during the Great Irish Famine (1845-1849) and some ended up dying on Grosse-Île, where the Canadian immigration centre was situated. It is safe to say that 40% of all “Quebecers” and “Ontarians” have Irish ancestry on at least one side of their family tree– whether they choose to accept it or not
My favourite story was one about my great great aunt fighting off the Fenians during the fight at Eccles Hill on May 25, 1870. According to the Crittenden legend, she fought them off single-handedly using a spoon as a door lock. Knowing my mother’s side of the family, I assumed she probably invited them in to play cards and have a few pints.
Farmers in the vicinity of Eccles Hill near Frelighsburg, Quebec were constantly in dread of being robbed by the Fenians and complained that the Irish were invading the area like a hobby. Many of the locals took their valuable silverware to the woods and buried them in order to be safe. But, like the rest of my past dynasty, it seems that my family didn’t worry about their cutlery and used their silverware instead to lock their doors.
We all need to remember locking doors wasn’t a huge priority in those days. Even if they left home for a week or two, homes were unlocked as break ins didn’t happen that often. Knowing my family I am sure there were some big, scary looking dogs involved that would either deter robbers from trying, or ensure intruders would be caught and immediately maimed in the process. But these were the hopeless Fenians that were invading Eccles Hill, while presumably the Benny Hill Theme song was playing in the background.
So how did this great great aunt of mine with nerves of steel do it? This family folklore has stuck with me since I was a child, and instead of wondering for the brief years I have left; I decided to finally find out the truth for once and for all. Upon doing research I found out how to open a door with a spoon, but nothing was coming up until I found a story of a woman who went to the last Olympics and her room had no locks on it so she used a spoon.
I looked at the photo once, I looked at it twice and shook my head– it was that simple. All those years wondering. That was it? Yes, that was all she wrote as they say. So many chapters in my life lost in this little family tale. Some families have Kodak moments, some families have wonderful memories, but I swear my family has straight jacket moments.
I will tell you a story told to me by my father about 1870 the folks in East Clifton,high forest, low forest and surrounding areas heard the Fenians were coming from the U.S to Canada to attack and take over the country. They were under the mistaken impression that Canadians weary of the British yoke, would rise up and join them.the fenians later became the I.R.A.
Well,my great grandfather and many friends grabbed their guns, mounted their horses and rode to the border to disabuse them of the notion that Canada was theirs for the taking. It turned out alright. The U.S.did not want trouble with the British Empire and American cavalry stopped the Fenians at Colebrook. My great grandfather and friends returned home without a shot fired. Just a little history for those who care.
So today it is all about The Fighting Irish.
The Fighting Irish–The Ballygiblins- Lanark County Ontario
The ‘Ballygiblin Riots’ Carleton Place and Almonte, 1824
A series of disturbances between the early Scots arrival and established Protestant settlers jealous of government assistance to new Irish Catholic immigrants, mainly in Beckwith Township and the recent Irish settlers in Ramsay flared up in 1824. The Irish had gotten free farm equipment, medicine, cows and clothing. None of the earlier wave had received an extra thing. The Irish originated from an estate of Cork, Ireland called Ballygiblin. After the first troubles erupted, a decisive struggle took place just outside of town on the clergy reserve in Ramsay, to the right hand side of the road, towards the lead mine.
Fighting broke out on Mill Street in Carleton Place, and the tumult continued for two weeks of reprisals by each side. The Ballygiblin’s leader was named Bartholomew Murphy, and he was what we would call a “scrapper”. First the knuckles came out, then the shillelaghs, and assorted Lanark County stones were launched at each other. The Ballygiblins got the worst of the last fight and they quickly retreated to Shipman’s Mills (Almonte) where they some how found a gun.
Col.James Fitzgibbon and his militia got sick and tired of dealing with at least 100 fights and headed straight for the Shipman’s Mills Blacksmith shop to stop it for once and for all. Inside, someone fired a shot and the militia returned fire killing one man and wounding two others.
One of the wounded was indeed Batholomew, and he was arrested along with other Irishmen and two from the militia: James Rochey and Johnny McGuiness. In the end one immigrant was killed, several were injured, and a number of buildings were destroyed or damaged. No one was ever charged for murder, just malicious shooting. Bartholomew Murphy was charged with throwing stones and ended up accidentally drowning a year later in Kingston.
In Canada, a Fenian was said to be a group of Irish radicals, a.k.a. the American branch of the Fenian Brotherhood in the 1860s. They made several attempts (1866, 1870, etc.) to invade some parts of Canada (Southern Ontario and Missisquoi County in Quebe) which were a British dominion at the time. The ultimate goal of the Fenian raids was to hold Canada hostage and therefore be in a position to blackmail the United Kingdom to give Ireland its independence. Because of the invasion attempts, support and/or collaboration for the Fenians in Canada became very rare even among the Irish.
Fenians at different points along the United States border caused great alarm to Canadians in 1866. Among the places attacked were Prescott and Cornwall in Ontario, and Huntington, Pigeon Hill and Eccles Hill in Quebec.
Farmers in the vicinity of Eccles Hill near Frelighsburg, Quebec were constantly in dread of being robbed by the Fenians. Many of them took valuable silverware to the woods and buried them in order to be safe. That is everyone except a great great aunt of mine. According to the Crittenden legend, she fought off the Fenians single-handedly when the American Irish came across the US border at Eccles Hill trying to take over Canada.
The story told was: she fought off the Fenians with a fork and a spoon in her door lock and not one notation about her can I find in the history pages about the Fenian Raids. Knowing my mother’s side of the family, she probably invited them in to play cards and have a few pints. According to Einstein: Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
In June of 1866 some 1800 Fenians crossed the border of Lower Canada and did considerable plundering at Pigeon Hill, Quebec. They ruthlessly killed animals belonging to the farmers in the vicinity and destroyed some of their crops. The Canadian volunteer militia were soon on the scene of action.
The danger posed by the Fenian raids was an important element in motivating the British North America colonies to consider a more centralized defense for mutual protection which was ultimately realized through Canadian Confederation. Home guards were formed and farmers along the border met for drills. Soldiers were often called out on short notice, and one day not only did the required 10,ooo turn out to one fight, but an additional 3000 showed up also. However, supplies were not sent with them, and some soldiers needed boots and other things ten days after mobilization.
Even with little food and water, a change of underclothing and revolvers whose shooting powers were the subject of grave doubt they were able to repulse the Fenians plunderers at Pigeon Hill in Quebec.
One tragic incident occurred during 1866 when Margaret Vincent of Eccles Hill went to get a pail of water. Miss Vincent being deaf did not hear the British sentry on guard, and after not hearing the command to halt, the sentry fired and killed her.
In 1870 the Fenians attempted once again, assembling at St. Albans Vermont. The filibusters who made it to Eccles Hill came under fire by 30 local farmers and quickly retreated. The monument that still sits on Eccles Hill in the Eastern Townships can forever rest in peaceful confidence that there will be no further cause for trouble along the frontier.
Thanks to my good friend historian Nic Maennling from Lanark he sent me this yesterday..We have a stereopticon slide marked
“W. Sawyer, Photo.,
113 St. Peter street, corner of Craig Montreal.
“Warm reception of the Fenians from Eccles’ Hill”
Kind regards,
Nic
Important Eastern Townships Fenian Raids
Mississiquoi County Raid
This Fenian raid occurred during 1870, and the Canadians, acting on information supplied by Thomas Billis Beach, were able to wait for and turn back the attack. The Battle of Eccles Hill was part of a raid into Canadian territory from the United States led by John O’Neill and Samuel Spiers of the Fenian Brotherhood. The army of the Fenian Brotherhood was defeated by local militia units based in Huntingdon on May 25, 1870.
Pigeon Hill Raid
After the invasion of Canada West failed the Fenians decided to concentrate their efforts on Canada East. However, the American government had begun to impede Fenian activities, and arrested many Fenian leaders. The Fenians saw their plans begin to fade. General Samuel Spear of the Fenians managed to escape arrest. On June 7 Spear and his 1000 men marched into Canadian territory, achieving occupancy of Pigeon Hill, Frelighsburg, St. Armand and Stanbridge. At this point the Canadian government had done little to defend the border, but on June 8 Canadian forces arrived and the Fenians, who were low on arms, ammunition and supplies, promptly surrendered, ending the raid on Canada East.
Shelley Boomhower Slater– Battle of Eccles Hill if you google the directions. You take the Chemin de St. Armand Road from Frelighsburg until you see Chemin Eccles Hill on your left. It is on your right just before the road ends.. This was the old road to Vermont border so it is now a dead end. Hope this helps. If you go to the town of Pigeon Hill (St. Armand) you have gone too far. There should be a sign Approx. 10 minutes 7.8km from Frelighsburg. Great Cycle route.
Like many of you I was shocked to hear of the recent Fenian attacks on Fort Erie. How can our government allow Irish immigrants to flow into this United Province of Canada while we continue to be terrorized by Fenian religious zealots? Every Sunday in Catholic churches across the land, radical preachers are whipping their flocks into a catachismic frenzy, urging them to cram their Nicene orthodoxy down our throats three different ways. On every ship coming into Montreal or Halifax, hidden among the malnourished, diseased Irish there are sure to be Fenian terrorists ready to slit your throat at the first opportunity. This needs to stop now.
We all know that the Irish are a bunch of uneducated, colonial savages with a primitive religion. How will our women and children be safe while hoards of drunken Irish flow into our cities and roam the streets? Meanwhile they breed like rabbits, all part of their plan of Papist domination. It is a scientific fact that if Irish immigration continues apace Canada will be a Catholic state by 1910. Enjoy having your wine with communion, because that’s all about to end. And if we let the Irish in, who’s next – Ukrainians? Chinese? Musalmen?
It is our sacred duty to preserve Canadian values now, before it’s too late. In 150 years your children’s children will look back and know that you did the right thing.
Be sure to share this leaflet with all your friends (or at least those of them who can read… and you can probably skip the women, not like they can vote anyways). Say yes to Canada staying Canadian. Say no to Irish immigrants!
Rev. John Strachan,York
AUTHOR’S NOTE
60% of the immigration to Canada in the 1800s were Irish. The idea that John Strachen would be so anti-Irish and not Anti-American (which he actually was) in this letter is baffling.
2.–A suspected Fenian, Patrick J. Whelan, was hanged in Ottawa for the assassination of Irish Canadian politician, Thomas D’Arcy McGee in 1868, who had been a member of the Irish Confederation in the 1840s.
3.In Ontario’s Lanark County, the Carleton Place Rifle Company numbering more than 50 men was formed in 1862 to protect Canada during the Fenian raids. In Carleton Place a victory ball and supper “in a style not to be surpassed” was held for the volunteers in the stone building on the corner of Bridge and High Streets which was then William Kelly’s British Hotel.The monument that still sits on Eccles Hill can forever rest in peaceful confidence that there will be no further cause for trouble along the frontier.
4. Former Cowansville High School Rob Forster added: Well Linda, the Fenian Raid at Pigeon Hill was met by a force of local militia who had bought military rifles and organized, that militia being composed of local farmers who were determined to be prepared after the first local raid. The Fenians were supposedly ‘ragtag’ but that was just to soften the blow to the Irish cause (and I suspect to diminish the role of firearms in Canadian history); the Irish were all battle hardened veterans of the Union Army who had fought in the US Civil War. Our local boys, among whom I am proud to include a family member, defeated them in quick order however, and as the photo shows captured their artillery field piece, the one now seen at the almost forgotten Pigeon Hill monument.
Shiners’ War In the 1830’s the timber trade was a major source of employment in Ottawa, as the French and Irish would fight over access to work in lumber mills. Many a pitched battle was fought on Rideau St. that wouldn’t have looked out of place in Martin Scorsese’s “Gangs Of New York.
“The names of George Willis, Senior and Junior, appear with sixty others on the roll of the Carleton Place Loyal Village Guards which mustered in 1837 and 1838 at the time of the Upper Canada Rebellion and “Patriot War,” and again with that of Catin Willis in the St. James Church monster petition of November 1846 for maintaining tenure of the Church’s clergy reserve land in Ramsay against claims of Hugh Bolton and others”.- Howard Morton Brown
Carleton Place Herald, Tues March 27, 1894
THE LOYAL VILLAGE GUARDS OF CARLETON PLACE
The Soldier Boys of More than Half a Century Ago
A few days ago, as Dr. Bell was walking through his father¹s outbuildings, his attention was attracted to some loose sheets of paper on the floor, which he picked up, and which, on examination, turned out to be leaves torn from an old register of his father’s - the roll call of the Loyal Village Guards, and the columns bear the dates of December 27th, 1837, and January 3,10, 17, 24, 1838. What changes have come about during the 56 years that have elapsed since that roll was called! And, although this gallant company was not obliged to face the smoke of battle, but a fraction of the sixty-one of that historic period are able to answer the roll-call upon earth to-day. The older residents will probably remember most of the names in the list. Through the courtesy of Dr. Bell we have secured a copy. List is at the very bottom of the story.
No. 5 Company (Carleton Place) 41st Brockville Battalion of Rifles: From left to right: James Storey, William Dack, Donald Stewart, William Duff, Patrick Tucker.
The Carleton Place Rifle Company numbering more than 50 men were formed in 1862 to protect Canada during the Fenian Raids. They replaced the ill-equipped and untrained Village Guard and were composed entirely of volunteer soldiers. It was officially designated the Carleton Place Volunteer Militia Rifle company and later they went on to Brockville to fight the Fenians. Captain James Poole and Lieutenant Brown commanded.
R. Bell, Carleton Place*
S. Roche ,
J. Rosamond, Almonte*
J. McLaughlin, (carpenter)
Ed. Morphy, jr., Wellington Co*
W. B. Ramsay
Thos. Morphy
P. Cram, jr.
H. Willis
J. Bond, Almonte*
Wm. Burgess
E. Rosamond
Jas. Morphy, sr.
H. Fitzpatrick , Duncanville*
Dun. McKenzie
J. Weathers,
Andrew Fitzpatrick
J. Lake , jr.
David Morphy
H. Boulton
S. Acheson
Ewen McEwen
Wm. Fitzpatrick
Peter Comrie, Lanark Township*
Wm. Dougherty, jr.
D. McLean, jr.
Alex. McLaren
N. Lavallee
John Morphy
John McEwen
L. Schofield
Jas. Duncan
Nich. O’Neil
D. Pattie
Jos. Dougherty, Carleton Place*
J. Graham
Adam Beck
Dan Cram, Carleton Place*
M. Nolan
J. Kerr
J. McRostie
Allan McDonald
Mich. Dunn
E. Tweedy
D. Stewart
Robt. McLaren
John Sumner
Jas. Bell, Perth*
Colin McLaren
Jos. Dougherty, sr.
Jas. Coleman, jr.
Wm. Coleman
Robt. Johnson
Geo. Willis, jr.
Geo. Willis, sr.
John Rorison
John McLean
Alex. McLean
Jacob McFadden
Nich. Tomlinson
Wm. Henry, Braeside*
My mother’s side of the family is American, as most of them hailed from Laconia N.H. and the rest of the “ragamuffins” were born in Ireland. Both my mother and her mother had very short lives, but my grandmother always instilled American patriotism in her daughter.
Word had it, that Grandmother Reid had enough American flag toss pillows to supply everyone south of the border. Living in Cowansville, Quebec, 12 miles from the American border, she brought them all out once a year on July the 4th, refusing to celebrate Canada Day on the first of July.
The small Eastern Townships town also knew that she would march out to her back porch every morning to sing “The Star Spangled Banner.” My father’s side was from Great Britain and they were horrified as this was not considered proper Canadian behaviour.
Me in January 1952 in front of the house
1990s
now 2017
Continuing her mother’s tradition every July the 4th at approximately 8am, my mother would herd my late sister Robin and me into the car. Sometimes, even in record-breaking heat, we would sit impatiently for the next hour while my mother tapped her foot sitting in the front seat. My father was a golfer not a driver, and hated anything that meant he had to leave the town limits. My mother Bernice would get out of the car every 10 minutes, go into the house, and yell,
“Arthur Knight- are you coming?”
Arthur, who sat alone in his patio chair every Canada Day with a Molson Beer in his hand, really had no plans to drive us across the border to Vermont. Every July the 4th like clockwork he sat glued on the sofa until approximately 9:10 am and then would finally come out, start the car, and off we would go.
Derby Line, Vermont, 1930s – The first Customs and Immigration border inspection station at this point of entry was located in the Derby Line Hotel.
Every year we stopped at every rock formation in the Smuggler’s Notch area. Then the car would be parked near the ski hill at Stowe, Vermont, and my mother would point to the barren green hill and tell us how wonderful it must be to ski there. The final stop would be the A&P store on the way home just before we crossed the border back into Canada. There my father was allowed to buy his package of Wise Potatoe Chips and a pack of Winston cigarettes. Then and only then did he feel it was worth the trip.
As the years passed things got more elaborate for the 4th. One year we went to New York City, and my mother thought it was a good idea for my father to take me up to the top of Empire State Building. She stayed on the ground floor as she had vertigo but told him to lift me up and show me the American world. As he held me up high on his shoulders in the viewing area; I kept hearing him say,
“Linda, can you see the Statue of Liberty? Wave, as it would make your American Grandmother proud!”
Ladies and gentleman, the Statue of Liberty was not the only thing that was green that day. After my mother died, my grandfather thought my mother’s patriotic tradition should continue. Every year my sister and I, along with my grandparents piled into a taxi cab and crossed the border to Richford, Vermont. We would go to the same little restaurant and have a festive “American” turkey dinner and ice cream sundaes that were topped by little American flags.
On the way home someone would always point out the location where an ancient cousin from my mother’s side used to live. The same story would be told how she fought off the Fenian’s with a fork and a spoon in her door lock while the American Irish were trying to take over Canada during the *Fenian Raids. Knowing my mother’s side she probably invited them in to play cards and have a few pints.
I hope everyone had a great Canada Day and Happy July 4th to my friends because really; we are all just one and the same.
Vintage Folk Art picture of the Cowan house in Cowansville, Quebec.
(My grandfather George Crittenden owned the house from the 1930’s- 1960’s)
Picture of what it looks like now after being bought by the Rona Hardware chain.
Picture of an original captured Fenian Cannon near Cowansville, Quebec.
(Dominion Day is what Canada Day used to be called.)
The Toronto Globe says: “A fenian cannon, captured at the raid of 1870, will be employed to aid in the celebration of Dominion Day in Cowansville. It is a breech-loader, about six feet long, and mounted on wheels. It has not been used since the raid, on account of the difficulty to obtain suitable ammunition, and at the recent meeting of the Home Guards this gun was given in charge of Mr. Henry Cowan. We learn that a squad of men are now in training to man this gun on Dominion Day, and, perhaps, should the Fenians attempt another invasion of our peaceful borders, this relic of their foly in 1870 may do effective service in driving them back.”
lindaseccaspina 
