The Ottawa Jewish Archives —The original Perley Home for Incurables on Wellington Street.The attached photo shows a group of top benefactors of the Perley Home and it was taken in their original location on Wellington Street before the expropriation of the house and land in 1912. A.J. and Lillian Freiman can be seen in the image – Lillian is the woman in the dark dress standing in the middle of the staircase by the sign, while A.J. is the younger gentleman with a white pocket square standing behind the row of seated ladies. The sign reads: GIVE HERE! Your contribution to help us raise a MAINTENANCE FUND for the PERLEY HOME FOR INCURABLES.
Great Britain and North America saw a wave of new facilities for incurable patients from the middle of the nineteenth century on. The majority of nineteenth and twentieth-century homes for incurables were not primarily a refuge for terminal patients. The goal was to alleviate the suffering of the incurable sick people that were not helped by the poor sick relief efforts. But, they were not primarily a home for incurable diseases, but rather a reception house to help those with palsies, arthritis, rheumatism– and it was obvious there were no clear cut distinctions. But, they were also a forerunner to hospices of today.
In those days any family which had a troublesome member, either old or young, attempted to pass it on to the Home for Incurables, until these institutions possessed an unhappy conglomeration of idiots, imbeciles, epileptics, insane, senile, and mentally normal people suffering from incurable diseases.
In October of 1906 it was reported that the patient’s ages residing at the Perley Home for Incurables were anywhere from 30 to 94. There were 27 names on the list with a total of 7,010 days spent in the home by the patients, with an average of 333.81 for each. The treasure’s balance showed receipts of $5,871.23 and $6,370.46 leaving a debt balance of $499.23.
In 1928 the Perley Home salaries were under great criticism, but so were the other hospitals, especially the Civic Hospital. May 30th, 1956, a legal ad was placed in the Ottawa Journal to lose the Incurables word and to be known only as the Perley Home.
I noted a comment from Reid Barry on the Lost Ottawa Facebook page and agreed with him:“I remember back in the early 70’s when students called it the Perley Gates. I guess we all get there some time”. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and Folk it was not.
In the 1870’s, lumber baron William G. Perley had a beautiful stone mansion built at 415 Wellington Street for him and his family in what was then known as the Uppertown area of Ottawa. He chose this location so he could look out over the river and closely monitor his various saw mills.
Perley passed away in 1890 and seven years later, his descendents gifted the home he had built to the City to become a residence for “incurables” – those people suffering from seemingly incurable diseases. The home was given “free and without any restrictions on the title.”
By the end of their first year in 1898, the Perley Home had 16 patients residing there – both men and women – and there was a maintenance cost of 7 cents per patient per day to look after their well being.
In 1912, the Canadian Government filed a notice that the land the Perley home was occupying was being expropriated. The mansion was unfortunately torn down and the land used for temporary structures during WWII. Today, the Library and Archives building stands there.
In 1914 the Perley Home moved to a larger building on Aylmer Avenue where it overlooked the Rideau Canal, and it continued to grow in size and scale.
It wasn’t until the 1960’s that the word “Incurable” was finally dropped from the home’s name and it simply became the Perley Hospital. Up until around that same time, patients were also still referred to as “inmates.”
In 1988, plans were made with Veteran Affairs Canada for the Perley Home to combine with the Rideau Veterans Home (built by the federal government as a temporary residence for the rehabilitation of soldiers returning from WWII), and the Veterans Wing of the National Defence Medical Centre, into a new 450-bed facility.
The first residents were relocated to the new combined facility in 1995 and it still stands there today as the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Centre.
The Perley Home had been an uppertown mansion built in the 1870s, and converted into an incurables’ home in the 1890s as a gift from the Perleys.Perley Residence, 415 Wellington Street, today the site of the National Library and Archives.
courtesy National Library and Archives Canada MIKAN 3325724
Though the original home was described within their own literature as a “happy Christian home,” from its very beginning the Perley was always a nonsectarian institution and admitted those from all religions. But, from the 1898 newspaper articles below it looks like skin colour might have been an issue.
The home did have many Jewish benefactors who freely donated both time and money to such a worthy cause. Among those were A.J. Freiman (of Freiman’s Department Store once on Rideau) and his wife Lillian Freiman, an incredibly dedicated philanthropist.
This painted window screen has been in my family forever, likely found by my dad or one of his brothers or one of their “questionable friends”. I’ve always been curious to know when and where (likely in the Glebe somewhere?) Dr. Winters had his/her practice. (edited by Linda to keep Dad’s legacy intact LOL–well done though Andy)
Well our amazing historian Jaan Kolk took up the challenge once again and posted this. The funny thing is I posted the same clipping last week, but in reality it was just another newspaper clipping until Jaan dug more information and now it is
brought to life.
Jaan Kolk added this.
I believe these two men were from Carleton Place originally. In 1898, dentist W.R. Winters is mentioned in the Carleton Place column of the Ottawa Journal (mostly for his hunting trips.) *Henry Winters is also mentioned in the same year as coming home from and returning to dentistry school in Toronto . Since the the sign does not identify which Dr. Winters, I suspect it was from W.R. William’s office in Carleton Place, when he was the only one. It may have been kept by W.R. as a memento when he moved to Ottawa. Here’s one for you, Linda Seccaspina!
Here’s a clip from the Carleton Place column of the Ottawa Journal Oct. 7, 1898. Apparently, false reports of the deaths of prominent people did not begin with internet social media!
Valiquette’s hair dressing was in this building and later Dr. J.A. McEwen had his office here. Max Movshovitz’s dry goods store was located in what was known as the Sumner Building. Morbic Sumner operated a dry goods store also. The Sumner Building at 154-160 Bridge Street is on Lot 25, which is one of the larger lots on Bridge Street. In the 1960’s a large fire occurred and a parking lot took over where some of the businesses had been. So it is unclear based on land deeds if some of the businesses were located in the Sumner Building or at what is now the parking lot. Dr. William Reuben Winters was a dentist here and lived on High Street. His practice was taken over by Dr. Smith an MD. Two Stanzel sisters operated a millinery store here also.
Marriage 1896
6947-96 (Lanark Co) William Reuben WINTERS, 27, dentist, Pontiac, Carleton Place, s/o Hector & Anna WINTERS married Ellen ELLIOTT, 21, Brockville, Carleton Place, d/o Johnston B & Abigail ELLIOTT, witn: John DAVISON of Carleton Place & Carrie WINTERS of Pembroke, 31 Dec 1896, Carleton Place
William R. had the older practice. . I see no mention of family for W.R. in Journal archives. Henry had a daughter Beatrice, mentioned in the Carleton Place column Sept. 12, 1898. May 16, 1917 the Journal reported Dr. Henry Winters’ daughter Beatrice had graduated for U of T, and another note in 1919 had Beatrice Winters on the committee for an Ottawa Collegiate reunion dance–Jaan Kolk
William Winters Canada Census, 1901 Name William Winters Event Type Census Event Date 31 Mar 1901 Event Place Lanark (south/sud), Ontario, Canada Gender Male Age 31 Marital Status Married Nationality Canadian Ethnicity English Religion Methodist Relationship to Head of Household (Original) Head Birth Year (Estimated) 1870 Birthplace Ontario—
Abbie Gourgon on Lost Ottawa–This is rather a long shot, but I was hoping someone on here might recognize the house in this photograph from circa. 1910. The photographer was James Christopher Donaldson, whose studio was on Sparks Street
Jaan Kolk– (Linda’s historical lifesaver 🙂 A search for “Donaldson Studio” at LAC turns up only one hit:
“Unidentified house on mount stamped with ‘Donaldson Studio, 202 1/2 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario.’ “
So, the question Jaan asked which I found quite amusing was: It is identified as part of the collection of Rev. James Wilson of Lanark. One wonders if the “Devil’s Lake” pennant on the building (look closely) wasn’t a bit of ironic humour for the good Presbyterian minister.
Author’s Note: Knowing the once piousness of Lanark County I doubt it, but sometimes one would like to think humour might be afoot.
St. Andrew’s Church, Lanark, Historical Sketch by Rev.D. M. Buchanan, B.A.
1821-1986
Photo- Archives Canada thanks to Jaan Kolk
The village of Lanark is situated on the River Clyde and is near the center of the county of Lanark. The name “Lanark” and “Clyde” betray the origins of the early settlers who came chiefly from Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire, Scotland, many of them were Paisley weavers. The first to settle in this vicinity was a ship load of immigrants from Scotland, who arrived near the present site of this village in the latter part of the summer of 1820 and who spent the first winter in the land of their adoption encamped on the hill near where the Episcopal Church now stands. Though assisted by the government to make a start in this new land—then a wild forest—they nevertheless had to endure indescribable hardships and troubles.
In October, 1831 the contracts for building a manse were issued. Messrs. Drysdale and Hay contracted for the mason work for 57 pounds. The stone house now known as the old manse, was completed the following summer and continued to be used as the manse upwards of 62 years when it was sold to Rev. Mr. Wilson on his retirement.
On May 6, 1862, Rev. James Wilson, M.A., began his ministry and was regularly inducted to the pastorate on June 11, 1862. The induction service was held in the Town Hall, the new church not being yet completed. Mr. Wilson was for three years a missionary under the Colonial Committee in Nova Scotia and having returned to Scotland was minister of Maxwelton Church, Dumfries for a short time. He came then to Canada and officiated for a short time on St. Joseph Street, Montreal. The elders of the congregation at the time of Mr. Wilson’s induction were Messrs. Robert Mason, Alexander Stewart, Robert James and Peter McLaren (teacher) and the membership of the church numbered 106. The congregation had been for some time wading in deep water and the finances were in a very unsatisfactory state the congregation being then deeply involved in debt. The collection per Sabbath amounted to only sixty cents. However, under the new minister the work revived and the people received fresh inspiration and entered upon the work with renewed energy and zeal. The new church being completed a few months after Mr. Wilson’s induction, was opened on Sabbath, August 10, 1862. The Rev. Mr. Wilson preached the first sermon at the opening of the church from Ezra vi:14 “and they builded and finished it according to the commandment of the God of Israel”.
On December 20 of the same year, Messrs. James McIlquham and John Brown were ordained as elders. It can therefore be seen that Mr. McIlquham is the oldest elder in the congregation and is the only member of the session as it was constituted in the first year of Rev. Wilson’s pastorate that is now with us. He is now in the 34th year of active service in the session. Other ordinations to the eldership during Mr. Wilson’s time are as follows: on September 20, 1868, Charles McIlraith and Robert Fleming were ordained and John Nicol was admitted to the session having acted as elder before coming within the bounds of the congregation. On June 24, 1876, Robert James, Jr., George Blair and Andrew Blair were ordained. Of these, Charles McIlraith and George Blair are still members of the session but all the others have gone to meet their eternal reward with the exception of John Brown who removed several years ago to the U.S. and Andrew Baird who is now serving as elder in Middleville.
The introduction of the organ to aid in the service of praise was a matter that agitated the congregation during the first decade of Mr. Wilson’s pastorate to some extent. Some were in favor of its introduction whilst others had conscientious scruples against what has often under such circumstances been termed as a mark of reproach “the kist o’ whistles”. But to the credit of the congregation—the organ was introduced in the latter part of 1872 with almost the unanimous consent of the congregation and has ever since been used as a means to aid the singing.
At the close of the year 1892 after a long pastorate of over 30 years, the Rev. Mr. Wilson feeling the infirmities of age, retired from the active duties of the ministry, the congregation granting him the use of the manse for life, which arrangement was afterwards changed to selling to Mr. Wilson the manse property for $450. Under Mr. Wilson’s pastorate the congregation made considerable progress. Having found it in unfavorable financial circumstances he left it in good financial standing. The weekly collection had risen from sixty cents to about four dollars and the membership had increased to 128. The attendance at the Sabbath School was about 60.
In so long a pastorate, the congregation passed through many experiences and the pastor had his days of discouragement as well as sunshine. Probably the most trying period of Mr. Wilson’s pastorate were to have on more than one occasion has work interrupted by the introduction into the community of self elected and self named evangelists who would be better described as fire brands destroying the peace and retarding the progress of the Church of Christ. In the midst of such scenes and against the opprobrium of those who were carried off their feet with the wave of popular excitement, Mr. Wilson remained true to his sacred trust and maintained the doctrine of the Word of God at all hazards. To Mr. Wilson’s steadfastness to the doctrine of Presbyterianism, yea to the truths of the Gospel and to those staunch and stalwart Christians who stood by him in the face of all such waves of excitement must in a large measure be attributed the solid foundation of Presbyterianism in Lanark today. Mr. Wilson is still with us and it is the prayer of his many friends that he may be long spared to enjoy his well earned rest and to spend the evening of his life among us.
After Mr. Wilson’s resignation, the pastorate was vacant for over six months during which time candidates were being heard. At a meeting of the congregation on the 4th of June, 1893, Rev. D.M. Buchanan, B.A., was called and at that meeting it was also agreed to sell the old manse property and proceed to build a new one. Mr. Buchanan having agreed to accept the call, was inducted by the Presbytery of Lanark and Renfrew in the church on July 20. The elders at the time of his induction were Messrs. McIlquham, Blair, Charles McIlraith and Robert James who died a few months afterwards. Nearly three years have elapsed under the present pastorate during which time the congregation has made rapid progress but the history and details of these years must be left to be written by another pen. Permit us, however, to give a few of the leading particulars and the present numerical strength of the congregations. The new manse which cost about $1,825 was completed and the minister’s family began to occupy it in December, 1893. During the following summer, commodious sheds for the horses costing in all about $325 were built. Additions were made to the session as follows: on January 7, 1894 Peter Duncan was ordained as elder and on September 23 of the same year Messrs. John Smith, John Manahan and Stewart McIlraith were ordained.
Perth Courier, December 5, 1879 Graham-James—Married, on the 19th (?) Nov., at the residence of the bride’s father, by Rev. James Wilson, Lanark, Mr. William H. Graham, Cumberland, Ontario, to Miss Ellen James, daughter of Mr. Robert James, Esq., Lanark. Campbell-Shanks—Married, on the 17th Nov., at the residence of the bridegroom’s father, Dalhousie, by Rev. James Wilson, Lanark, Mr. John A. Campbell to Miss Catherine Shanks, daughter of Mr. Samuel Shanks, Esq.
Perth Courier, Jan. 2, 1880
McCurdy-Crawford—Married, on the 17th Dec., at the Manse, Lanark, by Rev. James Wilson, Mr. John McCurdy to Miss Agnes Crawford, youngest daughter of Mr. Robert Crawford, Esq., Drummond.
McDougall-Johnson—Married, on the (date illegible) December, at the Clyde (?) Hotel, Lanark, by Rev. James Wilson, Mr. Charles McDougall to Miss Sarah Ann Johnson, daughter of Mr. Arthur Johnson, Esq., of the same place. Perth Courier, Feb. 13, 1880
Stead-Lee—Married, at the Clyde Hotel, Lanark, on the 29th Jan., by Rev. James Wilson, Mr. William Stead to Miss Catharine Jane Lee, daughter of the late Mr. Peter Lee, Esq., and granddaughter of Mr. John Donald, Esq., all of Dalhousie.
McDonald-Purdon—Married, at the Clyde Hotel at Lanark on the 7th Feb. by Rev. James Wilson, Mr. Alexander McDonald to Miss Jennie Purdon, daughter of Mr. William Purdon, Esq., Dalhousie.
Perth Courier, July 9, 1880 McFarlane-Dobbie—Married, at the Clyde Hotel, Lanark, on the 23rd June, by Rev. James Wilson, Mr. James McFarlane of Drummond to Miss Charlotte E. Dobbie, eldest daughter of Mr. Thomas Dobbie of Lanark.
Terry Anderson from Lost Ottawa—As soon as I zoomed in on that house I thought “cottage.” I think the pendant on the front porch says Devils Lake. There is a Devil Lake about half-way between Smith’s Falls and Kingston – south west of SF, almost due north of Kingston. The front porch has a hammock, rocking chairs, and everyone looks pretty relaxed. Might this be some family’s summer place at the lake?
Author’s Note– Terry Anderson –AGREED–I am wondering if the Devil’s Lake marked on the pennant is not a cottage at Devil’s Lake 10 minutes out of Westport? In looking at the residential buildings in that area it seems there are a lot of older homes that make up the area.
Jaan Kolk-–The lake near Westport seems to have been consistently called “Devil Lake” while the pennant appears to say “Devil’s Lake” (with a very prominent apostrophe.) Given that the photo was in the family collection of Presbyterian minister Rev. James Wilson, it seems quite plausible that the devilish pennant was placed on the summer home as a wry joke – so it may be a red herring as a clue to the location.
So What do you think?
Red Herring? Joke? Or Name of Lake?
This beautiful, fully winterized 3 bedroom cottage / home on Devil Lake is full of history. It is the original corner store & post office in the quaint settlement of Bedford Mills–
Jaan Kolk-–This is a bit of a long shot, but the house looks somewhat like the old manse at Lanark – perhaps at a different time. Does anyone have other pictures of the old Presbyterian Manse at Lanark (built 1832)?
Friday October the 13th– 6:30.. meet in front of the old Leland Hotel on Bridge Street (Scott Reid’s office) and enjoy a one hour Bridge Street walk with stories of murder mayhem and Believe it or Not!!. Some tales might not be appropriate for young ears. FREE!–
Here we go Carleton Place– Mark Your Calendars–
Friday October the 13th– 6:30.. meet in front of the old Leland Hotel on Bridge Street (Scott Reid’s office) and enjoy a one hour Bridge Street walk with stories of murder mayhem and Believe it or Not!!. Some tales might not be appropriate for young ears. FREE!–
Join us and learn about the history under your feet! This year’s St. James Cemetery Walk will take place Thursday October 19th and october 21– Museum Curator Jennfer Irwin will lead you through the gravestones and introduce you to some of our most memorable lost souls!
Be ready for a few surprises along the way….
This walk takes place in the dark on uneven ground. Please wear proper footwear and bring a small flashlight if you like.
Tickets available at the Museum, 267 Edmund Street. Two dates!!! https://www.facebook.com/events/1211329495678960/
“Any girl or woman desiring to forsake a life of sin will find a helping hand and shelter if needed at the Home for Friendless Women, 412 Wellington Street” was the notice that ran regularly in the Ottawa Citizen’s classified advertisements through the 1880s. It was more like a workhouse, operating as a laundry, than a place for women to find shelter. Shortly after opening they were processing over 80,000 pieces a year, by 1900 10,000 pieces a month.
The Ironing room of Ottawa’s Home for Friendless Women opened in February of 1895 and was established by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union in 1888, to provide a place of succour for “fallen” or otherwise destitute women. In the days before social services, and you were a fallen woman you had no where else to go. In its first year it was home to 6 discharged prisoners, 9 unemployed servants and 2 destitute mothers with 3 children. The women did laundry on a more or less industrial scale to earn their keep.
In the 1920’s the home would move to another building which is now Cambridge Street. In Beechwood Cemetery, there is a stone marking“The Home for Friendless Women Plot”.
Block with the Home for the Friendless Women at 412 Wellington, in 1891.In previous entries, the locations given was 660. However, this does not correspond with the information found in the accession file.As one Heritage Ottawa document point out, the existence of the home for so long points to ongoing social conditions. (LAC PA-011254).
A Saturday Drive, a Roadside Attraction, and a Lost Ottawa Evening Puzzler, too!
You are heading for Westport. You turn off Highway 15 and you get to Newboro. And there you see behind a barbed-wire fence an imprisoned 20 foot-high duck — correction, loon.
Anyone know the story behind the duck?
Well there were comments– first one being that it was a loon not a duck.
llan Davies— I used to own the old house beside the loon, and walked past it every day going to the post office. The house was built in about 1875, and there were iron mines in the area around that time. The well water in the taps still gets its rusty colour because of that.
Barb Orr Renaud— It is a loon and has been there for years although it didn’t always have a fence around it.
Kathy Bobyn— It was used as a float in Canada Day parades.
Photo year 2000–by Nan Lowe
So what can our Lanark County folks add to this story– so we can offer our theories to Lost Ottawa.
Benoit & Richardson Ottawa no date– I thought I saw it at an auction but no– checked my files and it did come from the museum. So what was the relation?
Historian Jaann Kolk who has helped me with a few other Lanark County mysteries commented on my photo on Lost Ottawa
Linda, is this photo connected to Carleton Place in any way? I can’t find much on this in city directories or Journal archives except this note from Oct. 20, 1897 which mentions Carleton Place photographer O. Benoit had been visiting his family on Clarence St. In Ottawa. Perhaps Benoit had a business in Ottawa briefly at some point?
Jaan is probably very correct in his assumption. Working together we slowly unravel the past. Thanks Jaan!
Jaan Kolk–The sign on the back wall advertises “The Boston Cigar” made by the L.O. Grothe company of Montreal. They were in business from about 1880 to at least 1940, so that does not help much with the date. But the logo is identical to a cigar box dated to 1897 http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/tresors/cigares/cigar272e.shtml
More thanks to: Rick Roberts, Carleton Place resident 1953-1971 & 2015-? O.L. Benoit also operated as a photographer in Arnprior between 1902-1904. (source: Glen C. Phillips,The Ontario Photographers List 1901-1925, Volume 2, Global Heritage Press, 2002).
Benoit and Chevrier are recorded as photographers in Ottawa in 1893 … no mention of Benoit and Richardson, nor of Richardson alone. (source: Glen C. Phillips,The Ontario Photographers List 1851-1900, Volume 1, Global Heritage Press, 2002)
Looks like Phillips missed listing the other places where Benoit worked as professional photographer… odd insofar as Philips’ published lists of professional photographers in Ontario and Western Canada are considered to be the most comprehensive published source available. Checking microfilmed newspapers (advertisements) for the period may nail down the years that Benoit worked in CP and Ottawa with Richardson.
Saturday Outing … Up the Ottawa Valley in Carleton Place, two members of the famous lumbering Gillies family get ready for a drive in 1912. Elsie Gillies at the wheel, I believe.
At this time it would be good to have a man along for the ride — to start the car using that crank you see below the radiator. On the “do my bidding principle,” as Mrs. Lost Ottawa calls it.
This car is identified in the original caption as a Packard. What say you, car guys?
(LAC PA-059316)
And now back to our regular programming … Best dressed boaters of theCarleton Place Ladies Canoe Club in front of Findlay’s Foundry, 1903.
‘m envisioning what they’d all look like after tipping that canoe 🙂 The hats floating away…..
Postcard from Carleton Place: Tourists have their picture taken on the bridge over the Mississippi River.
Looking downriver there are buildings. The one on the left (hydro plant) has disappeared, and the one on the right has been turned into condos … but hey, it’s still standing.
The Perley Home had been an uppertown mansion built in the 1870s, and converted into an incurables’ home in the 1890s as a gift from the Perleys.Perley Residence, 415 Wellington Street, today the site of the National Library and Archives.
This beautiful, fully winterized 3 bedroom cottage / home on Devil Lake is full of history. It is the original corner store & post office in the quaint settlement of Bedford Mills–
lindaseccaspina 