Tennant Family History –Lake Tyee 1911 — Mining Claims!

CLIPPED FROMQuesnel Cariboo ObserverQuesnel, British Columbia, Canada11 Feb 1911, Sat  •  Page B2

Tyee Lake is a locally renowned trophy lake in the Cariboo region of British Columbia, surrounded by ranches, crown forest, lakes, rivers and ponds. Peace and tranquility prevail at Tyee Lake, a fabulous destination for outdoor adventure.

Quiet logging roads lead travellers through the beautiful scenery in the area, allowing a true appreciation of the magnificence of the Cariboo. Tyee Lake is popular with fishermen and water-skiers, but access is limited by private development.

Lanark County born E.E. Tennant was a land agent named after the many “Enoch” Tennants of the family and working in northern BC.

Janice Tennant Campbell said : Thanks, Linda! Edmund Enoch 1886-1938 was my granduncle. His Dad was Enoch Edmund 1853-1923. The rest are related as well. Esther Jane was a grand aunt. She married in 1915

Edmond was an agent and constantly advertised in the Quesnel Cariboo Observer in Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada. Obviously he had advised most of his relatives in Carleton Place about something that he thought was going to result in fast money. It took me a couple of hours, but I found out what it was. One of those ‘get rich quick’ things.

CLIPPED FROMQuesnel Cariboo ObserverQuesnel, British Columbia, Canada10 Dec 1910, Sat  •  Page A2

CLIPPED FROMQuesnel Cariboo ObserverQuesnel, British Columbia, Canada07 Jan 1911, Sat  •  Page A2

CLIPPED FROMQuesnel Cariboo ObserverQuesnel, British Columbia, Canada07 Jan 1911, Sat  •  Page A2

So what were they investing in? Along with other folks from all over the world they were investing in a mine.

1911

I don’t think anyone made any great money on this.. This mine is inactive.

With the failure of the railway enterprise and lessening mining activities, a period of depression set in, and the population of Stewart dipped to less than one hundred.

HISTORY – CHAPTER 3

Pioneer Prospectors Arrive CLICK

 D.J. Rainey’s cabin, first house in Stewart, Located at what is now Rainey Creek Park. The commencement of the line at the head of the Canal was the course taken by Columbia Street, and D. Rainey applied for a pre-emption of the land west of this under Alaska regulations. J. W. Stewart applied for the land to the east in 1902. Later when the boundary was established, Rainey purchased his land from the Provincial Government.

Rainey was one of a party of 65 men who landed at the head of the Canal in May, 1898, to re-discover placer diggings somewhere in the interior. The party was headed by a man of the name of Burgess, who had in some way obtained a map showing where the ground lay, and organized the party in Seattle, each member contributing $25 towards expenses.

But no diggings were found and hostility was manifested against Burgess, who, fearing for his life took the opportunity to escape in a boat with Harvey Snow, a prospector form the Nass, who had arrived following information given him by Indians that a large party of white men were at the head of the Canal prospecting for gold. Snow figured to be in on the strike, but when he found how matters stood he closed a deal with Burgess to take him away in his boat for &50; and in the night they left, arriving two days later at Nass Harbour, where Burgess caught a steamer for the south, and was heard no more of.

HISTORY – CHAPTER 5

Copper Ore Discovered Near “Deadman’s Lake” in 1898. click

Work was done on the lower claims of what is now the Silverado property, and rich float ores were found from year to year in the gulches draining from the glacier above, but the ore in place was not discovered in the high altitudes until 1919, when John Haahti located the first of the Silverado ledges, and several others some years later. Haahti had done considerable prospecting on the mountain without success and was at the point of abandoning the search when his attention was attracted to a goat. In endeavoring to get in range for a shot, he climbed over a high-grade ore outcrop, and immediately concluded to spare the goat’s life in exchange for the valuable discovery it had lead him to.

The following year the claims were bonded by J. J. Coughlan, of Vancouver, and a company was formed and some ore was shipped. Some years later the Premiere company became interested and a large amount of development on other ore discoveries near the edge of the glacier, which the melting of the ice had exposed; but with the low price of silver, work was discontinued on the property, with the exception of shipping some 150 tons of high-grade ore by the leasers.

Stevenson and Prowdfoot located additional claims on the Big Missouri Ridge, and in 1910 the combine groups of claims were bonded by Sir D. D. Mann, who, however did no work at that time; but some years later he reassumed the bond, did a large amount of open cut work on various ore showings, and, opened up considerable ore. Owing, it is understood, to the difficulties at that time to finance, the undertaking, the bond was allowed to lapse and shortly afterwards the property was bonded to the Trites, Woods, and Wilson interests and further work was done. But again the bond was allowed to lapse and the property reverted to the owners.

Later the property was bonded to Tacoma people, who formed the Big Missouri Mining C., and after carrying on development work, interested the Consolidated Mining and Smelter Co. The joint venture formed the Buena Vista Mining Co., by whom development is still proceeding.

Carleton Place High School 1947-1948 – Janice Tennant Campbell

Carleton Place Visits Comrie 1994 — Joyce Tennant

An Article About the Lanark Schools — Mr. Joseph Tennant

Tales from the Mines —Kingdon Mine Part 3

The Ottawa Journal
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
29 Jan 1949, Sat  •  Page 19

Tales from the Mines —Kingdon Mine Part 2

Kingdon Mine Led Galetta Area from a Boomtown to a Ghost Town

Lost Mines — Clyde Forks Mine

When History Comes to You–A Visit from Middleville

Clyde forks Mine- Dualsport

Deed of Mines? Linda’s Mailbag — Amy De Ridder

Gold Mines and Disappearances

Is there Still Gold on Wellesley Island ?

Did Anyone Find the Lost Barrel of Silver Coins That Lies at the Bottom of the Rideau Canal?

What Happened to the Gold on the Ramsay 7th line?

Gold in Dem Dar Hills of Lanark

So What Happened to the Marble at the Tatlock Mine?

My Daddy was a Miner — was Yours?

The Mysterious Tatlock Mine

The Early Days of Working in the Ramsay Mine — Going Down Down Down

Looking for the Artist of this Carleton Place Painting-The Lime Kiln

A Giant’s Kettle in the Middle of Lanark County

Where Were the Miracle Salt Springs in Pakenham? I Love a Challenge!

Gold Mines and Disappearances

Carleton Place Then and Now–Bridge Street Series–Volume 16– Newman’s Ha

You Can Explore This Haunted Ghost Town For A Creepy Adventure In Ontario

Are you brave enough to visit after dark?

Deed of Mines? Linda’s Mailbag — Amy De Ridder

 

 

Good morning! Recently purchased a property on Black lake and found a pile of old information and wills and a very little about a deed of mines on a large property by a Bernard Farrell in 1872 I’m interested if you have ever heard of any mining property near Black Lake and any history about that area! Thanks Amy De Ridder

 

Lake Details: Black Lake contains many islands and inlets to explore. There is a large wildlife population within its vicinity.

Dimensions: 846 acres, Maximum Depth of 70 feet

Graphite was next discovered on Lots 24 and 25, Concession 5 of old North Burgess Township southwest of Black Lake (outside the TRW) in 1917. The occurrence consists of lenses highly charged with flakes of graphite, within crystalline limestone, a contact metamorphic deposit related to intrusion of a pegmatite dyke. The Timmins Mine, as it was known, was worked from 1918-23 by Noah Timmins of Montreal. Numerous pits were opened, and diamond drilling carried out. A mill was installed and operated experimentally, but the operation was never economically viable.–Geology, Mineral Deposits and History of Mining in the Tay River Watershed

1881 Census

Name:	Bernard Farrell
Gender:	Male
Marital Status:	Married
Age:	76
Birth Year:	1805
Birthplace:	Ireland
Religion:	Catholic
Nationality:	Irish
Occupation:	Farmer
Province:	Ontario
District Number:	111
District:	Lanark South
Sub-District Number:	F
Subdistrict:	Burgess North

The first mining “magnate” in the Tay River Watershed area was an interesting combination of medical humanitarian and industrial visionary. Dr. James Wilson (1798-1881) was a physician and surgeon from Scotland, who emigrated to Ontario in 1818 at the age of 20, a young man fresh from medical school in Edinburgh. He first settled in the village of Lanark, but moved to Perth in about 1822, setting up a rural medical practice there until 1869, when he returned to his birthplace in Scotland to retire. By the 1830’s, he was starting to take a strong interest in the various rock outcrops that he encountered as he made his rounds to his rural patients in his horse and buggy. He was particularly fascinated with the variety of colourful minerals in the Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks west of Perth, and in the fossils that he found in the Paleozoic sedimentary rocks east of town. At that time, the science of geology was in its infancy. The conventional view was that the rocks and fossils had been placed where they were by the hand of God at the time of Creation, and hadn’t moved since. To contradict this concept was considered to be blasphemous in the least, as Charles Darwin was to discover some 20 years later. Whether or not Dr. Wilson worried too much about challenging the conservative beliefs of the majority of his pious neighbours we shall never know, at any rate, he was particularly interested in minerals that might be worked for the benefit of mankind. Untrained formally in geology himself, he kept in touch with the leading earth scientists of the day, including Sir Roderick Murchison, a British pioneer in stratigraphy. He accompanied Sir William Logan, founder of the Geological Survey of Canada, on some of the latter’s surveys, and supplied him with much information on local geology, for which he did not always receive Logan’s acknowledgement. He was the first to recognize the presence of the minerals apatite (calcium phosphate, useful in making fertilizer) and phlogopite (a form of mica) in old North Burgess Township, and to encourage the entrepreneurs amongst his friends to exploit these deposits for profit. These men included his good friends the Honourable Roderick Matheson, a wealthy merchant, magistrate and later senator who lived on Gore Street in the lovely stone house now occupied by the Perth Museum, and William Morris, who headed up the company which built the first Tay Canal. Dr. Wilson and Matheson first obtained property on Lot 5, Concession 8 of North Burgess Township (Crown grant to Matheson of the north half on Feb. 23, 1852, and the south half on October 6, 1853). Wilson obtained a grant of the north half of Lot 2, Concession 8 on July 8, 1852, and Matheson bought the south half on July 16, 1853. Actual working of the deposits (on Lot 2) began in 1855, Canada’s first phosphate (apatite) mine. Interest eventually shifted to Matheson’s property on Lot 5 (now part of the Burgess Wood subdivision), where in 1870, the first recorded commercial shipment of phosphate occurred. By this time, Wilson had returned to Scotland. Before he left, he gave his extensive rock and mineral collection to the Honourable Mr. Matheson, who stored them in his warehouse in Perth. Matheson died of a stroke in January, 1873, while writing a letter to his friend Dr. Wilson, no doubt telling him of the success of their first joint mining venture. The mineral collection was donated by his son, Colonel Allan Matheson, to the local museum, then housed in the high school. When the Perth Museum opened in 1967 in  the former Matheson House on Gore Street, the collection found a permanent home there.

 

That very first mine was later sold by the Matheson estate to Robert Chamblet Adams and Joseph S. Roper in 1878. The mineral rights were leased to the Anglo-Canadian Phosphate Company, Ltd. in 1886-93. In 1907, William Lees McLaren, son of lumber baron and Senator Peter McLaren (the latter had worked an adjacent property on Lot 4, Concession 8 together with Arthur Meighan in previous years), bought the property, and worked it for mica for a number of years. This became known as the McLaren Mine, and was one of the largest in this part of the province. After the initial work on Lot 2, Concession 8 commenced in 1855, other phosphate mines soon opened up in the vicinity within the TRW, including the Byrnes (1870), Otter (1870), Old Anthony (1871), and Smith (1883) workings, all now within the Mica Mines Conservation Area. Larger phosphate mines just outside the TRW in old North Burgess Township included the Munslow-Martha (1871), Hanlon (1890’s) and Silver  Queen (1903) Mines. It is interesting to note how many of the old mining families are buried in the old Roman Catholic cemetery in nearby Stanleyville, including Byrne, Hanlon, Smith, Adam and others.

 

The mineral phlogopite (white mica) had also been recognized by Dr. Wilson, and was produced as a by-product with the apatite in the early days of mining in old North Burgess Township. At first, it did not have much of a market. The first mine worked purely for mica was the Pike Lake Mine, on Lots 16 and 17, Concession 9 of North Burgess Township, at the eastern end of Pike Lake, which was first opened in 1860 by a New York Company. The first sheet mica produced here was shipped to France, where the French navy used it in their battleships. In 1880, Belden’s Historical Atlas of Lanark County noted that, although the operation had been discontinued, ” the supply is in great abundance and the quality of the article first class”.The mine was reopened in 1892 and again in1902, and for awhile, supplied the French Navy with sheet mica for port-holes in its battleships. The mine was so important at the time that the village of Stanleyville was known then as “Micaville”.By 1896, with markets for local phosphate drying up, mica became the most economic product, and a new mining “boom” took place within North Burgess Township, including the TRW. Local businessmen dreamed up new uses for this mineral, and the old phosphate mines were soon being reworked for mica. In time it was being used for stove and furnace windows and doors, irons, toasters, spectacles, goggles, gas-masks, lamp shades, fuse-plugs, separating leaves in electrical conductors and insulators in electric motors. Scrap mica was used for covering steam pipes and boilers, and was built up into sheets called “micanite”, using shellac as a cement. Ground mica was found to be useful in making wall-paper (it gave it lustre), a filler in paint and rubber, as a lubricant in axle-gease, and in pipe-coatings, insulation, fire-proofing, patent roofing and telephone receivers. At one time, there as many as 30 mica mines operating in old North Burgess Township alone. One of the reasons for this region’s viability for mica production was its close proximity to the Rideau Canal, which afforded a cheap transportation route to markets.

 

Farther from Perth in the TRW, apatite, and later, phlogopite mica, were mined in old South Sherbrooke Township in Lanark County, and old Bedford and Hinchinbrooke Townships in Frontenac County, in the latter two, in the Bobs Lake and Eagle Lake areas respectively. Just outside the TRW in North Burgess Township, the Silver Queen Mine (Lot 13, Concession 5) produced phlogopite mica from 1903 to 1909, and apatite from 1903 to1912. The mica was a light silver amber colour of excellent quality, hence the name. In its heyday, the operation boasted a boarding-house for 20 men, a boiler-house to generate steam for 3 drills and a hoist. Three pits up to 15 metres deep were worked, as well as underground chambers. The Munslow-Martha Mine (Lot 13, Concession 6, North Burgess Township) was another large producer of phosphate in the period 1887-1902, was reworked for mica from large pits in 1891-1907, again in1940 – 42 during WW II. The Hanlon Mine (Lot 11, Concession 6) had a large camp and buildings, with a shaft reaching 53 metres in depth, and produced mica from the late 1890’s to 1909. At its peak, 115 men were employed, making it the largest mining operation in old North Burgess Township.

 

Major mica mining in the area ended in 1912, and had practically ceased by 1925 when cheap mica began to be imported from Madagascar. Within the TRW, production of mica ceased in the Byrnes Mine (Lots 11 and 12, Concession 7, North Burgess Township) in 1904, at Smith (Lot 9, Concession 7) in 1906, in South Sherbrooke Township in 1911 (McEwen Mine), in the McLaren Mine (Lot 5, Concession 8,  North Burgess Township) in 1918, but in the Eagle Lake area (Green Mine) in 1942, Bobs Lake Mine in 1948, and Otter Mine (Lots 10 and 11, Concession 7, North Burgess Township) as late as 1952.  –Geology, Mineral Deposits and History of Mining in the Tay River Watershed

 

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.

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

 

 

 

Gold Mines and Disappearances

Is there Still Gold on Wellesley Island ?

Did Anyone Find the Lost Barrel of Silver Coins That Lies at the Bottom of the Rideau Canal?

What Happened to the Gold on the Ramsay 7th line?

Gold in Dem Dar Hills of Lanark

So What Happened to the Marble at the Tatlock Mine?

My Daddy was a Miner — was Yours?

The Mysterious Tatlock Mine

The Early Days of Working in the Ramsay Mine — Going Down Down Down

Looking for the Artist of this Carleton Place Painting-The Lime Kiln

A Giant’s Kettle in the Middle of Lanark County

Where Were the Miracle Salt Springs in Pakenham? I Love a Challenge!

Gold Mines and Disappearances

Carleton Place Then and Now–Bridge Street Series–Volume 16– Newman’s Hall

Kingdon Mine Led Galetta Area from a Boomtown to a Ghost Town

Kingdon Mines (Lead) at Fitzroy [Harbour, Ont.] near Arnprior. ca. 1910

Up river from Fitzroy Harbor and near Galetta, a lead mine, known as Kingdon Mines, produced high quality lead for some time, but was flooded when Chat. Falls dam was built. The entrance tunnels and pits are all flooded by the swamp nearby.

To see what is left of Kingdon Mines head on down to the video below.

 

 

 

 

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1. The Ottawa Citizen,
2. 18 Jan 2000, Tue,
3. Page 36

 

 

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1. The Ottawa Citizen,
2. 21 Nov 1919, Fri,
3. Page 3

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1. The Ottawa Citizen,
2. 24 Feb 1908, Mon,
3. Page 3

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1. The Ottawa Citizen,
2. 03 Oct 1925, Sat,
3. Page 10

 

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1. The Ottawa Citizen,
2. 12 Jun 1926, Sat,
3. Page 28

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1. The Ottawa Journal,
2. 15 Apr 1931, Wed,
3. Page 13

 

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1. The Ottawa Journal,
2. 09 Oct 1919, Thu,
3. Page 20

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1. Nanaimo Daily News,
2. 12 Aug 1925, Wed,
3. Page 4

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1. The Ottawa Citizen,
2. 28 May 1951, Mon,
3. Page 14

 

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1. Nanaimo Daily News,
2. 11 Mar 1935, Mon,
3. Page 1

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.

Gold Mines and Disappearances

Is there Still Gold on Wellesley Island ?

Did Anyone Find the Lost Barrel of Silver Coins That Lies at the Bottom of the Rideau Canal?

What Happened to the Gold on the Ramsay 7th line?

Gold in Dem Dar Hills of Lanark

So What Happened to the Marble at the Tatlock Mine?

My Daddy was a Miner — was Yours?

The Mysterious Tatlock Mine

The Early Days of Working in the Ramsay Mine — Going Down Down Down

Looking for the Artist of this Carleton Place Painting-The Lime Kiln

A Giant’s Kettle in the Middle of Lanark County

Where Were the Miracle Salt Springs in Pakenham? I Love a Challenge!

Gold Mines and Disappearances

Carleton Place Then and Now–Bridge Street Series–Volume 16– Newman’s Hall

Gold in Dem Dar Hills of Lanark

Lanark County is said to have as great a variety of minerals as can be found anywhere in the same area. Galena has been mined at Carleton and near Lanark, Quite an excitement was caused by gold being found in the streets of Lanark, and rubies and amethysts were found in Burgess 1879. Donald Sherwin from  FRIENDS of the TAY WATERSHED  is of the opinion that most known mineral deposits in the Lanark County portion of the Tay Valley Watershed have either been depleted in historic times, or are too small and uneconomic to be considered for future mineral exploitation.

The Perth Courier 1880—-Mr. Boyd Caldwell along with his sons William and Thomas commenced two weeks ago on January 5, 1880 to open up an iron mine on the property in the Township of Lavant, and he has taken out over 200 tons of ore already with four men. The ore has been analysed by Prof. Chapman, and according to his return yields 64 per cent, of metallic iron, and contains none of the deleterious substances, such as phosphoric and Titania acids and sulphur.

It contains about five per cent, of lime, which we understand is of benefit in smelting. The deposit is very extensive, 30 feet in width, and as far as at present known about 300 yards in length the openings having been made nearly the’ whole length (300 yards). Mr. Caldwell intends sending a sample to Pittsburgh, Pa., in the Spring to be smelted. Whither be intends after fully testing it to put up furnaces to smelt the ore. or to ship to the States, as has been done with other ores mined in Eastern Ontario, we know not.

Photo from Rideau Township Historical Society

This ore being so free from impurities it might pay to smelt it on the spot, as we believe there is abundance of timber in the neighborhood tor charcoal purposes.

Mr. Caldwell some years ago (when the gold fever broke out in Madoc) told me of the veins of quartz near the village of Lanark, and they contained according to Dr. Girdwood’s analysis, seventeen dollars worth of gold to the ton. Why are these veins not worked, when less than half of seventeen dollars of gold to the ton of reek will, and in many cases is made to pay handsome dividends ?

Photo from–Derek Davidson‎Madoc and Local Area History

Travel back in time almost 150 years to relive Ontario’s Highlands very own gold rush! In 1866, local division courthouse clerk, Marcus Powell, stumbled upon a cave twelve feet long, six feet high, and six feet wide on the property of John Richardson, just north of Madoc. What he found inside is best described in his own words: “The gold was found… in the form of leaves and nuggets, and in the roof it ran through a foot thickness like knife blades. The largest nugget was about the size of a butternut.”

This discovery set off a gold rush the likes of which Canada wouldn’t see again until gold was discovered in the Klondike, thirty years later.-Eldorado Experience

NOTE_

Kim Woodside

Eldorado experience is permanently closed and has been since 2018. Thank you to those who visited. Kim Woodside

Eldorado Experience Facebook page

Today, you can go for a personal guided tour of the historic Richardson property with owner, Kim Woodside. Visit the discovery site, the remains of the ore processing mill, the streets of the original town of Eldorado, and several other historic points of interest. While you’re there, don’t forget to browse the giftshop your very own piece of ore from the Richardson mine, and try your hand at gold panning!
This wonderful 100 acre healing property is home to the Richardson Gold Mine, the Eldorado Copper Mine, the Eldorado Gold and Silver Reduction Company and the Phoenix Gold Mining Company.–Location: 5 McCann crescent, Eldorado

After working them for about a year, the Boyds leased a portion to the Bethlehem Iron and Manufacturing Company of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, who carried out the bulk of the mining. The vein was considered to be of the very best magnetic ore. It varied in width from 10 to 30 feet and was assayed by a Professor Chapman at 65 per cent metallic iron. In addition to mines, the Caldwells also operated a steam sawmill, that provided employment to 50 men.

The Wilbur mine operated until 1911. Since almost everyone in town worked for the mine, the community was abandoned after the mine shut down. The post office closed in 1913 and recent floods have obliterated almost all traces of the community. However, if you travel along the old KPR rail bed, you’ll find signs of Wilbur coming back to haunt you. The railway station sign, a building thought to be the rail station and a humorous sign post announcing your arrival in Wilbur still remain.

Related reading

Looking for the Artist of this Carleton Place Painting-The Lime Kiln

The Early Days of Working in the Ramsay Mine — Going Down Down Down

A Giant’s Kettle in the Middle of Lanark County

Where Were the Miracle Salt Springs in Pakenham? I Love a Challenge!