The Haliburton, Kawartha & Pine Ridge District Health Council, through its Well-Being in the Rural Community Task Force, hosted a series of meetings in 1993 to look at the issues facing the health of the district's rural communities. The results of these meetings were forwarded to the Premier's Council on Health, Well-being and Social Justice and the district was subsequently chosen as one of four pilot projects to consider the impact of the changing economy on communities.
George Barker Hall was born in Brooklyn, New York and later immigrated to Upper Canada. He was a lawyer, MPP, and a judge in Peterborough, Upper Canada and Canada West. He also owned a flour mill in the town of Peterborough in the late 1840's and 1850's.
The building which housed the law office of Hall, Gillespie was originally a surveyor's office, built in 1855 by Thomas J. Dennehy on land that he had leased from Rev. Mark Burnham. Two years later, on June 27, 1857, Robert Dennistoun leased the property and building from Rev. Burnham and started a law practice. When Robert was appointed Judge of the County Court, his son, James F. Dennistoun, practiced alone until he formed a partnership called Dennistoun, Fairbairn and Cassels. When Fairbairn was elected to the Legislative Assembly, James Dennistoun and Cassels ran the law office until Cassels became the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada. In 1873 James Dennistoun's brother, Robert Hamilton Dennistoun, and E.H.D. Hall formed the firm of Dennistoun Bros. and Hall. In 1883 James retired and the partnership of Dennistoun Bros. and Hall was dissolved. This left Robert H. Dennistoun practicing law in the original building, while E.H.D. Hall went to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. When Robert H. Dennistoun died his widow asked Hall to return and take over the law practice. He took over in 1884 and practiced alone until 1887 when L.M. Hayes joined the firm. The firm was known as Messrs. Hall and Hayes until 1909 when B.D. Hall joined and it became known as Hall, Hayes and Hall. Also in 1909, a fire broke out in the offices and a number of ledgers were damaged but were able to be copied from. After this fire, a vault, two additional rooms, and an apartment over the office, were added to the building. A number of lawyers joined and left the firm as the years went by. E.H.D. Hall died in 1939 at the age of 89. B.D. Hall remained with the firm and had a succession of different partners. In 1955 J.A. Gillespie joined the firm and it became known as Hall and Gillespie. The firm was wound down, disposed of and terminated in 1993 when John A. Gillespie, the surviving partner, decided to close the practice. The practice remained, until its dissolution, in the original building where it had begun. (Taken from: 94-001-71-3.)
The Hambeltonian Stallion "Boxer" was bred by Ira Emmerson, of Adams, in Jefferson County in New York State. He was jet black in colour and stood 16 hands high. He obtained a speed of 2.33 and 1/2 in Watertown, New York in 1888. He had been raced twelve times of which he had won six of those races; came in second three times; came in third once; tied second and third place once and came in unplaced once. Boxer was sired by Jefferson Prince. His proprietor in 1889 was James Baptie of Springville, Ontario.
The Theodore Thorne Hamilton family is associated with the earliest settlement of the Bobcaygeon area and later relocation to western Canada, where Theodore Thorne Hamilton was a telegraph operator with the Canadian National Railway. Hamilton was born 10 April 1890 in Bobcaygeon and died 3 August 1959. While in western Canada, he resided in Eudako, British Columbia.
Hamilton Township is situated in Northumberland County. It was settled by United Empire Loyalists. Camborne is a small village located on an old north-south pioneer road in the township. (Taken from: Mika, Nick and Helma. Places of Ontario, Part II F-M. Belleville: Mika Publishing Co., 1981.)
Howard Borden Hamilton was a carpenter and businessman who operated a building and supply company in McCracken's Landing, Ontario between 1937 and 1981. He built homes, cottages, and decks in the Peterborough and surrounding area. Hamilton was married to Mildred Hamilton and died between 199[8] and 2001.
Doris M. Hancock attended teacher training courses in the late 1920s offered through St. John's Church of England in Port Hope, Ontario.
Mary Anne Haney, born 1958, was a student at Trent University during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Mrs W. George Hankinson lived in Deloraine, Manitoba, in the early 1900's. She was the wife of W. George Hankinson, men's clothier, who set up a shop in Cobalt, Ontario in 1909. Mrs. Hankinson moved to Cobalt in 1909.
His Honour John Elly Harding, County Court Judge, was born in Beverly Township of Wentworth County in Upper Canada on May 29, 1840, son of John Harding and Jane Talbot. In 1866, Harding married Mary Stevenson of Sarnia, Ontario; Mary died in 1905 and Harding married Elizabeth Malcolmson seven years later. Harding was initiated into Masonry in St. John's Lodge No. 73 and in 1868 was elected Worshipful Master. From 1872 to 1874 he served as the District Deputy Grand Master of South Huron District. Harding was educated at the Caradoc Academy and later was privately tutored by Reverend H.B. Jessop. He read law with Richard Bayley, K.C., of London, Ontario and with Eccles and Carroll of Toronto, Ontario. Harding practiced law in St. Mary's and Strafford, Ontario until 1898, when he was appointed Junior Judge of the County Court in Victoria County, Ontario. In 1906, he was appointed Senior Court Judge of Victoria County. Judge Harding died on March 16, 1925 at the age of 84 and is interred in Lindsay, Ontario. (Taken from Who's Who and Why, Vol. 5. Vancouver: International Press Ltd, 1914.; biography further augmented from information received from Ernest Huggins, 2012).
Spencer J. Harrison was born in 1962. An artist who has lived and painted in Peterborough for several years, Harrison's work has been exhibited locally, nationally and internationally. Of special significance is his project "Would You Beat this Man?, or more affectionately, "The Fag Project"" which was shown in several cities across Canada and addresses the issue of fear and hatred of gay people. The project is known widely as "The Queer Project." Harrison is also an art instructor and a graduate of the Frost Centre, Trent University. Harrison was artist-in-residence at Trent University in 1994-1995.
Jean Harstone, born 1900, was raised in Peterborough, Ontario. During the early 1920's she attended an architectural/interior design school in New York City and later went on to work in promotion and advertising for the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) Radio Network and later for the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) Radio Network. Jean Harstone died in 1980.
Hart House was opened in 1919 at the University of Toronto, Ontario. It was a gift to the University by the Massey Foundation. Built by two Canadian architects, Sproatt and Rolph, it had a dining-hall for undergraduates, a faculty club, club rooms for graduate members, a music room, a chapel, a library, a room for debates, a completely equipped little theatre, a sketch room and various offices plus a running track, rooms for boxing, fencing and wrestling, a swimming pool, a billiard room, photographic dark rooms, a rifle range, common-rooms and guest rooms. Hart House was essentially a club for men. (Taken from: Wallace, W. Stewart. "A History of the University of Toronto." Toronto: The University of Toronto Press, 1927.) The Theatre in Hart House was in the basement. Vincent Massey and his wife saw the area before a theatre was built and made the suggestion. The theatre was fully equipped with 500 seats, a green room, a dressing room and property and costume rooms. In 1919 the Theatre presented five plays, four matinees lyriques and a number of lectures on the productions of the Hart House Theatre and, in general, the art of the little theatre. At first the Theatre was operated outside of the University Community. Undergraduates were not in the productions unless they were extremely proficient in their skills. Instead the University relied on more experienced men and women. Students were able to buy tickets at special rates to see the productions. Not only were plays put on in the theatre but it was also used for special lectures, musicals by the music club and productions by other colleges. There were a number of different directors throughout the years who were sympathetic to the students and involved the undergraduates as much as possible in the mechanics of the productions. During the 1920's and 1930's the Hart House Theatre was the leader in Canadian little theatre. In 1930 Hart House Theatre was expanded. The ground beneath the second storey was excavated to provide room for a rehearsal hall, additional rooms and a storage room for the 3 000 costumes that belonged to the theatre. Starting in the 1930's and into the years of World War II the Theatre became used by students and their own productions than it had been previously. A number of well-known Canadian personalities, such as Johnny Wayne, Frank Shuster and Andrew Allan received their start at the Theatre. (Taken from: Montagnes, Ian. The Story of Hart House. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1969.)
In 1792, the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham were officially created in a proclamation made by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe. The proclamation divided Upper Canada in 19 Counties for representation purposes. The United Counties are bounded by Lake Ontario in the south, Hastings County in the east, Ontario County in the west and Peterborough and Victoria Counties in the north.
The Village of Hastings was incorporated in 1875. It is on the Trent Canal system partially in Northumberland County and partially in Peterborough County. In its early history lumber from the northern part of Peterborough passed through Hastings locks on its way to Lake Ontario. It originally had a foundry, a cotton factory, flouring and grist mills as well as a stone Roman Catholic Church, the Church of England and Presbyterian and Methodist Churches. (Taken from: The Illustrated Historical Atlas of Northumberland and Durham Counties, Ontario. Belleville: Mika Silk Screening Limited, 1972.)
George W. Hatton, Barrister, Peterborough was Agricultural representative in the Peterborough area for the Ontario Department of Agriculture, and by his own writ, was hoping that Borden would appoint him to the Senate. He was Crown Attorney from October 1914 to his death in 1929.
F.W. Haultain, the son of Major General Francis Haultain, was born at Brussels, Belgium, November 7, 1821, and was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, England. He was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery, March 19, 1839, and after serving many years in Canada, retired as Lieutenant-Colonel in May 1860. He then settled at Peterborough, Upper Canada, in September 1860, and almost immediately became involved in political life. He won the general election of 1861, defeating W.S. Conger by some thirty votes. In 1863, he stood aside while Conger was acclaimed to the seat, but, upon Conger's death in 1864, re-entered the fray to defeat Charles Perry by one hundred and six votes in a rather warm campaign. Haultain died in 1882.
In 1903 it was decided by the people of the village of Havelock, Ontario, that the construction of a hydro power supply plant was necessary and possible. The chosen site was located at Burnt Dam, six miles north of Havelock, in Belmont Township. It was estimated that the financial outlay to undertake this project would be $8,000. To raise the money, steps were taken to form a joint stock company to be known as the Havelock Electric Light and Power Company Ltd. Very quickly all of the stocks were sold and a generating building was constructed on the chosen site. From 1903 to 1920 the Havelock Electric Light and Power Company Ltd. supplied electricity to users in Havelock at a flat rate of $2.00 per month. In March, 1920, a contract was made with Ontario Hydro and power in the village was then supplied by the Havelock Hydro Commission. (Taken from: Hunter, Harold R. Havelock Through the Years. Belleville: Mika Publishing Company, 1990.)
Some members of the Hay and Dunlop families are descendants of Thomas Alexander Stewart (1786-1847) and Frances Stewart (1794-1872), Irish immigrants who arrived in Cobourg, Ontario from Ireland in 1822 and settled the following year in Douro Township near the present city of Peterborough.
Reverend C.W. Hedley was a minister who was serving in Peterborough, Ontario in 1895 and 1896. Some of his time as minister was served at the Otonabee mission.
Professor Brian Heeney, born 1933, was the Academic Vice-President and Provost of Trent University. He came to Trent in 1971 to become the Master of Champlain College and a member of the History Department. He later became the director of the Bata Library and was appointed Academic Vice-President and Provost September 1, 1981. Heeney was educated at the University of Toronto, the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge Massachusetts, and Oxford University. He was the assistant curate at All Saints' Cathedral in Edmonton from 1957 to 1959 and was the Anglican chaplain and a member of the History Department at the University of Alberta before coming to Trent University in 1971. Throughout his career Heeney's interest lay in the study of the religious and social history of Victorian England. He was the author of several books including "Mission to the Middle Classes", and "A Different Kind of Gentleman: Parish Clergy as Professional Men in Early and Mid-Victorian England." Professor Brian Heeney died September 17, 1983. (Taken from: "Trent Fortnightly" Vol. 14, No. 3, 1983.)
Margaret Ash Heideman received her Master's Degree from the University of Toronto. She was married to Alan H. Heideman. Margaret was an active member in the University Women's Club and arranged events with such people as contralto Maureen Forester. Other visits to Peterborough were arranged with Betty Jean Hagen and Hilda Neatby. Margaret wrote book reviews for the Peterborough Examiner under the editorship of Robertson Davies.