Gilbert Forrest Bagnani was born April 26, 1900, in Rome, to General Ugo Bagnani, of Rome and later London as military attache at the Italian Embassy, and Florence Dewar, daughter of Dr. James Dewar of Cobourg, Ontario. Gilbert spoke both English and Italian and later learned to speak Greek, Latin, Arabic, French and German. He was educated at the Nobile Collegio del Nazzareno in Rome and at a preparatory school called Gibbs' in London. His schooling was interrupted by World War I. He served as a Second Lieutenant of artillery towards the end of the War. After the War he returned to the University of Rome where he received his doctorate. Instead of entering law as he had planned, he turned to the Italian School of Archaeology in Athens to study antiquities which were becoming a strong interest of his.
In 1929 Gilbert married Mary Augusta Stewart Houston of Toronto, daughter of Stewart Houston (editor of "The Financial Post") and Augusta Robinson (daughter of John Beverley Robinson, Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, and granddaughter of Sir John Beverley Robinson, Chief Justice and Attorney-General of Upper Canada). Stewart's father died while she was young and her mother took her to Europe for a more cosmopolitan education than she could receive in Canada. Gilbert and Stewart had an apartment in Rome and for seven seasons worked, in the Sahara Desert, with the Royal Archaeological Mission to Egypt.
In 1937 they fled fascist Italy and purchased a 200 acre farm and house built around 1845 near Port Hope, Ontario and named it "Vogrie". They added a large, forty foot long, two storeys high addition in which they housed their library, oil paintings, drawings, tapestries and ceramics. In 1945 Gilbert was invited to teach ancient history at the University of Toronto and in 1958 he became a Professor. He retired from the University of Toronto in 1965. During the time that the Bagnanis were in Toronto, Gilbert was a founding member and president of the Oriental Club of Toronto, a supporter of the Art Gallery of Ontario and an active member of the Archaeological Institute of America, of which he was vice-president from 1951 to 1954. Stewart was head of Extension at the Art Gallery of Ontario from 1951 to 1963. In 1965 the Bagnanis returned to "Vogrie". In the same year, Gilbert was asked to accept a term-appointment at Trent University. He was honoured with a LL.D. by Trent in 1971 and he continued to teach as a Professor of Ancient History until 1975. During the period between 1965 and 1975 Stewart remained active, lecturing on art in various venues and developing the Mackenzie Gallery at Trent University. Gilbert and Stewart did not have children. On February 10, 1985 Gilbert Forrest Bagnani died. Stewart moved to their Toronto home. In May of 1996 Mary Stewart Houston Bagnani died. The "Vogrie" property was inherited by Trent University after the death of Gilbert in 1985. Antiquities, art works, furniture, books and documents were bequeathed to a number of institutions, including Trent University, after the deaths of Gilbert and Stewart Bagnani.
Arthur B. Bailey was a sports enthusiast who lived in Mount Pleasant, Ontario at the turn of the century. He was also the catcher on the Mount Pleasant baseball team for the 1914 season.
Marlow Banks was a resident of Peterborough, Ontario and the owner of the Banks Bicycle Store. He was a hockey fan, and more specifically, a fan of the Peterborough Petes hockey team. Mr. Banks used to sponsor the "Banks Bicycle Store Trophy" which was awarded annually to the Petes regular season scoring champion.
Robert George Barclay was the Chief Insurance Officer of the Unemployment Insurance Commission from its inception in 1941 until his retirement in 1956.
The Bark family resided in Toronto, Ontario during the early 1900's and spent their vacation time at their cottage, "Lingerlonger Lodge" which was located on the shores of Moore Lake, just south of Minden, Ontario.
Edna Barker was born in 1952 and was editor at CBC for Peter Gzowski for 20 years. She has edited two books relating to Gzowski, A Peter Gzowski Reader, and Remembering Peter Gzowski: A Book of Tributes.
Leslie Barker is a descendent of the several Barker relatives who figure largely in the fonds, Dr. E.J. Barker, R.W. Barker, Lt. Col. R.K. Barker, and Capt. W.D.P. Barker.
The Honourable James K. Bartleman was born in Orillia, Ontario in 1939. From 1966 to 2002, he served as a diplomat in Canada’s foreign service and, from 2002 to 2007, as Ontario’s 27th Lieutenant Governor. Mr. Bartleman is a member of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation and was Ontario’s first Aboriginal vice regal representative, devoting much of his time to promoting literacy among Indigenous children and combating the stigma associated with mental illness. He is an author, having written five books of non-fiction, including two which won the Joseph Brant award on multicultural history, and two novels with social justice themes relating to the condition of Indigenous people. Titles include Out of Muskoka (2002); On six continents: a life in Canada’s foreign service, 1966-2002 (2004); Rollercoaster: my hectic years as Jean Chretien’s diplomatic advisor, 1994-1998 (2005); As long as the rivers flow (2011); and The redemption of Oscar Wolf (2013). Citing his connection to the Peterborough area and his recognition of Trent University’s “outstanding native studies program,” Mr. Bartleman offered his papers to Trent University Archives in 2013. (Taken from correspondence received from The Honourable James K. Bartleman, 2013).
Ivan Bateman is a retired businessman and family historian.
The Bateson family consisted of George who married Mary (?) and lived in Penetanguishene; Isaac Newton who married Margaret (?) and lived in Dowagiac, Michigan in the United States; Jane who married a Robert Russell (farmer) and lived in Scotland County, Missouri in the United States; Eliza who married James Morrison and lived in Lindsay, Ontario; Margaret who married James Marshall (Carriage-maker) and lived in the village of Cannington, Ontario; Letitia who married William Henry McCardle (labourer) and lived in Midland, Ontario; Mary Eleanor who married Thomas Richardson (blacksmith) and also lived in Midland, Ontario; and William who married Harriet (?) and lived in Bailieboro, Ontario. These nine people were children of Isaac (died January 22, 1880) and Ellen (died September 13, 1900) Bateson of Cavan Township. William Bateson died January 28, 1930. It is unknown who Thomas and John Bateson are except that they were executers of Isaac Bateson's Last Will and Testatment.
The Baulch family were tailors who lived in Hampton, Ontario and Port Hope, Ontario. Members of the family include Joseph H. and his wife Laura, Henry N., R. Baulch, and Will Baulch, Rochester, New York.
C. Beale was a retired military officer who settled in the Peterborough area at the end of the 1830s.
Joyce Beaton ([1932?]- ) was co-founder of Early Canadian Life, a Canadian heritage and history magazine, along with business partner, Janice Johnston. The magazine was published from 1976 to 1980 and Beaton was its editor. She also wrote for Milton, Ontario's weekly newspaper, Canadian Champion and freelanced for an arts and crafts publication. She has written articles for the Toronto Star and Hamilton Spectator and has published books, including When Lightning Strikes... The Life of Evelyn M. Kennedy 1890-1985. Beaton lives in Baysville, Ontario.
Beavermead Park is located on the east shore of Little Lake, Peterborough, Ontario, on land that was once owned by Canada's first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald.
Frank C. Beazer was born in Chippenham, England. He left Chippenham in 1912 and worked in Ifracombe, Eastbourne, London and Bath in England. He was a ship's steward on two trips to East Africa before he became a missionary to the Church of England Camp Mission. The first place he went to as a missionary was the diocese of Caribou in British Columbia. He enlisted in Chapleau, Ontario, in the 227 B Company, on July 26, 1916 and travelled to France with the 54th Battalion where he became assistant to the regimental chaplain. In 1919 he attended Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto and received his ordination on St. Georges Day in 1922 in the Cathedral in Cochrane, Ontario. He resided at Kapuskasing for twelve years. In Kapuskasing he helped to build his church and house. He was also an assistant scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of Canada in Kapuskasing. In 1927 he married Gertrude Hudson of Toronto. He was the pastor for Oxford Mills, Carrying Place and St. Paul's Anglican Church in Roslin, Ontario; Christ Anglican Church in Thomasburg, Ontario and St. Luke's Anglican Church in Peterborough, Ontario. In 1958 Reverend Beazer and his wife visited his two brothers in Chippenham, England. While they were there they were invited to have cocktails with the High Commissioner of Canada George Drew and his wife. Frank was a member of the Masonic Lodge.
Alvin Bee was a farmer on Concession 1, Lots 26, 27, 28 in Hope Township, Douro County, in the early 1900s.
John Bee owned Lot 16, Concession 1 in Cavan Township in the 1850's. His family owned and operated a grist and saw mill on the Ganaraska River near Port Hope from the 1850's onwards. John was also a cobbler from 1847 onwards. Hiram Bee had a store and at some point the Bees married into the Austin family.
John E. Belcher was an architect, civil engineer, and a surveyor who lived in the Peterborough region at the turn of the century. He was involved in the construction of the Chemong Floating Bridge, the Peterborough Public Library, the Bradburn Opera House, the Wallis memorial in St. John's Church, the Canadian General Electric Company and the Anglican Christ Church in Bobcaygeon, Ontario.
Robert Bell was a Provincial Land Surveyor working in Canada West during the late 1840's. He was responsible for the survey of Bell's Line, a road which was never constructed, which was to have run westward through the northern portions of Peterborough and Hastings Counties, from the Madawaska River to Bracebridge. The Peterson Road, which was surveyed and constructed a few years later, eight miles south of and parallel to the Bell's Line survey, was considered to be a more suitable route for east-west travel in the region. It is thought that Bell was born in Ireland in 1821 and that he later emigrated with his parents to New York. In 1843, Bell obtained land in Kemptville, Canada West, and worked in and around Bytown (Ottawa) for three years. In 1847, he was instructed to begin the Bell's Line survey. Upon the completion of the survey in September 1848, Bell retired from surveying; and the following year, he purchased an Ottawa newspaper which was to become the Ottawa Citizen. He died in 1873 at the age of 52.
Kenneth Charles Bellamy was born in 1919 in Cramahe Township, Northumberland County, the youngest son of Charles and Olive Bellamy (nee Bland). The Charles Bellamy family lived in the Smithfield/Brighton, Ontario area. Charles owned a farm in Salem, Ontario in his later years and in his younger years, worked for the Grand Trunk Railway as a brakeman. In 1938, Ken joined the Canadian Armed Forces and served overseas in World War II with the Midland Regiment, Hastings Prince Edward Regiment and the Essex Scottish regiment. Upon returning home, he married Ruth Catherine Allen. Over his career, he worked on the family farm, for the Department of Highways, and with Marbon Chemical Corporation in Cobourg, Ontario.
Ruth and Kenneth married 30 June 1947 in Brighton, Ontario. They had two daughters, Mary Margaret and Kathryn Ann, and lived in the community of Salem. After Ruth’s death in 1979, Ken married Joyce Blakley. Joyce died in 1985 and Ken in 2007. (Taken from information supplied by the donor).
Ruth Catherine Allen was born in 1918 in Cramahe Township, the daughter of Durwood and Beatrice Allen (nee Hennessey). The Durwood Allen family lived on a farm in the Castleton, Ontario area. Ruth attended Peterborough Normal School in 1938 attaining her Teachers Certificate. During the course of her teaching career she taught in Morganston, Frankford, Napanee and South Cramahe Public Schools.
Ruth and Kenneth married 30 June 1947 in Brighton, Ontario. They had two daughters, Mary Margaret and Kathryn Ann, and lived in the community of Salem. Ruth died in a car accident on June 29, 1979. After her death, Ken married Joyce Blakley. Joyce died in 1985 and Ken in 2007.
(Taken from information supplied by the donor).
Sydney Bellingham was born in 1808 in Castlebellingham Ireland and briefly lived in Douro Township, Upper Canada. In the summer of 1824, Bellingham arrived at the homestead of Thomas and Frances Stewart. Thomas was his uncle; the brother of Sydney's mother Elizabeth Jane (or Jane Elizabeth) Stewart Bellingham. Sydney remained in Douro as a farm hand until 1827. He then obtained employment in Montreal, moved there and spent the majority of his life there until 1878. He was a merchant and politician in Quebec. He died in 1900 back in Castlebellingham which he had inherited.
The Belmont Municipal Telephone System began operation in 1922 in Havelock, Belmont Township, Ontario. This new system preceeded the Bell Telephone Company and the Havelock-Cordova Telephone Company in Belmont Township. It served subscribers for 33 years. In 1953, the Bell Telephone Company entered into negotiations with the Belmont Municipal System to re-acquire the system.