Mary Susanne Edgar was born on May 23, 1889, the daughter of Joseph Edgar and Mary Little, in Sundridge, Ontario. She was educated at the Sundridge Public School and the Barrie High School. Later she studied at Havergal Ladies College, Toronto, and took extension courses at the University of Chicago. She also took lectures at the Teachers' College, Columbia University, and graduated from the National Training School of the Young Women's Christian Association, New York City, in 1915. From 1912 to 1914, Mary Edgar was engaged in First National Girls' Work, Y.W.C.A., in Canada. From 1915 to 1919 she was Girls' Work secretary in Montreal, and Director of Camp Oolahwan in the Laurentians. In 1920, she spent four months in Japan doing volunteer work for the Y.W.C.A. In the same year, Mary Edgar purchased a large property on Lake Bernard, where she developed as a girls' camp, near her hometown of Sundridge. The camp, Glen Bernard Camp, was opened in the summer of 1922 with thirty-eight campers. Ms. Edgar was the Camp's Director, a position which she held until her retirement in 1956. Mary Edgar devoted much of her life to work in the field of camping and girls' work. Beside working with the Y.W.C.A., Mary also worked with the Canadian Girls in Training (C.G.I.T.), the Girl Guides of Canada, the Canadian Camping Association, and the Ontario Camping Association. Mary Edgar is the author of several books including "Wood-fire and Candlelight" (Toronto, 1945), "Under Open Skies (Toronto, 1956), "The Christmas Wreath of Verse" (Toronto, 1967), and "Once there was a Camper" (Toronto, 1970). She also wrote a number of one act plays and hymns. Her best known hymn is "God Who Touchest Earth with Beauty" which has been placed into hymnals around the world and has been translated into several languages, including Cree. Mary S. Edgar died at Toronto on September 17, 1973. (Taken from the finding aid for the Edgar Papers at Queen's University Archives.)
William John Eccles was born in Yorkshire, England in 1917 and came to Canada in 1928. He served overseas in the RCAF during World War II before studying at McGill University and the Sorbonne. A well-known historian and former faculty member of the Universities of Manitoba and Alberta, he is presently with the History Department, University of Toronto. He has written several articles and books on Canadian history, with a emphasis on the social history of New France. "With the true historian's determination to test even the most widely accepted truths, with an instinct for ferreting out fresh evidence, with a bold lack of respect for time-tested "facts," he has successfully challenged established doctrine at a number of points in Canadian history." (Taken from Ray Allen Billington's foreword in "The Canadian Frontier 1534-1760", revised edition, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1969).
Dr. J. Harry Ebbs was born in 1906, Worksop, England and moved to Peterborough, Ontario with his family in 1912. He became interested in camping through the Y.M.C.A., and, later, at the age of 17, became more involved in camping as a counsellor, in 1924, at Camp Ahmek in Algonquin Park. Throughout his university career, he continued to work as a camp counsellor at Camp Ahmek, and later at Camp Wapameo, both Taylor Statten Camps. He graduated from the faculty of medicine, University of Toronto in 1931 and his medical career led him to remote settlements in northern Canada and to hospitals in India and Malaysia. He was later the senior staff physician at the Hospital for Sick Children, a professor of pediatrics and a director of the school of physical and health education at the University of Toronto. From 1938 to 1975 he was the medical director of the Taylor Statten Camps. It was while working as a counsellor at the Taylor Statten Camps that he met his future wife Adele Statten, daughter of Taylor Statten. They were married in 1935 and together had three children: Barbara Adele, Alice Susan, and John William. Throughout their lives, the Ebbs have been involved in organized camping in Canada and the United States, as well as in India. Both were honorary life members of the Canadian Camping Association and Dr. Ebbs was a governor of Trent University, where the Ebbs Camping Archives were established in 1979 to honor the Ebbs' contributions to the children's camping movement in Canada. Dr. John Henry Ebbs died June 1, 1990 after suffering a stroke the previous year.
Adele Ebbs was born in Toronto in 1909, the daughter of Ethel Mary Page and Taylor Statten, founder of The Taylor Statten Camps. In 1935, Adele married Harry Ebbs, who was a counsellor at one of her father's camps. Throughout their lives, the Ebbs were involved in organized camping in Canada and the United States, as well as in India. Both were honorary life members of the Canadian Camping Association and Dr. Harry Ebbs was a governor of Trent University, where the Ebbs Camping Archives were established in 1979 to honor the Ebbs' contributions to the children's camping movement in Canada.
L.N. Easterly was a blacksmith who lived in Wooler, Ontario in the early 1900's.
"Early Canadian Life" was published 12 times a year in Oakville, Ontario. It was distributed nationally through a distributing company which was a subsidiary of MacLean-Hunter Ltd. It was published by Goldenglow Publications Ltd. and had a large readership throughout Canada.
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Henry Earle was born at Brook Farm, Lancashire, England, August 15, 1854, the eldest son of the second Baronet of Allerton Tower and Emily Fletcher. He was educated at Eton; Trinity College, Oxford; and received an Honours M.A. from Cambridge. He joined the British Military, 3rd Battalion, in 1869, and was made a companion of the Distinguished Service Order in 1887. Earle served in the Jowaki Campaign, 1877; the Afgan War, 1878-1880; the Egyptian War, 1882; the Burmese Expedition, 1886-1887; the Ruby Mine Column, 1886; the Mainloung Expedition; and with the Yorkshire L.I. in the Frontier Campaign in Tirah, where he became severely wounded, 1899-1900. In 1900 he succeeded his father and became the 3rd Baronet of Allerton Tower. He continued to serve in the army from 1914 to 1916. In 1891 he married Evelyn Grace Boileau. He died July 16, 1939.
John George Lambton was born in Berkeley Square, London on April 12, 1792. He was the eldest son of William Henry Lambton, of Lambton, County of Durham, M.P. for the City of Durham and Lady Anne Barbara Frances Villiers, second daughter of George, fourth Earl of Jersey. He was educated at Eton. He inherited the family estate in 1797 and on June 8, 1809 was gazetted a cornet in the 10th Dragoons. He became a lieutenant in 1810 and retired from the position in 1811. In September of 1813 he was elected to the House of Commons and remained there until his elevation to peerage in 1828. He was created Baron Durham of the City of Durham and Lambton Castle by letters patent. In 1830 he was sworn a member of the privy council and he was appointed lord privy seal. This took place with the formation of the administration of Earl Grey who was the father of Durham's second wife. In 1832 Durham was appointed ambassador extraodinare to St. Petersburg, Berlin and Vienna. He returned to England a month later. In 1833 he resigned from all positions and was created Viscount Lambton and Earl of Durham. He was the first Earl of Durham. After this creation Durham became involved again in politics and once more he was appointed as ambassador extraorinare to St. Petersburg in 1835. He resigned in 1837 and was invested with the order of G.C.B. at Kensington Palace. In 1837 Durham was appointed high commissioner to Lower and Upper Canada in order to help resolve differences. He arrived at Quebec in May. In 1838 he resigned from this post and returned to England. He died July 28, 1840. (Taken from: "Dictionary of National Biography." Vol. XI. Great Britain: Oxford University Press, 1960.)
The Dunsford family is connected through marriage to families associated with the early settlement of Peterborough and area, namely the Boyd, Langton, and Rubidge families.
Heather Dunlop graduated with a M.A. degree in Canadian Heritage and Development Studies from Trent University in May 1998.
Peter McLaren Duncan (born ca. 1835] was the son of James Duncan, a blacksmith of Carrying Place, Canada West, and Catharine McLaren of Brighton, Canada West. Peter McLaren Duncan married Leonora Singleton of Brighton, Ontario. Peter was a minister of the Presbyterian Church in Colbourne. Of their children, it is known that there was a son, P.W. Duncan, who immigrated to the United States in 1895, and a daughter, Alice Duncan, who was an artist of some renown, and who married John MacDonald. Alice and John had no children. Peter McLaren Duncan died in approximately 1912 and his wife died between 1925 and 1930.
Gertrude Duncan was a school teacher who taught in Coboconk, Ontario from 1924 to 1925.
Joseph James Duffus was born June 17, 1876 in Peterborough, Ontario to James J. Duffus and Maria Galvin. He was educated in Peterborough. He was a farmer, businessman and builder. He married Gertrude L. Sullivan, also from Peterborough, on April 30, 1907. They had four children: Jean M.G., Gerald M.J., Karl J.A. and Isabell I.G. They had thirteen grandchildren. J.J. was a graduate of the Royal School of Calvary and the Royal School of Infantry. He served with the 3rd Prince of Wales Canadian Dragoons and the 247th Regiment. He also served with the Coronation Contingent. J.J. was decorated with medals from Edward VII, George VI and Elizabeth II. Eventually he was called Lieutenant-Colonel and then Colonel. He as an alderman for the City of Peterborough for six years and Mayor of Peterborough from 1916 to 1917. J.J. was the President for the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce for four years; president for the Ontario Associated Boards of Trade and Chambers of Commerce in 1926; president of the Ontario Plowman's Association in 1926, director from 1923 to 1942; and, president of the Peterborough Hockey Club in 1926. He was a member of the Kiwanis Club and the Knights of Columbus. He was first elected, as a Liberal candidate, to the House of Commons in 1935 and he was summoned to the Senate in 1940 where he sat until his death. The Honourable Joseph James Duffus, Colonel, died February 7, 1957. (Taken from: "The Canadian Parliamentary Guide." Ottawa: Pierre G. Normandin, 1957.)
Wayland Drew was born in 1932 in Oshawa, Ontario. He graduated with a B.A. Honours in 1957 from Victoria College at the University of Toronto. He majored in English Language and Literature. He married Gwendolyn Parrott in October of 1957. They had four children, Scott, Marda, Paula and Cindy. Drew raised his family in Port Perry, Ontario and Bracebridge, Ontario. Drew began to write short stories and poetry in high school and university. Drew's first published novel, "The Wabeno Feast," was released in 1973 by Anansi. Drew's interest in Canadian history, Native culture and social ecology comes through in this novel and his other works. "The Wabeno Feast" was republished in 1985 by General Publishing. Since "The Wabeno Feast," Drew has written eleven other books of fiction and non-fiction. These include the non-fiction books, "Superior: The Haunted Shore" (1975), "A Sea Within: the Gulf of St. Lawrence" (1984), both with photography by his friend, Bruce Litteljohn, and "Brown's Weir" (1983) with photography by his wife, Gwen. In the late 1970s, Drew was approached by a friend, Matthew Robbins, to write a novelization of the film script, "Corvette Summer." The novelization was released in conjuction with the film in 1978. Drew proceeded to write the novelizations of three other film scripts: "Dragonslayer" (1981), "Batteries Not Included" (1987), and "Willow" (1989). Drew produced a science-fiction trilogy, "The Erthring Cycle," in the mid-eighties. The titles include "The Memoirs of Alcheringia" (1984), "The Gaian Expedient" (1985), and "The Master of Norriya" (1986). His final novel, "The Halfway Man," was published in 1989 by Oberon. Drew wrote and published works of short fiction and non-fiction. Some of his early stories were published in "The Tamarack Review" and "Acta Victoriana." Later short fiction was published in collections such as "New Canadian Short Stories," "Anthology," "Islands of Hope," and "Once Upon a Time." Drew also wrote scripts for CBC radio and for a Ministry of Natural Resources film called "Places Out of Time" (1994). He also wrote short non-fiction for a variety of publications such as "Ontario Naturalist," "Alternatives," "The Illustrated Natural History of Canada," and "Green Teacher." Drew began teaching high school in Port Perry, Ontario, in 1961. He earned a teaching certificate by taking summer courses at the Ontario College of Education while teaching during the school year. As a teacher, he also worked at the Ministry of Education and Bracebridge and Muskoka Lakes Secondary School. Drew took leaves from teaching in order to write full time, though he also wrote part-time while teaching. He retired from teaching in 1994. In addition to writing and teaching, Drew was active in the community. He was president of the Historical Society of Bracebridge, and chair of the "Signs of Hope" environmental conference in 1991. Drew also gave numerous guest lectures and facilitated workshops. Drew's acomplishments were recognized formally twice in 1991. In October of that year, Drew was honoured with the Lieutenant-Governor's Award from the Conservation Council of Ontario. Later that month, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Trent University. Wayland Drew died on December 3, 1998.
Margaret Doxey (nee Roberts) was a professor in the Department of Political Studies at Trent University from 1967-1991 (Chair 1974-1982). Dr. Doxey earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of London and a Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Laws at University College London. Dr. Doxey’s main research area was economic sanctions, and she published prolifically in the fields of economics and law.
Dr. Doxey lectured at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa prior to her PhD and went on to teach at Wellesley College in the United States and the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom, in addition to Trent.
Dr. Doxey also wrote poetry and fiction in both her professional and private lives. Animals were a recurring theme.
Prentice Gilbert Downes, born in 1909, was a school teacher from Concord, Massachusetts. He often travelled to the north during the summer and one such visit is chronicled in his book "Sleeping Island: the Story of One Man's Travels in the Great Barren Lands of the Canandian North" (1943). He died in approximately 1978.
Tommy Douglas was born in Scotland in 1904 and immigrated to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1919 with his family. Born of working-class and religious parents, he was ordained into the Baptist church in 1930. He later became interested in alleviating the suffering he witnessed during the Great Depression, and in the federal election of 1935 was successfully elected the leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). In 1944 Douglas resigned his federal seat to become Premier of Saskatchewan for the next 17 years. In 1961 Douglas resigned as premier and in the following by-election became the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) until 1971. Douglas is recognized as the father of socialized medicine, having first advocated Medicare in Canada. He is also credited with having fought for a Canada-wide pension plan and bargaining rights for civil servants. In 1946 Douglas undertook to sponsor a union of the various aboriginal tribes in Saskatchewan, as a way to assist the tribes in having a more effective voice in promoting their own welfare. (Taken from "The Canadian Encyclopedia", Vol.1, Hurtig Publishers, Edmonton, 1985, p.507-508.)
George Mellis Douglas was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1875. He moved with his family in 1883 to Northcote Farm on the shore of Katchiwano Lake north of Lakefield, Ontario. In 1900 George went to work for his cousin, James Douglas, who was president of the American Institute of Mining Engineers. In 1911, at the suggestion of his cousin James, an expedition to the Coppermine River and Arctic Sea was planned, and George Douglas along with his brother Lionel and Dr. August Sandberg made the trip. The purpose of the expedition was to search for minerals in the watershed of the Coppermine above the Arctic Circle. What George and his associates discovered were huge copper deposits. Although it was known that the deposits existed since the 18th century, they were much larger than was suspected. George was also one of the first Barren Land explorers to extensively photograph the North-West Territories and the Inuit who lived in the region. Over the following thirty years, Douglas led copper explorations to the shores of the Arctic Sea and around the edges of the Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes. George also wrote about his explorations in the Arctic. He published articles in several professional journals and in 1914 he wrote "Lands Forlorn", an account of the 1911-12 expedition. George Mellis Douglas died at his home near Lakefield, Ontario in 1963.
Greg Doran is a descendant of Irish settlers who emigrated to Peterborough with Peter Robinson in 1825. He was born near the end of the 1960s, the youngest of six children. Greg attended St. Alphonsus Elementary School from 1975-1983, the same school each of his siblings attended. When he graduated, he attended St. Peter’s High School from 1983-1988, when it was located on Reid Street. He graduated from his Ontario Academic Credit (OAC) year (formerly Grade 13), and moved on to Trent University. Between the years of 1988-1992, he completed a joint major, receiving his Honours Degree in Environmental & Resource Studies and Political Studies. It is notable that each of Greg’s siblings also attended Trent, and earned a degree there. Greg worked for the Township of Cavan and NHB Industries in Peterborough, before moving to eastern Canada where he began working as an Environment, Health and Safety Coordinator with an international pipe manufacturing company in 2003. This position provided him with the opportunity to become a certified Canadian Registered Safety Professional in 2007. Greg has continued working in this field with various companies on the eastern coast of Canada.
The Doane family were a Quaker family who settled in York County, probably in East Gwillimbury Township, as early as 1815. According to the 1878 Atlas of York County, the family held land on concession 3, lot 15, in that township, more or less equidistant from Sharon and Queensville Post Offices. Other members of the family branched out to North King Township (third concession, near the Holland River), to Pickering Township, Toronto, the United States, and in one case, to the Baptist Mission at Cocanada, Madras, India.
The Church of England (Anglican Church) established the Diocese of Moosonee on December 15, 1872. Right Reverend John Horden was appointed the first Bishop of the diocese on the same date. Albany Parish is located north of Moose Factory on James Bay. Reverend Thomas Vincent, ordained in 1860, was sent to Albany, from Moose Factory, shortly after his ordination, and he was the first Anglican priest to settle in the area. In 1883, he was made Archdeacon of Moosonee in recognition of his faithfulness and experience. Archdeacon Vincent retired in 1899 and died in 1907.
Samuel Dickson was born in 1809 in County Cavan, Ireland. He emigrated from Ireland to Peterborough in 1830 and became employed by James Hall as a distiller. In 1840 he built a saw mill on the Otonabee and owned all the land from Parkhill (Smith Rd.) to the bridge on Hunter Street on both sides of the river. He married Ann Holmes and they had ten children: one son and nine daughters of whom only six daughters survived. Samuel Dickson was on the Peterborough Council for four years. He built a number of houses and owned a large portion of Peterborough property. He died in 1870 when, while supervising the repair of a railway pier, he fell into the river and drowned. His daughters married and they and their husbands helped to run the lumber business. His eldest daughter, Mary Ann, married T.A. Hazlitt, who on the death of Samuel Dickson became the manager of the lumber business. Elizabeth married William Davidson and through her line the family maintained the lumber business. In 1906 the Dickson family sold some of their property and established the Peterborough Lumber Company which would give jobs to some of the older men from the Dickson Co. Samuel's grandson Dickson Davidson was the President of the new company. When he died Laura Davidson became President. At her death in 1957, Helen Munroe McCrae, became the President. She was a great granddaughter of Samuel Dickson.
Jane W. Deyman (nee Curran) was born November 7, 1914 to James W. Curran (see 74-006) and Edith Pratt. She married Harry R. Deyman (1912-1975) and they had three children: Mary, Susan and Peter. Her husband was a supreme court judge for Cobourg and then Peterborough. Jane was the chair of the Board of Directors at the Peterborough Centennial Museum and Archives as well as chair for the Peterborough Historical Atlas Foundation. She was a long time member of the Peterborough Historical Society and volunteered at Hutchinson House. She was an active participant in heritage and humane fields and volunteered her time to numerous heritage activities. Jane Deyman died January 27, 1993.
The Department of Railways and Canals was created in 1879 by extracting from the Department of Public Works its Railway Branch and the operational responsibilities for canals administered by the Office of the Chief Engineer, and combining them to form a new ministry composed of the two branches (the Railway Branch and the Canal Branch). The Railway Branch was responsible for the construction, operation, and maintenance of government-owned railways, and administered a program of financial assistance designed to encourage railway companies to construct new lines. The Canal Branch supervised the operation, maintenance, and enlargement of the Canadian Canal System and undertook the construction of new canals when required. In 1936, the Department of Railways and Canals was amalgamated with the Department of Marine and the Civil Aviation Branch of the Department of National Defence to form the Department of Transport. (Taken from: Canada. "National Archives General Guide Series: Government Archives Division." Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada, 1991.)
The Department of Labour came into existence with the passing of the Conciliation Act of 1900. The original objectives of the Department were the preparation and publication of the "Labour Gazette"; settlement of industrial disputes under the terms of the Conciliation Act; promotion of fair wage payment and proper conditions; and administration of the Alien Labour Acts. Initially, the administration of the Department was the responsibility of the Postmaster General, until 1909, when the Office of the Minister of Labour was established under a separate Cabinet portfolio. Additional responsibilities have been added to the Department over the years. It was involved in the creation of a system of national employment offices after 1918; and after 1926, in the implementation of Canada's first old age pension plan. In 1940, the Department began to administer unemployment insurance. After 1945, it became increasingly involved in the creation, planning, and administration of the Canada Labour Code. (Taken from: "Government Archives Division: General Guide Series." Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada, 1991.)