Smith-Ennismore Historical Society was formed in 1983 and incorporated in 1985. The Society actively publishes historical works on the local area and provides research assistance to genealogists and school children.
Thomas Willington Snarr from Rawdon Township, Hastings County and Annie Eliza Webster of East Whitby Township, Ontario County were married in July 1879. Witnesses were Samuel Robert Webster and Isabella Jane Snarr.
The Society of Camp Directors was founded May 21, 1969, after a long gestation period, from about 1957, when the subject was first broached in the Ontario Camping Association. Members of the OCA who were camp directors were instrumental in the formation of the new society.
St. Andrew's Church, originally a Presbyterian Congregation, was formally organized in Peterborough in 1833 by Reverend J. Morrice Roger of the Established Church of Scotland. The first place of worship was a rented building located on the north side of King Street, west of Aylmer Street. On May 30, 1835, St. Andrew's Church received a Crown grant which included the land on which the church now stands. In 1836, the first church building was built, made entirely of stone quarried from property owned by the church. By 1884, it was decided by the congregation that a new church building was necessary. The cornerstone was laid June 29, 1885, and on May 2, 1886, the new St. Andrew's Church was formally opened and dedicated. In 1924, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church became St. Andrew's United Church.
St. Anne's Parish was established in 1956 at 859 Barnardo Avenue in Peterborough, Ontario. The Parish had the St. Anne's Catholic Women's League, sports activities such as hockey and softball leagues and the St. Anne's Boy Scout Association. They organized fun fairs and picnics. St. Anne's School was nearby for the parishioners to use.
In 1827 the first Anglican church service was held in Peterborough by Reverend Samuel Armour. It took place in a log Schoolhouse located where Central Public School now stands. In 1835, the first Protestant Church in Peterborough began construction with the assistance of a Crown grant. In 1853, buttresses and pillars were added to the exterior and in 1876 a parish hall was added. In 1911, the congregation presented the church with a set of bells for the bell tower. In 1957 the building was remodeled and renovated, and a new chapel was added. (Taken from: "Peterborough :Land of Shining Water." Peterborough: Published by the City and County of Peterborough, 1967.)
St. Regis mission was established by the Jesuits for the Iroquois in 1755 in the lower St. Lawrence Valley, Quebec. Today, St. Regis is a reserve mission of Valleyfield parish, located on the St. Regis Reserve, Valleyfield, Quebec.
The Church Missionary Society of the Church of England placed Reverend John Horden, the first Anglican priest in the region, at Moose Factory, formerly of the Diocese of Prince Rupert, on August 26, 1851. Over twenty years later, on December 15, 1872, he was consecrated the first Bishop of Moosonee. At this time Moose Factory became the episcopal seat of an immense diocese which covered a band of territory, two to three hundred miles wide, surrounding the the eastern, southern and western shores of Hudson Bay. St. Thomas Church was already in existence when Rev. Horden arrived in Moose Factory. The original church was built by Reverend George Barnley, of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, and it was replaced by a larger building in 1860, which was built by workmen of the Hudson's Bay Company. St. Thomas Anglican Church was the Pro-Cathedral of the Diocese of Moosonee from 1872 to 1903.
Gladys Gertrude Stacey (nee Devlin) was born October 4, 1883 in the province of Quebec and, in early adulthood, worked as a teacher and a reporter in Montreal. She married Frederick Harold Stacey (1880-1944), formerly of England and Alberta, in Montreal in 1910 and had five children (see below). Documents reveal that the births of two of the children, at least, were registered in Peterborough, Ontario in 1911 and 1915 and that the family moved to Toronto in the early 1920s. Frederick Stacey, an engineer, worked briefly beginning in 1917 at Canadian General Electric in Peterborough, as did one son who moved to Peterborough and then Lakefield in the 1950s. Gladys Stacey continued her writing career into the 1960s and published in church publications for children, in the Canadian Bookman, Maclean’s, Canadian Home Journal, Canadian Magazine, and in various newspapers in Toronto and Montreal. Her writings appear under several pen names and name variations: Dolly Dimples; Gladys G. Devlin; Gladys Devlin; Gertrude Woodard; Jo Joan; Christie Carew; Mary Burke; Millicent Moore; Laura Greenwood; Gladys Devlin Stacey; Gladys D. Stacey; Gladys Stacey; Gladys G. Stacey; Gladys Stacey; Mrs. S.; G.G. Stacey; G.D.S.; G. Stacey; and G.G.S. Information about Stacey is included on the website [Canada’s Early Women Writers]: https://ceww.wordpress.com/?s=stacey%2C+gladys&search=Go (site last visited 27 August 2015). She died in New Jersey in 1977.
Regarding the children of Gladys and Frederick Stacey, there were five, born between the years 1911 and 1921. They are listed as follows:
Harold Gordon Stacey (1911-1979): a noted Toronto silversmith and teacher of metalsmithing at Ontario College of Art and Humber College; married Margaret Ellen West Jefferys (1915-2008), daughter of the Canadian artist and historical illustrator Charles William Jefferys (1869-1951); had two children, one of whom is the donor of this fonds, Clara (Callie) Jeanette Stacey;
William “Bill” Arthur Stacey (1915-1959): served in Canadian Air Force during WWII; died of a bee sting in Peterborough, Ontario; married Beryl Bernice Benham (1909-1984);
John “Jack” Frederick Stacey (1916-1995): served with the Royal Canadian Air Force, 400 Sqd, City of Toronto (later renumbered 110 overseas) during WWII and worked for Canadian General Electric in Peterborough from the early 1950s; lived above T.J. Cavanaugh’s appliance store on Charlotte Street (Peterborough), Henry Sharp's farm 4th line of Smith Township, Hamilton Street (Peterborough), and Water Street (Peterborough) before moving to 7th line of Smith Township; married Delysia Alice Ward [1920-2008];
Clifton David Stacey (1917-2010): served in the USA Army; stenographer; married Ruth Gaskin (1917-2002);
Dorothy Joan (1921-2005): secretary and office manager; married Reginald Wray (1928- ).
(Taken from information supplied by the donor).
Dale Standen has played various key roles at both Trent University and the Canadian Canoe Museum. Standen is a Professor Emeritus of History at Trent University and has served terms as chair of the Department of History, liaison with Trent’s Frost Centre, and the Principal of Lady Eaton College. Standen’s research pertains to early colonial history of Canada with a focus on French-Indigenous relations and the practice of history in museums. Standen has also held various positions at the Canadian Canoe Museum, including Director on the Board of the Canadian Canoe Museum (ended spring 2004), as a Councilor of the Champlain Society, as President of the French Colonial Historical Society, and as Director of the Board of the Peterborough Historical Society (2018-2019). Standen also assisted in the re-structuring of the Canadian Canoe Museum when they temporarily closed for financial reasons in 2003-2004. As of 2019, he is currently the president of the Peterborough Historical Society.
William John Standen was born in 1843 and emigrated to Quebec with his parents aboard the John Howell on April 26, 1856. Eventually he settled on land in Minesing near Barrie, Canada West. In Midhurst, Ontario in January, 1869 he married Mary White Ronald (1841-1907) and they had seven children. (Taken from: "A Standen Family History" 1956). Throughout his life he kept diaries relating to life in Ontario and on his farm and it is these diaries which make up this fonds. A complete family history is available in the fonds.
Sydney (Sid) Helmer Standen was born in 1905 in Minesing, Ontario, the son of Andrew Ronald and Ada Louisa Standen. In 1911, his family moved to Kindersley, Saskatchewan where Sid grew up. He later became a teacher and also served in World War II.
Euphemia (Effie) Young McQueen was born in 1903 in London, England, daughter of James and Margaret McQueen (nee Drysdale). In Effie’s first year, the McQueens moved to Scotland and then, in 1913, to Canada, where they settled in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Effie became a teacher and appeared in theatrical performances and recitations.
Sid and Effie married in 1930 and settled in Hanley, Saskatchewan. They had four sons: Philip Andrew, Neil McQueen, Sydney Drysdale (Dale), and Eric James William; Philip died in 1955 at the age of 22 during a tactical flight training exercise near Chatham, New Brunswick. In 1942, Sid and Effie moved to Burnaby, British Columbia where they were to spend the remainder of their lives. After Effie’s death in 1965, Sid married Gladys Marshall; he died in 1975. (Taken from “Standens and McQueens: A Canadian Story of Migrant Families” by S. Dale Standen, 2014).
The Lintonia and the Empress were both steamships that plied the Trent-Severn waterway between Lakefield and Young's Point. The Lintonia was wrecked at Sturgeon Point. The Empress was captained by W.H. (Billy) Reynolds. (Taken from: 77-1013.)
Over a 25-year period beginning in 1985, politicians, bureaucrats and experts worked together to establish a municipal waste landfill site on a section of farmland in the County of North Simcoe, Ontario. The proposed 50-acre site, located in Tiny Township approximately 40 kilometres northwest of Barrie, was met with wide opposition and a campaign known as “Stop Dump Site 41” was launched. Area resident Stephen Ogden, recognized as the leader of the campaign, represented the group opposing the location and attended approximately 180 environmental assessment hearings pertaining to the proposed site. The campaign reached a successful conclusion in 2010.
A few years precipitating the search for the new site, a private site known as the Pauze Dump, located in Tiny Township, was identified as a source of drinking water contamination in the area, the cause being associated with legal and illegal dumping of industrial waste. Six communities in the County of North Simcoe subsequently came together to form the North Simcoe Waste Management Association (NSWMA), with a goal of finding a new waste landfill site.
The efforts of the NSWMA resulted in the selection of the location known as Site 41 in the southern part of Tiny Township. In 1989, an application for this site was rejected after 69 days of hearings by the Environmental Assessment Board. The NSWMA challenged the decision through the Lieutenant Governor in Council; an “Order in Council” was subsequently issued, allowing the proponent an opportunity to produce more evidence. In 1996, the Joint Board, after 110 days of additional hearings, approved the site. One of the approval conditions was that a Community Monitoring Committee (CMC) was to be created to oversee the development and operation of the site. The design and operational plans were approved by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) and a Certificate of Approval spelling out the rules of operation was issued. The County of Simcoe took over the responsibility for waste management for the entire County and this resulted in the elimination of the NSWMA. Through the actions of the CMC, the County and the MOE were obligated to respond to all concerns raised by citizens of the County.
On 31 October 2007, the County announced plans to open the new landfill site in 2009. Community resistance continued to build. First Nations opposed the site, along with many others including Maude Barlow, internationally known as an advocate of human right to water and also then national Chair of the Council of Canadians. First Nations, farmers, cottagers, and other citizens held protests opposite the proposed site and through a march to Queen’s Park and confrontations with police led to charges and arrests.
Under the weight of public pressure, the County of Simcoe passed a one-year moratorium in August 2009. A month later, the plan to build Site 41 was voted down by Simcoe County Council. In May 2010, the County asked the MOE to revoke the MOE Certificate of Approval and this request was granted. The County took action to ensure that the area known as Site 41 is never to be developed as a landfill or to have any associated use. The lands are now in private ownership and once again are being farmed.
George Stevens is listed in the Peterborough Directory as being located at 364 Mark Street, Peterborough, Ontario in 1936 and in 1940, and operating as a junk dealer in 1936, and a junk dealer and fertilizer dealer in 1940.
Henry Herbert Stevens (Harry) was born December 8, 1878 in Bristol, England. In 1887 he and his father, two older brothers and a sister emigrated to Peterborough, Canada. In 1894 the family moved to Vancouver in British Columbia. A short time after this Harry met and married Gertrude Glover. Together they had 5 children: 2 boys; Francis and Douglas, and 3 girls; Majorie, Sylvia and Patricia. H.H. Stevens served with the American Army in the Boxer Rebellion. When he returned to Vancouver he went into the grocery, real estate and insurance businesses. He was elected, in 1911, to the House of Commons, for Vancouver, and remained there until 1930. He represented East Kooteney from 1930 to 1940. He held the positions of Minister of Trade (Meighan administration) in 1921 and Minister of Trade and Commerce (Bennet administration) from 1930 to 1934. He was Chairman of the Price-Spreads Commission in 1934. Due to a disagreement, with Cabinet about the findings of the commission, H.H. Stevens resigned his position and established the Reconstruction Party. In 1938 he joined the Conservative Party. H.H. Stevens was President of the Vancouver Board of Trade from 1952 to 1953. He died June 14, 1973 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Taken from: The Macmillan Dictionary of Canadian Biography. 4th ed. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1978.)
Several generations of the Stewart family have lived in the Peterborough area. Thomas A. Stewart and his wife, Frances, were prominent and influential early citizens of Peterborough. Extensive biographical information on the Stewart family, plus friends, neighbours, and associates, may be found in 02-001.
Frances Anne Stewart (nee Browne) was born May 24, 1794, daughter of Reverend Francis Browne and Anna Maria Noble, in Dublin, Ireland. In 1796, Rev. Browne died quite suddenly in front of his wife. The resulting shock left Frances' mother somewhat of an invalid until she died in 1809. Frances was left in the care of her great-uncle, Robert Waller in Allanstown, Ireland, where she was raised by Harriet Beaufort, who managed the household. Harriet was a well educated young woman, and sought to give Frances the same quality of education. Under Harriet's instruction, Frances received a much more academic education than was the norm for young girls of those days. In the summer of 1816, Frances, and her aunt Susan went to visit some distant friends, the Stewarts, who lived near Belfast. This is where Frances met her future husband, Thomas Alexander Stewart (1786-1847). They were married December 16, 1816. Thomas worked for the firm of Robert Reid and Son, which manufactured linen, cotton and silk. When the company ran into trouble, and eventually bankruptcy, Frances and Thomas decided to emigrate to Canada. The Stewarts went with Thomas' brother-in-law, and former business partner, Robert Reid and his family. The party of 27 set sail from Belfast Lough, on June 1, 1822. Seven weeks were spent on the ship before reaching Quebec. From there they traveled to Kingston, and then on to York, where Stewart and Reid were each granted 1200 acres, provided they settled in an unsurveyed township. Douro Township was suggested as a promising region. On September 9, 1822, Stewart and Reid traveled to the area with Richard Birdsall, the surveyor, and each chose land on the Otonabee River. Life in Douro Township was very isolated for Frances, but she managed well on her own, looking after her home and children. Thomas Stewart died in 1847 from typhoid fever, and Frances Anne died several years later on February 24, 1872 at Goodwood. Extensive biographical information on the Stewart family, plus friends, neighbours, and associates, may be found in accession 02-001.
Mr. and Mrs. A.G. Stewart were married May 20, 1877. In 1927 they celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary with family and friends. In 1937 they were able to celebrate their 60th Wedding Anniversary. Mrs. Squire was born in July of 1862 and celebrated her 75th birthday in 1932.
Thomas Alexander Stewart was born in Ireland and worked for the firm of Robert Reid and Son, which manufactured linen, cotton and silk. When the company ran into financial trouble, and eventual bankruptcy, Thomas and his wife, Frances Browne Stewart (1794-1872), emigrated to Canada with their children and Thomas' brother-in-law and former business partner, Robert Reid and his family. The party of 27 set sail from Belfast Lough on June 1, 1822. Seven weeks were spent on the ship before reaching Quebec. From Quebec they travelled to Kingston, and then on to York, where Stewart and Reid were each granted 1200 acres, provided they settled in an unsurveyed township. Douro Township in Peterborough County was suggested as a promising region. On September 9, 1822, Stewart and Reid travelled to the area with surveyor Richard Birdsall, and each chose land on the Otonabee River. Thomas Stewart became a prominent and influential citizen in the area and died in 1847 from typhoid fever. Extensive biographical information on the Stewart family, plus friends, neighbours, and associates, may be found in accession [02-001]:https://www.trentu.ca/library/archives/02-001
Ella E. Stinson (nee Robson) was the daughter of Lindsay lawyer William Robson. She married T.H. Stinson on July 14, 1910.
