Fonds consists of research materials and notes, modern correspondence, photocopies of historical documentation, and genealogical resources for the Need family as well as other people living in both England and Newcastle District. The historical documentation includes wills, gravesite information, lot and concession records, military records, correspondence. As well as the Need family, there is also biographical information on other families, including the Dunsfords, Langtons, Campbells, and Sawers.

These research materials were accumulated by Dawn Bell Logan and used to write books, articles, and biographical entries about Thomas Need, including Thomas Need : settler in the backwoods of Upper Canada (self published, 2022), and the Dictionary of Canadian Biography entry for Thomas Need (V. 12). Photographs are of some sites in Lincolnshire, U.K, Peterborough, Canada, the Trent Severn Waterway, Thomas Need’s descendants, and gravestones of Need family members.

Fonds is organized into four series: Thomas Need journals and correspondence; Research materials and manuscripts; Dawn Logan correspondence; and Files on Dawn Logan’s publications.

Thomas Need Biography

Thomas Need (1808-1895) emigrated from Nottingham, England to Upper Canada in May 1832 and settled in Verulam Township in Victoria County in 1833 around Sturgeon Lake. He had graduated from University College, London, in 1830 and rejected the idea of becoming a member of the clergy. This contributed to his decision to leave England.

While in Upper Canada, Need was a member of the government commission that oversaw the construction of what became the first lock of the Trent-Severn Waterway, founded the Village of Bobcaygeon in 1834, and served as a magistrate for the Court of Requests from 1835 to 1837.

Need anonymously published his book Six years in the bush or extracts from the journal of a settler in Upper Canada (London, 1838) on his experiences in Upper Canada. The book was based on his journal entries he made in his personal journal which he called the “Woodhouse Journal.” Need returned to Nottingham, England permanently in 1847 and died in 1895. His authorship was confirmed with the publication of John Langton’s letters in 1926 and he was subsequently recognized as a contributor to early Canadian literature.

Source: Biography – NEED, THOMAS – Volume XII (1891-1900) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/need_thomas_12E.html. Accessed 11 Jan. 2024.

This fonds consists of an article entitled "Ice on Rice Lake" which was written in 1985 for the Trent Alumnus magazine. Also included is a photocopy of the September, 1858 issue of The Canadian Journal of Industry, Science and Art entitled "Ice Phenomena, from Observations on Rice Lake" by J.H. Dumble. An original copy of The Canadian Journal from June 1855 is included in the fonds. It has an article entitled "On the Action of Ice Upon the Bridge at Rice Lake" by T.C. Clarke and two copies of an article from the Arctic journal in 1992 entitled "J.B. Tyrell and D.H. Dumble on Lake Ice".

This collection consists of a number of photographs which include John Butcher, sexton of St. John's Church in Peterborough. There is one photograph of his family outside their home as well as one photograph of John at age 34. There are also a number of photographs of the Hastings Lock, Healey's Falls and steam logging and boat with log boom. There is also one photograph of William Dawson's house in South Monaghan from 1910; a photograph of "Strathormond" in Peterborough and the Champion soccer team of Fairview School from around the 1970's.

Collection consists of nine Boyd family photograph albums, 14 glass plate negatives, and several strip negatives. The images depict the lives and activities of the Boyd family of Bobcaygeon, Ontario, and include lumbering scenes, Trent Canal steamboats, buffalo/Hereford animals, and travel excursions. Also included are three "Gypsy" photographs (Peterborough, 1909), and photographs of winter sporting activities. Several photographs depict family members; many are unidentified. Also included in this collection are copies of the wills of WT.C. Boyd and Mossom Boyd.

This fonds consists of photocopies of 43 interview transcripts of residents of the Trent Valley area. The interviews were conducted by Daniel Francis under contract, in 1979, to Parks Canada and focus on such themes as transportation, commerce, settlement, tourism, and resource development. They relate to the section of the Trent-Severn waterway stretching from the mouth of the Otonabee River to Bobcaygeon.

This fonds is comprised of typescripts of newspaper articles from the Peterborough Weekly Despatch, the Peterborough Review and the Peterborough Examiner. The articles have been arranged chronologically under a number of subject headings by the donor.

This fonds consists of minutes and by-laws of the Proceedings of the Municipal Council of the United Counties of Peterborough & Victoria.

This fonds consists of five time books for men and material for boat and scow repairing at Lakefield, Ontario, and various places on the Trent Canal from 1889 to 1920.