Vol. 27 No. 2 May - June 2002 ESQUESING HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER P.O. Box 51, Georgetown, Ontario, Canada L7G 4T1 www.hhpl.on.ca/sigs/ehs/home.html LIMEHOUSE KILN SOCIETY MASTER PLAN REPORT COMPLETED The draft report for the Limehouse Kiln Society was completed in October, 2001 by Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Limited. The 43 page report summarized the summer long study to develop a plan process for historic kiln structures and associated historical resources within the village of Limehouse, the Limehouse Conservation Area, and at Dolly Varden. Their recommendations include: ( Preserving and interpreting a significant and overlooked aspect of Ontario(s and Canada(s settlement and industrial history for the benefit of current and future residents and visitors to Limehouse and the Municipality of Halton Hills. ( Generating potential enterprise and employment opportunities through increased tourism. ( Providing an additional regional tourism attraction, particularly for hikers on the Bruce Trail... ( Documenting and stabilizing the set kilns, draw kiln and powder magazine at Limehouse with a future plan of dismantling and reconstructing them. ( Stabilizing and capping the masonry walls of the saw mill ruins. ( Stabilzing and reconstructing the railway loading dock with a limited archeological dig on site. ( Documenting and constructing a temporary shelter over the kilns at Dolly Varden ( Seeking funding from all levels of government - including Parks Canada. Join Susan Cox of the Limehouse Kiln Society at the Limehouse Memorial Hall, as she explains the plans of the Society for the future of the kilns at Limehouse. ACTON: THE HISTORY OF LEATHERTOWN The newest publication of the Esquesing Historical Society is currently at the printers. We optimistically anticipate delivery in early May. When the books are in our hands, we will immediately arrange a Sunday afternoon book launch for the Acton Town Hall. Watch the local media for the announcement. $24.95 each / $20.00 EHS members Discover when the tanning industry actually started in Acton. Beardmore Tanneries are well known to modern Actonians, but Acton(s largest employer for decades was Storey Glove. Beardmore(s even pulled out of Acton in favour of Bracebridge. The story of Leathertown is interesting and full of twists and turns! The 100 page paperback book will feature 85 photographs from the Archives of the Esquesing Historical Society and will cover the history of the Town from 1819 to 2000. This is the first survey history of Acton ever published. The index stretches from Adams to Zimmerman. In fact, the book includes an extensive index of all names mentioned in the book - over 600 entries! We are pleased to announce special pricing to paid-up members of the Esquesing Historical Society! That little blue membership card entitles you to a copy for $20.00. There will be no tax charged, if purchased from the Society. Copies for non-members will sell for $24.95. Stores must charge tax on this amount. Mail orders will be accepted after the launch date. Postage charges will be added to the selling price for mail delivery. Those charges will be announced after the books are delivered. American orders will cost US $24.95, which will include postage costs. Allow three to six weeks for postal orders. ACTON FREE PRESS - 10 May, 1900 CREWSON'S CORNERS: Quite a number attended the quarterly service at Eden Mills, last Sunday, there being no service here. A number from here attended the funeral of Robert Garvin in Acton on Sunday. The community was greatly shocked on Saturday when it became known that Mrs. John S. Coleman had died at her late residence in Acton.Mrs. Coleman was well known and highly esteemed here... SCOTCH BLOCK: Dufferin school #10 - E.J. Chapman, teacher ESQUESING HISTORICAL SOCIETY SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS Wed. 8 May, 2002 Lime Kiln Restoration - Susan Cox of the Limehouse Kiln Society will speak about the group(s plans to preserve a crumbling piece of local history. Plans for the future in light of the October 2001 report will be explained. LIMEHOUSE MEMORIAL HALL, Limehouse, 7:30 p.m. Wed. 12 June, 2002 St. Joseph(s, Acton - 145 years of Catholic Worship - On 18 March, 1857 work began building the St. Joseph(s Church, Dublin - the first centre of Catholics in Esquesing. Join the Society for a pot luck dinner followed by a tour of St. Joseph(s Church and a discussion of the history of the parish. St. JOSEPH(S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, Acton, Dinner at 6:00 p.m. / Tour at 7:15 p.m. Wed. 11 Sept.,2002 Halton Region Museum Unveiled! - The newly renovated Regional Museum will be explored on a guided tour of the facilities and the current displays. Join us for a tour and refreshments. Limited tickets are available for $5 each. Get yours by 12 June, before the regular price of $7.50 applies! HALTON REGION MUSEUM, Kelso Conservation Area, Milton Heights, 7:30 p.m. Wed. 9 Oct. 2002 St. George(s, Georgetown - 150th year - Join Rev. Rick Ruggle, author and historian as he recounts tales and lessons of St. George(s Anglican Church, Guelph Street. KNOX PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, Georgetown, 7:30 p.m. ALL MEETINGS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AT NO CHARGE! Please bring your own cup for refreshments to help protect our environment. RESEARCH REQUESTS The EHS charges $5.00 for the initial fee, and $1.00 per photocopied page. Postage and handling charges also apply. Requests can be made by e-mail or regular mail, but we cannot guarantee a delivery time. PHOTOGRAPH REPRINTS Besides the cost of printing a photo, an Archives user fee of $5 will apply for the first photo and a $2 fee for each subsequent photo, ordered at the same time. Postage and handling charges will also be applied. Orders require three weeks for processing. Society Notes EHS EXECUTIVE Stephen Blake 877-8251 President Karen Hunter 838-2109 Dawn Livingstone 877-6506 Doug Cole 877-3657 Sherry Westfahl 873-7145 J. Mark Rowe 877-9510 Carol Wood 873-0792 Marj Allen 877-9985 Judy Payne 877-7627 Don(t forget to add 905 when dialling the above listed numbers. ACHIVAL REPORT Archivist Mark Rowe met with Wellington County Archivist Karen Wagner at the Georgetown Library to offer several items to the Wellington facility. A number of items within a large donation to the Esquesing Archives were identified with the village of Clifford, County Wellington. Archivist Wagner took several items and photographs associated with the family of Joe and Mary Ellen Watson. We kept items relating to their years in Georgetown, on Main Street, North. Government approval to hire another summer student was received, just as this newsletter was being written. We will be seeking a university student to start later in May. The Archives Finding Aid on the internet is not working. The database is no longer available on-line, so an old-fashioned search from our binder is the only option open at this point. With the help of our summer student, we hope to catch up on our accessions, update the Finding Aid and get it back on-line. It would have come in handy for the inquiry we had from Scotland! THREAT TO BARBER PAPER MILL A flyer has been circulated by Deputy Fire Chief Brian Ellsworth to the residents of Stewart MacLaren Drive and area regarding the former Barber Paper Mill. It informs parents that children are constantly breaking into the crumbling buildings. The danger of fire, started by these children, are a real danger to this provincially significant historic site. The buildings have been vacant so long that they are also in danger of simply falling down. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be the will to do something to save this remnant of our industrial heritage. INTERNET CONNECTIONS The Esquesing Historical Society has an official web site on the World Wide Web. You can visit us at Send your e-mail to rowem@aztec-net.com or dlvngstn@stn.net Canadian Council of Archives web site: EHS NEWSLETTER This newsletter was prepared by John Mark Rowe with assistance from Karen Hunter and Dawn Livingstone. Submissions are welcome. MEMBERSHIP We currently have 79 members. Please encourage friends and family to join the EHS and support our efforts to preserve and share our local history. The individual rate is $10. The family or institution rate is $12. Cheques payable to the Society can be mailed to our post box. Marj Allen, membership secretary, will gladly accept your fees at the next meeting. HISTORY IN THE MAKING A group of Georgetown residents, past and present, have set up a website to try provide a forum for the exchange of pleasantries and information about Georgetown, and it(s people. Former residents from all over the country, and indeed the world, can log on to the website, chat with other residents, remember the past, and talk about the present. Information from the Georgetown Independent is summarized each week, and put on line. There is a short history of the town, and some pictures, and the possibilities are endless, depending on the enthusiasm of the participants. Former residents, Don Fendley, now in Milton, and Colin Ming, now in BC, are the driving forces behind the website. They have done, and are doing, a great job in maintaining the site for anyone to enjoy. If you have access to a computer, log on and have a look for yourself. The site is found at www.gtol-georgetown-online.com. Stop in and have a look for yourself. You will be very pleasantly surprised. This is a great way to link to our past, and preserve our future. HAMILTON(S OTHER RAILWAY NOW AVAILABLE TO BUY! "Hamilton's Other Railway" is off the press and now available. "Hamilton's Other Railway" traces the 19th century pioneer Hamilton & North Western Railway from its engrossing history and pioneering construction through to its absorption into the Grand Trunk Railway, and on to its take-over and eventual abandonment by Canadian National Railways The book is 432 pages in 8 1/2" x 11" hardcover format with dust jacket, bibliography, index, and with 394 black and white illustrations. Send a cheque or money order for $88.76 Cdn (shipped and taxes included) to: BYTOWN RAILWAY SOCIETY, P.O. Box 141, Station A, Ottawa, ON Canada K1N 8V1 Book enquiries are welcome at Order enquiries are welcome at RESEARCH INQUIRIES 1. James SHAW was on Concession V, 26 of Esquesing North in 1877 ... He is mentioned in an index of "Acton the Early Days" .... is there anyone that could do a lookup for me ... Thanks, Stan Barclay, Winnipeg. Editor(s Note: Dawn Livingstone has already looked up the references in Acton(s Early Days and sent them off to Mr. Barclay. 2. I am currently undertaking PhD studies on the relationship between drink culture and temperance reform in nineteenth-century Ontario, and was wondering if you could be of some help with respect to archival sources. Does your archives possess collections which concern the manufacture and/or sale and purchase of any type of beverage alcohol and which concern the temperance movement in all its manifestations? For instance:1) brewing industry records 2) distilling industry records 3) wine-making industry records 4) liquor retailing records (general store day books, invoices, etc.) 5) farmers' papers that might show grain sales to breweries, distilleries 6) personal papers that show regular purchases of beverage alcohol for home consumption 7) personal diaries with notable references to drinking practices 8) temperance lodge/society minute books and other papers 9) manuscripts relating to local-option prohibitory laws, such as the Dunkin Act and Canada Temperance Act (aka the Scott Act) 10) temperance broadsides, manuals, scrapbooks 11) civil and court records relating to prohibition, public drunkenness, excise tax infractions, etc. My goal is to develop a province-wide context, and your part of Ontario is an important region to include. Thank you very much for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Glen C. Phillips Doctoral Candidate Centre of Canadian Studies University of Edinburgh 3. Two other inquiries have their own articles elsewhere in the newsletter. RESEARCH VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Any long-time members of the EHS know that we often receive requests for information from people who live outside this area. We try to verify that Esquesing is the right place for their research and provide references for their future research. We do not research family or local history. Nevertheless, coupled with our internet resources, this is a valuable service to these people. Available time is always an issue, but if you would like to be contacted when a request arrives, please give your particulars to Karen Hunter or Dawn Livingstone. A note or an e-mail is satisfactory. If you have a particular area of interest, please identify it in your note. BRAMPTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY Meetings are held every third Thursday of the month at 7:15 p.m. at Heart Lake Presbyterian Church, 25 Ruth Avenue, Brampton. There is a $5 admission fee. May 16 Claude Sherwood on (The Avro Arrow Story.( FAMILY INFORMATION SOUGHT FROM WILLOWBANK Built about 1854, 35 Park Ave., Georgetown still stands. The back portion and barn are no longer extant. My name is Scott McMaster and I live in Mississauga. My mother's maiden name is Barber, her father was Gerald Barber, born in the 1870s. Recently I was able to obtain an original family photograph taken at the family home in Georgetown in the 1890s. I would like to be able to identify the people if possible. I have attached a highly compressed file but the original is of a very high resolution, being about 10' by 12" negative size. The faces and approximate ages are easily identified. Sorry for the file size, the original scan is 25 megs. Can you point me in a direction that may help us find some information? Thanks for your help. The original photo is very fragile. It was given to me by my Uncle Dr. Hugh Barber and it is inscribed on the back " Willow Bank Georgetown Ont". - in another handwriting it says "approx 1890's." Someone may recognize the house! Thanks again for your interest Mark and we would be happy to allow the full use of the photograph especially since there does not seem to be many photos of this era. C. W. Young, who left Georgetown in 1865 wrote about this place. (In his garden in the centre of the village, William barber had cemented the cellar of an old house and made it water tight, and with a line of pump-logs conducted the water from a spring brook a few hundred yards out, into the reservoir, which was gradually stocked, by me mostly, with trout from adjacent streams. These trout were well fed and grew rapidly to a large size, the big ones eating the smaller. The little reservoir was quite a sight and was usually shown to strangers.... This was Georgetown(s first water works system, but after a while the pump-logs got chocked up with water cress and other weeds, the water was shut off and the trout all died. Please pass any information you might have to share on to Mark Rowe, or any executive member. Schran Family of Acton detailed in Bible The following information was received by e-mail by Dawn Livingstone on 31 March, 2002 from Jean Tschiggfrey. Hello, I am researching in your general area of Ontario, Canada surnames as Klumpp, Morlock, Haist, Wein, Braun, Finkbeiner, Guenther, Faisst, Gaisser, etc. that all came from the same area in Württ., Germany. As a genealogist I am passing this information below that came into my possession, none of the names in the Bible are related to us, my mother purchased this Bible I believe from an old book store in Detroit. The Old Catholic Bible is in my possession. It's contains this information. Lewis Schran married Miss Mary Job on 1 Dec. 1861 in Acton, Canada by, C. Unsworth. Children: William V. Schran Mar. 24, 1864 Kate Schran Sept. 5, 1866 John Schran Sep. 29, 1868 Carrie Scran Oct. 24, 1871 Jennie A. Schran May 10, 1874 George A. Schran Mar. 27 1877 Joseph W. Schran Aug. 19, 1879 Julia S. Schran Sept. 2 18_3, (last two digits are smeared) Lewis Schran, June 20, 1839? (last two digits are smeared), Father Mary, March 18, 1848 Mother Kate Schran and Henry Conley, married 1 Dec. 1886 William Schran and Alma Lymans, married 2 Nov. 1892 Carrie Schran and Henry Gohs, married Jan. 25, 1893 John Schran and Mate Beachham, married 18 Dec. 1893 Jennie Schran and Char. Reid, married Jul. 4 (no year) Also included in this Bible is a receipt of $1.90 paid in full by Mrs. Schran, Dated Oct. 24, 1900. (maybe for the Bible?). Letter: (As Written) To: Mrs. L. Brusso, 13031 Alma, Detroit, Mich, 48205 U.S.A. From: Mrs. W. Britton RR4 Acton, L7J2MI Ont, Canada Dated: Feb. 11, 1976 Dear Mrs. Brusso, You will no doubt be wondering what happened to the letter you sent to the post Master in Acton. Well we happen to be a friend of the postmaster and his assistant is a sister in law & our son in law carries mail out of Acton, so I got the letter as I was the only one around these parts that had the Job name before I was married. My name was Mary Job and I am now 73 years old. I imagine this lady & I were born on the same farm as my great grandfather got the farm from the Crown. She would be my fathers aunt a sister of his father. I never knew only a couple of the family one lived in Hamilton & one in Guelph. I think the rest of the family all went to United States to live. I know one was married to a Schran but I never saw any of them only their pictures over fifty years ago. There was his uncles John, William, and I can't remember all the other names but it was quite a large family & they lived in Michigan State. It definately had to be his Aunt Mary because we were the only Jobs in these parts. I was in Chicago a few years ago and looked in telephone book there, and there was all kinds of them. I only have a third cousin in Guelph which I could phone, but she didn't know much more than I did, like all other families you seem to get drifted away. I was only two when my grandfather died & I never saw my grandmother. Dad was the only one in family so we didn't get as much family history as some do. Everybody is making family trees now getting all they can about relatives. I would like to thank you very much for being interested & sending this Yours Truly thanks again Mrs. W. Britton (Note: Mrs. Louise Brusso was my mother, she sent a letter to Acton in 1976 in attempt to locate the family of this Bible. The letter above was the only response she received on the subject). I hope this will help some family researcher, Alice Jean PomaTschiggfrey, Mio, Michigan, daughter of Mrs. Louise Brusso KAREN SCOTT SHARES PERILS OF NORTHERN NURSING AT APRIL MEETING Thirty people attended the April meeting of the Esquesing Historical Society to hear Karen Scott, author of the upcoming book, Northern Nurses, True Nursing Adventures from Canada(s North. Karen has led a life of travel and adventure, nursing in several different venues over her varied career. Many of her adventures, along with those of other northern nurses, have been put together in this soon to be published book. Karen was born and raised in Georgetown, and still keeps many connections with friends and relatives here. She comes from Esquesing pioneer stock, and her parents were well known business people in the town, in later years, running Scott Motors, situated in the garage opposite St. George(s Anglican Church. ACTON FREE PRESS - 10 May, 1900 PERU: W.C. King Burned out at Peru About 10 o'clock on Saturday night a neighbour saw flames issuing from the dye house and stable of Wm. C. King, who has been in the business of tanning and dyeing sheepskins and cleaning and dyeing clothing at Peru for several years. Mr. King moved to Peru from Acton several years ago. GEORGETOWN: Races May 24th as usual. $500 in purses. The celebrated Waterloo Band, day and evening. The waggon from the Floral View Greenhouses, Georgetown, will visit Acton twice a week. Give your orders to the driver. LIMEHOUSE:The lime kilns are very busy and have taken on extra men. Sincere regret is felt here at the death of Mr. Robert N. Garvin at Acton, last Friday. He was for many years a respected resident of Limehouse. YEAR 2002 MARKS DOUBLE ANNIVERSARY FOR ACTON CATHOLICS! 1852 - 1882 - 2002 John Mark Rowe Roman Catholic settlers were few and far between in the early days of Esquesing Township, but a number of Irish immigrants settled just south of Acton in the first and second concessions. The first record of Catholic activity was in 1845 when a subscription to rebuild the church in Guelph was circulated. Matthew and Honora McCann were the earliest of these Irish Catholics, settling on Lot 25, Concession 1 about 1834. They offered their home to the visiting priests who offered Mass there infrequently. Jesuit priests from Guelph began to visit this area which became known as Little Dublin from 1852. It was about 1855 that the floor in the home of the McCann(s gave way during one service, sliding the worshippers into the cellar. This prompted the congregation to organize the building of a proper church. McCann and a neighbour, John Mulholland decided to provide a piece of unworkable land at the corner of Lot 25, Concession 1 for a church and cemetery. The land was deeded to the new Diocese of Hamilton in 1856 and on the 18 March, 1857, the eve of the feast of St, Joseph, work began on a frame church. The parish was administered by Father Frank Dumortier, SJ, who was responsible for 28 places in Waterloo, Wellington and Halton. As the children of farmers moved to town in search of labour, the town Catholics wanted a church of their own. In October 1881, the Congregationalists, who had tried moving to Acton from Churchill, decided to give up and offered their five year old brick chapel on Church Street for sale. Roman Catholic services began there in the spring of 1882. The strong ties to the Dublin church doomed the attempt to failure. By June, 1882 the priest had returned to Dublin. The Acton church was empty until 1884 when the Salvation Army opened their first barracks there. In 1886, the town faction moved the Catholic services once more to the brick church in Acton. The first Catholic wedding in Acton was held in June 1886. To ensure the permanent address of St. Joseph(s would be Acton, the old pews were quickly removed and sold to the Catholics of Rockwood who had just acquired a former blacksmith shop as their church. It may have been used as a chapel for funerals until Mr. Kirkpatrick tore it down to rebuild it as a private home about 1894. The priest at Acton was also responsible for Holy Cross Church in Georgetown until 1956 when they became a separate parish. Rev. Vincent J. Morgan was the longest serving priest at Acton from 1941 until 1972. The old church which turned 125 years old in 2001, still serves the congregation. A rectory on John Street is the home of the resident priest, currently Rev. Robert Bulbrook. The cemetery at Dublin continues to operate, although many Catholics have chosen to be buried in Fairview Cemetery since it opened in 1886. ESQUESING HISTORICAL SOCIETY SPONSORED Tour of the renovated and newly opened Halton Region Museum in the grounds of Kelso Conservation Area, Milton, Ontario Wednesday, September 11th, 2002 7:00 pm Your provide your own personal transportation or make your own car pool Tickets $5.00 each if purchased before June 12th &7.50 each if purchased after June 12th The Alexander family and descendants would barely recognise their old farmstead beneath the Niagara Escarpment. Their property in the heart of Kelso Conservation Area, was founded in 1836, and has been the home of the Halton Region Museum (formerly Halton County Museum) since 1962. The museum has been closed the last few years, requiring extensive renovations, and is now being opened to the public once again. Come out for this conducted tour. Learn some of the interesting history of our county. Tour includes light refreshments. Tickets available at April, May and June meetings. Esquesing Historical Society Newsletter 1 Esquesing Historical Society Newsletter 13