Ann Eliza Hepburne Rooth fonds, 1837-1897

Ann Eliza Hepburne was born in Chippawa, Ontario, in 1821, to William Hepburne and Susan Shannon. In 1842, she married William Anthony Rooth in St. James Cathedral in Toronto. They continued to live in different parts of the Niagara region, including Drummondville, Welland and Port Colborne. William was the editor and proprietor of the Drummondville Reporter, as well as an accountant and insurance agent, and later worked for the Customs Service in Port Colborne. He died in 1878, and Eliza in 1899. Both are buried in Drummond Hill Cemetery in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Fonds consists of a friendship album and a scrapbook. The friendship album contains poems, letters, illustrations, soldiers autographs and some clippings, dated from 1837-1897. Some names of those who contributed to the album include Eliza’s husband William Anthony Rooth, Thomas Cummings, George Conventry, M.M. Johnson, Robert Nelles, Oliver T. Macklem, Thomas Macklem, and L.D. Raymond. There are also autographs of soldiers from the Trinity College Rifles, Toronto, dated 1866. The Trinity College Rifles fought in the Battle of Ridgeway during the Fenian Raid of June, 1866, and were possibly billeted with the Rooth family in Port Colborne. Soldiers from the 13th Battalion, Hamilton, also signed the book, with the entry dated June 18, 1866. There are also signatures of A.K. Scholfield and H. Scholfield, W.C.F. [Welland Canal Field] Battery. The scrapbook is dated 1872 and contains clippings from publications such as Harper’s weekly, the London Illustrated news, and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated newspaper. Most of the clippings are illustrations, with some poems and articles, as well as editorial cartoons. Most of the material concerns world politics and events. However, the last two pages of the scrapbook contain obituaries of local citizens, including Thomas Clark Street, William Macklem, Edward Lee, Richard Hiscotte, and J.C. Woodruff. Other local items of interest include illustrations and descriptions of Niagara Falls (including a poem by George Coventry); a sketch of Queenston in 1812 and one of Brock’s monument, 1860; an article about Sir Allan Napier McNab; an obituary of Col.Thomas Adams, paymaster on the Welland Canal; an article on a fundraiser for St. James Church, Port Colborne; a programme of the reception of the Prince of Wales through Drummondville and Queenston Heights, 1860; and a description of a vessel going over Niagara Falls, 1827. It is unclear whether the scrapbook was kept by Ann Eliza Hepburne Rooth, or one of her daughters. Loose items enclosed in the scrapbook include several posters, assorted clippings, and a copy of the Port Colborne Messenger, dated July 4, 1866. One of the posters is an advertisement for the Peach Festival at St. James Church in Port Colborne, dated September 5, 1874.