Indenture between Chauncey Beadle and William Woodruff

Indenture between Chauncey Beadle of St. Catharines and William Woodruff of St. Davids concerning the sale of land in Lot no. 18 in the 6th Concession in the Township of Grantham - instrument no. 517, May 30, 1837.

Indenture between George Jackson and William Woodruff

Indenture of bargain and sale between George Jackson of Saint Davids and William Woodruff of St. Davids regarding the sale of part of Lot no. 90 in the Township of Niagara - instrument no. 12.482, March 21, 1839.

Indenture between Joseph Jackson and William Woodruff (B)

Indenture of bargain and sale between Joseph Jackson of Buffalo, New York and William Woodruff of St. Davids regarding Lot no. 90 in Niagara Township. This was registered in the County of Lincoln on April 30, 1842 in Book B, folio 299. The instrument no. is 732. It was written 17 March 1842.

Indenture between Joseph Jackson and William Woodruff (A)

Indenture of bargain and sale between Joseph Jackson of Buffalo, New York and William Woodruff of St. Davids regarding Lot no. 90 in St. Davids. This was registered in the County of Lincoln on April 30, 1842 in book B, folio 300. The instrument no. is 733. It was written 17 march 1842.

Indenture between George William Allen and Samuel Zimmerman

Indenture of bargain and sale between George William Allen of Toronto and Samuel Zimmerman of Niagara Falls for 200 acres more or less in Lot no. 13 in the South Concession in the Township of Warwick, May 8, 1856.

Insurance Policy issued to William Woodruff

Insurance Policy issued by the Columbus Insurance Company of Columbus, Ohio to William Woodruff of St. Davids, Ontario on a detached brick building situated on Lot no. 6 on St. Paul Street, St. Catharines. This is fire policy no. 113, book 1, folio 112, April 11, 1884.

Letter - William Young to James Woodruff

Letter to James D. Woodruff at the Welland Canal, St. Catharines. The letter is postmarked Philadelphia [date illegible] and Queenston, Feb. 7, 1847. In this letter William Young of Philadelphia describes some of the prices and features of his wares including compasses and levels, Feb. 3, 1847.

Letter to S.D. Woodruff enclosing the statement of different classes passing down the Welland Canal

Letter to S.D. Woodruff enclosing the statement of different classes passing down the Welland Canal. This is signed by William Pring of Port Colborne, collector, Jan.27, 1862.

Marriage Bond between Harrison Narrel of Gainsborough and Anna Simmermon of Clinton

Marriage Bond between Harrison Narrel of Gainsborough and Anna Simmermon of Clinton signed by Andrew Snyder of Gainsborough and William Jacobs of Grimsby, Sept. 1, 1834

Marriage Bond between Henry Stratton of Grimsby and Elizabeth Muir of Grimsby

Marriage Bond between Henry Stratton of Grimsby and Elizabeth Muir of Grimsby signed by William Crooks of Grimsby and Robert F. Nelles of Grimsby, June 7, 1838.

Appointment of John B. Parkynn [Parkin] (J.P. Bradley’s brother) to be an Ensign of the 1st Company of the Royal Quebec Volunteers

Appointment of John B. Parkynn [Parkin] (J.P. Bradley’s brother) to be an Ensign of the 1st Company of the Royal Quebec Volunteers. This is signed by the Governor General, the Earl of Gosford and Governor General, Secretary J. Walcott, Nov. 27, 1837.

UAW Presentation

Pictured here from left to right are James Hogan, University Librarian, Dr. James Gibson, President, and William Marshal of the UAW.

Daniel Shannon fonds, 1816-1822

Lt. Daniel Shannon fl. 1777-1822, was the only son of Susan Drake, granddaughter of Rev. Thomas Drake, eldest brother of Sir Francis Drake, and Captain Daniel Shannon of the Royal Navy. He married Elizabeth Garvey, daughter of Alexander Garvey and Catharine Borden of New Jersey. Lt. Shannon was a Regular in the British Army and on February 12, 1777 he joined the Royal Standard, 5th New Jersey Volunteers. After being arrested and sentenced to hang for spying he was pardoned through the efforts of his mother Susan Drake Shannon who pleaded his case with the Governor. He served under General Cornwallis at the surrender in Virginia in 1781. In 1783 he moved to New Brunswick, Canada where he was reduced to a half-pay ensign in the 2nd Regiment of the Lincoln Militia. He was granted 500 acres of land on the St. Johns River, and on April 1, 1786 his daughter Catharine was born there. The family returned to the United States, residing in Pennsylvania, for a short time. In 1800 Lt. Shannon, with his mother and family, returned to Canada and settled in Stamford Township where he bought 200 acres of land on the Niagara River near the whirlpool. He later served in the Secret Service during the War of 1812 and was stationed at a lookout point on the Niagara River below the falls. In 1806 Shannon’s daughter, Catharine, married Thomas Lundy, fourth son of William Lundy of Stamford Township.

British Methodist Episcopal Church Tithing Ticket, 1874

A quarterly tithing ticket from the British Methodist Episcopal Church, signed by Walter Hawkins, Minister, issued on August 16, 1874. This ticket was in the possession of the Richard Bell Family of St. Catharines.Minister Walter Hawkins was Superintendent of the Conference for the British Methodist Episcopal Church (Brant Co.) This excerpt from the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online describes his role in reestablishing the BMEC in Canada following a period of reunion with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, an initiative spearheaded by Richard Randolph Disney, a free-born black American Methodist preacher. "By the end of the 1870s the BMEC had 56 congregations with about 3,100 members, the bulk of the latter being in the Danish West Indies and British Guiana. Because mission work outside Canada had overtaxed the church's financial resources, in 1880 Disney began negotiations towards reunion with the AMEC. The reunion was effected that year, and it was overwhelmingly ratified at a BMEC convention held at Hamilton in June 1881. A referendum showed that although a majority in Ontario was opposed, 86 per cent of the membership was in favour. Disney was accepted as an AMEC bishop and was assigned to its Tenth Episcopal District, a region embracing his former territory as well as some of the AMEC churches in Canada which had not joined the BMEC. Reunification appeared to have been a triumph for Disney, but trouble soon occurred. A majority of the Ontario churches and preachers, led by the Reverend Walter Hawkins of Chatham, sought to re-establish the BMEC, fearing the loss of their distinctive identity and perhaps feeling that the Caribbean groups had exercised too much influence on the reunification question. In 1886 this group held an ecclesiastical council at Chatham, at which it was claimed that Disney had defected to the AMEC. At a subsequent general conference that year the BMEC was reconstituted. The conference deposed Disney, agreeing to "erase his name and ignore his authority, and cancel his official relationship as bishop." The conference minutes also refer to a court case instigated by Disney which reached the High Court of Chancery in Britain, but records of this case have not been located. The reconstituted BMEC elected Hawkins as its general superintendent, avoiding the title of bishop for several years." Source: Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Government of Canada.

Sales Agreement - July 30th, 1851

A sales agreement between Alexander Lattimore of Wainfleet and John Gordon of Gravelly Bay to William Cowan of Dunville, sale of a scow called "Welland", July 30th 1851.