Province of Upper Canada Grant (paper mounted on canvas) to Alexander McDonell

Province of Upper Canada Grant (paper mounted on canvas) to Alexander McDonell. He is granted 400 acres in the Town of York, Lots numbered 12 and 13 in the 3rd Concession and part of Lot no. 16 in the 4th Concession. This was entered in the auditor’s office Dec 31, 1798, Dec. 31, 1798.

Province of Upper Canada Grant (vellum) to Joseph Mills of the township of Grimsby

Province of Upper Canada Grant (vellum) to Joseph Mills of the township of Grimsby, son of United Empire Loyalist John Mills, United Empire Loyalist. He was granted 200 acres in the 5th Concession in Windham in the County of Norfolk. This was registered in in Liber L, folio 387 on Feb. 14, 1803. The crown land seal is attached, but broken into small pieces, Nov. 25, 1802.

Province of Upper Canada Grant (vellum) to Christian Myers of the Township of Cornwall

Province of Upper Canada Grant (vellum) to Christian Myers of the Township of Cornwall, son of Michael Myers, United Empire Loyalist. He is granted 200 acres on Lot no. 18 in the 9th Concession in the Township of Mountain in the County of Dundas. This document is faded and part of the paper are missing or stained. Some of the text is affected. A small piece is missing from the crown land seal which is also faded. This was registered in Feb. 1803, Dec. 1, 1802

Province of Upper Canada Grant (vellum) to Peter McCollum of the Township of Grimsby

Province of Upper Canada Grant (vellum) to Peter McCollum of the Township of Grimsby, son of James McCollum, United Empire Loyalist. He was granted 200 acres in Lot no.12 in the 5th Concession in the Township of Scott in the County of Yorke. This was entered with the auditor on Nov. 17, 1809. There is a partial crown land seal attached to this document but it is broken, Nov. 16, 1809.

Province of Upper Canada Grant (vellum) to Thomas Fraser of the Township of Edwardsburgh granted 1 acre in Lot no.9 in the County of Stormont

Province of Upper Canada Grant (vellum) to Thomas Fraser of the Township of Edwardsburgh granted 1 acre in Lot no.9 in the County of Stormont. Signed by William Jarvis, Sir Isaac Brock, Prideaux Selby and John Macdonell. There are some holes in the document and there are small pieces missing on the right hand side. William Jarvis was the Provincial Secretary of the Lt. Governor of Upper Canada; Sir Isaac Brock. Jarvis was an officer in the Queen’s Rangers. He also served as Provincial Secretary of Upper Canada. A partial crown seal is attached, Mar. 26, 1812.

Province of Upper Canada Grant (vellum) to Abraham Huff of the District of Niagara

Province of Upper Canada Grant (vellum) to Abraham Huff of the District of Niagara. He was granted 200 acres in Lot 26, Concession 2 west of the communication from Chatham to Lake Erie. The crown land seal is completely intact, but faded and stained. This was entered with the auditor on Mar. 25, 1818, Mar. 16, 1818.

The History of the Consulate & The Empire of France Under Napoleon

The book is stamped in the front and back with the "Upper Canada College" crest. There is also a plate within the book indicating that it was presented to H.K. Woodruff by the senate as an acknowledgement of merit and as a reward for general proficiency in Upper Canada College in June, 1878. On the top of this plate it says: 1st Form Prize, Upper Modern Form. The full text is available in the Brock University Special Collections and Archives or view the full text at the following link: http://www.archive.org/details/consulateempire1and2thie

Day book for the Dominion Accountant

Day book for the Dominion Accountant (soft cover). This notebook has T. Benson on the front cover, but Hamilton K. Woodruff is written within the back cover and within the front cover. There are also other names written within the front cover. The book contains many loose notes regarding book-keeping [This is from Upper Canada College], 1876-1878.

Ledger for the Dominion Accountant

Ledger for the Dominion Accountant (soft cover) book-keeping book. The name H.K. Woodruff is in the front cover. Many of the pages are loose, or have been removed. [This is from Upper Canada College] 1877-1878.

Journal for the Dominion Accountant

Journal for the Dominion Accountant (soft cover). This notebook has the name Thomas Benson written on the front cover. The book is stained. The stains do not affect the text. Some of the pages are missing. [This is from Upper Canada College], 1877-1878.

Gilbert McMicken document, n.d.

Gilbert McMicken emigrated to Upper Canada in 1832 and settled in Chippawa. In 1835 he was married to Ann Theresa Duff. In 1837 the family moved to Queenston where he was directly involved in the Kingston-Queenston trade endeavours begun by Robert Hamilton. He had a variety of interests, including a partnership with James Hamilton, son of Robert Hamilton. He was also a collector of customs in Queenston and operated the Niagara Suspension Bridge Bank for a time. He entered politics and represented Niagara as well as becoming mayor of Clifton, now part of Niagara Falls, Ont., in 1856. McMicken went on to have an illustrious career, serving as land agent and leader of Canada’s first undercover agency. McMicken moved to Manitoba and was active in business and politics. He died in Winnipeg in 1891. Source: Dictionary of Canadian Biography – Gilbert McMicken website (March 22, 2010)

Lt. Col. John Clark Papers, 1838-1851 [photocopy]

Lt. Col. John Clark (1787-1862) was born in Kingston, Upper Canada. In 1801 Clark became a private in the 1st regiment of the Lincoln Militia, serving under Ralfe Clench. By June 1812 he was promoted to lieutenant by Maj. Gen. Sir Isaac Brock. During the War of 1812 he served as lieutenant and adjutant for the Lincoln Militia flank company on the Niagara frontier under Col. William Claus, and was present at the surrender of the enemy at the battle of Queenston Heights. By 1838 the Lincoln Militia was being re-organized and Lt. Col John Clark was requested to lead the 5th Regiment, made up of men from both Grantham and Louth townships in Lincoln County. He served in this capacity until his retirement in 1851?. Around this same time Clark bought from William May Jr. a house in Grantham Township. He was to call his home Walnut Dale Farm. John Clark also served as the customs collector for Port Dalhousie, and as a secretary in the Welland Canal Company. One hundred years later efforts by a local heritage group to save John Clark’s home failed, when the house was hit by arsonists. By this time the house had become known as the May-Clark-Seiler House. See RG 195 Anne Taylor Fonds for more information regarding the efforts of the heritage group to save this home. Clark died in 1862 at the age of 79 years and is buried in Victoria Lawn Cemetery. John Clark’s daughter Catherine (mentioned in the diary portion of the papers) was married to William Morgan Eccles.

J.W. Spencer fonds, 1866, 1881-1921

Joseph William Winthrop Spencer (commonly known as J.W. Spencer) was a geologist and geomorphologist best known for his work on the geology of southern Ontario and the Great Lakes. He was born in Dundas, Upper Canada in 1851, but moved to Hamilton, Ontario in 1867. In 1871, he began studies in geology at McGill College in Montreal. In 1875 he worked in the Michigan copper mines and shortly afterwards prepared a thesis on the copper deposits. He submitted this thesis to the University of Gottingen in Germany in 1877 and was awarded a doctorate in geology, the second Canadian to earn a doctorate in this field. In 1880, he became a professor of geology and chemistry at King’s College in Windsor, N.S. Subsequently, he taught at the University of Missouri, and then the University of Georgia, but moved to Washington, D.C. in 1894, where he worked as a consultant geologist. Spencer spent much of his life studying preglacial river valleys in Ontario and the origins of the Great Lakes, as well as the Niagara River and Falls. In 1907, he published a book titled The Falls of Niagara: their evolution and varying relations to the Great Lakes. His opinions in these areas differed from some of his contemporaries, namely the American geologist Grove Karl Gilbert. Gilbert published a review of the The Falls of Niagara that exposed some flaws and inaccuracies in Spencer’s estimate of the age of the falls. Spencer’s studies also took him to the Caribbean and Central America. In 1920 he moved back to Canada, but died the following year.

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada. Commemorative stamps, 1981.

Niagara-on-the-Lake was originally known as Butlersburg, after Colonel John Butler, the commander of Butler's Rangers. This military corps served in British North America until 1784. At that time, the general forces of the British Army in North America were significantly reduced. In 1781, the town received official status. It became known as Newark, then Niagara, and subsequently Niagara-on-the-Lake in order to distinguish itself from Niagara Falls. It is historically significant as the original capital of Upper Canada and is a popular tourist destination.

Welland County Records, 1961-1989

The origins of the Welland County Fair date back to the founding of the County of Welland in 1852. A provincial charter was issued in 1853 to create the Welland County Agricultural Society that was to operate the Fair. In 1970, the Welland County Fair became the Niagara Regional Exhibition, and the Society became known as the Niagara Regional Agriculture Society. The Society seeks to “encourage interest, promote improvements in and advance the standards of agriculture, domestic industry and rural life”. The Welland Festival of Arts was developed in 1986 in order to revitalize the town’s economy. An “outdoor art gallery” was created by painting murals on buildings that depicted the town’s heritage, a concept successfully adopted by the town of Chemainus, B.C. The first mural was completed in the summer of 1988, and by 1991 there were a total of 28 murals around the city. The endeavour proved successful: in the years that followed the creation of the Festival, two new hotels were constructed, a third was expanded, and there was an addition to the Seaway Mall to accommodate the increased tourist traffic. Optimist International is a non-profit organization that strives to “bring out the best in kids” . The first Canadian club was formed in Toronto in 1924. The Welland branch of the Optimist Club was founded in 1937. The first Welland County General Hospital opened in 1908. As the population increased, it became necessary to expand the existing facilities. Additions were made to the original structure with an East wing in 1930 and a children’s ward in 1931. However, in the 1950’s, the hospital was operating beyond optimum capacity and the need for a larger facility was clear. It was decided that a new hospital would be built, which opened in April 1960. The new hospital had 259 beds and 51 bassinets. Further additions were made in 1967 and 1978. The County of Welland was formed in 1850 when it was officially separated from Lincoln County, however, the two counties continued to operate together until 1856 when a new County building and jail for Welland County were completed. That same year, the first meeting of the Council of the Corporation of Welland County took place. The final meeting of the Council took place on December 18, 1969. The following year, the County of Welland merged with Lincoln County to form the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Welland Mills in Thorold, Ont., was built in 1846-1847 by Jacob Keefer and is thought to have been one of the largest flour mills in Upper Canada. Ownership of the mill changed several times over the years and previous owners include the Howland family, the Hedley Shaw Milling Company and the Maple Leaf Milling Company. In 1986, the building received a heritage plaque from the Ontario Heritage Foundation, an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Culture and Recreation. At this time, the mill was no longer in operation and was being used for storage by Fraser, Inc. By 2006, the dilapidated building had been redeveloped into18 apartments and 2 floors of commercial space, while maintaining many heritage features. The building is currently known as the Welland Mills Centre.