Dr. A. Leon Hatzan letters,1926, 1932-1940, n.d.

Alexander Leon Hatzan (1864-1941), a native of Belgium, was a self-described medical doctor, missionary, academic and some time herbalist. In 1918 he moved to Niagara Falls, first living on Clifton Avenue (now Zimmerman Ave.), later moving to the River Road home he shared with his wife Ada Beatrice Rolston (1882-1975). He was the author of three books and at least four known music scores. He was heavily involved in the promotion of his books and his music. The correspondence is chiefly in reply to gifts of books and/or music sent by Hatzan to the recipients or in reply to requests for speaking engagements. Hatzan died on October 7, 1941 while visiting Vancouver, BC.

Lini Richarda Grol Fonds, 1946-2007

Lini Richarda Grol was originally born in Nijmegen, Netherlands in 1913 and immigrated to Canada in 1954 after working as a nurse in South America for three years from 1951 to 1954. She was granted her first Canadian passport in 1961 and worked full-time as nurse at the Welland County Hospital. While nursing she would enroll in writing courses at McMaster University and Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, now Ryerson University. Eventually she decided to dedicate herself to her writing and artwork and began to only work as a nurse part-time and then later opened the Fonthill Studio to devote herself to her writing and artwork full-time. Her status as an immigrant and career as a nurse provided inspiration for much of her writing and she frequently tackles the experience of the female immigrant in her works. Her first publication was in 1938 in a small literary and women’s magazines in Holland and Belgium and her first work of poetry was entitled Stive Gedachten. None of these publications exist in this archive. Her most well-known publication, Liberation, centers around her experiences leading up to and after the liberation of Holland during World War II. Grol was, and continues to be a prolific writer in the Niagara Region and has been published in the Welland Tribune, Pelham Herald, Thorold News, Parent Magazine, Dunville Chronicle, and various Christian publications and literary newsletters and journals. Grol also started her own poetry magazine entitled Canadian Poets Pen Club to help aspiring writers get published. Perhaps her most recognized achievement was the inclusion of one of her poems and the recognition of her novel Liberation into the Thank You Canada Day celebration in May 1970. Grol participated in many local writers’ groups such as the Welland Writer’s Club, and the Canadian Author’s Association. Grol was membership secretary for the Canadian Author’s Association in 1984. She also founded a writer’s club in 1995 in her retirement home, Holland Christian Homes where members meet to talk about their poems and short stories either in English or Dutch. Participating in and creating a writers’ community is integral to Grol’s identity as an author and can be related to the feelings of isolation she felt as an immigrant to Canada. Grol also hosted her own television shows entitled Discovery with Lini Grol which featured guests, usually local artists and writers, and Holland en Hollanders a cultural program for Dutch immigrants. Grol’s most recent activities include the publication of a one act play entitled Peppermint Problems [1996] and a short story entitled “When our War started in Rotterdam” [2004]. In 1994, she moved to Brampton, Ontario into a Christian retirement center called Holland Christian Homes. For further biographical information about Grol see two books contained within this collection Women of Action [1976] and Something About the Author [1976].

Indenture between Robert Sparrow Delatre, Thomas Sheppard Smyth, Thomas Hector, and Arthur Shaw

Indenture between Robert Sparrow Delatre of Stamford Township, Thomas Sheppard Smyth of Brussels, Belgium, formerly of Stamford Township and Thomas Hector of Quebec, trustees of the last will and testament of Philip Chesneau Delatre to the Bank of Upper Canada and Arthur Shaw of Niagara Township regarding Lot no. 3 in the 1st Concession and Lot no. 4 in the 1st Concession, part of Lot no. 3 in the 2nd Concession, 50 acres of Lot no. 4 in the 4th Concession, 200 acres in Lot no. 8 in the 11th Concession in Blandford in the County of Oxford and broken Lot no. 11 in the 18th Concession in the Township of Zorra - instrument no. 6083. This is listed in the Blandford folio 184 and 185 in folio 63 and 64. Joseph Woodruff has signed this as conveyancer, March 29, 1853.

Indenture between Thomas Sheppard Smyth and Richard Woodruff

Indenture of deed of bargain and sale between Thomas Sheppard Smyth of Brussels in Belgium and Richard Woodruff of St. Catharines for land in the Township of Nottawasaga in the Township of Simcoe including 200 acres of Lot 23 in the 3rd Concession - instrument no. 14373, October 19, 1853.