Special report of New York State Survey on the preservation of the scenery of Niagara Falls ; and fourth annual report on the triangulation of State. For the Year 1879 /

Notes by F. L. Olmsted.

John Smith, M.P fonds, 1930, 1949-1950, 1954, 1957-1962, n.d.

John Smith (1894-1977), son of Daniel Smith and Annie Douglas was a native of Scotland, immigrating to Canada in 1913. He first worked as a coach builder, then as a carpenter, finally developing his own contracting business. During WWI he served overseas with the 10th Battery, RCA as a sergeant. In 1924 Smith married Jean Wood, and together they had a daughter Irene (Hugh Langley). Smith first entered politics in 1940 serving as an alderman for the next 11 years. In 1954 he was elected mayor of the city of St. Catharines, and was twice returned to office by acclamation, serving until 1957 when he successfully ran as the Progressive Conservative candidate representing Lincoln County in the federal election. He won the election by a 10 000 vote majority. He served his constituents in Ottawa until he was defeated in the 1962 election. After leaving politics Mr. Smith was active in his community. He spearheaded the establishment of the St. Catharines Museum, and then was appointed its first director in 1966, serving in that capacity until 1972. He was an active member of the board of governors of the St. Catharines General Hospital and a life member and former president of the Lincoln County Humane Society. In 1971 he was voted Citizen of the Year for the city of St. Catharines. John Smith died on February 8, 1977 and was buried at Victoria Lawn Cemetery. Source: The St. Catharines Standard, February 9, 1977, page 1

Rick Bell Family fonds, 1874-1875, 1879, 1884, 1886, 1888-1889, 1896, 1898, 1909-1910, 1939, 1945, n.d.

Lewis Tyrell married Jane Gains on August 31, 1849 in Culpeper Court House, Virginia. Jane Gains was a spinster. Lewis Tyrell died September 25, 1908 at his late residence, Vine St. and Welland Ave., St. Catharines, Ont. at the age of 81 years, 5 months. Jane Tyrell died March 1, 1886, age 64 years. Their son? William C. Tyrell died January 15, 1898, by accident in Albany, NY, age 33 years, 3 months. John William Taylor married Susan Jones were married in St. Catharines, Ont. on August 10, 1851 by William Wilkinson, a Baptist minister. On August 9, 1894 Charles Henry Bell (1871-1916), son of Stephen (1835?-1876) and Susan Bell, married Mary E. Tyrell (b. 1869?) daughter of Lewis and Alice Tyrell, in St. Catharines Ontario. By 1895 the Bell’s were living in Erie, Pennsylvania where children Delbert Otto (b. 1895) and Edna Beatrice (b. 1897) were born. By 1897 the family was back in St. Catharines where children Lewis Tyrell (b. 1899), Gertrude Cora (b. 1901), Bessie Jane (b. 1902), Charles Henry (b. 1906), Richard Nelson (b. 1911) and William Willoughby (b. 1912) were born. Charles Henry Bell operated a coal and ice business on Geneva Street. In the 1901 Census for St. Catharines, the Bell family includes the lodger Charles Henry Hall. Charles Henry Hall was born ca. 1824 in Maryland, he died in St. Catharines on November 11, 1916 at the age of 92. On October 24, 1889 Charles Hall married Susan Bell (1829-1898). The 1911 Census of Canada records Charles Henry Hall residing in the same household as Charles Henry and Mary Bell. The relationship to the householder is step-father. It is likely that after Stephen Bell’s death in 1876, his widow, Susan Bell married Hall. In 1939, Richard Nelson Bell, son of Charles Henry and Mary Tyrell Bell, married Iris Sloman. Iris (b. 22 May 1912 in Biddulph Township, Middlesex, Ontario) was the daughter of Albert (son of Joseph b. 1870 and Elizabeth Sloman, b. 1872) and Josie (Josephine Ellen) Butler Sloman of London, Ont. Josie (b. 1891) was the daughter of Everett Richard and Elizabeth McCarthy (or McCarty) Butler, of Lucan Village, Middlesex North. According to the 1911 Census of Canada, Albert, a Methodist, was a porter on the railroad. His wife, Josephine, was a Roman Catholic. Residing with Albert and Josie were Sanford and Sadie Butler and Sidney Sloman, likely siblings of Albert and Josephine. The Butler family is descended from Peter Butler, a former slave, who had settled in the Wilberforce Colony in the 1830s. Rick Bell b. 1949 in Niagara Falls, Ont. is the son of Richard Nelson Bell. In 1979, after working seven years as an orderly at the St. Catharines General Hospital while also attending night school at Niagara College, Rick Bell was hired by the Thorold Fire Dept. He became the first Black professional firefighter in Niagara. He is a founding member of the St. Catharines Junior Symphony; attended the Banff School of Fine Arts in 1966 and also performed with the Lincoln & Welland Regimental Band and several other popular local groups. Upon the discovery of this rich archive in his mothers’ attic he became passionate about sharing his Black ancestry and the contributions of fugitive slaves to the heritage Niagara with local school children. He currently resides in London, Ont.

Proceedings : Grand Lodge, A.F. & A.M. of Canada in the Province of Ontario - 1879

On spine : The Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario.

Proceedings : Grand Lodge, A.F. & A.M. of Canada in the Province of Ontario - 1954

On spine : The Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario.

British Methodist Episcopal Church Tithing Ticket, 1879

A first quarterly tithing ticket from the British Methodist Episcopal Church, signed by W. Grayson, Minister, and dated August 1, 1879. This ticket was in the possession of the Rick Bell Family of St. Catharines, Ontario. Relatives of the Bell family include former Black slaves from the United States who settled in Canada.

Niagara Falls Bridge Commission Scrapbook and Clippings, 1948, 1950, 1954-1960

he Niagara Falls Bridge Commission was created by a joint resolution of the 1938 U.S. Congressional Third Session. The Extra Provincial Corporations Act of Ontario, Canada licenses the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission. Canada and the United States are equally represented on the Commission by an 8 member Board of Commissioners. Canadian commissioners are appointed by the Premier of Ontario. The three Niagara bridges are the Whirlpool Bridge, the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge and the Rainbow Bridge.

Robert Campbell, Pelham Township Land Documents, 1879-1894 (not inclusive)

Robert Campbell was the son of Robert Campbell and Jannette Miller, born about 1836 in Pelham North Township. He married Elizabeth Ann Ingram on Saturday, September 7, 1878 in Pelham Township, and they had 2 sons: Robert Carson Campbell and George D. Campbell. He died on February 27, 1908 in Malahide Township, Norfolk County, Ontario.

Proceedings of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Canada at the annual convocation, 1879

Annual Convocation proceedings for the year 1879. The title varies slightly and convocation is held at different cities or towns in Canada. Twenty-second annual convocation.

Proceedings of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Canada at the annual convocation, 1954

Annual Convocation proceedings for the year 1954. The title varies slightly and convocation is held at different cities or towns in Canada. Ninety-sixth annual convocation.

Article - "Senior Commercial Pilot's Licence For Mrs. Rungeling", 1954

The article discusses the recent acquisition of a senior commercial pilot's licence for Mrs. Dorothy Rungeling. She is one of only three women, at the time, to hold this licence. The process for acquiring the licence is described, "Before acquiring the senior commercial pilot's licence, Mrs. Rungeling was required credit of a minimum of 700 hours in the air...of the required 25 hours of night flight, 10 had to be cross-country. She began her preparations for the exams in February of the present year and completed them in May".

Photograph - Dorothy Rungeling with Plane (Pacer 125), 1954

A photograph of Dorothy Rungeling in front of a plane (likely the second plane she owned). This photograph later appeared in the Canadian general interest magazine "Saturday Night". Mrs. Rungeling was featured in the "Canadian Personalities" section for her latest accomplishment, receiving her commercial pilot's licence.

Meat Packers Council of Canada records, 1954-1961

The Meat Packers Council of Canada was originally founded in 1919 in an effort to encourage farmers to produce better quality livestock. Originally known as the Industrial and Development Council of Canadian Meat Packers, charter members included Harris Abattoir Co. Ltd.; William Davies Co. Ltd.; Swift Canadian Co. Ltd.; Gunns Ltd.; Canadian Packing Co. Ltd.; Puddy’s Ltd.; F.W. Fearman Co.; Ingersol Packing Co. Ltd.; Whyte Packing Co. Ltd.; Gallagher-Holman & Lafrance Co. Ltd.; Gordon – Fronside and Fares Packers Ltd.; Wilson Canadian Co. Ltd.; and Armour & Co. Most of these firms were based in Ontario, but the Council’s operations were soon expanded with the opening of a western and eastern field office. The Council was incorporated in 1961. In 1980, the name changed to the Canadian Meat Council.

License no. 87 of season 1879/80 made out to S.D. Woodruff for 36 square miles in berth no. 192

License no. 87 of season 1879/80 made out to S.D. Woodruff for 36 square miles in berth no. 192, June 3, 1879.