Correspondence between the American and British Plentipotentiaries relative to the commercial convention concluded on the 3rd of July, 1815.--

January 16, 1816.

Office of the City Clerk, St. Catharines Records, 1928-1974, n.d.

The site of present-day St. Catharines was settled by 3000 United Empire Loyalists at the end of the 18th century. From 1790, the settlement (then known as "The Twelve") grew as an agricultural community. St. Catharines was once referred to Shipman's Corners after Paul Shipman, owner of a tavern that was an important stagecoach transfer point. In 1815, leading businessman William Hamilton Merritt abandoned his wharf at Queenston and set up another at Shipman's Corners. He became involved in the construction and operation of several lumber and gristmills along Twelve Mile Creek. Shipman's Corners soon became the principal milling site of the eastern Niagara Peninsula. At about the same time, Merritt began to develop the salt springs that were discovered along the river which subsequently gave the village a reputation as a health resort. By this time St. Catharines was the official name of the village; the origin of the name remains obscure, but is thought to be named after Catharine Askin Robertson Hamilton, wife of the Hon. Robert Hamilton, a prominent businessman. Merritt devised a canal scheme from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario that would provide a more reliable water supply for the mills while at the same time function as a canal. He formed the Welland Canal Company, and construction took place from 1824 to 1829. The canal and the mills made St. Catharines the most important industrial centre in Niagara. By 1845, St. Catharines was incorporated as a town, with the town limits extending in 1854. Administrative and political functions were added to St. Catharines in 1862 when it became the county seat of Lincoln. In 1871, construction began on the third Welland Canal, which attracted additional population to the town. As a consequence of continual growth, the town limits were again extended. St. Catharines attained city status in 1876 with its larger population and area. Manufacturing became increasingly important in St. Catharines in the early 1900s with the abundance of hydro-electric power, and its location on important land and water routes. The large increase in population after the 1900s was mainly due to the continued industrialization and urbanization of the northern part of the city and the related expansion of business activity. The fourth Welland Canal was opened in 1932 as the third canal could no longer accommodate the larger ships. The post war years and the automobile brought great change to the urban form of St. Catharines. St. Catharines began to spread its boundaries in all directions with land being added five times during the 1950s. The Town of Merritton, Village of Port Dalhousie and Grantham Township were all incorporated as part of St. Catharines in 1961. In 1970 the Province of Ontario implemented a regional approach to deal with such issues as planning, pollution, transportation and services. As a result, Louth Township on the west side of the city was amalgamated, extending the city's boundary to Fifteen Mile Creek. With its current population of 131,989, St. Catharines has become the dominant centre of the Niagara region. Source: City of St. Catharines website http://www.stcatharines.ca/en/governin/HistoryOfTheCity.asp (January 27, 2011)

William Van Every fonds, 1784, 1804-1806, 1815-1816, 1828, 1832, n.d.

William Van Every, son of McGregory and Mary Wilcox (Jaycocks) Van Every, was born in New York state in 1765. During the Revolutionary War he joined Butler’s Rangers and served under Captain John McDonnell. He was granted three lots of land in the Township of Niagara, with additional lands granted at later dates. William married Elizabeth, daughter of George Young. Elizabeth was the widow of Col. Frederick Dochstader and mother of Catherine Dochstader, b. 1781. William Van Every died in 1832, his wife Elizabeth in 1851. Both are buried in the Warner Cemetery, in present day Niagara Falls. The children of William Van Every and Elizabeth Young were Mary, Elizabeth, Phoebe, John, Peter, William, Rebecca, Samuel and Joseph. Source: Mary Blackadar Piersol, The Records of the Van Every Family, Toronto : Best Printing, 1947. And, Patricia M. Orr, Historic Woodend, sponsored by Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, 1980?

The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle - 1815 January to June Index and Selected Pages

The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle was a monthly periodical published in England during the years of 1736-1833. The volumes of interest from 1812-1815 were written and compiled by Sylvanus Urban, Gentleman. These volumes were Printed in London by Nichols, Son and Bentley at Cicero's Head, Red Lion Passage and Fleet Street. Click on the pdf links to the right to view the monthly issue. This bound volume has been divided by months. The page divisions are as listed. *In this volume only the Index and selected relevant pages have been digitized, for the full Periodical please contact the Brock University Special Collections and Archives. Listed are the pages that have been digitized. Index pages 653-680 Supplement page 577 January pages 1-96 February page 97 March pages 193,260-272 April pages 289,353-357 May pages 385,463,576 June page 481

Wiliam Van Every's Account with Grant Kerby - 1815-1816

Account ledger for Mr. William Van Every by Grant Kerby 1815-1816

The Boston Gazette, Vol. 4 No. 25- September 14, 1815

A semi-weekly paper that was published from 1803 to 1816. This issue includes an account of the Battle of Chippawa on Pages 1 and 2 as told by U.S. Captain McDonald.

Promissory Note, February 2, 1815 - William and Abraham Nelles and Nathanial Pettit Estate

A promise by Abraham and William Nelles to pay 50 pounds with interest, New York Currency, to John Pettit and Jonathan Woolverton, executors of the late Nathanial Pettit estate, six years after the date. Witness Will Crooks.

Correspondence between the American and British Plentipotentiaries relative to the commercial convention concluded on the 3rd of July, 1815

January 16, 1816. Printed by order of the House of Representatives. 14th Congress, 1st Session, 1815-1816. House. At head of title: [27].

An oration, delivered at Milford, N.H., March 9, 1815, occasioned by the Treaty of Peace, made and notified between Great Britain and the United States

Printed by R. Boylston

Esther Summers Niagara militia collection,

Butler's Rangers were disbanded in 1784. In 1788, British officials organized the Nassau Militia. Nassau was one of the Districts of Upper Canada, Niagara being only part of the district. The Nassau Militia was a military presence from 1788-1793. With the reorganization of the province into sixteen counties in 1792, Lincoln County (with 20 townships) came into existence. The militia was renamed as the Lincoln Militia. At the outbreak of the War of 1812, the Lincoln Militia was organized into five regiments. Later, members of the Lincoln Militia were called out for duty to track and subdue insurgents during the 1837 Rebellions. In 1846, Lincoln County divided into Lincoln and Welland counties, and militia regiments were reformed. This changed many times until 1936 when they became known as The Lincoln and Welland Regiment.

The 19th Century Tombstone Database Project Records, 1790-1890 (non-inclusive)

The 19th Century Tombstone Database project was funded by the program Federal Summer Youth Employment scheme in the summer of 1982 and led by Dr. David W. Rupp, a Professor at the Classics Department, Brock University. The main goal of the project was to collect information related to various cemeteries in Niagara region and burials that took place from 1790-1890. Data was collected and presented in the form of data summary forms of persons, tombstone sketches, photographs of tombstones, maps, and computer printouts. The materials created as a result of a research completed for the 19th Century Tombstone Database project are important as a number of the tombstones have been damaged or gone missing since the research was finished. Before Dr. Rupp retired from Brock University, he donated project materials to the Brock University Special Collections and Archives.

Columbian Centinel, 15 February 1815 (no. 3220) - Newspaper

Volumes of interest were published between 1812 and 1815 with articles about the War of 1812. Issue for February 15, 1815: Page 2 has a two-column wide heading regarding the news about the signing of the Treaty of Ghent ending the War of 1812: "PEACE--SAFETY, and Prospect of returning COMMERCE, and PROSPERITY".

Columbian Centinel, 22 February 1815 (no. 3222) - Newspaper

Volumes of interest were published between 1812 and 1815 with articles about the War of 1812. Issue for February 22, 1815: includes various articles about the War of 1812 and the end of the war including "British official account--Battle of Chippewa", Page 2 has a bold, two-column wide heading: "Ratified TREATY Of PEACE And AMITY", followed by "A PROCLAMATION" issued by "JAMES MADISON" stating that a treaty with "His Britannic Majesty" was signed at Ghent on December 24, 1814, and ratified by the U.S. Senate on February 17, 1815, thus ending the War of 1812.