Carver – Sherk instrument, 1865

The instrument is a legal document attesting that Uriah Carver and his wife Sophia, daughter of the late Peter Sherk, received the money bequested to them by her father. George Smith and Christian Sherk were the executors of this will. The instrument is signed by Uriah and Sophia Carver and witnessed by Daniel Near and Nelson Michael.

Clifton House Ladies’ and Gentlemens’ Ordinary menu, 1865

The menu, with wine list from the Ladies’ and Gentlemens’ Ordinary of the Clifton House hotel in Niagara Falls, Ont. Also includes handwritten additions or alterations to the printed menu. The proprietors of the hotel were D.H. Bromley & Co. The Clifton House hotel was built in 1833 and destroyed by fire in 1896. It was known as the finest hotel on the Canadian side of the falls. Oakes Garden Theatre marks its location today.

Horton Family collection, 1912, 1919, 1924, n.d.

Dr. William Hamilton Merritt, Jr. was born in 1865 and died in 1924. He was the son of Jedidiah Prendergast Merritt and Emily Prescott, grandson of William Hamilton Merritt. In 1892 he was married to Maud Claudman Hudson of Memphis, Tennessee and had a daughter and a son. During World War I he commanded the 14th battery at Flanders and after becoming ill served as part of the 9th Canadian Field Ambulance, 3rd Canadian Division, serving at a military hospital in Orpington, Kent, England and in 1917 at a military hospital in France. Dr. Merritt served as alderman and mayor for the city of St. Catharines, Ont. He was also a vice-president of the Imperial Bank of Canada, and served on the board of the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge. A memorial service was held in St. Thomas Church, St. Catharines, Ont. on April 24, 1924.

Scholfield-Galbraith family fonds, 1865-1924

The Scholfield and Galbraith families of Dunnville, Ont. were related by marriage. Thomas Jefferson Galbraith (1842-1921) worked as a collector of canal tolls at Port Maitland, a landing waiter and searcher and an acting preventive officer in Customs. He was married to Jane Ann [Jennie] Montieth and they had five children, Margaret, Minnie Montieth, Genevieve Marion, Edith Stuart and Thomas Percy Galbraith. Genevieve Marion Galbraith was married to Harry E. Scholfield, son of Frederick Scholfield (d.1908) and Georginna Galer (d. 1888), a dry goods merchant in Dunnville. Some extent records belong to a William Scholfield who operated a mill in Dunnville. Included are records related to land lease, mortgage and bargain and sale agreements between Scholfield and various individuals, including Richard Kirkpatrick, William Kohler, Alvin Drake, Robert Ban[u]d, Henry Beckett, Sr., Samuel Waltho, Nehemiah Niece.

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)

Port Dalhousie Municipal Records collection, 1863-1940, 1943, n.d.

Benjamin Pawling and Peter Ten Broeck were the earliest known settlers of this area. The village of Port Dalhousie owes its existence to the building of the first Welland Canal in 1824. The village was incorporated in 1862 and as a town in 1948. In the early 1960s it became amalgamated with the city of St. Catharines. Port Dalhousie remains a distinctive part of the city today (2009).

Proceedings : Grand Lodge, A.F. & A.M. of Canada in the Province of Ontario - 1865

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 - 1863

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

Benjamin Woodruff Price Papers, 1851, 1853-1860, 1862-1863, 1874, n.d.

The fonds includes sixty two items of correspondence between Benjamin Woodruff Price, aka Woodruff, Ben or Uncle, and various family members, both immediate and distant cousins. Also included is business correspondence related to Price’s activities as a watchmaker and/or jeweler. Benjamin Woodruff Price was born in Thorold Township ca. 1831, the son of Joseph Price and Mary Smith. B.W. Price married Ella or Ellen McGlashan (1851-1906) ca. 1868. Price died between 1891 and 1901, his burial location is unknown at present. A watchmaker and jeweler, Price lived most of his life in Fonthill, Ont. He also included auctioneer, undertaker and photographer as some of his other professional activities. His siblings included David Smith Price (wife Isabella Ann), John Smith Price (wife Elizabeth Jane), and sisters Susan Page (husband Edward Rice Page), Jerusha Price, Mary Price and Martha W. Stone (husband Dudley Ward Stone). John Smith Price died 18 April 1860, leaving no descendents. It is likely that G.W. Stone was a nephew to B.W. Price, the son of his sister Martha W. Stone and her husband Dudley Ward Stone. Susan Page was a sister of Benjamin Woodruff Price. She was married to Edward Rice Page and they had at least two children, Joseph and Clayton. At the time of this correspondence they lived in Suspension Bridge, NY, now part of Niagara Falls, New York. Edward Rice Page’s occupation was listed as saloon keeper. The Price family appears to have had a very large extended family. This information was gleaned from the contents of letters of Maggie Tisdale, daughter of Ephraim and Hannah (Price) Tisdale, P.A. or Ann Morgan, [may also be Phebe Ann] of Newark, NY? and Marietta House of Bayham Township. DeWitt Higgins of Suspension Bridge, NY aka Niagara Falls, NY was an auctioneer, specialized in buying jewellery, watches, clocks, from individuals and reselling his product to others like B.W. Price.

Pleasant Hours: A Paper for Young Folk, Vol. III No. 20- October 6, 1863

This issue of Pleasant Hours: a paper for young folk contains an article titled "The Story of Queenston Heights".

Ship canal. Ottawa versus the Trent. [letter], 1863.

One published letter addressed to the Hon. Sidney Smith, M.L.C., Quebec from W.S. Conger, dated April 6, 1863, Peterborough. The headline reads: Ship Canal. Ottawa versus the Trent. This letter contains reprinted portions of a letter that W.S. Conger wrote in March 1858 to the Hon. Charles Alleyn, then Commissioner of Public Works.

Letter from J.E.A. Masters to Josiah Masters, November 11, 1812

Transcription: Encampment Plattsburgh My Dear Uncle Nov. 11th 1812 We are making every possible preparation to invade Canada. I have no doubt but we march in six days. From the best information I can get it is not contemplated to attack the Isle aux Noix – We shall take into the field 2500 infantry between 3 & 4 hundred cavalry 25 light artillery & 150 artillerists; of the malitia I have no accurate knowledge there is more than 1000 of them, the number of regular troops is mentioned you may rely on as being nearly correct I cannot state to a man as I have not had an opportunity of being the consolidated returns of the different corps. It is said that a [corps formed?] of volunteers are to join us from Vermont. I think it doubtful I believe that we shall have no great difficulty in going to Montreal as to the ultimate policy of the [act it is?] not my duty to judge. Confidential our troops are raw particularly in loading and firing they are much deficient. The 6th and 15th will be able to act with some considerable ... of precision and accuracy the remaining infantry—badly disciplined. Should any thing [occur?] with me my fate be unfortunate the [little?] property willed me by my grandfather will secure you the amount I owe you. General Dearborn I understand is at Burlington on his way here. Some of the prisoners that were taken at Queenstown have [arrived?] at Montreal probably. [Ensign Rich?] is among them. Several officers here became acquainted with him soon after he received his [two illegible words] & speak highly of him. [Always?] affectionately yours J. E. A. Masters P.S. I shall write you again before we march excuse this [scrawl?] my hand are too cold to write a fair hand we shall have here near [400?] sick that are not able to march J. E. A. Masters The [Hon.?] Josiah Masters [Schaghticoke?] N.Y. N. B. Nov. 13th We have orders to be prepared to march on the 15th at 12 oclock. Our baggage will be contained as much as possible. The officers carry no baggage except what they carry in their knapsacks. I am in fine health and am able [Hand?] most any [illegible word] My love to all affectionately Your nephew J. E. A. Masters

General regulations and orders, 1804

Bound with: The manual and platoon exercises, &c., &c. (51 p.) and: General orders and observations on the movement and field exercise of infantry (16 p.) Inscribed on front paste-down: L. Colonel Brock. Also inscribed: Maj. Genl T.A. Smith late of the 1st. Rifle Regt. Bookplate of Robert B. Taylor, Norfolk. On front flyleaf: lengthy, two-page transcription in ink, headed /Copy/Circular/ dated "Horse Guards, 25th May '07" and signed: "Harry Calvert Adjt. General.

General regulations and orders, 1804

Bound with: The manual and platoon exercises, &c., &c. (51 p.) and: General orders and observations on the movement and field exercise of infantry (16 p.) Inscribed on front paste-down: L. Colonel Brock. Also inscribed: Maj. Genl T.A. Smith late of the 1st. Rifle Regt. Bookplate of Robert B. Taylor, Norfolk. On front flyleaf: lengthy, two-page transcription in ink, headed /Copy/Circular/ dated "Horse Guards, 25th May '07" and signed: "Harry Calvert Adjt. General.