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).

Portrait of "Ruth", by George A. Hemstreet, Photographer, Milton [n.d.]

A woman identified only by the broach at her neck as "Ruth" is pictured here in a black and white cabinet card photograph by G. A. Hemstreet. The photo is undated, but believed to be from the late 1870s or early 1880s. The photographer's name is stamped in black ink along the bottom of the card: "G. A. Hemstreet, Photographer, Milton, Ont." This cabinet card was in the possession of Iris Sloman Bell, of St. Catharines, whose relatives include former Black slaves from the United States.G. A. Hemstreet, also known as George A. Hemstreet, was a photographer in Milton, Ontario from 1877 - 1887. Source: Phillips, Glen C. The Ontario photographers list (1851-1900). Sarnia: Iron Gate Publishing Co., 1990.

James D. Tait Company Limited Fonds, 1890-1939 [non-inclusive]

James D. Tait (1836-1907) came to Canada in 1855 from Scotland. He worked in the dry goods business until he established the James D. Tait Company in 1864. The business was first located on Ontario street and specialized in furs. The business expanded to include dry goods and dress-making. After the building was destroyed by fire, Tait established and expanded the business into the Prendergast building on the corner of St. Paul and William Streets. James D. Tait died in 1907 while on vacation in Muskoka. In 1912 upon the resignation (or removal) of Benjamin Brick and Arthur Harbour, Stanley G. Smith joins the company as a director and secretary-treasurer. 1918/1919 vice-president E.J. Dignum dies. 1919 S.J. Inksater becomes a director of the company (His stock was purchased by the J.D. Tait Co.) By the 1930s the business, still in the same location, was under the leadership of Malcolm Stobie, President, Samuel J. Inksater, Vice-President and Stanley G. Smith, Secretary-Treasurer. The James D. Tait Company Limited ceased operations on 17 August 1933. The 1935 St. Catharines city directory records John Stobie, a former manager of the James D. Tait Company, operating a dry goods business at the same location, but with one-third the size of the original store space.

Dr. Stuart D. Scott Papers, 1837-2010 (non-inclusive)

Dr. Stuart D. Scott has written extensively in the fields of prehistory and history. As an archaeologist, he has traveled to some of the most significant sites in the world, including Pompeii, Stonehenge, the Valley of the Kings, Egypt’s pyramids and the Taj Mahal. He spent nine months excavating with the Tikal Project in Guatemala before returning to the University of Arizona where he received a Ph.D. in 1963. He excavated in New Zealand as a Fulbright scholar in 1963-1964. In the fall of 1964, Dr. Scott started a long career in the Anthropology Department of the State University of New York. He taught graduate and undergraduate archaeology courses and continued his archaeological and historical research. In 1979, Scott established the Old Fort Niagara Archaeology in Progress Project at Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown, New York. For many years, he became involved with historical archaeology in western New York. It was during this work that he became interested in the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837-1838 and its aftermath. Dr. Scott and his wife, Patricia Kay Scott, would use Christmas breaks, summer vacations, and sabbatical years to travel. They were repeatedly lured back to the South Pacific, conducting research in New Zealand, Australia and many of the Micronesian and Polynesian islands. To tell the whole story of the Rebellion and the prison exiles, they traveled extensively in Canada, the United States, England and Tasmania to collect archival research and to experience the scenes of this remarkable narrative. In 2004, Dr. Scott published To the Outskirts of Habitable Creation: Americans and Canadians Transported to Tasmania in the 1840s, which told the story of the men captured, tried, convicted, and exiled as a result of the Rebellion, also called the Patriot War. Other contributions include: • A collaboration with Dr. Charles Cazeau on the book Exploring the Unknown, Great Mysteries Reexamined published by Plenum Press in 1979 • The Patriot Game: New Yorkers and the Canadian Rebellion of 1837-1838, which appeared in New York History, Vol. 68, No.3. 1987 • A Frontier Spirit: The Life of James Gemmell published in Australiasian Canadian Studies, Vol. 25, No. 2 2007 • To the Outskirts of Habitable Creation which appeared in the Friends of the National Archives, Vol. 20, No. 1 2009 • Numerous academic journal publications • Service on conference panels • Various research papers and proposals Before retiring in 1997 and while still a resident of Buffalo, N.Y., Dr. Scott spent considerable time with Brock University President Emeritus James A. Gibson and History Professor Colin Duquemin. The three shared a love of Rebellion history. It was largely because of this connection that Brock University was chosen as the recipient of Dr. Scott’s research materials.

Letter - Crooks, Kingsmith & Cattanach to S.D. Woodruff

Letter (printed) to S.D. Woodruff from Crooks, Kingsmith and Cattanach regarding lot no. 10 in Willoughby. They are asking for an abstract of the title, July 6, 1883.

Letter - President's Office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to Welland D. Woodruff

Letter from the President’s Office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. The letter is addressed to Welland D. Woodruff in response to his request regarding his ancestry. It is confirmed that the family descended through Matthew Woodruff who was the original proprietor of Farmingham Connecticut. The writer says that he has had interviews with several Woodruffs from Chicago and other places. The letter is signed by Wilford Woodruff [4th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints from 1889-1898], Dec. 7, 1887.

Letter and envelope addressed to Mr. Samuel D. Woodruff of St. Catharines

Letter and envelope addressed to Mr. Samuel D. Woodruff of St. Catharines. The envelope is postmarked St. Catharines, Dec. 31, 1887, Port Robinson, Dec. 31, 1887 and Welland, Dec. 31, 1887. The letter to S.D. Woodruff from Calvin Cudney and it says that he has enclosed $35 in interest, Dec. 29, 1887.

Postcard to S.D. Woodruff from Jarvis-Conklin Mortgage Trust Co.

Postcard to S.D. Woodruff acknowledging the receipt of the Dennis and Conklin papers from Jarvis-Conklin Mortgage Trust Co., Feb. 4, 1887.

Letter to S.D. Woodruff signed by Wm. Shelley, treasurer of the Jarvis-Conklin Mortgage Trust Company

Letter (1 page, typed) to S.D. Woodruff asking for the papers for the Crick loan. This is signed by Wm. Shelley, treasurer of the Jarvis-Conklin Mortgage Trust Company. The letter is torn, has holes in it and is somewhat crumpled and stained. This does not affect the text, June 7, 1887.

Letter to S.D. Woodruff from Wm. Shelley, treasurer of the Jarvis-Conklin Mortgage Trust Company

Letter (1 page, typed) to S.D. Woodruff from Wm. Shelley, treasurer of the Jarvis-Conklin Mortgage Trust Company requesting the papers for the Crew and Atkins loans. The letter is discoloured along the folds. This does not affect the text, Nov. 20, 1887.

Letter to S.D. Woodruff from E. Harris, president of the Long Point Company

Letter to S.D. Woodruff from E. Harris, president of the Long Point Company in which he suggests that the principal provisions of the bill regarding shares in the Long Point Company be brought before the Ontario House (2 pages, handwritten), Jan. 15, 1887

Letter to E. Harris which is unsigned [from S.D. Woodruff]

Letter to E. Harris which is unsigned [from S.D. Woodruff] in which he suggests raising the cost of the shooting shares, Feb. 7, 1887.

Letter to S.D. Woodruff from Louis Hayne

Letter to S.D. Woodruff from Louis Hayne, secretary in which he states that the directors have made an assessment of $60 upon each 5 shares ($30 to life members). He asks that S.D. Woodruff make a remittance, Feb. 22, 1887.

Receipt from D.W. Bixby, Bookseller, St. Catharines

Receipt from D.W. Bixby, Bookseller, St. Catharines for payment on account, March 1887.