Indenture of Conveyance between Her Majesty the Queen and Joseph A. Woodruff

Indenture of conveyance between Her Majesty the Queen and Joseph A. Woodruff of St. Catharines regarding 100 acres more or less in part of Lot no. 5 in the 2nd Concession in the 34 Township of Lobo in the County of Middlesex. This was registered in the County of Middlesex Register on Oct. 20, 1873. This is a duplicate of the original executed on Oct. 15, 1875.

Flyer, Rules of the Board of Water Commissioners

Flyer containing the standing Rules of the Board of Water Commissioners for the Town of St. Catharines (2 copies), Nov. 27, 1875.

Letter to the Editor of the Globe

Letter Regarding the Burning of St. Davids (3 ½ handwritten pages) A letter to the editor of the Globe regarding the lack of historical knowledge displayed by the Globe’s correspondent regarding the descendants of those who fought at Queenston Heights and the burning of St. Davids in 1813 or 1814 [July 18, 1814]. The letter also mentions the “friendly Indians” who encamped in St. Davids. The letter is not signed nor dated. A transcript of the letter is enclosed, [The burning of St. Davids by the American troops on July 19, 1814 was an unjustifiable act. The officer who led the attack was court-martialed and dismissed from the service.] n.d.

Indenture of Agreement for Sale of Land between Samuel Woodruff to Calvin and Ezekiel Cudney

Indenture of Agreement for Sale of Land between Samuel Woodruff of St. Catharines to Calvin and Ezekiel Cudney of the Township of Niagara regarding a footpath and parts of the lots 9 and 10 on the Welland River (78 acres), Oct. 30, 1883.

Indenture of Agreement for Sale of Land between Samuel Woodruff to Calvin and Ezekiel Cudney

Indenture of Agreement for Sale of Land between Samuel Woodruff of St. Catharines to Calvin and Ezekiel Cudney of the Township of Niagara. This is a copy of the previous document but there is an additional note on this document about an “agreement for cutting timber”. This is signed by S.D. Woodruff, Jan. 1885.

Notice of sale regarding the late Ezekiel Cudney’s property including the dwelling, barn and fruit trees

Notice of sale regarding the late Ezekiel Cudney’s property including the dwelling, barn and fruit trees. The land contains 39 acres of parts of Lots 9 and 10 on the Welland River in the Township of Willoughby. The notice states that you must apply to S.D. Woodruff of St. Catharines. This is handwritten on a small piece of paper, Dec. 5, 1892.

Indenture of Agreement for Sale of Land between S.D. Woodruff and Elizabeth Cudney

Indenture of agreement for Sale of Land between S.D. Woodruff of St. Catharines and Elizabeth Cudney of Willoughby regarding a footpath and Lots 9 and 10 in Willoughby, Feb. 6, 1893.

Indenture of memorandum of an agreement between S.D. Woodruff and James L. Burton and M. Burton

Indenture of memorandum of an agreement between S.D. Woodruff of St. Catharines and James L. Burton and M. Burton, both of Barrie, trading under the name of Burton and Bro. that Burton and Bro. would buy all the pine timber located in berths 192 and 198. Burton and Bro. agrees to have all timber cut. The agreement is signed by S.D. Woodruff and Burton and Bro. This document is badly burned along the left hand side. This does not affect the text, July 11, 1877.

Certificate awarded to Lieutenant Colonel, the Honourable James George Currie of the 19th Lincoln Battalion of Canada from the ladies of the County of Lincoln

Certificate measuring 36 cm. x 47 cm. awarded to Lieutenant Colonel, the Honourable James George Currie of the 19th Lincoln Battalion of Canada from the ladies of the County of Lincoln to honour surviving veterans of the War of 1812. The calligraphy on the award was done by J. Matthews of St. Catharines who was listed in the 1877 St. Catharines Directory as an illuminator (medieval writing) and accountant. The award is signed by Elizabeth Carlisle on behalf of the ladies, Oct. 13, 1876.

Evaluation of noise levels experienced by medically fragile neonates during emergency helicopter transport

There was a concern medically fragile infants may be exposed to high noise levels during emergency helicopter transport. This study had been initiated in 2007. Data was collected using a Larson Davis noise dosimeter. The purpose of this study was to collect additional data to evaluate the noise exposure experienced by medically fragile neonates during emergency transport via helicopter inbound/outbound of St. Louis Children’s Hospital, St. Louis, MO. The results suggested neonates may be exposed to noise levels ranging 85 to 95 dBA during transport. These high noise exposures may pose a risk to hearing.

Population Assessment of an Endangered Shorebird: the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus melodus) in Eastern Canada

Small, at-risk populations are those for which accurate demographic information is most crucial to conservation and recovery, but also where data collection is constrained by logistical challenges and small sample sizes. Migratory animals in particular may experience a wide range of threats to survival and reproduction throughout each annual cycle, and identification of life stages most critical to persistence may be especially difficult for these populations. The endangered eastern Canadian breeding population of Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus melodus) was estimated at only 444 adults in 2005, and extensive effort has been invested in conservation activities, reproductive monitoring, and marking of individual birds, providing a comprehensive data set on population dynamics since 1998. We used these data to build a matrix projection model for two Piping Plover population segments that nest in eastern Canada in order to estimate both deterministic and stochastic rates of population growth (λd and λs, respectively). Annual population censuses suggested moderate growth in abundance between 1998–2003, but vital rate estimates indicated that this temporary growth may be replaced by declines in the long term, both in southern Nova Scotia (λd = 1.0043, λs = 0.9263) and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (λd = 0.9651, λs = 0.8214). Nonetheless, confidence intervals on λ estimates were relatively wide, highlighting remaining uncertainty in future population trajectories. Differences in projected growth between regions appear to be driven by low estimated juvenile post-fledging survival in the Gulf, but threats to juveniles of both population segments following departure from nesting beaches remain unidentified. Similarly, λ in both population segments was particularly sensitive to changes in adult survival as expected for most migratory birds, but very little is understood about the threats to Piping Plover survival during migration and overwintering. Consequently, we suggest that future recovery efforts for these and other vulnerable migrants should quantify and manage the largely unknown sources of both adult and juvenile mortality during non-breeding seasons while maintaining current levels of nesting habitat protection.

Mortality of Migratory Birds from Marine Commercial Fisheries and Offshore Oil and Gas Production in Canada

There is an imminent need for conservation and best-practice management efforts in marine ecosystems where global-scale declines in the biodiversity and biomass of large vertebrate predators are increasing and marine communities are being altered. We examine two marine-based industries that incidentally take migratory birds in Canada: (1) commercial fisheries, through bycatch, and (2) offshore oil and gas exploration, development, and production. We summarize information from the scientific literature and technical reports and also present new information from recently analyzed data to assess the magnitude and scope of mortality. Fisheries bycatch was responsible for the highest levels of incidental take of migratory bird species; estimated combined take in the longline, gillnet, and bottom otter trawl fisheries within the Atlantic, including the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Pacific regions was 2679 to 45,586 birds per year. For the offshore oil and gas sector, mortality estimates ranged from 188 to 4494 deaths per year due to the discharge of produced waters resulting in oil sheens and collisions with platforms and vessels; however these estimates for the oil and gas sector are based on many untested assumptions. In spite of the uncertainties, we feel levels of mortality from these two industries are unlikely to affect the marine bird community in Canada, but some effects on local populations from bycatch are likely. Further research and monitoring will be required to: (1) better estimate fisheries-related mortality for vulnerable species and populations that may be impacted by local fisheries, (2) determine the effects of oil sheens from produced waters, and attraction to platforms and associated mortality from collisions, sheens, and flaring, so that better estimates of mortality from the offshore oil and gas sector can be obtained, and (3) determine impacts associated with accidental spills, which are not included in our current assessment. With a better understanding of the direct mortality of marine birds from industry, appropriate mitigation and management actions can be implemented. Cooperation from industry for data collection, research to fill knowledge gaps, and implementation of mitigation approaches will all be needed to conserve marine birds in Canada.

Infant sensitivity to negative maternal emotional shifts: Effects of infant sex, maternal postnatal depression, and interactive style

This study examined the effects of infant sex, maternal postnatal depression, and maternal interactive style on infant sensitivity to maternal negative emotional shifts. Face-to-face interactions of 68 mother–infant dyads were analyzed at 8 and 18 weeks. Twenty-five (28%) mothers had postnatal depression. Interactions were analyzed in terms of overall maternal interactive style: “sensitive,” “anxious,” “intrusive,” and “sad.” Episodes of negative shifts in maternal emotional expression were recorded, along with expressions of infant sensitivity to these changes. Daughters of depressed mothers showed higher rates of sensitivity to maternal negative emotion whereas their sons showed lower rates, in comparison to both girl and boy infants of well mothers. While maternal interactive style had no effect on 8-week infant sensitivity to maternal negative emotional shifts, high rates of 18-week infant sensitivity were predicted by both an 8-week and a concurrent, “sad” maternal interactive style. The findings are discussed in relation to theories of emotional and interpersonal development.