The Ontario Historical Society

Model Railroad Club of Toronto Holiday Show
2022-12-28 11:00 - 16:00, 2022-12-29 11:00 - 16:00 (America/Toronto) | Model Railroad Club of Toronto, 11 Curity Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4B 1X4, Canada
The Model Railroad Club of Toronto invites you to visit our holiday shows.
We’ve been busy creating new scenes and architecture!

Inspired by the Central Ontario Railway, MRCT captures some of the flavour of Central Ontario Railway on our layout through industries and natural features, and by naming passenger cars after towns along the original route.
Sat. Dec. 3 & Sun. Dec. 4
Wed. Dec 28 & Thurs. Dec. 29
11 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
Children $10, Seniors $12, Adults $15, Family rate: $45.
11 Curity Avenue, Toronto M4B 1X4
416-536-8927
info@modelrailroadclub.com
http://www.modelrailroadclub.com/
Note: basement location, with stairs.
Parking is free, and TTC access is via the 91 Woodbine Bus from Woodbine Station.

Thunder Bay Museum: Spectacular Science at the Museum Drop-In Event
2022-12-28 13:00 - 16:00 | Thunder Bay Museum, 425 Donald St E., Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7E 5V1, Canada
Need some excitement in your holiday break? We are bringing two of Thunder Bay’s favourites together for a fun-filled afternoon! Science North will be setting up in the Thunder Bay Museum for an amazing afternoon of science-filled fun. Hands-on science activities, take-home science kits, and complete challenges for the chance to win a prize! Tour the museum exhibits AND check out our amazing friends at Science North. Fun for all ages! No need to register as this is a drop-in event.

Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society Annual President's Reception (In-Person and Virtual)
2023-01-08 13:30 | Thunder Bay Museum, 425 Donald St E., Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7E 5V1, Canada
Join the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society for our annual President’s Reception.
This event will be in-person and in compliance with all current Ontario COVID-19 protocols. Refreshments will be available during the event and admission is free for all attendees.

Click here to watch the event virtually.
Agenda

— Remarks by the TBHMS President – Dr. Michel Beaulieu
— Staff Recognition: Marissa Nieminen (5 years of service with the Thunder Bay Museum), Michael deJong (5 years of service with the Thunder Bay Museum)
— Volunteer Recognition
— Volunteer of the Year
— President’s Service Award

National Trust for Canada (Virtual): Public Engagement and Community Outreach (Part 2)
2023-01-10 12:00 - 13:00 | online
FREE
Historic places are recognizing the imperative to build relationships, reach new audiences and make space for narratives that tell a more inclusive story of Canada. It can be difficult to know where to start this process, and the Trust is offering a series of webinars to introduce these concepts and address some of the unique challenges that historic places face.
These webinars will offer an informed exploration of diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism in historic places and equip participants to transform their storytelling going forward. We will identify potential barriers to more inclusive ways of storytelling, and provide opportunities for intercultural knowledge sharing and exchange, to identify best practices in telling more diverse stories.
In this webinar we will be going on a deeper dive with lessons learned, and informed next steps when it comes to community outreach, and relationship building with new audiences to historic places open to the public.
**If you have questions about this work that you would like addressed as part of the webinar please email Kvuorimaki@nationaltrustcanada.ca by Jan 4, 2023.
This webinar will be available as part of our “Diversity and Inclusion in Historic Places Resource Kit” for Historic Places Days 2023, and is made possible with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
This webinar series is presented with Karen Carter, president and founder of Karen Carter and Associates Cultural Consulting- focused on building new community centered cultural organizations, projects and initiatives. She has over 25 years of experience working and volunteering in a range of arts, culture and heritage settings. She is the former Executive Director of Heritage Toronto, founding Executive Director of Myseum of Toronto and co-founder of Black Artists’ Network and Dialogue (BAND). Karen’s most recent project is as co-founder of The BIPOC Fellowship to help support the development of a more diverse cultural landscape in Canada.

The Historical Society of Ottawa: Whitton or Dewar?
2023-01-11 13:00 | Ottawa Public Library, Main Branch, 120 Metcalfe St., Ottawa, Ontario, K1P 5M2, Canada
Guest Speakers: Elisabeth Arnold, Ottawa City Councillor, Somerset Ward, 1994-2003 | Dave Mullington, Author “Charlotte: The Last Suffragette” and “Chain of Office: Biographical Sketches of the Early Mayors of Ottawa (1847-1948)”
Marion Dewar or Charlotte Whitton? Which one was Ottawa’s most remarkable mayor? Join us as our two esteemed speakers each defend their chosen candidate for Ottawa’s “most remarkable mayor” of all time!
All are welcome to attend without charge.

National Trust for Canada (Virtual): Gathering of the Heritage Sector: Taking Action on Bill C-23, New Federal Heritage Legislation
2023-01-11 14:30 - 15:30 | online
FREE
Bill C23 – An Act respecting places, persons and events of national historic significance or national interest, archaeological resources, and cultural and natural heritage – is at Second Reading in the House of Commons, with the first round of debate completed on Dec 2. A working group has prepared a response with recommended amendments to the Bill. This response is being circulated for signature by organizations and individuals. Register for this Gathering to ask your questions about the sector’s response and how to sign on, and learn how you can be part of efforts to ensure that the sector’s recommended improvements to the Bill get traction!

Esquesing Historical Society January Meeting: Heritage Halton Hills
2023-01-11 19:00 | The Studio, Halton Hills Cultural Centre, 9 Church St., Georgetown, Ontario, L7G 2A3
Since last January, Heritage Halton Hills has continued their designation work. Heritage Halton Hills members John Mark Rowe and Ray Denny will provide updates on the recently designated buildings in Halton Hills and discuss pending designations.

UEL Association of Canada - Governor Simcoe Branch (Virtual): January 2023 Meeting
2023-01-11 19:30 | online
“Fort Frontenac” — Presentation by Jean Rae Baxter
Wednesday, January 11, at 7:30pm – on Zoom; Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYrd-6rpzwsHNCWbZzHnNBmGp7H2QJ3L6ik
Please note, this is not a hybrid meeting, it will take place virtually on Zoom
It all began with the beaver. The City of Kingston owes its existence to the beaver. If it were not for the beaver, Fort Frontenac would never have been built. And if Fort Frontenac had not been built, there would have been no settlement at Cataraqui. But in every European country, wealthy gentlemen and military officers wore hats made from beaver felt. All Europe ran “mad as a hatter” for the beaver.
It was competition for the fur trade that led to the construction of Fort Frontenac. Because the English paid more, in trade goods, than the French, both hunters and middlemen started taking the furs to the English, not to the French. To block competition from the English, France needed to establish forts that would serve as trading posts in locations much closer at hand than English trading posts such as Albany to the south and Hudson Bay to the north.
This is where the famous explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier de LaSalle enters the story. It was LaSalle who chose the site where Fort Frontenac would be built. By choosing this site, he was choosing the spot where Kingston stands today.
Count Frontenac, Governor of New France, approved the site and built the first wooden fort. But it was LaSalle who in 1675 rebuilt the little wooden fort into a real fortress, which for the rest of his life he used as home base for his expeditions of discovery.
This presentation follows the fortunes of Fort Frontenac over the centuries. How it was knocked down, rebuilt, abandoned, rebuilt, blown up, rebuilt again, destroyed by the British in the last days of New France, and finally became the site for the Loyalist settlement at Cataraqui following the American Revolution.
Today, disrupted by digging in the construction of utilities and buried under streets and buildings, there is little of the historic old fort to be seen. In my presentation, I dig up three hundred years of history.
Jean Rae Baxter is the descendant of settlers who arrived in New France in the 17th century, Loyalists who came here in the 1780s, and immigrants from Germany in the 19th century. There were many family stories to awaken her interest in Canada’s history.
Baxter’s historical fiction has won wide recognition. In 2022 she was nominated for the Governor General’s History Award for Popular Media: the Pierre Berton Award. She has received the Hamilton Arts Council Award for Young Adult Literature as well as a City of Hamilton Heritage Award for her writing. Her books have been shortlisted for the Ontario Library Association’s Red Maple Award and British Columbia’s Stellar Award. She has received an Honourable Mention at Boston’s New England Book Festival.
Three of her six novels based on Loyalist History have received the Moonbeam Awards for Young Adult Historical Fiction: In 2011 Freedom Bound was awarded the Bronze Medal. In 2012 Broken Trail won the Gold Medal, and just a few months ago, in October 2022, her latest book, The Knotted Rope, won the Silver. Jean is especially proud of these three medals—Gold, Silver and Bronze—because the Moonbeam Awards are American, and she writes Loyalist history from an unswervingly Canadian point of view.

Woodland Cultural Centre (Virtual): School of Art Panel Talk
2023-01-12 19:00 | online
Join Woodland Cultural Centre January 12th for a panel of curators, artists, writers as they discuss the development of the Woodland School of Art in conjunction with the WCC permanent collection exhibition.
Panelists will continue conversations around the relationships between Indigenous contemporary art practice, culturally significant history and intellectual interpretation.
Register now to receive the zoom link.

Woodland Cultural Centre (Virtual): [Archives Alive] Digital Access and Indigenous Histories: Supporting Self-Determination and Historical Research in Community
2023-01-17 12:00 | online
The year 1924 marked a dramatic change in politics in Six Nations of the Grand River. That year, under the authority of the Indian Act, and with the support of a small number of community members, an Elected Band Council was established. In October 2024, Woodland Cultural Centre will open a new exhibition which seeks to better understand the pressures and priorities in Six Nations of the Grand River that led to this dramatic change in governance. The exhibition will connect archival records, oral histories, Indigenous languages, and the perspectives of youth to better understand historical and contemporary debates about who represents the community and what governance should look like in the future.
McMaster University Library’s Archives and Research Collections houses important clues to understanding this time in the papers of A.G. Chisholm, a lawyer who served the community for about 40 years, first working for the Confederacy (traditional governance system) and later the Band Council (elected system). He tirelessly researched and sought reparations for loss of land due to flooding of the Grand River and loss of trust fund dollars through mismanagement by government officials. Through his papers, we gain a better understanding of some of the pressures that Six Nations was facing in 1924.
Woodland Cultural Centre Guest Curator Heather George will join McMaster University archivist Gillian Dunks to discuss the importance of digital access to archival records for George’s work on the 1924 exhibition, highlighting key finds from the A.G. Chisholm fonds and connecting them to other archival collections globally.

Oshawa Historical Society & Oshawa Museum Local History Speaker Series
2023-01-17 18:00 | Oshawa Public Library McLaughlin Branch, 65 Bagot Street, Oshawa, Ontario, L1H 1N2, Canada
We are excited to start the 2023 Local History Speaker Series with a look at the history of newspapers in Oshawa. On Tuesday, January 17, at 6pm, Nicole Adams, Local History & Genealogy Librarian for the Oshawa Public Libraries will present Read all about it: A History of Newspapers in Oshawa.
The Local History Speaker Series is taking place Tuesday, January 17 at 6PM. The Speaker Series will be held at the McLaughlin Branch of the Oshawa Public Libraries, in the lower level auditorium, located at 65 Bagot Street, Oshawa.
The Local History Speaker Series is an event presented in partnership between the Oshawa Historical Society and the Oshawa Public Libraries.

Peterborough Historical Society Public Lecture "100 Years of Rotary in Peterborough"
2023-01-17 19:30 | online
Bruce Gravel will share research into the history of the Rotary Service Club in Peterborough as it celebrates its 100th anniversary. An accomplished author with seven books to his credit, Bruce has been a member of Rotary since 2008. An active community leader, Bruce served on the Board of the Peterborough Public Library Foundation and worked with Musicfest each summer. A graduate of McGill University, Bruce has lectured extensively on tourism policy and issues. His talk will provide insights into the work of this important community organization.
Tuesday, 17 January 2023, 7:30 p.m. on Zoom. Register to attend by sending an email note to info@peterboroughhistoricalsociety.ca with “Rotary” in the subject line.

Woodland Cultural Centre: Virtual Tour of the Former Mohawk Institute Residential School
2023-01-18 18:00 | online
The Woodland Cultural Centre presents a screening of the Mohawk Institute Residential School. Your donation will help support our education department to create and deliver virtual programming at the Woodland Cultural Centre. We want to continue to deliver the highest quality programs centered on a Hodinohsho:ni worldview, celebrating, and sharing Indigenous cultures, languages, and art.
The virtual tour video was created with local production company Thru the Reddoor, and it follows the guide, Lorrie Gallant, as she gives a tour of the former Mohawk Institute Residential School. During the video Lorrie provides the history of the institution over its 140 year history. Viewers will get to see the different rooms in the school, from the girls’ and boys’ dormitories, the cafeteria, laundry room, and other rooms throughout the building, as well as hear interviews from five Survivors of the Mohawk Institute.

Kingston Historical Society January 2023 Meeting (In-Person and Virtual)
2023-01-18 19:00 | Kingsbridge Retirement Community, 950 Centennial Dr., Kingston, Ontario, K7M 0G8, Canada
James Reid and Sarah Hedberg will provide an overview of the history of James Reid Funeral Home and its place in Kingston business and society since its founding in 1854.

We return to in-person meetings in January, now at the Kingsbridge Retirement Community which has graciously agreed to let us use their very comfortable theatre lounge for our meetings. This is a most attractive location with comfortable armchairs and the most up-to-date audio-visual equipment. The spaciousness of this venue also allows us to offer light refreshments and an opportunity for socialization after each lecture.
The Kingsbridge Retirement Community, 950 Centennial Drive is the tall building just south of Princess Street. Ask for the theatre lounge on the lower floor. Enter by the prominent door on the east side. Someone will be at the door to give you directions and to check your double vaccination status. There is free visitor parking along the north side of the building. Express buses #501 and 502 serve upper Princess Street to very near Kingsbridge. Bus #4 offers slower service along Princess Street from downtown. Use the Centennial Drive bus stop.
Covid precautions: Please wear a mask on entry to the building, but you may remove your mask once in the room. Proof of vaccination is mandatory. The building is kept meticulously sanitized.

Orillia Museum of Art and History (Virtual): The Black Swamp Gang
2023-01-18 19:00 | online
Around 1880 the whole of north Simcoe County was terrorized by the Black Swamp Gang who robbed farms and then intimidated the farmers into silence through barn-burnings and other threatened vandalism. The gang had formed around Big Sandy McDuff, the ‘baddest’ of the bad, a gigantic and temperamental Jarratt farmer – a tavern brawler who never lost a fight.
Join us to hear historian Dave Town tell this largely untold story of the gang and the societal background that facilitated their exploits and the vigilantism of the era.

Thunder Bay Museum (Virtual): Waiting Out the War on the Shore of Lake Superior
2023-01-18 19:30 | online
Please join the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society for a virtual lecture from Dr. Michael O’Hagan on Camp 100 (Neys). This will be a virtual event that is free to view.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE WEBINAR
This presentation will explore the history of Camp 100, an internment camp situated on the coast of Lake Superior, from its inception in 1941 to its eventual closing in 1946. Tracing the camp’s history from its origins as an internment camp for German combatant officers, I will examine how the camp was repurposed to house Enemy Merchant Seamen and Civilian Internees and, later, some of the most extreme Nazi prisoners interned in Canada. Relying heavily on archival records and historical photographs, I will explore what daily life was like for hundreds of German POWs who unexpectedly found themselves living on the North Shore of Lake Superior.
Dr. Michael O’Hagan is a historian researching German POWs in Canada during the Second World War. He completed his PhD in History at Western University in London, Ontario in 2020 and his dissertation focused on the employment of German POWs in labour projects scattered across Canada. He continues researching POWs in Canada and publishes his research on his blog, www.powsincanada.ca.

Toronto Railway Museum (Virtual): The Railways that Spurred Early Oil’s Expansion
2023-01-19 19:00 - 20:30 | online
The Toronto Railway Museum is proud to announce the next lecture in our 2023 lecture series The Railways that Spurred Early Oil’s Expansion. Participants will be given special access to our Zoom webinar room for this event, where they can directly engage with our presenters and our museum’s historians. Admission to this event is free of charge, but we do require participants to register in order to secure your space in the virtual room.
Before the arrival of the railroads local growth and development in Lambton County was at a standstill, the marshy land was not attractive to new settlers. This all changed in 1858 with the arrival of the Grand Trunk Railroad and the first commercial oil well dug by James Miller Williams starting production in Oil Springs Ontario. The Black Gold Rush started attracting men from all over to seek their fortunes in the booming oil industry. The problems arise from lack of infrastructure on how to get this valuable product out of the swamps of Lambton. In this talk we will look at how the booming oil industry and railroads are intrinsically linked in Lambton County spurring development from the building of the private Petrolia Spur line to the St Clair Tunnel to the USA.

National Trust for Canada (Virtual): Webinar: Identifying Sponsorship Opportunities for your Historic Site (Fundraising Webinar Bundle Part 3)
2023-01-20 13:00 - 13:45 | online
FREE
There is a big difference between corporate sponsor solicitation and donor solicitation. And, when you are new to fundraising, it can be daunting to wade into the competitive sponsorship environment. Webinar leaders, Kirstin Evenden and Emily Boulet provide tips on what sponsors are looking for, how to best approach them and how to gain a competitive edge.

Culinary Historians of Canada (Virtual): A Certain Fascinating History of Saffron, the World's Most Expensive Spice
2023-01-22 13:00 - 14:00 | online
Food history writer Sam Bilton explores the history of saffron in England — and how it came to Canada, as well!
Saffron has allured us with its golden hues throughout time. It was the darling of the medieval kitchen, the saviour of the apothecary’s chest and was used to give cloth a regal glow. Unlike many spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, saffron could be successfully grown in England. From the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century there was a thriving saffron industry in there. Some people even claimed English saffron was the best to be found in the world. But as tastes changed from the medieval to the modern, saffron in English and Anglo-Saxon kitchens fell out of favour. Given its lavish reputation as the most expensive spice in the world it is not surprising that many people who cook in Western European style no longer have it in their spice cupboard.
Sam Bilton aims to change that. She will talk about how a few saffron fronds can make your repast a thing of great beauty and wonder to your dinner guests. And how we modern cooks can enjoy a taste of the Middle Ages with just a pinch of spice.
‘Food writer Sam Bilton is researching historic saffron recipes and has found cream-and-egg custards, crispy pastry-based pea tartlets, and venison stew topped with herby saffron dumplings.’ Sue Bailey, The Lady

The Beach & East Toronto Historical Society Presents (Virtual): Richard White, "History in the Everyday Landscape"
2023-01-24 19:00 - 20:30 | online
Local historian and author Richard White has written fascinating stories about a number of little known historical locations in the Beach. He will be presenting an outline of these “Everyday Landscapes” in an online illustrated talk.
Please visit the TBETHS website for the Zoom link, which will be posted before the presentation: http://tbeths.com/events.asp.

CANCELLED: Thunder Bay Museum (In-Person and Virtual): Dr. Peter Raffo - Naming the New City at the Lakehead
2023-01-24 19:30 - 21:30 | Thunder Bay Museum, 425 Donald St E., Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7E 5V1, Canada
The Free Public Lecture by Dr. Peter Raffo titled ‘Naming the New City at the Lakehead’ scheduled for 24 January has, unfortunately, been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances and will be rescheduled for a future date and time. Please keep an eye out for email announcements of a new date.
Thank you for your understanding.

This will be a in-person event that is free to view. Please note that the lecture will be following the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society’s Annual General Meeting which runs from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The lecture will be broadcast live via ZOOM for those who cannot attend in-person and recorded and posted to the Museum’s YouTube at a later date.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE WEBINAR

Description:
How did Thunder Bay get its name? Why were two almost identical names placed on the ballot when citizens were asked to make their choice from three options in the 1969 plebiscite? Was the result contrived by local and provincial politicians who wanted a clean break with the past? Or was it a genuine expression of the electors’ will?
Dr. Raffo seeks answers and discovers some interesting new evidence.
Speaker Bio:
Since 1970, Peter has maintained a continuing interest in the amalgamation of the Twin Cities. He has published several articles in Papers and Records on the history and consequences of this seminal event in the life of Thunder Bay. In 1995 he oversaw the creation of an Oral History of Amalgamation, which included interviews with politicians, city administrators and staff who had been involved in the process.

Canadian Association of Learned Journals (CALJ) Webinar: OJS: Key Features and Tips for Journal Publishing
2023-01-25 12:00 - 13:30 | online
Learn how Open Journal Systems (OJS) can benefit you and your journal, as well as tips and tricks on effective use.
Our amazing presenters will be Kate Shuttleworth (Digital Publishing Librarian, SFU) and Emma Uhl (Publication Support Specialist, PKP)
Register through EventBrite to attend this webinar via Zoom.

Woodland Cultural Centre (Virtual): Teióia’ks iakwateró:roks (We Watch Movies): Innu Nikamu: Sing and Resist
2023-01-25 19:00 | online
Join Woodland Cultural Centre on the 25th for January’s Teióia’ks iakwateró:roks – (We Watch Movies) Film Series screening of Innu Nikamu: Sing and Resist by Kevin Bacon Hervieux at 7 PM. Follow Hervieux as he retraces the wonderful journey of the Festival de musique et des arts autochtones Innu Nikamu in Maliotenam.
The origins and evolution of the Innu Nikamu Music and Aboriginal Arts Festival are intimately linked to the cultural and territorial roots of the Innu people and to the life of the Mani-Utenam Reserve community. Through the music which has accompanied the Innu people throughout their history, director Kevin Bacon Hervieux traces the fabulous story of the founders, musicians, artisans and collaborators who ignited the hope of a community and dared to believe that the reappropriation of their culture and their language was not an impossible challenge.
Register online to receive the zoom link directly to your inbox.

North Toronto Historical Society (Virtual): Toronto's Mayors from Muddy York to Megacity
2023-01-25 19:00 | online
Long-time NTHS member Frank Nicholson will take us on a tour of our city’s history from 1834 as seen through the eyes of around ten of our 65 chief magistrates. He will include William Lyon Mackenzie (our first mayor), W.H. Boulton (the last Family Compact mayor), Tommy Church (the “Father of the TTC”), Leslie Saunders (an Orange Order militant), Nathan Phillips (the “Mayor of All the People”) and David Crombie (our “Tiny Perfect Mayor”).

PLEASE REGISTER TO ATTEND
Email membership@northtorontohistoricalsociety.org and we will send you an invitation with details. You can join us on Zoom by internet or phone.

The Historical Society of St. Catharines Online Lecture (Virtual): "The Last Trolley Stop of the NS&T"
2023-01-26 19:30 | online
Presented by Hank Beekhuis, President, Port Dalhousie Conservancy, via Zoom.

Ontario Black History Society: 2023 Black History Month Kick-Off Brunch
2023-01-29 12:00 - 17:00 | Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex, Exhibition Place, 25 British Columbia Rd., Toronto, Ontario, M6K 3C3, Canada
Join us on Sunday, January 29, 2023 as the Ontario Black History Society hosts our 35th annual Black History Month Kick-Off to recognize the histories and achievements of Black Canadians and fundraise for our organization.
2023 will be our 35th Anniversary hosting this Brunch for the general public and we’re excited to be returning in-person for the first time since the pandemic!
Our theme this year is “OUR ROOTS: Black History in Canada.”
Early Bird Tickets are now on sale for $135 (+ $10.11 Eventbrite Fees)
For more information, contact us at admin@blackhistorysociety.ca.

Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum Virtual Lecture: Scoundrels of St. Davids
2023-02-01 11:00 | online
Megan Gilchrist presents “Scoundrels of St. Davids”
Presentations are free for all but registration is required. Use ticket link below to register on Zoom.
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wyrcma1CSLKh2qqiwYLJIg

UEL Association of Canada - Governor Simcoe Branch (In-Person and Virtual): February 2023 Meeting
2023-02-01 19:30 | St. David’s Anglican Church, 49 Donlands Ave., Toronto, Ontario, M4J 3N5, Canada
Wednesday, February 1, at 7:30pm – on Zoom; Register here
The meeting will take place in the downstairs meeting room at St. David’s Church, 49 Donlands.
If you plan to attend in person, RSVP to Anne Neuman at anneneuman@hotmail.com or 905-888-1278.
These three heroes share their lives and stories in common terms with many of our early people. They are stories of war, espionage, escape and love. All these stories connect to early life in Upper Canada. Through their acts and lives we are now a country called Canada and though we share many common elements with our neighbours to the South, we are a separate identity, formed through steadfast will and might, keeping our line drawn at the 49th parallel.
Ruth will share her research with you into the lives of just three of these stories. Robert Land is well known in the Hamilton area and books have been written about his service to the Crown and his troubled and eventful life. Issac Ferris was only 17 years old when he took on an act of bravery for General Brock and Chief Tecumseh. John Cornwall was a learned man and helped develop law and order in this new land.
You will leave with a feeling of pride and happiness as you reflect on how their lives have influenced our lives today.
Ruth Nicholson, UE has agricultural roots: born & raised in Essex County, Ontario. All four of her proven Loyalist ancestors are from The New Settlement, the NW side of Lake Erie. They are: Jacob Arner, John Cornwall, Joseph Ferriss & Henry Wright.
Ruth is past president of the Hamilton Branch UELAC and has been Chair of the Dominion Conference Committee since 2013. She has been asked to speak across the province from Kingsville to Kingston and has given numerous educational presentations.
Ruth taught elementary school for 44 years with The Halton Board of Education. She has been recognized both provincially and at the Board level with awards for innovation and creativity in education.
Ruth enjoys her vegetable garden, turning the harvest into pickles & preserves, baking & painting with her 11 year old granddaughter & golfing with her husband.

Glengarry History: Simon Fraser’s Epic Journey Shaped the Map of Canada
2023-02-01 19:30 - 21:00 | Glengarry Sports Palace (Michel Depratto Hall), 170 MacDonald Blvd., Alexandria, Ontario, K0C 1A0, Canada
Glengarry History Speakers Series: Presentation by Jack Hanna
