1. No category

The Historical Society of
Ottawa ews
ISS) 1207-1838
President’s Report
Issue )o. 142
September 2013
by George Neville
Isabel B. Ward and her Bequest
to The HSO
In early August 2012, the Society
received notice from the McCloskey
Professional Corporation that Isabel
Burnand Ward had died on 20th June
2012 together with “notification
concerning application for certificates
of appointment of Estate Trustees with
a Will in respect of the legacies
bequeathed by Isabel Ward”. All this
came as a great surprise to the Society
and its Board of Directors as we had no
prior inkling of Isabel’s interest or
intentions. Indeed, the listing of all
persons and charities to share in the
distribution of Isabel’s estate was as
mystifying to us as the unexpected
receipt of official notification because
none of the parties were known to the
Society. About a week later, the
Society received a condolence card In
Memory of Isabel Ward from Michael,
Tony, and Meghann Whittemore from
188 Old Hall Rd., Woodstock, Ct.,
06281, names that also appeared on the
legal notification, but unknown to us.
The legal notification carried one
other Ottawa based name, viz., that of
Sylvia MacLeod of 743 Ludgate Court.
Fortunately, I was able to contact
Sylvia by telephone and learn that she
was a good friend and fellow
elementary teacher of Isabel, but not a
relative. I was informed that Isabel had
no remaining family save two
nephews, Michael and Tony, living in
the U.S.A. with Michael Whittemore’s
daughter, Meghann; hence, a greatniece of (the late) Isabel Ward.
Somehow most of us had missed
Isabel B. Ward. Photo courtesy of the Central
Chapel of Hulse, Playfair & McGarry , 315 McLeod
St., Ottawa.
seeing Isabel’s obituary published in
the Ottawa-Citizen of 22 & 23 June,
and I was unable 4-5 months later to
find it by searching on-line. On the
basis of this information, I prepared a
hand-written letter of sympathy
addressed to Meghann Whittemore
expressing condolences to herself, to
her father, Michael, and to her uncle,
James Anthony Whittemore, from The
Historical Society of Ottawa on the
loss of her great-aunt, Isabel B. Ward.
At the same time, I wrote that I would
be most appreciative of any
background information they could
share with us concerning Isabel’s
interests, hobbies, etc., because the
Society likes to identify the form and
nature of commemoration with the
character, interests, and identity of the
donor.
What we have been able to learn of
Isabel Ward has been obtained by
talking to her fellow teacher friends.
From Sylvia MacLeod I learned the
following: Isabel was an elementary
school teacher with an M.Ed and a
Ph.D. in education from the University
of Toronto who died at 96 years of age.
She had grown up in Ottawa off
Laurier Ave., was interested in jewelry,
and spent much time at the former
Nettleton’s shop at the NW corner of
Bank and Albert Streets. She taught at
Base Petawawa DND Schools, first
with Grade 8 at RiverCrest School
where Sylvia also taught, and later as
Principal of the General Lake School.
She spent some time teaching in
Germany, and was also an RCAF
WWII veteran. She was very active
with many interests: music, dance
(loved to dance), theatre, attending the
Ottawa Little Theatre, the NAC
orchestral programs, operas, and plays.
She loved cats, and had an adorable
pair of blue point Siamese cats. She
. . . . . Cont'd on page 4
In This Issue:
President's Report-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1
Coming Events -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------2
HSO Speaker Topics & Profiles for 201 3-1 4-------------------------------------------- 3
Ontario Accepts The HSO Supplementary Letters Patent------------------------- 4
Forthcoming: A Short History of the Historical Society of Ottawa ------------- 4
Layton Scrapbook Photos of the Quorn Ranch--------------------------------------- 5
Historia Poetica Aperta: "Lament of the Irish Mother"----------------------------6,8
Commentary on "Tiny's" Poem "Lament of the Irish Mother"-------------------- 7
Heritage Designation for the Bradley/Craig Farmstead ---------------------------- 7
Autumn Excursion (page 2); Annual Christmas Dinner (page 7)
. . . . . cont'd on page 4
HSO ewsletter
Page 2
September 2013
The Historical Society ofOttawa
Patron: His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D.
Governor General of Canada
The Historical Society of Ottawa was founded in 1898 (as the Women's Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa).
Its objective is to increase public knowledge of the history of Ottawa by its publications, meetings, tours, outreach
and participation in local heritage events and also by its co-operation with the Bytown Museum, a store of
artifacts reflecting Ottawa's history from Bytown days and into the present century. Its headquarters is in the
Bytown Museum, Lt.-Col. By's Commissariat Building, constructed of stone in 1827 and located at 1 Canal Lane
by the Rideau Canal between the Château Laurier and Parliament Hill.
Board Of Directors
President: George Neville [email protected]
Secretary: Margaret Back [email protected]
Treasurer: Anne Carruthers [email protected]
Awards: Alan McLay (Penultimate Past President)
Don Baxter
[email protected]
Ed Bebee
[email protected]
Bryan Cook
[email protected]
Mary Edwards
[email protected]
Jean L'Espérance
Dave Mullington
Don Ross
Committees
Awards
Library/Archives
Membership Chair
Nominations
Newsletter
Publications
Telephone
Tours Coordinator
Web Liason
Webmaster
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Coming Events
61 3-729-0579
61 3-236-71 66
61 3-828-0538
61 3-730-2264
61 3-745-3430
61 3-741 -7838
61 3-824-8458
61 3-824-5490
61 3-421 -7699
61 3-829-8430
61 3-592-2539
Alan McLay
Jean L'Espérance
Don Ross
Alan McLay, Don Ross, Don Baxter
Arthur Beaubien ([email protected])
Ed Bebee ([email protected])
Barbara Whitfield, Pat Richardson
George Neville
Dave Mullington
John Reeder ([email protected])
All general correspondence should be addressed to:
The Secretary; The Historical Society of Ottawa
P.O. Box 523, Station “B”
Ottawa, ON K1 P 5P6
HSO Email: [email protected]
HSO Web Site: hsottawa.ncf.ca
A note regarding Membership renewals ­ For regular members of
The Historical Society of Ottawa, your renewal date is shown on your
address label on this newsletter. Please check it and see that you are
up­to­date. If not, a renewal form is available for you to photocopy on
the last page of this newsletter, or just send us a cheque that shows
your current address and phone number.
Friday, September 27
Monthly Meeting
Speaker: Sal Pantalone
“Memories of the Little Italy
Colony in Ottawa”
Routhier Community Centre*
1:00 p.m.
Friday, October 25
Monthly Meeting
Speaker: John McKenty
“CCM, The Best Bikes in Town”
Routhier Community Centre*
1:00 p.m.
Friday, November 29
Monthly Meeting
Speaker: Ken Swayze
“BfGv­3 Wellington Ridge: an
Early Archaic archeological site
near Kars”
Routhier Community Centre*
1:00 p.m.
Autumn Excursion
Westportth & Foley Mtn.
Tues. 8 October 2013
Carleton Place, Westport
Forfar, Scotch Point,
Rideau Ferry, Perth
Departures:
8:30 AM, St. Richard’s Ch.
9:00 AM, St. Thomas Ch.
Tour & Museums, $50 each
Lunch costs on your own
Contact George )eville
Tel. 613-729-0579
<[email protected]>
*Parking at the Routhier Community Centre - from Cumberland Ave., between St. Patrick St. and Guigues Ave.
September 2013
HSO Speaker Topics & Profiles,
Monthly Meetings, Sept./13 –
April/14
27th September 2013, Speaker: Sal
Pantalone – “Memories of ‘La
Colonia’ in Little Italy, Ottawa”.
From the early years of the 20th century,
Italian immigrants to Ottawa tended to
re-locate from Lower Town to an area
surrounding Preston St., settlement that
came to be known to them as ‘La
Colonia’. The development of a
distinctive Italian character for this area,
its painful disruption and internment of
well established Italian-Canadians during
WW II, the names and contributions of
several prominent Italian settlers, and the
focal role played by their neighbourhood
Church of St. Anthony will be presented
with some illustrations.
Biography: Born in Ottawa, 29 June
1924 of Italian parents, Sal Pantalone
joined the Royal Canadian Navy
(RCNVR) in June 1941. By October
after some preliminary training, his
group was sent to Halifax for practical
sea training, and in January 1942, he was
assigned to HMCS St. Clair, a destroyer
on convoy duty in the North Atlantic.
Both his parents had beautiful,
natural singing voices, and his home
was filled with singing either from his
parents or from their collection of old
78 operatic records. Upon discharge
from the navy, he knew exactly what to
do with his rehabilitation allowance; he
began training at the Royal
Conservatory of Music in Toronto for a
career as an operatic baritone that took
him to Italy then England.
As an advanced student, he gave
concert tours throughout Ontario
sponsored by the Ontario Board of
Education. As a graduate student in
the 50s, he appeared on television and
radio contests, e.g., “Singing Stars of
“Tomorrow”, “Opportunity Knocks”,
“Pick the Stars”, and “Nos Futures
Étoiles”. He was paid professional
union fees and vied to win purses and
HSO ewsletter
recognition.
With winnings plus savings, he
packed up for Italy to improve (learn)
Italian and further study with the
intention of leaving for London in six
months to pursue a career. Within two
weeks, he was signed by a touring
company to play the role of Captain
Fontaine in the Desert Song. After
that, his good fortune continued and he
never looked back. He played the
major theatres, including a 9-month run
at the Coliseum with Hollywood
actress Janet Blair and BBC series with
famous Scottish actor Duncan McCrae,
London, being the mecca of show
business. He kept working in all
aspects of theatre from film to summer
season by the sea and studio recordings
until retirement.
25th October 2013, Speaker: John
McKenty – “CCM – The Best Bike
in Town”.
With its bikes in summer and skates in
winter, CCM was the quintessential
Canadian company. Few youngsters
growing up in Canada were unaware of
the familiar letters, but what did they
stand for? Who was behind them?
(Well-known Ottawa industrialist,
Warren Soper, was one of the founding
members of CCM.) The CCM story is
not only a chance to recall one’s past,
but also to hear about Canada’s cultural
heritage as well. The CCM Story, runs
approx. 40 minutes + questions and
includes a variety of slides depicting
historical photographs and vintage
advertisements.
John McKenty
• Born in Peterborough, ON, in 1948
and grew up in Kingston, ON
• Received B.A. and B.Ed. from
Queen’s University & M.A. from
University of Western Ontario.
• Married to Zeta with three grown
children and five grandchildren
• Currently live in Perth, ON
• Retired as a high school principal in
Page 3
2006 after 30+ years in education
• Since then have written three local
history books, as well as a history
of the CCM company
• Current chair of the Stewart Park
Festival and the Perth Regional
Heritage Fair
• Further information at www.
wheelsgonebye.com and www.
vintageccm.com
29th )ovember 2013, Speaker: Ken
Swayze - “BfGv-3 Wellington Ridge:
an Early Archaic archaeological
site near Kars”.
The Wellington Ridge site was
discovered during a Stage 2
archaeological survey of a residential
subdivision near Kars and subsequent
Stage 3 and 4 salvage excavations were
carried out to salvage information and
a representative artifact collection.
Although it was found on a low hill
beside Mitch Owens Road some
distance from the modern river shore, it
was once a beach on a small island in
the Champlain Sea. The Early Archaic
is a poorly known time period, which
has only recently been recognized in
northeastern North America. The
Ottawa Valley is an ideal region for
discovery of archaeological Early
Archaic sites because it was flooded
for thousands of years and bedrock
uplift has preserved the relic
shorelines.
Education and Experience – Mr.
Swayze holds Ontario archaeological
consulting licence P039 (Professional
category Stages 1 to 4, Province-wide).
He has a B.A. (1983) in Archaeology
and a M.A. (1987) in Geography, both
from Simon Fraser University,
Burnaby B.C. His archaeological
experience — relevant to this proposal
— includes: the lithic technology of
hunter-gatherers; pre-ceramic settlement patterns in the Ottawa Valley;
and historical archaeology in the
Ottawa Valley. His relevant
Page 4
geographical specialties include: early
Holocene post-glacial landscape
evolution, surficial geology, and soil
(environmental) development in the
Ottawa Valley; aerial photograph
interpretation; historical geography;
cartography and GIS.
Previous Assignments –
• 1995-present: As an Archaeological
Consultant he has completed over
250 compliance archaeological
assessments in eastern and central
Ontario and recorded, sampled,
conserved or salvaged numerous
archaeological sites. Other projects
during this period have included:
field courses and assessments in
Nunavut for the Inuit Heritage
Trust; preparation of an
archaeological protocol for the
Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn;
directing a Public Archaeology
Programme for Bonnechère
Provincial Park; an Archaeological
Master Plan for the Nipissing First
Nation; and a cultural Resource
Inventory of Kugluk/Bloody Falls
Territorial Park in Nunavut.
• 1991-1994: As Project Archaeologist for the Northern Oil and Gas
Action Plan (NOGAP) administered
by Canadian Museum of
Civilization,
he
conducted
fieldwork and research in the
Mackenzie River Delta region.
• 1988-1990: As Project Archaeologist, Canadian Parks Service,
Western
Region
(Calgary),
Archaeology Unit, he undertook
prehistoric
and
historic
archaeological research in Banff,
Jasper, Elk Island, and Pacific Rim
National Parks.
• 1977-1990: As Archaeological Field
Assistant, Canadian Museum of
Civilization, he provided field
assistance for 14 seasons of
archaeological
survey
and
excavation in the central and
western Canadian arctic.
• 1972-1977: Eastern Regional Arch-
HSO ewsletter
aeologist, Ontario Ministry of
Culture and Recreation (now
OMCL): Archaeological inventories
and management of various
provincial parks and counties in
eastern Ontario.
31st January 2014, Speaker: Denise
Chong – “History of Chinese
Settlement in Ottawa”.
28th February 2014, Speaker: Prof.
Shawn Graham - “Archaeology &
Heritage of Chats Falls on the
Ottawa”.
28th March 2014, Speaker: Ian
Badgley – “The )ational Capital
Commission: Challenges in
Archaeological Management in
Canada’s Capital Region”
25th April 2014, Speaker: Prof.
Frances Slaney – “History of the
Canadian Museum of Civilization”
Oyez!
Oyez!
Oyez!
The Province of Ontario has
duly accepted The HSO
Supplementary Letters Patent
as published on p. 13 of the
June 2013 HSO )ewsletter.
Forthcoming
Publication
PRINTED
BY MID-AUTUMN
September 2013
. . . . . Cont'd from page 1
retired to Ottawa in 1981/2 and died in
Ottawa 20th June 2012.
Another colleague of Isabel, Helen
Randle, now in Carleton Place, taught
with Isabel in Germany for ~3 years.
They sailed out of Quebec City in the
summer of 1955 aboard the S.S.
Homeric to Le Havre, France; thence
overland via Paris to the medieval town
of Soest, Germany, where she, Isabel,
and another friend, Virginia, lived and
taught children of the Canadian
military service. Isabel was the pastpresident of the Retired Women’s
Teachers Federation and past-president
of the Teacher’s Federation of Ontario.
Helen remembers Isabel for her
interests in photography, needlework,
reading, traveling, and a particular
penchant for and attention to grammar!
Isobel B. Ward joined The HSO on
01 January 1983, a year or so after
returning to Ottawa for retirement.
Honorary Life Member, Dorene
Hirsch, remembers Isabel volunteering
at the Bytown Museum and doing
some research work for a number of
years. It is obvious that Isabel Ward
had an interest in local history to have
become a member of The HSO, but it
is a pity that we did not learn of her
status and interests (at least in part)
until belatedly after her demise. Isabel
left the Society a $5,000 bequest that
was duly received in October 2012 and
deposited as a segregated GIC for
appropriate later commemorative use.
May the Society find appropriate
means to honour the spirit and memory
of Isabel Ward in recognition of her
generosity and high regard for the
Society.
To Be Continued: A
Short History ofThe
Historical Society of
Ottawa
By Dave Mullington
E.J. Swann, Quorn Ranch. Elizabeth Layton Collection.
September 2013
HSO ewsletter
Layton Scrapbook Photos of
the Quorn Ranch (~1900)
Reported by George Neville
In early March 2013, The HSO
received a carefully packed shipment
of photo scrapbooks, etc., from Ms.
Elizabeth Layton of De Leon Spgs.,
FL, who was having to downsize
quickly on entering a retirement home.
Actually the collection was that of
Elizabeth’s mother whose Aunt Mary
Cowper Stilles (Eliz. father’s sister)
married Edward John Swann in May
1850 and took up life as a rancher at
Quorn Ranch at Okotoks (now
Millarview), near Calgary.
When contacted, Irene Kerr,
Director/Curator of the Museum of the
Highwood, Box 5334, High River,
Alberta, T1V 1M5, was very receptive
to receiving this material to augment
some existing material on Quorn
Ranch, viz., Reminiscence by Sheilagh
S. Jameson, Millarview, Alta. That
museum features history of the
Highwood area of southern Alberta,
and ranching is a major component of
its collection. Before the collection was
sent to the Museum of the Highwood,
the first three items of the inventory
(see below) were removed and placed
in The HSO Library, viz., The Queen The Coronation 1953 , The Order of
Divine Service, and The London
Illustrated ews. Noteworthy and
valuable items of the collection are:
autographed photos of Lord Minto and
Mary Minto (1900), friends of Edward
J. Swann and Mary Cowper, even
before Alberta entered Confederation
in 1905. Then there is a wonderful
photo for possible interest of
descendants in the area of Cowper’s
Chinese cook, Yee – a real
genealogical find for some
serendipitous sleuth!
Quorn Ranch at Okotoks near Calgary. Photo
courtesy ofthe Elizabeth Layton Collection.
Yee, the cook engaged by the Swanns at Quorn Ranch
- see cigarette in left hand and newspaper (Chinese?)
in right hand. Photo courtesy of the Elizabeth Layton
Collection now at the Museum ofthe Highwood.
(Price Five Shillings).
Booklet enclosed in the above: The
Order of Divine Service for Trinity
Sunday 31 May 1953 Being the
Sunday Preceding Her Majesty’s
Coronation, Recommended for Use in
All Churches of England in Canada.
(Issued by Command of the Queen)
The Illustrated London ews, May 8,
1943, No. 2924, Vol. 112.
Pages (loose) from a former scrapbook bearing photographs and other
attachments with identifications:
1. Quorn Ranch – Okotoks [now
Millarvile], Alberta [Ms. Layton’s
Inventory of Contents Received
Uncle Ted’s Ranch – a sepia
(Prepared 11 April 2013)
photograph showing a sprawling, rustic
The Queen - The Coronation 1953 set of buildings].
Page 5
2. Photo, interior view of Quorn Ranch
sitting room, 1896.
3. Photo showing another view of
Quorn Ranch sitting room, and a
separate photo of Mary Cowper Swann.
4. Cave photo (loose) by Mellen,
Manitou, Colo., entitled ‘The Churn
and Lump of Butter’, Manitou........
5. Photo of front of Quorn Ranch
house, and a separate photo of
Cowper’s Chinese Cook – Yee
6. Collection, 4 photos & a death notice:
a) Uncle Ted & Cowper in California,
b) The Swanns on a picnic (2 photos),
c) E .J. Swann (Queen Ranch) The
“Bird”, Calgary 1893,
d) Died: Swann – On March 23, 1910
at sanitarium in Atlanta, Georgia, and
buried at Etowah Cliffs*, Ga., Edward
John Swann formerly of Quorn Ranch
near Calgary. On the reverse side,
brief printed card, No. 14951 on
Shakespeare’s Birth Place.
7. Page of 4 photos:
a) Pete Cochrane, Nell [the horse] and
Mrs. Alexander – Mrs. Cochrane,
Ranch 1896,
b) Pair of photos: Uncle Ted & friends
on a hunting trip,
c) Photo of dead wildfowl strung up to
cure. On the reverse side, photo of the
Cochrane Ranch – Macleod, Alberta.
8. Page of 4 photos:
a) Mary Cowper standing in back of
Ted Swann,
b) E. J. Swann,
c) Cowper [colour tinted photo],
d) Miss Bessie Gillinghouse & Cowper
9. [Page of 4 photos not individually
identified] taken on one of the Swann’s
trips to: The Bahama Islands or Bermuda
Island. On the reverse side, 4 photos:
a) The Swanns in California,
b) Pair of photos – Cowper on front
seat & Uncle Ted on the back seat [in a
Model A Ford?],
c) At the Cochrane Ranche (sic).
Page 6
10. Two photos:
a) Uncle Ted’s English father
b) E. J. Swann
11. Two photos, each signed:
a) Lord Minto [in regalia uniform] –
Gov. General of Canada – The Mintos
were friends of Uncle Ted & Cowper
b) Mary Minto, 1900. On the reverse
side: Moira O’Neill, Mrs. Walter S.
Krine and a Quorn Ranch envelope
containing poems by Moira O')eill.
She was a neighbour and good friend
of Cowper’s in Canada.
12. Pages [347-359] from “The Living
Age”, Vol. XVII, No. 2796, February
5, 1898 per A Lady’s Life on a Ranche
(sic). By Moira O’Neill [from]
Blackwood’s Magazine, Published
Every Saturday by The Living Age
Company, Boston.
13. Mary Cowper Stilles (Papa’sister)
married Edward John Swann,
Englishman, May 1850. Two photos:
a) The Swann’s honeymoon was spent
on Lookout Mountain, Tenn. Auntie
[Cowper’s sister, Gulielma Stiles] went
along to take care of Cowper who was
ill at the time of the wedding.
b) Ted Swann [as a young man].
14. Four photos:
a) Ted Swann’s father,
Three of Ted Swann’s cousins: b) Sady
Derwent, c) Edith Johnson, d) Sady
Rose Dongan.
*Eliz.Layton also wrote, “Uncle Ted &
Cowper spent the last years of their
lives at Etowah Cliffs, the Stiles family
plantation in N. Georgia just outside
the town of Cartersville.
Mary Cowper Swann, Quorn Ranch. Layton Collection.
HSO ewsletter
September 2013
Historia Poetice Aperta
LAME)T OF THE IRISH MOTHER
O! why did you go when the flowers were springing,
And winter's wild tempests had vanished away,
When the swallow was come, and the sweet lark was singing,
From the morn to the eve of the beautiful day?
O! why did you go when the summer was coming,
And the heaven was blue as your own sunny eye;
When the bee on the blossom was drowsily humming –
Mavourneen! Mavourneen! O, why did you die?
My hot tears are falling in agony o’er you,
My heart was bound up in the life that is gone;
O! why did you go from the mother that bore you,
Achora, Macushla! why leave me alone?
The primrose each hedgerow and dingle is studding;
The violet’s breath is on each breeze’s sigh,
And the woodbine you loved round your window is budding O! Maura, Mavourneen! why, why, did you die?
The harebell is missing your step on the mountain,
The sweetbrier droops from the hand that it loved,
And the hazel's pale tassels hang over the fountain
That springs in the copse were so often you roved.
The hawthorn’s pearls fall as though they were weeping,
Upon the low grave where your cold form doth lie,
And the soft dews of evening their longest lie sleeping Mavourneen! Mavourneen! O, why did you die?
The meadows are white with the low daisy's flower,
And the long grass bends glistening like waves in the sun;
And from his green nest, in the ivy-grown tower,
The sweet robin sings till the long day is done.
On, on to the sea, the bright river is flowing,
There is not a stain in the vault of the sky;
But the flowers on your grave in radiance are glowing Your eyes cannot see them. O! Why did you die?
Mavourneen, I was not alone in my sorrow,
But he whom you loved soon followed his bride;
His young heart could break with its grief, and tomorrow
They'll lay him to rest in the grave by your side,
My darling, my darling, the judgment alighted
Upon the young branches, the blooming and fair;
But the dry leafless stem which the lightning hath blighted
Stands lonely and dark in the sweet summer air.
. . . . . Cont'd on page 8
September 2013
HSO ewsletter
performances at the refurbished skating
"Lament of the Irish Mother" rink, known as The (Rink) Music Hall.
In writing this lament, Lady Dufferin
by Bryan D. Cook
was
likely inspired by her husband’s
(Ottawa, June 19th, 2013)
mother, Helen Selina Sheridan (1807This tender lament was found in the 1867), a granddaughter of the Irish
files of William Pitman Lett (1819- playwright, Richard Brinsley Sheridan
1892) at the Ottawa City Archives. Its (1751-1816), author of 'School for
historical significance is that the poet’s Scandal'. Selina was a songwriter,
pen name “Tiny” is that of Lady composer, poet, and author and wellDufferin, wife of Lord Dufferin, known in London society of the midCanada’s Governor-General from 1872 19th century. The Westminster Review
to 1878. Did she meet Lett for his observed that “She sympathized with
capacity as the first Clerk of City of the peasantry of the land in which she
Ottawa for thirty-two years until his was born, and the great charm of her
death? She could have known him as nature lay, not in the gift of genius —
the people’s poet commentator on civic for that she did not possess — but in
and national affairs throughout her sweet and loving Irish heart. ” This
Canada’s transition to confederate could have equally been a fitting
maturity in 1867 and beyond. She may description for her daughter-in-law,
also have known him through his whose “Lament for an Irish Mother”
support for theater. In the winter of seems patterned on Selina’s ”Lament of
1850 he had organized Bytown’s first the Irish Emigrant” and followed this
amateur dramatic company, which tradition by being retitled and set to
provided public entertainment in the piano music in 1875 by Alfred B.
old City Hall on Elgin Street during Sedgwick as “Wild orah’s Lament”.
Lady Dufferin was named as author on
several winter seasons.
(Cont'd on p. 8)
Lady Dufferin was one of the most the title page!
popular of governor-general's wives
Annual HSO Christmas
and was very active in Ottawa’s
Turkey Dinner
literary and theatre scene. She
Catering by
supervised the production of children’s
Shirley Stewart
plays and operetta’s at Rideau Hall.
Her diary, My Canadian Journal 1872Wed., 11th December
1878, records her roles as patron,
St. Richard’s Anglican
director, set painter, make-up lady and
Church Hall at
actress. She commissioned children’s
Merivale Rd. & Rossland
plays by F.A. Dixon with music by
F.W. Mills, Ottawa organist. She
Dine to harp interludes by
starred in Gilbert’s “Sweethearts” and,
Patricia Marshall
although pregnant, she staged the
premier of Dixon’s operetta, Maire of
$27.00/person
St. Brieux. The scale of her invited
performances was lavish and Lett
Arrive - 12 )oon for Punch
could well have been on the guest list.
Serving - 12:30 PM Sharp
For example, she staged “To Oblige
Benson ” at Rideau Hall in March 1873
Contact Mary Edwards
before 300 guests with entertainment
Tel. 613-824-5490 or at
by the band of the Governor General’s
[email protected]
Guards, followed by a banquet. The
vice regal family also patronized
for Reservations
Commentary on "Tiny's" poem,
Page 7
Heritage Designation for the
Bradley/Craig Farmstead
By Marguerite Evans
On July 14, 2010, the City of Ottawa
designated the Bradley — Craig
farmstead, 590 Hazeldean Road, to be
of cultural heritage value or interest.
Initially granted in 1824 to Joshua
Bradley, an immigrant from Ireland,
the farm has been in the Bradley family
for generations until Joshua’s
descendant, Norma Craig and her
husband sold it to Richcraft Homes in
2007. Today, the house and barn
continue to lie empty exposed to all the
risks implied by that reality.
The Bradley/Craig heritage house on the pioneer
Bradley farmstead as photographed in 2010. Photo
courtesy ofMarguerite Evans, a Bradley descendant.
With such features as its black steep
pitched gable roof, verandah with
gingerbread woodwork, and decorative
bargeboard in its gable ends, the
farmhouse is representative of the
Gothic Revival period.
The unusually large dairy barn, built
in 1873, is notable for its timber frame
construction and represents advanced
19th century farming. It is also the last
known barn built by John Cummings.
Much like the grain elevators on the
prairies, Canada’s barns are falling to
neglect and ruin as are farmhouses.
Nevertheless, in terms of future reuse
for this particular farmstead, much can
be done to find alternative uses.
Developers can be forces for good.
This is a golden opportunity. More on
this farmstead and its possible future in
an upcoming newsletter.
Page 8
. . . . . Cont'd from page 6
HSO ewsletter
When the bright silent stars through my window are beaming,
I dream in my madness that you're at my side,
With your long golden curls on your white shoulders streaming
And the smile that came warm from your loving heart’s tide;
I hear your sweet voice fitful melodies singing;
I wake up to hear the low wind's whispered sigh,
And your vanishing tones through my silent home ringing,
As I cry in my anguish - O! why did you die?
Achora, machree, you are ever before me I scarce see the heaven to which you are gone,
So dark clouds of despair which lie o’er me O, pray for me! Pray at the Almighty’s throne!
O, pray that the chain of my bondage may sever,
That to thee and our Father my freed soul may fly,
Or the cry of my spirit for ever and ever
Shall be - "O, Mavourneen! why, why did you die?
“Tiny”
September 2013
The Historical Society of Ottawa
gratefully acknowledges the financial
support of the City of Ottawa and the
Ministry of Culture of the Government
of Ontario.
Poetic Terms
. . . . . Cont'd from page 7
For those who want to explore the
meaning “Bitter”.
evolution
Ottawa’s dramatic theatre,
“Mavourneen” is the Irish Gaelic mo “Achora” is an Irish/Scottish generic Parliamentofaside,
Mary M. Brown and
mhuirnín meaning "my beloved". “nickname” common in the 19th
Natalie
Rewa’s
“
Calendar of
“Kathleen Mavourneen” was a popular century but with no available Performance in Ottawa
the 1870s”
(at
song during the American Civil War definition.
http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/tric
and was staged as a play at Ottawa’s “Machree” is from the Irish Gaelic “mo /article/view/7461/8520) make for
Her Majesty’s Theatre in 1870.
chroide” meaning “my heart, or my interesting reading.
“Maura” is an Irish baby name dear”.
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