Ask Alice: Robert Elliott, “The Singer of Plover Mills”
Written By Alice Gibb When Robert Elliott (1858-1902) of Tamalghmore Farm, London Township, died too soon at age 44, his friends wanted to create a special memorial. That memorial was…
Ask Alice: Hungry Hollow A Miller’s Dream
Written By Alice Gibb Although Ichabod Crane slept for decades after venturing into the fictional Sleepy Hollow, hard work was more the order of the day in the West Williams…
Ask Alice: Canada’s First Black Police Officer Owned Much of Lucan
Written By Alice Gibb The first black policeman in Canada was Lucan resident Peter Butler III, descendant of one of the early settlers at Wilberforce. Peter’s grandfather, whose slave name…
Francistown Teacher Mysteriously Vanishes
Written By Alice Gibb Long before the town of Exeter appeared on maps, another Huron County settlement sprang up where Stephen, Hay and Usborne townships meet. The hamlet was called…
Ask Alice: New Year’s Day Brought Gentlemen Callers
Written By Alice Gibb While today we feast on Christmas Day, our ancestors often socialized on New Year’s Day instead. Pioneers happily adopted the New Year’s traditions of French and…
Ask Alice: O Porte Diaries Offer Insight into Victorian Christmases Part 2 of 2
Written By Alice Gibb William Porte’s diaries have been extensively quoted by almost anyone writing about the Donnelly tragedies. But they are also an invaluable source of information about life…
Ask Alice: O Porte Diaries Offer Insight into Victorian Christmases Part 1 of 2
Written By Alice Gibb One of the best ways of gaining insight into the day-to-day life of our ancestors is through personal diaries. Passing into Oblivion: The Diaries of William…
Ask Alice: Ed Innes Last Local Harnessmaker
Written By Alice Gibb One tradesman once found in most rural Ontario communities hamlets was the harnessmaker. But even in the late 1930s, Edward Innes, 77, of Thorndale, was one…
Ask Alice: Lucrative Cash Crop Comes to Caradoc
Written By Alice Gibb In 1939, farmers in Caradoc Township and area welcomed news of a lucrative new cash crop. That moneymaking crop was tobacco. In the late 1930s, about…
Ask Alice: Concession Road Pranks Common Halloween Custom
Written By Alice Gibb In 1933, octogenarian Jane Farley, of a pioneering West Nissouri family, happily recalled Halloween pranks of the 1850s.“Halloween was looked forward to more as a night…