1692A.41 George Henry., b 21 May 1838 Buckingham, PQ; in 1867 was employed at the Burlington, VT newspaper; d ______ ; (see below)
1692A.42 Lawrence, b ca 1839 Canada.
1692A.43 infant son, b and d 11 Nov 1840 Burlington, VT.
1692A.44 Lucius H., b 20 Sept 1841 Buckingham, PQ; d ______ ; (see below)
1692A.45 Susan, b 1843 Canada; d 1872 Burlington, VT; unm.
1692A.46 Hugh Henry, b 14 Aug 1844; d 29 Aug 1846 Burlington, VT.
1692A.47 Elizabeth T., b ca 1846 Canada.
1692A.48 Mary Henry, b 14 Aug 1847; d 16 Mar 1849 Burlington, VT.
1692A.49 Hugh Henry, b 2 Feb 1849; d 16
July 1849 Burlington, VT.
Sources:
Bigelow Family Genealogy Volume I page 347-348;
Howe,Bigelow Family of America;
Souvenir de Buckingham, Quebec (a commemorative booklet for the
town's 75th anniversary);
cemetery inscriptions, Elmwood cemetery, Burlington, VT;
obituary of L.G. Bigelow from Burlington Free Press;
obituary notice by Wendell Phillips in Anti-Slavery Standard;
Burlington Free Press; supplement on 200 years of Independence,
09 July 1977 (description of Lucius' activities in helping fugitive slaves);
Procedings and Transactions of Royal Society of Canada, series 3, vol.III,
May 1909, Talbot Papers.
Descendant Note:
Nancy was the daughter of Josiah Goodhue and Sophie Dickerson. These
people are found in the Fletcher genealogy (in the NY State library).
I have a little more, if you are interested.
Daniel R. Rosen, Ph.D. email rosen@wadsworth.org
Research Scientist
Wadsworth Center
New York State Department of Health
Albany, NY 12201-0509
(518) 486-2586
Web notes:
Vermont Civil War soldiers born in Canada
Bigelow, George Henry, Burlington, VT, 2nd Lieutenant 12th Vermont Infantry,
Co. F, born 5/21/1838, Buckingham, PQ, Canada
Bigelow, George M., Stanstead, PQ, Canada, Private 9th Vermont Infantry,
Co. E, born 4/19/1842, Stanstead, PQ, Canada
Bigelow, Lucius, Burlington, VT, 5th Sergeant 5th Vermont Infantry,
Co. I, born 9/20/1841, Buckingham, PQ, Canada
More on Lucius:
Photograph of a drawing of the home where Lucius H. Bigelow kept fugitive
slaves in Burlington, Chittenden County, Vermont. The image was collected
by Ohio State University professor Wilbur H. Siebert (1866-1961). Siebert
began researching the Underground Railroad in the 1890s as a way to interest
his students in history.
1st Published May 26th, 1936.
Republished April 24th, 1960.
A letter from Mrs.& Dr. John Noonan of Anaconda, Montana,
Received recently, sends the memory back upwards of 50 years. Mrs. Noonan
before marriage, was Edith Mabel Harper, a dau of
Theophilus Harper, a merchant first in Thurso and then in Buckingham
previous to his departure for the United States.
The Harpers first started as merchants in Thurso. The depression of the
perlod was hitting the country hard, so hard that
the Harpers found it tough sleddlng in opposition to the Blacks and the
Thomsons, who it was realized were amply covering the vlllage
and dlstrict around it.
One might say in parenthesis that others who bucked
same competition had to succumb; after repeated failures. John
Harper went to Hull and there, as far as The Post is concerned, his identify
is lost.
Theophilus Harper came to Buckingham in company with Calvln Cummings,
A brother of the late Detective Jack Cummings,
started in the flour and feed business. The site of their store is now
covered by the blg block of Macallum and Lahaie.
Previous to the advent of MacCallum and Lahaie to this corner, lt was
considered in the unlucky class, succeeding failure
havlng glven lt a bad name. The fact is the times, not the occupants were
responsible for the succession of failures.
The partnerahlp between Harper and Cummings was short lived, the town
could not support a store of the speclal klnd and
lack of trade brought about a dissolution, Harper leaving for the U.S.A.
and Cummlngs for elsewhere in Canada.
Had Calvln Cummings been ln Buckingham at the present
time he would have been in his element. A baseball player to his
flngertips, he would have been a fan at either game, hard or soft, and perhaps
both. The Post can just remember Calvin Cummlngs in
his heyday, sporting knee breeches and dlsplaylng a calf whlch was the envy
of broomsticks, knock knees and bandy legs.
Durlng his resldence ln Buckingham, Theophilus Harper
built hlmself a.home in that part of Bucklngham adjacent to the
first Roman Catholic graveyard on Church street. Before leavlng, he sold
that. property to Mr. Hugh McCallum, who stlll occupies it.
Editor Note: The Church Stree, property referred to above as belng owned
and occupied by Mr. Hugh McCallum, is now
owned by his onn, Mr. Kenneth McCallum.
The Thomsons are still merchants in Thurso and have
a conslderably larger store than in the days spoken of in the foregolng artlcle
prlnted in 1936.
After a slow and difficult tenure in general store keeplng. In depresslon
years, the building had to be enlarged to accomodate the increased and larger
trade
in the town owing to the arrival of The Singer Company, The Thurso Pulp
and Paper Mlll and other flrms.
As far as we know the base of Black has completely vanished from the Thurso
scene. They owned the woollen mills and descedents of the
pioneer mlll are now in Toronto and other centres.
First Publlshed Janusry 29th, 1937.
Republlshed April 24th, 1964.
A well known shipper was Edward Dickson. A splendid man with a clean soul
stamped on hls rugged face, his steadfast eyes
lighting up under recognltion. Edward Dickson came from the Ontario slde,
nearly opposite Massori.
How long he was ln the employ of the James Maclaren Company is among the
dark shades in memory. He was a good and
falthful servant and left the firm of hls own volltion. He also felt the
desire for western life and on a sprlng day he departed
for the land of his dreams. He had practiced economy all his days and belleved
thst the savings of pennies meant dollars later.
He had contrlved previous to his going to save the firm of $5,000.00. This
sum he proposed to invest in Manitoba. He was a teetotaller
from up-brlnglng and convlctlon and a non-smoker as well. How he got along
ln hls new field the wrlter has not
heard dlrectly but from newspsper reports he seems to have achieved
success politically. He became member of the leglslsture for Lansdowne,
a constituency in Manitoba. Later he passed away prematurely
and the new country could have spared others much better.
Mr. James Dickson succeded hls brother. A big man physically, he was bullt
on the same llnes from a vlewpolnt of character, and llke
most big men, he was good natured. Jim was interested and large of face and
the boys sald that the barber used to
charge by the square yard for hls servlces. Where he went or her he 18, no
one ln the vlcinlty seems to know.
And now steps into the plcture the kingpin of shlppers -kingpln ln respect
of capacity, vlslon, push and taking advantage
of opportrinlty - Mr. Angus McLean.
Angus McLean came from Thurso. How long he was shipp for James McClaren
Company has slipped the memory. He too
left on hls own accord, but at the solicltations of W.C.Edgar to take over
the management of the moribund subsidiary of the Rock J
concern - Forth Natlon W lln. Long or short as huge McLean test North Fiation
Mills, lt came to an end when pine tlmber petered out.
His words must have been satisfactory to the company as
the mllls were boarded up, Angus McLean was called to Bockland tO@
tiike over the books snd cash.
Lster came opportunity to the capable man with ambltlon.
Cane sn invltatlon from a brother, Ur. hugh McLean of Buffalo, N.Y
another man of lntellllgence nnd vlsion, to @oin hi@ ln hi@ lu ber
actlvltles. Mr. McLean isined his brother snd from thst ti e OqKq
was a mountlng csreer ln the l@ober buslness, snd a very prosper@n
one, as the flrm opened branchea here and there @hich were hi
successful.
Angus McLeian, towards the close of a very busy commercial
life, organlzed and became the head of the Bathurst (M.B.) Lu her
Compsny. In his altered clrcumstances he never forgot Thur30.
Ye@rly fr lot@g after his rlse ln the lumber world, t
famlly, in their @hlte Steamer Gar, wlth coloured chsuffeur, a
in Thurso and spent the holldays ln the old vlllage on the Ott@
aDd occasionally the car made its appearance in Buckingham.
EARLY HAPPENINGS IN PRIEST'S CREEK
First Published Februnry 26th, 1937.
Republlshed June 21st, 1964.
The Ross Sblpper now referred to wlll be nameless for
personal reasons, as the name would be of no signlflcance to the
younger generation.
In hls youth he had a romance, "kept compary" as the
saying went wlth a lady of the distrlct for ever 90 long. he had
a rlval bullt somethlng on his own llnes - never ln a hurry above
anythlng and particularly about love - at whlch 170th were laggard
The young iady received thelr addresses alternatlvely
the swaln3 seemed satlsfled with the status quo. Gossip got @ta
lf elther ca@e to the polnt soon, the lady was llkely to come a
cropper between two stools.
Where the lady wss concerned, love had long since gone
the board, and lt was freely hinted that the one who spoke flrst
would 8et the plum.
Such proved the csse - the rlval spoke flrst and the
Shipper remained a bachelor.
If the lady laid any store by whiskers, he got a tremendous bargain.
The Shipper had one declded weakness in his whole life
disposltion to irritability from periodlcal attacks of billious
While nursing an achlng head he was in a mood to be left sevete
alone. Infractions of the rule brought dire consequences. The
staff, of which he was for a time the head, had thelr meals in
cottage @lt stlll stands@ ln the rear of the office.
One day Just oefore the Shlpper took hl@7 place at th@
tnble, a @r. Fai@ of Ottawa had lnterested Mrs. Avann, the hou
heeper, 1D a new fangled klnd of floor @op, a wonderful contrivance
according to @r. Fair, one wnich did up the pre@i@eE in a llttle
less tlme and one which dried it@elf by the manipulation of a de-
vice attached to the pail.
@rs. Avann waR much -lmpreRsed and thi@ decided @r. @slr
to approach the Shlpper. Unfortu.nately for @r. Fslr and the busl-
ness, the boss uas in the throes of one of his biliou@ sttacks,
about as grumpy as could be.
However@ he listened to Mr. Pair dilate the super excel-
lence of hi@ DOp then told the agent it waa not wanted. Mr. Falr
insioted upon it@ utility. "@hy", he daid, "your missus sRys it
18 the thing she ha@ been looking for for years". "MisAus", slmo@
@houted the Shipper, "who to@d you I had a @iRsud? I have no misa
Qnd you better get out of here before you are helped out.
Brought up on the ma@estic Ottawa, the Shipper hsd H pre
ference for water craft of all de@criptions snd W8R st home on 811
He was an adept wlth oar, paddle or sall. he had a bsrk csnoe And
also a sailboat; @hort of length and wide of beam. One day he wa@
standlng ln the bsrk canoe when a nervous observer called out: "Ssy
Shipper, sre you not in a dangerous position?" For sn6wer the
Shlpper lesped lightly from the canoe's bottom snd poised hlmaelf
afoot on eIther gunwale. The horrified obfierver turned hls bsck
on the scene.
A couple of under Etrsppers occsRionally took out the
bunty sailboat. @ar from expert in saillng, one dsy in 8 stlff
wind the boat headed for ehore snd, desplte effort@ of tbe smateur
struck a tree bow on breskirg a foot off the maYt. Inexpert ln
ssiling, the amateurs were crsfts@en in hlding the damAge - csre-
fully hid the repainlr,g with blue clsy. If the shorter msst cs@e
under ob@ervstlon nothlng waY said sbout it.
The Shlpper Rpent many fall@, winters snd 3pringa AmOng
the people of Priest'd Creek for wilom he had conceived a strong
liking, wlth the exception of one fsmily who msde his life a burde@
for a short time be£ore tbe end. Of this, t@ore later.
The Priest's Creek district wa@ a lively one when the
Shipper first wene there ln the beginnlng of the '70'8. In sprlng
and fall it wa@ @specially active, shsntied as well as Jobber@ con
trlbuted to make the løB drive a big one. The flr@t @ondsll Store
snd sau@ill were then in opera@ion under the capsble aegis of the
pioneer head of @he famil@ of th@t ns@e. For over twenty vesrs,
from early in the @all untll late in the sprlng, the Shipper hsd
hl@ being with tle@e people, en@oying their friendAhip snd reapect
and giving in re:urn the best ehat wes in him.
The life of a me@surer of logs for iobbers ls not a bed
of roses. Some iobbers are easy to 8ee slong w$th, others are the
reverMe - there 18 no pleaslng them, especiully ln a country whlch
has been cut over tlmes @ithout number 18 thlr@ the case. The Job-
ber cannot get accustomed to the dwindllng average. He lmagines
he is still llving in the timee when the run of logs wa8 unlforo
in size. He has in mind the timeH when if one mlll wa8 short an
exchange of 1088 was effectlve wlth the other on the basls of a
plece in return.
There was no stoppage of a mill when an exchange of log@
was available.
There WU8 another rule in force, the maasurer and b.8
horse had to be kept durlng the ecallng process at the Jobher'fi
camp. It wss all very well for the anlmal, he could get alor.g on
a hay diet for a day or Mo, but with the scaler, lf he le @n lined
to be dyspeptlc, whlch the Shipper decidedly was, lt is different;
the food which i8 life to the heslthy Jobber was death to hlm and
beside6 that one occasionally 8ets M meal of half cooked pork and
sour bread. and it takeM some Mtomach to work that up to the affMl-
mllative point.
The Shippar was on a different footlng to the regular
scsler, he was the whole push from the beglnnlng to the end of
operationtl he made contracts w$th the Jobbers, appolnted thelr
terrltorien, made thhem advances, scaled thelr tlmber, and if any-
thing sppeared ln hiM bookM to thelr credit ln the sprlng, elther
paid ln cash or gave them orders on the millM.
hc h@d @o@er which in other hands might have been abu@ed;
but ln hlM, all lnterests were ssfe. one mlght MS well try to
8hov@
tbe sum ot@ lts course as eo devlste the Shlpper from the path of
recitude.
The Shlpper, lt was who measured the Lucius Blgelow logs
on Wrlght Creek, th drlviLng of which caused the rumpu@ between the
Hollands and Ross Brothers. The man ln charge of the holland
lnter-
ests wss a certaln Josh @Ll@rd, not the 30sh @llard so iu8tly famou
as a hostelry keeper, but 8 namesake, and as dlfferent from the
great Gatineau landlord aM chalk le from cheese.
In the endeavour to make hslr of the haywire variety do
duty as moustache and goatee, the comblnatlon gave him the
appearan@
of a pretty tough charncter. Some @ho knew 30sh ssid hle look8 dld
not belte hl@ n@ture.
Ellard, on behalf of the @ollands, had taken posses8ion
o accedd to the celebrated @riRht Creek. and scythlng ln the shape of
a hated concern Dan, if he spproached the barrier, was glven right
about face orders, orders backed up by a rifle ln the hands of
Josh and a rusty cutlass in the hands of his wife.
One cold winter day the Shipper and an assistant
approached the barricaded access to Wright Creek, Pollard with the rlfle
and
his wife wlth the cutlass arrested progress.
"What's the matter" asked the Shipper.
"Matter enough", replled Ellard gruffly, "we are here to
prevent you going to the logs on the creek".
"I can uhderstand that" said
the armament? You could have stopped D
wife out on such a freezing day1"
"Well", said Ellard, "the Pollands are determined the
Bigelow sawlogs shall not be driven, and they consider a show of
force in the begining will make things easier in the end".
(This is the first lnstance of preparedness on record.)
The Shipper was silent and turned in the direction of
Poltlmore, but hls thoughts were not inactlve. @one knew the manager of the
Ross firm better than he did from long association, and
he knew that despite any opposition the Hollands could bring, the
floatabllity of Wright Creek would be maintained, and it was; but
at what a cost in money!
The Shlpper was the boss on the Priest's Creek sawing
drlve from early in the '70's until 1894, when he was seized wlth
the illness which carried him off ln the fall of that year.
One partlcuular drive, that of 1877, will be fresh as
long as life boats. In addltlon to the creek's best drivers, there was
a contingent from Buckingham, composed of young and husky men,
afraid of neither work nor water; wet from early morn 'tlll close
of dewy eve; then, in more or less csop clothes, slidlng between
blankets for the short rest before the call to breakfaast by "the
jobber's son". And all this, mark you, for less than forty cents
per day - the- top notch wage, but on the whole the men on Prlest's
Creek were better off than those on drlves hlgher up.
The northerners had to live on bread and boiled pork,
which dlet on a sizzling day, was not so good. On Prlest's Creek
the drlvers llved like flghtlng coche - fried pork, eggs en oasse,
and a few bags of potatoes occasionally.
Prlest's Creek runs through a good farming conmunlty
and sprlngtime brought eggs at 81 cents per dozen. The Shlpper
was a considerate boss, a good drlver hImself, he showed the way
as well as the how.
Peevy in hls hand was not allowed to ruse; where he would
not venture himself he dld not ask hls men to go. At every rspld
the polnter boat, which carried the cookery and dunnsge hsd to bc
sklllfully gulded through the gurglng waters and the Shipper was
always ln the stern.
But one accldent happened - the pointer capsized golng
through the driver bugbear - Hell's Gate, but the load floated
safely to land below.
A venturesome driver of Priest's Creek was Sam Brunette.
Full bearded but agile, he looked younger thDn his actual years snd
as a driver, he.was second only to "Supple" Sandy McMillan, a
Prlese's Creek man by whom all drivers were gauged as to capacity.
Sam Brunette waM always the shlpper's choice as bowean
ln the pointer. When the boys were restlng wsiting for the flood
to come on the opening of the sluices, Ssm wss the life of the
gang, ever telllng amusing l3tories; his laugh was lnfectlous and
there would be roart@ of lsughter rising in the stillness of the
evening over his sallies.
Pie professed great faith in a fictitious blrd, the
'cockwee', which he assoclated wlth extremely high wster, and when the
flcod tide came he would tell all and Aundry that the blrd snd
passed down for snother 8ea@3Gn.
At Hollan's Dam the driving crew were wondering lf tbe
pointer would run the fall or have to be portaged. The questlon
was @olved a fe@ minutes later wken, on the brlnk of the fsll,
appeared the pointer, Sam Brunette ln the bow and the Shlpper ln
the stern. The dip waE negotiated succefisfully though the pointer
partly filled and the hsrdy crew was drenched to the skin.
The cook on thls drive was ehe late Dosithe Proulx, one
of Buclcingham's flne men. It is sad to ehink ehst hi@ life ended
ln the Mhadows, emphaHizing ehe unwisdom of parting with honest and
hard earned saving@ until there i@ no further use for them ln this
world.
Dur@ng the hours spent at Holland's dsm wsiting for the
ru@b of the driving water after the opening of the sluice gates,
scarclty of tobacco arose snd 8reat was the lsmentation, for the
users were in the ma@ority. @he hankering after the week when
none i@ in sight muAt be experienced. Suffice it to remark that
@ithout tobaccD to ssatisfy the crsvlng, an addict is not the same
oan, nnd e9pecially when idle. He 18 morose, at war with h@mself
and everybody in alght, and acts like one deprived of a drug on
@hich he has been llving.
Two drivers, Bucklngham men, brothers, had by attaching
the end of stout withes in the earth to form an oval frame over
whlch one pair of blankets had been draped, forming comfortable
sleeping quarters. Thls shelter the brothers @ok@ngly dubbed
"Chateau Maclaren.l' "Pinehurst" had been completed about that ti
And w@s the show place of the to@n, hence the pleasantry.
Durint the tobacco stringency, smoke was seen curling u
from the entrance to the Chateau, the week hungry chaps grew ex-
cited. "The boys are holdlng out on UB@, they exclalmed and
rushed for the domed camp. The boys were smohlng. Caught in
flagranto delicto, the brotherH sheeplshly owned up to - no, not
@lat you were thinking of - but to having peeled and dried the
bark of red withe@ which grew ln profu@ion on the banks of the
strea@, and had used that in lleu of tobacco.
lheir knaw increased by the temporary anticlpation, the
@moking friends returned crestfallen and sullen to thelr tents.
8ut relief was on the way from an unexpected qusrter. TowArds
evening of the @ame d&y, the Shlpper who had not been seen for
nours, re-appeared and in hi@ hand was a package, which turned out
to be tobacco. Thi5 he dlsn Ibuted among the 3moking drivers to
their great dellght and to the rapid progress of the log drive wt@
the flood came. The Shipper had a sympathetic heart and moved by
the complaints and groan@ of thoae deprived of the weed, he had
@alked to the Bonoall Store at Poltimore for the tobacco.
A smoker himself In hi@ younger dag@, he kne@ @ust exact
@hat it was to go @ithou@ s@oke when his Aystem called for lt. H
Lnt@lsted that any weakling could learn to use tobacco but that ie
took Atrength of mind to give it up.
The Ship@er in many thoughtful ways earned the gocd wil
@f almost every one he came acros@ in Priest's Creek diAtrict. H
3tayed in one home @ust Aoutb of Poltlmore for a @atter of twe!nty
Jears, @oining in fa@ilg wor@hip. in fact he waa all but one of
the household.
If any home could get at the real character of a man t@
@ne was decidedly in a poAltion to do 80; and yet distrust of the
@hlpper arose out of a measllrement of sa@logs.
Me@bers of this fa@Lly hsd been @sklng logfi on a terri-
tory @o cut over thatt hardly anything left fitandin8 could be
defl-nltely called sawing Dsterial. @&turally the average of thls par-
tlculnr cut had dropped proportionMtely; the iobbers could not
account for the sDellne6fi of the measure@ents, 9sve on the score
o@sharp practice on tbe part of the scsler - the Shlpper.
had the accusstlon come from the ordlnary everyday @obbe@
the Shipper @nuld have pald llttle attentlon to lt - scalers sre
proverblally thick sklnned and they have to be.
But there was a charge that could not be met wlth a shru
of the shoulders or even a he@ted denlal. These partlcular @obben
unles@ they were of a du@b nature - contlngency whlch was freely
hlnted at a@ong nelghbours - must have known the Shlpper 89 one
knows a book whlch has become gogeared fro@ constant use, snd know-
lng hi@ thus, would have absolved him or petty trlckery, to put
their ideas @lldly. @ut they dld not, and that lfi where the hurt
ca@e in.
The 5hlpper took the expressed dlstru@t greatly to heart.
Uo bog@n to wdlt thst sprlng snd went down hlll BO rapldly that
another w89 @ent to wlnd up @he firm's sffairs at Polti@ore.
he had contracted a cold whlch settled in his lungs and
could not be difilodged. After practia]Lly burnlng up - galloplng
confiumption old ti@er@ csl]ed lt - he dled withln a few months.
Taken from an old edition of the Buckingham Post and publlshed doubtless
in the 152
Republished February 22nd, 1963.
I Saturday night ir. the year 1886. the good @hip "Lva"
bui.it to carry 25 pAs8engers, left La 5alette for Buckingham loade
with no fewer than 42 miner@ all eager to get to the town over
Sunday.
All went well untll the boat swung around u point of th@
river nbout nine @ilea above Buckillgham. It was fall and darknes@
had Het ln. It wa@, ln fact. good and dark.
eetween nnrnin@ and ni@ht a large pine tree had slipped
lnto the river @aat below the @urn of the point. The "@va" was o
to the tree hefore any one notlced it. She promptly tipped over
and the crowd of 42 W88 Ltl-Own 1nto the river, the boat"s lights
went out and d@rkaess wa@ co@plete.
Ju@t before the boat went over hllarity prevailed, but
a few t@inutes later shouts and swear words cut the nigbt alr.
Fortunately, all the @en could swir@ and in due time they got to
the shore, wet @at safe.
rh@n nonebody 6uggested a fire, but all matches in the
party were damp.
@ot long a£terwards the "Kate" a flfty parisenger boat,
cane aloDg. The "Ka@e" escaped the same fate by a few feet. Seein
the l@gva@ where she wus and haaring the shouts for help, the '@ate
stopped and nanageI to get ail the stranded ones on board.
Editor note: The "Eva" was one of the first steamers on the Lievre
River and was, we understand, named after the wife
of one o£ the pioneer mine officlals, Willium MacIntosh. She was not
used for public transportation but only for the use of mine
employees and towing the barges o£ ore down to the rail head at the
Landing. The C.P.X. station at that time was in a box car in
close proximity to the wharf.
By The Late Edltor
First Published on December th, 1936.
Republished November 16th 1962.
The rar-.ig basin of the I.ievre, on the road to Dunnlngs
@a@ in nhippitlg @a@on marly of the 0ttswa River tawillg craft
Certaln of these stea@er6 6tand out pro@inently de@pite the lapse
of time.
The "Canada" of the JPme8 Wood Company ca@e ln ao fre-
quently that her plain lines are markedly fresh. Toward@ the
of her seanQnal trips a change from one pressure to the otber
sulted Ln the anomally of a paddle wheel boat letting off ste@
irregular puffs, more like 8 tug. The owner of the Csnada, @r.@-
James Wood, waM a full partner ln the Rockland lumber concern ·nd
laterly the £1eet was controlled fro@ the he@d offlce.
The "Cherry" of the aobert Allan line psld occaalonal
vi@lts with its t@o to the Basln. Cne of the Allan Line cap@lzed
during a storm in the Lake of Two Mountalns. The mishsp to the
boat resulted in the changing of the valklng beam from a solld to
the open klnd. M . Allan @ill be brought to mlnd as the organlze
and senlor partner in the Llevre llne which brought the "Lvs" and
the "AgneH" lnto the trsnsportatlon ga@e
The lnte Captsln George Bothwell and late Wllllam
McIntosh were his original partnerM. One day the shlpper of the
@098 firm aaid to a subordlnate, "Do you want to look at the hand-
somest man you ever clapped eyes upon@ }f 80, go down to the
dock where the @eeaDbarge "Can Un" 1H belng loaded". And thst
was the wrlter's first gliDp6e of Captain Ceorge Bothwell.
The acquaintance began then, when from the flrst day
the young men, in talking, @ade use of thelr glven na@es, rlp _
lnto a flrm snd la@tlng friendship when Captaln Bothwell took up
resldence io Buchngha@ a0 m@naging partner of the Llevre'- flrst
regular forwardlng llne.
m e nte@mbarge 'Cantin" wss turned out at the Cantln
Rhipyard in Montreal. ber inltial season was unfortunate for ehe
owners. Captaln Jone8, her flrst sklpper, wa@ recreant to his
flrst earnings ln the fsll.
The stenmbarge '@elsh@an" w@s an infrequent comer to
the Basir@ aP u frelghter. The laHt tlme ln recollectlon the
vessel W8P in on ehe special @l@HLon of brinying a cargo of
Chicago heavy mesP pork for one of the lu@ber firme. @mong those
on board were J. W. M@Laren, @anager for Jsmes Maclaren and Co@pa
and Edmund W. Murray, both citlzena in hiyh Htandin8 in Buckingha
me captsin of the '@elshman" wa9 Asa @ Cooke, later t
become what wa@ practically provincial lands sgent, a governzene
situatlon he @a8 to hold for @he re@ainder of hls lon@ life.
llne.
Asa Cooke -@as yGung then, activ-, companlQnable, with a never
failing stralr, of hhrmour whi,h la@ted u.ltil thP deep sleep cut
shGrt his existence.
The Bu@kingham pa6senger@ were nnlike in proportion -
Murray weighed upwards oi 300 noands; McLaren 150. There being
no regulsr p@ss£@er rate@i Gn the '@elsbmar," Captain-purser
Cooke was in a qual-ndry what to charge. If by weight there would
be a klck £rGm the fat man@ 60 he compromi6ed. He charged neither
Celluoid noLlara bavin@ come into tashion some time
esrlier, @aFt@in Coke 'nad one and deLslonstrated its usefulness
by washing it in the office basin, haranging on the anticipsted
damage to the laundry b&@iineL@s through general adopiion of the
new invention. Lt @ecame the vogue at the Basln, until 6triklng
a match on the cG11ar one day a native not only singed his whlok-
ert. bur burned his neck badlv. Idad lt happened to another native
who grev lu@urlant dundrearyt@ to hid a large welL below his ear,
it would have caussd an even greater seneation.
It may be added that by the aid of t3 llttle caustlc tmd
some incantatlon of a eo-eal]ed sorceress, the wen on thi6 t@an
disappeared and h w;3@ enabled to 8et married a seeond time - 60
they @ay.
Per10dically in the L3hipping ieason the powerful tug
"Mink" with Ca@tain @illiam Lough ca@
the @and bar@ anu iett her t@w at tbe Naclaren dock to be loaded
with boards for @hittechal}, @.J. Capta1n L,ough took no chances
of graring bGttom in the Ba@isl, the "Min@'s" touing iteights were
always shifted fro i3tern to b@t in che sholl uarer.
_dlto '@Note-: @or the benefit of 90me of our reader6
the location Qf t tliisin was the large body of water on the rlght
Gi the Haln Road as yon letLve N@L60n. It 13@iO ti@irts the back
of
the @aclaren Puip and Paper Mlll. It was @uite a laree body of
@ater in tho6e daL3 and steam boats came np tke Lievre River to
the Ba@in Jhere bo'@ @he il@riaren and
panies had dGcks tO receive .heir e@uppl1e@ asd @hlp out 1umber.
e deals were rsftted atd fioated doun in huge rafts to NGntreql
and Quebec City
At that time the we@t eI@d of Ua@t;oo@ over the Lievre
Bridge, @es cal@td BB@tn du L1evre. tha@ is ·lL the dl6LriGt on
which the pulp aDd paper mili nGw ata
the end of the to@r..
@he 6and bar @poken oi- turn@
stopped, to be an island heavily @ood.
lC i@ .
in WilliaLs. Louj@r came up the channel, rounded
o.@, th@ t@n i1n@ @C:38 @rl@tber.7 LILmber Com-
pQper t@l', nc@ @tands and along tho hig@way eO
har spGket:@ of turned ont. cLftet naVigatioDL
is1and he.3vi1y @tooded. Thet@e treer2 were cu@
down durlng thisu@mer on accounc of the land being (perhaps)
covered by water when the Carillon dam is closed.
@he iirsst experi@ental plant of the Electric Reductloc
Conpany wss located there ln which the late William T. Gibbs and
W.A. Williams did the experlmentsl work on Mr. @ibb's formulas
for the making of phosphorus, the late J.C. Hobb6 was their assl
tant. Following lts destructlon by fire, the plant came to
Buckingham.
One of the most pretention bulldlngs ln the Basln du
Lievre, was tbe three storev brick former home of the Kendall's,
ploneer resident@, whlch was de@troyed by fire four or flve yenr_
ngo. It vas ad@acent to the C.P.R. right of way.
The late Robert Allsn, steam boa@ l@ne operaror, men-
tloned in the sbove item a@ a parLner of the flr@t Llevre trans-
portation company, lived in Ottawa, snd Mr. F.J. Wllson, follow-
ing the destruction of his large cut stone residence at the corn@
of Maln and Jo6eph Streets in 1904, bought Mr. h11an's home and
moved to 0ttawa.
The Mr. J.W. McLaren mentloned ln the above article as
Manager for The James Naclsran Company bullt the home now occupi@
by hr. F.C. Dunsco@bo, s@d nr. P@rr@y'@ re@1d@n@ is now occuple@
by n great nephe!, Mr. Robert Philllpa
@ritten in 19@6 byy Joseph Kennedy of Mb@onr a fifth
grsde pupll at St. Mich3el'@ College, and first
publlthed in the Bucklngbam Post of M@y 13th, 1938.
Republlshed June 5th, 1954.
@A@IGAT10@ 0@ M@ 0TT@
The Vt@@wa River w@ ooce @I v-ry important route, not
only for the tran@port@tion of tiL@er @nd freight but also for
pas6enger trafflc.
i.ong before the invention of motor truck@ and the con-
structlon of the railway lines, nu@erouE boats plled up and down
the rlver leavlng snd taklng cargoes at different place@ d ong
the way. A few of the biggest of the@e bo@ts mlght be named.
The first worthy of m@ntlon i@ the Shann@n, vhlLh bore
the t@all fron Nontreal to Ottawa as e@rly a8 1830. The next to
be @entioned l3 the Peerles@, a pas@enger boar, which wa@ the
largest.
Thi@ ooa@ caught fire at Treadwell, Ont., and was 80
badly da@sged that @t was completely rebuilt and renamRd. Thence-
forch it was calle the Lmpress: It ran four years on the Richell
and then returned to the Otta@a. As it was a pas@enger boat, and
went on nu@berlefis excursions; it i@ now (in 1929@ hauling 10g8,
or WaA 80 a year ago on the uppe{ Ottawa and Lake Deschenes.
The Vlctoria was in actlve service about thirty or thirt
five years ago. It carrled freight and pa@sengers betoeen Ottawa
and aawkesbury. No details are known by the author of the present
artlcle abouT the Henis Murph@s the Ottawa or the Hull, except tha
they are frei@hters and selll in active service.
There ·@a@ another boat called the Maud, whlch came from
Nontreal. It was not a regular Ottawa Rlver bost, but would re-
place the @mrress when the latter was away on exrursion trip@.
Tke Prlncess (or Dutches@ war a for@er mall boat, whlch
plied between Montreal and Ottawa. It @topped about flfteen years
ago, about 1910.
The freight boatG, the @all, the Scotsmsn and the Ottawa
are still in sctive use; the first, named after Captaln Hall, had
been runnlng for twenty years. Thelr run is from Ottawa to Montre@
and back.
The @ali leaves Ottawa on Mondays and returns, or 18 due
to return, on ThurIdays. The Scotsman leaves Ottawa on Tuesday ant
returns, or i@ duo to return, on Fridays. The Ottawa leaves Ottaw@
on Wednesday and rreturns, or ix due to return, on Saturday.
The landing@ st the several pl@ce@ along the rlver have
been in @any instaIce@ in con@tar,t repair, but others have been
neglected; Anger@ -or erample the wharf has been well repaired ln
the @all tur @he @lloul@ @prl@6 lt was washed away by the high
water.
Th@re are no pas@enger boats running now; they have done
awa-l with because, nowadsys, @ost of the travelllng i9 done much
nore quickly, though not more cheaply, by rall. Uere. as ln msny
instances, the wll knowr. proverb, "Tlme 18 money" ls put lnto
practlcal u@e.
@here were al80@ anl stl$1 sre, many tugs of various @lz
used sepecially for pulllng logs rafts. The Roberval was a very
@trong boa. @ste n harge@ baing able to pull from flfteen to twent
bar8es. r@e Al , and the Anra were r@o other tugs which belonged
fir@t to the @l @su Gompany, but la@er were sold the mills of
A. Eager and Comp8ny at Jessup @8 Falls, three and a half miles
below Wendover. They ran from twenty-five to thirty yearfi ago.
m e @ockland belonged to the Edwards Company blt it iB
now a ruin at Gatlneau. It was replaced by the Pussell, which w@
built by the Edwards Company but W8@ later sold to the @iorden
Company. It i9 no@ the property of the International Company at
Rochland. This boat generally had the honour of making the flr8t
trip each 9PrinB-
The Sir 'dector, the strongest, though smallest, tug boa
on the river belongs to the Eddy Conpany, The Catherina, which ra
durlng the time of the wsr wAs the fastest; it had a small carnon
on lts bow. The Praser Brace Company, which is presently buildinl
a pulp mill on theG@tineall, has a new tug; lt is called the Tenp
Lon@ ago a lot of square ti@ber was driven down the Ott@
Many of the companiea that had timber limits up the 6atineau, dri
their timber down that river, ther. collected it up in booms where
was for@ed lnto rafcs. These raft# were then hugged to the dlffe
@ills.
Among those who owned mills around Buckingham was Mr. W.
H. Renny, who work@d a mdll at @orseshoe Bay, i.e. on the border o
the Ottawa below ff@s@on. @e got hls log@ from his limit@ up aroun
Cantley. he al90 used to build tug boats for the Government on th
land he possesAed near his mlll. @wo old half finished @ay still
be seen there.
The Js@es Maclaren Conpany. uAed to ship lumber to the
States by way of O:tawa. It used a sllde runnlng from Buckingham
to Masson, snd a@ :he altit@de between the two places is consldera
the water flowed very swiftly and carried lumber of all dimenslons
strsight-down below tke Pheauae Falls where there used to be a wba
Long before the motor cars came into common use great Bp
wa8 en@oyed on the Ottawa, eYpecially on Sundays and holldays, but
wlth the advent of good roads. yachtlog had to yleld to motorlng.
Between tbe village of Cumberland and Masson there now
runs a ferry boat whi^h does a flouri@hing business owing to the
imoense traffic and to the numerouff tourists from all over the cou
try. The present oqner's bost ifi a va8t lmprovement on the forme
Mr. Napoleon PAquette, formerly of Cu berland, iff the proprletor.
Before this ferry whlch 18 run by gasollne. a steam fen
did the work but i. wa@ often stalled. It& owner was ard old ge
lelan by the n@me of M@Leod or McLood, Yrevious @o this la8t wa8
old 'OOAt run by Mr. Pa@bart. Of course in it@ time, gasoline was
not even known.
navigation on the Ottawa has decreased immenaely owin
to the fact that frei8ht and passengers are transported @y rsil
or by motor. This traffic is carr3ed on much more quickly, thaz
to fast trains and good roads.
The Ottawa River st one time was a very lmportant artery
in Canada'a transport system but, at present, contributes very
little to moving merchandlses. The Hall, Murphy and hllan frelght
lines were kept busy all the time, as most of the freight came by
boat to communities along the Ottawa River. Now they are almost
non-existant, the only traffic belng tugs towing booms of logs to
mills along its route. With the new Quebec law prohibiting logs
from up the Gatlneau going to Hawkesbury some of this wlll stop.
Both the Maclaren .and Ross brother flrms, as well as the
Bigelows and Bowmans before them, shipped deals in rafts down the
rlver. They were very compact and well constructed rafts on which
the aLen liVed, taking up occasionslly to get supplies. The late
editor, aa a young man, went to Quebec on rafts of deals and was
timekeeper for the ttipu. They ran several sets of rapids en route
but were very stoutly bullt.
Le Empress, as we remember her was a paddle steamer with
a walking beam She ran pa@ae@3ger snd e@cursions as far as Gren-
ville. Montreal bound pasEengers disembarked at that point and
travelled by a queer little narrow gauge railway to Calu@et, where
they boaroed the Sovereign fol the trip to their destination@ Thi
liitle ruilroad ·@as, we under3tood amoDg the first railroads in
C@nada and aom ffhe-e in the Archlve@ a@ Ottswa are pictures of it.
Tbe queer smoka stacks iooked like a huge Lu8hro@o.
We never remeLber the Victorls golng as far doun stream
aia llawkesbury. In our memor;S which ls a lon@ tlme asset, she
le@
@hurso everJ morlL ng around six o'clock in charg. of Csptaln Elli@
and arrived at I orse Shoe Bay wharf at seven. Unen the M@8son wh
wi@LFi built aud th e hav one disintigrated, we lsnded tbere and
the
pa3@enger@ had o leave BucklDghamA not later than flve o'clock to
ma@e connactlons. A breakfa^t w@ Oerved on board and we arrived
at @ueen's @har ; a very busy apot at the tur.^. of the century, at
nine o'cl@ck in the morniD&. Ihe return trip starting at 4.00 p.
W83 faater as we c me d.^@n w1tn the current.
'Jith ths shuttln@ do@n of the mill, o@ned by Mr. W.H.
at hor3eshoe Bay, he ^ame to @u.^kingham and operated a mlll on t
&ite presently occ-@pied hy lievre Hdteri31@. @t was the propert@
of 5hearer, Sro@n ar,d @1119 of Montreal and p33sed lnto history
years i@go. LuriDg tbat time Mr. Kelly bullt the handsome brlck
home
on the landing hill and follo@wing his death it was sold and is
now the property of Mrs. 5eorge Nathan Breuer.
The first industry at Horseshoe Bay wa@ the Diamond
Match Company, an American Co@paDy. Its last @Dnager was a Mr.
Panet, whose wife only had one ar@ and could hnlt, @e@ and mana8e
verv comfortably the large home owned by the Company.
The first ferry we remember on the Ottawa RiVer was pull
ed across on a cAble. The operator had whnt looked like a small
onr with a hole in It through which the cable passed. Then it was
run by a hor@e on a treadmlll, whlch was succeeded by a steam run
barge.
The first gasoline ferry was run by Mr. Napoleon Paquetee
but now a much larger one had taken its place.
In a coming issue we wlll review navigation and the steam
boat whlch ran on the Lievre River. The names of the boats were
taken down from notes supplied by the late W. A. Plce, who was a
member of tke crew of some of them, and these were given us by
Mrs. G.D. Bothwell, whose husband and father-in-law plied the river for
many years.
- 145 -
First Published Janualy 7th, 1938.
Republished February Sth, 1963.
The paying of Samuel Lweek recalls the time when Graphite City was
a veritable hive of
industry, and also 'Big Sam'sll early days
of the oft-recurring mining blast, and the hum and clank of machinery.
There were occasiiona1 stoppages in the mining and drilling
due to market uncertainty, or other causes, including lack of capital for
carrying on.
The recuring of the "Grand Prix" at Paris, France, for a
sample of the mill's productlon - handpicked with the aid of a
microscope, lt was currently reported, office secrets have the faculty of
reaching the
outside now and then, - W85 nsainly responsible
for a fresh start of operations at Graphite City, with up-to-date
machinery, and Yuc98 was confidently predicted.
When the new mill was in working order Big Sasrs, who was
engaged ln the process , was asked: 'Well, what is being turned
out now, Samuell" The 1BCr.ic reply was: "The same old thing". And he
was right, perfectly right; for in short order those furnlshing the
cash for the venture quit, and wrote it off as a bad debt.
The mill, hullt of naelve ti@
alres of many luiQernen, was in the end dil@pQEed of to the
wrecker,
who follo@ed up thi 8 dfpredation by oeher3 in cloEer prQ@is@ity.
Big S@ livved Ln L.tiring tir@isi at @Jraphlte City, and
the
l@t @i@in@ bla6t, and grinding sound o£ lndnEtrlal aotivlty lefe
him to his farming, and the original Eeclu3ior. oi nature. And
Sasls
did love his 6arr-@idings - the @oods and the l@keE, tbe h@unts of
tbe deer a@d tke f 3h, whlch he @ne@ as the ll@its of his own hold-
ings. Whlle the @aii d@ in the vicin
he Ytocked it wit Joeakleii @rout, and the flsh in Lt attslned a
pound in wei@ht
@r. Devlre was ore of the most affablL men arsd knowing
bi@ diatrlct am the townRr@n knDw@ hls street. he was ever in de@a
by tilo@e alshing @a kno@ the tie o£ the land l@e never failed a
6eeker af@er Inforaatioll
Mr. J@ B.Gautisler, one of our local sriners asld
woodsslseD
pald trlbate ta B S@e@8 krsfr@led@e of hls envlronE, hi@ geslial
dlYpo@ltion, and h@ readine33 at all tlsne@ to pl ce hisnaelf and
his acqualntances wlth the country at the disposal of those in
need.
Mr. Devine lesves a memory to be cherl@hed, not only by
those neare@t and dearest to hlm but by the many frlends be made
trul@ht-shooter 1@ @h@ c@u@l re
Editor's Note: Mr. Devine's wife @as the former Mary
McWatters, a dnughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Chsrles McWatters,
whose ho@estead was in the vicinity of what is now the Bucklngham
Airport and used bv the @uckingham Gliding Clubo Mrs. Devine dled
1l1 Ju@ 40.
Tho@as.
Of theIr eixht children @even are llvlng, namely, Mrs.
Margaret Smith and Mrs. d. E. Ualker @Lilv) of Bucklnghav, Mrs.
hugb
brownlee (Geneva) of Toronto and Mrs. Percy F@mer@on @Josephine)
of Detroit; Adam (Ab) of Delhi, Ont., Tho@as o£ @awa, Ont., and
Nerbert of Campbell River, B.C. Qne 80D, Sa@uel Robert (Jeff) died
Aome years ago.
The DPflne homestead at @rsphite Clty i9 the property of
GRAP@IY@ _ITY MIN@
@lr@t Publl@hed Apr@l 22nd, lg38.
RepubliAhed Aprll ]7th, 1964.
It i5 not known, within a few years sr 80 st least, of
th@ dste Gf t@. orig@Dal @lning ahd @il
City. It may bave Elen -ln the l85Q's and it cer@luly could not
hnve heen l@ter th@n the 1860'8.
@hoge who could h@ve gl@en the w@iter dat@ on the sub@ect
have pasbed on le@ving poeterlty the poorer fsr csrrying their
knowledge to volcele@ graves.
in the 1870'@ productlon wa@ iD full h]Ls@t@ bnt, whether
@8 8 paying propo@itlon or a@ experimental operations@ there sre
no figures to show; hut frequent workings srrJ shutd@wns would
lndl-
cate a weakDess in @orking capital sod @he nece@sary intervalil for
the raising of ·@berewitha1 to continue.
The owner or m8nager of the Graph1te Clty propo@ltlon to
co@e @nder the purvlew of these thought@ was Mr. H.U. @alXer, ald-
vocDte@ of Otta@a. Of how he came to be iD pO9@e8810n there i9 no
record, but under hi@ eegis the fortunes of C-r@phite City
fluctuats
ns under other susplces; slternalte stops and atalrt@ weni on qith
the regularlty of clock@ork.
ln the casual relations of llfe.
' inaL minirlg and mi'Lling operations at Graphite
When @ln@D- and @illing wau golng OD and pay day dld not
@iss, tlle llfe at the plant added materially to the bu51ness of
the
town. Graphlte Cit@ wa@ ewarded the prlvilege of a daily aail, the
carrler belng the l@te Gharles Devirle, whose trlps to town for
year
beca@e a dally feat -e uhether the plant ran or wa@ idle.
There ca@e a day when Mr. Walker waa at ehe end of hl8
resources for worklng cepital, and kad to go @fleld, the local mar-
ket belng closed to adventure in the ca8h line, though credit in
supplies hung out. Mr. Ualker, to bolster hi@ claims to having a
paylng propositlon, exhiblted the parchment called @rance, forge
(ornginiiooltl) The Grand Prix of Parie, FraDce, for the mo@t ev-
cellent sA@ple of @rsphite.
That the xhibitiorl of dake had been microscoplcally
hand plcked was pru ently kept ln the bac@ground. On hlh hunt for
@wre capital by good Iuck or good management, or p2rhaps a combl-
nation of both@ rbr. Walker got Hon. J.A. Chspleau, the Secretary
of State in Slr dohn A. @acdonald'@ cabinet, interested in @raphite
Mr. Chapleau, later @ir J.@.. Chapleau, wa@ Pre@ier of Quebec wben
called to the larger field by Sir John, owing to @eaIousy, princi-
pally @aongst hi@ collesguet. fro@ thlei
debarred froD his rightful place iD the cabinet and had to be con-
tent with a @inor po@itlon when bis ambltion was to be hesd of the
great @pending departmert the administration of Public Works.
Denled thi@8, aDd 6ub@ected to petty anDoyances as well,
Chapleau qult, and wlth him went the great influence which had kept
the CoDEien stive cauBe ln mi@orous Llfe in Quehec. Pe WB8 the
only
Prench C@nadlan to succceEafully cope wlth hla equal3Ly
distlnYuished
fellow clti@en, @£1frrld r@urier, then forging rapIdly to the front
in the hlgh councll of hib party and the leadershlp.
The debate between thehe clever men, Chapleau and Leurier
wss considared a field day iD the House of Co@ons, there wa@ noe a
vacant @eat in the hruse and all gallerie@ were erowded. both me_
ber@:i used the i:ngll@n lsnguage in dehate, Chapleau was the more
fluent, not a trace oc his motner @ongue appearing in his efgort.
Shaplean -@as a@phatlc ln hlh _ondemnation o@ the Ueti@ leader
@Loui
Kiei@, rationallty countea for nothlng, a rebe3 was a rehel no
tiatter @hat his clo@k, and death, tustly @o, @as nia portion.
l@urier with an eye on the big province of Ontario, con-
de@ned le38 rhe executlon of R'e] ehan be did the courae of ehe
govern@£nt whicll had brought on the cataarrophe.
Un@nowi to the distingul@hed state@nen on the floor of
the t.ouae, one of ti,e galler£e£i con@ain@
Prench writer and lecturer, @lq urder the nom de plume of 'll@x
O'Rell" wa8 autkor of "John bull snd his Island", andl other Engli@
stories of 8reat i@terest.
how Mr. Walker got Mr. Chapleau lnterested in Gr@phite
City the writer haa no lnfor@atlon, and it ia not tLaterial to tbe
narrstive. Mr. Walker sa@ to it tbat his l@test backer got a flne
reception ln Buckingham.
@r. Cbapleau was oet at the C.P.R. @tation at Buckineha@
by a large nuober of people organized for the purpose of lmpres@io
In tnwn tbe procession was lncreased by many rlgs containing out-
of-town residents, principally frov the west slde of the river in
proxlmity to the o_@ective point.
Memory envvislons Mes@rs. Chapleau and Walker at the head
of a loMg recinue di3appearing do@n MncNaughton'@ Hlll on their
way to the cove@ed bridge and thence to Grapbite City.
how long the plsnt wa@ in oper@tion sfter Mr. Chaplenu'@
connection with it, frequent abL@ence@ from town luterfere with tbe
3tory at t11at partlcnlar period. Presumably when the new funds
were exh@usted the quarry and the @ill re@uoed the quiet of in-
operatlon.
There was a resumption of acCivity later with new caplta@
and under new manageoent. A tidy su@ of money w88 spent in prepa-
ratlon for the fre@h operations. The @ill wns cleared of so-called
obsolete nachinery and the latest wrl@kle ln graphite oiniDg ins-
tslled. lt took a long tloe to get ready fcr @orking but much les@
time to discover that good @oney had again been thrown sfter bAd,
the new machlnery hnd not clicked eny @ore successfuliy tbsn the
old, 80 those who held the puroe strings tightened theo permnnentl@
and then came the swan @ong of the place at which there had been @
much outgo.
how much money was spent in trying to @ake @rapbiee c$ey
a permsnent lndustry can only be guessed at, but it @uot total a
surprising anount and this ouot be added, the @OL3t of ie with entl
falth in the ultimte succesL@ of the venture.
With higher prices @or refined graphite, the separatioo
process brought to pperf@ctlon, one @ight in the not too di@tant
future oee another Grnphite CLq ari8eL phoenix like, froo lts
a@heg.
@dito '@ Note: It ls veIy diflic-llt to even guess at th
large s@o@nt or money expended in the develop3eDt erLd worklng of
.
minea in the Buckingham reg1on.
?@e have ?,@o met@rv of the phosphate @ine@ up the rl@er
@hat llttle infortuation we have came from rela@ives who cau the
enor@ou6 nmount of capital as @ell @ m@ @ro@Kht @nt@ the dist@
wLth the pho@phate mines. The High Rock mlnes in particular we
surrounded by quite a com@unlty; as many a@ fifty homeY were bu
for the miners who came from a@ far afleld as @ales.
But ?A?e do remember the develop@ent, a6 well as the demi
oi the @aln @raphite induatry, all of which W3Y in close pro@lmit
to Buckingr@m. @itth @ngllsh capitnl, Mr. H.@.@. Brumell, a clev@
mininB engineer from Ioronto, stsrted £irst the Nortb American Mi
close eO Donaldson Lake. A large mill was built as well ta accor
dation for the m,iners, such a8 bunk house and cookhouse. The off
and @anagerial quarter@ were on the top of a large hill riain@ uF
from the lake@ Bir@ingham @apital developed thiY pro@ect and waf
lost. Very few tr@cefi of ? he ?einrd Ire
tbe valley.
Then @-.. brumell deve}oped tuc more graphfte propertle@
the Dominion Hin or, the Donaldflon Lake Road abont three miles f
Buckingbam, a8 veLl an undlertof,k the r_
%lDe .
At the Dor!inion Mine a large mill was erected, as well
qusr?ers for the milners and @taff. Kefore it was opened a large
dance @a8 given on @ bitte}ly cold nlght ln winter to whlch @any
Buc@in@ham personfiwere itm@ited, Includlng the writer.
Af@er the plant had been ln operation for a while a ki@
was il@ritalled to dry out the ore before it WQ8 sruahed. All thal
remains of this venture is the du@p which i@ overgro@n by graas
csn be seen from the rocd.
The re@ival of the Walker Mill, In @hich a lot of new
capital Wafi sunk algo prove& a failure. Tbie ·@QS also undertak
by Mr. Bru@ell an d we rer@mber the queer dwelling erected by Mr.
@alher. It was a lonE, narrow house or three tenements placed
together, Do@nstairs aLl the roo@n of
accessible to eac@ other, bu@ each hBd ltR GWn ctairway and upat
roors. The hoDe of Mr. Sa@el Devine was across the pond, but r
nothing remnLns of the once very buYy @pot s@ve the at3ble aod
odd bulldin@ Belongi-@ to the far@ @nd the huge caverc fro@ whe
the graphlte ore was t@ken. In thi@ large c@ve ice can be had
sumoer long and i@ the hot weather it alwayr wa@ e ref@Ige froe
outsidQ swelterng ter@perature.
Alffo in operaeion @as the @ill on the @illl8@
Gleason
property on the old T,ochaber Boad. It @as developed by a Ger@an
GoDpany and was managed by 8 Mr. Geiseer but cloaed up during the
First Great Uar.
rhen there V88 the "Belle" @ine on tnc 511ver
Creek @oad,
@evelopped @1 r@ f@r @ y eh@. @
Then there @ere several other @aAli-r
developYent6, one
of which @8@ the Joe Be@ul@e Mine.
lrrespective of rhe money brougb@ irto Buckingham
from
the development of prosphaee and mica @ines, @any milllona fou@d
their @ay into BuckiD8ham and dl@trict fro@ the grapbite develop-
ments. hr.y a@ount of gGod flske graphite mill abounda in the
hill@
sround the tO@I but the parent ore i8 60 hard that recovery i8 and
has @een very difflcult. Where once industry abounded, only the
rockg, trees and wild @imRls rosm and very little trace of @hat
were hlve3 of indugtry remain. Sic gloria transit mundi.
hl7 these minee wenr out of e@iatence prevlous
to, orduring @he Flrst Greae War.
The only mine actively enga@ed now-a-daya i8 the
ap@rmine at Glen Almond, owned and operated by the Ir,ternational
Nlnera@and Chemical CorporItion (C@ladR@ LiY'ted, @hich took over the
O'briinterestP some yearr6 Rgo@ The co@pany operates a @ill on McPike
Stlfor grindlng spar.Eor e while bv the @endall family from London.
OPEN THOUGHTS OF A LIEVRE FOREMAN
One of the sawyers in this shanty was Napoleon Joyce,
the father of John Joyce of Montreal and Napoleon Joyce of the
town. He came to Buckingham to work in the mills wheD it was the
custom to bring men from the City of Quebec and below it to make
up the periodical sbortage of labor in the village. Many of these
men came for the season only, and left after the mills closed.
Some, however, stayed for good, and Napoleon Joyce was one.
But before deciding to cast in his lot permanently among
Buckingham friends he went to Quebec for a trip of some weeks.
After he came home the writer, then a gaffer, saw him debark from
the stage and placing his trunk on the veranda of the house which
was later to become his home, and squatting on it detailed to the
folks an account of his journey to and from the Ancient Capltal.
The scene is as vivld now as when it happened early ln the seven-
ties, and uhen Macpherson LeNoyne was still the "Lord Master of
Carrabas" on the eastside. Then Napoleon Joyce married Marceline
Page. The couple had qulte a famlly, and intensely loyal to his
firm, Joyce was equally so to wife and chlldren, Johnny the eldest
son being the apple of his eye.
After awhile, Napoleon once turned to cooking, and for
a couple of years looked after the culinary department of a farm
on the Rouge River belonging to the Ross firm. After the firm took
over the farm there was a great shortage of hay on the Lievre, and
eyes were turned to the Rouge farm which had by a strange break of
fortune harvested bumper crops for two seasons. It was decided to
tap the Rouge farm supply to ease the hay situation and Isaac N.
Rendall, the Ross millwright, was sent up with a gang of men to cut
a road between the Lievre and the Rouge to transport the hay across
country.
Under present conditions, wages and incidentals taken
into consideration, the thing would have been impossible; then the
wages of the laboring men were at their lowefit ebb. Deficits were
piling up yearly in an alarming manner, and there seemed no prosp
of a change for the better. A consultation with one of the east-
side principals and the manager resulted in a paring of salaries
for the yearly employees; but it was decided that the laborers' p
would be untouched; men had to have enough to keep body and soul
together.
Napoleon Joyce was contented on the Rouge farm, but would
have been so happy if Mrs. Joyce and Johnny could have been permitted to
join him,
but that was out of tbe question. The Rouge fsrr
was dispo@ed of and Napoleon Joyce rejoined his family.His taste
of cooking on t e farm gave 30yce the ambition to be a shanty cool
and thl@ vocation he followed, it is thought, until his death whi@
came prematurely. A hand on the Rouge Farm while Joyce was cook
was lame Samuel Uewson. Samuel quit the Rofifi employ and went to
one of the Dakotas, where lt was rumored he had been scalped by
Indians. It prov d to be a canard. Samuel may have had a brnsh
with Indians but ame out of the melee with both life and hair.
So his friends ere heard aftetwards.
From an article published early in 1920 by the late editor of the Buckingham Post, Mr. A.D. Parker, republished ln 1965.
THE BUCKINGHAM POST
And Labelle County Echo
Buckingham, Que., Friday, February 15, 1907
Mr Napoleon Joyce Dead
Mr. Napoleon Joyce is dead. He took sick at one of the
East Templeton Lumber Co.'s shanties above the Desert and was on
his way home when he died. Wbat disease caused his death the family, at
time of writing, are unaware of. Deceased was born at
Quebec, of english parentage, and came to Buckingham in the sixties. At
the time of his coming laborers were scarce in town, and
to r@n the saw mills in full force it was necessary to import men.
Malbaie and other points below Quebec city supplied the bulk of
them. Mr. Joyce was one of the many who were brought to town from
below. Unlike the very great ma@ority of those who came to town
for the sawing seasom, Joyce grew to like the people of Buckingham,
and stayed the second season and a third, and on his marriage to
Hiss Marcelline Page, on June 9th, 1873, he cast in his lot definitely with
the place of his adoption, bought property and built
thereon, and at the time of his death owned outright a large lot
and a comfortable home in the South ward. Mr. Joyce was one of
the many others who, laborers though they were, took a great interest in
their work, serving their employers faithfully, rendering
unto Caesar the things which appertained to him. ffl ese men were
not only faithiul, but scrupulously honest; whether the boss was
in sight or out of it, the work went on the same. As the managers
were honest and industrious, so were the subordinates in like measure
to be depended upon on all occasions, the firm's interest being
before every thing else. Manager trusted his inferior in the employ
and was trusted and respected in return. Alas that such men and such days
should pass away.
Deceased was a shanty cook and learned the business with
our old friend, Mr. James Ryan. He was with Mr. John . Cameron
(now of Cushing, Que.) when he was foreman on Whitefish Lake,
behind the Ox Bow farm in 1878, being one of the gang of choppers
and sawyers that year with Martin Doherty and James McGuire, the
4th, Neil Stout, making up the quartette of log-makers. Joyce's
first cooking experience was on the Rouge farm, on the River Rouge.
From a farm cook he got charge of a shanty cookery, sticking to
the cooking business with Ross Bros., then The James MacLaren Co.,
and latterly the East Templeton Lumber Co., in the service of which
company he baked, his last batch of bread and cooked his last pot
of beans. Mr. Joyce leaves a widow, five sons, John, Napoleon, Willie,
Thomas and Walter, and three daughters, hnnie, hgnes and Maggie , to mourn
a good husband and affectionate father.
The remains arrived by train Monday evening , and were atken to the home,
from where they were taken Thursday morning to St-Gregory"s church, thence
to the
R.C. cemetary, alarge number of citizens attending the funeral. Mr Joyce
was in his 56th year. The Post extends sympaty to the bereaved family.