Queries
Members of Historical Society of St. Catharines are available to assist with historical research requests within reason. If you have a question, please submit it to this page. Please ensure that your questions are very clearly stated, that you provide us with any supporting information possible and that you leave us with some contact information.
Time of response depends on the complexity of the question and the member’s time to conduct the research.
Answers will be sent directly to the person asking the question. If time and space allows, some answers will be posted to the website. Be sure that we consider all questions and respond to those that are appropriate.
David Burrows said
Hello Linda,
I am researching the Burrows families of Sligo Ireland and have a lot of data. I would be interested in corresponding with you.
Regards
David Burrows
Australia
Jane Holton said
I am researching the Holton family from Ireland. Cornelius Holton of County Leitrim, Ireland emigrated with his wife Mary Conaughtery Connerton to St. Catharines, Quebec in Mary was born in County Sligo, Ireland. Whle they were in Canada 2 sons were born according to US Census records. Thomas was born about 1845 and Patrick 3 Dec 1849. I am looking for church records for these ancestors. I am wondering if this town of St Catharines is the correct one since it is located in Ontario. Was it originally part of Quebec? The family left St. Catharines and settled in Dellona, Sauk, Wisconsin. All are buried in the All Saints Cemetery in Dellona. I would be very grateful for any information you may have for me. Thank you.
Gavin Walsh said
Hi Jane. I am finishing up some research re Sligo emigrants to Dellona, WI. Can you contact me urgently please ? Thanks Gavin
Delores Fargen said
HI Gavin: Jane Holton emailed me you were writing a book on the Irish Ancestry and visiting the Dellona cemetery and doing research on Sligo emigrants. She said she had contacted you My grandmother was Mary Holton daughter of Cornieluis Holton and Mary Connerton. I was wondering where I can buy your book or material if you are selling it. I am going to WI in the fall and plan on spending a day at Baraboo at the historical society and Reedsburg Library. thank you Delores Fargen
David Crawford said
I am working with my colleagues at the Osler Library of the History of Medicine at McGill University to build up their collection of published histories of Canadian hospitals and Schools of Nursing. I see that you published a short item a few years ago. Is there a chance we can receive a copy?
Ormston, Alex W. The St. Catharines General Hospital and two of its founders : Hospital established 125 years ago / by Alex W. Ormston — St. Catharines, [Ont.] : Historical Society of St. Catharines, 1990. — [4] leaves. — AMICUS No. 32546569
The complete Bibliography is at http://internatlibs.mcgill.ca/hospitals/hospital-histories.htm
there are several other St Catharines items we are looking for, and I may have missed some. Any help would be appreciated. david.crawford@mcgill.ca
Sam Heck, Portland, ME, USA said
I’m trying to do some personal family research on my great-grandfather Percy A. Overholt, born January 15, 1889 in St. Catharines to Daniel R. Overholt and Maria Johnson Overholt.
My specific interest regards two family artifacts that have been passed down to me. One is a photograph of a hockey team of which my father was a member. They wear uniforms with the sponsor “NS&T” which I am told stands for the Niagara, St. Catharines, and Toronto Railroad, apparently their sponsor. The other item is a puck that I’m told is from a championship game in which my great-grandfather played a key role, possibly scoring the winning goal. Roughly engraved in the puck is the date Mar. 5th, 1908. There’s a second engraving which appears to say “3:N” On the opposite side, more neatly engraved, is the 2-1, which I have to believe is the score of the game, and the Initials again, “N.S.T.” Finally, there’s another set of initials which appears to be either “BY” or “RY”.
I’m further interested in an article I found online at http://www.athleticslacrosse.com/charity_17.htm which lists Percy Overholt as competing in a lacrosse match between the St. Catharines Athletics and the Chicago Calumets.
I was hoping for any information you have regarding the NS&T hockey team. What league did they play in? Was is recreational or semi-pro? What years were they active? Furthermore, I was wondering if there are any newspaper accounts of the game on March 5, 1908. I’d love to hear what part my great-grandfather played in the game. If if would be useful to you, I would be happy to send you a scanned image of the photograph that is now in my possession. I would also like to know if any photographs are available of the St. Catharines Athletics team that traveled to Chicago in 1917.
Finally, it’s probably not relevant, but just in case, and because I like the story, I’ve been told that my great-grandfather’s nickname in the league was “Dirty” Overholt. I’d be pleased to see any news articles that reference him as such.
Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.
Sam Heck, Portland, ME, USA
Barbara Moore said
I am seeking information about the men and the incident in the attached New York Times article from 1874. It describes the plight of 18 immigrants who were promised work on the Welland Canal, but who were in fact conned out of their money and “dispatched” from New York to St. Catharine’s without work being arranged for them. They suffered abuse at the hands of the existing labor force and were rescued by Reverend Mulligan and the shipbuilder, Mr. Louis Shickluna. Any information about the incident would be appreciated, I am looking for any information about these men, especially answers to the following questions:
How did they arrive from New York (e.g., train? On foot?)
What happened to them after the night they spent in the churchyard?
Did they ever have the opportunity to work on the canal?
I appreciate any guidance you can give to help me with my research. Thank you.
Article link: http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=2&res=940CE1DB123AE03BBC4051DFB066838F669FDE
Delores Fargen said
HI Could you give me the email address of Jane Holton or contact her for me.? I would be happy to talk to her about our ancestor family the Cornelius Holton’s . I was from the Dellona sauk co WI area where they lived and was buried. My grandmother was Mary Holton daughter of Cornelius and Mary Holton. thank you Delores Fargen
Robert G. Dial said
I am in search of any information about St. Catharines architect, Sidney R. Badgley (1850-1917). Are there any research articles or other publications available about his early years in St Catharines and also is there a list of local buildings he designed? Are there any descendants in the St Catharines area who might have biographical information? I am compiling a list for possible publication of Badgley churches and would like to include biographical information. Thank you.
Janet Eggleton said
I am seaking information on Rev. Alfred Byron Demill, his wife Lucellia (nee Hurd) and any facts surrounding Demill’s Women’s College which they ran in the late 1800’s. I am aware that Lucellia is buried in the St. Catherine’s Cemetery and that the Women’s College was relocated to St. Catherine’s from Oshawa after it was destroyed by fire.
Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Louise Halloran said
I am trying to find the location of a Church in Welland where my great granduncle was buried on 2nd August 1875. A newspaper article in ‘The Welland Tribune’ (5th August 1875) stated that his body had been ‘interred in the Episcopalian burying ground in this town’. He was a young Irish Protestant – a sailor who fell off a schooner while passing through the Welland Canal and drowned. The schooner’s Captain left money with a local doctor to find and bury him. The newspaper reports that the doctor buried him as cheaply as possible despite the money given, so I’m guessing he was buried in the paupers’ part of the graveyard.
Can anyone tell me which Church this is and if it still exists today?
I would be most grateful to find out,
Thank you
Louise Halloran
Can anyone tell me
Simon Green, Torphins, Aberdeenshire, Scotland said
McLaren & Co
My wife is descended from Robert McLaren who owned the McLaren & Co dept store with his brother Alex. The store used to be on St.Pauls Street. Robert’s last known address at his death in 1917 was Bleak House, 78 Yates St. I have contacted the St.Catharine’s library who are kindly supplying some material they have on the McLarens, but I would be pleased if anyone could provide additional information ot point me in further research directions,
Regards, Simon Green
Marilyn ford said
I am trying to find what information i can about William Harper Willson born 8-3-1873 in St. Catherines , Lincoln co. Ont. Canada. He died in 1861 in Winnipeg. He married Ida Ella Lee from Omeeme, Ontario. Any information would be wonderful. I am trying to find his son, Gray Sherman Willson born in 1908. Marilyn
Vicki said
Hello,
I have ben doing some reading about St. Catharines and I read that it was once called Shippmans Corners. Is there any truth to that? If so, where can I find more information in that regard?
Thanks,
Vicki
Stuhrling said
Hello,
I have ben doing some reading about St. Catharines and I read that it was once called Shippmans Corners. Is there any truth to that? If so, where can I find more information in that regard?
Thanks,
Vicki; Hello,
I have ben doing some reading about St. Catharines and I read that it was once called Shippmans Corners. Is there any truth to that? If so, where can I find more information in that regard?
Thanks,
Vicki;;
Bernadette Hardaker said
Hello,
I am trying to find out the name of a working man’s hotel that operated in downtown St. Catherine’s in the 1920s until the mid-1930s. It was owned by an Englishman, Charles Yaxley. It was possibly south of St. Paul on the corner of King William across from the Welland Hotel. Any assistance is most appreciated.
Thanks,
Bernadette
dsharron said
Your question was forwarded to the Special Collections Department of the St. Catharines Public Library. According to the city directories, Charles Yaxley was the proprietor of the St. Catharines House on (68) James Street. Below are the entries from some of the directories:
1926
Yaxley, Chas, wks Sanitary Dairy, h 151 Pleasant av
1928
Yaxley, Chas (Catherine E), prop St Catharines House, h 36 James
1930
Yaxley, Chas (Catherine E), prop St Cath House, h 68 James
Yaxley, Chas, slsmn Sanitary Daire, James
1933
Yaxley, Chas (Catherine), prop St Catharines House, h 70 James
1934
Yaxley, Chas (Catherine), drvr Sanitary Dairy, h 151 Pleasant av
The St. Catharines House is listed at being at 68 James Street in 1930,1933, 1934
It is listed at being at 36 James in 1926 and 1928
Please let us know if you need anything else.
Sandra Enskat
________________________________________
“The Harding Hotel, James at King,”
“Yesterday and Today,” January 24, 2009 – courtesy of Dennis Gannon
The building in the photo above left was called the Harding Hotel. It formerly stood on James Street, corner of King Street.
For much of the 19th century, going back at least as far as 1844, the property was connected with the Bradt family of Louth Township. An 1852 map of St. Catharines shows a tavern on that corner, on property then owned by David Bradt, while the property immediately to the north was owned by a W. Bradt. (Bradts continued to own that corner property until at least 1891.)
The footprint of the tavern building on that 1852 map pretty well matches the building we see in the old photo. Over the years, the tavern became a hotel, and over time bore a number of names – the Commercial Hotel in 1863, the St. Catharines House from 1865 until 1935, then the New Statler hotel for a decade or so, and finally the Harding House or Harding Hotel from 1949 until the building’s demise in 1987.
The photo above left shows the original 1852 tavern building at the corner, and next to it two smaller buildings that were added to the facility during the subsequent century and a half. The section at the far left bears a sign saying “Harding Coffee Shop.”
The old Harding Hotel was torn down in February 1987 and replaced the following year by the two storey office building that occupies that corner today (photo above right). Designed by the architectural firm of Macdonald, Zuberec and Kamada, the new building was originally called the Royal Trust City Centre, with Royal Trust moving its local branch over there from Queen Street.
Royal Trust long ago moved on from that location. For the past several years, the new building has housed on its first floor a convenience store as well as our beloved downtown Tim Hortons.
[341 words]
Dennis Gannon is a member of the Historical Society of St. Catharines. He may be reached at gannond2002@yahoo.com
“YESTERDAY” PHOTO SOURCE:
“Special Collections Room, St. Catharines Public Library.”
Special Collections – St. Catharines Public Library
sandra trumbull said
Looking for information on James Isaac Trumbull born 1833 in St. Catharines. He was the son of James Abner Trumbull and Elizabeth. Was wondering if there may be any connection between them and Dr. William Trumbull born abt. 1794 married 1819 in St. Catharines to Mary Lawrence Secord (daughter of Laura Secord) Any help most appreciated. Thanks.
sandra