The Valley of the Lower Thames 1640 to 1850


Book Description

Few are the regions in the province of Ontario so rich and rewarding to the reader interested in local history as the valley of the Lower Thames. As the author tells us with warmth and enthusiasm of the early settlers, roads, bridges, inns, and mills of his native region, his story takes on a wider significance. Here, indeed, is the story of pioneer Canada, "writ small." The valley of the Lower Thames includes the greater part of what is now the county of Kent, and comprises one of the richest and most populous agricultural areas of modern Ontario. For many years it remained separated from the upper river settlements by miles of primeval forest. The Thames River was the highroad for commerce and travel that bound the people on both its banks into one community, and connected them with other communities far beyond. Professor Hamil has embellished what is commonly known of such striking pioneer figures as Thomas Talbot, the Ainse family, and others, with additional fascinating details, and brings before us many figures less well known to history but whose careers arouse admiration, sympathy, curiosity, and amusement.










The Valley of the Lower Thames 1640 to 1850


Book Description

"Cover" -- "CONTENTS" -- "FOREWORD" -- "PART I. BEGINNINGS" -- "I: Indian Territory" -- "II: The Land Boards and the Surveyors" -- "III: The Moravians at Fairfield" -- "IV: The Baldoon Settlement" -- "V: Economic Development of the Lower Settlements" -- "VI: The Evangelists" -- "VII: War on the Thames" -- "PART II. DEVELOPMENT" -- "VIII: Renewal of Settlement" -- "IX: Development of Agriculture" -- "X: Commercial and Industrial Expansion" -- "XI: Roads, Inns, and Stage-Coaches" -- "XII: Disease, Crime, and Trickery" -- "XIII: Churches and Preachers" -- "XIV: Some Aspects of Pioneer Life" -- "XV: Background of Discontent" -- "XVI: The Patriot War" -- "PART III. EXPANSION" -- "XVII: The Farm and its Harvest" -- "XVIII: Chatham: Emporium of the West" -- "XIX: Chatham: Social Life" -- "XX: Rise of the Village Community" -- "XXI: The Dawn of Self-Government" -- "APPENDICES" -- "A. State of Improvements on the Thames, January, 1794" -- "B. Original Patentees on the Thames" -- "C. Petitioners for Lots in Chatham, 1832" -- "D. Some Additional Biographical Notes" -- "BIBLIOGRAPHY" -- "INDEX" -- "A" -- "B" -- "C" -- "D" -- "E" -- "F" -- "G" -- "H" -- "I" -- "J" -- "K" -- "L" -- "M" -- "N" -- "O" -- "P" -- "Q" -- "R" -- "S" -- "T" -- "U" -- "V" -- "W" -- "X" -- "Y




Canadian History: Beginnings to Confederation


Book Description

"In these two volumes, which replace the Reader's Guide to Canadian History, experts provide a select and critical guide to historical writing about pre- and post-Confederation Canada, with an emphasis on the most recent scholarship" -- Cover.




Bryan Prince's Underground Railroad 2-Book Bundle


Book Description

Award-winning author Bryan Prince portrays the experiences of slaves and former slaves in these compelling histories of the Underground Railroad and American Civil War. This special two-book collection includes: My Brother’s Keeper: African Canadians and the American Civil War The stirring story of African Canadians who had fled slavery and oppression in the United States but returned to enlist in the Union forces in the American Civil War. One More River to Cross Accused of the attempted murder of a plantation owner in Maryland during the early 1800s, Isaac Brown, a slave, survived harsh punishment, escaped, was recaptured, escaped again, and in the face of multiple challenges, ultimately made his way to freedom in Canada. This is his story.




The Capital Years


Book Description

A detailed look at how the people of the Niagara area lived 200 years ago.




After Tippecanoe


Book Description

Though the Shawnee chief Tecumseh attempted to form a confederacy of tribes to stem the tide of white settlement in the Old Northwest, in November of 1811, the Americans marched to his village at the mouth of Tippecanoe Creek. The ensuing battle ended all hope of an Indian federation and had far-reaching effects on American and British relations. The British, blamed for providing the Indians with arms, drew the ire of hawks in Congress, who clamored ever more loudly for a war to end England’s power in North America. Revised with a new introduction and updated biographical information, After Tippecanoe contains six papers originally presented as lectures in Windsor, Canada, and Detroit, Michigan, during the winter of 1961–62 by three American and three Canadian historians. Their focus is the War of 1812 as it unfolded in the Great Lakes region, with special emphasis on the conflict in Michigan, New York, and Ontario, Canada.




Tecumseh's Last Stand


Book Description

Describes how Shawnee Chief Tecumseh and other Indians who fought on the side of the British in the War of 1812




Sir John Beverley Robinson


Book Description

John Beverley Robinson (1791–1863) was one of Upper Canada’s foremost jurists, a dominating influence on the ruling élite, and a leading citizen of nineteenth-century Toronto who owned a vast tract of land on which Osgoode Hall now stands. The loyalists had founded a colony firm in its devotion to the Crown, with little room for dissent. As a true loyalist son, educated by John Strachan, Robinson attempted to steer Upper Canada toward emulation of what he perceived to be Britain’s ideal aristocratic society. As a young ensign in the York militia, he defended his sovereign at Queenston Heights, and as acting attorney-general he prosecuted traitors who threatened to undermine the colony. Later, as attorney-general and de facto leader of the assembly during the 1820s, he tried to mould the government to the British form. But factors he never understood—the influence of American democracy and liberalism in the Colonial Office—ensured that Upper Canada would never be a ‘new Albion.’ Robinson was appointed chief justice in 1829, and his judicial career spanned thirty-three years, during which he insisted the courts were subservient to the legislature and established precedents declaring their role should be limited to the enforcement of existing laws, with no independent creative function. His long service on the bench represented both a preservation and a strengthening of the British tradition in Canadian law. In this biography, early Toronto comes alive through the eyes of a powerful man—firm in his beliefs, attractive to women, respected by his fellows—who sought to mould society to his own ideals. For historians, lawyers, and students of jurisprudence who seek an understanding of the roots of legal practice in nineteenth-century Ontario, it is essential reading. Electronic Format Disclaimer: Image of "The Three Robinson Sisters" (Emily, Augusta, and Louisa) by George Theodore Berthon, 1846 on page XV removed at the request of the rights holder.