Historical HappeningsThe Quarterly Newsletter of the Oshawa Historical Society Summer 2012

President’s Report PAGE 2

Sub Chasers of WWI PAGE 4

Grave Stone Carvers PAGE 81450 Simcoe Street South | Lakeview Park Oshawa | 905.436.7624

info@oshawamuseum.org www.oshawamuseum.org

Board of Directors

President - Merle ColeVice- President - David DowsleyTreasurer - Janet DowsonHR Committee Chair - Stoney KudelMembership Secretary - Erin GendronDirector at Large - Brian GoughDirector at Large - Gary ChalliceDirector at Large - Paul Radoslovich

Museum Staff

Executive Director - Laura SuchanArchivist - Jennifer WeymarkCurator - Melissa ColeVisitor Experience Co-ordinator (Acting)- Lisa TerechProgramming Assistant - Victoria Michalowsky Interpreter - Jennifer GoodineInterpreter - Madison CawkerMaintenance - Wayne Rundell

~~~Historical Happenings: A quarterly newsletter published by the Oshawa Historical Society

Coordination & Design: Melissa ColePhone: 905-436-7624 (103)Email: curator@oshawamuseum.orgWeb: www.oshawamuseum.org

Editor: Laura Suchan Assistant Editors: Jennifer Weymark Lisa Terech Reproduction of this newsletter, Historical Happenings, in whole or in part without written and/or verbal permission is strictly prohibited. For further information please contact the Oshawa Historical Society at 905-436-7624.

Cover Photo: Schooner docked at the Oshawa Pier, circa 1917Oshawa Community Archives, File 1728

Historical HappeningsSummer 2012

Upcoming EventsJune 5

Ron Brown Bus TourIn Search of the Grand Trunk

Tickets: $75 members (See details on page 15)

June 10Pioneer Cemetery & Harbour Walking Tour

Meet at Guy House (Yellow Building)$5 per person @ 1:00pm

July 1Canada Day Festivities at the LakeDrop in and see us at Henry House

July and August Wednesdays 12pm - 4pm

Drop in Crafts for ChildrenContact the museum for more details at

905.436.7624 ext 106.

July 26Summer Victorian Tea, 11:30-1:30

Reservations Required, $8 OHS MembersOCM, Henry House Garden

August 16Summer Victorian Tea, 11:30 - 1:30

Reservations Required, $8 OHS MembersOCM, Henry House Garden

September 9Union Cemetery Tour

Meet at the front gates off HWY#2$2 per person @ 2pm

September 18OHS Speaker Series Monthly Meeting

Life in Upper Canada, 1812-1814Dorothy Duncan

OPL, McLaughlin Auditorium @ 7pm______________

Mandate of the Oshawa Historical SocietyThe mandate of the Oshawa Historical Society is to bring together those individuals interested in the diverse historical aspects of Oshawa and to research, retain, preserve and present historical information pertaining to the Oshawa area. The Oshawa Historical Society maintains, as an agent for the City of Oshawa, the Oshawa Community Museum.

Museum News

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PODCASTS: Stories from the CollectionThe incorporation of podcasts at the OCM allows people the opportunity to hear the stories behind the artifacts that form the museum collection. Museum artifacts are more than just what one would read on an exhibit label. They were made by someone, owned by someone, came from somewhere, and we want to share their unique story with you.

Beginning in January 2012, the OCM’s monthly podcast series will feature a new artifact each month. Be sure to join Curator Melissa Cole as we journey through the Oshawa Community Museum’s artifact collection and listen to Stories from the Collection.

Here is the link to where you can start your journey and hear stories about the artifacts in our collection!

http://oshawacommunitymuseum.podbean.com/

We are pleased to announce that the

Oshawa Community Museum and Archives was presented with the

BUSINESS ACCESSIBILITY IMPROVEMENT AWARDby the City of Oshawa

For improving our site’s access for individuals with disabilities.

Museum Receives Accessibility Award!

Message from the President

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Well, for better or for worse I am back as your President of the Oshawa Historical Society. I have been enjoying my time as President and getting to know the membership better and also being a part of the very exciting exhibits and activities that our staff continues to come up with for the enjoyment of all of our members and the general public. It has been very rewarding and I look forward to the coming year.

Welcome back to Stoney Kudel who has rejoined our Board and to Paul Radoslovich who is a new

director on our Board. We are at full complement and ready to take the Society through upcoming changes in legislation for not-for-profit organizations. As it stands now we do not see any major impact on our governance structure but will need to re-apply for incorporation. We have a strong Board who will do their best to keep the Oshawa Historical Society active and prosperous.

Beginning in September we will be changing up the format of our meetings to make them run a bit more smoothly. We plan to discontinue the business portion of our monthly speaker meetings as it our opinion that this has become redundant. One point in time the work of the Society was done more through the membership as there were either no staff members or very few. Now we are fortunate enough to have a very well qualified staff to take care of all of the day-to-day business.

The main business of the Society is conducted through the Board of Directors as a governance board and at our Annual General Meeting. The remainder of the meetings during the year are programming meetings and it is rare that we conduct any business that requires motions or votes other than opening and closing the meetings. The recording of minutes and reading them back at the meetings did serve a purpose at one time but now only takes up time and tends to repeat information on events and activities that have already passed. We have received feedback from a number of members as well who find that portion of the meetings unnecessary. As a result the Board is taking the step to refocus the monthly meetings on activities and guest speakers but will continue to also provide updates on upcoming events and activities.

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Your Board of Directors is always open to feedback and suggestions as to how we can improve things for our members. Let us know if any of the changes that we make do not meet your needs. Staff members of the Museum and Archives are already hard at work to line up speakers and events for the coming program year. Once again this summer there will be a full range of summer programs and activities for children and families and don’t forget our ever popular Victorian Teas. They present a great opportunity to bring friends and family out to experience the Museum and Archives first hand.

I look forward to seeing many of you over the the summer as yet another wonderful exhibit unfolds at the Museum and Trent University students once again invade the yard at Henry House for another interesting dig for artifacts. Hopefully we will get another opportunity to see them in action and to visit the University’s open house in the fall to share what they have found. Stay tuned for announcements.

For those who are into social media such as Facebook, be sure to visit the Museum on-line to see what staff have been up to. There are some wonderful “Facebook” pages that have been created for the Oshawa Community Museum and Archives Facebook page for the likes of John Dickie, Ruth Robinson and none other than Thomas Henry himself. They are very well done and provide a whole new way of experiencing pioneer life at Port Oshawa. I look forward to connecting with these historic figures in the virtual world of Facebook. This might also be a good way to introduce your kids and grandkids to our local history in a fun way.

Enjoy your summer, stay safe and healthy and we look forward to seeing you in the fall for a new round of interesting meetings, presentations and talks. It just seems to keep getting better every year. Apparently our AGM had the second highest attendance of any meeting this year other than the one for Ron Brown. I wonder if that had anything to do with our guest speaker who gave us a preview of the upcoming Sea Shanty exhibit. I can’t wait!

Merle Cole, OHS President

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Subchasers of World War IThe First World War is a fascinating time period to study in regards to the use of technology in warfare. When hostilities first broke out in 1914 combat techniques resembled those of centuries past. The cavalry was king and soldiers faced off in a line against one another.

When the First World War was over war had changed. Technology ended the reign of the cavalry and saw the rise of dominance of the airplane, the tank and the submarine.

Oshawa’s harbor was home to a unique piece of World War I history. The Harry H, a well known ship that spent decades in the Oshawa Harbour, began life as Subchaser SC-238.

The U.S. had not yet entered the First World War when they began construction on their first subchaser. It was after a visit by two German submarines in the summer of 1916 that resulted in the sinking of five ships that spurred the navy to design an effective antisubmarine vessel.

Unfortunately, steel was a scarce resource and the large shipbuilding yards had been contracted to build destroyers and other large ships. The idea put forth was to built these new vessels out of wood and contract smaller shipbuilding yards to construct them.

The design was compact and built for seaworthiness and endurance rather than speed. The ship was crewed by 2 officers and 24 enlisted men.

Originally the ship was armed with two 3 inch guns and two machine guns. Over time it was determined that the 3 inch guns were not all that effective and they were replaced with a depth charge projector. A depth charge projector was designed to explode near a submarine and the resulting shock wave would destroy or incapacitate the submarine.

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By the end of the First World War 441 subchasers had been constructed and placed into active service. Some were repurposed for use during World War II and some, like Subchaser SC-238, aka Harry H, were sold for civilian use.

Like many aspects of military history, the effectiveness of the subchasers is the subject of intense debate. There are many who feel that these vessels were the most import advance in weaponry to come out of the war. Others argue that the vessels failed to live up to their potential. Either way, they are an important piece in the significant shift towards modern weaponry and battle techniques that have continue to be utilized today.

By: Jennifer Weymark, Archivist

Subchaser SC-238 aka Harry H, circa 1958Photo Credit: Oshawa Community Archives, File 2506

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The Art of Window PaintingIf you have been down to the lake recently you might have noticed the beautifully painted windows of Robinson House featuring a Great Lakes Schooner. They were painted by our staff member Victoria. Here she gives us a glimpse into The Art of Window Painting.

Window painting is a delicate art within itself. It takes a completely different form and technique than painting on a canvas. Painting on a canvas is a breeze when you compare it to a window-canvas; canvas allows you to layer, blend and do under-paintings. Windows only allow you to blend if you are lucky enough to get the right colours mixed before it quickly dries from the sun or, occasionally, the air vent blowing on it from below.

To start a window painting, a different mind-set is first required: you have to get your mind to essentially start working backwards and in 2D. A painting strategy is also necessary since a window painting usually looks better from the opposite side that you are working on.

On canvas, one of my favourite things is a bright under-drawing of the image to help plan and adjust, etc. However, when working on a window, an under-drawing will not work unless you are doing strictly text (otherwise you will find yourself doing a lot of scraping off of paint). A window painting requires the use of either stencils or a projector. I tend to choose stencils since projecting the image requires darkness coming from the outside. If you are feeling particularly brave painting the out-line free-hand is always an option – although I would make sure lots of paper towels are on hand.

When choosing a colour for an outline, choose one that will compliment the picture, or if you are really picky, do the outline in the desired colour of each individual part. For example, if you want the sails white and the boat brown, do the outline of the sails in white and the boat in brown. From personal experience, only use white if the section you are painting is going to be white; it stands out surprisingly well otherwise.

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Once the outline is done, the next step is to fill it in. Layering paint isn’t that great an idea on windows, sadly. Unless you are very gentle, the first layer [even if dry] rubs off from the brush and rather than mixing with the second layer, it either disintegrates or remains in flakey clumps. Keeping this in mind it is easiest to maintain a fluid and lovely painting by working one section at a time, blending and adjusting in one layer before the paint dries.

When looking at the painting from the inside, it will maintain a messy brushstroke style and the colours won’t look like what you thought you mixed. The paint acts like a covering thus blocking out the light and making the paint look darker. It’s very weird to see white looking like dark grey. However once you step outside, the glass smoothes out the paint and will show the real colour. It took me a couple of afternoons before I could stop second-guessing my colour mixing abilities and the urge to go outside to check after every fifth brushstroke subsided.

Window painting takes practice just as any painting does. While it may be trickier than a traditional painting, the appearance of a final painting on glass is just wonderful and a unique experience to view.

By: Victoria Michalowsky, Programming Assistant

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Grave Stone Carvers in Oshawa

My research into Oshawa gravestones has prompted me to investigate the business of gravestone carvers. I noticed that the maker’s marks, usually appearing in the lower left hand corner of the stone, do not display an Oshawa maker until 1879. The County of Ontario Directory, 1869-1870, does not list any stone cutters or marble dealers in Oshawa. A survey of the Oshawa Vindicator newspapers for the years 1862-1871 also does not uncover any advertisements for stone cutters.

Thus far in my research a mark indicating “Oshawa” as the place carved was not seen until 1879 on the stone of Frankie Baker Farewell Cemetery and 1880 on the stone of Teneck Boyns Robinson located in the Harbour Pioneer Cemetery. Earlier marks were seen indicating gravestone carving was done in places as far away as Whitby, Bowmanville, Newcastle and Toronto. This appears to be typical for the time as a study of 105 rural Ontario cemeteries suggests the median distance gravestones were shipped was 20 miles and at least 10% were shipped more than 75 miles. Given the difficulties with travel in the early part of the 19th century transporting stones a distance must have been difficult. This leads me to speculate stones would not have been ordered from such distances if there was a professional carver in the town.

The earliest stone discovered in Oshawa with a maker’s mark was that of John and Nancy Henry, 1838 made by McD and M. of Newcastle. By the mid 1850s, the firm of J.J. Wolfenden Stone

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Cutters and Monument Dealers was in business in Whitby. Several stones in the cemeteries display a mark of J.J. and R.W., Whitby, the earliest being a child’s stone from 1853. These examples were probably the work of Johnathan and Richard Wolfenden. Other Wolfendens working with marble included Albert and William. The Wolfendens arrived in Canada in the early 1850s and by the 1861 census Johnathon (1827-1885) had already established himself as a marble dealer.

Another frequently seen maker’s mark was that of Bounsall in Bowmanville. In 1857 Mr. Christopher Bounsall (1817 – 1887) established Bounsall’s Marble and Granite Works in Bowmanville shortly after arriving from England where he learned his trade. By 1886, Bounsall’s Marble Works covered a ¼ of an acre on Division Street in Bowmanville and employed six workers. At least two of his children, Fred and Edwin, followed in his trade. Mr. Bounsall advertised in the Ontario Reformer newspaper ( June 28,1872) and undoubtedly received much work from the Oshawa area judging by the number of stones displaying “Bowmanville” in their lower left hand corner.

By 1879 Henry L. Godfray was cutting marble in Oshawa. Godfray, born in Jersey, Channel Islands in 1838, operated the Dominion Stone and Marbleworks in Montreal as early as 1866. Godfray was listed as a marblecutter in Toronto in the City Directory 1879 with his business at DeGrassi Street. An 1882 Ontario directory shows Henry Godfray Marbleworks operating in Oshawa. At the same time Godfray was operating in Oshawa there was another marble business in town, that of Anderson and Vanzant (Maurice Morris stone, St. George’s Cemetery, 1879). Alonzo Anderson (1848-1908) and Elias Vanzant (1852-1936) were brother in laws (Alonzo married Elias’ sister Almira). Both men were from the Uxbridge area and started their business in Oshawa around 1880. Their business doesn’t appear to have lasted for long here. In 1891 Anderson was a marble dealer in Toronto and Vanzant had moved to Grey County where he was also a marble dealer. By: Laura Suchan, Executive Director

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Harriet “Granny” Cock We are happy to announce that $2000 was donated towards the reframing of Harriet Cock’s portrait. She has been conserved by Art Conservation, Miriam Harris, reframed (time period appropriate) and she is now on display in the Verna Conant Gallery at Guy House.

Thank you to the following donors: Anonymous, Frank and Pearl Cooper, Sandra Gaskell,

Marlene Malish, and Tedd Hann

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The mainstay of research is obtaining source information that can be verified. When researching 19th century shipping there is an abundance of source data. This includes newspapers of the day such as the Toronto Telegram, Oshawa Vindicator, Kingston News. There are Great Lakes Vessel Registries, Inland Lloyds Lake Vessel Registry and Great Lakes Database many of these resources can be viewed directly online! Through my own research and research of others including Ken Crichton, student volunteer, Shawn Perron and Robert Stephenson. Mr. Stephenson was an Oshawa diver and amateur ship-wreck researcher, he spent much of his time diving in the Great Lakes seeking out the next ship wreck. All of this research has been compiled to create the exhibit, The Sea Shanty: Exploring Oshawa’s Relationship with Lake Ontario.

More than a half-century before the advent of the automobile, sailors on the Great Lakes already knew Oshawa had a nickname. It was dubbed the “Manchester of Canada”. As a growing centre of industry and commerce, it was essential that its manufactured goods would quickly be transported to markets elsewhere, elsewhere meaning population centres on both sides of Lake Ontario. Prior to railroads and good roads that meant sailing ships!

That is why more than 150 years ago the Village that would become Oshawa had an enviable reputation for building ships and vessels that could carry the area’s produce and goods to market. Nature left a perfect place to build sailing ships – that place was the natural bay at the mouth of the Oshawa Creek that was simply known as “The Harbour.”

The Oshawa Waterfront and harbour in particular have always been and continue to be significant for the community of Oshawa. The members preview of this exhibit will be held on May 18 at 11am, I know many of you have already sent in your R.S.V.P. For those of you who are not able to make it that day - then you can come and visit us throughout the summer months down at the lake and take a tour through the SUBAQUEOUS CEMETERY! Melissa Cole, Curator

Researching 19th Shipping in Oshawa

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Knowledge Through the World Wide WebEarlier this month, we were contacted by a descendant of John Robinson through a website called Ancestry.ca. For those not familiar with the website, Ancestry.ca is a website for researching your family tree. It was launched in 2006, and its historical record collection includes the Canadian censuses, passenger lists, English, Welsh and Scottish censuses, and birth, marriage and death records.

We have four family trees on Ancestry: the Henrys, the Robinsons, the Dickies (started when researching the rebellion boxes), and the Andrews/Dunbars/Pankhursts (started when researching Black History in Oshawa).

The woman who contacted us through Ancestry found our Robinson Family Tree. She was interested to see another tree with John Robinson; we were very interested to learn that she was descended from his Iowa family. John was married three times: first was to Ann Boyns, second, and best known to us, was to Ruth Tenick. Before Ruth died, John travelled to Iowa, likely to meet up with two of his sons who had settled there, and family lore states that he returned once to Canada before Ruth’s death in 1864. After 1864, we knew John married a third wife and had a family there, but other than that, we knew little about his life and family there. We knew he died and was buried in Iowa, a markerless grave in Clarence Cemetery. When Bessie Gannon (et. al.) compiled the Robinson Family Tree, she dedicated a page to John’s third family as she knew little about them, and she left this “for future researchers to unearth.”

After we were contacted, this woman was able to share with us information about John’s life in Iowa. He had four children with Mary S. Lawrence: Ruth R., Tamer Bell, John Isaiah (aka Isaiah), and Rose (aka Rosa). (Of interest - Mary was 50 years John’s junior!) Mary lived in Iowa for a time after John died, although she later moved to the Seattle area in 1881. She remarried, a man named Abraham Green in Oct., 1881, and Mary lived in the Seattle area until her death in 1922.

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We have used Ancestry for a number of uses, including research, a way of organizing information (it was one way to keep the Andrews/Dunbar/Pankhurst family straight) and for knowledge sharing, furthering the mission of the Oshawa Community Museum to tell the story of Oshawa. It has also proved to be wonderful for making new connections and for learning new chapters to the stories we’ve been telling.

By: Lisa Terech, Visitor Experience Coordinator

Robinson Family Patriarch, John Robinson

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Spring Harbour Walking Tour at the Lake

Welcome New MembersPaul & Liz Terech

Nancy FarmerLarry HicksMary Nelson

David & Judy Harris Parkwood National Historic Site

Lillian CooperPaul Radoslovich

Overlooking Lake Ontario, atop Bonnie Brae Point, rests a number of Oshawa’s earliest pioneers. The headstones read names familiar to many in Oshawa, including Henry, Guy, Robinson, Farewell and Wilson. Throughout the past year, extensive research has been undertaken about the people buried in the Harbour Pioneer Cemetery. To find out more about the lives of those resting in the cemetery overlooking the lake, please attend:

Pioneer Cemetery & Harbour Walking Tour Sunday June 10

1PM from Guy House.

The cost is $5/person or FREE for OHS Members!

For more information, contact Lisa at 905.436.7624 ext 106 or by email

membership@oshawamuseum.org

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GET YOUR TICKET NOW! 75% SOLD OUT_____________________________________________________PLEASE NOTE: For members that attended the Ron Brown Bus Tour

In Search of the Grand Trunk in a previous year - this tour will be different with the exception of the stop in Brighton at the Memory

Junction Museum. Individuals are to arrive at the museum for 8:30 bus will depart at 9:00am.

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We Service All Makes and Models

COOPER’S AUTO SERVICESSince 1946

Oshawa’s Only Downtown Gas StationAt the corner of Bruce and Albert (Next to the GM Centre)

5 Licensed Mechanics at Reasonable Rates

905-723-9632

EXHIBIT OPENS MAY 18, 2012

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Members of the Oshawa Historical Society, free admission to the monthly Speaker Series meetings and members preview of exhibit openings, advance notice of special events, free admission to the Oshawa Community

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