Oxford’s First Family
It takes a huge stretch of the imagination to visualise Oxford-on-Rideau Township in 1800. There were no roads, no houses, no residents. Think about...
Early days in Wolford
Life in the early nineteenth century was hard, dangerous, and often without the little luxuries taken for granted by later generations. The population was...
Angles and tangles
On February 22, 1791, Samuel Holland, the Surveyor General of the Colony of Quebec, instructed Deputy Surveyor, Jesse Pennoyer to:
“proceed to Montreal without loss...
The early references to the South Branch River
Debate continues about whether a certain stretch of waterway should be called the Kemptville Creek, or the South Branch of the Rideau River. What...
The making of municipalities
It is surprising, in a way, to discover that life was not always the same as it is now; that boundaries and laws and...
Charles Ferguson, medic and politician
In this series of men and women from North Grenville who had an impact beyond the borders of their community, Charles Ferguson is a...
Merrickville’s lost legacy, part 2
Thomas Alexander Parnell was very much a churchman of his time. In the nineteenth century, the Anglican Church in Canada saw itself as the...
John Walter Harris – the “Lightning Calculator”
John Walter Harris was born on February 26, 1845 in Oxford-on-Rideau Township. His family had immigrated from Ireland and his father and grandfather settled...
Merrickville’s lost legacy
The Anglican Church in Canada has had many publications through which it communicated with members of the communion and the outside world. In the...
Local newspapers of the past
A viable local newspaper only really became possible with the advent of the telegraph from the 1840's, and the development of good roads and...