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| The Holy Grail of Collector Books For Hunters Of Canadiana Signed By Oil Lamp Expert Catherine Thuro. This is a hard book to find and fortunately for us, it turned up in Gravenhurst. |
A MODEL FOR ANTIQUE COLLECTORS, OLD PAPER CHASERS, AND HISTORY LOVERS
WHEN HUGH MACMILLAN, MY OLD ARCHIVIST BUDDY, SHOWED UP AT OUR GRAVENHURST HOUSE, WITH HIGHLY RESPECTED ONTARIO COLLECTOR-HISTORIAN, ED PHELPS, FOR LUNCH ON THE VERANDAH, ON THAT LATE SUMMER DAY, WE TALKED ABOUT CANADIAN HISTORY FOR THE NEXT FIVE HOURS. IT WAS REMARKABLE IN EVERY WAY, AND DAMN IT, I DIDN'T TAKE NOTES. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN PRETTY IMPOLITE TO DO THIS, AND I COULDN'T HAVE KEPT UP ANY WAY. BUT IT WAS A REMARKABLE, INSIGHTFUL CONVERSATION, ABOUT ALL MATTERS RELATING TO CANADIAN HERITAGE. IN FACT, I CAN'T REMEMBER A CONVERSATION WITH HUGH THAT WASN'T REMARKABLE, AND WORTHY OF BEING QUOTED FOR POSTERITY.
INITIALLY WE TALKED ABOUT ME WRITING A BIOGRAPHY OF BOOK COLLECTOR, DAVID BROWN, OUR MUTUAL FRIEND, WHO HAD ONLY RECENTLY PASSED AWAY, IN HAMILTON. HUGH INSISTED I SIMPLY HAD TO WRITE THE BOOK, AND IF YOU KNEW THE MAN AT ALL, HIS LEVEL OF INSISTENCE WAS ALWAYS ON HIGH POWER. AND HE PERSISTED. ONCE AGAIN, A CHARACTER TRAIT, THAT SOME FELT WAS QUITE INTIMIDATING. I PROBABLY RECEIVED THIRTY CALLS FROM HUGH, ASKING HOW I WAS GETTING ALONG WITH THE BOOK. I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT HE PUSHED ME INTO THE PROJECT, BECAUSE I'D ALREADY AGREED TO WRITE IT, WHEN ORIGINALLY ASKED BY DAVE BROWN, WHO AT THAT POINT IN EARLY RETIREMENT, DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS SOON TO DIE OF LEUKEMIA. HE HAD ONLY RECENTLY RETIRED FROM HIS TEACHING POSITION, AND HE WANTED TO LEAVE A LEGACY-STORY BEHIND. YET HUGH DID HURRY-UP THE PROJECT. DAMN THING THOUGH, HE DIDN'T LIKE THE BOOK AFTER IT WAS FINISHED. I KNOW WHY AND I WOULDN'T OFFER HIM AN APOLOGY. I EXPLAINED IT TO HIM, BUT HE STILL THOUGHT I SHOULD HAVE BARED MY TEETH TO GET THE REAL STORY, AS HE SAW IT! DAVE WAS A HOARDER- HISTORIAN, WHO COULD CARRY A GRUDGE ALL THE WAY TO THE GRAVE.
ADMITTEDLY DAVE WAS A CHARACTER ALRIGHT, AND USED TO KID THAT HE WAS THE KIND OF GUY "WHO COULD MAKE PEOPLE DISAPPEAR." THIS COMES FROM KNOWING, AND HAVING MINOR ASSOCIATION WITH A FEW CITIZENS, WHO MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH ORGANIZED CRIME. I DO KNOW FOR FACT, THAT DAVE WAS SEEN IN AREAS WHERE MOBSTERS HUNG-OUT, BUT HE WAS UP FRONT WITH THIS INFORMATION. I KNEW THIS BEFORE I STARTED THE PROJECT. IT HAD TO DO WITH SALVAGE, AND THE FACT DAVE WORKED PART-TIME SECURING AND REMOVING HERITAGE ITEMS, FROM OLD BUILDINGS ABOUT TO BE DEMOLISHED. HE WOULD VISIT PLACES, HE KNEW WERE BEING WATCHED BY THE POLICE, AND USED TO TELL ME, THAT IF THE POLICE WERE TO TURN THEIR SURVEILLANCE FILMS INTO A DOCUMENTARY, HE WOULD GET THE EXPOSURE OF A MOVIE STAR; ESPECIALLY SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS, WHEN HE WOULD GET INTO THESE BUILDINGS TO REMOVE THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE, HE WAS INTERESTED IN, DAYS BEFORE THE WRECKING BALL WAS SET TO FLY. COULD HE HAVE MADE ME DISAPPEAR? IT WAS A JOKE. HE LIKED TO BRING IT UP NOW AND AGAIN, BUT ALWAYS IN A JOKING MANNER. BUT I NEVER, EVER FORGOT WHAT HE TOLD ME. AND I NEVER GOT HIM THAT MAD AT ME EITHER! JUST IN CASE!
HUGH MACMILLAN, AND FOR THAT MATTER, HIS FRIEND, ED PHELPS, WERE HARD-ASS, FACT OBSESSED HISTORIANS. WHAT THEY ASSUMED I WAS GOING TO WRITE, WAS AN EQUALLY HARD-ASS, DEEPLY DELVING, X-RAY STRENGTH EXPOSE, OF DAVID BROWN, THE BOOK COLLECTOR-HISTORIAN. THE DIFFERENCE, WAS THAT DAVE WAS A CLOSE FRIEND OF OUR FAMILY, AND USED TO STAY IN MY OWN ARCHIVES ROOM, WHEN HE WAS IN GRAVENHURST. I REFUSED TO DISSECT HIM, IN THIS PARTICULAR BOOK, BECAUSE IT'S NOT WHAT DAVE AND I HAD ORIGINALLY AGREED ON, AS BEING MORE ABOUT HIS ROLE IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF OUTDOOR EDUCATION IN ONTARIO, THAN ABOUT HIS PENCHANT FOR BOOK COLLECTING, AND WELL, "HOARDING" OLD BOOKS. I DID HOWEVER, STRAY AWAY FROM THE SAFE-ZONE, AND I REPORTED ON HIS EXCESSES, AND HIS MOODS, WHICH WERE OFTEN DRAMATIC, DEPENDING ON WHAT SIDE OF THE ARGUMENT YOU HAPPENED TO BE POSITIONED. HE GOT SO MAD AT HIS MOTHER, DURING ONE DISCUSSION, HE WOULDN'T TALK TO HER, OR EVEN VISIT, RIGHT UP TO HER DEATH. SHE WOULDN'T AGREE TO HELP HIM PURCHASE A SUMMER CAMP, IN HALIBURTON. THIS OUTRAGED HIM. THERE IS EVIDENCE HE FORGAVE HER IN THE END, BUT CERTAINLY NOT ENOUGH TO HAVE RECONCILED BEFORE HER DEMISE. I WAS ON HIS BAD SIDE FOUR OR FIVE TIMES DURING OUR YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP, WHILE SUZANNE ONLY IRRITATED HIM ONCE, WHEN SHE FOUND A RARE BOOK OF TORONTO HISTORY, RIGHT UNDER HIS NOSE, AT A LIBRARY FUNDRAISER, AND THEN REFUSED TO GIVE IT TO HIM. DAVE WAS LIKE THIS, BUT I COULDN'T ASSASINATE HIM BECAUSE HE WAS A LITTLE PECULIAR. THE STUDENTS WHO ATTENDED HIS OUTDOOR EDUCATION CLASSROOM. IN HAMILTON, HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF RESPECT FOR THE MAN, AND IT WAS THIS GROUP WHO PURCHASED THE MAJORITY OF THE BOOKS I WROTE. SO WHILE I DIDN'T MEASURE UP TO WHAT PHELPS AND HUGH MACMILLAN, HAD THOUGHT WOULD BE THE BETTER MEASURE OF THE MAN, THE BIOGRAPHY WAS ENTIRELY SUCCESSFUL; AND I THINK IT MAY HAVE EVEN MADE DAVE HAPPY; AS I'M SURE HE WAS WORKING ON THE BOOK WITH ME, BECAUSE THERE WERE NUMEROUS TIMES WHEN I FELT HIS HAND ON MY SHOULDER, AS I WAS TYPING THE MANUSCRIPT. MY OWN PERSONAL GHOST-WRITER! I DIDN'T WANT DAVE'S SPIRIT TO BE PISSED OFF WITH ME, AND I COULD HAVE NEVER EXPLAINED THIS TO HUGH MACMILLAN. HE WASN'T BIG ON SUBJECT INVOLVING THE PARANORMAL. HUGH AND DAVE DID NOT ALWAYS GET ALONG. HUGH WANTED WHAT DAVE POSSESSED IN HISTORIC PAPER, AND DAVE DISLIKED THE FACT THAT HUGH TURNED OVER ALL HIS TREASURES TO THE PROVINCIAL ARCHIVES. DAVE HAD A RUNNING BATTLE WITH NUMEROUS HISTORICAL SOCIETIES, AND IN MANY CASES, PREFERRED PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF SUCH ANTIQUITIES, WHICH PUT HIM IN CONSTANT DISAGREEMENT WITH HUGH MACMILLAN. BUT IN THE CASE OF THE BIOGRAPHY, I HAD TO PLEASE DAVE'S MEMORY, BEFORE I SATISFIED HUGH WITH THE TEXT. IT WORKED TO MY ADVANTAGE, BECAUSE I ONLY HAVE A COUPLE OF COPIES LEFT IN MY PRIVATE COLLECTION.
IT WAS FROM OUR VERANDAH, THAT HE MADE A CALL TO GWEN DREW, WIFE OF CANADIAN AUTHOR, WAYLAND "BUSTER" DREW, WHO WAS RESIDING IN BRACEBRIDGE AT THIS TIME. WE WERE BOTH FRIENDS OF WAYLAND'S, AND THE NEWS FROM GWEN WAS GRIM THAT DAY. WAYLAND'S HEALTH WAS FAILING, AND HE WASN'T WELL ENOUGH TO SEE ANY VISITORS, AT LEAST ON THIS DAY. HUGH HAD ENORMOUS RESPECT FOR "BUSTER'S" LITERARY SKILLS, AND HIS BOOKS ON LAKE SUPERIOR, AND THE ST. LAWRENCE. I BEGAN THE BRACEBRIDGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PARTNERED WITH WAYLAND DREW, BACK IN THE SPRING OF 1978, SHORTLY AFTER HE MOVED TO TOWN; AND BEGAN TEACHING AT BRACEBRIDGE AND MUSKOKA LAKES SECONDARY SCHOOL. WHEN I GOT TO KNOW HUGH MACMILLAN, IN THE EARLY 1980'S, I WAS SURPRISED TO FIND OUT THAT HE WAS ALSO A FRIEND OF THE DREW FAMILY, IN PART, CONNECTED BY CANOE HERITAGE, WITH WELL KNOWN HISTORIANS, LIKE KIRK WIPPER, AND BIRCH BARK CANOE EXPERT, RICK NASH.
WAYLAND PASSED AWAY A SHORT TIME LATER. THE LAST TIME I'D VISITED WITH WAYLAND, WAS AT WOODCHESTER VILLA AND MUSEUM, THE HERITAGE SITE WE BOTH HAD DEDICATED A LOT OF TIME TO, IN THE LATE 1970'S AND 1980'S. WAYLAND WAS THE SUBJECT OF CONVERSATION AT OUR BIRCH HOLLOW LUNCHEON, AND WE SHARED MANY STORIES ABOUT WAYLAND AND GWEN. ALTHOUGH THIS IS A LITTLE OFF-TOPIC, WE AGREED THAT ONE OF OUR FAVORITE BOOKS, WAS "BROWN'S WEIR," CO-AUTHORED BY GWEN AND WAYLAND, ABOUT THE EAST COAST FISHERY TRADITION OF "NET" FISHING. THE QUESTION DID COME UP, ABOUT WHAT GWEN WOULD DO WITH WAYLAND'S PAPERS, AS YOU WOULD EXPECT A FELLOW LIKE HUGH MACMILLAN TO ASK. HE TURNED TO ME, AND SAID, "YOU SHOULD MAKE PLANS FOR YOUR PAPERS AS WELL, MR. CURRIE, BECAUSE YOU'VE BEEN AN HISTORIAN FOR QUITE A WHILE, AND YOUR NOTES AND ROUGH DRAFTS COULD BE IMPORTANT ONE DAY." WHEN SOMEONE MAKES A JOKE, I LAUGH, EVEN IF I DON'T GET IT! "I'M NOT KIDDING," HE SAID, TURNING IMMEDIATELY TO SUZANNE, TO TELL HER, "MAKE SURE YOU GET HIM TO SORT WHAT HE WANTS TO PASS ON, AND WHAT YOU MAY WISH TO GET RID OF, BEFORE SOME MUSEUM COMES TO REQUEST HIS PAPERS." THIS IS OF COURSE, WOULD BE BASED ON MY EVENTUAL DEMISE, AND SEEING AS I HAVE NO PLAN OF SPLITTING FROM THIS MORTAL COIL, I'LL SATISFY HIS REQUEST, BY AT LEAST THINKING ABOUT ARRIVING, SOME TIME DOWN THE ROAD, AT A STATE OF BIOGRAPHICAL PREPAREDNESS. I STILL DON'T THINK ANYBODY WILL BE INTERESTED IN MY ROUGH WORK, AND PAPER ARCHIVES. IT'S FUNCTIONAL FOR ME, BUT NOT SO MUCH FOR ANOTHER HISTORIAN. I STAY TO THE SIDE OF "CULTURAL" HISTORIAN, AND I AM IN THE MINORITY AS HISTORIANS GO.
THE NORTH WEST COMPANY OF FUR TRADERS
The North West Company of fur traders, was founded in Montreal, in the winter of 1783-84, made up of partners, many of them Loyalists or sons of Loyalists from Glengarry. When these Nor'Westers established their string of trading post, from Montreal to the Pacific Ocean, and began competing aggressively and violently with their well-established but often lacklustre rival, the Hudson's Bay Company, many of their clerks were recruited from Glengarry," wrote Hugh MacMillan. "For more than 40 years, all-out rivalry between the Hudson's Bay Company, and the North West Company, persisted, but in the end the more solid financial position of the HBC won out over the enthusiasm and enterprise of the Nor'Westers. In 1821, the two companies became one, under the name Hudson's Bay Company, but in the hearts and memories, of its retired members, to many of them in Glengarry or surrounding counties, the old North West Company survived."
Hugh writes, in his memoirs, "Adventures of a Paper Sleuth," (2004 Penumbra Press), that "After 1821, at least seventy percent of the chief HBC factors and traders were former NorWester partners. To resurrect the stirring saga of that pioneering Canadian firm. IaN McMartin and I spearheaded the establishment of the North West Company Museum in Williamstown, Glengarry Country, as a 1967 Canadian Centennial Project, re-enacting a voyageur canoe trip as a dramatic opening act.
Genuine documents, papers, letters, and other memorabilia dealing with the North West Company's active days, have been very hard to come by. I discovered that most, but not all, documents relating to the North West Company, had been destroyed," he writes, "But in 1968, I was able to obtain the snuff 'mull' (box), belonging to the illustrious Nor'Wester partner, Simon Fraser. It came to me, as these things so often do, in a roundabout fashion. One of the voyageurs on our canoe trip re-enactment, a descendant of Angus Roy 'The Mast' McDonnell, put me in touch with Elaine (McDonnell) Street, another descendent, in Calgary. In addition to the snuff mull, Elaine Street had a fine collection of 19th century business records of Angus Roy McDonnell's, which I also acquired. Angus Roy was nicknamed 'The Mast,' because he was in the timber trade and provided masts for the ships of the British Royal Navy.
"While in Calgary, I was recruited by Canadian author W.O. Mitchell, to speak to a history conference in Banff, about my experiences on the trail of the Nor'Westers. In a foolhardy moment, I pulled the snuff mall from my pocket to show the audience, and exclaimed, 'This is an example of the sort of relic you can find out west and take back east.' It's a wonder I wasn't run out on a rail! Simon Fraser was born in what is now Vermont, came to Canada, with his family, and in 1792, at age 16, was apprenticed to the North West Company. After an adventurous career, including discovering the hazardous British Columbia River, which bears his name, and following to its mouth on the Pacific Ocean, he retired to St. Andrews West, near Cornwall. The snuff mull, which he probably carried all his life, is as its name suggests, meant to hold snuff."
Hugh MacMillan records that, the snuff mull was, "Crafted in Scotland," with "a horn lid, with an embossed silver Scottish thistle design. The date 1790 and Simon's initials are also etched in the silver. It is thought the mull had been owned by his father and grandfather. It is now on display in the Nor'Wester Museum. How the mull came into Mrs. Street's family is a drama in itself. Mrs. Street's great-great-grandfather, John Roy McDonnell, sailed from Scotland to upper New York Province in 1773. He soon became personal secretary to Sir John Johnson, son of Sir William, the leader of the Iroquois confederacy. When war with England erupted, loyalist John Roy MacDonnell was assigned the task of leading a group of women and children through the trackless wilderness to Montreal. MacDonnell carried out this assignment faithfully. From Montreal, they eventually made their way to what is now Glengarry. Among the group of Loyalists was a very young Simon Fraser, his mother and her other children. His father had died a prisoner of war during the early states of the American Revolution. Some time after his retirement to St, Andrews, Simon Fraser presented his snuff mull to the McDonnell family, in appreciation for John Roy McDonnell's bringing his mother and the family safely to British territory."
MEDICAL RECORDS ACQUIRED
Hugh MacMillan, as one of his conquests, on the paper trail, "acquired a great collection of medical records concerning Glengarry, from a dealer in Toronto. While loading the papers in my stationwagon, a fierce gust of wind blew many of them up and down the road. Luckily for me the road was damp from a recent rain, and stuck to the pavement. Frantically running and dodging traffic, I managed to gather them. A near disaster. They covered three generations of a family of medical practitioners, who had served the early Glengarry communities. Ebeneezer Hunt, his son Harry Hunt, and a grandson, also called Harry Hunt, spanned the better part of the 19th century, applying their healing skills to the settlers in Glengarry's Indian Lands." He continues, noting that, "Dr. Ebeneezer Hunt, whose English grandfather Jeremiah, was known as a 'celebrated old dissenting minister,' (dissenting not in reference to a cantankerous personality, but as contrasted with the all-powerful 'established' (official national) Church of England, which we now call the Anglican Church), lived from 1688 to 1774. As a strong-willed as his feisty ancestor, Ebeneezer studied medicine and practiced in Liverpool and London for several years, before emigrating to the United States in 1804. Though not bothering to register as an MD, in any American city, he did quite well for some years, as far as can be ascertained.
"In 1810, however, Dr. Hunt," according to Hugh MacMillan, "and his wife Leah (nee Alcock), their Henry, 13, and 8 year old daughter, Hannah, headed north to Upper Canada. Dr. Hunt was a multidimensional individual. His interests included the penning of poetry, philosophy and medical books, chief among the latter being 'Praxis Medica; A Comprehensive View of the Cause,' 'Nature and Cure of Most of Most Disorders Incident to the Human Body, and Illustrated With Cases,' by Ebeneezer Hunt. MD. The title page features a lengthy quotation in classical Greek from the writings of Hiporcrates, the Father of Medicine, whose Hippocratic Oath, is still taken by all who aspire to be medical doctors."
He carries on the story, reporting that "Dr. Ebeneezer Hunt's son, Henry, wished to follow in his father's footsteps, but the nearest medical school was too far away, so his dad undertook to instruct him in the healing arts, and he became an 'irregular practitioner,' until an increasingly rigid and bureaucratic Medical Society forced him to stop. It was said that irregular practitioner Henry Hunt, had been so well and thoroughly trained by his father, that the only give-away was that his language and handwriting on prescriptions were 'quite different from his father's.' It was fortunate that the research into the Hunt family, carried out in 1941-42 by Toronto physician Norman B, Gwyn, was included with the Hunt papers. From Dr. Gwyn's papers, I discovered that Ebeneezer's grandson, unlike his father, had the benefit of the finest formal medical education. He practiced in Williamstown for 12 years, before moving to Toronto, where he continued to serve for another 38 years. When he died, in May 1926, he was buried at Woodlands, an old family retreat on the St. Lawrence."
"The second Dr. Henry Hunt's journal, which he kept during his entire medical career, was also a part of my acquisition for the Archives. An archivist, inspecting and evaluating this medical coup, wrote 'Certain social and political events are duly noted. A description of diseases and treatments, and the general state of medicine and nursery in the country, is provided, as well as conversations, lifestyle, pastimes, social activities and outings. One interesting episode recounts Dr. Hunt's visit to Oliver Mowat, in 1889. His journal notes, 1884-1907, give an account of diphtheria, which prevailed about Williamstown in the early days of his practice.' The evaluator concluded, 'The collection (of the Hunt family papers) is interesting and informative, as it documents the practice of medicine in Ontario in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The earlier writings 'Praxis Medica' and 'Fever' reflects early medical education in England, and on the continent, and the relationship between medicine and classicism. These writings are useful in that they demonstrate the type of authority referred to by 19th century Ontario physicians.' Years later I acquired an eight foot by three foot chart, dated 1809, the only known map of the Indian Lands of Glengarry, showing the names of all the settlers at that time, who leased this land from the Mohawk Band at St. Regis. It was originally their 3-mile wide right of way, stretching from the St. Lawrence to the Ottawa River. On lots 7 and 8, of the 13th concession, appears the name of our pioneering medic, Ebeneezer Hunt."
CAPTAIN ALEXANDER STICKLER
Hugh MacMillan concludes this chapter, with the short editorial piece, about another cache of historic papers, he acquired for the Archives of Ontario, having belonged to Captain Alexander Stickler. According to the archivist, he "was a Scot from the Orkney Islands, of mainland Scotland." He writes that he is "unknown in Glengarry today. Captain Stickler, at one time, operated steamboats to Montreal and beyond. They were called the St. Francis, Fashion, Star, and Manitoba. He later built a huge barge, which he named Glengarry. I used to drive by his fine old brick home in South Lancaster, and speculate what cache of papers were in the huge safe to be seen through the dirty fly-specked windows on the river side of the unoccupied building. Its owner, Mrs. McCallum, lived in Winnipeg, and it took years of visits before a deal was made with her niece who inherited the place. The safe was stuffed with all of Stickler's old business papers, maps and pictures. Alexander Stickler, the great Orkneyman entrepreneur of Glengarry has left a major cache of papers that I was able to acquire for the Ontario Archives, where they are now, waiting for an author who can write the story in the detail it deserves."
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