Royal Staff Corps Military Canal Builders 1825-1832
Can someone tell me a little about where the Royal Staff Corps lived while they were constructing the canals? I have heard Grenville and Chatham mentioned. I'd like to know about the RSC's activities in Quebec.
Thanks. Bonnie
|
Re: Royal Staff Corps Military Canal Builders 1825-1832
Barracks were built in Carillon in 1830 by Deputy General Commissioner C.J. Forbes as a supply house for the canal construction but I don't know if the troups lived on the premises. The building now houses the Argenteuil Museum. See the Parks Canada page for a picture: http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/qc/carillon/index_E.asp
|
Re: Royal Staff Corps Military Canal Builders 1825-1832
My GGG-Grandfather was a Corporal in the Royal Staff Corps from 1820-1832. From 1821 -1832 he worked on the military canals in Grenville, Chute a Blondeau and Carillon.
To answer your question directly, Chatham was the regimental headquarters, however Grenville was the first canal built by the RSC and begun in 1820.
My family history is deeply rooted in the RSC and the canals. John Mason married the house keeper of the commanding officer Lt. Colonel Henry Du Vernet (even naming my GG-Grandfather after him - my son is named Henry). After his service, De Vernet appointed him as the lock master at Carillon, lock #2 and granted him a large track of land north of Montreal. I could go on, but I won't bore you. Suffice to say, I have several texts and historical records on both the RSC and the construction of the canals themselves.
You might be intersted in:
1. "Ottawa River Canals and Defence of the Britsh Empire" by Robert Legget (Toronto Press: 1988) Covers the officers and men of the Rotal Staff Corps and the military canals built along the Ottawa from 1820-1834: Grenville, Chute a Blondeau, and Ste Anne-de-Bellevue. Includes British and regional history which led to their construction and use through to replacement in the 1920's by larger works and the Carillon dam. Also includes maps, traffic on the river and much more. I even found John Mason's marriage records in one of the appendices.
2. "The Ottawa River Canal System" by Normand Lafreniere (Parks Canada: 1984) A more detailed look at the construction techniques of the RSC, the locks and how their construction led to the development of the region.
"History of the Counties of Argenteuil, Quebec & Prescott, Ontario" by Cyrus Thomas (Global Heritage Press: 1999) An absolutely great book reprinted from the 1896 original. It details the villages and even local people by name with daily life in the villages onlong the Ottawa circa 1896 with family histories and anecdotes.
I also have complete muster roles of the RSC serving along the Ottawa, discharge papers when the regiment was disbanded, pictures, and a variety of other materials. If you are looking for a particular person I would be happy to look through my materials for them or if you want a more detailed history of a particular aspect of the RSC or canals, I would be happy to also provide that.
|
Re: Royal Staff Corps Military Canal Builders 1825-1832
Hello Patrick,
I was absolutely flabbergasted when I read your message.
I, too, am very interested in the RSC and the role it played in the development of Grenville and Chatham Townships. I would dearly love to examine some of your documentation if that were possible.
However, more specifically, I have two immediate concerns. According to oral tradition in my family, one of my ancestors, possbily Donald McPhee (c1810-1869), was a "stonemason who worked on the Grenville Canal". Do you have any information on stonemasons, quarrymen, navies, etc. who worked on the canals? I have discovered a Donald McPhee who worked on the canal at the Long Sault but his DOB appears to be c1796 according to a land petition signed in 1821. The story also goes that a McPhee -- perhaps the same person but could have been another generation -- was "an officer in the Royal Engineers who built the Grenville Canal". I have always regarded this as very suspect. I know that the two stone cairns at Grenville and Carillon attribute the construction to the Royal Engineers, but this seems downright incorrect. I have also had a researcher who specializes in the RE confirm that it is highly unlikely that anyone of that name ever served as an officer in the RE. I would therefore be very interested in knowing if any McPhees (any spelling) appear on the RSC muster rolls. Please let me know.
Of course, if you have any other references to McPhees in connection with the RSC or Grenville/Chatham in general, I would be delighted to know.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Cecil McPhee Montreal
|
Re: Royal Staff Corps Military Canal Builders 1825-1832
Cecil,
Unfortunately, I do not show any McPhee’s in my records of the Royal Staff Corps. Nor do I have any records regarding the canals outside those of the RSC. However I do have some information that you may find of interest.
I show a John Hockin listed in a list of land grants:
“Civilian John Hockin } Late private with the Corps.â€
- Land Grants List Royal Staff Corps Office, Chatham, 24 Octr. 1831 Public Archives of Canada RG 8, C Series, vol. 53, 139
I also have records of weddings and births of the Royal Staff Corps. In this is the following:
No. 14 Date 7 April 1827 Location Montreal Groom Pvt. J. Hockin Bride Flora McPhee Witnesses H. Symon & E. Stearns Chaplin J.J. Abbott Certified ?
"Ottawa River Canals and Defense of the British Empire" by Robert Legget (Toronto Press: 1988), Page 231
Based on the above records it may be that your family history is correct – just a bit misaligned. That is, your lineage back to the Royal Staff Corps and the canals may be through the McPhee’s, but through marriage to John Hockin.
Another possible reference that may interest you is one to a “Ronald McPhie.†This is from a text written in 1896.
“AGNUS McPHIE came with his family from Fort William, Invernessshire, Scotland in 1802; two brothers Ewen and Ronald, also making the journey with him. He first went to Pte. Claire near Montreal, and lived there a few years, learning to speak French fluently, and then settled in Chatham, on the land now owned by the Fitzgeralds. While living there, he was, in company with Noyes and Schagel, caring freight from Carillon to Grenville. He had three sons and three daughters: John, the second son, bought a farm on Beech Ridge, and lived there till his death. He was married in 1827 to Mary Cameron, sister of the Cameron who first settled Pt. au Chene, and had five sons and five daughters; - three of the former and four of the latter grew up. Besides his military and other offices, Mr. McPhie was the president of the Agricultural Society several years. He was an extremely enterprising young man, taking a deep interest in farming, and improved his own land to such an extent, that he was awarded three medals by the Agricultural Society, besides gaining several prizes; he dies in 1874.
John McPhie, jun., the fourth son, is the younger days spent three years in California, then traveled a few years in the commercial line. In 1872, he bought the farm of 270 acres where he now lives, and he was married in the same year to daughter of Charles Albright. Mr. McPhie has been School Commissioner several years, and is one of the influential and respected citizens of St. Andrews.â€
- "History of the Counties of Argenteuil, Quebec & Prescott, Ontario" by Cyrus Thomas (Global Heritage Press: 1999)
While this information does not provide much on Ronald McPhie (perhaps Donald McPhee: remember, this text was originally written in 1896 – I’ve seen similar miss-spellings in my own research) it may give you some new directions to look into. Flora McPhee could be one of Agnus McPhie’s three daughters who married John Hockin in 1827 – providing your RSC connection. This seems to at least fit the timeline. However Flora would have obviously become a Hockin and thus not your direct ancestor.
John McPhie, second son of Agnus, nephew of Ronald, is mentioned to have “military and other offices.†Again maybe this is another shift in your family’s oral tradition?
Obviously it would be interesting to see if Ronald is actually Donald – or even vise versa. How confident are you about Donald being the first name? If this proved to be your direct ancestor, you may have just gained a generation – Agnus, and a location, Fort William, Invernessshire, Scotland. However I am sure you would want to confirm if there is actually a connection.
Good luck and let me know if you need anything. Also if you happen to come across any references to John Mason, Henry Mason or Mary McCue, please let me know.
Patrick
|
Re: Royal Staff Corps Military Canal Builders 1825-1832
Hello Patrick,
Thank you ever so much for such a prompt and full reply.
Since you went to so much trouble, I thought you might be interested in knowing how some of your information sorts out, based on what I know now.
Flora McPhee (b ca 1799) was the eldest daughter and child of Archibald McPhee and Margaret Graham from Mull, Scotland. As you so kindly showed, she married John Hockin or Hawkins, as it was spelled later, in 1827. I was not aware, however, that Hockin received a land grant. This is an interesting lead that I will want to pursue.
Angus, Ewen and Ronald McPhie emigrated from Fort William in 1802. I have often wondered if Ronald was in fact meant to be Donald. If my gggf Donald -- I'm positive of his given name -- was born in Scotland (established) in 1810 (according to his tombstone) or 1806, 1807 or 1812 (according to the census returns), then he could not be the Ronald referred to above since he could not emigrate before he was born. However, if he was born in ca 1796 (there is a Donald McPhee aged 25 listed in a land petition dated 1821 who, interestingly enough, worked on the Long Sault Canal), then "Ronald" may in fact be "Donald", although a 1796 DOB would place "Ronald/Donald" in the same generation as Angus McPhie's son John. I know all or most of Angus's children -- no Donald -- and his son John was also born ca 1796. Nevertheless, oral tradition links my family very definitely to Angus McPhie and Fort William. However, to complicate matters further, there are early references to a Ronald McPhee, along with Angus and Ewen, in land records further up the Ottawa River. There seems little doubt that there was a Ronald McPhee up the River at this time. So, as you can see, I need new information to sort this out.
Perhaps I should clarify an important point here. My family seems to represent a THIRD group of McPhees in Western Quebec -- Archibald/Flora; Angus, Ronald & Ewen; and Donald my gggf. My family is supposed to be related to the other two. Ironically enough, I know much more about the other two branches than my own. I have been stuck in this dead end for years.
This brings me back to my original question. I would like to put the RSC line of research to rest once and for all, if possible. Did you check for the various spellings of McPhee, such as MacPhee, McPhie, MacPhie, MacFee, McFee, Macafee, etc? Do your records show the officers and MEN of the RSC? Do they list private contractors, such as stonemasons, quarrymen, navies, local inhabitants who may have moved earth, cut trees, etc? Taking a more oblique tack, do you have any Camerons listed? Oral tradition indicates that my ancestors may have married Camerons, and, indeed, my gggf Donald bought his farm in 1834 -- at the end of the canal construction period -- from a Cameron from Cote du Midi who was perhaps married to a Catherine McPhee. Did a Cameron petition for and receive a land grant from the RSC?
I apologize for asking you to go through your records again, but as you can see, I desperately need new information to lead me out of this impasse. I am also convinced that the trail is right under my nose but I can't see it because I don't know that I am looking right at it.
I would be more than happy to keep an eye out for John Mason, Henry Mason and Mary McCue. I often go through records with Highland Scottish names.
Thank you, Patrick, for your time, patience and effort.
Cecil
|
Re: Royal Staff Corps Military Canal Builders 1825-1832
Hi Bonnie,
This may be too late to help you and it may not directly answer your query. However, the RSC apparently had a summer camp at Grenville, at least in the early days of construction, around 1819 and the early twenties. Perhaps the camp was moved down river as the work progressed. The RSC wintered in garrison in Montreal since it was not possible at that time to continue construction in the harsh Canadian winter. There are documented stories about the RSC members travelling into Montreal for the winter and back out in the spring. It took several days to make the journey. You may want to refer to Legget, Ottawa River Canals.
I hope this helps a little.
Cecil McPhee
|
Re: Royal Staff Corps Military Canal Builders 1825-1832
Cecil,
Glad to help.
Of the two land grant petitions I have covering the RSC (1831 & 1832), the one in which John (Hawkins) Hockin is listed (1831) does not include the name of the township in the grant. It may be of some help in your search to know that the following year’s petition, of which John Mason is listed, does have the following townships (hopefully they were the same areas of the previous year). The towns listed are Wentworth, Lower Canada; Kilkenny, L.C.; Abercrombie, L.C.; Chatham, L.C.
My ancestor was awarded land in Abercrombie. So if you end up there let me know, I have some good maps, census data, etc. if you end up needing it.
Also not all of the people awarded land took it. It was conditional based on if you could improve the land (add roads, buildings, etc. ) and actually turn a harvest. In fact this is what happened with John Mason, he passed on the land and instead became a lockmaster.
I also have a reference to a William Hawkins ca 1830 who was a surveyor. Probably not of any interest but just in case…
As far as various spellings of McPhee, such as MacPhee, McPhie, MacPhie, MacFee, McFee, Macafee, etc? I only show a McPhee in the marriage and birth records of the RSC, and McPhie’s in the local history texts.
While I cannot claim to have all of the officers and men of the RSC, what I do have does not include any mention of McPhee’s other than what I have passed on.
My records only make passing reference to the businesses and companies contracted to work with the RSC. As the canals progressed and towns grew up along the waterway – particularly the locks, much of the work was taken up through private contractors.
As far as Cameron’s listed? I believe I mentioned “Mary Cameron, sister of the Cameron who first settled Pt. au Chene†in my previous post. I have information on Allan, Alexander, Alexis, Archibald R., Donald, Evan, two Johns (one a preacher) another John A. and W.G.
I do not show a Cameron in the petition for land grants. As a point of clarification, these are petitions for land FROM the RSC not TO the RSC. Several of the above Cameron’s may have petitioned for land, but as they were not members of the RSC, I will not have their records. In fact much of the information I have on the above names also mention locations and farms – however again, not land grants.
|
Re: Royal Staff Corps Military Canal Builders 1825-1832
Hi Cecil and Patrick, Mind if I jump in? Cecil, my gg grandfather, John Hooppell, born 1797, came to Grenville with the Royal Staff Corps from Kent, England, in 1825. He was a mason and a slater. He, too, received a land grant. Although the Ottawa River Canals book lists his grant as being in Abercrombie or Wentworth, in actuality, he was granted land in Harrington. The Quebec Family History Society ( http://www.cam.org/~qfhs/index.html) has an alphabetical index of land grants. You can order the page concerning the McPhees. If you find the land grant on the index, you can write away to Quebec for a copy of the grant. In addition, Marlene Simmons has an online database of some records from the Argenteuil County area at http://simmons.b2b2c.ca/. For a fee, about $25, I think, she will search her records and tell you which records may apply to your search. She charges a nominal fee for the transcription of each record you request. Upon receiving the transcription, you can write away to Quebec for a copy of the actual record. I have received copies of christenings, etc., from her from the 1860s. Also, I have a transcription of the Scotch Road Cemetery in Grenville which lists a Donald McPHEE died June 12, 1869 age 59 yrs. His wife and other family members, including Alexander MURRAY and Janet CAMERON are listed. I would be happy to give you the full listing if you think this applies to your family. There is also a MacPHEE - Martha HAWKINS wife of John McPHEE buried there. Good luck with your search. Bonnie
|
Re: Royal Staff Corps Military Canal Builders 1825-1832
Hi Bonnie,
Thanks very much for joining in. This is certainly a case of the more the merrier. We should pool our knowledge more often.
I was fascinated by your information about John Hooppell. I didn't know the name. The more I learn about the RSC, the more convinced I am that someone should publish a history of the RSC and its members who settled in the area. Patrick seems like an excellent candidate! :) So much wonderful history of the area remains unknown!
By the way, do you know of other RSC members who settled in Argenteuil?
Thanks for mentioning the land grant index. I have consulted it and I do have some land grant information, but I need to go back to it for more details. I tried recently at the Quebec National Archives, but the experience was not a happy one. I also have a number of land transactions from the registry office in Lachute.
I just discovered Marlene Simmons's database about two days ago. And, yes, she has quite a few McPhees. I will certainly want to try it out.
The Donald McPhee that you discovered in the Scotch Road Cemetery is in fact my gggf. Alexander Murray and Janet Cameron are my ggggparents. Matha Hawkins is a descendant -- daughter if I am not mistaken -- of John Hawkins, Private in the RSC, who married, as Patrick said, Flora McPhee, who would have been John McPhee's aunt! Small world in those days, too!
Please let me know what you are researching, so I can keep an eye out for it. Perhaps we should start a club for researchers working in the Argenteuil area. It would be fun putting together a really solid, well documented history of the area.
In any case, let's keep in touch. Thanks again.
Cecil
P.S. We will be having a meeting of the Scotch Road Cemetery Association in October. If you would like to come, you will be more than welcome. That includes you, too, Patrick.
|