History Articles

The Wake of Dan O’Brien
The Irish tradition of the wake is not only a special family reunion in honour of the dead: it is also a period of transition. Those who died are not quite out of this world, and not quite in the next. Clifford Robillard described one such wake:

The City of Gatineau, in collaboration with the Aylmer Heritage Association, has released a new publication spotlighting the treasures of Aylmer’s Old Village. “Heritage Walking Tour of Aylmer’s Old Village,” the title of the publication, is a lavishly illustrated, full-colour fold-out brochure written by Enid Page, one of the leading lights at the Aylmer Heritage Association.

PREFACE
“The history of a country is the narrative or story of the character and conduct of its prominent citizens or inhabitants.” J. L. Gourlay, History of the Ottawa Valley, 1896.

The publication, Cemetery Heritage in Quebec: A Handbook, has just been released. The book, published by QAHN and written by Matthew Farfan, project leader of QAHN's Cemetery Heritage Inventory and Restoration Initiative (CHIRI), is available in softcover format.

1) Since 2002, Hull has been a part of which Outaouais city?
a) Aylmer
b) Gatineau
c) Chelsea

2) What momentous step in the development of Hull took place in 1845?
a) The City of Hull was established.
b) The municipality of Hull Township was created.
c) The town of Hull established its fire department.

3) Who is considered the founder of Hull?
a) Sir William Hull, an officer in the British Army.
b) Philemon Wright, a timber merchant.
c) Ruggles Wright, who invented the timber slide.

1) b.
2) b.
3) b.
4) b.
5) a.
6) c.
7) c.
8) b.
9) a.
10) b.

Ralph Horner, a native of Shawville, had been ordained as a Methodist minister in the 1880s, but could not accept the “restriction” of a Circuit Ministry. As an evangelist he embraced the doctrines of the Holiness Movement, a fundamentalist movement from the United States. Eventually his refusal to abide by the Montreal Conference rules, and to curb excessive behaviour and claims by his adherents, resulted in a break with authorities, and he was deposed from the Ministry in 1895.

There are several small private cemeteries in the Wakefield area, possibly due to the fact that none of the churches within the community had property enough to provide for burial.

An area for a cemetery was donated by George Hall, on land adjoining his farm property on the outskirts of the village. This thus became the earliest community burial ground, holding the headstones of many of the original Protestant settlers (including William Fairbairn).

Two cemeteries, within a mile of each other, in Chelsea, Quebec, are current success stories.

Nestled in the Gatineau Hills, half an hour’s drive from Canada’s capital, the villages of Chelsea and Old Chelsea offer a gateway to recreation in the National Capital Commission’s Gatineau Park, and a pleasant village core area for residents and visitors to the Municipality of Chelsea.

In 1792, the Municipality of Clarendon was planned and named after a place in Wiltshire, England. After several attempts to have the township surveyed and settled, the government commissioned a retired Bristish Army Officer, Ensign James Prendergast, to undertake this work.