Winter 2020 NEWS and views Vol. 48, No. 3 The Quarterly Newsletter of the Simcoe County Historical Association www.simcoecountyhistory.ca Facebook Twitter [email protected] President’s Report I hope this Newsletter finds you sistent basis. This is especially just two ways. all well during these difficult true in the winter months. Even It was agreed to Zoom again in times. The Simcoe County His- our Executive stopped meeting the New Year to try to develop torical Association has been from November to April. This programs that we can all join meeting via Zoom since the has made it difficult to develop in. Please contact me by phone Spring. We even had our AGM on going relationships and pro- or e-mail if your group would by Zoom in July. We are learn- grams. This tells us that meet- like to be part of this new initia- ing as we go. We are attempt- ing by Zoom could be how we tive. We can let the pandemic ing to keep connected as an Ex- meet even after Covid 19 has get us down and prevent us ecutive in this way. disappeared. from continuing to protect and We want to see SCHA continue Seven groups were represented record our common history or to work to protect and record at the meeting. We are still hop- we can join together to continue our history. We decided that we ing to connect with more our work. We are all stronger should look at this pandemic as groups around the County. when we become partners in an opportunity to connect with Some are not our members but history. our group membership. So we have been in the past. Each Individual members and mem- organized a Zoom Meeting on group introduced themselves ber museums are encouraged to November 17th and invited our and gave a short outline of what join us as we zoom into the fu- member societies and associa- their goals were. We discussed ture. There is a great deal that tions. Although not everyone how Covid has caused prob- we all have in common. History was able to attend remotely, we lems for each organization and is in the telling of our stories! had a good meeting. we found that many of the diffi- culties were common to us all. Merry Covid Christmas and Many of our organizations, be- SCHA reminded everyone how hopefully a better year in 2021 cause Simcoe County is such a we could help through our large area, have not been able Ted Duncan, SCHA President newsletter and website to name to attend our meetings on a con- Simcoe County Historical Association Executive Ted Duncan, President [email protected] 705-326-9809 Mark Fisher, Vice President [email protected] 705-728-3825 Donna Wice, Secretary [email protected] 705-436-2578 For membership information, contact: John Merritt [email protected] Preserving the Past, The SCHA acknowledges the in the Present, financial support of the Govern- for the Future. ment of Ontario through the Ministry of Culture. ________________________________________________________________________________ NEWS and views 1 Franklin Carmichael Connection by Ted Duncan Franklin Carmichael’s (one of Her Great Grandfather moved The interesting thing is that she the Group of Seven) connection there in the late 1800s to become also had copies of sketches of to Orillia and area is well the Village Blacksmith. She her family farm made by documented, but it is interesting lives in Virginia and teaches at a Franklin Carmichael in 1933. that there can always be university there. The originals are housed in the something new to discover. My National Gallery in friend Murray Mulvihill and I Ottawa. completed a photo project for the Ramara Historical Society She asked if I was during the Fall 2018 to the interested in having Spring 2019 of about 300 barns copies? Well yes, and still standing in the Township. here we have one. We called for people who live or have lived in Ramara to contact us about old family pictures they may have of barns that are gone. I received a letter from Elizabeth Agnew Ritchey with pictures of Her cousin lives in her family farm at County Road Orillia and 169 and Rama Road and lately volunteers at known as Hinton Antiques. OMAH. Renew your SCHA Membership Today! It’s time to pay for 2021! You can renew your membership using one of the following ways: Pay by PayPal – payments may be sent to [email protected] Pay by Credit Card online - https://www.simcoecountyhistory.ca/memberships/ Pay by Credit Card over the phone – please email us at [email protected] Pay by Cheque: download our form and return by mail - https://www.simcoecountyhistory.ca/memberships/ 2 NEWS and views ________________________________________________________________________________ Tudhope: A Small Family With Big Dreams by Mary Harris, Barrie Historical Archive I have 3 co-workers who are relat- William Brockett Tudhope mar- ed to each other; Tracey, her ried Mary Reid in Oro Township daughter and her niece. Their in 1857. The eldest of their ten roots run deep in Simcoe County children, James Brockett Tud- and are mostly centred around the hope, was born there the follow- Town of Elmvale. Recently, ing year. James B. Tudhope start- Tracey asked me to take a quick ed out as a school teacher in Oril- look at their family tree and now I lia but joined his father’s carriage have 3 new distant cousins! company in the 1880s. In the early The chances seemed unlikely. part of the 20th century, James B. Tracey’s ancestors have been liv- Tudhope wore many hats – Mayor ing in this country for the better of Orillia, M.P.P., M.P., member The variations in spelling, as we part of 200 years while I am an of the Orillia Water and Lights travel backwards through time immigrant who only sailed into Commission and, of course, into the 1600s, complicate the the Port of Montreal in 1967. founder of the Tudhope Motor search. The current spelling is one Company which produced cars in that was settled upon in more Having a rare surname in a family Orillia. modern times but previous gener- tree certainly helps though. In The name is still very prominent ations used Tytop, Tutop, Todhop fact, I knew we had to be related and other forms of the surname. as soon as I saw the name of today. The former Tudhope Motor Tracey’s third great grandmother, Company factory, known as the Todhop may give a clue as to the Margaret Tudhope. Tudhope Building, now houses origin of the name. When sur- Orillia City Hall. Tudhope Park, names arose in Lowland Scotland If the Tudhope name rather on Lake Couchiching, is a 65-acre near the time of the 12th century, sounds familiar, it should. This park located on land donated by most were either patronymic (a unique surname comes from only the Tudhope family. male ancestor’s name), such as one place – the small village of Johnson, occupational, such as Lesmahagow, in the county of Baker, or Lanarkshire in Lowland Scotland geograph- and it is extremely well known in ical like Simcoe County, particularly in the Hill. vicinity of Orillia. In the In 1831, a group of some 50 peo- Scots lan- ple arrived in Canada with an or- guage of ganization called the Lesmahagow the Low- Emigration Society. The leader of land peo- that group was James Tudhope. ple, a tod His family included his wife, is a fox Christian Brockett, and their 8 and a hop/ children. Their daughter, Margaret hope is a Black, and her husband, James small val- Black, were Tracey’s great great ley. In cen- great grandparents. My own connection to the Tud- turies past, the forebears of the But it was Margaret’s brother, hopes is my fifth great grandmoth- Tudhopes may have originated in William Brockett Tudhope, who er, Marion Tudhope, who was a valley where foxes were com- started out as a blacksmith and born around 1749 and is buried at mon. This prominent Simcoe progressed to wagon and carriage Lesmahagow Cemetery where County family has come a long maker, who set in motion the ca- many of Margaret Tudhope’s an- way from their rustic roots in the reer path that would help put the cestors lie. Our exact connection far away hills of Scotland. Tudhope name on the map in eludes me so far but Tracey and I Simcoe County. are likely 6th or 7th cousins, or thereabouts. 3 NEWS and views ________________________________________________________________________________ Minesing’s Princess Rink 1902-1940 by John Merritt Over 100 years ago, residents of fered live performances for skaters. One of the graduates of the Princess Minesing got together to found The rink also hosted a multitude of Rink was Frank Corbett Foyston, their own community skating rink. lively hockey games between the also known as “The Flash”, consid- Over almost 40 years, Minesing’s Minesing “Greenshirts” and other ered one of the best hockey players Princess Rink served as a hub for small-town teams – Elmvale was an of the early 1900s. Foyston, one of winter sports and social life for the arch-rival, and there were frequent six brothers, was born and raised in small rural community, a venue for brawls, often involving the specta- Minesing and began playing hock- community skates and impassioned tors as well as the players. Visiting ey on the frozen pond on his fami- amateur hockey games and a train- bands and hockey teams were all ly’s farm. The Princess Rink ing ground for one of the best hock- provided with a hot supper at the opened shortly before Foyston’s ey players of the early 1900s.