What Is a Genealogist to Do When He/She Reads Statements in Popular
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28 Apr.1850 28 M.y 1850 61un.1850 Sarah Henry 31ul.l850 Ann 24 May 1850 Hannah Richard 51ul.l850 Jane 13Iun.---- Ann Jane Joseph What is a genealogist to do when he/she reads statements in popular and 18 Sep.1850 16 Apr.1850 respected publications crediting another person with an achievement that we 17 Sep.1850 know proudly belongs to a relative? What if such statements are often writ- 20 lul.l 850 18 Sep.1850 ten as absolute fact, yet contradictory to our own family history? What if 22 Apr.1850 Amelia George every time one picks up a book or reads a magazine article about the subject 211ul.l850 Charlone 20 lul.l 850 Sarah John East in question, that glaring "mistake" is found? One might try to ignore them. 26 Sep.1850 Jane Gwilliambury But most family historians would do as much as possible to correct such in- 30 Apr.1850 Frederick Joseph Whitchurch IOcI.1850 accuracies. I was caught in just such a problem in the Spring and Summer of 12 Feb. 1850 1986. In my case the inaccuracy was a fully understandable case of mistaken 70cI.1850 II Nov.1845 identity. But because it appeared in print again and again, I grew increasing- ly frustrated. I decided to try to set the record straight. 29 M.y 1850 281ul.l850 It has always been the contention in our family that my maternal great- 20 Jun.1850 13 Ocl.1850 great-great uncle, a Welsh stonemason and master builder named Charles IOcI.I850 Thomas Thomas (1820-1867) executed the beautiful sandstone carvings on 270cI.1850 Victoria Hall in the town of Cobourg, Ontario. 5 Sep.1849 Elizabeth Thomas School M. Nichols 14 Nov.1850 Ann Teacher In the late 1850's, the Town decided to erect an imposing and grand 12 Nov.1850 Mary Ann John Famlcr M. Nichols 3 Dec. 1850 town hall. Noted Toronto architect Kivas Tully was commissioned to design 200cI.1850 a magnificent municipal building that according to the local newspaper, 4Dec.1850 14 May 1850 Ann George would reflect "not only our present standing but future greatness as well". 180cI.1850 Elizabeth Cobourg enjoyed a prosperous economic boom in that period. Tully 10 May 1850 George William HETHERING 24 Nov.1850 TON designed a Palladian-Classical Revival style building that most architectural -- Dec.1849 OLIVER historians consider to be his masterwork. Construction began late in 1856. In 20 Nov.1850 19 Nov.1850 George lohnathan September 1860, Victoria Hall was officially opened by Edward, Prince of 2 lan.185 1 William Wales (later King Edward VII). 12 Aug.1850 John John 121.n.1851 The building was adorned with finely detailed Ohio sandstone carvings, 8 Nov.1850 Elizabeth William including a bearded gargoyle, lyre ornaments, scrolls, Corinthian capitals 221.n.1851 Phebe 141un.1850 Robert John and cut stone (ashlar) walls. The building fell into disrepair over time and 171.n.1851 was inevitably threatened with demolition. In the early 1970's it was saved 7 Apr.1849 2 Feb.1851 and its full restoration began. Dozens of architectural journals, heritage magazines and historians 2 Feb.1851 181'n.1851 John Robert began paying a great deal of attention to this designated national landmark. 24 Feb.1851 Henry Several magazine articles and book chapters studied its construction. When Mary Charles 2 M.r.1851 Hannah writers refened to the stone carvings however, they confidently and consis- 29 Dec.1850 Francis William 3 Mar.1851 tently awarded the credit for the work to noted Toronto architect, William 24 Apr.1848 Thomas Thomas Thomas. One book on Early Cobourg written in 1973 stated: 3 Mar.1851 Oliver 61.n.1851 William Oliver 3 Mar.1851 George 2 Feb.1848 John Francis 191.n.1851 20cI.1849 191.n.1851 18 Aug.1847 Sarah James 191.n.1851 Winlerbone 20 Mar. 1849 John James 191'n.1851 Since almost every noted architectural historian including Peter John The stone cutting contractor was no Jess than the firm of William Stokes,Anthony Adamson and Thomas Ritchie had already awarded ar- Thomas ... I chitect William Thomas the credit for Victoria Hall's stone work my only Another publication claimed: chance of convincing them otherwise was to find solid original evidence to The design of Victoria Hall has been variously attributed to William support our family's version of the facts. Thomas and to Kivas Tully. There is no doubt that Thomas was I began by examining the few surviving original sources (day books, ar- associated with the building, since the local paper in 1858 noted the chitectural plans etc.) related to the building's construction. These papers carvings ... are the work of Mr Thomas, contractor for the stone were of little help since in every case when the stone contractor's name was . ? cuttmg ... - mentioned, they referred to only a "Mr Thomas". I was examined minutes of town council meetings from 1856 to 1859 and the Cohourg Star newspapers William Thomas was the designer of St. Lawrence Hall, St. Michael's from the same period. Again, both sources referred to this "Mr Thomas" and Cathedral, the Don Jail in Toronto and Brock's Monument in Queenston, as such, were totally inconclusive. The Cobourg Star for July 7,1858 simply Ontario. It was my contention however, that William Thomas had absolutely said: nothing to do with either the design or construction of Victoria Hall. A clear case of mistaken identity had been made. Somehow, the record had to be set a vast amount of stone cutting has been accomplished ... The straight. Thus began several months of pain-staking research to find carvings on the spandrels of the chief entrance are exceedingly fine. evidence clearly naming Charles Thomas as Victoria Hall's stonemason. They comprise the national emblems of the three United Kingdoms I began the project by collecting all of the available information written - the rose, the thistle, and the shamrock disposed on either side by about Victoria Hall and its builders. More importantly, I set down on paper an ancient lyre. These carvings, together with the fine bearded face the full account of Charles Thomas' life as we then knew it. Our version of which forms the keystone of the arch are the work of Mr Thomas, contractor for the stone cutting and they certainly do him very great the facts had always been that Thomas was born somewhere in Wales, and 3 that he became a skilled stonemason. In the mid 1850's he arrived at credit. Cobourg C.W., accompanied by a team of Welsh stone cutters and his three To the best of my knowledge, historians relied exclusively on this vague ref- year old, orphaned niece, my maternal great grandmother Mary Tomlin erence when crediting William Thomas. Making this claim more plausible is Thomas (1854-1937). She too was born in Wales. The story goes on to say the fact that William Thomas was an apprentice stone cutter in his youth and that after the work on Victoria Hall was completed, Charles Thomas left so might have had the necessary skills to execute the stone work on Victoria Cobourg and sometime later, was killed on a bridge building project in the Hall. Historians have also referred to the general similarity in carvings on United States. At this point we had no details of the exact nature of his William Thomas's buildings and Tully's Victoria Hall to further support death. their claim. Thomas's young niece Mary stayed in Cobourg. She was put under the It was apparently not considered possible that the newspaper might have care of a charwoman at the house of a prominent local lawyer. Census been referring to another man in the building trade, with the last name records indicate that Mary became a seamstress when she grew up. Thomas. In July 1873 she married Thomas James Wark (1845-1913); ironically, As my research progressed, two points in my favour kept coming to he was the caretaker of Victoria Hall at the time. Thomas and Mary Wark mind. I thought it unlikely that an architect of William Thomas's stature at lived in back quarters in the building and raised a large family. Among the the time, would have allowed himself to work as a stonemason on a project children was my grandmother Clarice Wark-Romano (1892-1970). designed by one of his chief rivals, namely Kivas Tully.4 Architectural his- torians believe Tully was inspired in his designs for Victoria Hall by Wil- 1 Peler John Stokes' chapter on the restoralion of Victoria Hall in Victoriall Coho/frg - a 19,h C(,JlflffJ' Profile. (Mika Publishing. Belleville. 1976) p.35. Mr. Siokes was olle of the skilled restoration nrchitecis responsible for Victoria 3 Cobvllrg Srar. July 7,1858. Hall's rebirth. 4 Eric Arlhur in his book Sf Lawrence Hall, (Toronlo: T. Nelson & Sons, 1969), p. 145, also queslioned Ihis unlikely 2 Thomas Ritchie. ArclJil('('flfI'C Callada Maga:ille. May 1967. Note: Olher historians <{uribuling the stone work [0 scenario, writing: Toronto ;.architect William Thomas include: It is Irue Ihat earlier in the century, the architeci (William Thomas) was only emerging from Ihe building trades, but Anthony Adamson & Marian McRae in tht:ir fine book ComcrsfOl/('J of Order (1983); Howard V. Walker in an it is unlikely that Thomas. the colleague of such Toronto worthies:.ts Lt. Col. Frederick Cumberland, Thomas Fuller, article he wrote on William Thomas in (he Feb/Mar 19X4 issue of Cwwda eel/flIl'Y Home: Slephen Beszedits in his who designed the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, Sir Sandford Fleming ..