If ever you asked him what position he had played for the Ottawa U Gee-Gees, my father would invariably reply, with his characteristic diffidence and self-deprecating sense of humour, “What position did I play? Benchwarmer!” Well, whatever his position,…
Continue reading →Edward Francis (“Frank”) Finnerty was born at Arnprior, Renfrew Co., Ontario on 7 January 1885, the fourth of the nine known children of John Finnerty and Catherine Benton. He was baptised on 9 January 1885 (St. John Chrysostom, Arnprior), with…
Continue reading →I have lost the contact info for the reader who contacted me in April 2014, with a query about William Fitzgerald and his wife Ellen, who emigrated from Ireland to Hastings Co., Ontario. But: I have recently heard from someone…
Continue reading →Heritage Passages: Bytown and the Rideau Canal will soon be shut down. Many sections of the site are already deadlinked. A message on the website currently reads: This site will be shut down as of Monday July 4, 2022. Ce…
Continue reading →‘Shocking Murder’ It was on Good Friday, 9 April 1841, that John Kelly killed his brother-in-law Michael Hourigan. According to an account published in the Bathurst Courier, the two men had spent the afternoon drinking at Henry Smith’s brewery, where they had been overheard…
Continue reading →Thomas Benton Also a Lumberman Ancestor. Born at Clonganhue, Cappawhite, Co. Tipperary in 1826, Thomas Benton was the son of Thomas Benton Sr., a tailor, and Catherine (‘Kitty’) Dwyer. Thomas Benton emigrated to North America (probably first to the United States) in…
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