Researchers came from all across Canada and even the United States: Victoria, B.C., Washington D.C., Bristol, Norway Bay, Chelsea, Smiths Falls, Kanata, Manotick, Nepean, Ottawa, Ajax, Calabogie and Bancroft.
Walter Brown from Smiths Falls brought us an updated version of his genealogical records, 180,000 entries. He has been supporting our work since we started in 1987.
He attended all four days of our open house from July 5 – 8, gathering more data and helping researchers.
Pierre Louis Lapointe and his wife Marielle came from Montreal to see how the Pontiac Archives have progressed since 1987 when he helped us form the Pontiac Archives. Lapointe worked at the Centre regionale des Archives nationales du Quebec en Outaouais from 1977 to 1989.
Then he moved to Quebec City to be an archivist at the Archives nationales du Quebec until he retired. He recently moved to Montreal where he is now working on the history of Buckingham.
We showed them all our holdings. Then Venetia Crawford dressed up as Marguerite Charlesbois who married Joseph Mondoin in 1786 and settled at Mondion Point on Pontiac Bay below the Chats Falls on the Ottawa River and told her story.
Elsie Sparrow dressed as Mary Jane Sparling who married John Black in 1853 in Thorne Township in the County of Ottawa.
Their first two years they lived in a tent. They had 10 children. When five of them died quite young, they adopted a home child, William Sparrow.
Lorna Reynolds from Norway Bay, Qc, donated Dori Tripp’s book The Book of Agnes.
Reporters from The Equity came to interview us during the week.Â