[Welland Tribune, 30 July 1986]
PELHAM-Tony Whelan thinks his family has been done an historical injustice and he is determined to see it get right.
Whelan, a member of the Dawdy clan, says the town of Pelham broke an agreement to keep the Dawdy Burying ground name when it was changed to the Hillside Cemetery in 1933. The graveyard along Canboro Road near Effingham Street was taken over by the town in 1926 and he claims the agreement was made then.
Whelan said he learned of the agreement between the town and the cemetery’s trustees from his grandparents.
“When I three or four years ole I would visit people along with my grandparents and I would hear them discussing the issue.”
He said it stuck in his mind and last year he finally checked the record had to be set straight. Whelan approached the town last fall and presented his research. He asked that the Hillside Cemetery should be renamed back to the title it had since the early 1800s’.
Whelan said the renaming would acknowledge his family’s place and role in Pelham’s history. “There are parks and streets named after politicians and others for their community service. I just want the same thing.”
He said he is not alone in his battle but has numerous other clan members backing his efforts. He expects 50 of them to attend a meeting with Pelham town council on August 18when the issue will come up again.
The Dawdy Clan can trace their Canadian roots back to the year 1800 when Jeremiah and Susanna Dawdy moved to Pelham from New Jersey. They purchased 175 acres of land in the area of what is now known as Canboro Road and Centre Streets.
When Jeremiah died he was buried on the family farm, thereby creating the Dawdy Burying Ground. His family and descendants continued to grow and prosper in Pelham. Whelan says they were never community leaders or politicians but simple hard-working farmers.
As they died most of the Dawdy clan were laid out beside their forefathers in the same graveyard. Whelan said there are now more than seven generations and 130 descendants buried there..
Over the years the graveyard expanded and non-family members were buried there as well. The Beckett family became associated with the cemetery and many of their family descendants were buried there. There are reports the cemetery was known as Beckett’s Graveyard at one time but Whelan disputes this and the facts are debatable.
TRUSTEES
A board of trustees took over the administration of the site in the early 1800s and continued to run it right up until 1926 when the town assumed the responsibility.
Whelan said the town never filed a deeming bylaw and therefore it doesn’t even actually own the cemetery, “Not that we want it. All we want is the historical name back.”
He has still yet to find a document which can prove the existence of the agreement to keep the Dawdy name but he said the weight of the historical evidence he has accumulated is more than enough to prove his case.
“I won’t take no for an answer now. There are just too many facts for this case to be ignored. He said he is willing to take the case as far it has to go to see the name changed. “
Right now Whelan is preparing for the first round on August 18 when he will have a chance to speak before the town council.
[Welland Tribune, Date Unknown]
WELLAND STAFF: City Council tomorrow night will order a title search on the old Price Family Cemetery on Colbeck Drive, but Anthony Whelan says he already has proof the 144-year old cemetery is city property.
Whelan, a local amateur genealogist who is pressing the city to restore and maintain the tiny cemetery, found documentation at the Welland Land Registry office showing its ownership was transferred to the city in 1960, possibly as part of the land annex for the construction of a nearby bridge that has since been dismantled. It took him an hour and a half, he says.
George Marshall, chairman of the parks, recreation and arena committee, says the city will fulfill its responsibility under the Ontario Cemeteries Act if a title search indicates it must.
The cemeteries Act makes all owners of cemeteries responsible for keeping them in good condition. When a cemetery is unowned, it becomes the responsibility of the municipality in which it sits.
At a closed meeting on Oct. 22, the parks, recreation and arena committee voted to order both a title search and a “clean-up” at the cemetery.
The recommendation will be before council on Tuesday, and Marshall says city workers will be sent to begin clearing the site soon after.
He did not suggest a date, however, added the matter is to be reviewed by city solicitor Barbara Moloney.
The cemetery-now overgrown with weeds and bushes, most of its headstones beneath the soil and its fence all but fallen down-is one of two cemeteries used by the descendants of David Price, thought to be the first white settler in Welland, The other was long ago pushed aside to build homes near Denistoun Street and the Welland River.
The only visible headstone at the cemeteries bears the name of Sarah Hutson, a member of the Price family who married a man named James Hutson.
She was buried in July, 1886. The first record burial at the site took place in 1842, although Whelan suspects Elisha Price, the first member of the family to own the property on which the cemetery is located, is buried there with his wife. Elisha Price died in 1824.
Whelan has done considerable research on the cemetery and views it as an invaluable piece of Welland’s history.
He is angered that it has been left to fall into its current state, feeling the city has been reluctant to devote money to taking care of the cemetery, while spending much larger sums of money on projects of lesser importance.
Between August 1973 and April 1975, city council and the parks committee dealt with the matter without significant results.
A chronology of the matter compiled by city staff shows a series of recommendations, letters and motions that trailed off on April 1, 1975, with an apparently unfulfilled council instruction to the city solicitor for a title search to be conducted.
“This has gone on before,” Marshall admitted this week.
“I guess it just drifted away, as some issues do.”
He said, however, the parks committee would take steps to see the city’s responsibility under the Cemeteries Act, if it can be established, is fulfilled.
“It’s clear in the Cemeteries Act,” he said. “It certainly appears to be our responsibility.
“It’s one of the first cemeteries in Welland, so it obviously has some important historical merit.”
Whelan has the backing of the Welland Historical Society, which voted recently to support his effort with the city.
“The pressure has to be kept on,” he said recently, vowing to do so until he sees the cemetery well maintained. The money required to do so, he claims, would be comparable to the roughly $1,600 which will be devoted to staging the opening of the renovated farmer’s market next month.
There’s an urgency now, because a lot of this stuff is disappearing,” he says.
“I feel that urgency.”
Salem, Dec. 18- Mr and Mrs. Walter Brown have returned home after spending a few weeks with Mr and Mrs. Harry Robins of Tilsonburg.
Mervyn Wilson spent Monday and Tuesday in Toronto.
Mr. Metler has returned home from St, Catharines hospital.
Mrs. Cecil Chambers called on Mrs. C.E. Strawn on Saturday afternoon.
Mr. Coulter of Port Robinson called on several friends in this vicinity on Thursday.
Guests at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Amos Wilson on Thursday were Miss Inez Wilson of Welland, Mrs. Ernest Farr and the Misses Ethel, Reta Armbrust, also George Edgar and Ernest Armbrust of Bridgeburg.
Norman Cout and Miss B. Boilman of Welland visited Mr. and Mrs. Court last Sunday afternoon.
Mr. Strawn and family visited Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Chambers on Saturday.
Mr. and Mrs. C.E. Strawn visited Mr. and Mrs. F. Court last Sunday.
Sunday visitors at the home of Mr. And Mrs. Edward Hayward, Mr. And Mrs. A. Caughell of Welland were Miss Winnie Nelson of St Catharines, Miss Marion Chambers and Jack Hayward of Fenwick.
Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose Misener of Perry Station, Miss Marion Chambers, Jack Hayward of Fenwick called on Mr. And Mrs Cecil Chambers Sunday evening.
Mr. and Mrs. A. Chambers spent Tuesday in St. Catharines.
Mrs. R. Murray and son Reggie of Prairie Siding, are spending a few days with Mr. Murray.
Hewlitt Brown and family of Welland, Ambrose Misener and family of Perry Station, Mr. and Mrs Walter Brown of Welland spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs Hampton Brown.
Mr. and Mrs. E.E. Strawn and June, Shirley and Kenneth Strawn spent Wednesday with Mrs. Hockey in St Catharines.
Mr. and Mrs. Willson spent Tuesday in St. Catharines.
Mrs. Perly H. Robins of Wellandport visited Mrs. Asa Chambers on Sunday.
Salem, Oct. 15- J.V. Henderson and family of Scarboro Bluffs spent the holiday at their old home.
Mrs. R. Henderson is on the sick list.
Theo. Metler and family spent Sunday with Mrs. Moiseley of Fenwick.
Miss Dorothy Misener of Smithvolle visited Mr. and Mrs. C. Misener.
Mrs Osburn of Woodstock and Mr. And Mrs. Fred Strong of Brantford spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Lorne Wiley.
Mrs. C. Bailey attended the W.M.S. rally at Fonthill last week.
Miss Elsie Hayward of Toronto visited her brother T. Hayward.
Miss Simpson of Bridgeburg, Mr. Mustard of the Electric signal, Miss Marion, George Chambers and Jack Hayward of Fenwick visited Mr. And Mrs. Cecil Chambers on Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. T. Hayward, Mrs. E. Cosby, Miss Hayward and friends of Toronto visited Mr. and Mrs A. Stirtsinger of Chantler on Sunday.
Russel Nunn and family of Hamilton, also Mr. and Mrs. Solon Chambers of London spent Sunday and Monday with Mr. and Mrs. Asa Chambers and Mr. and Mrs Wilson Chambers.
Mrs. C. Harris and son, Mrs. Holmes and daughter and Mr. Teel and family spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. C. Strawn.
Salem, Oct. 8- Mrs. A. Misener of Perry has returned home very much improved after a month’s stay with her parents, Mr. And Mrs H. Brown.
Mrs. Hodgkins and Miss Edna Misener are staying with Mrs. Misener of Perry.
Mr. and Mrs. C. Bailey and friends attended Caledonia fair.
Mrs. Cynthia Durk is visiting friends at Tonawanda.
Miss Dorothy and Jack Misener of Smithville, also Miss Ethel Misener, called on Mr. And Mrs. C Bailey on Sunday.
J. Foss and family of Niagara Falls, called on his sister, Mrs. E. Cosby, on Saturday.
A. Stirtsinger and family of Chantler visited Mrs. E. Cosby, also Mr. and Mrs. T. Hayward on Sunday.
Mrs. John Chambers and Miss Effie Chambers called on Mr. And Mrs Cecil Chambers and his mother.
Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Chambers and son, Garth, and Mrs. J.Chambers called on Mr. and Mrs. H. Brown, also Roy Chambers, Sunday afternoon.
Miss Violet Elsie and friend motored to Port Colborne on Sunday afternoon.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Brown of Welland visited Mr. And Mrs. H. Brown on Sunday.
Salem, March 17-A three-act play, “Ready-Made Family.” will be presented in Salem United church on Wednesday, March 19.
Mr. and Mrs Fred Fraser of St. Catharines were Sunday supper guests of Mr. And Mrs Asa Chambers.
Mrs. Charlie Bailey visited last week with her son and daughter-in-law, Mr. And Mrs. Carmen Bailey of Welland.
Mrs. F. Henderson and children spent last Monday with Mrs. Henderson’s father at Fonthill.
Mr. and Mrs. Asa Chambers spent Thursday with the latter’s parents Mr. and Mrs. E. Crow and Mr. and Mrs. Bill Hippwell.
Mrs. C.E. Strawn spent Wednesday with her cousin, Mrs. Blake Ostrosser, who has been ill.
There was a large attendance at the Salem Baby Band afternoon tea held at the home of Mrs. George Metler. Miss Harris was guest speaker. The children enjoyed a “fish pond.”
Salem, Feb 19-The Young People of Salem and Forks Road conducted the service at Forks Road and Salem United church at Salem on Sunday; Leo Robins took the leading part, James Fan lead in prayer, Marie Farr read the scripture lesson and A. Campbell spoke on the week he spent with Boys’ Parliament in London. The Young People were in choir. This Sunday; Sunday school at 11a.m.; church at noon.
Mr. and Mrs Earl Strawn of Welland were supper guests of the former’s parents Mr. and Mrs C.F. Strawn.
Little Barbara Anne Willford attended a birthday party of her cousin Karen Willford in Welland on Friday afternoon.
There was a large attendance at a social evening of Salem United church W.A. held at the home of Mr. and Mrs Asa Chambers on Wednesday evening.
Misses Venita and Jacqueline Gent were hostesses to the C.G.I.T on Thursday, after a delicious supper the meeting was called to order by the president, Venita Gent, Marie Farr read the scripture lesson. Joan Hewitt read from the study book. The girls made plans for the mother and daughter banquet to be held in March.
The World Day of Prayer at Salem United church will be on Friday at 2 p.m.
The Salem Baby Band are holding an afternoon tea and children’s fish pond at the home of Mrs. George Metler on March 12. All members of the W.A. and W.M.S., as well as ladies of the community are invited.
[Welland Tribune March 11, 1947]
Boyle, March 11-A miscellaneous shower was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Horne on Friday evening in honor of their son-in-law and daughter, Mr. And Mrs Bill McPherson (Jean Horne) a recent bride and groom. Progressive crokinole was played and prizes were awarded to Bill McPherson, William E. Heaslip, Mrs James Ebeling and Mike Kazar. Many useful gifts were received by the happy couple and the bride expressed their thanks to their friends. The rooms were tastefully decorated with pink and white streamers and the bride’s and bridesmaid’s bouquets were beautiful in their vases.
Refreshments were served by Mrs. Horne assisted by her daughter Lillian, Mrs. Gordon J. Robins, Mrs Cyrus Misener and Mrs. W.J. Anderson.
The shower was arranged by the member of the Women’s Association of Bethel United church.
Mr. and Mrs Amos Beamer spent Tuesday at Welland.
Mr. and Mrs. Gordon J. Robins and daughter, Shirley spent Wednesday at St Catharines.
Mr. and Mrs. W.J. Anderson accompanied by Mrs. Leonard E. Cocks, Ralph and Howard Cocks, Mrs. W. Brooks and Miss Mary Lampman, Fenwick, spent Friday at Welland.
All-Day Quilting
The Women’s Association of Bethel United church held an all-day quilting at the home of Mrs. Jack Pearl on Wednesday, February 26. A pot luck dinner was enjoyed at noon. Those attending were Mrs. William Cutler, Mrs William E. Heaslip, Mrs Gordon J. Robins, Mrs Blake Robins, Mrs Amos Beamer, Mrs Cecil Gracey, and Mrs. W,J. Anderson.
Mrs Herbert Gracey and infant daughter have returned to their home here from Dunville Memorial Hospital.
Peter Boyuk and Norman Gracey spent Wednesday evening with Mr. And Mrs W.J. Anderson.
The Women’s Association of Bethel United church will meet at the home of Mrs. Leonard E. Cocks, Fenwick on March 19 at 2 p.m.
Mr. and Mrs W.J. Anderson spent Thursday at Smithville.
By Robert J. Foley
[Welland Tribune, 13 April 1992]
The spring of 1825 brought new life to the Irish laborers who worked in the deep cut. The ankle deep mud was better than the bitter cold of the winter for those shovelling their way to the Chippawa. The teamsters cursed the muck, however, as their horses strained to keep the heavy wagons moving.
There were sections where the muck had to be carried to the top by hand. Men with hundred-pound sacks on their shoulders struggled up the slippery slope to load wagons that would get bogged down in the bottom. Many a man lost his footing and tumbled back to the mud below. If her were lucky he lifted the sack to his shoulder and started again, but many were injured, losing their jobs. There was no such thing as workers’ compensation to feed the sick and injured. No work, no pay was the cruel reality that they faced each day.
The canal was divided into 35 sections. Each section had a foreman. Fifteen laborers and six teams of horses. Some of the laborers worked with picks to loosen the earth while the others loaded the wagons with shovels.
John Phalen wiped the perspiration from his eyes that ran down from his hairline despite the cool temperatures. He leaned on his shovel for a moment while the foreman inspected the rock that impeded the work.
Phalen knew that if he were caught resting he would get a tongue lashing. The pain in his side that had kept him in agony for weeks was under control thanks to another laborer with knowledge of such things.
Phalen was suffering from a rupture, but the fellow had been able to fix him up with a crude truss that gave him some relief. He had to keep working for the sake of his wife who was expecting a baby any day. With two other children to feed, he could not afford to lose any time.
The foreman came away from the large boulder muttering about delays. The rock would have to be blasted with gunpowder.
“Phalen, get the drill, we’ll have to blast this one. Larkin, go and draw the explosives.”
Phalen shuddered as he pulled out a hand drill from one of the wagons. Blasting rock was always a tricky business. Just last week Frank Murphy, who lived tow shanties down from him had been blown to bits when the charge had gone up in his face. He had been the one to take the news to his wife.
The men took turns to drill a deep hole that would shatter the rock into manageable pieces for loading onto the wagons. This did not mean a respite for the others, however, as the foreman, constantly aware of the deadline for completing his section, drove them on, digging around and beyond the offending morsel of granite.
Finally the hole was pronounced deep enough and the crew was ordered up to the top out of harm’s way. The only man to be left below was to be Patty Larkin to set and light the charge. Phalen could see the glassy look in Larkin’s eyes. He had taken on too many sips from the “water” boy’s bucket and was half drunk. In his condition he stood a good chance of going up with the rock. Before he could think, he heard himself say, “Let me do that Patty, you get up top with the others.”
Phalen turned away from the look of relief on Larkin’s face. He began to place the charge carefully in the hole trying not to think of Murphy’s crumpled body lying in the mud. He lit the fuse and ran for the slope climbing for his life. Half way up the pain struck him like an axe and he slipped. For a moment he couldn’t move. He was sliding back down toward the bottom. The men at the top must have sensed a problem for despite the danger, several heads popped over the edge and began to call to him. “Hurry, John, hurry.”
Phalen struggled to reach the lip of the ditch in spite of the pain. As he neared the top, several hands grabbed him and pulled him over just as the thundering explosion shattered the air.
Phalen lay on his back gasping for air. The pain in his side was only a dull throb now. The foreman stood over him. “Are you all right, Phalen?”
“I’m fine, just slipped that’s all,” he lied.
“Well then, get off your back and start loading up that mess you made down there,” he said, a rare smile on his face. Maybe the foreman was human after all.
The backbreaking work of excavating the deep cut was carried out under conditions that we would be unable to comprehend. The cut was an average of 44-feet deep in the 1 ¾ mile stretch between Allanburg and Port Robinson.
In July, 1826, a newspaper advertisement offered wages of $10-$13 a month and boasted that only three deaths had occurred in the previous month. Single men could rent a room at a boarding house for $1.50 per week. This amounted to half their pay. A man with a team was paid a few dollars more. The men with families built shanty towns along the route picking up and moving as the work progressed.
Because of the lack of safe drinking water the “water boys,” that moved up and down the line carried buckets of raw whiskey. This thirst quencher was ladled out in tin dippers. As a result of this, accidents and violence were common place.
Disease was another problem facing the workers. Bad water and poor sanitation bred cholera, dysentry and a myriad of other maladies that killed the men and their families by the hundreds.
The Welland Canal was not built by the merchants, bankers and investors. It became reality by the sweat, blood and lives of thousands of men, mostly Irish immigrants seeking a better life for themselves and their families in a vibrant young country that was to become Canada.
[Welland Tribune October 9, 1943]
Boyle, Oct 9.- A group of relatives and friends gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Emery Gee of Gainsboro on Sunday, October 3rd, in honor of their 50th wedding anniversary. The bride of 50 years ago was Miss Ella Heaslip, daughter of Mr. and Mrs James W. Heaslip and was attended by her sister Alice who passed away a number of years ago. The groom was attended by Archie Beamer of Fenwick who was present on Sunday for the celebration. Included among the guests was their eldest daughter Mrs Ethel Howell of Hamilton and her daughter, Mrs. Edward Barry, and two children. Richard and Jane also of Hamilton, and two sons, Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Gee and daughters Misses Julia and Dorothy Gee of Highway 20 and Mr. and Mrs Charles Gee of Wellandport and a granddaughter, Miss Edith Williams, also Mrs Gee’s sister, Mrs. Geneva Ness of Niagara Falls, N.Y. Mrs Ricker and friends from the Falls, Mr. and Mrs William Dilts and Mr. and Mrs Edmund Beamer of Welland, Miss Jessie Beamer of Fenwick, Lucien Moore of Highway 20, and Mr and Mrs Amos Beamer and son Wray.
Many beautiful gifts and bouquets were received by the happy couple as well as a number of cards from friends who were unable to be present. Among the gifts was a three tier wedding cake, also the bride’s cake.
The rooms were prettily decorated with gold and white streamers and wedding bells, and autumn leaves and flowers. The tables were laid with white cloths and prettily decorated and centred with the wedding cake. Dinner was served at noon and again at 6 p.m.
Four guests were present who attended the wedding 50 years ago namely Archie Beamer of Fenwick, Edmund Beamer, Mrs. William Dilts of Welland, and Mrs Geneva Ness of Niagara Falls N.Y.
Their eldest son Emery Gee, now in Toronto, and their second daughter, Mrs. George Barry(Flossie) at Hamilton, were unable to be present on Sunday. The youngest daughter Mrs. Norman Williams (Edith) passed away a number of years ago. Their grandson, Alfred Williams, is with the R.C.A.F. overseas.
Friends in this vicinity wish Mr. And Mrs. Gee many more years of wedded bliss.
Personals
Cpl. John W. Bossert of Camp Blanding, Fla. and Mrs. Bossert and daughter Beverley Anne of Stevensville called on the former’s uncle and aunt, Mr and Mrs. Paul A, Comfort and family on Friday.
Thomas Gracey and John Hill spent Monday at Smithville
Mr. and Mrs. Amos Beamer and son Wray were Sunday guests of the latter’s uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs Robert Carter at Attercliffe.
Mr. and Mrs James Hill and sons Cameron and Murray hill and daughters Misses Leila and Marian Hill were Sunday guests of the former’s brother-in-law and sister, Mr. and Mrs Gordon Robins and family at Niagara Falls. Other guests included the latter’s son and daughter-in-law, Mr and Mrs Edwin Robins and daughter Bonnie.
John Hill called on friends in Welland on Tuesday..
Rev. George I. Comfort of Dunnville is spending a few days with his son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs Paul A, Comfort and family.
Mtr. and Mrs Roy Overholt and Mr. and Mrs Amos Beamer and son Wray attended the chicken supper at Silverdale United church on Tuesday evening.
The official board of the Wellandport circuit met at the parsonage at Wellandport on Tuesday evening.
Relatives from Locport, N.Y. were Sunday guests of Mr. and Mrs Camerson Reece and Mr. and Mrs Charles Gee at Wellandport.
Miss Audrey Ulman is a patient at St. Catharines General hospital. Her many friends wish her a speedy recovery.
Mr. and Mrs Pail A. Comfort and daughter Elizabeth and sons George and David were Wednesday guests of the former’s parents, Rev. Geo J. Comfort and Mrs. Comfort and son John at Dunnville.
Mrs. Henry Ulman visited her daughter Miss Audrey Ulman at St, Catharines General hospital on Saturday.
Mrs Ethel Howell and daughter Mrs. Edward Barry and children Richard and Jane of Hamilton spent the weekend with the former’s parent’s Mr. and Mrs Emery Gee and Miss Edith Williams.
Mr and Mrs Charles Gee of Wellandport and Mr. and Mrs Roy Overholt spent Wednesday at Hamilton.
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