[Welland Tribune January 3, 1945]
There was a large attendance of friends, relatives and neighbors Monday afteroon at the funeral of the late Charles Earl Aulph, well known Wainfleet township farmer. The late Mr. Aulph died Thursday, December 28th at Hamilton in his 61st year.
The funeral was held from the H.L. Cudney funeral chapel, 241 West Main street, to Fonthill cemetery for interment. There were many floral tributes. Rev. James Hampson of Fenwick United church officiated at the funeral chapel and the graveside.
The pallbearers were Walter Murphy, Leslie and Edward Swick, Ray Overholt, Leslie McLaren and Jack Criger.
[Welland Tribune January 16, 1945]
The death of Hannah Russell, widow of Hugh Russell, took place at the Welland County General hospital yesterday, in her 81st year. Born in Scotland, Mrs. Russell had spent the past 27 years in Welland. She was a member of the Presbyterian church.
Surviving are four daughters, Mrs. N. Blair of Buffalo; Mrs. W.M. Millar of Buffalo; Mrs. T. Thomson of Hamilton, and Mary of Glasgow, Scotland; four sons, George of Welland; Hugh of Hamilton; Samuel of Glasgow, Scotland, and James of London, Ont.
The funeral will take place from the Sutherland-Thorpe funeral home, 152 Hellems avenue, on Thursday, January 18th, at two p.m. to Woodlawn cemetery for interment.
[Welland Tribune October 26, 1943]
Funeral services were held this morning for the late Mrs. Katherine Pearson, wife of Alfred R. Pearson, 49 Dover road, who passed away Friday at the Welland County General hospital in her 65th year. There were many relatives and friends in attendance including relatives from Toronto and other out-of-town points.
The funeral was held from the J.J. Patterson and Sons funeral residence, 19 Young street, to St. Mary’s church for requiem mass with Rev. A, McMahon officiating. Interment was in Holy Cross cemetery. The pallbearers were three sons, Pte. Fred Pearson, Pte. Jacjk Pearson and Spencer Pearson, and three brothers, Albert, Joseph, and John Atherton.
[Welland Tribune November 20, 1943]
At the Welland Auxilliary Hospital, on Wednesday, November 17th, 1943, to Bdr. John Wheatman and Mrs. Wheatman (nee Grace Arthurs) a son (still born).
Funeral for Infant
The funeral of the stillborn infant son of Bdr. John Wheatman, R.C.A. and Mrs. Wheatman (nee Grace Arthurs) of Humberstone was held from the Wehlann funeral parlors, King street, Port Colborne, Thursday afternoon to Overholt’s cemetery. Rev. Ralph P. Clark conducted the service.
[Welland Tribune January 15, 1945]
Ill for only a few days, Archie McKellar, 953 Crowland avenue, died last evening in the Welland County General hospital in his 37th year. Born in Wishew, Scotland, Mr. McLellar had resided in Welland the past 17 years and was an employe of Atlas Steels Ltd., where he worked until last Saturday.
He is survived by his wife, Rose Kilty McKellar; one son, Archie Hugh McKellar; his father, Archie McKellar Sr., of Welland; two sisters, Mrs. John Allen and Mrs. Fred Waud, both of St. Catharines.
The remains are resting at the J.J. Patterson and Son funeral residence, 19 Yong street. Funeral arrangements have not yet been completed.
[Welland Tribune December 8, 1943]
Many friends were present yesterday afternoon at the funeral of the late Joseph William Clendenning, who died suddenly Saturday evening in Welland. Services were held at the Sutherland-Thorpe funeral home, 152 Hellems avenue, with Rev. L.R. Ballantyne of Central United church officiating. There was a large number of floral tributes.
Interment was in Doan’s Ridge cemetery. The pallbearers were Harry Bowman, James Waldroff, Donald Fehrman, G.C. Herrington, H.P. Thomas and J. Warwick.
By Debra Ann Yeo
[St. Catharines Standard, 1992]
Staff Photograph by Mark Conley
They had no obligation to fight in the War of 1812.
Most were former slaves, and few owned land-the criterion for compulsory military service.
Some of their race were still enslaved in Niagara despite a clause in the Upper Canada Act that legislated partial emancipation.
They were: ”Robert Runchey’s corps of colored men ”believed to be the first black unit in Canadian military history.
Only 25 to 50 men strong, they fought at the battles of Queenston Heights and Stoney Creek and against the American siege of Fort George in 1812-1813.
Their contributions to the history of Niagara and Ontario are to be honored with a historical plaque.
The proposed location is Regional Road 81 ( Old Highway 8 ) more than a kilometre east of Jordan-where Runchey’s home, inn and stage-coach stop once stood.
Paul Litt, a historical consultant with the Ontario Heritage Foundation, said Runchey’s men were the only all-Black corps to fight in the War of 1812.
“It shows there was a distinct black community in that area of Ontario at that time, much easier than most people thought. “
“They had enough interest in the British cause to organize to help them in the war,” said Litt.
Jon Jouppien, a member of the committee that proposed the plaque in 1987, said the volunteer soldiers’ contribution to history “sort of fell through the floorboards of time.”
“You would never know they existed,” agreed Al Holden, chairman of the Niagara Heritage Commemorative Committee and an unpublished author of Niagara military history.
Yet, Holden said, the soldiers served “with distinction” at Queenston Heights, part of the first advance against the Americans.
It was Richard Pierpoint, a former slave who was one of the first few black landholders in Niagara and one of the first settlers in what is now St. Catharines, who organized the company.
Since there were no black army officers, Pierpoint, a private, wasn’t allowed to lead the corps. It was Runchey, a white man and member of the first Lincoln Militia, who was given command.
Even though he led the company less than a year, they were known throughout the war as “Runchey’s company of colored men.”
Most had escaped slavery in the U.S. Some had served with Butler’s Rangers during the American Revolution.
Most resided in Niagara, although some came from York (Toronto) where they had joined the militia.
Holden tells a tale of one slave named Jack who fled his Grimsby masters to join the company. He was turned away when his owner came to claim him.
Despite the Upper Canada Act, slavery was not officially abolished in Canada until 1834 when it was banned throughout the British Empire.
Runchey’s men were headquartered in Niagara-on-the Lake during the war but segregated from the white troops.
By 1814-the year they finally got uniforms of black gaiters, green jackets with yellow facings and felt caps with plumes-they had become artificers, excavating earthworks and doing other engineering jobs around Fort George.
Records obtained by Holden from the national archives show 14 of Runchey’s men were dead by 1820, at least 10 were still in Niagara, seven deserted during the war and at least two died in battle.
Volunteers who had kept their posts and lived were granted land for their service.
By 1819, Runchey was also dead. His house stood until the early 1970s’ when it was demolished after a fire.
Although the committee hoped to erect the plaque to coincide with Jordan’s Pioneer Day, Litt said, it’s too late to make the Oct. 17 date.
A second provincial plaque honoring Harriet Tubman will be erected in St. Catharines in February 1993, which is black history month.
Tubman was an escaped American slave who lived in St. Catharines from 1851 to 1858, according to the St. Catharines Museum.
Nicknamed Moses, she made many dangerous trips back to the U.S., guiding a least 300 slaves to freedom in Canada along the famous Underground Railroad.
The home she rented on North Street, which is no longer standing, was used as a boarding house for the escaped slaves.
[Welland Tribune February 21, 1947]
The death occurred at her residence, 228 Fares Street, Port Colborne, yesterday, following an illness of two months, of Mary Rosie Carnaroli, wife of Augusto Carnaroli, in her 51st year.
The late Mrs Carnaroli was born in Montreal, Que., and had resided in Port Colborne since 1924. She was a member of St. Teresa’s church.
Surviving are her husband; one daughter, Marcelle, at home, and a brother and two sisters in Murray Bay, Que.
The body is resting at the Dell and Merton funeral home, 50 Clarence street, Port Colborne. The funeral will be held on Saturday morning, Feb. 22 at St Teresa’s church, where mass will be sung at 9 o’clock, Interment will be in Mount St. Joseph cemetery.
[Welland Tribune February 20, 1947]
The funeral of the late Rosaire Therrien, who passed away in the 22nd year at the Niagara Sanatorium on Monday, February 17, was held this morning from the J.J. Patterson and Sons funeral residence, 19 Young street to Sacred Heart church, where requiem mass was chanted by Father L.J. Bouchard. There were many floral tributes and mass cards were noted, mute but eloquent tributes to the memory of a popular member of the younger set of his community.
The pall bearers were Alphonse and Joseph Brochu, Elzear St. Pierre, Aurele Maurice, Alfred Fournier and Henri Maurice.
[Welland Tribune February 15, 1947]
The funeral of the late Mrs. Elizabeth Milo, who passed away on Wednesday, February 12, at the home of her son, Paul Milo, Pelham township, in her 62nd year, was held on Saturday morning from the home of Paul Milo to the Greek Catholic Church of St. Michael, Crowland, where requiem mass was solemnized by Father Boresky of Brantford. Interment was in Holy Cross cemetery. Pallbearers were Alec Lehotay, John Kiss, Andrew Dandar, John Myslicki, George Vetrecin, and George Micha.
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