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- Stairs, Dennis & Sue
Stairs, Dennis & Sue Back to ALL Bios Dennis W. Stairs 1923-1975 & Susan E. (Inglis) Stairs 1923-1978 Dennis was born and grew up in Montreal. After attending Bishop’s College School, he joined the Royal Navy and served on the British aircraft carrier Indefatigable as an airplane navigator. He started coming to Tadoussac at an early age, and in his teens went on trips to Les Escoumins and the Marguerite in nor’shore canoes with his brothers and his cousin Peter Turcot - twenty miles rowing is a long way! He was a tennis and skiing enthusiast and was on the McGill University teams for both sports. He graduated from McGill with honours in engineering and took a position with what was then the Price Brothers Company in Kenogami. He married twice having four children by his first marriage and three by his second. Sue Inglis was born and grew up in Pittenweem, Scotland. She moved to London during the war and served in an anti-aircraft unit defending the city. She married Dennis Stairs in 1957 and together they had three children, Alan, John, and Sarah to add to Dennis’s previous four, Judy, George, Felicite, and Philippa, and she treated all seven with the same mixture of poise, no-nonsense strength, and kindness. Sue had left her home in a thriving metropolitan city to move to Kenogami, a small town a mere ninety miles from Tadoussac. She adapted well, learning skiing as well as other winter activities. She also learned French well enough to lead the Girl Guides in the Lac St Jean region! She came to Tadoussac soon after arriving and embarked on the full range of activities – witness her name on the Mixed-Doubles Tennis Trophy in more than one place, her embroidery creations in the church, and the Scottish-dancing parties she hosted - not to mention numerous picnics around Tadoussac on the beaches, in the hills, and along the shores in the freighter-canoe Seven Steps. She tirelessly nursed Dennis when he took ill, enabling him to spend the last few years of his life in the relative peace and comfort of his own homes in Montreal and in Tadoussac. Dennis passed on to us all, with varying degrees of success, his love of the outdoors whether hiking, cross-country skiing, chopping wood, or fishing. He passed along to us his love of small boats, be they canoes, rowboats, motorboats, or even how to use a freighter canoe as a sailboat! And of course, he led by example in tennis and skiing. Perhaps most of all he tried to teach us to be honest, fair, hard-working, and family-oriented people. Many a time we were cajoled into doing unpleasant tasks with the words "you're not going to let your poor father do everything are you?" We and the entire Tadoussac community remember them as good parents, good friends, and good people to have in your corner when the going got tough. George Stairs
- Smith, George Noel Carington
Smith, George Noel Carington Back to ALL Bios George Noel Carington Smith 1904 - 1988 The second of four children and eldest son of Charles and Aileen Carington Smith, Noel was born on Christmas Day and aptly named. The family lived at Montmorency Falls, where Noel’s lifelong love of the countryside was nurtured. There are stories of fifteen or twenty feet of snow in the winter - he had his own dog and sledge to cope with this - of eating maple syrup turned to a crispy mouthful in a bowl of deeply frozen snow, and of the magic of living close to the amazing waterfall which famously produces a huge cone of frozen spray in the winter. He was educated at Lower Canada College and then Upper Canada College, graduating in 1922. The next three years were spent training at the Royal Military College at Kingston. Noel decided to make his career in the British Army and in 1925 he moved to the United Kingdom and joined the Royal Artillery Regiment. As a young army officer, he was stationed in various places within the UK. In 1929 he was stationed in India and spent an interesting and active two years there. While there he famously shot dead a ‘man-eating' tiger that had killed two people in the local village. In those days this was a wonderful thing to have done, and he became quite a local hero. Even though the Royal Artillery was highly mechanized during the 1930s, horse riding ability was apparently considered very desirable and Noel proved to be fully capable of reaching an excellent standard. He took part in many horse races, often won, and had many silver trophies to display. When he was still new to British Horse Racing, his future father-in-law bet on him. At the end of the successful race, it turned out that this was the only winning ticket, so the odds were excellent. A win that boded well for his future, no doubt. It was in 1934 that he met Mary Falconer Donaldson, the youngest daughter of a Scottish shipowner, and in 1936 they were married. Army life involved a lot of moving around, and Noel and Mary were no exception. They had four children, Charles Falconer born in 1938, and Katherine Ann in 1940, at which point Mary and the two young children sailed the Atlantic to live in Kingston, Ontario, where they stayed until 1944. After the war, and by now back in Scotland, twins Robert and Rosemary were born in 1945. At the start of the war, Noel was the adjutant attached to a reserve Technical Assistance (T.A.) unit based in County Durham in the north of England, however, within a few months, he was posted to Kingston, as a Staff College instructor. After this, he commanded an artillery regiment during the invasion and conquest of Sicily. Later experiences included Anzio and Ortona. Just at the end of the war, he spent a short time in England, before his second spell in India. Here he became the Acting Commandant of the British Army College in Quetta, in what is now Pakistan, during the months leading up to Independence and Partition; a job that involved overseeing the movement of many thousands of Hindus to the south into safety in India - a huge logistical job, involving the requisitioning of several trains. In 1947 Noel decided to leave the army and he took up a civilian post in Perth, Scotland, administering the T.A. branch of the Scottish regiment, The Black Watch. He still loved riding, and for a while became Master of the Perthshire Drag Hunt. After six years he and Mary bought an arable farm, on which they built a new family-sized farmhouse, and Noel became a full-time farmer. There followed many happy years of farming, breeding Aberdeen Angus beef cattle and Scottish black-face sheep. Noel taught his children to ride, fish, and shoot, passing on his love of sports, horses, dogs, and the outdoors. He could now enjoy fishing and shooting too, and taking part in these two sports was something he continued after he retired from farming until his death in 1988. Ann Carington Smith
- Williams, Caroline Anne (Rhodes)
Williams, Caroline Anne (Rhodes) Back to ALL Bios Caroline Anne (Nan) Rhodes Williams 1861 - 1937 Caroline Anne (Nan) Rhodes Williams was the seventh child of Col. William Rhodes and Anne Catherine Dunn. She was born in Sillery, Quebec on January 10, 1861 and died at Tadoussac on July 30, 1937. Her family called her “Annie”, but to her children she was known as “Nan”. The ages of her brothers and sisters were spread over almost 20 years, yet they grew up actively engaged with each other. Army, her eldest brother made her a big snow house; Godfrey took her and her sister Minnie skating and sliding. They all spent summers in Tadoussac together, Nan with her dog “Tiney”. She and her brother Godfrey frequently “apple-pied” all the beds, causing bedlam in the house. Growing up at Benmore the family home in Sillery, she was surrounded by an endless collection of birds and animals - geese, chickens, bantams, rabbits, guinea pigs, ducks and ponies and even beehives. All were welcome inhabitants of her family’s farm. Her brothers, Godfrey and Willy procured a bear cub and had a pole for it to climb. The family meals often included Caribou and rabbit meat from her father’s hunting trips. Croquet was a favourite family game on the lawn. In winter, Nan and her sister Minnie traveled by sleigh through the deep snow to their lessons at dancing school. Nan was a lively young girl who always loved jokes. Her father described her as “full of play”. Nan became engaged to a young clergyman at St. Micheal’s Anglican Church in Sillery. She and Lennox Williams were married there on April 26, 1887. Her sister Gerty and her best friend Violet Montizambert were her bridesmaids. Their first child, James, was born in 1888, followed by Mary (Wallace), Gertrude (Alexander) and Sydney Williams. As their children were growing up in Quebec, Lennox served at St.Michael’s. His work always involved people and when he became Dean, and later Bishop of Quebec, his duties extended over the vast geography of the Quebec Diocese. Assisting him in his work brought Nan in contact with the many different people in the City and the Province, some of whom would go overseas to serve in the South African (Boer) War, WW1 and WWII. Winter of 1913-14 in Quebec was the last carefree time before WWI began. Nan always welcomed her children’s friends around the Deanery for supper or tea. According to one of her future sons-in-law, “On some evenings it was quite amusing. The Dean and Mrs. Williams sat in his study, Jim Williams and Evelyn Meredith sat in an upstairs sitting room, Mary Williams and Jack Wallace in the drawing room, and Gertrude and Ronald Alexander in the dining room. Mrs. Williams was a very understanding person.” This was still the age of chaperons. Before going overseas, Jim and Evelyn were married, and both enjoyed summers in Tadoussac with the family at Brynhyfryd. In November, 1916, Nan received the news that her son Jim was killed at Grandcourt, the Battle of the Somme. Two months later in January 1917, she and Lennox, accompanied by their daughters, Mary and Gertrude, sailed to England. Mary went to see Jack Wallace and Gertrude to be married to Ronald Alexander. They stayed in London at Queen Anne’s Mansions and remained there until April. After the War, Nan and Lennox continued their active life together as Lennox had been consecrated as Bishop of Quebec in 1915. The Rhodes family house in Tadoussac, built in 1860, had been left to Nan. It was to burn down in 1932 and be rebuilt the next year. Brynhyfryd remains in Nan’s family today. When Lennox retired in 1934, they had more time to spend in Tadoussac and ten grandchildren to enjoy it with them. One day, walking to town with one of her ten grandchildren, Nan discovered that her grandchild had lifted a bit of candy from Pierre Sid’s general store. She marched her back to return it and to apologize. To one of her grandchildren “Granny was always game for some fun and she had lots of energy”. Nan loved to be out rowing the boats and like others her age, she swam regularly in the refreshing salt water of the Bay. On June 30, 1937 she climbed up the path from the beach and reaching the house feeling a bit tired, she took a rest and died suddenly that evening. Micheal Alexander
- Smith, Herbert Carington
Smith, Herbert Carington Back to ALL Bios Herbert Carington Smith 1866 - 1915 Herbert (Herbie) was born in Quebec City in 1866, the second son of Robert Herbert Smith and Amelia Jane LeMesurier. He attended the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario. He had a long and distinguished army career. He served in the Dublin Fusiliers for twenty-seven years, receiving his commission in 1910. He was stationed in Egypt in 1898, under Lord Kitchener, also in South Africa (1899-1902) and Aden (1903). As a Lieutenant-Colonel he was serving as commanding officer of the 2nd Hampshire Regiment in the Dardanelles when he was shot and killed during World War I at the Battle of Gallipoli, Turkey on April 25, 1915. He is buried at the Helles Memorial at the tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey. He was survived by his wife Helen (Lawton) and a daughter, Helen Carington 1910-1932. Eve Wickwire
- Turcot, Peter Alfred
Turcot, Peter Alfred Back to ALL Bios Peter Alfred Turcot May 19, 1925 – October 29, 2018 Tadoussacer, path builder, golfer, tennis player and devoted supporter of the Tadoussac Protestant Chapel. Peter Turcot loved Tad with lots of family, cousins and the Tad Community. He started visiting Tad at an early age where he developed his love of picnics and canoeing. At 21, he spent the summer carving a path to the beach while supervising the Turcot house being built, he served his community on numerous committees and spent his last summer playing three rounds of golf a week at the age of 93. Much loved husband of Anne Dean Turcot and Son of Marjorie (Webb) and Percy Turcot of Quebec City. Dad was the caring father of Wendy (Brian Dourley), Peggy (Scott Robertson), Peter Dean, Chris (Christine McGinty) and Susan (Chris Wilbert). He was greatly blessed with ten grandchildren Trevor (Emily), Chris, Patrick (Ambe), Caroline (Brad), Timothy, William, Stephen, Nicole (Keynen), Meagan and Quinn … and five great grandchildren Aya, Seraphina, Caspian, Harrison and Camden. Peter had a strong Christian faith and was deeply devoted to his church and family. Spiritual, and universally respected, he found the best in everyone he met. He loved Sunday Tea, a cottage filled with too many family members and any excuse to bring everyone together. After McGill University his career in the financial community included positions with Turcot, Wood, Power and Cundill Ltd, Guardian Trust, and being Chairman of the Montreal Stock Exchange. He was a willing volunteer and supporter of many good causes.
- Urquhart, Alexander
Urquhart, Alexander Back to ALL Bios One of our first summer residents! Alexander Urquhart 1816 - 1897 Alexander Urquhart was born in Cawdor, Nairnshire, Scotland on April 14, 1816. He was the eldest of the family of the seven children of his mother, Mary MacDonald and his father John Urquhart. His two brothers were James Kyle and Charles Calder Mackintosh and his sisters May, Isabella, Jessie and Mary. He came to Canada in June of 1840 and joined the congregation of St. Gabriel Street Presbyterian Church in Montreal, which was then the wealthiest and best attended churches in the city. Shortly after his arrival in Montreal, he went to Quebec City where he lived for four years and was married to Elizabeth Cumming. He returned to Montreal in 1844 and established a business, Alexander Urquhart & Company. The enterprise started as a wholesale grocery business which grew and diversified over time. The company imported goods from Europe and the Caribbean. Its products were sold in Quebec and Ontario, and also in the burgeoning regions of the Canadian North West – the Red River District and beyond. He was an active member of the congregation of the St. Gabriel Street Church holding the position of treasurer from 1844 to 1846. He remained involved in the administration of the church before moving to St. Andrew’s Church in 1855. By this time his business had become well established, and he was a prominent member of the Montreal business community. His Montreal home was on Côte de Neiges just above Sherbrooke Street in the sector known as the Golden Square Mile. His sister May married Alexander Begg a druggist of Quebec City and his brother James Kyle came to Canada and was closely associated with Alexander’s business interests. His interest in Tadoussac was most likely kindled through his involvement in the Tadoussac Hotel and Sea Bathing Company. The company principals included others such as William Rhodes, William Russell and Joseph Radford. The group built the first Hotel Tadoussac which opened its doors in 1864. Urquhart was also one of the founders and Tadoussac Protestant Chapel which conducted its first protestant services in 1866. In 1864, he purchased the land and buildings above the wharf at L’Anse à l’eau from David Price. The land was on the opposite side of the road from a house built in 1863 by his colleague Joseph Radford. He converted the large square building on the property into a spacious summer home. The redesigned residence included a windowed dome on the roof from which he could keep an eye on the shipping that brought his goods from Montreal to supply the needs of the Hotel Tadoussac. Alexander and Elizabeth Urquhart had three daughters: May, Charlotte and Mary. The family spent their summers in Tadoussac and the daughters, along with the two sons of Alexander and May Begg, participated in the social functions of the time. Godfrey Rhodes diary recounts evening dances with the Urquharts at Tadoussac summer residences. The youthful energy levels and late-night antics among the young in Tadoussac have a long history as does the patience of parents and grandparents. Alexander Urquhart continued actively in his business until 1875 when he retired. He died on May 28, 1897 in Montreal. The Urquhart family continued to spend their summers in Tadoussac until 1905. Prepared by: L. John Leggat Sources The McCord Museum, Montreal The Montreal Gazette, May 1897 A History, Scotch Presbyterian Church, St Gabriel Street, Montreal; by Rev Robert Campbell Tadoussac, The Sands of Summer by Benny Beattie Encyclopedia of French Cultural Heritage in North America Vieux.Montréal.qc.ca Godfrey Rhodes Diary, 1862 to 1873
- Watt, Frances McIntosh
Watt, Frances McIntosh Back to ALL Bios Frances MacIntosh Watt – d. 1876 There is a window at the back of the church dedicated to the memory of Frances MacIntosh Watt but we have been able to find out very little about her. We know she died on July 1st, 1876 and that she was buried in Outremont, Montreal, Quebec at the Mont-Royal Cemetery. The tombstone is inscribed: FRS. MACINTOSH wife of DAVID A. WATT DIED 1ST JULY 1876 NEIL MACINTOSH, BROTHER ISABELLA McLEAN, cousin Her husband was originally named David Allan Poe and apparently changed his name to Watt. He went by Poe in the 1861 census and when he was married to Frances in 1857. However, he signed as D. A. P. Watt on the original chapel subscriber's list of 1866. David and Frances had four children, three girls, and a boy, but even in David’s obituary below the girls are not identified by name. He seems to have died in 1918. Mr. David Allan Watt Passed Away in 88th Year (Obituary) The death of Mr. David Allan Watt took place last Thursday at his residence, 285 Stanley Street. He was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1830, and was thus eighty-eight years of age. He was educated at the Grammar School, Greenock, came to Canada in 1846, and was one of the organizers of the Corn Exchange, the Citizen’s League, and the Montreal Art Association. He was the editor of the Canadian Naturalist. In 1857 he married Miss Frances Macintosh, his wife predeceasing him in 1876. He is survived by his four children, Mrs. F. H. Whitmore and the Misses Watt, of Montreal, and Mr. Allan Watt, of Rocky Mount, N. C.
- Barn
ALL HOUSES Barn NEXT PAGE The Barn has a long history, it is about 150 years old! Built shortly after the main Rhodes house in the 1870's, the Barn has been Kitchen, Scullery, IceHouse, Maid's Quarters, Chicken Coop, and Summer Cottage! The "Barn" was built shortly after the main Rhodes Cottage was built in 1860, and at first served as maid's quarters, ice house, larder and kitchen for the main house. When the Rhodes Cottage burned in 1932 and was rebuilt in 1933, the new house named Brynhyfryd included a kitchen and servants' rooms. Chickens were kept in the Barn until it was converted into a summer cottage in 1934. Letter from Enid Williams, October 1981 The "Barn" has had many uses. First I understand it was built by Col. Rhodes as a kitchen for the big house. The maids slept upstairs, the kitchen being downstairs. The meals were carried over to the big house. When it rained, one maid carried the food and another carried an umbrella. When the big house was done over, the Barn became a place for the chickens. I am not sure if they kept a cow there as well. Eventually it was done over by Mr Frank Morewood and made into a house, in the year 1934. When my father-in-law [Lennox Williams] died and my husband [Sydney Williams] inherited the Barn [1959], he made a few alterations, such as the picture window. The original beams are still being used but are covered up. Mrs Williams bought some land from Mrs Dwight when the Barn was completed [1934] on the Lewis Evans side. I can't think of anything more about the Barn, but I do remember the chickens there when I was married. Sincerely Enid Williams From Michael Alexander Lots of people stayed there. During the War I stayed there with my mother. Jean and Johnny Aylan Parker, Ron, Jim and Ted and I were there when the S.S.Quebec burned at the Wharf - great view from the bedroom up stairs! Bob and Nan Leggat were there at least one summer. It was a great place for all the excess people at Brynhyfryd and quite a popular spot to be. Only thing - it was a long way from 8 o'clock morning prayers led by Grandad (the Bishop) in the Brynhyfryd living room - a command appearance for all before breakfast - every day! The Barn "The Barn" a une longue histoire, elle a environ 150 ans ! Construite peu de temps après la maison principale de Rhodes dans les années 1870, la grange a été la cuisine, l'arrière-cuisine, la glacière, le logement de la bonne, le poulailler et le cottage d'été ! La "Barn" a été construite peu de temps après la construction du cottage principal de Rhodes en 1860 et a d'abord servi de logement de bonne, de glacière, de garde-manger et de cuisine pour la maison principale. Lorsque le Rhodes Cottage a brûlé en 1932 et a été reconstruit en 1933, la nouvelle maison nommée Brynhyfryd comprenait une cuisine et des chambres de domestiques. Les poulets étaient gardés dans la grange jusqu'à ce qu'elle soit transformée en chalet d'été en 1934. Lettre d'Enid Williams, octobre 1981 La "Barn" a eu de nombreuses utilisations. D'abord, je comprends qu'il a été construit par le colonel Rhodes comme cuisine pour la grande maison. Les bonnes dormaient à l'étage, la cuisine étant en bas. Les repas étaient transportés dans la grande maison. Quand il pleuvait, une servante portait la nourriture et une autre portait un parapluie. Lorsque la grande maison a été refaite, la grange est devenue un endroit pour les poulets. Je ne sais pas s'ils y gardaient aussi une vache. Finalement, il a été refait par M. Frank Morewood et transformé en maison, en 1934. Lorsque mon beau-père [Lennox Williams] est décédé et que mon mari [Sydney Williams] a hérité de la grange [1959], il a fait quelques modifications, comme la baie vitrée. Les poutres d'origine sont toujours utilisées mais sont recouvertes. Mme Williams a acheté un terrain à Mme Dwight lorsque la grange a été achevée [1934] du côté de Lewis Evans. Je ne peux rien penser de plus à propos de la grange, mais je me souviens des poulets là-bas quand j'étais marié. Cordialement Enid Williams De Michel Alexandre Beaucoup de monde y est resté. Pendant la guerre, j'y suis resté avec ma mère. Jean et Johnny Aylan Parker, Ron, Jim et Ted et moi étions là lorsque le S. S. Québec a brûlé au quai - superbe vue depuis la chambre en haut des escaliers ! Bob et Nan Leggat y ont passé au moins un été. C'était un endroit formidable pour toutes les personnes excédentaires de Brynhyfryd et un endroit très populaire. La seule chose - c'était loin des prières du matin de 8 heures dirigées par grand-père (l'évêque) dans le salon Brynhyfryd - une apparition sur commande pour tous avant le petit déjeuner - tous les jours! 1974 James Lennox Williams 1959 Rev Canon Sydney Waldron Williams East part of property 1940 Ethel Adam (Dwight) 1911 Jonathan Dwight, Jr Previous 1950's? Before the picture window was installed 1980? That's Betty Evans talking to Enid Williams 20 More photos of The Barn below! CLICK on the first one then use the scroll arrows<> 1/20 20 More photos of The Barn below! CLICK on the first one then use the scroll arrows<>
- Dewart, Russell and Ann (Stevenson)
Dewart, Russell and Ann (Stevenson) Back to ALL Bios Ann (Stevenson) 1915 - 2008 & the Rev. Russell Dewart 1901 - 1997 Ann de Duplessis Stevenson was born in 1915 at 83 rue d’Auteuil in Quebec City, the daughter of Florence Louisa Maude Russell and Dr James Stevenson. The Stevenson sisters (Margaret, Ann, and Elizabeth) spent their childhood summers in Tadoussac staying at their grandmother's house in the village, the original family cottage Spruce Cliff built by their great-grandfather, Willis Russell in 1861. In 1922, Ann’s father, Dr Stevenson, had their own cottage built for his family in Languedoc Park on land given to them by their cousin, Erie Russell Languedoc. This cottage now remains in Margaret's family and is owned by Margaret's son, Dennis Reilley. In the late 1920s, Dr Stevenson built a second cottage nearby which now remains in Elizabeth's family (the O'Neill house). In 1938, Ann married a Bostonian, Russell Dewart - coincidently her third cousin (Ann was a direct descendant of Willis Russell and Russell was a direct descendant of Willis's brother, William Russell). When one of Russell’s sisters was getting married in Boston, Ann was sent to represent the Canadian branch of the family and was met at the train station by her future husband, Russell. Later, in the 1940s, Ann and Russell Dewart purchased Tivoli, the third Stevenson cottage (now the Dewart house). Tivoli has an interesting history. Shortly after World War I, Erie Languedoc had two square log cabins from the golf course moved on rollers to Tivoli's present location where she joined them together and rented it out. It was then bought from Erie Languedoc by Professor Maclean from Rochester, NY, who named it Tivoli. In 1945, Ann and Russell purchased the cottage from the professor and continued summering there every summer with their six children, Timothy, Alan, Brian, Ted, Beth, and Judy. Many years later, in the mid-1980s, Russell and Ann built their own little chalet across the road from Tivoli. Among Ann's additional pleasures were stimulating and philosophical conversations, exchanging aphorisms, delving into history, reading and writing, brisk walks, and sharing a cup of tea. Ann’s time spent with family at her summer home in Tadoussac was a source of great joy and spiritual renewal. She authored a self-published memoir Nose to the Window which included reflections, poems, letters, and anecdotes of her rich and vibrant life including much history of early Tadoussac and growing up in Quebec City. Russell Dewart, was asked to tell of his life for his 50th college anniversary and part of what Russell wrote is below: “… after getting a delayed degree at Harvard, I took the rather conventional business route of selling everything from rubber boots to investment counselling. The salesman whom my long-suffering wife married turned up a few years later in the pulpit with a round collar, but with few of the other less discernible attributes usually associated with the Ministry. I regard this complete change of direction as one of the many paradoxes of my life and makeup. Having entered the Episcopal Seminary in Cambridge at the age of forty-three it was hard for me to believe that I had spent twenty-three years as a parish priest when I retired (for the first time). While a clergyman’s life can be parochial and unexciting, I have found it a most challenging profession and one that is deeply rewarding. Perhaps the reason I say this is that the greatest joy I find in life is through my relationships with people of all ages and conditions - beginning of course with my own family and friends. The church records tell me that it has been my privilege to be called on to baptize, marry or bury some 1600 souls, and to present another 800 to the Bishop for Confirmation. These occasions for most individuals, as well as other times of tragedy and joy, are crucial and searching experiences. They are times when the clergyman is allowed to share some of the most significant moments in a family’s life together. For him, they provide the unique opportunity to do what he was ordained to do – to walk along with his people as one who serves. Because of this, and for what he himself has learned from them – these times are never forgotten. My entire Ministry has been here in Massachusetts - at Epiphany, Walpole; Grace Church, Chicopee, and St. Peter’s, Beverly. Since retiring in 1967, I have served part-time at the Old North Church in Boston where my father was Rector fifty years ago, and more recently as Interim Pastor at St. John’s, Beverly Farms. Throughout these years I have been blessed beyond measure with the kindness and appreciation of so many people in return for what little I on my own might give. God does work in mysterious ways. Other activities during the past fifty years have centred largely around my family and home. Since the war, we have spent some part of most summers at our cottage in Tadoussac, Quebec – where the Saguenay River joins the St. Lawrence. It is here where my wife came as a child and where we as a family have spent some of our happiest days. Now our children return there with their children and friends – to the place they consider their first home. We acquired our present home here, a small, cosy, New England house built originally by one Jeffrey Thistle, a planter, in 1668. Jeffrey built well but there is enough to keep me busy and happy in caring for his clapboard house and half-acre of land. It is here we expect to live out our days with occasional visits to our six children, and possibly further travel abroad if the spirit moves and the conditions are favourable. But we are quite content to remain where we are. There is a good stack of Vermont hardwood outside for our fireplaces; there are some fish left in the ocean a half-mile away. And we are surrounded by friends. Fortunately, Ann and I still enjoy good health and, most of the time, our sense of humour. We are able to pursue our individual interests and to look forward not to vegetating, but to making the most of what time is left to us in being useful and helpful to others in our own particular way. The Lord has been good to us; our life together has been a full and happy one.” Russell Dewart served faithfully as a summer rector for twenty-one years (1953-1974). He died in 1997 and Ann died eleven years later in 2008. Both are buried in the family plot in Mount Hermon Cemetery, Quebec. Brian Dewart
- Williams, Jim & Evelyn (Meredith)
Williams, Jim & Evelyn (Meredith) Back to ALL Bios Jim Williams is the oldest son of Lennox Williams and Nan Rhodes. Born in 1888, married Evelyn Meredith January 3, 1916. He was killed in the First World War at the Somme in November 18, 1916 at the age of 28. MANY more photos and letters at https://www.tidesoftadoussac.com/james-w-williams
- Smith, Jean Alexandra (McCaig)
Smith, Jean Alexandra (McCaig) Back to ALL Bios Jean Alexandra (McCaig) Smith 1903-1988 Jean, Mumsie, Aunt Jean, Grannie was born in Quebec in 1903. Her parents were John and Evelyn McCaig. She had 2 sisters, Ruth, born in 1908, and Ester, and one brother, William John, born in 1911. The family moved to Edmonton, Alberta in 1911. Jean trained as a stenographer and early in her adult life she developed a love of travel. During the 1920s and 1930s she visited Vancouver, Honolulu, San Francisco, Berkeley, South Hampton and Brazil and settled finally in New York in the early 1940s. She was working as a stenographer in the Canadian Consul General/Trade Commissioner’s office when she met Robert Guy Carington Smith. They were married on December 12, 1945. For the next 20 years she travelled to, and lived in many of, the world’s capital cities and became a gracious hostess for Guy as he pursued his diplomatic career around the world. Upon Guy’s retirement in the early 1960s, they purchased a house in Brockville, Ontario and lived there until Jean’s death in 1988. Summers were always spent in Tadoussac at Dufferin House. Jean and Guy became the Tadoussac version of Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman from Driving Miss Daisy! Guy had purchased a black London Taxi which he named Gertrude. He was often seen in the front seat driving around Tad with Jean in the back regally waving to us all! Jean died in Brockville in February, 1988. Written by various family members
- Ransom, Howard Henry
Ransom, Howard Henry Back to ALL Bios Basics only. Any information would be helpful! When Howard Henry Ransom was born on April 2, 1867, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, when his father, Howard Ransom, was 29 and his mother, Maria Benallack, was 21. He is listed as having been a merchant in Montreal and in 1890 married Jane Parslow. Jane died childless, and on 14 April 1896, Howard married Isabella Linley who had been born on December 9, 1866, in Canada as the daughter of Charles Linley and Isabella Jones. They had two children, Howard Charles Linley Ransom (1903 – 1976), and Audrey Isabel Gertrude (Scadding) Ransom (1904 – 1992). They lived in Hochelaga, Quebec from 1901 for about 20 years and Howard died on May 10th, 1925 at the age of 58. It is presumed that they had moved to Montreal by that time because he is buried in Montreal. Isabella died on October 19th, 1945 in Westmount, and is also buried in Montreal. Source – Ancestors.FamilySearch.org Michael Alexander






