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ISSN-0824-1651
HERITAGE
HAPPENINGS
November 2000
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NEWS FROM THE SOCIETY
The Waterdown - East Flamborough Heritage Society
Box 1044, Waterdown, Ontario
L0R 2H0
Phone (905) 689-4074
Email: wefhs@idirect.com
Web Page: http://members.xoom.com/wefhs
Another renewal notice from the treasurer, Mr. Frank Richards, has been included with this newsletter for those members who have not yet paid their fees. Please note that membership is from September to September, and prompt payment of fees does help to keep records up to date.
The Society will host an Open House at the Flamborough Archives, 315 Dundas St. Waterdown, on Friday November 24th for both members of the public and the Society. With fast approaching changes in municipal government and the uncertainty regarding municipally owned buildings, it is important that everyone sees what the Archives provides to the community. The loss of this valuable depository of local history would be a very sad end to the Society's commitment to preserve local heritage. It is felt that many people in the community really do not know what a ‘treasure trove' the Archives is and just what material is available to researchers. So if you have not come out and looked on the shelves and in the drawers, please do so on Friday November 24th.
The Book Fair Committee is looking for volunteers to help at setup on Friday November 17th, and to work in the kitchen, and at cleanup on Saturday November 18th. If you can give an hour or two to assist with this important fundraising activity, please call Mr. Bob Wray at (905) 689-4509 or Mr. Fred Perry at (905) 690-0375.
The West Flamborough Book Committee will be contacting owners of homes and buildings in West Flamborough Township beginning in November. Any members who feel they can contribute should contact Sylvia Wray at the Archives, (905) 689-4074 or at home, (905) 689-4509. A list of people to interview is being prepared and any additions are most welcome.
The Society welcomes the following new members: Mr. Jack and Mrs. Shirley Cranston of Ancaster, Ontario, and life membership from Mr. Harry Tranker of Hamilton Ontario.
New member Mr. Alan McDonald, 3006 Winterhaven Rd. Louisville, Kentucky, USA 40220 is searching for his family roots in the Waterdown area. Ancestor William McDonald (1812-1893) with wife and large family settled in the village c. 1850's and are buried in Grace Anglican Church cemetery. Anyone with connections to members of the family is asked to contact Mr. McDonald at the address above.
Officers for the 2000-2001 Season
Executive Directors
Past President: Palmer Neal
President: Fred Perry Bob Lalonde Jim McHardy
1st Vice-President: Carol Snell Cor Vanderkruk Lillian Williams
Treasurer Frank Richards Lena Aggus Jane Croft
Secretary: Dana Purvis Bob Wray
ARCHIVES REPORT
The Flamborough Archives holds a large collection of cemetery publications that record important genealogical information transcribed by various branches of the Ontario Genealogical Society. There is a complete set of Flamborough Cemeteries from the former municipalities of Waterdown, Beverly and East and West Flamborough townships and in addition, cemeteries in Dundas, Puslinch Township, Aldershot, Nelson, and Nassagaweya townships are held. These transcriptions began during the 1970's when the Ontario Genealogical Society made the commitment to record all Ontario cemeteries, since it was becoming evident that the engravings on early tombstones of soft white limestone were showing the effects of pollution. The Hamilton branch began their recording in Waterdown and East Flamborough in 1977, so there has been a considerable accumulation of new information since that time. The branch has begun revisiting all cemeteries within its jurisdiction of Hamilton and Wentworth County and has republished some of the early publications. The Archives will be purchasing these updated copies as they become available, but will retain the original publications for the time being.
The Archives also holds a large collection of obituary notices from the Hamilton Spectator dating from the 1960's that were donated to the Archives by the late Gordon Craig. These are arranged under each cemetery, but not in alphabetical order. The first book completed in 1986 has been indexed. Ms. Maggie McNally worked on Book 2 this summer and the cards are being entered this fall into the main catalogue.
HERITAGE AREA NEWS AND EVENTS
Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology
October 3 to January 8, 2001
"The Art of the Engineer". A striking collection of 19th century lithographs
and paintings of engineering and industrial subjects from the museum's
collection.
900 Woodward Avenue, Hamilton. Hours: 11 am - 4 pm. Tuesday to Sunday.
Ontario Historical Society
November 26.
Cookbook Caper. Sponsored by the OHS.
John McKenzie House, Willowdale.
The Ancaster Township Historical Society
November 17
The Society will celebrate their 50th anniversary with a banquet at the Hamilton
Golf and Country Club. Cocktail hour beginning at 6 pm and dinner at 7 pm.
Tickets must be purchased by November 10. Call (905) 648-3284 for details.
The Hamilton Association for the Advancement of Literature, Science and
Art
November 18, 8 pm.
The Milton Acorn Memorial Lecture: "Just Who Are ‘the People' Anyway?
Raymond Knister and People's Poetry". Raymond Knister was the first great
modernist poet in English Canada. John Lee, an internationally known,
award-winning Canadian poet, will explore Knister's poetry and other
writing.
December 9, 8 pm.
Who's Afraid of Modern Art? Kim Ness, Curator and Director of the McMaster
Museum of Art will use examples from the McMaster collection to speak about
key aspects of contemporary art.
January 6, 2001, 8 pm.
The Second Dr. John Rae Lecture: Every Trail has a Story: Canada's Travel Heritage. A "then and now" tour through the landscape of heritage stories will be shared by outdoor education teacher and keen outdoorsman, Bob Henderson. Illustrated with maps and slides from Labrador to the Yukon, this talk will visit both the obscure and the classics of Canadian travel and exploration.
All three of the above lectures will be held in Room 1A1, Ewart Angus Centre, McMaster University Medical Centre. For more information phone: (905) 648-0589.
HERITAGE PAPER #151
William Oscar Sealey
Farmer, businessman and politician, William Oscar Sealey was one of Wentworth County's most prominent citizens during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was born in Waterdown on the 26 January 1859, the second son of Charles H. Sealey and Mary Ann Eaton. His father Charles was an upstanding member of the Waterdown community, serving as the first Reeve of Waterdown between 1879 and 1884 and as school trustee from 1867 to 1894. William, or W.O. as he became known in later life, was educated in the local public and high schools of Waterdown until the age of twelve and he then worked on the family farm of Chestnut Grove for four years.
In 1875 Charles H. Sealey bought W.H. Crooker's Waterdown general store and William, who was only sixteen at the time, ran the business until it was sold in 1878. It was later repurchased by W.O. and he again operated it for a number of years. In 1881 he married Agnes Annie Little Forbes, daughter of James Forbes of Hamilton and they lived over the store in Waterdown at the beginning of their married life. It was while there that they witnessed and were involved with the shooting and robbery of the bank that was housed on the floor below.
In 1896 Sealey began his career in politics as Reeve of East Flamborough and a member of the Wentworth Council. In his first few days of being elected, he proposed that the council member's fees for attending meetings be decreased from three dollars to two and that salaries of staff members be also reduced. Sealey had not researched his proposals adequately, leading the Hamilton Spectator to comment that he was "meeting with the difficulties that most young reformers do who start in to revolutionize affairs too quickly without first getting thoroughly posted as to the means to be employed".
During his term in office he was involved with the elimination of tolls on four main county roads, the construction of a high bridge over the Desjardins canal, the petitioning of legislation for reduction of market fees, and the protest against the unfair use of the grain tester.
In June 1900, Sealey was unanimously nominated provincial Liberal candidate for Wentworth South, however he lost the election to his Conservative opponent. In 1904 he ran again and won the Dominion election by a small margin, but was unseated because of a mistake in the tallying. He was defeated again in the 1905
By-Election by five votes but in 1908 he was finally elected to the Dominion Parliament.
During his time as MP for Wentworth he actively campaigned for agriculture, trade and commerce in the
legislature. He advocated "an embargo against the export of Canada's raw materials until manufactured into finished products, as well as an embargo against articles coming into Canada that can be reasonably and easily produced here".
Probably his most lasting impact in the legislature was his bill initiating free rural delivery of mail in Canada. On the 10th of October 1908 the first ever rural mail delivery in ‘the British Empire' took place between Ancaster and Hamilton. Present at the "gala" ceremony on Hamilton Road in front of Walter Vansickle's home were, according to the Dundas Star, "fifteen rigs, forty people, two telephone poles, one mail box, seven bedraggled sparrows, an inquisitive dog and a very drizzly rain".
Sealey's political career was short lived, as he lost his seat in 1911 to the Conservative candidate. He turned to building and real estate, specializing in medium-priced houses and later in apartment construction. He was involved in the United Empire Loyalist organization, the Canadian Club, the Masonic Order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Presbyterian church.
In aid of the Canadian war effort, W.O. and Agnes Sealey sent a machine-gun to the front with a maple-leaf tablet and inscription in 1915. In 1926, he organized the Eaton-Van Duzen Picnic for 500 relatives and 500 neighbours of the Eaton-Van Duzen families in Carlisle. In 1929, Sealey purchased the old Waterdown school site and presented the land to the village as a park, naming it after his father, Charles Sealey. Accepting the gift, Reeve Speck said, "It will be always known as Sealey Park, and will remain a silent witness to your goodness". In February 1931 William and Agnes celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. On 16 March 1931 Agnes died at their home in Hamilton; William Oscar Sealey died on 7 January 1940 at his nephew's home in Dundas and was buried in Hamilton Cemetery.