February 24, 2009:

Watercolour painting by John Burrows, c. 1845, Archives of Ontario
as re-printed in Building the Rideau Canal: A Pictorial History
by Robert Passfield, page 103.
 


The above watercolour painting was created in 1845, about the time that many of the families
were assisted to emigrate from the Fitzwilliam Estate in County Wicklow, Ireland, to Canada.
Robert Passfield's book contains drawings, sketches, or paintings of all of the lockstations
along the Rideau Canal. A nice book to have.

The construction of the Poonamalie Lock was completed by 1832. It was a difficult engineering 
task. By 1845, all but two of the houses used by canal workers were gone. The armed 
blockhouse is also shown in the painting.

... Al
_______________________________

Settlers from County Wicklow, Ireland in Kitley, South Elmsley, and Montague Townships, Ontario, Canada
Hi Al,
 
I was doing a sort of rough count of the County Wicklow, Ireland, families in this small 
area, close to the Poonamalie lock. I found 30 families easily, and I haven't yet looked 
very deeply at the Wicklow Protestants who settled there. For instance, there were Code / Coad / Codd
families in Kitley in the early days, and Dagg families, and I'm sure there were many others.
 
Twelve of the families I noted were Balfes - some from the Carnew area, and some from 
Boley (about 3 mi. away). (see for example Thomas Balfe and Sarah Kenny)
 
I thought you would be interested in these comments below regarding one of the families. 
They were sent to my cousin Elizabeth Stuart (a Hunt / Balfe descendant). They came from 
another cousin of hers who has since died, and were part of some notes collected by a 
local historian related to this woman by marriage.
 
"Andrew Hunt (1804-1873) and Mary Bolphe (1814-1871) 

Andrew and his wife were buried in the old Toledo cemetery ... Stanley [Leeder] thought 
that Andrew and Mary Bolphe were married in Canada as old grandfather Leeder – Robert – 
and old man Bolphe worked on the Rideau Canal.
 
"Old man Bolphe" refers to John Balfe (m. Mary Byrne), the father of Mary Balfe Hunt and 
Anne Balfe (m. Patrick Donavan). These Balfes lived in Gurteen, a townland in Carnew parish 
on the Fitzwilliam estate.

Andrew and Mary were indeed married in Canada. Here's the marriage record, from St. Francis 
Xavier Church in Brockville:
 
Married:
Jan 14, 1844 – 
Andrew Hunt and Mary Balphe
Witnesses: Michael Shanks and Patrick Donovan
 
... Anne Burgess

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web Bytown or Bust