Journal #68

The CanadianQuaker History JournalNo. 68 2003

Special Issue:Jails and Justice

The Canadian Quaker History JournalNo. 68 2003

Special Issue: Jails and Justice

Introduction to the Special Issue on Jails and Justiceby Jane Zavitz-Bond 1

The Art of Pastoral Conversation: An excerpt from“Praying through the Bars: A Pastoral Testimony for Prison Visitors”by Keith R. Maddock 3

Pennsylvania Quakers Eestablish the Modern Prison SystemEastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaandProvincial Penitentiary of the Province of Upper Canada -Kingston Penitentiaryfrom research by Sandra McCann Fuller 5

The Quaker Committee on Jails & Justice (QCJJ):Acting on Canadian Friends’ Justice Concernsby Marc Forget 13

Women Ministering in Prisons:Elizabeth (Gurney) Fry (1780-1845)Elizabeth (Rous) Comstock (1815-1891) 21

by Joyce HoldenBarbara Bachozeff (1900-1977)

by Jane Zavitz-Bond 24Ruth Morris and Abolition of Prisons

by Barbara Horvath 27Muriel Bishop’s Work With Inmates and Ex-Inmates

by Jo Vellacott 31

Queens University Credit Program in the Kingston Area Penitentiariesby David Holden 34

Quaker Village Portraits

Sharon (Hope): A Village Portrait (1851)by Albert Schrauwers 40

The Coldstream Tourby David A. Zavitz 47

Canadian Quaker Biography

Early Quaker Visits to the Niagara Region of Canada in 1799 and 1803:The Journals of Isaac Coates of Pennsylvania, 1799 and 1803.by Christopher Densmore 58

Ellis Hughes of Catawissa, Pennsylvaniaby John L. Ausman 66

Chronology Of Charles Ambrose Zavitzby James Zavitz 70

The Canadian Quaker History Journal is published annually by the Canadian FriendsHistorical Association (as part of the annual membership subscription to the Association).Applications for membership may be made to the address listed below. Membership fees for2004 are:

Libraries and Institutions $15.00General Membership $10.00Life Membership $200.00

Contents of the published articles are the responsibility of the authors. Copyright © 2003Canadian Friends Historical Association.

ISSN 1180-968X G.S.T. No. R118831593

Editors: Jane Zavitz-BondAlbert Schrauwers

Production: Albert SchrauwersJane Zavitz-BondSandra FullerRuth Jeffery-MacLean

Letters and submissions from readers are always welcome.

Subscriptions and Correspondence:

Canadian Friends Historical AssociationFriends House60 Lowther Ave.,Toronto, Ont.,M5R 1C7

WWW page: http://www.interhop.net/museum/

Owner

Typewritten Text

The Coffin Family of Prince Edward Island - Ross Coffin 1-14

Canadian Quaker History Journal, No. 68, 20031

to Jails and Justice from its beginning.Friends were imprisoned if more than fivemet for meeting for worship until 1688,when the Act of Toleration was part of theGlorious Revolution and permitted meetingsto exist along with other churches. Manyrefused to pay a fine as that represented anadmission of guilt they did not concede,whether for ‘hat worship’- not doffing theirhats in deference to judges, magistrates, allthose of 'higher status', even the King - orfor refusal to follow other laws not based onTruth, or beginning with the refusal toswear the oath in court prior to questioning.

The prisons were damp, disease riddenplaces, yet Friends entered with faith heldhigh. Some asked to take the place of thosewho were ill or had dependant families. InReading, England, the children held meet-ing when the adults were all in jail! So weunderstand why Freedom of Religion wasimportant when Penn established his colonyin 1680’s. Quakers’ familiarity with prisonscontinued through Elizabeth Gurney Fry’svisits to assist women prisoners to read, andsew, and learn to better care for themselvesand their children. Elizabeth sought prisonreform for mentally ill incarcerated in Bed-lam and visited by the public as a ‘side-show.’ The Tuke family of York, set up thefirst hospital for mental patients; later inPhiladelphia, the Scattergoods establishedFriends Hospital to meet this same need.

A number of Canadian Quakers were

Welcome to the Canadian QuakerHistory Journal for 2003. This year’stheme, Canadian Quaker Work in Jails andJustice, grew out of our Annual Meeting inKingston, Ontario. A number of F/friendswere asked to contribute at that meeting,which makes their contributions to thejournal even more generous. We trust yourinterest will be caught by these articles andcameos. This issue is only a beginning tothe history of Friends’ work in the prisonsand efforts to improve the justice system.

We begin this Journal with the prefaceto Keith Maddock’s book, yet unpublished,on the call to, and the experience of, prisonministry which is the pull that has alwayscalled Friends to serve, "I was in prison andye visited me." This is the basis for ourwork still today. .

The Jails and Justice theme, just as lastyear’s experience with Canadian Quakersand Agriculture, has simply opened thetopic for further pursuit!. Quaker Commit-tee on Jails and Justice (QCJJ) work isreported through its Minutes and Recordswithin CFSC records in the CYM Archi-ves. Barbara Horvath organized these mate-rials, Sandra Fuller archived them, made theinventory and wrote introductions for thefinding aid. The nature of history andresearch is a continuum; the more we learnthe more opens before us. Interconnectionsappear which surprise and amaze us.

The history of Quakerism has been tied

Introduction to the Special Issue onJails and Justice

By Jane Zavitz-Bond

Canadian Yearly Meeting ArchivistChair, Canadian Friends Historical Association


jailed at the time of the Rebellion in 1837.During wars in the 20th century conscien-tious objectors were placed in jail untilalternative service was permitted by legisla-tion. Even then some did not feel they couldaccept alternative service when registrationwas required, for a ‘higher law’ exists, andthey were sent back to jail each time theyserved a sentence and then refused, again, toregister! So our history is entwined with‘jails and justice.’ But, had this not been so,Jesus' reminder to visit those in prisonshould send us there, and once there to carefor those within. In the future changes maycome, as one Friend called for the abolish-ion of prisons, and the establishment ofrestorative justice. Yet, even today, concernlooms that we will have less freedom sincepassage of the terrorism legislation underwhich individuals may be jailed withoutknowledge of charges… or a trial. Our his-tory continues to challenge us to be faithful.

Our members have a variety of interests,we hope to serve you all. However, there isa wholeness in all we do. With that inmind, we continue last year’s agriculturalcontent. Enjoy this year’s additions: CharlesA. Zavitz’ life chronology and photograph:the tour of Coldstream, for sites of itshistory; the Hughes family’s story fromWales to Yonge St. They relate to manyCanadian Quaker families.

Thank you to all who have contributedto this issue — in writing or production...The many generous volunteers have madethis Canadian Quaker History Journal 2003possible. We hope readers enjoy and findthe contents worthwhile. Please send usyour articles as you make discoveries toensure future adventures in CanadianQuaker History, and share your CQHJournal with others who may be interested!

Good wishes for your undertakings inthe New Year. Peace, and Joy on thejourney.


aware that the practical initiative in most ofthese conversations is my own, or at leastthat of the religious community that hascommissioned me to visit on their behalf.On the other hand, the prisoners have takenthe initiative to reach out to me as a memberof the greater community, and a representa-tive of some religious authority.

Why do some prisoners reach out tome? As I walk through the corridors twoafternoons a week, I try to be open to anynumber of approaches. Some men watch mepass with blank, or suspicious stares.Others, including those who have seen mepass through before, approach out of curios-ity. This is an opening for introducingmyself and information related to my spirit-ual orientation. Light reading material aboutthe Religious Society of Friends often leadsto further questions and opportunities forsharing common values, such as the experi-ence of God in every person. That is oftenenough to encourage deeper sharing onanother occasion.

Other motives are less easy, and perhapsimpossible, to respond to. I have seldombeen taunted or threatened, but I have beenpropositioned with requests for cigarettesand even drugs. Usually a respectful, "SorryI can't help you with that," is all it takes toestablish the boundaries. An added, "Isthere something else I can help you with,"gives them an opportunity to talk aboutmore important issues in their lives. Theimportant point to remember is that yourepresent an outreach for reconciliation, not

"All real living is meeting."Martin Buber

In general, encounters with prisonerscorrespond with all the high and low pointsof human interaction. Sometimes the visitorwalks away from the prison with a feelingof profound warmth. At other times, thevery act of walking away raises issues ofpersonal inadequacy and guilt. At somepoint between these two poles there lingersthe memory of a meaningful encounter withanother person, a conversation that hasaltered your own outlook on the world.

From the prisoner's point of view, theexperience may have been far less dramatic.Perhaps your visit was little more than abrief hiatus in an otherwise monotonous anddepressing day. Perhaps some referral youmade will bear fruit in the prisoner's life ashe seeks help from reliable and competentagencies. Perhaps he will remember someth-ing you said, or cherish some small tokenyou gave him. These are things you maynever hear about, and yet they linger in yourmind as you move on to other visits andparticipate in more conversations withsimilar results. The only certainty for theprison visitor is that conversation with theSpirit continues over time, and becomes apotential blessing for everyone who comesinto his or her life.

My conversations have taken place inthree different modes: in group programs, inone-on-one confidential visits, and in briefencounters through the bars. I am fully

The Art of Pastoral Conversation:An excerpt from

Praying through the Bars: A Pastoral Testimony for Prison Visitors (Unpublished, 2003)

Keith R. Maddock


a deceased friend the last time they met. Hisrequest was to pass on his condolences, andadvice related to the Moslem prescriptionfor mourning.

I am more complete, more fully humanfor having been a part of such encounters.Martin Buber, the Jewish philosopher,believed that conversation is an essentialprerequisite for our humanity. We becomepersons, or selves, because other peoplehave treated us as subjects, worthy of careand affection. In the experience of the pris-oner, alienation between the "I" and theworld is a depressing and often terrifyingexperience. Only when he has reached thepoint of ultimate despair, does he begin toreflect that something must, and indeed can,be done about it. I reflected on the prisonerlying alone in his cell at night when I read,"As when in the grave night-hour you lie,racked by waking dream - bulwarks havefallen away and the abyss is screaming - andnote amid your torment: there is still life."

Conversations that begin through thebars may become the seeds for deeperreflection in a prisoner's, or in a prison visi-tor's life. We are blessed with memories ofencounters that confirm our humanity -reminding us that we are valued and caredfor, regardless of our misdeeds and our limi-tations.

another judgmental voice from communityor the criminal justice system.

On occasion, men have approached mewith Bibles in hand, seeking an opening forGod-talk. The range corridors are not theideal environment for this, but it shouldn'tbe discouraged. Occasionally, I have foundthat the prisoner with specifically religiousconcerns has something special that hewants to share - either recent insights intohis own salvation history or perplexingquestions that have been stretching hismind. One man, in particular, wanted to askme about some problems in Genesis. When,in the first chapter, God said, "Let uscreate," who was with him? I couldn't thinkof a relevant answer to that one at he time.But when he came to the question, "SinceAdam was the first man, and we're alldescended from Adam, what color wasAdam?" I felt myself warming up to thetopic. The prisoner had already revealed hisNative ancestry, so I compared the questionto the image of the sacred circle, aroundwhich we find the four colours and the fourdirections. What color is the sacred circle?In which direction does it point?Unfortunately, distractions from other pris-oners interrupted our conversation at thispoint. But, before parting, we clasped handsthrough the bars, exchanging the Ojibwablessing, "Kitchi Megwich."

On another occasion, I exchanged greet-ings with a Moslem inmate who had attend-ed our group program. He was an interest-ing man, but sometimes overly persistent inhis demands. When I realized he was aboutto ask for favors I couldn't deliver, I beganto move on. But he followed, pleading,"Come on, Keith. Go the extra mile withme. That's what you're here for, isn’t it?"His words, reminding me of Jesus' teachingin the Gospels, stopped me in my tracks. Itturned out that he wanted to ask afteranother volunteer who had been grieving for


the substitution of imprisonment for corpo-ral punishment in those American colonialareas which the Quakers dominated for aconsiderable period - Pennsylvania andWest Jersey.

Most important among these Quakerswas the "Great Law" of 1682, submitted tothe Pennsylvania colonial assembly byWilliam Penn and adopted without any sig-nificant changes. For the first time in thehistory of criminal jurisprudence, it washere provided that the majority of crimesshould be punished by "hard labor" in ahouse of correction. This Quaker criminalcode governed the procedure inPennsylvania until 1718, when the pressureof the British Government compelled thePennsylvania authorities to abandon it infavor of the brutal Puritan codes whichprevailed in the other English colonies.These relied on fines and corporal punish-ment rather than imprisonment in dealingwith offenders.

But, just as soon as Pennsylvania wasfreed from Britain by the Declaration ofIndependence, the Quaker influence reas-serted itself and the Pennsylvania constitu-tion of 1776 directed that the criminal codebe reformed and imprisonment be substitut-ed for corporal punishment. Supported bythe Quaker reformers and others in thePhiladelphia Prison Society, and by one ofthe signers of the Declaration ofIndependence, Dr Benjamin Rush, a law

Imprisonment came to be accepted notonly as a device for holding persons await-ing trial but also as a means of punishingconvicted criminals. In the 16th century, anumber of houses of correction were estab-lished in England and on the continent forthe reform of offenders. Unfortunately, theunsanitary conditions and lack of provisionfor the welfare of the inmates soon pro-duced widespread agitation for furtherchanges in methods of handling criminals.Solitary confinement of criminals becamean ideal among the rationalist reformers ofthe 18th century who believed that solitudewould help the offender to become penitentand that penitence would result in reforma-tion. In the American colonies, fines andimprisonment became the major forms ofpunishment for nearly all offences - feloniesas well as misdemeanours. In the 19th and20th centuries, imprisonment replaced cor-poral punishment, execution, and banish-ment, as the chief means of punishingserious offenders, persons convicted ofmajor crimes or felonies.

While European ideals and movementsare of importance in tracing the rise ofimprisonment as the usual method of pun-ishing criminals, the most important forcemaking for the introduction of imprison-ment came from American Quakers. TheQuakers were shocked by the brutal corpo-ral punishments of that time, especially theshedding of blood, and their revulsion led to

Pennsylvania Quakers Eestablish the Modern Prison SystemEastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

andProvincial Penitentiary of the Province of Upper Canada -

Kingston Penitentiary

from research by Sandra Fuller


separation. Prisoners were kept in solitaryconfinement in cells 7.5 ft wide by 12 feetlong by 16 ft high. An exercise yard, com-pletely enclosed to prevent contact amongprisoners, was attached to each cell.Prisoners saw no one except institutionofficers and an occasional visitor. Solitarypenitence was soon modified to include theperformance of work such as shoemaking orweaving.

At the Walnut Street Jail, thePennsylvania Prison System was firstworked out, This method of prison manage-ment became a model for penal institutionsconstructed elsewhere in the United States.Critics in the United States argued that itwas too costly and had deleterious effectson the minds of prisoners. From thePennsylvania System, the variant known asthe Auburn System was developed later on.The Pennsylvania System spread until itpredominated in European prisons. In theUnited States, the Pennsylvania System wassuperceded by the Auburn System. Thesetwo systems dominated prison building andadministration, and remained the dominantphilosophy of prison management in theworld during the nineteenth century - andthe twentieth, as well, for that matter.

Sources:The Origins of Prisons - Quaker Reforms,"Pennsylvania Quakers Establish theModern Prison System". Britannica,Micropaedia, volume 9, p. 264, p. 710

was passed on April 5, 1790, which firstpermanently established imprisonment athard labor as the normal method of punish-ing convicted criminals. Judge WilliamBradford of the Pennsylvania SupremeCourt, and later Attorney-General of theUnited States, was the leading figure indrafting the legislation which revolutionizedthe Pennsylvania criminal code and led tothe creation of the Pennsylvania prisonsystem.

Development of the Pennsylvania Systemof Prison Management

The Pennsylvania System is a penalmethod based on the principle that solitaryconfinement fosters penitence and encour-ages reformation. The idea was advocatedby the Philadelphia Society for Alleviatingthe Miseries of Public Prisons, whose mostactive members were Quakers.

Between 1790 -92, on the principle ofsolitary confinement, a block of cells wasconstructed in the yard of the Walnut StreetJail in Philadelphia . Prisoners were segre-gated by sex and the severity of theiroffences, and hard labour was stressed as areformative measure. Each prisoner of thisinstitution remained in his cell or its adjoin-ing yard, working alone at trades such asweaving, carpentry, or shoemaking, and sawno one except the officers of the institutionand an occasional visitor from outside.

By 1794, Walnut Street Jail inPhiladelphia had been converted to becomethe first state penitentiary, and in thismanner the modern prison system had itspermanent and effective birth.

Solitary confinement received fargreater emphasis when Eastern StatePenitentiary was opened on Cherry Hill inPhiladelphia in 1829. In 1829 the EasternState Penitentiary on Cherry Hill inPhiladelphia applied this philosophy of


Quakers had lobbied tirelessly the Penn-sylvania legislature to build a prison basedon the idea of reform through solitude andreflection. The Quakers hopefully and nai-vely assumed that an inmate's conscience,given enough time alone, would make himpenitent (hence the new word, 'peniten-tiary'). They wanted a new prison to provetheir theory, and in 1822 the Pennsylvanialegislature approved the funding. A revolu-tionary radial design by a young architectnamed John Haviland was chosen. Eachcellblock was to radiate in different direc-tions from the hub. This allowed easy viewof every cellblock from the center.

The first inmate brought to EasternState Penitentiary on October 23, 1829 wasCharles Williams, 18 years old. His prisonrecord states: "Burglar. Farmer by trade.Can read. Theft included one twenty-dollarwatch, one three-dollar gold seal, one goldkey. Sentenced to two years confinement".As he approached in a locked carriage, hewould have had a good look at the tall, fore-boding exterior of the unfinished prison . Itwas and still is a gloomy fortress with talliron gates and castle towers. The exteriorwalls are 30 feet high and 12 feet thick atthe base. After Charles Williams had beenbrought through the three sets of giantdoors, he was met by the warden. Williamswas assigned a number, prisoner number 1,which would be his new name during hisentire stay. Before he was taken to his cell,a black hood was placed over his head. Thehood was used whenever inmates wereoutside their cells so they could not see anyother inmates. Williams was then placed ina cell with nothing to do - no work, noreading materials, nothing. The Quakersknew what would happen: "His mind canonly operate on itself ; generally, but a fewhours elapse before he petitions for someth-ing to do, and for a bible. No instance hasoccurred, in which such a petition has beendelayed beyond a day or two". It's safe to

EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY,PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

(Adapted from “Black Hoods and IronGags: The Quaker Experiment at EasternState Penitentiary in Philadelphia” byMike Walsh, Eastern State PenitentiaryOfficial Web Site)

"Let the avenue to this house be ren-dered difficult and gloomy by mountainsand morasses. Let the doors be of iron, andlet the grating, occasioned by opening andshutting them, be increased by an echo thatshall deeply pierce the soul." - DrBenjamin Rush, Quaker reformer, 1787

From the catwalk atop the centralrotunda at the Eastern State Penitentiary inPhiladelphia, you can see the entire elevenacres of the abandoned facility. Everybuilding on the site, which operated for 142years and held the likes of Al Capone andWillie Sutton, is crumbling. Trees aregrowing through the roofs of many of thebuildings, every piece of metal on the prop-erty seems to be rusting, and every piece ofplaster is crumbling. It's hard to imaginethat at one time this prison was the largestand most expensive building in America. Itdrew visitors from around the world toreview its penal system and architecture,both of which influenced prisons worldwidefor the next century. The prison sits on arise in the middle of the Fairmount sectionof Philadelphia, and from the catwalk youcan see the skyscrapers of Center City.When it was constructed, Eastern State wason a farm more than a mile outside the citylimits.

The Quakers were the moving forcebehind construction of the prison, and theywrote that the exterior appearance should be"a cheerless blank indicative of the miserywhich awaits the unhappy being whoenters". For many years, reform-minded


system didn't work properly so the cellsreeked. The central heating system, anothernew idea at the time, didn't work very welleither. Although the conditions and punish-ments at Eastern State were harsh, theyprobably weren't harsher than other prisonsof that time. The medical attention and thefood were superior to prisons that camebefore Eastern State, and it was generallyfree of the corruption and danger associatedwith older prisons. The inmates were alsoexpected to work, and those who didn't havea trade were trained in one.

By the time Eastern State was complet-ed in 1836, it was the most expensive build-ing in America at a cost of $772,600. Itimmediately became a popular attraction,being visited by sightseers and dignitariesfrom around the world. By mid-century theprison was being toured by 10,000 peopleper year. During the next 100 years,approximately 300 prisons worldwide weremodeled after Eastern State's radial design.

But Eastern State was criticized relent-lessly for the use total solitary confinement.The London Times claimed that it was"maniac-making." Charles Dickens visitedthe Eastern State Penitentiary in 1842 andlater wrote about it. "The System is rigid,strict and hopeless ... and I believe it to becruel and wrong .... I hold this slow anddaily tampering with the mysteries of thebrain, to be immeasurably worse than anytorture of the body." There are no figureson how many people went insane at EasternState. Prison officials persistently claimedthat solitary confinement had no ill effectson the inmates.

Through the 19th century, problems ofmental illness and overcrowding forcedEastern State officials to dilute and eventu-ally abandon the idea of complete isolation.The black masks were thrown out in 1903,and by then the iron gags were long gone.In the 20th century, Eastern State

assume that Charles Williams sincerelyregretted stealing those gold trinkets beforethose first few days were up, and he prob-ably came to know the stories in that biblevery well during the next two years.

The inmates were not allowed to com-municate with each other or meet for anypurpose, not even for religious services.Ministers sermonized to the inmates whilewalking through the prison, their voicesechoing through the cellblocks. Theinmates weren't allowed to sing, whistle,have visitors, see a newspaper, or hear fromany source about the outside world. Theywere allowed in their exercise yards, whichwere attached to their 8 by 12 foot cells, justone hour per day. At Eastern State, youwent into your cell and you stayed there.You saw no one except a guard, and youspoke to no one.

Here's how the Quakers explained thispolicy: "No prisoner is seen by another afterhe enters the wall. When the years of con-finement have passed, his old associates incrime will be scattered over the earth, or inthe grave and the prisoner can go forth intoa new and industrious life, where his previ-ous misdeeds are unknown".

Although the Quakers banned floggingat the prison, other types of corporal punish-ment were used. If you were caught com-municating with another inmate by, say,tapping on a pipe, you might be denied afew meals or secluded in a dark empty cellfor a day or two. If your infraction wasmore serious, you were chained to a cellwall or denied a blanket in winter. Anotherpunishment used at the prison was the"shower bath" - an inmate was stripped tothe waist, chained to an outside wall in coldweather, and doused with cold water. Evencrueler was the iron gag, a five-inch pieceof metal that fit over the inmate's mouth.

The cells were damp and musty withvery little air circulation. The original sewer


verting it into a shopping center or condos,but every plan was fought by a hearty bandof local preservationists. They eventuallyconvinced then-Mayor Wilson Goode of thesite's historic value, and he put an end toconversion plans.

A few years ago, the PennsylvaniaPrison Society, the direct descendant of theQuaker reform organizations, was given useof the site for historic tours. The prison hassince become an extremely popular touristattraction. The site has also been used forseveral art installations and performances,and the Prison Society has acquired grantmoney to repair the roofs of numerousbuildings.

While touring Eastern State, it's easy toimagine yourself being incarcerated there150 years ago. The cell walls are high andarched, like a church. The only sunlightcomes from a small skylight. The geometryof the room invites you to stare up at thelight and lift your prayers to the Lord.

Penitentiary was just an old, crowdedprison. Like other prisons, it had its shareof brutality, riots, hunger strikes, escapes,suicides, and scandals.

Things got interesting in 1929 when AlCapone spent eight months at Eastern Stateon a weapons charge. Capone allegedlyneeded a place to hide out from the IRS. Asthe legend goes, he was friendly with thewarden, and his prison cell was outfittedwith comforts and music. Eastern State wasin the news again in 1945 when WillieSutton, an infamous bank robber, andeleven other inmates escaped through atunnel to Fairmount Avenue. Tunnelsweren't unusual at Eastern State. In fact,they were the favored means of escape.Renovations in the 1930s uncovered an esti-mated 30 incomplete inmate-dug tunnels.

Eastern State was closed in 1971. Bythen it had been certified as a NationalHistoric Landmark. Several schemes sur-faced during the next twenty years for con-


limestone wall, the only protection was a 12foot high wooden fence. Over the years,there have been very few people to get overthe large limestone walls of KingstonPenitentiary. An illustration which appearedin Canadian Illustrated News, December1870, shows work crews being supervisedoutside the walls of the ProvincialPenitentiary, Kingston. The main dome canbe clearly seen. Another illustration in theCanadian Illustrated News, July 1873,shows convicts at work in the yard of thePenitentiary, the first known image ofKingston Penitentiary's interior. Originally,the windows of the first wing were square,but the windows were rounded on laterwings to prevent cracking. Today all thewindows are rounded and extend acrosseach floor. While many changes have sinceoccurred in prison philosophy, certain ele-ments of Kingston Penitentiary's structurehave become the prototype for penitentiarydesign in Canada.

As legislative accompaniment to thenew institution, Canada enacted its firstPenitentiary Act. Borrowing from the pre-amble of the English Penitentiary Act of1779, it set out the intentions behindKingston: "If many offenders convicted ofcrimes were ordered to solitary imprison-ment, accompanied by well-regulatedlabour and religious instruction, it might bethe means under providence, not only ofdeterring others from the commission oflike crimes, but also of reforming the indi-viduals, and inuring them to habits of indus-try" (An Act to Provide for the Maintenanceby the Government of the ProvincialPenitentiary, [1834], 4 Will. IV, c. 37).

Kingston Penitentiary was officiallyopened in June 1835 when the first six pris-oners were brought to the Penitentiary. Aphotograph of the North Gate of KingstonPenitentiary shows a row of white Doriccolumns created from local limestone,

PROVINCIAL PENITENTIARY OFTHE PROVINCE OF UPPER CANADA

KINGSTON PENITENTIARY

What many official reports suggest isthat the experience of imprisonment, as aresponse to crime, is itself criminogenic: itactually produces and reproduces the verybehaviour it seeks to control. Anothertheme that runs the historical course of 150years between the early days of the peniten-tiary and the cusp of the twenty-first centuryis that the experience of imprisonment,intended to inculcate respect for the law bypunishing those who breach its commands,actually creates disrespect for the very legalorder in whose name it is invoked.

In 1832, the report on an ideal prisonwas received, and the land for constructionof the prison was purchased. The originaldesign for the Provincial Penitentiary of theProvince of Upper Canada, the institutionthat became Kingston Penitentiary, was byWilliam Powers, formerly a deputy keeperat Auburn Penitentiary in upstate NewYork. His design was a hybrid of the tieredstructure at Auburn and the cruciform orradial arrangement of Eastern Penitentiaryin Pennsylvania. In designing the firstwings, Powers, in an 1832 report to theprovincial assembly, felt it was important topromote silence by isolating the inmate andproviding for undetected surveillance,notions that were seen as reforms at thetime. The harmony and order often asso-ciated with classical architecture werethought to affect the people experiencingthe design. The Penitentiary is a large lime-stone building, built partly by convictlabourers. The earliest available plans forthe Provincial Penitentiary of Upper Canadaappeared in the1836 Reports of the BostonPrison Discipline Society of Boston (vol. 6,p. 889).

From 1835-1845, there was no tall


triangle. For the first years of the peniten-tiary's operation, the warden had reliedexclusively upon flogging as the sole pun-ishment for offences of all types.

In 1848, the Brown Commission wasset up to investigate the penitentiary TheCommissioners reported that many of thesefloggings were inflicted on children. Whilecondemning the warden's methods, theCommission reaffirmed that the purpose ofthe penitentiary was to restore the moralcompass of the prisoner through contempla-tion, hard labour, and the teaching of honesttrades. Its report also underscored theimportance of fairness in the treatment ofprisoners, both to re-establish the morallegitimacy of punishment and to allow thepenitentiary experience to have a reforma-tive effect (Second Report of the Com-missioners Appointed to Investigate into theConduct, Discipline, and Management ofthe Provincial Penitentiary, 1849).

Around the turn of the century it was

announcing, to those who entered within, anew era in the treatment of prisoners, withreformation fashioned along the Enlight-enment ideals embraced by prison reform-ers on both sides of the Atlantic and reflect-ed in the reform blueprints of John Howard.

The first decade at Kingston Peni-tentiary saw the establishment of a regimeof cruel and escalating punishments which,while less public than the spectacle of thegallows, were unimagined by those whodrafted the Penitentiary Act. In the 19th cen-tury, a number of prisoners were youngchildren, boys and girls even younger than10 years old, who were imprisoned forthefts such as pickpocketing. Rules at thePenitentiary were very strict in the earlydays. One young boy was given many lash-ings for laughing and winking. Anotheryoung boy was lashed for speaking French,the only language he knew. There weremany different forms of punishment - onemethod of punishment was the flogging


in 1967 and was relocated to the warden'shouse in 1986. The museum is fundeddirectly by Correctional Service of Canada.

There are four exhibit rooms on the firstfloor. The first room displays a collectionof uniforms, a camera used for ëmug shots',and a ëcount' board (used to show locationof each convict). The second room displaysdrawings of the Penitentiary and its proper-ties, plus examples of convict ingenuity inbuilding hollow books and shoe heels,useful for hiding guns and drugs. The thirdroom displays a flogging triangle and astrapping table. One can also see shackles,handcuffs, body chains, restraint belts, legirons, and replicas of several innovativeforms of punishment used in mid-nineteenthcentury. The fourth room displays sanc-tioned convicts labours - for example,elaborately carved furniture. The fifth roomconsists of a cell used in 1906, and a cur-rently-used cell. The cells are full size inorder to show the living quarters of aninmate. One of the displays features JoeMcCulley, former Headmaster of PickeringCollege, Newmarket, who subsequently wasemployed by Corrections Canada.

The museum, as well as parts of thePenitentiary, including cell doors, were builtby convict labourers. The Museum ofKingston Penitentiary provides a rarechance to observe the daily life of a prisonerthroughout the years.

Sources:websites for Kingston Penitentiary, OntarioCanadian Illustrated News, Vol. 2, No. 27,December 31, 1870, p433Canadian Illustrated News, Vol. 8, No. 1,July 5, 1873, p4.Michael Jackson. Prisoners of Isolation:Solitary Confinement in Canada Toronto:University of Toronto Press, 1983

believed that if the prison experience wasthe worst possible that inmates would beconvinced that they should never return, orconsider doing wrong again. Their theorywas soon proved to be wrong. The inmates,when released, were shunned from societyand resorted to their old ways to get moneyfor food and a place to stay. In 1968, corpo-ral punishment ceased, and in 1972 it wasremoved from the criminal code.

For the first century, KingstonPenitentiary was both a men's and woman'sprison until 1934 when the Prison forWomen opened across the road fromKingston Penitentiary.

In 1992, new renovations commencedand cells were enlarged. Inmates areallowed electronics and other entertainmentdevices (TV, computers, games) in the newcells. They must purchase their own equip-ment; however, there is no internet access.Inmates are allowed to obtain jobs in orderto save some money for when they arereleased.

Kingston Penitentiary is one of the best-known institutions in Canada. It is the onlywaterfront penitentiary in the country, cov-ering 10-11 acres on Lake Ontario andlocated at 555 King St West, Kingston,Ontario. The Penitentiary consists of twobuildings: the Penitentiary itself, and thewarden's old residence which is now amuseum. Because it continues to providejobs and services to many citizens ofKingston, KP has brought many economicbenefits to the city of Kingston. In addition,the Penitentiary has become a topic of inter-est for many tourists.

Kingston Penitentiary Museum

The Kingston Penitentiary museum islocated in the old warden's residence acrossthe street from the Kingston Penitentiary.The museum began as a Centennial project


system which breeds crime, rather thanprevent it, as well as the responsibility tothe victims of crime who are largely ignoredin the present system.

While abolition is a long-term proposi-tion, much work needs to be done now bothin promoting the ideal of abolition andcountering the negative consequences of thecurrent system. To these ends QCJJ focuseson educating the public as well as support-ing groups and organizations that offerdirect services to prisoners and theirfamilies. The latter is achieved through thedistribution of small grants to organizationssuch as Project Reconciliation in Kingston,ON; Christian Council for Reconciliation inAtlantic Canada; the Association in Defenceof the Wrongly Convicted nationally; andOut Of Bounds magazine on VancouverIsland.

A Rich Tradition

Quakers have been involved with jailsand prisons since the 17th century whenthousands of Quakers were persecuted andimprisoned for their religious beliefs.Historically, in not standing or swearing theoath in courts, Friends acted on their beliefin the equality of all before God. Manydied from the harsh conditions in prisons.An early Quaker, Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845), sister of Joseph John Gurney whowas a driving force behind a revival of

Introduction

The Quaker Committee on Jails andJustice (QCJJ) is a committee composed ofvolunteer members whose long term goalhas been defined as the abolition of prisons.The members of QCJJ believe that prisonsand jails are basically expressions ofviolence, and of society’s inability toresolve its problems. The vast majority ofpeople presently in prison do not need to bethere. QCJJ works toward finding andpromoting community alternatives such asthose labelled restorative justice. Theminority who must be segregated fromsociety because they threaten people's safetyare still human and any institutions devisedto contain them must respect the rights,responsibilities, and human dignity of boththose incarcerated, and those employed tocare for them. This is not possible under thepresent prison system.

The goal of abolition requires economicand social justice, concern for all victims(prisoners, guards, victims of crimes,families), and caring reconciliation amongpeople. Abolition of prisons does not meanabolition of responsibility, but rather anacceptance of responsibility - the respon-sibility of the offender to alleviate, in somemeaningful and creative way, the harm doneby the offence. It is also the responsibilityof society to those people, both staff andinmates, presently trapped in a violent

The Quaker Committee on Jails & Justice (QCJJ):Acting on Canadian Friends’ Justice Concerns

By Marc Forget

(from research in the CFSC records in the CYM archives; Sandra Fuller, project archivist)


thousand executions in the preven-tion of murder, and is, in fact, thegreat security for human life. Thelaw of capital punishment, whilepretending to support this rever-ence, does in fact tend to destroy it.(Quaker Concern, Fall 1984)

Quakers have a long-standingconcern for the abolition of the deathpenalty, believing in the uniqueness andsanctity of each individual life which noother person has the right to take away.Friends across Canada have been active intheir efforts to have capital punishmentabolished. Canadian Yearly Meeting of theReligious Society of Friends has made offi-cial statements to the Canadian governmenton this subject. When the 5-year test sus-pension of the death penalty in Canadaended in December 1972, a number of dis-cussions concerning problems in criminaljustice and the application of FriendsTestimonies took place. As Friends strug-gled to come to grips with the issues, theAmerican Friends Service Committee publi-cation, “Struggle for Justice”, was of con-siderable assistance. A working party washeld at Grindstone Island in the summer of1972. The CFSC Peace Secretary met withGovernment officials in the FederalPenitentiary Service to discuss the topic indetail.

In 1973 Yonge Street Half-YearlyMeeting (YSHYM) received a request fromBritish Friends for support on their standagainst capital punishment. The ensuingdiscussions rekindled an interest in justiceand prison issues amongst members ofYSHYM. Shortly after the request fromBritish Friends, Richard Broughton andJoleigh Commandant took part in a work-shop on prison abolition at Powell House inNew York State. The inspiration andinsights they brought back led to a Special

Quakerism in 19th century England, visitedprisons, and what she saw of the inhumaneconditions led her to dedicate herself tojustice and prison work. In the time sincethen, Quakers have often been in prison fortheir pacifism in refusing to go to war. As agroup, Quakers have had experience asreformists both outside and inside theprisons.

Quakers visit prisons, not to convertpeople to Quakerism, but as people deeplycommitted to reconciliation in conflict situa-tions. As a religious group, Quakers believethat there is that of God in every person.

Responding to that belief with regard tothe justice and prison systems is challeng-ing, and requires Quakers to try to changethose parts of human institutions whichseem destructive to individuals. Respect forthat of God in others makes Quakers realizethat relationships through programmes areonly meaningful and helpful where there ismutual growth and respect. Directly out ofprison programmes come educationalgrowth, political action, individual relation-ships. Some volunteers follow prisonersthrough courts, jail, prisons, and aftercare.In the course of their work, Quakers workwith many other community agencies andresources.

Friends everywhere base their opposi-tion to the death penalty on the testimony ofthe presence of God in every person, thebelief in the intrinsic value of every humanlife, in the possibility of redemption forevery human being. The spirit of this is bestcaptured in the 1868 statement of JohnBright, from Christian Faith and Practice:

The real security for human life isto be found in a reverence for it. Ifthe law regarded it as inviolable,then the people would begin also soto regard it. A deep reverence forhuman life is worth more than a


about penal services, and set up library ofresource materials, visited jails to assesseffectiveness, made requests to governmentfor improvements or alterations, and hiredstaff to provide more immediate action,particularly conciliation between inmatesand administration. The Committee alsoestablished helpful contacts with othercommunity groups working in the area ofpenal reform such as John Howard Society,Prisoners' Rights Committee, Family andFriends Association, and the ProbationaryService of Ontario. Letters were regularlysent to Members of Parliament.

In June 1975 the Prison Committee ofYSYHM published its first PrisonCommittee Newsletter. Up to five issues peryear were produced until 1978 when theCommittee became Quaker Committee onJails & Justice. For the following 10 yearsthree issues of QCJJ Newsletter were pro-duced every year, and since the late 1980stwo issues per year have been produced.The QCJJ Newsletter is mailed to well over300 recipients in Canada and around theworld.

After its initial contract with CFSC forfinancial assistance in hiring a part-timestaff person in April 1975, the PrisonCommittee requested financing for part-time staff person again in October 1976, andcontinued to receive financial support fromCFSC until 1978 when it officially joinedCFSC as a standing committee (QCJJ).

In 1977, the Prison Committee(YSHYM) experienced organizationalchanges which resulted in a new name, AQuaker Committee on Jails and Justice(AQCJJ), and the formation in November1977 of several working groups which laterbecame sub-committees: Direct Services,Political Action, and Education. Thesechanges paved the way for a smoothworking relationship once the Committeebecame part of CFSC, a move which was

Interest Group at YSHYM and to the crea-tion of a Prison Committee the very nextyear.

Prison Committee, Yonge Street Half-Yearly Meeting of Friends (Quakers)1974-1978

The Prison Committee of Yonge StreetHalf-Yearly Meeting of Friends (Quakers)was formed in October 1974. The impetusfor the formation of the Committee was theanticipated meeting of the fifth UnitedNations Congress on the Prevention ofCrime and Treatment of Offenders, sched-uled to be held in Toronto, September 1975.

In 1975, the Canadian Friends ServiceCommittee (CFSC) completed its transitionfrom being an organization dealing largelywith international service to one havingequal commitments for concerns in Canadaand abroad. In March 1975, CFSC provid-ed to the Prison Committee of Yonge StreetHalf-Yearly Meeting of Friends a budget for6 months’ work which was used for part-time staff salary, speakers, assemblingresource materials, and preparation for theactivities of Canadian Friends around theUN Congress. As a result of this activeinvolvement in prison work, other relatedgroups, such as Church Council on Justiceand Corrections (CCJC, which grew out ofthe Canadian Council of Churches) appliedto CFSC for support for Alternatives, aneducational tool which attempted to dealwith crime and justice more positively.CFSC also contributed to projects undertak-en by Halifax Friends and Montreal Friends.

The Prison Committee of Yonge StreetHalf-Yearly Meeting of Friends (Quakers),was a group concerned with the systems ofcriminal justice and corrections at all levelsof government in Canada - federal, provin-cial, municipal. It obtained information


reached unity. The minute reads:

We approve of the followingStatement on Friends Response toCrime (see also Minute #21):

Friends, partly through their ownexperiences in the prisons of theseventeenth century, became con-cerned about the treatment of theaccused or convicted. Friends wit-nessed to their concern for theDivine Spirit in humans by seeingprisons as an alternative to corporalor capital punishment.Subsequently, they worked forreform of these prisons. Today,Friends are becoming aware thatprisons are a destructive and expen-sive failure as a response to crime.We are, therefore, turning fromefforts to reform prisons to efforts toreplace them with non-punitive, life-affirming and reconciling responses.

The prison system is both acause and a result of violence andsocial injustice. Throughout history,the majority of prisoners have beenthe powerless and the oppressed.We are increasingly clear that theimprisonment of human beings, liketheir enslavement, is inherentlyimmoral and is as destructive to thecagers as to the caged.

The challenge before us is to usealternatives based on economic andsocial justice and on the fulfilmentof human needs. Some alternativesto prisons have already been devel-oped and more are needed to bringabout reconciliation and healingwithin the community. Friends needto seek out, develop and supportsuch programs. At the same time,we need to foster awareness in our-selves and others of the roots of

requested by YSHYM in May 1978 andapproved at CanadaYearly Meeting of theReligious Society of Friends, August 1978.In order to complete the transfer of thePrison Committee of YSHYM to CFSC,Ruth Morris was appointed clerk of theQuaker Committee on Jails & Justice(QCJJ) in November 1978.

For some of the early members of thePrison Committee of YSHYM, Friends suchas Fred Franklin, Richard Broughton, andthe late Ruth Morris, being involved in thework of the Committee helped deepen theircommitment to prison issues, and was thebeginning of many years of activism in thefield.

Quaker Committee on Jails & Justiceand Prison Abolition 1978 - 1984

In its first year as a standing committeeof CFSC, QCJJ explored in depth the ideaof prison abolition. Then-QCJJ memberBob Melcombe suggested that a statementon prison abolition be presented toCanadian Yearly Meeting. Bob proposedusing a statement prepared by a group ofNew York State Friends for their YearlyMeeting. The idea of a minute on prisonabolition was presented at Canadian YearlyMeeting (CYM) in 1979, and was receivedwith questions and reservations. During thefollowing year QCJJ members visitedMonthly Meetings to help with Friends’understanding. At CYM 1980 Friends stilldid not reach unity on prison abolition, but aminute was written and the matter referredto further prayer and discernment. AtCanadian Yearly Meeting in 1981 RuthMorris presented prison abolition as avision, a dream to pursue. Instead of gettinglost in detail and wording, the gatheredFriends were asked whether they shared thevision. Following a period of worship,punctuated by compelling ministry, Friends


be placed in our Book of Discipline,or if it should be put there at all. Wewere cautioned during our seekingnot to let discussion of details cloudthe Spirit. The important thing isthat we be clear on what our visionis, and the commitment we aremaking in expressing it.

We lay this matter over forfurther seeking at our Wednesdaymorning session. (Minute #21Canadian Yearly Meeting, 1981)

Following the adoption of thePrison Abolition Minute by CanadianYearly Meeting, QCJJ began contactingindividuals and organizations that alsobelieved in prison abolition. This eventual-ly led to QCJJ being one of the founders ofthe International Conference on PrisonAbolition (ICOPA), and QCJJ organized thevery first conference, which took place inToronto in 1983. ICOPA conferences havesince been held every two years (with oneexception, the conference planned for 1999had to be postponed and was held in 2000),and have taken place in Eastern andWestern Europe, Africa, Latin America,New Zealand, the United States, andCanada. Eventually the name of the confer-ence was changed to the InternationalConference on Penal Abolition, to enpha-size the fact that ICOPA members believedit was no longer just the prisons that shouldbe abolished, but the concept of punishmentas the only possible response to actions thatcause harm.

Direct Services, Political Action, andEducation 1984 - 1996

Court-watching and prison visits byQCJJ volunteers exposed the needs foreducational, political, and direct serviceactivities to further the work and ideals of

crime and violence in society toensure that our lives do not uninten-tionally reinforce these evils.

Prison abolition is both processand long-term goal. In the interim,there is a great need for Friends toreach out to and to support all thoseaffected: guards, prisoners, victimsand families.

We recognize a need forrestraint of those few who are exhib-iting dangerous behavior. The kindof restraint used and the helpoffered during that time must reflectour concern for that of God in everyperson. (Minute #93 CanadianYearly Meeting, 1981)

Minute #21.Abolition of prisons is a goal.

Like disarmament, it may seem tomany a concept that is unrealistic intoday’s world, and would requireeach of us to take risks and makecommitments we may not be pre-pared to make. Nevertheless, we setabolition of prisons as an objectiveto be worked towards.

It is not unknown for Friends tohave testimonies which we as indi-viduals have difficulty living up to.We hold each testimony as a visionwhich helps guide us toward theLight. It is part of our ongoingresponsibility as Friends seek in theLight for ways to make this vision areality in our day to day lives.

While we are clear on prisonabolition as a goal to be workedtowards, we are not in unity as tothe appropriate way to express this.Some Friends would like to seerevisions made to the proposedstatement, or feel it is too long.Some are not clear where it should


penalty, abolition of prisons, and alterna-tives to prisons. QCJJ also worked in con-junction with organizations such as ChurchCouncil on Justice and Corrections,Prisoners Rights Group, Committee toAlleviate Prison Overcrowding (CAPO),and worked on special project to create pre-trial justice or bail, as well as with otherissues connected to aboriginal peoples,violence against women, and youth.

A Stronger Focus on Education 1996 -present

At its fall 1996 General Meeting themembers of QCJJ did a “visioning” processto determine how the Committee’s resourc-es could be used most effectively. Giventhe huge increase in prison population sincethe mid-1980s (5-6% per year) the membersconcluded that the most important task wasto inform the public about the failures of theprison system, and about the existing,proven alternatives as well as new ideas. Inthe mid-1990s the concept of restorativejustice (RJ) was coming into mainstreampublic consciousness, and new approachesto RJ were being implemented. It wasdecided that the primary focus of QCJJwould be on education, and the work wouldbegin within the Friends community inCanada.

In April 1997 QCJJ was one of a fewnon-governmental organizations to be repre-sented at “Satisfying Justice”, the firstnational conference on RJ in Canada. TheChurch Council on Justice and Corrections(CCJC), of which Canadian Yearly Meetingis a founding partner (and to which QCJJ isits liaison), took part in organizing the con-ference, and because CCJC was becoming avery effective representative of theChristian community to the federal govern-ment, QCJJ gradually doubled its annualfinancial support of CCJC over the follow-

the Committee. QCJJ tried to work con-cretely toward diminishing the function andpower of prisons in three ways: DirectServices, Political Action, and Education.

Direct Services: - Going intoprisons on a regular basis providesan opportunity to be allies with pris-oners and offers mutual growththrough these relationships. Jailvisiting provides an awareness of thedestructive aspects of prisons on allpeople affected. Programs are heldfor women’s groups, for men’sgroups, for those in protectivecustody.

Political Action: - Politicalactions work directly to achieve theneeded changes toward abolition,with special concerns about thepossibility of another vote on capitalpunishment. They include: demon-strations, meetings with politicians,writing letters to government repre-sentatives and to newspapers to raiseawareness about prison issues, pre-senting briefs to public meetings,affecting changes in the area of bailsand justices of the peace, workingfor alternatives to prisons such asvictim-offender reconciliation pro-grams, and for humane therapeuticprogrammes.

Education: - Quakers believethat education is fundamental toeffecting social change. The movetowards a prisonless society requiresawareness among people of thereality of the present prison system,leading to a consensual demand forchange.

The Quaker Committee on Jails andJustice (QCJJ) worked in the areas of aboli-tion of capital punishment or the death


on RJ for Parole Officers and prison stafffor Correctional Service Canada (CSC).This was the first time QCJJ acted as a“contractor”; CSC covered all expenses andthe cost of staff time.

In 1999 QCJJ produced a 20-pageresearch document titled “Crime asInterpersonal Conflict: ReconciliationBetween Victim and Offender”. The docu-ment was presented at Dilemmas ofReconciliation, an international conferenceheld in June 1999, and subsequently distrib-uted to individuals and organizations aroundthe world. Early in 2003 the document waspublished as a chapter in a book called“Dilemmas of Reconciliation”, published byWilfrid Laurier University Press.

In April 2000 QCJJ was part of theFriends World Committee for Consultation(FWCC, the Quaker body with officialstatus at the United Nations) delegation tothe Tenth United Nations Congress on thePrevention of Crime and the Treatment ofOffenders in Vienna, Austria. This was thethird Congress where Friends and othersmade efforts to have RJ recognized as aviable alternative to the current system ofpunishment, and the UN Crime Commissionsubsequently developed guidelines for theuse of RJ, which were officially adopted bythe UN in 2002. Also in 2000, QCJJoffered sessions on RJ and penal abolitionat the fourth world wide conference of theInternational Prison Chaplains Association,in South Africa. While in South AfricaQCJJ staff gave a presentation on RJ at theQuaker Peace Centre in Cape Town. Insummer 2000 QCJJ offered, on behalf ofAFSC New England Regional Office, a 3-day workshop on RJ in an inner-city neigh-borhood of Boston.

A section on justice was established byQCJJ within the CYM Lending Library in2001, making part of QCJJ’s library avail-able to Canadian Friends. In the same year

ing three years.QCJJ created a two-day workshop on

justice, and in 1997-98 the workshop wasoffered to Monthly Meetings and WorshipGroups across Canada. A workshop wasgiven at Atlantic Friends Gathering in May1997, and others hosted were by MonthlyMeetings in places such as Victoria, Vernonand Argenta, BC; Calgary and Edmonton,AB; Toronto, Ilderton (Coldstream MM);ON; and Montreal, QC. Some resourceswere also produced and distributed, includ-ing a list of videos and a short bibliographyon RJ, and a list of websites of organiza-tions working in RJ.

In 1998 QCJJ began offering presenta-tions on justice to students in a variety offields of study in universities acrossCanada. To date these have included soci-ology students at St. Thomas University inFredericton, NB; graduate students in edu-cation at the University of Toronto; philoso-phy students at the University of Calgary;law and criminology students at theUniversity of Alberta in Edmonton; andcriminology students at Simon FraserUniversity near Vancouver. Consistent withits focus on restorative justice, QCJJbecame a member of the Victim OffenderMediation Association (VOMA, an interna-tional organization) in 1998, and subse-quently offered sessions at VOMA annualconferences. A short workshop on justicewas also offered at Friends GeneralConference in Wisconsin, 1998.

Following a 1998 request for assistancein purchasing some printing equipment,QCJJ initiated the creation of a section onpeace, nonviolence and reconciliation inOut Of Bounds, Canada’s premier prison-based magazine. QCJJ continues to supportthis section in Out Of Bounds with anannual grant.

From 1999 to 2001 QCJJ took part increating and facilitating 2-day workshops


current justice system and its alternatives.The QCJJ Newsletter is still published twiceper year, and various other resources aremade available to Friends and the public.The Committee is currently developing adocument that explores the meaning ofjustice, in particular from Friends’ perspec-tive, that it will submit to the EditorialCommittee of the Canadian QuakerPamphlet series.

a flyer titled “Satisfying Justice” was pro-duced and distributed. A justice workshopfor youth was developed, and subsequentlydelivered to a group of teens at CYM 2001in Nova Scotia. A few months later a pre-sentation was given at an international con-ference on human rights and prisons on how“criminals” are treated as a separate race.

In 2002 QCJJ took part in the produc-tion, by a Master’s student in criminology atSimon Fraser University, of a documentaryon RJ and prison abolition. The Committeealso participated in the tenth ICOPA confer-ence, held in Lagos, Nigeria (the first timeICOPA was held in Africa), and played animportant part in the second national RJconference in Canada, held in the Ottawaregion in September 2002. In fall 2002QCJJ took part in a federal governmentconsultation on the establishment of a set ofguidelines to regulate the use of RJ inCanada.

Prior to the implementation of the newYouth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA, whichreplaced the Young Offenders Act) on April1, 2003, the Canadian government organ-ized a 3-day informational conference inwhich QCJJ was invited to take part at nocost to the Committee. This invitation high-lighted the recognition QCJJ has achievednationally in justice circles. Later in thespring QCJJ gave a short workshop on RJ toa group of Circles of Support andAccountability volunteers in Ontario. InJune QCJJ presented a short paper on a newway of evaluating RJ programs to the 6thInternational Restorative Justice Con-ference. QCJJ began delivering its restora-tive justice workshops to other nonprofitorganizations such as John Howard Society.

Looking Ahead

QCJJ continues its efforts at informingFriends and the Canadian public on the


Elizabeth (Rous) Comstock(1815-1891)

by Joyce Holden

Elizabeth L. Rous was born in 1815,and was one generation younger thanElizabeth Fry (1780-1845). Her parentstook her to London Yearly Meeting whenshe was eight years old and she heardElizabeth Fry speak of her work among theprisoners, the suffering, and the outcast. Shelater wrote: "I was too young to understandone half of what she (Elizabeth Fry) said,yet good seed was sown then andthere….My childish heart was lifted in theprayer that I might grow as good as she wasand work in the same way." So, from thisearly age, her life’s journey was impactedby the testimony and life of Elizabeth Fry.

She was a teacher before her marriageto Leslie Cerrighet in 1847. She waswidowed two years later and left with aninfant daughter, Caroline. After four years,she emigrated to Canada, bringing herdaughter and her sister, Lucy. They settledwith the Quaker community in Bellevilleand she became a part of HuntingdonPreparative Meeting in West Lake MonthlyMeeting. (Huntingdon later became a partof Cold Creek Monthly Meeting.) It wasn’tlong until they recognized her gifts in minis-try and she became a recorded minister ofthe gospel. (In Dorland’s book, it says her

Elizabeth (Gurney) Fry(1780-1845)

Elizabeth Gurney was born May 211780, Norwich, Norfolk, England, thedaughter of a wealthy Quaker banker andmerchant. In 1800 she married Joseph Fry, aLondon merchant, and combined her workwith the care of a large family. Untiredlyattending to the poor, she was acknowl-edged as a minister by the Society ofFriends in 1811. A wealthy English Friend,she spent much of her time visiting thewomen prisoners in England and readingthe Bible to them. She travelled to northernEngland, Scotland, Ireland, and much ofEurope where she inspected prisons andwrote reports. As an example, her recom-mendations for Newgate Prison includedseparation of the sexes, classification ofcriminals, female supervision for women,adequate provision for religious and secularinstruction, and useful employment. A well-known picture is that entitled, "ElizabethFry entering Newgate". She was a BritishQuaker philanthropist and one of the chiefpromoters of prison reform in Europe. Shealso helped to improve the British hospitalsystem and the treatment of the insane.Even in her lifetime, her suggestions wereincreasingly acted upon, and she helped tostart the modern prison reform movement.She died October 12, 1845, Ramsgate, Kent,England.

Women Ministering in Prisons:Elizabeth (Gurney) Fry

Elizabeth (Rous) ComstockBarbara Bachozeff

Ruth MorrisMuriel Bishop


Her many letters tell of her prison visits.Once she met a 35 year old man sentencedto 45 years for harbouring and feeding aslave with his wife and 7 children. A blackpreacher was sentenced to 15 years forhaving a copy of "Uncle Tom’s Cabin" inhis house and Friends succeeded in gettinghis release after five years.

On one occasion Elizabeth was visitinga man imprisoned for 15 years for givingfood and rest to a passing fugitive woman.Elizabeth was quite indignant and said shewould rather be a prisoner for what he haddone than for anything else and assured himthat he would be rewarded in the next life."I reminded him of a higher tribunal, atwhich he would stand, and where, instead ofbeing condemned for giving food andshelter to a wanderer and outcast, he mighthear the welcome assurance, ‘Inasmuch asye did it to one of the last of these, mybrethren, ye did it unto me.’" A Friend whowas accompanying Elizabeth, touched herarm and told her that many ears were listen-ing and she just might end up in prisonherself if she kept on speaking this way."What good would that do?" he said. "For Ibelieve thou canst do far more good at largethan shut up in there." She reluctantly tookhis counsel, but continued to protest theunjust laws of the Slave States.

We are very fortunate to have manyletters written by Elizabeth and they give usdetailed accounts of her prison visits. AtJoliet prison in Illinois, she spoke to ameeting of 1,800 prisoners and then wentfrom cell to cell speaking "motherly words"to the young prisoners and giving them areligious tract. One prisoner recognized herand told her his story and pleaded hisinnocence. She believed him and said if thewarden agreed she would take his case tothe Illinois Governor. In talking with thewarden she discovered not just this youngman but also three other prisoners were

name was Wright at this time.)Her travels in the ministry took

her to Picton, Kingston and even to Leeds.She wrote in a letter: "At this present time, Iknow more of confidence in my HeavenlyFather’s love, more of the tranquility andpeace that the world cannot give, than atany former period in my life. I feel that mywhole soul and spirit are more devoted anddedicated to the service of my God thanheretofore."

Her ministry travels took her to the U.S.where she met and married a Michiganfarmer, John T. Comstock (1858). She wassoon involved in building up the RollinMeeting and getting involved in theUnderground Railway. Friends were aidingfugitive slaves on their way to Canada.Elizabeth was often called on to helpconnect family members who had gottenseparated on the journey, to offer consola-tion and prayer, and to read from the Biblefor the sick and dying. In 1861 she wrote: "Iknow I have a gift to comfort the afflicted,and for this power I do thank God, andstrive to exercise it whenever and whereverI can."

This gift of consolation took her into theprisons to visit. She worked tirelessly onbehalf of those who were imprisoned forhelping fugitive slaves. She had a minutefrom her Monthly Meeting "to visit theprisons, hospitals, houses of refuge, asylumsand other institutions in many of our largecities, also for going to the streets and lanesof the cities to bring in the poor the maimed,the halt, and the blind" and if that were not abig enough task she was also to attend theYearly Meetings in Indiana and Baltimore.All this took her away from home forseveral months at a time, often left her in adepression and very lonely, but her convic-tion that her labours for the benefit of herpoor, suffering, fellow creatures wereblessed kept her going.


rests. In 1884, she lost her husband and sheand her daughter moved from the farm toUnion Springs, New York. She continued tominister in meetings, and speak out onprison issues and temperance. At her deathon August 3, 1891, the magazine, "TheChristian" called Elizabeth Comstock "theElizabeth Fry of America" and so theprayers of that eight year old girl that shemight grow as good as Elizabeth Fry and toexercise her gifts of ministry whenever andwherever she could were answered.

References:

Comstock, Elizabeth Life and Letters ofElizabeth L. Comstock. Compiled by C.Hare (her sister) London: Headley Bros,1895.

Knowles, Catherine "Elizabeth RousComstock, Quaker Minister 1815-1891"C.F.H.A. Newsletter #45, Winter 1990.

Dorland, Arthur G. The Quakers in Canada:A History Toronto: Ryerson Press. pp.195-197.

innocent and needed someone to plead theircases for pardons. One was a seventy yearold woman; another a Canadian; the third aman accused of stealing a horse. Elizabethgot an audience with the Governor and hesealed the pardon for the first man. Beforethe Governor could get away, Elizabethsaid, "I then related to him the circumstanc-es of the poor old woman, with the sameresult. Then I proceeded to state the cases ofthe other two men, and was interrupted bythe governor’s exclamation, ‘Why, Mrs.Comstock, you surely don’t mean that youwant me to open the prison doors for all theconvicts at Joliet.’ Then I urged the pointwith the words, ‘Governor Palmer, the pre-rogative of mercy is vested in thee; it is ablessed prerogative, and a time is comingwhen thou and all of us may have to cry formercy. I hope that in that solemn hour thouwilt be able to think of the words of ourLord, ‘Blessed are the merciful’ with joyand not with fear.’"

After the Emancipation Proclamationand the end of the Civil War, Friends inAmerica and Canada were very active inrehabilitating the freed slaves. Many ofthese people emigrated to the North, espe-cially to Kansas as the nearest free state.Hearing of their destitution and need,Elizabeth again traveled from Michigan toKansas to help in this emergency. Kansaswas soon swamped with refugees needingclothes, shelter employment and education.The Kansas Governor gave tribute toElizabeth and her companion, LauraHaviland, saying they had been "faithful,honest, earnest and prayerful, stinting them-selves tin order to do more for the oppressedpeople. God never made two nobler,grander women." (Laura Haviland was alsoborn in Canada.)

All of this travel, work and pressuretook its toll on Elizabeth Comstock. She hadseveral physical breakdowns and forced


that Doukhabor children learn English.Some parents refused and the children weretaken from their homes and put in boardingschool. The Radical Sons of Freedom did

not grant the govern-ment that right.

The power lineincident occurred inthe 1960's, a decadelater, planned andcarried out by a fewyouth. The earlierprotests in which theadults had used arsonon their own homes,and nudity, did nothurt others, butreceived public atten-tion, was costly tothem, and remem-bered.

Barbara Bachozeffbecame involved withthe Doukhabor womenwhen they were sentfor terms in theKingston, OntarioWomen's Penitentiary

the only federal facility for women inCanada. Illiterate, they spoke Russian. Farfrom home, they were isolated and lonely.Her concern for these women broughtBarbara and CFSC, the Canadian FriendsService Committee, together. Barbara hadcome to Montreal after W.W.II, and throughcontact with Friends it was arranged for herto go to Kingston on weekends for visits to

A special woman who taught art atOlney Friends School in Barnesville, Ohio,from 1962-1970. She lived in the trailernext to us. BarbaraBachozeff was myneighbour and myfriend. As thefaculty gatheredeach year we sharedsummer experienc-es. Barbara'saccounts werealways extraordi-nary, both for theircontent and for hergift of making thestory come alive.

Once in the1960's she recount-ed her summer inBC when she wentto Argenta FriendsSchool and firstworked with clayfired in an old styleearthen pit, aJapanese style. Shewas ever an artistand always tried new media for creativeexpression. While Barbara was in Argentathat summer some young men were sen-tenced and she was drawn into a walk as theSons of Freedom Doukhabors trekked fromtheir homes to support the youth imprisonedat Nelson. They had blown up power linesin a protest to the British Columbian gov-ernment's education policy which required

Barbara Bachozeff1900 - 1977Jane Zavitz-Bond

Barbara Bachozeff


tance on their behalf. In 1899, when DanielElkington met the first group of these immi-grants in Halifax., they knelt together onthe wharf in a prayer of thanksgiving fortheir safe arrival. Daniel carried concern forthe Doukhabors the rest of his life. It wasarranged that land in Canada, similar totheir Russian homes, would be theirs; theRussian government released them; andFriends helped them settle in their new life.The Radical Sons of Freedom were asmaller body who remained separate. Theymoved from the prairies to British Columbiabecause they would not take an oath underthe government, or meet other requirementsfor land title required. Philadelphia YearlyMeeting and AFSC, later founded duringW.W.I, continued this concern. By the1960's Anna Brinton was sent to assistCanadian Friends in any way that seemedright. She first met Barbara when visitingthe Doukhabors while consulting withCFSC. The ensuing friendship continued toenrich us all. Barbara went to Pendle Hill.And , yes, cooked! Next through her art shecame to teach at Olney, continuing herconcern and visits to the Doukhabors duringsummers.

This account is of prison visits andBarbara's subsequent care for theDoukhabors, but a short summary of her lifeis called for to allow fuller appreciation ofthis remarkable individual. A biography ofher life would fill a book, enriched by allwho knew her, and have their own stories totell.

Barbara's life began in Russian Siberianear the Amur River, in 1900. She was bornto the Russian son of the physician andpharmacist of the nearby army camp and theSiberian daughter of a wealthy woman land-lord in the area. Her heritage was wide; herpotential great. Endowed with a positivepersonality she related to people, and wasaware and observant of the world around

the women's prison. She read the letters sentto the Doukhabor women and wroteresponses for them. She sent reports toFred Haslam at CFSC, who reported thiswork in their executive meetings via a sub-committee. They sent bus fare to allow herto visit and care for these women. Overtime and with visits to the BC Doukhaborcommunities, Barbara became a valuedadvisor to CFSC on the complicatedDoukhabor situation. Her reports and per-spectives, from her ability to communicate,in both Russian and English, and her innatewisdom assisted CFSC to make decisionsand respond. Her letters are in the CYMArchives.

One impact of Barbara's presence maybe seen in the vigil at Nelson. Upon theirarrival in Nelson the Doukhabors campedoutside the prison planning to stay untiltheir sons were released. They were notthreatening or violent. They put up rudeshelters from packing boxes and other dis-carded materials. The summer nights werechilly, and some people in Nelson began togive the Doukhabors covers, and cots, evena stove , and other items needed for thecamp. Barbara cooked, she alwayscooked!, and translated for them. Sheobserved and reported the transformation ofthe Nelson community's attitude towardpeople they had first feared and felt alienat-ed from. Much had happened to createnegative feelings. Local people rememberedthe news reports and pictures that hadalarmed them. Then a miracle occurred aspeople learned to know each other. Ibelieve Barbara's spirit and her ability tocommunicate with both groups helped beginthis transformation.

As further background, the firstDoukhabors came to Canada after persecu-tion in Russia for not bearing arms. In 1895,they piled and burned their guns in protest.Count Leo Tolstoi wrote Friends for assis-


ers in Kingston felt this, her students sensedit. The world is made brighter rememberingone who lived fully, seeking that of God inevery person, and looking for the immediatenew revelation-- waiting to be discovered.She taught in many ways, but first by 'being'Barbara. She was a model prison visitor. .

References:

The CFSC Minutes for executive committeeand Doukhabor subcommittee from1953-1967. Held in the CYM Archives,at Pickering College, Newmarket,Ontario.

The Doukhabor materials in The PeaceCollection at Swarthmore College,Swarthmore, PA.

My memories of Barbara while we were atOlney Friends School, and of the storiesshe told.

her. She lived and loved life fully. Whenthe Russo-Japanese War came, her landlordgrandmother took the family to safety onlarge wagons. Thus, even in war, her earlyworld felt secure. She grew to create herworld, wherever she was. She was sent to aRussian Orthodox boarding school whereshe learned one does not believe everythingone is told; she preferred to experiment tofind Truth. Trained as a nurse duringW.W.I on a Hospital Ship in Vladivlastokharbour, she next attended art school inEuropean Russia during the starving time.Barbara acquired the basic art skills sheused, and built upon, for the rest of her life;then, married to a compatriot engineer whoelectrified cities, she lived in central China.Shortly before W.W.II, Barbara went, alone,with her three children to Australia.

Her younger daughter married anAmerican soldier and immigrated to theUnited States. Barbara brought her family toMontreal for their higher education and tobe on the same continent with her daughterand grand children... In time her son,Constantine, became a planner for the CNR,and Olga, her older daughter, a wellknown muralist. As an Australian citizenBarbara could immigrate to Canada. Later,after her teaching years in the US, sheacquired a small rural property in Vermont,and put her artistic touch on it--from build-ings to benches, designed and decoratedwith the bright colours and charm of herimaginative folk art-- influenced by all theworld she had known.

Her last days were spent with herdaughter in California, buoyant in spite ofphysical decline. She made life better wher-ever she was. Her observant comments, andhumour, as she found ways to do whatevershe and others, needed with imaginativeingenuity -- and discipline taught us byexample. She was at home in the world,with anyone, anywhere. The women prison-


and highly influential presence. BecauseRuth published so much material, her workand her perspective is very accessible. Ihave used two of her publications as basis

of my comments.(see bibliography)In 1981 CanadianYearly Meetingapproved a minuteof record, statingour corporatesupport for theabolition ofprisons. In retro-spect, this seemsextraordinary!!!In many ways, thestory of theAbolition Minuteillustrates theinvolvement ofCanadian Friendsin the ‘70’s and‘80’s in the issueof prisons andjustice.Ruth Morris’pamphlet, “Seedsof Abolition,”outlines theorigins of QuakerCommittee onJails and Justice,as well as her

own transformation from a sheltered, ide-alistic, rather naïve Friend to a radical socialactivist. Justice issues emerged as a

It is impossible to separate the activitiesof Canadian Friends, as a corporate body,from the leadership and vision shown byindividual Friends. This is especially truewhen we look atissues related tojails and justice.

I was Clerk ofQuakerCommittee onJails and Justice(QCJJ) fromapproximately1986 to 1990, theperiod whenQCJJ wasmoving from itsorigins, under thecare of YongeStreet HalfYearly Meeting,to its presentstatus as a subcommittee ofCFSC. Much ofmy work as Clerkwas to try tomake sense ofand shepherd thestructural changewhile trying topreserve theradical activismthat had charac-terized QCJJ when it began in 1975. Therewere many extraordinary Friends involvedin this, but Ruth Morris was a consistent

Ruth Morris and Abolition of PrisonsBarbara Horvath

Ruth Morris


The Prison Committee began an ambi-tious program combining direct service,advocacy for change, and public education.At CYM 1976 they made a model of a cell,based on those in use at the old Don Jail;they invited Friends to get “locked in.”Creative thought and practical work wasdone on alternatives to prison.Relationships were established with otherjustice activists. Prison abolition began tobe talked about and, when compared to thefundamental faults of the present system,began to seem less and less outrageous.

New York Yearly Meeting had a veryactive Prison Committee at that time, gal-vanized by the deadly riots at Attica duringthe 1970’s. News York Friends had com-posed a minute supporting the abolition ofprisons, which they shared with CanadianFriends. QCJJ distributed the draft minuteto monthly meetings through their represen-tatives on CFSC, so Friends across Canadahad an opportunity to become aware of theissue, discuss it and access additionalinformative resources. The process wasintended to facilitate more in-depth under-standing of the shortcomings of the presentsystem and the range of alternatives beingdeveloped.

Ruth and other supporters of this Minutenever denied or downplayed the challengesof handling the most troubling crimes,including brutal murder and violent rape.They also acknowledged the needs ofvictims and their families and the brutaliz-ing effect of the prison system on guardsand other staff.

The Abolition Minute was not approvedin 1979, the first time it was presented toCYM. Friends were ready to accept that thecurrent prison system is not working, butneeded a clearer picture of realistic alterna-tives.

The Committee as a whole, and Ruth inparticular, had already worked on alterna-

concern of Yonge Street Half YearlyMeeting (YSHYM), just at the time BritishFriends asked for support in their oppositionto the death penalty in Britain. TheYSHYM Prison Committee was initiated,spurred on by Friends’ preparations for theFifth United Nations Congress on thePrevention of Crime and the Treatment ofOffenders, which was to be held in Torontoin 1975. (The Congress ended up beingheld in Geneva) The new committeefocussed on the campaign to end CapitalPunishment in Canada. As Coordinator ofCFSC, Ruth naturally became deeplyinvolved in facilitating Friends’ oppositionto the Death Penalty. As they prepared foreducating Friends and mounting an advoca-cy campaign, Ruth and other members ofthe Prison Committee were drawn intoexploring the state of criminal justice andprisons in Canada.

Through volunteer programs in the jails,Ruth and these Friends gained experienceand insight into the way the “justice”system worked. They heard about the lifeexperiences of many of those who were injail, characterized by desperate poverty,lack of job skills, illiteracy, mental illnessand addictions. Most importantly, theycame to know some prisoners individuallyand to see “that of God” in each of them.Ruth writes:

There began to grow in us a deepsympathy and a terrible rage at thewaste of human life and at the mis-conception that social wrong couldbe righted by scapegoating thesehopeless, struggling individuals.(Seeds of Abolition, p.10)

But how could they transmit theirexperiences to Friends as a whole, and whatwould be an effective way to advocate forchange?


are increasingly clear that theimprisonment of human beings, liketheir enslavement, is inherentlyimmoral, and is as destructive to thecagers as to the caged…. We aretherefore turning from efforts toreform prisons to efforts to replacethem with non-punitive, life-affirmi-ng and reconciling responses.”(CYM 1981.93)

Canadian Yearly Meeting went onrecord again, in 1986, in minuting its oppo-sition to the Death Penalty, a minute onwhich unity was much easier to reach sincethe position is so clearly consistent withFriends’ testimonies.

In her writings, Ruth shares the creditfor facilitating change with other Friendsand with prisoners who allowed her intotheir lives. From my own perspective, Iparticularly want to mention RichardBroughton and Fred Franklin, Friendswhose life-work has furthered our under-standing of these issues and who have sup-ported and encouraged countless prisoners.Fred was such a constant and acceptedvisitor in jail that one new inmate turned tohim and asked, “what are you in for, pops?”

Ruth was a peculiar combination ofnaivete and toughness. She wrote about herprotected, middle class life, and feelingscared, at first, to expose herself tooffenders. We can all identify with thesefeelings. But then she had the courage toapply her spiritual beliefs to her day-to-dayexperiences, in a very literal manner. Shewas vulnerable to being hurt or taken advan-tage of, but the risks she took were notfoolish. She was defended only by herbelief that God was leading her to do thiswork and by her non-judgmental attitudes tothe troubled people to whom she offeredsupport. Ruth also enjoyed extraordinarysupport from her husband, Ray and from her

tives and they continued to do so. Ruth washired by the province to organize and directa new program, The Toronto Bail Project,which provided bail to some of those whowere jailed simply because no one can postbail for them. Ruth started a residentialprogram, My Brother’s Place. She support-ed and encouraged other alternatives –Victim Offender Reconciliation Programs(VORP), Restitution, Diversion,Community Dispute Mediation Centres andCommunity Service Orders. She was instru-mental in starting the Toronto JusticeCouncil. Ruth’s pamphlet, “CreativeAlternatives to Prisons,” was an effectiveway to tell Friends about the full range ofresources that could replace the prisonsystem.

In addition to her direct service andadvocacy, Ruth was also putting herself andher family on the line in posting bail, pro-viding personal and family support, andopening her home to ex-prisoners. Shelearned a great deal about affirming thepositive aspects of these troubled individu-als, while placing responsible limits ontheir acceptable behaviour.

The Abolition Minute was not approvedin 1980, the second time it came beforeCYM. But the third time, 1981, demon-strated how much Friends had opened theirhearts and minds to this issue and howvisionary and convincing Ruth could be.“Seeds of Abolition” describes in eloquentdetail the points Ruth made in her presenta-tion of the Minute to the session at CYMand the movement within the Meeting asunity emerged.

The Abolition Minute states, in part:

“The prison system is both a causeand a result of violence and socialinjustice. Throughout history, themajority of prisoners have been thepowerless and the oppressed. We


children and many colleagues.But Ruth’s approach got her into serious

trouble when her idealism ran into the brickwall of institutions and bureaucracy. AsClerk of QCJJ, I found Ruth impossible toreason with or influence when I was focus-ing on processes and formalities, becauseshe was focused on a more fundamentallevel of human justice.

In the non-Quaker world Ruth twice lostmajor positions, in agencies working forprisoners’ well-being, because she treatedoffenders as worthy people, or, if you will,because she saw that of God in them sostrongly that her bosses felt deeplythreatened by her readiness to advocate andtake risks on their behalf. Ruth’s anguishabout these experiences was profound, andshe needed and received, support frommany Friends.

It was to support Ruth that I foundmyself attending the memorial meeting forJoseph Fredricks, who had been killed whilehe was in prison for the murder of 11 yearold Christopher Stevenson. While Ibelieved in the principle of “that of God ineveryone,” it was difficult to explain theexperience of giving thanks for the Grace ofGod in the life of such a person. Thememorial meeting was a time of very deepand covered worship. I felt privileged to beamong the worshipers.

This was the kind of experience that oneshared when being involved with RuthMorris.

References:

Morris, Ruth. Seeds of Abolition, An occa-sional paper of Quaker Committee on Jailsand Justice. May 1983.

Morris, Ruth. Stories of TransformativeJustice. Canadian Scholars Press, Inc.2000.


Although I think Muriel’s work beganwell before this date, the letters only pick upin 1977, when she wrote several times ofthe adventure of working with a group ofmen in Collins Bay, and of how the grouphad begun to come together.

It is hard to capture Muriel’s way ofworking with prisoners. Above all, I thinkshe felt real love for them, which they rec-ognized. She was not sentimental, and wasable to accept the fact of backsliding as wellas the small steps forward that she sawbeing taken. Involved as she was she was agood observer, and never lost her sense ofhumour. She describes role playing atCollins Bay: we “had a good time - and Ithink, a valuable one,” she wrote, “One guywho had just been for a parole hearing saidhe wished he could repeat it having had therole playing experience - felt he could havehandled it better. From his description ofthe way he did handle it he couldn’t havedone much worse, that’s for sure”.

During these same years Muriel wasmuch involved with Thousand IslandsMonthly Meeting, and her main occupationwas her work with her husband in their giftstore, the Port Hole. But it was as early as1977 that both the Meeting and those thatshe met in the Chaplaincy service encour-aged Muriel to look into the possibility offormal chaplaincy work. It was not until1985 that she asked CYM to approve acontract with CSC, but unity was not foundthen. The history of the movement of thisconcern through due Friends process is along saga and deserves to be written. CYM

What follows here is more of a personalmemoir than anything else. Muriel BishopSummers (then Muriel Bishop) worked formany years with prisoners and ex-prisonersin Kingston. I am not attempting to write afactual account of how her work developed,but want to share what I know of its colourand spirit, through many conversations andthe now disappearing art of letter writing.Her daughter, Elaine Bishop, provided mewith a copy of a research paper Murielwrote for the Chaplaincy Division ofCorrections Canada addressing the relation-ship of Inmates, volunteers and chaplains,which shows Muriel as able to analyse aswell as to observe.

Skimming through years of correspon-dence recently was a moving experience.Mainly the letters reflect the years of lovingsupport we gave to each other even whenseparated by distance. I was in and out ofKingston a good deal through these years sothere are many gaps. But references toMuriel’s work, in which she knew my inter-est, were quite sufficient to refresh mymemory of the great range of work withprisoners in which Muriel was involved,and of how often she quietly took a leadingrole. Another very personal story emergingin the letters and in my memory, thoughnever quite overtly expressed, is that ofMuriel’s gradual recognition of her owngifts in the prison work, her growth of selfconfidence, and her slow coming to theknowledge that to refuse to accept and makefull use of these gifts in herself would be tofail in what she was called to do.

Muriel Bishop’s Work With Inmates and Ex-InmatesJo Vellacott


tive analysis with constant reference to thethoughts and feelings of those she wasworking with, and she incorporates, oftenwithout comment, many direct quotationsfrom those she had interviewed. The studyis based on “interviews ... with Protestantand Roman Catholic chaplains, volunteersof several denominations, some male andsome female inmates, parolees, ex-inmates,one Social Development staff-person, aNative Spiritual leader, and a parole officer. Informal discussions have taken placeduring gatherings such as Prison MinistriesConference at Five Oaks, RegionalChaplains’ meetings, and over coffee aftergroups or church services.”2

Muriel’s general conclusion was that thekey to harmonious relationships lay in open-ness to a variety of theological and denomi-national differences; problems arose, ineffect, when volunteers went in convinced,or prisoners themselves believed, that theyhad possession of the only way to salvation.

One of Muriel’s gifts was exactly thisopenness to a variety of ways of expressingspiritual understanding and experience. Asshe moved, in the mid 1980s, into work atProject Reconciliation, an initiative of FirstBaptist Church Kingston, she brought thisgift to a new set of circumstances. I learnt agreat deal from observing her interactionwith people whose strong theologicalbeliefs differed from hers, whether theywere members of the Baptist congregationor the Board of the Project, prisoner and ex-prisoner clients, or whomever. She knewmore clearly than many of us do just whatQuaker belief meant to her, and its theologi-cal underpinnings. She never compromisedher beliefs, nor hid them, but she neverenforced them on others, and she had thegift of hearing where words come from. Herclearness brought her respect; her warmthbrought her love.

was not able to come to unity (and that anincomplete unity) on it until 1992.1 By thistime Muriel was long gone from Kingstonand from active prison work I do rememberthat she felt disappointment at times, but Ihave no sense that her faith in Quakerprocess was ever shaken. What did causeher anger, on one occasion, was a smallcommittee meeting where she felt there hadbeen no attention paid to Quaker process.

After Muriel left Kingston, she con-tinued to pass her experience along toothers, and to learn form them. For instance,in January 1992, she facilitated a weekendworkshop at Woodbrooke for Quaker prisonministers. An interesting postscript comes ina reference she made to what was done byBritish Friends, who did not seem to havethe same difficulties with allowing Friendsworking in prisons to receive some remu-neration.

Muriel had no illusions about the diffi-culty of working within the system, andsometimes was frustrated by arbitrarychanges in the rules around her prison visits - for instance when a sudden change wouldbe made forbidding open visits in the chapelor in space provided by the chaplains. Ihave been struck by the width of her vision.Brief as the comments are that she makes inthese letters, she shows a perception of thewider issues, for example the tensionbetween the chaplains and the administra-tion, the difficulties arising from too greatan openness at times to an influx of prisonvisitors with no training and too narrow anagenda, especially when that was an over-riding evangelical agenda. Whenever shecould she supplemented her own wisdomand experience by taking courses in pastoralcare at Queen’s Theological College.

The study she did for the Chaplaincyservice focussed on the relationship ofInmates, volunteers and chaplains. Writtenvery simply, it admirably combines percep-


rush of client crises she wrote of “extravisits to inmates, one-to-one, some of whosesituations and struggles move me tremen-dously”. The struggle was central.

Notes:1) Minutes of Canadian Yearly Meeting,esp. 1989, min. 27, 75, pp 14-18, 70; CYMReports, 1992, p.81, min.40, 185-6.2) M. Bishop, A Study Concerning theRelationship of Inmate, Volunteers andChaplains. Unpublished.

The phrase about hearing where wordscome from, incidentally, has another side toit. Although Muriel would never haveclaimed to be able to be sure who wastelling the truth, and although she was inevi-tably at times deceived and disappointed,she was not easily taken in by a show ofreligiosity or repentance put on by someonewho wished to ingratiate himself or herself;she could hear where those words camefrom, too.

Muriel would challenge offenders toconfront the effects of their crimes and totake responsibility. On a broad scale thisinformed her interest in Victim Offenderconsultation; at a personal level, when thePort Hole was broken into, she took theopportunity to make sure her prisonerfriends knew just how she felt. She waswryly amused to find that the first reactionof some was indignation that this had hap-pened to someone they cared about, declar-ing that they would make sure it didn’thappen again; she had to do further work tobring home that the kind of hurt she wasfeeling was felt by all the victims of crime,and that this was what she wanted them tothink about.

Another whole field of endeavour that Ihave not touched on was Muriel’s workwith the Alternatives to Violence Project, inwhich she was again a pioneer, being one ofthe first to bring the programme into prisonsin Canada. Here is another piece of scholar-ly research which has not been fullycovered as far as I know.

We are prone these days to blame ourpresent failings on our past sufferings.Muriel was deeply affected by what sheknew of the terrible histories of those sheworked with, but she aimed always to helpthem take responsibility, to move forwardfrom where they were now, and to make thebest of what was left to them of life andhope. In a brief reference in one letter to a


Support came from people in the Faculty ofEducation, St. Lawrence College, theDean’s Office, and the people in charge of

inmate programs atCollins BayInstitution and at CSCRegionalHeadquarters. Ilearned that theUniversity of Victoriahad been running aprogram of post sec-ondary courses withsome success. Further,they had evidence thatsuch a program ofcourses had a strongeffect on reducing thelevels of recidivismamong the inmateswho took them. It wason this basis thatCorrectional Servicesof Canada hadapproached theUniversity to mount aprogram in theKingston area. Later I

looked carefully at the research they hadproduced and found it to have some seriousflaws. However, at the time there was astrong feeling in favour of such a program.

At the time there were 8 CSC institu-tions in or near Kingston. We were asked tobegin at Collins Bay Institution for severalreasons. It is, and was, the largest mediumsecurity institution near the University.

My life changed early in the summer of1981 as I was innocently thinking of what Imight do during the break in classes. I knewI should be doingresearch, writing andgenerally playing thededicated academic.Then, the Head of mydepartment asked me toconsider organizing andrunning a program ofextramural studies inthe local penitentiaries.I was puzzled by this asI had never had an inter-est in criminology,penology, corrections,offender rehabilitationor of even visiting thelocal “joints”. I said soto him, but he said to goahead and do it. Notwanting to irritate oralienate the Head of myDepartment, I askedhim why he thought Ishould do it as therewere several of my col-leagues who had a deep interest in thosefields. His reply puzzled me when he toldme that both he and the Dean felt I might bethe best person for the job.

As it was not a trivial matter I decidedto consult with people involved or with aninterest in that area. I found that there was agreat deal of support for the idea of a uni-versity credit program in the prisons.

Queens University Credit Programin the Kingston Area Penitentiaries

David Holden

Prof. David Holden.


budget, and approved the plan. So we wentinto negotiation to get the matter settled tobe started in September, 1981. There was adelay as the Treasury Board had to approvethe arrangement to allow the funds to bereleased. This delayed matters. By then, thewomen at the Penitentiary for Women hadfound out, as had the Elizabeth Fry Society,and various members of Faculty. Pressurecame too late for me to make adjustments tothe budget and academic plan. But theirarguments were persuasive. It was obviousthat it would be unfair to the women to denythem the same privileges the men were toreceive. As a result I agreed to teach anintroductory course in Sociology to both aclass at Collins Bay and the Prison forWomen – usually referred to as P4W. Avisit to P4W produced about a dozenwomen interested in the idea.

Late in September the contract wassigned and celebrated at a dinner in thePenitentiary Staff College. At the head ofthe table were the Principal of theUniversity, the Head of the CSC system andhis regional Deputy and the Wardens ofboth Collins Bay and P4W. In between wereother notables of both organizations. And, atthe foot of the table I was in the company ofthe directors of the two schools and theheads of inmate programs. My onlymemory is of the notables making political-ly appropriate noises, the friendshipexpressed by the people near me, and theremarkably tough shrimp.

With my teaching load reduced to onecourse at the University, the heavy title ofbeing the Academic Director of the QueensUniversity Program in the Kingston AreaPenitentiaries I began my work. Courseshad to be approved, students admitted to theUniversity and registered, textbooksacquired and rooms to be arranged. Alldone, and I had to go through a securitycheck and given orientation to the whole

When I visited Collins Bay I met with theHead of Inmate Programs and the Head ofthe School. A meeting with the Warden ofCollins Bay Institution reinforced the desirefor such a program. After discussion a visitwas arranged for me to meet a group ofinmates who had expressed an interest intaking a University course for credit. Thecredit aspect was important as I had instruc-tions to make the courses in the peniten-tiaries as academically demanding as thoseat the University. .

A few days later I was led through 4electrically powered steel barriers to a largeroom in sad need of paint with a highceiling. The windows were in need of awash, the room was made even dingier bythe security mesh outside them. The shadeson the windows were tattered, uneven andtorn. In the room there were about 40 menall dressed in green similar to the workclothes enjoyed by many auto mechanics.Many had beards, most were tattooed andthere were a good many of them in bad needof haircuts. They all looked grim. Some hadbeen lifting weights for years, and had thesleeves of their shirts ripped off to showtheir muscles. My job was to tell them whatwas involved, and to get an expression ofinterest from them. Having never metinmates before, and having no idea of theirapproach to things, I reverted to my trainingin Anthropology. I behaved as if I wereentering an unknown new society, open totheir thinking and approach to life. I thoughtthey were entitled to the respect and consid-eration that all people deserve.

With the inmates expression of interest,and the support of all the people I hadtalked to I prepared two things, one was aproposal to CSC for the funding. The otherwas to the University of an academic planfor such a program. We were the only sup-plier in sight for the program, so CSC tenta-tively approved. Queen’s approved the


remarks from my students as I knew theywere actually thinking about what I said andthey had read. The two groups of inmate-students were very interested in the materi-al. After a while one accused me of beingsubversive and wondered if the system wastapping the room. He suggested I might beremoved for my ideas. I felt this would be avery interesting outcome, and said so. Thewomen were equally challenging, but invery different ways. I taught in the morningat Collins Bay and the same material in theafternoon at P4W. The two courses werequite different. What the men challengedme on, and the questions they asked werevery different from those of the women.

Shortly, the numbers in the two coursesdwindled. Then I gave them their first quiz.Then there were only 20 men and fivewomen. I also found that I was no longerDave, but Mr. Holden. Further into the termI became either Dr. Holden, or ProfessorHolden, where things remained. It was acurious move from intimacy to social dis-tance and, yet, at the same time one ofgreater friendship. At the same time Ilearned a lot about them, and began to hearthings they had earlier kept private.

In 1982 the program was expanded,both in the number of courses and the placeswhere they were being given. Courses wereadded to those being taught in Collins Bayand P4W. For this to happen, each yearpeople were needed to teach the courses,enroll students, get security clearance foreveryone, order and deliver textbooks andmake sure classrooms were available. Wealso began providing tutors for people whowere taking correspondence courses. I alsobegan an effort to persuade CSC to allowwomen to take the courses being offered atCollins Bay, to meet the criticism that menhad a broader selection of courses than theydid.

At this point I went off on sabbatical

security system of the penitentiaries. Allwas arranged, and on October 2 I beganteaching in both institutions. The work atCollins Bay paid for me, and at P4W wasvoluntary. I began with about 35 at CollinsBay, in the same room I had met them thefirst time around. At P4W I met a dozenwomen in the room they used for theirlibrary. The women were almost as prepos-sessing as the men had been. They werebetter dressed, and had much more variedclothing, but some of them also had tattoos.

In both places, I got their paperworkfilled out, textbooks distributed. (Carryingin texts for this many was a bit of a load).And, so it all began. I was nervous andtense. I was in a room behind multiple steelbarriers activated by people behind armoredglass.

With me at Collins Bay were some 35men, some with impressive muscles and allas worried about me as I was about them. AtP4W, there were fewer of them but we allshared the same level of concern. I hadtaught Introductory Sociology many times,so that was no problem. They had nevertaken a University credit course before, sothey did not know what was to be involved.

The inmates in both places felt I neededto be tested to see kind of a person I was.Their language at both places was quitevulgar and impolite. They criticized me, andthe institutions they were in, complainingabout all manner of things. And, to makesure I was put in my place they all called meDave, lest I get any sense of superiority. Ihad not expected this, as it was a very dif-ferent experience to the submissive andoften fearful reaction from First Year stud-ents at the University.

Off I went in my familiar course andthey trailed along asking what they thoughtwere awkward questions, which only madethe thing more interesting for me. I alwaysenjoyed the awkward questions and critical


strongly in favour of the program. Amongthem were many who were very critical ofthe requirement that inmates should make apayment for their courses. They felt thatinmates, and all other undergraduate stud-ents should be given free University train-ing. This group criticized me very stronglyfor allowing CSC to charge students fortheir courses.

My take on the matter was complicated.I felt that Correctional staff should beencouraged to enroll in University courses. Idid all I could to provide information,encouragement and material that wouldallow them to do so. This mollified some,but did not meet the feeling that is shared bymany guards that inmates at too “low” to beallowed to do so. For the others, I arguedthat a university experience would allowpeople to have something to fall back onwhen they were released. I also felt thathaving a university record would make iteasier for them to be accepted by employerson their release from prison. Much of myargument was based on the idea that aparolee could continue in the University,finish their degree, and then go out into theworld with something other than a prisonrecord. By then, too, I had learned that thepositive experience of completing assign-ments and a courses gave many of them thefirst positive experience of their lives.

With strong support from many, andencouragement from the University, I per-suaded CSC to restart the program. Morecourses were added to the selection, and webegan teaching at Joyceville and Millhaven.Kingston Penitentiary, Frontenac, Bath, andPittsburgh Institutions had correspondencecourses added the following year, and theyear after we added a course in English atKingston Penitentiary.

Instructors and tutors had to be found. Ihad plenty of volunteers wanting to do this,but problems began to surface. One was that

leave to spend a year at Earlham College asthe Quaker in Residence leaving theprogram in the hands of Prof. PeterPlatenius in Psychology. My year inRichmond was very productive. During it Iwrote the major part of the manuscript ofmy book, and persuaded Joyce to return toKingston with me. We were married in theWest Richmond Friends Meeting on June10, 1983.

On my return to the University I learnedthat the program I had started had beenterminated. The staff of the penitentiariesresented the free university courses inmateswere getting. This resentment had twostrong bases. One was that inmates should,in principle, not be allowed to take universi-ty courses. They were not deemed worthy ofsuch privileges. The second, equally strongbase was that the guards and other staff hadnot had the opportunity of entering universi-ty. They would dearly love having thechance to do so. Their opposition was madestronger because they could not afford topay for their tuition. The inmates had beengetting their courses for free. As part of thereturn of the program, inmates were to paythe small sum of $25.- for their courses.Given the rates of inmate pay at the timethis was roughly equivalent for them ofregular rates of tuition.

A very lively debate took place on theissue. A number of people outside andinside both Corrections and the Universityweighed in. There was a broad rangingdebate. I was challenged by those who feltinmates should not be allowed to takecourses at all. The argument was basicallythat anyone who commits a crime should besent to prison and given no privileges. Therewere some who had not realized thatsending a person to prison did not end there,and that offenders would complete theirsentences and then be released from prison.On the other hand a large number were


larly offended by having to handle materialfrom a couple of notorious killers.Somehow they felt they were being contam-inated by the papers coming through themail. It took a bit of persuasion, and argu-ment that they would not be “infected” toget them to accept and process the material.By this time, my colleagues felt my maincontribution was to get them to realize thatcriminals could be intelligent, and mighthave something to offer to the world. Infact, a small handful of the inmates hadmanaged to make grades good enough to beon the Dean’s List.

One of my concerns continued to be theshortage of courses for the women. I wasconstrained by the need to get 12 or morestudents in each course. The population ofthe Prison for women was too small toallow for more than one at a time. To giventhem a wider choice, I persuaded CSC,again, to allow women to be moved toCollins Bay to take courses there. I evenoffered the Sociology of Deviant Behaviorone year to a mixed class. It was clear thatboth the men and the women benefited fromthe contact. They were better dressed,cleaner, and performed better in class. Ilearned as much as the students did thatyear. But boys will be boys, and girls likethem that way. One of the women, serving alife sentence, realized that her biologicalclock was ticking down. If nothing hap-pened she would never be able to have ababy. Contact with the men offered her asolution. What she forgot was that with-drawal to the washroom did not offer theprivacy she thought. She was unsuccessfulin her quest, but almost destroyed theprogram in the process. At another time acouple of the women were not allowed ontothe bus to go to Collins Bay because theirclothing was deemed far too revealing.

By 1988 I was able to report thatcourses were being given in Collins Bay,

some hated the idea of being locked behindbarriers they had no control over. Otherswere fearful of the experience once it hadbegun. I got some very interesting explana-tions as to why they could not continue intheir teaching. They usually centered aroundthe idea that their “mothers /wives/ girl-friends” were afraid they might be assault-ed. None were, but this did not have aneffect on their fears. I then instituted thepolicy of asking those who wanted to teacha course to go into the institutions, and meettheir prospective students. They had to go inwithout anyone other than Penitentiary staff.If, after that, they still wanted to teach there,I got them cleared and hired.

Dealing with the students was a differ-ent kind of proposition. Almost all them didnot have the requisite high school educationor the grades that would make them admis-sible. So, I abused the mature studentadmission regulations and got them inanyway. These state that if the students hadbeen out of high school for three years, andwere over the age of 20, they were eligibleto enroll in a university course. If after asuccessful completion of the course, i.e.with a grade of 65 or better, they could do itagain. Then, after having completed fourcourses successfully, i.e. maintaining apassing grade, they could enroll as regularundergraduate students. This worked welluntil the people in the Admissions Office ofthe University began demanding otherthings. The regulations also stated thatrequests for admission had to be made threemonths before the beginning of term. Giventhe situation in the Institutions this wasquite impossible. So, we had a meeting withthe Dean of Students acting as referee. Hecame down on my side, and things went on.

A second problem came with the Officeof Part-time Studies. The staff there object-ed to having to handle material comingfrom the Penitentiaries. They were particu-


1993 CSC decided to discontinue theprogram altogether. By then they wereconvinced that education was not the solu-tion for recidivism and were off on anothertangent. Sadly, programs are started with allmanner of enthusiasm, to be replaced anddiscontinued. The reason given is alwaysthe same: “It is too expensive!”

Millhaven, The Prison for Women, Bath,Frontenac and Joyceville with a total of 144students enrolled. I also reported the nextyear that the program produced its firstgraduate in 1986. In 1987 two morereceived degrees. In 1988 five receiveddegrees. The following year two more didso. In addition, one completed a degreefrom Kingston Penitentiary through theCorrespondence Program. Several morecompleted degrees in subsequent years.

Among those receiving degrees werewomen who had started their degrees in myclasses at P4W. One was the first woman inCanadian history to complete a degree whilein custody. She received a great deal ofattention from the media. Unfortunately themedia played up the people who had beenthe victims of her crime, rather than thesuccess of the program in reaching thatpoint. We had hoped the success of theprogram would be recognized yet at thesame time we received a lot of negativepublicity from people who seemed to feelpeople who went to prison should be pun-ished rather than rehabilitated. The familyof the murdered man, who were the victimsof her crime, got a lot of sympathy as theywere people who could not afford a univers-ity education.

In 1988 I again went on sabbaticalleave. This time we went to Ireland, leavingthe program in the hands of Caroline Miller,one of my strongest political supporters.While in Ireland I visited two Prisons inNorthern Ireland, and spoke on my experi-ence to Queens University, Belfast.Northern Irish prisons are considerably dif-ferent to those in Canada, or even to thosein the Republic of Ireland. This, however, isanother story.

In 1990 I picked up the program again,but by the end of the academic year, I washappy to return it to the hands of CarolineMiller. I retired a year later, and then in


Sharon (Hope):A Village Portrait (1851)

(Smith’s Canadian Gazetteer, 1846). SHARON, or DAVIDTOWN. A village in the town-ship of East Gwillimbury, three miles and a half from the Holland Landing, and about thirty-five from Toronto. It was first settled in the year 1800, by a Mr. David Willson, from thestate of New York; who with a few followers, about six in number, seceded from the Societyof Friends, and established a sect of his own. These have been since known as “Davidites.”They have at great expense, and much labour, erected two large buildings of a most singularappearance, which strike the eye of the traveller at a considerable distance. The first ofthese, designed to be an imitation of the ancient, Jewish temple, is a building, the groundfloor of which is sixty feet square, and twenty- four feet high. Above this is a gallery, formusical performances; and above this again, a kind of tower or steeple. The whole height ofthe building is sixty-five feet. In the interior is a large space enclosed by twelve pillars, oneach of which is inscribed in gold letters, the name of one of the Apostles. Within theseagain, are four others, inscribed in like manner with the words, “Hope,”, “Faith”,“Charity,” “Love.” In the centre of the building, surrounded by these pillars, is a kind ofcabinet, about five feet square and seven feet high, made of oak, of elaborate workmanship;in shape, something resembling one story of a Chinese Pagoda; at the four corners and onthe top of which are placed brass lamps. On each side of the cainet are four windows. Theinterior is lined with black cloth, trimmed with crimson. In the centre is a kind of tablecovered with black cloth, with crimson hangings, supporting a Bible. The temple was builtby the congregation, who spent seven years about the work; working of course, only at inter-vals. It was completed in the year 1832. Every year, on the first Friday evening inSeptember, the temple is brilliantly illuminated. A meeting is held here monthly for the

In this issue we present the next in our series of photographic portraits of historic Quaker villages.

The Village of Hope was built by the Children of Peace, a Quaker offshoot of the

Yonge Street Monthly Meeting (Newmarket).

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purpose of making collections for the poor.Since the completion of the Temple, $1500has been contributed; 600 of which havebeen expended.

The second building is the meetinghouse; which measures 100 feet by 50. It issurrounded on the outside by rows ofpillars. The ground floor is twenty feet high,the ceiling is arched, and is supported bythree rows of pillars, on which are inscribedin letters of gold, the names --- Daniel,

Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Moses, Jacob,Abraham, Solomon, David (with aharp), Judah, Reuben, Samuel, Levi,Isaac, Benjamin, Aaron, Joseph, and“Our Lord is one God.” There is also atolerable organ. Above the meetinghouse is a school-room, fifty by twenty-

Above: The Streetscape of Sharon as itwould have appeared in the 1840s,showing the location of the Temple (1),Second Meeting House (2), and DavidWillson’s House (4).Above right: An early picture of theTemple (1) showing the ornate fencewhich originally surrounded it.Left: The Second Meeting House (2)from the front and side. The small build-ing at the right of the lower picture isthe Cook House used for provisioningtheir annual feasts.

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one feet. The building was completed in1842. It was built by subscription, and costabout $2500. The members meet everySunday for religious service; and twice a-year, viz., on the first Saturdays in June andSeptember, for a feast or communion, atwhich time all comers are welcomed. Thecongregation, including children, numberabout 200.

Above: The Second Meeting (2) from therear, as seen from the second storey windowof the Temple. The first rooftop to the rightshows the relative location of the FirstMeeting House (5).Middle Right: David Willson Hughes' store(3), which stood in front of the Temple.David Hughes stands by the door, two othermen on his left. A buggy is parked in front.Bottom Right: David Willson’s Study(1829). This small ornate study was built bythe Children of Peace about the time theTemple was completed. David Willsoncomposed his hymns and sermons here.


Left: David Willson's house (4),Leslie Street, Sharon in 1887. Willsonwas the leader of the Children ofPeace until his death in 1866.Below Left: David Willson’s RoundOuthouse, now at the Sharon Templehistoric site.Below Right: An early portrait ofDavid Willson by an unknown artist.Willson separated from the Quakersin 1812 when he was forbidden topreach in the Yonge Street MeetingHouse. Willson claimed he wouldtake the principles of George Fox “onto perfection.”

Left: After the separation from theYonge Street Meeting, the Childrenof Peace constructed their ownmeeting house (5) in the centre ofwhat was to become the village ofHope, not far from David Willson’shouse. Finished in 1819, the build-ing was square, with a door in eachside, to emphasize the equality of allpeople coming from all directions.The meeting house also differedfrom Quaker models in having alarge barrel organ and band stand atits centre.


Right: The Kavanagh-Theakston Store (6) was builtusing lumber from the firstmeeting house. Kavanagh’sfather, James Sr., was one ofthe few fatalities of theRebellion of 1837. James Jr.established this store, and laterwent on to become the vice-president of the MetropolitanLife Insurance Company.

Right: St James AnglicanChurch (1869): As theChildren of Peace declinedafter David Willson’s death in1866, other religious denomi-nations established congrega-tions in the village. TheAnglican Church (7) wasdesigned by John T. Stokes, anarchitect in the village (seebelow). The church is built inthe gothic style, but has anunusual belfry.

Right: Peter Rowen House.Rowen (1812-1875) a black-smith and wheelwright, livedin this charming Regencycottage. The house retains itsoriginal appearance on a beau-tifully gardened lot with anoctogonal gazebo and carriagehouse at the rear.


Left: John T. Stokes House (8) -1852.Stokes learned his trade as builder fromTemple designer Ebenezer Doan. He servedas township clerk, treasurer, road superin-tendent, post master, and eventually civilengineer of the City of Toronto. Most of hisearlier architectural work are churches,including the Anglican church andMethodist churches in Hope, and thePresbyterian and Christian Churches inNewmarket.

Middle Left: The Canadian WesleyanMethodist New Connexion Church (9)designed by Stokes in 1867.The building hada Romanesque entrance (seen below) whichis now gone. The building was used by theUnited Church of Canada, until it was trans-formed into a daycare facility.

Below: The Mansion House Hotel(10) wasbuilt and operated by John Reid in the1840s. It was a regular stop on the stage-coach route to Lake Simcoe. The buildingremained in use until 1910 when it wasclosed by the prohibition vote. The Hall overthe south shed (not seen) was used as a ball-


Children of Peace Burial Ground date from1820, the year after their first meetinghouse was completed. It was establishedon a sandy knoll on the southwest cornerof Lot 7, Conc. 3 of EG. This originalcemetery was approximately 25 rods insize, or about 82.5 feet by 82.5 feet. Mostof the existing stones in the cemetery liewithin this area. In 1912, the sale of thelumber from the Second Meeting Housewas used to establish a trust fund for thecontinued maintenance of the burialground.

Above: The Children of Peace were pros-perous farmers, and numerous spaciousfarm-houses can be seen along LeslieStreet. One of the more beautiful of thesefarmsteads, now known as Walnut Farm,was built by Judah Lundy (1813-1897).The Lundy family remained members ofthe Children of Peace until David Willson’sdeath, when they became Methodists anddonated the land for the New Connexionchurch.Below: The Children of Peace BurialGround: The oldest marked graves in the


2. Cutler Red Brick CottageThis house was built of red brick which wasvery rare at that time and there doesn'tappear to be a record of where it camefrom. Various Cutler families lived in itover the years. It is likely that it was builtby Ellis for his growning family. Ellis hadthe first post office here from 1856-1860.The family seemed to have a lot of healthproblems that they attributed to the stagnantwater of the mill pond and so abandoned it.It fell into disrepair and was empty forsome years. William and Susie fixed it upand retired there when he became crippled.After his death, it was abandoned and even-

1. Friends Meeting House (Quakers)The first settlers in Coldstream wereQuakers Benjamin Cutler and his brother-in-law John Marsh. The first meetings were inthe homes of these families and the chairfactory of John Marsh. In 1850 a logmeeting house was erected following pres-sure from Daniel Zavitz on land donated byBenjamin Cutler and John Marsh. In 1859,when it became too small, a brick buildingwas built on the same site and it still standsmuch the same as it was then. CarolineZavitz Cutler donated another half acre ofland for the burying ground.

The Coldstream Tour

By David A. Zavitz



In the 1950's Vera McLean spear-headed adrive to clean it up and to set the old stonesin concrete to protect them. In 1987 thegovernment took over the care of these oldabandoned cemeteries.

6. S. S. #3 SchoolThe records show that this school may havebeen in several locations from the HumeCemetery south to the 8th concession overthe years. It was originally a log cabin builtin 1845. In 1859 a frame building was builton the current site. It burnt down in 1869and teacher John Wood moved his 100 stud-ents to the town hall until a new buildingcould be erected. The present building wasopened in 1870. It was in continuous useuntil 1965 when the township opened acentral elementary school called "Valley-view" across from the mill pond.

7. The Muma Farm In 1863 Nelson Kester was living in a smallhouse on this property. He sold it toChristian Muma. Christian enlarged it. Hisson John inherited it and raised 5 children.One son Earl lived there for many yearsuntil retiring. His brother Louis built ahouse next door and raised his family. Thishouse was later bought by Maxwell McLeanand moved down on the 6th concession.Another son, Robert, became an importantnature artist.

tually fell down.

The Cutler Mill

3. The Cutler MillA saw mill was built in 1837 by BenjaminCutler on the road allowance on the southside of the creek. The saw mill had a raisedtrack on pillars to roll the logs from thehigher ground on the north side of thestream across and into the mill. In 1838 headded a three story grist mill. It was latersold but due to it's location the owner couldnot get a clear deed and it was returned. Hissons worked in the mill and Ellis ran it for atime. It was later abandoned and it col-lapsed in 1905.

4. The Wood HouseJohn Wood built a house and store at thecorner of the 9th concession. He operatedthis store until his death in 1848 when JacobMarsh purchased it. Jacob later moved it toMill Lane in 1870. John's son John marriedJacob Marsh's sister and was a teacher atS.S. #3 school and his son Clare ran a tailorshop next to the wood home. Another son,Albert, became an important Ontario ento-mologist.

5. Hume CemeteryIt was used by the Scottish settlers startingin 1825. It ceased being used about 1907and soon became a wild, overgrown jungle.


built a new house on the 9th overlooking themill pond with a new blacksmith shop eastof the house. This shop was torn downwhen Robinson's bought the house andbuilt the gas station. Today George Webbof Coldstream Meeting runs a woodworkingshop in the station and has remodeled thehouse.

10. Howard Zavitz FarmHoward, son of Samuel and Ida purchasedthis farm from the Wood family and built ahouse across from the town hall. He hadgraduated from the Ontario College ofAgriculture in Guelph and was interested infarming. He experimented with apples and

8. The Mill PondThis was the reservoir that ran the MarshMill. It is shallow and spring fed. After themill was abandoned the pond was drainedand for many years the flats were coveredwith bushes and reeds. The SydenhamValley Conservation purchased it in the mid1960's and dredged it. They built a newdam and larger embankment to hold thewater. When funds ran out the conservationauthority withdrew and closed it. Today itis run by a local group who hope to protectit for future generations.

9. Clare Blacksmith ShopFirst blacksmith built this house in 1878 onmill land across from the store and had ablacksmith shop on the corner. In 1889 he

The Clare House(above) and theClareBlacksmith Shop


Zavitz. Interest in literature led to the for-mation of the first library. In 1882 Friendsstarted the Lobo Lecture Club as an exten-sion of the Olio. This organization wasinstrumental in the formation of the firstFARMERS INSTITUTE in Ontario held inColdstream.

12. Marsh Store The house was moved here in 1870 byJacob Marsh and the store built on. Thefamily lived in the house while running thestore. The store was home to many opera-tions during it many years. It housed thefirst library, Lobo Mutural Fire InsuranceCompany formed in 1882, the Lobo LectureClub, the first telegraph office, the first tele-phone system and a popular meeting placeto exchange news. Jacob operated the firsttelegraph line which ran from the KomokaCPR station to the store. He hand deliveredthe messages. In 1908 when the line was tobe abandoned, Jacob purchased it andformed the Quaker Telephone System. Thislater became the Lobo Telephone System.In 1921 he sold it to Alex McKenzie and theoffice was move across the road to theMcKenzie house. It was run by Alex andlater his son George. George moved theoffice to his new house in Poplar Hill in1965. The first operators were the Marshgirls and Laura Zavitz, daughter of Newton.The Library grew out of the Olio Society

had a large apple orchard on the farm.Howard later moved to the house just westof this house.

11. Coldstream Town Hall This frame structure sided in clapboard waserected in the 1850's. In 1869-70 schoolyear it served as a school while the new S.S.#3 was being built. In 1880 it was moved tothe Muma farm as a shed. It stood until the1940's. In 1881 a new building was raised.It served as town hall and was used as thehome of the Continuation School from 1920to 1925. In 1949 it was converted to thetownship garage. In 1969 it was renevatedagain to serve as the Lobo Fire Hall. TheOLIO SOCIETY started in 1876 by theSociety of Friends and ran for about 25years. They first met in homes and laterwhen it grew too large for a house, it wasmoved to the Meeting House and the TownHall. It was interdenominational with songs,readings, poems etc. About 1900 it spawnedthe debating society that was held at S.S. #3School. It also spawned the Young FriendsReview published by Edgar and Samuel


behind the Marsh Store and in front of themill overlooking Mill Lane. It burned downin the 1890's and was not rebuilt.

14. Marsh Mill In 1839, John Marsh built a saw and gristmill on Mill Lane. The power was suppliedby the water in what is now the conserva-tion authority reservoir. The dam was ofthick beams that had to be raised duringfloods. It remained there well into the mid1900's until it finally fell down and waswashed away. The mill race remains andthe conservation authority built a new dambehind the site of the old one. For a shortperiod they ran a small water wheel wherethe mill had once been. There are still oldmetal turbines and pipes if you know whereto look.

and was housed in the backroom of thestore. It started as the Coldstream PublicLibrary and remained a private organizationuntil 1892 when it became the ColdstreamMechanics Institute. Middlesex County tookit over in 1934. It remained in the Marshstore until after Roy Marsh's death. It waslater moved to the teacher’s room in the oldContinuation School. Edgar Zavitz was afounding member and keen supporter. Heserved on the board for over 40 consecutiveyears. He believed in reading non-fictionand did not support the purchase of fictionbooks. Devious means were sometimesdevised to sneak fiction books into the col-lection.

13. Woolen Mill The Woolen Mill was built by Jacob Marsh

The Marsh Store


1988 when it was demolished to make wayfor the new municipal building.

17. Daniel Zavitz HouseDaniel Zavitz came in 1843 to work for hisbrother-in-law at the mill. In 1847 hebought the farm from John Marsh. He builta large white frame house. A fire in 1904destroyed the house and barns. His sonEdgar was running the farm. He rebuilt thehouse of cement blocks, lining the insidewalls and ceilings with flowered tin as fireproofing. After his death the farm wasrented out for many years and then sold inthe 1970's.

18. The Nagel HouseThis house was built in 1904 by a Nagel.The furniture from Edgar Zavitz's housewas stored here after the fire until he couldrebuild as the house was still empty. In1920, Edward Bycraft purchased the houseand he and his wife Flossie Brown raised 4children. His son Bruce inherited the houseupon Edward’s death in 1957. His daughterRuth Zavitz bought the house when Brucemoved his family to the Albert CutlerHouse. She severed the house from the farmwhich Bruce still owns. The house went outof family hands when Ruth sold the housein the 1980's and moved to London.

19. Kate Marsh HouseThis house was built by Jacob Marsh for hisdaughter Kate. She lived there until her

15. The Clare/ McKenzie/ Fletcher HouseIn 1878 Samuel Clare, a blacksmith, built asmall house and blacksmith shop on thisproperty. When Alex McKenzie boughtthe house in 1921 he also purchased thetelephone company from Jacob Marsh andput an addition on the house to accom-modate the exchange. His son, Georgebought the company in 1937 and moved itto Poplar Hill in 1952 His daughter MaryFletcher took the house and raised herfamily there. In recent years her son Jimtore the house down and rebuilt.

16. Coldstream Continuation SchoolIt was decided that Coldstream needed it'sown high school. From 1920-1925 theTown Hall served this purpose. It wasn'tavailable the next year so the school wasmoved to Friends Meeting House. Thecommunity built a large 2 story brick build-ing that opened in 1928. The school ran onthis site until 1948 when students weretransported to Strathroy District CollegiateInstitute. The school then served as theTown Hall and Community Center until

Daniel Zavitz House


son Edgar Marsh. He worked at his father’smill and invented a power windmill. Hisdaughter Lettie took over the house andraised three sons. She was very active incommunity functions. George Webb boughtit and later sold it. It has been renovated tolook much like it was when it was built.

21. Newton Zavitz HouseThis house was built by Jacob Ott Zavitz, abrother to Benjamin F. and George Ott. He

death in 1837. It was willed to a nephewbut he never lived there. Eventually it waspurchased by Phillip Hamacher. Philip'smother Mary Marsh came to live there untilher death. Phillip and Betty renovated thehouse and retired here and are still in resi-dence.

Kate Marsh House

20. McArthur HouseThis house was probably built by Jacob's

The McArthur House


running to the rear. This house was demol-ished to build the house where Ron Cutlerraised his family.

24. Benjamin Cutler HouseBenjamin built his copy of the Marsh Housein 1840 backing on the creek. This housewas later demolished and the gravelremoved to use to build roads.

25. Albert Cutler HouseAlbert Cutler, son of Ellis, built this housein 1872 and 1873. He later moved hisfamily to Warwick Township. Ellis and hisfamily move there from the brick cottage. Itwas rented out during the years Ellis was inAilsa Craig. Chester and Florence Brown,Edward and Flossie Bycraft and Archie andViolet Hocking lived there at some point.William and Susie took it over and farmeduntil Will became crippled and moved to

left this house to his son Edmund Henrywho lived there most of his life. His sonNewton and Florence lived there when theyfirst married. Newton wanted to farm so hebought a farm from Samuel P. Zavitz andthey traded places. Samuel and Ida retiredthere.

22. Chair and Furniture FactoryJohn Marsh built a chair factory on the bankof the creek. It was powered by water fromthe creek. He later built other furniture andcoffins.

23. Marsh HouseJohn Marsh and Benjamin Cutler had seenthis house and liked the lay out. They builtan identical house in 1840. They were twostory, and of frame clapboard constructionwith wings on either side of the centersection. There were long slanted roofs

Albert Cutler House


with a long slanted roof at the rear. Whilebuilding this house long planks were storedleaning against the barn. One of these fellstriking Marion on the head and causing herdeath. There son Hugh Kester took over thefarm. In 1878 the west was opening up andHugh decided to try his luck. Benjamin'sbrother George Ott Zavitz was living up onthe 11th concession and was looking for alarger house and so purchased the newhouse in 1880. Their daughter Mary Elizawas away visiting in the USA and camehome to a new home. Mary later marriedJohn Bycraft who was working next door atSamuel Zavitz's. Eventually he and Marybought the farm from her father and raisedtheir family there. There son George andwife Florence raised two children there.After George's death Florence moved toLondon and Jamie Bycraft purchased hisuncle's farm. Several people lived thereuntil Jamie and Thelma retired fromfarming and move in.

28. Samuel Zavitz HouseIn 1868 David Zavitz, son of Benjamin F.Zavitz, built this board and batton housewhile living in the previously constructedbarn David later sold this to Samuel P.Zavitz and his wife Ida Haight. Samuel wasinterested in fruit and ran the first commer-cial fruit orchards in the area. In 1918 whenhe was ready to retire, he sold and traded

the cottage. His son Ellis and wife Elsieraised a family of 3 there. After Ellis' deathBruce Bycraft bought it and moved hisfamily there from the Nagel House. He andhis wife Lorna still reside there.

26. Amos Cutler Farm Amos Cutler, son of Benjamin, bought thisfarm. He farmed it for many years remain-ing single. Robert Bycraft built the housethat stands on the corner. The farm waspurchased by the Bycraft family and nowbelongs to Paul Bycraft.

27. Grandview Benjamin F. Zavitz and his wife Marion(Merrin) Cutler came in 1848 following herfather Benjamin. They lived in a framehouse for 17 years while he raised prizewinning horses. In 1865 they began theconstruction of a large brick home 3 bricksthick on the first floor and 2 bricks thick onthe second floor. It had a frame extension

Amos Cutler Farm


bought this house and move their family of6 children. They decided to try fruitfarming. While waiting for the orchards tomature, their son Pearson moved theBlacksmith Shop from Poplar Hill andconverted it into a tile making business. Hewasn't happy and turned it over to his broth-ers Howard and Chester. Eventually,Chester took over sole ownership andexpanded the business. His sons have con-tinued to present day.

places with Newton Zavitz. His son A.Raymond Zavitz took over the farm and ranit until his death. His family still own it.

29. David Cutler HouseIn 1867 David Cutler, son of Benjamin, andhis wife Caroline Zavitz built this largefram house raising five children. About1918 Annie Cutler, Ellis's daughter, and herhusband Samuel Brown moved fromBirnham to the Albert Cutler House whereSamuel had run a cheese factory. They

The Cutler-Brown House


the visits of a Quaker delegation travelingthrough the region on route to an Indiantreaty in 1793, were published in 1999 inthe Canadian Quaker History Journal 64(1999), pp. 1-24 as “Early Quaker Visits tothe Niagara Region of Canada, 1793-1804,”edited by myself, Christopher Densmore.When I compiled the 1999 article, my textfor Coates’ journal was based on an abbre-viated and heavily edited version of Coates’1799 journal as presented in a volume ofCoates family history published in 1906.1

Unknown to me at the time, was a muchmore complete version of the 1799 Coatesjournal, and a journal from 1803. These hadbeen published in a Quaker weekly, theFriends Intelligencer in Philadelphia in1887.2 This Friends Intelligencer text wasbased on manuscript journals then in thepossession of in possession of WilliamHughes, a grandson of Isaac Coates. So far,I have not been able to locate the originalmanuscript version of the Coates journal.

This transcription of the Isaac Coatesjournals for 1799 and 1803 include onlythose portions of the journals covering histravels in Upper Canada.

Introduction to the Coates Journal of1799

In 1799, Coates was part of delegationof Friends from Philadelphia YearlyMeeting who traveled to the Niagara regionof Upper Canada to ascertain whether theyoung Quaker communities at Black Creekand Short Hills (or Pelham) were ready to

Introduction

The journals kept by Isaac Coates (b.1748) of Caln, Chester County,Pennsylvania, of his travels to the NiagaraRegion of what was then Upper Canada in1799 and 1803 contain some of the earliestaccounts of the fledgling Quakers communi-ties at Black Creek, near the modern city ofRidgeway, Ontario, and at Pelham.

We are fortunate to have a number ofQuaker journals of visits to Upper Canadain the 1790s and early 1800s. These jour-nals were kept by Friends traveling onbehalf of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting toattend treaties and councils with NativeAmericans, particularly the Seneca Nationof the Iroquois Confederacy living inWestern New York. These trips were com-bined with visits to Friends living on theNiagara Peninsula in Upper Canada.Several members of the delegations keptdetailed journals, in part to be able to accu-rately report their observations toPhiladelphia Yearly Meeting. TheseFriends were also curious about a regionthat was at that time remote and largelyunknown to the people in the eastern UnitedStates. Also, Friends in south-easternPennsylvania and New Jersey were prob-ably curious about a region that was andwould continue to attract Quakers seekingnew land for settlement, and perhaps areturn to the protection of the British gov-ernment.

Transcriptions of several early Quakervisits to the Niagara Region, beginning with

Early Quaker Visits to the Niagara Region of Canada in 1799 and 1803:The Journals of Isaac Coates of Pennsylvania, 1799 and 1803.

Christopher DensmoreFriends Historical Library of Swarthmore College


down on the margin of the lake and riverNiagara to the ferry…. This Niagara Riveris the great outlet of all the northwesternlakes and waters, which makes a very greatriver above a mile wide and of great depth,running very rapidly. We crossed the riverin a boat, which the heavy current drivesacross in a few minutes, which to some ofour company appeared a little terrifying;and then rode up on the margin of the lakeon the other side about eight miles, whichappears to be pretty level except somepretty high banks of sand and a general bedof limestone lying in a form similar to thelower bed on the other side. Then turned offfrom the lake about a mile to DanielPound’s, where four of us dined and leftsome linen to be washed (Halliday Jacksonand Hugh Hartshorne having parted with usat the ferry and gone down to view the greatFalls). We then rode Asa Schooly’s werewe met with our beloved Friends WilliamBlakey, Nathan Smith and Jacob Paxon,who we heard had arrived two days beforeus. Here we all propose to stay this night,our kind friend and landlord appearing tohave things comfortably about him. Theysaid they could contrive bedding for us all;but Thomas Stewardson and myself weredesirous to sleep on the floor with our blan-kets, believing it would be best on severalaccounts; but we could not do it withouthurting our friend’s feelings, so consentedto take a bed. But when we got to the bedchamber by ourselves, we found a goodclean bed and clothing, which we examined,and found a thick straw bed on the sacking.We then took off the feather bed and laid itin the corner of the room, expecting weshould not be discovered. But our kindfriend came into the room and found the bedin the corner, but did not any more insist onour compliance with their request.

22d, and first of the week. Stayed andattended their meeting, which was held in

be granted the status of a monthly meetingin the Society of Friends. The visitingFriends, despite some reservations on thepart of Coates, did approve the establish-ment of Pelham Monthly Meeting. PelhamMonthly Meeting, including the PreparativeMeetings of Black Creek and Pelham, was adistant part of Philadelphia Yearly Meetinguntil transferred in 1810 to New YorkYearly Meeting. Coates and his fellowQuakers also visited Friends and othersalong the Niagara River at Chippewa andNewark (modern Niagara-on-the-Lake), andtook time to view Niagara Falls and theWhirlpool Rapids.

Coates began his journey on 8th month[August] 23, 1799, leaving his home inChester County and traveling west toPittsburg, and then north to the SenecaReservation at Alleghany. The party thentraveled on to the Iroquois Reservation atBuffalo Creek, near present city of Buffalo,New York, before crossing over the NiagaraRiver into Canada. Halliday Jackson, oneof the Friends then teaching at theAlleghany Reservation in New York Stateaccompanied the party to Canada. The fol-lowing section of the Coates journal beginswith Coates and his party traveling eastalong the margin of Lake Ontario beforereaching Black Rock, near the modern cityof Buffalo, New York, to cross the NiagaraRiver into Canada. The party then traveledalong the shore of Lake Erie to visit Friendsliving at Black Creek near the modern cityof Ridgeway, Ontario.3 After leavingCanada, Coates returned to his home inChester County, Pennsylvania, 10th Month(October) 27, 1799, completing a journey oftwo months.

Isaac Coates Journal, Ninth Month(September), 1799

21st [9 Mo. 1799] Rode three miles


cient to satisfy our curiosity, so rode on andleft them to take a slight view. We all met atthe aforesaid Willis’s and had an opportuni-ty of retirement in the family, in which wassome pretty close work.

25th. Set off from John Willis’s, heaccompanying us, and rode eleven miles toFriends’ meeting, at the place called ShortHills, which in the forepart was very heavyand trying, but more lively before the con-clusion. After meeting William Blakey,Thomas Stewardson, and myself visitedSamuel Taylor and family, and went toJeremiah Moore’s to lodge, in whose familywe had a solid opportunity.

26th. We visited the families of EnochShrigley, Solomon Moore, Jacob Moore,and Thomas Rice, none of them members,but all the descendants [of Friends] andappear to be thoughtful people. In theevening had a religious opportunity in thefamily of John Taylor, whose wife andchildren are members, but John was dis-owned by Falls Monthly Meeting and nowis desirous of being reinstated, and sent anacknowledgement by William Blakey, herewe lodged.

27th. Joshua Sharples met us yesterdayin the afternoon, being somewhat better, butweekly yet. We visited the families ofJoshua Gillam and Benjamin Will, bothmembers, and the family of Thomas Gillam,not a member, it being a tender visitation tohim. We returned to Jeremiah Moore’s,where we met with the rest of our company;had a solid conference among ourselvesrespecting the nature of our appointment,which hath felt increasingly weighty. Fourof us lodged here, to wit: Nathan Smith,Thomas Stewardson, Joshua Sharples, andmyself.

28th. Joshua Sharples went along withJames Cooper to see a friend. Nathan,Thomas, and myself visited two familieswho are a little inclined to Methodists, and

the house of our friend Asa Schooly, wherewe lodged, which was to me a dull time,though some lively communication therein.After dinner I took an affectionate farewellof Halliday Jackson, who returned fromviewing the great falls and is now about toreturn though a lonely wilderness toGenesinguhta, the place of his presentabode. We then classed ourselves in order tovisit the families in this neighborhood,Nathan Smith, Jacob Paxon, and JamesCooper going in one company, and WilliamBlakey, Joshua Sharples, ThomasStewardson, and myself in another. We thenproceeded to and visited the families ofJohn Cutler, a member; John Harret andAzariah Schooly. Neither of the last two inmembership, but hopeful, well inclinedpeople. Returned to lodge at the same place.I may note here that Joshua Sharples, ingetting into the boat at Buffalo Creek,slipped and fell on the edge of the boat,which at first did not seem very bad, but[he] hath been gradually getting worse. Wenow think some of his short ribs are broken,and it looks as if he would hardly be fit totravel to-morrow.

23d. Joshua Sharples being too muchamiss to venture out, we sent out withouthim and had religious opportunities in thefamilies of Daniel Pound, the widowMorris, and Obadiah Dennis, the second ofwhich in a particular manner was a favor-able one; and then returned to our lodgingwhere we all met and had a religious oppor-tunity in the family.

24th. Joshua Sharples being too unableto travel, we left him and rode thirty milesto John Willis’s where we lodged. On ourway we rode fourteen miles down the riverNiagara, crossed Chippeway River andpassed the great Falls. Several of ourcompany were disposed to take a view ofthe great phenomenon, but James Cooperand myself thought there was not time suffi-


be held at Friends’ meeting house in Pelhamtownship, otherwise the Short Hills, withthe members of said meeting and theFriends of Black Creek, which was conduct-ed with great solemnity. In this conference Iwas more fully convinced that there is asmall number of seeking, religiouslyminded Friends in both places, and that ifthey abode in the patience and perse-verance, the way would open ere long forthe establishment of a monthly meetingamongst them. But the rest of my brethrenbelieved the time was already come; so,after expressing my doubts of their beingfully ripe to be entrusted with the executivepart of our Discipline at this time, I freelysubmitted my feelings to the judgment ofthose whom I esteem to be deeper in thereligious experience. It was then agreed toopen a new monthly meeting to-morrow ateleven o’clock, to be know by the name ofPelham Monthly Meeting in Upper Canada,to be composed of Friends of Pelham andBlack Creek and to be held alternately ateach place the first Fourth-day in everymonth.

2d. Attended the opening of the newmonthly meeting, it being a favored oppor-tunity, which revived a hope that if thissmall number of Friends composing saidmeeting keep in humility and steady atten-tion to best direction, their number andexperience may so increase that the testimo-ny of truth may be supported amongst them.After meeting took leave of our kind friendsnear the meeting-house and rode five milesto our friend, Samuel Becket’s, who is amember of said meeting and who kindlyentertained six of us, Joshua Sharplesstaying at James Crawford’s.

3d. Thomas Stewardson, James Cooper,Jacob Paxon, and myself set off, intendingfor Newark down the Niagara River. Dinedat Queenstown, the landing where all thegoods conveyed thus far by water are

returned to Moore’s to dinner. In the after-noon paid some social visits, and lodged atthe same place, which at the present is atemporary home.

29th, and first of the week. AttendedFriends meeting at their usual time andplace. After meeting walked four or fivemiles along with Nathan Smith to SamuelBecket’s, where Nathan had appointed ameeting to begin at four o’clock, to whichthe neighbors and many Friends from abouttheir meeting-house came, and which I hopewas a time of profitable instruction to someof them. On taking a view of the earnestdesire which many of them have to attendsuch places, the compassionate feelings ofmy heart were very much awakened, espe-cially for their women, many of them goingfour or five miles on foot, some of themwith young children in their arms and othersin such a state that I should have thoughtscarcely fit to travel far on horseback; yetthey would and did walk faster than waseasy for me, and returned to their homes ina dark night, the men carrying lightedtorches in their hands to show them the wayalong their muddy and rooty roads. Lodgedat the same place.

30th. Spent part of the day agreeablywith some of our friends; also had a solidopportunity with a man who we believedhad taken imagination for revelation, whichhad led him into some strange acts and pre-dictions. I hope his state was so clearlyopened and laid home to him that it may beof some use to him. He acknowledged hehad been deceived and followed a lyingspirit. In the evening five of us returned tomy lodging.

Isaac Coates Journal, Tenth Month(October) 1799

1st of the Tenth month [1799] We allattended a conference before appointed to


one hundred yards, being all the openingthere is between the high hills. Into this poolabundance of logs and timbers is carriedand perhaps cannot get out for some weeks.It is amazing to behold the whirls that areformed, the logs sucked down and sometime after shooting up (perhaps 100 yardsfrom the place they went down, end fore-most) fifteen or twenty feet perpendicularout of the water; that upon the whole it is anindescribably agitated place. Returned andlodged at William Lunday’s.

5th. William Lunday accompaniedJames Cooper and myself in order to take asatisfactory view of the great cataract. Wewent about three-quarters of a mile belowthe Falls and then descended a bank of lime-stone rocks, I suppose nearly 300 feet,which was not quite perpendicular, to thesurface of the water, some times holding byroots, some times by twigs, and some of theway down a ladder, other times sticking ourtoes in the cavities and holding by thecraggy parts of the rocks. When down,clambered along the rocks, logs, slabs, andtimber up the river to the place where thewater shoots over the rock and falls 160feet. We went as far as we thought was safe,being as wet, with the spray of water andsweat, as if we had been in a heavy shower.I had an inclination to go further in behindthe water, but Lunday said it was dan-gerous; for, as he said, if the wind were toshift against us we should be in danger ofbeing suffocated with the spray and sulphurwhich smelled very strong. I thought therewas not quite so much danger as he alleged,believing he was a good deal timid;however, I thought best to decline, lest Ishould suffer for my temerity. On clamber-ing along the rocks by water with a wall ormountain of rocks 160 feet high in someplaces over my head, hanging twelve orfifteen feet over plumb, it appeared trulyawful and dangerous, which put me upon

unladen, and those intended to be reshippedand taken into Lake Erie are carted orcarried by land above the great Falls.Thence to Newark, it being a newly settledtown at the mouth of the river Niagara,containing about one hundred houses. It is abeautiful place opposite the American fort,called Niagara Fort, and just where the riverempties into Lake Ontario which is anotherwonderful fresh water sea in this northerncountry. Lodged at George Bradshaw’s. Inthis place oats is 6d. per quart, hay 14d. pernight for horses. This day’s ride, twenty-twomiles.

4th. Rode fifteen miles up the river toWilliam Lunday’s [sic.]. Left our horsesthere and walked about a mile to a meetingappointed by Nathan Smith and WilliamBlakey, in a meeting-house near the Falls,called the Federal Meeting House, it beingbuilt by the inhabitants for any minister ofany religious denomination to preach in, butI understand meetings are very rare in it. NoFriends live hereabouts but WilliamLunday, and he, by some means, forfeitedhis right before he came here, but is kind tous. I thought the opportunity was owned,particularly towards the close. In the after-noon William Blakey, Nathan Smith andThomas Stewardson set off from BlackCreek; Jacob Paxon being very poorly,stayed at Lunday’s; James Cooper andmyself went about five miles down the riverto view a great curiosity called the whirl-pool. On our way we met with an accept-able repast on excellent peaches. We cameto the bank of the river, which I believe isthree hundred feet above the water, nearlyperpendicular, on which we had a fair viewof that astonishing place, the river is rushingwith great impetuosity against the bank orwall of rocks at a short turn in the river andthen turning in a cover of perhaps ten acresin which it whirls round and round, strivingto escape at a narrow passage of perhaps


es, -- being mostly new settlers and not invery affluent life,-- we made them an offerof thirty dollars toward purchasing materi-als; but they modestly declined accepting it,and said they could do it themselves. I havenow prepared things in order to set my facehomewards to-morrow, which feels verypleasant.

7th. Wm. Blackey, Nathan Smith, JacobPaxon, Thomas Stewardson, and myselflodged at our kind friend, Asa Schooly’s,last night who with his valued wife,equipped us for our journey through thewilderness. Early in the morning, aftertaking an affectionate farewell of our kindhost, I set off with Thomas Stewardson, androde thirteen miles to the ferry. Had a finepassage over the river which is a terror tomany, then rode three miles up the lake tothe mouth of Buffalo creek, put up ourhorses, and waited until the rest of ourcompany came…

Introduction to Isaac Coates Journal,1803

Coates 1803 travels were on behalf ofthe Philadelphia Yearly Meeting IndianCommittee, with the major business beingcouncils with the Seneca and other Iroquoisat Alleghany and Buffalo Creek. Afterconcluding its business at Buffalo Creek,the party, including Coates, ThomasStewardson, John Shoemaker and GeorgeVaux, continued across the Niagara River tovisit Friends in Pelham Monthly Meeting.

In the entry for the 5th of 10th Month,1803, Coates refers to issues of land titles inUpper Canada. The issue included thenecessity of taking oaths… Taken up bythe Meeting for Sufferings of PhiladelphiaYearly Meeting (Pelham Monthly Meetingbeing part of that meeting) and by themreferred to the Meeting for Sufferings ofLondon Yearly Meeting and later to the

thinking what my view was in going intosuch apparent danger, as it is evident greatcolumns of them frequently break off andfall down; but as I believed it was not alto-gether to gratify an idle curiosity, for thewhole of the prospect led me into a reverentframe of mind, admiring the wonderfulworks, and in some measure adoring theGreat Author, I then thought myself if Ishould then be buried in oblivion, perhapsmy soul was as much in a state of aspirationand adoration as it might be when the una-voidable event should take place. This con-sideration led me on without much fear atthe time, though naturally timid. I need notundertake to describe this wonderful phe-nomenon, as many pens have beenemployed in setting forth its magnitude; butas I have been employed in setting forth itsmagnitude; but as I have taken a view of theriver in places many miles down, I am fullyof the mind that the great Falls at someperiod were nine miles farther down theriver and that they are gradually wearing up,and perhaps in time may drain the greatLake Erie. It is wonderful to behold theagitation of the water in the rapids above thefalls and also below them, column aftercolumn dashing against each other andrising a great height with such foaming andconfusion that the whole appears trulyawful. We were very went when we left theplace; got on our horses and rode toChippewa. Fed our horses and took a snatchourselves, then rode to Black Creek settle-ment, twenty-four miles, and lodged atAnna Morris’, who is a kind, agreeableyoung widow.

6th. Attended the meeting at AsaSchooly’s, it being large for that place.After meeting we had a conference with themembers of that meeting and laid beforethem the need we thought they have of ahouse to meet in, which they seem spiritedto build. One considering their circumstanc-


this superlatively grand and most astonish-ing natural curiosity of the kind in theknown world, my curiosity would havebeen fully satisfied had it not been for onereflection or consideration, which was that Iknew my wife had a great desire to enjoythe view which I was then favored with,which made me feel as though I was onlyhalf satisfied. We returned to Chippewa andlodged, having ridden twenty-four miles thisday.

4th. We set off and rode down the riverby the side of the rapids above the Falls fora little more than a mile and then tookanother view of the great phenomenon; andI think this morning, the whole of the pros-pect appeared more astonishingly great andbeautiful than I had ever seen it before, itbeing a clear morning, and viewing thegreat fall and the dashing of the huge andconfused rolls of water over the rocks in therapids between us and the son, to be sureappeared amazingly grand and gratifying.We then rode four or five miles to view thewhirlpool, which four years ago I thought agreat curiosity as the other; yet I was disap-pointed now, thought it appeared to be awonderful place, but very far inferior towhat it did then; there being but few logs init, and whether it was owing to the stillnessof the day or some other cause, I know not,there did not appear the sucks formed takingdown the logs, nor the very great agitationthere was then. We then rode to WilliamLunday’s; dined; and thence to JohnTaylor’s at Pelham, where we met withJames Wilson and the rest of the companywe parted with at Wm. Ellis’s at Muncy,who all lodged at Taylor’s except JamesWilson, Isaac Bonsal, and myself, who wentto Jeremiah Moore’s.4 Rode twenty-threemiles today,

5th. Attended the monthly meeting ofFriends at Pelham, which myself and othershad established in the year 1799. I remem-

government of Upper Canada.In his 1803 travels, Coates left his home

on the 9th of 9th Month (September), 1803,and returned home on the 18th of 10thMonth, 1803.

Isaac Coates Journal, Tenth Month(October), 1803

3rd. … John Shoemaker and myselfrode down to the ferry [at Black Rock] onthe great river Niagara and crossed in sixminutes. There I saw three Mohawk Indianscarry a bark canoe a considerable distanceand put it in the river, and then five of themgot in and rowed across in five minutes;said river said to be above a mile wide. Wethen rode to the mouth of [the] Chippewa,fed our horses and took a snack, at whichplace there was a British officer who wasformerly stationed in the neighborhood ofthe great Falls, but is now fixed at York,over Lake Ontario. He being on his way upto Long Point on the Grand River, he was somuch pleased to be in company with acouple of Quakers that he politely offered toaccompany us to the Falls and show us theway down. As we rode down the river inview of the rapids we met I. Bonsal and G.Vaux who had been taking an upper view.They turned back with us and we all wentdown the ladder where the curious areaccustomed to go down, the officer leadingthe way; but the tremendous appearance ofthe way down discouraged John Shoemakerfrom attempting it. The rest of us followedthe officer down and then up the craggy,slippery way to the edge of the great shootor water; which together with returning is alaborious task, for I believe there were butvery few dry threads, either linen or woolen,upon any of us when we returned. I havingfour years ago had a view and given somedescription of this amazing cataract, neednot write much now. While I was viewing


helping him to put up a coal pit. He told ushis cousin learned first, and a great many ofthe white people from Queenstown andNiagara brought their smith work to him.From his appearance and disposition ofindustry, I thought our expense and troublein educating him were well spent. Then roadto one Beech’s in the wilderness, where wemet with two families from Cattawissa, oneof which was Ezekiel James’s, who weremoving to Yonge Street in Upper Canada.We all lodged in this cabin, being twenty-tree of us besides the family; having riddenthirty-tree miles this day.

Notes:

1) Truman Coates, A Genealogy of the Coates

Family ([Oxford, Pennsylvania], 1906), pp. 93-108.

2) Published as “Journal of Journeys to the Indian

Country,” in Friends Intelligencer, Volume 44, in

twelve parts, 7th Month 16 through 10 Month 1,

1887; the sections reproduced in this article are on

pages 503-503, 514-516 (179) and pages 611-612

(1803).

3) At this period, Black Creek refers to the area near

Ridgeway, not to the modern hamlet of Black Creek

on the Niagara River below Fort Erie.

4) “James Wilson and party…” refers to Hannah

Yarnall (1765-1822) from Pennsylvania who was

traveling “in the ministry” to visit Friends of Pelham

and Yonge Street Monthly Meeting accompanied by

Mary Witchel, James Wilson and Samuel Johnson.

The manuscript of Yarnall’s 1803 trip is in the

Richardson Papers at Friends Historical Library,

Swarthmore College (RG5/187, Series 1, Box 1). A

version of the Memoir and Journal of …. Hannah

Yarnall was published in Friends Miscellany 9 (1836-

1837), pp. 195-240.

5) The issue of land patents appears to include the

requirement to take an oath of allegiance, and

whether the Quaker “affirmation” was legally

acceptable to prove title. The issue was taken up by

the Meeting for Sufferings of Philadelphia Yearly

Meeting in 1803-1806.

ber it was a subject of great weight with meat the time, being impressed with someserious doubts that the members which wereto compose said monthly meeting werefurnished with religious experience or skillenough to be entrusted with power to judgethe fitness of persons to be received intomembership, or deny from the privileges ofthe Society. And although there now appearto be more in number than there were atfirst opening, and some rather more experi-ence, yet I apprehend they still remain in avery infant and unskillful state. IsaacBonsal, John Shoemaker, and I endeavoredto draw their attention by querying withthem whether they were easy to remain in acareless situation respecting the foulchannel in which they receive or obtain thetitles for their lands, or whether it would notbe better to apply for redress. Some of themfirst expressed they thought it was a matterof no consequence, but others expressedtheir dissatisfaction. At length they united indesiring that the Yearly Meeting or Meetingfor Sufferings, might take the matter upontheir behalf.5 Lodged at John Taylor’s.

6th. Isaac Bonsal, John Shoemaker,George Vaux, and myself rode toQueenstown and dined; then crossed thegreat river Niagara where it is not half amile wide, but we were told the depth hathhitherto been unfathomable. It looks a terri-fying place to cross: the water appearsnearly as green as grass and whirling round,I suppose occasioned by the great rocks inthe bottom; this being the place where Iapprehend the great Falls at some periodexhibited the grand appearance they now doup the river miles away.

We got over safely and in aboutfive miles came to the Tuscarora village ofIndians, where I met with Jacob, the Indian,who learned the smith trade with JohnPennock. He appeared much pleased withseeing us. A number of other Indians were


1687. He was married to JaneFoulke, Mar 4th, 1713.

The anglicization of Welsh names,which had generally followed the "ap" or"son of" pattern, involved adding a posses-sive suffix, so that Hugh became Hughes,John became Jones, Matthew becameMatthews, etc.

At Exeter Meeting of Friends inBerks. Co. Penn, Jan 31st 1765, amemorial of the life of Ellis Hughes,a minister, was read. This accountreads: "He was born inMerionethshire in the principality ofWales and brought over into thisprovince by his parents when about12 years of age. About the 34th year,he appeared in the ministry. He diedat his own house at Exeter, Jan 11th,1764, age 76 years and some months,and was buried in the Friends’ground at Exeter."

Jane Foulke, wife of Ellis Hughes,was daughter of Edward Foulke, whowas born in Landerfel parish, Wales,May 15th 1651, probably in thefarmhouse of Goed-y- fael. It was thesame parish where his ancestors hadheld lands for centuries. He removedto Penn. in the year 1698, comingover in the ship "Robert andElizabeth" which cleared fromLiverpool, England, April 18th andarrived at Philadelphia July 17th,

An original manuscript recently cameinto my possession that may be of interest toCanadian Friends as it deals with the originsof the Hughes family, of which so manydescendants later belonged to the YongeStreet Monthly Meeting. The focus of thestory is Ellis and Hannah (Yarnell) Hughes.Ellis was one of the founders of Catawissa,Pennsylvania, and elder brother of JobHughes, the patriarch of many of theHughes of Upper Canada and one of thefirst Quaker Ministers at Yonge Street.

The document is handwritten on bothsides of quality writing paper. It is undatedand unsigned, but appears to have beenwritten in the mid-19th century by a great-grandchild of Ellis. It was found amongsome papers and letters dating from the USCivil War by Martha Spee of Illinois.Martha searched the Internet in the spring of2002 for a Hughes descendant and sent it tome when I told her that I was a descendantof Ellis’s brother Job. I reproduce it belowin italic script, interspersed with my owncommentary. I have sent the original manu-script to Pickering College for safekeeping.It begins:-

Strange to say, we trace our familyfrom John Hugh of Merionethshire,Wales. He was one of the firstQuaker preachers that settled inGwynedd, Montgomery Co., Penn. in1698. We have no record of how thename came to be changed but his sonwas called Ellis Hughes and wasborn in Merionethshire, Wales, in

Ellis Hughesof Catawissa, Pennsylvania

John L. Ausman,Ottawa


steady to the end, for about thirtyyears."

The eldest son of Ellis Hughes andJane Foulke Hughes was JohnHughes, who married Hannah Boon.The second was William Hughes(from whom we trace) born 1716,married at Exeter Monthly MeetingAmy Willets, daughter of ThomasWillets of Long Island. The Willetsfamily came over about 1650.

Actually, Richard Willets came toRhode Island in 1840 from Gloucestershireand moved to Long Island a few years later.His daughter-in-law, Mary (Washburn)Willets joined the Quakers as a widow andbrought up her children, including theThomas Willets mentioned here, among theFriends of Long Island. Three children ofThomas Willets married Hughes siblings:Amy Willets married William Hughes;Elizabeth Willets married Samuel Hughes;Isaiah Willets married Rachel Hughes.

April 26th 1755: "William Hugheswas disowned from Meeting."Probably some time after this, he andhis family removed and lived forsome years in Westbury, Long Island. At the Monthly Meeting Oct 30th,1760, Ellis Hughes of ExeterMeeting, son of William Hughes,requested a certificate of removal toWestbury Monthly Meeting, LongIsland. It was signed at Exeter Nov27th, 1760.

Since 1744, Exeter MM records indicatethat William was in the habit of taking toomuch strong drink. Although the link is nomore than speculation on my part, this mayhave led to other domestic problemsbecause after William’s disownment in

1698. He settled upon a plantationof 712 acres in the township ofGwynedd, 400 of which he purchasedprior to his settlement, but the deedfor which was not executed until July6th 1699. The balance being over-looked in the original survey wasconfirmed to him by a patent uponresurvey some years later. Hemarried in Wales, about 1688,Eleanor, daughter of HughCadwallader of the parish of Ysputty-Levan in Denbighshire, Wales. Hermother was Gwen, descended fromthe house of Gai-Fadog, who tracetheir descent to the princes of Wales.Jane Foulke’s father, Edward F, whocame over with his wife and ninechildren and settled in the townshipof Gwynedd has had his history sowell written up by Havard M. Jenkinsin his "Historical Collections" that itleaves us only the necessity to referto them for information. His eighthchild was Jane Foulke, who marriedEllis Hughes and died at the home ofher son-in-law Samuel Lee in OleyTownship, Berks Co. and was buriedat Exeter.

At Exeter Monthly Meeting, Sep 23rd1767, a testimony was read concern-ing her as follows: "She was born inMerionethshire, Wales, in the northof the principality, Nov 10 1684, andcame into Penn. with her parentsabout the fourteenth year of her age,and sometime after joined theFriends. About the 30th year of herage she entered into marriage withour worthy Friend Ellis Hughes, andsometime after moved fromGwynedd, where they then lived toExeter where she was appointed anElder, in which station she continued


reflect what he surveyed rather than what heowned) between Catawissa Creek andRoaring Creek where they join theSusquehanna River. He moved to the areain 1774 along with his brothers Job andThomas and a number of other relatives,including some Willets. Ellis built theHughes Mill on Roaring Creek, which hethen sold to his brother Job in 1776.

During and immediately after theRevolutionary War, several Friends in theCatawissa area suffered persecution fromPatriots who misinterpreted their pacifismor were envious of their large land holdings. Their friendly relations with the localIndians, most of whom supported theBritish, was probably also a factor. In early1780, a Patriot force infiltrated a group ofFriends, decided they were Tories andarrested them. One of these was JobHughes, who was imprisoned without trialfor a year and whose wife and children wereturned out of their home and their posses-sions confiscated. Early in 1781, a commit-tee of Friends from Philadelphia petitionedthe Chief Justice to exercise mercy withrespect to Job and those who had beenarrested with him. (Edwin M. Barton,Columbia County Two Hundred Years Ago,Columbia County Historical Society,Bloomsburg, 1976). It would be in thiscontext that Ellis also seems to have losttitle to his property.

The William Hughes who laid out thenew town of Catawissa in 1787 (two yearsafter Ellis’ death) may have been a nephewor more distant relative. It could not havebeen Ellis’s father, who had died by then.The town was known informally asHughesburg for a number of years after itsfounding.

His wife being left a widow with tenchildren, after toiling for severalyears with the difficulty of making a

1755 Amy left her husband and returned toher parents in Westbury, Long Island, amove which Exeter Friends found in theirhearts "more safe to pity than condemn."Some of William’s sons seem to have giventhe Exeter MM occasional grief as well.Job was criticized in 1765 for carrying armsfor self defence in areas where danger mightbe expected from Indians, as well as forother lapses, for which he repented. BothJob and his brother Thomas were disownedfor marrying outside the Friends; they werelater reaccepted.

Their oldest son was Ellis Hughes,born Mar 12th 1739, married Jan 1st1764 Hannah, daughter of FrancisYarnall, who was a member of theProvincial Assembly in 1711 anddied in 1781 and whose wife wasHannah Baker. Ellis Hughes wassometimes called General Hughes.He was surveyor of lands and publicsurveyors of that day were sometimescalled Surveyors-General. He was alarge land owner, owning about25,000 acres. He surveyed andowned all the lands where the Lehighcoal mines now are. With his father,William Hughes, he laid outCatawissa, originally a QuakerSettlement. The capitalist with whomhe did business held the papers andwhile from home at Catawissa hewas taken ill and died Oct 6th 1785in the 45th year of his age. Hisremains lay in the Friends buryingground at his favourite place. Hisfamily never derived an acre of theland to which he was entitled.

Ellis Hughes carried out his survey ofthe region in 1769 and obtained title to alarge tract of land (although the figure givenhere seems vastly exaggerated and may


5th - Mary, b. Sep 11th 1772; m.Benjamin Fowler, Baltimore.6th - Jessie, b. July 26th 1775; diedunmarried age 15 years.7th - Thomas, b. Jan 23rd 1777;moved west, married there.8th - Eleanor - b. Nov 25th 1778;married twice. Her first husbandwas William Buel; by him she had 2sons; he was shipwrecked and lost solong she married in his absence Dr.Elisha Perkins of the City ofBaltimore and had 1 girl.9th - Gidean, b. June 24th 1781; m.Hannah Dillan, Baltimore.10th - Jeremiah, b. June 21st 1783;m. Priscilla Jacobs, Annapolis, Md.

Our grandfather Elijah Hughes andFanny Daughaday had four children - two sons and two daughters. Theymoved from the City of Baltimore in1803, April 20th. Aunt Mary Annwas then a little babe of about 2years of age.

living on rented land, concluded tomove to a town, and in about theyear 1790 arrived at Baltimore withher family where she had scarcely anacquaintance and which place shehad never seen. The enterprise wasblessed of God, Him upon whom shehad confided, and after a life of use-fulness her remains were depositedin the burying grounds of the FriendsSociety, of which she lived and died amember. The day after her decease,which occurred suddenly April 1st1816 in the 69th year of her age, asermon preached by that eminentmember of the Gospel of Peace MaryMiffin, upon the occasion of return-ing from the grave just enclosed tothe meeting then convening, wasamong the most consoling and elo-quent discourses ever listened to byhim who leaves this testimony uponrecord. "Trust in the Lord O mySoul."

This may be a reference to MaryMifflin, a well-known preacher and great-granddaughter of John Mifflin, the Quakersettler who came to Fairmont Park,Philadelphia in 1679. She certainly left animpression on the author of this documentwho must have been a child at the time.

This union of Hannah Yarnall andEllis Hughes was blessed with tenchildren - five sons and five daugh-ters:1st - Phoebe, b. Mar 8th 1765; mJohn Skelton.2nd - Anna, b. Nov 7th 1766; diedunmarried age 27 years.3rd - Annabella, b. Sep 7th 1768; m.(Col.?) Peter Little, Baltimore.4th - Elijah, b. Sep 8th 1770; m.Francis Daughaday, Baltimore.


Recorded the first crop test yields.1888 Graduated with Bachelor of the

Science of Agriculture Degree (tookHonours in 10 of 11 papers).

1889 OAC "Review" started. CAZ gave itits name and was on the EditorialBoard.

1890 Married Rebecca Elizabeth Wilson

1863 Born at Coldstream, MiddlesexCounty, Ontario.

1884 Enrolled at Ontario AgriculturalCollege, Guelph.

1886 Instrumental in revamping theOntario Agricultural &Experimental Union.

1887 Appointed Assistant Chemist.

Chronology Of Charles Ambrose Zavitz

James Zavitz

Charles A. Zavitz

The following chronology was omitted from the article on Charles A. Zavitz published in Issue 67 (2002).


mental plots) and moved to PoplarHill, Middlesex County,

1931 Appointed Chairman, CanadianFriends' Service Committee (aQuaker enterprise).

1932 Awarded Honourary Doctor ofLaws Degree, University of WesternOntario. Published "Spiritual Lufe".

1942 Died March 17th at Poplar Hill.1974 Admitted to the Canadian

Agricultural Hall of Fame.1984 Admitted to the Ontario

Agricultural Hall of Fame.1993 Honoured by the Ontario Soybean

Marketing Board, marking 100years of Soybeans in Canada.

1999 Awarded Honourary Doctor ofScience Degree by the University ofGuelph. (The Universitv singled outits most illustrious graduate as partof its 125th Anniversity celebra-tions)

In addition:The first Canadian Fellow of the American

Society of Agronomy.An Honourary Fellow of the American

Association for the Advancement ofScience.

An Honourary Fellow of the CanadianSociety of Technical Agronomists.

of Prince Edward County.Appointed Assistant Director ofExperiments (with 56 experimentaltest plots). 1893 Brought first SoyBeans to Canada.Appointed in charge of all FieldRese arch.

1894 Son, Raymond Wilson Zavitz, born.1902 Started cross-fertilization of plants

to concentrate desirable characteris-tics.

1903 Started the seed chain that resultedin OAC #21 Barley.Appointed Professor of FieldHusbandry and Director of FieldExperiments. 1904 A driving forcein forming the Canadian SeedGrowers' Association.

1910 OAC #21 Barley registered andreleased to the public.Ontario Variegated Alfalfa estab-lished as best variety for OntarioConditions. 1914 Field HusbandryBuilding (now Zavitz Hall) opened.Appointed Acting President ofOAC.

1915 Relinquished Acting Presidencyupon return of the President.

1916 Awarded Doctor of Science Degreefrom University of Toronto.

1920 50,000 hybrid plants evaluatedannually.

1923 Started developing red clover andforage grasses.

1924 Increased value of crops developedat OAC amounted to 5161,000,000.

1925 Released OAC #211 Soy Beans, thefirst to be registered in Canada~

1926 OAC had released 3 varieties ofOats, 1 of Barley, 3 of WinterWheat, 1 of Spring Wheat, 1 ofSpring Rye, 1 of Field Peas, 1 ofSoy Beans, 1 of Millet and 1 ofMangels.

1927 Retired from OAC (2800 experi-


Robbins family held the distinction of beingamong the first settlers to come over fromScotland aboard the ship "The Falmouth" inApril 1770. The birth date of Jane is thoughtto have been in 1765, in Scotland. Herfather William moved from Stanhope to St.Peters in 1787 and was a half-brother ofDuncan McEwen. Both of these familieswould figure into the Coffin family in lateryears. In 1788, Elisha and his brotherKimble commenced their ship buildingoperation at Savage Harbour by building thesmall 17 ton schooner, "Rainbow". In lateryears Kimble went on to become a majorshipbuilder, while Elisha's interest in ship-building was that of an investor more than abuilder, although his sons would later showsome involvement. Sometime after 1792,Elisha's brother, Latham, headed back toNantucket to live, leaving Elisha behind asthe eldest Coffin son on the Island. Lathammarried Elizabeth Coleman and had manychildren. He died at the old age of 84.

During the 1790's, Elisha and Jane werebusy raising their children Kimble, Euniceand William. The family, during the 1790'swas living on their farm at Savage Harbour,which consisted of 92 acres of his father'soriginal farm. It was during this period oftime that the Coffin's of Savage Harbourwould receive a very distinguished visitor.Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin was a man who

ELISHA COFFIN (1763-1851)Farmer, Judge and Legislative Assembly

Member

Elisha Coffin was born October 9,1763on the Island of Nantucket, Massachusetts.He was the second child of Elisha Coffinand Eunice Myrick Coffin.

Elisha's family moved off Nantucketshortly after his birth, to Cape Sable, NovaScotia where Elisha's father was involvedwith fishing and boat building. Shortly after,their family moved onto St. John's Island(P.E.I.) to a place called Worthy's Point,along the Hillsborough River. Elisha'sfather must have been a fairly educatedman, seeing as he was chosen to be amember of the Island's first LegislativeAssembly. In 1783 the family settled inSavage Harbour, on the north shore, in KingCounty, having purchased 200 acres fromGeorge Burns. This homestead is consid-ered to be the first permanent home on theIsland for our Coffin ancestors. Shortly afterpurchasing the property, Elisha's fatherdied, leaving behind his widow and ninechildren. Elisha was 22 at the time of hisfather's death, his older brother Latham was24.

In 1785, Elisha married a woman by thename of Jane Robbins, daughter of Williamand Helen Robbins of Stanhope, P.E.I. The

The Coffin Family of Prince Edward Island

Elisha Coffin (1763-1851)Farmer, Judge and Legislative Assembly Member

andCaptain William Coffin (1791-1843)

Ross Coffin


was commanding the Cutter "Placentia". Atthe age of 20 he was serving under AdmiralPasley aboard the frigate "Sybil". He wasthe signal Lt. in the action off Cape Henry,at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, in March1781, during the Revolution. Later thatyear, he was made a Commander. Afterseeing action in the Caribbean aboard the"Borfleur" he returned to England where hewas called upon to take the newly appointedGovernor of Canada, Lord Dorchester (SirGuy Carleton) and his family, to Quebec.

It was during this period that IsaacCoffin, aboard the frigate "Thisbe", firstsighted the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf ofSt. Lawrence. Half jokingly he asked hisfriend, Lord Dorchester, to grant him theIslands for his loyal service to the Crown.Dorchester later took it upon himself to setthe wheels in motion and raise the issuewith King George III. On May 8 1798 TheMagdalen Islands were granted to CaptainIsaac Coffin. They remained in the Coffin'scontrol for 105 years until 1903 and madeIsaac and his heirs very rich men. AlthoughIsaac never lived on the Islands, he mademany efforts to advance the Islands forwardby introducing healthy livestock and finan-cial support. After Canada was ceded toGreat Britain in 1763, the British made littleeffort to supply official currency for theirNorth American holdings. In 1815, Sir IsaacCoffin became possibly the first one torectify this by issuing an unofficial copperpenny for the Magdalen Islands. The coinhad the image of a seal on it with the words,"Magdelan Island Token", on one side and"Success to the Fisheries", on the other.However, the residents, mainly French fish-ermen, disliked Coffin and showed himlittle respect. It has been said that Coffin,once tried to expel his tenants on the Islandbut the British government frowned on theidea. After his death, the control of theIslands went to his nephews, the sons of his

held his Coffin kin, close to his heart, so itwas no surprise that when chance had it, heappeared on the shores of Savage Harbour.Elisha's father, Captain Elisha Coffin wasthe Admiral's second cousin, once removed.Sir Isaac's father, Nathaniel, was theCashier of Customs prior to the AmericanRevolution and his sister was Ann Callbeckof Charlottetown. Isaac Coffin was born inBoston in 1759. Like most of the Coffin's ofthat era he developed his sea legs at a veryyoung age. He entered the Royal Navy in1773 at the age of 14 under the watchful eyeof Lt. W. M. Hunter. It was not long afterthis time that Hunter was quoted as saying,"Of all the young men I ever had care of,none answered my expectations equal toIsaac Coffin, never did I know a man toacquire so much nautical knowledge in soshort a time". Coffin's rapid rise up theladder in the British Navy leaves little doubtof his brilliance. At the age of 19, Lt. Coffin

Coffin Properties, Savage Harbour,1810 Survey.


black man. Both surprised and amused, thecoloured man told him that he was anAmerican and therefore must be related,since Coffin was also an American. Whilelistening intently, Coffin finally interjectedsaying, "Stop, my man, stop! Now let meask you a question", he said, with a pause,"How old may you be?", "Well", replied theblack man, "I should guess about 35". "Ohthen!", Coffin said, turning to leave, "Theremust be a mistake, you cannot be one of myCoffin's, I don't recall any of us ever turningblack before the age of forty". Another storyreveals his love and hate relationship withhis wife. After a short time of living togeth-er they both decided that what their mar-riage needed was a lot of distance betweenthem. His wife's late night sermons gave SirIsaac nightmares and the Admirals frolick-ing about the British taverns caused his wifeto write late night sermons. A few yearsafter their mutual agreement to live apart,Mrs. Coffin caught wind that Sir Isaac wasabout to set sail for Boston. Not being at allbehind the fashions of the day, she request-ed her estranged husband to purchase her aBoston rocking chair while in Boston. SirIsaac grudgingly agreed and upon his arrivalin Boston he located a splendid chair, thebest money could buy, but before shippingit back to England, he took a saw and cut afew inches off the back of the rockers, toensure that every time his dear wife rocked,the chair would tip over backwards, puttingher on her pompous fanny.

Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin died inEngland July 23, 1839 at the age of 80 andleft a good portion of his fortune back inAmerica spread out among his numerouskin. The Coffin school in Nantucket, wasjust one of Coffin's donations to his friendsand family. His beloved Magdalen Islandswere left to his nephews. In later years,Elisha's son, Benjamin Coffin, was asked todescribe the old Admiral. His quick reply

brother John and sister Ann. The Islandswere later sold to Quebec by a third genera-tion of Isaac's nephews for $100,000.00. Itwas also during this time that Coffinbrought gifts of horses and cattle to Elisha'sfamily at Savage Harbour. One story tells ofIsaac requesting some of the Coffins ofSavage Harbour to relocate onto his newlyacquired Islands, but there were no takers.In 1804 Isaac Coffin became a Baronetwhile serving as a rear Admiral in NovaScotia. He married Elizabeth Browne in1811, but later separated due to their intoler-ance of each other's ways. Back in Englandin 1818 he served as a member ofParliament for the Borough of Ilchester, andwas highly regarded in the House for hisnaval expertise. It was his love for hishomeland back in America that cost himwhat would have been the crowning jewelto his career. It is said that the King,William IV, had his friend Sir Isaac Coffin,in line to become Earl of Magdalen andintended to make him the Governor ofCanada, however, the British Parliamentdidn't take kindly to the idea of his appoint-ment due to Coffin's strong American ties.The man himself stood over six feet tall, hewas robust and energetic, until an accidentat sea injured him severely. Having wit-nessed a man being swept overboard by awave, Coffin rescued him by going over-board after him. He saved the man's life, butinjured his back in doing so, this injurycontinued to follow him for the rest of hisdays. Isaac enjoyed good conversation andhad a dry wit. One story tells of a time whenhe returned to England after one of hisnumerous voyages across the ocean (40voyages in his lifetime). Upon his arrival hewas informed that a man who was beingheld in confinement, a prisoner, claimed tobe his relative. With his curiosity leadinghim, he went to the prison to further inves-tigate. To his surprise he was brought to a


towards his friends in Trinidad.During the 1790's, Elisha appears on

various documents and census reports. Alist of subscribers to a copy of a memorialrelative to the streets and commons ofCharlottetown, presented to Lt. Gov.Fanning dated January 1, 1792, baresElisha's signature, along with his brothersLatham and Kimble. The Island census for1798 shows three Coffin families living onLot 38, which included Savage Harbour.The census shows Kimble Coffin's familyof five, two males and three females,Widow Coffin (Eunice) along with her sonsAndrew and Joseph, and Elisha's familywith nine, five males and four females.Elisha's family in 1798 only consisted ofseven, Elisha, Jane, Kimble, Eunice,William, Margaret and Harriet. The leftoverpersons are two males who are undersixteen and create a mystery as to their iden-tity. The census also shows Uriah Coffin,Elisha's great uncle, living on Lot 47 in EastPoint with his family of eight.

In 1801, Elisha and Jane had a sonnamed Benjamin. In later years he wouldbecome known as "neighbour Ben". In1803, their son James was born, and twoyears later in 1805 their daughter Rebeccawas born. On February 16, 1805 a congratu-latory letter was sent to Lt. Gov. Fanning,upon his retirement from public duty. It wassigned, among others, by Elisha Coffin. Itwas during this time that Elisha was becom-ing involved in politics. He ran in the 1806election, and won a seat as a member forKings County in the Legislative Assembly,alongside his brother Benjamin.

Some of the debates in the house duringthis session dealt with Loyalist land claimsand compensation for broken promises. TheParliament also dealt with regulation ofliquor sales. This topic was of interest toElisha, and possibly even brought to theHouse by him, seeing as how he had an

was "Big feet, long legs and a big nose, justlike all the other Coffins".

The late 1790's in P.E.I., saw the firstPresbyterian Church in the area being builtabout one mile south east of SavageHarbour, in what is now West St. Peter'sCemetery. It served a wide area includingthe Coffins of Savage Harbour. They wouldtravel by boat across the bay in summer andby sled over the bay ice in winter. Uponlanding on the south shore, they wouldremove their shoes for the dusty walk alongthe trail to the church, so as not to get theirbest shoes dirty. This church existed forclose to ninety years, until being replacedby a new one at Bristol. Elisha's grave layswithin feet of where the old church oncestood, and is probably one of the few rem-nants of the church's past history. I suspectit was Elisha's wife, Jane who first intro-duced Elisha and family to the religion ofScotland, Presbyterianism. It was also fromthis congregation that one of the Island'smost famous Minister's developed. Elisha'sgrandson, Fulton J. Coffin, son of Elisha'sson Benjamin, was born and raised inSavage Harbour. He was educated at Princeof Wales College before heading off toPrinceton and Oxford Universities.Reverend Coffin became well acquaintedwith the leading scholars of the day, notonly in North American, but also in Europeand Asia. He eventually settled in Trinidadwhere he became the principal of thePresbyterian Theological College, a post heheld for twenty-five years. He was knownas an expert in the Old Testament, and wasthoroughly trusted by the East Indian popu-lation of the Island. Rev. Coffin was also anoted Hindu scholar, and lectured in theirlanguage as well as English. He died in1936 and was buried in the PeoplesCemetery, in Mount Stewart, P.E.I., whereall but one of the gravestones face the risingsun, Rev. Fulton Coffin's faces south,


with oats and hay. Elisha continued to liveon the north-east shore of Savage Harbour.In 1996, I visited Savage Harbour to viewthis landscape. As we came down the dustyroad toward the harbour, my first observa-tions were the mailboxes along the road ontop of fence posts, that read "Coffin", thustelling me that indeed, I was on the rightroad. The green meadows were bordered byspruce trees. As the red rust coloured road,rounded a bend, I could see the harbour atthe bottom of a gently sloping hill. At thebase of the hill, I could see small greyfishing shacks by the dock. This is whereearly maps show Elisha's home being situat-ed. The location is perfectly sheltered fromthe sea, which lies just north, over a smallhill. The mouth of the harbour, has nearlyclosed off completely from the sea. Only asmall channel remains, in which the fishingboats enter and leave. The beach front iswide, flat and rocky and probably very dif-ferent than it was over one hundred yearsbefore. Gone are the forests of evergreentrees and tiny fishing shacks that oncedotted the beach, changed by the wind, seaand time. Savage Harbour still remains apeaceful, thought provoking area, bathed inCoffin history.

In 1818, Elisha was named Constablefor the area of Savage Harbour, by theIsland's Supreme Court. Constables wereresponsible for handing out warrants andkeeping the peace in their jurisdiction. Theywere men who were well regarded in theircommunities. On November 25th, 1820, theLt. Gov. named Elisha to a newCommission of the Peace, along with hisbrother Benjamin. For many years after,Elisha represented the law in the SavageHarbour area. An interesting event in 1830,sheds more proof pertaining to the claimthat Elisha's family landed on the Islandearlier than most historians and genealogiststhought. Many felt the Coffin's did not

invested interest. According to the book,"History of Mount Stewart", Elisha wasrunning a tavern in the Mount Stewart area,and so was his younger brother Andrew. Itwould appear that anyone and everyonewho wanted to, was selling rum from theirhomes. This no doubt would have beentaking business away from their establishedtaverns. It was also common in the ruralareas for a judge to hold a court of law inthe local tavern, in later years, Elisha didjust that. Another issue that crossed thefloor, dealt with, what to do with peoplewho intentionally maimed or killed cattle,and was stated, as a growing problem.Perhaps this issue stemmed from an incidentwhen some privateers sailed up St. Peter'sBay, shot some cattle, turned around, andleft. It was also stated that even thoughBritain was preparing for a possible war,(war of 1812), the government had put asidesixteen hundred pounds, for the erection ofgovernment buildings and gaols (jails).

In 1807, the Coffin's daughter Phebewas born. Shortly after or possibly duringPhebe's birth, Elisha's wife, Jane died. It isnot documented until Phebe's baptism, April5, 1809, the mother (Jane) is listed asdeceased. In 1810, a survey map drawn-upon September 15th, shows Elisha owning160 acres of farm land at Savage Harbour.This property was part of his father's origi-nal purchase. To the north his youngerbrother Andrew is situated on the coastlinewith 83 acres and south lies the homesteadof his brother Benjamin. Although theirmother was still alive, I believe she wasnow living with her son, Kimble, possibly atSt. Peters, where her death was recorded in1814. Elisha was sworn in as a Justice of thePeace for Kings County in 1812. He wasalso farming during this period of time, andshows up on the MacDonald ledger (and oldmerchant's account book), in 1814 as thepurchaser of nails, iron and rum. He paid


doors. They sent a clerk up to check on thejury. Having put an ear to the door to listen,he became suspicious when all was quiet.He opened the door only to have foundeveryone fast asleep.

To get a clear picture of what life waslike on the Island in the 1830's, I readvarious books and articles on the subject.Although most writers paint a picture ofhealth and prosperity, there is a diarywritten by Nathaniel Carrington, in 1837,about his trip to the Island, which I foundboth informative and contradictory to state-ments made by other authors. Carrington'sview of Island life tells of a harsh lifestyleadopted by a populations of peasants. Hewrites, "The Island is without doubt a

come to the Island until the 1780's whileothers, myself included, know now that theylanded in the early 1770's. The trial of JohnStewart presented Elisha Coffin as a witnessfor the prosecution in this 1830 trial. Whileon the stand, defending the free access theIndians had always had to the Pisquid Road,Elisha reveals that he had known about thisroad for 55 years. The math being simple,1830 minus 55, brings us back to 1775which is how long the Coffins had been inthis area, along with a few years at Worthy'spoint, brings us close to the early 1770's. Asmall humorous note about the trial statedthat during the jury deliberations, the crowdbecame curious as to why a long time hadelapsed since the jury went behind closed

Meacham's Atlas Map of Lot 38


prosperous through farming, shipbuilding,retailing etc. Alcohol dulled the pain ofpoverty and despair for many, as it still doeseven today, however, the peaceful, isolatedbeauty of the land and sea made them stayon in hopes that their children may rise tothe opportunities that the land may somedaygive to them.

In his later years, Elisha stayed on as aMagistrate for Kings County. He was nodoubt a man of intelligence and held publicoffice on many occasions in his life. OnSeptember 14, 1851, Elisha died at the ageof 87, his obituary appeared in "TheExaminer" on October 6th and reads asfollows: "Died. At Savage Harbour, on the14th ultimo, Elisha Coffin, Esquire, at theadvanced age of 87 years. The deceased wasthe oldest Magistrate in Kings County andwas once a member of the Legislature. Heenjoyed the respect and esteem of all whoknew him". Elisha Coffin was buried inWest St. Peter's Cemetery in an old sectionthat is now found in the woods where thechurch once stood. His grave is among sixothers (only four are marked, including hisson James) and is considered one of theoldest graves in the cemetery. The stonereads, "To the Memory of Elisha CoffinSen. who died September 14, 1851 aged 87years".

Captain William Coffin (1791-1843)

William Coffin was born in 1791, atSavage Harbour, P.E.I. He was the secondson of Elisha Coffin and Jane Robbins.

William grew up on his father's farm onthe west side of Savage Harbour among hisnumerous kin who had now settled manyCoffin homesteads in this area. Althoughfarming would have been demanding mostof William's time, records show that, likehis brothers and cousins, he was developing

healthy place, well and abundantly watered,good rich soil, plenty of timber, cloudlesssky, but unfortunately inhabited by fewpoor and unenterprising people who are notwell versed in agriculture. They are contentto do as their predecessors did, live cheaplyand be satisfied, never looking forward orthinking of improvements. We have nowbeen here nine days and have never seenbeef for the simple reason that there is none.We visited the market this morning and sawa little poor lamb, no feathered stock of anykind. The poverty of the people, leads themto salt cod and salt meats, which togetherwith the great quantities of rum they drink,accounts for their general sallow look".Carrington's remarks about the laziness ofCanadians brought forth a recollection bythe editor, James Brandow, of the book"The Clockmaker", in which the fictionalcharacter Sam Slick writes in a 1838 series,"I have often been amazed when travellingamong Canadians, to see the curious crittersthey be. They leave the marketing to thewomen and the business to their notaries,the care of their souls to their priests, andtheir bodies to the doctors, and reserve onlyfrolicking, dancing singing, fiddling andgasconading to themselves". Perhaps thesewriters, confused lazy people, with frustrat-ed people, who knew that no matter howenterprising they became, landlords alwaysseemed to receive the lions share of thedeal. At any rate, my interpretation of lifeon the Island during the 1830s and 40s issomewhere in the middle of Carrington'sview and a more upbeat view. There weremany poor people who were trying to carveout an existence upon their arrival on theIsland, but in most cases, they were stillbetter off in the new land than they were inthe old. The more established families suchas the Anderson's, Robbins, Webster's andCoffin's, had managed to survive their hard-ships through their will to become more


Charlottetown, where they were rigged andprepared for their first voyages. The earlypart of the 1800's were important years forthe smaller shipbuilding enterprises becauseof the development of the market inNewfoundland. It encouraged a degree ofspecialization, for boat builders, andshowed others, that there was a demand forthe type of boats that the smaller shipyards,on the north eastern part of the Island, couldreadily produce. The large scale builderssuch as the Peake Brothers and ThomasOwen, had little interest in this type ofmarket at this time, however, in later yearsthe Coffins were building larger vesselsalmost exclusively for the Peake Brothers.

William was interested in building thesmaller vessels, usually under 100 tons. In1829 he built the schooner Rainbow, listedas 77 tons. Later that year he built theschooner, "Three Sisters", with his brotherBenjamin. In 1831 they built the schooner,"Ann" and in 1833 they built "The Lady ofthe Lake". Although their place of residencewas listed as Savage Harbour, their buildingfacilities was located near Mount Stewart.The reason for this was that the mouth ofthe harbour, at Savage Harbour, was tooshallow to enable the keel of a completedvessel to pass safely. Only a few small boatswere ever launched there.

Most locally built ships were financedby groups of farmers or families, whowould collectively finance, build and crew,the completed vessels to their buyers.Before the vessels left, they would beloaded with lumber, food, and other cargo,before setting off to foreign markets. Theend results, would bring home a handsomeprofit for all those involved. Unfortunately,the market for these boats dried up in 1834.William returned back to fishing andfarming. William's uncle, Kimble Coffin,died in 1830, however his sons, and grand-son, Duncan, William and Edwin, continued

an interest in returning to the sea. Fishingand shipbuilding were becoming well estab-lished enterprises on the Island, and manyof the Coffins had the skills to make a goodliving at it. William, along with his youngerbrother Benjamin, became involved in theboat building trade during the late 1820's.Their names appear on various shipbuildinglists in the area.

The early 1800's saw the Island devel-oping strong trade ties with Newfoundlandinvolving their sealing and fish trades.Shipbuilders in P.E.I. were finding a lucra-tive market for their Island built fishingvessels. Between 1830 and 1833 a total of123 schooners were built on the Island, withthe majority of them finding their way toNewfoundland. William's uncle, KimbleCoffin, was a large employer involved withthe shipbuilding trade. His will, dated 1830,mentions an outstanding debt owing to himfor a schooner named Hanna, by aNewfoundland fisherman. Kimble, alongwith his father Elisha had developed ship-building skills, and sailing skills, from theirfather Captain Elisha Coffin, who himself,appears on shipbuilding records, as early as1785 on the Island. Captain Coffin wasinvolved with John Coffin back in CapeSable, Nova Scotia, fishing and buildingboats. John Coffin had come with Elisha,from Nantucket in the early 1760's. John'sfamily, in Nova Scotia later went on toestablish a fine distinction in Maritime busi-ness and public life. John Coffin's great-grandson, the Hon. Thomas M. Coffin was aCabinet Minister in the MackenzieGovernment in the 1880's.

Although a few smaller vessels werebeing built at Savage Harbour, the largershipyards in the area were located downalong the Hillsborough River near the townof Mount Stewart. Many of the Coffinfamilies built ships along the banks of theriver, and then towed them down to


it that William moved into the Davisonfarm? In my visit to this area in 1996, I wasstunned by the beauty of St. Peter's Bay.The gentle green hills, rolling down to thenarrow bay, with the white steeples of thechurches made for a postcard like setting.The French had settled here in the early1700's and called it Saint Pierre. this com-munity proved to be one of the few successstories during the early years of French set-tlement.

St. Peter's Bay is a long narrow inlet,working its way eastward from the Gulf ofSt. Lawrence. Approximately 9 miles long,from the north shore of the Island, itsendings are inland at the town of St. Peter's.About half way along the Bay, on the northshore, lies the tiny community ofGreenwich. The bay itself is only about onemile across. The history of St. Peter's Bay isan interesting one, beginning with the MicMac Indians, hundreds of years before. Thisarea provided the natives with plenty offresh fish and small game. At the time, theforests came down to the water's edge pro-viding shelter from the cold and wood fortheir camps. The forests were teeming withdeer, bear, raccoons and foxes. The bayprovided salmon, trout, clams and lobsters.Early in the 1700's the French were attempt-ing to settle P.E.I. or Isle St. Jean, as it wasthen known. They saw great potential in theharbour at St. Peter's Bay and started afishing village called St. Pierre. Along withthis village they built a fort at the mouth ofthe harbour in which today some remnantsstill remain. The Mic Mac were more or lessa peaceful people, who shared the land withthe French, trading furs and game withthem. Eventually St. Pierre developed areputation as a trading center, and prospereduntil the late 1750's, when the French wereconquered by the British. The British triedto expel the Acadian population, theirsuccess was being hindered by the lack of

on with their father's tradition, and becamemajor builders for mainly the Peake broth-ers of Charlottetown. They built beautifulships, such as the barquentine, "EthelBlanche" and the "Ralph B. Peake", whichwas launched in 1876. This ship was 757tons, her length was 170 feet and her beamwas 33 feet across. The depth of the cargohold was 19 feet and was magnificentlyfinished from bow to stern and consideredone of the finest ships ever to be built on theIsland. In later years, it was the introductionof the steamships, that brought an end to thewooden sailing ships, and caused the bank-ruptcy of their financers, the PeakeBrothers. Today one can still visit thehomes and offices of James Peake inCharlottetown, they have been preserved bythe Government and now house theProvincial Heritage Foundation andMuseum, known as Beaconsfield House.The year 1834 was not only the end ofWilliam's enterprise with building boats forNewfoundland, it was also to be the start ofnew beginnings, with his engagement andmarriage to his cousin, Margaret AndersonDavison. Margaret, a widow, was thedaughter of David Anderson and HelenRobbins Anderson. William's parents were,as before stated, Elisha Coffin and JaneRobbins Coffin, This made William andMargaret, first cousins, through theirmothers. Margaret was a widow of theformer Captain Robert Davison, whodrowned within site of his homestead whilereturning from Newfoundland. Margaretand Robert had two daughters Elizabeth,born 1819 and Helen born (?), and two sons,Henry born 1821 and Robert born 1828.After Margaret's remarriage on February 5,1834, Margaret and William lived in thescenic area of St. Peter's Bay, in a towncalled Greenwich. This was Andersoncountry, which leads to the speculation thatthe newlyweds were given property, or was


work of the most dirty and disagreeablenature, and when the wood is heavy, it is astiresome work as any I have seen inAmerica. I have often passed by the settlerswhen engaged in this employment, andwhat with smoke, sweat, and the dust of theburnt wood, their faces were little fairerthan those of the negroes in the West Indies,while their clothes were much the same as ifthey had been dragged up a sooty chimney".Johnstone goes on to recommend that newimmigrants to the Island, bring enoughoatmeal and provisions, to see their familythrough for one full year, and recommendsearly springtime as a good time to arrive.Many settlers didn't find out about theabsentee landlord system until they hadarrived on the Island, victims of smoothtalking recruiting agents back home, in theBritish Isles. One story tells of the ancestorsof Anne of Green Gables author, LucyMaud Montgomery. After their arrival fromScotland, having barely survived the oceancrossing due to fierce gales, they set foot onthe Island, only to find out that their was nopromised land to buy. Mr. Montgomerywanted to continue to Quebec, but theviolent sea crossing caused his wife muchanxiety about re-boarding any ship in thenear future, and there, they stayed, giving afuture country, a great author.

St. Peter's Bay, in the late 1700's andearly 1800's was eventually settled by theScots on the north side, near Cable Headand Greenwich, the Irish on the south, andscatterings of Acadian, English andLoyalists in between. Family namescommon to the area in the 1800's wereMcEwen, Sanderson, Coffin, McLaren andAnderson. Along with Lapierre, Devoe,Sinnott and Larkin. Many churches werebuilt to serve the faithful in and around theBay. William's farm consisted of 70 acres,and was located on the east side of CableHead Road, where it intersects with

British transport ships, however, manyAcadians were rounded up and shippedback to Europe, and south to America. Inthe early 1760's, the British divided theIsland into lots. It was determined that St.Peter's was to be located on lot 41, in King'sCounty. The development included theclearing of the forests that surrounded theBay. Development was somewhat slow dueto the fact that the new settlers could notpurchase their property, but instead had topay rent to landlords, back in England.However, to the credit of the first settlers,they carried on, cutting trees, removingstumps, and carving small farms from theforests, a task that could only be describedas gruelling, laborious and filthy. The lettersof Walter Johnstone, a Scottish visitor to theIsland in the early 1820's, writes, "As thetrees are cut the branches are lopped off,and the trunks cut into lengths of 12 or 14feet. This operation they call junking them;if they are not junked before fire is applied,they are much worse to junk afterwards.Thus, when the space intended to be clearedis cut down, junked, and all lying in a pro-miscuous manner over the whole surface,fire is applied to it in as dry and windy aday as can be selected, and if the fire runswell, the greater part of the small brancheswill be consumed, but the trunks will onlybe scorched. These are next rolled togetherand made-up in piles, lying flat upon theground; then the remaining small branchesare gathered up and thrown upon theheavier wood, to help it to kindle forburning a second time. The stronger part ofthe family then go on to make up morepiles, while the weaker part set fire to thosewhich are thus prepared. In this way theyproceed till the whole of what was cut downis gone over; then when the piles go outthey are kindled again and those that contin-ue to burn are thrust closer together, until allis consumed. I must say this is a piece of


Stearns, as was the poet and Nobel Prizewinner, T.S. Elliot. The T.S. stood forThomas Stearns. In Canada the Stearns,dropped the "a" from their name, to spell"Sterns". After the Sterns' arrival to NovaScotia, a Minister by the name of RobertDouglas came to Truro, Nova Scotia, at theturn of the century and became very close tothe Sterns family. After awhile, ReverendDouglas moved onto P.E.I. and settled inthe town of Morell, near St. Peters. The fol-lowing summer the Sterns' daughter, Nancy,went to visit the Reverend Douglas and metWilliam's cousin, Kimble Jr. After a shortcourtship, they were married and settlednear St. Peters. Soon after, Caroline,Nancy's sister, came to visit and fell in lovewith William's brother Benjamin, they toowere married and settled near SavageHarbour. Shortly after, the brothers Frankand William came to the Island, settling atMorell. Frank was a carriage builder andWilliam was involved with the retailgrocery and postal business. Later Frankmet Elizabeth Davison Coffin, William andMargaret's daughter, and they were married.During this time in 1838, William wasdoing more farming than fishing. He listshis trade, on his new daughter's birth certifi-cate as that of a farmer. His family nownumbered six. It is probable that William'smain crops were hay and oats. Their person-al garden would have been potatoes, turnips,squash and beans. Some of the hay and oatswould be used as currency to trade for othermaterials. An old merchant's ledger, whichdates back to 1812 shows William, Elisha,Andrew and Kimble all listed as purchasersof various items such as tea, sugar, buttonsand nails. One common purchase was rum.The alcohol was not only used for socialgatherings, but was also the medicine of theday. In some cases such as in DonaldMaCormick's case, the rum was used topreserve his dead father until distant kin

Greenwich Road. From the Bay, it ran backacross Greenwich Road, towards, andalmost reaching Schooner Pond. It is backhere, that the Schooner Pond grist mill wasbuilt. In later years, the GreenwichPresbyterian Church was also built alongCable Head Road. Today, the location ispart of a farmer's field, however, there is ahint of the road that ran down to the Bay150 years ago. This road, an extension ofCable Head Road ran down to the Bay fromGreenwich Road to the water's edge. Thefarmers and merchants used to load boats,on what was known as McLean's wharf. Acloser look suggests that maybe at one timethere was a ferry across the Bay from thispoint. It would have saved the residents ofthe north side much in the way of traveltime, if they were heading to Morell andbeyond. The Book "Story of Prince EdwardIsland" by Blakeley and Vernon, confirmsthat once there was a ferry across the bay,but does not say where. Across the Bayanother road leading away from the Baysuggests where the ferry may have landed.This road continues up the hill and past theMidgell Cemetery to the main Island roadwhich leads into Charlottetown.

On the north side of the Bay theAnderson family built and operated ships.David Anderson was Margaret's father,David and his sons were involved with thetrade to Newfoundland.

In the year of 1838, the Coffins ofGreenwich, welcomed their new borndaughter, named Jane Margaret. Also in1838, their eldest daughter Elizabeth, hadmet and married a man named Frank Sterns.Frank was the son of Dr. Benjamin andMahetabel Sterns from Truro, Nova Scotia.The Stern family of Truro were descendantsof an old New England family from Boston,who descend from a Loyalist named IsaacStearns. In later years, the mother ofPresident, Calvin Coolidge, proved to be a


came down on them like an avalanche, oftenwith driving rain or sleet, only the luckyescaped unscathed, the rest were remem-bered in song and verse:

The Drowned

On the bar of St. Peter, where the loudroaring billows

Heaved their form-crest tips with the temp-ests that rave

The stranger lies buried; there no sweetdrooping willows

Will point out the spot 'tis a chill waterygrave

Far, far from his homeThe storm may grow louder, Heaven's

power may be shakenHe heeds not, he hears not, he's free from all

painHe sleeps his last sleep, from earth's scene

he was takenNo sound will awake him, to action againThus closes the tale Death fells a man in his

gloryToday all is well, we rejoice with a smileTomorrow, alas, brings a heart wrenching

storyAnd is then we see plainly how hopes often

beguileAnd leave a sad wreck to be forgotten in

death's tale.St. Peter's Bay 1848 by J.M.K.

The Colonial Herald on June 24, 1843

reads as follows:

Melancholy Accident - We regret tolearn that on the 15th inst.; while Mr.William Coffin, of St. Peter's wasreturning to that harbour upon hisfishing boat, accompanied by ayoung man in his employment, theboat was struck by a sudden squall,which caused her to upset. The boat

could make the journey for his funeral.Most items were paid for by oats and hay,or in exchange for labour, as money wasvery scarce on the Island. In 1840, Margaretgave birth to their son William Montague.William was born September 23rd and bap-tized the following March.

The following years marked the begin-ning of what was to become some sorrowfulyears. The death of Margaret's father in1842 at the age of 70 came as a blow to thecommunity of Greenwich. Margaret alongwith her brothers and sisters, 12 in all, lost afather and community leader. DavidAnderson's signature appears on many ofthe important documents I have in my pos-session. Perhaps the death of Margaret'sfather prepared her for what was to come. Inthe fall of 1842 their daughter, Elizabeth,gave birth to a baby named Mehetabel, butthe birth had complications, and Elizabethdied. Frank Sterns became a widower with anew born and a three year old son namedRobert. Elizabeth was only 23 years old,and died on the 17th of October 1842.

During these years, William was fishingfor a living in the waters off the north coastof the Island. They fished for cod, mackerel,herring and lobster off the north coast, just afew miles off shore. Today one can still findthe boats fishing the same waters. Thedanger with this location on the north coast,during the old days of sail, was that theIsland, being shaped like a crescent moon,with the gulf being on the north side, easilytrapped unsuspecting boats if the windsuddenly changed and came in from thenorth or north-east. Often the warnings of agale, was a calming of the winds, "the calmbefore the storm", as it is known. The lackof wind would trap the boats off the coast,robbing their sails of power. Unable tomake for shore or round the ends of theIslands, the boats would only have time toreef sails, and pray, before a wall of wind


stranger in this country, but was theson of a respectable farmer back inEngland. We do not know fromwhich county he came, but there is apossibility that this notice may meetthe eyes of some of his friends, ifcopied into English papers and theymay learn the end of his worldlycareer.

Once again Margaret was being calledupon to grieve for a drowned husband. HerWilliam had been taken from her by the seaon June 15, 1843, leaving her a widow forthe second time in her 43 years. When I wasin St. Peter's Bay visiting the sights of ourancestors recently, I could imagine back tothat sorrowful time, picturing the wake atthe house, with the casket containingWilliam's body lying in the living quarters,then being carried by carriage down toMcLean's Wharf at the end of Cable HeadRoad and on to a waiting boat for the rideacross the Bay, up the hill on the other side,to where the small chapel once stood inwhat is now Midgell Cemetery. William,was buried beside his step-daughterElizabeth, and was among one of the firstgraves dug in the cemetery. Today thechapel no longer stands, however a marblebench in the cemetery marks the spot closeto where it once stood. The four Coffintombstones are distinctive by there original-ity and age.

From left to right lies William Coffin'shead stone which reads as follows:

William Coffin who drowned in theharbour of St. Peter's on the 15th day ofJune A.D. 1843, age 52 years. His remainsare here interred.

Margaret Anderson Coffin, wife ofWilliam Coffin, died at Charlottetown onthe 12th day of March A.D. 1893 age 93.

Elizabeth Sterns, wife of FranklinSterns, died October 17, 1842, age 23.

instantly disappeared, and both theindividuals who were in her sudden-ly met a watery grave. Mr. Coffinhas left a widow and several child-ren, and numerous relatives andfriends, to lament his loss. Peculiarsympathy is felt for Mrs. Coffin, asthis is the second bereavement ofthis nature that she has been calledupon to suffer, both having occurrednear the same place, and in similarmanner. Her former husband,Captain Robert Davison, was return-ing from Newfoundland, some yearssince, and having arrived withinsight of his home, fell overboard anddrowned.

On July 1, 1843 The Colonial Heraldread:

The body of Mr. William Coffin,senior, of St. Peter's, whom wenoticed last week as having been lostat sea, was found on Monday the19th, in the surf near Black Bush(Hermanville), fully twenty miles tothe eastward of where he wentmissing. He was buried onWednesday last.

On July 18, 1843 The Royal Gazetteread as follows:

The body of a young man namedOliver Scott, who it appears was inthe boat with the ill fated Mr.William Coffin, when she upset,was spotted floating up with the tidein the mouth of St. Peter's Harbouron Tuesday last. The body wasbrought to shore and decentlyinterred in the burial ground of thatplace. The deceased was about 20years of age and was nearly a


Robert Davison Coffin, died April 10,1850, age 21. He was distinguished for hisinnocence of manner and purity of characterand he submitted to the last foe of man withcheerfulness and resignation. Also tocommemorate the death of his father,Captain Robert Davison who was acciden-tally drowned off St. Peter's Harbour on the7th day of December A.D. 1827, age 59.

After the death of William, Margaretcontinued on with their farm in Greenwich.The next twenty five years are a mystery tomy research, which are periodically broughtto life by events such as Margaret's pur-chase of John Leslie's grist mill in 1848, onSchooner Pond. This was an unusual pur-chase for a lady in these times, but onceagain it shows the determination of thisScot, to carry on despite the pitfalls alonglife's journey. In 1850, another death in theirfamily, with the sudden illness and death ofher son Robert, whom Margaret, had givenbirth to, shortly after her first husbandRobert Davison had drowned.

There is a map of this area, entitled,“The Lake Map of 1863.” On this mapdirectly across the Greenwich Road, lies astore on the Greenwich Road. Could thisstore have belonged to Margaret? In lateryears her son William, my great-grandfather, would find himself involvedwith running a general store, and it is possi-ble that this store provided a start to theCoffins' new life after the death of William.

Margaret Coffin, later moved with herson to Charlottetown, in the year 1873, andcontinued on as a mother, grandmother andgreat-grandmother until her death inCharlottetown on March 12, 1893, age 93.Margaret was buried beside her husbandWilliam in Midgell Cemetery, and herlegacy of courage should be remembered,by those who can envision her hardshipsand loss through her long life.

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