History Articles

Tracing your family roots can be challenging, many times disappointing, more often that not frustrating yet rewarding. As I have been “chasing down” my family, I have been fortunate to have made contacts with other individuals who not only share the passion for genealogy, but our families are sometimes related to each other. Our paths crossed by way of Argenteuil and Terrebonne counties in Quebec and sometimes in Montreal.

The tiny Lower Laurentian hamlet of Mille Isles was once a thriving town centre for an active pioneer farming community. Settlement began as early as the 1830s by mainly Irish Protestant emigrants. Today the Municipality of Mille Isles, which is only a 40-minute drive from Montreal, is a growing residential area for both commuters and second homes on its many small lakes.

Author’s note: From response received from visitors to the Rawdon Historical Society website, there seems to be a great interest in Rawdon during the middle of the last century. In response to this interest, I have dug out my collection of the Rawdon News Bulletins and tried to portray Rawdon as it was at that particular time. I admit to using this source extensively for the following article, but I know that the editor and his staff would give whole hearted approval, were they still here.

This Georgian house was built in the 1830s for Col. Charles MacDonell, an officer in the British army, who organized the Argenteuil Rangers during the 1837 Rebellion. He married Ann Turner, the niece of the English painter J.

The many stone buildings in Cushing attest to its importance as a commercial centre in the 19th century. Lemuel Cushing, said to have been the most successful businessman in the county, built this imposing store in the 1830s.

Les Publications du Québec has just released a new book, titled Les ponts couverts du Québec. Produced in association with Quebec’s Ministry of Transport, the book is the first comprehensive study of the covered bridge phenomenon in the province.

Grenville had a military presence because of the canal. The original canal was designed and constructed by the Royal Engineers between 1819 and 1833. It was part of the St. Lawrence, Ottawa, and Rideau system which was built at a time when the United States' threat was real. Next to the canal is the lock-keeper's house.

Sometimes called "the Barracks", as it was commandeered by the British army and used to house soldiers during the Rebellion of 1837, this building was originally erected by General C. J. Forbes as a warehouse to protect equipment serving the old Carillon Canal. Later, it became the Sovereign Hotel, and in 1934, with the help of Dr. Maude Abbott and Dr.

Curé Antoine Labelle could not have developed the upper Laurentians if he had not been empowered and supported by Ignace Bourget, Bishop of Montreal. Bourget was one of the most powerful clerics in Quebec during the 19th century. From his inauguration in 1840 to his death in 1885, he led the Quebec clergy in filling a leadership vacuum in French Canada. The Laurentian colonisation and the creation of the towns north of Ste. Agathe were among the many accomplishments of the clergy, but they could not tolerate criticism.

Lachute is at the centre of the early English-speaking settlements of the Laurentians, and many historic trails lead back to it. There is no mystery as to where its name came from, though. Both La Riviere du Nord and La Chute appeared on maps made during the French regime, prior to 1760 and the property was designated as a seigneury as early as 1682. All the same, the land where the town is today and some of its surrounding area was once described as Lane's Purchase, and was first officially called the Parish of St-Jerusalem.