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Book Review
Niagara Rebels: The Niagara Frontier The history of Upper Canada is not simply a thing of the past, but a vibrant backdrop to the present, which has given the people their identity and their roots. This book in presenting some of this backdrop, serves a useful purpose, because it does not make sense to travel into the future without knowledge of from whence we came. The book details a small, but crucial segment of our Ontario history, the Rebellion of November 1837 to November 1838. It also includes a brief account of a Mason, who fell afoul of the law and was deported to Van Diemen’s Land. Administrative and governmental progress was slow in Upper Canada and, perhaps inconsistent on occasion. Loyalists had brought with them ideas of efficient government; discharged soldiers also had been exposed to a form of structural command. It is not surprising that many were discontented by the lack of organization and from this feeling arose the rebellion. Any book that adds to our store of knowledge of history is welcome, particularly when Freemasonry is mentioned. Included in this account is a record of a Mason called Samuel Chandler. He was born in Connecticut and moved to Upper Canada at the age of twentynine. Although the uprising in Toronto was crushed in December 1837, William Lyon Mackenzie, its leader, escaped to Buffalo with the aid of Samuel Chandler, who remained active with the Niagara rebels. On first taking up the book I groaned inwardly because I noticed a plethora of quotations within the text. Upon further reading, it became clear that the author, by a judicious selection of quotable material, had created a story with immediacy and poignancy. Most of the quotes were the actual words of prisoners and others associated with the events and the subsequent trials of the rebels. The book is a good read, particularly for those whose interest lies in the history of the beginnings of our Province. For others who delight in masonic history, the story of Samuel Chandler, whose sentence of death was commuted to transportation for life to Van Diemen’s Land. He subsequently escaped from the penal colony and made his way to North America. It is a fascinating tale of the harshness of life |
on a prison ship, of vermin and scurvy, of lack of food and of lashings for alleged or real disobedience. Also documented are the horrors of the chain gangs working on the docks at Hobarttown. Once again, the immediacy of emotion and the harshness of life were brought home to the reader by the first hand quotations. The reader will derive enjoyment from this account of the actual adventures of those intimately involved in the Niagara Rebellion. (Editors note: copies of the Book are available from Colin K. Duquemin, 56 Highland Avenue, St. Catherines, ON L2R 4J1 $21.95 inclusive, – Payable to him - Cheque or Money Order. Mark envelope, “Niagara Rebels.”)
The Story of Doric Pickering, This is a chronicle of the forming and subsequent history of Doric Lodge #424 GRC, A. F & A. M of Canada in the Province of Ontario. V.W.Bro. David Radley, Lodge Historian, has extended the account of previous historian, V.W.Bro. Leslie Morgan Morley, to produce a factual and entertaining record of the Mother Lodge of our Grand Master, M. W. Bro. Terence Shand. The Lodge is a reflection of the social and cultural history of the Pickering/ Ajax area. The Centennial celebration in 1990, in which the author and M.W.Bro. Shand played leading roles, is highlighted. This is a hard-bound volume of approximately 265 pages including coloured, and black and white photographs, lists of members and Masters, biographies of significant members, anecdotes of social events and significant speeches. Only 145 copies were printed at $25.00 per copy + $4.00 postage. Contact: V. W. Bro. David Radley - Tel. (905) 427 2093. E-mail: radley@sympatico.ca |
