Often when I look at Canadian history my interest is taken by the Loyalists who came here as a result of the American Revolutionary War; indeed, I have enjoyed writing four books in my Loyalist series. This past weekend, however, a different but related focus elicited the photos here.
I was near Cornwall, Ontario at the UELAC annual conference.
Nearby we found again St. Raphael’s Ruins and the story of the Glengarry Emigration of 1786. This particular influx of settlers to Canada came from Scotland because of the terrible economic conditions in Scotland at the time. Father MacDonell’s story is riveting as well because he was their priest who spent his life providing aid to his followers. St. Raphael was his church until it burned in 1970. Here is the historical marker at the site.
Here I am standing a few feet from the towering walls, all that remain after the terrible fire in 1970. I look pretty tiny there!
In front of the ruins is another sign with more information. My husband and I enjoyed walking all around the site and refreshing our memories of being there a few years before.
Across the road is another interesting building, the former Bishop’s house, connected to St. Raphael’s. It was once only the centre part of this structure but the wings were added. Here is an article detailing its restoration currently going on.
Here is the Bishop’s House photo taken from the church ruins property across the road.
On Saturday night of the UELAC conference we attended the lovely dinner complete with bagpipes, period costumes and amazing food. Here is the piper after piping in those in costume. It was most impressive and reminded me of the Zorra Highland Games in Embro, Ontario close to where I grew up. Lots of bagpipes there!
On Sundays, I receive a very interesting publication from the gentleman in the photo below. Doug was in the initial costume parade and I got him smiling as he passed us. Thanks for all your hard work to put out Loyalist Trails every week, Doug!
Here are more of the costumed parade people.
Very formal this couple with her hand resting on his. Lovely.
One more exciting thing that piqued my interest this past weekend was the tent down at the park along the water. There was a booth set up by the Glengarry Fencibles Trust and Brenda and I had a terrific time sharing our respective thoughts about the Loyalists and the Glengarry settlement, among other things. So terrific to talk to knowledgeable people who like what I like. Thanks, Brenda! I started reading the book you mentioned this morning, Shadow of Tradition. I found it downloadable online and I am loving it! Published in the 1940s!
So that was my weekend away. How wonderful it was. We ended it by heading north to the Bancroft area to visit someone in my husband’s class at Western all those years ago. A different kind of history!
Today Canadian terrific author M.K. Tod is launching her latest book, That Was Then. I was an early reader and put a review on both Goodreads and Amazon. Check out my words and pick up your own copy! Congratulations, Mary!
If you want to know of more stories of amazing people who came to Canada, do give my book from last summer a read. Canada, Brave New World is in print, Kindle, Kobo and audio formats.
