Stand Up and Be Counted

In the variety of records available to historians and genealogists, censuses are among the most useful. They are a snapshot of the population at a particular time. The data can be overwhelmingly voluminous, but a lot can be learned both about the population and about individual citizens.

Though there were censuses as far back as ancient times, the first census in North America was completed in 1666 by Jean Talon, the Indendant of New France. He listed 3,215 people living in and around Quebec City, Montreal, and Trois-Rivieres, and used the information to plan how to make the population and economy of the colony grow.

After confederation, a census of Canada was taken every ten years starting in 1871. The first census was important to ensure the makeup of parliament accurately represented the population.

In 1931 Canada's first Dominion Statistician, Robert H. Coats, wrote to Archbishop McNeil to convey the importance of the general Census of Canada and to ask for his help in urging parishioners to participate. He highlighted that the information collected would only be used for statistical purposes because historically censuses had been used in some places to identify who to tax or who could serve in the military.

"The Census is the decennial stock-taking of the nation, designed to show from the widest angle the point that has been reached in the general progress of the nation. More particularly, it measures the human element in the state - their numbers, sex, age, conjugal condition, nationality, occupation, religions, etc., etc. ... It is not only the duty, but the legal obligation of all members of the community to answer all Census questions as fully and accurately as possible."

May 12, 1931

MN AH20.53
Archbishop McNeil Fonds

Governments aren't the only ones who use censuses to make plans for the people they represent. The Church also needs statistics to be able to responsibly and effectively allocate resources and enhance programming. In addition to using the civil census to track the population and demographics of an area, the Archdiocese also collects statistics about each parish.

The earliest example we could find of a bishop collecting statistical information about the area in his care was this 1827 document. Though it doesn't list the individuals in the area, it has the number of Catholic males and females under and over the age of 16 in South Western Ontario.

Return of the Roman Catholick (sic.) population of the Western District of the Province of Upper Canada for 1827.-

M AC21.01
Bishop Macdonell Fonds

There were several examples of documents like the one below, which was created for St. Paul's Parish in 1838. It tells us that in the area that St. Paul's served (the City of Toronto and area - 1,296 square miles!), the population is 2,500, of which about 750 generally attend mass. Under "Remarks," it notes that the people are "Labourers & poor mechanics - very few rich though several are respectable;" and of the church, "There is no school - no sacristy - no bell - Burying ground attached not well fenced."

 

Other pastors actually listed each family in an area, which is great for genealogists!

Census of Catholics on the Dundas Mission, page one

December 1833

M AC04.01
Bishop Macdonell Fonds

Some even went as far as to canvas Toronto neighbourhoods collecting information such as the name of the head of each family, the ages of the inhabitants, religion, and occupation. ARCAT has a few notebooks listing residents of the wards of St. David, St. Lawrence, St. James, St. George, St. Andrew, St. John, and St. Patrick. Below is an example of John Elmsley's 1847 list showing some Queen St. inhabitants.

1847 Census of St. Patrick's and St. James Wards

HO 13.43

ARCAT Holograph Collection

Library and Archives Canada has databases available on their website for searching censuses from 1926 and earlier. You can find information about your ancestors such as their levels of education, their employment, and the type of home they lived in. You can check that out on the Library and Archives Canada Website.

If you'd like to check out the Catholic "censuses" that we have here in the archives, check out our website for more information!

An Amicable Discussion on the Church of England and on The Reformation in General

A watershed moment in Christian History will be commemorated on October 31st. On that day 500 years ago Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany. The document, which was intended as an academic discussion of the sale of indulgences (a reduction of time in purgatory), sparked a schism known as the Reformation which has lasted to the present.

Today, members of Protestant and Catholic Churches work together for many common goals. However, this was not always the case, as we previously explained in this post on the evolution of ecumenism. The divide wasn't just spiritual; it poured over into the political and social as well. Here in the archives, we have lots of examples of arguments written to convince people to switch teams.

This booklet regarding transubstantiation (which was a big sticking point between Catholics and Protestants) helped influence John Elmsley, who was a very influential donor in the early days of the diocese, to convert to Catholicism. Perhaps it was this paragraph that changed his mind:

"For your part at least, Sir, reflect; I conjure you, on the danger to which you are exposed by the prejudices of your education. Have the courage to emancipate yourself from them; it certainly must cost you less to quit an opinion which is not of your own choice. Imagine yourself for a moment in the midst of the synagogue where the important affair was discussed, and that you witness all that passes. You distinguish our divine Saviour surrounded by his apostles and disciples: you attentively listen with them to the words that come from his mouth, and at the at part of his discourse where he comes to the mystery, you hear the confused murmurs, and afterwards the declared opposition of the multitude. In vain does our Saviour exert himself to persuade them, by repeatedly affirming what he had just announced; the multitude remain deaf: and soon you remark the repugnance even of many of his disciples, you notice their words of contradiction, and then their entire desertion from him. on the other side you admire the firmness, the liveliness of the faith of the apostles, and what is more striking through the whole of this scene, the calm countenance and unalterable sweetness of the Man-God. All this passes before your eyes; I suppose you to be present at it. Now what are you yourself going to do? You must declare yourself. On what side will you range yourself? Will you adhere with them to your divine master? Or will you turn your back upon him with the crowd of the murmurers? You are indignant at my question: is there any room for hesitation? You say to me. Well then! Sir, take now the part that you would then decidedly have taken with the apostles. The dispute unfortunately still continues. It has been renewed for nearly three centuries with more violence than at its birth, and with still more deplorable consequences. It is no longer between the Jews and in the synagogue, but in the Church, and among Christians: Jesus Christ is still in the midst of them; he continues to speak the same language to them. You have just heard him: surrender yourself therefore to him." 

Extract From a Celebrated Work Entitled An Amicable Discussion on the Church of England and on The Reformation in General

1833

M AB14.01
Bishop Macdonell Fonds

The preface of the next booklet gives an account of the attitudes of Torontonians when Elmsley converted:

"In a free country where every man has the right to profess the creed which he finds most congenial to his conscience, we see no reason why a Catholic should be hunted down, for availing himself of the privilege which every sectarian in the land enjoys.  

"The desertion of the Hon. John Elmsley from the Church of England, and his embracing the doctrine of the Catholic Church, has raised such an alarm among protestants of all denominations in this city, that it appears to be a tocsin (sic) for those, of the most jarring and discordant dogmas to rally round their divided fabric, and bring their united artillery to bear upon Mr. Elmsely; not satisfied with the "triumphant and gentlemanlike" answer of the Venerable Archdeacon of Toronto, they must pour upon him, the most scurrilous and billingsgate abuse from the kennel of the Courier..."

Husenbeth's Defence of the Catholic Church: A Complete Refutation of the Calumnies Contained in a Work Entitled The Poor Man's Preservative Against Popery

1834

M AB14.02
Bishop Macdonell Fonds

Father William Peter MacDonald, who was Vicar General of the Diocese of Kingston at the time, wrote his own book of arguments for the Catholic Church, with topics such as the sacraments, the Latin mass, the saints, the veneration of Mary, relics, fasting, purgatory, indulgences, and more. He explained,

"Protestant is the general appellation by which all those sects designate themselves, that have built their various and every-varying systems of belief upon the same bottom with the first Reformer, Luther; that is, on the right assumed by everyone of interpreting the Holy Scriptures for himself, and of forming his faith accordingly. This common title, which they have taken to themselves, is, in truth, the most appropriate one they could possibly have chosen; as all their doctrines purely such, and properly their own, are but so many flat denials, or open protests made against as many affirmative articles taught by the Catholic Church. They are all negatives, or nay; opposed to as many affirmatives, or yea. ...

"To protest against, is to oppose. But an opposer is an adversary. The Protestant then has assumed the very title, by which in Scripture the Devil is designated ... Another Scripture name of the Devil is ... destroyer. But the word Protestant, or denier, has the very same meaning; for, to deny is to pull down and destroy what previous affirmation has built up."

The Protestant, or Negative Faith Refuted, and The Catholic, or Affirmative Faith Demonstrated from Scripture

1836

M AE22.02
Bishop Macdonell Fonds

Archbishop Lynch published a book of responses to common Protestant arguments against Catholicism. He wrote, 

"We designedly condensed the answers, that, the book might be small and cheap, in order to reach all classes.

"We have been informed that many Catholics bought several of these books to distribute, and to lend their Protestant neighbors, who became far less bigoted, in fact, more friendly in their intercourse, and were not afraid to enter a Catholic Church, and listen to the sermons which they had been erroneously informed were delivered in Latin.

"It was to give a ready answer to Catholics, as well as to inform Protestants, in search of true faith that this little book was composed. We exhort all Catholics to a greater zeal in propagating the truth whenever they can. Those who convert others from the error of their ways will have gained their neighbors' and their own salvation." 

Questions and Objections Concerning Catholic Doctrine and Practices

1877

RB53
ARCAT Rare Book Collection

If arguments fail, perhaps peer pressure will work. This 1878 leaflet lists (in order of their social standing) citizens of England who have converted to Catholicism. In his introduction, Archbishop Lynch wrote, 

"There is a good object to be gained by the publication of these names. It will show to the weak-hearted and wavering that the most noble and learned personages, have, after prayer and self-sacrifice, entered a Church that is held up to the protesting world as corrupt and soul-destroying. That calumny is refuted at once. Those great personages would not, indeed, renounce many worldly advantages but for conscience sake, that they might securely treat the true path that leads to Heaven."

Recent Converts to the Catholic Church in England

1878

RB03
ARCAT Rare Book Collection

And here's what the other side had to say. The preface states,

"Popery should be combated, not only with spiritual but political weapons - not only by the Church, but also by the state. 

"The author, however, does not advocate intolerance towards Roman Catholics. He would give them full liberty of worship and of discussion, and only deprive them, as a measure of self-defence, of the power of carrying out their persecuting system and canon law; and of such a position in the state as enables them to subserve politically the papal designs. He bears no ill will to Roman Catholics; on the contrary, his "heart's desire and prayer to God is, that they may be saved." It is always important to remember the distinction which exists between the person and the system - the sinner and the sin. 

"It is earnestly hoped that this condensation of evidence, on the antisocialism of Popery, may tend, under God, to open the eyes of many to the fearful evils of that system, and to the dangers to which we are exposed from its nefarious designs."

Popery in its Social Aspect: Being a Complete Exposure of the Immorality and Intolerance of Romanism

[1850s]

RB07
ARCAT Rare Book Collection

And just for fun, here's Fr. George Northgraves' book aimed at the mistakes of all non-Catholics in general:

Mistakes of Modern Infidels, or, Evidences of Christianity

1886

RB12
ARCAT Rare Book Collection

Today we recognize that Catholics and Protestants have more in common than they don't, and we prefer peaceful dialogue to petty argument. For that we are thankful. 

Protestants and Catholics alike are invited to an ecumenical prayer service at Timothy Eaton Memorial Church on Reformation Sunday, October 29th.

You've Come a Long Way, Baby!

This week we are sharing a letter from an important figure in the history of the Archdiocese, the Honorable James Baby.

The Honorable James Baby

Baby (pronounced Baw-bee) was born in Detroit in 1763 and educated in Quebec. He became a respected businessman in Lower Canada and was appointed to a position in Upper Canada by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe. He served in various roles but was eventually appointed to Inspector General in 1815, when he moved to York.    

As a French Catholic in York, his options for practicing his faith were limited. Though land had been obtained by trustees for the Catholic community in the early years of the century, no church had been built, and visits by priests were infrequent. In 1821, Baby and the other trustees sold the original property and obtained ten acres near modern-day Queen and Parliament Streets. It was up to Baby to raise funds for and oversee the building of the first church between Sandwich and Kingston, which opened its doors in 1822 as St. Paul's.

Though he wrote many letters to Bishop Macdonell, we chose to share this pivotal moment in York's Catholic history, in which Baby tells the bishop that the land is being cleared for the new church. It is strange to think of ten acres of land in downtown Toronto needing to be cleared of trees, but that's how it was at the time!

My Dear Lord,

It gives me pleasure to be able to inform you that what was in contemplation during your stay here has been matured since your departure. His Excellency has been pleased to sanction (indeed confirmed) the recommendation of the Council upon the petition presented in your name and Trustees in behalf of the Roman Catholics of this place and its vicinity. The ground (two blocks each of 5 acres as per the plan you saw) are granted. They were estimated at £20 per acre - £200 in the whole on the annual payment of interest or rent. This sum to be redeemed at the option or pleasure of the Trustees. I hope I have not erred in comprising Ten instead of Five acres: we may relinquish the other five if it is thought advisable. For my part I have no hesitation to say that I would prefer taking the whole than the one half for I have no doubt that at no distant period the extra five will be found not only very valuable but most useful, particularly if you should be enabled to mature your plan of erecting a public school for young girls.  

The ground or spot where the church or chapel is intended to be erected is getting cleared: there will be tomorrow a Bee or collection of people to forward the work. In a few days I shall take steps to contract for the materials as well as for the undertaking of the building, the dimensions of which I will take take care not to be too contracted nor to exceed much our expected means.

I hope you have continued in good health and that you have reached your home in a comfortable manner.

I have been a good deal indisposed ever since the next Thursday after your departure from this place. I am however getting better.

I beg to subscribe myself with the most sincere respect.

My Dear Lord, your most obedient humble servant

J Baby

M AB01.02

Bishop Macdonell Fonds

The church that Baby built was the spiritual home for Toronto Catholics until St. Michael's Cathedral was built in the 1840s. It was the site of one of the earliest Catholic schools in the city, which still exists today. Though the building has since been replaced, St. Paul's is still an active parish serving downtown Toronto almost 200 years later. Baby's vision of a place for Catholics to gather and worship has endured. With his help, Toronto's Catholic community flourished and grew to be what it is today.

Old St. Paul's Church, Power Street

Photo published in The Story of St. Paul's Parish, Toronto, by Rev. E. Kelly, 1922, p. 45.

Record of the Week: Case of the Body Snatchers

A view of St. Michael's Cemetery, Toronto

The rise of body snatching from graveyards in the nineteenth century led to gated and walled cemeteries, some of which even had watchtowers.

Body snatching is the disinterment and theft of fresh corpses from graveyards. Body snatchers, or "resurrectionists," often supplied cadavers to medical schools for dissection during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It was a lucrative business and one that was rarely prosecuted successfully.

Other sources of corpses for anatomical study were executed prisoners or those who died in poorhouses with no relatives to claim them. However, as many new medical schools were established in the United States and Canada, demand for cadavers was far greater than the legal supply. In the UK, body snatching was so prevalent that families of the deceased often watched over graves for days after burial. Eventually, legislation in Europe and the colonies was enacted to allow doctors and anatomy teachers to dissect donated bodies.

Read more about Body-Snatching in Ontario.

This letter was written to Bishop Alexander Macdonell of Kingston (the only Catholic diocese in Upper Canada at the time). It seems that Bishop Macdonell had received a complaint that the priest in Amherstberg, Ontario was exhuming the dead. To calm the bishop, Rev. Augustin Vervais explains that the incident was actually a case of body snatching. Apparently the trafficking of corpses across the Detroit River between Malden, Ontario and Gibralter, Michigan was common practice:

"Malden, 27 April 1841
Console yourself Monseigneur, there is nothing as grievous as that which you announced in your letter. So --
For a long time, there had been those who were making a business of removing dead bodies from the English cemetery - no sooner interred than removed. They take them, so they say, to Gibraltar, which is in front of Malden, an American state, to be dissected there.
Last December 24th, some days after I had myself buried a Catholic Irishman...a respectable citizen named Olivier Bertrand told me that he had risen from his bed around midnight to the cries of dogs and that he had seen some men in the cemetery. Some of us went to look, and we found, close to the ditch, two sticks and a pipe, and a little farther, a white sheet and a cord. The people dug to find the man had been removed - there were only his cloth and his slippers. The people were happy at having been warned by Mr. Olivier Bertrand.
Some days after, I buried a woman, and her relatives guarded the body for several nights. We learned nothing useful - what a futile exercise." [translated from French]

Bishop Macdonell fonds
M BB19.06

 Included with the letter is testimony from Olivier Bertrand, corroborating the story:

[translated] "I certify that several months ago I advised M. le Curé [the priest] that I had seen some men in the cemetery, that the noise of the dogs had led me there, and that, in my opinion, M. le Curé did well to excavate in order to safeguard and to save our relatives.
Malden 28 April 1841 [signed] Oliver Bertrand"

Bishop Macdonell fonds
M BB19.06

A March Down Yonge Street: Archives and the Upper Canada Rebellion

At the archives we have the privilege of interacting with historical events through the documents we care for. Books tell us the broad details of history, but letters and photographs tell us how those events affected individuals.

For example, we have several documents that relate to the Upper Canada Rebellion. In 1837, a group of prominent gentlemen who did not like the way that Upper Canada was being administered decided to stage an armed takeover. On December 5th, a group of approximately 700 rebels marched south on Yonge Street from Montgomery's Tavern, which was located at the site of present-day Postal Station K, at the corner of Yonge and Eglinton. They were met and quickly turned back by a group of loyalists. A few days later, a loyalist force dispersed the rebels from the tavern.

We don't know the context of the below document, but for some reason, Bishop MacDonell received certification that Edmund Barnet served with the loyalist force and was injured. Perhaps he was an employee of the Bishop?

"I hereby certify that Edmund Barnett served as a volunteer at my gun on Yonge Street during that attack against the Rebels at Montgomery's on the 7th December last; that he is an excellent soldier; and I have every reason to believe he sustained a severe injury in the leg on the above occasion, having been jammed between the timber of the gun and the gun carriage. [Signed] James Leckie, Captain"

As we have seen in past posts, it was common for people to write to bishops for intercession on behalf of loved ones in different situations:

"My Lord, Under other circumstances I would feel some hesitation in troubling your Lordship, but on the present occasion I have taken the liberty to call your attention to a subject in which I feel particularly interested during the disturbances in December last the Magistrates of the London District found it necessary to confine in the gaol of London many whome they found were not well affected to the British Constitution. Among others a man of the name Alvaro Ladd in whose behalf I fondly hope to interest your Lordship.

"This person I have known since I first came to the London mission and I assure a more moral and uprightly man I have seldom met with. On December last he was torn from his home his wife and children, was thrown into a loathsome prison where he was left to pine as that inclement season under privations not to be mentioned. He was arraigned in March last, for treason. I was present during his trial, was convinced as most of all present were convinced that nothing was elicited during a tedious examination of witnesses to implicate him in the least. And though the judge told the jury that he did not think they could find a verdict for the crown, yet to our great surprise the jury after a short deliberation among themselves returned a verdict for the crown. A verdict which consigns to an ignominious death. An inoffensive man, bereaves a wretched wife of the means of support, and stamps the seal of infamy on the forehead of his children, forever. Though A. Ladd may have no personal claim on your Lordship’s interest, yet he has through another person. A. Ladd my Lord, is the Brother in law of Dennis O’Brien, your Lordship has met him more than once. Your Lordship must also be aware that in the House of D. O’Brien the priests of the London District have always found a house and a home. And I am certain that no priest ever experienced or stood more in need of his attention than I did. And it is for his sake that I interest your Lordship to use your influence and press Sir James McDonell to use his interest in pressing the prayer of the enclosed memorial on the Earl of Durham.

"I remain my Lord with the greatest humility your Lordship’s humble servant, Joseph Maria Burke MA"

"My Lord, Should your lordship succeed in averting from my family a calamity that will forever destroy their peace of mind, I assure your lordship, your charity will not only be not abused but that I will [lose] no opportunity to prove to your Lordship that I can be both sensible and grateful for your Lordship’s kindness. Dennis O’Brien."

Alvaro Ladd, a prominent London area merchant, was involved with a group of rebels who decided to march on Toronto from southwestern Upper Canada. This group was also quickly stopped. Ladd's arrest and trial are described by Colin Read in The Treason Trials of 1838 in Western Upper Canada (pp 106-109) which can be found in the book Canadian State Trials: Rebellion and invasion in the Canadas, 1837-1839, edited by Frank Murray Greenwood and Barry Wright. As explained by Read, Ladd escaped execution.

The University of Western Ontario Archives holds the Dennis O'Brien Fonds. O'Brien was an early merchant in London, and was a supporter of the Catholic Church in that city. He was related to Ladd through his wife's sister, to whom Ladd was married. As a Church benefactor, O'Brien was able to gain the favour of the local Pastor, who advocated for Ladd.

Through these and other documents, we are able to see a small part of  the stories in Canada's history. When combined with documents held by other archives, the story is fleshed out and given life. Like pieces of a mosaic, letters, photographs, and artifacts combine to create a picture of where we have been as a society. It is imperative to preserve these pieces to ensure that the picture remains a clear reflection of the events that made us what we are today.  

Happy Birthday, Toronto!

In honor of Toronto's 180th birthday, we went into the Archives to see what the Catholic Church in Toronto was like in 1834. We found the following report written for Archbishop McNeil in 1934:

"In 1834 St. Paul's was the only parish in Toronto. The church was then near the Don River bridge. The Reverend Peter MacDonald was Pastor. Bishop Macdonell of Kingston had jurisdiction in Toronto at that time, and he served as Pastor of St. Paul's during the first part of 1834, assisted by Reverend William P. McDonough and Reverend Edward Gordon. The number of parishioners was then nearly two thousand."

In 1834, there were 2000 Catholics and one parish in Toronto. 180 years later, there are over 1.9 million Catholics and 225 parishes in the diocese. We've come a long way!