Unravelling a Local Mystery

Cantley's 1889 Articles in The Echo of Cantley

<em>Echo</em> Cantley <em>Echo</em>

Cantley 1889’s volunteers have written more than 150 monthly articles of local historical interest for publication in The Echo of Cantley, a non-profit bilingual organization that produces Cantley's only community newspaper.

The following article is reprinted here with permission from in The Echo of Cantley, Volume 33 no 2, August 2021.


Unravelling a Local Mystery

Valérie Crevier

The two bronze memorial plaques. Courtesy of Marthe C.

Cantley 1889 routinely receives inquiries on all sorts of heritage topics. In the spring of 2020, we were sent a real stumper.

The GVHS (Gatineau Valley Historical Society) sent us an inquiry from Marthe C. of Mont-Cascades concerning two bronze plaques her son had found on their property. The plaques appeared to be two memorials, one for “Thomas Maxwell 1888–1942” and one for “Katie Grieg Burnett Maxwell 1885–1973”.

We had many questions. Who was this couple? Could their cremated remains be hidden behind the plaques in the rock? Who placed these plaques so carefully within the rock face? Why was this location chosen, an isolated site above the Gatineau River’s east shoreline opposite the Cascades neighbourhood of Chelsea?

Luckily, we received an early break when lifelong Chelsea resident and local historian R. J. Hughes shared, “Whoa, never in my dreams did I ever expect to see pictures of a long-forgotten folklore of the Gatineau Hills, circa 1950 and talked about up and down the river and beyond. Overheard by [my]self, listening to the elders talk of a man who so loved the hills he chiselled out a hole in the granite where he was cemented in forever.”

The Ottawa Citizen, December 1942, with reference to “Ramsey’s Crossing”. This clue connected the Maxwell couple to the Gatineau Hills.

Thanks to R.J., we had partially answered the “why”.

Intent on finding out more, I did a little digging. Genealogical records confirmed that Katie and Thomas were from Southwestern Ontario, married in 1911, and moved to Ottawa when Thomas was employed by the Woods Manufacturing Company. They had no other obvious ties to the Gatineau Hills. This was surprising, since both the Burnett and Maxwell surnames were quite known to this region. Another Thomas Maxwell had even owned a lot near the plaques in 1875.

Newspapers and census records showed that Thomas eventually became a well-known and popular travelling salesman and the couple had three children. They later moved to rue Laurier in Hull (now Gatineau), within walking distance of the Woods Manufacturing Co. plant. When Thomas died in 1942, at age 55, obituaries were placed in multiple local newspapers and many more across the United States in places such as Virginia, Florida, Mississippi, Texas and even Colorado. These revealed an important clue. Thomas had been cremated at the Mount Royal Crematorium in Montreal. This further supports R. J.’s account that his ashes were interred in Cantley, in the hills Thomas loved most.

I also found a local tribute mentioning floral offerings received from “neighbors of Ramsey’s Crossing” (misspelling of “Ramsay”). The significance of this was noticed by GVHS’s Louise Schwartz. This ended up being the all-important clue that led us to many more answers.

Louise contacted Catherine Joyce, a former cottager on Ramsay Road, who vividly remembered the location of the Maxwells’ former cottage. I confirmed through land registry records that the Maxwells purchased the cottage’s lot in 1941. The widowed Katie sold it in 1965 after living with her daughter in Toronto for a few years. The cottage’s current owner was delighted to learn its history.

A quick Google Maps search reveals that the Maxwell’s cottage is directly across the Gatineau River from the memorials. I believe it is quite clear that the plaques were installed to honour how the couple “loved the hills” and their wish to be cemented in them forever.

This article is based on the article which can be found in the GVHS publication “Up the Gatineau!” vol. 47, 2021. Special thanks to Marthe C. for sharing her story and to all those who helped unravel this mystery.

If you have additional information about Thomas or Katie, please contact Valérie Crevier at info.cantley1889@gmail.com.

 

View from Cantley, towards the Maxwell Cottage. Courtesy of Marthe C.
View from Chelsea, towards the plaques located in Cantley. Photo Valérie Crevier.

 


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