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Post by jamesw on Mar 27, 2016 17:49:51 GMT
A few other Niagara covers picked up yesterday. This first was sent from Port Colborne, which is located on the south side of the Niagara Peninsula on Lake Erie. Besides the August 13, 1890 circular date stamp there is a radial cork obliterator on the small Queen. The cover was sent to Baton Rouge LA. There's a Baton Rouge receiver cancel as well as a 'cross/X in circle' cork cancel on the back.  This rather tattered little cover with the KEVII 2¢ and the Beamsville duplex was sent to nearby Jordan Ontario. Both on Lake Ontario. My Loyalist ancestors settled near Beamsville after the Revolution. I grabbed this cover partly because of the Niagara cancel, but I realized I have other mail sent to this same person. In fact I purchased two covers yesterday who's recipients are already represented in my collection. Guess it was just a matter of time.  This last 1936 cover is certainly more modern than the others. The slogan cancel caught my eye. Took me a few seconds to realize that the Diamond Jubilee mentioned is not the King's (he didn't stick around long enough) but the city itself. When I was a teenager growing up in St. Catharines (my hometown) the city made a huge deal of it's centenary in 1976.  As an aside, the Lightening Fastener Company made zippers. A huge industry in town at the time. I think my Mother worked there for a while. |
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Post by jamesw on Mar 27, 2016 18:18:25 GMT
You know, I'm thinking I'm going to have to put together a map of the region showing the locations of all these POs. That might help you folks get a better idea of the distribution of these letters, and give me a better idea of where this collection is going!
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Post by jimjung on Mar 31, 2016 10:31:04 GMT
Just found this in a box of covers I was going through. From Welland, Ontario on a 2c rate going crossborder to New York. I thought that the 2c rate in this period was a postcard rate with a destination outside of Canada.   |
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Post by jamesw on Mar 31, 2016 12:38:11 GMT
nice one jim
The post card rate to the US in 1911 was 1¢.
2¢ was the letter cross border letter rate for the first ounce.
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Post by jamesw on Apr 6, 2016 2:03:21 GMT
Ok, nothing terribly special about this one, except it was postmarked on my birthday (28 years previous) in the city of my birth.  HEY! It's my collection. I'll include what I want. |
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Post by jamesw on May 14, 2016 2:54:52 GMT
Another Niagara area cover (tell me when these are getting tedious) recently won on ebay. This one comes home all the way from India! 3¢ postage with a red PAID and a faint red split ring cancel from the town of Marshville. The town was named for it's nearby huckleberry marshes, but was renamed Wainfleet in the 1920s. The cover was sent to Fonthill, about 14 miles to the north. The back shows a transit cancel from Port Robinson, which was port on the first Welland Canal (the most recent canal, #4, divides the community in half, and there are no bridges in the village itself crossing the waterway). There is also, on the back. an interesting RPO from the Welland Rail Road. This 25 mile railway ran from Port Dalhousie on Lake Ontario in the north, where the first canal opened to the lake, to Port Colbourne at the southern mouth of the canal on Lake Erie. The RPO reads DOWN which I believe means a north bound trip, or down the canal as it travels from the higher lake Erie to Lake Ontario below. Hard to say at this point how far the letter traveled on the railway. I need to find a map of it's route. There is also a receiver cancel from Fonthill dated March 12 1869. 
The Welland Rail Road was sold to The Grand Trunk Railway in 1884. This map shows the route of the Grand Trunk in 1907, which will give an idea of where this letter travelled. I put the approximate positions of the towns in red. The letter would have accessed the railway somewhere east of Wainfleet (Marshville) then probably headed north to Port Robinson where it was transferred to coach west to Fonthill.  |
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Post by jamesw on May 15, 2016 1:32:56 GMT
Well I warned you. No one has spoken up, so here are some more of these old pieces of paper, these I picked up today at the National Stamp and Coin Show near Toronto. This first is a folded letter cover (no letter sadly). Posted in Toronto on July 20 (I believe) 1847, it was sent to Chippawa, near Niagara Falls (you can see it on the map above). The recipient was Thomas C. Street, a local business man, lawyer and political figure in the region. His father Samuel Street (I posted a letter to him elsewhere on the forum) was a very successful businessman, and early investor in the Welland Canal and Bank of Montreal. The reverse has beautiful red double split ring cancels from Queenston and Chippawa.  This folded letter (letter untact) was posted from Chippawa on May 21 1858 using what appears to be a single split ring cancel. It is sent to Sandwich UC (near Windsor). Back cancels include a double split ring receiving cancel from Sandwich and a double split ring transit cancel from Clifton UC. Clifton was a small town in what is now the centre of Niagara Falls ON. The post office was only opened the previous year, on February 1 1857. Clifton was the location of a very popular hotel, and was located just above the cataracts below the falls. The post office closed in 1881.  |
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Post by jamesw on May 15, 2016 2:10:14 GMT
Some later pieces from St. Catharines. The first was posted from St. Catharines to Hamilton on April 29 1867, just over two months before Confederation. Split ring cancel and 13 line round obliterator on a SC#15 5¢ beaver. Hamilton receiver cancel on back.  This UX7b postal card (with a lovely blue colour) was postmarked using an enclosed circle and 13 line obliterator. Dated March24 1892. The postcard is a message from the Empire Lodge No. 87 of the I.O.O.F.  This last cover has a CDS very similar to the one on the postal card, though the letters are slightly different sizes. A cross border letter to New Jersey using three late issue (Ottawa) 1¢ small queens to pay the postage. I believe the recipient to be Hiram Edmund Deats of Flemington NJ, (1870-1963) an editor, publisher and philatelist and numismatist of note. Flemington NJ receiver cancel on back. sites.google.com/site/numismaticmallcom/encyclopedic-dictionary-of-numismatic-biographies/deats-hiram-edmund |
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Post by jamesw on May 16, 2016 11:58:50 GMT
One of the aspects of my growing collection of Niagara area covers, having been born and raised in the region, are the number of town names I'm finding that just don't exist any more. Many are absorbed by larger communities, like Chippawa, Clifton or Sandford (Niagara Falls), some change their names, Marshville (Wainfleet), Merrittsville (Welland) or even Niagara (Niagara-on-the-Lake). And some just seem to fade away, like Homer or St. Johns. Here's another. Gas Line is a crossroad located just 6km east of Port Colborne on Lake Erie. It was named for, you guessed it, a local gasoline that ran throughout the area, and had it's own post office from 1900 to 1916.  |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2016 15:02:51 GMT
Nice Cover I have an affinity for old seed catalogs - something I have collected much longer than stamps Stamps in the fall & winter, gardening spring & summer. What I really like about catalogs like Bruce Seeds is that unlike modern ones, the pictures were all hand drawn. A lot of effort for a 25 cent catalog. 1901 Catalog |
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Post by jamesw on May 17, 2016 1:41:35 GMT
Wasn't going to add this one because it didn't seem to have much to offer. But turns out the recipient, D. (can't read his name, D'arcy perhaps?) C. Holmes was not only a farmer in Wellandport, but he was also the post master! Mailed from Welland Ontario, August 12 1884, received in Wellandport on August 13. Nice fancy cancel too. Perhaps he applied the receiver cancel himself!  His listing in the Directory and Gazatteer for the region for the years 1887 - 1890. I know, my cover predates this directory, but I'm going to take a leap of faith here that he was the PO three years earlier.  |
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Post by jamesw on Aug 12, 2016 3:19:57 GMT
Haven't posted here for a while, so here goes. Received this eBay purchase today. Mailed from New York with a nice clear red Mar 21 post mark, this 1842 folded letter was sent to Mr William Kirby in Niagara. Mr Kirby was a currier, one who dresses and finishes the leather after the tanning process is done. According to Mr Kirby's bio (link below) he left the leather biz a couple of years after receiving this letter when his partner absconded with his money. He then proceeded with a very successful career in writing and public service. Who says you can't bounce back.  The letter is sent by a friend, Thomas Dixon, who along with another man, Mr Bowers, has moved to New York to seek his fortune. Unfortunately, though they have acquired employment, they are broke, and ask Mr Kirby to send them money. What are friends for!  Mr Kirby appears to have had amazing life. This should make a good album page.  www.biographi.ca/en/bio/kirby_william_13E.html |
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Post by jamesw on Sept 19, 2016 2:49:05 GMT
Some more Niagara covers purchased in St. Catharines over the weekend. This first is not too special. Postmarked in St Catherines (miss spelled) on November 12 1875 with a #37e small queen. Her Majesty is oxidized. Red Jordan double split ring cancel on back.  An earlier letter to D. C. Holmes of Wellandport than the one posted previously. Sent from Ridgeville which is just west of Fonthill, it has a Too Late service mark. Further research has found that Mr Holmes' first name was Dilly (yes, really!) and he was postmaster of Wellandport from December 1, 1873 to October 20 1898, so after this letter, but during the period of the previously posted letter.  This last cover was sent from Leamington, in southwestern Ontario (then Upper Canada) to St. Catharines on February 16, 1867. There is a very poor red St Catharines receiver cancel on the back.  The cover is very delicate, but contains this letter which, though poorly spelt, is very interesting. Concerns closing the will of a farmer to release the property to, I assume his son. Love to track down David Davies of St. C in 1867, but appears to be a pretty common name.  |
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Post by jamesw on Apr 8, 2017 1:04:27 GMT
Haven't added to this thread for a while, also haven't really purchased much of note lately either. So here's one I just took delivery on today. An early registered letter postmarked in Niagara UC on Dec 7 1857. The province of Canada introduced a registered mail system about two and a half years earlier in May of 1855. Sports REGISTERED and PAID hand stamps as well as script 9 for postage. Postage for a regular single sheet letter was 4 1/2d cy.  Also on the back is a faint Toronto receiver cancel and a wax seal with the initials WC. Written up the side on the front is what appears to be the name Wm. Nixon, but I may be misreading the last name. Will take some more work. -edit - forget that crossed out remark. I just realized the the name written sideways on the front, possibly Wm Nixon, is probably the person on the receiving end who filed it as received in the office in Toronto. The senders identity - WC - will forever be a mystery.  I've found several mentions of Charles Fitzgibbon of Toronto listed as a barrister and clerk of the Surrogate Court. |
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Post by jamesw on Apr 11, 2017 0:09:42 GMT
Here's another recent acquisition. Postmarked Dec 26 1843 at Niagara U.C. The recipient is Lewis Burwell, the Deputy Surveyor of Brantford, which is about an hour west, by todays standards. I have a previous letter sent to Burwell in 1835, which I thought I'd shown here, but it appears I didn't.  This one is a folded letter cover, no contents. But interestingly Mr Burwell has made a lengthy notation and signed it, describing the letter as being sent by a David Thompson of Niagara, asking Burwell to take a survey near St. Catharines. Burwell had to be in court in Woodstock on Feb 9 1844, but would write to Thompson as soon as he returned home.  Kinda cool. |
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Post by jamesw on May 4, 2017 3:10:16 GMT
Yet another addition to this growing collection (hope it's not boring y'all). Won this on eBay a couple of weeks ago and it finally came. Interesting piece, a very long folded letter (large sheet written on all sides) sent from Thorold UC on August 6 1846 to the Iowa Territory in the US.  Post marks show the trail Thorold (Aug 6) - St. Catherines (sic - Aug 6) - Queenston (Aug 7) and across the border to Lewiston (Aug 7). The Canadian rate of 4 1/2 p was paid to the border and the US rate of 10¢ (collect) was added at Lewiston. Long letter from a father to his son, will make for some interesting reading. |
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Post by jamesw on Sept 2, 2017 2:40:01 GMT
Was updating the images on this thread (sorry still missing a couple), and have taken a nice trip down memory lane. To that end I'll add two more Niagara covers picked up last weekend. This first is a registered letter sent in 1881 from Welland to Carlisle, in the county of Wentworth, which is north of Hamilton (on the west end of Lake Ontario). Sadly the registration stamp has been torn off, but the back of the envelope yielded a nice array of cancels, including Welland, Hamilton, Carlisle and two RPOs form the Welland RR, North bound train.  This second is a War tax cover (oh! which collection will it go in???) postmarked in Grimsby on September 29 1915 with a duplex. On at the reverse is a receiver cancel for Jarlsberg Ont. I can find almost no info about Jarlsberg, except that, according to W. Bruce Graham in his Ontario Broken Circles book, the post office closed in 1969 and locates it in the Parry Sound area.  |
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Post by jimjung on Sept 2, 2017 12:22:33 GMT
According to the Post Office regulations for Registered letters, every Post Office that touched the letter had to add a postmark to the back. These were kept in separate bags. So if you want some nice postmarks look for more of those Registered letters !
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Post by jamesw on Nov 5, 2017 3:12:57 GMT
Another addition to my Niagara collection acquired last week in Toronto. I normally wouldn't have cared about this item, because it is not postmarked so doesn't appear to have gone through the postal system. However the content interested me and i recognized the name. It is addressed to Matilda Ball in Niagara (present day Niagara-on-the-Lake, at the mouth of the Niagara River on Lake Ontario). Because there are no postmarks, I think we can assume it was hand delivered 'by favour' It is sent from Toronto in 1847, from her brother Abraham, who appears to be going to seminary school.   Matilda and Abraham Ball were the children of George Ball who with his brother, owned a grist mill in the area, and were a rather prominent family. The land around the mill, which still stands, is now called the Balls Falls Conservation Area, a beautiful preserved natural and historic site, where I used to go hiking as a kiddie! Matilda, or Barbara Matilda, was born March 7 1821 and died March 12 1911 at the ripe old age of 90 in Coburg Ont. She married Peter Roe in 1855 and had 4 children. |
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Post by jimjung on Nov 12, 2017 13:42:16 GMT
The Seminary is actually to the east of Toronto in Scarborough and is perched on top of the Scarborough Bluffs. This is the only Seminary that I know of in Toronto. I grew up near this place and wandered passed many, many times. |
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Post by jamesw on Nov 12, 2017 20:33:13 GMT
Thanks for this JJ, but the Scarborough seminary (St. Augustine's) was established in 1913, according to their website.
It's hard to say from the letter what seminary Abraham was attending. He doesn't mention a name or denomination. There was the Toronto Baptist Seminar on Jarvis St. but it was built in 1850. I also believe the University of Toronto had some seminary schools associated with it, but I've not found anything conclusive.
Might be a fun bit of detective work to figure out which one it was, but I doubt I'll ever know.
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Post by jimjung on Nov 19, 2017 15:41:14 GMT
Here is a link to an interesting list of the oldest buildings in Toronto. In 1843, Churches begin to make there way onto the list. These buildings would have been new in 1847 when your letter was written. |
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Post by jamesw on Nov 23, 2017 3:19:18 GMT
That is a great link JJ, thanks for posting it. I've used it a number of times, including this one. That's where I found the Toronto Baptist Seminary date. Handy stuff.
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Post by jimjung on Dec 3, 2017 20:27:47 GMT
I noticed that they give addresses of some of the buildings and you can look these up on google's street view to see the buildings. Here's the Toronto Baptist Church and Seminary  |
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watermark
Member 
Posts: 61 
What I collect: My main collecting area is focused on Canadian stamps printed from steel engraved plates. Specifically re-entries and constant plate varieties.
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Post by watermark on Dec 29, 2017 14:27:40 GMT
This is a nice cover mailed from St. Catherines UC 15 DE 1853 to London CW. Receivers stamp on back London DE 16 1853 UC. The 3d Beaver stamp is taken from Pane A and is positon 90 of the sheet. There are two strong marks in the second A of CANADA making this easily identified as this position on the plate.
The stamp:
Detail of second A taken from a similar stamp:
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Post by jamesw on Apr 8, 2018 1:47:35 GMT
Time to revive these thread. I spent the day today at the National Stamp and Coin Show, just outside Toronto. Saw some great material, fantastic exhibits, and even some old friends. I haven't been to a stamp show for a bit. I thought I deserved a treat. Oh, and I also spent a bit of money! Here's an item I wanted to show, an interesting little addition to my Niagara collection. A tiny folded letter looks to be sent from Queenston to Beamsville (the seller even indicated as such) to a gentleman named John Gross. The letter is a bit fragile and appears to be written in German. There is a Beamsville UC receiver cancel on the back.   It wasn't until I scanned the front that I noticed there are two postal rates - PAID 10 and 4 1/2 script. That indicates to me that the letter may have actually been sent from the United States. The US rate for over 60 miles but not exceeding 100 miles was 10¢ to the lines (border). The 4 1/2 would be Canadian currency from the lines at Queenston to Beamsville which is not too far away. The letter arrived in Beamsville on August 22, the same day it was postmarked in Queenston. I can't read the letter, so I don't see any indication where it may have been sent from. The letter writer is Jacob Gross, possibly brother or father? Any help on this one would be greatly appreciated. Complete with fingerprints of the sender. Followup - a quick google search immediately turned up a book entitled Pennsylvania Geneologies: Scotch-Irish and German, published in 1886. A listing for the Gross family shows a John Gross, son AND grandson of Jacob (two Jacobs, that is), born in Beamsville on January 14 1825 and residing at the time of printing in Welland. He was married in 1852 and had five children. I can tell you that Beamsville (where my family actually settled after the American Revolution) is a pretty small place today. I'm thinking it must have been teeny in 1846, meaning the chances are pretty good that this is my John Gross. I'd say this letter likely came from Pennsylvania. Thank you Professor Google! |
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Post by jamesw on Apr 8, 2018 2:13:21 GMT
Three more Niagara covers purchased today. Two from St Catharines, 1854 paid 3d to Ingersol, 1855 unpaid 3d (black ink) to St Davids, a tiny village just outside St. Catharines, and 1869 with small queen and fancy cork cancel to Lucan, just outside London.  |
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Post by dgdecker on Apr 8, 2018 2:36:45 GMT
James,
if if you like, I can try to get you a translation of the letter. I will send a copy to a friend and she what she can do. My German is not good enough to do it myself. I can read printed German ok but nothing handwriting. I had to chuckle when you mentioned the local area. Some of my favourite wine producers are in or near the villages you mentioned. It’s been a year since I was last that way for a « « wine « run.
I love reading your posts.
david
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Post by jamesw on Apr 8, 2018 2:55:05 GMT
Hi David. that would be awesome if someone could translate. Will the scan be big enough? I could email you a higher res version if you needed.
Yes, wine is very important to that area. I grew up down there. When I was a kid, there were I think two major wineries that both produced plonk, but my parents just drank them up (literally). My dad also produced his own home brew from the local grapes - the house was always full of fruit flies in the summer.
In the last 30 years or so dozens of new vineyards have popped up, many of them very good. The missus and I have done a couple of tours ourselves (hic!).
Thanks
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Post by jamesw on Oct 28, 2018 1:24:02 GMT
Back here again. Picked up a couple of Niagara covers today. This one doesn't seem too interesting at first glance (or possibly subsequent glances as well!) Toronto to Fonthill via Welland. But the back reveals something. It's actually an advertising cover from the Revere House  A google search reveals that the Revere House in Toronto was a hotel on Front St (not far from the lake) which ran from 1860 - 1862. Previous to that it was called the Sword's Hotel, from 1853. In 1862 the name was changed from the Revere House to the Queens Hotel and remained such until it was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1927 and torn down. On the site was built the luxurious Royal York Hotel, which still stands today. What is interesting (if any of this is) is that this cover was posted in 1882, a full 20 years after the Revere House changed its name. guess someone had some old envelopes sitting around! edit - a person named B. W. Price was listed in a newspaper called the Fonthill Peoples Press dated Feb 14 1861, as a dealer in watches, clocks and jewelry. Possibly the recipient? |
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