Lambton Musings
LAMBTON’S HISTORY AND HERITAGE NEWSLETTER – SPRING 2025
The Rumford Family Bible
David McLean, Forest Museum
Family Bibles have long played a significant role in preserving family histories. These large, often elaborately bound books served not only spiritual needs, but also as repositories for vital personal records. Our museum collection has a number of Bibles once owned by local families.
www.heritagelambton.ca
Prior to the invention of the moveable-type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the 1400s, Bibles were hand printed, mostly by monks in monasteries. These Bibles were, as you might expect, very expensive and few outside the upper church hierarchy and the nobility could afford them. Thanks to Gutenberg’s invention, the Bible could be mass produced and therefore became much more affordable. The implications for European society were profound. Literacy rates rose dramatically and the wider availability of Bibles meant that “the word of God” could now be accessed directly by more people. It was no coincidence that the Reformation began in this time period as religious dogma and doctrine were challenged by new interpretations of biblical text.
For families who acquired one, their Bible, as mentioned above, primarily served their spiritual needs. In the age before compulsory public education, a family’s Bible also provided a means for teaching children how to read. Another practical use for the family
Bible was that it became a handy place to record births, marriages, and deaths on dedicated pages. This practice was particularly common in Europe and North America, where literacy rates were rising.
In addition to genealogical records, family Bibles often contain marginal notes, photographs, and pressed flowers, making them rich sources of personal and social history. These Bibles were usually passed down through generations, symbolizing the continuity of faith and family lineage. Over time, as civil record-keeping improved and family dynamics changed, the use of family Bibles for record-keeping declined. Today they remain cherished heirlooms, valued for their historical and sentimental significance, offering a tangible connection to ancestors and family heritage.
Among the family Bibles in our collection is one that belonged to the Rumford family. It was recently donated to us by Kae McKinlay, a great-granddaughter of Edward and Lovday Rumford, founders of the bakery business that formerly occupied our building.
The Rumford Bible dates to 1879 and is a very typical family Bible. Located in between the Old and New Testaments are records of the family’s history. The first entry records the marriage of Edward and Lovday in Arkona on December 23, 1873. Also noted, in beautiful calligraphy, are the births of their children - Thomas, Marshall, Eva and Floyd. Sadly, the Rumfords lost their daughter Eva May on June 23, 1884 at one month of age due to an affliction with whooping cough. An entry in the Bible records her passing.
Various newspaper clippings are to be found in the Rumford Bible, mainly obituaries of family members. These include ones for Lovday, Thomas (aka Tommy), and Mary (Ravelle) Truan, a sister-in-law of Lovday. Additionally, the Bible contains a small ribbon from Kingston’s Royal Military College, which we assume someone in the family attended. Undoubtedly, the most valuable item for anyone interested in the genealogy of the Rumfords is a notarized document dating to 1917 in which Edward provides his family history going back to his great-grandparent’s time.
So if you are interested in your family’s history, be sure to consult a family Bible if you are fortunate enough to have had one passed down through the generations.
Death record of Eva May
Birth records of the Rumford Children
Marriage record of the Edward and Lovday Rumford
Point Edward Swing Ferry
Meagan Sinclair, Lambton County Archives
The history of Lambton County is rich with stories of creativity and innovation. One of the challenges early residents faced was establishing a successful transportation network across its diverse landscape. While some solutions showcased their ingenuity in overcoming these obstacles, others were rather unconventional.
In 1858, the Grand Trunk Railway was completing their railway line from the East to Sarnia, and between Fort Gratiot and Detroit. What remained was the water-crossing at the mouth of the St Clair River. The railway desired a means of ferrying railcars across the river without having to unload them but the strong river current prevented the use of traditional transportation technologies.
T.E. Blackwell, Vice-President of the GTR and a civil engineer, had spent some time touring Europe where he noticed a particular solution for crossing swift rivers. A swing ferry, also called a flying ferry, consisted of a boat attached to a strong chain which was anchored in the middle of the river. The system functioned like a pendulum where the current would carry the boat from one bank to the other.
The Grand Trunk Railway hired local captain Orin Davenport to investigate and superintend the construction of a swing ferry on the St. Clair River. The ferry boat was built by Knight and Jenkins of Walkerville in 1859. It measured 226 feet long and 52 feet wide, and was constructed of oak and pine with iron fasteners. Due to its impressive size, it was called the Huron for the “Great Eastern of the Lakes”. The flat deck was fitted with three sets of tracks, each capable of holding six freight cars. The width of the tracks was adjustable to accommodate the gauges of both the GTR and Michigan railways.
The Huron was attached to a 2,000-foot chain which was anchored to the middle of the river using a massive anchor. Docks were built on either shore for receiving the ferry and transferring the rail cars. Once loaded, the ferry would be released from the dock, and the current of the river would allow the ferry to swing to the opposite shore and back in about four minutes.
The swing ferry and its chain were included on this 1860s map of Port Huron, Sarnia and Gratiot
Early trials of the swing ferry were not successful, but Captain Davenport nevertheless persisted in improving the system. Initially, the weight of the huge chain caused it to sink into the lake and get caught along the bottom, preventing the boat from following its required course across the river. This was solved by attaching several boiler-iron buoys to support the chain out of the water. Tests also showed that the chain’s anchor needed to be moved towards the west shore of the river for the ferry to successfully land at the docks on either side. This had the added benefit of moving the anchor and chain away from the path of other vessels wanting to travel in the river.
The swing ferry functioned relatively successfully for a few years, but it experienced several accidents over the course of its career. The Huron frequently broke loose from its chain and floated downriver until a tugboat retrieved and hauled it back. As the boat had no means of propulsion, it relied solely on the current which could be quite varied. A strong south wind could reverse the river’s current, leaving the ferry immobile. Conversely, a strong north wind created a current so powerful that it made the ferry hazardous. Although passing vessels tried to avoid the swinging ferry, the Sarnia Observer documented at least one collision in 1860 when a southbound ship mistimed its swing and crashed directly into the Huron.
By 1863, the Huron no longer functioned as a swing ferry. It continued working as a barge to transport railcars at the St. Clair River crossing but was propelled by the steamer St. Clair. It was eventually replaced in 1871 by the Independent and later became a floating drydock for the Wolverine Drydock Company of Port Huron.
The Nightly Run to “Cuba”: Brief Reflections on Rum Running in 1920s Lambton
Kailyn Shepley - Curator, Sombra Museum
When one thinks of Prohibition and the 1920s, images of underground speakeasies, women in flapper dresses, gangsters, and smuggling alcohol come to mind. One man in particular is seen as representative of the Prohibition Era: American gangster, Al “Scarface” Capone.
Al Capone in an undated photo from Getty Images, also found in several print materials in Sombra Museum’s archives. CARET-RIGHT
Capone, born Alphonse Capone in 1899, in Brooklyn, N.Y. to Italian immigrant parents, from a young age engaged in a life of criminality. By the 1920s, he was a top Chicago gangster who took massive advantage of the illegal alcohol trade to earn a fortune and commit acts of extreme violence.
For years, the rumour has circulated that Capone visited the village of Sombra and conducted his business locally out of the Grand Union Hotel. I have confirmation from my own family that when my great grandmother, Evelyn Barcroft, worked as a barmaid at the Grand Union, she met Al Capone; he was even responsible for the nickname she would use for the rest of her life –Effie.
He was eventually jailed for tax evasion, of all things, and died powerless and in relative obscurity at his Miami Beach, Florida home in 1947 due to complications of syphilis. He was not the only notorious criminal to run the streets of South Lambton during this era. The violent Purple Gang of Detroit also had local dealings. Bootlegging was not for the faint of heart and was more than just an adventure; it could be dangerous and deadly.
In March 1929, American Patrol Agent Earl Roberts was fatally shot by Lambton County bootleggers. He and another agent had attempted to apprehend the subject and he was shot and fell into the criminal’s boat. They dumped Earl at the dock in Port Lambton and fled towards Sombra. Patrolman Roberts was rushed to Dr. Cathcart’s office, where after receiving emergency treatment, he was taken to the St. Clair Hospital where he died the next day. Thefts, hold-ups and other threats of violence were not uncommon.
Canadian law protected those who brewed, distilled, and exported alcohol south, even though its sale in Canada was prohibited. Canada had enacted Prohibition near the end of World War I so that alcohol could be prioritized for the war effort. Ontario repealed prohibition in 1927 and established the LCBO to regulate its sale, making it legal to purchase once again. Before that, many locals used creative methods to obtain alcohol. One popular method, especially during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-approximately 1922, was to get a prescription for alcohol to treat the disease. Alcohol could be prescribed to treat almost any ailment!
In 1926, there were thirteen beer scows at Port Lambton alone, not to mention the abandoned and wrecked ship at the Sombra ferry dock that served as a scow and depot for smugglers to pick up their nightly loads to Cuba. The local assessor even tried to levy
Former Bakery in Port Lambton that served as a beer scow.
the beer scow owners to pay taxes for road upkeep, as they used the roads for the delivery and transport of alcohol to their scows. For bureaucratic reasons, this was not successful. Oral history in Sombra Museum’s collection states that the rum running business in Sombra was so lucrative that W. Hargrove who owned one of the town’s general stores, bought a truck just to pick up deliveries from the Sarnia brewery and leave them in the scow at the dock. Local Mechanic Floyd McPhail also cashed in on the economic opportunity by increasing his rate to fix boat motors from $0.75/hour to over $4.00 for those special bootlegger clients.
The Ontario-Michigan border, separating Canada and the United States by less than a kilometre at points, was the perfect gateway for everyone from gangsters to criminals and the average Canadian to smuggle alcohol to the American shores. From 1919 to 1933 when American Prohibition was repealed, Canadians, especially west Lambtoners, made their fortunes and took advantage to bring prosperity to their small villages.
Petrolia’s Horse-drawn Ambulance
Colleen Inglis, Lambton Heritage Museum
On March 4, 1920, news of the untimely death of Fred Howlett Junior spread rapidly through the Town of Petrolia. The deceased was a brick and tile manufacturer and an oil producer. He was pulling pumps in an oil field along Dawson Sideroad (Tile Yard Road) with several employees when he was electrocuted by a high tension hydro line carrying 26,000 volts. Medical aid was summoned. Dr. Hamilton and Dr. Duffield arrived from Petrolia. Efforts to resuscitate Howlett were unsuccessful. He was 24 years old and left behind a wife and infant daughter.
of Petrolia’s horse-drawn ambulance from a 1909 publication on the Town of Petrolia.
While we wish there was a better outcome for Howlett, the fact that doctors arrived at the oil field in short order to attend the injured man was no surprise. Petrolia had a purpose-built ambulance stationed at Victoria Hall. It served the general population as well as the oil field and refinery workers who often worked in hazardous conditions.
The ambulance was built by the Petrolia Wagon Company. We estimate that it was completed in 1908 because wagonmaker J.R. Fennell signed the
Photograph
ambulance on July 4, 1908. Outside of the oil industry, the Wagon Company was one of Petrolia’s most important businesses. Established by William Milner in 1902, by 1909 the company employed over 100 men and had an output of 4,000 wagons and 2,000 sleighs per year. Building an ambulance was an anomaly.
Lambton Heritage Museum acquired the ambulance in 1983. Research determined it to be the oldest horsedrawn ambulance in Ontario. For paramedics, it is an important part of their heritage.
In 2009, funds raised by the paramedics of Lambton County EMS, in partnership with Lambton Heritage Museum, were used to bring the ambulance back to its former glory. Grand Bend master boat-builder Skip Izon performed the restoration work using tools and techniques from the early 1900s. Each side panel was replaced and repainted, complete with a red cross. Local artist Teresa Marie Phillips painted the gold lettering. The ambulance bell was also returned to working order.
Master boat-builder, Skip Izon, and paramedic, Tom Moore, pose with the restored ambulance in front of Victoria Hall in
The ambulance is now part of the permanent collection at Lambton Heritage Museum where it is regularly on display.
Petrolia
Visitors examine the horse-drawn ambulance in a display at Lambton heritage Museum.
A Taste of Science
May 14 - October 25
A travelling exhibition from Canada Agriculture and Food Museum
Why does food spoil? Tour A Taste of Science and discover why food decays and strategies to slow down the process.
Upcoming Feature Exhibition
Corunna’s Guiding Lights
Moore Museum Staff
In 1890, two wooden range lights were built at Corunna. The first of these 40-foot high, white lights was installed at the foot of Fane Street, and the second on the west side of Beresford Street. When these two lights were lined up visually, passing ships knew they were in the proper channel to safely travel up the St. Clair River, around Stag Island, and past the shoals at the mouth of Talford’s Creek. A bright reflector lantern was hoisted close to the top and visible for over 6 kilometers.
For most of its working life, kerosene was used for the light. The light keeper was responsible for lighting the kerosene lamp at dusk and putting it out at daybreak, as well as cleaning the chimney of the lamp and keeping daily logs. This was done by one keeper for both the front and rear range lights.
In 1941, the use of the rear range light was discontinued. A lighted pole replaced the front light, and the former front range became the rear one. Some residents of Corunna pooled together the funds to purchase the rear range light, not wanting it to be torn down. They were successful in preserving it for over a decade, until it was put back into service.
In 1953, the rear range light was restored for use and converted to electricity. It continued its work for another 29 years but in 1982, the Coast Guard decided to replace the light with a taller steel tower because the trees blocked the view of the old light from the water.
Many people cooperated to save the range light yet again. This time, the plan was to move the rear range light to Moore Museum. The Coast Guard agreed to provide materials and labour to install concrete footings at the new site. Moving day was Thursday, August 5, 1982. Neighbours watched and took pictures of the event. Sarnia Cranes Ltd. provided labour and equipment, bringing the light to the museum and placing it in its new location. The 92-year-old guide of ships had reached its retirement home.
Corunna front range light
Moving day, the Rear Range Light travels to Moore Museum
Stag Island and ferry across the St. Clair River from Fane St. Park, Corunna.
The Merchant of Petrolia: The Early Career of William McGarvey
Alan Campbell, Lambton County Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society
William McGarvey was born in 1843 in Quebec. The McGarvey family produced a long line of merchants as William’s grandfather and father were shopkeepers. They were not afraid to uproot and move for better opportunities and this served the McGarvey family well. William’s grandfather moved his family from Belfast to Quebec. There were pioneer farmers in Quebec, but the province needed shopkeepers to establish the area further. Edward McGarvey Sr. opened a shop and taught his son the business he would eventually take over. Edward McGarvey Jr. moved his family in 1859, to Wyoming, Ontario to open a store. Wyoming was a developing stop on the new railway line. As a teenager, William worked closely with his father at the store. He continued to learn and work for his father until adulthood when he left to open a shop, the Mammoth Store, in Petrolia. His timing was impeccable, as his shop opened by the time the Petrolia oil boom was in full swing in 1866.
McGarvey was known to be a well-dressed man no matter the occasion. This served him well when he became part of Aristocratic society in Vienna.
The Mammoth Store grew alongside the town of Petrolia and its oil industry. McGarvey’s optimism in Petrolia was noticed by other community members. McGarvey had a political career that lasted 13 years starting at the age of 23. McGarvey’s involvement in local politics attests to his character, as he had been approached to serve in these positions as a competent leader.
Although his main trade was as a merchant, William was fascinated by the developing oil industry. He sought out as much information as possible about what was happening in the oil patch. Although McGarvey was still a fulltime shopkeeper, he did not want to invest all his time and money into one venture. He was often found walking through the Petrolia oilfields in deep observation. He was intrigued by each step of drilling, extracting, and refining oil, frequently asking questions to those working. McGarvey was always looking ahead and noticing what worked and what didn’t in the oil fields. With his growing success as a merchant, McGarvey bought a plot of land with 18 oil wells in 1866.
As McGarvey learned about drilling with his wells, he was unsatisfied with the spring pole method used for drilling, thinking there had to be a better way. Along with other drillers, McGarvey devised the Canadian pole-tool drilling system. This system incorporated the use of poles made from black ash and metal that were attached to a drill bit. As the well was dug, poles could be added to dig wells deeper than previously done. The Canadian pole-tool drilling system was perfected in the Petrolia oilfields but became the primary method for international drillers due to the relatively compact and easy-to-move structure of the system. It was this new technology, along with McGarvey’s knowledge as a businessperson, that intrigued British engineer and future business partner, John Simeon Bergheim.
This is a photo of a group of international drillers from Lambton County, including John Bergheim and William McGarvey standing on the right, 1879. The others in the photo are likely drillers McGarvey brought to work and teach the Canadian pole-tool drilling system in the European oilfields.
Bergheim was an engineer working on oilfields in Galicia (modern-day Poland and Ukraine). Oil had been struck but it was not profitable with the drilling and extraction methods being used. He knew oil was a lucrative business from the success seen in Canada and the United States. Bergheim travelled to Canada in search of a business partner who could help with the drilling technology while he knew where to drill. Bergheim believed wholeheartedly in working with McGarvey despite McGarvey’s hesitation in leaving Lambton County. Bergheim complemented McGarvey as a business partner and heavily encouraged McGarvey to join him in the pursuit of profitable oil drilling in Europe. Bergheim wanted to develop the oil area of Galicia with lasting success. He wanted to build a community and ensure the oilfield workers were able to build stable careers and he knew McGarvey shared those same values from what he had already accomplished in Lambton County.
Finally, McGarvey agreed and became one of the first international oil drillers from Lambton County to set sail to Europe with Bergheim. The pair did not immediately succeed with European oil. They arrived in 1881, drilling in Germany for over a year, not seeing huge success. They moved to Galicia and brought with them McGarvey’s Canadian pole-tool drilling system and Petrolia oilmen. Their success here was almost immediate. Major fields were found in what is now Poland. Bringing in Canadian drillers and equipment, they were able to reopen previously closed wells and drill deeper than before, collecting more oil than ever before. The Continental Oil Company expanded to become entirely self-sufficient: they manufactured their tools and equipment for drilling and storing, built pipelines for transportation, and built a refinery to process their extracted oil. McGarvey slowly moved from field operations to business operations as the Continental Oil Company grew, setting up headquarters in Vienna in 1897.
McGarvey stayed in Vienna until his death in 1914. He saw great tragedy in the last years of his life, with the death of Bergheim, his brother Edward, and the outbreak of World War I. The war took almost everything McGarvey had worked toward. He had close business ties with Germany, Austria, and Great Britain before the outbreak of the Great War.
McGarvey is still held in high regard in Poland. He is highlighted at the Igancy Lukasiewicz Oil and Gas Industry Museum in Bobrka, Poland. The Oil Museum of Canada has partnered with that site with on several projects. Our museum sees a lot of visitors from Poland asking about William McGarvey, eager to learn more about the small-town man who made such an impact overseas and who has a lasting legacy.
The McGarvey family became part of high society in Vienna, socializing with aristocrats. This led to William’s daughter, Mamie, marrying Count Ebert von Zeppelin, Austrian royalty. The couple wed on November 12, 1895. This is the wedding invitation sent to William and Helena McGarvey.
Black Families and 429 Nelson Street, Sarnia
Alan Campbell, Lambton County Branch of The Ontario Genealogical Society
As often happens, my articles for Lambton Musings are triggered by someone else. In this case Mike _______ replied to my Facebook post about wanting information about Black families of Lambton County. He posted about a Black couple who had lived across the road from him when he was quite small. He remembers that they had a large lot, big gardens and were “… very religious and very active in their church… exceptionally fine people.” The lot was on the southwest corner of Nelson and Capel Streets.
I was able to identify the couple as William and Carrie Lillian (Slaughter) Crosby who were living at 429 Nelson Street. They had married at Chatham, March 23, 1918. The 1920 Sarnia and Point Edward Directory identified William as a chef. The 1920 Sarnia and Point Edward Directory identified him as a sailor. As of the 1921 Sarnia and Point Edward Directory he was identified as a steward. Putting all of those roles together, I felt it hinted at work on one of the pleasure steamships, like the Huronic, Harmonic, or the Noronic.
By the time that Lester’s Sarnia and Point Edward Directory 1925 was published, Wiliam had changed jobs and was working at Holmes Foundry. The 1931 Canada Census recorded his job as caretaker in an iron foundry. He would have been employed there at the time of the riot led by Polish and Italian workers at the plant. He probably “kept his head down” during the ruckus. Circa 1945 the directory listing for him did not identify an occupation. The voter’s list for 1949 identified him as a gardener. This meant that he had left Holmes Foundry before they started to manufacture insulation using asbestos and rock wool. Lucky for him!
The Holmes Foundry picture is courtesy of the Lambton County Archives.
Carrie died November 24, 1951 after 33 years of married life with William. He died June 26, 1961. They were buried in Lakeview Cemetery, Sarnia.
I opened up the story further when I explored the fact that both Carrie and Wiliam had previous marriages. The fact that Carrie had married Felix Claude Worth July 10, 1901 at Guilford County, North Carolina did not explain why her name on the marriage registration in 1918 was Carrie Lillie Holt. Where did the Holt come from? A dive back into the records led to the location of another marriage for Carrie. June 24, 1915 Carrie L. Worth married Creighton (Crayton) Holt at Sarnia, Ontario. Crayton was a cook at the Arlington Hotel in 1909. Carrie was Creighton’ second wife. Where did Crayton live? At 429 Nelson Street!
Crayton had purchased the east half of lot no. 6, Block I, Plan no. 3 in 1901. On September 15, 1916 he dropped dead while working as a chef at the St. Claire Hotel in Sarnia. Dr. J. F. James recorded cardiac insufficiency as the disease causing his death. On April 20, 1918 Carrie sold what remained of the property to William Charles Crosby for $2500. Presumably the money was to satisfy the conditions of Crayton’s will and to allow her to continue to live in the house.
The ironies of the situation are interesting. Clayton and William were both cooks. To reach such a long-term relationship, Carrie had married three times while William had two known marriages.
The cemetery stone picture is courtesy of Alan Campbell. The grave is in Lakeview Cemetery, Sarnia.
Article about Clayton Holt’s death, Sarnia Observer.
Heritage Sarnia-Lambton Members
Moore Museum
94 Moore Line, Mooretown, ON N0N 1M0 519-867-2020
Facebook Page
Plympton-Wyoming Museum
6745 Camlachie Road, Camlachie, ON N0N 1E0
Facebook Page
Lambton Heritage Museum
10035 Museum Road, Grand Bend, ON N0M 1T0 519-243-2600
Facebook Page
Oil Museum of Canada
2423 Kelly Road, Oil Springs, ON N0N 1P0 519-834-2840
Facebook Page
Arkona Lions Museum and Information Centre
8685 Rock Glen Road, Arkona, ON N0M 1B0 519-828-3071
Facebook Page
Sombra Museum
3476 St. Clair Parkway, Sombra, ON N0P 2H0 519-892-3982
Facebook Page
Lambton County Archives
787 Broadway Street, Wyoming, ON N0N 1T0
519-845-5426
Facebook Page
Forest-Lambton Museum
8 Main St. North, Forest, ON N0N 1J0
Facebook Page
Additional Contributors
The Ontario Genealogical Society, Lambton Branch
Facebook Page