Orlo Jones, Genealogist

     I met Orlo Jones thirty years ago this winter as I researched the various branches of my family.  Back then the genealogy department was located in Beaconsfield House.   Every Wednesday evening I would go and do my research - she was a great help to me!  Later that winter Orlo had to take time off due to illness - Arnold Smith, who volunteered there, stepped in to help and it was during one of those Wednesday evenings I met him - eventually learning we were fourth cousins - it's a small Island!!!  My passion for genealogy and Island history has been fostered by these two great Islanders and historians!
     Below is one of my favourite photos - Arnold and Orlo at Ardgowan Garden Party, July 2000.

     Recently Orlo passed away - the following is tribute by Ian Scott which appeared in the Guardian newspaper on March 14, 2015.
     The Orlo Jones Awards mentioned below was established many, many years ago by Arnold Smith in honour of Orlo.

Genealogist left huge mark

Letters to the Editor (The Guardian) Published on March 14, 2015

http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Opinion/Letter-to-editor/2015-03-14/article-4077218/Genealogist-left-huge-mark/1

     The recent passing of Orlo Jones reminded me of her many contributions to the Island. Some readers will recall her regular column in this paper on genealogy several decades ago. During the 1980s I had the pleasure of working with Orlo during her time as professional genealogist for the Museum and Heritage Foundation at Beaconsfield.

     She led an effort supported by volunteers to index (alphabetically on index cards) every written record of genealogical importance in the province. The Master Name Index continued after her retirement and is now over a million records strong; having moved to the Provincial Archives it remains a major guide to locating information for P.E.I. family history research.

     During the pre-internet era, Orlo responded to the inquiries from across the continent providing genealogical research as well as assisting those able to access the growing resources in person. Many would arrive here after having corresponded for several years with Orlo, often in awe of her abilities and knowledge.

     Some of these individuals had lost any connection to their Island roots two or three generations ago and were amazed that she could put them in touch with a local cousin or two with a just a phone call. Quick to realize that few standards for researchers existed she led the way along with Dr. Terry Punch from N.S. and others in the region in establishing certification standards for the profession.

     It is quite fitting that the highest award that can be granted to a genealogist by the P.E.I. Genealogical Society remains the Orlo Jones Award.

Ian Scott, Charlottetown

West End House, Charlottetown

     West End House (18 West Street) was built in 1839-40 by David Wilson, a Charlottetown merchant.  The house was originally built at 1 Kent Street where Beaconsfield presently stands.  James Peake and his family moved to West End House in the mid 1870's then decided to build a new house on the site.  Before he could build his new house (Beaconsfield designed by Wm. C. Harris), the old mansion had to be sold and moved.  Professor Samuel Earle (organist at St. Paul's Anglican Church) bought the house and moved it across the street to the east side of West Street where it remains today.
     Architecturally, West End House holds significant historic detailing which has long since disappeared from Charlottetown.   The exterior fabric of the house was rusticated to look like cut stones by using wide wooden boards with gaps to replicate mortar joints.  The boards were then painted using paint with sand added to give it a stone-like texture.  See my photo below of West End House exterior - note the wall and large corner boards.  
     In 1834 Government House (Fanningbank) was built with the same exterior detailing, however, it was covered with cedar shingles in the summer of  1860 in advance of Prince Albert's Royal Visi.

 Above/Below are photos I took of West End House 11 years ago on March 10, 2003.

     The two water colour images below come from Vintage Charlottetown on Facebook - there are no references to the source.

Above: cf. https://www.facebook.com/VintageCharlottetown/photos/pb.355081987910947.-2207520000.1394418029./589632457789231/?type=3&theater

Above: cf. https://www.facebook.com/VintageCharlottetown/photos/pb.355081987910947.-2207520000.1394418029./589632431122567/?type=3&theater

         The following information and photo comes from Historic Places Website:

http://www.city.charlottetown.pe.ca/searchaproperty.php?propid=1874#prophistory

   "The West End House was built in 1839-1840, on the site where Beaconsfield now stands, by merchant David Wilson. Though some windows and the front door have been changed, the house retains its original plank siding and its satisfying proportions. Throughout the years it has had many prominent residents. While still owned by David Wilson, these were the Hon. William Swabey, Chief Justice Jarvis, and Capt. Beazeley. At that period, the advertisement referred to it as "that pleasantly situated mansion in the vicinity of Government House.....consisting of 21 highly finished apartments." Its attractions included a flower garden and a pure water spring on the property. John Lawson, in Letters of Prince Edward Island (1851), reveals that there was a drawing room, dining room, and study on the first floor and five or six bedrooms on the second, as well as servants' room, nursery, and kitchens. Other owners or occupants were Stephen Swabey, J.S. Carvell, James Peake, and Mayor Thomas H. Haviland. Although large and well built, West End House was not fashionable enough for James Peake's standing. He offered it for sale and it was moved to the east side of West Street. West End House on its present site will long be remembered as the home of the musical Earle family. Professor Samuel Earle was organist at St. Paul's church and his eight children inherited his artistic talent. Ernest played the coronet, Lillian played the piano and they all sang beautifully. "It was about the happiest home in Charlottetown," remembered a family friend. Visitors were greeted with welcoming sounds of laughter and music. [1] Local telephone directories list S.N. Earle at this address in 1922, 1928 and 1935." 1. Irene Rogers, Charlotteotown: The Life in its Buildings, pp. 320,321

Photo by Barb Morgan

Above: Beaconsfield - note West End House in background.

Image cf.

http://www.city.charlottetown.pe.ca/searchaproperty.php?propid=1935

Looking at Meacham's 1880 PEI Atlas - lecture by Reg Porter

Meacham’s Atlas of Prince Edward Island, fondly known as “the Old Atlas” was published in 1880 and is one of the most valuable sources of topographical information about the Island available. It is filled with lot and community maps, pictures of the celebrities of the day and about 175 fine very attractive lithographs of houses and businesses across the Island. In this three-lecture series, heritage consultant Reg Porter, using new digital photographs of all the illustrations, will explore the Atlas to identify what it contains and also trace a number of aspects of Island architectural history.

Lecture 1 – Introduction to Meacham’s 1880 Atlas

Monday April 29 at 7:30 PM, Carriage House at Beaconsfield

Meacham’s Atlas is a huge folio volume of nearly 200 pages, packed full of maps and various illustrations. In this lecture Reg Porter will explore the contents of the Atlas and with illustrations identify many of the varied ways the volume can be used to study PEI history and the evolution of its topography. The nature of the 67 Lot maps will be explored to show the vast amount of information they contain about individual properties, harbours, railways, schools and churches.

Image cf. www.islandimagined.ca

Lecture 2 – Studying PEI Architectural History in Meacham’s Atlas.

Monday May 13 at 7:30 PM, Carriage House at Beaconsfield

There are over 125 fine lithographic prints, often in bird’s-eye view format, of homes, both urban and rural, across the Island. These pictures are not only of interest as works of art but they also contain a vast amount of information about the evolution of domestic architecture on the Island as well as the physical arrangement of many kinds of farms scattered throughout the countryside. Using these lithographs and supplementing them with modern photos of the buildings that still exist, the lecturer will trace the evolution of architecture on the island from colonial times to 1880.

  

Sample image from inside Altas.

Lecture 3 – The Church Illustrations in Meacham’s Atlas.

Monday May 27 at 7:30 PM, Carriage House at Beaconsfield

Among the nearly 150 illustrations of buildings found in Meacham’s Atlas only seven of them are churches and this presents something of an enigma. Why are all of them Catholic churches and why is one of them not yet constructed? Why are they all in the remote countryside and why are a number of very fine urban churches ignored? Using the lithographs from Meacham Reg Porter will identify these churches, discuss their significance and show contemporary photos of those buildings that yet remain.

Sample map from inside Atlas - Lots 17

Lecture Series kicks off on January 7

Winter Lecture Series 2013

Saltwater Heritage: The History and Conservation of our Coastal Architecture to be presented at Beaconsfield

Posted on November 9, 2012  by Institute for Architectural Studies & Conservation

cf.  http://iascpei.wordpress.com/

     You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.  Never is that more true than when speaking about the coastal architecture of Prince Edward Island. Our coast and the sea, and the structures built along them define us. It is by this shifting margin of land and water that we have lived, worked, traded, built, and played for generations – yet, over the years, we have continued to lose this early architectural heritage, which includes factories, stores, ship-building yards, homes and cottages. Often this loss occurs through erosion, indifference, and a limited understanding of progress. While some loss is unavoidable, valuable traces can still be retrieved through records, research and photographs, and the safeguarding of remaining architectural structures. All this is possible providing we look out again – to the shoreline. Here, unique architectural structures and landscapes speak to Island stories of transportation and safe returns, of community life, as well as of industries of today and of earlier Islanders.

      To celebrate and conserve our coastal heritage, the Institute for Architectural Studies and Conservation, in association with Beaconsfield Historic House, invites you to join them for the annual January lecture series, themed for 2013, Saltwater Heritage: The History and Conservation of Our Coastal Architecture. The Institute has assembled a group of specialists to explore stories of our connections with Island shores. Beginning January 7, 2013, the series will be launched with Harry Holman’s Weeping Saltwater Tears: Charlottetown’s Disappearing Maritime Heritage. The Director of Culture, Heritage and Libraries, sailor and former Provincial Archivist, will draw on his extensive knowledge of the local waters and present an illustrated lecture using historical and contemporary images to reveal the changes to waterfront and maritime architecture and institutions.

     On January 14, Carol Livingstone, President, PEI Lighthouse Society and Josh Silver, Red Seal Carpenter and Learning Manager, Heritage Retrofit Carpentry Program, Holland College, will present Lighting the Way: History, Form and Function in Lighthouse Conservation of PEI. Together, they will explore these iconic forms of coastal architecture and the close relationships between their architectural features and their varied designs.

Parks Canada Historian, Dr. Monica MacDonald, will visit us from Halifax, January 21, to speak about one of the most stately seaside summer residences of PEI, and national historic site, in her illustrated presentation, Dalvay-by-the-Sea: A Historical Overview.  She will look into the many lives of this former retreat of American industrialist, Alexander McDonald.

     Completing the series on January 28, Boyde Beck, popular historian, author, and Curator of History, PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation, tells the fascinating story of Green Park and Beaconsfield, the former houses of shipbuilders, James Yeo (Jr.), and James Peake (Jr.), and the industry that made them in his talk, Green Park and Beaconsfield — Two Shipbuilding Stories.

Saltwater Heritage: The History and Conservation of Our Coastal Architecture, runs on Mondays in January 2013 (7, 14, 21 and 28) from 7 pm, atBeaconsfield’s Carriage House. Admission is open to the public by donation. Storm dates to be announced via local media.