Salaberry-de-Valleyfield is located on an island in the Saint Lawrence River. The western end of the island is on Lake Saint Francis, the northern side, the Saint Lawrence River, the southern side borders the Beauharnois Canal, and the eastern end faces Lake Saint Louis.
This photo was taken from an island park in Lake Saint Francis. The tall building on the right is the Hotel Plaza Valleyfield. The hotels structure was originally a mill (woolen, cotton, saw, grist), powered by water. It also was originally owned by an Anderson, Don's Great, Great Grandfather's older brother, who was the Laird of Canda Craig, in Strathdon, Scotland. His mothers side of his family is well documented. ;) More photos from around the mill in tomorrows post.
A few blocks away, located on the shore of Lake Francis, is a home built by "an" Anderson, although there is no documentation (yet) that has been found to say definitely who. The home has a stone block between the upper windows, which has carved into it, "Canda Craig 1903".
A close up of the block..........
It just so happens that the house is also on rue Anderson. What a coincidence, eh? ;)
Continued tomorrow with photos from around the mill.........
7 comments:
There are still descendants of Alexander Anderson still in the areas around Valleyfield although the surname seems to gave died out because of daughters getting married. I live about 20 minutes from there. He was my great grandfather. The streets Anderson, on which you saw the cemetery and the Candacraig house, and Alexandre, the main thoroughfare which crosses it, are named after him. He was the mayor of valleyfield from 1878-1880. Too bad Don wasn't able to make the connection while he was here
Hi -- I am trying to get information about Millie Anderson, who was the daughter of the Mayor, Alexander Anderson, mentioned in a comment in MadCityMike's blog. She was a girlfriend of Valentine Shortis, who was convicted of murdering workers at the cotton mill in Valleyfield in 1895. I am doing some further research on the Shortis case. Thank you. Martin Friedland, professor emeritus, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto. Any information on Millie's later life would be helpful. Thank you. Martin Friedland
Martin! How very cool to hear from you, especially surprising in that it was a comment on my partner Michael’s long defunct blog. I am Don Thomson, the guy in the picture in front of the “Candacraig” house. My mother was an Anderson, descendant of the Andersons of Candacraig from the Scottish Highlands. Millie was my second cousin twice removed, her father James Tully Anderson being the first cousin of my great grandfather William Davie Anderson. I loved your book, but recalled there being a slight inaccuracy in the family tree. Frankly, I’ll have to go back and refresh my memory on what that was (it’s been a while since I read it)! I debated writing you about at the time, but I would love to set the record straight and am thrilled that you’re still interested. Pop me a line at don.madcity@gmail.com and we’ll take it from there. I don’t have a lot of information on her later life, other than that she married Charles Herve Lalonge in 1900, but have always wanted to know more about what became of her. Perhaps we can work together on figuring that out.
Just grabbed the book off the bookshelf and already see where the error was. You’d said that Millie was the daughter of Alexander (Alexandre) Anderson, former mayor of Valleyfield. Millie and her younger brother John (Jack), along with two other siblings, were children of James Tully Anderson and Gertrude Schuyler Hoyle. You can see that part of the family tree on my Web site at:
http://www.madcitydon.com/family/tree/i218.html
James was the younger brother of Alexander Anderson (1835-1881), the mayor you mentioned, who with his father Alexander sold the Scottish estate of Candacraig in 1866. The father, Alexander Anderson, was the 12th and last Laird of Candacraig, which had been in the family since the 1500’s:
http://www.madcitydon.com/candacraig/index.html
There’s lots more I can tell you if you want to pop me an email. I’ve always wanted to know more about Alexander Anderson (1835-1881), the mayor of Valleyfield in 1878-1879. I have not found any children by him and his wife Cornelia Schuyler. He died at the young age of 46, sadly. He’s buried in the Protestant cemetery in Valleyfield, not far from the Candacraig house in the photo. When I was there his was among many of the gravestones that had been vandalized, but I know it has since been repaired (I’d sent them money to contribute to that effort, and was glad to see that it had been done). Where exactly the 1903 Candacraig house on Rue Anderson fits into the family tree, I don’t know, but would love to find out, and you may be the key to that discovery. It is certainly related to the Montreal Cotton Company, but exactly how I’m not sure. The Montreal Cotton Company appears to have absorbed my 3xg uncle Alexander Anderson’s (the 12th Laird of Candacraig) mills:
http://www.madcitydon.com/drt/2010/0710_east/anderson_mill_1.b.html
What I _do_ know about the Candacraig house at 10 Rue Anderson is that a photo of it in 1910 appears in an Andersons of Candacraig genealogy, so was definitely part of the family at some point. Its contents were auctioned off by a gentleman named Dean Hooker, whose auction notes say:
“The original house was built by Mr. Anderson in 1903. Anderson came over from Scotland to manage the Montreal Cotton Company. The design of the building is based upon a manor in Scotland called Candacraig, located close to where Anderson grew up, as so indicated by the cornerstone on the northwest wall.
The property was taken over in 1914 by John Lowe, the manager of the cotton mill from 1921 to 1930, and remained in the Lowe family for three generations.”
The big mystery is who this “Mr. Anderson” is. The 12th Laird Alexander Anderson died (in Huntingdon, Quebec) in 1869. His son Alexander Anderson (the mayor of Valleyfield) died in 1881. I’m not aware of any direct Anderson relatives who would have still been in Scotland to “come over” in 1903 (my not being aware of them of course is not the same as there not having been any). It was certainly an Anderson who built the house (otherwise it would not have been named Candacraig), but would not have been somebody who had themselves come over from Scotland, at least not to my knowledge (the 12th Laird Anderson had emigrated with his parents and siblings to Quebec in the 1830's). This is why I wonder if the mayor Alexander Anderson and his wife Cornelia had children whom I haven’t discovered.
I did write to Mr. Hooker about the auction and the origin of the house. He replied:
Can tell you little on the history of the Anderson's but if you would like to send me your address and phone I can pass it on to Miss Lowe age 93 who is still living and may be able to help you. Miss Lowe was married aprox 30 years ago to a Mr. McCaig and along with him remained on at Candacraig house in Valleyfield.”
Vivian Lowe was born in 1909 and died in 2003, and is also buried at the Valleyfield English Protestant Cemetery near the house. She was married to William Irving and also to Donald M. McQaid. John Lowe, of course, figures prominently in your book. Vivian's father, perhaps? And how did the Lowes end up in the Anderson house? I'm sure there are easy answers to all of this if you can help piece any of it together. So glad that you reached out.
John Lowe (1836-1914) appears to have been Vivan Lowe's grandfather, according to one source I just pulled up.
Just found the 1900 marriage document for Millie Grace Anderson and Charles Herve Lalonge that I can forward to you when you email me.
Post a Comment