John Thomas Ransom was born on August 25, 1889, to parents Giles Sanders Ransom and Margaret Wilson at York, Ontario. He married Lottie Ruth Long on March 19, 1912, at York, Ontario. He was a Provincial Land Surveyor active in Hastings County from the 1940s-1960s. His son, Thomas S. Ransom was also a surveyor in the local area. John Ransom died on October 13, 1962.
Jacques was born in France in 1703. In 1721 he was appointed chief cartographer to the French Navy. In August 1741, he was named Official Hydrographer of the French King. Throughout his career he charted areas in France and later in Canada. He died at 69 years of age on March 21, 1772.
McNab served as Deputy Cabinet Minister in the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
Nicol Hugh Baird was born on August 26, 1796 in Glasgow, Scotland to parents Hugh Baird and Margaret Burnthwaite.
At age of 16 he went to Russia to study with his uncle Charles Baird a machinery worker.
Around 1816, he returned to Scotland to continue training with his father, a canal engineer and builder.
He later departed for Canada in spring 1828.
Luckily, he possessed prominent references from Britain and soon earned a job as clerk of works on the Rideau Canal.
In September 1832, Lieutenant-Colonel John By commissioned Nicol to survey the mouth of the Trent River and design a bridge.
The following year, he worked alongside Frederick Preston Rubidge to develop canals between the Bay of Quinte and Presqu’ile Bay and from the mouth of the Trent River to Rice Lake.
He died on October 18, 1849 in Brattleboro, Vermont, USA.
Flossie Hall was born in Deseronto, Ontario, in 1887, daughter of James Montgomery Hall, a tailor, and Emma Frances Hall (née Johnston). She became a school teacher and was working at School Section 10, Mariposa, Victoria County, Ontario in 1912. Between 1921 and 1926 she was Deseronto's librarian. She married Thomas Chalmers in Deseronto in 1926.
Vera Ryan was an active member of the Deseronto United Church in Deseronto, Ontario. She was born Vera Eileen Luffman on July 13, 1912 and married Michael J. Ryan on July 18, 1930. Vera died on November 21, 1981. She was buried in plot 40B of the Deseronto Cemetery.
Elijah was born on April 20, 1794 to a poor family in New Britain, Connecticut.
When he was of age he commenced his training as a blacksmith.
Subsequently to becoming injured, he turned to astronomy. He studied at Williams College and graduated in 1816.
His Geography of the Heavens was published from Hartford, Connecticut, in approximately 1833. The nomenclature he developed, regarding the stars and constellations, is still being used today.
He died on January 3, 1838 at Galveston, Texas.
John was born on February 23, 1755 to parents George and Mary Cary in Corsley, Wiltshire, England.
He was baptized the same year on March 1.
John trained as an engraver in London before starting his business in the Strand in 1783.
He became well-known for his maps and globes.
The New and Correct English Atlas was published in 1787.
In 1794, John was hired by the Postmaster General to survey the roads of England. This resulted in a map of all major roads in England and Wales.
He died on August 16, 1835.
John Pierce was born at Pembroke, Ontario in 1918. He attended Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and graduated in 1941 with a B.Sc. (Eng.). The following year he served with the Royal Canadian Engineers Italian and European campaigns (1942-1945). In this role, he received the Military Cross. During his surveying career John sat on many Ontario Land Survey boards and completed numerous surveys of Ontario areas. He died in 2003.
Curry Bishop was born at Niagara on the Lake in 1931, to parents Harry (Doc) Bishop and Viola Curry. Curry graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the University of Toronto. He soon became an Ontario Land Surveyor, a Canadian Land Surveyor, and completed post graduate work in planning. He was employed in Haliburton in the surveying and development business. He later became president of the Kawartha-Haliburton region of Ontario Land Surveyors. Curry is married to Aldyth and they have three children.
Walter Irvine Watson was born in 1929 to parents William and Nellie Watson. He was authorized in 1960 by the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors. He later purchased the notes and records of John T. Ransom, an Ontario Land Surveyor, who had surveyed southern Hastings County since 1948. He soon founded Watson Land Surveyors Ltd., a surveying firm in Belleville, Ontario. He worked on developing the east end of Belleville, the 401, the Quinte Mall, the Sears Warehouse, and subdivision development north of the 401. He died on March 2nd, 2008, at Belleville, Ontario, in his 79th year.
Steve was born in 1927 to parents Jan Jacob Geneja and Mary Hannah.
Throughout his teenage years, he served in World War ll with the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve in the North Atlantic and Pacific theaters.
After the war, Steve worked as a Survey Technician/Technologist.
In June 1973, he was appointed Land Registrar for the Counties of Hastings and Prince Edward. He retired in July of 1991.
His wife was Sandie Geneja.
Steve passed away on January 28, 2016, in his 89th year, at Moira Place, Tweed, Ontario.
An Ontario Land Surveyor, owner of John Vinklers Surveying located in Scarborough, Ontario.
An Ontario Land Surveyor and partner in the surveying firm "Browne, Cavell and Jackson Ltd."
McKergow, Frank Chester, O.L.S.
Frank Chester McKergow was born on January 10, 1912 at Waterloo, Quebec, Canada. He attended University of Bishops’ College in Lennoxville, Quebec and subsequently the Royal Military College and Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. McKergow enlisted in the Governor General’s Foot Guards, later the 21st Canadian Armoured Regiment, and travelled overseas in October 1942. He saw action in Holland, Belgium and Germany. He returned to Canada in January 1946. McKergow studied surveying and eventually joined the Department of Lands and Forests, now the Ministry of Natural Resources, as an Ontario Land Surveyor. His main task was to survey base and meridian lines in the far northwest of Ontario.
In 1964 he became Supervisor of Crown Surveys, retiring 11 years later in 1975. His wife was Hazel Pitt Burton. He died on August 18th 2008 at Bolton, Ontario. He was 96.
Smith, Campbell Taylor, O.L.S.
Campbell Taylor Smith was born on July 13, 1890 in Sarnia, Lambton County, Ontario, to parents Thomas T. Smith and Mary McBride. Throughout his career he worked as a civil engineer and as an Ontario Land Surveyor. He married Verna Lucetta Hetherington (a school teacher) on June 29, 1925 at St. Catharines, Ontario. He died on 8 March 1972.
Thomas Ricketts was born in 1854 in England, the son of Thomas and Emma Ricketts. By 1861 the family were in Toronto, later settling in Tudor Township, Hastings County, Ontario. Thomas died in 1923.