The Fidlars and Parkers are descended from Magnus Fidlar and Janet Irvine of Stromness, Orkney, Scotland. Their son Edward settled in Stirling and was later joined by other family members. Sarah Fidlar married Francis Boreland Parker, son of Robert Parker, originally of Ayr, Scotland, who came to Canada in 1821 to operate the Marmora iron works.
Mary Ellen Sills is a resident of Stirling, Ontario. Her maiden name was Chambers and she married Russell Sills (1925-2012) around 1950.
The Wesleyan Methodist 'Reed's Church' was built in West Huntingdon, Hastings County, in around 1875. It became part of the United Church in 1925 and was closed in 1967, the building becoming a private home (201 Sills Road, Stirling).
James Bell Ashley was born in Prince Edward County, Ontario, the son of Augustus Ashley and Christina (Kerr). He married Catherine Sproule in 1863 and Hattie Murdoff in 1877. He was originally a teacher, but lost his hearing as a result of contracting scarlet fever and worked as a journalist until securing a teaching position at the Ontario School for the Deaf in around 1884. He died in 1894.
Rea Covert Symonds was born in Belleville, Ontario, the daughter of Alfred Symonds and Agnes (Covert). She lived in Belleville all her life and died on 21 April 2011.
Glanmore National Historic Site
Glanmore National Historic Site is a former home in Belleville, Ontario, which opened as a museum in 1973. Website: http://glanmore.ca/
Vision & Voice is a video production company based in Belleville, Ontario, and run by Gerry Fraiberg. Website: http://visionandvoice.ca/about
Maria Matilda Thompson was born in Elzevir Township, Hastings County, Ontario on 31 July 1860, the child of Charles Thompson and Alice (formerly Brown). She married Samuel Rollins, a farmer, in Madoc, Ontario on 6 November 1883. She died in Vermilion, Alberta on 12 July 1956 and was buried in Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan.
Molly Bramley was a photographer based in Ivanhoe, Ontario. She was born Mary Elizabeth Roushorne in Bala, Ontario. She married Stanley Bramley in Bala on 30 September 1950 and died in Ottawa on 15 April 1990.
Perla Mildred Pidgeon was born in Saskatchewan in 1920. She worked as a teacher in eastern Ontario and died in Peterborough, Ontario in 2018.
Quinte Secondary School was located at 45 College Street West, Belleville, Ontario. It was closed in 2018.
Belleville Chamber of Commerce
The Belleville Chamber of Commerce came to being in 1864 as the Belleville Board of Trade for Hastings County and initially every business in the county was obliged to join. In 1920, the Board of Trade changed its name to the Belleville Chamber of Commerce. Chambers of Commerce were eventually established in Quinte West, Madoc, and Tweed as they branched off from the Belleville unit.
There have been five locations in the history of the Chamber of Commerce. These include the current location in the historic log cabin at 5 Moira Street East. Previous locations include, a building near City Hall on Front Street which burned down in 1948, inside the City Hall building, a location on Campbell street, and 338 Pinnacle Street between Victoria and Station Streets.
A Belleville District Junior Chamber of Commerce was chartered in 1961. Known as the “Jaycees,” the first President at the time of inauguration was Zdenck Kvards. Over 600 local businesses were members of the Chamber of Commerce as of 2014. The organization also sponsors, nominates, and delivers the Belleville Citizen of the Year Award annually.
According to the information retrieved from the files collected by the Hastings County Historical Society, notable Presidents have been:
1931 – J.O. Hertz [Herrity?]
1956 – H.P.M. Cane
1958 – J.N. Yanover
1959 – J.C.R. Punchard
1960 – E. David
1961 – Jerry Wishart
1962 – W.T. Elliot
1963 – J.B. Corke
1969 – Hugh Murray
1970 – Jack Ireland
2014 – Andy Bridgeman
2014 President Elect – Tracy McCollum
The official opening of the Quinte Curling Club took place on 15 February 1958 in their new building at 246 Bridge Street West in Belleville, Ontario.