Surely a man was never blessed with a better mother in every way. . . .You seem to demand the best of a man. . . . we know distinctly the difference between right and wrong, and I don't know that any mother can achieve a much higher result . . . . You were always thoroughly consistent. . . . I have seen you actually stinting yourself so that we could have more. . . . I do know my dear mother that if I am going to achieve anything and come to you for commendation, I must come with clean hands. (W5440, Thomas McQuesten to his mother, Mary McQuesten, on the eighteenth anniversary of his father's death, March 6, 1906; See also W-MCP2-4.037a, Mother to Tom, March 7, 1907)

Mary Jane Baker (later McQuesten) (1849-1934) was born on October 10,1849 in Brantford, Ontario, as the only child of the second marriage of Commander the Reverend Thomas Baker R.N. (1796-1887) and his second wife Mary-Jane McIlwaine (1809-82). She later shortened her name to Mary Baker and always signed her letters, "M.B. McQuesten." Thomas Baker was a midshipman aboard the Antelope during the Napoleonic Wars and he was a lieutenant on the HMS St. Lawrence on the Great Lakes during the war of 1812. He was granted a lieutenant's commission and pension and emigrated from England to Upper Canada, where he took up a ministry position with the Congregational Church in Kingston in 1835. In 1870 he was granted the rank of "Commander in H.M..Fleet" and a retirement commission in recognition of his military service (Minnes 1, DHB3.4).

Thomas Baker's first wife, Sarah Hampson, died in 1846, by which time the eight children from this first marriage were grown. He married for the second time in 1847 when he was fifty-one years old and his second wife, Mary-Jane McIlwaine, was thirty-eight. Mary Jane Baker was born two years later and became the precious and only child of a late marriage. Mary's childhood provided the stability and security that sustained her in later life. Thomas Baker's correspondence provides details of Mary's upper-middle-class childhood and education, and gives insights into her father's influence in determining her strong sense of duty, moral fortitude, strict Calvinist views, and critical spirit. Rev. Baker's correspondence, dated from 1809 to 1887, includes military service records, church papers, sermons and family letters and papers (CMQPW, Sec.7, and microfilm).

The McIlwaines originally came from Ireland and were also a naval family. Mary's uncle, William McIlwaine, like her father, served in the Napoleonic wars. The McQuestens have stated that in the historical painting by Orchardson, "Napoleon on Board the Bellerophon," he is the young midshipman leaning over the rail in the background (CMQPW 10). Little is known of Mary's mother's influence on her character except that she was a minister's wife, and a leader in organizing the "ladies" in collecting for the Bible Society from 1853 to 1857. They were charged with calling on the "poor and unchurched . . . ascertaining whether any families are destitute of the Holy Scriptures" (W4194). The women's role in the Bible Societies was a forerunner of the women's missionary movement and they brought "years of experience" to it (Brouwer 64). Mrs. Baker likely provided a model for Mary's later participation in the women's missionary movement in the Presbyterian Church.

On both sides of Mary's family, the strongest influences in her early life were both military and religious. They provided a strong code of discipline, morality and social responsibility. Mary, in turn, inculcated in her children the same strict discipline and moral and religious code. She also imposed her convictions on her community with dedication and vigour. Although she was physically a small woman, she was a formidable presence.

Mary's father, Rev. Thomas Baker, was a model of Calvinist rectitude in his pastoral dealings and he demanded a very high moral standard from his congregation. His letters demonstrate his patriarchal expectations regarding his congregation. For instance, in his letter of August 1841, to his congregation in Paris, Ontario, he tendered his resignation because they had not fulfilled their promise to erect "a comfortable and commodious Place of Worship":

That in this aspect you are behind every other Congregation of this denomination in this Province, you are the only people who have allowed a year to pafs [sic] away without the effort required of you and which I was encouraged to expect when invited to become your Pastor. It was well known that I had pledged myself to leave if the measure was not carried out in the time proposed. . . . It must be obvious to you that the necefsity [sic] of difsolving [sic] my connection has been forced upon me. (W4126)

The chastising and judgmental tone of the letter justifies his stance with a legalistic thoroughness. It bears noting that the flawless form and flourish of his penmanship was also a reflection of his fastidious nature.

Rev. Baker's writings also contain a lengthy account of dissension within the church which is significant for two reasons. First, it discloses that his subsequent ministry in Brantford was also riddled with discipline problems which he proceeded to rectify with the same stern measures. The lengthy account for the years 1841 to 1848 concludes that members were "most pertinaciously adhering to their opinions" and the matter was finally resolved in 1849 with "resolutions . . . and names of church members expelled and suspended" (W4129, W4142). It is evident from the form and content of these accounts that Rev. Baker was a highly principled and inflexible pastor, and meted out disciplinary measures with an Old Testament justice and a military rigour.

Second, and equally significant to Mary's development, is Rev. Baker's defense of women's rights. Although Rev. Baker was rigidly patriarchal in dealing with his flock, he openly defended the rights of women to participate in church meetings and politics. His account relates that a member of the congregation "objected to females speaking in the church." At the next meeting, one month later, he "spoke at some length to the right of females to take part in transacting church business, showing that their being forbidden to speak related to Worshiping Assemblies and not to meetings for the transacting of church affairs." In his lengthy sermonical reply he quoted extensively from the New Testament (some of his quotation is in Latin), and then abruptly concluded that he hoped he had now "set the matter to rest" (W4129e).

It is evident that, as a woman, Mary gained the courage to voice her opinions and criticisms at church meetings and in missionary circles from her father's example and teaching. Mary particularly deplored the fact that women were not allowed to vote in church politics (DHB3.6, W0127a-April 24,1923). If her work or opinions were not always appreciated this did not dissuade her. She had the utmost confidence in her own interpretations and assessment of people, and she never hesitated to be critical of church politics or of ministers, either for the style and content of their sermons, their oratorical skill or their appearance (W4803). Mary was equally outspoken on political issues, was a staunch Liberal, a Temperance worker, and supported labour unions and their right to strike (W-MCP2-4.034).

Although Mary Baker did not receive a university education (very few women did at that time) she did receive a classical education and achieved "Most Satisfactory" or "Excellent" grades. Her report card from Newmarket County Grammar School in 1865 lists her curriculum: Latin, Greek, French, German, Euclid, Philosophy, Geography, Mathematics, History, and English (W4220). She also attended Mrs. Burns' Ladies' Collegiate Institute in Toronto for four terms and distinguished herself there. Rev. Baker's pride and expectations are evident in his letter to Mary of June 18, 1867: "Seek after self-improvement [for] all that you have yet acquired only places you on the threshold of the temple of reason" (W5440). These injunctions are later echoed in Mary's instructions to her children, such as her advice to Calvin to attain "a well furnished mind" (W4686).

Rev. Baker also guided his daughter's education and reading, and some of the books in the Whitehern library contain inscriptions to Mary from him on the occasion of a birthday or Christmas. For instance, her father presented her with a Latin Dictionary, inscribed: "To Mary Jane Baker, This copy of Waltshmidt's Dictionary is presented on her eleventh birthday, as a reward for diligent attention to her Classical Studies, October 10, 1860" (my emphasis). Several of these gifts are texts of Bible interpretation, such as the nine volumes by Albert Barnes on interpretations of the Old and New Testaments (1847-63). Mary, in turn, gave some of these books to her children, sometimes reinscribed from her.

Significant to women's education in Ontario, Rev. Baker's collection also contains supportive letters about the opening of women's classes at McGill University and the Congregational College in 1884, after their affiliation one year earlier (W3813, W3831). Mary Baker was also fortunate that she married into a family that encouraged an enlightened attitude toward women's education. Her father-in-law, Dr. Calvin McQuesten, had been involved in the establishment of the Wesleyan Ladies' College in Hamilton in 1861 which, in spite of its name, granted a non-sectarian degree. He was vice-president of the college until 1872 and president until his death in 1885.

Mary was also surrounded by family members who had graduated in the major professions: military, clergy, medicine, law and teaching. She became involved in these professions through her family and through the education and direction of her children's lives. Her upper-middle-class family was also very active in business and in both church and secular politics. They were staunch Liberals and had strong views about social reform.

Mary Baker met Isaac Baldwin McQuesten in 1869 and they were married in June, 1873. Some of Isaac's courtship letters are in the Whitehern archive (CMQPW Sec. 6). Mary broke off their engagement at least once (the reason may have been Isaac's habitual use of alcohol) and he wrote in contrition: "My darling, it will be a lifelong wonder to me that you could have ventured to renew an engagement so justly broken off with one . . . who gave you such sufficient cause to fell him, and that forever. However, sweet, it did me good" (W2340). For the most part, Isaac's letters are playful and teasing and express his longing for their marriage: "My sweetest, I have been very impertinent so far, and I know and confess it. Darling what a happy, happy time it will be when you are not to be taken away from me nearly all the time, and I can be at liberty to pet you just as much and just as often as I wish" (W2352).

At the time of their marriage, Isaac was a young lawyer with excellent prospects, the son of a prominent and wealthy Hamilton industrialist, Dr. Calvin McQuesten (1801-85). Dr. Calvin McQuesten had earned the family fortune and retired with $500,000 in 1857, at the age of fifty-six. He then indulged himself in his favourite avocation, "Evangelical Protestantism" and the design and development of Presbyterian Churches in Ontario and in other parts of North America (DHB1.146-47). As he aged, however, he grew increasingly senile, and died in 1885 at the age of eighty-four.

When Isaac graduated in law in 1873, he took control of the family finances until his father's death in 1885, at which time he inherited Whitehern (then Willowbank) and moved in with his family. Mary promptly changed the name to Whitehern. Unfortunately, by 1888 Isaac had lost the family fortune through bad management and poor health.

Several factors contributed to Isaac's decline: a long-standing poor relationship with his step-mother, his father's third wife, Elizabeth Fuller McQuesten. Isaac's mother, Dr. Calvin McQuesten's second wife, Estimate Baldwin, died when he was four years old, and Elizabeth became his step-mother two years later. It was a poor relationship from the start and Isaac was educated away from home. She and Isaac engaged in a long struggle over the family finances (W2321). She sought to turn his father against him by charging him with irresponsible behaviour and drinking and carousing at school, some of which was true. A letter from his friend Robert Hope, in 1869, confirms his reputation as a "mighty mingler" and "drinker of strong drink" (W2275). Unfortunately, Isaac suffered from alcoholism, possibly other addictions, and depression, which deepened into mental illness. Isaac also made a series of poor investments involving patents and a textile mill in Hespeler (W2652).

Isaac's half-brother, Dr. Calvin Brooks McQuesten (Dr. Calvin McQuesten's son by his first wife, Margaret Lerned) was practicing medicine in New York and the letters between the brothers during this period reveal that, although they were united in their struggle against their step-mother, they also became divided over Isaac's handling of the finances. Mary's letters to Dr. Calvin Brooks McQuesten in May and July 1885 relate her increasing distress and anxiety about the urgent family problems: Isaac's father's health, the continuing struggle with their step-mother, and Isaac's "nervous disease"(W4323, W4327). In 1886 Dr. Mullins replied to Dr. Calvin Brooks' inquiry about Isaac that "an unfortunate habit had been established and I believe that a sincere effort has been made to resist it" (W1592).

Isaac's letter to Calvin of October 1, 1887 (W2511, W4327n) reveals the extent of his unstable condition. It was written on his return from Homewood sanatorium in Guelph, which he entered for treatment during the failure of the Hespeler Mill. The letter contains a frank admission of his addiction: "[I was] systematically using stimulants. . . . It is these sudden impulses that I must look out for. It is one long continuous want or craving." The letter also bears a cryptic and portentous statement about a plan or course of action, possibly violent, that Isaac was contemplating, and that "must be done." It is impossible to know the precise meaning of the letter, but five months after it was written, Isaac died very suddenly on March 7, 1888 at the age of forty, reportedly, as the result of a combination of a sleeping draught and alcohol¹. The death was publicly rumoured to be a suicide, but this is not conclusive, and Isaac was given an elaborate and honourable funeral. There were various conflicting reports about the cause of death, such as heart disease or lung congestion but I have found no letters that give any precise details about Isaac's death. There are many letters of condolence in a commemorative journal at Whitehern.

The suicide rumours gained further credence when Isaac's death was followed immediately by bankruptcy with debts totaling $900,000 (Minnes 2)(see also W2520n). To make matters worse Isaac also lost much of Mary's inheritance from her father who had died in 1887, as well as most of his half-brother's share of the estate.

Isaac's death ended fourteen years of their marriage, and although it was a loving relationship, they were tumultuous years for the family. During this time Mary gave birth to seven children. The year, 1882, was particularly traumatic for the family: Thomas, the sixth child, was born in June, Mary's mother died in August (of diabetes), and two weeks later Muriel, the fifth child, died at twenty-two months of age. Then Mary's father-in-law died in 1885, and on the day of his funeral October 23, 1885, Edna, the seventh child, was born. Mary's father died in 1887, and Isaac died in 1888. If we also consider the financial difficulties, Isaac's addiction and recurring mental breakdowns, it is little wonder that during this period Mary occasionally suffered emotional collapse and had to seek treatment herself. It is difficult to comprehend that, at the same time, she was also a very active executive in the missionary auxiliaries. Indeed, on the very day of Isaac's death, Mary had attended a missionary meeting at her church.

With the death of Isaac, Mary's story changes abruptly from one of privilege to relative impoverishment and she became the single parent of six children between the ages of fourteen and two and a half: Mary (14), Calvin (12), Hilda (11), Ruby (9), Thomas (6), Edna (2 1/2). Isaac had had the forethought to place the house in trust, with a law partner, for Mary and his family, and so Whitehern was preserved. However, the widowed Mary was forced to raise and educate her children, and to try to maintain the family home (Whitehern) on a greatly reduced income of approximately $1,700 per year at a time when taxes and water rates alone on Whitehern were approximately $300 per year. For a short time, Mary managed to keep two servants (according to the census of 1891, which may not be accurate) but for many years thereafter, she was unable to hire help except occasionally for heavy work (W4343n). Mary received legal assistance from Isaac's law partner James Chisholm, and managed to retain ownership of Whitehern, some investments in her name, and the two attached houses on Bold St. that she and Isaac had shared with her parents. These houses were badly in need of repair, and when she was finally able to make repairs in 1903, she rented them for $40 a month as boarding houses, later raised to $75 (W4769, W5012, W5436).

A very strong influence on Mary at this pivotal point in her life would likely have been the negative moral example set by the rumours surrounding the widowed female member of her father's first family. Rev. Baker's son James Alfred Baker (1825-76) had suffered bankruptcy and died leaving his second wife, Maria Mudge, impoverished, with his seven children to raise (W2953). It was reported to Rev. Baker by a neighbour that Maria was entertaining men in the house who "stay undue periods" (W3156). Mary Farmer notes that "the unfortunate woman knew of only one way to augment her income" and Rev. Baker had the difficult task of placing his younger grandchildren elsewhere and providing for their education and upkeep (CMQPW 12). It is important to note that Maria Mudge was often desperate and that she may have been somewhat maligned by the rumours, and that Rev. Baker is a little less than "noble" in his judgemental treatment of her. In any case, the memory of this family scandal likely reinforced Mary's moral determination to succeed with her family after she also became widowed and impoverished.

Rev. Baker's patriarchal attitude likely provided a model for Mary's matriarchal development when she was forced to take charge of her family. Her strong character developed as she was forced to make decisions alone, and she gradually took charge of every aspect of her children's lives. She assessed each of the children for their potential to restore the family to its former status, and she guided them accordingly. The eldest daughters Mary and Hilda were needed to look after the home and to take care of the younger children; consequently, there are fewer letters from or to them. They both lived to the age of ninety and continued their mother's work in the church.

Mary's eldest son, Calvin, was born with a deformed left hand and some paralysis on his left side, and as he grew older he began to exhibit signs of the family nervous disease. He was never able to earn an income for the family but, in spite of his limitations, he achieved some success as a journalist, worked as an itinerant missionary preacher in the summers and went to university in the fall and winter. It took many years, but he finally graduated with a B.A. in 1908, was ordained in 1909 at thirty-three years of age, spent another year at university, passed all his exams and was "finally launched," but did not receive an M.A.degree (W6676, W9033). Calvin tried preaching and homesteading but had several breakdowns and came home to stay in 1916. From 1920 to 1950 he held a semi-volunteer position as chaplain at the Hamilton Mountain Sanatorium. Because Calvin was away from home so much between 1895 and 1916, many of Mary's letters are to him. Their relationship was somewhat ambivalent; she sometimes confided in him and asked his advice, and at other times grew impatient and treated him like a child. She was ever vigilant for signs of an impending breakdown and constantly warned him about his this possibility. Her letters act like a kind of umbilical cord between them. Both sons, Calvin and Tom, preferred to live away from home but both also ended up living at home.

Ruby was very beautiful, artistic and scholarly. With her mother's guidance, she became a teacher, took a position with the Presbyterian Ladies' College in Ottawa in 1899, and sent her income home for Tom's education (W4535, W4544). She was often homesick, though she never complained (W4521). Her salary was likely the only means of gaining enough money to see Tom through school, and then his income would provide some solvency and status for the family. Ruby was repeatedly ill at the drafty old school (W4549), was eventually diagnosed with tuberculosis and sent to a sanatorium in Calgary in 1908, and then to another in Muskoka in 1909. The medical expenses were a great burden. But in spite of being ill, Ruby had managed to work long enough to earn Tom's tuition to graduation, but she succumbed to tuberculosis and died in 1911. Ruby is a tragic figure in the family; her beauty, charm and talent, were sacrificed for Tom's education. However, her letters are charming and witty even when written from the sanatorium.

(Margaret) Edna, the youngest child, initially showed great promise as a scholar. She won a scholarship in Classics to Queen's, but was never able to attend university (W-MCP1-1.025). Edna suffered from a severe form of the family mental disease and had several breakdowns, each progressively more debilitating. She was hospitalized on several occasions and institutionalized in 1920 at Homewood Sanatorium in Guelph, where she died in 1935. These medical expenses, also, were a great burden to Mary.

Thomas (the second youngest child) was robust, scholarly and athletic, and Mary soon perceived that he embodied the best hope for the family's return to solvency, so Mary concentrated the family's resources on his education. He came very close to winning the Rhodes Scholarship in 1904 but was passed up for another candidate. Mary expressed her severe disappointment at the loss of the honour, the opportunity, and the income ($1,500 per yr.): "It seems as if I cannot forget it. . . . I would just have been too proud" (W5199). Tom graduated in law in 1907 and, in 1909, at the age of twenty-seven he secured a permanent position with John Chisholm, and began to earn an income of $1,000 a year.

With Thomas's income, the family finances began to improve a little and, in 1912, Uncle Calvin McQuesten, Mary's unmarried brother-in-law, died and left her $37,000. The financial relief is dramatically evident in the abrupt transition from Mary's frugal vacation of 1911 at $5 a week (W6752), to her comparatively lavish vacation of 1912, where she expressed no distress at the expense of $600 to Vancouver and the Rockies (W6780).

The McQuesten family was finally restored to political and social prominence by Thomas McQuesten who eventually fulfilled his mother's expectations, and his own potential. Thomas was successful in politics and public works in Hamilton and throughout Ontario. On the Hamilton Parks Board, as part of his "City Beautification" movement he commissioned many parks and building projects, including Gage Park, Cootes Paradise, King's Forest Park, Chedoke Civic Golf Course, The Royal Botanical Gardens (The Rock Gardens), the McQuesten High Level Bridge, and many more. Tom was instrumental in bringing McMaster to Hamilton from Toronto, which was finally accomplished in 1930. He considered the moving of McMaster University to be one of their finest achievements for Hamilton, and Chancellor Dr. H.P. Whidden clearly stated his indebtedness to Tom (W7085, W7111).

Tom, in turn, stated his indebtedness to his mother. In Mary's obituary (1934) Tom openly acknowledged his gratitude to his mother for her inspiration, encouragement and imagination (Hamilton Herald, December 7, 1934). He fulfilled his familial and his public duties admirably. After his mother's death in 1934 he continued their beautification vision at his dual portfolio in the Provincial Cabinet and built the Queen Elizabeth Highway, established the Niagara Parks system, was involved in many other public works, parks, beautification projects, bridges and roads in Hamilton, in the Niagara Peninsula and in other parts of Ontario (Best 192). Mary's obituary in the Hamilton Herald, December 7, 1934, credits her with being the primary influence in Tom's life and work:

Mr. McQuesten himself has told of the large part his mother played in molding his tastes, his standards and his plan of life. Not the least of her contributions to him was to give him a love for beauty that was large enough to spread out and influence the appearance of a great city. . . . large areas of Hamilton are, in the last analysis a reflection of her love of beauty².

Many of Mary's letters in the late 1920's and 30's describe her frequent trips with Thomas to survey his projects, such as, Gage Park, The Rock Gardens, McMaster University, the parks at Niagara, and many more (W7085). Rev. Ketchen acknowledged a public debt to Tom: "Very few men can point to so many public benefits of enduring value. Like Christopher Wren's, Your monuments are beauty spots (Letter, Box 3, July 12, 1947). Mayor Walters paid a similar tribute to Tom in an obituary statement in 1948 (W6975).

Thomas did fulfill Mary's ambitions for him and he did finally restore the family to honour and prestige, if not to wealth. However, for more than twenty years (1888-1909) Mary had struggled day-to-day with the terrible fear and anxiety of not knowing if she/they would succeed. At the twenty-year mark (1908) she assessed the struggle so far and was grateful for the relative "comfort and luxury" (W6063). There were times when she expressed despair because the burden seemed impossible and she collapsed under the strain, but she never gave up.

Mary considered selling Whitehern, but the price was never high enough to make a move worthwhile. The encroaching TH&B railroad line which was built at the rear of Whitehern in 1895 had devalued the property. After careful calculation, she concluded that she would still require a large home for her family, and she reasoned that their "beautiful things" would be dispersed with little monetary gain (W5788). Their stately home was invested with a great deal of social prestige which Mary was loath to give up. In 1907 she accepted an offer from the Hamilton Club to rent Whitehern for eight months for $900. The income helped to sustain the family during a particularly dark period in financial and health concerns (W5800). Mary was appalled by the condition of the home when the rental period was ended, but she had finally earned some money for repairs and redecorating, although she was still deeply in debt (W6135). During the rental period Mary took a cottage in Oakville for herself and her daughters while her sons were away from home. Her daughters, Ruby and Edna, were both ill at the time; Ruby was generally run down and suffering from bronchitis, later diagnosed as tuberculosis, and Edna was recovering from a mental breakdown (W5744, W6135). In time, as the two girls sickened and required treatment and hospitalization, their medical expenses increased.

However, Mary did preserve the family home, took charge of all aspects of her children's lives, and finally managed to restore the family to social and political prominence, if not to wealth. It is not surprising, therefore, that on several occasions she required rest and treatment when she suffered "nervous prostration," a term she used to describe an emotional collapse caused by stress, anxiety and overwork (W4535, W5984, W8756). She described this condition in varying degrees in her husband Isaac, herself, and two of her children, Calvin and Edna, referring to it as an inherited condition: "a nervous temperament like we have" (W5665) "at the very center of the nervous system" (W8734). Mary also suffered from a "nervous heart," "palpitations" and "blind turns" (W6053).

John Best, in his biography of Thomas Baker McQuesten, addresses the speculation and rumours that it was because of the inherited mental illness in her family that Mary actively broke up any prospective marital union for her children and, although it is a compelling assumption, it remains inconclusive, and I have found no record that she ever stated that as a reason (Best 20 & 203, n10). It may be significant that Isaac's half-brother, Dr. Calvin Brooks McQuesten, also remained unmarried. He was often consulted by the family on matters of science and medicine. It is likely that he may have warned the family of the possibility of perpetuating any hereditary illnesses and, as a result, they may have agreed on a form of eugenics (Dr. Calvin Brooks's diary entry, n.d.). It is evident that the family was aware of the system of eugenics in Plato's Republic since it was noted briefly in Isaac's letter to Dr. Calvin of October 1, 1887: "A more deplorable union than Mamie's with young Brown I cannot well conceive. If ever the principles of Plato's Republic as to marriage ought to be invoked, they should in this case" (W2511). There were strong influences in Canadian Victorian society at that time that favoured eugenics as a means of preventing the breeding of the "feeble minded" and "unfit" ("Debate on the Famous Five Canadian Heroes." Electric Library Canada 22 October 199

¹ Isaac's letter describes his symptoms as: "an unhealthy excitement. . . . wakefulness," followed by "sluggishness" and "despair." This condition suggests "manic depression" for which there is "strong evidence for hereditary predisposition." The extreme form leads to "psychosis." The lesser forms manifest "moody" behaviour in which the "up" phase can result in "feats of great achievement and creativity" (EHB 722-27). Several members of the family suffered these symptoms in varying degrees: both parents, Isaac and Mary, and two children, Calvin and Edna. A psychological analysis of the family would be a fruitful area for research. (W2511).

² Thomas also collaborated with his friends, Noulan Cauchon, the H.B. Dunington-Grubbs, John Macintosh Lyle, and many others, for his projects (W7933, W-MCP1-3b.015, W6053, W4436). John Lyle, one of Canada's foremost architects, was celebrated in a recent lecture by architect, Bruce Kuwabara, as part of Hamilton's growing impulse toward urban renewal (Art Gallery of Hamilton, October 21, 1999).

³ The Whitehern archive is a valuable area for cultural research into Victorian attitudes toward eugenics and various illnesses such as mental disease and tuberculosis. The library at Whitehern might provide a useful resource for this study.