Low Down Articles
Echoes from the Past
Article 65 of 111
This article first appeared in the "Echoes from the Past" column of the The Low Down to Hull and Back News.
Reprinted with permission. Search complete list of Low Down Articles.
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Researching
Some years ago I was invited to attend a class of students at a Hull school where they, at the time, were studying about Philemon Wright and his times. They had arranged a display of artifacts they had manufactured to illustrate what they had learned.
One of the pupils had copied a likeness somebody had earlier made of the head and shoulder painting of Philemon Wright.
After praising their efforts, I had the opportunity to ask questions. Pointing to the Wright sketch I asked: "What type of footgear Philemon was wearing when he was painted?" There were various answers forthcoming, but we all had to confess that none of us knew for sure. Another question was "Was Philemon tall or short?" Again we had no idea.
Just to illustrate a point about the hazards a researcher may encounter in trying to find the truth, read the following couple of observations:
McTAGGART who was clerk of works on the Rideau Canal for two years (between 1826-1832) published a book on his return to England.
"He is a tall man, this Philemon Wright, about six feet; a tight man with a wonderfully strange, quick reflective, wild eye."
A DR. JOHN J. BIGSBY who was sent from England to report on the geology of Canada in 1819, wrote of Mr. Wright (after his death in 1837) as follows:
"He was a plain little man, in constant motion, teaching and being taught - a true pioneer, an enthusiast in reclaiming and cultivating wild land."
The trick is to locate other writers who endorse one or the other, otherwise YOU PAYS YOUR MONEY AND TAKES YOUR CHOICE.