Low Down Articles
Echoes from the Past
Article 69 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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Samuel Benedict 1744-1820
Upon an autumn day twenty years ago, with the trees brightly clothed in their coloured leaves, a bronze plaque was unveiled to the memory of Samuel Benedict I who once owned the property (a huge chunk of land) upon which the ceremony took place, at the corner of the Mountain Road and Gamelin Boulevard.
It all began in 1968 with Mr. Philip McDougall Veale, who had married Annie Duncan, great granddaughter of Samuel. He thought it would be a nice idea that a plaque should be erected to honour his wife's illustrious ancestor who had come to Canada from Sharon Vermont in 1801, a year after Philemon Wright had led a party from Massachusetts to settle the area which was later to become Hull.
Plans were formulating slowly, and in the meanwhile Mrs. Veale had died and thereby Mr. Veale felt that the plaque would honour not only Samuel Benedict but his late wife as well.
Quite by chance Mr. Veale met Arthur Davison, then President of the Historical Society of The Gatineau to whom he broached the subject. Later Veale became acquainted with Mr. Lloyd Francis, M.P. of Ottawa West, who also became interested. With the hard work of both Davison and Francis, and with the involvement of the National Capital Commission the project was brought to fruition.
The unveiling ceremony took the following form. Mr. Davison officiated, welcoming the crowd gathered at the site. Rev. Canon William Belford of St. James Church in Hull opened with a prayer. Then followed brief talks by Dr. Mary Burns, representing Mr. Douglas Fullerton, Chairman of the N.C.C. Then Mr. Philip McDougal (sic) Veale told the audience about his vision and how pleased he was that his dream was about to be realized.
The Misses Mary Louise Benedict and Brenda Joyce McKay, both sixth generation descendants of Samuel Benedict I, jointly unveiled the plaque which was dedicated by Rt. Rev. William Robinson, Anglican Bishop of Ottawa, assisted by Rev. Jean Brunelle, representing Rt. Rev. Paul Emile Charbonneaux, Roman Catholic Bishop of Hull.
The crowd after examining the text of the plaque which was in English and French, finally wended their separate ways home.
There is a sequel to the unveiling story. A couple of years ago it was thought necessary for the current traffic flow that a portion of the Mountain Road (known locally as the Brickyard Road) should be diverted around the plaque corner, thus leaving the stone to which the plaque is attached in the middle of nowhere. The N.C.C. was alerted by the Historical Society about the situation and with the help of the former chairperson, Mrs. Jean Pigott, the plaque will be either moved 50 yards or so to Gatineau Park property or a walking path will be constructed leading to the site and will have a resting bench installed there.