Date/Time
Date(s) - 16/09/2023
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Location
In Person: Quinte West Public Library (Trenton)
Categories
This is a hybrid meeting:
- Zoom meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqdOmtrTMvE9GcKCRPpj8JvNr1PALO40ZK
- Join us in person: Quinte West Public Library, multi-purpose room
Henry Edward Baines was a British soldier who lived in Canada for five years during the 1860’s. He wrote and illustrated a journal while on a pleasure cruise around Lake Ontario with stops at Cobourg, Presqu’ile, Consecon, Waupoos, Kingston and several other places. Sadly, he died in Canada at a youthful age under tragic circumstances. Many of his distant relatives now live in Canada.
Marc authored a book based on his journal called The Cruise of the Breeze. In this presentation he will speak about Henry’s background in England, his early years as a British officer, and the reason he was sent to Canada in 1861.
Fortunately, peace was negotiated before any fighting took place, and Henry settled into garrison life in Toronto. One of his recreational pastimes was sailing. In the summer of 1863, as a member of the newly formed Royal Canadian Yacht Club, he took leave and sailed around Lake Ontario with a group of friends. It was during this vacation aboard the yacht “Breeze” that he wrote his journal. After several years in Toronto, Henry was posted to Quebec City, where, sadly, he met an untimely and tragic death.
Marc will include information on Henry’s family connections in Canada. His father’s brother, Thomas Baines, had been living in Canada for many years before Henry arrived. Many of Thomas’ descendants still live in Toronto, and some of them are now associated with the Royal Canadian Yacht Club.
While Henry did not have any children, his sister, Isabelle, emigrated from Britain to Canada in 1870. It was through her descendants that Henry’s journal with its many lovely watercolours was preserved. The journal was stored at a private home in Prince Edward County before it was sent to the Prince Edward County Archives for safe keeping. The journal has now been moved to Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa. Here’s a link to a digitized version of Henry’s journal: https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?app=fonandcol&IdNumber=3841394
About our presenter, Marc Sequin
Marc Seguin brings his lifelong fascination with history together with his interest in documentary art in presenting this annotated journal of Henry Edward Baines: a young soldier and talented artist whose beautiful paintings and remarkable deeds have, until now, been largely forgotten. An accomplished speaker, Marc has prepared lavishly illustrated talks on several of the themes from the book, The Cruise of the Breeze.
Marc has a degree in History from the University of Western Ontario and is the author of For Want of a Lighthouse: Building the Lighthouses of Eastern Lake Ontario 1828-1914. He lives on the shores of Wellers Bay in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada, with his wife and two sons.
Date – Sept. 16, 2023
Time: The session will run from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. (doors open at 12:30). Quinte Branch will provide light refreshments after the session.
Location – Quinte West Public Library. There is free parking at the library.
Registration:
- To attend via Zoom, click here to register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqdOmtrTMvE9GcKCRPpj8JvNr1PALO40ZK
- To attend in person, please send an email to Kathryn Potter to let us know that you will be attending – [email protected].
We look forward to seeing you!
