simcoe day

it’s simcoe day here in ontario so the little part of the world as i know it is all on holiday! by a happy coincidence, the sky is sky blue and full of little puffy clouds. i’m going to spend part of it digging weeds (a.k.a wildflowers) out of what was euphemistically called “the kid’s garden” when i dug it out and which of course quickly evolved into another garden for dad to care for. the learning i took from that experience is that it is highly unlikely that an inspired idea that has anything to do with work attached to it will be welcomed, unless it originates with the kids themselve.s if it emerges from an adult mind, it has absolutely no hope or chance of either coming to fruition or experiencing any kind of sustained life. it will be conscientiously ignored and/or forgotten.

anyhow, simcoe is a part of ontario’s history so i thought that before i dig around the weedbed, i’d dig around the 'net and see what all the fuss is about that grants this guy a holiday in his honour.

simcoe’s full name was john graves simcoe. john was born on february 25th, 1752. his dad was a captain in the royal navy. his mother catherine had four sons but john was the only one who survived. john’s dad died when he was only 7. i imagine that in those times, dying in infancy, or as in his dad’s instance, dying of pneumonia at a relatively young age was more commonplace but i can’t help feeling some empathy for him.

after a distinguished military career which included several actions against the americans, during which time he was both wounded and captured, simcoe moved back to england only to return in 1791 (after the constitutional act was passed which created upper canada) as lieutenant governor.

here's how things looked when john and elizabeth moved here . . .
john and elizabeth moved first to kingston and then on to newark which is now known as niagara-on-the-lake.

after realizing that newark was very very close to the border with america, simcoe moved the newly established government of upper canada to what is now london. for whatever reason that didn’t last long either and he moved the capital to toronto renaming it york (and of course it has since been renamed toronto).

john’s wife elizabeth was an accompished artist and diarist. indeed it is the legacy of her artwork and writing that informs much of what is known about colonial canada nowadays. to read some of her writing and have a look at a number of her lovely watercolours, go here. i especially love her work from her first visit to niagara falls, seen here as painted on june 29, 1793 . . .
and here as seen the following day from a broader perspective . . .
In july 1796 poor health forced john to return to england. here’s a painting of him as he looked in 1781 as painted by george berthon. by this time, simcoe’s tenure as lieutenant governor had ended . . .
he became colonel of the 81st foot in 1798, but exchanged it for the 22nd foot less than six months later. he later served as the commander of british forces in haiti and commander of the western district in britain. in 1806, he was appointed commander-in-chief of india but died in exeter before assuming that post. he was buried in wolford chapel on the simcoe family estate near honiton, devon.

the toronto city council established simcoe day as a holiday in 1869. simcoe’s legacy across the province is acknowledged in a variety of placenames and natural features that carry his name. unique among those places is castle frank a very wealthy neighbourhood in toronto that takes its name from simcoe’s summer home which was named after his son frank.
if you would like more detailed information about simcoe’s life, the freemasons (of which simcoe was a member) host an excellent overview of john graves simcoe’s life.

simcoe day typically ends with fireworks, which in my neighbourhood are surprisingly commonplace. almost any excuse suffices to blow off a few hundred dollars worth of gunpowder! i don’t mind it at all as it is still total magic to me and my kids!