SUPPORT and kindnesses must be proffered to the members of the Board of The Weir Foundation, to Eugene LaBrie, past president of the Weir Foundation, to Margaret Ferguson, president of The Weir Foundation, to Joyce De Vecchi, honourary secretary of the Weir Foundation and to the late John Robert Weir, past secretary of the Weir Foundation. My thanks and deep appreciation go to James Campbell, Curator of the Samuel E. Weir Collection and Library of Art, for sharing so generously his profound knowledge of the Collection as well as so many hours of his time; to Judy Mahoney, Mr. Weir’s faithful housekeeper, who became a dear friend; to E.C.H. Phelps whose archival interests and never failing fund of information were invaluable and to Margaret Markert, so generous with help and hospitality.
My thanks go also to William P.C. Baldwin, Paula Elliott Bawtenheimer, Hugh Blair, Margaret Blair, John Brook, Charles Brunner, John Burtniak, Jack Choles, Moira and William Cooper, Jeanette Earp, Isobelle Erskine, Barry Fair, Dorothy Fiedelleck, Charles B. Kirk, Alexander Kiss, Penny Krull, Eva Lynn, Nancy Poole, Hugh MacMillan, Margaret May, J.H. Moore, Hon. J. Douglas McCullough, Gretchen McCulloch, Dr. J.P. McMillan, George Neely, Paddy O’Brien, Rory O’Donal, Anne Kolisnyk, Dr. Joseph Solevich, Richard and Muriel Pendergast, Sandra Guillaume, Leon Warmsky, Karen Bergsteinsson, Wayne Crockett, Paul Mcllroy, Raymond Peringer, Dennis Reid, Philip Schiavo, Gerry Sherlock, Tony and Kathy Szabo, Fred and Fran Thompson, Susan Binnie, Agnes Van der Meulen, Betty Webster, Marie Smibert, David Silcox, Albert Soren, Tom Smart, Lorne Stewart, Nathan Strauss, Richard and Yvonne Pagani, Mary Di Matteo, and to others who wished to remain anonymous.
INTRODUCTION
SAMUEL EDWARD WEIR, BARRISTER-AT-LAW AND ONE OF HER MAJESTY’S Counsel, Learned-in-the-Law, distinguished internationally and the third lawyer from Ontario to be called to the Bar in the Province of Quebec, was born on August 12, 1898 in London, Ontario, and died in his home, River Brink, at Queenston, Ontario on January 18, 1981.
It has been my privilege to meet, through his friends and an immense body of correspondence and notes, Samuel Weir, a man both deeply loved and reviled with scorn. It is axiomatic that such a human being must have led an interesting, controversial and unusual life. He was a man of many parts, of incisive wit and great intelligence as well as having a breath-taking talent for pursuing the least and most illusive crumb of learning about any subject that caught his interest with single-minded passion. At the same time, oblivious to the interpretation by the world at large, he could put himself into a position that would automatically subject him to a misunderstanding of his motives.
Beautiful objects whether they be flowers, sculptures, art works or art in general, entranced Samuel Weir even as a small child and all became his passion throughout his maturity. A true connoisseur, his strong curiousity led him to enquire, to investigate, to know and to understand his collections of art, of antiquarian books, of antique clocks and of coins and finally to share his pleasure in his acquisitions with all who come to his home, River Brink, the house he designed to be a library and museum for all time.
How did all these characteristics, together with brilliance of mind and stern self discipline, come to rest in one complex person? To begin to understand, we must go back to eighteenth century Germany and early nineteenth century Ireland. On both sides of his family he was descended from pioneer stock, each family coming across the Atlantic with the intention of becoming established in what is now south of the Canada - United States border. Each family eventually settled in what was Canada West in British North America, due in one case to vagaries of wind currents and to unforeseeable political developments in the case of the other.
1 THE WEIR FAMILY
ARCHIBALD AND MARY CURRIE WEIR, M. 1817
SAMUEL EDWARD’S GREAT GRANDPARENTS, ARCHIBALD AND MARY Currie Weir, both of Highland Scottish stock, emigrated unexpectedly to Upper Canada from Straid Mills, near Ballymena in County Ulster of what is now Northern Ireland, where their families had been living for some generations. Archibald and Mary Currie were married in Ballymena in 1817. The groom was twenty seven years of age and his bride, twenty five. Archibald, as the eldest son, was expected to carry on the family business in the linen trade. His father, also Archibald, had built up a prospering export business with its chief outlet in the New World at Philadelphia. On a more or less regular basis for the times, Archibald senior had crossed the Atlantic to further his business and to visit an uncle who had fought in the Revolutionary War and who had received a land grant in Pennsylvania for his participation.
The year of Archibald’s and Mary’s wedding turned into a year of tragedy. The sailing ship upon which Archibald senior was returning to Ulster encountered heavy seas and an Atlantic gale which sent it to the bottom with all hands on board, leaving his widow with four sons and a daughter. In the same year, 1817, the first of a series of catastrophic famines plagued all of Ireland. So it was decided that Archibald and Mary would set sail the following year to re-establish business connections with linen merchants and drapers in Philadelphia, leaving the younger sons to manage the mill and business in Ballymena.
On the voyage over to Philadelphia, Atlantic gale force winds again beset the Weir family and their undertakings. Their ship was blown off course to such an extent that it was forced to tack on a northerly heading. Eventually, after a harrowing encounter with rolling seas and bitterly cold winds, the ship made port at Halifax. With such an experience, and doubtless with the death of Archibald senior much in their minds, the two young people were very uneasy at the prospect of the dangers of regular sailings back and forth on the treacherous Atlantic. With their feet on firm ground, it did not take much convincing for them to end their trans-Atlantic crossings then and there, especially when they learned that free land was available for the asking in Upper Canada. It is not recorded whether they asked themselves where Upper Canada was. Archibald abruptly abandoned the linen exporting business and applied for a land grant. The couple made arrangements to sail once again, this time on inland waters, and to proceed as far west as possible by whatever means they could find to the promised land. They disposed of their stock of linens and anything else they felt they believed non-essential and set off. Mary, however, did hang on to her pewter teapot. Wherever they were headed, Indian country or whatever, Mary’s prized possession was coming too.
Two storms at sea, one after the other, altered their plans and Archibald and Mary Weir became the founders of one of Canada’s most distinguished pioneer families, leaders in every calling and profession they chose, from one end of the country to the other, from sea even unto sea.
Their destination ultimately became Five Stations, a village now known as Talbotville Royal, in Elgin County where the Weir land grant was parcelled out to the pair. After spending two years there, where their daughter, Margaret, the first child, was born in 1820, the Weir family took up their 100 acre grant in London Township, County of Middlesex, the North Half of lot 12, 15th Concession, fronting on the 16th Concession.
It was in the summer of 1822 when Archibald and Mary had settled in and built themselves a shelter that Archibald went off the property on an errand to the nearest village. Mary, left alone with little Margaret, a toddler, and James on the way, was hoeing in her garden and keeping an eye on the child. Straightening up for a moment to relieve her back, she looked around and noticed a couple of Indian men approaching the cabin, in what seemed to Mary, a rather furtive way. She was used to neighbours dropping in without a knock or a by-your-leave as was their custom, but this seemed a little different somehow. Scooping up Margaret, Mary ran for the cabin. At once it was obvious to her what had attracted the pair. It was her teapot, her shiny teapot, which they had observed from time to time and coveted.
Mary Currie Weir, born 1792; married 1817; died 1888.
With Archibald out of the way, the men no doubt thought it a good opportunity to make off with the teapot and melt it down for bullets. Mary entered the cabin, Margaret on one hip and her good garden hoe in the other hand. One of the Indians made as if to attack her. Mary straight armed him with her hoe. The other would-be thief dropped the teapot in fright and the pair made off as fast as they could, leaving a trail of blood from Mary’s clout with her weapon. The pewter teapot is still given a place of honour