megram - Index

megram - desummer - Index

vice-president of the Entomological
Society of Canada.
Elkanah, a year younger than
Braddish, was unsuccessful at farming
and attended school with his brother.
He helped to establish the first library
in the community and practised law in
Renfrew for a time before returning to
Ottawa to become editor of The Ottawa
Citizen in 1856. An avid geologist, he
published his own magazine, identified
526 new species of palaeozoic
invertebrates, arranged fossils, and
learned to speak Norwegian, Spanish
and Danish.
Samuel was excluded from his
father’s will, but he leased the 42
hectares that Lamira had inherited
and was provided for in an agreement
made between Sabra and Sally.
Although he too was well educated,
Samuel chose to lumber on the
Ottawa River, work on the family farm
and run the family sawmill.
Sally was a quiet woman who also
chose not to marry. She elected to
remain on the family farm, where she
directed the dairy business along with
her sister, Sabra, made cloth and sold
goods at market. An accomplished
artist and embroiderer, Sally also cared
for her mother and spent her time
working for charities. She arranged to
have the Methodist Church built in
1890.
When their father died in 1864,
Sabra and Sally inherited the family
home, while the other children
received inheritances from the
remainder of the estate. Charles
Billings, the youngest child, trained as
a lawyer but never set up his own practice,
choosing rather to teach school at
Billings Bridge and maintain the family
farm. An innovative and successful
farmer, he kept bees and established a
market garden, selling the produce.
Portions of the land that had been
ceded to the third generation were
gradually sold. The children of
Charles Billings continued to work on
the family farm. Hugh lived in an addition
on the front of the house and ran
a successful dairy operation. His sister,
Lamira Jane (“Minnie”), remained on
the farm until she was 35 years old
when she left to marry. Charles Murray
inherited most of the estate, including
the family home, because he devoted
himself to the care of his parents and
his aunts, Sabra and Sally, until their
deaths. Having no heir of his own,
Charles Murray left the manor house
to Charles Alexander, the son of his
brother, Hugh. He then renovated the
house where he lived until 1975, when
he sold it and 7.25 hectares to the City
of Ottawa for $500,000.
Today, the estate is a working
museum. Children enjoy summer programs
that teach them how the settlers
in the mid-1800s coped with everyday
life, hands-on urban archaeology and
the natural environment that surrounds
the estate. Special occasions,
such as Christmas, are celebrated in
the original way. The estate hosts a
tour of the museum followed by tea in
the gardens every Sunday in August.
Museum exhibits are also a constant
feature of the house, which is open to
the public from mid-May to the end of
October from Wednesday to Sunday,
noon to 5 p.m. Guests can opt for a
guided tour or take a self-guided tour.
6419 Lumberman Way, Orleans
613-837-1100
Due East Magazine • Page 23 • Summer 2008
A horse drinking water
at Billings Bridge.
The public is invited to bring a picnic
lunch and enjoy the tremendous view
and a chance to explore the estate as
well. This is our heritage and belongs
to all of us to enjoy.
Events at the estate, 2100 Cabot
Street, are posted on the City of Ottawa
website at www.ottawa.ca/museums, or
you can call 613 247-4830.
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