Sometime in the mid 19th century copper was discovered in the bucolic Eastern Townships of Quebec. At that time, the Eastern Townships were mainly English speaking, the refuge of Loyalists and New Englanders, and sparsely settled compared to the area along the St Lawrence River. These days, it may be best known for a spa and waterfall.
William Barlett's Engraving of Bolton Pass
Quebec
There’s no information why J.A.B. Wills and Anne Reed came to this area in 1867 but it can be safely concluded there was mining work and J.A.B. Wills knew about mining growing up in Lelant, Cornwall, a tin mining village. Their first child, Emma Elystra Wills (Ricker) was born in Bolton Quebec in April 1868 and baptized in South Stukely’s St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in June of the same year.
The copper mine was owned by Lucius Seth Huntington, a controversial business man and politician. His biography in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography is here . Apparently the Huntington Copper Mine and Huntington, himself, did well during the American Civil War but in the years after the war, copper prices collapsed and there were hard times at the mine in Bolton.
William Notman, the noted Canadian photographer captured images of the mine and workers at the time, J.A.B. Wills was likely working there. it is conceivable J.A.B. Wills is a worker in one of the images. The McCord Stewart museum has seven images of the Huntington Copper Mine online here and makes them freely available.
Huntington Copper Mining Company’s works, Bolton, QC, 1867
Here are some additional Link about Bolton, Quebec. All are active at the time I am writing. Apologies ahead of time if a link is not working.
Bolton Pass by Blogger Lindaseccaspina
