They Worked - Smile For The Camera - Beekeeping in Ontario Canada

Samuel WOOD, 1820-1908, at home in Nottawa, Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada, c. 1900. He was born in West Yorkshire, England; he died at home in Ontario and is buried in Duntroon Cemetery.
The woman is probably either Hattie or Annie SCOTT, his granddaughters (sisters of my grandpa Walter).

Samuel WOOD had been a weaver in England. He emigrated to the US in the 1850s where he worked as a weaver in Bean Hill, Connecticut and in Newark, New Jersey, then with his family, he went to Ontario, Canada where he lived the rest of his life. He is listed in Canadian censuses from 1871 to 1891 as a weaver but is thought to have kept bees during that time. In the 1901 census, his occupation is given as beekeeper.

I believe he was a member of the Ontario Beekeepers' Association and I intend to do research about this on my next trip to Ottawa. Library and Archives Canada holds some materials relating to beekeeping and beekeepers in Ontario, including a membership roll for the Ontario Beekeepers' Association 1892-1894 and a list of names of non-member beekeepers in Ontario in 1883 (in the Apiculture collection donated by P. W. Burke, 1985).

In this photograph, the only one I know of showing anything to do with Samel WOOD and beekeeping, Samuel is holding what appears to be a newspaper along with a magnifying glass. (I suspect the glass is to help him read the paper.) Since I love reading old newspapers, I hope to find an article about Samuel WOOD and his beekeeping in a local paper someday. I had thought perhaps this photograph might have been sent along to family in Manitoba with a mention of such an article, but, so far, no luck in that search.

This post was written for the 15th Edition of the Smile for the Camera! Carnival.

The word prompt for the 15th Edition of Smile For The Camera is "they WORKED hard for the family." The professions of our ancestors are almost as interesting as the people themselves. Some of our ancestors worked very hard; they took in laundry, worked the land, raised many children, or went to school and became professionals. Photographs of them working are called occupational photographs and are rather hard to find. If you do have a photograph in your collection or family photographs, bring them to the Carnival. If not, post a photograph of one of your relatives or ancestors and tell us what they did for a living. Use your imagination, this one is tricky. Admission is free with every photograph!

Watch for the Smile for the Camera Carnival to be posted soon.