The Ontario Historical Society does not assume responsibility for the statements of its contributors. Place-Names in Georgian Bay (Including the North Channel) BY JAMES WHITE, F.R.G.S. For convenience and on account of the historical connection, the North Channel names have also been included in this compilation. Place-names in the arca covered by this paper can be assigned to three distinct periods; first, those given by Bayfield when he surveyed it in 1819-22; second, the local names given by fishermen, residents and others between the date of Bayfield's survey and 1883; third, the new survey by Messrs. Boulton and Stewart in 1883-93. Before discussing the derivations of the first period, a few notes respecting Bayfield may be of interest. He was born in 1795, entered the Navy in 1806, on H.M.S. Pompee (80), Sir William Sydney Smith, and was in action with a French privateer, six hours after leaving Portsmouth. Later, he served in H.M.S. Queen (98), Admiral Lord Collingwood's flagship, and in the Duchess of Bedford, Lieut. Spilsbury. In 1806, he was appointed to H.M.S. Beagle, Capt. F. Newcombe, and, in 1811, he was midshipman in the Wanderer (21), Capt. F. Newcombe. He was promoted to Lieutenant, 1815, and was appointed assistant to Capt. William Fitzwilliam Owen, R.N., in the survey of Lake Ontario. The war of 1812-14 had shown the necessity for a hydrographical survey of the Great Lakes and Capt. Owen had been appointed for the survey. While the naval force at the beginning of hostilities was a negligible quantity, at the close there were upwards of 40 British war vessels, ranging from one-gun gunboats to the St. Lawrence, a ship of the line with 102 guns. To permit these vessels to navigate the lakes with confidence, a survey was absolutely necessary. Owen was in charge of the survey of Lake Ontario till its completion in 1816, when he was succeeded by Bayfield who surveyed Read at the annual meeting of the Ontario Historical Society at Brantford June, 1911 Lake Erie in 1818, Huron and Georgian Bay in 1819-22, and Superior in 1823-25. In 1827, Bayfield was appointed to the survey of the St. Lawrence River and Gulf. This work was carried on in Gulnare I, 1827-51, and Gulnare II, from 1852 till his promotion to Rear Admiral in 1856. He retired with rank of full Admiral, 1867, and died at Charlottetown, P.E.I., 1885. For the quality of his work it is sufficient to quote Capt. Boulton: "While making a survey of Georgian Bay and the North Channel of Lake Huron I had a good opportunity of witnessing the marvellous quantity and excellence of Admiral Bayfield's work. I doubt whether the British Navy has ever possessed a more gifted and zealous surveyor than Bayfield. He had a marvellous combination of natural talent with tremendous physical energy." The charts that were sufficient for navigation in the "twenties" when the largest vessel on Lake Huron measured a few hundred tons were inadequate for the vessels of a half-century later. In 1883, the Canadian Government secured the services of an Admiralty surveyor, Capt. J. G. Boulton, R.N. For ten years, 188393, surveys of Georgian Bay and North Channel were carried on under his direction. In 1893, he resigned to return to duty in the Navy and was succeeded by his principal assistant, the present Chief Hydrographer, Mr. W. J. Stewart. So far as the names given by Bayfield are concerned, their derivation is a matter of inference, but the evidence, in some instances, almost amounts to a demonstration. At the date of his survey, George IV was King of Great Britain and Ireland, hence Georgian Bay and Lake George; Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence, was Admiral of the Fleet, 1811, and Lord High Admiral, 1827-28, hence Prince William Henry Island; William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester, married Prince William Henry's sister, Mary, and was thus, both his cousin and his brother-in-law, hence Gloucester Point and Bay. In 1822, Robert Saunder Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville, Sir Wm. Johnstone Hope, Sir Geo. Cockburn and Wm. Robt. Keith Douglas were Lord High Admirals, hence Cape Dundas, Melville Sound, Hope Bay and Island, Cockburn Island and Point, and Douglas Bay and Point. Capt. Thos. Hurd was Hydrographer from 1808 to 1823, and Capt (afterwards, Admiral Sir) William Edward Parry, from 1823-29, and James Horsburg was Hydrographer to the East India Co.; hence Cape Hurd, Parry Sound and Island and Horsburg Point. Barrow Bay is after Sir John Barrow, for 38 years, 1807-45, Second Secretary to the Admiralty, and Croker Cape and Island after John Wilson Croker, First Secretary, 1809-30; Dyer Bay, after John James Dyer, for many years Chief Clerk of the Admiralty; Hay Island, after Viscount Melville's private secretary, and Amedroz Island after an Admiralty official. |