Right Handle and Markings

Right Markings

Right Tip

Left Whole Sword

Left with Handle and Markings

Left Markings

Left Tip

Jim Bagshaw did on-line research on the www.vikingsword.com website. Experts in the Ethnographic Arms & Armour forum identified the following characteristics of this sword:
It is a classic Dutch style naval boarding or “scheepshouwer” cutlass.

It has a clamshell hilt with an open guard.

Dutch East India Company Flag

The East India House by Reinier Vinkeles, 1768

VOC-Amsterdam

The sword was produced for The Dutch East India Company (De Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie) as evidenced by their symbol. This company was established in 1602 with the aim of sending ships to Asia to buy pepper and spices. It later supplied weapons to various countries.

The A, represents the kamer of Amsterdam, one of the chambers in the VOC hierarchy representing key ports.

The 1787 stamping indicates the year of manufacture. It is interesting to note that the other side of the sword is stamped 787. According to the experts, the missing digit on one side is fairly

Dimensions

• blade length – 24.25”
• blade width at the ricasso – 3.15 cm
• overall length – 28.75 “
• curvature – 1.8 cm
• thickness of blade – .7 cm at ricasso (Guard)

The post William Bagshaw’s Sword appeared first on The Sunderland & District Historical Society.

William Bagshaw was born on February 13, 1783 in Alstonefield, England. He entered the British Army in 1804, and eleven years later found himself standing in the ranks of the 33rd Regiment of Foot on the field at Waterloo as Napoleon’s last great gamble broke against the allied line. For that service, in 1819, the Crown entitled him to two hundred acres in Upper Canada, a standard form of compensation extended to veterans of the period.

The entitlement was formalized in a Crown Patent dated April 10, 1833, when Bagshaw, by then recorded as a Yeoman of the Township of Brock, received title to Lot Number Four in the Ninth Concession, County of York, Home District. The patent carried the usual Crown reservations of gold and silver mines, white pine timber, and survey roads, along with a handwritten clause requiring him to erect a dwelling and take up residence within three years. Bagshaw remained in Brock Township for the rest of his life, where he died on May 12, 1861.

The grant is to William Bagshaw of the Township of Brock in the County of York in the Home District, Yeoman (Yeoman means a farmer or landowner.) Containing Two Hundred Acres being Lot Number Four in the Ninth Concession of the said Township of Brock

Several standard Crown reservations appear:

• Gold and Silver mines reserved to the Crown
• White Pine trees reserved to the Crown
• Survey roads reserved
• Conditions regarding settlement

Settlement Conditions
One important handwritten section states that within three years the grantee must erect and build a good and sufficient dwelling house and become resident. These were normal settlement requirements.

Chronology :

• 1804 – William Bagshaw enters the British Army.
• 18 June 1815 – Fights at the Battle of Waterloo (33rd Regiment of Foot).
• 20 October 1819 – Receives entitlement to 200 acres in Upper Canada for military service.
• 10 Apr 1833 – Crown Patent signed.
• 21 Apr 1833 – Entered by the Auditor.
• 24 Apr 1833 – Recorded and indexed in the land records.
  Book 46, folio 575
• 1833 – Crown Patent issued for Lot 4, Concession 9, Brock Township.
• Later becomes established in Brock Township, where the family remains.

William Bagshaw
200 acres
Brock Township
Recorded April 24, 1833
Book 46, Folio 575

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For four generations, the most cherished possession of the Bagshaw family of Brock Township was a small six-barreled pistol, handed down, like the name William itself, from father to son. By family tradition it had ridden at Waterloo in the hand of a British cavalryman, fortunate to come away alive from the great contest against Napoleon. It is a splendid story, and almost certainly an impossible one. The pistol itself says so.

The man at the head of the line was William Bagshaw, born in Staffordshire, England, on February 13, 1783. In the spring of 1817 he left for Upper Canada and took up two hundred acres of bush in Brock Township, in what was then the County of Ontario. He prospered there in the manner of the useful pioneer: “Squire” Bagshaw, justice of the peace and the township’s first postmaster, a man who married couples, buried the dead, surveyed his neighbors’ farms, and settled their disputes.

His wife, Sarah (Bolton) Bagshaw, born in 1786, was left behind in England while William broke ground on the homestead, and for two years his letters failed to reach her. Believing herself a widow, she went into mourning, until at last a letter arrived to report that her husband was alive and landholding in Canada. On Easter Sunday, April 18, 1819, she boarded a sailing vessel with eight children. The crossing took eleven weeks and three days. A broken leg kept William from meeting them at York (now Toronto), so Sarah set out on foot with the children and walked some forty-five miles to Quaker Hill, near Uxbridge. Reunited at last, the family was raising the walls of its log shanty, on Lot 5 of Concession 9, on Christmas Day, 1819. From that one-windowed cabin, its chinks packed with lime mortar and its roof laid up of basswood troughs, came seventeen children and a homestead that descended through the generations: a hewn-log house in 1830, and a fine stone residence in 1890 that was still standing when this story was first set down.

The heirloom that anchors the family’s memory is a percussion pepperbox revolver, roughly ten inches in length, its six barrels turned from bright steel and its engraved frame dressed with silver. Each barrel was charged from the muzzle with powder, wad, and ball, and fired by a percussion cap seated at the breech, so that six shots stood ready without reloading. Stamped into the metal are the words that settle the question of its age: “J. R. Cooper’s Patent.”

That mark belongs to Joseph Rock Cooper, a Birmingham gunmaker active from the late 1830s into the 1860s, and remembered above all for his pepperbox pistols. The design the Bagshaw gun carries rests on Cooper’s English patents of 1840 and 1843. The pistol was therefore made in the early-to-middle 1840s, a full generation after Waterloo, which was fought in June of 1815.

Here the cherished tradition meets two facts it cannot survive. The first is mechanical: the percussion cap that fires this gun was a technology of the 1820s and after, unknown on the field at Waterloo, and the multi-barreled pepperbox was a creature of the 1830s and 1840s entirely. The second is the family’s own chronicle. William Bagshaw was settled in Brock Township by 1819, fully two decades before this pistol was so much as filed and engraved on a Birmingham bench. Whatever a Bagshaw may have carried against Napoleon, it was not this gun, for this gun did not yet exist.

How, then, did it come to a pioneer farmhouse in the Ontario bush? The honest answer is that no document yet located will say, but the likeliest paths are not hard to imagine. A pepperbox of the 1840s might have been sent out from England to relations already established in Canada; it might have been purchased outright in York or Whitby, where British goods moved freely; or it might have come west in the hands of a later Bagshaw and, in time, drifted backward through the family’s memory until it attached itself to the founding patriarch and his Waterloo. Heirlooms gather such legends the way a barrel gathers patina. The wonder is not that the story grew, but that the gun beneath it is the more interesting object once the legend is lifted away.

For what the Bagshaw pistol truly belongs to is one of the briefest and most colorful moments in the history of the handgun: the crowded heyday of the multi-barreled pepperbox, a compact and affordable repeater that put six shots at an ordinary person’s fingertips in the years just before Samuel Colt’s single-barreled revolver swept the whole type into obsolescence. It is a creditable piece of English gunmaking at its mid-century best, and almost certainly it reached the Bagshaws in Canada, the prized possession of a prospering settler family rather than a souvenir of a European battlefield.

The gun never saw Waterloo. It saw something rarer: the long, ordinary endurance of a family that crossed an ocean, walked to its own front door, and kept one small thing safe for a hundred years.

The family narrative follows a 1950 account of the Bagshaws of Sunderland and Brock Township, corroborated against Ontario genealogical records. The firearm’s date rests on the “J. R. Cooper’s Patent” marking and the documented dates of Joseph Rock Cooper’s English patents of 1840 and 1843.

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Explore artifacts connected to the Bagshaw family, among the first settlers of Brock Township. Housed at the Sunderland Museum, these items provide a window into the region’s early history.

The Bagshaw Collection

The Sunderland & District Historical Society has archived a wealth of artifacts that reflect the community’s rich history.

Here is a glimpse of some of the treasures that can be found in our museum.

The museum has an image of the Bagshaw family crest on display.

The name Bagshaw is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is a habitational surname, from a place in Derbyshire, England.

The placename is derived from the Olde English, pre 7th century personal name “Bacga” and the Olde English word “sceaga” meaning wood or copse; hence Bacga’s Wood.

The family crest consists of three roses encompassing a hunter’s horn. The crest depicts a portion of the arm holding a hunter’s horn.

William Bagshaw was one of Brock Township’s earliest settlers.

Having fought for Britain in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, as compensation, William was granted a parcel of land in Brock Township which had been surveyed in 1817. William selected a lot on the gth Concession and travelled alone to Canada to clear the land and establish a farm operation.

After her husband, William Bagshaw departed for Canada, his wife Sarah Bolton waited for nearly two years fearing that he may have perished. Finally, a letter arrived reporting that her husband was well and had established a farm in Brock Township.

Sarah left immediately for Canada. Her ocean crossing lasted 11 weeks. She was to meet William in York (Toronto) but a broken leg prevented him from leaving the farm.

She and her eight children then walked from York to Quaker Hill near Uxbridge where she remained an additional two months before joining William on the farm.

The original copy of William Bagshaw’s land grant certificate is on file at the museum.

William Bagshaw’s survival at the Battle of Waterloo was significant. He served with the First Regiment of Foot Guards depicted to the left. During the battle, this unit suffered 1035 casualties out of a total of 1997 soldiers and officers.

You will find William Bagshaw’s military sword from the Battle of Waterloo on display at the museum. This naval cutlass had a clam shell hilt. It was made in 1787 by the Dutch East India Company.

The museum has William Bagshaw’s Cooper Pepperbox Pistol in its archives. The gun fired six shots and the barrel rotated. It was muzzle loaded and made after 1830.

One of the treasures of our museum is the Bagshaw Clock built in 1824 in Plymouth, Connecticut. This is a 30 hour clock which was run by two descending weights. All the gears are made of wood.

While difficult to confirm, it has been said that William Bagshaw traded 100 acres of land for this mantle clock.

The clock has been restored to working order by Maurice Blanchard.

To learn more about the rich history of the Bagshaw family, plan a visit to the Bagshaw Cemetery. It is located on part of one of the Bagshaw farm properties on the south side of Concession 9 Brock Township, just east of the Brock Road.

Your visit may spark an interest in other members of the Bagshaw family who have had a significant on impact on their community.

As an example, Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw was a famous pioneer in the fight for women’s rights during the depression. Concerned about women being unable to support large families she became a leading advocate for birth control support.

Dr. Bagshaw started the first birth control clinic in Hamilton and lived to be 101 years old.

As with Dr. Bagshaw, you could then find that your local historical society houses material that may inform your newfound interest.

The post The Bagshaw Collection appeared first on The Sunderland & District Historical Society.

COMMUNITY Sep 09, 2010 by Scott Howard Peterborough This Week

Sunderland and District Historical Society president Larry Doble shows off the
clock once owned by William Bagshaw, one of the early settlers of old Brock
Township. – Scott Howard

An artifact from Brock Township’s early days has returned home.
The Sunderland and District Historical Society has received the ‘Bagshaw Clock’
on loan from the Sharon Temple, a national historic site and museum in East
Gwillimbury.

“The clock has come home after 186 years,” said Larry Doble, president of the
historical society.

The clock was named after its previous owner, William Bagshaw, who was one of
the first settlers in old Brock Township — which covered from Concession 14
south to Concession 1, with Regional Road 23 and Simcoe Street serving as the
borders to the west and east, respectively.

Mr. Bagshaw set sail for Canada in 1817 and was eventually joined by his wife
and seven children.

They family settled on Concession 9, moving into their first home — made of
materials cut from their property — on Christmas Day, 1819.

In the following years, eight more children were welcomed to the family, including
daughter Rachel who was the first white girl born in the township.

Mr. Bagshaw would later become Brock Township’s first postmaster. ‘Green
Pastures of Old Brock,’ a book published by the historical society on the
township’s beginnings, said Mr. Bagshaw was “renowned for his wisdom and
good judgement.” He later became a Justice of the Peace, marrying and burying
area residents, surveying farms and settling disputes.

Shortly after the family arrived in Canada, Mr. Bagshaw had acquired another
farm in the Wilfrid area and began clearing trees.

Although his motivation still isn’t clear, he traded the 100-acre parcel for a mantle
clock.

While the clock was donated to the Sharon Temple many years ago, it has not
been on display for some time. It was loaned to the Sunderland and District
Historical Society at the request of Jim Bagshaw, a descendant of William
Bagshaw.

The original land patent for William Bagshaw’s initial property — complete with an
Ontario seal made of beeswax — will also be available for viewing.

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Kuman Thong (Thailand)

One of the most unusual artifacts I shared was a Kuman Thong from Thailand, a figure rooted in Thai folk beliefs. The name translates to “Golden Child,” and these talismans have traditionally been believed to bring their owner good fortune, prosperity, and protection. Historically, authentic Kuman Thong have a controversial and macabre origin tied to ancient spiritual practices, though modern examples are typically symbolic carvings or cast figures. The piece sparked fascinating discussion about how different cultures view spirituality, protection, and the supernatural through objects of material culture.

Burlington Glass Works Whimsies

Among the most fascinating pieces on display were two rare hand-blown glass walking sticks, known as “whimsies” or “friggers,” produced at the Burlington Glass Works in Hamilton, Ontario between 1874 and 1897. These unique objects were created by skilled glassblowers during breaks or after their regular shifts using leftover molten glass, allowing them to showcase their craftsmanship and creativity. Rather than serving as practical walking aids, whimsies were demonstrations of technical skill, with each piece entirely one of a kind. Today, surviving Burlington Glass Works whimsies are highly prized by collectors and museums as rare examples of Canada’s early industrial heritage and the artistry of Ontario’s pioneering glassmakers.

Halifax Explosion Calendar Clock

The final artifact was an early 20th-century oak calendar regulator clock that survived the devastating Halifax Explosion of December 6, 1917. According to its provenance, the clock hung in a local railway station when the blast occurred. While the original glass was shattered and has since been replaced, opening the case still reveals the lingering smell of smoke from the explosion more than a century later; a remarkable reminder of one of Canada’s greatest disasters. The clock stands not only as a functional timepiece but as a tangible witness to history, carrying with it a story of survival, resilience, and the enduring power of preserving artifacts with documented provenance.

It appears this is an “Admiral” model made by the Williams L. Gilbert Clock Co and from the US, however there was a branch in Vancouver. This model was produced from 1900-1932 .

Gilbert was one of the more well-known Connecticut River Valley clock manufacturers that benefitted from the region’s technical dominance. During the mid to late 1800s, this was America’s “Silicon Valley” during most of the first Industrial Revolution. Close proximity to New York and Boston gave manufacturers access to investment capital and the deep-water ports for exporting merchandise, and a well-established rail network made it easy to move goods inland. The Connecticut River powered much of the region’s early industry, although the steam engine had effectively taken over that role by the time William Gilbert came along.

Interesting that Gilbert had an office in Vancouver. Would have expected his Canadian office to be in Toronto or Montreal, but by this time British Columbia had been part of Confederation for a few decades and westward expansion in Canada was alive and well.

The post Jesse Gillis’ Unusual Items appeared first on The Sunderland & District Historical Society.

The museum houses a detailed collection of pictures and documents detailing the life of this local hero whose service extended to two world wars and an active political life.

George Arthur Welsh DSO & Bar (28 July 1896 – 16 February 1965) was a Canadian flying ace, farmer and political figure. He represented Muskoka—Ontario in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Progressive Conservative member from 1945 to 1955.

He was born in Sunderland, Ontario, the son of Art Welsh, and was educated there, in Lindsay and at the University of Toronto where he qualified as a Physical Education teacher. In 1917, he enlisted with the Royal Flying Corps and served in northeast France during World War I. He received the Belgian Croix de guerre and was credited with five “victories”. On his return, he served as village postmaster and took over ownership of the family farm and mill.

At the beginning of World War II, Welsh reenlisted in the Canadian Army and was put in charge of an anti-tank battery. His unit took part in the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943. Welsh was awarded the Distinguished Service Order twice. He was wounded in September 1943 and returned to Canada to serve as commander of the training wing at Camp Shilo. Welsh served in the provincial cabinet as Minister of Travel and Publicity from 1946 to 1948 and Provincial Secretary and Registrar from 1949 to 1955. After retiring from politics, Welsh served as sheriff for Ontario County.

Wikipedia

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