The namesake of Gracefield was named in honour of the well-liked Irishman Patrick Henry Grace by Alonzo Wright M.P. & grandson of Philemon Wright . Grace was the Mayor in the area from 1885 – 1890. Wright was a lifelong friend of Patrick and the federal representative from 1867-1891.The political riding was referred to as the County of Ottawa, Canada East. Alonzo Wright had such status he was considered .. the King of the Gatineau ! He named the town Gracefield…at the request of the people, as a tribute to its founder and leading citizen Patrick Grace …Obituary The Ottawa Evening Journal Aug. 25, 1898. However, Wright may have wanted to retain names of traditional communities such as Gracefield in Ireland ; or Northfield – whose namesake lies in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Grace opened a general store at 28 years of age during the year of Canada’s Confederation. Typically, the storekeepers would serve in the capacity as town Postmaster – who today still provide an important role among residents in rural Canada. Patrick Grace & his extended family would serve faithfully as Postmasters in Gracefield for some 60 years. Patrick 1870-1890; cousin Thomas Grace in 1891 ; Patrick’s wife Mme Grace ( Mary Jane O’Brien ) Postmistress from 1902-1911; and sons-in-law F.W. Perras 1912- 1925; F.B. Merleau from 1925-1931.
The Grace Family donated the land for the train station which aided the extension of the railway line to places like Blue Sea and Maniwaki. Along with other businessmen, Grace and his businessmen cousins John , Thomas and William Grace, would have spent years lobbying to bring the railway into the Upper Gatineau.
Evidently, any language differences among the pioneer families of French, Irish & Scottish backgrounds were overcome. The main preoccupation of settlers in the new Confederation was surmounting the many obstacles and challenges to develop and harvest the natural resources of this vast territory; and to make a decent living. Gracefield has an incredible location – which still remains its strength today. It is surrounded by numerous lakes – including four of the largest in the Gatineau – Blue Sea ; Heney ; Pemichangan & 31 Mile. Hence the slogan: Gracefield – the heart of the Gatineau. The forest industry, mines, farms, hunting & fishing in the region resulted in business demands for supplies during the mid 1800’s. In the early 1900’s , the emergence of hunting & fishing clubs and lodges; followed by privately owned cottages created a new market that produced generations of new store owners.
The current population in Gracefield of 3,000 swells to 12,000 during the summer months. It’s now more of an international crowd with homecomers and visitors arriving from all parts of the world. My how things have changed from the days of the stagecoach routes up the Gatineau Valley!
Patrick Grace’s prominence as a businessman gained a good reputation for Gracefield from the Ottawa Valley through to the Gatineau Hills. He was one of the first General Merchants in what was then known as the Township of Wright. He operated valuable mica mines in the 1890’s and like many others, prospered from lumbering. Gracefield was his home where he raised his family who attended La Visitation Church and school.
His daughters would marry community leaders who became politicians representing the riding of Gatineau : F.W. Perras – federal Member of Parliament in 1925, 1926 ;1930; 1935 until he died while in office June 28, 1936. Perras was first married to Gertrude Grace who died in 1920 ; then to Patricia Grace . Another daughter Stella, married J.B. Merleau who was the area’s Deputy in the Quebec Assembly. Both men had served as Mayors in Gracefield. Perras built the largest house in the village as he too had prospered from lumber.
In the book Maniwaki, by Anastase Roy which is a bible of inventory for activities in the Gatineau to 1933, you will see a photo and Letter of Preface by Fizalam William Perras. The book is available through the Archives of Canada ; and for in-house reference only at the Maniwaki Library.
Patrick Grace died at age 59, apparently of complications after apparently being struck by a wagon wheel that had come loose. He is buried at La Visitation Cemetery in Gracefield along with his wife Jane O’Brien of Quebec City; their children and F.W. Perras.
Grace Brothers of the Upper GatineauThe Grace Brothers – John, Thomas Ringrose & William Patrick – were born during the 1850’s in Clarendon Township in a log cabin on a 200 acre farm that today borders Hwy 148 west of Shawville. The brothers moved to the Upper Gatineau at the urging of their cousin Patrick of Gracefield ; and were later joined by their sisters Maggie & Nora. With the exception of Thomas, all are interred with their mother in St. Gabriel’s Cemetery, Bouchette.
They were all children of John Grace the younger C.E. (Canada East) and Honora Ringrose who emigrated from Silver Mines, Tipperary, Ireland. Honora survived a shipwreck on the brig Minstrel which set sail from Limerick, Ireland April 21, 1841. The disastrous shipwreck occurred on the Red Island reef outside of Quebec City in the lower St. Lawrence River. Miraculously, Honora was able to cling to a rope while in the freezing waters of the St. Lawrence. She was one of only four passengers who survived but could do little but watch as her brothers Rhody & Michael drowned. One hundred & forty-eight passengers & crew perished. You can obtain additional information on the website link: www.theshipslist.com/ships/Wrecks/minstrel1841.htm.
John Grace the younger emigrated from Tipperary, Ireland in 1840. As a pioneer, his clearing of the land no doubt contributed to his early death at age 48 years. Being one of the few Catholics in the Shawville area which consisted of mainly Orange Protestants, he helped build the Catholic Church named St. James the Greater in Portage du Fort. He is buried in the parish cemetery overlooking the Ottawa River. After his death, Honora lived with her unmmarried daughters in Bouchette until she died in 1912 at age 87 years.
According to Thomas Grace’s grandson, Tom Van Dusen, word got out that they were opening up the Gatineau. No different from today, young people jumped at the chance to explore new territory. So most of the Grace Family relocated from Clarendon to the Upper Gatineau. The only Graces to remain in the Ottawa Valley was Martin who served as Postmaster & had the General Store in Vinton. Other young people who emigrated to the Upper Gatineau from Clarendon were from families such as Draper, Brown, Carr and Lambert mainly located in the Northfield area.
The eldest Grace son John chose Bouchette. At 24 years old, he was the first Postmaster in 1874 and with his wife Catherine Johnston from Portage du Fort, operated the general store for 43 years. Having no children to carry on the tradition, he sold the business in 1917 to Leon H. Merleau of Lac Ste Marie. The Grace home was eventually turned over for $1.00 to the town of Bouchette where the present day school is located. He was an Editor of a publication called United Canada.
The youngest of the Grace brothers – William Patrick – arrived in 1885. He operated yet another store, however he died in 1897 at age 34 from typhoid fever. His young widow Pacifique McComber and two children moved on; but sisters Maggie & Nora Grace and mother Honora remained. Years later, Patrick’s grandchildren would remain active the area. One grandchild John Grace became an Editor at The Ottawa Journal ; and then served as Privacy Commissioner of Canada . He volunteered as President of the Gatineau Fish & Game Club on nearby 31 Mile Lake.
At the 100th Anniversary of St. Gabriel’s Parish in 2007, the first of the series of Masses for Founding Parishioners was dedicated to the families of Grace & Merleau – a good example of the Irish & French connections prevalent in Quebec society.
Thomas Grace was a shining example of how the natural resources of the Gatineau Valley could transform the lives of young adults in the late 1880’s & early 1900’s. He had left the log cabin in Clarendon Township to educate himself at the University of Ottawa; then settled at Kazabazua in 1882 to open one of the first stores at age 26 years. After marrying Elizabeth Doyle – daughter of Mickey Doyle and Anne O’Malley of Martindale – they began raising a family in Kazabazua where the present day Crites Wood & Vending Stall is located.
Business in the small towns was so good, that he opened a second store in Gracefield in 1892 and another in Maniwaki in 1893. Besides operating Graces’ Ltd stores, he gained financial success in the mining and lumber industry; served as Justice of the Peace; and was asked to run as Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party – but declined. Tom & Elizabeth had 12 children. Two were twins that lived for only 5 days and are buried at Visitation Cemetery in Gracefield.
Grace was among the first generation Irish & Scottish pioneer businessmen in the Upper Gatineau. These entrepreneurs were not only responsible for initial stages of economic development in lumber, mining and general merchants ; but also the first form of tourism – hunting & fishing camps; and then cottages. They had opportunities to purchase – or acquire – large tracts of land from the Crown. As a major landowner in the early 1900’s, Thomas Grace owned quite a bit of property at Blue Sea Lake. He built one of the first cottages at Blue Sea around 1900; and sold property to other first cottagers Bishop Snowden and Mlle Sparks at the south end of the lake. The builder of the three storey Grace cottage would have been the same one who constructed the Gatineau Fish & Game Club. The cottage bears a striking resemblance albeit a shrunken version: the wrap around porch & pillars; 2nd storey verandahs, board & baton exterior and tooth-like trim on the brick fireplace.
Over at Little Whitefish Lake (now Heney Lake : named for the first cottage family in 1902) Grace owned 500 acres of property in the early 1900’s at the foot of the hills overlooking Baie de la mine. This would eventually become the site of Northfield Lodge Club – the first commercial fish & game club on the lake established by son Gerald Grace in 1925. There was the main residence; separate dining cottage; and at least eight sleeping cottages on a large property overlooking the lake. The views were as spectacular as the day’s catch. The Lodge’s customers were mainly Americans from northern New York, Pennsylvania and area.
Like many others, once established in business, Grace moved to be among the financial successes of other lumber and business people in the big city. By the time he was 45 years old, he had a grand house built and relocated the family to Goulburn Ave near Sir Wilfred Laurier’s residence in Ottawa’s Sandy Hill.
After the death of Thomas Grace in 1923, son Gerald and brother-in-law Frank Van Dusen, who had married daughter Irene Grace, operated Graces’ Ltd. general store in Gracefield; and injected new excitement in the town with the trendy European styled Chateau de Grace Hotel (where the Metro Store now sits on Hwy 105). They rocked the establishment when they sought and obtained a license approval from the Gracefield Council to serve alcohol as part of the daily menu!
Then tragedy hit. A large fire completely destroyed Graces’ Ltd. store and all its contents – goods valued at $75,000. The year was 1931. The store was a major loss for the community which had survived the disastrous Gracefield fire of 1924 that had gutted much of the main street. The next decade would be difficult with the Depression years and the lack of business from American tourists at Northfield Lodge and at the Chateau de Grace Hotel.
Today, the children of Gerald & Monica Grace or Frank & Irene Van Dusen recall stories of the past: Travelling by horse drawn sleigh in the wintertime – covered by bearskin blankets – from Little Whitefish Lake to La Visitation Church in Gracefield; Tom Van Dusen serving Mass as an Altar Boy .( He would eventually run for M.P. for the Gatineau – but ended up as an Assistant to Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. His book The Chief is one of Canada’s most notable writings about Diefenbaker )
At Little Whitefish Lake ( Lac Heney ) the grandchildren stacked the ice house for the day’s catch at Northfield Lodge ; and at Blue Sea , the entire Grace family would gather at the 3 storey cottage – along with their great- grandfather Mickey Doyle . Pets included horses from riding stables . The red-headed Grace daughters rowed wooden skiffs on the lake while in long dresses. Gershwin period music from the victrola on the wrap around verandah played for hours. Classic memories from a classic era of the romantic 1900’s. And it all started at the log cabin.
Beyond the memories and stories, Grace descendants today still share their love of nature in the Upper Gatineau by enjoying their lodges at Lac Heney , Blue Sea Lake, 31 Mile Lake , Lac Pemichangan , Lac Paquin and in the hills of Lac Caya .