Graduate Students

Murray, D. - Ph.D

Narratives, Transitions, and the Spaces Between Old and New: A Socio-Economic History of Brudenell, Ontario, through the 1871 Census of Canada - Dr. Douglas McCalla, advisor

         This major research paper seeks to establish a place in the historiography of nineteenth century Canada for a few of those neglected people, groups and communities that have been written about extensively at the local level- and have become prime fodder for the growth of heritage as a twenty-first century "industry"- but have been largely passed over in the writing of grand narratives of Canadian history. The paper places the people of Brudenell- a small township on the southern fringe of the Canadian Shield- at the centre of a narrative that does not view them as transitional or as marginal, but as living in their own place and time. Utilizing a 100% database of 1871 census returns for this township, the study provides a model and a basis of comparison for future studies using census data in the exploration of localized socio-economic and spatial relations, while also addressing the strengths (and limitations) of the 1871 census as a historical source. The socio-economic character of the local farming economy is showcased in a discussion of how a "typical" family farm would have looked, and in a "walk up the Opeongo Line", a colonization road built in the mid-nineteenth century to promote and facilitate settlement on the Shield.