Duelling funerals
The Beaver's sharp-eyed, knowledgeable readers have helped correct a mistake in Canada's national
archives files.
In an item about the gun used to assassinate Father of Confederation Thomas D'Arcy McGee, The
Beaver published the photo shown below left. More than a dozen readers questioned details: the soldiers'
weapons, right down to the ammunition magazines; their headgear and uniforms; bystanders' hats; bunting
and flags; street signs and more.
D'Arcy McGee funeral, Montreal, 1868
The photo was filed in the archives as the McGee funeral, but it isn't.
Jim Burant, manager of photo and art archives for Library and Archives Canada, said it has been misfiled
for "20 years or more." The error occurred when the original was digitally copied.
Burant said the photo is from the same set as a number of photos in "a scrapbook compiled by the Laurier
family relating to [former prime minister] Wilfrid Laurier's presence in London at the Diamond Jubilee
celebrations in June 1897" for Queen Victoria, but this particular image is not in the scrapbooks. The
source of the original remains uncertain, and archivists are continuing to track it down.
The correct national archives photo of McGee's 1868 funeral in Montreal appears above.
Burant extended his compliments to our readers for helping correct the error. "It is nice to know how much
people know about and care about Canada's past."
We at The Beaver agree.
Source: Beaver, Oct/Nov2005, Vol. 85 Issue 5, p12, 1p