Thomas Burrowes (1796–1866) was a Captain with the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners who served as both a surveyor and overseer during the construction of the Rideau Canal in Ontario, Canada. Burrowes is known, however, for having documented the construction of the canal and the landscape of the surrounding area in a series of watercolour paintings, thus creating an important eyewitness record of one of the most important engineering projects of 19th century Canada.
Thomas Burrowes
A painting by Burrowes of the Rideau Canal and Lower Bytown in 1845, as viewed from Barrack Hill (later Parliament Hill)
Burrowes was born in 1796 in Worcester, England. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners, and he was posted to Fort Henry in Upper Canada in 1815. In 1826, he joined a team assembling in Montreal to build a military canal linking Lake Ontario to the Ottawa River and worked for 20 years (1826 to 1846) as a civilian employee on the Rideau Canal project as overseer, surveyor and clerk.[1] Assigned to Bytown (the settlement that later became Ottawa, the capital of Canada), Burrowes served as Assistant Overseer of Works for the Rideau Canal project. He was one of the first persons to take up land and build a home on Wellington Street, the road upon which Canada's Parliament Buildings would be built decades later.[2]
In 1829, Burrowes was posted to Kingston Mills, upstream from Kingston, where he served as Clerk of the Works of the Cataraqui section of the Rideau Canal until his retirement in 1846. In 1819, he married Grace Rodgers and till 1826 had 3 sons with her. In 1826, the family moved from Montreal to Bytown. It was in Bytown that their 4th son (namely, John By Burrowes) was born but he died just after 7 months and, was later followed by his mother Grace, who died in 1827. After about 10 years, Thomas considered remarriage and married Margaret Morrision and had 7 children (6 girls, 1 boy) with her, all born at Kingston Mills. In retirement, Burrowes worked as a farmer, supplementing his income by serving both as a postmaster and Justice of the Peace in Kingston Mills. Burrowes died in 1866. His home, Maplehurst, still stands.[3]
Artworkedit
Throughout his career, Burrowes painted watercolours documenting the construction of the canal and the landscape of Upper Canada. His paintings were discovered in 1907 in the attic of one of Burrowes' daughters in Detroit, Michigan, and were donated to the Archives of Ontario in 1948 by Burrowes' grandson. The paintings have been referred to as "some of the most famous images in Ontario history", constituting "one of the most important ever private donations to the Archives of Ontario".[4]
Referencesedit
Notes
^"Archives of Ontario : Thomas Burrowes fonds". ao.minisisinc.com. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
^Gordon, Bruce. . Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
^January 22, Susanna McLeod Published on; January 22, 2013 | Last Updated; Est, 2013 1:45 Pm (22 January 2013). "The engineer with the artist's soul". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Retrieved 19 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Laberge, Edward P (1987), The artistic legacies of John Burrows and Thomas Burrowes. Bytown pamphlet series., Ottawa, Ontario: The Historical Society of Ottawa
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Burrowes.
Eyewitness: Thomas Burrowes on the Rideau Canal - Online exhibit of the Archives of Ontario
Osborne, B. The Artist as Historical Commentator: Thomas Burrowes and the Rideau Canal. 1983 Jan 1. Archivaria [Online] 1:17. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
January 01, 1970
thomas, burrowes, artist, thomas, burrowes, 1796, 1866, captain, with, corps, royal, sappers, miners, served, both, surveyor, overseer, during, construction, rideau, canal, ontario, canada, burrowes, known, however, having, documented, construction, canal, lan. Thomas Burrowes 1796 1866 was a Captain with the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners who served as both a surveyor and overseer during the construction of the Rideau Canal in Ontario Canada Burrowes is known however for having documented the construction of the canal and the landscape of the surrounding area in a series of watercolour paintings thus creating an important eyewitness record of one of the most important engineering projects of 19th century Canada Thomas BurrowesA painting by Burrowes of the Rideau Canal and Lower Bytown in 1845 as viewed from Barrack Hill later Parliament Hill Born27 October 1796Worcestershire EnglandDied21 May 1866 aged 69 Kingston Mills Province of CanadaKnown forWatercolouristSpousesGrace Rodgers m 1819 1827 Margaret Morrision Burrowes m 1837 Contents 1 Biography 2 Artwork 3 References 4 External linksBiography editBurrowes was born in 1796 in Worcester England At the age of 17 he enlisted in the Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners and he was posted to Fort Henry in Upper Canada in 1815 In 1826 he joined a team assembling in Montreal to build a military canal linking Lake Ontario to the Ottawa River and worked for 20 years 1826 to 1846 as a civilian employee on the Rideau Canal project as overseer surveyor and clerk 1 Assigned to Bytown the settlement that later became Ottawa the capital of Canada Burrowes served as Assistant Overseer of Works for the Rideau Canal project He was one of the first persons to take up land and build a home on Wellington Street the road upon which Canada s Parliament Buildings would be built decades later 2 In 1829 Burrowes was posted to Kingston Mills upstream from Kingston where he served as Clerk of the Works of the Cataraqui section of the Rideau Canal until his retirement in 1846 In 1819 he married Grace Rodgers and till 1826 had 3 sons with her In 1826 the family moved from Montreal to Bytown It was in Bytown that their 4th son namely John By Burrowes was born but he died just after 7 months and was later followed by his mother Grace who died in 1827 After about 10 years Thomas considered remarriage and married Margaret Morrision and had 7 children 6 girls 1 boy with her all born at Kingston Mills In retirement Burrowes worked as a farmer supplementing his income by serving both as a postmaster and Justice of the Peace in Kingston Mills Burrowes died in 1866 His home Maplehurst still stands 3 Artwork editThroughout his career Burrowes painted watercolours documenting the construction of the canal and the landscape of Upper Canada His paintings were discovered in 1907 in the attic of one of Burrowes daughters in Detroit Michigan and were donated to the Archives of Ontario in 1948 by Burrowes grandson The paintings have been referred to as some of the most famous images in Ontario history constituting one of the most important ever private donations to the Archives of Ontario 4 References editNotes Archives of Ontario Thomas Burrowes fonds ao minisisinc com Retrieved 19 June 2020 Gordon Bruce Cpl Thomas Burrowes 1796 1866 Part 1 The Early Years Stalking the Dead Archived from the original on 3 October 2018 Retrieved 19 June 2020 January 22 Susanna McLeod Published on January 22 2013 Last Updated Est 2013 1 45 Pm 22 January 2013 The engineer with the artist s soul The Kingston Whig Standard Retrieved 19 June 2020 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link A Private Precious Gift Archives of Ontario Retrieved 21 January 2008 Bibliography Laberge Edward P 1987 The artistic legacies of John Burrows and Thomas Burrowes Bytown pamphlet series Ottawa Ontario The Historical Society of OttawaExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Burrowes Eyewitness Thomas Burrowes on the Rideau Canal Online exhibit of the Archives of Ontario Osborne B The Artist as Historical Commentator Thomas Burrowes and the Rideau Canal 1983 Jan 1 Archivaria Online 1 17 Retrieved 2008 01 22 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas Burrowes artist amp oldid 1149030504, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
