Assignment # 9 - Diary of a Loyalist

Hey bloggers! This is my Assignment #9

June 9th, 1774

My daughter's name is Martha and my husband's, John.

The past days have been difficult, selling my family's belongings has been very hard to cope with. Losing the memories of my daughter's years has been the most difficult thing in my lifetime. Although, moving away from my home will be almost as difficult. I know it will be better to be in a new place at this time, but it is still extremely hard to leave the place my family has lived in for generations. It will be difficult for my husband to find a new job, but I know we will cope with whatever we have.

I cannot help thinking forward to the long and treacherous journey before us, I do not want to die, and I do not want even one of my dearest family to die, but of coarse, I know there is a large possibility. But you cannot blame one for dreaming.

- Catherine C. Walters



July 28th, 1774

We have finally settled in to our new home. Our neighbors are a little odd - every time me or my family say hello, they just turn away and whisper. I don't really understand why they act so strangely, but I guess it's none of my business. I wonder if I'll ever find out why they act that way... oh well.

My husband has found a decent job and he earns just enough money for my family. I believe that we will have an excellent life here and many generations will as well.

My daughter has made many new friends and enjoys being with them. One her friends - Annabelle - is very sweet, she comes in the morning and helps us with all of our chores. Martha fetches the water and then runs along with her friends for the day. I do miss her being at my side, but I want her to be happy. I am a bit worried about her safety in this new town as well and whether or not she likes it here...

I will keep living my life and hope for the best.

- Catherine C. Walters

April 3rd, 1775

I don't understand why this is happening... what did we ever do to deserve this?

Yesterday my daughter came home with scratches and bruises. She said that all of her friends through twigs and rocks at her and Annabelle. She said that they did it just because our family still wants to stay loyal to The Crown, but they do not.

Later that night someone broke into our home and took my husband outside threatening to put him in prison. I went outside to make sure he was alright just to find my daughter being dragged by the hair out there with him. I ran to Martha to protect her, but it didn't do much good, there were five of them...

And now we have hardly anything left. Our money was taken as well as all of our crops and food. I never know what to expect now.

John says we have to move to British North America to finally be safe again. I really don't want to move again, we just got here and we were still settling in.

Why must god do this to us? What did we ever do to him?

Well, we must face the troubles that god puts in front of us and just hope for the best. But I truly am afraid that these next days will be our last.

- Catherine C. Walters

April 5th, 1775

Today we will leave the 13 Colonies and begin our new journey. We do not know what we will encounter in British North America, but we will hope for the best and try our hardest to survive with whatever we have.

Oh. John is calling. It is time for our journey to begin...

-Catherine C. Walters

January 17th, 1775

We have finally reached our new home. It is so much better here, there's no one who treats us the way we were before. Our neighbors are wonderful and Martha has made much better friends than her old ones - if you can even call them friends. We have settled in quite nicely and the next generations will live here with happiness as well.

Well, this will be the last of me from here on, I shall live the rest of my life with happiness and joy, if not you may here from me again, but I shall not think that my family may be in danger once more. There will be no more from me, and if anyone is to find the remains of this journal I hold in my hands for the last time, they will truly know my story and the life that went along with it.

My story is told and I have no more to say, so, my dearest life be yours and know that I will not stop living until the last possible moment.

- Catherine C. Walters

Map of North America in the 1700's


Wikipedia - Loyalist The Canadian Encyclopedia - Loyalist

Assignment # 8 - The Real Riel

Hey everybody! How are you? I'm good thanks!
This is Assignment #8 by, yours truly.

Me and Louis Riel...

Ry: Hello everyone! Today, I have a very special guest that has invited us to come visit him in his new home (heaven). Please welcome the one, the only, Louis Riel!

Louis Riel: Thank you, thank you! I'm very pleased that you could come! But we might need to hurry because when God finds out that I let living people up here... Well, let's just say that I may not be the same tomorrow.

Ry: Well then, let's get going. I have a few questions for you. Would you be willing to answer a them?

Louis Riel: Of course! I would be delighted!

Ry: Okay, first off. As the leader of the Metis, do you feel proud or ashamed of what you have done to impact Canada?

Louis Riel: Well, I am proud of what I have impacted. Yet confused that people disrespect what I have done. I don't quite understand why people feel that way about me.

Ry: Don't be hard on yourself.

Louis Riel: Thank you... What's next?

Ry: What went through your mind when you found out that you were sentenced to die?

Louis Riel: A lot of things went through my mind at that moment - why must god punish me? I deserve just as much as anyone else. what had I done to make him feel that way of me? how would the Metis feel of what was about to happen? what was going to happen to all of my loved ones? how much was I going to hurt them? - it was hard to concentrate on what the judge was saying.

Ry: I can only imagine how difficult that must have been.

Louis Riel: Yes, it truly was.

Ry: Okay I have one more question...

Louis Riel: Go on.

Ry: My source says that on December 9, your body was taken to St. Vital where it lay in your mother's house. It was there for the ones who had and always will love you. Is that true?

Louis Riel: Yes, that is true, from what I'd seen from up here, that is. Every night I'd watch my mother go to sleep wondering if her sorrow would ever end.

Ry: Thank you for your sincere and heartwarming information.

Louis Riel: Uh Oh...

Ry: what's wrong?

Louis Riel: God just found out. You better hurry out of here!
(Louis was pushing me out the doors of heaven)

Ry: Oh. Well, I hope to see you soon! Thaaannnkkk yoooooouuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!
(It was true, I really was falling from heaven)

Louis Riel's Grave



Click HERE for one site... Click HERE for another...


I also went to these sites: The Heritage Centre - Mysteries of Canada

Assignment # 7 - Canadian Personalities

This is my assignment # 7 ...

a.) Which category of Canadian Personalities interested you the most? Why?

The category that interested me the most was "We Inspired". I enjoyed reading this section because there was a lot of variety (different kinds of people). All of the personalities were interesting, but the one I liked the most was. . .

b.) Which personality interested you the most? Why?

Peter Pitseolak - an Inuit artist and photographer. Peter saw that the old ways were starting to fade. He decided to try and keep them alive in his photographs and paintings. I liked reading about Peter because I found that I had a few things in common with him - I love taking pictures and illustrating.

c.) In your post, suggest three more influential Canadian personalities that could be added to this site. Why did you choose these people? Which categories would they fit into?

There were three inspirational Canadians that interested me...

Alexander Graham Bell was the inventor of the telephone. Even though he wansn't Candian, his invention helped the lives of many Canadians. I think he would fit in the "We Inspired" category.

Sarah McLachlan is an amazing singer/song writer. I think she would fit in the "We Inspired" category.

Frederick G. Banting served as a medic in World War 1 and helped create the treatment for diabetes. I think that he would fit in the "We Fought", "We Founded" AND "We Inspired" categories.

d.) Which History-Maker did you have the most in common with? Were you able to figure it out from the clues given? What do you share with that person? What are some things that are different between you and that person?

PLAY THE GAME

When I played the game on the Canadian Personalities website the person that I had the most in common with Harriette Tubman. The things we have in common are: sibling(s), spring birthday, first language is English, and we both believe in human rights. Some things that are different between me and Harriet Tubman are: she didn't have a nick name, and she was an African-Canadian and I'm just Canadian.

e.) One hundred years from now,imagine that students are learning about Canadian History Makers and they discover you. What will you be remembered for? How were you a Canadian History Maker? You are using your imagination, so think about some things that you would like to accomplish in your life and imagine that you have all the accomplishments of your life to look back on. Write a short profile of yourself, imagining the contributions you have made to the future of Canada.

Ryleigh Anderson, born on April 11th 1996, was the founder of the campaign called "Better Lives, Happy Children," which was a campaign to help children in Africa have a better life(clean water, fresh food, proper shelters, etc.) She started the campaign after she visited Africa and saw the horrible conditions that the children were living in. She and a group of friends started this campaign at the age of 18, and it was so successful that it raised over $10 million. The campaign is still raising money today, and everyone will remember the thoughtfulness of Ryleigh Anderson.

Assignment # 6 - Shadrach Minkins (slave) 1814 - 1875

There were many amazing African-Canadians but only one caught my eye...

Shadrach Minkins was born into slavery in 1814. The first 30 years of his life he lived in the port city of Norfolk,Virginia.
A few years before the Civil War, slaves fled Norfolk hoping to travel unseen across the Mason-Dixon line. Most were unsuccessful but Minkins was. In May 1850 he made his way to Boston. Minkins's master found out that he had escaped and had U.S officers arrest him. A crowd of African-Americans gathered at the courthouse where Minkins was being held, took hold of him and carried him off. Lewis Hayden was in the center of the scheme to rescue Minkins and spirit him away to freedom. He was taken to a hiding place on Beacon Hill. Minkins was handed over to Hayden who transported him to Concord where the fugitive was put on a path to Canada. That night he began his journey on the underground railroad. Six days later he safely arrived in Canada. Four days after he arrived he became a new resident of Montreal. A few months later he became the owner of a new Montreal restaurant. Minkins was the first escaped slave captured in New England under the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law.
I think that Shadrach Minkins had a pretty hard - but exciting - life.

These are the sites I got information from:



Mass Moments: Shadrach Minkins - Biographical Profiles

Assignment # 5: It's Really Cold

I can't believe the weather outside! It's freezing! Even though I read all of that information on what it was like for the pioneers in the winter, I still don't understand how they could possibly live through the cold without all of the equipment we have today. Why wouldn't they just leave Canada after the first winter they were there? Why would they stay in Canada if it was freezing...?

There were a lot of difficulties that the early settlers had to face. Scurvy was one of the hardest things to face in the winter of Canada. Scurvy was a disease that killed many early settlers of Canada. Scurvy is a lack of nutrition (not enough fruits and vegetables). Scurvy mainly occurred in winter when people couldn't grow any crops and were incapable of finding fresh fruits and vegetables.

The early settlers had to stay warm to survive. Keeping warm was hard for the early settlers. There would always be smoke coming out of their chimneys. The houses that the early settlers lived in were usually covered in dirt and grass. This worked as an insulator. The early settlers did all they could to stay warm. Their houses had very dim lighting -if any- this was from using just a few small candles.

Most immigrants left their homeland because they needed better jobs or better pay. All men were forced to serve in the army of the countries they left. Most of the early settlers barely had enough money and food to survive.

I asked my parents why their relatives decided to come to Canada. I'll tell you what my dad said...

" I really don't know Ry," says my dad after I asked him the questions Miss. Pollock posted, " My family moved to Canada more than 100 years ago. But I'll tell you what I'm pretty sure of...".

My dad says that his great grandma was from France and his great grandpa was from Ireland. They came to Canada because of famine, poverty and war. They decided to stay in Canada - even though it was cold - because they new that it was the best and safest place for them to live.

My mom's great grandpa was from Scotland and my mom doesn't know where her great grandma was from. "Your grandma had a very hard childhood because she went to live in an orphanage until she was five. Then when her father came back from sea he remarried and the family moved to Northern Alberta. Your great grandfather decided to leave Europe because of famine and persecution," my mom tells me. My grandma's family actually moved to California before they came to Canada. I asked my mom why they moved to Canada - in the cold - when they could have stayed in warm, hot California and she said " They came to Canada because of your great grandfather's job .".

There's still a lot for me to learn about immigrants coming to Canada, but I think I've learned a lot more after doing this project.

These are some of the sites I got information from, you should check them out!

Immigrating to Canada The Canada Page The Pioneer Years

Asignment #4

I read a lot of blogs for assignment #3, but only 3 caught my eye...

First was Chongo's Blog. Chongo wrote a lot of great thoughts about the future. I liked how she got all of her thoughts on paper-or blog, I should say-but anyway, I really enjoyed reading Chongo's blog.
Second, was Adria's Blog. I could tell Adria went deep into thought on this assignment. she really involved Christopher Moore in this blog.
Last was Allyson's Blog. Allyson talked about how she hoped that the future would be environmentally friendly. She also talked about how there might be different species roaming around on earth.
If these 3 people got marked on all of their hard work they would all probably get A's!!!

History of the Future

2109, no one knows what the future will be like (well not inless you have a time machine) but I'm going to make a guess...



In 2109 there might be time machines- that actually work- and maybe even different life forms living on Earth! 2109 will probably have a lot of new and unique technology, maybe there will be TV's that would never need to be plugged in! the thing I would really love for the future would be more energy afficiant products (e.g.hydro electricity vehicals) In the past, some things never changed in one century, but two. If I lived to see 2109 I would have learned a lot over the more-than-a-century that I was alive. I wish I could be a healthy old woman and live to be over 100, but I'm sure I won't be able to be alive that long.



Click here to see a cool blog that I got some info on! Christopher Moore's blog!