Collection search - Thomas Kains fonds [textual record]

Record information – Brief
1
Thomas Kains fonds [textual record]

Hierarchical level:

Fonds

Date:

1826-1867.

Reference:

R4979-0-5-E, MG24-C6

Type of material:

Textual material

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

100204

Context of this record:

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Thomas Kains fonds
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Record information – Details
Date(s):

1826-1867.

Place of creation:

No place, unknown, or undetermined

Extent:

2.1 cm of textual records.

Language of material:

English

Scope and content:

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Fonds consists of correspondence, petitions, legal papers, and miscellaneous documents, 1826-1867, including: a copy of the marriage contract, 11 May 1830, of A.C. Kains' maternal grandparents, William Henry Hamilton (d. 1833), brother of George Hamilton (1781-1839) (see MG 24, D 7), and Thomas Kains' sister-in-law, Margaret, daughter of Archibald McMillan (1762-1832); a notice of petition to the Legislature by sundry individuals, 4 March 1851, for the incorporation of a company to construct a railroad from Montreal to Bytown (Ottawa) and thence to Kingston; a letter, 10 January 1855, from George Kains (1802-1877) in Grenville to his brother Tom; and two letters, 7 September 1867, from Sheriff Charles Platt Treadwell (1802-1873) of L'Orignal to the Hon. Thomas D'Arcy McGee (1825-1868).

Provenance:

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Kains, Thomas, 1790?-1857

Biography/Administrative history:

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Kains, Thomas, 1790?-1857 : Thomas Kains [1790-1857], was born at Chatham, Kent, England. The son of a boatswain in the Royal Navy, John Kains, and his wife Eleanor [née Bone], the daughter of another sailor, he entered the British navy at about the age of 10 and in 1812 became a naval paymaster. He served through the War of 1812-1814 and was present at the taking of Washington. About 1818, having retired on half pay, he came to Lower Canada and settled at Carillon, opposite Point Fortune, but shortly afterwards he moved to Grenville Township, where he married Mary [d. 1865], eldest daughter of Archibald McMillan (1762-1832) and his wife Isabella (née Gray) (see MG 24, I 183).

His younger brother, George Kains (1802-1877), who also settled in Grenville Township, married his wife's youngest sister, Thomasina McMillan.

Thomas Kains engaged for some years in the saw milling and grist milling business in Grenville, where he was a churchwarden and justice of the peace. He also served, 1828-1850, as Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the 3rd Battalion of the York Militia. With Denis-Benjamin Papineau (1789-1854), who was commissioner of roads and bridges, 1829-1830, he was appointed to build the road along the Ottawa River from Grenville to Hull.

At some time in the 1830s, he was offered the command of the Steamship Shannon that plied between Hawkesbury, Grenville and Bytown, and continued in that command until about 1845, when he built his own steamship, the Princess Royal. The title of Captain that was accorded him derived from these commands, and not from his service in the Royal Navy.

At the time of the Crimean War, he was recalled to active service in the navy and had his paymaster's office aboard Nelson's old ship, H.M.S. Victory, until about 1855 or 1856, when he returned to Canada and died at Montreal.

Finding aid:

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(No finding aid)

Additional information:

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General note:

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The papers in this fonds all derive from Archibald Chetwode Kains (1865-1944) of Ottawa, son of William King Kains and grandson of Thomas Kains, but the dates and the manner of the acquisition are somewhat obscure.
It would seem that the records were originally lent to the National Archives of Canada for copying in 1934 and that the typescript copies in the collection were made at that time. With three exceptions, the originals of these typsecripts were apparently presented to the National Archives at a later date, probably in 1942, when photostat copies were made of the notice of 1851 and the letters of 1867 before the originals of those two documents were returned to A.C. Kains on 24 March 1942. No photostat was made of the third document returned to A.C. Kains at that time, namely a letter of 6 October 1830 to Thomas Kains from Bishop Stewart of Quebec, and that is the only one of the 20 documents that is available only in transcript and not in either an original or photostat form.

Location of originals note:

Originals with Mr. Archibald Kains.
Subject heading:

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Charles Platt Treadwell - Correspondence, 1867

Thomas D'Arcy McGee - Correspondence, 1867

Petition, Right of - Lower Canada, 1851

Railroad companies - Lower Canada, 1851

Montreal (Quebec) - Railroads, 1851

Bytown (Ont.) - Railroads, 1851

Kingston (Ont.) - Railroads, 1851

Thomas Kains - Correspondence, 1826-1867

Legal instruments - Lower Canada, 1826-1867

Lower Canada - Officials and employees, 1826-1867

Judges - Lower Canada, [1826-1867]
Source:

Private

Former archival reference no.:

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MG24-C6
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Textual records

[Consultation90 Open]

Volume [MG24 C 6] 1

[Consultation 90 Open]

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Date modified:: 2024-05-10