Mayholme Foundation

04/23/2026

April 19th to 25th, 2026 is National Volunteer Appreciation Week.

Mayholme Foundation would like to thank all of our wonderful volunteers. We appreciate your hard work and dedication every week of the year! 😃❤️

04/22/2026

May is Museum Month, and we're celebrating with a fun and rewarding way to explore the incredible museums, art galleries and archives across Niagara! Pick up your Passport at a participating MoNA (Museums of Niagara Association) location. Then, visit other participating institutions throughout the month of May. For every place you attend, you'll receive a stamp on your passport. Collect five stamps by June 1st, and you'll be entered for a chance to win a fantastic prize. It's the perfect opportunity to discover new spaces, revisit your favourites, and experience the rich history and culture our region has to offer.

Take your pick from at least five of these wonderful organizations in the Niagara Region: Welland Historical Museum, Fort Erie Historical Museum, Port Colborne Historical and Marine Museum, Welland Central Fire Hall, Fort Erie Railway Museum, Nelles Manor Museum, St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre, Niagara Railway Museum, Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum, Mayholme Foundation Historical and Genealogical Research Centre, Niagara Falls History Museum, RiverBrink Art Museum, and Lincoln Museum and Cultural Centre.

Passports are available for pickup now! We hope to see you soon! 😃

04/16/2026

Going forward, volunteers will be available to assist with research on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

We look forward to helping you! 😃

04/05/2026

Happy Easter from all of us at Mayholme! 🐰🌷🐣

(card from the Mayholme collection.)

03/27/2026

The Mayholme Foundation has been contacted by representatives of the Lincoln and Welland Foundation Band, who are looking for information on any military band musicians from 1827. They have documentary evidence of an instrument inspection list from 1827.

They are also seeking information on two men Lloyd Collard of York Street, St. Catharines, a saxophone player who was featured in the Standard during World War Two, and a young boy bugler, Billie Nugent, son of Q. M. S. Roy Nugent at Niagara Camp.

If anyone has any information on these men or their families, please contact Mayholme. 😀

03/19/2026

Jim Lawrason, a neighbour of Mayholme, came across an amazing article from 1860 describing the hardships of the first 75 years of the Dittrick family in St. Catharines.

It was provided by John and Jim Hutton from the library of the late Reverend Willam Hutton of Winnipeg.

The article describes the helpfulness of the local Indigenous peoples; emphasizes the importance of self-reliance; and details how the Dittricks survived a famine by hunting, foraging, making their own cheese and even resorting to eating the family dog; only to be devastated by the War of 1812.

Interesting in reading the whole article? Click below⬇

The First Settler Family in Southeast St. Catharines This article was written by James Dittrick in 1860 about his Dittrick family, the first European settlers in 1785 in the Marsdale Drive area. Recently it was kindly provided by John Hutton of Winnipeg and Jim Hutton of Toronto from their l...

03/17/2026

Happy St. Patrick’s Day from all of us at Mayholme! ☘️🌈

03/08/2026

March 8th is International Women's Day.

International Women’s Day recognizes and celebrates the achievements of women, and advocates for advancements towards gender equity and equality worldwide.

Pictured below is Bessie Beyer, Corlene Taylor’s mother, who served as a nurse in France under Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service, and then under the Canadian Army Medical Corps in May of 1918.

Bessie’s experiences from the front are documented in "They Called Her Canada: The War Diaries of Nursing Sister Bessie Beyer".

03/06/2026

Our library has a wide variety of research materials! Including resources on…

Ontario (most counties)
-atlases
-marriage records (some counties)
-misc. histories
-family histories
-family gatherings
-hanging family files
-land records, microfiche/film

General Canadian history
Women in history
Church records
Bible pages
Obituaries
Funeral cards
All things water (Great Lakes, Welland Canal, etc.)
Medical
Education and school year books
Railways
Industry
Law, crime and punishment
Government and politics
Indigenous history
Black history
Immigration records
Passenger lists
Ireland
Scotland
England

War
-American Revolutionary War and United Empire Loyalists
-War of 1812
-WWI
-WWII

United States
-New England
-New York
-New Jersey
-Pennsylvania

…and more! 📚🔍

02/20/2026

February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate, honour, and reflect upon Black stories.

Born in Bondu, Senegal, Richard Pierpoint (1744-1838) was captured and enslaved in 1760, having been sold to a British officer in New England. Promised his freedom, Pierpoint fought as a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War, and in 1791, was granted 200 acres of land in Grantham Township, now St. Catharines.

During the war of 1812, Pierpoint joined the Coloured Corps of Upper Canada, fighting at the Battle of Queenston Heights.

In 2021, Centennial Gardens at 321 Oakdale Avenue was renamed Richard Pierpoint Park to honour his legacy.

Pictured below are books on Pierpoint from the Mayholme Research Library.

02/16/2026

Happy Family Day from all of us at the Mayholme Foundation!

Interested in learning more about your family history? Volunteers will be available to assist with research this Thursday and Friday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

(family portrait from the Walker Family collection.)

02/13/2026

Happy Valentine's Day from all of us at Mayholme! 💐❤️

(Mayholme Collection)