Way back when

The grim realities of life in the 1800s are readily evident in a collection of old obituaries in the Deseronto archives. These death notices, a number of them from the Picton and Belleville areas, span the period from 1885 to 1900 and include accounts of tragic accidents involving child labour.In 1884, John Bowen who was “about 11” was shifting a belt in the Gilmour shingle mill at Trenton when the bar he used was caught in the belting and driven under his arm. striking the heart an