Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History

Our #MysteryMonday highlight is "Who Killed William Robinson? Race, Justice & Settling the Land." William Robinson was a real person, a Black American who was murdered on Salt Spring Island in the British Colony of British Columbia in 1868. He had arrived in the colony a decade before as part of a contingent of Black Americans fleeing persecution and slavery in the years leading up to the American Civil War. Robinson was one of three island residents killed in this small com...munity in a space of less than two years. All three were Black. An Aboriginal man named Tshuanhusset, also called Tom, was charged with Robinson's murder, and convicted and hanged, but a closer look at the evidence challenges the guilty verdict. Was he actually guilty of this crime? On this #MysterySite, you will find as complete a collection of historical documents that relate to the death of William Robinson and the other two Blacks killed in the same period as the two originators, their research assistants, and their friends and colleagues have been able to find. This website is not just about William Robinson or British Columbia. It's also about understanding history. It allows you to examine the same documents that professional researchers examine to build their narratives and interpret raw material from the past, so that you can ask yourself more general questions like, "How do we know what happened?" in the past? ". Can you solve this unsolved mystery in Canadian history? English https://bit.ly/3tfsx6f Français https://bit.ly/3xLSWfF See more

TEACHERS! Have you checked out the Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History #MysteryQuests? Created for teachers and students who are interested in the Mystery sites, but have only a limited time to explore them. Short, focused, age-specific, single-lesson MysteryQuests lesson plans relate to one or more of the Mysteries. Each of the MysteryQuest lessons employs the popular and student-friendly WebQuest format to present a lesson that uses The Critical Thinking Consortiu...m’s Critical Challenge approach and a small selection of primary documents from the sites to create short but powerful lessons involving students in thinking critically about history. Includes material suitable for ages 11-14, 14-16 and 16-18, and Teachers’ Notes providing detailed support for teachers. As always, all our materials are #free and #bilingual. www.mysteryquests.ca #onlinelearning #cdnhist #cdned #socialstudies

Let us introduce ourself! Everyone loves a #mystery! The "Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History" project uses the lure of solving puzzles in its engaging, high-quality materials for the teaching of historical methods and Canadian History. It can be used in a wide variety of courses in grades 6-12 including social studies, law, language, literature, and Indigenous history. The project, based at UVIC, has created a series of instructional websites based on the premis...e that students can be drawn into Canadian history and archival research through the enticement of solving historical cold crimes. Each site focuses on a different theme including: slavery, aboriginal issues, disease, vigilante rule, terrorism, religious dissent, early settlement, care of the handicapped, and family violence. The mysteries are drawn from all the regions and the full range of eras in Canadian history and include the major multi-cultural groups. In addition to the main mystery sites there are 30 smaller associated MysteryQuests which are one or two class assignments for students aged 11-18. Each Mystery site and MysteryQuest comes with teacher’s guides, suggested assignments and marking rubrics. This award-winning project is entirely bilingual and is provided free as a public service. Visit us online at www.canadianmysteries.ca and follow us on Twitter (@MysteriesCanada) and Facebook (Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History). See more

Are you teaching online or learning at home? Check out the Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History! www.canadianmysteries.ca High-quality materials for teaching historical methods and History MysteryQuests Teacher's guides included Bilingual... Free! @OHASSTA @Ssenc Ressc #cdned #cdned #history #mystery #socialstudies #onlinelearning See more

During the summer of 1917, the sudden and strange death of artist Tom Thomson in Ontario’s Algonquin Park shocked his friends and family. Almost immediately, rumours began to circulate that the cause of death declared by the coroner ‘accidental drowning’ might not be the actual cause of death. On our #MysterySite "Death on a Painted Lake: The Tom Thomson Tragedy," you will find a variety of documents created by Thomson before his death, and by people who were in contac...t with Thomson around the time of his death. These documents cannot provide us with an eye-witness account of what happened to Thomson, because no witnesses to his death have ever come forward. You will find a number of accounts of the events surrounding the tragedy reports describing Thomson’s disappearance, the search that followed, and the discovery of his body. Some of these documents may contain vital evidence about what happened. Other documents offer ‘background’ information that might help you piece together how Thomson died, as well as answer the question ‘why’. As you read these accounts, take careful notes. More than one theory regarding the cause of Thomson’s death emerged at the time, and you will want to gauge whose testimony seems most believable, and what unanswered questions the testimony leaves you with. Explore this Canadian History Mystery today! https://bit.ly/2LNnSsx #cdned #cdnhist #cdnart #socialstudies #cdnart #onlinelearning See more

Our #FeatureFriday source comes from "The Redpath Mansion Mystery." Two members of one of Canada’s wealthiest families died from gunshot wounds on June 13, 1901. Ada Maria Mills Redpath, the 59-year old widow of industrialist John James Redpath, and her 24-year old son Jocelyn Clifford Redpath (Cliff) were shot in Ada’s bedroom in the Redpath mansion in Montreal’s affluent Square Mile district. Beyond these facts it is difficult to know what happened. We do know that the i...nvestigation was hasty. Apparently the police were not called. A coroner’s investigation was opened, closed, and the bodies were buried within 48 hours of the shots being fired. Who shot whom and why? Read the coroner's report through the archives of our Redpath #MysterySite: English https://bit.ly/3u5c2KQ Français https://bit.ly/3m9u0ZZ See more

Our featured source is from our #MysterySite "Who Discovered Klondike Gold?" For a century, controversy has swirled around the question of who deserves credit for the discovery that set off the greatest gold rush in the history of the world. One of the contenders is Skookum Jim (First Nations name Keish), a member of the wolf clan of the Tagish First Nation. Check out the following account of the discovery. Read more primary source documents in the Archive section of our #...mysterysite https://bit.ly/3ejC86y -- Du mystère Qui a découvert l’or du Klondike? Depuis plus d’un siècle, la controverse fait rage autour d’une question : à qui revient le crédit de la découverte de ce qui allait lancer la plus importante ruée vers l’or de toute l’histoire. Un des aspirants est Skookum Jim (nommé Keish par les Premières Nations), un membre du clan des loups des Tagish. Lisez le récit de sa découverte. https://bit.ly/3gmCw79 #FeatureFriday #cdnhist #cdned #onlinelearning #socialstudies #Klondike #GoldRush

#MysteryQuest 24, a critical thinking challenge for students ages 14-16, looks at the impact of the Gold Rush. In this MysteryQuest, connected to our #MysterySite "Who Discovered Klondike Gold?" you are invited to assess the impact of changes that occurred during the Klondike Gold Rush. Was gold and the subsequent increase in the wealth of individuals and businesses the most significant aspect of this event? Perhaps the rapid influx of people and the accompanying social chan...ges had the greatest impact? Or maybe the most significant impacts affected the environment, caused by development and population growth? Before ranking the impact of changes in three areas economic, social, and environmental you will need to learn more about the Gold Rush and its effects. After considering the criteria for identifying a significant impact, you will gather evidence from historical documents about the economic, social, or environmental changes associated with the Klondike Gold Rush. Finally, you will decide which of these is the first, second, and third most significant areas of change and justify your conclusions. Explore this Mystery Quest and the history of the Klondike Gold Rush today! English https://bit.ly/3v4rwPI Français https://bit.ly/3anp2nV --- #CyberMystère 24: L’impact de la ruée vers l’or du Klondike. Un défi de pensée critique pour les élèves de 14 à 16 ans. Dans le cadre de ce CyberMystère, vous êtes invités à évaluer l’impact des changements qui se sont produits lors de la ruée vers l’or du Klondike. Est-ce que l’or et le fait que les gens et les entreprises ont par la suite fait fortune constitue l’aspect le plus important de cet évènement? Ou peut-être est-ce l’immense flot de personnes qui sont arrivées dans la région et les changements sociaux qu’ils ont déclenchés qui ont eu les plus grandes répercussions? Ou encore, l’impact le plus significatif est-il celui que l’essor économique et l’accroissement de la population ont eu sur l’environnement? Avant de classer les répercussions que ces changements ont eues dans trois secteurs économique, social et environnemental vous devrez vous renseigner au sujet de la ruée vers l’or et de ses effets. Après avoir compris les critères permettant d’identifier un impact significatif, vous amasserez des preuves tirées de documents historiques au sujet des changements économiques, sociaux ou environnementaux associés à la ruée vers l’or du Klondike. Enfin, vous classerez ces trois secteurs, de celui qui a subi le plus de changements significatifs jusqu’à celui qui en a subi le moins, et justifierez vos conclusions.

#MysteryQuest 32 - a critical thinking challenge for students ages 14-16 - is a Canadian history activity that has students explore privileged life in early 20th century Montreal. This MysteryQuest invites you to consider how family wealth contributed to the privileged life of the English-speaking elite of early 20th century Montreal. You will begin by learning about the Redpath family and about three key features or indicators of the family's wealth - where they lived, what... they owned, and the opportunities and connections they had. You will then learn about the many benefits this wealth provided. Finally, you will consider how their wealth enabled them to enjoy these privileges by determining which feature of their wealth most contributed to the benefits they enjoyed. Explore today! English https://bit.ly/3w9UUFS Français https://bit.ly/3wiaM9p #CyberMystère 32: La vie des gens riches au début du 20e siècle à Montréal. Un défi de pensée critique pour les élèves de 14 á 16 ans. Ce CyberMystère vous invite à réfléchir à la façon dont la richesse familiale contribuait au style de vie de l’élite anglophone au début du 20e siècle à Montréal. Vous commencerez par approfondir vos connaissances sur la famille Redpath et sur trois facteurs ou indicateurs de richesse de la famille : le lieu de résidence, les possessions matérielles ainsi que le réseau social et les avantages inhérents au statut social. Puis, vous découvrirez les nombreux avantages que leur procurait cette richesse. Finalement, vous réfléchirez à la façon dont cette richesse leur permettait de jouir de ces privilèges. Pour ce faire, vous déterminerez l’indicateur de richesse qui a le plus contribué aux avantages dont ils jouissaient. #cdnhist #CdnEd #socialstudies #msytery #montreal #onlinelearning

#MysteryMonday Feature: The Redpath Mansion Mystery. Two members of one of Canada’s wealthiest families died from gunshot wounds on June 13, 1901. Ada Maria Mills Redpath, the 59-year old widow of super-wealthy industrialist John James Redpath, and her 24-year old son Jocelyn Clifford Redpath (Cliff) were shot in Ada’s bedroom in the Redpath mansion in Montreal’s affluent Square Mile district. Beyond these facts it is difficult to know what happened. Who shot whom and why?... Why are there so many conflicting versions of the story? Why was the investigation perfunctory? In this whodunit you will encounter dead ends, closed doors, and intriguing mysteries as you search for the truth. Explore this unsolved #mystery in Canadian History today with your class or on your own! English https://bit.ly/3w9S8jW Français https://bit.ly/3wjXCbU #CdnEd #cdnhist #socialstudies #onlinelearning #montreal

Peter Vasilievich Verigin inspired his Doukhobor followers to build a communal empire that spread over three western provinces in the years after 1899, when they arrived in Canada. But in the early morning of October 29, 1924, an explosion on the remote Kettle Valley Line in southeastern British Columbia ripped apart Canadian Pacific Railroad Car 1586, killing the 65-year-old Lordly, his 17-year-old female companion and seven others. Not everyone in the community had welcome...d the Doukhbors in British Columbia, or mourned the death of Verigin. The following letter expressed concerns about the Doukhobor community, drawing attention to nudity and other issues. You can read the rest of the document online, along with many other sources pertaining to the mysterious death of Doukhobor leader Peter Verigin on our #MysterySite "Explosion on the Kettle Valley Line: The Death of Peter Verigin." English https://bit.ly/31dcSst Français https://bit.ly/314kcqz #FeatureFriday #cdnhist #CdnEd #socialstudies #onlinelearning

#MysteryQuest 12 is all about investigating suspects in the death of Peter Verigin. Late in the evening of October 28, 1924, Peter Verigin boarded a Canadian Pacific Railway train at Brilliant, British Columbia, the headquarters of the Doukhobor community. About one in the morning a horrific explosion blew away the roof and sides of the coach. Verigin and eight others perished in the explosion, which investigators on the scene quickly concluded was no accident. This Mystery...Quest invites you to make a recommendation to cold case detectives who might want to reopen an investigation into Verigin’s death. Your task is to examine some of the evidence related to one of five groups or individuals who are identified as possible suspects. Explore this #MysteryQuest today! English https://bit.ly/3sgo9nW Français https://bit.ly/3f3FZGZ CyberMystère 12: La mort de Peter Verigin : enquête sur les suspects. Le soir du 28 octobre 1924, Peter Verigin monte dans un train du Canadien Pacifique à Brilliant, en Colombie-Britannique, le quartier général de la communauté doukhobor. Vers une heure, la voiture-coach dans laquelle il prend place est soufflée par une explosion. Verigin et huit autres personnes périssent dans l’explosion. Les enquêteurs dépêchés sur les lieux concluent rapidement qu’il ne s’agit pas d’un accident. Dans le cadre de ce CyberMystère, vous êtes invités à faire votre propre recommandation aux détectives qui rouvriraient une enquête sur l’affaire non résolue de la mort de Verigin. Votre tâche consiste à examiner certains éléments de preuve reliés à l’un des cinq groupes ou individus ayant été identifiés comme des suspects possibles.

#MysteryQuest 6 is about slavery in New France. This critical thinking challenge for students ages 11-14 invites students to assume the role of an historian interested in slavery in eighteenth century New France. As part of your inquiry into comparing the life of commoners and slaves in the Colony, you will examine primary documents written about the events of Montréal’s fire of 1734 and the accusations that faced an African slave named Angélique. You will also use secondary ...documents the interpretations of historians who have looked at slaves and commoners in New France. Your goal is to answer the question: How significantly different was the life of ordinary citizens (commoners) and slaves in New France? Find this #MysteryQuest (and all our "Torture and the Truth" MysteryQuests) here: English https://bit.ly/3rFcrTj Français https://bit.ly/3rxGegv CyberMystère 6: Esclavage en Nouvelle-France. Dans le cadre de ce CyberMystère, vous jouerez le rôle d’un historien qui s’intéresse à l’esclavage en Nouvelle-France au dix-huitième siècle. Dans le but de comparer la vie des esclaves et celle des roturiers dans la colonie, vous examinerez les sources écrites au sujet de l’incendie de Montréal de 1734 et au sujet des accusations auxquelles a fait face une esclave africaine appelée Angélique. Vous vous référerez également aux études les interprétations des historiens qui ont étudié les roturiers et les esclaves de la Nouvelle-France. Votre objectif est de répondre à la question suivante : à quel point la vie des citoyens ordinaires (roturiers) et celle des esclaves étaient-elles différentes en Nouvelle-France? Un défi de pensée critique pour les élèves de 11 à 14 ans.

The trial of Angélique, an enslaved Black woman accused of setting a desctructive fire in Montréal in 1734, immerses us in a world whose physical environment, political system, economy and social structure are unfamiliar to us. The absolutist regime in France had even less tolerance for democracy in its colony, and did not allow freedom of expression. There were no newspapers in Nouvelle-France and the king had forbidden the import of printing presses. Slavery was endorsed by... the king and torture was incorporated into the legal system. Canadians often pretend that there was no slavery in Canada, but stories like Angélique's force us to acknowledge that this isn't true. This week, explore the history of slavery in New France through the context of Angélique's life. "Torture and the Truth: Angélique and the Burning of Montréal" English https://bit.ly/2N8jjtn Français https://bit.ly/36RAUNe

Our January 2011 #GUMICHGazette has a suggestion for a #BlackHistoryMonth resource: "Black Hands - Trial of the Arsonist Slave" (Les Mains noires : procès de l'esclave incendiaire). It's a documentary about Angélique, an enslaved Black woman who was accused of setting fire to Montreal in 1734. View the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAlGY5TQMAk Explore the story of Angélique on our #MysterySite "Torture and the Truth: Angélique and the Burning of Montreal" here: https://bit.ly/2O1G5mV Read the January 2011 GUMICH Gazette newsletter here in English and French: https://bit.ly/3axbbKN

#MysteryQuest 2 asks: Did Angelique Start the Fire? This critical thinking challenge for students ages 11-14 is all about evaluating the evidence. In this MysteryQuest, you are invited to examine key pieces of evidence presented at the trial against Angélique to decide whether you are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that she set the fire. From the #mysterysite "Torture and The Truth: Angelique and the Burning of Montreal." / La torture et la vérité : Angélique et l'incend...ie de Montréal. CyberMystère 2 - Angélique a-t-elle allumé l’incendie? Évaluer les éléments de preuve. Un défi de pensée critique pour les élèves de 11 à 14 ans. Dans le cadre de ce CyberMystère, vous êtes invité à examiner les éléments de preuve présentés au procès d’Angélique dans le but de déterminer si vous êtes convaincu ou non au-delà de tout doute raisonnable qu’elle a bel et bien allumé l’incendie. English https://bit.ly/3rsWcsp Français https://bit.ly/3rkmOeW

In the spring of 1734, a fire occurred in Montréal that destroyed a hospital and 45 houses on rue Saint-Paul. Criminal proceedings were soon underway against Marie-Josèphe dite Angélique, an enslaved Black woman, and her White lover, Claude Thibault. The latter fled, leaving Angélique on her own to prove her innocence. Some twenty witnesses filed before the judge, all of them convinced that the slave of the widow Francheville was guilty, yet not one of them saw her set the fi...re. Her story is a tragic one, yet Angélique inspired a movement to advance the cause of social justice in Québec and sparked the fight against all forms of discrimination. For #BlackHistoryMonth we'll be highlighting her story. Check out our #mysterysite "Torture and the Truth: Angélique and the Burning of Montréal / La torture et la vérité : Angélique et l'incendie de Montréal to learn more about Angélique: English https://bit.ly/3j5WxOs Français https://bit.ly/3j5Mrxh #MysteryMonday #cdnhist #CdnEd

This week's #GUMICHGazette highlight comes from the January 2014 newsletter. It's the featured primary source from the #MysterySite "Torture and the Truth: Angelique and the Burning of Montreal"/La torture et la vérité : Angélique et l’incendie de Montréal. The title of the featured document is Interrogation under torture (ordinary and extraordinary question), hearing at 7:00 am, June 21, 1734/Interrogatoire sous la torture (question ordinaire et extraordinaire), audience de... 7:00, 21 juin 1734. Document de Cour. When Montreal caught fire in April 1734, suspicion fell on a Black slave called Marie Angélique. But did she really start the fire? Check out the shocking court document summarizing one of her interrogations under torture in Montreal. Lorsque Montréal fut incendié en avril 1734, les soupçons se sont portés sur une esclave noire, Marie Angélique. Mais avait-elle réellement mis le feu? Lisez le terrible document qui résume un de ses interrogatoires sous la torture à Montréal. View the document here: English https://bit.ly/2M1AIU8 Français https://bit.ly/3cabk9r Read the January 2014 GUMICH Gazette newsletter here in English et Français https://canadianmysteries.ca//gumichNewsL/january2014.html