Past Recovery Archaeological Services Inc.

Past Recovery is currently seeking an experienced Project Archaeologist to join our team as soon as possible! The ideal candidate holds a valid P-licence* and resides within an easy commuting distance to Perth, ON, where our office is located. Most of our fieldwork takes place in Eastern Ontario.

*R-licensees with completed Masters Degree will also be considered.

Please see the complete job posting on our webpage.
http://www.pastrecovery.com/contact/employment-opportunities-2/

If an archaeological assessment is triggered what happens next? Any fieldwork, artifact analysis, or reporting needs to follow the Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists:http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/publications/SG_2010.pdf

This Daguerreotype was recovered from a privy that we excavated in advance of the new addition to Town Hall at Gananoque. What is now Town Hall was originally the home of John and Henrietta McDonald (built in 1831/2).

It was common practice for people to not only throw away household garbage, but also to ‘clean house’ by dumping all of the previous residents’ unwanted belongings into the privy upon the arrival of a new resident. This frequently results in a privy full of household items that can act as a sort of time capsule for archaeologists.

In this case, it would seem that the privy was likely filled up after Henrietta McDonald died in 1900, and the Daguerreotype (and hundreds of other artifacts) were probably deposited in the privy as part of a household clearance by Town Hall staff when the town acquired the property in 1911.

It is our belief that this image depicts John McDonald (not to be confused with Sir John A.), the husband of Henrietta and a major player in Gananoque business and politics until his death in 1860.

The only other known image of John McDonald is a painted portrait currently on display at Town Hall, where he appears younger than in the Daguerreotype, but is wearing the same clothes (see comments below for the portrait).

Look at us! We’re investigating a few stone and brick structures adjacent to Town Hall in Gananoque. The Town Hall was originally the house of John and Henrietta McDonald built in 1831/32 and is surrounded by the original estate lands that have remained undeveloped and in use as Town Park. We’ll post a few updates as we go along!