This is part four of a four-part series on the research, scripting, writing, and staging of the 15th annual Guided Spirit Walks at Victoria Lawn Cemetery. Read part one: character biographies,  part two: source material, part three: character biographies.

Each year our annual Guided Spirit Walks feature a fresh, new script featuring original research. Sometimes familiar names make a return to the walks, especially when the script is set in an era similar to their previous appearance. The script for 2026 only has one historic person previously featured, however. This is especially remarkable considering the tour route through the cemetery is similar to the last few years, highlighting just how historic and important Victoria Lawn is to the story of our city.

In part three of this year’s accompany blog series I’m sharing some more of the biographies and obituaries of the historic personalities included on this year’s tour.

Don’t miss our annual theatrical tours through Victoria Lawn Cemetery, September 10-12 and 17-19. Tickets and information are available on our website.

John Latham Ranney, 1817-1904
Old Cemetery, Section D

Buried steps from business partner and family friend D.W. Bixby, J.L. Ranney was similarly successful in making investors out of friends. Portrayed by Chris Butt, J. L. Ranney was an industrious and energetic fellow. He was remembered for several business partnerships including an on-again, off-again business partnership with Captain Neelon (slightly awkward, them being brothers-in-law).

Bixby (see Part Two of Character Biographies) and Ranney shed light on how the business community reacted to incorporation. Since it was a boon for development, businesses and industrial entrepreneurs did very well leveraging the new city to benefit their businesses, take advantage of new tax structures, and attract new customers.

Latham’s obituary reads:

“JOHN L. RANNEY PASSES TO HIS REST
An Eminent Citizen of St. Catharines In Former Years.
John Latham Ranney, one of St. Catharines’ oldest and most respected citizens, passed away on Sunday afternoon at the residence of Dr. Clark, St. Paul street. The deceased was born in Springfield, Mass., on the 4th of August, 1817, and in the early days of St. Catharines was probably the most widely known and most influential man in the district. He was educated as a merchant’s clerk in Columbia, S.C., and subsequently went to Montreal, Quebec.

It was the year 1837, when the deceased was 20 years of age, that he came to this city and entered the employ of the late Dr. WM. C. Chace. There he remained until 1840, when he established a mercantile business in the first brick block erected in St. Catharines, adjacent the old St. Catharines House, which stood where J.B. Fowler now conducts his jewelry business. Two years later he established the first flour mill of the Niagara District, the location of which was at lock 2, then known as “Smokey Hollow,” or the present site of the Welland Vale Mfg. Company’s plant. In this mill an extensive business was developed.

Mr. Ranney was connected with the ship building industry of this city, and he had built and owned several large vessels of the old days, viz., the Almeda, the Merchant Miller, the Jessie, the Halifax, the Brantford, and one or two others.
Some time previous so 1857, the flour mill was burned, and a newer and larger one was built to replace it. By honest and upright dealing his business steadily increased, and he was the man to ship a consignment of wheat, Capt. Norris being in command of the vessel which carried the first load. In those days the Manitoba wheat fields were unknown, and the wheat was taken from Toledo.

He went to Chicago in 1864 and established a brokerage business. He remained there until 1882, when he returned to St. Catharines, disposed of his property and went to Winnipeg to reside with his daughters, Mrs. Jas A Millor, wife of Judge Millor, and Mrs. W.G. Nichols. Once again he returned to St. Catharines and for the past eighteen he has resided with Dr. Clark.
There never was a more staunch adherent of St. George’s church nor a more faithful attendant. He was the last surviving charter member of Union lodge, I.O.O.F., and was the oldest member of St. George’s lodge, A.F. & A.M., of which he had been a life member.

In 1842 he married the widow of the late Mr. Phelps, and to them was given two daughters and a son, of whom one daughter, Mrs. Nichols alone survives him.

He was associated with many public works. He was a member of the first board of directors of the Suspension Bridge, and retained his position until 1902, when he retired in favor of H.J. Taylor. He was a member of the board of police commissioners in 1847, and was always deeply interested in roadways leading into the city, viz., the Merritton and Thorold road, the Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto road, the Pelham road and the road to Port Dalhousie and others.

The late Capts. Norris, Neelon, Murray and Larkin were connected with the deceased in the early days.

His death will be regretted by all who knew him, and the loss to the city is immense. Few men possess an intellect equal to that of the deceased, and few still are capable of putting into one practice the thought and desires of one’s mind as was done by the late and lamented John L. Ranney.”

The Daily Standard (St. Catharines), May 9, 1904, p. 1

Anne Barwick, 1811-1880
Old Cemetery, Section D

Anne is portrayed by Pat Barnett. Unfortunately, little is known about Anne’s life. The lack of an obituary could mean a variety of things, including a prolonged illness, or having spent the remaining years of her life elsewhere. Anne does seem to be on every committee of every lady’s organization in 1876, however, and is buried at Victoria Lawn. Unfortunately, this lack of information is all too common for so many buried at Victoria Lawn.

For this year, however, I brought her to life as she was in 1876, as a member of the Board of the Ladies Christian Association and Pat makes an excellent scene partner to Kathie LeBlanc’s Mary McCalla (see Part 2 of Character Biographies for Mary McCalla’s obituary).

Dency Prudence Moore Copeland, 1827-1880
Old Cemetery, Second C

Like Anne Barwick, little is known of Dency Prudence Moore Copeland other than her relatives (the St. Johns) and her busy membership on many committees, including the Ladies Auxiliary of the hospital. Dency Copeland is portrayed by Wendy Cullen-Mackie.

John Charles Rykert, 1831-1913
Old Cemetery, Section D

Aside from J.G. Currie, John Charles Rykert was wont to find himself in the middle of some political non-scandal and frequently appeared in the press. He served as MPP for Lincoln from 1860-1863 and 1867-1878 and would have led the incorporation efforts at the provincial level. He later served as MP for Lincoln 1878-1892. He served as reeve from 1864-1876. He was later Mayor, 1895-1896.

Several newspapers reported the most underwhelming stories about any debate over incorporation and about the election of the first mayor and council. There is even less information than enthusiasm in those articles, so several sources have been blended to give the audience a sense of the pros-and-cons of incorporation and a flavour of the political thinking behind the events.

Rykert is the only character to have previously appeared on the Spirit Walks. He is portrayed by long-time spirit walk performer Ian Ashman.

“MR. J.C. RYKERT, HENCHMAN OF THE BELOVED CHIEFTAIN, PASSED AWAY ON SATURDAY EVENING
He Had Been Prominent in Industrial and Professional Life as Well as Politically; The Last Member of the First Ontario Legislature; a Lawyer of large Practice.

A name closely identified with the history of the county, and, in fact, with some of the important political history of Canada, is no more. Between 8 and 9 o’clock Saturday night John Charles Rykert, K.C., Ex-M.P., passed away at his home 59 Church Street at the advanced age of 82 years. He had been failing for some months and the end was not unexpected. From being one of the most active men in the district a nervous breakdown several years ago practically confined him to his arm chair for the rest of his life.

Than John Charles Rykert, no one man was ever better known to the people of this city and county. He was a born politician and away back in 1859 he was reeve of the township of Grantham and Warden of the county. He had a wonderful hold upon the affections of the people, and it was only a matter of course that he was elected to the Ontario Legislature and later to the Dominion parliament. He was a wonderful campaigner in the old days; it seemed as though he knew personally every man in the rural constituencies and their faith in him appeared to be unbounded. It was said of him that he never forgot a friend; nor turned from him when it was in his power to do him a good turn. More than one man in Lincoln today owes his present prosperity to start given him years ago by John Charles Rykert. Some of the great fights he went through will be talked of today by the old timers, for those contests were nothing short of titanic struggles. Many of the “old guard” still remain, as loyal to the dead chieftain as they were in the days when he was in the zenith of his power.

FACULTY FOR MAKING FRIENDS

He had a wonderful faculty for making friends. His great vitality had to have some outlet, and for 40 years he was a volunteer fireman. For years on end, whenever he was in the city, at whatever time of day or night, he answered the alarm the same as the youngest member of the brigade. And he was not one to stand by merely to watch operations; he was ever in the thick of the fight. In fact, his interest in the fire brigade never waned; and even when he grew too old for active service he attended the fires and did what he could with his advice.
He was regarded in his prime as the most brilliant member of the bar of Lincoln County. He was a master with a jury, and time and time again has been pitted against the most brilliant members of the profession in the argument of important cases.

With all his multifarious duties as a lawyer and a member of parliament he still found time to work for the interests of his city. He received his early education at the old “Granthan Academy,” now the Collegiate Institute, and never lost his interest in the school. For thirty years he was a valued member of the Collegiate Institute Board of Trustees, and his advice was always listened to with great attention. He was many times chairman of the board.

PATRON OF AGRICULTURE

He was a devoted patron of agriculture and horticulture. At his farm in Grantham township the first Niagara grapes were grown, and in the extensive grounds at his residence on the corner where the Y.M.C.A. now stands he was always experimenting in the growth of something novel. It was one of the pleasures of life to him to drop in on a friend of a morning and give him a handful of peanuts or a couple of oranges or lemons grown by himself. For many years he was president of the Lincoln County Agricultural Association besides which he acted as director of many of the township fairs.

In the old political days, when partyism was a more strenuous thing than it is in these days, he was a favourite subject for the cartoonist. In the days of “Grip,” Bengough seemed to take a delight in caricaturing the member for Lincoln and no one enjoyed the cartoons more than the man most interested. His sense of humor never permitted him to get annoyed, but rather he might be seen standing on the street showing a friend the latest in Grip and laughing heartily at the lampoon.

As mayor of the town he was all that a mayor should be. His long parliamentary experience had taught him how meetings should be conducted, and the meetings of council in his day were like a session of Parliament on a small scale.

IN TOWNSHIP POLITICS

For twenty years he was reeve of Grantham, and of St. Catharines. While he was reeve of Grantham, in 1859, he was elected warden of the county, and reelected in 1860. He was again warden in 1867-68, while reeve of St. Catharines. He was warden when the late King Edward VII, then the prince of Wales, visited the then village of St. Catharines in 1860. Mr. Rykert, who read the address to the Prince was thrown from his horse and had the honor of being rescued from the feet of the prancing animal by the Prince against the protests of the Duke of Newcastle.

Mr. Rykert served in the Fenian Raid in 1866 as a cavalry captain, and escorted prisoners to thr Brantford jail.
Among his other local activities he was a trustee of the General and Marine Hospital, and a chairman of the Public Library Board. He was mayor of the city in 1895 and 1896.

OF U.E. LOYALIST STOCK

John Charles Rykert was the con of George Rykert, a United Empire Loyalist of Pennsylvania Dutch descent, who was born on the banks of the Hudson River, who after taking up residence here as a Conservative unsuccessfully contested Lincoln County against the late Hon. William Hamilton Merrit, the father of the first Welland Canal.
John Charles Rykert was educated at Upper Canada College, where he was a classmate of the Late Hon. Edward Blake. He was called to the Bar in 1858, and in the following year married Anna,
daughter of Col. Sheldon Hawley of Trenton, Ontario. He was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1881. Mr. Rykert, who was a Conservative, had a long and varied Parliamentary career, several times during which he was unseated; one scrutiny cost as high as $25,000. He was first elected to the parliament of Upper and Lower Canada for Lincoln in 1860, and returned in 1861 by acclamation, and retained his seat until 1863, and was elected by acclamation to the legislature at the time of Confederation, and again by acclamation in 1871 and 1876.

He was defeated by Captain Neelon in 1875; who was afterwards unseated and disqualified. In 1891 Capt. Neelon ran as a Conservative but was defeated by William Gibson. In 1878 Mr. Rykert was elected to the Commons, also in 1882, 1887 and 1890, but was defeated in 1896 by (now) Senator Gibson.
Mr. Rykert was always regarded by Sir John A. Macdonald as one his most able lieutenants. The member for Lincoln had a penchant for keeping clippings of everything that had to do with Parliamentary life, and his “scrap book” became one of the features of the Dominion house. In fact, it was said that that book contained matter of so much value that it was constantly in demand among members who desired to refresh their memories prior to debate.

AN EARLY DONOR

Mr. Rykert as elected President of the Agriculture and Arts Association of Toronto in 1865, and also in 1880 and 1890, and was a continuous member for forty years, during which time he never missed a fair. In 1893 he was a judge of fruit at the Chicago World’s Exposition

About seven years ago he retired from law practice in public life on account of failing health.
He is survived by his wife, four sons and two daughters: John Charles of Kootenay, B.C.; Edward G., broker of Montreal; Dr. Arthur of Dundas; Henry F. of Milton; Mrs. Clarence J. McCuaig of Montreal, and Miss Annie Rykert, superintendent of the Post-Graduate Hospital, New York, who on leave of absence had nursed her father for the past four years.

The funeral will take place Tuesday afternoon.”

The St. Catharines Standard, December 29, 1913, pp. 1, 4

Thomas Brownlee, 1832-1905
Buried in Chicago, Il

Thomas Brownlee is the first ever character to appear on the Spirit Walks who is not buried in Victoria Lawn. His parents and siblings are buried at the cemetery, however, in between the St. Johns and the Colliers. Brownlee will be portrayed by Declan Platakis.

Brownlee won out over Calvin Brown for inclusion on this year’s Spirit Walk. First, Brown’s story is as well told as it can be, especially in this year celebrating incorporation and him being the first mayor of the new city. His burial is disappointingly far off from this year’s tour, whereas fellow mayoral candidate Brownlee’s family plot is perfectly placed. I always prefer to hear the narratives of the less well-known. Even though the Brownlee’s were a prominent family in their day, little coverage of the other mayoral candidates in May of 1876 was presented this year. I had a feeling that would be the case. Instead of this scene centering on the election that year, I turned to the greater debate about the pros and cons of incorporation generally, and in doing so successfully captured the fracture between the old guard (represented by Rykert and others) and the new guard represented by Brown, Brownlee, and others.

Brownlee died in Chicago after having moved there to be closer with his sons. His obituary reads:

“BROWNLEE-In Chicago, on Saturday, Nov. 25th, 1905, at 10 o’clock a.m., T.R. Brownlee, formerly or this city.
Funeral will take place in Chicago on Tuesday.

Word has been received in the city of the death of T.R. Brownlee and of W.H. Cordick, of this city. Mr. Brownlee was an old resident of St. Catharines and for many years carried on a grocery business at the junction of St. Paul and Queenston streets. At one time he was a member of the city council and, when St. Catharines was incorporated as a city, he ran against the late Calvin Brown for the honor of being the first mayor but was defeated. Mr. Brownlee left here about eight years ago to join his sons in Chicago. Not only was he foremost in the civic affairs, but by his many acts of kindness made many friends, who will regret to learn of his demise.”

Thanks very much for following along. The cast and crew are excited to present the annual Guided Spirit Walks, and we hope you’ll join us on this walk-through history.

Adrian Petry is a public historian, Visitor Services Coordinator for the St. Catharines Museum, and is the writer and director of the annual Guided Spirit Walks.