Thomas Mackay: The Laird of Rideau Hall and the Founding of Ottawa

Author:   Alastair Sweeny
Publisher:   University of Ottawa Press
Edition:   2021st ed.
ISBN:  

9780776636788


Pages:   404
Publication Date:   22 February 2022
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.

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Thomas Mackay: The Laird of Rideau Hall and the Founding of Ottawa


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Overview

The Laird of Rideau Hall explores the life and times of Thomas Mackay, the chief founder of Bytown/Ottawa. Born and raised in Perth, Scotland, Mackay and his family emigrated to Montreal in 1817. Partnering with fellow mason John Redpath, he built the locks of the first Lachine Canal, did military construction work at Fort Lennox and St.Helen's Island, and supplied stone for Montreal's Notre Dame Basilica. Engaged by Colonel By of the Royal Engineers to build the Ottawa and Hartwell Locks of the Rideau Canal, Mackay used his profits to found the village of New Edinburgh and build a mill complex at Rideau Falls, as well as the residence his daughter named Rideau Hall. With his hefty canal profits-paid in Spanish silver pieces of eight-Mackay was a major financier of the Ottawa and Prescott Railway, and chief promoter of Ottawa as the capital of Canada. He served as Colonel of the Russell and Carleton militias, was MLA for Russell for seven years, and a member of the Legislative Council of Canada for fifteen. After Mackay's death in 1855, his son-in-law and estate manager Thomas Keefer sold Rideau Hall to the government to serve as a residence for Canada's Governor General. Keefer also developed a tract of land owned by the estate into the village of Rockcliffe Park, today home to over 70 diplomatic residences.

Full Product Details

Author:   Alastair Sweeny
Publisher:   University of Ottawa Press
Imprint:   University of Ottawa Press
Edition:   2021st ed.
ISBN:  

9780776636788


ISBN 10:   0776636782
Pages:   404
Publication Date:   22 February 2022
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable   Availability explained
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.

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Reviews

"[A] highly enjoyable read. Sweeney brings the characters to life and enthralls the reader with his passion for the history of Thomas Mackay and Canada's capital city. [https: //www.ottawalife.com/article/thomas-mackay-the-most-famous-canadian-that-no-one-knows-about-until-now?c=50]--Karen Temple ""Ottawa Life"" Alasdair has been grinding it out in the public history trenches long enough to qualify on any score. [...] Local and regional history thrives perennially, whatever the state of the more (seeking-to-be) commercial market. (Included in list of 2022 top 14 trade-oriented Canadian history titles)--Christopher Moore ""Christopher Moore's History News, ""Canadian History in trade market publishing: still not dead yet but..."" (https: //christophermoorehistory.blogspot.com/2022/12/canadian-history-in-trade-market.html)"" In 1792 Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe invited American Loyalists north to speed up colonisation. Thomas Mackay: The Laird of Rideau Hall and the Founding of Ottawa is a must-read history of the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada that tells the stories of these and other settlers who saw a glimmer of opportunity in this new land and went above and beyond to realize their vision.--Karen Temple ""https: //www.ottawalife.com/article/thomas-mackay-the-most-famous-canadian-that-no-one-knows-about-until-now"" Sweeny's Thomas Mackay is a double biography, of the man and of the founding of a city. It is a local history that draws together many near and distant threads (...) This is the first biography of Mackay, and it's a smart way to tell the story of Ottawa. (...) For a time, we lose sight of Mackay, when the author delves into the 200-kilometre canal itself, its forty-seven masonry locks, fifty-two dams, and long stretches of calm water. Sweeny follows the fates of a large cast of characters. I never lost interest, however, trusting that Mackay would reappear, and he does. (...) I appreciated the work the author has done. Just as I did his recreation of the work -- the dedicated building with stone -- done by Thomas Mackay. Sweeny spent fifteen years researching this book: a hobby, he writes, that became a passion.--Elizabeth Hay """"Curtain Call: Along our treasured canal,"" Literary Review of Canada, Vol. 30, Number 4 (May 2022)"" Sweeny, in his deeply-researched new book Thomas Mackay: the Laird of Rideau Hall and the Founding of Ottawa, paints a vivid picture of a remarkably talented, relatively little-known man who helped found the city, of its drama-filled early days and the way in which Mackay's achievements still underpin Ottawa's existence. (...) With this book, Sweeny makes us aware of a man who, with bare hands, determination, and technical brilliance, led the building of structures and a city familiar to all Canadians. His real legacy is secure, even if his place in history has not been so -- until now. (https: //www.policymagazine.ca/thomas-mackay-ottawas-master-builder/) --Anthony Wilson-Smith """"Thomas Mackay, Ottawa's Master Builder,"" Policy Magazine (May 2022)"""


In 1792 Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe invited American Loyalists north to speed up colonisation. Thomas Mackay: The Laird of Rideau Hall and the Founding of Ottawa is a must-read history of the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada that tells the stories of these and other settlers who saw a glimmer of opportunity in this new land and went above and beyond to realize their vision.--Karen Temple ""https: //www.ottawalife.com/article/thomas-mackay-the-most-famous-canadian-that-no-one-knows-about-until-now"" Sweeny's account is both meticulous and fascinating. [...] Sweeny's account of Mackay's life provides insights into the people and places that shaped the city of Ottawa that stands today. --Deborah Morrison ""https: //www.canadashistory.ca/explore/books/thomas-mackay""


"In 1792 Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe invited American Loyalists north to speed up colonisation. Thomas Mackay: The Laird of Rideau Hall and the Founding of Ottawa is a must-read history of the colonies of Upper and Lower Canada that tells the stories of these and other settlers who saw a glimmer of opportunity in this new land and went above and beyond to realize their vision.--Karen Temple ""https: //www.ottawalife.com/article/thomas-mackay-the-most-famous-canadian-that-no-one-knows-about-until-now"""


Author Information

Alastair Sweeny is the author of several books on Canadian history and technology, including George-tienne Cartier: A Biography, BlackBerry Planet, and Fire Along the Frontier: Great Battles of the War of 1812. He is the founding director of canadachannel.ca, a series of Canadian educational portals created by well-known authors in the fields of education and Canadian history.

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