By: John C. Carter
Introduction:
This article is about mayhem and murder. Its focus is on the mysterious death in July of 1863, of provincial land surveyor, justice of the peace, and fishery superintendent, William Gibbard. The story begins on July 23 of that year, when Gibbard along with a force of special constables armed with batons, revolvers and handcuffs, boarded the steamer Ploughboy 1 in Collingwood. Six of these constables came from the Toronto police, and were under command of Sgt. Major Cummings and Detective Colgan of the Simcoe County police. In addition, six constables from Barrie and six constables from Collingwood joined the group, of which William Gibbard assumed command. This party sailed out of the harbour en route to Manitoulin Island. Their task there was to arrest Indigenous leaders and two local Catholic priests who were supposedly involved in a dispute over the destruction of a fishing station at Lonely Island. 2 Orders were given “…to endeavour to arrest the aiders and abettors of the Indian revolt on these islands.”
At Wikwemikong, the posse which included T. Collier, steward of the Ploughboy, was forced to retreat due to hostile interaction with residents there. Gibbard and the special constables re-boarded the Ploughboy and carried on to Shebanwaning (Killarney), and Little Current, before proceeding to Bruce Mines. There the alleged native ring leader was arrested 3.
The Ploughboy then continued on to Sault Ste. Marie. There the prisoner was committed to go to trial, and was defended by barrister David Blain. After some legal proceedings, the prisoner was then granted bail by Judge John Prince 4, when the prisoner personally posted $100, and received two other sureties totalling $200. Judge Prince made a notation in his July 25, 1863 personal diary about this matter. He wrote that; “Captain Gibbard had called requiring his attendance at the court house for a case about an Indian who had caused a riot. He mentions that three men also came from Toronto to attend – what a scene!”
Towards a Mysterious Death:
The Ploughboy, commanded by Captain Robert McLean, returned to Little Current on July 28th, after stopping at Bruce Mines. Later that night she departed for Killarney. On reaching this destination, the Indian chief and the Jesuit priest Auguste Kohler were dropped off. On assembling for breakfast the next morning, it was noticed by the crew and passengers, that William Gibbard was absent and apparently had disappeared. Captain W.H. Smith, who was also a Justice of the Peace and a passenger aboard the Ploughboy, immediately took charge of the search for Gibbard. His efforts were futile and met with no success. The steamer returned to Collingwood, and information about Gibbard’s disappearance was given to the Mayor, John McWatt, who was the brother-in-law of Gibbard. McWatt subsequently telegraphed authorities for further instructions 5. The special constables returned to their home bases, and Sgt. Major Cummings remained in Collingwood to assist with the ongoing inquiry. An article originally appearing in the [Toronto] Globe of August 1, and re-printed in the August 7th New York World, surmised that; “Meanwhile the public will await with anxiety the steps to be taken by the government under the very peculiar circumstances of the case.” Later, William Gibbard’s body was found floating in the water near Heywood Island, off Manitoulin Island.
Reports of Murder:
One of the first published accounts about the fate of William Gibbard, appeared in the July 30th edition of the [Owen Sound] Comet. The paper suggested that; “It seems to be the impression he [Gibbard] was secretly pushed overboard by one, of the prisoners taken at Manitoulin Island.”
Later, more detailed descriptions about the tragedy were published in the August 20 issue of the [Owen Sound] Comet, the August 1 edition of the Toronto Globe, in the August 20th copy of the Canadian Illustrated News, the August 20th [Toronto] Canadian Freeman, and in the August 20th issue of the [Collingwood] Daily Review.
A comprehensive nine page synopsis of events associated with this sad event was also printed later in Wesleyan Methodist missionary Conrad Van Dusen’s 1867 book, entitled The Indian Chief. No one was ever charged in the case, but some rumours circulated that Gibbard had been killed by a non-Aboriginal person on account of and in relation to an unpaid gambling debt. This was only one of the rumours that continued to swirl around Gibbard’s demise.
In a July 28, 1863 letter to Honourable William MacDougall, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Collingwood Justice of the Peace H. Prosser, wrote that the Ploughboy had landed at the Northern Railway pier in Collingwood on July 27, and “…with the exception of Mr. Gibbard, all the party that went up to Manitoulin, returned.” Prosser added that the last place that Gibbard had been seen, “…was a little to the Shebawaning [Killarney] side of Little Current, about three o’clock yesterday (July 27) morning.” Prosser concluded that after not finding Gibbard aboard the Ploughboy, that; “The impression then became general that Mr. Gibbard had either been foully dealt with or had accidently fallen overboard.” Gibbard’s obituary which was published in the [London] Times, simply said; “On the 28th of July, on Lake Huron, murdered while in the execution of his duties as Government Inspector of Fisheries, William Gibbard, of Collingwood, Canada West, Justice of the Peace.”
Aftermath:
Following his death, William Gibbard’s body was returned to Collingwood. An autopsy was performed there by Dr. Adoniah Vallack, who concluded in part the following; “I examined the body of William Gibbard and so far as external appearances go on the greater part of the body, I saw nothing to lead me to suppose violence had been committed…I am of the opinion that the mark on the right side was from a blow… I think a fall from the upper deck [of the Ploughboy], striking the boat would cause such an appearance found here.” In Toronto, forensic scientist Professor Henry Holmes Croft examined Gibbard’s lungs, and found no water in them. Croft deduced that Gibbard had not drowned, but was dead when he entered the water. After these investigations were completed, Gibbard was buried in All Saint’s Anglican Church cemetery in Collingwood. Subsequently, a memorial was erected there by his wife Mary, to honour his remembrance.
In addition, an inquest was held in the weeks after the sad event. It was conducted by the Collingwood Crown Attorney Mr. McNabb, and an excerpt of the findings of the inquest follows; “We the jury are of the opinion that the late William Gibbard was foully and cruelly murdered on the 28th day of July last when on board the steamboat Ploughboy somewhere between Little Current and Shebananwning after which the murderer or murderers threw the body overboard into the lake…After a careful examination of the facts as laid before the jury they are of the opinion that the ends of justice may be further offered by the offer of a sizeable reward for the discovery of the murderers.” This recommendation was soon carried out, as in October of 1863, Sir Charles Monck, the Governor General of the Province of Canada, offered a $400 reward for information leading to the apprehension of persons responsible for Gibbard’s death. Advertisements for an additional $200 reward, which was offered by Thomas R. Ferguson, Warden of Simcoe County, began running in various local newspapers, starting in February of 1864. These papers included the Spirit of the Ages, South Simcoe Times, the [Toronto] Weekly Leader, and the Collingwood Enterprise. These monetary inducements were however to be of little avail, as no one ever claimed either of the rewards, and nobody was ever arrested, charged nor convicted of William Gibbard’s murder. Today the mystery still remains unsolved!
Endnotes:
1 This is one of the many interesting stories about the steamer Ploughboy. For more fascinating reading about this vessel, get a copy of my book The Perils and Pitfalls of the Steamer Ploughboy: A Story of its Construction to Destruction (Essex, Ont. Essex Region Conservation Authority, 2018). For more details about how to obtain this publication, please contact the John R. Park Homestead’s curator, Kris Ives, at kives@erca.org.
2 For Gibbard’s official position about fishing infractions which led up to this incident, see William Gibbard, “To the Head Chief of Wequimekousing and Weqimekong, and to all other Indians in the neighbourhood,” Sessional Papers (1863), #18, pp. 18-17 to 18-27. For information on an 1862 Treaty outlining local native rights, see “Copy of Treaty Made at Manitowaning, the Sixth Day of October, 1862,” in Day, English America, pp. 112-14.
3 The name of the arrested Indian appears in various accounts as either Chief John Oswa-anw-mekee, Sawamackoo, or Chief Little Thunder.
4 John Prince had recently been appointed as judge in the Algoma District. He moved from Sandwich, in the Western District (Essex County) to Sault St. Marie, and was familiar with the Ploughboy, as its home port was and continued to be Amherstburg. Prince often used the Ploughboy while conducting his duties as a judge in the north. He also used it as a means to travel to Collingwood and then to connect with the direct train service to Toronto. There he conducted government and personal business. Prince would have also known William Gibbard because of their shared judicial duties, and also as a result of Gibbard’s numerous travels on behalf of the government to the north-west. For example, see “Red River,” New York Daily Tribune (October 25, 1858). In Gibbard’s 1861 “Report of Inspecting of Mining Locations on Lakes Huron & Superior,” he noted from his own personal experience, that the propeller Rescue and the steamer Ploughboy, were “…occasionally running direct from the Sault to Fort William.” See Sessional Papers (1861), #15, p. 15-54. In Gibbard’s 1860 journal, he wrote that in 1859, he had travelled a total of 9,680 miles by open boat, steamer, railroad and stage. In an 1863 report, he indicated that during the 1862 season, he had boarded 55 vessels involved in the coasting trade along Georgian Bay and the north shore of Lake Huron. Gibbard wore many hats, as he was at various times a Justice of the Peace for the District of Algoma, a stipendiary magistrate, a Revenue Officer, Fishery Overseer, and Provincial Land Surveyor.
5 Eventually, W.F. Whicher was sent by the Department of Crown Lands to Manitoulin Island on August 16, 1863. Orders issued by Commissioner of Crown Lands, the Hon. William Macdougall, to Whicher, were that; “In consequence of the sudden and unfortunate death of Mr. Gibbard, to visit Manitoulin to ascertain actual conditions there and to retrieve Gibbard’s records, books, papers and whatever belongs to the Fishery Agent.”
Bibliography & Suggested Readings:
[If you want to know more about the mysterious death of William Gibbard, please consult the following reference resources]
David Blain, “Mr. Blain’s Narrative; The Troubles on Manitoulin,” The Canadian Illustrated News (August 8, 1863), v. 2, # 13.
D[avid] Blain, “Mr. Gibbard’s Disappearance,” The [Toronto] Leader (August 4, 1863).
D[avid] Blain, “The Wakimakong Difficulty,” The [Toronto] Leader (August 4, 1863).Scott Cameron, “A Murder Mystery on the Georgian Bay,” Meaford Express (March 3, 2004).
Scott Cameron, “Murder on Georgian Bay,” Mountain Life (Summer, 2004).
Scott Cameron, “Murder on Georgian Bay,” Ontario Professional Surveyor (Fall, 2008).
John C. Carter. “The Mishaps and Misadventures of the Steamer Ploughboy,” Bruce County Historical Society Historical Notes Yearbook (2015).
Samuel Phillips Day, “Murder of Mr. Gibbard,” in English America: or Pictures of Canadian Places and People (London: T. Cauley Newby, 1864), v. 2.
William Gibbard. “Report of the Fishery Overseer for the Division of Lakes Huron and Superior for 1859,” in Sessional Papers (Quebec: Thompson & Co., 1860). #12, Appendix No. 31.
William Gibbard. “Settlements on the North Shore of Lake Huron, Unconnected With Mining Operations,” in Sessional Papers (Quebec: Hunter, Rose & Co., 1861), # 15.
Douglas Leighton, “The Manitoulin Incident of 1863,” Ontario History (June, 1977), v. LXIX, # 2.
n.a. “An Indian Leader Arrested, [Owen Sound] Comet (July 30, 1863). n.a. “Conflict With the Indians, on Islands of Georgian Bay, Lake Huron,” The Canadian Illustrated News (August 8, 1863), v. 2, # 13.
n.a. “Death of Mr. Gibbard,” The [Goderich] Huron Signal (August 13, 1863).n.a. “Death of Mr. Gibbard,” The [Owen Sound] Comet (August 6, 1863).
n.a. “Death of Mr. Ironside; The Fate of Mr. Gibbard! The Wreck of the Ploughboy!!! A Threefold Warning,” [Toronto] Canadian Freeman (August 20, 1863).
n.a “Down Memory Lane,” [Gore Bay] Manitoulin Recorder (August 8, 1984).
n.a. “The Indian Difficulty,” The [Collingwood] Daily Review (August 20, 1863).
n.a. “Indian Troubles in Canada,” The New York World (August 7, 1863).n.a. “Inquest on the Late Mr. Gibbard,” The [Collingwood] Daily Review (August 22, 1863).
n.a. “The Late Mr. Gibbard,” The [Toronto] Leader (August 7, 1838).
n.a. “The Lives of the First Settlers of the Manitoulin Island Endangered by the Antagonism of the American Ottawas. Was Inspector Gibbard Murdered?,” Mer Douce (June, 1922).
n.a. “Mr. Gibbard’s Disappearance,” The [Owen Sound] Comet (August 6, 1863).
n.a. “Statement of Alan Dudgeon, Chief Constable of the Town of Collingwood,” in Sessional Papers (Quebec: Hunter, Rose & Co., 1863), #18.
n.a. “Trouble With the Indians,” The [Goderich] Huron Signal (August 6, 1863)
n.a. “Wm. Gibbard, Esq.,” The [Owen Sound] Comet (July 30, 1863).
Shelly Pearen, “Manitoulin’s Original Mystery,” [Little Current, Ont.] Manitoulin Expositor (July 10, 2013).
Conrad Van Dusen. “Appendix,” in The Indian Chief (London: William Nichols, 1867), pp. 189-98.
Tom Villemarie, “Collingwood Resident was also First Canadian Peace Officer to Die in the Line of Duty,” Orillia Packet & Times (December 11, 2015).
Dr. John C. Carter is a frequent contributor to the Wayback Times. He is the Peninsula Director of the Bruce County Historical Society, and he is presently a Research Associate at the University of Tasmania. He can be contacted at drjohncarter@bell.net. The author would like to thank Scott Cameron, Patrick Fowkes, David Plain, Carole Stuart, and Deb Sturdevant, for their assistance and advice in preparing this article. He greatly appreciates all their input. Period image of the dock at Killarney (Shebawanning), by William Armstrong. Credit: John Ross Robertson Collection, Toronto Public Library