Local author Barbara Mitchell has written the first-ever biography of the 18th-century Hudson’s Bay Company surveyor — and one of her ancestors — Philip Turnor.

Mapmaker: Philip Turnor in Rupert’s Land in the Age of Enlightenment tells the story of Turnor and his Cree guides who, for 14 years, travelled 25,000 kilometres by canoe and by foot through Rupert’s Land.

Between 1778 and 1792, Turnor produced 10 maps, culminating in his magnum opus in 1794: a map that was the foundation of all northern geographic knowledge at that time. He also taught British-Canadian fur traders and explorers David Thompson and Peter Fidler how to survey.

Rupert’s Land was a vast territory in British North America encompassing the Hudson Bay drainage basin (what is now all of Manitoba, most of Saskatchewan, southern Alberta, southern Nunavut, and northern parts of Ontario and Quebec, as well as parts of the northern United States), over which the Hudson’s Bay Company had a commercial monopoly in the fur trade for 200 years (from 1670 to 1870).

The Hudson’s Bay Company had complete control of the territory, establishing forts and trading routes, with little regard for the sovereignty of the many Indigenous peoples who had lived there for centuries. Cree, Assiniboine, and other Indigenous peoples (as well as the Métis) supplied the company with furs, acted as middlemen, or were directly employed by the company.

Because of the close economic relationship with and dependency on Indigenous peoples, many senior officers of the company also married Indigenous women. Such was the case with Philip Turnor, who had a Cree wife. At a family gathering, Mitchell discovered she was one of their descendants and was intrigued (see the excerpt from the book below)..

Because Turnor’s journals are very technical and contain no personal information (for example, he never mentions his Cree wife), Mitchell intersperses the biographical information in the book with her own narrative, including genealogy and her research expeditions, to bring Turnor’s story to life.

“Mitchell’s style allows the reader to get up close and personal with both the author and her subject, despite Turnor’s bloodless journal notations,” writes Charlotte Gray in her review of the book in The Globe and Mail. “She brings to life the killing cold of the winters, the insufferable mosquito swarms and the near starvation her ancestor faced, as well as her own the thrill of donning white cotton gloves and unfolding a two-century-old map.”

Mitchell will be launching her book at the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough on Thursday, November 2nd, from 5 to 8 p.m. The free public event includes a complimentary tour of the museum at 5 p.m. and a reception at 6 p.m., followed by a talk by Mitchell at 6:30 p.m. Copies of the book will be available for purchase through the museum’s gift shop. The book is also available at major book retailers and online.

In addition to her latest book, Mitchell is the co-author of a two-volume biography of W.O. Mitchell, Beginnings to Who Has Seen the Wind and The Years of Fame. She has also written a doctoral dissertation on the biographers of Charlotte Brontë and has published several biographical essays. For many years, she taught English Literature at Trent University. Mitchell lives in Otonabee with her husband Orm Mitchell.

An excerpt from Mapmaker: Philip Turnor in Rupert’s Land in the Age of Enlightenment by Barbara Mitchell (University of Regina Press, 328 pages, $39.95)

Prologue

Discovery, 24 October 1992

I knew nothing of my family lineage beyond my grandparents, but on this day in 1992 my family multiplied astronomically. I was forty-eight years old.

It was Thanksgiving — the annual family gathering of the eastern branch of the Goff family. Bob, my uncle by marriage and an amateur genealogist, brought a family tree he had been working on for several years. He unfolded it and tacked it on the wall-it was five feet wide, three and a half feet high. A hundred names, with their birth, marriage and death dates, spread out and down the wall. I began with my mother, Dorothy Goff, and her siblings, two of whom, Anna and Vivian, were at the unveiling. I moved upstream through the Goff parents, to the Loutit and then the Harper tributaries, to Joseph Turner Sr., and finally to the source, Philip Turnor, the first name on the chart. “Born in England in 1751,” I read, he was a mapmaker who “produced the first good maps for the company” and who “took his Indian wife back to England.”

That day I discovered a wealth of information I had never known: I was a sixth generation Canadian; I had Orkney-Scots connections as well as English; my ancestors worked in the fur trade; Philip Turnor, whose name I had never heard before, was a significant figure in the Hudson’s Bay Company’s history. And I had Cree roots. Philip Turnor, my great-great-great-great-grandfather, had come to Rupert’s Land in 1778 from Middlesex, England, as a surveyor, in fact the first inland surveyor for the Hudson’s Bay Company. His Cree wife was my great-great-great-great-grandmother.

My uncle Bob recalled the day he was checking the 1901 Canadian Census records and discovered “Cree” listed as my grandmother’s ancestry. Aunt Anna and Aunt Vivian were astonished that they had not known this about their own mother. When I questioned them, Aunt Anna reported, “No one ever spoke of it. It never occurred to me that she was Cree.” Aunt Vivian agreed, “If Mother did know about her Cree ancestry, she didn’t say. I wish I had asked her more.” In fact, my grandmother was of mixed heritage. Her grandfather, John Low Loutit, and her great-grandfather, James Harper, had been born in Rupert’s Land to Orkney HBC servants and Cree women.

So, in 1901 when my grandmother was nineteen and still living at home with her parents in St. Andrew’s Parish (Lockport, near Selkirk, Manitoba), it was acknowledged and recorded that she was Cree, but in 1904, when she married an Englishman, that was kept quiet. She did however mention her Cree ancestry to her male children, Barney and Haig. But, like their mother, they did not discuss it openly in the family.

Aunt Anna recalled that there were “always Cree women around. They would bring their lard pails full of saskatoons to Aunt Jennie’s and sit down for tea.” As young girls my aunts absorbed more than they realized. One New Year’s Day on a phone call, my Aunt Vivian recalled hearing a New Year’s greeting in Cree when she was a child. “Happy Noot Shey,” she said to me. She apologized for her attempt and said she did not know how to spell these words. I asked what else she remembered, and she began counting in what she thought was Cree: “Hanika, banika, dib boose, day”-and she continued to twenty. Although I have not been able to identify her numbering as either Cree or Bungee, a Red River dialect, my questions had awakened in my aunt some long-ago memories of hearing an Indigenous language being spoken by her family and friends.

My aunts recalled for me various traditions of their Cree-Scots upbringing that were practiced in the family during the 1930s. One of their aunts made bannock on top of the old cook stove, and my grandmother told her children stories about the place they went during the summer months, which they lovingly called Buttertown. It was not truly a town, only a pasture area out on their land a few kilometres away where they brought the cattle to graze during the summer. It was one of the great pleasures of her young life, my grandmother told her daughters. They picked berries-wild strawberries, saskatoons, and high bush cranberries. The women made red and purple jellies for the winter and churned butter, which they stored in gallon granite crocks and placed in a hole, dug in the ground, so they would stay cool in the hot prairie summers. Pound blocks would be measured out in a butter pat to sell to their neighbours and relatives.

Unfortunately, this was all my aunts could tell me about this side of my family. The furthest back they could go was to my great-grandmother, Nancy Ann Harper.

Philip Turnor was just as much a mystery to them as he was to me.

***

Work prevented me from pursuing my family history for a number of years, and then I received a letter from my uncle Bob: “At last I’ve looked up some information about Philip Turnor,” he wrote. He had discovered Pearl Weston’s family history, Across the River, and sent me a few pages. At the beginning of her book is this wisp of a story passed down through six generations: “Our Grandma Campbell remembered, when a little girl, her grandfather, Joseph Turner, speaking about stories he’d heard of his Grandfather Philip Turnor travelling rivers in Northern Canada with only the stars to guide him.” Reading that passage, I began to imagine Turnor with his sextant, compass, and watch, and with his Cree guides and my great-great-great-great grandmother, surveying the rivers of Rupert’s Land. This started me on my own travels — to the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives, to the Orkney Islands, to England, to Moose Factory-to discover who Philip Turnor was and what he contributed to the surveying and mapping of Rupert’s Land, the territory that came to be the Canadian north.

On Friday and Saturday (November 3 and 4), Lindsay Little Theatre presents British playwright Nick Payne’s groundbreaking play Constellations. Directed by Kathryn Wooldridge-Condon and featuring Miranda Warren and Seamus McCann, Constellations is a modern love story based on the multiverse theory of quantum physics.

While this is a difficult production with an unlikely premise, Constellations is one of the most original and emotionally intense dramas I’ve seen in a while, and is presented by a talented cast with a passion for the material.

Making its debut at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 2012, Constellations was a quick hit with British theatre fans, and by November of the same year it moved to the prestigious Duke of York’s Theatre. The show received the Evening Standard Theatre Award for best play, making playwright Nick Payne — who was 29 years old at the time — the youngest writer to win the award.

Constellations made its way to Broadway in 2015 with big-name film actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Wilson in the roles of Roland and Marianne. The show was a critic favourite, and was nominated for Tony Awards in the category of best show, actor, and actress.

To appreciate Constellations, audience members need a very basic understanding of the concept of the multiverse from quantum physics: the theory that for every choice we make, an infinite number of alternate realities are created where the same moment in time replays but with different outcomes.

This may sound difficult to comprehend, but don’t be intimidated by it; you only need the most basic understanding of the multiverse to enjoy the show. The audience quickly understands the idea once they get used to the rhythm of the play.

Furthermore, any complicated scientific theory and jargon in the script eventually becomes lost within the drama, and the focus shifts to the emotions that unfold between the two characters — making for a beautiful, and often tragic, love story between two endearing characters who have the multiverse stacked against them.

In Constellations we are introduced to two people, Roland (Seamus McCann) and Marianne (Miranda Warren), who meet at a barbeque. Marianne introduces herself to Roland by going into a dialogue about licking your elbows. In one scenario, Roland rejects Marianne right away by saying he is married. In the next scenario, Roland states that he just got out of a long-term relationship. In the next scenario, Roland opens himself up to Marianne and they fall in love.

Constellations looks at the journey of Roland and Marianne’s relationship by exploring variations of their story in the multiverse through 47 small scenes. We experience break-ups, make-ups, infidelity, marriage, and reunions — all leading to the ultimate conclusion of their love story.

Although the science behind this might seem a bit abstract, what is more relatable is the intense emotion within the production itself.

Ultimately a love story, most of the time we experience the emotions that go along with that. However, the different realities offer different emotions, including rage, fear, grief and — often the most tragic — indifference. In all of the scenarios the emotional meter is pushed to number eleven, creating an intense response from the audience and the performers alike.

In performing Constellations, Miranda and Seamus have a tremendous undertaking. This is not a show in which the actors can just memorize the lines and breeze through a few scenes. Miranda and Seamus had to memorize 47 different scenes, many of which have very similar lines with just the smallest variations.

On top of that, great attention is made to the order in which the scenes are presented, the performers’ positions on the stage, and the emotional meaning of each separate scene and response. The key element seems to be each performer’s dependence on the other to carry out a show that’s a grueling marathon in memorization. The performers need to be completely in synch, mentally and emotionally.

Miranda and Seamus pull this off, showing not only their tremendous acting ability but also the trust and support in each other for this complicated script. It is a tremendous performance by both actors, who mesh as one of the best acting teams I’ve seen this year.

But the performance of Constellations isn’t the only thing Lindsay Little Theatre is presenting the night of the show. Prior to the play, musician Andrew “Stubs” Bane takes the stage for a performance of his unique style of one-finger blues. A powerful musician, Bane mixes blues and rockabilly with a hint of soul.

Appetizers are also served in the lobby between Bane’s mini-concert and the start of Constellations, where a complimentary drink ticket is provided. There is also a quick informal discussion of the science behind the multiverse to prepare the audience for the unique concept of the show.

This combination of food, drink, music, and theatre — which Lindsay Little Theatre has dubbed as an evening of “infinite possibilities” — for an affordable ticket price makes Constellations a perfect night out.

Kathryn and her company have taken a bold risk in presenting Constellations at Lindsay Little Theatre, but it’s one that pays off. Simply put, Constellations is one of the most interesting shows that I’ve seen in 2017, and Miranda and Seamus display a tremendous amount of skill in pulling off a highly complicated performance.

A show that deserves the word phenomenal in every sense of its meaning, Constellations is emotional and powerful high-concept theatre. This show needs to be seen and supported and, if you live in Peterborough, is worth the short drive to Lindsay.

You will not be disappointed, and it’ll be a show that will have you wondering about how your choices have affected your own life, and question the reality we live in. Take the leap of faith and go and see Constellations.

Constellations runs on Friday, November 3rd and Saturday, November 4th at Lindsay Little Theatre (55 George St. W., Lindsay). The show begins at 7 p.m. and tickets are $25, which includes appetizers and a complimentary drink ticket, and can be purchased in advance in person or by phone at the Academy Theatre box office (2 Lindsay St. S., Lindsay, 705-324-911), online at online at www.kawarthatickets.ca , or at the door the night of the performance.

It’s finally starting to get cold out there, but there’s lots of live music happening in Peterborough and the Kawarthas during November to help warm you up. Here are just a few of the great performances happening in the area this month.

Sass Jordan at the Market Hall in Peterborough on November 2

In 1992 Sass Jordan released her classic album Racine, which produced hits like “Make You A Believer”, “I Want To Believe”, “You Don’t Have To Remind Me”, and “Goin’ Back Again”.

It’s 25 years later, and “Canada’s Queen of Rock” recently released a brand new rendition of the record called Racine Revisited, which she’ll be performing it in its entirety on Thursday, November 2nd at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough, 705-749-1146).

The show begins at 8 p.m. with two 45-minute sets, and also features Jordan telling some stories from her musical career and taking questions from the audience.

Good seats are still available. Tickets are $38 for assigned theatre seating, or $43 for assigned floor seating, and are available at the Market Hall Box Office, by calling 705-749-1146, or online at www.markethall.org. Tickets are also available (cash only) at Moondance (425 George St. N., Peterborough, 705-742-9425).

VIDEO: “Racine Revisited” Promo – Sass Jordan

Penderecki String Quartet at Bryan Jones Theatre in Lakefield on November 3

Classical music fans will love this one. Celebrating their 30th season, the renowned Penderecki String Quartet performs at Bryan Jones Theatre at Lakefield College School (4391 County Rd. 29., Lakefield, 705-652-3324) on Friday, November 3rd.

The group originally formed in Poland — the home of their namesake, Polish composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki — and are now the quartet-in-residence at Wilfrid Laurier in Waterloo, Ontario. One of the finest chamber ensembles in classical music today, the group shows a “remarkable range of technical excellence and emotional sweep” (Globe and Mail).

The performance will feature the works of Penderecki. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 for adults and $10 for students. For more information, visit www.performingartslakefield.org or phone 705-652-3703.

VIDEO: “Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in F minor, Opus 80” performed by Penderecki String Quartet

My Son The Hurricane at the Red Dog in Peterborough on November 11

This one has dancing and fun written all over it!

On Saturday, November 11th, catch the amazing, funk-driven, almost big band sounds of My Son The Hurricane at The Historic Red Dog Tavern (189 Hunter St. W, Peterborough, 705-750-1710).

It is a party every time they play Peterborough, and this show — presented by the Peterborough Folk Festival — will be no different. Described as funk/jazz/hip-hop, the band features multiple vocalists, horns, and a ton of energy along with a New Orleans sound as well.

Opening the show will be Peterborough reggae and dub favourites Dub Trinity.

Doors open around 9 p.m. and the music gets going around 10 p.m. Tickets are available in advance at ticketscene.ca or at the door for $10.

VIDEO: “Smile” – My Son the Hurricane

Kruger Brothers at the Market Hall in Peterborough on November 15

I’ve written about them before and I will feature them each time they’re back in town. The world-class Kruger Brothers are returning to Peterborough to perform at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough, 705-749-1146) on Wednesday, November 15th.

This will be a night of blistering banjo, speedy guitar, and a range of tunes that takes the listener on a ride through a fusion of bluegrass, folk, and classical music. Brothers Jens (banjo and vocals) and Uwe (guitar and lead vocals) and Joel Landsberg (bass and vocals) bring the tunes to life. Excellent singer/songwriter Megan Bonnell will be opening the show.

If that’s not enough, it’s also a concert for an important cause. This show is being presented by Kawartha Cardiology Clinic, so all proceeds from ticket sales can go to support programs that provide women and children with emergency shelter as they flee violence.

Tickets are $30 for general admission seats and $35 for assigned cabaret table seating. You can get them at the Market Hall Box Office or online at markethall.org.

VIDEO: Kruger Brothers perform at Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville

Benefit concert for musician Rick Young at The Venue in Peterborough on November 19

More often than not when someone in our community is in need, there is a long line of folks willing to help out. That is exactly true once again as local musicians are coming together to support Rick Young, of musical duo Rick and Gailie, who is undergoing treatment for cancer.

To support Rick and Gailie through this hard time, friends and supporters of the duo are putting on a benefit concert called “I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends” on Sunday, November 19th from 1 to 10 p.m. at The Venue (286 George St. N., Peterborough, 705-876-0008).

The event will include greats acts like Al Black and the Steady Band, Jackson Delta Electric, The Quickshifters, Max Mouse and the Gorillas, and many more. Tickets are $25 (kids 13 and under are free) and are available now at The Venue and at Moondance (425 George Street North, Peterborough, 705-742-9425).

For details, visit the Facebook event page.

VIDEO: “Message of Love” – Rick & Gailie

The Wilkinsons at Acaedmy Theatre in Lindsay on November 23

Canadian country fans won’t want to miss the return of The Wilkinsons, who are performing at the Academy Theatre (2 Lindsay St. S., Lindsay, 705-324-9111) on Thursday, November 23rd at 7:30 p.m.

The Trenton-based family trio — lead singer Amanda Wilkinson, her brother Tyler, and their father Steve — are best known for their 1998 hit single “26 Cents”, which reached number one on the Canadian country music charts and was a top five hit on the U.S. country charts.

The Grammy-nominated band are back out on the road after a six-year hiatus, and will be performing their greatest hits and more in an intimate show. Award-winning singer-songwriter Barbara Lynn Doran with Juno nominee Robert Laidlaw will be opening the show.

Tickets are $38 and are available at the Academy Theatre box office, by phone at 705-324-9111, or online at www.academytheatre.ca.

VIDEO: “26 Cents” – The Wilkinsons

Jeremy Fisher at the Market Hall in Peterborough on November 28

Singer-songwriter Jeremy Fisher will be performing Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough, 705-749-1146) on Tuesday, November 28th at 8 p.m.

The two-time Juno Award nominee is beloved for his excellent albums, relaxed vibe, and great voice. A decade ago, Fisher released his career-changing album Goodbye Blue Monday and he’s embarked on a 10th anniversary tour across Ontario to celebrate the record, which includes the release of a limited vinyl re-mastered anniversary edition that will be available at the show.

During the 10th anniversary tour, Fisher will be joined on stage by Hawksley Workman and Matt Ouimet.

Tickets are $30 at the door, or $22 in advance for general admission tickets and assigned cabaret table seating. Advance tickets are available at the Market Hall Box Office or online at markethall.org.

VIDEO: “Cigarette” – Jeremy Fisher

Skydiggers at the Market Hall in Peterborough on November 29

One of the great Canadian roots-rock bands of the last 20 years, Skydiggers will be returning to Peterborough on Wednesday, November 29th at 8 p.m. for a show at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre (140 Charlotte St., Peterborough, 705-749-1146).

The group sits in that hazy territory between folk, alt-country, and rock, but this is a band that has never been afraid to evolve. Their passion and energy keep pushing them forward; simply put, they write some great songs.

The band is touring in support of their latest record Warmth of The Sun, which just dropped this month.

Tickets for the show are $38 for general admission or $43 for cabaret table seats, and are available at the Market Hall Box Office or online at markethall.org.

VIDEO: “Warmth of the Sun” – Skydiggers