Name Variations: Bernard, Bernardo, Barnard, Barnardo
Surname Variations: Blastorah, Blastore, Blastero, Blasterah, Bellestra, Blastaurin, Blausaura
Estimated Birth: April 26, 1824
Birthplace: Venice, Italy
Occupation: Cook
Industry: Military (Navy), Lumber (Manufacturing)
Family Status: Married with 6 Children
Education: None (naval)
Native Tongue: Italian
Parents: Unknown
Affiliations: Royal Navy (of Venice/Austria), Royal British Navy
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| Early years as a cook - From Newspaper I believe |
A mysterious character, Bernard Blastorah has been described by stories passed down through the generations. There is very little documentation regarding his life, mainly stemming from the fact that he could not read or write. Records relating to birth, immigration, military service, or census are difficult to track down because the spelling is different each time. Also, we are told that Bernard ‘jumped ship’ from the Royal Navy, and his arrival to Canada may have been kept a secret for some time. Therefore, I am not hopeful of finding him within ship records.
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| 1885 Mortgage Document |
Birth and Childhood
Bernard was born in Venice, Italy in April of 1824. The only record we have of his birth comes from a listing from the Church of Latter-day Saints. My attempts to contact them to inquire about their source of information has so far been unfruitful. It has been said that Bernard’s parents died when he was a small child. Having some money in their possession, the parents donated all they had to Saint Mark's Basilica and in return their son would be raised within the church.
As a youth, Bernard joined the Royal Venetian Navy (serving as part of the Austrian Empire). Legend has it that he was chosen to mentor one of the Royal Hapsburg-Lorraine Family, who ruled the Empire at the time. Being close in age, Bernard was instructed to ‘show him the ropes.’ ( I would offer Maximilian I [Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph] as a good possibility - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_of_Mexico . It has also been said that Bernard was a cook for the Royal Navy, and that he served to provide nourishment to the soldiers.
Coming to Canada
Rumour has it that Bernard decided to ‘jump ship’ and escaped from the Royal Navy in secret. Exact dates are unknown at this time. It has been said that he somehow transferred over to a British Navy vessel and never returned to his ship. It was during this transfer that he met a man by the name of Dickson (Dixon?), who had a rich uncle in Canada who owned a log mill where there might be jobs available. The two men left together for Ontario, Canada in search of Dickson’s uncle. It is unclear to me if they arrived on a naval ship or on an immigrant ship. They must have departed from somewhere in Great Britain and they arrived in either Quebec or in Nova Scotia. I have heard both from various people.
Regarding the rich uncle, if this story is true, then it is likely the uncle in question was Samuel Dickson, a lumber manufacturer in the Peterborough area at the time. My research on the Dicksons and their relationship to Bernard Blastorah is still in its early stages.
Settling Down in Harwood, Ontario
Having arrived in Harwood, Bernard Blastorah set out to continue working as a cook as he had done in the Royal Navy. There were two mills operating in the Harwood area at the time: The McDougall and Ludgate Mill, on lot 5 and the Campbell and Hughson Mill on lot 3.
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| Harwood, circa 1875 |
In 1869, Bernard Blastorah bought a property from Robert Drope on lot 3 fronting on King Street (may be Queen Street today) where he opened up a restaurant to serve the mill workers. This is the first record we have of Bernard in Canada (so far) as he first appears in the census in 1881.
The next property he purchased was a house which he bought with his wife, Catharine O’Sullivan Whaley, in 1885. This house was located on what was called Gore’s Landing Rd and was previously owned by Peter Hart. It seems the street names have changed and I am unsure of the exact location of this house. The location is described as being: “...in the township of Hamilton in Northumber and Province of Ontario... Commencing on the North side of the Road known as Gores Landing and H…. Road on Lot number Three in the North Concession of the new Township of Hamilton.”
In any case, Bernard Blastorah later owned a property located at what is known today as Rice Lake Scenic Drive and Young Street, on the North side of the street. That house is no longer standing though the property is still owned by various members of the Blastorah family. Legend has it that Bernard Blastorah’s second son, Bernard, purchased the house across the street on the South side of Rice Lake Scenic Drive, which is still standing today. While the original property was no longer fit to serve as a home, Bernard’s son persuaded him to move across the street and to reluctantly abandon his house.
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| Bernard II with his father Bernard I (I believe) |
Conclusion
Bernard Blastorah and Catherine O’Sullivan Whaley raised six children in Harwood, Ontario. Bernard was 25 years older than his wife, he was illiterate, and with English as a second language, he likely depended on his wife for many everyday transactions. It appears that his children did not learn the Italian language at home, though many of them received Italian names which were gradually anglicized. (Margueretta became Margaret [Geta], Katarina became Catherine [Katie] etc.) The tales passed down to us were remembered and interpreted by his children, who carried them on down to the current generation. It is unclear how much of what we know to be true actually happened. I hope to locate any other documents in existence about this man, as the first in a long line of Blastorahs.
Sources
Catherine Milne. Village Settlements of Hamilton Township. Bewdley, ON: Clay Publishing Co. Ltd., 1991.
Maximilian I of Mexico. Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_of_Mexico
"Pedigree Resource File." database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/SYVJ-VDQ : accessed 4 August 2012), entry for Bernard /Blastorah/.
Peter Gillis. Dickson, Samuel. Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online: 1861-1870 (Volume IX).
http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=4394&&PHPSESSID=ychzfqkvzape
Census Records
Copy of 1885 Mortgage
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