Ernest Alexander CRUIKSHANKBrigadier-General, Historian
Born: 29 June 1853, Ontario, Canada
Died: 1939, Ottawa, Ontario
Brigadier-General Ernest Alexander Cruikshank was born in Bertie Township, Welland County, in what is now Ontario, on 29 June 1853, and was educated at Upper Canada College in Toronto. Cruikshank worked as a journalist and translator before being commissioned in the 44th Welland Battalion in 1877. Rising to the rank of Brigadier-General in 1915,
He was the author of many papers and several books on Ontario and Canadian history, was elected F.R.S.C. in 1905 and awarded the Tyrrell Gold Medal for historical research in 1935. His collection of correspondence and papers continues to provide historians and genealogists with detailed firsthand accounts of events and personal experiences during The War of 1812. The plaque in the picture above is on the wall of a building on the west side of Sussex Drive between Bruyere Street and St. Andrew Street in Ottawa, Canada Plaque Text
A noted authority on Ontario's history, Cruikshank was born in Bertie Township, Welland County, and educated at Upper Canada College. An ensign in the militia in 1877, he retired as a brigadier-general in 1921. Because of his interest in history he was seconded to the Public Archives of Canada in 1908, became Director of the Historical Section, General Staff, in 1918, and in 1919 was chosen first Chairman of the Historic Sites and Mouments Board of Canada. He was a member of the Royal Society of Canada and a President of the Ontario Historical Society. Among his many writings were: 'The Story of Butler's Rangers', 'James Kirby, His Life in Letters', and the edited volumes of 'The Simcoe Papers'.  |
