Charmaine Lindsay from the Toronto Archives is putting the call out to help find what happened to Mary Willis.

The City of Toronto Archives is sponsoring a panel discussion on the famine migration to Toronto in 1847 on Tuesday April 7th at 7 p.m.

Robert Kearns, Chairman of Ireland Park, would like to enlist the help of genealogists in determining the fate of the mother of the family portrayed in the docudrama “Death or Canada”.

A newspaper article from the Toronto Globe, dated July 28, 1847, describes the sad case of the Willis family in which the mother was the sole surviving member of a family of 7. She ended up in Brantford and was the subject of a letter by the Reverend Mr. Usher.

If anyone can trace what happened to Mrs. Willis from this point onward I’m sure our panelists would greatly appreciate hearing about it. The article does not mention Mrs. Willis’ first name but I believe it was Mary. Also, the film mentions that Mrs. Willis was taken into the family of an Anglican minister which may be the Rev. Mr. Usher mentioned above.

If anyone is able to find out anything about Mrs. Willis we would be thrilled to be able to mention it at the panel discussion on the 7th.

Anglo-Celtic Connections

Death or Canada, the gripping account of the Irish potato famine and its impact on Toronto in the summer of 1847, scored impressive ratings in its History Television premiere on Monday, March 16, making it one of the most-watched Canadian programs on the eve of St. Patrick’s Day.

The two-hour docudrama, which follows the epic and tragic journey of a real-life family fleeing devastation in Ireland, attracted 262,000 viewers 2+ during its prime time airing from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Canada’s History Television on Monday, March 16 plus another 108,000 in encore presentations the same day.

The Canadian broadcast follows on the heels of a ratings triumph in Ireland, where Death or Canada captured 26 percent of the audience, placing second only to Desperate Housewives.

“Death or Canada has really struck a chord with viewers on both sides of the Atlantic,” says Craig Thompson, Ballinran’s Executive Producer. “It’s a story of hardship, hope and overcoming challenges, and I think this is a message that resonates with audiences everywhere right now.”

Described by the Globe and Mail’s John Doyle as an “excellent docudrama” and “a powerful…true, searing story,” the film is also rapidly gaining blogosphere attention around the globe with many people eager to see the program.

Death or Canada is a Canada-Ireland Treaty Co-Production supported by the Canadian Television Fund, Telefilm Canada and Federal and Ontario Tax Credits, produced by Ballinan Productions and Tile Films in association with Canwest Broadcasting, RTE Ireland and History Channel (U.K.). The docudrama is directed by Ruan Magan and produced by Craig Thompson, Stephen Rooke, Dave Farrell and Patricia Phillips. A companion book from publisher Novalis is now available in bookstores across Canada.

Michael Kot, VP Factual Content for Canwest “We have a great sense of pride when Canadian productions and coproductions find a wide and engaged audience. Death or Canada found popular and critical acclaim in Canada and Ireland and more importantly honoured and enriched our shared history through documentary and active investigation.”

A few years back, Archaeological Services Inc. was retained to undertake an archaeological assessment of the Toronto International Film Festival Tower redevelopment site on the northwest corner of King and John Streets in downtown Toronto. Detailed archival research undertaken by Brian Narhi and David Robertson revealed that a portion of Toronto’s first general hospital was preserved under the parking lot at that location.

Read Here

Special Event – Panel Discussion

Tuesday April 7, 2009 at 7 pm

Summer of Sorrow

Irish Famine Immigrants in Toronto and the Typhus Epidemic of 1847

At the height of the Potato Famine, Toronto was inundated by thousands of destitute and starving Irish refugees, many of them suffering from typhus. The refugees outnumbered the city’s inhabitants by a margin of two to one. It was a public health crisis without precedent. Join us to learn more about this tragic and little-known chapter in Toronto’s history.

Presented in conjunction with our current exhibit “An Infectious Idea: 125 Years of Public Health in Toronto”

Admission is free but please call 416-392-0558 or email archives@toronto.ca to reserve your place.

Panelists: Robert G. Kearns, Chairman of Ireland Park Foundation, Professor Mark McGowan, Principal St. Michael’s College, author of Death or Canada: The Irish Famine Migration of 1847 and Toronto, Canada West; Craig Thompson, Executive Producer Ballinran Productions, and producer of History Television docudrama Death or Canada.

Toronto Archives website

Derek Mooney of RTÉ Radio 1’s daily magazine show “Mooney” talks to director Ruan Magan prior to the film’s release in Ireland on November 25, 2008

LISTEN HERE

Use RealPlayer and clip begins at the 41 minute mark.

Andy Barrie talks to Producer/Writer Craig Thompson on Metro Morning

Death Or Canada (runs 6:51)

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TV Times is the largest circulation TV listings book in Canada.

In today’s paper, John Doyle calls DEATH OR CANADA an “excellent docudrama.”

While I’m at it, I’ll point out that if you watched the excellent docudrama Death or Canada, about the Irish famine refugees arriving in Toronto (it was on History Television last night), you may have wondered how it was received in Ireland. Well, it was well received, generally. On the night it aired, it was the second-most-watched program in the country. It was beaten in the ratings by – you’ve guessed it – Desperate Housewives.

Read full article here

Here are some blogs of interest

Seventy Million Irish

Ulster Heritage

Archdiocese of Toronto Blog

The Spirit’s Sword: Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Sharondipity…

Tomorrow’s Trust

Christopher Moore’s Canadian History

Anglo-Celtic Connections

Olive Tree Genealogy Blog

More Than Burnt Toast

Ulster Heritage Magazine

Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter

Hell, Upside Down