It was while Richard MacLeod was helping his uncle research local history that his grandmother told him he was a real "history hound."
The moniker stuck. The Newmarket man, known for his depth of knowledge of all things Newmarket and member of the Newmarket Historical Society and local genealogy enthusiast, used that title for the many years he wrote more than 400 columns for NewmarketToday. He also uses it for his website, which serves as great resource for local history.
MacLeod, now retired from a career in business, came by his passion naturally. His grandfather was an early local amateur historian. As owner of a monument shop, he learned about people’s stories through family members of the deceased.
In 1905, he purchased one of the first portable cameras and set to work documenting the area.
“Every two years he would walk up and down Main Street… and take pictures,” says MacLeod.
Often, when he was photographing a building, he’d be invited in, where he would take more pictures.
MacLeod’s uncle, George Luesby, then took up the mantle recording local history. He accompanied the accounts with sketches and watercolours — which were quite detailed, drawing from his training as an engineer and architect. In many cases, those drawings are the only records that exist of buildings that are no longer there.
MacLeod says he sat at the feet of his elders and heard the stories. And then when he was 20 and entering university, his uncle asked for his help to research the past for his articles and books.
“He basically mentored me on local history, how to capture history,” says MacLeod whose research Luesby used for books and articles about the area’s history.
While Luesby was fascinated with buildings, it was people that were the focus of MacLeod’s attention.
MacLeod continued on with the work, capturing people’s stories on tape and sharing them through walking tours and news columns. He worked with Jack West, who had a deep voice that resonated.
“My grandmother made a comment that I was a really keen history hound,” he says. “I really preferred people to know the History Hound (over his real name).”
His grandmother’s roots date back to 1801, when the Quakers came from Pennsylvania to begin new lives here. Mary Amy Lundy’s family received land grants throughout the area, from Richmond Hill to Barrie.
MacLeod recalls with amusement attending a Lundy reunion where it seemed half the area’s population was related to him.
Knowing his roots, his background and how it all ties into the local history is something he values and probably didn’t appreciate as much when he was younger.
“Having an interest or a hobby helps you to diversify every aspect of your life,” he says.
But he isn’t alone in preserving the past. He points to the work of Terry Carter, who was an author, former Newmarket Era editor-in-chief and founder of the Newmarket Historical Society. He credits Carter with restoring interest in local history through his column.
“He instilled in me that we owed it to the next generation to know where we came from,” says MacLeod. “I’m just trying to do my best to keep that going.”
MacLeod, who is now 70, hopes that the community and town will continue in the future to record the area’s past.
“I’m hoping by the time I’m no longer here, they will have seen local history as an important part of their mandate,” he says.
