Summersides Green Legacy

SUMMERSIDE Growing up Dianne Kayess would sometimes travel back in time and would often end up in Summerside.

In her Ontario home she would admire old documents her family inherited from the late 1700s addressed to Martha and Daniel Green who lived in what is now known as Summerside.

Every so often Id say can I look at the old letters and my mom would take them out for me, she said. It was just fun to imagine who all these people were.

But as a young girl Kayess could not understand the old English language used in the letters.

Only as an adult did she discover the letters told the story of the first English settlers in Summerside - Daniel and Martha Green who left their home of Pennsylvania, never allowed to return.

Though the papers have grown yellow with time, they are still legible.

The Greens were loyalists who moved to Canada after the American Revolution to remain faithful to Britain - a move that left many families torn.

Some letters, which appear to be from Marthas family, tell a sad tale of the life Martha left behind.

These lines come from a brother by the name of Joseph you never seen... It may be foreseeable that we will never see each other in this world, writes her brother Joseph Oat. In other letters it is clear bad blood between family members also kept them apart.

I long to see Aunt Martha tho owing the distance and cousin Daniels threats I fear that wish would be in vain, writes Marthas niece Ann Parrish Roch.

This rich history has been with Kayess family for about 40 years. She recently let go of her treasure. She donated the possessions of the Greens and their descendents to Summersides MacNaught History Centre and Archives.

The really, really old (letters) were hard to give up, she said.

When Kayess brought the information to the MacNaught Centre it was like Christmas morning.

A couple of weeks ago I had nothing written by the hands of someone who knew well the first settlers on Summerside, archivist Fred Horne later said. Its like the land, theyre not making it anymore.

Horne said they hope to host an event in the fall to introduce the materials to the public, noting the information will help anyone researching the Green family.

Kayess said she wanted to ensure the documents were preserved after her parents passed on.

However, before Kayess handed them over she got photocopies of the documents and made sure she could have access to the originals.

That way when my daughter is older we could say oh were going to P.E.I. do you want to go look at these letters.