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Left to right: Edgar & Maria Ruth (Diehl) Forsyth, Erie, PA; Edgar Forsyth 1874 - 1941 son of William Brock Forsyth & Emily (Garbot) Forsyth, Erie, PA; Hetty L. Benallack standing in front of Bertie Hall (home of her childhood) circa 1880; Olivia (Everett) Forsyth, daughter of Isaac Brock Forsyth, granddaughter of William Forsyth, Sr. (Pavilion Hotel); William Brock Forsyth1848 - 1880 son of William Brock Forsyth and Sarah Misener Forsyth; Gravestone of Patrick Everett, Olivia's husband. Olivia Jane Forsyth Everett - 1842 - 1934. Born at Bertie Hall, historic Niagara boulevard building, still in use. Her father was the late Isaac Brock Forsyth, an expert swimmer, who was drowned in the Niiagara River in 1850. Her grandfather, William Forsyth, originated The Pavilion, famous Niagara resort. His controversy with the then governor of Upper Canada, Sir Peregrine Maitland, is an interesting historical record. She married Patrick Everett on March 8, 1865.
BERTIE HALL, Fort Erie, ON (formerly known as Bridgeburg)
Bertie Hall is one of the regions outstanding local landmarks. Built in the gracious style of Greek Revival architecture, this majestic structure stands facing the Niagara River like a sentinel. Named in honour of Sir Peregrine Bertie III, the Duke of Ancaster and the 19th Baron of Willoughby, construction on the building began in 1832 under the guidance of William Forsyth, Sr. He had moved to the area after selling The Pavilion Hotel at Niagara Falls, ON. Bertie Hall is believed to have been a "safe house" for fugitive slaves prior to the American Civil War. Local legend claims that slaves were brought across the river under the cover of darkness and were kept in the basement until arrangements could be made to take them to safer quarters further away from the border. William Forsyth, Sr. fathered nineteen children by two wives. The Forsyth family owned the building until 1872 when it was sold to Stephen Jarvis. Jarvis owned the property from 1872 to 1875. It was then sold to John Crabb, who owned Bertie Hall until 1892 when it became the possession of Robert Barrett. Frank Pattison owned the property between 1905 to 1968 when it was sold to its final private owner, Mr. John Kilbridge. In 1981 he sold Bertie Hall to the Niagara Parks Commission who leased it to the current occupant, owner of the world's largest doll house museum.
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