Mount Playter, British Columbia (Canada)

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that there is a Mount Playter in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia (Canada). It is located at N 51°53' 12.1" W 126°55' 27.8" and has a height of 2137 m (7011 ft). It's relative location is north of the head of Chuckwalla River, north east of the community of Rivers Inlet. In a bigger picture, it is 400 km (250 mi) north west of Vancouver. And it is named after Ross Playter.

On February 8, 1918, Earl William and Edith May (nee Alexander) Playter gave birth to their fifth child, Ross Alexander Playter. Ross later married Mary Isabella Bell of Moosehorn, Manitoba, and enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and served overseas during World War II.

On February 3, 1945, 26 year old Ross Playter was serving as an Air Gunner with 428 Squadron (6 Group) when his Lancaster KB-725 crash landed at Sandy Tees, England, shortly after take-off. Both gunners were killed in the crash. The photo below is one of a Lancaster similar to the one in which Ross Playter was killed.

Pilot Officer Ross Playter was buried at Stonefall Cemetery, Harrowgate, UK, section H, row F, grave 13. He was survived by wife and parents.

On March 28, 1967, Mount Playter was named to remember Royal Canadian Air Force Pilot Officer Ross Alexander Playter, J92187.

Links:

Candian Mountain Encyclopedia

Google Map of Mount Playter

RCAF Report on P/O Playter's death

P/O Playter's grave site

Playter Harbour, Northern Ontario (Canada)

Pukaskwa National Park, on the north east shore of Lake Superior, is the only wilderness national park in Ontario. Located 25 km from the Northern Ontario town of Marathon, it is characteristic of the Canadian Shield and northern forest. The only road access to Pukaskwa is at the north end, near Hattie Cove.

If you hike along the White River Trail from Hattie Cove for about two hours, you will come to a secluded beach area and campground on a picturesque body of water. This is Playter Harbour.

The beach at the east end of Playter Harbour is located 48°34'45"N, 86°15'06"W. So if you have a GPS or a map program that allows entry of Lat/Long coordinates, you can quickly jump to it. Otherwise, check out the Internet maps in the Links section. Be sure to look at the satalite images in Google Maps!

I have contacted the park staff, asking for any details as to where this inlet on the Superior got its name, but no one I have spoken to seemed to have any idea. There are a number of Playters who made their marks as mariners on the Great Lakes. Could the harbour be named after one of them? And if so, what did he do to be given the honour of having his name attached to this harbour?

Here are brief biographies of the Playters that I am aware of who were Great Lakes mariners. Do you have anymore information, or family lore, as to where the harbour got its name, or about these Playters? Please send me a comment!

Captain George Henry Playter (1855-1943)
Grandson of Patriarch George Playter, Captain Playter was a mariner on the Great Lakes for close to sixty years. He was issued his masters papers on May 1, 1891.

Captain William Charles Playter (1866-1922)
William, brother of George Henry above, was a sailor/mariner in Collingwood. He served as Chief Officer of the Ste. Majestic and later on the Mail Carrier from Collingwood to the Sault.

Fredrick Ross Playter (1894-1988)
Fred, was a son of William Charles and a veteran of the Great War, worked as a mate on the Great Lakes. In the early 1950’s, he served as 2nd mate on the S.S. Charles Dick.

John R. Playter (1860-1936)
Brother of George Henry and William Charles above, was a farmer as well as a sailor.

All four of these sailors had lived, died, and was buried in Collingwood, which was at one time a major ship building port on the Great Lakes.

LINKS:
- Pukaskwa National Park Website
- Google map of Playter Harbour
- MapQuest map of Playter Harbour

"Melancholy Suicide"

This blog article centers on an article I found in the "The Canadian Post" published in the town of Lindsay, Ontario (Canada). This newspaper was dated Friday, October 23, 1874, and the article was found on page 2, column 4.

Cambray
Melancholy Suicide
Mr. Waterman Playter committed suicide on Sunday morning between nine and ten o'clock a. m., by hanging himself in his barn, where he was found by his wife, who was looking for him. He had been in a very low state of mind for a considerable time on account of having sold his farm and then repented of so doing. An inquest was held by Dr. Poole*,and a verdict given in accordance with the facts. The melancholy has cast quite a gloom over the whole neighbourhood, as deceased was highly respected.
_______________________
* Dr. Poole is likely coroner Dr. Thos. W. Poole.

Waterman Playter was my 2x-great grandfather. He was born on November 16, 1823 in Whitchurch Township, Ontario (Canada), the son of Isaac Playter and Sarah Wilson. He married Sarah Eliza Karr in Whitby, Ontario, on February 9, 1848. They had eleven children. Waterman was almost 51 years old when he died on October 18, 1874, and his youngest child was only 5.

My great-great grandmother, Sarah Eliza (Karr) Playter remarried in 1879. Unfortunately, she seemed to have disappeared off of the public record shortly after that. I have not had any luck in finding any more information about where or when she died, was buried, etc.

And by the way, Cambray is a very small farming community in the rural municipality of Kawartha Lakes just northwest of Lindsay, Ontario (Canada). It is currently listed with a population of 300!

Playter Estates, Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

Playter Estates is the name of a residential neighbourhood in the city of Toronto, Ontario (Canada). It is situated north of Danforth Avenue and east of the Don Valley. A large percentage of the homes in this neighbourhood were build before 1946, many in the Victorian and Tudor styles. In 2007, the median sale price for houses in the Estates was C$692,500 with some houses exceeding C$2,000,000. Historically Greek, the area is becoming increasingly popular among artists and business professionals.

The area gets its name from the Playter family who settled both sides of the Don River here. The neighbourhood is located on the land once settled by John Playter. The Playter Farmhouse, still located within the Estates, was built by John Lea Playter, grandson of John Playter. The land around the farmhouse was used for farming up until 1912 when the current neighbourhood was developed.

Two streets in the area are named after the Playter family: Playter Crescent and Playter Boulevard. Other streets are named after other prominent area families who married into the Playter family: Ellerbeck Street (John Playter married Sarah Ellerbeck) and Jackman Avenue (John Lea Playter married Sarah Jane Jackman).