Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object ID # |
1961.027.013 |
Object Name |
Ring, Wedding |
Title |
Remnants of Mrs. Sutton's Wedding Ring |
Lexicon category |
3: Personal Artifacts |
Date |
About 1839 |
Year Range from |
1837 |
Year Range to |
1840 |
Artist |
Unknown maker |
Made |
Unknown |
Place of Origin |
Unknown |
Description |
Catharine Sutton's thin, broken gold wedding ring, c.1839. It is very plain. There is a loose piece of the ring currently. The brass pendant mount for it (1961.027.014) is a Sutton heirloom as well. |
Provenance |
Originally owned by Catharine B. Sutton (née Sunego), who was an Ojibwa (Anishnaabe) woman who married an Englishman, William Sutton, in 1839, at the Credit River Mission (a Wesleyan Methodist mission that was assisting Ojibwa families). It was likely worn until it broke, then it was placed in the brass pendant mount to preserve it. The Suttons had moved their family from the Credit River area to what would later be known as Grey County in the mid 1840s, in order to assist the Newash Ojibwa band with missionary work. The Newash Band gave Mrs. Sutton and her heirs a quantity of land in what later became Sarawak Township, Canada West. When an 1857 land treaty with the Crown occurred, Mrs. Sutton was in jeopardy of losing her land, as she could not legally obtain title, as she was an "Indian", and could not even purchase it at auction. This injustice, and others, led her to becoming a spokesperson for her people. She was elected by the Council at Rama to be their envoy to England in order to speak to Queen Victoria about the unfair situation for aboriginal people in Canada West. Mrs. Sutton was of the Eagle Totem and was born circa 1824 and raised at the Credit Indian Mission (near the Credit River near Lake Ontario). Her name "Nahneebahweequay" meant "Upright Woman" or "black squirrel". Mrs. Sutton died in September of 1865, at her log home in Sarawak Township, Grey County. She and Mr. Sutton still had young children to raise when she died. Her mother assisted Mr. Sutton after she passed away, as did Miss Catherine Sutton, the eldest daughter. The item was passed down in the family, eventually belonging to Mrs. Catherine Morgan (née Staves) of Brantford, Ontario, who was a grand-daughter of Catharine and William Sutton. Catherine Staves was married to Reverend Alfred Morgan. Alfred Morgan was the last owner of this item. Catherine Staves and Alfred Morgan were married in Toronto on August 14, 1906. Catherine Staves was the daughter of Joseph Staves (a cooper), and Sophia Staves (née Sutton). Sophia Staves died of consumption in Sarawak Township on May 17, 1875, and Mr. William Sutton raised his grandchildren, Catherine Staves (b. 18__) and her brother, William Percy Staves (b. April 10, 1875) in Sarawak Township. |
Collection |
First Nations, Sutton Collection |
Material |
Gold |
Dimensions |
Dia-1.6 cm |
Found |
Brantford, Ontario |
People |
Sutton, Catharine Sutton, William Sutton, Catherine Morgan, Catherine Morgan, Alfred |
Subjects |
Rings Marriage Jewelry First Nations of Central Canada Weddings |
Search Terms |
Sarawak Township Ojibwa (Anishnaabe, Anishnibeg) |
Function |
A symbol of married status. |