Leonard’s efforts took four months

Some four months of research resulted in Jim Leonard's find- ings that indeed, his great-great- great-uncle was the stone mason behind Victoria Hall.

"I didn't realize that there was any question," Leonard says, adding that, while his family had always believed the stonework had been completed by Charles T. Thomas, authorities were attributing the work to William Thomas.

"I decided I wanted to set the record straight," he says.

For Leonard, the work is not yet complete. His family has al- ways believed that Thomas came to Cobourg from Wales, yet his obituary states that he work- ed "for Messrs, ubit and Co., the eminent contractors of London, England."

In addition Leonard is sear- ching for information to find out about the work Thomas did be- fore dying in Illinois.

"It's hard to find information on subcontractors," .Leonard says.

"I did it just out of interest," says the graduate of the North American history course at Trent University.

A second highlight of the program was the paper given by Jim Leonard of Trent University on his relative, Charles Thomas Thomas, who came from Wales to do the stonework on Victoria Hall. Leonard delighted the audience with the results of his extensive research which corrects the assumption that contractor and architect William Thomas did the masonry on our town hall.