Dwight Whalen is a freelance researcher and writer from the Niagara Falls, Ontario area.

Catharine Schneider was born on July 21, 1860 to Johann Christoph and Anna Schneider. She married John White (1853-?), who had migrated from Scotland on July 12, 1882, and the couple lived in Toronto. They had four children: John Alexander (1883-1989), married Clarabel E.L. Bowman; Elizabeth (1884-1974); Arthur (1888-1910), married Carrie Emma McDonald; and Harold Eugene (1899-1982). Catharine died at home on March 2, 1938 and is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto.

Etta was born to Tobias and Mary Schantz in Port Elgin, Ontario on October 9, 1866 and raised alongside her seven siblings; Orpheus Moyer Schantz, Sophie Emma Schantz, Austin Tobias Schantz, Franklin Abram Schantz, Arthur Benjamin Schantz, Florence Annie Catherine Schantz, and Herbert Cecil Palmer Schantz.

In 1870 the family moved to the village of Hawkesville in Waterloo County. In 1877 the family moved to Conestogo, Waterloo County and later to Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario in 1884.

In 1884, Etta started working at the Williams Greene Rome Company shirt factory.

Etta attended high school at the Berlin Collegiate & Technical Institute. In addition, she attended the Model School for teacher training at Central School. She taught briefly in West Montrose, Ontario before returning to the shirt factory in 1892.

Between 1892 and 1896 Etta lived in Chicago, Illinois with her brother Orpheus. She helped take care of his home and his infant daughter Ruth Schantz. Eventually, she found a position at the department store Carson Pirie Scott & Company where Orpheus worked. Around 1897, Etta moved back to Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario.

On September 1, 1897 Etta married her long-time friend Ward White in her family’s home located at 43 Schneider Avenue, Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario. The couple moved to Leamington, Ontario and had their first child, Wilfrid Herbert White on February 20, 1899. Wilfrid died at four months of age on June 4, 1899.

In 1900, Ward moved out west to homestead in Alberta with Etta’s brothers Arthur and Austin and her father Tobias. Subsequently, Etta returned home to Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario to give birth to their second child.

Etta gave birth to a daughter, Dorothy Etta White, on April 26, 1900. Etta died from complications of the childbirth on May 5, 1900.

James Herbert White, author of Forest Trees of Ontario, was born September 21, 1875. In 1909, he became the first person to receive a degree in forestry at the University of Toronto, and taught there for 37 years. He is recognized as a pioneer in forestry conservation in Ontario. He died November 14, 1957.

Ward was born to John White (1838-1910) and Susan Malott (1846-1872) on March 21, 1870 in Leamington, Ontario.

Ward was a member of the Salvation Army.

On September 1, 1897 Ward married his long-time friend Etta in her family’s home located at 43 Schneider Avenue, Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario. The couple moved to Leamington, Ontario and had their first child, Wilfrid Herbert White on February 20, 1899. Wilfrid died at four months of age on June 4, 1899.

In 1900 Ward moved out west to homestead in Alberta with Etta’s brothers Arthur and Austin and her father Tobias. Subsequently, Etta returned home to Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario to give birth to their second child, Dorothy Etta. Etta died from complications of childbirth shortly after.

Ward stayed in Alberta and proposed marriage to Etta’s sister Sophie. Sophie declined his proposal.

In 1908 Ward moved to Chilliwack, British Columbia and worked as a contractor. He helped build the extension of the Chilliwack hospital, nurses’ home, and Methodist church. Later, he worked as a caretaker of municipals schools until he retired.

Ward married Ella Feeg (nee Hunsperger) and helped her raise her three children from a previous relationship; Benjamin, Gilbert and Beatrice.

Ward died on May 1, 1948 in Chilliwack, British Columbia.

Wilfrid Herbert White was born to Etta Lydia Mary White and Ward Malott White on February 20, 1899. Wilfrid died at four months of age on June 4, 1899.

Marita Williams is an Anglican priest and a graduate and former employee of the University of Waterloo. Born in Jamaica, she grew up on Negril beach where her parents provided lodging to researchers and tourists in the area. Her father was Protestant, and her mother was Anglican. As a child, Marita enjoyed attending church but was discriminated against for being a girl. She was not allowed to go up to the altar, and she could not be a server, acolyte, or a priest.

Marita left her childhood home and attended college in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1966, she then transferred to Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) in Toronto, Ontario to study business and marketing management. While in Toronto, Marita attended church but was asked to stop attending by the minister who feared he would lose membership because she was Black. He suggested Marita attend a Black church instead. Marita did not attend church for several years following this racist encounter.

Although Marita intended to return to Jamaica and take over her parent’s business, by then a restaurant, she changed plans when she met and married Henry Williams, a Ghanaian studying at the University of Toronto. Marita and Henry had two sons. Marita and her family attended St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Cambridge and she served as a deacon.

Marita became the manager of space information and resource planning at the University of Waterloo and later worked as the scheduling coordinator in the Registrar’s Office. She also studied at Waterloo, receiving a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in psychology which she worked towards part-time over ten years. Marita received her degree during the convocation ceremony held on Saturday, October 25, 1997. Celebrating with her at the ceremony was her son, Prempeh Williams, who received a Bachelor of Science (BSc), Honours Health Studies, from the University of Waterloo in Spring 1997. Marita retired from Waterloo in 1999.

Following her retirement, Marita made the decision to become a priest. To achieve her goal, she studied at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary at Wilfrid Laurier University, Conrad Grebel University College and Huron College in Western University for her Master’s degree in divinity. She also trained with Reverend Canon Christopher Pratt at the Anglican Church of St. John the Evangelist in Kitchener. In 2009, Marita was called to the priesthood. Marita was believed to be the only Black, female, Anglican priest in the Huron diocese at the time and may still be.

Marita has worked an itinerant priest leading services and presiding over funerals, weddings, and baptisms. She served as the Assistant Priest at St. George’s of Forest Hill in Kitchener for three years and has a regular assignment at Trinity Anglican Church in Cambridge. In 2023, Bishop Townshend appointed Reverend Marita Williams as the interim Priest-in-Charge of St. James, Cambridge.

Ephraim William Willson was born August 26, 1862 in Waterloo County, Ontario. He married Mary Elizabeth Anthes September 30, 1886 and the couple had five children: Leslie A.; Ford Isaac; William Claremont; Norma Margaret Hattin; and Martha Bell (Marthabell) Cook.. He died in September of 1950 and is buried with Mary in Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener.

Mary Elizabeth Anthes was born in Wilmot township February 11, 1860 to parents Jacob Anthes and Magdalena Stricker. She was married September 30, 1886 to Ephraim William Willson and the couple had five children: Leslie A.; Ford Isaac; William Claremont; Norma Margaret; and Martha Bell (Marthabell). She died September 14, 1928 and is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener.

Bettie Bernice Wilson was born in Hamilton (Ontario) in 1917 to David Thomas Wilson and Monica Elesta Robinson. Wilson enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division on March 31, 1942, she completed her basic training at the No. 6 "M." Depot in Toronto (Ontario), her trade training at No. 1 Technical Training School in St. Thomas (Ontario), and was posted in 1942 at the No. 16 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) Hagersville (Ontario). She was discharged on September 8, 1945. Bettie Bernice Wilson died in Galt (now Cambridge, Ontario) in 2000 and was buried in Mountview Cemetery.

Pamela Margaret Wilson was born on February 16, 1950 to Margaret "Peg" Isabel Forbes and Colin Andrew "Joe" Wilson.

Pamela attended Bishop Strachan School in Toronto, Ontario.

Pamela passed away at age 62 on March 7, 2011 and was buried in Parkview Cemetery and Crematorium in Waterloo, Ontario.

Ross Alexander Wilson was born on August 14, 1952 to Margaret "Peg" Isabel Forbes and Colin Andrew "Joe" Wilson.

Married Ernest Wood of Massachusetts on October 18, 1906 in Waterloo.

Fay Wray was born on September 15, 1907 in Cardston, Alberta. Wray was a Canadian-American actress who found much success in Hollywood. She is most known for her role as Ann Darrow in the movie "King Kong" (1933). She is also considered as the first scream queens in cinema. Wray was a well-rounded actress appearing in all genres of film ranging from dramas and comedies as well as Westerns and horror roles. She also performed her own stunts in films. She died on August 2, 2004.

Douglas Tyndall Wright was born October 4, 1927 in Toronto, Ontario to George Charles and Etta Frances (Tyndall) Wright. He received a B.A.Sc. from the University of Toronto in 1949, a Master of Science degree in 1952 from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. from Trinity College, Cambridge in 1954. In 1954, he joined the Department of Civil Engineering at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, becoming Associate Professor by 1958. In 1958, he became a Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Waterloo. He was Chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering from 1958 to 1963 and was Dean of the Faculty of Engineering from 1959 to 1966. During his tenure Waterloo developed the largest School of Engineering in Canada.

From 1967 to 1972, Doug was the Chairman of the Committee on University Affairs for the Province of Ontario. From 1969 to 1972, he was the Chairman of the Commission on Post Secondary Education in Ontario. From 1972 to 1979, he was Deputy Provincial Secretary for Social Development and from 1979 to 1980, he was Deputy Minister of Culture and Recreation. From 1981 to 1993, he served as the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waterloo.

He has served as an advisor to the Government of Ontario and to the Government of Canada. In 1992 he was appointed Chairman of the Canadian Working Group of the Trilateral Task Force on North American Co operation in Higher Education and Research.

Wright died at his home May 21, 2020.

Florence Wyle was a Canadian sculptor. She was born in Trenton, Illinois, and studied medicine at the University of Illinois and then art at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she later taught classes. She then worked in New York where she shared a studio with Frances Loring. Loring and Wyle moved to Toronto in 1912, and in 1920 bought an old church and converted it into a studio. Loring and Wyle were both active in Canadian art movements and were founding members of the Sculptors Society of Canada in 1928. Their work can be seen at the National Gallery in Ottawa, Art Gallery of Toronto, and in the streets of Toronto on such buildings as the Toronto General Hospital and Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, and on memorials in small towns in Ontario, New Brunswick and Maine.

Camilla Young was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey (United States of America) in 1946, and grew up in Woodbridge, New Jersey. Young was a professional writer, a fashion commentator, a consultant, and a model. She coordinated New Jersey's Miss Black America Pageant and judged other pageants.

Vershawn "Vay" Young is an artist, actor, diversity consultant and Professor, Joint Appointed, in Communications Arts and English Language and Literature at the University of Waterloo where he has been the director of Waterloo's Black Studies program since its launch in 2022. His research in Black Studies focuses on masculinity, language and performance, and he is known for scholarship about "code-meshing" which was explored in his 2007 book Your Average Nigga Performing Race, Literacy, and Masculinity.

Young holds a JD law degree from Mitchell Hamline College of Law and a PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Prior to his appointment at Waterloo, he was a faculty member at the University of Iowa and the University of Kentucky.

Since joining Waterloo, Young has been a founding member of Waterloo's Black Faculty Collective and, along with Kathy Hogarth and Christopher Taylor, was a member of the Black Studies implementation team whose work and phage 1 report led to the founding of a Black Studies program in 2022. Outside of academia, he has worked as a high school drama, English and speech teacher, an elementary school principle and a school board administrator. During Winter 2023 Young stared as Sir Robert Chiltern in a production of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband at the Firehall Theatre in Niagara Falls, Ontario.