Leonard Karn and Castle Cameron

By Liz Dommasch, County Archivist

While working on my list of inmates at the County Gaol, I had been going through the early Woodstock Sentinel-Reviews in hopes to find more detailed information on the individuals listed and the crimes that they committed (sadly, this task is on hold until I’m back at the Archives and have access to our microfilm collection). The newspapers would often publish weekly reports of the happenings at Police Court that would deal with such crimes as vagrancy, drunkenness, profanity, and small scale larceny. Twice a year it would report on the Spring and Fall Assizes where the large criminal cases were heard such as murder, assault, and embezzlement. The newspaper stories were often quite detailed, including victim’s names (even when underage) and would often lean towards the side of sensational. The following is an example of one such article:

Over the years, Leonard Karn makes a number of appearances in the Return of Prisoners Lists for the crime of larceny. In 1877 he was charged with stealing four bags of peas and one bag of oats from Timothy Featherstone in West Zorra Township, though he would ultimately be found not guilty. Ten years later he is once again charged with larceny, this time for stealing buggy wheels. Unfortunately for him, this time he would be sentenced to hard labour at the Kingston Penitentiary (I imagine his actions at Police Court that day didn’t help his case!). However, serving time at the Kingston Pen doesn’t seemed to have changed his ways, as in 1891, he was once again charged with larceny and this time sentenced to Central Prison in Toronto.

You’ll note that the article makes mention of “Castle Cameron” which was a name given, at the time, to the County Gaol in honour of its Gaoler John Cameron. The famous murderer Reginald Birchall, who spent time in the jail before he was hung in November 1890, wrote about John Cameron in his autobiography, referring to him as being “…eminently fitted for the post which he occupies…” and “[h]is keen penetration and powers of discipline, allied as they are with a kind heart and a considerate nature, at once stamp his as the right man in the right place”.

The Oxford County Archives is actually located in the former Gaol Governor residence where John Cameron would have lived with his family while in charge of the Gaol.

Image to the right: Gaol Governor John Cameron