"Mel Atkey has done history a service ... He has crafted a clear, sometimes heart-rending vision of an indigenous people coming to the end of one time and the beginning of another."
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"Author Mel Atkey's great-great-greatgrandfather,James Atkey, left England around 1835 to serve as a Methodist teaching missionary to the Anishnabe people of Cape Crocker at the foot of ontario's Bruce penninsula. In so doing he unwittingly became part of a colonization process that stole land, culture and dignity from the first nations. Mel has given us a broad overview of the cultural, political, economic, social and religious context for both colonizers and the first nation within which his ancestor acted. He keeps judgements to a minimum and leaves the story yo itself, and conclusions to the reader--and does us all a service."
. -- John Bird, United Church Observer
"When We Both Got to Heaven is a refreshing look, told without romanticising, without a view of conquering, very much unlike the way history was taught to me in my school days… [Mr. Atkey] writes with an objectivity that allows us to arrive at our own feelings and conclusions. He has really done his research!… a resource that would aid in bringing further understanding for the reconciliation process."
Rev. Maggie MacLeod, Cape Croker United Church
When We Both Got to Heaven tells the story of James Atkey (1805-68), who, with his wife Jane and their seven children came from the Isle of Wight to Canada in 1854. In 1855, they went to Colpoy's Bay, near Owen Sound on the shores of Lake Huron, where he taught school to the Ojibwa children. The book also tells of the surrender by the Ojibwa of the Saugeen (Bruce) Peninsula, using detailed accounts from the Public Record Office.
After thirteen years of research which has taken me to the archives of the Methodist Church in London, the United Church in Toronto and the British Library, in addition to the national archives of both Britain and Canada, I have written a 164 page illustrated booklet entitled When We Both Got to Heaven which tells the story of James and the first nations people for whom he laboured. You will read how James overcame persecution and even stoning in the Isle of Wight and learned to survive in the wilds of Canada in a place where he didn't know the language. You will hear why he and his family were held hostage for six hours when they first arrived in Colpoy's Bay. Were the people savage, as he had been taught to believe? Or did this have something to do with the manner in which their land was being surrendered? You will read of James' father Isaac's meeting with John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, and of their cousin the Dairyman's Daughter, whose life story sold over two million copies in its day. You will also learn about Kahkewaquonaby, the Indian missionary whose work was to shape much of James' later life.
About When We Both Got to Heaven, Dr. Donald Smith, Professor of History at the University of Calgary and author of Sacred Feathers - the Rev. Peter Jones (Kahkewaquonaby) and the Mississauga Indians, wrote "I was always confused by the nature of the Congregationalist missionary outreach to the Indians on the Bruce Peninsula -- your booklet has clarified a great deal." Destinations and Discoveries magazine wrote: "Great period flavour... tinged with touches of humour... A compelling read." When We Both Got to Heaven is published by Natural Heritage Books, price $21.95. It can be ordered through selected bookstores, or by contacting Natural Heritage Books
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James Atkey genealogy
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