Did you know that Sir Isaac Brock asked his girlfriend, Sophia Shaw, to marry him only a couple of hours before he was killed at Queenston Heights during the war of 1812? Sophia never recovered from her grief and lived out the rest of her life as a spinster.

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, here’s a recap of some other stories from a book called the Toronto Book Of Love. Author Adam Bunch is a Toronto creator who has designed and presented tours, lectures, videos and writings about Toronto and its history. This book tells many local stories about love during the last several centuries. Not all of them are as sad as Isaac and Sophia’s.

The story of Toronto love begins with the Wendat tribe living on the northern shores of Lake Ontario, and their dating habits. If a young man sensed he was in love with a certain young woman, he would sneak into the longhouse where she was sleeping with her family. If the young woman was interested, she would blow out her torch and invite the young man into her bed. If she was not interested, she would leave her torch burning and the rejected lover had to leave the longhouse, his head bent in shame, while the family all watched. Feminism had begun!

In 1779 the Distillery District (then called York) was the site of violence over love. John White, a lawyer and the Attorney General of Upper Canada, got himself into considerable debt. At a New Year’s Eve party, so the story goes, his mistress snubbed his wife. White was depressed about his financial status and saw this situation as a way to divert attention to another topic. So he began to spread rumours about his mistress’s infidelity with other men. Enraged, the mistress’s husband met White for a duel and White was killed. Both the wife and the mistress lived long (happy?) lives.

Moving on in history to the 1850’s, we come across Sir Sanford Fleming’s story. He was “courting” Bessie Mitchell and couldn’t decide whether to marry her. So he suggested that they choose a date, November 2, and if the day was sunny and bright they would marry. Unfortunately November 2 was cold and rainy, so Fleming sad good bye to Bessie. A short time later he met Jeanie Hall and on one of their early dates they had an accident with their horse and buggy. It flipped over and injured Fleming badly. Jeanie stayed by his side, nursing him until he was well. Soon after that, they married. They stayed married their entire lives and had 9 children.

In World War I we find another romantic liaison. Billy Bishop, the famous flying “ace'” went on a blind date with a girl named Margaret Burdon. For Bishop it was love at first sight. Apparently Margaret felt the same way. But her parents disagreed. They were part of the famous Eaton family, and Billy Bishop, at the time a young unknown kid, was not good enough for the Eatons. Bishop spent the early wartime years perfecting his flying skills and improving his reputation until Margaret’s family relented. But their marriage was not without issues: Bishop reportedly had several affairs while flying missions in Europe.

Near the end of the Toronto Book Of Love, a story takes place in 1945. World War II was over and reporter Scott Young had returned from his duty as Communications Officer for the Royal Navy. He and his wife were visiting friends at a small house near Yonge and Mount Pleasant when a massive blizzard hit the city. It was a long way home, with no subway system yet built. So the Young’s stayed overnight on a cozy mattress in the basement. Nine months later, Young’s wife gave birth to a son named Neil. You may know his music.

The epilogue of the book is a fitting chapter on the Ongoing History of Kissing In Toronto, with a map included. Why don’t you Google “Toronto Kiss Map” on Friday and add your own favourite kiss location? Happy Valentine’s Day.

Sue