Sarsfield, Ontario is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

Cumberland Ward Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

in the east portion of the City of

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

in the former township of

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

. The first residents of Sarsfield were mostly

French-Canadians French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

from

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

. In 1854, families began to establish in the Sarsfield region. Family names at that time included: Potvin, St-Denis, D'Aoust, Lafrance, Dessaint and Ethier. One of these colonizers, Sévère D'Aoust, bought land from the Crown and later gave part of this land for the construction of a Roman Catholic church. The construction of this church had such an impact on the village that it was known as Daoust's Corner. The region was also known as Bear Brook. Construction for the new church was completed in 1886. Today, the church still stands and is known as St-Hugues. The church celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2011. In June 2011, strong winds and intense lightning caused the churches's

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religi ...

to fall off. It was replaced a few months later. The village was renamed Sarsfield in 1874 when an Irishman, Michael O'Meara, opened a post office and gave it the name of an Irish hero,

Patrick Sarsfield Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, ga, Pádraig Sáirseál, circa 1655 to 21 August 1693, was an Irish soldier, and leading figure in the Jacobite army during the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland. Born into a wealthy Catholic famil ...

. In 2000, the Township of Cumberland was amalgamated to the City of Ottawa.

Famous residents

Don Boudria Donald Boudria, (born August 30, 1949) is a former Canadian politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1984 to 2005 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chrétien ...

former

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

MP from 1984 to 2006, and

Government House Leader The leader of the government in the House of Commons (), more commonly known as the government house leader, is the Canadian cabinet, Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the House of Com ...

* Ferdinand Larose (1888 - 1955),

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...

, who planted the Larose Forest was born in Sarsfield.

External links

The Village of Sarsfield's official website
Neighbourhoods in Ottawa {{EasternOntario-geo-stub