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William Coverdale (1801-1865), son of Christopher Coverdale, came to Kingston in 1832 or 1833. There is conjecture that the family came to Lower Canada about 1810 from England. The first two children of Catherine and William Coverdale were born at Île aux Noix, Lower Canada, the remainder in Kingston. The earliest mention of Coverdale in Kingston appears in the St George’s Church parish register, recording the birth of a son on 23 Sept. 1833.

Coverdale became the “master builder” at the penitentiary in June 1834 and held the post 14 years. During that time the main building and gatehouse were slowly constructed, mostly with convict labour. In 1848, a bill introduced by Henry Smith, son of Warden Henry Smith of the penitentiary, passed parliament; the bill cut the architect’s salary and increased that of the warden. Coverdale resigned and, because of the constant difficulties he had experienced with the warden, refused reappointment when the salary was restored.

In 1859 Coverdale also became the architect – the term he had used to describe himself after 1842 – for the asylum in Kingston and continued on this project to his death. The building he planned was erected mainly by convict labour and took over eight years to finish; the centre and the east wing were formally opened in March 1865.

The penitentiary and asylum buildings, both still standing, mark the beginning and end of Coverdale’s work in Kingston. Between his activities on these two massive works, he designed and built every manner of structure. The residences he planned ranged from workmen’s cottages to country mansions. Although his account book lists a few commissions in an area extending from Prescott to Port Hope and up to Perth, most of his work was in Kingston.

In 1844 Coverdale took over the superintendence of the building of Kingston’s magnificent town hall from George Browne. When the rear wing burned in 1865, he prepared plans for its rebuilding, but was unable to complete the project, passing away in 1865. The work was carried out after his death by his son, William Miles Coverdale (1828?-1884). W. M. Coverdale had trained under his father, and in addition to rebuilding City Hall he completed a number of building and restoration projects on his own before becoming City Engineer, a post he held until his death on 11 June 1884.

William Hugh Coverdale (1871-1949), son of William Miles Coverdale, was a collector of Canadiana and President of Canada Steamship Lines, 1922-1949. W. H. Coverdale is recognized as one of the first collectors to take an interest in objects reflecting the traditional culture of French Canada.

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The family includes W.H. Coombs, a teacher, and A.A. Coombs, a daguerreotype photographer.

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George William Henry Comer was born the third son of John F.R. Comer and Elizabeth Barbara Comer on October 21, 1840 in Niagara, Upper Canada. The Comer family moved to a number of different places in Upper Canada including Port Robinson, Chippewa and Kingston. While in Kingston, George Comer attended grammar school from 1850 to 1854.

After leaving school Comer studied the business of printing, working at the Commercial Advertiser office in Kingston. George Comer continued to work in printing over the next ten years though not exclusively in Kingston. He worked for The Constitutional in St. Catherines, The Times in Hamilton, The Herald in Cleveland, Ohio and The Lorain County News in Oberlin, Ohio.

Comer returned to Kingston, Canada in 1861where he continued working at a variety of printing and accounting jobs. In 1868 George Comer was granted a Purser's position with the Canadian Navigation Company. His first appointment was on the Steamer Corinthian, and throughout the next twenty seasons worked on that ship as well as the Algerian and Spartan. During the winters Comer worked as a bookkeeper for a variety of companies and businesses in the area.

On April 1, 1891 George Comer was personally appointed to the Customs Department as a Preventative Officer by Sir John A. Macdonald. He worked for the Department for over 25 years and in 1919 received the Long Service Medal from King George IV.

George W. H. Comer died on January 5th, 1929. He had been predeceased by his wife Ellen Elizabeth Charles, of Garden Island and was survived by three of his seven children, Jessie Comer, Bessie Comer and Elizabeth Cassa White.

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To date, little is known about the Code family aside from the knowledge that they resided in Smith Falls, Ontario at the end of the 19th century. Samuel Barber and T.F. Code both, attended the University of Toronto's School of Practical Science to study civil engineering. Samuel Barber Code graduated from the program in 1907. There is no further mention of T.F. Code. The material attributed to Thomas Singleton contains deeds of land and a record of financial transactions both of which suggest he was a wealthy resident of Smith Falls. It is assumed Samuel Barber Code and T.F. Code were related, but from the existing material no connection has been made to Thomas Singleton.