Taking a casual stroll
through Stanstead, Quebec, a
visitor cannot help but
notice that the name, ‘Colby’
occupies a special prominence
in this small village just
across the Canada-U.S. border
from Derby Line, Vermont.
There is Colbycroft, the
street. There is Colby House,
| the administration building
of Stanstead College.
Carrolcroft, once the
stately, granite home of the
Colby family, is now the home
of the Stanstead Historical
Society. Colby is inscribed
on many tombstones in Crystal
Lake cemetery.
There are no Colbys
| living in Stanstead today but
the family connection
survives. The last Colby to
reside in the village, Helen
Lovat Colby died in 1998, six
years after she had donated
Carrollcroft and all its
furnishings to the Stanstead
Historical Society. Two of
her sons, Charles and Robert
| and their uncle, John are
still active supporters of
the Historical Society and
Stanstead College. John also
supports Centenary United
Church, where Colbys have
been members for most of the
church’s two hundred year
history.
The story of the Colbys
|