A commenter recalled hearing around 1950 about a “Witch Fralick” in the family. During a visit to Lavallée Park in the 1970s, the commenter saw a sign near apparent remains stating that Magdalene Fralick had lived there and was said to have “the evil eye.” The commenter later found her in an 1891-era census and found a deed or sale connected with lots 23 and 24, concession 3, Faraday Township, but had not confirmed her burial, marriage or family connection.

The public Ask Bancroft page currently preserves one imported local recollection.[1] It reports that an older sign at Lavallée Park was said to identify the remains of Magdalene Fralick’s home and to say she was known to have the “evil eye”; the same recollection says census and land-deed leads were found, but burial, marriage and family connections were not confirmed.[1] This is a useful research lead, not an authenticated biography.[unverified]

Verified findings

The underlying History of Coe Hill page is an oral-history account submitted by a visitor who remembered the sign and later searched for census and land records.[2] In the public sources reviewed for this note, I could not verify an independent municipal, archival, newspaper, cemetery or land-record source confirming the sign, its exact wording, Magdalene Fralick’s residence, or the “evil eye” claim.[unverified]

“Evil eye” should therefore remain in quotation marks as a historical label or piece of local folklore, not as a statement of fact about the person.[unverified] The existing imported answer is already marked as an unverified local recollection on the question page.[1]

Research routes

Faraday Township

The Township’s current official website provides municipal contact, by-law, notice and minutes routes.[3] Ask whether the Lavallée Park sign, any replacement plaque, park files, heritage notes or historical-property records survive, and request the exact wording and date of any sign if it is still documented.[unverified]

Community Archives

CABHC says its collections include textual records, photographs, maps, newspapers and other material about Hastings County, with an online catalogue called Discover; it also notes that material not yet digitized may be requested from the Archives.[4] Search for the surname and place variants Fralick, Magdalene, Lavallée, Faraday, Coe Hill and Lavallée Park, then ask the archivist about relevant newspapers, cemetery references, township records and photographs of the sign.[unverified]

Land records

The Archives of Ontario explains that its land-registration indexes are arranged by county and township, then concession and lot, and that the records can identify parties, transaction types and dates.[5] The reported description—Faraday Township, Concession 3, Lots 23 and 24—should be checked against the appropriate abstract index and, for later registrations, the ONLAND portal.[5] A deed showing ownership would establish a land transaction; by itself, it would not prove the folklore or the wording of a park sign.[unverified]

Bottom line: the local story is documented online as oral history, but the identity, home site, sign and “evil eye” claim remain unverified in the public sources reviewed here.[unverified] A photograph of the sign, a dated newspaper clipping, a cemetery record, or a land/municipal record with clear provenance would materially strengthen the account.[unverified]

Sources

1. Ask Bancroft question and imported answer
2. History of Coe Hill
3. Faraday Township
4. Community Archives collections
5. Archives of Ontario: Land registrations