Helliwell House bed chamber

Helliwell House has two large bedrooms upstairs, both with fireplaces and two windows that overlook the Don River Valley.  William Helliwell’s first wife, Betsy, gave birth to 6 children,  some of them perhaps in this room. The bedside cradle would have been a constant fixture in their bedroom.  In summer, the main bed could be placed near the window for cool breezes. In winter it would be turned toward the fireplace for warmth.  William kept a diary and wrote in it almost every day from age 19. In his diary, he transcribed several love letters he wrote to Betsy Bright. When Betsy died in 1843 at age 28, William married her younger sister, Jane, who had another 11 children.