LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
PAPERS AND RECORDS
VOL I.
PRICE, 25 CENTS.
NAPANEE:
PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY.
1909.
PRINTED AT THE BEAVER OFFICE.
F
CONTENTS.
Page Chronology 4
Officers Since Organization 4
Chronicles of Napanee 5
The Origin of Some of Our lyocal Names, by
W. S. Herrington 29
i
Yarker and Vicinity, by E. R. Checkley 41
Some Notes of Early Ecclesiastical History, —Bay of Quinte District, by Rev. Canon Jarvis 49
Some Early Amusements of the County, by
C. M. Warner 61
The Village of Centreville, by J. S. lyochhead... 71
CHRONOLOGY.
Society Organized May 9th, 1907
Constitution Adopted June nth, 1907
First Open Meeting held Oct. 25th, 1907
Affiliated with the Ontario Historical
Society March 3ist, 1908
OFFICERS SINCE ORGANIZATION. Honorary Presidents —
Rev. Canon Jarvis 1907-8
*John Gibbard, Esq 1907
James Daly, Esq 1908-9
Walter S. Herrington, Esq 1909
Presidents —
Clarance M. Warner.*. 1907-8-9
Vice-Presidents —
Mrs. Alex. W. Grange 1907-8-9
Secretary-Treasurer —
Ulysses J. Flach 1907-8-9
Executive Committee —
Mrs. H. T. Forward 1907-8-9
Mr. Fred. Burrows 1907-8-9
Mr. Uriah Wilson, M.P 1907-8-9
Mr. George D. Hawley 1907-8-9
Rev. Alex. Macdonald 1907-8-9
^Deceased.
CHRONICLES OF NAPANEE.
Note.— These letters were written by an "old resident," and were published in The Beaver in 1873 and 1874. They appear in one of the Historical Society Scrap Books.
LETTER I.
The flourishing Town of Napanee is very pleasantly situated in the County of Lennox and Addington, (of which it is the County town), on the Napanee river, six miles from its confluence with the Bay of Quinte, to which it is accessible by large vessels. It lies midway between Kingston and Belleville, on the Grand Trunk railway, in the midst of an exceedingly rich and enterprising farm- ing community.
Napanee possesses an excellent water power of some 'thirty feet fall, capable of driving a large number of mills and manufactories, and as a grain market is unrivalled by any between Toronto and Montreal. The town is one of the most healthy and picturesque in Central Canada, and is becoming the centre of a large trade and commerce, and a place of no inconsiderable importance. At the present time it has a population of about 3,500, which number is very rapidly increasing.
Napanee and its vicinity was first settled short- ly after the American Revolution, by United Empire Loyalists — a noble class who came from the United States, not being willing to live under other than British rule. Those men, and women too, under- went great hardships in this, the country of their choice. The Government, however, nobly rendered them all the assistance in its power. Accordingly, in 1785, Robert Clark, a millwright, who had then just completed a mill on the Cataraqui river, near Kingston, was employed by the Government to con- struct a mill at Napanee. This mill, which was built of logs and was located on the east side of the river, was raised on the 23d of March, 1786. This mill was called by the Indians " Appanee Mills," (appanee in their language being the name of flour), and our town from this obtains its name. At the mill there was a clearance of i% acres made, which was the first clearing made in Napanee.
6 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
In the construction of this mill there were sortie novel appliances, one of which was that of the bolt- ing of the flour being done by hand, each customer having to turn a crank to bolt his own flour. After the erection of the mill it was delivered up to one Collins, and the land afterwards granted to Capt. McDonald, who sold it to the Hon. Richard Cart- wright, of Kingston, grandfather of our present Finance Minister, R. J. Cartwright, Esq.
About this time a man named Smith, whose posterity are now living in the Township of Rich- mond, started a smith's shop near the mill.
On the 28th of August, 1792, Mr. Cartwright commenced the erection of a new stone mill on the west side of the river near the present foundry of John Herring, Esq. In this mill one run of stone was first put in, afterwards two, and latterly three, as business increased.
Mr. John Grange, a canny Scot, was for many years millwright in this mill, and in 1800, his son, the late William Grange, Esq., was born, being the first white child born in Napanee. Mr. John Grange afterwards settled on the farm a mile north of this place, where the family has since resided.
At about this period a Carding Mill was built on the east side of the river, and a trip-hammer was put up by a Mr. Kesler. Both were, however, shortly alterwards burned down. Kesler soon after erected a blacksmith shop, and remained here for many years. He was an odd old German, and was very piously inclined. An incident is related of him, that on his visiting the first caravan that ever exhibited in Napanee, on coming to the elephant he shouted out : "Ghlory to Got ; only see vat He has made."
After Mr. Cartwright had completed his mill it was rented to one Crawford and others, and latter- ly to Allan McPherson, Esq. John Hosey, whose sons are now living in Napanee, was brought up by- Mr. Cartwright. Having learned the milling busi- ness, provision was made by Mr. Cartwright when he leased the mill to Mr. McPherson, that John should always have a place in the mill — as long as he lived, if he desired. Many of the older inhabi- tants will remember him.
A distillery was started at about this time, and the highwines, excepting what was required for home consumption, was shipped west to the Hudson Bay Company's posts.
CHRONICLES OF NAPANEE. 7
It was about the year 1812 when Allan McPher- son, who had married a daughter of Judge Fisher, of Adolphustown, rented the grist mill and opened a store. "Mac," as he was generally called, for many years carried on an extensive trade in the purchase of grain, staves, saw logs, timber, ashes, etc. He, indeed, might have been called "King of Napanee," as he had everything his own way. He was once asked who made him, and on replying that he was made the same as other men, was told that he was not, that it was the Township of Rich- mond that made him. Although "Mac" had rather an overbearing manner, still he was very good to the poor, and kind and obliging to his friends and neighbors. He afterwards obtained the appoint- ment of Crown Lands Agent for the Counties, and removed to the City of Kingston, where he still resides in quiet retirement. His son, Donald, suc- ceeded him in business, which he continued for many years, but a few years since removed to and entered into business in Montreal, where he still resides.
Among the first ministers who visited this part of the country was the Rev. Darius Dunham, a Methodist preacher. He was known far and near for his eccentricity, and we think a story, often told of him, will bear repeating. He always sup- ported a good horse, and once when riding along where a party of men were doing road work, was asked by a new-made Justice of the Peace why he rode so fine a horse, saying that when our Saviour while on earth rode an ass, and why did he not do the same. Dunham, always ready with a reply, re- torted that he would do so, only that the Govern- ment had made J. P.'s of all the asses.
About sixty years ago a schoolhouse was built near the railroad bridge, which also for many years served the purpose of Church and Town Hall. Here it was that the then rising generation of Napanee received their education ; here it was that the Rev. Saltern Givens, missionary to the Mohawks, preached the gospel to the people, while John A. Macdonald, now Sir John, who was then a student at law, "pitched" the tunes ; and here it was that the "free and independents" of Richmond met each year to choose and elect their Township Officers. That old schoolhouse was only a few years since taken down, moved to "Piety Hill," and converted into a dwelling house.
8 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
In the year 1824 a plot of land on the east side of the river, belonging to John C. Clark, was laid out into town lots by a surveyor named Rider, and named Clarksville. Several lots were sold, and some buildings erected, one of which is now occu- pied by Mrs. McNeill, widow of the late Archibald McNeill, Esq., and mother of "Archie,"— the owner of the Campbell House. Mr. McNeill kept a store, was an active, intelligent and enterprising man, and at that time one of the leading men of the place. His respected widow is now said to be the "oldest inhabit ant "-of the town.
For many years the only public house in the place was the "old red tavern," still standing near Fralick's blacksmith shop, which is now used as a dwelling house. It must now be about sixty years of age.
LETTER II.
And it came to pass in those days, that for many years Napanee was a waste, howling wilder- ness, and the land thereof was covered with thorns, briars and thistles, and as there was an entailment upon the land, therefore it could not be sold. And Solomon, who was a wise and just man, said unto his brethren, behold the land of our fathers which we have inherited, is a goodly land, and should flow with milk and honey and corn, and the finest of wheat. Let us go up and possess the land, and build a city, and sell the same and get gain. And his brethren all with one accord, having heard the words of Solomon, said, it shall be done. And it came to pass that Solomon took ship and sailed to the east and went over to the other side of the Sea, to the land of his forefathers, where good Queen Victoria now reigneth, and he prayed the King, and the Commons, and the Lords of the land, to pass a law to set aside the entailment upon the land of his brethren. And the King and the Commons and the Lords heard the words of Solomon, and they answered, let it be done ; and it was done, and the law was passed by the Lords and the Commons, and signed by the King. And Solomon returned to the land of his brethren and told them all what had been done, and Solomon was afterwards a ruler and a judge over the people, and was in favor with the people.
Accordingly, in the year 1832, the first survey of Napanee Town plot proper was made by Samuel
CHRONICLES OF NAPAXEE.
M. Benson, P.Iv.S., of Belleville. This plot extend- ed from East street to West street, and from the river to Thomas street, containing about one-quart- er of a mile square. Several other surveys were made since, so that the town now is nearly two miles square. These town lots were immediately put into the market and sold off rapidly at reason- able rates, averaging from $100 to $200, and are now worth from two to five thousand dollars each, besides buildings. Those on Dundas and Main streets were taken up first, and building operations soon commenced. Among the first to build was Mr. D. Pringle, who put up the hotel now owned and occupied by Mr. J. Culhane. Mr. Pringle shortly afterwards sold it to Mr. Miles Shorey, and erected another public house on the opposite side of the street, now called the Tichborne House. Those two hotels were kept for many years by Pringle and Shorey, and were the principal public houses in Napanee.
Mr. John V. Detlor, about this period, built on the corner opposite the Tichborne House, and opened a general country store. He continued in business in Napanee for many years, but some time ago removed to Goderich, where he has acquired wealth and honorable position. About this time also, John Benson, Esq., now in H. M. Customs, erected the building on the corner, now owned by John Stevenson, Esq., and occupied by Thos. Waller.
Here Mr. Benson opened, and for many years kept, a general store, carrying on an extensive trade. His head clerk for some time was the late Augustus Hooper, who afterwards purchased large quantities of grain, and subsequently was elected M.P.P. for the County. Mr. Hooper was a pushing man. Several other buildings were erected about this time, but most of them have either been destroyed by fire, or removed and replaced by those more substantial. Stores were also opened in Clarksville, on the east side of the river, by Mr. McNeill and Mr. Ramsay, which have long since been closed, but the buildings are still standing as momentos of the past.
About forty years ago Mr. David Roblin put up a building opposite where Grange's Drug Store now stands, and opened a store and had a large trade. He after this became a very prominent man in our County, being several times elected Reeve of Rich-
10 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
mond and Warden of the United Counties, and for many years had a seat in Parliament. He was a very energetic man, a warm friend, and an obliging neighbor.
A few years later, Mr. Alex. Campbell put up the building now owned by Mr. William McMullen, opposite the Campbell House, and opened a store. He also built the Campbell House, and for many years held the position of Postmaster.
And it came to pass in the first year of the reign of Victoria, Queen of the land of our father and of the isles of the sea, and many lands and provinces, and who ruled with wisdom, and was just and discreet in all her ways, and one Lion, whose surname was McKenzie, who was evil dis- posed and stirred up the people to commit acts of rebellion and to fight against the Queen and her people, and behold a man named James, of the clan of Fraser, and who was a man of the highest stat- ure in the town, and of great energy, and one Arch- ibald, whose surname was Campbell, were appoint- ed captains of an host, and they raised companies of men of valour and who were ^not afraid of these rebellious people, and who were loyal to the Queen and the country, and they went forth to fight those rebellious and evil-disposed men and to defend the land of their fathers and their children. And so it came to pass, that the wickedness of the wicked soon came to an end, and many of them were killed with the sword, and many more were put in prison, and others were hanged, and peace and harmony was restored to the land, and the captains and the soldiers all returned in safety to their families and friends, and the old men and maidens and all the people received them gladly, and there was great joy and rejoicing, and peace and prosperity reigned in the land for many years.
About the year 1852, Napanee was made a Police Village, and three Trustees were elected to look after the best interests of the place. It was however, still under the jurisdiction of the .Town- ship of Richmond. But in 1855, Napanee was created an Incorporated Village, and elected five Councillors, one of whom was chosen Reeve, who acted as Police Magistrate for the Village. The first election resulted as follows : John Benson, Esq., Reeve ; Geo. H. Davy, Donald McPherson, Robert Esson and Abraham Fraser, Councillors ; James F. Battles being Village Clerk. For ten
CHRONICLES OF NAPANEE. 11
years it remained an incorporated village, and pro- gressed favorably ; however, the elections for mun- icipal honors were very closely contested, and gen- erally turned on politics between the Conservatives and Reformers, sometimes one party being in power and then the other. Protests and writs of quo warranto were then quite common. For several years an agitation was carried on for a separation of Lennox and Addington from' Frontenac, and through the indefatigable exertions of John Steven- son, Esq., the matter was consummated in 1864, and on the first of January, 1865, Napanee was pro- claimed a County Town by the Government, and at the ensuing town meeting, B. C. Davy, Esq., was elected Mayor ; John Stevenson, Reeve ; William McGilvary, Deputy-Reeve, and Win. Miller, John T. Grange, S. McL. Detlor, M. T. Rogers, John Gib- bard, John Herring and Henry T. Forward, Coun- cillors ; Wm. V. Detlor, Clerk. Mr. B. C. Davy was elected Mayor for three years in succession. In 1868, J. C. Huffman, Esq., was elected Mayor for four years ; John T. Grange, Reeve ; John Herring, Deputy-Reeve, and S. McL. Detlor, C. R. Miller, T. Beeman, W. S. Williams, Alex. Henry, Jas. Perry, M. T. Rogers and Thos. Flynn, Councillors,
In 1871, A. L. Morden, "Esq., was elected Mayor and has been re-elected for the third time. The Councillors are : S. McL. Detlor, Reeve ; Wm. Ross, Deputy-Reeve, and Messrs. Joy, C. James, J. Fen- nell, C. Lane, R. Boyes, R. Bowling, W. F. Hall, Dr. H. L. Cook and J. C. Huffman, "Councillors for the present year, and W. R. Chamberlain, Clerk.
LETTER III.
OUR CHURCHES.
In the year 1835, there being no church in Napanee, the Messrs. Cartwright, with great liber- ality, not only donated the land, but paid the expense of putting up the walls of the old
ST. MARY MAGDALENE CHURCH,
and the following year, through the exertions of the people who were but few and far between, the church was completed, and duly dedicated to the worship of God in the year 1836. This church was a plain stone structure, about 30x40 feet, with a tower and bell. Galleries were afterwards put into it. For many years it did duty as a place of wor-
12 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
ship, but for some time past it was considered be- hind the times and too strait for its congregation, and during last year it was taken down, and the materials worked into the new St. Mary Magdalene Church, now being erected on a beautiful site direct- ly opposite the residence of the Hon. John Steven- son. The corner stone of the new church was laid with Masonic honors by Bro. G. Simpson, of H. M. Customs, on the first day of July last, in the presence of a large concourse of people. The walls of the church have since been put up and the build- ing is enclosed. It is a handsome old style gothic stone edifice, 44x120 feet, with tower and buttresses and will, when completed, be an ornament to the town and a credit to the congregation. The entire cost of this church will be nearly $20,000. The Revs. Messrs. Bogart and the congregation deserve much praise for their indefatigable exertions in this matter.
Ministers were few in the early days of Napanee and for many years the Rev. Saltern Givens, then Missionary to the Mohawks, now of St. Paul's Church, Toronto, preached regularly in the old church until the year 1849, when the Rev. William B. Lauder, LL-D., was appointed Rector of Napanee Although Mr. L,auder was rather of the High Church order, he was a very fine man, and had many warm friends. In the year 1862 he returned to his native land, Ireland, where he died on the 5th February, 1868, deeply lamented.
In 1862, the Rev. J. J. Bogart, M.A., was ap- pointed Rector of Napanee. Mr. Bogart was born in Brockville, graduated at Trinity College, Toron- to, was ordained in 1858, and for a few years previous to coming here, officiated at Prescott, where he was very popular. He is an able minister, an excellent reader, an estimable gentleman, and has many friends who esteem him very highly.
The Rev. D. F. Bogart, who is Curate for his brother, was born and educated at the same place as the Rector, but only recently came to this place. He is very highly respected.
THE OLD WESLEYAN CHURCH,
erected upon a lot donated by the Cartwright estate, was a brick building 46x60 feet. It was dedicated to the worship of God by the Rev. Mr. Davidson in 1840. The Rev. Gilbert Miller, now of Picton, was the minister under whose superintend-
CHRONICLES OF NAPANEE. IS
ence it was erected ; time would fail me to mention who have occupied the pulpit since then, but prom- inent amongst the number are the Revs. Messrs. John Black, Robt. Carson, D. B. Madden, William Haw, B. Slight, and several others, some of whom have gone to their reward.
About the year 1860, through the enterprise and energy of the Rev. F. Berry, the Wesley an new stone church was commenced on the old brick church site, the latter being taken down, and in 1862 the new church was completed. It is a plain stone structure, 45x84 feet, with tower and spire 155 feet high, very comfortably finished internally, with galleries on three sides.
The Rev. Wm. McCullough, good man, followed Mr. Berry ; the next was the Rev. John S. Clarke, who was a most enthusiastic and pushing man, and who had many friends ; then came the Rev. Wm. Scott, an able expounder of the New Testament and a zealous advocate of temperance. He is at present stationed at Oshawa. The Rev. G. M. Meacham, M.A., was stationed here in 1871, and is now on his last year. Mr. Meacham was born in Belleville in 1833, ,(his father having been for many years Postmaster, and a prominent citizen of that place) — graduated at Victoria College in 1860, and was ordained the same year, since which time he has labored on at God's command. He is a most zealous minister, a warm-hearted friend, and a sin- cere Christian. He has many warm friends and not an enemy in Napanee.
THE OLD WHITE CHURCH
was commenced about the year 1842 upon the plot of land on which the new M. E. church now stands, which was also presented by the Cartwright estate. It was a frame building, 40x50 feet, built by Ezra A. Spencer, contractor, and was dedicated to the worship of God about the year 1844. The Rev. John Bailey was P. E., and the Rev. H. H. John- ston minister in charge at the time.
In 1872 the Rev. S. G. Stone was appointed to this place, at which time we prognosticated that the name had the right ring for a new church. And in this we are pleased not to have been disappoint- ed. Mr. Stone was born in the County of North- umberland, in 1836, ordained in 1862, and had been five years in the City of Ottawa previous to his ap- pointment to this place. He is an earnest preacher
14 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
and a clever business man, and deserves great praise for the manner he has, with the efficient aid and assistance of the congregation, succeeded in erecting one of the finest churches in the connexion to which he belongs.
This edifice was commenced in June, 1872, and completed in October, 1873. The building— which is built of red brick, with the base and arches of the windows and buttress caps of blue and white cut lime stone — is 103x46 feet. The spire is 165 feet in height, which is finished to represent colored slating in different shades. While the external appearance of the edifice is exceedingly handsome, the finishing and arrangements inside are unsurpassable. The windows are stained in most appropriate patterns ; the walls and ceilings are very tastefully frescoed and painted ; the gallery, finished in fret work with solid white ash facing and scarlet background, extends across the front end and two-thirds up the sides ; the pews are built of white ash, with walnut cappings ; and the pulpit is finished in a style in keeping with the whole inner portion of the church. The cost of the building was $i 7,000. Besides this, there has been erected in it a powerful organ, at a cost of $1,000, by Prof. Phillips, of this place. The above church was dedicated by Bishop Richardson and other ministers on the I7th of October, 1873.
THE CANADA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
is a handsome stone edifice, of gothic architecture, situated in the West Ward, upon a beautiful site, also presented by the Messrs. Cartwright. The building is about 44x65 feet, with a tower and base- ment. Its erection was commenced on the ist July, 1864, and the basement opened by Prof. Mowat, of Kingston, on the I2th of March, follow- ing. The main audience room was dedicated on the 6th of June, 1869, by the Rev. Dr. McVicker, of Montreal, and the Rev. Mr. McLaren. The church is very neatly and comfortably finished and is very creditable to the Rev. John Scott and the congrega- tion, through whom it was erected.
The Rev. Mr. Scott was born in Northumber- land, England, in 1824, came to Canada in 1852, graduated at Toronto University, and was ordained at the Rev. Mr. Macdo well's church, near Bath, in 1853 ; came to Napanee in 1855, officiating in the old Academy, and afterwards for several years in the Town Hall. Mr. Scott and his esteemed ladv
CHRONICLES OP NAPANEE. 15
are most kind and attentive to the poor and sick, and have many warm friends in Napanee and vicin- ity. He is truly the friend of all and the enemy of none.
THE ST. MARY'S R. C. CHURCH
is a very substantial stone structure, about 40x60 feet, situated on the corner of West and Thomas streets, the land having been donated by the Cart- wright estate. The church was built in 1855, and is very neatly finished internally.
The Rev. Father Brown, a very estimable gen- tleman, was for several years the priest of this church. He was a few years since removed to the Town of Port Hope, being succeeded by the Rev. Father Leonard, who still oD'ciates, and is highly esteemed by the members of his church. He un- obtrusively attends to the best interests of his church and congregation, never interfering in other people's matters.
LETTER IV.
Having been recently favored with a letter from an old friend, who for many years was a prominent resident of the place, we have taken the liberty of inserting it in this chapter, for the benefit of your readers. It was with great interest that we per- used it, and have not the least doubt but that it will be very interesting to all who read it.
I have experienced some difficulty in obtaining exact dates and statistics of the early settlement of our town, and trust that where errors have occurred due allowance will be made.
The following is taken from the letter above- mentioned :
Mr. Oarfield was the name of the millwright in 1792. — John Grange, sr., supposed the farm he had the patent for, the lot which would have covered the present town proper and water-power, but Judge Cartwright's patent described the falls as one of the boundaries, so John, although he tried, could not get possession of that water-power. John, however, had a power on his farm, and im- proved it. — The trip-hammer and first "Appanec Mills" only, were burnt.— Old Mr. Kesler was very loud in his devotions, and in the summer, while the windows and doors of his domicile were open, was frequently heard to pray that the "Tivil might pe sent town to falls, neffer to return no more." He
ir> LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
was a large, powerful man, and his sneeze, (always at noon), like a meridian gun, could be heard, it was said, at David Hess's, a long distance oil. His residence stood where the Rennie cottage now stands, east of the bridge, and his smith shop a little west, below the road. He once introduced a German friend, the first temperance lecturer in Napanee, and the first to use the old school house for religious purposes, who selected for his text, "Touch not, taste not, handle not," concluding his remarks with, "vat did I say ? I don't say you shan't take none, but you must not take too much." — Mac rented the mills with the clearance, i% acres of land, in 1817, at a yearly rental of ^75° ($3>°°°) and taxes. — The first school was opened in a building opposite the "old red tavern," and among the boys of the day were Isaiah and John Huffman, Donald and James McPherson, Charles McGreer, John Hosey, George Long, Thos. Grange, Davis Hawley, William Caton, Thomas Chamberlain (the late Dr.), Arch. McNeill, with others who have passed away. — Alexander Young, imported from Aberdeen by Mac., was the first teacher ; Mac. also erected the old school house, about the year 1827. The nearest schools were at Jehiel Hawley's, about three miles east, and at Samuel McCoy's, about the same distance south, on the old Kingston road. — Among the first to fill the pulpit of the old school house, which was open to all denominations, were the Revs. John Booth and Radcliffe, of Kingston, Wesleyans ; and, before the erection of the school house, by Rev. Mr. Jeffers in the dwelling house of old Mr. George Carscallen, and at McCoy's school house in North Fredericks- burgh, and afterwards in a building erected by Mac., near the old mill, afterwards used by Perry's for manufacturing purposes. — Charles H. Morgan, of Edinburgh, then Deputy Postmaster, afterwards agent of the Bank of Montreal at Cobourg, and who recently died in Chicago, assisted John A. in "pitching the tunes," for John, poor boy, although displaying a bold front, had not much tune or ear for music, and to this day can hardly follow in "Scots wa hae," or "Auld Ivang Syne."" Although in after years he became a strong pillar of State, he never was an inside pillar of any church. He used occasionally to attend the early candle-light meetings, in the old school house, for the purpose of "seeing home" one of the beauties of those days,
CHRONICLES OF NAPANEE. 17
whose connexions were reputed to be the finest and most stately of Canada's fair daughters. He, one evening however, by accident or otherwise, offered her the wrong arm, which she at once observed and rashly inittened him on the spot. She was after- wards wooed and won by a handsomer and, as she thought, a better man, and is now living at Hay Bay, twelve miles from Napanee, in peace and plenty. — The old school house, being for some time unoccupied, became a public nuisance for disreputa- bles. It was taken down in 1860 and removed to Piety Hill, one of the finest sites in the County, a lit resting place for the first school house and place of worship erected on "Flour River". — From which can be seen old Bay Quinte, Long Reach, Captain John's Island, the Town of Mill Point, Prince Ed- ward High Shore, and the County of Hastings. The writer remembers seeing a portion of the Mass- assaga Indians encamped and carousing on the first site of the previous named building, who afterwards removed to Grape Island and Rice Lake, and were christianized by the Methodist missionaries. — The funeral sermon of Mr. Hamilton, father of old Mrs. McNeill, was preached in this building by the Rev. Job Deacons, attended by a large number of Roman Catholics, as well as Protestants. Mrs. McNeill first lived in the third concession of Richmond. — The first building in Clarksville was erected by the late B. Ham, Ksq., and the second by an Irish tailor, Pat. Phoney. Where the Crystal Palace now stands was then a dense wood. — Old Mrs. Hosey is probably the oldest continuous inhabitant, while her son John is the oldest native born and continu- ous inhabitant now living in Napanee. — It is more than sixty years since the south end of the old Red Tavern was occupied by Archibald Campbell, since of "Bald Mountain," and who preceded Henry Mc- Laren, one of a large family, still residents of Richmond. The latter was killed at this tavern by his horse "bolting" into the yard, and throwing him against the gate post. The first wild beast show was held in the same yard shortly after, and the lions roared on smelling the human blood. A man named Guy had a "smithy" where the present big mill stands!!— Of the "hosts" who were sent out to fight in '37, Fraser's company was said to have been the best officered, having the tallest, shortest and heaviest or largest round. — Fraser, Ramsay and McNeill, all gone ; none, however, died on the
18 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
battle field.— The first agricultural society in Can- ada was formed in 1818, for the United Counties of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, by the Hon. Messrs. Markland and McAuley, and Alex. Pringle, Esq., of Kingston, (the two latter being publishers and proprietors of the Kingston Chronicle, now the Chronicle and News), and Allan McPherson, Esq., of Napanee, now of Kingston, who is the only sur- vivor, and is now the oldest Magistrate in Canada.
LETTER V.
The first postmaster who was appointed at Napanee Mills received his commission from Daniel Sutherland, Esq., Deputy Postmaster General of British North America, in the year 1820. At this time the whole mail matter from Montreal to York (now Toronto) was carried on men's backs. It is said that old Mr. Andrew Loyst, whose posterity now live in Sheffield, was one of the couriers. He used to say that in his day he could "out go" any horse, by striking his usual "dog trot." From 1820 to 1826 His Majesty's mail, which was very small, was carried on horse-back, three times a week. Napanee Mills not being a post of change of horses, the bridle was thrown over the horse's head and passed through a hook at the old post- office door, where he remained in spite of all comers until the mail was overhauled. The horses were sometimes changed at Fralick's Tavern, near Little Creek, and at Bowen's Tavern, near the boundary between Richmond and Tyendinaga. The noble horse which usually did this service for King George IV., was afterwards owned by old "Royal Blue," the Arctic explorer and whale fisherman, who was a man of iron constitution, and lived to a very old age, and like Esau of old, was a very hairy man.
At one time, while the school was going on at the old school house, Sir John Colborne and suite, all on horseback, on their way to York, halted at the school to enquire which road to take.
About this time there was a Government grant of £600 to improve the road through "Indian Wood" to Belleville, and J. P. Roblin, Esq., after some delay, completed a bridge near Jas. Bowen's. John TJ. was then, as he has ever since been, a most consistent "cold waterman," although engaged in the whitefish trade.
CHRONICLES OF NAPANEE. lc>
Iii the early days of Napanee Mills, salmon was very plentiful, and in their fruitless attempts to ascend the falls, after the darns were built, were frequently shot by the sportsmen of that date, among whom was Joe. I/owe, a black slave, whom the late Richard Lowe, Esq., of Adolphustown, brought with him from the United States. There is no more shooting or fishing for poor old Joe ; he has gone where the good people go. He was a great favorite among the children, and, living to a ripe old age, was cared for to the last by Mrs. Blanchard, of Picton.
Among old papers we have come across a poll book for Lennox and Addington, of 1830, when the election was held at the cross roads between Fra- lick's and Gordanier's Taverns, and continued for six days. The candidates were Marshall S. Bid- well, Peter Perry and Samuel Casey, Esqs. The election commenced at 9 a.m., and closed at 5 p.m. each day. It closed on the morning of the fifth day by the retirement of the third candidate. B. Sey- mour, Esq., of Port Hope ; E. Perry, Esq., of Tarn worth ; W. J. Fairfieid, Esq., of Bath ; Asa and Amos Schermahorn, and John Kimmerly, Esqs., of Richmond, are among the very few sur- vivors of the loyal electors of that date, and none of the candidates linger to solicit support. One of the voters, John Hillier, lived to be 106 years of age.
Among the first merchants who flourished in Napanee, I might mention Richard Robinson, who occupied the old Red Store, and the old white house near Isaiah Huffman's, from 1812 to 1820. He was father of the late Thomas Robinson, Police Magis- trate of Kingston.
In 1817 Allan McPherson took the old Red Store, and in '21 he took in McGregor as partner until 1828. Mac. afterwards ran the store on his own account. Frederick Hesford was for many years a clerk for him, and when he died willed the McPherson family 200 acres of land, upon which Upper Napanee now stands. He was a very odd old gentleman, and died a bachelor.
About the year 1834, B. Ham, McNeill and Mc- Henry (father of Donald C.), and Thomas Ramsay opened stores in Clarksville. Many others embark- ed in merchandise, very few of whom, however, made fortunes.
After the old mill was given up by Mac., it was
20 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
taken by an Englishman from Newburgh, who was not very popular. It was given by some as a rea- son for his unpopularity, that his hogs were too fat ; by others that he ground too close ; and by others that there was too little flour in his bran. However, at a military dinner given in Shorey's best style, the Colonel being present, all were as happy as good cheer could make them by the "moisture of the clay." One of the officers who was always right (P. Wright), volunteered the song "There was a miller lived in our town, etc.", which so amused "Solomon", who had never heard before the song, that in his wisdom and for the benefit of the land, bought out the old miller at a good round price. It was about this time -that Mac. built the vsmall mill on the south side of the river, where oat- meal, pot and pearl barley and split peas were manufactured, and here the coldest and purest spring water was witched into "fire water."
Richard Lowe was among the first to start a fulling, carding and cloth dressing factory, near where Perry's factory now is. Among his em- ployees was his imported slave, Joe., and the world renowned Tobias Mink, one of a very large family of color who early located at Mink's bridge, on the Newburgh road. Of this family there is but one survivor, Hiram, the youngest. Poor Tobe, al- though he lived until his hair got white, his skin never faded. He was drowned in Napanee river a few years since. Both young and old will remem- ber him.
Thomas Dier, a dyer by trade, and who died a centenarian, succeeded Mr. Lowe in the business, who was followed by C. J. Cramer, who also built a distillery and a woolen factory on the site now occupied by James Perry. About the year 1830, Jacob and Peter Ouackenbush erected a carding mill which was driven by a large inclined horizontal wheel, with horse and beef power.
Levi W. Nichols, Esq., now of Richmond, in the thirties, built a foundry on Mill street, near Downey's grain store. John Herring succeeded him in the business.
John McGill Detlor erected a brewery on West street, which was afterwards run by Alex. Margach, but before he learned the art his means were ex- hausted, and he retired from the business. Part of the building still stands, where Warner's store house is erected.
CHRONICLES OF NAPANEE. 21
B. Atkinson was the first to attend to the "understandings" of the inhabitants. He had a small tannery and (shoe shop west of Napanee, near New I/iverpool. He was followed by Robert Mc- Guinness. The principal part of shoemaker's work was done by tramps, who carried their kits, stopped when and where required, travelling from house to house, and carrying with them a supply of the material required.
About the first tailoring establishment in the place was Kdward Matthews' "tip-top tailor shop," over old Mr. Hosey's dwelling. He was succeeded by the late Kdward Jenkins, of Richmond, who built in Clarksville. He was a sure fit and up to time. Next came B. Foot, of Sand Hill, who, while he lived, was ever ready for his customers. Then came Robt. Bell, who for a long time had a good run.
As cabinetmakers and millwrights we had Wm. G. P. Bartels, who first opened business in a log building near Carscallen's burying ground — a fit place for an undertaker. He also made sleighs and, for those days, very fine cutters, one of which was raffled at the old Red Tavern in 1825. Bradford Tuttle succeeded Bartels as cabinetmaker and un- dertaker, and for many vears our respected and esteemed citizen, Mr. C. McBean, carried on the same business, but has some time since retired.
John Hawley, Esq., of Richmond, who will be 80 years of age on the 6th of March next, remem- bers many of the incidents previously narrated. He was a lad when old Mr. Kesler started his trip- hammer, and recollects driving one of eighteen yoke of oxen which were employed in drawing a large oak stick of timber for the trip-hammer shaft for Kesler. He also remembers going to mill on horse- back frequently, and turning the crank to bolt his own grist. Father Hawley is still smart, and can see to read the smallest type without glasses, hav- ing obtained his "second sight" a few years since. He is very much attached to his Bible, and has read the New Testament through eighty times, as also the Old Testament several times.
Old Mr. George Schryver was born near \Tapa- nee in 1793, is now living in Napanee, in his 8ist year. He has remembrance of many incidents of the early times. He also carried grists to the old "Appanee Mills," and turned the crank. When about eighteen years of age he was employed in the
22 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
old distillery near where Perry's plaster mill now stands, where he served his time for a year with a man named Tuttle, in the distilling business. George, however, never followed the business. He remembers old Mr, and Mrs. Kesler. The latter was a very fleshy old lady, who used frequently to say that "the more she eat, the less she did ; and the stiller she sat, the better she felt." About the year 1817, George thought it was not good for man to be alone, so he woed and. won the hand of Mary Vankoughnet, and as none but English Church clergymen could legally join them together, they were published by the Rev. Mr. McDowall, of Bath, but when the time for the marriage came the minis- ter was sick and could not tie the knot. So he sent a certificate to Dr. Jacob Chamberlain, Justice of the Peace, who made them one flesh, which at that time was legal.
LETTER VI.
About the year 1834, (some forty years ago), through the influence and exertion of the late John S. Cartwright, Esq., the
NAPANEE PAIRS
were established by Royal Proclamation of His Excellency, the Lieutenant-Governor, half-yearly at first, on the first Tuesday, Wednesday and Thurs- day in March and September, and afterwards on the same days of the months of June and December in each and every year. Those fairs formerly were advertised by hand-bill, but latterly, having become a regular institution of the country, so that every one, far and near, knows when the Napanee Fair takes place. Butchers, pedlars, hucksters and traders attend from various parts of the Province, while the farmers and others who have stock or produce to dispose of bring it to the fair, where they are sure to obtain a good price. Thousands of people assemble, and tens of thousands of dollars change hands yearly. Although the fair now only continues for one day every three months, still it is a great acquisition to the place. Many tales and incidents might be related of the doings at the fairs, but we must pass on.
We next propose to take a retrospective view of the
FORMER BUSINESS MEN OP THE PLACE.
many of whom hnve pnssed awrsy. Wo hnvo nlroady
CHRONICLES OP NAPANEE. 23
mentioned the names of some of the pioneer merch- ants of Napanee, viz. : Messrs. McPherson, Benson, Campbell, Detlor and Roblin, who were among the first to venture to commence trade in this newly settled county. To these we may add Messrs. Stewart & Ramsay, who carried on trade as gener- al merchants, in the corner store of the Rennie Block ; they also built the dwelling house now occupied by Mr. George Wilson. Mr. Paul Wright for many years carried on business as merchant and lumberman, his store being kept in various parts of the town. He has long since gone the way of all the earth. K. A. Dunham, Esq., for several years conducted a mercantile business — also in various parts of the town. He is now Collector of Customs and in comfortable circumstances at Port Burwell. Robert Esson, Esq., for many years carried on an extensive trade, in a frame building, now burned, which stood where Henry's Bookstore now is ; he still resides in Napanee. Robt. Easton, Esq., for many years traded in dry goods and groceries ; he is now Treasurer of the town. George Wilson, Esq., for over twenty years was a merchant in Napanee ; he is still a resident of the town, and is ticket agent of the G.T.R. Mr. Alex. Mackay, for several years a merchant in Napanee, kept his store where Mr. Henry Douglas now keeps ; he some years since retired from business and shortly after- wards died. Henry T. Forward, Esq., for several years traded in Napanee ; he has retired from busi- ness and now resides on Piety Hill. Hon. J. Stevenson for several years had a large mercantile trade. He retired some years ago, and is now re- siding in the West Ward of the town. He was since elected to represent the County of Lennox in the Ontario Legislature, and was elected and for four years served as Speaker in the House. Wm. Miller, Esq., who has retired from .business, was for many years a leading merchant of the place. He has held several positions of prominence, being at one time Reeve of the town, and Warden of the County. Thomas Lamb for many years carried on a mercan- tile trade, and some years since removed to Brant- ford. Theodore Georgan for several years carried on the drug business in this place. He removed to Barrie some years ago, where he still resides. Dr. James Grange for several years was engaged in the drug business in this place. He afterwards studied medicine and practised here for some time, but is
24 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
now practising at Petrolia. Geo. H. Detlor, Esq., for several years carried on trade as a merchant. He was elected M.P.P., was many years in H. M. Customs at Kingston, and is now residing at God- erich. Mr. Wm. Wright for several years carried on a mercantile trade in Napanee, but for some years past he has been doing business at Tweed, in Has- tings. Mr. EH Clark also carried on a mercantile trade for some time ; he afterwards removed to Kaladar, and is now keeping a temperance house in Picton. Arch. McNeill, Esq., for a number of years kept a store in Clarksville, but has been dead for many years. Charles James, Esq., was for many years a merchant in this place, and is now Clerk of the Division Court. William Parrish, Esq., also for many years carried on the hardware trade in Napanee, and has retired from business. Would time permit, I might mention Maley & Fraser, Neilson, Prior, Foot, Fraser, and others who have carried on business in Napanee during the past forty years.
SLEIGHING FORTY YEARS AGO.
The extremely fine sleighing we are at present favored with, and the dashing equipages and turn- outs our present generation supports, very forcibly calls to our mind what sleighing wras in olden times, when young Canada had not yet developed that fondness for everything "fast", which may now be said to be the predominating trait of its character. Country visits in the neighborhood of Napanee were then the favorite resorts for sleigh- ing parties, and box-sleds the popular vehicles. A cutter was a rarity, even a quarter of a century ago, and the young man who could drive in one be- hind a spanking team was considered a youth of wealthy pretensions and a prize worthy of the de- mulcent darts of the daughters of designing mothers.
Instead of going out for a jaunt in single sleighs with no special place to visit, our fathers organized sleighing parties to go in a "bunch", and jolly in- deed those parties must have been from their ac- counts. "Bill." or "Sally" went around to their neighbors and gave the invitations, while the own- ers of big "bobs" were called upon to be on hand at a certain time to carry the partv to its destina- tion. When the team came, the driver went from house to house, as directed, picking up one here nnd
CHRONICLES OP NAPANEE. 25
another there, until the full complement was made up, when off they started at a tearing pace— they called it a "tearing" pace in those days — and with merry mirth and many a joke they enlivened the way to their intended resort. Many a time, on the way thither, the cap of an unlucky wight would suddenly and mysteriously disappear over the side of the sleigh, and go whirling into the deep snow ; and, when the horses were stopped to allow him to recover his lost head-gear, the chances were nine out of ten that they would be started upon a brisk trot before he had time to quite reach the sleigh or recover his seat, thus giving him an opportunity to display his pedestrian powers.
We remember an incident of a sleigh load going oil some five miles to visit an old friend. The night was bitter cold, and when they got there the family were not at home, having gone off visiting them- selves. What was to be done ? The next neighbor was a "jolly good fellow", so they soon agreed to go and visit him. On they went, and were soon at his fireside, with "very glad to see you all ; take off your coats and make yourself at home." One of the party, unfortunately, happened to enquire "where is neighbor so and so ; we came to visit them, and as they were not at home, thought we would come and see you." "Is that so," replied the neighbor, "then warm yourself quick, and be off as soon as you can. You can't visit here," and so they departed, much chagrined.
LETTER VII.
We are acquainted with an old gentleman who was bar-keeper for some time in the "Old Red Tavern," and received $2.00 per day in specie for his services, being acknowledged an excellent bar- keeper. He was converted, and has for forty years been a Methodist class-leader.
Dr. Dier was the first M. D. who settled in Napanee. He built the house in Clarksville now occupied by Mr. Coleman McCoy, and had the re- putation of being a good doctor. Dr. Brewster, and then old Dr. David Allen, who for many years kept a dispensary, did an office practice. He re- moved to South Fredericksburgh, where he kept the Sandhurst postofnce. Old Dr. Chamberlain for many years practised his profession near Napanee, and was succeeded -by his son Thomas, who for a long time had a large and lucrative practice, and
2fi LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
who only a short time since ceased to work and live.
Old 'Squire Embury, an Irishman, about eighty years ago, worked at cabinet-making business. A friend of ours has a secretary that he made, of cherry and black walnut, which is as sound as when first made, and not a crack, break or shrink is to be found in it ; it is somewhat ancient in appear- ance. He and old Mr. Samuel McCoy were the founders of Methodism in the Midland District, if not, as we think, in Canada.
The early wheelrights were James Hart and Samuel Janes, the latter of whom but recently died. He was well known in Napanee.
The first professional baker was Richard Gabell, who opened his bakery in Mrs. George's old place in Clarksville. His bread had the reputation of although always being heavy, yet never turned the scale.
William Fell was the first to put up a barber's pole. After several years' practice in the tonsorial art, he removed to Fresco tt, where he now carries on the same profession, and where he has acquired considerable property. He has grown somewhat gray, but is no larger than when here. Many others have succeeded him in Napanee in the trade.
Of coopers, Joseph Card, now of Camden, Willie Alexander, and Willie Gorden were the first.
Of the first carpenters to work in Napanee, was Mr. Blan chard, whose widow Dr. Ruttan's father married, Henry Schermahorn, Joseph Bradshaw, the latter of whom put up a brewery where Steven- son's old store house stood. He afterwards bought the site of Wright's saw mill. He was killed by his team running away. Peter Barton was the "simon pure" for barn building. It was he who put up the old school house. Samuel Shaw could frame a saw-mill, use the slick, and was quite a chiseler.
Peter Kesler, son of Jacob, was a smithy, and quite a genius, made a galvanic battery and a small side- wheel boat, but the battery would not work, so the wheels refused to go. Had he known as much of the spark as is now known, he might have managed it. David Hess, his brother-in-law Gay, and Matthew McCoy also worked as Smiths.
Hugh McMullen (alias Walliper), who in idle hours delighted in writing poetry, »some of which is still extant, was a mason.
CHRONICLES OP NAPANEE. 27
Our bricklayers were 'Squire Maybee, Willie Napier, and Conger & Sons. The sons still live and follow the same trade.
Of distillers one Tuttle, Alex. Stalker, Robt. Wilson, Thomas Funnell, and Neil McCarron. Tuttle was said to have had a large amount of gold and silver coin hid away in a pot, but which was never, to our knowledge, discovered.
In 1832, one Wilson was attacked with cholera, with which he died. An hospital was fitted up and furnished, about where Geo. Schryver has his steam pumping engine for the G. T. R., which had only one patient. Afterward, one Johnnie Fie, who had his leg broken, had it amputated in said hospital.
For the amusement of our readers we re-pro- duce the following
POETIC DESCRIPTION OF NAPANEE,
By the late Ira Beeman, Esq., which is taken from the first number of the Napanee Bee, printed Octo- ber 1 9th, 1850 :
Where lately the forest in dreariness stood,
Where Shippe-caw's* wigwam was found in the wood,
Where naught but the owl broke the silence of night,
I here for a while your attention invite —
The axeman directed his steps to this place ;
He cared not for Shippe-caw's title or grace ;
But boldly the felling of timber commenced ;
His cabin he built, and his garden he fenced.
But mark ye the change ! in a few passing years,
Prom cabin to hamlet, a Town now appears ;
Here trees, that long braved the wind's mad career,
Fall prostrate to man — but again they appear,
True Phoenix-like rising- : — but think it not strange —
Stupendous buildings came forth in the change.
Throe churches, in honor of God, here we find,
Where people to worship seem deeply inclined.
And learning, the handmaid of truth and true grace,
Through Grange** is diffusing her luminous rays ;
May learning and Virtue, Politeness and cheer,
With r-oncord unite and forever reign here.
Four hotels are open where trav'lers alight,
Refresh and pass on, or repose through the night.
Good stabling, soft couches, and sumptuous fare,
With kindest attention are yours whilst you're there.
Two stages, diurnally, here you may hail,
With passengers, packages, papers and mail ;
In meteor like splendour, they rush to us here,
Change horses and mailing, and then disappear.
Some twenty stiff merchants and grocers maintain,
Extensive transactions of business and gain ;
Some deal upon credit — a caution I'd give.
*An Indian Chief.
**Prindpal of Napanee Academy.
28 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Two lawyers, they tell us have come here to live.
And mark ye, delinquents, they're saucy and bold !
When they count your money, your fortune is told.
Two drug-gists will serve you with powders and pills,
With grains, scruples, drachms, and with ounces and grills ;
With oils, paints and dye stuffs of every name,
So if you're not furnished, pray who is to blame ¥
Should pain or disaster, or sickness appal,
Six knights of the lancet will rise at your call,
Prescribe or administer, just as you please ;
Full glad to relieve you and pocket their fees.
But should your infirmity baffle their skill,
Despair not, dear sufferer, there's hope for you still ;
To one of the druggists make haste to apply,
His patent, his potent restoratives try,
And death will relinquish his strong iron hold,
And you'll soon recover ; if all's true that's told.
Our masterly water-power proudly propels,
A train of machineries, factories and mills,
Stupendous and costly, conveniently they stand
To water conveyance and thoroughfares — grand.
Of still-house and brewery, I just turn to say,
Their fires are extinguished ; — may long be the day
Before they're re-kindled, to waste and destroy,
And issue their poison our peace to annoy.
Teetolars and tipplers, the sober and gay,
While striving to see which should carry the sway,
The "Sons" to the rescue — their banners unfurled ;
And the Bee shall their conquest proclaim to the world.
Of artists and craftsmen, you'll please understand.
We've Sculptor, and printers and painters at hand.
And handicraft, knowing the wants of the day,
Come hither his masterly art to display ;
He'll carriages furnish, for business1 or pleasure,
And sofas to rest on, as you can find leisure.
With bureaus and tables, chairs, bedsteads and stands ;—
He's ready to serve you — send in your commands ;
While teamsters, and turners, and tailors pursue
Their honest employment, with riches in view,
Two tanners, two saddlers, and cordwainers six,
Are pulling for money like pulling at sticks.
Let coopers and forgemen in concert strike in,
To charm with two workmen of copper and tin.
Tf casting you wish for, they're here on the ground,
A foundry in full operation is found ;
Just send in your orders, make known vour desires,
Where business1 is done as business requires.
Two or more milliners with scissors are slashing1,
To furnish your dresses ^and caps in the fashion •;
With silks, and with satins, with laces and frills,
They'll answer your orders and order their bills.
With stonp, brick, or wood, would you build, say the word,
We've masons, and ioiners, and jobbers prepared
To finish your building with beauty and strength,
All -which must account for our article's length.
Vpf. further improvements in progress we see
To bnVhton the rrospects of fair Nar>anee.
THE ORIGIN OF SOME OF OUR LOCAL NAMES.
BY W. S. HERRINGTON. K.C.
It is not the purpose of this paper to furnish in any systematic order the history of any part of our country, but simply at random, to treat of the origin of some of the geographical names with which we are familiar, and in so doing, to refer only to such portions of history as may be neces- sary for that purpose.
While I may deviate from the beaten path in giving to some of the incidents related, what to me may appear a proper setting, yet I hope to do no violence to history in such references as I may deem it prudent to make.
We daily refer to this City, Township, River or Bay without ever giving a thought to the origin of the names which we use with such freedom. We will find the names of some of the most noted char- acters in Canadian history preserved in the names about us. The task of tracing the origin of these names is not only interesting, but in many in- stances, amusing and instructive. I have arranged the names I shall deal with, without any reference to chronological or geographical sequence. I have picked them out at random in a manner which will perhaps, not commend itself to my hearers, but it has suited my convenience to do so, and if I escape with no other adverse criticism than in respect to the order of presentation. I shall consider myself very fortunate.
About 1678, Rene Robert Cavelier de la Salle, now known to history as La Salle, led the life of a bushranger in order to familiarize himself with the language and ways of the Indians. He was one of those adventurous and somewhat erratic spirits, born of noble parents and, bred in luxury, who gave up the gaiety of the Court for the silence of the forest. He explored the great Lakes and adjacent Rivers and felt confident that by following up the Mississippi River he would eventually reach the Pacific Ocean and thereby discover the long sought route to China. He was most persistent in his efforts to solve this problem, but most unfortunate
30 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
in the means adopted to carry his plans into exe- cution, and many jokes were passed around at his expense. It was quite common for his acquaint- ances to derisively ask him when returning from his various and sometimes almost futile expedi- tions "Venez vous de la Chine ?" (Do you come from China ?) Hence we have La Chine, by which name the rapids in the St. Lawrence are known to this day.
While we are treating of La Salle, it might be interesting to note that he was the first white per- son in Upper Canada in whom the title to real estate was vested by the Crown and this is parti- cularly interesting to us when we consider that a portion of his estate is now comprised within the limits of our County. He was granted an estate four leagues in length along the shores of the river and bay, including the islands in front of it. The site of Fort Cataraqui was upon this estate and the present site of Millhaven must have been near the Western limit, for Amherst Island was a portion of the grant.
The Governor did not despise this young adven- turer because he failed to establish his theory as to the terminus of the Mississippi. On the contrary,, he entrusted him with the task of superintending the pioneer work along the great Lakes. He ac- cordingly took over the command of Fort Katara- koui which was situated at the mouth of the Ka- tarakoui River, near the site of the bridge leading to the Military College at Kingston. All that re- mains of this primitive fortification to-day is its name, which is still preserved in the suburb of Kingston and familiar to us all as Cataraqui. La Salle demolished this old Fort and availing him- self of the excellent qualitv of the limestone in the vicinity, he constructed a much more substantial one, and named it after his old friend and patron the then Governor of Canada, — Count Frontenac. This name has since been adopted by the County which in after years was formed about this nucleus. Remnants of the stockade surrounding this Fort may still be seen. Thus in the name of the adjoin- ing County, we constantly have before us a remind- er of one of the grandest characters in Canadian history, — a man of great resources, brave and self- sacrificing.
Perhaps the most dramatic incident recorded in Canadian history, was that enacted on the Plains
THE ORIGIN OF SOME OF OUR LOCAL NAMES. Ill
of Abraham, — an incident so far reaching in its effects that it settled for all time the supremacy of the Anglo-Saxon race on the American continent. Here two brave men laid down their lives for their respective countries and succeeding generations , with that calm and unbiased judgment which al- most invariably follows after the lapse of years have made no distinction in doing honor to their memory, for one single shaft tells the tale. On one side is carved the illustrious name "Wolfe", and just as prominently on the other side we find the name "Montcalm". It was due to the strategy and bravery of Wolfe that a permanent haven was provided in Canada for our ultra British fore- fathers who refused to join their rebellious neigh- bors at the time of the American Revolution. Branded as traitors on one side of the border, and honored as loyalists, on the other, they abandoned their homes and comfortable surroundings and en- during all manner of persecutions and hardships, fled to the land which steadfastly remained loyal to the British flag. Reaching the St. Lawrence, they followed it up until the expanse of Lake Ontario seemed a welcome barrier against the persecutions which threatened them from the South. No doubt they had frequently discussed the abiding results of the grand achievements of Wolfe. As they approached the open waters of the Lake they directed their course to the Northern shore. We can picture to ourselves with what a sense of joy, relief and gratitude they leaped from their boats and bestowed upon the Island which afforded them such a welcome shelter the name of their hero. Such we can easily conceive was the joyful christen- ing ceremony of Wolfe Island.
They passed over to the mainland and came in view of a straggling and almost deserted hamlet in the neighborhood of the Fort La Salle had built over a century before. As their frail crafts were tossed about upon the troubled waters, they strain- ed their eyes to decipher the ruins of the dilapidat- ed fortifications. Many of them, tired and worn out, with the labours, vigils and trials of their long journey, made this their permanent home and in grateful recognition of the protection afforded them by the flag of their Sovereign for whom they had suffered so much, they afterwards gave to the settlement thus formed the name of Kingston. Others, whose blood flows in the veins of some of
32 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
us here to-night, followed up the shores of the Bay in search of the rich lands lying to the west, of which no doubt their guide had given them many glowing accounts. Soon they sighted another island, and following the example of the original party, they evidently concluded that no more fitting name could be bestowed upon it than that of the nominal Commander of the forces that General Wolfe had led to victory, so upon this island the}- bestowed the name of General Amherst. The grassy plains at the western extremity, probably sug- gested to them the name assigned to that part of the island in later years and now known as Emerald. The party passing the gaps, where their endurance and seamanship would be put to the severest test, next entered upon the waters of the Bay of Quinte proper. A sheltered Cove and a good landing place Soon came into view. Towards this inviting shore they steered their boats, and here many of them made their homes, and their names will be found to-day on the moss-covered tombstones, marking the forgotten mounds in the neglected grave yards of Adolphustown and the neighboring townships. Little do we know of the trials of these hardy pioneers as they hewed out their homes in the forest, yet their hearts were filled with gratitude, pride and loyalty as they reared their rude cabins and cleared the little patches and laid the foundations of the now pros- perous townships to which they gave the names of the family of the King for whom they had sacri- ficed so much. Thus, we get Fredericksburgh, Ernest/town, Adolphustown, Marysburgh, Sophias- burgh and Ameliasburgh. Our forefathers must have had some sense of humour, or did they recog- nize, even at that early date the effeminate charac- ter of our neighbors across the Bay, by assigning to their settlements the names of the female mem- bers of the King's family while the sturdv settlers in our County retained for their own use the names of the male members of the royal household ?
They might quite consistently have gone further for they had a very fair precedent for appropriating to themselves such belongings of the County of Prince Edward as they might take a fancy to. The name of the peninsular County to the South of us, by-the-way, affords another illustration of the rev- erence the early settlers entertained for the royal family. Now for the first example of the yielding
THE ORIGIN OP SOME OP OUR LOCAL NAMES.
nature of our neighbors. It is a long story, but not without interest, and the relating of it may enable you to give a satisfactory answer to an oft- repeated question. In 1668 a band of Cayuga Indians had settled on the shore of that beautiful inlet now known as West Lake, lying between the Village of Wellington and that famous resort the Sandbanks. Professor Shortt in a recent address located this band at Weller's Bay. I will not ques- tion the general accuracy of the Professor's remarks but the authorities I have consulted locate this band at West Lake in one instance and on the Lake side of Prince Hdward in another. I am not aware that Weller's Bay was ever called West Lake, and one would hardly describe it as being on the Lake side of Prince Edward. For my purposes a dis- tance of a few miles makes no difference anyway, so we will leave them over by the Sandbanks. A self-respecting Indian would prefer this place any- way. No doubt the same delightful breezes, pleas- ant beaches and good fishing that attract some of our citizens to that spot at the present day, proved as great an attraction for a peaceful band of Cayu- gas 240 years ago. They called their village Kente, and to the charming little lake upon whose shores the band was encamped, the French explor- ers gave the name Lac de Kente. Some of these Indians had attended the religious services of the French priests who accompanied every expedition and shared the dangers and trials of the explorers. They desired that a mission should be established among them and their aged chief accompanied a deputation to Montreal to present a petition to the proper authorities with that most laudable end in view. The petition was granted and two priests were despatched to carry out the project. One of these was Father Fenelon. We can have some con- ception of the difficulties of travel at that time, when we note that it took them three weeks to complete the journey from La Chine to Wellington. Of the variety and daintiness of the cuisine, we can also form our own opinion, when we read that upon their arrival they were treated to & sumptu- ous repast of chopped pumpkins fried in suet. A modern missionary would consider such a bill of fare a sufficient justification for taking forcible possession of anything he could lay his hands on. Not so, however, with the faithful Fenelon ; not oven when his ncwlv found parishioners varied the
34 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
bill of fare a few days after by offering him as a special mark of their esteem a conglomerate of maize and sunflower seeds. As we now accompany church dedications with teameetings whereat arc served up in great profusion the fairest samples of "Nearly 200 tested recipes", so this provision for the reception of the newly inducted priests must he regarded as something above the ordinary, and in- tended as a proper mark of respect upon the es- tablishment of the new mission, which was called Kente Mission. Father Fenelon was not contented with this limited field at .this single station. They established three regular outposts, one near the site of our own town then known as Ganneious ; an- other at the site of>Port Hope, then called Ganner- aske, and the third at Pickering, which by reason of the French lavishing some attention upon it was for a long time called Frenchman's Bay. At this latter post Father Fenelon spent one whole winter ministering to the spiritual wants of the Indians, and for the first time (I believe) in the history of our Province giving regular instruction in the French language, for it was a part of his policy to educate as well as convert the Indian. He might justly be styled the founder and entire staff of the First Upper Canada Academy. Whether it was the desire for or the need of religious instruction that prompted the founder of the Kente Mission to establish an outpost upon the site of Napanee, I cannot say. Perhaps some of our envious neigh- bors (if we have any) might say, that judging from present day conditions, Father Fenelon recognized the need and promptly set about the task. At any rate an outpost was established just 240 years ago, and this I believe is the first reference made in history to this place. To-day we pride ourselves in our beautiful and commodious churches. Can we picture to ourselves the appearance of this sec- tion of the country in 1668. As the young but zealous priest directed the prow of his batteau up the river, he did not leave behind him tall smoking chimneys and acres of lumber piles disfiguring the beautiful landscape. The lonely forest crept to the water's edge and hidden here and there among the rushes upon the shore was the unused canoe whose owner was away on a hunting expedition in the hills to the North, which at that time as now, were famous for their game. As he pursued his sinuous course up the river, no capacioiis barns and
THE ORIGIN OP SOME OP OUR LOCAL NAMES. .°.5
tall church spires served as land marks. Walls of green hemmed it in on both sides. Now and then the screech of a heron or the splash of a huge fish were the only sounds that broke the stillness. A young warrior attired in his deerskins, having laid aside for the time his best beads and feathers, stretches himself lazily on the brow of what is now Roblin's Hill, and peering out among the pines descries the lonely missionary with his guides, plying his paddle among the reeds as he chants his sacred songs. No comfortable dwellings mark the site of our town. A little curl of smoke here and there indicates the feeble efforts of the Indian housewife to prepare a mid-day meal. No clanging bells ring out the summons to worship. No state- ly edifice and soft cushioned pews await the faithful preacher, but in a smoky and ill-smelling council tent with his hearers grouped about him on the ground, with a zeal and earnestness perhaps not often equalled at the present day, he tells the simple story of the Prince of Peace, and thus was established the first mission in the County of Len- nox and Addington. What a temptation is here presented to trace the historv of the missions in the County from this point of time to the building of Trinity Methodist Church. I throw out the hint in hope that some enterprising member may assay the task. But I am digressing, as is my wont, from the object I set out to attain. What matter, so long as our path leads us in pleasant reverie through these now far distant fields ? Kente Mission was well known along the entire route be- tween the extreme outposts, and the inhabitants along the Bay, wholly unmindful of the fact that the name Kente belonged to the little Cayuga village near the Sandbanks, appropriated the name and applied it to the body of water separating the neninsula from the mainland and called it Kente Bay, from which we have to-day the more euphon- ious name, the Bay of Quinte, and as the only out- post near the bay was Ganneious, we may safely conclude that the aboriginees of Napanee were the perpetrators of this piece of petty larceny. I am pleased to notice that no historian records any loss of scalps over the matter.
It might be interesting to notice in passing, another illustration of and consequent endless con- fusion over the transfer of a name from one place to another, due however, in the instance I am about
36 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
to recite, to the ignorance or carelessness of the draftsman of one of the early charts of Central Ontario. In the early days of the French rule, the name Toronto (which means a meeting place) was applied to what is known now as Lake Simcoe. There was a portage from the present site of Toron- to to the southern end of the lake, so that in going northward when one reached the southern end of the present Lake Simcoe he would say he was at Toronto, so the southern end of the lake or what is the same thing, the northern terminus of the portage, was called Toronto. You have probably found a name many a time upon a map drawn upon a small scale and still were quite uncertain as to the location of the point to which the name referred This is exactly what happened in preparing this map of that part of Ontario. The draftsman mis- took the name as belonging to the southern end of the portage instead of the northern. He marked the southern end Toronto, and there the name has remained to the present day. The pretty lake to the north having thus been cheated out of its name, a new one had to be found for it, and Governor Simcoe generously supplied the want. Toronto, having acquired a new name, had no further use for its old one which it most unceremoniously cast adrift. The geographer was some time in over- hauling it, but finally pulled it ashore at Port Hope This wanderer, "Teyoyagon", was finally settled at Port Hope, but here the puzzled geographer encoun- tered a further difficulty, for Port Hope was not in need of a name just then. Ganeraske served its purpose very well. What could the poor man do ? Teyoyagon-Ganeraske was too much of a name to inflict upon any one place. It wouldn't do to take Teyoyagon any farther east, so like a bold high- way man, he carried Ganeraske down to the mouth of the Trent river and left it there to shift for it- self. This highhanded procedure caused no end of trouble for some time. Neither Teyoyagon nor Ganeraske would take root upon their new soil, so both have been lost, and there is no record of Torontonians offering to make restitution to Lake Simcoe.
Father Fenelon was a fair example of the fear- less and untiring missionary of the seventeenth century. Like all the other priests of that age, his duties were both spiritual and political. He was the accredited agent of the Government and carried
THE ORIGIN OP SOME OP OUR LOCAL NAMES. 87
the cross in one hand and the flag of France in the other. He not only founded the Kente Mission and the three outposts referred to, but explored the region to the north. Some of the most authentic records of the early history of this section of our country are founded upon the reports made by him and his co-workers. He was ill-suited to the sever- ity of this climate and had scanty means of protec- tion against the hardships of the camp and the trail. Such a life as he led would in a short time shatter the strongest constitution, and it is not surprising to learn that at the early age of thirty- eight he yielded up his life to his country and sacred calling. If we, in this midland district, were dis- posed to raise a monument to one of these early martyrs, I know of no name more deserving the honor than that of Father Fenelon. His name is still preserved at a remote part of his mission field, for Fenelon Falls and Fenelon Township, in Vic- toria County, still attest his presence at one time in that section.
Perhaps no part of our Province has been so much at the mercy of the geographer as the first of our great inland lakes. Kvery few years it would wake up with a new name. That would no sooner fit itself into. place than it would be called upon to give way to the ingenuity of some newly self- appointed godfather, who would re-christen it. Thus the names shifted about like the shifting sands upon the beach. The original Indian name was Ontario, meaning "The Great Lake." The French explorers, in an outburst of loyalty, called it Lake St. Louis, and at different periods in its subsequent history it was known as Lake of the Iroquois, Frontenac Lake and Lake Cataraqui, until, exhausted with these unhappy experiments, some kind friend must have suggested that it come again to its own, and thus we have restored the sweetest of all its varied titles, Lake Ontario. The same name was also applied to the Province to the north and the County to the south, where it seems to have secured a safer anchorage, for no attempts to change it have been made since its application to terra firma.
We could forgive the changing of a name through ignorance or carelessness or a spirit of loyalty, but the offence is unpardonable when done deliberately to gratify the vanity of some individ- ual who happens to be in authority at the time. We have some instances of this shameful exchange
38 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
of the original Indian name for that of the Gover- nor himself, or of some pompous member of his household. "Sagonaska" was thus sacrificed to appease the vanity of the Earl of Moira. Entirely apart from the question of the bad taste of the person so allowing his name to be used can there be any difference of opinion as to which name is better suited to a twisted, dashing, roaring river ? The Governor, not content with robbing this stream of its musical Indian name, seemed determined to "spread himself" over the map as much as possible by bestowing his baronial titles upon the County through which it flows, — thus we can account for Hastings, Hungerford and Rawdon.
Governor Gore intended to immortalize his wife Arabella by giving her name to the village at the mouth of the Moira River, and called it Belleville, but as the modern spelling Belleville would at first sight indicate that the name is composed of two French words signifying Beautiful City, Arabella has been cheated of the honor her proud husband intended to confer upon her.
The early history of Canada has many a bloody page due to the cruelty and treachery of the Indians The sly cunning, the ingenious and heartless forms of torture and the sudden and unexpected raids filled the life of the early settler with a dread that nothing could dispel. He never knew when to look for an outbreak or what form it would take. Many a pioneer has returned from his daily task to find the mutilated bodies of his loved ones smoking in the dying embers of all that remained of his little home. Perhaps it is not for us to condemn these savages. The land was theirs, the Europeans were trespassers, and with a prophetic eye they then foresaw what time has demonstrated to us all. Their territories have been wrested from them; they are now a crushed and dependent race, forced to subsist upon the charity of their conquerors, who deprived them of their heritage and freedom, and brought upon them, as they view it, pestilence, famine, disease and the curses of civilization. Is it any wonder then that foreseeing what has since be- fallen their race, they showed no mercy and spared neither woman nor child in their work of attempted extermination ? Unfortunately we cannot point to many braves, who, according to our way of think- ing, are entitled to be enrolled among the heroes of Canadian history. Individual instances of bravery,
THE ORIGIN OP SOME OP OUR LOCAL NAMES. :W
heroism and indillerence to pain and torture there are many. These are the characteristics of nearly every Indian. We can, however, point to a few who allied themselves to the British cause and were imbued with the spirit of the British soldier and in every way worthy to be enrolled among the brave and chivalrous generals whose achievements have added lustre to the British arms. Only a few weeks ago there was unveiled in the County and City that still bears his name, a monument to one of those grand old chiefs who proved himself to be true and loyal and fought and won many a battle for the British cause. I refer to Captain Joseph Brant. We might dispute the right of Brantford to monopolize all the honor that naturally flows from its association with the name of this distinguished soldier. He originally belonged to the Thayenden- aga family of Indians, and was himself known among his people as Thayendenaga. We find many branches of his old family within an hour's drive of our town, and the adjoining township, Tyendinaga, was so named after this same Captain Joseph Brant, owing to his having selected that tract of land for his Mohawk followers after the close of the American Revolution. A portion of the band after- wards settled upon the Grand River, but the first and original settlement was on the shores of the Bay of Quinte. This is not the only name the family has bequeathed to this section. Joseph had a cousin John, who was a chief of the neighboring band, and was popularly known as Captain John. The island beyond Deseronto still bears his name. Captain John must have possessed some of the war- like spirit that made his cousin Joseph so famous, for he was known to the band as "Day-say-ronth- you", which being literally interpreted means 1 'Thunder and Lightning". While our neighboring town has aspirations, we have never yet suspected that it merited the full title that has been conferred upon it. It was an easy step from Day-say-ronth- you to Deseronto, and that is such an improvement upon Mill Point and Culbertson Wharf that we will not question its appropriateness nor quarrel with the motive which prompted its adoption. The example set by Deseronto in reviving the early Indian name is most commendable and in striking contrast to the iniquitous practice of a century ago. All my hearers are probably familiar with some theory as to the origin of the name of our town.
40 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
In 1782-3, a mill was built at Kingston by the Government, to supply the needs of the settlers along the river and bay. From Cornwall to Port Hope the grists were brought to this mill. It was taxed to its utmost capacity, and the settlement in this County had grown so extensively, owing to the influx of population at Adolphustown, that in 1785 the Government directed one Robert Clark to construct another mill at the falls upon our river, and on March 23d, 1786, the mill was raised, and it will probably shock the finer sensibilities of some of my hearers when I inform them that the only item of expense recorded in the books of the contractor for that very important function is 2 gallons, 3 pints of rum, 175. and 6d. The mill was read)?- for operating in 1787, and by 1792 it had become the property of Hon. R. Cartwright, in which family it has remained until the present day. It proved such a success that he found it necessary to rebuild it in the same year. From the fact that Napanee was then the place where all the Indians went to get their flour, they associated the name of Napanee with that very essential article of food, and when an Indian would speak of going to Napanee it was another way of saying he was going for flour. So, clearly therefore in the Indian mind were the two ideas — Napanee and flour — that the two names be- came synonymous, and we find some authority to- day for the statement that Napanee is simply the Indian name for flour. So it was in the sense in which I have described, but to say that the name Napanee is derived from a similar word in the Indian language signifying flour is incorrect, for this pre-supposes that there was such an Indian word with such a signification before the mill was constructed. If there was such a word with such a meaning before the place was noted for its flour, it is a remarkable and most improbable coincidence. From the authorities I have perused, I am rather inclined to believe that the Village Napanee was not so called after the Indian word signifying flour, but that such a word crept into the Indian language from the fact that it was at Napanee where they obtained their flour. This is a common source of derivation of the names of things. For instance, Cambric, Japan, China and Morocco have crept in- to our language as signifying articles which origin- ally were manufactured at the places from which their names are respectively derived.
YARKER AND VICINITY, 41
The strongest, and to my mind most convinc- ing, argument advanced in support of my conten- tion (which is not put forth as an original one) is that the falls which furnished the power for the first mill were known as Appenea Falls before the mill was built and before any flour was manu- factured here. It would be absurd therefore to say that the village took its name after the Indian word for flour at a time when there was no reason whatever for associating such a meaning with the name of the place. Unfortunately the meaning of Appenea has been lost. For many years the village was known as Appenea or Appanee, and as this name was frequently preceded by the article "the", the use and euphony would very easily convert it into Napanee, — a name most sweet and musical to our ears and one which I trust will always be associated with tender and loving memories.
YARKER AND VICINITY.
BY E. R. CHECKLEY.
A little over one hundred years ago, when Upper Canada was young, when Governor Simcoe held his court at muddy little York, the land whereon Yarker now stands belonged to the Crown. By a patent dated January I3th, 1796, Lots No. 39, 40, 41, 42 and 43, in the first Concession of Caniden were conveyed to Governor Simcoe him- self, and this property, comprising one thousand acres, was for many years known as the Simcoe tract. The present village of Yarker stands on Lots 41 and 42.
At that time the Simcoe tract was covered by the primeval forest, and the land was not only well wooded but well watered, for the Napanee River ran through it, and on this river was a beautiful fall 26 feet high.- For some reason the Governor kept this property intact for many years. What that reason was we can only conjecture, but it is probable that he was not above receiving the un- earned increment, due to the labours of other men on the lands that bounded his, or in other words, he had a good speculation, and he was going to hang on to it. To the north of the Simcoe tract was a hamlet called Peter's Mills, now the Village
42 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
of Colebrook, and four miles to the south was the Village of Wilton. The speculation does not ap- pear to have turned out very well, for in the end his heir, Henry A. Simcoe, sold the whole property in- cluding the beautiful Simcoe Falls, which was a valuable water power to Sidney Warner, of Wilton, for the sum of $3,000, after holding it for forty years.
I have mentioned that the Simcoe Fall was 26 feet high. To-day it is only about 12 feet high. Owing to the country being covered by the forest, a much greater quantity of water came down the river then, than now, and old residents state that in the spring-time the roar of the water over the falls could be distinctly heard for five miles. But the cause of the decrease in the height of the fall, was the lumbering on the river. Long ago they did not bring down round logs as in recent years, but they were first squared in the woods and the square timber then floated down the stream. The bed of the river is limestone rock and when the timber went over the fall it would dislodge pieces of the rock and carry them over also. This grad- ual wearing process went on year after year, so in course of time the height of the fall was reduced, and a sloping rapid produced above the fall extend- ing back for 50 feet or so. At the head of this rapid there is now a dam which throws the water into the flumes on either side of the river. A very large number of arrow heads and spear heads made of flint have been found, around this fall and on the banks of the river below it ; and also on the shores of Varty Lake about two miles away. It is an interesting question where the Indians obtained their flint, as there is none in this part of the country, so far as I am aware.
In these early days the making of Potash was one of the principal industries, and it was a great industry. Wood was the only fuel, and that was plentiful, and the long logs blazed on the cheery fire-place, and the ashes were carefully saved. When the ground was cleared and the roots of the trees taken out, they were piled up and burned in order to obtain the ashes. Much valuable timber ap- pears to have been burned simply for the ashes.
One of the principal makers of potash was Mr. Sidney W^arner, of Wilton. He also had a large general store and the settlers could obtain what- ever they might need in exchange for ashes. Mr.
YARKER AND VICINITY. 18
Warner converted the ashes into potash, and sent it down the St. Lawrence to Montreal, where he, in turn, could obtain all the supplies he wanted from the wholesale houses. The potash was then shipped to England, where it was used in the bleaching- of cotton. But other methods of bleach- ing cotton have long since prevailed and potash is no longer used, but it was a great industry while it lasted.
The deed by which the Simcoe tract was trans- ferred by Henry A. Simcoe, the heir, and I presume the son, of Governor Simcoe, to Sidney Warner, is dated July ist, 1840. Soon after acquiring it, Mr. Warner opened it up by selling that portion of lots 41 and 42, north of the river, to the late George Miller ; and the piece adjoining the river on the south side he sold to David Vader, who built a saw mill upon it. Mr. Alphaeus VanL,uven, who still lives in Yarker, and is a nephew of David Vader, tells me that when he came here as a mere boy in the early forties to visit his uncle, the place consisted then of two log houses, and a log black- smith shop and the saw mill that his uncle owned, which was built of boards. George Miller, late in the forties, built a grist mill and a carding mill, upon the land that he had bought upon the north side of the river. Under this carding mill the late John A. Shibley established in 1851 the first store in what was then the Village of Simcoe Falls. He afterwards moved to the site of the present hotel, and later to the stone building that he had built across the street, in which Mr. John Ewart now conducts a general store and the postomce. I can- not be sure of the exact date of this stone building, but it is certainly over 50 years old. In 1852 David Vader sold a portion of the land and water- power that he owned, to the late Joseph Connoly, who built thereon a foundry and plough works. This business is still carried on bv his son, A. A. Connoly, who enjoys a considerable local trade. The grist and carding mill that George Miller had built, was soon afterwards burned. It was re- built by him and subsequently sold to Alexander McVean. A part of the land adjoining the mill site was sold by George Miller to Garrett and Anthony Miller, who built a tannery of considerable size upon it, which was afterwards turned into a pail and fork factory. This building and McVean's mill were both burned on i^th January, 1863. The
44 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
grist mill was re-built by McVean, and was subse- quently sold by him to Messrs. Connoly and Benja- min, who in turn sold it to George McDonald. He sold it to Jas. Richardson & Son, of Kingston, who sold it to James H. West, who sold it to James Freeman, the present owner. When George McDonald owned it, he introduced the roller pro- cess of making flour into the mill. David Vader, after selling part of his property to Joseph Con- noly, sold the balance of his entire holdings to the late Samuel Scott, who had a plan made of that part of the proposed village to be on the south side of the river. The saw mill originally built by Mr. Vader was burned, and the mill-site and water power were subsequently sold by Samuel Scott to Messrs. Booth, of Odessa, who built a woollen fac- tory upon it, and sold it to Messrs. Lott and Stevenson, who, in turn, sold it to the late Peter Kwart, during whose ownership it burned. The mill-site and water power were then sold tu K. W. Benjamin, who built upon it the existing power house of the Benjamin Mfg. Co., Limited.
About 1850 George Miller, in a suburb of Yar- ker, known as Woodmucket, erected a saw mill. This mill was bought in 1856 by K. W. Benjamin who moved here from Odessa. About 1857 the mill was burned, and was rebuilt by E. W. Benja- min, who also built a hub factory on the same water-power and made, beside hubs, grain measures. It was in this factory that the business of the well known firm of Connoly and Benjamin was first started, which had assumed considerable proportions before the death of the late Joseph Connoly. This saw mill is now owned by Peter VanLuven, and operated by Bostwick Babcock, who does a purely local trade. Connoly and Benjamin bought the ruins of the old tannery and rebuilt it as a hub and spoke factory, and then afterwards turned it into a wheel factory. It was sold by them to Benjamin Bros. & West, who sold to Free- man & West.
The Benjamin Manufacturing Company, Limit- ed, was incorporated in 1895 and erected their pres- ent commodious premises. They afterwards pur- chased Freeman & West's building, and it is now used by them as a power house for their electric light plant, and for storage. The Benjamin Mfg. Company, Limited, have a very extensive plant, employing a considerable number of men, and the
YARKER AND VICINITY. 45
very latest machinery, and is one of the largest manufacturers of carriage wheels in Canada.
Until 1859 the village was known as Simcoe Falls, but there was no postoffice here, all the mail coming to Peter's Mills, a mile distant. An effort was made in the early part of that year to have a postoffice established here, but the Govern- ment objected to the name of Simcoe Falls, on the ground that there was alreadv a Simcoe in the County of Norfolk, and told the people they would have to choose another name. A meeting was held in the store of John A. Shibley, and a list of names made out to be sent to the Government, the names being placed in the order of preference. Mr. McVean proposed the name of Yarker after Mr. George W. Yarker, of Kingston, who owned all the mills at Sydenham, which were operated by Wm. Vance. Mr. Vance purchased the property later, from Mr. Yarker. Mr. Yarker belonged to an old English family, which for over four hundred ^ears has held lands in Yorkshire, the family seat being Leyburn Hall, Leyburn, parish of Wensley, York- shire. Mr. Yarker's father, Robert Yarker, came to Canada during the War of 1812-14, as Deputy Paymaster General of the forces, and was stationed at "Montreal, where he died in 1835. He, himself, became a resident of Kingston, where he was a well known leader in society and patron of the turf. Here he died in 1847. He had two sons, George W. Yarker and James S. Yarker. The later went into business as a hardware merchant, and the for- mer entered the Bank of Montreal, where he got on well, being manager at London, England, and also at Toronto, for many years. He afterwards be- came the General Manager of the Federal Bank of Canada, and is at present Manager of the Clearing House in Toronto. Mr. James S. Yarker died many years ago. The name of Yarker was the seventh or eighth on the list, and it was hardly likely that that name would be chosen, as the Government would surely be satisfied with some name before they got so far down on the list. It was jocularly remarked that if it were chosen pos- siblv Geo. W. and James S. Yarker would give something to the village. I have been told that the first name on the list was Pekin. In view of the fact that we have a Moscow and Odessa close by, it would appear as if the people in this vicinity had a strange liking for the names of prominent places
40 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
in foreign countries. Mr. Alphaeus VanLuven sug- gested Rockburg from the quantity of rock around here. But the unlikely often happens, and it did so in this case as the Government passed over all the other names and selected that of Yarker. Shortly afterwards a dance was held in the village at which George W. and James S. Yarker were present, and, as had been surmised, they promised to present the village school with a bell. In the course of the summer Messrs. Yarker brought out the bell, and they were met by the villagers with a brass band, and all repaired to the woods close by, where a pic- nic was held, speeches were made, and there was general feasting and merry-making. This bell still hangs in the village school and bears the following inscription : "Presented to George Miller, Hsq., and the inhabitants of Yarker by George W. and James S. Yarker, 1859."
A school was established here in the early part of the forties. The old school building still exists on the south side of the river. It is built of stone, is of one story, and is now used as a dwelling. It is said that there was a school building before this one, but if so, no trace of it remains. The present building was built about 1872. It was then a one- story building, but another story was added in 1896.
Religious services were held in Yarker for many years in the old school house, before any church building was erected, by the Methodists and the Church of England. About 1853 Yarker formed part of the Methodist Wilton, circuit and continued to do so until the Yarker Circuit was formed about 20 years ago, taking in Yarker, Colebrook and Moscow. The congregation continued to worship in the school house until 1868, when the present large stone church was erected. The church is now well filled with a good congregation, and is at pres- ent in charge of the Rev. Enos Farns worth.
Rev. Paul Shirley, Church of England mission- ary in Camden, made frequent visits early in the fifties, but the first resident clergyman in the parish to hold regular service was the Rev. W. J. Muckles- ton, now of Perth. This was early in the sixties. After the Methodists built their church, the Church of England congregation bought the old school that they had jointly occupied and about 1878 they built a church on the hill, which was subsequentlv burned. The present church of St. Anthony was
YARKER AND VICINITY. 47
erected in 1895 by the O'L,oughlin family as a memorial to the late Rev. Anthony J. O'Loughlin. This was erected during the incumbency of the Rev. F. D. Woodcock, who was succeeded in 1902 by Rev. C. E. S. Radcliffe. This Church of St. Anthony is one of the prettiest churches I have ever seen, perfect in all its appointments. There is a sur- pliced choir and a fine service.
The Merchants Bank of Canada established a branch here in September, 1905, and is now about to enter into their new and commodious premises erected by Mr. E. W. Benjamin. This building is a credit to the village, and one of which the people are justly proud. It is built of red brick, two stories in height, the banking room being on the ground floor, and upstairs there are two bedrooms, a sitting room and a bath room for the staff. It is heated by hot air, lighted by electricity, is finish- ed down stairs in oak, upstairs in Georgia pine, and has hardwood floors throughout. The banking room is well lighted and altogether is far superior to any bank building in Napanee.
No account of Yarker would be complete with- out mentioning the building of the Railway. The first meeting to form a Company was held in 1880 in Napanee. The party from Yarker comprised Joseph Connoly, E. W. Benjamin, Peter Ewart and J. V. Burn. The meeting was held in the Town Hall at Napanee, but so little interest was taken in the matter that there was hardly anyone else present and the meeting was adjourned for a week. At the adjourned meeting Alex. Roe, of the firm of Hooper & Roe, took the chair, and W. S. Williams was secretary of the meeting. He was appointed Secretary of the Company, and remained so during the construction. It is to the foresight and deter- mination of the above men that the community is indebted for the present railway facilities. The first directors of the Company were James Haydon, Joseph Connoly, Peter VanLuven, Alex. Roe, W. F. Hall, John R. Scott, E. W. Benjamin and H. S. Walker of Enterprise. The president was Alex. Henry, of Napanee. The railway was called the Napanee, Tarn worth and Quebec railway, and ex- tended from Napanee to Tamworth. It was opened in August, 1884. In 1886 the line was sold to E. W. Rathbun, who extended it to Tweed on the north, Sydenham in the east, and to Deseronto in the south, and secured running powers over the
4H LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Kingston & Pembroke Railway from Harrowsmith to Kingston. Mr. Rathbun had the name changed to Napanee & Western Railway, and subsequently to Bay of Quinte Railway. The present efficiency of the road is largely due to Mr. H. B. Sherwood, who has been a very capable Superintendent.
The village has two electric light plants, one operated by A. A. Connoly, and the other by The Benjamin Manufacturing Company. There is also a good hotel, fitted up with all modern con- veniences, owned and managed by John Watt. Among the principal business men not already re- ferred to, I may mention Mr. B. S. CVLoughlin and Mr. J. C. Connoly. The village contains two general stores and two grocery stores, a furniture store, a jewellery store, a hardware and tin shop, a barber shop, two blacksmith shops, and a livery. There is also a club supplied with billiard and pool tables, which is an advantage that many a larger place cannot boast of. We have two resident phy- sicians in the village, Dr. J. H. Oldham and Dr. M. A. McQuade.
Perhaps some one who is familiar with the falls at Yarker may be inclined to ask why I have spoken of them as "the beautiful Simcoe Falls" ? If they are not as beautiful as they were half a century ago, it is simply because they have been marred by the hand of man. Anyone examining the rocks can see that the fall was at one time very much higher and somewhat wider than at present, and the volume of water was much greater. There was no rapid above the fall then and there was a sheer descent from the level of the river above. The rocks were covered with pine trees, and build- ings did not encroach upon the fall as at the present time. It must certainly have been at that time a beautiful fall. But if the falls have not improved with time, the village to-day is very different from the log houses of the early forties. Nestling in the valley, it makes no difference from what direction you approach, you cannot see it until you are upon it. But it is in the summer time that you see it in its beauty. With its streets well lined with trees, and with good side walks, of which a fair amount is of granolithic pavement which is being extended each year ; with its fine residences and well-kept lawns, one can see at a glance that the moribund state, which is the usual condition of the average village, does not exist here. Among the
EARLY ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 49
principal residences may be mentioned those of E. W. Benjamin, A. W. Benjamin, F. E. Benjamin, J. C. Connoly and B. S. O'Loughlin. The hotel and the new bank building and all the principal resi- dences are provided with private water works of their own and fitted with all modern conveniences. The electric light plants supply excellent light which is very largely used. We have a good hall owned by Mr. John Ewart, in which concerts and meetings of all kinds can be held. Manly sports of all kinds receive hearty support, but the river run- ning through the village is swift and seldom freezes over, so we get but little skating unless we go some distance away- We pride ourselves on hav- ing a model village, and if the opinions expressed by outsiders may be taken as a fair criterion, our boasting is not without reason
SOME NOTES OF EARLY ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.— BAY OF QUINTE DISTRICT.
BY REV. CANON JARVIS.
This paper does not claim to be more than a compilation from sources more or less accessible of such facts bearing upon the early days of religion in this district as seem to be worth preserving in a convenient form, and which may be of interest to members of the Historical Society. I shall be par- doned if I confine myself chiefly to matters more directly connected with my own communion with which I might be expected to be familiar, touching only incidentally those facts which others could deal with more acceptably.
On the occasion of the consecration of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, a couple of years ago, I took it upon myself to prepare an album containing an account of the celebrations connected therewith, the autographs of as many as possible of the clergy and laity in attendance, and other details which may be valuable in years to come. To this is added an historical sketch of the parish, not yet completed. The paper I now present is in part a resume of the latter, those portions being omitted which would hardly interest those who are not members of the congregation. In submitting these memoranda for vour consideration I should
50 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
welcome any corrections, or suggestions, that the members of the Association may be able to offer. My desire is to make the record above referred to as accurate as I can.
It is the duty of the historiographer to carry his researches back as far as possible, and many writers try to carry their readers with them back of 'lbyant", as the Scotchman says, to regions of myth and legend — very entertaining occasionally, but not always very instructive. Sometimes, no doubt, by submitting these old stories to the criti- cal sifting process now vaunted as a science, many grains of truth, or probable truth, are often recov- ered which subsequent investigation may verify. In the present instance, however, there is little mater- ial of this sort to go upon or to weigh with, conse- quently our early days will not take us very far back into the dim shadows of antiquity — though a couple of hundred years or so does seem a long time to us in this new world of ours.
According to the first authentic accounts we have, or that I have come across, it appears that the earliest missionaries of the cross in this part of the country, as elsewhere, were those noble pioneers of civilization and religion in most new lands, the Jesuit and Recolet Fathers. Their life and minis- try was always marked by heroic self-sacrifice and very often ended in heroic martyrdom. This was in the days of the regions when Canada was New France.
To come down to dates. In 1615 the great Champlain first set eyes upon the glories of Lake Ontario and the Bay of Quinte. No European had ever seen them before, and the grandeur and beauty of those noble waters must have impressed him in a manner that we, who can see them every day if we choose, can hardly realize in our matter of fact familiarity with their world-renowned scenery at our very doors. Champlain was obliged to winter somewhere near the head of Hay Bay. In his party there was a Recolet Father, whose name I do not know, and who employed his time evangelizing the Indians.
Champlain, in the following spring, made his way up the Napanee River on his journey to the Ottawa and round by Lake Nipissingr and the Georgian Bay and back.
If any one is anxious to trace his route and learn the storv of the finding of his astrolabe a few
EARLY ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 51
years ago, — which is now in the museum at Ottawa and which goes to prove that Champlain was once a citizen of Napanee nearly 300 years ago, — I must refer him to our old friend, Mr. Burrows, who knows all about it, — I don't. But when the ex- plorers broke camp, the good missionary seems to have stayed behind with his new flock. If he did not, certainly other missionaries soon took up his work, for we know that when De Frontenac, a half century later, came upon the scene, a very success- ful and flourishing Roman Catholic Mission had been established. To be more accurate, Frontenac landed at Cataraqui, then the name of the Indian camping ground, where Kingston, or rather Fort Henry across the river, now stands. Frontenac landed on July I2th, 1673, and next day began the erection of the fort, which for a long time bore his name. We are not told that Frontenac was a good Orangeman, but no doubt that he made choice of this date in order to celebrate "Boyne water." The fact that that little "divarsion" did not come off till a decade or two later in the day need not trouble us greatly. Why should a matter of a few years one way or the other be allowed to spoil a good story ? Anyhow, both events happened on the 1 2th of July, but we digress, and I am afraid we shall be drifting into a religious controversy, which is "taboo" within these walls, so we had better get back to Frontenac.
He was met at Cataraqui by the Captains of the Five Nations, accompanied by the Abbe d'Urse, who was then probably in charge of the Hay Bay Mission, and all came to pay their respects and welcome the new Governor. That the "Captains" of the Five Nations should have accompanied the Abbe is strong evidence that considerable progress must have been made in christianizing the Indians by this time. The records tell of the erection of a chapel somewhere in the neighborhood ; possibly where the trail leading into the interior began, near the site of Champlain's camp at Hay Bay. But no one knows ; there is no tradition to guide us, not a log remains from which we might chip off a block to treasure in our infant Historical Museum, — quel damage ! If we could even get a splinter off it we should have a relic that would rival in anti- quity and in interest the old log chapel at Tadousac at the mouth of the Saguenay, said to be the oldest church in Canada,— if not on the contin-
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ent, — the oldest standing log church at all events.
Was the Mission wiped out in one of those terrible inter-tribal wars or one of the bloody frays between the French and Iroquois ? Was one of those flint arrow heads we pick up near Hay Bay stained with the blood of the good Abbe ? Here is a chance for our own Sir Gilbert Parker, quite in his line. If he does not know the history, he is quite capable of making a romance that will be at least as interesting and perhaps more thrilling than the actual event, if event there was. All we know is that the Mission has passed away.
"The sacred taper's lights are gone Gray moss has clad the Altar stone The holy image is o'er thrown,
The bell has ceased to toll. The Holy Shrine to ruin sunk, Departed is the pious monk —
God's blessing on his soul."
But we need not follow the fortunes of the country under French rule for the next hundred years down to the treaty of Paris in 1763, by which Canada became a British Colony, to develop in an- other hundred years into the Great Dominion. The fact is, I can find but the merest scraps of histori- cal reference to the period. Professor Shortt has to complain of a like dearth of information when dealing with the epoch from a secular standpoint, and the little we could find would be of no value for our present purpose. No doubt if we had re- course to the transactions of the Jesuits or the annals of the Recolets, we should find much to interest us. But by the end of the XVIII. century, the French and the Iroquois, the Recolet Fathers and their Missions, seem to have disappeared ; the whole district outside the City of Kingston had reverted to the condition of a spiritual wilderness.
Our next chapter of Ecclesiastical History then opens with the advent of the U. E. Loyalists in 1783-4. But to get a better view of the religious condition of the time, we must turn our eyes for a few moments far afield. We are all familiar with the story of the Loyalists and do not wish to renew old controversies with our neighbors across the Lake. We have buried George Washington's "little hatchet" and we, and they, have learned to dwell side by side in peace and in mutual respect.
Howbeit, our fathers of Loyalist tendencies then residing in the New England States, found it
EARLY ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 53
conducive to their self respect, if not to the preser- vation of their lives, to abandon their homes in the new republic and seek asylum in Canada. Many found their way to New Brunswick, others finally settled along the St. Lawrence and the shores of Lake Ontario and elsewhere. We have to start now with a large contingent of these refugees, whose home was originally in the Mohawk Valley in the State of New York. They came from the neighbor- hood of Fort Hunter, near Albany, the Capital of the State. Many of them settled for a short time at Sorell, in Lower Canada. I believe some 300 families had gathered there, about the year 1778 or 1780. With them was the Rev. John Doty, former- ly an S. P. G. Missionary at Schnectady, N.Y. He went over to England to plead the cause of his flock before the English Missionaries Societies. But on his return to Sorell in 1783, he found that most of them had moved west, to the Bay of Ouinte, where they landed at Adolphustown the year following.
But, we are getting on a little too fast, and must not pass on in silence a few incidents which happened before the Loyalists left the prosperous Mohawk Valley for this stern Canadian wilderness, and to them our shores must have seemed little better, despite their then unkempt beauty.
Fairly adequate provision had been made in early days for the religious needs of the colonists in the more settled portions of the country, includ- ing that part of New York of which we are now speaking ; but the same can hardly be said of the Indian aborigines. Sporadic efforts had been made from time to time for their conversion, but with no great persistency or success. Then as early as 1711 the Mohawks sent a deputation of four of their principal chiefs to England, begging Queen Anne to send them a missionary. This journey was no slight undertaking in those days before trans- Atlantic transportation had become an exact science. The good Queen was instrumental through the agency of S. P. G., in procuring for them the appointment of the Rev. Mr. Andrews, who came out the following year. She took a deep interest in the Mission, and herself presented later on a handsome set of silver Communion plates and Altar furnishings, and with them a church and a parson- age. This silver Communion service has a history of its own, and perhaps I may be allowed a
54 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
moment's digression to tell it. When (as we shall see presently) the Mohawks cast in their lot with the U. E. Loyalists in 1776, an irregular band of rebels made an unexpected raid upon the settle- ment. The Indians, fearing the loss of their great- est treasure, buried the, sacred vessels in the depths of the forest. When this war was over a party of young braves set out on a peaceful war path and in due time returned in triumph, having accomplished the object of their quest. The plate was divided between the two sections of the tribe, the one at Brantford and the other on the Tyendinaga Reserve. This story may not rival in incident and interest the Arthurian legend of Sir Galahad and the Holy Grail, but it is worthy a place in our Canadian Anthology, and I should like to see the story writ- ten up by some competent scribe. At the time of the second Pan-Anglican conference at Lambeth there was an exhibition of Church plate gathered from all corners of the world, and not the least in- teresting exhibit was this very set of vessels, so treasured by our brethren on the Reserve. I am sorry to say, however, that in their long journey to and fro, a chalice was lost, and so far as I know lias never been recovered.
Mr. Andrews seems to have been an excellent man and his worth and devotion were testified to by the Governor and others. But he was greatlv hampered in his work by the Dutch traders, who resented his attempts to put a stop to their shame- less dealings with the natives, more especiallv in the matter of the liquor traffic. The careless lives of those in high places also contributed to his difficulties, as is so often the case when barbaric tribes gain their first impression of Christianity from the half-barbarized Christians that are too often our representatives at frontier military and trading posts. The kind of Christians who go back home and proclaim the failure of Foreign Mission?, a failure they themselves have often conspired to bring about. Mr. Andrews was so discouraged that he made up his mind to return to England, but his ship was lost at sea. The Mission led a check- ered existence till 1770, when the Rev. John Stewart was appointed to the charge. He proved an ideal missionary and became the idol of both the white and red elements of hrs congregation. When the war of independence broke out. Stewart, as might have been expected, was among the most
EARLY ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 55
loyal of the Loyalists, and through his influence the Mohawks were no less faithful to their Great White Father. After hostilities began, he continued to pray daily for the King and all in authority under him, thus incurring the enmity of the self- styled patriots. This was not the only case of the kind. Some years ago I had the pleasure of meet- ing the Rev. Dr. Knight, afterwards Bishop of Fond du Lac, but then Rector of Lancaster, Pa. He told me that in his church there could be seen to that day two bullet marks on the plaster of the east wall over the Altar, the evidence of the male- volence, or possibly the bad marksmanship, of the patriots, as well as a testimony to the sturdy courage of the old priest, who stood his ground, regardless of this emphatic leaden protest against his prayer for our Sovereign Lord King George, "that all his subjects might faithfully serve, honor and humbly obey him.'1 Things did not come to quite so serious a pass with the missionary to the Mohawks. He was subjected, however, to no little persecution ; but what hurt him most, his humble church \vas grievously desecrated. It was made to do duty as a saloon, a barrel of rum being set up in the prayer desk, and later on was turned into a stable. Life among such unneighboring neighbors would be hard living, and he resolved in 1781 to seek a home where he could 'fear God' and at the same time 'honor the Kin?' without molestation.
Meantime the loyal Mohawks led by Captain Joseph Brant, joined the British forces under Gen- eral Burgoyne and served faithfully during the war. At its close, part of the tribe came first to the Xiagara peninsular, and afterwards settled at Brantford on the Grand River. The other half led by Captain John Deserontyon, after a short so- journ at La Chine, settled on the Tyendinaga, or Tyonderoga Reserve. Thus in the names "Brant- ford", "Deseronto", and "Tyendynaga" we keep alive the memories of three great men whom Canada, and indeed the Empire, might well delight to honor.
It seems like a dispensation of Providence that the refugees from the Mohawk Valley, both whites and Indians, should thus have been re-united in their new homes after several years of separation, during which they had wandered through the wild- erness and drifted so far apart. All that remained to make the romance complete was brought about
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when John Stewart, their old missionary, re-joined his flock to minister once more to their spiritual needs. But his duties were not confined to the Bay district alone. When we realize that his Mission extended at one time from Kingston to Niagara, that besides his missionary activities he had to fill the post of chaplain to the forces ; that he opened and maintained a successful academy in Kingston ; that he held commission as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas ; that he was Bishop's commissary for all Western Canada, (not to mention a few other minor offices), few will begrudge him the title, recognized, if not conferred, by the English Missionary journals "The Father of the Church in Upper Canada." He died in 1811, and is buried in Kingston. His son, Ven. Archdeacon Geo. O'Kill Stewart, was a hardly less distinguished man, and was well known in these parts by some of our oldest residents when they were a good deal younger than they are to-day.
But it may be asked, when does Napanee come into these annals ? It may hurt our metropolitical dignity, but the truth must be told that our County town really did not cut much of a figure from a church point of view in those ancient days. There were congregations meeting together for worship here and there in various little hamlets, that we. in our city-like scorn, look down upon as very small hamlets still. For example, it is on record that as far back as 1785, Jeptha Hawley, (we all know the neighborhood sacred to his name), used to assemble the country-side at his home in the "2d Township", and regularly, every Lord's Day, read a sermon or join in with them in the liturgy of the church.
The first mention of Napanee in anv ecclesiasti- cal connection that I have been able to discover is in the old Vestry book preserved amid the archives of the Parish of Bath. St. John's Church, in that village, is the mother church (so far as our com- munion is concerned) of the Count y of Lennox and Addington. It was built in 1794, and is one of the oldest churches in the Dominion. The original walls are still standing covered in by a quaintly fashioned roof, — a perfect forest of oaken timbers, fitly framed together, and promising to endure in strength and stability for another century or more.
The church was built by a very remarkable man, the Rev. John Langhorn, of whom we shall
EARLY ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 57
have something to say presently. He succeeded Dr. Stewart, and took over part of his Mission in 1787.
The Vestry book aforesaid tells us definitely that there was an organized congregation in Napa- nee exactly one hundred years ago (how long before I cannot say). The minutes of the annual Easter Vestry meeting for the year 1809 record as follows: "New Church Wardens chosen before 12 o'clock on Easter Monday forenoon and in the church in the vear 1809 : Benjamin Fairfield, sr., and Jeptha Hawley, for the Church of St. John's, Ernesttown; Hazelton Spencer, Esq.,* and Peter Lampman Young, for the congregation of St. Paul's, Freder- icksburgh**; Nicholas Woodcock and Christian Peterson, for the congregation at Mohawk Bay." Then came the entry, not very flattering to us at the County capital : "No Wardens seem to be want- ing for the Big Brook, Hay Bay and Napanet con- gregations."
"Chosen by us, John I,anghorn, officiating minister. Sheldon Hawley, Jeptha Hawley, David Shorey."
A similar entry occurs in the year 1810, and also the year following. I repeat, this entry is not over flattering to our congregational pride, that we should have to look back upon the time when we were a mere appanage to the thriving Village of Bath, ranked with Hay Bay and "Big Creek", and last and least of the three insignificants for whom "No Wardens seem to be wanting" for three con- secutive years. Was it that there was nothing to
* Note the Esq.— This distinctive title absent from the other names, no doubt in recognition of the fact that Hazelton Spencer was a member of tho first Legislature of Upper Canada, 1792-1796 (see transactions of Royal Society of Canada, Vol. IX., Sec. IT, 1903).
** That is Sandhurst, where a church now stands on or near the old foundation, and under the same dedication. The first church was built of logs and stood on for 25 years. I can find no record of the second church. which took its place. A third was built in Mr. Harding's time and remains to this day. In Langhorn's baptismal register (referred to later on) there is a note to the effect that "the first Church of S. Paul .... was opened on Christmas Day, 1791. This is perhaps the first church that was ever built new from the; ground in the Province of Quebec, solely for a Church of England Church, excepting one of the Mohawk Churches which lays claim to a seniority." lit is n coincidence that this church should have been opened on a Christmas Day and burned to the ground on a Christmas Day a quarter of a century later.
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"ward" or worth warding ? Who were the mem- bers ? Where were the services held ? In less than a hundred years all record is lost and no tradition remains to give us a hint. If this Society can resurrect any authentic data from the buried past that will help to solve these questions, we Angli- cans will be under deep and lasting obligations to it. We should like to think that some one of the churches projected or built by Mr. Langhorn and dedicated to various saints, to us little more than forgotten names, (many of them at least), we should like to think that "St. Chads" or "St. Bees" or "St. Werburgh", no matter how humble the saint might have been, "located" within our borders, that we might lay claim to so much antiquity at least. But I fear we shall have to be content with our latter day dates and trust to future ages to confer upon us the dignity of Ancients. By that time we shall all be gone, and perhaps forgotten, unless some graven stone or monumental brass be found in St. Mary Magda- lene's to rescue us from utter oblivion, if that will do us any good. Let us rather hope that our names will be written indelibly in the "Lamb's Book of Life."
Of Mr. Langhorn himself and his indefatigable labors, much could be written. He seems to have been an eccentric character in many ways, and his eccentricities often got him into trouble. His min- istry demanded that he should endure hardness as a good soldier, and he was well content to endure. Uncompromising in his struggle for the truth, austere, almost brusque perhaps, in his dealings with those who differed from him, and seemingly uncouth in manner, he was nevertheless loved as well as respected, his very peculiarities even endear- ing him to those who had patience to wait till they knewT him thoroughly what manner of man he was at heart. Stories of his hardihood still linger among the old folk, who have heard with their ears what their fathers told of the old time before them. How he used to take his daily dip in the bay, sum- mer and winter, cutting a hole in the ice when necessary, — some say cutting two, — diving into one and coming up at the other. How his wonderful horse, his faithful curate, used to share in these ablutions in the summer time at least. I do not know that any go so far as to credit the horse with so little horse sense as to plunge down one ice
EARLY ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 59
hole and come up another for divers reasons, and the master out-ranked him, too, in a peculiarly equine characteristic, namely, in the matter of shy- ness, especially where the fair sex was concerned. He never married, and woman's gentle ministra- tions, which even married Priests have to suffer from when their better halves undertake to tidy up their studies — were as sternly excluded from his humble abode as if it had been a cell in the deepest recesses of a Trappist monastery. But many a similar libel has been told of the clergy in the past and in the present, so we may take them all with some abatement and discount the residuum. Kven then the residuum might be expanded into many a good yarn, which, as I said before, it would be a pity to spoil. If they be not true, they are very well invented and ought to be true, as the Italian proverb has it.
I should here give some account of the celebrat- ed Langhorn registers, but as it is getting late and they have been copied and published in the records of the parent Society, I may pass them over now. Although the interest attaching to the original documents can not be reproduced in cold print, I have had the satisfaction of examining them in the Diocesan Registry Office, and indeed I was able to supply a copy of one of them that had been over- looked by the late Thomas Casey, when he trans- cribed the others for the benefit of the Historical Society. If the members of the Society so desire, I may be able, on a future occasion, to refer to these original records at greater length, and bring out some of the lost history of the time which can be read between the lines of the manuscript. But I must add one word more before closing in reference to Mr. Langhorn himself. His last entry was in 1813, in which year he left the country to return to his home in England. We are not told why he left or whether he intended to return. Possibly the war of 1812-14 had something to do with his departure. Things must have been very unsettled along the frontier at the time. Kingston was a military and naval base, and although we do not find much re- ference to the part taken in the fighting by our people of these Counties, there must have been a good deal of hardship for them to go through. A company of volunteers commanded by Captain Dor- land, was furnished by Adolphustown ; perhaps there were others. Anvhow, the well stocked farms
«f» LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
along the Bay did good service, and were a bonanza for the commissiariat department. It is not likely that the hard times were alone responsible for Mr. Ivanghorn's absence from the scene. He was not that kind of man. In fact I have heard that he went back to assist his aged mother in the old land, for whose support out of his slender income he had to provide. Anyhow, he set sail, and like Mr. Andrews, was never heard of again, and for the same reason, — his ship foundered at sea. This convenient manner, however, of getting rid of so many of our missing missionaries looks rather suspicious, but we cannot help that.
I should like to refer to the part borne in the early Ecclesiastical History of our country by such well known characters as Mr. McDowal, the Pres- byterian protagonist, the contemporary of Mr. Langhorn, whose life was no less romantic, and who 'left registers no less instructive than those above referred to. We should also have a full ac- count of the Losees and Barbara Hecks, and the Kmberys and other Methodist worthies of the per- iod, but the title of my paper and the limits with- in which I proposed to keep at the outset, forbid my entering upon a task which athers are better fitted to discharge, and we hope some one will undertake it for our benefit at future meetings of the Society.
Meanwhile may we say of them all, — Recollet Fathers, Anglican Priests, Presbyterian Divines, Methodist Class Readers and Circuit Riders, — let us say of them all :
"The saints of God, their wanderings done No more their weary course they run, No more they faint, no more they fall No foes oppose, no fears appal, Oh, Happy Saints, forever blest, Tn that dear Home how sweet you rest !"
SOME EARLY AMUSEMENTvS OF THE COUNTY.
BY C. M. WARNER.
Early history of this district always begins with the discovery of the Bay of Quinte and Lake Ontario by Champlain.
In writing of the early amusements, we natur- ally think first of the great discoverer and his small band, and of the winter of 1615-16, which they spent on the shores of the Bay of Quinte. Being forced to remain there during those months (for the Indians would not allow them to leave) they accepted the inevitable as only a true Frenchman can, and spent their time in hunting and fishing. But they were explorers and as soon as the winter was over they journeyed back to Montreal. The Bay of Quinte is little referred to by historians from the time of the visit of Champlain until about the year 1678, when the Count de Frontenac made his celebrated visit, to be received by La Salle on the "large island near the mouth of the river (St. Lawrence) at the head of the Bay of Quinte". This party was more picturesque than was Champlain' s defeated band. One writer says "The scene was like a tale of Fearie, — there. were gallant officers in splendid uniform, who handed fair ladies from the boats chatting gaily in the brilliant and voluble dialect of France. There was the Viceroy's body guard, and there were four pages of noble birth after the fashion of the times, attired in suits of velvet and silk, who bore the Governor's badge embroidered in gold upon their arms". Surely a splendid opportunity awaited these people at old Fort Cataraqui, and it is little wonder that in all the gaiety, the charming widow Madame de Bour- donnais learned to love the gallant Monsieur de La Salle. These early residents hunted and rode, danced and had their balls in very much the same fashion as did their brothers and sisters at home in France ; and they left their habits in the County, for, we learn that the first English settlers, — al- though in a majority of cases they were very poor, —grew fond of the dance and other amusements.
62 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The people who settled our County were by no means all of a Puritanical turn. of mind. The ma- jority of these early settlers being United Empire Ivoyalists, had started with nothing. We find that they at once began to clear small pieces of land in different parts of the "front" of the County, and aided each other to build the log cabins, which were afterwards to be replaced by more pretentious frame dwellings. Kven in this first work they formed "bees" for the raisings, and one of the im- portant parts of each "bee" was the adjournment from labor to refreshment. Caniff tells of one of these "bees" held in 1789, when the first log barn was raised in Adolphustown. For this event the mother of the family had carefully put away eggs to the amount of a pailful, well heaped. The eggs were well beaten, mixed with rum and all the milk that could be kept sweet from the last few milkings and served to the party of workers.
As the years went by, these settlers had more time for the pleasures of this world though for many years we find the tendency was to mix the fun with the work. First came the Raising Bees, then the Logging Parties, then the Sugaring Off parties and the Husking Bees. All of these were originally started with the idea of giving aid to the neighbor, although in more recent years the sugaring off parties have become mere pleasure out- ings. Caniff says they were all meetings of a more or less hilarious order, but that the work was done and with a will. He further says : "After the work, all were treated to a glorious supper, generally pot-pie and cakes, and pies of pumpkin and apple, and then commenced the play and the dance."
In the early years of the last century a wedding was a great event, and they were almost always followed by a dance which was kept up for two or three successive nights at different places. Visit- ing was very much in vogue. Near neighbors would call in the evening, uninvited, and frequent- ly visits were made to friends at a distance when the trip would be made by canoe or on horseback. To quote from "Sketches of Upper Canada," by John Howison, printed in 1825, — "When the snow is on the ground a great deal of visiting goes on, and balls, picnics and card parties very frequently occur. The Canadians in general, partake largely of the sanguine temperament, being- lively, inclined
EARLY AMUSEMENTS OF THE COUNTY. 63
to hospitality and extremely fond oi pleasure, . . . Some of the Canadian ladies are extremely pretty ; but their chief attractions lie in the naivete of their manners, and in their beautifully dark and sparkling eyes. They lose their teeth and good looks eight or ten years sooner than the females of Europe."
In another book written in 1820, "The Emi- grants Guide to Upper Canada", the author, C. Stuart, says of our ancestors : "Their amusements, of course, are unhappily like those of the world : horse racing, betting, shooting, and where leisure abounds, idle conversation, balls, cards and the theatre, etc."
Is it any wonder that with this kind of a start in the County, our fathers and mothers expected and found some recreation of a secular nature ? Perhaps they were not all forced to learn to dance, as Caniff Plaight describes that interesting episode in his life. I will quote his own words. "I learned to step off on the light fantastic toe, as many another Canadian boy has done, on the barn floor, where, with the doors shut, I went gliding up and down, through the middle, balancing to the pitch- fork, turning round the old fanning mill, then double shuffling and closing with a profound bow to the splint broom in the corner." But many of these people were taught in this kind of a school, and Mr. Haight says "whether dancing be right or wrong, it is certain the inclination of the young to indulge in it is about as universal as the taint of sin."
If we could find it, there is probably consider- able material stored away with the family papers of our old residents telling of the particular events which were held in the twenties. But one lone in- vitation has been secured by our Society. This one is written on an ordinary double sheet of note paper and reads as follows :
"Mr. S. Benson's attendance is respectfully solicited at N. Harrises' Inn on Friday, the 31st inst., at 3 o'clock p.m., by
G. GRIPPERS, S. KELLOG,
Managers. Adolphustown, December 22d, 1824."
This invitation is followed by one of the same wording for Mr. Benson's brother, and each is sur- rounded bv two lines drawn with ink, the inner
64 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
one black and the outer one red. After the two invitations, and on the same page, is written the following note :
"Mr. Benson, Sir, —
It will be highly pleasing to me to have you come down to attend said Ball if you possibly can, and your brother also together with your partners.
From, Yours in haste,
S. KELLOG " "Fredericksburgh,- December 22d, 1824."
What an interesting evening one could spend, if it were only possible to hear of these country dances first hand. They probably had two "fid- dlers", and danced until daylight. But these people did not confine their pleasures to the dance. It is true they had very few holidays, even Christ- mas being imperfectly observed, but they managed to find time for fun.
A great amount of pleasure seems to have been obtained in those days from composing such non- sense rhymes as the following written a hundred years ago, and called :
"AN IRISH RECEIPT TO CURE A LOVE YIT."
"Tie one end of a rope, fast over a beam, And make a slip noose at the- other extreme, Then just underneath let a cricket be set, On which let the lover most manfully get, Then over his head let the snicket he got And under one ear be well settled the knot ; The cricket kicked down, let him take a fair s\\ing And leave all the rest to the work of the string."
Or in another vein,
"When I have cash I mount a gig, When I have none I hop the twig ; When I have cash it's hurly burly, When I have none I'm dull and surly ; When I have cash, why then I roof it, When I have none, why then I hoof it."
Old and young indulged in the occupation, and when once written they were passed to the neigh- bors and caused great amusement.
In the thirties the people continued with their dances and balls. A special event which caused great enthusiasm in the winter of 1835, was the trip through Napanee of Sir John Calhoun. This head of the Government was tendered an elaborate reception by the citizens of the County, and his
EARLY AMUSEMENTS OF THE COUNTY. 65
appreciation of their work was fittingly expressed in his reply to the address which was presented to him.
An odd wedding invitation is in our collection. It reads as followrs :
Napanee, 7th November, 1839. "My dear Sir, —
"I have a favor to beg at your hands,— deny me not. Will you have the goodness to accompany me and Betsy about twelve miles on Monday, the 25th inst., to see your old companion sobered for life. Write me, and give my love to old and young, and believe me to be,
Ever your affectionate,
ALEX. MARGACH."
Probably Alexander and Betsy were married in the same old way, and were accompanied by all the boys and girls for the dance in the evening. And as he was a well known citizen, the chances are that he and his bride were tendered an old fashioned charivari. This last custom was one in- troduced from France. On the night of the wed- ding, crowds of uninvited, masked guests made the place hideous with guns, tin pans, pails, bones, fiddles and everything else that could be made to produce a noise, and they kept it up until silenced by a treat or with money.
Great excitement was caused in this decade by the rebellion of 1837-8. In every locality compan- ies of soldiers were formed and those who volun- teered expected to have to fight for their country. The soldier boys were very popular with the girls and all kinds of entertainment was planned for them. By this time the settlements had extended back into the County and Mill Creek, Simmons Mills and Rogues Hollow were asking for new names. But the war did not amount to much and the heroes settled down to their natural work once more.
In the forties the second generation began to claim attention. It was to be expected that they would improve on their father's and mother's way of doing things. Transportation had improved, the York road had been macadamized and the people of the County made more frequent trips to Kingston and Napanee. On May nth, 1844, at a public meeting held in the Court Room for the Township of Richmond, with George H. Detlor, presiding, the Napanee branch of the Midland Dis- trict Agricultural Society was formed. The fol-
06 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
lowing gentlemen composed the Board of Mana- gers : David Roblin, Chairman ; George H. Detlor, Secretary and Treasurer ; Archibald Caton, Amos Schermehorn, James Wilson, Frederick A. Oliver, Daniel McBride, Samuel R. Shaw, E. F. Dunham, and Fletcher Empey.
The first meeting was held on the third Tuesday in September. Unfortunately our Society has no complete record of these early County Fairs, but from occasional scraps and from personal reminis- cences of our older residents, we learn that "County Show Day" was always looked forward to by the young gallants as the one day in the year in which it was absolutely necessary to give their "best girl" an outing. And it is said that on those days the York Road and other highways leading to the Village were usually well filled with streams of carriages of every description.
Fortunately more accurate data is in our pos- session concerning the amusements for the ten years from 1850 to 1860. Naturally the interest centres around the Village of Napanee, which was incorporated in 1855, and our Society should be proud of having in its archives so many papers re- lating to that period.
The vogue of giving parties which continues so much in evidence in our town at the present time, was really inaugurated in 1850. And no doubt there are residents of the present day who can re- call delightful evenings spent at the McPhersons, the Campbells and the other homes of prominence.
In 1853 the Napanee Club Library was formed. The meeting to complete the organization, receive books, pay for the shares, etc., was held on Friday evening, November i8th, at 7 o'clock, in the Court House, and the call for the meeting was signed by George C. Tremaine. In this same year the first exhibition was held in the Napanee Academy.
On March 24th, 1855, a petition was circulated and well signed, asking that permission be given C. S. German "to occupy a position on John street alongside of F. A. Morris' Railroad Clothing Store, and entirely off Dundas street with a Dague- rean saloon, in consideration that the said C. S. German is willing to pay for said privilege at the rate of three pounds, fifteen shillings currency, per year." The signature attached to this paper are as follows : C. S. German, E. A. Morse, E. C. Clark, G. D. Greenleaf, James Blakelv, W. S.
EARLY AMUSEMENTS OP THE COUNTY. 07
Raiiory, Jessy Shibley, John Crysdale, John T. Grange, James Grange, Henry Shannon, Titus T. Brown, George Sexsmith, Davis Fraser, Andrew Gould, Wm. L/amphier, H. T. Forward, John Blewett, Amos Schermehorn, Robert Easton and F. W. Morse. This in all probability, was the first photograph gallery in Napanee.
The institution of the Town Fair Day was in 1855. Many of those present to-night will remem- ber the custom of bringing to town the cattle, horses and sheep on special days in each month, when buyers were on hand to take what was offer- ed for sale. The Charter from Governor General, Sir Edmund Walker, permitting the Sheriff of the United Counties of Frontenac, Lennox and Adding- ton, Thomas A. Corbett, of Kingston, to hold fairs in the Village, is in our possession. It is signed by the Governor's Secretary and by John A. Mac- don aid as Attorney General of Upper Canada, and is dated at Quebec, May 25th, 1855.
In 1855, Napanee made a special effort to have a grand celebration on the Queen's birthday. We have the original subscription list giving the 39 names of those who contributed towards the suc- cess of the day.
An interesting document gives us a statement of the receipts from outside sources on "Show Day", June 26th, 1855. Some of the items of revenue were : S. B. Homes, Circus and Menagerie, 1 day permit £10.0.0
Duan,— Exhibition Tom Thumb 7.6
J. W. Saber, Selling Eclectric Oil 5.0
George Files, selling Lemonade 10.0
Charles Snider, selling Lemonade 10.0
In 1856, the burning of "Campbell's Tavern" was looked upon as a great catastrophe, as this Inn was a favorite one in the village. But it was soon rebuilt in better form and remains to the present day.
A grand Amateur Concert was given in the Napanee Academy on February I4th, when nearly £75 was collected for the benefit of the church. The programme was composed of 18 numbers. The Kingston Amateur Band was present, and the Misses Davy, Mrs. Davy, Mrs. McCracker, and Messrs. Gaskin, Kemp, Beel, L,ister, Weston, Suth- erland and Williams gave the selections. The doors opened at 6.30, and the concert commenced at 7 p.m.
On June TTth, 1856, the town put on gay attire
08 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
to lay the corner stone of the new Market House and Town Hall. A great procession was held, and the event was long remembered. One unlooked for catastrophe occurred. The box in the corner stone was stolen the same night, but the perpetrators of the deed were soon afterwards caught and properly punished. A list of the articles in this box is among our papers.
In October of the same year several citizens of the County received invitations to attend a grand celebration in Montreal to commemorate the com- pletion of the Grand Trunk Railway between that city and Toronto. The invitation with letter of instruction in our archives, was sent to my father, Sidney Warner, of Wilton.
Our first record of the Napanee Cricket Club is dated in 1857. Belleville played a friendly game with the Napanee boys in October, and left for home eighty-nine runs ahead.
Dancing appears to have been one of the chief sources of amusement during all these years, and continued to be so in the sixties, notwithstanding that unique fashion adopted by the ladies of the period of wearing hoop skirts. In Napanee, Mr. McMillan's dancing academy was in full swing, and Bath, Centre ville, Wilton, Odessa and Newburgh were holding regular assemblies. The favorite dances were the Quadrille, Schottische, Polka, Lancers, Circassian Circle, Waltz and Gallop, Co- tillion, Kight Hand Reel, Redowa and Sir Roger De Coverly. The County Town Ball held in Nap- anee in 1865, had a programme of 28 dances. The Master of Ceremonies was B. C. Davy, Ksq., Mayor of the Town, and the Stewards, J. J. Burrows, Judge, J. B. McGuin, K. Hooper, Wm. Miller, J. Herring, M. T. Rogers, H. T. Forward, E. J. Hooper, Robert McCoy, S. T. Clements, D. A. Roblin, G. Bogart, T. G. David, B. C. Daw, G. S. Holmsted, W. Munro, R. Downey and F. W. Campbell. Dancing commenced at 9 p.m., and the Ball was held in the Town Hall.
One of the Assemblies given in 1862, three years earlier, had the same Master of Ceremonies with the following Stewards, John Stevenson, F. W. vSmith, M. P. Roblin, Wm. Miller, M. C. Whitcomb, W. H. Wilkison, James F. Bartles, M. T. Rogers, A. S. Bristol, M.D., William McGillivray, G. H. Davy, S. T. Clements and John McCay.
In the seventies the amusements continued
EARLY AMUSEMENTS OP THE COUNTY. 69
along similar lines. The Napanee dances were managed by a later generation, and we find the names of A. L. Morden, R. Downey, T. J. Robert- son, T. F. O'Connell, Thomas Malloy, R. G. Wright, G. Bogart, T. S. Carman, D. H. Preston. D. A. Roblin, G. A. Stevenson, E. W. Rathbun, Robt. Downey and J. R. Pruyn, appearing as Stewards. In the County Bath, Odessa, New- burgh, Centreville and Wilton added their regular number of attractions.
In Napanee an event of importance was the opening of the Centre Street Skating Arena, on December i6th, 1875. Robert McGinnis was pro- prietor, and G. H. Downey, H. L. Geddes, J. Sweeney, B. S. Abrams, A. A. Benson and S. Tobey were active in the management. The rink was 132 feet square, protected by a high fence and had well warmed dressing rooms.
Abel Yates contributed to the pleasure of those who enjoyed the theatre by bringing to Napanee numerous stock Companies, and judging by the reports in the local press of the period, the plays were well attended. In addition to the profession- al talent the plays presented by the Napanee Dra- matic Club were well received. The names of Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Robinson, Mrs. J. S. Richardson, Geo. McCoy, Joseph McAllister, F. Mills and W. Madden, bring to mind many pleasant evenings, and judging by the reports we have the popular plays, such as "Never too late to Mend" were well put on. This generation was a great one for out- of-door sports. The successes of the Napanee Cricket Club, Silver Leaf Baseball Club, Lennox and Addington Rifle Association, and the Academy Athletic Association, prove that this County was well represented in the athletic world. The Cricket Club played several games with Picton, Kingston and Belleville, and a game played on July 1st, 1877, between two local teams, "The Civilians" and "The Artillery," caused a great amount of discussion. The report of the game says that F. S. Richardson and J. Webster, of the Artillery team, made the best scores. The Artillery team won the match by one run and nine wickets. The officers of the club that year were : H. I,. Geddes, H. E. Moore, John Bowey and B. S. Abrams.
The Silver Leafs played great baseball. Among1 the officers are the names of J. H. Herring, J. P. Davis, C. W. Mills, W. G. Fralick, C. Blair and J.
70 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Phelan. Keen rivalry was manifested in the con- tests with the "Troublers," of Belleville, and the "Dufferins", of Bath.
The Roman Catholic Church held some very successful picnics during these years. One given at the Palace Grounds on July loth, 1877, was attend- ed by over 1,200 people. Refreshments were served by Mr. Bezo, and music was furnished by Morgan's Band and the Napanee Band. A big meeting was held in the Palace, with addresses by several prom- inent citizens, and in a contest between Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir Richard Cartwright for a gold-headed cane, Sir Richard won by 400 major- ity, and the cane was presented to him.
The "Grangers" were very strong- at this time, and held a number of picnics throughout the County to advance their cause. One of particular note was given in Peter Miller's grove, near Napa- nee Mills, in June, 1877, when 4,000 people were fed, "and there were provisions left."
The Academy Athletic Association was instru- mental in developing some first-class athletes. At one of their meets, jumping, running, putting weights and steeple chases were the features, and the Rev. J. J. Bogart, Judge Wilkison and Messrs. Geddes and Morden acted as Judges, with Mr. T. Trimble as Starter, and Mr. W. Tilley as Time- keeper.
Time will not permit my going into further particulars of this subject to-night. One could write an interesting paper describing the methods employed by our citizens in seeking amusement during the last twenty-seven years. The develop- ment of the County picnic, the amateur theatricals, the circus, the race meet, the athletic games, the excursion habit, the afternoon teas, the sewing school and the church fairs are within the memorv of most of those present, and I hope some one will devote the time to write of them. In this paper I have attempted to give a rough outline of the general spirit of the early years in this, one of the oldest Counties in the Province.
"What soften'd remembrances come o'er the heart,
In gazing on those we've been lost to so long ! The sorrows, the joys, of which once they were part,
Still round them like visions of yesterday throng. As letters some hand hath invisibly traced,
When held to the flame will steal out on the sight ; So many a feeling, that long seemed effaced,
The warmth of a meeting like this brings to light.
THE HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE VILLAGE OF CENTREVILLE.
BY J. S. LOCHHEAD.
The Village of Centreville is situated almost in the centre of the Township of Camden, and from this fact it derives its name.
It lies between lots 24 and 25, in the front of the 6th concession. The surrounding country is comparatively level, and an excellent farming dis- trict. The nearest body of water is Mud Lake, which lies about two miles east of the village, and is important chiefly for duck shooting-. The lack of water power is a great hindrance to the growth of the village. Its area at present is about fifteen acres, and the population approximately one hun- dred. To-day the village comprises two stores, the Methodist Church, the Town Hall, the Orange Hall, one hotel, a cheese factory and two blacksmith shops, besides the residences.
About a mile south of the village is the Roman Catholic Church, and nearly a mile east is the Public School, both of which were probably built with the idea that some day they would be within the corporation, but, alas ! no such expansion lay in tlie future for Centreville. Although Centreville reminds one of a little village that has "climbed half way up the hill, and then sat down to rest", it has a past worthy of note, for forty years ago it held quite an important place in the Township. The population was more than double what it is now, and quite a business stir was evident. The surrounding country consisted of homesteads, own- ed by well-to-do farmers with large families, who were not afraid to work, and since have gone out and made their mark far away, in many cases, from their old home. Some old homesteads which we can recall at present are the Shorey, the Miller, the Vrooman, the Lochhead, the Switzer, the Whelan, the Hawley, the Wagar, the Milligan and the Weese.
The village was formerly known as Whelan's Corners, and this name reveals its real origin, for the first building was a large frame hotel, erected on the southwest corner by John Whelan, seventy
72 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
years ago. About this time a Wesley an Methodist Church was built, and two years later a Methodist Episcopal Church, both frame buildings, besides a Roman Catholic Church, — not the large stone edifice of to-day, — but a small frame building. The next addition was a blacksmith shop, and soon after- wards a wagon shop.
In 1842 Mr. James N. Lapum opened the first store, carrying his goods over the corduroy roads all the way from Kingston.
Up to this time there was no postoffice in the place, and the nearest office was at Camden East, then known as Clark's Mills. This same year a postoffice was opened. Mr. Lapum was made post- master, and the name of the village was changed to Centreville.
The next year the old log school house was torn down and a large stone one was built in its place. Then a shoemaker shop was opened, the Town Hall was erected by the Township, and a few years after another shoemaker came to the village, besides several additional families. Later on, Mr. Lapum, who had in the meantime made consider- able money in his store and potash works, was in a position to buy a better site for a new store and residence, and so opened up on a larger scale. He also built a large stone tenement house near his store.
About this time another hotel was erected, and the next year Mr. C. S. McKim opened up another store. This was afterwards converted into a third hotel. In 1851 Dr. Ash came to the village, two more blacksmith shops were started, a cooper shop, a harness shop, a grocery and two tailoring estab- lishments. Mr. J. S. Lochhead at this time kept store in the village.
In 1867, when Canada came under confedera- tion, Mr. Lapum was the first member of the House of Commons, representing Addington, which was and is still, a Conservative constituency.
In 1870, a cheese factory was started by Mr. Lapum and Mr. John S. Miller, ex-M.P.P. " This was afterwards bought by Squire Whelan, on whose property the building was erected, and who managed it most successfully until his death six years ago. The latter, we might mention also, was for forty years Clerk of the Fifth Division Court, which always meets at Centreville. It is
THE VILLAGE OF CENTREVILLE. 73
also worthy of note that Sir Gilbert Parker's father often appeared here as magistrate.
Shortly after confederation, Dr. Switzer came to the village, and eight years later Dr. M. I. Bee- man arrived, making in all three doctors in the village at this time. Before long Dr. Ash, who by this time had a large practice, entered into partner- ship with Dr. Beeman, and Dr. Switzer left the village. Soon after this, Mr. John Hinch opened up a general store, and finally bought a corner lot and built a fine brick store and residence on his new premises.
And now there was a turn in Centre ville's pros- perity. Several fires destroyed three of the hotels, as well as many of the other buildings. The Bay of Quinte Railway was built about this time, and not being on the line, Centre ville's trade and business began to decline. Gradually people began to move away. The Presbyterian manse and the Methodist parsonage were .both vacated, and the ministers re- moved to Tamworth and Enterprise respectively, as both these villages were at the railroad. Sever- al years later, Dr. Beeman bought out Dr. Duff in Newburgh, and moved away. Several doctors suc- ceeded him in turn, until gradually the practice was so divided that to-day Centreville has no doctor at all.
One bright spot in the history of the village during all these years was the erection of a fine stone Town Hall to take the place of the old frame building.
The last blow was the big fire which destroyed Mr. Hinch's building, the finest in the village, so to-day to the casual observer, Centreville presents rather a sad spectacle of its former self. But who knows its future ? The main line of the Canadian Northern is registered to pass through Centreville, and in that case business may boom again in these prosperous years in Canada. To-day the Township Council still meets in the village and the oldest resident, Mr. J. S. Lochhead, is Township Treas- urer, which position he has held for the last twenty years.
In closing, all we can say is that we hope there are better days in the future for Centreville, and that her sons and daughters may yet have further reason to feel proud of her.
LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
INDEX TO VOL. I.
PAPERS AND RECORDS.
Aberdeen 16
Abraham, Plains of 31
Abbe d'Urse ;. 51
Abrams, B. S 69
Academy, Napanee 14, 27, 66, 67
Academy, First Upper Canada 34
Academy Athletic Association 69, 70
Adolphustown 7, 19, 32, 40, 53, 59, 62, 63
Agricultural Society 18
Allen, Dr. David 25
Alexander, Willie 26
Albany 53
American Revolution 5, 31, 39
Amherst Island 30
Amherst, Gen 32
Ameliasburgh..... 32
Amusements of the County 61
Amateur Band, Kingston 67
Anne, Queen 53
Andrews, Rev 53.54, 60
Anglican Priests 60
Appenea Falls 41
Appanee Mills 5, 15, 21
Ash, Dr 72, 73
Assemblies, Napanee 68, 69
Atkinson, B 21
Bartles, James F 10, 68
Bailey, John 13
Bath, Village 14, 19, 22, 56, 57, 67, 68, 69, 70
Ball Mountain 17
Bartels, C. B 21
Barrie 23
Barton, Peter... 26
2 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Babcock, Bostwick 44
Bay of Quinte Ry 48, 73
Beaver, The 5
Belleville 5, 13, l8> 38, 68> 69, 7°
Benson, Samuel M 9, 63, 64
Benson, John 9, 10, 23
Benson, A. A v 69
Beeman, T u
Beeman, Ira 27
Beeman, Dr. M. 1 73
Berry, F 13
Bell, Robert 21
Bee, The 27, 28
Benjamin, E. W 44, 47, 49
Benjamin, A. W 49
Benjamin, F. E 49
Benjamin Mfg. Co., I^td 44, 48
Benjamin Bros. & West 44
Beel, Mr 67
Bezo, Mr 70
Bidwell, Marshall S... 19
Big Brook or Creek 57
Black, John 12
Blanchard, Mrs 19
Blanchard, Mr 26
Blakely, James .' 66
Blewett, John 67
Blair, C 69
Boyes, R n
Bogart, Rev. J. J 12, 70
Bogart, Rev. D. F 12
Bogart, G 68, 69
Booth, Rev. John 16
Booth, Messrs 44
Bowen's Tavern 18
Bowen, James 18
Bourdonnias, Madame de 61
Bowey, John 69
Brantford 23, 39, 54, 55
Bradshaw, Joseph 26
Brant, Capt. Joseph 39, 55
Bristol. A. S 68
British North America 18
Brewster, Dr 25
Brockville 12
Brown, Rev. Father 15
Brown, Titus F 67
Burgoyne, Gen 55
Burrows, J. J 68
INDEX TO VOLUME ONE. 3
Burrows, Frederick 4, 51
Burn, J. V 47
Calhoun, Sir John 64
Captain violin's Island 17
Cartwright, Hon. Sir Richard 6, u, 40, 70
Cartwright, Richard J 6, II, 14
Cartwright, John S 22
Cartwright Estate 12, 14, 15
Cartwright, Judge 15
Card, Joseph 26
Carson, Robert 13
Carscallen's Burying Ground 21
Carman, T 69
Campbell House 8, 10, 67
Campbell, Alex 10, 23
Campbell, Archibald 10, 17, 66
Campbell, F. W 68
Camden East 72
Camden 26, 41, 46, 71
Canada 5, 14, 17, 18, 24,
26, 30, 31, 38, 45, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55, 72, 73
Canadian Anthology 54
Canada, Western... 56
Canadian Northern Ry 73
Casey, Samuel 19
Casey, Thomas 57
Cataraqui River 5, 30
Cataraqui 51
Cataraqui I,ake 37
Cataraqui Fort 30, 61
Carscallen, George 16
Caton, William 16
Caton, Archibald 66
Caniff, Dr 62
Cayuga Indians 33, 35
Centreville 68, 69, 71, 72, 73
Chamberlain, W. R n
Chamberlain, Dr. Thomas 16
Chamberlain, Dr. Jacob 22, 25
Champlain 50, 51, 61
Chronicle (Kingston) 18
Cholera 27
China 29, 30
Chicago 16
Clark, Robert 5, 40
Clark, John C 8
Clark, John S 13
Clark, Eli 24
4 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Clark, E. C 66
Clark's Mills 72
Clarksville 8, 9, 17, 19, 21, 24, 25, 26
Clearing House, Toronto 45
Clements, S. T 68
Collins— (Millwright) 6
Cook, H. Iv II
Coburg 16
Colborne, Sir John 18
Colebrook ., 42, 46
Connoly, Joseph 43, 44, 47
Connoly, A. A 43, 48
Connoly & Benjamin 44
Connoly, J. C 48, 49
Conger & Sons 27
Cornwall 40
Communion Service of Queen Anne 53
County Fairs 66
Corbett, Thos. A 67
Crawford, Mr 6
Cramer, C. J 20
Crystal Palace , 17, 70
Crysdale, John 67
Culhane, J 9
Culbertson's Wharf 39
Daly, James 4
Davy, B. C n, 68
Davy, Geo. H 10, 68
Davy, Mrs. and the Misses 67
Davis, J. P 69
Davis, T. G 68
Davidson, Rev 12
Daguerean Saloon 66
Dav-say-ronth-you, Capt. John 39, 55
Detlor, S. Mcly n
Detlor, John V 9, 23
Detlor, Wm. V n
Detlor, John McGill 20
Detlor, Geo. H 24, 65, 66
Deseronto 39, 47, 55
Deacons, Rev. Job 17
Dier, Thomas 20
Division Court 24
Dier, Dr 25
Diocesan Registry Office 58
Dowling, R ". ii
Downey, R 20, 68, 69
Downey, G. H 69
INDEX TO VOLUME ONE. ;.
Doty, Rev. John 53
Borland, Captain 59
Douglas, Henry 23
Dunham, Darius 7
Dunham, E. A 23
Dunham, E. F 66
Duan, Mr 67
Duff, Dr 73
Duilerin Base Ball Club 70
Dundas Street 66
Eastern, Robert 23, 67
Ecclesiastical History 49, 60
Edinburgh 16
Emerald 32
Embury, Squire 26
Embury Family 60
Empey, Fletcher 66
Emigrants' Guide to Upper Canada 63
England 43, 53, 54, 59
English Church 21, 46
Enterprise 47, 73
Ernesttown : 32, 57
Esson, Robert 10, 23
Europe 63
Ewart, John 43, 48
Ewart, Peter 44, 47
Fairfield, W. J 19
Fairfield, Benj., sr 56
Farnsworth, Rev. Enos 46
Fell, William 26
Fenelon, Father 33, 34, 36, 37
Fenelon Falls 37
Fenelon Township 37
Federal Bank of Canada 45
Fennell, John n
Fisher, Judge .; 7
Fie, Johnnie 27
Five Nations 51
Flach, Ulysses J 4
Flynn, Thos , n
Forward, Mrs. H. T 4
Forward, Henry T IT, 23, 67, 68
Foot, B 21, 24
Fort Henry 51
Fort Hunter 53
Fond du Lac, Bishop 55
Fralick's Blacksmith Shop , 8
6 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Fralick's Tavern 18, 19
Fralick, W. G 69
Fraser, James 10
Fraser, Abraham 10, 24
Fraser's Military Company 17
Fraser, Davis 67
France 61, 65
Fredericksburgh 32, 64
Frenchman's Bay 34
Freeman, James 44
Freeman & West 44
Frontenac County 11,18, 67
Frontenac, Count 30, 51, 61
Frontenac Lake 37
Funnell, Thomas 27
Gay, Mr 26
Ganneious 34, 35
Ganneraske 34, 36
Gaskin, Mr 67
Gabell, Richard 26
Georgan, Theodore 23
George, Mrs 26
Georgian Bay... , 50
German, C. "S 66
Geddes, H. I/ 69, 70
George IV 18
Gibbard, John 4, n
Givens, Saltern 7, 12
Goderich 9, 24
Gordanier's Tavern 19
Gorden, Willie 26
Gore, Gov. 38
Gore, Arabella 38
Gould, Andrew 67
Grange, Mrs. Alex. W 4
Grange, John 6, 15
Grange, William 6
Grange, John T u, 67
Grange, Thos 16
Grange, Dr. James 23
Grange (Principal of Academy) 27
Grange's Drug Store 9
Grand Trunk Railway 5, 23, 27, 68
Grand River 39, 55
Grape Island 17
Guy, Mr 17
Greenleaf, G. D 66
Grippers, G 63
INDEX TO VOLUME ONE. 7
Haight, Canill , 63
Hall, W. F ii, 47
Ham, B ... 17, 19
Hamilton, Mr 17
Hart, James 26
Harrowsmith 48
Harding, Rev 57
Harris, N 63
Hastings County 17, 24, 38
Hawley, George D 4
Hawley, Davis 16
Hawley, Jehiel 16
Hawley, John 21
Hawley, Jeptha 56, 57
Hawley, Sheldon 57
Hawley Home, Camden 71
Haw, William 13
Hayden, J. S 47
Hay Bay 17, 50, 51, 52 57
Herrington, Walter S 4
Herring, John 6, u, 20
Henry, Alex II 47
Hess, David 16 26
Hesford, Frederick 19
Henry's Bookstore 23
Heck, Barbara 60
Herring, J. K 69
Hillier, John 19
Historical Museum, Napanee 51
Hindi, John 73
Hooper, Augustus 9
Hooper & Roe 47
Hooper, K 68
Hooper, K. J 68
Hosey, Mrs 17
Hospital 27
Howison, John 62
Homes, S. B 67
Holmstead, G. VS 68
Hosey, John 6, 16, 17, 21
Hudson Bay Company 6
Huffman, J. C ~ 11
HiifTman, Isaiah 16, 19
Huffman, John 16
Hungerford 38
Husking Bees 62
Indian Wood 18
Ireland... T2
8 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Iroquois Indians 51
Iroquois, Lake of the 37
James, Charles n, 24
Janes, Samuel < 26
Jarvis, Rev. Canon 4, 49
Jeffers, Rev 16
Jenkins, Edward 21
Jesuit Fathers 50, 52
Johnston, H. H 13
John Street 66
Joy, Wilder II
Kaladar 24
Kemp, Mr 67
Kente, Lac de 33
Kente Village 33
Kente Mission 34, 35, 37
Kente Bay 35
Kesler, Peter .... 26
Kesler, Mr. Jacob 6, 15, 21, 22
Kellog, S 63, 64
Kingston 5, 7, 16, 18, 19, 24, 30, 31,
40, 44, 45, 48, 51, 52, 56, 59, 65, 67, 69, 72
Kingston Road 16
Kingston & Pembroke Ry 48
Kimmerly, John 19
Knight, Rev. Dr 55
La Chine 30, 33, 55
Lane, C n
Lamb, Thos 23
Lambeth 54
Lancaster, Pa 55
Langhorn, Rev. John 56, 57, 58, 59, 60
Langhorn Registers 59
Lamphier, Wm 67
Lapum, James N 72
Lander, Win. B 12
La Salle 29, 30, 61
La Salle, Fort 31
Lennox and Addington...5, u, 18, 19, 23, 35, 56, 67
Lennox and Addington Rifle Association 69
Leonard, Father 15
Leyburn Hall 45
Levburn 45
Little Creek 18
Lieutenant-Governor 22
Lister, Mr 67
INDEX TO VOLUME ONE. 9
Local Names, Origin of 29
Lochhead, J. S 71, 72, 73
Logging Parties 62
Long, George 16
Long Reach 17
Lott, Mr 44
London, Eng 45
Losee Family 60
Lowe, Joe 19
Lowe, Richard 19, 20
Lower Canada 53
Loyst, Andrew 18
Mabee, Squire 27
Macdonald, Alexander 4
Macdonald, John A 7, 16, 67, 70
Macdowell, Rev. Mr 14
MacKay, Alex 23
Mackenzie, Wm. Lyon 10
Madden, D. B 13
Madden, W 69
Malloy, THos 69
Maley & Fraser 24
Margach, Alex 20, 65
Markland, Mr 18
Marysburgh 32
Massassaga Indians 17
Masonic Lodge 12
Matthews, Edward 21
Meacham, G. M 13
Methodist Missionaries 17
Methodism 26, 46, 60, 71, 72, 73
Merchants Bank 47
Miller, Wm u, 23, 68
Miller, C. R , n
Miller, Gilbert 12
Miller, George 43, 44, 46
Miller, Garrett 43
Miller, Anthony 43
Miller, Peter 70
Miller,- John S.. 72
Miller Home, Camden 71
Mill Point 17, 39
Mill Street 20
Mill Creek 65
Mills, F 69
Mills, C. W 69
Mink, Tobias 20
Mink's Bridge 20
10 LENNOX AND ADBIXGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Mink, Hiram 20
Midland District 26
Midland District Agricultural vSociety 65
Mississippi River 29, 30
Millliaven 30
Military College 30
Milligan Home, Camden 71
Mohawk Valley 53, 55
Mohawk Bay 57
Mohawk Churches 57
Mohawks 7, 12, 39, 53, 54, 55
Montreal 5, 7, 18, 33, 43, 45, 61, 68
Montreal Bank 16, 45
Montcalm 31
Munro, W 68
Morris, F. A 66
Morse, K. A 66
Morse, F. W 67
Morcien, A. L 69, 70
Morgan's Band 7°
Morden, A. I, , n
Morgan, Charles H 16
Moira, Earl of 38
Moira River 38
Moscow 45, 46
Moore, H. E '. 69
Mowat, Prof 14
Muckleston, Rev. W. J 46
Mucl I.ake 71
McAllister, Joseph 69
McAuley, Mr 18
McBean, C 21
McBride, Daniel 66
McCullough, Wm 13
McCoy, Samuel 16, 26
McCoy, Coleman , 25
McCoy, Matthew 26
McCoy, George 69
McCarron, Neil 27
McCracker, Mrs 67
McDonald, Capt 6
McDowall, Rev 22, 60
McDonald, George 44
McGilvary, Win IT
McGreer," Charles 16
McGregor, Mr 19
McOuin. J. B 68
McOillivarv. Win... 68
INDEX TO VOLUME ONE. 11
McGinnis, Robt 69
McGuinness, Robert 21
McHenry, Donald C 19
McKiin, C. S . 72
McLaren, Rev. Mr 14
McLaren, Henry 17
McMullen, William.....' 10
McMullen, Hugh 26
McMillan's Dancing Academy 68
McNeill, Mrs ." 17
McNeill, Archibald 8, 9, 16, 17, 19, 24
McPherson, Allan 6, 7, 18, 19, 23, 66
McPherson, Donald 7, 10, 16
McPherson, James 16
McQuade, Dr. M. A 48
McVicker, Rev. Dr 14
McVean, Alexander 43, 44, 45
Napanee... 5. 6, 7, 8, 10, n, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 34, 35,
40, 41, 47, 51, 56, 57, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69
Napanee Fairs 22, 67
Napanee River 41, 50
Napanee, Tarn worth and Quebec Ry 47
Napanee & Western Ry 48
Napanee Club Library 66
Napanee Cricket Club 68, 69
Napanee Dramatic Club 69
Napanee Band 7°
Napanee Mills 70
Napier, Willie 27
Newburgh 20, 68, 69, 73
New Liverpool 21
New France 50
New England 52
New Brunswick 53
New York State 53
Neilspn, Mr , 24
Niagara 55, 56
Nipissing, Lake 50
Nichols, Levi W 20
Norfolk, County 45
North Fredericksburgh 16
Northumberland County 13
Northumberland, Eng 14
Oarfield, Mr , 15
O'Connell, T. F 69
Odessa ., 44, 45, 68, 69
12 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Oliver, Frederick A ... 66
Oldham, J. H. (Dr.) 48
O'Loughlin, B. S 48, 49
O'Loughlin, Rev. Anthony J 47
Old Red Tavern 25
Ontario 36
Ontario, Lake 31, n~ 53, 61
Ontario Legislature 23
Ontario Historical Society v 59
Oshawa 13
Ottawa 13, 51
Ottawa River 50
Pacific Ocean 29
Pan American Conference 53
Paris, Treaty of 52
Parker, Sir Gilbert 52, 73
Parrish, William 24
Perry, Peter 19
Perry, E 19
Perry's Plaster Mill 22
Perry, James II, 20
Perth 46
Pekin 45
Peter's Mills 41
Peterson, Christian 57
Petrolia 24
Phelan, J 70
Phoney, Pat 17
Phillips, Prof -. 14
Pickering 34
Picton 12, 10, 24, 69
Piety Hill 7, 17, 23
Port Hope 15, 19, 34, 36, 40
Potash 42
Port Burwell 23
Presbyterian Church Canada 14. 60, 73
Prescott 12, 26
Pringle, D 9
Prince Edward County 17, 32, 33
Pringle, Alex ... 18
Prior, Mr , 24
Pruyn , J . V 69
Quintie, Bay of 5, 17, 32, 35, 39, 53, 61
Quebec, Citv 67
Ouebec, Province of 57
Ouackenbush, Jacob 20
Omckenbnsh. Peter. . 20
INDEX TO VOLUME ONE. 13
Radcliffe, Rev 16
Radcliffe, Rev. C. E. S 47
Raising Bees 62
Ramsey, Mr. Thomas 9, 17, 19
Ranory, W. S 67
Rathbun, K. W 47, 48, 69
Rawden 38
Rennie Cottage 16
Rennie Block - 23
Red Tavern 17, 21
Recolet Fathers 50, 52, 60
Richmond Tp 5, 7, 9, 10, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 65
Richardson, Bishop 14
Richardson, Jas. & Son 44
Richardson, Mrs. J. S 69
Richardson, F. S 69
Rice Lake 17
Roblin, David A 9, 23, 66, 68, 69
Robl'in, J. P 18
Roblin's Hill 35
Roblin, M. P 68
Robinson, Richard ' 19
Robinson, Thomas 19
Robinson, Mrs. J. S 69
Robertson, T. J 69
Rogers, M. T IT, 68
Rockburg 46
Roe, Alex 47
Roman Catholic Church, St. Mary's 15, 70
Roman Catholic Church ". 71, 72
Roman Catholic Mission 51
Rogue's Hollow 65
Ross, Wm ii
Royal Society of Canada 57
Ruttan, Dr 26
Saber, J. W 67
Saguenay River 51
Sand Hill 21
Sand Banks 33, 35
Sandhurst 25, 57
Sagonaska 38
St. Mary Magdalene Church u, 12, 48, 58
St. Mary's R. C. Church 70
St. Lawrence 30, 31, 43, 53
St. Louis, Lake 37
St. Andrew's Church, Yarker 46, 47
St. John's Church, Bath *6, 57
St. Paul's Church, Fredericksburo-h 57
14 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
St. Paul's Church, Toronto 12
Schermahorn, Asa... 19
Schermahorn, Amos 19, 66, 67
Schermahorn, Henry 26
Schryver, George 21, 27
Scott, Wm 13
Scott, Rev. John 14
Scott, Samuel 44
Scott, John R 47
Schnectady, N.Y 53
Seymour, B 19
Sexsmith, George 67
Second Township 56
Shaw, Samuel R 26, 66
Sherwood, H. B 48
Shorey, David 57
Shorey Home, Camden 71
Shorey, Miles 9, 20
Sheffield 18
Shortt, Prof 33, 52
Shibley, John A •. 43, 45
Shibley, Jessy 67
Shannon, Henry 67
Silver Leaf Base Ball Club 69
Simmons Mills 65
Simcoe, Lake 36
Simcoe, Gov 36, 41, 42, 43
Simcoe Falls 42, 43, 45, 48
Simcoe, Henry A 42, 43
Simcoe 45
Simpson, G 12
Shirley, Rev. Paul r 46
Sketches of Upper Canada 62
Skating Arena, Napanee 69
Smith, F. W 68
Smith (Blacksmith^ 6
Snider, Charles 67
Slight, B 13
South Fredericksburgh 25
Sorell, Que 53
Sophiasburg 32
Stevenson, John 9, u, 12, 23, 26, 44, 68
Stevenson, G. A 69
Stone, S. G 13
Stewart and Ramsey 23
Stewart, Rev. John". 5" 56, 57
Stewart, Rev. Geo. O'Kill 56
Stuart, C 63
Stalker, Alex 27
INDEX TO VOLUME ONE. 15
Spencer, Ezra A 13
Spencer, Hazelton 57
Sutherland, Daniel 18
Sugaring off Parties 62
Sutherland, Mr 67
Switzer Home, Camden 71
Switzer, Dr..... 73
Sweeney, J 69
Sydenham 45, 47
Tamworth 19, 47, 73
Teyoyagon 36
Tichborne House 9
Tilley 70
Tobey, S 69
Toronto 5, 12, 18, 36, 45, 68
Toronto University 14
Town Hall, Napanee 14, 68
Trimble, T 70
Trinity College 12
Trinity Methodist Church 35
Tremaine, Geo. C 66
Troublers Base Ball Club 70
Tuttle, Bradford 21
Tuttle, Mr 27
Tweed 24, 47
Tyendinaga 18, 39, 54, 55
Tyonderoga 55
Upper Canada 30, 41, 56, 57, 67
United Empire Loyalists 5, 52, 53, 54, 55, 62
United States , 5, 18
Vader, David 43, 44
Vance, Wm 45
VanLuven, Peter 44, 47
VanLuven, Alphaeus 43, 46
Vankoughnet, Mary 21
Varty Lake 42
Victoria, Queen 8, 10
Victoria College , 13
Victoria Countv 37
Vrooman Home, Camden 71
Wagar Home, Camden 71
Walker, Sir Edmund 67
Warner, Clarance M 4, 61
Warner, Sidney 20, 42, 43, 68
Walker, H. S ,.. 47
16 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Washington, George 52
War 1812-14 59
Watt, John 47
Weese Home, Camden 71
West Lake 33
Wellington Village 33
Weller's Bay 33
West, James H 44
Wensley Parish 45
Weston, Mr 67
Webster, J 69
Wesleyan Church 12, 72
Whitcomb, M. C .. 68
White Church 13
Whalen's Corners 71
Whalen, John 71, 72
Whalen Home, Camden 71
Wilson, Uriah { 4
Wilson, George 23
Wilson, Robert 27
Wilson, Mr 27
Wilson, James 66
Wilkison, W. H 68, 70
Williams, W. S n, 47
Williams, Mr 67
Wilton 42, 46, 68, 69
Woodcock, Rev. F. D 47
Woodcock, Nicholas 57
Woodmucket 44
Wolfe, Gen 31, 32
Wolfe Island 31
Wright, Paul ; 20, 23
Wright, Wm 24
Wright's Saw Mill 26
Wright, R. G 69
Yarker <i, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47
Yarker, George W 45, 46
Yarker, Robert 45
Yarker, James S 46
Yates, Abel 69
York 18, 41
York Road 65, 66
Yorkshire 45
Young, Peter Lampman 57
LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
PAPERS AND RECORDS.
VOL. II.
PRICE, 25 CENTS.
NAPANEE:
PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 1910.
PRINTED AT THE BEAVER OFFICE.
"THE ADDINGTON ARMS."
'THE LENNOX ARMS."
CONTENTS.
Page The Town of Napanee in 1874 Frontispiece
The Lennox and Addington Arms 2
Chronology 4
Programmes of Public Meetings 5
Early Education, by Frederick Burrows 7
A Story of the Rear of Addington County, by
Paul Stein 14
John Thomson, Inventor of a Process for
Making Wood Pulp, by C. M. Warner.... 21
Newburgh, by Geo. Anson Aylesworth 26
The First Telegraph Office in Napanee, by Mrs.
John Perry Hawley 37
Copies of Original Documents from the Collec- tion of the Society 4°
1. In Memoriam— B. C. Davy, Esq. (1874).
2. Assignment of a Slave (1824).
3. School Teacher's Contract (1818).
4. Proceedings of the Napanee Club
Library (1853).
5. Programme of Procession when Corner
Stone of the Market Hall was laid (1856).
6. Montreal's Invitation to Celebrate the
Completion of Grand Trunk Railway between Montreal and Toronto
(1856).
7. Railway Pass to Attend the Above Celebration (1856).
Index 51
CHRONOLOGY.
Society Organized May 9th, 1907
Constitution Adopted June nth, 1907
First Open Meeting held Oct. 25th, 1907
Affiliated with the Ontario Historical
Society March 3ist, 1908
Published Volume I. of Records and
Papers June I2th, 1909
OFFICERS SINCE ORGANIZATION. Honorary Presidents —
Rev. Canon Jarvis 1907-8
*John Gibbard, Esq 1907
James Daly, Esq 1908-9-10
Walter Stevens Herrington, Esq... 1909-10
Presidents —
Clarance M. Warner 1907-8-9-10
Vice-Presidents —
Mrs. Alexander W. Grange 1907-8-9-10
Secretary-Treasurer —
Ulysses J. Flach, Esq 1907-8-9-10
Executive Committee —
Mrs. H. T. Forward 1907-8-9-10
Mr. Frederick Burrows 1907-8-9-10
Mr. Uriah Wilson, M.P 1907-8-9-10
Mr. George D. Hawley 1907-8-9-10
Rev. Alexander Macdonald 1907-8-9-10
^Deceased.
PROGRAMMES OF PUBLIC MEETINGS.
The Society has held twenty-two public meet- ings since its organization. A list of the pro- grammes presented is given below. All of the meetings have been free to the general public :—
Oct. 25th, 1907 :— "A Trip to the Coast," by Mrs. A. Macdonald. "Canadian Historical Socie- ties," by Mr. Barlow Cumberland.
Dec. 27th, 1907 : — "The First Visits of Europ- eans to the Vicinity of Kingston and the Bay of Quinte," by Prof. Adam Shortt.
Jan. 3ist, 1908 : — "Yarker and Vicinity," by Mr. E. R. Checkley. "The Early History of Prince Edward Island," by Miss Chauncey Tocque. "The Origin of Some Local Names," by Mr. W. S. Her- rington.
Feb'y 28th, 1908 :— "Some Notes of Early Ecclesiastical History," by Rev. Canon Jarvis. "Memories of Spain," by Mrs. J. Conger Allen. "Crysler's Farm," by Miss Jessie Crysler.
March 2oth, 1908 : — "Some Early Amusements of the County," by Mr. C. M. Warner. "The Mak- ing of the Province," by Mr. C. C. James.
May 15th, 1908 :— "Champlain," by Mr. W. S. Herrington. "Early History of Canada as Exem- plified by Visitors at Niagara," by Miss Janet Carnochan.
Oct. 3oth, 1908 :— "The Making of the Empire," by Prof. C. F. Lavell.
Nov. 27th, 1908 :— "Sir Walter Raleigh," by Prof. J. L. Morrison.
Dec. 29th, 1908 : — "Ottawa, its Parliament and Some of the Customs and Habits," by Mr. E. W.
Grange. "The Heroines of Canadian History," by Mr. W. vS. Herrington.
Jan. 29th, 1909 : — "Some Causes of the Present Discontent in India," by Prof. Alexander Laird.
Feb. 1 2th, 1909 :— "London in the Eighteenth Century," by Prof. J. L. Morrison.
March I9th, 1909 :— "England in the Days of King Alfred," by Prof. L. E. Horning.
April isth, 1909 :— "The Ice Age," by Prof. A. P. Coleman.
May 6th, 1909 :— "The Catacombs," by Prof. E. F. Scott.
Oct. 29th, 1909 :— Address, by Mr. Barlow Cum- berland. "The Liberation of Italy," by Prof. C. F. Lavell.
Nov. I9th, 1909 :— "Early Education," by Mr. Frederick Burrows. "British North America," by Col. William N. Ponton.
Dec. 1 6th, 1909 : — "John Thomson, Inventor of a Process for Making Wood Pulp," by Mr. C. M. Warner. "The Martyrs of New France," by Mr. W. S. Herrington.
Jan. 2ist, 1910 : — "Early Methodism in These Parts," by Rev. G. W. McCall. "The Elements of Our National Life," by Prof. A. E. Lang.
Feb'y nth, 1910 :— "A Story of the Rear of Addington County," by Mr. Paul Stein. "The Ger- man Empire and Its People," by Prof. G. H. Needier.
March iyth, 1910 :— "Ireland and the Irish Ques- tion," by Prof. J. L. Morrison.
April I5th, 1910 :— "St. Francis of Assisi," by Prof. E. J. Kylie.
May I3th, 1910 :— "A French Canadian Vil- lage," by Prof. George M. Wrong.
EARLY EDUCATION.
BY FREDERICK BURROWS.
As nothing was done in the way of legislation, or public money grants, to encourage elementary education in this Province until 1816, or over thirty years from the first British Settlements, it may be seen that no official documentary history relating to elementary schools can exist for this long period.
It is, however, known that prior to 1816, many elementary schools were established on a purely voluntary system by the intelligent and public- spirited settlers in this County and elsewhere in this Province. A desire to see their children educated at least in the three R's shewed itself very early ; and in settlements sufficiently large to support schools on the voluntary principle, log school houses with rude furnishings were erected and teachers employed for a small fee from each pupil, a,nd boarded around. Books were scarce, and were often shoved along the class for each pupil to get his lesson.
In the sparsely settled districts an occasional peripatetic teacher went from house to house, where the children congregated, to give lessons. But in those early days, and for years after, there were many children of whom it might be said : —
"But knowledge to their eyes her ample page Rich with the spoils cf time did ne'er unroll, Chill penury repressed their noble rage, And froze the g'enial current of the soul."
The names of three teachers have come down to us from the time of the early settlement in this County. In 1786 Mr. J. Clarke taught a school in Fredericksburgh. A tablet in the Education De- partment informs the reader that the first school opened in this Province was in Fredericksburgh, and persuniably by this Mr. Clarke.
I find in the History of Dundas County that a person of the same name, and likely the same per- son, after teaching two years in the Bay of Quinte District, went to Matilda on the invitation of one Captain Fraser, and opened the first school in Dundas County in 1788. After teaching several places in Matilda, and winning universal respect,
8 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
he settled on a farm bought for him by Captain Fraser for $100.00. He was a native of Scotland, and doubtless a fine sample of the products of the Parish Schools founded by Knox. His son, Major Clarke, was long ;a distinguished citizen of Dundas.
Just where this first school in the Province was located appears to be in doubt, but is is supposed in Clarksville, where Napanee began after the erec- tion of the first grist mill. Subsequently, about 1814, a school was started in what was then known as Section No. 2, Richmond, the school house standing near the old elm tree at the railway bridge. This was the first school on the west side of the river in Napanee. A good many of the old people remember this school, in which John Newton and Dr. Grange were teachers over sixty years ago.
A Mr. Smith opened a school in Hrnesttown in the same year, 1786, so there may be some doubt as to priority of claim for the first school. This first school in Krnesttown, I was informed by the late P. M. Clarke, was situated near where the present school house of No. 4, Krnesttown, stands, west of Collin's Bay.
In 1789, a Mr. Lyons kept school in Adolphus- town, very probably at the village.
It would seem with regard to those two educa- tional pioneers, (Messrs. Smith and Lyons), that nothing beyond their names have been transmitted to posterity. Let us believe that their names have been embalmed in memory on account of special merit as early educators.
In 1816 the first legislative effort was made, after much petitioning, to establish elementary or common schools in this Province. This Act, known as an Act granting to His Majesty a sum of money to be applied to the use of Common Schools, and to provide for the organization of said Common Schools. The sum of $24,000 was to be divided, as the Lieutenant-Governor might direct, among said schools as were established by law, and in no case was any school to receive more than $100.00, and no school could participate in the grants if the attendance was less than 20. No authority to levy rates was conferred by this Act. Indeed, it was not until 1841 that such authority was given to Trus- tees. Anything beyond the grant had to be raised by voluntary subscription. The inhabitants of each school district were authorized to elect three fit and discreet persons as Trustees, and the Trustees were
EARLY EDUCATION. 9
to be the sole judges of the moral and mental fit- ness of the teacher. They were authorized to, make such regulations for the management and discipline of their school as they might deem necessary. The teacher must be a British subject — great dread being entertained of Americans introducing republican principles.
For three subsequent years this grant of $24,000 was repeated, to the great encouragement of early educational efforts ; but in 1820 it was reduced to $10,000, in consequence of which many schools were closed. The majority of the people's representa- tives in the Legislative Assembly loudly protested against this reduction by the irresponsible govern- ment of the day, declaring in their report that it would inflict grievous hardship on many worthy and unworthy teachers.
Then began a fierce political struggle between the representatives of the people in the Legislative Assembly and the irresponsible oligarchy, better known as the Family Compact, who composed the Executive and Legislative Councils. Bill after bill was prepared by the Legislative Assembly for the betterment of Common Schools, only to be rejected by the Legislative Council.
This struggle continued until the union of the Provinces, when responsible government was grant- ed, and popular education received an impulse which has resulted in the magnificent system which has placed our Province in the first rank for educa- tional development and facilities for instruction in every department of human knowledge.
As indicating the state of elementary education during this period (1820-1841) I quote from the preamble of a motion introduced in the House of Assembly in 1831 by Dr. Buncombe, a staunch and zealous advocate of popular education : "That there is in this Province a very general want of education, that the insufficiency of the Common School Fund to support respectable and well educated teachers has degraded Common School teaching from a regular business to the mere matter of convenience to transient persons, or common idlers, who often stay but for one season and leave the schools vacant until they accommodate some other like person, whereby the minds of the youth of this Province are left without due cultivation, or what is worse, frequently with vulgar, low-bred, vicious and intemperate examples before them in
10 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
the persons of their teachers." In a subsequent report it is stated : "That the Common Schools of this Province are generally in so deplorable a state that they scarcely deserve the name of schools."
So far as elementary education was concerned, these conditions continued until 1841, when, with the union of the Provinces and the advent of respon- sible government, a more comprehensive education Act was passed, giving authority to Common School Trustees to levy taxes for the erection of school buildings, the payment of teachers, etc. The legislative grant was increased to $200,000, half to each Province, a very large sum, having regard to the limited resources of the Provinces at that time.
This Act was followed by the improved Act of 1843, and the appointment of the famous Dr. Ryerson as Chief Superintendent, when elementary schools gradually took the form and character that we older members of the community recollect as the schools of our youth.
But we may well believe that it took many years to overcome the apathy and depressed public spirit regarding education engendered by want of proper support and encouragement during the long period of mal government, and consequent turmoil.
I have talked with some of our octogenarians in regard to their early school days dating back to the period before 1841, and their testimony amply verifies all that was said by Dr. Duncombe, and others, in the House of Assembly as to educational conditions of that period. The school houses were generally wretched, ill ventilated hovels, with rude and uncomfortable furnishings — boards fastened to the walls like shelves for desks — hifh seats without backs from which the feet of the younger children dangled like Mahomet's cofEn between heaven and earth.
Proper appliances for efficient instruction were but rarely found. The teachers, generally, were mere hearers of tasks and often brutal in their discipline, never appealing to any motive for obedience but the fear of punishment.
"A man severe he was and stern to view, I knew him well, and every truant knew, Well had the boding tremblers learned to trace The day's disasters in his morning1 face ; Full well the busy whisper circling- round Conveyed the dismal tidings when he frowned."
I may say, however, that this old style teacher
EARLY EDUCATION. 11
continued for many years after this period ; in fact I found him in this County in 1871.
That some of those early "dominies" were well educated, and gave excellent service in the cause of early education there can be no doubt ; but the most of them were in marked contrast to the well dressed, well educated, refined and courteous teach- ers of the present day. I may add that in those early days female teachers with their refining influence were rarely found.
You will doubtless wonder why there should have been such persistent opposition to elementary education on the part of the administrative and responsible section of our early parliaments. The fact must be confessed that the early Governors, and the majority of the gentlemen — appointees of the Governors — who composed the Executive and Legislative Councils, although well educated them- selves, were averse to the education of the masses. They honestly believed that popular education would lead to sedition and discontent.
The policy of the early Governors beginning with Simcoe, the first one after the passing of the Constitutional Act of 1791, was to have a State Church, a University connected therewith, and a few Classical Schools as feeders of the University — all to be endowed from Crown Lands. This, they felt, would amply meet the intellectual, moral and spiritual needs of the people.
Accordingly, we find the I/egislature in 1797 memorializing the King to appropriate a certain portion of the lands of the Crown for higher educa- tion. To this request the King gave his gracious consent.
Dr. Hodgins, in his Documentary History, aptly calls this policy of establishing higher institutions of learning before providing for elementary schools, an educational anomaly — an anachronism beginning at the apex and working down to the base.
In 1807, or nine years before any attempt was made to foster elementary schools, an Act was passed to establish a Grammar School in each of the eight districts into which the Province was then divided. By this Act five Trustees were to be appointed by the Governor for each district, and the Trustees were to nominate a fit and discreet person as teacher for appointment by the Governor. Thus began the system of secondary education, which has culminated in the many admirable and
12 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
efficient High Schools and Collegiate Institutes that we have now in this Province.
In 1828 Upper Canada College was founded to accommodate the sons of the Family Compact and their friends living in and around Toronto. It was modeled after the great Public Schools of England, and endowed with a grant of 66,000 acres of public lands.
The most interesting classical school in this County, historically considered, was the Bath Academy, first known as the Ernesttown Academy. As Kingston became the centre for the Grammar School of the Midland District in 1807, the enter- prising and public spirited citizens of Bath and its neighborhood decided to have a classical school of their own. A site of over half an acre was bought from Peter Davy, and a suitable building erected in 1811 by public subscription. The Trustees, to whom the land was conveyed, were Rev. Robert McDowell, William Fairfield, Benjamin Fairfield, Stephen Fairfield, Solomon Johns, William Wil- cocks, Samuel Neilson, George Baker and William McKee. I like to give these names, as they are the only ones that have come down to us in connection with the founding of this early and interesting seat of learning.
The first teacher was Mr. Barnabas Bidwell, a fine scholarly gentleman from the States, and father of the eloquent and progressive Marshal S. Bidwell, who figured so conspicuously in the Legis- lative Assembly for many years. He received his education under his father in Bath Academy.
Among the many worthy successors of Barnabas Bidwell the most noted was Rev. John Stoughton, during whose time the Academy was endowed with 300 acres of land in the First Concession of Ernest- town, in recognition of the higli educational work it was doing.
In 1834 the Bath School Societv was incorpor- ated "by Act of Parliament, and put in charge of the Academy. This Act is quoted in full by Dr. Hodgins in his second volume of Documentary History. One of the sections of this Act inserted by the Legislative Council when the Bill was sent up for approval, is curious as showing* how anxious they were to keep out any un-British element in educational work.
It reads as follows : "No person shall be eligible to the office of President, Secretary or Trus-
EARLY EDUCATION, 13
tee in said Society, or be capable of being chosen to be a teacher in any school or Academy under their superintendence who is not a natural born subject of His Majesty, or a subject naturalized by Act of the British Parliament or by an Act of the Legisla- ture of this Province."
Bath Academy was for many years a keen rival of the District Grammar School at Kingston, and turned out many excellent scholars who became leading men in various parts of the Province.
Among its Alumni, in addition to Hon. M. S. Bidwell, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and his able colleague, Peter Perry, may be mentioned Christopher Hagerman, Attorney-General.
It is said that Sir J. A. Macdonald also attend- ed this Academy, but of this there is some doubt.
Although not in the scope of this paper, which is intended to deal with educational conditions prior to the union of the Provinces, I may mention for the sake of local interest that the Napanee Academy was started in 1846 in a wooden building on a lot just behind the Western Methodist Church. The first headmaster was Rev. J. A. Devine, M.A., and the first Trustees were Rev. S. Givens, Alex. Campbell arid J. V. Detlor. In 1864 the West Ward School building was erected to accommodate both the High and Common Schools. It was built by Mr. John Herring at the contract price of $7,950.
The Newburgh Academy was founded about 1841, and became famous throughout the Midland District as a seat of learning, especially under its noted headmasters, Mr. Beach, Dr. Nelles, after- wards head of Victoria College, and John Campbell.
I now close with a poem which may call up reminiscences with some of us. Its author, it seems, is one of that brilliant throng designated "Anon."
THE OLD SCHOOL HOUSE.
It stood on a bleak country corner, The houses were distant, and few ;
A meadow lay back in the distance, Beyond rose the hills to our view.
The roads crossing there at right angles,
Untraversed by pomp and array, Were cropt by the cows in the summer,
I've watched them there many a day.
In memory's hall, hangs the picture, And years of sad care are between ;
It hangs with a beautiful gilding, And well do I love it, I ween.
14 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
It stood on a bleak country corner,
But boyhood's young heart made it warm,
It glowed in the sunshine of summer, 'Twas cheerful in winter, and storm.
The teacher, O ! well, I remember,
My heart has1 long kept him in place,
Perhaps by the world he's forgotten, His memory no touch can efface.
He met us, with smiles, on the threshold, And in that rude temple of art,
He left with the skill of a workman,
His touch on the mind, and the heart.
Oh ! gay were the sports of the noontide, When winter winds frolicked with snow ;
We laughed at the freaks of the Storm King And shouted him on, all aglow.
We flashed at his beautiful sculpture,
Regardless of all its array ; We plunged in the feathery snow drifts,
And sported the winter away.
We sat on the old-fashioned benches, Beguiled with our pencil and slate,
We thought of the opening future
And dreamed of our manhood's estate.
I cast a fond glance o'er the meadow, The hills just beyond it, I see,
Away in the charm of the distance —
Old School House, a blessing on thee.
A STORY OF THE REAR OF ADDINGTON COUNTY.
BY PAUL STEIN.
Up to about the year 1855 nearly all the lands in the rear of Addington County from Cloyne northward, were covered with primeval forests, which had never been injured by fire, and only in some places had the lumbermen commenced to cut and remove the best of pine timber for export.
The timber consisted, and what is left of it still consists of pine, spruce, tamarac, balsam, basswood, maple, beech, birch, ash, elm, cedar, etc.
The character of the soil is variable, but con- sists chiefly of sandy loam ; in some places very light, or shallow and stony, and when cleared only suitable for pasture. Some tracts of considerable extent are entirely unfit for cultivation, being either
A STORY OF THE REAR OF ADDINGTON COUNTY. 15
too rocky and mountainous, or consisting of swamps and marshes, part of which could be re- claimed by underdraining. The country is except- ionally well watered with lakes, creeks and springs, which contain pure and clear water, and the lakes are stocked with fish of various kinds. Deer and furbearing animals were very plentiful w^hen the first settlers arrived here, but of late game of all kinds is getting rather scarce.
In or about the year 1856, the Addington Col- onization road was constructed by the Government of Upper Canada, under the supervision of Mr. Ebenezer Perry, of Tamworth, with a view to open the northern part of Addington County for settle- ment, and to encourage settlers to locate there. Crown lands in the Townships thus opened were offered for sale at one dollar per acre, with the ex- ception of those lots immediately adjoining the Addington road, which were given as free grants to actual settlers.
The first settlers who located in the Township of Abinger came from Leeds County in 1856-7. Among them were Chas. M. Kenyon, A. P. and Wm. Wickware, David and Klisha Mallory and their sons, Hugh Grant, David I/evingston, Wm. I/eving- ston, etc.
The first settlers who took up homesteads in the Township of Denbigh arrived shortly after and were chiefly from the County of Prince Edward. They were Isaac Cranshaw, Robert Conner, George W. Sweetnam, A. Cruikshank, David Switzer, John Burns, J. Reid, J. Peck, and probably a few others.
In order to attract German immigrants to Upper Canada the Government had issued some German literature, which was distributed by Im- migration Agents in Germany, in which the newly opened districts adjoining the Frontenac, Adding- ton and Hastings Colonization roads were very favorably described and recommended for settlers with limited means.
One of those pamphlets fell into the hands of two neighbors in the Prussian Province of Silesia, who were at once very favorably impressed with the statement that they could get each one hundred acres of good land, which, when cleared, would grow every kind of farm produce that was raised in their own native province for nothing, and though they were not practical farmers, for one of them, Charles Newman, was a distiller, and was foreman
16 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
in a distillery, and the other, August John, was a miller who had only a small grist mill rented, they decided to try their luck in Canada. Crossing the Atlantic in the 50 's in the steerage of an immigrant sailing vessel, in which they had to furnish their own provisions, bedding, etc., for a trip lasting from seven to ten weeks, and in one case with smallpox and no physician on board ship thirteen weeks, was no trifle, but they landed safely in Que- bec, reached Napanee, where they with the assist- ance of a country man, who acted as their interpre- ter, purchased the necessary supplies and engaged a couple of teams which brought them to their des- tination in Denbigh Township in the summer of 1858. They took possession of and located on ad- joining lots on the Addington road, built, with the help of a few neighbors, a log shanty large enough to hold both families and all their possessions, and went to work with a will to clear yet a little land for a late crop of turnips and some other roots. They were the first pioneers of what was for years afterwards known as the German or "Dutch" Settlement. But they were destined to meet with a very serious misfortune. Intending to acquire a cow, they all, men, women and children, left their .shanty one morning in the early fall to cut some hay in Beaver meadow, quite a distance from it. While thus engaged, they happened to look towards their habitation and noticed a heavy column of smoke rising in that direction. Hurrying home they found their dwelling with all contents a mass of flames, out of which they were not able to save a particle, and had nothing left but their poorest clothes they had dressed themselves with in the morning. A pitiful situation for anyone, but how much more so for those two families with a couple of little children each, in a strange country, in a forest away from all civilization ! After consult- ing what to do next, Mr. Newman decided to re- main, and to try his luck in trapping and hunting, while Mr. John preferred to move with his family to Bridgewater, where both he and his wife found employment. In the following spring they returned to their homestead and built a small log cabin for themselves. In 1860 and 1861 several other German families joined them, and they began to feel more at home. They labored, however, under many ser- ious disadvantages. Their nearest postoffice for instance was at Perry's Mills, and afterwards at
A STORY OP THE REAR OF ADDINGTON COUNTY. 17
Hardinge, in the Township of Barrie, a distance of over twenty miles. In 1863 Denbigh postoflice was established, with David Hughs as postmaster, and Gotthard Radel as the first mail carrier, who had to carry H. M. mail on foot, there being as yet no horses in the settlement. Another great disadvant- age was the want of a grist mill, the nearest one then being at Bridgewater. Later on another one was built at Rockingham, in Renfrew County, and another one in Plevna, in the County of Frontenac ; but either of them was over twenty-five miles from the Settlement, and as teams of any kind were scarce, it was no uncommon occurrence that the happy possessor of a horse or of a yoke of oxen would demand from his neighbor who was not so fortunate, one bushel of wheat for taking another bushel to the mill for him to get it ground.
Another drawback for the settlers was the diffi- culty of obtaining supplies. There were no stores in the vicinity, and no road as yet to Renfrew, and nearly all the trading for a number of years was done in Napanee. The first small store was started by Chas. M. Kenyon, near the head of Massanoga Lake, but his stock was very limited at first.
About the year 1859 Washington Mallory built a small saw mill in Abinger Township, and a few years later Elisha Mallory ; purchased lot No. 20, in the 8th con. of the Township of Denbigh, on which another mill site was situate, which Mr. Mallory improved, and on which he erected another saw mill, so that the settlers were able to obtain all the lumber they required for their building opera- tions.
Several other settlers had squatted on adjoining lots of Government land near Cedar Lake, and a small frame church had been built for Protestant worshippers on an, acre of land donated by K. Mal- lory. The little settlement was first known as the Cedar Lake Settlement. In 1867 Messrs. Charles Stein and Paul Stein, then residing on a farm in the Township of Richmond, bought from K. Mallory the land containing the saw mill and mill site, and in the following year built a gristmill on it, which had only one run of Buhr stones and the necessary bolting and cleaning machinery, but was well patronized and appreciated by all settlers in the vicinity. A few years afterwards the little saw mill was torn down and a larger one built by Paul Stein, with better machinery and a greater capa-
18 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
city. Mr. John Mallory opened a little general store near by, which soon after passed over to Mr. Samuel Lane, who was appointed postmaster. An- other store, a blacksmith shop and a public house were built, and Cedar Lake Settlement gradually ceased to exist and Denbigh Village took its place.
In 1882 the gristmill was found to be inadequate to the requirements of the surrounding farming population, and P. Stein bought out his father's interest in it, tore it down and replaced it by a larger one, containing two run of stones and more improved machinery. In 1884 the German Lutheran congregation, though only consisting of about twenty families, built a parsonage, and in 1886 a frame church. Since 1884 they have always had a resident minister, who has to belong to the Lutheran Synod of Canada, which pays part of his salary, for beside his Denbigh congregation, he has to attend to the spiritual needs of a small congre- gation in Plevna, Frontenac County, and two larger congregations in Raglan, Renfrew County, and Maynooth, Hastings County.
In 1901 P. Stein sold the grist mill to E. Petzold, who soon after enlarged it by adding to it a first-class roller plant of thirty barrels capacity per day, with all other necessary machinery, which makes it now one of the best equipped little roller mills in this part of the Province, with, however, one serious disadvantage : It is run by water power and in dry seasons the water sometimes fails, causing considerable loss to its owner and incon- venience to the patrons.
In 1902, J. S. Lane bought some land adjoining the village and erected on it a steam saw mill, which also contains shingle and lath machinery, a planer and matcher, etc. A couple more general stores and some other business establishments had been added, and the village now contains one roller mill, one steam saw mill, three general stores, two public or boarding houses, two churches, one public school, two blacksmith shops, one woodworking shop, two agencies for agricultural implements, one physician, one Crown Land agency, one postoflice, one Orange hall and two public halls belonging to private owners. A new cheese factory has also been built not far from the village, which will be put in operation next spring.
Vennachar is a little hamlet in Abinger Town- ship, seven miles southeast of Denbigh Village. It
A STORY OP THE REAR OF ADDINGTON COUNTY. 19
was almost entirely swept out of existence by a bush fire in the spring of 1903, and some of the buildings then destroyed have never been rebuilt. It comprises now one general store with postoffice, one public school, one Methodist church, and about a mile from it a Free Methodist church. There are also two cheese factories at no great distance from it.
No reference has, as yet, been made to munici- pal matters, which, perhaps, deserve to be men- tioned. The Municipality of Denbigh, Abinger and Ashby was organized in 1866. The first Municipal Council was composed of James Lane, Reeve ; and K. C. Bebee, Isaac Cranshaw, Chas. M. Kenyon and Chas. Newman, Councillors, who voted them- selves for their services a salary of 25c. per session. David Hughs was appointed Township Clerk at ten dollars per annum; John Lane, Township Treasurer, at the same salary ; Robert Conner, Assessor, at eight dollars, and William Wickware, Collector, at fifteen dollars salary. The following year the members of the Council raised their own remuner- ation to one dollar per session, and the Clerk's salary to twenty dollars per annum, at wThich rate it remained for many years.
In 1866 two public school sections were estab- lished. No i in the German Settlement, and No. 2 at Vennachar. Now there are seven schools in operation. The following gentlemen have served the municipality as Reeves since its organization : James Lane for 1866, Chas. M. Kenyon from 1867 to 1870, Samuel Lane from 1871 to "1880, William Haines for 1881, James Lane from 1882 to 1884, George W. Sweetnam from 1885 to 1891, William Lane for 1892 and 1893, George W. Sweetnam for 1894, William Lane from 1895 to 1898, James Lane from 1899 to 1901, John S. Lane from 1902 to 1909. The Township Clerk's office has been filled by David Hughs during 1866, by William Lane from 1867 to 1883, by Edwin Wensley during 1884 and 1885, and by Paul stein from 1886 until now. The Township Treasury was held by John Lane from 1866 until 1907, by Herman Glaeser during 1908, and by Eathel C. Bebee up to the present.
There are now five postoffices within the municipality : Denbigh, Vennachar, Slate Falls, Glenfield and Wensley, and the mail service is satisfactory. Denbigh has a tri-weekly mail to Plevna, via Vennachar and Wensley, and a bi-weekly
20 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
one to Griffith and to Slate Falls. Several efforts have been made to get the abandoned Denbigh- Cloyne mail route established, in order to get direct connection and communication with Kaladar Station and Napanee, but so far they have been unsuccessful.
The market facilities for farm products, cattle, etc., are now not as good as they were when lum- bering operations were carried on more extensively. Formerly the lumbermen needed all the hay and grain the farmers could spare, and had to import large quantities. Now, however, nearly all the floatable timber has been cut and removed, or has been destroyed by bush fires, and the farmers will have to pay more attention to dairying or the raising of beef cattle.
A very serious disadvantage is the absence of any nearer railway or other shipping facilities. The municipality forms the centre of a district which has railways on all sides and around it, but no railway station nearer than from 35 to 43 miles from Denbigh Village. As the public roads leading to any of the railroad stations are also seldom in very good condition, the shipping problem of farmers' products is a serious one. Other industries however, are also retarded thereby.
It is generally believed that valuable minerals in paying quantities exist in the hills and valleys of the municipality, and gold, mica and graphite mines have been worked, but they were always closed again because the transportation of the products to the nearest railway station made their operation unprofitable. Only a few weeks ago a discovery of ruby-corundum in the Township of Ashby was sold to Mr. J. H. Jewel, of Toronto, for a very fair amount. Mr. Jewel has since pur- chased one thousand acres, on part of which this discovery is situated, from the Government, and has had one-half of that area resurveyed and laid out in smaller parcels. A gang of mechanics and other laborers are now engaged building a boarding house 30x60 feet, near the mine, and a considerable amount of lumber and other building material is said to have already been ordered for further build- ing operations in the coming spring. If this venture should prove a success it will encourage further prospecting and lead to further discoveries.
In conclusion it might be mentioned that there has not been any liquor sold or a tavern or hotel
JOHN THOMSON. 21
license issued in the municipality for upwards of twenty years, nor has there ever been an inhabitant of the municipality imprisoned or otherwise punished for criminal offences. The worst trans- gressions against the laws of the country have been trifling civil cases of little importance.
Denbigh, February 8th, 1910.
JOHN THOMSON.
INVENTOR OP A PROCESS FOR MAKING WOOD PULP. BY C. M. WARNER.
John Thomson, Esquire, a resident of Napanee, was one of the original discoverers of a method for manufacturing wood pulp as used in the making of paper, and was the first man to install machinery and manufacture wood pulp in a factory built for that purpose.
John Thomson was a son of James Thomson, who was born in a small suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1799, and died at Napanee Mills, Ontario, Canada, on December 6th, 1877, at the age of 77 years and 9 months. James emigrated to .America in 1854, and lived first at Trenton, New Jersey, and then at St. John, New Brunswick, where he spent most of the years until his death in manufacturing paper. In those days all paper was made from rags.
John was born on November 2ist, 1837, and came to America with his father in 1854, — the first seventeen years of his life having been spent in the vicinity of Edinburgh. Soon after he arrived at Trenton he went to Morristown, New Jersey, to finish his apprenticeship as a paper maker. After about three years at Morristown he returned to Trenton (1858) and became manager of the paper mills there. In 1860 he moved with his father to St. John, where he readily found employment at his trade. During the next two years he experi- mented considerablv in an endeavor to produce a wood fibre from which paper could be made. His experiments covered a period of between twenty months and two years. Trying to produce the material with a small boiler about two feet long
22 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
and seven or eight inches in diameter, one day the boiler burst. From the fragments collected after the accident he found he had at last secured a good quality of wood fibre for use in manufacturing paper. The sample of pulp thus obtained is in the collection of the Lennox and Addington Historical Society.
In 1862 he left St. John with the intention of going to Ottawa to see about securing a patent for his new process. On his arrival at Montreal he spent considerable time in looking over the ware- houses and accidentally came in touch with Messrs. Angus 1/ogan & Company, who had paper mills at Sherbrooke, Quebec. He took a contract from this firm to put their mills in better working order. This position was the direct cause of his neglect to have his invention patented. He was very success- ful in reorganizing the mills at Sherbrooke, in fact so much so, that Messrs. Angus Logan & Company offered him a partnership which he accepted. They advised him not to apply for the patent and he took the advice. He next went to Windsor, Que., as a member of this firm, bought a small island with an old building and an excellent water power on it and installed pulp works, and then pro- duced the first wood pulp that was ever manufac- tured in any quantity for use in making paper. The pulp which was shipped to the mills at Sherbrooke, Mr. Thomson says, made beautiful paper.
Mr. Thomson does not claim to be the only in- ventor of a process for making wood pulp. About the time he made his invention it was invented in the United States also, and the inventors there had their process patented. The mill at Windsor, Que- bec, however, was the first to make wood pulp in marketable quantities, and the mills at Sherbrooke, Quebec, were the first to manufacture paper from wood pulp. This was in the year 1864. Mr. Thomson's method was soon copied abroad.
When the business resulted so satisfactorily, the firm decided to build new paper mills at Windsor for the manufacture of wood pulp paper exclusively. These mills were built in 1869. After the mills had been run successfully for a year or two, Mr. Thomson became dissatisfied with his partnership and decided to get out. The settlement was un- satisfactory to him and he became entangled in a law suit which lasted for three years.
During the time he was involved in litigation he
JOHN THOMSON. 23
continued to build mills, the first one being at St. John, N.B. In connection with this mill it was Mr. Thomson's intention to build a paper bag factory. The machinery for making the bags was bought from a firm by the name of Benny & Com- pany, of Boston, but just as it was ready to ship, the Union Paper Bag Company seized it, claiming an infringement of their patents, and Mr. Thomson lost it all.
Iveaving St. John in 1871, he went to Montreal and then to Georgetown, Ontario, where he put in pulp works for Messrs. William Barber & Bros. After finishing this work he built the first paper and pulp mills on the Napanee River at Newburgh, Ontario. This plant was called the Newburgh Paper Mills and was owned by a co-partnership made up of John Thomson, his brother James Thomson and J. W. Rooklidge. John had employ- ed Messrs. Dunn, Wiman & Company to look after his interests during his troubles with Messrs. Benny & Co., and they sent Mr. Rooklidge to Boston to work on the case. It was through his association with this case, and the knowledge of the business acquired at that time that Mr. Rooklidge became enthusiastic over the new industry. He prevailed on Mr. Thomson to come to this part of the coun- try to locate.
A peculiar accident caused the firm to start the mills at Newburgh. They had mills built at Gan- anoqtie, Ontario, but it was discovered through some error in judgment, that these mills were gradually sliding into the St. I/awrence River, and there seemed no way to prevent it. This mill was built by a Mr. Colton. They naturally looked about for a better place to locate, and their atten- tion was called to Newburgh, where there was an abundance of raw material and conditions were favorable. Here they secured a water power from the Honorable John Stevenson, and the machinery intended for Gananoque, was, without having been unpacked, reshipped on barges to Napanee and then carted to Newburgh. A gentleman once interested in the industry tells of the excitement created in Napanee when this machinery arrived in the harbor for trans-shipment to Newburgh. Very few had ever seen paper manufacturing machinery. The people went to the river in crowds, and were much surprised at the size of the tanks and the quantity of machinery required. The mill was built on the
24 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
small island where Stickney's foundry now stands,
After a few years of the partnership, Mr. John Thomson had troubles with Mr. Rooklidge and he withdrew from the firm in 1874. He then went to Montreal, where he took a contract to build a mill for a Company at Kingsey Falls, Quebec.
In the same year at the request of Messrs. Hiram Wright, Alexander Smith, W. F. Hall, Alexander Henry, John R. Scott, William Miller, and John Herring, he returned to the Napanee River and built mills for the Napanee Mills Paper Manufacturing Company, at the Village of Napanee Mills, which is situated about two miles from Newburgh. This village is now called Strathcona. He took some stock in the new Company and signed a contract to stay with them for five years. During this period Mr. Rooklidge and Mr. John T. Grange bought Mr. James Thomson's interest in the Newburgh mills for ten thousand dollars, and James contracted to stay at Newburgh as Manager for two years.
In 1881, when John's contract expired at Napa- nee Mills he joined his brother James whose con- tract expired at about the same time, and the brothers formed a co-partnership and built the Thomson Mills. These new mills also on the Napa- nee River near Newburgh, were started in 1882. In the year 1887, Mr. John Thomson's health failed and he retired from business. James and his sons continued the business and the sons operate the plant at the present time, the father having died in Newburgh, on April 3oth, 1902, at the age of 70 years and 8 months.
It may be of interest to give here a little inci- dent which happened at the Napanee Mills shortly after Mr. Thomson's retirement as Manager. In about the year 1885, this Company received from Louisiana a shipment of a car load of sugar cane, from which the sugar had been extracted, with a request that it be manufactured into paper as an experiment. The pulp made therefrom had a strong fibre, much stronger than that made from wood, the paper being exceedingly stout though somewhat hard in texture. It was shipped to Louisiana and whether anything of a practical nature resulted from the experiment was never known here. At the request of the shippers the secret was always carefully guarded.
During the life of this great industry Mr. John
JOHN THOMSON. 25
Thomson received no aid from the Government either in the shape of a bonus or of a grant of land.
It may be of interest to some to know where all the machinery in these mills came from. The most of it came from Edinburgh, and naturally Mr. Thomson's ideas were used to a great extent in the constmction of those parts used in the manufacture of the pulp. The mills at Newburgh were fitted with machines bought from Messrs. Rice, Barton & Company, of Worcester, Mass. Those at Thomson's Mills, Napanee Mills and Windsor, Oue., had English machinery. In a recent visit to Windsor Mr. Thomson found machinery which he had installed in 1869 still in use and giving excellent satisfaction.
The district about Newburgh in the early days was well supplied with the wood required for mak- ing pulp, — cedar, balsam, basswood and hemlock.
There were two causes which led to the decline of the industry in this part of Ontario. One was the decrease in the supply of raw material ; the other was the high import duty put on papei by the United States. The first reason was probably the most effective. As the timber was cut from the land, no provision was made for re- forrestry, and little did the early residents believe that there would ever be a scarcity of wood in this district.
Mr. John Thomson moved to Napanee, Ontario, a few years ago. He built a beautiful home at the corner of Bridge and Kast streets, which he now occupies. The sample of wood pulp, secured after months of experimenting, he presented to the I/ennox and Addington Historical Society, and it will always form a valuable part of the Society's collection. No invention has done more to cheapen printing paper and to put books and newspapers within the reach of the great mass of the people, thus conferring an incalculable benefit, for, as has been truly said : "the consumption of paper is the measure of a people's culture."
Napanee, Ontario, Canada, December i6th, 1909
NEWBURGH.
BY GEO. ANSON AYLESWORTH.
It is not quite the same with Newburgh as with that Knglish village celebrated in the Cornhill Magazine, —
"Our Village is unhonored yet in story, "The present residents its only glory."
for former residents constitute mainly such fame and "glory" as render the annals of Newburgh interesting.
To begin with, it has the distinction of being the largest incorporated village in Ontario, its area being five and one-half square miles. Camden township bounds it on the east, north and west, Krnesttown on the south. It is twelve miles north- ward from the shore of the Bay of Quinte at Bath ; seven miles up-stream northeasterly from where the Napanee river sinks to the navigable level of the Mohawk branch of that same Bay of Quinte.
The valley of the Napanee river from Yarker to the bay, fourteen miles, is very picturesque as well as fertile. The late Dr. Grant, who had seen the sights of that half of the world that lies between California and the Danube, used to declare that he knew of no drive of more varied beauty than the vale of the Napanee from Colebrook or Yarker, down.
The village proper is in the centre of the large area above mentioned, that is, at the intersection of the King's highway from Bath to Tarn worth, (Main street), with the concession line between the first and second concessions of Camden township.
The Napanee river, about one-quarter of a mile east of Main street, divides into two branches, which re-unite about an equal distance west of Main street, thus enclosing an island of about seven acres in area. Near the centre of this island is a cave, in former times occasionally explored by over- bold school boys, who, each with a piece of candle and matches in plenty, used to descend into and crawl through this hole in the ground.
They brought back tales of inscriptions and mysterious wonders in underground compartments,
NEWBURGH. 27
that excited much envy and enlargement of eye among the more timorous who dared not squeeze in, for they would be unable ever to squeeze out again. Of late years the entrance to this cave has become stopped up, and few village mothers are anxious for its re-opening.
This double river affords no less than thirteen good water privileges within less than one-third of a mile. These have been valued and improved and made of great utility in times past ; in these later electric days the time of the appreciation is again dawning.
Tradition preserves the names of the first settlers : William Van Pelt Detlor and Benjamin Files, two sturdy cousins, who "took up land" in 1822, south of the river. David Perry, in 1824, built the first saw-mill here, and John Madden, in 1825, another. Of course, in those remote well wooded times, a saw-mill was the first thing the settlers most urgently needed, — after a tavern.
About a mile and a half south of the border of Newburgh stood Switzer's chapel, older than which was but one other Methodist meeting-house in Upper Canada. It was erected about 1826, and I have heard the late Mr. Mitchel Neville say that at its erection, he, being a boy of eleven years, was given charge of the grog-jug to carry it about among the good old Methodists of that neighbor- hood who were there at the "raising" — tee-totalism not yet having been invented. With propriety may Switzer's Chapel be mentioned herein for the skil- fully framed timbers, and some of the old windows, themselves of the genuine original building thereof, stand now in Newburgh village, a new brick church having been built on its Switzer site some years since.
In 1825, my gran 'father with one of his bro- thers, paying a visit to their uncle, David Perry, who lived north of the river, had to ride their saddle horses from their home near Bath around by way of Napanee, and so on up the river, there being then no bridge at Newburgh.
In 1826, this Mr. Perry built a grist mill, which t\vo years later he sold to Samuel Shaw, who was the villager's first merchant.
1831 saw Madden's grist mill established ; it served the public till destroyed by fire in 1902.
John Black started a tannery in 1832.
And so the village grew ; stores, axe factories,
28 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
carding mills, carriage and agricultural implement works.
The first name of the place was "The Hollow," there being hills on every side. Soon, in compli- ment to the business abilities and enterprise of its inhabitants, some genius dubbed it "Rogues' Hol- low." Public appreciation of the fitness of things fastened the name. The growing town at last grew restive under such a title, and it became time for a change.
Of the village in that day one of the men of learning was the doctor. Isaac Brock Aylesworth was born near Bath, 4th December, 1812. At the request of his mother's father, Robert Perry, he was named after General Sir Isaac Brock, who, in October of 1812, had fallen in battle at Niagara. Educated at Bath Academy, and at New -York, he moved into "The Hollow" in 1836. During the troubled years, 1837 and 1838, he was living at Napanee, but appears to have returned to New- burgh early in 1839. When going to and from New York, he had seen Newburgh on the Hudson river, lyike "The Hollow," it lies under and upon the terraced sides of hills, and so it came about that the doctor gave its present name to Newburgh.
With the late Robert F. Hope and George Eakins, the doctor had much to do with the estab- lishment of Newburgh Academy, the exact date of whose opening seems "shrouded in the mists of antiquity." Dr. Hodgins, the historiographer of education in Ontario, once told me, "Your relative (the doctor) was active in the founding of New- burgh Academy."
In the first volume of "Documentary History of Education in Upper Canada," by J. George Hod- gins, M.A., etc., published in 1894, prefatory re- marks, (pages HI. -IV.), we find : "The celebrity of the Ernesttown or Bath Academy may have been increased from the fact that at it, was chiefly edu- cated by his father, — its master, a man so eminent in his profession and so distinguished in the history of Upper Canada as was Marshall Spring Bidwell, — a gifted member of the House of Assembly in its early days, and its Speaker for some time" .... "Then the success of the Newburgh Academy was noted in our own times, and in it, as one of its latest Principals, the Rev. Dr. Nelles first learned those lessons in the art of teaching and government which he afterwards turned to such excellent ac-
NEWBURGH. 29
count, as the gifted President for so many years, of Victoria University" .... (Page V.) ''Animated by the same spirit as possessed these early colon- ists, the U. K. IY.'S established schools of a super- ior class early in the century in the chief centres of their settlements, such as Kingston, Cornwall, Bath, York, St. Catherines, and afterwards at New- burgh. Soon a Grammar School was established in every district" .... (Vol. V., p. 128) "In a further report to the Midland District Council, the Education Committee .... recommended that a Model School be established in the Village of New- burgh, styled a Township Model School, and that the Superintendent of that Township be recommend- ed to establish the same. Kingston, i8th May, 1844. (Sig.) Anthony Denike, Chairman."
Dr. Nelles was Principal of Newburgh Academy in 1846. In the foregoing extract he is spoken of as "one of its latest Principals," which would seem to indicate that this school was not a very new, or recently established institution in 1846 ? Also, be it observed, that Newburgh Academy has mention among the first six Grammar Schools to be estab- lished in Upper Canada.
My father says he saw Newburgh first in 1843, and the Academy was then an establishment not re- garded as a novelty. On the other hand, it seems unlikely that a village, that consisted mostly of saw-mills in 1825, and was as yet without a bridge, whose first merchant began business in it in 1828, at the end of a decade had established a school, let alone an Academy. 1839 seems, on the whole, the most probable date. Although those were the days when "lickin and l'arnin" went hand in hand, still it is hard to believe that there is any hidden allu- sion to the Academy in the statement that "John Black started a tannery in 1832 ?"
Searching the old files of the "Christian Guard- ian," (first published in 1828 at Kingston, and soon removed to muddy little York), if, haply therein, I might find some advertisement or other mention of the beginning of Newburgh Academy, it happened to me, — although unsuccessful in my researches, yet, — like as Abraham Cowley expresses it,—
"The search itself rewards the pains ;
•"•' . . . things well worth his toil he gains ;
"And do'es1 his charge and labor pay
"With good, unsought experiments by the way."
30 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
These informing glimpses were vouchsafed to me, —
"Napanee, January 26th, 1841. To ; the Editor of the Christian Guardian, —
In my last communication I made mention oi a meet- ing" at Newburgh. I do consider this to have been one of the most important meeting-si of the kind I ever attended. The heathen name of this place was "Rogue's Hollow", the Christian name is Newburgh. It is new in many respects. It was once drunken, it is now sober, it was once wicked, it is now to a very great degree reformed. This change commenced some eighteen months ago, in the formation of a Society on the Total Abstinence principle.
(Sg-d.) C. R. ALLISON."
"April 7th, 1841.
Rev. John Ryerson's Journal : — On Wednesday at six o'clock, we held a me-eting in what is called the Switzer neighborhood, a place twenty miles distant from Adolphus- town. This is a neighborhood in the back part of Ernest- town, embracing the most mrancTous and wealthy body of Methodists of any country place I know of within the bounds of the Province, . . . the inhabitants generally are a most sober, industrious and respectable people. The missionary meeting which was very numerously attended, was a very poor one, made up of long dry speeches, and a thin collection, — subscriptions and all only amounted to some £14, whereas they were, well able to have given £40. . . . The •evening- after we were at Switzer 's, we held a meeting- in the Village of Newburgh, and a most in- teresting and profitable festival it was. Newburgh, which lies on the Napanee River, about six miles above the vil- lage of Napanee, is a very thriving' business place, of a population of 200 souls. The Village is surrounded by a wealthy, flourishing country. Our church is the only place of public worship in it ;; indeed the inhabitants are mostly Methodists, or Methodistical in their sentiments. The cause of temperance here seems to triumph OVCT everything, the great bo'dy, of the people are teetotalers, and you may sup- pose that with such a society of Methodists and class of 'citizens, and on the eve of a powerful and extensive revival of religion, we could not but have a noble Missionary meeting, and so it was, the church was literally crammed with respectable people. Dr. Aylsworth took the chair and opened the meeting- by a very suitable address, and after the speaking- was through, he introduced the subscrip- tion by signing £2. His liberal example was soon fol- lowed with several subscriptions of a like sum, and then for less sums, until the whole amounted to the handsome sum of £34. 3s. 3d."
In July, 1908, just behind the Library Rotunda on Parliament Hill, Ottawa, I heard my father say, "When I first saw this spot it was all covered with pine stubs. That was in the year 1855, and I was sent here to By-town, as it was called then, to attend Grand Lodge, as delegate from Newburgh Division, Sons of Temperance.
NEWBURGH. 31
But Newburgh had an organized Society of tee- totalers much earlier in the century, for in the autumn of 1839, at the tee-totaler's dinner held in the tavern, when the plum pudding with plenty of appropriate sauce was served, a wag of a brother arose, and "begged leave to move that no brother having any regard for the pledge be served with more than one swill pail full of this brandy sauce!"
In January, 1852, the "Index" newspaper was established in Newburgh. It flourished, more or less, for nearly ten years, but few numbers of it are now known to be in existence, and these are of interest because of their age and their rare old news.
In 1864, the "British North American" began to be published in Newburgh. Three or four years was the extent of its career.
The "Beaver" began in Newburgh late in 1869, but after a few months waxed strong enough to migrate down the river, and commenced to dam Napanee.
1875 brought the first number of the "Adding- ton Reporter" — not the last, let us hope, but the latest of Newburgh 's newspapers.
Passages from the "Christian Guardian" al- ready quoted, indicate how strong in the early days was Methodism in Newburgh. In 1856 was begun, and in October, 1858, was dedicated a most com- modious stone church, by the Wesley an branch of that body. In 1862 the ^Methodist Episcopal con- gregation built a frame church in the northern part of the village. A few years later it was burned to the ground, and a little afterward was erected the stone church now owned by the Presbyterians. The Anglican church, also of stone, was dedicated in 1881. From an interesting account of the dedica- tion of the new Wesley an edifice, and a description of the building published in the "Christian Guard- ian" of November }d, 1858, and subscribed "G. Dorey," the two following sentences are taken : "Though but a small community, our Newburgh friends have erected a House of Worship unequalled by any village of equal size and resources in the Province, and which would not disgrace any of its cities" .... "The building is heated by two hot air furnaces, and lighted by the coal oil lamp, which for cheapness, cleanliness and brilliancy seems likely to supersede the present modes of illu- mination, gas excepted." We catch here a vivid
32 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
glimpse of the old burgh by candle light.
In 1858 the village achieved municipal incorpor- ation, Augustus Hooper being the first Reeve. He, in the County Council of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, assisted in the passing of "By-law No. 99 for erecting the Village of Bath and neighbor- hood into an incorporated village, by the same name," (Passed, 23d Sept., 1859). Bath is more ancient than Newburgh in some respects, but it doth not appear that it is entitled to be any bigger- feeling.
In the minutes of the County Council of Fron- tenac, Lennox and Addington, under date of Janu- ary 27th, 1857, we find the following persons were appointed Grammar School trustees : — "For New- burgh, C. H. Miller, Esq., reappointed, and R. F. Hope, Esq., in place of Dr. Ruttan ; and Allen Caton in place of the Rev. P. Shirley, deceased."
Under date of 8th April. 1857, "At 2 p.m., the Council resumed and proceeded to the appointment of local superintendents of schools, as follows, viz : — Upon motion of S. Warner, seconded by Mr. Perry, Joseph Parker for Camden." This is none other than the father of Sir Gilbert Parker. At that time Mr. Parker, Sr., resided at Camden East, where Sir Gilbert was born. The father of Sir Gilbert's mother was the late George Simmons, Esq., who for a long time was a citizen of New- burgh. At that same session of the County Coun- cil Mr. Whelan brought up the memorial and report of the Trustees of the Newburgh Model School. Finally we find in the Report of the Committee on Finance this clause, — "Your committee having ex- amined the report of the Newburgh Model School would recommend that the usual annual grant of £50. be continued to that institution for the pres- ent year."
The main line of the Grand Trunk Railway was at first surveyed and located up the valley of the Napanee river as far as Yarker, and thence to- wards Kingston. But from this path of rectitude the railway was deflected by "graft" and "in- fluence".
We have seen that the late Dr. Nelles was at one time Principal of Newburgh Academy. New- burgh was the first Methodist circuit travelled by the Rev. Chancellor Burwash, circa 1861.
Prince of Wales Lodge, No. 146, G.R.C., A. F. & A. $L, was organized at Newburgh in March,
NEWBURGH. 33
1861, and its first Junior Warden was William Van Pelt Detlor, who was one of the two "Primitive great grandsires" of the ancient burgh.
A County Agricultural Exhibition building was erected in 1864, upon the south hill of Newburgh. Therein annually a good show was held, till Har- rowsmith in 1892, snatched the exhibition from the village unawares, and left its "palace" desolate,— an unneighborly act, which Tamworth a few years later avenged by swooping down upon the annual meeting at Harrowsmith and returned to her north- ern fastness triumphant with the spoil !
In those by-gone days, 1856-66, the great American Travelling Circus frequently pitched its temporary tent upon Newburgh 's vacant lots.
One of the first cheese factories in Canada was opened in Newburgh in 1864. It is "still doing business upon the old stand", and its monthly di- vidends are much admired and appreciated.
In 1865, Newburgh became the place of holding the Fourth Division Court in I/ennox and Adding- ton, Isaac J. Lockwood being Clerk, Homer Spen- cer, Bailiff, and the first suitor, Robert Forsythe Hope.
It may be that matches matrimonial are made in heaven, but in the early sixties, when I was a small boy, going home from school, I have lingered many a time to watch the process of manufacture of the hand made lucifer matches, carried on by a company of men, women and boys in the "Irish- town" suburb of Newburgh.
From Valley Forge, Penn., to Newburgh, in 1870, came the Thomson family, and established paper mills. Later, a short distance down the river from Newburgh another large paper mill was erected, and still later, at a less distance up the river from the village, a third group of paper mills was established by the same people.
In 1876, the bridge carrying Main street New- burgh over the larger branch of the Napanee River, was swept away. The village replaced it with a new wooden structure which lasted till 1908, when the County Council of Lennox and Addington built a new village bridge of iron and concrete.
1884 made Newburgh happy with a rural rail- way.
Sept. 7th, 1887, a Trojan conflagration swept through and across the village, and without doubt, would have effaced it utterly, but for the arrival
34 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
(thanks to the railway) of Napanee's fire engine and brigade. Kighty-four buildings were burned to the ground ; comprising every shop or store of any sort, and many dwellings. Twice before and twice since has Newburgh suffered grievously from fire, but 1887 was by far the worst. In 1864 Lake's carriage shops and the surrounding buildings went up in flames! in the night time. In January, 1872, the Academy building was gutted by fire. While the new building was being built the Grammar School found a habitation in the basement of the Methodist church, and the public school in the hall of the Division Sons of Temperance. In 1902, the Madden grist mill and Stickney's foundry and agricultural implement works were burned, and finally, — it is to be hoped finally, — in 1908, there was a more than sufficiently destructive blaze, for the second time checked and extinguished, not a moment too soon, by the Napanee Fire Brigade.
In the latter years of the decade between 1890 and 1900, Newburgh became celebrated among vil- lages for electric lights, profusion of patriotic flags and high taxes.
The Methodist church built in 1856-8, was plan- ned large in order to accommodate the expansion, at that time not unreasonably expected. But in common with nearly all other Ontario villages and smaller towns, growth has been slow, chiefly owing to the opening of the vast "last, best West." This needlessly large church was adorned with a pipe organ in 1899, the gift of the late John Shibley, to honor the memory of his parents.
The 2oth century has brought to the village long stretches of cement pavement, also a fire en- gine and volunteer company, but as yet we worry along without any lock-up, stocks, pillory or police man.
Travellers note the uncommon "tone" of the town, traceable directly to the Academy, to which the brightest young folk from the surrounding townships flock like doves to the windows. New- burgh is not large enough to afford to these "boarders" much distraction, and on the other hand, there is little opportunity for any boy or girl to go far wrong in so small a community, without being both noticed and checked in time.
The Academy is the ancient glory and the pres- ent pride of the community. Established when the community was very young, we find it flourishing
NEWBURGH. 35
under the governance of a Presbyterian minister, the Rev. Mr. Wightman in the years immediately following the subsidence of the Rebellion (1837-8). The words of Dr. Hodgins have been quoted already concerning the Rev. Dr. Nelles and Newburgh Aca- demy. As early as 1844 the Academy became a Model School. After Dr. Nelles' promotion, Mr. David Beach was Head Master. In his day the annual examination and exhibition of Newburgh Academy was looked forward to by the whole country side, as almost a local Olympic. Parti- tions so built as to make the operation easy, were entirely removed, and the whole upper flat of the large new building (whose first occupation the "In- dex" dates at 1 8 si)-, was thus thrown into one huge hall. The hall would be filled to its capacity for three successive days, with the relatives and friends of the "scholars", delighted to attend the public examinations, dialogues, essays, orations, spelling matches, addresses and distribution of prizes.
After Mr. Beach, came the Rev. William Lewin, B.A., as Principal. In 1906 I saw the Rev. gentle- man at Napanee. The hale old man, upwards of eighty- two years of age, was laughingly recalling how he resigned the Head Mastership of Newburgh Academy in 1863, because of "broken health."
John Campbell, M.A., from Victoria Univer- sity, followed Mr. Lewin, teaching till 1871. It was in his day that, in all, between a dozen and a score of youths from the Bahama Islands came to be educated at Newburgh Academy. The Rev. Mr. Cheeseborough wrote from Nassau, New Providence, Bahama Isles, to the Rev. E. Rverson, Chief Super- intendent of Education, asking him to recommend a good school, in a suitable locality, etc., whereto boys might be sent for education. Mr. Cheese- borough stated that as suitable schools in the West Indies were not to be had, and as sending their sons to England was more costly than satis- factory, and sending them to the "United States would be exposing them to learn too much, several white gentlemen of Nassau had in view the educa- tion of their sons in Upper Canada. Chief Super- intendent Ryerson recommended Newburgh Aca- demy and John Campbell, M.A. The Southern youths came, and they revolutionized voung New- burgh.
After Mr. Campbell, other distinguished Princi- pals of Newburgh Academy have been : A. Me-
36 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Clatchie, M.A., Mr. Carlyle, (nephew of Thomas Carlyle, the prober of shams), P. L- Borland, Chas, Wynn- Williams, H. I,. Wilson, now of John Hop- kins' University, and D. A. Nesbit, since Inspector of Public Schools.
Mitchell's Directory, published in Toronto 1865, affords us this glimpse : — "Newburgh possesses a large and elegant academy, where the higher branches of an English and Classical education are taught. The Common school isiin the same build- ing, under the charge of H. M. Deroche."
One of the earlier Inspectors of Grammar Schools in his report to the Chief Superintendent of Education for Upper Canada discusses the ad- visability of extending degree-conferring powers to Newburgh Academy and to some other early schools of equal efficiency.
The High School Act of 1891, by providing that County Councils should contribute proportionately to the support of High Schools where County pupils receive education, worked a great benefit to New- burgh Academy, relieving a small and unfortunate village community of a portion of the heavy and long and patiently borne financial burden of its maintenance.
Newburgh deserves well of this country for its Academy's sake. It has given to the churches a great host of eminent and distinguished reverend gentlemen, of school teachers beyond computation , and of physicians far too many to be named. Upon each of the three contiguous counties composing the old Midland District, Frontenac, Lennox and Ad- dington and Hastings, Newburgh Academy has con- ferred its Judge upon the bench. Of other learned lawyers and able statesmen, orators and politicians a multitude, — who shall number them ? And of these last, every man a patriot.
In all seriousness, the Village of Newburgh, in its "sequestered vale," merits an ample wreath of praise, for "it is the essence of justice to render to every one that which is due."
Newrburgh, Ont., 9th December, 1909.
THE FIRST TELEGRAPH OFFICE IN NAPANEE.
BY MRS. JOHN PERRY HAWLEY.
Introductory.— A few years ago Mr. Thomas Casey wrote to Mr. William Peck, at Albury, Prince Edward County, (where Mr. Peck now re- sides), to secure the facts mentioned in this paper for his collection of "Old Time Records". Before the reply reached Mr. Casey he had contracted the illness which proved to be his last, and the matter was dropped. Hearing that Mrs. Casey had de- posited Mr. Casey's entire collection with the Lennox and Addington Historical Society, and knowing of his wish to have the facts given in this paper, I have taken the liberty to finish what Mr. Casey had started.
MRS. JOHN PERRY HAWLEY,
Niece of the late Judge Peck.
Napanee, April, 1908.
In the fall of the year 1852 the Great Western Telegraph Company sent a young man by the name of Samuel Stanley Peck to Napanee, to open a telegraph office. Mr. Peck's home was in Prince Edward County, across the Bay of Quinte from Trenton, which was then called "River Trent". He made the journey to Napanee by stage coming by way of the Carrying Place, as that neck of land now cut by the Murray Canal, was then called. The roads at that time were very bad, particularly the one through the Indian Woods.
The first office was opened in the second story of a frame building opposite where the Campbell House now stands. Mr. Alexander Campbell kept a store and the postoffice on the ground floor, which was in charge of Mr. John Taylor, his step- son, who now resides in Belleville. This first office was occupied by the Telegraph Company for about a year, when the office was moved east about two blocks to a room over the store of the late Henry T. Forward. This store was on the south side of
38 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Dundas street, and about opposite the store of the late G. H. Davey, nearly as far east as the Brick Hotel, (presumably the Brisco House).
In the Spring of 1853, Mr. Peck's younger bro- ther, William, came to Napanee from Albury, Prince Edward County, to learn to operate. And as the telegraph business was a new venture and in its infancy, it was not on a paying basis by any means. Accordingly a toy shop was added to help pay expenses.
When the office was first opened for business it caused a grea.t amount of excitement. A holiday was given to the school children, who with their teacher, came to the office to see the instruments, the smaller children preceeding the older ones. One man walked over twenty miles to see if the stories he had heard from his friends and neighbors to the effect that one could send a message from Napanee to Kingston by wire, were true. He went to the office and saw the instrument, but was by no means convinced, and asked when a message would be sent. On being told that one would go in half an hour, he went to Roblin's Hill, sat down on a friendly stone, and waited for results. At last he came back disgusted, and told Mr. Peck that "the thing was no good". He had waited two hours and "the thing never went at all." Another man, who was greatly taken with the new office, was our old friend, Billie Appleby. He would dodge in and out of the office at all times in the day, and when the operator wished to be alone, Billie was usually sent on some errand and told not to hurry. A bag of peanuts was sufficient pay for him.
In the fall of the year, 1853, Samuel Stanley Peck left the office in charge of his brother, and moved to Miriden, in Haliburton County, where he began the study of law. For years he was elected as a member of the Provincial Parliament of On- tario, and later was appointed a Judge for the County of Haliburton. Pie died a few years ago at Petaluma, California, where he had gone in search of health for an invalid daughter.
Mr. William Peck kept the telegraph office until the following year, when he sold it to our late townsman, Mr. John Benson, a son of Mr. John Benson, the first Customs House officer in Napanee. I/ater Mr. Benson sold it to two sisters by the name of Bingham, who had their office down near the old flour mill.
THE FIRST TELEGRAPH OFFICE IN NAPANEE. 39
Mr, Peck did not revisit Napanee for over fifty years, and on this second trip he came by steam- boat. Naturally, he found the place considerably changed. In place of a village he found a flourish- ing country town, but nothing was left of his first old telegraph office to remind him of the twelve months spent here. One familiar sight met his eye — Billy Appleby — going down Centre street with his soap cart. He saluted him with the old familiar "Hello Billy", and tried to engage him in conversation, but Billy would not talk of anything but soap, and forthwith offered the contents of the pail for 15 cents. As Mr. Peck was looking for old landmarks rather than trade, it is needless to say the offer was rejected.
Of all the young men of those early days, with whom Mr. Peck associated, in his fun and frolics, charivaris, cornroasts and dances, only one remain- ed, our esteemed townsman, John T. Grange, Esq.
COPIES OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE SOCIETY.
IN MEMORIAM.— B. C. DAVY, ESQ., FIRST MAYOR OF NAPANEE (1874).
We very much regret the painful duty to-day of announcing the decease of our late fellow towns- man, Benjamin C. Davy, Esq., which sad event took place at his residence in Kingston, on Tues- day morning last, about midnight. (February 10, 1874).
Mr. Davy was born at Bath, in 1829, and was the third son of Peter Davy, Esq., J.P. He was educated at the Bath Academy, studied law with Sir John A. MacDonald, and was called to the bar at the age of 21 years. He first opened an office in Bath, then in Kingston, and finally settled in Napa- nee, where for some 22 years he practised his pro- fession. He was the first Mayor of the Town, which office he held for three years, and was an active and intelligent member of the community. About two years ago he visited Manitoba, with the intention of settling, but ill health compelled him to return, and in July last he removed to the City of Kingston. He took an active part in the late election in behalf of Sir John MacDonald. Hard work and the exposure to the cold weather told heavily upon his constitution, and an attack of congestion of the lungs and pneumonia, the gravity of which was not suspected until a day or two be- fore his death, proved fatal. He was a genial wholesouled gentleman, known to many, and count- ing a host of friends.
He married a Miss MacKay, of Montreal, whom, with his large family, have the deepest sympathy of all our citizens in their severe bereave- ment, more especially as it is attended with the illness of two other members of the family. At a meeting of the Kingston Bar on Tuesday last, re- solutions of regret and sympathy were passed at the death of their late brother.
His remains were interred at St. John's Church at Bath, in presence of a large concourse of friends and neighbors, with Masonic honors, of which order he had been for many years, an active mem- ber.
COPIES OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. 41
ASSIGNMENT OF A SLAVE (1824).
Assignment of a Melato Boy from Eli Keeler, of the Township of Haldimand, County of North- umberland, in the District of Newcastle, to William Bell, of Thurlow, County of Hastings, Midland District, Province of Upper Canada.
To all to Whom these Presents shall come : I, EH Keeler, of the District of Newcastle, send Greeting. Whereas my apprentice, a Melato Boyx named Tom, hath Divers years yet to come and unexpired of His time of service to Wit : ten years from the twenty-ninth Day of February, one thous- and, eight hundred and twenty-four, as by his age and the time of his servitude will appear according to the Laws of this Province made concerning the children of female slaves to continue until they attain the age of twenty-five years : Now know ye, that I, the said EH Keeler for Divers Good Causes and considerations me hereunto moving, have Given, Granted Assigned and set over, and by these Presents, do fully and Absolutely, Give, Grant and Set over, unto William Bell of Thurlow, his Heirs and assigns, all such right, title, duty, time of years to come, service and demand what- soever which I, the said Eli Keeler, have in or to the said Melatto Boy Tom, or which I may or ought to have in him by force or virtue of his hav- ing been born a slave and Bound to Remain with me until he hath attained the full age of twenty- five years, and according to the Statute of this Province made and Provided, Respecting the Liber- ation of the children of Female Slaves, and more- ever, I, the said Eli Keeler, do by these Presents, Covenant, promise and agree to and with the said William Bell, his Executors and administrators, that notwithstanding anything by me, the said Eli Keeler, to be Done to the contrary, the said Melato boy Tom shall during the term of ten years, well and truly the said William Bell, as his master, and his commandments, Lawful and Honest shall do, and from his service shall not absent himself during the said term Provided the said William Bell shall well instruct and use him the said Melato boy Tom, and shall also during the same term find and alow unto the said Tom, sufficient meat, Drink, Apparal, washing, lodgings, and all other thing Needful or meet for an Appren- tice.
42 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
in Witness Whereof, i, the above named Eli Keeler, have hereunto set my hand and seal in the Presence of the under mentioned Witness at Thur- low in the midland District and province of Upper Canada, this day of March, 1824, for the
sum of 75 dollars or say £16-5-0, Lawfull money of this Province, — the Receipt of Which is Acknow- ledged by the said E. Keeler.
SCHOOL TEACHER'S CONTRACT (1818).
This agreement made this ninth day of May, One Thousand eight hundred and eighteen, between Robert Laing, Teacher, of the first part, and the other Subscribers hereto, Inhabitants of Hallowel, of the Second part, Witnesseth, — That the said Party of the first part engages to keep a good School, according to his ability, and to teach Read- ing, Writing and Arithmetic, if required, for one
Quarter to commence on next, at
the School house nearest to Daniel Leavens, and William Clark, in the Second Concession of the said Township. That he is to keep school from eight o'clock till twelve, and from half after one till five o'clock each School day ; the remainder of the time, and every second Saturday to be at his own disposal, but he is to be allowed the liberty used by other teachers, of being absent at other times, if he should require it, and make up for the same. That in a general way he is to cause the scholars to say six lessons each day besides tasks, if practicable, but is nevertheless subject to reasonable directions respecting the School from the said Daniel Leavens and William Clark, who are hereby acknowledged Trustees thereof — And the said party of the second part doth promise, according to the number of Scholars subscribed for by each of them respectively to pay the said Robert Lain^r, at the rate of Twelve dollars and a half per month ; whereof one half in Cash at the end of the Quarter, and the other in orders or other value Monthly, if requested, and to furnish him with board, lodging and washing, as aforesaid, during the said term, And if the said Trustees, for good cause, should desire him to re- tire from the said Employment before the time above appointed, he is to be naid for the days he has kept at the rate of Twenty-four to the month—
COPIES OP ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. 43
In Witness whereof, we have hereunto severally and respectively subscribed our names the day and year first herein written —
ROBERT LAING, Teacher.
Number subscribed Subscribers for Scholars. by each.
Daniel Leavens 2
William Clark 3
/2
John Huff. l/
Eli McConnell %
Norman Leo Harvey I
Henry Gerow %
Abraham Greene 1%
Reuben Burlingham i%
Peter Leavens. 1%
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NAPANEE CLUB LIBRARY (1853).
PROSPECTUS OF THE NAPANEE CLUB LIBRARY, OF VALUABLE
STANDARD LITERATURE. EMBRACING THE VARIOUS
DEPARTMENTS OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE. ETC.
To be composed of 540 Volumes, nearly all in Leather or half Leather binding, and got up ex- pressly for Libraries ; to belong exclusively to the Club of Shareholders, and to be kept at Napanee for their own use and benefit, by a Librarian ap- pointed by themselves ; with a Branch or branches if necessary.
Each share taken, shall entitle the Subscriber to a vote in Electing the President, Secretary, Treasurer, Librarian, and a Committee to receive the Books and draft a Constitution and By-laws ; and, when paid, to draw Books.
It is understood that each member shall have the right to draw from the Library, at the same time, as many Books as he holds shares, and when read to exchange them.
The Price of shares, one Pound Canada Cur- rency, payable to Geo. C. Tremaine or bearer, on delivering the Books in good Condition.
MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE NAPANEE CLUB LIBRARY.
At a meeting, called by Mr, Tremaine, of the
44 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Stockholders of the "Napanee Club Library", which was held at the Court House, for the purpose of receiving the Books, &c., &c.,
The Rev. W. B. Lauder was called to the Chair, and Mr. Jas. F. Bartles appointed Secretary.
Messrs. John Stevenson, H. Acton and Jas. F. Bartles were appointed a Committee to examine and receive the books from Mr. Tremaine. — And,
The following persons were appointed a Com- mittee to draft a Constitution and By-laws to be submitted to the Stockholders, for said "Club Library", viz. :— Messrs. Rev. W. B. Lauder, A. Templeton, D. Roblin, Wm. McGillivray, J. Steven- son, J. Blakely, D. McPherson, J. Grange, Alex. Campbell, B. C. Davy, R. Esson, H. Acton and J. Benson.
COMMITTEE'S RECEIPT FOR BOOKS.
Received, Napanee, 2ist November, 1853, from Geo. C. Tremaine, Esq., in good order and condi- tion the books for the Napanee Club Library ; equal in quantity, quality, and value to the Cata- logue.
H. ACTON, JAMES F. BARTLES. 'JAMES BLAKELY.
Committee of three to examine and receive the books.
* Chosen by Mr. Acton and Bartles in place of Mr. Stevenson he being absent.
Napanee, 2d Dec., 1853.
At a meeting, called by the Secretary of the Committee, to be held at the Court Plouse, on this evening, Rev. W. B. Lauder in the Chair.
For the purpose of submitting a draft of a Constitution and By-laws, to the Stockholders, by the Committee, appointed at a previous meeting. The draft of the Constitution and By-laws were read by one of the Committee, when it was moved and seconded, that before taking up the Constitution and By-laws, the Prospectus of the Club Library be read, to ascertain if the Constitution and By- laws were in accordance with it. After having been warmly discussed, the motion was put, and almost unanimously agreed to.
The Prospectus was then read by the Secretary which was found not to coincide with the action taken by the Committee, they having elected, from amongst themselves the officers of the Association.
COPIES OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. 45
Part of the Committee, on whose hands were the draft of the Constitution and By-laws, refused to submit the Constitution and By-laws to the Stockholders, unless they fully confirmed the action they had taken. The Stockholders approved of the action of the Committee, in so far as they had com- plied with the prospectus.
The Chairman and part of the Committee then withdrew from the meeting.
Mr. John King was then called to the Chair, and Mr. Jas. Grange requested to act as Secretary, when it was moved by Mr. Titus F. Brown, second- ed by Mr. T. Beeman, and
Resolved — That the Committee appointed at the first meeting to draft a Constitution and By-laws for this Association, be requested to present such draft at a general meeting of the Stockholders, on Monday, I2th inst., at 7 o'clock p.m., and that the officers of this Association be arroointed at that meeting to be held at the Court House, Napanee.
Napanee, Dec. 12, 1853.
At a meeting of the Stockholders of the Napa- nee Club Library held this evening at the Court House, James Wilson, Esq., was called to the Chair, and James Grange acting Secretary.
A draft of a Constitution was submitted by Mr. James Blakely, which was read.
It was moved by C. James, seconded by A. Fraser, and
Resolved — That this meeting considers that the Committee, appointed at the first meeting of the Association, had no legal right to elect the officers of this Association, but that their proceedings, so far as the receiving of the books in trust for the Association and drafting a Constitution and By- laws, be approved.
Moved by Abraham Fraser, seconded by John Gibbard, and
Resolved — That we recognize the draft of a Constitution presented by Mr. Blakely, (one of the Committee appointed to draft the same), as coming legally before this meeting.
The Constitution was then taken up section by section, and adopted with a few amendments.
CONSTITUTION.
Article I. — This Association shall be known as the Napanee Club Library.
46 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Article II. — The Officers shall consist of a Presi- dent, two Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer and L/ibrarian, who shall be appointed annually by a majority of the Stockholders present at each an- nual meeting. Fifteen Stockholders shall form a quorum, at any regular special meeting.
Article III.— It shall be the duty of the Presi- dent, or, in his absence, one of the Vice-Presidents, to preside over the meetings of this Association, and give the casting vote, on all matters, when a tie may occur ; to direct the Secretary, to call special meetings, when applications shall be made in writing by ten members of the Association.
Article IV. — The Secretary shall keep a fair and impartial record of the proceedings of the Association ; receive all moneys, and pay the same over to the Treasurer, taking his receipt for the same ; and shall make out, at the expiration of his term, a full report of the transactions of the Asso- ciation for the past vear.
Article V. — it shall be the dutv of the Treasurer to pay all orders drawn on him by the President, attested by the Secretary, and none others. He shall receive and hold all moneys of the Association unless otherwise ordered — and shall keep a full and correct account of all monevs received and expend- ed, and deliver up to his successor, when legally called upon to do so, all moneys, papers, books, &c., belonging to his offce.
Article VI.— It shall be the dutv of the Librar- ian to take charge of the Books, and to be governed by such By-laws, and regulations, as may be adopt- ed by the Association.
Article VII.— The Annual Meeting of the As- sociation shall be held on the second Tuesday in December, in each vear, and regular Quarterly meet- ings on the second Tuesdays in March, June and September, at six o'clock p.m.
A Article VIII.— Each Stockholder shall have as many votes as he holds shares, and may either vote in person or by proxv.
Article IX.— Each stockholder shall have the privilege of transferring his share, or shares, by giving notice of such transfer to the Secretary, who shall thereupon enter the name of such party in the books of the Association.
Article X. — The Secretary shall give two weeks' notice of such regular meeting, and at least, one week's notice of any special meeting, stating in
COPIES OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. 47
such notice the object of such special meeting, and that such notices be published in the newspapers printed in this village.
Article XI.— No part of the Constitution or By- laws shall be altered, or amended, unless at a re- gular, annual or quarterly meeting of the Associa- tion, and not then, unless notice of such proposed alteration or amendment be given at the regular meeting, next preceeding such regular meeting.
The following persons were elected officers of the Association, for the ensuing year, viz. : —
D. ROBLIN, Esq., President. C. JAMES, Secretary.
R. ESSON. Esq., Vice-president. J. BLAKELY, Treasurer. JOHN KING. Vioe-President. J. GRANGE. Librarian.
Messrs. Gibbard, W. V. Detlor, King, Herring and James, were appointed a Committee to draft By-laws, to be submitted to the Stockholders on Tuesday evening, the 2oth inst.
Resolved — That the Librarian, Mr. James Grange, be required to call upon the Committee appointed heretofore, to receive the books from Mr. Tremaine, and requests them to deliver the books to him, in behalf of the Stockholders, and that the President and Secretary be required to give an order on the Committee for the purpose.
Messrs. J. Herring, A. Fraser and James Grange were appointed a provisional Committee, to procure a suitable Bookcase, and necessary articles, for the benefit of the lyibrarv.
The meeting adjourned to meet on Tuesday evening, the 2oth inst., at 7 o'clock, when a full attendance of the Stockholders is requested.
Napanee, Dec. 15,
PROGRAMME OF PROCESSION WHEN
CORNER STONE OF THE MARKET
HAIvL WAS LAID (1856).
PROGRAMME OF THE PROCESSION AND ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS
TO BE OBSERVED ON THE OCCASION OF THE LAYING OF
THE CORNER STONE OF THE NEW MARKET HOUSE
AND TOWN HALL ON WEDNESDAY, THE
llth DAY OF JUNE. INST.
The various bodies and individuals purposing to walk in procession on this auspicious occasion will
48 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
assemble at n o'clock a.m., in Dundas Street, op- posite the office of the Reeve, and having marshalled themselves in order, two and two, will move thence, through the principal streets to the Market Square, in the following order :—
THE NAPANEE SAX-HORN BAND.
A BODY OF CONSTABLES WITH THEIR BATONS.
THE GOOD TEMPLARS IN THE FULL REGALIA OF THE ORDER.
THE SCHOOL TEACHERS.
THE SCHOOL CHILDREN.
THE MEMBERS OF THE FIRE BRIGADE AND HOOK AND LADDER COMPANY IN FULL UNIFORM.
CITIZENS.
MAGISTRATES.
ADJOINING COUNCILLORS.
THE CONTRACTORS OF THE BUILDING.
THE ARCHITECT, WITH THE PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS. ASSESSOR AND COLLECTOR.
THE CLERK. THE MEMBERS OF THE VILLAGE COUNCIL.
THE REEVE.
THE MEDICAL FACULTY.
THE BAR IN THEIR ROBES.
CLERGYMEN IN THEIR ROBES.
THE VARIOUS MASONIC REPRESENTATIVES FROM A DISTANCE. THE MEMBERS OF UNION LODGE.
Arrived at the Market Square, the procession will file off right and left from the South East corner of the building, the Masonic fraternity marching thereafter to the immediate scene of the ceremony, \vhich will be gone through after the customary and imposing Masonic form.
THE BAND
will be stationed at a convenient distance, and, discoursing appropriate music at intervals, will enhance the character of the proceedings, which will close with the delivery of one or more suitable orations from gentlemen who are expected to be present. On completion of the ceremony, the pro- cession reforming will march along Bridge and Dundas streets, as far as Shaw's Hotel, where it will disperse.
A luncheon will be provided at 3 o'clock, in a
COPIES OF ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. 49
suitable building erected on the market ground, tickets for which will be furnished by the committee of management to such as inav feel inclined to par- take.
H. ACTON, Marshal. Napanee, June 6, 1856.
MONTREAL'S INVITATION TO CELEBRATE
THE COMPLETION OF GRAND TRUNK
RAILWAY BETWEEN MONTREAL
AND TORONTO (1856).
CITY OF MONTREAL.
(NO. 180). (NOT TRANSFERABLE).
Montreal, 2oth October, 1856. Sir, — It being the intention of the Citizens of Montreal to celebrate the Completion of the Grand Trunk Railroad, connecting this City with the City of Toronto, the honour of your company, and that of the Ladies of your family, is requested at the Commemorative Festivities, to be held in Montreal, on the 1 2th and I3th days of November next.
DAVID KINNEAR. Chairman.
b
HENRY STARNES, Mayor of Montreal.
L. H. HOLTON, M.P.P., President Board of Trade.
CHARLES GARTH, President Mechanics' Institute.
A. A. DORION, M.P.P. }
»-5 HENRY LYMAN. City Councillor.
HENRY BULMER, City Councillor. ^ W. WORKMAN.
S JOHN LEEMING.
AUGUSTUS REWARD. J- g £
THOMAS S. BROWN.
THOMAS CRAMP. ^
WALTER JONES, M.D.
C. J. COURSOL.
a
BROWN CHAMBERLAIN. £ THOMAS WILY.
P ALFRED PERRY.
^ W. RODDEN.
J. G. DINNING.
THOMAS MORLAND.
TO
S. WARNER, Esq., Wilton.
d
>
50 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
RAILWAY PASSES TO ATTEND THE ABOVE CELEBRATION (1856).
Montreal, October 25, 1856,
The accompanying Invitation of the Citizens of Montreal, countersigned by the Secretary, will pass the Gentleman and Ladies, to whom it is addressed, over the following Railroads, to attend the Celebra- tion, to be held in Montreal, including the Banquet, Ball and Excursion in the Harbour.
By order of the Invitation Committee,
T. MORLAND, D. KINNEAR,
Secretarv. Chairman.
RAILWAYS. MICHIGAN CENTRAL. SOUTHERN MICHIGAN. GREAT WESTERN.
NORTHERN ONTARIO, SIMCOE & HURON. GRAND TRUNK. OTTAWA AND PRESCOTT. ANDROSCOGGIN AND KENNEBEC. BOSTON AND MAINE. EASTERN RAILROAD. CHAMPLAIN AND ST. LAWRENCE. MONTREAL AND NEW YORK. RUTLAND AND BURLINGTON. CHESHIRE. PITCHBURG. VERMONT CENTRAL. NORTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE. CONCORD.
MANCHESTER & ST. LAWRENCE. BOSTON & LOWELL.
INDEX.
Abinger 15, 17, 18, 19
Acton, H 44, 49
Addington Arms 2
Addington Colonization Road 15, 16
Addington County 6, 14, 15
Addington Reporter 31
Adolphustown 8, 30
Agricultural Exhibition 33
Albury 38
Allen, Mrs. J. Conger 5
Allison, C. R 30
America 21
Americans 9
Amusements of the County 5
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons 32, 48
Androscoggin and Kennebec Railway 5°
Anglican Church 31
Appleby, Billie 38, 39
Ashby 19, 20
Assembly, House of 10, 28
Atlantic Ocean 16
Attorney-General 13
Aylesworth, Geo. Anson 26
Aylesworth, Isaac Brock 28, 30
Bahama Islands 35
Baker, George 12
Barber & Co., Wm 23
Barrie Township 17
Bartles, Jas. F 44
Bath 12, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 40
Bath Academy 12, 13, 28, 40
Bath School Society 12
Beach, David ". 13, 35
Beaver Meadow 16
Beaver, The 31
Bebee, E. C 19
Beeman, T 45
Belleville 37
Bell, William 41
Benny & Co 23
Benson, John 38, 44
52 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Bidwell, Barnabas 12
Bidwell, Marshal S 12, 13, 28
Bingham, The Misses 38
Black, John 27, 29
Blakely, James 44, 45, 47
Boston 23
Boston & Lowell Railway 50
Boston & Maine Railway 50
Bridgewater 16, 17
Briscoe House 38
British Parliament 13
British North America 6
British North American, The 31
British Settlements 7
British Subjects 9
Brock, Sir Isaac 28
Brown, Titus F 45
Brown, Thomas S 49
Buhr Stones 17
Bulmer, Henry 49
Burlingham, Reuben 43
Burns, John 15
Burrows, Frederick 4, 6, 7
Burwash, Rev. Chancellor 32
By-town 30
California 26, 38
Camden 26, 32
Camden East 32
Campbell, Alex 13, 37, 44
Campbell, John 13, 35
Campbell House 37
Canada 16, 33
Canadian Historical Societies 5
Carlyle, Mr 36
Carlyle, Thomas 36
Carnochan, Miss Janet 5
Carrying Place 37
Casey, Thomas 37
Catacombs, The 6
Caton, Allen 32
Cedar Lake 17
Cedar Lake Settlement 17, 18
Chamberlain, Browrn. 49
Champlain 5
Champlain and St. Lawrence Railway 50
Checkley, E. R 5
Cheeseborough, Rev 35
Cheshire Railway 50
INDEX. 53
Christian Guardian 29, 30, 31
Clark, David 43
Clark, William 42, 43
Clarke, J 7
Clarke, Major 8
Clarke, P. M 8
Clarksville 8
Classical Schools n, 36
Cloyne 14, 20
Coast, A Trip to 5
Coleman, Prof. A. P 6
Colebrooke 26
Collegiate Institutes...,.., 12
Collin's Bay 8
Colton, Mr 23
Conner, Robert 15, 19
Cornhill Magazine , 26
Cornwall 29
Coursol, C. J 49
Court House, Napanee 44, 45
Cowley, Abraham 29
Concord Railway k 50
Constitutional Act of 1871 II
Cramp, Thomas 49
Crankshaw, Isaac 15, 19
Crown Lands n
Cruikshank, A 15
Crysler's Farm 5
Crysler, Miss Jessie 5
Cumberland, Barlow 5, 6
Customs House 38
Daly, James 4
Danube River 26
Davey, G. H 38
Davy, B. C 40, 44
Davy, Peter 12, 40
Denbigh 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21
Denike, Anthony 29
Deroche, H. M...... 36
Detlor, Wm. Van Pelt 27, 33, 47
Detlor, J, V 13
Devine, Rev. J. A 13
Dinning, J. G 49
Documentary History of Education II, 12, 28
Dorion, A. A 49
Dorey, G 31
Dorland, P. L 36
Dundas... 8
54 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Dundas County 7
Dundas Street 38, 48
Buncombe, Dr 9, 10
Dunn, Wiman & Co 23
Eakins, George 28
Early Education 6, 7
Eastern Railroad.... 50
Ecclesiastical History 5
Edinburgh 21, 25
Education Department 7
Elements of Our National I/ife 6
Empire, The Making of 5
England.. 12, 35
England in the Days of King Alfred 6
Ernesttown 8, 12, 26, 28, 30
Esson, R 44, 47
Fairfield, Benjamin 12
Fairfield, Stephen 12
Fairfield, William 12
Family Compact 9, 12
Files, Benjamin 27
Fitchburg Railway 50
Flach, Ulysses J 4
Forward, Henry T 37
Forward, Mrs. H. T "4
Fraser, Abraham 45, 47
Fraser, Captain 7, 8
Fredericksburgh 7
Free Methodist Church 19
French Canadian Village 6
Frontenac County 15, 17, 18, 32, 36
Gananoque, Ont 23
Garth, Charles 49
Georgetown, Ont 23
German Empire and Its People 6
German Immigrants 15
German Lutheran Church 18
German Settlements 16, 19
Gerow, Henry 43
Gibbard, John 4, 45, 47
Givens, Rev. S 13
Glaeser, Herman 19*.
Glenfield 19
Good Templars 48
Grange, Mrs. Alex. W 4
Grange, E. W 5
INDEX. 5ii
Grange, Dr 8
Grange, James 44, 45, 47
Grange, John T 24, 39
Grammar Schools n, 12, 13, 29, 32, 34, 36
Grand Trunk Railway 32, 49, 50
Grant, Hugh .". 15
Grant, Dr 26
Great Western Telegraph Co 37
Greene, Abraham 43
Great Western Railway 50
Griffith 20
Hagerman, Christopher 13
Haines, William 19
Haldimand Township 40
Haliburton County.. 38
Hall, W. F 24
Hallowel 42
Hardinge 17
Harrowsmith 33
Harvey, Norman Leo 43
Hastings County . 15, 18, 41
Hawley, George D 4
Hawley, Mrs. John Perry 37
Henry, Alexander 24
Heroines of Canadian History... 5
Herring, John 13, 24, 47
Herrington, Walter S 4, 5, 6
Heward, Augustus... 49
High Schools 12, 36
Hodgins, Dr u, 12, 28, 35
"Hollow, The" 28
Holton, L. H 49
Hooper, Augustus 32
Hope, Robert F 28, 32, 33
Horning, Prof. Iy. E 6
Hudson River 28
Hughs, David 17, 19
Ice Age, The 6
India, Discontent in 5
Indian Woods 37
Index, The 31
Ireland and the Irish Question 6
Italy, The Liberation of 6
James, Charles 45, 47
James, C. C 5
Jarvis, Canon 4, 5
56 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Jewel, J. H 20
John, August 16
Johns Hopkins' University , 36
Jones, Walter , 49
Johns, Solomon 12
Kaladar Station 20
Keeler, Eli 41, 42
Kenyon, Chas. M 15, 17, 19
King, John 45, 47
Kingston City 5, 12, 13, 29, 32, 38, 40
Kingsey Falls, Que 24
Kinnear, David 49, 50
Kylie, Prof. E. J 6
Laird, Prof. Alex 5
Laing, Robert 42, 43
Lake's Carriage Shop 34
Lane, James 19
Lane, J. S 18, 19
Lane, John 19
Lane, Samuel 18, 19
Lang, Prof. A. E 6
Lauder, Rev. W. B 44
Lavell, Prof. C. F 5, 6
Leavens, Daniel 42, 43
Leavens, Peter 43
Leeds County 15
Leeming, John 49
Lennox Arms 2
Legislative Assembly 9, 12, 13
Lennox and Addington 32, 33, 36
Lennox & Addington Historical Society.. 22, 25, 37
Levingston, David 15
Levingston, William 15
Lewin, Rev. William 35
Lockwood, Isaac J 33
Logan &' Co., Angus 22
London in the Eighteenth Century 6
Louisiana 24
Lyman, Henry JQ
Lyons, Mr 8
MacKay, Miss 40
Madden, John 27
Madden's Grist Mill 34
Mahomet's Coffin 10
Mallory, David 15
Mallorv, EHsha 15, 17
INDEX. 57
Mallory, John 18
Mallory, Washington 17
Manchester and St. Lawrence Railway 50
Manitoba 40
Market Hall Corner Stone 47
Market Square 48
Martyrs of New France 6
Matilda 7
Massanoga L,ake 17
Maynooth 18
Methodist Church 19, 27, 30, 31, 34
Methodism, Karly 6
Michigan Central Railway 50
Midland District 12, 13, 36
Miller, C. H 32
Miller, William 24
Mitchell's Directory 36
Minden " 38
Montreal 22, 23, 24, 40, 49, 50
Montreal and New York Railway 5°
Model School 35
Morland, Thomas 49, 5°
Morristown, N.J 21
Morrison, Prof. J. L 5, 6
Murray Canal 37
Macdonald, Sir John A 13, 40
Macdonald, Alexander 4
Macdonald, Mrs. Alexander 5
McCall, Rev. G. W 6
McClatchie, A 35
McConnell, Eli 43
McDowell, Rev. Robert 12
McGillivray, Wm 44
McKee, William 12
McPherson, D 44
Napanee 8, 16, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28,
30, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 43, 44, 45, 47, 49
Napanee Academy 13
Napanee Club I/ibrary.... 43, 44, 45
Napanee Fire Brigade ..34, 48
Napanee Mills 21, 24, 25
Napanee Mills Paper Manufacturing Co 24
Napanee River 23, 24, 26, 30, 32, 33
Nassau, Bahama Isles 35
Needier, Prof. G. H 6
Neilson, Samuel 12
Nelles, Dr 13, 28, 29, 32, 35
58 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Nesbit, D. A 36
Newburgh 23, 24
25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 3^1. 35, 36
Newburgh, N.Y 28
Newburgh Academy 13, 28, 29. 32, 34, 3=i, 36
Newburgh Paper Mills 23, 24, 25
Newcastle, District of 41
Newman, Chas 15, 16, 19
Newton, John 8
New York 28
Neville, Mitchel 27
Niagara 28
Niagara, Visitors to , 5
Northern New Hampshire Railway 50
Northern Ontario, Sinicoe & Huron Railway... 5°
Northumberland Countv 41
Ontario 25, 26, 38
Ontario Historical Society 4
Orange Hall 18
Origin of L/ocal Names 5
Ottawa, City 5, 22, 30
Ottawa and Prescott Railway 50
Parker, Sir Gilbert 32
Parker, Joseph 32
Peck, J 15
Peck, Samuel Stanley 37, 38, 39
Peck, William 37, 38
Perry, Mr 32
Perry, Alfred 49
Perry, David 27
Perry, Ebenezer 15
Perry, Peter 13
Perry, Robert 28
Perry's Mills 16
Petaluma 38
Petzold, E 18
Plevna 17, 18, 19
Ponton, Col. Wm. N 6
Presbyterian Church 31, 35
Prince Edward County 15, 37, 38
Prince Edward Island 5
Proceedings of the Napanee Club Library 43
Province, Making of 5
Quebejc, City 16
Quinte, Bay of 5, 7, 26, 37
INDEX, 59
Radel, Gotthard .... 17
Raglan ID
Raleigh, Sir Walter .,,..,.•> .••• 5
Rebellion, l836-'37 v ..,..,... 35
Reid, J , ,......, 15
Renfrew ,..»,.,.. ........r ,. 17
Renfrew County ?••» ~I7i J8
Rice, Barton & Co......... ,..,,,..„..... 25
Richmond Township 8, 17
Roblin, D ,..,,„„ , 44. 47
Roblin's Hill..,,, ,,..,.... 3$
Rockingham,,.,...,, ... 17
Rodden, W , 49
"Rogues' Hollow" 28, 30
Rooklidge, J, W 23, 24
Ruttan, Dr 32
Rutland and Burlington Railway 50
Ryerson, Dr. K 10, 30, 35
Saint Francis of Assisi 6
Sax-Horn Band..,.. 48
Schools......... 7, 8, 9, 10, n, 12, 13, 19
School Teacher's Contract 42
Scott, Prof, E"f F. 6
Scott, John R 24
Scotland 8, 21
Shaw's Hotel. .......:. °. 48
Shaw, Samuel.......... ,,. 27
Sherbrooke, Que , ......... 22
Shibley, John,......., ,,, 34
Shirley, Rev. P 32
Shortt, Adam...,.,.,. 5
Silesia, Prussian Province of 15
Simcoe, Gov II
Simmons, George......... 32
Slate Falls 19, 20
Slave, Assignment of 41
Smith, Alexander 24
Smith, Mr... 8
Southern Michigan Railway 50
Spain, Memories of.... ,... 5
Spencer, Homer..... 33
Starnes, Henry......... 49
Stein, Paul ,. 6, 14, 17, 18, 19
Stein, Charles 17
Stevenson, Hon. John ,. 23, 44
Stickney's Foundry 24, 34
Stoug-hton, Rev. John 12
Strathcona. 24
60 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
St. Catherines.... 29
St. John, N.B 21, 22, 23
St. John's Church 40
St. Lawrence River 23
Sweetman, George W 15, 19
Switzer, David 15
Switzer's Chapel 27
Switzer 's Neighborhood 30
Tamworth...-. 15, 26, 33
Taylor, John 37
Telegraph Offices 37
Temperance, Sons of 30, 34
Templeton, A 44
Thomson, James 21, 23, 24
Thomson, John... 6, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 33
Thomson Mills 24
Thurlow 41
Tocque, Miss Chauncey 5
Toronto 12, 20, 36, 49
Township Model School 29
Tremaine, Geo. C 43, 44, 47
Trenton .-, 37
Trenton, N.J 21
United Empire Loyalists 29
United States 22, 25, 35
Union Paper Bag Co 23
Upper Canada 15, 27, 28, 29, 36, 41, 42
Upper Canada College 12, 35
Valley Forge, Pa 33
Vennachar 18, 19
Vermont Central Railway 50
Victoria College 13, 29, 35
Warner, Clarance M 4, 5, 6
Warner, Sidney 32, 49
Wensley 19
Wensley, Edwin 19
Western Methodist Church 13
West Ward School 13
Whelan, Mr 32
Wickware, Win.... 15, 19
Wightman, Dr 35
Wilcocks, William 12
Wilson, H. L 36
Wilson, James 45
Wilson, Uriah 4
INDEX. fit
Wily, Thomas 49
Windsor, Que 22, 25
Wood Pulp 21
Worcester, Mass 25
Workman, W 49
Wright, Hiram 24
Wrong, Prof. George M 6
Wynn- Williams, Charles 36
Yarker 5, 26, 32
York 29
THOMAS WILLET CASEY
Born October 25&, 1834. Died April lOfli, 1903.
LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
PAPERS AND RECORDS.
VOL. III.
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS.
PRICE, 25 CENTS.
NAPANEE:
PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 1911.
PRINTED AT THE BEAVER OFFICE.
CONTENTS
Page Thomas Willet Casey Frontispiece
Chronology 4
Programmes of Public Meetings 5
The Casey Scrap Books, — Introduction by
Walter S. Herrington,, K.C 7
Concerning Mr. Thomas W. Casey, by A. Ding- man 9
An Old Adolphustown Burying Ground, by
Thomas W. Casey 13
Champlain, the Discoverer of Bay of Quinte and
Lake Ontario, by Thomas W. Casey 16
Champlain in Bay of Quinte District, by
Thomas W. Casey 22
First Explorers and Discoverers of this Sec- tion, by Thomas W. Casey.... 26
This County a Century Ago, by Txhomas W.
Casey 31
Our County's First Surveys, by Thomas W.
Casey 37
The Adolphustown U. E. Iy. Burying Ground,
by Thomas W. Casey 44
In Old Time Graveyards,— From the Toronto
Weekly Sun of Aug. 9th, 1899 50
The Old Time District Councils, by Thomas
W. Casey 57
Index . 63
CHRONOLOGY.
Society Organized May 9th, 1907
Constitution Adopted June nth, 1907
First Open Meeting held Oct. 25th, 1907
Affiliated with .the Ontario Historical
Society ....March 3ist, 1908
Published Volume I. of Papers and
Records June I2th, 1909
Published Volume II. of Papers and
Records September I9th, 1910
OFFICERS SINCE ORGANIZATION. Honorary Presidents- Rev. Canon Jarvis 1907-8
*John Gibbard, Esq 1907
James Daly, Esq 1908-9-10-11
Walter S. Herrington, Estq 1909-10-11
Presidents—
Clarance M. Warner 1907-8-9-10-11
Vice Presidents —
Mrs. Alexander W. Grange... 1907-8-9-10-11
Secretary-Treasurer —
. Ulysses J. Flach, Esq 1907-8-9-10-11
Executive Committee —
Mrs. H. T. Forward 1907-8-9-10-11
Mr. Frederick Burrows 1907-8-9-10-11
Uriah Wilson, Ex-M.P 1907-8-9-10-11
Geo. D. Hawley, Ex-M. P.P... 1907-8-9-10-11 Rev. Alexander Macdonald... 1907-8-9-10-11
^Deceased.
PROGRAMMES OF PUBLIC MEETINGS.
The Society has held eight public meetings since the publication of Volume II. of its Papers and Records. A list of the programmes presented is given below. All of the meetings have been free to the general public : —
Oct. 2ist, 1910 :— "The Old Training and the New," by Mr. James L. Hughes, of Toronto.
Nov. 25th, 1910 : — "Provincial and Local Arch- ives," by Mr. Alexander Fraser, M.A., of Toronto.
Dec. 1 6th, 1910 :— "Life and Manners in Scot- land One Hundred Years Ago," by Prof. J. L- Morrison, of Queen's University, Kingston.
Jan. 27th, 1911 :— "The Referendum," by Prof. O. D. Skelton, of Queen's University, Kingston.
Feb. 24th, 1911 : — "The Genesis and Develop- ment of the Hudson's Bay Company," by Walter S. Herrington, K.C., of Napanee.
March 3ist, 1911 :— "Pompeii, a Walk Through the Streets of a Once Buried City," by Prof. G. W. Johnston, of the University of Toronto, Toronto.
April 28th, 1911 :— "The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson," by Prof. Alexander Laird, of the Royal Military College, Kingston.
May 26th, 1911 : — "The Roman Occupation of Britain," by Prof. G. Oswald Smith, of the Univer- sity of Toronto, Toronto.
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS.
The readers of "The Napanee Beaver" are familiar with the following double-column caption :
•
Old-time Records
Relating to the Early Days of this Province
Conducted by
THOS. W. CASEY
which for several years, particularly during the years 1899, 1900 and 1901, was the recognized title of the valuable contributions) to that paper from the pen of our late esteemed townsman, Mr. Thos. W. Casey. These articles, inspired by a love for his native County and a reverence for the pioneers, were the result of years of careful study and patient research, and fortunately have been preserved, to- gether with a large number of selected clippings neatly arranged in his scrap books, now in the custody of The Lennox and Addington Historical Society. Written at different times and from various standpoints, there is but little connection between these articles in their present form, and it is much to be regretted that Mr. Casey did not find the time or opportunity to re-arrange, in proper sequence, the material he had collected. Such a work entrusted to other hands must necessarily lose much of its interest. In glancing over the collection I find that it may be conveniently arranged under different headings, and the first that naturally suggests itself as the most fitting to begin with is that series of articles and clippings dealing with the discovery and actual settlement of this County, which of course includes his extensive notes upon the old families and prominent men of by-gone years. His contributions upon the admin- istration of justice, the early schools, missionaries, churches and other kindred subjects, might be of more general interest. These will, I trust, in due time be re-arranged and presented to the public in a convenient form. I have, so
8 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
far as practicable, taken very few liberties with the text, and have in no instance detracted from the substance by either in- terjecting my own views or by eliminating any portion of the articles so as to impair the argument of the writer. He loved to linger about the old grave-yards and ruminate on the experiences, the joys and sorrows of his ancestors whose ashes lay mouldering there. Year after year he returns to this, his favorite theme, and time and again the same sentiments will be found presented. I have made no effort to avoid the repetition of these re- flections upon a subject so dear to him. These memories cannot be revived too often, and I fear the true essence of his work would be lost if I attempted to present the bare facts as recorded by him without the inspiring thoughts which they awakened in him.
W. S. HERRINGTON.
CONCERNING MR. THOS. W. CASEY.
BY A. DINGMAN. MAY 3rd, 1901.
To the Editor of The Beaver :
It has fallen to my lot to read a few of the late numbers of your excellent paper which has given me very great pleasure. The "Old Time Records", conducted by Mr. Thomas W. Casey, have been of great interest to me. I was born in the Bay of Quinte country in the year last but two of the high- est "digits of the third decade of the nineteenth century. The place of my birth was back in the woods of Tyendinaga, on the concession along which the Grand Trunk Railway now skirts part of a mile south. I came west in the year last but one of the fifth decade of the last century, when in my twenty-second year. It is quite natural that "Old Time Records" of the old Bay of Quinte country should have greater interest to me than to persons who know it in only a geographical and historical sense. It was the place of my birth and childhood, and of three brothers and six sisters, all but two of whom have passed to the great beyond.
Many of the people named by Mr. Casey I have frequently seen and remember well. I remember well the late Allen Mo.Pherson and his son, Donald, and have often been in their store and mill. But I was under the impression that the mill belonged to the late John S. Cartwright, uncle, I believe, of the present Sir Richard Cartwright.
Many of the names of places mentioned in your paper are new to me, and I have difficulty to locate them. The name "Morven" I cannot recollect. If Gordanier's Tavern, mentioned by Mr. Casey, is the tavern I remember by that name, just a few miles south-east of Napanee, on the old Kingston Road, I can locate it. I gather that Morven is at that point. I remember well when the road between Napanee and Kingston was macadamized — it must be well on to seventy years ago. Palace Road, Gosport, Moscow, Fairview, Mountain Vale, Gretna, Canaan, Erinsville, Bellrock, Odessa, and many others, though very pretty names, were not familiar in the Bay of Quinte country fifty year ago. Nelson Doller, mentioned by Mr. Casey, as a venerable townsman and justice of the peace, I
10 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
remember very well. I have assisted at his grain threshings many times when he ran an open cylinder machine. There were no great separators then driven by steam engines, having straw carriers to deposit the straw on stacks at almost any height, as we have here in the west, and I suppose you have also in your district, and which, no doubt, Mr. Doller had before he retired from the grain threshing business. I have a distinct recol- lection of the raising of the frame and the building of the red mill in Napanee, which took the place of the old mill Mr. Casey describes as McPherson's. It was not raised by making a great bee as I had always seen barns raised, but with derricks, pulleys and windlass, which was a method then new to me.
I remember Mr. Thomas W. Casey when he was a boy, perhaps 12 or 13 years old, and his excellent father, the late Mr. Willet W. Casey, and his fine farm, comprising what was known 50 or 60 years ago, as Casey's Point, in Adolphustown. It had the reputatian of being, if I mistake not, one of the finest wheat and clover producing farms anywhere in the Bay of Quinte country.
I worked for Mr. Thomas Casey's father a few weeks in the early part of one harvest season when I was 15 or 1 6 years old. I think I must be a few years the senior of Mr. Thomas W. I was put first to hoeing potatoes alone in a field in the southeast part of the farm adjoining the German farm. The rows of potatoes had been ploughed between one way, and the ground was pretty weedy, particularly full of thistles. I had not then learned to slight my work, and thought that every thistle and weed of any kind must be hoed up, and the potatoes nicely hilled up. Working on these principles I made slow progress in getting over the ground, and worked very hard, fearing I would be found fault with for doing so little. After a day or two I was asked every time I came in how I was progressing, and had to confess that I had gotten over but a .small portion of the field. I could see that Mr. Casey's patience was growing short, and I grew anxious in proportion and worked even harder. One day he came out to the field bringing a hoe with him, and hoed with me for an hour or two, praised my work for quality but not quantity, and sent a man to help me, and then I got a lesson on slighting potato hoeing. It was a lonely experience I had in that back field, nearly surrounded by
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 11
woods at that time. One day I looked over into the woods and saw a fox lying asleep on an old log. I wished for a gun, but in vain, left reynard to enjoy his siesta undisturbed and continued my hoeing.
I was next set to helping haul in hay, and Thomas W. to watching the gaps, with his gram- mar in his hand. He had to be kept out of school, and that he might not fall behind in his class, his father required him to study his grammar while watching the gaps. He seemed to enjoy his job and I thought he had a fine time. One day when I passed him he seemed humorous and talkative and asked me somewhat tantalizingly if I would not like to be in his place, sitting in the shade of the fence studying grammar. I had learned, without a master, a few definitions and rules and had gone over some examples in parsing, according to Ivindley Murray, but they were without meaning to me. Master Thos. W's. little banter stuck to me, and some years after I became acquainted with a young man who could parse, and apply the defini- tions and rules in a way that convinced me there was something in the study of grammar that I had not got hold of, and I determined to know it. This is the way I learned. I had no teacher, and was too poor to go to school. These were the days before the Rev. Dr. Ryerson had developed his school system to the degree of perfection that made it the glory of Upper Canada, alias Ontario. There were few schools then, and many of these few were intermittent, and the teachers without normal training. One fall when I was about 18 or 19 I was sent to the Napanee mill with a grist. I had been told of a Mr. Essen, as near as I can remember to spell the name, a druggist, who had the reputation of being a good grammarian. I went to him and asked him if he knew a grammar that would assist a boy to teach himself ? He said, "Yes, Kirk- ham's". I took a bushel of wheat I had brought to the mill, sold it, bought Kirkham's grammar, took it home, studied it every hour I could snatch from work, or sleep, often by very imperfect light from the fire in the old Dutch chimney, followed minutely the directions of the author, and by Spring I had Kirkham's grammar practically by heart, and knew that I understood it, could analyze, parse, correct and make false syntax with the best of the boys and men too. My greatest difficulty, however,
12 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
has been to learn to avoid making false syntax. I had the vernacular of the Bay of Quinte Dutch to unlearn, get rid of, and replace with good English, but began late.
I studied mathematics in the same way. I mastered four books of geometry according to Le- gendre, and knew that 1 knew them, before I ever saw or heard any person demonstrate a proposi- tion. I learned arithmetic and algebra also in the same way. There is a field on the shore of the Bay of Quinte where the plough turns the soil down to the lime-stone rock. I have ploughed and harrowed that field many times. When the team became tired — and sometimes not very tired — I would pick up a smooth flat piece of limestone and a smaller sharp- angled piece and work propositions in arithmetic, algebra or geometry. Many a flat stone in that field has been so used.
I remember the late John Strachan, Superin- tendent of schools for the Midland District, to whom Mr. Casey refers in The Beaver of the 5th inst. I passed an examination before him in 1847 or 1848, and received his certificate of qualification to teach school. I never taught under it however. I think I must have that certificate somewhere among old papers, but am not able to lay hands on it just now.
I want to refer further to the late Mr. Willet W. Casey, Thomas W's. father, and my first em- ployer. I thought him a most kind, amiable and noble man. In the most hurried season all hands were called in regularly for family worship. I got impressions from him of much good. He was also a Methodist class-leader.
If permitted I may say that since I hoed pota- toes for Mr. Casey's father, I have farmed, lumber- ed, taught school, owned and edited a newspaper, served the Dominion Government in a responsible position some fifteen years, and am now "retired" —I do not like to say "superannuated" — on a star- vation allowance. I have raised a family of five boys and three girls, have given them all a Col- legiate, and some a University education. They are all grown up ; some are married and all are doing fairly well, but scattered from New York to var- ious parts of the Dominion of Canada.
If you have time, space and disposition to publish these rambling, disjointed, and I fear too egotistical remarks, you are at liberty to do so.
AN OLD ADOLPHUSTOWN BURYING GROUND.
BY THOS. W. CASEY. AUGUST 16th, 1901.
In the first settlement of the U. E. Loyalists in the old Township of Adolphustown every lot situated on the north side of Hay Bay, consisting of the fourth and fifth concessions, was at once assigned and nearly every one of them was at once occupied. It so happens that every one of these lots lies fronting the waters of either Hay Bay, or Bay Quinte, and that was a very important matter in the days when there were no roads, wagons or horses, and the water was the one common high- way.
There was but one burying ground in that part of the township, and it alone has been used by the people of that locality from the time of the first settlement of the township to this day with a slight exception or two. It will probably continue to be the last resting place of many of the residents of that locality for generations to come. It happens, however, that the descendants of the first Loyalists who cleared away the wilderness there and trans- ferred the then "wild lots" into very fruitful and productive farms have now nearly all left the town- ship. It is somewhat singular that of all the well- known of the earliest and largest families all over the old township of Adolphustown, only a very few bearing the old family names now remain living there. The old residents of three score and three score and ten years are now surrounded by those whose names* and families they knew nothing of in their early years.
THE OLD BURYING GROUND.
A recent visit to the old burying ground in the Fourth Concession of the Township of Adolphus- town, located on the small hill on the farm now occupied by James McMorine and Wm. H. Cadman, was of unusual interest to the writer. It recalled the memories of many faces and histories of those familiar many years ago, who were active and in- fluential citizens in their day, but who are now silently resting until the resurrection day. Just how early that "God's acre" was established and began to be used, we know not, but it was probably
14 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
soon after the first deaths began to occur among the earliest of the settlers. There seems at no time to have been any other common burying place established, and few of the dead among the settlers were taken elsewhere for burial.
The interments of the first generation were nearly all made before there were headstones at all in use, and what red cedar posts and other, articles may have been made use of to mark the respective graves, are now all obliterated. The ground, is now in a much better condition than most of our old country graveyards, having foeen : recently well and substantially fenced;. ;witk a i very substantial steel wire fence and Jred i cedar posts. The most of the headstones that iwere ever put there — they are, nearly 1 all. ': white marble slabs — are also: in a iairt- .stated of preservation. To-day, with a very sinall expendi- ture of time, labor and money, it can all foe '.put in a good condition. Perhaps all it mayvnow need is for some active person to take the inMativ& of starting a subscription for that purpose.
SOME FAMILIAR NAMES.
Among the names inscribed on these headstones are numbers of those well-known and familiar to the inhabitants of years ago, but hardly .now known at all. They may as well be taken in rota- tion as they lived along the Hay Bay front, com- mencing at "the Point" at the western extremity. There first come those of William Gasey and his wife, Martha Robinson. They were the pioneers of what was well-known as "Casey's Point" in early times, and the name was often given to the entire neighborhood. That point has become pretty well isolated now, but in the early days when canoes and small sailing boats were alone used for travel- ing purposes it was considered a very central locality.
William Casey and his brother, Willet, who first settled in the Second Concession of Adolphustown, were among the well-known of the earliest IT. E. Iv- refugees. They were natives of Providence, Rhode Island, where their father was a silversmith of considerable prominence. They were both active in the British cause during the years of the Ameri- can revolution, and of course, they shared the fortune of all the other Loyalists of that day, and had to find refuge in Canada, their property having
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 15
been confiscated. Willet lies buried, with his wife and several members of his family, in the old U. E. L. burying ground at the Village of Adolphustown, and mention has been made of them before. William and representatives of three generations of his family lie buried here. His name appears on the official lists of the U. E. Ls. in the Provincial Crown I/ands Department, with this official record : "Was a master carpenter in Quartermaster Gener- al's Department at Yorktown (previous1 to the out- break of the revolution.) Came in 1786." His name was on the Government list of 1786 of those to whom provisions were supplied. His name also appears in the Crown Lands as the one to whom the original deed was granted for lots 24, 25 and 26 of the Fourth Concession of Adolphustown — farms now owned by Dr. Ward and Isaiah Sherman. He lived on that farm till the day of his death, and reared a large family, whose descendants are now pretty generally scattered in various parts of this province and in British Columbia and else- where. He died in 1842 at the ripe age of 82 years. He was a member of the first Methodist class form- ed in Upper Canada, at Adolphustown, in 1791 ; he was one of the builders of the historic old Metho- dist church there— the first of the kind built in Upper Canada, and his name stands on the original subscription list as one of the largest subscribers for its erection. His wife, Martha Robinson, was a native of Duchess County, New York, and was a member of a well-known Quaker family there. She died in 1840, aged 77 years.
They built a large and comfortable dwelling house for themselves over a hundred years ago, which is still standing and is now occupied, sound and quite as warm to-day as most of the modern built dwellings. It has seen the whole of one century and the end and commencement of two others. In their day it was not an uncommon thing to see wolves, foxes and bears passing along the bay shore directly in front of their own doors, and bears used to swim across the bay there, where it was over a mile wide. Two of the daughters once saw a bear thus swimming to shore, and went down to meet him, knowing how wet and tired he would be after such a swim, and actually killed him with an axe and club. And it was quite a large one, too.
One of their children only, Samuel Robinson,
16 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
with his wife, Hannah Johnson, have their final resting place beside the parents. Their daughter, Elizabeth Jane, who died a young woman, and a grandchild, Jewel J., a young son of the late Hiram Casey, of Kingston, are also lying in the same family plot.
CHAMPLAIN, THE DISCOVERER OF BAY OF QUINTE AND LAKE ONTARIO.
BY THOS. W. CASEY. OCTOBER 26th, 1900.
Samuel Champlain, the early and heroic French explorer and colonizer, deserves a more prominent position in the history of Canada than he has been generally accorded. Not only was he associated with the early founders of Port Royal, now Anna- polis, in Nova Scotia ; the founder of what is now the City of Quebec ; the first white discoverer of Lake Champlain, which bears his name ; the real founder of what is now the great City of Montreal ; but he was also prominently associated with the early history of Upper Canada, and especially with our own Bay of Quinte county. He was the first white man to see and navigate the waters of Bay of Quinte and to become even aware of the existence of I/ake Ontario, and it seems quite probable, from the records he wrote of his own life and doings, that he also traversed the Napanee River and spent some weeks at either Varty or Mud Lake, in this county.
We have not here space to write of or even to make mention of his early connection with Acadia, now Nova Scotia, and of the opening up of the various settlements in the Province of Quebec, — at Tadousac, Quebec, Mount Royal and other points, of which he, was for so many years a master and guiding spirit. Nor can we here make more than passing reference to his long and intimate connec- tion with the early fur trade and other Indian affairs, not only of the Indians of Quebec, but of the Upper Ottawa and other parts of what is now Ontario, but of those of what is now the State of New York as well.
Briefly it may be stated that he was born at the little sea-port town of Brouage, on the Bay of Biscay, in 1567, of French parentage, his father having been an adventurous sea-captain. After a
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long, active, useful and adventurous life, much checkered with successes and disappointments, he died at what is now the City of Quebec, of which he was the real founder, on Christmas day, 1635, aged 68 years. No other man in his day had so much to do with the early founding and opening up of what is now the eastern half of the Dominion of Canada, or with the opening up of trade and of Christian missions among its then aborigines.
SOME FACTS OP HIS HISTORY.
Here are two or three facts in connection with his great life work that may be of interest to those who have not made themselves familiar with the history of his life and labors. He laid the founda- tion of what is now the City of Quebec in July, 1608, he was successful in sowing and raising wheat on the grounds about Quebec and Montreal a year or two later than that and of sending fair samples to France, to convince the people there that the newly founded province on the borders of the great St. Lawrence River was capable of cultivation and permanent settlement, as well as of a large and lucrative fur trade with the Indians. He was the first to discover and report of the existence of a then fertile prairie district on the banks of the St. Lawrence where the City of Montreal now stands, of successfully raising some grain there of his own planting, and of starting the building up of a few humble houses into a small village and which has now grown into the most wealthy and populous commercial metropolis in the Dominion of Canada, and which may yet become the most important manufacturing and commercial city of the whole continent of North America.
In one of his excursions with an Indian war party, in 1609, he was the first white man to ascend the Richelieu River and discover the existence of Lake Champlain, which now perpetuates his name. In May, 1615, he had introduced to Quebec the great French Missionaries, of the Recollet order, the first Christian Missionaries to Canada ; the Order has been in existence in that Province ever since and has played an important part in the work of the Roman Catholic Church. Champlain was himself a zealous Roman Catholic and displayed a good deal of earnestness in his endeavors to chris- tianize the aborigines of the country.
It was in one of his war expeditions with his
18 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Indian allies in 1615 that he first ascended the Ottawa River up to its head at Lake Nipissing and further on that he reached Lake Huron ; coming from that down, through the then only available and known water-way, he passed through Lake Simcoe and down the system of creeks and rivers of the Trent Valley, reached the Bav of Quinte, and then made the discovery, so far as any white man is concerned, of the existence of the great Lake Ontario. Then, on the return from that historic and unsuccessful Indian campaign, he appears to have passed up the Napanee River, and spent some time about one of the lakes in Camden Township, until the winter had so far set in that they were able to cross the country north-westward on the hardened ground and the frozen snow and ice. It is in connection with this expedition that we wish now to make special reference.
FINDING BAY OF QUINTE.
To us, with our present knowledge of our rivers and lakes, it appears very singular and all but in- credible, that the Bay of Quinte, and even Lake Ontario should have been discovered first by white men by the roundabout way of the Upper Ottawa River, thence down the eastern coast of Georgian Bay and the Trent River system. The story of it all is, in brief, something as follows : It was in the year 1615 that Champlain, after his arrival from a trip to France, arranged to proceed with his allies, the Huron Indians and some of their allied tribes, to a war-like expedition against their old time and deadly enemies, the Iroquois and some of their allies of the Five Nations, who occupied the territory principally in New York State, from Lake Champlain on the east to near the Mississippi on the west, and south of the great lakes. The Indians supposed if they had Champlain and his guns against their foes, with only their bows and arrows, a crushing and complete victory would be obtained. Champlain, on the other hand, was anxious to cement his friendship with the Hurons, so as thus to more thoroughly secure their fur trade, and gain greater friendship and freedom of exploration in their territory north of the St. Lawrence and the Lakes, and on both sides of the Ottawa. His arrangements were to meet the Hurons at their chief settlements, on the far np
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Ottawa River, in what is now the Parry Sound Dis- trict. Here, it is said, they were a nation nearly 30,000 strong, with large and well-built houses, and they subsisted by agriculture as well as by hunting. Champlain, with some Indian guides, went up the Ottawa, reached Georgian Bay, passed down its eastern coast, thence into Lake Simcoe, down the Trent River and into Bay of Ouinte, their objective point being the Iroquois settlements along what is now known as the great Mohawk Valley, between Oswego and Albany. That seemed, as we can now see it, a wonderfully circuitous and round- about route, but it was first necessary for him to meet the Hurons at their headquarters and then, too, to pursue a route then well known and free from dangers of an attack from Indian enemies. To the Indian allies the existence of the Bay and I/ake Ontario was, no doubt, familiar, but it was an entirely new discovery to the white men. There are some very curious and interesting incidents re- corded by Champlain himself in connection with that great trip from the mouth of the Ottawa to the head of our Bav, but a limit of space here pre- vents even a passing reference to them.
ON THE BAY AND ACROSS.
According to the account given in Francis Parkman's great history of "Pioneers of France in the New World", and the map accompanying, Champlain and his Indian associates passed down the Bay from the mouth of the Trent River, through the Upper Gap, and direct across to the south shore of Lake Ontario. They then concealed their boats and took their journey across to the settlements of the Iroauois. The latter appear to have been well fortified against this and similar war-like incur- sions from their many Indian enemies. Some of the Iroquois were first seen in their fields, gathering in their corn, pumpkins and other harvest — for it was now in the fall of the year. The young Hurons who first thus came in contact with the old enemies of their tribe, at once rushed at them, screaming their war-cry and were at once un- governable. The Iroquois became thus warned and alarmed and hurriedly rushed to their strong de- fensive fortifications, bearing with them their alreadv wounded and killed. They had strong palisades formed of trunks of trees, twenty feet or
20 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
more high, and made impregnable to any weapons then known to Indian warfare.
Champlain soon instructed his allies to build a wooden tower, assisted by his dozen of French- men. This was made high enough to overlook the strong palisade and large enough to shelter four or five marksmen, with their guns. It was moved up near the palisade, and sheltered in this the French gunners shot down many of the inside defenders, but the Hurons were so impetuous, undisciplined and ungovernable, that Champlain soon saw there was nothing left but to retreat in as good order as possible, and thus save themselves from entire extermination. Some of the incidents in connection with that retreat give a good idea of the changes there have been in war campaigns, as well as in commerce, since those historic days. Parkman says : "Then began they hastily to retreat, carrying their wounded in the centre, while the Iroquois, sallying from their stronghold, showered arrows on their flanks and rear. The wounded, Champlain among the rest, (he had been struck in the knee with an arrow), after being packed in bastes made on the spot, were carried each on the back of a strong warrior, 'bundled in a heap,' says Cham- plain, 'doubled and strapped together after such a fashion that one could move no more than an infant in swaddling clothes. I never was in such torment in my life ; the pain of the wound was nothing to that of being bound and pinioned on the back 6f one of our savages. I lost patience, and as soon as I could bear my weight I got out of this prison, or rather out of hell.' "
THE ROUTE OF RETREAT.
Now come some of the most interesting facts, so far as our local interest is concerned, of the whole campaign. The retreating party found their concealed boats, and were soon on the lake again on their way back to the Ottawa home of the Hurons. vTudging from Parkman's map and the other ac- counts given, they must have made their way from Ivake Ontario through the Upper Gap and landed somewhere about Conway. They carried the boats and other traps "about half a league" across land to what Parkman supposes to have been in the vicinity of what is now Sillsville, on the south shore of Hay Bay, in South Fredericksburgh. The line of the route from there is here best given in a
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letter lying before us from Dr. T. A. Beeman, of Mallorytown, Ont., who has given a good deal of special study to this matter. He writes :
"All historians say this retreat was up an unknown river, and that he camped at an unknown lake. I believe the unknown river to be the Napanee River, and the unknown lake to be either Varty or Mud Lake, the probability strongly in favor of the latter. Kingsford says that Cham- plain, on his return to the Huron country, with his Huron allies, about 2,000 strong, went up a river about ten leagues. These are French leagues, about equal to 2% of our miles. That would be about 25 miles. He then went 7% leagues to a lake, about 10 or 12 miles in circumference. This, in my opinion, corresponds to Napanee River and Mud Lake. He camped" on this lake for over a month, until the bogs and boggy marshes became frozen over, when they crossed to their own country. He describes the immense number of wild fowl found there, and we know what a place Mud Lake still is for ducks, and probably at that time for wild geese."
We have examined the Canadian histories of McMullen, Withrow, Kingsford and Parkman, and the theories of Dr. Beeman appear to be well sus- tained in them all. Withrow writes that "they encamped for thirty-eight days near Mud lake, northwest of Kingston, waiting for the frost to bridge the rivers and marshes. For nineteen days (thereafter) he traversed on snowshoes the wintry forest, beneath a crushing load, through what is now the counties of Hastings, Peterboro' and Vic- toria ; and on Christmas eve the baffled war party reached Cahiagua. Champlain remained four months there with his Huron hosts, sharing in their councils, their feasts and their hunts, and hearing strange tales of the vast lakes and rivers of the Far West. He arrived at Quebec in 1816, after a year's absence, and was greeted almost as a resur- rection from the dead.
CHAMP^AIN IN BAY OF QUINTE DISTRICT.
BY THOS. W. CASEY. NOVEMBER 16th. 1900.
VIEWS OP THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE.
We are glad to know that the paper appearing in The Beaver recently in regard to Champlain and his probable stay for some weeks in this county— the first white man to ever traverse it — has attract- ed a good deal of interest. The writer has received letters from several well-known learned gentlemen regarding it, and the views of some others of them may be given later on. The following paper is from Mr. C. C. James, a Napanee old boy, and now Deputy Minister of Agriculture for this Pro- vince. He has given the early history of this Province, and especially of this section of it, a good deal of careful attention. From his well-known thoroughness and accuracy in such matters, his opinion is of much value. We bespeak, therefore, a careful reading of the following. We hope, too, that his suggestions about reporting any relics that may be found anywhere about here may be acted on. Already we have been informed of several Indian relics found about Mud Lake during the past few years ; but of these more will be given hereafter.
MR. JAMES1 PAPER.
The question of the camping ground of Cham- plain and the Indians on their return from the raid in 1615 into the Iroquois country to the south of Ivake Ontario, has been taken up in The Beaver of Oct. 26th. Mr. Casey and Dr. Beeman suggest Mud I/ake or Varty I/ake as the probable place of the sojourn. Being asked for my opinion in the matter, I gladly do so, not that I have an idea that I can settle it, but perhaps I may add something to the discussion, and indicate a line of investigation that some student of our early history may care to follow out.
Mr. Casey and Dr. Beeman start their work from the statement given in Kingsford's History of Canada, Vol. I., page 53. Kingsford then says :
"It is not possible to follow the return route
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of Champlain. He tells us, that after having tra- versed the end of that lake they followed a river for some twelve leagues, then they carried their canoes for half a league, to a lake ten or twelve miles in circumference. There is no locality closely answer- ing to this description. The difficulty is in the small lake rather than the river ; for north of Amherst Island the waters would be regarded as a river. Here the party established themselves for the purpose of hunting. They remained until the 4th December, when the navigation was closed by the frost."
In a foot-note Dr. Kingsford suggests Hay Bay, adding, "to some extent it answers the description given."
First of all let us get back to the original. Champlain 's work appeared first in 1619, but with- out a map. In the edition of 1632 the map appears for the first time, and much discussion has taken place as to whether Champlain was the author of the map or not. Orsamus H. Marshall, the well- known American historical student, formerly of Buffalo, thought that it was the work of other hands, added to the volume to make it more at- tractive. In 1870 "The Works of Champlain" were re-published by the University of I/aval, Quebec, edited by Abbe Provencher. In 1882 the Prince Society of Boston, brought out a translation in Knglish. In this Boston edition the passage vital to the discussion appears as follows :
"The next day, the 28th of the month, they began to make preparations ; some to go deer hunting, others to hunt bears and beavers, others to go fishing, others to return to their villages. An abode and lodging were furnished me by one of the principal chiefs, called D'Arontal, with whom I had already had some acquaintance. Having offer- ed me his cabin, provisions and accommodations, he set out also for the deer hunt, which is esteemed by them the greatest and most noble one. After crossing, from the Island, the end of the lake, we entered a river some twelve leagues in extent (?). They carried their canoes by land some half a league, when we entered a lake which was some ten or twelve leagues in circuit, where there was a large amount of game, as swans, white cranes, outards, ducks, teal, song thrush, larks, snipe, geese, and several other kinds of fowl too numerous to mention. Of these I killed a great number,
24 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
which stood us in good stead while waiting for the capture of deer. From there we proceeded to a certain place some ten leagues distant, where our savages thought there were deer in abundance. Assembled there were some twenty-five savages, who set to building two or three cabins out of pieces of wood fitted to each other, the chinks of which they stopped up by means of moss to prevent the entrance of the air, covering them with the bark of trees."
On comparing the above English with the orig- inal French as it appears in the Ivaval work, I find one important change, and it is so important that I reproduce the French — "Nous entrasmes dans rene riviere enviorn 12 lienes." The translation is faulty ; it should read — "We entered a river about twelve leagues." The twelve leagues (30 miles) undoubtedly refers to the length of their journey on the river, not to the length of the river.
In this particular Kingsford is right, but when we compare the rest of the narrative with his con- densation he is serioUvSly at fault. The party went up a river 30 miles, portaged i% miles to a lake 25 or 30 miles in circumference, and after a short stay there went forward 25 miles and made a camp and settled down to deer hunting. Reading further on in Champlain we find that the camp was on a river. Not only does Dr. Kingsford confuse leagues and miles, but he leaves out the removal from the lake to the river, he drops out the 25 mile trip entirely. Parkman does not make this mistake. He refers to a lake north or north-east of the site of King- ston, but as to the camping ground he says : "They were thirty-eight davs encamped on this nameless river, and killed in that time a hundred and twenty deer." (See "Pioneers of France in the New World," pp. 422-3).
This, I think, settles one point, namely, that their camp was on a river, and it was 40 or 50 miles from Amherst or Wolfe Island. The country to the north of Kingston and Napanee was a great deer hunting section, and is so marked on many old maps. While there the Indians constructed one of their pounds, described by Champlain. Into this pound they drove the deer for slaughter. Further points noted by Champlain are that the country was rough, there were high hills and low-lying swamps, and the river was in places "wide and turbulent."
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Let us return to the route taken. Champlain says, "After crossing from the island." The French words suggest that it is an island already referred to. Most students incline to the opinion that he means the same island that he passed in going south. What island was it ? Parkman from his map evidently favors the route past the western end of Amherst Island Years ago Orsamus Mar- shall and Gen. John S. Clark, of Albany, fought over this question. Marshall contended that the route was as Parkman shows it, passing by Points Pleasant and Traverse. Gen. Clark and John Gil- may Shea take Champlain along the front as far east as Kingston, and then send him across by Wolfe and Simcoe Islands. The editor of the Prince Society publication leaves it in doubt, as being too indefinite. Students interested will find Marshall's views with a map in a chapter in his "Historical Writings,'1 published in Albany in 1887. If we bring Champlain back to either Amherst or Wolfe Island we next find a 25-mile journey up a river. Was this up what we now call the Bay of Quinte, or was it up the Cataraqui ? Kingsford suggests that the waters of the Bay would be called a river by Champlain, and that the language of the narra- tive of the trip out would lead to the belief that Kingsford is justified in this, but here is the point — if Champlain were going back by the same route as he came out, would he not have said so ? The language of the original it appears to me, indicates that it was not the same river. The Prince Society editor suggests the Cataraqui as the river, and I/angton as the lake. Kingsford says, speaking of the journey after the hunting, "It is plain that Champlain returned by a route different to that by which he came." Was this because it was winter and the water routes were frozen up, or was it because their hunting camp was so far removed from the Trent route ?
A careful examination of all the information available seems to me to indicate the following conclusions : Hay Bay does not fit in with Cham- plain's narrative, and Dr. Kino-sford based his remarks on an incomplete and faulty reading of the original narrative ; the winter deer hunting camp was on a fair-sized river 40 to 50 miles inland, and 25 or 30 miles from the lake referred to by Kings- ford. Was it on the Napanee River, or on the Salmon River ? Perhaps we shall never know.
26 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
When Champlain was going up the Ottawa early on their trip he lost one of his astronomical instru- ments, an astrolabe. This was found some years ago in a perfect state of preservation. It was on view at an Historical Exhibition in Toronto last year. Perhaps some day there may be picked up on the banks of the Napanee River by a deer hunter some relics that will help us to identify this camp- ing ground. Without some such clew we are left largely to conjecture. This point, however, is in- teresting that Champlain in 1615 went out by the Bay of Quinte and returned across the northern part of I/ennox and Addington, and somewhere in the northern region he witnessed a deer hunt such as our hunters of 1900 can hardly expect to see. If only Champlain had been a little more explicit in his journal.
Are there any traces of the winter camp of 1615 ? May we expect to find them ? Two or three cabins were built. A large number of Indians were gathered there. Most people would say that after 285 years all trace would be gone. In 1669 two Frenchmen, Dollier de Casson and Galinee win- tered in Ontario near lyongue Pointe. Their winter- ing place has been hitherto a matter of conjecture. But this very year, after 231 years, the exact site has been discovered and the outlines of their winter home have been identified. A full account of their journey and their wintering place will be published during the winter by the Ontario Historical Society. It is within the possibilities that Cham- plain's camp of 1615 may yet be located and identi- fied.
FIRST EXPLORERS AND DISCOVERERS OF THIS SECTION.
BY THOS. W. CASEY. NOVEMBER 30th, 1900.
Some notes in regard to the first of the white men to discover and explore this section of Canada, may be of interest and value, especially to the young readers of The Beaver.
CHAMPLAIN GOT LOST .
Recent mention has been made in these columns of the fact that the great French explorer, Cham- plain, the first French Governor of Quebec, was the
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first white man to discover Bay of Quinte and Lake Ontario, and that they were first reached via the Ottawa River, Georgian Bay and the river Trent. That was in the autumn of 1615. It has also been discussed that, on their retreat from the Indian futile attack against the Iroquois Indians in the Mohawk Valley, their party went some leagues up an "unknown river" — possibly the Napanee River — and encamped for a time at an "unknown lake" answering, in many respects, to Mud Lake, in Camden township, near Centreville, where they remained until the ground and creeks were sufficiently frozen that they could cross the country north-west to the Ottawa River again. That was in November. While there an incident happened to Champlain similar to that occuring to some of our modern hunters. He got lost in the woods for three days. He had a similar experience of hunger and hardships such as now occur at times. He had joined the Indians in a deer hunt on the borders of the lake, and his attention was attracted by some singular bird which he attempted to shoot with his gun. The bird flitted from tree to tree with the hunter in hot pursuit, and he soon got out of reach of his party. He had left his pocket compass at the camp, and the day was dark and cloudy. Parkman says :
"Bewildered and lost, he wandered all day, and at night slept fasting at the foot of a tree. He wandered until the afternoon of the next day when he reached a pond in the shadow of the woods. He shot some wrater fowl along its brink, and for the first time found food to allay his hunger. Drenched by a cold rain he made his prayer to Heaven, and again laid down and slept. Another day of weary wandering succeeded and another night of exhaustion. He found paths in the wilder- ness, but not made by human feet. Once more roused from his shivering repose, he journeyed on till he heard the tinkling of a little brook, and followed its guidance, in hope it might lead him to the river where the hunters were now encamped. He followed it to where it led into a small lake. Circling around it he found where the brook ran out and resumed its course. Following on he heard a water-fall ; he soon stood on the edge of a meadow. Wild animals were here of various kinds. On his right rolled the river and along its bank he saw the portage path by which the Indians passed the
28 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
rapids. A clue was found at last, and kindling his evening fire, with a grateful heart, he broke a ^ong fast on the game he had killed. At break of day he descended along the bank and soon descried the smoke of the Indian fires. There was great joy on both sides. The Indians had searched for him with- out ceasing. From that day forth his host, Duran- tal, would never let him go in the forest alone."
They left that encampment on the 4th of December, 1615, and crossed the country to the northwest, reaching their destination on the Ottawa on Christmas eve. Are there points about Camden to answer the description here given ?
PONCET FIRST DESCENDS ST. LAWRENCE.
It was not till thirty-eight years after L/ake Ontario and the Bay had first been discovered that there is any record of any white man navigating on the St. Lawrence River. No doubt it became well known through the Indians that such a descent could be made to Montreal, but there were Indian tribes along the river, and especially the Iroquois and their allies, who were at constant war with the Hurons and the French, who were their allies, and it was dangerous to venture in their reach or range. In August, 1653, some parties of Iroquois Indians with hostile intent, went down as far as Quebec, and there Father Ponset, a French mis- sionary, was taken prisoner and carried away captive to the Mohawk River, near Albany. It was first intended to torture and burn him, as many war prisoners were treated in those days. Then he was given to an old Indian woman to replace her brother who had been killed in a fight. That was quite a common custom at that time. His life was thus saved and he was treated kindly. Poncet was sent to Albany along with some Indian chiefs, to see the then Dutch Governor there about terms of peace. There he received some clothing and other necessities. Not long after it was desired to make terms of peace with the French at Quebec and Father Poncet was sent along for that purpose. Instead of going through I/ake Champlain and the Richlieu River, which was dangerous near winter, the company crossed to Ogdensburgh and thence down the St. Lawrrence, — the first white man's descent of which there is record. They reached Montreal with their canoes on the 24th of October. They wont on to Quebec and peace was made on
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the 5th of November, the Iroquois presenting their gifts on that day.
LE MOYNE ASCENDS THE ST. LAWRENCE.
Father Le Moyne, another French missionary, who took a leading part in the establishment of a Christian mission on the Bay of Quinte, was the first white man known to ascend the St. Lawrence. He was for years a zealous Catholic missionary in various Indian tribes in the then Province of Quebec, and appears to have obtained a powerful influence for good, and for peace, with them. Kingsford, the historian, writing of him and his work, says : "The ceremonies of the Roman Cath- olic religion directly appeal to that imaginative tone of thought, more readily awakened with men who hold close and immediate relationship with nature."
Of Le Moyne 's first voyage up, Kingsford writes as follows : "Pere le Moyne was the first known white man who ascended the St. Lawrence. Lake Ontario was early known. In 1635 it is spoken of as the Lac des Iroquois, as the shortest route to the Huron country, but objectionable, owing to the presence of enemies, and the few ad- vantages presented in its ascent. In 1646 Lake Ontario is mentioned as one of the routes by which the Onondagas could be reached, by the mission of the unfortunate Pere Jogues. In 1648, in the des- criptive geography of the Jesuits it is named as Lake Louys, or Ontario. Later, La Salle endeavor- ed to apply to it the title of Lake Frontenac, but the above facts show the early claims of precedence of its present name ; the meaning of which has been stated to be "Fine Lake."
Le Moyne first ascended the St. Lawrence in 1654. He left Montreal on the lyth of July, and, after hard struggles and several minor delays, reached the lake on the 29th. He passed up the lake some distance on the south shore, and appar- ently, up Oswego River to Salt Springs, wl ere the city of Syracuse, New York State, now stands. He returned to Montreal with a glowing account of the country. At that time the population of the whole of Canada was about 2,000 of white people. The missionary spent several after years with the In- dians, and died on the 24th of November, 1665, at Cape de la Madeline. The historian says of him : "He will always be remembered as the first
30 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
recorded European who ascended the St. Lawrence. Possessed of remarkable ability, courage and tact, he must ever retain an honorable place in Canadian annals."
FIRST BAY OF QUINTE MISSION.
Kingsford says that the first Roman Catholic mission of the Bay of Quinte was established in 1668. It consisted of Messrs. Fenelon and Frouve, two Jesuit missionaries, who had been in the country for some time. They arrived on the 28th of October, and were well received by the Indians. Not much has been written about that mission, and there is much doubt as to where it was located.
Kingsford says : "It is not possible to identify the locality by M. de Galinee's map (prepared at that time). The outline has no resemblance to the form of the Peninsula of Prince Edward County. Knowing these waters well, I can trace some re- semblance to the River Moira, Napanee and the Bay terminating at Picton. Assuming this locality to be identified, one feels tempted to place Garrey out at the southern shore of the arm of these waters in the Township of Fredericksburgh, and Quinte may have been situated to the southwest of Picton, at the head of the Bay in the Township of Marysburgh. It must be confessed, however, that in this case it is not possible to rise higher than conjecture."
Mr. James, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Toronto, writes that he has been inquiring into it and may send the results of his investigations some day. Some think that where Napanee now stands is the location, but he is inclined to doubt that.
In Dr. Canniff's history of the U. E. Loyalists he refers to the early Bay Missions. He writes : "The Bay of Quinte region may be regarded as the earliest mission field in America. Of the four missionaries who came with Champlain from France, in 1615, one at least accompanied him in his journey up the Ottawa, across to Georgian Bay, and down the Trent to the Bay. This was in July, and Champlain was under the necessity of remaining in this region until the following spring, in the meantime visiting several of the tribes all along the north shore of Lake Ontario. During this period the zealous Recollect earnestly labored to Iny the foundation of Christianity among the
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natives, and planted the 'ancient mission' spoken of by Father Piquet, 1751."
In regard to the site of the mission already referred to, Dr. Cannifi writes as follows : "From the nature of the relics found in the Indian burying ground, near the Carrying Place, at Bald Bluff, by Weller's Bay, it might even have been situated there. Silver crosses, and other evidences of Roman Catholic Christianity, have been found in this place. Father Picquet remarks that the land was not good, but the quarter is beautiful."
THIS COUNTY A CENTURY AGO.
BY THOS. W. CASEY. JANUARY 4th, 1901.
Now that the wonderful Ninteenth Century has gone with all its wonderful records of changes and progress, it may be of some interest to note the changes that have occurred in this county during that time. We have still living at least one res- pected and venerable citizen, Mrs. Hartman, at Ernes ttown Station, who has lived during all the years of the past century in this County, and these many changes have occurred during one life time.
Not only has the growth of this county been very great during the past hundred years, but it has been truly marvellous over the whole world. It is said that the world's population has increased more during the last century than during all the centuries that preceded it. These are some of the results of the blessings of greater peace, greater immunity from destructive wars, and better know- ledge of the causes and preventatives of many destructive epidemics which formerly caused such a vast destruction of human life.
OUR OWN PROVINCE IN 1800.
So far as our own Province is concerned, it may be said, in brief, that at the beginning of the late century there was only about 50,000 of white population in all Upper Canada. That was only sixteen years after the commencement of the U. E. I/, pioneer settlements. It is estimated there were about 10,000 of them, all told, at first. At the time of the American War of 1813-15 there were less than 95,000 in the Province. It seems truly won- derful that such a mere handful of hardy settlers,
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scattered from below Prescott to Sandwich, and most of them without proper arms, should have been able to defend this province from its numerous invaders for a period of three years, and at the end of that time still maintain full possession of every acre of its territory.
At that time the now Citv of Toronto had only just been established, and consisted of but a few scattered houses. The seat of government had just been moved from Newark, — now Niagara — and es- tablished at York — now Toronto. The second Parliament of the Province was opened there in June, 1797, and Governor Simcoe, the first Lieut. Governor of the Province, had just returned to England. Peter Hunter was acting as Governor, and it is said that it was during his administration that the system of wholesale land granting to favorites began, which so hampered and retarded the progress of the country for many years later. In 1801 the entire population of Toronto was but 336 ; now it is more than 200,000.
THE EARLY MAILS.
A weekly mail had been established between Canada and the United States at that time, but it was not till 1805 that even a monthly mail was established between Upper and I/ower Canada. As late as 1807 the mail from Kingston to Montreal was carried on foot. Then came a time that it was carried on horse-back, and it was not till several vears later that wagons were introduced for that purpose. As late as 1824 there were but 42 postoffices in all this Province, and until 1851 the mails and postoffices were not under the control of the Canadian government. It was one of the griev- ances of Mackenzie and the other Reformers in the "thirties" that while the postage rates were enor- mously high, the revenue from them was the personal perquisites of the few officers appointed by the British Government. The postage rate from Eng- land yet in the thirties was $1.25 on a single letter. The smallest postage rate here in Canada was 7% cents on a single letter for 60 miles distance or under, and it was at the rate of 15 cents on a single letter for 100 miles distance. During the twenties and even later the postage on weekly newspapers published in Canada was four shillings, (80 cents) per quarter on each copy, payable in by the publisher. That was one reason
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why the early papers were so hampered in their success.
As late as 1828 the Kingston Gazette, published by Stephen Miles at that time, found it cheaper and better to employ a man to walk and carry and deliver the papers at stated places. It is said his route was, starting from Kingston up the Bay Shore through Ernesttown, Bath, Fredericksburgh, and Adolphustown ; then crossing the Bay at Glenora and up through Prince Edward to "Carry- ing Place", around by Trenton, past "Myers Creek", now Belleville, down through Tyendinaga, Richmond, and back to Kingston. Such a round, with such roads and trails as then existed repre- sented a journey of a week.
The writer well remembers when the Canadian Government first got control of the mails in 1851, and postage stamps were introduced for the first time. Letter rates were then reduced to 5 cents uniform, and newspaper postage to I cent a copy. It was not until 1868 that postage on letters was reduced to 3 cents, and on papers to 9 cents a quarter. Few of us then ever expected to see a uniform postage rate of but 2 cents on letters to any part of the British Empire. Such have been some of the changes of the century.
RAILWAYS AND CANALS.
There was not a single mile of railways or canals in Canada in 1800, or for years later. None were even dreamed of. A vessel of any considerable size at Montreal could not possibly be got up the St. Lawrence to the Lakes. The small batteaux and some other open boats were pulled up through the St. Lawrence rapids by long ropes over the shoulders of men walking along the shores and wading the small creeks, aided by men with poles in the boats. A trip from Montreal to Kingston, with a small open boat then represented a week or ten days of very hard labor for several persons.
In 1825 the first Canadian canal was opened, past the Lachine rapids, from Montreal to Lachine. The next link was the Rideau canal, from By-town, now Ottawa, to Kingston. That was opened in 1832 and enabled vessels, for the first time, to reach Lake Ontario from Montreal. The route was up the Ottawa River to where the City of Ottawa now stands, then through the new canal to King- ston. The next year, 1833, the Welland canal was
34 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
finished, opening up navigation from Lake Ontario to the Upper Lakes, and thus from the ocean to the foot of Lake Superior. But it was only vessels drawing a few feet of water that could pass even this circuitous route. Few ever dreamed as late as the forties of ever seeing the day when ocean vessels could load away back in the heart of our continent, and carry their freight of a thousand tons or more continuously through by our Canadian water-way and canal system to the ocean. And yet all this has been accomplished in the past century.
OUR ROAD DEVELOPMENT.
At the beginning of the late century there was scarcely a passable road in all Upper Canada. It was not possible to get even a lumber wagon through from Kingston to Toronto. It was not till about 1840 that the first steel spring carriage ever reached this county. Previous to 1800 Governor Simcoe had the soldiers opening out "Yonge street" from Toronto north to Lake Simcoe, fol- lowing trails and cattle paths, but it was not until years later that it became even a passable wagon road. It was not until 181.7 that the first line of stages was established from Kingston to Toronto. It then represented a journey of three days, and a terrible journey it was. The fare was $18.00. There was one stage a week, and the whole week was spent in the round trip between Kingston and Toronto, with frequent relays of horses and drivers. The writer can well remember as late as the early fifties, when it was a tedious stage journey of from 15 to 1 8 hours from Cobourg to Napanee. At that time there would be but one stage a day on the road from Toronto to Montreal, and during the winter time there would be seldom one through passenger for that whole trip. Little did we think the end of the century would see Canada with 18,000 miles of railways, with regular schedule time of a mile a minute through this county ; with six trains a day over the road and some of these with hundreds of passengers, with two well-es- tablished lines between these now great cities, and with daily trains from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, every mile in Canadian territory, and with these large and powerful trains frequently over- loaded with passengers and freight. Yet such has been the progress of the past century.
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OUR OWN COUNTY.
In 1800 there were few counties in Upper Canada so thickly populated as our own county. The settlers then were without roads, and those who could secure homes and farms on the water's edge were fortunate. The Bay of Quinte is so long, so narrow, and so circuitous that with Hay Bay, and the Napanee River, a larger number of farms could be had bordering on a navigable water than perhaps any other county in all Upper Canada. The ten townships first laid out by the Government surveyors all had more or less settlers by 1800. Nearly every available farm lot of Ernesttown, Fredericksburgh, and Adolphustown, had been taken up. So far as Adolphustown was concerned, as it had four front concessions on one or other bay, the lots had all been appropriated at that time. There was in that small township of about 11,000 acres at that time, 90 families, aggregating in all 499 persons. We have no record available of the number of families in the other townships of the county, but we know that Fredericksburgh and Ernesttown were both pretty largely populated, even in some of the "back concessions" up to the third and fourth ranges.
There were yet no roads of any consequence. The log canoes and other small boats were the only means of convenient travelling in the summer sea- son. The only grist mill in the county was at Napanee, where there was also a saw mill. Peter Vanalstine had a saw mill and grist mill at what is now Glenora, which were a good deal used by many of the people of the front townships.
The only ministers in the county up to that time were John lyanghorn, Church of England, at Bath: who was the only one yet legally authorized to solemnize marriages, which he would only do at the churches at Bath, or Fredericksburgh ; and the Methodist preachers, William Losee, the first Methodist missionary, who came in 1790, and Darius Dunham, the first ordained Methodist min- ister, who came in, 1792, and had that year located on his farm in Fredericksburgh, after eight years itinerating. Samuel Coates was then the Metho- dist preacher of the Bay circuit, and Joseph Jewell the presiding elder of the district. There were 412 members of the church reported on the circuit, the largest number of anv of the four circuits in which
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the Province was then divided, and more than one- half of the then entire membership of the whole Province. Rev. Robt. McDowall, the first Presby- terian missionary, came that year, and remained in the country until the time of his death.
The only churches in the county, of any import- ance at that time, were the Adolphustown Metho- dist Church, built in 1792, and the "Parrott" Church, in the fourth concession of Ernesttown, completed the following year. The old St. John's Church, at Bath — still standing and used — was built and first used in 1793, and the first St. Paul's at Sandhurst, S. Fredericksburgh, first used in 1791. It was, however, but a small log building, and was burned some years later.
The early Quarter Sessions were established before 1800, and were for the whole Midland district, including all the territory from Gananoque to Trent River, and they were held alternately at Adolphustown and Kingston. These were then the only courts in existence in the country, but the "Court of Requests," for the collecting of small accounts and other debts.
About the only school of any importance yet established in this section was that of Rev. John Stuart, at Kingston.
No steamboats had yet an existence in Canada. The first one on Canadian waters at all was the "Accommodation," built by the Molsons, of Mont- real, for the route from there to Quebec. It was not till 1816 that the first steamer, the "Frontenac," sailed on Upper Canadian waters. That was built in this county at Finkle's Point, Bath, in 1815. The first steamer on the Bay of Quinte, the "Charlotte," was also built at Finkle's in 1817. Many of the old inhabitants yet remember that steamer.
What progress and changes have been made in the late century ! None of us may know whether the new century will surpass it in these respects. The general impression is that it will.
OUR COUNTY'S FIRST SURVEYS.
BY THOS. W. CASEY. NOVEMBER 17th, 1899.
As there has been a considerable misapprehen- sion and controversy about when and where the first Government surveys were made in connection with the Townships adjoining Bay of Quinte, from Kingston west, we have been at some pains to collect and arrange available correct information regarding that matter. Fortunately Mr. J. J. Murphy, of the Ontario Crown Lands Department, has rendered excellent service in preparing a docu- mentary history of these first surveys, compiled from the original letters and reports of the Gover- nor and the principal surveyors, which sets at rest any doubts there may have been before. We are indebted to that report for the principal items of information here given.
FIRST UPPER CANADA SURVEYS.
It was not until after the conclusion of the Treaty of Peace between England and the United States, after the American Revolution, that there appear to have been any official government surveys at all in what is now the Province of Ontario. The entire British possessions north of the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes was then a portion of the Province of Quebec, and there had been very few permanent English settlers west of Montreal. The French, while the entire territory still was in their possession, had made some settlements about Fort Frontenac, now Kingston, but they were made almost entirely for fur trading purposes with the Indians.
When the British Government found it was necessary to provide homes for the United Empire Loyalists outside of United States territory, official attention was first given to what is now this pro- vince, as a place of permanent settlement. General Frederick Haldimand was Governor-General at Quebec at that time and arrangements appear to have been made between him and Sir Guy Carlton, then in command of the British forces at New York, to take steps to open up the country for settlement as soon as possible. Major Holland had been for
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some years Surveyor-General at Quebec, and on the 26th of May, 1783, he received official instructions from Governor Haldimand to proceed at once to the head of the St. Lawrence on a surveying tour. His instructions were to go to the neighborhood of the old French fort at Cataraqui and survey lands there and thereabouts. One of his first duties was to locate and survey out a town, where Kingston now lies, and to examine the surrounding country and ascertain what lands, if any, were fit for set- tlement, and to first have these surveyed in town- ships of six miles square each and these again into lots of 200 acres each. John Collins was Deputy. Surveyor-General, and he appears to have had the immediate personal oversight of these surveys. He was provided with two assistants, and during the fall of 1783 they appear to have made the out- line surveys of the five townships west of Kingston, of which further particulars will be hereafter given. These townships were at first, and for years after, popularly known by the early settlers as First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth towns, though it is now evident that from the beginning they were officially given the proper names by which they are now known.
INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN.
The copies of the original letters of instructions to the surveyors and their reports, as found in the archives of the Government Departments, have been prepared by Mr. Murphy, and published by the Surveyors' Association of this Province.
The first letter from Governor Haldimand to Surveyor Holland bears date of Quebec, May 26th, 1783. It says, among other things : "As it is necessary that I should be informed of the nature of the country from the last concessions to Catara- qui, and thence to Niagara, on the north side of Lake Ontario, you are hereby directed to set off immediately from Montreal, to proceed to Catara- qui, where you will minutely examine into the situation and state of the post formerly occupied by the French, and the land and country adjacent; considering the facility of establishing settlement there * * * in the meantime, if you find the fort in such a state as is correspondent with the views and instructions I have communicated to you, you will, without loss of time, make application to Major Harris, commanding at Carl ton Island, for
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workman, tools, and materials as you may require. Having made your observations at Cataraqui and given such directions as you think necessary, you will send forward the gentlemen who accompany you for the purpose of continuing the examination of the country to Niagara."
These were, no doubt, the first official instruc- tions of any Government survey in this Province.
INSTRUCTIONS TO DEPUTY COLLINS.
It was on the nth of September, 1783, that Governor Haldimand first gave official instructions, from Quebec, to John Collins in reference to the survey of the townships on the Bay, west of King- ston. Here are some extracts :
11 It being my intention to establish settlements for the provision of part of the distressed U. E. loyalists resorting to this Province at and in the neighborhood of Cataraqui, upon I/ake Ontario, you are hereby directed to proceed to that place without loss of time, for the purpose of laying out the several lands in townships and lots agreeably to the following instructions :"
After giving instructions about the location and survey of Kingston, which we have not space to refer to here, the Governor specifies how the town- ships are to be surveyed, each to be six miles square and to be divided into lots of 120 acres each, one to go to each family ; the townships to be seven concessions deeu. He was to be assisted by Capt. Sherwood and Lieut. Kotte "and also by Mr. Grass, captain of one of the companies of mi- litia intended for that settlement," and they were to be attended by axemen. Mr. Grass, it may be remembered, was the head of the company that settled in First town, or Kingston township, where a number of his descendants yet reside. He had been in the British service before the American Revolution, and had been once made a prisoner in one of the French wars and was at Cataraqui during that time. It was because of the informa- tion he received of the country during that time, and at his recommend that Sir Guy Carlton re- solved to send a part of the Loyalists to that sec- tion.
COLLINS' REPORTS OP PROGRESS.
Several letters of Collins are given, reporting progress in his surveys. The first is dated from Cataraqui, October 2d, 1783, in which he reports :
40 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
"I arrived here yesterday evening in company with Captain Sherwood. I waited on Major Ross (at Carlton Island) and showed him my instructions. He advised that as the lands proposed for town- ships were not yet purchased from the savages I should stop a few days till that was done, as a per- son was sent to bring them for that purpose."
Then on the 3d of November, 1783, he again reports that in consequence of rains a good deal of the low land was covered with water and he had only been able to survey one township (Kingston). He and assistants were to set off the next day to lay out a second township (Krnesttown), which will be a few miles above the first. He reported that the lands between the two are stony and unfit for cultivation.
I/ater on, the date not given, Mr. Collins sends a description of the townships and the date of the surveys, from which we extract the following :
ERNESTTOWN AND FREDERICKSBURGH.
"Township No. 2, a township or tract six miles square, situated on the north side of Lake Ontario, bounded in front by said lake, and in depth by the ungranted lands belonging to the King, on the east by the ungranted lands as aforesaid, and on the west by the township marked on the plan No. 3 . . including twenty-three thousand and forty superfi- cial acres of land which appear to be equal in quality to the best in America. Surveyed the 7th day of November, 1783."
Of Township No. 2, Fredericksburgh, there was a similar report of its boundaries, giving minute details. He adds that, "The quality of the land and woods are the same as described in No. I, (Kingston). Surveyed the I2th day of November, 1783- "
ADOLPHUSTOWN.
As there has been more difference of opinion about the date of the survey of Adolphustown, we give the verbatim report. It has been thought by many that Adolphustown was the first of the town- ships surveyed, but the date given by Mr. Collins' report, it will be seen, does not carry out that idea. He reported as follows :
"Surveyed according to the above scheme or plot hereunto annexed, a township or tract of land situate on the north side of the Bav of Quinte,
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bounded in front by the aforesaid bay, and in depth by ungranted lands belonging to the King ; on the west by the bay aforesaid, and on the east by the division line that divides this township from No. 3. Beginning at a stone fixed on the north bank of the Bay of Ouinte, the upper boundary of No. 3, and runs up the Bay the several courses of the water to the west point or peninsula of land that lies between the said Bay of Quinte and Savannah Bay ; thence crossing Savannah Bay north fifty-one de- grees, east seven hundred and fifty nine perches to a stone boundary standing in the line of No. 3 ; thence down the said line south thirty one degrees, east five miles and two hundred and eighty perches to the first station. Surveyed the I5th November, 1783." Signed J. Collins, D. S. General, assisted by Capt. Sherwood and I/ieut. Kotte.
Savannah Bay here referred to must be Hay Bay. When the name was changed we do not know.
That description must include the whole of Adolphustown as it was first surveyed. At a later time twelve lots were cut off and added to Freder- icksburgh, and is now known as "Fredericksburgh additional." It is said that Mr. Collins very strongly opposed that division of the township, which was done to meet the wishes of those settling in Fredericksburgh, so as to give enough lots to supply every family of that company.
It will be seen that the date of the survey here reported is later than the other three townships.
THE AFTER SURVEYS.
It is probable that the work of the surveys for the year 1783 ended with that of Adolphustown, on the 1 5th of November. It was not till the next year that the lots in the various townships were surveyed out. It will be seen that but five days were taken to survey Fredericksburgh, and but three for Adolphustown. No report is given in the collection here referred to of the work of the fol- lowing season, — the year of the actual arrival of the Loyalists, who had wintered at Sorel, below Montreal, on the tedious round- the-ocean journey from New York. It is reported, however, that a number of surveyors began their work early that spring. It is known that when the Adolphustown company landed there on the i6th of June the sur- veys of the lots had not yet been completed and the company had to remain in their canvas tents for
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some time on that account, until a farm could be apportioned by lot to each family. Whether there was any similar delay in the other townships also we have never learned.
MR. COLLINS' INSTRUCTIONS.
On the 1 8th of May, 1784, Governor Haldi- mand, at Quebec, gave written instructions to Collins to proceed west at once with a view of locating the settlers. It was three days after that date that the Company left Sorel for their long and dangerous journey up the St. Lawrence. A part of the instructions reads as follows : —
"From Sorel you will proceed to Montreal, where you will confer with Sir John Johnson, to whose direction I have thought fit to commit the settlement of the disbanded troops and Loyalists in the Upper District of the Province, and to whom you will give every assistance in your power. * * You will, of course, first proceed to settle the Royal Regiment of New York upon the ground al- lotted for them, which I hope is by this time nearly laid out from thence upwards to Cataraqui. His Majesty's instructions respecting the manner of laying out the land are that every partiality is to be avoided — for which purpose my instructions to Sir John Johnson direct that the townships and lots 'in each are to be indiscriminately drawn for, as well by the officers as the men. On Sir John Johnson's and your zeal for the king's service and the happiness of the settlers, I therefore, rely on a successful execution of it."
COLLINS* REPORT OF PROGRESS.
On the 1 2th of August, 1784, from Cataraqui, Mr. Collins reported to Governor Haldimand that he had completed the survey and settlement of the 5th township (Marysburgh) "situated on the Penin- sula between Lake Ontario and Bay of Quinte." He then wrote : "The whole of the disbanded Brit- ish troops and Germans have drawn their lots. Bach man has taken the oaths, agreeable to the King's instructions, signed the books, received his certificate, and is now in possession of his land, with which I am persuaded they will be pleased, as the land in general appears to be a good quality."
In regard to the delays about the final appor- tionment Mr. Collins reports as follows :
"The poor people have set themselves down,
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half a dozen together, in different parts of the township, not knowing where to find their lots, except those on the front ; nor can it be expected, until the several lines between the different con- cessions be drawn and boundaries fixed, which has not yet been done."
Then of Adolphustown he adds : "With respect to the fourth township, nothing can be done until Your Excellency determines to whom it belongs. No doubt the parties who are obliged to quit their claims will expect their land in some other place. I shall, therefore, without loss of time, when the business above mentioned is completed, go in search of another township, and by the first conveyance send Your Excellency a plan of settlement lately made, with an account of my success."
HOW DISPOSED IN NUMBERS.
There is a memorandum of a meeting of the Governor in Council at Quebec, on the iyth of November, 1784, in which a report is made about the final disposition of the settlers. It is reported that "besides provisions, spades, hoes, and other implements of agriculture, clothing and camp equipage had been furnished to the settlers from the king's stores, and that precautions were taken to procure for their use wheat, Indian corn, pota- toes and garden seeds for the ensuing spring."
As to the numbers located in the various town- ships we make the following extracts :
Township No. I, Capt. Grass' party and those attached, 187.
No. 2 (Ernesttown) part of Major Jessup's and those attached, 434.
No. 3 (Fredericksburgh) Major Rogers' corps and those attached, 299.
No. 4 (Adolphustown) Major VanAlstine's party of Loyalists, 258.
No. 5 (Marysburgh) different detachments of disbanded regular regiments, 259.
Rangers of the Six Nation department and loy- alists settled with the Mohawk Indians, 28.
THE ADOLPHUSTOWN U. E. L. BURYING GROUND.
BY THOS. W. CASEY. AUGUST 24th, 19OO.
STORY OP THE BURYING GROUND.
It was on the i6th June, 1784, that the first company of U. E. L. refugees first landed at Adol- phustown, to hew out to themselves homes in the then unbroken wilderness of the township. They had been driven from their native country and their former comfortable homes in New Jersey and New York after the conclusion of the war of the Ameri- can Revolution, their sole crime being that they maintained their loyalty to the British flag during that war. In common with thousands of others their lands and their property had been declared forfeited, and they were subjected to banishment. After the lands fit for settlement in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick had been exhausted, it was deemed best to try settlements in Upper Canada, then a part of the Province; of Quebec. They left New York in September, 1783, in several small sailing vessels, escorted by a British man-of-war, and, after a very tedious voyage around the Atlan- tic coast, spent the winter in Sorel, below Montreal, and resumed their hazardous trip early in the spring up the St. Lawrence in small open boats, reaching their destination on the i6th of June. When the Loyalists landed in June it was told them that the surveyors had not yet completed their work of the lots and until it was done no apportionment could be made, as each family was to receive its farm by "drawing lots."
The company had, therefore, to remain for some weeks in their cotton canvas tents with which they had been provided by the government. While they were thus delayed, a young child, a little girl about six years of age, died. The child was buried on a small rise of ground just back of the tent encampment. Not many weeks later, dur- ing the same season, one of the men, a Mr. Hoover, was killed by the falling of a limb from a tree he was chopping and he, too, was buried in the same
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place. After that time, for several years, it was made the last resting place of nearly all who died in the township south of Hay Bay. Perhaps nearly every one of the earliest families in all that district was represented by one or by all their members in that memorable ground. It was long popularly known as the "U. E. Loyalist Burying Ground."
THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
In June, 1884, arrangements had been made for a centennial celebration at Adolphustown, in com- memoration of the landing of the first settlers a hundred years before. That celebration was on the most extensive scale of any gathering ever held in the township. It lasted several days and was, in all, attended by some thousands of people. The celebration proper began on Monday, i6th June, but on the previous Saturday there was a large gathering in the second concession in connection with the laying of the corner stone of the Methodist U. E. L. Memorial church. It was laid by Mrs. Joseph Allison, at that time the oldest surviving member of the Methodist U. E. L. families in the township. She was a member of the Hoover family, — a family noted among the early pioneers ; and her husband, also a child of one of the earliest of the pioneer families, was born while his parents were on their way from their old home at Haver- straw, Duchess County, N.Y., to their new home in Adolphustown. He became a popular local preacher in the Methodist church. He had died years before that time, and now he and his faithful wife lie side by side, with several members of their family, in the Allison mausoleum near the bay shore, on the old homestead farm.
The corner stone of the Anglican U. E. L. Church (St. Alban's) was also laid during the celebration week, by Lieut. -Governor Hon. J. Beverly Robinson, — also a descendant of the U. E. Loyalists, and nearly connected by marriage with the Adolphustown Hagermans.
The following account of the celebration proper was taken from the volume published just after that time, giving the official report of the proceed- ings :-
"On Monday, the i6th June (1884) the celebra- tion commenced. From early dawn carriages began to arrive ; all Adolphustown and adjacent places were well represented. The day was most auspic-
46 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
ious. By noon a number of boats from Belleville on the west and Kingston on the east, arrived with decks crowded from all the intervening points. The Picton troop of cavalry under Major Fred White, was among the arrivals. Three bands discoursed sweet music at frequent intervals, the fine band of the 15th Battalion, the band from Picton, and the band of Kingston. The military display opened by the playing of the National Anthem, and a public invocation of Divine blessing on the day's festivities and those taking part in them. In the afternoon the people were summoned about the speaker's stand, and addresses were delivered. Above the speakers' heads floated the handsome flag of the Native Canadian Society, of Belleville. The pro- gramme was opened by playing the National Anthem," and the invocation of the Divine blessing and returning thanks for the prosperity which has attended the IT. B. I/oyalists and their descendants and the nation which they founded.
THE CELEBRATION COMMITTEE.
As so many of the active and well known men of that day who constituted the Committee at that time have since been gathered to their fathers, it may be well enough to name them here. They deserve honorable mention in this connection, for they entered most heartily in the work in connec- tion with that centennial celebration.
Ivewis L. Bogart, who resided north of Hay Bay, was the President. He was then the oldest of the survivors of the first Pioneer families. He died several years ago, between eighty and ninety years of age, and lies buried with his wife, two of his children, and his parents in a family plot near the old homestead, on the north shore of Hay Bay.
vlohn J. Watson, J.P., was the Corresponding Secretary, and took a very active interest in the celebration. He was for many years an active and prominent citizen of the township and filled many prominent positions in his native township, such as Township Clerk in his early years, as a member of the Township Council, as Reeve of the Town- ship, as Warden of this County, as President of the I/ennox Conservative Association, and other posi- tions. He died years ago and lies buried in their own family plot just east of the St. Alban's Church, of which he was a member.
A. Iv. Morden, O.C., of Napanee, was also a
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 47
member of that Committee, and one of the principal speakers at the public meeting. His death a few years ago, while yet apparently in the meridian of life ; the bringing of his body home from Scotland, where he was on a visit at the time of his death ; and the immense funeral in the Western Methodist Church here, are yet subjects of painful remembrance.
Archibald C. Davis, an ex-Reeve of the Town- ship, to which position he was several times elected was also one of the Committee. He died suddenly at his own home some years ago and lies buried in the yard of the Methodist Church near by. He has a number of descendants now prominent and well known men in this county.
Paul Trumpour was another of the Committee, and was at that time a large farmer and a well known citizen. He belonged to the Trumpour and Borland families — his mother was a Borland — who have been well represented in Adolphustown from its first settlement to this day. He died years ago at a ripe old age, but some of his brothers( and sisters are yet among our well known residents.
George German, who lived north of Hay Bay, was another, and also a descendant of one of the early and well known families. He died years ago and lies buried with his parents and grandparents in the old burying ground at "Bogart's Hill."
Br. Allen Ruttan, of Napanee, was also on that list. He was a grandson of the first families, both on the father's and mother's side — his mother being a Roblin. How well and kindly remembered is the genial Boctor yet, not only in Napanee, but throughout the county, though it is now some years since his death.
James S. McCuaig, ex-M.P., of Picton, was another, and a very active and enthusiastic U. K. I/, he was. His mother was a Trumpour, of Adol- phustown, and though he was a native of Prince Edward County, and a life long resident there, he always took a lively interest in old Adolphustown affairs. He lies buried near his father and relatives at Picton.
Solomon Wright, J.P., one. of the staunch and honored men of South Fredericksburgh was also on the list. Though a man of few words he was one of the "reliables" in deeds, in all matters of church and state. He died years ago, but he lives vet in the memories of nearly all who ever knew
48 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
him. His children are yet among the well known citizens of our county.
William Peterson, of the Hay Bay south shore, and at that time one of the well known survivors of the first pioneer families, has also been gathered to his fathers, but is yet kindly remembered by a large circle of relatives and friends. The Petersons were a numerous and much respected family in the early settlement of this County, and they are yet largely represented through the Bay counties.
THE MEMORIAL MONUMENT.
We have not space at our disposal to make mention of the two days' meetings, the speeches and the speakers. It was then arranged that a suitable monument should be erected. It now stands where it can be plainly seen from the bay, a grey granite square monument, about 12 feet high, resting on a solid limestone base. It has this inscription,
"In Memory of the U. E. Loyalists, who through Loyalty to British
Institutions,
Left the U. S. and Landed on these
Shores on the 16th of
June, 1786."
Surrounding it are a few head stones in memory of some of the earlier men and women, erected by some descendants of families at a later time. In that day there were no head stones avail- able ; red cedar posts being used. Many of these posts are yet standing, but whose graves they may designate is now hardly known. Some of the most prominent and influential men of their day in this Province now rest there in unmarked and unknown graves. It seems a real pity it should be so, con- sidering how much our countv and our country owe to them. Here are a few of that class : —
Major Peter VanAlstine, the leader of the Adolphustowrn Company, the head of a very large number of descendants, and the Representative in the First and Second Parliaments of Upper Canada of Adolphustown and Prince Edward Counties. There is nothing now to mark his grave or that of the several members of his family buried there. It is said they lie next to the Allisons in the north- east corner of the grounds.
Thomas Borland, also a leading man in the-
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 49
affairs of the township, both municipal, militia and parliamentary, for years, and a member of the Third Parliament of Upper Canada.
Nicholas Hagerman, who resided on the farm where this historical burial place is located. He was the first regularly authorized practising lawyer in Upper Canada, the father of three sons, who became lawyers ; two of them were members of the old Upper Canada Parliament, and one of them a prominent member of the old "Family Compact Government" away back in the thirties, and later on a Chief Justice in our courts, and the father- in-law of the late Hon. John Beverly Robinson, I/ieut. -Governor of Ontario.
In another part of the plot and near the large monument lie Willet Casey, a member of the Fourth Parliament, and one of the richest and most active men in the township in his day, and his son, Capt. Samuel Casey, also a member of one of the early Parliaments, in the early twenties, and their wives and other members of their famil- ies. Years ago Mrs. Isaac Ingersoll, a daughter of Willet Casey, had stones erected at her expense in memory of her father, brother and other relatives. These had become so much dilapidated and moss- covered that their inscriptions were hardly decipherable. Recently Mr. George H. Casey, of Butte, Montana, has very generously provided the means to have them entirely renovated, surrounded with a new wrought-iron fence, and otherwise much improved, so that they may now stand good for a generation yet to come. Others who have the means at their disposal would do well to follow the same praiseworthy example.
The names could be given of many others, as worthy and patriotic, who also lie there, but want of sufficient space in these columns now prevents even an enumeration of their names. That may be attempted in the near future, however.
IN OI4)-TIME GRAVEYARDS.
FROM TORONTO WEEKLY SUN. AUGUST 9th, 1899. WHERE THE FATHERS OF ONTARIO LIE BURIED.
SOME PECULIAR INSCRIPTIONS.
VICTIMS OF DIPHTHERIA AND THE CHOLERA PLAGUE.
Ivennox and Frontenac witnessed the very be- ginnings of Ontario. In the two old counties is found the story of many of the First Things in the Province. It was along their front that the first settlement was formed by the refugees who came to this country after the American Revolution, and it was "here that the first Ontario municipal organi- zation was formed.
The people who made up the pioneers' settle- ment left New York in the fall of 1783 ; their route lay around the Atlantic coast in ships furnished by the British Government to Richelieu, where the winter of 1783-84 was spent, in huts built from material furnished by the neighboring forest, and in the spring the journey was continued in open boats, made from trees felled during the winter, Cataraqui being reached in June.
The pioneers were in four companies, and to each was allotted one township, Captain Grass and party taking No. i (Kingston), Sir John Johnson No. 2 (Ernesttown), Colonel Rogers No. 3 (Fred- ericksburgh), and Major VanAlstine No. 4 (Adol- phustown).
BACK TO THE TIME OF THE FRENCH WARS.
There is an interesting story behind the allot- ment of the townships. The first choice of location would naturally have fallen to Sir John Johnson, but Captain Grass had been for two years a prisoner in the hands of the French at Frontenac, before the capture of Quebec by Wolfe, and it was as a result of information gathered by him while a prisoner that the place of settlement was decided
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 51
upon. The body of Captain Grass now lies in what is known as the Methodist Cemetery at Cataraqui, just across the road from the burial place of Sir John Macdonald. There stands at the head of the grave a rough stone slab, projecting about one foot above the ground and bearing the simple in- scription :
MICHAEL GRASS,
Died April 25th, 1813. Aged 78 years.
Speaking of this early settlement, T. W. Casey, who deserves the title of historian of the pioneers, said : — "Those who settled the first three townships were mainly soldiers, or people drawn from the mercantile and professional classes of the old thir- teen colonies. The settlers in Adolphustown were mainly farmers. The intention was to make each township ten miles square, but Fredericksburgh Township was not large enough to hold the party allotted to it, and so thirteen lots were taken off Adolphustown to make up the deficiency."
THE FIRST LANDING PLACE.
The Adolphustown settlers made their first landing in a little cove within a stone's throw of where the fine residence of D. W. Allison, ex-M.P., now stands, and on the farm of which Nicholas Hagerman, referred to ap-ain lower down, was first owner. The first duty of the pilgrims was a very sad one. It was to find a place of burial for a child, which, weakened by the hardships of the long journey, had died soon after reaching the end of the journey. The place selected is a few yards back from the water's edge on a slight eminence. This burial marked the beginning of the first ceme- tery in Upper Canada by English-speaking people. The cemetery is still there. Somewhere within its bounds lies the body of Nicholas Hagerman, one of the first practicing lawyers in Canada. Nicholas Hagerman was father of Chief Justice Hagerman ; three of his sons served as members of Parliament, and the widow of Hon. John Beverley Robinson is a granddaughter. No one knows now just where the body of this distinguished first settler rests.
"You see," said the Rev. R. S. Forneri, "stones could not be procured at the time when the first burials took place, and the wooden slabs erected as memorials were soon destroyed by the action of the elements."
52 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY. OVER 100 YEARS OLD.
The oldest tombstone on which the lettering can be made out is one bearing this inscription :
Here lies entombed
HANNAH VAN DUSEN.
Who deceased March 8th, 1798.
She was the first wife of Conrad Van Dusen, and faithfully discharged the duties of a companion, a friend and a citizen.
The stone is now grey with age, and is leaning over rather than standing above the grave.
A fairly well preserved plot, surrounded by a broken iron fence, holds the bodies of a number of the Caseys and Ingersolls. In one of the graves lies the body of Jane, wife of Willet Casey, who died February 12, 1856, in her 93rd year.
A broken slab marks the resting place of Henry Hoover, who departed this life August 23, 1812.
LIFE-LONG DEVOTION TO A MEMORY.
A touching story of life-long devotion is behind the simple inscription over two bodies which lie side by side. On the bottom of the stone is record- ed the fact that Jane, wife of Jacob Hufmail, died September 6, 1835 ; above is the statement that the husband died February 22, 1880. Below all are the words : —
Our bodies lie beneath the sod, Our spirits gone to be with God.
For forty-five long years the faithful and loving husband waited for the re-union which came at last.
In the northeast corner is a plot enclosed by an iron railing. In this lie the bodies of Joseph Allison and Mary Richmond, his wife. The former died July 23, 1840, and the latter in October follow- ing.
All around are little mounds and pieces of weather-beaten boards. Many of these show the resting place of men who left an indelible impress on Canadian history, but it is now impossible to distinguish one from the other. Kven the barbed wire fence surrounding the whole graveyard is breaking down, and the apple, oak and maple trees sheltering the graves present an uncared-for appear-
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 53
ance. I/ooking towards the south is a splendid granite shaft, bearing the inscription :
U. E. LOYALIST BURYING GROUND. In memory of the Loyalists who landed here 16th June, 1784.
But this monument only serves to bring out in bolder relief the uncared-for appearance of the place where the fathers of Ontario, lie buried.
IN THE MEMORIAL CHURCH.
A splendid memorial to the pioneers has, through the exertions of Rev. R. S. Forneri, been erected in the form of a picturesque stone church, standing on an eminence a little way off. In that church friends of the departed have placed tablets in commemoration of the departed.
One of these contains the name of Richard John Cartwright, a member of the first Legislative Council, and grandfather of the Sir Richard of to-day.
Another has been placed as a memorial to Ivieut.-Col. Jarvis, who was born in 1756, and whose descendants are known from one end of Canada to the other.
Near by is one to the memory of Alex. Fisher, Judge of the First Midland District, and grand- father on the mother's side of ex-Lieutenant-Go ver- nor Kirkpatrick.
Others remembered are Rev. John Bethune of the Glengarry Highlanders, grandfather of Bishop Bethune ; Right Rev. Chas. Inglis, D.D., first Bishop of Nova Scotia ; Rev. John Stuart, mis- sionary to the Mohawks, and father of the church in Upper Canada, and Klijah Wallbridge, father or grandfather of Chief Justice Wallbridge.
Most of the pioneers lived to a good old age, several of them reaching 90 and over.
As above stated, it was the pioneers of Adolphustown who created the first municipal organization in Ontario — before such was even authorized by Parliament. In fact, Parliament seems to have taken the Adolphustown organization as a model for the Province generally. The old record of this organization is still in existence.
"That record", said T. W. Casey, "written by men engaged in all the rough, hard work incident to pioneering, is a model of neatness. I question if there is a more neatly kept record of municipal
54 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
proceedings in the Province to-day. The men who first settled about Adolphustown were of superior ability and attainments."
TWO STRICKEN FAMILIES.
In the grounds attached to the memorial church is a more modern burial ground than the old one down by the Bay shore, but one which is still of more than passing interest. In the Membery plot is a shaft to the memory of Amos Membery, a native of Dorsetshire, Eng., "who died February 21, 1855." There also rests Elizabeth Raymond, wife of Giles Membery, who was also "born in Dorsetshire." It is particularly* noticeable how often here, and in the old burial places about Kingston, the fact is recorded on tombstones that those who rest beneath were natives of some shire in England. The memories of the ivy clad churches, flowering hedgerows, and quaint streets of the old land were fresh even to the latest hour amid the rude surroundings of the new.
The saddest sight in the whole graveyard is found in two little groups of headstones, four in each. In one group four white slabs, each bearing a dove, stand above the graves of —
John F. Young, died Feb. 5, 1878, aged nine years and seven months.
William Artyd Young, died June 6, 1878, aged eighteen months and thirteen days.
Geo. E. Young, died June 13, 1878, aged six years and six months.
Albert O. Young, died June 15, 1878, aged four years and two months.
A little way off the other four stones mark the graves of —
John P. Pollard, died March 10, 1878, aged nine years and one month.
Elizabeth E. Pollard, died March 10, 1878, aged two years and one month.
Philip W. Pollard, died March 19, 1878, aged four years and two months.
Thos. F. Pollard, died March 29, 1878. aged six years and five months.
The children were victims of diphtheria. There have been many times of mourning in Adolphus- town in the last hundred years, but never did two families go through such a period of heart-breaking suffering as did the Pollards and Youngs in the black years of seventy-eight.
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 55
A PLAYMATE OF SIR JOHN.
One of the most interesting figures in the neighborhood where the Adolphustown settlers first located is Parker Allen, a grandson of Capt. Allen, who was second in command of the Adolphustown pioneers. Old Capt. Allen was, when the revolu- tionary war broke out, a Quaker and a mill owner at Monmouth County, N. J. In the early stages of the war he accepted a contract for the supply of flour and provisions for the British army. By supplying means of sustenance to the British Mr. Allen aroused the hostility of the Americans, and during his absence from home they looted his mill. This roused the old Adam in the good Quaker, and, laying aside his peace proclivities, he joined the British forces and was given the rank of Captain. After the war, when the refugees reached Adolphus- town, one of the sons of Capt. Allen, father of the Parker Allen of to-day, received as his share of the allotment for the family the two hundred acres forming lot 20, con. i. That farm Parker Allen assisted to clear up, and it is divided between two of his sons of to-day. Thus there are two of the fourth generation occupying land which the great grandfather received from the Crown over 100 years ago. Is there another similar case in Ontario ?
The original allotment of farms in the pioneer settlement was, by the way, made in the simplest manner possible. Slips containing numbers were placed in a hat or box, and each one drew in turn, the number of the slip drawn being the number of the lot secured.
Parker Allen, the head of the Allen family to- day, although in the nineties, is still firm in his step, and his mind is as clear as that of many men of 60. He served in the old County Council at Kingston before Frontenac was set apart from L,ennox and Addington, and 60 years ago he filled the office of Municipal Clerk. He was a school- mate of Sir John Macdonald when the latter, as a barefooted boy between five and twelve, attended one of the first schools in the township.
"Nearly all my old companions are gone," he said, when I asked him about his early experiences. "Of those who went to the school which Sir John attended, Mrs. Garner (she was a Harris) is, so far as I know, the only one besides myself left."
56 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
AN OLD-TIME SCHOOL EXAMINATION.
Asked for some little incident of the past, the old man said : "I remember one day there was an examination at the school and Sir John and his two "sisters, Margaret and lyouisa, were present, lyouisa (she was the favorite child) gave as her recitation that old piece which has been recited by so many children since — 'My Mother' :
" 'Who fed me from her gentle breast, And hushed me in her arms to rest, And on my cheek sweet kisses prest ? My mother.'
"The verses were beautifully and touchingly given, and tears welled up in the mother's eyes as the little girl came back and sat by her side. But they are all — Margaret, I/ouisa and John — all gone now."
Margaret afterwards married Prof. Williamson, of Queen's, and hers is one of the three tombstones still standing in what was an old burying ground in Kingston, but is now one of the city parks.
Pressed again for something about the old times Mr. Allen said : "John was a mischievous lad ; not bad but full of fun. Once when he was playing with my sister near the Bay shore he shoved her into the water and she retaliated by soundly boxing his ears.
"Sir John's father," continued the speaker, "kept store on the third concession, near the old Quaker meeting house. Only the stonework of the chimney is left. Afterwards Mr. Macdonald, sr., rented the Glenora mill (the old stone mill), and while he was there Sir John went to school and studied law in Picton."
On the Allen farm is one of the early school houses in this section. It was erected under con- tract by D. W. Allison and John Watson. After- wards^ when the section was divided Mr. Allen bought the building, and for twenty years it was rented for a dwelling. It is now used, rent free, as a place of meeting of the Plymouth Brethren.
Mr. Allen remembers the consecration of the old English church which preceded the present me- morial to the pioneers "A bottle was broken on a stone," he said, "as it was named St. Paul."
THE OLD TIME DISTRICT COUNCILS.
BY THOS. W. CASEY. JANUARY 19th, 1900.
Years before our present system of township and County Councils had any existence the Midland District comprised the entire territories of the Counties of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, and the Council was made up of one member represent- ing each township, elected at the regular annual town-meetings.
- The District Councils first came into existence in 1842. Previous to that time there were no such representative municipal bodies in existence in this Province, the District Courts of Quarter Ses- sions performing many of the duties then conferred on the District Councils.
These courts were composed entirely of Justices of the Peace, appointed as they now are, by the Crown and for life, and they were in no way amenable to public opinion. All the public funds available for the building of roads and bridges were in the hands and at the disposal of the few Magis- trates who may have found it convenient to meet together at the Quarter Sessions. In the matter of gaols and other public works the same court was also vested with large authority. Plans were pro- cured and contracts given for their erection, and the people were taxed and ordered to pay whatever expenses were thus incurred without having any voice whatever in the matter. The same "Squires" also ordered what fare prisoners should be provided with and made such contracts as they saw fit for such supplies. They also ordered what fees the district officers should receive, and they had auth- ority to levy sums for the support of the poor. They also exercised the right of granting or with- holding the authority to solemnize marriages, min- isters of any but the Church of England being allowed to perform such, ceremonv only after much trouble and annoyance.
THE DISTRICT COUNCIL LAW.
It was not until after years of agitation that a change was brought about by which the people were conceded the right to elect their own represen-
58 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
tatives for the purposes of municipal government. It was in 1841 that Upper and Lower Canada were united for legislative purposes. The same year the newly constituted legislature passed an act author- izing the taxpaying inhabitants in each District — "persons qualified to vote for township officers, to elect representatives to a District Council, in which was vested powers to pass by-laws relative to roads, bridges, public buildings, schools, the expense of the administration of justice, to determine the remuneration of all district and township officers, and to levy taxes for these purposes upon real and personal property within the district." The Coun- cils were also granted "all powers theretofore vest- ed in the Quarter Sessions relative to highways and bridges or works connected therewith, the ap- pointment of road surveyors and other road officers, and the right to levy taxes for any purposes connected with the subjects over which the District Council was thenceforward to have jurisdiction."
The Hon. S. B. Harrison, then Provincial Sec- retary for Upper Canada, introduced the act in the Legislature. He was a very able lawyer and was considered one of the best authorities on municipal affairs in the country in his day. Later on he was appointed one of the High Court Judges, a position he held till his death. Lord Sydenham was the Governor here at the time and it is said that he was strongly in favor of such a law and used his influence for its enactment. Sir Francis Hinks was then a young member, representing Oxford County, and he, too, strongly supported it. On the other hand the Conservatives, then led by Sir Allan MacNab, gave the measure strong opposition. John S. Cartwright, then representing Lennox and Addington, also spoke strongly against the measure in the House. Mr. Hinks is reported to have said, during the debate on the bill, "The honorable and gallant Knight from Hamilton (Sir Allan MacNab), and the honorable and learned member for Lennox and Addington (J. S. Cartwright), say that this bill isi republican and democratic un principle ; and that if it be adopted the people will have almost uncontrolled power." It is said Sir Allan then characterized such Councils as "sucking republics" and they were long called such by those opposed to their formation.
The District Councils, as then constituted, con- tinued to exist until 1849, when the Hon. Robert
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 59
Baldwin, then Premier, introduced his now, cele- brated municipal act, which established the town- ship, village, town and county councils very much as they exist with us to-day.
MEMBERS OP THE COUNCIL.
The names of the members of the District Coun- cil in 1845, as found in these minutes, were as fol- lows : Nicholas Amev, John Asselstine, William Beamish, Angus Cameron, Samuel Clark, James Birmingham, Calvin Wheeler, Willet W. Casey, William Ferguson, William Holditch, John Herchi- mer, Isaac Ingersoll, Joseph L/ucas, David Roblin, John S. Cummings, John Bennett Marks, Archibald McNeill, Benjamin Seymour. We have no means of knowing of the history of some of these men, every one of whom, we believe, has now passed away. Of others a few words may be said :
John S. Cummings, Esq., represented Amherst Island. He was unanimously elected to preside as Chairman, at the first meeting, held in the old Court House at Kingston, on Tuesday, February nth, 1845. At a later session it was officially an- nounced that the Government had appointed John Bennett Marks as Warden. The appointments of the Wardens for some years were regularly made by the Government. Mr. Marks lived at Barriefield, oppo- site Kingston, or in that vicinity, and represented Pittsburgh Township. He was an old army officer and quite an extensive farmer. He was President of the Provincial Agricultural Association in 1853, and the annual exhibition was held that year near Niagara Falls. William Holditch represented L,o- borough and lived in the fifth concession of that township. John Herchimer lived in Portland and was one of a large and respectable family residing in Frontenac County from the time of its first settlement. Samuel Campbell represented Storring- ton. Dr. Wm. Beamish represented Kingston Town- ship. He was a practicing physician at Waterloo, now Cataraqui, where he lived and died. He was a man of considerable prominence in business and public affairs and in the Methodist Church. He built the fine large stone residence at Cataraqui, afterwards owned and occupied for years by Joseph Haycock, ex-M.P.P. William Ferguson also lived in Pittsburgh, where he was then a large farmer and a very successful cattle breeder. He was also a President of the old Provincial Agricultural Asso-
60 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
ciation at an early time and took a prominent part in its management. I/ater on he was elected to represent Frontenac in the old Parliament of Can- ada, defeating Sir Henry Smith. He was after- wards appointed Sheriff of the County, a position which he continued to hold until his death a couple of years ago. He lived to be over ninety years of age. Of the other members of the Township of Frontenac we know but little.
REPRESENTATIVES OF THIS COUNTY.
Of those representing the various townships of this County some of the following facts may be of interest, as they relate to the men who took a pro- minent part in helping shape our municipal affairs at so early a period, when the District Council was a veritable little "Ivocal Parliament."
Adolphustown was represented by Willet W. Casey, the father of the writer, who died during his term of office. He was elected at the town meeting in the old Adolphustown Court House, by a good majority over Thomas Borland. There was an ex- citing contest, nearly every ratepayer in the town- ship being present and nearly every one voted. His predecessor was Archibald Campbell, the first elect- ed representative, and his successor was Major Peter V. Borland. They were all natives of the township and well known men in their day.
Fredericksburgh was not then divided into two municipalities. Its representatives that year were Isaac Ingersoll, a large farmer living, on the Front near Con way, and Archibald McNeill, a large lum- berman and general dealer, living at Clarksville, adjoining Napanee. They were both prominent and active men in their day and strong supporters of the old Reform party. At that time the town meetings and trainings were held alternately at Charters' and L/ucas' taverns. There was no town hall for many years later. Their old time oppon- ents were Bonaldson Campbell, John Chamberlain and Richard Ham, and both parties had their suc- cesses and reverses.
Krnesttown and Bath were then one municipal- ity, and John Asselstine, of Switzerville, and Ben- jamin Seymour were the representatives. Mr. Asselstine was opposed by Sidney Warner, of Wil- ton, over whom he was elected by a small majority, and at the following election Mr. Warner defeated him. He lived in the seventh concession, on a farm
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 61
now owned and occupied by Mr. Thomas Gibson. Mr. Seymour was then a prosperous merchant and business man at Bath, and that seems to have been the beginning of his public career. It will be remembered that he was afterwards several times elected to represent Lennox and Addington in .Par- liament. He was, at last, defeated by David Roblin, and then appointed to the old Legislative Council and later on made a member of the Domin- ion Senate, at Confederation. He moved from Bath to Port Hope, where he lived and died, and where some of his descendants are still living.
Richmond, which then included Napanee, was represented by David Roblin and James Wilson, Esq. Mr. Roblin then lived on the front ol Rich- mond, near Deseronto, and soon after engaged ex- tensively in the lumber and timber business. He moved to Napanee and built the fine brick residence on Roblin 's Hill, now owned by our well known townsman, Mr. John Coates. Mr. Roblin took a prominent part in municipal matters for many years and filled the Warden's chair in the old united Counties Council. He also represented Lennox and Addington in Parliament for years, first defeating Benjamin Seymour and afterwards being defeated by Augustus Hooper. He was an old time Reform- er, but became a strong supporter of the Hon. John A. Macdonald.
James Wilson, Esq., was a very intelligent and much respected farmer, residing in the fifth conces- sion of Richmond, a few miles west of Selby, on a farm now owned by, his sons, John and Henry Wil- son, Esqs. He was a native of Ireland and came to Canada a young man. He. died in 1877. He was a strong Reformer and an active member of the Meth- odist Church. He was associated in, political and municipal affairs for some years with David Roblin and our now venerable friend, Elijah Storr, of Leinster, an ex- Warden of this County.
Camden was represented by Samuel Clark and also Joseph Lucas, then a large and influential fanner residing near Centre ville, but then known as Whelan's Corners. Some few years ago he died at his residence in Fredericksburgh, near Napanee, on the farm now owned by Herman Meng, Esq., we believe. Mrs. S. Vrooman, residing near the Sta- tion here, is a daughter of his. Mr. Clark is still well remembered as the founder of Clark's Mills, now Camden East, and an extensive mill owner and
62 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
lumberer there. He was a very enterprising and public spirited man and took a very prominent part in public affairs in this County for many years. He was a near relative of Mrs. S. Warner, now of Napanee, and of the numerous Clark family, of Ernesttown, and other parts of this County. He was a grandson of Robert Clark, J.P., the builder of the first grist mills erected in this Province,— at Kingston Mills and Napanee.
Sheffield was then a new and nearly out-of-the- way township, but thinly populated. It was then represented by Calvin Wheeler, Esq., who was a pioneer mill owner on the upper Salmon River, at what is now the Village of Tarn worth. He may be considered the founder of that village. He was a man of much influence and enterprise and a Captain in the Canadian Militia during the stirring times of the Canadian Rebellion of 1837. Captain Wheeler's company, mostly made up of volunteers of Sheffield Township, was among the important volunteer companies on duty during the winter of 1838. The company was located at the fort in Kingston, car- ing for it and drilling for active service, while the soldiers of the regular army were away at Prescott and other frontier points along the St. Lawrence, fighting the actual battles against the American invaders at that time. Our venerable townsman, Mr. Gideon Scott, now past eighty years of age, was one of the boys of that company at that time.
For lack of space it is not now possible to make fuller references to the interesting minutes of the District Council proceedings of over half a cen- tury ago. We may yet find opporttmity to do so, however.
INDEX.
Acadia 16
Accommodation, Steamboat 36
Adolphustown 10, 13, 14, 15, 33, 35, 36, 40, 41
43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 57, 60
Albany , 19, 25, 28
Allen, Captain 55, 56
Allen, Family 55
Allen, Parker 55
Allison, D. W 51, 56
Allison, Family 48
Allison, Joseph 52
Allison Mausoleum 45
Allison, Mrs. Joseph 45, 52
America 30, 40
American Revolution 14, 37, 39, 44, 50
American War 31
Amherst Island 23, 24, 25, 59
Anglican Church 35, 45, 56, 57
Annapolis 16
Asselstine, John 59, 60
Atlantic Ocean 34, 44, 50
Bald Bluil 31
Baldwin, Hon. Robert 59
Barriefield 59
Bath 11, 35, 36, 60, 61
Beamish, William 59
Beaver, The Napanee 7, 9, 12, 22, 26
Beeman, Dr. T. A 21, 22
Belleville 33, 46
Bellrock 9
Bethune, Bishop 53
Bethune, Rev. John 53
Birmingham, James 59
Biscay, Bay of 16
Bogart, Lewis Iv 46
Bogart's Hill 4^
Boston 23
British Columbia 15
British Empire 33
British Troops 42, 55
Brouage 16
Buffalo 23
64 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Burrows, Frederick 4
Butte, Montana 49
By-town 33
Cadman, Wm. H 13
Cahiagua , 21
Camden East 61
Camden Township 18, 27, 28, 61
Cameron, Angus 59
Campbell, Archibald 60
Campbell, Donaldson 60
Campbell, Samuel 59
Canaan 9
Canada 12, 14, 16, 17, 22
26, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36, 51, 52, 53, 60, 61
Canadian Government 33
Canniff, Dr. William , 30, 31
Carlton Island 38, 40
Carlton, Sir Guy 37, 39
Carrying Place 31, 33
Cartwright, John S 9, 58
Cartwright, Richard John 53
Cartwright, Sir Richard 9, 53
Casey, Captain Samuel 49
Casey, Elizabeth Jane 16, 52
Casey Family 52
Casey, George H 49
Casey, Hiram 16
Casey, Jewel J 16
Casey's Point 10, 14
Casey, Thomas W 7, 9
10, n, 12, 13, 16, 22, 26, 31, 37, 44, 51, 53
Casey, Willet W 10, 12, 14, 15, 49, 52, 59, 60
Casey, William 14, 15
Cassen, Dollier de 26
Cataraqui 25, 38, 39, 42, 50, 51, 59
Centreville 27
Chamberlain, John 60
Champlain, Lake 16, 17, 18, 28
Champlain, Samuel
16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 30
Charlotte, Steamship 36
Charters' Tavern..... 60
Christian Missionaries 17
Clark Family 62
Clark, Gen. John S 25
Clark, Robert 62
Clark, Samuel 59, 61
Clark's Mills... . 61
INDEX. 65
Clarksville 60
Coates, John 61
Coates, Samuel 35
Cobourg 34
Collins, John 38, 39, 40, 41, 42
Confederation 61
Conway 20, 60
County Council 57
Court of Requests 36
Crown lyands Department, Provincial 15, 36
Daly, James 4
D'Arontal 23
Davis, Archibald C 47
Deseronto 61
Dingman, A 9
District Council 62
Doller, Nelson 9, 10
Dominion Government 12
Dorland Family 47
Dorland, Peter V 60
Dorland, Thomas 48, 60
Dorsetshire, Eng 54
Duchess County, N.Y 15, 45
Dunham, Darius 35
Durantal 28
England 32, 37, 54
England, Church of 35, 45, 56, 57
English 37
Erinsville , 9
Ernesttown 33, 35, 36, 40, 43, 50, 60, 62
Ernesttown Station 31
Essen, Mr n
Fairview 9
Family Compact Government 49
Fenelon, Father 3°
Ferguson, William 59
Fifth Town 38
Fine I/ake 29
Finkle's Point , 36
First Town 3$
Fisher, Alexander 53
Five Nation Indians 18
Flach, Ulysses J 4
Forneri, Rev. R. S ; 51, 53
Forward, Mrs. H. T 4
Fourth Town 38
66 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
France 17, 18, 30
Fraser, Alexander 5
Fredericksburgh Township ,.
30, 33, 35, 4°, 4i, 43, 5°, 5*. 6o> 61
French Missionaries 17
Frontenac... 50
Frontenac County 50, 55, 57, 59, 60
Frontenac, Fort „ 37
Frontenac, I,ake 29
Frontenac, Steamship 36
Frouve, Father 30
Galinee 26, 30
Gananoque 36
Garner, Mrs 55
Garrey , 30
Gazette, Kingston 33
Georgian Bay 18, 19, 27, 30
German, George 47
German, The Farm 10
Germans 42
Gibbard, John 4
Gibson, Thomas 61
Glengarry Highlanders 53
Glenora 33, 35, 56
Gordanier's Tavern 9
Gosport 9
Government, British 32
Government, Canadian 32
Grand Trunk Railway 9
Grange, Mrs. Alexander W 4
Grass, Captain Michael 43, 50, 51
Grass, Mr , 39
Gretna 9
Hagerman, Chief Justice 51
Hagerman Family 45
Hagerman, Nicholas 49, 51
Haldimand, Gen. Frederick 37, 38, 42
Hamilton, Ontario 58
Ham, Richard 60
Harris, Major 38
Harris, Miss 55
Harrison, Hon. S. B 58
Hartman, Mrs 31
Hastings County 21
Haverstraw, N.Y 45
Hawley, George D 4
Hay Bay 13, 14, 20, 23, 25, 35, 41, 45, 46, 47, 48
Haycock, Joseph 59
INDEX. 67
Herchimer, John 59
Herrington, Walter S 4, 5, 8
Hinks, Sir Francis 58
Holditch, William 59
Holland, Major 37, 38
Hooper, Augustus... 61
Hoover, Henry 44, 45, -32
Huffnail, Jacob 52
Huffnail, Jane 52
Hughes, James L 5
Hunter, Peter 32
Huron Indians 18, 19, 20, 21, 28, 29
Huron, Lake 18
Indians 16, 18
Ingersoll Family 52
Ingersoll, Isaac 59
Ingersoll, Mrs. Isaac 49, 60
Inglis, Rev. Charles 53
Ireland 61
Iroquois Indians 18, 19, 20, 22, 27, 28, 29
James, C. C 22, 30
Jarvis, Lieut. Col 53
Jarvis, Rev. Canon 4
Jessup, Major 43
Jesuits 29, 30
Jewell, Joseph 35
Jogues, Pere 29
Johnson, Elizabeth Jane 16
Johnson, Hannah 16
Johnston, Prof. G. W 5
Johnson, Sir John ....42, 50
Kingsford's History 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30
Kingston .". 9, 16, 21, 24, 25, 32
33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 46, 54, 55, 56, 59, 62
Kingston Mills 62
Kingston Road 9
Kingston Township 39, 40,, 50, 59
Kirkham's Grammar TT
Kirkpatrick, Lieut. Gov 53
Kotte, Lieut 39, 41
Lac des Iroquois 29
Lachine 33
Lachine Rapids 33
Laird, Prof. Alexander 5
Langhorn, John..... 35
Langton, Lake 25
68 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
La Salle 29
Laval University ( ....23, 24
Legendre's Geometry.... 12
Leinster 21
Le Moyne, Father 29
Lennox and Addington 26, 50, 55, 57, 58, 61
Lennox and Addington Historical Society 7
Lennox Conservative Association 46
Loborough 59
Longue Pointe 26
Losee, William 35
Louys Lake 29
Lower Canada 32, 58
Lucas, Joseph 59, 61
Lucas Tavern 60
Macdonald, Louisa 56
Macdonald, Margaret 56
Macdonald, Rev. Alexander 4
Macdonald, Sir John A 51, 55, 56, 61
Mackenzie, William L 32
Mac Nab, Sir Allan 58
Madeline, Cape de la 29
Mallorytown 21
Marks, John Bennett 59
Marshall, Orsamus H 23, 25
Marysburgh Township 30, 42, 43
Membery, Amos 54
Membery, Giles 54
Meng, Herman 61
Methodists 15, 35, 36, 45, 47, 51, 59, 61
Midland District.. 12, 36, 53, 57
Miles, Stephen 33
Militia, Canadian 62
Mohawk Indians 43, 53
Mohawk River 28
Mohawk Valley 19, 27
Moira River 30
Molsons 36
Monmouth County, N.J 55
Montreal 16
17, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 41, 42, 44
Morden, A. L 46
Morrison, Prof. J. L 5
Morven 9
Moscow 9
Mountain Vale 9
Mount Royal 16
Mud Lake! 16, 21, 22, 27
Murphy, J. J 37, 38
INDEX; 69
Murray, L,indley * n
Myers Creek , 33
McCuaig, James S 47
McDowall, Rev. Robert 36
McMorine, James 13
McMullen's History 21
McNeill, Archibald 59, 60
McPherson, Allen 9, 10
McPherson, Donald 9
Napanee 9
10, n, 22, 24, 30, 34, 35, 46, 47, 60, 61, 62
Napanee River 16, 18, 21, 25, 26, 27, 30, 35
Native Canadian Society 46
Newark 32
New Brunswick 44
New Jersey 44
New York 12, 37, 41, 42, 44, 50
New York State 16, 18, 29, 44
Niagara 32, 38, 39
Niagara Falls 59
Nipissing, I/ake 18
North America 17
Nova Scotia 16, 44, 53
Odessa 9
Ogdensburgh 28
Onondaga Indians 29
Ontario II, 16, 26, 37, 49, 50, 53, 55
Ontario Historical Society 4, 26
Ontario, Lake 16, 18, 19
20, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30, 33, 34, 38, 39, 40, 42
Oswego 19
Oswego River 29, 33
Ottawa 33
Ottawa River 16, 18, 19, 20, 26, 27, 28, 30
Oxford County 58
Pacific Ocean 34
Palace Road 9
Parkman, Francis 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 27
Parliament 32, 48, 49, 51, 53, 60, 61
Parrott Church 36
Parry Sound District 19
Peterboro' County 21
Peterson, William ., 48
Picton 30, 46, 47, 56
Pioneers of France in the New World 19, 24
Piquet, Father 31
70 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Pittsburgh Township 59
Pleasant Point 25
Plymouth Brethren 56
Point, The 14
Pollard, Elizabeth E 54
Pollard, John P 54
Pollard, Philip W 54
Pollard, Thomas F 54
Poncet, Father 28
Port Hope 61
Portland Township 59
Port Royal 16
Presbyterian Missions 36
Prescott 32, 62
Prince Edward County 30, 33, 47, 48
Prince Society of Boston 23, 25
Provencher, Abbe ,,. 23
Providence, R.I 14
Provincial Agricultural Association 59
Quakers , 15, 56
Queen's University 56
Quebec City 16, 17, 21, 23, 28, 36, 37, 42, 43, 44
Quebec, Province of 16, 17, 26, 29, 37, 38
Quinte, Bay of 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 18, 19, 22, 25
26, 27, 29, 30, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 4i, 42, 54
Raymond, Elizabeth 54
Rebellion of 1837 62
Recollet Order 17, 30
Reform Party 60, 61
Richelieu River 17, 28, 50
Richmond 33, 61
Richmond, Mary 52
Rideau Canal 33
Robinson, Hon. John Beverly 45, 49, 51
Robinson, Martha 14, 15
Robinson, Samuel 15
Roblin 47
Roblin, David 59, 61
Roblin'sHill 61
Rogers, Colonel 50
Rogers, Major ..] 43
Roman Catholic Church 17, 29, 30, 31
Ross, Major 40
Ruttan, Dr. Allen 47
Ryerson, Dr. Egerton n
Saint Alban's Church 45, 4&
Saint John's Church... . 36
INDEX. 71
Saint Lawrence River
17, 18, 28, 29, 30, 33, 37, 38, 42, 44, 62
Saint Paul's Church 36, 56
Salmon River 25, 62
Salt Springs 29
Sandhurst 36
Sandwich 32
Savannah Bay , , , 41
Scotland 47
Scott, Gideon 62
Second Town 38
Selby 61
Senate, Dominion 61
Seymour, Benjamin 59, 60, 61
Shea, John Gilmay 25
Sheffield Township 62
Sherman, Isaiah 15
Sherwood, Captain 39, 40, 41
Sillsville 20
Simcoe, Gov 32, 34
Simcoe Island 25
Simcoe, Lake 18, 19, 34
Six Nations 43
Skelton, Prof. O. D 5
Smith, Prof. G. Oswald 5
Smith, Sir Henry 60
Sorel, Que 41, 42, 44
South Fredericksburgh 20, 36, 47
Storr, Elijah 61
Storrington 59
Strachan, John 12
Stuart, Rev. John .36, 53
Sun, Toronto Weekly 5°
Superior, Lake 34
Surveyor's Association 38
Surveys, County 37
Switzerville 60
Sydenham, Lord 5$
Syracuse, N.Y i 29
Tadousac 16
Tamworth 62
Third Town 38
Toronto 26, 30, 32, 34
Traverse Point 25
Trenton 33
Trent River 18, 19, 25. 27, 30, 36
Trumpour Family 47
Trumpour, Paul 47
Tyendinaga -9» 33
72 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
United Empire Loyalist Burying Ground
15, 37, 45, 53
United Empire I/oyalists 13
14, 30, 31, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 4$
United States 32, 37, 48
Upper Canada II, 15, 16
3i, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 44, 48, 49, 5i, 53, 5$
Upper Gap 19, 20
Van Alstine, Major Peter 35, 43, 48, 50
Van Dusen, Conrad 52
Van Dusen, Hannah ; 52
Varty I/ake 16, 21, 22
Victoria County 21
Vrooman, Mrs. S, 61
Wallbridge, Chief Justice 53
Wallbridge, Elijah 53
Ward, Dr 15
Warner, Clarance M ( 4
Warner, Mrs. Sidney 62
Warner, Sidney 60
Waterloo 59
Watson, John J 46, 56
Welland Canal 33
Weller's Bay 31
Western Methodist Church 47
Wheeler, Captain Calvin 59, 62
Whelan's Corners 61
White, Major Fred 46
Williamson, Prof 56
Wilson, Henry 61
Wilson, James 61
Wilson, John .. 61
Wilson, Uriah 4
Wilton 60
Withrow's History 21
Wolfe, General..... 50
Wolfe Island 24, 25
Wright, Solomon 47
Yonge Street 34
York , 32
Yorktown 15
Young, Albert 0 54
Young, George E 54
Young, John F 54
Young, William Artvd 54
-•
UNITED EMPIRE LOYALIST MONUMENT ADOLPHUSTOWN, ONT.
The people grouped about it, from left to right, are:— Mrs. Wilmot Hawley, Mr. J. II. Allison, Mr. Wilmot Hawley, Mr. Elias Clapp, Mrs. Marshall Mallory, Miss Mallory. Mr. D. W. Allison, Mr. Parker Allen, Miss Bertha Borland, Mrs. D. W. Allison, Mr*. Gunsolus, Mrs. Duffett, Mr. T. W. Casey, Mrs. Briden and Mr. C. R. Allison.
LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
PAPERS AND RECORDS
VOL. IV.
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. PART TWO.
PRICE, 25 CENTS.
NAPANEE, ONTARIO.
PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY.
1912.
PRINTED AT THE BEAVER OFFICE.
CONTENTS.
Casey Burial Plot, Adolphustown Frontispiece
Chronology , 4
Publications of the Society 5
Introduction, by Walter S. Herrington, K.C 6
Early Bay of Quinte Steam-Boating, by
Thomas W. Casey 7
Early Slavery in Midland District, by Thomas
W. Casey 12
Some Ante Rebellion Arrests, by Thomas W.
Casey 22
Our First Representatives in Parliament, by
Thomas W. Casey 27
This County in the Sixties, by Thomas W.
Casey 49
Amherst Island, by Thomas W. Casey 54
Newburgh, by Thomas W. Casey 61
Index . 75
CHRONOLOGY.
Society Organized May 9th, 1907
Constitution Adopted June nth, 1907
First Open Meeting held Oct. 25th, 1907
Affiliated with the Ontario Historical
Society March 3ist, 1908
Papers and Records Published :—
Volume I June I2th, 1909
" II September I9th, 1910
11 III November I5th, 1911
OFFICERS SINCE ORGANIZATION.
Honorary Presidents —
Rev. Canon Jarvis 1907 to 1908
John Gibbard, Esq 1907
James Daly, Esq 1908 to -
Walter S. Herrington, K.C....I9O9 to -
Presidents —
Clarance M. Warner 1907 to
Vice Presidents —
Mrs. Alexander W. Grange.... 1907 to
Secretary-Treasurer —
Ulysses J. Flach, Esq 1907 to
Executive Committee —
Mrs. H. T. Forward 1907 to
Mr. Frederick Burrows 1907 to
Uriah Wilson, Ex-M.P 1907 to
Geo. D. Hawley, Ex-M.P. P. ..1907 to Rev. Alexander Macdonald....i9O7 to
PUBLICATIONS.
The following is a list of the official publica- tions of the Lennox and Addington Historical Society with a brief description of each.
Vol. I. Chronicles of Napanee, first published in 1873 and 1874. The Origin of Some of Our Local Names, by W. S. Herrington, 1908. Yarker and Vicinity, by E. R. Checkley, 1908. Some Notes of Early Ecclesiastical History,— Bay of Quinte Dis- trict, by Rev. Canon Jarvis, 1908. Some early Amusements of the County, by C. M. Warner, 1908. The Village of Centreville, by J. S. Lochhead, 1908.
Vol. II. Early Education, by Frederick Burrows, 1909. A Story of the Rear of Addington County, by Paul Stein, 1910. John Thomson, Inventor of a Process for Making Wood Pulp, by C. M. Warner, 1909. Newburgh, by Geo. Anson Ay les worth, 1910. The First Telegraph Office in Napanee, by Mrs. John Perry Hawley, 1909. The following copies of Original Documents in the Collection : — In Memoriam, B. C. Davy, Esq., (1874) ; Assignment of a Slave, (1824) ; School Teacher's Contract, (1818) ; Proceedings of the Napanee Club Library, (1853) ; Programme of Procession when Corner Stone of the Market Hall was laid, (1856) ; Montreal's Invitation to Cele- brate the Completion of Grand Trunk Railway between Montreal and Toronto, (1856) ; Railway Pass to Attend the Above Celebration, (1856).
Vol. III. The Casey Scrap Books. Introduc- tion by W. S. Herrington, 1910. Concerning Mr. Thomas W. Casey, by A. Dingman. An Old Adolphustown Burying Ground, by T. W. Casey. Champlain, the Discoverer of Bay of Quinte and Lake Ontario, by T. W. Casey. Champlain in the Bay of Quinte District, by T. W. Casey. First Explorers and Discoverers of this Section, by T. W. Casey. This County a Century Ago, by T. W. Casey. Our County's "First Surveys, by T. W. Casey. The Adolphustown TJ. E. L. Burying Ground, by T. W. Casey. In Old Time Graveyards, (from Toronto Sun, Aug. 9th, 1899). The Old Time District Councils, by T. W. Casev-
INTRODUCTION.
There was published last year, as Volume III. of the Papers and Records of the Ivennox and Addington Historical Society, the first instalment of articles selected from the scrap books of the late Thomas W. Casey. This first series dealt with the Discovery and Settlement of this County, in- cluding many extensive notes upon the old families and prominent men of by-gone years. Herewith is presented a continuation of the "Old-Time Records", in which I have preserved, as far as possible, the exact language of Mr. Casey, only eliminating here and there a sentence or two having no immediate bearing upon the subject under con- sideration.
W. S. HERRINGTON.
EARLY BAY OF QUINTE STEAM-BO ATlNG,
BY THOS. W. CASEY. APRIL 25th. 1902.
Now that steamboat navigation is again fully opened for the season, it seems a suggestive time to give some facts about the early days of steam navigation on the Bay of Quinte and other Upper Canadian waters. It hardly seems now credible that at this period in the last century, and within the lifetime of numbers of well-known residents of to-day, steamboats and steam navigation had not yet been heard of — not even dreamed of.
It was not until the year 1807 that the Clere- mont, the first steamboat to navigate the waters of America, made its first memorable trip up the Hudson River, from New York to Albany, and the name of Robert Fulton became historic therewith. That was the commencement of a new era in con- nection with navigation travel. Even then, very few, if any, expected that steam navigation would become so extended so as to cross lakes and rivers, and by such means navigate the world. Even Fulton did not live long enough to see the Atlantic ocean thus navigated.
Eight years after that time, in 1815, the first steamer, the Accommodation, was built and navi- gated Canadian waters. John Molson, whose name became so prominently identified with the business enterprises of Montreal, was the proprietor, and its route was established between Montreal and Quebec. It is on record that when this strange vessel, without sails, and making its way against both wind and tide, reached Quebec, nearly all the inhabitants of the town, to the number of thous- ands, were assembled to witness the strange sight. No doubt they were as much astonished as were many on the Hudson when the Cleremont made its first trip. It is on record that many boatmen on the river pulled their vessels ashore, and took to the land with all possible speed to make their escape.
FIRST OCEAN VESSEL.
It is to the credit of Canada that the first regular steamship to cross the Atlantic ocean was a native of Canada, built at Three Rivers, below
8 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Montreal in 1833. Canada was thus in advance of the enterprise of both Great Britain and the United States in this respect. We have seen long accounts of that historic vessel and of its first memorable voyage, but have not space now to make further reference to it. The Royal William, however, de- pended largely on its sails as well as steam for its success. However, that demonstrated the possibil- ity of such a class of vessels, and others soon began to follow.
So far as Upper Canada is concerned the steamer Frontenac was the first to be built and launched. It was commenced in the year 1815 and launched and completed the next year. It was built in this county, at Finkle's Point, a mile or two west of Bath. At that point at least three of the early steamers were built, besides other vessels. In the matter of vessel building, as in several other things, Bath then occupied a more important posi- tion than Kingston. Finkle, the proprietor of the tavern and farm there, appears to have been a man of much enterprise and considerable wealth and local influence, and had an interest in the building of all these vessels.
It was at his tavern the first courts of the Midland District were held, the Hon. Richard Cartwright presiding, as there was then no where else in the District that ample accommodation could be obtained. It was there, too, that the first legal hanging is said to have taken place, for the crime of watch stealing. And it is said that until a few years past a willow tree stood there to which convicts for stealing and other crimes were fastened and lashed with many sore stripes. It was there, too, that the first frame school house, with a teacher's residence, was built in Upper Canada.
The Frontenac regularly navigated I^ake Ontar- io, from Toronto and the River St. Lawrence, down to Prescott, for many years. We have never seen any record of its sailing on the Bay of Quinte.
FIRST BAY STEAMERS.
The Queen Charlotte was the first steamer to navigate the waters of the Bay of Quinte. She, too, was built at Finkle's Point, and Finkle was one of its principal shareholders. It was built and commenced running in 1818 ; its trip being from "The Carrying Place" at the head of the Bay, not far from the location of the present Murray Canal,
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. »
to Prescott, which was then as far down the St. Lawrence as navigation extended, because of the Rapids. The writer has heard from some of the people of the past generation some marvellous and interesting incidents about the Charlotte's early trips. The days when it was known she would pass up or down wagon loads would drive to the Bay shore from miles distant to see her plough through the waters, against wind and storm, at five to seven miles an hour. The natural exclamation then would be that "wonders will never cease." By running pretty steadily day and night, two round trips could be made in the week. The fare each way was $5.00, meals included ; and that was much cheaper and speedier travelling than the people had been accustomed to. There was no upper deck,— just a rude gentlemen's cabin in the main deck, and a small ladies' cabin below, with the floor about six feet wide, and a few berths up the sides as the sides flared out. But it was all sumptuous travel- ling compared with the open sail or row boats be- fore that time. It continued to run regularly for about twenty years, but did not pay even running expenses for years.
We have heard of one wealthy and intelligent old farmer who drove miles to Bath to see the boat and its mysteries. He got on board and went all through, seeing the engine, its boiler, furnaces and all, and how they worked, and became so interested in it that the boat had got some miles up the Bay before he even noticed it had left dock. He was given a free ride to Adolphustown, however, and came back afoot, to find his team all right yet. He felt he had been pretty well repaid for his day's journey.
Some years later, in 1828, the Sir James Kemp was built and launched also from Finkle's Point. It was a larger and more pretentious boat and ran for many years on the Bay, and many of the older people, now living, can well remember sailing on it. Our venerable, yet sprightly towns- man, Peter Bristol, J.P., of Piety Hill, was present and saw it launched. A copy of the Kingston Gazette of August 8th, 1828, now lying before us, has this news item :
"The Sir James Kemp. — This new steamer, built at Bath, under the superintendence of Captain Gildersleeve, was safely launched on Monday last, and towed into Kingston harbor on Wednesday
10 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
morning by the Toronto. The Sir James Kemp is a beautiful boat, rather longer than the old Char- lotte, and her engine is forty-five horse power. She is destined to ply. between Prescott and the head of Bay of Quinte."
The boat was named in honor of Sir James Kemp, who had been for some time Lieut. -Governor of Nova Scotia, but was in that year, 1828, ap- pointed by the British Government Governor-Gen- eral of British America.
THE GILDERSLEEVES.
Capt. Harry Gildersleeve, mentioned in the last paragraph, came to Bath in connection with the building of the Frontenac and Queen Charlotte, as a builder. He became captain of the latter boat and continued sailing and interested in steamship building and running for the rest of his days. He was the head of the Gildersleeve family, of King- ston, who have been so prominently identified with steamboat navigation ever since. We have seen it stated that he married a Miss Finkle, of the ; Point. He became a wealthy and influential man.
It may as well be mentioned here of the Crysler family, some of whom were prominently identified with sailing of the Gildersleeve boats for many years. John Crysler was a prominent man in Dun- das County and was elected its representative in the Upper Canada Legislature for years, retiring in 1828. During one of the winters when he drove with his horse and cutter to York, to attend the session, he reached Mrs. Finkle's tavern one night and remained there. A young and handsome daughter of hers was anxious to go to York to see friends, and begged a passage also, as the M. P. P. was alone. There were few chances in those days, and he readily consented. During the trip of two or three days he became quite smitten with her charms, and proposed marriage. They "made it up" and were married, and it was not till some weeks later, on their return, that the mother had any hint of it. News moved slowly then. The match was quite satisfactory, however, and from that union originated quite a large and important family. One son, Captain Crysler, was a popular and important captain on one of the Gildersleeve steamers — the Prince of Wales — for many years.
OTHER BOATS AND CAPTAINS.
The principal steamers until the past forty
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 11
years on the Bay were those already mentioned and the Brockville, Fashion, Novelty, all commanded in their time by Captain Jacob Bonter, of Belleville ; the Bay of Ouinte, the finest boat in its day, built by Gildersleeve, and commanded by Captain J. Mc- Gill Chambers, of Smiths' Falls ; the Queen Vic- toria, owned and commanded by Captain Henry Corby, of Belleville. These captains were all ener- getic and prominent men in their time. There were others, but the writer scarcely remembers their names now. Until well in the fifties, when the Grand Trunk Railway commenced operations, steamboats were the only public means of travel- ling and the boats and captains were of much pub- lic importance.
There were on the lake and river sixty years ago a number of staunch steamers, popularly known as the Royal Mail Ivine, all painted black, making daily trips from Toronto to Kingston and on down, and carrying the Royal mail. Prominent among them were the Sovereign, City of Toronto, Princess Royal. About in the forties two iron steamers, the Magnet and Passport, came on the lake, and with them were introduced a new and more popular class of vessels. They were painted white, — the first of the lake steamers so painted that the writer remembers of. They were built in Scotland, and completed here. So staunch were they built that now, sixty years later, they are yet in active service. The Magnet has been re-named the Hamilton, and was the pioneer of a now pretty well established line between Hamilton and Mon- treal, making weekly trips.
The Hon. Billa Flint, of Belleville, built two steam barges, fitted up for passengers, lumber and other freight, making regular trips from Belleville to Oswego. That was about fifty years ago. They were quite popular in their time. A few years later, in the sixties, the Downey Bros., of Napanee, established a line of two similar boats, the Oswego Belle and Kincardine, between here and Oswego. At that time very large quantities of barley, lum- ber and other freight were shipped from here. That business fell off and the steamers went elsewhere.
It is not necessary here to make mention of the present line of steamers of the Deseronto Naviga- tion Company, supplying the bay in all directions, or of the other numerous steamers of to-day. Now that the Murray Canal has been opened and the fine
12 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
lake steamers are passing up and down through Canadian waters every day, the passenger accom- modation on our waters was never so varied and so good before, and there was never so much passenger traffic of that kind.
The late Captain John Porte, who died in Tren- ton a few years ago, was the first to establish a regular steamer passenger route in and out of the Napanee River. The small and somewhat slow "John Greenway," brought here from the Mohawk River, N.Y., was the pioneer boat for that purpose. That was about forty years ago. The route has been well kept up ever since and is now well sup- plied with two boats each day. In fact the whole passenger steamer traffic on the bay, the lake and the river, was never so well and luxuriously supplied as it now is. The wonder, to many, is how so many steamers can possibly find traffic to make their various routes profitable.
EARLY SLAVERY IN MIDLAND DISTRICT.
BY THOS. W. CASEY. FEBRUARY 14th AND 21st, 19O2.
Through the kindness of Mr. Stephen Gibson, County Registrar for Lennox and Addington, we have seen a rare old document in regard to the existence of negro slavery in this county, among the first of the U. E. Loyalist pioneers. It is the will of Gasper Bower, of the Township of Camden, and bearing date of June, 1804, and which was pro- bated before Judge Alexander Fisher, at Adolphus- town, October 28th, 1804. Mr. Fisher was the first Judge of the Surrogate Court of the Midland Dis- trict, and a man of much prominence among the early U. E. Loyalists. He lived and died in Adol- phustown, and his remains lie buried in a field on the farm he owned in the third concession, on the south shores of Hay Bay, now well known as "the Platt farm." Among the provisions of the will are the following :
"I give to my dear wife, Miriam Bower, that part or parcel of land situate, lying and being in the Township of Camden, lot 5 in the 1st concession 200 acres, dwelling house, barn, outhouses, house- hold stuff, kitchen furniture, 4 milch cows, yoke of oxen, one horse. I also give and bequeath to my wife, Miriam Bower, to hold during her natural life,
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a negro wench named Charlotte, and from and after the decease of my said wife, Miriam Bower, I give and bequeath the above-named negro wench, Char- lotte, to my grand-daughter, Elizabeth Bower, daughter of Adam Bower."
Then the will goes on to provide for the disposal of other property,— lands, cattle and chat- tels. Evidently that time a negro wench, held as a slave, was as much a piece of deedable property as a farm, a cow, or a horse.
GASPER BOWER
was of Dutch origin and one of the U. E. Loyglist pioneers of this county. According to the early Crown Lands record, he was a Corporal of the King's Royal Regiment of New York during the war of the American Revolution. His name appears with the other early Loyalist settlers on the Government provision list in 1786. He owned the farm on which the Village of Strathcona now stands, and built the first grist mill there at a very early date. It was probably the first mill of that kind on the Napanee River farther up stream than where the first mills at "Appanee Falls" were first built by Robert Clark, for the Government, in 1786. His name appears on Robert Clark's old account book in connection with the building of the first mills at Napanee, as having furnished a team of horses for work at that time. It is quite probable, therefore, that he was among the first owners of horses in this section of the country. He was a Presbyterian and on his farm was built a substan- tial stone Presbyterian Church at a very early time in the last century. It was probably the first stone church of any kind built in this county. Later on the early Lutherans also used the church as a place of worship, and so did the Methodists. It was torn away, years ago, to make room for the present substantial brick Methodist Church at Strathcona. Mr. Bower died and was buried about 1806, on his farm, at what was long known as "Bower's Mills", where his sons and other descendants lived for years. None of the name now reside in the county, we believe, but a number of the descendants are well known citizens elsewhere.
There was also a school there at an early time, — one of the few early schools in the county. Our venerable citizen, John Gibbard, J.P., now nearly ninety years of age, well remembers, with his older
14 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
brother William, going to that school in his early years. They then lived beyond where Newburgh now stands, and had, therefore, some miles to trudge through the woods every night and morning to reach that school. The late William Gibbard once told the writer he well remembered, over eighty years ago, playing in an old frame building, then abandoned, which was the first Bower grist mill at that place.
MORE EARLY SLAVES.
Gasper Bower was not alone among the early settlers as a slave holder, nor was much thought of it at that time. His neighbor, John Carscallen, living then east of Newburgh, was also a slave owner, and it is probable that several others of the pioneers of Camden, as well as of the other adjoin- ing townships, were his associates in this respect. And there was nothing thought of it to be incon- sistent with their positions as good church mem- bers. The executors of Mr. Bower's will, whose duty it was to see that the negro wench, Charlotte, was duly handed over with the land, cows and horse, as provided for in the will, were Rufus Shorey, EHsha Shorey and James McKim, all quite nearby neighbors and friends, and all quite prom- inent Methodists, we believe.
What may have eventually become of Charlotte we have no record, or what may have become of the many other early slaves and their descendants, of the Midland District, of a hundred years ago, seems now a real mystery. The writer has been trying for years past to obtain more information about these things, but it seems very difficult to obtain. One thing is now pretty evident, none of the descend- ants, so far as we can learn, are now living in these counties.
SLAVE CHILDREN BORN.
There is considerable evidence that numbers of slave children were born in this district at one time. It is said that the large negro family of the Minks, that at one time lived a couple of miles up the river from here, at what is yet well known as "Mink's Bridge," were descendants of slaves owned by Capt. Herkimer, one of the first settlers in "Firsttown," at what is yet well known as Herchi- mer's Point, a few miles west of Kingston. Some of the Minks became well known and prominent men. George was for a time a prominent livery
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 15
man in Toronto, and then became the proprietor of the stage line and mail contractor between Toronto and Kingston, and was reputed then to be a man of considerable wealth. James had a livery and tavern at Kingston for years, where he was well known. Poor Tobias, who was drowned in the river here, while intoxicated, was a well known character about Napanee for years. So far as we know, there is not one of the name now living.
In the Rev. John lyanghorn's early church bap- tism register, at Bath, there is the record of the baptism of a number of negro slave children, be- longing to some of the well known and most promi- nent early families. It is not probable, however, that one family in ten, even about that locality, took the pains to have the negro children born in their households given a Christian baptism. Here is a record of some that occur in L/anghorn's regis- ter of the first baptisms in this county. They are recorded among the other regular baptisms :
1. "November 13, 1791. Richard, son of Pomp and Nelly, a negro living with Timothy Thomp- son." Mr. Thompson, it may be remembered, was a retired U. E. Iy. officer, residing in Fredericks- burgh, near where Sandhurst now is. He was for many years a member of the Upper Canada Legis- lature for Addington. He died at his farm and was buried in the Sandhurst churchyard. He left no children.
2. "Oct. 6, 1793. Richard, surnamed Pruyn, a negro living with Harmen Pruyn, Fredericks- butgh." It is said that the Pruyn family, who resided on the bay shore, front of Fredericksburgh, owned a larger number of slaves than almost any other family then resident in the county. There seems now no record of any of their descendants, if they left any.
3. "March 2, 1796. Belly, surnamed Levi, a negro girl living with Johannes Walden Meyers, Thurlow." Meyers were one of the old and weal- thy families residing at what is now the city of Belleville. The place was first known as "Meyers' Creek," in honor of that family, who were among its principal founders.
4. "March 3rd, 1796. Ashur, surnamed Hampton, a negro boy, living with Samuel Sher- wood, Thurlow." It is quite probable that Mr. Sherwood was a near neighbor of the Meyers as the baptism is recorded the next day after the foregoing
16 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
and its record occurs among quite a number of other baptisms just then in that locality.
5. "April 22d, 1805. Francis, son of Violet, a negro woman living with Hazelton Spencer, Esq., by Francis Green." Mr. Spencer was a resident of the front of Fredericksburgh, near Conway, where he died and was buried on his own farm. He was a. member of the first Upper Canada Legislature, representing Addington and Hastings. He was also, for years, a churchwarden of St. Paul's church at Sandhurst, which according to Lang- horn's record, was first used for divine service on Christmas day, 1791, and was, he records, "the first church that ever was built, new from the ground, in the Province of Quebec (before Upper Canada was set apart), solely for a Church of Kngland church ; excepting one of the Mohawk churches on Grand River lays claim to a senior- ity." There is a record, in the same church register, of the burial of Francis, on the iyth of January, 1806.
The Anti-Slavery Act was passed by the Upper Canada Legislature previous to the time of the record of these baptisms, and after that time the word "slave" seldom or never appears. That Act did not actually abolish slavery at that time, and free all the negroes from bondage, as many now suppose. It merely prohibited the importation of any more, with certain other provisions as to the termination of the bondage of those born later on.
SOME OTHER SLAVE OWNERS.
In all the early U. K. Loyalists appear to have brought in several hundreds, if not thousands, from the States, into what is now the Dominion of Canada. They, or their fathers, had been slave owners in New York, New Jersey, the New Kngland States, and elsewhere, and slaves were among the few articles of property they brought with them.
Rev. John Stuart, of Kingston, the first Church of Kngland minister in Upper Canada, makes record in his written memoirs, that he brought his slaves with him from the Mohawk Valley, where he had resided previous to the revolution. He then wrote : "My negroes, being personal property, I take with me, one of which being a young man, and capable of bearing arms, I have to give £100 security to send back a white prisoner in his stead."
Robert Perry, the head of a yet large and well-
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known family in this county, had also one or more slaves who came and remained with him here. In these columns it has been mentioned before that among the well-known early slave owners in this County were Maj. VanAlstine, Capt. Joseph Allen, Capt. Thos. Dorland, Capt. J. Huyck, Capt. Trum- pour, the Bogarts, Petersons, Capt. Peter Ruttan, and others, all of Adolphustown ; the F airfields, of Ernesttown ; Col. Clark, of Fredericksburgh, after which the once thriving Village of Clarksville was named. Others residing elsewhere and other facts will be given in the near future.
Dr. W. Canniff, in his excellent history, gives many interesting facts on these matters. Rev. T. W. Smith, D.D., of Halifax, N.S., has prepared a very elaborate volume of about 1 60 pages, in which more information is given in regard to early Cana- dian slavery than we have met with anywhere else.
ABOLITION IN UPPER CANADA.
It has been a frequent boast that in Upper Canada a slavery abolition law was enacted before anywhere else in the British Empire. Some facts in regard to the enacting of that law may be of information to many readers. It was passed at the second session of the First Upper Canada Legis- lature, held at Newark — now Niagara — in 1793. That act did not set free the slaves that were then in bondage here. It provided as follows :
"From and after the passing of this Act, it shall not be lawful for the Governor to grant a license for the importation of any negro or other person to be subjected to the condition of a slave * * * nor shall any negro, or other person who shall come or be brought into the Province after the passing of this Act be subject to the condition of a slave," etc.
Thus, in the second clause of the Act it was provided that the owners of slaves at the time in the Province should be secured in their property, and contracts already made should not be affected. It will thus be seen that while the slave traffic was abolished, slavery itself, as it then existed in the Province, continued until the death of those then in bondage here.
It was also provided that children of slave mothers were virtually the property of their masters until they reached the age of 25 years. The masters were held legally responsible for the
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proper care, nourishment and clothing of these children during their infancy, and were entitled to their service until the age of 25, when they were entitled to their liberty.
Credit for the passing of this Act was given to Lieut. -Governor Simcoe, the first Governor of Upper Canada ; to Judge Osgoode, the first Chief Justice — after whom Osgoode Hall, in Toronto, gets its name — and Robert Grav, the first Solicitor- General of the Province. They were all Englishmen by birth, and, it is said, were all bitterly opposed in principle to slavery. It is said that the Act did not pass without considerable opposition. That is not to be wondered at, for it is known that a num- ber of members of that first Parliament were them- selves owners of slaves. Among them may be named Hazelton Spencer, for Lennox and Hastings; Joshua Booth, for Addington and Ontario ; Thomas Borland, for Adolphustown and Prince Edward, and quite probably others. Hon. Richard Cartwright, of the Legislative Council, was also a slave owner, and it is quite probable that other members of that body were also.
UPPER CANADA'S LEAD.
Dr. William Canniff, in his admirable U. E. L- history, remarks : "When Upper Canada, in 1793, took the lead in the whole of Britain's vast domain in legislating against slavery, Lower Canada con- tinued to regard it without disfavor ; and, even in Montreal, endeavored to fix the chains of bondage more firmly upon the negro. But what the Provin- cial Legislature did not, although presented with the example set by Upper Canada, was done in a different wav by Chief Justice Osgoode, who, in 1803, at Montreal, declared slavery inconsistent with the laws of the country, and gave freedom to persons in that condition. And when the British Act of Emancipation was passed, in 1833, setting free the slaves in all parts of the Empire, there were no slaves in Canada, Upper or Lower. Thirty years previous had the evil been crushed in Lower Canada, and forty years before Upper Canada had declared it was highly expedient to abolish slavery, and had enacted laws to secure its abolition."
It may be now, too, that Canada will lead the other parts of the British Empire in the matter of the abolition of the drink traffic.
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SLAVERY IN LOWER CANADA.
We have before referred to the excellent little volume entitled, "The Slave in Canada," by Rev. T. Watson Smith, D.D., of Halifax, N.S., a well known historian of that Province. For much of the facts that here follow, the writer is indebted to that work. Writing of slavery in the Province of Quebec, he gives numerous instances of its estab- lishment and existence there before the arrival of the U. E. Loyalists at all. He writes :
"Slavery in Canada, as that extensive Province was formally defined, was of French institution. The first slave sale recorded in the colony was that at Quebec of a negro boy from Madagascar, by David Kertk, in 1628, for fifty half crowns. Kertk, the son of a Scotch father and French mother, was born at Dieppe, had gone to England, and with several ships fitted out with the assistance of two brothers and other relatives, under commission of the English king, had done serious damage to French interests at Port Royal, Quebec, , and other points at the Atlantic seaboard. . . In the sys- tem of bondage instituted in Canada under French rule, no change took place through the transfer of the colony to the English crown. It had been pro- vided by the 47th article of the capitulation of Canada in 1760 that all negroes and Parris (Indian slaves) should remain in their condition as slaves ; and no hesitation on the part of the English auth- orities could have been feared, since, by an Act of the British Parliament in 1732, houses, lands, negroes and real estate had been made liable for sale as assets to satisfy the claims of their owners' creditors."
In 1784, about the time of the arrival of the U. E. Loyalists, there were known to be 304 slaves in the hands of various owners in Quebec.
General Haldimand was the Governor of the Colony of Quebec, which then included Upper Canada also, before and at the time of the arrival of the U. E. Loyalists. In his early diary of those times are several references to slaves, which clearly indicates their official recognition. In 1778 a business man at Montreal asked permission from the Governor to sell a negro for a debt due him by the slave's master. At Quebec, in the same year, a negro petitioned for his liberty in view of patri- otic services rendered to the Government.
20 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Among the early Canadian archives there is a "Return of Negroes brought in by Scouts and sold at Montreal. It was signed by Sir John Johnson, whose name is so prominent among the early I/oyalists, and of many of the pioneers along the Bay of Ouinte, and who also brought in himself a number of slaves in his flight from Albany to Mon- treal." Of the fifty or more slaves named in this list, nearly half were sold in Montreal, a few being carried by Indians and whites to Niagara ; the others were handed over to their former owners. One, named Charles, was sold to Rev. David C. Del/isle, the Episcopal Rector at Montreal, for twenty pounds, Tom, another negro, was sold by Captain Thompson, of Butler's Rangers, (no doubt he who afterwards settled in Fredericksburgh), to Sir John Johnson, who gave him to Mr. Langan, and so there is a list of many others. Sir John Johnson is said to have had fourteen slaves at the time of his flight to Canada.
In the Montreal Gazette, of March, 1784, Madame Perrault offered a negro for sale ; and the early papers of Montreal, of Quebec, and of Niagara contained a number of advertisements of slaves for sale or of runaway slaves for whose return rewards were offered.
SLAVES IN NOVA SCOTIA.
Mr. Smith writes : "Slaves were brought into Nova Scotia at an early period. The prevalent im- pression that thev were first introduced into the Province by the I/oyalists has no foundation in fact. As to prevalence of slaves at Halifax a year or two after its settlement there can be no question. A letter written at Halifax in September, 1759, con- tains an interesting reference to their employment."
One instance is given where a piously inclined slave holder at Halifax willed a slave, at his death, "for the use and benefit of the Wardens and Vestry of St. Paul's," one of the oldest churches in that city. A very large number of the first U. E. Loy- alists, especially from the New England States, first found refuge in Nova Scotia, about Shelbourne and ttiat portion of the Province, and they are said to have taken with them a large number of slaves. We believe that more of the descendants of these negroes are to be found in that vicinity now than in almost any other one part of the Dominion."
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MORE OP UPPER CANADA.
Mr. Smith writes : '4At the close of the Revolu- tionary war the western part of Canada— now the Province of Ontario — then almost a wilderness, be- came the home of some thousands of Loyalists, not a few of whom were descendants of the old Dutch and Walloon settlers of the Province of New York. They entered Canada at different points, some by crossing the St. Lawrence, in the vicinity of Corn- wall, and at Montreal ; while others landed at Cataraqui— Kingston of to-day— and perhaps the largest number at points along the Niagara frontier. Many of them settled along the Upper St. Lawrence, around the beautiful Bay of Quinte, and on the northern shore of Lake Ontario. . . . During the depressing journey from the old home to the new, in some cases occupying weeks spent in open boat or wagon, some of the Loyalists and their families were accompanied by slaves, not a few of whom had come of their own accord. Slave property had, in many cases, been confiscated with the owner's estates ; in some instances a part of it remained, in others slaves had been purchased. On the faithfulness of these attendant negroes the voy- agers were in a great measure dependent for their progress and their comfort. The oar, plied by their strong arm, sometimes aided the sail of their rude batteaux, at other times replaced it ; the camp, where nightly rested the women and children, too weary to think of it as on the site of some former deadly conflict, or in the neighborhood of the lynx, or bear, or wolf, often owed both safety and com- fort to the skill and deftness of their not unwilling hands."
The writer also gives some interesting facts of the slaves held by a number of the prominent Upper Canadian Loyalist families, which we have not now the space to make mention of. The records in re- gard to early slavery in this and the other Provinces form a very interesting part of our Canadian historv.
SOME ANTE REBELLION ARRESTS.
BY THOS. W. CASEY. NOVEMBER 24th, 1899.
The few years preceding the Mackenzie rebellion of 1837-8 in this Province were stirring and exciting years in political circles. There were then hard and somewhat discouraging struggles to obtain for this country the rights of self-government which we now enjoy. The idea prevailed for years, even with a good many intelligent and well meaning men, that such a system of government was not compatible with the standing of the country as a British colony. The agitators, on that account, were often looked upon as "rebels" to the British system of government, and treated as such, too. No doubt the members of the old "Family Compact"— the men who largely monopolized the public offices, their authority and their emoluments, for them- selves and their families and relatives — adroitly used their influence to impress the people that all such Reformers were rebels at heart against British rule and authority.
Matters were carried with a high hand for years. Men who were obnoxious or troublesome to the party in power were, in numbers of instances, expelled from Parliament and ejected from office on pretexts such as would not for a moment be toler- ated to-day. Now that the struggle is all over and the people can look back on it all in the light of history, there are few who are not now willing to admit that Canada owes much to the agitators of the thirties, much as many of them were then des- pised and extreme as were some of the acts of which some became guilty, — especially William Lyon Mackenzie and some of his immediate asso- ciates who took a prominent part in that notable rebellion.
No doubt a very large proportion of the old Reform party, who held up the hands of Mackenzie for some 3rears, had no idea or intention that the agitation would ever culminate in a rebellion against British rule ; they were as ready as others to help stamp that down when their eyes once be- came open to the facts of the case. They earnestly desired a reform from the then existing state of affairs, but they fully expected to help bring those
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reforms about by lawful and constitutional .means. At times, however, their efforts met with great discouragement, not only from the party in power in this Province, but from the British Government, who did not really understand the true state of affairs here.
The rebellion itself, wicked and short lived as it was, no doubt resulted in great good, — in opening the eyes of the people of England to the abuses to which Canadians had been subjected. Lord Durham was sent to Canada because of that rebellion, and to his enquiries and his subsequent very able report we owe it that the eves of the English statesmen were opened and the reforms were in consequence granted that we now so happily enjoy.
SOME NOTABLE ARRESTS.
No doubt there were many hot headed men among the agitators and many high-handed men among the party in power. That a large number of both these classes were really well meaning men we have now no reason to doubt. They did not under- stand each other ; they went, too, according to the light they then possessed. England did not under- stand colonial government as it happily does to-day.
All over the Province, especially during the stirring times of 1837-8, and largely, we think, be- cause of the incompetence of Governor Francis Bond Head, a great many high-handed measures were resorted to. Good loyal men, who had taken a less prominent part in the ranks of the old Reform party than many now take in the ranks of the Liberal party, were treated as veritable traitors and rebels. Their houses were searched, their papers and mails were seized, examined and often confiscated, and they were themselves arrested and thrust into our prisons with more severity and less ceremony than some of our worst thieves have to-day.
There were some notable cases of that kind in this county, though not so many of a really high- handed character as in the western sections of the Province. Lennox and Addington was, for some years then, known as "a Banner Reform County." Marshall Bidwell and Peter Perry, who were leading spirits in the party in the Legislature for years, were elected by large majorities from this county. Others, also truly loyal, were among their ardent
24 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
supporters and warm personal friends. Then, as it unhappily is now, the party leaders on both sides made it their policy to stir up the minds of the common people that "the other party" was largely led and composed of real dupes or down-right rascals or traitors.
Among the hundreds of really honest men com- mitted to prisons, here and there, were a few of our then well known citizens and business men. Here is one of the cases which some of the older inhabi- tants may well remember :
EBENEZER PERRY'S ARREST.
Among the prominent and prosperous business men of Krnesttown up to 1837 was Ebenezer Perry, who kept a store and carried on a pot-ashery just opposite what is vet known as Storms' Corners, on the Kingston road. Mr. Perry was a nephew of Peter Perry , M.P.P., already referred to. He be- longed to a leading family who took a prominent interest in political affairs. He was a man of more than ordinary education for those times, and of intelligence and an active mind. He was a fluent talker and a ready stump speaker and exerted a good deal of influence in his local^. When arrests began to be made by the wholesale of the leading spirits, it was resolved to arrest him too, seize and search his papers and have him taken to King- ston to prison.
It happened one winter evening just then that the late Job Ay Is worth, of Newburgh, who then lived on a farm just east of Mr. Perry, casually heard through a friend that a meeting of the Tory Squires had been held in Bath and it was arranged that Kbenezer Perry and Nathan Fellows should be arrested that night as disloyal persons. It was midnight, or later, when this information was received, but within an hour or so Mr. Perry got a friendly hint of it. He was abed and asleep at the time, but at once roused himself up, and he and his wife at once searched out and destroyed all corres- pondence and other papers they found that might be even construed into anything like giving trouble. He dressed himself hurriedly and at once made his way to his brother's, the late William Perry, a large farmer at Violet, a mile or two distant, where he was comfortably concealed in a quantity of hay over a horse stable, where he could be fed and cared for until it was deemed safe to get him safely away.
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 23
After he had gone, Mrs. Perry made another search among some papers they had at first over- looked and among them she found a letter or two from Mackenzie, which, while not of an incriminat- ing character at all, mieht have been distorted into vsome thing quite troublesome then, simply because of the name of the writer. Scarcely had she finish- ed that work and retired again with her young family than a loud knock was heard at the door and an authoritative demand was made for admit- tance. She very innocently got up, opened the door and enquired what was wanted. Outside stood four men, armed with swords, who demanded to see Mr. Perry on urgent business.
They were informed that he was not at home ; he had gone away on business and she did not expect him back again for some days. The house was at once searched and so were all the premises, but of course, to no purpose. A careful search was then made of all his books and papers and such were tied up as were thought to be of interest. Mrs. Perry was then asked if there were any other papers or letters of his in the house. She began to feel a good deal irritated and independent by that time and remarked to them that if they were to search the chip basket and the pot-hole they might pick up some more old scraps and fragments.
They then left and, we believe, went on to Mr. Fellows', who had not received any warning. He was arrested, searched and made a prisoner and taken to prison or before a magistrate, but nothing could be brought against him of any kind, and he was let go again after a short time.
Others including Squire Joseph I/ockwood, who was a native of that locality, but then a prominent and wealthy resident of Hastings County, were also thus arrested and taken to Kingston for trial, but to no purpose so far as anything criminal concern- ing them was concerned.
In scores of families all over the country there was anxiety and suspense at the time. Few who had been prominent in political agitation before felt themselves safe for a time. Many of them had good reason to blame Mackenzie, who by his over- zeal and lack of discretion and prudence, brought trouble and disgrace on many truly well-meaning men at that time. It is very evident that even Mackenzie did not, at first, intend any such thing as a rebellion, nor did the many hundreds of his
26 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
party associates, but in the end he went to much greater lengths than was intended, bringing trouble and bloodshed on the country, and disaster and death on some of his most trusted friends. Out of so much evil much good really resulted in the end, in the way we have already indicated. But for years the old Reform party was in disgrace and under strong suspicion because of the ill-advised acts of a few hot-headed and unscrupulous men.
MR. PERRY'S AFTER MOVEMENTS.
As Mr. Perry and his descendants and relatives are well known in this county it may be as well here to refer to his after career. After a couple of weeks the watch for him became less vigilant and the excitement less intense, and it was deened safe to drive him to Kingston and from thence across to Cape Vincent. He found it prudent to remain away for some years, we believe, before he again returned to become a permanent resident. We have been informed that he ventured back some time the next summer, but soon found himself so pursued and hunted that he concealed himself in a woods near by and made his way back again beyond the reach of arrest. Others in different parts of the country who were similarly hunted out got soured towards Canada and our Government and never returned. In most of these cases, too, the men who thus pursued them verily thought they were doing our country a good loyal service.
Mr. Perry returned to his native township some years after, but his business was gone and he never really again recovered his former good business standing. He became a respected and honored citi- zen, however, and represented his native township in the Township, District and County Councils for years. He was once Warden of this County and was freely recognized as one of the ablest and most influential members of the Council in his day. He was appointed a Crown Land's agent and had much to do with the opening up of the Kaladar and Madawaska colonization road and of the early settlement of that district. He spent his last days in Tamworth, and was among its enterprising and loyal citizens.
Such incidents may give younger readers of The Beaver an idea of the hardship, political as well as social and financial, that the earlier inhabitants of these Counties passed through. Many of the bless-
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 27
ings and advantages of various kinds, of a business, social, educational and political character, we owe to the men of former generations here, who accord- ing to the light they enjoyed, did well their share in making this the prosperous and free country we now have.
OUR FIRST REPRESENTATIVES IN PARLIAMENT.
BY THOS. W. CASEY.
Very few people in this county, — in Lennox in particular — know who was .the representative of the county in the First Parliament of Upper Canada. Somewhat singular to say that while the names of the members of the First Parliament have been published we can nowhere find a list of the constit- uencies each of them represented. Even in the parliamentary libraries at Ottawa and Toronto such lists do not appear to exist.
The First Parliament, it will be remembered, was first convened at Newark, now Niagara, on the 1 8th of September, 1792, and continued in session until the I5th of October. There were but sixteen members, all told, and it is said that they were first convened in a canvas tent, which had been used previously as a military tent. Houses were scarce at that time. Governor Simcoe, who was the first governor appointed to this province after its separation from Quebec, arrived in Kingston in the early summer of 1792, and on the i6th of July issued a proclamation dividing the Province into nineteen counties, and these again were constituted into sixteen electoral districts, and ordering elec- tions to be held. Just the date of these elections we do not know. It is not probable they were all held in one day, as that has been but a recent rule. The elections probably took place in August.
OUR OWN REPRESENTATION.
The Midland District, extending at that time from the Gananoque to the Trent Rivers, was divided into the Counties of Frontenac, Ontario, Addington, Lennox, Prince Edward and Hastings. Ontario County consisted of the islands in front of the main land, — Amherst, Wolfe, Simcoe and Howe Islands, — now connected with the counties. For representation purposes at that time Frontenac
28 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
was united to Leeds County, and sent one member. Addington and Ontario were united and Joshua Booth was elected the representative. Lennox, except Adolphustown, was united with Hastings and Northumberland, — the two latter were then very sparcely populated, — and Hazelton Spencer was elected. Adolphustown and Prince Edward were united and Philip Dorland was first elected, but later on Major Peter Vanalstine. Just how long this grouping of districts continued we do not know. It was not many years, however, before Lennox and Addington began to send, unitedly, one member, and this was continued until the time of Confederation, in 1867, when the division was made that now continues.
At that time and for many years after there was but one polling division in each county, and the election generally continued an entire week, or until a given time elapsed without a vote being tendered, or until one or other of the candidates happened to withdraw. There were no ballots used for many years later, and the state of the poll was always known. There were no laws against treating, either, and the custom often was for the candidates to keep "open house" and every elector was gratuitously supplied with all he cared to eat and drink. Drinking and fighting prevailed to a large extent in consequence.
JOSHUA BOOTH.
Of Mr. Booth, the first member for Addington and Ontario, mention has been made a number of times in The Beaver. He was a Sergeant in the King's forces during the War of the American Revolution, and was among the first of the United Empire Loyalist refugees settling in this province. From the fact that he settled in "Second Town11, or Ernesttown, it is probable that he was connected with Sir John Johnson's regiment. He settled on lot No. 40, in the First Concession, on the Bay of Quinte shore, where he lived and died. He married Miss Margaret Fraser, a daughter of Daniel Fraser, also one of the early Loyalists of that locality. He reared a large family. According to the "reminis- cences" of John Collins Clark he died in a field on his own farm in 1812, "supposed of a fit." Another statement is that he died suddenly October 3ist, 1813, aged 54 years, leaving a widow and ten children. A large number of his descendants are
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. '20
still among our respectable and well known citizens ; several of them have been among our large mill owners and prominent business men, especially in the vicinity of Odessa.
It is said that he erected the first grist mill in the county on the stream a little above Millhaven, where such a mill now stands. In the course of a few years he obtained other mill sites and owned several of the first mills between where Millhaven and Odessa now stands, and it was long known as "Mill Creek." He was one of the most enterprising of the early settlers of the township, and at the time of his death was said to have been the largest land-owner and mill-owner in the township, if not in the county. He was an intimate friend of the Hon. Richard Cartwright, also an extensive business man. Mr. Booth was an early Justice of the Peace and a member of the Court of Requests for his locality.
HAZELTON SPENCER , J.P.
Mr. Spencer, who first represented Addington, Hastings and Northumberland, was a pioneer resi- dent of the front of Fredericksburgh. He was born at East Greenwich, Rhode Island, August 29th, 1757. Of course it was then a British colony. He was the eldest son of Benjamin Spencer, who about ten years later moved to Vermont, where he had received a grant of land upon the Winooski (or Onion) River. Benjamin Spencer became a Justice of the Provincial Court of Vermont, and at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary war, he was elected a member of the Provisional Assembly or Congress, charged with the duty of deciding the course which the Province should take in relation to the rebellion. He was an uncompromising British loyalist, and soon found himself in hopeless minority ; he was obliged to flee for his life in consequence. Feeling at that time ran very high. He took refuge with the army of Gen. Burgoyne, the British commander at that time, and died at Ticonderoga, on Lake Champlain, shortly after the celebrated battle of Bennington, which was fought 1 6th August, 1777.
About that time young Hazelton Spencer, then about twenty years of age, attached himself to the "King's Royal Regiment of New York," a regi- ment that played a very important part in many of the bloody scenes of those days. He was a
30 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
volunteer, and it was not long after that his name appeared at the foot of an old American "List of the Prisoners with the Rebels of the King's Royal Regiment, of New York," signed by "J. Val- antine, Adjutant." His name subsequently appears a number of times, and in various capacities in the "Haldimand Papers" which contain so many im- portant records of those times. Among the rest his name appears among the "Officers recommended to His Excellency, General Haldimand, for promo- tion in the Second Batallion of the King's Royal Regiment. Later on occurs the name of "Lieuten- ant Hazelton Spencer" whose length of service was stated to be seven years.
CAME TO CANADA.
At the final disbanding of the Regiment, in 1784, Hazelton Spencer came to this country, in company with a large number of his former comrades, and took up land and settled in "Third Town," or Fredericksburgh, on the shores of the Bay of Quinte, west of what is known as Conway, and about on the farm now owned by Mr. Henry Vandyck. There the most of his after days were spent, and there he died and was buried, beside his wife and some of their children. In about 1787 he married Miss Margaret Richards, by whom he had a large family. The baptismal records of a number of their children appear in the register of the Rev, John Langhorn, now published in the papers of the Ontario Historical Society, Vol. I., and also in the parish records of Kingston. The records of his burial in 1813 also appears in the Langhorn record.
The sons were Benjamin, John, Hazelton, Richard and Augustus ; the daughters, Margaret, Julia, Anna, Cecilia. They were nearly all born in Fredericksburgh and some of them spent all their days there. Benjamin, the eldest, inherited the estate, as the father died suddenly and intestate. John was a physician ; he practiced and died at Carleton Place. He was father of Rev. Canon Spencer. James went to Massachusetts, where he died. William resided in Fredericksburgh, and was the father of Mrs. B. C. Lloyd, oi" Camden, and the late Hazelton Spencer, who lived for years in this county, and died at Trenton a couple of years ago. Of the daughters, Margaret married a Mr. Conger, Cecilia, a Mr. Werdon, Julia married Mr. John Sloan, a well known resident of South Fredericks-
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burgh, years ago. She was the mother of Mrs. Richard Phippen, and Thomas Sloan, now both well known residents near Conway. Of the other many descendants we have no record at our disposal.
ELECTED TO PARLIAMENT.
As we have already stated, Hazelton Spencer was elected to represent Lennox in the First Legislature of Upper Canada. That legislature consisted of sixteen members of the Legislative Assembly and seven members of the Legislative Council, and was first convened at Newark — now Niagara — by Governor Simcoe, the first Lieutenant- Governor, on the iyth of September, 1792. Joshua Booth, of Ernesttown, was his associate, represent- ing Addington and Ontario, which consisted of the Islands of the Bay and Upper St. Lawrence.
He sat during only one legislature from 1792 to 1796, and was then succeeded by Timothy Thompson, a neighbor, who represented the County in several legislatures, and of whom more will appear in these columns later on. We have no particulars in regard to that election, whether there was any opponent, or where it was held. It is probable, however, it was held somewhere on the Front of Fredericksburgh, as there were no settle- ments of much importance then in any other part of the electoral district.
The Addington election was held, we believe, at Bath.
It would be interesting to know by what means he made his journey to the seat of government at that time. Unless it was made by sailing vessel or open boat, along the Lake shore, it must have been by horse-back, through an almost unbroken wilder- ness, almost all the way from Carrying Place, at the head of the Bay, round the head of the Lake, where the City of Hamilton now stands, attended by an Indian guide. That was the route travelled by some of the M.P.P.'s and Government officials for years later than that time. .
IN MILITARY SERVICE.
Hazelton Spencer also had considerable ex- perience in military service in this Province. In 1796 two battalions of Royal Canadian volunteers were formed. Of the first battalion J. DeLongueil was the Lieutenant-Colonel, and Louis DeSalaberry was Major. Of the second John Macdonell was
32 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Ivieutenant-Colonel, and Hazelton Spencer Major,
From about 1797 to 1803 Major Hazelton Spencer was commandant of garrison at Kingston, —then a very important position. He lived in the Government House there and occupied the Govern- ment pew in St. George's church. There are still traditional arcounts of the exchange of civilities between the two important Government officials,— the Commodore of the Fleet stationed there, and the Military Commandant. Those were days of strict military discipline ; one of the penalties then inflicted by the Commandant for breaches of dis- cipline by his soldiers was to require the man convicted to attend church with his tunic turned wrong side out.
At the time of Major Spencer's residence in Kingston, Mr. John Strachan, then a young man from Scotland, was a resident there and taught a private school, principally the sons of the Hon. Richard Cartwright.. A close intimacy and a warm personal friendship sprang up between them. Mr. Strachan, it may be remembered, though a Presby- terian then and a strong Calvinist in creed, and at one time a candidate as pastor of a Presbyterian congregation at Montreal, later on became a member of the Church of England, and was the first Anglican Bishop in this Province. Major Spencer was a strong anti-Calvinist, and it is said there was many a tilt between the young Divinity student and the Commandant on theological points.
The old Church Warden's Register at St. John's Church, now at Bath, records that at the vestry meetings for years Hazelton Spencer was appointed a Church Warden of St. Paul's Church, Fredericks- burgh. During all of Rev. John Langhorn's time, and for years after, we believe, they were both of the same parish. Mr. Spencer was a Church Warden there at the time of his death.
Of his end Rev. Canon Spencer writes as follows : "It was probably the excitement of the exercise of the duties of his office, on the breaking out of the American War of 1812 that brought on the illness of which my grandfather died, somewhat suddenly, in February, 1813, at the comparatively early age of fifty-five. My father, (Dr. John), who had just acquired his profession, and received an appointment as Surgeon to a Regiment, was unable to reach home in time to see him alive. It was probably due to the suddenness of his death that
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 33
he died intestate ; so that under the law of primo- geniture then in force all real estate went to the eldest son. This caused a scattering of the family in consequence of which there is no well preserved family tradition."
BORLAND AND VANALSTINE.
Philip Borland was first elected for Adolphus- town and Prince Edward County. He was a U. E. Ivoyalist and was among the first pioneers who landed at Adolphustown in June, 1784. He was Clerk of the first town meeting held in Adolphus- town, on the 6th of March, 1792. That was probably the first meeting of its kind held in Upper Canada, and certainly the oldest of which we have now any record. He was also a prominent member of the first "Society of Friends," or Quakers, established in this province. It was at his house that the first regular preparative meeting was held, on the I7th day of "ninth month" (September, 1798) at which regular delegates were present from the monthly meeting at Nine Partners, New York State, and the disciplinary steps were taken to regularly establish a society in Upper Canada. He was the Secretary of that meeting. He was also one of the leading members in building the first Quaker meeting house in Adolphustown — the first one of its kind erected in Upper Canada — a year later.
After his election to Parliament he made the long and tedious joiirney, on horse-back, and through the woods, to Newark to take his seat. He had, however, a Quaker's conscientious scruples to taking an oath, according to their then only prescribed form, and the other members would not consent to his sitting on any other condition. The seat was, therefore, unanimously declared vacant, and remained vacant for that session. A new writ was issued and Major Peter Vanalstine was elected in his stead and occupied that position during the remaining sessions of that parliament.
Peter Borland lived on a farm fronting the bay shore, nearly opposite Glenora. A few years later he moved to Prince Edward County and settled on a farm a little west of where the village of Welling- ton now stands. There he lived and died. A large number of his descendants yet reside in that county and in other sections of the province.
Major Peter Vanalstine also lived and died on
34 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
a farm in Adolphustown, the lot adjoining Philip Borland. He was of Knickerbocker descent and came from New York to Upper Canada with the first company of Loyalists who landed in Adolphus- town. He was the head of that company. There is no record that he served in the military ranks during the War of the Rebellion. The most of the Adolphustown pioneers were Quakers and other noncombatants during that war ; but they main- tained their loyalty to the British cause and firmly refused to aid or abet the Americans in any way ; their properties were, therefore, confiscated, and they were driven out of that country along with the rest of "the Tories." Dr. Canniff says of him, in his history, that "he was decidedly Dutch, and spoke the Knglish language very imperfectly. He was a stout, robust man, with a dark complexion. Among the first to settle in Adolphustown, he well knew the hardships of pioneer life. Naturally a kind hearted man, he for many years afforded the new comers much comfort and material aid. No matter who came, he would order up from his cellar kitchen — the old Dutch style — his negro ser- vants— slaves he had brought in with him, and set before the traveller the necessary refreshments."
He built the first grist mill erected in Prince Edward County, at Glenora, opposite his own residence, where flouring mills have since been in existence. He died in 1811, aged 64 years, and was buried in the old U. K. L. burying ground at Adol- phustown. We believe he was unanimously elected and only served during one Parliament. He is re- presented as a sharp and keen business man.
ABOUT MILL TOLLS.
A story used to be told at the expense of both Joshua Booth and Peter Vanalstine, but of which it may have been true, or whether it was true at all, is doubtful. It may as well be given here for what it is worth. It was very current for many years. Among the early acts enacted by the First Parliament was one fixing the legal rate of toll at grist mills. The bill proposed, as first introduced, that one-tenth of the grist should be thus allowed. Joshua Booth and Peter Vanalstine, as we have before intimated, were both grist mill owners ; they were, undoubtedly, both keen business men, though they may not have been deeply versed in mathema- tics. It is said that when that particular clause of
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 35
the bill came up the worthy member spoke out and explained that the expenses of building and main- taining a grist mill were very large, while the grists were few and small and the profits light. He went on to say : "One-tenth is not enough ; it ought to be one-twelfth at least." The other mem- bers saw the joke and an amendment was unani- mously adopted to that effect. That has been the legal toll rate in this province ever since, much to the advantage and profit of the farmers. In most of the States, we are informed, a tenth has always been the standard rate of toll.
To which of these early legislators the farmers are indebted for that important amendment, or whether they are really indebted to either one of them, we shall not attempt to decide.
HOW THEY WERE PAID.
The first M.P.s were not given to extravagance in regard to their own sessional indemnity. In- stead of the present thousand dollars a session and round travelling fees, which a good many of them have never to pay, their law was to receive from the Speaker each session a certificate of the number of days they were in actual attendance ; that, was deposited with the Chairman of the Quarter Sessions of the District and a direct tax was levied on the ratepayers to cover the amount at the rate of $2.00 per day. No allowance appears to have been made for travelling, though it was much more expensive then than now. At the sessions held in Kingston on the I3th of October, 1795, Richard Cartwright, Alexander Fisher, Peter Vanalstine, William1 Atkinson and Thomas Markland presiding, orders were passed levying the sum of twenty-eight pounds ($112) each to Joshua Booth, Hazelton Spencer and Peter Vanalstine, Esquires, for each of the years of 1793 and 1794 "for Member's Wages, agreeably to an Act of the Province."
ALL OUR EARLY COUNTY M.P.P.'S.
The Beaver has, from time to time, given some lists of our early representatives in our Provincial Legislatures and some rough sketches of their lives and careers, but no attempt has been made to give anything like a continuous and connected list of these representative men. Indeed, none of our Canadian histories have furnished any such lists. The early records of our legislatures, while giving
36 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
the names of the members from time to time, do not appear to have given a record of the districts or counties each may have represented.
Our worthy and painstaking friend, Mr. C. C. James, now Deputy Minister of Agriculture for Ontario, and Vice President of the Ontario Histori- cal Society, has been to a great deal of trouble in obtaining a complete list of all the representatives of Lennox and Addington, from the First Legisla- ture, held at Newark in 1792, down to the union of the two Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada io 1841. He has very kindly placed that list at our disposal, and it is now published for the first time. It is an important contribution to the history of this county and to Canadian history. It is well worth a careful perusal and preservation, — the most important that has yet been supplied through the columns of The Beaver.
MR. JAMES* RECORDS.
We give the following in Mr. James' own lan- guage, with a few local notes of our own :
Colonel John Graves Simcoe, the first appoint- ed Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, arrived at Quebec, from England, in the latter part of 1791. He was detained there for some time, awaiting the arrival of a quorum of his Council, that he might be sworn in. He finally reached Kingston early in 1792, and, with some members of his Council, made a division of the province into counties, nineteen in all. From the militia lists they made provision for the election of sixteen members to compose the first Legislative Assembly.
Addington and Ontario (consisting of the islands between Gananoque river and Prince Ed- ward County), were to elect one representative ; Prince Edward County and Adolphustown were to elect one ; and Lennox (except Adolphustown), Hastings and Northumberland were to elect one. The Governor's proclamation was issued July i6th, 1792.
FIRST LEGISLATURE. 1792 TO 1796.
The following gentlemen were elected for the three constituencies named. They were all U. E. Loyalist pioneers : Joshua Booth, Front of Ernest- town, for Addington and Ontario ; Philip Borland, of Adolphustown, for Prince Edward and Adolphus- town ; and Hazelton Spencer, of Front of Freder-
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 37
icksburgh, for Lennox, Hastings and Northumber- land.
There were five sessions ; all were held at New- ark, now Niagara. The first session began Sept. i yth. After electing a speaker (John Macdonell, of Glengary) and completing the preliminaries of open- ing, the business of the session began, on the I9th the records are as follows :
"Wednesday, igth September, 1792. Prayers by Rev. Mr. Addison.
Motion made and seconded : Ordered that a certain written Instrument signed Philip Borland laid before the House for their consideration by the Secretary of the Province, be read :
Which Instrument was read accordingly, and is as follows, to wit :"
Then came a long address, or petition, from Philip Borland, stating that he was a Quaker and could not conscientiously take an oath such as the law then required of the members, but was willing to affirm. He therefore requested that a new writ should be issued for the election of another member. It was countersigned by John Peters, Returning Officer.
The decision of the House was that a new elec- tion was ordered. It was held at the close of the session. Major Peter Vanalstine was then elected and served for the balance of that Parliament.
SECOND PARLIAMENT, 1797 TO 1800.
The same electoral districts remained asi before, and the following were elected :
Christopher Robinson, for Addington and On- tario.
Bavid McGregor Rogers, for Prince Edward and Adolphustown.
Timothy Thompson, Front of Fredericksburgh, for Lennox, Hastings and Northumberland.
Mr. Robinson died November 2d, 1798, and Wm. Fairfield, of Ernesttown, was elected in his place, and sat in the last session. The sessions of the Second Parliament were held at York, now Toronto.
THIRD PARLIAMENT, 1801 TO 18O4.
By a redistribution act, Adolphustown was cut off from Prince Edward, and Lennox and Addington together became entitled to one member.
Timothy Thompson was elected for Lennox and
38 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Addington ; Ebenezer Washburn, of Hallo well, for Prince Edward ; and David McGregor Rogers for Hastings and Northumberland. Rogers, we believe, resided in Haldimand township, near where the vil- lage of Graf ton now is.
FOURTH AND FIFTH PARLIAMENTS.
The Fourth Parliament was from 1805 to 1808. Thomas Borland, of Adolphustown, was elected for Lennox and Addington. He was a brother of Philip Borland, already mentioned, and was of Quaker stock, but had not the same scruples about taking the required oath. He was also an officer in the militia and was in active service during the war of 1812-14. Many of his descendants yet reside in this county.
Kbenezer Washburn was again elected for Prince Edward. He was a wealthy resident of Hallo well, where the town of Picton now stands. B. M. Rogers again represented Hastings and Northum- berland.
The Fifth Parliament was from 1809 to 1812. By a new act Lennox and Addington became entitled to two members. Thomas Borland and John Roblin, of Hay Bay, and Adolphustown, were elected. Buring the second session John Roblin 's seat was attacked by petition because he was* a teacher, or preacher of the Methodist body. It has been explained in these columns before that he was a Methodist local preacher.
James Wilson, of Hallo well, was elected for Prince Edward. A petition was also presented against him, for similiar reasons. Both were protested against in the same petition. It was read during the second session, on February 6th, 1810, and was signed by John Fergusson, Reuben Bedell, Ebenezer Washburn, Simeon WTashburn and thirteen others. We will republish these petitions later on. Both seats were declared vacant and new writs were issued. Tradition says these men were both Reformers, and the members of the Tory party took this step to get rid of them.
Willet Casey, of Adolphustown, was returned for Lennox and Addington, and John Stinson, of Hallowell, for Prince Edward. They sat during the remaining two sessions. Thomas Borland does not appear to have been introduced to the House till February ist, 1811. He was not present, there- fore, when the trial of Roblin and Wilson took
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place. There is still in existence a copy that belonged to Thomas Borland, of the first printed statutes of Upper Canada, printed in 1811. We understand that but one other copy is now known to be in existence. It is in the Provincial library.
OTHER PARLIAMENTS.
The Sixth Parliament was from 1812 to 1816. Timothy Thompson and Benjamin Fairfield were elected for Ivennox and Addington. Benjamin Fair- field lived and died at Bath.
The Seventh Parliament was from 1817 to 1820. The two members elected for the county were Willet Casey and Isaac Fraser, of Ernesttown. Mr. Fraser was afterwards appointed County Registrar and located at Mill Haven. He held that office until the time of his death. Willet Casey was a Reformer, and Isaac Fraser a Tory. The terms Liberals and Conservatives were not yet used.
The Eighth Parliament was from 1821 to 1824. The members elected were Samuel Casey, of Adol- phustown, a son of Willet Casey, and Daniel Hagerman, a lawyer of Bath, a son of Nicholas Hagerman, of Adolphustown, and a brother of Christopher Hagerman, who afterwards represented Kingston, became Solicitor-General and then Chief Justice, which position he held till his death. Daniel Hagerman died without taking his seat.
Barnabas Bidwell, then a resident of Bath, was elected in his stead. He attended the session in the fall of 1821. A petition against his return was presented on 24th November of that year, on the ground that he had taken an oath in Massachusetts abjuring his allegiance to Great Britain ; he was therefore an alien, and was not a fit and proper person to be a member. The election was declared void, and a new writ was ordered 5th January, 1822. Matthew Clark, of Ernesttown, was seated 2ist January, 1823, but his election was also declared void.
Marshall Spring Bidwell, son of Barnabas Bid- well, was then returned, and sat during the fourth session, in 1824. He became one of the most prom- inent and influential members for years, and was later on Speaker of the House.
In this Parliament Samuel Casey sat through all the sessions. In the second session Barnabas Bidwell sat ; in the third session, Mathew Clark, and in the fourth M. S. Bidwell.
40 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
OTHER ELECTIONS.
By this time parties in this province became very hostile to each other and the elections were hotly contested. In the Ninth Parliament from 1825 to 1828, Marshall Spring Bidwell was again elected and Peter Perry, of Fredericksburgh, was his colleague. They became two of the prominent leaders of the then Reform party.
The Tenth Parliament, from 1829 to 1830, Bid- well and Perry were again elected.
The election for that Parliament was held near John Fralick's tavern, Fredericksburgh, about where the Morven brick church now stands. Samuel Casey and Isaac Fraser were the opposing candi- dates, in the Tory interests, and the election lasted four days- There was yet, and for years after, but one polling place for the whole county.
OTHERS IN QUICK SUCCESSION.
The Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Parliaments were all between 1829 and 1836. The tenth was dis- solved because of the death of King George IV. It was then the law to dissolve a Parliament, in Eng- land or Canada, on the death of a monarch.
The Thirteenth Parliament was elected during the exciting times just previous to the Mackenzie rebellion, and under the jurisdiction of Lieutenant- Governor Bond Head. It lasted from 1836 to the Union of the Provinces, in 1841. At the election for that Parliament, Bidwell and Perry were de- feated, and the members elected were John Solomon Cartwright, of Kingston, and George Hill Detlor, of Napanee. They were the Tory candidates.
This list does not now extend beyond the Union. After it the county was entitled to but one member, and J. S. Cartwright was again elected.
THEIR LENGTH OF SERVICE.
It will be seen from the foregoing that Marshall Spring Bidwell sat in the Upper Canada legislature from 1824 to the first session of 1836, — thirteen ses- sions in all. He thus had the distinction of the longest service rendered by any member for the county. He was Speaker of the House during two sessions of the Tenth, and two sessions of the Twelfth Parliaments.
Peter Perry served during twelve sessions. Tim- othy Thompson also was a member twelve years, though he did not appear in his place during one
THE CASEY SCRAP BQOtfS. 41
session. David McGregor Rogers sat, in all, for the long period of twenty-four years, — the longest of any member of the Upper Canada Legislature. He represented Prince Edward and Adolphustown in the Second Parliament, and after that time the County of Northumberland.
In all, there were thirteen Parliaments in the fifty years of the "existence of Upper Canada as a separate province.
SERGT. TIMOTHY THOMPSON, M.P.P.
Not much is now heard or known of Timothy Thompson, although he was a man of no mean im- portance in this county at the commencement of the last century. That may be largely owing to the fact that he left no children, and his name was, therefore, not perpetuated in that way. He was among the U. E. L. pioneers of "Third Town," or Fredericksburgh Township, and settled on the Bay shore front, about Sandhurst, on the excellent farm later owned by the late Solomon Wright, and now by his son, Kdward Wright. He was a man of con- siderable .military importance in the British ranks during the war of the American Revolution, and was an Ensign in the King's Royal Regiment of New York. Mr. David Clute, near Sillsville, South Fredericksburgh, has now in his possession an old box of drawers of his, on which is painted the name of "Ensign Thompson."
It is probable he came in with the other officers and members of that celebrated regiment, who so largely made up the early settlers of Fredericks- burgh. His name appears on the "old U. E. List" of that day, now preserved in the Government Crown Lands Department at Toronto. He was on the regular British Government Provision List in 1786, though he had no family at that time. In the Rev. John Lano-horn's early record of St. John's Church, Bath, occurs the record of his marriage in that church to. Elizabeth Fraser, also of Third Town, on the 6th of February, 1791. She was the widow of James Fraser, a Scotch officer, who also served in the British ranks during the American Revolution. He had a leg broken after settling in Fredericksburgh, and went to Montreal for treatment, and died there.
THE FRASER FAMILY.
Mrs. Fraser had several children at the time of her marriage to Ensign Thompson, but none after-
42 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
One of the daughters married John G. Clute, who was also for years a leading and well known citizen of front of Fredericksburgh, where he lived and died. He had, at one time, a large farm, a distil- lery and a store. He was a successor in business in the store to Benjamin Seymour, one of the first storekeepers west of Kingston. That store was located on the farm now owned by our townsman , Allan Neilson. Several of Mr. Clute 's descendants are yet living, among whom are Mr. David Clute, near Sillsville. Mrs. N. Murdoch, of Kingston, who died this week in her ninety-second year, was a daughter, and so was Miss Margaret Clute, of South Fredericksburgh, who died last week in her eighty-second year.
Another of Mrs. Fraser's daughters married James McNabb, of "Meyer's Creek," later on the City of Belleville. He was an important man there and represented Hastings County at one time in the Upper Canada Legislature. Another, Eliza Ellen, married Dr. J. B. Ham, a man at one time well known in this county. He lived at one time in Kingston, and was in the law office with John A. Macdonald. He afterward studied medicine, and they moved to Whitby, where both lived and died. Mr. Thompson made her his heir to the farm and other lands he had. In after years a number of the farmers resident along the second concession, — the Vandewaters, Houghs, Sills' and others, — had a long and expensive lawsuit with the Hams about the possession of gores yet connected with their farms, which, it was claimed, Thompson had ob- tained a title for from the Government. The farm- ers held the land in the end, however, though the law costs cost them dear.
THOMPSON IN PARLIAMENT.
Timothy Thompson was Hazelton Spencer's successor to the representation of Lennox, Hastings and Northumberland, in the Upper Canada Legisla- ture. Spencer appears to have served during one legislature only, — the first, from 1792 to 1796. We have no record now of those early elections. Mr. Thompson was three times elected, — to the Second, Third and Sixth Legislatures, serving, in all, about twelve years. Who were his opponents, or where the elections may have been held, we know not. At that time there was but one polling place in all the electoral district, and the elections generally
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 43
lasted an entire week, so as to give all a chance to vote. It was the custom, too, for the candidates on both sides to keep "open house" during all elec- tions,— allowing every elector to have as much as he desired to eat and drink at the candidate's ex- pense. There is a tradition that one or more of these elections were held at, or about, Mr. Thomp- son's own home, and that James Mordoff was once an opposing candidate. He also resided in Third Town. He was married to L,ois Charters, of the same township, by Rev. John I/anghorn, at the Bath church, on i8th of June, 1798. Langhorn's register also records the baptism of several of their children.
THOMPSON'S HOME.
Thompson, it is said, lived in a large frame house near the Bay shore, not one vestige of which now remains. Like numbers of the other early families, they appear to have had a number of negro slaves, who did all the work and managed pretty generally the affairs. He was reported wealthy, enjoying a pension from the Government, and is reported to have received some large land grants from the Government, amounting to some thousands of acres in all. He and his family were said to have had "very easy times" of it, in the eyes of their neighbors. But the hardships and privations the easiest and wealthiest families must have had then were by no means few or small.
Mr. Thompson's name often occurs on the old store daybook of Benjamin Seymour of one hundred and ten years ago, and though they appear for larger quantities of sugar, tea, groceries and dry goods than most others of the neighbors, they would appear a scant allowance for most fairly comfortable families of to-day. But, when common brown sugar, — and very common at that, compared with what we now have, — was 40 cents a pound, and refined loaf at 50 cents, with common cotton at 80 cents and cotton prints at 90 cents to $1.00, and almost everything else at the same high rate, even well-to-do people were by no means lavish in the quantities they consumed.
Another of Mrs. Thompson's daughters married James Carpenter, who, many years ago, was quite a prominent citizen of Toronto, where some of the descendants still are living. A couple of the grand- children of Mrs. McNabb were Mrs. Willard, whose
44 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
husband was one of the first hardware merchants of Kingston, and another, Mrs. James Glass, of Belle- ville, whose son was largely interested in the gold mining interests of North Hastings years ago. The Glass family were prominent and well known in Hastings County.
Ensign Thompson was a member of the Church of England, and was connected with the first St. Paul's church in Fredericksburgh, as was also his neighbor, Hazelton Spencer, the first M.P.P. He was buried, however, in the old Presbyterian bury- ing ground at the McDowall Memorial Church, Sandhurst, beside his wife and her relatives. It wrould now be a matter of a good deal of interest to be able to lay hand on more of the papers, or even traditions, of the business and domestic affairs of the days of these early pioneers.
We believe that Mr. Thompson became a lead- ing officer of the militia in this county in his day, and probably he was in the active service during the American war of 1812- '14, when the residents of this county responded so promptly and patrioti- cally to the call to defend it from threatened inva- sion. We have no particulars in regard to that matter, however.
THE OTHER ELECTIONS.
We have stated that Mr. Thompson's name appears as a member of the Sixth Legislature, as well as of the Second and Third. Whether he was a defeated candidate for the Fourth and Fifth, or whether he was a candidate at all during that time, we have no means of knowing. During the time of the Third Legislature Lennox and Addington were united into one electoral district and disconnected from both Prince Edward and Hastings. William Fairfield, who had previously represented Adding- ton, then dropped out.
PETER PERRY, M.P.P. . AN OLD TIME REFORMER.
The late Peter Perry, a member of the old Upper Canada Legislature from 1825 to 1836, was one of the most noted of the native sons of this county. With the single exception of Christopher Hagerman, he occupied a more prominent position in the legislature and exerted a greater influence on the politics and the legislation of the province than any other man we know of born in Lennox and Ad- dington. Mr. Hagerman was born in Adolphus-
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 45
town and was the son of Nicholas Hagerman, one of the U. E. I/, pioneers of that township. The elder Hagerman, who lived and died on the farm now owned by D. W. Allison, ex-M.P., and lies buried in the old U. E. L- burying ground there, was the first practicing lawyer in Upper Canada. He had three sons who became lawyers, and two of them were elected members of the Upper Canada Legislature. Christopher was the most prominent of these sons, however. He first lived in Kingston and practiced law there, and was said to have been a man of rare eloquence and skill at the bar. He became Collector of Customs at Kingston and was then elected to represent that city in the legisla- ture. He was a prominent member of the old "Family Compact," and became Solicitor-General of the Province. Later on he was appointed a Chief Justice, and occupied that important position until his death.
PETER PERRY'S CAREER.
Peter Perry, on the other hand, was the son of one of the well-to-do farmer pioneers of this county. His father, Daniel Perry, was one of the earliest settlers in the Township of Ernesttown. He settled on lot number 3, in the second concession of Ernesttown, on the farm now owned by Mr. Wm. Detlor, just east of the farm now owned by Alex. Ross, and west of the farm now occupied by the sons of the late Peter McPherson. On that farm Peter Perry was born and reared, receiving such an education as the primitive schools of that time could afford. His education was not much, but he was a man of great natural force and eloquence, and he made his influence greatly felt.
Robert .Perry, the father, was a soldier and a sergeant in the King's Royal Rangers during, the war of the American Revolution, and was, among his comrades, a refugee to this province when the war was over. He and his sons, Daniel and Robert, were entered on the Government lists of those to whom land was granted in recognization of their loyal services. It was at Robert Perry's first log house that the Methodist exhorters, McCarthy and I/yons, were arrested for their serious crime of holding a religious service and not being "in orders" in the Church of England. Robert Perry, in connection with Captain Parrott, became bonds- man for McCarthy, and accompanied him to King-
46 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
ston, where he appeared before the sheriff. How McCarthy was cast into prison, was sentenced to banishment from the country by Judge Cartwright, was taken away by some hired boatmen and was never heard of again by his family here, have been already narrated in these columns.
No wonder that a young man reared in such stirring times should become an earnest sympa- thizer of the then Reform party, — a party demand- ing and struggling for some of the much needed re- forms and liberties that we now enjoy.
THE STATE OF GOVERNMENT THEN.
There were stirring times in the politics of this province in the twenties and for years thereafter. The Family Compact had been formed, one-seventh of all the public lands were set apart for the main- tenance of a "Protestant clergy" by the Act of 1791 and they had all been claimed by the Church of England, which was to be made the Established Church of the country ; the Governor and his executive council were totally independent of public opinion and of the Legislative Assembly, — the peo- ple's representatives. The Legislative Council, as the Senate now is, was a totally irresponsible body so far as the wishes of the people were concerned, the members being appointed by the Government of the day from among their own parties and favor- ites and they were at full liberty, as now, to veto any of the acts passed by the Assembly, represent- ing the people. In four years no less than 231 acts passed by the Assembly were thrown out by the Council, and among them were some of the measures that the voice of the country earnestly demanded. Even in the Legislative Assembly there was nothing to secure the independence of parlia- ment, fully one- third of the members being office holders of the Government of the day, and liable to dismissal from oTce. One historian states that though the Church of England then did not number over one- twentieth of the population, yet they virtually controlled the whole government affairs of the country and were in the enjoyment of nearly, if not quite all, the emoluments. The Church of England Bishop (Strachan) was a member of the Legislative Council, an active politician, and a largely paid office holder. The Methodists, who were then, as now, the largest protest ant body in the province, with more ministers than any of the
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 47
others, did not enjoy the legal right to solemnize the marriage of their own members, nor to hold property, as a body, on which to build their own churches, nor even lands in which to bury their dead. A little later even the control of the school lands was claimed by the church authorities.
The majority of the people in this county were strongly in sympathy with the Reform party, then demanding equal rights for all creeds and classes, the independence of parliament, the abolition of the Clergy reserves, and the concession of the principle of responsible government. In i8$i, Barnabas Bidwell, then a resident of Bath, was elected to represent this county. He was a man of education and ability and it was expected that he would be a strong support to the Reform party, which was then becoming formidable.
A number of the men who were likely to give the "Compact" trouble were pretty summarily dis- posed of. John Roblin, a Reformer, as has already been told in these columns, was refused his seat be- cause he was a local preacher. Philip Borland had been previously refused admittance because he was a Quaker. Barnabas Bidwell was expelled because he was not born in Canada or in Kngland, but in Massachusetts. When it was a question whether the law would sanction such a proceeding, Bishop Strachan, who was then an active spirit in the Compact, was represented to have said in his broad Scotch dialect : "Tarn him oot, tarn him ootu law or no law, tarn him oot," and he went.
There was another election and Marshall Bid- well, son of Barnabas, was the Reform candidate. He was defeated at the time by George Ham, but Ham's election was declared void because of illegality.
PERRY ENTERS PARLIAMENT.
In 1825, at the election then held, Peter Perry and Marshall Spring Bidwell were elected for this county. At that time, and later, there was but one polling place for the whole county, there was open voting and the election generally lasted a week.
The polling place for the elections of 1825 and 1828 was near John Fralick's tavern, at the cor- ner on the Kingston road, where the Morven brick church now stands. Perry and Bidwell were three times elected, holding their seats from 1825 to
48 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
1837, when, through the active influence of the then Governor, Sir Francis Bond Head, and the whole Government party, these men and the leading Re- formers of the province, were all defeated. Among those defeated at that time were Perry, Bidwell, Dr. John Rolph, Robert Baldwin and a number of others of less note in the history of the country. No doubt that defeat and the means taken to ac- complish it, brought about the Mackenzie Canadian rebellion, which occurred some months later.
There is no reason to suppose that Perry, or Bidwell, or Robert Baldwin were parties to that untimely and ill-conducted rebellion, which would have proved a very serious affair indeed had its management been in abler and more judicious hands. Looking at it at this distance it appears quite evident that the two men most responsible for that rebellion were Sir Francis Bond Head on the one hand, who was arbitrary and incapable, and William I/yon Mackenzie, who was impetuous and very indiscreet, on the other hand.
It is now evident, however, that the rebellion resulted in great good to the people of Canada. Many of the blessings of responsible government and of liberty from Home Government control we now enjoy are, apparently, the outcome of that bloody affair. The British Government recalled Sir Francis and did not send out any more old Army officers with their arbitrary ideas about civil gov- ernment. Lord Durham was sent to enquire into the state of the country and the causes that led up to the rebellion, both in Upper and Lower Canada. His report was a revelation to the Home Govern- ment, and resulted in great blessings to Canada. The country now owes a debt of gratitude to the staunch and sterling Reformers of that day, which we do not sufficiently recognize. But for their efforts, struggles and sacrifices, it is not easy to predict what would have been the political position of Canada and of the other British colonies to-day. Much as we may now condemn the hot-headed acts of those who rose in rebellion then, we verily be- lieve that if the government of this province was administered for a few months now as it was for years then nearly the whole population would rise up in rebellion.
PERRY'S AFTER CAREER.
Before Peter Perry's defeat he had left his farm
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 49
and moved to Whitby. The fact of his being an absentee had to do with his defeat. When a young man he married Miss Mary Ham, daughter of John Ham, near Ernesttown Station, and settled on a farm in South Fredericksburgh. His farm was lot 25, second concession of Fredericksburgh, the farm now owned and occupied by Charles Hawley, Esq. He was farming there during the most of his par- liamentary days. It has been told to us that his nephews and his neighbors used to plough with his oxen for him while he was away attending to his political duties.
He became a successful merchant and speculator at Whitby, and was reported to have accumulated considerable wealth. He was one of the pioneer business men in Ontario County. The thriving Town of Port Perry, on Scugog Lake, north of Whitby, was named in honor of him. When the "Clear Grit" party sprang up, in protest to the administration of the Baldwin-I/afontain govern- ment, late in the forties, he joined its ranks, but did not again enter Parliament. He died years ago and lies buried at Whitby.
THIS COUNTY IN THE SIXTIES.
BY THOS. W. CASEY. MAY 24th. 1901.
Reference was made in The Beaver last week to the directory of Mitchell & Co., of this county, published in 1865. Some of the information about the early settlement of the various localities, as well as of the men who were most prominent nearly sixty years ago, we will here give, as some of the facts may be of considerable information to many. They will be given in the rotation in which they occur in the book.
ADOLPHUSTOWN.
The following mention is made of the village itself and its immediate locality, which was really more populous in the sixties of the last century than it is to-day. It is said, "The locality was first settled in 1780 by Joseph Allen, Thomas Dor- land, and Capt. Paul Trumpour, U. E. Loyalists." The exact date of the landing of these and some score or more of other loyalists, was, as we have before mentioned, on the i6th of June, 1784.
50 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Joseph Allen's farm was near the village, now owned by his granddaughter, Mrs. Minnie Watson Buffett, and Parker Allen, now the oldest man in the township, The land has been held by some members of the family ever since. Thomas Borland lived about two miles west, where his son, the late Major Peter V. Borland, afterwards lived and died. The farm is now owned by Bavid W. Allison, J.P., we believe. Capt, Paul Trumpour settled in the third concession of the township, on the shore of Hay Bay, and the farm has been continuously in possession of some descendants of his family ever since. The Trumpours are now the most numerous of any of the descendants of the original Loyalists left in the township to-day. There seems to be the same mistake in regard to the original sur- vey, of three or four years. The report given in the directory states that, "the village plot was first surveyed for the government by Surveyor-General Holland, in 1800. Subsequently a new survey was made by Publius V. Elmore, about the year 1825. A postoffice was first established in 1816, the first official being Jas. Watson ; the present postmaster is J. J. Watson." Mr. Elmore, here referred to, was for years a well-known citizen of Picton, and a land surveyor. He published the first map of the county we have any knowledge of, a few copies of which are still in existence. He also published a map of Prince Edward County. James Watson, here mentioned, was a native of Scotland, but came to Adolphustown at an early date and mar- ried Miss Allen. He was a man of education, and was for years the township clerk. John Joseph Watson was his son, and is yet well remembered by .many. At his death Mr. Frank Chalmers was appointed postmaster in his stead, and he still holds that office. The Rev. R. Harding was the Church of England rector in 1865. He died years ago, and was buried in the churchyard there with several members of his family. Rev. John Wesley German was then the Wesleyan minister living in Bath. He is now a superannuated old minister residing at Berlin, Ont. Only nine names are given in the directory, and but one of that number is now living — Mr. A. W. Pool, who though now an old man, is still an excellent farmer. The others are Capt. James Chalmers, then proprietor of the schooner Alma ; James Hart, wagon-maker (at the "Elbow") ; Samuel Johnson, shoemaker ; Giles
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 51
Membery, farmer ; Charles Permer, J.P., farmer ; N. Simmons, blacksmith ; J. J. Watson, general merchant and postmaster.
BATH.
Bath is referred to in the directory as an incorporated village, in the Township of Ernest- town. "It was once a customs port of entry, but now an outport of Kingston. The village was first settled in 1783 (1784), and among the first settlers were a Mr. Davy, a native of Holland, and progeni- tor of the family of the same name, resident in the vicinity of Bath and Napanee ; James Johnston, a native of Ireland ; Ebenezer Washburn, government commissariat at that time ; Matthias Rose, Henry Finkle, Mr. Fairfield, John Shibley, Robert Williams and John George. John Johnston was the first white child born on Bay of Quinte ; he was the fourth son of James Johnston. Henry Finkle built the first brewery in Upper Canada ; he also built the first hotel, in 1786 ; and a school house, with teacher's residence attached, on the Finkle farm (a mile or two west of Bath village). In 1816 the first steamboat that navigated the waters of I/ake Ontario was built by Henry Tebout, for the merchants of Kingston, Toronto — then York — Niagara and Oueenstown, and was called the "Frontenac". The boat was built on what is now known as "Finkle's Point", within the present corporate limits of the Village of Bath.
"The Queen Charlotte," another vessel, was built here in 1818, by Henry Gildersleeve, father of the late Mayor of Kingston, and was employed in the St. Lawrence and Bay of Quinte trade, be- tween Carrying Place and Prescott. The first civil court held in Upper Canada was held at the tavern of Henry Finkle, in 1787 — a public house not being large enough in Kingston, — and the first criminal case was that of a negro, convicted of stealing a loaf of bread, for which he received thirty-nine lashes. The basswood tree to which he was tied is still standing (in 1865) near the old house."
Of the churches of Bath the directory gives the following information :— "The Church of England was erected in 1798, and is the oldest church but one in Upper Canada, Rev. W. F. S. Harper, incumbent. The Wesley an Methodist church was erected in 1850, Rev. J. W. German, minister.
52 LENNOX AND ADBINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
The Canada Presbyterians have a frame edifice, erected in 1859, Rev. John Scott, minister.
"There is a well attended union school, established in 1811 as an academy ; but now united as a grammar and common school ; the building cost about $3,000, Mr. Milligan, principal of the grammar school, and Mr. Stephen Robinson, teacher of the common school. The schools are under the superintendence of Dr. Kennedy." Prin- cipal Milligan here referred to is now the popular Rev. Dr. Milligan of St. Andrew's Church, Toronto, we believe, who occasionally preaches in Napanee. Dr. R. Kennedy is now one of the oldest physicians living in the province.
Of the Bath officials in 1865 the following list is given : Clerk of Division Court, John D. Noble ; Councillors, Thos. Armstrong, Reeve ; Win. F. Peterson, Arnold G. Amey, Gabriel Belfour, Peter R. Davy ; John S. Barker, Clerk. Mr. Peterson is now a resident of Chicago, and Mr. Barker of Picton. Among the prominent residents at that time whose names are given are Dr. Thomas Aishton ; Henry and Thomas Armstrong and Gab- riel Belfour, carriage builders ; David J. Campbell, general merchant ; John S. Cooper, dentist and druggist ; Wm. H. Davy, merchant and mill owner ; Wm. J. Fairfield, postmaster ; Edmund and George Ferrin, hotel keepers ; R. R. Finkle, general mer- chant ; David T. Forward, foundry ; James Foster, tanner ; Mrs. Rebecca Ham, Mrs. Orton Hancock ; T. S. Howard, merchant ; John J. Johnston, har- ness maker ; Robert Johnston, potash maker ; John Ivasher, J.P., merchant ; Daniel McBride, grocer and liquors ; Edmond McKenty, merchant ; Robert Mott, harness maker ; Leonard Pearson, mason ; Klias Price, J.P., farmer; Ezra D. Priest, J.P., carriage maker ; Rev. Mr. Reeves, Presbyterian minister ; Samuel Rogers, Charles Rogers, Hudson Rogers, merchants ; John G. McT. Ross, druggist ; John S. Rowse, merchant ; David and Robert Sharp, tailors ; William Sliibley, harnessmaker ; Dr. R. D. Sutherland ; Duncan \Vemp, hotel ; Edward Wright, merchant ; Dr. Daniel Young. These names were once very familiar to all who knew much of Bath years ago, but most of these men have now passed over to the great majority.
CAMDEN EAST.
Then prettv well known as "Clark's Mills." It
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 53
is here said of it : "The place was first settled about 18.30 ; and the postoffice established in 1836. There are two flouring mills, viz., that of Samuel Clark, erected about 1840, of stone ; a woolen mill and saw mill owned by the same party, are near by. About half a mile east of Clark's Mills are situated Addington mills, down the same river. These mills were established in 1850, by George Empey, but now owned and carried on by Gilbert C. Bogart. Three run of stones are used, manufac- turing about 60 barrels of flour a day. Hooper's saw mill was established in 1840, by Augustus F. Hooper, ex-M.P.P. It contains two gang of saws, one upright and five circulars. Three million feet of lumber are turned out from this mill a year." The Empey and Hooper mills have now given place to the Thomson paper mills and the electric power house, respectively.
NEWBURGH.
Newburgh was a larger village in 1865 than it is to-day. Of it the directory's statement is : "The village was first settled in 1822 by Benjamin Files and Wm. V. P. Detlor. In 1824 David Perry built the first saw mill. John Madden settled here in 1825, and built a saw mill the same year. Mr. Perry, in 1826, erected a grist mill, which in 1828 he sold to Samuel Shaw, the first merchant of the village. John Black started a tannery in 1832, which he still carries on, employing six men, and turning out 2,500 pieces of leather per year." That tannery is now conducted by Mr. J. W. Courtney.
"The Union Flouring "and Grist Mills were established in 1840 by Douglass Hooper, and contain three run of stones and one barley stone. The oatmeal mill, adjoining, is a similar stone building, erected in 1861, and contains two run of stones. Both mills and machinery cost the pro- prietor about f 20, ooo. The Newburgh mills were established in 1831 by John Madden. There are two carding mills, one saw mill, two axe factories, one having been in operation over twenty years, and now conducted by S. M. Hanes, who gives employment to six hands ; the other by Joseph Taylor, and was established in 1862, where four men are employed. These factories turn out all kinds of edged tools as well as axes."
"Newburgh Foundry and Machine shop was established in 1848. Six men are kept constantly employed by D. B. Stickney."
54 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
"Newburgh possesses a large and elegant acad- emy, where the higher branches of an English and classical education are taught. The common school, in the same building, is under charge of H. M. Deroche ; the grammar school is under charge of John Campbell, B.A." Both these gentlemen in turn became Principals of the Napanee High School. Mr. Campbell is now superannuated and is located in Toronto. H. M. Deroche, now K.C., is our County Attorney and Clerk of the Peace.
The ministers in Newburgh then were Rev. John May, Church of England ; Rev. Mr. Snider, E. Methodist ; Rev. George McRitchie and Davidson McDonald, Wesleyan. The latter is now the well known Rev. Dr. McDonald, for years past a promi- nent Methodist missionary in Japan.
AMHERST ISLAND.
BY TIIOS. W. CASEY. DECEMBER 14th, 19GO.
We have been several times asked to write something in regard to the early history, of the most southern township in this county, — Amherst Island, — but have found the facts in regard to it more difficult of access than of almost any other section. Mrs. Charlotte E. Leigh, of Toronto, prepared some time ago, an elaborate paper in regard to it, which was read before an historical society in that city. The author has very kindly given us the reading of it. She is a daughter of the late Rev. Mr. Roth well, at one time the Church of England rector there, and several of her early years were spent on the Island. From that source, from Parkman's splendid history, from Dr. Can- niff's history, and from well prepared papers in Meacham's atlas of these counties, and also from a somewhat similar paper in Tackabury's Dominion atlas, much information is derivable, but not much in regard to the histories of the early IT. E. Loyal- ist families who may have settled there.
The Island does not appear to have been open for settlement by the early Loyalist families so much as the other townships of the county on their arrival in Canada a hundred and sixteen years ago. Indeed it does not appear to have been numbered at all among the townships that Surveyor-General
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 55
Holland was instructed to survey for settlement by the Refugees in 1783, nor have we seen any account of its early surveys by order of the government. There is evidence, however, that a number of prom- inent families were residents there before the commencement of this century, some of whom, at least, were of the U. E. Loyalists.
In the Rev. John I,anghorn's register of mar- riages at St. John's Church, Bath, there are the names of a few marriages of parties from "Isle of Tanty" as he sometimes spelled it. Here are some of them, the names of whom indicate the families living there a hundred years or more ago :
Colin McKenzie and Mary Howard, April I5th,
1794- .
William Eadus and Nancy McGuines, May 19th,
1795-
Thomas Howard and Charlotte Richardson, February I4th, 1797.
John O 'Bryan and Catharine McDougall, Octo- ber i8th, 1798.
William McKenzie and Sarah Howard, Septem- ber i 9th, 1803.
Wm. McGuinis and Margaret Howard, June 23rd, 1809.
Duncan McKenzie and Elizabeth Church, Febru- ary 28th, 1809,
In Langhorn's register of marriages at St. Paul's Church, in Fredericksburgh, there occurs but one entry of a resident of the Island. That was of John Richards, of Marysburgh, to Jane Howard, of Amherst Island, January 26th, 1795.. It will be remembered that Mr. I,anghorn required all the marriages to be solemnized in a church. There is no evidence we can see that he ever had service on the Island at all. It is possible that some went to Kingston, to the Rev. John Stuart or his successor to be married.
There does not appear to have been any record of baptisms from the Island — these were in the church, too— before 1808. Then came Hugh, son of Alexander and Jinny McMullen, February 7th, 1808.
William Church, son of Duncan and E. Mac- Kenzie, July 7th, 1811.
Jemima Margaret, daughter of Duncan and Elizabeth MacKenzie, April 25th, 1813.
Rev. R. McDowall, Presbyterian, did not come until 1800, and he does not appear to have had services on the Island either. In his marriage
56 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
register occur but a few names. He spelled it sometimes "Isle of Tante," and sometimes Amherst Island. His first record is of Kdward Howard and Rosana McMullen, December 22nd, 1802.
Then follows : Oliver Crowes, Fredericksburgh, and Mary Nester, Isle of Tante, in March, 1814. Anthony Denee and Catharine Asselstine, Septem- ber 1 6th, 1816. There are no registers of baptisms or burials of his at the Island, though there are long lists of the other townships of the county.
LA SALLE, THE FIRST PROPRIETOR.
La Salle, the great French explorer and pioneer, appears to have been the first white proprietor of the Island. It may as well be stated here that he was the first white land proprietor in all Upper Canada. There is not space here to enter into the detail of any history of that great French adven- turer. He was a native of Rouen, France. The family name was Rouen Robert Cavelier, but he is best known in history as La Salle, a name appar- ently derived from the family estate in France. He came to Canada, or New France, as it was then called, when a young man of 22 years, and spent all his long and active life in adventures and explora- tions in America, then an all but unknown and explored country. He was the first white man to discover the Ohio and Illinois river, and to trace the Mississippi to its mouth, in the Gulf of Mexico. He became a fast friend and business partner of Frontenac, who was at that time Governor of New France. Frontenac had previously, in July, 1763, built a small wooden fort where the City of King- ston now stands, for the double purposes of catching the Indian fur trade from the west and of preventing the Iroquois and other hostile Indians from controlling the navigation of the St. Lawrence river. By mutual agreement La Salle was to obtain from Louis XIV., King of France, a grant of land covering the site of Fort Frontenac and ten miles of territory along the shore of the main land west, by i% mile deep, also two Islands with un- pronouncable Indian names, now known as Amherst and Wolfe Islands, together with the small islets among and around them. This grant was made by the king on May I3th, 1675. And thus was created the First French Seigniory in what is now the Province of Ontario, with La Salle the first Seignior.
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La Salle was required, by the king's grant, to, at his own expense, erect and establish settlements, to reinburse Frontenac 10,000 liveries ($2,000), the amount expended on the fort, to maintain the fort and a number of soldiers, as many as at Montreal, to maintain 20 men for 9 years for cleaning and improving land ; to have a church built, and keep a priest or friar to perform services and administer the sacraments, as soon as there were 100 settlers, and a number of other conditions. According to Parkman there were opportunities of making a profit of 56, 500 a year out of the Indian fur trade there, and it is intimated that Frontenac, though Governor, was to have a private partnership. La Salle was full of adventure and large schemes, how- ever. When he saw the great prairie countries along the valleys of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers he was greatly impressed with their richness and possibilities, and resolved to gain full advant- ages of them, and forestall the English, who were also pushing west from farther south. He soon left Fort Frontenac in charge of others and pushed on to his western adventures. Financially, these never were successful with him, but after genera- tions have reaped great advantages from his discoveries and business ventures. On the i8th of November, 1678, La Salle launched the first sailing vessel ever floated on the waters of Lake Ontario.
HENRI BE TONTI,
After whom Amherst Island appears to have received its first French name, was for many years, the fast and faithful friend of La Salle. He was an Italian officer, a protege of the Prince de Conte, a leading and wealthy personage at that time, who sent him, strongly recommended, to La Salle. Tonti's father had been a governor in a province of Italy, and went to France because of political disturbances in his own country. It is said he was a noted financier and invented a form of life insur- ance which we still popularly call "the Tontine."
We do not see that Tonti ever settled on the Island to which his name was given, or that he had any special interest there. The naming appears to have been an honorary matter. Tonti himself was generally in La Salle 's service along the Mississippi and other points of the great west. The accounts of his adventures, viscissitudes and thrilling exper- iences with savages and wild beasts there are one
58 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
of the many illustrations of the adage that "Truth is stranger than fiction."
THE NAME CHANGED.
We well remember when the older inhabitants always called that township "Isle Tanty," though its name was changed at an early time after this Province became a British possession, to Amherst Island, in honor of one of the British generals, who earned for himself a distinguished place in the history of our nation. It has been before stated in these columns that, when Upper Canada was first constituted a separate province, in 1791, the Island was not then a part of this county for parliamen- tary representation purposes, but was associated with Wolfe and other adjacent islands and consti- tuted Ontario County. In the proclamation of Lord Dorchester, as Governor General in 1788, in which the limits of the four districts of this province were then defined, no mention appears to have been made of the islands at all, though all the townships were made special mention of. Nor is the island mentioned in the report of the first surveys of the numbered townships on the bay, in 1783 and 1784.
SEVERAL CHANGES OF PROPRIETORS.
We have so very little record available in regard to the early settlers of the land on the Island that not much can be said. According to a published paper now before us is the following : "It is said that the Mohawk Indians, who accompanied Sir John Johnson to this Province, claimed this and other lands, and they leased their right, if they had any, to Col. Crawford, who accompanied Sir John Johnson, and that Col. Crawford transferred his right to Sir John.
The land was patented to Sir John Johnson in consideration of the immense sacrifices he had made in the loss of the vast possessions of his father, (Sir William Johnson, near Albany), in the Mohawk Valley and elsewhere in New York State, during the time of the American Revolution, and of his loyalty and good service to his country. Since that time the island has passed from the Johnson family to the Earl of Mount Cashel (in Ireland), who held it for years, renting it to the occupants. It is now the property of Major Maxwell, County Down, Ireland, and W. H. Moutray, Ksq., is his
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representative. Mr. Moutray has been for years an active and much respected citizen of the Island, taking a prominent part in nearly all its affairs. He is the Town Clerk of the Municipality, and Secretary of the Agricultural Society, besides hold- ing other important positions.
CHANGING HANDS.
The soil of the island is excellent and very productive, and its location, both for marketing and shipping, is very good. For many years the great drawback to its progress was the fact that the land was nearly all held by one large estate, and the occupants were merely tenants, and had not therefore, such inducements to build and improve their farms as they would have as proprietors. Though the rents were low and the leases for long terms, yet the most enterprising and well-to-do would keep moving elsewhere so as to purchase farms of their own. Of recent years, how- ever, there have been changes in this respect, and now much of the land is owned by the occupants. Great improvements have been made on most of the farms and about most of the homes, since the writer first visited it.
Here are some facts and figures, culled from official sources, which will give our general readers some idea of the extent of population, resources and area of the "Tight Little Island" of this county :
According to the last report of the Ontario Bureau of Statistics now before us there are 14,652 acres of assessed land in the municipality ; the total assessed value being $349,080 ; the rate of taxation for all purposes being 9% mills on the dollar, which is among the lowest of any in the county, being only at the rate of 13.84 per head of the entire population. The population was 868, and is not, we believe, increasing, as all the land has been occupied and under cultivation for years. The quality and quantity of grain produced is about the average per acre of the province. Vegetables and fruit are not as largely cultivated as in many places, as the soil is of a clayey nature, and not so well adapted to these purposes.
At the late Dominion election 192 ballots were cast, of which Mr. Wilson received 94, Dr. Leonard 100, and 2 were rejected. At the previous general election, in 1896, there were 157 ballots given out
60 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
of a total of 246 on the voters' lists. Of these Mr. Wilson received 69, Mr. Switzer 42, Mr. Stevens 46. These figures may give some indication of the effect of a "three-cornered fight" at that time, compared with a straight party issue, as in the last contest. There are five churches now on the Island, and three resident ministers. Presbyterians have the largest and most substantial church, with the largest congregation ; the Church of England has two, and the Methodists and Roman Catholics one church each. All the churches have their resident ministers except the Roman Catholic.
SOME OLD LEGENDS.
Here are a couple of stories that have long been current in regard to the transfer of the Island property that have been often told and generally credited, but their authenticity seems doubtful.
Away back in the times of Sir William vlohnson, of Albanv, who was so popular and influential with the Indians, with whom he came so largely in contact, it is said that one of the leading chiefs, who had seen the splendid red uniform and gold lace and trimmings of Sir William, came to him one morning looking very grave and serious, and said : "Me had great big dream last night. Me dream you gave me great red coat like yours/' "Well," said Sir William, "if you dream all that, I suppose you must have it." And so a splendid uniform was procured and presented to the chief* who became the admired of all his companions.
It was not many weeks after, however, before Sir William went to the same chief, looking very grave and solemn. "I had a, great big dream last night. I dreamed you gave me the island" (mean- ing Amherst Island). Now the serious turn came, but the chief rose to the occasion. He replied : "If you dream all that I suppose you must have it. But me no dream you again." And so the island was transferred to Sir William.
The other is that a wealthy lady in Ireland at one time owned the title to a large portion of the island. One night, while gambling with cards, she lost what else she had, and finally staked the island on the game, and lost. But who was the loser, or who the winner, or where and when that great game was played, we never heard.
NEWBURGH.
BY THOS. W. CASEY.
We are indebted to the kindness of Charles Riley, Esq., of Camden East, County Commission- er, for some interesting numbers of the Newburgh "Index" of 1858, — a paper at one time well known and widely circulated in Addington County, but which ceased publication years ago. The Index was first issued in 1852, we believe, by Isaac Brock Aylsworth, then a young printer, now the Rev. Dr. I. B. Aylsworth, ex-President of the Condon Metho- dist Conference. It changed hands several times during its career and editors quite as frequently. Among those who were its contributing editors at various times were the late Dr. Allan Ruttan, then a practicing physician in Newburgh ; the late David Beach, then Principal of the Newburgh Academy, and C. V. Price, then a young man, a native of that locality and now the somewhat venerable Judge Price, of Kingston, so well known throughout these counties.
At the time the four copies now before us were issued Messrs. Allen Caton and C. V. Price were the publishers. Mr. Caton was a native of Rich- mond, near Napanee, a son of the late Squire Archibald Caton, yet so well remembered by many of the old readers of The Beaver. Mr. Price was a brother-in-law of Mr. A. Caton ; he had just then finished his schooling at the Newburgh Academy, where he was considered a promising student. Later on he retired from the editorial chair and studied law in Kingston, where he enjoyed an extensive and lucrative practice, till he was appointed County Judge by the Mackenzie Govern- ment, sometime in the seventies. Judging by the vigor of his editorials in the numbers before us, and what we remember of his force as a political platform speaker before he assumed the quiet posi- tion as a County Judge, we are inclined to think the country lost one of its vigorous politicians by that appointment.
SOME OF THE BUSINESS ADVERTISEMENTS.
Newburgh was a small and very thriving and ambitious village in 1858, and judging by the
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number of business advertisements in the columns of the Index at that time, it must have had within its borders a considerable number of very enter- prising business men, all or nearly all of whom have now passed off the stage of action. There were first the business cards of Allen Caton, of "the Old Stone Shanty/' a very enterprising druggist, book seller, publisher, insurance agent, and Secre- tary of the Board of Public Instruction for Frontenac, Lennox and Addington ; to which he also added some successful farming. Mr. Caton, after a successful business career of years in New- burgh, died in that town and lies buried in the cemetery near by.
Then comes the card of Allan Ruttan, M.D., Coroner for the United Counties of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington. After graduating with honors from McGill University, Montreal, the Doctor first located in Newburgh and soon obtained a good country practice. Newburgh was then ambitious to become the county town of Lennox and Addington, and was then fully equal to Napanee in intelligence, population and business enterprise. The Grand Trunk railway, built a few years later, and being located through Napanee, appeared to turn the scale in the latter 's favor. The Doctor being convinced the village would never attain much more in population or import- ance, changed his location to Napanee, with a short interval at Picton, and here the balance of his useful days was spent.
John King was then a resident of Newburgh, and advertised as an "auctioneer and general com- mission agent, Township of Camden." He was a hotel keeper there at one time, and also moved to Napanee, where he was in business here for years. Later on he received a government appointment in the Customs, and lived and died at Windsor, we believe.
Luke Carscallen also advertised as an auc- tioneer and general commission agent. He was a well known citizen of the village, and lived and died there.
Richard Rook, then a well known citizen, advertised as a dealer and repairer of watches, clocks and musical instruments. Lame from his childhood and dependent on a large Newfoundland dog to draw him from place to place on his small low cart, he managed to carry on a real profitable
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trade and provided comfortably for himself and family.
Owen S. Roblin, a native of Adolphustown, advertised there was "nothing like harness", and carried on that business for years. Later on he moved to Syracuse, N.Y., where he lived and died.
K. A. Lanfear, another of the same craft, advertised "nothing like good harness," which was, of course, intended to have its significance. He lived and died in Newburgh.
The Wells Brothers, John C. and Allen C., were also in the harness, saddle and trunk business, and advertised as good an article in the line of business as can be obtained for the same money. They are of the few advertisers who are yet living, — the former now in business with his son at Tamworth, and the latter a large and successful farmer at Chilliwhack, British Columbia.
Simon Haines was .then an axe manufacturer, and advertised that business. It may as well be said here that Newburgh was once noted for its axe making and supplied a large section of the country with an excellent class of implements in that line. Mr. Haines was one of the patriotic militia volun- teers during the Canadian rebellion of 1837-8, doing active service. He was at the celebrated battle at the Windmill, Fresco tt, and witnessed the arrest of the unfortunate Von Sholts, who was hanged at Kingston, for his share in the American invasion. Mr. 'Haines lived and died in Newburgh.
Henry Finkle then advertised his stage line, leaving Centre ville every morning for Napanee, via Clark's Mills, and connecting with the Grand* Trunk here. Mr. Finkle was a successful stage owner and carriage builder, and since his death the business has been well sustained by his son.
Miles Caton and Cephas H. Miller were then, and for many years after, successful and well known grocers and dry goods merchants. Botli died at Newburgh, highly respected men.
A number of outside business men were also among the Index advertisers, including James Hawley, Temperance House, Centreville ; B. W. Day, dentist, Kingston, now County Registrar of Hastings ; Titus F. Brown, watches and jewelry, Napanee ; R. S. Henderson, law office, Napanee ; S. T. and L. Clements, dentists, Kingston ; A. W. Murdoch, music teacher, Kingston ; John Carruth- ers & Co., wholesale grocers, Kingston, and others.
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nearly all of whom are yet remembered by our older readers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ELECTIONS.
It was in 1858 that the first elections were held for the old Legislative Council of the then Parlia- ment of Canada. The elective system that was then first tried remained in force until Confed- eration, in 1867. The counties were grouped, several together, into electoral divisions for that purpose. Lennox, North Hastings and Peterboro' counties constituted Trent Division, and Edmund Murney, of Belleville, was elected, defeating Thomas Shortt, of Keene. Addington, Frontenac and the city of Kingston constituted Cataraqui Division, and Alexander Campbell, Q.C., was first elected. The other candidates were Overton S. Gildersleeve and Thomas Kirkpatrick, Q.C., all of Kingston. Their cards to the electors all appear in the copies of The Index now before us, and some reports of the meetings they held during that cam- paign.
Senator Campbell was re-elected at the next term, then defeating B. M. Britton, Q.C., nowT the M.P. for Kingston. He was appointed to the Dom- inion Senate at the time of Confederation and took a prominent part in public affairs for years. He had been a law partner and intimate personal friend of Sir John Macdonald, and, later on, became a member of the Tache-Macdonald Government, hold- ing the position of Postmaster-General, and after- wards Minister of the Interior. Still later on he was appointed Lieutenant-Go vernor of Ontario in 1887, and died in Government House, Toronto, in 1892.
Thomas Kirkpatrick was also a distinguished and much respected Kingston lawyer and the father of the late ex-Lieutenant-Governor Sir George K. Kirkpatrick, who succeeded Sir A. Campbell as Governor of this Province.
Overton Gildersleeve is the only one of the three now living. He was also a resident of Kingston, and was long a prominent man in the ranks of the Liberal party there, being once the candidate of the party in opposition to Sir John Macdonald in 1863, and once, later on, for the Provincial Legislature in opposition to James Metcalf, we believe ; in both cases being defeated.
The election now being referred to took place
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in October, 1858, and resulted in a large majority for Mr. Campbell.
POLITICAL ISSUES AT THAT TIME.
That our readers may see what different issues divided politicians forty odd years ago from to-day we will make reference to some of the aspects of that legislative Council election as reported in The Index then. One of the "burning questions" just then was the celebrated "Double Shuffle" of that very year, in connection with the retirement of the Tache-Macdonald Government, the formation of the Brown-Dorion Government, its immediate defeat in both Houses, the refusal of Governor Sir Edmund Head to consent to a new election at that time, and the re-establishment of the old government, each member accepting some other office from that he held before the resignation, and thus avoiding the legal necessity of again going back to their constit- uents. This act George Brown strongly denounced at the time as a mere legal trick and characterized it as the "Double Shuffle." He appealed to the courts against the legality of that "shuffle" but was defeated in the matter.
It seems that Mr. Campbell, though a very decided Conservative, and a friend of Sir John, came out in strong denunciation of that act. One of his election fly sheets issued a day or two previous to the voting is quoted in The Index, and had this stirring appeal : — "I^et every opponent of Ministerial chicanery vote early for Campbell and thus record his opposition to the men who have ruined the credit of the country." It was intimated that the force of public opinion impelled him to take that stand.
The Index remarked that, "Mr. Kirkpatrick never confessed himself a Ministerial candidate, neither would he declare himself openly an oppositionist." He was always known as a very decided Conservative, however.
The Index of September 29th, 1858, devoted a good deal of space to a report of a meeting held in Hope's Hall, Newburgh, by Mr. Gilderslceve, at which he went pretty fully over the issues of the campaign. The late Cephas H. Miller occupied the chair. In regard to the double shuffle he styled it a "legal stratagem," but the Index declared that the word "legal" should not be used at all and added, "We consider it a piece of illegal jugglery,
66 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
unconstitutional usurpation of office." That single sentence will indicate its decided position then and the force of its language. Mr. Gildersleeve was reported to have declared his decided opposition to the then Cartier-Macdonald government ; his determined opposition to the Hudson's Bay Company, which then held the territory which now constitutes Manitoba and the Northwest Terri- tories ; his strong support of the principle of Representation by Population, which was then a burning issue with the Reformers of Upper Canada; his opposition to a Separate school law, which was then also an exciting question ; and his earnest advocacy of a protective duty.
The Index intimated that the policy of protec- tion was not, however, the settled policy of the Reform party, as the Globe and Mr. Cayley were favorable to free trade. It intimated, however, that Messrs. Campbell and Gildersleeve both favor- ed protection.
The question of prohibition was also then before the people and the Index was decidedly favorable to it. Mr. Gildersleeve was reputed to have said that he believed that "the revenue as well as community would be benefited by a prohi- bition law, and he would give it his cordial support.
SOME LOCAL ITEMS.
There is a report of the proceedings of the Camden Township Council, which at that time also included the now Village of Newburgh. The mem- bers of the Council in 1858 appear to have been Augustus Hooper, Samuel Clark, David B. Stickney, James I/apum and Charles Warner. They are all well remembered by our older readers as very prominent and spirited business men, representing the various sections of the large township. They have all passed away, however.
There is the announcement also of the dedica- tion of a new Methodist Episcopal Church near Colebrook, on the Camden circuit, for Thursday, October 2ist, 1858^ with preaching services by Revs. James Gardner, G. Jones and John F. Wilson, — men still well remembered throughout these counties.
There is also a report of the meeting of the directors of the Camden Township Agricultural Society, held in Hope's Hall, August 2ist, 1858. Those attending were Augustus Hooper, President ;
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John B. Aylesworth, Secretary ; Cephas H. Miller, James N. Lapum, Samuel Clark, Thomas Price, E. Armstrong, Thomas Scott and J. Clancy. It was decided to hold the exhibition that year on Tuesday, I2th October, and a premium list of 200 prizes was agreed upon. The only survivor of that once well known group of men, so far as we know, is our now venerable friend, Mr. John Bell Ayles- worth, still the Secretary of the Association. May he long continue to occupy that position !
There is also a report of the Addington County Agricultural Society, held that year in Bath, on Thursday, October yth. Among the leading prize winners were a number of excellent and well known farmers in this county at that time : William H. Gordanier, Peter R. Davy, M. B. Lasher, S. K. Miller, N. A. Briscoe, Seth Irish, Frederick Kaylor, Tillotson Irish, Thomas Price, Coleman Bristol, John Boyce, Elijah Switzer, Calvin W. Miller, Job Ayls worth, D. Purdy, Richard Williams, Mitchell Neville, John Clancy, Hazard W. Purdy, John Sharp, James Foster, John Black, Charles Lloyd, Ezra D. Priest and many others, all or nearly all of whom have long since passed over to the great majority ; but, in many cases, their sons and daughters are well representing them, among our intelligent and enterprising citizens of to-day. What changes forty years bring about in the affairs of any locality !
MR. AND MRS. OWEN S. ROBLIN.
In writing recently of the Newburgh business men who advertised in "The Index", forty-five years ago, we referred to Owen S. Roblin, Esq., who was then in the harness trade in that village, and it was remarked that, "Later on he moved to Syracuse, N.Y., where he lived and died." We are glad to know that we were misinformed in regard to the death of Mr. Roblin, and that he is still alive and well. After being for years in business at Syracuse he removed elsewhere, and many of his old friends and relatives supposed he was dead. Prof. C. C. James, Deputy Minister of Agriculture at Toronto, writes us, "Mr. Roblin is still living, retired, at Buffalo, where his son, David, has a large boot and shoe store. I called on Uncle Owen last fall. He and my aunt (his wife) are both enjoying a hearty old age." Mr. Roblin was a native of Adolphustown, a son of Stephen Roblin
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and Amy Allison, both of IT. E. Loyalist families. He spent his early days there, and was then in some active business in Newburgh, and was a well known man there in business and church affairs. He married a Miss Canniff, also of Adolphustown, we believe, and they had a large circle of warm friends and relatives in this county. He was one of the trustees of the Newburgh Methodist church when it was built, nearly forty years ago, and they are yet both very kindly remembered by the older inhabitants, many of whom will be pleased to thus learn they are now enjoying a comfortable and quiet old age. Mr. Roblin is an older brother of Jacob and John Roblin, yet well known residents of the Third Concession of Adolphustown. They must be about 80 years of age now.
THE PALATINE MILLER FAMILY.
A very considerable portion of the numerous branches of the Miller families, now resident in this county, are of Irish Palatine descent and came to this province with the early U. E. Loyalist pioneers more than a hundred years ago. They have been residents of this county ever since and have done well their share in helping to build it up and make it what it now is. They were intimately connected with the Switzers, Maddens, Detlors, Empeys, Dulmages and other Palatine families, wrho were among the worthy pioneers of this county. There lies before us a very interesting memorandum of the family, prepared about sixteen years ago by the late Cephas Miller, J.P., of Newburgh, who was for years one of the best known and most respected residents of Addington County. As the paper is of general and historical as well as of family interest, the most of it is here reproduced. The writer is under obligations to his son, Mr. W. H. Miller, of Kingston, and Peter E. R. Miller, of Switzerville, for access to this paper.
CEPHAS MILLER'S MEMORANDUM.
"The Millers with whom our families are connected descended from the Palatines of the Rhine, in Germany. They were of the Protestant faith, and at different times suffered great persecu- tion from the Catholic rulers of their day. In the year 1709 Queen Anne, of England, hearing of the distressed condition of this people, sent a British fleet to Rotterdam and brought about 7,000 of
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 69
them to England. Part of them were sent to America, and finally settled in Pennsylvania. Some were settled in England and a large number of them settled in the County of Limerick, Ireland.
It was of these settled in Ireland that our family belonged. They got their lands at a low rate of rental for the first fifty years, and being industrious and economical, they greatly prospered, as well as improved their farms and homes. As the Palatines brought no German minister with them to Ireland, and for many years they under- stood very little or none of the English language, they had no public worship, and gradually, to use John Wesley's language of them, "became promi- nent for drunkenness, cursing, swearing, and the utter neglect of religion." They were visited by John Wesley and his preachers about forty years after they settled in the country, and in consequence there was brought about a great revival of religion among them. They then generally became a devoted and pious people. Mr. Wesley often visited them. My father says he well recollects hearing his grandmother Miller telling of Mr. Wesley's sayings and doings among them.
A Mr. Hall gave a description of the Palatines as follows : "The women are industrious and clean. The men are tall, fine, stout fellows, but there is a calm and stern severity such as is anything but cheering for a traveller to meet and having no resemblance to those among whom they live."
Their first lease was for fifty years, and after that expired an exorbitant rent was demanded for the land ; sometimes as high as three guineas an acre, which reduced many to poverty. That caused a great tide of emigration from the country about 1760.
THE FAMILY HISTORY.
Among those emigrating to America at that time were Peter Switzer, our great grandfather. His sister, Mary, who was the wife of Philip Embury, the first Methodist who preached in America, was also with him ; also Paul and Barbara Heck, Detlors, Dulmages and others. They landed at New York, where most of them lived for several years. Peter Switzer, with several of the other Palatines, settled on farms at Ashgrove and Camden, New York State. It was there that our great grandfather raised a large family. His oldest children were born in Ireland—
70 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Elizabeth, our grandmother, and Philip, who afterwards settled in the Township of Camden, Upper Canada, north of Varty Lake, where there are a number of the descendants. There were also Christopher and Aunt Mary Empey, Margaret Neville and John, who settled in Portland.
The families who emigrated from Ireland reached New York about sixteen years before the great United States rebellion began.
Several others of the family landed at Baltimore, Maryland, among whom were great grandfather and grandmother Miller, with his brothers, Peter and Jacob. They had a severe voyage of three months on the ocean. Later on they also settled in Ashgrove, New York, where grandfather purchased a farm and was living there when the war of the American Revolution began. He joined the King's army along with his brother- in-law, Philip Switzer. He fought at the Battle of Bennington in Vermont, where he was wounded by a ball in the arm, and taken prisoner.
FAMILY IN CANADA.
When he was released from prison, after about a year, he moved to Three Rivers, in Lower Canada, below Montreal. He lived there sixteen years before he moved to Ernesttown, in this province. His property in the States was all confiscated, as was that of the others who remained loyal to the King. He owed there the man from whom he purchased the farm in Ashgrove and had given him a judgment bond. This man also joined the British ranks and came to Canada, and settled near grandfather at Three Rivers. After a few years he sued the bond in Canada, sold grandfather out, and still the whole balance claimed was not yet met. That was felt to be such a great hard- ship that he resolved to move to this then wild country.
My grandfather, Garret Miller, was an ensign in the King's army, and the Government granted him 1,200 acres of land. Of this 400 was in the Township of Percy, 200 in Middlesex, and the remainder in Darlington and Loborough and Leeds. Land was of little value at that time, except for actual settlement and he never realized anything for these lands.
Peter Miller, grandfather's brother, settled in Missisquoi, Lower Canada, about forty miles south
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 71
of Montreal, and adjoining the U. S. boundary. He became a rich farmer there. His grandsons went into wholesale business in Montreal, but did not succeed, and went to the Southern States. Another son kept a hotel for years near Rice Lake, and was reputed an intelligent man. A daughter married a Rev. Mr. Lang, a Methodist minister, who was stationed in Kingston about 1810. He once visited me and preached in our church at Newburgh.
Grandfather's other brother, Jacob Miller, who came from Ireland, settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he was engaged in rope making and ship building at the time of the war of 1812. He fitted out some privateer ships to prey on American vessels and became immensely rich. His son, Garrett, married the daughter of the Governor of the Province.
Two sons of John Miller, who remained in Ireland, Adam and Robert, came to Canada many years ago, and carried on a large stationery busi- ness in Montreal. They were very prosperous for a time, but were nearly ruined by a partnership with another man to build a paper mill, who proved dishonest, and they lost heavily. Robert remained in Montreal, and Adam went to Toronto, and they both again became prosperous and prominent busi- ness men.
MORE FAMILY RECORDS.
Grandfather, Garrett Miller, was married twice. He was born October, 1738, at Ballingrave, Ireland, and died in August, 1823, in Ernesttown, aged 85 years. He had two sons by his first wife, Martin and Michael. Martin went when a boy, to live with an uncle, Jacob Miller, below Montreal. He became unsettled, joined the army, but finally left and came with a large family to Ernes ttown, settled on a wild lot, and died there, and the family gut scattered. Michael was born in 1770 and died, aged 65 years. Elizabeth Miller, our grandmother, was born in 1750, and died in March, l837, aged 87 years. Rebecca Miller Bush was born in November, 1774, died 1869, aged 95 years. Peter Miller, born 1779, died 1876. Agnes Miller,, born October, 1779, died March, 1807. She was married to James Dougall, of Hallowell, and left a daughter, Agnes, who married David B. Stevenson, who was for years a prominent business man in
72 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Picton, and represented Prince Edward County in the old Parliament of Canada.
William Miller, my father, was born November, 1783, died October, 1863, aged 79 years, n months. Mary Ann Miller died when a child. Garrett Miller was born November. 1788, died January, 1871, aged 83 years. John Miller was about 74 years old when he died.
SOME FAMILY DETAILS.
In addition to the facts already given we are largely indebted for the following to John B. Aylesworth, J.P., of Newburgh, who is so well informed in much of the early history of many of the leading families of this county.
Garrett Miller, senior, who came from Ireland and died in this county in 1823, had four sons and each of these had in their turn four sons, besides daughters. Garrett Miller's sons were William, Garrett, John and Peter.
1. Peter Miller lived in North Fredericksburgh on the Kingston road, near Morven. The farm is now owned by his grandson, Mr. Sidney Miller, of Napanee. Peter's sons were : (i) Calvin W. Miller, who lived and died near Switzerville, Sixth Con- cession of Krnesttown. He was the father of Messrs. James L. and Peter K. R. Miller, now of the old homestead ; of Mrs. Harvey I/ake, the late Mrs. Rev. W. McDonagh and others. (2) Charles Miller, who lived on the homestead for years, and then moved to Napanee, where he died some years ago. He was the father of Mrs. James Daly, Napanee, Mrs. Freshman, Buffalo, and Mr. S. R. Miller, Napanee.
2. William Miller, who settled in the Seventh Concession of Krnesttown ; he had four sons and four daughters ; died in Newburgh. His children were : — (i.) Cephas H. Miller, J.P., who was for years one of the most prominent and respected residents of Newburgh, and probably did more to build up that village than any other man in his day. He was, for years, a prominent member of the Camden Township council, and of the old United Counties council, and was at one time the candidate of the old Reform party for the represen- tation of Lennox and Addingfton in parliament. He was many years a Methodist class-leader and a prominent worker in the temperance cause. His surviving children are Mrs. A. B. Aylesworth, Toronto ; W. H. Miller, Kingston. (2) George
THE CASEY SCRAP BOOKS. 73
Miller, who was associated with his brother Cephas in business for years at Newburgh. He was one of the founders of the Village of Yarker, building the first saw mill and grist mill there, and establishing the first store. He was also in business at Tarn- worth for some time. He died in London at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. Henry Grange. (3.) Christopher Miller, who was for years a resident of Newburgh, and was associated with Cephas and George in manufacturing there. He went to California at the time of the early gold excitement there, over half a century ago. He moved his family there and died there. (4) Allen Miller, the youngest son, who lived on the home- stead for years, then in Newburgh, and later on in California, where he died.
Of the daughters of William Miller there were : (i) Julia Ann, who married the late Rev. Dr. I. B. Aylesworth ; she now lives in Collingwood, and is the last surviving member of that family. (2.) Elizabeth, who married the late David B. Stickney, and who died many years ago. (3.) Lydia, who married the late Douglas Hooper, of Newburgh, and who also died there many years ago. (4.) Mary, who married the late Albert Chapman and moved to California.
3. John Miller, who settled in the Seventh Concession of Ernesttown, at Miller's Corners, a little north of where the Switzer's church now stands. There he carried on a large farm and a large tannery. He had four sons and several daughters. One of his sons, the Rev. Aaron Miller, is now a superannuated Methodist minister, resid- ing at Picton. Two others, Garrett and Anthony, were the founders of what is now the flourishing Village of Yarker. They learned their father's trade and established a tannery there, many years ago, being the first line of business established in what was then "Simcoe Falls," and they built the two stone houses, now the oldest standing in that place. That was in the fifties. They sold out and moved West. Mitchell Miller, the youngest of the sons, lived on the old homestead at Miller's Cor- ners, until a few years ago, when he moved to the States.
4. Garrett Miller settled in the First Conces- sion of Camden, on the farm just adjoining where the Village of Strathcona now stands. Part of the village has been built on that farm. It is now
74 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
owned and occupied by W. A. Wilson. He had four sons and four daughters. Two of the sons were drowned in the Napanee River in front of their parents' house, when they were boys. One son was the late Rev. Wm. Miller, who died in Napanee years ago. Another, Mr. Peter Miller, lived on the old homestead and died there years ago. The daughters married, the late Archibald McKim, for years a resident of Fredericksburgh and Napanee ; Mr. William Drewrey, of Smithfield, near Brigh- ton ; Michael Scouten, formerly of Camden, and the late John Neely, also of Camden.
INDEX.
Accommodation, Steamboat 7
Act of 1791 46
Addington 5, 15, 16, 18
27, 28, 29, 31, 36, 37, 38, 44, 61, 64, 67, 68
Addington Mills 53
Addison, Rev 37
Adolphustown 5, 9, 12, 17, 18, 28, 33
34, 36, 37. 38, 39, 41, 44, 49, 5°, 63, 67, 68
Adolphustown Burying Ground 5
Agricultural Society 59, 66, 67
Agriculture, Deputy Minister , 36
Aishton, Dr. Thomas , 52
Albany 7, 20, 58, 60
Allen, Capt. Joseph , 17, 50
Allen, Joseph 49
Allen, Miss 50
Allen, Parker 50
Allison, Amy 68
Allison, D. W 45, 50
Alma, Schooner 50
America 7, 56, 69
America British ., 10
American Revolution
13, 21, 28, 29, 34. 41, 45, 58, 70
American War of 1812 32, 44
Amey, Arnold G 52
Amherst Island ...... 27, 54, 55, 56, 57, 5$, 59, 60
Anne, Queen 68
Appanee Falls 13
Archives, Canadian 20
Armstrong, H 67
Armstrong, Henry 52
Armstrong, Thomas 52
Ashgrove, N.Y 69, 70
Asselstine, Catharine 56
Assembly, American Provisional 29
Assembly, Legislative 31
Atkinson, William 35
Atlantic Ocean ._. 7, 19
Aylesworth, Geo. Anson 5
Aylesworth, Isaac Brock 61, 73
Aylesworth, Job 24, 67
Aylesworth, John B 67, 72
76 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Aylesworth, Mrs. A. B 72
Aylesworth, Rev. I. B 61
Baldwin-Lafontain Government 49
Baldwin, Robert 48
Ballingrave 71
Baltimore, Md : 70
Barker, John S 52
Bath 8, 9, 10
15, 24, 31, 32, 39, 41, 43, 47, 50, 51, 52, 55
Bay of Quinte
5, 7, 8, 10, n, 20, 21, 28, 30, 43, 51
Beach, David 61
Beaver, The 26, 28, 35, 36, 49, 61
Bedell, Reuben 38
Belfour, Gabriel , 52
Belleville II, 15, 42, 44, 64
Bennington, Battle of 29, 70
Berlin 50
Bidwell, Barnabas 39, 47
Bid well, Marshall Spring 23, 39, 40, 47, 48
Black, John 53, 67
Bogart family 17
Bogart, Gilbert C 53
Bond-Head, Gov. Francis 23
Bonter, Captain Jacob II
Booth, Joshua 18, 28, 31, 34, 35, 36
Booth, Mr 29
Bower, Adam 13
Bower, Elizabeth 13
Bower, Gasper 12, 13, 14
Bower's Mills 13, 14
Bower, Miriam 12, 13
Boyce, John 67
Brighton 74
Briscoe, N. A 67
Bristol, Coleman 67
Bristol, Peter 9
British America 10, 22
British Colonies 48
British Columbia 63
British Empire 17, 18
British Government........ 23, 41
British Parliament.. 19, 4$
Britton, B. M 64
Brockville, Steamer II
Brown-Dorion Government 65
Brown, George 65
Brown, Titus F.... 63
INDEX. 77
Buffalo, N.Y;... 67) y2
Burgoyne, General ', 29
Burrows, Frederick 4} 5
Bush, Rebecca Miller \ 71
Butler's Rangers 20
California 73
Camden 12, 14, 30, 62, 66, 70, 72, 73, 74
Camden East.. 52, 61
Camden, N.Y 69
Camden Township Agricultural Society 66
Campbell, Alexander 64, 65, 66
Campbell, David J 52
Campbell, John 54
Canada 7, 8, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23
26, 30, 36, 40, 47, 48, 54, 56, 59, 64, 70, 71
Canadian Government 26
Canadian History 21, 35, 36
Canadian Parliament , .. 27
Canadians 23
Canniff, Dr. William 17, 18, 34, 54
Canniff, Miss 68
Cape Vincent 26
Carleton Place . 30
Carpenter, James 43
Carruthers, John & Co 63
Carrying Place, The 8, 31, 51
Carscallen, John 14
Carscallen, Luke 62
Cartier-Macdonald Government 66
Cartwright, Hon. Richard 8, 18, 29, 32, 35
Cartwright, John Solomon 40
Cartwright, Judge 46
Casey, Samuel 39, 40
Casey, Thomas W 5, 7, 12, 22, 27, 49, 54
Casey, Willet 38, 39
Cataraqui 21
Cataraqui Division 64
Catholic Church 68
Catholic, Roman 60
Caton, Allen 61, 62
Caton, Archibald 61
Caton, Miles 63
Cavelier, Robert Rouen 56
Cayley, Mr 66
Centreville 5, 63
Chalmers, Capt. James , 5°
Chalmers, Frank 5°
Chambers, Capt. J. McGill n
78 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Champlain, Lake 29
Champlain, Samuel de 5
Chapman, Albert 73
Charters, Lois 43
Checkley, K. R 5
Chicago 52
Chilliwhack, B.C 63
Church, Elizabeth 55
Clancy, John 67
Clark, Col 17
Clark, John Collins 28
Clark, Matthew 39
Clark, Robert 13
Clark, Samuel 53, 66, 67
Clark's Mills 52, 53, 63
Clarksville 17
Clear Grits 49
Clements, L 63
Clements, S. T 63
Cleremont, Steamboat , 7
Clergy Reserves „.... 47
Clute, David 41, 42
Clute, John G 42
Clute, Miss Margaret 42
Colebrook 66
Collingwood 73
Confederation 28, 64
Conger, Mr 30
Congress, U. S 29
Conservative Party 39, 65
Conway 16, 30, 31
Cooper, John S 52
Corby, Capt. Henry II
Cornwall 21
Council, Legislative 31
Councils, District 5
Courtney, J. W 53
Court of Requests 29
Crawford, Col 5$
Crowes, Oliver 56
Crown Lands Department 13, 26, 41
Crysler, Captain 10
Crysler Family 10
Crysler, John 10
Daly, James 4
Daly, Mrs. James 72
Darlington 7°
Davy, B.C 5
INDEX. 79
Davy, Mr 5!
Davy, Peter R .'. 53, 67
Davy, Wm. H 52
Day, B. W '.'.'„'„ 63
Delyisle, Rev. David C 20
DeLongueil, J 31
Denee, Anthony 56
Deroche, H. M 54
De Salaberry, I,ouis , 31
Deseronto Navigation Co II
Detlor Family... 68, 69
Detlor, George Hill 40
Detlor, William 45
Detlor, Wm. V. P 53
Dieppe 19
Dingman, A 5
Dorchester, lyord 58
Dorland, Capt. Thomas 17, i8t 49
Dorland, Peter 33, 50
Dorland, Philip 28, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 47
Dorland, Thomas 38, 39, 50
Double Shuffle 65
Dougall, James 71
Down County 58
Downey Bros , II
Drewrey, William 74
Duffett, Miss Minnie Watson 50
Dulmage Family 68, 69
Dundas County 10
Durham, I/ord ,, 23, 48
Dutch Settlers 21
Eadus, William 55
East Greenwich, R. 1 29
Ecclesiastical History 5
Elbow, The ." 50
Elmore, Publius V 5°
Emancipation Act 18
Embury, Philip > 69
Empey, Christopher 7°
Empey Family , 68
Empey, George 52
Empey, Mary.. , 7°
England 19, 23, 36, 40, 47, 68, 69
England, Church of
16, 32, 44, 45, 46, 50, 5i, 54, 60
Englishmen 18
Episcopal Clergy 20
80 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Ernesttown
17, 24, 28, 31, 36, 37, 39, 45, 51, 70, 71, 72 Krnesttown Station 49
Fairfield, Benjamin 39
Fairfield Family 17
Fairfield, Mr 51
Fairfield, William 37, 44, 52
Family Compact 22, 45, 46, 47
Fashion Steamer II
Fellows, Nathan 24, 25
Ferguson, John 38
Ferrin, Edmund 52
Ferrin, George 52
Files, Benjamin 53
Finkle, Henry 51, 63
Finkle, Miss 10
Finkle, Mr 8
Finkle, R. R 52
Finkle's Point 8, 9, 10, 51
Firsttown „ 14
Fisher, Judge Alexander 12, 35
Flach, Ulysses J 4
Fleet, British 68
Flint, Hon. Billa II
Forward, David T 52
Forward, Mrs. H. T 4
Foster, James 52, 67
Fralick, John 47
Fralick, John's Tavern 40
France 56, 57
Fraser, Daniel 28
Fraser, Elizabeth 41
Fraser, Eliza Ellen 42
Fraser, Isaac 39, 40
Fraser, James 41
Fraser, Miss Margaret 28
Fraser, Mrs. James 41, 42
Fredericksburgh 15, 16, 17, 20, 29, 30
31, 32, 36, 37, 40, 41, 42, 44, 49, 55, 56, 74
French Rule 19
Freshman, Mrs 72
Frontenac 51
Frontenac, Count 56, 57
Frontenac County 27, 62, 64
Frontenac Fort 56, 57
Frontenac, Steamer 8, 10
Fulton, Robert 7
INDEX. 81
Gananoque 27
Gananoque River 36
Gardner, Rev. James 66
Gazette, Kingston , 9
Gazette, Montreal 20
George IV., King 40
George, John 51
German, John Wesley 50, 51
Germany 68, 69
Gibbard, John 7.. 4, 13
Gibbard, William 14
Gibson, Stephen 12
Gildersleeve, Captain 9
Gildersleeve, Capt. Harry 10, II, 51
Gildersleeve, Overton S 64, 65, 66
Glass Family 44
Glass, Mrs. James , 44
Glengary 37
Glenora 33, 34
Globe, The 66
Gordanier, William H , 67
Government House 32. 64
Grafton 38
Grand River 16
Grand Trunk Railway 5, n, 62, 63
Grange, Mrs. A. Wr 4
Grange, Mrs. Henry 73
Graveyards, Old Time 5
Gray, Robert 18
Great Britain 8, 39
Green, Francis 16
Grits, Clear . 49
Hagerman, Christopher 39, 44, 45
Hagerman, Daniel 39
Hagerman, Nicholas 39, 45
Haines, Simon 63
Haldimand, General 19, 3°
Haldimand, Papers ... 3°
Haldimand, Township 3$
Halifax 17, 19, 20, 71
Hall, Mr.. 69
Hallowell 3®, 7*
Ham, Dr. J. B ~. 42
Ham, George 47
Ham, John 49
Ham, Miss Mary 49
Ham, Mrs. Rebecca 52
Hamilton... . .. n
82 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Hamilton, Ont 31
Hamilton, Steamer n
Hampton, Ashur 15
Hancock, Mrs. Orton 52
Hanes, S. M 53
Harding, Rev. R 50
Harper, Rev. W. T. S 51
Hart, James 50
Hastings
16, 18, 25, 27, 28, 29, 36, 37, 38, 42, 44, 63
Hawley, Charles 49
Hawley, George D 4
Hawley, James 63
Hawley, Mrs. John Perry 5
Hay Bay 12, 38, 50
Head, Lieut. Governor Sir Francis Bond 40, 48
Head, Sir Edmund 65
Heck, Barbara 69
Heck, Paul ^ 69
Henderson, R. S 63
Herchimer's Point 14
Herkimer, Captain 14
Herrington, Walter S 4, 5
High School, Napanee 54
Holland 51
Holland, Surveyor-General 50, 55
Hooper, Augustus F 53, 66
Hooper, Douglas 53, 73
Hope's Hall, Newburgh 65, 66
Hough Family 42
Howard, Edward 56
Howard, Jane 55
Howard, Mary 55
Howard, Sarah 55
Howard, Thomas 55
Howard, T. S 52
Howe Island 27
Hudson River 7
Hudson's Bay Company 66
Huyck, Capt. J 17
Illinois River 56, 57
Index, The 61, 62, 63^64, 65, 66
Indians 19, 20
Ireland 51, 58, 60, 69, 70, 71, 72
Irish, Seth 67
Irish, Tillotson 67
Iroquois Indians 56
Isle of Tanty 55, 5^, 5^
Italy 57
INDEX. 83
James, C. C , 36, 67
Japan 54
Jarvis, Rev. Canon 4, 5
John Greenway, Steamer 12
Johnson, Samuel , 50
Johnson, Sir John 20, 28, 58
Johnson, Sir William 58, 60
Johnston, James 51
Johnston, John 51
Johnston, John J 52
Johnston, Robert 52
Jones, G 66
Kaladar 26
Kaylor, Frederick 67
Keene .... 64
Kemp, Sir James ... 9, 10
Kemp, Sir James, Steamer 10
Kennedy, Dr. R... 52
Kertk, David 19
Kincardine, Steamer 11
King John 62
King's Royal Regiment 13, 29, 30, 41, 45
Kingston 8, 9, 10, ii} 14
15, 16, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31, 35, 36, 39 40, 42, 44, 45, 51, 55, 56, 61, 63, 64, 68, 71
Kingston Road 24, 47, 72
Kirkpatrick, Lieut. Governor George K 64
Kirkpatrick, Thomas 64, 65
Knickerbockers 34
Lanfear, E. A . 63
Langan, Mr , 20
Langhorn, Rev. John 15, 30, 32, 41, 43, 55
Langhorn's Register 15, 16, 30, 41, 43, 55
Lang, Rev 71
Lake, Mrs. Harvey 72
Lapum, James 66, 67
LaSalle 56, 57
Lasher, John 52
Lasher, M. B 67
Leeds County 28, 70
Legislative Assembly 46
Legislative Council 46, 65
Legislature, First 31, 35, 36
Leigh, Mrs. Charlotte E 54
Lennox and Addington 12, 18, 23
27, 28, 31, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42, 44, 62, 64, 72 Lennox and Addington Historical Society 5
84 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
L/eonard, Dr 59
Levi, Belly 15
Liberal Party... 23, 39, 64
Library, Napanee Club 5
Library, Provincial 39
Limerick County 69
Lloyd, Charles , 67
Lloyd, Mrs. B. C 30
Loborough 70
Lochhead, J. S 5
Lockwood, Joseph 25
London 61, 73
Louis XIV. of France 56
Lower Canada 18, 19, 36, 48, 70
Loyalists 5
12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 33, 34
Lutherans 13
Lyons, Rev 45
Macdonald, Davidson 54
Macdonald, John A 42, 64, 65
Macdonald, Mrs. Alexander 4
Macdonell, John , 31, 37
Mackenzie Government 61
Mackenzie Rebellion 22, 40, 48
Mackenzie, William Lyon 22, 25, 48
Madagascar 19
Madawasca 26
Madden Family 68
Madden, John 53
Magnet, Steamer n
Manitoba 66
Market Hall 5
Markland, Thomas 35
Marysburgh 55
Massachusetts 30, 39, 47
Maxwell, Major 58
May, Rev. John 54
Meacham's Atlas 54
Membery, Giles 51
Metcalf, James , 64
Methodists 13, 14, 38
45, 46, 5i, 54, 60, 61, 66, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73
Mexico, Gulf of 56
Meyer's Creek 15, 42
Meyers, Johannes Walden 15
Middlesex Township ~. 70
Midland District 8, 12, 14, 27
Mill Creek.., 29
INDEX. 85
Miller, Adam 71
Miller, Agnes t t 71
Miller, Allen ...... ......... .. 73
Miller, Anthony , 73
Miller, Calvin W .67, 72
Miller, Cephas H 63, 65, 67, 68, 72, 73
Miller, Charles , , 72
Miller, Christopher 73
Miller, Elizabeth ... 71, 73
Miller, Garrett 70, 71, 72, 73
Miller, George 73
Miller, Jacob 70, 71
Miller, James Iy 72
Miller, John 71, 72, 73
Miller, Julia Ann 73
Miller, I/ydia 73
Miller, Martin 71
Miller, Mary 73
Miller, Mary Ann ,, 72
Miller, Michael 71
Miller, Mitchell 73
Miller, Palatine 68
Miller, Peter K. R , 68, 70, 71, 72, 74
Miller, Rev. Aaron 73
Miller, Robert 71
Miller's Corners 73
Miller, Sidney 72
Miller, S. K 67
Miller, W. H 68, 72
Miller, William 72, 73, 74
Millhaven 29, 39
Milligan, Mr 52
Mink Family 14
Mink, George 14
Mink, James 15
Mink's Bridge ... 14
Mink, Tobias ... 15
Mississippi River 56, 57
Missisquoi, Oue 7°
Mitchell and~Co 49
Mohawk Church l6
Mohawk Indians 5$
Mohawk River 12, 58
Mohawk Valley l6
Molson, John 7
Montray, W. H 58, 59
Montreal 5) 7
8, n, 18, 19, 20, 21, 32, 41, 57, 62> 7°, 7i Mordoff, James 43
86 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Morven 40, 47, 72
Mott, Robert 52
Mount Cashel, Earl of 58
Murdock, A. W 63
Murdock, Mrs. N 42
Murney, Edmund 64
Murray Canal 8, n
McBride, Daniel 52
McCarthy, Rev 45, 46
McDonagh, Mrs. W 72
McDougall, Catharine 55
McDowall Memorial Church 44
McDowall, Rev. R 55
McGill University 62
McGuines, Nancy 55
McKenty, Edmund 52
McKenzie, Colin 55
McKenzie, Duncan 55
McKenzie, Elizabeth ... 55
McKenzie, Jemima Margaret '. 55
McKenzie, William 55
McKenzie, William C 55
McKim, Archibald 74
McKim, James 14
McMullen, Alexander 55
McMullen, Hugh 55
McMullen, Jinny 55
McMullen, Rosana ! 56
McNabb, James 42
McNabb, Mrs 43
McPherson, Peter 45
McRitchie, Rev. George 54
Napanee 5
n, 13, 15, 40, 51, 54, 61, 62, 63, 72, 73, 74
Napanee River 12, 13, 73
Neely, John 74
Neilson, Allan 42
Nester, Mary 56
Neville, John 70
Neville, Margaret 70
Neville, Mitchell 67
Newark 17, 27, 31, 33, 36, 37
Newburgh 5, 14, 24
53, 54, 61, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 71, 72, 73
Newburgh Academy 6r
Newburgh Foundry and Machine Shop 53
New England 16, 20
INDEX. 87
Newfoundland 62
New France 56
New Jersey 16
New York 7, 13, 16, 20. 30, 34, 41, 69, 70
New York, Province of 21
New York State 33, 58, 69
Niagara 17, 20, 21, 27, 31, 37, 51
Noble, John D 52
North Fredericksburgh , 72
North Hastings 44, 64
Northumberland 28, 29, 36, 37, 38, 41, 42
North West Territories 66
Nova Scotia 10, 20, 71
Novelty, Steamer n
O'Bryan, John ... 55
Odessa 29
Ohio River 56
Onion River 29
Ontario County 18, 27, 28, 31, 36, 37, 49, 58
Ontario Historical Society .,. 4, 30, 36
Ontario lyake 5, 8/21, 51, 57
Ontario Province 21, 36, 56, 59, 64
Osgoode Hall 18
Osgoode Judge 18
Oswego ... II
Oswego Belle, Steamer II
Ottawa 27
Palatines, German 69
Palatines, Irish 68
Parkman, Francis 54, 57
Parliament, British 19
Parliament, Canadian ... 22, 27, 33, 34, 49, 64, 72
Parliament, First 18, 27, 31, 34, 35, 36, 42
Parliament, Second „.... 37, 41, 42, 44
Parliament, Third ..„ 37, 42- 44
Parliament, Fourth 38> 44
Parliament, Fifth 38, 44
Parliament, Sixth 39, 42, 44
Parliament, Seventh u 39
Parliament, Eighth 39
Parliament, Ninth 4°
Parliament, Tenth 4°
Parliament, Eleventh 4°
Parliament, Twelfth.. 4°
Parliament, Thirteenth 40
Parris (Indian Slaves) X9
Parrott, Captain 45
88 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Passport, Steamer •. II
Pearson, Leonard ; 52
Pennsylvania 69
Percy Township 70
Permer, Charles 50
Perrault, Madame 20
Perry, Daniel 45
Perry, David 53
Perry, Ebenezer , 24, 25, 26
Perry, Mrs. Ebenezer 25
Perry, Peter 23, 24, 40, 44, 45, 47, 48
Perry, Robert 16, 45
Perry, William 24
Peterboro' 64
Peters, John ; 37
Peterson Family 17
Peterson, Wm. F 52
Phippen, Mrs. Richard 31
Picton 38, 50, 52, 62, 72, 73
Piety Hill 9
Platt Farm , 12
Pool, A. W 50
Porte, Capt. John 12
Portland Township 70
Port Perry 49
Port Royal 19
Presbyterian Church 13, 32, 44, 52, 55, 60
Prescott 8, 9, 10, 51, 63
Price, Elias 52
Price, Judge C. V 61
Price, Thomas 67
Priest, Ezra D 52, 67
Prince Hdward County
18, 27, 28, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 41, 44, 50, 72
Prince of Wales, Steamer 10
Princess Royal, Steamer n
Protestants 46, 68
Provincial Legislature 64
Pruyn, Harmen 15
Pruyn, Richard 15
Purdy, D 67
Purdy, Hazard W 67
Quakers 33, 34, 37, 3», 47
Quarter Sessions 35
Quebec 7, 16, 19, 20, 27, 36
Queen Charlotte, Steamer 8, 9, 10, 51
Queenston 51
Queen Victoria, Steamer II
Quinte, Bay of 5, 8, 10, II, 2o, 21, 28, 30, 43, 51
INDEX. 89
Rebellion of 1837-8 22, 63
Reeves, Rev. Mr 52
Reform Party
22, 23, 26, 38, 39, 40, 46, 47, 48, 66, 72
Refugees of 1783 55
Registrar, County 39
Revolution, American 13, 21, 28, 29, 34
Rhine River 68
Rhode Island .... 29
Rice Lake 71
Richards, John 55
Richards, Margaret 30
Richardson, Charlotte 55
Richmond 61
Riley, Charles 61
Robinson, Christopher 37
Robinson, Stephen 52
Roblin, Jacob 68
Roblin, John 38, 47, 68
Roblin, Mrs. Owen S 67
Roblin, Owen S 63, 67
Roblin, Stephen ... 67, 68
Rogers, Charles 52
Rogers, David McGregor 37, 38, 41
Rogers, Hudson 52
Rogers, Samuel 52
Rolph, Dr. John 48
Rook, Richard % 62
Rose, Matthias 51
Ross, Alexander 45
Ross, John G. McT 52
Rothwell, Rev 54
Rotterdam 68
Rouen, France 56
Rowse, John S 52
Royal Canadian Volunteers 31
Royal Mail Line II
Royal William, Steamboat 8
Ruttan, Capt. Peter 17
Ruttan, Dr. Allan 61, 62
Sandhurst , 15, 16, 41* 44
Schools, Separate 66
School Teachers 5
Scotland n, 32, 5°
Scott, Rev. John 52
Scott, Thomas 67
Scouten, Michael 74
Scugog, Lake 49
90 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Second Town t ... 28
Seigniory, First French 56
Senate, The 46, 64
Sessions 35
Seymour, Benjamin 42, 43
Sharp, David 52
Sharp, John 67
Sharp, Robert * 52
Shaw, Samuel < ... 53
Shelbourne 20
Sherwood, Samuel 15
Shibley, John 51
Shibley, William 52
Shorey, EHsha 14
Shorey, Rufus 14
Shortt, Thomas 64
Sills Family 42
Sillsville 41, 42
Simcoe Falls 73
Simcoe Island 27
Simcoe, I/ieut. Governor... 18, 27, 31, 36
Simmons, N 51
Slave, Assignment of 5
Slavery, Early 12, 16, 17, 18, 20
Sloan, John 30
Sloan, Thomas 31
Smithfield 74
Smith, Mr 20, 21
Smith, Rev. T. W 17, 19
Smith's Falls n
Snider, Rev 54
Society of Friends 33
South Fredericksburgh.. 30, 41, 42, 49
Sovereign, Steamer II
Spencer, Anna 30
Spencer, Augustus 30
Spencer, Benjamin 29, 30
Spencer, Cecelia 3°
Spencer, Hazelton
16, 18, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 42, 44
Spencer, John 3°
Spencer, Julia 30
Spencer, Margaret.... 3°
Spencer, Rev. Canon 30, 32
Spencer, Richard 30
Statutes, First in Upper Canada 39
Steamboating 7
Stein, Paul 5
Stevens, Charles 60
INDEX. 91.
Stevenson, David B... ,.... ji
Stickney, David B <. 53, 66, 73
Stinson, John ;.J. ....... 38
Storms' Corners 24
Strachan, John 32, 46, 47
Strathcona 13, 73
Stuart, Rev. John 16, 55
"Sun", Toronto '5
Surrogate Court 12
Surveys, First 5
Sutherland, Dr. R. D...». 52
Switzer, Elijah 67
Switzer, Klizabeth 70
Switzer Family..., 68
Switzer, Mary 69
Switzer, Mr 60
Switzer, Peter 69
Switzer, Philip 70
Switzer's Church 73
Switzerville 68, 72
Syracuse 63, 67
St. Andrew's Church, Toronto 52
St. George's Church, Kingston 32
St. John's Church, Bath 32, 41, 55
St. Lawrence River 8, 9, 21, 31, 51, 56
St. Paul's Church, Fredericksburgh 32, 44, 55
St. Paul's Church, Halifax 20
St. Paul's Church, Sandhurst 16
Tache-Macdonald Government 64, 65
Tackabury's Atlas 54
Tamworth 26, 63
Taylor, Joseph 53
Tebout, Henry 51
Telegraph, First 5
Temperance House 63
Third Town 30, 41, 43
Thompson, Capt 20
Thompson Timothy
15, 3i, 37, 39, 4o, 4i, 42, 43, 44
Thomson, John 5
Thomson Papeftr Mills 53
Three Rivers, Que 7, 7°
Thurlow 15
Ticonderoga , 29
Tonte, Prince de 57
Tontine... 57
92 LENNOX AND ADDINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
Toronto 5, 8, 10, n
15, 18, 27, 37, 41, 43, 51, 54, 64, 67, 71, 72
Toronto, Steamer, City of n
Tory Party 24, 34, 38, 39, 40
Town Hall 5
Trent Division 64
Trenton 12, 30
Trent River 27
Trunipour, Capt. Paul ......... 17, 49, 50
Union Flouring and Grist Mills 53
United Empire loyalists... 5, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19 20, 21, 28, 29, 33^ 34> 36, 4i> 45> 49, 5°, 54, 55, 68
United States 8, 16, 35, 70, 71
Upper Canada
7, 8, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 27, 31, 33 34, 36, 39, 41, 42, 45, 48, 51, 56, 58, 66, 70
Upper Canada Legislature
10, 16, 17, 18, 31, 40, 4i, 42, 44, 45
Valantine, J .... 30
VanAlstine, Peter (Major)... 17, 28, 33, 34, 35, 37
Vandewaters Family 42
Vandyck, Henry 30
Varty Lake...; 70
Vermont, State of 29, 70
Violet '. 24
Von Sholts 63
Walloon Settlers 21
War of 1812 32, 44, 71
Warner, Charles 66
Warner, Clarance M 4, 5
Washburn, Ebenezer 38, 51
Washburn, Simeon 38
Watson, James 5°
Watson, J. J 51
Watson, John Joseph 50
Wellington 33
Wells, Allen C 63
Wells, John C 63
Wemp, Duncan 52
Werdon, Mr 30
Wesleyan Church ,, 50, 51, 54
Wesley, John 69
Whitby 42, 49
Willard, Mrs 43
Williams, Richard 67
Williams, Robert ". 51
INDEX. 93
Wilson, James... , 38
Wilson, Rev. John F 66
Wilson, Uriah 4, 59, 60
Wilson, W. A 74
Windmill, Battle of 63
Windsor 62
Winooskie River 29
Wolfe Island "...27, 56, 57
Wood Pulp 5
Wright, Edward 41, 52
Wright, Solomon 41
Yarker 5, 73
York 10, 37, 51
Young, Dr. Daniel... 52
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