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HI^TQ.JllQAl:;SJ^ETCHES
OF THE
COUNTY OF ELGIN
Jr
THE LIBRARY
THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Leon and Thea Koerner Foundation
4
HISTORICAL SKHTC
HK
OK (UK
COUNTV OF EL(,|.V
O
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PHBLISHED BV
THE ELGIN HISTORICAL mu SCIENTIFIC
INSTITUTE.
ST. THOMAS, ONT.
THE TIMES PRINT. ^895.
Entered acecdi-g to Act o ^^ ^^ ^^^^^„,,„,,.
J. Wilkinson, Publisher, a
St Thomas, Ont„ May 10, 1900.
T'
IK ANNUAL MEETING
OF THE
WILL BE HELD ON
MONDAY, MAY 14th, 1900,
At 8 p. 111., ill Judge Ermatinger's office, at the Court
House, St. Thomas.
A Paper will be read by Jas. H. Coyne, Esq., on Col. Talbot's first visit to the County of Elgin in 1801.
Election of officers and other important business will be transacted.
Full attendance requested.
JAS. A. BELL, MISS McCARTNEV,
President, Secretary.
"or\Td to thl'^ Provincial Government St Thnm2« ^ proposed monument at tot. Thomas an important error Vnl«^- which s likely to if-qd t^ ° • ^^*^prs, etarrun*^ . v^ \^^ ^^^&^to misunder-
stand infi".
The state.^ to be a monu correct, orate the tiement, ^• thing. Tm no less tha now the C Middlesex ^ were the mex, , large proporti these countl ' <3uty, and it who enjoy ray proper centehnia'
CO
.^^^*J^^ memorial Is
I to q?N^ Talbot is not
tentloiTs toWimem-
lal of the TaS^^t set-
aiKr^f o^^w"^ aViifferent
albot sef>4^\nent^ioIuded
^ ln\5>W are
K^ Efgin,
, Its pkineera
from whom a
population ot
rJded. It is a
tleasure. to us.
or
f?o^ «'e""be'iinn^r/ai'?\."^"^-^<>««l of the meinSILlT^J'' ^*^^ Purpose misunderstanding u^on %ki^''"^^ ^^ no I though thG newsnanp^ S. ^^*f ^^^^"^ al- I appears to hrve ^^ee/ ^°JV^f^^ I
(erroneous imDres<,fnt^»,^f^^'' "Po" an ' ment was S be tn V.^^ ^ ^ ^^« monu-
monument is to b? ?o Vh<?n-^°'- '^*^« the settlement rt i« /^"^ Pioneers of the centennial of thf ^^ ^commemorate i^e Talbot settlement '^^^^S^^^-tion of form a part. "^ °^ which we
tJ\V.r'i"e%i?^^ , this letter would taici'T..?''^^ ^*^*^ ^^ad
J'ecessary exDi«n?^i ^^^^^ *° make the , ^ find that there ?s?tm''. ^^^^^^^^^ they '
ins upon thrsubjec" "'^^""^^'•5tana« ^
Chairman Join f^^^' ^^"^^tinger. »t. Thomas, March 18.
/
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( OI.ONKI. TAIJIOT
im!i:ka('e.
Tlio Kl<;iii Historical .iixl Scientific Institute was establisluMl on the 2{)tli (lay of Apii', 1891. One of its pi-incipal objeets is that of collectin<j^ and preserving records and memorials (;f the early history of the Comity of KJoin. The ])nihlic have shown a sympathetic interest in the work. Dy xohnitary eontriljutions the nucleus of a library an<l museum has been foi'med which it is hoped will in time grow to considerable dimensions.
The Institute, in now issuing its first V(jlume, desires to recognize the generous and public spirited action of the Council of the County of Elgin in voting a sum to defray the expenses- of publication.
Persons having old letters, books or manuscripts relating to the early settlement of the County, or any ai-chasological remains of the aboriginal inhabitants, are requested to deposit them with the Institute. If the owners would prefer not to part with the property in such articles, the Institute would be glad to take charge of them as custodian for the owners for such period as the latter may desire.
The special thanks of the Institute are due to the Very Reverend Dean Harris, author of The History of the Early Missions in Western Canada, to the Librarian of the Legislative Assembly for Ontario, and Messrs. D. McColl, ex-M. P. P., H. B. Donly, Richard Locker and others, for courtesies in connection with the preparation and publication of this book.
St. Thomas, June 1st, 1895.
OFFICERS
Elgin Historical and Scientific Institute
1891.
James H. Coyne _ _ _ _ President
Judge Er:\l\tingek _ _ _ _ _ Vice-President
W. H. MuRCH ------ Secretary
J. S. Robertson --_-._ Treasurer
F. Hunt ------- Editor
K. W. McKay ------ Librarian
F]-ank L. Farley - - _ _ - Curator
COUNCIL
J. Wilkinson, W. R. Jackson, J. S. Brierley, A. W.Campbell, and W. Atkin.
1892
Judge Ermatinger - - - - President
Dr. H. H. Way - - - - Vice-President
W. H. MuRCH ----- Secretary
K. W. McKay _ - _ _ Treasurer
J. H. Coyne ----- Editor.
J. W. Stewart - - _ - Curator and Librarian
COUNCIL W. Atkin, J. S. Robertson, W. R. Jackson, A. W. Campbell
J. S. Brierley, J. Wilkinson, F. Hunt. 1893-4.
K. W. McKay - _ _ _ President
W. Atkin - _ ^ - - Vice-President
W. H. MuRCH - - - - Secretary
J. A. Bell ----- Treasurer
J. W. Stewart _ - _ - Librarian and Curator
Judge Ermatinger - - - - Editor
COUNCIL
J. H. Coyne, J. S. Robertson, W. R. Jackson, A. W. Camp- bell, J. S. Brierley, J. Wilkinson, F. Hunt, Dr. Way.
K1.(1IN HISTORICAL AND S(^IKNT1FIC INSTITUTE.
LIST OF mkmukrs.
At.kin, W. ]^)ri(n'ley, J. S. Bell, James A. Coyne, Jas. H. Campbell, A. W. Doyle, Matthew Ermatinger, Judge Ford, N. W. Gilbert, M. A. Glasgow, Chas. Hunt, Frank Hughes, Judge Henderson, Chester Jackson, W. K Jell, H. F. Kains, John A. Murch, W. H.
Moore N. W. Marshall, John McAdam, Jos. McKay, K. W. McKenzie, Geo. McCausland, Jno. McDougall, Colin McLennan, J. C. Oakes, Chas. Robertson, J. S. Stewart, J. W. Stacey, Jno. Suffel, Geo. Sutherland, Peter Wilkinson, J. Way, Dr. H. H.
CONTENTS. _
■
THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
The South wold Earthwork, 1— The Neutrals. De Laroche-Daillon's visit in 1626, 3 — Brebeuf and Chaumonot's Visit in 1640-1, 7 — Champlain's Account of the Neutrals in 1616, 9 — Laleniant's Account of the Neutials in 1641, 12 — The Iroquois attack the Neutrals 1650-1, 18— The Iroquois' Hu>iting (iRound, 20— French Exploration, 21 — Dollier De Casson and Galinee, 1669-70, 21 — Stimu- lating efifect of their exploration, 2o —Kettle Creek (Tonty River), 23, 27, 28 — The Indian Title, -Cession by the Iroquois, 1701, 28 — Cession by the Mississagas, 1784, 29 -Cession by the Chippawas, etc., 1790, 29 — Charle- voix' visit in 1721. Describes the North Shore, 29 — ^The British Occu- pation. Land Board at Detroit, 32 — Patrick McNiff's Exploration. On Lake Erie " Settlement Impossible," 32 — -Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe, .33 — His journey to Detroit, 1793, 34 — Site of London selected for his capital, 33, 34, 36, 39, 42— The Winter-express ; Traders ; Land-hunters, 41 — McNifF's map of the Thames, 1793, 42— Detroit surrendered to the United States, 1796, 34. 38, 43, — Colonel Talbot, 44 — Settles at Port Talbot, 1803, 44 — State of Settlement at that date.
THE TALBOT SETTLEMENT.
Colonel Talbot's birth and ancestry, 1 — Colonel Talbot's early career, 2 — Colonel Talbot and the Duke of Wellington, 2 —Colonel Talbot's arrival in Canada, 1790, 2 — Secretary to Cjovernor Simcoe, 2 — Application for land grant, 1803. 2 — Governor Siiicoe's letter, 3 — Lands comprised in first grant, 4 — Aim and object, 5 — Extent of settlement, 6, — Conditions of settlement, 7 — Roads and road making, 7 — Mode of recording allotments, 8 — \Var of i812-15 raids on settlement, 10, 11, — An early settlef's experiences, 12 — Early prices, 13 — Courts and court houses, 15 — Turkey Point, 15 — Vittoria, 15 — London, 15 — Sandwich, 16— Death of Colonel Talbot, 16.
I
DEVELOPMENT OB^ THE COUNTY OF ELGIN.
Origin of Local Government, 1 — Canada, 5 — Quebec 1763 to 1788, 6— District of Hesse 1788 to 1792, 7— U. E. Loyalists, 8 Western District 1792 to 1798, 9— London District 1800 to 1837, 14 — Organization, 14 — Proceedings of courts 1800, 14— Turkey Point, 36— The London District, 36— Courts, 37— Records, 37— Court of Requests, 37 — Vittoria, 37 — London, 39, County of Middlesex 1837 to 1852, 41— County of Elgin, 43.
Appendix. List of Surveys.
List of Parliamentary Representatives. List of Wardens. Municipal Nomenclature.
Illustrations. Galinee's Map of 1670. Portrait of Colonel Talipot. Portrait of Thomas Locker.
II Wt'Htcrn ('iiniulfv."
a or ihe Hurons." (These lakes were erroneouiily tuppoud to be but one).
ve broke un and [brew into the water." Esskx Prninmula : " Large prairie*."
ktSiuk GkanuKivkk: -lixcellenl land." WiCAr SiukGkami Rivrii (up
i« to be mori: Ibun lOO feet hiKh." I.AKit nNTAKio : " I pM«eiI
1 I give pretty ntciiraiely." Noktii SiioRH : "Mr. Perot's
of Si. Sulpice cstabliiihcd ihetii
I
I
I
I I I I
E
Till-: ('OrNTIIV OK TIIK N KIT HALS.
MY
JAMKS H. (M)YNK.
In that part of the townslnji of Southwold iricluded in tlie poninsiila between Talbot Creek and the most we^sterly b^ind of Kettle Creek there were until a comparatively recent date several Indian earthworks, which were well-known to the pioneers of the Talbot Settlement. What the tooth of time had spared for more than two centuries yielded however to the settler's plough and harrow, and but one or two of these inter- esting reminders of an almost forgotten race remain to gratify the curiosity of the archaeologist or of the historian. Fortun- atel3% the most important of all is still almost in its original con- dition. It is that, which has become known to readers of the Transactions of the Canadian Institute as the Southwold Earth- work. It is situated on the farm of Mr. Chester Henderson, Lot dumber Four North on Talbot Road East. Mr. David Boyle in the Archaeological Reports printed in 1891 has given the results of his examinations of the mounds. A carefully pre- pared plan made from actual survey by Mr. A. W. Campbell, C. E., for the Elgin Historical and Scientific Institute of St. Thomas, was presented by the latter to the Canadian Institute- (a) These will together form a valuable, and, it is hoped, a per- manent record of this interesting memorial of the aboriginal in- habitants of South-western Ontario.
The writer of this paper has been acqaainted with "the old fort," as it was called, since the year 1867. At that time it was in the midst of the forest. Since then the woods have been cleared away, except within the fort and north of it. Indeed, a considerable number of trees have been felled withni the south ern part of the enclosure. In the mounds themselves trees are abundant, and there are many in the moat or ditch between. The stumps of those which have been cut down are so many chronological facts, from which the age of the fort may be con-
(a) Mr. J. H. Scott, of St. Thomas, has made a number of photographs of th^ mounds at the instance of an American lady, who, it is understood, will repro" duce them in a work about to be published by her.
THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
jectured with some approach to accuracy. A maple within the enclosure exhibits 242 rings of annual growth. It was probably the oldest tree within the walls. A maple in tlie outer em- bankment shows 197 rings ; between the inner and outer walls a beech stump shows 219 rings, and an elm 266, Many of the trees were cut down a good many years ago. Judging from these stumps, it would be safe to calculate the age of the forest at about two hundred years, with here and there a tree a little older. Thf. area enclosed is level. In the field south there are numerous hummocks formed by the decayed stumps of -fallen trees. The walls were manifestly thrown up from the outside. There is an exception on the south-east. Here the ground out- side was higher, and to get the requisite elevation the earth was thrown up on both walls from the intervening space, as well as on the exterior wall from the outside. Each of the walls runs completely round the enclosure, except where the steep bank of the little stream was utilized to eke out the inner wall for five or six rods on the west side, as shewn on the plan. Opposite the south end of this gap was the original entrance through the outer wall. The walls have been cut through in one or two other places, doubtless by settlers hauling timber across them.
The writer accompanied Mr. Campbell on his visits in the spring and fall of 1891. The members of the Elgin Historical and Scientific Institute made a pretty thorough examination of a large ash-heap south-east of the fort. It had, however, been frequently dug into during the last score or two of years, with ample results, it is said, in the way of stone implements of various kinds. There still remained, however, arrow-heads and chippings of flint, stones partially disintegrated from the action of heat, fragments of pottery whose markings showed a very low stage of artistic development, fish scales, charred maize and bones of small animals, the remains of aboriginal banquets. Within the enclosure, corn-cobs were found by digging down through the mould, and a good specimen of a bone needle, well smoothed, but without any decoration, was turned up in the bed of the little stream where it passes through the fort.
The original occupants were manifestly hunters, fishermen and agriculturists, as well as warriors. Nothing appears to have been found in the neighborhood, pointing to any intercourse be- tween them and any European race.
TllK (HU'NTUY (»K Till': NKlvpitAl-S.
It would si'cin that the cartli-woi'k was c'onstructcd in the midst of Ji l.ir^c chMirin^', and that tht3 forost ^rew u|) after the (lisa,})jH'arance of the oeeupaiits. A few sapliuj^s, lujwever, may have been ])ermitted to .sprin«j^ up (hiriii*; their oeeupaucy for the sake of tlie shelter they mi^ht atlbi-vl. These are repre- sented by the oKlest stumps above mentioned.
The (juestion, who were the builders, is an interesting one. To answer it we need not go back to a remoter period than the middle of the seventeenth century, when the Iroquois after destroying the Huron Settlements turned their attention to the southwest, and the Neutral Nation ceased to exist. The enclosure was, we may reasonably believe, a fortified village of the Neutrals at the time of their evacuation of this province, nearly a quarter of a millennium ago.
Substantially all that is known of the Neutrals is to be found in Champlain's works, Sagard's History, the Relations and Jour- nal of the Jesuits, and Sanson's map of 1656. A digest of the information contained therein is given in the following pages. The writer has availed himself of one or two other works for some of the facts mentioned. Mr. Benjamin Suite's interesting and learned articles on " Le pays des grands lacs au XVIIe Siecle" in that excellent magazine, "Le Canada Francais," have been most valuable in this connection.
The first recorded visit to the Neutrals was in the winter of 1626, by a RecoUet father, De Laroche-Daillon. His ex- periences are narrated by himself, and Sagard, who includes the narrative in his history, supplements it with one or tw^o addi- tional facts.
In company with the Jesuit Fathers Brebeuf and De Noue, Daillon left Quebec with the purpose of visiting and converting the Hurons, who were settled in villages between the Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe. After the usual hardships, journeying by canoe and portage, b^^ w^ay of the Ottawa and French Rivers, they arrived at their destination. The ill-fated Brule told won- derful stories of a nation, whom the French called the Neutrals, and Father Joseph Le Caron wrote Daillon urging him to con- tinue his journey as far as their country.
He set out accordingly on the 18th October, 1626, w^ith tw^o
THE COUNTY OF THE NEUTRALS
other Frenchmen, Grenolle and La Vallee. Passing through the territory occupied by the Tobacco Nation, he met one of their chiefs, who not merely ottered his services as guide, but fur- nished Indian porters to carry their packs arid their scanty pro- visions. They slept five nights in the woods, and on the sixth day arrived at the village of the Neutrals. In this as well as in four other villages which they visited, they were hospitably entertained with presents of food, including venison, pumpkins, "neintahouy," and "the best they had." Their dress excited the astonishment of their Indian hosts, who were also surprised that the missionary asked nothing from them but that they should raise their eyes to heaven, and make the sign of the cross.
What excited raptures of admiration, however, according to his narrative was to see him retire for prayer at certain hours of the day; for they had never seen any priests beyond passing glimpses when visiting amongst the neighboring Hurons and Tobacco Indians.
At the sixth village, Ounontisaston, in which Daillon had been advised to take up his abode, a counci- was held at his instance. He observes that the councils are called at the will of the chiefs, and held either in a wigwam or in the open air, the audience being seated oq the ground ; that silence is preserved w^hilst a chief is addressing the assembly, and that what they have once concluded and settled is inviolably observed and performed by them.
Dai Hon explained that he had come on the part of the French to make alliance and friendship with them and to invite them to come and trade, and begged them to permit him to stay in their country "to instruct them in the laws of our God, which is the only means of going to Paradise." They agreed to all he proposed and in return for his gifts of knives and other trifles, they adopted him as "citizen and child of the country," and as a mark of great affection entrusted him to the care of Souharissen. who became his father and host. The latter was, according to Daillon, the chief of the greatest renown and authority tliat had ever been known in all the nations, being chief not only of his own village, but of all those of his nation, to the number of twenty-eight, besides several little hamlets of seven to eight cabins built in different places convenient for fishing, hunting, or
•nii; ("OUNTV OK TIIK \Ktri{M.S.
cultix atin^;- t\\v oround. Souli.uis.si'ii had aiMjuircil Ins absolute ami cxt r.ioivlinaiy authority by his c'ourjin^c ami his su(;c(^ss in \\ai-. lie had bei'U soviu'al timers at war with the sc^voiitecri tribi's, who wiM'c the (Mii'iuics of his rare;, ami Iroiu all ho had b]\)U»j^]it back the heads oi" th;)S(' he had slain, or [)risoners taken alive, as tokens of his pi-owcss. His authoi'ity was without exaniple anion<^st other tribes.
The Neutrals are repc^rted by Daillon as bein<j^ very warlike, armed onl}^ with war-club and bow, and dexterous in their use. His companions having gone back, the missionary i^emained alone, "the happiest man in the world," seeking to advance the glory of God and to find the mouth of tho river of the Iroquois, (probably the Niagara,) in order to conduct the savages to the French trading posts. He visited them in their huts, found them very manageable and learned their customs. He remarked that there were no deformed people amongst them. The children, who were sprightly, naked and unkempt, were taught by him to make the sign of the Holy Cross.
The natives w^e.re willing that at least four canoes should go to trade if he would conduct them, but nobody knew the way. Yroquet, an Indian known in the country, who had come hunting with twenty of his tribe and secured five hundred beaver skins, declined to give him any indication of the mouth of the river; but he ao^reed with several Hurons in assurmo; Daillon that a journey of ten days would take him to the trading post The missionary, however, w^as afraid of taking one river for another and getting lost or perishing of hunger.
For three months he was treated with kindness. Then the Hurons became jealous lest the trade should be diverted from them. They accordingly circulated rumors through every village, that Daillon was a great magician, that he had poisoned the air in their country, and many had died ir. consequence, that if he was not killed soon, he would burn up their villages and kill their children, with other stories as extraordinary and alarming about the entire French nation. The Neutrals were easily influenced by the reports. Daillon's life was in danger on more than one occasion. The rumor reached Brebeuf and De Noue, that he had been killed. They at once despatched Grenolle to ascertain the truth, with instructions to bring Daillon back if alive. He acquiesced, and returned to the Huron country. '
THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
He speaks of a Neutral village called Ouaroronon, one dav's journey from the Iroquois, the people of which came to trade at Ounontisaston. Their village was the last of the Neutral villages, and was probably east of the Niagara River.
Daillon, like every other traveller, was charmed with the Neutral country, w^hich he pronounces incomparably greater, more beautiful and better than any other "of all these countries." He notes the incredible number of deer, the native mode of taking them by driving them into a gradually narrowing enclosure, their practice of killing every animal they find whether they needed it or not. The reason alleged was that if they did not kill all, the beasts that escaped would tell the others how they had been chased, so that afterwards when the Indians need ed game it would be impossible to get near it. He enumerates moose, beaver, wild-cats, squirrels larger than those of France, bustards, turkeys, cranes, etc., as abundant, and remaining in the country through the winter. The winter was shorter and milder than "in Canada." No snow had fallen by the 22nd November. The deepest was not more than two and a half feet. Thaw set in on the 26th of January. On the 8th March the snow was gone from the open places, but a little still lingered in the woods. The streams abounded in very good fish. The ground produced more corn than was needed, besides pumpkins, beans and other veg3tables in abundance, and excellent oil. He expresses his surprise that .the Merchants' Company had not sent some Frenchman to winter in the Country ; for it would be very easy to get the Neutrals to trade and the direct route would be much shorter than that by way of French River and the Georgian Bay. He describes the Neutrals' country as being nearer than the Huron to the French, and as being on one side of the lake of the Iroquois (Lake Ontario) whilst the Iroquois were on the other. The Neutrals, however, did not understand the management of canoes, especially in the rapids, of which there were only two, but long and dangerous. Their proper trade was hunting^^and war. They were very lazy and immoral. Their manners and customs were very much the same as those of the Hurons. Their language was different, but the members of the two nations understood one another They went entirely unclad.
Sagard adds that "according to the opinion of some," the
TIIK COINTUY Ol" TIIK NKl'IUALS.
Neutrals' counlrv was ci^^lity Icji^ucs (about 200 miles) in extent, ami that they laised very ^ood tobacco which they traded with their neighbors. They were called Neutrals on account of their neutrality between the Hurons and the Irotjuois; but they were allies of the Cheveux Releves (the Ottawas) a*j^ainst their mortal eneniies of the Nation of Fire. Sa^ard wuh dissuaded by some members of the French tradin^r ccjmpany from attempting to brin<)^ about a peace between the Hurons and the Iro(piois. It was supposed that this would divert the trade of the Hurons from Quebec by sending it through the Iroquois country to the Dutch of the Hudson River. At so early a date did the question of closer trade relations between the territories north and south of the lakes agitate the minds of statesmen and men of commerce.
In the winter of 1640-1, the Jesuit missionaries, Brebeuf and Chaumonot traversed the country of the Neutrals. The former composed a dictionary showing the differences between the kindred dialects of the Hurons and Neutrals. Chaumonot made a map of the country, wdiicli is not extant, but there is reason for believing that it was the authority for the delineation of the territory on Sanson's map of 1656 and Ducreux's Latin map of 1660. From the facts hereinafter detailed it is highly probable that they reached the Detroit River, and that they visited and named the Neutral village of which the Southwold Earthwork is the memorial. The first printed map in which Lake Erie is shown was made b}^ N. Sanson d 'Abbeville, geographer in ordinary to the King, and printed in Paris, wdth "privilege du Roy" for tw^enty years, in the year 1656. It is a map of eastern North America. The sources of information are stated in general terms, which may be translated as follows: "The most northerly portion iicdraw^n from the various Relations "of the English, Danes, etc. Towards the south the coasts of "Virginia, New Sweden, New Netherlands and New England "are drawn from those of the English, Dutch, etc. The Great "River of Canada, or of St. Lawrence and all the neighboring "regions (environs) are according to the Relations of the French."
Now, we know that Father Raymbault visited Sault Ste. Marie in 1641 and mapped Lake Superior, and that Father Chaumonot in the same year rendered the same service for the
8 THE COUNTY OF THE NEUTRALS,
Neutral Country. Sanson's map is fairl}^ accurate for the upper lakes, when compared with some maps published at much later periods when the lakes liad become tolerably well known to traders and travellers. It shows an acquaintance with the pfeneral contour of Lakes Erie. St. Clair and Huron, with several of the streams emptying into Lakes Erie and Huron on both the Canadian and the American sides, with the names of tribes inhabiting both shores, and with the locations of five towns of the Neutrals, besides some towns of the Tobacco Nation. The Neutral towns are given as S. Francois, (north-east of Sarnia) S. Michel, (a little east of Sandwich), S. Joseph, (apparently in the county of Kent), Alexis, (a few miles west of a stream, which flows into Lake Erie about midway between the Detroit and Niagara Rivers, and wdiere the shore bends farthest inland), (6) and N. D. des Anges (on the West bank of a considerable river, probably the Grand River, near where Brantford now stands). The Detroit and Niagara Rivers and four streams flowing into Lake Erie between them are shown but not named. The great cataract is called "Ongiara Sault." The name Ongiara may, however, be that of the Neutral village east of the Falls. Lake St. Clair is called Lac des Eaux de Mer, or Sea-water Lake, possibly from the mineral springs in the neighborhooil. The country of the Tobacco Nation includes the Bruce peninsula and extends from the Huron country on the east to Lake Huron on the west, and Burlington Bay on the southeast. The Neutral Country {Neutre ou Attiouandarons) would embrace the whole of southwestern Ontario south of a line draw^n from the west end of Lake Ontario to a stream which flows into Lake Huron about midway between Point Edward and Cape Hurd, and which is probably the Maitland River. Th<3 tribes to the south of the lakes are indicated from the Niagara River to Lake Superior. The Eries or " Eriechronons, ou du Chat," are south-east of Lake Erie ; the ' Ontarraronon" are west of what is probably the Cuyahoga River; at the soutliwest of the lake appear the "Squenqioronon;" west of the Detroit River are the "Aictaer- onon;" west of Port Huron the "Couarronon;" Huron County in
{d) Alexis corresponds with the actuul position of the Southwohl Earthwork, •and the stream with that of Kettle Creek.
TlIK CorNTIlY OK TIIK N Kl'TltALS.
MirliiiiMn is occupiiMl hy tlic "Ariaotocronon ;" at tlie head of Sa|j;inji\v Way mikI extending southward tlu'ouoh Michi<j^aii are the "Assistaeronons on du 1^\mi ;" in the peiiinsida extending nortli to Mac'kinae are the "Oukouarararonons ;" heyoud theiri Lake Michigan a.j)}K'ars as "Lac de I'uans:" tlieu eonio the northern peniiisuhi and "Lac Superieur." Manitoidin Island is marked "Chi^veux Releves ;" the old Frencli name for the Ottawas. The Tobacco Nation called "N. du Petun on Sanhionontatelieronons" includes villages of "8. Simon et S.. lude" in the Bruce promontory, "S. Pierre " near the south end of the County of Bruce, and "S. Pol," southwest of a lake which may be Scugog.
To return to the narratives, these :tgree in stating that the Neutrals, like their kinsmen of the Huron, Tobacco and Iroquois Nations, were a numerous and sedentary race living in villages and cultivating their fields of maize,' tobacco and pumpkins. They w^ere on friendly terms with the eastern and northern tribes, but at enmity with those of the west, especially the Nation of Fire, against whom they were constantly sending out w-ar parties. By the western tribes it w^ould appear that those w^est of the Detroit River and Lake Huron are invariably meant.
Champlain refers to the Neutrals in 1616 as a powerful nation, holding a large extent of country, and numbering 4,000 warriors. Already they w^ere in alliance with the Cheveux Releves (the Ottawas), whom he visited in the Bruce Peninsula,, against the Nation of Fire. He states that the Neutrals lived tw^o days' journey southward of the Cheveux Releves, and the Nation of Fire ten days from the latter. The Nation of Fire occupied part of wdiat is now^ Michigan, probably as far east as the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers.
Describing his visit to the Cheveux Releves, he adds: — "I had "a great desire to go and see that Nation (the Neutrals), had not "the tribes where we were dissuaded me from it, saying that "the year before one of ours had killed one of them, beir\g at w^ar "with the Entouhoronons (the Senecas), and that they were "angry on account of it, representing to us that they are ver}^ "subject to vengeance, not Iooki)ig to those who dealt the blow, "but the first whom they meet of the nation, or even their
10
THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS
"frienclH, they make them bear the penalty, when tliey can catch "any of them unless beforehand peace had been made with them, "and one had given them some gifts and presents for the "relatives of the deceased; which prevented me for the tin)e "from going there, although some of that nation assured us that "they would do us no harm for that. This decided us, and "occasioned our returning by the same road as we had come, and "continuing my journey, I found the nation of the Pisierinij etc."
Brebeuf, who reckonevl the Hurons at more than 80,000, describes the Neutrals in 1 634 as much more numerous than the former. The Relation of 1641 gives them at least 12,000, but adds that notwithstanding the wars, famine and disease (small pox), which since three years had prevailed in an extraordinary degree, the country could still furnish 4,000 warriors, the exact number estimated by Champlain a quarter of a century earlier. The name of the Neutrals is vai'iously given as Attikadaron, Atiouandaronk, Attiouandaron, Attiwandaronk, but the last is the more common. The name signified "people who spoke a slightly different dialect," and the Hurons were known to the Neutrals by the same name. The latter are mentioned in the Relations as one of the twelve nunierous and sedentary nations who spoke a common language with the Hurons. The Oueanohronons formed " one of the nations associated with the Neutral Nation." They are afterwards calle*! in the same Relation (1639) the Wenrohronons, and are said to have lived on the borders of the Iroquois, more than eighty leagues from the Huron country. So long as they were on friendly terms with the Neutrals they were safe from the dreaded Iroquois ; but a misunderstanding having arisen between them, they were obliged to flee in order to avoid extermination by the latter. They took refuge, more than 600 m all, with the Hurons, and were received in the most friendly and hospitable manner.
The Relation of 1640 speaks of a Huron map communicated by Father Paul Ragueneau in which a large number of tribes, most of them acquainted with the Huron language, are shown, including the Iroquois, the Neutrals, the Eries, etc. The "Mission of the Apostles" was established among the Tobacco
Note. — This is a literal translation, and shows the crudity of Champlain's sailor style of composition.
TllK ("OrNTRY OK THK NKUTKALS 11
Nation by (JarniiM- and .lo^jjues in 1040. N'uw. villa<,a's visito<J by tluMM wore iMi(l()W('(l 1)\^ the missionaries with the names of apostles, two of whicli aiv ^iv(Mi in Sanson's map of l(>5(). (c) In one 'i)onr<;" ealled 8. Thomas, they baptized a boy live years old belonnrinir to the Neutral Nation, who died innnediately afterwards. 'He saw himself straightway out of banish- nieia and happy in his own country." The famine had driven his parents to the village of the Tobacco Nation. The devoted missionaries add, that this was the first fruits of the Neutral nation.
In the fall of the same year "The Mission of the Angels" was begun among the Neutrals. The lot fell upon Jean de Brebeuf and Joseph Marie Chaumonot. The former was the pioneer of the Jesuit Mission. He had spent three years among the Hurons from 1626 to 1629, and, after the restoration of Canada to the French by Charles I., he had returned in 1684 to the scene of his earlier labors. His associate had only come from France the year before. Brebeuf w^as distinguished for his mastery of the native tongues, and Chaumonot had been recognized as an apt student of languages. The plan of the Jesuits was to establish in the new mission a fixed and per- manent residence, which should be the " retreat " of the mission- aries of the surrounding country, as Ste. Marie was of those of the Huron mission.
Lalemant from their report describes the Neutral Nation as exceedingly populous, including about forty villages ("bourgs ou bourgades.") The nearest villages were four or five days' journey or about forty leagues (100 miles) distant from the Hurons, going due south. He estimates the difference in latitude between Ste. Marie and the nearest village of the Neutrals to the south at about 1 °55\ Elsewhere the distance is spoken of as about thirty leagues.
From the first "bourg," going on to the south or south- w^est (a mistake for south-east it w^ould seem,) it was about four days' journey to the mouth of the Niagara River. On this side of the
{c) The principal "bourg" was Ehwae, surnamed S. Pierre et S. Paul. If S. Pierre on Sanson's map is the same place, this must have been near the southern end of the county of Bruce. The other village or mission shown on the map is S. Simon et S lude.
12 THE COUXTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
river, and not beyond it, as " some map " lays it down, (Cham- plain's, doubtless,) were most of the "bourgs " cTf the Neutral Nation. There were three or four on the other side towards the Eries. Lalemant claims, and there is no doubt as to the fact, that the French were the first Europeans to become acquainted with the Neutrals. The Hurons and Iroquois were sworn enemies to each other, but in a Avigwam or even a camp of the Neutrals until recently each had been safe from the other's vengeance.
Latterly however the unbridled fury of the hostile nations had not respected even the neutral ground of their mutual, friends. Friendly as they were to the Hurons and Iroquois, the Neutrals engaged in cruel wars w^ith other nations to the west, particularly the Nation of Fire, as has been stated above. The previous year a hundred prisoners had been taken from the latter tribe. This year, returning with 2,000 warriors, the Neutrals had carried off more tham 170. Fiercer than the Hurons, they burned their female prisoners. Their clothing and mode of living differed but little from those of the Hurons. They had Indian corn, beans and pumpkins in equal abundance. Fish were abundant, different species being met with in different places. The country was a famous hunting ground. Elk, deer, wild cats, wolves, "black beasts" (squirrels) beaver and other animals valuable for their skins and flesh, were in abundance. It was a rare thing to see more than half a foot of snow. This year there was more than three feet. The deep snow had facilitated the hunting, and, in happy contrast with the famine which had prevailed, meat was plentiful. They had also niulti- tudes of wild turkeys which went in flocks through the fields and woods. Fruits were no more plentiful than amongst the Hurons, except that chestnuts abounded, and wild apples were a little larger.
Their manners and customs, and family and political govern- ment, were very much like those of the other Indian tribes, but they were distinguished from the Hurons by their greater dissoluteness and indecency. On the other hanci th<y were taller, stronger and better formed.
Their burial customs were peculiar, although similar customs are reported at this day amongst some African tribes. The bodies remained in their wigwams until decomposition rendered
TlIK OOrNTRV OK THK NKUTKAI.S. 13
them iiisiipportahlc, when tlicy wovo put, outside, on a scafVoM. S )()n aftej-w ar«l, the hones were i'(!iuov(sl au<l aiTan;4-e(l within their liouses on botli sides in sij^ht of the iinnates, where they ronia.ine<l initil the feast of tli(i dead. Kavinj^ these nnjui'iiful ohjeets hefore their eyes, tlie women habitually indul^e(l in cries and laments, in a. kind of chant
'Pile Neutrals were distini^uished for the multitude and (piality of their madmen, who were a privileged class. Hence it was common for ba<l Indians to assume the character of maniacs in order to perpetrate crimes without fear of punishment. The Jesuits suffered very much from their malice. Some old men told them that the Neutrals used to carry on war "towards" a certain western nation, who would seem to have lived on the Gulf of Mexico, where the " porcelain, which are the pearls of the countr\%" was obtained from a kind of oysters. It is an undoubte<;l fact that a traffic was carrie(i on with tribes as far south as the Gulf of Mexico, from wdiom shells used for wampum were obtained by successive interchanges of com- modities with intervening tribes. They had also some vague notion of alligators, which are apparently referred to by the des- cription, " certain aquatic animals, larger and sw^ifter than elk," against which these same people had "a kind of war," the details of which are somewhat amusing, as given by Lalemant.
The two Jesuits left Ste. Marie the 2nd November, 1640, with two French servants (probably " donnes,") and an Indian. They slept four nights in the woods. The fifth day they arrived at the first village ("bourg") of the Neutra? Nation called Kandoucho, but to which they gave the name of All Saints. This is probably the same as N. D. des Anges on Sanson's map, and was not far perhaps from the site of Brantford.
Owing to the unfavorable reports w^hich had been spread through the country about the Jesuits, the latter were anxious to explain their purposes to a council of the chiefs and old men. The head chief, "who managed the affairs of the public" was called Tsohahissen (doubtless the same as Daillon's Souharissen). His "bourg" was "in the middle of the country;" to reach it, one had to pass through several other villages (" bourgs et bourgades.") In Sanson's map, Alexis is placed almost exactly "in the middle of the country " of the Neutrals. No other village is marked on the
14 THE COUNTRY OF THE NTEUTRALS
map, to wliioh the expression could be applied. Its situation nearly midway between the Detroit & Niagara Rivers, a few miles west of a stream which flows into Lake Erie just where the mouth of Kettle Creek would appear in a map of our own century, corresponds with that of the Southwold earthwork. Was the latter the Neutrals' capital? We can only conjecture; but the evidence of the Relations, the map and the forest growth, all points to an aflirmative answer. There is a strong probability that it was here Tsohahissen reigned (if the expres- sion is allowable in reference to an Indian potentate) as head chief of the forty Neutral villages. Through the western gate, doubtless, his warriors set out to wage their relentless warfare against the Nation of Fire. Within these mounds, returning satiated with blood, they celebrated their savage triumph, adorned with the scalps of their enemies.
Brebeuf's Huron surname " Echon " had preceded him. He was regarded as "one of the most famous sorcerers and demons ''ever imagined." Several Frenchmen had travelled through the country before him, purchasing furs and other commodities. These had smoothed the way for the Jesuits. Under the pretext of being traders, Brebeuf's party succeeded in making their way in spite of all obstacles interposed. They arrived at the head- chief's village, only to find that he had gone on a war party and would not return until spring. The missionaries sought to negotiate with those who administered aflairs in his absence. They desired to publish the Gospel throughout these lands, " and '' thereby to contract a particular alliance with them." In proof of their desire, they had brought a necklace of two thousand grains oi "porcelain" or wampum which they wished to present to "the Public." The inferior chiefs refused to bind themselves in any way by accepting the present, but gave the missionaries leave, if they would wait until the chief of the country returned, to travel freely and give such instruction as they pleased. Nothing could have suited the fathers better. First however they decided to return in their steps and reconduct their domestics out of the country. Then they would resume their journey for the second time, and " begin their function." As it had been the servants however, who had acted the part of traders, this pretext was now wanting to the Jesuits. They
THK COrNTKY OK THK NEIITRAIJS. 15
siillcnMl every where iVoiii the malicious repoi'ts wliicli hjul been ciri*uhit(Ml as to their purposes in visiting the nation and the acts of sorcery with wliich tliey were charged. The Hurons of the Geor<ri«'in I^mv alarn»e(l for the monopoly they had hitherto enjoye(l and jealous of th<' French traders, had sent emissaries amon<i^st the Neutrals to poison their minds a<(ainst the adventurous travellers, by tlie most extraordinary calumnies.
For these reports tw^o Huron Indians Aouenhokoui and Oentara were especially responsible. They had visited several villa<jjes, presented hatchets in the name of the Huron chiefs and old men, and denounced their white visitors as sorcerers who desired to destroy the Neutrals by means of presents. These representations were so effectual that a council was at length held by the chiefs and the present formally refused, although permission to preach w^as granted.
From village to village they pas^ced, but everywhere the doors w^ere barred to them. Hostile looks greeted them wherever they went. No sooner did they approach a village than the cry resounded on all sides " Here come the Agwa." This was the name given by the natives to their greatest enemies. If the priests were admitted into their dwellings at all, it was more frequently from fear of the " sorcerers'" vengeance than for the hope of gain, " God making use of everything in order to nourish his servants."
In the graphic language of Lalemant : "The mere sight of the fathers, in figure and habit so different from their own, their gait, their gestures and their whole deportment seemed to them so many confirmations of what had been told them. The breviaries, ink-stands and w^-itings were instruments of magic; if the Frenchmen prayed to God, it w^as according to their idea simply an exercise of sorcerers. Going to the stream to wash their dishes, it was said they w^ere poisoning the w^ater: it was charged that through all the cabins, wherever the priests passed, the children w^ere seized wdth a cough and bloody flux, and the women became barren. In short, there was no calamity present or to come, of which they were not considered as the source. Several of those with w^hom the fathers took up their abode did not sleep day or night for fear; the}^ dared not touch what had been handled by them, they
16 THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
returned the strangers' presents, regarding everything fis suspicious. The good old women already regarded theniseh^es as lost, and only regretted the fate of their little children, who might otherwitie have been able to repeople the earth."
The Neutrals intimidated thi fathers with rumors of the Senecas, who they were assured were not far otJ* The}^ spoke of killing and eating the missionaries. Yet in the four months of their sojourn Brebeuf and Chaumonot never lacked the necessaries of life, lodging and food, and amidst difficulties and inconveniences better imagined than described they retained their health. Their food supply was bread baked under ashes after the fashion of the country, and which they kept for thirty and even forty days to use in case of need.
" In their journey, the fathers passed through eighteen "villages (hourgs ou bourgades), to all of which they gave a "Christian name, of which we shall make use hereafter on "occasion. They stayed particularly in ten, to which they gave "as much instruction as they could tmd hearers. They report " about 500 Fires and 3,000 persons, which these ten howrgades " may contain, to whom they set forth and published the Gospel." (Lalemant's Relation.) (d)
Disheartened, the fathers decided to return to Kandoucho or All Saints to await the spring. Midway, however, at the village of 1'eotongniaton, or S. Guillaume, (perhaps in the vicinity of Woodstock) the snow fell in such quantities that further progress was impossible. They lodged here in the cabin of a squaw, who entertained them hospitably and instructed them in the language, dictating narratives syllable by syllable as to a school boy. Here they stayed twenty-five days, " adjusted the dictionary and " rules of the Huron language to that of these tribes (the " Neutrals), and accomplished a work which alone was worth a "journey of several years in the country."
Hurons from the mission of La Conception volunteered to go to the relief of the daring travellers. After eight days of travel and fatigue in the woods the priests and the relief party arrived at Ste. Marie on the very day of St. Joseph, patron of the country, in time to say mass, which they had not been able
{d) In another i)lacc it is stated that there were 40 villages of the Neutrals in all.
THK ('(ii'NTUv (iK Tin; mhpkai-s. 17
to say since tlu'ii' (icparluie.
AiiKMii^st th(^ eiirlitccij villa_,a's visllcJ Ity tlicin, only oiio. tliJit of Kliiiu'toa., calliMl by the fathers Saint Michel, ^ave them the audience their embassy mei-ite<l. In this villa<j^e, yearH before, driven by fear of their enemies, had taken refu<j^e a certain foreij^n nation, " which lived beyond Krie or the Cat "Nation," named Aoiienrehronon. It was in this nation that the fathers performed the first baptism of adults. These were probably a portion of the kindred Neutral tril)e referred to above as having fled to the Huron country from the Iro(^uois. Their original home was in the State of New York. Sanson'« map shows S. Michel a little east of where Sandwich now stands.
Owing to their scanty number and the calumnies circulated amongst the Indians respecting the Jesuits of the Huron Mission the latter resolved to concentrate their forces. The Neutral mission was abandoned, but Christian Indians visited the Neutrals in 1643 and spread the faith amongst them with a success w^hich elicits Lalemant's enthusiastic praises. Tow^ards the end of the following winter a band of about 500 Neutrals visited the Hurons. The fathers did not fail to avail themselves of their opportunity. The visitors w^ere instructed in the faith and expressed their regret that their teachers could not return with them. A different reception from that experienced by Brebeuf and Chaumonot three years before was promised.
Lalemant relates that in the summer of 1643, 2,000 Neutrals invaded the country of the Nation of Fire and attacked a village strongly fortified with a palissade, and defended stoutly by 900 warriors. After a ten days' siege, they carried it by storm, killed a large number on the spot, and carried ofi 800 captives, men w^omen and children, after burning 70 of the most warlike and blinding the eyes and "girdling the mouths" of the old men, whom they left to drag out a miserable existence. He reports the Nation of Fire as more populous than the Neutrals, the Hurons and the Iroquois together. In a large number of these villages the Algonkin language w^as spoken. Farther away, it was the prevailing tongue. In remote Algonkin tribes, even at that early day, tliere were Christians who knelt, crossed their hands, turned their eyes heavenward, and prayed to God morning and evening, and before and after their meals ; and the
18 THE COUXTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
best mark of their faith was that they were no longer wicked nor dishonest as they were before. So it was reported to Laleiiiant by trustworthy Hurons who went every year to trade with Algonkin nations scattered over the whole northern part of the continent.
Ragueneau in the Relation of 1648 refers to Lake Erie as being almost 200 leagues in circuit, and precipitating itself by "a "waterfall of a terrible height" nito Lake Ontario, or Lake Saint Louys.
The Aondironnons a tribe of the Neutrals living nearest to the Hurons were treacherously attacked in their village by 300 Senecas, who after killing a number carried as many as possible away with them as prisoners. The Neutrals showed no open resentment but quietly prepared to revenge themselves. A Christian Huron, a girl of fifteen, taken prisoner by the Senecas, escaped from them and made her way to the Neutral country, where she met four men, tsvo of whom were Neutrals and the others enemies. The latter wished to take her back to captivity ; but the Neutrals, claiming that within their country she was no longer in the power of her enemies, rescued her and she returned in safety to Ste. Marie on the Georgian Bay. These incidents were the prelude to the storm which shortly afterward burst.
In 1650 the principal part of the Iroquois forces was directed against the Neutrals. They carried two frontier villages, iu one of which were more than 1600 men, the first at the end of autumn, the second early in the spring of 1651. The old men and cliildren who might encumber them on their homeward journey were massacred. The number of captives was excessive, especially of young women, who were carried off to the Iroquois towns. The other more distant villages were seized with terror. The Neutrals abandoned their houses, their property and their country. Famine pursued them. The survivors became scattered amongst far-oft woods and along unknown lakes and rivers. In wretchedness and want and in constant apprehension of their relentless enemy, they eked out a miserable existence.
The Journal (April 22, 1651) adds that after the destruction of the Neutral village in the previous autumn, the Neutral warriors under the lead of the Taliontaenrat (a Huron tribe) had
THK COTNTUY OK THK NKUTUALS. 10
followed the assailants and kilhMJ or taken 200 of them ; and 1,200 Iro([Uois warriors liad returned in the .sjM'in^ to avenge this disaster. In August a Huron n^ported at Montreal the oa])ture oi* Teot'ondiaton (probably the villat^e in whieh Brebeuf composed his dictionary, and whieh is referred to in the Relation as having' been taken in the sprintr). The condition of the Neutrals was desolate and desperate. In April, 1652, news reached Quebec that they had leatj^ued with the Andastes against the Iroquois, that the Senecas ha i been defeated in a foray against the Neutrals, so that the Seneca v/omen had been constrained to quit their village and retreat to the Oneida country ; also that the Mohawdvs had gone on the war path against the Andastes during the winter, and the issue of the war was unknown. The last of July, 1653, seven Indians from the Huron country arrived at Quebec and reported a great gathering near Mackinac of all the Algonkin nations' with the remains of the Tobacco and Neutral Nations at A^otonatendie three days above the Sault Ste. Marie (Skia^e) towards the south. The Tobacco Indians had wintered at Tea^onto'rai ; the Neutrals to the number of 800 at Sken'chio^e towards Teo'chanontian. These were to rendezvous the next fall with the Algonkins, w^ho were already on the spot to the number of 1,000.
This is probably the last we hear of the Neutrals under their own name. Some of the survivors united with the remnant of the Hurons at Mackinac and on Lake Superior ; and under the name of the Hurons and Wyandots they appear from time to time on the page of history. Their removal to Detroit on the establishment of the latter trading post by Cadaillae, is perpetu- ated by the name of Wyandotte, to the south of the City of the Serai ts.
Parkman mentions the circumstance that an old chief named Kenjockety, wdio claimed descent from an adopted prisoner of the Neutral Nation, w^as recently living among the Senecas of Western New York.
It is stated in the " History of the County of Middlesex" that over 60 years ago, "Edouard Petit, of Black River, discovered the ruins of an ancient building on the Riviere aux Sables, about 40 miles from Sarnia. Pacing the size, he found it to have been 40x24 feet on the ground. On the middle of the south or gable
20 THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
end, was a chimney eighteen feet higli, in excellent preservation, built of stone, with an open fire place. The tire place had sunk below the surface. This ruin had a garden surrounding it, ten or twelve rods wide by twenty rods in length, marked by ditches and alleys. Inside the walls of the house a splendid oak had grown to be three feet in diameter, with a stem sixty feet high to the first bi-anch. It seemed to be of second growth, and must have been 150 years reaching its proportions as seen in 1828-9."
This must have been the mission of S. Francois shown on ^Sanson's map.
THE IROQUOIS' HUNTING GROUND.
After the expulsion of the Neutrals, the north shore of Lake Erie remained an unpeopled wilderness until the close of the last century. The unbroken forest teemed with deer, racoons, foxes, wolves, bears, squirrels and wild turkeys. Millions of pigeons darkened the sky in their seasons of migration. For generations after the disappearance of the Neutrals, the Iroquois resorted to the region in pursuit of game. The country was described in maps as "Chasse de Castor des Iroquois," the Iroquois' beaver ground. Numerous dams constructed by these industrious little animals still remain to justify the description.
The French built forts at Detroit, Niagara and Toronto to intercept the beaver traffic, which otherwise might be shared by the English on the Hudson and Mohawk rivers ; but for nearly a hundred and fifty 3'ears no settlement was attempted on the north shore. References to the region are few and scanty. Travellers did not penetrate into the country. Coasting along the shore in canoes on their way to Detroit, they landed as rarely as possible for shelter or repose. There were forest paths well k)iown to the Indians, by which they portaged their canoes and goods from one water stretch to another. One of these led from the site of Dundas to a point on the Grand River near Cainsville ; another from the latter stream to the 1'hames River near Woodstock; and a third from the upper waters of the Thames to Lake Huron. Besides these, there was a trail from the Huntly farm in South wold on the River Thames (Lot 11,
TIIK COHNTRY OK TllK NKUTUaKS. 21
Con. I,) to the luoutli of Koitlc CvHick ; and a fifth from the Rondoau to M'Ciro<j^()r's Civok near C^hatliani. 'J'lie.se were tliorou«^lifares of travel and of sucli i-ndi; coinnuM-ce as was car- ried on by tlie sava<^cs with their French and Kn^^dish nei^hlxjrs.
THE FRENCH EXPLORATION.
JoHet was tlie first Frenclnnan to descend Lake Erie from Detroit. He ha«l been sent by 'J'alon to investigate the
copper mines of Lake Superior. He returned to Quebec in the autunni of 1G69 by way of tlie lower lakes, instead of taking the usual route by the French River and the Ottawa. At the mouth of Kettle Creek he hid his canoe. 'J'hence he portaged, doubtless by the well-known trails to the Thames and Grand rivers, until hi reached Burlington Bay. (e).
At the Seneca village of Tinaouatoua, midwa}' between the Bay and the Grand River, he met La Salle and the Sulpician priests, Dollier de Casson and Galinee on their way to Lake Erie and the Ohio River. The result of the meeting and of the information given by Joliet was that the priests altered their purpose and decided to proceed to Sault Ste. Marie and then to the Pottamatamies, where they would establish their mission: whilst La Saile, who evidently was dissatisfied with his com- panions, went back with Joliet and, it is now pretty generally believed, discovered the Ohio by journeying overland from the Seneca villages south of Lake Ontario during the winter or the following spring. Joliet gave the missionaries a description of his route, from which Galinee was able to make a map which was of great assistance in the further progress of their ex- pedition, (f). The priests descended the Grand River to Lake Erie, and wintered at the forks of Patterson's Creek, where Port Dover now stands. After a sojourn of five months and eleven days, during which they were visited in their cabin by Iroquois beaver hunters, they proceeded westward along the north shore of the lake. Losing one of their canoes in a storm, they were obliged to divide their party. 7our men with the luggage proceeded in the two remaining canoes. Five of the party, including apparently the two priests, made the wearisome
{e) This is the most probable inference from the facts stated by Galinee.
(/) Galinee's map is reproduced in Faillon's Histoire de la Colonie Prancaise.
22 THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
journey on foot from Long Point all the way to the mouth of Kettle Creek, where on the tenth of April, 1670, they found Joliet's canoe, and the party was reunited for the rest of the long journey to the Sault. Upon leaving their winter abode however the whole party had first proceeded to the lake shore, and there on the 23rd March 1670, being Passion Sunday^ planted a cross, as a memorial of their long sojourn, and offered a prayer. The official record is as follows :
" We the undersigned certify that we have seen affixed on the "lands of the lake called Erie the arms of the King of France "with this inscription: The year of salvation 1660, Clement " IX. being seated in St. Peter's chair, Louis XIV. reigning in " France, M. de Courcelle being governor of New France, and " M. Talon being intendant therein for the King, there arrived in " this place two missionaries from MoT\treal accompanied by seven " other Frenchmen, who, the first of all European peoples, have " wintered on this lake, of which, as of a territory not occupied, " they have taken possession in the name of their King by the " apposition of his arms, which they have attached to the foot of "this cross. In witness whereof we have signed the present
"certificate."
"FRANCOIS DOLLIER, " Priest of the Diocese of Nantes in Brittany. "DE GALINEE, "Deacon of the Diocese of Rennes in Brittany."
Galinee grows enthusiastic over the abundance of game and wild fruits opposite Long Point. The grapes were as large and as sweet as the finest in France. The wine made from them was as good as vin de grave. He admires the profusion of walnuts, chestnuts, wild apples and plums. Bears were fatter and better to the palate than the most "savory" pigs in France. Deer wandered in herds of 50 to 100. Sometimes even 200 would be seen feeding together. In his enthusiasm the good priest calls this region " the terrestrial paradise of Canada."
Fortunately for the explorers, the winter was as mild at Port Dover as it was severe at Montreal. Patterson's Creek was however still frozen over on the 26th March, when, having portaged their goods and canoes to the lake, they embarked to resume their westward journey. They had to pass
Tin: rorsTKY op" thk nkutkai.s. 23
two .streams before tlniy arrived at the sand beacli wliich connected Lon^ Point witli the mainland. To effect the lirst crossing* they walked four leji<^ues inland before they found a satisfactory spot. To cross Big Creek, they were obliged to spend a whole da}' constructing a raft. They were further delayed by a prolonged snow storm and a strong north wind. On the west bank was a meadow more than 200 paces wide, in passing over which they were immersed to their girdle's in mud and slush. Arriving at the sandy ridge which then conne||f;ed Long Point with the mainland, they found the lake on the oilier side full of floating ice, and concluded that their companions had not ventured to proceed in their frail barques. They encamped near the sandbar and waited for the canoes, which had doubtless been delayed by the weather. The missionaries put themselves on short rations in order to permit the hunters to keep up their strength for the chase, and were rewarded with a stag as the result. As it was Holy Week the whole party decided not to leave the spot until they had kept their Easter together. On the Tuesday following, which was the eighth day of April, they heard mass and, although the lake had still a border of ice, they launched their canoe, and continued their journey as before, five of the party going by land. When they arrived at "the place of the canoe," on the 10th great was their disappointment to find that the Iroquois had anticipated them and carried it away. Later in the day however it was found, hidden between two large trees on the other side of a stream. The discoverers came upon it unexpectedly whilst looking for dry wood to make a fire, and bore it in triumph to the lake. The hunters were out the whole day without seeing any game. For five or six days the party subsisted on boiled maize, no meat being obtainable. Being provided now with three canoes, the party paddled up the lake in one day to a place where game was abundant. The hunters saw more than 200 deer in a single herd, but missed their aim. In their craving for flesh-meat, they shot and skinned a poor wolf and had it ready for the kettle, when one of their men perceived twenty or thirty deer " on the other side " of a small lake on the shore of which we were." (g) The deer
(^) Evidently the Rondeau.
24 THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS
were surrounded and forced into the water, where 10 were killed, the rest being permitted to escape. Well supplied with fresh and smoked meat they went on nearly twenty leagues (about fifty miles) in one day, "as far as a long point which you will " find marked in the map of Lake Erie. We arrived there on a "beautiiul sand-beach on the east side of this point." (h) Here disaster overtook them. They had drawn up their canoes beyond high water mark, but left their goods on the sand near the water, whilst they camped for the night. A terrific gale came up from the north-east, and the water of the lake rose until it swept with violence over the beach. One of the party was awakened by the roaring of the waves and wind and aroused the rest, who attempted to save their supplies. Groping with torches along the shore, they succeeded in securing the cargo of Galinee's canoe, and of one of Dollier's. The other canoe load was lost, including provisions, goods for bartering, ammunition, and, most important of all, the altar service, with which they intended establishing their mission among the Pottawatamies. The question was debated whether they should take up their mission with some other tribe, or go back to Montreal for a new altar service and supplies, and, returning at a later period, establish themselves wherever they should then determine. Deciding in favor of the latter view, they concluded that the return journey would be as short by way of the Sault and the French River as by the route which they had followed from the east. In favor of this decision was the further consideration that not only would they see a new country but they would have the escort of the Ottawas who were assembling at the Sault for their annual trading visit to Montreal and Quebec. Galinee continues : " We pursued our journey accordingly towards the " west, and after having made about 100 leagues on Lake Erie "arrived at the place where the Lake of the Hurons, otherwise "called the Fresh-water Sea of the Hurons, or the Michigan, dis- " charges itself into that lake. This outlet is perhaps half a " league wide and turns sharply to the north-east, so that we " were in a measure retracing our steps; at the end of six leagues " we found a place that was very remarkable and held in great
(k) This was Toint Pelee.
THK fOUNTllY (>K IIIK N Kl'TKALS. 25
" veii'.MMtioa by m,11 tin; S!ivji<;o,s of these ro^ions, because of a " stone idol of natural roniiatiou, to which they say they owe "the sueeevss of their uavi<jjation on Lake Eri(; wIhmi they liave "crossed it without accident, and which they a})[)ease by "sacrifices, presents of skins, provisions, etc., when tliey wish to "eniVmrk on it."
" This place was full of huts of those who liad coine to pay " honuiire to this idol, which had no other resemblance to a ''human ti<^'ure than that which the imagination chose to give it. " However it was painted all over, and a kind of face had been "formed for it with vermillion. I leave you to imagine whether " we avenged upon this idol, wdiich the Iroquois had strongly " recommended us to honor, the loss of our chapel."
" We attributed to it even the scarcity of food from which " we had suttered up to that time. In fine there was nobody " whose hatred it had not incurred. I consecrated one of my "hatchets to break this god of stone, and then having locked " canoes we carried the largest piece to the middle of the river, " and immediately cast the remainder into the w^ater, that it "might never be heard of again."
"God rewarded us forthwith for this good act: for we killed '' a deer that same day, and four leagues farther we entered a " little lake about ten leagues long and almost as wide, called by " Mr. Sainson the Lake of tJie Salted Waters, but we saw no sign "of salt. From this lake we entered the outlet of Lake " Michigan, which is not a quarter of a league in width."
"At last ten or twelve leagues farther on, ^ve entered the " largest lake in all America, called here "the Freshwater Sea "of the Hurons," or in Algonkin, Michigan. It is 600 to 700 "leagues in circuit. We made on this lake 200 leagues and were " afraid of falling short of provisio^.s, the shores of the lake " being apparently very barren. God, however, did not wish "that we should lack for food in his service."
" For we were never more than one day without food. It is " true that several times we had nothing left, and had to pass an " evening and morning without having anything to put into the " kettle, but I did not see that any one was discouraged or put to " prayers (sic) on that account. For we ^vere §0 accustomed to " see that God succored us mightily in emergencies, that we
26 THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
" awaited with tranquility the effects of his goodness, thinking "that He w^ho nourished so many barbarians in these woods " would not abandon his servants."
" We passed this lake wdthout any peril and entered the Lake " of the Hurons, w^hieh communicates with it by four mouths, " each nearly two leagues in width."
" At last we arrived on the 25th May, the day of Pentecost, "at Ste. Marie of the Sault, where the Jesuit fathers have made " their principal establishment for the missions to the Ottawas " and neighboring tribes."
Here they found fathers D'Ablon and Marquette in charge of the mission, with a fort consisting of a square of cedar posts, enclosing a chapel and residence. They had cleared and seeded a large piece of ground. The Sulpicians remained only three days and then hired an experienced guide to take them to Montreal, where they arrived on the 18th June after a fatiguing journey of twenty-two days. They had been absent since the 6th July 1669, and were welcomed as if they havi come to life again after being dead. It was their intention to return in the following spring and renew^ their search for the Ohio River, where they purposed establishing a mission ; but this intention was never carried into effect.
" This famous voyage," says Dean Harris in his interesting " 'History of the Early Missions in Western Canada,' stimulated " to an extraordinary degree enthusiasm for discovery, and in " the following year Talon sent out expeditions to the Hudson " Bay, the Southern Sea, and into the Algonquin country to the " north." Marquette, Tonty, Hennepin, Du Lhut, La Salle and Perrot explored the Mississippi valley,, and the head waters of the St. Lawrence system, and almost the entire continent was claimed by the French as belonging to New France. As far as appears, there were no Indians having settled abodes on the north shore of Lake Erie for more than a century after the expulsion of the Neutrals. Nor does any attempt appear to have been made by the whites to explore south-Western Ontario until the close of the last century. The Iroquois continued for a long period to range its forests for beaver in the winter. The rivalry between the French and the English for the control of the vast western fur
Tin: ('(UNTltY OF TlIK NICUTKALS. 27
trade IlmI to the oret'tion of outposts hy t\\v English at Uswc^^^o and by tlio French at CatanKjui, Nia;j^ara, Detroit and Micliili- uialvinac,durin<; tlielatterpart ol' the 17th century. P^n^Iish traders sailed or paddled up the lakes to get their share of the traffic, and were from time to time summarily' arrested and expelled by their rivals. Both parties tried to ingratiate themselves with the natives. The French were as eager to maintain a state of warfare between the Iroquois and the Indians of the upper lakes — the Hurons, Ottawas, Pottawatamies, Ojibways etc. — as to induce the former to keep the peace with the white inhabitants of Canada. There w^ere two great trade routes to Montreal, viz: by Mackinac, the Georgian Bay and the French and Ottawa River and by Detroit, Lake Erie and Niagara ; the Lake Simcoe portage routes by the Trent River system, and the Holland River and Toronto were also used. Trading or military parties, under the leadership of La Salle, Tonty, Perrot, Du Lhut, Cadaillae, passed along the coast of L. Erie in canoes ; but little record if any remained of their visits to the shores. Kettle Creek: was long called the Tonty River. It is so named in one of Bellin's maps of 1755, and by the Canadian Land Board at Detroit as lately as 1793. The only northern tributaries of Lake Erie to which names are given on the map of 1755 are the Grand River, River D'Ollipr (Patterson's Creek), which in some maps is called the River of the Wintering — a manifest reference to Galinee and Dollier de Casson's sojourn in 1669-70 — the River a la Barbue (Catfish Creek), the River Tonty (Kettle Creek) a little east of P'te au Fort (Plum Point or else Port Talbot) and the River aux Cedres (M'Gregor's Creek in Essex). The Thames is described as a "River unknown to all geographers, and which "you go up eighty leagues without finding any rapids (saults)" The Chenail Ecarte is indicated as the only outlet of the Syden- ham river the map-makers assuming that Walpole Island was part of the mainland. The mouths of four or five streams are shown between Long Point and "the Little Lake" (Rondeau), and the shore is marked "The High Cliffs." "The Low Cliffs" were between the Rondeau and Point Pelee. In one of Bellin's maps of 1755 in the present writer's possession Long Point is shown as a peninsula, and the streams now in th^ County of Elgin are marked "Unknown Rivers," but the map firstly mentioned and
28 THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
published in the same year, is more complete, represents Long Point as an islam! , and names the Barbue and Touty rivers and Fort Point, {PHe an Fort) which are not named in the other. The Tonty, moreover, is represented as an inlet by .way of distinction from the other streams (including the Barbue) which appear as of equal insignificance. The naming of Kettle Creek after the great explorer and -devoted lieutenant of La Salle indicates its consequence. It.^: harbor was of paramount im- portance to the navigation of these early days, but no doubt the portage route extending from its mouth to the Thames exalted the little river in the eyes of the explorers who honored it with Tonty 's name. (i).
THE INDIAN TITLE.
On July 19th, 1701, the Iroquois ceded to the British the entire country between the lakes, "including the-,-e-ountry wherf^ "beavers and all sorts of wild game keep, and the" place called " De Tret," (j) but this appears to have been a mere formality as no possession was taken by the purchasers.
The Ojibways have a tradition that they defeated the Iroquois (called by them the Nottawas or Nahdoways) in a succession of skirmishes, ending in a complete victory at the outlet of Burlington Bay, and the final expulsion of the Six Nations from that part of Ontario between the Great Lakes. The Ojibways then spread east and west over the country. "A " treaty of peace and friendship was then made with the " Nahdoways residing on the south side of Lake Ontario, and ''both nations solemnly covenanted, by going through the usual " forms of burying the tomahawk, smoking the pipe of peace, ''€ind locking their hands and arms together, agreeing in future " to <call each other Brothers. Thus ended their war with the ''Nahdoways," {k)
(?) General John S. Clarke, of Auburn, N. Y., in correspondence with the
present writer, dwells upon the importance of the Kettle Creek portage route in
the seventeenth century. He is a recognized authority upon the subject of Indian
trade routes.
(/) History of Middlesex County, p. 17.
{k) "Peter Jones and the Ojebway Indians," p. 113.
Tin; coiNruv i»K tiik nkuthai.s. 29
WliatoNcr iii.iy 1h» ilic truth of the. details, tlwiv is no doulit of tho fact tliat the Ojihways or tlicir kiudrLMl the M ississa<;aM weiv the sole occupants of Western Ontario at the time of tlie conipiest in 175!), exc(^i)t near the Detroit River where tlie renniaiit of the Hurons or Wyandgts had settled. It was with the Mississa^as tlia,t the l^ritish ne^^otiated in 1784 for the ce.Ssion of the country from the " head of the Lake Ontario or tlie Creek " Wairhixuata to the River La Tranche, tlien down the river "until a south course will strike the mouth of Cat Fish Creek •'on Lake Erie." On the 2L«t May, 1790, Alexander M'Kee announced to the Land-board at Detroit the cession to the Crowji by the Indians of that part of Up])er Canada west of the former grant. The surrender of the Indian title opened the way in each division of the lake shore district for settlement. *
CHARLEVOIX'S DESCRIPTION.
In the 3'ear 1721 the distinguished traveller, Charlevoix, passed through Lake Erie on his way up the Lake.s and thence down the Mississippi to New Orleans. The north shore of Lake Erie, and chiefly that part m^w embraced within the limits of the County of Elgin, is singled out by him as the most beautiful country he met with in his passage. Many, travellers since Cliarlevoix have admired the charming scenery at the mouths of Otter, Cattish, Kettle and Talbot Creeks, but few if any have described it so well. As Colonel Talbot was influenced mainly by Charlevoix's description of the country to estrtblish his settlement at the outlet of Talbot Creek in 1803, the present writer makes no apology ' for reproducing the following extended passage from the celebrated and gifted traveller:
Note. — The explanatory notes referring to the extract are by the late Leonidas Burwell, M. P. P., and are given by him in a letter to His Honor, Judge Hughes, which has been kindly presented by the recipient to the fJlgin Historical and Scientific Institute.
* The north shore of Lake Erie appears to have been so little known to the officials, that Kettle Creek and Cat Fish Creek were continually confused and taken as being one or difiFerent streams as chance M'ould have it. The Land-board considered that a surrender of the lands west of Kettle Creek gave the Crown .all the territory not previously ceded. The Indians at Detroit who made the cession were the Ojibways, Hurons, Ottawas and Pottawatamies.
30 THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
"The 28th May, 1721, I went eighteen leagues and found "myself over against the great river which comes from the " East in forty-two degrees fifteen minutes. Nevertheless the " great trees were not yet green. This countr}^ appeared to me " to be very fine. We made very little way the 29th and none " at all the 30th. We embarked the next day about sun ris3, " and went forward apace. The first of June being Whitsunday, " after going up a pretty river almost an hour which comes a " great way, and runs between two fine meadows, we made a " portage about sixty paces to escape going round a point which " advances fifteen leagues into the lake : they call it the Long ''Point. It is very sandy and produces naturally many vines. {I)
"The following days I saw nothing remarkable, but I coasted "a charming country that was hid from time to time by some dis- "agreeable skreens, but of little depth. In every place where I "landed I was enchanted with the beauty and variety of land- " scape bounded by the finest forest in the world ; besides this " water fowl swarmed everywhere. I cannot say there is such "plenty of game in the woods : but I knoAV that on the south side " there are vast herds of wild cattle. (')n)
" If one always travelled as I did then, .with a clear sky " and charming climate on water as bright as the finest " fountain, and were to meet everywhere with safe and pleasant " encampings, where one might find all manner of game at little "cost, breathing at one's ease a pure air, and enjoying the sight "of the finest countries, one would be tempted to travel all one's "life."
" It put me in mind of those ancient patriarchs who had no " fixed abode, dwelt under tents, were in some manner master ' of all the countries they travelled over, and peaceably enjoyed "all their productions without having the trouble which is " inavoidable in the possession of a real domain. How many
(/) This river is what is now known as "Big Creek" and answers this descrip- tion at the present day. It enters the lake a little above Port Rowan.
(w) This charming country is evidently, the greater part of it, the County of Elgin, as the portage is not more than thirteen miles from the boundary line of Bayham. In passing up the lake one would meet M'ith a great variety of landscape as the sand-hills in Houghton and the mouths of the Otter, Catfish and other creeks would be passed. The lofty pines an<l chestnuts and oaks along this coast, in their original state no doubt appeared like the "finest forest in the world."
TIIK COrNTKY (H' TllK NKITIIALn 'i\
"ojiks represented to me that oi* Mamre? How many fountains " made me reuK^mber that of Jacob ? Every day a situation of "my own elioosin*;, a neat and convenient house set up an<l " furnished with necessaries in a quarter of an hour, sprea<l with "Howers always fresh, on a fine ^reen carpet, and on every side '' plain and natural beauties which art had not altered and "which it can not imitate. If the pleasures suffer some inter- "ruption either by bad w^eather or some unforseen accident, they ''are the more relished when they reappear.
"If I had a mind to moralize, I should add, these alterna- "tions of pleasure and disappointment which I have so often '* experienced since I have been travelling, are very proper to *'make us sensible that there is no kind of life more capable of *' representing to us continually that we are only on the earih "like pilgrims, and that we can only use, as in passing, the goods "of this world ; that a man wants but a few things: and that "we ought to take with patience the misfortunes that happen " in our journey, since they pass away equall}^ and with the " same celerity. In short how^ manv things in travelling make " us sensible of the dependence in wdiich we live upon Divine " providence, w^hich does not make use of, for this mixture of " good and evil, men's passions, but the vicissitudes of the seasons " which we may foresee, and of the caprice of the elements, " which we may expect of course. Of consequence, how easy is *• it, and how many opportunities hav^e we to merit by our " dependence on and resignation to the wdll of God ?
" They say commonly that long voyages do not make people '* religious, but nothing one would think should be more capable " of making them so, than the scenes they go through."
THE BRITISH OCCUPATION.
The conquest of Canada in 1759 was followed by the occupa- tion of Detroit and the upper forts by a British force under the famous Major Robert Rogers. He follow^ed the south shore of Lake Erie, and near the site of Cleveland was met by the celebrated Ottaw^a chief, Pontiac, w^ho challenged his right to pass through the country without the formal permission of its savage
32 THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
sovereign. The operations of the conspiracy of Pontiac (1763-5) are described in Parkman's glowing pages. Tlie success of the American Revolution was followed by the settlement not only 6i the IT. E. Loyalists but also of many of the disbanded British troops in the most fertile districts north of the lakes. To locate these advantageously a Land-board was established at Detroit by the Canadian Government and it continued to perform its functions until the surrender of that post to the United States under the provisions of the Jay Treaty of 1794.
McNIFF'S EXF*L0RATI0N.
The Indian title to the whole north shore region having been surrendered to the Crown,' no time was lost in opening the territory for settlement. 'Psttrick McNiff, an assistant surveyor attached to the Ordinance Department, was ordered by Patrick^ Murray, Commandaiit ' at Detroit, to exp^lore the north shore from Long Point westward and investigate the quality and situation of "the land. " His report is dated 16th June 1790. The following extract is interesting : '
'' From Pointe aux Pins to the ^portage at Long Point, no " possibility of making any settlement to front on the Lak^, " being all the way a yellow and white sand bank from 50 to 100 " feet high, top covered with chestnut and scrubby oak and no " harbours where even light boats may enter except River Tonty " and River a la Barbue. (n) A load boat may enter the latter " having four and a half feet water on the bar ; on each side of " River a la Barbue are flats of excellent lands, but not above "fifteen or twenty chains wide, before very high land commences, "which in many places does not appear to be accessible for any " carriage. On the tops of these very high hills, good land, "timber, some very large chestnut, hickory and bass. These " hills are separated by dry ravines almost impassable from their " great depth — on the back of Long Point very good land, not so " hilly as what I have passed. Timber bass, black walnut and
(«) Kettle and Catfish Creeks.
THK (HH'SIKV OK TUK MM I'KM.S. Xi
"hard nia.|)It', Inil marsliy in I'loiit tor (wcnty or lliirty chains, {o)
In f()n.s(>(|U«'nc(' ol this unt'ax'orabU' report, townsliipn were. «lir 'c*t(Ml to h«: laid out on the River Thames, instead ol* the lake shoi'e.
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR SIMCOE.
In the year 1791 the Quebec Act was passed, dividing Quebec into two provinces, and Colonel John Graves Sirncoe becanje the first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada. Before the Bill was introduced into parliament, it was understood that Sinicoe had been selected by Pitt to govern tiie new province, direct its settlement and establish constitutional gov^ernment after the model of the British system. As early as January, 1791, he had written a letter to Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society, (j^) ^^ which after men- tioning his appointment, he explained his own plans as to the administration, and stated his desire to profit by the ideas of his correspondent whom he would wait upon for that purpose.
" For the purpose of commerce, union and power, I propose " that the site of the colony should be in that Great Peninsula " between the Lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario, a spot destined by " nature, sooner or later, to govern the interior world.
" I mean to establish a capital in the very heart of the " country, upon the River La Tranche, which is navigable for " batteauxs for 150 miles — and near to where the Grand River, " which falls into Erie, and others that connnunicate with Huron " and Ontario almost interlock. The capital I mean to call " Georgina — and aim to settle in its vicinit}^ Loyalists, who are " now i)i Connecticut, provided that the Government approve of '' the system."
As a member of the House of Commons, Simcoe spoke in support of a provision in the bill for the establishment of an hereditary nobility, which Fox had moved to strike out. The report states that Colonel Simcoe " having pronounced a pane-
{o) Record book of the Land Board at Detroit, now in the Crown Lands Depart- ment at Toronto.
34 THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
"gyric on the British constitution, wished it to be adopted in the " present instance, as far as circumstances would admit." Tlie provision was in the bill as finally passed.
Having proceeded to Quebec to enter upon the performance of his duties, he appears to have utilized every opportunity for informing^ himself of his new domain. He writes to Hon. Henry Dundas from Montreal, December 7, 1791, in a letter marked "secret and confidential," as follows: —
"T am happy to have found in the surveyor's office an actual ''' survey of the River La Tranche. It answers my most " sanguine expectations, and I have but little doubt that its "communications with the Ontario and Erie will be found to be " very practicable, the whole forming a route which, in all " respects, may annihilate the political consequences of Niagara " and Lake Erie. * * * * ]yj[y i Jeas at present are to "assemble the new corps, artificers, etc., at Catara(|ui (Kingston), " and to take its present garrison and visit Toronto and the '■' heads of La Tranche, to pass down that river to Detroit, and " early in the spring to occupy such a central position as shall be " previously chosen for the capital."
On the 16th July, 1792, the name of the River La Tranche was changed to the Thames by proclamation of the Governor, issued at Kingston. In the spring, he had written that "Toronto " appears to be the natural arsenal of Lake Ontario and to afford " an easy access overland to Lake Huron." He adds: "The " River La Tranclie, near the navigable head of which I propose "to establish the Capital, by what I can gather from the few "people who have visited it, will afford a safe, more certain, and " I am inclined to think, by taking due advantage of the season, " a less expensive route to Detroit than that of Niagara."
•At Quebec Simcoe had met the Hon. Thomas Talbot, who had joined the 24th Regiment as Lieutenant in tlie previous year. Talbot was then a young man of twenty, whilst Simcoe was in his fortieth year. A strong attachment sprang uj) between these two remarkable men, and Talbot accompanied the lieiitenant govc^rnoi- to Niagara, in the capacity of private and confidential secretary. After meeting the first Legislature elected in Upper Canada during the fall of 1792 Simcoe decided to make a joui'ney overland to Detroit. He left Nav}^ Hall on
tlu'4(li l'\'l)ru}ii'y, 17i>.*i, an«i ri'turiKMl on tlic lOtli March. His ti'aNcHini;" conip.inioiis wcit' (\-i])t. Fitz<^('ral(l, Ijciitcnant Siiiitli (])i>'\ioii.sly Secretary to tlic Detroit l^and I)oai(*l, sul)sc'(|ueiitly I he hist Surveyor (Jeneral of Ujipcr Canada, an M. P. P., Speaker ol' (he House, etc, t\m\ afterwaid cieated a baronet), Lieutenants Talbot, (>ray, (Jivens and Major Littlehak's. All ol' these wei-e prominent al'terward in the histoi'y ol" the Province. Talbot became the founder of the 'J'albot Settlement. Gi'ay was appointed Solicitor General ; he perish(Ml in the schooner 'Speedy' on Lake Ontario in 1804 with Jud^e Cochrane, Sheriff Macdonell and others. (livens was afterwai'd the well-known Colcjnel Givens, Superintendant of Lidian Afiairs at York. Littlehales was afterward Sii* E. B. Littlehales, Secretary of War for L'eland, during the Lord-Lieutenancy of the Marquis of Cornwallis ; he married in 1805 the Lady Elizabeth Fitzgerald, daughter of the Duke of Leinster and sister of the unfortunate Lord Edward Fitzgerald, (p)
The journey was made partly in sleighs but chiefly on foot. Littlehales kept a diary of the occurrences on the way. The route was by Ten-mile Creek, Nelles' house at the Grand River, the Mohawk Lidian village (a little below Bmntford), the portage route to the Forks of the Ihames (London), and then down or along the River to Detroit. Joseph Brant with about a dozen of his Indians accompanied the party from the Mohawk V^illage to Delaware, doubtless to furnish them with game and guide them over the long portage. The Indians excited admiration by their skill in constructing wigwams of elm bark to lodge the company. After leaving the Grand River the trai] passed a Mississaga encampment, a trader's house, tine open deer plains, several beaver dams, "an encampment said to have been " Lord Fitzgerald's when on his march to Detroit, Michilimacki- " nac and the Mississippi," a cedar grove ; crossed a small branch of the La Tranche, and the main branch soon after- wards; " wxnt between an irregular fence of stakes made by the " Indians to intimidate and impede the deer^ and facilitate their "hunting;" again they crossed the main branch of the Thames,f^)
(p) Dr. Scadding's notes to his reprint of Littlehales' Journal {(/) This was no doubt where London now is.
36
THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
and " halted to observe a beautiful situation, formed by a bend "of the river — a grove of hemlock and pine, and a large creek. " We passed some deep ravines and made our wigwam by a " stream on the brow^ of a hill, near a spot where Indians were "interred. The burying ground was of earth raised, nearly " covered with leaves ; and wickered over — adjoining it was a " large pole, with painted hieroglyphics on it denoting the " nation, tribes and achievements of the deceased, either as " chiefs, warriors, or hunters." This was on the 13th February. The food of the party consisted of soup and dried venison, to which squirrel and racoon meat added variety. Littlehales remarks about the latter : "The three racoons when roasted " made us an excellent supper. Some parts were rancid, " but in general the flesh was exceedingly tender and good." On the 14th they encamped a few miles above the Delaware village. During the day the diarist had " observed many trees blazed, " and various figures of Indians (returning from, battle with " scalps) and animals drawn upon them, descriptive of the " nations, tribes and number that had passed. Many of them " were well drawn, especially a bison."
" This day we walked over very uneven ground, and passed " two lakes of about four miles in circumference, between which " were many fine larch trees."
Next morning they walked on the ice of the river five or six miles to the Delawar(3 village, where the chiefs received them cordially and regaled them with eggs and venison " Captain " Brant being obliged to return to a council of the Six Nations, " we stayed the whole day. The Delaware Castle is pleasantly " situated upon the banks of the Thames ; the meadows at the " bottom are cleared to some extent, and in summer planted with "Indian corn. After walking twelve or fourteen miles this day, "part of the way through plains of white oak and ash, and " passing several Chippawa Indians upon their hunting parties, "and in their encampments, we arrived at a Canadian trader's; " and a little beyond, in proceeding down the river the Indians "discovered a spring of an oily nature, wnich upon examination " proved to be a kind of petroleum. We passed another wigwam "of Chippawas, making maple sugar, the mildness of the winter " having compelled them in a great measure to abandon their
TlIK »(»r\lK\ Ol Tin; NK I "IK. M.S. 37
■'.•Mum.il hunting". We soon anixcil at an oM Init vvIku'c we " ])asse(l the iiinr|it. '
On the 1 7th, al'tor ;i jouiiicy of four or fivr milcH, they j^assod the Moravian Villa«r(' wliicli had b<M'n heoun in May, I 7J)2. The Delaware Indians were "under the eontrol, and in many pai'ticu- '• lars, under the command of four missionaries, Messrs. Zeis- " heri^er, Senseman, Edwards and Young." Tliey were making progress towards civilization, and already had corn fields and were being instructed in different branches of agriculture. " At " this place every respect was paid to the Governor, and we " procured a sea,sonable refreshment of eggs, milk and butter. " Pursuing our journey eight or nine miles, we stopped for the " night at th'i extremity of a new road, cut by the Indians and "close to a creek."
" 18th — Crossing the Thames and leaving behind us a new log "house, belonging to a sailor named Carpenter, we passed a " thick, swampy wood of black walnut, where His Excellency's "servant was lost for three or four hours. We then came to a " bend of the La Tranche (Thames) (r) and were agreeably " surprised to meet twelve or fourteen carioles coming to meet " and conduct tlie Governor, who, with his suite, got into them, " and at about four o'clock arrived at Dolsen's, having previously " reconnoitred a fork of the river, apd examined a mill of " curious construction erecting upon it. The settlement where " Dolsen resides is very promising, the land is well adapted for " farmers, and there are sonie respectable inhabitants on both " sides of the river ; behind it to the south is a range of spacious "meadows — elk are continually seen upon them — and the pools " and ponds are full of cray fish."
" From Dolsen's we went to the mouth of the Thames in " carioles, about twelve miles, and saw the remains of a consider- " able town of the Chippawas, where, it is reported, a desperate " battle was fought between them and the Senecas, and upon " which occasion the latter, being totally vanquished, abandoned " their dominions to the conquerors. Certain it is, that human " bones are scattered in :tbundance in the vicinity of the ground, " and the Indians have a variety of traditions relative to this
(r) Afterwards referred to by the diarist as the high bank.
38 THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS
" transaction." *
We pass over briefly the Governor's reception at Detroit. The Canadian militia on the east bank tired a feit de joie. He crossed the river in boats amidst floating ice. The garriscm of Detroit was under arms to receive His Majesty's representative. A royal salute was flred.
The farms, the apple orchards, windmills and houses close together on the river bank gave an appearance of population and respectability. Talbot's regiment, the 24th, was stationed at Detroit. Fort Lenoult and the rest of the works were in- spected. The party visited at the River Rouge a sloop almost ready to be launched. They w^ent to see the Bloody Bridge, memorable for the slaughter of British troops by Pontiac 30 years before.
On the 23rd, the Governor left Detroit on his homeward journey, Col. McKee, Mr. Baby and others escorting His Excel- lency as far as the high bank where the carioles had met the party on the 18th. " Here we separated ; and each taking his "pack or knapsack on his back, we walked that night to the " Moravian village."
On the 27th the chiefs at the village entertained the party with venison, and dancing, "a ceremony they never dispense " with when any of the King's officers of rank visit their " villages."
"28th. — At six we stopped at an old Mississaga hut, upon the " south side of the Thames. After taking some refreshment of "salt pork and venison, well cooked by Lieutenant Smith, who " superintended that department, we, as usual, sang God Save "the King, and went to rest."
"March 1st. — We set out along the banks of the river; " then, ascending a high hill, quitted our former path, and " directed our course to the northward. A gootl deal of snow " having fallen, and lying still on the ground, we saw tracks of "otters, deer, wolves and bears and other animals many of which " being quite fresh induced the Mohawks to pursue them, but " without success. We walked 14 or 15 miles and twice crossed "the river, anrl a few creeks, upon the ice; once we came close
Note Peter Jones' statement as quoted on page 28.
•• Tin; ((MNiitv OK Tin: M:rriiAi-s. 39
" to .1 ChippjiWM. limiting ciniji, opjxjsitc^ to a i\\u'. terrace, on the " banks of whicii we (Micjiinpfd, near a bay. * * ♦ 2\\(\. — " Wc struck the Tluinics at one end of a low Hat island " cMi\ elopetl witli shru])s and tr(M's : tlie rapi<lity and stren;;th of " tlie curnMit were sucli as to have forced a channcd through " tlie main land, bein^^ a peninsula, and to have fornuid the " island. We walked over a rich UK^idow, an<l at its extremity ** came to the forks of the; river, (.s) The Goveinor wished to "examine this situation a,nd its environs; and we therefore " remained here all the <lay. He jud<jjed it to be; a situation "eminently calculated for the meti'opolis of Canada. Among •'many other essentials, it possesses the following advantages : " command of territor^^ — internal situation, — central position, — " facility of water communication up and down the Thames " into Lakes St. Clair, Erie, Huron and Superior, — navigable "ior boats to near its source, and for small crafts probabl}^ to ' the Moravian settlement — to the northward by a small portage ' t ) the waters flowing into Lake Huron — to the south-east by "a carrying place into Lake Ontario and the River St. Lawrence; " the soil luxurianth' fertile, — the land rich, and capable of being " easilj^ cleared, and soon put into a state of agriculture, — a '■ pinei"3' upon an adjacent high knoll, and other timber on the " heights, well calculated for the erection of public buildings, — a "climate not inferior to any part of Canada."
"To these natural advantages an object of great consideration " is to be added, that the enormous expenses of the Indian " Department would be greatly diminished, if not abolished ; "the Indians would, in all probability, be induced to become the " carriers of their own peltries, and they would find a ready, " contiguous, commodious, and equitable mart, honorably ad- " vantageous to Government, and the community in general, " without their becoming a prey to the monopolizing and " unprincipled trader."
"The young Indians, who had chased a herd of deer in " company with Lieutenant Givens, returned unsuccessful, but " brought with them a large porcupine ; which was very " seasonable, as our provisions were nearly expended. This
is) Now the cit}- of London.
40 THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
" animal afforded us a very good repast, and tasted like a pig. " The Newfoundland dog attempted to bite the porcupine, but " soon got his mouth filled with the barbed quills, which gave " him exquisite pain. An Indian undertook to extract them, " and with much perseverance plucked them out, one by one, and " carefully applied a root or decoction, which speedily healed the wound.
" Various figures were delineated on trees at the forks of the " River Thames, done with charcoal and vermillion ; the most *' remarkable w^ere the imitations of men with deer's heads "
" We saw a fine eagle on the wing, and two or three large " birds, perhaps vultures."
" 3i'd. — We were glad to leave our wigwam early this "morning, it having rained incessantly the wliole night; besides, " the hemlock branches on which we slept were wet before they '" were gathered for our use. — We first ascended the height at "least 120 feet into a continuation of the pinery already " mentioned ; quitting that, we came to a beautiful plain with " detached clumps of white oak, and open woods ; then crossing " a creek running into the south branch oi the Thames, we "entered a thick sw^ampy wood, where we were at a loss to " discover any track ; but in a few minutes we were released " from this dilemma by the Indians, who making a cast, soon " descried our old path to Detroit. Descending a hill and " crossing a brooK, we came at noon to the encampment we left " on the 14th of February, and were agreeably surprised by '' meeting Captain Brant and a numerous retinue ; among them " were four of the Indians we had despatched to him when we " first altered our course for the forks of the River Thames."
On the 4th, after crossing brooks and rivulets, much swollen by a thunder-storm, and passing the hut occupied by them on the 12th February they noticed " very fine beech trees."
Next day : — "W^e again crossed one of the branches of the •' south-east fork of the Thames, and halted in a cypress or cedar " grove, where we were much amused by seeing Brant and the " Indians chase a lynx with their dogs and rifle guns, but they " did not catch it. Several porcupines were seen."
On the 6th they reached the Mohawk village, crossing the river at a different place and by a nearer route than before. The
TlIK (HHINTKY OK I'lllC NKUTIIALS. 4P
Indians hail nu^t the, (lOVtM'Mor with horsos at "the, end of the "[)lain, ncai* tlie Salt Lick C^reek." Thc^ P'^^'^v finally ai'rived at Navy Hall on the lOth day of Maivh.
At this period the overland lonte from Detroit to Niagara was apparently wi'll known, 'i'here was an annual " Winter- " expi'ess" each way, wliich Sinicoe met on his westward journey on the 12th February and on his homeward route on the 5th jMareh. Littlehales mentions a Mr. Clarke as being with it on each occasion. On their first meeting, the express was -accompanied by a Wyandot and a Chippawa Indian. The- second time, Mr. Augustus Jones, the surveyor, was either with or following it. He surveyed the north-west part of Southwold in the following year. On the up trip, the Governor's party met one man, wdio afterward proved to be a runaway thief from. Detroit. They were also overtaken by a traveller, w^ho, as they were subsequently informed, had got himself supplied with provisions and horses to the Grand Riv^er, and a guide from thence to Detroit, by the false representation that he had despatches for the Governor. " He quitted us under the " plausible pretence of looking for land to establish a settlement."
It appears that immediately after the capture of Niagara by Johnston in 1759, merchants from New England and Virginia had rushed in to participate in the fur-trade, which until that time had been largely monopolized by the French. As might be expected, many lawless acts were committed by these adventurers, and various proceedings were adopted by the Government to check and control them. After the American Revolution land-hunters came into the peninsula and undertook to purchase lands directly from the Indians. These purchases were ignored by the Land Boards, who always repudiated the idea that the Indians w^ere proprietors of the land. No steps w^ere taken however to locate settlers until the Indian title by occupancy w^as surrendered to the Crown. Even then, Simcoe's first step w^as to procure surveys for the purpose of establishing military roads, fortified posts, dockyards, etc., in order that when the settlers came they might be easily defended against hostile attacks, whether from the Indians, the United States troops, or the French or Spanish, who it was believed might invade the province by way of the Mississippi, the Ohio and the upper lakes
42
THE COUNTRY OF THF NEUTRALS.
Patrick McXiffs survey of the River Thames, as far as the upper Delaware village, was finished in 1793. His map is dated at Detroit on the 25th June of this year. In it he mentions that "from the entrance to the 12th lot of the- 3rd township was "' surveyed two years since, from the 12th lot * * to the " upper village was surveyed in April and May 1793."
The map gives the " road leading from the Delawares to the "' Moravian village," " corn-iields" along the east bank of the river, an Indian village in the Southwold bend, and opposite on the southerly bank the "road leading to the entrance of Kettle- " Creek (t) on Lake Erie. Five hours' journey." It also shows the road leading to the Mohawk village on the Grand River.
The Moravian village is near the site of the battle field, and it is marked "commenced in May, 1792." The present location of Dundas Street and the Longwoods Road would appear to correspond with the roads east and west of Delaware as laid down, (u) Simcoe in forwarding McNifl's survey to Mr. Dundas on 20th September, 1793, thus refers to the Lake Erie region:
" The tract of countr}^ which lies between the river (or rather "navigable canal as its Indian name and French translation "import) and Lake Erie, is one of the finest for all agricultural "purposes in North America, and far exceeds the soil or climate "of the Atlantic States, There are few or no interjacent "swamps, and a variety of useful streams empty themselves into "the lake or the river."
The Governor makes frequent reference in his correspondence and state papers to his plans for establishing the capital of Upper Canada at the upper forks of the Thames, to be called Georgina, London or New London. Down to the very time of his departure in 1796, and after the seat of government had been transferred to York (now Toronto), he regarded the latter as but a temporary capital, the real metropolis having yet to be built at London in accordance with his original design.
Talbot remained in the service of the Lieutenant Governor
(/) This disposes of the story told by Colonel Talbot to Mrs. Janiieson in 1837. He iiiforined her that the name originated from his men having lost a kettle in the crcutk. But the creek was called Riviere a hi Cliaudiere or Kettle River })y the French, and that is one of tluj names given to it in D. W. Smith's (ia/etteer, of Ujjper Canada publislied in 1709.
(u) ., The writer has not been able to sec Mr. McNiffa report upon this survey.
TIIK iMU'VTKY Ol rUK NKIVPRALS. 43
until June I7!)k when ;is M.-ijor of tlu' 5tli Re/^iiueiit he (h'partcd lor IOn<^Han(l uudw ()i-(h'rs for Fhindei's, carry in;r with him special letttu's of recomineiuhition IVoni SiiiiCO(i to J)un(laH and to Mr. Ivinor, the lender Secretary of State. He had ))een oinployed in various confidential missions. In 1703 he had been sent to Philadelphia to await news from Europe, when war with Fi-ance was believed to be imminent. On the 22nd AuiTUst, 1793, we find Talbot in "the most confidential inter- "course with the several Indian tribes," as Simcoe expresses it, at the Miamis Rapids, where he liad met the United States Commissioners and the Confederated Indians to consider the boundary question. In April, 1794, Simcoe was himself at the Falls of the Miami, and he repeated the visit during the following September, going by way of Fort Erie. This visit was a prolonged one; for w^e find that in October he met an Indian Council at Brown's Town in the Miami country. It is probable Talbot accompanied him in his capacity as military secretar}^ The construction by Simcoe of the fort at the foot of the rapids of the Miami in the spring of that year was an audacious step, which might easily have produced a new war between the United States and England, although Simcoe believed it had had the opposite result, and prevented war. All disputes between the two nations were however concluded b}^ the treaty of 1794, usually called the Jay Treaty. Provision was made for the abandonment of the frontier posts hitherto occupied by English garrisons. Forts Niagara, Detroit, Miami and Michilimackinac received American garrisons in 1796 or shortly thereafter ; English troops were stationed in new forts at St. Joseph's Island, Maiden, Turkey Point, Fort Erie, Toronto, etc. The English flag floated no longer south of the great lakes. During the year 1796, Simcoe went to England on leave of absence, and he never returned to Canada.
COLONEL TALBOT.
The Honorable Thomas Talbot received his company and his majorit}^ in the same year, 1793. He was Colonel of the Fifth Regiment in 1795, at the early age of twenty-five. After eight
44 THE COUNTRY OF THE NEUTRALS.
years of military service on the Continent, partly in Flanders and partly at Gibraltar, he was still in 1803 a young man with every prospect that is usually considered alluring to ambition. Suddenly, to the amazement of his friends and the public, he abandoned the brilliant career upon wdiich he had entered under so favorable auspices, cut himself loose from civilization itself, and buried himself in the recesses of the Canadian forest. He determined to settle on the north shore of Lake Erie, where he had previously selected a location on one of his journeyings with Governor Simcoe. Talbot had formed plans for diverting the stream of immigration from the United States, or rather for continuing its current as far as Upper Canada* He would attract settlers from New York, Pennsylvania and New England, who were dissatisfied with republican institutions or allured by the fertility of the Lake Erie region, and would build up a loyal British community, under the laws and institu- tions of the mother land.
It was a memorable event in the history of the County of Elgin, when on the 21st day of May, 1803, landing at Port Talbot, he took an axe and chopped down the first tree, thus inaugurating what has since been known as the Talbot Settle- ment. Henceforward, Colonel Talbot, Port Talbot, the Talbot Road, and the Talbot Settlement, are names inseparably connected with the history of the making of Upper Canada.
At that time the nearest settlement on Lake Erie was near Turkey Point, 60 miles away. In 1802 there was but one settled minister west of Niagara, Father Marchand, of Sandwich, a Roman Catholic priest. There were but seven clergymen settled in the whole Province. The record (v) states, however, that '' Besides, there are several missionaries of the Methodistical " order, whose residence is not fixed." Even at that early day the circuit-rider threaded the maze of forest between the Long Point clearings and those near the mouth of the Thames, and made his way down the Detroit River to the Essex shore of Lake Erie, where there was a fringe of settlement. But, generally speaking, the country north of Lake Erie to the borders ot Lake Huron and the Georgian Bay was still a wilderness of continuous unbroken forest.
(v) Tiffany's Ui)per Canada Ahnanac, Niagara, 1802.
THE TAMiOT SI'TTLEMENT.
BY
C. O. KRMATINdKK.
The Talbot Settlement — with which civilized life in this and surrounding counties began-niay be feaid to have commenced with tlie nineteenth century. Colonel Talbot, the founder of the Settlement, is said to liave traversed the tract now comprising the County of Elgin in company with Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe, proceeding from the lake shore to the forks of the Thames, before the dawn of the century, (a)
Whether this may be accepted as an historical fact or not, it is manifest the Colonel must, before forming his plan of settlement, have been possessed o( some information regarding the Township of Yarmouth and country surrounding it, leading him to believe it suitable for the purpose he formed, "as being from the nature of the soil favorable to his design of raising hemp for exportation, and also affording scope for the establishment of such a number of families as may be induced to follow him into the province." (6) It may be said that his subsequent abandon- ment of the hemp industry indicates that he had no personal knowledge of the locality before he settled in it. Yet, the fact remains that he did select this locality for some reason and did settle it.
The Honorable Thomas Talbot was born at IVIalahide, County of Dublin, Ireland, 17th July, 1771. His parents Richard Talbot and Margaret Baroness Talbot, were of the Talbots of Malahide Castle, a family descended from Richard de Talbot, of the time of William the Conqueror and ancestor of the Earl of Shrewsbury. " Apart from its achievements, this is one of the oldest families in the English aristocracy which traces alike its
(a) E. Ermatinger's Life of Col. Talbot, Page 13.
(d) See extract from Lord Hobart's letter dated loth February, 1803, app. to
Journal of Assembly U. C, 1836, No. 22.
THE TALBOT SETTLEMENT.
descent and its surname from the Norman conquerors of Eng- land ; and it may really be said that there has hardly been a time during the last eight hundred years in which the Talbota l)ave not been of considerable account in public life. " (bh)
Colonel Talbot's early education was obtained in the public free school of Manchester, and at the age of eleven years he obtained a commission in the army, and became at the age of 17 or 18 years one of the aides-de-camp to a relative, then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the Marquis of Buckingham. Arthur Wellesley, afterwards the renowned "Iron Duke" of Wellington, was his brother aide. This was in 1786-88. These two companions in early years renewed their acquaintance at long intervals. They met for the last time at the advanced age of four-score years and doubtless indulged in a retrospect of their so widely divided lives. The great Duke died 14th September 1852; Colonel Talbot on 6th February 1853. The Duke of Wellington had accomplished a life work of the greatest conse- (juence to the whole of Europe. Colonel Talbot's life work, though carried on in comparative obscurity, was of equal consequence to the settlers of the Talbot settlement, in far off Canada, and their descendants.
In 1790, Mr. Talbot joined the 24th Regiment, as Lieutenant at Quebec, and in the following year was attached to the suite of the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, General Simcoe, with whom he continued as his private and confidential secretary some four years, when he joined his regiment in Europe, having previously received both his company and majority. In January 1796 he became Lieutenant-Colonel of the 5th Regiment of Foot, with which he served on the continent, and at Gibralter, until the Peace of Amiens.
Early in the year 1803 Colonel Talbot applied to the Home Government for a grant of land in the " distant Township of Yarmouth in the County of Norfolk." (c) His application was
(M/ ) Encyclopedia Brittanica 9th ed. vol. 23, p. 25. (c) See extractf^from Lord Hobart's letter already referred to. Also letter of General Simcoe, dated 11th February, 1803. It is elsewhere pointed out in this volumne that Yarmouth was then in the County of Suffolk as constituted by the U. C. Legislature, though immediately adjoining the County of Norfolk on the West.
•riii: Tvi,n»»r sktim-kmicni'.
einlorsiMl l)y (Jcncrjil Siincoc in a letter in vvliicli lio Hjn'aks ol* Colonel 'Pal])ot and ol* Ins services to liiniself and the e(jl(jny in terms of the highest pi'aise, and ospecially in tlu; confi(Jcnti.ii nieasuivs he took for the preservation of peace, for "his nnjst con- fidential intercourse with the several Indian Tribes, and occasion- ally with His Majesty's Minister at Pliiladelphia, " — wliieh duties without any sahiry or emolument, he executed to the Lieutenant-Governor's "perfect satisfaction."
" I consider these circumstances," continues General Simcoe addressint; Lord Hobart, "as authorizing me in general terms to recounnend Mr. Talbot to your consideration and protection. Mr. Talbot's specific application, wdiich I beg leave to support to the utmost of my power, consists of two points. The first is the grant of five thousand acres of land as a field officer, actually and hona-fide meaning to reside in the Province for the purpose oi establishing himself therein. The king's bounty having been extended to the field officers who had served during the American war, in grants to a similar extent (exclusive of an allot- ment for every individual which their families might consist of) it w^as judged expedient by myself, Mr. Chief Justice Osgoode, and other confidential officers of the Crowm in that colony, to extend the provision of five thousand acres to any field officer of character, who, hona-fide, should become a settler therein, it being obivous that it was for His Majesty's interest that a loyal set of European gentlemen should, as speedily as possible, be obtained to take the lead in the several districts. This principle, my Lord, was acted upon at the time of my departure from the country, and should I at this moment have remained in the government thereof, I could have seen no reason w^hatever for departing from it. In consequence, had Mr. Talbot been totally unknown to me, except by his character, and the high rank he had borne in the King's service, I should have thought him a most eligible acquisition to this province, and on this public ground, without hesitation, have granted him 5,000 acres on the same principles that had been laid down and acted upon — this is the first part of Mr. Talbot's request. The second request of Mr. Talbot is, that these 5,000 acres may be granted in the Township of Yarmouth, in the County of Norfolk, on Lake Erie, and that the remainder of that township may be reserved
THE TALBOT SETTLEMENT.
for such a period as may appear advisable to government, for the purpose of his settling it, on the following specific plan, namely: that 200 acres shall be allotted to him for every family he shall establish thereon: 50 acres thereof to be granted to each family in perpetuity and the remaining 150 acres of each lot to become his property, for the expense and trouble of collecting and locating them."
Although it was found that the grant of 5,000 acres could not be made in the Township of Yarmouth, in one block, in the position desired by Col. Talbot, as large grants had already been made there to the Baby family and the Canada Company, it was made in the Township of Dunwich ; while further lands were from time to time granted in that and other townships according to the plan of settlement proposed in the second part of Col. Talbot's application as stated by General Simcoe. The cultiva- tion of hemp upon which Col. Talbot based great hopes at first, when applying for lands in Yarmouth, was abandoned as either unprofitable or unsuitable to the needs of the settlement.
It may be of interest to here mention the lands comprising the 5,000 acre grant. They were covered by two patents both dated 7th May, 1804, or two weeks less than a year after the day the Colonel landed at Port Talbot, and cut the first tree in the new settlement, — a day long after celebrated annually under the name of the Talbot anniversary as a general holiday and festival, — 21st May, 1803. The lands comprised in one patent were lots 14 to 24, inclusive, and lots A and B, in the Tltli Concession of Dunwich, together witli broken lots 14 to 24. inclusive, and broken lots A and B, in the 12th Concession. Those covered by the other patent were lots 22, 23 and 21 in the 9th and broken lot 5 and lots 21 to 24, inclusive, and lot A, in the 10th Concession. With the exception of lot 5 in 10th Concession, they formed a solid block at and west of Port Talbot, a demesne of great natural beauty of situation and fertility of soil, where the doughty Colonel is reported, on landing with General Simcoe some years before, at the mouth of Talbot Creek, to have announced, — "Here will I roost!" {(l) Tlie isolated lot 5 in the 10th Concession appears to have succumbed to the beating of the lake storms and gone to the fishes, as it no longer appears on the map.
(d) E. Erinatiiiger's Life, p. 15.
Tin: r\M<(»T sictti.k.mknt.
(u'litM'.-il Simi'oc, in tlic letter already (piotecl, proceeds to nay, that the ]>ossihilitv Iwid l)een su^»^(^st(Ml to ('oloiiel Talbot by tlui rej)ri'.st'ntativi^ of the w()\ cniiMent to whom he had pi'enented Ids application lor (he ^rant of land, of procurin<i^ siittlens in tlui old country, but that many reasons opposed themselves to that idea, "but should it be practicable to turn the tide of emi<^ration> which orovernment cannot prevent from taking phice to the United States, (iltiindtcly to rest in this province, I beg to consider it as an object of the gi'eatest national importance, and that will speedily fulfil the idea with which 1 undertook the administration of that government, under my Lord Greenville's auspices, of elevating this valuable part of His Majesty's Dominions from the degrading position of a petty factory, to be a powerful support and protection to the British Empire ; in some instances, such a plan in the infancy of the government had great success, as I had the honor of pointing out to your Lordship, and Mr. Talbot, from habit, observation and nature, in my judgment, is perfectly well suited to give it a wider extent. His plan is to introduce himself amongst a large body of Welch and Scotch families, who arrived at New York in the summer of 1801, and who have temporarily fixed themselves in the interior of that State, many of whom are disgusted with the dissolute principles of the people there, {e) and feel a strong inclination to return under the government of England, but do not possess the means of purchasing land or paying the fees demanded by the Province on grants. "
Whether Colonel Talbot introduced himself among the body of settlers referred to or not, it is certain that a considerable num- ber of settlers who had been more or less permanently settled in the United States, came to the Talbot settlement (/) ; and that
(e) Governor Simcoe has been charged with undue hatred against the United States. Be this as it may, it seems to have been part of his policy to encourage the repatriation of British families from that country. See extracts from Travels of the Duke de la Rochefoucault Liancourt, published in Gourlay's Statistics of Upper Canada, Vol. 2, p. 142.
( f) According to a list of settlers on Talbot Road attested by M. Burwell, M.P., in 1817 appearing in Gourlay's Statistics of Upper Canada, Vol. 1, p. 352, out of 25 settlers therein named, 11 were natives of the United States ; all of whom came in before or during the war of 1812, and many of whose descendants are still resident here.
THi: TALliOT SETTLEMENT
in many cases they found it difficult to pay even the fees required to take up their patents from the Provincial Government after Colonel Talbot had assigned them their lands, (g) a fact which caused some conflict between the Colonel and the Provincial Government. Indeed his difficulties with the government officials at York necessitated the Colonel's repairing occasionally to England, where on all occasions he seems to have gained the ear of the Home Government and succeeded in retaining the authority assumed by him in the settlement, an authority more extensive and independent than that of any other individual in the country-an authority too, which it is now generally admitted was wisely administered in the interests of the settlers and the country generally.
In his memorial to the Secretary of State for the Colonies written in 1822, and appearing among the documents published by order of parliament in 1836, Colonel Talbot names 23 townships as then composing ''the whole of what is at present called the Talbot settlement, " which he goes on to say, " has now become the most compact and flourishing settlement in Upper Canada, containing as it does, a population of at least 12,000 souls, and establishing an uninterrupted communication between the East- ern and Western extremities of Lake Erie, and the settlements to the Northward." (h)
From the return published in the appendix of the Journal of the House of Assembly for 1836, it appears that the lands placed in the hands of the Hon. Thomas Talbot, under orders in Council and orders from the Lieut. Governor for the time being amounted to 518,000 acres, lying in 28 townships, the population thereof being estimated in 1831 at nearly 40,000. By a state- ment given by Colonel Talbot to Mrs. Jameson, the authoress, in 1837, the acreage then settled by him had risen to 650,000 acres, of which 98,700 were cleared and cultivated, while the population had increased to 50,000. " You see ! " said he gaily, " I may boast, like the Irishman in the farce, of having peopled a whole country with my own hands. " (i)
(g) See Colonel Talbot's letter to the Lieut. -Governor, dated July 29, 1831,
App. Journals, L. A. U. C, No. 22, p. 18.
(h) Aj)p. Jour. 1836 (No. 22) p. 10.
(i) Sketches in Canada, l)y Mrs. Jameson, (new edition) p. 105.
Till'. TM-itdr si:rrM;Mi:N r.
I( inusl not, he ussuukmI that the whole of this vast tract was HcttlcMl hv Colonel Talhot on the ori^^inal tonns )j^i*ante(| hini, viz. 150 of t'vory 200 a,civs on which he had placed an actual settler. The Colonel had in 1.S20 completed the location of tlui laiuls j)ut nniler his direction hy virtue of orders from His Majesty's Gov- ernment in Kn<j^land, by placing" settlei's upon 50 acres for every two hundred (j), and obtained a ri^j^lit of pre-emption of 100 acres additional for each of his settlers, whicli many availed themselves of- — while much of the land he afterwards settled did not come within the terms of his grant.
The conditions on which free grants were made to settlers were that the settler should clear and sow ten acres of land, build a house of prescribed dimensions and open one half the road in front of his farm, all within three years. Failing this, he forfeited his claim. If he performed the conditions, he obtained fifty acres free, and the other 150 acres at S3 per acre ; and a right to a further 100 acres, on payment of certain fees, was conceded also by the Provincial Government, as already stated.
The provision as to road making soon resulted in the settle- ment becoming noted for possessing some of the best roads in the province — notably the Talbot Road, the main artery of the settlement. Colonel Talbot's foresight in the location of grants to actual settlers and the relegation of Crown and Clergy Reserves to the rear of them, as well as the duty of road-making imposed on the settlers, brought about this result ; and his policy was commended by the Home authorities for general adoption by the Provincial Government, (k) who had indeed already endeavored to introduce his mode of settlement generally throughout the Province, according to the Colonel's statement contained in the memorial sent by him to the Secretary of State for the Colonies m 1822, already referred to. A perusal of the dispatches and other documents published in 1836 leads to the conclusion that Colonel Talbot's policy generally, as to the opening up of the Country, commended itself to the Home Government, and it is fair to assume that the influence which the
(J) See letter from Col. Talbot to Sir Peregrine Maitland of 25th March, 1820. App. Journals 1836.
{k) See Lord Bathurst's dispatch of 9th April, 1822, App. Journals, 1836, {No. 22,) p. 9.
THE TALBOT SETTLEMENT.
Colonel was able to bring to bear to overcome the opposition of the Provincial Government was the result of a proper apprecia- tion by the Home authorities of the situation, rather than of any famil}' or other influence — a recognition of the fact that the Talbot settlement was advancing in a manner unexcelled in any part of the province.
The Crown and Clergy Reserves, however, though relegated to the rear, were long a source of complaint, as impeding the improvement of the country. (I) But time has gradually effaced this grievance.
The manner in which the land transactions of the settlement were recorded by Colonel Talbot in early days, has been the sub- ject of much comment. It certainly possessed the merit of simplicity, resembling in some respects the Torrens system of land transfer now in force in certain parts of the province. The permanency, which is one of the characteristics of the latter system, was not however so scrupulously provided for in the Colonel's simple method — indeed permanency of title could not of necessity obtain, where the performance of settlement duties was the chief condition, until those duties had been performed as well as the necessary fees paid, entitling the settler to obtain his patent. Until the settlement duties were perfonned, the settler's title rested on a simple entry in pencil of his name on his lot by the Colonel upon the map kept by him at Port Talbot. If he deserted his land or failed in the performance of his duties, his name was subject to erasure by the Colonel's rubber, and its place to be taken by that of some other more deserving settler. When his settlement duties were performed, the settler obtained from the Colonel a certificate to that effect, entitling him, on payment of the prescribed fees at York, to obtain his patent from the government.
Simple as this method was, and liable to abuse in the hands of one of a dishonorable or unjust character, to the credit of Col.
(/) Among the reports sent to Gourlay in answer to questions submitted by him to the various townships in 1817, are those from the townships in the present County of Klgin, everyone of which winds up with a complaint as to non-resident lands and crown iisserves retarding settlement. These reports were adopted at meetings of the principal settlers of eacii township, and present many interesting facts and statistics. Unfoitunately the book in which they are preserved is now out of print — ^tho' a copy remain ft in the Legislative Library at Toronto — (iourlay's Statistical Acc(Hint of Upper (Janada published in 1822.
TIIK TAI.IOr SKTTI.EMKNT. VI
Talbot !)(' it said, (liat no ahuscs arc iccordcd, no uiijusticc^ apju'ars cNcr (o liaAc 1) 'cii doin'. Tlic scltlrrs ;4('ii('i'all y liad I'onlidciii-c ill tlic ColoiK-rs iiilcni-ity, and loinid lliat their confi- (K'lu'c was not misplaced. Where tlieir duties were I'ea.soiiahly jx'rl'ornjed they ()htaine<l their eei*liticate.s ; but, diflieult as no doiiht were fomKl tlu^ perfonnance oF these sini])le duties of huildiiiiT a. small loa' liouse, niakin;'- hall" the road in front and flearin«j^ and sowine- ten acres of land, within three years, the settlers often found it more difficult to obtain the small sum of money necessary to enable them to take out their patents, an<l, hav- ing implicit confidence in the inte<i^rity of C(jlonel I'albot, and the potency of his certificate, they often left these patents slumbering in the pigeon holes at York for \ou<r periods — inson\ucli that the Provincial Government at one time complained that upwards of 5,000 deeils remained to be taken out by the settlers located under the superintendence of Colonel Talbot, ("in)
The Colonel soon after establishing^ himself at Port Talbot found that he had some rough customers to deal with, who w ould not hesitate to employ physical force, or even weapons, to enforce their demands or take revenge for their disappointment, in case these demands were denied them. As a precautionery measure therefore, he conducted his land business through a window, a moveable pane of glass in which afforded a convenient opening for communication w^ith the visitor wnthout, JefFrev Hunter, the faithful attendant of the Colonel, handed down the maps. The laconic " Well, what do you want?" with which the Colonel opened the interview^ and the "Jeffrey, set on the dogs 1 " with wdiich he is said to have closed an unsatisfactory one, have become historical expressions.
The wisdom of placing within the reach of one man 150 acres of the public domain for every 50 acres settled by hinj would no doubt now provoke much opposition. This is not the place to enter into a discussion of the question, which has been more or less discussed in connection with our northwest colonization companies of recent date ; yet it may not be out of place to point to the beneficial results of an early and evenly distributed settle-
(w) See Letter of Lord Goderich to Sir J. Colborne dated oth February, 183L App. Journals, 1836, Vol. 1, p. 18. See also Col. Talbot's reply to Sir J. Colborne, dated July 29, 1831, at same page.
10 THE TALBOT SETTLEMENT.
jnent of this fine district and to the fact that elsewhere large tracts, — whole townships in some cases, — were by the Provincial authorities granted to individuals, as well as to the Canada Company, and that such tracts were allowed in many cases to remain undeveloped until the demand for new territory raised the price to a profitable one for the owner. That settlers them- >selves had a preference for the Talbot settlement, even with the limited grants given them there, to settling in other districts where large grants could be had, is indicated by the public documents already referred to, particularly that signed by Chief Justice Powell, (n) Either that was the reason of their "flocking" (as Chief Justice Powell termed it) to the Talbot settlement, or -else the other desirable lands of the Province had been so disposed of to individuals or corporations as to be practically unavailable for settlement. So far as Colonel Talbot was himself concerned, the opinion has been expressed that he could have bought all the land he acquired, at the time he obtained his con- cession from the government, or later, for the amount he after- wards expended in settling it.
During the war of 1812-15 the settlement suffered at the hands of American marauders and their sympathisers on this side of the line, some of whom visited Port Talbot and destroyed Colonel Talbot's mill, the only one at that time in the settlement. The Colonel tells the story briefly himself, in his memorial to the Secretary of State already referred to, as follows : —
"That so early as the breaking out of the late war with the United States of America, your memorialist had conquered the principal difficulties which obstruct the growth of new settle- ments, and as the produce of lands sold at a fair price, your memoralist had a reasonable prospect of being rewarded for his long and vigorous executions, and an expense of upwards of £15,000. That from the character of the Talbot settlement and the principles of loyalty inculcated amongst its inhabitants it became peculiarly obnoxious to the enemy and the more so as your memorialist during the war commanded the militia of the London and Western districts and infused into them the spirit of his own settlers ; two expeditions were therefore sent against Port Talbot, by which the settlement was nearly ruined. That
n) App. Journals, 1836 No. 22, p. 13.
IIIK TAIJIOT SKTTLKMKNT, II
your iiu'UK)ri;iIis(, rcluniiii;^^ to Poit Talhot on the rcstonitioii ol j)o;ic'«', found a, larjfc farm which ]w liadrloarod and ])rou^lit into cultivation. ('oui])K'tcly hiid wasto by tliecnoniy, hi.s^nst and saw mills, iMH'otcd by him at a very heavy expense for the accoinochi- tion of tlie suirounihnnr settlers, burnt to the ground — all his etiects carried oH" oi- destroyed, and his i)eo])le reduced to the utmost distress and poverty. Nevertheless he did not despair^ but diligently set himself to repair tlie damages lie had sustained in the best nwinner lie was able. " (o)
The buildings of Colonel Burwell, near Port Talbot were- among those burnt on this occasion, the Colonel (Burwell him- self) having been carried otf as a prisoner on a former occasion. (/>)
Two months later (Nov. 1814) the work of destruction in the- settlement and as far East as the Grand River, was almost com- pleted, so far as mills and produce were concerned, by a raid made by a force of Kentuckians and Indians under General McArthur, who entered the Country w4th the avowed purpose of destroying all mills, to cut off supplies from the British forces. They proceeded from the Detroit to the Grand River, returning by way of the Talbot Road, pillaging the settlers, but allow^ing three mills in the Long Point Country to escape them in their rapid retreat, (q),
These reverses how^ever were not allowed long to check the pros- perity of the settlement, ai7vl after the close of the war mills were soon erected in St. Thomas and elsewhere throughout the settle- ment, to once more take the place of the rough w- ooden beetle and mortar in which the grain of the earlier pioneers was pounded into coarse flour.
The militia of the settlement, who rendered excellent service in this war as well as in the rebellion of 1837, w^ere, of necessity, but poorly trained and equipped. Indeed there could have been no training at all previous to the war of 1812, when however a number of the Talbot militia w^ere at the capture of Detroit by General Brock, and rendered service also on the Niagara frontier.
{o) App. Journal, 1836, (Xo. 22) p. 10.
(/>) See dispatch of Lt. General Drummond, dated Sept. 19th, 1814, Canadian
Archives C. 685, p. 208, Michigan Pioneer, &c. Coll Vol, lo p. 652.
(q) See dispatches of Capt. Bostwick, dated 3rd Nov. 1814, Mr. Chambers 10th
Nov. 1814 and Col. Talbot, Can. Archives c. 686, 139, 187, 677, Mich. P. and
H. Coll, vol. 15 pp. 659, 667, 677.
12 THE TALBOT SETTLEMENT.
Subsequently an annual training day was appointed — the King's birthday, 4th June, — when the militia gathered by regiments and performed such evolutions as their meagre opportunities for discipline would allow, finishing the day by toasting the King, and much jollity. Rough and undisciplined as they were, the militia of those early days stood the test of active service in a manner which drew enconiums from the highest military author- ities, and went through hardships, cold and privation, in defence of their country, which seem well nigh incredible in the present comfortable, peaceful times.
"The first improvement in this settlement," says an old settler (r) speaking of the settlement along Talbot Road, "was in 1810. In 1812 the Americans declared war against Great Britain, and Canada was the theatre of their operations ; so that improvement in the settlement was suspended for three years, which w^as a trying time for empty purses and lonely women, w^hile the husbands were on duty to protect a home that w^as yet in embryo. Yet the thought of that home carried to the heart a thrill of pleasure which the wealthy cannot enjoy, for the reason that anticipation stimulated to action for years, or until the object w^as obtained, whereas easily acquired possession often soon cloys, so that the gratification anticipated is of short dura- tion."— A wholesome truth is here somewhat obscured by wealth of language. The narrator proceeds : "The first act of a settler was with axe in hand to select a spot on which to erect a shanty ; then felling the huge trees to a circumference that others could not reach the building when erected ; then the timber had to be cut piled and burned to form a starting point for further improvement. The shanties were unifonnly built of logs with elm bark for roof and floor. Then came the furniture which w^as invariably of home manufacture. The bedstead was made of poles with bark taken off and basswood bark for bv-^dcord, and the tools for its construction were an axe and an auger. The table leaf was made from a piece of wood two inches thick, split from the centre of a large log, and holes made with a two inch auger to receive the legs ; the seats were tripods, the material and workmanship the same as the table. Then cradles were ready for use by putting rockers to a sap-trough. I knew one
(r) Garrett Oakes' "Tales of a rionecr"iu the London Free Press.
THK T.VI-nnT SETTLEMENT. 1 .'I
l.iiiiily whcic tJic same sap-troii^^^lj scrvcil to rock four of tlicir 1)m1)('s ill succiNssioM. 'I'hc iiioitai* was indispcnsalilc in each r.niiily. Tliis .ntich' was ni.-ulc hy cutting a lo;; three feet lonjj ami I") iiiclu's in <li;ini('(t'i-. The lo;^ then stood on (MkI and a lire kept l)uiiiini;- in the centre till it formed a bowl-shaped con- <*M\ ily to ln)M U*n or twelve (juarts. Into this a (piait of corn was put and with a heavy wootlen pestle pounded to the r(;fj[uired dcLTH'^' of fineness, which process had to be repeated morning noon and ni^^ht — or go witliout the indispensable johnny cake."
The settler wdiOvSe remarks have Ixien just quoted gives the prices of goods during the early days of the settlement, when there was no store west of Long Point and but one there ; — established in 1807: "Broadcloth $20 per yard ; printed cottons, $1 ; steam loom cottons, $1 ; brass buttons a York Shilling each ; pins, 50 cents a paper ; green tea, $2 per lb ; tobacco. Si ; nut- megs, 25c. each ; board nails, 25c. per lb; shingle nails, 30c. ; 7x9 glass, 25c. a light ; and every other article in proportion" Taking the long journey to Port Ryerse into account as well as the prices, one \vonders that the merchant had any customers from this district — but necessity compelled, and we may only hope that the nutmegs did not turn out to be of the manufac- tured wooden variet}^ when brought home ! " During the war, " we are told, nearly all the settlers had to go to Port Rj-erse for their salt, pay SI 2 a bushel for it and carry it home on their backs. In the winter of 1813 I went to Long Point and paid SO for 28 pounds, a neighbour offering to take it home in his sleigh. He staid over night on the road, but left his load exposed, so that a cow destroyed the salt, killed herself, and caused me to return to replace the loss. This necessitated two hundred miles of travel on foot, and SI 2 in cash, to realize 28 pounds of salt. During an unusual scarcity a pedlar came with a horse load. I took fourteen pounds for w^hicn I paid S8. Two of my neigh- bours, David Brush and Moses Rice, went to Hamilton and paid S75 for a barrel, and, allowing for their time, expenses and team, it cost them Si 00. But, a few days after, peace was proclaimed, and in a short time salt could be had at Port Ryerse for S12 a barrel. " A settler who could be accounted "worth his salt " in those days must have been considered an acquisition indeed to the community !
14 THE TALBOT SETTLEMENT.
Stores were, before the lapse of many years, however, opened nearer home, in St. Thomas and elsewhere in the settlement, making the comforts of life more accessible and less costly than in the earliest days. The hardships, the privations, the discom- forts, of those earliest and even later days were very great and real, though borne with great cheerfulness. Bad roads, or none at all, scarcity of everything, except fuel and perhaps game, poor clothing, rude huts, rather than houses, the wolf literally at the door, or howling near it, every night — such seem to have been the common lot of all the first settlers. Mrs. Amelia Harris in her memoirs (r) of early life at Long Point tells how by day the men took their cow with them to the woods to browse upon the branches of the trees they were felling, at night fastening her to the door latch of the house to prevent her falling a prey to prowling wolves. Sheep were unknown in the Talbot settlement during its first ten or twenty years, flax forming the staple material for clothing. The climate was quite as rigorous — if not more so — then as now, — yet the hardy settlers battled with the forest and defied the frost king, despite the lack of woollen gar- ments and other things accounted luxuries then — necessaries now.
The rude ox-team dragging a pole split at the further end and parted in shape of a V, a board nailed across to hold the load, kept in place by wooden pins — this rough team and carriage of the early settlers has given place to the best of horses, wagons and carriages, the express train, the electric tram, tlie pneumatic tired bicycle, of the present day — all within less than a century. Macadamized roads, paved streets, steel railways, have taken the place of the primitive bridle paths and rough corduroy roads; gas, coal oil and electric lights, the pine knot and tallow- dip. The sickle, with which the early pioneers reaped among the stumps of the freshly felled forest trees, gave place to the scythe and the cradle, they in turn to the mowing and reaping machines, they, through various stages of developement, to the present self- binders, — and this within the memory of living men who have used them all. Few, very few, of the original log houses and outbuildings remain. In their place we now see on every side handsome, slate roofed, brick residences, mammoth barns with
(r) See Ryerson's Loyalists of America Vol. 2, p. 235.
TIIK TAI.nOT SirriMCMKN'l". IT)
stoiH^ hasiMucnts, in wliich cjiUK' ai*i' lioiisccl with Uw Ix'ttcr ])r()- tcction IVom the wcjithcr than tlu' early lannLTS and their i'aini- lit's enjoyed. Iluiuh-eds of aere.s of smilin*^ fields, oidy too thoron«;hly clearer 1 of forest trees, waving with golden ^i*ain or freshl\' woi'ked with modern machinery, or <rreen in pasture, nieet the eye everywhere th^-ou^hout the country, where once the liardy pioneer hewed out witli liis axe a few acres from the all embi-aeino^ forest, to raise the means of sustenance — his descend- ants now perhaps burnin<j^ im|)orted coal in their houses, so valu- able and scarce has wood become. Shall those wdiose lives may span the next century witness advances and changes greater than these ?
In the early years of the Talbot Settlement the Courts for the London District which embraced a large portion of the settlement were held at Turkey Point, or more strictly speaking at the " Town of Charlotteville, " (s) on the high land overlooking the point. The Towniship of Charlotteville was not one of those settled by Colonel Talbot, but formed part of what was known as the Long Point settlement. The Court House having been destroyed by fire, a statute passed in 1815, (t) authorized the removal of the District Courts to " the immediate vicinit}^ of Tisdale's mills in the Township of Charlotteville " and a new Court House and Gaol were accordingly erected at Vittoria, which became the capital of the London District. This Court House having also fallen a prey to the flames, the Courts were ordered in 1826 to be holden " w^ithin some part of the reservation hereto- fore made for the site of a towm, near the forks of the River Thames in the Townships of London and Westminster in the County of Middlesex, so soon as a Gaol and Court House shall be erected thereon " (u) and the same year Thomas Talbot, Mahlon Burw^ell, James Hamilton, Charles Ingersoll, and John Matthew^s, of Lobo, were appointed Commissioners to erect the buildings, were authorized to borrow £4,000 for that purpose, the Commis- sioners to first meet at the " Village of St. Thomas, in the County of Middlesex " on the first Monday in March, 1826, to select a President and Vice-President, (v) The Gaol and Court
(tj) 7 Geo. 4, Cap. 14.
is) See Stat, of U.C., 41, Geo. 3, Cap. 6, (1801.)
(t) See 55th Geo., 8 Cap. 16.
(u) 7 Geo. 4 Cap. 13.
l^ THE TALBOT SETTLEMENT.
House at London were accordingly built, the Courts removed thither and a town begun-destined to be, ere many years, a large, handsouie and prosperous city.
The Western part of the Talbot settlement (iv) was judicially served by the District Courts of the Western District held at Sandwich.
Sandwich and its neighborhood had a white population along the Detroit River during the French Regime long previous to the commencement of the Talbot settlement. The Township of Sandwich as well as Romney, Mersea, Gosfield and Maidstone, was however included in what was known as the Talbot settle- ment in 1822 and previously (x) and these townships were no doubt all largely settled by, or the titles to their lands granted under the supervision of Col. Talbot. Over the vast tract of country extending from the Detroit River on the west to the Long Point settlement on the east, Colonel Talbot was practically sovereign. That it improved rapidly under his management was quite apparent from its condition at the time of his death, while now no more beautiful, thriving and populous agricultural district can be found perhaps in Canada. Its people are chiefly of English, Irish, Scotch, American, French and German descent, the French in the west, the Germans scattered through Aldborough and some other townships. The district now contains considerably above 300,000, including three pros- perous cities, some half dozen towns and innumerable thriving villages. Its aggregate wealth is great.
Colonel Talbot died in his 83rd year, at London, in his own dis- trict, in 1853, on his return from a sojourn of a year or so, in Great Britain. His remains were interred in the picturesque little churchyard at Tyrconnell, where a plain but massive stone slab covers their last resting place. He never marricL A consider- able portion of his property was in his lifetime made over by the Colonel to his nephew, the late Lord Airey, military secretary, at the Horse Guards, who had, as Colonel Airey, resided with his
(t£/) The Tall>ot District established by Statute in 1837— must not be contused with the Talbot Settlement, as it embraced but a small portion of the settlement proper, though named no doubt in honour of the Colonel who had settled the Western Country.
(x) See Col. Talbot's memorial to the Secretary of State, for the Colonies app to Journ. 1836, No. 22, p. 10.
'I'lllO 'r.M.HOT SKITIJCMKNT,
17
r.Miiily ;il Toll Tnllxtl U)V sonic lime, (lining- liis uncle's lilV. 'Vho hnlnncc of t lie Inixls an<l ollici- jiropci-jy ('oloiid 'Pulbot devised (,() (lie \'.\iv (Jeoi-o-e Mnehclli. i'.)riii("rl v M.T. Foi' West KIlhii.
'" I h;i\»' .icconiplished what I resolved to do it is done," S5ii<l ( 'oloiiel 'rMll)ot to i\li"s. Jameson in lS.'i(), "but 1 would not, if .•my one was to offer nie the unis'i'i'se, o-o thi-ou;j;h a^ain tho hornn's I h,'i\'e under<i^one in foi-inin;;* this settlement. 13ut do not inia<^ine I repeiit it: 1 like niy retir(Mnent (//) . "
(r) Mrs. .lanK'soirs Skotelus in Canada, (new edition) p, 1(J7.
i
THOMAS LOCKEK.
WAUUKN 1852-5.
DKVKLOPMKNT OK TIIK COUNTY OK KL(iIN,
K. W. MtKAY.
ORIGIN OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
It is said tliat Gov^erninent by town meetings is the oldest forni ol" (JovenniuMit in the world, and tlu; student of ancient History is familiar with the Comitia of the Romans and the Ecclesia of the Greeks. These were popular assemblies held usual h^ in the market place, the Roman Forum and the Greek Agora. The Government carried on in them was a more or less, qualified Democrac}^
The principle of the Town Meeting however, is older than Athens or Rome. Long before streets w^ere built or fields fenced men wandered around the earth hunting for food in family parties. These were what we call Clans, and are supposed to have been the earliest form in which civil society appeared on the earth. Each Clan usually had a Chief or head man, useful more particularly as a leader in w^ar times. Its Civil Government^ rude and disorderly enough, w^as in principle a pure democracy^ When a Clan, instead of moving from place to place, fixed upon, some spot for a permanent residence, a village grew up there surrounded by a belt of vacant land or somewhat later by a stockaded \vall. The belt of land was called a " mark " and the wall was called a " tun " ; afterwards the enclosed space came to be known sometimes as a " mark " and sometimes as a '" tun " or to\vn, and in England the latter name prevailed. It was customary to call them by their clan names. Town names of this sort are to be found all over England, and point us back to a time when each w^as the stationary home of a Clan. These old English towns had their Tungemot or Tow^n Meetings in which By-Laws were made and other important business transacted. The principal officers w^ere the Reeve, the Beadle and the Tithing Man or petty Constable. At first these officers were elected by the people, but after aw^hile as great lords usurped jurisdiction over the land, the Lord Stewart or Bailiff came to supercede the
DEVELOPiMENT OF THE COUNTY.
Reeve or Beadle. After the Norman Conquest, tlie Townships, thus brought under the sway of great Lords, came to be gener- ally known by the French name of " Manor " or dwelling places. When the taxes imposed by the Lords became excessive, the people rebelled with the result that this issue has been tried over and over again in every Country, and in every age, with various results. How much the taxes shall be, and who is to decide how much they shall be, are always questions of the greatest importance. A very large part of what has been done in the way of making history has been to settle these questions, whether by discussion or by blows, whether in Council Chambers or on the battle field.
After the English had been converted to Christianity, local Churches were gradually set up all over the Country, and districts called parishes were assigned for the administrations of the Priests. The Parish generally coincided in area with the Town- ship, and in the course of the Thirteenth Century we find that the Parish had acquired the right of taxing itself for Church purposes. Money needed for the Church was supplied in the form of Church rates voted by the ratepayers, at the vestry meetings. The officers, of the Parish were the Constable, the Bailiff and the Vestry Clerks, the Beaille, the Way- Wardens or Surveyors of Highways, and the Hay-wards or Fence-viewers, and common drivers or Collector of Taxes, and at tlie beginning of the Seventeenth Century Overseers of the Poor were added. There were also Church Wardens, usually two for each Parish ; whose duties were primarily the care of the Church property, assessing the rates, and calling the vestry meetings. The officers were all elected by the ratepayers.
In addition to the Parish or Township, we find upon examina- tion that a map of England shews the Country to be divided into Counties. We have seen how the Clan, when it became stationary was established as a Town or Township, and in these early times Clans were generally united more closely into tribes, made up of a number of clans or family groups. Tlie names of tlie tribes were appliful first to the people and afterwards to the land they occupied. A few of the oldest county names in England still shew this plainly, for example Middlesex was originally
DKVKI.OI'MIIN I' <»!■ rill . <ii STY.
()('t*u])itMl l»y <!u» Midillc Smxoiis. Ivich trihc Ii.-kI i(s l<'a,'l<'i- wliose-
title was " Iviltlormaii."' nv cldcrm.iii, .'iml as tlicy iiicroased in inlluciu'c tlu'V tonk tlic tillc ol' kiii^s. TIh' liltlc kin^doniH CoiiK'idcMl soinctiini's with a. sin;;I(' shire, soiiK^tiiiics witli two or uu)Vo shii-cs. The Sliin* was <>^ov('rno(i l)y th(» Sliir(! Mote which was a. representatiNc body. Lords of Lands, including Abbots and Pi'iors, attendcMl it, as wtdl as tlie Reeve and i'our selectmen from each 'rownship. As the cities and l)oroiiglis ^rew into importance they sent representative Bui'^ers to tlieso meetin<^s. This Sliire Mote was both a Lei^islative body and a Court of Justice. After the Norman Conquest the Sliire beoan to be called by the French name County because of its similarity to the small pieces of Territory in that Countr}?- governed by Counts. The officers of the Shire Mote were the Shire Reeve or Sheriff, who was at first elected by the people and held office for life, but who was after- wards appointed by tlie King for a term of one 3'ear. The Coroner or " Crowner " was especially the Crown officer of the Court, and the Justice of the Peace. In 1362 the Justices of the Peace in each County were authorized to hold a Court four times a year.
The origin of municipal institutions in this country is due to the people who first came from England to America. They were dissatisfied w^ith the way Church affairs were carried on in the Old Country, and w^ere desirous of establishing a reform^ whereby members of the congregation should have more voice than formerly in the Church government. It was owing to their inability to secure a reform of this nature that they crossed the ocean, settled in groups, and built their houses near together so that they could all go to the same Church. Thus a Parish, which for municipal purposes is called a Tow^nship, was formed and consisted of as many farms as were within convenient distance from the meeting house. Around the meeting house a village gradually sprang up wnth the customary tavern, store and town hall.
A Township, taken as a w'hole, and in relation to the govern- ment of the country, may be looked upon as an individual wdio obeys the Government, not because he is inferior to or that he is less capable than his neighbor for governing matters, but because
DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY.
he acknowledges the utility of an association with his fellowmen, and because he knows that no such association can exist without a regulating force. As the Townships increased in number, they became a part of larger districts called counties, without which a system of united self government would be far from complete.
In 1635 the first County was established in Massachussetts as a judicial district witli its Court House, Gaol and Sheriff. The early English settlers were used to a Count}^ as a district for the Administration of Justice, and they brought with them Coroners, Sheriffs and Quarter Sessions. In Virginia a different county system was introduced. There was an insurmountable distinction iDGttween the owners of plantations and the men and women who had been indentured " white service." An aristocratic type of society was largely developed in Virginia, as readily as the democratic type was developed in New England.
In Virginia the system was that of the English Parish, with its Church Warden and Clerk, and the Vestry composed of twelve chosen men elected by the people of the Parish. The difference between the New England Township and the Virginia Parish in respect of self-government was quite plain ; in New England the Township was the unit of the representation of the Colonial Legislature ; in Virginia not the Parish, but the County was the unit of representation. The conditions which made the New England Town Meeting were absent, the only alternative was a kind of representative government and for this the County was a small enough area. There were usually in each County eight Justices of the Peace, and their Court was a counterpart of the Quarter Sessions. In addition to the Administration of Justice these Courts superintended the construction and repair of high- ways and bridges, and for this purpose divided the County into precincts, appointing annually for each precinct a highway surveyor. The first representative government in America was established in Virginia. In 1619 the colonists secured the appoint- ment of a Governor and Council in England, and there was added a general assembly composed of two burgesses from eacli planta- tion or settlement elected by the inhabitants ; this assembly met for the first time in the Church at Jamestown on :30th July, 1619. In 1634 when the Counties were re-organized the Burgesses sat
nKVKLOI'MKNT Ol' Till: ("(M'NTY.
i'or (4)uiiti(»s. Tins system of ( JoNciiiiiicni w.is (•()ntiiiU(3(l until l()n<r alter i\\v wav (►!' intlcix'iKlciiico.
CANADA.
Tlu' (levclopmciit of (^jiiuitla as the abo'lc! of civ ili '.ation was not so rapid as that of her sister country to the South, for the rno-o(Mlnessof the land, the opposition ofsa\'a<^e tribes, internecine Warfare between settlers, the severity of the winter season, together with many other obstacles, ofiered little encouragement to early settlers.
Originally the home of several tribes of Indians, wlio lived by the chase, prairie-land and forest were in the same condition as they had been a thousand years before the first pioneer from the eastern world penetrated into the gloom of the forest or wended his toilsome and dangerous course along the vast water-ways that led to the incerior.
The brave Jacques Cartier, with his followers, took possession of the land in the name of his sovereign, Francis L, in 1534. The following year he made another visit,, entered the Gulf on St. Lawrence's Day, named gulf and great river, for this reason, the St. Lawrence, sailed up to the Indian village Stadacona, (Quebec) and continuing his voyage reached another Indian village, called Hochelaga, which he named Mount Royal (Mon- treal). Seventy years afterwards Champlain and Pontgrave were sent out from France to trade with the Indians in furs, and subsequently, from a favorable representation of the fertility and beauty of the new country, French colonists were induced to immigrate. Several families arrived in New France, as it was then called, tradesmen built houses, soldiers erected forts, and a knowledge of Christianity w^as imparted to the savages by French clergymen. From the colony to the south, some English traders came and in consequence of wars at different times between England and France and between the English Colonies and the Mother Country, the early history of Canada is one of much bloodshed. Indian tribes sided with both national ties in the country and frightful atrocities were committed on either side. In 1713, the treaty of Utrecht gave Acadia (Novia Scotia), New Foundland and Hudson Bay Territory to England, leaving
DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY.
Canada, Cape Breton and Louisiana to France. About this time Quebec had a popukxtioii of 7,000, AJontreal 2,000, and the whole of Canada about 25,000. Trading posts were established in the west on the shores of the lakes, the principal being Kingston , Newark (Niagara), and Detroit.
QUEBEC— 1763 to 1788.
By the Treaty of Paris signed on February 10th, 1703, Canada passed under British rule. In the month of October following the treaty, a proclamation was published under the great seal of Great Britian for erecting four new Civil Governments, those of Quebec, East Florida, West Florida and Granada, in the countries and islands in America which had been ceded by the definite treaty. During the interval from the capitulation of Montreal in 17G0, to the conclusion of; peace between the two mother countries in 1763, Canada was held under occupation by British troops. General Murray, with his headquarters at Quebec, was the chief officer over the colony. The afiairs of the Country were regulated by a Council composed of military officers.
On the 21st of November, 1763, Captain James Murray was appointed Captain General and Governor-in-Chief of the Pi'ovince of Quebec by Royal Conmiission. From the wording of the proclamation and commission it appears to have been His Majesty's intention with respect to the Province of Quebec, to assimilate the laws and government of it, to those of the other American Colonies and Provinces, which were under His Majesty's immediate government, and not to continue the Municipal laws and customs by which the conquered people had been here-to- fore governed, any further than as those law\s might be necessary to the preservation of their property. This was found to be impracticable as the people had been accustomed to the French laws since 1663. Instead of a complete introduction of the English laws, a compromise was adopted. In criminal cases. Trial by Jury, an<l English Legal forms were established ; in civil cases that effected property and inheritance, the ancient laws of the Colony were allowed to have force, but a considerable period upwards of fourteen years, elapsed before any definite constitution
i>i;vi;i,t>i'MKNT <ti' riiK coiNrv.
or real scttliMl modes of jiiliiiiiiist lat i<»ii oi" laws ciii \n\ sjii<l to liaxc l)('(Mi iiiirodiKM'il. •
111 1774 when Sir (Jny Carlcton, thn successor ol" (ilcix'nil Murray, was (Jovcruor of tlic (\)lony, tlui ^)u(d)(K' Act was passed wliicli |)rovi(Ml lor the appoiutuuMit of a (Council for the aflairs of the Pi'ON'iuce of Quebec to consist of persons resident therein, not exceeding twenty-three or less thai) se\'enteen to be appointed by the Kinj4'. Tliis Council had tlie power to make ordinances for the peace, welfare and ^ood oovei'ument of tlie Province with the consent of the Governor. Every ordinance passed had to be transmitted to Enoland for the approval of the Kino^.
In 1788, under the authority" of tw^o Acts passed by the Lei^islative Council, Lord Dorchester, Governor, by proclamation issued on the 24th day of July, 1788, divided the Province of Quebec into five districts. The tw^o most westerly districts w^ere called Nassau and Hesse. In the words of the Proclamation Nassau was bounded "on the East by the North and South Line intersectinii: the mouth of the river now called Trent, discharirino: itself from the West into the Bay of Quinte, and extending so far Westerly as to a North and South line intersecting the extreme projection of Long Point into the Lake Erie on the Northerly side of the said Lake Erie."
The District of Hesse was to "comprehend all the residue of our said Province in the Western or inland parts thereof, of the entire breadth thereof from the Southerly to the Northerly bound- ary of the same.
THE DISTRICT OF HESSE.— 1788 to 1791
The formation of the District of Hesse is the first recoo^nition of the necessit}^ of some system of administration of justice in what is now" Western Ontario. On the day the procla- mation forming the District was issued the following officers were appointed therefor :— Justices of the Court of Connnon Pleas, Duperon Baby, Alexander McKee and William Robertson. There were also eight Justices of the Peace, a Sheriff named
DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY.
Grep-or McGreiror, a Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, a Clerk of the Peace and Sessions of the Peace, Thomas Smith, Esq.
At this tinje the District of Hesse comprehended a very large and undefined territory ; the only inhabitants were in the settle- ments around Detroit. These were computed at about 4,000. The public buildings at Detroit were the barracks, government house, council house where the Indians delivered their speeches, and other buildings connected with the fort and naval dock yard.
In September, 1789, an order was issued from Quebec to the board of Justices in the District of Hesse, defining the lands for settlement in Canada, " beginning at the Western boundary of the last purchase made by the Crown from the Indians, West of Niagara,(which Western boundary commenced at the mouth of the Barlow or Orwell River, now known as the Catfish Creek emptying into Lake Erie at Port Bruce ; thence up a line North sixteen degrees West. This line, when produced as directed, is very near the location, if not exactly on the Western Town Line of Dorchester hereafter referred to in the formation of the County of Norfolk in 1792 as the Western boundry thereof.) Then " extending along the whole of the border of Lake Erie to the Straits of Detroit up to such distance towards Lake Huron and to such depth from the shore as they might deem expedient." These were to be surveyed and parcelled out for the accomodation of emigrant loyalists and other settlers, but before any part could be granted to individuals the whole had to be ceded to the Crown by the Indians. After this had been done the magistrates were authorized to select the proper site for a country town for the district. A situation opposite the island of Bois Blanc was recommended as^the best, and for the purpose of deciding this the Magistrates were ordered to consult with the officers of the Militia and other English inhabitants. After the town site Had been decided upon, the Surveyor of the District was to lay out the Townships and proceed to receive applications and issue certificates for town and farm lots. Those who already occupied improved farms w^ere to receive certificates.
U. E. LOYALISTS.
As soon as the struggle had ended in the old Colonies by
DKVKKOI'MKNT UV TlIK COl'NTV.
tluMi- siictii'ssful assertion of iinlcpciKlciu'c a, vast iiii;^n'ati()n of Loyalists took placi' into Canada, These jM-ople, who Ii.kI Ix'cn acTiistomeil to t\\v exeirise of the eleetoreal privilege, joined with those of their eountrynien wlio had previously settled tliei-e in deniandinir a nioditieation oi' the (^)uebec Act, and tin; estahlisli- nient of a. Local Le<;islature. This resulted in the passa<re of the Constitutional Act, bein^r :U, George III, cha])ter 31, by wliich representative institutions were conferred and tlie whoh; Province divided into two, witli the desitrnation of • Upi)er and Lower Cana la, now known as tlie Provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
WESTERN DISTRICT— 1792 to 1798.
Li July, 1792, Governor Simcoe by proclamation issued from the Government House of Kingston, under the authority of the Constitutional Act, divided the Province into nineteen counties. The Sixteenth, or County or Norfolk, \vas" bounded on the North and East by the County of Lincoln, and the River La Tranche uOW called the Thames. (The Eastern boundarj' was the Grand River which formed the Western boundary of the first and fourth ridings of the County of Lincoln. ) On the South side by the Lake Erie until it meets the Barlue to be called the Orwell River," (now known as the Catfish Creek emptying into the lake at Port Bruce,) " thence up a line North sixteen degrees West until it intersects the river La Tranche or Thames."; "thence up the said river until it meets the North- West boundary of the W^est Riding of the County of York." This line from the mouth of the Orwell river, when pro- duced as described, is very near the location, if not exactly on the Western Town-line of the Tow^nships of North and South Dor- chester The Seventeenth, or County of Suffolk, w^as bounded on the East by the County of Norfolk ; on the South by Lake Erie and until it meets the carr\ang place from the Point au Pins unto the Thames: on the West by the said carrying place, thence up the said River Thames until it meets the North-West bound- ary of the County of Norfolk. "' This placed the territory now known as the Townships of Malahide, Dorchester and Bayham in the County of Norfolk ; the remainder of the present County formed part of the County of Suffolk.
10 DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY.
In this division of the Province into Counties, but very little attention seems to have been paid to the boundaries of the four districts into which the Pi-ovince had been already divided. If we consider the circumstances that uo surveys had been made in the District of Hesse, except in the neighborhood of Detroit, and the fact that the greater part of the country on both sides of the Grand River was thickly populated by Indians, it was evidently the intention to divide the District of Hesse into four Counties, namely, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Kent ; the three first occupy- ing all the territory South of the Thames. The County of Kent occupying all of the country not being territories of the Indians not already included in any of the other counties extending Northward to the Hudson Bay, and Southward of the said line to the utmost extent of the country known by the name of Canada.
For the purpose of representation the fourth riding of the County of Lincoln which was bounded on the East by the Niagara River, on the South by Lake Erie, on the West by the Grand River or Ouse, and on the North by the Chippawa or Welland River and the road leading from the forks of the Welland to the Grand River, was united with the County of Norfolk for the purpose of sending one representative to the House of Assembly. The County of Suffolk and the County of Essex were also joined together for the same purpose.
The first session of the first Provincial Parliament was con- vened at Niagara on the I7th day of September, 1792. The session lasted twenty-eight days. Eight Acts were passed; the first "to introduce English law as the rule fcr decision in all matters of controversy relative to law and civil rights." The second " to establish trials by Jury"; the third, "to establish the use of the Winchester measure and a standard for other weights and measures " ; the fourth, " to abolish all summary proceedings in Courts of Common Pleas in actions under ten pounds sterling " ; the fifth, " an Act to prevent accidents by fire " ; sixth, " for the more easy pay and speedy recovery of small debts " ; seventh, " to regulate the tolls to be taken in mills" and the eighth ' for build- ing a gaol and court house in every district within the Province, and for altering the names of the Districts."
The District named Hesse was hereafter called the Western
i»i:vi;l()1'mknt ok tmk ('(Uintv. 11
District. Section \l\ (if tliis Act cuact^Ml tli;it the ^^^aol .•iiid coui't li(»usc for the \V<'stvrii District should bo built, in Ihc iiiaini(!r set I'oi-lh. niul as ii(>ai the ])i('sent Court House as conveniently may l)e. 'This was at Detroit.
The iirst Act of the Second Session of the first Parliament was " for i]\c better reo-ulation of the n)ilitia." The second was an Act " to provide for the nomination and appointment of parish and town officers." This Act provided that " any two of His Majesty's Justices of tlie Peace acting witliin the Division in which any })arish, township, reputed township, or phice may be, may issue their w^arrant g:iving eight days previous notice to the constable of sueh parish, towmship, reputed township, or place authorizing him on a day to be Kxed by the said Justices in the present year, an<l on the first Monday in the month of March in every ensuing year, to assemble the inhabitant householders, paying or liable to pay to any public assessment or rate of snch parish, tow^nship, reputed township, or place, in the parish church or chapel or in some convenient place within the said parish * * for the purpose of choosing and nominating the parish or town officers hereinafter mentioned, to serve in their respective offices for the year next ensuing, at which meeting the said constable shall preside." The office of constable appears to have still retained some of its ancient dignity in the estimation of the coloiiists. The inhabitant householders who assembled, were authorized to cnoose a Clerk of the Parish or Township, whose duty it should be " to make a true and complete list of every male and female inhabitant wdthin the limits of the Parish or Towaiship, and return the same to the Justices acting as afore- said," and " to enter and record all such matters as shall relate to the said Parish, Tow^n or Township, and shall apper- tain to his office." They w^ere also authorized to choose two persons to serve as assessors, one person to serve as collector of taxes, and not less than two or more than six persons as specified in the warrant issued by the Justices,, to serve as overseers of highw^ays. The duty of these officers w^as "to oversee and perform such things as shall be directed by any Act to be passed touching or concerning the highways and roads," and to serve as fence view^ers. They \vere also to choose a pound-keeper, and
12 DEVELOrMENT OF THE COUNTY.
two persons to serve as town wardens, but, " as soon as any church was built for performance of divine service according to the use of the Church of England with a parson or minister duly appointed thereto," the householders should choose one of those wardens an«.l the parson or minister nominate the other. The two so chosen and nominated were declared " a corporation to represent the whole inhabitants of the town or parish, " and as such " may have a property in the goods or chattels of or belonging to the parish, and may prosecute, or defend in all presentments, indictments or actionsfor and on behalf of the in- habitants of the said parish. "Persons neglecting or refusing to take the oath of office, and discharge the duties were subject to a penalty of forty shillings in each case, and the magistrates at a special Sessions, could namo one or more persons to fill the positions they left vacant. The Act did not define the duty of any of these officers further than to state that the over- seers should do whatever may be directed respecting the high- ways by any Act to be passed, and that as fence-viewers they should, upon receiving proper notice view and determine upon the height and sufficiency of any fence "conformably to any resolutions that may be agreed upon " at the meeting so held. And the pound-keeper was authorized to impound all cattle found trespassing upon any land properly fenced, and any stallion of more than one year old that may be found roaming at large. The same Act authorized the Magistrates at Quarter Sessions to appoint a high constable for each District annually, and
constables for each Township.
If the Township did not contain 30 inhabitants it was not
lawful for the Justices to issue their warrant calling a meeting
therein, and said Township was joined to the Township adjacent
thereto that contained the smallest number of iidiabitants.
The system of County Goverrnnent then introduced was similar to that already established in the state of Virginia. Chapter 4 of the Act of this Session was to regulate the laying out and mending and keeping in repair the roads and highways in the Province.
Chapter 6 was to fix the times and places of holding the Courts of General Sessions of the Peace within the several Districts of the Province.
i»i;\ Ki t»iM i;n I <ii 111 1. < <M N i ^ . |.'{
UndtT (lie authority <>! (he Act »S'S (Jco. Ill, it was dii-ccted that tho C/ourts ol (,)uart('r Sessions of the Peace I'or tiie Western District ot" the l'ro\ iiu-c, slioiiM coimneiice an<l he lioMei! in the Town of Detroit, and tlia.t special Sessions of th(i Peace slioul(i C(»nniience and he holden yearly and in e\'ery year in the Town of Michiliniackinac. By Chapter 4 ol* thc^ Acts passed ])y the first Parliament on the 3rd June, 1 7{)(i it was enacted that the Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace for the Western
District shall commence and he lujlden in the Parish of Assump- tion, now Sandwich, in such [ilace as ma}' be found to be most convenient for the Magistrates of said District or tiie major part of them, on the second Tuesdays of the months of July, October, January and April until such time as it shall seem expedient to the I\Iagistrates or tlie major part of them to remove and hold the sau\e nearer to the Island called the Island of Bois Blanc (opposite Amherstburg,) being near the entrance to the River Detroit. The District Court for the cognizance of small cases was also at this time removed from the town of Detroit, and ordered to be held at and in the same place w^herein the General Quarter Sessions were to be held. This change was necessary owing to the evacuation of Detroit by the British in 1795. The work of surveying Townships under direction of the Provincial Govern- ment was now being carried on, and during the second session of the Second Parliament, held at York in 1798, an Act was passed constituting the Township of London, Westminster, Dorchester, Yarmouth, South w^old, Dunwach, Aldborough and Delaware, to form the County of Middlesex, and also to constitute the Town- ships of Burford, Norwich, Dereham, Oxford upon the Thames, Blanford and Blenheim as the County of Oxford. The Town- ships of Rainham, Walpool Woodhouse, Charlotteville, Walsingham, Houghton, Middleton, Windham and Townsend were formed into the County of Norfolk. Section 37 of this Act enacted "that the Counties of Norfolk, Oxford and Middlesex with so much of this province as lies to the westward of the Home District and the District of Niagara, to the southward of Lake Huron and between them and a line drawn due north from a fixed boundary (where the eastermost limit of the Township of
14 DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY.
Oxford intersects the River Tliames) till it arrives at Lake Huron, be constituted to form the District of London.
DISTRICT OF LONDON— 1800— 1837. ORGANIZATION.
With the promulgation by Proclamation bearing date the first day of January, 1800 of the Act passed establishing the District of London, a general commission of the Peace was issued for the said District. The following extract from the original records will shew the manner in which the Commission was received, the District organized, and a General Quarter Sessions of the Peace established : —
DISTRICT OF LONDON, UPPER CANADA.
On the first day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred, and about noon on the same day, a packet was delivered to me by Samuel Ryerse, Esquire, which packet con- tained a General Commission of the Peace for the District of London, dated at York the first da}^ of January, one thousand eight hundred. And in and by the said Commission of the Peace the following Honorable Gentlemen and Gentlemen are appointed to be His Majesty's Justices of the Peace, in and for the District of London, that is to say, the Honorable John Elmsley, the Honorable Peter Russell, the Honorable Phineas Shaw, the Hon- orable James Baby, the Honorable Alexander Grant, the Honor- able John McGill, the Honorable David William Smith, the Honorable William Dummer Powell, tlie Honorable Henry AUcock, Samuel Ryerse, William Spurgin, Peter Teeple, Thomas Hornor, Benjamin Springer, John Backhouse, John Beemer and Wynant Williams, Esquires ; also three other commissions nomi- nating and appointing me to be Clerk of the Peace, Clerk of the District Court and Registrar of the Surrogate Courts. Also, a Commission dated at York the twelfth day of February, one thous- and eight hundred, nominating and appointing Samuel Ryerse, Thomas Hornor, Esquires, and myself to be commissicmers for tak- ing the acknowledgements of recogni iance or recognizances of bail
DKVKLOl'MKNT OK IHK ( OI'NTV. 15
or h.iils for (Ik^ Court ol" Kiii;^^'s liciu'li ; also, DcdimuH Potcst'itcin (laU'il Jit York, llic lirst <l.iy of January, one, tlioiisaiid (jioht hiiniliiMl, iioininatii)<4- and appointing- Sanni<I llyerse, William Sixn^in and Vvicv '\\'c\)\{\ l^s(pMr('s, to he ( Aiiinnissioners for adniinistrrini;" tlu' oaths pri'serib('(l hy law to tlu; otficcjs ot* tlic
(loxcrnnu'nt.
Thomas Welch, C. P. April 1st. ISOO.
April 2nd, 1800.
At a meeting of the Magistrates resident in the Townships of Charlotteville and Woodhouse, who met at the house of James Munro, in Charlotteville, for tlie purpose of carrying into execu- tion the intenticm of His Majesty's Commissioners of the Peace for the District of London, the following persons were duly swoni into office according to law, that is to say : — William Spurgin, Esquire, by Samuel Ryerse, Escjuire ; Samuel Ryerse, Esquire, by William Spurgin, Esquire : and Peter Teeple, Esquire, by Samuel Ryerse, Esquire, as Justices of the Peace ; Thomas Welch, Esquire, by Samuel Ryerse, Esquire, as Clerk of the Peace, all between the hours of 9 and 12 o'clock in the forenoon of the same day.
Thomas Welch, C. P.
The aforesaid Justices then formed themselves into a special Session of the Peace.
Thomas Welch, C. P.
The Court of Special Sessions of the Peace opened in due form ; Samuel Ryerse, Esquire in the chair.
Ordered by the Court that a Venire be made out in due form requiring and commanding the Sheriff" of the District of London, to make Proclamation throughout the District, that a General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, in and for the District of London, w^ill be holden at the house of James Munro, in Charlotteville, on Tuesday, the eighth of this present month of April, at ten o'clock in the forenoon of the same day, and to summon a jury for the said Court, which being done, the Court is adjourned io Tuesday next, at 10 o'clock a. m.
Thomas Welch, C. P.
District "j April the 8th, 1800.
OF London. -
TO WIT : J The General Quarter Sessions of the Peace holden
16 DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY.
at the house of Jaiiies Munro, in Charlotteville, in and for the said District on the eighth day of April, in the fortieth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George III, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, and so forth, and in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred ; before the Justices of our said Lord the King, assigned to keep the Peace in the said District, and also to hear and determine divers felonies, trespasses and other misdemeanors in the said District committed, and of the Quorum.
1. Samuel Ryerse, Esquire — Chairman.
2. William Spurgin.
3. Peter Teeple.
4. John Beemer, and
5. Wynant Williams, Esquires, associate Justices attending.
Joseph Ryerson, Esquire, Sheriff,
Thomas Welch, Clerk of the Peace.
GRAND INQUEST.
1. Dan Millard — Foreman. 8. William Cope.
2. Nathan B. Barnum. 9. Jacob Buckner.
3. William B. Hilton. 10. Peter Walker.
4. Robert Munro. 11. Phillip Force.
5. Silas Secord. ' 12. James Mathews.
6. Lucas Tederick. 13. John Gustin.
7. John Davis.
April the 8th, 1800.
The Court met according to appointment or adjournment and opened in due form.
Wynant Williams and John Beemer Esquires took and sub- scribed the oaths subscribed by law, as Justices of the Peace, in and for the District of London, the oachs administered by Samuel Ryerse, Esquire, in open Court, between the hours of 9 and 12 o'clock in the forenoon.
William Budd Gould, gentleman, is appointed by the Court to be High Constable of the District of London, and sworn into office, according to law, in open Court; and Constables for the present year were at the same time nominaterl and appointed by the Court, viz. : — Moses Rice for Charlotteville, sworn in open Court. Albert Berdan, for Woodhouse, W,il[)olc and Rainliam
nKVKKOl'MKNT <tK TIIK <'(UINTY. 17
and Crier of the Qu.irter Sessions and Distriet Court, and sworn in open Court. Simon Mabcc^ for Walsinj^hani, sworn in open C/Ourt, and dohn iMuekle, junior, for Townsend and Windham, and swoi'n in o})en Court.
The Grand Jury sworn in due form, and the cliar^e j^iven them by the cliairman.
Simon Mabee, Constable attending the Grand Jury.
April, the 8th, 1800.
The Grand Jury present, the publick roads of the District as being not laid out according to law, by mcians whereof they are ^rievious and a public nuisance.
Ordered, that Juries be summoned and sworn in different parts of the District, to view and report on the grounds on which roads are required to be laid out.
Personal applications in Court for better regulations of the publick roads in different Townships, viz.: —
For Charlotteville, Dan Millard.
For Townsend and Windham, Jabez Collver, Sr.
For Woodhouse, Richard Mead.
The Court is adjourned to two o'clock p. m.
The Court met according to adjournment, and opened in due form.
Samuel Ryerse sworn into office as Surrogate, and Thomas Welch also sworn into office as Registrar of the Surrogate Court ; both sworn according to law in open Court.
The Grand Jury dismissed by the Court at four o'clock p. m.
The Court is adjourned until to-morrow at ten o'clock a. m.
April the 9th, 1800.
The Court met according to adjournment, and opened in due form.
1. Samuel Ryerse, Esquire, Chairman. 2. William Spurgin.
3. Peter Teeple. 4. John Beemer, and
5. Wynant Williams, Esquires, associate Justices. Joseph Ryerson, Esquire, Sheriff
The petition of James Munro of Charlotteville, praying to be recommended by the Court in order to obtain a License to keep a house of public entertainment at the house he now dwells at, was read in Court, and the prayer of the Petitioner granted.
18 DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY.
The petition of Joseph Woolley of Walsingham, praying to have his Statute Labor on the highways lessened, was read in Court, and his labor on the publick roads stated by the Court, at two days for the ensuing year.
The petition of Titus Finch and others for a road, read in Court and ordered to lie on the table.
The petition of Walter Anderson of Charlotteville, praying to have his Statute Labor on the Highways lessened, was read in Court, and the prayer of the petitioner granted, stating his statute labor on the public highways at four days for the ensuing year.
ORDERED BY THE COURT
That no composition for labor on the highways for the ensuing year, be permitted within the District of London.
The Court is adjourned to Saturday next at 9 o'clock a. m
April the 12th, 1800.
The Court met according to adjournment, and opened in due form.
1. William Spurgin, Esquire, in the chair. 2. Peter Teeple.
3. Wynant Williams, and 4. John Beemer, Esquires, associate Justices.
The opinion of the Court being taken, respecting Mr.
Jabez Coll vers papers, the Court is of opinion that with the
addition of his oath if required, his ordaination may be suffi- ciently authenticated.
The petition of sundry inhabitants of Charlotteville, praying for a road to be laid out in that Township, read in Court and ordered to lie on the table.
Nathan Bunnell Barnum, and Finlay Malcom are appointed by the Court to be each of them a keeper of a standard for weights and measures within the District of London, and the Clerk of the Peace is ordered by the Court, to notify them respectively of their appointment as soon as possible.
ORDERED BY THE COURT.
That Samuel Ryerse, Wynant Williams and John Beemer^ Esquires, do act as Justices of the Court of Request, and Com- missioners of Highways in and for that Division of the District
PKVKLOI'MKN r (IK TIIK ('(MINIY. 19
of Jjoiulon winch is (•<)mj)()S('(l of t\\v. TownshipH of Rjiiiihani, WalpoK', W'ocmIIiousc and 'rowiisciKl. 'IMic (\)Ui"t,s of llccjUcst for tlu' said Division to ha Iioldeii at tlie liousc of .James Clciideniieii in Woodhouso.
riiat William S[)ur«4in and Poter Tee})l(*, Esquii'es, do act as Justii'(^s of the Court of Re(iuest, and Commissioners of Highways, in and for that Division of the District of London which compre- hends the Townships of Charlotteville, Walsin<rham, Hougliton and Middleton. The Courts of Re(piest to be liolden at the dwellini;- house of Miden Stacy in Charlotteville.
The petition of Silas Secord and others, praying redress of <rrievances on account of the officers appointed in this County? particularly of the person whom the Petitioners state is appointed Deputy Sheritt ; was read in Coui't, and ordered by the Court to be filed of record.
Dan Millard Esquire, of Charlotteville, is appointed by the Court to be Treasurer of the District of London.
The Court do resolve as follows, that is to say :
1st. That as soon as the Court can be furnished with certain information of what is allowed in the Court of Quarter Sessions for the District of Niagara for extra services performed by the Clerk of the Peace in the line of his duty.
2nd. Fees to the Town Clerks for services performed in the line of their duty.
;^rd. Fees to the Pound -keepers for the services performed in the line of their duty.
4th. Fees to the Crier of the Court of Quarter Sessions for services performed in the line of his duty ; the Court will proceed to take order therein accordingly.
5th. That the Court will proceed to consider and determine of the ways and means for defraying the expenses which will be incurred in procuring seals, books, etc., etc., for the several Courts of Quarter Sessions, the District Court and Surrogate Court of this District.
The Court is adjourned to the Second Tuesday in July next.
Thomas Welch,
Clerk of the Peace.
20 DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY.
District ] July 8th, 1800.
OF London. ^ TO WIT : J The General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, holden
at the House of James Munro, in Charlotteville in and for the said District on the eighth day of July, in the fourtieth year of the Reign of our Sovereign, Lord George the Third, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, and so forth. Before the Justices of our said Lord, the King, assigned to keep the Peace in the said District, and also to hear and determine divers felonies, trespasses and other misdemeanors in the said District committed, and of the Quorum.
The Court met according to adjournment, and opened in due form.
1. Samuel Ryerse, Esquire, Chairman. 2. William Spurgin. 3. Peter Teeple. 4. John Beemer.
5. Thomas Hornor. 6. John Backhouse,
7. and Wynant Williams, Esquires, Associate Justices.
Joseph Ryerson, SheriflF.
Thomas Welch, Clerk of the Peace.
Proclammation made in due form, and the Commission of the Peace, and the Act of Parliament for the better securing the Province against the King's enemies publickly read.
THE GRAND INQUEST.
1. Isaac Gilbert, Foreman. 8. Job Slaght, Sr.
2. Walter Anderson. 9. Philip Sovereign.
3. Robert Henderson. 10. John Culver.
4. Joseph Lemon. 11. Michael Shoaff.
5. Larrance Johnson. 12. William Dill.
6. Daniel McColl, Jr. 13. John Sovereign.
7. Abraham Powell.
Moses Rice, Constable attending the Grand Jury.
The Grand Jury sworn and their charge delivered to them in due form, by the Chairman.
John Backhouse, Esquire took and subscribed the oath pres- cribed by law, as one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for this District in open Court. Oaths administered by Samuel Ryerse, Esquire.
DEVKLOPMKNT OK TIIK ("(M'NTV. 21
lU'LK OF COl'IM'.
The (^lork oi' tlie Pt'jicc shall be allowed to ask. deinaiHl and receive of and from each person claiming a Hill of Indictment, the sumof Ten Shillings, lawful money of this Province, and two shil- lings like money for each subpceiia, except in extraordinary cascH where the Court may think proper to order otherwise.
The proceedings of the last April Sessions being publickly read by order of the Court, and the opinion of that session relative to the proof offered by Jabez Collver, sr., of his ordination to the Ministry of the Gospel, is protested against by Samuel Ryerse, Esquire.
Artimus Rogers is nominated and appointed by the Court to be Constable for the Township of Burford.
Hannnon Lawrence is appointed by the Court to be Constable for the Township of Oxford.
Proclamation being made in due form, and the Justices of the Peace called upon to give in their record, a conviction and six shillings fine against Daniel McColl, jr., for profane swearing on the 28th day of June last.
Silas Secord appears in Court on Recognizance at suit of the King, and is discharged on paying costs.
The Court is adjourned to to-morrow at ten o'clock a. m.
July the 9th, 1800.
The Court met according to adjournment and opened in due form.
1. Samuel Ryerse, Esquire, Chairman. 2. William Spurgin. 3. Peter Teeple. 4. Thomas Hornor. ~
5. John Beemer, and 6. John Backhouse, Esquires,
Associate Justices. Joseph Ryerson, Esquire, Sheriff.
Thomas Welch, Clerk of the Peaee. The Grand Inquest and Traverse Jurors called and dismissed by the Court.
A Report of the Road betw^een Townsend and Windham, also in the Township of Oxford and Burford, and on Dundas street was read in Court.
ORDERED BY THE COURT.
That the Commissioners of Roads, in and for the Townships
22 DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY.
Wiudliam and Town.send, do proceed and lay out the above roads as soon as it can conviently be done. The said four reports being delivered to the Comniissioners of roads by order of tlie Court.
Ordered by the Court, that John Beenier and Thomas Hornor, Esquires, do act of Justices of the Peace and Commis- sioners of Roads in and for the Townships of Windham and Townsend in the Count}^ of Norfolk, and also in and for the Counties of Oxford and Middlesex. And that the places for holding the Courts of Request for the above division shall be at the dwelling houses of Mordecai Sayles, in Tow^nsend, and John Fowder in Burford alternately. And that John Backhouse. Esquire, do act as a Justice of the Peace in the Court of Request holden at the dwelling house of Moiden Stacy in Charlottevillle* and as a Commissioner of Roads for the Township of Charlotte- ville and Walsingham.
Hammon Lawrence, of the Township of Oxford, is appointed by Court to b3 a keeper of a standard for w^eights and measures ao^reeablv to the Provincial Statute in that case made and provided.
The petition of Hammon Lawrence of Oxford, praying to be recommended for the purpose of obtaining a license for keeping a publick house of entertainment at the house he now dwells at, was read in Court, and the prayer of the Petitioner granted.
The petition of John Fowler of the Tow^nship of Burford praying to be recommended for the purpose of obtaining a license to keep a publick house of entertainment at the house he now dwells at was read in Court and the prayer of the petitioner granted.
The Court is adjourned to Saturday next at three o'clock in irhe afternoon.
July the 12th, 1800.
The Court met according to adjournment and opened in due form. L Samuel Rycrse, Esquire, Chairman,
2. William Spurgin.
3. And Wynant Williams, Esquires Associate Justices.
Joseph Ryerson, Esquire, Sheriff
Thomas Welch, Clerk of the Peace.
The Treasurer of this District is notified by the Court, he
nKVKhor.MKNi' iM' Tnh: c^)l'^TV. 23
hciu^j^ prcsiMil iit Court, that, lie must, ^ivc honils with ^ooil and
sullirii'iit fsi'iMirity, (as s ),)h as asscssiMl rates in an<l lor tliis
nistric't shall he oiNlcivd t > he collected) in the; penal sum ol' one
hundred and twenty-two pounds l.-iwlul money of this I*i-ovince,
for the faithful discha,r<i^e of the duties of his oflice as Tri^asurer.
The Court is a<ljourned to the second Tuesday in ( )ctober
next.
Thomas VVi:i,en, ('k*ik of the Peace
District j October the 14th, 1800.
OF LOXDON. 'r
To WiT: I The General Quarter Sessions of tlu; Peace, holden at the liouse of James Muni-o in Charlotteville, in and for the said District, on the Fourteenth day of October, in the Fortieth year of the Reign of our Sovereign, Lord George the Third, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith and so forth. Before the Ju.stices of our said Lord the King, assigned to i<eep the Peace in the said District, and also to hear and determine divers felonies, trespasses and other misdemeanors in the said District committed, and of the Quorum. 1. Samuel Ryerse, Esquire, Chairman; 2. William Spurgin, 3- Peter Teeple, 4. John Pnickhouse, 5. Thomas Hornor, and 6 John Beemer, Esquires, associate Justices.
Joseph Ryerson, Esquire, Sheriff.
Thomas Welch, Clerk of the Peace.
The Court met according to adjournment and opened in due form.
Motion of Samuel Ryerse Esquire, that tlie Justices will nominate a Chairman, which being done, Samuel Ryerse, Esquire, v^as unanimously chosen.
THE GRAND INQUEST.
1. Nathaniel Landon, Foreman ; 2, Justice Stephens ; 3, David Parmer ; 4. Josiah F. Deen ; 5, Hugh Graham ; 6, Samuel Baker; 7, John Fowler : 8, Charles Burch : 9, John Wells; 10 James Smiley; 11, Elijah Mudge ; 12, Alexander Hoy; 13, John Mudge ; 14, Rosw^ell Matthews; 15, Reuben Dayton; 16, John P'jaton ; 17, Thomas Sayles.
The Grand Jury duly sw^orn, and their charge delivered to them by the Chairman.
24 DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY.
Constable attending the Grand Jury. Motion by William Budd Gould, High Constable of the District, requesting leave to resign the office of High Constable, the Court will accept of his resignation, he continuing to serve during the present Sessions of the Peace.
The Petition of William Hambly of Woodhouse, praying for a Road to be opened on lands reserved for that use in that township.
ORDERED BY THE COURT.
That all reserves for Roads as the same are marked off in the Map of each Township within this Disti-ict, be henceforward left uninclosed for the purpose of the King's Highways only.
Daniel McColl, James Munro, John McColl, Jabez Collver, jr., Nisbitt Collver, Aaron Collver, John Cullver, appeared in open Court and acknowledged Mr. Jabez Collver, sr., to be their settled Minister of a congregation of Presbyterians in the District of London.
The Court is adjourned until to-morrow at ten o'clock a. m.
October the 15th, 1800.
The Court met according to adjournment, and opened in due form.
Samuel Ryerse, Esquire, Chairman ; William Spurgiu, Peter Teeple, John Backhouse, Thomas Hornor and John Beemer, Esquires, Associate Justices ; Joseph Ryerson, Sheriff ; Thomas Welch, Clerk of the Peace.
The Petition of Frederick Oustine of Rainham, praying to be recommended for the purpose of obtaining a license to keep a public house of entertainment at the house he now dwells at, was read in Court, and the prayer of the petitioner granted.
Dan Millard sworn in Court, to give evidence to the Grand Jury.
Ordered by the Court, that a road leading from Lake Erie to the Mills of John Backhouse, Esquire, as it is now marked and in part opened between lots number Sixteen and Seventeen, be henceforward considered and kept in repair as a public highway.
John McColl and John Coltman, sworn in Court to give evidence to the Grand Jury.
DKVKI.OI'MlON'r OK Til K <Hir NTV. 'lit
The (Ji'.'iiul .lur\' li;i\in<'' prcsciitcil the lluad Irom .laiiics M iiuros lo Hurford.
Ordered by the Court, that the Coimnissionei-s of Hitrhwjiys dt) iimuedijitely proceed to open that part of the said road that i,^ ah'eady laid out.
tlohn Kowder brought before the Court by the coniphiint of dnlni iMcColl, for .selling spiritous b(piors \vith(3ut License.
By the Court, no conijdaint can lie in John Fowler's case, he being considered as having authority to retail spiritous licpiors.
John Davis and Luther Cooley being presented by the Grand Jury for selling spiritous liquors.
Ordered by the Court, that summonses do immediately issue for John Davis and Luther Cooley to appear at the Bar of this Court, at two o'clock on Friday next, in the afternoon, to answer to the above complaint. Artimus Rogers, Constable, is appointed to serve the above summonses.
The Court is adjourned in due form till to-morrow at tea
o'clock a.u].
Thomas Welch, C. P.
October the 16th, 1,800. '
The Court met according to adjournment, and opened in due form. The same Justices as yesterday.
Abraham Powell, sworn in Court to give evidence to the Grand Jury.
Motion of Thomas Horner, Esq.,that movable stocks and whip- ping post be immediately erected at the expense of the District and paid for out of the first collection of assessments for this District. Carried unanimously in the aflfirmative.
Samuel Ryerse, Esquire, agrees to have the same immediately erected on the above terms.
Motion of William Budd Gould, High Constable for leave of absence from the Court, to go to Murphy Creek, near Long Point^ on a pressing occassion. Granted.
Abraham Powell recognized in the sum of fiv^e pounds law^ful money of this Province, to appear at the next Court of Quarter Sessions of the Peace for this District, to give evidence for our Lord the King, against Samuel Miles.
High Graham, recognized in the sum of five pounds, lawful money of this Province, to appear and give evidence for our Lord
26 DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY.
the King, against Luther Cooley at the next General Quarter Sessions of the Peace for this District.
David Parmer, recognized in the sum of five pounds, lawful money of this Province, to appear and give evidence for our Lord the King, against John Davis at the next General Quarter Sessions of the Peace for this District.
Silas Secord, presented by the Grand Jury, for wilful and corrupt perjury ; Preceipt issued for Silas Secord to appear on the Seventeenth instant, at ton o'clock in the forenoon of the same day.
The Grand Jury dismissed by the Court.
The Court adjourned till to-morrow at ten o'clock a.m.
Thomas Welch, C.F. ^
October the 17th, 1800.
The Court met according to adjournment and opened in due form.
1, Samuel Ryerse, Esquire, Chairman; 2, William Spurgin ; 3>
Peter Teeple ; 4, John Backhouse, 5, Thomas Hornor, and 6, John
Beemer, Esquires, Associate Justices.
Joseph Ryerson, Esquire, Sheriff.
Thomas Welch, Clerk of the Peace.
Ensign John Eaton, appeared in Court and took the oath prescribed by law as a Militia Officer.
Luther Cooley being Indicted by the Grand Jury for selling gpiritous liquors without License, appeared on Process and pleaded not guilty, recognized to appear at the next sessions of the Peace to prosecute his Traverse to affect himself in the sum of 40 pounds. Artimus Rogers and John Mudge in the sum of 20 pounds each.
John Davis, being indicated by the Grand Jury for selling epiritous liquors without License, appeared on process and pleaded not guilty ; recognized to appear at the next sessions of the Peace, to prosecute his Traverse, to affect, himself in tlie sum of 40 pounds, and John McColl and Albert Berdan each in the sum of 20 pounds as his sureties.
Silas Secord, being indicated by the Grand Jury lor wilful and corrupt perjury, on the 20th day of September last, appeared in Court on process, recognized to appear at the next Assizes to be holden in and for this District, himself in tlie sum of 100
DKVKLOl'.MKNT «»K TMK (MjUNTY. 27
pounds, and .lohn McColl and Moses Rice each in the sum of 50 pounds as his securities.
Dan Millard, ivco^^nized t(> appear at the; next Assizes to be liolden in and for this District to j)rosecute Silas Secoi'd on behalf of the Kin<^^ hinisi'lf in the sin!i of 100 pounds and Albert Herdan and Othniel Smith as his securities, each in the sum of 50 })ounds.
Ordered by the Court, that process shall issue against Samuel Miles at the suit of the King, to be bound over in recognizance to appear at the next session of the Peace.
The Court is adjourned till to-morrow at ten o'clock a.m.
Thomas Welch, C.P.
October, the 18th, 1800.
The Court met according to adjournment and opened, etc.
The Petition of Moses Rice of Charlotteville, pra3dng to be recommended for a Tavern License. Granted.
Justices attending to-day the same as yesterday.
Bejamin Fairchihl, Ensign of the Militia of Norfolk, came into Court, and took the oath of Allegiance as such.
Thomas Hornor, Esquire, with Joseph Ryerson, Esquire and Benjamin Fairchild entered into regular Recognizance, as the said Thomas Hornor being appointed by His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor, Register of Deeds, Conveyances, Wills and other Incumbrances, etc., etc., for the Counties of Oxford and Middlesex, before Samuel Ryerse, William Spurgin, Peter Teeple, John Backhouse and John Beemer, Esquires, Justices; who approved of the principal and securities. And the said Thomas Hornor was sworn into office as Registrar as aforesaid, before Samuel Ryerse, and William Spurgin and John Backhouse, Esquires, in open Court.
John Bostwick is appointed by the Court to be High Constable of the District of London.
Ordered by the Court that William Budd Gould's resignation of the office of High Constable is accepted of. And that the Clerk of the Peace do furnish him with a certificate thereof, and of his services whilst in that office.
Ordered, that the Court do meet in Special Sessions of the Peace, at the Town of Charlotteville on Monday the Third day of November next, at ten o'clock in the forenoon, to consider of
58 DEVELOPMENT 0'^ THE COUNTY.
ways and means for building a Gaol and Court House afc the Town of Charlotte ville aforesaid for the District of London. The Court is adjourned until the day prescribed by law. J Thomas Welch, Clerk of the Peace.
November the 3rd, 1800.— Special Sessions. The Special Sessions of the Peace met at the Town of Charlotteville according to the order of Sessions of the eighteenth of October last, the Court opened in due form.
Present in Court, William Spurgin, Peter Teeple, and John Backhouse, Esquires, Justices.
Thomas Welch, Clerk of the Peace.
ORDERED