HomeMy WebLinkAbout802"Article taken from The News Advetiser, Sunday, November 1, 1992 page 10.
Fire ended long history at the McQuay house
Living History
AJAX LACAC
AJAX - Until August of this year, situated on the LAND known as 259 Taunton Rd. E.,
was the heritage home known to many as the McQuay house.
The McQuay family arrived in the Pickering area in approximately 1829. Mary McQuay
(born 1786) along with her six children (five sons, one daughter) emigrated from County
Fermanaugh, Ireland. The journey endured by Mary and her family was long and
treacherous, and the reason for making such a trip to unknown lands is really not certain.
However, the trip was made for whatever reason, and Mary and her family settled on the
lands north east of Pickering known as the north part of Lot 6, Concession 3. Mary's
oldest son, James McQuay, was just 20 years at the time, and he along with his four
younger brothers cleared a section of the land and built a log dwelling for the family to
live in. With a roof over their heads, sights were then set on clearing more land for
farming purposes.
Mary McQuay lived in the Pickering area for the remainder of her life. It is not certain if
she lived on the homestead until her death in 1850. She is buried in the Quaker
Cemetery on Mill Street in Pickering Village.
James McQuay and his brothers must have been a close knit family for eventually
brothers, Benjamin, William and John all owned property on adjoining lots.
James McQuay (born 1809) married Sarah Hartrick (born 1816) on July 10, 1836.
It is believed that James' wife, Sarah,' was in some way related to the prominent
Hartrick family of Pickering Village. James and Sarah had nine children (six daughters,
three sons).
After many years of hard work clearing and farming the land, James and Sarah built
themselves a 11/2-storey frame house. The house had a gable roof with chimneys at
each gable end. A most interesting feature of the house was its asymmetrical front
which had two entrances. The cast entrance had one window to the left and the west
entrance was slightly off-centre between two windows. Although the true reason for
these two entrances is unknown, it is thought that perhaps the entrance to the living
room (door to the east) was for ""everyday"" or ""family use"", and the entrance to the
parlour (door to the west) was for more formal guests and entertaining.
The window sash was six over six. The doors were four-panel with heavy projecting
bolection moulds which suggests the house was built in the late 1840s or early 1850s.
The porch of the house was very attractive with its heavy posts and fretted brackets
prepared in a thick arabesque design. The design of the brackets did suggest the
porch was probably added at a slightly later date.
In the mid 1880s, James McQuay transferred the house and lands to his son,
James Henry McQuay (born 1854). James and Sarah McQuay then moved into the
Village of Pickering and lived at 86 Church St. S. (red brick house just south of
St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church). James McQuay lived in this house until his
death in 1887. James McQuay was known throughout Pickering Township as a honest
and upstanding man. Both James and Sarah McQuay are buried in the Erskine
Cemetery in Pickering.
James Henry McQuay, it is believed, resided in the McQuay house until he married
Catherine Matilda Whiteman in 1884. After the marriage, James Henry took up several
trades (tea blender, baker, salesman), eventually moving out west with wife and four
children in 1901 to settle near Foxwarren, Manitoba on 800 acres of farmland.
In the early 1890s, James Henry transferred the house and lands to his brother-in-law,
Richard Gutherie.
The house has seen many owners. With each owner came changes to the original
dwelling suiting their own needs and tastes. Several years ago, the entire house was
covered in stucco thereby hiding the original wood exterior.
James Henry and Matilda did return to the Pickering area and still have descendants
living in Durham Region.
Inquiries were made many years ago by McQuay descendants to purchase the house
from the developer who owns the property in order to bring it back into the McQuay
family. Unfortunately, a deal did not materialize.
The McQuay house, which was a part of our local heritage, no longer stands.
Left empty by its owner and suffering the neglect of proper maintenance,
the house met its end in late August of this year when it was destroyed by fire."