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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-00030Newsletter, published by the Township of Pickering Historical Society, 16 pages, winter edition, volume 8 numbers 1 & 2. What’s Inside > The hamlet of Brougham once boasted three hotels. We try to unravel their confusing history. > When Dorothy Joblin came to Pickering Village in 1939 Kingston Road was yet unpaved. In 1942 she married Henry Westney and together and singly they have contributed much to make Ajax a better place to live. At 93 Dorothy Westney is still a driving force in this community. > Ross Johnston, under the guise of “Traveller,” is up and about in Claremont and the North end of Pickering Township – in 1884. Once again he is recording his sojourns in Pickering in the pages of the Whitby Chronicle. > We continue our series on sensational crimes in Pickering Township in the Nineteenth Century. In this episode Arson is the crime. Among the victims were the Post family, George McKeown, and the Courtneys of Claremont. ? Cyrus Sing grew up in Pickering but only made a name for himself after moving away. After making h is fortune by operating mills, a store, a post office and a hotel, Sing got into local politics in Grey County and served the Council including several terms as Reeve, for over 30 years. The Confusing History of Brougham’s Hotels By John W. Sabean There were at one time three hotels in the hamlet of Brougham and a lot of confusion has arisen as to their individual histories. A quick review of some details will demonstrate the reason for the confusion. Some names are highlighted to help unravel the tangle. This is not a complete history of the hotels, nor am I entirely sure I have it all correct. Not all dates are inclusive, but just as information is presently available. The Brougham Hotel C. 1905 Mains Street and Brock Road, Brougham Brougham Central Hotel The first of the three to be built was originally know as the Brougham Inn and was built sometime in or before 1850 on land owned by William Bentley, but originally patented by Mary Ruttan, wife of Thomas Elmes Matthews. The inn was located on the north side of Main Street (Highway #7) where Brock Road now runs (in former times Brock Road jogged east before continuing north). In 1851 the licensed establishment was converted to a temperance hotel by James Woodruff who referred to it as the “Brougham Temperance House” .1 For a couple of years (1851-1852) the inn preempted Thompson’s Inn (located on Brock Road at the Fifth Concession Road) as the meeting place for the Pickering Township Council.2 From 1852 to 1855 the hotel was managed by John Likkens.3 Powell Woodruff (brother of James) purchased the lot from Bentley in 1857 and in 1869 sold it to John Phillips. 4 Under both Phillips and Woodruff the inn continued in operation – sometimes under lease to other operators – until 1877 when it was converted to a store. Lessees included John Kirkpatrick (1858), Michael Brooks (1864-1867), James Cooper (1868-1869), John Bailey ((1870- 1873), and Thomas Major (or Majors, 1874-1877). According to Robert Miller, John Cowan operated a store in the old hotel building in the early 1880’s. Then, Hugh Mechin purchased the building in 1888 and operated a general store under the name of Mechin and Poucher. Miller adds the names of the subsequent owners: Margaret McMaster (1920-1922), Percy W. Thornton (1922-1924), Gordon Thornton Holmes (1924-1943), Mrs. Ernie Woodward (1943-1955), and George Mutch (1955-1963). In 1963 the County of Ontario bought the building, which they planned to move to make way for extending Brock Road straight north through the site. Five years later the building was moved to the grounds of the Pickering Township Museum, which then was located in Brougham west of Brock Road.7 Once again, in 1978, it was moved to the new museum location in Greenwood. And finally, in 2005, the building was relocated on the museum property where it awaits restoration and reopening as a “temperance hotel”. A more complete history may e found in Andre Scheinman’s research report for the Pickering Museum Village: “The Brougham Central Hotel: Conservation Study” (2001). Village of Brougham Pickering Tp. Ont. Scale 40 Rod per Inch Plan of Brougham, 1877 From the Illustrated Historical Atlas of Ontario County (Beers 1877) The Brougham Central Hotel James Street (Brock Road) and Main Street, Brougham Brougham Hotel About 1858, the Brougham Hotel was built on the north side of Main Street at old Brock Road by John M. Gerow for Charles W. Matthews, who previously operated a hotel at Duffins Creek.8 Matthews owned the Brougham Hotel at least until 1874. The opening of this hotel caused the earlier establishment to change its name to the Brougham Central Hotel. The innkeeper from 1976 to 1879 was Thomas Bennett, and from 1880-1881, Thomas Chinn. 9 By 1882, the Brougham Hotel was purchased by Thomas Poucher.10 For a year or so (1885-1886), Joseph Pipher leased the hotel from Poucher before Poucher sold out to John M. Gerow in 1886, who them ran the establishment as a temperance hotel.11 Lafayette Matthews purchased the hotel in 1936 from Gerow and after he died his widow sold the building to the township of Pickering in 1944.12 The Pickering Township Council met there from 1944 to 1966. In the 1970’s the hamlet of Brougham was part of the land expropriated by the federal government for the purpose of building an airport. The old hotel stood empty for many years before being torn down in 1986. Commercial Hotel Village Lot 11, where the Commercial Hotel was eventually built, was on land patented in 1828 by John Major. Major sold off his 200 acres in various parcels including the 7/8-acre village lot. In 1856, it came into the possession of Powell Woodruff was shortly thereafter resold it the Samuel Webb.13 Webb built his residence there and about 1870 added to the front of the house to convert it into a hotel.14 He called it the Commercial House; it was located on the south side of Main Street across the road from The Brougham Hotel. Webb ran the hotel h himself for a number of years and then began to lease the business out. Among the lessees were Joseph Pipner in 1884-1885, John M. Gerow in 1885-1886, and Pipher again in 1887-1889 0after a year across the street), and finally, J Gillman in June 1889.15 In June 1890, Webb sold out to Thomas Poucher who said he would no longer use it as a hotel; instead he ran his auctioneering business from there.16 After Poucher’s death Adelia Mechin (nee Poucher) sold the lot and premises in 1926 to Albert James Gray for whom it served as a residence.17 After expropriation the building was abandoned and boarded up. Looking for a home for his business The Durham Conservation Centre, a pioneer recycling company – Jack McGinnis took over the building in 1982, and has remained there to the present. Confusing Details A similarity in names: Brougham Inn, Brougham Hotel, Brougham Central Hotel. The Brougham Central Hotel served for meeting of the township council, 1851-1852; The Brougham Hotel was later the township hall, 1944-1966. The Brougham Central Hotel was located on the north side of Main Street (the Sixth Concession Road) in the centre of Brougham where Brock Road jogged to the east; The Brougham Hotel was located on the north side of Main Street, where Brock Road (now Old Brock Road) turned north again. Mary Matthews owned land on which the Brougham Central Hotel sat 91799); Charles W Matthews was proprietor on the Brougham Central Hotel (c1858-1878_’ Lafayette Matthews owned the Brougham Hotel from 1936-1944. James Woodruff was tavern keeper at Brougham Central Hotel 91851); Powell Woodruff was the owner of the Brougham Central Hotel (1857-1869), and once owned the land on which the Commercial Hotel sat (1856). Thomas Major was proprietor of the Brougham Central Hotel (1875-1877); John Major owned the land on which the Commercial Hotel sat (1828-1846). Mechin & Poucher had a store in the former Brougham Central Hotel (c1880-c1920). Thomas Poucher was proprietor of the Brougham Hotel (1882-1886), and the owner of the Commercial Hotel (1890-1922); Adelia Mechin (nee Poucher) owned the Commercial Hotel building (1922-1926). Joseph Pipher was operator of the Brougham Hotel (1885-1886), and twice operator of the Commercial Hotel (1884- 1885 and 1887-1886). John M. Gerow was proprietor of the Commercial Hotel (1885-1886) and owner of the Brougham Hotel (1886-1936). Notes: 1. The Census of 1851 describes James Woodruff as tavern Keeper. Woodruff was licensed in April to run the hotel as a temperance house according to The Literary Gem. See Andre Scheinman, “The Brougham Central Hotel: Conservation Study” 20001. 2. Minutes of Township Council for 1851 and 1852. 3. Assessment rolls (AR), 1852-1855. In AR for 1854, Likken was listed as Innkeeper at Lot 18, Conc. 5 [Thompson’s Corners], and John Stocks for Lot 19. Con. 6 [Brougham Inn]. 4. Instrument #s 7906 (1858) and 358 (1869) 5. AR, 1858-1877; Mitchell & Co., Canada Classified Directory for 1865-66 (1865); J. C. Conner and J.W. Colston, The County of Ontario Directory for 1869-70 (Toronto, 1869); Whitby Chronicle (WC) 30 Aug. 1877. C.E. Anderson, The Province of Ontario Gazetteer and Directory (Toronto, 1869) lists Mrs. P Woodruff as the proprietor of the Central Hotel. In 1879, the upper storey was rented to Professor Wiggins as a “picture gallery.” Robert A. Miller, The Ontario Village of Brougham (Brougham, 1973, p. 205. 6. Miller (1973), p. 205. Charles Baker rented the store, 1934-1937. 7. Miller (1973), p. 205. 8. AR, 1853-1858. Miller (1973), pp. 3 & 9. AR, 1859-1874; Mitchell (1865); Connor & Colston (1869); Anderson (1869. 9. AR, 1876-1881; WC 30 Aug. 1877. 10. Pickering News (PN) 6 Jan. 1882(called Poucher’s Hotel); Traveller [Ross Johnston], “Our Town and County”, WC 19 Oct. 1883; AR, 1882-1885. 11. For Pipher see AR, 1885; PN 24 July 1885 and 12 Feb. 1886. For Gerow see AR, 1887-1893; PN 26 Nov. 1886. 12. Miller (1973), p. 208. 13. Abstract index to Deeds, Land Registry Office. 14. Webb was a carriage maker and wheelwright. AR, 1856-1889 (where he is listed as a wheelwright, 1856-1868; innkeeper, 1870-1883; inn owner, 1884-1889). See Miller (1973), pp. 9-11. 15. Pipher: PN 7 Oct. 1884 and PN 3Feb.1888 (called Pipher’s Hotel); AR, 1887-1889. Gerow: PN 15 May 1885 and 12 Feb 1886; AR, 1885. Gillman: PN 21 June 1889. 16. PN 6 June 1890; Abstract Index to Deeds, LRO. 17. Land granted in 1922 by Norman G. Poucher (son of Thomas?) to Adelia Mechin (daughter of Thomas Poucher; wife of Hugh Mechin). Another Scott Act Case Pickering News 19 August 1887, p. 8 J.M. Gerow Hotel-keeper, Brougham,1 was charged by Inspector Ferguson with violating the Canada Temperance Act by selling intoxicating liquor between the first day of June and the first day of August, 1887.2 The case was tried at Brooklin on Monday, the 8th day of August, before Police Magistrate Horne. Mr. Gerow was the first witness called. He said that he had neither sold nor kept for sale any intoxicating liquor of any kind during the time charged in the information or at any other time; that he kept a strictly temperance house and complied with the requirements of the Canada Temperance Act. Five other witnesses, namely Geo[rge[ Philips, T[homas] Philips, Silas Windsor, Tho[mas] Poucher and Ed[ward] Derusha, were examined, who all corroborated the evidence of Mr. Gerow by saying that they had nothing to drink there of an intoxicating nature during the times charged in the information, either from Mr. Gerow or his wife, and that they firmly believed that he did not keep any liquor of an intoxicating nature to sell. The case was therefore dismissed with cost, the magistrate remarking that in this case it was abundantly evident that Mr. Gerow was innocent of any violation of the Canada Temperance Act, and it gave him pleasure to dismiss the case. He had dismissed the cases where there was not sufficient evidence to convict, although he had doubts as to the innocencey of the party, but in this case there was not a doubt in his mind but that Mr. Gerow was innocent, and he deserved the sympathy and support of all law- abiding subjects in his endeavours to run an hotel according to the provisions of the Canada Temperance Act. If the whole of the temperance people of Brougham and vicinity were canvassed, it is doubtful in one could be found who believes Mr. Gerow keeps liquor since the Scott Act came into force, and the information given the Inspector in the above case is looked upon by them as spite work. Notes: 1 At one time and innkeeper in Claremont, in 1887 John M. Gerow was the owner of the Brougham Hotel, which he ran as a temperance hotel. 2. In 1878, the Canada Temperance Act, known as the Scott Act, was passed by the Federal government. It gave municipalities the right to prohibit the retail sale of alcohol if a majority of citizens voted in favour of it. Dorothy Westney A Lady of Durham By Carol King It was our good fortune in 1939 when Dorothy Westney (nee Joblin) chose Pickering Village as her teaching assignment. Dorothy had begun her teaching career at a one-room School in Hastings County (1932 to 1936), after which she attended Victoria College at the University of Toronto to ge her B.A. degree. After graduation she came to Pickering Village, where she taught primary grades. In 1942 Dorothy married Henry Westney and continued teaching until 1947 when their first daughter Eleanor was Born, and the following year when Flora Jean was born. When the girls were ready for school, Dorothy accepted an invitation to teach the kindergarten class at Lord Elgin School n Ajax where she remained for 22 years. The Westneys were well known and influential in this area. William, Frank and their father Stephen settled in Pickering Township in 1892. The maple trees that Stephen’s brother Henry planted in 1893 on both sides of Westney Road flourished for over sixty years until they were cut down in order to widen the road. The Reverend William Westney, one of Stephen’s cousins, planted the evergreen trees around the Anglican Church in the village. Stephen’s son, William Westney, served as Reeve of Pickering Township and Warden of Ontario County in the early 1950’s and, perhaps following the family fondness for trees, served on the regional conservation board in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Dorothy’s husband Henry was an Ajax Councillor and long-time board member of the Ajax-Pickering Hospital and of the Pickering United Church. In 1969 Dorothy organized PARCUL – Presbyterian, Anglican, Roman Catholic, and United Church Ladies. (Later, when the Lutheran Church was built, the “L” represented the Lutherans.) This was an ecumenical group that worked together in the community to provide needed services to youth, young mothers, and “older” women. When Community Care was organized some years later, it took over many of these services. In 1977, influenced by a Roy Bonisteel progarmme, “Man Alive” , Dorothy and the executive of PARCUL began writing letters for people suffering persecution for political of religious beliefs in many parts of the world. They joined the worldwide organization Amnesty International, of which the local group now has 250 members. Dorothy has been a recipient of the Ajax Civic Award for her work in the community. She was the first president of the Ajax-Pickering Hospital Auxiliary, a board member of Community Care and of Durhamdale Halfway House for Boys, and a volunteer at the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital. In the early 1960s, Dorothy taught the teenage Sunday School class of the Pickering United Church. As well as meeting on Sunday mornings, they met every month for social and educational functions. One major activity was visiting other denominations, including Jewish, Catholic, Buddhist, and Seventh Day Adventist congregations. What a learning experience. When mentioning the “good old days’ of Pickering, Dorothy recounts the Red and White grocery store at Highway #2 and Church, Chapman’s Grocery and Dry Goods store on Kingston Road, a hardware, bakery shop, and ice cream parlour. Kingston Road was not paved when she arrived here. The Pickering railway station was near Notion Road south of the cemetery. Senior elementary classes in Ajax were conducted in the Wartime Buildings with only partial partitions separating the classes. Audley had a one-room schoolhouse with 48 students. When snow blocked the roads, Dorothy would ski from the Westney farm to Kingston Road where she would meet her principal who then transported her the rest of the way to school. Fortunately, in recent years there has been less snow and the roads are kept open. This is a blessing for Dorothy, who at age 93 still drives her car to continue her activities with Amnesty International, the Hospital Auxiliary, and her church. Ajax-Pickering is indebted to Dorothy Joblin Westney for her contributions and her joie de vivre. Editorial Preparing for the Bi-centennial Last summer on a trip to Ottawa I dropped into a store in the Sparks Street Mall that sells antique prints and maps. I found a map of 1895 that shows Pickering linked in an electoral district not with Scarborough, but with Uxbridge and Whitchurch. I purchased it for the PTHS collection. I am always on the lookout for such items that help to define Pickering’s history. I am hoping over the next 3 or 4 years to find many more items that relate to Pickering. This is an especially crucial tome in our history to identify those documents and artifacts that still exist and are in either public or private collections. It is , however, items that are in private collections upon which I am concentrating. In 4 year’s time the City of Pickering will be celebrating its 200th birthday, and as in tahe case of our Centennial in 1911 and our Sesquicentennial in 1961, I could like to see Pickering’s history put on display. In fact, what I would like to see happen is that a number of exhibitions be mounted at one of our fire halls that shows the changes that have occurred in fire services over the 2 centuries. The hamlet of Claremont in north Pickering might put on displays that depict life over the years in a rural community. There should be opportunities for organizations of every kind to tell their own stories, and once told, these stories will become a part of the public record. Only time and imagination limit the possibilities of what can be displayed. How can you help? You can help me to locate and identify items of every sort that are part of Pickering’s history. And what might we be interested in? Essentially anything that throws light on the history of our area. It could be letters or diaries. Properly deeds or architectural plans, business receipts or company ledgers, family birth, marriage and death records, in short, any and all written documents that are Pickering related. As to the material culture of our past of interest are such visual items as photographs, artwork and maps, and artifacts such as tools, household implements, goods manufactured in Pickering, and all items that have names on them that relate to the area. Such items will help us to more fully write our story in all its facets, whether business or sports, the arts or politics, education or transportation, service organization or service providers. We are not primarily looking for these items to be donated or sold, by simply to have indicated that the owners are willing to put the items on loam for exhibition purposes and in the meanwhile, if they are willing, to have the items scanned to add to our database. If some would like to donate or sell their items we will help them to find the appropriate place, whether the PTHS collection itself (with very limited space), or more appropriately the Pickering Museum Village (for artifacts) and the Pickering Public Library (for documents). All communications will be kept in strict confidence, unless otherwise indicated. PTHS President, John Sabean, Chair of the Ontario Historical Society’s Honours and Awards Committee, presided at the awards ceremony at the OHS Annual General Meeting in Orillia in May 2006. From The Electoral Atlas of the Dominion of Canada, 2895 using figures from the 1891 census. Note that Pickering Township is in a riding with Uxbridge and Whitchurch. Correction The editor of Pathmaster would like to acknowledge a mistaken attribution of the article “The Celebrated German Oil of Abraham Knowles,” published in our last issue. The article should have stated that the author was Pat McCauley, based upon research by Pat McCauley and Alyson Hazelett. Shawna Foxton edited the manuscript for publication. Traveller in Claremont – North Pickering Township, 1884 Ross Johnston, salesman for the Whitby Chronicle concluded his examination of Claremont in 1884 in this fourth episode, then continues on east of North Pickering Claremont Traveller, “Our Town and County,” Whitby Chronicle 28 (28 November 1884) Claremont concluded. An acrobatic octogenarian angler – Churches, schools and other communistic intuitions - “Traveller” talks at Sunday schools – Multifarious duties of a station master for the multipotent monster of C.P.R. – Tra-la Claremont. Claremont, Nov, 25, 1884. I broke off rather abruptly last week, and must now endeavor to get on the track again and pursue the even tenor of my way. Did not quite finish with my venerable friend Peter McNab Esq., but will add only a little of the much that might be said. He told a good story at his own expense as to his fishing operations. He went last summer to Glen Major on a trout fishing expedition, and set his down on a bench or stool by the side of the water. Getting a nibble he hoisted his pole and hauled out a trout, but the effort upset him. And he went backwards over the bench with his heels in the air, but held on to the pole and kept the trout in good position until secured. This afforded great sport to the onlookers, who in common with himself had a hearty laugh at the situation. I find he was an elder in the established Kirk of Scotland in Glasgow before the disruption in 1848,1 and afterwards in the Free church, and has held a like position here for over twenty years. He has taken an active part in Bible Society work in Claremont, and acted as a collector as long as he was able to get around. He speaks with pleasure as to the hearty response received from the people. And indeed, this is the general experience of collectors for the Bible Society. The people almost every where respond readily, but the pressure of denominational claims, in Whitby at least, makes it a difficult matter to obtain collectors. But I must hasten. Here comes Mr Rhue, a “ Brither Scot,” of rather solemn countenance, but kind and considerate disposition.2 He drops in almost every evening to spend an hour more of less in a neighbourly way with Mr. McNab, and haeja blaw o’ the pipe. Some may consider this a “faulty fashion,” but in this particular case it appears eminently social and enjoyable. With a parting shake of the hand, I take leave of Mr. McNab, (whose ripe Christian experience and childlike trust in God have afforded “Traveller” lessons not to be forgotten) and of his gentle, kind-hearted grand-daughter Miss McNab, the delicate flavor of whose ginger snaps haunts my papate os her winning and refined manners haunt my memory. Before leaving Claremont allow me to refer in brief terms to its churches, schools, and other institutions not yet mentioned. Of churches there are three, viz., Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist. The Presbyterians have a fine brick building, with good basement for Sunday School and social gathering. There has been no regular pastor for some years, but services have been regularly kept up, and I have heard since leaving that a call has been given to a Rev. Mr. Grant, which it is to be hoped has been accepted.3 The Sabbath-School, held in the afternoon, is under efficient management and well attended. Traveller had the pleasure of having a short talk with the Bible-class, and afterwards with the school at the close of the lesson exercised, as he had also at the Baptist school in the morning, which is held, as in Whitby, before the church service. The Baptists are a numerous denomination here, having as I learn, a membership of about 200 besides adherents. The building is brick, with a frame school-house to the rear. The Present Pastor, Rev. Mr. Foster, is a clear headed Scotchman, and has been here about a year, He is a man of decided ability.4 Had the pleasure of hearing him deliver an excellent and most appropriate discourse from the text contained in Psalm 23,6, “My cup runneth over.” It is to be holed our friends of the Baptist church in Claremont know how to appreciate a man of talent, and will see to it that his cup runs over with the unstinted liberality. The Canada Methodist Church, owing to the late union, 5 has two buildings, one frame, and the other brick. The frame building is the one at present in use, but I notice that repairs were going on at the brick, and learned that it is likely to get the preference at am early date. If both buildings could be disposed of without too severe a loss, and a new and more slightly and commodious edifice erected the cause would doubtless be greatly benefitted. Rev. Mr. Simpson the present pastor is highly spoken of. The Sunday school is said to be in a flourishing condition. Not having the faculty of being able to be in two places at the same time, I was unable to attend. The village school house in a frame building. The teacher Mr. Lockyear, and his assistant Miss Clarke, are spoken of as thoroughly efficient teachers. I had the pleasure of discovering a council of Royal Templars of Temperance, and a lodge of A.O. U. W. 7 Both hold their meetings in the Town Hall, I am informed there is also a branch of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union here. Much good may they accomplish. There is see of their special work everywhere. Claremont also sports its brass band, under the leadership of Mr. Ed. Evans. Before closing I must run down and have a look at the Claremont station of the Ontario and Quebec section of the C.P. R. The station is short three quarter miles north of the centre of the village, and is a rather handsome looking frame building. Very much like the one at Myrtle. Mr. James Williams is station master, telegraph operator, switchman, and lamp lighter. James is evidently a man of functions, and is not by any means too well paid in view of the importance and responsibility of his position, He tells me that are twelve trains each way in 24 hours, besides special trains occasionally. He is expecter to attend to every thing except two of more night trains. No idle like is this. It is whispered that at no distant date an Elevator will be erected here for the reception and shipment of grain. Such a step would doubtless add greatly to the importance of Claremont Station, and to the importance of the village as a palace of trade. There, I think I have dealt pretty fully with Claremont, and if any industry, or matter of importance of any kind has been overlooked or improperly treated, no one will regret it more keenly that the writer. The columns of the Chronicle will, I am sure, stand open for any correction, amendment, or addition that parties interested may see fit to make. With the best of good feeling towards all and singular of its inhabitants past, present and prospective, I am &c. &c. Traveller Methodist Church, Claremont North Pickering Public Library Traveller, “Our Town and County,” Whitby Chronicle 28 December 1884) Gymnastics in the turnip season – Straddle-the –fence – Hospitality on the hills of Pickering – Lake Ontario and the two great artificial highways – “Traveller turns his native soil on St. Andrew’s night. Whitby, Dec. 1, 1884 – It should be borne in mind that the date of these letters does not indicate the time at which my visits were mad to the places of parties mentioined. My feet travel faster than does my pen. Leaving the pretty village of Claremont on the 22nd Oct., 8 I went eastward, through the fine farming lands in that direction, some of which are rather hilly but in the main excellent. This being the height of turnip season, and the men being in the field I performed many gymnastical experiments by way of jumping fences in order to reach the,: creeping through between the rails when wide enough apart as was sometimes the case, but more frequently climbing to the top, then dropping satchel and umbrella, and following with a spring and a swing which landed me safely on the other side. Not always safely however. In fact I begin to think it may be necessary before long to carry a breast plate somewhere about the region where a person is most apt to feel the shock when sitting down too suddenly. Mr. Editor, do you know anything about sitting straddle a fence? Editors are frequently accused of too much exercise in that line. Now, speaking from much experience I can testify that the exercise is, aside from other consideration, healthy and refreshing. I have been astraddle more fences that most people, and have rarely suffered from it. The danger is in getting down. Take note of that and look before you leap. In. fact, generally speaking, it is as well, if not better to keep off the fence altogether. In my business, especially during the turnip season, the thing has to be done and I do it unhesitatingly , but in yours, Mr. Editor, well, if you ever find it necessary, see that it is absolutely so, and then watch the wind closely, and be sure you don’t jump without a breast plate. Going eastward a couple of miles I turn north and cross the track of the C.P.R. and go on until I reach the farmstead of Mr. Thos. Pugh, then crossing to the right I find a large and fine looking stone building, inhabited by one man only (old Mr. Pugh) and he is well advanced in years, but full of life and activity, a Welshman to the back bone, and possessing all the vivacity of his race. 9 Close by is the house of his tenant Mr. James Courtney, where on calling toward evening weary and worn, I am kindly urged to stay all night, and gladly resign over-coat, satchel and umbrella to the keeping of Mrs. Courtney. 10 I will not soon forget the kindness of the whole family, who, one and all treated me as if I had been a personal friend. Next morning, in company with a lively little school-girl (an adopted child of the family) I proceeded crossfield in a south-easterly direction ot the very fine residence of Mr. Alex Waddell quite near the Railroad. 11 The barns and other out–buildings as well as the house are substantially built and everything around gives token of thrift and good management. Mr. Waddell is a Lanarkshire Scotchman, came here in 1835, and remembers many incidents of the Rebellion. He must, judging from his present hale hearty look, and steel-wire way of stepping around, have been at that time a very young man; but he tells me he was one of the watch guard at Whitby Harbour under Colonel Lee, and they must have been a _____ and thirsty company, as all the wells in the place were pumped dry to give the volunteers drink. Much bloodshed could hardly be expected under the circumstances, and in fact the only case of bloodshed he mentions resulted from a volunteer kicking in the head of a barrel [sic] and cutting his shins. As Mr. Waddell was just getting ready to go to Whitby when I saw him, I had only a short time for conversation with him. And could not examine his fine buildings and stock, but received a kind invitation to go again and spend the night should I be in the neighbourhood, . Will do so most willingly Mr. Waddell should the opportunity offer. Going north-ward up the side line, and up hill work it it is. I reach the residence of Mr. Ed. E. Pugh, finely situated on high ground about the middle of the ninth concession. 12 The Pughs, like the Bundys and the Jones’s are as numerous race. Only for the Smiths and Browns, and a few more prominent stocks there might be danger of their over- running the continent. He and Thos. are sons of David Pugh who came here 39 years ago, when this and most of the now fine farms about here were in a wild condition. There is a splendid view of Lake Ontario to the south. The intervening space, with the crystal water beyond, presents a delightful picture to the eye. The C.P. R runs across the foot of the farm. While away to the south the smoke from the engines on the G.T.R. is seen curling up in great clouds, which become white in the sunlight. And gradually dissolve from view. Mr. Pugh’s fine orchard, like most others this year, has produced a large crop, the best of which, in view of the low prices;. He has stowed away in his cellars. They ar not allowed to remain long however, for some parties are here to-day from Uxbridge, and are bound to have them, and finally got them at an excellent price as compared with prices generally going this season. I wall not name the price paid lest I should commit a breech of confidence, no, that is not exactly it, but lest I should not be believed. After an excellent dinner, I take leave of Mr. and Mrs. Pugh and their Uxbridge customers, and instead of going north ward to the Uxbridge town line, I take Mr. Pugh’s advice and go down to the C.P.R and along the track westward until I nearly reach the Claremont station. Wood Hall; Res of Alexander Waddell: Con9, Lot 11, Pickering TP, Ont. then strike north to the town line, and along that towards Altona. Heigh-ho, I cannot write more at present. This is St Andrew’s night and thoughts of my native land will get uppermost. 13 The roar of the Solway is in my ears. Off to the south across the border and across the Solway, Skiddaw and other Cumberland hills bound the view; to the west the crowning front of Bromswark [?] projects into the sea; to the north east as I look towards Cannobie away in the distance Tinnis-hill rears it round top, and all around to the north and west – blue ranges of mountains hem in the vision. “Land of brown heath, and shaggy wood! Land of the mountain, and the flood Land of my sires, what mortal hand Shall e’er untie the filial band That knits me to thy rugged strand.” Good night, Traveller Notes: 1. The Church of Scotland experienced a split in 1843 (not 1848) when the Evangelicals, led by Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), withdrew from the established church under the Moderates to form the Free Church of Scotland. 2. Probably James Rew (b.c1815), Centre St, N., Lot #4 3. It appears he did not. 4. James Foster was the Baptist minister, 1883-1886 5. Earlier in this year of 1884 the Methodist Episcopal Church and a number of smaller bodies such as the Primitive Methodist, united with the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Only the Free Methodists, introduced in Canada in 1876 from the United States, remained outside the union. 6. Charles A Simpson was Methodist minister, 1884-1886 7. A.O.Y.W. = Ancient Order of United Workers. 8. This date cannot be correct. If coordinated with the other information the date should be 28 Nov. 9. Thomas Pugh (1838-1911) lived in a house on Con 9, Lot 13. Across the street, on Lot 9 his father, Edward Pugh Sr. (“old Mr. Pugh”, c 1811-1894), lived I a stone house that is still intact today (owned by the Wilders). 10. James Courtney (1838-1911). Mrs. Courtney was the former Martha Carson (1836-1[8]90). The Courtneys were tenants of Thomas Pugh, Con9, Lot 13. The location of the house in which the Coutneys lived is not precisely known; it no longer exists. 11. Alexander Waddell (1821-1900) lived in another stone house on Con 9, Lot 11; it is situated just north of the CPR tracks, 12. Edward E. Pugh (b1850), Con 9, Lot 10. 13. In the church calendar, the feast day of the apostle Andrew is 30 Nov. The Pugh-Wilde House From Kim Ondaatje and Lois Mackenzie Old Ontario Houses (Toronto: Gage. 1977, S42-43. Ontario House (Pugh-Wilder House) as it looked in 1977. This farmhouse not only has the silhouette of the 1870s, but it is also has some of the most unusual stonework in the province, something not possible in the earlier houses. Its multicolored walls are a product of a quarry with number of ridges. A single quarry could throw up limestone in various colors depending on which ridge was hit. (The pink Stone here is similar to that used in the Ontario Legislative buildings at Queens Park in Toronto.) The technique, a personal statement of the stone mason, is similar to brickwork in which the stone has been painstakingly cut in blocks and laid in even courses – in an H-pattern. The foundation of the house was reputedly built of stone brought up river as ballast – and the house was built by a stone mason who learned his trade in Kingston Penitentiary. Updated – The Hodgson Family of Sunbury, Ontario and Hartney. Manitoba In Winter 2000 issue of Pathmaster (Vol.3, No, 2 p14) we published a letter written by Annie A Hodgson, a former student at Pickering College, I which she was reminiscing about her time spent here as a student. We knew little about the Hodgson family apart from the fact that they were Quakers and had moved to Sunbury, Ontario, near Kingston, to Manitoba, sometime in the 1880s. Thanks to Allan McGillivray, curator of the Uxbridge-Scot Museum we now know a bit more as he sent us some selections from Golden Memories: A History of the Dand Community. Either Annie or one of her eight siblings penned the following brief account of “The John Matthew Hodgson Family History,” which appears on page 76. “John Matthew Hodgson, son of John R . Hodgson and Matilda Makin, was born on July 5, 1843. Eliza S. Brown, daughter of Joseph and Loraina Brown, was born on November 26, 1848. Mother was from Moscow, Ontario and Father from Sunbury, Ontario. They belonged to the Society of Friends, or Quakers, and were married by the monthly meeting of that society in the presence of 36 witnesses in the year of 1869. “For some years they farmed at Sunbury, near Kingston, Ontario. Later Father took up the business of cheese-making, operating several factories.” Lin 1889 they moved to Manitoba and settled at Portage la Prairie on a rented farm. Father bought grain for awhile as well as farmed. They wanted to buy a farm but land was high in price at Portage so in four years time they moved west to Hartney and bought a farm 1 ½ miles south of town. They farmed there until the year 1919 when they retired to Vancouver. Five daughters and four sons were born to them. Laura, Lydia, Emma, Annie, Mable, Elwood, Lindley, Allan and William. “Mother passed on in March, 1923, leaving Father alone so he came back to Manitoba and lived with his family during his remaining years. He passed on in 1932. “The Friends’ Church, to which Father was very faithful, was built on his farm and as long as he was able. He put on the furnace fires for Sunday School and Church Service.” In the same book there are other accounts about Annies’s brothers Elwood, Lindley, Allan and William. Like Annie, Allan and William. Like Annie, Allan spent a tern at Pickering College, There is also an account of the founding of the Chain Lakes Quaker Church, of which the Hodgsons were among the prime movers of which the Hodgsons were among the prime movers. In 1899 the Hartney Monthly Meeting of Friends was established with Alma G. Dale as minister and missionary. A meeting house was subsequently built on land donated by John M. Hodgson. Crimes of a Century: Arson in nineteenth-Century Pickering Public Library By John Sabean Part five in a series about sensation crimes in Victorian-era Picketing Township As if accidental fires were not devastating enough in nineteenth-century Pickering before adequate mean so fighting fires were established, arsonists occasionally made an unwelcome appearance to plague the citizenry even more. Lacking investigative techniques it was difficult for the authorities to find enough evidence to identify the miscreants. Let alone gain a conviction for their misdeeds. We know about at least three cases of arson or attempted arson in Pickering Township during the Victorian era. The first two were carried out under mysterious circumstances, the third, however was a blatant attempt to intimidate the victims. Arsonist Attacks the Post Family in 1848 On the night of 18 August 1848, someone tried to set fire to the home of Jordan Post, a tavern and mill owner of Pickering Township. 1 Two nights later a repeat attempt was made on the barn. A measure of the seriousness with which the citizens of Pickering Township took this matter is reflected in a broadsheet that is preserved in the National Archives of Canada. 2 The broadsheet, copies of which were once probably distributed throughout the township, tells of a meeting of the citizenry to deal with the issue. The meeting was held in Pickering Village, (then know as the village of Duffins Creek) on Saturday, 24 August. Four Motions were passed at that meeting. The first called for a public subscription to raise money “to be offered as a reward for the detection and conviction” of the person or persons responsible for setting the fire. The second Motion called for the forming of 4 committees to collect the subscription moneys – the township to be divided in 4 parts. The persons in charge of the collection in each quarter are named in the Motion. Motion 3 was a resolution to request that the Governor Genera of Canada be approached to head the subscription list “to aid in raising the proposed reqard for the detection and conviction of the incendiaries.” 3 Following on that Motion was a fourth that named the 4 men who were to convey the request to the Governor General, viz., P.F Whitney, Francis Leys, D. Burns, and J. Greig. Before the broadsheet was printed for distribution another fire was deliberately set. This time the victim was Jordan Post’s brother, George Washington Post, Jr., who also operated tavern in the township. George’s barn was destroyed, along with a large quantity of grain that was stored in it. As a result, to the poster was added a fifth Motion that designated a portion of the reward money that was raised be used to indentify the second arsonist, presuming, of course, that the culprits were not the same. At the end of the meeting a collection was made. Thirty-two people pledged sums of money to the total of L117 7s 6d. Francis Leys – 12 10, Ebenezer Berrill – L10 0, Frederick Green – L5 0, James Greig - L 5 0, Joshua Wixon –L 5 0, G Post L12 10, Jordan Post – L12 10, Peter Taylor – L2 0, Robert Burns – L3 0, Matthew Hodgson – L5 0, P.F. Whitney – L5 0, G.W. Hubbard – L1 5, Donald McKay – L1 5, Eligah Bostwick – L1 5, John Haight, Sen., - L 0, Nathan Blow – LL0 10, John Gormley – L 0 10, William Gordon – L 1 5, John Lickens – L5 0, William Williamson – L1 5, James Logan – L1 5, John M. Lumsden – L5 0, L Churchill – L1 5, James Peters – L1 0, Noah G. Nash – L1 5, George Brown – L 1 5, John C. Mitchell – LL0 5, Henry Crawford – L4 0, William Hartwell – L1 5, William W.Caldwell – L0 2 6, John Whiteside – L 2 0, Arthur Lepper, Sen. – L 7 10. There were many questions raised by the incidents described in the broadsheet for which we do not at the moment have answers due to a lack of sources. Why was the Post family singled out for these attacks? How much damage was suffered by the buildings belonging to Jordan Post? Did the Governor General contribute to the subscription or even assume some more direct action in the affair. Were the culprits ever caught? The Posts were a prominent family in Pickering Township and had ties with other prominent families in the area such as the Woodruffs and the Knowles. 6 The Posts had also been prominent is Scarborough and in York. From all accounts they were a respectable family. It is difficult to imagine who would have held a grudge against them as to lead to an attempt to burn them out. Jordan Post had built Post Manor in 1841. It is not known how much damaged was done to the house, but IMPORTANT RESOLUTION At a Meeting of the Inhabitants of the Township of PICKERING, held at the Court House, in the Village of Duffin’s Creek, on Saturday, the 24th of August, 1848, and convened for the purpose of raising by public subscription , a sum of money to be offered as a Reward, for the discovery and conviction of the incendiaries who set fire to the Dwelling House and Barn of Mr. Jordan Post, in their Township, on the nights of the 18th and 29th of August, as well as to give public expression to their feelings of unmitigated detestation and horror which the community entertain for the cold-blooded assassin- like malignity that could impel the cowardly incendiary this to convert the home and hearth to a respectable and unoffending family to a scene of wide spread calamity and desolation; and also to devise means for bringing the unprincipled wretches to well merited and condign punishment. Portrait of Jordan Post (1814-1860) Portrait of Matilda Post (1819-1886) it is probably lucky that the building material was stone. The house, of course, is still in place, and outwardly at least, shows indication of the fire that threatened it nearly 160 years ago. George W. Post, we believe, had succeeded his father as innkeeper at the Post Inn, which George, Sr. had built about 1812. That house is also still intact and is the oldest extant building of the old Pickering Township (its present location is Ajax). It would be another decade after the above incidents before local newspapers were printed in Ontario County (in Whitby and Oshawa), and more than 30 years before Pickering had its own newspaper. It is therefore very difficult and may be impossible at this time to get further information about the Post fires. We may never know if the Governor General felt this cause important enough to demand his personal attention. And whether the culprit of culprits were ever identified and appropriately punished may also be beyond our ability to discover.7 When the Pickering News began its publication in 1881 in one of its early issues it published and editorial declaring that on of the most dire need of the village was “an efficient Fire Brigade.” The editors suggested that the leading men of the village should call a meeting to form a fire company.8 In fact, it took another 7 years before a fire company was finally organized in 1888. 9 That would still be too far away in time and place to help either George McKeown or the Courtney family. George McKeown, A Victim of Arson In 1882 The Pickering News on 26 May 1882 reported that early that Friday morning George McKeown was returning home about 2:00a.m. when he found his premises engulfed in flames. 10 McKeown was a weaver by trade who had emigrated from Donegal, Ireland, in the 1840s. In 1882, he was in his early 50s, unmarried, and living by himself. He lived on the south half of Lot 15 in the Third Concession, in a house that he rented from Seneca Haight. 11 In the fire he lost everything, including his stock of cloth estimated to be worth $1000. Unfortunately, his insurance company, Ontario Mutual Company, had gone out of business and he had not sought a new carrier, and thus was completely uninsured. McKeown believed that the fire had been deliberately set and that a robbery had preceded it. Early in June an advertisement appeared in the Pickering News stating that McKeown had had two credit notes in his home at the time of fire. Suspecting that these notes had been stolen he issued a warning that these notes were not to be negotiated: “As my premises were robbed and burned recently, these notes are now likely out before the public.” 12 Once again the community till the matter seriously enough to offer an award for the apprehension and conviction the culprits.13 This time it was the township council that took the action. $200 REWARD The Council of the Corporation for the Township of Pickering, hereby offer a reward of TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS for the apprehension and conviction of the party or parties who robbed and burned the premises of GEORGE MCKEOWN, Lot No. 15 3rd Concession of Pickering, on the night of the 25th of May, 1882. John Miller, Reeve Pickering, June 22, 1882 About two months later McKeown purchased a former planning mill in Pickerong Village and began to refit it as a factory for the manufacture of cloth and related items. 14 The Pickering News remarked: “He is a good mechanic and we hope he may realize a good trade in this line. He should be supported in his undertaking by the people of this section.” By the beginning of October McKeown had finished the renovations and was ready to open the doors to his new establishment. 15 We have some idea of his success when an old friend dropped in on him a year later and wrote of his that he was “an honest, hard-working, kind-hearted and ready witted citizen whose word is as good as his oath…” “ George” he continued, “makes good use of his loom, and passes a very large amount of custom work through his hands. His place is full of home made sheetings, blankets and stocking yarn, white and colored. He also deals in manufactured goods in his line, which he sells at lowest prices. He is thriving in spite of having been burnt out a year ago…” As in the case of the Post incidents the McKeown affair remains a mystery. No one, to our knowledge, was ever charged and no motive ever suggested. WOOLEN FACTORY Take Notice! Having now established my business in PICKERING VILLAGE I respectfully solicit the patronage of old customers. I will give persona attention to all orders, and will warrant good work All persons indebted to me must pay up at once, as I have been at a great expense in again getting to work Please take notice Geo McKeown Pickering, Oct 4th, 1882 Claremont Family Threatened by Arsonist in 1887 There is no mystery about the attempted arson of a house near Claremont on Christmas Eve in 1887. 17 Leopold Joseph Whikowski was a bookbinder living in Toronto. He had married a daughter of James Courtney of Pickering Township, but the marriage had not been a happy on. His wife moved out of their home in Toronto and eventually came to reside with her father and mother in their rented home on Lot 13, Concession 9, Pickering. Whikowski, perhaps making use of Christmas holidays, pursued her to Claremont. James Courtney, learning that Whikowski was on his way to Claremont by way of the Canadian Pacific Railway, went to the station in North Claremont to meet his son-in- law. Theyargued when they met and both stalked off. Courtney went home; Whikowski set out in the direction of the village. Arriving home, Courtney reported to his wife and daughter that he believed Whikiwski was up to no good. They locked all the doors of the house and pulled down the blinds to put the house in darkness. Sure enough , just after 9:00 p.m. Whikowski shoed up on the doorstep. He tried the door, but finding it locked, whet out to the woodshed. There he found a coal-oil can, and after pouring it contents on the wood, “piled up what other stuff he could get” and set it all on fire. Watching from a back window, Mrs. Courtney saw a strong light flare up from the wood- shed. Realizing that the light signaled the fire she grabbed a pail partly filled with water and went to do battle. At the woodshed she encountered Whikowski standing between her and the fire now “blazing fiercely.” He had a revolver in his had and raised it as if to shoot at her. Showing great presence of mind, Mrs. Courtney “immediately dashed the pail and its contents right at him and pretreated to the house, shutting the door behind her.” Meanwhile, James Courtney had found another pail of water and was about to rush our to fight the fire himself. He immediately ran into Whikiwski, who again raised the revolver and this time succeeded in getting of a hot, but not before Courtney was able to slam the door. The ball lodged “in the door, taking an oblique direction into the frame, and just about the height of Courtney’s ear.” Whikowski ran off in an easterly direction (away for Claremont). Courtney then set out for Claremont to report the incident to the authorities, while his wife and a neighbour Joseph Brignall, put out the fire. The next day, a Sunday, and Christmas day, a warrant was issued. Notes: 1. Jordan Post (1814-1860), Con. 2, Lot19. In the Census of 1851, Post is described as a lumber dealer. The house, still standing, was on the northwest corner of Kingston and Brock Roads. The mill was on Duffin’s Creek a short distance west of Brock Road. 2. National Archives, ISBN 0665584474; Amicus No, 7441020. 3. The Gov.-Gen. From 1847 to 1854 was James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin. 4. Paul Frederick Whitney, Con2, Lot 23 (Henry Roswell, City of Toronto and County of York Directory, Toronto, 1850). Francis Leys (c1784-1583, Con 1, Lot 12, (George Brown, Toronto City and Home District Directory, Toronto, 1846), De. Robert (?) Burns. Con 2, Lot 16, (George Walton, City of Toronto and the Home District… Directory, Toronto, 1838; Brown (1846) & Rowsell (1850)). James Greig, Con2, Lot 18 (Brown (1846)). 7. The following were also named in the broadsheet a attending the meeting: George Boomer, David Clark, William Dember, {Dunbar} N[icholas] Howell, Abraham Knowles, G. Laing, Eli Leavens, John Little, William Miller, William Mitchell, J. Remer [Remmer or Ramer], William Waddle [Waddell], William Walsh. 8. Pickering News, (PN) 18 Nov. 1881, p.2. 9. PN 14 Sept, 1882, p.8. 10. McKeown (c1830-1907), Con 3, Lot 15, S1/2 (at what is now the corner of Church Street and the 3rd Concession Road. 11. 1881 Census, Div. A2, p.1, #4; 1882 Assessment Roll. Obit, in PN 2 Aug, 1907, p.8. 12. PN 2 June 1882, p.2. 13. PN 23 June 1882, p. 2. 14. PN 4 Aug, 1882, p, 2; and see 22 Sep. 1882, p.2. 15. PN 13 Oct. 1883, p.2. 16. Traveller [Ross Johnston] in Whitby Chronicle, 2 Nov. 1883. 17. PN 30 Dec 1887, p.1. 18. See Traveller elsewhere in this issue. James Courtney (1838-1911) and his wife Martha Carson (1836-1907) were tenants of Thomas Pugh. 19. Holden reside at Concession 9, south half Lot 9 (see Assessment Roll for 1887) The Patrons Directory of the Illustrated Historical Atlas of Ontario County (Beers, 1877). P. 64 lists him as; “Conveyancer and Money Broker, Commissioner for taking affidavits in B.R., etc.” In the Assessment Roll for 1882, McDonald is described as a 24 year-old laborour living on Franklin St. in Claremont; Adamson was a 25-year-old labourer living on Centre St. in Claremont. Cyrus Richmond Sing: Meaford's First Mayor The two accounts below from the Pickering News in 1894 and 1985 relate the success of a one time Pickering boy who left the area to find his fortune elsewhere and eventually became the mayor of Meaford, in Grey County.1 Cyrus Richmond Sing was the son of Joseph Synge or Sing and Sarah Richmond, who settled in Pickering sometime in the 1820’ or 1830’s - on Lot 5 of the Broken Front.2 The News reports a hard-fought political contest in January of 1894, where Sing beat out his popular opponent to win an election for the position of Reeve. His victory was so decisive that the following January, when he ran for reelection, he was unopposed. Margareta McBurney and Mary Byers give a fuller account of Cyrus Sing and his family in their book Tavern in the Town Pickering News 19 January 1894 p. 8: The contest for the Reeveship of The Township of St. Vincent, County of Grey, was one of the hardest fought battles ever known in the history of the county. The contestants were Mr. C.R. Sing, a Pickering boy, and Mr. Alfred Gifford, the Partron orator and stumper of North Bruce. When smoke of battle had cleared away it was found Mr. Sing had a majority of 279. In one of the wards Mr. Sing received 50 votes and Mr. Gifford only one. In fact in every ward of the township Mr. Sing had a majority. Many of the old settlers of Pickering well remember Mr. Song as a boy, working our for the farmers. He removed to Grey County in 1840 since which time he [has] been in the council for thirty years. For twenty years he has served the township as Reeve and Mayor of Meaford. In 1882 he was warden of the county. He is also one of the oldest magistrates in the cunty. These facts demonstrate that a boy may make progress in a new county even if he has to work under many disadvantages. Pickering News 4 January 1895, p.8. C.R. Sing, of Meaford, formerly of this village, was elected Reeve of St. Vincent Township by acclimation. Mr. Sing has been in the council board of that township for the past twenty-eight years in various positions. Mr. Sing was orn about a mile east of here on the farm now owned by Jas. Richards, Councillor.3 What a fertile farm that lot must be, to be sure. McBurney, Margaret and Mary Byers, 1987. Tavern in the Town: Early Inns and Taverns of Ontario. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Pp. 160 161: The host behind the bar of a nineteenth-century inn was, with few exceptions, an Irishman or a Yankee. In each case the atmosphere was the same – democratic. Such must have been the situation in The Exchange Hotel in the village of Singhampton. 4 It had been built by a man named Josiah Sing, the son of and Irish father and an American mother, so it seems likely that the establishment would be operated along egalitarian lines. In Ireland Cyrus Richmond Sing’s ancestors spelled their name Synge as did Irish playwright J.M. Synge,5 but in Upper Canada the spelling became Sing, probably because so much Canadian spelling was phonetic. Edward and Elizabeth Synge, grandparents of Cyrus , were linen weavers, a family tradition that their descendants continued in Upper Canada. Edward and Elizabeth eventually came to Ontario, but were preceded by their eldest son, Joseph who made the crossing in 1816. He settled in Bloomfield, Prince Edward County, and combined teaching with preaching and travelling the saddlebag circuit. Joseph married Sarah, daughter of Cyrus Richmond, a United Empire Loyalist from New York State. According to her descendants, Sarah was ‘fair and good to look upon’, and her friends persuaded her that the young, serious Quaker with a gift for oratory ‘was a fine young man with no bad habits and she would have a home of her own.’ After their marriage the couple moved to Pickering Township just east of York, where Joseph took up his two-hundred-acre farm. Sarah Sing produced children, while Joseph produced debts. According to family tradition, ‘he traded 100 of his 200 acres… When Joseph sold the remaining acres she refused to sign away her dowage.’6 By this time, Sarah had lost twin daughters, another daughter, and Gersham, one of twin sons. She took her remaining children – son Cyrus and two daughters - and moved to the village of Duffin’s Creek (now Pickering), where she supported them all by her weaving. Another son, seven-year-old Joseph, went with his father to live on fifty acres of bush land in Brock Township, where Joseph, Senior, intended to teach and preach. Later, undernourished from a diet of salt pork and potatoes, young Joseph was taken in by relatives, who raised him and called him Josiah In 1848 Cyrus Sing, then in his mid-twenties, settled in Osprey Township at a point between the Saugeen, Beaver, and Nottawasaga rivers where the potential for mills was excellent. He wrote to his brother, Josiah urging him to come, and so Josiah, by then seventeen, trekked up Yonge Street from Newmarket, with his small white dog for company, Within a year or two the two young men were able to send for their mother and sisters, who joined them at the site of Meaford. The brothers bought a carding machine and moved it overland in winter to the Nottawasaga River and then by schooner to Medford. Later, as business expanded, the Sings added a fulling mill and a sawmill. In 1852 the Sings moved to Mad River Mills, where they ran mills, a store, and the post office. The [postal station took their name – Singhampton. They laid out the townsite and, in the mid-1860’s, built the spacious Exchange House to serve passengers and merchants on the Collingwood run. Cyrus returned to Medford in 1857 and became the towns first mayor and warden of Grey County. Josiah and Cyrus brought their parents to Singhampton, but the couple who had separated back in Pickering were not about to change the situation at that late date. Crotchety old Joseph lived, hermit-like, in a small log house by a swamp. Later he moved to a house in town provided for him by the loyal Josiah. Sarah lived with the family and was later remembered as a short lady of five-foot-two inches and weighing 210 pounds. Notes: 1. On Nottawasaga Bay between Owen Sound and Collingwood. 2. The earliest date we have for the Sings in Pickering is 183. In the Land Registry Office (LRO) Abstract Index is a record of sale by Henry Powell to Joseph Sing dated 7 Dec. 1837, of the south part of Lot 5, Broken Front. And George Walton, City of Toronto and the Home District…Directory (Toronto 1837) has Sing listed on the same lot. Lot 5, B.F. is on the west side of Shoal Point Road in Ajax. Carruthers Creek runs through it. 3. Con.1, Lott 11. James Richards (b.c1837) was a Councillor from 1893 to 1900. 4. Southwest of Collingwood. 5. John Millington Singe (1871-1909) a leading figure in the Irish literary renaissance. The Playboy to the Western World (1907) was his most famous play. 6. LRO Abstract Index: Sales recorded in 1840 to Nicholas Austin and in 1856 to Caleb Powell. In Memorium Joseph Martin Nighswander – 1923-2006 George Edward Willson – 1914-2005 The Pickering Township Historical Society celebrates the lives of tow of its members who have recently left us for their eternal reward. Joe Nighswander and George Willson were descendants of two of the oldest families of Pickering Township. Joe was six generations removed from Abraham Neiswander who immigrated to Upper Canada from Pennsylvania in 1824, and settled in Markham Township. Abraham’s son, Martin Nighswander, Sr., moved to Pickering Township probably about 1838, and there the family has flourished for more that 165 years. Asher Willson, George’s ancestor (great, great grandfather) , was a native of Connecticut and arrived in Pickering Township in 1815 after a few years in Elizabethtown (near Brockville) in Upper Canada. Both George Willson and Joe Nighswander were mines of information about Pickering Township. Not only did their own memories go back to a much earlier day, but they were also the carriers of family and local tradition that extended back to their earliest ancestors. The PTHS is greatly indebted to both for all that we have been able to glean from them over the years. At our request, Doug Willson, George’s cousin, wrote the following short sketch about George: “George had about 5 acres of good farmland at 1710 Whitevale Road in Pickering where he and Gertrude (Coakwell) lived after marriage in 1940. This property included a lot of fruit trees, most of which were planted by George. He also grew all varieties of vegetables as well as raspberries. He specialized in flowers including gladiolas, and each year grew sunflowers and staked the up to 20 feet to enter into competition at various fall fairs. “He also grew pumpkins on his own property and about 2 acres of Doug’s property just up the road. In the summer and fall he sold most of this produce at a stand in front of his home. “George entered a lot of his top produce in fall fairs at Minden, and more recently, at Markham, where he won several First Prize ribbons for his efforts. He even ‘borrowed’ a few large tomatoes for competition from Doug one year because his own crop was poor. “When new unfriendly tenants took over the property a few years after expropriation, he moved his gardening operation west across the road allowance between Lots 18 and 19 to the old Hubbard-Glen property. He moved his tractor and tools into the former Hubbard barns and continued with his love of gardening. His tractor, which he kept in excellent running condition, was a pre-1940 Massey-Harris farm tractor. He made or found the necessary parts for the old tractor and kept it running as quiet as a kitten. “Following in the footsteps of his father, Warren, George was a very active member of the Board of the Brougham Pioneer Christian Cemetery. He volunteered with grass cutting and tree maintenance, and did repairs on foundations of old stone. He was also involved with installing the four corner markers at the new grave sites.” To that I will only add that whenever a researcher came looking for information about the Willson family, or about the Hubbards (another old Pickering Township family, from which George was also descended), or about Andrew and Dorothy Glen (one a writer, the other an artist), his one-time neighbours, he had endless stories to tell, often providing information that was unavailable elsewhere. Unfortunately for us, so far as I know, George never wrote down anything from his vast store of knowledge of the local scene. Joseph Nighswander, on the other hand, became something of a writer after he retired in 1990 as an administrator of Parkwood Home for the Aged in Markham. Even before that he had begun to gather together his knowledge of his community – a community that, in many ways, was an extension of his own family. In 1985 he wrote: “Altona has been at the geographic centre of my life so far. I was born and lived for the first 25 years of my life in the home of my parents at Lot 31, Concession 9, Pickering. The house, built in 1851 by William Feaster, is situated at the southern limits of Altona. “This farm was purchased in 1838 by my great great grandfather, Martin Nighswander. His father, Abraham, came into Upper Canada around 1824, and lived with his second wife Susannah Hoover on the farm now occupied by the Markham Fairgrounds. It is thought they lie buried on that property. “In 1948, when my wife and I were married, we lived on what was called the Johnson farm at Lot 31, Concession 9, within a mile of Altona. In 1970, when I began a second career [after farming], we moved to Lot 34, Concession 9, still within one mile of Altona. “In the cemetery at the old Mennonite Church are buried my great great grandfather Martin, my great grandfather Martin, Jr., my grandfather Enos, and my father David. All of them and their wives lived out their lives within a mile of Altona! “So you see, Altona and the Nighswanders are quiet synonymous since 1838.” Joseph Martin Nighswander had now joined his ancestors in the burial ground of the Altona Mennonite Meetinghouse, a meetinghouse that has had at least one Nighswander on the Board of Trustees since 1852. Joe was more than a Trustee and caretaker of that old church; he was a steadfast member of the Mennonite faith to the very end. To Joe and to George we bid a fond farewell. You were each a friend to us and to the communities in which you resided. Glen Major Railway Station By John Sabean On a recent visit to the cabin of the Glen Major Angling Club in Glen Major, Uxbridge Township, I found this photograph of Glen Major Railway Station hanging on their walls along with other historic photographs. The former Canadian Pacific Railway station was located in Pickering Township north of Balsam. In the photograph, three members of the Angling Club are waiting on the platform of the station for transportation (probably by horse and buggy) to the club property. In an earlier issue of Pathmaster, 2 (1999), p.30, we had ran a photograph of the Glen Major station in its present location in Tottenham, Ontario, where it serves as the ticket office for the historic steam train. We run it again here in a smaller format for comparison to the station as it looked in 1916. Caption on back of photo: “To the Glen Major Trout Club, June 10th 1916, 9:10 a.m.” The Reverend W.F. Waddell – Temperance Lecturer By John Sabean with the collaboration of the Pickering News. At the height of the Temperance Movement in the nineteenth-century Ontario many a reputation was won by those who championed the cause and took to the road to win converts. The Movement also had its share of charlatans, who saw an opportunity they couldn’t resist. In the pages of the Pickering News we found a person who travelled the circuit under the name of the Rev. W.F. Waddell, lecturing on temperance purportedly as a representative of the International Order of Good Templars. Whether he was a legitimate temperance advocate of a con man we may never know, but from the items that appear in the News, he gives evidence of being at least somewhat shady. We leave it up to readers to judge. An to the Backwoods Players we offer a character they may want to develop for a future Spirit Walk or other theatrical entertainments. In the gossip columns of the Pickering News for 18 Octlber 1889, it is announced that the Rev. W.F. Waddell will lecture at Claremont, Green River, Brougham and Kinsale in the coming week. These items simply support an advertisemsnt that appears on page 4 and which we her reproduce. In other items in the same issue it is declared that an address Waddell gave in Whitevale on the preceding Sabbath was well attended. The Whitevale correspondent commented: “We think he will succeed in stirring up the temperance sentiment in our vale, which (if the midnight tottering forms and the tin pails occasionally seen mean anything) is much needed.” Apparently, however, even at this early stage there was some question either about Waddell’s methods, his message, or perhaps his demeanor. So, Waddell was anxious to allay any fears about his intentions and “left at this office [Pickering News] a full, complete and detailed statement of all his expenses and receipts in this neighborhood…” For his work this far he showed a balance of a mere $6.80, In another column Waddell’s lecture at Dales’s Hall in Pickering Village was reviewed. A gain, he presented a financial statement of his receipts and expenditures, “which plainly showed that if he was on a money-grabbing expedition, it was not panning our very well. ” He requested at the meeting that if any persons questioned his methods they should declare themselves then and there “or forever hold their peace.” No one did, apparently, and the meeting “went off satisfactorily, and Mr. Waddell told some wholesome temperance truths very forcibly.” It was further reported that Waddell’s lecturing had led to the organization of new temperance lodges at Cherrywood and Whitevale and “greatly aided and strengthened the lodge here by creating a new interest in it.” A year passed, and then, on 31 October 1890, this item appeared on page one of the Pickering News: “From International Royal Templar, October issue: ‘A professed temperance lecturer calling himself Rev. W. F. Waddell, is travelling in Ontario. He has no official endorsation either from the Royal Templars or the Good Templars. Any statement he may make to the contrary is untruthful and misleading.’” If Waddell were legitimate there would have been no need for this disclaimer. However, exactly what was wrong with his lecturing we can now only conjecture. Finally, on 10 March 1893, this item was published on the back page of the News: “”At the Winnipeg assizes Wednesday a verdict of not guilty was returned in the case of Rev. W.F. Waddell, who was charged with having caused the death of an adopted child.’ In all probability this is the man with whom F.M. Harvey, then running a livery stable here, had trouble some three winters ago. He is well known around Newcastle and Orono.” It is not absolutely clear that the person is the same, although the name would suggest it. Nor is it certain that a misdeed had been perpetrated. Maybe we are reading too much into little information, nevertheless, we believe a good story lies behind the report of these events-either real or fictional. The Saloon Must Go And the power that crushes it is the I.O.G.Templars Rev. W.F.Waddell, Grand and District Lodge Lecturer, late Of Oberlin, Ohio, will lecture at, Frenchmans Bay, Friday Brougham Saturday Claremont, Sunday Balsam, Monday Glen Major, Tuesday Audley, Wednesday Kinsale, Thursday Greenwood, Friday Grange Hall, Saturday October. 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26. Silver collection to defray expenses. --Wednesday’s Empire says that Charlotte Evans , a middle-aged woman who gave her address as Buffalo, was arrested yesterday afternoon on the charge of stealing a purse containing $15 from Rev. W. F. Waddell, 21 Richmond street east, at the Union Station. Mr. Waddell had bought a ticket for Weston and laid down his purse till he made change. When he looked around again, his purse was missing, and as Mrs. Evans was the person nearest to him when he was buying his ticket she was followed up and arrested. Cronk Legacy In an early issue of Pathmaster (Vol.1, No.4) Judith Goulin wrote an article about the Cronk (or Cronkhite) family of Pickering. Stephen Cronk, of Prince Edward County, married Mary Adelia Betts, of an old family of Pickering Township. In 1876, they purchased a farm in Pickering from Mary’s father. Cronk descendants still live in the area. The following items from the Pickering News would have had the Cronks buzzing for about a month in 1896. Pickering News, 13 March 1896, p. 8 There is quite a robust rumor now afloat that some $80,000,000 have been left to descendants of Casper Cronkhite, who died years ago in Holland. It is also stated that Stephen Cronk, east of this village, is one of the lucky heirs. Eighty million dollars is a large sum, and we must congratulate Mr. Cronk, if he be even one of the most remote descendants. The matter is now being thoroughly investigated Pickering News, 10 April 1896, p.1 The heirs to the Cronk millions can give up figuring what they will do with the many millions awaiting them in Holland. “Twas all a newspaper fake, so the British Consul at Amsterdam writes to Hon. R. Harcourt, Provincial Treasurer. Pickering News, 10 April 1896, p. 8 We sincerely sympathize with the members of the Cronkhite family, who have been led to believe that a huge fortune, composed of many millions, was soon to be divided between some twenty-six persons. This money was supposed to have been accumulated by one Jasper Cronkhite years ago in Holland. Sir Richard Harcourt, of the Provincial Government, has been informed officially that the whole affair is a huge hoax, and was originated by some speculative newspaper reporter in order to cause some excitement. The representatives here wish to return the many congratulations they have received during the past few days. . This post card has written on the back; “Camp Ozonum, Pickering Ont.” We wonder if anyone can identify the site for us. Who ran the camp? How long was it in existence? This post card is purportedly of a bridge construction in Pickering. There are only a few locations where this could bee. Can anyone identify it more specifically? On the front this post card id identified as “The Mill, Pickering, June 1924.” On the reverse is the further identification: “Rose Excelsior Mill, Pickering.” We know that the location of the mill was on the east side of Notion Road. Does anyone have any other information about this establishment? Fire destroyed the old Hicksite (Quaker) Meeting House north of Kingston Road (just west of Picov’s) in April 1931. All that is left on the site to commemorate the Quaker presences is a cemetery, which has recently been declared a heritage site by the Town of Ajax.