Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCS 45-04 REPORT TO EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Report Number: CS 45/04 Date: November 22, 2004 From: Bruce Taylor, AMCT, CMM City Clerk Subject: Tullis Cottage Designation 1705 Seventh Concession Road Recommendation: That Report CS 45-04 regarding the designation of the Tullis Cottage, 1705 Seventh Concession Road, be received; and 2. That the Tullis Cottage be designted as a Heritage Property. Executive Summary: Not Applicable Financial Implications: $300 plaque - Account 2743-5400 Background: Tullis Cottage sits facing the Seventh Concession Road on the northeast corner of Lot 19, Concession 6 and has long been associated with the pioneer Barclay family. Rev. George Barclay purchased a 200-acre lot in 1819 from Mary Ruttan Matthews, wife of UEL Thomas Elmes Matthews, veteran of both the Revoluntionary War and the War of 1812. According to family tradition, Tullis Cottage was constructed c1840 and is a good example of the local vernacular style. It is a single storey Ontario classic with an early center hall plan that derives interest from simple carpenter's details and careful proportioning. Of note are the eaves return details, the drip moulding over the windows, the four-paneled front door, the clapboard siding in "cottage" profile. All Report CS 45-04 Designation of Tullis Cottage November 22, 2004 Page 2 window frames but one appear original and all aspects of the main T-shaped body of the house appear original. The features worthy of designation are its simplicity, proportions and uniform delicacy of its wood detailing and the chimney that appears to be unique and original. An appraiser's report describes Tullis Cottage as being "historic" with "exceptional qualities". Tullis Cottage has remained in the hands of the Barclay family from the time it was built right up to the time the federal government expropriated it in the early 1970s. The house has continued to be occupied - the present tenant is a descendant of the Rev. George Barclay. Rev. George Barclay served the community in many capacities, involving himself in matters of local interest and making significant contributions to the community. He was a teacher and farmer, but more significantly he was one of the founders of the Disciples Church in Pickering. He held several offices in the community including serving a term as pathmaster alongside Peter Matthews, as Town Warden and Tax Collector, he was Brougham's first postmaster, and served as Township Clerk. He played a large role in the Rebellion of 1837, probably a much more significant role than that of local hero Peter Matthews. His farm was a meeting place for reformers in the months leading up to the march on Yonge Street - two of his sons, George and William, also participated in the uprising and George Jr. was imprisoned for his role in the battle at Montgomery's Tavern. While there, he carved a small wooden box that is now part of the museum artifacts at Fort York in Toronto. Tullis Cottage is of great significance from a local and provincial perspective for both its architecture, but especially for its long association with the Barclay family and their significant contributions to the community of Pickering. Council should be aware that the Tullis Cottage is located on the airport lands that is owned and controlled by Transport Canada. It is the intent of Heritage Pickering to ensure that the historical and architectural importance of this building is recognized by Transport Canada so that in the event that this building is part of the construction envelope for the future airport, consideration will be given to preserving this building in some way. Attachments: The Barclay Houses Historical Report prepared by John Sabean, Historical Consultant. Report CS 45-04 Designation of Tullis Cottage November 22, 2004 Page 3 Prepared By: Pamela Fuselli Chair, Heritage Pickering Approved / Endorsed By: ,,,l~ruce Taylor City Clerk Approved By: Gillis A. Paterson, Director, Corporate Services & Treasurer BT:dw Attachment Recom mend'~d- Pickering~ l~,~¢t~h°mas J' Qui~ ion of d/ministrative Officer Historical Report THE BARCLAY HOUSES Tullis Cottage & Ever Green Villa 1705 Seventh Concession Road & 3970 Brock Road Concession 6, Lot 19 City of Pickering October 2004 by John W. Sabean Historical Consultant THE BARCLAY HOUSES Concession 6, Lot 19 City of Picketing Tullis Cottage 1705 Seventh Concession Road Ever Green Villa 3970 Brock Road Location Tullis Cottage sits facing the Seventh, Concession Road on the northeast corner of Lot 19, Concession 6, in the City of Pickering. Around the corner on the same Lot, but facing Brock Road, is Ever Green Villa. Both have long been associated with the pioneer Barclay family. The two houses are situated about a kilometre north of Brougham, a village located in the approximate centre of Pickering. Brock Road, running north and south, is a major county road. Provincial Highway 7 runs through the centre of Brougham and the new Highway 407, which parallels it, passes just to the south of Brougham. Highway 401 is another 10 kilometres or so further south. The Land Lot 19, Concession 6 was part of a Crown grant, made on 8 July 1799, to United Empire Loyalist Mary Ruttan Matthews, daughter of Peter Ruttan, a Captain in the American Revolutionary War, and wife of UEL Thomas Elmes Matthews, veteran of both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. In 1819, the year that Thomas died, twenty years after receiving the property, Mary Matthews sold the northern (rear) half of the 200-acre lot to the Rev. George Barclay. Three times Barclay mortgaged all or part of the property--for £400 to Joseph Warner on 17 January 1837 (discharged in October 1838), for £200 to Robert Stewart on 19 May 1840 (discharged 13 July 1848), and to William Douglass for £200 on 28 February 1853 (discharged 10 April 1855).~ George Barclay's youngest son, Eli Gorham Barclay, inherited the homestead, recorded as a Bargain and Sale on 1 March 1854. He in turn left the property undivided to his second son Charles Albert Barclay (by Agreement dated 31 January 1893 and by will dated 7 July 1892 and registered 2 May 1899). At Charles' death in 1926, his widow, Caroline Susan (Stevenson) Barclay assumed ownership. Parts of the half lot were sold or severed, including Tullis Cottage to Helen Beatrice Barclay Auld, but the largest part, including Ever Green Villa, went to Harold Goldman Barclay (1942), Charles' second son, who raised a large family in the house. Subsequently tenants occupied the house, but the ownership remained in Harold's hands until expropriation in 1972 by Her Majesty the Queen? 2 The Houses Shortly after he purchased the property, George Barclay built a log house just west of where Tullis Cottage now sits. This log house served the family for over 40 years--30+ years as home and another 10 years or so as smoke house--until it burned down in 1862. The log house was still occupied by Barclay and some of his family at the time of the 1851-52 census.3 By 1853, George's youngest son, Eli, had constructed a new frame house just around the corner and moved his family to this house. It is most likely that George and his wife Janet retired to the little cottage now known as Tullis Cottage at the same time, abandoning the log house to another purpose. It is not known, however, exactly when the cottage was built. According to family tradition it was constructed about 1840. After Barclay's death in 1857, Tullis Cottage remained in the hands of the Barclay family right up to the time the federal government expropriated it in the early 1970s for the purposes of constructing a new international airport. Shortly after the airport project was announced G.M. Yost Associates conducted an inventory of heritage properties for a joint federal and provincial project co-ordinating committee. The inventory, released in 1974, described this cottage as a "Clapboard residence, relatively early example of modest size. Suitable for housing stock.''4 It was given a rating of Class 3, and three photographs of it were shown. Class 3 was defined as: Structures of architectural merit that have considerable regional, cultural or historic interest and which could be preserved for residential or commercial occupancy on current sites or elsewhere.5 Three years later the former owners had the property appraised, presumably to determine a rate of compensation. The appraisers concluded: The house on the property is historic, has exceptional qualities and has been maintained to a higher standard than the great majority of similar historic properties. At the time of the Airport-Townsite Scheme announcement and up to the time of my inspection its condition was immaculate. Taken together, its environment, historic quality, facilities, condition, and surplus developable land make the subject extremely desirable? The house has continued to be occupied--the present tenant is a descendant of the Rev. George Barclay. 3 Ever Green Villa, the home built by Eli Barclay, also remained in Barclay hands until expropriated by the federal government, although in recent years it had been rented out to a series of tenants. It has been empty and boarded up now for a number of years. The 1974 federal-provincial inventory of the airport lands rated Ever Green Villa Class 2 ("Structures of substantial architectural merit and cultural importance that should be preserved."), and described it as a Frame residence clad in board and batten and V-groove siding, unusual floor plan; "Ever Green Villa" built in 1865, by Eli Barclay, earlier a sympathizer with W.L. Mackenzie. House and attached shed merit restoration; suitable for housing stock. Picketing, Brock Road.7 While Eli Barclay, son of the Rev. George Barclay, was almost certainly a "sympathizer with W.L. Mackenzie," he was only 12 years old at the time of the Rebellion and took no active part as did two of his older brothers, one of whom was arrested after the march to York and imprisoned for two years. Several sources date the construction of Ever Green Villa from 1865--and the inventory adopted this time frame--but the date is almost certainly wrong. The photo (see appendix 2) of the house in 1865 shows a well-developed garden, something which would have taken years to achieve. Eli's grandson, C.L. Burton, provides a better key to the date of construction. If his information is correct the house would appear to have been built between 1850 and 1853. Burton wrote that his mother was born (in 1850) in the old log house, but the other children, from 1853, were born in the new house,a Burton continues his story: How this fine new pine house came to be built is a story that might be paralleled in every settled township of the country at that time. War, as I shall have occasion to repeat in chapters far beyond this, is a bountiful jade. The Crimean War, 1853-56 and the American Civil War, 1861-65, poured riches into Canada. Wheat went to $2.00 a bushel. The prices of most other produce, including timber, rose to fantastic heights. All over Eastern Canada, you can see to this day the fine old farm houses, the old-fashioned mansions in villages, which owe their origin to this period of sudden wealth in what was still, in some measure, a pioneering land. So far as money was concerned, Canada had until then been poor. The older members of many of the families solidly settled in Canada, though living still in rather primitive log or frame houses, could vividly remember the more gracious homes of the Old Country. 4 Now when money poured into Canada, long-nurtured dreams were realized. Fine farm houses of brick or frame, decorative, spacious, with gardens and ornamental drives, sprang up all over the land. You will see them yet, though many of them are fallen into decay. Compared, however, to the modern farmhouse, they have a certain old dignity. It was war that built them. For the first time, the Barclays had some cash--several hundred dollars !--and Ever Green Villa was built and gardened. Such a house would cost $30,000 or more today. The farm's own white pine, clear white pine, was the chief material of the new home. White pine, at that time, was currency. It was bartered, stick by stick, for all sorts of needs. The day had not yet come when the railroads would facilitate the cutting and removal of all the white pine that stood in the woodlots of the farms throughout the land. The pine was part of every farm's wealth, and stood there as ready cash. From the Barclay's own pine, the house was built. The actual building was done by the family and the neighbours. The only cash laid out was for masonry, brick chimneys and plastering. The total of cash spent was $800 .... The Barclay house was an open house, and neighbours were neighbourly. The horse drawn buggy was a leisurely vehicle, and nearly everyone who passed by drove in for a visit or to see my grandmother's famous garden. As a child I have seen as many as thirty, all unexpected guests, drive in for a cup of tea and an armful of flowers. Those were the days when nearly every family was a large family, though practically every family had its record marred by the death in infancy of one or more children. The youngest of my mother's brothers was only a few years older than my older brother. The two-storey dwelling once had a porch that spanned the front of the house, but this was removed at some point, and the front window has undergone several alterations. At least two images of the house have been preserved from the 19th century--the photograph of 1865 of the house with the family posed in the front, and the drawing presented with some artistic licence in the Illustrated Historical Atlas of Ontario County of 1877.9 Eliza Barclay, the eldest child of Eli and Mary Ann Barclay, grew up in Ever Green Villa. She married George Burton who ran the general store in near-by Green River (along the Sixth Concession Road, now Highway 7, near the west end of the township and raised two children who were to become prominent in their chosen professions. Businessman Charles Luther Burton rose to become CEO and Chairman of the Board of Robert Simpson Company.l° When he 5 retired he turned over the reins to his son G. Allan Burton who also served as CEO then Chairman of the Board. Allan was married to Betty Kennedy the former panelist on TV's Front Page Challenge, and former Senator. Eli Franklin Burton, named for his grandfather, distinguished himself as a physics scholar, rising to the head of the Physics Department at the University of Toronto. He served as a member of the National Research Council from 1937 to 1946, was involved in secret research on radar during World War II, and played a leading role in the development of the electron microscope. ~ THE REVERAND GEORGE BARCLAY (1780-1857): Weaver, Teacher, Preacher, Farmer, Postmaster, Reformer, Township Clerk George Barclay was born 3 July 1780 in Cupar, Fifeshire, Scotland, son of George Barclay (also spelled Battler or Berthlet) and Elspeth Gibson. The Barclays were weavers and had been for several generations--as far back as the record goes.~2 Most of the sources say that Barclay received his education at St Andrews University in Fife, which is undoubtedly correct, since he was an educated man and St Andrews was the closest and most natural university for him to have attended. However, there is no record of his attendance in the university's Muniments.~3 On 24 January 1801, not yet 21 years of age, Barclay married Janet Tullis, a native of nearby Forgan in Fife. Apart from the above scanty information we know little about Barclay's life before he emigrated to Upper Canada. All we know is that he had taken up the family trade of weaving for a time and had become an Elder in the Baptist Church. According to Kathleen Barclay, the early years of the 19th century were an ideal time for weavers. New water-powered lint mills, introduced in the late 18th century, she says, "made it possible for spinners all over Scotland to produce fine linen and cotton thread in quantity and for weavers, in consequence, to purchase extra looms and hire apprentices." As the century ended, she continues: [M]arket demand encouraged entrepreneurs to supply flax to spinners and to pay them for yams to be passed on to weavers. By 1801 both spinners and weavers were able to earn a reasonable wage through the efforts of the dealers who financed the preparation and marketed the finished products. Handloom weavers came into gmat demand after the introduction in 1803 of the shawl woven into patterns brought from India. Living conditions improved, Kirk bonds 6 loosened, and dissenting churches grew most rapidly in Glasgow, Sterlingshire and Fife--areas of lively industry.~4 So, for the years Barclay worked at the trade of his ancestors he probably prospered and was able to put aside some money for later use. Unfortunately, the good times in the weaving industry did not continue for long; the replacement of waterpowered mills by steam power had a profound affect on the industry. Kathleen Barclay reports: "With the coming of steam power, weavers were driven into the factories. Handloom weavers were forced into poverty, and the flowering of their culture ended." She adds: By 1816 ... the prosperity of the weavers, encouraged by the water-powered lint mills, was now threatened by the advent of steam-powered weaving mills. Very soon the whole rhythm of life changed from its agricultural-based cycles. Weavers and spinners who had worked in their homes and cared for their land and families were forced to seek work in the mills and endure the rigid routines of the factories. In addition, the end of the Napoleonic wars meant that armies no longer had to be clothed, and demobilized soldiers and sailors were returning in great numbers to the villages where there was no work for them. A great trade depression was beginning.~5 Perhaps it was the change of fortune in the industry, or it may have been a calling to a different life, in any case, George Barclay became a lay preacher in the Baptist Church and moved to Paisley in Renfrewshire, near Glasgow, where he became an Elder in the Baptist Church. However, he soon became attracted to an offshoot of the Baptist Church, espousing the doctrines of the Church of the Disciples of Christ. This led to a break with the Paisley Church and may have been the deciding factor in his removal to Upper Canada.~6 At the age of 37, George Barclay set sail for North America, possibly to seek his fortune as a Baptist or Disciples' minister. His first occupation when he arrived in Upper Canada was as a teacher in Newmarket, Whitchurch Township, for about six months. He then became a missionary ministering to Baptist congregations between Markham and Whitby. That he was successful is attested by the report a gentleman made to a grandson about the late Elder George Barkley who came to Upper Canada about 1817 and was my own and my Father's friend. I remember well the first sermon I heard him present in Markham in '18 or '19. I was then some 10 years old. It was from Psalm 14.2,3 verses 'The Lord looked down from heaven to see if any did understand.' ~7 7 On the other hand, he quickly ran into controversy when he became the minister of the First Baptist Church in Markham Township in the early 1820s. In 1821, a section of the congregation split off and formed the First Baptist Church of Pickering (later Claremont Baptist Church). The caused of the split was over paying the minister (Barclay) a salary. Randall Wixon, clerk of the new congregation formed in Claremont, described the breakaway: The disorderly walk for which Br. Amos Wixon and Sister Rachel Wixon were excluded was contending against paying a salary to Elder George Barclay, which had also been opposed by Brother Joshua Wixon as an unscriptural practice, as Christ says that an hireling careth not for the sheep because he is an hireling and not the owner of the sheep. In opposing this idea a sharp debate ensued in which Br. Amos and Sister Rachel Wixon were degraded for lack of knowledge, called ignorant persons, and at length ordered to a total silence by Elder Barclay, who appeared to be angry. 28 It has been suggested that Barclay came to Canada ahead of his family to make sure that the life of a minister was what he wanted. He earned his living at the beginning as a teacher, but as an educated man and a fervent Christian, the Baptist families in Whitchurch Township "conscripted" him to be their minister. It may have been at this point that he was ordained, although he may well have been ordained before he came to the New World. Within a few years he was chosen to be the Moderator of the Haldimand Baptist Association.l° He continued his preaching throughout the rest of his life, travelling to Whitby and Uxbridge Townships, but apparently did not have another congregation once his term at Markham was over. After 1831 he was allowed to perform marriages and a list of the marriages he conducted may be found in the Home District Marriage Register.TM The rest of George Barclay's family followed him to Upper Canada a year or two after his arrival. The eldest son, George, Jr., may have accompanied his father in 1816, but the other children, Jane, Betsy, Margaret, Nancy and James, all accompanied their mother. Three more sons--David, William and Eli--were bom in Upper Canada. Meanwhile, on 3 December 1817, Barclay had petitioned for a grant of land, stating: That your petitioner is a native of Scotland. That he left Scotland for the Province in 1816. That he has been resident in this Province, the greater part of the time in the Home District since the month of October 1816 and was employed as Teacher of the Common School at Newmarket about six months. That he has a family of a wife and six children who are now all in this Province.2~ 8 He was granted two hundred acres but apparently did not take up the grant. Instead he purchased, for £50, the rear 100 acres of Lot 19, Concession 6--the farm along with livestock and implements--from UEL grantee Mary Ruttan Matthews (the mother of Peter Matthews). In 1824 (10 May) Barclay, describing himself as "Baptist Minister," once more petitioned the government for land. He said that, although he had previously been granted 200 acres in 1817, "owing to my being employed as a Missionary the first years of my residence in this Province I did not then locate it." Now, however, he has settled down in Pickering, midway between Markham and Whitby where he has been "called to take charge" of the Baptist churches, and is prepared to claim the 200 acres. He specifically asks for Lot 19 of Concession 4, Picketing Township, a lot that had not yet been claimed. However, in the meanwhile that acreage was claimed by a descendant of the grantee. So Barclay applied again in April 1825, this time asking for 200 acres for each of his five sons. Whether that petition received a favourable reply is not clear, but in time each of his sons did hold land in Picketing, mostly in the Seventh Concession.22 Probably from about the mid-1820s Barclay gave up his full-time responsibilities with the Markham and Whitby churches and turned to farming and matters of local interest. In 1826 he served a term (alongside Peter Matthews) as Pathmaster and the following year he was both Town Warden and Collector? From 26 August 1836 to 13 December 1837 he served as Brougham's first Postmaster.24 The end of his term as Postmaster, after less than a year and a half, was due to Barclay's commitment to the reform movement. George Barclay played a large role in the organization and persuasion of patriots in Picketing Township. His farm was a meeting place for reformers in the months leading up to the march on Yonge Street.25 But the pulpit was probably his most effective vehicle for promoting the cause of the reformers. There is on record a heated letter by Major George Garnet about "this vile old preaching traitor that stimulated the people of Pickering ... to take part in the late Rebellion.''26 As Ronald Stagg wrote in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography: Barclay was an outspoken critic of the policies of the "family compact," which he had experienced as a Baptist minister; his was one of those sects forbidden to carry out marriages prior to 1831. Peter Matthews' s wife insisted after the rebellion that it was George Barclay's attitude towards reform which had persuaded her husband to join the rebels. Two of Barclay's sons, George and William, also participated in the uprising.27 George Barclay, Jr. "took a somewhat active part in the political disturbances of 1837" as one local author stated it.28 By 1837 he had a family of four and farmed about 200 acres very near his father's land. He was among those who assembled at Montgomery's Tavern, 4 December 9 1837. At the defeat of the motley group of insurgents on 7 December, Barclay was close to William Lyon Mackenzie. As his descendants tell the story, Barclay, when Mackenzie's horse was shot from under him, secured a fresh horse for him from the tavern stable, and Mackenzie made good his escape? Barclay, himself, was not so fortunate. Francis Leys, Justice of the Peace for the Home District, issued a warrant on 15 December for the arrest of George Barclay, Jr. and four others. Two days later Barclay was arrested? George's wife Jane made a petition to the government on behalf of her husband, and he in turn petitioned the government under 1 Vict. C. 10.3~ Because his involvement was fairly significant he was sentenced by the presiding judge "to be confined in penitentiary, Kingston, for three years and then banished from the province for life." He served nearly two years of the sentence then was released in the general amnesty and did not have to face banishment. While he was imprisoned for his role in the battle at Montgomery's Tavern, George Barclay, Jr. carved a small wooden box that is now part of the museum artifacts at Fort York in Toronto. The box bears a dedication on the top "IN MEMORY OF LOUNT and MATTHEWS Executed at Toronto U.C. April 13th 1838." A second box, handed down in the family is inscribed: To Jane Barclay from her husband George Barclay to be kept as a memorial for him while confined for high treason in a land of oppression. June 26, A.D. 1838.''32 Of George Barclay, Jr. there is recorded in the Colonial Office Records a comment signed by Sir George Arthur, Lieutenant Governor, that also tells us something of the father's role in the Rebellion: George Barclay Jun'r was in arms at Montgomery's and an active follower of Matthews in his expedition to burn the Don Bridge and houses adjoining. His case is aggravated by the robbery of a person whom he and his companions pillaged on the highway. The father of this young man is a Baptist preacher and bears a very bad character for disaffection.33 (My italics) After his release, George Barclay, Jr. taught school in the Picketing area for a few years. Then, in 1848 he sold his farm to John Miller and set out with his family for the Township of Lobo, Middlesex County, near London, where he had secured a 200-acre farm. The Rebellion divided the Township of Picketing perhaps more so than any other community. For example, in the south, the newly formed Presbyterian Church was nearly rent by the action. The minister for the Presbyterian church was the well-known Rev. Robert Thornton, who favoured the reform movement, and who was fired upon by the militia in the aftermath of the 10 Yonge Street march. A number of prominent members of his congregation, led by William Dunbar, founder of Dunbarton and an Elder in the church, marched with the patriots. Dunbar was among those arrested. On the other hand, another Elder, James Greig, who also served as the church clerk, renounced fellowship in the church and was one of the ringleaders of the mob actions that subsequently preyed unhindered on suspected sympathizers.34 The Baptist community was also sorely divided on the issue. There were, in the north of Picketing, three separate Baptist communities. The first was that which worshipped in communion with the Baptists of Markham (and Whitby). This was the community with which the Rev. George Barclay, and presumably Peter Matthews, were associated. First Baptist (Claremont), as we have seen, was formed out of disaffection from this community and centred around the Wixon family (Joshua and Randall Wixon were its first Elders). While these two communities were split over the issue of the pastor's salary they were united in their opposition to the Family Compact. Joshua Wixon hosted at least one visit by Mackenzie, and he and several of his sons marched to York. Randall, who by 1837 was residing in Brock township, served as Mackenzie's secretary for a time, and led the contingent from Brock and Uxbridge (which included Joseph Gould).3~ On the other hand the "Gostick" Church, made up of Baptists of the seventh and eighth concessions of Picketing Township were very strongly opposed to the Rebellion. They issued this communiqud on 8 December 1837: A Dark Cloud has for some Days Been suspended over the City of Toronto, Devoted to Destruction by a misguided faction Led on by the unprincipled McKenzie, the tool of a few influential Democrats. To-day the Cloud had Burst and overwhelmed the Assailants with Confusion and Dismay. Prayer has been heard; the City is spared and we are call'd upon to Bless God that tho surrounded by the Disaffected not one individual connected with this Place of worship Has taken any Part in their Rebellious proceedings and to Record our Humble Hope that Peace and tranquillity may be speedily Restored.36 Presbyterian minister and local historian the Rev. William McKay summarized in his sesquicentennial history of Picketing the Barclay connection to the Rebellion: The Barclays were members of the Reform Party and since they were active non- conformists, opposed the King's College grants very strenuously. Elder Barclay, an ordained university-trained clergyman from Scotland must have bitterly resented the power and privileges of another Scottish immigrant of poorer family than he, John 11 Strachan. Barclay was not allowed to marry his own parishioners who either travelled to Squire Leys' house in Pickering or invited the good-natured Justice of Peace to their homes to marry them. The Barclays felt most strongly about the injustices not only of an established Church, but also the poor local school, provided entirely by the settlers, the overbearing attitude of William Allan, the lakefront absentee who assessed the settlers' farms carved out with so much blood, sweat and tears; who collected the taxes and made up the voters' lists for York East, and who in 1835, imported Orangemen tenants on his farm, Lot 18, and 19, Range 3. Unquestionably, George Barclay, a deeply religious man of strong character must have felt morally right in taking an active part in the rebellion. He, like all the other rebels who were fighting for an executive responsible to the Assembly, for vote by ballot, education for all, was not pro-American and was British and not pro-republican. There does not seem to be any evidence in any of the many family records consulted in this book of the pro-Americanism, Mackenzie adopted in later life. The fight in Picketing seemed to be local, against the Family Compact, who had swallowed up so much of the land.37 In his later years, George Barclay, Sr., was one of the founders, and perhaps the prime mover, of the Disciples' Church on the Kingston Road just west of Picketing Village. According to a letter he wrote from Brougham, dated 12 May 1855, but now lost, after he broke with the Baptist Church at Paisley he came to Upper Canada and preached among the Baptists attempting to convert them to the Disciples' doctrine. He failed in this self-appointed mission, owing, as he wrote, to "the gross ignorance of the people at that time and their small acquaintance with the Book of Books.''3a Barclay also continued to serve his community in an administrative role. In 1854 he is recorded as chairing a meeting of the local School Section (No. 12, known as Mount Pleasant School, on the Seventh Concession Road, just down the road from his home). Apart from how much students fees should be, the main resolution of the meeting was "that the Bible and Testament are fit and proper books to be used as school books along with the authorized books and are not to be excluded from this school.''39 For five years, from 1844 through 1848, Barclay was township clerk.4° All the By-laws that were passed during these years were proclaimed under his signature. He was succeeded in office by Hector Beaton who professionalized the position and held the job for many years. 12 The Rev. George Barclay died on 10 August 1857, in Picketing Township, Canada West. He was buried, not in the Disciples' cemetery, but in the Claremont Baptist Church cemetery "among the graves of those who had disagreed with him in 1821 and had founded this congregation.''4~ The fact that the Rev. George Barclay, who did not march to Montgomery's Tavern, is profiled in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, not his son George Barclay, Jr, who was imprisoned for his efforts, is a measure of the relative significance in their respective roles in the Rebellion. The senior Barclay was deeply influential in persuading the citizens of Picketing to espouse the cause of reform. This is attested by the comments of Hannah Matthews, Major Garnet, and Sir George Arthur. Ronald Stagg adds this observation about Barclay's loss of the Postmasters position: That he was appointed to this position indicates he had some standing in the community. That he was removed in the general purge of postal officials whose loyalty was deemed suspect following the rising of 1837 indicates that his behaviour caused concern among more than members of his congregation.42 Peter Matthews suffered the extreme penalty for his leadership role in the Rebellion, so historians have concentrated on the contributions and sacrifices of the Matthews family and have ignored the part played by other Pickering residents. It is obvious from the record that the Wixon and Barclay families, among others, were also deeply committed to reforming the government and achieving some equity for their community. If their method of bringing about change was not immediately successful, it did set in motion the process that would soon transform the operations of government, and they would live to see those desired changes effected one by one. 13 Notes: ~Abstract Index of Deeds, Concession 6, Lot 19. 2Abstract Index of Deeds. 3Census of 1851-52. 4G.M. Yost Associates, Architectural Evaluation of the North Pickering Project and the Toronto Area Airports Project Sites (2"d ed., June 1974), p. 23. 5Ibid., p. 2. 6"An Appraisal of the Helen Beatrice Auld Property" (Borden and Elliot, Barristers and Solicitors, 1977), p. 11. 7yost, Architectural Evaluation of the North Picketing Project, p. 23. 8C.L. Burton, A Sense of Urgency (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin and Company, 1952), pp. 16-17. °Illustrated Historical Atlas of the County of Ontario, Ont. (Toronto: J.H. Beers, 1877), p. 37. WA Sense of Urgency is his biography. nSee J.C. Phillipson, "Burton, Eli Franklin," The Canadian Encyclopedia: Year 2000 Edition (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1999), p. 330. ~2parochial Register of Cupar, as compiled by the Scots Ancestry Research Society (1954). ~3Robert M. Fuller and Kathleen Bowley, Barclays of Picketing (Windsor, ON: Privately published, 1976), p. 6. ~4Kathleen Richmond Barclay, The Twlles Sampler, 1793 (Peterborough, ON: Privately published, 1999), p. 20. ~Slbid., pp. 20-21. 14 ~6Orlo Miller, "Descendant of Famous Barclay Family Clerk of Lobo Tp. 57 Years," The Free Press (London, ON) (27 January 1934), p. 8. Miller was unaware that Barclay was from Fife and only moved to Paisley at a later date, so he makes the false assumption that he was a native of Paisley. With this in mind, it is possible to bring the data of his article into line with other sources. ~TFuller and Bowley, Barclays of Pickering, p. 7. ~8Minutes of the Claremont Baptist Church, as quoted in William R. Wood, Past Years in Pickering (Toronto: William Briggs, 1911), p. 88. ~9Minutes of the Haldimand (District of Newcastle) Baptist Association held at Markham on the thirtieth and thirty-first January and first February 1824. 2°Home District Marriage Register. 2tUpper Canada Land Petitions. 22Upper Canada Land Petitions. 23Minutes of the Pickering Township Council. 24Quebec Almanac of 1837, as cited in Max Rosenthal, "Early Post Offices in Pickering Township," 1965. 25William A. Mckay, The Pickering Story (Pickering: Pickering Township Historical Society, 1961), p. 200. 26Fuller and Bowley, Barclays of Pickering, p. 7. 27Ronald J. Stagg, "Barclay, George." in Dictionary of Canadian Biography 8: 61. 28Wood, Past Years in Pickering, p. 217. 29Miller, "Descendant of Famous Barclay Family Clerk," p. 8. 3°Colin Read and Ronald Stagg (ed.), The Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada (Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1988), p. 352. 15 3~Upper Canada State Papers. 32"Another Rebellion Box," Families 29, 3 (1990), 158. 33Colonial Office Records. 34Wood, Past Years in Pickering, pp. 37-39; 35W.H. Higgins, The Life and Times of Joseph Gould (Toronto: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1972), pp. 106-107. 36Wood, Past Years in Pickering, p. 32. 37Mckay, The Pickering Story, p. 199. 38Miller, "Descendant of Famous Barclay Family Clerk," p. 8. 39Wood, Past Years in Pickering, p. 174. 40 Minutes of the Pickering Township Council, 1811-1876. 4~Stagg, "Barclay, George." in DCB 8: 61. 42Ibid. APPENDIX 1: Maps 16 Ridout Map, 1823 Tremaine Map, 1860 17 Beers Atlas, 1877 Goad Map, 1895 18 Guidal Map, 1917 Centennial Map, 1967 APPENDIX 2: Photographs 19 The Rev. George Barclay George Barclay's Headstone in Claremont Baptist Cemetery Janet Barclay Marriage certificate of James Barclay and Hannah Pamham, 1837 Eli Barclay Mary Ann Barclay 20 The family of Beorge Burton and Eliza Barclay, c1887 C.L. Burton is standing second from right E.F. Burton is in the centre George Burton's Green River General Store, c 1882 George Burton and his wife Eliza Barclay stand at the front of the store with their children. 21 Aerial View of Evergreen Villa at left and Tullis Cottage at the centre. The view is towards the west. Aerial View -- looking northwest Photographs by William Keenan, 2001 22 Photos from G.M. Yost Associates, Architectural Evaluation of the North Pickering Project, 1974 23 Drawing of Tullis Cottage in Fuller & Bowley, Barclays of Pickering, 1976 Photographs by William Keenan, 2001 24 Ever Green Villa, 1865 From Robert A. Miller, The Ontario Village of Brougham, 1973 Ever Green Villa, 1877 From Illustrated Historical Atlas of the County of Ontario, 1877 25 Ever Green Villa, c 1960 From Robert M. Fuller & Kathleen Bowley, Barclays of Pickering, 1976 Ever Green Villa, 1972 From Jane Buckles, Historic Pickering, 1972 26 Ever Green Villa, 1974 From G.M. Yost Associates, Architectural Evaluation of the North Pickering Project, 1974 27 Ever Green Villa, 2001 Photos by John W. Sabean 28 Ever Green Villa, 2001 Photos by William Keenan APPENDIX 3: Documents 29 Early Records from Parochial Register of Cupar: (Scots Ancestry (1954) Parents marriage, 1763 "19th August 1763 George Berthlet and Elspeth Gibson married." Sister's birth, 1766 [Margaret, baptised 30:11:1766] George Barclay's birth, 1780 "July 5th 1780 baptised George son to Geo. Bartlet, weaver, and Elspeth Gibson." George's marriage; son's birth, 1801 "January 11th 1801 George Bartlet and Janet Tullis both of this parish, proclaimed." [George, born 16:12:1801 (father's occupation--weaver)] Land Petition, 1817 "To His Honor Samuel Smith Esquire, Administrator of the Province of Upper Canada, &ca &ca &ca. The Petition of George Barclay of Whitchurch Humbly Sheweth That Your Petitioner is a Native of Scotland. That he left Scotland for this Province in 1816. That he has been resident in this Province the greater part of the time in the Home District since the Month of October 1816 and was employed as Teacher of the Common School at Newmarket about six months. That he has a family of a wife and six children who are now all in this Province. That your petitioner being desirous of settling on some of the waste land, craves leave to refer Your Honour to the accompanying recommendatory Certificates in his favor and humbly Prays of Your Honor that you would be pleased to grant him such portion of the waste lands of the Crown under the existing Regulations as Your Honor may deem meet. And Your Petitioner shall ever pray George Barclay York 3rd Decem 1817" Upper Canada Land Petitions. NAC: C-1624 30 Minutes of the First Baptist Church in Markham, 1821 "Saturday, 4th August, 1821. This day were separated from the said church Joshua Wixon, Rachel Wixon and Amos Wixon. The crimes were said to be Heresy and causing confusion in the Church or disorderly walk. Here it may be proper to observe that the heresy for which Bro. Joshua Wixon was excluded was for pleading the right of brotherhood in favor of an excommunicated member upon his confession of his wrong. The disorderly walk for which Br. Amos Wixon and Sister Rachel Wixon were excluded was contending against paying a salary to Elder George Barclay, which had also been opposed by Brother Joshua Wixon as an unscriptural practice, as Christ says that an hireling careth not for the sheep because he is an hireling and not the owner of the sheep. In opposing this idea a sharp debate ensued in which Br. Amos and Sister Rachel Wixon were degraded for lack of knowledge, called ignorant persons, and at length ordered to a total silence by Elder Barclay, who appeared to be angry. R. Wixon." "NOTE.--It was on the 2nd June, 1821, that Brother Joshua Wixon pled the right of brotherhood as above stated, and on the 30th June the debate aforesaid happened. At the day of separation, neither of the above three were present, neither had any labor been taken with any of them. R.W." "1 st September, 1821.--This day were separated sixteen more for not giving a voice against the other three, called taking part with the heresy and disorder. R. Wixon. Men's Names. Joshua Wixon Amos Wixon Randall Wixon Abraham Wurts Cornelius Johnson Ira Sherman John Marr Asa Wixon Joel Wixon Peter Johnson Casper Kile. Women's Names. Rachel Wixon Elizabeth Wurts Mary Marr Deborah Wixon Mary Johnson Sarah Johnson Phebe Sherman Ruth Wixon Elizabeth Wixon 31 Immediately after the meeting of the 1st September, where sixteen were separated, we called a meeting of those who had been separated and it was then and there universally agreed to by all present that we should continue to hold meetings for public worship as usual concluding patiently to wait the event of Providence. 2nd. Agreed to hold meeting on the next day at Mr. John Wurts's. 3rd. Agreed to hold a meeting for the transaction of our business on the 4th Saturday in this month at the school house by Mr. Boyle's. Lord's Day, 2nd Sept. Elizabeth Wixon declared herself to be one with us, although not yet separated from Markham Church. R. Wixon." [A week later a committee was appointed to seek counsel from the Church in Whitby. On Sept. 22nd, the congregation met and] "heard the report of the brethren who were sent to Whitby who stated that the petition was refused and that individuals among them had advised to relinquish holding meetings of any kind at present as our situation was considered to be rather precarious. But after mature consideration of the matter it was unanimously agreed to be expedient to continue to hold our meetings as formerly agreed upon." [On October 27th, 1821, a meeting was held at Joshua Wixon's in Pickering, of which the following minutes are recorded:] "1 st. Opened meeting by singing and prayer. 2nd. Chose Br. R. Wixon moderator for the day. 3rd. Proceeded to exhort and comfort each other by the word of truth. 4th. Took into consideration whether it is expedient for us to organize ourselves under the title of a church. Whereupon it was unanimously agreed to by all present that we should unite under the title of the first Baptist Church of Christ in Pickering. 5th. Left it as a matter of contemplation who shall be appointed to serve us as deacons." [The first official appointments were made on January 26th, 1822, when the following minute is recorded:] "Voted in Joshua Wixon and Randall Wixon to serve us in the office of Elders. Voted that Bros. Cornelius Johnson and Joel Wixon shall serve us in the office of Deacons." Canadian Baptist Archives, as quoted in Wood, pp. 88-89. 32 Land Petition, 1824 "To His Excellency Sir Peregrine Maitland K.C.B. Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Upper Canada &c &c &c The Petition of George Barclay Baptist Minister Humbly Sheweth Your Petitioner is a native of Scotland who Emigrated to this Province in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Sixteen and applied for a Grant of Land on the 3d Dec 1817. The Board was pleased to give a Grant of 200 Acres But Owing to my being employed as a Missionary the first years of my residence in this Province I did not then locate it, However having been settled upwards of four years being called to take charge of the Baptist Church in Markham and also in Whitby and having settled in Pickering as the centre between them, Having a large family, a wife and eight children and our emoluments being small, I have thought good to make this application to Your Excellency for a Lot of Land in the Township of Pickering 4 Con N 19 1 was informed that by a deed of Council this lot was laid open for claim a considerable time ago and no claim has been made; your Petitioner would advertise six months if necessary, Providing Your Excellency would be pleased to favour me with a Grant of said lot if then found free from all encumbrances. And your Petitioner as in duty bound will ever pray George Barclay York l0th May 1824 Upper Canada Land Petitions. NAC: C-4613). Minutes of the Haldimand Baptist Association, 1824 "1. Met at eleven o'clock a.m. Elder Abraham Sloot delivered the Introductory Sermon from St. Luke 13 and 14 .... 2. Chose Elder George Barclay, Moderator, and Brother Isaac N. Reed, Clerk. 15. Appointed Elder Barclay, Deacon Still, Caleb Elsworth, Peter Degear, Jabez Hall, and Isaac Cummings, to be our Messengers to the Upper Canada Association. 21.1st February--Met according to appointment.--After closing the business of the Association, Elder Barclay preached from Col. 2 and 6, 'As ye have therefore received Jesus Christ the Lord, so walk ye in him .... '" [The Minutes conclude with a "Circular and Corresponding Letter" sent to all the Association churches. It is signed on behalf of the Association by George Barclay, Moderator and Isaac N. Reed, Clerk.] Minutes of the Haldimand (District of Newcastle) Baptist Association held at Markham on the thirtieth and thirty-first January, and first February, 1824. NAC: RG 5, Al, 66:35157 - 35164. 33 Land Petition, 1825 "Under an Order in Council of 3ra December 1817 two hundred acres of land were granted to a George Barclay a native of Fifeshire, then of Whitchurch in the Home District, schoolmaster, supposed to be the same person with the petitioner--of which 200 acres no location has been made. The lot No. 19 in the 4th concession of Picketing, under Your excellency's Order in Council of the 15th June 1820, was permitted to be claimed under the Commission by the heir at law of Cornelius Burley, the original nominee of the said lot. Surveyor General's Office 9/Feb/1825 Upper Canada Land Petitions. NAC: D. Ridout Sur. Gen. Land Petition, 1825 To His Excellency Sir P. Maitland KCB Lieutenant Governor, etc., etc. The Petition of George Barclay, Baptist Minister Humbly sheweth That your petitioner is a native of Scotland and migrated to this Province in the Year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixteen has a wife and nine children. Your petitioner made a former application to Your Excellency for a grant of land to his sons and received as answer that he might have land in some of the back townships. May it therefore please Your Excellency to grant unto my sons George, James, David, William and Eli 2 hundred acres each in the Township of Brock or some adjoining Township. and your Petitioner as in duty bound will pray. Picketing 19th April 1825 George Barclay Upper Canada Land Petitions. NAC: B. Misc. 1788-1895, vol. 67 #29 to 1793- 1840, vol. 68 #140, vol. 68 #136. 34 Minutes of the Gostick Baptist Church, Pickering Township, 1837-1838 "Dec. 8th, 1837. A Dark Cloud has for some Days Been suspended over the City of Toronto, Devoted to Destruction by a misguided faction Led on by the unprincipled McKenzie, the tool of a few influential Democrats. To-day the Cloud had Burst and overwhelmed the Assailants with Confusion and Dismay. Prayer has been heard; the City is spared and we are call'd upon to Bless God that tho surrounded by the Disaffected not one individual connected with this Place of worship Has taken any Part in their Rebellious proceedings and to Record our Humble Hope that Peace and tranquillity may be speedily Restored." "Feb. 6th, 1838. This being the Day fix'd by His Excellency the Governor as a Day of General Thanksgiving for the interposition of Divine providence By which the Late Rebellion has been Quell'd we submit to this tho an ordinance of man for the Lord's Sake Not because we Recognize Human Authority in matters of Religion But Because we think the spirit of the Governor's Requisition in this matter Requires nothing of us but what we owe and feel bound to render to our Lord Jesus Christ we therefore met on this Day for Prayer and Thanksgiving when an address was delivered by T. Gostick from Psalm 124, verses 6-7." Entries in the records of the Gostick Baptist Church, Eighth Concession, Pickering Township, as quoted in Wood, pp. 31-32. Census Record, 1851-1852 Occup. Place Religion Age George Barclay Farmer Scotland Baptist 72 Jane Barclay do do 73 Ely Barclay Farmer C.W. do 27 Mary Ann Barclay England do 27 Elisa Barclay C.W. do 2 Joshua Barclay do do 16 Harriet Walker do do 14 Log House, 1 storey Census Records, Picketing Township, 1851-52, p. 153 35 Meeting of School Section No. 12 (Mount Pleasant School, Lot 23, rear Concession 6), 1854 [George Barclay was named chairman. It was decided that each scholar should pay 1 s. 3d. per month.] "It was moved and seconded and unanimously resolved that the Bible and Testament are fit and proper books to be used as school books along with the authorized books and are not to be excluded from this school." Records of School Section No. 12, for 11 January 1854, as quoted in Wood, p. 174. Inventory of George Barclay's Estate, 1859 An Inventory of the Personal Estate of the Late George Barclay lately of the Township of Picketing in the County of Ontario in the Province of Canada yeoman, deceased intestate taken and appraised by John Miller and Ira Sharrard both of the said Township of Pickering, yeomen, in the presence and at the desire and request of the executors of the said George Barclay, deceased and of Janet Barclay born Tully the widow of the said George Barclay this 28 day of June in the year 1859 One mare $100 One Buggy and harness 70 Two cows 36 Household furniture 40 $246 We the undersigned John Miller and Ira Sharrard above named having taken upon ourselves at the request of Janet Barclay, born Tully the widow of the above named George Barclay deceased and in her presence to appraise the value of the personal property, goods, and chattels exhibited to us by his said widow, as the whole of such property which were of the said George Barclay at the time of his decease do hereby certify and declare that the statement above written is just true impartial and correct according to our respective ability knowledge and belief. In witness whereof we have hereto set our hands and seals this 28® day of June in the year 1859. [Signed:] John Miller and Ira Sharrard Picketing Township Papers. PAO: MS 658, Reels 393-395. 36 SOURCES Manuscripts: Abstract Index to Deeds, Land Registry Office, Whitby. "An Appraisal of the Helen Beatrice Auld Prope y. Borden and Elliot, Barristers and Solicitors, 1977. Barclay, Charles A. "Elder George Barclay." c 1911. Barclay, Charles A. "Rev. George Barclay." c1911. With corrections by K.R. Barclay Bowley. Canadian Baptist Archives, McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, ON. Census Records, Town of Pickering, 1851-52. Home District Marriage Register, 1: 16. PAO. Letterbooks of Divisional Inspectors [Post Office]. Vol. 572 (1838-39), Item 69 (pp. 40-41); Item 191 (p. 144). NAC: T 4539. Minutes of the Haldimand (District of Newcastle) Baptist Association. NAC: RG 5, Al, 66: 35157 - 35164 (mfm C-4613). Minutes of the Pickering Township Council, 1811-1876. PAO: MS 281 (1). Pickering Township Papers. PAO: MS 658 Reels 393-395. Rosenthal, Max. "Early Post Offices in Pickering Township." 1965. Scots Ancestry Research Society. "Report on the Ancestry of James Barclay .... "Edinburgh, 19 October 1954. Upper Canada State Papers. NAC: RG 1, E3, 33:61-63 (mfm C-1193) and 64:236-257 (mfm C- 1198). Will of George Barclay. PAO: RG 22, ser. 264; and Land Registry Office, Whitby: reg. A, no. 138. 37 Books: Barclay, Kathleen Richmond. The Twlles Sampler, 1793. Peterborough, ON: Privately published, 1999. Buckles, Jane. Historic Pickering. [Pickering:] Privately published, 1972. Burton, C.L. A Sense of Urgency: Memoirs of a Canadian Merchant. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin and Company, 1952. Fuller, Robert M. and Kathleen Bowley. Barclays of Pickering. Windsor, ON: Privately published, 1976. Higgins, W.H. The Life and Times of Joseph Gould. Toronto: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1972. Illustrated Historical Atlas of the Count), of Ontario, Ont. Toronto: J.H. Beers, 1877. Johnson, Leo A. History of the County of Ontario 1615-1875. Whitby: The Corporation of the County of Ontario, 1973. McKay, William A. The Picketing Story. Picketing: Township of Pickering Historical Society, 1961. Miller, Robert A. The Ontario Village of Brougham: Past.t Present.t Future? Brougham: The Author, 1973. Read, Colin and Ronald J. Stagg (ed). The Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada. Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1988. Sabean, John W. Time Present and Time Past: A Pictorial History of Pickering. Pickering: Altona Editions, 2000. Walton, George. The City of Toronto and the Home District Commercial Directory and Register. Toronto: T. Dalton and W.J. Coates, 1837. Wood, William R. Past Years in Pickering. Toronto: William Briggs, 1911. Yost Associates, G.M. Architectural Evaluation of the North Pickering Project and the Toronto Area Airports Project Sites. 2nd ed. June 1974. 38 Articles: "Another Rebellion Box." Families 29, 3 (1990), 158. Miller, Orlo. "Descendant of Famous Barclay Family Clerk of Lobo Tp. 57 Years." The Free Press (London, Ontario) Saturday, 27 January 1934, p. 8. Phillipson, J.C. "Burton, Eli Franklin," The Canadian Encyclopedia: Year 2000 Edition. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1999. P. 330. Stagg, Ronald J. "Barclay, George." in Dictionary of Canadian Biography 8: 61. Maps Atlas of Ontario County, Province of Ontario. Toronto: Chas. E. Goad, 1895. Guidal Landowners' Map of Pickering Township. Map and Advertising Co., 1917. Ridout, Thomas. Pickering Township Map. 1823. PAO: A.23. Smith, George. Map of Picketing Township: Centennial Souvenir. Pickering: Pickering Township Historical Society, 1967. Tremaine' s Map of the County of Ontario, Upper Canada. Drawn by John Schier. Toronto: George C. Tremaine, 1860.