Sophiasburg, 3rd January, 1820.
“Passed at a regular town meeting, held at Sophiasburg, 1st January, 1821.
“The report of the Committee to the care of the poor for the present year is, that one farthing on the pound, of each man’s rateable property, will be sufficient for the present year.
“By order of the Committee.
The following year, a somewhat similar report is found, signed by Tobias Ryckman, Chairman.
It is not until the year 1822 that any record is found of the appointment of officers, that is, the Township Constables, Assessors, Collectors, &c.
“At a regular town meeting, held at Sophiasburg, at the house of John Goslins, on the first January, 1822, the following officers were chosen and elected”: “Town Clark, John Shorts; Lewis Ketchum, David Birdett, Sylvenus Doxy, Constables; Thomas D. Apleby, John Shorts, Assessors; Sylvenus Day, Collector,” &c.
John Shorts was successively elected until 1826, when Thomas D. Appleby was appointed. We find a note appended to the report of this year as follows: “Our laws at present be as they will. We have them long, and keep them still.”
The next year, 1827, the town meeting was held at the inn of John Goslin, and John Smith was elected Town Clerk. A note says “Farmers Town Laws, as heretofore—Hogs not to run at large in Demerest Vill.” John Smith was Town Clerk until 1832. This year S. W. Randell was elected.
It is found stated that in 1824 there were 1796 inhabitants, and in 1825, there were 1793.
In some respects, it would be found interesting to notice the township to a later period; but we have already devoted as much space to this town as we had intended.
Within this township is Fish Lake, situated a short distance east of Demerestville, it was so named from the countless numbers of fish which inhabited its waters when discovered, which was in the year of the famine, or “scarce year.” The food thus supplied saved, it is said, many from suffering and death.
This township took its name from the fifteenth child, and seventh daughter of the King. She died in November, 1811, aged 27 years. Upon the oldest chart of this township, to be found in the Crown Lands Department, is the following note: “The front of this township is a continuation of Lieut. Kotte’s survey from Green Point to the head of the Bay of Quinté, whose orders were in 1785, to have cross roads between every six lots.” This note was most probably, made in consequence of there being an absence of three cross roads, when the settlement of the county made them necessary.
Coming to the Carrying Place, or portage, from the head of Bay Quinté to Weller’s Bay, it will be seen that a row of lots somewhat smaller in size, is formed on either side of the road. But while the road seems to have a straight course upon the map, by visiting the place, one will observe that the course is not altogether direct. We have it from one, who, no doubt knew, that the surveyor’s assistant, a mulatto by the name of Smith, was told to lay out a double row of lots; both to front upon the Indian path, which instructions were literally carried out, whereas it was intended they should be straight. The lots upon the west side of the road extended to the small marshy creek. This row of lots, numbering twelve, originally forming a part of Ameliasburgh, now belong to Murray, the Carrying Place being the dividing line between the two townships.
We have been unable to find any early record of Ameliasburgh.
According to information furnished us by Mr. Ashley and others, the first family that settled in this township was George Angel Weese, with three sons, John, Henry and Francis, natives of Duchess County; they came here in 1787. The second settler was Thomas Dempsey, who came in 1789. (See U. E. Loyalists). Among the other settlers were Bonters, Sagers, Bleekers and Coverts.
The names of other early settlers of Ameliasburgh are mentioned elsewhere, and are among the first patentees. Among them was Elijah Wallbridge, a native of Duchess County. He came to Canada in 1804, and purchased on Mississauga Point, of one Smith, 1200 acres of land, all of which, we believe, is still retained in the family. Two years later his family came by French train in winter.
William Anderson, sen., who is still living, aged 88 years, a native of Ireland, emigrated to America with his parents in 1793. He came to Canada in 1803. In 1806 he settled on Mississauga Point, having married Miss Polly Way, a descendant of the U. E. Loyalists.
Contents—Prince Edward—The name—Rich land—Size of peninsula—Shape—Small Lakes—Sand hills—The Ducks—Gibson’s rock—The past—First settler—Col. Young—Prospecting—Discovery of East Lake—West Lake—Moving in—Settlers in 1800—East Lake—Capt. Richardson—“Prince Edward Division Bill”—Office seekers—Township of Hallowell—The name—Formation of Township—First Records 1798—The officers—The laws—Magistrates—Picton—Its origin—Hallowell village—Dr. Austin—Gen. Picton—His monument—Naming the villages—A contest—The Court-house—An offer—Enterprise—Proposed steamboat—Churches—Rev. Mr. Macaulay—Rev. Mr. Fraser—Rev. Mr. Lalor.
The name of this district is derived from Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, the father of our Queen, who visited Canada at an early date (see under Early Government).
The peninsula is a rich and beautiful tract of land stretching away from the main land, to be washed on the one hand by the quiet waters of the bay, and on the other by the more turbulent waves of Ontario. It is some seventy miles in length, and varying in breadth from two to twenty miles. The neck of land, or isthmus which separates the head waters of the bay from Lake Ontario, is something less than a mile-and-a-half across. It is known as the Carrying place.
Prince Edward district is irregular in outline, on both the lake and bay sides. Along the lake coast there are numerous bays extending inward, two or three being of considerable size. The larger ones are Weller’s bay, Consecon Lake, West Lake, and East Lake. In places, the shore is rendered exceedingly picturesque, by the presence of irregular and beautifully white sand-hills. They have been gradually formed by well washed sand which the waves have carried shoreward, so that the wind might, in the lapse of time, deposit it heap upon heap. The mariners regard this coast with justifiable concern, at the extreme southerly portion, off Long Point, in the vicinity of the Ducks, where many a vessel has come to grief.
The geological formation of the peninsula is of considerable interest; and the observant student of this interesting science, may trace many steps which indicates the geological history.
In a valley, upon the second concession road of Ameliasburgh, may be seen a huge mass of rock, known as Gibson’s rock, whose history carries us back, far into the remote past, when the continent of America was covered by a vast ocean, and when massive icebergs, cast loose from their native place in the frozen north, carried with their icy scales huge rocks from the north land coast. Then, carried southward by wind or tide, and reaching water of a milder temperature, the ice became melted, and the rocks were deposited in the depths of the ocean. When the continent of America was upheaved, and the waters departed to their present limits, this huge body of stone, unlike the stone forming the geological bed of this region, was found fast fixed to the soil, ever to form a part of it.
In the whole of Upper Canada, there is not, perhaps, any section so full of historic interest, excepting Frontenac, as Prince Edward. We have seen that the forked peninsula was well known by the Aborigines, and that they were accustomed to cross from the south side of the lake to Point Traverse. It was always a favorite hunting and fishing ground, where abundant supplies were obtained. And, not unlikely, some portion of Indian Point belonged to the Seigniory, granted to La Salle. Moreover, the two points stretching far into the lake, became early locations for the refugees and disbanded soldiers.
In the history of Marysburgh, reference has been made to the early settlement of the point east of Picton Bay, which commenced in 1784. But it appears by the statement of John C. Young, that his grandfather, Colonel Henry Young, made the first settlement in the summer, or fall of 1783. For an account of this half-pay officer, the reader is referred to the Royal combatants of the rebellion of 1776.
With a brother officer, Young left Cataraqui, or, Carleton Island, in a canoe, and ascended what was then called (perhaps first by these parties), the South Bay, now Picton Bay. They landed at the commencement of the Indian Carrying Place, subsequently, for some time known as Hovington’s Landing, after the individual who here built a convenient house. They left their canoe here, and set out southward. We have been told that they intended to seek the bay now known as Smith’s Bay; but, according to his descendant it would seem they had no particular point in view, desiring only to examine the land. Following, no doubt, the old Indian path, they came out at the north corner of East Lake, a point afterward called the Indian Landing, which name it still retains. Following the east shore of this lake to the south corner, they were surprised to hear the roaring of Lake Ontario, having thought they were following the shore of an inland lake. They crossed the strip of land covered with cedar, spruce, and balsam, and taking off their shoes, waded from the beautiful sand-beach across the outlet of the lake to the opposite point, and proceeded along the west side to the north corner of the lake, to where David McDonald now lives, having entirely walked around East Lake. They here constructed a hut, of cedar bushes, in which to stay the night. The following morning they set out in a north-west direction, and came to West Lake, following the east side, they reached the sand-beach. Traversing this, they arrived at the point where Wellington now stands. Here they stayed the night. The next day they continued on around the north side of West Lake through the woods, and the same evening regained their canoe. They observed plenty of deer and other game, and fish, the former of which Ensign Young’s wife subsequently assisted him to hunt. The succeeding day they returned to Carleton Island. Mr. Young, from this rich land over which he walked, selected the west side of East Lake for his future abode. His eldest son Daniel, who had belonged to the Engineers, was at Carleton Island, having been with his father during his stay at Fort Oswego. His second son, Henry, was at St. John’s with the rest of the family. He sent a message for him to come up. This must have been in July or August. In September, the father and two sons, having procured a large canoe, loaded it with provisions, and other necessaries, and ascended to the Indian Carrying Place, Hovington’s Landing. They carried their provisions across, and constructed another boat with which they conveyed their things to the point selected for settling, about three miles. Here they proceeded to build a log shanty. Sometime after, the father left, leaving behind his two sons, to winter alone in this out-of-the-way place. They were the first settlers in Prince Edward County. Mr. Young descended to St. John’s, where his family still remained, and stayed the winter.
In the spring he came up the St. Lawrence with his family as far as Fredericksburgh, where he left his daughters while he went to see how his sons fared, and had passed the winter. He found them all well; and remained the summer with them, during which they built a more commodious log house. In October, he returned to Fredericksburgh for his daughters, who accompanied him to the wilderness home. These four daughters, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine and Sarah, subsequently married Henry Zuveldt, Jonathan Ferguson, William Dyre, and John Miller. They all lived to be upwards of eighty years.
On the first day of January 1800, the settlement at East Lake, in the township of Hallowell, consisted of the following families, in the following order, commencing at Silas Hills, at the head of East Lake, near the place now known as the Cherry Valley, and proceeding around the north side of lake, viz:—“Colonel John Peters and family, half-pay officer; Major Rogers and family, do; David Friar, Mr. Friar, U. E. L.; Roswell Ferguson, do; Elisha Miller, do; Blasdall Tailor; Caleb Elsworth, Lieut. Heny Young, half-pay officer; Henry Young, Jun., U.E.L.; Augustus Spencer, half-pay officer; George Wait, U. E. L.; Benjamin Wait, do; William Dyre, do; George Elsworth.”
“List of settlers on the south side of the lake.—Henry Zuveldt, (Zufelt) U. E. L.; Johnathan Ferguson, Sen., U. E. L.; Johnathan Ferguson, Jun., do; Anthony Badgley, do; John Miller, do; Farnton Ferguson, do; William Blakely, do; Sampson Striker, do; Barret Dyer, do; Daniel Baldwin, John Ogden, U. E. L.; Richard Ogden, do; Solomon Spafford, Joseph McCartney, Joseph Lane, William Ensley, Col. Owen Richards, U. E. L.; James Clapp, do; Charles Ferguson.”
“At this time there were no settlers in the second concessions neither side of the lake.”—(Rev. G. Miller.)
East Lake is about five miles long and one and a half wide. It was for a time called Little Lake. West Lake is about fifteen miles in circumference.
Prince Edward was one of the original nineteen counties of Upper Canada, established by the proclamation of Simcoe in 1792. By this proclamation, we learn that the Peninsula was called by the French “Presque isle de Quinté.” Originally it was divided into the three townships of Marysburgh, Sophiasburgh, and Ameliasburgh. Subsequently the townships of Hallowell and Hillier, were formed, and in later days the township of Athol.
In 1831, an act was passed to erect the county into a district, “so soon as the Governor shall be satisfied that a good and sufficient gaol and court house has been erected therein, when a proclamation should announce the formation of the new district.” The act specified that the “gaol and court house should be erected in the village of Picton, upon a certain block of land, containing two and a half acres, granted, or intended to be granted and conveyed to Asa Worden, Simeon Washburn, and James Dougal, Esquires, agreeably to a resolution adopted at a public meeting in May, 1826,” unless a majority of Justices of the Peace of the Midland District should declare the site ineligible.
We find the following respecting the division of Prince Edward. “Pro. Parliament,” “Prince Edward division bill.” Mr. Roblin moved the adoption of the Preamble in a few remarks, stating its (the Peninsula) geographical position, the population being 10,000, the remoteness of the inhabitants from the location of the District Court House and Gaol, at Kingston, the earnest desire of the people for separation. Mr. Samson moved, as an amendment, that the village should have a member when it contained 1,000 souls. The debate upon the bill, resulted in one of those fierce encounters that was then not unfrequent between William Lyon McKenzie, and the Solicitor General, afterwards Chief Justice Robinson.
If we may credit the Free Press, there were plenty of applicants for office in the newly erected district, there being no less than sixteen seeking the office of Sheriff.
We find in Sabine, that “Benjamin Hallowell, of Boston, Commissioner of the Customs in 1774, while passing through Cambridge in his chaise, was pursued toward Boston by about one hundred and sixty men on horseback, at full gallop. In July, 1776, he sailed for England. While at Halifax, he said, in a letter, “If I can be of the least service to either army or navy, I will stay in America until this rebellion is subdued.” It appears from another letter that he frequently tendered himself to the Commander-in-Chief without success. In the autumn of 1796, Mr. Hallowell came to Boston. He was accompanied by his daughter, Mrs. Elmsley, and by her husband, who had just been appointed Chief Justice of Upper Canada. He died at York, Upper Canada, in 1799, aged seventy-five, and was the last survivor of the Board of Commissioners. The British Government granted him lands in Manchester, and two other towns in Nova Scotia, and a township in Upper Canada, which bears his name. He was a large proprietor of lands on the Kennebec, Maine, prior to the revolution; but proscribed and banished in 1778, and included in the Conspiracy Act a year later, his entire estate was confiscated. His country residence at Jamaica Plain, was used as a hospital by the Whig Army during the seige of Boston; and his pleasure grounds were converted into a place of burial for the soldiers who died.”
We are unable to learn whether any part of the township of Hallowell was granted to Benjamin Hallowell, or not, but, it is not at all unlikely, that at first he did hold some portion of the land. At all events, there seems every reason to believe that the name was derived from him. On July 3, 1797, an act was passed, whereby it was provided “that a township shall be struck off from the southern-most parts of the townships of Marysburgh and Sophiasburgh.” The reason set forth was, that “the inhabitants of the townships experience many difficulties from the uncommon length of the said townships.” The Governor was by proclamation, “to declare the name of such township before the first day of August next.” Mr. Hallowell’s brother-in-law, Mr. Elmsley, had recently been appointed Chief Justice, and doubtless the distinguished position Mr. Hallowell had held, led to the naming of the new township to commemorate his loyalty.
Surveyor Gen. William Smith, was the person employed to lay out the new township.
The first record of this township is as follows: “The annual meeting of the inhabitants of the township of Hallowell, held on Monday, the fifth day of March, 1798, held by virtue of an act of the legislature of the Province of Upper Canada, before Augustus Spencer, and John Stinson, Jun., two of his Majesty’s Justices of the Peace, the following persons were chosen town officers for the ensuing year:” Bazel Ferguson, Town Clerk; Caleb Elsworth, and Peter D. Conger, Assessors; James Blakely, and Thomas Goldsmith, Town or Church Wardens; Benjamin Wail, John Miller, Owen Richards, Henry Zufelt, Ichabod Boweman, Aaron White, Carey Spencer and George Baker, Overseers of Highways and Fence Viewers; Daniel Young, and Isaac Bedal, Pound Keepers; Samson Striker, Henry Johnson, Samuel Williams, and Isaac Garret, Constables.
At the first township meeting, “it was enacted that no fence is to be lawful in the township under the height of four feet eight inches high, sufficiently made.” Horses, horned cattle, hogs, sheep, were to be permitted to run at large with certain exceptions. “It is enacted that if any freeholder shall suffer any Canadian thistle to go to seed on his farm, he shall forfeit and pay the sum of twenty shillings.” A law was also passed, that if any one set fire to any rubbish or brush, whereby his neighbors property was endangered, without previously making two of his neighbors acquainted, he should pay a fine of forty shillings, to be expended for the benefit of the highways. Bazel Ferguson, who seems to have discharged his duty as Town Clerk, recording the proceedings in a neat legible hand, was successfully elected to that office for ten years. In 1810, James R. Armstrong was appointed, and again the following year. The next following, Arra Ferguson was elected, who continued in office three years, when Simeon Washburn received the appointment, and remained in office two years, when Arra Ferguson was again selected, and continued for three years. Robert Scott was Town Clerk two years, and then again followed Arra Ferguson for eight years. William Barker then was appointed.
The three Justices of the Peace, before whom the annual meeting continued for many years to be held, were John Peters, Augustus Spencer, and John Stinson, doubtless the first magistrates in the township. In the year 1815, we notice as “present” at the annual meeting, Stephen Conger, Barret Dyer, Ebenezer Washburn, Justices of the Peace.
The town meeting was held in the year 1801, “at the house of Richardson and Elsworth,” “near Hallowell Bridge;” likewise the following year. In 1803 the meeting was held “at the house of Thomas Richardson.” The following year 1805, it is “the house of the late Thomas Richardson.” In 1806, the meeting was “at the dwelling house of Thomas Eyre.” In 1807 it is “the Inn of Thomas Eyre.” Here the annual meeting was successively held for many years.
In the year 1823 there was an act passed for the division of the township of Ameliasburgh, in consequence of the inconvenience of the inhabitants to meet on public occasions. The dividing line was established between the fourth and fifth concessions. The act went into force on the first of January, 1824. The Lieutenant-Governor at that time was Sir Peregrine Maitland, who had for his secretary, Major Hillier. There is no doubt the new township was called after Major Hillier.
At the beginning of the present century the ground on which the town of Picton now stands, was covered with a dense forest of pine and hemlock, while in the low land existed a thick and tangled cedar swamp. A bridge of very inferior construction was erected across the creek about the time of the war of 1812, it was on the road between Kingston and York, and was called for a long time Hallowell Bridge. Thus we find in an advertisement, in the Kingston Gazette, 1815, that “Richard G. Clute sold goods and groceries at Hallowell Bridge.”
The first settlers of Picton are said to have been Ebenezer Washburn, Henry Johnson, Abraham Barker, Harry Ferguson, James Dougal, Cary Spencer, Congers, Peterson, Richard Hare, Captain Richardson.
Among the early settlers of Picton were Dr. Armstrong, elsewhere spoken of, and Dr. Andrew Austin. The latter was a native of Vermont, and a doctor of medicine of the University of New York. He came to Picton in 1822, having obtained his license to practice in Canada. Remained practicing his profession, very much respected, until his death in 1849.
Some time after the war of 1812, the Rev. William Macaulay, bestowed the name of Picton upon a small collection of houses situated at the south side of the stream which empties into the head of Picton Bay, in the township of Marysburgh. The name was given in memory of the celebrated British General who had recently fallen upon the field of Waterloo. At a late visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral, we felt no little pleasure with a touch of sadness in gazing upon the memorial which has been erected to commemorate a nation’s appreciation of military worth. We transcribe the following:—
“Erected by the public expense, to Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton, K.C.B., who, after distinguishing himself in the victories of Buzaco, Fuentes de Onor, Cindaet Rodrigo, Badajoz, Victoria, the Pyrenees, Orthes, and Toulouse, terminated his long and glorious military service in the ever memorable battle of Waterloo; to the splendid success of which his genius and valour eminently contributed,” &c.
Prior to the naming of this collection of buildings, the village upon the west of the stream, upon the first lots in Sophiasburgh, was known as Hallowell. The Rev. Mr. Macaulay with the enthusiastic loyalty, characteristic of his family, desired that both places should be known as one village, under the distinguished name of Picton. The citizens of Hallowell Village, however, were opposed to any other name than Hallowell, and we find in a map published in 1836, the names of Picton and Hallowell respectively applied to the two places. But when the whole was incorporated by Act of Parliament, Mr. Macaulay had sufficient influence, we are informed, to secure the name of Picton for the corporation; yet we have the town of Hallowell spoken of in 1837. The growth of Picton was not particularly rapid. At a meeting held at Eyre’s Inn, Feb. 14, 1818, over which Ebenezer Washburn, Esq., presided, it was stated that there was in the township of Hallowell, which included Picton, but two brick houses, one carding and fulling-mill, one Methodist chapel, now known as the old chapel at Congers, one Quaker meeting house; and that preparations were being made to build a church, that is for the Episcopalians. Orchards, it was stated were beginning to be planted.
There seems to have been no little antagonism between the villages of Picton and Hallowell. While an effort was earnestly made to make the east side, the heart of the community, the inhabitants of Hallowell strove to fix the central point upon the west side. When Prince Edward was erected into a district, in 1831, and it became necessary to erect a jail and court house, it became a warm question as to the site of the building. The Hallowell Free Press became the channel of a sharp discussion.
In the Press of June 21, 1831, is a letter signed, “A farmer of Sophiasburgh,” one paragraph of which says, “Among all these advantages pointed out in the most striking colours, I have discerned none so great as the $200 so liberally offered by Mr. Macaulay, which $200 must otherwise be paid by the rateable inhabitants of the county.”
The year 1831 seems to have been an important one to the inhabitants, not only of Picton, but the peninsula. Enterprise was the order of the day, and improvements of a public character were in various ways proposed. The Free Press of 5th July, says, under the heading “Another Steamboat,” “We understand that a number of the enterprising inhabitants of this village, have it in contemplation to build a steamboat to ply between this place and Prescott, to perform their trips in a week. A number of merchants and capitalists have offered to take stock. We are of opinion that a boat built and owned by the inhabitants of this county, would be not only useful to the inhabitants of the Peninsula, but profitable to the stockholders. We would suggest to them the propriety of having the channel in the bay at the lower end of the village cleared, so as to allow steamboats to pass up as far as the bridge.”
The present English Church, standing on Church Street, was the first built in Picton. It was erected by the Rev. Wm. Macaulay, aided by a partial loan in 1825. Mr. Macaulay was the first minister; he came to the parish after seven years of officiating at Cobourg, and has remained as Rector ever since. The Roman Catholic chapel, now standing on Church Street, was the first erected, in 1828 or 9, the land having been given for that purpose by Mr. Macaulay. The new stone church was built in 1839. Rev. Mr. Frazer was first minister, in 1828; Rev. Mr. Brennan, occasionally from 1832 to 1836; the Rev. Mr. Lalor from 1836 to the present time.
Contents—Eighth Township—Sidney—Name—Survey—Settlement, 1787—Letter from Ferguson—Trading—Barter—Potatoes—Building—Cows—No salt to spare—First settlers—Myers—Re-surveying—James Farley—Town Clerk at first meeting—William Ketcheson—Gilbert’s Cove—Coming to the front River Trent—Old names—Ferry—Bridge—Trenton—Its settlement—Squire Bleeker.
No Royal name being available for this township, the noble one of Sidney was conferred. The name is derived from Lord Sidney, who, at the time of the Revolutionary War, was His Majesty’s Secretary for the Colonial Department.
A map in the Crown Lands Department, has written upon it “Sidney, in the District of Mecklenburgh, was surveyed in 1787, by Louis Kotte.” This was probably written by Kotte himself. It is most probable that the first lots only were then laid out. While Kotte was the chief surveyor to whom was entrusted the duty, it is gathered from different sources that he was not present to superintend the work. Mr. William Ketcheson, of the fifth concession, who came with his father to the place, in 1800, says that one McDonald was the surveyor, and laid out the land as far back as the 5th concession, when he died.
While the townships fronting upon the two shores of the Bay were being surveyed in the western portion, not a few were on the look out for a good location. These parties consisted of all classes, but it appears most likely that the majority of those who had the first choice were individuals connected with the surveyors, and who had influence with them. The officers, naturally, enjoyed greater privileges, and some of them sought suitable spots with the view of trading with the Indians, or streams of water to supply power for sawing and flouring-mills.
As illustrative of those times we will make use of a letter lying before us, written at that time.
In the year 1789, John Ferguson and Wm. Bell opened a store in the Eighth Township. It appears with the view of trading with the Indians, and such of the settlers as could pay for the goods they might buy. A letter written by Ferguson, in 1790, from Kingston, to his partner, says: “As to again taking up goods for trade, had I money I would not think it worth while—notwithstanding all I said and begged of you, you nevertheless have let the white people have almost everything we had. When do you think they will pay for it?” By the foregoing we may learn the difficulties attending mercantile pursuits, as well as the procuring of the common necessaries of life. It was no doubt a matter of first importance to Ferguson to see that the goods brought a return. It was no hard-heartedness that caused him to find fault; for in the same letter he says, “Forsyth is arrived, and I know not how I’ll pay him.” On the other hand, Mr. Bell, with his little stock of goods upon the Bay Shore, in the distant Eighth Township, is applied to by the needy settlers for necessaries. They have no money; it is an article almost unknown among them, but they want this and that, and who could refuse? Ferguson afterward says, “You must oblige every one to pay you in wheat, or otherwise I will want bread before winter is over—if they will not take 3s. 9d. for wheat, make them pay in money immediately, or else send me down their accounts, and I’ll summon every one of them. Let your half bushel be examined before Squire Gilbert. Do not spare a potatoe to any one soul. I hope to get a barrel of pork here, but do not trust to that.”
In the same letter Mr. Ferguson says, “If convenient, I could wish you’ld get cut and brought home, as many logs as would build a house the width of the one we have, and 14 feet long. Let them be small and handy—we have plenty of small pine handy—and it soon can be put up when I get home. If Johnson will saw ten logs about 14 feet long, for us, into inch boards, and find himself. He shall have the loan of the saw from the time he finishes them until the 15th day of April next.” “The cows must be sent up. I do not know how the calf will be kept. I have bought two pairs of ducks which I’ll take up, and also some fowls if I can get them.” “Spare no salt to any one, as none is to be had here, but at a very dear rate.” “The Indian prints goes up, which will spoil the trade this season, as after this the Indians cannot want clothing until the spring.” “Rum I must endeavour to take up, as without that nothing can be had.”
The late Mr. Bleeker, of Belleville, tells us that among the very first settlers upon the front of Sidney, were Chrysler, Ostrom and Gilbert.
The interesting history we give elsewhere, of Capt. Myers, as a loyalist and pioneer, shows that he was one of the first inhabitants of Sidney. A pioneer in the construction of mills upon the River Moira, he had previously built in 1794 or ‘5, a sawing mill upon a small uncertain stream which empties into the Bay a few miles east of Trenton.
We have seen that the survey took place in 1787. It is questionable, however, whether more than the first concession was at this time laid out. There is some reason to believe that Louis Kotte did not attend very closely to his duties, but left the surveying to an incompetent assistant. Probably he thought it did not matter whether the side lines were correct or not, in a remote township so far removed from civilization, as Sidney. At all events, in later days, it was found necessary to re-survey the township, which was done by Atkins.
The first settlers, most likely, came in 1787, yet it may be that one or two had previously squatted by the Bay Shore. We do not find in the Crown Lands Department any map with the names of grantees upon the different lots, such as exist in connection with other townships.
No doubt that in Sidney, as in other places, many lots were drawn, and subsequently disposed of before the patents were issued, so that the original owner cannot be traced. By the close of last century the township was pretty well settled. An early settler who has recently passed away, and who leaves highly respectable descendants, was James Farley. He came in 1799.
The first township meeting was held the following year at Gilbert’s Cove, and James Farley was chosen Town Clerk; but Surveyor Smith was present and did the writing on that occasion. Another early settler, the first one in the back concessions was Wm. Ketcheson. Reference is made to him elsewhere. His son, now almost 90 years of age, remembers full well the days of their coming, and settling. The 400 acres of land was bought of Martin Hambly, who lived by the Napanee River, at one dollar per acre, in 1800. Gilbert’s Cove was the place of landing, which was for many years a central spot. Here the batteaux unloaded their contents, and the provision was stored. William Ketcheson, my informer, says, “he used to come every Saturday during the season, through the trackless woods, some seven-and-a-half miles, and carry upon his back provisions of pork, peas and flour, sufficient to serve three of them for a week.” After a while they would come to the Front by the way of the River Moira. To do this they constructed a scow which was kept near the present village of Smithville, in which they crossed the river.
In the western part of the township is the River Trent, which empties into the Bay, somewhat to the west of the boundary line between Sidney and Murray. This river possesses no little interest as one of the original routes of Indian and French travelers; and as the way by which Champlain entered the Bay, and discovered Lake Ontario. The Indian name we find upon an old map was Ganaraske. Upon many ancient maps the bay and river are very imperfectly distinguished. It is named Quintio occasionally.
The Trent being a stream of considerable size, it formed a barrier to journeying up and down, from Kingston to York. A ferry was established here about the beginning of the present century, by the Bleekers, after which the main road between Kingston and York gradually became fixed to the north of the Bay, instead of by Prince Edward.
The construction of a bridge across the Trent, which took place in 1834, was a great benefit. It was 750 feet long and 32 broad. It was for many years “the best bridge in Upper Canada.” The Hastings Times, of Belleville, has an advertisement for tenders by the Commissioners, &c., C. Wilkins, Reuben White, and James G. Bethune, dated River Trent, 9th March, 1833.
At the mouth of the Trent there naturally sprung up a village. Up to 1808 the site of the village was a dense cedar swamp. Two years before A. H. Myers had removed from Belleville and erected a mill about a mile from the mouth of the river, first a saw mill, afterward a flouring mill. Excepting the mills, and a very narrow road, the place was a perfect wilderness. The land upon the west side, where the village stands, originally belonged to “old Squire” Bleeker. The portion of land between the river and Sidney was held by Dr. Strachan. The first lot in Sidney was owned by Judge Smith.
Old Squire Bleeker was probably the very first settler between the Trent and the Carrying Place. He was a trader with the Indians, and was probably Indian Agent. At all events he was a man of considerable authority among them.
Contents—Ninth town—Thurlow—Name—When surveyed—Front—Indian burying ground—Owner of first lots—Chisholm—Singleton—Myers—Ferguson—Indian traders—To Kingston in batteau—Singleton’s death—Ferguson’s death—Distress of the families—Settled, 1789—Ascending the Moira—Taking possession of land—Fifth concession—John Taylor—Founder of Belleville—Myers buying land—Settlers upon the front—Municipal record—Town officers—1798—Succeeding years—Canifton, its founder—Settling—The diet—Building mill—Road—River Moira—Origin of name—Earl Moira—Indian name—Indian offering—“Cabojunk”—Myers’ saw-mill—Place not attractive—First bridge—The flouring-mill—Belleville—Indian village—Myers’ Creek—Formation of village—First inn—Permanent Bridge Street—In 1800—Growth—A second mill—McNabb’s—Sad death—Captain McIntosh—Petrie—Inhabitants, 1809—Dr. Spareham—Naming of Belleville—Bella Gore—By Gore in council—Petition—Extract from Kingston Gazette—Surveying reserve—Wilmot—Mistakes—Granting of lots—Conditions—Board of Police—Extent of Belleville—Muddy streets—Inhabitants in 1824—Court-house—First Court, Quarter Sessions—Belleville in 1836.
The oldest map in the Crown Lands Department, states that this township was surveyed in 1787, by Louis Kotte; perhaps only the front concession. By this map, we learn that at the mouth of the river had been, probably on Zwick’s Island, an Indian burying ground; and a lot is reserved for the Indians, for a burying ground. The map informs us that lot No. 1, in both the first and second concessions, was at first given to John Chisholm. Lot No. 2, in first and second concession, to David Vanderheyden; No. 3, to Alexander Chisholm; No. 4, the reserve for the “Indian burying ground;” Nos. 5 and 6, to Captain John Singleton. These are the only names which appear upon the map; but it is likely that lot No. 7, was granted at first to Captain Myers. The late George Bleeker, Esq., told the writer that Captain Myers having stayed in Lower Canada three years, came and settled upon lot 7, where he built a hut and lived for a year, before going to Sidney. This was probably in 1787, when the surveying was proceeding. Thus it was that Captain Myers, who afterward gave a name to the river and place, was the first squatter. About this time, Captain Singleton, who had been a first settler in Ernesttown, came to Thurlow with a brother officer, Lieutenant Ferguson, both having recently married and settled upon lot No. 6. Their object in coming was to carry on a fur trade with the Indians, who regularly descended the River Sagonoska to barter, and subsequently to get their presents. The single log house which was first built, was shortly added to, by a second compartment, into which was stored furs and goods for barter. The life of these first settlers of Thurlow was a brief one, and the termination a sad one. Both had just married, and with their faithful servant, Johnson, and his wife, they hoped for a future as bright as the wood and water which so beautifully surrounded them. It mattered not to them that no human habitation existed nearer than the Mohawk settlement, and the Napanee River. Many trips with the batteau were necessary to obtain a complete outfit for Indian trading, and ample provisions had to be laid up, with stores of rum. These articles were procured at Kingston. Singleton had rented his farm in the second town; but reserved a room, where he might stop on his way up and down. In September, 1789, Captain Singleton, his wife, child, some eight months old, with Lieutenant Ferguson, his wife, and the servants, Johnson and wife, set out for Kingston and Ernesttown in a batteau. The women were to visit in Ernesttown, while the men proceeded to Kingston to purchase flour and other articles. Not long after starting, Singleton was taken ill. They stopped at Captain John’s, at the Mohawk settlement, and Indian medicines were given him; but he continued to grow worse, and when he reached his home, in Ernesttown, he was dangerously ill. A doctor from Kingston was procured; but Captain Singleton died nine days after, from what seems to have been a malignant fever. His faithful servant, Johnson, contracted the disease and also died. Thus, Lieutenant Ferguson was left with three women and a child, away from home, which could only be reached after much toil. Captain Singleton was spoken of as a “pleasing gentleman, and beloved by all who knew him.” His infant son grew to man’s estate, and became one of the first settlers of Brighton, where his widow, now far advanced in years, and descendants reside.
Lieutenant Ferguson went to Kingston, exchanged his load of furs for a barrel of flour, then very dear, and other articles, and returned with his charge to Thurlow. But Ferguson’s days were also numbered; and, in three months’ time, he died, and there were left in the depth of winter, alone, upon the front of Thurlow, three widowed women, and an infant; with but little to eat, beside the barrel of flour; which, before long, was to be the only article of food, and used by cup-fulls to make spare cakes.
Lieutenant Ferguson, the associate of the first settler in the township, was at first a refugee from the Mohawk valley in New York, and latterly served, probably in Johnson’s regiment. He had lived a short time at Sorel before coming to Thurlow. His body was buried upon a pleasant elevation, between their house and the plains to the east of the river. The first one of the loyalists to die in Thurlow, his body was the first to be interred in the “Taylor burying ground.”
In the spring of 1789, a party of about fifty, reached the bay. They were all refugee loyalists, and most of them had been since the close of the war in the States, looking up their families, and arranging to take them “to Cataraqui.” This party settled in Sidney and Thurlow. Those who settled in Thurlow, finding no land available at the front, prepared to ascend the river. Among them were John Taylor, William Reed, with four sons, John, William, Samuel, and Solomon; Richard Smith, Cavelry, Robert Wright, John Longwell, Sherard, Zedie Thrasher, Asa Turner, Stephen and Laurence Badgley, Solomon Hazleton, Archibald McKenzie, McMichael, William Cook, and Russell Pitman. The party reached the mouth of the river late in the day, and pitched their tent among some cedar shrubs upon the east bank of the river, just by the site of the upper bridge. The following day, they followed the bank of the river, searching for indications of good land The surveyor had not yet laid out any but the front lots; but the pioneers had been assured that any land they should choose to occupy, would be granted them. When they reached the point where now is the fifth concession, they felt that they had reached their destination, and proceeded to take possession of such land as struck their fancy. William Reed, and his four sons, possessed themselves of 600 acres in a block, through which the river wound its way. The land here was unmistakably good; and four generations have now reaped the fruit of the soil, while two generations lie buried there. But the first years of pioneer life with those first settlers of the fifth concession, were years of great hardship and want (see First years of Upper Canada). They all went to Napanee at first to mill. Sometimes took articles to exchange for flour.
John Taylor settled in the fifth concession, where he remained a year, when he came down to the mouth of the river. A sketch of this old soldier is elsewhere given. Among the settlers who came in, a few years later, were Richard Canniff, and Robert Thompson.
In some respects, the settlers of these townships, at the western extremity of the bay, suffered in a peculiar manner. They were far removed from Kingston, and from the necessaries of life to be procured there. And they were settling after the period when Government allowed provisions.
The name of Captain Myers must ever stand identified with the early history of Thurlow. He cannot be regarded as the founder of Belleville; yet he was the first to give a name to the village at the mouth of the river. Captain Myers saw service during the revolutionary war (see Royal Combatants). At the close of hostilities, having tarried for a time at Lower Canada, he came to the bay, and squatted at first upon the front of Thurlow. He first became a settler upon the front of Sidney, a few miles east of the Trent River. Being a man of enterprise, and with forethought, he did not content himself with clearing a farm and cultivating its soil. He saw the wants of the settlers, that they required sawed lumber, and greater conveniences for grinding grain. Hence he is found, even before 1790, erecting a sawing mill upon a small stream on his land in Sidney. The waterpower was very inefficient, and he looked about for a more suitable place. The waters of the Moira presented the inducements he sought. A bargain was effected with John Taylor for the rear half of lot No. 5, which embraced a portion of the stream, affording the desired mill-site. It was, most probably, in the year 1790, that Captain Myers came to Thurlow, and built his log hut upon the banks of the river, a few rods above the present mill-dam. Within a year, the first dam erected upon the river was finished, and a log saw mill built upon the east bank.
The late Colonel Wilkins, of the Carrying Place, says, that when he came to the bay, in 1792, Myers had his mill built, the one farthest west, until they came to where is now Port Hope.
The following are the names of those who settled upon the front, as supplied by the late G. Bleeker, Esq. Commencing at lot No. 1, the first settler was John Chisholm; No. 2, Coon Frederick; No. 3, Crawford, the lot having been drawn by A. Chisholm. Coming to No. 7, it was settled upon by A. Thompson, who sold the right to Schofield; No. 8, by Arch. Chisholm; No. 9, by Samuel Sherwood, who was an Indian trader. Then Fairman, William Johnson, Edward Carscallion, J. Carscallion, Fairman, Biddell.
There is no record of the first municipal transaction. Most likely, no record was kept. The following, however, takes us back a long way:—
“At the annual town meeting, for the township of Thurlow, held the fifth day of March, 1798, whereat the following persons were chosen town officers, viz., John McIntosh, Town Clerk, John Chisholm and William Reid, Assessors; Joseph Walker, Collector; Samuel B. Gilbert, John Reed, William Johnson, Path-masters; John Cook and Daniel Lawrence, Town Wardens; John Taylor, Pound-keeper; John Fairman, Constable.”
John McIntosh, remembered as Capt. McIntosh, was Town Clerk for three years, and was succeeded by Jabez Davis. The following year, the occupant was Caleb Benedict. The year succeeding, Roswell Leavens was appointed, and continued to hold the office for three years, when John Frederick was chosen, who held the place two years, when John McIntosh was again selected; he held it two years. Then John Thompson was appointed, who held it one year. The next year it was Roswell Leavens; the next, John Frederick; the next, R. Leavens, who continued uninterruptedly in office for twelve years, up to the year 1826. During that time very many changes are observed in the names of those holding the other municipal offices in the Township. The Town Clerk, in the year 1826, was Daniel Canniff, who held it two years; the next was James McDonnell, who filled the post seven years. In 1835, D. B. Sole was appointed, who held it two years. The year ensuing, Dr. Hayden was appointed. It would seem that during the year following, Dr. H. escaped as a rebel, while his wife refused to hand over the township records.
Canifton.—Up to the year 1806, the way from Myers’ mill up the river to where stands Corby’s mill, a distance of four miles, was unbroken by a single clearing. There was but a poor waggon road, which had been cut by the two individuals who alone could afford the comfort of a waggon. But in that year another settler was added to Thurlow, and a third waggon to the community. John Canniff, having bought some 800 acres of land from one McDougall, and one Carle, in the third concession, commenced the work of clearing upon the present site of the village of Canifton. John Canniff was a U. E. Loyalist, and was born at Bedford, in the County of Westchester, in the present State of New York, in the year 1757. There is no reliable statement handed down as to the part he took in the war against the rebellion. That he took an active part is believed by those most capable of judging. The name of Lieut. Candiff appears among the officers of a New Jersey regiment, which is thought to have been one of the family. John Canniff was a refugee at the close of the war in New Brunswick, where he remained a few years. He then came to Canada, in 1788, and first settled in Adolphustown, where he lived until his removal to Thurlow. He had witnessed and experienced the suffering of the year of the famine. And it is known that he actually saved one family from death by starvation. Before bringing his family to Thurlow, in 1807, he had cleared a considerable piece of land, on the east side of the river, around the present site of the bridge; built a mill-dam, a saw-mill, and a frame house, which stood a short distance above the site of the Methodist Church. Although this took place near the end of the first decade of the present century, yet the settlement was attended by no little hardship. The necessaries of life were not always to be had, and it is authentically related, that for a time pea bread constituted the principle article of diet, while a fish, now and then caught, was a great luxury.
About the year 1812, Canniff erected a flouring-mill, having for mill-stones those made on the spot, out of hard granite; the man who made them yet lives. These relics of the past may yet be seen. But in two years he procured a pair of Burr stones from the Trent.
In the year 18—, Mr. Canniff removed to the front of Thurlow, and lived upon lot number eight, where he continued to dwell until his death, 21st Feb., 1843. He was in his 87th year when he died. His remains are buried near the front of the Episcopal Church, in Belleville. He was a great uncle to the writer.
Up to the year 1715, there was but one small house in Canifton, beside that occupied by Mr. Canniff, this was occupied by a cooper, named Ockerman.
For four years after John Canniff settled upon the river, there was an unbroken wood between his place and Myers’ mill, while but a rough road existed, which followed the river’s bank. In the spring of 1811, James Canniff, the writer’s father, commenced to clear land, midway between Myers’ mill and John Canniff’s. At this time, the road remained almost impassable, for the half-dozen waggons, owned in the township. Some years later, the road was somewhat straightened and improved; but although now, and for a long time, so great a thoroughfare, the road continued to be, for many years, the most execrable.
The River Moira.—This river is named after the Right Hon. the Earl of Moira, afterward Marquis of Hastings, and previously, when a soldier, serving in the American war, known as Lord Rawdon. At his death the title became extinct. His body was buried in his native town in Ireland. While in America, he formed a strong attachment to Brant.
The Moira takes its rise in the township of Tudor, and in its windings to the Bay Quinté, passes through the townships of Madoc, Marmora, Rawdon, Huntingdon, Hungerford, Tyendinaga, and Thurlow. It was well known, and yearly ascended by the Indians for the excellent hunting which it afforded. They called it Sagonasko, which name may be found on the first maps issued by the surveyor. It was sometimes spelled Saganashcocon.
The Indians, when about to pass up on their hunting expeditions, leaving many of the women and children in wigwams upon the plains near its mouth, would make an offering to their pagan god, of tobacco, which was dropped upon the east shore, near its mouth, just below the site of the first bridge. A thank offering was repeated upon their return.—(B. Flint).
When the first mill dam was erected by Capt. Myers, the obstruction was called by them Cabojunk.
When the land was surveyed, the Government reserved at the mouth of the river 200 acres, ostensibly, for an Indian burying ground. But the place of burying was upon Zwick’s Island, in the Bay, near the river’s mouth.
Upon the old maps, this river is called Singleton’s River, after Capt. Singleton.
About the year 1790, Capt. Myers settled upon the river, and erected a dam and log saw mill. It consequently took the name of Myers’ Creek, which it retained, until after the war of 1812, and by some, to within the writer’s recollection, thirty years ago. The writer remembers to have seen the Indians, in their birch canoes, ascending and descending the river. The fact that the word Moira has some resembling sound to that of Myers, has led some to suppose that the latter name became gradually changed into the former. But the fact is as stated above.
The appearance of the place, presented to the first adventurers in pursuit of land on which to settle, was not attractive. It was a barren plain with a cedar swamp covering the shores on either side.
There were, however, on the east side, at the mouth, some tall and good sized oaks, indicating deep soil, while the land around was rock; this land, like the two islands upon which mills are built, was rich, and had been made from the washings of the river’s sides for centuries, and carried down from the back country.
The first bridge upon the Moira, was a floating structure, and was placed quite at the mouth of the river, with the view of escaping the current; but it was soon carried off. The bridge was built about 1800; prior to which time there had been a ferry for foot passengers, when the stream was not fordable. At certain seasons, crossings could take place almost anywhere. The first spring freshet carried away the bridge. In the winter of 1802, according to Mrs. Harris, who then lived in the place, a more substantial structure was commenced; but again it was carried off by ice breaking over Myers’ dam. Possibly, this may be the first one. The first permanent bridge must have been completed in 1806 or 7.
The excellent water power was first employed by Capt. Myers, and the second person to use it was the Reeds, at the place where is now situated Corby’s mill. The benefit of a flouring mill to the Reeds will be understood when it is known that they had previously, to carry on their back the grist to the Napanee mills, a distance of some forty miles, and thus occupying four days.
The early voyageurs, passing along in their birch canoes, bound for the far west, by the way of the River Trent to Lake Simcoe, were never attracted to the low, thick woods, which bordered the river, called by the Indians Sagonoska. It is true, there was generally an Indian village upon the plains situated to the east of the river’s mouth. But the collection of rude tents offered no special invitation. While the French, it would seem, never ascended the river; the Indians of the Mississauga tribe inhabited the region, and mostly always had a village upon the bay shore. As we have seen, the Government, at the time of surveying, reserved lot number four, which included the river and the plains, for the Indians. About 1789 or 90, Captain Myers, having purchased a part of lot number five, of John Taylor, for $100, endeavored to obtain a lease of the Indian lot for a long period of years; and he subsequently claimed the lot, averring that it had been leased him for ninety-nine years. This claim of Capt. Myers, it has been stated, led to the name which so long obtained, Myers’ Creek. But the claim was never recognized by Government, although there is some reason to think that the Indians did actually bargain it away. The settlement upon the river, by Captain Myers, very soon came to be known as Captain Myers’, and the inhabitants up and down the bay, spoke of the settlement, as well as of the river, as Myers’ Creek. But, at the same time, Myers’ mill and house were quite remote from the first collection of houses at the mouth of the river. Apart from the water privileges, there was nothing to attract to the place, and, until the beginning of the present century, there was not even a hut at the mouth of the river. If public meetings were held, they were up the front, or back near the fifth concession, afterward known as Hayden’s Corners.
The village began to form upon the east bank of the river, a little distance below Dundas street, and, for many years, it did not extend further north than that street. The first place of habitation so far as can be learned, was a log house, built and occupied by Asa Wallbridge, a trader, who was well known by the early settlers. Then came John Simpson, in the year 1798, and constructed a log hut, 20 × 12. This house, the first public house in Thurlow, was for many years known from Kingston to York, as a place of public entertainment. Within its rough walls rested many an important traveler, and here, in later days, convened the men of dignity and office, to discuss matters of great import concerning the village. Here met, in jovial companionship, the inhabitants of the village at night. Around this rude public house centered the crowd upon training days, or when the race course was a point of attraction. For many years, the heart of the village was at the corner of Dundas street. At this place was the ferry, and afterwards the first bridge.
John Simpson, who was Sergt.-Major of the Militia when first organized, died shortly after coming to Myers’ Creek; but his widow, Margaret, continued the hostess for many years. She endeavored to keep pace with the wants of the growing village, and made one improvement after another, and finally had built the frame structure now converted into the agreeable residence of the Hon. Lewis Wallbridge. About the year 1800, a second inn was opened in the village, the descendant of this is the present Railroad House.
When it became necessary to build a bridge across the river, about 1806–7, the question of site was one of no little consideration. It seemed the most natural that it should be erected on Dundas Street, which was the great mail road between Kingston and York; and those living in the heart of the village could see no reason in having it placed elsewhere. But a majority of those having a voice in the matter, looked at the question in a more practical light; and rightly thought a bridge would cost less where the river was the narrowest, while it should not be too far for convenience. The result was that it was built on the site of the present lower bridge, and so gave to the street the name of Bridge Street.
Retracing our steps to the beginning of the present century, we present the statement of Mr. William Ketcheson, who settled in Sidney, and also of James Farley, both of whom say that there was not then even a village at the mouth of the river, there being but two or three shanties, among them Simpson’s tavern, at the rude bar of which the sole drink was a home brewed beer, which, however, possessed intoxicating properties. Another building was an ash house, owned by Asa Wallbridge.
During the first years of the present century, the place grew to the importance of a village, whose inhabitants, with those of the adjacent farmers, made up nearly a hundred persons. Important additions had been made, and enterprise was at work. Two noble and loyal Scotchmen had come to the place several years before, and purchased lot number three, and had built a second mill dam and mills. These were Simon and James McNabb. They subsequently took an active part in everything relating to the village. James McNabb became Collector of Customs, and the first Post-Master and Registrar, and both were officers in the militia. The melancholy death of James McNabb, is hardly yet forgotten. During the rebellion of 1836, there was an alarm in Belleville, and Capt. McNabb, while running through an unlighted hall, was fatally wounded by a careless militiaman, who was trailing his musket with bayonet fixed.
Capt. McIntosh was an early settler in Belleville, as well as a pioneer with sailing vessels. He built the first frame store house at Belleville, which was taken down in 1867. The house he built is still standing, a quaint edifice, at the lower extremity of front street. Within its walls rested General Brock, when on his way westward, at the commencement of the war of 1812; also General Gore, after the close of the war. Capt. McIntosh met an untimely death by drowning while attempting to swim from his schooner, which was wind-bound off Ox Point, to the shore, 23rd Sept, 1815.
In the year 1809, Alexander Oliphant Petrie, came to live at Myers’ Creek. He found the following persons living in Belleville at that time. Commencing at the lowest part; there first lived Capt. John McIntosh, who kept a store; John Johnson, a saddler; Dr. Sparehan; John Thompson, who had been a soldier in the King’s Rangers; Peter Holmes, a carpenter, who had also been in the Rangers; Mrs. Margaret Simpson, inn-keeper; Roswell Leavens, a blacksmith; John Simons; one Ames, a cooper; Hugh Cunningham, store-keeper, at Mrs. Simpson’s; Simon McNabb, who lived across the river; Ockerman, a cooper; Benj. Stone, a sawyer; Wm. Maybee, and Abraham Stimers. In the neighborhood of the village lived John Taylor; James Harris, a hatter, and Capt. Myers. The only road was along the river, while foot paths led to the different dwellings. Respecting Dr. Spareham, there is the following notice in the Kingston Gazette: “Died, Friday 20th, 1813, Dr. Thomas Spareham, at Kingston; aged about 88. He was one of the first settlers in the country.”
The McNabbs had a flouring-mill, and there was a small cloth factory on the west side of the river, at Myers’ dam. Harris had a small shop on the bank of the river; and just below the present market, back from the river, stood a little frame school house, where taught one John Watkins. About the year 1810, Mr. Everitt, from Kingston, erected a fine building for a hotel, outside of the village, near Coleman’s, formerly McNabb’s mills. This was near the Victoria buildings.
The naming of Belleville took place in 1816. The circumstances attending it were as follows: There met one evening at Mrs. Simpson’s tavern, Captain McMichael, the two McNabbs, Wallbridge, R. Leavens, and S. Nicholson. These gentlemen, at the suggestion, it is said, of Captain McMichael, determined to invite Lieutenant-Governor Gore, to name the newly surveyed town. The request was complied with, by calling it after his wife Bella. In reference to this, we find in the Kingston Gazette, Aug. 24, 1816, the following: “The Lieutenant-Governor, in council, has been pleased to give the new town (formerly known by the name of “Myers’ Creek”) at the River Moira, the name of “Belleville,” by the request and petition of a great number of the inhabitants of that town and the township of Thurlow.” In the issue of 7th September, the Gazette remarks, “We mentioned in our paper of the 24th ult., that the new town at the River Moira, was now called “Belleville,” &c. We were under the impression, from the very pleasant situation of that town that its name was derived from the French; but we have since been informed that it has been given the name of Bellville, in honor of lady Gore at the request of the inhabitants.” We have it also, on the authority of Mr. Petrie, who could not be ignorant of the facts, that the name is after Lady Bella Gore. It will be observed that the name was originally spelled Bellville, instead of Belleville, as at the present time. In all letters and public documents where the town was mentioned, we find it spelled Bellville for many years. The writer will now, quote himself from another work. “The same year (1816) the Government instructed surveyor Wilmot to lay out the 200 acres of Indian reserve, lot number four, into town lots of half an acre each. It cannot be recorded that Mr. Wilmot discharged his duty to his credit or the advantage of the town. In the first place he made the serious mistake (it has been questioned whether it was a mistake) of placing the line between Sidney and Thurlow, upwards of sixty feet to the east of that marked by the original survey. The consequence was, that the line between lots numbers three and four (at the front) instead of being mainly in the river, where it ought to have been, was established where now is Front Street, and thereby, a valuable strip of land belonging to the Reserve, was added to private property on the western side of the river; while the owner of lot number five, Mr. Taylor, was a loser to a corresponding extent. Another mistake was the very few cross streets laid out, the inconvenience of which is felt daily by many; although some new ones have been opened latterly. A third error was the respect he made to a hotel which stood a little to the east of where now stands the Victoria buildings. This hotel had been erected on the ground, where the street, in surveying, happened to come. The result is the unseemly turn in its course at Pinnacle Street. While the hotel gave a name to the street, the name commemorates the cause of its ugliness. The town lots were disposed of by Government to petitioners, true subjects of His Majesty, on a payment of a fee of thirty dollars. No one could obtain more than a single lot. Seven plots were reserved: one for a hospital, one where stands the Catholic Church, the Grammar School, the English Church, also, the Parsonage house, the old Market Square, and the Jail.”
The lots were granted to applicants upon presenting a petition signed by two citizens, to Government. The grantee was obligated to build, in a given time, a house, one story and a half high, and 18 × 30 feet.
Belleville is the oldest town in Upper Canada. At the time it was named, where now stands Cobourg, were but three houses. In 1816 the Kingston Gazette says, “A Post Office is now established in the new and flourishing town of Bellville, S. McNabb. Esq., Post Master.”
In the year 1834, a petition was submitted by the inhabitants of Belleville to Parliament, the result of which was “An act to establish a Board of Police in the town of Belleville, passed 6th March, 1834.”
It would seem that the act passed did not come into operation, for in 1836, an act was passed repealing the former one. This latter act was in many respects the same, but making further provisions. The same year the town record begins. The boundaries were, “commencing at the limits between lots number five and six, in the first concession, so as a line at right angles will run on the northerly side of Wonnacott’s bridge, thence south seventy-four degrees, west to the limits between lots numbers two and three, thence sixteen degrees east to the Bay of Quinté, thence easterly following the winding of the bay to the limits between lots numbers five and six aforesaid; thence north sixteen degrees, west to the place of beginning, together with the island and the harbour.” There were two wards, each of which elected two members of the Board of Police, and the fourth selected a fifth. The body then selected one of themselves for President. Those elected the first year were, Wm. McCarty and Asa Yeomans, for first ward; Zenas Dafoe, and Wm. Connor for second ward; Billa Flint was elected the fifth member, and was also chosen President; Geo. Benjamin to be clerk to the Board.
Up to this time there had been no sidewalks, and at the same time there was no drainage. The consequence was, that in the rainy season the streets were almost impassible, quite as bad as those of Muddy York are said to have been. The first pavement was laid in 1836, the stones of which were taken from the river.
It is impossible to say definitely what was the number of inhabitants at any one period. These were, however, in 1818, according to Talbot, about 150; about 500 in 1824; 700 in 1829, and in 1836 more than 1,000. But McMullen, writing in 1824, says that between Kingston and York, there are two or three very small villages, the largest of which is Belleville, containing about one hundred and fifty inhabitants.
After this the town increased more rapidly in size and importance. Steps were taken to have built a Court House and Jail, as the nearest place of confinement of prisoners was at Kingston; and, in 1838, just at the close of the rebellion, the present building was finished.
The first court of Quarter Sessions held at the Court House in Belleville, was November, 1839, Benjamin Dougall presided; Edmund Murney, Clerk of the Peace; J. W. D. Moodie, Sheriff. The principal business of the court was to organize, and take the oaths of office. The second court was held in March, 1840, in the Court House; there were the same officers, except that W. H. Ponton was Clerk of the Peace.
A writer in the Intelligencer, in 1836, says, Belleville is said to contain about 1,800 inhabitants. There is an English and Scotch Church, a Roman Catholic and Methodist Chapel, also a congregation of Episcopal Methodists, and one of American Presbyterians; 25 merchants’ shops, 2 Apothecaries and Druggists’, 12 huxters’ and grocery shops, 9 taverns, 3 breweries, 3 butchers’, 2 flouring mills, 4 saw, and 2 fulling and carding mills, 1 pail factory, 7 blacksmiths’ shops, 3 tanneries, and mechanics of almost every description. In Front Street there are a number of spacious brick, stone, and frame buildings; being the most central part of the town for business. The town has recently being called East and West Belleville; separated by the river Moira. The latter has been laid out in town lots by the present owners; and the streets and lines defined. On Coleman Street there are already erected a handsome brick and other stone and frame buildings; a Trip-Hammer Forge and Axe manufactory carried on by Mr. Proctor, celebrated for making the best axes in the province. A saw mill in operation and a flouring mill for four run of stone now erecting, and another for six run in contemplation of being built next summer by our enterprising townsman, Mr. Flint. A cabinet-maker, blacksmith’s shop, and a tavern, together with a variety of lots unsold, some of which are calculated for hydraulic purposes; and for which there are abundance of materials for stone buildings. The same street leads to the extensive wharfs and store houses belonging to Mr. Billa Flint.