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AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 OF 
 
 REV. THOS. B. BROWN 
 
 I 
 
 REVISED BY 
 
 JOHN WL McAINSH 
 
 Office of the St. Marys Journal 
 St Marys, Ont. 
 1899. 
 
«fi?9<^3 
 
PREFACE 
 
 X 
 
 When this Autobiography was writ- 
 ten, it was the intention of the author 
 to have given a complete history of 
 his Life and Times, with a special 
 reference to the early settlement of 
 Nissouri. However, after it was 
 written so far the infirmities of old 
 age came on, which prevented the ac- 
 complishment of his object. This ac- 
 counts for its incomplete and frag- 
 mentary character. For this reason 
 many interesting events and the names 
 of individuals who were prominent in 
 the early settlement of the township 
 are unnoticed; but as it is it will be 
 a valuable contribution toward pre- 
 serving in a permanent form its 
 early history. It will be a pleasing* 
 reminder to many who were parson- 
 ally acquainted with the author during 
 his lifetime. In order to* make the 
 work as complete and interesting as 
 possible, a few additional facts are 
 given. 
 
 His Work as a Local Preacher 
 
 Being blessed with a strong physi- 
 cal constitution and great force of 
 character, what he determined to do 
 he did with all his might. His lead- 
 ing motive was not to amass property, 
 except to provide for the reasonable 
 wants of himself and family, nor to 
 attain to the petty offices of the town- 
 ship, but to serve the church of his 
 choice as a local preacher. When he 
 commenced as a worker in the church 
 
11. 
 
 the few scattered settlers of Nissouri 
 and surrounding townships were but 
 scantily supplied with opportunities of 
 hearing preaching. What little op- 
 portunities they had were mostly on 
 week-days, leaving the Sabbath unpro- 
 vided for. Under these circumstances 
 he commenced his work as a local 
 preacher, preaching regularly once or 
 more nearly every Sabbath. As the 
 country was new, without any tra- 
 velled roads, he found his way to his 
 appointments sometimes on horseback 
 and often on foot, crossing creeks and 
 swamps on fallen timber, through the 
 unbroken forest. At first as there 
 were no churches or schoolhouses, he 
 held his meetings in the rude shanties 
 of the early settlers. His first ser- 
 mon was preached in a private house 
 in the 1st concession of Zorra. The 
 late Mrs. Charles Mitchell, of Lake- 
 side, who died in 1897, aged 93 years, 
 was one of his hearers on that occa- 
 sion. In after years she told him that 
 he took a big text for his first ser- 
 mon, to which he replied that 'it was 
 just what a boy would be likely 
 to. The following incident, as re- 
 lated by an eye-witness, will give some 
 idea of the style in which meetings 
 were conducted in those early days. 
 He was called on to preach a funeral 
 sermon somewhere on the third con- 
 cession of Nissouri. The place where 
 the service was held was a new log 
 house, having neither windows nor 
 floor and the cracks between the logs 
 being open. An old gentleman who 
 wished to attend the service had no 
 shoes to wear, but his grandson, a 
 young lad growing into manhood, had 
 just got his first pair of boots, and 
 
111. 
 
 they were rather large for him. These 
 he lent to the old gentleman to wear 
 at the funeral service and attended 
 himself barefooted. Under those cir- 
 cumstances he held meetings and 
 preached, not only in Nissouri, but 
 also through London, Zorra, Blanshard 
 and other townships. Not only did he 
 spend the Sabbath working for the 
 Master, but also a considerable por- 
 tion of his week days were spent in 
 the same way. As camp-meetings were 
 an established institution in those 
 early days, and as he possessed in his 
 younger days a powerful voice, this 
 peculiarity fitted him for work in these 
 meetings in which h** always took a 
 prominent part. 
 
 His Love for and Attachment to the Meth^ 
 
 odist Episcopal Church 
 
 One thing greatly strengthened his 
 attachment to the church of his choice 
 —the Methodist Episcopal church— 
 and encouraged him in his labors as 
 a local preacher. It was a fundamen- 
 tal part of the polity of that branch 
 of the Methodist church to ordain local 
 preachers, so that they had the @ame 
 right to baptize, marry and administer 
 the sacrament as the regular minister 
 had. He himself often said that one 
 reason why he was so strongly attached 
 to the M. E. Church was because it 
 was the only branch of the Methodist 
 church which gave to the local 
 preachers these privileges. But when 
 the M. £. Church merged itself into 
 the union of the Methodist churches, 
 every vestage of these were swept 
 away, except that those local preach- 
 ers who were ordained previous to the 
 union should not be interfered with, 
 
IV. 
 
 but no more ordinations of local preach- 
 ers would be permitted. 
 
 The Early Settlers in Nissouri 
 
 The Township of Nissouri was sur- 
 veyed and opened for settlement in 
 the year 1818. It is somewhat diffi- 
 cult at this distance of time to give 
 the exact date when some of the early 
 settlers came into the township. The 
 followingr account is now probably as 
 near as can be ascertained: The first 
 field cleared was on lot 14 in the 2nd 
 concession, but the first actual set- 
 tler was Wm. O'Brien, who settled on 
 lot 7, in the 8th concession. John and 
 Thomas Scatcherd, who were wealthy 
 and took up lots 9, 10, 11 and 12 in 
 the 1st concession, and the McGuffin 
 family who settled near what is now 
 called Thorndale, were among the earl- 
 iest settlers. Clawson Burgess was 
 the first actual settler in the vicinity 
 of what is now called Cherry Grove ; 
 he settled in 1819 on lot 26 in the 
 4th concession. His daughter Nancy 
 (born in December, 1819), now the 
 widow of the late Cornelias Near, was 
 the first white child born in the town- 
 ship. William, Robert and Peter 
 Smith were the sons of Nicholas Smith, 
 a U. E. Loyalist who fought in the 
 Revolutionary War and also in the 
 war of 1812. They each drew 200 acres 
 of land, being lots 30, 31 and 32 in 
 the 4th concession. They were -at- 
 tracted to these lots, because there was 
 plenty of running water and good 
 springs and ako an abundance of fish 
 in the creek. They settled in 1820. 
 Francis Bowers settled on lot 16 in the 
 5th concession, in 1820. The Davis fam- 
 ily settled in 1820 on lot 21, in the 
 
V. 
 
 6th concession. John Uren settled in 
 1820 on lot 28 in the 4th concession. 
 John Farley, father of the late Tur- 
 ner Farley, settled in 1821 on lot 7 
 in the 2nd concession. Robert Cam- 
 eron, the father of the present genial 
 jailer of the Town of Woodstock, set- 
 tled on lot 5 in the 9th concession in 
 1822. Wm. Shaw settled near Mr. 
 Cameron in 1822. Mr. McNee settled 
 on lot 5 in the 9th concession in 1822. 
 Charles Bolard settled in 1822. He 
 was a shoejnaker. John Cunningham 
 settled in 1822 or perhaps one or two 
 years earlier, on lot 23 in the 3rd con- 
 cession. Mr. Dean settled close to 
 Cunningham at the same time. Mr. 
 Coleman settled in 1822 or perhaps 
 earlier, on lot 23 in the 4th concession. 
 Wm. Garner settled in 1823 on lot 
 25 in the 2nd concession. His son 
 Robert, born in 1823, is now the old- 
 est living man born in the township. 
 Robert and George Logan settled in 
 1823 on lot 16 in the 3rd concession. 
 Samuel Shierlock, a U. E. Loyalist, 
 drew 200 acres near Thamesford. Jas. 
 German settled in 1823 on lot 29 in 
 the 10th concession. He carried with 
 him from St. Catharines the seeds of 
 apple, pear and plum. From these he 
 raised a quantity of young trees, out 
 of which he planted an orchard for him- 
 self and also a number of other or- 
 chards. As a matter of fact he was 
 the first nurseryman in the township. 
 John Bowman settled in 1823 on lot 
 30 in the 5th concession. John, Wil- 
 liam and Adam Haynes were sons of 
 U. E. Loyalist parents and each of 
 them drew 200 acres. John got lot 34 
 in the (Ith concession ; William got lot 
 35 in the 7th concession and Adam 
 
settled in East Nissouri. This was in 
 1827. John Pickard settled in 1828 on 
 lot 33 in the 5th concession. 
 
 Joseph Johnston and Elijah and 
 Hiram Ferris settled at an early date. 
 J<Mieph Johnston is said to have brought 
 the first team of horses and wagon 
 into the township. 
 
 The Lince, Presley and Swazie fam- 
 ilies were among the early settlers, 
 but at a later d;ite than those afore- 
 mentioned. 
 
 JOHN M. McAINSH. 
 
THE HRST SETTLERS. 
 
 Million<% of acres of forest land 
 
 And miles of rushing rivers. 
 Amid flower -spread banks where through 
 the leaves 
 
 The Sumroe?" sunlight quivers. 
 
 The strong old oaks, the forest fathers, 
 They shiver and sway and creak. 
 
 As the wild wind wails through the tali 
 tree tops, 
 And wolves in the thicket shriek, 
 
 And here and there by lake or river 
 The glimpse of some dusky face. 
 
 Where smoke from the camp fire climbs and 
 curls. 
 And braves prepare for the chase. 
 
 There were places in that wild wilderness 
 Where white men homes had planted; 
 
 Bravehearted nation- founders were they. 
 Courageous and undaunted . 
 
 They lived and lal)ored for many years. 
 They worked and waited and prayed 
 
 Till their forms were bent, their faces old, 
 And they death's command obeyed. 
 
 Now churches and snug towns fill our land; 
 
 It is rich with corn and wheat; 
 Their children's children are wending theijr 
 way 
 
 Through fields by the hay made sweet. 
 
 Though they sleep in many an unknown ^rave 
 
 'Neath many a hillside sward, 
 This is the triumph their faith has won, 
 
 And this is their toil's reward. 
 
 E.JENNIE HALL. 
 Nissouri. 
 
• < ,; •-< t • 
 
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 Hi8 Birth and Parentage. 
 
 I THOMAS B. BROWN, of the Town- 
 ship of East Nissourij in the County 
 5 of Oxford, was born Aug. 1th, 1804, r. 
 
 in the township of Argenteul in what '^v^*^ 
 was then called Lower Canada, but now 
 the Province of Quebec. My grand- 
 father, a comb maker by trade, was born 
 in Northumberland, England, He emi- 
 grated to America and lived in Rhode 
 Island, New England States. He 
 fought and was wounded in the Revolu- 
 tionary war. iBy his first wife he had 
 three daughters, two of whom were 
 married in the State of Vermont. He 
 married for his second wife, a lady who 
 had been captured by the Indians, and 
 had been in captivity several years. 
 The relation to her step children of the 
 history of her captivity, including the 
 ciuelty and suffering she endured, in- 
 spired in them a great dread of the 
 Indians. 
 
 Becoming dissatisfied with some 
 foims of the new Government, he as 
 well as my father Joseph, who was born 
 in Rhode Island, moved to Lower Ca- 
 nada remaining there until his death 
 and leaving a large family of sons and 
 daughters. His second wife died about 
 fifteen or twenty years ago. A notice 
 of her death with all the particulars 
 of her captivity was given in the Chris- 
 tian Guardian of Toronto. 
 
 My father was married in the State of 
 Vermont, to Rebecca Brush. They 
 
4. 
 
 vr^Te xnemberi of the Oongregatiooal 
 Church, being descended from the 
 Puritans. In his early days he followed 
 the trade of comb-making, but when 
 in 1790 or 1795, he with my grandfather 
 moved into Lower Canada, he com- 
 menced farming. Lower Canada at this 
 time was very thinly settled and prin- 
 cipally with French. The agricultural 
 pursuits had very little attention paid 
 to them, making it difficult for a poor 
 man like my father, unaccustomed to 
 farming to make a livelihood for him- 
 self and family. At one time he re- 
 sided in the city of Montreal and start- 
 ed to work at his trade of comb-making, 
 but failed for want of means to compete 
 with large establishments. 
 
 Paul once fought with wild beasts 
 at Ephesus, but my father fought with 
 a bear, which was a very heroic deed. 
 One morning while hoeing in his corn- 
 field near the woods his attention was 
 attracted by the loud squealing of a 
 hog in the edge of the woods. Start- 
 ing without any thought of the danger 
 he would encounter he ran on until he 
 came upon a bear in the act of killing 
 one of his neighbor's hogs. Although 
 having no weapon but his hoe he con- 
 cluded to try to rescue it. In cilling 
 to a neighbor that a bear was killing 
 a hog his voice attracted the bear's at- 
 tention. Old bruin looked around to 
 see from whence the intruder came and 
 hearing the voice again he dropped the 
 hog and came to attack my father. He 
 came to within a few feet of him and 
 then sat down on his haunches and 
 prepared for a box. He struck at his 
 antagonist with his paw but missed 
 his aim. My father then seized the 
 opportunity and struck the bear in the 
 
 .-•*■ 
 
5. . 
 
 nose with his hoe, which stunned him ; 
 then by repeated blows with the hoe 
 he finally killed him. In his dying 
 struggles the bear broke great green 
 roots with his feet. This waked my 
 father to a sense of jeopardy in which 
 he had placed himself in trying to res- 
 cue a neighbor's hog. As there were 
 no local newspapers to chronicle all 
 such incidents it was spread through 
 the neighborhood by word of mouth. 
 After we moved into Nissouri, a neigh- 
 bor who knew all the above facts moved 
 into the Township of London and set- 
 tled on a farm formerly ov/ued by 
 Orange CJark. His name was Walter 
 Nichols. Father and he had several 
 visits together and related the bear 
 story and other incidents of their early 
 life in Lower Canada. When the child- 
 ren played on the bear skin, father 
 would animatedly tell them how it 
 came into his possession. 
 
 Shortly after coming to Canada my 
 father and mother embraced religion 
 under the labors of the ministers of 
 the M. E. Church sent out by the New 
 York Conference. They were Revs. 
 Prindley and Coats. Mr. Prindley lo- 
 cated in Upper Canada near Ancaster 
 He became so corpulent and heavy 
 (weighing over three hundred ppiinds) 
 that he was obliged to carry a small 
 ladder with him to enable him to get in 
 and out of his buggy. Hepieacliedonce 
 in NissouTi, and having heard my 
 mother speak so familiarly of him, I 
 spared no pains to see and hear him. 
 J introduced myself to him as the son 
 of Joseph Brown, saying that my par- 
 ents embraced religion when he and 
 his colleague travelled in Lower Cana- 
 da. He conversed freely, but seemed 
 
I 
 
 6. 
 
 to have no distinct recollection of my 
 parents. He said at that time he was 
 like a walking skeleton. What a great 
 change 1 Before I left him( I told him 
 that I was an Episcopal Methodist. 
 He seemed to receive this information 
 with some regret and did not give me 
 so cordial a good-bye as when he first 
 received me. I learned afterwards that 
 he was one of those who were very 
 much opposed to those that remained 
 Episcopal Methodists in 1833. 
 
 Father was a short, thick, heavy, 
 bald-headed man of a cheerful lively 
 disposition, very active, of a sound 
 mind and a ready talker. Although not 
 successful in gaining much of this 
 world's goods, yet he was very precise 
 in keeping his family from associating 
 with low company, notwithstanding the 
 fact that he had lost much of his re- 
 ligion and was living in a back-slidden 
 state. But it was not so with my 
 mother. She maintained her integrity 
 with God, always guarding her children 
 with great care and Godly counsel. 
 In a secondary sense I owe all my re- 
 ligious impressions to her teaching. 
 She often said when I used naughty 
 woids in her hearing that she would 
 rather I would strike her. I some- 
 times fancy that I can almost feel now 
 th« impress of her hand on my head 
 saying, "Prepare to meet thy God." So 
 amiable her disposition that in her life- 
 time she never had a dispute with any 
 one. 
 
 When my father came to Canada his 
 family consisted of three children— two 
 girls and a boy. My eldest sister Eliza- 
 beth became the wife of Reuben Gleas- 
 on, who with his family came into Nis- 
 Bouri in 1828. Although in very moder- 
 
7. 
 
 at© circumstances yet by industry and 
 frugality they accumulated aiarge 
 property in land and money. His life 
 and character are well known to the in- 
 habitants of East Nissouii. They have 
 both passed away and left their wealth 
 to their children. My becond sister, 
 Laura, Was the wife oj. the late Thomas 
 Uren, Esq., of West Nissouri. They too 
 have passed away in the triumphs of 
 a living faith. 
 
 My only brother James came with my 
 father into Nissouri. He married Mxry 
 Uren, the youngest daughter of the late 
 John Uren, and sister of John Uren, 
 of Ingersoll. She together with her 
 first born died a little more than a year 
 after they were married. Their re- 
 mains are now in the family burying 
 ground near my residence. She and 
 her husband were members of the M. E. 
 Church. He embraced religion at a 
 Quarterly meeting held in the Bailey 
 Settlement under the labors of the late 
 John Ryerson, the presiding Elder of 
 the London District. My brother after- 
 wards married Elizabeth Bothwell, of 
 Dereham, daughter of the late Captain 
 Bodwell, and sister of the wife of the 
 late Elder S. Vining of West Nissouri, 
 well known as a minister of the Baptist 
 Church. My brother and I from in- 
 fancy always lived and woi ked t6gether 
 in great harmony, living on adjoining 
 farms and owning a team, waggon and 
 log chains in partnership. Truly we 
 were like David and Jonathan. 
 
 Becoming tired of the backwoods life 
 he moved first into Dereham Township, 
 which was an older settled country ; 
 then he finally settled in Genessee 
 County, Michigan, living there until 
 his death. His wife and eldest da ugh- 
 
8. 
 
 ter, aa well as himself, have gone to 
 the rest that remaineth for the people 
 of God. His remaining five children 
 are still living in that country in fair 
 circumstances. My brother's leaving 
 Nisfi«ouri gave me great pain because 
 it seemed to break up our labors in 
 Church, day and Sabbath School work. 
 Our families being large sustained the 
 schools. 
 
 My sister Rebecca, aa well as my- ' 
 self, was born in Lower Canada. While 
 attending Sabbath School she was very 
 proficient in committing scripture to 
 memory — often repeating a whole chap- 
 ter, to the great amazement of the 
 school. After coming into Nissouri she 
 became the wife of the late William 
 Uren. 
 
 The War of 1812. 
 
 My father lived in Lower Canada 
 about sixteen years, moving several 
 times and finally settling on Colwell*s 
 Manor, near Oddletown. I was then 
 about seven years of age. While liv- 
 ing here the war of 1812 commenced 
 by the American Government declar- 
 ing war against Great Britain. When 
 the news reached Canada I remember 
 asking father how long the war would 
 last. He told me the Revolutionary 
 war lasted seven years, but it was im- 
 possible to say how long this would 
 last. In common with the whole 
 neighborhood, our family felt a great 
 terror of the Indians from the know- 
 ledge we had of their cruelties in the 
 last war ; the very sight of one of 
 them would cause great excitement. 
 One evening a fire was kindled in the 
 edge of the woods not far from us. 
 
9. 
 
 Supposing it was the Indians camping 
 there, our parents awakened us, think- 
 ing that before morning we would be 
 taken prisoners or murdered. Then 
 came fresh into our memory the fate 
 of our grandmother and the many 
 others captured and scalped. It was 
 a long and fearful night, never to be 
 forgotten. We were expecting every 
 moment to be our last. When morning 
 dawned father ventured out slyly to 
 investigate the cause of our alarm and 
 found to our great pleasure that it 
 was only two white hunters camping 
 out for the night. 
 
 Both nations were making active pre- 
 parations for open hostilities ; a large 
 body of troops was stationed on the 
 Jsle of Or ; all was excitement. Our 
 government pussed an order-in-council 
 that any person who wished to change 
 from the United States to Canada or 
 vice versa, could have an opportunity 
 before the lines were guarded. Al- 
 though my father's predilections were in 
 favor of Canada, yet because of those 
 fearful forbodings of the Indians he 
 concluded to leave the country during 
 the war and move into a more thickly 
 settled place, where there would be 
 less danger from Indians. 
 
 The late Reuben Gleason, t>f E. Nis- 
 souri, and his father's family moved 
 to New York State with our family 
 and settled near Plattsburg, remain- 
 ing in that part of the country during 
 the war. He was in that notable bat- 
 tle fought in Plattsburg, where Mc- 
 Donald on the American side, fought 
 his own cousin, McDonald, on the 
 British side. For this service he drew 
 land in Michigan some years ago. Only 
 one of our neighbors was killed in the 
 
10. 
 
 fight. It was while living here that 
 Gleason married my eldest sister and 
 here also my sister Mary was born. 
 
 His Father and Family Move West. 
 
 After peace was declared, emigration 
 set in for the western country. Ohio 
 was then open for settlement. Father 
 also started westward in 1815. With 
 a team of old horses and wagon, mother 
 and children, bed and bedding, all in 
 one craft, making our way slowly on, 
 when money failed stopping and lab- 
 oring to earn more, we pursued our 
 journey, stopping sometimes longer 
 and sometimes shorter until in 1817 
 we reached the western part of New 
 York State, near Buffalo. It has al- 
 ways proved that a rolling stone 
 gathers no moss and so father moving 
 so mary times acquired very little 
 property. A few incidents in our jour- 
 ney might be worth noting. A Cay- 
 uga Indian, seeing our heavy load 
 thought to lend assistance by pushing 
 behind. He then solicited his pay. We 
 were glad to give him a trifle to get 
 rid of him, for we were afraid his 
 intentions were evil. Great induce- 
 ments were made by wealthy people to 
 adopt us and make us heirs of wealth, 
 bufemy father stoutly withstood all 
 these offers. While residing near Buf- 
 falo father found an elder brother of 
 his about to move into Upper Can- 
 ada with his son-in-law, J. German, 
 of East Nissouri. Having the same 
 predilections as ourselves for British 
 rule, he encouraged us to return with 
 him to Canada, which we all did in the 
 winter of 1818. My uncle, Thomas 
 Brown, was a soldier in the Revolution- 
 
11. 
 
 ary war. He afterwards drew a pen- 
 sion of ^IH) a year by returning to his 
 native land, which he did in his ad- 
 vanced years, dying near Buffalo. 
 
 There were then no railroads or can- 
 als and no way of conveying goods ex- 
 cept by wagons and horses. Merchan- 
 dise brought from New York to Buf- 
 falo was conveyed on double-tired 
 wagons drawn by three span oi horses 
 and a leader over the turnpike. The 
 same year we moved into Canada the 
 project of the Erie Canal was formed 
 and the first sod turned by the Gover- 
 nor of New York State. It has proved 
 to be a success to the astonishment of 
 the mass of the people. 
 
 Buffalo, at this time, was but a smill 
 town. Buffalo Creek was crossed by 
 a ferry boat. My uncle moved first 
 into Canada, settling in a place called 
 Short Hills. Then father joined Mm 
 there, crossing at Black Rock. For the 
 first time we beheld that wonderful 
 cataract — the Niagara Falls. It was 
 a beautiful summer morning which 
 enabled us to see the many-tinted 
 rainbow. Halting in our journey for 
 a few days at uncle's, we then travelled 
 to what is now called Smithsville. 
 Father had agreed to clear a> new place 
 of thirty acres, clearing ten acres each 
 year, for Jeremiah Johnston, who fur- 
 nished father with a yoke of oxen, two 
 cows, and some provisions for doing so. 
 This he accomplished in the three years^ 
 but unfortunately for poor Johnston 
 he had placed us on the wrong land. 
 Strange to tell, when the Township of 
 Grimsby was surveyed the surveyors 
 commenced at the lake shore, running 
 to the chntre of the township, i,hen 
 coifiUieiicing ^t the southern part to 
 
12. 
 
 meet the other lines. In making out 
 the map they skipped one whole con- 
 cession. This was where we cleared the 
 land. Some years afterward the mis- 
 take was found out and that whole 
 concession fell into the hands of the 
 Government and was open to be lo- 
 cated by any person having the right 
 to draw land. The U. E. rights drew 
 203 acres, a Flanker 100 acres. These 
 rights could be bought for a nominal 
 price. Before we left it began to be 
 rumored that there was something 
 wrong with the old survey and father 
 was advised not to leave until it was 
 investigated and that he would have 
 the pre-emption right ; but having 
 bought a lot already located from a 
 Flanker— being lot No. 27 in the 7th 
 concession of Nissouri, said to lay on 
 the Thames River — father declined to 
 stay any longer than the three years 
 and accordingly in March, 1822, he 
 started for his new home. The prfce 
 of the land was fifty cents per acre. 
 
 His Early Educational and Religious 
 Privileges. 
 
 In consequence of father moving so 
 often his family had little opportunity 
 for acquiring an education. The prin- 
 cipal chance I had was while living at 
 Smithsville. 1 attended a scliool 
 taught by Henry Smith, who continued 
 in that school for many years. He 
 came from New York State. By his 
 industry and economy he bought a farm 
 in the same neighborhood, married a 
 Miss Cutler, raised a family, and has 
 gone to his reward. From being often 
 in new neighborhoods I v/as influenced 
 by my associates. I distinctly remem- 
 
 u 
 
13. 
 
 ber the first boy who taught me to 
 say bad words. I vainly thought that 
 if I had not seen him I would not have 
 learned that habit, vvnenever my play- 
 mates were a better class I fell in with 
 their influence. In Smithsville my op- 
 portunities for fostering any good do- 
 sires were better than formerly. My 
 sister Rebecca and I attended the Sun- 
 day School regularly while staying 
 there. I could never compete with my 
 dear sister who was very proficient in 
 committing Scripture to memory. Our 
 teacher was the late Ebenezer Griffin, 
 long since gone to his reward. His 
 father, Smith Griffin, whose name the 
 village bears, was a local preacher in 
 the AI. E. Church, one of the leading 
 men in the church and in the village, 
 being owner of the grist mill, saw- 
 mill, carding machine, store and ash- 
 ery. What a blessing it is to any place 
 when the leading man is a Christian 1 
 Here I had the opportunity not only 
 of Sabbath School, but of preaching, 
 formi/ig the acquaintance of the early 
 pioneer preachers. I had the pleasure 
 of hearing and forming the acquaint- 
 ance of the late Elder Ryan, whose 
 home was near. He was one among the 
 first Presiding Eiders in the M. E 
 Church in Canada. His District com- 
 prised all Upper Canada, purt of Lower 
 Canada and a large portion of New 
 York State. Here 1 also heard the 
 wonderful Isaac Peffer of precious 
 memory, who travelled this circuit the 
 first year of our stay in Grimsby. I 
 distinctly remember the first text and 
 the first hymn e^'^ve out at his first 
 appointment, which was in Acts ; '*Re- 
 *pent ye therefore and be converted 
 
14. 
 
 that your sins may be blotted out, 
 etc.,*' the hyma being 
 
 *'0, for a heart to praise my God, 
 
 A heart from sin set free." 
 This text and hymn were so imprint- 
 ed on my memory that I never forgot 
 them. I was as thoroughly converted 
 to him as a man as I should have been 
 to God. No child was ever fonder of 
 home and friends than I, yet I would 
 hive left them all and gone with him. 
 Through his influence the first chapel 
 in this part of the country was built, 
 for the old school house failed to hold 
 his congregation. Here I heard the 
 great William Case, that wonderful In- 
 dian missionary. He preached and ad- 
 dressed our Sabbath School. He spoke 
 of Timothy's early knowledge of the 
 Scriptures and conversion. He dwelt 
 much on the duty of mothers to their 
 children by frequently saying, ''Of 
 whom did he learn this? Of his pious 
 grandmother and his religious mother." 
 The address was a great blessing to 
 the school. We were well supplied 
 with preachers. One of our travelling 
 preachers by the name of Warren mar- 
 ried a daughter of Smith Griffin and 
 received with her a fine farm near 
 his father-in-law, which induced him to 
 leave the ministry and try farming, of 
 which he had no knowledge. This, I 
 believe, finally proved his ruin. We 
 also liad Elder Ryan's son-in-law. I 
 might here mention an incident of 
 Elder Ryan's history. Methodist 
 preachers had no right to perform the 
 ceremony of marriage, but he ventured 
 to marry Mr. Davis, of Westminster, 
 which caused great excitement. H;^ 
 was brought before the court and con- 
 demned to be banished, not to Van Di'^- 
 
 ■v 
 
15. 
 
 man's Land, bat to the United States 
 for 14 years. However he was repriev- 
 ed through the influence of a petition. 
 
 His Father and Family Move into Nissouri 
 
 On our journey from Grimsby to 
 Nissouri we stayed a short time in the 
 neighborhood of the Rynells and form- 
 ed some excellent acquaintances, who 
 proved lasting friends. Oar route was 
 then over the mountain road. ' Hamil- 
 ton at that time comprised only a few 
 houses. We continued on by way of 
 Brantford, which was mostly peopled 
 by Indians. We crossed the river on 
 the ice, there being no bridge ; then 
 through the Burford Plains, which 
 proved to be the finest wheat land in 
 that part of the country, although the 
 settlers all passed it by and sought the 
 timbered bush ; thence to Oxford to the 
 soath branch of the River Thames, fol- 
 lowing it down to Chote's Tavern ; then 
 turning north in the township of IS'is- 
 souri, staying at the farm of Joel Cass, 
 now owned by Asa Cogswell, in Thames- 
 ford. While the rest of, the family 
 were here my brother and I, who were 
 driving the stock, had fallen behind in 
 consequence of one of our sheep tir- 
 ing out. A wedding party overtook us 
 a-nd we hired them to take the sheep 
 to Marten's Tavern. To our great as- 
 tonishment when we got there we 
 found that they had pawned it to treat 
 one another and we were obliged to 
 give as much more or leave the sheep. 
 This was great grief to us for our 
 means were very small. Then we pro- 
 ceeded on till we put up for the night 
 at Carroll's Tavern. In consequence of 
 our oiisfortune with the sheep we con- 
 
16. 
 
 eluded that we could not pay for a 
 bed and intended to make the bar-room 
 floor our bed, and soon fell asleep in 
 our chairs. We were awakened by our 
 good landlady and when we informed 
 her that we could not afford to pay 
 for a bed she insisted that we should 
 go all the same and gave us water 
 to wash our feet. The roads were very 
 bad and our shoes not by any means 
 waterproof. We were very tired, 
 which made us fully appreciate her 
 kindness. We then joined the family 
 at Thamesford. 
 
 We hired a man to take us up to 
 the nearest neighbor to our own lot. 
 This neighbor's name was Chas. Moore. 
 His place was three miles distant from 
 our lot. He and his family, and Fran- 
 cis Bowers and Hugh Davis and their 
 families were settled together. We 
 stayed with Chas. Moore until we get 
 a shanty built on our lot. The shanty 
 in which Moore and his family — consist- 
 ing of himself, his wife and two child- 
 ren—lived was about 12 x 12 feet with- 
 out any chimney for the egress of the 
 smoke which did not very often find 
 its way out. Our family of eight, to- 
 gether with his own and also some 
 fowl, who made it their home, filled 
 up the shanty, yet Mr. Moore tried 
 to make us comfortable — did everything 
 in his power under the circumstances. 
 Here we stayed until we got a shanty 
 built on our own lot. Through the 
 help of Mr. Moore, and his yoke of oxen 
 we finished the shanty and moved in. 
 At this time, although the snow was 
 gone on the roads of Oxford, it was 
 a foot deep in the woods. Our pilot 
 to this lot was the late Robert Davis, 
 who lost his life in the Rebellion of 
 
17 , 
 
 1S37. When the snow left we discov- 
 ered that we had not found the best 
 place for a road and in cutting a new 
 road our dog discovered that there 
 was something hidden at the foot of 
 a large white ash tree. His barking 
 drew our attention and it proved to be 
 a bear and two cubs. We succeeded 
 in killing the bear and one cub and 
 caught the other alive. The flesh of 
 the animal served well for meat and 
 we exchanged the skins and cub for 
 provisions, which were very acceptable. 
 We afterwards felled the tree and 
 split it up, getting a carpenter to 
 make a loom for the family use, which 
 under the circumstances was quite an 
 advantage. Our first work was to try 
 and clear off a piece of land for 
 a spring crop. 
 
 Conditions oi Things in Nissouri at Its 
 
 First Settlement* 
 
 I will now give some account of the 
 condition of things in Nissouri when 
 we first settled in it. At this time . 
 there were but few settlers in the 
 township and they were scattered at 
 great distances apart. There were no 
 &dttlers to the north of us. Four miles 
 to the west there was the Uren Settle- 
 ment ; the late Mr. German had s'^ttled 
 three miles to the east ; and Moore 
 Davis and Bowo lived three miles to 
 the south. The early settlement of 
 Nissouri was very much hindered from 
 the following reasons ;— There were a 
 great many Clergy Reserves, Crown 
 Reserves, Flanker or soldier rights, and 
 fU E. rights in the township. The 
 first two were not in the market and 
 
18 
 
 the owners of the other two were hard 
 to find. Our nearest grist mill and 
 post office was at Ingersoll and our 
 nearest saw-mill was at Pntnamville. 
 All the buildings were made of logs 
 and covered either with the bark peeled 
 off water-elm trees or basswood troughs 
 made by splitting small basswood 
 trees and hollowing them out with an 
 axe. Our first vehicle for taking a 
 grist to mill was a small tree with a 
 crotch dragging behind. A box was 
 formed on it by boring holes in it and 
 patting stakes in the holes. With 
 these we could go through the woods 
 over logs or anywhere. We also had an 
 ox-sleigh with runners made out of a 
 tree ^vith a natural crook. These were 
 the only vehicles we had for a length 
 of time. This state of things existed 
 for several years and made it very in- 
 convenient to get to our neighbors and 
 mills. When we commenced to raise 
 grain the only way we had of cleaning 
 it was with a hand fan. Any quan- 
 tity of cattle could be kept in the 
 summer time, the vast wilderness af- 
 foraiDg them plenty of pasture, but 
 it was very different keeping them 
 through the winter on account of the 
 scarcity of winter feed. We often had 
 to resort to browsing them by felling 
 trees and allowing the cattle to eat 
 the .voung growth off the ends of the 
 branches. It was impossible to keep 
 a sheep on account of the prowling wolf. 
 Articles of clothing were very dear and 
 hard to be got. On account of the 
 scarcity and costliness of leather, shoes 
 were hard to be got for the winter ; 
 boots were not to be thought of. In 
 summer neither men nor women ever 
 thought of wearing any. Of course the 
 
liO 
 
 large nettles and mosquitoes which 
 were very plentiful in the woods were 
 a great annoyance to barefooted people. 
 Calico and brown cotton were sold at 
 the exhorbltant price of fifty cents per 
 yard, so, as soon as we could, we raised 
 flax and made our own linen. As it 
 was a great place for making maple 
 sugar we took it into the more open 
 country and sold it and bought wool. 
 We manufactured it ourselves together 
 with the linen, wearing the woollen 
 as it came from the loom. It will not 
 be thought strange that under these 
 circumstances we sometimes suffered 
 from hunger and cold. There were no 
 newspapers taken among us and books 
 .were scarce, therefore the only way we 
 had of enjoying ourselves was by meet- 
 ing together. The first thing we had 
 to sell was black salts made out of 
 the ashes of the timber we burned in 
 clearing the land. 
 
 Religious Privileges in the Pioneer Days 
 
 of NissouH* 
 
 As we were now settled in an almost 
 unbroken wilderness,* isolated, as it 
 were, from all society, the effect on 
 us, who had just removed from the 
 privileges of Sabbath School and the 
 preaching of (he Gospel can be better 
 imagined than described. When I 
 tell that for three years we lived with- 
 out hearing a sermon it will not be 
 thought strange that we became care- 
 less and indifferent about religious 
 matters. My brother and I, William 
 and Thomas Uren, living at what is 
 now called Cherry Grove, Thomas and 
 Alonza Hall who lived at what is 
 now Thorndale, and Robert and Joseph 
 
20 
 
 Davis, living three miles to the South 
 of us, formed the society of young 
 men in this part of the township. In 
 these days we were obliged to go long 
 distances to get help for our raisings 
 and bees and as we were often obliged 
 to stay over night we became very in- 
 tima^ly acquainted. Generally we 
 spent the night in a spree, dancing to 
 the sound of the fiddle. As whiskey 
 was then king, a considerable quantity 
 of it was generally consumed and it was 
 not considered proper etiquette to leave 
 until the whiskey was all drank. At a 
 marriage in our own family twelve 
 gallons of whiskey and one gallon of 
 rum were provided. As bees and rais- 
 ings did not happen very often, we made 
 appointments to meet on Sundays and 
 spent the day in playing ball and cards 
 and" other amusements. The climax 
 was reached when we made a bee on 
 Sunday to mow a meadow in the south- 
 east corner of London Township, now 
 called Dreaney's Corners. Thus it will 
 be easily seen how soon people removed 
 from under religious influences, will 
 become hardened in sin. 
 
 The first wedding in the township 
 was that of the late Donald McDonald 
 to Miss Sarah Cameron, sister of the 
 later Squire Cameron. They were 
 married by the late Charles Ingersoll, 
 J. P., at the house of Mr. O'Brien, step- 
 father of the groom. Most of the young 
 people of the township were invited. It 
 was a genuine Scotch wedding and the 
 Scotch reel was first introduced to my 
 notice. It would amuse the young dan- 
 dies of the present day to have seen 
 some of the elderly men dancing reels 
 clad in buck-skin breeches and tow 
 shirts. It was customary in those days 
 
21 
 
 to have whiskey on all occasions and so 
 father said he could not raise his barn 
 without it. About that time a man 
 by (he name of George Coleman moved 
 in and settled about four miles from 
 us. He had whiskey for sale for labor 
 and so we procured three gallons from 
 him. As he was very fond of it himself 
 he concluded to help us home with the 
 article, but it was all drank on the road 
 and never reached my father's house, 
 so he had to raise his barn without it. 
 The first death in the township was 
 the late Hugh Davis, father of Robert 
 and Joseph Davis. He was killed by 
 the falling of a tree. The first sermon 
 I heard in this township was in old 
 Mr. Comstock's barn on lot 13, on the 
 3rd concession. It was preached by a 
 Jeffries, a Christian Unitarian minis- 
 ter, who turned out to be an impostor. 
 Pre\ious to this I think some Metho- 
 dist ministers from London Township 
 had preached in the Scatcherd neigh- 
 borhood and fQrmed a class and John 
 Scatcherd and wife had opened a Sun- 
 day School in their house, the scholars 
 coming to it from many miles around. 
 Many years after this I met a lady 
 who informed me that, she would 
 never h ve been able to read the Bible 
 had it not been for that Sunday School. 
 The first ministers that came were 
 two Baptist missionaries. Elders May- 
 bee and French, sent by some Christ- 
 iaii ladies of the Township of Oxford. 
 They were paid in socks, mittens and 
 some home>made clothing. Their lab- 
 ors were rewarded by a Baptist church 
 being formed of several persons in the 
 Vining settlement and Solomon Vin- 
 ing finally became their minister. The 
 first sermon I heard of them was 
 
22 
 
 preached by Elder Maybee I'n a shanty 
 occupied by the late John Uren, sr. 
 His text was, "I am come to get a 
 bride for my master, if ye deal kindly 
 and truly with me, tell me, and if not 
 teJJ me that I may turn to the right 
 or the left." These were the words of 
 Isaac's servant to Rebecca. He ad- 
 dressed the audience, telling them that 
 he was on the same errand as Isaac's 
 servant, seeking a bride for his Master 
 Jesus and then impressed the neces- 
 sity of giving ourselves to God. I be- 
 came deeply awakened while he por- 
 trayed our real lost condition as sin- 
 ners. "You must come to Christ to 
 bo his bride and if you do not come 
 I am clear of my oath" he said. I felt 
 he was a messenger from God and if 
 I did not come to Him I would be lost. 
 I then and there resolved to give my 
 heart to God. Though Calvinistic in 
 doctrine, he preached free agency. "If 
 ye will ye may." Though deeply con- 
 victed, yet it was some time afterward 
 before I experienced a change of heart. 
 
 His Conyersion and union with the 
 
 Methodist Church. 
 
 About this time a Methodist preach- 
 er by the name of Matthew Whiting, 
 
 stationed on the London circuit, took 
 up an appointment at the house of 
 Francis Bowers, sr., and another at the 
 shanty of John Uren, sr., who, with 
 his wife, had been for many years mem- 
 bers of the Methodist church in Corn- 
 wall, England, but had fallen into a 
 backslidden state as they had been for 
 a number of years in the wilderness 
 without any means of grace. My father 
 
23 
 
 and mother also were in a backslidden 
 state from the same cause. They had 
 formerl3' been members of a Methodist 
 Episcopal Church in Lower Canada. 
 Mr. Whiting formed a Methodist class 
 consisting of John Uren, his wife and 
 daughter, my father and mother, 
 George Garner, William Uren and his 
 wife, my brother James ttad I, with 
 the late John Scatcherd, Esq., for our 
 leader. After Mr. Whiting, John H. 
 Hueston was the next preacher on the 
 London circuit. He took up a regular 
 appointment at Father Uren's, now 
 called Cherry Grove, and another at 
 my father's house, now called Brown's 
 neighborhood, also a new appointment 
 at E. Hiram Ferris', in what is now the 
 Johnston neighborhood, forming a 
 smaJl class of Mrs. Fer: ss, Mrs. J. 
 Johnston, Mr. James Howard and his 
 wife. At this time our Quarterly Meet- 
 ings were held in the frame school- 
 house in the Jacobs Settlement in the 
 Township of London and at one of these 
 meetings the Sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper was administered. As the con- 
 gregation were singing the hymn 
 "Crowd to your places at the feast 
 And bless the Founder's name," 
 I felt a desire to go forward, but was 
 restrained by the fear that I was un- 
 worthy. I told my desires to the late 
 Rev. John Bailey. He said in reply, 
 "My dear young brother, venture on 
 Him, venture freely, let no other trust 
 intrude." I went forward and have 
 never regretted the step I then took. 
 At this time I had not received satis- 
 factory evidence of my acceptance with 
 God. I failed not in using every means 
 of grace to obtain more light and know- 
 ledge of what is a Christian's privil- 
 
24 , 
 
 ege. A Cantf) Meeting was held this 
 year on the farm of Aaron Kilborn, 
 near the place now called Lambeth. At 
 this meeting, after public preaching, a 
 rude altar was formed with crotched 
 sticks diiven into the ground with 
 poles laid across them, making a square 
 with the ministers in the centre and 
 the members and seekers kneeling on 
 the outside. As I took no part in 
 these prayer-meetings they appeared to 
 me to be a scene of confusion. The 
 people were all praying at once and as 
 I wag in rather a cold spirit, the longer 
 I looked the more hardened I became. 
 I had gone to this meeting fully con- 
 vinced that I was a Methodist, but 1 
 thought if this was Methodist worship 
 I was not a Methodist. 1 said to my 
 young brother, George Garner, who ac- 
 companied me from Nissouri, "If 1 live 
 till to-morrow morning I will start for 
 home." I am convinced that my pas- 
 tor, the Rev. J. H. Hueston, above re- 
 ferred to, knew the state of mind in 
 which I was frpm my dejected looks. 
 The next prayer meeting was to be held 
 that evening at five o'clock. He invited 
 me to come forward and kneel with the 
 brethren at the altar. As I had great 
 respect for him, I thought 1 must 
 obey him. He called on me to lead in 
 prayer and I had hardly opened my 
 mouth when the Lord so abundantly 
 blessed me that I could not contain 
 myself. I sprang to my feet, clapping 
 my hands and shouting at the top of 
 my voice, "Glory to God!" At this 
 moment Sister Williams, of precious 
 memory, was so pleased with what the 
 Lord had done for me that she arose 
 and coming behind me put her arms 
 
25 
 
 around my neck and mingled her shouts 
 with mine. I was so happy that I hard- 
 ly knew whether I was in the body or 
 out of the body. I believe 1 then ex- 
 perienced what Paul said, "But ye are 
 justified, ye are sanctified." 
 
 In that same meeting a young wo- 
 man, a Miss Stafford, experienced re- 
 ligion and how to shout. Different peo- 
 ple are differently exercised by the 
 same Spirit. I will here relate that 
 she fell and lay for some time as one 
 dead and when she recovered con- 
 sciousness the first words she uttered 
 were "Glory to God !" She afterwards 
 became the wife of Eli Harris, third son 
 of the late Daniel Harris, of Harris St., 
 Oxford, and her subsequent life prov- 
 ed that her conversion was genuine, as 
 she lived and died in the triumphs of 
 Christian faith. Her husband now re- 
 sides in Norwich. 
 
 After the meeting broke up I found 
 that my horse had been stolen from 
 the pasture where I had left it, but 
 I had often felt worse grieved when 
 I was a little boy fishing in the brook 
 and losing my hook, than I did now at 
 the loss of my horse, i took the horse 
 that brother Garner had ridden and 
 started for home, making diligent en- 
 quiry after my own horse. I saw a 
 large common and a man at work 
 among the logs that covered it. I 
 turned from the road and went up to 
 him. Before asking him if he had seen 
 a stray horse I asked him if he had 
 ever attended a Camp Meeting, and as 
 he stared at mo as if he thought I was 
 crazy, I told him my late experience 
 and that if he would attend one he 
 might obtain a like blessing. I then 
 asked him if he had seen a stray horse. 
 
26 
 
 As I proceeded on my way I found no 
 tidings of my lost horse. Having to 
 p^ss through the woods I was preach- 
 ing to the trees as 1 went along and 
 there happened to be an old man by the 
 name of Cummings, a blacksmith, who, 
 hearing my voice, placed himself in aln- 
 bush so that I did not see him. He 
 afterwards told the neighbors that 
 young Brown meant to be a preacher 
 for he had heard him trying to preach 
 to the trees. I reached home without 
 hearing any tidings of my horse. After 
 resting one night 1 started in pursuit 
 of him and found him feeding on the 
 roadside in the Township of Dorchester, 
 near Putnam's saw-mill. Some lads 
 who had attended the meeting had 
 stolen it, together with another man s 
 saddle and bridle. The saddle and 
 bridle were found a few weeks after- 
 wards by some berry-pickers in a 
 fence-corner, near where the horse was. 
 I continued to believe for a length of 
 time that all whom I should tell would 
 beiieve and seek the same blessing and 
 was astonished that they did not. For 
 to me the trees and all the works of 
 God seemed to praise Him. Old things 
 were done away and ail things were 
 become new. 
 
 His First Labors as a W^orker in 
 
 the Church. 
 
 The next Conference year we had 
 Hamilton Biggar for our preacher. He 
 was a fine young man, a good preacher, 
 and did us excellent service. Our Pre- 
 siding Elder was the late John Ryerson. 
 About this time the late John Scat- 
 cherd, Esq., built a meeting-house at 
 his own expense, at what is now called 
 
27 
 
 Wyton, it being the first M. E. Church 
 in this western country. This man, 
 being wealthy, his praise for building 
 a church was sounded in all the 
 churches. Strange to say in the course 
 of a few years this church was s61d 
 and became a tavern, to the great an- 
 noyance of all well-wishers of religion. 
 It has often been remarked by friends 
 that it would have been better if the 
 church had been burned down. 
 
 After an absence of a few years, 
 Matthew Whiting was returned to this 
 circuit, to the great enjoyment of his 
 friends. He continued to be the same 
 successful man on this circuit that he 
 had been in former years. He extend- 
 ed his labors by forming a new class on 
 the townline between Nissouri and 
 Zorra, ten miles south-east from my 
 place, preaching at the widow Talma n's, 
 near the late Nathan P. Allen's, and 
 afterwards preaching at the house of 
 John Youngs, two miles further south, 
 where the class met. Some of the first 
 members were Nathan P. Allen and 
 wife, John Youngs and wife, widow Tal 
 man, John Fletcher and wife and the 
 late Benjamin Thornton and wife. 
 This afterwards became a large- class. 
 I was appointed leader of this class, 
 which position I held for over two 
 years. 1 seldom or never was absent 
 from my class, though I performed 
 the journey on foot and in a few in- 
 stances I attended their Thursday even- 
 ing prayer-meeting. It is hardly 
 creditable to some that I would go to 
 a prayer-meeting on foot ten miles. 
 
 i received my first, license for an 
 exhorter from this minister and be- 
 fore he had left the circuit he said to 
 me one (?ay, **Brown, the people say you 
 
28 
 
 have been preaching, but you know 
 some people call anything preaching." 
 I thought he was speaking ironically. 
 This was in the year 1829. In this 
 year the Guardian was first printed. 
 I took the first number and continued 
 taking it until the year 1833. My 
 brother also took it. ^^out tljis time 
 Cobourg College was first started to 
 which my brother and I gave $10 each 
 The amount seems small, but in those 
 days it was considered a big subscrip- 
 tion for backwoods people. 
 
 He Joins the First Temperance Society Ever 
 Formed in Nissouri and in Gmada. 
 
 IMr. Whiting formed the first Tem- 
 perance Society in the township. Hp 
 drew up a constitution, the main art- 
 icle of which was what was afterwards 
 called the "short-pledge," viz., to ab- 
 stain from the use of ardent spirit* 
 ourselves and to use our influence with 
 others for the same purpose. He ask- 
 ed me to join it. I hesitated at first, 
 but after some consideration I con- 
 cluded I would. But we were some- 
 thing like the blind man whom the 
 Savior healed, who at first saw men as 
 trees walking, we only had our eyes 
 half opened. We found that nothing 
 short of total abstinence would do and 
 the total abstinence pledge soon fol- 
 lowed. The members of our first so- 
 ciety were Joseph Brown, sr., Nathan 
 P. Allen, George and John Grout, Step- 
 hen Teeple, William and Thomas Uren, 
 Robert Davis, Turneley May, my bro 
 ther James and I. I have since learn- 
 ed that this was the first temperance 
 society ever formed in Canada. The 
 next was formed in the Township of 
 
29 
 
 London, the next in the town, now the 
 Citj' of London. 
 
 Opposition to the Temperance Work* 
 
 I had never dreamt that anyone 
 would oppose such a society, but the 
 very first raising that I attended after 
 signing the pledge was at a farm, the 
 owner of which had procured (as was 
 
 the custom) plenty of whiskey. I was 
 not aware that it was generally known 
 that I had signed the pledge, but I 
 had not been there very long when a 
 man offered me a bottle of whiskey, 
 wishing me to drink, and when I re- 
 fused he said I should drink if he 
 poured it down my throat. I resisted 
 him and in the scuffle he let the bottle 
 fall and it broke. He then made a 
 great outcry, saying that I struck him 
 and was ready to fight, saying also 
 that it was a pretty way for a Metho- 
 dist preacher to act. This, Iiowever, 
 was not the end of it, for when the 
 barn was raised and supper was over, 
 a young man seated himself on the 
 fence and called the attention of the 
 crowd by telling them that he wanted 
 to sing tftem a song, that had been 
 lately composed. The name of "Tom 
 Brown," as I was then familiarly call- 
 ed, figured prominently in this effu- 
 sion and it was about the terrible ef- 
 fects of cold water. It told of a man 
 who had refused to drink whiskey and 
 eaid that the doctors had cut ice out 
 of him after he died. I went home 
 from the place with a very heavy heart, 
 feeling as if I were disgraced and em- 
 braced the first opportunity of letting 
 my pastor know what had happened. 
 To my great astonishment he said, "Oh, 
 
30 
 
 my dear brother, I wish it had been 
 me instead of you for then I could have 
 said with David, *I am become the song 
 of the drunkard." 
 
 Religious Persecution 
 
 I might here relate an incident or 
 two to show the spirit of persecution 
 which existed in a certain class against 
 anything of a religious nature. An 
 evil-disposed person reported that I had 
 torn the cap off an old lady and other- 
 wise ill-treated her, (I had happened 
 to be present at a family quarrel, but 
 had no part in it whatever.) He also 
 reported that I had stolen an Indian's 
 canoe on the north branch of the river 
 Thames, which was also a malicious fab- 
 rication. This gave me great trouble 
 of mind, but one day as 1 was travel- 
 ling in the woods and grieving over it, 
 these words of Christ to his disciples 
 came to my mind, "Blessed are ye when 
 men shall revile you and persecute 
 you, and shall say all manner of evil 
 against you falsely for my sake. Re- 
 joice and be exceeding glad for great 
 is your reward in Heaven, for so perse- 
 cuted they the prophets which were 
 before you." These words were like 
 an electric flash and the transition 
 from grief to joy was instantaneous. 
 I went on my way rejoicing and prais- 
 ing God who giveth us the victory 
 through His son, Jesus Christ. 
 
 Defeat of the Whiskey Men« 
 
 About this time there was a great 
 strife among the whiskey men to keep 
 up the old custom of having whiskey 
 at bees and raisings. One of our 
 staunch temperance men, Stephen H. 
 
31 
 
 Teeple, residing on the (governor's 
 Road, was determined to raise his barn 
 without it and invited his neighbors 
 with that understanding. They turned 
 out weil, but had secretly determined 
 to have it there. When the foundation 
 was Jaid and the bents all ready to 
 raise they placed themselves in readi- 
 ness to raise the first bent and then 
 pretended that it could not be raised 
 unless he sent for whiskey. They offered 
 to purchase it themselves and send a 
 man for it but he stoutly refused and 
 finally the men left the barn unraised. 
 The next day Teeple went to all the 
 temperance friends through Nissouri 
 and Oxford, and they turned out and 
 raised the barn without any difficulty 
 to the great chargin of the whiskey 
 men and the joy of the temperance 
 party, a good many of whom deter- 
 mined not to go where it was and not 
 to have it at any of their raisings. 
 
 He Becomes a Reformer in Politics* 
 
 My first knowledge of the political 
 questions of the day were got by read- 
 ing the Christian Guardian of which 
 Egerton Ryerson was then the editor. 
 He took a strong stand in favor of the 
 Reform Party. He specially made a 
 strong opposition to the claims which 
 were then put forth by the Church of 
 England to be recognized and support- 
 ed by the State in preference to all 
 other denominations. He showed that 
 that church had a monopoly for her 
 ministers, claimed the Clergy Reserves. 
 Betidas that thoy drew large amounts 
 of money from the Government and 
 they alone had the power to marry ex- 
 cept where Magistrates had the power 
 if no church of England was within 18 
 
32 
 
 miles. Mr. afterward Bishop Strachan, 
 wrote in defence of the claims 
 put forth by the Church of Engljgad. 
 The 1 etters of controversy between the 
 two were published in pamphlet form 
 and distributed among the people. It 
 is evident that the large majority of 
 the people endorsed Ryerson's views for 
 the law was changed so that all clergy- 
 men had the right to marry, the clergy 
 reserves were secularized, and finally 
 the Church of England was placed on a 
 comnlon footing with other churches, 
 the Government of Canada adopting the 
 principle of "equal rights to all and 
 special privileges to none." I em- 
 braced Ryerson's views and have never 
 seen any good reason to change. 
 However, strange to say, when Ryer- 
 8on went to England in 1833 to form? a 
 union with the English Wesleyan 
 Methodist Conference, after having 
 fought and won the battle of Reform, 
 he changed his views and took Govern- 
 ment money in support of the new 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church of Canada 
 and became a Conservative in politics, 
 taking no part with the Reformers nor 
 in the temperance movement. 
 
 The Union of 1833* 
 
 The Canada Conference of the Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church, which was at 
 first in connection with the parent 
 body in the United States, had in 1828, 
 become a separate and independent 
 Canadian Church ; but in 1833 a union 
 was formed between it and the Brit- 
 ish Wesleyan Methodist Church, the 
 new church calling themselves the 
 Wesleyan Methodist Church of British 
 North America. Some radical changes 
 were effected in connection with the 
 
38 . 
 
 union, the principal being the doing 
 away with the Episcopacy and depriv- 
 ing the local preachers of the rights 
 and privileges they formerly enjoyed. 
 The large majority of the Conference 
 in Canada went with the Union, al- 
 though it was much against the will of 
 some of the oldest men of the confer- 
 ence, and when the full details of the 
 Union were known they left. The 
 few travelling preachers, local preach- 
 ers and the laity who resisted the 
 union from the beginning numbered 
 about 1,0 0. They suffered many pri- 
 vations and much opposition from the 
 party which had left and united with 
 the new church, al hough still remain- 
 ing Episcopal Methodist and using the 
 old Discipline and hymn book. We 
 were not allowed to hold divine ser- 
 vice? in any of the old meeting houses, 
 school houses, barns and woods. Un- 
 der those circumstances many of our 
 local preachers left their homes and 
 took circuits. One of these local 
 preachers, John Nixon, was appointed 
 to the London Circuit, and on his way 
 to an appointment met Richard 
 Phelps (he being one of the "Wesley an 
 preachers) who accosted him thus; 
 "What do you expect to make from 
 this opposition." I will tell you the 
 course I purpose taking toward you. 
 It is this. If you visit me I will ask 
 you to pray in the family, but if we 
 meet in public sservice I'll not ask you 
 to pray, neither do I want you to ask 
 me." Not long after I met this Ox- 
 ford preache-x' at a friend's house. We 
 stayed together all night. In course 
 of our conversation in talking over the 
 Union I asked him if he was instruc- 
 ted by the Byeraon party to treat all 
 
i i 34 , 
 
 the Episcopal Methodist preachers as 
 he had Brother Nixon. He stoutly 
 denied it, but after several hours ocn> 
 versation in regard to the nature bf 
 the Union, he completely gave way to 
 his feelings and weeping, threw his 
 arms about my neck, saying that he 
 was surprised so many of the laity 
 freely gave up their own church by 
 joining the Wesleyans and a new class. 
 Notwithstanding all this our local 
 preachers continued to labor on, build- 
 ing churches and forming societies, 
 God blessing their labors, souls being 
 converted, until the circuits which 
 then travelled have now become dis- 
 tricts for presiding elders. For several 
 years after the union the Wesleyans 
 supplied no preachers for the following 
 places. East and West Nissouri, Blan- 
 shard, Fullarton, Biddulph, and as 
 far as Mitchell. The first meeting 
 held in St. Marys was organized by 
 myself. It was held in a shanty be- 
 longing to George Treacy, and then in 
 Joshua Brink's and other shanties all 
 through the settlement. But the time 
 came when the Wesleyans were sup- 
 plied with men and money to take up 
 the work in these fields. When the 
 Wesleyans formed classes the emi- 
 grants from the Old Country natur- 
 ally united, with their former church. 
 Our missionaries' and ministers' la- 
 bors were not lost, though many who 
 were converted under their ministry 
 went into other churches. We are 
 
 acknowledged to be the pioneers in 
 laying out the work in the above men- 
 tioned places. The case in other parts 
 of Canada was very different. As a 
 church we have continued to prosper 
 in all church enterprises equal to 
 
35 
 
 otber branches of Methodism. The 
 class formed by Rev. Mr. Whiting in 
 1829 on the townline between Nissouri 
 and Zorra, called the Allen class, has 
 now a good brick church. Nathan P. 
 Allan was one of the first members of 
 that class. His wife is now the only 
 surviving member of that class. A part 
 of that same class came to Kintore, 
 forming a separate appointment which 
 has now a few faithful members and 
 a comfortable frame church. 
 
 He Marries Amanda Harris. 
 
 In 1830 I was married by the late 
 Peter Teeple, Esq., to Amanda Harris, 
 second daughter of Elisha Harris, Esq., 
 of Harris Street, Oxford. His father 
 was one of the earliest settlers who 
 came in with Col. Ingersoll, father of 
 James Ingersoll, of Woodstock, in the 
 latter part of the eighteenth century, 
 taking up a large tract of land. Hav- 
 ing a large family he gave each of 
 them a farm in that locality which is 
 is now known by the name of Harris 
 Street. At one time the Harris fam- 
 ily were all members of the fiaptist 
 church, though afterwards some of 
 them united with Other churches; but 
 time has removed them to that coun- 
 try where denominational creeds are 
 unknown. With the exception of Col. 
 J. Ingersoll, all the Ingersoll family 
 have passed away and fi^^ally all the 
 early settlers and many of their chil- 
 dren of the County of Oxford are gone 
 the way of all the earth. 
 
 The Village of Ingersoll. 
 
 The village of Ingersoll was formed 
 in 1822 by Ingersoll, Daniel Carrol and 
 Benjamin Loomis. The late Charles 
 
36 
 
 and James IngersoU had the first store 
 in this part of the country, a small 
 grist-mill, distillery, and ashery, mak- 
 ing pearl ash, buying the ashes or black 
 salts from the early settlers of Zorra 
 and Nissouri. By this opening the 
 people could procure tea, tobacco, salt 
 and whiskey. It was a great accommo- 
 dation to the early settlers who had 
 not much money or surplus i^rain. 
 Those gentlemen were very accommoda- 
 ting to their customers by giving them 
 credit until they could furnish the 
 black-salts. At one. time when there 
 was a scarcity of gram, they bought 
 up a quantity from the older farmers 
 and supplied the new settlers with it. 
 They purchased a quantity of corn 
 from a man of the name of G. Nichols. 
 When we went with our order for this 
 corn and went for it, we had to shell 
 it ourselves. 
 
 I remember the first load of black 
 salts I drew to Ingersoll on an ox-sleigh 
 with a yoke of oxen. It was in the 
 month of June and it took about four 
 da/s to make the trip. There was about 
 two cwt. in the load. They were worth 
 about |2.50 per cwt. In exchange we 
 got brown cotton and prints at 50c. 
 per yard and othet commodities it an 
 equally dear rate. What a change to 
 the present day when cottons can be 
 bought for 5 cents and prints at 10 
 cents per yard with gravel roads, com- 
 fortable wagons and buggies, drawn by 
 horses, thriving villages only a few 
 miles apart and good markets for all 
 our produce. 
 
 Backward State of Nissouri. 
 
 From 1822 to 1830 there was very 
 little improvement in roads or settle- 
 
37 
 
 ment. For the first two or three 
 years there were no township meet- 
 ings or officers, so that there were no 
 taxes levied and in consequence of the 
 few inhabitants being scattered so far 
 apart no public schools were organ- 
 ized. The first school that I know of 
 was taught by a superanuated Pres- 
 byterian minister in the Cameron 
 neighborhood at a private house where 
 a few young persons received all their 
 education. School houses and meeting 
 houses were not known. 
 
 John and Thomas Scatcher d 
 
 Among the early settlers of this 
 township who have remained and borne 
 patiently the hardships incident to set- 
 tling in a new country, been indus- 
 trious and have succeeded in making 
 comfortable homes for themselves and 
 their children, and who have been the 
 leading m^^n in church and state are 
 John Scatcherd, Esq., an Englishman, 
 settling in the south-west part of the 
 township and his brother Thomas, 
 who purchased land adjoiniag his 
 brother, both of them marrying sis- 
 terpi, the Misses Far leys, whose father 
 had settled in that locality a few 
 months previous. The way of finding 
 the road from one home to another 
 was by trees marked with an axe, call- 
 ed a "blaze." Scatcherd had no other 
 way of finding the road to Farleys' 
 but was told to follow the ''blaze." 
 He supposed the marks on the trees 
 were those of fire. This gave him a 
 great deal of trouble until he was bet- 
 ter informed; he often laughed at his 
 ignorance of bush-life. 
 
 These gentlemen brought a great f'eal 
 of money into this country, which 
 
enabled them to outstrip their neigh- 
 bors in clearing and improving their 
 farms. Their wealth was a great bene- 
 fit to their neighbors and country by 
 giving money in pay for labor. They 
 soon had a cleared farm and comfort- 
 able buildings, having the first frame 
 barn that was built in the township 
 Xn order to raise their building at that 
 time they had to go many miles for 
 sufficient help. 
 
 After clearing their farms they 
 erected a grist-mill and a saw-mill, 
 which wece a great benefit to the sur- 
 . rounding sc^ttlers. Both of them 
 raised large and respectable families, 
 90|ne of whom have filled important 
 positions in society. John's eldest son 
 Thomas chqse law rather than farm- 
 ing, practicing his profession in the 
 City of London until his death. He 
 was one of the most honorable men who 
 ever graced the profession. He was a 
 member of the Canadian Parliament, 
 representing the County of Middle- 
 sex with distinguished ability. He died 
 at Ottawa by overtasking his physical 
 strengtl), honored and mourned by all, 
 and leaving a wife and two sons who 
 are following their father's profes- 
 sion. They are in comfortable circum- 
 stances. The second son, James N., 
 settled in the City of Buffalo when 
 young, engaging in the lun^ber trade 
 vtrlth one Dr. Blockley, of Woodstock, 
 Ont. By his industry and attention to 
 business he finally became the sole pro 
 prietor of the firm, becoming one of 
 the wealthiest and most honorable man 
 of the city. His wife was a daughter 
 of the late George Belton, Esq., who 
 was a neighbor of his father. He has 
 
now one son in partnership with him 
 in the business. ( 
 
 John Scatcherd, Esq< 
 
 John Scatcherd, Esq., when he first 
 settled in the township, was rathei 
 unsociable and distant. He had been 
 brought up in the Church of England 
 and so strong was his attachment to 
 that church that when his sons, Ihomas 
 and James, were babes he took them 
 to St. Thomas to have them baptized 
 by a Church of England minister. 
 Shortly afterward his father-in-law, 
 the late Mr. Farley, died. As there was 
 no regular minister in this part of the 
 country, Mr. Robert Webster, father of 
 the Webster family, now living in the 
 Township and City of London, who was 
 an exhorter in the M. E. Church, was 
 called upon to conduct the burial ser- 
 vice. He made a strong appeal to the 
 audience on the necessity of a new 
 birth. God, by His Spirit, carried home 
 that truth to John Scatcherd's Heart. 
 His conviction of sin and his sad state 
 were so great that he at one time 
 thought of killing himself and wife. 
 The neighbors thought he was losing 
 his mind and considered it would ^ 
 best to consult a doctor. He conclud- 
 ed finally to tell his wife, and calling 
 her by name, said "Jane, do you know 
 that I intended to kill you and my- 
 self?" She replied, looking smiling- 
 ly into his face, "John, you wouldn't 
 kill me." This was the very climas of 
 his deep conviction and shortly after 
 in fervent prayer he experienced the 
 blessing of God, realizing the truth 
 that "man's necessity is God's oppor- 
 tunity and bid him at the point to 
 die, behold His face and live." Never 
 
■ i 40 , ! 
 
 in any man was there a more visible 
 change in looks and actions. With 
 him it was true, *'01d things are passed 
 away and all things are become new." 
 A Methodist travelling preacher soon 
 found his way to that neighborhood 
 and lormied a society that exists to this 
 day. So great was his zeal for God 
 that, having means, he built a church 
 on his own farm with hardly any sup- 
 port from others. Strange to tell 
 this church fell into disuse, went out 
 of his hands and finally was used sev- 
 eral years as a tavern, to the great 
 mortification of himself, family and all 
 Methodist friends. But, happy to say, 
 now there is a good brick church in 
 the same village, having regular 
 preaching and a good class. Both of 
 the Messrs. Scatcherds have raised very 
 respectable families. Thomas and 
 some of both of the families are still 
 living in part of the old homestead. 
 The place is now called Wyton. 
 
 John Scatcherd was a strong politi- 
 cian, taking the Liberal side and being 
 a man of more than ordinary talents 
 he soon became Councillor, Reeve and 
 Warden for the County and finally a 
 member of the Canadian Parliament. 
 
 Esquire John Scntcherd, his family 
 nnd himself had always been special 
 friends. As an evidence of this J as 
 Fca*cherd now of Buffalo, brought his 
 children to his father's home, prefer- 
 ring to have myself to baptize them. 
 Besides myself, my wife and many of 
 his old friends were invited to be pre- 
 sent at the baptismal service. It was 
 certTinly a very social, as wpII as re- 
 ligious gathering. His wife's father, 
 Mr. B'^.Uon, siid that any of the Bish- 
 ops of the M. E. church in the United 
 
41 
 
 States woald have been pleased to have 
 performed the ceremony for so honor- 
 able a man. This was in the year 1860. 
 Besides giving me ^4.00 as a present 
 to myself, he gave me the first ^10.00 
 raised for the erection of a church in 
 these parts. 
 
 Esquire John Scatcherd was taken 
 ilJ at Ottawa, while attending to his 
 Parliamentary duties. His room mate 
 being a doctor he applied to him for 
 help. The doctor did not speak dis- 
 couragingly of his case, yet, strange 
 to say, he wrote home to Scatcherd's 
 wife and died in his chair before fin- 
 ishing the letter. The last words he 
 had written to her were "Scatcherd will 
 never get well." This affected him 
 so much that he started and came 
 home. He never left his own house 
 again until he died. I shall never for- 
 get the cordial reception I received 
 from him. In the course of our con- 
 versation he expressed himself as never 
 expecting to recover. One of his legs 
 was so paralyzed that he had no power 
 to move it and the disease continued 
 to work up until il^ took his life. Thus 
 passed away one of the noblest men 
 of the township of Nissouri. It is 
 men like him who have made Nissouri 
 what it is as regards religion and all 
 other improvements. 
 
 The Vining Family 
 
 Among the early settlers of Nissouri 
 were the Vinings — two brothers, Jared 
 and Zalmon. These two brothers, like 
 the Scatcherds, settled on adjoining 
 farms. They came from New York. 
 State, U. S. Zalmon was a soldier in 
 the war of 1812 and for hb\ services 
 in that war, drew from the United 
 
 IMiiiiyHiHfeMiHBH 
 
• i 42 , i 
 
 States Government lands, located in 
 Michigan, not many years ago. Not- 
 withstanding this soon after the y^rar 
 they preferred settling in Canada to 
 their own country. They were sons of 
 a Baptist minister. They both mar- 
 ried sisters of the late Captain Bod- 
 weli, of Dereham. Both they and their 
 
 wives were of more than ordinary tal- 
 ent. A few years dfter their set- 
 tling in Nissouri two missionaries, 
 Elders Maybee and French, were sent 
 to labor in Nissonri by the Christian 
 ladies of the Baptist church in Oxford, 
 who, having no money, paid them with 
 coats, socks, and other home-made 
 clothing. The labors of these mission- 
 aries were not vain for the word was 
 blessed and many were awakened and 
 converted and among the converts 
 were Vinings. Though the Christian 
 ladies and the missionaries are long 
 since gone the way of all the earth, 
 yet "Blessed are the dead which die 
 in the Lord for they rest from their 
 labors and their works do follow them." 
 A Baptist church was formed in the 
 Vining neighborhood and these brother? 
 were leading spirits in it. The elder 
 brother Jared became the Deacon an^ 
 Zalmon soon became the minister; he 
 was of more than ordinary talent for 
 preaching. This church has had its 
 difficulties like all other churches. 
 Though these brothers have passed 
 away to their reward, there still re- 
 mains a Baptist congregation in that 
 locality with a fine brick church ; 
 many of the children and grandchil- 
 dren of the two Vining brothers are 
 members of it. ... 
 
43 
 
 Nathan p. Allen 
 
 The late Nathan P. Allen, who seem- 
 ed to be providentially thrown as an 
 early settler q£ this township, was a 
 native of Cherry Valley, New 'Xork 
 State. He had a pious bringing up by 
 an excellent mother. She was a mein- 
 ber o£ the Presbyterian church and a 
 strong Calvinist. Her son being of a 
 religious turn of mind would natur- 
 ally lean to her way of thinking in 
 these things. When he was leaving 
 home she cautioned him to beware of 
 the Methodists and tiieir doctrine and 
 selected a number of books for him to 
 read to guard him against any false 
 doctrine and establish him in the Cal- 
 vinidtic faith- Through some mistake 
 in packing the books she put in one 
 that taught an unlimited atonement 
 and free grace for all. He then married 
 and moved into Nissouri, where there 
 were no meetings nor periodicals to be 
 had. fUbder these circumstances he 
 found the books very useful to. read 
 duriji^ his leisure time. Being a good 
 English scholar and a man of more than 
 ordinary intelligence, when he came to 
 the above mentioned book and read its 
 title page he hesitated to read it, but 
 after reading all the others he finally 
 concluded to read it. Before he fin- 
 ished he underwent a thorough change 
 in hifv theological views and became at 
 heart a Methodist in doctrine. When 
 Matthew Whiting took up an appoint- 
 ment in his neighborhood he embraced 
 religion and became a member of the 
 townline class, and a liberal supporter 
 of the cause of God in all its institu- 
 tions. Being a man of weakly consti- 
 tution he was induced to teach the first 
 
44 
 
 public school in his neighborhood. Like 
 most of the early settlers he had only 
 scanty means, but by judicious manage- 
 ment he cleared a farm, raised a res- 
 pectable, intelligent family, and filled 
 some important township offices as As- 
 sessor and School Superintendent. Hit. 
 eldest son was accidentally killed by a 
 saw-log rolling over his body. This 
 was a severe blow to him, for he had 
 designed, God willing, to prepare him 
 for the ministry. I always found him 
 a true friend and a safe counsellor, but 
 he, like most of the early settlers, has 
 gone to his reward, leaving a widow, 
 two sons and five daughters, giving to 
 each daughter $1,000, and a large farm 
 to each of his sons. Prescott, his sec- 
 ond son, sold his share of the farm to 
 his brother, and settled in Iowa, carry- 
 ing on a large farm and mercantile 
 business, Horatio sold the old home- 
 stead for a large amount of money and 
 is now a banker in the northwest of 
 Ontario. 
 
 The M'Donald Family 
 
 In the same neighborhood as N. P. 
 Allen was a family of McDonalds from 
 Scotland. They had lived for a few 
 years in New York state before coming 
 to Canada. The father and mother 
 died some few years after coming to 
 this country, leaving a family of 5 boys 
 and three girls. They were left with 
 but scanty means, being still in debt 
 for their land, but they wisely agreed 
 to stick tc^ether and work for the in- 
 terests of the whole — John to look after 
 the farm and Catharine to look after 
 the house. In this way they succeeded 
 in paying for the land, clearing it up 
 and making it become a valuable farm. 
 
45 i 
 
 The Rev. E. Bristol held a protracted 
 meeting in their barn, at which two 
 of the boys and all the girls embraced 
 religion and united with the M. E. 
 Church. They had been brought up 
 Presbyterians and were strictly moral, 
 but at that meeting they saw the need 
 of a change of heart. They united 
 with the township class. The two eld- 
 est girls taught school and were popu- 
 1 r as teachers. Catharine married 
 the late "Willard Eastwood, of Ingersoll, 
 then a merchant, but afterwards go- 
 in^ into the foundry business. Mar- 
 garet married Mr. Stimpson, of Inger- 
 soll, where they still reside. Jeanette 
 married Mr. Brown, of Woodstock, a 
 very respectable and wealthy man. 
 They are still living there. 
 
 John Rold the farm, moved into Inger- 
 soll nd went into mercantilt*. business, 
 following it a few years and thiisn re- 
 tiri'.g with considerable m<ians. He is 
 a magistrate and has been Mayor of 
 the town for several terms. Alex, went 
 to California with another young man 
 named Jamos Bains, during tJie first 
 excitement of the gold fever. They 
 were both stricken with sickness. 
 Alex, started for home and was never 
 heard of after, but his comrade died 
 and was buried there. James came 
 into Ingersoll with his brother John 
 and was in partnership with him. Th'^y 
 bo h m'Tried wives ii th*». neig^hborhood 
 the/ came from, John's wife being 
 Flora, daughter of the late John 
 Fletcher, and James' wife being Emily 
 Lewis. Robert was married to the 
 daughter of the late Herman James, of 
 Oxford, and settled in Ingersoll. Los- 
 ing his wife he married again. He was 
 a leading member of the M. E. Church 
 
46 
 
 m tbat town. James is dead, losing 
 two wives and leaving two daugJiters 
 by the first wife. All of the family 
 who embraced religion at the meeting 
 held in their barn afe still holding to 
 their integrity in the faith of Christ. 
 
 Among the early settlers was the 
 Day family, who settled on the Gov- 
 ernor s Road, wear Thamesford. Mr. 
 Day having lost his wife contracted 
 a second marriage which resulted in 
 adding a number more children to his 
 already large family, making the name 
 of Day quite numerous. They all, or 
 nearly all, resided in the same neigh- 
 borhood and some reside there at pre- 
 sent. 
 
 The McCarty family, consisting of 
 three brothers, smart, intelligent men, 
 making property very fast, settled at 
 Thamesford. George died quite young, 
 leaving a wife and two children and 
 quite a large property. Jared and 
 Eleazer are still living in the village, 
 owning nearly all the land on which 
 the village stands. They sold their 
 land in village lots and had a grist- 
 mill and a saw-mill. Like all the 
 early settlers they had a very limited 
 education, but Eleazer's natural abil- 
 ities were far above the ordinary. He 
 had his pwn way of doing business, of 
 which he did a great deal. No lawyer 
 could outreach him. His nephew. Nel- 
 son McCarty, is now one of the leading 
 merchants of Thamesford. 
 
 The Horsman Family 
 
 Dennis Horsman, Esq., came into 
 Nissouri from Ireland when he was a 
 small lad, with his father, who was a 
 widower, in 1820. They settled on No 
 6, concession 11, the father and his 
 
' ' ' ; 47 I 
 
 little boy keeping house together for 
 m&ny years without any assistant. 
 Having money they hired all their 
 work done without boarding the men. 
 They lived in this way until they had 
 a good farm cleared up. Then the 
 father married the "Widow Hall, of In- 
 gersoU, mother of the late Elisha 
 Hall of the same place. This lady had 
 one daughter yet unmarried, and some 
 years after the son Dennis married 
 her. When Pennis' father died he 
 left his wife a widow for the third 
 time, but with ample means to sup- 
 port her while she lived. Dennis inher- 
 ited the whole of his father's property. 
 Being a shrewd business man and l^is 
 wife a true helpmate, he bec3me what 
 was considered a very wealthy farmer. 
 By this marriage he had three sons — 
 John, Ichabod and Chf.les. But in 
 the midst of his prosperity death came 
 and took first his wife and then his 
 eldest son who was studying law and 
 whom he exi>ected tc be of great, use 
 to him in carrying on the large amount 
 of business he was then engaged in. 
 But disappointment is the common lot 
 of men. Ichabod and Charles are liv- 
 ing on and near the old homestead. 
 
 W. H. Gregory. 
 
 "W. H. Gregory was one of the ear- 
 liest settlers in the northern part of 
 the township. He received from his 
 father 400 acres of land and he bought 
 fifty acres more. He was considered a 
 good business man, was a Justice of the 
 Peace and was respected in the com- 
 naunity in which he lived, being a mem- 
 mer of the M. E. Church. He lived 
 about thirty years in Nissouri, whence 
 he removed to the Western States. 
 
48 
 
 One of his daughters, Mrs. St urge, of 
 Medina, and three of his sons, Richard, 
 Barney and Gilbert, still live in Nis- 
 souri, Gilbert living on part of the old 
 homestead. 
 
 When, under the regime of Sir Fran- 
 cis, Hincks, the Municipal Act was pass- 
 ed, by which the people elected their 
 own township and county councillors, 
 Dennis Horsman, W. H.* Gregory and 
 Joel McCarthy were among the first 
 councillors for East ;Nissouri. They 
 felt the need of a gravel road through 
 the township and passed a by-law to 
 have one leading from the Thamesford 
 and IngersoU gravel road to the town- 
 line of Blanshard. Although a good- 
 ly number of the people were opposed 
 to the enterprise, yet the road was 
 nearly finished before the council lost 
 its power. Unfortunately there arose 
 a dispute between the council and the 
 contractor, Mr. Eleazer McCarty, who 
 was bound in specifications definitely 
 understood to make a good and suffi- 
 cient road and was to receive his pay 
 from the council from time to time. 
 If he had done according to the agree- 
 ment the road would have been an ac- 
 complished fact, but when it was found 
 that the road was not dore according 
 to the specifications the reeve refused 
 to pay any more money on it and this 
 dispute put the opponents of the road 
 in power. The new council, backed by 
 the opposition of the enterprise, were 
 determined to put a final stop to the 
 building of the road and employed en- 
 gineers at great expense, who after 
 examining it condemned it as being 
 badly done. Then they forbade the 
 contractor to do any more work, refus- 
 ing to give him any pay. The contrac- 
 
49 
 
 tor, however, paid no attention to the 
 new council but determined to carry 
 the road through, so he used his own 
 means, finished the road and then sued 
 tlie council for the sum total. Then 
 came the tug-of-war in law with the 
 council and contractor — one man 
 n gainst the township. At the first 
 trial, which was held in London, more 
 than 100 witnesses appeared in the case 
 and when the Judge saw the length of 
 time it would take to try the case, he 
 refused to try it by jury and appoint- 
 ed a Judge for this special suit, to be 
 held in our own county, at Woodstock. 
 This took a long time and with hard 
 swearing on both sides the verdict was 
 in favor of the plaintiff , giving the con- 
 tractor his full claim and throwing the 
 costs on the township. Before the 
 trial the contractor offered to settle 
 the case for 91>000.00 less than his 
 original contract. This threw a heavy 
 debt upon the township, doubling the 
 cost of the road. This debt thrown on 
 the township caused heavy taxes for a 
 good many years before the debentures 
 were raised and the township was clear. 
 The road, however, has proved very use- 
 ful to the township. 
 
 Difficulties of the Early Settlers in Trying 
 to Educate Their Children. 
 As my family increased and grew 
 up 1 found at first a great difficulty 
 
 in educating them on account of the 
 thinness of the population, their being 
 only the families of myself, my brother 
 James, and Mr. Chaunccy Purdy with- 
 in a reasonable distance to attend 
 school. The government having 
 as yet taken no interest in 
 
60 
 
 the erection of Public Schools. 
 Under theae circumstances we 
 had to do the best we could, bo we 
 concluded to build a school house, each 
 one to bear a third part of the expense 
 of buildings, paying the teacher, who 
 boarded around among us, and each 
 finding his equal share of firewood. 
 This was the first school house built in 
 this part of the township. This was 
 the beginning of our educational work, 
 and as the population increased as a 
 matter of course there was a larger 
 attendance and more people to bear the 
 expenses. We continued in this way 
 until Egerton Ryerson introduced a 
 school system for the benefit of the 
 country in general. There have been 
 a great many improvements on this 
 system since its introduction, until it 
 finally became a free school, but not 
 without a great amount of opposition. 
 This system contemplated that every 
 acre of land, whether occupied or not, 
 should be taxed for the support of the 
 schools, and the trustees of each sec- 
 tion had the power to levy taxes on va- 
 cant lands for the benefit of their 
 school. If the taxes were not paid 
 the county paid them and charged the 
 amount to the land. If not paid after 
 a certain length of time the land was 
 sold to pay the taxes. 
 
 Under this system every township 
 had its local school Superintendent, 
 whose duty it was to apportion the 
 public money granted to each school, 
 to examine the schools and to give 
 a lecture once a year in each school 
 under his charge. 
 
 For the active part I took in the con- 
 test of obtaining free schools, I was 
 appointed local Superintendent for the 
 
 
 ■M 
 
51 
 
 Township of Nissouri, by the township 
 council who had this power. I tried 
 faithfully to perform the duties of my 
 office to the best of my ability. As the 
 township was divided into East Nis- 
 souri in Oxford, and West Nissouri in 
 Middlesex Counties in the year in which 
 I held the office, it made the work 
 much more than usual. Through the 
 assistance of the late A. B. Near, a 
 man of excellent education and a 
 great friend of educatior I succeeded 
 in miking a proper report of each 
 county. 
 
 DiYisions in the Methodist Church* The 
 
 Ryanite Movement* 
 
 When I united with the Methodist 
 Church the Episcopal Methodist was 
 the only Methodist church in Upper 
 Canada. But shortly after Elder 
 Ryan, a prominent minister, and Jas. 
 Jackson, one of our own greatest 
 preachers, broke off from the church 
 and formed a new one, calling them- 
 selves Canadian Wesleyans. Contrary 
 to the established policy of the Epis- 
 copal Methodist church, they received 
 grants of money from tha government. 
 For a time they seemed to prosper ex- 
 ceedingly, spreading their work all 
 through ours, setting up altar against 
 altar and publishing a paper to slan- 
 der the old church and build up their 
 own. But in a few years they be- 
 came embarrassed and disagreed among 
 themselves — preacher going to law 
 with preacher. As they never succeed- 
 ed in having aa Educational Institu- 
 tion, they soon found that they could 
 not compete ^vith those who had. Fin- 
 ally they united with another branch 
 of Methodists in England, calling them- 
 
52 
 
 selves New Connection Methodists. Bj' 
 this union they received grants of 
 money and men, which gave them en- 
 couragement to hope that they would 
 then be able to compete with others. 
 The money was obtained from the hard 
 earnings of the poor class in England 
 and brought here to support ministers 
 in this land of plenty. This needs no 
 comment. With all these helps they 
 failed to support themselves as a 
 separate body, or to found any institu- 
 tion of learning. They finally form- 
 ed a union with the Wesleyan Metho- 
 dists, calling ihems3lves the Canada 
 Methodist Church. 
 
 The Canadian Methodist Episcopal Church 
 
 The Methodist church in Canada at 
 first was in connection with the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church in the United 
 States, Canadian ministers preaching in 
 the United States and their ministers 
 preaching in Canada, without any re- 
 spect to political lines. This gave the 
 enemies of the church an opportunity 
 to raise a cry against the church, call- 
 ing them "Yankee Methodists," and 
 their ministers the "saddle-bag preach- 
 ers," because they either travelled on 
 foot or on horseback, carrying their 
 Bible, hymii book, etc., in their saddle- 
 bags. Some of our ministers thought 
 to take off the odium of being called 
 "Yankee Methodists" by separating 
 from the American M. E. Church and 
 becoming an independent Canadian 
 Church. This was effected but it did 
 not seem to produce the desired re- 
 sult for the same restless spirit in 
 fiome of our leading men led them to 
 seek for other changes, until in 1833, 
 without consulting the laity, the ma< 
 
58 
 
 jorily of the conference formed a 
 union with the English Wesleyan Con- 
 ference, calling themsevlos the Wes- 
 leyan Methodist Church of British 
 North America. There were a few 
 travelling ministers, local preachers 
 and laymen, numbering in all about 
 l{»!iO, who refused to go with the new 
 church, but held f :st to the old land- 
 marks yet, although they faithfully ad- 
 hered to the diLXsipline and polity of 
 the old church, as the Wesleyans were 
 in on overwhelming majority, they took 
 witn them all the church property, col- 
 l^fif'S prin-ing establishment and near- 
 ly all the church buildings, leaving 
 the few faivhful Episcopal Methodists 
 wi^h nothing to carry out their work 
 except a brave determination to per- 
 severe and succeed. Although they 
 h ive been a people scattered and peel- 
 ed they have worked on through evil 
 as well as good report and have great- 
 ly prospered and continue to this day 
 doing a good work. 
 
 Egerton Ryerson and Dr. Webster 
 
 Dr. Egerton Ryerson was acknow- 
 ledged on all hands to be the lead- 
 ing man in the new Wesleyan Church 
 and being a man of great ability and 
 editor of the Christian Guardian, he 
 used his powerful influence to oppose 
 and crush out if possible the strug- 
 gling few who remained Episcopal 
 Methodists. He compared their minis- 
 ters to asses clothed in Lion's skins 
 making a temp3st in a teapot, and said 
 that they were as children born out of 
 wedlock. One chief point of diffe 
 er.ce between the M. E. Church and the 
 Wesleyan was that the former refused 
 to accept Government money while the 
 
54 
 
 latter accepted it in an indirect way. 
 Dr. Ryerson stoutly denied that 
 his church received Government 
 support, but Rev. Thomas Web- 
 ster, D. D., arose as the chim- 
 pion of the M. E. church and vin- 
 dicated it ag'ainst the attacks of his 
 lion foe. Ho showed that the Wesley- 
 ans received Government money in an 
 indirect way; the real facts of the case 
 being that the Canadian Grovernment 
 granted a certain sum of money 
 annually to the English Wesleyan Mis- 
 sionary Board, and then the same board 
 granted the same amount for the sup- 
 port of Canadian Methodist Mission. 
 At first, as the M. E. Church had no 
 organ, Dr. Webster had to have recourse 
 to the secular press; but when Webster 
 became editor of the Christian Advocate 
 the organ of the M. E. Church, he was 
 then in a position to successfully con- 
 tend with Ryerson. Besides editing 
 the Advoo ite he wrote several works in 
 defence of the Church, the chief of 
 which was "The Union considered" and 
 the "History of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church in Canada." 
 
 Rey« John Bailey 
 
 The Rev. John Bailey was a very im- 
 portant factor in the M. E. Church, 
 during and after the troubles of 1833. 
 He emigrated from the city of New 
 York and settled in Nissouri in what 
 is now called the Bailey settlement, 
 sometime between 1820 and 1830. He 
 was a wealthy man and very liberal to 
 the church. He was a local preacher 
 but was soon employed as a travelling 
 preacher. As he was a man of wealth 
 his influence was a great help to the 
 struggling few to sustain the old 
 
55 
 
 landmarks. He gave up all his time to 
 the work of the ministry without any 
 charge for his labor, becoming one of 
 the principal supporters of the church 
 especially in starting a religious 
 piper "The Canada Christian Advocate" 
 He continued to labor as an itinerant 
 preacher and presiding elder until he 
 was worn out when he located in Nis- 
 souri where he first settled. After 
 locating he was induced by his sym- 
 pathy for others to back notes which 
 he had to pay. This left him without 
 means when he was an old man and 
 caused him to reproach himself. But he 
 died a good man and was buried where 
 he fir^ settled in a burying ground 
 he had secured for that purpose. 
 
 He had three brothers who settled in 
 the same neighliorhood, the youngest 
 one James, being a local preacher and 
 always well received. Being a large 
 min with a strong voice and a powerful 
 mm in prayer at camp-meeting he had 
 often been heard at a great distance. 
 Thomcia was remarkable for his hos- 
 pitality—his house was always open to 
 the ministers and strangers as well. 
 They have all passed away and gone 
 to their reward. May their children 
 follow them as they followed Christ 1 
 
 A Revival of Religion Among (he Native 
 
 Indians 
 
 Early in the history of this country 
 
 a revival spirit was continually in the 
 
 church, not only among the whites, 
 but also among the red men of the 
 forest who caught the holy flame. 
 This revival work was especially 
 among the Chippewas, Mohawks and 
 Six Nations, commencing at the River 
 
56 
 
 Credit, on the Grand River, on to Mor- 
 avia and Muncey Town, from Goderich 
 and Sau^een down to Rice Lake, all 
 through the Huron Tract and all what 
 was then called Queen's Bush, the 
 church forming missionary stations 
 among them. 
 
 It was in these glorious days that 
 Peter Jones and his sister Polly, John 
 Lindsay Racoon and Muskalounge with 
 their squaws embraced religion at a 
 camp-meeting near the Grand River. 
 Besides these several hundreds of these 
 tribes embraced the gospel and in their 
 hunting excursions scattered the holy 
 fire among their red brethren. Dur- 
 ing the hunting season they often 
 tented on our place and became our 
 ne&r neighbors. The woods reverber- 
 ated in the morning and evening with 
 prayer and praise to God. They often 
 attended our meetings and though 
 they spoke in their own native tongue, 
 their countenances told of the fire in 
 their souls. At the camp-meetings 
 their tents occupied a large portion of 
 the ground and added much to the in- 
 terest of the meeting. Their women 
 often fell under the power and influ- 
 uence of the Holy Ghost. Many of 
 their race were added to the church. 
 The camp-meetings in those early days 
 were the means of adding large num- 
 bers of th.o w bites as well as the red 
 men to the church. 
 
 The RebciUon of 1837. 
 
 The Government of the Province 
 had fallen into the hands of a clique, 
 composed chiefly of the aristocratic ele- 
 ment, called the Family Compact. 
 They filled almost entirely the offi- 
 ces of trust and had the management 
 
57 
 
 of the public lands. They ruled in an 
 arbitrary manner, which made them 
 very unpopular in the country. After 
 seeking in vain for redress for their 
 grievances, a party led by Wiiliim 
 Lyon Mackenzie raised a rebellion 
 which, however, was soon quelled wilh 
 the loss of only a few lives. Of all 
 wars a civil war is most to be dreaded, 
 for your nearest neighbor may be your 
 greatest enemy. Mackenzie was na- 
 turally a good man, but was led to 
 take a wrong step. As the Family 
 CJompact had been fairly beaten by 
 sound argument through the press, and 
 as their maltreatment of the colony 
 had been clearly proved, if they had 
 been patient they would have got re- 
 dress. The Rebellion, however, had 
 the effect of bringing about reforms 
 sooner than would have been done in 
 a constitutional way for the British 
 Government sent out Lord Durham to 
 inquire into the administration of af- 
 fairs in Canada. His report gave the 
 Home Government a better idea of the 
 troubles of the colony and they grant- 
 ed Canada a new Constitution, en body- 
 ing the principle of responsible gov- 
 ernment and also gave them a Liberal 
 Governor, Lord Elgin. These changes 
 caused the downfall of the Family 
 Compact. Under this new adminis- 
 tration the country became settled, 
 the people, generally at least, being 
 well satisfied with our present form 
 of government, preferring it to any 
 other; and it has developed into one 
 of the finest in the world's history. 
 
 Progress of the Temperance Movement 
 
 The Temperance Society which was 
 formed in the township in 'ny early 
 
58 
 
 days has continued to exist and in- 
 crease in numbers and influence. 
 Among those who were first to em- 
 brace the temperance cause, many 
 have brought up families who could 
 not tell the taste of liquor. At first 
 it was thought that moral suasion 
 would effect the needed reform, but 
 now the friends of temperance see the 
 necessity of legal prohibition. A num- 
 ber of Temperance Acts have been pass- 
 ed, which, though accomplishing some 
 good, have failed to wipe out the evil. 
 But now we have the Scott Act, which 
 we believe to be effectual. If it should 
 fail we will persevere until we obtain 
 one thafc will have the desired effect 
 in crushing out the great evil that 
 kas been the cause of so much misery 
 and suffering all over our land. 
 
 Reminiscences of the Evils of Intemperance 
 
 The first winter after my father 
 moved into Nissouri I hired out to a 
 tavern keeper for flO per month, to 
 work in the lumber woods, cutting 
 logs; $8 to be taken in lumber and $2 
 in cash This tavern was situated 
 in what is now called Putnamville and 
 the tavern keeper's name waw Abra- 
 ham Carroll. As young men often 
 spent their evenings in the tavern 
 treating and drinking whiskey, he was 
 very anxious to have me take part 
 in the treating that was going on and 
 in several instances he was success- 
 ful, thougii much against my wish. 
 When the spring came and I wanted 
 to settle up with him he took the 
 amount I had spent in treating out 
 pi the cash part of my wagies. An 
 old m^D who worked there part Qf the 
 winter drank up all his wages and when 
 
59 
 
 spring came he hired oat to boil pot- 
 ash in what is now called IngersoU, 
 Mr. Ingeraoll kept a distillery and 
 whiskey was plenty. That old man 
 fell into the boiling potash and was 
 burned to death. 
 
 Another young man, active, smart 
 and well dressed in tailor-made clothes 
 called to stay over night and became 
 embroiled in a drunken spree. He 
 stayed about a week and when he came 
 to settle up his bill he had not money 
 enough, so the tavern keep3r took his 
 beautiful broadcloth coat and gave him 
 an old one to wear away with him. 
 
 There was a time in the history of 
 my life when I peddled goods and tins, 
 procuring my wares in Hamilton. On 
 one occasion I called at a tavern in the 
 Town of Brantford to stay over 
 night. This tavern was kept by a 
 Mr. Bradley. When I went into the 
 bar room I saw he had a piece of 
 black crape about a foot wide stretch- 
 ed across his bar. I. was very much 
 struck with its appearance and said 
 to him that I thought that badge was 
 very appropriate as a bidge of mourn- 
 ing for the many slain through the use 
 of liquor. He took great umbrage at 
 what I had said and spoke very rough- 
 ly to me. 
 
 The hostler at this tavern was a 
 smart young man about 30 years of 
 age. He took the opportunity to tell 
 me that he wanted to get away from 
 there and if I would take him he would 
 go with me. On asking the consent 
 of the landlord, he replied that he was 
 quite willing for him to go as he was 
 so fond of drink that he could not 
 depend on him. So the next morning 
 we started and he gave me a short 
 
60 
 
 history of himself on the way. He 
 had been married, but lost his wife 
 in New York State. He got in the 
 way of drinking but wanted to get 
 away from where it was. He said 
 that he was accustomed to chop and 
 clear land and that he would stay 
 with me as long as I would keep him 
 and would try to break away from 
 his drinking habits. I bought an axe 
 and he came and lived with me for 
 two years. In all that time I never 
 knew him to drink ajiy as whiskey 
 could not be h sd nearer than Ingersoll 
 or London. When he was sober, a 
 better and kinder man about the 
 house could not be found. He had been 
 brought up well, having a good com- 
 mon education. During the time he 
 lived with me he got himself well 
 clothed and had saved some money. 
 One of my neighbors, a professor of re- 
 ligion who had been a tcetottaler, got 
 him to go to Ingersoll and there in- 
 duced him to drink. He never ceased 
 drinking until all his means were 
 gone. ^^ hen he became sober this 
 same man who had induced h'm to 
 drink gave him a job of chopping, giv- 
 ing him a cow in payment. When the 
 job was done he drove the cow to Lon- 
 don, sold her, drank up the proceeds 
 and got locked up for his bad conduct. 
 So for several years he lived about this 
 part of the country, working and then 
 spending his wages for drink. Strange 
 to tell he married a girl pretty well 
 connected and induced her to go with 
 him to the States where he came from. 
 He stayed there a year or so and then 
 came back to Canada. After raising 
 quite a family he left his wife and 
 children at Burford and came back to 
 
61 
 
 Nissouri a mere wreck of a man, and 
 hired with a neighbor. By this time 
 Lakeside was cursed with a tavern. 
 He went there, got into a drunken 
 spree and when all his money was 
 gone it being a cold November nie^ht, 
 his drunken comrades took him out- 
 doors and tied him to a hitching post 
 where the cold, piercing winds could 
 blow on him. There he remained until 
 some passersby saw his doleful situ- 
 ation, untied him and brought him 
 back to the place where he was work- 
 ing in a fearful state of suffering. 
 They put him into a warm bed, but 
 he remained unconscious, snoring con- 
 tinually and foaming at the mouth as 
 though he had been poisoned. Dr. Wil- 
 son, of St. Marys, was sent for, but 
 he pronounced him to be incurable. 
 He lived in this condition for a few 
 hours and then died. He was buried 
 by the neighbors, the township pay- 
 ing the doctor's bill. His widow is liv- 
 ing in sheer poverty and his child- 
 ren are scattered through the coun- 
 try, some of them following in their 
 father's footsteps. This man, so com- 
 pletely ruined by drink, came of a 
 good family. 
 
 This same Lakeside tavern is still go- 
 ing on in its nefarious work, several 
 families being ruined by it. But at 
 this time of writing the English 
 church minister, Mr. Seaborn, has been 
 carrying on a great temperance work 
 in the church and there is a strong 
 feeling among the people there to do 
 away with the Dvil. At this time 
 more is being done to suppress the 
 evils of intemperance than at any 
 other period of the world's history. 
 The effects of intemperance 01 society 
 
G2 
 
 are very blighting when it will ruin 
 a young man who might have been an 
 ornament to society. 
 
 His Appointment as a Local Preacher 
 
 In the year 1823 I was appointed 
 class leader of the town line class, 
 Matthew Whiting being the preacher 
 in charge. In the following year I com- 
 menced to hold meetings, sometimes 
 trying to speak from some text and the 
 people began to call me a preacher. For 
 a time I attended to my class and also 
 held meetings, but after two years in 
 this way the class relieved me and ap- 
 pointed another leader in my place — 
 the late Wm. Kelly, sr. At our next 
 quarterly meeting I received license 
 as a local preacher. I ^was then in con- 
 nection with the London circuit which 
 at that time was composed of London 
 township, nearly all of Nissouri and 
 West Zorra. Throughout this section 
 of country I was the only local preacher 
 for several years and had my regular 
 appointment for every Sabbath be- 
 sides occasionally attending funerals, 
 etc., on week days. 
 
 Drawbacks to the Church in Early Days 
 
 As NissoUri remained for a number of 
 years after its first settlement in a 
 very backward state with little or no 
 improvements being made, some got 
 discouraged and concluded to leave it* 
 Among those who left were some 
 friends of the church . The first one 
 to leave was Bro. Alex. Baines, of 
 Lakeside. As he was one of our most 
 prominent members he was very much 
 missed both in the church and as a 
 citizen o*f the place. The next to go 
 was my brother James. Then foilow- 
 
 ■4^ 
 
63 
 
 ed W. H. Gregory. Thus takng three 
 of our near friends, who were strong 
 friends of religion, education, temper- 
 ance and reform. At the time I felt 
 the removal of these brethren keen- 
 ly, as it gave me a great deal of un- 
 easiness for the future of the churcli. 
 
 Death of His Father and Mother 
 
 My mother died on March 7th, 1837, 
 from a cancer in the breast, from 
 which for a number of years she suf- 
 fered a great deal of pain, which she 
 endured with Christian fortitude. As 
 she was passing away she exhorted all 
 her children tio meet her in heaven. 
 Alter her death there was something 
 more than a vacant chair — a vacancy 
 in the iamily gatherings which made 
 us all feel that something was gone; 
 for her smiles, amiable disposition and 
 loving ways made us all feel that it 
 was home. She never had a dispute 
 with anyone and wa^ always kind and 
 obliging. Among all her family .there 
 were none so much* like her as my 
 sister Rebecca, now the widow of the 
 late !Wm. Uren. She was indeed a per- 
 fect transcript of her mother. She 
 has now been a widow for over forty 
 years, living with her eldest son on 
 the old homestead, loved and respected 
 by all. It may be said of her "She 
 was a widow indeed, having l)rougnt 
 up children, lodged strangers, washed 
 the saints' feet, relieved the afflicted, 
 and diligently followed every good 
 work" and is now waiting to hear the 
 Master say "It is enough, come 
 up higher." She has now three sons 
 alJ members of the church, professing 
 faith in Christ and some of her grand- 
 children are walking in the same way. 
 
64 
 
 Among all the bereaved ones there 
 were none who felt the loss like father. 
 He often said to me "How lonesome 1 
 feel," He continued to live in his own 
 house for some years, my wife doing 
 his work, until our family had got 
 quite large. He then thought it best 
 to go and live with my sister Rebecca, 
 as her family was small. While there 
 he was tenderly cared for as a child 
 until he died sometime in September 
 1844, after a short but painful illness. 
 His last words were "Farewell my 
 lambs." The remains of both father 
 and mothex are now lying in the 
 family burying ground. 
 
 Church Building in Nissouri. Bailey's 
 Church. 
 
 For a good many years there were 
 no church buildings in Nissouri, every 
 denomination using in their turn the 
 same school-house, the same congrega- 
 tion generally attending every ser- 
 vice no matter what the denomination 
 
 was. If any missionary came along we 
 all greeted him as a brother not being 
 by any means bigoted. In those days 
 we all did our best trying to sustain 
 them- Alter a time this kind of lib- 
 eral Christian feeling seemed to pass 
 away, every denomination feeling 
 that they ought to have a church of 
 their own. 
 
 The first Methodist Episcopal 
 church built in Nissouri after 1833 
 was erected in the Bailey settlement 
 by Rev. John Bailey and called 
 "Bailey's Church." This church is 
 used to this day and is called 
 the Bailey appointment. . . 
 
' ! 6b 
 
 Cherry Grove Church 
 
 About the year 1860, church build- 
 ing among the Episcopal Methodists 
 in Nissouri began in earnest. I being 
 the oldest man and best acquainted 
 witli the wants of the people, took a 
 prominent part in building them. The 
 first one 1 took an interest ia build- 
 ing was Cherry Grove church. The 
 subscription list was headed by a ^lU 
 subscription from James Scatcherd, of 
 Buffalo, whom I met while on a visit 
 to his father in Wyton. As the neigh- 
 borhood was quite willing, a sufficient 
 amount of subscription was soon rais- <^ 
 ed to warrant a commencement. My ■ 
 brother-hi-law, the late Thos. Uren, ' 
 JBsq., took a very deep interest and 
 became a leading spirit in building. 
 This is a brick church now comfort- 
 ably seated, with a good driving shed. 
 They have a good congregation, a good 
 class, regular preaching and Sabbath 
 School every Sabbath. This is known 
 as the Uren neighborhood and the 
 first Methodist meeting was held there 
 by the late Rev. Matthew Whiting, of 
 precious memory. Mrs. Rebecca Uren 
 is one of its oldest members and is still 
 able to attend meeting. 
 
 McKim's Church 
 
 My next effort was to build a church 
 in the McKim neighborhood, near Lake- 
 side. They decided on a brick one 
 also, of the same dimensions as Cherry 
 Grove. Andrew McKim and Sylves- 
 ter Rounds were the leading men in 
 carrying on the work. They had a 
 hard struggle, but finally, with the 
 help and sympathy of the neighbors, 
 it was accomplished. In addition to 
 
the church they have now a good shed, 
 well fenced, preaching and Sabbath 
 School every Sabbath and a respect- 
 able class. 
 
 An unfortunate affair happened at 
 this appoinlment, which was a great 
 drawback A made it harder to carry 
 on the work than it would otherwise 
 jhave been. The late Wm. McKim and 
 W. H. Gregory were both members of 
 this diass and were wealthy and lead- 
 ing men in the neighborhood. Gregory 
 was in the council and worked hard 
 in favor of the gravel road through the 
 township. McKim was strongly oppos- 
 ed to the undertaking and as feeling 
 ran very high over the matter, he 
 finally through this left the church 
 and united with the Wesleyans. Af- 
 ter he changed his church relations, 
 we as a class felt the loss of his sup- 
 port. His death was very sudden. 
 One day he took a load of wheat to §t. 
 Marys. After selling it and putting 
 away his team, he went into the fit- 
 ting room of a hotel, laid down uj)on 
 a lounge and died unknown to any- 
 one. This threw a gloom over the 
 whole neighborhood and was a terri- 
 ble blow to his family. He was always 
 considered a good man, hospitable to 
 the poor and a great giver to the 
 church. 
 
 Bsown't Church 
 
 The next was one in my own neigh- 
 borhood, called Brown's church. It 
 is also a brick with a stone founda- 
 tion, the material being the very best. 
 It was begun in 1862 and finished in 
 1863. Several gave subscriptions of 
 
 elOO and ^50. I also solicited and ob- 
 lined help in other places where for 
 
67 
 
 many years I had labored as a local 
 preacher without fee or reward. It has 
 also a good shed in connection with it. 
 
 White Church 
 
 The next was White church, near 
 Thorndale, in the Rumble neighbor- 
 hood. There were but a few families 
 to bear the burden, but they were unit- 
 ed and liberal. It is a frame build- 
 ing painted white. There is still a 
 small class with regular preaching 
 and Sabbath School part of the year. 
 
 Thorndale Church 
 
 Before White Church was finished 
 we commenced to build one at Thorn- 
 dale. Although I took a deep inter- 
 est in the building of this church, I 
 did not take any responsibility. Dr. 
 M. Foster, living in the village, and 
 Robt. McGuffin, Esq., a farmer living 
 near by (both liberal men to sustain 
 the cause) were the leading spirits in 
 erecting a very comfortable church, 
 where we have regular service every 
 Sabbath, a Union Sabbath School and 
 a small class of excellent members. 
 
 Harrington Church 
 
 The Township of Zorra was for a 
 long time in connection with the Nis- 
 souri circuit. I felt a deep interest in 
 their churches. I took the lead in 
 building a small frame church in the 
 Village of Harrington. With the as- 
 sistance of James Mathieson, Esq., a 
 very liberal Presbyterian, who accom- 
 panied me in soliciting subscriptions, 
 a sufficient amount was raised to war- 
 rant us in commencing to build. Mat- 
 thew Morris, Esq., gave the land for 
 
68 
 
 a site as a free gift. The contractor 
 was a very honorable man and finished 
 the building to the satisfaction of all 
 concerned. I continued to canvass and 
 raise money until the last dollar was 
 paid. They have a very good class 
 with preaching and Sabbath School 
 every Sabbath. They are in much need 
 of a larger church. The members and 
 adherents of the church are able to 
 build a good brick one, and if I were 
 not s old and feeble I would go and 
 raise meazis and never leave them un- 
 til they had one all paid for as before. 
 It is a pity that our circuit preach- 
 ers do not take a deeper interest in 
 improving our churches. They are 
 the proper persons to lead in this di- 
 lection. I pray that they will soon 
 have a better church in Harrington. 
 
MRS. BROWN. 
 
 It would be unjust in a work of this 
 
 kind to pass by unnoticed the author *s 
 
 wife, who for over sixty years tra- 
 velled through life's journey with him. 
 Under ordinary circumstances the wife 
 of a farmer has a great responsibility ; 
 but when the farmer is only in mod- 
 erate circumstances and is often away 
 from home serving the church, with- 
 out fee or reward, her responsibility 
 becomes greater. Had she been of 
 a shiftless disposition one of two things 
 would hnve been the result. Either 
 he woul have had to have given up 
 spending so much time for the sake 
 of the church, or else Tinancial ruin 
 would have been the result. But by 
 her industry and prudent management 
 of the home interests, with the up- 
 bringing of a large family, they were 
 enabled, although they were never 
 what is termed wealthy, to pass 
 through life in comfortable circum- 
 stances. 
 
 The Bible everywhere highly com- 
 mends the grace of hospitality. The 
 exercise of this grace in the church 
 was more imperatively necessary in the 
 days of the early settlement of Nis- 
 souri than it is at present. The cir- 
 cuits were very extensive as compared 
 with the present time. The oircuit 
 preacher in order to attend properly 
 to his work had often to find a home 
 wherever night overtook him. The 
 Quarterly Meetings were differ<»nt af- 
 fairs from what they are atpreF<r;at. In- 
 
70 
 
 stea4 of the people going only a few 
 miles to one service on the Sabbath, 
 then they lasted for two days, com- 
 mencing on Saturday and continuing 
 over Sunday and were often occasions 
 of great apiritual power. Many 
 people, in order to enjoy these meet- 
 ings, came long distances, often more 
 than twenty miles, and as the way 
 of travelling was slow and tedious of 
 necessity, they had to find homes 
 among the people where the meetings 
 were held. And in many ways, 
 whether in the service of the 
 church or in transactiug their 
 own private business, the peo- 
 ple were under the necessity of giv- 
 ing and receiving hospitality. Under 
 theae circumstances, in conjunction 
 with her husband, Mrs. Brown cheer- 
 fully exercised this grace in a large 
 degree, knowing that the Master had 
 said, "Inasmuch of ye have done it 
 unto the least of these, my brethreii, 
 ye have done it unto me and ye shall 
 in nowise lose your reward." 
 
71 
 
 OBITUARY, 
 
 X 
 
 REV. THOMAS B. BROWN 
 
 (The Christian Guardian, May 4, 1^94.) 
 
 D EV. THOMAS B. BROWN was 
 born in Argenteuil, Lower Can- 
 ada, in tb© year 1804. In 1822 he, with 
 his father's family, moved into the 
 township of Nissouri, then an almost 
 unbroken wilderness, and shared in 
 the hardships and privations of the 
 early settlers. Having no religious 
 privileges, he lived for a time care- 
 less about religion. His first relig- 
 ious impressions were received under 
 a sermon preached by Elder Maybee, 
 a Baptist minister; but it was not 
 until several years after, at a Metho- 
 dist cami>-meetin^ held in the town- 
 ship of Westminster, in 1829, that he 
 went forward and knelt at a rude 
 altar, and there fully experienced his 
 acceptance with God, and that he was 
 "a new creature in Christ Jesus." 
 
 Immediately after his conversion he 
 commenced to work for the Master. 
 He was appointed leader of a class 
 ten miles distant from his home, and 
 he regularly walked that distance 
 every Sabbath, and occasionally on 
 the weekly prayer meeting night to 
 meet his class. Soon after he received 
 license to preach, and, as the country 
 was then thinly settled and scantily 
 supplied with regular ministers, his 
 labors were very extensive, going far 
 and near, often from ten to twenty 
 
72 
 
 milea from home— at first sometimes 
 on foot and sometimes on horseback, 
 without any road except a track 
 through the woods. He preached the 
 first sermon ever delivered in what is 
 now the town of St. Marys, in the 
 log shanty of the late George Treacy. 
 Being ordained first deacon, and then 
 elder, he baptized, married, buried the 
 dead and administered the Sacrament. 
 At revival services and camp-meetings 
 he was a prominent worker, often, 
 after doing a hard day's work on the 
 farm, going five or ten miles to at- 
 tend an evening meeting. 
 
 In consequence of his varied and 
 extensive services in the Methodist 
 Church in later years he was known 
 as "Bishop" Brown. Perhaps more 
 than any other human agency his la- 
 bors were largely instrumental in es- 
 tablishing Methodism m this section 
 of the country. He was zealous in 
 supporting the Church paper. He 
 subscribed for and received the first 
 number of the 'Christian Guardian, 
 and in later years he took a great in- 
 terest in extending the circulation of 
 the Canada Christian Guardian. 
 
 When the troubles of 1833 came, by 
 which the Methodist Church was di- 
 vided he loyally and faithfully con- 
 tinued with the old Episcopal Meth- 
 odist Church until the late union of 
 the Methodist Churches in Canada in- 
 to one body, when, believing the move- 
 ment to be for the best interest of 
 the Church, he heartily fell in with it. 
 Although he was strongly attached to 
 the old Episcopal branch of the Meth- 
 odist Church, yet he was always ready 
 to sympathise with and help any other 
 organization In their efforts to cwi- 
 
73 
 
 vance the spirit usil and moral welfare 
 of men, but in this short obituary no- 
 tice I cannot speak of them in detail. 
 
 He was a strong and life-fong work- 
 er in the temperance ranks. He was 
 a member of the first Temperance So- 
 ciety organized in Canada. At first 
 he encountered a great deal of ridi- 
 cule and opposition. On one occasion, 
 being at a "raising", some of the whis- 
 key men determined to make him 
 drink, and threw him down on his 
 back, and attempted to pour the whis- 
 key down his throat, but in the scuffle 
 the bottle was broken and the whiskey 
 spilt. But he lived long enough to 
 see the public sentiment so changed 
 that in less than one month after his 
 death the whole province, by a large 
 majority, voted in favor of total Pro- 
 hibition. 
 
 When he came into Ni^souri he had 
 not much of worldly wealth, yet he 
 succeeded as a farmer, by honest in- 
 dustry, in making, a comfortable liv- 
 ii^. In 1830 he married Miss Amanda 
 Harris, by whom he raised a family of 
 six sons and seven daughters, nearly 
 all of whom are comfortably situated 
 in life and following in his footsteps. 
 Two daughters — Jane Fitzgerald and 
 Mrs. Angelina Thompson, — seveial 
 years since, preceded him to the better 
 land. His wife, after sharing his joys 
 and sorrows for over sixty years, pass- 
 ed on before him about a year before 
 his death. 
 
 Being of a strong constitution he 
 enjoyed through life almost uninter- 
 rupted good health. He was sick only 
 a few days before his death, which 
 took place on Dec. 17th, 1894. In this 
 last words he kept exclaiming, "All is 
 
74 
 
 well 1 it is spring I it is spring I" and, 
 **For me to live is Christ, and to die 
 is gain." His funeral sermon was 
 preach^ by Rev. E. Lounsbury, of 
 Hamilton, who was his life-long friend, 
 first as his circuit preacher, and after- 
 wards, for many years, as his presid- 
 ing elder. The text, which was select- 
 ed by Father Brown himself some ten 
 years previous, was 2 Timothy 4 ; 6-8, 
 "For I am now ready to be offered, 
 and the time of my departure is at 
 hand. I have fought a good fight, I 
 have finished my course, I have kept 
 the faith ; henceforth there is laid up 
 for me a crown of righteousness, which 
 the Lord, the rightous judge, shall 
 give me at that day ; and not to me 
 only, but unto all them also who love 
 his appearing." 
 
 Thus passed away the oldest Metho- 
 dist in this section of the country. 
 Except his sister, Mrs. Re' acca Uren, 
 who still lingers behind, awaiting her 
 call to her heavenly rest, all his early 
 associates have gone to the other shore 
 before him. 
 
 JOHN M. McAINSH.