I'liotoi,'ruphed by J. L. Hughes. I !( iW \ -iiip V l> i ) I \ I ,) f ( > ' 1 ! » 5 i-u >^" r. I- //Av: \ /■ COMMIT! J: i lA\i BRlCrOiS, (^ tS9«. ■^ -^ - r'*,-. \ fe "<. .# THE rOWNSHIP OF S C A R B O R O 1796-1896 EDITED BV DAVID BOYLK 4 PRINTED FOix THE EXECUTIVE CO.XfMITTEE sO ^ BY NA/ILLIAM BRIGGS, 1 t oy TORONTO. 1896. 000 sJaj -,'i 3 » » ' • » 3 ? 5 ' « ) ' » ■■ 9 to 993090 *a 9 9 ^■9 9 '-J ^ ^ 3 -> 3 J a a 3 ' « t a J J J , » 3 3 J ■? J --^ p 5h B C^ j'e • • • « • • • • •• Zo tbe Son6 an^ HJaugbtcrs of Scarboro at home and abroad, This Book IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, WITH THE VERY FULLEST AND HEARTIEST CONFIDENCE, THAT ALL WHO BELONG TO THE OLD TOWNSHIP WILL ACCEPT WITH PARDONABLE PRIDE THE RECORDS OF A RURAL COMMUNITY, THAT HAS EVER BEEN ACTUATED BY A SENSE OF DUTY, EFFORTS MADE TOWARDS THE REALIZATION OF WHICH HAVE ALWAYS BEEN CROWNED WITH SUCCESS. 1796— 1896. Scarboro Centennial. "One hundred years I " How e.-isily 'tis said — How slight an effort of the gift of speech I Not many letters to comprise it all. A little child can lisp them o'er with ease, But who can grasp the fulness of the time? Or who can measure all that it contains ? Its symphonies and mournful cadences, Its echoes of the past that thrill the ear, Thfit stir the heart to richer, fuller life, And cause the pulse to beat with quicker throb As we do muse on days that long are past ? - Days that were bright with honest, suiniy smiles, Or clouded o'er with sadness, or with pain, — Days full of memories of varied scenes IHumined by the acts of friendship true Of those whose lives were joined to ours in love — But who have left us for a little while. Until the call to us shall also come To enter on .1 higher, nobler life That knows no end, that is not measured by A term of years, but where ten thousand times Ten thousand centuries are but a drop In the vast ocean of eternity ! — R. Davidson, Inyltside. PREFACE. ONE linndrcMl years n^o to-day, Kohert Hunis had but a fovv weeks to live ; Tlioinas C'ailyle Iiad spent only six months of diseontent in this world ; Napoleon Bonai)arte had just assumed command of the army of Italy, and was no dou])t even then forming })lans for the eonc^uest of Europe ; the United States was in its infancy, with General Washington as Pre- sident ; General Prescott was Governor of Canada ; Simcoe was at the head of affairs in Upper Canada, Newark being still the capital ; and CJeorge the Third reigned, King of Great Britain and Ireland. The year 1795 had proved one of great agricultural depression in the British Islands. Peace prospects were slender ; l)usiness was unsteady, when not actu- ally stagnant ; labor, consequently, was not in much demand, and famine stared thousands in the face. In such circumstances it was but natural that many persons, especially the more adventurous and enter- prising, should look abroad for that measure of comfort and success, the prospects of attaining which seemed to be so uncertain and so distant at home. Of this class, as is hereinafter recorded, were the very first settlers in Scarboro. It is in commemoration of this settlement, and at such a time, that the people of Scarboro have had the present modest volume prepared in connection with their celebration, the object being to bring together Preface. in a handy form the various records of local events and bits of personal reminiscence, many of which, in oourse of time, would otherwise he lost or forgotten. The time is past when history was supposed to be merely a record of political events, of campaigns in tlie field of war, and of great discoveries. Imi)ortant as these are, they do not by any means constitute the sum total of history ; and hence we find considerable attention now being given to sociological features in the growth of nations ; and as nations are but aggre- gations of communities, it would seem that intelligent citizenshij) implies a knowledge of facts pertaining to the development of institutions and industries in young settlements of modern, as well as of ancient date. In most townships, the people as a whole, or groups of them, have much in common regarding origin and circumstances ; and as time advances, general interests become mingled through marriage, business, and social relations. Such municijmlities, therefore, almost natur- ally suggest themselves as fields for the convenient grouping of local records. The plan followed in this book is to present the subject under separate heads rather than as a con- tinuous narrative, and no attempt has been made to produce anything but a bare statement of facts, beyond supplying introductions to the chapters, and such connective passages to the information collected as seemed necessary to put the material in tolerably readable form. When the writer undertook, quite unexpectedly, to perform this work, he feared his ability to complete it in the time at his disposal, and for this reason felt Preface. liinisrlf fortunate in gainin^^ the ready assistance of two well-known literary ladies, both of whom are deeply interested in everything that relates to Canada and C*anadian liistory, local as well as general. Mrs. 8. A. C'urzon,* President of the Woman's Canadian Historical Society, has prepared the chap- ters on "Domestic Life," "Churches and Ministers," " Socit^ties," and the cha})ter relating to the Centennial proceedings. Miss M. A. Fitz(Til>))on,t Secretary of same organization, has written the chapter devoted to militia matters, and that containing hrief references to pioneers and their families. The work of each lady will speak for itself. Collected as the information was, somewhat hur- riedly, hy the committees aj)pointed for this purpose, it is ({uite certain that numerous omissions, and perhai)s some errors, will be noticeable. In the face of many difficulties, how^ever, and the exj)enditure of much time, the committees performed their work well, and it is only fair to state that si)ecial thanks are due to the Chairman of the Executive Committee, Rev. D. B. Macdonald, without whose untiring efforts, and excel- lent organizing ability, it would have been impossible at this juncture to bring together the material required for the memorial volume, now fully twice its originally intended size. To him also the editor is indebted for much of the information contained in several of the chapters, and for valuable assistance rendered in vari- ous other ways. Messrs. J. C. Clark, David Martin, * Mrs. Curzon is the author of "Laura Secord, a Drama, and other Poems," and many short addresses and papers on historical subjecta. tMiss FitzGibbon is the author of "A Veteran of 1812," "Home Work," "A Trip to Manitoba," and several magazine articles. Preface. Dr. O. Sisley, A. W. Forftir, J. C. Cornell, K. Malcolm, and A, J. lleynolfls, all supplied admirable ei)itome.s, either of general subjects, or concerning the several districts they represc^nted. To Mr, Clark also is due the credit of having photo- graphed most of the views that are reproduced in the book. It should l)e mentioned that the poems given a; length are by natives, or former residents of the townshi}). It is mucli to be desired that every other township in the I*rovince should take stei)s to crystallize in type the knowledge that now exists chiefly in the memories of the oldest people, and to bring together the num- erous scattered references to municii)alities, as these may exist in writing or in print. That this embodiment of what relates to Scarboro will in some degree meet with the ai)proval of those for whom it is more particularly intended is the sincere hope of the editor, David Boyle. Toronto, June 10th, 1896. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Paor Topography and Geology ------- 9 CHArTKR II. Before the White Man - - - - - - - 19 CHAPTER III. Foundation and Settlement ------ 25 CHAPTER IV. The Pioneers ----..-. - 29 CHAPTER V. On the Farm - - - - ----- 63 CHAPTER VI. I)ome.stic Life . - 100 CHAPTER VII. Roads - - . . . . . . -112 CHAPTER VIII. Councils and Councillors - - 117 CHAPTER IX. Trvdes and Tradesmen - 126 CHAPTER X. Churches and Ministers ---.... jgg CHAPTER XL _ Schools and Teaohrbs - . . . . . - 177 Contents. Faob CHAPTER XII. Public Libraries - 197 CHAPTER XIII. Doctors and Lawyers 205 CHAPTER XIV. Societies 217 CHAPTER XV. Public-houses and Stores ....-- 220 CHAPTER XVI. Villages and Post-offices 223 CHAPTER XVII. Militia 228 CHAPTER XVIII. Birds and Beasts -------- 238 CHAPTER XIX. Games and Sports - 241 CHAPTER XX. Odds and Ends 262 CHAPTER XXI. The Centennial Celebration ------ 272 Appendix A 285 Appendix B - 292 Appendix . - - 293 Poetry — Scarboro Centennial iv The Land of the Bracing North 62 . The Canadian Backwoodsman 99 / ILLUSTRATIONS. Scarboro Heights Frontispiece. ''*" Old Settlers Oldest Living Residents SCARBORO AS IT WaS AND Is - - - . . Typical Buildings— Old and Recent Prize Ploughmen ---.... Old Councillors --..... Recent Municipal Officers Ministers --...., Presbyterian Churches --.... Episcopalian Churches --.... Roman Catholic Church ---... Methodist Churches --..... Old Teachers and Old Doctors Schools - - . . . Scarboro's Defenders - - . . . Curlers op 1835 ...... Curlers and Quoiters - - . . . Checker Champion ...... Scenes in Scarboro ....... Map of Scarboro --.... 29 48 63 74 86 117 125 136 148 157 157 166 177 188 228 243 249 256 262 285 CORRECTIONS. Read made ins ead of "ceded," third line from foot of page 28. Jfead folk instead of "folks," third line from foot of page 98. Vic ron- --*^^ r ^.\.^ -i y^ _ SECTION OF SCARBORO HEIGHTS. TOWNSHIP OF SCARBORO. CHAPTER I. TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY. "In Nature's infinite book of secrecy A little I can read." — Shakespeare. \ PPEOACHING Scarboro from Lake Ontario, ly. one cannot but be struck with the boldness of the shore line, as compared with the rest of the coast, both eLst and west of this township. The cliffs, or Heights, as they are called, consist of boulder-clay and sand, somewhat irregularly stratified, forming what is known geologically as "drift," that is, the result of interglacial deposition during indefinite periods, in some equally indefinite past, when ice-fields spread themselves over the northern part of the con- tinent, sending immense branches as far south as the state of Kentucky. On no other portion of the north shore of Ontario can the phenomena of such deposits be better studied than along the face of this cliff from Port Union westwards to Victoria Park. In a paper* read before the Toronto Mechanics' * The paper appears in the Monthly Review, of June, 1841, published in Toronto at that time, but subsequently removed to Kingston, which had been chosen as the capital. This number of the magazine was brought to light by Mr. J. C. Clark, of Agincourt, and by him kindly lent for perusal, 2 10 History of the Township of Scarboro. Institute in 1841, by Mr. John Roy, Civil Engineer, on " Toronto Harbour," the writer referring to a time when he claims "that the whole of the waters from the west, including the Mississippi waters, were dis- charged by the Niagara Kiver, and through Lake Ontario, up to the period Lake Ontario subsided to its present level," and when, "therefore the quantity of water which flowed through the chasm must have been more than double what it is at present," expresses his belief that the current acting on the bottom of the lake was sufficiently powerful "to throw up the materials excavated on the north shore," and that as the level of the lake gradually fell, a series of ridges was thus formed, until the time came when the water being only some 9^00 feet above its present level, gave the Niagara current "a vastly greater power to act upon the bottom of the lake than any of the three former subsidations ; for the current had not only a greater downward bend, but also the waters of the lake were greatly reduced in depth ; consequently, we find vastly greater deposits of the excavated materials upon the northern shore of this elevation. Those heights in Scarboro which project forward [sic] to the lake, the hill upon which Captain Baldwin's house stands, and the ridge upon which Dundas road runs along the head of the lake, all belong to this era." Mr. Roy's theory is as bold as it is absurd, but the quotation serves to show that more than half a century ago attempts were made to account for the existence of Scarboro Cliffs and other escarpments on the north shore. In 1854, Prof. Henry Youle Hind and Mr. Sandford Fleming made a study of the Heights with relation to their influence in the formation of Toronto Island, or Topography and Gkology. 11 Hiawatha Island, as it has sometimes heen called; and five years later, the distinguished Scottish geologist, A. C. Ramsay, referred to them in the Journal of the Geological Society, but it was not until 187G that something approaching an exhaustive scientific exam- ination of Scarboro Heights was carried on by Mr. G. J. Hinde, an English geologist spending a few years in this country. Mr. Hinde believed firmly that the beds of the great lakes had been scooped out, through the tre- mendous grinding force exerted on the rocks by mov- ing ice-fields from 3,000 to 5,000 feet in thickness; but it is unnecessary that we should adopt this view in our consideration of the facts he reached regarding the nature of the cliffs, which are, after all, only a section of what constitutes the township at large. He writes:* "The present basins of the lakes, how^ever, by no means represent all the hollows made in the old rocks by the glacial ice; many of these have been filled up by till and stratified deposits, and until bor- ings are made must remain unknow^n.f Thus, Dr. * Page 12, "The Glacial and Interglacial Strata of Scarboro Heights, and other localities near Toron. >, Ontario," by Mr. George Jennings Hinde. Toronto, 1877. t Mr. Hinde was unaware that at least one boring of fully a thousand feet had been made near the village of Highland Creek in 1866, when an attempt was made to "strike oil." Unfortunately the log of this boring has been lost. Mr. Wm. Helliwell, in whose possession it was, vouches for the accuracy of the following statement, from memory: Sand and gravel (surface) - - - - 5 feet. Blue clay ------ 50 Limestone ------ 750 Soapstone ------ 100 '« (?) Rock salt and cavities - - - - 97 1,002 12 - History of the Township of Scarhoro. Sterry Hunt has shown that the pahtozoic rocks on the shores of Lake Erie are cover 3d with glacial and stratified clays to a thickness of 100 to 200 feet beneath the lake level ; whereas the lake itself in most places is not more than 70 feet in depth. There is, however, to be considered, the fact that the present depth of the lakes is probably very much less than their originally excavated depth by the glacier, for stratified deposits of clay and silt brought down by the rivers, etc., have been gradually accumulating in their basins [beds] since the time when the glaciers which filled them w^ere dissolved. "At the Scarboro Heights there is one of these filled- up glacial hollows. The palaeozoic rocks were eroded by the first glacier deeper than the present lake level : without a boring it is impossible to say how deep the hollow may have been. With the exception of a short distance at both ends of the section and a space in the central portion, the basal beds of the Scarboro Cliff are composed of beds of stratified clay. . . . Before describing the fossils contained in the clay beds, I wish to mention the beds of sand and sandy loam which rest conformably on the upper surfaces of the clayey strata. These sand beds are of a yellowish tint ; the strata are horizontal, and appear, like the clays, equally free from pebbles or boulders. Their maximum thickness shown in the cliff is forty feet, but they have evidently been eroded, and in some places completely removed, and their original thick- ness may have been much greater. . . . From this it would appear that Mr. Hinde's theoretical hollow must have extended a long way into the lake, and that the deposit would thin out nearly to the surface, a little farther inland than this point, for the boring was made less than two miles from the lake shore. Several borings at intervals of some miles would be necessary to aftbrd the required data. TOPOdRAPHV AND GEOUKIY. 13 "There is thus exposed at the Scarboro Cliff, beds of clay Hiid sand of iiiterglacial age, 140 feet in thick- ness, leaving out of account the extent to which they way reach below the lake level, and the amount which may have been eroded from the upper surface." The fossil remains found consisted mainly of low forms of vegetable and animal life, including soft woods, wings of a beetle, two or three crustaceans, and two kinds of shells. " Both the plant and animal remains so far discovered in these strata conclusively show that they are of land and fresh water origin ; not a trace of any marine organism has been found in them." Without entering further into details, it may safely be assumed from the evidence in our possession, first, that the cliffs on the lake shore merely show in part the section of a deposit that once extended far away into the lake, a portion of which deposit now forms, perhaps, the greater part of the township at the south; second, that the beds of clay and sand were laid down in fresh water ; and third, that the tenacious quality of the deposit has enabled it, as a mass, to withstand the erosive forces which have carried away the mate- rial on the limits of the hollow in which the clays were originally laid down — hence the elevation along the lake shore. The following table has been prepared by Mr. Hinde to show the succession of strata forming the Heights : 7 stratified sand and gravel, post-glacial - 50 feet 6 till or boulder clay 30 5 laminated clay and sand, interglacial - - 90 4 till or lx)ulder clay ..... 70 3 interglacial fossiliferous sand - - - 40 2 " " clay - - - - 100 1 till or boulder clay, below lake level 380 14 History of the Township of Scarboko. It will be observed that the total here given exceeds by nearly one hundred feet the greatest altitude (290 feet) reached by the cliffs, but this is because the measurements of the several beds have been taken at their thickest parts, and these do not occur immedi- ately above or below each other (see diagram, p. 9). Close to the lake shore the surface is much broken with ravines from fifty to a hundred and fifty feet in depth, especially near the south-west angle; and along the banks of the Rouge on the eastern side, the sur- face is somewhat rugged, but, in general, the town- ship may be described as undulating or " rolling." The southern portion is sandy, although with the excellent system of farming, for which the township as a whole has been so long celebrated, good crops are produced close to the lake shore. To the north of this light belt the soil becomes heavier, and in some places appears as a rich clay. These alternations are just what might be expected from the character of the deposit that forms the whole or the greater part of the township. Scarbcro is well watered. Highland Creek, w^hich rises near the no^th-west corner (in Markham), drains, with its numerous branches, fully half of the township, traversing a diagonal course and entering the lake at Port Union near the south-east corner. The Rouge, rising in Markham, also takes a course (with its several feeders) from north-west to south-east after entering Scarboro, and reaches the lako through Pickering. On the west side of the township a branch of the Don flows generally southwards until it enters York, where it takes a westerly course to join the main stream. Springs of pure water are very numerous, and no Topography and Geology. 15 difficulty is experienced in procuring an abundant supply at depths of from twelve to seventy feet. On lot 14, con. 4, there are two springs which, from an early date, have had curative properties attributed to them. Gourlay, in 1822, referred to them as " medicinal springs," and adds that they " begin to be resorted to by persons affected with rheumatism and other chronical complaints. An eminent physician of York is said to have received much benetit from the use of the water."* In the neighborhood of EUesmere is a large num- ber of springs. On lot 27, con. 2, one close to the creek, strongly impregnated with iron, discolors the vegetation. A short distance down there is a large gushing spring in the bottom of the creek, and on lot 28 is another, the water of which colors everything red. A few rods farther down there is one which some years ago was supposed to contain sulphur ; the water is very clear but has an unpleasant smell. The creek has encroached so much on this spring lately that the latter is almost lost to view. For about one-eighth of a mile beyond this, numerous springs issue from the banks of the stream, and in many places the bottom is of a marly nature and so soft that a pole may be pushed down six or eight feet. About forty years ago, Mr. Andrew Young dug a well on lot 29, con. 1. Twenty feet down the workers struck a soft place, and the water rapidly rose several feet to the surface. Another well bored twenty feet farther north and a little deeper, also filled at once and ran over as did the first, and both have continued to flow. These two wells are at the head of the west branch of the Highland Creek, *" Statistical Account of Upper Canada," Vol. I., p. 145. 16 History op^ the Township of Scaruoro. On lot 20, con. 2, there is a flowing well, the water of which if confined would rise about five feet above the ground. The bore of this one is only about an inch and a half, but it is estimated that at least twenty thousand gallons of water flow from it daily. Nearly one hundred yards to the south-east, on lot 28, is another well with an inch and three-quarter pipe, from which flow about twenty-five thousand gallons a day. It is on ground nearly five feet lower than the former, and is eleven feet deeper. Numerous springs along the creek on lots 25 and 26 have dried since the bush was cleared. The Oil Company. In the year 1866, when the oil fever in Canada was at its height, the Scarboro Oil Company was incorporated with a capital stock of $4,000, which was divided into 160 shares of $25 each, to sink a well at Highland Creek village. The Board of Management consisted of : President, . . . . . Wni. Helliwell. Vice-President, ----- Wm. Rolph, Sen. Treasurer, ----- Thos. Eliiott. Secretary, ------ Donald G. Stephenson. Directors. Messrs. Wm. Helliwell, Wm. Rolph, Sen., D. G. Stephenson, Wm. Tredway, Wm. Westney, Geo. Chester, Jerry Annis, Jas. Humphrey and Andrew Annis. The company leased a site for operations from Messrs. Gooderham & Worts and Mr. Wm. Helliwell and wife, on lot 8 in the 1st concession of Scarboro, for a term of forty years at a yearly rental of twenty cents, beside a royalty of a 160th part of the proceeds. The directors made a contract with Mr. Hood, of TOI'OURAPHY AND GKOLOGV. 17 Toronto, to bore to the depth of 1,000 feet. This was effected without tiiidinj,' oil, although brine of the strongest character was brought up in the sand pump, but it was too much impregnated with carbonate of lime and of magnesia to be suitable for nuiking salt. When the contractor was down about 000 feet, one Harry Key, a waggon nuiker, occasionally poured a gallon of oil into the well at night, thus causing con- siderable excitement in the neighborhood. It failed to occur to Key and others that wells did not yield refined oil. A difference of opinion having arisen between the contractor and the directors as to the depth reached by the drill, careful measurements made by Messrs. Wni. Tredway and Geo. Chester showed that it had penetrated 1,002 feet. It is to be regretted that notes of the boring made at the time have been lost, and that there is no statement of the analysis of the brine. Mr. Helliwell has supplied from memory the figures touching the strata passed through, and these are given herein on page 11, foot-note. Notwithstanding the . failure of the company to realize their reasonable enough expectations, the pluck and public spirit of the stockholders are to be commended. Unlike those who hope to find coal in Ontario, tlie Scarboro Oil Company had not only the theories of science, but the facts of experience in their favor, and failure to strike oil at a thousand feet does not prove that petroleum may not exist at even a less depth not very far away. That the boring was made through soapstone, would seem to indicate that possible oil-bearing rock had been passed. In the annual report of the Geological Survey of 18 History of the Township of Scarboro. Canada, for 1890-91, Mr. Brummell writes of a "Well at Highland Creek": "I have been unable to obtain any authentic account of operations at this point, and give the following as the result of inquiries made at different times and of various persons. The informa- tion shows that a well was sunk near this village, during either 1866 or 1867, to a depth of 682 feet, penetrating the Trenton limestone to a depth of 434 feet, in which formation it is reported that large quantities of gas w^ere struck. " The record of the well is reported as follows : Surface (blue clay) - - 48 feet. Shale, black, - - 200 n Hudson R. and XJtica. Limestone, . - . 434 ,, Trenton. " The fact that this well was at once abandoned shows that there was, as is usual in this district, but a small flow of gas." This statement only renders matters more confusing. Not only was gas not sought for when the Highland Creek well was bored, but the records of strata pene- trated are totally dissimilar and Mr. Brummell's figures are little more than two-thirds of those sup- plied by Mr. Helliwell (p. 11), whose statement that the soapstone penetrated measured one hundred feet in thickness, is astounding. No carefulness can be too minute in recording particulars relating to deep borings, copies of which should be forwarded to the Department of the Bureau of Mines, Toronto, and to the Geological Survey, Ottawa. A complete list of the shareholders of the Scarboro Oil Company will be found in the Appendix. Their enterprise was a praiseworthy one, and their names should not be forgotten. Before the White Man. 19 CHAPTER II. BEFORE THE WHITE MAN. "Tribe was giving place to tribe, language to language ; for the Indian, hopelessly unchanging in respect to individual and social development, was, as regards tribal relations and local haunts, unstable as the wind." — Parkman. WHEN Canada was taken possession of by the French near the middle of the sixteenth century, it is probable that nearly all the peninsula formed by the great lakes, and a wide strip extending easterly along the shores of Lake Ontario and the River St. Lawrence, were occupied by members of the powerful Huron-Iroquois Indians; the rest of the territory (forming Upper Canada at a more recent date) having been in the hands of the Algonkins who were less disposed to occupy fixed places of abode, for it is well known that the former people settled them- selves in what by courtesy we call villages, consisting of rudely constructed houses built, or put together with poles and sheets of bark in a sufficiently perma- nent manner to last for a few years. Many of these dwellings, bemg intended to accommodate several families, were, according to our ideas, of disproportion- ate length when compared with their breadth, measur- ing from fifty to three hundred feet in one direction, and not more than fifteen or twenty in the other. 20 History of the Township of Scarboro. W\ now remaining to indicate the sites of these *' long houses " are rows of ashes mingled with char- coal and fragments of bone, shell and coarse pottery. When the floors of such huts became inconveniently filthy, rather, perhaps, because of the quantity than the quality of the deposit, the village was removed to some other eligible situation, the old name being retained. These removals have led to considerable confusion arising from the accounts of travellers, who mention this or that village of a given name, in places several miles apart, because the references have been made at, and to, different periods. It will be seen that this mode of living implies some other differences in customs when we compare the Huron with the roving Algonkin. The comparatively settled life of the Hurons afforded an opportunity to perform a few agricultural operations of a simple kind. Perhaps it was the desire to grow corn, pumpkins and beans that led to the fixity of habitation. However this may have been, the women of the village led a much easier and, on the whole, a more comfortable life than their unsettled Algonkin sisters, and they were thus enabled to devote considerable time to the pro- duction of pottery, the making and adorning of gar- ments, and the forming of numerous tools required to carry on these operations, assisted, no doubt, in the last-mentioned, by the men of the tribe. Ceremonial observances must also have been modified if they did not sometimes actually originate as a result of this village habit, and in none of these was this more marked than in the modes of burial. The Hurons first interred bodies singly, or exposed them on a scaffold, or in a tree, until the flesh dropped Before the White Man. 21 from the bones. At intervals of ten or twelve years was held the Great Feast of the Dead, one of the most important and most impressive ceremonies performed by this people, and one, too, peculiar to themselves. A large pit having been dug, usually on an eminence, the collected bones of all who had died since the holding of the last "feast " were thrown into the excavation, while the shamans, or medicine-men performed their incanta- tions, and the assembled people howled and gesti- culated to terrify the bad okis, and probably burned tobacco to win the favor of the good ones. It is the occurrence of such communal graves, bone-pits or ossuaries, that leads to the popular conclusion account- ing for the presence of so many skeletons as the result of battles fought close by. The inveterate foes of the Hurons were the Iroquois, a people of their own kith and kin. We have no means of knowing for how long a bitter warfare was carried on between the two branches of this great family, but while it lasted it was most remorseless, until in 1649 the Hurons, or Wyandots, as they were also named, were almost exterminated, the few sur- vivors being driven out of the country. It is chiefly of these people that we find remains in the form of stone, shell and bone relics in this part of Ontario. The Iroquois having accomplished their purpose in the destruction of the Hurons, and their attention being otherwise engaged until they ultiniately became involved in the colonial troubles between the British and the French, found no time to repel the hordes of Ojibwas* who, spreading themselves southwards, soon *Also spelled Ojebways, Ojibbewas, Chippewas, and various other ways. 22 History of the Township of Scarboro. occupied all the abandoned territory of the Hurons and Neutrals, to the very margins of Erie and Ontario. It was with this branch of the enormously wide- spread Algonkin family that the British settlers came into contact, and with its members that our early leg- islators had to deal in acquiring peaceful possession of the soil for agricultural purposes. Our governmental transactions with the aborigines have always been characterized by fairness, if not generosity, but it is doubtful whether those who procured cessions and surrenders from the Mississaugas (by which name our Ojibwas were known) would have treated them so liberally had it been apparent that these Indians them- selves were, comparatively, new-comers, whose oc- cupancy did not extend further back than from fifty to a hundred years. That few relics of the kind mentioned belong to this people will appear evident when it is borne in mind that, during the whole time the Mississaugas have had a foothold here, communication with the whites enabled them to procure necessary arti«"les of a superior kind to those of their own production. The area now embraced by Scarboro township was undoubtedly a desirable one for the Indian. The lake-shore cliffs formed an admirable defence against attack from the south, so that enemies from that quarter must needs have approached the villages by a circuitous route ; there could not be better soil for their extremely simple method of cultivation ; exten- sive forests of magnificent pine, with here and there clamps and ranges of hard-wood trees in great variety, afforded ideal places of domicile ; small fruits were plentiful, and numerous streams supplied fish of Before the White Man. 23 different kinds in abundance, while game, we may presume, was not difficult to procure. General evidences of Indian occupancy have been observed in many parts of this township, but most of the traces serving to point out village sites, potteries, or corn patches, have long since been cultivated be- yond recognition. Among the localities showing proof of aboriginal residence are lot 25, lot 30 (north halt), and lot 32 (south half), on the 2nd concession, where relics have been picked up ; while on lot 25, concession 1, a number of graves have been found. Large ash beds, half an acre in extent, may yet be seen on the farm of Mr. Martin Willis, lot 13, con- cession 2. Indian relics have been found on lot 25, the north half of lot 30, and the south half of lot 32, all on the 3rd concession. Eelics of various kinds have been found on lot 31, concession 4, where there seems tc have been a camp- ing ground. A specimen bearing a highly polished surface was found here. No ossuaries, or single graves, have been discovered in this neighborhood. On lot 25, concession 4, and lot 23, concession 3, old camping grounds have been recognized. Another camping ground was seen on lot 22, concession 5. A Mississauga camp, consisting of bark lodges affording shelter to forty persons, is reported to have existed on lot 29, concession 3, as recently as 1835. In connection with this encampment, perhaps the last of its kind in these parts, Mr. J. L. Paterson relates that his father saw one of the Indians seize a red-hot brand from the fire, and apply it to stanch the bleeding of one of his wrists, from which the hand had just been 24 History of the Township of Scarboro. cut off in an encounter with another member of the band. At the place known as Bead Hill, specimens con- nected with the Mississaugas have been unearthed, consisting of "Queen Anne" gun-barrels with copper sights, hunting knives, copper kettles, and other articles of European manufacture. Along the hill formerly known as the Hog's Back, an Indian trail runs toward the west. The Rouge yields many evidences that its banks were, of old time, frequented by the red man, Algonkin as well as Huron and Iroquois. Perhaps the earliest printed reference to this fact is to be found in a small volume by William Brown, printed in Leeds, England, in 1849. Some of the men employed in his saw-mill discovered a quantity of human bones on the bank of the stream, and from time to time stone and bone relics have been found at intervals along both banks of the river. Foundation and Settlement. 25 CHAPTER III. FOUNDATION AND SETTLEMENT. " We cannot overstate our debts to the past, but the moment has the supreme claim. The past is for us, but the sole terms on which it can become ours, are its subordination to the present." — Emerson. BEFORE 1790 this part of the Province was known to trappers and Indian traders only, and but for the selection of Toronto by Governor Simcoe as his new capital, it might have remained unoccupied by the whites for another quarter of a century or even more. Having determined upon calling the seat of govern- ment York, in honor of the Duke of that title, it was natural enough that, influenced as he was, he should adopt other names connected with the English original, and we accordingly have Whitby, Darlington, Picker- ing, Markham and Scarboro. In like manner the French St. John became the Humber, the stream to the east he called the Don, and the Rouge he dubbed the Nen.* *In Chewitt's map of 1813, but probably as a misprint, this river is marked the New. The graceful writer who treats of this neighborhood in the second volume of "Picturesque Canada," speaks of "the well-wooded Heights of Scarboro, which early French explorers called Les Grandes Ecores. This the Loyalists Englished into 'The High Lands,' so that the stream flowing through the Heights is still called ' Highland Creek.' A little to the west of the Seneca village [Qanerask^, now Port Hope] was a stream that 3 26 History of the Township of Scarboro. When the townships along the lake front were laid out by Surveyor Augustus Jones, in 1701, it is said that Pickering, Scarboro and York were respectively named Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin. The people of this township may congratulate themselves in having now a more appropriate name in Scarboro,* • jjave kindly shelter to distressed canoes ; and so by Indians of the next •century and of a different race, it was named Katabokokonk, or the ' River •of Easy Entrance.' In niaking its way to the lake, it pierced a hill of red tenacious clay, which sufficiently colored its waters to justify the old F"anch name, Rivihe Roiigt. In his attempt to reproduce in Upper Oanada the east coast of England, Simcoe re-christened this stream the Ncn, just as he had converted St. John into the Humber, and La Grande Rivifere into the Ouse. But like the Grand River, the Rouge fortunately survived the palimpsest maps of Governor Simcoe. It is still the Rouge, and the name is interesting as the sole trace now remaining on this north- west shore, of the old Sulpician Mission and of Louis the Fourteenth's domain." * Scnrboyoii{fh, Isaac Taylor tells us in his " Words and Places, " is a word of Norse origin, Scar meaning a face or cliff, from skera, to shear or ■cut asunder. In a foot-note he refers to the cognate words in Gaelic and Erse, sgeir, a cliff, and in Anglo-Saxon, seiran, to divide. "Hence," he •says, "the shire, a division of the kingdom, the shorp, which divides land from sea, the skewer, the ploughs/iare and the shears, instruments for divid- ing, and a share, a divided part. A sharoer consists of divided drops of water. To score is to make notches on a stick, and the numeral, a score, ■denotes the number of notches such a stick would contain. A scar is the mark where the flesh has been divided. A shard is a bit of broken pottery. JShear, sharp, and skarp denote that something has been cut off'. Sewer, scare and scour are from the same root." Borough is connected with beorgan, an Anglo-Saxon word meaning to INDIAN. As her husband, she lived and died respected, leaving behind her above 100 Descendants. As time ruvs on, so families pass away ; Ye living m,en improve the present day ; seek that home that lies beyond the grave, Employ all means th' immortal soul to save. 40 History of the Township of Scarhoro. The experiences of other early settlers in the town- ship were more or less similar to that of the Thomsons — they all had to overcome the difficulties of clearing the forest, to live in the rudely-built log-houses and to endure the like privations. In writing the history of one we have that of all. Among the names most prominent in the annals of the township in the early days of the century are Annis, Cornell, Elliot, Pherrill, Devenish, Kennedy, Smith, Post, Palmer, Paterson, Secor, Chester and Adams. The founder of the Annis family on this continent came to Massachusetts, U.S., in 1670. His descend- ant, Charles Annis, attracted by the bounty offered by Ijieut. -Governor Simcoe, came over into Canada in 1793. He first settled in Whitby township, but removed to Scarboro, to lots 16, concessions C and D, which he purchased in 1808. He had not borne arms in the War of Independ- ence, and he took the oath of allegiance to the British Crown before Eobert Baldwin, J. P., on January 15th, 1801. His son Levi, with William Cornell and the early settlers in the township, cut out the timber along the route through the forest for the Kingston Road in 1800, and Charles Annis with his second son was employed by Government, in 1812, to carry the mail between York and a post half a mile east of the present town of Oshawa. Roger Coonet (Vankoughnet ?) and John Buck had come from the United States with Charles Annis, one of whose sons married a daughter of Coonet, by whom he had a large family, who all married and settled in the township. Levi Annis's house appears to have been used as The Pioneers. 41 quarters for contingents of British soldiers when on their way np from Kingston to York and Niagara. Fears of invasion and raids made by parties from the United States were a source of anxiety to the settlers. Many stories are told, althougl there are not sufficient data extant to render them authentic his<^ory. One in connection with Levi Anni 's house is to the effect that upon an alarm bping given of the approach of the enemy, the soldiers quartered there buried their money in Gates's Gully, close by. As there is no record of the money having been dug up again, belief in the story has led to many a search being made for it by the romance- loving lads in the township. A daughter of William Fawcett, who came to Can- ada from Cumberland, in 1825, and bought lot 15, concession 1, married into the Annis family. Though not as numerous as the Thomsons, the Annises married and intermarried with the families of the other early settlers, and formed an important constituency in the township. James Elliot, who accompanied David Thomson in his original journey, was also the founder of a large family. He came to Canada in the same year, and was employed in the government works at York. He took up lot 21, concession D^ and married Janet Thom- son, niece of David, in 1802, their marriage being the first celebrated in the township. He afterwards moved to lot 24, concession 3, also taking up lot 25, which, being on Clergy Reserve land, was available for pre-emption only. Three of his sons w^ho survived him received one hundred acres each. His daughters married, and moved with their husb nds 4 42 History of the Township of Scarboro. into other townships. Some of his descendants still reside in Scarhoro. Stephen Pherrill is another name around which early reminiscences group themselves. Born in 1782, near the liiver St. John, at a point where it divides the State of Maine and New Brunswick, he married Elizabeth Hussell and came to Scarboro in 1803. The route by which they travelled was a loncf one. He rowed his wife and child, with the small amount of baggage they possessed, in a small boat up the St. Lawrence and up the lake to York. There he was employed in Scadding's mill, on the Don Kiver. He took up lot 24, concession B, in 1805 or 1806. When war broke out in 1812, Stephen placed his team at the service of tlie Government, and was em- ployed to convey soldiers, stores and ammunition from Kingston to Niagara. He also carried the dispatches from York to Whitby, having to swim his horse across the River Rouge. His wife siiared the task, for when he reached his fann upon the return journey, weary and wet, his horse jaded and tired, she mounted the other horse and carried the dispatches on to York, while her husband took needed rest. There is a story told of this brave woman defying a party of rude Americans who came into her house, and, with wanton violence, destroyed all they could not carry away. She was forced to desist from active protestations against the breaking of her crockery by threats of being killed if she were not quiet. Dishes were valuable things in those days — all such neces- saries having to be brought from Montreal in bateaux (large flat boats), forced up the rapids by men with strong poles, and occupying many days on the journey. Thk Pionkeks. 43 Her sou Adiia was bom in Scarboro in IHIO. He died in 1892, and his son Tilnioth now lives on the farm. Wiihani Devenish was another of the earliest settlers. Born in London, he came to Canada via New York, and crossed the Niagara River in 1792. He was a carpenter, and probably was also employed on the new government buildings at York. He settled in Scarboro, lot 35, concession C, in 1804, and built the first frame barn in the township in 1807. It was pulled down by D. Hough, of Medonte, in 1840. The scantling used for braces and girths were hewn from rough timber with the axe ; the boards were split from pine logs ; the material used for doors was sawn by hand ; the nails were made by a blacksmith. It is to be regretted that this building was not preserved as a monument to the industry and perseverance of the early settlers. It is supposed that the old school- house in this section was built about the same time. The loneliness of life in the woods is graphically illustrated by a gift made by William Devenish to an incoming settler named Foglie, in 1810, whom he induced to accept a life-lease of one hundred acres of heavily wooded land, part of his own lot, for the nominal rental of one shilling a year, in order that he might secure him as a neighbor. Foghe settled on it and married. He does not appear to have done much clearing, except to dispose of the timber. The Lewis Lumber Company, having built a large steam mill at Norway in 1822, bought a quantity of the valuable pine from Foglie. He died in 1825, but bis landlord allowed his widow to remain on the lot. Mrs. Foglie was found murdered in her 44 HiSTORV OF THE TOWNSHIP OF SCARHORO. house about twelve years after the death of her hus- band. It was generally supposed that the reports of her wealth and the hope of getting possession of it had excited the cupidity of some of the men employed at the mill. The truth of this has never been ascer- tained. The murderer failed to find her money, as it was discovered later sew^ed up inside a mattress. The land then reverted to the original owner. William Devenish was married to Jane Webster by Parson Addison, a w^ell-known divine of that date, 1799. Her family came to Scarboro and lived on the I)evenish farm. His brother-in-law^ and William Purdy built a carvling mill on the little Don, just on the town line between York and Scarboro, This mill was run by the latter in 1820, but the date of its erection is uncertain. William Devenish was the assessor and tax collector and commissioner for the township for twenty-seven years before the municipal laws came into force, and was a J. P. until his death, on July 29th, 1856. He had eleven children, the only one of whom surviving is Ann, married to J. P. Wheler. William Cornell also belongs to the group of the earliest settlers, coming in next to Thomson. De- scended from a Cornell, or Cornwell, who came to America and settled in Rhode Island in 163C, William Cornell w^as born on October 29th, 17C6. He came to Scarboro and took up lots 17 and 18, concession C, on the lake front, at the end of last century. He brought his wife and family across the lake in a boat, which they anchored out from the shore and lived in until the house was built. He plied a lucrative trade across the lake, carrying grain, potatoes, etc., to The Pioneers. 45 Oswego. He lost both her and her cargo of wheat in 1812. She was probably seized in Oswego as a legitimate war-prize. Having to carry his corn and wheat to Port Hope to be ground, he made an early effort to supply the need of the settlers. He built the first grist and saw-mill in the township, conveying the mill-stones for the former from Kingston on his sled, and paying for them with a span of young colts. He set out the first orchard in the township about the year 1802. William Cornell was twice married. His first wife died in 1808. His second was Tinv, the widow of Parshall Terry. By her he had two sons and four daughters. She died in 1834. Cornell belonged to the Society of Friends. He lived to the great age of 93 years and 6 months. William Knowles, the ancestor of the present E. Knowles, also had an eventful journey to the town- ship. Born in England, he came here from New\ Jersey with his wife and seven children in 1803. Coming by boat round the head of Lake Ontario, they were obliged to put in at the Forty Mile Creek, the site of the present tow^n of Grimsby, where the eighth child, and father of the present R. Knowles, was born. Xo details are extant as to whether the poor w^oman had other care than her husband could give her, or whether the child was born under the shelter of a roof or of a tent. This was probably but one more of the many instances recorded of the endurance and bravery of the women whose sons have inherited their pluck and made Canada wdiat it is to-day As soon as Mrs. Knowles was able to travel, they came on to Scarboro, probably by road, as the record 4G History of the Township of Scarboro. is that William Knowles bought lot 3, concession 1, from Jesse Ketchum, paying for it with a span of horses, a set of harness, and waggon. It is reasonable to suppose that after the birth of the child it was more difficult to continue their journey by water. The Forty Mile Creek was also in the direct road from Niagara to York, and the exchange of boat for horses and waggon w^ould not be a difficult matter to arrange. He had been led to suppose when he purchased the lot that he would find a house ready to receive his family. He found only the roofless walls of a log shanty, and the first days of his life in Scarboro were spent under the trees. Knowles was a blacksmith and built the first smithy, making the nails used in building the first frame barn in the township. He planted out an orchard, naming each tree after the child who dug the obstructing stump out of the spot where the tree was set. He grew his own fiax, and his wife, who was of Dutch descent, carded, spun and wove all the blank- ets, linen and cloth required for the family. William Knowles died in May, 1825; his wife survived him till January 27th, 1842. Dying intestate, his property went to his eldest son Richard, who, however, g<^nerously divided it equally with his brothers. Daniel subse- quently bought out his brothers' shares, and lived on the estate until 1861. The stone house on the lot was built in 1832, and while being the second erected in the township, is believed now to be the oldest stand- ing. Daniel kept the first store in the section, and was part owner with James Adams of a vessel plying between Canadian and United States ports. The Pioneers. 47 In 1835, Daniel Knowles was appointed one of the Commissioners for making the present Kingston Road. In 1850, he was a prominent member of the Scarboro and Pickering Wharf Company. This company did an excellent business in shipping grain, tan-bark, tim- ber and cordwood, until the building of the Grand Trunk Railway diverted the traffic. He was elder of a sect known as the " Disciples of Christ." They held their meetings in the old school-house on his land. His sister Anna was one of the notables of the township. She kept house for him. Rising early, she performed her own domestic duties, then saddled a horse, well known in the section as the " Old Sorrel," and rode five miles to Pickering, where her brother John lived. After baking, washing or scrubbing for him, and setting his bachelor quarters in order, she rode home again before evening, following the banks of the Rouge, making " Old Sorrel " swim across intervening creeks. She seems to have been a matter-of-fact woman, probably possessing a sense of humor, and was celebrated as one of the best soap- makers in the section. When one of her neighbors asked "in what moon" she made it, she replied to her superstitious querist, that her " soap was made in a kettle, not in the moon." James Kennedy came from Schenectady, N.Y., in 1800, and settled on lot 28, concession 5. The names of three of his sons are prominent in the militia annals of the township. He nad five sons and three daugh- ters, most of whom married and settled here. His grandson Thomas, having sold lot 28, concession 4 (his father's property), to Mr. Eckardt, succeeded him on the old homestead, where he lived till 1847, 48 History of the Township of Scarboro. when he bought lot 26, concession 3. Many of James Kennedy's descendants own lots in the township ; others are in good positions in different parts of the country. Isaac Chester, born in Northumberland, England, about 1785, married Elizabeth Whitfield, in . 808, and came to Canada, via New York, in 1819. He remained some time in York, where he was employed in building the brick house (still standing) on the corner of King and Frederick streets, Toronto, afterwards occupied by the Canada Company's offices. He moved to Scarboro about 1820, taking out a 100-acres' grant on lot 26, concession C, and bought the present home- stead, lot 25, concession D, from Elummerfelt, another resident of Scarboro, about 1828. He died at the age of eighty-six, his wife at eighty-two. He had nine children, and has a number of descendants still resident in the township. George, his fourth son, who lives on lot 19, conces- sion D, keeps a general store. He was lieutenant in the Scarboro militia ; postmaster from 1853 to 1858 ; member of the council for eight years, filling the office of Reeve for six and of 1 )eputy-Iieeve for two years. He is a member of the Church of England and a Conservative. He married Elizabeth Finlay, and has three sons and two daughters. Thomas Adams, or, as he was better known among the settlers, " Uncle Tommy Adams," was another of the early settlers. He was said to like his sobriquet so well that he declined to be addressed by any other name. He came to Canada from Vermont, U.S., in 1808, and settled upon lots 1, concessions D and 1. He built a log-house on the bank overlooking the lake, and i-"^ W 1-5 ^ c ^ X -" cii 3-3 H.-^ c — ^ * r* c 1 > i =:K rr • " V C? " E •"" • r3 ? X __ 9 c)T — j:: i-I _. z ft tl:- rD — _ ~ • ~ 3* >■ r.". t^' ^ 3-V ra-r X * X n • ^ v: ft -•* cr^ ■^ ■* ^ -2 ' i^ fz; r ? 5' ~ ^ T D r*^ zT- — m w * p~^ sT'"^, H •:"• fr_ ■* ■ '-^ — * ^ ^* 5"" = r 0" Q * ^ - — a~ =!S.3 < ^^ 1— ' 2 TT &* — '-* — -! 33 -; c ({} •-•_.— cc p — 3^ 3 - i- 5 re t nr li.* X' m ii>* 2 ^-1 re ^ >' ct re -^ rt (/) «^ r" • * " S" ^i* — => n, cc I**- — II i"?-H -■_* ~ ^ — ^^ re ^ 2 The Pioneers. 49 later on, a brick one. The latter was struck by light- ning about the year 1832, when his son William was killed. Thomas Adams was a carpenter, and captain of an American sailing-vessel during the war of 1812. He was driven for refuge into Highland Creek. There, fearing his cargo of guns, brass kettles and ammuni- tion might be seized, he threw everything overboard, and, tradition adds, "the drowned cargo is still sup- posed to be lying at the bottom of the creek." About 183-1, Thomas Adams, in partnership with John Allen, built a sailing-vessel at the mouth of Highland Creek. They named her the Mary Ami. Adams built the first school-house in the section, in 1836. It is still staading, a cottage of planks, on the Kingston Koad. Many of the first frame houses in the neighborhood were also put up by him. Adams had six sons and two daughters. One of the sons, James, was a sailor and part owner with Daniel Knowles of the Highland Chief, a vessel built at the Humber Eiver about 1834. This vessel was lost in a great storm on the lakes, when all hands perished. The wreck was driven ashore at Presqu' He Point, overhauled, and ultimately sold to Thomas Scott. Among the earliest names in the township is Ash- bridge, a U. E. Loyalist. Around it a peculiar inter- est centres. Sarah Ashbridge, a widow, with her children, came from Philadelphia in 1790. She was given a grant of two hundred acres, lot 27, con- cession B. Her story would be interesting ; her loy- alty, endurance and perseverance in making the jour- ney from Philadelphia to Canada, and at that early date taking up land in the wilds of a new township, in order to li^ e and bring up her children under the 60 History of the Township of Scarkoro. shadow of the Union Jack, should be a narrative of no commonplace nature. It is to be regretted that this story cannot be gathered and given now to the readers of the records of a century in the township. Mrs. Ashbridge bequeathed her land to two of her grandsons, Andrew Heron and James McClure. Her son Jonathan was granted lot 26, concession B. He gave it to his son Isaac in 1844. Isaac married Ruth, daughter of George Auburn, and his son Jonathan now owns the farm. Isaac died in 18V)4. At the time of the terrible massacre of St. Barthol- omew, when so many lost their lives for the Protest- ant faith, two brothers and a sister left their home and property. They made their escape from the shores of France in an old scow, and were taken on board a British merchant ship bound for New York. Here they landed and made a home for themselves and their descendants, accunmlating a fine property in the New World. Part of this estate is the present Jerome Park, the finest race-track in America. Upon the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, their loyalty to the flag under which their ancestors had been rescued made it impossible for them to join the rebels, or take any part in the revolutionary movement. Isaac Secor, the representative of the Old French Huguenot family of De S^cor, left his property and crossed into Canada. He came first to Kingston, and moving west, built the first stone mill at Napanee, and it is probably from this mill, and the quantity of flour ground in it that the place was named by luhe Indians " Napanee," — flour or bread. In or about the year 1817, he under- took the contract to improve the Kingston Road The Pioneers. 51 through the township of Scarboro, a distance of about twelve miles, for the sum of $1,100. He married and left four daughters and two sons, who remained in the township. The Secors, father and sons, served in the militia (for particulars, see Militia chapter), proving their loyalty and devotion to be as great in the Scarboro branch of the family as in that settled in the Niagara peninsula, which had the fidelity and courage of Laura Secord to glorify it. Instances of the changes made in names by their environment are common throughout the country. In the Secors the Scarboro branch had but dropped the noble prefix of "de." In Niagara it was also dropped; but the pronunciation of the name led to its being spelled with a final " d," Secord. A greater alteration, however, occurs in that of Pierre le Pelletier, which, in Scarboro, is now only known and recognized as Peter Pilkey. The celebra- tion of the centennial of Scarboro settlement might be a favorable date on which to restore the name to its original form. Pierre le Pelletier de Scarboro was born at Three Eivers about 1775. He came to Kingston in 1800, and thence to York, in a vessel carrying a cargo of potash kettles. There being no wharf at York, the kettles were carefully lowered from the deck to the water, when, it is said, the men got into them and paddled ashore ! Thus did Pierre le Pelletier, the ancestor of the Pilkeys of to-day, arrive at York. He first located on the right bank of the Don, within the limits of the town of York, and obtained employment at the New Fort. 52 History of the Township of Scarhoro. During 1812 he held the post of baker to the garrison, and when the capital was attacked by the Americans under Chauncey, his stone bread-trough was rendered useless by an enemy's cannon-ball. It is stated that Le Pelletier took an active part in the war of 1812, and that his family still possess a medal given him for blowing up the fort at Detroit. Fort Detroit was not blown up — the fort at York was, either by accident or design, probably the latter ; and if this Fvench-Canadian was bhe man detailed to the duty, and was thus rewarded for it, a valuable item would be added to the history of that memorable day. In the same year he was employed in the convey- ance of a cannon and an anchor from Kingston to Penetanguishene. These were drawn by oxen from the Rouge to Holland Landing, by way of the Dan- forth and Old Ridge Roads. From Holland Landing to the head of Kempenfeldt Bay they were conveyed on a raft, thence from the site of the present towai of Barrie to the Nottawasaga River by land, with the intention of completing the distance by that river to the Georgian Bay, and along its shores to Penetan- guishene. But, alas ! the anchor was lost in the river, wdiere it remains to the present day.* Pierre le Pelletier settled on lot 35, concession 1, and his family of nine sons formed a valuable company for the development of the towaiship's resources. Another Scarhoro pioneer with an interesting re- cord was Joseph Harrington. His father, mother, *This anchor was of enormous weight, and the cost of its transport reached the sum of seven hundred pounds. It should be taken up and preserved as an historical relic in the County of Simcoe. It would make an excellent monument. The Pioneers. 53 grandmother and one child, U. E. Loyahsts, left Cleveland, Ohio, early in the spring of 1804. Driving their own horses and bringing several cows with them, they crossed the Niagara and came around the head of the lake. Owing probably to the rate of travel possible for the cattle, the party were longer on the road than they had calculated upon. When they reached the Huniber Kiver near Weston, it was neces- sary to make a halt. They succeeded in securing an old stable as a lodging, and there Joseph Harring- ton was born, on July 17, 1804. As soon as Mrs. Harrington was able to travel, they moved on to Markham. Young Joseph married Sarah Pickel, of Darlington, in 1832, and settled in the township of Scarboro, on lot 19, concession 2, seventy-five acres of which he bought from Wm. Proudfoot. This part of the township was still covered with forest, and the Harringtons had many experiences similar to those of the earliest settlers. During the first summer they lived in v ane house w^ithout either door or window, and did all their cooking on a camp fire in the open air. Harrington built a mill-dam and mill during the first year, and although it w^as a great labor it was a great success, and the time spent in the work proved a good investment both for himself and his neighbors. James Jones, a Welshman, took up his abode on lot 28, concession C, in 1811. He obtained a twenty- one years' lease of it from the Clergy Reserve, paying for the first seven years an annual rental of ten shil- lings, or three bushels of good wheat ; thL second seven years the rental was increased tc one pound (twenty shillings), or six bushels, and the last seven, 54 HisT(jRY (JF THK Township of Scakhoko. one pound ten shillings, or nine bushels of good wheat, was claimed. He purchased this hundred acres in 1829, obtaining a deed from King's College. Jonathan Gates, who settled on lots 19 and 20, ooncession C, in 1815, is another name familiar to early settlers. He was the proprietor of the well- known Gates's Tavern, and his name will occur fre- quently in what follows. The name of Helliwell is now a prominent one in the township. In the records of the founder of the family in Canada there are several very interesting items. Thomas Hilliwell was a cotton spinner in Tough- stone, Yorkshire, Enghiiid. In 1818 he decided to try his fortune in the New World, but owing to some guild re:julation preventing skilled workmen leaving England, he v/as obliged to smuggle himself on board a sailing-vessel at Sunderland, and arrived in Quebec just after the river was free of ice. He settled first at Lundy's Lane, and opened a store for general mer- chandise at the junction of Lundy's Lane and the Chippewa Road, now a central corner in the village of Drummondville. His family joined him in August. He also rented the building afterwards occupied as a museum at Niagara Falls. It was then a distillery, and Thomas Helliwell carried on the business in con- nection with his general store, exchanging goods for grain, which he made into whiskey and sold at a York-shilling a gallon.^ Thomas Helliwell bought lot 7, concession 1, from a man at the Falls in 1820, but did not settle on it. * A York-shilling was a British sixpenny piece, and was equivalent to sevenpence halfpenny currency, or twelve and a half cents. Thk Pioneers. 55 His son, William HoUivvell, came to the township in 1847. In 1821 he bought the Don Mills, and l)uilt a brewery there. After his death in 1825 his three elder sons carried on the business, until William became of age, when he was taken into partnership and remained in the firm until he removed to Scarboro in 1847. He lived in the rough-cast cottage near the present post- oflice at Highland Creek. He has been twice married, and has a number of descendants living in the town- ship and in other parts of Canada. John Hough was another of the earlier settlers who came to Canada, crossing at Queenston in 1794. His son William, born in Albany, N.Y., in 1777, came to Scarboro before the close of the century. He settled on 200 acres of lots 28, concessions A and B, on what is now called the Kennedy lioad. His father and the rest of the family followed him in 1804, and took up the 200 acres of lot 30, concession B, since known as Hough's Corners, a name it has borne for over eighty years. John built the first saw-mill on the little stream running through the east corner of lot 30, con- cession C, in 1816. We get a quaint little peep of life in the bush from the records of the Walton family. John Walton, born in Cumberland, England, in 1799, emigrated to Canada, with his parents, in 1818. Having worked in the lead mines in England, he turned his knowledge to account by sinking wells. Many of those in the neighborhood of Gooderham & W^orts' distillery were sunk by John Walton. In 1823 he settled in Scar- boro, on lot 35, concession 2, and lot "" >, concession 3, for which he paid $1 an acre. He afitrwards sold the north half to Robert Oliver, and lived on the south 56 History of the Township of Scarboro. half. He married Mary Thomson, third daughter of the first settler in Scarboro. Mrs. Walton carried her butter and eggs to York market, a distance of ten miles, by a footpath through the woods. She received fourpence a pound for her butter, or one York-shilling for two pounds, and the same for her eggs per dozen, taking groceries and other necessaries instead of cash. Oue takes an interest in learning that cit the end of three years the family fortunes had prospered well enough to provide the worthy daughter of a brave mother with a mare called "Kate," and a side-saddle on which she might ride to market. After two years more, the industrious couple procured a second steed, and, with ingenious fingers, fashioned for the team a set of harness, from strips of bassw^ood bark. Thomas Paterson, born in Kelso, Scotland, settled on lot 28, concession 3. He was a Presbyterian, and Thomas Paterson was one of the first elders ordained in St. Andrews's Church. His son William had pre- ceded him by two years, taking out his patent in 1818. The land was uncleared, and the family endured all the hardships and privations inseparable from life in the bush. His grandson, John L., settled on lot 27, concession 3, is noted for the pride he has taken in the successful working of his farm. Other grandsons are James, Thomas and Andrew, all leading farmers on the Kennedy Road. Between the years 1820 and 1830 we find many names still prominent in the township. Among them was John Perryman Wheler, a Devonshire man, who took an active interest in church affairs and was one of the most prominent in all agricultural matters, being for thirty years a director in one or other of the The Pioneers. o7 agricultural societies in the township, or in the Ivast Kiding of York, and a life niemher of the Agriculture and Arts Association of Ontario. He was also a mem- ber of the township council, and for eighteen years held the office of reeve. Mr. Wheler was an able man, being conversant with municipal law, and con- sidered an authority on all questions within its scope. As president of the first regularly constituted Reform Association in the township, he took a lively part in its proceedings. He was License Inspector from the date of the Crooks Act until his death. James lonson is another name belonging to this date. He came from Westmoreland, England, and settled on lot 29, concession D, in 1827. Robert Jackson, born in Yorkshire in 1803, came with his wife and four children to Canada. He bought lot 17, concession D, from J. Willmot. After living twelve years in the log-house, he desired to build a brick residence. To do so it was first necessary to make the bricks. This he did on the farm, puddling the clay by the feet of his oxen. Mr. Jackson actively assisted in the building of St. Margaret's Church, and served as churchwarden in Christ Church for eleven years. He was married twice, his second wife being a daughter of Pennock Thompson. He had eighteen children, all of whom married and settled in Canada, and his descendants would make a regiment 850 strong. His son, Thompson Jackson, was director and presi- dent of the Scarboro Agricultural Society for ten years, and representative of the township council for three. Stephen Washington, the founder of Washington Methodist Church, built in 1842, settled on lot 22, concession C, in 1824. 6 58 History of the Townshii' of Scarboro. James Humphrey, born in the County of Tyrone, Ireland, on May 31st, 1797, came to Canada m 1824. He purchased the two hundred acres of lot 16, conces- sion D, for which he paid live dollars an acre to the Clergy Reserve Fund. He was a member of the Church of England, and gave the site on wdiich Christ Church stands. He died in 1893, at the advanced age of 95 years and 11 months. Francis Armstrong, familiarly known in the town- ship as " Daddy Armstrong." He is a carpenter and wheelwright, and though in his eighty-third year, is still active. The Richardson family came from Ireland, in ^ "^23 and 1824, to lot 14, concession D. Notwithstanding the prosperity that has attended this family, its mem- bers are now widely scattered, the only representative left in the township being John, w^ho represents East York in the Local Legislature, and who is a Commis- sioner in Queen's Bench. For fourteen years he was Reeve, and in 1885 he held the position of County Warden. Numerous physicians and ministers, else- where mentioned, have done honor to the name both in this country and the United States. \/ Jordan Post, a settler who has left his own and his wife's names upon two of the central business streets of Toronto, was born in Connecticut, U.S., in 1767, came to Canada, and settled in York about 1790, and did business there in after years as a watch and clock maker. He married Melinda Woodruff about 1804. Having faith in the future of the place, he invested largely in real estate, part of it being the block where Jordan and Melinda streets retain the old iiames. He moved to Scarboro in 1829, to five hun- The Pioneers. 59 dred acres on Highland Creek, where he built a saw- )nill, and became one of the pioneer lumbermen of the district. He floated the output down the stream to a point known as Cornell's Landing, and shipped it in small sailing-vessels to various ports on the lake. He built what was known for years as the " Old Yellow House." It was burned down in 1885. It stood on the site of Mr. Tredway's present house. Here he kept a general store until his death in 1845. He left six children. His sons Jordan and Woodruff inherited the property. The latter built a second saw-mill about half a mile east of the old one, and carried on a successful busniess for some years. He finally sold out to his brother-in-law, Stephen Closson, and went to the United States, where he entered the Episcopal Methodist ministry, and is still living at Olean, N.Y. John Bell came to the township in 1820, and purchased lot 29, concession C, from Captain John McGill. He kept the 'Blue Bell" from 1833 until his death in 1866. The only clearing between this tavern and the Woodbine was a small patch on lot 32, concession B, on the hill south of the Danforth Koad, known as McCarthy's clearing. David Brown was a wheelwright and waggon-maker, lot 30, concession 3. He built two stationary thresh- ing machines for the late Wm. Hood and his brother Thomas Brown, making his horsepower wheels with wooden cogs. His name is perpetuated in the town- ship ill "Brov^rn's Corners," where the present owner of the lot is post-master. William Oliver, lot 10, concession 3, was born in Norfolk. He was employed by Richard Beatty, contractor, for improving and straightening the King- 60 History of the Township of Scarboro. ston Koad, in 183G, and was familiarly known as " Billy-go-the-Road," probably from having tramped some distance in search of work. He leased a point of land adjoining Highland Creek, which is still known as " Billy's Point." He was the iirst settler on lot 2, concession D. Marshall Macklem, lot 24, concession 4, is spoken of as the pioneer planter of trees along the roadsides, setting an example which many have followed, to the great advantage of the township. George Morgan took up lot 32, concession 3. His son John, who, with his wife, survive, are aged respectively, eighty-two and eighty years. He owned the Iirst mowing machine used in the township (about 1838). Wm. Nash, lot 20, concession 4, was for many years a well-known county constable, William Clark, born in the parish of Beith, Ken- frewshire, Scotland, settled on lot 30, concession 4, which he purchased from John Kennedy in 1838. He was a member of the Home District Council in 1842. He left seven sons and two daughters. William, jun., succeeded him, and had live sons and two daughters. The second son, John C. Clark, J. P., now occupies the homestead. Hugh, fifth son of William, sen., settled on lot 28, concession 4. Samuel Horsey, lot 30, concession 3, located in 1835. His son Ralph now lives on the homestead. His second son, George Edward, now of Kansas City, U.S., is a musician and composer of more than local fame. Andrew Fleming, born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, settled on lot 9, concession 3, 1834. He left a number The Pioneers. 61 of descendants worthy of the name to form a clan in the New World. One of them, his namesake, now occupies the homestead. Of the other names which belong to a later date of settlement, many are treated under other chapter headings and need not be referred to more particu- larly here. When this chapter was first undertaken, it was intended to give a brief account of all the families in the township, but when the material was sent in, it was found to be so incomplete, and to contain so many apparently conflicting statements, that it was decided to select only a few of the earliest familif , .3se experiences might, in a general way, represeuL ;. x. Imperative as this decision was, it is not the less regrettable, both on account of the fact that so much valuable information has been brought together, and because of the desirability that family records of the kind in question should be compiled. The manu- script, however, is preserved, and is available for future use, should it ever be decided to prepare a Scarboro Family Book. 62 History of the Township of Scarboro. THE LAND OF THE BRACING NORTH. Sing ho 1 for the land- of the bracing north, For the land of the maple tree, Whose million of fields of gold extend From the east to the western sea. Oh, ho 1 for the land of a thousand lakes, Where a myriad rivers run. Where leaps the bold blood of a hardy race In the heart of each sturdy son. May the God of the nations prosper her, May Canada's fame increase ; May the leaf of the maple proudly wave Till time shall forever cease. Sing ho ! for the land of the northern lights, Where they flash in the winter sky. And shine like the deeds of heroes dead Who were strong in the years gone by. Then here's to the land of the brave and free, And of women divinely fair, Wliere nature is glad and the sunlight laughs As it gleams in the buoyant air. Sing ho I for the land of the warlike north, For a Brock and a Lundy's Lane ; Let foeman but touch our sacred soil And we'll show him our might again. Sing ho ! for the laud of our birth and pride, For a nation that yet shall be As splendid, as famed, and as numberless As the leaves of her maple tree. — William T. Allison. SCARBORO AS IT WAS AND IS. On the Farm. 63 CHAPTER V. ON THE FARM. "The first farmer was the first man, and all historic nobility rests on possession and use of land." — Enursan. " In ancient times, the sacred plough employed The kings and awful fathers of mankind." — Thoiiition. " (3ft did the harvest to their sickle yield ; Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke ; How jocund did they drive their team afield ! How bow'd the woods beneath their sturdy stroke 1 " — -Grail. POSSESSING, as Scarboro does, almost every variety of soil, from the sandy in the south to the clay loam and heavy clay of the centre and north, the methods of tillage pursued differ accordinf^ly, but in most cases it may be said that agriculture is intelligently followed, and the results will correspond favorably with those of any other similar area in Ontario. Without exception the original settlers were char- acterized, not by industry alone, but by that strong common-sense which, while it accepts the inevitable, strives as best it may to adapt means to ends. It was, perhaps, a fortunate circumstance, that from the earliest years, those who took up land were not all, or even mainly, from any particular place. Scotsmen, Englishmen, Irishmen and natives of the United States mingled fraternally and exchanged opinions. 64 History of the Township of Scarboro. The social friction proved beneficial all round, and manifested its good effects, especially in the chosen occupation of the people. During the first half of the century, some of the best farming in Upper Canada was conducted in this township, 'ud many of the farms were brought to a condition scarcely, if at all, inferior to the best in Great Britain.* Up to this date, Scarboro has maintained its agri- cultural reputation, and some of the very finest farms on our continent may be found in this township. Special reference is made to one of these in the following pages, although it is but fair to state that there are other farms in Scarboro, quite equal to " Kelvin Grove " in all that goes to constitute high- class, successful treatment of the soil. The extracts that follow from the records of the Agricultural Society tell their own tale, and a run through the township will demonstrate the correctness of all deducible inferences. The Scarboro Agricultural Society was formed on the first day of January, A.D. 1844. The subscription for each member was five shillings. The officers were a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, and not less than twelve Directors, to be chosen annually. * " One of the best farms to be seen in this neighborhood is in the town- ship of Scarboro, belonging to Mr. Gates. He keeps a splendid tavern just ten miles from the City Hall, upon the plank road in Kingston Street, and his house is surrounded on both sides of the street with his farm, which contains about ^iOO acres, some of which extends to the borders of the lake. He takes care that every portion of it is well manured, having a large sup- ply made in his stables, and he grows everything upon his own farm that is consunied in his house except groceries. He catches ;i much tish as serves his table all the year round, and makes as much sugar from his own maple grove as he wants, and kills his own mutton, beef and pork." — W. Bkown's "Four Years in United States and Canada," p. 86. Leeds, 1849. On the Farm. G.> The anniuil meeting was fixed for the first Friday of Jiiniiary in each year, and the office-bearers' meeting quarterly, on the first F>iday of January, April, July and October. It was also decided to hold annually an exhibition of farm stock, produce and other articles, to he held on the first Friday of October in each year. It was determined, too, to hold a ploughing match if the funds would admit. The list of subscribers comprised : William Crone, J. P. Wheler, John Torrance, Thomas Brown, Arch. Malcolui, John Lee, Wm. Mason, Martin Snider, Joshua Sisley, Arcli. Glen- dinning, Joiui Stobo, Stephen Closson, R. D. Hamilton, Joiseph Armstrong, W. H. Norris, Wm. Armstrong, Isaac Che.ster, Geo. Scott, Wm. March, Tho.s. Smitli, Robert Reid, Rev. Jas. George, John Rogers, Thos. Paterson (Toronto), Jas. Finlay, Jas. Palmer, Ed. Cornell, Geo. Weir, Jas. A. Th(jmson, Jas. McCowan, Jas. Patton, Alex. Neilson, Geo. Monkman, Stephen Washington, Nicholas Richardson, Jonathan Gates, Geo. Bambridge, John Gibson, Joseph John.son, Francis Muir, Wm. Devenish, Davi<] Marsliall, Ciias. Cornell, Wm. Fitzpatrick, David Brown, Thos. Jacreiniuins were awarded : One-year-old mare II II Brood mare Ist prize lOs. II 2nd .1 5s. Two-year-olurk, John Heck. The total amount awarded was £29 10s. The officers of the Scarboro Agricultural Society for 1857 were : President, J. P. Wheler : Vice-President, Jas Lawrie ; Secretary-Treasurer, Wm. Crawford. Directors — A. Fleming, Thos. Whiteside, Jas. Purvis, R. Sylvester, F. Scott, D. Brown, Wm. Wride, Alex. Thomson, John Hockri; ; in sheej), J. P. Wheler, Jas. Lawrie, John Malcolm, Geo. Scott ; in swine, John Malcolm, Wm. Wride , in grain, Jas. Lawrie, Geo. Scott, Joshua Sisley, Wm. Wride, Andrew Fleming, Wm. Forfar, A. Glendinning ; in roots and potatoes, J. P. Wheler, John Malcolm, Wm. Irving, Wm. Paterson, John Weir ; in dairy products and bread, Andrew Young, Jas. Patton, John Cliester, Wm. Irving, A. Glendinning, Wm. Paterson, John Stobo ; in implements, etc., J. Brown, J. Patton, J. Fowler, Joseph Bowden. The tot.d amount awarded was £45 12s. 6d. The Scarboro Agricultural Society has held fairs each year since organization, and during the last twenty years the pro- gress of the Society has been steady, while the improvement 72 History of the Town'^'iip of Scarhoro. both in the niimber and variety of the exhibits and in the amount offered in premiums has been marked, as a conse- (juence, Searboro breeders have become well known to American buyers — our magnificent heavy horses especially commanding very high prices. The fair held at Woburn, on the 27th day of September, 1895, was one of the most successful in the Society's history, there being no fewer than 1 ,462 entries in the various classes, and a total amount of S 1,1 10 was offered in prizes. There were entered for competition 139 horses, 71 cattle, 60 sheep, 19 swine, 78 poultry : 190 entries were made in dairy products, 02 in grain and seeds, 211 in roots and potatoes, 351 in fruit and garden products 32 in implements and manufac- tures, 249 in ladies' work and fine arts. The following sums were awarded in prizes : For horses, $204; cattle, SSO; sheep, S52 : swine, ^24: poultry, $24.50: dairy products, $187.50 ; grain and seeds, $46.50 ; roots and potatoes, $62 ; fruit and vegetables, $104.50 ; implements and manufactures, $51 : and for fine arts and ladies' work, $85. The principal exhibitors were: in horses, Alf. Mason, W. Howard, \Vm. Annis, W. C. Ormerod, Wm. Fisher, Thos. Hood, Jas. Maxwell, J. Chapman, J. Lawrie, A. Summerfeldt, H. Arm- strong, W. A. Noble, Wm. Milliken, Jas. ToiTance, Jas. McGris- ken, J. Little, A. Coulson, P. Stewart, T. Jackson, J. Stobo, Wm. Mason, Wm. Loveless, G. R. Forfar, J. Ashbridge, L. Kennedy, J. Kirton, Thos. Walton and Wm. Doherty ; in cattle, John Lawrie, Crawford Bros., Wm. Fisher, John Little, A. A. Forfar, W. J. Haycraft, Jas. Lawrie and J. Miller : in sheep, W. F. Pearson, J. W. Cowan, F. VVheler, J. Miller, P. Boynton and T. F. Boynton ; in hogs, W. J. Haycraft and Boynton Bros. ; in poultry, W. J. Haycraft, J. Lawrie, A. Martin, J. M. & Thos. Ramsey and G. Robins. In grain, S. Rennie, U Young and T. & J. Manderson ; in roots and potatoes, W. B. Davidson, A. W. Thomson, S. Rennie, R. W. Thomson, G. McCowan, J. L. Paterson, W. White, S. Morgan, Geo. F. Morgan, P. C ^oll, R. Sellers, J. McGrisken and U. Young; in fruit, etc., K. W. Thomson, A. W. Thomson, On the Farm. 73 H. T. Orinerod. J. Johnson, H. Wliite, Alex. Baird, Wni. Patton, A. lonson, Thos. lonson, Alex. Neilson, D. Be*in, J. Ashbridge, Wni. Loveless, Jas. Chester, J. Lawrie and J. Holmes; in daiiy products, Mrs. Wm. Mason, Miss A. Davidson, Miss Jackson, Miss N. Malcolm, Mrs. Alex. Baird, Mrs. Wm. Young^, Mrs. F. Weir, Mrs. R. S. Powers, Mrs. Robert Chapman, Mrs Adam Richaidson and Mrs. W. W. Walton : in ladies' work, Mrs. S. Rich, Mrs. W. J. Haycraft, Mrs. R. S. Powers, Mrs. J. H(jlmes, Mrs. Cousins, Misses M. and A. Paterson, Miss M. Mason, Miss J. Forfar, Mrs. M. Secor, Mrs. G. Gray, Miss M. H. Thomson, Mrs. A. W. Forfar, Miss B'^ldam, Mrs. A. lonson. Miss N. Mal- colm, Miss E. Hammond, Miss A. Davidson, Miss F. Chester, Mrs. J. Chapman, Mi-s. G. R. Forfar, Miss M. Jackson and Mrs. A. Mason : in implements and manufactures, D. Beldam, Jas. Ley, Jas. Gibson, A. W. Forfar, Thos. Ramsey, G. D. Davies and the Speight Waggon Co. The officers and directors of the Scarboro Agricultural So- ciety for the present year are : President, W. H. Tredway ; ^/^ice-President, D. Beldam ; Directors — W^m. Doherty, T. Jack- son, T. Pherrill, W. W. Walton, G. R. Forfar, Geo. C. Chester, J. Ramsey, W. J. Haycraft and Geo. Little ; Auditors — A. M. Secor and Alex. Baird ; Sec'y-Treas., Alex. McCowan. EA8T RIDING OF YORK FARMERS' ASSOCIATION. The East York Farmers' Institute, composed largely of Scarboro farmers, originated at a meeting held at EUesmere, February 11th, 1886, called for the purpose of forming an association for mutual improvement and protection. An association was accordingly formed, to be known as "The East Riding of York Farmers' Association." The officers were : J. T. Brown, President ; A. Richardson, 1st ^^ice-President: George May, 2nd Vice-President; W. D. Fitzpatrick, Secretary ; W. W. Walton, Treasurer. Various committees were appointed, and the first subject selected for discussion was, " The feeding of cattle for the pro- duction of milk." 6 74 History ok thf, Tovvnshie' of Scarhoro. EAST YORK FARMERS' INSTITUTE. The former Association was continued until Julv, 1887, when the East York Fanners' Institute was orj^fanized at a nieetin<^ held at Ellesniere, by the election of J. T. Brown as President : A. Richaivlson, Vice-President; Alex. McCowan, Secretary': Thos. Whiteside, Treasurer. The directors were: F. Arnistroiii;, J. Leadlev, (Jeoriio Smith, Jos. Tingle, R. (Jalhraith, Geo. Elliot, B. Carnaohan, D. Marshall, Frank Glendiiniing, and W. Glendinnin^'. Since organization, the Institute has held meetings regularly every second week during the winter months, principally at Ellesniere and Agincourt : and special yearly mass-meetings, addressed by delegates sent by the Department of Agriculture. At these meetings subjects connected with agriculture are dis- cussed. Among the subjects engaging the attention of the Institute have l)een : '" The improvement of stock : " " Breeding of Clydesdale horses ; " " Rotation of crops ; " " The selection and cultivation of fruit trees :" "Buying, feeding and marketing of cattle for the British market ;" " Sheep-feeding and rai.sing; " " Farm Fences ; " " Statute Labor : " " Countiy Roads : " " Farm Insurance : " " Poultiy on the Farm ; " " Bees on the Farm : ' "Farm Help : " " Mist 'ikes made in Farming:" and kindred .subjects. J. T. Brown held tlic office of President lentil ]89'\ when Andrew Hood succeeded him, and heUl that jffice lantil 1892. John Leailley was Pi-esident in 1892 and '98. L. Kennedy was President in 1894-95. T. M. Whiteside was elected Secretary' in 1888, and continued in that office until 1892, when J. C. Clark succeeded him. The present officers are: A. Richardson, Pi-esident : \V. J. Haycraft, 1st Vice-President : Jos. Armstrong 2n(l Vice-P)\'si- dent : J. C. Clark, Secretary : Geo. Elliot, Treatuirer. Din'cton; — S. Rennie, E. Wood, J. Elliot, \Vm. Johnson, and J. Kennedy. The membership for 189') was seventy-seven.'*" *The foregoing iiccount of the Agricultural Societies and Farmers' Iu.stitutes was supplied by J. C. Clark. TYPICAL BUILDINGS— Old, and Recent. 1. Old Lop Birn. 2. old Log Blacksmith Shop. 3. yialvern Hall. 4. Bam (transition period). 5. Farm Steading of To-day. 0. Side-drive Barr. 7. End-drive Barn. On the P'arm. 75 THOROUGHBRED STOCK. J. P. Wheler deserves the credit of haviiif^ done much to improve the stock of the township and of the Province l)y his enterprise in the importation, first, of Durham, and, more recently, of Ayrshire cattle, many of which secured the highest premiums awarded at local and provincial fairs. John Torrance, sen., is also well known as an importer of Ayrshire cattle and draught horses. Mr. Torrance's efforts to improve stock have been crowned with well-merited success. John Hockridge was one of the first importers of Leicester sheep, early in the " forties." He lived on the Kennedy Road. Others who devoted themselves to the importation of thor- oughbreds were James Lawrie, George Scott, John and William Crawford, and Simon Beattie, most of whom included horses, cattle and sheep in their enterprise ; the Crawfords making a specialty of Ayrshire cattle and Clydesdale horses. Mr. Beattie, too, favored Clydesdale horses. With so many noted importers and breeders in the township, it is little wonder that in stock, as in other departments, Scar- boro stands so high at the present day. PLOUGHING MATCHES. From an early date in the history of the township there seems to have been a disposition, or rather a determination, to conduct farming in a manner superior to the slip-shod methods that characterized many other portions of the Province. The presence of huge pine stumps did not, however, favor " scientific" ploughing, but as soon as these provoking obstacles could be removed, a desire was evinced to emulate the accurate " rig and fur " performances of Old Country ploughmen. Mr. Wm. Brown already quoted, wrote in the " forties " : " Everything you see and hear [in Scarboro] reminds you of your English home. You will see as good ploughing and gen- eral farm management as you do in the best parts of England." Mr. A. M. Secor, one of the oldest living natives of the town- ship, thinks there was a ploughing match held on the farm of Mr. 76 History of the Township ok S( akhoko. R. Stobo, lot 21, concession C (Kinf^rston Road), in 1830 or 1831, and that the j)lon The prizes were awarded as follows : First Class. 1st. Jas. Patton, Scarboro Iron plough. 2nd. Robt. Paterson, Scarboro £3 os. 3rd. Joshua Lotton, Pickering 3 4th. Chas. Curtis, Scarboro 2 15 5th. Gea Burk, Pickering 2 10 6th. Thos. Mason, Scarboro 2 5 7th. Wni. Hood, JMarkham 2 8th. Geo. Strachan, Pickering 1 15 9th. Win. Dalziel, Vaughan 110 10th. John Paterson, Scarboro 1 5 lltli. Geo. Evans, Scarboro 1 12th. Jas. Rossen, Pickering 15 13th. Wm. Breekon, Scarboro 010 Second Class. Boys under eighteen years of age and residents in the town- ship: 1st. Geo. Breekon £1 5s. 2nd. Duncan Malcolm 1 At the first quarterly meeting of the Scarboro Agricultural Society for 1855, held at Robertson's Inn, April 0th, it was moved, seconded, and Resolved, — That the purse of £50 * won from the ploughmen of Vaughan Township, shall be equally divided among the men who ploughed at the several matches between the townships, giving each ploughman a share in proportion to the number of matches at which he ploughed. The ploughing match was held on the farm of Mr. Jame^ * As £50 currency was equal to §200, the " pur.se " must have meant the two years' winnings. On the Farm. 83 lonson, on the 4th day of May, 1855. This match was restricted to residents of the township, and there were two classes, those over the age of twenty years and those under that age. The successful competitors were : First Class. £ .S. D. 1st. RoLert Paterson, iron plough, value 9 2nd. James Weir, cash 1 50 3rd. John Paterson, cash 1 00 4th. John Weir, cash 15 Second Class. isL Aiclx. Malcolm, cash 2 50 2nd. Robert Muir, cash 1 15 3rd. George Patton, cash 1 5 4th. George Breckon, cash 15 The ploughing match for 1856 was held at Mr. John Malcolm's farm, Clyde Bank, on Friday, the 1st day of May, when the following were the successful competitors : First class, all ploughmen over the age of 18 years : £ s. u. 1st prize, Robert Muir 1 50 2nd ., Arch. Malcolm 1 00 3rd u George Patton 15 4th II James Cooper 10 Second class, boys under 18 years of age: 1st prize, W^atson W^ride 1 50 2nd I, David Burk 1 00 The annual ploughing match for 1857 was held on the farm of William Bell, Kennedy Road, on Friday, April 24th. At this there were two classes, as formerly. The following prizes were awarded : Senior Class. £ S. D. 1st prize, John Bushby 2 10 2nd II Arch. Malcolm 2 50 3rd n George Evans 2 00 84 History of the Township of Scarboro. £ 8. I). 4th prize, Georj:re Walton 116 5th n Richard Burk 1 10 6th n Rohert Muir 1 50 7th „ Win. Thomson 1 8th n Joseph Stark 15 9th .. George Patton 10 Second Class. 1st prize, David Bm-k I 10 2nd t. Simpson Rennie 1 5 3rd .1 George Sheppard ] 2 6 4th ., Watson Wride 1 5th II Francis Papineau 17 6 6th I, Robert Skelton 15 7tii .1 George Morgan 12 6 8th I, John Wride 100 9th II John Brown 7 6 A special prize was au'^arded to William Sylvester of £1 2s. 6d. From 1857 the progress of ploughing in the township was rapid, and it may be said that the next twenty years saw the development and culmination of this art, bringing to the front the Rennies, Hoods, Morgans, Patersons, Malcolms, Pattons, Weirs, Kennedys, and Stewart, of the first class, and Ormerods, Vradenburg, Ley, Pickering, Telfer, Masons, Burk, Keats, Yeo- mans, Wood, Dix, Littles, Shadlock, Steers, and others of the second class. It may be doubted whether their acknowledged superiority could have been attained by^carboro ploughmen ha