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f ■ .1
■i
EIIF MEMOIK
OF 'JHE LATE
GE0K(;E F. WAUNICA,
O^^E OF THE
Pioneers of Innisfil
FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY.
B A R R 1 E
i^'h>
\i
PrINTKK HY N. KlNU, (iAZETTK OkKK!K, DlNLOl StKKKT.
1 88« .
jfi
jri
WITH COMPLIMENTS
op THE AUTHOR,
A. F. HUNTER, Baiirie, Ont.
CORRECTIONS TO BE MADE.
Pagk 4 — Line 20. Instead of the words -soon afterwards"
read 'in 1825.'
" 4. — Line 23. For ' Holland Landing" read ' Roach("«
Point.'
" 4. — Line 24. Instead of the words * by boat' read ' over
the ice '
" 4.— Line 34. Omit the worJs 'These two settJers were
followed by a few others of the Point.'
" 6.~Line 26. For • 1812' read ' 1819.'
'• 8.— " 33. For ' 1823' read ' 1825.'
" 8.— " 38. For 'Bfteeu' read 'seventeen.'
"10.— " 14. For 'fair read 'spring.'
" 12.— " 31. For ' 1828' read ' 1829.'
"17.— " 6. For ' in' read ' into.'
INTRODUCTORY.
A loHs is often felt in the absence of records that would
<f\yr. a i^litnpso of the lives of early Canadian pioneers,
every one of thein locally historic figures. It was a sense
of this loss that impelled the writer of this brief memoir to
prepare it for publication. Its object is to commemorate
the life of a pioneer who, though he was little known be-
yond his own county, yet played within his neighborhood
a part in his day and generation. The facts herein pub-
lished are for the most part reminiscences which he often
relattMl with great pleasure in his old age, and which have,
been coUectinl too-ether into a continuous narrative. These
leminiscenctis and fandlj' records having been collected, it
became our plain duty to give them a permanent form.
We have endeavored to omit anything that might be
called trivial, as well as to evade the introduction of any
eulogy which too often distigures biography of every kind,
it has been no part of our design to refer to every local
event that occurred during the period embraced. Indeed,
such a task would be next to impossible at this late hour.
But, it is hoped that the fragments of local history may not
be without interest to our future readers, " as the past grows
ever holier the farther we leave it."
I.
BOYHOOD, 1S08— 1S2.'].
Georrjc Frederick Wjirnica was born at Salina, in the
State of New York, on the 20th of Sept., 1808. Salina is
now a plaee of considerable importance, owing to the mini-
ber of salt works in its vicinity; but at the time of his
liirth it was ([uite small. His parents continued to re.si<le
there durinu; the Ani;lo- American war of 1812-1') ; but after
the war, attracted by the otter of free grant lands made by
the Canadian Government, they decided to leave the State
of New York. Accordingly, in 1815, they removed witli
their family to Upper (]ana(la, and settled in the Townsliip
of Markham.
At this rciuiote date it is difficult to form an idea of the
condition of Upper Canada, as they found it in 1815. A
few facts, however, may l)e sufficient to throw some light
upon its condition, and enable the reader tf) understand the
hardships of the early Canadian pioneers. They were nar-
rated by Mr. Warnica in recent years — a task which always
gave him great pleasure. At the time of their arrival in
1815, the Province of (Ontario, then called Upper Canada,
was a drear}' forest wilderness, inhabited by roving bands of
Indians. A" few settlers had located in some of the frontier
townships, but the civiliziefl population was very small and
scattered. The first buildings of Toronto, at that time and
for many years after called Little Muddy York, consisted
for tlie most part of two taverns and two or three stores,
nestled just east of the c(n'ner of Church and King Streets,
and in the vicinity of the St. Lawrence Market. In addi-
tion to these, York contained other buildings ; but its size
had been reduced b}' the burning, in 181o, of the public
buildings by the American forces, and in 1815 they had not
been replaced. One of the taverns was kept by a man
named Post, and th(> other by Monis Lawrence, the former
of which was the leading one. In a year or two, a third
; /
> ••
3
; /
> ••
WHS iuldtMl by Mr. Moiit^ouierv, wl>*> had I'onuiMly i'onu>
horn Novu Scotia — the t'athcf of Jolui Montnoiiicry of He-
Ixillion fjuiR'. 'rhcrt^ was a small 'graveyard wliorr St.
Jamos (cathedral now stands.
York ilcrivi'd its importance in those oariy days from
till' fact tliat it was the tormiinis of the i^reat portaoo from
Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe and the np]>er lakes. Prom
very early times, a ^rand Indian trail had existed, leadimr
to Lake Simcoe and thence to Georijian Bay. Aloni"' this
trail the Indians used to sliuffle in sino-le file with their
loads of furs from the far distant forests, to be exchanged
at Fort Toronto for blankets, anniuniition and other ne(;es-
sities. VVlum we read that UoveriKn- Simcoe; em|)loyed the
Queen's liano;ers in ITDO to construct Yoni^e Strcset towards
the lake tliat now bears his name, we are apt to be misled.
In a j)ioneer settlenuuit, such as the district around York
was at tha,t time, the; public roads were very poorlj' con-
struet(.'d. They remind one of Kmerscm's New England
road that ended in a scjuirrel track and ran up a tree. Such
was Yonij^e Street in those days, leading- as it did throufjjh
the forest wilderness to Holland Landing on Lake Simcoe.
The original Street was nothing more than the old winding
Indian trail, which Governor Simcoe had employed the
Queen's Hangers to widen ; it followe<l the course of the
old trail from lake to lake. It was usual in making pioneer
roads through Upper Canada to follow the tracks made by
the Indians. Thus tlie Lake Shore Road, from York to the
head of Burlincjton Bay was a trail that the aborioines ha<l
trodden from time innnemorial. Governor Simcoe secured
the services of an old Indian Chief who acted as pilot
through the wilderness to the Holland Landing, for the
first surveyor. The chief led them along the trail, and was
sufficiently rewarded for his services by a good supply of
pork and flour, and a trifle of money which was of less im-
portance in those days than food. It was called Yonge
Street by Governor Simcoe in honor of Sir George Yonge,
a personal friend of his and Secretary of War about that
time. In succeeding years it has been straightened. Set-
tlers had to wind their way along this primitive road ; and
over it, in the time of the war, cannons and supplies for
Michilimackinac and other forts upon the upper lakes were
transported via Holland Landing and Lake Simcoe.
Such facts as these give us a glimpse of the condition
of the district to which the Warnica family removed in
1815. The Township of Markham, where they first settled
in Canada, lay along the east side of the great highway
whose history has just been given. It is now a well culti-
vutrd to\viislii|., hut tit t\\v time oi' their arrival was larj^oiy
wiltleniess, into which the tide of iimiiij^ration was fh)win«i;.
The family were in rather straitened circnlnstalK'(^s at
this time; so that, wlu'ii (}e()r;j;e lieeanie ten years of aije,
ho left hojiie to earn his own livlihood. For thre(! years
he reinaine<l in the eiiinlovment of a Pennsylvania JJutch
family in Markham Township. In a year or two after-
wards he was alile to labor on a farm of their own in In-
iiislij. !is we shall see.
Aliniit this time the resonrces of the (government of
I'pper ( anada were aetisfly emjilo^'ed in snrveyinj^' and
(>[)eninij; np new townshins for sctth.Mnent. In LS2(), Ueor<^e
Lount, father of the present William Lount, Q. C, of To-
ronto, and brother of Sanuiel jjonnt of llehellion fame, sur-
veyed the ^rovvnshi]) of Innisfil under instructions from the
(Government. In after years, when the (/ounty of Simcoo
was constituted, he became its first re<^istrar. Innistil was
acoordinuly thrown open for settlement in 1820.
In \S'>:i. the VVaruica family took up Lots twelve and
thirteen in the twelfth eonc(!ssion of that township, and soon
afterwards removed from Markham to their bush farm.
The route by which they readied innistil was up Yonjfe
Stre(^t to Holland Lanrling, from where the remainder of
the journey was made by boat to Bij^ Bay Point. At the
latt(T place two or three fannjies had already settled; and
thus the Warnica, family, whose land lay several miles to
the west of the Point, were among the first ])ioneers of In-
nisiil Township.
Tlie iirst settler of the township was Mr. F. Hewson,
who landed at Big Bay Point and uuide a home for him.self
and family in the virgin forest, shortly after the townshi])
was surveyed. He was followed by Mr. David Soules, who
built a littK' loe- house about three ndles west of the Point,
nn<l near the shore of Kempenfeldt Bay. These two settlers
Were followiMl by a few others who all settled in the vicinity
of the Point, and then came the Warnica family. The
Tiame of David Soules is .still well known in the neighbor-
hood ; and although he passed away several years ago, the
settlers still rememlier the " old S(iuire," the name by which
he was familarly known. For many years he was the
central iigure of Big Bay Point, and we shall have occasion
to speak of him again, more than once.
He had .settled near Big Bay Point in preference to
any other place, thinking tliat if a town should arise in
his part of the country, it would be tliere. Unexpected
changes are wrought by time ; his farm is now far from*
the beaten path of travel and commerce. The Point is, in
lato yt'urM, a fuNorite icsttit lor louiistM. who •■rt'ijUrnt it on
account ol' its nttnu'tivc unil secluded position.
When old Mr. Waniica with his family settled further
hack in the townsliip, Soules laui^hed at him and said that
the lilackl)irds vvouliltake all his crops. It may he remark-
«'d tliat tlie Itlackhirds were very numerous in those early
days, heyond all c()mj)arison witli their present nundiers,
and hinder in size. These were tlie thi(>ves, no douht, ol'
the Indian's corn in formiir times — tlie l\iiltl><(/i;/rt' of Hia-
watha. Hut, in spib' of the lau^diter of 'S(|uire" Soules,
the Warnicas did settle sev«'ral mlies farthei' west in the
wihh^rness, and hej^an to make themselves a home. They
cleared a patch of ground on their farm, and huilt a small
loe' house. This was close heside where the village (tf
Painswick now stands, and a large old willow tree still
marks the site of their first hahitation in the forest.
II.
ROUGHINU IT IN Tlih: BUSH— KS2.S— 1.S21).
The history of the family, for .some years after their
settlement in Innisfil, is similar to that of most pioneer
families who undertake to earn their daily bread by rough-
lay it in the })(tfili. The five or six years succeeding their
settlemoit were full of stirring events. The l)oys were
growing up to manhood an<l were actively em])lo3'ed in
clearinu' the forest on their farm. They had not been on
the farm long before they harvested a good crop of wheat.
Hut there were many difficulties with which they had to
waae a constant warfare? for some years to come.
Any reference to the early history of the district v.-vuid
be incomplete without placing in strong light the celebrated
Nine Mih? Portage, and the important part it jdayed in the
<'arly years of this century. For many years it was tlie
bjisiest highway of the whole district, perhaps of Upper
Canada itself ; and it will not be out of plac<' to give at
some lenuth its history and other information rei»'ardino' it,
mostly narrate<l by the subjeet of this memoir. We will
therefore leave for a time the j)ioneer family in their little
log house in Innisfil, struggling to earn a livelihood against
many difficulties.
It has already been relatinl how Yonge Street came to
be opened by Governor Simcoe. Ht^ had previously visited
the shore of Georgian Bay in Vli)^, and had (liscovered that
the harbor, called by tlie In<Hans Pcaetanguishehe, was the
most suitable for shi])ping. It was thereupon decided to
use this harbor in sending supi)lies to the Northwest Gov-
ernni(!nt posts. To reach Penetanguishene, the proposed
route lay from York to Holland Landing on Lake Sinicoe ;
then by water to Keiiipenfeldt on the nortli shore of Kem-
penfeldt Bay; and from this place a road would be made
across the country. We have seen that the portion of the
route from York to Holland Lauding was opened in 1700.
The remaining portion from Kempenfcldt to Penetanguish-
ene was oi)oned a few years later. This portion was wind-
ing — nuich like the other. In the first years of the present
century this entire route was used by the Government for
transporting supplies to the posts on the upper lakes. About
the beginning of the war of 1.S12-1'), however, the portion
from Kempenfeldt to Penetanguishene was abandoned. A
military post was then established at the mouth of the Not-
tawasaga River as a supply depot for Michilimackinac,
which had been taken from the Americans, July 17th, 1812.
Instea<l of the Penetanguishene route another from the
head of Kempenfeldt Bay to Willow Creek was used for
transporting supplies. This portage was about nine miles
in length, and hence it was familiarly known as the Nine
Mile Portage. Barrie at that time had no existence ; its
pres(>nt site was a wilderness, there being no inhabitants
within several miles. In 1812 a large government store-
hcHise was built close to where the railwa}' depot now
stands This was the southeastern terminus of the Portage,
and for many years after this time it was the oidy building
at the place. Long after the present town had grown up
the place was familiarly known as the Hcdd of the Bay,
and it was generally called by this name in all early re-
cords. Its growth was by no means rapi<l. As late as
18.')2, we find the Rev. S. B. Ardao'h callino- it a villay-e in
his Mission Report. From here a road was made leading
in a northwesterly direction to another storehouse on Wil-
low Creek, a considerable tributary of the Nottawasaga
River.
The old Portage road can still be traced across the
country from Barrie to the Willow Creek, except in places
whore improved farms obliterate it. It passes through lot
18, con. 8, of Vespra ; and on this farm are to be seen great
trenches beside it which had been thrown up in the time of
the war. Old spades, chains, and "other articles too rmmer-
ous to mention" have been found along its route — some of
them on the farm just mentioned. Farther on, it descend-
ed a verj- steep hill ; the place is still to be seen. To rle-
I i
rtccnd tliis hill with a heavy load was the greatest difficulty
to be encountered alonj^ the entire portage. In th(> time of
the war when cannons had to be teaujed across, thej' passed
ropes around the trees on the roa<lside, and thus let the
heavy loads down with ease. For many years the trees on
the iiillside showed the marks of the ropes that luwl worn
into them. This method of descend in^f hiorh hills was called
"tacking" V)y the settlers.
On till! sandy 'plains' at the foot of this hill, jj^reat ruts
were (tut into the ground by the large amount of traific
upon the rotnl in olden times. Beyond these plains and at
the top of another high blutf', within half a mile of Willow
Creek, a fort was built to command the landinfj. Nothinu-
can be seen there now but the outlines of a few buihlings
covering in all aliout (juarter of an acre. There had beeii
three or four sicres cleared just ar(n:nd the fort, which is a
couimon at the present time. As alread}' stated, the fort
was built at th<; toj) of a very high hill, overlooking a wide
stretch of country, and from it <langer could be seen at a
o-reat distance;. The North Simcoe Railway runs alona" at
the foot of the hill (mly a few rods from the site of the
fort, and between it and Willow Creek. Descending the
hill to the railway, and then tracing the road through swamp
and beav(!r-miMidow over the old cedar corduroy, which
after the laj)se of thriu; (juarters of a century is still per-
fectly sound, one reaches the landing itself on the Creek —
the northwestiTn terminus of tliis famous portage. From
this place easy access to the waters of Georgian Bay was
possible by ujeans of batteaux down the Creek and River.
During; the war the Canadian Government maintained the
military ])ost near the outlet of the Nottawasaga River and
also for some years after. But in 1818 the garrison was
removed to Penetanguishene, an<l always reniained there.
After its removal the Nine Mile Portage was still us(m1 and
continued to be used for a long time. For, although a road
had been constructed from the village of Kempenfeldt
across the country to Penc^tano'uishene, th(» existence of
several large hills on the road made water transit down tlu;
Nottawasaga River to the latter place much cheaper. These
hills have only been made passable in recent years by the
expenditure of large sums of money. Besides having been
used for military purposes the Nine Mile Portage was th(^
only highway over which traders, settlers, and Indians
passed for many years. Its vast importance in the economy
of the district at that time will now be more apparent, and
for this reason we have u^iven a somewhat lengthy account
of its orio'in.
It was sai<l that a road had hcen opened from Keni-
[M'nft^ldt to Penetanguishene in the narly years of this cen-
tury. Among those who he]pe<l to make this road was
David Souh's, thf " old scjuire," whose name has already
hcen mentioned. After the Nottawasaga garrison was
transferred to Penetanguishen(* in 1 Hi 8, this road from Kem-
pentViidt heeanu' more usefnl than it liad been for some
years before. Th(> road remained, however, in a very rough
condition for many years, and the supplies for the garrison
at Peru'tanguishcne continued to be transported in the
usual way through Lake Simcoe and over the Portage to
Wilh)w ('re(d<. But this route, involving as it did the use
of boats for a largi' part of the way, was not practicable for
the transportation of live stock. Numbers of cattle had to
he diiven frtmi the frontier townships in order to supply
the soldiers stationed at Penetanguishene with beef. This
was effected by collecting tlu'in at Roache's Point ; they
were then ferried across the entrance of Cook's Ba}' to l^e
Grasse Point on th(^ oj)j>ositt.> shore in a scow. At the latter
plate was a ferry-hou.se, oecupied at the time we are speak-
ing about by a Frenchman. From this place they were
tlriven by way of an exceedingly winding Indian trail
through Innisfil to the head of Kempenfeldt Bay, from
where access to their destination was easy. This old trail
through Innistil had been in existence from time inuuem-
orial. It ran in a northwesterly direction from De Gras.se
P(^int, cross(Ml the site now occupied by the Presbyterian
yravevard on the sixth concession, and followed the valley
of the Bin' ( h'et'k until it came within a mile or two of the
Bay. ■
Such was the condition of the .surrounding district
when the Warnica family took up their altode in the bush
in 1S2.*]. The (juantity <^f traffic over the Nine Mile Port-
age at this time was enormous, and gave employment to the
settlers with theii' teams all the year round. With his yoke
of oxen, (leorge teamed goods over the Portage many a
time in those years. He was as yet a mere stripling of a
lad-only tifteen years old wIm'U they came to limisfil. He
always spoke of his mother as having been a thrifty, and
tiily woman. She made a good deal of the clothing for her
sons from flax, grown and manufactured at home. One
shirt of this home-made linen was all that George possessed
at one time in the lini' of shirting. Many a time he lay in
bed over ni'dit while this one was being washed, and found
it re.ady ay,ain for u.se when he aro.se inthemorninii'. Such
was roughing it in the Imsh in the early days!
The removal of the military and naval station from
9
Nottawasaga to Penetaiignislieiie in ISIH gave tlio hope of
a market at the latter places and settlers hegan to fiock to
that (luarter in preference to any other. For the soldiers
there were j)aid for their serv^ices in nioney, and it circu-
lated plentifully in the surrounding neighborhood ; whereas,
in other places farm produce was pai<l in store goods in
those days, and it was difficult to procure cash for an ar-
ticle at anj' point nearer than York. Hence the district
around Penetanguishcne was settled prior to those parts
betvve(!n it and the frontier townships. At the time of the
VVarnicas' advent in Innisfil, the settlers of the Penetang-
uishene district, in order to reach the settled part of the
province, were oblige<l to traverse l^ake Simcoe from Kem-
penfeldt to Holland Landing — the northern terminus of
Yonfjc Street. There was no road between Holland Land-
ing and Kempcnfeldt; all the intervening country, except
a few isolated clearings, was one unbroken wilderness. As
the settlement around Penetanguishcne continued to de-
velop, the inconvenience of transit partly by land and partly
by water began to be seriously felt by the settlers there.
The task of piercing the forest from the head of Kempcn-
feldt Bay to Holland Landincj had still to be confronted.
About this time a few settlers in West Gwillimburj' had
extended Yonge Street in a rude way northward from Hol-
land Landing as far as Croxon's Corners, and this made the
stretch of forest to be pierced still less. If this could be
accomplished, overland communication between York and
Georoian Bay would then be established. At the time of
their arrival in Innisfil a movement was on foot among the
settlers of the Penetanguishene district to have a road made
through that township for the purpose of joining together
the parts of the route that hatl already been constructed.
As the Government did not seem to take steps in the mat-
ter, those settlers took the task upon themselves of open-
ing this remaining portion of the road through the forest.
They according!}'' raised by subscription a sum of money
.sufficient to do this. The two eldest sons of the Warnica
family, John and George, secured the contract for the con-
struction of the ro{id from the hearl of Kempcnfeldt Bay as
far as the site of the present village of Churchill, a distance
of eleven miles. Where Stroud village now .stands they
encountere<l a dense swamp. They accomplished this task
in the autumn of the same year in which they came to In-
nisfil, and received the sum of fifty-five dollars for the en-
tire work. The contract for the construction of the remain-
ing part of the road from Churchill to West Gwillimbury
was secured by a man named Caton, who had little ac-
10
(|Uaiiitanrc with the torest, and so was obliojed to cniplo}-
tlie hiotlitn-s Jolin and George to open his portion of tlie
I'Dad also.
Tlu.s forest road which tliey wt^rc the first to open
thriinj^jhout the entire lenijtli of Innistil was very rou^h and
windin*;' ; but it was straiglitened in succeed injjf years, and
its -;eneral diiection ratified hy Act of Parliament. The
first family to settle upon it after its construction was
named McOoidvev, one of whom, Mr. T. 1). McC-onkev, is at
j)resent sh<frift' of Simcoe ('ounty. Mr. William McConkey,
an elder brother (>f his, also survives. In all the early re-
cords this road was called "Main Street," and at the j>resent
day it is often known as the Main Road.
In the fall of 1<S2'), an e\ent of considerable interest
in these parts occurred. Barrie and its vicinity received
tlie honor of a visit fiv)m Sir John Franklin, who was pass-
ing tlu'ough on his way to the Arctic Sea by the northwest
overland rout(\ Of this visit (Jeorge always had a distinct
recollection, being then about seventeen years of age, and
having been settled in the neighborhood for about two
years at the time. It appears to have been Franklin's in-
tention to reacli tlie Red River Colony that fall, and pass
the winter there. He had a band of French-Canadian
ooyayeuf'ii with him, and crossed the Nine; Mile Portage,
which was then at the pinnacle of its fame David Soules
of Big Bay Point with his team assisted Franklin and his
men in crossing the Portage. On this occasion Franklin
paid a visit to Penetanguishene. One of his colleagues ami
helpers about this time was John McDonald, Chief Factor
of the Northwest Company, who died in F'ebruary, 1828.
A headstone, sent t)ut from England by the heroic Lady
PVanklin, marks the grave of this man and his wife in the
Church of England cemetery of the town of Newmarket.
Several weeks after Franklin passed through Barrie, which
consisted merely of the old government storehouse, one of
the Frenchmen was sent back by him to bring word of his
welfare and whereabouts to the seat of Government at York.
This scout on his way back called at the house of the War-
nica family. Although he could speak no English, and
none of the family could speak French, they ascertained
his mission very definitely, for he carried along with him
a paper written by Franklin. They kept him over night,
treated him hospitably ; and in the morning when he de-
parted, furnished him with some provisions for the rest
of his journey.
About the time of Franklin's visit the old Sunnidale
Road wa,s constructed by the Drurys of Oro, running from
f «
I k
11
'Barrie to Brentwood, and thence to Nottawa?.aga Bay. The
present Sunnidale Road coincides with this original one,
except tliat portion nearest Barrie. For four miles this
section of it was constructed in a different place ; but the
course of the old one here, though not useil nowadays, may
still be trace<l. About two. miles from the present site of
the town, while making the roatl through the wilderness,
the workmen cante upon the semi-decayed body of an un-
known man. It was impossible to recognize his features,
but there was sufficient evidence to show that it was the
body of a white man who had most probably perished <lur-
ing the winter, as the discovery was ma<le ()uite early in
the spring.
Time went on and nothing occurred in the history of
the .family beyond the usual rt)utine of pioneer life. They
were busily employed most of the time in clearing the
forest on their farm. The opening of "Main Street" through
Innistil brou»rht about an undesirable event. For a few
years after this road was 0})ened, old JVir. Warnica was
obliged to convert his house into a tavern, small as it was,
containing but two rooms ami a loft. It was more from
being compelle<l by circumstances that h<} did so, for there
was no other stopping place fr»r travellers from Holland
Landing to Peuetanguishene. On account of the l)ad state
of the public roads in those days the only means oi travel-
ling was on Ijorseback. They had many lodgers of various
classes; higli an<l low, rich and poor, were all ma4le welcome,
and received the best accommo^lation the place afforded.
On several occasions they were visited by Sir Jonn
Ool borne, who became Governor of Upper Canada in Jarm-
ary, 1829. Old Mr. Warnica was intimatt^ly acquainted
with him, an<] during his term of office their correspond-
ence was frequent. Colborne always stayed at their place
on his journeys to and from the military post at Peuetang-
uishene ; and on one of these trips took the old gentleman
with him for the sake of company, as both spake the same
mother tongue. Sir John once promised him a good bush
farm in the township of Innisfil for each of his sons ; but
land was of so little value then that he did not care to make
a journey to the seat of government at York for the king's
deed, and so the pronnse lapsed.
At another time they received Bishop Strachan as a
guest while on his way northwards to visit some outlying
places of his diocese in the district of Peuetanguishene. He
had an attendant with him, both riding oh horseback
through the wilderness. Before coming up to the house,
the Bishop espied the four sons logging not far from the
12
roa<l. The at*^' ndant was sent to tlie loggers, wlio stood
gazing at tlie strangers (for [)assers by were few), to ask
aliont tlie inliabitants of tlie solitary log liouse which was
in sight at the time. It turned out to he their own, and so
the good Bishop (Jecided to call and put up for the night.
The hest room of the two in their dwelling, which contained
a Hre])lae(\ was of course placed at his disposal. In the
ov(>ning the sons were called into this room to take part in
fannly worshi]), which the Bishoj) conducted ; hut lie <lid
not mak(^ a Ncry favoral>le impression upon George, who
thought that he might have made himself more sociable.
About this time the four sons were growing up to
manhood, and their labor was more than enough io keej)
their bush farm in order. Some of them were thus obliged
to find work away from home. This consisted for the most
part in teaming over the Nine Mile Portage, where much
had to be transported at all seasons of the year. As they
lived only four miles from its southeastern terminus, and
as settlers near it were ver}' scarce, they frequentlj- found
employment in that way. George was often engaged with
his ox team on the Portao'c durinu" these years. It con-
tinue<l to be the route over wliich all supplies for Pene-
tanguishene were taken, up to the year 1830. In this year
another portage was opened bj* the government from Orillia
to Coldwater, which was used until the Northern Railway
was built as far as C'ollingv.ood. The opening of the Cohl-
water route was the deathblow of the Nine Mile Portage;
it was little used after that time.
By these continued exertions in the forest the famil}'
began to attain a certain degree of prosperity. About the
year 182.S the two eldest sons, John and George, who were
3'oung men by this time, made a trip to Salina, their native
village, for the purpose of visiting their relatives living at
that place. This visitto the scenes of their l)oyhood was very
interesting to them, and the extensive salt works that had
been erected in their absence, were highly instructive.
On December 10th, 1829, George married Phoebe Lyon
of Thornhill, and for more than two years aftertheir marriage
he worked the farm of his mother-in-law near that place.
III.
EARLY STRUGGLES— 1829— 1837.
«
The little log house which tliey had built upon their first
arrival in Innisfil, soon became too small for the recjuirements
\
13
of the family. A time liatl now come when it must <^ive [)lace
to a more commodious dwelling. Accordingly, in the fall of
1831, a larger hewed log house was built clo.se to the site of
the present residence of Dr. Armstrong, near Painswick. For
the purpose of helping his father in the erection of this house,
Oeorge came from Thornhill and spent two weeks at the old
homestead. About the same time too, John, the eldest son,
left home and bought lot 14, 12th con., which adjoined his
father's farm. The attachment of the brothers, John and
George, to each other was .so great that the former felt him-
."self unal)le to get along without the companj'^ of his brother,
and so George was persuaded to leave Thornhill and return
to Innisfil, where he purchaser! lot lo, con. 12, just beside
the farm of his brother. Their removal to Innisfil took
place in 1832. On the .same farm they continued to live
until his death in 1886.
By slow deijrees the district surrounding his farm be-
gan to develo]). While his family were small he employed
various devices to maintain their support. The presence of
the navy at Penetanguishene always made a market for
farm produce there ; but, as a rule, it was«oldatlow prices,
and was not sufficiently profitable to make ends meet with-
out doing something in addition to working his bush farm,
which was still in a rough condition. Accordingly, by
night he often made shoes for the neighbors; and, although
his handiwork was inferior, it was well thought of in a
pioneer settlement.
The times that we write about were prior to the rail-
way age, and consequently there was considerable teaming
to be done. Although the Nine Mile Portage had practi-
cally come to an end in 1830, there was still much required
in a young country that was developing so fast. By this
means he often found employment, and was thus enabled
to support his little family and keep the wolf from the
door. The district about Meaford was settled shortly after
their advent in Innisfil. A great deal of teaming was in
requisition by the settlers there. Not many years after
his second settlement in that township he was engaged to
take a load of provisions (most probably dressed hogs) with
his team to that district for one of the settlers. It was
winter time, and the journey was made by way of the Sun-
nidale Road to Nottawasaga Bay, from where the rest of it
was performed on the ice. Crow's Corners was the stop-
ping place for the night. The condition of the ice was
very critical, it being near spring, and at one point the
whole party narrowly escaped drowning. In a few days
after, Mr. Crow, of the place just mentioned, lost a valuable
?^^
M
Such were the
.span of liorses in the ice at the Haine plaeo. Such were
ups aii<l <lf)wnH of ])ionoer life in Canada tiftj' years aj,'(
In tliose years too, liis uneonnnon pliysical strength
rendered Inm of great service in clu)j)ping and logging th<^,
virgin forest, not only on his own hush farm, but also
througliout the whole neighborhood. He helped to clear
much of the land ii])on which Barrie now stands. It may
he especially remarked that he assisted in ch^aring a good
deal of the McCarthy farm, just above Barrie, and other
])laces to the west of that farm, near the residence of Mr.
Thomas ('Undle. It might not be out of place to add here
that the pleasing avenue of second growth pines that a
traveller passes through beyond the village of Painswick,
is the r(!sult of his i^xertions in preserving the little pine
saplings on both si«les of Main Street from the fires at the
time of clearing his own farm. These saplings have grown
U]) to be trees of considerable dimensions, and form with-
out doubt the most [)leasant drive to be found along th((
entire lenii-th of the road from Lake Ontario to (Jeorjiian
l^ay.
At the outbreak of the Rebellion of 1837, he was called
out to serve in the militia. He took his sleioli as far as
Holland Landing M'ith a load of settlers to assist in quelling
it; but by the time his company reached that place the
rebels had been dispersed. Notwithstanding all this, lie
sympathised to a reasonable extent with the ])rinci])les ad-
vocated by the rebels.
With time, and the growing up of his children, pros-
])erity increaf^ed ; and not many years elapsed before he
found himself in quite easy circumstances. The surround-
ing neighborhood, too, developed fast ; and what was all
wilderness on his arrival in Inuisiil is now covered by
higldy improved farms.
IV.
MUNICIPAL CONNECTIONS.
For several years he wa's in prominent connection with
the local government of his own township, though he never
sought any of the distinctions that were conferred upon
liim. It appears that in early years, before the establish-
ment of township councils, the inhabitants of each town-
ship met together once a year (mostly in January,) for the
purpose of choosing officers for the township for that year.
Chief of these officers were the wardens, or town wardens.
^^
^ !
15
a.s tlioy w«'i'(* soiiiotim^s cuDcmI. Tlio townHhip mcoids of
Innistil boj^an with tlio year 1841. For this yoai thtsre
wore tlircH! warthiiis cliosen : 1 — ClmHes VV'illson. 2 —
George F. Warniea. .*J — John Henry. At the annual meet-
ing- of tlie inhabitants of Innistil held in that year, it was
4lecide<l to hold the next year's meeting at the tavern of
David Myers on "Main Street." Town wardens contiiun'd
to be eleeted at the annual mt'etings of the inhabitants each
vear until LSoO, when the}' were replaced by municipal
eouncillors in accordance with an Act of Parliament passed
in that year.
Tlu! local government of the country prior to 1841 had
been conducted in a very crude manner. The abuses of the
system were ])oi)ited out by Lord Durham in his report to
the Imperial Parliament upon tlie state of Canadian gov-
ernment. His suggestions were ado})ted by the framers of
the Act passed at the iirst session of the First Parliament
of United Canada in 1841, entitled "An Act to provide for
the better internal government of Upper Canaila by the es-
tablisliment of local or municipal authorities therein." This
Act divided the country into several districts, in each of
which a council was to be formed. Each township within
the district was obliged to send one or more representatives
to th(i district council. At the time of this division, Innis-
iil belonged to the Home District, the meetings of whose
i'ouncil were to be held in Toronto ; and to it there was al-
lotted one representative. The.se regulations came into
force with the beginning of the year 1842.
The annual meeting of the inhabitants of Innisiil for
1842 was held, according to appointment, on Jan. 3rd of
that year, in the tavern of David Myers, at the place now
known as Stroud — a village without " a local habitation and
A name" at that time. At this meeting George .P\ Warniea'
received the honor of being elected InnisHl's tirst repre-
sentative, or councillor, for the township at the meetings of
the Home District council. It may be added that township
representatives were then called councillor.^ for the first
tune, and hence he became the first councillor of Innisfil.
The election on that day mitrht well be called an old time
4'lectloii, from the peculiar way in which it was conducted,
David Soules of Big Bay Point, who has been mentioned
.several times already, was his opponent. Soules was pro-
posed by his neighbor Moses Hayter, who afterwards be-
came the first jailor of Barrie; and the nomination was
seconded by another neighbor named Hammond. After
the preliminary nomination, in order to decide the election,
the two candidates were compelled to emerge from the tav-
i
'.3
16
ern in wliicli tlio meeting was held, und "which was hy no
means a largo building. One candidate went north and the
other south, each followed by his sup|)orters. After the
forces had been comited, the result was found to be largely
in fa\'<»r of tin; subjcet of tliis memoir.
In the discharge of his duty as (•()uneillor, he went
four times durinijthe year 1842 to attend tlu' Home coun-
eil me«'tings in Toronto, each of which las^ted an entire
week. The Journey to that place was made; on Sunday as
far astlie residence of his mother-in-law at Thornhill, from
whore h»' went on Monday morning to the city in tiuie for
the meeting. Ktiturning, Thornhill was readied on Satur-
ilay night, and the remainclcr of the journey to Innistil per-
foiined next day When in Toronto at these meetiuirs he,
with many t)ther councillors stayed at the famous hotel
ke])t in those tlays by Mr. Post. As the appointment of
VVanlens to preside* over the District Council meetings was
retained V»y tlie (iov<.'rnnu;nt, {.)o\. Kdward W. Thompson
was api»ointed as the first Warden of the Honie District.
He presided over the meetings during that year, and gave
satisfaction in this capacity.
Wliat is now Simcoe County was united, as has been
made apparent, with the Home District in that year. But
this union lasted for only one year. At the end of that
time a court house and jail had been built in Barrie, and
"Simcoe District" was by proclamation severed from the
Home District. T]u> liinits of Simcoe then embraced the
whole of what is now the County of Grey. It may be
added here that the terms 'Home District' and 'County of
Simcoe' had been in use since the close of last century, the
latter being a subdivision of the former. From this time
forth the representative councillors of Innisfil went to the
district council meetings at Barrie instead of Toronto.
After the creation of the Simcoe District, Innislil was re-
presented by Alfred Willson of Belle Ewart, who continued
to do so from 1843 until 1849, both years inclusive. The
population of Innisfil had increased so rapidly in those
years that two representatives were required from the
township, and in 1849, Mr. T. R, Ferguson was associated
with Mr. Willson. During t*liose years the subject of this
sketch was in various ways assisting in the local govern-
ment of his township. At the residents' annual meeting in
1844, he was chosen one of the Common School Commis-
sioners.
District councils were abolished in 1830, and the pre-
sent County Councils substituted. The terms Reeve and
Deputy-Reeve were then first applied to the representatives
4
I
17
of tin' luunicipalitios, wl»(i, u|) to 1<S(J7, w<ire elected t'coni
uinoni; tlie coiuicillors tln'iusclves. Since liS(>7, lleeves and
I )t'])uty- Reeves liave been elected l»y the direct vott^ ol' tlie
people. In l.S.")() a township council was 011,'anized in Jn-
]iisfil. Its lirst ineetin<^ was held on thc^ 2'>tli ol' January
in that year. The townsliip Imd heen divided in five wards,
each of wliicli electe<l a nienibcr ; antl there were conse-
<[uently five nienihers at the first council board. Geori^e F.
Warnica represented the Noithi^rn Wanl in the first town-
.ship council of l.S.')0, as well as in 1851, and in I.S.')2. \\i'.
was urijed to become Reeve in tlu^ first council, but feeling'
his want of education and inability to rej)resent the town-
sliip abroad, he decline(l. After 1M.">2 he took no part in
niunicipal atVairs. Sometime durino; his tenure of ollice \\i\
was the first to propose paj'iiient of councillors for their
services. For many j'cars lui was a Justice of the Peace,
and on this account his circle of acquaintances was wide,
for majiistrates used to be of more service than at the pre-
sent day. In j)olitics he was always a liberal, but it is not
too nmch to say that in township matters he avoicled the
introduction of party politics altogether.
V.
CHURCH CONNECTIONS.
His connection with the Methodists extended over such
a long period that it may not be out of place to say a word
or two about it in a separate section. When a young man
he became a member of the Lutheran Church. This body,
however, had no appointments in Innisfil, and so he con-
nected himself with the Methodists. In former days the
Methodists of Barrie and thase of Stroud, where he attend-
ed, were both in one circuit, having a church in each place,
but presided over by the same minister. For several years,
without money and without price, his dwelling was the
hoarding place of tlie ministers on this circuit. Brotlier
Warnica, as they generally called him, had always plenty
of accommodation for men and their horses, and his hos-
pitalitj' was alwaj's turned to account. Through the years
during which this lasted, many ministers came and went —
Burwash, who since became professor in Victoria IJniver-
sity — Wellington Jetfers, for some years connected with the
Christian Guardian, who was a great smoker of tobacco,
1/
18
anti over wliom tin; l»in<llor<l oiirc tlirow n pailful of wator
for Ij'inf^ in Ix'd too loji^' in tlu' iiiorninj^ — (Jlark who is
now Pn'sidcnt of tlic! Buy of (^uint«: Oonfc^rcnco — and many
others. For several years he was a class leader in th«! con-
grerjation at Stroud, of which he was a number. When he
became fe(!ble and unable to attend, lie Was visited by min-
isters of various detiominations in grateful recognition of
his past services to the church.
CLOSE.
Throughout the summer of 188G, it became manifest
that he was nearing the end of his pilgrimage. His long
and eventful life came to a close on the 2oth of September ;
and on the 28th his remains were laid in the graveyard of
the Methodist Church at Stroud, where he had so often
helped 'to lay other old pioneers in their last resting place.
Throughout his life he was singularly opposed to the use
of hearses at funerals, and earnestly requested that his own
remains should never enter one, but should be buried in
the same plain way as he had buried his own [mrents and
many other old settlers in early days. It is almost need-
less to add that his request was attended to.
Should anyone into whose hands this brief sketch
might fall be in possession of more authentic knowledge
about the subject of this memoir and the early history of
his neighborhood than is contained herein, it is earnestly
desired that such information be given to any .urviving
member of his family. By them it would be gratefully re-
ceived. Not only to descendants is such knowledge inter-
esting, but also to the community at large. In everything,
the beginni'tig is always the most notable event ; and by
future generations of Canadians, the time when Canada
was reclaimed from wilderness will always be looked back
upon with interest.
■'i