The Valley of the Trent 9781487596347

Citation preview

THE

VALLEY

OF THE

TRENT

Edited by EDWIN c. GUILLET The Trent system of lakes, rivers, and canals occupies a considerable part of the counties of Hastings, Durham, Northumberland, Peterborough, Haliburton, and Victoria, in the province of Ontario. This volume of documents, records, and early writings covers the discovery and settlement of the valley, development and decline of the lumber trade, the Trent Canal and community life, and is abundantly illustrated in gravure and line from source materials. The Times Literary Supplement says of this first volume that it "raises high hopes of an important contribution to Canadian social and economic history." British Book News says that the "excerpts from manuscripts, newspapers, old and rare books and pamphlets, with the excellent contemporary illustrations, give a vivid and valuable account of early life in this interesting area." EDWIN c. GUILLET is a distinguished Canadian historian, particularly noted for his volumes on the social and local history of Ontario. Included in his other publications are Early Life in Upper Canada, The Great Migration, Lives and Times of the Patriots, Pioneer Arts and Crafts, Pioneer Days in Upper Canada, The Pioneer Farmer and Backwoodsman, Pioneer Inns and Taverns, Pioneer Travel, The Story of Canadian Roads, and Pioneer Settlements in Upper Canada.

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ONTARIO SERIES I

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THE VALLEY OF THE TRENT

EDITED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY

EDWIN C. G U I L L E T

THE CHAMPLAIN SOCIETY FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS *957

All rights reserved

Printed in Great Britain

ISBN 0-8020-1072-5

Reprinted 1962, 1965, 1970

TO

GEORGE M. DOUGLAS EXPLORER—ANTIQUARIAN—GOOD COMPANION

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FOREWORD "I did not realize that the old grave that stood among the brambles at the foot of our farm was history." —STEPHEN LEACOCK

A

LL TOO MANY of us, as Stephen Leacock has so well expressed it, are unaware of the great wealth of history that lies in the records of our past. As one decade and generation succeeds another, the gap between us and our forebears widens and the opportunity for collecting and preserving these records greatly diminishes. It is very heartening to see the growing interest in our history that is being shown by the people and various communities of our young country. We are now developing a sense of history. An increasing number of our people are being made deeply conscious of the absorbing history of this Province and Nation. Steps have also been taken to expand the facilities available in our public archives. It is, however, true that many of these records exist only in manuscript form and are not readily accessible to the people. Many old records in private homes and in business offices are being inadvertently destroyed or lost. It seemed proper, therefore, that the Government of Ontario should undertake to preserve in printed form, available to the interested public and to historians, a representative selection of the more interesting and significant records of the past, covering particularly those regions and periods in which historical research has not yet been extensive. To facilitate this, the Champlain Society was invited to undertake the preparation and publication of a series of documentary volumes on the early history of Ontario. For over half a century, the Champlain Society has been engaged in publishing volumes of documents in the broader fields of Canadian history, and it has earned for itself an international reputation. Tt, therefore, is especially well qualified to undertake the preparation of this series, toward which the Government of Ontario will contribute the cost of publication and editorial expenses. There will be no diminution in the regular work of the Champlain Society. What is gained is an entirely new Ontario-assisted series which we would not otherwise have. fat

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FOREWORD

It is not intended that these volumes should deal with interpretive phases of history; rather they will represent a collection of basic historical facts, documentary in nature. It is hoped that interesting and important documents and records, including those pertaining to what is now Ontario during the French régime, will be available from within the Province itself. No doubt similar records are in existence in our sister Province of Quebec and overseas. If so, they can be copied and made available in these documentary volumes. From them historians and others may reach their own individual interpretations and draw their own conclusions. Separate volumes are in the course of preparation on several geographic regions. Since in most cases, the early history of a locality tended to develop in its own way in accordance with the special conditions facing the pioneer families, the series, in the main, will cover the years from the early part of the seventeenth century into the days of settlement. But it is not bound by fixed dates, as in some areas the work of exploration and pioneer development began later than in others. Thus the development of some parts of the Province goes back well into the French régime, while in others it is not significant until the nineteenth century. The first volume, The Valley of the Trent, is edited by Mr. Edwin C. Guillet, who is well known for his books on the pioneer history of Ontario. Mr. Guillet has an intimate knowledge of the Trent Valley, and through his associations and experience has been able to secure for his volume many valuable documents and illustrations. In addition to Mr. Guillet's work, volumes on Fort Frontenac under the French régime, on Kingston from the English Conquest to the War of 1812, and on the Windsor area in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are all well under way and will appear in due course. Under the general guidance of the officers of the Champlain Society, the editor of each volume is responsible for the selection of material. In each case, he will provide an introduction for the purpose of placing the documents in their proper perspective and assisting the reader to understand their significance. Any opinions expressed in these volumes are, of course, those of the editors. The reader of this Ontario-assisted series will not find in them a history of the conventional sort, but rather a collection of primary sources. Nevertheless, they should prove extremely valuable as a

FOREWORD

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source of information and make for interesting reading in themselves. The volumes of this "Ontario Series" in the Champlain Society format will be available to its individual members and also to students and the public through the university and public libraries holding memberships. In addition, arrangements have been made with the Ontario Historical Society for the distribution of a special issue. It is therefore hoped that each volume will be easily accessible to the public either through the libraries or private subscription. In the carrying out of this project, the co-operation of the Champlain Society is gratefully acknowledged.

January 1, 1957

LESLIE M. FROST Prime Minister of Ontario

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PREFACE

T

HE PREPARATION of an historical work, however much it may be a labour of love, is always to a large degree a co-operative effort; and it is usually true that the contributions of others add comprehensiveness and richness of detail, particularly when the volume concerns local history. I am indebted primarily to the Honourable Leslie Frost, Prime Minister of Ontario, and to the Champlain Society, joint sponsors of the series of which this is the initial volume. Dr. W. Kaye Lamb, Dominion Archivist and President of the Champlain Society, has taken a personal interest in the volume in both capacities; and both he and the Society's General Editor, Professor J. B. Conacher, have improved its content by critical comment and suggestion. Dr. George Spragge, Ontario Provincial Archivist, and Mr. D. F. McOuat, his capable and cooperative assistant,1 have not only made available many documents which might otherwise have been missed, but have shortened the process of assembling these by providing facilities for photostating and typing. Many other sources have supplemented these two large archival collections. With the assistance of my wife it was possible to locate and transcribe a number of rare items relative to the Trent region in the Library of the British Museum, the Cambridge University Library, and the Mitchell Collection in Glasgow. A good deal of general research has been done in the Canadian collections of the Toronto Public Library, the Legislative Library of Ontario, the University of Toronto Library, and the Library of Parliament in Ottawa. To the librarians and their staffs in these libraries my thanks are extended. I should like to acknowledge the assistance of Mr. R. M. Lewis of the Ontario Department of Planning and Development, who is responsible for the excellent index of documents in the Ontario Parliament Buildings and related offices which made possible the location of items in various collections. The staff of the Surveys and Maps Division in the East Block gave me valuable assistance in making these available. Mr. William Graff, Librarian of North York Township, who was iMr. McOuat is now Secretary of the Archaeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario. xiii xni

xiv

PREFACE

Librarian in Peterborough when research for this volume began, extended many courtesies when I consulted the invaluable Peter Robinson Collection of documents in that Library. Not only co-operation but inspiration has come over a period of many years from Mr. George M. Douglas, of "Northcote", near Lakefield, to whom this volume is dedicated. His antiquarian interests and his photography render his contribution to this volume pre-eminent. Similarly outstanding has been the assistance of Mrs. Helen Fowlds Marryat of Hastings, long prominent in the historical field in Peterborough County, who has been enthusiastic and untiring in her contributions to the volume. She generously gives credit to many others along the Trent River, as follows: Mrs. George McCubbin, Warkworth; Lieutenant-Colonel F. E. Birdsall and Mrs. Gilbert Elmhurst, Birdsall; Miss Louisa V. Fowlds, Toronto; Miss Ivy Eggleton, Belleville; Miss Lilian Benor and Mr. C. W. Reycraft, Campbellford; Mr. C. S. Chard, Stirling; Mr. Percy Lancaster, Havelock; Mr. James Humphries, ex-Warden of Peterborough County; Miss M. E. Blacklock, Meadowvale; and Mrs. William Brooks and Messrs. Howard Fairman, Raymond McGuire, J. L. Doherty, and William Armstrong, all of Hastings. One of the greatest contributors to the illustrations reproduced in this volume is Miss Phyllis Denne of Bridgenorth, who greatly enriched the book by making available a large number of historical negatives assembled many years ago by her father, the late T. H. G. Denne.1 The Trustees of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England, have permitted the reproduction of two paintings of sailing-ships contemporary with those used to transport the Peter Robinson emigrants across the Atlantic. Mr. Alen McCombie, Toronto, made available one of his paintings of Cameron Lake, and the Sigmund Samuel Canadiana Gallery, Toronto, a watercolour of Cramahe (Colborne) by James Pattison Cockburn. Miss Sheila Boyd, Bobcaygeon, grand-daughter of Mossom Boyd, who was long one of the best known lumbermen and industrialists of the Trent Valley, provided some early water-colours of that village. Items from both the writings of the Langions and the sketches of Anne Langton are reproduced by courtesy of the Langton family, of the Fenelon Falls Public Library, and of the Macmillan Company of Canada and Clarke, Irwin & Company, the publishers respectively of the journals and letters of John Langton and his sister. Miss Florence Atwood, Lakefield, provided portraits of her grandfather and grandmother, Thomas and Catharine Traill, the former !See Introduction, pp. Ivii and Iviii.

PREFACE

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not previously reproduced; and Mrs. Robert Scully, Toronto, made available a rare portrait of her grandmother, the poet Rhoda Anne Page of Cobourg. Mrs. Kathleen Sibbald Lloyd of Cobourg, whose husband was a great-grandson of Captain Charles Rubidge, provided an early oil portrait of him not previously reproduced. For information about the Trent Canal I am indebted to Mr. A. L. Killaly, Peterborough, who was long its Superintendent, and whose grandfather was Minister of Public Works in the canal's early years. My thanks are extended to two members of the staff of the Royal Ontario Museum. Mr. Kenneth E. Kidd, Curator of Ethnology, provided a valuable account of Indian remains along the Trent, as well as photographs; and Mr. James L. Baillie of the Department of Ornithology lent negatives of the Fothergill paintings in the Museum, interesting landscapes made in 1819 of the Port HopeRice Lake region. To Mrs. Helen Marryat, Hastings, from whom I received numerous manuscript and printed materials, photographs and maps, I am indebted as well for the inclusion in this volume of several water-colours of the Trent region by the Reverend M. A. Parrar, a pupil of J. M. W. Turner, the English landscape artist. It has just come to my notice that another English artist of the same period has left work closely related to the Valley of the Trent. He is Edwin Whitefield (b. 1816), who came to America in his youth and won fame for his views of towns and scenes in the United States and Canada. About the middle of the century he was in Ontario; and during an itinerary from lakes Simcoe and Couchiching to the Rideau Canal and Kingston he made many sketches of scenes along the Trent system, including Peterborough, the Yankee Bonnet Rapids two miles below on the Otonabee, the steamer Otonabee wooding up in that neighbourhood, and a variety of others between Chemong and Rice lakes. His original sketchbook was sold in November 1956 by Goodspeed's Book Shop, Boston, to Mr. Walter Wallace, 922 Madison Avenue, New York City.1 The interpretation of Indian place-names has recently become more difficult because of the lack of experts in that field in museums. My thanks are due to Mr. John Huden, Burlington, Vermont, and Mr. Stephen Laurent, Intervale, New Hampshire, without whose assistance many Indian names of lakes and rivers would have gone without explanation. !por a description of the sketchbook see The Month at Goodspeed's, Vol. XXVIII, Nos. 1-2, pp. 13-14. The booklet was brought to my attention through the courtesy of John Gray, President of the Macmillan Company of Canada.

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PREFACE

I am indebted also to two literary experts who were good enough to read critically some portions of the poetical productions of two writers of the Rice Lake district in whom I have for many years been particularly interested. Professor R. L. McDougall of University College and Dr. E. J. Pratt, Professor Emeritus of Victoria University, favourably commented upon, respectively, John Copway's The Ojibway Conquest and certain of Rhoda Anne Page's poems, and the inclusion of these items at considerable length in these pages is the result. For information and suggestions my appreciation is also extended to the following: Dr. W. Stewart Wallace, Librarian Emeritus of the University of Toronto; Dr. T. R. Millman, Archivist of Wycliffe College; Mrs. Margery Pewtress, Cobourg; Mr. Robert Porter, Peterborough Public Library; Mr. Stuart Ryan, Port Hope; Professor G. H. Needier, Toronto; Mr. William Colgate, Toronto; Mr. William Dennison, Toronto; and Mr. J. A. Edmison, Assistant to the Principal, Queen's University. My thanks are due to Mr. F. H. H. Lowe, Ninette, Manitoba, for portraits by Paul Kane of Mr. and Mrs. F. S. Clench, who were Mr. Lowe's grandparents and the parents of Kane's wife; and to various descendants of the Weller, Traill, Payne, Caddy, Dunford, Moodie, Ruttan, Batten, Rubidge, Strickland, McCauley, Hayward, Stewart, Matthews, Young, and Langton families who were prominent in the early history of the Valley of the Trent. My wife, who continues to endure graciously my preoccupation in historical research, has assisted in many ways in the preparation of this volume; and my sons James Edwin and George Robert have aided in the photographic work. Toronto January 1, 1957

E. C. G.

ADDENDUM Please note the following alteration for the caption of illustration No. 51 facing page 359. (51) COUNCIL AND OFFICIALS, PETERBOROUGH COUNTY, 1863 Rear Row: Robert Ritchie, Reeve of Snowdon; George Clark, Reeve of Douro; James A. Hall, Sheriff; John J. Hall, Clerk of Division Court; William Gainor, Reeve of Minden and Stanhope; Stephen P. Morton, Jailer. Second Row: P. M. Grover, Reeve of Asphodel; Evans Ingram, Reeve of Otonabee; Peter Pearce, Reeve of Belmont and Methuen (in Warden's gown); R. D. Rodgers, Reeve of Ashburnham (in front of Warden); Francis Crowe, Reeve of Dummer; John Walton, Reeve of Smith; John Galvin, Deputy Reeve of Smith. Front Row, Left to Right: Edgecumbe Pearce, County Clerk ; Cornelius Sullivan, Reeve of Ennismore; George Lockie, Reeve of Monaghan; Christopher Burton, Auditor; Walter Sheridan, Treasurer; James Foley, Auditor; Andrew Nelson, Deputy Reeve of Otonabee; R. E. Birdsall, Deputy Reeve of Asphodel; Charles Perry, Mayor of Peterborough. (The above names are found in faint pencil on the back of a copy of the photograph in the possession of J. B. Pearce, Norwood, grandson of Peter Pearce, the Warden.)

CONTENTS FOREWORD TO THE ONTARIO SERIES BY THE HONOURABLE LESLIE M. FROST, PRIME MINISTER OF ONTARIO -

ix

PREFACE

xiii

INTRODUCTION

xxv

I. DISCOVERY AND NATIVE INHABITANTS OF THE TRENT VALLEY 1. Champlain's Journal of his Journey with the Hurons, 1615 6 2. Indian Burial Pit, Manvers Township 8 3. The Coming of the Mississagas 9 4. A Settler's Impressions of the Indians 13 5. Three Years among the Ojibways, 1857-1860 - 17 6. Indian History in Methuen Township 23 Í. 2.

3. 4. 5.

II. PREPARATIONS FOR SETTLEMENT Surveying the Newcastle District Boundary, 1804 The Survey of Burleigh and Harvey Townships, 1823 (a) Letter of Andrew Miller Explaining Delay, July 18, 1823 (b) Report of Andrew Miller, September 29, 1823 General Account of the Newcastle District, 1827 Inspection of Seymour Township, 1832 - - - Survey for the Town of Lindsay, 1834 - . . .

III. SETTLEMENT AND PIONEER LIFE 1. Early Plans for Settlement (a) Charles Fothergill Plans a Settlement near Rice Lake, 1817 (b) Fothergill's Plan, 1817 2. Peterborough County's First Settlers, 1818 - - 3. The Settlement of Otonabee Township (a) Petition of Settlers, 1819 ( b ) Letter of Marcus F. Whitehead, Inquiring on behalf of Settlers, 1819 (c) Letter of Charles Rubidge, 1820 xvii

26 27

29 37 43 50

54 57

xviii

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

CONTENTS

Petition for a Militia Commission, 1820 - - - Admiral VanSittart and Bexley Township, 1826 - Alexander McDonell to Peter Robinson, 1829 - Emigrants from Frome, Somersetshire, to Dummer Township, 1831 - Choosing Land hi Upper Canada Settlement at the Mouth of the Trent, 1834 - - Immigrants into the Newcastle District via Port Hope, 1836 Settlement of the Northern Townships of the Trent Valley Report on the Bobcaygeon Road Settlement, 1863 -

62 63 64 65 72 75 77

79 82

IV. SETTLEMENT: THE PETER ROBINSON EMIGRATION, 1825 1. 2. 3. 4.

Handbill Announcing the Emigration - - - Petitions for Inclusion in the Emigration - - - The Passengers on the Transport Resolution - - Surgeons' Lists a n d Comments - - - - - - (a) Surgeon's List for the Albion (b) Surgeon's List for the John Barry 5. Letters and Notes concerning the Ascent of the St. Lawrence (a) Surgeon Power of the Elizabeth to Peter Robinson (b) Surgeons' Letter to Dr. Read, Prescott (c) Account for Medical Attendance (d) Letter Recommending William Fitzgerald (e) Surgeon Ternan of the Amity to Peter Robinson, July 19, 1825 (/) Surgeon Ternan of the Amity to Peter Robinson, August 1, 1825 (g) Recommendation of David Hogan ( h ) Recommendation of John Doody (/) Notes concerning Emigrants on the Fortitude (/') Emigrant Riot at L'Isle de Perreau 6. Peter Robinson's Description of the Arrival of the Settlers 7. Other Letters Relative to Settlement (a) The Reverend John Strachan to R. W. Horton (6) Thomas A. Stewart to the Reverend James Crowly

84 87 92 98

105

109 110

CONTENTS

8. Sir Peregrine Maitland to Earl Bathurst, 1826 - 9. The Honourable Peter Robinson's Report, 1827 - 10. Address to Sir Peregrine Maitland on his Visit to Peterborough, 1826 11. Progress of the Robinson Settlers by 1847 - - - -

xa.

112 116 126 127

V. TRANSPORTATION: THE TRENT CANAL 1. Benjamin Frobisher Describes the Trent Route - 2. The Collins Map of 1790 3. Lieutenant J. P. Catty's Survey of a Route between Lake Simcoe .and the Ottawa, 1819 4. J. W. Bannister Suggests Means of Building the Canal (a) The First Plan, a Lottery (¿>) The Second Plan, to Combine Settlement and a Canal 5. Tenders Asked for Works on Proposed Trent Canal, 1833 6. Progress in Transportation, 1833 7. Initial Survey for the Trent River Section of the Canal, 1833 8. Initial Survey for the Trent Canal, Rice Lake to Lake Simcoe, 1835 9. Visit of Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Colborne to the Trent Lakes, 1834 10. Report on Petition for an Inland Waterway in the District of Newcastle 11. Reports, Tenders, and Letters concerning the Trent Canal (a) Report of Commissioners, Trent Canal, 1839 (6) Tender of B. Bletcher and Thomas Harper (c) William Bowen to the Honourable J. B. Harrison (d) Samuel Keefer to T. A. Begly, 1845 (