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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1956-08-01, Page 7John KellyTiOn'atecU•', Land ,forCernetery One of the first 'sections to;. be cleared 'in Morrie '';TownShiP Wasi . on conceeplen„.IT 'Lot ;.12 tief•Ahls:eOn- aeaskin was donated by. John Kelly, for the ofte• Of aIleurian eCathode 'Clititetianirt!e;CliMereerYe.lindo here that , miiiiY• of tliii':•gravee, of- the early. Settlerd,iiiiky• be' faund. ' 'John Kelly, his Wife ' children arriVed OM Ieelandetind took •up land ;from. the :Crevere.in 1852. ,He set, aside , an, sera Of land.' to be used for the; site At:ip church 'and a'cei+ietery where; Father Wadier4te,eald'lMaise'Onee a ,month. The eirleit..'40:64;hefre2 back, over fotesietrailiCkine Aeh-: field... Prior ..to theareetioheOf Church,. services were Xeld', leo Mt. Kelly's hoine. The elniteli:'Y4.8 ..OMPY'64 to Blyth, :but, "defifee terY, ; heen..."‘keir.keKibijetiih:fih .; e Ypttrs,:and' k ink:4)1d 'iepahingOiai;014t.i.2:010.t; at the cenieferY'''in'the:''peaf.- two Years „and . dering ;the. CeritenfilsiL. celebrations on Sunday a ireiirlY' erected' statue of:St .,Miehaei,Will' be dedicated.' e- • A teilor by the name . of Bailey lived above the, lime ;kiln on the 4th concession of Morrie when' Sun- shine was in its Mime,' and' made clothes for all the boys hi that vicinity. area An early IVAttY; 1854,1P.conen topit hp; I.,fots and2 con iq and M•Ptieen,'Zi9te 1 •ae.d.2',.hdein;'ll ,Morris TOWnellip; They were'S loci f0119WeChy. Bert ieitheiniend ;And john ,,IlornplO, ton, Who' 'Made, theii 14oatioli Oti• fhe-iVi*vanosh aide..of the.site. that was later becotne the :e,illege of Blyth. Templet* Owned 1.tlee .first Stare in that section, epeeeiting his hueinesi. An his' log .houee" Jelin Prilin'hiond, a 'brother of'. Robe'r't built the, first 'hotel.' • • • 1854 Geerge Deeney had mov- ed a lilackereitli ;shop and Robert, Gurney , was' busy as a<taiior; A grist'..rniil was erected. by. Joseph Whitehead and in .the speing of 1055 lifecipecie put up. a , re , b. • Luciaif 1400011Zile Sri ,Irirhr1t >l, sindlitennifhIvre eari A Scetsman Robert Golley, with his sons Glen, Clarence and Jim reSpectively examine some of the possessions which belonged to Mr, Galley's grandfather, who came to this cquntry from Ireland. • Golley Homestead The home on the farm now owned by Robert ,Golley Wes built by his grandfather Joseph Golley. PIONEER INDUSTRY AT BELGRAVE The picture above Was taken About l880 'and shows the Polgrave saUvtiiill as it eitMed n pioneer • Mr: and, Mrs. Joseph Golley, grandparents of Robert Gallen settled n•:Morris 'Township in 1854. Present Golley Farm Settled By Owner's Grandfather j115 east of 1311,1,01,We and Grace, Mr G. Leeson, lives in" Toronto where she teaches school, On the farm there are 7$ head of good beef cattle, iniestlY Here- fords. It is a inixed-fatni 'ranid' al- ways hes been, Mr. and Mrs, Golley were "mar- ried in the Wingham Presbyterian Church in 1914, by the Rev, David Perrie. Now, with four grandchild- ren, Julia, Jill and Jeffery Thorn- ton and Barry Galley; they still en- joy every minute of their full lives. Mr. Golley put •it in these words, "Farming means more hard work than hard cash, but I don't regret the years-I've spent here on the farm. They've been good years." HISTORY OF. MORRIS TO ON SALE A,*;4i#9r37. 149,rr,is, Tewnship has recently been pUblinhed by•the Morris Historical Comniatee, com- posed of James Miceree, Walter Shortreed and Ralph Shaw. The 44-page booklet contains in- formation concerning the pioneers, churches, schools, cemeteries, ham- lets, etc. All phases of progress in the past 100 years have been cover- ed, A very interesting chapter in the book is an adcourit of pioneer- ing in the township, taken from the diary ef Rebert Laidlaw, who Was one of the earliest settle/S.1n MOr- ris, This history will be on sale dur.-; ing the Centennial celebrateins and those who will net be able to at- tend the festivities, but' would be interested iii obtaining a copy, might write to. James lVfichie, R.R. 4, Brussels. The price is $1.00, Congratulations and 115 ST WISHES to all our good neighbors, friends and customers in Morris Township on the occasion of their CENTENNIAL B. H. Moffatt C. B. Hoffman Bluevale Creamery E. W. Sellers A. C. Lillow A. D. Smith Bluevale Milling Co. Mathers Coal Co, Black Brothers fi • ingbain abballer= Pioneer Relic, Settled b y Irishmen it 1851 Was at OrlissetS ' ., .., 1 ' ' . .... . ' • ' 'AC es) r 0 418. to PIO' ,newspaper Well, of. Miss K VanCamp's Property. Reit, Jehri Stewart was 00 mini- ster: . . ; . WIhTG#31i111i AiifeVANCE.400-T,i, .of . Belgrave Was .First First Huron County . Military COiniJany- IOLYTItIVAS the first military. e.ornpanYI in • Hueon County 'was icriewn. as the Ainleyeille doinpaey of .iefeetry elf Volunteer Varistene in command, AlpleerYille is now Brussels, 'and this fire( corn- , pony was fortified before the Fenian Raids. ' • The service roll' read as foilewee "We whose names .are hereunto etihseribed deelare • thee . We haVe. taken the -Oath of AllegiaeCe tee the Sovereign and thet , aye voluntarily agree to serve iri' the Ainleyyille Company of Infantry. of e Voeunteer Militia under the &indite:Me of pert,. vice for, the' goyerninenro 'Orethe Volunteer.Militla Foree,of•Pana'le, as set out in the MilitialaWs. of :'the peovihee ,„ • .„ . The: people now began to have • ' • ` hOnes..'ithatt the place''would grow "James s., viihRtphe; .Captiii)r John Leckie, Lieoteneritt: ,Gecirgec R. Ross, Ensign; Kelly, Uriah pass, ,W;, A, .Fishlelgh,: Harvey Mooney,'. Robed • Aftioriey,': Simon .Grant, Thee; {I e; Richard MiirPhy,•Aleitalitler„Moiere, John Angus, Johneft.,draiite ipaVid Mollison, Georere-,A.,Bege ' ,eCherlee'• Hele,'WillitiMCin- ey, • W. J. R., HolMes,..e Wilfbirte Wright,' 'Williiiih•''Hoggr, Thomas.! Watson,. Jonathan ePeaChcli,' Wily limn Docket, CharleS•Baxter,'Aiinee Gibson ,John'Tait, William' Thomas Bernerd, . Thomas Angusi• Donald Fergusone Don,alch McNatie, ghtone Robert' Slierridan,"GeorgeeMeheing,eThOhre-i as. Rice,, 'Janied MoInthe*'r J'ohrir Manning, 'Ed, "KiirliPitriek,'Aleit-: ander Ferguson,. Iseaq, William 'Clarks Alex "MerPleeijantd,,e‘' Gibson, Adine ReidOilaeVeY',QhW man, Alex Mcleealiee', chetlee.,Meey Sellen, Peter drent; :Bishop Ward; 'Robert •Ainley, Henry, 'Switzer;:. James Smith, leienfr George Alice* J,41:neePo;:49dttlek, • Ben McDonald;" , I Reeeetly the Belgrile'e Weinegil Inetittlje 0OIll00 0„ a history of the village Or their Tweerlsrouir Boole and At 10 through 'the efforts •Of these women that we are able to publish the following plots CPA, eel },ing Belgrave, The Village of Relgrave, 'though. of small extent awl population, has always, been e, progressive and T C Operative place and the Inhabltante are indebted to their forefathers for the fine 'foundation and ;eat , envies laid by time, Irish eettlers were the firet to *We in the Community, in 1.1351., tilting their homes both to the east and west of the village, Dennis Haggerty bought three-'.quarter's of an acre, the . present site of Q. Hanna's store, in 1856, Here he erected a tavern which gave to the diStrict' the unique name of Hag- gerty's Corners. • In the late 1850's n wave of. SO:4-e arrived, many freni,galton county, bearing such familiar' nerees •as Anderson, mcGowan„ Michie, Scott,. MCCalluirie McLean, etc, A Scots- man bought • Haggerty's .Hotel and that: Irish name seem • vanished, Many more eettlers'artived 1840'.a - • • cburch. Wee Built re' ,•:,,eMe. character of these Weepers is shoWn when, we learn that one cit., the very earliest public builde to be.:constructed was ai church. The church' was -Presby- ' terian and was erected just, south M first it was known as Knox Church, Morris, since the' village Wee eearcely large enough for a haglO. Phurch records show that' in 1868 the.chosen treasurer Wes out erieleried, wits the name, and called the. place BelgraVe after an potash lord, Other pioneere credit the naming of the viliage to •the grave of a settler , by the name of sell, which wee the way the early pioneers had of identifying the community. Gradually Bell's grave became Belgrave,' the permanent name of the commitnity, With the increase of settlers, buildings' went up quickly, A fine shed was built behind the hotel for the convenience of farmers, Tne first general store was buiit by Simon. Armstrong on the site, of Walsh's store. It also served as the post `office, When the hotel, bnyned down ie second generel store was erected on that corner s.od a one time this store had a• fine etreiernaking shop on the second floor, South of the Store was 'a public shed, with an, outside staircase leading to a hall above, where concerts and public, meeting; Were' conducted, This building was later ;destroyed by tire. • .' About this time •a new hotel went up on the property owned • until recently by David Scott. , The . Methodists erected• their• church • in 1874 • and the Trinity Anglican• Church was •built the fol- lowing year, ..The, ,Presbyterians'. present KnoxrChurch was built on the 'hill in the eastern part of the village in 1899. In • • ' the meantime the ' sawmill, blacksmith shops, tannery, wood- working shop and tailor shop Were, all adding their skills to the life Of the community.' •In the early eighties Henry Morley put up the Queen's' Hotel and , William. Scan- drett was the , first landlord, This building still stands and provides living apartments in the village. Cheese. Factory Erected • Around 1881 these progressive pioneers turned their thoughts to the binding : of -A. -cheese factory en the ninth line betide the creek, jhete West of- 'rd• ii 6u" e" For' a euiriber, of years, it flourished 'but closed, down in 1897. ,. :The eeext project attempted call- ed for ..tie cooperation of the sur-• rounding countryside and was well' Stiliported; This was the laying out of the fair grounds And the build- ing On an agricultural hall on the terineeow • owned by George John- ston. George Procter built this hell in' 1886 an, eight-sided ,structure with ny windoWs and a flag Pole in 'the middle. ' Many fall fairs and several spring lilies took place here, the last one' being.in 1904. These fairs were the foimdaticin of' interest in agri,chl- tine in the Community -which Mew h as ',the .reputation of having the largeetesehoot fair .i..in the ,province. The Orange Hall was built in the early days of the village and the , Foresters's. Hall has served As , a• public hall since about 1880. Belgrave did not have a school of its own for many years, the pre- sent school being erected as late as 1907. Many changes have takeh place, in the village since those far-off days but the Wirit of co-operation. and communty interest has remain- ed through the years. anti oe.Ocene impertaet. centre. Drummond,.'whe was ,ere Ploy in, Ledidbiiee'doriceiSied = the villag'e on the eit,e4;4.;.h11,4-:foinet:@ • property:, He propeededeth,:,elo ,for many Years; ...tikePlate,'•Wes• .known' ei the Wine '-'• le;.: 5' e •kiatde bxi'Aitetkin The 'bi'F the 'Original TstF,d as• ee•llaws : ''EXTENSIVE AUCTIbil SALE! Frederiek -Wilson is. instructed to' sell hvitietirm; Without'eeseeire on Thesdayethe',3rd . 'day 61, April ,nexe, 20(kerluable'Tqwn ane-fieurth of ,p .a•pre Village of D.pirfiAnandei.jthatectein the Town, Ithe ftietweektheloWnshitie of Wa- wanosh, Morris. ,and' Hullett :This , lPrOg.reePh4e,00,4,,of,:the.greenter, „erne' fully settled,',Sis,SithAted withie 1C )nilerieofiGliritciltariii15-of'Godelieh•e As 't'O . sltttlet'b'~ib this locality' now ..'reqiiireallkiiids•.eie .iirieeliciaiiCe and the cOriVeriieides of a iiTirer kettown, this will Otove.'•'a Most yaleillere:ftipbetterlity, for perches', Ing;freeheld:.',prOperty: and es the present village is not ''adequate an y diiy 'Nr:'ray:te:SuPPlee the needs.Of the ,•eaminunity 't)f "'SveatthY'teiniereat. present in. th610ettlity;' ands 'rip. a 'grist and sawmill "with • a tavern and store areAlteady` comPletion,4 the pruMtnorid: must eventu- al* loca- tion, The terms etc. • etce,L--dlinton, 22nd January,: 1855.e ' Tlie Cohnty •HurbeSGezetteee, iitidA3iisinese . Directory fot 1863-64 gives •es,seirie 'Weald , the. progress that Spas •:math: 'during the first feW''..:Y.Card."-',In :this book Blythe is pest ,ogtee, rfllage in the C•TownshiP •, of, Wawanosh And MOrriee e from, 'Clinton, ieVelithen...iieilea froth Godetich on theCliiiteri`eaticti •Wineham gravel cad r°;It t hat "it it .eentieined grist 'fl'ouring .millS; steam stiWtillile ..iciaireeleneittle stores, One atOyei'lthiIii,.'one • wagon ,fiectOry, theeeetillekseeithe Shope,: one e sed- slteiY,;a:tailee,,shOp: and , ehree•hotels e'" = • :.*lig`'WeSrb-,0„us-Y. • capacity Of4;itianiitakiSiipgl. 860 barrels of fr:i;*.;11.;:vir00.theeirlit thirty ;be- • ereepower erigineThe satvmillV manufiethred Aiirriber•te'th'e amount 'of a million )14 itehelCarieuelly: The post of- ..'had been established lin:1055; received •mail daily. There One 'chutele,PreebYterian, built in 18ii'T' of atone'• construction" at a cost ,f $1,590; The church, 40x50, aPated 500' people and Rev. John •Steivart :was the , mitifeter. The biviiion Anne of Temperance Nb. 271, .or'g'anizedon 'May 24, 1861 net every Tiiesday evening. The alphabetical list of profes- eicme And trades in the Gazetteer reads as follows:' Cherleee proprietor of Farmer's' hotel; George Draney, blacksmith, shop; • Robert Drum- Mond, shoemaker; John Drum, mend, shoemaker; Wm, Drummond postmaster, dealer in dry goods groceries and hardware; Joseph Ltotthici, proPrietor of Fotreeters' Herilee Adine Glazier, boot and shoe 'shop; Robert Girtliey, tailor; Richard Relines, J,P, gerlerel et iiiHelry geode, groceries, hard- Write,' crockery} etc.;' Win. McCon- nell,' lathier • ,end constable; Mai- colM Mckellet, blacksmith; D. B. Meitiniritm,. general ,clealer in dry goods, groceries, hardware, etc.; Hugh MOQiieerie,- biitekeinith and wagon maker; Robert W, Mitchell, Saddlery and hainea'a Maker; Peter W., M, Potter,, •Ministet; George QUM,. `school; teat:diet; N. Squirk. general dealer In dry goods and groceries 'etc,; Jelin Clerk, Proprie- tor 'The idado, Is Alteted'; Alex • honipeoe, stirgecin, aceou- eheitie Jtenee Weat, carriage and wagon Maker; ThOS, White, tin- Smith; Whitehead, 3.P., man- ager and ,3, VSthiteitead proprietor of Plythef The.village grow slowly until the building of the Lake Huron and Bieffelo Railway, When It became Considered it p'r'osperous little rall- road•thWri. Blyth •liedainti en independent corporation at the beginning of 1877 Waving been effected under the' Ceneral AU by by-low of the totinty council at the June somaloh, Promoter of L.H,&B. ame 'Morris 1853' Petrick Kelly, one of the strong- est promotors for the building of the London, Huron and Bruce Rail- way, lived in Blyth the greater part of his life, but first settled on Lot 13 Con, 7 with his parents..., • Hewes bOrn in Ireland, His fam- ily' lived in Carleton COunty, when they first came to Canada and then moved to Morris in 1853. Patrick started his career as a farmer. After thirteen years of this occupation he puchased mills in Blyth. A very influential man in local, municipal and political affairs, he was the first man north of Exeter to' call a public meeting in regard to the building of the L.H. & B, and was one of the most active sup- POrters. .„ During the negotiations concern, ing the railway, Bificlulph ToWnship decided not to contribute, a bonne to the cause. Since all other town- ships, villages and towns were SQ keen to have the railroad, the mueicipal officials of Bicklulph felt, sure .the railroad would he built whether they paid or. not, and it was only reasonable that, it, would, pass through the Village of Lucan, •Patrick Kelly was a man of de- termination. He used his influence to see that the L.H. & B. skirted Ltican about three Miles west. Thus Clendeboye came into being and the businessmen of Lucan had to team their prOducts to the new village. Committee Chairman Emends Welcome A hearty ",welcome home" to all former Morris Township old boys and girls to our centennial. We hope you will enjoy every minute of your stay among us and that your memories of these and -other days will be the happiest of youi life. ' Morris 'was incorporated as s township in 1856 and 'has how reached its 100th birthday, Thii we are celebrating with school,re- unions, church services; band core certs and nearly other entertain- ments. For many it will be more than a centennial—it will be a reunion of old friends, with old times discuss- ed and stories of the past exchang- ed. • Time has brought a great many changes to lvforris Township. Early in its history there were no radios or television, ino daily mail, no cars, no 'telephones — in fact, most of these things had not even been thought of when the township had Its beginning. - Today the log-cabin homes of our feltefathers have been replaced by modern brick houses, yet the churches and the schools of those early settlers still stand, side by side with our modern ones. • In retrospect, one can realize the great spirit and foresight of those adventurous men and women who left" their homeland to pioneer this new land"of ours. With crude tools and, determination they forced themselves to succeed. Their suc- cess is our heritage. With all our facilities we can only look upon those pioneers with' awe and with reverence and hold them dear in our memories. As we pay tribtite to the men and women of the past, we must believe and hope that 'the people Who will live here during the next 100 year, will pay similar tribute to this gen- eration. This issue of the paper will con- tain the last of many recollections of the histoiy of Morris and we realize we have 'not been able to do full justice to all who have built the township, Seine of the readers may be dis- appointed when they find an an- cestor or a friend unmentioned, We have tried to present the back- ground history of Morris Township. in the short settee of time we have had at our disposal, If there are any =teethes we ate tuly sorry, My thanks ,to those Who have contributed ele 'this short histoty and to the committee for the Very Voidable assistance they have giv- en. To those who return, my Sin- cere welcome home Ito Morris Township arid to this Centennial. Yours truly, Richard Procter, Chairman Invitation and Publicity Committee, A Belgrave Coo ,son Site of First Mill ; ,Colmeliu3 ,Bell was the oWfier And' opeeetoe.„Of. •the sawmill in Bel- grave, He sawed and dressed lum- befrmlicie chests and fernitke and ale°, mator of the early coffins; ' After a few years he sold the 11 to James. Tyner. During "his' . peestilie, thee'smoleestack had eq. e• to laced, and the, new 'One ar-' rived iro two 20-foot lengths which had, tO:he riveted -together, In 'order' to do this oneman had to 'crawl inside the stack to hold something Solid against the rivets.while a '' man outside hammered theni in. Billie Watson and' Van Vanegoe- Man Were helping Mr. Tyner,' but no one wad keen to' crawl as there was very little 'room' to' MOVe Around, Finally JimeTyner entered the stack himseli -and; hi's helpers" • • Consoled him bY tying a rope 'to erech'lfobt in Oise he ;get stuck, When the rivets were All Ali place, the situation tempted Van , and Billie to• pull the ropes regardless iif ,whether . Jim was stuck • or not. Re 3Arts in the:middle of the 407 foot length. and. they gave him a merry ride to 'the bottom. • •Sold to Co-Op 1 ' /111•Tyner sold the' mill to E. Living- 11111l thhe, who established,a, plant there which ..furzilelied .the village with electrical, power for, .a few years, W.'. J.' 'Geddes was the,. next owner and "he operated • it • for 1.8 yeare, chaegingsover 'to 'agriet 1 mill. The letilding was _then sold., to'. George Jerden bet ,it was • destroyed by ffrle'anclehticl to be rebuilt_ It changed hands ,a few, more times, becoming 'the- property 'of George Cook, Frank Sturdy, Alex Mawbray. and Alex, Manning. The latter ran it for many years, selling it to the Belgrave do-operative • : about ten years ago; A new highlight was reached in the life of the mill this summer When the new Co-operative store was opened. ' The store and mill are run under the Management of Ross Robinson. 1876, 'The first council was com- posed of Patrick Kelly, reeve; Dr. William Sloan, D. B. McKinnon, James Wilson and Thomas Nichol- son as councillors, Robert Phillips was 'clerk-treasurer, Chas. Hamil- ton assessor, John Gosman collec- tor and J. A, Anderson ,and R. W. Mitchell were auditors. On the withdrawal of Blyth from Wawanosh and Morris, Blyth eel averto E. Wawanosh Its share of the Muhitipal Loan Pend Sur- plus, and undertook to pay $400 ad- clItional on the township's assump- lion of the Whole of the" unpaid railway debenture indebtedness. In the case of Morris, that township too, assumed all its unpaid deben- tures, the village undertaking to re- pay the township $800 iii ten years, with interest, 'Ronald Menem, son of Mr. and Mrs. Xemictit McItean was. the Met white cliI'd born In Blyth. The Mcl can hOme was the first place Of worship lit the area with Rev, Mr. Atkins as minister. John Laid- laW and Miss' Waldy were the first to be married iti the immediate neighborhood, the ceremony being performed by Nit, Atkins. A weaving loom, a candle lantern, and grain •cradle and some ancient oxen yokes help tell the story of courage and fortitude which made Hurbn County what it is today. These ' articleS; bright chepters iiie•the, comity's history, are the cherished, possessions of Robert Golley, whose grandfather, Joseph Galley, cleared the farm on. Lot 1, Concession 2, Morrie Township, from the forest more , than 100 yearp ago. Mr, Golley took time out from, his haying one day this week to show us, these articles, used by , his grandfether, which tell the story of the labors of the early pioneer's fight against nature, more elo- quently than words. The 200-acre farm has changed little through the years. It is a good farm and typical of the many fine properties in 'this lush section of ',Ontario. .',`.The fields seen the eperee to „reie . new theY .14,rnY•eelailde, hood. The house I live in was;built by My grandfather, Joseph Galley, three Years before niy mother ahcl father were married," said Mr. Golley. , "My grandfather's Crown Deeds are still in my possession, together With his weaving loom—he 'was a Belfast weaver before he came here —ti; celiac candle lantern, grain Cradle and several• other things, which •belenged to him. He was over eighty when he died and these old:things: Olean much to me," Mr. Golley'said.: , Joseph Golley moved to Huron County froth Halton County, where he.had,met Miss Margaret Hunter, who was to become his wife. The farni was first settled in 1.854, Today the farm is owned and operated by Robert Golley and Mrs. 'Golley, formerly Ida Abraham of East Wawanosh. They have a family of three boys and two girls. The- oldest son, Clarence, works the farm with his father; Glen •is on a them on Highway 86; Jim has the farm next to the homestead;; Doro- thy, 'now Mrs. W. Thornton lives Little Mary: "Mother, they are goihg to teach us domestic silence ' at school name" Mother: "X`ou 'mean domestic science, don't you?" Father: "There is a, bare hope our little girl means what she is saying."