The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutThe Huron Expositor, 1994-04-13, Page 22 -THE HURON EXPOSITOR, April 13, 19114 Feature a Colonel Van Egmond on the move Second in a series of articles on Col. Anthony Van Egmond. BY DAVID SCOTT Expositor Staff From the Napoleonic wars to North America, Colonel Anthony Van Egmond was on the move. Indiana County, Pennsylvania was the first stop for Van Egmond and his family in North America. According to Seaforth historian Wilfred Brenton Kerr, the Van Egmonds arrived in the United States in 1819 where Anthony took up farming and managed a store. After eight years of Pennsylvania farm life, Colonel Van Egmond decided to move his family and possessions to WaterlooC,runty. He is said to have been "a rich man, the possessor of many worldly goods, according to Prof. James Scott in his book, The Settlement of Huron County. There are three slightly different accounts of an incident involving the Van Egmond family moving their possessions from the United States to Canada via Niagara -on - the -Lake. The story generally goes that in order to make room on the ferry for a poor family and their possessions, Colonel Van Egmond left some of his property behind in the United States. Among the goods was a life-size portrait of the Colonel. (And in Fred Van Egmond's book, The Importance of Liberty, he writes there were life-size wedding por- traits of both Anthony Van Egmond and his wife, Susanna Dietz, left behind at Niagara). According to Prof. James Scott, "Van Egmond never did reclaim the possessions which he had so gener- ously left behind in order to befriend an impoverished settler." Wilfred Kerr suggests Van Egmond did more for the poor family than just leave behind his possessions. "He (Col. Van Egmond) lent them his wagons, meanwhile storing at Niagara his own property...The settlers presum- ably arrived at their destination; but when the Colonel returned to Niagara he was unable to find the portrait, which had been neglected or disposed of by the people with whom he had left it." Pictures or portraits of Col. Anthony Van Egmond are a rare thing, if any even exist. Robina and Kathleen Lizars described Col. Van Egmond's appearance and character in their "Van Egmond never did reclaim the possessions..." book, In the Days of the Canada Company, published in 1896. "In appearance he was a tall, fine soldierly looking man, but age gave him a stoop. His features were good, with large nose, and he always wore a close cap, even under his hat. He was never seen without this cap, and the legend is that his ears had been cut off. He spoke English fairly well, and was considered eccentric." Colonel Van Egmond and the Canada Company In 1827, Van Egmond and his family rented a farm and settled in Waterloo County where the Colonel met John Galt of the Canada Com- pany. At the time Galt was super- vising the foundation of Guelph. After this the town site for Goderich was laid out and he began to make plans for a road that would eventually join York (now Toronto) with Goderich, writes Fred Van Egmond. When Galt and Van Egmond met, they supposedly shared the same vision and passion for the develop- ment of the Huron Tract. Van Egmond's offer to assist with road building, something he experienced in Pennsylvania," was accepted by Galt. Canada Company surveyor John MacDonald had blazed a trail through the woodlands in prepara- tion for a new road. From Galt's point of view Van Egmond was wealthy enough to undertake the construction of the new road with his own money and was also content to accept remuner- ation in the form of land, the only currency in which the Company could pay for services on such a Large scale, according to W.B. Kerr. "Van Egmond and the Company, as represented by Galt, entered into an agreement by which the Colonel undertook to construct or rather cut forty-five miles of road, four rods wide, and to erect three houses for the accommodation of parties mov- ing in to settle on Canada Company land, one in south Easthope, one in Ellice and one three miles north- west of the present town of Seaforth," wrote Kerr in 1931. Van Egmond cleared land and built a combination house and tav- ern about four miles west of Seaforth, according to Fred Van Egmond. ADULT GOLF LESSONS Get A Fast Start On The Golf Season MON., APRIL 18 - MON., MAY 30 6.45 p.m. till dark At the Seaforth Golf and Country Club 6 weeks for $50 00 (all taxes incl ) Also included is coffee and donuts on the first night, professional instruction and 1 round of golfing Call The Seaforth Recreation Office for registration or information IS THIS YOU AT TAX TIME? L,ct us clear the clutter for you! just bring in that pile of papers, forms, and records and we'll take care of the rest, making sure your return is - prepared in the best possible way. Don't Ict that pile of paper be a burden when a visit to us can take it all off your shoulders. HURON TAX CONSULTANTS HARRY DENHAAN MAIN ST., SEAFORTH 527-0557 0 COSTELLO-VINCENT kCCOHITHG Deb Vincent 527-1865 Personal Income Tax Preparation • Starting at $20. • No GST on services. • Guaranteed Income Supplement form completed free of charge when income tax return prepared • Bookkeeping services also available. CALL TODAY! G. HEARD CONSTRUCTION LTD. •Lawn Rolling 1 Ton Rollers $30.0°/HR. plus GST • Farm Lane Grading & Gravelling — Call 522-0307 or 1-800-960-1867 EVENINGS SUSANNA DIETZ - The wie of Col. Anthony Van Egmond, Maria Susanna Elizabeth Dietz, is pictured here in her younger days. According to Fred Van Egmond's book, The Importance of Liberty, two Ste -size portraits were painted of Van Egmond and his wife but were lost when crossing into Canada from the United States. Col. Van Egmond was granted thousands of acres in both present- day Huron and Perth counties. He was also given cash advancements for each of the inns he was to build on the condition that he entertain travellers at prices comparable to established communities of the time. "Part of the agreement between Van Egmond and Galt was to have three other inns built at twenty -mile intervals along the new road and Van Egmond was to select the men to build and operate each inn. The purpose was to accommodate set- tlers coming into the territory. The men chosen were Fryfogle, Seebach and Helmer, who later became Van Egmortd's son-in-law," writes Fred Van Egmond. Galt was going to call these inns, "Houses of Entertainment," accord- ing to Prof. James Scott. Although the three German men and their wives were good choices for inn- keepers, the lack of fresh food and supplies often made for uncomfort- able lodgings for pioheer families. "It was not at all unusual for a settler to arrive and find the house in charge of the wife of Fryfogle, Helmer or Seebach, as the case might be, and practically nothing to eat. The innkeeper himself would be on the road laboriously bringing back the supplies. The houses were drafty...people slept on the floor or on rough bunks in a single large room. There was only a fireplace to keep it warm, and no privacy. In the leanest times the only food which could be obtained at the inns was some sort of mash," wrote Scott. Van Egmond built a log house and inn on his property west of Seaforth and immediately cleared some land and sowed wheat. And according to Scott, he had it suffi- ciently completed to move his fam- ily in by Christmas, 1828. (with notes from Prof. James Scott, W.$, Kerr, Fred Van Egmond and Robina and Kathleen MacFarlane Lizars). Next week: The First Wheat in the Huron Tract. Local man praises auction Art work is to be auctioned at the fifth annual Ausable Bayfield Con- servation dinner on Thursday night, April 21 at the South Huron Ree Centre in Exeter. Tickets are already sold out. Dinner committee member Joe Gibson of RR 2 Seaforth says, "We are again pleased to have Tammy Laye as the headline artist. She has been commissioned to prepare the main art piece and it will feature a landscape scene with deer. MCNPZ MEATS and DASHWOOD-SAUSAGE COMPANY Open Tuesday - Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. DASHWOOD 237-3677 Slaughter Day - Tuesday HAVE YOUR HOG PROCESSED f IN A DELUXE WAY We will offer a pick-up service from now to April 30 for only f5.°°! MARKET HOG fully processed c (dressed weight 175-200 lbs) $65 BEEF market weight approx. 600 lbs. (dressed , fully processed) $1 50 R STOCK UP NOW FOR THE B. B. Q SEASON Summer is around the corner! 25 LB. PACKAGE DEAL S69.00 5 lbs. Boneless Sirloin Steak 5 lbs. Pork Chops 5 lbs. Dashwood Sausage 5 lbs. Pure Beef Patties 5 lbs. Back Ribs BEEF Front $1.59 lb. Side $2.05 ib. Hind $2.39 lb. Loin $3.09 lb. YOUR CHOICE - 10 LBS 4 oz pure beef patties (550 each) 521.90 6 oz Pork Chops - 30 (90e each) 526.90 8 oz Strip Loin - 20 (3.00 each) 559.99 'wow PORK Side $1.15 ib. Loin $2.25 lb. \T/ TUNE-UP SPECIAL AT HART FORD MERCURY USED CARS I iiiewaivilweitrsi4FoRms27.100 os 52'1 1 l QUALITY WORK YOU CAN DEPEND ON! CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT TODAY OUR TUNE-UP y$ CJAL DS APR. 22 Regular Price -4 cylinder $59 Special SA95 '; .' Price milsg gp Reg - R4i Q, Sp Price Regular Price 8 cylin Special Price $69.95 TUNE-UP SPECIAL INCLUDES complete check of ignition system (Cap, Rotor, Wires, Timing) includes labour and new spark plugs 77/4/1/k- yon 11"t4 lea/W/1/73 ,4/v077/fie cf#CCtssF6(1 sa&7c1ef'P77o/V •w„, ..Congratulations , f f `Tie pec ea"rec / a/ra 4,o, e lov-uia/--a/ t%e 17 /tea' 6-'aiscl4ael's str# & FOR Of/Vt- to Gordon Glen of Clinton area. He holds the first Huron Expositor subscription to the year 2000. NI 771 r eaa /S e -O Se/ -!/-//r," iir e4e cOl/fe, top/ -aaa ce - 4av-e ci. ayraf r,/ Sea f,f 3a,, -s ea Oa,- ed6(0/» is a 9a a &J1 ,reuis,t5,bel /rot ore a/r,--uial--a 7 --arms 7-4- e /yea, -.94, t,-,4,0,5-44-0,-