HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1994-04-20, Page 3Community
Col. Van Egmond helped ..open area
Third in a series of articles on
Col. Anthony Van Egmond.
BY DAVID SCOTT
Expositor Staff
The soldier had turned to farming.
By July of 1829, Col. Anthony Van
Egmond had cleared almost a hun-
dred acres of his land west of pres-
ent-day Seaforth and half of that
was planted in wheat.
"As this was the first field ripe in
the Huron Tract, the old man (Col.
Van Egmond) determined to cel-
ebrate the event by. asking some of
the gentlemen connected with the
Canada Company to dinner, and to
witness the cutting of the first
sheaf," wrote Major Samuel
Strickland of the Canada Company.
The Major and three others
started out at 11 a.m. and walked
18 miles from Goderich through
bush and "90 degree temperatures
in the shade."
But the journey was made a little
more comfortable by the "civility of
the mosquitoes." Thomas Mercer
Jones, a Canada Company Commis-
sioner; Dr. William 'Tiger' Dunlop,
Warden of the Forest; and Charles
Pryor, eventual Justice of the Peace,
accompanied the Major on the
journey. And according to his
account they were kept entertained
on the way by stories told by Tiger
Dunlop. At the half -way point of
their journey, the four stopped and
had a lunch of beef sandwiches,
brandy and water.
After an hour, they resumed their
journey and about five o'clock they
reached their destination, Van
Egmond's Tavern, wrote Seaforth
historian, W.B. Kerr.
"Here we found an excellent
supper ready for us, to which after
a walk of eighteen miles, you may
be sure we did ample justice,"
according to Strickland's acc6unt in
Fred Van Egmond's The Import-
ance of Liberty.
In the morning the group, accom-
panied—by -CoL—
ccom-
paned by --col. Anthony Van
Egmond, took a tour of the farm
and surveyed the crops. "I think I
never saw a finer crop of oats, or a
better promise for tumips, in my
life. The wheat also looked
extremely well. It was certainly an
interesting sight, after walking for
miles through a dense forest, sud-
denly to emerge from the wooded
solitude upon a sea of waving grain,
white for harvest," wrote the elo-
quent Major Strickland.
His account of the wheat -cutting
ceremony by Madame Van Egmond
captures the celabratory spirit of the
day and the flavour of the times.
"About noonday we all proceeded
to the harvest field, headed by our
host and his lady and her fair
daughters. As soon as we arrived at
the scene of action a sickle was
placed in the hands of Madame Van
Egmond; and she was requested to
cut and bind the first sheaf of wheat
THE FIRST WHEAT - Susan Van Egmond, the great -great -great
granddaughter of Madame Susanna Van Egmond, re-enacts the
cutting of the first wheat in the Huron Tract in a ceremony held
July 22, 1992 following an 18 -mile walk from Goderich to the Van
Egmond house. (Huron Expositor file photo - by Mark Cripps)
ever harvested in Huron Tract - an
honour of which any person might
=be justly proud. ------ --
What were the red battlefields of
Napoleon, in comparison to the
bloodless victory, won over the
forests of Huron! The sight of that
first sheaf, cut by the gentle hand of
women was one that angels rejoiced
to see; while the fruits of his con-
quests were such as might well
make the seraphs weep!
Madame. Van Egmond handled
her sickle something better than a
mere amateur, which make us con-
jecture it was not the first sheaf she
had cut and bound. As soon as this
interesting ceremony was over, we
gave three hearty cheers for the
Canada Company. A horn of
whiskey was served round, in which
we pledged our host and hostess,
and drank health to the settlement.
..J need hardly describe our
evening's entertainment, save that
we 'ate, drank and were merry!
Indeed it would have been difficult
...amid the torment of
endless nig and ays
of millions of insects
and pests."
to be otherwise with Doctor Dunlop
as one of our companions."
Fred Van Egmond writes that
Constant Van Egmond was also at
the party and has a totally different
account of what happened.
"Originally it had been decided
that Doctor Dunlop, Warden of the
Forest, was to have had the honour
of cutting the first sheaf. When
dinner was over the party adjourned
to the wheat field for the ceremony.
There, waiting to greet them in a
very conspicuous place was the first
sheaf of wheat ever to be cut and
bound in the Huron Tract.
During dinner, Madame Van
Egmond had seized the opportunity
to slip out the back door and take
the honour to herself."
Dublin welcomes new arrival
Well, Dublin recently had a new
arrival! Proud parents are Richard
and Tracey Duchesne - Kramers of
a darling little girl! (Chantelle
Nicole). Little Desiree is excited to
have a new sister! Proud
grandparents are Yvon and
Kathleen Duchesne, and Marilyn
Kramers. Congratulations from all
your Dublin friends!
Congratulations go to Jackie and
Doug Racho, who recently cel-
ebrated a happy 45th anniversary,
with a family get-together! They
also visited on the week -end with
Don and Marg Smith and their son,
from Lciviston. New York. Jackie
J
Dublin
by Dorothy Dillon
345-2883
and Doug, all your many friends in
Dublin and arca, wish you many
more good years!
A happy birthday to a very
special Dublin lady (Nellie Vander
Pryt) from your many, many
friends!
Sympathy of the community is
extended to Margaret Anne (nee
Dcnomme) Cronin and family on
Obituaries
ROSS DRISCOLL
Ross Edward Driscoll, formerly of
McKillop Township, died Wednes-
day, April 13, 1994 at the Stratford
General Hospital in his 81st year.
Born in McKillop Township on
September 24, 1913, he was a son
of the late John William Driscoll
and the former Mary Ann Ross.
He is survived by his wife, the
former Dorothy Somerville; sons
John, of RR 4 Walton, Ron, of
Seaforth rind one daughter Barbara
of Bruccfield. Predeceased by one
son, Gordon.
Also surviving are six
grandchildren and four great
grandchildren, a brother Boyd, of
Seaforth and a sister Dorothy
Powell of Listowel.
Friends were received at the
Whitney-Ribey Funeral Home and
the funeral service was held Satur-
day, April 16, 1994 at 2 p.m. Spr-
ing interment Maitlandbank Cem-
etery.
Pallbearers were Merton
Hackwell, Lorne Glanville, Nelson
Ryan, Johnny Williamson, Scott
A
y
Driscoll and Pete Martene.
Flowerbearers were granddaughters
Tammy Martene, Shelly Undcr-
wood, Sharri Lynn MacDonald and
Tina Driscoll.
JOHN JOSEPH DIXON
John Joseph Dixon of Vancouver,
formerly of Seaforth, passed away
on April 7, 1994 in his 77th year.
John Dixon was the son of the
late George and Jenny Dixon; and
dear father of John, David, Jenny,
Rovina and Roy, all of Vancouver;
dear brother of Jean, Mrs. Alvin
Hoff of Seaforth, Roy of Windsor,
Hazel Nelson of Santa Clara, Cali-
fornia, Rovina Williams of Petrolia.
Predeceased by one sister, Dorothy
Moore, and one brother, George.
Also survived by seven
grandchildren.
Family received friends at the
Whitney-Ribey Funeral Home in
Seaforth. Mass of the Christian
burial was held at St. James Roman
Catholic Church in Seaforth on
Monday, April 18 at 11 a.m• Father
Henry Cassano officiated.
Interment at St. James Cemetery.
the death of a loving husband and
father (Lorne Cronin) who passed
away peacefully at Burlington
during the past week. Deepest
sympathy also to all Lorne's other
relatives and friends! All Dublin
and area people extend our sincere
sympathy and will always fondly
remember our happy times together
in Dublin!
Joe Eckert was happy to have a
visit from Jerry and Marie Eckert,
Owen Sound, during the past week.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
'Friends are made by many acts -
and can bd lost by just one!'
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"A rn of whiskey was
se ved round, in which
we pledged our host &
hostess, & drank health
to the settlement."
The Huron Road
It became apparent by 1830 that a
proper road had to be constructed in
Huron to encourage settlement. The
major part of the operation was
given to Van Egmond and his son,
Constant, wrote Prof. James Scott.
"The Van Egmonds were to do
their section for 48 pounds a mile
and were to complete 7,024 rods of
corduroys at 15 s. a rod...The con-
tract was signed on Feb. 9, 1830,
and three years were allowed for its
completion," according to Scott.
The Van Egmonds received many
acres of land for payment since
only one-third of their remuneration
for road -building was paid in cash.
"There is no final tally of how
much land Van Egmond actually
held by 1837 but some estimates go
as high as 13,000 acres...In any
event Van Egmond was easily the
greatest proprietor of land in the
Huron Tract in the 1830's," wrote
Scott in The Settlement of Huron
County.
Armed with equipment no more
sophisticated than two yokes of
oxen, the Van Egmonds began the
enormous engineering feat. "They
had to buy working cattle, vehicles
and tools. They had to bring in
practically all the supplies for the
men since none of the families who
had settle along the road were rais-
ing enough support themselves, let
alone feed extra workers," accord-
ing to Scott.
The Van Egmonds found it diffi-
cult to attract workers to "the dark
gloomy and pathless forest amid the ,
torment of endless nights and days
of millions of insects and pests."
Pay rates rose and cash ran low.
Van Egmond started paying the
men in credit orders for land on the
Canada Company. "In spite of
troubles the work was completed a
year sooner than was required by
the .contract and Van Egmond
emerged as the richest man in the
district."
As soon as the road was com-
'pleted in the fall of 1832, it was
found that most of the corduroy
(road made by logs laid side by
side) was unsuitable for use.
"In this matter Van Egmond is
not to be blamed because he was
merely following the specifications
which were laid down by Thomas
Mercer Jones - the man who was
sent in to replace Galt's
'inefficiency'," wrote Prof. James
Scott.
(with notes from Prof James
Scott, WB. Kerr and Fred Van
Egmond)
Conclusion next week: Elections
and The Rebellion.
THE HURON EXPOSITOR, AprII 20, 1994-3
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