Times-Advocate, 1983-09-28, Page 34PAGE 14
The Colonel
Continued from page 13
fences surrounding the new cleared farm.
Van Egmond. clearly the richest ratan in this part of Upper
Canada. soon had 24 four -horse teams bringing in settlers and
supplies along the Huron Road. but he was also a soft-hearted
man who spared neither his purse nor his person in coming 10
the aid of settlers in trouble.
SAVED SETTLERS
Contemporary accounts show that he paid out of his own
pocket for two loads of flour to save the lives of a group of
starving settlers during their first winter. travelling 90 miles
through deep snow himself to delivery it. Another time he rode
day and night to bring medical help to the eastern part of the
tract following an outbreak of cholera.
But in the following eight years relations with the Canada
Corhpany. now under different stewardship. soured; settlers
were thrown off their land for the least excuse so that the land
could be more profitably sold to new arrivals.
The settlers got no satisfaction from the Family Pact regime
in Toronto. and Van Egmond. who had never been paid the
cash for his road -building. was a leading spirit in the reform
group that sprang up in Huron. their military training
disguised as "turkey shoots."
Van Egmond's English was never perfect. but a torrent of
outrage poured from him at the injustices he saw about hint.
Typical was a letter hew rote to the Advocate newspaper of "a
case of unparalleled hardship" involving a settler. Richard
Lowe.
, "Mr. Lowe. his sickly wife. eight small helpless children.
and a female servant. routed out of their beds. turned by force
out of doors and their beds and furniture strewed on the public
highway. P.S. Mr. Lowe's children are all but. naked."
SENSE OF OUTRAGE
His sense of outrage drew him into the circle of William Lyon
Mackenzie. the peppery Scottish newspaper editor who was
moving inevitably towards armed rebellion against the Fancily
Compact. and the colonel agreed to command the reform
forces in the revolt.
History, of course. records the revolt as a rout with a lot of
blustering followed by the unseemly flight of the rebels from
the Montgomery Tavern. their Yonge St. headquarters. with
Mackenzie seeking refuge across the Niagara River.
Van Egmond arrived on the scene only a couple of hours
before the crucial engagement and there was little time for him
to do anything but review his 400 men and lament at their
motley collection of pikes and primative guns •before the
skirling bagpipes of the approaching government forces were
heard.
Following the 20 -minute engagement. in which tour rebels
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lost their lives. Van Egmond was one of the last to leave the
battleground and soon afterwards. the aging and exhausted
N,.,coleonic campaigner was captured ignominiously hiltng in a
farmhouse.
TORONTO JAIL
Militarily the revolt had provided little more than a
morning's brisk exercise for the goJernment forces: politically
it and the Papineau rebellion in Lower Canada set Canada on
the road to responsible self-government.
In the damp and cold of the Toronto jail that December. the
old campaigner's rheumatism plagued hint and with little
prospect but the gallows. Van Egmond took ill and was
removed to hospital. There. aged beyond his 60 years. witness
to some of the greatest historical events of the age. his eyes
closed for the last time on Jan. 5. 1838.
Pursuing hitn beyond the grave. the government seized his
13.000 acre holdings and. even though he was eventually
pardoned. the land was never returned to his family.
His son. Constant. who had always been at his father'~ side
in the arduous work of opening up the new frontier. started a
grist mill. distillery and lumber mill at the village now known
as Egmondville near Seaforth. and. in 184b he built the
handsome house that is now the subject of controversy.
The move to preserve the house. which had fallen into a state
of dilapidation. began when a group of historically minded
Seaforth Citi.' ns got together in 19'1. With donations. a
S'.000 grant from the Ontario Heritage Foundation, and a
bank loan. the newly formed Van Egmond Foundation bought
the house.•
LEARNING CENTRE
With further g' crnntcnt grants and donations the house,
says F'aul Carroll. has been say ed and plans are to open it as a
tourist attraction and learning centre next summer.
But local fund-raising efforts failed this year and with a bank
loan of S30.000 the foundation is facing a monthly interest bill
of 5550. The only answer directors have been able to come up
with is to sell off the three -acre site. said Carroll. who is
principal of the two public schools in Seaforth and Walton.
Part of the problem. he said is that in this strongly
conservative part of the province Van Egmond is still regarded
by some as a traitor. an attitude. said Carroll. that has come
through in sonic of the, foundation's dealings with local and
central government.
If the land is sold. a scaled-down and far less important
restoration project will result. he said.
"One hope we have is that Dutch -Canadians will recognize
the important part one of their forebears played in developing
our democracy and will play a part in creating this memorial to
the Van Egmond family."
Welcome to Seaforth's
Ciderfest compliments of
Ginette's
Restaurant
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OPEN: Mon.-Thurs- - 6 a.m. - 7 p.m. Main St.
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Master story teller
was raised with
Van Egmonds
BY SUSAN HUNDERTMARK
"Old Mrs. Van Egmond, the Colonel's wife, always
carried a large ring of keys around wherever she went. One
of the keys on that ring opened the lock to her wine cellar
which was known for miles around for the wine she
produced from it for company. But, she always kept that
cellar door locked except for one day when she forgot to lock
it behind her.
"The Van Egmond boys were mischievious and
adventuresome like any other boys in the village. Down by
the river, the boys used to swim and dive by the mill which
could be dangerous because of the fast current. And, one
day after swimming by the mill, the boys did not come home
for dinner. Dusk fell and a search party was formed and by
morning, when the boys were still missing, it was generally
believed they had drowned.
The local minister came to commiserate with the Van
Egmond family the next day. Because he was a guest, Mrs.
Van Egmond headed down to the cellar for some
refreshment to find she had not locked the door.
And, inside were the two boys, drunk as hoot owls on the
Van Egmond wine."
ORIGINAL FAMILY
Jim Doig, whose family was one of the original families to
settle in Tuckersmith near Egmondville, told that story at a
liar's contest a few years ago at the Van Egmond House
during Ciderfest. It's an indication of the knowledge Mr.
Doig possesses of the Van Egmond family. He heard the
story after story as a boy at the knee of his aunts who were
taken in by the family and after growing up with the
Colonel's descendants.
"Anything I say has been reported to me as authentic.
There's little use in retaining history if it isn't accurate," he
says.
Arriving from Thornhill, Scotland in 1868, Mr. Doig's
grandparents, Paul and Katherine, settled in Egmondville.
When his grandfathcr died during a diptheria plague in the
1870s, his grandmother was too poor to look after the
children who were taken in by various area families.
Daughters Ellen, Margaret, and Katherine Doig were
taken in and raised by the Van Egmonds. The story of the
wine cellar happened while his aunts were living there, says
Mr. Doig.
RECOGNITION
"We owe them a debt of recognition at the very least for
their help. Opening up the house to my aunts was a rarity in
those days and we ve always tried to uphold our obligation
to the Van Egmonds for helping the destitute," he says.
That obligation has been filled . by Mr. Doig's
involvement in the preservation of the Van Egmond house.
Appointed chairman of the board in 1971 when the move to
preserve the house began because ''I had a big mouth or
something," Mr. Doig served on the foundation for years.
"The Van Egmonds were the backbone of the community
and Col. Van Egmond fought to improve the conditions for
the settlers. He donated the land for the first church and
school in the area and contributed to the environment,
Please turn to page 18
PAGE 15
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