HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-05-20, Page 58Page 30
In 1831
Clinton's early settlers were Dutch
By Shelley McPhee
While thousan' s of
Holland's natives came to
Canada, the land of op-
portunity and hope, in the
later 1940's and early 1960's,
the Dutch left their mark in
this country many decades.
earlier.
Historian George Wood-
cock in his book Canada and
the Canadians wrote that the
first Dutch settlers arrived
in Upper Canada as early as
8017' Thewere Hart of
.4a1� lIW �r �"� � "
the United Empire Loyalist
movement; 'Anne ricat
colonists who supported
Great Britain, and moved to
Canada following the United
States Revolutionary War.
In the 1890's, many of the
Dutch immigrants started
moving westward in Canada
and settled in significant
numbers in the prairie
provinces. Today their
heritage and traditions
remain an important
element in culture there.
It is most often thought
that Dutch immigration to
the Clinton area began in
1946 and 1947, and while
many overseas families did
in fact settle in this farming
area during that time,
earlier Dutch settlers ac=
Wally co-founded Clinton.
It was in 1831 that brothers
Peter and Stephen Van-
derburgh 'came to.the Clinton
area. Dutch natives, the
Vanderburghs first settled
on Yonge Street, north of
Toronto and ventured on to
Huron County where they
made their home at "the
corners," later to become
the town of Clinton.
It is known that at "the
corners," now Clinton's
main intersection, Stephen
Vanderburgh settled on the
Goderich Township comer;
Peter built a log house on the
opposite Tuckersmith
Township corner and
established the first tavern
for miles around. Jonas
Gibbings, who also arrived
from the Towship of Peel in
1831, settled on a third corner
in Hullett Township.
The first childrento be
born in the community were
daughters to each of the
Vanderburghs. The first
male child to be born was
William Gibbings, son of
Jonas Gibbings
According to Huron
County's 1879 atlas one of the
later Vanderburghs died,
and the other moved away to
the United States.
Today- many of their
descendents still live in the
Clinton and Goderich area
and genealogical research
on Vanderburgh brothers is
being carried out by their
family.
Shipping and fishing have'long been Holland's
major industries
es
as
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