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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1967-09-14, Page 546 4 444 • • 4 • • • • •With the closing ,of the toll PUS' revenue for the upkeep and maintenance of these roadsdropped„. The other source of upkeep was statute labor, ThiStWas con" tinuedInto the 1900's. Statute labor was a uniform way of equalizing each landowner's share toward the build.- ing and the repairing of the roads.- Money being scar,ce, the ratepayers were allowed to pay on the barter sys- tem. A man could shovel gravel or use his oxen or • holies:1f his assessment did not exceed ;600.00, his lotinent was two days work. For;this one-man and his team working a ten-heur day paid the statute labor for that year. A pathmaster supervised the work .In 1837 the Tuckersanith Township commissioners had much time taken up at their meetings with a fight against Anthony VanEgrnond. Their problem was com- pelling him to do statute labor: This he refused to do— Finally the commissioners won, as undet the date` of July 24 this item was entered in their reco de; "Receiv- ed, from Thomas Carter, be sum, of £1 9s 3d cy., being on account of sale of goods and chattels of A. VanEg- mond by order of the commissioners for non perform- ance of statute labor." • • These early roads served many useful purposes. John Galt speaking: of the Huron Road said: "When completed it 'Will make the journey from Hamilton to Goderioh possible in four or five days." • One of Colonel Anthony VanEgmond's sons car- ried the first mail through the forest and swamps with a bag over his shoulder. However, by October, 1831, the post was running frOM Guelph to Goderich fort- nightly. This enabled the settlers to receive their letters more regularly. VanEgmond's son also drove the first load of pro- visions through to Goderich by ox team, when the road • (A was lly -a,'--path through -the woods: Not after this, VariEgniend brought in twenty four -horse teams, which he' made available to. the immigrants. With these they traveled over the 'rough roads with their few worldly possessions to their new homes in the wilderness. The • rate charged was $3.75 a day for horses, and half price, $1.87 a day for a team of oxen. Very Soon the stage- coach followelt-Itstopped at all the wayside taverns to leave off and (pick up passengers. • When going 'across long stretches of corduroy, the coach swayed considerably. To ensure the safety of her baby ,over these rough spots, Mrs. Samuel Strickland, when on the journey to Goderich,' walked behind the coach with her baby,in her arms. Often the head of a family walked along the trail on foot to Goderich to make a payment on his recently acquired plot of land. Another might carry a sack of wheat on his back to the Goderich mill, if a nearer mill failed to function for lack of water. In addition to their UsefulneSs, incidents -of joy and sorrow, of adventure and romance have been recorded. Young men went a -courting on foot over these roads. Young couples, after saying a sincere "I will", return- ed on foot ,or were drawn by oxen in wagon or sleigh to their log cabin in the wilds. Here they. established another pioneer- home. One Harpurheylass walked bare- foot to Galt to be bridesmaid at her sister' wedding. After she arrived, she donned her shoes, performed her duty and danced till the wee small hours o' the morning. The return journey was made in the sante way. Detours, Made around swampy areas, were not straighteried for many years. Such was the case in the Harpurhey area. This detour remained•till No. 8 High- way was rebuilt in 1954. It was in this swamp that. Joseph Brown's steer became mi&d-in the muck. When • Joseph noticed the steer's plight, he hurried for help, but he was too late. By that time 'Only the animal's horns were Visible.' All they could do was watch him sink, like the setting sun, into oblivion. E'en 'as ,late as October, 1855, the London Road 4- was still mucky and rough. Wagons .and other vehicles often became mired, not once but many times,, on a journey. Such was the experience of James Brine when making a trip from London to his brother Joseph's home in Harpurhey. On the trip, he was accompanied by his nephew, Henry Brine: Their load consisted of only the two paSsengers, three bags of apples and a • roll of leather for Joseph's shoe shop, yet they 'were stuck time.and time again. DarknesS overtook them at Exeter where they remained for the night. Kate, one of James' old grey mares, never fully recovered from the straining and plunging on this trip. Livestock, for sale, had to be driven on foot or transported on Sleigh or wagon over these roads to Sea - forth' Station. Because of mud in wet seasons and pitchholes in winter, these were not pleasure trips. This was,especially true of those traveling from the north. Snake rail fences were the cause of the pitchholes. From Seaforth to Leadbury, a distance of less than eight miles, one recalls counting three hundred of these in the 1890's. This number did .not include. the teeny ones. Only the Mies, which w.ere large enough to drive down one side and up the other, were counted. These were several feet deep, and were the ones that could 'break some part of the vehicle if the driver hadn't driv- en carefully. Incidents, before the motor car age, that ended in or near tragedy, occurred along these highways and by - mays. A, young Belmore man was murdered when re- turning home aft& he had delivered, to Seaforth, the last of the previous season's wheat crop. This tragedy happened north of Wroxeter. Another, from Wroxeter, lost his life when he was robbed not far from Walton. He was , also returning from Seaforth.. Several years later the robber was, charged with this and other rob- beries. This one, he told in court; netted him only five cents. ' Another, a stranger, traveling along the boundary line from Kinburn on his way to Seaforth, also met • his fate. It -was -ort a cold winter night that his horse slipped off the beaten track. The driver, it could be seen plainly, had lopped -a limb off 'a nearby beech tree to beat the animal. However, the next morning, the horse and the cutter Were safe in a farmer's yard close by, but, back along the road; the man was found froz- en to death. Andrew Govenlock, a big game hunter, told of,,on0b being, in the Woods in. the early days when a terrific wind' atom drove him to seek the first clearing, he could find, which happened to be a beaver meadow at Bella Bay, now Wiiithrop. At this opening deer by the hundreds already had congregated tere'hefore Andrew arrived. Seeing this mob, the big game hunter "chick, a History by Isabelle Campbell /*--;•• ened", hadii't the courage to fire a single shot, but crept silently itto the woods, choosing rather to: be killed by a failing tree than trampled to death hY hUn- dreas of stampeding deer. On the roadOle, south of Winthrop, beside thb farm. of Thomas Qovenlock was allandpit. Here his two small sons, Johp and Robbie, ahnost ,net the "game:late as Joseph. Rrowu's steer the swamp. Boylige, the boys were using the pit as a slide,.when part caved in and completely covered. Robbie. hile John's -head 'was still aboveground, a traveler chanced, along the'•road. Seeing the plight the lad was in, he hurried to his res- cue. The stranger commenced "honking" away the sand to free the lad. It was then John frantically shouted: "Never mind me, .I'm all right, but "houke" oit inY Irther-Robbie." ROXBORO Robert Scott, Sr. arid Archibald. Dickson were the first' to la*, claim to land in the settlement one. and a quarter miles north of the Huron Read in IVIMIlop Township. These two were the founders of RoxbUrgh or Roxboro, as it was better knoVvn in later years. When more settlers from, Scotland'arrived in and after 1.834 this frequently was spoken of as the Scotch Settlement. It was in the spring of 1833 that Archibald Dick- son and Robert Scott left their native .home in Rox- burghshire, Scotland, accompanied by their teen-age sons, James Dickson and Robert Scott, to seek better living conditions in the much advertised land 'of Milk and honey across the Atlantic. Two rrionths later, in the month of June, they arrived at Quebec, and at once set out on'their way to the Huron Tract, traveling part of the way by ox team. After they passed_ the Guideboard Swamp sign, they journeyed on to the next • trail west. This they followed north till they reached the bank of the„south branch of the Maitland Rivtr. Here, in the open, they spent. their first night, tired and lonely. • •' As dusk came on Archie had "Jaemes" take from the Dickson chest the old fiddle. After playing some old familiar tunes, he handed it back to be placed in the chest again. It was then James saw what he had never seen before, tears tricklirm down his father's face. However, loneliness forgotten, the next morning the four set about to make a clearing and build'a shanty. Having had no tree -chopping experien& they hacked around the Brat ones beaver fashion, having no guar- antee in which direction the tree would fall. When Ar- chie's began to sway, he unfortunately ran in the same direction the maple was falling. A.,limb struck and sent him sprawling to the ground, unhurt. Quickly, he stag- gered to his feet and immediately informed the others "I'm going richt back to Scotland, we'll a' be killed oot here." However, this was only a, passing thought. It was at his beautiful farm home "Gladswood", where his experience with the felling of his first tree took place, that Archibald passed away on January 16, 1866, when nearing:the four score mark. James Dickson, the teen-ager, from 1861 till 1867, was an influential mem- ber of Parliament. He represented at that time the counties of Huron and Bruce. He; like Colonel Anthony VanEgmond, fough to have many laws passed to bene- fit the immirants. With only the Scott and Dickson shanties here in the fOrest, the first winter was a lonely one for the four Roxboro immigrants. Besides the loneliness, ne- cessity compelled them to eke out a living from what was available in the bush and the stream. However, in - spite of their hardships, the remainder of the two fam- ilies set sail for Canada in 1834, the year of. the cholera epidemic. Three young. children of the party contacted the dread disease. Archibald, Mrs. Archibald Dickson's eighteen month 'old son, succumbed ,aboard •the vessel, and Mrs. John Golienlock's youngest child, .Hele, died when they reached Grosse Isle. Here both these children were buried. John Henderson's youngest child died at Montreal and was buried there. On August 4, 1834, the party left Montreal for Lachine, on board a Durham boat to ko by way of the St. Lawrence -River instead of the Rideau Canal as had been planned. There was delay and hardship ou this route. They were exposed to the burning sun through the day and heavy dew at night that left their outer clothing wet by morning. The children were another worry, as the boat had no ledge to prevent them from falling overheard. When they stepped on 'board the steamer at Brockville which 'was to take them to Ham- ilton, they were much relieved. From gamilton, another three ,days were spent traveling by wagon before they reached "Maitland Wells", the Robert 'Scott, Sr. home, and "GladswOod", the home of Archibald Dickson, at Roxl_aoO. These three days they traveled with no shelter at night except an open barn or.shed, so afraid were the people of the cholera that they _would not permit them to enter their hoines. Added to their other discomforts, on the last day of their journey, they encountered thunderstorms and were drenched with ram. That night they were a happy and thankful people when once more they were sheltered in a house they could call their own. Three days after the families arrived misfortune struck again. Robert Scott's eldest daughter, Mrs. John Govenlock, met .the same fate as her little daughter Helen did at Grosse We. She was the\fourth cholera victim of this particular party. Mrs. Govenlock's funeral on the adjoining Scott farm, Lot 32, Concession 2, McKillop, later known as "Bankhead", was a sad event. The burial took place on the river bank in the dense forest, on a plot where the orchard stood in later years. Hers was the first white, burial in this section of the Huron Tract, Later Robert Scott, Sr. in a letter to his 'son 'Joseph, who remained in Scotland, had this to say about the burial: "I must let you know where w6 have 'buried your sister. 1 have taken up a burial place oh our own ground, a little' be. • low us on the river side. A, fine iry-s'pot four square and we have it railed in. It will hold us all when we are ..gathered to our people." Conditions changed his plan. , Today Margaret still lies alone on the bank of the river. When her father passed away on April SO, 1857, at the age of 81 years, he was. laid to rest in the Harpurhey graveyard near "Auld Kirk", the one which he helped to establiah'in the community. (Continued next: Week) Mrs. Tim Kennedy -Tra-, cey, UV/water an•Mrs,. arveY Edgar and JoarAgep. inon, visited Thursday with rel- atives in tbe community. Misses Edna .and Janet Mil- ler and 'Misses Welk and Mary Patterson, Lnndon; are spen4- ing this Weak in Montreal Oad, Expo. Visiting Sunday with Mr, and Mrs. John 'Templeman and family were Mr: and. Mrs, • Jhu Templeman, Reg mx111#11s; Feaversham. - • "'""Mr. and Mrs; 'James Norris, Judy, Garry and Douglas, of Brampton, visited over the weekend with Mrs, Sam -Norris, Mr. and Mrs. Bob 1110,r14s and, family. Mrs. Lloyd Miller, Ronand Dianne and Mr. and Mrs, John Templetrian and family attend- Fair Dates Following is a list of fall fairs scheduled for this area: - Mitchell •-:s0p, 2 .Listowel Sept. 5, 6 Tavistock Sept.. 0 Wellesley Sept 12, •13 New Hamburg Sept. 15, 10 Embro • ' Sept. 16, 18 Stratford Sept. 18 to 20 Blyth Sept. I8, 20 SEAFOATH ----- Sept. 21, 22 Milverton St. Marys Brussels Kirkton Sept. 22, 23 Sept. 26, 27 Sept. 28, 29 Sept. 28, 29 Every week more people dis- cover what mighty jobs are accomplished. ISY low cost Ex- positor Want Ads. 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