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Clinton News-Record, 1985-07-10, Page 130.„ • oresearches- family tree fwsesqui he took a hot) for the worse.. His temperature climbed even though she at- tempted to cool him with rags. He was delirious and muttering in bis dreams. C.G. could read and, write and received books from the government about the most recent laws that were passed. He was in- terested in peliticalaffairs although he never ran for office himself. His son and grandson both served in the local municipal government. During the rebellion of 1837, although he understood the quarrels of Van Egmont& and others with the Canada Com- pany and the dissatisfaction of William Lyon McKenzie with the ineffective govern- ment, he was on the side of law and order, on the side of the governmentand the King. He was a resourceful man, and was sym- pathetic toward those who were less resourceful or less fortunate, those who found settling in the area more difficult, who were forced from their land by the Canada Company because they could not make their payment. C.G. was not an easy man to get to know. He had an answer for every problem, a solu- tion for everything. Elizabeth had depended on his guidance for so many years that it seemed to her that his present illness was a problem that would be solved like many others, problems that for Elizabeth, time had solved. Death was not new to her. She had buried babies, stillborn and toddlers, daughters on the threshold of adulthood, and neighbors, as a result of severe illness or accident. And illness could take them fast, as she well knew. C.G. had been sick for so long that surely he would recover. If he was going to die, he would be dead by now. He would not be sit- ting up and eating. Elizabeth would do whatever was required. If he needed a little soup, she would get it for him. If he was cold, she would get another blanket. He had neyer let her down and would not do so now. At times, he would be raving about the early days of the farm, about some issue the.local politicians were contemplating, even about •the sea. He had gone to sea when he was a lad of 16 so that when they came to Canada • he was 20 and she was 18. Elizabeth remembered how angry he had been when the local farmers were required to pay for their space in an 'atlas local en- • trepreneurs had drawn up for the county. Farmers were proud of their neat, measured farms, how the endless .forests had been nipped back, felled,hillsides and roadsides bare. It was difficult to get enough ' wood for firewood, let alone enough to sell to the railway or the salt mine. The river flats were bare, but young saplings were planted along, the lane and the road and in 40 years would be majestic trees. " .C.G. had given a snort of indignation when asked to pay for his space.' Indeed. A draw- . ingot his place was definitely not worth it. if he had realized how angry thjs dedsion made •Ins. descendents,' wouk1 he have - cared? I doubt it. To a wan who had built four.houses, innumerable. barns and sheds, helped raise banns and sheds ,for Neighbors and sons, had a band in raising two churches and schools, what would a line drawing have meant to him? Very Little. This was 10 years before his fatal acci- dent. He had never, been sick a day in his life, not as Elizabeth could remember so that C.G.'s igoocl spells filled her with great hope. C.G. continued to ask about the crops and about the activities of his sons. Esther's fourth child was born during his ilbless, another grandchild for the family fest' iti C G be an to estimate how long over sOonau4C-4. Vfoitgbetacktst norm*, CA. fa unconscious -He had difficulty breathing and for the last. two daps IMAM- terings and ravings had not made. sense. Elizabeth stayed up two nights to help him get 0419°,00 this bad spell. When he wad to get some fresh water to soothe his fever, he dled She had seen death often enough to know the mark on his face but she could not believe it. She shook his hands and rubbed his face, but family she composed the sheets neatly around 1hn, combed his hair, and washed his face:Then she set the girls about cleaning the house and gathered her children, for the black funeral cards had to be ordered from the printers and the mourn- ing team hired. Nonsense, C.G. would say in his characteristic manner, "We did what had to be done and thought no more about it." Charles Middleton 1812 - 1887 it would be before he would be back on his feet again. He began to plan `what he would do the rest of the summer. The minister had already been in more than once to see C.G. and when he came he was prepared to say the last rites. lie had already said the rites once when C.G. was very ill and he hesitated to da this every time C.G. took a bad spell. But the minister had to be called again and he didn't delay coming to the house, even though Elizabeth assured him that this spell would indeed be Happy 150th Birthday Goderich Township From the Staff at: Aral's beauty salon Val; Joan, Nancy, Brenda When your hair is in a muss, put your trust in us. 108 LIGHTHOUSE ST. 524-2943 Elizabeth. Wise Middleton 1816 - 1888 Three days later all the details had been, looked after by her sons and daughters. Elizabeth had only to dress for the burial. She donned her dark silk dress and arrang- ed her cap. The mourning conVeyance with four black horses was ready to take C.Q. to the Bayfield cemetery where he had already purchased his share for 75 cents. They would leave as soon as eve , the, friends and relatives had paid their last respects to the body of C.G. He was in his morning coat, as he had requested, and the flowers he had picked out were already paged on theUe11:: itellow roses and vioetiao4.Opp10btt*sQPA Elizabeth shettuolears, Not alter death nor duringthe hours of preparation ' • for the -burial nor during the CerfP014Y She had cried all the tears she haat)* riot five years of settlement; • She had cried almastAll the time at ca. may have known. He never asked why . her face was so red, although she caught him looking at her in a very quiet serious • way. Until one day, she quit crying. She thought she Might as well. It didn't make anything . better. If anything, it was harder to work with a stuffy head. And she, always had a girl or two to help her. C.G. was very good that way, but there was no time for emotion. There were always tasks to ac- complish, land to clear, crops to plant and harvest, babies to look after, and food to put down. Elizabeth knew there would never be any tears but just a quiet emptiness for all those years, from 1833 until 1887. After 54 years it seemed that most of herself /was gone. It was a simple as that. Elizabeth was a straightforward woman. Questions and answers were not part off her personality. The years, the decades seemed com- - pacted to . a moment. What a family they had, nine . living sons and daughters. It seemed easier as the children grew up. It • was hard for her to remember specific in- stances in the past. It seemed just a blur with the largest blur the present moment of the funeral. She was always pregnant and never happy and it seemed just yesterday that she was pregnant on the boat coming over and her firstborn arrived as soon as they landed in Toronto. Her family filled her whole life. Her firstborn, George now a grey-haired man with a brood of his own, touched her arm. "Come Mother, we must go." The boys and the neighbors carried the coffin into the hall and out the front door to the mourning carriage. Elizabeth and her eldest son George got into the first buggy where the hired man was holding the horses. Many conveyances followed as they turned once about the square and then they moved, off down the main road about a mile and then turned left to the cemetery where the grave hadalready been dug. Elizabeth said goodbye to C.G.; to his life and hers. It was a tearless, 'silent goodbye and the onlookers and -family listened grave- , ly to the intonations of the minister, heard. thethump as the casket hit the bottom of the grave and the skid of the dirt being thrown upon it and the louder slap of the sods. • . • The gravestone was in place, C.G.'s name: and birthdate - engraved, as was her own, name and birth. All that remained was to engrave the final , day*. The mourners unceremoniously turned away and the con - ruin to page23• • • Best Wishes TO • 3 GODERICH TOWNSHIP,;, 50th AcCaffarn9anztaf c)lo ME Robert C. McCallum 11 Cambria Rd. N. Goderich 524-7345