The Goderich Signal-Star, 1985-07-10, Page 55-r:
su ar, flax, *toot, fullellelath, linen, Rand
cheese,,, butter and barrels of beef.
viinuslys •these were the:items of 'major.hn~
Pyrt4fice -topelempoorthatetit. 14� •e
#iitely a haft e• horses (for be 'work
:,and transportattoz,. Battle, sheep, and 9gs,
The 1856 assessment rolis.show 45 ams of
John's land and his real propeiy is
valued 4.114 pounds- Ilis total taxes. were
two pounds, four shillings, and four . and a
'half pence. Our Country had not yet changed
to dollarvalues. •
JAMES COLWELL (1841-1914), John's
son, legally purchased the farm in 1$64
although he was already shown as the
householder in the 1861 census. Ile was Iden-
' tified as a farmer, Presbyterian in religious
affiliation, and lived in a one storey log
house. James was married but had no
children and his. age was shown as•24. It is a
fact well-known to family history resear-
chers that the ages (and spellings! ) .record-
ed on these census records often owe more
to imagination and phonics than accuracy.
By 1867 James' real'property was valued
at $1200. and his holdings included«seven
p�iy�ypT� R,' q hogs, b►� 10r'ses sad
Atoe
l erty,wo
; 78t�lhe wee,.
Y M-T!+x,11
of some titechan tion during lig etimo1
Seed drills replaced ad sowingroe-
drawn reapers' . ndhinders eked the job of
lldt'ICesti111Y, 8 was era P custom,
threshing and Goderfe %Townshiip !PROW
4 threshing machines .in the 1871 census.
Haying ":was ,vary labour-intensisve, and
EVERY clan erwouid bave.sspa hay to br-
ing in4 : - ti
Their cormaMitty life centred around the
church and school and'e have identified 21
churches and 11 schools urs ;they history of
Goderich Township. Compare this to today -
with the single Central -..School at
Holrnesville and two churches (Holmesville
United and St. James' Anglican, Mid-
dletons).
James and his wife, Susan Lindsay,
ultimately had two daughters, but no sons to
take over his farm. In 1892 he: sold the land
to THOMES S. BETTLES (1637-1934) and
retired to Goderich. Since then the land has
remained in Betties hands, transferred to
C 6/L 31.1985, Bruce, Alvin, Barb, Marie, Margaret Arvin and Mary Jean
ALLEN BETI T,�S in 1920 aDd to his son,
ALVIN BE11 JESt in 1941' ,
THOMAS SETTLES: In1$67 a selisifient
rolls, Thomas Betties is shown with 70 acres
der, but by 1921 only 65 were listed as
clProbably pasture land had been
red; to bush in hilly areas. Although the
bushwas no longer being Cleared, wood was
the major means of heating and cutting.
wood was still a major occupation.
In 1904 he identified 1.5 acres of orcnara
with 8 acres under fall wheat. He had 15 cat-
tle, 10 sheep, 15 hogs, and three horses. This
was still the era of mixed farming. When
Alvin took over the farm in 1941 his taxes
Turn to page bA
CONGRATULATIONS
1-5-0!
R We are proud to have been a part
of your history for 55 years
Sincere, dependable service to the dairy farmers
of Goderich Township since 1930
MACK ELLIOTT BOB ELLIOTT
GEORGE PICOT KEN HARRIS
.p
R.M. ELLIOTT MILK TRANSPORT LTD.
RR 3 - CLINTON
482-9287
fi�