The Goderich Signal-Star, 1985-07-10, Page 98rt
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e quart ar , wcml
Panyhty i dcssr Attie of W' .. oP
an p► t e_ �4
i E ; a +d A. fet e4 overn_ fourth e : a. bornt during
1 -,Yen ena Azle a ifl WWe i ► r n er;:: ran hild ., for
mest, he esourc�efu Side of tan and order, on o „ g
the side of the government end the King. He. fest1t lties C G. beg to est
was a resourceful man, and was spa- 1 ,
POW* toward these 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
t �yice, mfr ! hal
-died e• hn se a girl it
anini the e : h'ousee::.and'.' gathered
14rok,tatthe black funeral cards'had-to
•ordered f ramthe PO. Ors _,and thernourir
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` t_ _
seemed to her that his present illness wasa
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
never 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 -
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. He had
already said the rites once when C.G. was
very ill and he hesitated to do 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,,7-14
Goderich Township
From the Staff at:
val's
beauty salon
Val, Joan,
Nancy, Brenda
108 LIGHTHOUSE ST.
When your hair is in a
muss, put your trust in us.
♦ gonwprk'r •..a :
ot4at'xA
w
a..
,
twas n4. tbpr
.emot n
compllah, l :Os to plantyand
harvest, babies to look after,. and food to put
down, .
Elisabeth knew there wold never •be any
tears but just a quiet ernpthtess for all those
years, from 1833 until 1887. After 54 years it
seemed that most of herself was gone... It
wasa ` supple as that. Elizabeth was a
straightforward woman. Questions and
answers were not part Oilier 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
pi a breedni•b o ¢nr.toyebell.her ....
`Come Mother, we must go."
ys tasks • to. aer
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.G. to
the Bayfield cemetery where he had already,
purchased his share for 75 cents. They
would leave as soon as everyone, 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
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 had already 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
the thump as the casket hit the bottom of the
grave and the skid of the dirt being thrown
upon it and thelouder 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 awy and the con -
Turn to page 23 •
Best Wishes
TO
GODERICH TOWNSHIP
524-2943
ON ITS 1 50th BIRTHDAY
Ac£?affLLm 9anE'ZGLc c7liomE
Robert C. McCallum
11 Cambria Rd. N. Goderich 524-1345