Pioneer life of settlers in Ontario in the 1850s-1870s

 The following is taken from an account "MY RECOLLECTIONS" by James Arthur Watson, a second cousin of my dad.

[James Watson junior and Jane Buchanan]

Our Grandfather, James Watson, was the son of a Scottish stonecutter, one of a number of Masons who were brought to Canada to do the masonry required in building the canals that made a by-pass to the St. Lawrence River, so that the country would be free of the threat of American trouble along the river. 

He was born in 1825  and had several brothers and sisters. I understand that he married, but lost his wife. Then he moved to the newer part of Ontario where he and some of the family settled in an area known as Donegal, in Perth County, near a family from Ireland.

Our Grandmother was the youngest child of Andrew and Jane Buchanan, of Omagh, in the County of Tyrone, Ulster. The family were among the thousands who had to leave because of the potato famine in 1847. They were nine weeks crossing the Atlantic, as it was a sailing ship and, without wind, the ship was becalmed. That ship, like many others, had a terrible time with fever and other illnesses, caused by lack of fresh food. When reaching Kingston, Ontario, the father died. The family were assisted to travel to the newly-opened area, where they could get land. There were no roads, just trails through the forest, but they were able to make a home. This Irish family called the place Donegal, after the home they had to leave in Ireland. {I had heard that the name "Donegal" was chosen by the first postmaster there, from his home in Ireland.]

James Watson and Jane Buchanan were married September 22, 1856, and lived about half a mile north of Donegal Comer.

Life was very different then for the new settlers, not like in the towns. When James returned to the house, the door was open, for, when Jane kept house for her brothers, they didn't have glass windows and needed the open door for light.

James had purchased a team of horses but when one died, he had to sell the other to pay off the debt. To get some money he had to work for others, all day, from daylight until dark, for all of a shilling. We did not have dollars in Canada then, still using “pounds, shillings and pence"! A shilling was hard to earn but it would buy a lot. A man could take his own jug to the tavern and get a gallon of rye whiskey with it.

They didn't need to buy a lot, just salt and tea. They got sugar from the maple sap and soap was made of fat from their own meat carcasses, mixed with lye from wood ashes. Candles were made from fat too.

They had to harvest their crops in the evening, after a day’s work for others. Jane would carry a "lanthorn" (lantern), a candle sheltered from the wind in some kind of container made of tin. To harvest the, crop, James would cut the grain with a scythe that had an arrangement with wooden fingers to catch the grain (called a cradle). With each swing the scythe would hold a bundle of grain. The grain laid on the stubble until the next day, when Jane would tie the bundles into sheaves with a wisp of straw, called a withe. When I was a boy on the farm Dad showed me how it was done. When all that was done, James and Jane would carry it to where it would be stored until winter. They used a hand-barrow, like a wheel-barrow but, without wheels. It looked like a stretcher, with legs, so they needn't stoop to pick it up. 

The sheaves of grain were threshed by hand with a "flail" (a wooden handle tied to a wooden beater), striking the heads of grain to loosen the kernels from the hulls. Then the grain would be tossed in the air where the wind would blow away the chaff. James would carry bags of this grain on his back, several miles to a water powered mill. The miller took a share of the meal for his work and the rest was carried home. There were no roads, that's why it had to be carried. This meal from wheat or rye was their whole grain flour. Not  having yeast, a bit of batter from the last raised dough was saved, kept in dry flour, until the next time, then softened, and used as a starter (it was called "mother").

Jane used a spinning wheel to make thread from wool or linen. Her family, being from Ireland, knew how to do all these things. Then she made cloth on a loom. Some of it for sheets and blankets, some for garments, all made by hand stitching. No sewing machine in those days. Her family, husband, sons and daughters, wore clothing made in that manner, until they were grown and ready to leave home.

When Canada purchased the Northwest Territories from the Hudson's Bay Co., the land needed to be settled.

[They traveled by train through the USA to reach the area of western Manitoba, where they settled in 1879 - but that story is told elsewhere in more detail by his uncle David James Watson.]

The Vanished town of Antross, Alberta

During the first half of the 20th century, the mixed forests of west-central Alberta were cut down to make room for farms. This produced lumber that was used for building Alberta's future. 

New towns sprang up at the sites of the larger sawmills, These towns often included schools, churches, and businesses, as well as homes for local residents. Antross was named after the Anthony and Ross lumber companies, which had sawmills on the site. My mother and her younger sisters attended Antross School, and my aunt Myrtle was married in Antross. and I think that one of my uncles and his brothers played for the Antross baseball team. And my dad nearly died there when a skittish team of horses pinned his neck against the scrap wood burner. (But that is another story,) 

Antross was a booming place. But its sawmills were not the only ones in the area. I remember someone saying that on a clear winter day, he could see the smoke form six different sawmills from his farm house.

By 1950, Antross suffered the fate of many other resource-based communities, The timber was exhausted and the sawmills shut down, and everyone moved away. Many of the people moved to nearby Breton, where Pearson's and Fraser's sawmills continued to operate for a few more years, before they too had to shut down, 

By then the Pembina oilfield was opening up jobs for some of the unemployed local people. Breton survived the collapse of the local lumber industry and became a supply center for local farmers.

Only two buildings remained on the Antross town site by 1960, the remains of a house and a barn.

The dynamic hamlet of Antross deserves to be remembered, It touched the lives of many people, It was place to work, to learn and to enjoy activities with family and friends.. 

I remember seeing photos of a "railroad track" built out of scrap lumber, so that young people could push a mining car up the hill, jump in and ride the car to the bottom of the hill, before restarting the process. You don't see that every day.

The Little Moose Bridge Truck Collision 1950 (Bill & Reg)

Bill was 8 years old and Reg was 6. The school bus had dropped us off and we were walking the 2 miles home to our parent's farm. A passing truck stopped to offer us a ride, as it would be passing our house. Reg joined the driver and his assistant in the cab of the truck and Bill rode in the grain box behind the cab. 

In the 1940s in our area, trucks often used sleigh trailers to carry logs or lumber to town. These worked fine, unless you needed to stop, since the sleighs had no brakes. 

 As we were descending the hill to Little Moose creek, a truck with a sleigh trailer loaded with lumber was descending the longer hill on the other side of the creek. The bridge was narrow and both trucks tried to stop.

The collision was like a slow-motion train wreck. We were coming down a hill onto the bridge when the collision happened. Bill was in the truck box and flew out onto the frozen creek, along with some sacks of grain and a couple of saws. The back of our truck landed on the ice as well, pushed by the heavier truck. 

Reg was in the cab and the guy riding with him decided to bail, he jumped out pushing Reg out first. Reg landed in front of the truck's rear wheel. The wheel wasn't turning because of the ice on the road and the fact that the driver had the brakes locked up. Reg just slid along on the ice in front of the wheel for a few feet, till the truck stopped. 

If the wheel had been rolling, Reg would have been crushed and possibly killed. 

We are thankful for the miracles in our lives.

[I decided to remove this story from the cold weather posting and post it here with a photo of a truck load of lumber on a sleigh trailer. Thanks for the photo Lloyd.]

Surviving the bitter cold

 Recently we experienced temperatures in the -40s in my area and a reported -50C at Keg River, Alberta.

How did our ancestors survive temperatures like these?

I grew up on an unmechanized farm, so I may have some valid insights.

Prepare a good supply of fuel in advance. 

Stay indoors and keep your livestock in the barn during the worst temperatures,

Dress warmly when you have to go outdoors,

Dad did logging during the wintertime. On his hands he wore leather mitts with knitted wool mitts inside. He used a "Swede saw" (bow saw) to cut down the trees and cut them into logs after removing the branches. He then used his horse to skid the logs to the pickup point  This was cold work in midwinter.

People who had automobiles would drain the cooling system to prevent the engine block from freezing solid and cracking open ... unless they had some of that ethylene glycol antifreeze. 

A small fire in a jam can under the engine would warm up the engine oil enough to allow you to crank the car. If one vehicle would start, it might be used to tow another vehicle until it would also start. (Virtually all transmissions were manual back then.) 

Trucks used sleigh trailers to haul logs and lumber to town. These worked fine, unless you needed to stop. I once ended up on a frozen creek when one of these rigs forced us off a small bridge. I was riding in the open box of the other truck. This experience created a lasting memory but no injuries..

Of course, these days, we have block heaters and attached garages, and every car has antifreeze. But there were occasions where batteries froze solid. Dressing warmly and avoiding unnecessary travel in bitterly cold weather is still a good idea.

Stay warm and stay safe.

Bill

Thanksgiving Traditions? (ideas from Lisa Louise Cook's blog)

She suggests "I have my memories of Thanksgiving from when I was a kid, when I was a young adult, and then later when I was married, and had small children versus older children. However, my kids have their own memories, and grandparents have their memories too. So, now’s the time to ask about those and write them down. Those memories might have to do with food, material culture, which I’ll define in just a second, or they may have to do with events." 

[My comments follow in bold italics.]

Food:

We have usually had a turkey dinner, sometimes with ham too.

We used to always make dressing (stuffing) by stuffing the turkey with bread and spices.

But we have found that in recent years cooking the stuffing in a crock pot gives a nicer result.

Vegetables from our garden have been part of our meal.

Judy has enjoyed baking fresh rolls for the dinner.

Desserts have included, cookies, cake, squares, pie and ice cream. Carrot pie has usually substituted for pumpkin pie, since we can grow carrots easily, and carrot pie tastes just like pumpkin pie.

Cranberry punch has been a popular drink. We used to make home-made rootbeer when we could.

To minimize cleanup, we liked to use foam cups and plates with plastic utensils.

Judy used to do everything herself, but in recent years family members have helped.

Everyone in the family is invited. This year we had 30 people come. It is handy to be able to use the sunroom and James's dining room.

We have had a blessing on the food that includes an expression of thanksgiving.

Then, time was spent visiting, eating, occasionally card games or other activities, such as leaf battles, computer games, tetherball, or trampoline jumping. This year we walked along the pond to the nearby play park, where the small kids could have fun on the playground equipment. Sometimes we reminisce on life on our acreage as our children were growing up. Occasionally there are stories of our ancestors.

"Document
What are some of the ways you can document your traditions? Well, you can do it with photographs.  You can share photos from the past Thanksgiving. Have everybody bring the photos they have. You can even create a Thanksgiving album for your family. You can gather photos, photos from recent Thanksgivings, and even take photos of this Thanksgiving. You can ask family members to write their memories. You could also interview family members and create a video."

I have created photo albums on familysearch.org  This year I had a sideshow of one of these albums running silently on out television. Family members would sometimes point out specific photos.

I also have videos of the kids playing in the leaves.

Family cookbook:
Several years ago Judy created a family cookbook and gave a copy to each of our children. I am not sue about other family members, but I know that Judy often used this cookbook.

Tablecloth: (This seems like an interesting idea.)
"Get a white tablecloth and bring out waterproof markers and ask family members to write their name. Write the date write events that have happened in the year. Write down memories if they want for little kids have them trace their hands, have them sign their name the best they can write their ages down. You can use that year after year, or you can preserve it for one specific year.

Share
"A lot of us have the habit of gathering information and then not really sharing it. But sharing it is what makes sure that things are preserved and ensures that it’s preserved that it goes down the generations. And it’s a good idea to have copies in case some are lost. Sharing is important. So how do we do that?"

Physically:
"We can do that by creating physical items like:
photo albums
flash drives (create duplicate flash drives and hand them out to the family.)
post things on social media, like a family Facebook page, or maybe a Pinterest board, or even your online family tree on Ancestry or FamilySearch
the cloud – where family members can download what they need when they need it. And you can continue to add family members over the years. And that might be done in a cloud program like Dropbox or Google Drive."

I shared the link for my online album of our family.

Any family member can download the thousands of family history items that I have attached to deceased people on FamilySearch.

"Preserve Your Thanksgiving Traditions Today
There are all kinds of ways that you can share Thanksgiving traditions and memories with other family members. Do what’s best for you what’s easiest for you, and what gets the information out there sooner rather than later. Thanksgiving is a special time and it’s something that we may all look forward to maybe because of the food or the family. I hope that you take some time this Thanksgiving to preserve your family memories. Happy Thanksgiving!"

Maybe preserve your own Thanksgiving memories and share them.

 https://lisalouisecooke.com/2023/11/22/preserve-thanksgiving-traditions/

Canadian Family History Research 2023

 As I was preparing some training for a workshop tonight, these are some of the Canadian resources I hope to mention:

Canadian Family History Research

2023

Canada Census 1851-1931 (plus fragments) https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/canadiancensus/ (The best of many such sites)
Canada, Prairie Provinces Census, 1926 https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/3005862

Why use census records?

1. Everyone was supposed to be counted, not just the land owners or the jailed criminals.

2. People are usually listed as families.

3. They show how people's lives progress over time.

4. They provide valuable clues to other sources.

Provincial Vital Records - official government records of births, marriages and deaths

Alberta https://provincialarchives.alberta.ca/how-to/find-birth-marriage-and-death-records

British Columbia https://search-collections.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Genealogy

Manitoba https://vitalstats.gov.mb.ca/Query.php

New Brunswick https://archives.gnb.ca/Search/VISSE/default.aspx?culture=en-CA

Newfoundland and Labrador https://www.gov.nl.ca/dgsnl/vitalstats/

Nova Scotia https://archives.novascotia.ca/vital-statistics/

Ontario https://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/tracing/vsmain.aspx

P.E.I. https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/topic/birth-marriage-and-death-certificates

Quebec https://www.etatcivil.gouv.qc.ca/en/default.html

Saskatchewan http://genealogy.ehealthsask.ca/vsgs_srch.aspx

[Note that some of these are free and easy to use and others not, depending on the info and date.
Alberta's are among the most restrictive and difficult to use, BC is one of the best.]

Some of my other favorite sites for Canadian genealogy:

CanGenealogy https://www.cangenealogy.com/

FamilySearch (Records and Research Wiki) https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/

Ancestry.com (or .ca) https://www.ancestry.com

Findmypast.com https://www.findmypast.com/

MyHeritage.com https://www.myheritage.com/

Google.com is great for finding obituaries and sometimes local histories, etc.

Findagrave.com https://www.findagrave.com/ Graves may include biographies, family members, etc.

BillionGraves https://billiongraves.com/

Ontario Marriage Registrations, 1800-1927 https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~maryc/thisisit.htm

Ontario WM Baptismal Register https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~wjmartin/genealogy/wm-index.htm

Library and Archives Canada https://library-archives.canada.ca/eng
(includes Canadian Soldiers of the First World War, passenger lists, etc.)

Commonwealth War Graves http://www.cwgc.org

Metis Scrip Records (google it) Records created when Metis gave up Indian status.

Hudson Bay Company Archives http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca/ (early HBC employees)

Google Maps http://maps.google.com/ How far apart are places?

Sourcing Genealogy

In this context, 'Sourcing" means using historical records to document genealogy.

A common phrase is "Genealogy without sources is actually mythology." Of course, the further you go back in time, the fewer contemporary records exist.

While I strongly endorse sourcing, I have a few personal reservations about the saying "Sources prove your pedigree." life is not always that simple. (My great aunt Maggie's parents, as listed on her marriage record, never existed, but she was marrying a cousin and didn't want too many questions asked.) 

A more common problem is sources being attached to the wrong people, But usually this is easily determined. Of course,, if you have seven brothers who settle in the same area, and who name their sons after their brothers, it does get a little complicated. (e.g. "Old Andy's Young Andy's Wee Andy" and other Buchanans in Donegal, Ontario, after 1847)

Still, I spend a lot of very rewarding time sourcing my genealogy. I try to be extra careful when I know that there are other people in the community with the same names.

I try to live up to the standard required to make the saying true: "Sources prove your pedigree."

I wish you success in using sources.

Easy Sourcing
If you have a family tree on FamilySearch or Ancestry, I am happy to see that RecordSeek is working again. This is the free web app that I find so handy for creating sources for these sites from other websites. It works slightly differently than before, but it works. Thank you for your work RecordSeek.  https://recordseek.com/