GlmryUfe - Glengarry History

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RUINS of St. RAPHAELSR.C. CHURCH, Charlottenburg.
by G.E. Bromhall.
Glengarry Historical Society 1977
tsNN 0703 - 1556
CONTENTS
page
IN LIVING MEMORY
Marilyn H.S. Light
2
DEAR HANNAH
6
Howard Mitchell
ARCHIBALDBROWNE
J. RussellHarPer
SETTLEMENTGLENGARRYCOUNTY
LOYALTSTS
Elizabeth Blair
THE LECLAIRSOF GLENGARRY....
Norbert Fer16
R AL PH co N N o R
i i :" ,i H ;;;
8
........
10
.. ......
15
"""' 17
EMINENTGLENGARRIANS.
Velma Franklin and Grant MacGillivray
....
21
"People will not look.forward to posterit.vwho
never look back to lheir ancestors."
Edmund Burke.
E dit or :Rev .J . F o rb e s ,
B ox 73 , D a l k e i th
O nt ar i o . Ko B 1 E0
C o rr. Se c y .:Mrs. W .A . MacK i nnon,
B ox 416,A l exandri a
Ontari o. K oC 1A 0
.IN L IVING
MEMORY'
The cheesefactoriesof charrottenburghrownship, Grengarrycounty
by
MarilynH.S. Light
.. !!it( 1s perishableand for the 19th century fa.rmer,was seasonalin production.
United.Empire Loyalistsintroducedthe art of making iheddar cneeseto Ontario.The
farmer's.wife_preserved
milk by makingcheese,and cFurnedthecream to make butter.
The first Ontario cheesefactory was establishedin Oxford County in 1864.Farmers
were encouragedto expand their herds of Ayrshire catile, produ6e more milk and
deliver this to local factories. Transportationwas a problem so factories were
numerous.There were more than 20 factoriesin Charlottenburgh.
Each tactory hiO i
number of patrons,dairymenwho providedmilk. Milk was delivdredonce a oay except
sundays,from early May to mid November.peak productiontime wis uune.
'Cheese^King',
Mr. D.M. MacPhersonof South Lancasteropenedhis first cheese
, The
tactory rn 1870 and owned over 40 Glengarrycheese factoriesin 1g90.He had an
interestin many more."D.M."had learnedc-heese-making
from his step-mother.*
The cheese maker was a skilled and most essen"tialemployee. He received a
generous-wageand extra pay for a saturday night'swork. ch6esb was maoe once a
week. A few factoriesalso producedbutter.bt tne total cheeseproduction,a po.tion
was.returned
to patronsand the balancewas sold for profit.Whey,'aproductof cheesemgf!ng,was returnedto the farm for pig food.
whole milk deliveredto the factory by oqlronswas weighedand placedin largevats.
A 'cheesestarter'was added to the milk. The 'starter',a"bacterial'culture,cauieO t'G
milk to sour.Whenthe souringprocesswasjudgedadequate,the milk was heatedto86. F.
The vats of tinned iron could be heatedwitn-a not water'jacket,much like a double
boiler with a fire beneath,or the vats were heatedwith steah. lf ihe cneesewas to be
co l o re d,
- liquidc olor w a s a d d e d a t th i s ti m e . R e n n etl i qui d,a mi l k coagul ati ngenzyme
derivedfrom
calf stomach,was stirredin and the mil( allowedto sta"ndfor"aboui 30
mi n u te sT
. he r es ult ingc u rd w a sth e nc u t i n s ma l lc u b e s,sti rredand heatedto 100" F.
lhe whey was drainedoff and the curd allowedto mat. Duringthe'cheddaringprocess',
the texture of the curd changedfrom rough to smooth.The"smoothcurds were then
milled into thin strips,mixed with salt and pressedinto moulds. The cheeseswere
wiped with the 'cheesefat', expressedduring the pressingprocessor were waxed.The
cheeseswere then ripenedin cheeseboxesirade bt etmr,iobO.
l n 1 919,c hees ewas fe tc h i n g
l .l o p e r p o u n d ,b u tte r450 and pork 150a pound.Mi l k
was sold for $2.50a hundredwteioht.
Kraft Fo-odsLtd. purchasedthJ last two operatingcheesefactories,the 'King,sRoad'
a n d the' B ur n B r ae' in 1 9 7 1 .l m p ro v e dtra n s p o rta ti on
faci l i ti esand the comp6ti ti onof
small factories with large scale manufacturersspelled the eventuat eriO of tne
Charlottenburgh
cheesefactoryera.
* " G lengar r y
Lif e " 1 9 7 6 p g 1 2 -1 6 .
C H E E S EF A C T OR IE S. IN L IVING M EMORY
APPL E HI LL
-
EugeneFortin's"LILLY WHITE" factorv was locatedon
th e 9 th C o n . C h a rl o tte nburgh
near the-B eaudetteR i ver.
This factory had 30 patronsand made .lOO,00O
pounds of
cneesea yeat.
AVONDA LE
-
The "CHAPEL"factory was built across the road from
the Roman Catholic chapel, Avondale,on the gth Con.
Charlottenburgh.The chapel no longer exists however,
the cheesefactorybuildingremains.
F R A S ERFI ELD
-
The "BOWEN FARM" factory was locatedon the north
side of the entrance lane to 'Fraserf
ield' house. The
factorvwas closedin '1900.
2
G LE N BROOK
The "GLEN BROOK"cheesefactorywas locatedon the
South Branch Road, approximately 3% miles from
W i l l i a ms to w n o
, n th e bank of the R ai si n R i ver. Ji m
Faulknerwas one of the cheesemakers.Some Glen Brook
cheesewas sold at 'Bon Secours'market,Montreal,P.Q..
GL ENDA LE
The "GLENDALE" factory stood where the modern
Kraft factory now stands, betweenthe north and south
branchesof the RaisinRiver.'Sandy'Alex Clark was one
of the cheesemakers.One Glendalecheesesent to the
C h i c a g oWo rl d ' sF a i r i n 1892w on a pri ze.In 1918,thi s
factoryproduced212,000poundsof cheese.
GL EN DO NA LD
The "GLEN DONALD" factory was located one-third
mile south of the Gore Road on Jennie Fraser'sside road
and drainedinto a branchof Gray'sCreek.
GL EN F A LLO CH
Only a shed remainsof the "GLEN FALLOCH"factory
which was located on the south-west corner of the
KinlochRoad,2'/zmilesfrom Martintown.
GL EN G O RDO N
s
i shments,
On e o f D .M. Ma c Pherson'establ
the " GLE N
GORDON" cheese factory was built approximately3%
miles north of Lancasteron the west side of Highway34,
oppositethe 4th of Lancaster.The factory drained waste
water into Finney'sCreek.
GL EN W A LT E R
Two cheese factories, the "RlVERSlDE" and the
"ROYAL"were locatedin Glen Walteron the bank of the
St.LawrenceRiver. The Riversidefactory produced 65
to n s o f c h e e s ei n 1 9 1 9and w as managedby Mr. W m. J.
O' Bri e n .
JOHNS O N RO A D
T h e " J OH N S O N R OA D " factory (S i l ver Li l y) made
60 cheeses per week in 1918 and was located approx.
21/zmiles north of Williamstown,on the south side of the
3rd Con. Charlottenburgh.
The "FERGUSON"factory was located 3/tmile south of
the King's Road,south of the 4th Con., west side,corner
of the Johnson Road. This factory drained waste water
into a branchof the RombeauCreek.
KIN G' S RO A D
The "KING'S ROAD" factory was locatedjust north of
the King's Road, approximately21/zmiles east of Martintown, on the west side of the road to Avondale.This
factory was started in 1903 after the Fraserfieldfactory
stoppeciproduction.lt was first owned by the patrons.lt
was purchasedin 1927 by HarveyMacMillan,son of the
late George MacMillan, District Cheese Inspectorand
cheese maker. The factory produced cheese,butter and
whey butter until closure and sale to Kraft Foods Ltd. in
1 9 7 1 .T h e b u i l d i n gh a s been remodel l edas a resi dence.
Ma cGI LLI V RA Y ' S
B RI DG E
SR ID GE "factory w as bui l t on
T h e " M a c GIL L IV R A Y 'B
the bank of the North branch, Raisin River. From an
account book we learn the following. Eleven patrons
brought milk to the factory. Albert Lapointeand Mr. E.
Mr. S.M. Grant was salesWilkinsonwere cheesemakers.
man and secretary. Factory supplies included cheese
boxes, rennet, color, salt, bandage, and Wyandotte
(washing soda). This factory made 71,703 pounds of
c h e e s ei n 1 9 1 6 .
"King's Road CheeseFactory"
G W.T. Li ghl
MA RT INTOWN
The "MARTINTOWN''clegse factory was operatedby
W i l l i el rv i na n d b u rn e di n 1910.
The "BURN BRAE" factory was built in 1885 by D.M.
MacPherson.This factory changed hands several-times
and was burnt and rebuiltlwice. JamesR. May bought the
factory in 1905. Alex. MacMillan, brothei ot Ffarvey
MacMillan,purchasedthe factory in 1936 and owned it
u n ti l s e l l i n gto K ra ft F o ods Ltd. i n 1971.The bui l di ngi s
near the MartintownPost Office and is now a resideice.
N ORT H B RA NCH
The "NORTH BRANCH" factory,owned by the CO_OP
farmers was located approximately1% mileisnorth-west
of Martintownon the 7th Con. Chhrlottenburgh.
The lite
Mr. Truax was the cheesemaker
in 1950.
ST. R A P HA E L' S
pV _RoddyMacDonald'The Btacksmith',the
..^QOgr_a1gO
"ST. RAPHAEL'S"factory was locatedsouth of the viilaoe
on the side road.This factorydrainedwastewater into t6e
SutherlandCreek.
SUMM E RS T O W N
The "SILVERCITY" factory was locatedapproximately
172miles south of the CanadianNationalRaiiwaystrack
nearSummerstown.
The "RIVERBANK"Butter and Cheesefactory operated
by Mr. E.E.Chafeewas built in 1902and was iocited on
the bank of the St. LawrenceRiver.The factory received
an averageof 6000 pounds of milk per day -for seven
m o n th si n 1 9 1 9 .
TYOTO W N
T h e " F A R ME R ' SC H OIC E " factory had C harl es A .
Wilkins, a protege of D.M. Macphersonas manaqer tn
1919. This fac^tory
was located1% miles north of Hi{hway
# 2 , n o rth o f G ra y ' sC re e k.
WIL L IA M S T O W N
The "WILLIAMSTOWN" factory made butter and
cheese. Mr. Ed Chinette operateij this factorv on the
s o u th b a n k o f th e R a i si n R i ver i n W i l l i amstow nvi l l aoe.
west of the bridge.This factory was latersold to Claren"ce
Cattanachand Bill Ferguson.
H e r e i s a n o l d Gle n g a r r y r e cip e m a d e with Ch e d d a r cheese:
CHEESE ST RAWS
v , c u p g r a t e d c h e d d a r ch e e se ( co lo r e d ,str o n g ch e e s e i s best)
% c u p f l o u r 1 t ab le sp o o n b u tte r % te a sp o o - nsa lt cayenne pepper,to taste I egg
M i x a l l i n g . r e d ie n ts.th o r o u g h .ly.
Ro ll o u t d o u g h to g x 10 i nch rectangl eon afl oured
,
D o a r d .u u t d o u gh In to str ip s,4 in ch e s lo n g , % in ch wide. Tw i st stri ps i nto spi ral sand
p l a c e .o n g r e a s e d .b a kin g sh e e t. Ba ke a t 4 0 0 ' F . fo r 1 o mi nutes. S i ri nkl e si ri pJ*i i n
p a p r i k a ,i f d e s i r e d .Se r ve wa r m o r co o l a n d sto r e in a n ai rti qht ti n.
Many thanks are given to the following persons who provided much information
and encouragement.
Mrs . F inley M ac l n to s h ;Mr. a n d Mrs . H a rv e yM a cMi l l an;Mr. peter McC uai gand
th e lat e M r . J ohns o n R a v m o n d .
References
1 ) Th e Cor nwallChee s eB o a rdR e o o rt.1 9 1 9
2) An Historicaland Descriptiveaccount of the Dairying Industryof canada; Dept of
A gr ic ult ur e,
B u l l e ti nN o . 2 8 , 1 9 11 .
3) Economic^
Analysisof cheese Factoryoperationsin canada; Dept. of Agriculture,
1933.
Ma rily n H. S . Light, B .Sc ., M .Sc ., i s C u ra to r a t the N orth W estern Museum,
Williamstown;
lecturerat St. LawrenceColleoe.Cornwall.
The sketchof King'sRoad CheeseFactor/ is by her father,Mr. G.W.T.Light.
Miss Ha nn ah Ch ish olm s ugges t ed t he public at ion o f t h e f o l l o w i n g l e t t e r , r e c e l v e d
f rom a frien d.
GLENOBAN FARM
D a l ke i thOn
, ta r io
A ori l 3rd. 1977.
De a rH annah:
I must tell you how greatly I enjoyed your note in the journal of the "Glengarry
HistoricalSociety.I supposechildrenof today will, at our age, look back upon just as
t e y w il l be. l sn' ti t strange,but true,how
h a p p yc hildhoodm emo ri e sb u t h o w d i ffe re nth
we recall most readily the pleasant things but less readily the unpleasant.My
grandchildrennow have a bus pick them up at the gate whereasI often walkedpart or
" ri de i n a buggyor w agon- al w ays
a l l th e way t o High S c h o o l- s e v e nmi l e s" c h a n c i n g a
lookingbick ovel my shoulderto see if someonewas coming to give me a lift. ln winter
someonedrove me io school in the cutter.One day we had a dreadfulttme in the deep
snow and a terriblestorm. lt was very slow going and the horsefell down severaltimes.
Our hi redman put hi m i n
On th e way hom e it w a s c l e a rth a t th e h o rs ew a s e x hausted.
the barn of a farmerat the roadsideand walkedseveralmileshome in the deep snow to
d o th e c hor es .A hor se ,w h i c h w e th i n k i s s o s tro n g ,i n some w ays has l essendurance
th a n a m an.
We startedto school at Easter,nearestour 6th birthday.The day I startedI felt very
lonely - | was the oldest of sevenso had no one to go with me. I had on my "school
shoes" and new clothes and carried my slate and slate pencil.The slate was quite a
re sp ons ibilit- yif it got b ro k e ni t h a d to b e re p l a c e da nd w hi l ei t costonl y 10 or.15cents,
i t w a s a big- it em .T he s c h o o l ro o m w a s fa i rl yn o i s yw i th the sl atepenci l sgoi ng - and
while the slateswere supposedto be washedwith a rag and water,if the teacherwasn't
l o o ki n gI am afr aidwe s o me ti m e s p a to n th e m a n d r ubbedout our sumsor w ri ti ngw i th
a handkerchief!
Therewas a largebox stoveat the rearof the school.The pupilsat the backwould be
roastingwhile those at front would be cool enough.The plumbingwas stricllyoutside
in the ParliamentHouseat the rear of the school.In winterthere was a pail of waterand
a cu p at t he r earof t h e s c h o o lro o m fo r d ri n k i n ga n d i n the summerthe cup hung on a
h o o k at t he pum p in t h e y a rd .
Ou r f ar m was 100a c re s ,n o t q u i tea l l c l e a re dy, e t m yfatherandmotherrai sedafami l y
of seven(one of whom died at 10 years)and we alwayshad a hiredman,and a hiredgirl,
and this was the generalpractice.Nowadaysfarms must be severalhundred acres in
si ze to be " v iable"an d th e re a re n o h i re d me n o r hi red gi rl s.In my teens,duri ng the
su mmer ,I wor k edf or a w h i l e o n th e h i g h w a ya t the goi ng w age of 250 an hour, ten
hours a day, 6 days a week, (now I believeit is $4.00!)yet we were alwayswarmly
clothedand well fed.
The entertainment- apart from the family organ, the Jew's harp, mouth organ or
violin in the home - was centredat the Church concert,once a year, at Christmas,the
Garden Party under the Women's Institute in summer, and occasionaltravelling
me d i c inem en who, o n c e o r tw i c e i n th e s u m m e r,fo r a few eveni ngsput on a " concert"
at which one of the group sang humoroussongsor gave recitationsand then went into
their sales talk extolling the remarkablecurative efJectsof their patent medicine.I
rememberone who carrieda 1arof tape worm which he displayedand convincedsome
customersthat they might just have the same monsterin their bodies!When he had
d ri e d u p all t he loodec h a n g efro m g u l l i b l en a ti v e sh e departedto hi s next appoi ntment
We used to have bands of travellinggypsiesin the summer - there would be several
w a g ons ,a lot of wom e n ,c h i l d re na n d m e n a n d s k i nnyhorsesand poor dogs.-W ew ere
afriid of them but I neverheardof them doing any harm or stealinganything.They liked
to trade horses.
Speakingof horses- my next brotherstartedcourtingbeforeI did and he alwaystook
the horse and buggy afterchurch.When I wantedit we had severalquarrelsbut I never
horseand buggy H-eliveda mile awaygot it - so I was ab-tdto borrowmy grandfather's
ifter the day's work I walkedto his place,caught the horse in the field,hitchedup and
t o m y g i rl ' sh o me .T h e n I h a d to d o the w hol ethi ng i n reverseand got
d ro ves ev en' m iles
but there
t6 take off my shoesto makeas littlenoiseas.possible
I
late.
home pretty
'sque'aky used
board on the stairsI neverseemedable to miss.One time the rubbertire
was a
on a hind whbel came loose - everytimethe wheel went around it went "thump" so we
had to walk the horse. lf we troited it was like riding a corduroy road and quite
impossible.I was late home that niqht!
o
Boys used to like to race their horses.I was reluctantto race my grandfather'sbut
there-wasanotheryoung bladewho usedto go home about the sametime everynight I
was out - we neverspoke- he had a white horse- he would come up behindme and, in
passing, instead of going ahead would just stay abreast in challenginggesture. I
sufferedthe indignityof this unacceptedinvitationas long as possibleuntil one night,
in angry frustration,I asked my grandfather'shorse the questionand he responded
most nobly.We racedall out at the trot in the moonlightfor nearlytwo mileswhen my
adversarycalled it enough and fell behind.As my horsewas just on the grass and no
grain or oats,I was afraid I had done him in. He was in a white lather.We went home the
rest of the way at a snail'space but we had no more races.Our oppositionhad enough.
This winter I have spent 2 to 4 days a week at the farm chieflyengagedin my private
war with the Arabs- in keepingthe stovefilledand reducingthe oil bill. The wood stove
has made a big differencein the oil bill and I had forgottenhow much pleasureand
satisfactionthere is in looking after the stove - putting the fire on in the morning,
carrying out the ashes,watching the draft, worrying about the chimney.Today, as I
write there is a very high wind and the wind soughingthrough the draft in the stove
makescheerfulmusicalcompany.
We havea lot of ironwoodin our bush.I havea "Swede"saw and now that the snow is
nearly gone I have been cutting wood. lt is so wonderfulin the woods now - even if
windy outsideit is warm in the bush and not at all lonesome- | hearthe trafficand the
train sometimesbut it only makes me realizehow fortunateI am to be able to do as
mu ch as I do ( now 73 a n d my w i n d i s n ' tu p to m u c h- but enough- and w hen puffedI si t
on a log and chargemy battery).
The grandchildrenhave a pony, a few hens and rabbitsand that is the extentof my
agricultureempire.Archie Cousineauuses my farm and barn for his heifers.He keeps
my l a ne open. Her e I s i t, a l l a l o n e ,i n th i s b i g h o u s e- 6 bedrooms,parl or,di ni ngroom
and kitchen- and just a few yearsago it was filledwith 3 generationsof Campbells- and
now vacantfarms all around us. By the way - on the big stoneat the gate I havehad the
monumentman put the letters- "Glenoban- a Campbellhome for severalgenerations"
becauseI want some oermanentindicationof what the place was in the past. I think
Nab. Campbellwould haveliked it. I oftenthink of him and the things he usedto say - a
lot of good sense.
(thenjust a personalgoodbye)
With all qood wishes
Ho,,J"roMitchell
- "Gl engar r yLif e"197 6p .1 7
Dr. Howard Mitchellis a nativeof Huron County. He has livedat GlenobanFarm,
Dalkeith,in GlengarryCounty,for the past 25 years.He is EmeritusProf. Of Medicine,
McGillUniv er s it vM, o n tre a lQu
, ebec.
G RA NDM O T H E R 'R
S E C I P EF OR DOINGT HE
..FAMILYWASH''
Bild a fire in backyardto heet kettle of rain water.Set tubs so smoke won't blow in
your eyes if wind is peft. Shaveone cake of soap in biling water.
, o rk b ri t ches.Makestarch- sti r fl our i n col d
Sor t t hings in t hr e e p i l e s ,w h i te ,c u l l a rd w
watertill smooththen thin down with biling water.Rub dirty spotson board,scrub hard,
th e n bile.Rub c ullar dth i n g so n b o a rdb u t d o n ' t b i l e ,l ust renchand starch.
Take white things out of kettle with broomstick,rench, blew and starch.Hang old
rags on the fence. Pore rench water on the flower beds. Scrub porch with hot soapy
water.Turn tubs upsidedown. Go put on a clean dress,smooth hair with side combs.
Brew cup of tea, set and rest a while and count your many blessings!
Submittedby Mrs. Neil (lrene)Blair,Dalkeith,who adds this note:
Whoeverwrote the above might have been describingmy motherwashingout under
the pear tree in my childhood-days! | wonder how mothersof a bygone generation
copdd with the task of keeping large familiesneat and clean without the benefit of
auiomaticwashersand dryers.I am afraidtoday'shousewifewould not think she had
many blessingsto count if'she had to do her wash in an iron kettle,a tub and a rubbing
board!
ARCHIBALD BROWNE,R. C. A.
1864 - 1948
ArchibaldBrowne lived at Lancasterlrom 1927until his death.Although he adopted
Glengarryas his home, he is little known despitethe fact that he had been electedin
lt was the highest.honour
1915 to the Royal CanadianAcademyas a painter-member.
Canadianscould pay to their artistsat that time. During later life he paintedthe local
hills, valleys,trees and glades along the St. LawrenceRiver,working in a landscape
traditionstill carriedon locallyby StuartMcCormickand others.
Browne' spar ent sw e re l i v i n g te m p o ra ri l yi n L i v e rpool ,E ngl and,at hi s bi rth. They
returnedshortly to their native home at Blantyre near Glasgow where he spent his
boyhood.The young man emigrated,settling in Toronto and began work towards a
prudent if unadventurousbanking career. But he was restlessand threw aside the
counting of dollarsand cents for life as an artist.He madethe outdoorshis realstudio.
Hi ke rst ell of him s k e tc h i n gi n th e D o n Va l l e y .H e sat under an umbrel l abeforehi s
canvas,expressingpleasurewhen interruptedand talking to intrudersin a voice made
mellowby his deep Scottishbrogue.Such canvasesas Early Autumn Morning and The
Go l d e nM oon ear nedfo r h i m th e ti tl eo f th e " n a tu rep oet"of C anadaand the " C anadi an
Co ro t. "
The artist's friends were the famous Canadian artists of the day. A preferred
co mp anionwas Home r Wa ts o nfro m D o o n o n th e G rand R i ver.W atsonw as a country
boy who sold his paintingsto Queen Victoria,achievedfame overnight,and they still
hang in Windsor Castle as if to silence local sceptics.Browne and Watson made a
t r ip t oget h e ri n 1 9 1 2w h e n th e y v i s i te dL o ndon.Thei rcanvaseshung si de by
ce l e b r at ed
mi ngl edw i th
si d e i n G oupil' sf as hi o n a b l ep i c tu reg a l l e ryw h e reBrow ne,anonymousl y,
the crowds and joked and talked with them about his own and Watson'spaintings.
Browne'sother close friendswere HoratioWalker,oainterof habitantlife on the lsland
of Orleans,Edmund Morris whose favouritesubjectswere prairie Indians,and Curtis
Williamson,a crusty bachelor,who paintedpowedul portraits.lt was Williamsonwho
organizedthe CanadianArt Club of 1908with Browneas a member;it was the first real
attemptto promotefine Canadianpaintingand a decadebeforeTom Thomsonand the
Group of Sevenstirredcontroversywith their colourfulnorthlandsketches.
Archibald Browne left Toronto for Montrealfrom where he made sketchingtrips to
the Laurentiansand Adirondacks.Mr. and Mrs. Duncan Mclennan were patronsof the
MontrealMuseum of Fine Arts (then the Art Associationof Montreal),and there met
Browne.They were picture loverswho toured Europef6equentlyand filled their home,
"Ri d gewood"wit h E n g l i s h a n d c o n ti n e n ta lp a i n t i ngsand even ow ned three fi ne
CanadianKrieghoffs.ArchibaldBrownehad won a large prizelor his paintingand with
the money purchaseda small house just to the west of the Mclennan country place.
Th e i r old gar denerha d o n c e l i v e d i n th i s h o u s e .H e had spend hi s l i fe gatheri ngand
shipping Glengarry asparagus,strawberries,raspberriesand small fruit and flowers
each morningfrom LancasterStationto Montreal."Ridgewood"producearrivedin time
to be servedat noon-daylunch at the WindsorHotel and the St.JamesClub.
The newly arrived artist built a studio alongsidehis house; it still stands,although
much altered. Here he painted canvaseswhich were seen annually at the Royal
Ca n adianA c adem y E x h i b i ti o n sa n d a t th e C a n a d i anN ati onalE xhi bi ti on.On speci al
occasionshe exhibitedhis works at the Ritz-CarltonHotel,Montreal,and the Marshall
FieldStore in Chicago.
Life was quiet and pleasantat Lancaster.Mrs. Browne,his secondwife, was musical,
and visitorsdropped in at their country retreat.Therewas the Americanartist,Weyman
Adams. who painted Mrs. Browne and Mrs. AlexanderCameron of South Lancaster.
Many were literary men like PelhamEdgarand R.C. Readewho came from Toronto,
and therewas Miss Marv Mack and her motherfrom Cornwall.
SometimesArchibald-Browne taught eager local students.Two local men became
Sunday paintersunder his inspiration.Miss BeatriceHeward and Mrs. Vowles took
lessons.The teacher reprimandedmistakeswith sternness,but it was always for the
"student'sown good." He and his pupilssketchedon the near-byfarms of Mr. and Mrs.
Philip Ross-Rossand their neighbours.Bishop Couturiereof Alexandriaand local
people from Lancasterdrove him to spots which caught his eye on the river road
an d C o rn w a l l .T h eBro w o f th e H il l w aspai ntednearS ummerstow n.
b e tweenLanc as t er
He preferredto paint canvasesoutdoorsbut in old age compromisedby making small
sketcheson the spot and painting larger studio versionsfrom them with brush and
paletteknife.Repeatedlyhe stroveto catchthe light and atmosphereover the river.
8
Then came the depressionyears.The elderly Archibald Browne now resembleda
patriarch.He had a beardand deep blue eyes.His canvaseswere pricedfor as much as
$1500;it was a handsomefigure in 1934,but saleswere few. Life was frugal but the man
wearinghis blue painter'ssmock still welcomedvisitorsand his wife servedcups of tea.
The NationalGalleryof Canadaand othersarrangedfor an exhibitionat the Cornwallis
Hotel, Cornwall.Two works were bought for the Cornwall High School and others
bought canvasesstill scatteredthrough local homes.Alreadyhis paintingswere in the
collectionsof the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the
MontrealMuseumof FineArts.Talesare told of how he specifiedthe colourschemesto
be used in decoratingthe Church of St.Johnthe Evangelistin Lancaster.
ArchibaldBrowne was an invalidin his lateryears.StatelyHector Charlesworth,
the
best-knownCanadianart critic early in the century,and who was mistakenfor Edward
Vll when he walked down London streets,wrote of Browne's"poeticvision."Augustus
Bridle,author of Sons of Canada,pointedout that this afiist'smissionwas to "interpret
n a tu re"and m ak e it m o re " i d y l l i cth a n n a tu rec o u l d . "Othersequal l yprai sedhi s art.' B ut
ArchibaldBrowne,a famous man in earlieryears,lies buried in an unmarkedgrave in
the LancasterCatholicCemeterv.
l arper.
J. R usselH
Dr. J. Rus s ellHar pe r,O .C ., F .R .S .C .,
i s P ro f. o f th e D ept. of Fi ne A rts, C oncordi a
University,Provinceof Quebec.
D O R N IEON TH E D E LI S L ERI V E R
Dornie was once an importantloggingcentreon the DelisleRiver.There was once a
post office,a cheesefactory,a blacksmithshop, a store,a boardinghouse,a saw mill
and a spur where the first train shuntedto pick up the lumberto be shippedto Quebec
City.
To-day there remainsonly the ruggedbut beautifulscenery.The mouth of the Delisle
River is at Coteau du Lac, near the foot of Lake St.Frances.RecentlyI read that the
name Delislegoes back to the early Frenchsettlementdays when Marquisde Vaudreuil
and Sieur Gabuet,Aubert de L'lsle (which later became Delisle)had large grants or
se i g n eur ies
t hr oughV a u d re u iC
l o u n tyn e a rD a l h o u s i eMi l l s.
Some of the early Scotch settlerscoming up through Lake St.Francesdisembarked
at Coteau du Lac and followed the stream through the forests,cutting down trees,
building homes and mills along the banks. They followed the Delisle, north of
Alexandriathroughthe 4th of Kenyon,to its sourcein Dominionville.
There still remain traces of the early foundationof homes and mills along the river.
Not far from the home of my childhocid,may be the oldest remainsof a pioneerhome
built in 1802,- maybethe oldestin the district,and incidentallywherethe first votingfor
the townshipof Kenyontook olace'
, sister M. crair Macdonard.
c.s.c.
+ (Se e" G lengar r yLif e "1 9 7 6 .p . 1 0 & 1 1 )
SETTLEMENTOF GLENGARRYCOUNTY
LOYALISTS
Ont. on May26Ih,1977.
Societyat Alexandria,
A talk givento the GlengarryGenealogical
The Loyalistsof GlengarryCounty were mainly Scots who had belongedto the First
Battalionof the King's Royal Regimentof New York raised by Sir John Johnson at
C h a mb ly ,Q uebec ,J un e 1 9 , 1 7 7 6 .T h e y h a d b e e nte nantson hi s l andsi n the Mohaw k
Valleyof, what was then called,the Provinceof New York. A few had beenveteransof
the SevenYearsWar coming to the Colonieswith Fraser'sHighlanders,montgomery's
Hi q h l ander sand t he 4 2 n d , th e B l a c k Wa tc h . A fte r bei ng di sbandedi n.1763 they
re i ra i n edand r ec eiv e dg ra n ts o f l a n d s .So me l i k e M aj or JamesGray and C apt.John
Munro becamelarge land owners.Others in their claims for lossessaid that they had
servedin "the War beforethe last."
Most had emigratedin the years1772,1773and 1774.They had come from Invernessshire, Ross-shireand a few from Perthshire.The abolition of the feudal system of
cl a n shipaf t er t he J aco b i teR e b e l l i o no f 1 7 4 5m a d e g reat changesi n the H i ghl andsof
Scotland. The introduction of sheep raising impoverishedmany, forcing them to
emigratein large numbers.The settlementof those in the MohawkValleyis said to have
b e e n b y inv it at ionof Si r W i l l i a mJ o h n s o n ,fa th e r o f S i r John. For hi s servi cesi n the
causeof Britainduring the SevenyearsWar he had been createda Baronetand givena
largetract of land. He knew the strugglebetweenFranceand Britainwas not over and
wishedto have about him men versedin arms.He was familiarwith Scottishsoldiersas
as
fighting men and may have had somethingto do with plans for their transport_ation
AheriCanwriters refer to them as being "imported".He died in 1774 leavingSir John
heir to his vastestatesand the problemsof the impendingRevolution.
By May 1776c ondi ti o n si n th e M o h a w kVa l l e yh a d reacheda cruci alcondi ti on.S i r
John and a large numberof his tenantsfled to Canadato escapebeing taken prisoners
by the rebels. After an arduous nineteen day trek through the Adirondacksthey
re a ch edt he I ndian v i l l a g eo f St.R e g i so n C o rn w a l l l sl and i n the S t.Law renceR i ver.
Some were so exhaustedfrom lack of food that they were left behindand latertaken in
by Indianssent in searchof them. Proceedingto Montrealthey met Sir Guy Carleton,
iommander of the British forces in Canada.He commissionedSir John to raisethe
First Battalionof the King'sRoyalRegimentof New York. Needlessto say the men who
accomoaniedhim to Canadawere the nucleusof the Battalion.
Th i s Regim entwit h B u tl e r' sR a n g e rsa n d th e In d i ansunder JosephB rant,fought i n
the battles of Oriskany,Bennington,Fort Stanwix and Saratoga.They harassedthe
northernpart of New York especiallythe MohawkValleyfrom which so many of them
had come destroyingcrops to preventthem from being used by the enemy.
The War came to a close in September1783and now the Britishgovernmentwas
faced with the tremendoustask oJ caringfor the Loyalistrefugees,providingthem with
for thei r settl ementi n C anada.In
fo o d and c lot hingas w e l l a s ma k i n ga rra n g e me n ts
October men were sent out to explorethe north shore of the St. LawrenceRiver,the
lands along the Ottawa Riverand the area in the vicinityof Kingston.Their reportson
th e cont our of t he l a n d a re i n te re s ti n gT. h e o n l y pl ace names gi ven al ong the
St.Lawrencewere those of a few pointsof land named by the French.The Aux Raisins
Riverwas referredto by name as an importantstreamand that its coursewas navigable
as Jar as what is now Williamstown.Frenchtrappersmay have given the name to the
river.Ascendingit they would say they were going "aux raisins",referringto the wild
grapes that grew in abundancealong its banks. The nature of the soil was noted,
sometimestwo or three milesfrom shore,also wherethere were swamps,meadowsand
the large areas of unbrokenforest of fine pine, maple,hickory,beech and white oak.
Mastsfor ships could be made from the tallestof these.Specialnote was taken of falls
a s o l a c est o build m ill s .
ln NovemberGovernor Haldimandreceiveda letter from Lord North, the Colonial
Secretary,with instructionsabout the settlementof the Loyalistsin the area now known
as Ontario,at that time a part of the Provinceof Quebec.The lands allottedfor new
settlementwere to be by seigneuriesand the settlerswere to hold their allotmentsas
tenantsof the King. This was a great disappointmentas they had been promisedthe
ownershipof free grantsof land.
At the same time instructionswere given for the disbandmentof the Provincial
troops.The main body of the KRRNYwas at Montrealwith detachmentsat Lachineand
10
Cote du Lac. Most of the 2nd Battalionwas on garrison duty at Carleton lsland,
opposite Kingston,and was not disbandeduntil June of 1784.The 1st Battalionwas
disbandedat Montreal,Dec.24, 1783,the men being given rationsand quarters.Their
familieswere in camps at lsle aux Noix, at the head of Lake Champlain,at St.Jeanon
the RichelieuRiver and in and about Montreal,while some were still in the Mohawk
Valley.
The first step in the rehabilitation
of these refugeeswas to ascertaintheir numberby
familiesas that was the way there were to be transportedfor settlementand it was
necessaryto know the number of servicemen to make a proper distributionof lands
allottedto them accordingto rank. On January22nd, 1784,GovernorHaldimandmade
the following requestto Sir John Johnson:" I haveto desirethat you will, as soon as
possible,transmit a Returnto me of officersand men specifyingthe number of their
family who served in the First Battalionof your Regimentand who are desirousof
settling in the Province upon the terms his Majesty has been pleased to offer."
Seigneurieswere to "extendfrom two to four leaguesin front, and from three to five
leaguesin depth, if situatedon a navigableriver,otherwiseto be run square,or in such
shape and in such quantities,as shall be convenientand practicable- and in each
Seigneurya Glebe to be reservedand laid out in the most convenientspot, to contain
not less than 300 and not more than 500 acres."Land was to be distributedin the
followingproportions:
"To every Masterof a familyOne HundredAcresand Fiftyto each personof which
h is f am ilys hallc o n s i s t.
"To everysingleman FiftyAcres.
"To every Non-CommissionedOfficer of our Forces reduced in Quebec Two
HundredAcres.
"To every private Man reduced as aforesaidOne Hundred Acres, and for every
Personin his family FiftyAcres.
These regulationswere later revised.Colonial,Britishand German soldiersall were
granted land according to rank. The last two were not consideredLoyalistsbeing
mercenarytroops and were classifiedas military claimants.Settlerswere requiredto
pay fees which helped to pay those looking after the distributionof land such as the
members of the land board and the surveyors.This did not apply to Loyalistsand
mi l i tar yc laim ant s .
On March 1st, 1784,PatrickMcNiff,deputy surveyor,with a crew of twenty-sixmen
began the surveyat Point au Bodet which marksthe boundarybetweenthe Provinces
of Ontarioand Quebecon the St. LawrenceRiver.From that point to Montrealthe land
had been allottedto seigneursand had not as yet been tenanted.Eight seigneuries,
later calledtownships.were to be laid out and dividedinto two hundredacre lots. Five
were to be for thq First Battalionof the King'sRoyal Regimentof New York,from now
on referredto as the Royal Yorkers.The other three were for the Loyal Rangers,better
known as Jessup'scorps.
What becameknown as LancasterTownship,the first one, was thoughtto be too wet
and low-lyingfor settlement,althoughthe first concessionline and part of the second
were run that year. The Townships were known by number beginning with
Charlottenburgas No.1 and continuing on to No.S for the Royal Yorkers.This is
something to- keep in mind when researchingearly records of these Township_s.
Lancasteiwas referredto as the "sunkentownship",the Lake Township,for Lake St.
Francisto the south and MouilleTownshipfrom the point of land oppositeLot'13.There
were to be two town siteseach a mile square.Thesewe know to-day as Cornwall,first
calledNew Johnstown,and Johnstownin EdwardsburgTownship.
In 1786by requestof Sir John Johnson,PatrickMcNiffmadea map of the areasettled
by the Royal Yorkersknown to-day as the United Countiesof Stormont Dundasand
Glengarry.lt is markedwith the Lots and Concessionsand the names of the settlers
written oh the Lots. lt shows the land surveyedas far north as the 2nd Concessionin
Lancaster Township and the 2nd Concession north of the River Raisin in
Charlottenburgin the areaof Martintown.
PatrickMcNiff was an lrishmanwho had emigratedto the Coloniesin 1764.He was a
merchantin the Saratogaarea.When the rebelslearnedhe was giving intelligenceto
the British he sought refuge in New York and carried on businesson Staten lsland.
After two years his-placewas plunderedand he was imprisoned.On his releaseat the
closeof the War he came to Canadawith the Loyalists.
The membersof the surveyingcrew were not trainedin any way for the task.With the
mi n i m um of equipm e n t,a i o mp a s s a n d s o m e c h ai ns,they markedout the l ots and
concessionswith an accuracythat to-daywe marvelat. This was a landof denseforests
11
and swamps never before explored except by the Indians.The Raisin River with its
tributaries made it impossibleto lay out concessionsevenly. There is the First
Concessionon the north side of the RiverRaisinand the FirstConcessionon the south
side of the River Raisin.There is the Gore which appearsto be part of three different
concessions.lt is difficultto visualizeLot 20 in the 4th Concessionon the south side of
the MiddleBranchof the RiverRaisin.
The musterof the Royal Yorkerswhen disbandedgivesthe numberoJ men as 560,
rank and file. Three quartersor more were of GermanPalatineand Dutch descent.The
remainderwere Scots,156 of whom were born in Scotland.Among those who settledin
Glengarry there were fathers and sons such as Sgt. Donald McGillis and his son
D o n a l d,J ohn M c K en z i ea n d h i s s o n D u n c a n ,J o h n Murchi sonand hi s son K enneth,
Donald Grant and his son Donald.There were brotherSsuch as Alexanderand Peter
Fe rg us on,
J am esand J o h n D i n g w a l lL, i e u tM a l c o l ma nd John McMarti n,to namea few .
During the winter of 1785 preparationswere made for the transportationoJ the
Loyaliststo the surveyedareas.This task was in chargeof men who had beenofficersin
regiments.Batteauxwere built at Lachine.Grindstones,scythes,sickles,axes, hoes,
spades,drawing knives,frows for makingshinglesand other small tools were made at
Quebec,Sorel, St. John and lsle aux Nois. Indian corn and potatoeswere packed in
barrelsand seedsfor plantingwere collected.Thesewere mainlyturnip,onion,cabbage,
peas, celery and parsley.Provisionsand clothing were neededfor immediateuse as
well as later.The peoplewere to be rationedfor two years.Provisionswere allowedin
the following proportions:"To every man and woman one Treasuryration,to every
child aboveten years of age one Treasuryration,to every child underten yearsof age
one half a Treasuryration."The main food supplied was flour and pork, sometimes
beef.After settlementa cow would be orovidedfor the use of two families.
Toward the end of May, 1784,the familiesof the Royal Yorkers were asked to
assembleat Lachine to preparefor transportationto New Johnstown (Cornwall).A
camp site was providedand the officersin charge made arrangementsfor embarking.
They left on June 7th to make the trip up the St. Lawrenceby batteaux.Four or five
familiesoccupied a batteau.Twelve batteauxconstituteda brigadewhich was under
the command of a conductor to see to their welfare.Ten batteauxaccompaniedthe
flotilla with suppliesto be distributedafter settlementand provisionsto last a month.
We do not know how long the trip took, how many nightsthey campedalongthe way, if
they had problems portagingthe rapids or the exact locationwhere they landed.As
they rowed along the north shore of the mighty St. LawrenceRiverthey must have had
gravefearsand doubtsfor the futureas they viewedthe unbrokenshorelineof forestsin
which they were to maketheir future homes.
On landing, army tents were set up and some men even built sheltersfor their
families. Drawing by lot was thought to be the fairest and simplest method of
distributingthe land. The numbers of Lots by Concessionwere written on piecesof
paper2l/zby 1% inches.Thesewere foldedtwice and placedin a receptaclefordrawing.
The deputy surveyoror a clerk wrote the name ol the personwho drew the Lot on his
slip of paperknown as a locationticket.He then went in searchof the locationof his lot,
which had the number of his ticket markedon a post, placed by the surveyorsat the
cornersof the frontageof the lots.Therehad not beentime to surveythe farms,only the
concessionlines,which would be blazedon trees.Locatinga lot might take some time
and maybeprovedisappointing.Documentsknown as Land Boardcertificateswere
given to the settlers.These gave the name of the Loyalistand the number of the
concessionand lot he drew,and indicatedhis right to live on that pieceof land.
It must have been necessaryto dividethe peopleinto groups for the drawing as the
Germansand Dutch were settledin townshiostwo to five.startinoat New Johnstown
(Cornwall).TheScots, both Roman Catholic'andProtestant,requdstedthey be settled
separately.Those settled in No.1 Township,Charlottenburghwere mainly Protestant.
The Roman Catholicssettledin TownshipNo.2 in the vicinityof St.AndrewsWest.They
w e re j o ined by a gr ou p o f th e B4 th R e g i m e n tu n d e r thei r C api tai nN ei l McLean.They
had been on garrisonduty at Carletonlsland oppositeKingstonduring the Winter of
1784.They appearto havesettledin a group and would not havedrawn lots.
A Return of Disbanded Troops and Loyalists settled in Township No.1
(Charlottenburgh)
lists 145 men, 87 women, and 224 children,a total of 456 persons,
acres cleared 12. Although it was not the intention to settle Loyalistsin Lancaster
Township,a Return of DisbandedTroops and Loyalistsfor Point Mouille,as it was
referredto, dated October 19th, 1784, gives the number of personsas 36 men, 15
women and 59 children;acrescleared201/2,
a total of 90 persons.Comparingthe Return
with the nameson McNiff'smap of 1786it is clearthat a numberof those mentionedas
drawing lots did not settleand a few othershad come in the meantine.There may have
12
'l
l
,l
||
I
'l
I
I
J
,l
been a numberthere beJorethe RoyalYorkerscame.Therewere relatedfamiliesof the
same name, such as Rosses, Sutherlands, Grants and Faulkners. All were
representativeof different regiments and groups that had parlicipated in the
Revolution,excepta few for whom no recordcan be found.
By 1788 the townships had been given names.The "sunken"township was named
Lancasterafter King George lll. He was Duke of Lancasterbeforehis accessionto the
throne. CharlottenburgTownship No.1, was named for Queen Charlotte.Continuing
west the namesgiven were those of the thifteenchildrenof the Royalfamily.Township
No.2 receivedthe name of Cornwallafterthe Princeof Wales,laterGeorgelV, who was
also Duke of Cornwall.TownshipNo.3 becameknown as Ogdensburgafterthe second
son Frederick,who had the Hanoveriantitle of the name.
During the winter ot 1784the Loyalistsmade out claimsfor losses,and gavethem to
their commanding officers to forward to London, England.No action was taken on
them as they were not witnessed.These can be seen on rnicrofilmin the Dominion
Archivesin Ottawa.In 1788men were sent from Englandto hearclaims.Therewerefive
centresto which Loyalistscould go to presenttheir claims.The nearestone to Glengarry
County was Montreal.An applicantwas requiredto bring any credentialshe might have
such as a dischargecertificateor a letter of recommendationfrom an officer under
whom he had served.Also he was to haveas witnessa personwho had known him in the
Co l o n ies .
The examinerhad a set form of questioningwhich he used to learn if the applicant
was a Loyalist,beforehe inquiredabout his losses.A clerk wrote down the repliesin an
abbreviatedform and it appears he had difficulty at time keeping up with the
q u e sti oning.W e m us t re me mb e rh e w o u l d h a v e a qui l l pen and no know l edgeof
shorthand.These people had so little to declarethat it would seem hardly worlhwhile
for them to have madethe trio to Montreal.Two men who had known each other in the
Colonieswitnessedfor each other.To-day we are pleasedthat they madethe trip even
if they receivedno compensationas there are bits of informationgiven that are helpful
in piecingtogethertheir stories.Theremay be the name of the parishor areathey came
and in what
from in Scotland,the year they emigratedto the Colonies,wherethey lived
.'1904
Archives
way they served the Crown. These claims have been publishedin the
Report of Ontario. The following is the claim of lsabel McBain, widow of Andrew
McBain,late of Tryon County.
"Claim't says: She residedat St.John'sin the Fall of 1783. Lives there now. Her
husband was a nativeof Scotland.Came to America in 1774.Claim't came with him.
Th e y took landson t h e M o h a w k .
Her husbandjoined the British in '76. He servedin Sir John Johnson'sRegimenttill
dischargedfor sickness.He was taken prisoneras he was coming to fetch his family.He
broke goal and made his escape.
Claim't came the year after, during the War. Her husbanddied at St.John'sin 1783
l e a vi n g2 c hildr en,bot h i n fa n ts .
He had some leaselands.Her husbandhad not clearedany of the landsbut he was to
have leaveto continuethere.
Th e y los t t wo c ows , 1 B u l l ,2 o x e n ,fu rn i tu refl, o u r and w heat14 bushel s.C l ai m' tw as
drivenfrom the place by the rebelsand obligedto leaveall those things."
The widow McBain received100 acres,1/zLot21,2nd Concessionsouth of the River
Township.
Ra i si n,in Char lot t en b u rg
In 1786 Lord Dorchester,formerly Sir Guy Carleton,became GovernorGeneralof
Canada.There were many problemsin connectionwith the settlementof the Loyalists
which differed from Province to Province.In the Upper Country, as the present
Provinceof Ontario was referredto, the fact that Crown Patentshad not yet been
receivedthe same as in the Maritimeswas the causeof great discontent.Locationsol
land had continuedto be made by DeputySurveyorsauthorizedby the land boards.At
this time the Provinceof Quebecwas dividedinto two Districts,Quebecand Montreal.
The RoyalYorkerswere locatedin the westernone of Montreal.
.1789
In the year
Lord Dorchesterdividedthe areawest of the presentQuebecborder
into four Districtsknown as Lunenburg,Mecklenburg,Nassauand Hesse.Lunenburg
stretchedfrom the OttawaRiveron the east to the GananoqueRiveron the west.A land
board was placedin each Districtcomposedof sevenor eight men of the Districtalong
with the CommandingOfficer of the drea.They had authorityto grant certificatesfor
200 acresto each head of a familyand also familylandsof 50 acreslo each individualof
a familywho had becomea settlerin the Provinc6previousto the 17thof February1789.
The land boards were also authorizedto grant 200 acres of land to sons and
daughtersof Loyalistswhen they came of age and to the daughtersif they married
befo?e,providingithe head of the Familyhad continuedto cultivatethe lands assigned
13
to him. Two listswere to be kept,one with the namesof Loyalistswhich becameknown
as the U.E. List,for the words "Unity of Empire".The otherwas a land boardlist for both
Loyalistsand settlers.The lettersU.E.were to be affixedto the namesof Loyalistsand
their children on this list to distinguishthem from the settlers.Loyalistsand Military
Claimantswere not requiredto pay fees while settlerswere. These lists were not well
kept and it was necessaryto revisethe U.E. List a number of times. In this way Lord
Dorchesterwas encouragingthe Loyaliststo continue cultivatingthe land until such
time as it would be possibleto grant Crown Patents.
On November18, 179'l, the Provinceof Quebec was divided into the Provincesof
Upper and Lower Canada,and John GravesSimcoe had arrivedas the first Lieutenant
Go ve rnorof Upper Ca n a d a .O n J u l y 1 6 th ,1 7 9 2th e t ow nshi psof U pperC anadaw ere
put togetherto form counties.Lancasterand CharlottenburgTownshipsmade up the
County of Glengarry.Upper Canadawas now dividedinto eight Districts.The namesof
the first four were changedto Eastern,Midland,Home and Western.Land Boardswere
abolishedNovember6th, 1794.In place of these,Magistrateswere authorizedto give
certificatesof recommendationto those making applicationfor land. After December
ceasedand therea{terall applicationswere made
1795 Magistratesrecommendations
g e Governori n C ounci l .
to th e Lieut enant
G ov e rn o ro r p e rs o na d m i n i s te ri nth
The quota of land grantedto applicantswas as follows:
To MilitarvClaimants.free from Exoense:
FieldOfficers
Captains
Su b a l ter ns
Staffand WarrantOfJicers
Serjeants
Corporals
Co mmo nS oldier s
eacn
eacn
each
eacn
each
each
each
5000 acres
3000 acres
2000 acres
2000 acres
500 acres
400 acres
200 acres
To U.E. Loyalists,personswho adheredto the Unity of the Empire,and to their sons
and daughtersof the first generation- free from expense200 acres each; also family
lands of 50 acreseach for everyindividualbroughtinto the Provinceby the head of the
faimly previousto the 17th of February1789-.lf the personalgrant to the head of the
family was 1200acres,or more, then the family lands were includedin the 1200acres
g ra n ted.
On the 21st of August, 1795,GovernorSimcoe issueda proclamationrequestingall
personshaving locationtickets or Certificatesof occupationto transmitthem to the
AttorneyGeneralin order that they might be givengrantsof land.Therewas apparenlly
some difficultyin carryingout this order as few receivedtheir Crown Patentsuntil 1797.
The County of Glengarryat that time extendedfrom the St. LawrenceRiveron the
south to the Ottawa Riveron the north.The first Parliamentmet in Niagaraon the 17th
of September 1792. Members were at first appointed. Glengarry County had two
members,the brothersJohn and Hugh McDonell,sons of Capt. AlexanderMcDonell
(Albercalder)of the First Battalionof the Royal Yorkers.John had been a Captainin
Butler'sRangersand Hugh a Lieutenantin the Royal Yorkers.John was chosenas the
FirstSpeakerof the House.The family had emigratedin 1773from the great Glen Gary
in Inverness-shire
to the Mohawk Valley.lt is thought they chose the name Glengarry
for the County,afterthe placefrom which they had emigrated.
References
Haldimand Papers;1871 & 1904 CanadianArchives Reports,"Upper Canada Land
Po l i cy " ,1783- 181BP .A .C .;Pri n g l e ' s" L u n e n b u rgo r the Ol d E asternD i stri ct" /;" H i story
of Stormont,Dundas & Glengarry"by Harkness,Carter's"Historyof Dundas County"
and others.
Mrs. Elizabeth Blair is the Assistant Dominion Genealogistot the United Empire
Loyalists'Associationof Canada,and a nativeGlengarrian.
14
THE LECLAIRSOF GLENGARRY
The historyof our county is repletewith narrativesof a fascinatingnaturedescribing
the exploitsof what is sometimesreferredto as the common man. lt is from the ordinary
man that the history of a country develops.With respect to our own area some local
historyis known and fortunatelymore is coming to light as we keepsearchingthe early
records.
It is while searchingthe early recordsthat the saga of the Leclairfamily came to light.
This pionee1family livedin an era when it was necessaryto be largerthan life merelyto
survive.To become outstandingby virtue of one's accomplishmentsin those harsh
times took a generouscombinationof luck, hard work, courage and more than an
adeouatemind.
The saga as we know it today beginsin 1833.An enterprisingCanadianbythe name
of Charles Leclair came to the conclusion,for reasonswhich are now obscure,that
North Lancaster,Canada West held potential for development.Charles was born
somewherein Lower Canada.His reasonsfor establishinga store and a farm on lot 24
in the Sixth Concessionof LancasterTownship on the North-Westcorner of the
intersectionof what are today County Roads 18 and 26 are intriguing.Whateverthey
may have been, he promptly demonstratedthat he was correct in his decisions.His
entbrprisesgrew and diversifiedinto hotels,tenanthouses,an asheryand more farms.
Charles Leclair was not just a shrewd and successfulmerchant.He had those
spiritual qualitieswhich permit a person to overcomegreat personaltragedies.On
November22, 1849 he lost his belovedwife Th6reseGuindon, leaving nine children
motherless.Charles vanquishedthis personaltragedy and realizingthat his young
familv neededa motherhe marriedCarolineMcDonell.Carolinewas herselfa widow of
aboui forty years of age and had a twelveyear old daughter,HortenseVictoria.The
availableevidenceindicatesthis was a happy marriagealthough the family suffered
still more personaltragedies.
While Charles'commercialenterprisesaccrued and diversifiedhis children likewise
developedin spiritualand intellectualqualities.The oldest son who bore the same
name bs his father,followed in his father'sfootstepsand becamea merchant.Little is
known of him exceptthat he died prematurelyon December20, 1863at the age of thirty
years.
He left a widow and a new-bornson GodfreyLeclair.
Charles'second son, Peter Napol6on,expresseda desire to study medicine. He
and graduatedi n 1861.Thi s era
e n ro lledat t he F ac ul tyo f m e d i c i n eo f M c Gi l lU n i v e rsi ty
in medical history marks the dawn of modern medicine.lt is worth divergingfor a
moment to considerwhat a well-trainedmedicalman such as Peter Napol6onLeclair
had in his armementariumas a pioneerdoctor. Peter Napol6onwould have had an
adequate knowledge of anatomy, some knowledge of physiology' a competent
Semmelweishad made his point on
knowledgeof obstetrics.He knew about asepsis...
this subject. Although the concept of communicability of some diseases was
understo6dthe bacillihad not yet been isolated.Napol6onLeclairwrote his thesison
"syphiliticchancre"and he certainlyknew a greatdeal about the clinicalaspectsof the
but he did not know that it was transmittedby a bacteriumand of coursehe did
su-Olect
not'have the cure for the ailment.The tuberclebacilluswas not isolateduntil nineteen
years after Napol6on graduated,similarly he did not have diphtheriaantitoxin,nor
iabies innoculationbut- he did have at his disposal smallpox vaccination.Metabolic
disorders,glandular disturbancesand nutritionaldiseaseswere not on the medical
curriculum'when Napol6on graduated.Mercifully,both generalanestheticsand local
anestheticswere availableand certainlyused by this time.
The conclusionto be made by thi3 brief survey of the history of medicineis that
despite limited medical resourcbs of the time,-Napol6on Leclair was capable of
relievingsuffering and of saving lives by his knowledge of medicine,surgery ancl
obstetrics.
In 1864, Napol6onservedon the first board of trusteesof AlexandriaHigh School,
where he livecjfor a time. In this year he was also appointeda coronerfor Glengarry
County,a positionhe held until his removalto Montreal,nineyears.later.
tn tne ybar 1873,for reasonunknownto us at that time, Napol6onLeclairmovedto
Montreal. Personaltragedy struck him as it had his father when eight years after
moving to Montrealhe"lost his wife, HortenseVictoria McDonell.She died June 25,
1881 ;t the early age of 42 years.HortenseVictoria was the daug-hterof Caroline
McDonell,the wibovi his fathei had married21 years earlier.Doctor Napol6onLecla.ir
himself died prematurelyat the age of 48, March 21, 1884.Both he and his wiJe
cemetery.
HortenseVictoriaare buriedin St.Raphael's
IJ
charles Leclair'sthird son, Louis Guillaume,sometimes known as william also
demonstrateda desire to pursue a .profession.This young man from an ordinary
Qlengarryhome joined a religiousorder that traditionallyhas concerneditselfwith thil
field of education,the Order of St.Sulpice.Williamwas born October 21,1837,studied
theologyin Montrealand demonstratedsufficientintellectualabilityto be sent to Rome
for his studies.He was ordaineda priestin Romeon January6, 1861when he was only
23 years old. He returnedto Montrealwhere he was curateat St.Anne'sparishfor ten
years,at Saint Patrick'sfor anotherten years.He was the parishpriestat Oka from 1881
to 1885.lt is known that he frequentlyreturnedfor visitshome in North Lancasterand
his father had a chapel in the family home, complete with a bell to summon the
neighborswhen FatherWilliamwas home on a visitand about to startthe serviceor the
prayers.His niece,Mrs. KathleenMacDonellcan still recal her uncle William'svisitsto
th e fa m ilyhom e.
Father William must have had his father's administrativetalents. When the
Gentlemen^ofSt.Sulpicerequired an' administratorto supervisethe building of the
canadian college_in_Rome, they called on william. This project took three -yearsto
co mp l et e,f r om 1885 to 1 8 8 8 . A t th e c o mp l e ti o nof thi s i nsti tuti onhi s sLperi ors
appointed him assistantrector, a post he held for eight years.Then, in l8g6 Father
William Leclair was named Rector of the CanadianCollege.After six years as rector
Father_William
was granteda well earnedrest and he retiredto the Sulfician parishof
Notre Dame in Montreal.lt is in this parishthat he died July 26, 1906aged68 yearsand 9
mo n ths .lt is obv iousth a t C h a rl e sL e c l a i r' sth i rd s o n di d w el l for hi msel fand hi s fami l v
and his County can be justly proud of him. In addition to the distinctionsthat havi-.
alreadybeen mentionedwe must statethat he is the first FrancophoneGlenqarrianto
be ordainedto the oriesthood.
We now come to the fourth son of CharlesLeclair.His namewas Adolphusand very
little is known about him at this time. Familytraditionhas it that he secureijemploymeni
with the railroad.This has not been substantiatedbut we do have it from reliable
so u rce swit hint he f am i l yth a t th i s i s s o . T h e s a mes o u rcei nformsus that hi s l astknow n
a d d re s swas B r oc k v il l eO, n ta ri o .
The fifth son of the family was Alexander,who died July 1, 1914,aged 73 yearsand
lies buried in St.Margaret's
of Scotlandcemetery,Glen Nevis,Ontarid Alexahdertook
over the operationof the familystore until afterseveralyearsof servicea disastrousfire
wiped out one of the last and greatest results of old Charles Leclair's industrv.
Alexander married first Bridget Mastersonwho died september 26, 1893, ageo i0
years. In due course Alexandermarrieda secondtime, to CatharineForrestel,a niece
g1!_ qlotege_eof Patrick Purcell, railway contractor and Liberal M.p. for Glengarry
1 8 8 7 -1 891.
F our c hild re n h a v e re s u l te dfro m th i s m arri age:C arol i ne(Mrs. John6oni ,
Patrick A. Leclair,Kathleen(Mrs. N. MacDonell)and Helena Florence(Mrs. Josepii
Mercure).
And so ends the saga of one of our Glengarryfamilies.The story
-r'"nis incompletebut
maybe more informati6nwill surface.The siory'of the common
is a faicinating
narrativeand I would implore my Francophonecolleaguesto record their historyl
u n ve i ltheir anec dot e sw, ri ted o w n th e i rfa mi l vtra d i ti on.
I wish to expressmy thanks to Mr. Ewan-Ross,Goderich,Ontarioand to Professor
Royce MacGillivray, waterloo, ontario for their invaluable help, advice and
encouragementin researchingand writingthis essay.
Bibliography
1. C e n s usr ec or dsf or th e y e a rs 1 8 5 1 ,1 8 6 1a n d ' l8 7 i
2 . D i ct ionna] r eB iblig ra p h i q u ed u C l e rg eC a n a d i e n - FranQaiLes
s; A nci ens(Montreal ),
1910
3 . Wa lling' s1862m ap .
4 . J.G. Har k nes s Histo
,
ryo f S to rm o n t,D u n d a sa n d G l engarry(19a6),pages347 and
453.
5 . To m bs t ones at st.Ma rg a re t' so f s c o tl a n d , G l en N evi s and at st. R aphael ' s
c em et er ies .
6 . Ve r balc om m unic a ti o n sw i th Mrs . K a th l e e n(L e cl ai r)MacD onel l .
No rb e r t F er r e,M . D.
7 4 0 l ro quois Dr . , Con w a l l ,On t.
1 3 No vem ber ,1977
Dr. Nor ber t F e116is a n a ti v e o f S a s k a tc h e w a n ,of French i mmi grant parents,
p ra cti tionerin opht ha l m o l o g yi n C o rn w a l l ,O n ta ri o .
to
RALPH CONNOR
by Ewan Ross
The time is not long past and in some homesin Canadamay still be with us when the
name 'RalphConnor' meant Glengarryand vice versa.Many were like my father-in-law,
himself a scot but born and living 500 miles from Glengarry who only read the
n e wsp aperand RalphC o n n o r.
_ Though RalphConnor has been dead now for 40 yearshe is probablyour best known
Canadianauthor and copies of his books are constantlyrising in price as more and
more collectorsof CanadianarealizeRalph Connor'sbooks are a must.When I see the
valuesof them tn used book cataloguestoday and see the originalpricespencilledin
the copieson my shelvesI feel RalphConnor'sshademust be gratifiedto see his books
i n cre a s ingin v aluew i th ti me . Bu t th e m a n h i ms e l fi s bei ng forgottenqui ckl y.H e w as
ma n y t hings bes id e s a n a u th o r; mi s s i o n a ry ,a rmy chapl ai n, di pl omai , church
statesmanand leader.So he ratesa bit more than a thumb-nailsketchamonq the other
Gl e n g ar r yaut hor s .
Ralph Connor whose real name was CharlesWilliam Gordon was born in the Free
Church Manseat St. Elmo, beforeSt. Elmo was named,on Sept. 13, 1860.He was the
mi d d le c hild of s ix so n s a n d a d a u g h te rb o rn to the i ncumbentmi ni ster,D ani el(or
Donald)Gordon and his wife, Mary Robertson.Dan Gordon had been born in a cotter's
h o me near B lairA t ho l l i n S c o tl a n dw h e reT i l t a n d T u mmel land Garrv meetbeforethev
fl o w i n t o t he T ay . Da n ' sb ro th e r.G i l b e rtw a s h e a d p i perto the D uko of A thol land D an
h i mselfwas s om et hin go f a p i p e ra s w e l la s a m i n i s terw ho w as ready,w i l l i ngand abl eto
fi g h t for what he t ho u g h t w a s ri g h t. A s a y o u n g man, w hi l e a col l ege studentat
Aberdeenhe had surrendereda bursaryto becomea memberof the FreeChurch.As a
young ministerhe came to Canada,to the EasternTownshipsof Quebec,down in the
corner where Maine, New Hampshireand Quebec meet, as a missinaryto the Scots
settlementat Lingwick.At Presbyterymeetingsin Sherbrookehe met the girl he was
soon to marry, Mary Robertson,herself a scholar and coming from a family of
PresbyterianChurch Scholars.After a couple of yearsat Lingwickthe Gordonsmoved
to the PresbyterianCharge in the Indian Lands of Glengarry.The Gordons had been
there some B years when Charles was born and were to remain another ten. The
childrenwent to the log school at Atholl in the XXth of the Indian Lands (the school
today is in Upper CanadaVillage),farmedthe 25 acre Glebethat went with the church
and learnedthe forestskillsand the ways of the young Scotsthey grew up with. In 'Post
Scri p tt oA dv ent ur e' ,R a l p h C o n n o rs a y s ," G/e n g arryS chool
D ays and TheManFrom
Gl e n g ar r y wer e dr a w n fro m l i fe " .
l n 'l870 t he G or do n s m o v e d to H a rri n g to ni n W est ZorraTw p., i n Oxford C ounty
wh e re Dan G or don w a s to m i n i s te rfo r 2 0 l e a rs a m o ng peopl eof i ri s ow n racew i th thi l
Ga e l i cand t he pipes a n d th e i r s ta rk ,s te rn th e o l o gyw hi ch by now w as begi nni ngto
re l e n ta bit . Her ey oun g C h a rl i eGo rd o nf i n i s h e dh i s publ i cschooland w ent on to H i gh
Sch o ol in S t . M ar y ' si n 1 8 7 5 .H e fi n i s h e di n 1 8 7 9a n d came aw ay w i th an i dea of w hat
co u l d be done wit h th e En g l i s h l a n g u a g ea s h e w as fortunai e i n hi s teachers.A t
Ha rri ngt onhe lear ne dto w o rk a s th e mi n i s te r' ss a l a ryof the day w oul d supporta l arge
family but not educatethem. So Charlieand his brother Gilbertworked as farm labourers
o n h oliday sand S at u rd a y sf o r $ 1 .5 0- $ 2 .0 0p e r d a y and one seasonhe sayshe w asabl e
to e a r n $140.A f t erf in i s h i n gH i g h Sc h o o lh e ta u g h t publ i cschoolf or a yearat the same
ti me ta k ing his f ir s t ye a r o f c o l l e g ee x tra -m u ra l l y .
In 1880,Charleswent to Universityof Toronto where he paid his own way, kept up
with his work, played football,was a member of the Glee Club, and helped organize
and was part of a male quintet which became well known in Universitycircles and
afterwardin Edinburgh.He got his B.A. in 1883 and then for a year and a half was
ClassicsMasterin the ChathamHiqh School.
In the s um m erof ' 8 3 a fte rfi n i s h i n gc o l l e g eh i s o l d estbrotherR obertsontook C harl i e
o n a p r os pec t ingt r ip i n N o rth e rnO n ta ri o .R o b e rts onw asan accompl i shedw oodsman
a n d ca noeis tand at t h e e n d o f th i s tri p , n o t o n l y w a s C harl i everyf i t physi cal l ybut he
h a d kn owledgeof r ou g h i n gi t th a t w o u l ds e rv eh i m w el l both as a meansof rel axati onal l
h i s l i fe and help him t o c o p e w i th th e ri g o u rso f a mi ssi onary' sl i fe i n the R ocki esand a
so l d i e r ' slif e in t he t r e n c h e s ,b o th o f w h i c h h e w a s desti nedto do.
Afte r his pr os pec t i n gtri p C h a rl e sw e n t b a c k to U ni versi tyof Toronto to take the
co u rs ein t heology .He b e c a mea g ra d u a temi n i s te ri n 1887and the f our yearsl eadi ngto
th i s mus t hav e been b u s v o n e s . T h e a c ti v i ti e so f the oui ntet. the Gl ee C l ub and
co a chingot her s t ude n ts a
, -sw e l l a s h i s o w n s tu d i e smadef6r f ul l and busy days.l t w as
17
a _ ldl o n g on m oney he e a rn e dh i ms e l f;h e p a i d a l l n e cessaryexpenses,al l ow edhi msel f
.2 5 aa day . s pendingm o n e ya n d w h e n h e f i n i s h e dc o l l e gehe had $700.besi des.N ow ,he
a l o n g wit h t he ot her f o u r me p b e rs o f th e q u i n te t (h is brotherGi l bert,R .M. H ami l ton,
Ro b e rtHaddowand R i c h a rd .T i b bh) a d re s o l v e dto -g oto E di nburghfor a year' sstudyoi
th e o l ogy and he m ad e g o o d u s e o f h i s h o a rd e d$ 7 0 0.In E di ndurgh,fi i ends of thei r
fa mi l i e sand new f r ien d sth e y m a d e ,a s a re s u l to f th ei r musi calacti ti ti esopenedmany
d o o rs to t hem .A s well ,C h a rl e s U
' n c l eC h a rl e sw a s the FreeC hurch Mi ni sterat nearbv
Do u g l ass o t hey wer e b o th w e l l e n te rta i n e da n d s h ow n the si ghtsof S cotl and.A s hi :
wa s j u s t t ak ing lec t ur e sa n d n o t a c re d i t c o u rs eh e w as not asbusv as he had been i n
Toronto. After the seriesof lectureswas over the quintet went on a bicycle tour of
We ster n E ur ope and th e n b a c k to C a n a d a a n d h i s l i fe' s w ork. B ut fami l v matters
i n te rvened.T he Rev . D a n i e l G o rd o n ' s h e a l th h a d b een fai l i ng and for most of .tB B g
Ch a rl i eas s is t edhis f a th e ra t H a rri n g to n .In l a teA p ri l 1890hi s motherdi ed and her si x
so n s wer e h_erpall bea re rs .In fro n t o f me a s l w ri te I h aveseveraldescri pti onsof Mary
Ro b e rt s onG or don inc l u d i n g R a l p h c o n n o r' s o w n . A l l agree she w as a remarkabl i :
p e rso n , educ at ed and p o i s e d , e n e rg e ti cb u t c o n tr ol l edand understandi ngal most
b e yo n d belief . T he c h u rc h s ta te s m a na n d a mb a s s adorthat R al ph connol w as to
b e co m em us t owe m uch to h i s m o th e r,n o t o n l y b e c a useof her genesi n hi m but al soto
h e r e xam ple.
l mmediat elyaf t er h i s
th e r' s d e a th a n d u n d e r the gui dance of a remarkabl e
^ p e ri nt endentof M i s s imo
su
o n s ,J a m e s R o b e rts o n ,c h arl es-Gordon w ent to w estern
C a n a d a.Hewas or dai n e di n C a l g a ry i n J u n e l Bg 0 a n dw asi nstal l edasmi ni steratB anff
wi th _ o t herc har gesat C a n mo rea n d An th ra c i te .O n l y fi ve years beforehi s comi ng the
c.P.R. h ad been f inis h e da n d p e o p l eb y th e th o u s a n ds,farmersand rancners,mrners
a n d l u m ber m en,good d o e rsa n d b a d a c to rsw e re p o uri ngi nto the country.In addi ti on
to h i s s et t ledc har ges ,G o rd o n h a d th e o v e rs i g h to f m i ssi onw ork as far w est as Fi el d,
B.C. a nd s out h t o t he U .S. b o rd e r.T h i s a re a -h ec o veredon horse back and as ti me
w o u l d p er m it . Her e he g o t a c q u a i n te dw i th g ri n d i n g poverty,drunkenessand every
a b b e rat ion k nown t o m a n . H e re to o h e me t c a n ada' s Governor-GeneralLord
,
Ab e rd eenwho was a f re q u e n tv i s i to rto B a n ff, a n d w as to be a good f ri endof C harl es
Go rd o n as long as t he y b o th l i v e d ,i n C a n a d aa n d l a ter i n S col l and
In 1 893G or don was c a l l e dto a mi s s i o nc h u rc h i n n orth w est W i nni pegbut beforehe
se ttl e dint o his c f ar ggh e s p e n ta f u rth e ry e a ra t E d i n burgh.Thoughhe w bntto study he
s^ o o nfo undt hat in pf lva tec o n v e rs a ti o n as n d i n s e rmoni that he w as i nci ti ngi ntere6ti n
C a n a d ianM is s ions T
. h i s l e d to h i s b e i n go ffi c i a l l ya p poi ntedas a represent-ati ve
of the
ca n a d ian P r es by t er i a nc h u rc h i n Sc o i l a n d a ri d h e pressedthe poi nt that 38,000
se ttl e r shad c om e int o th e A l b e rtaf o o th i l l si n 1 8 9 2 4
, 0 o/o
of themf rom S cotl and.A u ni on
co mmit t eeof t he t hr e e g re a t Pre s b y te rra n
C h u rc h es i n S cotl andbacked thi s fundG or d o nw e n t b a c kto C a n a d aa b l eto announcethat he had pl edgesof
l l i si n g e_f f or t . and
for missionwork in WesternCanaoa.
$50-$60,000.
In Augus t ' 1B g4hew a s b a c k a tth e mi s s i o n c h u rc h ofS t.S tephenw herehew astostay
- r th e res tof his lif et h o u g h
fo
w i th a c o u p l eo f l e a v e so f abseni e.The membershi oof hi 3
ch u rch was 14 when he b e g a nh i s m i n i s try ,4 0 0i n 1 9 0 0,728i n 1905and 1,oooi n 1910.In
th i s ti m e t he c hur c h bu i l d i n gh a d to b e e n l a rg e ds e v e nti mesat a costof g150,000.
Thi s
g ro wth.of his c hur c h t o o k p l a c el a rg e l ya s a re s u l to f hi s preceptsand exampl e.B ei ng
ve ry mis s ionand s oc ia l m i n d e d h i s c h u rc h w a s o rg a ni zedto w el comeand bssi mi l at6
stra n g e r sand m ak e t h e m p a rt o f th e c h u rc h a n d th e communi tv.
In 1 896 G or don s pe n t h i s v a c a ti o no n a mi s s i o nt our of W est-ern
C anadaw i th the
Su p e ri nt endentof M is s i o n sJ, a me sR o b e rts o nw
, h o se bi ographyhe w as l aterto w ri te.
H e th e n was s entas a d e l e g a teto T h e G e n e ra lAs s e mbl yoi the P resbvteri an
C hurchi n
To ro n to. F unds wer e l o w a n d T h e G e n e ra lA s s e m b l yhad to curtai l i ts mi ssi onw ork.
9 o l {o l was annoy eda t th i s a n d v o i c e dh i s a n n o y a n ceto many peopl e,amongothers
to J.A. M ac Donald,t he e d i to ro f th e c h u rc h p a p e r,T h e W estmi i sterMagazi ne5nd l ater
e d i to r o f T he G lobe.M a c D o n a l da s k e dGo rd o nto w rite an arti cl efor th-echurch paper
on missions.On his returnto WinnipegGordonwrote a piecebut got a replybact<thit it
wa s to o long f or one a rti c l ea n d s h o u l d b e re w ri tte nas three.H -edi d thi s and before
p u b l i shingt he f ir s t on e M a c D o n a l da s k e d h i m w h a t name he w anted to haveon the
a rti cl e s .G or don at t he ti m e w a s s e c re ta ryo f th e B ri ti shC anadi anN orth W est Mi ssi on,
a b b re v iat edon his wr iti n g p a p e rto C a n . N o r. W e s t Mi ssi onand the f i rst l ettersof thi s
a b b re v iat ions ugges t e dto Go rd o nth a t h e te l e g ra p hb ack," si gn arti cl escannor" . The
te l e g ra ph oper at or in e rro r m a d e i t ' c o n n o r' a n d MacD onal dpi cted out w hat he
th o u g h t a s uit ablef ir s t n a m e , ' R a l p h 'a n d th u s R a l ph connor w as born! The three
a rti cl e son wes t er n m i s s i o n sw e re s o p o p u l a r th a t more fol l ow ed and MacD onal d
p u b l i shedt hem as a bo o k i n T o ro n to i n 1 8 9 7- B l a ck R ock.
Th i s launc hedhis c ar e e ra s a n a u th o r.T h e C a n a d i anedi ti onof B IackFock sol d some
1B
5, 000 co pie s, a nd in 1898 it was r epublis hed in c h i c a g o a n d s o l d h u n d r e d s o f
thous a nd s_ of cop ies . Fr om t hen unt il his aut obio g r a p h y - a p p e a r e d a f t e r h i s d e a t h ,
books b y Ralp h Co nn or appear ed at s hor t int er v als , s o m e 3 5 i n a l l . T w o o f t h e m w e r e
non-f iction ; 'Postscr lpt t o Adv ent ur e' and ' The L i f e o f J a m e s R o b e r t s o n ' w e r e
publis_ he du rrde r h is r eal nam e. Fiv e of t he r em ainde r w e r e b o o k l e t s . r e a l l y s e r m o n s i n
book fo rm. Th e re st w er e nov els wit h a m es s age bas e d l a r g e l y o n h i s o w n e x p e r i e n c e s .
H is m essa ge can b e ex pr es s ed m any way s , iwill p u t i t t t i u s ; M a n 'i v i r t u e s 'h a v e t h e i r
ow n triu mph s a nd m an' s f ault s c an be c hanged, bu t h e d i d n 't d w e l l o n p e n a l t i e s f o r
fault s. Th e same fa ult s and v ir t ues appear in all h i s k e y c h a r a c t e r s i n a l l h i s b o o k s
thoug h the se tting s ar e v ar ied. Al. lar e v er y r eadable t o d a y a s h i s p i c t u r e s o f t h e s e t t i n g s
in all his b oo ks is b ot h v iv id and ac c ur at e.
A list of h is writing s m ay be of int er es t -
Beyondthe Marshes
B lac kRoc k
T he S k y P ilot . .
T he M an F r om G l e n g a rry. . .
GlengarrySchool Days .
Breakingthe Record
T he P r os pec to r...
The Doctor
The Doctor of Crow'sNest Pass
Life of JamesRobertson
T he A ngeland th e Sta r ..
T he F or eigne r... . .
The Settler(EnglishVersionof above)
Dawn of G alil e e
Rec allof Lov e .
CorporalCameron
P at r olof t he S u n d a n c eT ra i l
T he M ajor
T he S k y P iloti n N o M a n ' sL a n d .
To Him that Hath
The Gaspardsof Pine Croft .
Treadingthe Wine Press
The FriendlyHour .
The Runner
The Rock and the River .
The Arm of Gold
T he G ir l F r om Gl e n g a rry ...
TorchesThrough the Bush
The RebelLoyalist
The Gay Crusader
He DweltA m o n g U s ...
Postscriptto Adventure
1897
... 1897-1898
1899
1901
1902
1903
1904
1906
1906
lg0g
1908
190g
1908
1909
1910
1912
1914
1917
1919
rc21
1921
1925
1926
1929
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1936
1938
There also are parts of some of his novelswhich appearedseparatelyand exist as
sma l l book s s uc h as Gw e n a n d A u l d Mi c h a e l . Some of hi s novel s w ere w i del y
a ccl a im edand appea re di n f o re i g nl a n g u a g ee d i ti o ns.The total numberof copi esof hi s
b o o ks whic h wer e pr i n te dru n s i n to th e m i l l i o n sa n d madeR al phC onnor perhapsour
mo st widelyk nown c i ti z e ni n h i s o w n ti me .A s R a l p hC onnorhe f ound al l doorsopento
h i m f r om t he W hit e H o u s ei n Wa s h i n q to nto th e Ad mi ral i tvi n GreatB ri tai nand became
w e l l k nown in t he hu mb l e s th o m e s i -nth e En g l i s hs pea(i ng w orl d.
In 1899 Char les G o rd o n ma rri e d H e l e n Ki n g , a gi rl he had know n si nce her
ch i l d hood,when as a s tu d e n th e a tte n d e dh e r fa th e r' schurch i n Torontoand w asoften
? g u es t in t he K ing h o m e . L a te r th e K i n g s m o v e d to W i nni pegw here D r. K i ng w as
Pri n c ipalof M anit ob aC o l l e g ea n d l e a d i n ge l d e ri n St.S tephenC hurch.The Gordonsi n
the course of time had a family of one son and six daughters.The eldest,King Gordon
b e ca mea m inis t erin th e fa mi l y tra d i ti o nth o u g h h e spent most of hi s l i fe teachi ng.
Th e ear ly y ear s o f th e 2 0 th c e n tu ry s a w th e d eath of D ani el Gordon at a very
a d va nc edage. He w a s a b l e to ta k e a n a c ti v e p a rt in hi s now famous son' s marri age
ce re m onyand s ee t h e f i rs t c h i l d re n o f th e m a rri age.One w ondersi f the formi dabl e
Re v. D anielG or don w a s p l e a s e dw i th a t l e a s tth i s part of hi s l i fe' sw ork?
' t9
Th e e ar ly 1900' ss aw a b a ttl eb e tw e e nth e ' w e ts ' a ndthe' dri es'i n Mani tobaand R al oh
C o n n o rt ook a leadingp a rt i n th e fi g h t o n th e ' d ry ' s i d ew hi ch he tri edto confi rmas the
l i b e ra ls ideas well.T h e f i g h t w a s n o t a l to g e th e ra s u ccessbut i t w asa hot and di rty one
f ro m whic h RalphCon n o re me rg e dre s p e c te db y b o th si desthough he had some6l ose
ca l l s.
At this t im e t oo G o rd o n fo u n d ti me to w o rk o n h i s D .D . w hi ch he recei vedfrom
U n i ve r s it yof T or ont o i n 1 9 0 6 .In 1 9 1 3h e w a s a d e l e g atef rom the GeneralA ssembl yof
th e Pr es by t er ianChu rc h i n C a n a d a to T h e Pa n Presbvteri anC hurch C ounci i i n
Ab e rd e en.W hen t he c o n fe re n c ew a s o v e r h e v i s i te d London and w i thout too much
p ro d d i ngt ook par t in a n d a c tu a l l ym a d ea s p e e c ha t a demonstrati onof ' S uffragettes' .
Hi s sp ons oron t his oc c a s i o nw a s th e fa mo u s So c i al i st,S ydney W ebb.
Atth eout br eak of W.W .1 ,i n s p i te o f h i s y o u n g fa mi l y(1boy,fi vegi rl sattheti me),the
o l d e st 14, he bec am ec h a p l a i no f th e 7 9 th c a m e ro n Hi ghl andersof W i nni peg.In 1915
th e y w ent ov er s easas th e 4 3 rd C a me ro nH i g h l a n d ers.A fter a short stay i n E ngl and
th e y went t o F r anc ean d i n to th e tre n c h e s G
. o rd o nto ok the thi ck w i th thethi n w i i h ni s
co mra d esin ar m s and s a w h i s re g i me n tl o s e 2 /3 o f th ei r numbersand thei r col onelat
th e b l oody f ias c o of ' R e g i n aT re n c h ' .
l n 1 916 G or don was g i v e n l e a v eto g o h o m e to c anada to l ook after some urgent
p e rso nalbus ines sT
. he C a n a d i a nG o v e rn m e n m
t a d euse of hi s nameand f ameto s-end
h i m o n a s peak ingt ou r o f c a n a d a to p ro m o te c a n adi an uni ty w hi ch w as i n ashaky
sta tea t t he t im e lar ge l yo v e r th e c o n s c ri p ti o ni s s u e .Then he w as sentto the U .S .A .to
h e l p i n f luenc e public o p i n i o n th e re i n fa v o u r o f a cti ve hel p to the A l l i es. H e w as
su cce s s f ulin t his m iss i o na n d a s a p o i n t o f i n te re s tw as addressi nqthe Y al e A l umni
Asso ciat ionwhen P r e s i d e n tW i l s o na c tu a l l vd e c l a redw ar.
Afte r t he war f or a nu mb e ro f y e a rsGo rd o nw a s th e C onvenerof the S oci alS ervi ces'
Co mm it t eeof t he G en e ra lAs s e mb l yo f th e P re s b y te ri anC hurch i n C anada,and after
th e Wi nnipegG ener alS tri k e o f 1 9 1 9 w a s a s k e db y th e Mani tobaGovernmenttochai ra
council of lndustry for Manitoba. This group was very successfulin promoting
settlementof labour disputes,and during the four years Gordon was with it had 107
casesreferredto it, all of which were settled.
In 1904Gordon was electeda Fellowof the Royal Societyof Canadaand laterwas
given Honorary Degrees by the Universitiesof Glasgow and eueen's. From lgo2
onward he was a leader in the movementfor union of the Protestantchurches and
wrote and spoke widely in its favouruntil it was successfullyconcludedin 1g25with the
formationof The UnitedChurch of Canada.
In 1 9 21G or don s erv e da te rm a s M o d e ra to ro f th e P resbvteri anC hurch of C anada
a n d i n 1932was inv it e dto p re a c hth e s e rmo nw i th w h i ch theLeaoueof N ati onsooened
i ts d e l i ber at ionsin G e n e v a .H e re h e p re a c h e dfro m the pul pi ti rhi ch atoneti mew as
o ccu p iedQ YJ onn Cal v i ni n th e C a th e d ra o
l f St. P i e rre.A fterthe ceremonyi n Geneva
w a s o ver G or don v is it e dS p a i na s a g u e s to f th e g o verni ngbody of The Internati onal
L a b o ur O f fic e of t he L e a g u eo f N a ti o n s .Go rd o n d i d thi s i n the companyof D r. W al ter
Ri d d e ll,Canada' sRep re s e n ta ti vto
e th a t b o d y ,w h o w a s marri edto hi s ni ece.A s a resul t
o f th i s t r ip G or don t r ie d to a rra n g ea w o rl d w i d e movementof C hri sti anC hurchesto
b a ck th e Leagueof Na ti o n s .T h e i d e a n e v e rg o t o ff t he ground and w as even qui ei l y
p i g e o n - holedby his o w n c h u rc h i n C a n a d a ;o n e of hi s few fai l uresas a C hurch
Sta te s m an.
Al mos tf r om his ear l i e s td a y s i n Wi n n i p e gth e G o rdon fami l yvacati onedi n The Lake
o f Th e W oods A r ea. H e re i n ti me a c o tta g ew a s b u i l t on an i sl andand the w hol esetup
n a me d ' B ir k enc r aig'by h i s fa th e r.In th e c o u rs eo f ti m e thi s pl acew as host to a qui te
re ma rk ablec ollec t iono f th e g re a ta n d th e n e a r-g re ain
t the E ngl i shspeaki ngw orl d and
to th e i r s ons and daug h te rsa s th e Go rd o n c h i l d re nwent off to col l ege,made fri ends
a n d b roughtt hem t o ho s p i ta b l eBi rk e n c ra i gfo r h o l i days.H eretoo D r. Gordondi d a l ot
o f h i s w r it ing.
In l 9 3 T his f am ily pe rs u a d e d h i m to b e g i n w o rk o n hi sautobi ographybutti meranout
o n h i m. lt was n' t quit e fi n i s h e dw h e n h e b e c a mei l l , had an operati onfrom w hi ch he
fa i l e d to r ally ,and die d a t th e a g e o t7 7 o n Oc t.3 1 ,1 937.H i sson, K i ng di d w hatw as
n e ce ssar yt o get P os t scri p t to A d v e n tu rere a d yf o r p ubl i shi ngand i t appearedi n 1938.
A re m ar k ablelif e ha d c o me to a n e n d .A s a n a u th o rhe i s sti l lrememberedbut he w as
mu ch m or e in his t im e,a s th e a w a rdo f th e c .M.G. i n 1935recogni zed.H ad kni ghthood
sti l l b e en in f as hion no d o u b t th e re w o u l d h a v e b e en a' K ' i nJront of C .M.G.
Ewa n Ros sis a nat iv eb o rn Gl e n g a rri u n* n o
n o Oby" tri esto f i nd out w hat makesus
" . th
" e A th ol lS choolw i th c.w . Gordon,the
a s p e culiaras we ar e" !H i s g ra n d fa th e rw e n tto
fu tu re " Ralph Connor " . E w a n h a s h a d a l i fe ti m e i nteresti n R al ph C onnor and hi s
w ri ti n gs . He has f ir s t e d i ti o n s o f a l l R a l p h C o n n o rs' books. H e l i ves at Goderi ch,
On ta ri o.
20
EMINENT GLENGARRIANS
ALLAN C. VALLANCE
As_ as m allboy A lla n Va l l a n c es a t i n th e o l d M u n roS undayS chooli n Maxvi l l eheari nq
th e Pa r ableof t he T a l e .n ts... a .n dth e i n s p i ra ti o nh e recei vbdthat day has stayed-w i tE
h i m th e r es t of his life . H i s p h i l o s o p h yo f l i fe w a s a lw ayscl ear:" The-pri ceyou pay for
yo u r.p lac eon ear t h i s th e s e rv i c ey o u c a n d o fo r o th ers.D on' t get behi ndi n tne rentl ' .
Al l an' s educ at ion b e g a n i n th e l o c a l Sc h o o l # 1 1 on the ol d-thi rdconcessi onroad.
From there he went on to High Schoolin Maxville.Just beforehe finishednis tnirO
veii
his father becameill and.at the.ageof 17 years Allan had to take over the operiticin
oi
home
the
farm. He was fortunateenough to marry Mary Kinnearof Apple fiiti, niJtrue
help-matein all his life. Two children,Ronaldand Florence,added to the nappinesibi
th e i r h om e.
. l!]e years in farmingwere busy and productive,and Allan was finding that he had
- a
fa ci l i ty f or s peak ing i n p u b l i c , o rg a n i z a ti o na n d admi ni strati on,
qui l i ti es .r" n i n
demand in a rural community.He servedas Trusteeof the DominionvilleSchool goard,
(S.S.#7)and t hr ee y e a rsa s s e c re ta ry -tre a s u re
o rf KenyonS choolA rea B oard.tn f g+ fi
h e b egan his c ar ee r i n m u l i c i p a l p o l i ti c s b e i n g e l ected to the K enyon Tow nshi p
Co u nc il. { y ear as D e p u ty R e e v e ,a n d fi v e a s R b e vegave hi m a seat on the U ni tei l
Co u nt iesCounc il. I n 1 9 5 8h e b e c a m eW a rd e no f th e U ni ted C ounti es,the fi rst from
{g l yo n in f if t y y ear s.D u ri n gth i ste rm o n th e C o u n ci lhe al soservedon the B oardof the
Ch i .l d r en' A
s i_dS oc ie ty ,a n d l a te ra s th e f i rs t C h a i rm anof the new l y formed C ornw i l
a n d D is t r ic t E m er ge n c yMe a s u re sOrg a n i z a ti o n .
For severalyears Allan was a memberof the Kenyon AgriculturalSociety,and was
activelyinvolvedin the beginningsof the now famous Gleiqarry HiqhlandCames.fte
recallsteing in charge.g!p^q(ilS with Clark Hooplethat firslyear, wien they expecteJ
about 5000 people,and 20,000showedupl!
In 1967Osie F. VilleneuveMPP was lookingfor an able personto chaira committeeto
raise funds for a home for the aged for membersof the community.Allan oecame
Chairman of this committeeand with an active Board of Directors-thefunds were
raised,and the first sod was turned for The MaxvilleManor on a cold bleak November
day. The first residentof lhe Manor, Kenny Dodd, was registeredin November195g.
Even with the demands of The Manor Allan still found tirie to serve on the Maxville
Villagecouncil, as chairman of the_Glengarry
School of piping and Drumming,ind i
stint on the GlengarryInterAgencyService.
In 1973 Allan becamethe full time Administratorat The Manor,now expandedfrom
its originalninety beds to one hundredand fifty. The Manor has alwaysoperatedat full
capacity,a tribute to the Administratorand staff, serving a real n-eed'in Glengarry
C o u n ty and bey ond.Al l a n ta k e s p ri d e i n th e fa c t th at thi sl rrras
the fi rst of the mobern
homes for the aged in the County, the innovatorand pace-setterfor others that have
since been oDened.
_ Allan has always found strength and support in all his activitiesin a harmonious
family life and in a stedfastdevbtionto his church. He has sat in the same pew in
St. Andrew'sPresbyterianchurch, Maxville,for all of his sixty five years,and has been
an.E-lder
there for thirty years.sunday school superintendeniforteh years.
Allan retiredas Administratorat The Manor in 1977,much to the'regretof the staff
and the residents,but no one could objectto Allan and Mary taking a riell earnedrest
after years of such dedicatedservice.Freedfrom the demandsof 6ublic life they now
nave more time for themselves,their family and their friends - time to travel,take
holidays,and do all the thingsthat had to be deferredduring the yearsof publicservice.
Glengarry folk from every class and quarter wish thlm many ye'ars of happy
retirement.
V el maS . Frankl i n
Mrs. Keith Franklinis Presidcntof rhe GlengarryHistoricalsociety 1977 and'78.
21
RAE MacCULLOCH
by Grant MacGi l l i vray
Wh e n one t hink s of H i g h l a n do r Sc o tti s hd a n c i n g i n Gl engarrythe MacC ul l och
School of Dancing comes readilyto mind. This is natural as, at many entertainment
functions,one sees teams of tastefullyattired young ladies performingthese dances
that can only come from a great deal of practiceand
with a skill and professionalism
tra i n i n g.
And when one thinksof the MacCullouchSchoolof Dancing,one cannotavoidthinking
, e s c h o o l .R ae, w ho i s more formal l yMrs.
o f R a e M ac Cullough,w h o i s e s s e n ti a l l yth
Alex MacCulloch,lives with her family on the King's Road betweenMartintownand
St.Raphael,and practicallyevery day she sets off to teach dancing in one or more
centresin the Glengarryarea.Rae may be said to live in an atmosphereof almosttotal
i mme rs ionin S c ot t is hd a n c i n g ,a s s h e i s o n e o f fo u r si stersal l i nvol vedi n thi s art, and
she and two of her daughtersare now teachingit. Also oJ interestis the fact that in 1978
she can celebrateher SilverAnniversaryas she will then havecompleted25 yearsas a
danceteacher.
Rae was born ReynaldaGrant, and althoughshe was born in Montreal,her parents
were Glengarrians,and when she grew up she reversedtheir move and came back
h o me . I n her t eens s h e s tu d i e d d a n c i n g u n d e r th e w el l -know nC arri e B i ggars,and
w h e n s he c am e t o G l e n g a rrys h e fo u n d h e rs e l fte a chi ngher ski l l sto ever i ncreasi ng
classesof students.To go back a bit, beforeshe came to Glengarryshe marriedAlex
MacCulloch,and here is another interestingpoint. She was one of 3 sisters who
married 3 brothers,surely a remarkablecoincidence.Anyway, she and Alex settled
near Glen Roy, and a few yearsago, movedto their presenthome.
At present, Rae has between 300 and 400 pupils in Highland,Step and Scottish
Country dancing, with classesall over Glengarry and into Stormont and Prescott.
Besides her own efforts, daughtersHeather and Deborah (Debbie) are both dance
teachers so the family tradition goes on. While MacCullouchdancers learn all the
traditionalScottish dances as part of their training,they specializein entertainment
type dancesas they progress,and when they are seenon stagethey do dancesthat noone else does. This is becauseRae designsnew dancesfrequently,mostly reels,or a
combination of reel and step-dancing,and this "MacCulloch" type dancing has
captivatedaudiencesnot only at home but internationally.
The travelsof teams of MacCullouchdancerswould make quite a story in itself,but
due to lack of space,must be condensedhere.The first "big trip" was a 3-weekconcert
tour of Scotland in 1972 with the GlengarryPipe Band with which the dancershave
worked closelysince 1967.Then there was a tour of Nova Scotiawith Sylvesterand the
Clansmenand needlessto say, they receiveda great welcomefrom the Celtic people
down there.
During the last couple of years the United Stateswas invadedseveraltimes. The
Canadiangovernmentsent MacCullouchdancersthere three times,to Washington,to
Ca l i fo r niaand t o P hila d e l p h i aT.h e C a l i fo rn i atri p w as especi al l yexci ti ng,as besi des
living in Hollywoodfor a week,our girls marchedin the Paradeof Roses,in Pasadena,
and dancedat a numberof placesincludingDisneyland.Lastspringthe good work was
continuedwith a trip to New Orleans,anothervery enjoyableevent.And it should also
be mentionedthat, besidesappearing4 times on the stage of the NationalArts Centre
- in Ottawa
in Ottawa,our dancershavemade quite a numberof televisionappearances
a n d i n t he S t . Raphae lru i n w i th th e p i p e b a n d ,a n d i n severalother show s i ncl udi ng
Ma g i cTom , Ceilidhand th e J o h n Al l a nC a me ro ns h o w.
Al l i n all, t his look s l i k e q u i te a re c o rdo f a c h i e vement,
stemmi ngmai nl yfrom the
effortsof one person,and it clearlyshowsthat Rae MacCullochhas done far more than
a n d i n s p re a d i n gG l e n g a rryc ul turefar and w i de.
h e r sh ar ein dev elopin g
22
PIP E-MA J OR
JOHN T. MACKENZTE
co
by Grant MacGillivray
_ Pipe-MajorJohn T. MackenzieCD is the Chief Instructorof the GlengarrySchool ol
Piping & Drumming,.which includesthe GlengarryPipe Band. He also-teachesoipino
in 3 area high schoolsas pgrt of the school curriculL.im,
somethingtn"t n" pi.ri'"!i"|
severalyears a_go.In fact, piplng is John's life and he has been a'piper and a soldier
si n cehe was 15.
This all startedat the Queen VictoriaSchool,Dunblane,Scotland,a school for bovs
whose fathers had been killed or wounded in world war l. young John went th";e'"i
age 9 and.te-ftqt t5, by which time_hewas Pipe-Majorof the schooiband.from tneie ne
went to H.M. scots Guards as.a Boy piper. Here,-hewas re-taughtby the pipe-Maior.
who was a world champion piper, and took part in the normaiguaio duties;t si1;'h
place_s^as
Buckinghampalace,windsor casile, etc. He remained"aboy pip"i ritir'n.j
was 1.8.qlso learningthe nicetiesof the militaryprofession.
In 1938he went to Africa with his battalion,-and
was there,near MersaMatruhwhen
World War 2 started.He then had the experienceof being throughthe wholJdei"rt*ii,
from the momentthe war starteduntil the enemywas d5feated'1n
1943.tn otnei-woiJs,
he.hadabout 4 yearsof hard warfarebeforethe irroundwarstartedin furope. Attii;;g;
John was a memberof the 2nd Battalion,ScotsGuards,he was detachedtor oveii-ye-ar
to servewith the famousLRDG (Long Range DesertGroup).This was an adventurous
unit which operated behind the enemy lin-es,raiding airidrts and other installations.
John was a machine-q.unner
in a jeep and one of their itunts was to charge iniJ an
enemy airdromeat dudk,shoot up everythingin signt,i"o-oisipp"ii into tne?ariening
desert.
John's Battalionreturnedto Englandat the end of the desertwar and he becameoart
of a compositebattalionbeing trainedto invadeand free Norway.As it nappen;4,1fi;
and his unit were at sea,and in Norwegianwaters,when the wai ended.Ti"rbwhot'efieet
then waitedat sea until King Haakonarrivedon a Britishship, from Scotland.Aftei h;
had landed,the army went ashore,wherethey roundedup prisoners,erc.
John then went back to his own battalion-asPipe-Malor,and shortlyafterwardwas
buring the next tnree yeais
SppointedPiper to the Royal Household,a signalhonour.
his battalionserved in Britain and.in cypresd, and in .l94Bwerit to Matayi, *n6iJd
interestingyearswere spent in jungle operations.
was stationedin London for some months.Then, in 1g52,
. Returningto Britain,_John
he transferredto the RCAF,becomingpipe-Majorof the band of #1 Flghterwing. rne
band then servedin Franceand Geimahy with the Canadianforcesihere untiTt96z.At
that time, John, and part of his band came to canada in time for the centennial
celebrations,They became the RCAF pipe Band - Rockcliffe,and John was heavily
engagedin trainingboth pipersand dancersfor the centennialrattoo.
During the same year the Glengarry pipe Band formed the Glengarryschool of
^. p l n g& ur um m lnga n d e n g a g e dJ o h n a s C h i e f In structor.
Hl
Thi s school ,w i th usual l v5
Instructors quty, has operatednearlyevery Saturdayever since,exceptfor summer
9l
oreaKs,and tralns not only band membersbut anyone who wants to enter.This has
ensureda continuityof playersfor the band as olciermembersleavefor universityor
work, and also ensuresthat all playersplay the same way.
In 1970 John retiredfrom the RCAF,after a militarycareerthat could fill a book in
itself.He then moved to Maxviileand becamean iniidniGlengiriLn. A few years ago
to teach_pipingin Lagganpubticschootand the hiih schootsat Atexandiia
19-tl?,19d
ano
wllllamstown.This_wasby arrangementwith the local schbol board,but it was not
until last year that the Provinceof oitario recognizedpiping as a credit'sublect.
Tagwi
high school then joined the plan, and John ha-ssent inioriation and lessonplans to
Ilgly
?",rtsof the province.Although piping is now a recognizedsubjectin oniario, as
Iar as John
is awareit is taught only in the schoolsof the 3-Unitedcounties.
. John's many friendswere-elatedwhen it was announcedin October1gZ7thal he had
Deenawardedthe Queen'sJubileeMedalfor serviceto the communitv.And now we are
lust about up-to-dateon the story of this Scottishgentlemanwho has'doneso much for
Ine art of piping in his adoptedcounty.
Major R.G.MacGillivray,
Vice-president
GlengarryHistoricalSociety1977.
23
ROBBIEBURNSGRACE
The "Selkirk Grace" is Burns' best known Grace before Meat. Some think this to be the
only one he ever wrote. In fact he wrote several,including this one, which many regard
as his best.
"O Thou in Whom we live and move,
Who mad'stthe sea and shore,
Thy goodnessconstantlywe prove
And gratefulwould adore;
And if it pleaseThee, Power above,
Still grant us with such store,
The friend we trust, the fair we love,
And we desire no more."