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Pioneers
of Temperance An
Adolphustown Society of 61 Years Ago “Ardent
spirits” Did Not Mean Wine or Beer, Which Were Then considered Temperance
Drinks – The Pledge and the Officers – Sketches of Some of the Prominent
Members. The township of Adolphustown was one of the earliest settled in this
province and in the early days occupied a very important position in the
history of Canada. Its first settlers were very active and intelligent men
and they made their influence felt in religious, political and moral affairs
of the young province. One of the first temperance societies organized in the
old Midland district, if not the very first – was at Adolphustown. There lies before a copy of the Kingston Gazette of May 4th,
1830, containing an account of the formation of this society. If any one has record of one at an earlier date will he or
she kindly furnish the details? The meeting was held at the old Adolphustown court house, the first
court house, by the way, in the Midland district – on the 18th of
April 1830. Rev. William Ryerson who was then a
young Methodist preacher on the Bay of Quinte circuit, seems to have been the
leading spirit. He is reported to have “stated the object of the meeting and
gave an appropriate address.” Samuel Dorland was the chairman. He was
afterwards popularly known as Col. Dorland, as he was for many years, until
his death, colonel of the militia of that district. He was a son of Thomas
Dorland, the first member of Parliament elected for the Midland district.
Both father and son lived and died in Adolphustown. After the address it was resolved “that the meeting form themselves
into a society, called the Adolphustown Temperance Society.” THE PLEDGE was given as follows: “We severally agree that we will entirely abstain
from the use of ardent spirits, except as an article of medicine. We will not
furnish them to our friends as an article of entertainment,
nor to persons in our employ as an article of refreshment, and in all
suitable ways discountenance their use in the community.” This pledge did not include wine and beer –fermented and malt liquors –
which were then considered temperance drinks. It was not until six or seven
years after that time that the teetotal pledge was adopted, making a clean
sweep of all intoxicants. When that step was taken several of the early
members halted in disgust feeling that “they had gone to a ridiculous
extreme.” Even such a pledge, however, required a good deal of moral courage
when ardent spirits were almost universally used as articles of hospitality
and almost necessary refreshments especially to hard working men. Few
well-to-do men in Adolphustown at that time were without a generous supply of
spirits, in some form, in the house, and every visitor who was “treated with
consideration” was freely supplied. THE OFFICERS were named as follows, and they were all well-known and respected
citizens of the township: President – Willet Casey, Esq. Vice-president – Dr. HiramWeeks. 2nd Vice Pres. – Mr. Lazarus Gilbert. Secretary – Charles B. Gilbert. Corresponding committee – Peter V. Dorland, Joseph B. Allison, Samuel
Dorland, A. Campbell and Burger Hicks, Esqs;
Messrs. H. Valleau, Wm. Roblin, R. Peterson and J. McFee. Willet Casey, the president, was one of the original U.E. Loyalist
settlers, who owned an excellent farm near the old court house. He was a man
of much energy and intelligence and became probably the largest land-owner in
the township, owning at one time some 20,000 acres. He was the second
representative of the district to Parliament. He was father of Col. Samuel
Casey, afterwards elected to Parliament in 1838, and grandfather of Mrs.
Thomas Wilson, now of Kingston. Dr. Hiram Weeks was a son-in-law of Willet
Casey, and also lived on a farm on the Bay of Quinte, near the court house.
He was a man of ability, but died quite young. Lazarus Gilbert was next neighbor to Dr. Weeks and Willet Casey. He
was a Methodist exhorter and died at a ripe old age. Charles B. Gilbert was a
son of Lazarus and a man of more than ordinary intelligence. He afterwards
moved to Prince Edward county, where he spent his days. Peter V. Dorland was a son of Thomas Dorland, to whom reference has
been made. He lived and died on the homestead nearly opposite the Stone
Mills. Joseph B. Allison was the father of D.W. Allison, M.P., of
Adolphustown. He was a man of excellent ability and highly respected. He was
a local preacher in the Methodist church and for years
school superintendent for the township. He died a few years ago, the last
survivor of this list. Archibald Campbell lived north of Hay Bay in the township and was the
father of the late Alexander Campbell Esq., of Napanee. Burger Huyck also
lived north of Hay Bay and was next neighbor to A. Campbell. Helebront Valleau was near
neighbor to B. Huyck. These last three were all buried in the said burial
ground in North Adolphustown. They all lived to be hale old men. William Roblin lived south of Hay Bay and was the father of the late
David Roblin who for years represented Lennox and Addington in Parliament. R.
Peterson lived a mile east of the old Adolphustown Methodist church, next to
the Platt farm. His grandson resides there yet. J. McFee
was not a native of the township, though he resided in it for years on what
is now a part of the Platt farm. He afterwards moved to Newburgh and died there. These men, with the exception of Dr. Weeks, all lived to a great age
and all were prosperous, healthy and active men. How many years they remained
identified with that society I do not know but all were temperate men to
their dying day. One of the resolutions adopted at the meeting read as follows: “That the
committee and officers of the society, in their efforts to suppress intemperance,
be requested to enquire if any evils exist with respect to intemperance in
any of the public houses, that they may take such measures as they may judge
most efficient to correct the evils.” As temperance then meant merely
temperate drinking – of fermented and malt liquors – and the pledge did not
prohibit the selling there was no great gulf between the public house and
that temperance society. There were at least two public houses in the village
then and I rather think that one of the keepers belonged to the society. One
of them at a later day was an official member of the Methodist church, and
not much was said of the inconsistency of it either. The amount of drinking
and drunkenness, however, at one of these houses, if not at both, was large
and more than one of the descendents of some of these worthy men found early
graves in the churchyard near by from habits
contracted in them. There is good reason to believe, however, that good
results of the influence of that early society have been handed down to each
generation since. THOMAS W. CASEY. Napanee, Aug. 14th, 1891 |
