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THE
FIRST SETTLERS OF UPPER CANADA One of the unexpected outcomes
of the Revolutionary War was the effective settlement of what afterwards
became known as Upper Canada. Up to that time the greater part of this rich
territory was a wilderness, to which the white man had attached little value,
except in respect to the part it played, through its chain of forts, in
giving access to the great fur-producing tracts of the interior of the
continent. Although the French governors had frequently advocated the
introduction of settlers into this part of Canada, with a view to
establishing the supremacy of France more securely upon the Great Lakes, very
little had been accomplished in that direction. The net result was a few
military posts along the border and a French settlement in the neighbourhood
of Detroit. The entire European population grouped about a few centres did
not exceed 2,000. Throughout the rest of this territory, where now we find
busy towns, thriving villages, and well-equipped farms, one might have
travelled for weeks without meeting a human being, save, perhaps, a solitary
trapper, with a small bundle of peltries upon his back. That the rich farm lands of what
is now the banner province of Canada were apparently so long overlooked might
appear strange, if we do not bear in mind that there was no shortage of
territory well adapted to agricultural purposes on the Atlantic seaboard and
on the lower St. Lawrence. It must also be remembered that the fur trade had
for nearly two centuries held first place in the regard of the governing
bodies of Canada, and that little care was bestowed upon the agricultural
possibilities of the lands bordering upon the Upper St. Lawrence and the
Great Lakes. The manner in which the settlements
were begun was more remarkable than the long delay in beginning them. In most
instances, new territories have been opened up for settlement by a few hardy
pioneers, whose numbers were added to, year after year; but here we have a
whole colony, coming in as one body, taking up all the desirable lands in the
front concessions of a score of townships. The Loyalists were above the
ordinary type of emigrants who, too frequently, having made a failure of life
in their native surroundings, seek other fields in which to begin anew their
struggle for existence. When the thirteen British colonies declared their
independence, there were many thousands of their best citizens, men of means
and influence, who looked upon the British flag as their best safe-guard of
freedom and justice, and they declined to take up arms against their
Motherland. Their loyalty brought down upon their heads the wrath of the
leaders of the revolutionary movement. Their property was confiscated, some
were thrown into prison, and, in a few instances, the death penalty was
inflicted, for no other offence than their allegiance to the British Crown.
In the face of such threatened dangers thousands rallied to the standard of
the king, and many more, who for various reasons, did not enlist in the army,
made no secret of their loyalty to their sovereign. When hostilities were
concluded, the persecutions still continued, and the Loyalists found
themselves little better than outcasts from their own homes. Giving up all
hope of regaining their property or receiving compensation for their losses,
they set about to seek new homes under the flag for which they had sacrificed
so much. Thousands went to England, many more thousands emigrated to the
British West Indies, Nova Scotia, and what is now New Brunswick, and large
numbers were attracted to the rich farm lands in that territory which
was afterwards known as Upper
Canada. In the autumn of 1783 a great
body of emigrants sailed from New York, and, coming around through the Gulf
of St. Lawrence, wintered at Sorel, in the present province of Quebec. In the
following June they proceeded by means of flat-bottomed boats, to the land
provided for them. By far the greater number settled in the new townships
laid out under instructions from Governor Haldimand, on the St. Lawrence, and
as far west as the head of the Bay of Quinte. Only a few went farther west
and settled in the neighbourhood of Niagara and Detroit. During the next four years
straggling bands of one or more families came by different routes to share
the fortunes of the first great army of settlers, and the strictest care was
exercised by the authorities to see that none but those who had demonstrated
their loyalty to the British cause were admitted to the new settlements. The appellation "United
Empire Loyalist" was not conferred indiscriminately upon all applicants,
but was a "Mark of Honour" bestowed only upon those who had taken
their stand for the unity of the Empire, and who had allied themselves with
the Royalists before the Treaty of Separation in 1783. The terms of the
proclamation creating this new Canadian aristocracy were broad enough to
embrace practically all of the first settlers of 1784, and those who arrived
during the succeeding four years. In 1788 representations were
made to the governor, Lord Dorchester, that there were across the border many
relatives of the Loyalists, and other persons, who, although they had not
joined the royal standard, were favourably disposed towards the British. With
the view of securing a further body of desirable settlers, Lord Dorchester
gave instructions that all applicants, who upon examination proved to be
unexceptionable in their loyalty and good character, should be given
certificates of location for lots of not more than two hundred acres to each;
but upon the express condition that they should become bona fide
settlers. Never were the portals of a new settlement more scrupulously
guarded. None but the strong and determined would in any event venture north
to hew out a home in the forest, and the government took good care that only
those who were likely to become good citizens were admitted. When, by the Constitutional Act
of 1791, the separate provinces of Upper and Lower Canada were created, the
lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe, threw the gate wide
open and issued a proclamation inviting emigrants to enter the new province,
without any adequate provision for enquiring into their loyalty of character.
Among those responding to the governor's invitation were some who had
actually borne arms against the king. Many of the Loyalists resented this
lack of discrimination and complained that the favours, which should have
been reserved for those only who had remained faithful in their allegiance to
the king, were being showered upon his enemies. *Life and Letters of the
Honourable Richard Cartwright, page 93. These criticisms upon the
character of the new-comers were, no doubt, well merited in some cases; but,
whatever views they may have entertained during the stormy days of the
revolution, they could have had only one object in coming to Canada, and that
was to better their condition. They did not need to be told that their
interests were identical with those of the earlier settlers who had entered
the country at a time when it was more difficult to gain admission. They were
not entitled to receive the "Mark of Honour", but before many years
had passed all differences had been forgotten and they and the Loyalists
worked together for the common good. The main body of Loyalists, the
settlers of 1784, to the number of about ten thousand, came in organized
band, some being remnants of the battalions that had been engaged in the war,
and, in some cases, they were under the command of the same officers whom
they had followed while upon active service. They, however, were not military
organizations in the sense in which we view the term to-day; they were not
fighting machines, but were bent upon a peaceful mission. In anticipation of
their coming, the government surveyors had been busy for months in laying out
the townships. The newcomers were experienced farmers, and understood well
the advantages of a home upon the shores of a body of fresh water. In a
country, where as yet there were no roads, the water afforded an easy means
of communication by boats in the summer, and by sleds upon the ice in winter.
They also looked forward to the future, when their flocks and herds,
pasturing upon the cleared lands, could find abundance of water to drink
without leaving their enclosures. Many of them had previously lived near to
the bays, lakes, and rivers of their native States, and had learned to love
the companionship of the water. The longer one has lived upon
the banks of a stream of or shores of a bay, the more loath is one to live
amid surroundings of a different character. There is a charm about the
presence of the water which baffles any effort to describe it. There is a
sublime majesty about a mountain, a weird loneliness about a desert, and
appealing mystery about a prairie, but a body of water, particularly a small
navigable one, seems to comport with all one's moods. It would have been difficult to
convince some of our pious and sainted grandmothers that our lakes, bays, and
rivers did not leave their moral effect upon those who lived along their
shores. Who is so dead to the influences of his surroundings that he has not
stood spell-bound upon the shore as the boisterous waves broke with an angry
roar at his feet? No sooner has one wave spent its energy than another, with
a fury as relentless, rushes madly forward, followed by countless others; and
yet there is no apparent loss of power. Or who could sit unmoved, upon a
moonlight night, and look upon the silver sheen upon the placid bosom of the
water, and not feel the inspiring presence of that grand object lesson of
"Peace! Perfect Peace!"? Why should it not be a part of the divine
plan of the Creator to mould our characters by these evidences of His power
and omnipresence? Chapter
2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter
5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7
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