UPPER-CANADA-L Archives
Archiver > UPPER-CANADA > 2004-10 > 1097696304
From: Bill Martin <>
Subject: Re: Size and number of buildings making up a "typical" Ontario farmc.1835?
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 15:38:34 -0400
References: <200410131002.i9DA2ME7004634@lists8.rootsweb.com>
In-Reply-To: <200410131002.i9DA2ME7004634@lists8.rootsweb.com>
Hi Peter;
On my site are 2 books on the subject of what settlers should be
prepared to do when they emigrated to 'The Canadas'.
The first is more detailed, and closer to the year your interested in,
published in 1833. The second was publ. in 1822. Both are book length
so offer lots of detail and advice. Fasconating reading if you want
those details. Bill.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wjmartin/emigrant.htm
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wjmartin/emig1822.htm
>
> Subject:
> Size and number of buildings making up a "typical" Ontario farm c.1835?
> From:
> Peter Smith <>
> Date:
> Tue, 12 Oct 2004 05:30:20 -0400 (EDT)
> To:
>
>
>
>My two Scottish great great grandfathers (James Smith of Aberdeen, and James Findlay of New Machar) emigrated to Canada in 1835 and 1836 respectively, and settled quite close to each other, in the vicinity of Elora Ontario. While I don't have much in the way of details of the living quarters the two families would have occupied, I do have an accurate description of those of three sons of James Findlay, who left Ontario for Manitoba in 1879 to take advantage of grants of free land, and who had to show they had fulfilled the necessary conditions for such grants. Each of James' sons families lived in a log house measuring typically 16 x 20 feet, next to a stable 20 x 20 feet and a granary 16 x 20 feet, also made from hewn logs. I would be surprised if such accomodation was much different from that in which they had grown up in Ontario. Is this a reasonable assumption?
>
>James Smith was fairly well off and bought his land (he paid a bit more than a pound per acre), while James Findlay lived for several years on land owned by a son, Jasper T. Gilkison, of the founder of Elora, Capt. William Gilkison. Would this ownership of the land have made a big difference in the size of buildings that would have been erected?
>
>When farmers were tenants in Ontario, would they have (in the early years at least) perhaps paid some or all of their rent by clearing the land (detailed census and assessment records for Elora available in the Ontario Archives for the period 1837-1840 show that James Findlay was able to clear about 2 acres per year - he occupied 42 acres in all)?
>
>James Findlay was able to accumulate enough money to buy land of his own after 10 years, but whether he left of his own accord or was forced to move (the founding of the town of Salem, more or less on his doorstep, certainly increased the value of the land he occupied) I have no idea.
>
>
>
>
Regards, Bill Martin, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
http://my.tbaytel.net/bmartin/
This thread: