Page 159 [159]
foie ie ee s sztem = Fo isc a mál sébs i = i See
End of Brockville. Truelove Butler and Bartho¬
lomew Karley-came in the same boat with Lemon,
and settled upon adjoining land, now within the
limits of. Brockville. Major Lemon says that the
first grave yard in Brockville was situated on the
spot occupied by the front yard of the residence of
R. P. Cooke, Esq. In 1812, Lemon learned the
blacksmith business with a man named Peter
Seeley. Seeley came from Connecticut with a com¬
pany bound for the Bay of Quinte. Enoch Knowlton
and Stephen Smith were guides forthe party. At
that time, the last settlement in the State of New
York was Rome ; from thence the path was marked
by blazed trees to Gravelly Point (Cape Vincent.)
A raft was constructed at Gravelly Point, upon
which they floated to Kingston, from which they
proceeded to the Bay, with the exception of
Knowlton, Seeley and Smith, who came down the
St. Lawrence on asmall raft. They took on board a
small quantity of provisions, sufficient, as they
thought, to supply their wants until they reached
Cole’s Ferry, where there was a settlement. In con¬
provisions were exhausted and they were compelled
to subsist for three days upon wintergreen berries,
which they found on a small island. Seeley always
regarded the discovery of the berries as a special
mark of divine providence, as it was at a season of
the year when berries of that kind are never known
to be ripe. The party reached Cole’s Ferry in the
night and had only sufficient strength remaining to
make their presence known by cries. Fortunately
they were heard. A canoe came out and took them
to the shore, where they were cared for until they re¬
covered. Knowlton moved to Bastard. Seeley and
CalebSeaman commenced the manufacture of scythes
near the Tin Cap. Major Lemon is in (1878) en¬
gaged in the manufacture of ploughs, claiming to be
the oldest plough maker in the Dominion. In 1812,
he was engaged upon the public works in Kingston,
being a member of the militia, from which he re¬
tired a few years since with the rank of major, draw¬
ing a pension for a wound received in 1837.
RICHARD HOLMES.
Richard Holmes was born in the United States in
1787. He came to Canada with his father, in 1799.
Remaining near Maitland fer one year, the next
season they removed to the Township of Yonge,
settling in the vicinity of Lake Loyada.. He was
one of the first settlers in the Township of Kitley.
Possessing a fair knowledge of municipal law, for
many years he acted as legal. adviser and convey¬
ancer for a large section of the country. Mr.
Holmes says that the first actual settlers of Kitley
were some Irish families, who located near Toledo
—Gideon Leehy and his father settling on the Ist
Concession in 1806. Mr. Leehy was born in the
first hour of the Nineteenth Century; when he
came to Kitley, from Merrickville, he was but six
years of age. According to Mr. Holmes, there were
but thirty houses in the Township in 181o.
HIRAM BUKER.
Mr. Buker was born in Augusta, June 6th, 1817.
His father, Taylor Buker, was born October 4th,
1795, in the State of Vermont, removing to Augusta
in 1797, where his parents settled. Taylor Buker
died in Oxford, in 1865, his wife, Lucy Bishop,
surviving until 1868, dying at the age of 73. The
Bishops were U. E. Loyalists from Connecticut, and
among the earliest settlers in Grenville. The wife
of Taylor bore him eleven children, six of whom yet
survive, of whom Hiram is the eldest.
David Buker, born in Glasgow in 1745, was a sea
captain, who sailed to America, left his ship at
Boston, and married, settling in Vermont. After
the close of the war of 1776, he removed to
Canada. His family consisted of five children, who
arrived at the age of maturity. David died in 1824,
his wife dying in 1828.
Hiram Buker married in October, 1838, a daughter
of James Bishop, of Augusta; she died in January,
1860, having borne her husband sevenchildren. Mr.
Buker married for his second wife Rosanna, daugh¬
ter of Benjamin Thackaberry, Elizabethtown. By
his second wife he has had one child. Taylor Buker
(son of Hiram) resides at Bishop’s Mills; Hiram,
saw-mill on Lot No. 19, in the 5th Concession of
Augusta. In 1846, he removed to his present loca¬
tion in the 7th Concession of Wolford, where he
owns afarm of 950 acres. For many years he has
been actively engaged in farming and the lumber
business. His residence is considered one of the
most substantial in the United Counties, and is
finished with all the modern improvements... (See
illustration.)
THE WRIGHT FAMILY.
I. The Wright family traces its geneaology back
for seven generations, commencing the record with
lived at Springfield, Massachusetts, from 1655 to 1725.
His monument is in an excellent state of preservation.
He married December rst, 1659, Martha Ritcherel,
by whom he had thirteen children; three died
young, the remainder married and settled near at
hand. From this prolific ancestor the stream of life