Stranica 159 [159]
OCR
foie ie ee s sztem = Fo isc a mál sébs i = i See End of Brockville. Truelove Butler and Bartholomew 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 company 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 conprovisions 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 recovered. Knowlton moved to Bastard. Seeley and CalebSeaman commenced the manufacture of scythes near the Tin Cap. Major Lemon is in (1878) engaged 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 retired a few years since with the rank of major, drawing 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 conveyancer 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, daughter 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 location 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
