OCR Output

TOWNSHIP OF BASTARD (Continued. )

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&| Lot. | Name of Grantee. | Part of Lot. | 5 [Date of Patent.
U <
21 |John Farnum.....- eel All 117|May 17th, 1802
22 |Abel Stevens, Sr...... All 200|May 17th, 1802
2
ri Abel Stevens. ........ | All 40o|June 30th, 1801
2
a James Henderson.. .. > Pt 100| Noy. 17th, 1808
10} I |Moses Rose......... All 200/Nov. Ist, 1820
6 |Jane Wiltse ..... ... All 200] Aug. 20th, 1808
7 |Samuel Sheldon...... All 200/June 30th, 1801
S Uriah Stevens........ All 200! May 17th, 1802
Io" |Abel Stevens, Sr...... All 200/May 17th, 1802
11-12) Abel Stevens. ....... All 300|)June 30th, 1801
13 |Daniel Patterson...... All 200/April 7th, 1817
17. |David Henderson. . . . . S Pt 50|May 20th, 1801
19-20] William Jones . . . . . . . . All 200/April 3rd, 1817
22 |Nicholas Mattice..... All 194|June 22nd, 1812
ae. iissac Stevens........ All 200/May 17th, 1802
24 ifabez Eaton...,...... All 200| Dec. 14th, 1816
25 |David Henderson..... All 200/May 20th, 1801
29 |James Henderson..... N Pt 100} Nov. 17th, 1808

The settlement of the Township of Bastard was
entrusted to Elder Abel Stevens, by the Governor.
For some time Elder Stevens met with almost in¬
superable difficulties, doing the work of clearing
with his own hands. When the task was assigned
to him, he started from Little York on foot, without
provisions, depending upon his gun for a supply of
food. Arriving at Brockville, he took a rest and
then proceeded to Wiltse-Town, in Yonge, where he
established his headquarters with the late William
Parish. Securing a supply of provisions and an axe,
he started for the new township. Having the privi¬
lege of taking any lot, he concluded, after making
an examination, to settle in Plum Hollow, where he
made the first clearing, but the original farm was
soon after given to some of his old neighbors from
Vermont. It is related of the Elder that upon
several occasions, after his sons had made a small
clearing, he caused them to make a gift of the place
to parties who wished to locate. Plum Hollow soon
became a small settlement, the nearest neighbors re¬
siding in Wiltse-Town. After Benoni Wiltse built
his mill in Yonge, Betsey Stevens, a girl of sixteen,
took a bag of corn before her on a horse and started
for the mill, by a blazed path through the woods.
She was compelled to wait until twelve o'clock at
night before the corn was ground, when she started
back on her lonely ride ; ere she had proceeded far,
a pack of wolves took up the trail and came on in
hot pursuit, gnashing their teeth and making the
forest hideous with their cries. The brave girl
pressed forward, her horse on the gallop, though
upon several occasions the wolves were so near at
hand that she could see their eyes gleam in the
darkness. It was a ride for life, but Betsey Stevens
was a daughter worthy of a Canadian pioneer, and
ere the clock chimed another hour, rode up to her

father’s door, not only safe herself but with the bag
16

of meal with which she had set out. The son of
Elder Stevens (Abel) was with his father an elder of
the Baptist Church.

Among the early settlers of the Township were

Arvin, Sheldon, Lyman and Ichabod Stoddard ;

~~
Ami and Barnabas Chipman ; Truman and Lyman

Beach.
The Township Clerk has in his possession an in- ——

teresting book of record, which dates back to 1800.

At that time any settler who wished to do so, was

permitted to write in the book facts bearing upon

the public interest. Part of the work was devoted

to family records, another portion being set apart

for the registration of sheep marks.

example :—

We give an

“ Arvin Stoddard, your mark is two slits in the
right ear.”

At one time the Township annual meeting passed
a resolution for the purpose of abolishing “ horse
racing” by making the penalty not less than one

TOWNSHIP COUNCIL FOR 1851.

Philo Hicock, Thomas Rodgers, S. S. Scovil,
Matthew Denny and Alexander Elliott.
The following is a summary of the assessment of
Bastard and Burgess for the year 1877 :—
Number of persons assessed, 957.
Number of acres assessed, 46,745.
Number of acres cleared, 31,400.
Value of real property, $806,775.
Value of personal property, $40,065.
Amount of real and personal property, $846,840.
Taxes imposed by Municipality, $5,356.
Taxes imposed by Counties, $2,144.
Expenditure for roads and bridges, $291.
Although the Township was originally settled by
United Empire Loyalists, principally from Vermont
and Connecticut, a large number of Irish Emigrants
ina few years came in, taking possession principally
of the northern and eastern parts of the Township.
In 1837, a number of Mormon missionaries entered
the municipality and held meetings, at which they
secured a great many converts. The converts were

First, U. E. Loyalists and
their descendants, who had become disgusted with
the government of the country.

drawn from two classes.

Second, ignorant
and poor people who were led to believe that they

would better their condition by becoming followers
of Joe Smith.

EARLY SETTLERS.
Among the early settlers were :— | le
Elder Nichols (Baptist), settled near Beverly Lake, “oe 3

Beverly (Delta), named after John Beverly Robinson, Sie, 9s
who presented the English Church with a very eid ~ Ti ia ri