Page 361 [361]
~~ Hon. Charles Jones purchased from Mr. Buell an
a . acre of land on the north side of King Street, op¬
posite the tavern, erecting a merchant’s shop and
storehouse thereon, about the year 1805, in which
he and his brother-in-law, the late John Stuart,
carried on business for several years. About the
year 1808, Mr. Jones erected on the same parcel of
land the frst two-story frame building, where he
continued to reside until his death. The building
° now stands on George Street, where it was removed
by Messrs. Comstock and Halladay.
a Mr. A. N. Buell relates that about the year 1811, a
contention arose between Mr. Buell and Mr. Jones
as to the name by which the village should be
known, each wishing the name to be taken from
the Christian name of the respective contestants,
Mr. Jones insisting upon Charlestown and Mr. Buell
claiming Williamstown. General Brock, to whom
the matter was referred, settled the question by
giving it the name Brockville.*
About the year 1790, Daniel Jones, Esq., purchased
the west half of Lot No. 12, in the rst Concession of
Elizabethtown, and erected a saw and flouring mill
at Jones’ Creek. Mr. Buell also built a flouring mill
on the znd Concession of Elizabethtown, about the
year 1795.
A small grove of oak trees was left standing on
the land now occupied by James Smart’s Novelty
Works, the bay to the east having a beautiful sandy
down the river landed at the bay for many years,
| while the point was a general camp-ground for the
Indians. Long after the settlement of Mr. Buell,
| the nights were frequently made hideous by Indian
| wer dances on the point. The Indians had dis¬
E | covered, about a mile west of the Court House, a
sloping rock in which appeared a track made
apparently by indenture in the rock of the foot
of a man with a moccasin on. This rock became
known as the Devil's Rock. About sixty rods west
from the Devil’s Rock, and a little back from the
river, is a granite rock, containing a round hole
about three feet in diameter, and havipg a depth
of about ten feet.
The first school in Brockville was opened in part
of the residence of Mr. Buell, by Joseph Pyle. This
ancient schoolmaster was strongly adverse to female
society, and, rather than meet a woman in the road,
would clamber over the fence, and make a circuit
through the fields. His successor was Mr. Sylvester
Miller, who continued to teach until 1812. The
third teacher was an Indian named Paul J. Gill.
He had been educated at Dartmouth College.—
which eventually compelled the Indian to retire.
_ *Nore,— Some discrepancy exists between this and other
acccyuats. —AUTHOR, |
During the War of 1812, flank companies were
stationed along the frontier. The first one in
Brockville was under the command of Captain
Reuben Sherwood, and many of the men were
billeted among the inhabitants. The guard-house
of Captain Sherwood’s company was a block house
situated a little west of Mr. Buell’s residence. In
the summer of the first year of the war occurred
the cannonade between the British war vessels, the
Earl of Motra and the Duke of Gloucester, on the
one part, and the American schooner, /u//a, on the
other. The British vessels were anchored a little
west of the Three Sister Islands, the /u//a just
below Big Island, west of the town. Though the
battle lasted several hours, nor damage was done.
During the close of the war, the 57th Regiment was
stationed in Brockville.
About the year 1820, the introductory address for
the BROCKVILLE RECORDER was written by Andrew
Norton Buell, Esq., the publisher being Mr. —
Beach. About two years after, it passed into the
hands of William Buell, Jr.
CHAB EMKE
MISCELLANEOUS.
ROBERT JOHNSTON.
Mr. Johnston is the son of James Johnston, who
emigrated to Canada from Ireland in 1824, settling
in Augusta, on Lot No. 5, in the 6th Concession.—
His wife was a sister of the Rev. Dr. Boyd, of
Prescott. James Johnston died in 1858.
Robert was born in Augusta in 1825, and married,
in 1861, Mary, daughter of Robert Williamson. He
resides on the homestead, consisting of 150 acres.—
At an early age, he entered upon extensive contracts
for public works, acting as foreman for the late
George Weir, superintending works on the northern
Railway, at Lake Champlain, in Prescott, at Port
Hope Harbor, and also the Esplanade at Toronto,
He has for six years been a member of the Municipal
Council for Augusta, five of which he has been a
representative in the Counties’ Council. " His resi¬
dence is at Roebuck P O.; see illustration, page 194.
HENRY PALMER.
The subject of this sketch is the son of Reuben
Palmer, who was born in Vermont, and emigrated
to Canada at a very early date, settling first at
Farmersville, and afterwards removing to Plum
Hollow, where he raised a family of nine children,
his wife being Diadana Birdsell. He was widely
known as a great chopper.
He has be@n thrice married. Two of his sons are