Conversations - 8th instalment - The early Scottish Settlers to Upper Canada and their influence here in Canada
8th instalment, The Mills – by Nancy Dupuis, Volunteer Writer
My sources of information for this piece:
The Robertsons of Ramsay by Marilyn Snedden as well as a great sit-down chat with Ron Robertson, a 5th generation descendant of John Robertson coming to Canada in 1821;
John Robertson – Jane Kyle (7 children)
William Robertson – Mary Dow (5 children)
James Robertson – Sarah Scott (9 children)
W.H. Robertson – Emily Rae (4 children)
Harold Robertson – Louise Kellough (4 children)
Ronald Robertson – Jean Coyles (3 children)
- Dale (3 girls), Keith (2 boys), Brent (1 girl)
The Robertsons of Ramsay covers the story of John Robertson in his military life as a British soldier fighting in the Napoleonic Wars and his wife Janet Kyle who stayed in Glasgow raising their three children until they left the terrible conditions there in 1821 for the unknown risks in the New World.
Returning to Glasgow in 1806, the economy slowing with the end of the Wars, rural and urban tradesman alike fell on hard times throughout Scotland and most of England. There were far too many tradesmen – tailors, carpenters, coopers, wheelwrights, blacksmiths for the work available. The over-populated weaver community was particularly hard hit. In the city, those fortunate enough to have jobs in the factories now often found that their wives and children now had to have assembly line work top up the total wages necessary for their family’s subsistence. The now availability of spouses and children for jobs previously only done by men drove wage levels downward even more. People carried their furniture and clothes to pawnbrokers who were overcome with the numbers of destitute people and indeed were in distress themselves. Can one imagine in this day and time in 2022 of not being able to attend church because of want of clothes?
Not surprisingly, emigration to the colonies was seen as a means to relieve the most distressed families and to diffuse a most dangerous situation. Thus, the formation of emigration societies with the Parliament of the Day helping to raise money assisting these people to leave Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire for the new settlements of Upper Canada.
A timeline: John Robertson, his wife Jane Kyle, their children Margaret, John and William sailed on May 1, 1821 on the “David of London” part of the 2nd Division of the Abercrombie Society. They were accompanied by Jane Kyle’s mother and step-father, Mr. and Mrs. John Young.
Enduring rough storms at sea for the first nine days of the voyage – the want of food and the storm itself rendered all very weak. Walking on deck was impossible. They were compelled to eat a mix of meal and molasses until better days were to come. With nearly 400 people on the steamboat drenched by a storm, they remained with the wet clothes till they dried on their backs. Access to their dry clothes was impossible as they were all below in the hold of the ship in the early days of their voyage across the ocean. They arrived in Quebec on the 25th of June, inspected by a surgeon and were then put through a custom-house.
Wagons took them to La Chine, ten miles up the St Lawrence arriving on June 28th from Montreal where 15 flat bottomed boats then carried 366 people towards the rapids of the St. Lawrence River. The rapids ran with such force that sometimes two horses would be used to haul the boats. Travelling with great hardship through Prescott, Perth, and on to New Lanark, they would find lodging if they could in a farmer’s house where they would sleep by the fire in an attempt to dry out their wet clothes and bedding from the never-ending rain.
So many people crammed in a small ship, not meant for passengers, the dangers of the storms on the North Atlantic, the terrible road conditions from Brockville to Lanark and then to find your home has to be built in a field of rocks or in a forest. Formidable challenges indeed for a weaver with only military experience as an asset.
Clearing the huge pine trees was no easy task for inexperienced men, but it had to be done to build a log cabin to shelter the family before the snows of November. The earliest cabins were 16 x 20 with chinking between the logs to keep out the snow but it still must have been chilly on winter nights.
Mention is made of the women and the hardships they endured coming to this new country – doing all their cooking with fireplaces and then stoves even in the hottest days of summer, preserving their vegetables in a root cellar, carrying water from the well, no indoor plumbing, bearing child after child usually ever year or two.
The British Government finally decided to recognize the service of the ordinary fighting men in the Nap Wars by awarding a General Service Medal to those who were still living and able to apply to receive it. The medal had the personal touch of the recipient’s name and regiment inscribed on the edge of the medal.
A medal was awarded to John Robertson, 1786-1867 for his service in the Nap Wars.
The Robertson book shows images of the reverse side of the medal, the box that held the medal, the envelope in which the medal was mailed, and the accompanying letter that was folded inside the box.
The British Government in worrying that the United States might try to expand northwards, formed the nucleus of the militia units to be ready in the event of an attack. John Robertson served his country as part of this local militia, with John living to see Canada become a country under Confederation. John was the first Reeve of Ramsay Township. John died in 1867 and is buried in the family cemetery on the homestead with his wife and family. His legacy at his death included five living children, 39 grandchildren and many great grandchildren.
A discussion with Ron Robertson left me privy to a beautiful old weathered drawing by Ken Robertson of the family tree, which appears to have been so carefully written with a fountain pen perhaps;
John Robertson’s obituary in the Carleton Place Herald, July 17, 1867 read as follows:
Robertson, John
At his residence, 1st con Ramsay, John Robertson Esq in the 83rd year of his age. He was a native of Glasgow, Scotland and emigrated to this country in the year 1821, as one of the Lanark Society settlers, located on the lot where his remains now rest, together with his wife and several other branches of his family. Mr. Robertson in early life served his country as soldier in the 79th Regiment or Southern Highlanders, during the Penisular War, under the Duke of Wellington, was discharged on the reduction of the army in the year 1817 or 1818, having been present at many hard-fought battles – for which he received her Majesty’s Silver Medal, bearing the high honor of memorials of eight different battles, in which he had been engaged.
Mr. Robertson was highly and justly respected by all who knew him; he always took a lively interest in public, as well as local affairs; he was the first Reeve in the Township of Ramsay, under the Municipal law. His funeral was attended by a great concourse of people, conspicuous were the few remaining settlers who accompanied the deceased to his resting place, all of whom must have reached the ‘three score and ten’, and in the manner ere long must be borne to the final resting place.
The final resting place of John Robertson, Jane Kyle, their children and three generations of descendants is located on the corner of Lot 15 west, Concession 9, Ramsay Township – the 100-acre lot received as part of the Lanark Society Settlers land allocation in 1821, John Robertson had received.
I had goosebumps as Ron Robertson, himself a Reeve of Ramsay Township in the years 1977-1979, spoke of how he had taken his son and a grandchild to the Auld Kirk cemetery near Almonte one day and pointed out they were three generations standing here looking at the gravesites of three generations before them. Three more generations of Robertsons before them are buried at the Robertson-Kellough Cemetery mentioned above. John Robertson and Jane Kyle had also lost a child while at sea. Settled on the 1st concession in Lanark Township near Union Hall, the Robertson Kellough Cemetery is located on County Rd 16 – the cemetery on a part of the homeland.
Ron spoke of how some 2nd generations of the Robertsons had went west to farm (bush camps in and near Powell River, BC. and became involved in the pulp and paper industry). Ron also mentioned barns in the day were usually built in the centre of the property, less distance to be travelled when bringing in the hay. Ron, himself had 3 farms over the years raising Simmental beef cattle, Holstein dairy cows, pigs and hens; Ron loved the farm life. He later dabbled as he called it in Robertson Motors, his own mechanic shop in Almonte, Ontario which he owned for 7 years.
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Thank you, Ron for sharing your time and your story with me; it is wonderful to have an insight into the past of these folk coming across, and why they had left their homeland to make a new life here in Canada. Little can we imagine the hardships they further endured in making a life here in Canada.
Once more, please keep in mind, this instalment is my interpretation only of what I have heard and read – Nancy Dupuis, November 2022