William Ashby (1819-899) Our Link to the Past

 William Archibald Ashby, born 2 Jul 1819, near what would become the village of Fallbrook, in Bathurst township, Lanark County was the only child of either Sgt. John Ashby and/or Susanna Andrews to survive to adulthood. His brother Joseph, and all thirteen half siblings died at birth or in early childhood. As one of the first children to be born and live in the wilds of the 10^th line of Bathurst township. His father, Sgt John Ashby, a former soldier, had spent almost 20 years as a soldier living in the Canadian wilderness before coming to the newly surveyed township of Bathurst. Through these years he gained fishing, hunting and other skills needed during the Canadian settlement years. For William, learning these skills was an integral part of childhood. Schools were not yet established, and the family was dependent on the land and nearby lake for food. Interaction with the local indigenous peoples was frequent. Many of the other early settlers were former soldiers. Colonel Playfair selected land just north of where the Ashby family was located and was quoted as saying that he “came far back from the frontier to avoid the horrors experienced during the war of 1812”. Col. Playfair was joined by others with military experience and would play a leadership role in the new community.

In 1820 and 1821 the military settlers were joined by a few settlers from England, Ireland and Scotland who came to Canada as part of the subsidized settler plan, but many more settlers arrived throughout the 1820’s as unassisted settlers. While the military settlers frequently had a knowledge of the life skills required to live in the forests, the new settlers often brought with them the knowledge and skills required to establish mills along the local waterways. During the 1830’s, many of the children of the first settlers ‘came of age’ and sought land elsewhere, perhaps leaving one family member to assist parents on the original land grant.

As in many communities, a United Empire Loyalist family, the Boltons, played a significant role in the development of the community. The mills that the settlers established brought other businesses to the community – stores, blacksmiths, hotels and others providing the skills required for a pioneer community to thrive. Together these businesses created the village of Bolton Mills, later to be known as Fallbrook. Gradually, roads replaced trails, connecting the community to others in the county. The nearby town of Perth, a supply depot, and the lumber camps to the north helped to place the growing community on a significant supply route.

William’s Youth

It is probable that William, like many of the youths of the community, spent winters working in the lumber camps, probably at the McLaren Depot near Snow Road or in one of the Gilles, Caldwell or Gilmour camps. Jean McGill, in A Pioneer History of the County of Lanark describes the lumbering along the rivers of Lanark thus:

“By the close of the war of 1812 lumbermen were already floating timber down the Ottawa River to Quebec, and by 1830 dams and timber slides were being constructed along tributaries of the Ottawa. By 1837 lumbermen had travelled as far as Lake Temiskaming. By the 1840s the small lumbermen were being supplanted by lumber “barons” – big operators with extensive timber holding and hundreds of lumberjacks in their employ.

“Anglo-Saxon and French-Canadian lumberjacks went in the autumn, some long before snowfall, to remote camps and spent the winter cutting and squaring timber, which they “drove” down the rivers in the spring. Food and supplies for the men and their horses or oxen were furnished by the operator. Because the camps required large quantities of food, managers preferred to have good land and good farmers near their timber limits where they might buy hay, oats, peas and potatoes more cheaply that they could import from the markets of Lower Canada.

A Pioneer History of the County of Lanark, 1968, Jean McGill, pg. 164

I imagine that William would have experienced some of the excitement described by Charles Mair, son of the merchant James Mair of Lanark village, when speaking of his experiences.

“I loved the river life, the great pineries in winter where the timber was felled and squared, the ‘drive’ in spring and the ‘rafting-up’ at Arne Prior or elsewhere, the timber being formed into cribs, securely withed and chained, and united into enormous rafts which were floated to Quebec, to berth at Wolfe’s Cove or Cape Rouge or some other shelter. They were there sold to timber dealers, broken up, and shipped to England in large sailing fleets which came for it twice or thrice a year.

The business had its excitements in these swift tributaries. Real peril there was in ‘jams’ at unslided chutes, where the timber piled up to a great height, and the lock-sticks had to be cut to set the jam going. This was dangerous volunteer work, and sometimes fatal. . .

To us youths, the river life, the canoeing, the chutes, the running of great rapids like the Carillon and the Long Sault, the latter more dangerous that the Grand Rapids of the Saskatchewan, which I have repeatedly run in a bark canoe, and very much longer; the braving of the fierce storms of Lake St. Peter, where many a ‘gallant raft’ was blown into single sticks, were the most enjoyable things imaginable.

               Jean McGill, p.169-170.

Tree vs Man: A brief history of the forests in Lanark County

May 8, 2012

reprinted on The Millstone, Wed, April 26, 2023

by Theresa Peluso

Stories of how our environment is changing abound in the media. We regularly read about the imminent extinction of animals such as Siberian tigers, giant pandas, and leatherback sea turtles as a result of direct (e.g., hunting) or indirect (e.g., loss of habitat) human activity. The issues may seem vague and distant, and don’t seem to affect us directly. For this reason, I’d like to look at Lanark County, and how our environment has changed over time. I myself have only lived here for the last seven years, but I’ve lived in the Ottawa-Carleton-Gatineau area for most of my 59 years.

According to the Lanark County Community Forest Management Plan 2011-2030 (published by the MVCA), prior to European settlement about 200 years ago, the area now known as Lanark County was covered in forests. There were white and red pines, maple, ash, elm, beech, basswood, black oak, ironwood, birch, hemlock, and cedar. Almost immediately, the settlers started logging, felling the best white and red pine, as well as oak, ash and elm for lumber. Beech and maple, which were then considered worthless, were piled into heaps and burned. In addition, the settlers would set fires to clear land, and squatters would cut and burn timber for potash. Fires were also caused by the debris from logging operations, and by the sparks and coals that flew off the train engines as they rumbled through the countryside. By 1861, Lavant Township (in the area now known as Lanark Highlands) ended up with less than 10% forest cover. And this was before the era of chainsaws, logging trucks and bulldozers!

Fortunately, by the early 1900s, this destruction slowed down. The forests that remained were harder to access, and destructive fires, both natural and man-made, were much less frequent. The focus changed from felling and squaring timber for England to sawing and shipping lumber (both hardwood and softwood) to the United States, Instead of just cutting down trees, the loggers spent more time processing the lumber, which created more jobs locally, and, I presume, reduced the rate of tree removal. Furthermore, in 1921 Ontario passed the Reforestation Act, which enabled the provincial government to promote reforestation, development, and management of lands held by the counties. As a result, by 1991, forest cover in Lanark County had increased to 58.1%. This is why most of the forests in this area today are between 80 and 120 years old. Despite the increased mechanization and efficiency of the lumber industry, numerous factors have reduced the demand for lumber, such as the rise in the Canadian dollar, greater global competition, legal issues (the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber dispute), and increasing energy and labour costs. . .

The Community During William’s Lifetime

The Ashby homestead and the Bolton mill were located adjacent to a major “timber highway” between Perth and the lumber shanties and camps to the north. In a short time, there were four mills adjacent to the source of waterpower – a shingle and sawmill, a gristmill, and a carding mill and a woolen mill. Because Fallbrook was located on a busy route between Perth and the lumber camps two hotels were added to house teamsters passing through and farmers visiting the mills.

A simple bridge crossed Bolton Creek, later known as the Fall River, at the foot of Bennett’s Lake and, even after a more substantial bridge was later built through the village of Fallbrook, it was used by people located north of the lake as a winter ice road for sleighs to avoid toll on the new bridge. Walter Cameron is quoted in The Blacksmith of Fallbrook: The Story of Walter Cameron, Audrey Armstrong, 1979,

“Bennett lake/Boulton creek are adjacent to the major timber highway of the Mississippi River made famous by exploits of the Caldwell and McLaren timber empires. Although not part of the water of the major timber drives, locating sawmills here provided an outlet for timber lying close to the lake watershed. These mills served local needs and products were shipped south to Perth and beyond. There were four mills built along this section of Bolton Creek, thanks to the skill of Alexander Wallace, the local mill wright. Walter Cameron, in 1979 is quoted as saying, that “Now a cow could drink the bit of water that flows through it (Boulton Creek)”. Pg. 17

On pg. 38 he notes that,

“A tremendous lot of wood used to go through here on the way to Perth; everybody in town still used wood for heating their houses and for cooking and baking and I can still remember the days when ther’d be a row of sleigh loads of wood that stretched half-a-mile and on both sides of the street (in Perth). . . One evening we stood on the bank up there and counted thirty -five teams and sleighs going empty past our place on their way home from Perth. . .”

The Bolton family were instrumental in establishing the mills that attracted people to the area and helped to establish the community now known as Fallbrook. The Boltons, a family of United Empire Loyalist, moved to Fallbrook in the mid-1820’s to establish mills. By the mid 1840’s the family spread to other areas and their property was purchased and operated by other. A few family members married in the community and remained nearby.

By 1851, waterpower no longer met the needs of the local mills. The census reports that:

“Alex Bain is the proprietor of a Grist Mill, which cost L300. Of waterpower, which only gave him a profit of L25. Employed 2. After paying all expenses. He is also owner of a Sawmill which cost L150. Of waterpower which produced two hundred thousand feet of Board. Employed 2. Owing to the scarcity of water last season, did not do so much as in former years.

“Andrew W. Playfair Junior, is Proprietor of a Sawmill which cost L150. It is of water power and produces about 150 thousand feet of Boards. Employs 2.

Carol Bennett and D.W. McCuaig, in their book In Search of Lanark, note that:

“At one point in history, Fallbrook had two hotels. One of these was built circa 1850 by Sandy Bain who was known locally as ‘the Heillan’ (Highland) man. It was a stopping place for drovers, including those who drew supplies for the McLarens’ lumbering camps. These supplies were bought at Perth and taken to the depot at Snow Road, via Fallbrook and McDonald’s Corners. Today this doesn’t seem like a long route, but long ago the roads were usually in poor shape or non-existent, and the trip necessitated overnight stops for the drovers, to say nothing of rest breaks for the horses. This hotel was in operation until approximately a century ago (1880). A larger hotel was built on the same road in the 1860’s. W. Smith was proprietor, and the local post office originated here.

As time went on the village included two general stores, a school, post office, blacksmith shop, cheese box and cheese factories, with iron and feldspar mines nearby.  In 1881, the Belden atlas records that Fallbrook contained a hotel, store, gristmill, sawmill, shingle mill and two carding mills. The Methodist church at Playfair served many of the local needs.

Education in the Community

Although Robert Mason established a school in Lanark Village and George Wilson taught from his home in Dalhousie township, there is little record of formal learning in the Fallbrook area until the 1860s when School Section #12 was opened. No doubt the mill owners, and others with means, would make arrangements for the education of their children. Those who were less fortunate were dependent on what could be learned in the home. 

In 1838 a report of Common Schools in the Bathurst District indicated 84 schools were in operation. 

An 1842 School Report for the Bathurst District indicated that early attempts for formal schooling in Bathurst township were beginning to take shape. “Bathurst Township: 13 school sections, all occupied except SS#12.

The first school to service the Fallbrook area was located at the foot of Bolton Hill on Bolton creek. 

In 1864, a new school, SS#12, Boulton’s Creek / Fallbrook was built on Concession 11, part of lot 21, high on the banks of Boulton Creek. It was a cedar log building, chinked by splints and plaster. The seats were made of butternut and placed around the wall. In 1899, there were enough students to require adding a room and hiring a second teacher. Walter Cameron, who attended this school about 1900 began school at the age of six and attended from April to June. He spoke of the seats being all filled up and there were benches along the wall. During his first year he sat on a bench holding his slate and never got writing anything on it  – the teacher was so busy!

from The Blacksmith of Fallbrook and Rural Schools of Bathurst Township, Archives Lanark, 2019.

William’s Land Holdings

Many of the lots along the 10^th concession of Bathurst, a bush trail for many years, were ‘bush lots’ which followed the southwest shore of Bennett Lake. The trees were cut during the early days of lumbering in the area and were slow to regrow. Today this is a cottage and tourist destination.

Land was often exchanged for small amounts of money or was abandoned. For a time, lots with access to waterpower were highly sought after. The Fall River and Boulton Creek are small streams with water supply that fluctuates greatly with the season. The demand for waterpower soon outstripped the capacity of these streams.

In 1851, William is recorded as owning 300 acres. Of that he records that 12 acres are improved; six acres are under crop and six acres are in pastured. The reality of the land is best described by Mr. C. Rankin who was commissioned in 1835 to report on the status of settlers located just a short distance north from the Ashby homestead. He describes the land, and it was later repeated by Senator Haydon, as “a continuous succession of rocky knolls with scraps or bits, seldom exceeding an acre in extent, of good land between”. Haydon, in his book Pioneer Sketches in the District of Bathurst, 1925, states that this and neighbouring land to the west, “should never have been attempted to be settled.” When I visited the Ashby home in the 1950s as a child, and in photos taken in earlier times, the area was open, with visibility stretching to the homes of neighbours. From the Ashby home you could see the lake. Today it is reforested with clearings around dwellings.

During William’s lifetime he watched Fallbrook become a vibrant village with retail, accommodation, trades, and other businesses. He experienced ease of travel on improved roads linking the community to others. He experienced the loss of childhood friends as settler families left to find work and better land. He watched the community grow again as families fleeing the famine in Ireland assumed now vacant properties. As a young man he added additional property to his land holdings.

In addition to the 100 acres, Lot 19, inherited from his father, William purchased concession 10, Lots 17 and 18, in June of 1851 from Maria Graham, a widowed neighbour. He received the deed to these properties in July of 1859. This completed the 300-acre parcel reported in the 1851 and 1861 census, less the part sold to Samuel Bolton by his father.

On the 1842 and 1851 census most residents are listed as farmers. They, and others, in the village provided the mills in the community with labour when needed or worked in the shanties during the winter and on the spring timber drives. When one looks at the agricultural census for 1851 the small acreage tilled, and small harvests recorded, indicate that it was subsistence lifestyle. Fishing in the nearby lake and game from the woods nearby would provide meat for the families. Foraging for berries and other local produce would be important as gardens and orchards rarely appear until at least the 1861 census. In 1851, of the 12 acres William Ashby had under cultivation, six were under crops and six were pasture. He held 300 acres in total. The new acreage may not have been cleared and the remaining timber of interest. Family members appear to have lived on this land as well. He had 2 acres of wheat – 30 bushels, 1 acre of Indian corn – 15 bushels, 1 acre of potatoes – 60 bushels, leaving 2 acres to produce the 6 ton of hay recorded. William must have kept sheep for he records 50 pounds of wool and the household has produced 20 yards of fulled cloth and 40 yards of flannel.

In 1861, William controls 250 acres of land, 15 acres under cultivation, but only 8 in crop the previous year. He records 30 acres used for pasture, suggesting that a significant portion of his land has been cleared in the previous ten years. He now has two acres of orchards or gardens. The farm valuation is $600 with implements valued at $25. His wheat production has tripled (total 95 bushels) and includes both spring and fall wheat on a total of four acres, an increase from two. Two acres are now used to grow peas – 25 bushels 1 acre produces 125 bushels of potatoes. Buckwheat, a soil modifier is now used in a rotation to improve the soil and he has 1 acre producing 12 bushels of produce. A quarter of an acre is used to grow turnips and it produces 30 bushels. Only six tons of hay is produced. This record suggest that the family diet may be more varied at this point and perhaps there may be a surplus to be sold to lumber camps in the vicinity.

In 1862, William sold part of lot 19SW to John Playfair and another portion to George Playfair in 1869, probably for a mill site adjacent to what was sold by Sgt. John Ashby for the Bolton mill.

When William A. died in 1899, Concession 10 Lot 17 NE and Lot 18 SW are transferred to John Ashby and Hugh McDonald. A portion of Lot 18 SW was left to Isabella Ashby Warrington, a daughter and Hugh McDonald. Portions acquired by others were reunited with the property in the 1880s. In 1899 the will of William Sr.’s transferred the property to William S. Ashby, Jr., his son, and Hugh McDonald.

The Neighbours

The family names of the community – Bolton, Ennis, Bain, Shillington, Shank, Jackson, Ennis, Foster, Anderson, Hughes, Elliott, Morris, Buffam, Warrington, Balderson, McGregor, and McDonald names are woven throughout my family history – many connected to my Ashby ancestors. These people formed a tight-knit community in a land of rocks, trees, and swamps where dependence on help from a neighbour was crucial to survival. Neighbours were dependent on each other in their daily lives – they shared tools, acted as midwives, provided nursing support, and generally worked and played together.

In the early years children of early settlers acquired land vacated by those who chose to move on, thus providing even closer ties between early land holders. Many Irish families moved into the community during the famine years in Ireland. Some were lumbermen, working in the camps during the winter, seeking a location nearby to raise their families. French Canadian families took up residence as the men pursued work in the lumber camps along the Mississippi and Madawaska rivers.

Jean McGill, pg. 182

Those who chose to live on the local allotments hunted, fished and harvested wild produce to supplement a kitchen garden. Sufficient arable land was cleared to provide horses and cattle with hay.

In 1851, at the time of the census, the following people lived along the 10^th line of Bathurst. Only the Ashby, Foster, Milligan, Clendenning, Parker, and Legary families were among the settlers who received original patents to their land.

female head of household often identifies a widow, *identifies a settler who arrived during the lifetime of William’s father, John Ashby.