Sep 30 2019

William McDougall: Father of Confederation, Canadian Nationalist

Did you know that one of Simcoe County’s former MPPs was also a Father of Confederation?

Although he never lived in Simcoe County, William McDougall served as MPP for Simcoe South in the 1870s, in the twilight of his political career.

McDougall was born in 1822 on a farm along Yonge Street, the third generation of a staunch Scotch-American Loyalist family who was amongst the first settlers at York (now Toronto) after the American Revolution.

In contrast with his loyalist parents, McDougall developed a passion for American-style liberty at an early age, when he witnessed the burning of Montgomery’s Tavern during the Rebellion of 1837, at age 15. After finishing school, McDougall studied law at the office of Toronto lawyer James Harvey Price, where he also learned many of the values underpinning his early political career: increased democracy, greater access to land ownership, and ambivalence towards the two existing political parties, the Reform and the Liberal Conservatives.

McDougall opened his law practice in 1847 but devoted much of his spare time toward politics. In 1849, McDougall’s Toronto office became the meeting place for reformers dissatisfied with the pace of change in provincial politics since 1837. From these meetings grew the Clear Grit movement, a radical wing of the Reform Party. Between 1850 and 1855, McDougall’s newspaper the North American was essentially a mouthpiece for the Clear Grits. It was later absorbed by the Toronto Globe.

After two unsuccessful attempts, McDougall finally entered the provincial Legislative Assembly in 1858, where he remained until Confederation.

An early proponent of Confederation, McDougall joined Oliver Mowat and George Brown in defecting from the Reform government of Canada West to call for political union between the provinces of British North America. He attended all three Confederation conferences.

Following Confederation, McDougall surprised his former political colleagues by setting aside his liberal political beliefs to join Canada’s first federal government, which belonged to the Conservatives of Sir John A. Macdonald.

In addition to his support for Confederation, McDougall was also a booster for increased colonization and the expansion of Canadian territory across the continent at the expense of Indigenous peoples. His term as provincial Commissioner of Crown Lands from 1862 to 1867 oversaw increased settlement and the repossession of reserve lands on Manitoulin Island. Between 1867 and 1869, it was McDougall who introduced the bill calling for the annexation of the Hudson Bay Company’s territories (what is now all of northern and western Canada) and helped negotiate the transfer.

At least in part due to his role in the annexation of Rupert’s Land and his support for colonization, McDougall was selected as the first lieutenant governor of the North West Territories, even before the official transfer of lands on January 1, 1870. It was this role as lieutenant governor that led to the incident for which McDougall is best remembered.

McDougall’s appointment coincided with the outbreak of the Red River Resistance, an uprising by Metis inhabitants of the Red River Colony (now Manitoba) over the transfer of Rupert’s Land. To the Metis, the arrival of federal surveyors in August 1869 was an intrusion on their traditional territory. Simmering tensions boiled over in October 1869, when a party of Metis men led by a young Louis Riel confronted a survey party and insisted that the Canadian government had no right to trespass on private property without permission.

Shortly afterwards, McDougall departed for the Red River in order to take possession of the North-West Territories for Canada. He brought with him a party of men and an arsenal of 300 rifles to be issued to supporters of annexation – mostly English-speaking Protestant migrants who had moved to the colony within the last ten years.

News of McDougall’s coming confirmed Metis fears that annexation to Canada would threaten their culture, for the French-speaking, Catholic Metis were well aware of McDougall’s anglophile, pro-Protestant beliefs. At the beginning of October, the Metis organized a “National Committee” led by Riel and erected a barricade along the road connecting the Red River to Ottawa via North Dakota, the only route by which McDougall could reach the area.

McDougall and his party reached the border at the end of October. Choosing to ignore a warning from the Metis National Committee, McDougall and two lieutenants continued along the road towards Fort Garry (now Winnipeg) before being stopped by a party of thirty Metis and conducted back to US territory.

Thwarted, McDougall returned to Ottawa, bitter and embarrassed. His failure to stand up to the Metis seems to have dealt a death blow to his political career. He lost the next federal election in 1872 and briefly resumed his law practice before returning to provincial politics as MPP for Simcoe South in 1875. In 1878 he resigned his position to return to federal politics for one term.

After losing the next two federal elections in 1882 and 1887, McDougall was forced to the sidelines in 1890 when he sustained a serious spinal injury after accidentally walking off a moving train. He died in Ottawa in 1905 after years of ill health.

John Merritt – SCHA

Photo: McDougall in 1894, after his retirement from politics. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada.

Jul 17 2019

Josephine: Ghost Town of Simcoe County

If you follow the North Simcoe Rail Trail east from George Johnston Road, near Minesing, you just might find the remains of the old hamlet of Josephine, one of the small handful of ghost towns scattered across Simcoe County.

Josephine began in 1879 when Joseph Budd established a sawmill, a commissary and a few houses for his employees on lots 11 and 12 in the 9^th concession of Vespra. Budd named the tiny hamlet after his daughter.

Budd was the last of three lumbermen who harvested the virgin white pine forests that grew around what is now the village of Minesing. The ancient forest was bounded on the south by an escarpment stretching west from Dunn’s Hill and on the west by the Minesing Swamp.

The first of the lumbermen to operate in this area was George Ball, who built a mill on Willow Creek about a mile downstream of the Mill Road (now Highway 27) bridge around 1855, shortly after the arrival of the Northern Railway in Allandale created a market for lumber in the area.

Later, Gideon Shortreed built a mill on the 7^th line of Vespra near where it crossed the Northern Railway (now CPR) line.

After these first two lumbermen had completed their work, most of the area had been deforested, leaving fields covered in four- or five-foot-wide stumps.

Although the best trees in the area had already been cut, some decent lumber — white pine mixed with oak, maple and ash — remained growing along the edges of the Minesing Swamp. However, for many years this area remained untouched because there was no easy way to transport the lumber to market. The construction of the North Simcoe Railway (later part of the Canadian National Railway) in 1879 changed that, and Joseph Budd set up operations in the area that same year.

Budd established himself on 200 acres of land that was neatly dissected by the North Simcoe Railway line. To the east of the railway, he built his mill and the houses for his workers. Budd constructed a house for himself to the west of the railway, facing the mill that provided his livelihood.

Although Josephine boasted a commissary where Budd’s employees could buy personal items, for the first few years there was no post office or general store available to them. Instead, a road was opened from the 9^thLine of Vespra to the 7^th, known then as Budd’s Road and later as Snow Valley Road. From there, prospective customers would follow a winding track through the fields of stumps to the general store and post office of George Sneath, near the junction of what are now Highways 26 and 27.

In those early years, the closest school to Josephine was in Minesing, which was hard to reach outside winter given the poor state of the roads through the swamp. The village of Minesing, with five churches and no tavern, also held little appeal for Budd’s millworkers on their days off. Instead, most locals travelled to Midhurst for their entertainment, except on Saturdays, when they could catch the train to Barrie for the day.

For years, Josephine was a “flag stop” for the Saturday morning train travelling from Allandale to Penetanguishene along the North Simcoe Railway. Being a flag stop meant that the train would only stop at the local station if it was “flagged” or signalled to do so, otherwise it would continue on past the station without stopping. Josephine’s train station was commonly known as “Budd’s” or “Budd’s Mill.”

Joseph Budd opened Josephine’s first and only post office in 1884, with himself as postmaster. The same building also served as the hamlet’s local school as well as a Methodist church.

A fire swept through Josephine in 1885 and destroyed almost everything, but the town was quickly rebuilt. The post office closed for good in 1894.

After the largest trees had been cut, Budd’s mill was bought by Charles Wright and converted to the manufacture of shingles and staves, which it continued to do until as late as 1914.

Not much is left of Josephine today. Intrepid explorers may be lucky enough to find remains of the hamlet and mill to the east of the trail and of Joseph Budd’s house to the west. Ironically, after a hundred years, a hamlet built on the lumber trade has been swallowed up again by the forest.

By John Merritt for the SCHA.

Photo: Three men cutting lumber in the Minesing Swamp, circa 1910. For many years the swamp and surrounding forests supplied lumber for mills like Joseph Budd’s. From A History of Vespra Township (Township of Vespra, 1987).

Jun 16 2019

Frederick Hodgson: The man who helped build Collingwood.

Downtown Collingwood in 1914. The Arlington Hotel, built by Fred Hodgson in 1900, is visible on the far left.

Frederick Thomas Hodgson was a builder and architect who spent much of his life and career in the Collingwood area. Operating around the turn of the century, he contributed many buildings to the growing town that can still be seen and appreciated there today.

Hodgson was born on September 19, 1832, in the town of Selby in Yorkshire, England. In 1847, at the age of 15, Hodgson emigrated to Canada with his uncle, William McDonald, and his aunt and cousins. Initially, Hodgson settled with his relatives at Duntroon, in the township of Nottawasaga. In 1851, at the age of 19, he struck out on his own, moving to the village of Hurontario – what, in a few years, became the town of Collingwood.

As a young man, Hodgson found work as a contractor during the extension of the Northern Railway into Collingwood, erecting some of the houses and sheds that sheltered the workers building the railway line. In 1853, at age 21, Hodgson built his first permanent building on Hurontario Street in Collingwood, on what is now the site of the Globe Hotel.

In 1859, at age 27, Hodgson moved to St. Catharines to take up a job as Superintendent of Rolling Stock for the Welland Railway. He remained there for 17 years.

In 1877, at age 44, Hodgson moved to New York City to take up a job as associate editor of the magazine American Builder. He became managing editor the following year and remained at the helm of the magazine for 12 years.

During this time, Hodgson began publishing a prolific number of guides to practical building and construction techniques, which by the end of his life numbered as many as 144 titles. Hodgson’s best-known book was The ABC of the Steel Square, a practical guide to the use of the carpenter’s square published in 1881. Eventually, the book was published in 20 editions, one as late as 1972, and sold in six countries.

In 1890, at age 56, Hodgson finally returned to Collingwood, where he set up his own business as an architect and builder.

At the time of his return, the town was booming thanks to the arrival of the railway in the 1850s and the beginnings of the local shipbuilding industry in the 1880s. As an architect, Hodgson’s contributions to the growth of the town included the West Ward School and the “Armadale” residence of local cookie company magnate Herbert Y. Telfer on Third Street, both built in 1890. Hodgson also designed “Tornaveen”, the 10,000 square-foot, three-story Queen Anne Revival-style mansion of Herbert Telfer’s older brother Frank, built directly across the street from the younger Telfer’s far more modest home and completed in 1892.

Hodgson also made extensive alterations to the residence of Midland tycoon James Playfair in 1894, as well as an addition to the Globe Hotel, a major expansion of the General and Marine Hospital, and a new gymnasium building for the Collingwood Collegiate Institute, all built in 1895. In 1900, he built the Arlington Hotel on Hurontario Street, as well as a home for local politician and founder of the Collingwood Enterprise John Hogg at Third and Oak Streets.

Throughout the rest of his career, Hodgson worked as editor of National Builder, the Chicago-based magazine that had absorbed his old magazine, American Builder. He also contributed to journals like Canadian Architect and Builder, based in Toronto; Carpenter and Builder and Architect’s Magazine, both based in New York; Dixiein Atlanta, and Craftsman in Cleveland. Hodgson worked mostly by long distance, sending editing suggestions and articles to each journal by mail.

After decades of work contributing to the built landscape of Collingwood and to the professions of architecture and construction in general, Frederick Hodgson died on July 15, 1919, at age 87. The books and magazine articles he wrote can still be found today, and several of the buildings he built are included in heritage walking tours throughout the Town of Collingwood.

Written by John Merritt, SCHA

Jun 13 2019

BWG Proceeds With Effort to Protect Historic Earl Rowe Farm

Photo courtesy on Ontario Historical Plaques

When Solfela Investments Ltd., the current owner of the Earl Rowe Farm in Newton Robinson, applied for a demolition permit, it prompted quick action by the Bradford West Gwillimbury Community Planning Office and by Town Council.

Archeological Research Associates Ltd. (ARA) was hired to investigate the design and physical value, the historic and associative value, and the contectual value of the property and its famous owner as specified in the Heritage Act. The consultants concluded that out of the nine possible criteria for designation under the Act Earl Rowe Farm meets six. The Act only requires one be met to justify designation.

The property includes a complete example of an agricultural complex, including a Gothic revival house built by well known local builders, the Merrick Brothers, who were responsible for many houses and farm buildings in the area, including Newton Robinson United Church. Multiple drive sheds, silo, and various smaller outbuildings join the U-shaped, uniquely designed triple barns to support the farm’s longtime purpose, the breeding and training of standardbred horses for harness racing.

The Honourable Earl Rowe was associated with the property as owner and resident from 1917 until his death in 1984. For 40 of those years his political career spanned the municipal, provincial, and federal arenas. At 25 he was the youngest Reeve of West Gwillimbury Township. He was a leader of the Ontario Conservative Party, served both as a Member of the Ontario legislature and a federal Member of Parliament, and was the 20^th Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. Guests at his funeral included Lieutenant Governor John Black Aird, Premier William Davis, New Brunswick Premier Richard Hatfield, Solicitor General George Taylor, former Governor General Roland Michener, Hon. Ellen Fairclough, and York-Peel MP Sinclair Stevens.

Along with his other business interests, Earl Rowe was a pioneer of the Canadian harness racing industry, breeding, training, and driving winners throughout his life. He served three terms as President of the Canadian Standardbred Horse Society and was an Honourary Director of the Ontario Harness Horse Association. Along with his son and grandson he founded the Raceway tracks in Windsor and Barrie. Earl Rowe’s many accomplishments were honoured by an Ontario historic plaque which still stands at the 100 acre farm site. The ceremony was organized by the Tecumseth and West Gwillimbury Historical Society, of which the Hon. Earl Rowe was a Founding Director.

What is the current designation status of Earl Rowe Farm? Like the other 100 acre farms around it, the property is zoned Agricultural in the Bradford West Gwillimbury (BWG) Official Plan. In the Town’s Zoning By-law 2010-050, ‘Agricultural’ provides limited opportunity for redevelopment for uses other than those few identified. This does not include housing, commercial, or industrial development.

Based on the evaluation by ARA the Town’s Planning Staff recommended to Council “that the Town proceed with the heritage designation process for 4304-4306 Line 10”. In early March Council directed Staff to give notice of intention to designate the property. As of June 7, 2019 the Town is expecting to receive within a few weeks a heritage assessment report prepared on behalf of the owner. Once this second assessment is submitted Staff will be able to review it against ARA’s report and can then begin to formulate a notice. Staff would like to work with the owner to determine the designation’s attribute description.

Photo Courtesy of Ontario Historical Plaques

Letters of support for designation have been sent to BWG Council by Tecumseth and West Gwillimbury Historical Society, BWG Local History Association, Simcoe County Historical Association and various concerned citizens. In view of the proposed changes to the Heritage Act it is better done sooner than later. This is especially true if the OMB successor, the Ontario Local Planning Appeal Tribunal, is accorded final say in appeals to LPAT by the owners of any local heritage properties that municipalities wish to protect through designation.

Article and resources provided by Janine Harris-Wheatley
Tecumseth & West Gwillimbury Historical Society

Resources:

From the Town Staff report and ARA heritage assessment: In accordance with the Heritage Act, for a property to be eligible for designation it must meet one or more of the nine (9) evaluation criterion that fall in three ‘attribute’ umbrellas including: (1) ‘Design or Physical Value,’ (2) ‘Historical or Associative Value,’ and (3) ‘Contextual Value.’

Highlights from ARA consultants report

DESIGN OR PHYSICAL VALUE

Representative example of an agricultural complex that includes a good example of a Gothic Revival farmhouse.
Was built by the Merrick Brothers who were well-known local builders. They built numerous mills, churches and houses and were integral to the development of Newton Robinson.j’

HISTORICAL OR ASSOCIATIVE

Associated with William Earl Rowe who owned the property from 1917 to 1984.
Had a provincial political career that spanned four decades and included serving as the 20th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1963–1968.
His contributions to Ontario are commemorated with an Ontario HeritageTrust Plaque (on the property).
Was a prominent member of the community in Newton Robinson and the Township of West Gwillimbury.
Served as the youngest Reeve of the Township of West Gwillimbury in 1919.
Ran a successful horse breeding and harness racing business. He served as president of the Canadian Standardbred Horse Society twice and was the honourary director of the Ontario Harness Horsemen’s Association.
Earl and his son Bill Rowe were founders of harness race tracks: the Windsor Raceway and with grandson, the Barrie Raceway.

CONTECTUAL VALUE

Maintains the agricultural character of the outskirts of Newton Robinson, the property remains on an approximately 100-acre farm and is surrounded to the west, south and north by other 100-acre farms. It maintains the parcel fabric and bucolic nature of the landscape.
Historically linked to its surroundings through the widespread construction in Newton Robinson initiated and undertaken by the Merrick Brothers.
Landmark due to the Ontario Heritage Trust plaque located in front of the property.

Based on ARA’s evaluation the property meets six (6) of the nine (9) criterions. Most notable is that this was the home of William Earl Rowe who contributed to the community Newton Robinson, Township of West Gwillimbury and the Province as whole in a number of facets. Based on the evaluation Staff recommend that the Town proceed with the heritage designation process for 4304-4306 Line 10.

For more information on Ear Rowe’s political career see SCHA News and Views article by John Merritt, The life of William Earl Rowe, 1894-1984

BWG Staff Report and Consultant Heritage Assessment as well as communications with Planning Staff.

Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library Archives William Earl Rowe Obituary.

Beeton Record Sentinel and Tottenham Times, July 29 1987 on the occasion of the Ontario Historic Plaque installation.

Bradford Today: Bradford council OKs start of heritage designation for Earl Rowe house. Mar 6, 2019 by: Jenni Dunning

*Record Sentinel Tottenham Times July 29 1987 on occasion of plaque installment

Horses first Canadian to drive a Canadian bred and trained horse Van Riddell in the Hambletonian Kentucky Derby of harness racing.

Won worlds record for a pair of mares driven double at Thornecliffe track in Toronto. Bred and trained horses at Rowlands. Windsor raceway with Bill in 65. Barrie raceway in 73 with his grandson. Served as president of the con standardbred horse society three terms and president of Great Lakes Paper Co Ltd and other business interests

The Honourable William Earl Rowe 1894-1984 Plaque. Location: The County of Simcoe The Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury In Newton Robinson, on Line 10 Road .3 km east of Road 27, street number 4306 Coordinates: N 44 07.637 W 79 40.919. Plaque Text: A veteran parliamentarian who subsequently served as Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, Rowe was born in Hull, Iowa and raised in Simcoe County. He early exhibited an interest in politics and in 1923 was elected to the provincial legislature as the Conservative member for Simcoe South. Two years later Rowe contested and won the federal seat for Dufferin-Simcoe, embarking upon a career in the House of Commons which, with the exception of one interruption during the late 1930’s, spanned almost four decades. For his lengthy and dedicated service, he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario in 1963. Upon leaving public life five years later, Rowe retired here to his farm where he had long operated a successful horse breeding and harness racing business.

Event Date : Thursday, February 09, 1984 Event Type : Death BWGPL ARCHIVES

They came to this small village, located just south of Cookstown, to pay their last respects to a political legend. Gathered in the Newton Robinson United Church, with the rain falling softly outside, they listened as Rev. Henry Dahlin performed the service. It was a final tribute to a man whose political career spanned almost 65 years. William Earl Rowe, former lieutenant governor of Ontario and political veteran died last Thursday at his Newton Robinson home after suffering a heart attack. He was 89.

Born in Iowa, Mr. Rowe grew up in Simcoe County, where his political career began in 1919 when he became reeve of West Gwillimbury Township. He spent 35 years as a Conservative legislator at both the provincial and federal levels before he was named lieutenant governor in 1963. A former leader of the Ontario Conservative Party, Mr. Rowe was also the youngest member in the R. B. Bennett cabinet, where he served as minister without portfolio. In 1958, his daughter Jean Casselman Wadds was elected to parliament, making the Rowes the first father-daughter team in Canada’s history. She now serves on the MacDonald Commission on the economy. In addition to his long and distinguished political career, Mr. Rowe was also actively involved in harness racing throughout his life. Together with his son, Bill, he founded both the Barrie and Windsor Raceway.

Among those attending the funeral service held Monday afternoon at Newton Robinson United Church were Lieutenant Governor John Black Aird, Premier William Davis, New Brunswick Premier Richard Hatfield, Solicitor General George Taylor, former lieutenant governor Roland Michener, and York-Peel MP Sinclair Stevens. Premier Davis described Mr. Rowe as a great Canadian who will be remembered as a man who excelled as parliamentarian Queen’s representative in Ontario as a breeder and racer of standard-bred horses a farmer and most importantly in raising a fine family.”

Mr. Rowe’s wife Treva died five weeks ago after suffering a series of strokes. They are predeceased by a son Lennox. Mr. Rowe leaves a sister Mary Lennox and a daughter Jean Casselman Wadds. In addition he leaves to mourn grandchildren Mrs. Jane Hutchins, Nancy Casselman of Toronto, Earl Rowe of Shanty Bay, Clare Casselman of Toronto, Scott Rowe of Cookstown, Cindy Rowe of London, Patti Rowe of Cookstown, and great-grandchildren Jennifer Hutchins, Katherine and Crystal Rowe. Mr. Rowe was buried at Newton Robinson Cemetery. Honourary pallbearers were Roland Michener, William Davis, Art Evans, Bill Hodgson, Louis Levesque, and Ellen Fairclough. Pallbearers were Earl Rowe, Scott Rowe, Lorne Lennox, Jim MacDonald, Dave Hutchins, and Clare Casselman.”

TWGHS EXEC MINUTES MAY

Letter to BWG Council about Earl Rowe farm. David contacted Janine about news that BWG had received a request from the owner to demolish the house and outbuildings on the farm. Janine contacted BWGLHA through Jan Blommaert who had not heard the news so she investigated with the Town. Council is reportedly not happy about the demolition. Janine had suggested to Jan that at the very least comprehensive photographs be taken of the structures and building details. David drafted a letter and read it at the meeting. The Board supported the letter without modification and David and Janine will sign and mail the letter to BWG Clerk and Council. Discussion ensued about other organizations and individuals being encouraged to write letters to Clerk and Council. [Secretarial Note: BradfordToday.ca reported on March 6, 2019, that “Bradford council OKs start of heritage designation for Earl Rowe house”.

Email: On Jun 4, 2019, at 16:38, Brandon Slopack wrote:

Hi Janine,

The previous email I sent to Cael remains true. The only update is that we anticipate the owner’s representatives to send a heritage assessment report over the next couple weeks. Once this is submitted Staff will review against ARA’s report and begin formulating a notice.

Thank you,

Brandon Slopack, MES Planner, Office of Community Planning Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury

To Cael from Brandon Slopack, Planner, BWG Office of Community Planning regarding Earl Rowe Farm designation, quoted below:

On March 5, 2019, I brought forward a Staff Report recommending designation based on evidence outlined by the consultant. Council has directed Staff to give notice of intention to designate the property. Staff wants to work with the owner in determining the designation’s attribute description. Currently we are awaiting the owner to provide their own Heritage Assessment. Once this is received we will be in a position to collaborate and bring forward a notice. Below are key documents for your reference.

March 5, 2019 Agenda

March 5, 2019 Minutes

Staff Report and Consultant Heritage Assessment

May 16 2019

The life of Thomas Roberts Ferguson, 1818-1879

Thomas Roberts Ferguson was born in a rural part of County Cavan, Ireland, in December 1818. He and his family were just some of the hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants who crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Canada in the 1830s. Thomas’ father, Andrew, died during the journey.

After a brief stay in Montreal, in 1842 the Ferguson family joined the large Irish-Canadian community around Cookstown, and Ferguson became a farmer. Later, after buying up some additional land in the area, Ferguson established each of his brothers on their own farm and moved into Cookstown, where he became a merchant.

Ferguson joined the Orange Order in 1847, at age 29. In 1852, he became master of his local Orange Lodge and later a deputy grand master of the order.

In 1856, Ferguson married Frances Jane Gowan, daughter of Orange leader Ogle Robert Gowan. The couple eventually had three sons and six daughters.

Ferguson was elected to the township council of Innisfil in 1852 and served for 21 years, 18 of them as reeve. Ferguson also served as warden of Simcoe County in 1858 and again from 1862 to 1867.

During the 1858 election, Ferguson ran against fellow Conservative William Benjamin Robinson, defeating him to become representative for Simcoe South. He kept his seat through two subsequent elections, in 1861 and 1863.

At that time, what are now Ontario and Quebec were joined together in one province, and both had equal representation in the legislature, even though Ontario’s population was larger and growing faster than Quebec’s. Throughout his time in the legislature, Ferguson was a strong advocate for instituting representation by population, which would give Ontario more seats than Quebec. The issue, however, remained unsettled until Confederation in 1867.

Ferguson had served as an officer in the Cookstown company of the provincial Sedentary Militia since 1847. In 1862 he was promoted to captain and placed in command of the company.

In 1866, during the Fenian Raids, Ferguson and his men were called out along with tens of thousands of other Canadian militiamen to defend the province against Irish Catholic veterans of the US Civil War who hoped to occupy Canada and trade it with Britain for Irish independence.

Ferguson’s company was stationed at Toronto during the crisis. After a successful raid into Canada in June, many Fenians were arrested by US authorities as they were re-crossing the border. Once the threat to the province had largely passed, Ferguson and his men, like other Canadian militiamen, returned home to a grand reception.

Following the crisis, the Cookstown company was joined together with the other Simcoe County militia companies to form the 35^th Battalion (Simcoe Foresters). Ferguson was appointed temporary second-in-command of the unit in 1869.

Upon Confederation in 1867, Ferguson was elected by acclamation to represent Simcoe South in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, at the same time that he was elected a Conservative member for Cardwell (an early federal riding comprising parts of what are now Peel Region and Simcoe and Dufferin Counties) in the new federal House of Commons.

During his career in the Ontario legislature, Ferguson served on various committees, including the standing committees for railways and for privileges and elections. Ferguson also served on the board of the Northern Railway.

In 1872 Ferguson did not run again for a seat in the House of Commons but was re-elected by acclamation to his seat in the provincial legislature. That same year, however, Ferguson was attending a political meeting in Bradford when a fight broke out between supporters and opponents of the government. In the process of allegedly attempting to stop the fight, Ferguson suffered a severe blow to the head that left him with permanent physical and mental injuries. As a result, he resigned from the Simcoe Foresters, the Northern Railway board, and the provincial legislature in 1873.

After his retirement from politics, Ferguson’s government connections helped ensure his appointment to a civil service position as a customs collector at Collingwood. He was dismissed from that position two years after the Liberal government of Alexander Mackenzie took power in 1874.

Ferguson spent his remaining years at his home in Cookstown, where he died on September 15, 1879, from paralysis. He was 60 years old.

Written by John Merritt, Simcoe County Historical Association

Photo: Thomas Roberts Ferguson.

Simcoe County Historical Association Land Acknowledgement