History of Compton County, and sketches of the Eastern Townships, District of St. Francis, and Sherbrooke County. Supplemented with the records of four hundred families. Two hundred illustrations of buildings and leading citizens in the County ... Including biography of the late Hon. John Henry...

Front matter

ELECTORAL DISTRICT OF COMPTOa\T, QUE AND S K E TA C H E S OI' THE Eastern Townships, District of St. Francis, and Sherbrooke County. SUPPLEMENTED WITH THE RECORDS OF FOUR HUNDRED FAMILIES. TWO HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS OF BUILDINGS AND LEADING CITIZENS IN THE COUNTY. Compiled by L. S. CHANNELL. INCLUDING BIOGRAPHY OF THE LATE HON. JOHN HENRY POPE, Bv HON*. C. H. MACKINTOSH, Lieutenant-Governor North-West Territories « i ? • <3«'» — 7j)H-H<g- *-o — . i ■^O^ ■ i PUBLISHER : L. S. CH A N N ELL, COOKSHIRE, Que. 1896. Entered, according to act of Parliament os Canada, in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-six, by Leonard S. Channel*., in the office of the Minister of Agriculture. Engraved and printed by Desbarats & Co., Montreal, Que.

Introduction

. persons, reading any ordinary history, appreciate the amount of research neeessaiy to obtain ample aud accurate information on the subjects treated. This labor is ij enhanced when the value of the history depends upon the minuteness with which . the events narrated are recorded. The history of an age or a country may be written in a broad, general way, in which the leading events stand out in large perspective, while the minor details are omitted or only introduced in a cursory manner. But the value of the history of a country consists largely in the extent and minuteness of the details furnished, aud to obtain and verify these involves a vast amount of painstaking investigation. In the present instance the difficulty of obtaining complete records is increased by the fact that no published book exists which might serve as a starting point.

The only works extant of any use in describing the Eastern Townships, are those of Joseph Bouchette, Surveyor- General of Lower Canada for thirt)' years, published in 1815 and 1S31, and Mrs. Day's " History of the Eastern Townships," published in 1S69. I have availed myself of only a few extracts from these, principally in the Township histories. Nearly all the information has been gathered from old settlers, old newspapers, government reports, municipal records, and written accounts left by some of the pioneers. The aim has been not to write a romance, but simply to give the facts as they have been found, after months of research and study. Every item of interest that could be learned con cerning the Count)' of Compton has been traced out and, so far as verified, here recorded. The utmost pains have been taken to verify and accurately present all statements, biographical and historical.

A copy of every biography has been submitted to each family for correction, before being printed, and I believe they are in every case correct as to dates and particulars. In the biographies the date of birth of the sons precede that of the daughters. It is not, however, merely as a register of family history or local events that the present work is undertaken, but in the hope that it may also have a possible future usefulness as a contribution to the sources from which the history of the Dominion must be drawn, whenever in the twentieth century an exhaustive history of Canada comes to be written by some future Parkman, the materials for it will come from such volumes as the present, preserving records of a fugitive character which would else have been lost. In searching for information I have met with courtesy and assistance on every side.

Where all have been so kind, to make individual acknowledgment in this place would be impossible; but special mention is due Mr. J. A. Chicoyne, M.L. A., of Sherbrooke ; Mr. Wni. Sawyer, ex-M.L.A., of Sawyerville ; Mr. E. S. Orr, of Cookshire, and the Secretary-Treasurers of the several municipalities. L. S. CIIANNELL. Cookshire, April 30, 1S96.

Chapter I

The Eastern Townships. Origin of Name — The Townships So-called — When First Settled— Their Advantages. THAT portion of the Province of Quebec with which we deal in this chapter, and of which Compton County forms a part, is called " The Eastern Townships." Many reasons for this special designation have been assigned by different writers, but when and how the name was first given is clouded in obscurity. One writer says it had its origin in " the fact of its having been laid out in territorial subdivisions of townships, to the cast of the seigniories, which had been granted to French subjects by their monarch, before Canada had been wrested by the British arms from the grasp of La Belle France," in 1759. These townships, however, are not only east, but also south of the seigniories, and are the only townships in Lower Canada.

The term " Eastern," therefore, on this theory, does not seem specially appropriate as distinguishing them from seigniories lying around them in the same province. Another version, in which we are inclined to place more faith, is that these townships, being in Eastern Canada, are so called by contrast with those in Western Canada or Ontario. At the close of the Revolutionary War, in 17S2, many thousand United Empire Loyalists were offered lands in Canada by the British Government. The offer was eagerly accepted, and from twenty-five to thirty thousaud settled in the townships of Ontario. At the same time a few hundred families came to the townships of Eastern Canada. Their relatives and friends in Ontario and those who remained in the United States, acquired the habit of distinguishing the different settlements by calling these the Eastern Townships.

As to how the name was acquired may be a subject of discussion, but it has so attached itself to this district of Quebec, that it is as well known throughout the world as though it was a separate province. All that portion of Quebec which lies south of the River St. Lawrence, and was uuconceded at the time of the Conquest, is classed as the Eastern Townships. During the French occupation and for at least ten years subsequent thereto, it was a vast wilderness covered with forest and untrodden by any but the wild man. The British Government, in maintaining the French laws, did not adopt the French system of settlement. They preferred their own Colonial system, and this uuconceded part of the Province was laid out in the same manner as the lands of Ontario (Upper Canada), in townships, after the model of the New Englaud Colonies.

The genius of the two nations, widely differing in so many respects, differed materially in their Colonial systems. The French idea was to transplant the old country into the new, to reproduce France, with all its gradations of society, its religion, its laws, and feudal tenure, aud to centralize power in the hands of the Governor and of those delegated by the Sovereign to represent him in the New France of the New World. Part of the strength, and all the weakness of the French regime in Canada arose from this system. The central power could always command the services of the entire population, when needed for any enterprise of defence or attack, — but the people, tied down to a rigid system of central responsibility, could not expand as did the English colonists. In the French case, the government was powerful, the people weak; whereas the exact opposite was the result of the English system, the government, or governments (for there were many), being weak, and the people strong.

The nature of the country forming the Eastern Townships differs greatly from the French country. Instead of great plains, we find hills and fertile valleys, traversed by mountain ranges, and intersected by numberless rivers and water courses, taking their rise in picturesque lakes. Thus, in addition to its fertile character, the Eastern Townships is a country famous for its scenery, a country retaining its green hue until late in the autumn, a continuation northwards of that green-mountain country to which the State of Vermont owes its name. In point of beauty it is not surpassed by any part of the American Continent, if beauty consists in the combination of the picturesque with adaptability to the wants of life. Many districts may be more grand, but grandeur alone is merely one of the elements of perfect beauty.

We find by reports of a special committee, published in 185 1, which had been appointed by the Provincial Parliament, to enquire into causes retarding the settlement of the Eastern Townships, that they consider these townships as composed within the counties known at that time as Sherbrooke, Stanstead, Shefford, Missisquoi, Drummond, and Megantic, making 4,886,400 square acres, with a population, in 1848, that did not exceed 69,168. At the present day, the Eastern Townships are generally understood as comprising the ten counties of Missisquoi, Brome, Shefford, Drummond, Richmond, Sherbrooke, Stanstead, Compton, Wolfe and Megantic. Some authorities also include Arthabaska. Rev. Charles Stewart, D.D., afterwards Lord Bishop of Quebec, in a pamphlet written in 1815, and published in 1817, says: "The Eastern Townships is a general name frequently given to all the townships extending east from the River Richelieu, to the eastern boundary of the Province, which divides it from New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and of the latter Maine forms part.

All this country is a forest, except where cleared by man. In the woods, rivers and swamps, there are bears, wolves, and foxes, otters, beavers, martins, and muskrats ; some wildcats, some deer and moose ; hares and squirrels of various sorts. There are also wild ducks, and partridges (the partridge is a specie of the grouse), and other wild animals of the feathered race. But birds do not abound ; and game and furred animals are not plentiful. * * * In some of the townships large quantities of potatoes are raised, from which a pretty good whiskey is distilled. * * * Average yield, 250 to 300 bushels. Cider is made * * * aud it is to be hoped that, in the course of a few years, it will be the common beverage in all this part of the country." If Bishop Stewart could have lived to the present da)', when cider is tabooed far more than potato whiskey was in those days, while the latter is not known of, he would be hardly able to realize the change that has taken place.

The Lord Bishop goes on to say : " Black lead ore has been found in Newport and Eaton. * * * There is not any road established by law from any of these townships, either to Montreal, Three Rivers or Quebec, except one laid out by the Grand Voyer, from Compton towards Three Rivers (in or about 1809), and that one has not been worked upou. The need of some amendment of legal jurisdiction is apparent. From Three Rivers to Hereford is about 150 miles, according to the routes now travelled. The consequence is, that suits for ten shillings and less, in the distant townships, have cost as much as $14 for the service of the summons, and the return of the same to the court of Three Rivers, independent of further proceedings." In the annals of the Eastern Townships no record is found of Indian villages, and never were the first settlers harrassed by Indian tribes in search of scalps and plunder.

With the close of the war between England and France, in 1759, the stopping of all these Indian barbarities was accomplished. Previous to that time the whole energy of both countries was brought to bear to educate their Indian allies to commit the most inhuman practices on their enemies. The Eastern Townships were the hunting grounds of several tribes belonging to the Algonquin nation. The Iroquois, in New York State, (enemies of the Abenaquis who were enlisted on the French side) were too near to allow Indian villages to be established with any degree of security, and the English colonists had not pushed their settlements anywhere near this territory at that time. The Abenaquis Indians, previous to the coming of the French Jesuits among them, had their villages principally in the eastern part of Maine.

The Jesuit priests, as fast as they made converts to the Christian religion, endeavored to separate them from their heathen brethren, aud at the same time bring them closer to Quebec and Montreal, where they would be more under the influence of the French. The result was that mission villages were established at Caughnawaga, near Montreal, on the Chaudiere River, and one on the St. Francis River, near its confluence with the St. Lawrence. These last were Abenaquis converts, and became known as the St. Francis Indians. These mission Iudiaus, as well as being taught the principles of Christianity, were always at the command of the French General, and committed some of the most horrible massacres known of in Indian warfare. For barbarity they exceeded their heathen brethren. The French cannot be blamed more than the English, for the latter set 011 their Iroquois allies to emulate the outrages of their opponents.

The thoroughfare between the mission village of the Abenaquis Indians was generally up the St. Francis River, as far as the present city of Sherbrooke, across to Lake Memphremagog, and down the Connecticut to the English settlements. The Indians of the mission village on the Chaudiere River, also used the Connecticut River to reach the same settlements. Bouchette in his Typographical Dictionary, published in 1815, mentions that there is a sort of Indian path through the township of Auckland, from the Connecticut in the direction of the River Chaudiere. In 1790 a proclamation was issued by George the Third, King of England, establishing the first parliament in Canada. Antecedent to this time the whole of Upper and Lower Canada was dominated the Province of Quebec. Owing to difficulties in managing so large a territory, it was judged that it should be divided, which plan was sanctioned by the British Parliament.

The Province of Lower Canada was divided into the districts of Montreal, Three Rivers, Quebec, and Gaspe. The land now known as the Eastern Townships was located in the three first named districts. There can be no doubt that United Empire Loyalists took up their residence in our Townships before 1792, but the official records of such are missing. The first settlers are heard of on Missisquoi Bay and Lake Memphremagog. At the head of the Connecticut River in the township of Hereford, Colonel John Pope settled as early as 1792, and there is not much doubt but that settlers were there for several years previously. As early as 1752 townships were surveyed and stockades erected by the British at Coos, distant from Hereford about 20 miles, on the Connecticut River. It is true this was relinquished shortly after, but at the close of the war in 1759 settlers rapidly pushed their way up the Connecticut.

Authentic and official information confines us to the early part of 1792, as the time when the first settlers came into this territory. From the Land Register, of Quebec, which is nothing else than a registry of the Proces Verbaux of the awards and correspondence of the Committee whose duty it was to administer land, we learn that on the 26th February, 1792, the Surveyor-General, Samuel Hollaud, proposed to the Land Committee to employ a certain number of surveyors, whose names he gives. Among these are to be found that of Pennoyer, who is recommended by him for the District of St. Francis. From this we are led to believe that this territory was designated by this name years before the Inferior District of St. Francis was created in 1823. Further on we discover, "The 5th March, 1792, the Committee of Crown Lands commissioned Mr. Pennoyer to make the survey in the District of St. Francis, and gave orders for the immediate commencement of the work."

We read on page 64 of the Land Register, under date nth April, 1792, "on the petition of Wm. Matthews, Isaac Friot, and twenty others : That a warrant of survey issue for a township on the east of Lake Memphremagog, and that a grant pass to the subscribing petitioners for two hundred acres each, and that the question as to any further quantity stand over till return of survey." Iu the year 1796 the first lands in Lower Canada were granted in free aud common soccage. About 1820 the system of granting lands was through a township agent. He superintended the settlement of each township, and was obliged to reside in or near to said township. Every settler was compelled to clear a road to the width of 20 feet, in front of his lot. The agent received five acres out of every 100 granted, and was also allowed for postage, stationery, etc., 2s. 6d. At no preceding period did these townships show so rapid growth as between 1820 and 1828.

In 1827 there were in Lower Canada about 25 township agents, and during that year the agencies were done away with, the government selling direct to purchasers. In 1S31 there was a population in the Province of 561,051. Of these seven-eights were Catholics ; one twenty-first, Episcopalians ; one twenty-first, Presbyterians ; and one thirty second, Dissenters. About 20,000 of the Catholics were Irish emigrants, whilst 470,917 were native Canadians. In 1S03 the courts of Montreal rendered a decision that no right of property in slaves could exist in Lower Canada, and the few slaves in this country were thus manumitted. The people in the Townships were too poor to own slaves in those days, aud two only are known to have been in what is now Compton County. They belonged to Colonel John Pope, and remained with him until their death when they were sent back to the old plantation in Massachusetts for burial.

In the works of Jos. Bouchette, for many years Survey-General of Lower Canada, may be found a complete table of the post towns, aud rates of postage for a single letter, in Halifax currency, as given by Deputy Postmaster-General, F. A. Stayner. In the year 1829, mails left Three Rivers every Tuesday at 10 p. m. To Sherbrooke from Halifax — S85 miles — 2s. id. ; from Quebec — 185 miles — 9d. ; from Three Rivers — 95 miles — 7d. ; from Richmond — 27 miles — 4;7_d. Extract of a despatch from Lord Aylmer, Governor-in-Chief of Lower Canada, to the Secretary of State, England, dated Quebec, 12th October, 183 1 : " I have visited the Eastern Townships as far as the frontier of the State of Vermont, in the United States. It is extremely difficult to form an estimate of the numbers which the uncultivated parts of the Eastern Townships will bear ; but I think I am within the mark in saying that 500,000 persons might be added to the existing population, with a certainty of raising sufficient agricultural produce for their own subsistence, and for the purposes of commerce necessary for their other wants.

The country which goes under the name of The Townships, appears to me the most eligible for settlement of any I have yet visited." Joseph Bouchette, in 1831, speaking of the Eastern Townships, says : " In dismissing the consideration of this part of the country, we would remark the broad and conspicuous distinction existing between two classes of the people of the same province, iu a small comparative extent of territory, as betwixt the inhabitants of the seigniorial settlements and those of the townships, differing as they do in their language, their religion, their habits, their systems of agriculture, the tenure of their lands, and partially in their laws. The prevalent language iu the townships is English, the tenure of the lands free and common soccage, and the laws by which lands descend by inheritance are English.

The French idiom is universal in the seigniories, the tenure of the lands, feudal, and the law of descent by which property is governed, is prescribed by the custom of Paris." Au anonymous writer says : " The present population of these Townships is of very mixed character. Besides the original loyalist stock from over the border, the Mother Country has sent her children, English, Scotch and Irish, to take root in the soil. They, and their children, are the English-speaking Canadians of the Eastern Townships, but there has been also an immense influx of French Canadians from the overcrowded French parishes, who, next to the Indians, may lay claim to be children of the soil. The French Canadian people are employed in farming, and in the towns and villages often follow the professions, many of them becoming priests, notaries, lawyers and physicians.

They are also largely engaged in trade, aud they are invaluable as a labouring population from their handiness and docility. This mixed population lives harmoniously together, the French Canadians co-operating and harmonizing with their British-born brethren. Differences will be found in the habits of life and tone of thought of a people so diverse in race, in social habits, and in creed, but these differences do not lead to strife, they tend rather to soften the manners and it has been remarked by careful observers, not themselves Canadians, that the tone of society of these Townships shows traces of refinement due to a mixed population. The Eastern Townships members of Parliament have been generally not a little distinguished for their ability, their courtesy of manners and their power of adapting themselves to the varied circumstances of life, and this again has been ascribed as in some measure due to the mixed character of the society to be found in the Eastern Townships.

Loyalty to their native country is a well-known characteristic of the people, and it is combined with loyalty to the Mother Country. This loyal feeling to Canada arises out of the circumstances of their settlement. The spirit of attachment to the paternal home is invariably found to be strongest amongst those who have known what it is to endure hardships. When this "hearth love" grows up in a country, which, by its beauty, its fertility, its advantages of every kind, gives scope for the attainment of material prosperity, the love of country amongst the descendants of the pioneers, becomes mingled with a wholesome pride that they are indebted for their prosperous condition, to the toils and dangers incurred by their fathers."

Chapter II

District of St. Francis When Created — Boundary — Dates of Enquetes, Courts, etc. — Names of Past and Present Court Officials — Its Educational Advantages. IN 1823 the Inferior District of St. Francis was established, by an Act of the Provincial Legislature, chap. 77, of the 3rd year of George IV., with appeals to lie in either of the Judicial Districts of Three Rivers or Montreal. Bouchette says: " This district is in the form of a parallelogram, more than 50 miles in width from west to east, and upwards of 100 miles from north to south. Its superficial extent is supposed to cover 3,500 square miles. Situated in the District of Three Rivers, except four townships and part of a fifth in the District of Montreal. It extends from the southern bounds of Wickham, Simpson, Warwick and Arthabaska, to the southern boundary of the Province.

Its western limits are Lake Memphremagog and a line traversing Bolton, between the 22nd and 23rd ranges, and extending along the eastern boundaries of Stukely, Ely and Acton. On the east it extends to the western bounds of the counties of Megantic and Beauce. Contains 38 townships and part of another. Population in 1831, 13,500." Or in other words composing the present counties of Stanstead, Compton, Sherbrooke, Richmond and Wolfe, together with four townships, afterwards added to the District of Arthabaska — Chester, Tingwick, Kingsey and Durham. By an Act of the third year of William IV., (1833), this was called the District of St. Francis. After the formation of the County of Stanstead, in 1829, the remainder of the District formed the County of Sherbrooke. The District now consists of the counties of Stanstead, Compton, Sherbrooke, Richmond and Wolfe, and the city of Sherbrooke, which is the chef lieu.

The Court House, jail, and public offices for the District are located at the city of Sherbrooke. The Queen's Bench meets on the first of the months of April and October. The terms of the Superior Court are held from the 20th to the 26th of the months of February, May aud October; and from the 21st to the 26th of December. Superior Enquetes, from the 28th to the end of the months of January, February, March, April, May, June, September, October, November and December. The Circuit Court for the District of St. Francis is held from the 10th to the 15th of the month of February ; from the nth to the 16th of May ; and from the 10th to the 16th of the months of October and December. Enquetes, Sherbrooke, from the 21st to the 23rd of January; April 9th ; June 25th and 26th ; and from the 9th to the nth November.

Records in the Prothonotaries office at Sherbrooke, do not indicate that any legal business was done in this District previous to 1S2S, although it had been created an Inferior District five years before, in 1823. Previous to this time all business was transacted at Three Rivers. This necessitated very heavy expenses on both sides, with the result that courts of justice were very seldom called on. The people took the law into their own hands, and settled their difficulties either by arbitration or in some other way, without having recourse to the courts. Instances are known where a suit for ten shillings, brought against a defendant in Compton County, cost as much as $14 for the service of the summons, and return of the same to the Court of Three Rivers, independent of further proceedings.

The Registry Office for all this territory was also located at Three Rivers, not being moved to Sherbrooke until 1830. The first deed registered was on July 6th of that year. In April, 1856, the Registry Office at Richmond was established, and in 1869 the Registry Office for the County of Compton was opened at Cookshire. The following is a list of those who have acted in the capacity of judges, prothonotaries, sheriffs and criers, since 1S28. Judges — Hon's. J. Fletcher, R. H. Gardner, E. Short, J. S. Sanborn, Marcus Doherty, E. T. Brooks and Wm. White. Prothonotaries— C. Felton, W. Bell, Bell & Bowen, Bell & Short, Short & Morris, Short & Cabana, Cabana & Bowen. Sheriffs— C. Whitcher, G. T. Bowen, W. H. Webb, E. R. Johnson, J. L- Terrill aud John Mclntosh. Crier and Janitor — C. Hyndman. Crier — S. A. Stevens.

Janitor — Joseph Griffith. The judicial officers at the present time are: Superior Court judge, Hon. Wm. White; Sheriff, John Mclntosh; Prothonotaries, Cabana & Bowen; Deputy Protho notaries, John Short and C. H. Hackett ; High Constable, Hiram Moe ; Crier, F. Camirand ; District Magistrate, G. E. Rioux. Owing to illness Judge Rioux has not been able to fulfill and iu hopes of his recovery an acting magistrate has been appointed his duties for sometime, from time to time. For several months this position has been ably filled by R. P. Vallee, of Quebec. The District is in great part watered by the St. Francis River aud numerous tributary streams. Some of the waters of the northern and eastern parts find their way to the St. Lawrence by lower confluents, while a few small streams pass into United States territory.

There are many lakes, those of larger size being Memphremagog, Megantic, and Massawippi. The agricultural products are mostly confined to beef, mutton, cheese and butter, Horses and beef have not been so profitable for the past eight years, with the result that cheese and butter factories have been numerously erected throughout the District. Comparatively little grain is raised, and the cropping is principally for domestic consumption. Maple sugar is made by nearly all farmers, largely for export, bringing a price higher than granulated sugar can be purchased for. Fruits do well, and the cultivation of apples has extended rapidly, during the past few years. A practically unlimited amount of water power is a guarantee of the future prosperity of this district. The principal product, especially in Compton and Wolfe counties, is lumber.

Saw mills are numerous on all rivers of any size. The whole District of St. Francis is well supplied with railway communication, no less than four different roads centering at Sherbrooke, including the two great systems, Canadian Pacific and Grand Trunk. The Quebec Central and Boston & Maine are the other two. The Maine Central, with terminus at Lime Ridge, connects with the Q. C. R. at Dudswell Junction, aud with the C. P. R. at Cookshire, and traversing Compton County gives good connection with all U. S. cities. In mining there is no doubt a great future in store. Asbestos aud slate quarries iu Richmond, copper mines at Capelton, and lime works in Dudswell, are yet in the infancy of their development. A gold mine in Ditton was profitably worked by the late Hon. John Heury Pope for many years, while in Dudswell gold is found in several places in paying quantities.

The educational facilities throughout the District are good. Nearly all townships have academies or model schools, generally run on the separate school system, the Roman Catholics having School Boards and schools of their own. Lennoxville may be called the educational centre, for there is established Bishops College University, possessed of a Royal Charter for conferring degrees in arts, divinity, law, and medicine. The Arts, Divinity and Law Faculties of this university are carried on in the College buildings at Lennoxville, its Medical Faculty in Montreal. In connection with the College there is the College School, which has turned out many young men who have earned distinction in the various walks of Canadian life. The Institution, although under the government of the Church of England, admits persons of all religious denominations to its educational course.