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LOT HISTORIES
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F3 L 21 Roderick Cameron m. Ann settled about 1833. He was one of first elders of Duffs Church. 1851 census Roderick, from Scotland was age 72 and his wife Chrisy age 60. Their son Donald, born Scotland, age 29, with wife Christy, age 26, son Roderick age 2, and brother Angus age 24 1867 resident Donald Cameron. Roderick’s family was John, Kenneth, Donald, Alexander, Angus, Duncan and Roderick Jr . and Mrs. Forbes. Kenneth Cameron was there in 1872, and Mrs. Donald Cameron in 1875. Hugh Ross (1855-1948) m.1. Annie Gretz was the next owner. Their daughter Lillian m. Charles Martin wife 2 Catherine McPhail: Their son Carl (1899-1994) occupied the farm next with his first wife, Cora Pollard, and second wife, Bessie McCormick. When they retired , the farm was sold. F3 L22 Thomas m. Barbara Little McLennan were the first settlers on this lot. They had 12 children In the 1851 census, there was only 2-yr old Euphemia.. There was also Rev George McLennan m Margaret; Archibald, Grant, Mary m McIntosh, Robert of Minn. John, Duncan Smith George was b in County Monaghan, Ire in 1829 and came to Canada in 1862, where he settled on 100 acres lot 22 conc 3, Puslinch. He m Catherine Coyle and had the following issue: George Jr., Francis, Henry Samuel, David (d), Mrs. Hector McCaig Jr., and Elizabeth (d) This branch of the Smith family were landed proprietors in Ireland and the late George Smith was a Lieut in the Monaghan constabulary. He was a well-educated man and a wide reader, and both in breeding and education occupied a respected place in the community. He passed away in 1874 at age 45 years, at which time his eldest son was only eleven years of age. His widow with an ability that calls for special mention, raised her young family and cultivated the farm, and has had the satisfaction of seeing her children become prosperous and respected citizens. George is unmarried. He owns and works the old homestead, and his mother keeps house for him Francis, m Cora F. Steel and is a prosperous farmer in Nichol; Henry m Emma Cassin, and own 200 acres near the homestead; Samuel m Annie McKay, and also owns 200 acres near his brother’s farm. 1871 & 1906 George Smith; His son Samuel on rear lot 21; George on homestead; 1923 G. Smith; Francis of Nichol; Mrs. Hector McCaig, Puslinch. George and wife Mabel inherited and farmed here until they retired to live near their only daughter, Charlotte and the farm was sold. F3 L 23, (John) Jack Patterson 1885 m Edna Tolton, and continued on the farm. Their family, Peter and John, both of Puslinch, Sherman of SK and Jennie b c 1872 m William Pinkney, Mrs. Margaret McCaig of Winnipeg and Mrs. Christian Thornton of Toronto. 1923 Mrs. J Patterson. PATTERSON HISTORY Peter Philip Patterson 1803-1874 About 1831 a great number of young people decided to leave Scotland to take up land in the new country of Canada. They journeyed to Dundas and then north on the Brock Road as far as Aberfoyle, turning west on the 3rd concession of Puslinch and what is known now as Road 34. There young Peter Philip from Dumfries, Scotland settled on lots 23 and 24 north side of the road of front of the 3rd Concession. He married Maria Smith 1803-1856, sister of Rev. James Smith. . Their family was 4 girls and 1 boy. Mary (1831- m William Black Jane c1835 a spinster; lived in a little shack at the end of the lane on the home farm. Jessie 1837-1909 72 years m Simon McLennan (his second wife) Margaret c1846 m Wm. Black after Mary’s death. Their family Marie, Isabella who d age 17 James Smith Patterson 1840-1911 m Mary McFarlane 1844-1935 They farmed on the home farm. 3 boys and 6 girls 1. Peter Alexander Patterson 1868-1949 81 years. M. Elizabeth McLean 1870-1929 Their home was lot 31 concession 9 on Road 36. They took up farming on lots 28 and 29 Rear Concession 1 (west side conc. 7). They had a small log house which was bought by Dr. Cote, a vet and moved up the Downey Road to Hanlon Creek. There it was joined to another similar house and made into an attractive dwelling. Their family: 1. James Milton d 1918 flu epidemic 2. Peter McLean m Laurene Jackson 1955 (lot 13 Conc 4); d June 2, 1981 3. Margaret m Ken Crow children Allan, Paul, Helen 4. Mary m Fred McCartney Children Margaret, Murray, Donald, James 1914 sold that farm; bought lot 35,36 pt,37 rear Gore on Highway 6 where he farmed. 2. Jean c1872 m William Pinkney Children Edna, Evelyn and Wilbert 3. Christine died 1955 m James Thornton son Sherman 4. James Sherman Bachelor lived near Saskatoon 5. Catherine d 1969 m widower Fred Newman no family 6 Jessie died 1967 m George Ballentine no family 7 Ida spinster died 1971 8 John (Jack) m Edna Tolton who d 3 yrs later. John carried on farming the original homestead until his death in 1963. No children; farm sold to Emil Wozniak. In 1913 the house burned and John built a new cement block house. 9 Malcolm Alexander m Thelma Elliott d 1964 son James m Lynn Boyd children Catherine, Joan. Alex d in Ottawa May 1, 1981 10 Margaret m McCaig of Winnipeg. In 1915 when Harold Bell was 16 years old he went to work for Jack Patterson as a farm hand. He agreed to work for a seven-month period for the sum of $100. The Patterson farm, well over a hundred acres, was located on County Road 34, and is now the home of Wozniaks. Back then the farm work was done with a team of horses, although tractors were appearing on display. Harold remembered walking into the OAC in 1915 to attend the second Provincial Plowing Match. It was held on the grounds where the fire hall is now located. A demonstrator tractor, made by Sawyer-Massey, was the object of much interest. Harold did the plowing, harrowing and seeding with a team of horses. Harvesting was done with a horse-drawn binder, the sheaves were stooked by hand and when dry were forked up onto a wagon and drawn into the barn. They were stored in the barn until the steam thresher came. The threshing machines would go from farm to farm under their own steam while a team of horses pulled the large wooden water tank. The tank, complete with wheels, would be filled with water at a nearby creek or river. Besides using a vast amount of wood, the machines used copious amounts of water. The Pattersons had three acres of apple orchard and Harold picked apples for a solid month. The apples were bought by apple packers, who would come with their barrels and pack them on the farm before shipping them out west. One day Harold won't easily forget is May 24, 1915. It was noon hour and he was coming up the lane with a team of horses when he noticed that the roof of the Patterson house was ablaze. He let the horses go and shouted to Jack who was busy clipping sheep. Jack dropped his shears and the sheep scampered away, half-shorn, dragging its fleece along the ground. Harold then ran to the house and yelled to Jack's mother, Mary, who had been frying fat pork for lunch. She stood in the doorway, frying pan in hand, and screamed. There were no volunteer firemen in those days, just neighbours. Harold and a neighbour boy, Roy Smith, soaked horse blankets in the water tank and tried to beat out the flames, but it was too late. Before the three-storey house burned to the ground, however, they managed, with the help of neighbours, to salvage everything from the basement and second floor. Harold remembered trying to move the heavy dressers on the third floor, but they couldn't get them down the steps. The Pattersons began rebuilding the house during the summer. Jack's mother and his sister Heida turned the woodshed into sleeping quarters and a kitchen. Jack and Harold slept in the driving shed and were later joined by Jack McPhee, a carpenter, who was working on the new house. The cement blocks were made on the property with a mould, and Harold says that there were exactly 2700. He know because he handled every single one of them. His finger tips were raw from carrying them up the scaffolding to the stone masons. Both of the stone masons, Jack Hingleman and Fred Dunkie, were from Morriston. Jim McMillan, a former Reeve of the Township, was told that in the early 1900's there were no less than twenty-one masons and helpers who lived in Morriston. The house wasn't completed until January. There was no heat in the driving shed, and Harold says that it got mighty cold. Frequently, the slush and snow that adhered to Harold's socks and boots would freeze during the night and he would have to pry them off the floor in the morning. After Jack Patterson’s death the farm was sold to the Wozniak family. F3 L 24 first settled by Barney Mooney. He sold to Kenneth McKenzie about 1850. David Stirton, by 1877, had purchased Kenneth McKenzie’s properties. Soon after, James S. Patterson added the wedge to the Patterson farm. Commercial Activity At the beginning of Concession 3 there were several small commercial enterprises. Neils Peterson Holm immigrated from Copenhagen Denmark, to the county of York and 1828 purchased lot 1 Front & Rear of concession 3 The Papersmith Mill at the top of Townline road was built at the outlet of Puslinch Lake into the Speed River. Peter Niles Holm built the 3 ½ storey mill in 1856 as part of a growing collection of the industrial buildings started in 1827, which included a pair of limestone sawmills. In 1864 David Holm, son of Philip, became the owner and built a new dam across the Speed River and in 1882 Lewis Kribs became the mill’s owner and constructed the frame home for the miller that stands in front of the mill. Later it was Cole's Mill, which was later owned and operated by A.J. Shantz. In 1976, the property became known as the Papersmith Mill, named by noted local papermaker and artist Andrew J. Smith, who turned the mill into his residence/studio. Architecturally, the building has been constructed of fieldstone in the Georgian style. It has simple flat-headed windows and doors laid out symmetrically. It has a steel-clad roof punctuated by two small dormers and has a extremely functional design, reflecting its purpose. built a dam on the outlet and a sawmill across the line in Waterloo Township. |