Re: news item of about 1926 from Shelley in BC About Laurence Bowes - "Born in Ireland, he came to Canada at the age of 8 with his parents and made the trip to Meaford with oxen." If Lawrence was 84 in 1926, that means he arrived about 1840. An early 1841 Ontario map show two small settlements near Meaford, while the majority of settlement was shown farther south along the Great Lakes. My great great grandfather came from Scotland to St. Vincent Township about 1832. I often wondered what lured him there and how he got there. I have discussed it with other genealogists and have developed a few theories. 1. They came by boat via the great lakes and Lake St. Clair. 2. They travelled along Yonge St., the road built in 1796 under the orders of Lord Simcoe for the transport of troops to Lake Simcoe. Thus, it would be possible to travel along Yonge to Lake Simcoe and then by water to Meaford / St. Vincent Township in 1832. I know John Vail arrived by boat and settled there in 1824. I have read the history of Yonge street which mentions the lure of furs, but there must have been other reasons for settlers to travel so far to such an undeveloped area. He married a Scottish lady there in 1838 and then ended up in Toronto by 1840 where his first daughter was born. He was from urban Scotland. I am interested in hearing from someone who knows the history of settlement in the area to tell me what attracted people there and what route would have been used in 1832. Bonnie (Acheson) Anderson Kitchener, Ontario bonma@rogers.com

Hello Bonnie, Have you read "A History of the County of Grey" by E. L. Marsh et al ? On pg. 54, it mentions that John A. Vail arrived by a little boat. Apparently the cove where he settled still bore his name up to 1999 and may yet but 1999 was the when the 2nd edition of the book was printed. Ann Ward da.ward@sympatico.ca Brampton, Ontario ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bonnie Anderson" <bonma@rogers.com> To: <CAN-ONT-GREY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, March 20, 2006 8:15 PM Subject: Early travel to St. Vincent / Meaford > Re: news item of about 1926 from Shelley in BC > > About Laurence Bowes - "Born in Ireland, he came to Canada at the age of 8 > with his parents and made the trip to Meaford with oxen." > > If Lawrence was 84 in 1926, that means he arrived about 1840. An early > 1841 Ontario map show two small settlements near Meaford, while the > majority of settlement was shown farther south along the Great Lakes. My > great great grandfather came from Scotland to St. Vincent Township about > 1832. I often wondered what lured him there and how he got there. I have > discussed it with other genealogists and have developed a few theories. > > 1. They came by boat via the great lakes and Lake St. Clair. > 2. They travelled along Yonge St., the road built in 1796 under the > orders of Lord Simcoe for the transport of troops to Lake Simcoe. Thus, > it would be possible to travel along Yonge to Lake Simcoe and then by > water to Meaford / St. Vincent Township in 1832. I know John Vail arrived > by boat and settled there in 1824. > > I have read the history of Yonge street which mentions the lure of furs, > but there must have been other reasons for settlers to travel so far to > such an undeveloped area. He married a Scottish lady there in 1838 and > then ended up in Toronto by 1840 where his first daughter was born. He > was from urban Scotland. > > I am interested in hearing from someone who knows the history of > settlement in the area to tell me what attracted people there and what > route would have been used in 1832. > > Bonnie (Acheson) Anderson > Kitchener, Ontario > bonma@rogers.com > ______________________________

Bonnie: One interesting settlement was the one initiated by Price Mallory around 1835. There have been several accounts of his adventures (misadventures). I have copies of articles published recently plus there were some details in the booklet published by my late father in 1984 - Perpetual Pioneers - The Migrations of Caleb Seaman's Descendants in the 19th Century. If you are interested in the Mallory or Seaman families, I would be pleased to forward additional information. Peter Weaver pweaver@sympatico.ca -----Original Message----- From: Bonnie Anderson [mailto:bonma@rogers.com] Sent: March 20, 2006 8:15 PM To: CAN-ONT-GREY-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [Grey Co.] Early travel to St. Vincent / Meaford Re: news item of about 1926 from Shelley in BC About Laurence Bowes - "Born in Ireland, he came to Canada at the age of 8 with his parents and made the trip to Meaford with oxen." If Lawrence was 84 in 1926, that means he arrived about 1840. An early 1841 Ontario map show two small settlements near Meaford, while the majority of settlement was shown farther south along the Great Lakes. My great great grandfather came from Scotland to St. Vincent Township about 1832. I often wondered what lured him there and how he got there. I have discussed it with other genealogists and have developed a few theories. 1. They came by boat via the great lakes and Lake St. Clair. 2. They travelled along Yonge St., the road built in 1796 under the orders of Lord Simcoe for the transport of troops to Lake Simcoe. Thus, it would be possible to travel along Yonge to Lake Simcoe and then by water to Meaford / St. Vincent Township in 1832. I know John Vail arrived by boat and settled there in 1824. I have read the history of Yonge street which mentions the lure of furs, but there must have been other reasons for settlers to travel so far to such an undeveloped area. He married a Scottish lady there in 1838 and then ended up in Toronto by 1840 where his first daughter was born. He was from urban Scotland. I am interested in hearing from someone who knows the history of settlement in the area to tell me what attracted people there and what route would have been used in 1832. Bonnie (Acheson) Anderson Kitchener, Ontario bonma@rogers.com ============================== Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx