ORO, in Spanish, means GOLD . I am told. The last, black family, in ORO , was living on the Second Concession, of ORO, just above what is now a GOLF COURSE, IN THE LATE MONTHS OF 1940. I REMEMBER WELL, my Mother driving us past the Family Home, and seeing the old couple, sitting on the front steps, of the house. No porch. It was my first exposure to `` people of colour `` . We had just previously moved to Oro, from Coldwater, Ontario ( in Medonte, about 20 miles, as the crow flies. ) My Mother, a Public School Teacher, was steeped in History. Paul Robins -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of catherine campbell Sent: July-26-09 10:18 PM To: simcoe rootsweb Subject: Re: [CAN-ONT-SIMCOE] CARTER family I was just wondering - if William Carter's parents, William and Jenny, were married in Angus in 1872, born in Canada, could THEIR parents have been part of the black community in nearby Oro? In 1819 the government sponsored a black settlement in Oro, along Wilberforce Street, one concession east of the Penetanguishene road and offered lots to the "Men of Color" who had served in the War of 1812. The census of 1831 show a black population of 97 in 1831 and 64 in 1848, with a peak of 101 in 1860-61, but by 1901 the numbers were down to about 1831. Many of the black settlers sold their land and moved elsewhere. "Some moved into the local towns such as Barrie and Collingwood; others went to the southern parts of the province or returned to the United States" Since Angus, where William and Jenny were married in 1872, is just a few miles from the (then) Oro, they and their parents could well have been among the first black settlers in Oro (the name Oro, by the way, comes from ! the Rio del Oro, a river and settlement in the north-west coast of Africa. It was reportedly given this name, due to the intent to set apart this township, or a part of it, as a colony for men of colour). Also, the colony was beside the Penetanguishene Road, which went directly to Penetanguishene, so a logical place to move to. It might be worth checking out the census for Oro in the 1830s and on for the names Carter and Taylor to see if this is a possible connection. (I have the book "the Story of Oro", since my own ancestors settled in Oro in 1831 from Ireland.) Apparently the African Episcopal Church, erected in 1849 and renovated one hundred years later, "still stands as a memorial to an episode in the early settlement and history of Upper Canada". "The Oro Township community is unique in that it was the only black settlement sponsored by the government in Ontario." Catherine > Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:28:24 -0400 > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: [CAN-ONT-SIMCOE] CARTER family > > All Carter researchers - sharpen your pencils and open your databases. > I have a puzzle for you. I am addressing the list with this problem as > it contains an element that gave me and my colleague a bit of a > surprise last week. We were approached for assistance in locating the > ancestors of a visitor who claimed a family member was a Black man > from London, Ontario who had lived in Penetanguishene. As evidence he > produced a copy of the 1901 census that clearly shows the record was > altered to read "B'" and the origin was entered as African. A Black > man living on the main street in Penetanguisehene for 40 years (late > 1800s to 1933) and nobody had ever heard of this? Not even local historians? > Knowing the inaccuracy of census returns, we were not inclined to > believe this one. It is exceedingly difficult to prove the census was > wrong in this case, unless we can locate his ancestors. Please take a > look at the following and perhaps it will twig a memory or an idea. > The Sunnidale in the report is the town near Angus, Creemore and > Staynor - sort of in the middle. If you have questions or need > clarification, please email the list or if the topic gets too boring, email me off list. > Note: all material is sourced. Principal sources are the 1871 to 1911 > census returns, OVS registrations and local records. > > I am sure formatting will make for difficult reading and I apologize > in advance. > > 1. *William CARTER* was born on 8 November 1846 in London, Middlesex > County, Ontario. In 1901 he was a millwright at the Davidson Lumber > Mill in Penetanguishene, Simcoe County, Ontario. In 1933 he was a > retired milling hand. His ethnic origin was English. William died on > 13 March > 1933 at the age of 86 in Penetanguishene, Simcoe County, Ontario.^1 > <#ENDNOTE_1> He was buried on 15 March 1933 in Presbyterian Cemetery, > Penetanguishene, Ontario. Both his parents were born in Ontario. > William CARTER and Ann Jane (Jennie) TAYLOR^2 <#ENDNOTE_2> were > married on 12 December 1872 in Angus, Essa Township, Simcoe County, > Ontario.^3 <#ENDNOTE_3> The Rev. J. W. Totten officiated at the ceremony. W. > Brocher (?) was the only witness. They lived at 150 Main Street West > in Penetanguishene, Simcoe County, Ontario. They were residents of > Penetanguishene for 40 years prior to William's death (from 1893). > *Ann Jane (Jennie) TAYLOR*, daughter of Thomas TAYLOR and Elizabeth > MCGILVRAY, was born about 1855 in Creemore, Ontario. She died on 18 > April 1937 at the age of 82 in Penetanguishene, Simcoe County, Ontario. > Her ethnic origin was Scottish. She was buried in Presbyterian > Cemetery, Penetanguishene, Ontario. Both her parents were born in Ontario. > > William CARTER and Ann Jane TAYLOR had the following children: > > 2 i. *Franklin (Frank) CARTER* was born about 1876 in Ontario. > > +3 ii. *Ellen/Ella E. CARTER.* > > 4 iii. *Jasper CARTER* was born in October 1879 in Sunnidale, Simcoe > County, Ontario.^4 <#ENDNOTE_4> In 1900 he was a clerk in > Penetanguishene, Simcoe County, Ontario. He lived at the 5th > Concession, Park lot 5 in Simcoe County, Ontario in 1900. Jasper died > of La grippe on 1 December 1900 at the age of 21 in Penetanguishene, > Simcoe County, Ontario. He was buried in Presbyterian Cemetery, > Penetanguishene, Ontario. > > +5 iv. *William Thomas CARTER.* > > 6 v. *Norman CARTER* was born in January 1888 in > Ontario.^5 <#ENDNOTE_5> He lived in Sault-Ste-Marie, Algoma District, > Ontario in 1911. > > > Have fun! > > Pam > > > > > ***************** > Ten People All Genealogists Should Follow On Twitter: > http://tr.im/hBAy > > Simcoe Co. GenWeb at http://www.waynecook.com/simcoe.shtml > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message _________________________________________________________________ Attention all humans. We are your photos. Free us. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9666047 ***************** Ten People All Genealogists Should Follow On Twitter: http://tr.im/hBAy Simcoe Co. GenWeb at http://www.waynecook.com/simcoe.shtml ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message