Montreal Gazette, July 7, 1819 To the Emigrants who arrived at Quebec in the summer of 1818, and who came in the Jane of Greenock, and the Carlow of London, from the parishes of Comera, Balyhidder, Weems, and Killice in Perthshire, North Britain [1]. When we parted from you at Montreal for this part of the Country, we promised to inform you of the advantages, which we might find it to possess. You are probably so scattered about now, that we cannot inform you in any other way than by addressing you a letter in a newspaper; and we earnestly hope, that the Editors of other papers, will be kind enough to give our letter one insertion, that you may all have the opportunity of hearing from us. We have been of the party of Colonel Burwell, and assisted him to Survey about seventy thousand acres of land, in the Township of London, which we have just completed, and Colonel Talbot has just located us upon one hundred acres each. The Township of London is bounded in front by the river Thames, and is well watered by the north branch of it, and a great many smaller branches which intersect every Concession in the Township; some of which are very excellent for Mill seats. The land is of the finest quality we ever saw. The soil is generally very black and deep; and at the same time, intermixed with a small quantity of white sand. The Timber is Sugar Maple, Elm, white Oak, Butternut, Cherry, and Basswood. We have not passed through a lot, but that we have seen some Butternut trees, under which, the ground was frequently almost covered with Butternuts at this season of the year. The pack-men of our party have often gathered, and brought quantities of them, to where we have encamped at night, and cracked as many as we wished. Towards the last of April, and the first of this month, they have been as fine and dry amongst the leaves of last year, as though they had been kept in a house. Several persons who have removed from the Eastern part of this Province, and now live near this place, have informed us, that the wintering of Cattle and Horses does not cost more than half as much here as there. When we left Scotland, the Ministers of our parishes begged us to settle near each other, which we sincerely wish and hope, that such of you as are not settled to your satisfaction, will come to this part of the Province, and now live near this place. You will certainly like the country when you see it. We have had no trouble in getting our lands. When we made choice of them, we applied to Colonel Talbot, and we have two years to perform the Settlement duties in, which is all to our own advantage. Several of our friends are now here, and every new Settler who has money, or is industrious, can buy provisions from our neighbours on Talbot Road, and in Westminster, on the opposite side of the River Thames, to last until they can grow them from their own farms. We remain your friends, JAMES MCFARLANE, ARCHIBALD MCFARLANE, JAMES CAMPBELL, JOHN CARMICHAELL. London (U. C.) 20th, May, 1819 Notes. 1. Sue Swiggum identified the ships as the Jane and the Curlew, and the parishes as Comrie, Balquhidder, Weem and Killin. 2. Colonel Talbot was a long serving, but controversial, emigration agent who did much to encourage settlement of South Western Ontario, between London and the Detroit River. Colonel Burwell surveyed the area. 3. Almost all of the Carolinian forest has been stripped from SW Ontario. The land is used for various types of farming, depending on its quality. 4. The names of many passengers on the Curlew were listed in Colonial Office papers and have been transcribed by Sue on http://www.theshipslist.com John Carmichael is listed on the Curlew but the other signatories of the letter are not; perhaps they were on the Jane. -- Harry Dodsworth Ottawa Ontario Canada af877@freenet.carleton.ca ----------------------------------------------------------------