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Whitby Free Press, 29 Nov 1978, p. 7

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m 1823 Early records of Whitby are very scarce, and it is difficuit for the historian to trace the development of this. community before' 1840. However, an old book of township records' discovered in a desk at an auction sale in 1864 affords us an insight into the development of Whitby in the period from 1801 to 1841. The book begins in 1801 when the Townships of Whitby and- Pickering were combined under the same municipal govern- ment. In those days Whitby Township consisted of what is now the Town of Whitby and City of Oshawa, and Pickering Township consisted of what is now P ickering and Ajax. The first council for the combined townships was appointed in 1803, when there were only 130 residents in both communities, inluding women and children. In 1811, Whtby and Pickering each set up their own municipal governments. The first recorded meeting for.choosing town officers and other regulators, forý Whitby and Pickering was held at the house of Samuel'Munger in Pickering on March 7, 1803. The resuht of this meeting was the appointment of one town NEWS A remninder to anyone who mould ike tickets for the 4th annual Candheight Buffett and Dance, to cail Mrs. Jackson at 6554878. The dance will be held Dec. h at the Christian Education Building of the Brookhin United Church. Tickets are $8.00 per couple. Anyone interested in bettering the Brooklin Spring Fair, is invited to attend the annual imeting to offer suggestions for the consideration of the directors. The meeting will be Tuesday Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. at the Brooklin Community Centre. Once again Group '74 wvill present their "Old Tymne Clristrnas". To'keep up with changes, they decided to change the narni to read "Brooklin Old TYîoe Chistmas". The date is set for Sunday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. There will be carol singing, hot niait cidar to warm your boues, homne baked treats for your tummy, goodies for the kiddies, and a special visit froin Santa. It's loads of fun, somie- thing for everyone. So corne out and celebrate Christmnas the old fashioned wny wth Group'74. H isto-ric al Whitby *IEWS Good, crowds attended the Craft Sale and Flea Market at the Ashbumn Conmmnty Centre Saturday Nov. 18. The orgarîizers, Gail and Betty Gardiner, wish to tliank al 4io participated and support- ed the venture. During six school toumnanients at Whitby Senior School on Nov, il and 18, intermediate girls' and boys' volleyball teans fromn Meadomvrest Public School wn the right to participate in the Durhami Elementary Athletic Association finals on Dec. 1l. Each team won twenty âtraight toumnament garnes and the best of three finals against Athabaska Public Sehool. Girls on the Maadowcrest team are l-éather Duyf, Joy Proctor, Brenda Lawson, Shela Verrydt, Terri King, Pain Wyden, Pat Hayden, Laurie Vipond and Joanne Middleton, while the Meadow- crest Boys' Team 'is rnade up of Mark Oruxtofù, Chris Humphrey, Brian Brawener, Bob Ryan, John Schell, Peter Kozyriackyjd, Tom Scheefer, Steven Gibson, Paul Walendzewicz, Mark Anderson and Andy Schroth. 2 PiJRTICIP~(TIOfl Sin gers move Chrisftmas concert downtown The County Town Singers have joined in the promotion of Whitby's core this year by moving their annual "County Town Christmas" concert downtown. Bill Brant, owner of Cinerma Whitby (formerly known as the Brock Theatre) has offered his theatre to the Singers for their annual Christmas concert, which will be hehd Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m. The concert is phanned as a family presentation, with special rates of $2 for adult tickets and $5 for family tickets. Tickets are available from Middheton's Book Store, Harper House and from any member of the County Town Singers.. This year's two-hour show will fecture a combination of Christmas and secuhar music. Among the secular selec- tions will be Bojangles, Canadian Railroad Trilogy, Caberet. You Light Up My Life and Street4s of London, many of which were popular numbers at the Singers' spring concert. Thie Christmas portion of the program will include Twas the Night Before Christmas, traditional carols, and the ever-popuàlar "Do You }Iear What I Hear"' This will be the first tim!e the County' Town Singers have not held their animal Christmas concert in a high school auditoriumn. With the new emphasis on downtowfl promotion, the Singeraare BROOKUIN RENTALS. FEATURES ALI TYPES OF NEW EQUIPMENT TREWAX STEAM CARPET CLEANER, GAS ELECTRIC HEATERS, CHAIN SAWS, CONCRETE SAWS, COMPACTORS, WALL PAPER TEAMER, TARPS, CONCRETE & MORTOR MIXERS, PUMPS - SNOW PLOUGHING & BLOWING EQUIPMENT, PLUS MANY MORE ITEMS. CALL 655-60 Snow Shovels Ice Scrapers Snow Pushers en Sumsan Smith 655-3932 Bro',mq's Drop! -Off (before 2 p.m. Snturday) clerk, two assessors, two town wardens, one tax collector, five pathmasters, tw~o fenceviewers and one poundkeeper. The town clerk, Ebenezer Ransom, was responsible, for keeping the records of council meetings'oI3y one was held each year), and conducting a, yearly census of the residents of the townships or "Towns" as they were called in.the record book. Only two bylaws were passed at the 1803 meeting. One was that no hog shahl run free unless it weighs more than 40 pounds, andanother set out the lawful measurements for fences. A lawful fence had to be 4 1/2 feet high and two feet at the botto m, with the rails not more than four inches apart: The censvs roll was called a "return of inhabitance, " and -as mentioned9hefore, there were only 30 families totalling 130 people in Whitby and Pickering in 1803. At the 1804 meeting, the council voted to assess the residents of the township for the cost of a new book in which to keep the town records, "each man payinig his equal share according to the valuation of his property." The total cost was only,, 29 shillings, as English money was used in Canada at that time. Starting in 1804, the census returns for Whitby an d Pickering were kept separately. That year there were 88 residents in Whitby, and the total population for the Township reached 100 in 1805. It is expected that most of these people'were "llate' loyalists" who came up from the United States prior to the War of 1812. After the War of 1812, the waves of immigration from England, Ireland and Scotland began. For some reason, the Town Meetings of 1805 to 1807 are not. recorded, but the census records were kept up by the clerk. In 1807 Whitby had a population of 139. It must be remembered that the present Town of Whitby is only haîf the area of the Township of Whitby referred to in 1807. The remainder of that old township is now the City of Oshawa. BRQOKLIN MACHINIE SHOP SERVICE 655-3653 En gine Rebuildig Cylinder Head Reconditioning Cylinde r Reboring Crank Shaft Regrinding Service Brake- Drum & Disc Truing ENGINE PARTS, COMPLETE BRAKE-SERVICE ENGINEýTUNE UJP SPEND 15 MINUTES WITH .US TOMORROW AND, FIND OUT -WHAT US .GOING ON- IN DURNAMI, NOON, EVENINOS NIONT REPORTS 12:020, 6 P.M.9'l1i--P.M. Weather, Sports, und News I I WHMY FREE, PRESS, WMi")NEAY, NOXVFNM 29,1978, PAGE 7 The record book contai ns notations of certificates being issued to settlers who turned in wolf's heads. There must have been a bounty on wolves àt the time, but the price is not stated. The certificates were signed by a justice of the Peace, and *recorded by the Town Clerk. Another practice, dating back to 1801, is the recording of the marking of cattle, so that stray cows can be identified by their owners. Some of the marks are recorded as "a crop of the left »ear and a haîf penny under the right ear," and "a swallowfork in the right ear." This is a forerunner of today's system of' branding cattie. Thé hast recorçier meeting of the council of the united townships of Whitby andi Pickering was held on Mârch 7, 1808 at the home of Jabez Lynde in Whitby. This was a I"log waysW4e inn," on the Kingston Road (Highway 2) at Lynde Creek. After the War of 1812, it was replaced, by the home which is now the Lynde House Myuseum, operated by the Whitby Historical Society. The first meeting for the Township of Whitby ahone was held at Caleb Crawford's home on March 4, 1811. The War of 1812 put a stop to the growth of Whitby Township. The population in 1811 was 279 and by 1817'it had grown by only 10 people. In 1818 the population jumped to 376 and there was a steady increase of settlers until the population reached 845 by 1823. In that year, authorization was given to open the first post~ <office in Whitby Township/This.was located at the corner of <Dundas, and Anderson Streets, at a settiement called Crawford's Corners (Later Hamer's Corners)., The contents of -the early record..book of Whitby and Pickering Townships were published in part in the Oshawa Vindictor in 1864. The. present' location of the book is not known by the writer, although he understands it is in a public archive somewhere.* Anyone who is aware of its present location is asked to contact the writer of tlîis column at the Free Press. FRED STONE -[ýAMUOMOIVEMACHINE SHfOP 86 QUEEN ST. WIIITBY, 1801 I MITcwEL OTE Building Supp lies Ltd. Sarc>oklln 654991

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