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26 Bicentennial Edition, Wednesday, October 5, 1994 Supplement of The Canadian Statesman My History Salts Back is ftr as This article on one of Darlington's first pioneer families was originally published in the 1990 "Reflections" Edition of The Statesman Although it is next to impossible today to imagine imagine what the early settlement settlement of the Bowman- ville area entailed, the history of the Trull family, family, one of the earliest families to settle here, has been documented. The following will allow us some insight into the struggle these first settlers settlers had establishing themselves in Canada and will provide glimpses into their everyday lives. The Beginning: John. W. Trail was born on the Isle of.Wight, England in 1746. At the age of 13, he was pressed into service on the British Man of ; War named Irando.; * He emigrated to the United States with his wife, Lydia Casey. There, twins Susan and Eunice, Elizabeth and Sarah were born. During 1 the period of ■the American Revolutionary Revolutionary war in 1775 at Tews- bury, Mass., approximately approximately 20 miles from Boston, Captain John W. Trull was awakened by a compatriot, and, by arranged arranged signal, fired the shot that-warned Dracut who was camped across the Merrimack River, of eminent attack by Revolutionary Revolutionary Troops. Thus, John W. Trull aligned. himself with the British cause in America and became became an undesirable in the United States. At the conclusion of the Revolutionary war, the Trull family and other other families who had aided aided and regained loyal to the British cause and crown, were persecuted and hounded out of the country. The Trulls, Burks, and Conants joined the thousands thousands of Loyalists who fled to Canada and the protection of the British flag. They lost most of their possessions in a general confiscation prior to escaping escaping and had only the clothes they stood up in, a few supplies and the promise of 200 acres granted them by the then Governor, John G. Sim- coe, when they stepped onto Canadian soil in 1794. _ Their journey across Lake Ontario was made on a Batteau, a crude, flat-bottomed boat, which coasted the south shore of Lake Ontario, stopping in bays and inlets to cook and camp. This is a record of that crossing which was kept by the pioneers on their journey to Canada.' "There were no roads on either side of Lake Ontario Ontario at that time. On a journey (that now can be made in a few hours) we spent a month and a day. The journey was tedious, tiresome and not without danger. It was a month of storms on the lake, and when one of the frequent gales came up, we had to pull our boats ashore and . camp in the woods that then covered the whole country from the lake front to the farthest north. Matches were then an invention of the future, future, and we had to depend depend on a flint, or rubbing rubbing together of two sticks, to start a fire, a difficult operation at best, and almost impossible of accomplishment when rain was falling. Our cooking utensils were pots hung on stakes over an open fire and our food consisted of fish caught in the lake, game obtained from the forest, and bread hastily cooked from flour we carried with us. Sleep was broken, quite frequently, by the howling howling of wolves and some of the party had to remain on guard all night." Reaching Newark, (Ni- agara-on-the-Lake), they were sent by Governor Simcoe to settle in Upper Canada. Continuing their journey along the north shoreline of the lake, they soon reached Barbers Creek, Port Darlington, which became Bowman- ville in 1823, and on the second of October camped of where the settlement was later formed. Their stock, which consisted consisted of a horse and two cows, were driven around the shore through swamps, creeks and marshes. At Barber's Creek they found a flat marsh which was free of the everpresent everpresent forest, and at once they began preparation preparation for, winter. They built log shanties with bark roofs. The interiors interiors were plastered with mud and the coarse swailgrass was used as filling fpr mattresses and ticks (comforters). In the spring, the Trulls moved three miles west of Barber's Creek where they established a homestead. On September 2, 1795, John Casey Trull was born. He was the first member of the Trull family family born on Canadian soil, and is believed to be the first white child to be born in the County of Durham. The first actual settlement settlement of Darlington Town- .ship, County of Durham, Province of Ontario, took place in the year 1794. Phoebe, Jessie, William and Parmelia were born To Page 28 Family owned and operated Since 1968 ° Sales and Service • Air Conditioning • Refrigeration Service Guaranteed Emergency Service Available I-161 Baseline Road East, Bowmanville 623-3221 © it: ' - t ■ -■ -- - ■ : 8 I g g ■ ; tin Old Friend Has Come "Home*" Again! Home Hardware... part of Bowmanville's Heritage Some hardware We Specialize in • Cutting Glass • Repairs to Windows and Screens • Cutting Keys 160 Church Street 697-0433 Bowmanville^ The Trull homestead. This house on Baseline Rd. is still standing. At the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, the Trull family and other families who had aided and remained loyal to the British cause and crown, were persecuted and hounded out of the country The Models may :e . 1949 Plymouth ... however, the traditions of quality products and the best in service NEVER DO! ® ) A dr _R$! 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