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Intro_Panel_proof2 OF THE PROMINENT FAMILIES PERIOD The �rst settlers who had been recruited and located in the area (in the 1800 and 1810s) were drawn from Loyalist sons and daughters and the growing tide of American land seekers - sometimes referred to as the "late Loyalists"…Most of those who came during the 1820s and 1830s were from Britain, - some being either military o�cers on half pay or minor landed gentry seeking to improve their fortunes. The in�ux of capital which accompanied these people, their landscape tastes, and predilec- tion for mixed farming soon di�erentiated the area from others in the colony. English travellers passing through Cobourg and its environs looked approvingly at a town and countryside which they described as a comfortable, fashionable, prosperous place with a sense of society. In the quote above Professor Ennals sets the stage for the Cobourg of 1837. The following panels provide a brief intro- duction to just a few of the more in�uential citizens who were part of our town about the time of Incorporation. It was a heady time and there must have been a great sense of optimism. Dreams of success had been fuelled by such ventures as the opening up of the hinterland north of Rice Lake by stage coach and steamer. It is easy to get the impression that Cobourg was populated entirely by the wealthy and well connected. Of course this was not the case, but those are the people about whom we have records, those are the ones who built the impressive homes, or otherwise left their mark. And those are the ones about whom you will read on this series of panels. The text and pictures have been supplied almost entirely by Rob Mikel, a one-time resident of Cobourg, a historian, author of Ontario House Styles, The distinctive architecture of the province's 18th and 19th century homes and a recipient of the Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Award for life-time achievement. He currently works for the Ontario government. Volunteers of the Sifton-Cook Heritage Centre prepared Rob's material for these panels. Design is by Steve Smiley, RGD of Quench Design & Communications, Port Hope. (Peter Ennals: Cobourg and Port Hope: The Struggle for Control of "The Back Country" in "Perspectives on Landscape and Settlement in Nineteenth Century Ontario" Carleton Library, 1975. Peter is Professor Emeritus of Geography and the Environment, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB) George M. Boswell Freeman S. Clench Zac Burnham