Cramahe Archives Digital Collection

From an old diary, Jim Bell newspaper clipping, 15 February 1962, Colborne, Cramahe Township, 15 Feb 62 diary

The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

q - By Jim Bell FROM AN OLD DIARY I have just been reading from the diary of a lady whose grandmother was one of the first U.E.L. settlers in this sec- tion of Canada: Her name was Mrs. Mathew Goslee and her husband was an American who fought with the English forces against the Confederate forces in the revolutionary war. One day Miss Ann Schuyler, niece of General Sehuyler of Confed- erate army fame, who, with a negro servant, was trying to escape the English and find her way to General Schuyler’s Headquarters, stumbled right into the English camp. By good fortune, the first soldier she -encountered was Mathew Gos- lee, who though wounded, es- eorted her within. sight of Gen- eral Schuyler’s forces. He also fell in love with her and, after the war, married her and they came to Canada where Mathew Goslee was granted a generous section of land near Salem as! his first log house was built on the bank of that stream. He had to clear enough land for: the house and it was built among: the stumps left stand- ing. Ann Schuyler, Mrs. Goslee, kad been brougt up in luxury but she had the true pioneer spirit and settled into her new life with confidence and enth- usiasm. Other settlers came and soon a fair sized, community was situated in the district. | They were neighborly folk, helping each other get estab- lished, cutting the great trees, | building their log houses, each with its big stone fireplace, the «|v I REMEMBER only means of heat and cook- ing. Most of their furniture was home-made and in most cases the creek had to be utilized for a wash tub. But as I said before, they were neighborly folk and many a woman, after her own work for the day was done and her own children in bed, would light a torch of a pine knot and make her way through the den- se forest to some neighbour's where sickness or death had recently struck. The pine torch served two purposes, the one to light the way, the other to frighten any prowling wild an- imal away that might otherwise have attacked her. It was always a great day when anyone had enough land cleared and enough logs ready to build a house. Everyone tur- ned out to help and usually by night the family was establish- ed in the new home. Only one room, more than likely, but a home and one of the foundation stones of this great country of ours. We have a great heritage and a great responsibility. I often wonder if we appreciate the first and recognize the sec- ond.

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