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po RRL ee CR - A i A 4 NAIR Sgt. Na ny ultnogs "A Family Tradition for 128 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, November 1, 1994 - B21 Sketches of Scugog is a historical column written by local resident and historian Paul Arculus and published in the Port Perry Star the first issue of each month. LJ] ® [J HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETER PERRY! Next Monday, Nov. 14, marks the 202nd anniversary of the birth of Peter Perry, the founder and namesake of Port Perry. Peter Perry is one of the most under- rated politicians in Canadian history particularly since he made so many significant contributions to the early growth of our nation, our province, our region and our local municipality. Of importance to us in this com- munity is the fact that he began the settlement of what is now Port Perry. In 1844 he purchased 200 acres on the south west shore of Lake Scugog in order to increase the scope of his business enterprises at what is now Whitby. There was a growing timber trade developing at the north end of Lake Scugog but the timber was being transported down the Trent system to Port Hope. Perry had purchased the waterfront at what is now Whitby. He called it Windsor. Timber was one of the keys to economic growth at that time and he wanted to increase the volume of trade through his harbour at Whitby. Owning property at the south shore of Lake Scugog would enable him to divert the trade from Port Hope to his harbour. Energetically he set about his task of luring appropriate businesses and inves- tors into his plan. He built a store on the waterfront (at the site of Re/Max Realty at Queen and Water Street) in 1844, placing Chester Draper in charge. Here he sold goods to the settlers at Borelia and traded furs with the Mississaugas. In 1845, Perry drew up a street plan for a proposed settlement on his property on the southwest corner of Lake Scugog. He named it Scugog Village. The settlement consisted of Water Street, Queen Street, North Street, Mary Street (named after his wife, Mary), John Street (after their son, John) and Cinderella Street (named after their first daughter, Cinderella). This was later renamed Casimir Street after the railroad engineer Casimir Gzowski. He convinced Sexton, Ross, Paxton, Way and Hill to build steam powered sawmills at the Lake Scugog waterfront. By 1846, the plan was so well underway that he encouraged the partnership of Cotton and Rowe of Whitby to finance Hugh Chisolm in the building of a steamship on Lake Scugog. The keel for the vessel was laid at the waterfront in the fall of 1850. The "Woodsman," the first steam vessel on Lake Scugog, was launched in the spring of 1851. Perry was also the prime mover behind the present city of Whitby. He purchased the harbour there and had established it as a Port of Entry for goods on Lake Ontario. He established a store at the northeast corner of what is now Brock Street and Highway 2 (Dundas Street). This area became known as Perry's Corners. He also drew up a town plan for Whitby Village in 1846. In this plan he also used the names of his wife, and his son but ventured into names of trees for the other streets; Chestnut and Walnut. This original town is to be found on the north side of Dundas. Once his settlement was well estab- lished, he helped to establish a library and, in 1846, Whitby Grammar School. Peter Perry's most significant contribu- tion to Ontario and our nation as a whole was his work as a politician in the first half of the 19th century. Unfortunately Sketc by Paul Arculus HISTORICAL there is very little reference to Peter Perry in most history books, largely because he was completely overshad- owed by the two men who were his prin- cipal allies: William Lyon Mackenzie and Robert Baldwin. All three men were leaders of the Reform PETER PERRY movement and the demand for responsi- ble government in the 1820s and 1830s. Mackenzie grabbed the limelight by organizing an armed uprising, the 1837 Rebellion. Baldwin gained more coverage because of his role among the establish- ment of York (now Toronto). A careful analysis of the events and legislation of that era will show that Peter Perry played just as important a role as Mackenzie and Baldwin. To understand Peter Perry's principles and ideas we have to appreciate the importance of his background and upbringing. Peter Perry was born on Nov. 14, 1792, near what is now Bath Ontario, very close to Napanee. His parents had fled to that part of Upper Canada after the American War of Independence. Robert Perry, his father, was a Loyalist and had fought for the English against the rebel Americans. The United States seems to go through a period of embarrassment once every century. In the 20th century it was the war in Viet Nam. In the 19th century it was the Civil War and in the 18th cen- tury, the embarrassing events of the Revolutionary War have been largely hidden from the public view. The embar- rassing events of that period are ignored by the scholars and denied by the less knowledgeable. The American Revolution was not as popular a movement as patriotic Americans would like us to believe. At the time of the outbreak of the Revolution, only a third of the people of the 13 Colonies were in favor of breaking away from Britain. One third wished to remain loyal to Great Britain and its institutions, while the remaining third were completely neutral. The rebellious third used tactics of fear, lies, bribery, intimidation and even murder to achieve their goals. The British, and the Loyalists who fought for the British, were not beyond reproach themselves. Nevertheless, the intimidation tactics of Washington and bes of Scugog his cronies, and the incompetence of some of the British military leaders, won the day for the rebels. The period which followed the revolution was one of total chaos. At Yorktown, Virginia, in October 1781, Cornwallis and his 9,000 British troops surrendered to Washington's 30,000 strong military and naval forces. It should be noted that less than a third of his forces were American. He com- manded 8,000 French soldiers and 13,000 French sailors along with his 9,000 American troops. The aftermath had horrendous consequences for the Loyalists. The Continental Congress which met in 1776 to establish policy for the movement toward Independence, sanc- tioned and encouraged perse- cution of Loyalists and con- fiscation of their property. At the war's end in 1781, this policy was exploited by anyone who saw an oppor- tunity to grab goods, proper- ty, land and money. When the British left, the provisionary government of the new United States of America was incapable of controlling the populace. There was no police force, and no local government to estab- lish control over local affairs. George Washington and his cro- nies were too busy trying to establish a federal government and all that entails. In many communities throughout the newly formed United States, par- ticularly in the north, those who had shown any loyalty to the British, were driven from their homes and their pro- perty confiscated. Unscrupulous citizens of all types took advantage of the unstable environment, looting, pillaging, raping and even murdering the Loyalists. The government in London appealed to Washington to desist. Washington agréed, but he had no facili- ties or organization to control the lawlessness. The result was that tens of thousands of loyalists left the new nation. 40,000 fled north to Canada settling mainly in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and along the shores of the Saint Lawrence and Lake Ontario. Robert Perry served in the Queen's Loyal Rangers and in Jessups Rangers in various cam- paigns against the Americans, as had his wife's father and broth- ers. Their homes and property in Vermont were confiscated. With his wife, Jemima, and a few meager posses- sions Robert Perry fled on horseback to Canada, even- tually settling near what is now Bath, Ontario. They began to put their lives was the upper house composed of mem- sense of militancy and his vicious attacks WILLIAM LYON MCKENZIE Mary Ham, a daughter of another Loyalist who had fought against the Americans and later fled to Canada. Although uneducated in the formal sense, Peter P2rry had a keen sense of duty toward his fellow man and his coun- try. He was also a capable leader and took an interest in politics. At that time, the Legislature of Upper Canada was under the control of a select group of wealthy, closely knit business- men, churchmen and other members of the establishment. They were referred to > as the Family Compact. In 1823, Marshall Spring Bidwell a friend of Perry, had been excluded from the ballot in a by-election for the repre- | sentative of the combined counties of Lennox and Addington. The following year, Peter Perry ran for office himself along with Bidwell on a platform opposing the policies of the Family Compact. Many candidates around the province shared Perry's views and he was regarded as one of their leading exponents. Perry and Bidwell were elected. ~ They had the support of many promin- ent people outside the legislature includ- ing William Lyon Mackenzie who at that time was running a newspaper and Dr. William Warren Baldwin, a respected and wealthy doctor who lived in York (Toronto). By the time of the 1828 election, Perry was clearly regarded as the leader of the Reform movement and welcomed Baldwin and Mackenzie's election as members of the legislature. The legislature was now under the con- trol of the Reformers. During this sitting of the legislature Perry showed his leader- ship by moving or seconding almost every piece of legislation which advocated change or reform. Unfortunately, every piece of reform legislation passed by the Assembly, the Lower House, was defeated by the Legislative Council. The council bers appointed by the Lieutenant Governor. In 1830, King George IV died and the assembly was dissolved and an election called. The Reformer's opponents were exploiting the uneasiness over Mackenzie's radicalism, his increasing on the government. In addition, the Lieutenant Governor, Sir John Colborne was extremely vocal in [*¥** _his opposition to Perry and the Reformers. This time the only Reformers elected were Perry, Bidwell and Mackenzie. Mackenzie developed a set of grievances against the Executive Council, grievances over the con- flict of interest of many members. Patronage appointments had been made whereby sitting members were given posi- tions of County Registrars, postmasters, inspectors and other offices which were clearly subject to government together, clearing land and building a humble home. All their neighbors had suffered the same fate and shared a hatred of the Americans and the American system. These thoughts and emotions gave an intensity to their feel- ings of loyalty to Britain and the British Parliamentary system. It is hard to imagine any conversation in their home which did not include some expression of admiration of Britain and cynicism towards the United States. Into this family and this environment Peter Perry was born in 1792. He had four brothers and five sisters. Three of Peter's brothers became Methodist min- isters while the other brother, Ebenezer, became a member of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada. On June 19, 1814, Peter Perry married policies. In the Assembly, Mackenzie became outraged and spoke out violently against the Family Compact. By a vote of the Assembly, Mackenzie was expelled from that body and a by-election was held. Mackenzie was, of course re- elected. Again the Assembly kept him from taking his seat. In January, 1832, still unable to take his seat and having been physically attacked while giving a speech in Hamilton, he decided to take his grievanc- es to the British authorities in London. He returned to Canada and, in November 1833, tried to take his seat in the Assembly and again he was expelled. By this time Mackenzie, understand- ably frustrated was beginning to talk of "independence from the mother country." PLEASE TURN TO NEXT PAGE As a ses es ss a ss PP ct Pan, Sm EE I TI r-imr.