Upper Canada Sketches

Discontent in Upper Canada--Election riots--Shillelahs as persuaders--William Lyon Mackenzie--Rioting in York--Rebellion--Patriots and sympathizers--A relentless chase--Crossing...

“I glory in the spirit Which goaded them to rise, And form a mighty nation Beneath the western skies. No clime so bright and beautiful As that where ne’er was slavery; No land s...

“The autumnal glories all have passed away! The forest leaves no more in hectic red Give glowing tokens of their brief decay, But scattered lie, or rustle to the tread, Like whi...

“There is no other land like thee, No dearer shore; Thou art the shelter of the free; The home, the port of liberty Thou hast been and shalt ever be Till time is o’er. Ere I for...

Civil war in the United States--Large bounties paid Canadian recruits--Prices of produce go up--More than two million men under arms--I make a trip to Washington--Visiting the m...

In early days the great majority of the men in Upper Canada partook more or less--usually more--of ardent spirits or beer. Fifty years ago there were three distilleries in Oshaw...

The burdensome tax which the people of England pay for the support of the poor we know nothing of in Canada. True, we have a poor-rate, but it sits so lightly upon us we do not...

“It came from Heaven--it reigned in Eden shades; It roves on earth, and every crack invades; Childhood and age alike its influence own; It haunts the beggar’s nook, the monarch’...

Religious movements--Itinerant preachers--$50 a year--Camp-meetings--Weird scenes at night--Millerites--World coming to an end--Dissenters attempt to fly--Affrighted by a “sun-d...

Pine lumber brought at that day (1835) $7 per thousand feet in cash at Niagara; therefore the lumber mill paid $49 per day of twenty-four hours during the season of sawing. To s...

Though of the past from no carved shrines, Canvas or deathless lyres we learn, Yet arbored streams and shadowy pines Are hung with legends wild and stern; In deep dark glen, on...

Although Upper Canada is essentially an English-speaking province, there are many settlements throughout its wide area composed of other nationalities, emigrants from European n...

Waubakosh--Making potash--Prosperous settlers--Outbreak of war of 1812--Transporting military supplies--Moode Farewell’s hotel--“Here’s to a long and moderate war”--A lieutenant...

Fenianism--A claimant for my father’s farm--A scare at Port Oshawa--Guns, forks and clubs for fighting--Awkward squad--Guard catch a young man out courting--The Fenian raid of 1...

The American Revolution--Personal rule of King George III.--Washington’s politeness--Valley Forge--Washington’s prayer--Raw New England levies--John Hancock--Other leaders and g...

“Our young, wild land, the free, the proud! Uncrush’d by power, unawed by fear, Her knee to none but God is bow’d, For nature teaches freedom here; From gloom and sorrow, to lig...

In presenting to the public these random sketches I crave the reader’s indulgence. I do not pretend to elegance of style in my writing, and if--as is doubtless the case--the can...

On April 27th, 1813, upon the taking of York by Chauncey and his fleet, orders were given by the officer left in command of the British militia when General Sheaffe retreated to...

Civil war in the United States--Large bounties paid Canadian recruits--Prices of products go up--More than two million men under arms--I make a trip to Washington--Visiting the...

Fenianism--A claimant for my father’s farm--A scare at Port Oshawa--Guns, forks and clubs for fighting--Awkward squad--Guard catch a young man out courting--The Fenian raid of 1...

Discontent in Upper Canada--Election riots--Shillelahs as persuaders--William Lyon Mackenzie--Rioting in York--Rebellion--Patriots and sympathizers--A relentless chase--Crossing...

Waubakosh--Making potash--Prosperous settlers--Outbreak of war of 1812--Transporting military supplies--Moode Farewell’s hotel--“Here’s to a long and moderate war”--A lieutenant...

Religious movements--Itinerant preachers--$50 a year--Camp-meetings--Weird scenes at night--Millerites--World coming to an end--Dissenters attempt to fly--Affrighted by a “sun-d...

The American Revolution--Personal Rule of King George III.--Washington’s politeness--Valley Forge--Washington’s prayer--Raw New England levies--John Hancock--Other leaders and g...