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To-day our feet trod on
historic ground. Where just one hundred years ago was a wilderness, dark and
dreary, now is to be found rolling meadows, beautiful in verdue
and lands rich in soil. Adolphustown, laid out as it has been by hardy
tribes, now yields its fruit for hundreds of our fellow men. Just one hundred
years ago to-day, Capt. Vanalstine, with a large number of refugees from the
United States, landed within sight of where the writer of this now sits.
Descendents of these families now crowd the township, not large in size, but
possessed of much wealth. On June 17th, Capt. Vanalstine began the
work of clearing a spot and building a house. His associates did the same,
and soon around the projections of land stretching out into the Bay of Quinte
the log cabins began to multiply and the curling smoke told a silent but most
cheerful tale. Soon the wilderness disappeared and Adolphustown, named after Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, tenth son of George III,
became the centre of Canada in so far as the then settlements were concerned.
Of course, Kingston was the naval headquarters and was greater in importance,
but Adolphustown ranked next, and here alternate with Kingston court was
held. For the sake of comparison
and to show the advance made in the country, we called on Mr. F. Membery, township
clerk, and secured the following statement from the assessment rolls of 1884.
There are now 191 ratepayers and a population of 644 souls; 11,637 acres are
occupied, and 9,124 of these are under cultivation. The value of the estates
if $418,346 and this, with personal and taxable income, increases the
assessment to $443,809. Better land and a more
intelligent class of people cannot be found. Many of the farmers possess
plethoric purses. Last night, as we sat in the cosy
and beautiful home of J.J. Watson, we could not but contrast the advantages
we now possess and those of our ancestors. The advance has been marvelous.
Log cabins have been transformed into brick and stone mansions and instead of
a simple chest that served as bed by night and a set of drawers by day there
are luxuries galore. TALK ABOUT THE VILLAGE Adolphustown village is a
small place, situated on a bluff overlooking the harbor. There are several
stores, a hotel, town hall, English church and parsonage and several
residences. Here D.W. Allison, M.P., has a palatial residence with fountains
driven by windmill power playing prettily on the lawn. The village was alive
on Saturday night and all the inhabitants were anxiously awaiting “the
centennial.” The hotel was jammed full –
three in a bed and dozens in the bar room. The WHIG reporter had fears of
having to crowd himself into a barrel in the village store, but J.J. Watson,
a kind hearted Loyalist, threw open his doors and made the scribe quite happy.
Expectations are high for a great time. The ground where the sports
will occur is on a plateau above the bay, owned by D.W. Allison, M.P. Great
preparation has been made for the demonstration. Some 10 acres have been
fenced off and rods upon rods of sheds erected where all manner of refreshments
will be served. Booths line the grounds in all directions and on the western
side of the campers the white tents of the militia are seen. A grand stand,
beautifully decorated, is located in the centre of the plot, while a dozen
flagstaffs float bunting and tell to the world that there the pioneers of
this province landed and made their homes. Men with whirligigs and cheap
jacks are preparing for the demonstration and hope to reap much benefit. As
late as Sunday afternoon the rap of the hammer was heard above the deep bass
voices of the bull frogs in the cave. ARRIVAL OF THE MILITARY On Sunday morning early, the
steamer Hero arrived with the 15th Battalion from Belleville and
as dawn flecked the eastern sky the companies marched to their tents – a very
tired looking lot of men. The battalion was commanded by Lieut.-Col. Lazier,
with Majors Henderson and Dunnett. Paymaster
Bigger, Quartermaster Campion, Adjutant Lazier and Surgeon Burdette as staff
officers. At three o’clock the battalion was marched beneath two wide
spreading oak and maples and a military service held. Many of the company
stood over the ashes of pioneers, while from a sloping mound Rev. Mr. Forneri, B.D., gave an excellent sermon on the
characteristics of the loyalists. The hymns were sung by the
citizen soldiers, led by the band, which played admirably. In the old
Episcopalian church in the village quite an audience assembled at 11 o’clock.
The sermon was delivered by Rev. C.E. Thomson, an old Kingstonian,
surviving son of the late Hugh C. Thomson, M.P., editor and proprietor of the
Upper Canada Herald which flourished in Kingston over 50 years ago. Mr.
Thomson’s mother is still living, the wife of Rev. Dr. Townley,
of Paris. He disparaged any THOUGHT OF INDEPENDENCE,
SAYING: “A last word in a matter which sometimes comes up in the political
horizon, and has now and then appeared like a dark cloud, threatening storm,
confusion and disaster. I refer to the idea some people have that this
Dominion of Canada would be better off if it were independent of the British
Crown. If our noble ancestors could speak to us from where, perhaps, their
spirits serenely contemplate our political strife, they would say with
bitterness, ‘Try it if you like, foolish children; you cannot maintain your
national independence for six months. And then you will find, as we found,
that the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel, and that the little finger of
republicanism is thicker than the loins of the Imperial masters.” LAYING A CORNER STONE On Saturday afternoon another
epoch in the history of Methodism occurred – the laying of the stone of a
memorial Methodist church, to be dedicated to those who brought to Canada the
principles and doctrines they learned before their exile. In 1788 one Lyon, a
class leader, began speaking and exhorting. In 1789,
Rev. Mr. McCarthy followed, and on enunciating Methodist doctrines without
governmental authority he was banished and on one of the islands near
Kingston, perished, or at least never was heard of again. In 1792, the first
Methodist church in Canada was erected, the spontaneous gifts of the settlers
being remarkable. The subscriptions ranged from £1 to £12, large sums for the poor but devotee
people. It is upon the site of this first church that the memorial building
is to be reared at a cost of $5,000. It will be brick with stone foundation.
The church stands on the farm of J.P. Dorland, 2nd concession
Adolphustown, about two miles from the village. The ceremonies on Saturday
were witnessed by a very large company. After a short introduction the corner
stone was placed in position, and Mrs. J.B. Allison, widow, aged 85 years,
stepped forward, and, as the tears of joy coursed her cheeks, laid the same
in the name of the Holy Trinity. Next November the dedicatory SERVICES WILL BE HELD Addresses were afterwards made
by Revs. D.V. Lucas, Montreal; M.L. Pearson, Napanee; W. Briden,
Newburg; J.J. Leach, Odessa and R.N. Adams, the pastor. On Sunday services
were held in a great tent. The sermons were by Rev. D.V. Lucas. At the
services on Saturday a document was read and placed beneath the foundation
stone, with some of the names of the original Methodists. The names were
numerous and though the Loyalists have passed away, dozens of their
descendents remain. NOTES BY THE WAY John McIntyre, Q.C.,
Kingston; Dr. Canniff, Toronto, and his brother, P.F. Canniff, Superintendent
of the Asylum farm, London; Messrs. Congor, of
Picton, and other strangers, were present at the church service yesterday
morning. The WHIG, as usual, was the avant courier in
the newspaper line. |
