The M(a)cEwan's and cheese in Perth County (pt.3)

By the 1860's the initial land-clearing/setting-up-home phase of pioneer settlement was largely complete in Downie Township in Upper Canada.  The Agriculture and Personal Census of 1861 creates a portrait of an establishing community with solid farms, a range of denominational churches, tuition-free public schools and a growing urban society able to pay for farm produce.  John McEwan who had married into the Ballantyne clan in 1847 as a 28 year old Scottish moulder, now owned 150  acres of land, at least a third of which was cleared and on which he grew a variety of crops. He was the father of growing family ranging in age from Robert who was 12, Alex (age 9 ), Janet (age 7), Mary (age 4), and Johnnie who was a baby. It is very likely that John owned several Ayshire cows, a breed which originated in Scotland and had been steadily developed in Canada West.  The milk from the cows would be churned by Agnes into butter for home consumption. On some farms the milk was also used to produce cheese. Of course, there was a ready market for any excess butter or cheese in the growing urban centre of Stratford. There are family stories of Fordyce Murray (Agnes McEwan's younger sister) regularly walking from Avonton to Stratford, a distance of about 12 kl. to sell her butter at the Stratford market.  Already, in Oxford county to the south there were examples of two farm women with herds of cows who were producing cheese on a relatively large scale for sell in the surrounding urban centres of London or Woodstock.  The huge British market was also a potential export market for cheese.

 In 1861 Thomas Ballantyne (Agnes McEwan's brother-in-law) had recently resigned his position as a school teacher and had bought a 50 acre farm in the eastern part of Downie Township. He was 31 years old and the father of two children.  He was active in municipal politics being first the auditor and later the clerk of the township. In July, 1867 he travelled south to Ingersoll in Oxford County to attend a gathering at which he was elected as a vice-president of the newly-formed Dairymen's Association. Among other things the association was dedicated to the improvement of the science of cheese making in Canada West.  The same year - 1867- Thomas established the Black Creek Cheese Factory on McEwan property in Downie Township.  During this period several members of the Ballantyne clan played significant role in the breeding and improvement of Ayrshire cows which, of course, was central to the development of the dairy industry in Canada West. I have attached a picture from a later era of several prize Ayrshire cows owned by Robert Ballantyne and sold at the Guelph market.

M(a)cEwans and cheese (pt.2)

Without doubt, any discussion of the McEwan connection to the cheese industry must lead directly to Thomas Ballantyne.  Thomas Ballantyne and Agnes Ballantyne McEwan were doubly related.  First, Agnes' father Robert was the younger brother of Thomas' father James, and second, Thomas married Agnes' younger sister Mary.  This means that Thomas was both first cousin and brother-in-law to Agnes McEwan. This double relationship may explain why John McEwan was willing to transfer to Thomas Ballantyne five acres of land on the north-west corner of  Lot 25 Concession 4 in Downie Township at the point where the Black Creek takes a lazy bend to the east as it skirts the high rise of land on which John McEwan built his stone house.
Here is what I know about Thomas Ballantyne. Several years after his Uncle Robert left Scotland in 1839 to settle in Canada, Thomas' two older brothers emigrated and took up land near Robert.  Then in 1852, Thomas, his parents and his sister

Agnes left Scotland to live in Canada. Shortly after he arrived in Canada Thomas was hired as a teacher in one of the newly established schools in the community. He was 24 years old. The year was 1853.  Almost immediately. Thomas became involved in municipal politics.  In 1855 Thomas became the township auditor and in the next year he was the township clerk.  In the same year he married his first cousin Mary Ballantyne, the daughter of his Uncle Robert, and Thomas and Mary went to live in a log house near the school where he taught.  Six years later, in 1861 Thomas quit teaching (there may have been a dispute about salary) and he returned to farming. However, it appears that farming was not totally satisfying to Thomas.  During this period, new business opportunities were opening up in the dairy industry for settlers in this fertile land of Upper Canada which I will write about next time. (In the meantime, I have attached a photo of Thomas and the only one I have of Mary.  Neither picture portrays them as they would have appeared in their younger years during the heady - but doubtlessly frightening -  years when Thomas developed the Black Creek Cheese Factory.)

M(a)cEwans and Cheese

The McEwans who lived in Perth County in the second half of the 19th century were deeply connected to the cheese making industry. In the next several blogs I will attempt to recount what I know about that connection. However, before I begin, it may be useful to provide some context.  In 1845 John McEwan, a 26 year old iron moulder from Scotland leased 100 acres of land to the south of the Stratford-to-Goderich road in Perth County. Fortunately, John's land had a good source of water.  Winding through the McEwan property is the Black Creek which originates in the huge Ellice swamp to the north. From the swamp the creek meanders through the flat lands of Perth County, moving in a slow westerly direction through Sebringville, past the school house, on to the Ballantyne and McEwan land and then westwardly toward Mitchell where it connects to the Thames river and ultimately Lake St. Clair.  By the 1840's when John arrived, the land to the east of his property had almost all been taken up.  His future in-laws the Ballantynes, for example, who lived nearby, had already been on the land for 12 years, and in the previous year Robert Ballantyne, John's future brother-in-law had leased the 100 acres adjoining John's property on the north.  I don't know if John had any prior connection to the Ballantynes or why he moved into Perth County but two years after he first leased the land  John married 21 year old Agnes Ballantyne  the daughter of the original Ballantyne settler.  John and Agnes built a classic Scottish style stone house of dressed field stone, and in 1850 John added another 50 acres of land to his property. [I have attached two pictures of John's property as it appears nowadays. First, the picture of the rich farm land that he cleared and second, the situation of the house back from the road and overlooking the Black Creek.  You need to look closely to see the house back among the trees and

if you would like to see a close-up view of the house with its immaculately proportioned dressed field stones I refer you to the 4/16/09 blog.]  It is evident from the 1861 agricultural census that John and Agnes became prosperous farmers.  On the 1861 census record sheet which contains the McEwan statistics there are 49 names. I have used the records on the census sheet to compare the McEwans to their neighbours.  The McEwans owned 150 acres of land (only 6 owned more), the McEwans had 80 acres under cultivation (only 5 had more), the McEwans had 54 acres under crops (only 7 had more) and the property was valued at $4 000 (only 7 properties on the list were worth more). John had 32 acres in wheat, 10 acres in oats and 3 acres in peas. He was also growing potatoes and turnips. To sum up: the evidence suggests that John and Agnes McEwan were doing as well in 1861 - if not better - than many of their neighbours.

The lost digit

Like all good story-tellers Gordon had an ability to create a verbal-movie with sufficient drama and tension to make the story truly memorable.  Here is one such story that has been repeated  several times over the years.  While, certainly, I  enjoyed the sense of horror the story creates, I sometimes questioned whether it was factually true.  The story involves two of my grandfather Jack's first cousins - the children of Alexander McEwan who lived on the original family farm next to Black Creek Cheese Factory.  The protagonists are Bessie and Robert the second and third youngest of Alex's nine children.  One day Bob and Bessie were in the woodpile presumably chopping wood for the family cook stove. As Gordon wrote it "Bob placed his fingers on a block and looking up at Bess who had the axe in her hand he uttered an unusual request: "Cut

them off, Bess!" he dared.  No sooner said than done -- and from then on Bob had a problem doing up his shirts with that hand."  As I have said already, I sometimes wondered whether the story was actually true or whether it was told to explain a bigger truth about the hardship of farm life in the late 1890's. Recently I came across a family photo of Alex McEwan and his family.  I have attached both the photo and a close-up of Bob's hands.  You can judge for yourself whether there is a digit missing on the pointing finger of his right hand and whether that is sufficient evidence to verify Gordon's story.

MacEwans: The New Zealand Cousins

After close to 50 years I have re-connected with our MacEwan cousins who live in New Zealand.  The first connection was made in England and occurred under one of those rarest of coincidences.  Here is how it happened. In the Fall of 1967 after I graduated from university I travelled to Montreal, toured the Expo site and then flew to London, England to have "some new experiences".  Since I didn't have much money I immediately began looking for work and within a week I had a job teaching in a Junior School on the huge Dagenham housing estate in Essex, east of London.  Shortly after I began working in the Matthew Arnold Junior School, the Head Master mentioned that he had had a recent contact with a family from New Zealand who had the same last name as mine.  Coincidentally, Ian MacEwan from New Zealand a distant cousin of my father was at that time staying with my parents while he attended a conference in nearby London, Ontario.  Ian was able to confirm that, indeed, the family in England was his son and daughter-in-law and their children. I visited the MacEwans and the first link was established. After that visit I went off travelling on the continent, the MacEwans returned to New Zealand and after three years I came back to Canada. In the meantime my parents heard that Ian had had a stroke and then everything went silent.  That was until recently when I noticed that Callum MacEwan was managing a genealogy web site on which he has created an extensive family tree which includes some of the Canadian ancestors. Callum has expressed an interest in hearing more about the Canadian McEwans particularly stories of why three young men chose to travel across the globe to begin new lives in New Zealand.  I know a little about that history and I will write down some of the stories which I have heard.  In the meantime and to begin the narrative, I am attaching a picture of the brothers - George (I believe), Arthur and James

who left Canada in the early 1890's and who emigrated to New Zealand.  The second picture taken in my parents' home is of my father Gordon McEwan and his New Zealand cousin  Ian MacEwan in about 1968.   

What a Difference an "A" Makes

At birth Lois was registered as Lois Hearn: H-E-A-R-N.  That’s the way her father Bob spelt his last name and that’s the the way that Bob Hearn’s older sister Ada spelt her name.  But their younger brother George wrote his name as Hern (without the letter “A”).  Family lore blamed Ada for wanting to rise above her station and for thinking that the “A” made the name appear to be more posh.  While there may be some truth in the story that Ada wanted to be more posh, it also appears that this family simply didn’t have a consistent way of spelling their name.  Here are three examples of how the name was spelled.  The first example is how the census taker spelt the name in 1861 after the family left Devonshire England to settle in Bowmanville, Ontario.  The signature at the top left is how Robert signed his name on a document in 1920.  And finally, here is the explanation for why some signed their name as Hearn and others signed their name as Hern. For many years, according to this affidavit the name had been “indifferently spelt”.  For those of us who are interested in this type of thing, it means that we who spell our name Hearn  can claim a blood relationship with Riley Hern whose name appears in the Stanley Cup.   We are all of the same family.

Lois McEwan 1914 -2014

After a very long and a very happy life, Lois McEwan died at her home on St. George in St. Marys on April 16, 2014. Born on the 29th of March, 1914 Lois was the daughter of Robert Hearn and Mae Rolston whose ancestors were among the earliest settlers in Perth County. Lois’ philosophical acceptance of life’s recurring rhythm of happiness and sadness may be rooted in events which she experienced as a teenager. In the summer of 1932 a chance encounter with Gordon McEwan as they exited a ball game at SS # 4 Downie led to an impulsive request for a date for an open air dance that evening. Lois fell in love with Gordon and that love led to a happiness that remained strong until their deaths. The tragic event which precipitated great sadness occurred several months later. Following a cold and wet ride home in an open democrat from a Farm Women’s meeting Lois’ mother Mae Hearn contracted a severe cold which turned into pneumonia. In the era before penicillin there was little that could be done and when Mae died shortly afterwards she left a family of seven children, two of whom were under the age of four. Lois took over as “mother” and remained in that role until her marriage to Gordon in December 1937. Lois leaves her four children and their spouses: Lou and John Cull, Loiey and (the late) Ken Moir, Bob and (the late Jean) McEwan, and Terry and Linda McEwan. She is also survived by her much loved nine grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren. Lois’ brother Vic (Marie) Hearn, her sister Roberta (the late Nelson)  and her step-brother Doug (Sharon) Hearn also survive. In addition to her parents and her step-mother Jean, Lois was predeceased by her brothers Lyle, Kelly, Ivan, Don and her step-brother Jack. Her sister-in-law Kit Hearn survives. Lois McEwan’s overarching quality was her intense love and loyalty to her family – both immediate and extended. Her open-mindedness and her ability to reach out and connect with all types of people were legendary. As a lifelong homemaker, the wife of a rural school teacher, the mother of four children, and a daughter of the Great Depression Lois became an excellent seamstress, a prolific knitter, and she knew how to make the Sunday roast last until Thursday. She loved sports, music and dancing and she was always ready for a “good laugh”. Lois Isabel (Hearn) McEwan – 29 March 1914 to April 16, 2014 – lived a long, generous and contented life. She was able to rise above the hard parts and see the enduring good in the world. She will be missed by her family and friends. 

The Hemsley's

Gordon's grandfather Robert McEwan married Harriotte Hemsley a young woman whose family lived around the corner and down the road from the McEwan home in Downie Township. Harriotte was the daughter of Thomas and Harriotte Hemsley.  I have two  pictures of Harriotte's parents. But, aside from the pictures and the dates of births, deaths and other factual material that found its way into census and church records, I know almost nothing about who they were. What I do know is that Thomas Hemsley and Harriotte Patching were born in the early 1800's in Sussex County, England. They grew up in neighbouring villages a few miles north of the English Channel. They were married in 1831 (Remember that date. It is essential to one of the few stories I know about them) when he was 29 and she was 23. Sometime between then and 1845 they emigrated to Canada either following (or with) Thomas' younger brother William. It was William who first leased the land in 1842, and later purchased the deed to the farm which was located on the first concession of  Downie Township.  Now for my three stories:   Story 1.  From what we know Thomas and Harriotte had been childless from the time of their marriage in 1831 until they arrived in Canada.  And then it happened: Daughter #1 was born in 1845, followed by daughter # 2 in 1847, daughter #3 in 1848, and finally daughter # 4 in 1851. This story of the sudden fecundity has been told enough times in the family that I have made notes of it on at least two occasions.  When Gordon recorded the story in his reminiscences he suggested that it was something in the "Canadian clime" which allowed them to be blessed with four daughters.  Well, that is one possible explanation.   Now, to story 2: This story was told by Gordon's grandmother Harriotte about her father.  The family grew turnips on their land and it was the job of the girls and their father to hoe the turnips.  I am sure that it was a hot, dirty and tiring job.  Thomas, the father, would tell the girls that they only had to hoe until they found the magic turnip and that would be the signal to quit work for the day.  When questioned further about how they would know when they had found the magic turnip the father always reassured them that they would know when it was found. Of course, it was always he who found the magic turnip and it was always just about the time when the evening meal would be ready back at home. I am sure that no one was fooled. Story 3. This comes from Annie Warden a granddaughter of the Hemsley's.

Entrance Exams

Jimmy Noxan taught school at SS#9 for several years in the 1920's. Lois remembers him as an ineffectual teacher. Not much learning went on when he was the teacher. Then, when Lois was in the senior third, Mr. Noxan was replaced by Miss Hazel Crago, a native of Blanshard Township. Immediately Miss Crago recognized that the students in the senior third were unprepared for the entrance exam. This provincially set examination was held each spring and was used to determine whether students would be allowed to proceed into high school. It was an important hurdle for students, and doubtless, it was also a measure of the quality of the teacher's work. Miss Crago instituted before school classes for the seven students in the Senior Third. The group consisted of Lois Hearn, Mary Riley, Frank Riley, Crawford Tyler, Helen Teahen, Oliver
Bell, and Jennie Dunsmore. To try the entrance examination all students in the township had to travel to Stratford where the examination was held in the County Court House. The distance between her home and Stratford is likely less than 8 miles but Lois remembers that she had never been to Stratford before, and she suspects that with the possible exception of Jennie Dunsmore, none of the others in the class had ever been in Stratford. At the lunch hour break between exams the group went for a walk but were careful to always keep the court house tower in view. Otherwise, they might be unable to find their way back.  Here is the Stratford Court House with the tower that the group of country kids had to keep in view during their lunch hour walk. Later, when the exam results were announced the group took pride in the fact that they all passed their entrance exam, five with honours.

Tuberculosis: the Dreaded Disease

Throughout the 1800's tuberculosis was a leading cause of death across the industrialized world. As with any disease in which the cause is unknown a whole body of myths grew up around the causes and prevention of the illness.  One such myth was that the germs that caused TB could be transmitted through clothing. Attached is a cartoon from the August 8th 1900 edition of Punch Magazine. The cartoonist Samuel Erhart illustrates - in dramatic form - the common belief that the trailing material in woman's cloaks could pick up germs from the streets. Once in the house the germs could be transmitted to innocent family members.  Rural Ontario was not immune from either the scourge of TB or the myths that grew up around the disease. A distant relative of Gordon's who lived in Perth County died of consumption in the early 1900's. After her death, a fur coat which she owned was given to her nieces.  Ten years later when the nieces each contracted and died of TB in their early 20's the conviction in the community was that the inherited fur coat was the culprit.  And this rumour instigated a second tragedy that these families had to face.  Not only did they lose family members but the whole family became tainted with suspicion of being carriers of consumption. Furthermore, I am sure that there was guilt and blame among both the family who gave the coat and the family who received the coat. Gordon who was born in 1914 remembers as a child that his mother and other family members did not want to be kissed by the those distant relatives.  And, as a child Gordon remembers being nervous about visiting the relatives because of the  "dreaded consumption".  

The Night I was Born

Lois and Gordon were married on 27 December 1937. The story of that day has been told in a previous blog. Their first child Betty Lou was born 11 months later in October 1938 and Lois Ann was born almost exactly two years later, in September, 1940. Because the birth of Lois Ann had been very difficult, Lois had been advised not to have more children. However, in spite of the excellent advice (and nature being what it is) Lois became pregnant again in the spring of 1942 the year that she and Gordon moved to Dickson's Corners. In spite of the fact that the new baby was due at any time, and in spite of the fact that they drove an old car with bad tires and no heating system, the family travelled north for Christmas day with Gordon's parents who now lived in St. Pauls and two days later they made the return trip to Stratford for the traditional New Year's celebration with Gordon's aunt and uncle, Charlie and Alice Ballantyne. It was already dark by the time they left Stratford for the return trip to Dickson's Corners. The heavy snow which had fallen earlier, had turned to rain and the visibility was very poor. Once on the road they realized that it would be impossible to drive out to the farm to pick up Roberta, Lois' ten year old sister who had been invited for holidays. They pulled into Norman McCully's farm which overlooks the valley of Trout Creek heading to St. Marys and phoned Lois' father to say that they didn't dare leave the main road. The McCully's pressed them to stay at their farm for the night, but they decided to continue on, and after a white knuckled ride south on the 10th concession, through Uniondale, Medina, Kintore and on to Thamesford where they turned left onto Dundas Street and then right onto Highway 2 and so on to Dickson's Corners. As Gordon rounded the cedar hedge leading into the driveway at home the car slid off the road into a snow bank. There they left it. Gordon carried the two girls into the house and left them still in their winter clothes on the couch in the living room while he proceeded to relight the fire which had long-since gone out in the old pot bellied stove which sat on a slightly raised platform in the middle of the living room. It was then that Lois realized that the baby was ready to be born and that she would have to get to the hospital in London. There was a panic phone call to Jim and Mary Calder the neighbours from across the road. Mary said that she would take the girls home with her, while Jim and Gordon went out to dig out the car. After some furious digging and rocking, the car came out of the snowbank, and slid across the lane into the ditch on the other side. With that Jim Calder decided that Gordon and Lois should head to London in the Calder car.  Lois' contractions were coming more frequently, and as they drove into London, Gordon realized that he had no idea how to find Victoria Hospital. They stopped, got directions, and arrived at Victoria hospital to be met by Dr Shute, Lois' specialist who had been alerted by Mary Calder that Gordon and Lois were on their way. After a quick examination, Dr. Shute announced that the baby was coming and that there was no time for any preparation. One of the nurses asked Lois when she had had her last contraction and when Lois said "at Kellogg's" the nurse responded: "Oh you poor thing, you have worked right up until now."  (The attached picture is of what the Kellogg's plant would have looked like as they passed by in 1942 when Lois had her last contraction. They still had a 15 minute drive to Victoria Hospital.)  Lois remembers that the anaesthetic which she was given was strong enough enough to make her drift off but not strong enough to prevent her from saying time after time: "What have I got? What have I got?" Each time she asked the question, the patient nurses reassured her that it was a boy but the question would be asked again. This continued until everyone was laughing. When the baby was brought to her, Lois immediately took off his diaper to check to be sure that it was the boy she wanted after having two girls. Some time later when Gordon left the hospital he felt that the excitement was over for that day but, unfortunately, when he found Jim Calder's car Gordon realized that he had no idea of how to start it. Gordon found a doctor who was leaving the hospital and pleaded with him for help. Deeply sceptical, the doctor finally agreed to start the car and Gordon was able to get home without incidence.

Evening Prayers and the Picture at the Top of the Stairs

In our home - as in many other homes in rural Canada in the 1940's - saying our prayers was an essential part of getting ready for bed.  Like most children I rushed through our prayer without any thought to what it said or meant.  In my head the first line was " nowilayme (all one meaningless word),  I pray the lord my soul to keep ... and so on. The prayer ended with a "God bless" where we listed a series of names beginning with grandparents and relatives - God bless Grandma, God bless Aunt Allie - and ending with God bless Mommy and Daddy and the rest of our immediate family including Skippy the dog.  If someone in the community was ill  my mother would encourage us to add a line that go something like: "Please make Wayne better."  And then we would hop into bed. If the weather was cold the persons mentioned in the "God Bless" line got shorter.  However, if you wanted to irritate your sister who was waiting her turn to say her prayers you could always string out the "God Bless" line to include everyone you could think of.  Typically the prayers were said while kneeling beside the bed but in the midst of January in a cottage where there was no direct heat in any of the bedrooms we were allowed to say the prayers from under the covers.

I now realize that there were several versions of the prayer we were taught.  Other versions were more gentle and did not talk of dying children or souls heading to heaven.  The version we recited came from an 18th century American book called the New-England Primer.  The first stanza went like this:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray to Lord my soul to keep,
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take

  On reflection I am glad that I never made any attempt to comprehend what I was saying.  It certainly had the potential to cause nightmares in a young child who awakened in the middle of a dark night.

Now for a word about the picture that accompanies this blog.  When we were children my father's elderly aunt and uncle lived in a large brick house on Elizabeth Street in Stratford. Because my Grandmother lived with them our family were frequent visitors in their home.  Unlike us, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Allie had indoor plumbing.  The toilet was located on the second floor in a room separate from the bathroom.  To get to the toilet you needed to climb the heavy oak staircase to the first landing, turn right and begin the climb to the second floor where at the top of the stairs hung the picture (shown above) of the angels floating over the little girl.  I never understood what those angels were doing but I figured that it must have something to do with death.  I also knew that even if I kept my head down and tried to look the other way I would "see" the picture as I passed under it.   And for an eight year old the choice was very clear: scurry past the picture or face even worst humiliations!