0 @NI1535@ NOTE
1 CONC Excerpt from Fergus, of the Fergusson-Webster Settlement, with an Extensi
1 CONC ve
1 CONT History of Northeast Nichol, by A. E. Byerly, DO, Elora Express, Elora,
1 CONT Ontario 1932-34
1 CONT
1 CONT Pg. 130 Alexander Barnet came to Fergus in 1839. His reminiscences are
1 CONT interesting.
1 CONT
1 CONT One of the best known men in the Fergus district for many years was Alexan
1 CONC der
1 CONT Barnet who came to the village in 1838. He was born at Kilspindie, Scotlan
1 CONC d,
1 CONT March 14, 1824, and left Perthshire in 1837 with James Webster. They sail
1 CONC ed
1 CONT from Liverpool Dec. 26, arriving at Fergus, February 19, 1838. Barnet w
1 CONT then only fourteen years of age but the spirit of adventure in the New Wor
1 CONC ld
1 CONT called and he entered heartily in the life of the infant settlement. The
1 CONT Websters were real friends to the young men who came from Scotland and you
1 CONC ng
1 CONT Barnet found employment with them. He continued in James Webster's empl
1 CONT until 1850 when he married Ann Davidson, a daughter of James Davidson w
1 CONC ho had
1 CONT come to Fergus in 1834.
1 CONT
1 CONT Mr. Barnet and his wife moved to Lot 16, Concession 3, of West Garafraxa
1 CONT where they cleared a farm which became one of the best in the distric
1 CONC t. In
1 CONT 1883 they retired to Fergus where Mr. Barnet died in 1904. He was surviv
1 CONC ed by
1 CONT his wife and five children: William, Mrs. Thos. Wansbrough, Mrs. John Ewe
1 CONC n,
1 CONT Mrs. (Dr.) James Nairn, and Mrs. W.A. Richardson.
1 CONT
1 CONT William Barnet, the son, married Margaret, daughter of the late John Templ
1 CONC in,
1 CONT and they continued to live on the home place in Garafraxa where their
1 CONT children were born.
1 CONT
1 CONT Reminiscences
1 CONT
1 CONT Over thirty years ago the Guelph Mercury recorded some of the recollectio
1 CONC ns
1 CONT of Mr. Barnet and it will be worth while to place them in this permanent
1 CONT form. The writer edits them as follows:
1 CONT
1 CONT Leaving Liverpool in December on the sailing vessel, Pennsylvania, the par
1 CONC ty
1 CONT of immigrants, in whose company young Barnet came, reached New York in
1 CONT February 4th, forty days out from port.
1 CONT
1 CONT At New York the party of five, Mr. Webster, two Harveys, Captain Dalton a
1 CONC nd
1 CONT Mr. Barnet set out for Canada. Mr. Webster had gone back to Scotland in t
1 CONC he
1 CONT summer of 1837 and was now returning to Fergus. One of the Harveys, Ale
1 CONT Purchased the Webster home, the stone house at Kinnettles, opposite the
1 CONT Ketchen farm, as it is now known. The first ninety miles was by rail and t
1 CONC he
1 CONT rest by sleighs, except about 29 miles of travelling near Rochester when t
1 CONC hey
1 CONT were again going by rail. That part of the trip was by the lightning expre
1 CONC ss,
1 CONT a horse car going four miles an hour. From Rochester to Buffalo was the ne
1 CONC xt
1 CONT jaunt and across Niagara near Black Rock, in a horse boat, so called becau
1 CONC se
1 CONT it was propelled by horses tied on it and walking, as a dog runs a chu
1 CONC rn or
1 CONT tread mill.
1 CONT
1 CONT On Feb. 19th, the party arrived at Kinnettles where the people met Mr.
1 CONT Webster, took the horses from the sleigh and themselves drew him into t
1 CONT city of Fergus.
1 CONT
1 CONT Describes Fergus
1 CONT
1 CONT The procession halted at Black's Hotel, in front of which, on a stump or b
1 CONC ox,
1 CONT sat a barrel of whiskey, to which, all helped themselves in the great da
1 CONC ys of
1 CONT yore. The author has sometimes heard that is one reason the Scotch ca
1 CONC me to
1 CONT Fergus. They got as far as the free whiskey and could go no further. (My
1 CONT father, Robert Powrie, always scolded us if we said Scotch people. "Scot
1 CONC ch is
1 CONT a liquid, and Scots are solidÂ….ly next to the liquid!")
1 CONT
1 CONT Fergus had then, one store, Mr. Watt's, on the corner, and the same buildi
1 CONC ng,
1 CONT which was burned down only a few years ago; one church, a rough cast
1 CONT building, where St. Andrew's Church now stands; an old log school, dwelli
1 CONC ng
1 CONT house and post office in one building, all kept and managed by one man, M
1 CONC r.
1 CONT James McQueen, who was also township clerk, and who still lives and carri
1 CONC es
1 CONT fairly actively the nearly 90 years of life. There were then only some twe
1 CONC lve
1 CONT or thirteen houses in the village altogether, and Jimmie Allan's blacksmi
1 CONC th
1 CONT shop was the only building on the north side of the creek, where now stan
1 CONC ds
1 CONT our most useful fountain. The woods were chopped up to the present bank
1 CONT corner, but not cleared, and Mr. Marshall's corner could then have been
1 CONT bought for about 30 dollars, now worth in the direction of that many
1 CONT thousands. The flourmill, which must have been built about 1835, had be
1 CONT burned and was again erected and the Fergus soldiers had returned home, t
1 CONC he
1 CONT Mackenzie Rebellion being over. (I have copy of a pay sheet showing my Rob
1 CONC ert
1 CONT Powrie served in that militia)
1 CONT
1 CONT In 1838, Mr. Patterson, Mr. C. Kay's father-in-law, built by Mr. Webster t
1 CONC he
1 CONT old frame store in which the late Egg Wilson lived, and which now belon
1 CONC gs to
1 CONT Mr. Alpaugh's marble works. In 1838, there were three teams of horses in
1 CONT Fergus, and they belonged to Messrs. Black, Watt and Webster. Cattle we
1 CONT almost as scarce and money even more so. Business was nearly all done by
1 CONT trade up to the year '45 (1845) and later. There was by little grain for s
1 CONC ale
1 CONT and the prices in trade very low. Oats ruled at sixpence, mill seeds thr
1 CONC ee
1 CONT coppers more, and wheat two shillings and three pence, and nine pence f
1 CONT fall. No sale for potatoes. There was not butcher and little meat.
1 CONT
1 CONT Wolf Hunt
1 CONT
1 CONT Mr. Gardiner was the first settled preacher, coming in 1837. In 1838 he ga
1 CONC ve
1 CONT out a wolf hunt from the pulpit, an invitation all accepted, some came wi
1 CONC th
1 CONT guns, others with pans, cowbells, etc. but no wolf was found.  In 1842, M
1 CONC r.
1 CONT Webster moved in Mr. James Wilson's present house at Monklands.
1 CONT
1 CONT Notes from Alex. Barnet's Reminiscences
1 CONT
1 CONT 1842 was the year of the great snow, coming November 1st and lying until
1 CONT April 14th. In Fergus, about 1844, the upper part of the village where M
1 CONC r.
1 CONT Marshall's house now stands was logged also up at Mr. R. Steele's hous
1 CONC e. In
1 CONT 1845 Morrow's hotel was commenced. In these days the road to Guelph w
1 CONC as by
1 CONT Allardice's and Elora or by Eramosa.
1 CONT
1 CONT In 1854 where ran up to $2.00 and $2.50 a bushel. Mr. A.L. Argo first pa
1 CONC id
1 CONT cash for wheat. A store bill of '58 has a photograph of Mr. Argo's old
1 CONT granary store, and the items of the bill are largely whiskey, pork and
1 CONT tobacco.
1 CONT
1 CONT Mr. Barnet compares the Fergus of 1838 with the 90s
1 CONT
1 CONT Progress and prosperity in agriculture; the cradle and the flail have be
1 CONC en
1 CONT thrown away for the self-binder and steam thresher, and are scarcely
1 CONT remembered as historical relics. Stumps and trees are replaced by well ke
1 CONC pt
1 CONT lawns and orchards, the shanties of our fathers by the palatial residenc
1 CONC es of
1 CONT their sons.
1 CONT
1 CONT Fergus instead of the backwoods' hamlet of '38, is toady almost a town, wi
1 CONC th
1 CONT a splendid, large mercantile tread conducted by some twenty and more
1 CONT merchants of good standing and respectability. Now four well qualified
1 CONT lawyers; six churches, with five highly educated pastors; a fine school a
1 CONC nd
1 CONT thoroughly qualified teachers, instead of one. Old Dr. Mutch is replac
1 CONC ed by
1 CONT four medical men. Banks, post office, telegraph telephone, electric, ligh
1 CONC t,
1 CONT railway stations and all the requirements of a city. Even to the marble
1 CONT works, undertaker, and cemetery, the last resting place of many of the
1 CONT pioneers whose names are known only by the marble slabs in the dead cit
1 CONC y. Old
1 CONT families once familiar, as the Fergussons, Watts, Ferriers, all gone or
1 CONT removed, are evidence of the realities of life, with its trials, labors a
1 CONC nd
1 CONT anxieties of mind and body necessarily arising during all these years of
1 CONT mingled, engrafted and grown the happiness of success, prosperity, progre
1 CONC ss
1 CONT and the true friendships of more humble days.