Samuel Monteith (abt. 1806 - 1890)

Born about Feb 1806 in County Tyrone, Ireland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 13 Jun 1890 at about age 84 in Downie, Perth, Ontario, Canada

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Biography

Sam was born in Ireland and came to Canada in 1829 with his uncle, Thomas Wilson; that was four years before his parents and siblings came in 1833. When he arrived, the village that later became Stratford had eight houses. He prospected for a farm with the wisdom of pioneer settlers who carefully examined the soil around upturned trees. The quality of the soil and the discovery of a small stream fed by a never failing spring of clear water led him to decide upon a hundred acre tract of land about five miles south of Stratford. Just above the stream a small clearing was made and a log dwelling erected. The farm became known as Sunnyside.

As the population of the village grew, in 1833 Sam and his brother, John, opened the second store which contained everything from dress goods to nails. Sam used walk home at weekends carrying a small bag of white flour for his mother.

One night the wolves came very close. He was obliged to climb a tree and afterwards to seek shelter in the cabin of a new settler named Foster near what is known as the "Big Swamp".

Sam, my father, never drove or rode a horse when it was possible to walk which, perhaps, accounted for his good health and long life.^[1]

Sam received a letter from his son-in-law, Alex Loghrin in 1877.

An undated clipping from the Stratford Beacon Herald says: "Samuel Monteith , Perth's earliest pioneer, died today at his residence Sunnyside. He came here in 1830, when Stratford was known as Little Thames. In 1834, he acquired a large tract of land in Gore of Downie."

Footnotes

1. ↑ Jane A. Robertson, Sketch of Our Pioneer Ancestors, Aug. 1, 1924, an unpublished family record.

Sources

• "Canada Census, 1851," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MWTF-ZJN : 3 August 2016), Saml Monteith, Downie, Perth County, Canada West (Ontario), Canada; citing p. 41, line 32; Library and Archives Canada film number C_11747, Public Archives, Ontario.
• "Ontario Census, 1861," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQ7G-DQS : 5 September 2017), Samuel Monteath, All Places (Agricultural), Perth, Ontario, Canada; citing p. 53, line 18; Library and Archives Canada film number C-1065-1066, Public Archives, Toronto; FHL microfilm 2,435,939.
• 1881 Census of Canada
• Monteith Family Tree.
• Samuel Monteith (1805-1890), Find a Grave Memorial #133476657

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Tom Loghrin for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Tom and others.