Levi Annis (1781 - 1855)

Born 27 Apr 1781 in Genesee County, New York

Ancestors

Husband of Rhoda (Conant) Annis — married about 1801 in Upper Canada

Descendants

Died 18 Aug 1855 at age 74 in Oshawa, Canada West

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Biography

Around 1800 the Kingston Road was first blazed by William Cornell, Levi Annis and others along the front of the Township. A good portion of the original "Front Road", as it was initially called, was in the lower area or "flats" below the hill which marks the old Lake Iroquois shoreline. Danforth Road was sometimes referred to as the "Back Road".^[1]
At some point after the War of 1812, Levi joined many of the men of Scarborough^[2] in a petition to Sir Peregrine Maitland, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada,^[3] refusing to serve in their company of the 2nd Regiment of the York Militia under a Captain Daniel Brooke, asserting that he had "been publicly accused by his Brother-in-law with Felony and other heinous offences, which accusations have never to our knowledge been satisfactorily answered."^[4] It seems reasonable to assume that the offending officer was replaced.
Levi and his brother William married the Conant sisters, daughters of Roger Conant, a prominent Loyalist. In 1837, Levi and his brother were both sympathetic to the rebel cause. It is alleged that Rebel leader William Lyon Mackenzie took shelter from the Government forces in Levi's house in Scarborough when the rebellion collapsed.^[1]

"Charles Annis, the founder of the Annis family, came from Massachusetts in 1793. He settled at what is now Oshawa Harbor, but on July 30th, 1807, bought from David W. Smith Lot 6, B.F., of Pickering, paying £28 15s. His son, Levi Annis, married Rhoda, daughter of Roger Conant and moved to this farm. Here they had their full share of pioneer experiences, grinding corn in a hollow stump, taking wheat by canoe, a tedious and dangerous journey to the Bay of Quinte to be ground, beating off the wolves from their camp fire with glowing brands, enduring all the loneliness and privation of first settlers. Once their house was burned down, and Mrs. Annis, lying sick within it, was saved scarcely a moment before the roof fell in. The settlers made much of what ready money they had by trapping muskrats, the skins of which they sold at a York shilling apiece. In later life, Levi Annis moved to Scarboro, where he spent his remaining years." ^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Some Humble Yet Noteworthy Events on Scarboro Heights, "James McCowan Memorial Social History Society".
2. ↑ Including Stephen Pherrill and several members of the large Thomson family.
3. ↑ The petition in question was undated, but Maitland was Lt.-Governor from 1818 to 1828..
4. ↑ History of the Township of Scarborough 1796-1896 David Boyle, 1896. Pp. 231-233.]
5. ↑ Past Years in Pickering: Sketches of the History of the Community, William R. Wood, 1911

See also:

• Some Humble Yet Noteworthy Events on Scarboro Heights, "James McCowan Memorial Social History Society".
• Find A Grave Memorial #38540392.
• "Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JXX5-WY9 : 9 March 2018), Levi Annis in entry for Andrew Annis, 31 Mar 1912; citing Scarborough, York, Ontario, yr 1912 certificate # 35716, Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1,854,929.