Lanark County, Ontario

Date: 1816 [unknown]
Location: Lanark County, Ontario, Canada
Surname/tag: Lanark County

Contents 1 Lanark County, Ontario 1.1 First Nations Families in Lanark County 1.2 Lanark County's Early Townships 1.3 Additional Early Townships 1.4 Towns 1.5 One Place Studies 2 Land Grants 3 Families Divided 4 Resources 5 Books 6 Sources

Lanark County, Ontario

Lanark County, located in Ontario, Canada was first established in 1816 in what was then known as Upper Canada. The information included here has been compiled from the County website, land grant records, Federal Census data, Birth Marriage and Death records, business data and cemetery data, and with the assistance of numerous locals who have an interest in the research being done.

First Nations Families in Lanark County

Prior to the arrival of European and Loyalist settlers in this region, the Ojibwa, Algonquin, and others used the land as their traditional winter hunting grounds. My research is being compiled here: First Nations in Lanark County

Lanark County's Early Townships

Lanark County was severed from Carleton County, Bathurst District, in 1824. At that time, the following Townships were part of the County:

• Bathurst Township
• Drummond Township
• Beckwith Township
• Dalhousie Township
• Lanark Township
• Ramsay Township
• Levant (now Lavant) Township
• North Sherbrooke Township
• South Sherbrooke Township

Mississippi River

Additional Early Townships

In 1838, the following Townships were added:

• Montague Township
• Elmsley Township (north of the Rideau)
• Burgess Township (north of the Rideau)

By 1845, the County was reorganized again, bringing it to the physical boundary that we know today. At that time, the following townships were added:

• Darling Township
• Pakenham Township

Towns

• Perth Military Depot, now the Town of Perth
  • Photo Gallery: Historic Factories in the Town of Perth, Ontario
• Lanark Depot, now Lanark Village
  • The Depot at Lanark Village on the Clyde River, north of the Perth settlement, was established in 1820.^[1] The British Government arranged for the transportation and settlement of a portion of the labouring population of Lanarkshire, to New Lanark Depot, in Upper Canada.^[1] It served the northern-most townships as a depot for supplies and social gathering. The land assigned to these settlers was of very poor quality and many struggled to establish themselves.^[1] In 1831, settlers petitioned the government for loan forgiveness, due to the "inferiority" of soil.^[1]
• Smiths Falls
  • The village of Smiths Falls was established in 1854 and named for Thomas Smyth, an early land holder who had been granted 400 acres within the present-day town site. While surrounded on three sides by Lanark County, and on the south side by the County of Leeds and Grenville, it is a municipal entity in its own right, but is an important social and economic center for Lanark County. It is not included in this study.

Smiths Falls, Highlighted in Yellow

One Place Studies

• Beckwith
• Carleton Place
• Drummond-North Elmsley
• Lanark Highlands
• Mississippi Mills
• Montague
• Perth
• Smiths Falls
• Tay Valley

Land Grants

In 1815, the Earl of Bathurst, his Majesty's Secretary of State for the colonies, had issued a proclamation in England that provided for free passage to Canada, a land grant of 100 acres, free rations from the British Government for 1 year, and the necessary tools they would need to begin farming their homestead. These included:

a grindstone

a crosscut and a whip saw

an adze, drawing knife, a shell auger, and handsaw

two gimlets (used to drill small holes), a door-lock and hinges

a scythe and snath (used for cutting hay), a reaping-hook, hay fork and two hoes

a skillet camp kettle, and a blanket for each person in the family.

Families Divided

With the arrival of the Society Settlers in Lanark County, came numerous families that would soon find themselves separated by religion. Members of the following families, and possibly others, left Lanark County and traveled to Utah, to help establish the Mormon religion. Identified surnames include:

• Borrowman
• Brooks
• Bryce
• Bulloch
• Caldwell
• Climie
• Donald
• Duncan
• Findley
• Forsythe
• Gardner (Gardiner)
• Hamilton
• Hill
• Hood
• Leckie
• McIntosh
• Park
• Swapp

Resources

• Lanark County Municipal Government Website
• LCGS - Lanark County Genealogical Society Website
• Montague Township Settlers
• Lanark County Notables
• The Statutes of Upper Canada to the Time of the Union, Volume 2, pg 388

Books

• Book: Pioneer History of the County of Lanark, by J S McGill, Fifth printing 1979 (origially published 1968)
• Book: A Swarm of Bees, Lanark Society Settlers 1800-1900, A Journey from Scotland to Upper Canada and Utah; by Ron W. Shaw ISBN: 978-1-77240-118-9 (published and distributed by Global Heritage Press c/o GlobalGenealogy.com Inc.) - (Hardcopy and Digital Download available)
• Book: In Search of Lanark, by Carol Bennett and DW McCuaig, (Juniper Books, Renfrew, 1982

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Paterson, Gilbert Clarence; Land Settlement in Upper Canada, 1783-1840; (King's Printer; Toronto, 1921); Pg 134 and 135