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Little Britain, Ontario One Place Study

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Little Britain, Ontario One Place Study

This profile is part of the Little Britain, Ontario One Place Study.
{{One Place Study|place=Little Britain, Ontario|category=Little Britain, Ontario One Place Study}}

This is an area-focused multi-family study of pioneer Little Britain, Ontario. The starting point is a 1939 booklet published by the Little Britain United Church Women's Association. This booklet contains brief descriptions of about 60 pioneer families gathered by the editors and volunteer committee from interviews with community members. These families were primarily Bible Christian (aka a branch of Methodists)... there were many pioneer families of the area not included in the booklet that should be added if found.

Preface from the editors:

The suggestion for this booklet comes from a member of the Women’s Association, Mrs. William Cornish, one of the interested workers in the Church for many years. In attempting to write a story of the Centenary of our Church and the early settlement of this community, especially of the village, our statements cannot all be guaranteed, but we believe they are not far astray in giving a truthful description of the experiences of the pioneers as have been handed down from one generation to another. Much is recorded as hearing our parents and grandparents relate, and much is written here as told us by people living. We are especially indebted to many we shall not attempt to name. You have contributed many interesting stories and experiences. To one and all we extend our sincere thanks and feel confident that they will appreciate the efforts made, and trust this little history may prove interesting to all who read it.
— Norah Jane Yeo and Philllpa Mark Sloan, 1939

Quick Links:

STATUS: As of November 2024 there are 16 of 60 families added, with 70 individual profiles, and many profiles of grandchildren and spouses created but not included in the Little Britain Study as they didn't live in Little Britain.

Contents

The purpose of this study is to document the pioneer families highlighted in the booklet, piece together their family connections and story. The booklet is available online to browse or download at Archive.org ...pioneer family names start on page 35.

Extended projects might include documenting the Little Britain area cemeteries as part of the Wikitree Cemeterist Project, surviving census' or extend to other Mariposa communities, Valencia, Oakwood, Manilla, etc., and surrounding pioneer land holders.

The booklet is one part church history, one part recounting of European founding pioneer families, and one part informal cultural study of the life and times of pioneer Upper Canada/Canada West. There are minor references to First Nations people living in the area or who formerly had full access to the resources therein.

As a genealogical resource, 16 of its 68 pages are devoted to paragraph-summaries of founding pioneer families primary attached to the Bible Christian Church community. Each brief entry has a variable amount of family information and anecdotes provided by living descendants to the editors, and no small amount inferred general community knowledge. The text has numerous inaccuracies so be warned family information must be evaluated on the basis of further research. Nevertheless, it is an invaluable starting point and a credit to those in 1939 who took it upon themselves to compile this material with limited access to vital documents.

Get started:

Name

Little Britain is an unincorporated village located in what was Mariposa Township, Victoria County, and is now part of the incorporated city of Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada. The name Mariposa is Spanish for butterfly. There is no record of how the name came to be selected but the male Eastern Tailed Blue (Everes comyntas comyntas) butterfly would have been familiar to the early settlers of the township. I selected this butterfly for the study icon.

Geography

Continent: North America
Country: Canada
State/Province: Ontario
GPS Coordinates: 44.285556, -78.860278
Elevation: 255.0 m or 836.6 feet

History

  • History of Victoria County: Kirkconnell, Watson, 1895-1977, Victoria County centennial history - page 28 Township of Mariposa Lindsay : Watchman-Warder Press; 1921; page: (36 of 1088); Internet Archive (accessed 8 February 2024)
  • 1880 county maps: Canadian County Atlas Digital Project; click on the map or list for Victoria, click on Township, eg Mariposa, select high resolution image at bottom of map image. Refer to the survey history reference below to help interpret the scale of the maps and how the lots were set out.
  • Land Survey history: Crown Surveys in Ontario hosted by the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors; gives some detail about the history and methods of marking out homesteading land. Page 14 shows the survey method used in Mariposa.

Mariposa township cemeteries

  • Little Britain United Church Cemetery (797)
  • Little Britain Bible Christian Cemetery (
  • North Valentia United Church Cemetery (152)
  • East Oakwood Cemetery (390)
  • Zion Mariposa Cemetery (161)
  • Salem Mariposa Cemetery (440)
  • Manilla Union Cemetery (34)
  • Manilla Bible Christian Cemetery (48)
  • Lakeside South Valentia Cemetery (62)
  • Linden Valley Friends Cemetery (151)
  • Linden Valley Bible Christian Cemetery (21)
  • Miller Memorial Church Cemetery (302) (aka Pleasant Point Cemetery)
  • Bethel Cemetery (82)

Population

  • list of Little Britain pioneer families (Wikitree free-space page)
  • 1842 census — not available online; microfilm available at Ontario Archives
  • 1851 census — Mariposa and Ops Township census' do not survive
  • 1861 census — Mariposa township, Victoria South; 7 enumeration districts, 113 pages, 50 lines per page; available at: Library & Archives Canada (searchable database with images); FamilySearch (searchable index only); Ancestry (fully searchable and browseable images)
  • 1871 census — Mariposa township, South Victoria; available at: Library & Archives Canada (searchable database with images); FamilySearch (searchable index only); Ancestry (fully searchable and browseable images)
  • 1881 census — Mariposa township, Victoria South; available at: Library & Archives Canada (searchable database with images); FamilySearch (fully searchable and browseable images); Ancestry (fully searchable and browseable images)

Notables

Research Notes

Emigrant ships from Cornwall to Quebec:

Sources

- census division 1, Mariposa Twp, Victoria South, ON,
- census division 2, Mariposa Twp, Victoria South, ON,
- census division 3, Mariposa Twp, Victoria South, ON,
- census division 4, Mariposa Twp, Victoria South, ON
  • Weslyan Methodist Baptismal Register Canada 1825-1910 - ~ 120 Mariposa township Baptisms captured, many missing, even from same family:
- multipage A-Z listings with linked page images; Mariposa page images: image 1 image 2 image 3
- alternate text-only A-Z




Images: 2
Church Centennial - Little Britain 1839-1939
Church Centennial - Little Britain 1839-1939
Little Britain OPS icon
Little Britain OPS icon
Collaboration
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