In Was January 12, 1852. William Powles, enumerator, did not carry the official forms with him - he would save the writing and listing details for the comfort of his warm two-storey modern frame abode in neighboring Fenelon Falls. There was no way his frozen fingers would do justice to penmanship out here. The wood pencil was frozen to his fingers and he could barely fumble the facts onto his ripping and soaked paper...
Being meticulous, he preferred to keep the final draft of his work for better surroundings and his personal metal nib pen. The pencil contraption would have to do for the moment. He was frozen, knackered, and near to fed up. But he was determined to do his job correctly. This was important work. He needed to know who was living out in these remote woods, how they fared, and how they lived.
The potholed paths of these farthest of farms in this most Northern County were hard on his horse and hard on his back. At least he did not have to travel the more remote jurisdictions of Longford and Digby. Verulam and Fenelon were challenging enough.
The potholed paths of these farthest of farms in this most Northern County were hard on his horse and hard on his back. At least he did not have to travel the more remote jurisdictions of Longford and Digby. Verulam and Fenelon were challenging enough.
The closest neighbor had told William that Thomas Herse lived on the edge of Lake Sturgeon.
"How do I find him?" William asked the farmer.
"Jus be affer de bothaar."
"What...path...may that be?"
"S'Domas - be Domas by name. Do i'a follow, yer be affer bogger Herse."
One hour later, through mud, ice, and thick black spruce and sugar maple, he came to the place. The was no other way to describe it. Shanty. William made a note under acreage: Seventy Acres of land under Wood or Wild.
"How do I find him?" William asked the farmer.
"Jus be affer de bothaar."
"What...path...may that be?"
"S'Domas - be Domas by name. Do i'a follow, yer be affer bogger Herse."
One hour later, through mud, ice, and thick black spruce and sugar maple, he came to the place. The was no other way to describe it. Shanty. William made a note under acreage: Seventy Acres of land under Wood or Wild.
Just a few explanations. William Powles, from Fenelon Falls, was the enumerator in Fenelon and Victoria Counties for the 1851 Census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. His name was easy to find on the records and finding where he was from was also relatively easy. Powles was meticulous in his penmanship and copious details of the land, the farms, the people, their struggles - writing many details on the edges of his forms.
This 1851 census actually was taken in January of 1852. It was late - perhaps because of the difficulties of navigating the back woods of Canada. There was a Thomas Herse in Victoria County, married to Mary Ann Herse, who lived in a shanty working a small farm amongst 70 Acres Wood or Wild. And there now is, coincidentally, a Thomas Drive skirting the present Verulam Park. The Connection was pure conjecture. Please feel free to give me suggestions concerning Canadian-Irish accents of the 1850's.
Images with thanks from:
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Winter Evening by John MacFarlan
Old Farmer by A.B. Frost, 1887 from the Norman Rockwell Museum
Shanty on Lake Chaudière by Nathaniel Parker Willis from William Henry Bartlett's The Project Gutenberg EBook of Canadian Scenery, Volume II
This 1851 census actually was taken in January of 1852. It was late - perhaps because of the difficulties of navigating the back woods of Canada. There was a Thomas Herse in Victoria County, married to Mary Ann Herse, who lived in a shanty working a small farm amongst 70 Acres Wood or Wild. And there now is, coincidentally, a Thomas Drive skirting the present Verulam Park. The Connection was pure conjecture. Please feel free to give me suggestions concerning Canadian-Irish accents of the 1850's.
Images with thanks from:
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Winter Evening by John MacFarlan
Old Farmer by A.B. Frost, 1887 from the Norman Rockwell Museum
Shanty on Lake Chaudière by Nathaniel Parker Willis from William Henry Bartlett's The Project Gutenberg EBook of Canadian Scenery, Volume II
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