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Pioneer - HERRIOT, William
Biographical Sketches of
Early Settlers of Wellington County
Information from: Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario.
Toronto: Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906
|
HERRIOT, William
, b. in Dewuertoun, ten miles south of Edinburgh, Scot., 1826. He came to
Canada in 1851 and worked one year for a farmer in Peterboro' Co. He then
rented a farm for ten years, but only remained five years, selling his lease
for the remaining time for $300. In 1857 he came to Arthur Tp., and purchased
his present farm of 200 acres, lot 3, con. 2, from Donald Keith, for $1,200.
The country was all bush and there were no roads. Mr. Herriot had to build his
own shanty, and started pioneer life with a pair of oxen which he brought with
him from Peterboro' . When Mr. Herriot landed in Peterboro' he had the small
sum of one sovereign, and from that small beginning he has accumulated a nice
property, his present home with the stock etc, being valued at $15,000. This
shows what a man, knowing nothing in the beginning of the methods of the
country, can do by hard work and good living. For his first year's work in
Peterboro' he only received $1.50 in cash, which he was obliged to use for
postage. In his second year in Arthur Tp there was frost on July 16th which
destroyed everything and had it not been for the Government coming to their
assistance, they would probably have starved. Mr. Harriot was School Trustee
for twenty years and was a promoter of the first cheese factory and its
President and Secretary for a number of year. He is a Presbyterian and a
Liberal. In 1847 he married Barbara Donald of Berwickshire, born in 1825,
brought up in Earlton Parish. She d. 1901, age 76. Issue: Mrs. D. Herriot,
Luther; William, Dakota; John, George and Henry at home; Mrs. Kerr, East
Luther; Mrs. McMeekin in Mount Forest, Janet in Preston, and Mrs. Geo. Tighe,
Arthur.
From: Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario. Toronto:Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906 |
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