Wellington County, Ontario GenWeb - Pioneer

Wellington County, Ontario GenWeb - Pioneer - LEE, Jonathan, Sr

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Pioneer - LEE, Jonathan, Sr.

Biographical Sketches of
Early Settlers of Wellington County

Information from: Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario.
Toronto: Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906

LEE, Jonathan, Sr . (d.) was b. Yorkshire, Eng., 1815. He m. Sarah Holgate Richardson, and in 1843 they embarked for Canada, stopping first in Tecumseh, and in 1844 became pioneers in Wellesley Tp. In the spring of 1854 they came to Minto, and took up 400 acres of land, lots 38 and 39, con. 2, and lot 37 and 38, con. 3, where they set., being among the first settlers in the district. The Rullers were a short distance from them in Wallace, and Jonathan Jr., well remembers when William Bride, Sr., and his sons came across the concession to their land on the fourth. Jonathan Lee, Sr., was the chief promoter of Salem Church, giving the land for it, as well as the land for the cemetery. This location was picked out by his wife, and it is pathetic to relate that she was the first person to be laid at rest in the cemetery in 1855, and hers was the first death in the pioneer settlement.

Jonathan Lee, Sr., was a pioneer in the settlement. His activity knew no bounds. He was a mechanic of no mean order, and is said to have built the first frame house in Minto for Peter Fyfe in the early fifties. This house is now in a good state of preservation, and occupied by James Russell, on the gravel road below Harriston. He brought the first open cylinder threshing machine into Minto, and is said to have owned the first team of horses in the township. He was a class leader in the Methodist church, in which he had from youth taken a great interest. Of his large family only Mrs. Wm. Bride, Jr., and Jonathan Lee, Jr., remain in the vicinity.

Jonathan Lee, Sr., m. for his second wife Elizabeth Noble, and in 1879 they moved to Portage la Prairie, Man., where his was again a pioneer, and lived until his death in 1903, at the ripe age of 88 years.

Jonathan Lee, Jr., the only representative of his father's family in Minto, was b, at sea on the trip to Canada in 1843, and was eleven years old when the family set. in Minto. He owns 200 acres, lot 41, con. 3, and lot 42, con. 2, and was brought up and has always resided in this locality. He m. Mary E. Pike. Issue: William T., Wesley (d. age 30), Alice (d. infan.), Alfred, set. N.-W.; Luther, set., N.-W.; Jonathan, Samuel S., John E., Earl M. and Sarah A., at home.

Like his father, Jonathan Lee, Jr., is a first class citizen, active in church matters and everything pertaining to the good of the community.

From: Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario. Toronto:Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906