How my ancestors came to Canada, from Ulster, in 1801.

buntingj

My family name is Bunting. There are two branches of the familiy, one group in England, and the other in Ireland.

The three brothers that made the journey, along with their wives and children, numbered 14 in total. All three brothers had served in the British Army, and when they completed their contracts, they were offered free land grants in Canada.

All they had to do was get there.

They sailed from Ireland , in the early spring of 1801, on a ship with 98 other passengers . The voyage took 5 weeks, and one of their children died on route. They landed in Montreal, with all their worldly possesions, not knowing a soul in the country. They only has a enough money to be able to eat for 2 months ,

In order to save money, they bought a wagon, but no horses. They walked, pulling that wagon, loaded with all their goods, for 350 miles, to what was then known as the town of York, now called Toronto. The road that they walked along is now known as Ontario highway number 2. It was the original "settlers road " and it pased thru a number of towns along the way, such as Brockville, Kingston, and the villages of Cobourg and Port Hope.

When they arrived in York, they went to the land office, where they signed for their 3 land grants. Each of the men received a grant of 120 acres, which were next to each other in Chingacousy Township, located about 50 miles to the northwest of York. At that time the population of York was about 4,000 people, and Chingacousy had only 124 people in it. with no towns, or villages at all.

Their land was virgin hardwood forest, that had never been cut. In order to ensure that they kept the land title, they had to build a structure that was at least 12 feet square, and clear one acre of land a year for 10 years. Their first priority was to build a single cabin, of cut logs. Until that was done, they lived under the wagon, with a canvas wind break.

As settlers, they were given...... For each land grant holder, two axes, two cross cut saws, two shovels, two wood splitting wedges, two augers, two steel hammers, two spoke shaves, and two log hooks. In addition they had brought some of their own tools and one had a bellows forge, as he was a blacksmith.

They had also bought a horse, and a cow, and some baby pigs, and chickens. They began to cut trees, and shape them to make the cabin that they would ALL live in that first winter. Everyone worked, including the children, to beat the oncoming winter. A hurried planting of corn was put in around the trees, and so were some vegetables. They had two barrels of salted pork, and they shot some birds and rabbits were snared, and the meat was preserved for later use.

By October they had built a cabin, that would be their first home in Canada. They now faced the long winter, with their closest neighbour 4 miles way, along the base line road. Over the winter they kept busy, making things that they needed, such as wooden buckets, a butter churn, and lots of metal items like hinges, pins and brackets. The pigs grew fatter and the cow didn't. It died. The horse was skinny, due to a lack of proper feed.

By spring they had to start to seed crops, build more sheds, and cut trees. Try to imagine a forest that is endless, broken only by lakes and rivers, that is full of animals and devoid of humans. Their tiny little homestead clearing is only about 100 feet square, and they have to plant their crops between the massive trees ,on any clear bit of ground that they can find.

Now , fast forward to 1810, nine years later. The three brothers have all built proper homes, with field stone foundations , with log walls and proper glass windows and stone fireplaces. The smithy is working, as is the lumber/saw mill, on the stream. The cow is now 15 cows, and the horse is now 20 horses, who are rented out to new comers, by the day, to haul cut logs. The family is now sure that they won't starve each winter, and they have begun to become prosperous.

The three 120 acre farms are all working well and the township population is now up to about 600 people. The village of Terra Cotta is established , and the first clay brick making factory is now open. James Bunting, my Great Great Gandfather will become the first reeve of the township.

Now move ahead to 1897, when my father John Carl Bunting is born on family farm number 3, on the third concession road of Chingacousy Township. The Buntings now number over 60, and they are well off farmers, with dairy cattle herds , fruit tree orchards, and a saw mill, a smoke house for meats, and a race horse breeding business. The township now has over 4,000 people and two towns, and a school system, with five schools.

Just under 100 years of my own family history, and a example of how Canada was opened up by immigrants. Remember that they didn't get or expect any monetary assistance from any level of government.. As my Dad used to say, you either learned to survive, or you died.

He went on to serve in the Canadian Army in the Great War, being wounded three times. He was only 16 when he enlisted, and he became a machine gunner. He was in all the major battles from 1916 onwards. He came back deaf in one ear, and he had slivers of grenade shraplel in his back until he died at age 83. He had a long and sucessful life, with only three jobs in his working career. He was proud to say that he had been at Vimy Ridge , in the spring of 1917, the most famous Canadian victory in WW1.

My Mother was a 20th century Immigrant, arriving in 1927, from London. She had a brother all ready in Canada, who helped her to get a job right away. She worked as a domestic servant, for a family in Toronto. Eventually she went to work for Lady Eaton, The Eatons were at that time the wealthiest family in Canada. They owned the Eatons' department store chain. They were Immigrants s from Ireland, as well . She rose to become the chief house keeper.

Mum and Dad met during WW2, when they both belonged to a bowling league. They married in 1944, and I was born in 1946, in Toronto. . Both of them are now dead.

Our family's journey is typical of those who came here in the early days of the settlement of my country. The expansion westwards took more than 100 years after our arrival in 1801. In fact the year with the highest number of newcomers to Canada was 1903.

Unlike the USA, where they moved west wards on wagon trains, many people coming to Canada, after 1890, went out on the train. These were called " Immigrant specials " and they ran from the ports of Halifax, Quebec City,and Montreal, to the western Provinces of Manitoba , Saskachewan, and Alberta.

North America is known as the "new world " for a good reason.

We started with a completely clean slate, a virgin continent, with no roads, cities or man made anything. The Aboriginals were nomadic hunters who didn't build permanent structures, and they moved with the seasons, to follow their food sources of animals and fish. Any building that is to be found today, in Canada, was built since the 18 th century.

Our modern cities, and our society are based on the open and spacious nature of the land we live in. The second largest country in the world, but 400 years ago, it was a silent green land, awaiting the awakening of it's soul. We Canadians did it.

Now we offer it to you, to discover, and to make it your own country , too.

Jim Bunting. Toronto.

andychg

Jim,

All I can say is WOW what an amazing story. So what happened to the land and the farms or are they your pension plan?? (grin!!)

Thanks for sharing

Andy

AlanD

That was amazing. So much detail. I bet thats only half of it!

Jim, you asked how I would describe myself.

"I'm a Canadian."

IF I was pressed, I would say German. That is the language my people spoke. In fact, my eldest aunt failed grade 1 here in Alberta because she spoke little to no English. She just retired at 65, so its not that long ago I guess. After that German was banned from the household. The other eleven kids had no such trouble.

I see what you mean though. Technically Germany did not exist when they lived there. Alsace and Bavaria were semi-autonomous states. In that sense Germany is a younger nation than Canada.

It led to a lot of confusion when I was a kid. I'd ask, "What are we?" and get the answer "German" to which I'd ask, "Where from?" "Saratov". At which point I would run to the almanac and look it up... and find it in Russia! I was a nosy, err, curious kid.

buntingj

Andychg :

The farms and the other ventures are still owned by our family trust, with over 250 members. Each person is a direct descendant of the three brothers, who were Nelson, John , and Obidiah. We have an annual family meeting, to discuss business .

The actual operation of the farms is thru a group of 10 cousins, all of whom are active in the business. Each person in the trust has one share of the overall ownership. When I retire, I can choose to draw an annual income, which is taxable, or I can continue to hold my share, to give to my heirs. Those who are actively involved in the business are paid an annual salary, and they live on the farms for free, as they are owned by the trust. All of the land, buildings, livestock, equipment and assests are owned by the family trust.

The details I wrote about, come from original sources. Nellie Bunting, the wife of Nelson, the oldest brother, wrote a record of their first 20 years in what was then called Upper Canada. It was written when she was aged 63. A second source is from Mary Bunting, who was a grandaughter of Nellie, and her account of daily life was written over a 10 year period, from 1865 to 1875, whe she died in childbirth., aged 37.

Other information sources are the Ontario Archives, and the County of Peel museum records. The first census of Ontario took place in 1871, so that is also a source, as are a number of familiy bibles, that record marriages, births and deaths, pre 1871.

Of course, my Dad was a first hand source, and he was a great story teller, with a knack for describing things that he knew about, from his days as a farm boy in the Edwardian period. He lived a interesting life, from the time before the car, the airplane, radio, motion pictures and he also lived long enough to see the Atom bomb, colour tv jet air travel, the use of plastic and the end of the horse, as a method of farming, or transportation. He said he had a good life.

Jim B.

MalcolmR

That is a wonderful and moving story, Jim. Thanks for sharing it with us.

My own ancestry started in Cornwall, then moved to Australia when the tin mines failed in the 1860s. A move to South Africa in the 1960s, the UK again in the 1990s, and now hopefully to New Brunswick. Sometimes when I am going away on holiday people ask me if I am going "home". I look rather blank and tell them that I have no idea where home could possibly be other than where I live at the moment. If I attain Canadian citizenship one day, it will be my fourth - and on my fourth continent....

M

buntingj

MalcomR :

I say that home is where the heart, and the mind are most happy.

For me, that place is in Canada.

Jim B.

pinkthinkingcat

I`m pretty much speechless. What a story, and awe inspiring.

Thanks for sharing that Jim.

Colin

buntingj

Hello Colin :

You are welcome.

Did you check out that free viewing NASCAR website that I sent you ?

Jim B.