THE CASWELLS IN PALMERSTON, ONTARIO

MY ROOTS ARE IN PALMERSTON

By John Edwards Caswell and edited and added to by Judy Rosmus

     Palmerston!  I hardly knew what to expect.  Neither Quebec nor eastern Ontario had prepared me for the shaded streets and the leisurely pace of the small town which at one time or another had been home to three generations of my family.

     Here my grandfather, John Caswell, returned after roaming as far as California.  Here his father, Andrew, achieved a few short years of comfort before his death in 1877.  Here his mother, Mary Jane died in 1887. Here his grandfather James Dickson died. Here his oldest brother, James D., had been one of the earliest, perhaps the very first storekeeper, and later a constable.  Here the second brother, Sam, had a photographic studio and for about two decades was city clerk.  Here Alexander taught school and learned printing before going off to seminary.  And here Robert got his first experience at carpentry and telegraphy before heading to the Manitoba frontier.

 Andrew Caswell

     “Caswell?  Half of Palmerston is built on the Caswells’ old farm”, said the kindly woman in the post office.  With a copy of an old deed in my hand, I located Jane Street, but could not tell which house was Andrew’s.  One lady remembered that a woman had come by years before and said her name was Caswell, and this had been her parents’ home.  It proved to be Sam’s.

     Who could identify Andrew’s house from the deed?  A real estate agent!  I found Murray George in his office.  “It is just in back of the store on the next corner west,” said he.  I am parked in front of that house, said I, “but what is on Jane Street?”  “That is James Street” said he.

     “Jane Street is named for my great-grandmother, Mary Jane Caswell.”  I pulled out the deed and ended the confusion.  Andrew and Mary Jane’s home was on Jane Street, Palmerston.

 Andrew & Mary Jane's home in Palmerston

     Alas, the present house numbers differed from the land description.  “There is an old map at the City Clerk’s office,” said Murray.  “I’ve been there," said I "and their map is being repaired.”  Murray recalled that a friend had a copy of the map, and we soon had the house placed.  We went to take a look.  Andrew and James’ houses looked much alike, except that the former had a porch only on the back.  Both over a century!

     A plot was purchased in the new cemetery in Palmerston, by Sam Caswell.  Bodies were transferred from an older cemetery when land was used for a school.  I wonder if there was some financial compensation for the transfer of bodies from the old cemetery.  Certainly this would explain why the fancy stone and why the burials took place ten years later. I also wonder why there isn’t an inscription for Mary Jane.

     Following directions to the cemetery, we found the superintendent, who looked at a list in hand and identified a plot bought by Sam Caswell.  He led us right to it and on a red granite shaft were inscribed the names of Andrew Caswell, his father-in-law, James Dickson, and those of James Dickson’s two wives.  We are descended from the first wife, who died in 1830 and I am sure must have been buried in Ireland.

The inscriptions are as follows: 

James Dickson d 9 Mar 1878 Aged 112 years 2 mos. Native of Dublin Ireland

Also his wife Margaret Wallace Died 1830 aged 55 years

Also his wife Ester McComb d 7 Jan 1877 Aged 85 years

Both native of Co. Down, Ireland

Andrew Caswell d 16 May 1877 aged 79 years 2 mos. Native of Co. Armagh, Ireland
(this inscription is on the reverse side)

     Three burials, and most likely a fourth (Mary Jane), yet the superintendent noticed signs of six interments.  Who else lies there?  

     We came back in November of 1986 having established a correspondence with Harold Cozens, who took me to the City Clerk’s office.  There we confirmed that Uncle Sam had been a member of the town council.  We also discovered that Uncle JD had been town constable, presumably after his store burned.

     Now all this is complicated by the fact that other Caswells lived and live in the vicinity.  Their Andrew was quite a bit younger (about 36) than ours.  There were two James Caswells as well as our James D. in Palmerston during the 1870’s.  There are also a number of Carswells in Palmerston to add to the confusion.  It is unknown if we are related to any of these families.

PROSPEROUS IN PALMERSTON

     The Caswells were in Granton for two decades when they began to feel the pull of Palmerston, a village formed in 1871 around the shops of the Wellington, Grey and Bruce Railroad, named for the three counties it proposed to serve. To these frontier communities a railroad meant cheaper transportation for their crops, and an end to isolation. Palmerston (Paa’merston) further benefited by having the railway shops.

     Already there was a crossroads village, Dryden, a mile to the west, with a tavern, post office, sawmill, blacksmith shop, potash works, a wagon factory, and two churches, one of which was Presbyterian.

     In their move from Granton to Palmerston the Caswells’ fortunes took a turn for the better.  It looked like good land speculation, although as happened so often, the railroad did not go through the established community, but bought land a short distance away in Perth County.

     The first members of our family to live in Palmerston, so far as the census of 1871-72 shows, were James Dickson Caswell, a bachelor, and his sister Sarah, with her husband, Ephraim Case and their children - Mary, Margaret and Jane. The same census showed that Adam and Sarah Borthwick and infant son John were living nearby. Their son, Russell (b 1881) would later marry Sam Caswell’s daughter, Louise.

     James Dickson Caswell owned a general store in Palmerston.  The February 8, 1872 edition of the Listowel Banner reported that “J.D. Coswell (sic) has been fixing and painting his shop. He has a very fair stock on hand.’’  On May 16, 1872 three general stores were listed: Nowry and McCaughrin, McEwing and Jackson, and J.D. Caswell’’.

 

 Mary Jane Caswell

    About 1874 Andrew and Mary Jane Caswell bought a tract of land abutting on Main Street and stretching northward somewhat over a quarter of a mile. This they divided into town lots. One street they called “Mary’’ after Mary Jane and a street perpendicular to it was called "Jane".      A corner lot, central to their parcel they chose for their own, and built a fine, two-and-a-half story house which still stands. At the back is a porch with a row of turned posts perhaps a foot high under the porch ceiling, quite typical of Victorian decoration. It is likely that the house once had a porch on the front and at least one side. 

          Many of the family members were in Palmerston in the 1870’s.  Aside from Andrew and Mary Jane’s home on Jane Street the Caswells also had the following lots:

Cons III                                                                                      

• James Caswell     lot 36

• Andrew Caswell   lot 35

Cons II                                                                                   

• David Caswell       lot 37

Cons XV                                                                               

• Henry Styles        lot 24

Hugh & Mary Jane Donnan were also in Palmerston in the mid 1870’s.  Their daughter Sarah Isabella was born there in 1875.
      An index to some of the Caswell family land transactions in Palmerston can be found here. 
       In September 1876, Andrew transferred his ownership of Lot 55 to son Joseph to hold in trust for wife Mary Jane.  I wonder if this transfer was because Andrew was in poor health prior to his death.

     After almost forty years of unremitting toil in the forest frontier, living first in a shanty and later in a crowded log house, Andrew had it made! Three years later he was dead.

 Died Wednesay May 16, 1877 Aged 79 Years

     According to Winnifred Colt, Andrew suffered from very bad asthma.  I am not sure if this contributed to his death. Cause of death on his death certificate was "old age".
     Unfortunately there was no will, Andrew had died intestate.  Sam was named executor of Andrews estate, but not before certified copies were obtained from each sibling confirming his appointment.    It took almost 3 years for the courts to confirm Samuel as administrator of Andrews estate. 

     The decade following Andrew’s death in 1877 was one in which the children set out, looking for new opportunities and new soil into which to sink their roots.
     From the probate records we were able to follow the changes in their residences in 1879 as they moved away from Palmerston.

In Palmerston:

• James Dickson Caswell, merchant
• Samuel Caswell, photographer
• Alexander Kennedy Caswell, student
• Robert Wallace Caswell, under the age of 21

In California:

• Joseph Caswell, yeoman
• John Caswell, yeoman
• Mary Jane Donnan, formerly Caswell

In Iowa:

• William Caswell, school teacher
• Thomas Caswell, yeoman
• Andrew Caswell, yeoman
• David Caswell, yeoman

Muskoka District:

• Sarah Case, formerly Caswell
• Margaret Styles, formerly Caswell 

     Mary Jane and Robert would have been alone in the big 2 1/2 story Victorian.  Robert decided that once AK's house was completed, the two of them might live there and the larger house leased out to provide income for her.

         In August of 1878 Mary transferred lot 55 to son John.  "Mary Caswell in the town of Palmerston to John Caswell of California in consideration of natural love and affection the said Mary Caswell is desirous of conveying  to her son the premises hereinafter mentioned..."
     I am not sure why she transferred the lot to John but perhaps he was considering moving back to Palmerston.

1881 Census Minto Twp., Wellington Co.

Caswell	Samuel	33	Ireland	Photographer
Caswell	Emily C.	27	Ontario
Caswell	Ella	7	Ontario
Caswell	Minnie	5	Ontario
Caswell	Ida	3	Ontario
Caswell	Maud	6/12	Ontario
Caswell	Mary	67	Ireland
Caswell	John	30		Farming
Caswell	Andrew	28		Farming
Caswell	Joseph	25	Ontario	Farming
Caswell	David	20	Ontario
Caswell	Robert	18	Ontario
Caswell	James D	46	Ireland	Gentleman
Caswell	Mary	36	Ontario
Caswell	Mary Ann	8	Ontario
Caswell	Martha	7	Ontario
Caswell	J M	5	Ontario
Caswell	Andrew A	2	Ontario
Caswell	John	10/12	Ontario

 
     When was Mary Jane born?  When I sent for her death certificate in 1975, her age was listed as 84 - counting back I decided she must have been born about 1804.  This date made for a big gap in age if the Dickson boys in Biddulph where her brothers.  If Mary was 67 in the 1881 census how did she become 84 at her death in 1887?  If the census was a recording error and she should be 77, then she was 59 when Robert was born.  The 1871 census she was 58 and Robert was 7 so at least that made her 51 when he was born.  In the 1861 census she was 46 and in the 1851 she was 36.  In Rob's memoirs, he said his mother took up a homestead in Saskatchewan at the age of 72 and passed away at 74.  This would make her birth year about 1814 which I think is the more correct time frame.
     Mary continued to live in Palmerston for a time before moving in August of 1882 to Winnipeg to live with John and Patience.    
      In June of 1884 John, Patience, 3 week old Albert and Mary set out for the temperance colony at Clark's Crossing, Saskatchewan.  Mary had seven canaries to take and a big dog.  They must have been strong canaries!  My grandmother, Delle Todhunter had a love of canaries and always had one in her later years.  I wonder if she realized her grandmother also had a passion for canaries. 
    What fortitude it took to pull up stakes again and head for the undeveloped prairie.  In a letter from Patience Caswell she related a story about Mary Jane which certainly gives us a glimpse into her strong and fearless nature.  

When the Rebellion started two Indians came to our door and as was my custom I went to get them some bread and butter, for as the old saying is "a full stomach makes a good child."  The younger of the two took the bread and put it in his coat and went off.  The older one, a fellow about twenty sat down in the house with his gun standing beside him. The gun had a piece of red flannel tied on the barrel.  I gave him a piece of a loaf of bread and he threw it out on the snowbank.  After a while he got up and went to the barn.  Pretty soon he came out with our buggy whip in  his hand.  Grandma Caswell said "I'll not let him take that."  So out she went and told him to put it down and when he would not do it she went up to him and caught hold of the whip and hit him over the knuckles with a willow stick she picked up.  He finally let go and went toward the river!

     Notes from son Rob "brother John and family arrived at Clark's Crossing in the summer of 1884 and built  house on their homestead, Joesph went to live with them and Mother remained with my wife and I until a house was built on her homestead.  She began her homestead duties in her 72nd year (hale and hearty and in fine health).  In 1886 she went east on a trip visiting brother Tom in Cherokee and Sam in Palmerston.  She happened with an accident which cause her death at 74 years.  Up to the time of the accident she was a bright active woman."  September 17, 1887 was the date of her death.  Her death certificate lists cancer for one year as the cause of death which does fit somewhat with Rob's story.
      Again an intestate death.  At least the administration of Mary Jane's estate was granted to Sam in a more timely manner (October 1887).

WHERE WERE THEY IN 1887?

     Four children were in California; Andrew Jr. was homesteading outside of Neepawa, Manitoba and Alexander had heard the call to the ministry and was studying at Knox College, Toronto.  The house he had started in Palmerston was finished by the younger brother Rob, and Rob lived in it with his mother for a year until he too took off to Toronto for telegrapher’s school.  Meanwhile, the fine, big house was rented out to a large family.  John returned from California, married a school teacher in Iowa, and worked as a cabinet maker in the Canadian Pacific shops in Winnipeg.

     Problems continued with Andrews estate.  The records do not say what the delay was but there was another round of correspondence in 1897 for the siblings to file a quit claim in favour of Samuel.

Whereas Andrew Caswell late of the said Town of Palmerston deceased, died May 1877, intestate, surviving his widow the late Mary Caswell and his thirteen children his only heirs and heiresses at law.  His widow died on the 17th day of September 1887, intestate, leaving her surviving the same parties at her only heirs and heiress at law.  Andrew Caswell deceased was at the time of his death, in fee simple of the lands and premises described.  No petition or other division of the said lands was ever made.  The lands have been in the uninterrupted and undisturbed possession of the said party since on or about the first day of May 1885.  The parties of the first part have agreed to grant, release and quit claim unto the said party of the third part all their right, title and interest in the said lands. 

     This includes lots 55, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66 and 67 on the east side of Jane Street; lots 76, 77, 78 and 79 on the west side of Jane Street; lots 70, 71 and 72 on the north side of Mary Street and lots 73, 74 and 75 on the south side of Elgin Street, also according to the map (drawn up at the time) lot number 22 in the first concession of the twp of Minto, (now within the limits of the said Town of Palmerston).  Also part of lot 22 in the second concession of twp of Minto (see intestate records for balance of description). 

The quit claim records of 1897 showed the siblings living in:

In Manitoba

• Andrew, Neepawa, farmer

In Saskatchewan 

• Robert Wallace and wife near Saskatoon, farmer
• Mary Jane Donnan wife of Hugh Donnan near Prince Albert, farmer
• James near Rosthern, farmer   

Near Osler

• Sarah Case wife of Ephraim Case, farmer
• John J and wife, farmer
• David, farmer
• Joseph, farmer 

In Pennsylvania 

• Alexander Kennedy Caswell Philadelphia, clergyman 

In Iowa 

• Thomas Cherokee, farmer 

 In California

•   William Caswell Sacramento, carpenter 

In North Dakota

•    Margaret Styles wife of Robert Styles Williams County, farmer