(Welland Tribune Date Unknown)
WELLAND (Staff)-Old Niagara was the gateway of entrance to the early pioneers, mostly disbanded Butler’s rangers and United Empire Loyalists, and of course the traders and merchants.
An interesting historical note: until 1792 Lincoln County was Township No. 9, District of Nassau, in the province of Quebec. It wasn’t until the British North America Act came into being that we became Upper Canada, then Canada east with the Act of Union and in 1867 we became known as Ontario.
So where does Welland fit in? At one point in history not one white man had set foot in our fair city-that is until David Price.
David was born about 1750 of Welsh parents in the Mohawk Valley. About 1771, while walking through a field near home with his brother, he was taken captive by a ban of Seneca Indians.
His companion was ransomed from the Indians by the British, but David was kept by his captors for two years, after which time, on his promise not to leave them, they gave him a gun and trusted him on many occasions with important missions. The chief of the band was called Little Beard and had adopted Price.
Although he was held captive and treated as such, he was allowed to go among the whites at the British forts. Price accomplished the Senecas on several occasions when they took prisoners to Fort Niagara and sometimes saved them from severe punishment.
After seven years with the Senecas, he finally severed his connection with the tribe at the British post of Oswego, where he remained a clerk and interpreter until the end of the war.
Price then moved to Niagara and stayed for a time at Fort Niagara.
When the War of 1812 broke out he moved to a farm in the present city of Welland, on Chippawa Creek (now the Welland River). Price died in 1841 and left his wife, Margaret; daughters Margaret, Neff, Catharine, Caroline and Juliann; and sons, David, Daniel and another whose name can’t be clearly read in Price’s will.
JOE BARKOVICH
GUEST COLUMNIST, THE WELLAND TRIBUNE
(DATE UNKNOWN)
Here in my neck of the woods, the college campus offers more than meets the eye.
It can be any time of the year, but especially right now. We come here to the campus grounds, Buddy the dog and I, early in morning or late in evening. Nowadays, in this season, sometimes both. These days, the campus is all but deserted. These evenings the air is clean, crisp and cold. Here we come for silence, serenity and solitude. They are all here for the finding.
So, no time to think about Christmas lists and last-minute additions, I am listless for presence of another kind. We are here with different purpose on our minds.
Buddy the dog finds joy in walking through the drifts of snow up to his chest. On occasion, he stops to stick his snout into a partially snow-covered clump of brush. Then he sniffs. He sniffs and sniffs and sniffs.
I wish I had a loonie for every scent he picks up. I might even force myself to say: “Gosh, it’s a wonderful life.” Me, the dog walker, I find joy in the interruptions.
Here is one example.
Just the other evening a choir of Canada geese flew overhead, their “honk, honk, honk” a harmonious chorus in their open-air cathedral for thought, thanksgiving and tryst.
Tryst?
I yearn for a meeting, an encounter, an experience-here, away from it all and far from it all. A little bit of imagination helps achieve such altered time and place. A little bit of faith is all it takes to make it real.
Me, I find warmth in the interruptions.
Here is another example.
In my mind’s eye, I see the handwritten message in a Christmas greeting card received a few years back.
Words, pain staking handwritten; words, rich in message.
Here on a cold December evening, no mind-numbing TV set in sight and no throngs of shoppers on site, I call the words to mind: “Hope you are able to simplify during this confused holiday season. We wish you peace with silence.”
Peace with silence. Elusive too many, these days.
Buddy the dog and I have found peace, but silence escapes us for the moment, just the moment.
Virgin snow crunch, crunch, crunches under my heavy winter boots, and brush snaps, crackles, snaps as Buddy bulldozes through.
We try to cut a swath through the still undisturbed woodchip trail, but snow cover hides ATV ruts that make this seekers’ footsteps treacherous. We double back to safer terrain.
From a distance I find our beacon, of sorts-the outdoor stairway leading from ground to peak of a berm. The stair way beams bright in the night because of its lights.
We quicken our pace through the snowy field heading closer and closer to them.
Excitement building, we climb the stairs, taking care not to lose footing.
On this snowy evening the top of the berm becomes the closest thing to a mountaintop-well, in these parts anyway.
Looking skyward, left breathless by the expanse of translucent ceiling as far as the eye can see, this was trysting time.
And in that simple, newfound silence, serenity, solitude-a sampling of the spiritual experience I’d come to find. Joy.
The message in this mid-December rendezvous on our make-do mountain top is pure and simple. Have faith in joy. It is yours for the finding.
“When I am a seeker, I seek both night and day; I seek the Lord to help me, and He shows me the way.
Go, tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere; Go, tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born.” From Go, Tell It on The Mountain, American black spiritual.
COLD DECEMBER
Well December is here along with winter too
So I hope no one comes down with the flu
The ground for a while will be covered with snow
And some folks may stay in more that we know
Snowmobiles will be out on the trails that I see
May no one suffer an injury by a big tree
Some may go to Florida or other warm place
While most stay here with the wind in our face
Others on a sleigh ride will sing a happy song
As the horse pulls them over the snow there along
Plum pudding is good with eggnog and gingerbread
So for these Christmas treats no one stays in bed
Seeing a wreath on the door along with mistletoe
Gets us in the Christmas spirit that we sure know
Carols will be sung as they’ve been done before
And elves will fill children’s stockings yes once more
Christmas trees are bought and decorated with presents below
So may everyone get something this we all know
Children will be out with toboggans going down the hill
And I know it will give them a really big thrill
The day after Christmas is a British holiday
Where servants get a box but they don’t have to pay
Its the season where everyone needs to be jolly
As they decorate with poinsettia and boughs of holly
Nativity scenes will be put up once again
So may no one say they are causing us pain
The three wise men came bringing gifts for the king
Lets not be a grinch and do the same thing
The winter solstice is on Dec. 21 again this year
But there will be lots of winter after that I fear.
Winston E. Ralph
Hunting season starts again in November this year
And all the hunters hope they get a big deer
They hope for cool weather so the deer doesn’t spoil
As it would be disheartening after all their toil
November is a dreary month with only thirty days
So for snow to show tracks the hunters can pray
Flowers gardens and outdoor chores are now done
And it will be awhile before we’re under the sun
The Legion will lay wreaths and have a parade to remember
All who never returned on the eleventh of November
I thank the veterans for all of our freedom
But would the deceased be happy to see what we’ve become
They were just youngsters as they went off to war
As they felt fighting for Canada wasn’t a big chore
The total Lunar Eclipse Blood moon is visible on November eight
So if you haven’t seen it before you may feel its great
November the eleventh month the new year is coming
After we celebrate Christmas with singing and humming
Shooting stars are visible from Leonid Meteor shower
That will peak Nov 17 and be less every hour
November is the last month of the fall there may be snow
But its been warm all month that we all know
The Zodiac signs are Scorpio and Sagittarius for all born
And the flower is chrysanthemum if born a November morn
The beavers build their dam under a fall moon
So its called beaver moon which will be gone soon
Friendship is symbolized by the November birthstone
Which is yellow topaz to have friendship in our home.
Winston E. Ralph
Bancroft, Ontario
[by - WellandHistory.ca, 2022]
Little is known about this cemetery except what could be seen on a recent visit. There appears to be seven tombstones. It is documented that Jane Park, 27 March 1825 and the other Captain Shubael Park, her father, 13 February 1826 are buried here. According to Ancestry, Huldah Skinner was the wife and mother who passed on 4 July 1864. It is recorded that the couple had twelve children, but the lone tombstone pictured here is without any clear acknowledgement of who is buried in this plot.
By Eva Elliot Tolan
[There are many such articles by this historian in the Niagara Falls Library, digital collection, but this one that I found in my mother’s file is not there, circa 1950s’. Margaret Gonder, wife of first Welland citizen David Price, is my ancestral grandmother.]
Last week we had the privilege of visiting one of the very few old homes still remaining in the Niagara district. This was the old Gonder house on the Upper Niagara River, now the home of Mr. and Mrs. J.A. McTaggart.
Michael Gonder, the original owner and builder of this fine old house, was a Loyalist from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He had tried to remain neutral during the War of the Revolution, but was so persecuted by the rebels, even to the extent of having his buildings burned, that he finally decided to migrate to Canada.
Michael’s wife, Eva Snyder, sometimes referred to as “Rebecca,” refused to leave her Pennsylvania home, so she and her husband divided their four children between them, she keeping the two fair ones and he bringing the two dark-complexioned ones to Canada with him-these were Margaret and Jacob.
The Gonders stayed for a while at Niagara, (Niagara-on-the-Lake) waiting to buy a suitable piece of land. John Rowe, a resident of Stamford Township and former soldier in Butler’s Rangers, had received as part of his land grant, Lot 6 on the broken front of the Upper Niagara River, opposite Grand Island. This Michael Gonder purchased. He was classed as a “later” or “treasuery “Loyalist, because he purchased his land, instead of receiving it as a reward for military services, as did the original United Empire Loyalists. The later Loyalists, however, were also required to take the oath of allegiance to the British Crown before being given their deeds to their land.
On his land on the Upper Niagara River, Michael Gonder built what in those days was a very imposing dwelling in contrast to the usual log homes of the first settlers. It was built of stone, but some subsequent owner had the stones covered with stucco, this altering its appearance. The interior, too, has been altered by successive owners one of the most regrettable changes being the removal of the old fireplaces. However, in the attic and cellar may still be seen the huge hand-hewn oak timbers, marked in many places with the mark of the axe. The windows and doorways are wide and deep, indicating the thickness of the original stone walls.
At the back of the house on the second floor was the long, narrow loom room, home of that period when so much hand-weaving was done.
There were eight bedrooms in the old house, which, in early days was a favorite stopping place for immigrants and other travellers going west. The Gonder house was always open for these _.
During the latter part of the war of 1812-14 the Gonder house was used by General Drummond as his military headquarters. At one time, in later years, it was also used as a temporary barracks for soldiers stationed on the frontier.
While the Gonders were still staying at Niagara, Margaret, the daughter, had met and fallen in love with a man forty years her senior. This was David Price, an interpreter in the Indian Department. Naturally the father frowned on this affair but the couple had decided to elope at the first opportunity. Accordingly, after they were settled in their new home on the Upper Niagara River, Margaret’s father and brother went over to Grand Island to attend to some cattle they had pastured over there. A man came riding along the River Road with a white handkerchief tied around his arm. Br pre-arrangement Margaret wore a white sunbonnet as she worked outdoors in the garden, to indicate she was alone. So the couple rode away to Niagara to be married by Rev. Robert Addison of St. Mark’s Church. This was in 1800.
But as time went on all was forgiven. David price had acquired a farm on the Welland River on the site of the present city of Welland. Michael, leaving his Niagara River property to his son, Jacob Gonder, in his later years went to live with his daughter, Margaret and her husband, David Price. When death finally claimed this old pioneer he was buried in the family burying ground on the Price farm, on the banks of the Welland River.
One of the Gonder girls of a later generation married a Sherk, so in time, the Gonder farm on the Upper Niagara became known as the Sherk place, and is still known by that name today among older residents.
Three-quarters of a mile back from the river, on the Gonder farm is the old Gonder family burying ground, where many of the Gonder family were buried. One of the old-gravestones marks the last resting place of Jacob Gonder. Jacob, as a young lad, came with his father Michael to live on the Niagara River. He was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1776, and died here in 1846. Here also is the last resting place of Jacob’s son, Michael Dunn Gonder, and his wife, Mary Ann Wait. The latter was a niece of the notorious Benjamin Wait, a resident of the Short Hills area, who, for a number of others, was sentenced to die for their share in the Rebellion of 1837-38. His sentence was finally commuted and he with a number of other, was banished to the penal colony in Van Dieman’s Land, for which he escaped some years later, returning to his home and family in Canada.
In this autumn month of October we know this fall
And it won’t be long until the snow does call
The mornings are cool and some days are nice
Yes soon the lakes will be covered with ice
The leaves are colored there is very little green
So it will be a while before that color is seen
I’ve seen colored leaves away back in July
Winter is coming there is no reason to say why
Thanksgiving dinner will be held in most every home
So may not one have to spend the time alone
Tables are full of food now including pumpkin pies
But by spring will we have lots or get a surprise
Halloween falls at the months end each year
And may you not be frightful or filled with fear
The October birthstone colors are white or pink
All the zodiac signs are Libra and Scorpio if we think
We celebrate the blessings and harvest of the year
Hopefully we’ll all have food to keep us healthy here
The birthstone is opal and flowers are cosmos and marigold
But before we see flowers a shovel we’ll hold
Colored leaves are falling of gold orange and red
And with colder weather will we wish to stay in bed
A fire is welcomed on these crisp days and cool nights
So curl up with a book and learn what is right
October is the tenth month harvest time once again
Get your larder full now so you’ll feel no pain
Folks will be out raking leaves into a pile
Then the children will play in them with a big smile
Winston E Ralph
Bancroft, ON
[Welland Tribune, Date Unknown]
WELLAND STAFF: City Council tomorrow night will order a title search on the old Price Family Cemetery on Colbeck Drive, but Anthony Whelan says he already has proof the 144-year old cemetery is city property.
Whelan, a local amateur genealogist who is pressing the city to restore and maintain the tiny cemetery, found documentation at the Welland Land Registry office showing its ownership was transferred to the city in 1960, possibly as part of the land annex for the construction of a nearby bridge that has since been dismantled. It took him an hour and a half, he says.
George Marshall, chairman of the parks, recreation and arena committee, says the city will fulfill its responsibility under the Ontario Cemeteries Act if a title search indicates it must.
The cemeteries Act makes all owners of cemeteries responsible for keeping them in good condition. When a cemetery is unowned, it becomes the responsibility of the municipality in which it sits.
At a closed meeting on Oct. 22, the parks, recreation and arena committee voted to order both a title search and a “clean-up” at the cemetery.
The recommendation will be before council on Tuesday, and Marshall says city workers will be sent to begin clearing the site soon after.
He did not suggest a date, however, added the matter is to be reviewed by city solicitor Barbara Moloney.
The cemetery-now overgrown with weeds and bushes, most of its headstones beneath the soil and its fence all but fallen down-is one of two cemeteries used by the descendants of David Price, thought to be the first white settler in Welland, The other was long ago pushed aside to build homes near Denistoun Street and the Welland River.
The only visible headstone at the cemeteries bears the name of Sarah Hutson, a member of the Price family who married a man named James Hutson.
She was buried in July, 1886. The first record burial at the site took place in 1842, although Whelan suspects Elisha Price, the first member of the family to own the property on which the cemetery is located, is buried there with his wife. Elisha Price died in 1824.
Whelan has done considerable research on the cemetery and views it as an invaluable piece of Welland’s history.
He is angered that it has been left to fall into its current state, feeling the city has been reluctant to devote money to taking care of the cemetery, while spending much larger sums of money on projects of lesser importance.
Between August 1973 and April 1975, city council and the parks committee dealt with the matter without significant results.
A chronology of the matter compiled by city staff shows a series of recommendations, letters and motions that trailed off on April 1, 1975, with an apparently unfulfilled council instruction to the city solicitor for a title search to be conducted.
“This has gone on before,” Marshall admitted this week.
“I guess it just drifted away, as some issues do.”
He said, however, the parks committee would take steps to see the city’s responsibility under the Cemeteries Act, if it can be established, is fulfilled.
“It’s clear in the Cemeteries Act,” he said. “It certainly appears to be our responsibility.
“It’s one of the first cemeteries in Welland, so it obviously has some important historical merit.”
Whelan has the backing of the Welland Historical Society, which voted recently to support his effort with the city.
“The pressure has to be kept on,” he said recently, vowing to do so until he sees the cemetery well maintained. The money required to do so, he claims, would be comparable to the roughly $1,600 which will be devoted to staging the opening of the renovated farmer’s market next month.
There’s an urgency now, because a lot of this stuff is disappearing,” he says.
“I feel that urgency.”
Well folks it’s now Sept. and fall is here
And every day winter gets a little more near
Swimming and boating days this year are over again
So clearing snow we’ll all feel some pain
Yard sales and BBQs are over until next year
But there are Studio Tours around Ont. and here
Patio dining is gone it’s indoors until May
Its warmer inside which is the better way
Most fairs are over and won’t be back for awhile
Yes with their return the fair people will smile
Some birth flowers of Sept.are aster and morning glory
The aster signifies love which isn’t a new story
While the morning glory signifies affection we’ve little today
As this is shown when people up and go away
Those getting married in September’s golden glow
Folklore says smooth and serene your life will go
The first Monday in Sept. Will be Labour Day
But those who do labour don’t get enough pay
On Sept. 22 the Equinox gives equal darkness and light
Although in the winter it seems like mostly night
Until Sept. 22 the Zodiac sign is Virgo Libra for the rest
While those born in the spring say the time is best
The harvest moon reaches its peak on the 20th of September
And without flies and heat its the best time to remember
For the children its back to school no more time to play
Just listen to the teacher and learn new things each day
The golden rods are in full bloom and the harvest is mostly in
There are pumpkins potatoes squash and apples in the bin
Cool nights are colouring leaves red orange and gold
And people come for miles the scene to behold
September birthstone is sapphire for truth trust and loyalty
Some things lacking today it does seem to me
Its harvest time on the farm as the winds blow soft
Hopefully it’s nice until all the crops are in the loft
Let’s pray for all covid to be gone yes somehow
But it is monkey pox and others we are concerned about now
Winston E. Ralph
Bancroft, ON
[Evening Tribune]
A tombstone dated 1840 and bearing the inscription of Elizabeth Ann Spence, wife of Henry Spence, was unearthed by Gerald Parker yesterday as he was tearing down a garage to construct a parking lot for an apartment house he owns at 102 Maple St. Parker considers the stone a rare find, but wonders why it was located on his property since he has no knowledge that a cemetery was ever located there. The stone identifies Elizabeth as the daughter of John and Lydia Barker and says she died Oct. 13, 1840. Parker said he intends to preserve the stone and perhaps donate it to the Welland Historical Society.
*There is an Elizabeth Ann Spence (Barker) buried In Drummond Hill Cemetery, 18 October 1840. Her husband is listed as Henry and her son John B. . Interesting !!!!
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