INGERSOLL & PORT BURWELL ROAD COMPANY
1849
HISTORY and COMMENTS
By Robert G. Moore, 2002
In the late 1840’s, the merchants and farmers of the Ingersoll, Tillsonburg and Dereham Township in Oxford County and of Bayham Township in Elgin County were all very interested in a better way in exporting their produce and timber and importing manufactured goods from Great Britain and the eastern United States. Water transport was the only economical method of moving goods and Vienna and Port Burwell were the only Lake ports in the area. Thus a road from Ingersoll though Tillsonburg and Vienna to Port Burwell seemed a logical solution. The proposed road would be built and operated by a group of interested citizens who formed themselves into a stock company. Tolls would be charged for the use of the road and would pay for the upkeep of the road, tool gate keepers wages etc and provide a return to the investors. The Tilson family of Tillsonburg was one of the main promoters. The road was likely nearly complete in 1853 just in time to take advantage of the economic boom in Ontario that occurred during the Crimean War. Great Britain required large quantities of timber and wheat as sources in Eastern Europe were no longer available. The road was a success for many years from a commercial and financial stand point to the promoters. By 1846 the population of Vienna was about 300 and was the second largest village in Elgin County (behind St Thomas) Stock companies were set up in the early 1850’s to improve the harbour at Port Burwell and to improve navigation on the Otter Creek upstream to Vienna.
Many railroads though out Southern Ontario were constructed in the 1870’s, including the Canada Southern Railway which passed just north of Tillsonburg and the Air Line through Tillsonburg. These railroads provided farmers a cheaper way to get their sroduce to markets and a simpler method for the merchants to obtain manufactured goods. Trade with the United States had replaced much of trade with Great Britain, the pine forests of northern Bayham had been nearly depleted.
By the mid 1870’s the general depression in Canada which followed the American Civil War had hit rural Oxford and Elgin Counties. However the Toll road had served its purpose, the stock holders had been well rewarded (nearly $12,000 collected in tolls in 1865 alone which would not only kept up the road but yielded a handsome return to the stock holders) As many of the lake boats were loaded at Vienna rather than Port Burwell because of the its better facilities, the road south of Vienna was the first portion to be abandoned and after 1880 much of the rest of the road fell into disrepair.
For a detailed summary of economic developments in Elgin County please refer to “Economic Development in the County of Elgin 1850-1880” by David J Hall published in 1972
As the 1851 census for both the southern part of both Bayham Township including Vienna and Port Burwell and Malahide Township has been lost, Stock Book lists such as this one help us track the very transient population of eastern Elgin and Oxford Counties
THE STOCK BOOK
Be it remembered that on this third day of September in the year of our Lord one Thousand eight hundred and forty nine, We the undersigned stockholders met at Tillsonburg in the County of Oxford in the Province of Canada and resolved to form ourselves into a Company called the Ingersoll and Port Burwell Road Company according to the provisions of a certain Act of the Parliament of this Province entitled.,An Act to authorise the formation of Joint Stock companies for the construction of Roads, bridges and works therein mentioned in Upper Canada for the purpose of constructing a plank road and gravelled road from Ingersoll to Port Burwell and we do hereby declare that the capital stock of said Company shall be nine thousand two hundred and fifty Pounds to be divided into Eighteen and fifty shares at a price or sum of five pounds each and we the undersigned Stockholders do hereby agree to take and accept the number of shares set by us opposite our respective signatures and we do hereby agree to pay the calls thereon according to the provisions of the said in part recited Act and of the rules, regulations, resolutions and the By Laws of the said Company to be made or passed in that behalf and we do hereby nominate Benjamin Van Norman, Thomas Brown, Andrew Bodwell,
Martin Hubbard, William Francisco to be the first directors of said company
THE STOCK HOLDERS
Name Stock Shares Other References to Person by RGM
Alexander, John 5 Bay 42 Lot 22 Con 2
Allen, Norman 10 Bay 42 merchant
Anderson, John 5 Bay 51 wheelwright
Anderson, Jesse 1 Bay 42 Lot 19 Con 2
Andrews, Rueben 5 Der Tre Lot 10 con
Atwood, Wm 3 Der Tre Lot 7 Con 3
Barker, Edward 3 Der Tre Lot 17 Con 1
Barker, Wright 20 Der Tre Lot 4 Con 11
Barker, Joseph 5
Barnett, John 2
Blandford, Isaac 5 Vienna 61 carpenter
Bodwell, Andrew 15 Der Tre Lot 10 Con 1
Bodwell, James 10 Der Tre Lot 11&12 Con 5
Bonnar, Charles 10
Bound, Jn. J. 10 (Sic – or should this be John Pound ?)
Briggs, Ephriam 2
Brimsey, Abel 30
Browell, Joseph 20 (Browett) Ingersoll merchant
Brown, Thomas 50
Brown, Peter B. 2
Burnett, John H. 5
Canfield, David 10 Ingersoll Div Court clerk
Carall, Daniel 40 Ingersoll grist mill
Caranuge, Charles 2
Carnegie,John 5
Caswell, Daniel 10 Bay farmer
Chadwick, Charles G. 10 Ingersoll Der Lot 12 Con 1
Chambers, George 10
Chapman, John M. 10
Clarke, Henry 6
Cody, Chas. G. 10 Der Tre Lot 17 Con 5
Cole, Grandison 2 Bay 51 Lot 130 NTR
Collins, Israel 20 Dereham
Cook, Robert 10 Bay 51 farmer
Cook, Ira 3 Bay 51 farmer
Cook, R.W. 5 Bay
Courtney, William 5
Cowin, C.C. 3
Crawford , J. Augustus 5 N. Oxford Twp Tre Lot 14 Con 3
Doty, Edwin 6
Douglass, John 5 Woodstock harness maker
Dunn, John 5 N. Oxford Twp Tre Lot 9 Con 3
Ingersoll merchant
Dunning, John 2
Edison, S. G 5 Bay 42 Lot 15 Con 3 Vienna
Edison, M. B. 5 Bay 42 merchant Vienna
Elliot, John 20 Bay 42 merchant Vienna
Elliot, Morton R. 10
Elliot, Noah 2
Elliot, S. 5 (Stephen?)Bay 42 Lot 14 Con 2
Elsworth, William 15
Erwin, James 50 Der Tre Lot 10 Con 6
Falls, Philip 12 Der Tre Lot 10 Con 4
Farr, Soloman B. 5
Featherstone, William 3
Fisher, Robert 3 Bay 51 farmer
Foote, A. J. 5 Der Tre Lot 8 Con 12
Fowler, James 2
Franciso, Wm 60 Bay 42 merchant Vienna
Galiford, John 5
Garnham, Robert 10 Bay 51 farmer
Glover, A.D. 10
Graves, Jos 3
Gregg, John 5
Hackett, Walter 2 Der Tre Lot 10 Con 3
Hagle, Peter 50 Der near Ingersoll
Hagle, Miles 10 Der near Ingersoll
Haining, Robert 10
Hall, Elisha 40 Ingersoll
Hardey, Thomas 3 Der Tre Lot 5 Con 11 Tillsonburg Hardy, John M. 5
Harris, Ira 15 Der Tre Lot 10 Con 4
Harris, Samuel 5 Ingersoll
Harris, Walter 5 Ingersoll area
Harris, James D. 5 Bay 51 lawyer
Harris, Warren 10 Der Tre Lot 14 Con 2
Harrison, George 5
Hazen, John 5 Bay 42 Lot 15 Con 4
Hewer, Isaac 5
Hill, James, H 2
Hill, Calvin G. 5 Der Tre Lot 19 Con 2
Hill, Sylvester 5 Der Tre Lot 19 Con 2
Hilliker, John H. 5 Der Tre Lot 7 Con 9
Hogan, Robert 5
Hogen, G. W. 2
Holcroft, Thomas 40
Houghton, Elihu 1 Vienna 61 age 36
Howey, Henry 2 Bay 51 farmer
Howey, Martin 5 Bay 51 farmer’s son
Howey, Sam’l 5 Bay 51 farmer
Howey, Wm 2 Bay 51
Hubbard, Alfred 5 Bay 51 teamster, mill owner
Hubbard, Martin 50 Bay 51
Hubbard, Rodney 10
Huit, John 2
Ingersoll, J. H. 40 Lived Ingersoll
Jackson, John R. 2
Jacob, Samuel 2
Jenkins, Thomas Sr. 10
Joham, William 2
Johnson, Peter 10 Bay Tre farmer Lot 11 Con 5
Johnston, John 3
Jones, Augustus 10 Bay 51 mill owner
Kannady W.S. 5 Vienna 61 lumberman age 50
Kelso, Alex’r 10
Kennedy, Wiliam 2 Bay 51 farmer
Lambden, Edwin 5
Larkworthy, William B. 2
Leach, Isaac B. 2 Bay 51 farmer Eden area
Leach, Nehemiah 10 Bay 51 mill owner Eden area
Leach, Joab 5 Bay 51 mill owner Eden area
Lewis, Coridon 2
Light, Charles 2
Long, Benjamin 1
Marlatt, J.B 5 Bay 61 farmer
Marr, Adam 10
Matheson, Hugh 1
Mayberry, Rich’d 5
McCarthy, James F. 10 Der Tre Lot 23 Con 8
McCue, Edward J. Wm. 5 Der Tre Lot 9 Con 3
McDonald, Robert 5
McDonald, John &Co. 10 Bay 51 lumberman
McKay, Marshall 5
McKay, John 4 Bay Lot 17 Con 9
McKenzie, J.I. 5
McLaren, Arc’d 12 Der Tre Lot 9 Con 11
Milman, William 5
Miran, Edward 1
Morrison, Peter 3 Der Tre Lot 12 Con 7
Munro A. F 10
Murdock James 6
Mylie, John C. 3
Nellis, John J. 5 Bay 42 Lot 13 Con 5
O’Brien, Henry 1
Oliver Patterson J 10
Ostrander, Asa 5 Bay 42 Lot 24 Con 9 carpenter 51
Ostrander, Andrew 10 Bay 42 Lot 24 Con 8 farmer in 51
Paine David 3
Parker, Chas. P. 5
Parkhurst, Chas 5
Payfer, Charles 1
Phelan, Daniel 10
Phelps, Uriah 5
Philips, Nicholas 3
Piper, Isaac 5 Der Tre Lot 17 Con 2
Poole, Thomas Jr 3 Der Tre Lot 14 Con 1
Poole, Thomas 1 Der Tre Lot 14 Con 1
Ranney, Hiram 5 Der Tre Lot 12 Con 2
Raymond, A. (Andrew) 3 Bay 42 Lot 21 Con 2
Reynolds, Wm J.J. 10
Rice, Moses 10
Roberts, Stephen 5
Roberts, John Sr. 5 Bay 42
Roy, James 5
Russell, Thomas 2 Der Tre Lot 15 Con 1
Scofield, Henry B. 2
Scott, Tho’s 12 Bay 61 age 36 farmer
Scott, Robert 1
Shell, Samuel 10
Sibbald, John 8
Silverthorn, John W. 5 Bay farmer (Jonathon)
Smith, Campell J. 70
Smith, Cyrus 60
Smith, George 10 Bay 51 innkeeper
Smith, J 5 (John ?)Bay 51 bartender
Smith, Hidden? J. 20
Smuck, William 5 Bay 42 Lot 13 Con 5
Srigley, (Crigley), Lysander 5
Stillman?,John. G 5
Stillwell, David 5
Stinson, G. G 2
Tillson, George 75 Tillsonburg
Tillson, George B. 15 Tillsonburg
Tillson, Edwin D. 40 Tillsonburg
Timber?, J.W. 2
Tripp, William 2
Tripp, Moses 15 Ingersoll, bailiff
Urlin, Adolphus 10
Van Norman, Benjamin 75 Der Tre Lot 1 Con 11&12
Waite, E. B. 6
Wallis, William 2
Walsh, John 15 Der Tre Lot 26&27 Con 1
Warneck, John 1
Weeks, Joseph 10
Western, William 3 Bay 42 sawyer Lot 23 S Gore
White, Isaac O. 2 Bay 51 mill owner
Wildern, Daniel 5
Wilson, William 5 Bay 42 Lot 6 Con 3
Woodard, Manilla 3 Tillsonburg, manufacturer
Woodward, D.C. 10
Wright, Ephram 2
Wrong, W. B. 5 Resided Vienna
Wrong, J. W. 5 Bay 61 merchant lik Port Burwell
Wrong, McKinnon 5
Total of 1850 shares for 9250 Pounds
(Stock list was written out by secretary and is reasonably legible)
I hereby certify that the above is a correct copy of the Stock list of Ingersoll and Port Burwell Plank and Gravel Road Company and that six percent of the above stock has been paid to me.
Certified at Ingersoll 8 Feb 1850
by J.H. Ingersoll Secretary and Treasurer
Memorandum of Copy deposited in County of Middlesex Registry office on 27 June 1850, M Burwell Registrar
REFERENCE
Tre Tremaines Map of Elgin 1864,
Tre Dereham Tremaines Map of Dereham 1857
L.R Land Records from Searches by RGM
N T R Concession North of Talbot Road
Bay 42 Bayham Twp census 1842
Bay 51 Bayham Twp census 1851 (south part of Twp missing)
Bay 61 Bayham Twp census 1861
Vienna 61 Vienna Village census 1861
Mal 42 Malahide Twp census 1842
Mal 51 Malahide Twp census 1851
Mal 61 Malahide Twp census 1861