8/6/2019 David Graham Story

1/4

Early Reminiscences of David Graham [1838 - 1928](Copied in 1997 as it was originally written spelling and grammar and all by descendant Tom Graham.

The information in the square brackets has been added by Tom.)

Inglewood, May 25, 1926

I was born in Drumquin, Ireland in the year 1838. Myfather [Robert], mother [Isabella Wilson] and familymoved to Pollockshaws, near Glasgow, in the year1841 where they lived for six years before they sailedfor Canada in a sailing boat called theAnchor [nowbelieved to be theAnn Rankin]. It took us six weeks toarrive at Quebec. One peculiarity was that the Captainwould not take any passengers except Scots so we hadto pass as Scots. We all had the Scottish twang; therewere only three or four families that were notHighland Scotch. We numbered over three hundred soyou may know we had am amusing time when we all

had our cooking done on two fires. It took us a weekto come from Quebec to Toronto on a steamer. Whenwe got on this boat the crew rebelled when they sawthe passengers and the Captain had to get a barge to put them in but allowed two families, the lowlandScotch, to stay on the steamer; so we had a very pleasant trip up the river and lake to Toronto.

We landed in Toronto in September 1847 and went to Berwick, now Woodbridge, where we had anuncle living. That year the ship fever was veryprevalent and after a few weeks the writer took thefever and was a very sick boy. Then my father took itand died leaving my mother with five boys and fourgirls to take care of in a strange land. The writer and a

brother and sister went to live with an uncle nearGuelph where we stayed nearly two years. The onething I regret was that we lived on a farm and there wasno school that I could go to, so I lost two yearsschooling when I was between nine and eleven years ofage.

I then started out for myself and my first wages weretwo dollars per month and board working in a woolenmill at Berwick. Next year I received three dollars permonth. When the mill at Berwick closed I went to

Streetsville to work in Barber Brothers woolen mill and received four dollars a month and five dollars

a month the second year. At the end of that time [1852] I had saved fifty dollars.

As my health was not very good from confinement in the factory I undertook to try the bush for achange and along with a chum by the name of William Bradford started out on foot to take a bushfarm. We landed near Paisley [near Owen Sound] where some friends lived. I got 100 acres in theTownship of Bruce for which I was to pay $200, twenty dollars down and the balance in installments.I might say we walked from Streetsville to Southampton [over 125 miles] where the land agency was;then on to the farm. We put up a shanty and covered it with split logs. I made the door from a pine logsplit and split down to one inch boards as the nearest sawmill was ten miles away with no roads. Iremember well how the mosquitoes and the black flies used to take their satisfaction out of us. We did

Example of life on board a sailing ship,ca. 1847

Grave marker of Robert Graham and

Isabella Wilson, along with their son,Robert. Woodbridge, Ontario.

8/6/2019 David Graham Story

2/4

8/6/2019 David Graham Story

3/4

When I started in the factory I had just one roll carding machine and fulling mill but the increase ofbusiness was so great that I put in two roll carders and had to run them night and day for some years.Then I started manufacturing cloth. I got a second hand condenser and jack from Barber Brothers atGeorgetown and made cloth and blankets for the farmers, taking in their wool and giving them whatthey required. So great was the demand that we had to take the cloth out of the loom and give it to

them before it was scoured. The mill was burned down in 1871 and I had very little insurance. I madearrangements with my father-in-law to rebuild; he put aprice on the property and I was to build the mill and payhim rent as before. So I put up a stone building and wentto the United States and bought a set of carding machinesand jack and started to manufacture yarn and cloth for thewholesale trade. After a few years I rented the mill toWard and Algie who put in knitting machines. After twoyears Ward left and Algie ran it five years longer, andwhen he left I started the knitting business myself. Thishas been continued down to the present day and I havehad associated with me in the business my son Thomas,

my son-in law Joseph M. Scott, and in later years mygrandsons.

My business in Clinton started by my endorsing a notefor my brother-in-law. When he broke down he persuaded me to take over his woollen mill there andI started with him as manager. After three or four years I found out it was not going to be successfulso he sold out the woolen machinery and that left me with power on hand. Electricity was coming intopopularity so I started to light the town and rented the building to a party to build organs. They wereshort of money and got me to endorse for them, so I got mixed up with them and had to go intopartnership. Before we got fully started the whole business went up in smoke with very littleinsurance; my loss was quite heavy. The electric plant grew very fast so I took into partnership Wm.Shannon who ran it for some years but he took sick and passed away. So I took his share and ran it for

some years and then sold it to my manager James Stevens for eighteen thousand dollars, being aboutwhat it cost me. He paid a thousand dollars down and one hundred dollars per month with interest andmade payments promptly out of the plant for several years.

My experience in Owen Sound arose through my arranging to supply wool to Mr Benner and he wasto make blankets. After paying expense for making them he was to give me the balance for the woolbut I found that it took all the blankets would bring to pay his expenses for making them, so I had totake over the mill and run it. Before six months it went up in smoke, catching fire from the picker;and there was very little insurance to cover the loss.

My experience in farming - I bought a farm of 200 acres for $6,000 paying $1,000 down and $500 peryear and interest of $1,100 at the end of ten years. I let the farm out on shares to my brother James

and it more than paid for itself in the ten years. Then I bought 200 acres more in order to secure thewater privileges along the Credit. So at one time I was the owner of 500 acres of land but found it wastoo much to look after so I sold all out but the old homestead.

The Riverdale name is still on thebuilding in Inglewood.

8/6/2019 David Graham Story

4/4

When the railroads came through [ca. 1879] Ithought it well to start a village, and as I ownedthe three corners I got C.J. Whellock, surveyor,to lay out the village which is now Inglewood.and before very long I had to increase its size.

At the start I built a blacksmith's shop and awagonmaker's shop and gave the men whobought them a long time to pay for them. Theyonly paid eight dollars a month. I also buildseveral houses for workmen who bought thempaying five and six dollars a month, and I cansay they all made good.

My interest in church work - we joined the M.E.Church on the first line and for many years wentto worship there. It was in the country and as the population of the surrounding district was gettingsmaller and the village of Inglewood was growing we decided to move the church to Inglewood. I

agreed with the trustees that if they would give me the old church I would move it over and build it inInglewood, so with the help of Mr. Thompson who was the carpenter we built it without asking helpfrom anyone till it was finished. It cost us something over $2,000. And when we opened it at the endof the year the members raised a little over $1,000 so we have a comfortable church with a goodbasement for Sunday School purposes. This was in the year 1889. Our parsonage was at Campbell'sCross. It was a poor building and away from the railway station. We had difficulty in getting aminister, so I made a proposition to the Trustees of the circuit that if they would give me the oldparsonage I would build them an up-to-date one in Inglewood. After some difficulty I got them toagree. The new parsonage cost about $2,500 and I got two or three hundred dollars out of the oldbuilding and very little help from the circuit at the opening. Some years later I built an addition ofthree rooms to the Sunday School and put in a room for the public library as they had no place fortheir books at that time.

In my business I have had many ups anddowns but commenced with nothing and bythe blessing of God I have a comfortablehome and many kind friends and neighbourswho respect me and wish me well, and noenemies that I know of.

If you would like more information contact: T.D. Graham, 351 County Road 18, Bishop's Mills, RR 2

Oxford Station, ON K0G 1T0. email: tdgraham@tdgraham.com

Methodist Church, Inglewood

The author, David Graham, at home, afterlunch. Ca. 1920