Movement of the Scots in Early Ontario

 Skye in the present day

The Scots were one of the largest groups of to settle in early Ontario. Their predominance can be traced in a lot of the province’s place names. Many of the Scots came from the Highlands and Islands where the old country and its landlords were divesting themselves of surplus people. In my family two lines of Scots came to Ontario; the Mathesons from Skye via PEI, arrived sometime in the years after 1843, the Gilchrists arrived in 1853 from Islay.

When they lived in the Western Hebridean islands, the Mathesons and Gilchrists moved around but only to the next place over, their movements hampered by the need to rent as the land was owned by large landholders. Once the families reached Ontario they seemed to move long distances with impunity. 

                  The road to Kilnaughton Cemetery, Islay

It wasn’t easy to move from place to place, especially in early Ontario. The building and maintenance of roads were ongoing monumental tasks given the distances, the climate and waterways to be bridged. Railway building became the way of the future in the 1850s. Various railroad companies built tracks where they thought they would be profitable. The focus was on getting goods like timber to markets. But at that time the main market towns were not known. Some towns and railroad companies were winners and some were losers as Ontario grew. Perhaps these market forces were also behind the movement of settlers. Even farmers needed markets for their produce. 

Sources:

 

Beaverton Thorah Eldon Historical Society. The Beaverton Story: Harvest of Dreams. Ontario Publishing Company Limited. Don Mills, Ontario, 1984.