Thomas Montgomery's Missives.
In the April 2005 edition of The Aldernews the reader learned of Thomas Montgomery's duties and responsibilities as a prolific landowner and absentee landlord regarding his vast acreage, consisting of over 200 large properties throughout Ontario.
Below are three business letters I have transcribed from the Montgomery Papers (1826-1894) housed in the Baillie Centre (formerly the Baldwin Room) of the Toronto Reference Library; the correspondence sheds light on some of the challenges and hardships Thomas Montgomery (1790-1877) faced at one of his land holdings in southwest Ontario.
Decewsville, located three miles west of present-day Cayuga in today's Haldimand County, was named for Captain John DeCew, a United Empire Loyalist who settled in 1825. In 1827 the population was 100. It appears as if T. Montgomery has asked a neighbouring farmer (Alexander Corry) to monitor a large parcel of land he owns, and report to him on a regular basis the condition, estimated value and various activities relating to his extensive property.
A December 23, 1853 letter from Alexander Corry in Decewsville to Thomas Montgomery (spelling and grammar unaltered):
Sir
I am here requested to state to you By a lumberman working in this nybourhood, that he wishes to purchase the oak timber on your lot 37 on this consession and he hereby makes you an offer, which is as good a price as any I have herd of, that is 30 dollars per thousand cubic feet of oak timber for the american market, now it does not require the timber to be of So good a quallity for the american market as that for quebec, he further states that he is willing to give you an advance of £50.0.0 on the timber. If you wish to accept this offer please let me know as soon as possible. Sir, I remain your sincere friend,
Alexander Corry
Another letter dated February 9, 1859:
Dr Sir,
I beg to acknowledge your letter of the 27 of January last and am happy to hear of you being in good health. As for my own part, I never enjoyed better. According to your request, I called upon the treasurer to know the amount of your tax, which was $13.25 with school tax $3.77, making $17.02 – there being nearly that amount lying in my hand since I payed the last tax for you. I payed it and hereby enclose to you the receipt.
As to the value of your land, it is not easy to ascertain what it is worth, for farms is being offered 25 per cent cheaper than they were bought for three years ago, and even at that cannot find a purchaser. The north half of 38 lot being next to yours, comprising 100 acres with 60 cleared, was bought about 3 years ago for 25 hundred dollars. It is now offered 25 percent cheaper than was then paid for it and cannot find a purchaser but as I have before stated to you, be aware of lumbermen and speculators whose object would be to pay you an installment and cut off the timber.
There is not anyone now wishing to buy land and a great many who has bought land in the good times is now sorry for it, as they now find that they cannot meet their payments, for the failure of the wheat was very great in this part. There was several fields of wheat was left uncut and some that was cut did not pay for the thrashing. I know several farmers that now have their bread to buy, each having thirty acres of wheat last season.
The wheat in this part was just like what it was there. There was some few instances of people obtaining reasonable good crops while others got scarce anything at all. The good times that has been, caused men to speculate in buying land and other property in hopes to pay it out of their wheat and very many being pressed for money sold what little what they had in the fall, not reserving enough for their bread.
I fear before harvest they will be in a bad state as I think there is little hope of getting it from the United States as they have been here all this fall buying grain of every kind, and even the bran from the mills.
Thank God I am not so bad off as some others! I have about 100 bushels of this year's wheat and about 300 of last year's yet to dispose of.
Dr Sir your very Sincere Friend
Alexander Corry
A final letter from Corry dated March 9, 1866:
Dr Sir:
Received your letter of February 28th late and in accordance with your request, I yesterday went to see Mr. Stewart and in passing over part of your lot, I observed in several places whare timber had been removed during the past winter and in one place a large stone trough with a number of sap troughs racently made were prepared for making Sugar and in another place some Sqared timber evidently made yesterday morning as a mans overshirt was lying on a Stump beside the timber.
I went to Wm. Stewart and told him of it, together with what you desired me to tell him but he said that you did not pay him and he had no notion of gaining the ill will of people whare it was of no benefit to himself which is but reasonable. I always thought you paid him. Indeed, I think if you had it would have been to your advantage. Within the last two years your lot has suffered very materially by fire and otherwise the Summer before last the fire raged in it for more than two munths. I have frequently Seen the colums of Smoke rising in three or four places and I have been told that those fires crossed the lot back and forward Several times burning down not only pines, but green oaks and even last summer a fire raged for length of time in your woods. In fact if you let it stand for a few years longer, the timber on it will be nothing to run upon.
You ask me what price you could obtain for it, the value of land has come down So much in this nybourhood that you will be surprised to hear the prices. I will tell you the prices of the only lands I have known to be Sold in this nybourhood lately. About a year ago the farm known as the Fris Farm which some years ago was Sold for four thousand dollars was then offered for one thousand and could not find a purchaser. I must remark it is not now for Sale as the owner of it died and it now belongs to his children who are minors. William Brackinreed traded two hundred acres of wild land distant from decewsville three quarters of a mile with Thos Warloux for one hundred acres with frame house, frame barn, frame sheds, orchard and 60 or 70 acres cleared which farm Wm Brackinreed Sold to Elija Kindrea last fall, my next nybour for ten hundred and fifty dollars which farm lyes between Decewsville and the town of Cayuga.
The next land I have known to be Sold was lot of one hundred acres with merchantable timber on it which lot I had some notion of buying myself, as I have acquired Some knowledge of lumbering Since I came to this part. I thought I could make Something of it by making the timber. This lot was Sold on the first of January last by Thomas Lestor of Indiana vilage to Andrew Murry my next nybour for twelve dollars per acre. It lyes between my house and your Lot, now this price I am sure you could obtain for your lot. In fact if you were disposed to take it, I would like to be the purcheser myself as I would hope to make something by pedling out the timber to the best advantage.
Yours sincerely
A. Corry
P.S in complyance with your request to let you know in what state it is in, I have been inquiring of one of my nybours that seems to know something of it and he Says that a few years ago there was a Thousand dollars worth of timber on your lot, more than is at present.
Below are three business letters I have transcribed from the Montgomery Papers (1826-1894) housed in the Baillie Centre (formerly the Baldwin Room) of the Toronto Reference Library; the correspondence sheds light on some of the challenges and hardships Thomas Montgomery (1790-1877) faced at one of his land holdings in southwest Ontario.
Decewsville, located three miles west of present-day Cayuga in today's Haldimand County, was named for Captain John DeCew, a United Empire Loyalist who settled in 1825. In 1827 the population was 100. It appears as if T. Montgomery has asked a neighbouring farmer (Alexander Corry) to monitor a large parcel of land he owns, and report to him on a regular basis the condition, estimated value and various activities relating to his extensive property.
A December 23, 1853 letter from Alexander Corry in Decewsville to Thomas Montgomery (spelling and grammar unaltered):
Sir
I am here requested to state to you By a lumberman working in this nybourhood, that he wishes to purchase the oak timber on your lot 37 on this consession and he hereby makes you an offer, which is as good a price as any I have herd of, that is 30 dollars per thousand cubic feet of oak timber for the american market, now it does not require the timber to be of So good a quallity for the american market as that for quebec, he further states that he is willing to give you an advance of £50.0.0 on the timber. If you wish to accept this offer please let me know as soon as possible. Sir, I remain your sincere friend,
Alexander Corry
Another letter dated February 9, 1859:
Dr Sir,
I beg to acknowledge your letter of the 27 of January last and am happy to hear of you being in good health. As for my own part, I never enjoyed better. According to your request, I called upon the treasurer to know the amount of your tax, which was $13.25 with school tax $3.77, making $17.02 – there being nearly that amount lying in my hand since I payed the last tax for you. I payed it and hereby enclose to you the receipt.
As to the value of your land, it is not easy to ascertain what it is worth, for farms is being offered 25 per cent cheaper than they were bought for three years ago, and even at that cannot find a purchaser. The north half of 38 lot being next to yours, comprising 100 acres with 60 cleared, was bought about 3 years ago for 25 hundred dollars. It is now offered 25 percent cheaper than was then paid for it and cannot find a purchaser but as I have before stated to you, be aware of lumbermen and speculators whose object would be to pay you an installment and cut off the timber.
There is not anyone now wishing to buy land and a great many who has bought land in the good times is now sorry for it, as they now find that they cannot meet their payments, for the failure of the wheat was very great in this part. There was several fields of wheat was left uncut and some that was cut did not pay for the thrashing. I know several farmers that now have their bread to buy, each having thirty acres of wheat last season.
The wheat in this part was just like what it was there. There was some few instances of people obtaining reasonable good crops while others got scarce anything at all. The good times that has been, caused men to speculate in buying land and other property in hopes to pay it out of their wheat and very many being pressed for money sold what little what they had in the fall, not reserving enough for their bread.
I fear before harvest they will be in a bad state as I think there is little hope of getting it from the United States as they have been here all this fall buying grain of every kind, and even the bran from the mills.
Thank God I am not so bad off as some others! I have about 100 bushels of this year's wheat and about 300 of last year's yet to dispose of.
Dr Sir your very Sincere Friend
Alexander Corry
A final letter from Corry dated March 9, 1866:
Dr Sir:
Received your letter of February 28th late and in accordance with your request, I yesterday went to see Mr. Stewart and in passing over part of your lot, I observed in several places whare timber had been removed during the past winter and in one place a large stone trough with a number of sap troughs racently made were prepared for making Sugar and in another place some Sqared timber evidently made yesterday morning as a mans overshirt was lying on a Stump beside the timber.
I went to Wm. Stewart and told him of it, together with what you desired me to tell him but he said that you did not pay him and he had no notion of gaining the ill will of people whare it was of no benefit to himself which is but reasonable. I always thought you paid him. Indeed, I think if you had it would have been to your advantage. Within the last two years your lot has suffered very materially by fire and otherwise the Summer before last the fire raged in it for more than two munths. I have frequently Seen the colums of Smoke rising in three or four places and I have been told that those fires crossed the lot back and forward Several times burning down not only pines, but green oaks and even last summer a fire raged for length of time in your woods. In fact if you let it stand for a few years longer, the timber on it will be nothing to run upon.
You ask me what price you could obtain for it, the value of land has come down So much in this nybourhood that you will be surprised to hear the prices. I will tell you the prices of the only lands I have known to be Sold in this nybourhood lately. About a year ago the farm known as the Fris Farm which some years ago was Sold for four thousand dollars was then offered for one thousand and could not find a purchaser. I must remark it is not now for Sale as the owner of it died and it now belongs to his children who are minors. William Brackinreed traded two hundred acres of wild land distant from decewsville three quarters of a mile with Thos Warloux for one hundred acres with frame house, frame barn, frame sheds, orchard and 60 or 70 acres cleared which farm Wm Brackinreed Sold to Elija Kindrea last fall, my next nybour for ten hundred and fifty dollars which farm lyes between Decewsville and the town of Cayuga.
The next land I have known to be Sold was lot of one hundred acres with merchantable timber on it which lot I had some notion of buying myself, as I have acquired Some knowledge of lumbering Since I came to this part. I thought I could make Something of it by making the timber. This lot was Sold on the first of January last by Thomas Lestor of Indiana vilage to Andrew Murry my next nybour for twelve dollars per acre. It lyes between my house and your Lot, now this price I am sure you could obtain for your lot. In fact if you were disposed to take it, I would like to be the purcheser myself as I would hope to make something by pedling out the timber to the best advantage.
Yours sincerely
A. Corry
P.S in complyance with your request to let you know in what state it is in, I have been inquiring of one of my nybours that seems to know something of it and he Says that a few years ago there was a Thousand dollars worth of timber on your lot, more than is at present.
Researched and Written by Katharine Williams.