The Austin Migration
By R. Robert Mutrie
By R. Robert Mutrie
The move of the North Carolina Loyalists in general, and the Austin family in particular, to Norfolk County, Ontario was recounted in an undated article (c. 1895-1905) contained in the H. F. Cook scrapbook in the Norfolk Historical Society Archives in Simcoe. The following story is extracted from the article written by John Charleton, M.P. The year of migration written by Charleton- 1791, has been found incorrect and is denoted by "sic". The correct period was May to July 1794. In the same article is a mention of a year long settlement by Peter Walker who arrived at Norfolk in 1793.
“At the close of the war of the American Revolution... Solomon Austin and eleven of his neighbors, who were heads of Loyalist families, had obtained the information that General Simcoe had been appointed Governor of Canada, and they at once determined to emigrate to that far country, if it should prove, upon investigation to be a suitable one for settlement by them.
One of their number, John Davis, was sent to make examination. He went late in 1790, or early in 1791 (sic) to Newark or Niagara-on-the Lake, and after making a short journey into the country, and picking up such information as he was able to obtain, from parties familiar with the interior of that district, he decided that it was all that could be desired as a place of settlement, and returned to North Carolina to make report to that effect.
It was at once decided to make the journey to the Dominions of the British Crown as speedily as possible, and in order to reach Canada before the winter of 1791 (sic) set in, forced sales of their property were made, and the caravan of pilgrims were in due time upon the road with their faces set in the direction that many fugitives from oppression and ill treatment, have since followed, with the North Star as their beacon.
The party travelled with canvas covered waggons, and drove their teams and some stock. They lived in the open air, camping at night with their waggons forming a circle, within which their stock and animals were confined. They pursued the journey without accident or disaster, passing through Virginia and Maryland, passing through Pennsylvania from south to north, up the beautiful Susquehanna Valley, and crossing a portion of western New York.
They stayed one night at Buffalo, which was then a hamlet containing twelve houses of the rude pioneer type. They arrived at Newark or Niagara on the 1st of September, 1891 (sic). Here Solomon Austin made suitable provision for the care of his family, and accompanied by his son Solomon Austin... started for the interior to explore the country... [Solomon] who had lived on sandy and unproductive land in North Carolina, was desirous of securing a location where the lands were alluvial and rich, and where a good mill site could be obtained, with the purpose, as soon as circumstances would permit, of erecting a mill."
"They were recommended to the Grand River region, and made their way to Brant's Ford, near the site of the present town of Brantford, where they met the celebrated Chief Brant. They made this journey provided with knapsacks, blankets, rifle, fishing tackle, and a slender stock of hard tack, flour and bacon for provisions. They found the Chief, and advised with him as to a location for settlement, impressing upon his mind the fact that they desired to get a good mill site as well as good productive land. The chief advised against settling on Grand River. He said it was 'bad river, big ice, big freshets, no place for mill dam,' but that he would put them in the way of finding a location that would be satisfactory to them, and he started them upon an Indian trail leading southward from Brantford to Lake Erie, telling them that they would cross good streams and find good land."
"The father and his hardy boy traversed the wilderness, following this Indian trail. They were probably the first white persons to penetrate the country from the Grand River southward to the lake. The first night they came to a nice little trout stream on or near the old Peter Steinhoff place just east of Simcoe. They had no idea where they were, but they proceeded to catch a string of trout for supper, and they built a little camp, which would shelter them from rains and to some extent from the cold. In the morning after nearly completing their camp, as a place of refuge to return to in case bad weather should set in, they followed a little stream down to Paterson's Creek [Lynn River]. After exploring around in the woods a little, they returned and gave the finishing touches to their camp, and the next day they followed Paterson's Creek down, and to their great surprise struck Lake Erie before noon.
At the mouth of the river [present Port Dover] on the east side they found a man named Walker living. He had come up the lakeshore from Buffalo, and had been there nearly a year and was engaged in trapping, hunting and fishing, and had succeeded in getting in a little diminutive patch of corn and potatoes with a few pumpkin vines and beans. Walker was monarch of all he surveyed, and was enjoying the wild free life of the wilderness tolerably well, but confessed to an occasional feeling of lonesomeness. he was abundantly supplied with food, as the woods had ample supply of game and the waters teemed with fish. The father and son stayed with Walker all night.
In the morning they started down the shore of Lake Erie to the eastward, making occasional detours from the shore of the lake into the country, which did not please them, and they returned to Walker's shanty and remained the second night with him.
The next day they started up the lake westward. It was mid September and the weather was superb. Deer were abundant in the woods, coveys of quails and partidges were continually rising up before them, and there was an occasional wild turkey. They crossed Port Ryerse Creek, Fisher's Run, the creek at Normandale and other beautiful streams of pure water, all stocked with trout, and leisurely proceeded to make examinations by going into the country two or three miles, and back to the lake as their guiding line until they reached Big Creek, somewhere in the vicinity of the present site of Port Royal.
They decided not to attempt to cross this stream or to examine the country further westward, and proceeded to follow Big Creek up towards its source. The stream was a crooked one, and their courses back and forth through the country rendered their progress to the northward quite slow. Food was easily obtained either with the rifle or the fishing tackle, and they could choose between quail, partridge, venison and trout.
At night, with the aid of their ax, they were able to make temporary shelters along the side of fallen trees by setting forked stakes a few feet from the trunk of the tree and putting the poles from one stake to the other, and then covering the temporary frame with pine and cedar boughs to keep off the night dew and serve in case of rain as a fairly good roof. Making in front of this temporary construction a camp fire, from wood which was easily obtained, they were able to spend their nights in the heart of the wilderness with a suitable degree of comfort. The howling of wolves was not a pleasant lullaby, but no fears of attack were entertained so long as a good fire was kept burning.
In this way Solomon and his son slowly made their way up stream till they reached the vicinity of Delhi, and had been able to form a very fair impression as to the character of the country on the easterly side of Big Creek. They found numerous beautiful streams, which were not only stocked with trout, but sufficiently large to serve as mill streams, but the character of the country did not impress them as favorably as that in the region of Paterson Creek Valley. Their wilderness wanderings led them through magnificent forests of black walnut, oak and pine, which many years later were to furnish the staple for an immense and profitable lumbering trade.
Leaving Big Creek at Delhi, or somewhere above that point, they struck eastward through what is now the township of Windham to the trail which they had followed down from Brantford, and back to their camp near the site of the Peter Steinhoff homestead. A few more days were spent in exploring the country in that vicinity, and Mr. Austin decided the section where is now situated Lynn Valley, was the most suitable place to locate."