Sketch LXV

A Family of Boston Pioneers—Corliss Family

The old Boston settlement in the township of Townsend dates back to the beginning of the present century. After the new province of Upper Canada had been organized, Sir John Graves Simcoe, the first Governor, championed the cause of the U.E. Loyalists.[1] He visited them in the maritime Provinces, whither they had fled at the close of the war, and induced them to migrate to the new province. Emissaries were sent into the new American States, simply supplied with circulars which gave a glowing description of the new province and the wonderful advantages awaiting those who chose to settle therein. The Governor’s object, of course, was to induce all those who were friendly to British connection to migrate to the new colony; but the movement thus set on foot caused many American families to avail themselves of the golden opportunities offered to secure homes for themselves, and although they were not allotted free lands they were welcomed as settlers, and were permitted to take up lands at a trifling cost. The only distinction made between U.E. Loyalists and other settlers—if it really amounted to a distinction—was the reserve of the lake front for the former, which necessitated a rear settlement on the part of the latter.[2]

The Boston settlement was made by Americans and British emigrants principally. Among the first settlers were the Corliss and Beal families. They came from New Jersey about twenty years after that State ceased to be a British colony.[3] They came because Upper Canada offered greater advantages in the securing of homes for themselves and their children, than could be obtained elsewhere. The most desirable public lands in their native State were all taken, and of all the unexplored, boundless West, the western peninsula of Upper Canada was the only centre of attraction, at that time, for the people of New Jersey. These American families entertained no prejudices against the mother-country, and were not averse to British institutions. True, many of them had fought for independence, but it was the defence of a righteous principle, and not hatred of British rule, that prompted them to take up arms. Lord Carlisle came too late with overtures of peace, and the severance of British connection was the legitimate outcome of the acts of injustice that caused the trouble in the family.

When the trouble began James Corliss and his wife—whose maiden name was Sarah Sherman—were living on a Jersey farm. When Washington was placed in command of the colonial troops Mr. Corliss joined his little army and fought all through the war and never received a wound. When peace was restored he returned to his farm, and during the next twenty years his three sons—Ashur, Swain and Uriah—grew up and married. The little Jersey farm was a home for one family; but when this family had quadrupled itself a need was felt for more land, and the scantiness of the family exchequer made it imperative that it be cheap land. This condition of things brought them to Boston in the year 1804. It was three weeks after making the start before they reached the Boston settlement. They brought a number of cows with them; and each morning, during the journey, the cows were milked and the milk put into the churn with the previous night’s milking, and during the day’s march over the rough and uneven way, the milk was churned by the jolting of the wagon, thus furnishing the party with a daily supply of fresh buttermilk and self-churned butter.

The party consisted of James Corliss and wife and his three sons and their families, and the family of Barzillai Beal.

Ashur Corliss, eldest son of James,[4] married Magdalene Hagerman in New Jersey. He had three sons—Ira, Abraham and Cornelius; and one daughter, Charlotte. Ira settled in the western states; Abraham settled in Waterloo County; Cornelius married Elizabeth, daughter of Noah Fairchild, and settled in Townsend ; and Charlotte married Cornelius Lane, and settled near Paris.[5]

Swain Corliss, second son of James, married Jane Burch in New Jersey. He had three sons—Barzillai, Joseph and Lionel; and four daughters—Charlotte, Olive, Jane and Sarah. The family moved to Michigan.[6]

Uriah Corliss, youngest son of James, married Mehitabel Lynch in New Jersey. In this branch were six sons—James, Daniel, Squire, George, Judson and Uriah; and four daughters—Phoebe, Sarah, Amanda and Maria. James married Mary Nichol, and settled in Townsend; Daniel married Rachel, daughter of Abraham Smith, of Charlotteville, and settled in Townsend; Squire married Nancy Parney, and settled in Townsend; George married Tryphena Malcolm, and settled in Townsend; Judson married Fidelia Rice, and settled in Townsend; Uriah married Fanny Bates, and settled in Townsend; Phoebe married David Norton, and settled in Westminster; Sarah married Job Slaght, and settled in Townsend; Amanda married Herman Fitch, and settled in Nissouri;[7] and Maria married George McCool, and settled in Boston. Uriah Corliss, the head of this branch, died in 1864, aged eighty-two years.

The genealogy of the Corliss family, as given above, was dictated from memory by Sarah Corliss, the widow of Job Slaght, while in her 90th year. She lives in Port Ryerse, is remarkably bright and active for one of her age, being a great reader, and able to thread a needle without the use of glasses. When Sarah was sixteen years old she rode a horse from Boston to Westminster through the forest to nurse her sick sister, Mrs. David Norton. The sister died, leaving a young babe, which Sarah carried home with her on horseback. It took three days to make the journey. Her brother Daniel accompanied her, walking by the side of the horse. This was in 1823, and the place where the city of London now stands was a wilderness. Governor Simcoe’s trail was followed, and an occasional small clearing with its log cabin was seen; but the country was mostly an unbroken forest. This lonely journey, especially the return with the motherless babe, after the death of her sister, made a lasting impression on the young girl’s mind; and to make the sad event still more impressive, they came upon an Indian battle-ground, as evidenced by pools of blood and the trampled appearance of the busy undergrowth, and just beyond a group of wounded and bleeding Indians.

Mrs. Slaght knows what it is for little children to eat the heads of unripe wheat and cry for bread. She is one of the very few living pioneers of old Long Point settlement whose early childhood days were spent in the original log cabins, subject to the trials, privations and inconveniences of primitive settlement in a dense forest. She lived in the era of the ‘stump’ mill and the little hand mill furnished by the Government.

The early settlers in the Boston settlement were mostly Baptists, and as soon as their log cabins were erected they held meetings, alternately, at their own homes for religious worship. At these meetings light was furnished by means of “fat pine” torches attached to the old stick-and-clay-mortar chimney. In 1805 Boston settlement was visited by American missionaries, who organized a Baptist church, consisting of thirteen members, and Elder Peter Fairchild was ordained to minister to the spiritual comfort of the little pioneer church. Starting with thirteen names on the church book in 1805, she has furnished a membership for six powerful sister churches located around her, and yet this old mother-church is one of the largest in the Association to-day.

When the war of 1812 broke out James Corliss was about sixty years old;[8] but, being a blacksmith by trade, he served as a smith in the shoeing of dragoon horses. His two sons, Swain and Ashur, served in the ranks—the latter being at the battle of Lundy’s Lane. During the war Ashur Corliss received thirteen wounds.

It is said that Swain Corliss was the only man who stood his ground when the celebrated “Foot Race” took place at Malcolm’s Mill. He stood alone, loading and firing at the invaders, until he sank exhausted against a tree, bleeding from numerous wounds. Even when surrounded by the Americans, and being no longer able to stand, he continued to load and fire. Not until the enemy closed in upon him, threatening to run him through with their bayonets, did he ground arms and surrender. His bravery won the admiration of the enemy, and they spared his life and carried him into a house near by. The firing was distinctly heard by the Corliss families three miles away, and that night James Corliss, the father, dreamed that a venomous bee had stung him on the throat. Rising at once he told the members of his family that Swain was either dead or seriously wounded; and he went out into the darkness, hitched his horses to a sled, placed a feather tick, pillows, etc., upon it, and started for the scene of the battle. He found him at the house where he had been taken, lying in a little pool of blood, which had oozed through his saturated clothing, and suffering intense pain. Owing to his critical condition it took nearly the whole day to convey him to his father’s home. There were fourteen wounds on his body, some of which were nearly fatal, and it was some time before he was able to be carried to his own home. The Corlisses never boasted of their inherited loyalty. They never claimed that the blood shed by Swain Corliss possessed any super-excellence by way of loyalty-tinctured corpuscles; but there were some that did claim this distinction, who said that Swain Corliss was drunk on that occasion. If this is true, then what a pity it is that they were not all drunk, for in that case the Yankees would have been either killed or taken prisoners, and the bread mills of the wives and mothers of Norfolk would not have been ruthlessly destroyed.

By a former marriage James Corliss had a son, George, who settled in Philadelphia, and became a celebrated machinist. He built the great Corliss engine that attracted the attention of the assembled world at the great American Centennial Exposition in 1876.[9]

The reader will observe that no less than eleven Corliss families settled in Townsend, and yet, according to the County Atlas published in 1877, the name of Corliss appears but once on the map of Townsend. James Corliss, the old pioneer, died in 1817, at the age of sixty-three years.

The history of old Boston Baptist church is, virtually, the history of Boston settlement; and as the Corliss, Beal and Fairchild families made up its principal constituent members, and Elder Peter Fairchild became its first pastor, a brief description of the Elder’s family will not be out of place in connection with this sketch.

The Fairchild family is one of the oldest in the township of Townsend. It is claimed that Sarah, fifth daughter of Elder Fairchild, who, it is said was born in the Townsend cabin on the 16th day of March, 1794, was the first white child born in Townsend. This is a modest claim, to say the least, for if the dates in the old family Bible are correct, and Sarah Fairchild was born in Townsend, she was, probably, the first white child born in the county.[10] This honor has been claimed by the McCalls, of Charlotteville; the Walkers, of Woodhouse; and the Culvers, of Townsend; but if the Fairchild record be correct this birth occurred more than two years before the McCalls came to the country, and in the early part of the same year the other two families effected a settlement.

Elder Peter Fairchild married Sarah Fuller in New Jersey,[11] and when the Province of Upper Canada was only about three years old, he came with his family and settled in the wilderness about three miles north-east of Boston. They came in advance of the surveyor, and it was several years before they had a neighbor. Shortly after the arrival of the Corlisses and Beals the three families convened under the trees, near the spot where the old graveyard is located, and covenanted with each other as a preliminary step towards the organization of a Baptist church. This occurred October 21st, 1804, and on November 9th, of the following year, the church was formally organized. On the 21st day of October, 1806, Elder Peter Fairchild was regularly installed as pastor, a position he held for fourteen consecutive years.

Rev. Peter Fairchild had five sons—Benjamin, Peter, Abial, Israel and Cornelius; and seven daughters—Elizabeth, Esther, Rebecca, Rachel, Sarah, Ruth and Rolly.[12]

In the family of Peter, second son of Elder Peter, were four sons—Alvin, Frank, John and Peter M.; and three daughters—Alvira M., Sarah J., and Eliza V. Peter M. is the present occupant of the old homestead, and John is a Baptist preacher.

The Fairchilds were numerous in New Jersey, and the two principal Norfolk branches are, no doubt, offshoots of the same old New Jersey family tree.[13]

[1] Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe was never knighted so the title “Sir” should not precede his name.

[2] It is noted that Owen uses the title “United Empire Loyalist” loosely. Early grants in the front concession of Walsingham, Charlotteville and Woodhouse Townships certainly favoured those who served in the American Revolution, but not exclusively. Exceptions included James Monro, Cornwall Ellis, John Courtwright, John Troyer, and William Cronk to name a few.

[3] The pioneer family head James signed his surname “Corlis”. The brothers-in-law James Corlis and Barzillai Beal lived at Shrewsbury Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey where they were listed in the tax records until 1797. They then moved to Warren, Herkimer County, New York and were recorded there in the 1800 Census. On October 27, 1804, Barzillai Beal purchased Lot 14, Concession 3, Townsend Twp. and transferred title to the west half to James Corlis, the transactions registered in the Abstracts of Deeds Register.

[4] Asher Corlis was a son of James’ brother Obadiah Corlis who died in New Jersey. Obadiah’s widow then remarried to James Corlis and Asher became a part of James’ family. Source: James L. McCallum, Corlis Family, p.p. (Monkton, ON: 1997)

[5] Asher’s sons Ira and Cornelius Corlis lived on his farm in Townsend Township. Abraham Corlis purchased Lot 31, Concession 2, South Dumfries Township, Brant County in 1829. Cornelius Corlis died in 1831 without issue. Charlotte Corlis’ first husband apparently died early and she remarried on April 2, 1842, Jacob Muma, their marriage recorded in the Brock District Marriage Register. Asher Corlis and his surviving children all moved to Keene Township, Ionia County, Michigan in the 1840’s. Source: McCallum, Corlis Family.

[6] Swain Passel Corlis married in Upper Canada, possibly in Brantford Township or Townsend Township on December 14, 1801, Jane (Burtch) Mount, daughter of Charles Burtch and widow of Moses Mount, the marriage recorded in the London District Marriage Register. After Jane died, Swain remarried to Elizabeth Williams on October 15, 1833, also recorded in the London District Marriage Register. At that time Swain lived at Lobo Township, Middlesex County. He apparently moved to Michigan soon after. Swain’s daughter Olive married Reverend Elijah Mudge and in the 1820’s moved to River Rouge, Springwell, Wayne County, Michigan. They later returned to Ontario and Elijah was pastor of the Delhi Baptist Church. Source: McCallum, Corlis Family.

[7] Reverend Heman Fitch was a Baptist minister. He and Amanda settled first at Blenheim Township, Oxford County in 1834, Port Rowan in 1848 and then Kingsville, Essex County in 1865.

[8] According to his gravestone in Boston Baptist Church Cemetery, James Corlis was born about 1755, making him about 57 years old in 1812.

[9] Owen seems to have confused the relationship of this George Corliss. The engine inventor was born in 1817 and so not a son of James who was not known to have had a marriage prior to Sarah Sherman. The relationship of the inventor George Corliss is not known.

[10] The distinction of the first white child born in Townsend Twp. is discussed in The Long Point Settlers Journal, Vol. 3, No. 1. There were settlers earlier than Fairchild in Townsend and they might have had children born before 1794. There were certainly settlers in the front of Walsingham and Charlotteville Townships who had children born before 1794.

[11] Peter Fairchild did not live in New Jersey. He was born in the Oblong Precinct, Dutchess County, New York then while young moved with his parents to the area of Glen’s Falls, Queensbury, New York. He likely married Sarah Fuller there and they were recorded at Queensbury in the 1790 Census with one son and four daughters.

[12] “Rolly” is likely a typographical error for “Polly”, a pet name for Mary. Peter’s daughter Mary, born on April 9, 1793 married first to Uriah Adams and second to Abraham Nelles.

[13] The Peter Fairchild family of Townsend Twp. and the Noah Fairchild family of Charlotteville Twp. were distantly related. Peter Fairchild was a son of Benjamin and Melissa (Hall) Fairchild of Glen’s Falls, NY who brought their family to Upper Canada. Benjamin was a son of Samuel and Ruth (Beach) Fairchild of Stratford Connecticut. Samuel was a son of Samuel Sr. and his wife Mary Wheeler. Samuel Sr. was a son of immigrant Thomas Fairchild, a founder of Stratford, Connecticut.

Another son of Thomas was Zachariah Fairchild who married Hannah Beach and lived at Stratford was Zachariah Jr. who married Deborah ________ and settled at Morris Plains, Morris County, New Jersey. Their son Abiel Fairchild married Esther Gard and they were the parents of Norfolk pioneer Noah Fairchild. Source: Samuel Putnam Avery, Avery, Fairchild and Park Families of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, p.p. (1919)