Dr. Catharine Wilson gave her audience of 60 a detailed history of tenant farming in this township and across Ontario. The speech was the result of groundbreaking research which re-wrote the story of rural life in the 1800's.
Cramahe became the focus of her research, due in large part, to the efforts of James Merriman, a conscientious census taker in 1842. Merriman's records were thorough and they survived to provide a new insight into farm life in pioneer times. The Cramahe records are now being studied by historians across the country.
Dr. Wilson took those records and then followed the family trees of the tenant farmers, taking them back to 1802 and forward to late in the same century. What she found has changed our view of how this country was settled.
The history books depict Upper Canada (Ontario) as a land opened by freeholding yeomen. Lower Canada (Quebec) was perceived as feudal. Tenants were ignored by the leaders of the day and by those who recorded life at the time.
It came as a surprise to Dr. Wilson that up to half of those who farmed in Upper Canada were tenants. She recounted in her speech her findings about settlement east of Colborne. Merriman's 1842 records showed that 157 farmers were owners and 97 were tenants. In 1848 the census showed 47.2% of farmers were tenants. By 1871 tenancy had dropped to 22.3%
In eight years before the 1842 census Charles Fiddick, his wife and eight children had been landless. At census time they had cleared 260 acres of a 400-acre parcel. They had 1,500 bushels of oats, 1,200 bushels of potatoes, 18 cattle, 42 sheep and 24 hogs.
Their neighbours across the road, Reuben and Eliza Crandall, harvested 160 acres of field crops.
To the west the aging John Garbutt had a servant and 60 cleared acres where he had planted oats and potatoes.
To the east of the Fiddicks, Mr. McFall was over 60 but still had over 90 acres of crops.
All were tenant farmers.
Most of those who decided to rent and become tenant farmers fell into three categories - young men starting out, newcomers, and anyone who couldn't afford to buy.
When she traced the families back to the 1820's, Dr. Wilson found that there was little settlement north of Colborne, and tenants predominated. Joseph Keeler owned and leased land.
In her study, the professor looked at Lot 27, Concession 2 and found 11 changes in the leasehold between 1802 and 1842.
Some farmers, as they got older, chose to lease or sell their farms. Thomas McMurray advertised his land for sale or lease in the July 21, 1845 edition of the Cobourg Star. In Cramahe Township Nathan Gould chose to lease his land to his son, Burr. Richard Haynes and David Bradd did the same. The lease held by David Reddick was passed on through several generations.
The professor concluded from her studies that tenant farmers weren't poor, slovenly or on the move, as they have often been depicted in the past. Tenant farmers were on the social ladder. Labourers were below them and land owners were above them on the ladder.
When she tracked the families forward, Dr. Wilson found 1/3 became landowners, 1/3 left the township and were hard to trace. One-third remained tenants. Thomas Ventress, David Turney, Caleb Purdy and Andrew Inglis were among the farmers she followed. Purdy sold his land and bought land elsewhere.
William Cox, John Garbutt and John Nellest all had large improved farms near Colborne with livestock. Julius Ives had a large collection of books. Charles Fiddick was a leading member of the agricultural society. Albert Yerrington lived in a two-storey home with four fireplaces, five servants and the only fancy carriage in the township.
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