Rational
Clearly
when there are 14 children in a family and only one farm, not every male
in the Steel family was going to become a farmer. In fact for whatever
reason John Steel did not do very well by his sons. Records from the Pontiac
County registry office in Campbells Bay and as transcribed by John B. Steele
read as follows:
Entry 3430
" This is the last will and testament of John Steele, the Elder of the
Township of Clarendon
in the Cty of Pontiac, farmer, being weak in body but of sound mind, memory
and
judgement do declare and say considering the certainty of death and the
uncertainty of
time thereof is desirous of disposing of the property which it hath pleased
God to allot to
me. I will and direct that my debts and my funeral expenses be paid out
of my personal
and moveable property by the legaties to whom the greater part of my property
is
bequeathed.
I give, devise and bequeath to my children John, William, Henry Elizabeth,
Janet and Mary
one dollar each to be paid by the legaties hereinafter named.
The rest residue and remainder of my personal moveable property in the
dwelling
building or elsewhere I give devise and bequeath to my son Thomas Steele
and Joseph
Steele son of my daughter Elizabeth to be held between them, subject to
the payment of
the debts and legacies herebefore mentioned. I give devise and bequeath
to my said son
Thomas Steele and to the said Joseph Steele all that lot or parcel known
as the Sout West
half of the Northwest half of Lot number 13 in the third range of the said
Twp of Clarendon.
I also will and direct that provided my daughter Catherine remains unmarried
and t
also will and direct that provided my daughter Catherine remains unmarried
and take
charge of the house et.c. that she is to get her living, clothing etc..,
and if it is for her
interest to leave the dwelling occasionally for a short time say one or
two months it shall
not invalidate her right to return and be in the same position.""
The
above was signed sealed and delivered as the last will and testament of
John Steel on April 12th 1875 before the following witnesses.
Robert Lewis
Alexander Wilson
Edmund Heath
Clearly
there was very little incentive for many of the Steele family to stay
in Pontiac County.
Nipissing Township
Three of the Steele Brothers Move to the area of Nipissing,Ontario. This
section will deal with these three brothers, their ove and the history
of their families. They were:
HENRY
THOMAS
JOSEPH
Early Nipissing Settlement
Historically
the frontiers of settlement in Ontario were the large tracts of land in
the Huron and
Ottawa territory. Settlement along the Ottawa River valley was in fact
based on agriculturre and to a
greater extent lumbering. Improvements in transportaion resulted in the
settling of lands along
routes connecting the Ottawa River and Georgian Bay. Regardless of reports
of unsuitable
agricultural land, the government of the day, in the interests of expanding
settlement, gave incentives
to the population to move northwards by building roads, advertising for
settlers and giving away
and selling land to a colonization company
The inception of North Bay in 1882 as a major transportation and commercial
center required it to
have a diversified agricultural base and the railroad which joined North
Bay to southern centers was
instrumental in spawning other communities such as Nipissing, Powasson,
Bonfield and Verner.
Government Legislation
The
legislation that laid the basis for the agricultural development in Ontario
North, was the
Free Grants and Homestead Act of 1868 which opened to settlement selected
free lands in
the Nipissing and Algoma territories.
The
attraction of free land up to 200 acres per head of household and in addition
100 acres for
every child of eighteen as well as the option to buy additional acreage
at minimal cost proved most
alluring to many settlers including the Steeles whose prospects in Quebec
were not overwhelming.
However attached to the grants were conditions. These included requirements
for clearing, cultivating,
building construction and a six months per year residency requirment. Failure
to meet these
requirements ceded the land back to the Crown and it became available to
another settler. These
were the conditions under which the Steele brothers settled in Nipissing
County.
It is not surprising
that they did not all succeed in agricultural endeavours.
STEELES FARM
The barn in the background is on the land owned by Joseph Steele and is located in Nippissing Township. Joe Steele great-grandson of Joseph Steele and Dave Clutchey grandson of Henry Steele are in the foreground. |
Remnant barn on the Joseph Steele homestead in Hotham Township Nippissing County. |
STEELES HILL
The land was hilly, rocky, full of trees. The soil was rocky, clayey and difficult to till. Photos by Beth Clutchey |
|
Subsequent pages will chronicle,
as completely as we can, the stories of the three brothers who pioneered
in Nippissing. Descendants of any of the three brothers are invited
to comment on, add to, or correct any of the following information by Emailing
the Webmaster Dave Clutchey at: clutchey@naples.net