From the Huron Expositor - Wednesday, 13 April, 1994
Article 2 of 4: Colonel Van Egmond on the Move
From the Napoleonic wars to North America, Colonel Anthony Van Egmond was on the move.
Indiana County, Pennsylvania was the first stop for Van Egmond and his family in North America. According to Seaforth historian Wilfred Brenton Kerr, the Van Egmonds arrived in the United States in 1819, where Anthony took up farming and managed a store.
After eight years of Pennsylvania farm life, Colonel Van Egmond decided to move his family and possessions to Waterloo County. He is said to have been “a rich man, the possessor of many worldly goods,” according to Professor James Scott in his book, The settlement of Huron County.
There are three slightly different accounts of an incident involving the Van Egmond family moving their possessions from the United States to Canada via Niagara-on-the-Lake. The story generally goes that in order to make room on the ferry for a poor family and their possessions, Colonel Van Egmond left some of his property behind in the United States.
Among the goods was a life-size portrait of the Colonel. (And in Fred Van Egmond's book, The importance of Liberty, he writes there were life-size wedding portraits of both Anthony Van Egmond and his wife, Susanna Dietz, left behind at Niagara.)
According to Professor James Scott, “Van Egmond never did reclaim the possessions which he had so generously left behind in order to befriend an impoverished settler.”
Wilfred Kerr suggests Van Egmond did more for the poor family than just leave behind his possessions. “He (Colonel Van Egmond) lent them his wagons, meanwhile storing at Niagara his own property . . . The settlers presumably arrived at their destination; but when the Colonel returned to Niagara he was unable to find the portrait, which had been neglected or disposed of by the people with whom he had left it.”
Pictures or portraits of Colonel Anthony Van Egmond are a rare thing, if any even exist.
Robina and Kathleen Lizars described Colonel Van Egmond's appearance and character in their book, In the Days of the Canada Company, published in 1896. “In appearance he was a tall, fine, soldierly looking man, but age gave him a stoop. His features were good, with a large nose, and he always wore a close cap, even under his hat. He was never seen without his cap, and the legend is that his ears had been cut off. He spoke English fairly well, and was considered eccentric.”
Colonel Van Egmond and the Canada Company
In 1827, Van Egmond and his family rented a farm and settled in Waterloo County, where the Colonel met John Galt of the Canada Company. At the time, Galt was supervising the foundation of Guelph. After this, the town site for Goderich was laid out, and he began to make plans for a road that would eventually join York (now Toronto) with Goderich, writes Fred Van Egmond.
When Galt and Van Egmond met, they supposedly shared the same vision and passion for the development of the Huron Tract. Van Egmond's offer to assist with road building, something he had experienced in Pennsylvania, was accepted by Galt. Canada Company surveyor John MacDonald had blazed a trail through the woodlands in preparation for a new road.
From Galt's point of view, Van Egmond was wealthy enough to undertake the construction of the new road with his own money and was also content to except remuneration in the form of land, the only currency in which the Company could pay for services on such a large scale, according to W. B. Kerr.
“Van Egmond and the Company, as represented by Galt, entered into an agreement by which the Colonel undertook to construct or rather cut 45 miles of road, 4 rods wide, and to erect three houses for the accommodation of parties moving in to settle on Canada Company land, one in South Easthope, one in Ellice and one 3 miles northwest of the present town of Seaforth,” wrote Kerr in 1931.
Van Egmond cleared land and build the combination house and tavern about 4 miles west of Seaforth, according to Fred Van Egmond.
Colonel Van Egmond was granted thousands of acres in both present day Huron and Perth Counties. He was also given cash advancements for each of the inns he was to build on the condition that he entertained travelers at prices comparable to established communities of the time.
“Part of the agreement between Van Egmond and Galt was to have three other inns built at twenty-mile intervals along the new road and Van Egmond was to select the men to build and operate each inn. The purpose was to accommodate settlers coming into the territory. The men chosen were Fryfogle, Seebach and Helmer, who later became Van Egmond's son-in-law,” writes Fred Van Egmond.
Galt was going to call these inns, “houses of entertainment,” according to Professor James Scott. Although the three German men and their wives were good choices for innkeepers, a lack of fresh food and supplies often made for uncomfortable lodgings for pioneer families.
“It was not at all unusual for a settler to arrive and find the house in charge of the wife of Fryfogle, Helmer or Seebach, as the case might be, and practically nothing to eat. The innkeeper himself would be on the road, laboriously bringing back the supplies. The houses were drafty . . . people slept on the floor or on rough bunks in a single large room. There was only a fireplace to keep it warm, and no privacy. In the leanest times, the only food which could be obtained at the inns was some sort of mash,” wrote Scott.
Van Egmond built a log house and inn on his property west of Seaforth and immediately cleared some land and sowed wheat. And according to Scott, he had it sufficiently completed to move his family in by Christmas, 1828.(With notes from Professor James Scott, W. B. Kerr, Fred Van Egmond and Robina and Kathleen MacFarlane Lizars
Caption under a photo:
Susanna Dietz - The wife of Colonel Anthony Van Egmond, Maria Susanna Elizabeth Dietz, is pictured here in her younger days. According to Fred Van Egmond’s book, The Importance of Liberty, two life-size portraits were painted of Van Egmond and his wife but were lost when crossing into Canada from the United States.
Next Week: Colonel Van Egmond Helped to Open the Area - The First Wheat in the Huron Tract
Article 2 of 4: Colonel Van Egmond on the Move
From the Napoleonic wars to North America, Colonel Anthony Van Egmond was on the move.
Indiana County, Pennsylvania was the first stop for Van Egmond and his family in North America. According to Seaforth historian Wilfred Brenton Kerr, the Van Egmonds arrived in the United States in 1819, where Anthony took up farming and managed a store.
After eight years of Pennsylvania farm life, Colonel Van Egmond decided to move his family and possessions to Waterloo County. He is said to have been “a rich man, the possessor of many worldly goods,” according to Professor James Scott in his book, The settlement of Huron County.
There are three slightly different accounts of an incident involving the Van Egmond family moving their possessions from the United States to Canada via Niagara-on-the-Lake. The story generally goes that in order to make room on the ferry for a poor family and their possessions, Colonel Van Egmond left some of his property behind in the United States.
Among the goods was a life-size portrait of the Colonel. (And in Fred Van Egmond's book, The importance of Liberty, he writes there were life-size wedding portraits of both Anthony Van Egmond and his wife, Susanna Dietz, left behind at Niagara.)
According to Professor James Scott, “Van Egmond never did reclaim the possessions which he had so generously left behind in order to befriend an impoverished settler.”
Wilfred Kerr suggests Van Egmond did more for the poor family than just leave behind his possessions. “He (Colonel Van Egmond) lent them his wagons, meanwhile storing at Niagara his own property . . . The settlers presumably arrived at their destination; but when the Colonel returned to Niagara he was unable to find the portrait, which had been neglected or disposed of by the people with whom he had left it.”
Pictures or portraits of Colonel Anthony Van Egmond are a rare thing, if any even exist.
Robina and Kathleen Lizars described Colonel Van Egmond's appearance and character in their book, In the Days of the Canada Company, published in 1896. “In appearance he was a tall, fine, soldierly looking man, but age gave him a stoop. His features were good, with a large nose, and he always wore a close cap, even under his hat. He was never seen without his cap, and the legend is that his ears had been cut off. He spoke English fairly well, and was considered eccentric.”
Colonel Van Egmond and the Canada Company
In 1827, Van Egmond and his family rented a farm and settled in Waterloo County, where the Colonel met John Galt of the Canada Company. At the time, Galt was supervising the foundation of Guelph. After this, the town site for Goderich was laid out, and he began to make plans for a road that would eventually join York (now Toronto) with Goderich, writes Fred Van Egmond.
When Galt and Van Egmond met, they supposedly shared the same vision and passion for the development of the Huron Tract. Van Egmond's offer to assist with road building, something he had experienced in Pennsylvania, was accepted by Galt. Canada Company surveyor John MacDonald had blazed a trail through the woodlands in preparation for a new road.
From Galt's point of view, Van Egmond was wealthy enough to undertake the construction of the new road with his own money and was also content to except remuneration in the form of land, the only currency in which the Company could pay for services on such a large scale, according to W. B. Kerr.
“Van Egmond and the Company, as represented by Galt, entered into an agreement by which the Colonel undertook to construct or rather cut 45 miles of road, 4 rods wide, and to erect three houses for the accommodation of parties moving in to settle on Canada Company land, one in South Easthope, one in Ellice and one 3 miles northwest of the present town of Seaforth,” wrote Kerr in 1931.
Van Egmond cleared land and build the combination house and tavern about 4 miles west of Seaforth, according to Fred Van Egmond.
Colonel Van Egmond was granted thousands of acres in both present day Huron and Perth Counties. He was also given cash advancements for each of the inns he was to build on the condition that he entertained travelers at prices comparable to established communities of the time.
“Part of the agreement between Van Egmond and Galt was to have three other inns built at twenty-mile intervals along the new road and Van Egmond was to select the men to build and operate each inn. The purpose was to accommodate settlers coming into the territory. The men chosen were Fryfogle, Seebach and Helmer, who later became Van Egmond's son-in-law,” writes Fred Van Egmond.
Galt was going to call these inns, “houses of entertainment,” according to Professor James Scott. Although the three German men and their wives were good choices for innkeepers, a lack of fresh food and supplies often made for uncomfortable lodgings for pioneer families.
“It was not at all unusual for a settler to arrive and find the house in charge of the wife of Fryfogle, Helmer or Seebach, as the case might be, and practically nothing to eat. The innkeeper himself would be on the road, laboriously bringing back the supplies. The houses were drafty . . . people slept on the floor or on rough bunks in a single large room. There was only a fireplace to keep it warm, and no privacy. In the leanest times, the only food which could be obtained at the inns was some sort of mash,” wrote Scott.
Van Egmond built a log house and inn on his property west of Seaforth and immediately cleared some land and sowed wheat. And according to Scott, he had it sufficiently completed to move his family in by Christmas, 1828.(With notes from Professor James Scott, W. B. Kerr, Fred Van Egmond and Robina and Kathleen MacFarlane Lizars
Caption under a photo:
Susanna Dietz - The wife of Colonel Anthony Van Egmond, Maria Susanna Elizabeth Dietz, is pictured here in her younger days. According to Fred Van Egmond’s book, The Importance of Liberty, two life-size portraits were painted of Van Egmond and his wife but were lost when crossing into Canada from the United States.
Next Week: Colonel Van Egmond Helped to Open the Area - The First Wheat in the Huron Tract