John Garrison

1810 - Yes, date unknown

• Name	John Garrison
  Born	CA 1810
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	1834	Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	fiddler
  Residence	, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-199221
  Died	Yes, date unknown
  Person ID	I199221	Generations
  Last Modified	25 Apr 2024

  
  

• Notes

  Towards the fall of the year a fruitful source of amuse-ment was shooting. Waterfowl and partridges were abundant. So were foxes, mink, and other fur-bearing animals. Ten or twelve deer in a single herd, quietly browsing at the edge of the clearance, was not an uncom-mon occurrence, and occasionally the bear and the wolf were bagged. Many persons took part in the sport, and a few, like old John Garrison who might justly be called the Leather-Stockings of the settlement-did little else all the year round. Reminiscences of the Early History of Galt and the Settlement of Dumfries in the Province of Ontario, by James Young, 1880 Toronto: Hunter, Rose ___________________ The spring of 1834 found Galt an active village of about two hundred and fifty inhabitants with a gradually developing country around it, and improving prospects. Besides Messrs. Dickson and Shade, the following are remembered among the citizens of that day: - Messrs. William Stewart, minister; James Strang, minister; Thomas Rich, builder; Thos. G. Chapman, builder; Andrew Malcom, cabinetmaker; Joseph Purvis, blacksmith; John Legge, Shoemaker; Alonzo Bliss, chairmaker; Paul G. Huffman, chair maker; James Welch, farmer; Samuel Hog, clerk; John Hall (afterwards of Ayr); Thomas Turley, (with Shade); William Shepherd, carpenter; Henry McCrus, clerk; William Kay, wagon maker; John Cheeseman, carpenter; H.G. Barlow, innkeeper; Jarvis Barraclough, miller; Robert Cranston, farmer; James K. Andrews, merchant; James Fargus, merchant; James Smith, saddler; Archibald Hunter, blacksmith; John Veitch, plasterer; James Harris, Brewer; Augustus Harris, brewer; David Shiel, farmer; John Warnock, miller; James C. Longan, tailor; Andrew Goodell, teamster; John Garrison, fiddler; Robert Turnbull, tailor; Joseph Simmonds, wool carder; Mathew Palmer, workman; William Wyllie Wilkinson, pail maker; John Davisdon, butcher. (Davison was the only butcher in the place in 1834, and he and his sister (both old) lived in the log village, as that portion of the suburbs was called. His old log house is still standing. His system of business was to receive applications for meat, but not until the demand was equal to the carcass, would he take the hazard of buying and killing an animal. The time of killing was generally made known some time previously, so that those who made application for meat could attend and take it away. This primitive method of doing business lasted for years). Besides these gentlemen there has recently added to the population three others, who afterwards became closely associated with its history: these were, Dr. Robert Miller, Walter H. Benn, and Ale. Burnett. Reminiscences of the Early History of Galt and the Settlement of Dumfries in the Province of Ontario, by James Young, 1880 Toronto: Hunter, Rose ________________ The winter was-as it continues to be in Canada the liveliest season of the year. The snow-fall was abundant, the sleighing steady and good. Farmers could not get out their crops till the Frost King had paved the roads. This rendered business in winter lively. It also brought its special amusements. On Christmas and New Year's, and sometimes both, Galt seldom failed to have its shooting matches for turkeys and geese. The sportsmen sometimes shot through between the stumps in rear of the little tavern on Water Street, but more frequently west of the Queen's Arms, the birds or the target being placed at the foot of Dickson's hill. It was not uncommon, then, to shoot at the turkeys and geese themselves. On some occasions the birds were entirely exposed to the marksman, sit a long range; at other times their bodies were placed be-hind a stump or log, or in such a way that only their necks and heads were exposed above the snow, and it required a skilful marksman with the rifle to hit them. These matches excited the liveliest interest.* *Among the best rifle shots at these matches were, John Garrison, A Andrew Mercer, Absalom Shade, Thomas G. Chapman, James Fargus, Adam Hood, and James Kay. Reminiscences of the Early History of Galt and the Settlement of Dumfries in the Province of Ontario, by James Young, 1880 Toronto: Hunter, Rose

  
  

• Event Map

  Occupation - fiddler - 1834 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - - , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth