The New Settlement and Its Troubles

Posted by Diane Duncan on December 23, 2021 in Blog Posts, Community & Family History, Featured Flag | 0 comments

Rev. Bell provides this history of settlement in Perth, a military settlement in Upper Canada and hints on where to search for ancestors.

The Distribution of Land in the New Settlement

“Before I proceed further, let me tell you something about the division of the land. A township or parish is generally about 10 miles square, it is divided by lines into 12 parts or concessions, and each lot containing 200 acres, except the last, which contains 100. Every seventh lot is set apart for the support of the church and is called a clergy reserve. The clergy connected with the Church of England formed a corporation for the management of these lots and lease them for 21 years when they can find tenants; but as most of them lie waste, they are a great hindrance to the improvement of the country.

“Perth settlement being formed soon after the termination of the war with the United States, and at a time when a great reduction in the army took place, a great many discharged soldiers were induced to settle there. Indeed, when I came to the place, not less than two-thirds of the population were of this description. The privates settled upon their land, but most of the officers built houses in the village, and tended not a little, by the politeness of their manners, to render a residence here desirable.

“It was expected that, in 1816, Government would grant the same assistance to emigrants as in the preceding years and, under this idea, many had prepared to leave home. No assistance, however, was afforded to them on the passage, but they obtained land, implements, and rations for one year, the same as those who had arrived before them. Accordingly, in the course of the summer, the settlement received a great accession to its population, both of emigrants and discharged soldiers. The provisions being enormously dear, and many dissatisfied with the treatment they received from the new superintendent, left the settlement in the course of the following winter, and went to the United States.

“When I arrived June 24, 1817, the population of the new settlement was as follows:

• Emigrants: Men, 239, Women, 111; Children 366
• Discharged Soldiers: Men 708; Women 179; Children, 287
• Total Men, 947; total Women 290; total Children, 287 and overall total 1890.

“The implements granted to each settler were as follows: a spade, an adze, a felling axe, a brush-hook, a billhook, a scythe, a reaping hook, a pitchfork, a pick-axe, 9 harrow teeth, 2 hoes, a hammer, a plane, a chisel, , an auger, a hand-saw, 2 gimlets, 2 files, one pair of hinges, one door, lock and key, and 9 panes of glass; 1 lb. of putty, 14 lbs. of nails, a camp kettle, a frying pan, a blanket for each man or woman, and one for every two children. Besides this there were concession tools which a number of settlers in the same neighbourhood had in common, such as a pitsaw, a crosscut saw; a grind stone, a crowbar, a sledge hammer, etc. The officers allowance was just the above list doubled. But, indeed, the supply that anyone received depended on how he stood with the secretary. Those who enjoyed his good graces obtained more and those who had incurred his displeasure, less. Complaints were often made, but they were generally unavailing. They were too numerous to be examined. Many of them were made with just cause, and those that were otherwise, seldom reached the Governor; but when they did, he never failed to cause the grievances to be redressed. Indeed, it is but justice to say that Government, both at home and here, have scrupulously fulfilled their engagements to the settlers and even done more for them than was promised. It is true that the settlers have not obtained their deeds as soon as they expected, but it is hoped they will not be much longer delayed. The abuses committed in this settlement, I have reason to believe, were not only contrary to the intentions of Government, but without their knowledge.

Rev. Bell’s Assessment of What Was Wrong

“The settlement was formed under the direction of the Commander of Forces; and the expenses, which were considerable, were defrayed out of the military chest. The settlement was entirely military, and the officers in charge of it have mostly been connected with that department. But while it was under the direction of a civilian, if I may be allowed to use such a term, the greatest abuses were committed. This man was haughty and insolent to those below him. His conduct indeed was such that many good settlers, unable to endure his tyranny, relinquished their lands and left the settlement in disgust. Hundreds on their way to Perth, hearing how their predecessors had been treated, turned back, and went over to the United States. Instead of studying to advance the prosperity of the settlement, all his plan seemed to be formed to procure its ruin. Never was the insolence of office displayed in a more forbidding point of view. Rendered bold by impunity, he laid no restraint upon his malevolent disposition. He oppressed the settlers, insulted religion and plundered the property of the Government.

The Remedy

” Little does John Bull know what rogues he sometimes has in service in the distant parts of his dominion; and little did I expect that, under the British government, such abuses could so long escape detection. At last, however, the day of retribution arrived. Colonel Cockburn, under whose superintendancy the settlement was then placed, came to Perth to see how the settlement was coming on. On the following morning he ordered a court of enquiry to be assembled, pledging himself that, if the complaints against the secretary (Daniel Daverne) were well founded, he should be immediately dismissed. On examining the witnesses, the principal of which were clerks in the office, it was clearly proved that he had not only been guilty of abuse of power, but of embezzling King’s stores, and of defrauding government of money to a large amount by false returns. But no immediate steps being taken to secure his person, he made his escape and reached the United States in safety.

Another View of the Trial of Daniel Daverne

The following is from the website AllAboutPerth.com. I am taking the liberty of reproducing this information as it has not previously turned up in my years of research and I don’t want this info to disappear. The site does not seem to have been updated since 2009. Hoping this provides balance to the traditional interpretation of this event. The links in the original site no longer work but I have left them showing if you want to seek them out. If you are successful, let me know! Was he allowed to escape because there was some doubt about his guilt?

Who was Daniel Daverne?

Daniel Joseph Daverne (1784-1830) was born in Ireland. His family moved to London England following the Irish Rebellions of 1798. The Davernes arrived in the Quinte area in 1804 and farmed at Hallowell (Picton) until 1815 when Daniel purchased the 200 acre Adolphustown farm for his father.

At the commencement of the War of 1812 he entered the Quarter Master General’s (QMG) department at York where he was actively employed until the Americans attacked. He was commanded to destroy “The Brock” and all naval stores before accompanying General Sheaffe to Kingston. He remained at Kingston until 1815 when he was appointed by Major General Sir Sidney Beckwith to the position of first secretary and storekeeper at the newly created Perth Military Settlement under superintendent Alexander McDonnell. He later became postmaster, then acting superintendent from 1817-1819.

His duties included locating land and providing guaranteed supplies for over 6000 immigrants in a huge area what would be known as Lanark, Leeds, Grenville and Carleton counties. Daverne was directly accountable to the QMG department in Quebec. In Perth, he was responsible for coordinating the activities of surveyors, tradesmen and teamsters who answered to other departments, plus directing the affairs of his own office employees. He dealt daily and personally with clients and officials whose conflicting demands and criticisms of the settlement system and his own handing of affairs placed increasing pressures on his ability to perform all the tasks assigned to him.

Col. Cockburn relieved him of his position in July of 1819 after a hastily convened court of inquiry. He was charged with peculation (embezzlement) and abuse of government powers. The Duke of Richmond cancelled all his land grants in the Rideau area – about 800 acres in all. This included the present day Conlon Farm, Links of Tay Golf Course, Rideau Ferry and large sections of Murphys Point Provincial Park on the Rideau River.

He “escaped” to the United States, but returned in 1821 to take over the family farm in Adolphustown. He died of cholera in 1830, never cleared or convicted of the charges brought against him.

A curious side note is that Col Cockburn’s older brother George was part of the British military take over and burning of Washington During the War of 1812.  In fact, Cockburn burned all but one of the government building to the ground including the White House and the Capital Building.  Some historians say the attack was in retaliation for the U.S. invasion of York, Upper Canada (now Toronto), at the Battle of York in 1813, in which U.S. forces looted and burned the city, including the Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada.

Finding the Daverne Journal

Journal Restoration

To read the story about how the Daverne Journal was restored, read this Canada Heritage article.

“Treatment of the Daverne Journal” was presented by Roberta Partridge on April 20, 2005, at the Perth Museum in Perth, ON, to an audience that included members of the Perth Historical Society as well as the general public.

Daverne – Criminal or Victim?

Once the journal was back at the Perth Museum, a project was undertaken to “read” the journal and transcribe the contents to CD-ROM. It was during this event that much new material, previously unknown, came to light.

The Daverne Journal provided first hand accounts of events – sometimes greatly at odds with the accounts of events told by others up to this time (especially from the notes of Rev. William Bell – see related links)

To present this new information the Perth Historical Society and the Perth Museum decided to release the new information via a dramatization. A Trial of Daniel Daverne would be held with a real judge and lawyers, actors would represent the famous people of the period and the audience would act as jury.

The trial opened on October 19, 2005 to an overflow crowd with seven of Daniel’s descendants in the audience to witness the event.

The Trial of the Century