John McIntosh, deceased, was a native of Perthshire, Scotland; he emigrated to Canada in 1801 and settled in York County, where he died in 1830, at the age of seventy-seven years. He left a family of eleven children; he and his son John fought side by side in the defence of little York in 1812 and at the capitulation were both taken prisoners. His son John married a sister of Mrs. William Lyon Mackenzie, and was in the Legislature at the same time as the husband of the latter. Mrs. Elliot, a daughter of John McIntosh, sen’r, was born in Toronto, December 14, 1805, and married in 1827 Thomas Elliot, who died in December 21, 1880. Mrs. Elliot is now living in comfortable retirement at Highland Creek, and is much respected for her benevolent and consistent Christian spirit. (vol. II, p. 273)
Marshall Macklin, lot 24, concession 4, is the son of Daniel and Martha (Marshall) Macklin, who in consequence of the persecution under which they, as members of the Old Kirk of Scotland, suffered, took up their residence in the North of Ireland, where they remained until their death. Marshall emigrated to Canada in 1827, settled in Scarboro’, and purchased two hundred acres of land from the Canada Company, afterwards adding to his original lot until he had five hundred acres, which he has divided among his sons. He married in 1837 Mary Jackson, by whom he had seventeen children, seven sons and six daughters of whom are living. Some of the family are settled in Michigan, U.S.; the eldest son, Marshall, is a physician practising in Manitoba; the others are living on or in the neighbourhood of the hold homestead. Mr. Macklin has been very successful, and has accumulated wealth, and now in the autumn of life, after many years of laborious anxiety, enjoys in quiet and content the ease afforded him. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and in politics belongs to the Reform Party. (vol. II, p. 273)
Simon Miller, lot 28, concession 4, Scarboro’, is the eldest son of Henry Miller, whose father came to York from Pennsylvania, U.S., in April, 1793, and soon after settled on lot 34, concession 1, Markham Township, where Henry Miller was born in November, 1797, and remained until his death, February 29, 1884. He left a family of five children, Simon, Nicholas, Henry, Nancy Jane, wife of William Gown; and Andrew. Henry Miller, sen’r, was a member of the Home District Council from Markham Township, and was also appointed Coroner and Issuer of Marriage Licenses in 1853. He was once offered the representation of East York in the Dominion Parliament, but refused the honour. Simon, the subject of this sketch, married a daughter of William Munshaw, of Markham Township; his family consists of two sons and four daughters. Mr. Miller is a Justice of the Peace, and was a member of the Township Council for six years. (vol. II, p. 274)
W.J. Mitchell, J.P., lot 22, concession 5, is descended from an Irish family who remained true to the Crown during the Rebellion of 1798. His father, James Mitchell, who was born in 1783, in after life often related many of the stirring scenes of which he was an eye-witness during that memorable period, one in particular, the setting on fire of his father’s house by the United Irishmen. The family trace their ancestry back to a more remote date, their name being mentioned by Mackenzie in his narrative of the famous siege of Derry, on the side of the defenders. The subject of this notice is the son of James and Sarah Mitchell, who emigrated from Londonderry to Canada in 1842, and settled on lot 22, concession 5, Scarboro’ Township, where the father died on April 1, 1883, in his hundredth year. He now lives on the old homestead, and although often solicited to accept municipal honours has always declined. The only office he holds is that of Magistrate and Commissioner in Queen’s Bench, the duties of which he discharges with care and ability, there not having been any appeal against his decisions for the quarter of a century in which he has held office. He married a daughter of James Baird, of Donegal, Ireland, a very prominent family in that part of the country, an uncle of Mr. Baird’s having been an intimate friend and subordinate officer of Lord Nelson, viz.: Surgeon on board the flag ship Victory. (vol. II, p. 274)
James Palmer, lot 31, concession B, is the son of James and Sarah Palmer who came from the State of New York in 1797, and settled first at Kingston, from which place they went to Cobourg, subsequently coming to York and settling in the Township of Scarboro’, on lot 22, concession D, where the father remained until his death in 1836. James, our subject, was born at Stone Mills, Bay of Quinte, Prince Edward County in 1797, and remained with his parents until he was twenty-five years of age, when he purchased the lot on which he now lives. He has been through life a very industrious man, and has also been successful, the neatness of his farm and substantial erections thereon bearing ample testimony. He served in the War of 1812, for which he drew a pention. He has been a member of the Municipal Council for some years. In politics he is a Reformer, and in religion a Methodist; a consistent Christian, he has earned the respect of all who know him. Mr. Palmer married Mary Anne, daughter of Nathaniel Hastings, of Toronto, who died in 1876. (vol. II, p. 274)
James Patton, lot 28, concession C, is the second son of George and Elizabeth (Brock) Patton, natives of Lanarkshire, Scotland, who came to Canada in 1833, and settled in Scarboro’ Township. Our subject has been considered one of the best farmers in this section, and the services rendered by him to the rising community recently took the form of a valuable testimonial consisting of a beautifully framed illuminated address, together with purse of $150. The following is a copy of the address:
“James Patton, Esq., of Scarboro’:
DEAR SIR, – We, the undersigned, desire to express our appreciation of the valuable services you have rendered in your successful endeavours to advance the interest of prize ploughing in Canada; you have always occupied a prominent position among the ploughmen of this country, and although during later years, you have not been a competitor, yet the interest you have manifested has been of the liveliest nature. To your untiring zeal and kind instructions many of us owe our success in the field, while your friendly and gentlemanly manner at all times has endeared you to us all. This is a slight token of the high esteem in which you are held by your many friends; we would ask your acceptance of the accompanying testimonial, and at the same time we trust the good feeling which has always existed between us in the past, may continue in the future. We would also express our regard for your estimable wife, Mrs. Patton, and hope she may long be spared together with yourself, to enjoy the blessings of this life, and be rewarded with eternal happiness in the life which is to come. Committee on behalf of the contributors: William Hood, Andrew Hood, W. Rennie, S. Rennie, Dougald McLean, John Gibson, George Morgan, William Milliken, John L. Gibson, Alfred Moson, John Little, Alexander Doherty, Andrew Young, sen’r; James McCowan, Hugh Clark, James Weir, John Torrance, John Crawford.
Scarboro’, June 17, 1884.“(vol. II, p. 275)
Adna Pherrill lives on his farm of one hundred acres, being lot 25, concession B. He is a son of the late Stephen Pherrill, a native of St. John, N.B., who came to Canada in 1805, and settled in Scarboro’ Township. He fought in the War of 1812, and also during the Rebellion of 1837, in which he held a captaincy. Adna Pherrill, the subject of this sketch, was born in this township in 1816, and lived on the old homestead until he reached man’s estate, when his father presented him with thirty acres of land wherewith to commence life. He afterwards purchased his present one-hundred-acre farm in Scarboro’, for which he paid $20 per acre. He also acquired thirty-two acres in the township. He has been very successful in buying and selling farms and city property. He purchased one hundred acres at Widder, Bosanquet Township, Lambton County, which – being required for town lots – turned out a very profitable investment; he afterwards bought three farms in Chatham, where two of his sons and his eldest daughter now reside; he also purchased a fine residence in Leslieville, before it became part of the City of Toronto (for which piece of property he has been offered three times what it originally cost him). Mr. Pherrill attributes his success to the fine example set him by his honoured father, and never forgot a maxim laid down by him “My son, be honest and earnest in whatever you do.” He had a brother who was a lieutenant in the Rebellion of 1837-38. In 1838 he married Miss Stewart, daughter of Captain William Stewart, by whom he has seven children living, viz.: William, Russell, Stewart, Tilmer, Elizabeth, Mary Hester and Helen. Having, by nearly fifty years of industry and hard work, amassed a considerable fortune, he retired in 1875 to enjoy the ease and comfort to which his past life entitles him. (vol. II, p. 275)
Stephen Pherrill, deceased, was descended from a family who came from the State of Maine, U.S., and settled in New Brunswick at the close of the Revolutionary War. He remained with his parents for several years, and while in New Brunswick married Elizabeth, daughter of Colonel Jacob Russell, of that Province, by whom he had six children, as follow: Amy, Sarah, Eliza, Mary, Stephen and David. During the War of 1812 he was engaged carrying despatches for Government, and after the war was over settled on lot 24, concession B, Scarboro’ Township, where he lived until his death in April, 1842. He left about one thousand five hundred acres to divide among his family. William Pherrill, son of the above, lives on the old homestead. He married Charlotte Boulton, daughter of Captain Edward Boulton, by whom he had eleven children, seven of whom are living; all married with one exception, a daughter who remains at home. Mr. Pherrill held a captain’s commission, and was present at the battle on Yonge Street during the Rebellion of 1837-’38. David J. Pherrill, son of Stephen Pherrill, deceased, lives on the old homestead. He married Hannah, daughter of Archibald Thompson, by whom he has five children. (vol. II, p. 276)
Simpson Rennie, J.P., lot 30, concession 5, is the third son of Robert and Eliza (Fife) Rennie. His parents came from Scotland in 1833, and soon after settling in Scarboro’ purchased the lot on which Simpson now resides. Mr. Rennie, sen’r, has long ago retired from active work, and now lives in ease and retirement in the City of Toronto. Simpson Rennie has had the entire management of his present farm for over twenty years, and during that time has made considerable improvements. He obtained the gold medal awarded by the Ontario Agricultural and Arts Association for the best managed farm in group No. 4, comprising the following electoral districts: Peel, Cardwell, York East, York North, York West, Simcoe West, Simcoe East, Simcoe South, Algoma, Muskoka, Ontario North, Ontario South, durham East, Durham West. We need scarcely add that the Association’s award is to Mr. Rennie a source of considerable pride. Mr. Rennie married Isabella, daughter of William Hood, Esq., Markham, a sketch of whose life appears elsewhere. The fruit of this union is four children, viz.: Elizabeth, married to J. W. Sanderson; Robert, William and James. The family belong to the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Rennie is a Reformer in politics. (vol. II, p. 276)