Fact and Fantasy: A History of Tavistock and District (1967)

Fact & Fantasy: A History of Tavistock & District

Agriculture - Page 65

AGRICULTURE

CENTURY FARMS

The definition of a Century Farm is not uniformly applied. In the East Zorra list there are some where the original name is not perpetuated since they have been passed on through female descent. If the South Easthope list were so inclusive, it would be much longer. Letters have been sent to all farms in South Easthope and to those in East Zorra from Lots 35 to 25. This limit was set, not to slight anyone, but to choose those within the trading area of Tavistock. Lot 36 of East Zorra is narrow and not listed separately. It seems, when the Town Line was laid out some mistake was made, which ran this road somewhat farther north. There seems to be some difficulty, so some men have told me, in securing a clear deed to Lot 36.

Sutherland's Gazetteer lists the first farm in East Zorra was sold to a Mr. Strong on Conc. IX, Lot 2. But in the Patents shown to me by cooperating farmers, we find that the Crown sold Lot 30, Conc. XV, 200 acres, to Henry Weishuhn on Oct. 26, 1824.

Another interesting fact is contrary to what we were taught at school, i.e. that the Town Line was the southern boundary of the Canada Company Land Grant. On tracing back the ownerships of Lot. 28, Conc. XI, East Zorra, we found that in Sept., 1838 the Crown sold 200 acres to the Canada Company, who ten years later sold the East Half of the 100 acres to James Caister, and in 1860 the West Half to Donald Sutherland.

In order to show the various ways in which lands were acquired and passed on, we included the detailed patent of a few typical ones, on different concessions.

EAST ZORRA

Mr. Wilker purchased this 100 acres from Noah Cook, who had bought it from Thaddeus Davis on October 15, 1823; he had gotten it from the Crown on June 11, 1822 with deeds fully recorded. They were from Stamford County in the Niagara District. When Mr. Wilker went to record his deed, he found that William Charles McLeod of Woodstock had supposedly bought, March 25, 1854, the same 100 acres from Noah Cook. Through his lawyer D.G. Miller of Woodstock, Mr. Wilker obtained an injunction in Chancery Court to stop McLeod from taking any action to encumber the same. At a cost of Ł12/3/1, $48.12 Mr. Wilker finally obtained a clear deed, with McLeod relinquishing any claim to the land for the sum of five shillings (and other good causes and considerations). The deed surrendered by the real Noah Cook to Mr. Wilker makes intersting copy.

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