Biographical | | Biographical article for Thomas Hornor, Esq. , M. P. P.. The late Thomas Horner,—the first white settler in the County of Oxford, and for many years its representative,—was born March 17, 1767, at Bordentown, New Jersey, then a colony of Great Britain; was married in 1801, by Col. James Ingersoll, J. P., and died in Burford, August 4th, 1834, of cholera. His uncle, Thomas Watson, Esquire, had, during the revolutionary war in the United States, rendered Colonel Simcoe, some essential service, after he had been taken prisoner by the Americans,—this service was not forgotten by him when he was appointed Governor of Upper Canada [1792;] for soon after his arrival he wrote to Mr. Watson, and not only most pressingly urged him to come himself, but “to bring all his friends and relations with him, and promised them a whole township. The Governor being not only anxious to reward him for past services, but equally anxious to get the Province settled by individuals from the United States, Mr. Watson, relying on a Governor’s promise, sent his son, Thomas Watson, to the County of Oxford, in company with his cousin, the late Thomas Horner, in the year 1793, before even a surveyor’s chain had jingled in its woods; and probably they were the first white persons who ever trod its soil.
To accommodate them, the Governor had ordered that the three first concessions of the Township of Blenheim should be at once surveyed.—Surveyor Jones and his Indian party arrived while they were there, to survey out those concessions, and they waited while that was done and selected a site for a mill, and returned, Mr. Watson with the intention of not coming back, and Mr. Horner intending doing so. At the time of this, their first visit, the nearest white settler east was where Brantford now stands, and the nearest one west where Chatham now stands.
Mr. Horner resided in Newark, [Niagara,] the whole of 17—, and then moved to the town of Detroit, and remained there until that town was formally given up by the British Government, then in possession, to the American General, Wayne, in 1796. Mr. Horner then proceeded to the town [now city] of Albany, N. Y., to purchase the materials and engage the mechanics to erect his saw-mill—the first erected in the county of Oxford. He packed his Goods in two small roughly-made boats, which he launched on the river Hudson, near Albany, proceeded up the Hudson to the river Mohawk, and up said river about 100 miles; then carried their Goods and boats across the Norvel Creek, thence down the Norvel Creek to Lake Oneida, across the Lake to the Oswego river; thence into Lake Ontario, along the Southern coast of that Lake to the Burlington Bay beach; drew their boats through a small outlet of the Bay, and then proceeded across the Bay and landed, all safe, near where Sir Allan McNab’s Castle now stands. The boats were then made fast for future use, and the goods drawn by oxen, on roughly-made sledges, to their destination, in Blenheim. The mill was got up and in working order in the latter part of 1795. It had not been run at all before the dam broke away,—and from the scarcity of hands it could not be rebuilt till 1797, in which year the first plank was sawed. The house—the old “homestead”—now occupied by Henry Horner, Esq., J. P.. is built of boards sawed at this mill. Mr. Horner erected a grist mill also, the first erected in the County. This was accidentally burned down, in 1809, and never rebuilt. The place where these mills were erected, is now the present saw-mill of Mr. Liel Matin, near the Governor’s road, just west of Princeton.
When these mills were erected, Mr. Horner was in a position to claim the Township of Blenheim, he having, at very great loss, faithfully performed his part of the contracts, in fact, he was in actual possession of the Township, as possessions were given in those days; but Governor Simcoe’s successor would not acknowledge his claim,—and he was most completely and shamefully, with very many others, “chisselled” out of his Township, because it had become saleable at some trifling price, through his means and expense.
All the “old residenters” with whom we have conversed on the subject, complain most bitterly of their usage by the several Governors, occasioned, they unanimously say, by the advice given them by the few persons by whom they were always surrounded. Mr. Horner being a person of education and great intelligence and influence, it was not all likely that he would be allowed to receive any favors or smiles from the Governor. To illustrate this we will let one circumstance suffice. On the 22nd day of March, 1798, Mr. Horner was appointed captain of the Norfolk militia, and on the 16th day of June, 1806, he was appointed Deputy-Lieut. of the County of Oxford; yet in the commencement of the war of 1812 he was represented to Gen. Brock as a person not to be trusted, not very loyal, and Ensign H. Bostwick, of an adjoining County, (Norfolk) was appointed Lieut.-colonel over the Oxford militia, and he left unemployed. Mr. Horner’s principal reason for leaving the United States, was his great attachment to the British crown, and like a true British loyalist, he watched his opportunity, not to revenge himself on any of the very lip loyal by whom General Brock was surrounded, for the indignity shewn him, but to render his country any assistance in any way in any capacity. With a “will” so good a “way” was soon found. Several unsuccessful attempts had been made by different parties to get the Grand River Indians to join the expedition then being formed by General Brock to attack Detroit. Col. Norton, the Indian agent, could only muster 9 men. Mr. Horner, knowing his own influence with the Indians, eagerly caught at this opportunity, immediately proceeded to the Grand River, collected 75 Indian warriors and marched to the scene of action, notwithstanding the American General, Hall, had issued his proclamation refusing to give quarter to any white man found fighting beside an Indian. Even under these circumstances he was not recovered only when there was thought to he something to do. After remaining on the enemy’s frontier for two or three weeks, he was dismissed and sent home, or rather toward home, for he and his men had only proceeded as far as Pike’s Creek, on Lake St. Clair, when he was summoned back in great haste by General Proctor, Wm. Jones, Esq., being the bearer of the order. This summons was instantly obeyed, and he and his men returned to the frontier and remained there until discharched a second time. The whole expense of this expedition was paid for out of his own pocket, nor was he ever paid one penny of it back.
Again in the following winter, when General Winchester was advancing against Detroit to re-take it, Mr. Horner shouldered his musket, took his place in the ranks as a private, and so remained until duly discharged. A question very naturally arises here: where can we find any such displays of real loyalty by any of his lip-loyal defamers who surrounded the Governor?
Mr. Horner was the first member for the County of Oxford when it became entitled to a member by itself, which was in 1820, and continued to be the member, or one of the members, with the exception of two years, till the time of his death, by cholera, August 4, 1834. In the old journals of the House of Assembly, we find the name of Mr. Horner often as chairman in the House, and to committees. He was evidently a working member.
In connection with his parliamentary conduct, one little incident, we think, ought to be mentioned. Just before the passage of the “Alien Act,” which caused such intense excitement throughout the Province at the time, Mr. Horner called a meeting of his constituents, and addressed them as follows:—“Gentlemen, I wish to know how you desire me to vote on this bill, and I will vote just as I am instructed by you; but mind, if you say I shall support the bill, I will do so, because there is not time for you to elect another member before the vote is taken should I resign, but I never will come to the County of Oxford again. I shall give my vote as you direct, leave the House, and the country, send for my family, and never return again.” He was directed to oppose the bill.
The two beautiful poplar trees trees, so much admired, in front of the “old homestead,” near the Governor’s road, in the Township of Burford, were brought by Mr. Horner from Fort Erie, in 1808, in the shape of a riding-whip. On arriving at home, (Blenheim) he broke his riding-whip into three or four pieces and stuck each piece in the ground, and three of them lived. On his removal, in August, 1811, two of them were transplanted to the place they now occupy, to out-live their transplanter.
By the Act 33 Geo. III, chapter 5, (1793) magistrates were allowed to marry any person residing over 18 miles from a Church of England minister, and they were required to post up in some public place, the following notice:—“Whereas, A. B. and C. D. are desirous of intermarrying with each other, and there being no parson of the Church of England living within 18 miles of them; all persons who know of any just impediment why they should not be joined in matrimony, are to give notice thereof to E. F., Esquire, of ____, one of her Majesty’s Justices of the Peace for the ____ district.” The Justices were also required to use the same ceremony as is used in the Church of England, but there is no fine imposed by the act for the non-compliance with these requirements, and a portion of them at least appear to have been very seldom complied with by any of the Justices. The only enquiry formally made by the Justices, was whether they were 18 miles from where a minister of the Church of England resided.
Mr. Horner on one occasion, when a number of miles from home, was applied to by a person to marry him instanter. Mr. Horner calculated the number of lots there were between them and the “residence of the parson of the Church of England,” and calculated the distance to be only 15½ miles. The bridegroom at once proposed that they should proceed in the woods a distance of 2½ miles in a direction opposite from the parson’s residence, which was at once assented to by all parties, and the bride, bridegroom, Justice, and friends, proceeded in the woods until they had got the required 18 miles distance from the parson’s residence. The bride and bridegroom hopped upon a log, and in a minute afterwards jumped therefrom man and wife.
The first person married by Mr. Horner were the father and mother of the lady of John Carroll, Esq., land agent, of the County of Oxford, which was in 1801. We have not been informed of the number married by him, but the number married by the late Peter Teeple, Esq., was between 4 and 500, a list of which we have seen.3 |