The Ennotville Historical Library and Community Hall
7722 Sixth Line N0B 1S0 Elora, ON, Canada

Lot 5, concession 8 A highly respected pioneer was JAMES CATTANACH, who settled on Lot 5 about 1834. He and his wife Christina Sherratt were both born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. They were the parents of seven sons and several daughters, who were James, Archibald, John, Roger, Andrew, David and George; Isabella married Alexander Smart and Frances married Alexander McDonald (lot 10, conc 6). David Cattanach became a Presbyterian minister, while Andrew was accidently killed at ...Driscoll’s barn raising in 1847. He was only 19. Robert and George Cattanach continued to live on the homestead and after the death of their mother kept Batch Hall. George was noted for his prowess as a hunter and trapper and his hunting hound was permitted the luxury of indoor living. The Cattanach brothers were fond of children, and when a large family was left motherless, they welcomed one of the boys, a lad named Robert Masson, into their home where he grew to manhood. Robert A. (Bob) Masson inherited the Cattanach farm. His story is with lot 4, concession 8, where he was born next door. JOHN BARNETT had emigrated from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and followed Robert Masson on the Cattanach farm. His wife was Ann McDonald, and they were the parents of Mary, who married Fenton McGee and a son, Malcolm Barnett, who married Stella Jackson and operated a business college in Oshawa. FENTON (FLINT) MCGEE was raised in Guelph Township. His father, Joe McGee, was an industrious individual who undertook teaming contracts in conjunction with the farm operation, which meant that young Fent McGee was assigned the task of hauling gravel with a horse-drawn wagon, when only a slip of a boy. Little did he realize that it was to be his induction into a career which would associate him with the department of roads and highways for the greater part of his life. In the 1920’s he purchased a truck and accepted contracts for gravelling roads, while at a later date he was employed as a highway patrolman, but in 1943, he was appointed Road Superintendent of Nichol and carried out the duties of chief supervisor of Nichol’s roads until his retirement in 1972. The family of Fenton McGee and his wife, Mary Barnett, included Marilynn, Robert, Marion, Ronald, Eleanor and Donna. Marilynn McGee, who married Wiliam Kane, was a widely known radio artist and the exquisite tone of her mellow voice has long been a regular feature of the Guelph radio station. The McFadden, Williams and West Families presently (1984) reside on separate portions of the old Cattanach farm. See more

A 2nd log school (after the one at Flewwelling’s corner) within the limits of SS #4 Nichol was erected on the north-east corner of lot 5 on the eighth concession. James Davidson taught classes in this school which was situated on the property of James Cattanach, close to what is now known as Power Line Road. The stone school further on the eighth concession wasn’t built until 1859. Then Mrs. Beattie would take up the tale. She has an aunt still living Mrs. Hudson, of El...ora, whose mother was one of the members of the early library, and she can remember not only the stories her mother told of its beginnings, but has a very clear recollection of being sent to change her book. Those pioneers began to lend books to one another, most of the treasures they had brought with them from the home across the ocean, and later still this was about 1847 each family contributed one or more volumes and put them in the school house, which, says Mrs. Hudson was in the woods at the back of George Cattanach’s farm. It was in this library that John Cunningham went to change his books and them and himself deplorably wet, and it was this nucleus also, that was granted twenty-five pounds for the purchase of books, by the Legislature of Upper Canada, through the instrumentality of Dr. Clark, MPP of Guelph. Some of the books bought in those long-ago days, and some even of the self-bound volumes given by the pioneers are still in a fine state of preservation, on the shelves of the present library, and bear in a clear hand, the names of those who gave them. See more

Lot 9, concession 8 Abraham Jewell Flewwelling has the distinction of being the very first settler to arrive in Lower Nichol. He staked out a claim on Lot 9, conc 8 in 1827. He planted the first orchard and had a cooper shop. He (and later his son Edward) opened a public house. Known as the Belleview Tavern it was a favourite location for Travelers’ journeying along the Guelph and Arthur Road from the early 1830s. The Township of Nichol held a Ploughing Match in a field a...djoining his tavern in October, 1850. The first log schoolhouse was located on his property, on the same site as the present position of Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Six members of the family are interred there. Abraham was of Welsh descent but was born in New Brunswick in 1789. The family had come to Canada from New York State at the end of the American Revolution. He was united in marriage with Martha Livermore in the State of Massachusetts and along with their seven children, reached Lower Nichol via the Niagara Peninsula. Six more children for a family of 13. The Eldest child, Elizabeth Ann married John Frame; James M. married Jane Emslie and farmed an adjoining lot but later went West; William J. married Elizabeth Metcalf lot 10, conc 8; Mary married William Robinson; Emery Livermore married Mary Jane Boys; Abraham Jewell Jr.; Edward married Mary Metcalf and settled on lot 11, conc 1; Martha married Thomas Boys; Hannah married John Atkinson; Nancy (twin of Hannah) married Robert Dunlop; Eliza married Charles Howlett: Lavina was the first wife of Charles Howlett and Lucy (twin of Lavina) married Richard Boys. Emery L. Flewwelling (family photo) settled in West Garafraxa, E1/2 lots 21, 22, concession 1. He married Mary Jane Boys. Their children were Elizabeth Ann; James Morris; William Jewel; Mary; Emery Livermore; Abraham Jewell; Edward; Martha; Hannah twin; Eliza twin; Eliza; Lavina twin; Lucy twin. Emery’s four brothers had farms in Nichol. Abraham J. Flewwelling Jr. resided on the original homestead, was thrice married, firstly to Fanny Niblett, then to Fanny (Evans) Kendall and lastly to her sister Clara (Evans) McConnachie. The family of A.J. Jr. and Fanny Niblett was composed of Charles; Amelia, married William Darby; Hiram; Louisa married William Wood and David. Charles, who married Rachel Cunningham (daughter Wm. Lot 12, conc 7) was the last Flewwelling to live on the homestead, which has now been chopped into pieces and parcels to such an extent that the first farmstead to be cleared in Lower Nichol has been shorn of its original identity. See more

3rd part of Mount Pleasant Cemetery by David Beattie 1970: Christened God’s Little Acre, by a previous writer, Mount Pleasant Cemetery has been the scene of tragic and contrasting internments. In a remote corner, camouflaged by a verdant clump of orange lilies, is a lowly slab, which designates the grave of the infant child of a Methodist minister and his wife. Laid away in an unmarked spot, far from friend and family, was the nameless transient, whose lifeless body was di...scovered by the roadside beyond the brow of Metcalf’s Hill. A young girl, whose death was believed to have occurred from a contagious disease, was buried by the aid of lighted lanterns in the starless gloom of a saddened night. The mortal remains of the very first settler in Lower Nichol lie unobtrusive and almost forgotten. A modest grey tombstone, darkened by the weathering of time, bears the inscription: In memory of Abraham J. Flewelling, who died August twentieth, 1849, aged 60 years. Progenitor of a large family, this native of Wales became owner of an extensive land acreage in the district. The cemetery grounds are situated on what was formerly a portion of his original homestead, it being lot 9, Concession 8 of Nichol Township. Nearby, or on this same location, is said to have been the site of the first log schoolhouse in the area. Records are sparse, but search among the grave-stones which is the only available source, reveals the fact that Henry Metcalf, who died on August 21st, 1844, is the earliest established burial. John Metcalf, who was secretary-treasurer in 1882, held this office until 1912, when his son-in-law, David Mutrie, assumed the position. The latter is the maternal grandfather of the writer, who is the proud possessor of the tiny record book used by these two officials. There has never been a charge levied for the use of burial plots, but when funds were required a subscription canvass was undertaken. The amount of $134. Was raised by this method in 1882 and used to erect a new fence and install a tile drain. John Mutrie, Senior, donated lumber for the fence; Samuel Campbell, cedar timber for the road culvert, and John Beattie gave eight spruce trees. Written in the records is the information that on Mary 24th, 1886, twenty-four spruce trees were planted. They were obtained from John Beattie at the cost of $4. At a later date, in 1890, twenty-four pine trees were set out. With the passing of the years, the relatives of those buried within the cemetery, who still reside in the immediate neighbourhood, had become drastically reduced. As a result, the grounds suffered from lack of care and became overrun with weeds and shrubbery. A meeting of the surviving plot-holders and other interested persons was organized in 1939, with the idea of improving the appearance of the cemetery. See more

Even though I love winter, I have to admit that it is smelling like Spring out there, the snow is melting fast and we are all a bit cheerier! I have slipped this year with no posts from the library. Hope I haven't lost our friends and followers! We are starting out with 289 followers - Please like or follow our page - the more we have, the wider the audience - I welcome questions that you may have about your roots in lower Nichol Township.

It is fortunate that I arrived before it was too late to get a real impression. The first day I went over Vimy [Ridge], snow and sleet were falling, and I was able to realize what the soldiers had suffered. If as you and others tell me, there is something of the suffering and heroism of the war in my pictures it is because at that moment the spirit of those who fought and died seemed to linger in the air. Every splintered tree and scarred clod spoke of their sacrifice. Since then, nature has been busy covering up the wounds, and in a few years the last sign of war will have disappeared. To have been able to preserve some memory of what this consecrated corner of the world looked like after the storm is a great privilege and all the reward an artist could hope for. Mary Riter Hamilton, September 10, 1922

A Huge thanks to Julie Saggers for doing a wonderful photo shoot of the Library. Julie is a new renter of the Hall for studio space. Take a few moments and enjoy the video of some of her photos.