1 10 1 https://ruraldiaries.lib.uoguelph.ca/transcribe/files/original/9e0e2841ac1fb1995a4c18bc6c64d96d.pdf 744a06ec2425c881c381fd4a7ff2f6e1 PDF Text Text ~from the 1846 Travel Journal of JOHN GREEN MOUNTFORD (1822-1898) Friday April 3rd 1846~ Left London from the Chadwick Station on the Blackwall Railway and on to Gravesend - (&) Steamboat to meet the Ship Charlotte on her Voyage to Quebec – a very windy day – felt very queer at first but got better in the evening – F B M. & H E Freeman came on Board with us (meaning James, his wife & myself) and left about 6 o’clock the same evening – there are two other Cabin passengers Mr. Delf & Mr. Kelly – Capt. Percy (?) R N on Board – F B M & H E F returned and stayed all night with M Brentwood – Capt. Percy (?) other friend (?) wanted to throw the Cat over Board for luck etc. etc. 4 ~ ½ past 5 o’clock left Gravesend per Steam tug – Past the nose ½ past 12 noon when the Wind blew a stiff Gale – Reached Margate loads about 8 P. M. – came to anchor for the night 5~ Reach’d the Down about 3 P. M. when the Pilot & Capt. Percy left – x - Began to be Seasick & continued dreadfully for 14 days – thought I must have died – eat nothing but Gruel for 10 ds. 6~ Lay’d in the Down all day - Close off Deal were some men came on board to sell herring 7~ Left the Down about 3 o’clock this morning - spot’z the Douglas – used the crades (?) first time for Tea 8~ In view of the Isle of Wight 9~ In view of the French Coast & Alderney 10~ Rain & bad Weather in the evening. 11~ Saw the last of Old England / spot’z the ship Hellen – Dreadfully ill 12~ Nothing of note – Ship going well 13~ Past by the West India Steamer in the night – Saw immense Droves of Porpoise 14~ Ship proceeding slowly – no remark worth note 15~ Calm in the Morning – began to get a little over my Illness 16~ Bad Weather – dreadfully ill 17~ Very ill 18~ Very ill 1 �19~ Ship proceeding more quietly - consequently not quite so ill as yesterday 20~ Day clear – Vessel steady – Spot’z the William Dawson (?) from Alba to Quebec – (much better health) 21~ Calm & Warm – Dessert & Wine on Deck – (first day of convalescence though still very sick – Pitch & toss) – more Porpoise 22~Still Calm / Pitch & toss 23~ Fair Wind – Ship going 9 nots 24~ Js M birth day etc. – watch ordered to look out for ice 25~ Very cold & in the neighborhood of Ice but none to be seen 26~ Very rough night – all Hands on Deck 27~ Very bad Weather – Hail Snow & Rain at intervals this one day 28~ Very cold 29~ Third day of bad Weather 30~ cold & mist / Sounded at 12 noon - found we were on the banks of Newfoundland – 70 Fathoms water 1 May 1846~ A boy 4 ½ years old died (of convulsion) in the intermediate cabin – was committed to the deep at 4 P.M. -x – Mr W Delf officiated as Priest on the occasion – Spot’z the Brig (Rifleman) 31 days from Liverpool bound to Newfoundland & Quebec 2~ Calm & Misty, Saw the first Ice burgh this morning & another very large one in the evening – lots of Ducks, still on the Banks – 40 Fathoms water – Fishing for Cod fish – but no luck 3~ On the Banks with very thick misty weather – lots of Ice berghs – some of them very large ones - ship going but slowly – most of the day spent in the Cabin – the evening very wet in the midst of ice 4~Cleared the Banks fine with the ship going very slowly – Lots of Ice - some very large pieces – the Coast of Newfoundland was seen from the mast head 5~Calm in the Morning – a breeze springing up in the afternoon – in sight of 2 of the Jackqualin (Miquelon?) Islands – there was a good deal of snow on them 2 �6~ Saw more Ice in the evening. – A boy put in durance vile for drunkenness & Bad conduct - Fine weather but contrary ing winds – ship making no progress (durance vile in this case probably meaning an under-age youth put into restraint or lock up) 7~ In sight of the Ramea Islands – Capt. discovers his chest to have been broken open and rob’d of cloes etc. – Contrary winds - ship making no progress 8~ In sight of the Bargo (Burgeo) Islands & other land - a fine breeze springing up about noon & continued thro the night – ship going well pas’d the St. Paul Light House & enter’d the gulf during the night 9~ View of the Bird & other Islands – saw several whales spouting – Had a sweep on the arrival of Charlotte – Very little wind – ship going her course tho but slowly 10~ Between Point Gaspey & Anticosti – Began to Hail & Snow about noon & continued thro the night with rain – ship making no progress – very bad weather & bad on every ___? 11~ Beating about Cape Gaspey with very rainy bad weather – ship making no progress on her ___? course 12~ The same as yesterday with rather fine weather - Got very tired of the Gulf St. Lawrence 13~ The same as yesterday till noon when a little breeze sprung up favourably for but it? only lasted for a few hours – Ship still beating about Cape Gaspey 14~ Becalmed in the morning but towards evening & in the night we had light wind and made some four (?) Miles up the River St. Lar. – The Capt. discovered the parties who stole his cloes etc. Saw lots of Seals & Whales 15~ Saw a peculiar kind of Tide running about noon in the River St. Lawrence – I spotz the brig Promise from London, the same time as ourselves – the Capt. came on Board - I spot’z two or three Schooners expecting to find a Pilot 16~ Pilot came on Board about 5 o’clock this morning (a French Canadian) off Mount Carmel – fine weather with but very little wind – At about 9 o’clock Pete commenced a very convivial meeting on Deck with the intermediate passengers – Fiddling, Dancing, etc., etc. - all got very Drunk & uproarious 17~ Proceeding slowly up the River with very fine weather tho but little wind – Saw a wreck off the Green Island Light House – very fine coast – passed the poles on the ______? coast 18~ Fine weather – proceeding slowly up the River - passed the Travence Light House about 4 P.M. – the views in this part of the St. Lawrence are very beautiful – came to anchor in the Quarantine Ground about 12 o’clock in the night 3 �19~ Laying at anchor in the Quarantine Ground – Douglas M.D. came on Board about 8 A.M. & examined the passengers according to Act of Parliament – got under weigh about 9 A.M. with a contrary wind and proceeding up the River till opposite the Island of Orleans – x – were we again came to anchor about 2 P.M. and remained till ¼ 9 P.M. before we made another short start – Mr Smith the mate went on shore at the Quarantine Ground and bought some fresh Beef Eyes – the Beef but a very Bad sample of the Canadian professions(?) – Some very beautiful farms as we pass up the River 20~ Got under weigh between 10 & 11 A.M. Tacking on the River with the Tide in our favour – passed the Falls of Montmorency at 2 P.M. Saw some other small falls passing up the River – Came to anchor off Quebec at 4 P.M. – the same time as the Aberdeen from Waterford – 6 P.M. Mr Delf & my self went on shore at Quebec – say all this the Town by the bye, a sad dull dirty looking place – went to the Globe Hotel – had Tea – very comfortable place – charged us two shillings each – returned about 10 to the Charlotte for the night 21~ Mr Delf & myself attended mass at the French Cathedral this morning - had another tour thr’g Quebec and went back to the Charlotte to dinner – after which we prepared for starting by the Quebec Steam Boat for Montreal – got all safe on Board before 5 P.M. – the time of starting – a most splendid Boat fitted out in a most magnificent manner - the Fare 16’ each – at 7 o’clock we sat down to a first rate spread 22~ Arrived in Montreal at 6 A.M. – took a Cab & got or things to the Otoway Hotel – ‘ad an out & out row with the fellow – a French Man, had our breakfast and looked out for a passage to Kingston but found it impractable to proceed farther to day – Took a regular look round Montreal – saw the Houses of Parliament – heard several debates in the House of Peers (?), went to Mass in the French Cathedral – Montreal on the whole is one of the finest cities in the World (the Capital of the United Province of Canada was at St. Anne’s Market here from 1844 – 1849) 23~ There was a dreadful fire in Montreal last night - burning very freely when I whent to see it at 8 A.M. – a large Timber Yard with Timber & 10 or 12 Houses burnt – We took our passage this morning per Coach to La’chine & from thence to Kingston per Steamer Highlander – fare 6 dollars each, nothing particular more than the scenery which is more beautiful than I can describe 24~ at 8 A.M. off Williamsburgh & pass’d Waddington on to Ogdensburgh Un. Sta. then over to Preston - on to Mateland (Maitland) - Morris Town (Morristown) – Brockville – at 3 P.M. landed on one of the 1000 Islands – at ½ 4 put in at Gananoque – passed the Barge _____? From Torronto (?) - at 6 o’clock arrived at Kingston – went to the Jones(?) Hotel – a very fare sort of Inn The journal ends here… 4 �Spelling has been left as original as possible. Some place names can’t be found anymore and if they are, they are added following along in brackets as a re a few notes on interest. J.G. also used next to no punctuation so a dash has been added to break the sentence – and of course if the ship was rolling and a person is seasick and trying to write with a dip pen there are smudges, which sometimes just could not be deciphered at all – here, a blank is used. The script is impossibly tiny. Some of the pages in this journal have been penciled over later with miscellaneous and additional family notes. These are probably made by J.G. Mountford’s youngest daughter Sarah Elizabeth, who also kept a small notebook of mostly local deaths. Aforementioned notebook has been transcribed as a separate document for the Kent OGS. The original material was sent to the Kent County Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society by John Green Mountford’s Great Granddaughter, Martha Louis Arnold Sheerin, of Indian River, Michigan, in April of 2016. For biographical notes used to piece the family tree together, see also: Alvin Armstrong’s 1985 History of Blenheim History and South Harwich. Page 88 of the 1973 reprinted Historical Atlas of Essex & Kent County Ontario by H. Belden & Co., Toronto 1880/1881 and Victor Lauriston’s 1952, Romantic Kent. The 1981 Kent OGS Transcript of Evergreen Cemetery in Blenheim and some miscellaneous Staff Reports made by Veterinary Staff Sergeant J.J. Mountford, North West Mounted Police, 1896, 1899 etc., also: familysearch.org and the Canada Census, Archives Canada. The Children of John & Sarah Mountford as recorded in the Journal are: Frederick Batten Mountford, born June 29, 1807 Maria Mountford, born July 27, 1810 James Mountford, born April 24, 1812 Sarah Mountford, born June 15, 1815 John Green Mountford, born June 21, 1822 William Henry Mountford, born July 3, 1824 John Green Mountford was born in Chisledon, Wiltshire, England, coming to North America in the spring of 1846 on board the ship Charlotte, from London, England to Quebec. He married Elizabeth Brook, on May 26, 1849, by the Rev. Benjamin Cronyn, of old St. Paul’s Church, London, Canada West. They lived in Yarmouth Township in Elgin County, (St. Thomas, Ontario) in 1852 and London Township, Middlesex County, later moving the family to the south section of the Township of Harwich in Kent County by 1861, locating at Rondeau Harbour, at Shrewsbury. Here J.G.M. operated a Hotel and the post office known as ‘Rondeau Harbor’. He also farmed, bought and sold farm stock and would operate grain warehouses and an elevator. He moved his wife and family to the town of Blenheim in 1875 were he was a member of the first town Council. Later in 1881 he held the municipal title of Reeve. The death of his wife, Elizabeth Brook Mountford, (born 1825), occurred on March 15, 1893. John Green Mountford died in Blenheim on May 24, 1898. The Mountford family are buried in the family plot in Evergreen Cemetery, Blenheim. 5 �The Children of John Green Mountford & Elizabeth Brook as found recorded in the journal are: James Batton, born March 3, 1850, died November 18, 1873 (from Typhoid Fever) Elizabeth, born June 23, 1851, died June 26, 1851 Ann, born October 16, 1853, died, Camden Township (?), September 26, 1880 Lola Maria, born January 2, 1855, never married, died March 4, 1916, in Blenheim, Ontario Florence Nightingale, born February 10, 1858. She married on June 9, 1887 in Owosso Michigan, Dr. Alfred Leston Arnold, he was born August 7, 1857 and is a descendant of the Christopher Arnolds of Kent Bridge, Kent County, Ontario. Florence Nightingale Mountford Arnold died April 13, 1937, at Owosso, Michigan. Dr. Arnold died in 1947. Their children are: Dr. Harry Loren Arnold I, born August 13, 1887, and who married on October 7, 1911, Meda Lorrain Sheldon (1886-1974). Their children are: Harry Arnold Jr., born August 7, 1912/3, who married Blanche Wetherald on September 19, 1933 Sarah Elizabeth, born January 9, 1915 Alfred Leston Arnold II, born August 4, 1891, who married September 3, 1921, Hulda Zelpha Smith (1902-1990). Their children are: Alfred Leston Arnold III, born Dec. 20, 1922, Lieut., a pilot, killed May 7, 1944, Asiatic Theater John Mountford Arnold, born September 17, 1924, who married June 16, 1947, Joanne Trost Martha Louis Arnold, born August 27, 1927, who married Joseph I. Sheerin James Frederick Arnold, born June 4, 1930 Kate D., born July 3, 1859, died May 20, 1868 Zillah Louisa Ellen, born April 13, 1861, never married. She was a nurse employed at the Eastern Michigan Asylum in Oakland County, Michigan in 1900, having gone to Michigan in 1892. By the time of the Census in June of 1911, she was back in Blenheim, living with her sisters Lola and Sarah, at 91 Talbot St., as head of the household. She died in the Hospital in Chatham on July 27, 1952, after spending the month in the hospital after a fall. She was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, on Thursday, July 31, 1952 6 �Sarah Elizabeth, born April 26, 1864, never married, and was a resident of Blenheim, Ontario. She died on February 27, 1955. She kept a note book, mostly of all the deaths in the Blenheim area, during her lifetime Henry C., born July 12, 1866, died April 12, 1867 John Joseph, (Jack) was born Dec. 27, 1868. He was a Veterinarian, and part of the graduating Class of March 28, 1891 from the Ontario Veterinary College (then in Toronto). In the spring of 1896 he was in Lethbridge, Alberta when he applied to the North West Mounted Police. He was accepted on May 4, 1896 and served until he was granted discharge on June 30, 1907, while posted in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. He had accepted a position as the Veterinary Director General with the Department of Agriculture. He was married and living in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan at the time of the 1901 Census. He had married Jessie Ann ---------, who was born in Saskatchewan about 1879. They are resident on 551, 19th St. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in the 1916 Census. Jessie Ann died on October 27, 1930 and John Joseph on December 1, 1937. Their children are: John Adam, born July 27, 1902 William Leonard, born February 21, 1904 Florence Marjorie, born September 17, 1905 Garreth McBeth, born August 16, 1910 Leonard Arthur, born April 29, 1874, he went to the United States in 1898. He married April 30, 1913, Boise Idaho, to Isobel Brown Thompson (1891-1952). They where living at 7004 Lenox Ave., Van Nuys, California in 1918 when Leonard registered for the draft and was still there in November of 1954 when Leonard married Ida Hancock Browder, age 65. He worked for the City Water Department all his life. (Los Angeles, California). Their daughter: Margaret, born March 11, 1914, was a public-school teacher in the 1940 U.S. Census Transcribed by F.P. Vink, in March of 2017, for the Kent County Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society 7 �8 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource John Green Mountford Diary Collection Subject The topic of the resource 19th Century Rural Ontario Diaries, Immigrant Diary Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource John Green Mountford Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Chatham-Kent Museum & Kent Branch Ontario Ancestors Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1846 Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Seven-week journey across the ocean to Ontario during the Irish Famine. Table Of Contents A list of subunits of the resource. John Green Mountford, 1846 Date Created Date of creation of the resource. April 3, 1846 Medium The material or physical carrier of the resource. Typed Transcription Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource John Green Mountford Diary, 1846 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource John Green Mountford Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Chatham-Kent Museum & Kent Branch Ontario Ancestors Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1846 Language A language of the resource English Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Six-week journey across the ocean to Ontario during the Irish Famine. Date Created Date of creation of the resource. April 3, 1846 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. John Green Mountford Diary Collection Extent The size or duration of the resource. Typed Transcript UG Transcription Progress Scripto transcription progress Done transcribed