Introduction: My grandfather, Donald Hector Currie (1860 - 1956), was born on a rural homestead in the Ottawa Valley. Late in life he decided to write his history and has left 55 handwritten pages of his memories from 1860 to 1911. I have left it unedited just as he has written it. It is quite a remarkable story that I will leave you to judge for yourself. This was the era of the horse and buggy and oil lamp. The telephone, the light bulb and phonograph invented in the late 1870's weren't in common use until much later and it was the turn of the century before they arrived in the small towns along with the silver screen.
If you have any insights or comments please make use of the space for comments at the end of each chapter.
As a test of memory and expression of same I have now set out to put down some of those recollections for the entertainment of children and grandchildren who might be interested.
My earliest recollection was that of hearing discussed the assassination of President Lincoln and Johnson succeeding him as President. This was in a conversation between my mother and her Aunt Sally and at the time I thought it referred to some neighbour of hers of that name.
I started going to school when six years old and on the way had to pass a farm where they kept a big flock of geese that always seemed to be on the road and would chase my sister Dolly and myself and scare us nearly to death with their hissing and wing flapping.
The school house was small log building with desks around the two sides and made of boards fastened to the walls like shelves only slanted. The seats were long benches without backs, as I remember well, were too high for my feet to reach the floor. I had a big dog that accompanied us to school and lay under my seat and I would rest my feet on his back. The teacher was an old Scotchman of whom my only recollection is that he talked in Gaelic and Latin and I guess paid but little attention to the small children as I can't remember anything then learned.
At that time we were living on a bush farm at the Western end of the settlement; most of the farm still had to be cleared; that is the trees cut down and burned before any crops could be put in. One time when I was out with my mother picking berries we nearly stepped on a bear when crossing a log. Before I really knew what it was mother had dropped her pail of berries, picked me up and streaked for home. The bear did not follow. I imagine he found the pail of berries more to his liking.
A year or so after this our house caught fire, and as father was away at the time, and no neighbours nearby it burned to the ground with but little clothing and furniture saved.
After the fire we moved down to Grandfather Maclean's** old homestead, a big log house with clapboards over the logs and painted white. It had a big fireplace that took up almost all one end of the house which was all they had for both cooking and heating. In my day this had been built in* and stairs took its place. The heating stove in the living room was a big two story box stove that took three foot long sticks of wood and warmed up the whole house. The windows were large with small panes of glass about 6 inches by 8 inches in each. It was an open house and kept hat way.
In the winter there would always be calls from French beggars who would come with their bag for a dish of flour or oatmeal, or a piece of meat. I remember one day we had an old Scotch bachelor who lived at the other end of the settlement who came for dinner or supper. After the first course of meat and potatoes a big bowl of preserves was passed to him first, the usual thing being that the guest would help himself to as much as he wanted then then pass it along to others. in this case however he our guest said, "this o'er much for me" and set it down in front of him and ate the whole thing - much to our disappointment as we got none that time.
I attended the same school from grandfathers as before but this time had a lady teacher - a second cousin- who boarded with us and made my life miserable at home as well as in school. She would make me learn my multiplication tables at home and hear them before she would let me go to bed. If forgotten when I was called on to say them in school then the birch switch vigorously applied, and to add insult to injury would send me out to get a switch with orders to get a big one.
It was in June 1869 *** that we packed up and left for California and the joy of leaving this teacher was more than the sorrow of parting with others.
* enclosed
** Donald Maclean (1786 - 1879), his grandfather on his mother's side emigrated from Scotland in 1829
*** he was 9 years old when he left for California
If you have any insights or comments please make use of the space for comments at the end of each chapter.
| Abe Lincoln |
My earliest recollection was that of hearing discussed the assassination of President Lincoln and Johnson succeeding him as President. This was in a conversation between my mother and her Aunt Sally and at the time I thought it referred to some neighbour of hers of that name.
I started going to school when six years old and on the way had to pass a farm where they kept a big flock of geese that always seemed to be on the road and would chase my sister Dolly and myself and scare us nearly to death with their hissing and wing flapping.
The school house was small log building with desks around the two sides and made of boards fastened to the walls like shelves only slanted. The seats were long benches without backs, as I remember well, were too high for my feet to reach the floor. I had a big dog that accompanied us to school and lay under my seat and I would rest my feet on his back. The teacher was an old Scotchman of whom my only recollection is that he talked in Gaelic and Latin and I guess paid but little attention to the small children as I can't remember anything then learned.
At that time we were living on a bush farm at the Western end of the settlement; most of the farm still had to be cleared; that is the trees cut down and burned before any crops could be put in. One time when I was out with my mother picking berries we nearly stepped on a bear when crossing a log. Before I really knew what it was mother had dropped her pail of berries, picked me up and streaked for home. The bear did not follow. I imagine he found the pail of berries more to his liking.
A year or so after this our house caught fire, and as father was away at the time, and no neighbours nearby it burned to the ground with but little clothing and furniture saved.
After the fire we moved down to Grandfather Maclean's** old homestead, a big log house with clapboards over the logs and painted white. It had a big fireplace that took up almost all one end of the house which was all they had for both cooking and heating. In my day this had been built in* and stairs took its place. The heating stove in the living room was a big two story box stove that took three foot long sticks of wood and warmed up the whole house. The windows were large with small panes of glass about 6 inches by 8 inches in each. It was an open house and kept hat way.
In the winter there would always be calls from French beggars who would come with their bag for a dish of flour or oatmeal, or a piece of meat. I remember one day we had an old Scotch bachelor who lived at the other end of the settlement who came for dinner or supper. After the first course of meat and potatoes a big bowl of preserves was passed to him first, the usual thing being that the guest would help himself to as much as he wanted then then pass it along to others. in this case however he our guest said, "this o'er much for me" and set it down in front of him and ate the whole thing - much to our disappointment as we got none that time.
I attended the same school from grandfathers as before but this time had a lady teacher - a second cousin- who boarded with us and made my life miserable at home as well as in school. She would make me learn my multiplication tables at home and hear them before she would let me go to bed. If forgotten when I was called on to say them in school then the birch switch vigorously applied, and to add insult to injury would send me out to get a switch with orders to get a big one.
It was in June 1869 *** that we packed up and left for California and the joy of leaving this teacher was more than the sorrow of parting with others.
* enclosed
** Donald Maclean (1786 - 1879), his grandfather on his mother's side emigrated from Scotland in 1829
*** he was 9 years old when he left for California
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