Bryce McRoberts
ID # 7208, (1808-1860)
| Father | Unknown McRoberts |
| Birth | Bryce McRoberts was born in 1808. |
| Marriage | He married Margaret Brush. |
| Death | He died on 1 June 1860 at Medonte Township. |
| Burial | He was buried at Troy Cemetery, Beverly Twp. Wentworth Co.. |
| Note | There are certainly gaps in our knowledge of Bryce McRoberts, but we may begin with page 24 of John A. Cornell's Pioneers of Beverly, 1889. Cornell's tecnique was to make chapters out of letters he received from former residents, but the first three letters appear to be from J. W. Holcomb, a son of Seth Holcomb, an early Beverly worthy. Cornell has split Holcomb's letter into three parts, the the portion wherein 'Brice' McRoberts is mentioned that interests us is the Troy Letter. Holcomb names Samuel Neff as the first storekeeper in Troy. The letter goes on to say: He was succeeded by the late Brice McRoberts, who took as a partner his nephew, Alexander McRoberts, now of Toronto. They also dealt considerably in lumber. The business then passed into the hands of Alexander McRoberts who carried it on successfully for many years. Unquote The story later tells that Mr McRoberts built a brick store in Troy, but does not say which Mr. McRoberts. Probably, this was Alexander. Library and Archives Canada, evidently quoting Canada Post's archives, states that Alex McRoberts was the first postmaster of Troy, assuming the post in May of 1852. The Sutherland Directory for Hamilton and Wentworth, 1867-68, shows the first postmaster as Bryce McRoberts, beginning in 1851, then followed by Alex McRoberts. This may be correct, for a Sutherland representative must have gone round to village merchants seeking subscriptions. They probably did this work in 1866 when Alex McRoberts was still there. If a postal historial should find an envelope postmarked Troy dated 1851, that could well confirm Sutherland's version. Son Rowland's Wesleyan Methodist Baptism Record shows his birth in Beverly in December of 1850 and his baptism, also in Beverly, in March of 1851. The family was surely there at least that late. Daughter Ruth's baptism record, ill written, places her birth in Medonte Township in June of 1855 (the entry is such that the year of her baptism is rather questionable), but quoting from her gravestone, she died in May of 1863 at age 7, so this should be correct, or at least it's fair to say that she was age 7 and 11 months. . This suggests that the family moved from Beverly Township to Medonte Township between 1851 and 1855. Why Medonte in Simcoe County? So far, information for this has yet to be found. Cornell's Troy letter does offer a clue, however. It tells that along with having a store, Bryce and nephew Alex were in the lumber business. A move to Medonte, in what at the time would have been the far north, might have offered room for expansion in this business. The 1871 census, on the other hand, shows son Rowland, age 20, in Milton with his mother and half sisters and he is shown as a grocer. Bryce may have been a storekeeper in a village in Medonte. That the family was in Medonte as of the time of Ruth's birth in 1855, is clear enough. Further, Bryce purchased property in the township in January of 1857. Consider the following: See FamilySearch film 008344392, image 349 of 389. (This reel is for abstract indexes of Innisfil & Medonte, pre 1866) South quarter of the east half of Lot 10 in the 9th concession, Medonte (50 acres) B & S (bargain & sale) 16 Jan 1857 / registered 9 March 1858 James Durham et ux (and wife) to Bryce McRoberts Pounds100 S-1/4 of E-1/2 50 acres What happened thereafter, isn't entirely clear, but this piece of property in January of 1863 appears to have gone into the hands of a 'guardian'. and finally to have been sold in 1865. A township map of Medonte from a gazetteer published around 1881 shows concessions and lots. It's confusing, for there is more than one system of numbering the lots. This may represent more than one survey. Add to that, 1881 is some 20 years after the fact of the settling of the McRoberts family. If we suppose that lumber was a motivation for moving to Medonte then there are no obvious nearby railways. Still, lot 10 of the 9th concession appears to be where they located, though certainly not originally. We do not have a record of the marriage of Bryce McRoberts and Margaret Brush Smith, but was probably around 1847 or 1848. She was obviously a widow at the time. See notes for Margaret. Extracted from: Flamborough Obituary Notices 1860-1869, Records from the former townships of Beverly and East and West Flamborough Published by the Waterdown-East Flamborough Heritage Society, Waterdown, Ontario, Sept. 1996, page 8 McRobert: Bryce McRobert, late of Troy, Beverly Township, and for many years a local preacher in the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion Church, died 1st inst., in Medonte Township, aged 50 years. Canada Christian Advocate - 6 June 1860 A transcription of Troy Cemetery indicates that Bryce is buried there. When daughter Ruth died in 1863, she was buried with her father. See notes for wife Margaret with reference to the 1861 census. Bryce McRoberts died of heart disease. |
Children of Bryce McRoberts and Margaret Brush |
|
|
| Last Edited | 20 Aug 2019 |