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Island History
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![[Minerva Drumgool]](images/rminerva.jpg)
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Minerva Drumgool
Watercolour by Shirley
Miller |
Visitors quickly recognize the Island is steeped in history,
where the past is still visible and
embraced. Its oral histories, genealogy and academic research
per capita surpasses
all other Ontario townships but then, its very size and
distinctiveness attracts this inquiry.
The name Isle Tonti still lingers from the French
period, Henri Tonti was LaSalle's
lieutenant; both searched for China. Settlement of the Bay of
Quinte region and the Island dates
to the Loyalist period, following that unfortunate American
Rebellion 1776-83 [Editor's Note: This is obviously a
very late Loyalist speaking]. Sir John Johnson,
the most influential Loyalist leader, was granted the entire
Island in 1788. The legacy of his
feudal ownership and administration dominated the community for
nearly a century.
The early community was composed of numerous wealthy Loyalists,
some late loyalists, and a
proportion of French Canadian fishermen. These settlers of the
Island frontier had been
attracted by its accessability, water was virtually the only
transportation in the Loyalist
period. The shoreline of the Island was settled by the close of
the 1820's. An Irish wave of
immigration to the Island followed, with the population peaking
at 2,000 in 1842. The Island was
a convenient stepping stone; almost urban in accessibility, and
its Estate policy encouraged
temporary residency. Most moved on to the frontiers of Ontario
and the American Midwest. The
Island became insular, independent and conservative when the
monopoly of marine transportation
was surpassed by mainland roads and railroads.
Visitors today appreciate that the Island community still
reflects an earlier time. Many
descendants of those 19th century Islanders are retracing their
ancestor's steps and
rediscovering their Island heritage.
- Discovery Tour of Amherst Island 1982 Guide
- Walking Tour of Historic Stella
-
Tales of Amherst Island
- Historic Stone Houses of Amherst Island
- Amherst Island: a Detailed Survey circa 1790
and Land Ownership
- A New Lease on Life: Landlords, Tenants, and Immigrants in
Ireland and Canada
- Early Residents of Amherst Isle
- Genealogy
- History of the Brother Islands
- research in progress
For genealogy information
please click here
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