The naming of William, Zachariah 's first son is how Zachariah would honour the man who had been good to him as a slave and to the man who had set him free. Zachariah had only the best of intents and hopes in giving William the middle name Ernest. He would name the rest of his sons after himself (as a second name only as was the Watts tradition), Annabella 's father, her grandfather and John Patterson but most importantly after all (with one exception) of William Watts brothers, Zachariah 's white ‘uncles ' and some of his favourite white ‘cousins '. The important exception was Washington. Zachariah would have no Washington as a son - a form of silent protest to a man disliked. All the girls were to be named from Annabella 's side.
For a few …show more content…
To get to Parry Sound from Collingwood the Watts and McDougall’s had to board the newly built Waubuno. This bi-weekly steamer was the only way to access Parry Sound as the road between Parry Sound and Bracebridge was only just being cut. As they neared the Harbour, Zachariah and family would have seen some of the 30,000 islands and got a first glimpse of the stoic pines growing on the Shield rocks – the rocks and little soil that would make farming a serious challenge to any farmer. This Sound along with Parry Harbour consisted of the nine year old Gibson Mill, Beatty’s half log and half framed small general store and a dozen or so log shanties. On approaching the docks, a flurry of horse drawn wagons would have jockeyed for position as the first in line got loaded first and hence more likely to have the provision list filled. The enormity of the task of starting up anew would be clear to the two families well before disembarking. Within months after arrival Annabella gave birth to Florence on August 10, 1867. It is not hard to imagine how busy they would be with two babies and a homestead that needed …show more content…
This amount of wool was the entire production of Foley Township for the year and half the production of the entire Sound area. Clearly, grazing sheep, at this time, was not a good idea. The Watts family also produced 10% of Foley 's maple syrup in having 70 lbs of it. Unlike half of the neighbouring settler 's Zachariah was not into hunting but had a rather large amount (for the area) of butter, 264 lbs and cloth, 40 yards. Sixty five yards was the Sounds entire output. Perhaps some of the old Scottish hand weaving expertise was being employed by Annabella. This
farm was doing well in comparison with the rest of Foley. Of the 149 farms in Foley in 1870 Zachariah was the 8th highest for clearing and improving the land, ranked 4th for the most amount of spring wheat and 10th for the amount of oats - and he did not have a son old enough to help as many others did. Clearly he was working hard, something he was used to doing. The amount of work was very impressive and required adaptation to the climate as the Parry Sound area is in a significant snow belt and a lot cooler than Pike County, Missouri. Evidently his Nottawasaga experience could be employed. Also there was far less soil and uneven terrain due to the Canadian Shield making farming
For a few …show more content…
To get to Parry Sound from Collingwood the Watts and McDougall’s had to board the newly built Waubuno. This bi-weekly steamer was the only way to access Parry Sound as the road between Parry Sound and Bracebridge was only just being cut. As they neared the Harbour, Zachariah and family would have seen some of the 30,000 islands and got a first glimpse of the stoic pines growing on the Shield rocks – the rocks and little soil that would make farming a serious challenge to any farmer. This Sound along with Parry Harbour consisted of the nine year old Gibson Mill, Beatty’s half log and half framed small general store and a dozen or so log shanties. On approaching the docks, a flurry of horse drawn wagons would have jockeyed for position as the first in line got loaded first and hence more likely to have the provision list filled. The enormity of the task of starting up anew would be clear to the two families well before disembarking. Within months after arrival Annabella gave birth to Florence on August 10, 1867. It is not hard to imagine how busy they would be with two babies and a homestead that needed …show more content…
This amount of wool was the entire production of Foley Township for the year and half the production of the entire Sound area. Clearly, grazing sheep, at this time, was not a good idea. The Watts family also produced 10% of Foley 's maple syrup in having 70 lbs of it. Unlike half of the neighbouring settler 's Zachariah was not into hunting but had a rather large amount (for the area) of butter, 264 lbs and cloth, 40 yards. Sixty five yards was the Sounds entire output. Perhaps some of the old Scottish hand weaving expertise was being employed by Annabella. This
farm was doing well in comparison with the rest of Foley. Of the 149 farms in Foley in 1870 Zachariah was the 8th highest for clearing and improving the land, ranked 4th for the most amount of spring wheat and 10th for the amount of oats - and he did not have a son old enough to help as many others did. Clearly he was working hard, something he was used to doing. The amount of work was very impressive and required adaptation to the climate as the Parry Sound area is in a significant snow belt and a lot cooler than Pike County, Missouri. Evidently his Nottawasaga experience could be employed. Also there was far less soil and uneven terrain due to the Canadian Shield making farming