"The grants were made free of expense and upon the following scale: A field-officer received 5,000 acres; a captain, 3,000; a subaltern, 2,000; and a private soldier, 200 acres. A survey was accordingly made, commencing near Lake St. Francis, then the highest French settlement, and extended along the shores of the St. Lawrence up to Lake Ontario, and thence along the lake, and round the Bay of Quinté. Townships were laid out, and then subdivided into concessions and lots of 200 acres. These townships were numbered, but remained without names for many years afterwards. Of these numbers there were two divisions—one including the townships below Kingston on the river, east to the St. Francis settlement; the others from Kingston, west to the head of the Bay of Quinté. This will at once explain to you the reason why the old people used to talk of first, second, third, fourth town, etc., as far back as we can remember and up to the present. No names were given to the townships by legal proclamation, as we said before, until long after they were settled, and hence the habit was formed of designating them by numbers.
"The settlement of the surveyed portion of the Midland district, so named because of its then central position, commenced in the summer of 1784. The new settlers were supplied with farming utensils, building materials, provisions, and some clothing, for the two first years, at the expense of the nation; and in order that the love of country may take deeper root in the hearts of these true men, the Government determined to put a mark of honour, as the Orders of Council expressed it, upon the families who had adhered to the unity of the empire, and joined the Royal standard in America before the treaty of separation in the year 1783. A list of such persons was directed in 1789 to be made out and returned, to the end that their posterity might be discriminated from the future settlers. From these two emphatic words, the Unity of the Empire, it was styled the U.E. List, and they whose names were entered upon it were distinguished as U.E. Loyalists. You are aware of the fact that this was not a mere empty distinction, but was, in reality, a title of some consequence; for it not only provided for the U.E.'s themselves, but guaranteed unto all their children, upon arriving at the age of twenty-one years, 200 acres of land free from all expense. I always look back on these early acts of the English nation with the fathers of this growing Canada with pleasure, and I venerate the memory of those true and noble-hearted men, who loved their fatherland so well that they even preferred to live under the protection of her flag in the wild woods of Canada, and endure hunger and want, than enjoy the comforts of home under the banner of a rebellious but now independent people. And I hope, ladies and gentlemen, that we, the sons and daughters of those whom our mother country was wont to honour, may never love our country and its institutions less than they.
"Kingston is the oldest Upper Canadian town by many years. Here the white man found his way over a century before any settlement was made or thought of. The crafty and industrious French Governor, De Courcelles, in order to check the encroachments of the Five Nations, despatched a messenger from Quebec to their chiefs, stating that he had some business of great importance to communicate, and desired them to proceed to Cataraqui, where he would meet them. (I observe here that Cataraqui is an Indian name, and means 'Rocks above water.') As soon as the deputies of the Indians arrived, a Council was held. The Governor informed them that he was going to build a fort there, simply to facilitate the trade between them and to serve as a depot for merchandise. The chiefs, ignorant of the real intent of the design, readily agreed to a proposition which seemed to be intended for their advantage; but this, so far from being the case, or what the Indians expected, was really to be a barrier against them in future wars. While measures were being completed to build the fort, Courcelles was recalled and Count de Frontenac sent out in his place. Frontenac carried out the designs of his predecessor and completed the fort in 1672, which received and retained his name for many years. Kingston was subsequently substituted, and the county received the name of Frontenac."
Letters from the late Rev. George J. Ryerse, dated June 12th and June 23rd, 1861, give some particulars of his father's coming to Canada, and of the earliest settlement of the London District.
His father, Colonel Samuel Ryerse, was appointed Lieutenant of the county, and authorized to organize the militia and appoint the officers, as also the local civil court, of which he was the first Judge. The following letters indicate what he sacrificed and endured for his allegiance to the unity of the empire, and for which allegiance he and thousands of others were banished from the United States and their property confiscated; but the writer has never heard a word from any one of these veteran Loyalists regretting the part he had taken:
"Port Ryerse, 12th June, 1861.
"My Dear Cousin,—
"I received your circular some time since, but, through forgetfulness, I did not at once give an answer. I am highly gratified with your noble undertaking, and humbly trust that you may live to succeed and be amply rewarded. I am sorry that I have no documents that would be of use to you. You are aware of the staunch loyalty that was inherent in our parents, that made them sacrifice everything out of regard for the British Throne, and endure every privation in their early settlement in this country. It was in 1794 my father came here, and gave orders to his family that if he should decease while on his way through the United States, to take his body to British soil for burying. At that time there were but eight families residing within thirty miles of this place, except Indians; no roads; the nearest mill 100 miles distant by water (at Niagara Falls). My father purchased corn of the Indians at the Grand River, thirty miles from home, and carried it home on his shoulders. Afterwards he bought a yoke of oxen of the Indians, and on a toboggin sled put his son, and with his axe and compass made his way through the woods and streams to his beloved home. Two years afterwards he built a saw mill, and afterwards a grist mill. These nearly proved his ruin, not understanding the business, and very little to sustain them; they were badly built, and proved a bother to him, but still a great help to the settlement for a long time. Merchandise was so very expensive and produce so very cheap that the early settlers could barely exist; but they loved their country, and they have gone to their rest, and I feel proud that so many of their children inherit their spirit.
"I am, yours truly,
"George J. Ryerse.