| Notes |
- . 1837 Toronto city & Home District Directory:
10, Lot 14 (E 1/2), ) Oro Twp., Simcoe County, Noah Cotton.
Note1: 1837 is also the year sister Mary Cotton settled into Garafraxa Twp, Wellington Co., with her second husband Henry Catchpole. -PJA
. Birth: Apr. 24, 1789, Suffolk, England, Death: Apr. 27, 1877, Oro-Medonte Twp., Ontario, Canada
Noah Cotton was born to Samuel Cotton & Mary Moore. He had one sister, Mary. He married Rhoda Bee on 1 October 1811 in Henham, Suffolk, England. They had nine children: Samuel, Phoebe, Jane, Sarah, Eliza, Robert, Simeon James, Kezia Bee, & Caroline.
Near the Middle Crossroad & in the vicinity of East Oro, a number of families from Englnad settled in the early years of the township's history. Jos. Pearce, of Yorkshire, Samuel Jermey, Henry Crawrford, & Noah Cotton, Lot 14, Con 10, East half. Of these, at least 2 were natives of Suffolk county: Jermey & Cotton. Samuel Cotton, a son of this pioneer died Aug 10, 1892, in his 86th year. Noah cotton settled before 1837 on L14, C10, Oro.
Ref: A History of Simcoe County & Its Pioneers, Vol. II, A F Hunter.
. Noah Cotton was born in the county of Suffolk, England. He had been associated with non-conformist churches for many years. They left England along with his wife & most of his children in 1831. The family crossed Lake Simcoe in an open boat, the Orillia Packet, landing at Kempenfeldt when there was one house in Barrie & taking up his residence in Oro Township, at East 1/2 Lot 14, Concession 10. Here he witnessed & took part in the changes of nearly half a century.
Ref: Kith 'N Kin, by Editor: Joanna McEwen, Oro Twp. Historical Society, 1978.
. Publisher's Note2: In the spring of 1897 I began a series of trips a-wheel through rural Ontario. These trips were undertaken with the object of obtaining first-hand information, for publication in the columns of the Weekly Sun regarding actual conditions on the farms in the province, published 1897 to 1914. This information was carried in the memories of men & women then still living ... & information gather at a later date.
... but the World War halted our plans. We now launch this first volume that will show by what suffering, heroism & dogged determination the foundations of the Cdn. provinces were laid. Wm. L. Smith.
. 1837 City of Toronto Home District Directory
Noah Cotton, Con 10, Lot 14, Oro Top, Simcoe Co., &
Henry Crawford, Con 10, Lot 14, Oro Twp., Simcoe Co. [ Is this a printing error? - PJA]
Ontario Land Registry Office Abstracts, Simcoe County,
Lot 14 East Half, Concession 10, Oro Twp., Book 231-232, p151.
. 1844 Oct 3, Patent, Crown, to Noah Cotton, $1000., EHalf 100 Acres;
. 1872 Oct 1, Mortgage, Samuel Cotton Sr. etux, Sr, to James McLean, of Oro, $1,000., EHalf, 100 Acres.
. 1876 Jan 20, Bargain&Sale, Noah Cotton of Oro, to Margaret Cotton, wife of Samuel Cotton, of Oro, $200, E 100 A.
. 1877 Feb 24, Mortg. Sam. Cotton & Margaret Cotton, his wife of Oro, to the North of Scotland M. Co., $2000.
. 1877 Mar 24, D of M, James McLean of Oro, to Sam. Cotton, of Oro, Discharge No. 68710.
. 1887 Jan 2, Mortg., Margaret Cotton & Samuel Cotton, her husband of Oro, Thos. McCorkey of Barrie, $800, East 100A.
. 1887 Jan 27, D of M, North of S. Cdn. Mortgage. Co., to Sam. Cotton of Oro, - Discharge of #61.
. 1894 Jun 7, Mort., Marg Cotton, of Oro, Widow, to Wm J Scott of Oro, $400, E 100A Regt.
. 1894 Jun 7, Reg. 1894 July 3, Discharge, Ben R Conkey, to Margaret Cotton of Oro,
. 1895 Apr 3, Disc. of Mortgage, Marg. Cotton of Oro, widow, to Wm J Scott of Oro, $400 & 1200, E 100A.
. 1896 Sep 29, Marg Cotton of Oro, widow, to Wm J Scott, $380, E100A.
. 1897 Apr 8, Release of Equity of Redemption, Marg Cotton, to W J Scott, $520.30, Mortgages dated 1897. Apr 6 & Sept 29 respectively.
. 1896 Apr 6, D of M, Annie Pulmoneau? of Oro, to Margaret Cotton of Oro Widow, $400
. 1902 Apr 26, D of M, Margaret Cotton of Oro, spinster, to Wm J Scott, Disc. # 5535. { last Cotton entry. - PJA 2018.
. 1952 Oct 22, Treasurer of Ontario, Estate of Wm J Scott, Land in no 5534.
A TEMPERANCE TOWNSHIP
. About 1868 descendants of the Oro pioneers undertook in turn the work of pioneering in the country adjacent to where the Nottawasaga River enters Georgian Bay. Among those who took part in this movement were the Langmans, Cottons, Andersons, Lockes, Hunters, & Camerons. These, locating in what was then unbroken bush, formed the settlement of which Crossland is now the centre.
"When we located," said Noah Cotton, one of these Flos pioneers, "there was nothing but a lumberman's road to Elmvale, 5 miles away. In the first fall after our arrival we managed to get in 5 acres of fall wheat. Although we suffered nothing like the hardships met with by the first settlers in neighbouring townships that were opened up at an earlier period, we had it hard enough. On my way home from Elmvale with my first grist I had to drive a good part of the way through mud that in many places flowed over the top of the jumper.* The tails of the oxen, standing out straight behind, actually floated over this slimy mass & the bags of flour were coated with mud.
Note3*: Jumper i.e. not a wagon with wheels, but Noah was standing on the flat wooden sledge. - PJA.]
"The first the threshing-machine in the section was owned by a man named Richard Whittaker, & 4 oxen provided the power for operating it. When anyone wanted the machine he had to haul it to his own place. Almost every night, after working in the field all day, John, a neighbour, & his men came over to my place for a stag dance in the evening. With an old violin I furnished music for the others. One night, when John was putting in a few extra touches on the dance, there was a sudden crash & the fancy stepper shot through a hole in the floor into the cellar. He had stepped on a knot that extended almost all the way across one board in the floor & this gave way under his weight. But, bless you, that did not stop the dance. With a yell like an Indian, John jumped out of the cellar & in a moment was at it again, harder than ever.
"No whiskey was ever seen at raising or bee in this section. Twelve years before we came here a temperance lodge had been formed at Colin Gilchrist's home in Oro. My brother, sister, myself, & others joined that lodge, & we brought our principles with us. To that fact is largely due the prosperity of the settlement."
Mrs. Cotton told of the woman's side of it. "I was here 2 weeks before I saw another woman," she said. "My first visitor was Miss Langman, & she had to tramp 2 miles through the bush in order to make the call. She blazed the trail with a draw-knife as she came so as to be sure of finding her way home again. One night while my husband was away, an Indian, who had been hunting all day without success, came in & asked for food & shelter. I was frightened at first, but, after eating, he curled himself up beside the stove & slept quietly until morning.
"One of the most serious dangers to which the early settlers were exposed was bush fires," she continued. "Some years after the work of clearing had been carried on in Flos, bush fires swept over the township. Henry Thurston had the hair burned from his head as the flames swept past him, & my husband, caught in a roadway with a roaring furnace in the bush on each side, threw a blanket over a child in the bottom of the wagon & then raced for life to the open clearings beyond. At least one life was lost, William Kerr being burned to death while fighting off the fires that menaced his buildings.
Ref: The Pioneers of Old Ontario, by Wm. L Smith, 1923.
. 1869 - A general store with a post office was soon opened at the hamlet of Crossland, situated at the corner of con 7 & 15th Sideraod. With the arrival of the railroad in Elmvale, 5 miles distant in 1879, development of the township took off. The first Presbyterian service of worship in the Crossland area was held in 1869 in the one of Mr. & Mrs. Noah Cotton & subsequently twice yearly. The Knowx Burying Ground was & is still, referred as the Cameron Cemetery.
Ref: Knox, Flo, Presbyterian Church, Carole Huth, 2014.
. The Descents of Noah Cotton, Pioneers of Oro, Flos & South Orillia Townships, Simcoe County, Ontario, Cotton, Larry Donald.
Obituary:
. NOAH COTTON, DIED - On the 27th ult., Mr. Noah Cotton:
The men & women who transformed our wild forests into the abodes of civilization, are melting away as rapidly as snow in the summer sunshine. Mr. Cotton makes the third of those in this vicinity who have passed from earth during the present spring.
He was born in the County of Suffolk & left England along with his wife & most of his children in 1831, crossed Lake Simcoe in an open boat, landing at Kempenfeldt when there was but one house in Barrie, & taking up his residence in Oro Township where he witnessed & took part in the changes of near half a century. Handsome, tall & straight, he maintained his mental & physical powers almost to the last, & till past the allotted 3 score & 10 his appearance was a pattern to our young men, whose less healthy habits & more artificial life will never allow them to see the age attained by him. His death, easy, painless, & without disease, was simply the running down of the machinery.
On the last morning of his life his voice seemed as strong as usual, when he called the family & chided them for lying in bed till 5! He dressed, washed & breakfasted as usual. At dinner he declined to eat, & in the afternoon sat down to rest, & departed this life imperceptibly & without a struggle. Although his children were not very numerous, his descendants would now people a large district of country, & his great grandchildren number between 30 & forty.
Ref: The Orillia Packet, published May 4, 1877.
. For further research: Cottons, England, Pioneer Family, Wangford,, Suffolk, Cottons, England, Pioneer Family, Wangford, Suffolk, Author unknown, 1987. Where the Cottons of Oro Twp., Simcoe Ontario originated.
Noah H Cotton wife Rhoda Bee were buried in Knows Presbyterian Cemetery, Oro-Medonte Twp, on Con 9, Lot 10, & the Cotton farm was on Con 10, Lot 14, Oro Twp.
Transcriptions by PJ Ahlberg. Thank you. - - - [1, 2]
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1789 - 1877 (88 years)