| Notes |
- Lawrence moved from the Tottenham-Newmarket area to Garafraxa Twp., along with John Monkman, & their father, William Monkman b 1793 - 1878.
. Married 1849 first wife Elizabeth Poole.
Married second wife Martha Ann Felker.
. Life in the Gara
Leaving the village of Fergus, we left the gravel road & turned toward the old Garafraxa mission parsonage, which was 7 miles away. We got along nicely for abut 3 miles. Then we came to a piece of swampy bush, known as "Black Ash Swamp" The bottom of the roadway seemed to have started on a trip to China, & for half a mile the med was almost to the hubs of the wheels. The horses are not used to that sort of work, & most decidedly objected to proceed any further in that way. "stuck in the Mud" was the significant cry of the teamster as he called back to me from his perch on top of the old. Here was a difficulty. The horses had drown the her load for80 miles & were tired. I resolved to seek for help. Going forward through the wood I came to an old farmer named Cassidy. He very cheerfully sent his son with a large strong yoke of oxen to our assistance. The cattle were hitched to the land & in a little while we were thought the long loud hole & on high ground once more. Mr. Cassidy declined to take anything saying that hallways tried when it was in his power, to help those who were in trouble.
While I was away seeking help, two of the Felkers from the vicinity of the parsonage came along on their way home from Fergus. On finding out ho we were, they took our two boys along with them & left them at Mr. Lawrence Monkman's, who lived right beside the house we were going to, so that the news of our coming went ahead of us. We went on & when we came to the place we found Mr. Monkman sitting on the fence waiting for us. We drove the load into the yard & then we all went home with our new friends to stay all night. After tea we all went to the parsonage & unloaded the stuff & put it into the house that was to be our home for the next 2 years. After 2 years of hard work & a good degree of success on the mission & after becoming warmly attached to the people, we had to prepare for our second move to the Elma mission.
3 years & 3 missions later he was reappointed to the Garafraxa mission. … We found improvements in other things as well as roads. The we left there we moved out of an old log house that had been but in the early days of the mission. On coming back we moved into a nice little stone cottage that had been but during the pastorate of Rev J H Watts. On resuming the work on this circuit, I was much pleased with the state of the Church. A large number had been added to the Church since I had left the circuit 3 years before. During my former pastorate on this charge, I received into membership over 100 new convert. It was very encouraging on my return to find most of the still on the way & some filling important positions in the church. Tow or had passed away. We had 2 very pleasant years but were only allowed 2 years' pastorate as a rule.
On the 10 line Garafaxa we had an appointment in a schoolhouse. The settlers were nearly all from the North of Ireland & Anglican. They had no religious services what were furnished by the Methodists. They were a wild, thoughtless & daring lost of men. They were called by the inhabitants around them "tenth line blazers." But for all this, a more warming hearted & generous class of men could not be found as long as they avoided the whiskey & did not get out of temper:" Two memes who had once been Methodists said we are glad that you are going to try to do something for this place, for it is a fact that we are all going to the bad as fast as whiskey bad surroundings can se us. With Mr. & Mrs. Wm. Cotton he held meetings every night for 3 weeks. Sone 60 claimed to be converted. John Conn of the 8th line was also converted.
. CHRISTIAN HOSPITALTIY:
It was while I was traveling the district that I realized fully what Christian hospitality really means. In all the homes I visited during these years, I was not once made to feel that I was not welcome. I never counted them, but I had more than a hundred homes on the Huron District. I will find room for the names of the more prominent owners of these homes:
Garafraxa Circuit: Morris Cook. W Neal, Jas Loree, Wm. Woods., Wm Cotton, Jno own, H Scarrow, Jno. Mitchel, Rev R L Tindall, Mrs D Kyle, Mrs. Burns, W. FELKER, J. FELKER, A. FELKER. A. & D. Feirrier, Jas. Kennedy & R. Everligh.
Circuits include Orangeville, Horninge Mills, Creemore, Collinwood, Meaford, Mount Forest, Listowel, Teeswater, Invermay, Kincardine, Hanover - All Circuit missions served by Rev. J. H. Hilts!
Ref: Experiences of a backwoods preacher, by Rev. Joseph H Hilts, 1887.
[Note: Highly recommended reading for this Garafraxa genealogy, pioneer hardship & humor, AND a good deal of travel in Ontario! P J Ahlberg]
. 1851 August 12, the Episcopal Methodists purchased a lot from Lawrence Monkman for their log church & parsonage. Carmel cemetery was established across the road at lot 15 east side of the 6th line.
Carmel Cemetery was started on the east side of the road, & a log parsonage was built on the west side of the road on land purchased from Caleb Travis.
The log church & school were built in 1864. When the new stone Methodist Church was erected in 1872 complete with balcony, it was in the "churchyard". When Church Union came in 1925, Carmel Methodist Church was closed. In 1939, the church was demolished, but the original front step of the church was left in place, to form the front step of the Memorial Chapel.
Ref: West Garafraxa Twp. Methodist Churches (Ontario). - - - [1]
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1828 - 1868 (40 years)