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Chapter
34 |
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Of this family name there were two distinct and yet strangely united families, the families of two cousins, Jabez and Timothy. Before the war of the Revolution they lived in New Jersey, and the families were very intimate. Four of the daughters of Timothy Culver did not require to change their name when they married, for their husbands were the four sons of Jabez. The names of the daughters were Anna, Elizabeth, Marian and Martha; and the sons, Jabez, Aaron, John and Gabriel. That was surely a strong family combination. The first Culver family to settle in Norfolk was that of Jabez Culver. They left New Jersey in 1793, and made the journey on foot, arriving in the township of Townsend in March of the next year. They are thus one of the earliest pioneer families. Rev. Jabez Culver was an ordained Presbyterian minister when he came to Norfolk, and by 1806 he had the Presbyterian church of the new settlement fully organized, though the services had to be held at his own house for many years. The old gentleman settled in Windham, but his sons in Townsend. Jabez Culver did not take any active part against the Americans in their struggle for independence, but Timothy Culver was in regular service. However, he seems to have been unmolested after the war, for he did not flee to Canada, but remained in New Jersey till 1796. In 1795 Mr. And Mrs. Timothy Culver walked all the way from New Jersey to visit their daughters and sons-in-law in Norfolk County. They were so pleased with the new district that they determined to move there themselves, and this they did in the early spring of 1796.
The U. E. Loyalist records show the following grants of land to the
four daughters of Timothy Culver, all under date of the Order-in-Council,
14th November, 1799: In 1795 Governor Simcoe, during his visit to Turkey Point, granted to Aaron Culver water privileges on Patterson’s Creek, and a mill was built there within the limits of the present town of Simcoe. The mill was enlarged a few years later and became one of the most important in the Long Point district. When the war of 1812-14 broke out, it was owned in partnership by Aaron Culver and E. Woodruff. During "McArthur’s raid" of November, 1814, it shared the fate of four other flouring mills, and was totally destroyed. In the report of the Loyal and Patriotic Society of that year the loss of Mr. Culver and Mr. Woodruff is mentioned to be £1,751 5s. As McArthur’s Raid will be mentioned in more than one chapter, it may be interesting to devote a few lines to a connected statement of its course. General McArthur had about 1,500 troops when he invaded the province from Detroit. He had proceeded as far as the Grand River when, fearing troops from the east, he turned southward and took up a position at Malcolm’s Mills, now known by the name of Oakland. The Norfolk militia, commanded by Major Salmon, marched out to attack them. The forces met on the banks of the river which flows through Oakland. Before the engagement the wily American sent a detachment unnoticed down the river; hence the British troops were attacked both front and rear and quickly routed. The battle is sadly spoken of to-day by the old settlers as the "foot race." The victorious army of McArthur then marched to Waterford, burning the mills there — Avery’s and Sovereign’s. A detachment also came through Simcoe ravaging and plundering. Thence the ravagers marched to Lyndock [sic], and the whole force being reunited, retreated by the Bostwick Road to Talbot Street, and along the highway to Detroit.* The members of the various branches of the Culver families have always taken an important part in the affairs of the townships in which they reside.
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From The United Empire Loyalist Settlement at Long Point, Lake Erie by L.
H. Tasker, 1900 Copyright 2000-2004 John Cardiff |