Move to the Western District

Archibald sought suitable land for farming in Warwick, Ontario in 1834. "I procured five hundred acres at soldier's rights for fifty cents per acre in Warwick, District of Canada, thirty miles east of Port Sarnia and thirty-five miles west of New London."(1) He worked that summer clearing the land, and then returned to Dalhousie for the winter. This would explain why the government surveyor recorded in December 1834 that Robert Gardner was still on his land, but was going to the Western District.(2)

During the summer of 1835, William and Archibald worked together to clear and plant the land in Warwick, and the remainder of the family joined them in the fall of 1835. For the next two years, Archibald worked at the family home, but by November 1836, he applied for land in Brooke Township in order to build grist and saw mills for the community. A land petition from the Crown Lands Department of Ontario includes Archibald's original request on 24 Nov 1836, his renewed request on 21 Feb 1837, and the order given to auction the land on condition that a grist and saw mill were in operation within three years, which was recorded 10 May 1837.

In describing the process of building the grist mill, Archibald stated, "Work was commenced but due to the Patriot War, all the men quit work and the dam being left at a critical time, flushed out. Nothing remained of a summer's work but the mill frame. Next spring there was a prospect of peace and I commenced anew. Work began on the 27th of March and on the 17th of July I ground my first grist."(3) According to what I have read, the Patriot War or the Rebellion of 1837 occurred at the end of 1837 and early 1838. Because of the dates in the land file and the timing of the local rebellion, it would seem that the summer of lost work was 1837, and the summer the grist mill was completed was 1838. At that time, Archibald was a 23 year old single, young man with a debt of $3300.00. He said, "I worked in and out of water, both day and night alone. All the sleep I got was while the wheat in the hopper held out. I did this for five months to pay off expenses and get clear of debt. I then built a saw mill which filled the other great community need and got along well having custom for thirty miles around."(4) It would appear that he completed the two mills well before the three year deadline.

Google map of Canadian locations associated with the Gardner family.


1. Delila Gardner Hughes, The Life of Archibald Gardner (West Jordan, Utah: Alpine Publishing Co., 1970), 12.

2. "Report Lanark Settlement, 1834," Military Settlement, Soldiers and Emigrants, p. 31 (FHL #1,319,967 item 10).

3. Hughes, The Life of Archibald Gardner, 17.

4. Hughes, The Life of Archibald Gardner, 17, 18.

A Note About William Gardner

While researching the records of Dalhousie, I found that Archibald's older brother, William, was enrolled in the local militia.

"Under the Militia Act of 1793 . . . each male inhabitant aged 16 to 50 was required to enroll his name as a militiaman and attend annual muster on the King's birthday, 4 June. Each captain was required to present his colonel with a written roll for transmission to the Lieutenant Governor within 14 days of 4 June . . ."(1)

"On 7 November 1828 the Adjutant General's Department of Upper Canada ordered the officers commanding each regiment of the province's sedentary militia to submit a nominal roll of the men in their units from 19 to 39 years of age."(2)

At the time of the 1828 nominal roll, William was 25 years old, and his father, Robert, was 47 years old. According to the Militia Act, both were required to attend the annual militia muster. However, the nominal roll that year only required the listing of men from 19 to 39, so Robert was not listed. William was numbered in the 1st Regiment Lanark Militia in Captain Cumming's Company. This company was from Dalhousie.

1. Bruce S. Elliott, et al., Men of Upper Canada Militia Nominal Rolls, 1828-29 (Toronto, Ontario: Ontario Genealogical Society, 1995), iii-iv.

2. Elliott, Men of Upper Canada, iii.

Twelve Years in Dalhousie

As mentioned in a previous post, Robert Gardner received 100 acres and money advancements to help the family get established in their new home in Dalhousie, Upper Canada. After his first six months, Robert owed the Scottish government ₤26 13s. 4d., which was repayable in ten years.(1)

After ten years of working the land, the Lanark settlers petitioned the government in 1831 to forgive the debts they owed on their advanced money. The land had been much poorer than expected, and many of the settlers had not been able to raise the funds necessary to repay their debts. Because of this petition, a surveyor was assigned to examine and report on the lands, which was completed by the end of December 1834. Based on this report, the debts of the 1820-1821 settlers of Lanark were forgiven in January of 1836. The 1834 surveyor's report indicated that Robert Gardner was currently on his land, but he was going to the Western District. His lot was described as "like the last," which was a reference to the previous lot described as "broken, rocky land."(2)

1. Ontario Crown Lands Department, "Account of Monies Advanced to Lanark Settlers" (Vol. 107) 1820-1822: in Land Records ca. 1792-1876 (Salt Lake City: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1982-1984), Hamilton Emigration Society, Robert Gardner entry. (FHL #1,319,967 item 9)

2. Ontario Crown Lands Department, "C. Rankins Report on the Lanark Settlement (Vol. 108)" in Land Records ca. 1792-1876 (Salt Lake City: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1982-1984). (FHL #1,319,967 item 10)

Additional Migration Details

Archibald Gardner began writing his autobiography on 10 April 1857. His family had migrated from Scotland to Canada almost 35 years earlier, and his writings have a large blot over the year he recorded. Family tradition has stated the migration year as 1822 for Robert, William, and Mary, and 1823 for Margaret and the rest of the children. However, historical records document Robert's migration in 1821.

Robert, William and Mary were passengers on the Commerce,(1) which sailed from Greenock, Scotland on 11 May 1821, arriving in Quebec on 20 Jun 1821.(2) Robert's land grant was dated 15 Jul 1821,(3) which also documents his arrival that year. Archibald stated that he sailed on the Buckinham the year after his father left, which supports the conclusion that his mother brought the remaining children on the Earl of Buckinghamshire in 1822. This ship sailed from Greenock on 28 May 1822 and arrived in Quebec on 5 July 1822, as recorded in the Montreal Gazette. The website documenting the ship's arrival also has a deck plan for the ship. Archibald stated that their passage was five weeks and three days, which matches exactly the sailing dates for this ship's voyage in 1822.

1. David Dobson, Directory of Scottish Settlers in North America, 1625-1825 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1984-93), 5:97.

2. Carol Bennett, The Lanark Society Settlers, 1820-1821 (Renfrew, Ont: Juniper Books, 1991), 10.

3. Military Settlement, Soldiers and Emigrants, 62 (FHL #1,319,966 item 3).

Margaret's emigration to Canada

A year after Robert Gardner emigrated to Canada, the rest of his family boarded a ship to join him. He traveled seventy-two miles on foot to meet the ship because he had heard that twenty-five wives of the society settlers were arriving. He did not know whether his family was on that ship. However, the year before, the families had hoped that the wives and children could follow the next spring. After the migrations of 1821 were completed, Robert Lamond wrote:

"As many families were divided last spring, on account of their inability to raise money sufficient for emigrating, but who may now have procured the necessary assistance, we cannot doubt, but Government will graciously afford them an opportunity of joining their friends, next spring."(1)

Archibald wrote in his autobiography that his family sailed on the Buckinham. It is likely that the ship was actually the Earl of Buckinghamshire. This ship was chartered by the government to take the settlers to Canada in 1821. If that was the ship said to be arriving with twenty-five wives, Robert would have known that it was one of the ships the government was using, increasing the chance that his family was on it. With excitement and hope that his family would arrive safely and join him after so many months of separation, Robert walked the seventy-two miles to meet the arriving ship. Carol Bennett, author of The Lanark Society Settlers, wrote:

"In many cases, families had become divided by the move to Canada. Some husbands travelled alone, or accompanied by older sons, planning to send for their wives and children later. In several cases wives stayed in Scotland because they were pregnant, or because a child was too ill to be moved. We can imagine the anguish caused by such separation. Strangely enough, when these family members came out to Canada the following year, their passage was not automatic; they had to petition the government and show proof that their husbands or fathers were already established there."(2)

It would appear that Margaret was required to go through a process of proving that part of her family had already gone to Upper Canada, in order to obtain permission for the rest of them to follow in 1822. Boarding a ship and crossing the ocean with her three remaining children would have been a significant challenge, especially after learning that her daughter Mary had almost died of smallpox on a ship the year before. She had no idea where her husband had settled in Upper Canada, but she went on faith that she could find him. Robert had no idea if Margaret was on the arriving ship, but he walked seventy-two miles in hopes that they were.

1. Robert Lamond, Narrative of the Rise & Progress of Emigration, from the Counties of Lanark & Renfrew, to the New Settlements in Upper Canada (Glasgow: Chalmers & Collins, 1821), 112.

2. Carol Bennett, The Lanark Society Settlers, 1820-1821 (Renfrew, Ont: Juniper Books, 1991), 8.