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St. Clair is a township in Lambton County in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located immediately south of the City of Sarnia, along the eastern shores of the St. Clair River. St. Clair is a modern township or municipality, replacing the townships of Moore and Sombra. The map of Lambton County circa 1951 from Ontario Archives locates the individual townships, city, towns and villages of the county. (Click at the bottom of the page to see the map enlarged.) A sketchmap from Ontario GenWeb provides a simple illustration of the location of the townships. [edit] History
The Ojibwe First Nation occupied this area for thousands of years prior to European encounter. As French traders, missionaries and farmers spread out from the Atlantic coast along the waterways, some French and French-Canadian colonists began to settle here in the mid-1700s. They rented land from the Ojibwe. To the south of the Detroit River, their early community was known as Petite Côte. Early maps show the typical colonial French lots, with narrow frontage along the river. They were located near a Jesuit mission village and a Huron settlement. [edit] CorunnaIn 1823, Lord Hicks was directed on an expedition to survey lands. He surveyed the town site of Corunna, naming it after the Battle of Corunna in Spain. Later, William Carr Beresford was sent on a mission to find a suitable capital for a future union between the colonies of Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec). He had also served in Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. The town's name indirectly honors Beresford's commander in that battle, Sir John Moore (general), who was mortally wounded at Corunna, Spain, in a fight with French forces as the English tried to embark on their ships for retreat to Great Britain. Corunna was not chosen for the new capital, as it was considered vulnerable due to being too close to the Canada–US border. In the 1820s–1830s, the prospect of an Irish Fenian raid from the United States was considered a serious threat to the British colonies. Today, a small stone cairn stands along Baird Street, near the CSX north-south train track that divides the town. The cairn marks the spot where Beresford's survey crews had proposed to build St. George's Square, an area to house parliament buildings. Beresford named most of the streets after military officers who had earlier served with him. The dimensions of these streets that now make up the downtown: Beckwith, Beresford, Baird, Fane, Paget, Lyndoch, Cameron, Bentinck, Colborne, Hill, Murray, etc., follow some of the original specifications set out by Beresford's survey crew as part of the plans to create a capital. From the 1820s on in the nineteenth century, decades after the British took over Canada after their defeat of France in the Seven Years' War, Corunna was settled by a wave of British settlers, particularly Scots-Irish. One early settler was James Cruickshank, who settled in 1834 south of Corunna on the Eighth Line near Kimball Side Road. A plaque to commemorate his early contribution to the township was installed in a Corunna park on Beresford Street, on land donated by his descendants. New residents developed grist mills, saw mills, and taverns, all considered integral to the new community. Entrepreneurs wanted to build a canal through Corunna, but it was abandoned soon after construction, as operators could not maintain consistent water levels. The early history of the town is spotty, but some accounts suggest a brewery briefly operated here. In the 1920s and 1930s, the village supported some local retail stores. A general store was on the west side of Lyndoch, north of Hill, where an Esso station later stood. The site now has a dentist's office. Billy Locke ran Billy's Bunnery. Billy Garoch had another general store on the Lyndoch and Hill corner where the liquor store is now. This later was known as MacRae's store and closed in the early 1960s. Billy Garoch also had an ice house to the east of his store, in the old school that had been moved from Lyndoch near the present Roses Variety Store. Some historic structures remain in Corunna, revealing its past. The town's Roman Catholic church, St. Joseph's, was built in 1862. Its wooden structure is bolstered by enormous trunks of the area's original trees, which were squared off and put in place to build the church. Several 1800s-vintage homes remain in the town as well. [edit] Baby's PointBaby's Point is the extreme southern point of Lambton County. Kayla Baby owned all the land from this point, and all of Port Lambton site, which he inherited from his grandfather in 1742. His brother James Baby also lived there. In 1848 Edward Kelly was appointed as the first postmaster at Baby's Point. After 1812, more French Canadians started to settle along the St. Clair River. They did not have legal title to the land, as the border with the United States was under dispute by Great Britain. When Irish immigrants began to move in about 1833, the French sold their squatters rights. The First Nations people, long the original inhabitants of all this area, were prevented by the Province from selling their land without official approval. Soon after 1812, the Province arranged for legal land sales to people along the St. Clair River. In the spring of 1820, Duncan McDonald built the first frame house. A post office opened in 1871, and was at one time known as Lambton Village. Rural mail was first delivered in 1908, and all mail routes completed in January 1909. The first Sacred Heart Church was built at Baby's Butt Point around 1825. It burned. Fr. Monocq was drowned January 12, 1861, and his body was found in 1862. Fr. Monocq was buried beneath the altar of the first Port Lambton Church. His memorial plaque was on the right hand of the side altar. The Sacred Heart Church, Port Lambton, was built in 1877. Martin Regan was the first person baptised there, in December 1877. In the 1960s the church was demolished, replaced by a new church built on the same site in 1964. [edit] Research TipsThe primary source for basic documents (vital statistics, land records, wills) for people who lived in the Province of Ontario is the Archives of Ontario, 134 Ian Macdonald Blvd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M7A 2C5. [edit] Early RecordsCivil registration did not begin in the province until 1869. Before then there may be church records of baptisms and burials. For the most part these are still held by the denomination who recorded them. Copies of marriage records made pre-1869 had to be sent by individual clergymen to the registrar of the county in which the marriage took place. These marriage records are available through Ontario Archives, on micorfilm through LDS libraries, and on paid and unpaid websites, but because they were copied at the registrars' offices, they cannot be considered a primary source. [edit] Vital Records after 1869Birth, marriage and death registrations are not open to the public until a specific number of years after the event occurred. Births to 1915 are now available [October 2014]; dates for marriages and deaths are later. Birth and death registration was not universally carried out in the early years after its adoption. Deaths were more apt to be reported than births for several years. The more rural the area, the less likely it would be that these happenings were reported to the authorities.
[edit] Land Records and WillsInformation on how to access land records and wills is best sought on the Archives of Ontario website. An ancestor's land holding might be found on Canadian County Atlas Digital Project if he was in occupancy circa 1878. Association for the Preservation of Ontario Land Registry Office Documents (APOLROD). A list of Land Registry Offices for all Counties of Ontario. [edit] CensusesThe original censuses are in the hands of Library and Archives Canada, known to Canadians as "LAC". Copies of original microfilms are online at the LAC website for all censuses up to 1921. Each census database is preceded with an explanation of the geographical area covered, the amount of material retained (some census division material has been lost), the questions on the census form, and whether there is a name index. Census divisions were redrawn as the population increased and more land was inhabited. [edit] Hard-to-Find Places
[edit] E-books, Books and Newspapers
[edit] Some websites with more local information on Lambton County
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