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Ayr is a "compact rural community" located in North Dumfries Township in Waterloo County in southwestern Ontario. Until 1973, when Waterloo County became the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ayr was an incorporated village or town, but it is now amalgamated into the Township of North Dumfries. [edit] History
The village later to be called Ayr, on the Nith River, was originally a group of settlements, Mudge's Mills in the centre, Jedburgh to the east and Nithvale to the west, that eventually combined into one as they expanded. The name Ayr was first used in 1840 when it was assigned to the post office. The territory in this area, eventually to be the township of North Dumfries, consisting of 94,305 acres, had been sold to Philip Stedman in 1798 from Joseph Brant of the Six Nations. Ownership transferred to Thomas Clarke and then in 1816 to William Dickson a wealthy immigrant from Scotland. Absalom Shade was the only individual land owner in the area of the junction of Smith's Creek (now the Nith River) and Cedar Creek in 1822 and the first actual settler was Abel Mudge, initially as a squatter. He built a dam, a sawmill and a grist mill. The Nith River and Cedar Creek were useful for powering mills.[1] Most subsequent settlers at Mudge's Mills were Scottish, farmers, artisans or tradesmen. Jedburgh was founded by John Hall from Scotland in 1832. He built a flour mill and a distillery. Nithvale was founded during the early 1830s when a flour mill and two sawmills were opened but little information remains from that era. Hall opened a flour mill and a distillery nearby in 1832. The settlement at Mudge's Mill was laid out by James Jackson, the first settler, with J. R. Andrews, and Robert Wylie in 1839. The name Ayr was chosen by Wylie after his hometown of Ayr, Scotland; Wylie served as the community's second postmaster after Jackson. The other two settlements were not a part of Ayr but received their mail at the single post office. The Smith's Canadian Gazetteer of 1846 describes Ayr, population 230, as containing two churches, a post office receiving mail once a week and businesses such as a grist mill, fulling mill and carding machine, a tannery, two stores, a blacksmith, two shoemakers, two tailors, one cooper and two carpenters. The largest business in Ayr for many decades was a foundry. In 1849, the John Watson Manufacturing Company (later Ayr Machinery Works) was already making threshing, mowing, reaping and other farm implements. By then, the population was 700 and a newspaper and library were operating. The town-hall was built in 1850.[2] A large furniture factory also opened at about the same time. There were also five flour mills in the three communities that later formed Ayr, a very large sawmill and a woolen mill by then. Watson's company was very successful, shipping agricultural implements across the country by 1864.[1] By 1850, a good road to Galt had been built and a railway had reached Galt, some distance from Ayr. During that time, goods for export were taken by ox carts to the train station at Paris, Ontario. The town hall was built in 1850 and a fire department was started the same year. By 1854, the village had a small library, two school houses, a fire company, a newspaper and a single (Presbyterian) church. In addition to the major farm implements manufacturer, other businesses that were operating in 1864 included grist and saw mills, five flour mills, a woollen mill, stores and a furniture factory. The population was 1000, there were five churches, a fire company, a weekly newspaper and a large school with students from primary to senior level.[1] The village got a rail line from the Credit Valley Railway in 1879, which helped facilitate the importing and exporting of goods. Jedburg and Nithvale were absorbed into Ayr in 1884 when the village was incorporated, with foundry owner John Watson as the first Reeve. By 1888, the streets were lit with coal oil lamps and concrete sidewalks were installed in 1901. A large library was built in 1909 with funds provided by a Carnegie grant. Ayr was declining by around 1910 and some of the population moved to nearby Berlin and Preston. Starting in the 1950s and still continuing, new homes were built for commuters, helping to increase the population.[2] In January 1973, Ayr was incorporated into the Township of North Dumfries and the Regional Municipality of Waterloo.[3] [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
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