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Fergus is a "small urban community" located in the former Nichol Township in Wellington County in southwestern Ontario. In 1999, Nichol Township was merged into the municipality or Town of Centre Wellington and Fergus is the largest community within Centre Wellington. [edit] History
The first settlers to this area were freed slaves, who formed what was known as the Pierpoint Settlement, named after their leader, Richard Pierpoint, a United Empire Loyalist originally from Bondou, Senegal in Africa. Along with a half dozen other men who had also fought with the British during the American Revolutionary War, Pierpoint was granted land in Garafraxa Township somewhere around what is now Scotland Street in Fergus. Another settlement was founded nearby in 1833 and was first called Little Falls because of the scenic (water) falls, now between the Public Library and the Fergus Market. The primary developers were Adam Fergusson and James Webster, who had purchased 28 km² (7,000 acres) of land. Both were later lawyers by profession. The first bridge over the river in the heart of the settlement was built in 1834 by Fergusson. The first house was built in 1833, a hotel was built in 1844 and in 1835, a sawmill, grist-mill, church and school were opened. The post office was established in 1836. Fergusson was also a founder of the first curling club in Ontario; it was opened in 1834, and is still active today. After 1838, Scottish settlers purchased the land in what was previously Pierpoint Settlement. James Webster was the one who opened the Fergus Mills and cleared a great deal of land for farming. Alexander Dingwall Fordyce joined Ferguson and they controlled all of the industry in Fergus until 1855. Until approximately 1850, an unwritten policy of restricted growth was implemented. Because Fergusson, Webster and some other Scottish emigrants owned the land, only Scots could purchase village lots. However, in order to accommodate Irish settlers, Webster founded the town of Arthur (just north of Fergus) in 1840. By 1846 the settlement had 21 businesses. The population was 184 mostly of Scots.The community had a church and a post office and several tradesmen. James Wilson arrived in 1855 and opened an oatmeal mill, then a flour mill, then a saw mill and then a woolen mill and a factory, Monkland Mills, that supplied oatmeal for export. They and other Scots living in the settlement established a booming economy using the waterfalls on the Grand River to power local industry. They built solid stone houses, factories and other buildings which still characterize Fergus. Many of the buildings from the 1800s are still in use today.[1] In addition to Scots, the other settlers in this area were Irish or freed slaves from the U.S.[2] In 1858, the settlement, with a population of 1,000, was incorporated as a village called Fergus in honour one of its founders, Adam Fergusson. By 1869 the population was 1,500.
On November 29, 1890, electricity became available in the village through the efforts of Dr. Abraham Groves. More extensive provision of power, by Ontario Hydro, began in 1914. Fergus was a centre for agricultural equipment manufacturing under Beatty Brothers Limited, which was founded by George and Matthew Beatty in 1874. Originally from Albion Township, the brothers acquired an earlier equipment manufacturer in the area, Grindley, and began producing their own lines of farm equipment. The company spearheaded the transition from small-scale local artisan manufacturing of farm equipment of the mid- to late-19th century to standardized product lines, large factory floors, and national distribution of products that characterized the era of Fordism. By the turn of the century, the company's operations, centred around the Foundry building (most recently in use as the Fergus Marketplace), dominated downtown Fergus. Around this time the company began to transition to appliance manufacturing and away from its roots in farm equipment, taking advantage of the growing suburban consumer market of the mid-20th century. With heavy competition from American manufacturers like Westinghouse, however, the company was ultimately taken over in successive mergers starting in the 1960s, which culminated in the final closure of the last remaining ex-Beatty plant in Fergus in 2013. The first library, built with a Carnegie grant, opened in 1911 and is in the register of Canada's Historic Places. In 1953, the village was incorporated as the "Town of Fergus" and in 1999 became a part of the Township of Centre Wellington.[1] [edit] From "poorhouse" to museumIn 1877, the County opened the Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge, or Poorhouse as it was called, on Wellington Road 18 between Fergus and Elora. Over the years, approximately 1500 "deserving" poor, including those who were destitute, old and infirm or suffering from disabilities were housed here. The sixty bed house for "inmates" was surrounded by a 30-acre "industrial" farm with a barn for livestock that produced some of the food for the 70 residents and the staff and also provided work for them. Others worked in the House itself. According to a 2009 report by the Toronto Star, "pauperism was considered a moral failing that could be erased through order and hard work". A hospital was added in 1892. A nearby cemetery has 271 plots for those who died. In 1947 the House was converted into the Wellington County Home for the Aged and in 1975 the building reopened as the Wellington County Museum and Archives. A historic plaque was erected at the museum, indicating that the "government-supported poorhouse" was "the shelter of last resort for the homeless and destitute, who traded spartan accommodations for domestic or agricultural labour". [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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