Augustus Jones
Encyclopedia
Augustus Jones was an American-born Upper Canadian
farmer, land speculator, magistrate
, militia
captain and surveyor
. Jones trained as a surveyor in New York City, and fled as a United Empire Loyalist to Upper Canada. In Upper Canada, he worked as a crown surveyor in the Nassau District, where he quickly rose to the position of Deputy Surveyor General, the highest position in a district of Upper Canada. He occupied that position from 1789 informally, and 1791 formally, until his retirement in 1799. During that time he laid down many of the township
boundaries in the Niagara Peninsula
and on the north shore of Lake Ontario
. He led various teams that cut many of the first sideroads and concession road
s into these areas, facilitating their settlement by European and American immigrants. Jones also surveyed the routes for Dundas Street
and Yonge Street
, and supervised their construction. After his retirement, Jones farmed first in Saltfleet Township
, later moving to Brantford
and finally an estate outside of Paris
named Cold Springs, where he died in 1836.
, the son of Ebenezer Jones, a Welsh
immigrant. He trained as a land surveyor in New York City in his youth. After his training, he worked for some time in New York, and his name appears in paperwork
for land transfers in Newburgh, New York in 1783 and 1784. Sometime in the 1780s, Jones fled the United States with his family as loyalists
during the American Revolution
. Jones was sent ahead of the rest of his family, and obtained 300 acres (1.2 km²) of land in Saltfleet Township
. Soon after this Jones' father Ebenezer, his brother Stephen and Stephen's family, and his sisters, Mary Jones Gage widow of James Gage and Susannah Gage, wife of William Gage followed. The fields around his sister's farmhouses would later be the scene of the Battle of Stoney Creek
.
, the commanding officer of Fort Niagara
on June 9, 1787. He presented the Major with a letter of recommendation
from Cadwallader Colden Junior, which attested to Jones' good character and surveying capability. Two days later, Jones was hired as a land surveyor for the Crown. Jones' first assignments were working as a chain bearer for various teams surveying the Niagara region.
After a short while, Jones was given command of his own surveying team. His first assignment was the surveying of Stamford Township
, a task they began on November 5, 1787 and completed on January 8, 1788. That January, Jones was appointed to the position of assistant to Philip Frey, the deputy surveyor of the Nassau District. Starting on January 15, 1788 and running until March 12, 1788, Jones surveyed Barton Township. From April 1, 1788–April 24, 1788 Jones surveyed Clinton Township. From May 1, 1788 until July 28, 1788 Jones led the survey of Bertie Township. Jones' team had started surveying Saltfleet Township on July 24, 1788 and they finished August 24, 1788.
Surveying of Thorold Township began the same day, August 24, 1788 and continued until October 25, 1788. In Thorold, Jones was receiving a pay of four shillings a day, and his two primary assistants, Joseph Jones and Benjamin Stanton, received the same. All worked the full 54 days of the survey. Local men were hired as woodcutters and chainbearers for shorter periods, and typically earnt two shillings a day.
On October 25, 1788 Jones' team began their survey of Grimsby Township; it was completed November 13, 1788. Saltfleet Township was surveyed from November 14, 1788 to December 25, 1788 and Binbrook Township was surveyed from December 24, 1788 until February 12, 1789. All of these townships were surveyed using the Front and Rear system, except Binbrook, which was surveyed with the Single Front system. During this time, Frey had assigned two other surveyors to lead surveys in the Nassau district. Daniel Hazen and Jesse Pawling both led teams, but neither group was as busy as Jones' group. Hazen's group surveyed only four townships, and incompletely, and Pawling's three, also incompletely. In November 1789 Jones began acting as the deputy surveyor in Nassau District as Frey had left Upper Canada, and he officially received the position in early 1791 on the order of Deputy Surveyor General John Collins.
, to the Trent River
, from the lakeshore to a distance of one mile (1.6 km) from Lake Ontario
. Jones and his team had set out from Scarborough
to the eastern boundary of the Nassau District, the approximate area of the mouth of the Trent River. From there, they began surveying townships along Lake Ontario travelling westwards. They surveyed in turn Murray Township, then Cramahe Township
, Haldimand Township
, Hamilton Township
, Hope Township, Clarke Township, Darlington Township, Pickering Township, Glasgow Township, York Township
and Etobicoke Township. Sideroads were then run north to the first concession road. Clarke township had previously been unnamed, Jones was the one to name it. The survey of the west end of the Nassau district finalised the boundary of the Toronto Purchase
, which had been agreed upon in principle, but could not be completed because the land areas involved were not well known. On June 13, 1792 Jones submitted a town plan for Newark, Upper Canada to the Land Board.
Around this time, Jones began to acquire significant tracts of land across southern Ontario. He obtained large sections of land in Saltfleet Township and Barton Township with various petitions and grants, and small lots in Newark and York. From Mohawk
chief Joseph Brant
, he received leases on ten square miles of land in return for his surveys of land along the Grand River.
In 1793, Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe charged Jones with the surveying and construction of a new road from Lake Ontario
to the Thames River
. Simcoe employed the Queen's Rangers led by Captain Samuel Smith for the road's construction, from Hamilton
to Woodstock
. This road would become Dundas Street
. The same year, he surveyed Flamborough Township, Beverley Township, Ancaster Township and York Township
. Jones spent 1794 surveying Flamborough
, Glanford, Binbrook
, Delaware
, Oxford, Dorchester
, Burford
, Grimsby
and Windham.
In 1795, Jones surveyed Ancaster
, Thorold
, Grantham, Beverley, Southwold
, Whitby
, York
, Scarboro
, Pickering
, the lands of Joseph Brant
and Lake Simcoe
. On December 24, 1795 Jones was directed by Lieutenant Governor
John Graves Simcoe
to survey and open a cart
road from the newly planned settlement of York, Upper Canada to Lake Simcoe
. Jones began the planning work the next day. On the 29th of that December, Jones was given the assistance of thirty of the Queen's Rangers
for the road's construction. The work began January 4, 1796 on this road, which would become Yonge Street
. Jones worked as the effective master builder in addition to his title as surveyor
. The road reached Holland Landing on February 16, 1796, and Jones returned to York on February 20 to inform the Lieutenant Governor that the road was completed. This first incarnation of Yonge Street measured some 34 miles (54.7 km) and 53 chains
. For the rest of 1796, Jones spent his time surveying Newark, Flamborough
, Grimsby
, Saltfleet, Beverley, York
and Coot's Paradise.
Working as the Deputy Surveyor, Jones began to build good relations with the Mississauga
Ojibwa
Indians and Mohawk
Indians of the area. He became fluent in the languages of these groups and earned the trust of many members of the tribes, including influential members like Joseph Brant
, of whom he became a good friend. In 1797 the head chief of the Mississaugas in the Credit River
area Wabakinine, as well as his wife, were murdered by a member of the Queen's Rangers. Wabakinine had been a very beloved chief and seen as a firm ally of the British. His murder shocked the members of his band and other local Ojibwa bands. Charles McEwan, the killer was charged and tried, but the Indian witnesses did not attend the trial and he was subsequently acquitted for lack of evidence. Nimquasim, a local Indian chief, met with Augustus Jones on February 15, 1797 and confessed to Jones that he and the local Indian bands were inclined to wage open war against the British over the event. Jones relayed this information to British administrator Peter Russell
. The town of York had about 675 white settlers and 135 soldiers, a number that Russell believed might not be sufficient to address an Indian rebellion. If a winter rebellion transpired York would be cut off from large garrisons at the Bay of Quinte
and the Niagara Peninsula
. Russell and John Graves Simcoe
both anticipated rebellion for the next year or so, but it never came. Joseph Brant
, a Mohawk chief who had travelled to England cautioned the tribes against rebellion as he knew the military strength of the British was likely to render any war a losing one. Russell, however, set out to undermine alliances and friendships between the Indian bands of southern Ontario, fearing such an uprising.
Jones spent 1797 surveying Pickering
, Glanford, Oxford and Blenheim
. His survives duties in 1798 included Burford
, Lake Shore Road, the Humber River
, the Grand River
, Uxbridge
, Gwillumbury and the de Puisaye settlement. In 1799, Jones conducted a census of the residents of Hope Township, Hamilton Township, Haldimand Township, Cramahe Township and Percy Township. The census include the names of all residents and details on the conditions of their lots. That year, he also surveyed the Humber Mill Reserve, Yarmouth, Gore, Newark and Stamford.
Jones retired from his surveying work in 1800, for reasons unknown. Various reasons have been suggested; Jones was known as an extremely hard worker, and may have wanted less strenuous work as a farmer, his ties to Joseph Brant may have been politically problematic as Brant was frequently in conflict with Upper Canada authorities, and his status as a loyalist to the British Empire
may have come into question as it became known his brother in law, James Gage, had fought with the Americans during the revolution, and his brother Ebenezer may have as well. Whatever the cause of his retirement, Jones returned to his farm in Saltfleet Township and began life as a farmer.
Jones was already a prominent citizen in Saltfleet Township. He had been a militia captain there since 1794. He also became a local magistrate. In 1801, he and his wife joined the Methodist Episcopal
church in the area. Jones retired from the militia in 1811, but remained in Saltfleet Township until 1817, when he moved with his family to Brantford
to live with the Mohawk community and his wife's extended family. During the War of 1812
, his farm had suffered £250 in damages. On May 27, 1815 arsonists set fire to his barn, which Jones believed was an effort to force him to cease his investigation into a local murder of three Indians. These financial losses, coupled with prejudice from his white neighbours towards Jones due to his Indian wife and children and their knowledge he had previously been married to two Indian women simultaneously led to the move. Jones made one last survey in 1825, resurveying the line of Dundas street between Ancaster Township and West Flamborough Township. In Brantford he supported his family both by farming, and by selling of bits of land he had accumulated in his youth. After several years in Brantford, he moved to his estate Cold Springs on Dundas Street east of Paris, Ontario
, where he farmed until his death.
On April 27, 1798, Jones married Sarah Tekarihogen (Tekerehogen), the daughter of Mohawk chief Tekarihogen
. The couple would have a total of eight children. Their children were named Catherine, Rachel, Mary, Henry, Joseph, Sally, Lucretia and Augustus Junior (born 1818).
While married to Sarah Tekarihogen, Jones maintained a relationship with Tuhbenahneequay
(Sarah Henry), the daughter of Mississauga chief Wahbanosay
. Jones had previously hired Wahbanosay as a guide during some of his surveying expeditions in the area, including the surveying of Yonge Street. Their relationship had begun in the mid 1790s, and Jones had previously married Tuhbenahneequay in a Mississauga ceremony. Their first son, John
(anglicised as Theyandanegea, written in Ojibwa as Tyenteneged, after Joseph Brant
) was born in 1798. Their second son, Peter Jones (Kahkewaquonaby) was born January 1, 1802 to Tuhbenahneequay in the area of Burlington Heights
. Due to Jones' marriage to Sarah Tekarihogen, the task of raising Peter and John was left to Tuhbenahneequay. It was soon after their second son's birth that the relationship between Jones and Tuhbenahneequay ended. Jones wanted the respect of his Christian
neighbours, who disapproved of polygamy
, and so Jones settled permanently with Sarah Tekarihogen, who had converted to Christianity.
Although Jones took no part in the raising of his children by Tuhbenahneequay, he did take an active interest in their welfare. In 1805, he secured two two square mile plots of land near the mouth of the Credit River
for his two sons from the local Mississauga Indians, but the government of Upper Canada would not recognise the title. In 1816, Jones feared that the Mississauga band his sons John and Peter lived with would fall apart, in the aftermath of the War of 1812, the famine of 1816's harvest
and the influx of settlers to the area in recent years. Jones travelled to find the boys, and brought them to his farm in Stoney Creek. He arranged for the boys to be schooled in Stoney Creek, as neither spoke much English. After nine months, Jones felt that Peter's command of English was sufficient, and took him out of school to teach him the farming craft. The next year, Jones and his family relocated to land along the Grand River
, and Jones brought his son Peter with them. Peter lived with his father for seven years there.
Jones died on November 16, 1836 near Paris, Ontario
. He was buried at Cold Springs, where his farm was located. After the death of his son Peter in 1856, Jones' remains were moved to Greenwood Cemetery in Brantford, Ontario
and interred beside Peter's. His grave was unmarked.
unveiled a statue of Jones in Stoney Creek Town Square.
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
farmer, land speculator, magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
, militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
captain and surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
. Jones trained as a surveyor in New York City, and fled as a United Empire Loyalist to Upper Canada. In Upper Canada, he worked as a crown surveyor in the Nassau District, where he quickly rose to the position of Deputy Surveyor General, the highest position in a district of Upper Canada. He occupied that position from 1789 informally, and 1791 formally, until his retirement in 1799. During that time he laid down many of the township
Township (Canada)
The term township generally means the district or area associated with a town. However in some systems no town needs to be involved. The specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country, usually to describe a local rural or semi-rural government within the county...
boundaries in the Niagara Peninsula
Niagara Peninsula
The Niagara Peninsula is the portion of Southern Ontario, Canada lying between the south shore of Lake Ontario and the north shore of Lake Erie. It stretches from the Niagara River in the east to Hamilton, Ontario in the west. The population of the peninsula is roughly 1,000,000 people...
and on the north shore of Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
. He led various teams that cut many of the first sideroads and concession road
Concession road
In Upper and Lower Canada, concession roads were laid out by the colonial government through undeveloped land to define lots to be developed; the name comes from a Lower Canadian French term for a row of lots. Concession roads are straight, and follow an approximately square grid, usually oriented...
s into these areas, facilitating their settlement by European and American immigrants. Jones also surveyed the routes for Dundas Street
Dundas Street (Toronto)
Dundas Street, also known as Highway 5 west of Toronto, is a major arterial road connecting the centre of that city with its western suburbs and southwestern Ontario beyond...
and Yonge Street
Yonge Street
Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...
, and supervised their construction. After his retirement, Jones farmed first in Saltfleet Township
Saltfleet Township, Ontario
Saltfleet Township was a township in Upper Canada, later Ontario, on the south shore of Lake Ontario.In 1974, it was amalgamated with the village of Stoney Creek to form the town of Stoney Creek....
, later moving to Brantford
Brantford, Ontario
Brantford is a city located on the Grand River in Southern Ontario, Canada. While geographically surrounded by the County of Brant, the city is politically independent...
and finally an estate outside of Paris
Paris, Ontario
Paris, Ontario is a community on the Grand River in Ontario, Canada. The town was established in 1850. In 1999, its town government was amalgamated into that of the County of Brant, Ontario, thus ending about 149 years as a separate incorporated municipality.-History:The town was first settled in...
named Cold Springs, where he died in 1836.
Youth
Augustus Jones was born around 1757 in the Hudson River Valley of the Province of New YorkProvince of New York
The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
, the son of Ebenezer Jones, a Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
immigrant. He trained as a land surveyor in New York City in his youth. After his training, he worked for some time in New York, and his name appears in paperwork
Paperwork
Paperwork is a term used to describe excessive, intricate or meticulous work with documents in an unnecessary and incidental way to more important tasks.- United States Paperwork Reduction Act :...
for land transfers in Newburgh, New York in 1783 and 1784. Sometime in the 1780s, Jones fled the United States with his family as loyalists
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. Jones was sent ahead of the rest of his family, and obtained 300 acres (1.2 km²) of land in Saltfleet Township
Saltfleet Township, Ontario
Saltfleet Township was a township in Upper Canada, later Ontario, on the south shore of Lake Ontario.In 1974, it was amalgamated with the village of Stoney Creek to form the town of Stoney Creek....
. Soon after this Jones' father Ebenezer, his brother Stephen and Stephen's family, and his sisters, Mary Jones Gage widow of James Gage and Susannah Gage, wife of William Gage followed. The fields around his sister's farmhouses would later be the scene of the Battle of Stoney Creek
Battle of Stoney Creek
The Battle of Stoney Creek was fought on 6 June 1813 during the War of 1812 near present day Stoney Creek, Ontario. British units made a night attack on an American encampment...
.
Crown surveyor
Jones met Major Archibald CampbellArchibald Campbell
Archibald Campbell may refer to:*Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll , Lord Chancellor of Scotland*Archibald Campbell, 4th Earl of Argyll *Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll...
, the commanding officer of Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...
on June 9, 1787. He presented the Major with a letter of recommendation
Recommendation letter
A letter of recommendation is a letter in which the writer assesses the qualities, characteristics, and capabilities of the person being recommended in terms of that individual’s ability to perform a particular task or function. Recommendation letters are almost always specifically requested to be...
from Cadwallader Colden Junior, which attested to Jones' good character and surveying capability. Two days later, Jones was hired as a land surveyor for the Crown. Jones' first assignments were working as a chain bearer for various teams surveying the Niagara region.
Stamford Township, Ontario
Stamford Township was a township in Upper Canada, later Ontario, on the Niagara Peninsula.The first survey took place around 1776, and twelve families came to settle in the area. As the second township in the region surveyed, it was named Township #2, and later Mount Dorchester for Sir Guy...
, a task they began on November 5, 1787 and completed on January 8, 1788. That January, Jones was appointed to the position of assistant to Philip Frey, the deputy surveyor of the Nassau District. Starting on January 15, 1788 and running until March 12, 1788, Jones surveyed Barton Township. From April 1, 1788–April 24, 1788 Jones surveyed Clinton Township. From May 1, 1788 until July 28, 1788 Jones led the survey of Bertie Township. Jones' team had started surveying Saltfleet Township on July 24, 1788 and they finished August 24, 1788.
Surveying of Thorold Township began the same day, August 24, 1788 and continued until October 25, 1788. In Thorold, Jones was receiving a pay of four shillings a day, and his two primary assistants, Joseph Jones and Benjamin Stanton, received the same. All worked the full 54 days of the survey. Local men were hired as woodcutters and chainbearers for shorter periods, and typically earnt two shillings a day.
On October 25, 1788 Jones' team began their survey of Grimsby Township; it was completed November 13, 1788. Saltfleet Township was surveyed from November 14, 1788 to December 25, 1788 and Binbrook Township was surveyed from December 24, 1788 until February 12, 1789. All of these townships were surveyed using the Front and Rear system, except Binbrook, which was surveyed with the Single Front system. During this time, Frey had assigned two other surveyors to lead surveys in the Nassau district. Daniel Hazen and Jesse Pawling both led teams, but neither group was as busy as Jones' group. Hazen's group surveyed only four townships, and incompletely, and Pawling's three, also incompletely. In November 1789 Jones began acting as the deputy surveyor in Nassau District as Frey had left Upper Canada, and he officially received the position in early 1791 on the order of Deputy Surveyor General John Collins.
Deputy surveyor for Nassau District
In 1791 and 1792, Jones surveyed the lakeshore of townships east from York, Upper CanadaYork, Upper Canada
York was the name of Old Toronto between 1793 and 1834. It was the second capital of Upper Canada.- History :The town was established in 1793 by Governor John Graves Simcoe, with a new 'Fort York' on the site of the last French 'Fort Toronto'...
, to the Trent River
Trent River (Ontario)
The Trent River is a river in southeastern Ontario which flows from Rice Lake to empty into the Bay of Quinte on Lake Ontario. This river is part of the Trent-Severn Waterway which leads to Georgian Bay. The river is 90 km long...
, from the lakeshore to a distance of one mile (1.6 km) from Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
. Jones and his team had set out from Scarborough
Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...
to the eastern boundary of the Nassau District, the approximate area of the mouth of the Trent River. From there, they began surveying townships along Lake Ontario travelling westwards. They surveyed in turn Murray Township, then Cramahe Township
Cramahe, Ontario
Cramahe is a rural township located in Northumberland County in central Ontario, Canada.Joseph Keeler opened a store on the site of present-day Colborne about 1819. A community began to grow as other small businessmen followed suit...
, Haldimand Township
Haldimand County
Haldimand is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the Niagara Peninsula in Southern Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie, and on the Grand River. Municipal offices are located in Cayuga....
, Hamilton Township
Hamilton, Ontario (township)
Hamilton Township is a rural township located in Northumberland County in central Ontario. It surrounds the Town of Cobourg.The township was named after Henry Hamilton, Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec from 1782-1785.-Communities:*Baltimore*Bewdley*Camborne...
, Hope Township, Clarke Township, Darlington Township, Pickering Township, Glasgow Township, York Township
York, Ontario
York is a dissolved municipality in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is located northwest of Old Toronto, southwest of North York and east of Etobicoke, where it is bounded by the Humber River. Formerly a separate city, it was one of six municipalities that amalgamated in 1998 to form...
and Etobicoke Township. Sideroads were then run north to the first concession road. Clarke township had previously been unnamed, Jones was the one to name it. The survey of the west end of the Nassau district finalised the boundary of the Toronto Purchase
Toronto Purchase
The Toronto Purchase was an agreement between the British crown and the Mississaugas of New Credit in 1787. The Mississaugas of New Credit exchanged 250,808 acres of land in what became York County The Toronto Purchase was an agreement between the British crown and the Mississaugas of New Credit...
, which had been agreed upon in principle, but could not be completed because the land areas involved were not well known. On June 13, 1792 Jones submitted a town plan for Newark, Upper Canada to the Land Board.
Around this time, Jones began to acquire significant tracts of land across southern Ontario. He obtained large sections of land in Saltfleet Township and Barton Township with various petitions and grants, and small lots in Newark and York. From Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
chief Joseph Brant
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. He was perhaps the most well-known American Indian of his generation...
, he received leases on ten square miles of land in return for his surveys of land along the Grand River.
In 1793, Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe charged Jones with the surveying and construction of a new road from Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
to the Thames River
Thames River (Ontario)
The Thames River is located in southwestern Ontario, Canada.The Thames flows west through southwestern Ontario, through the cities of Woodstock, London and Chatham to Lighthouse Cove on Lake St. Clair...
. Simcoe employed the Queen's Rangers led by Captain Samuel Smith for the road's construction, from Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
to Woodstock
Woodstock, Ontario
Woodstock is a city and the county seat of Oxford County in Southern Ontario, Canada. Woodstock is located 128 km southwest of Toronto, north of Highway 401 along the historic Thames River...
. This road would become Dundas Street
Dundas Street (Toronto)
Dundas Street, also known as Highway 5 west of Toronto, is a major arterial road connecting the centre of that city with its western suburbs and southwestern Ontario beyond...
. The same year, he surveyed Flamborough Township, Beverley Township, Ancaster Township and York Township
York, Ontario
York is a dissolved municipality in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it is located northwest of Old Toronto, southwest of North York and east of Etobicoke, where it is bounded by the Humber River. Formerly a separate city, it was one of six municipalities that amalgamated in 1998 to form...
. Jones spent 1794 surveying Flamborough
Flamborough, Ontario
Flamborough is a former town near, and a current community in, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada....
, Glanford, Binbrook
Binbrook, Ontario
Binbrook is a small, but growing community in southeastern Hamilton, Ontario in Canada. It was unpopularly amalgamated into the City of Hamilton in 2001. Since 2001, Binbrook has added hundreds of new homes as it becomes an "island" suburb of Hamilton, separated by conservation and agricultural lands...
, Delaware
Delaware, Ontario
Delaware is a community located about west of and outside of London, Ontario, within Middlesex County. Delaware stradles the Thames River. Delaware is accessed by the old highway linking London and Chatham and the freeway linking Sarnia along with Port Huron and Toronto.- History :The community...
, Oxford, Dorchester
Dorchester, Ontario
Dorchester is the residential and commercial core of the municipality of Thames Centre, located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, a few kilometers directly east from the city of London. According to the Canada 2006 Census, the town has a population of 9,329....
, Burford
Burford, Ontario
Burford is a rural community and is part of the County of Brant, in central southwestern Ontario. It has 1,940 residents . It is located eight kilometers west of the City of Brantford along Highway 53, and seventy kilometers east of London, Ontario...
, Grimsby
Grimsby, Ontario
Grimsby is a town on Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. Grimsby is a part of the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. The majority of residents reside in the area bounded by Lake Ontario and the Niagara escarpment...
and Windham.
Ancaster, Ontario
Ancaster is a picturesque and historic community located on the Niagara escarpment, within the greater area of the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. This former town was founded officially in 1793 and was one of the oldest European communities established in present day Ontario along with Windsor...
, Thorold
Thorold, Ontario
Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara....
, Grantham, Beverley, Southwold
Southwold, Ontario
Southwold is a township in Elgin County, in Ontario, Canada, located on the north shore of Lake Erie. It is a rich agricultural zone producing predominantly corn and soybeans.-History:...
, Whitby
Whitby, Ontario
Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region...
, York
York County, Ontario
York County is a historic county in Upper Canada, Canada West, and the Canadian province of Ontario.York County was created in 1792 and was part of the jurisdiction of Home District of Upper Canada...
, Scarboro
Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...
, Pickering
Pickering, Ontario
Pickering is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, the largest metropolitan area in Canada.- Early Period :...
, the lands of Joseph Brant
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. He was perhaps the most well-known American Indian of his generation...
and Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe is a lake in Southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called Ouentironk by the Huron natives...
. On December 24, 1795 Jones was directed by Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe was a British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791–1796. Then frontier, this was modern-day southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior...
to survey and open a cart
Cart
A cart is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people...
road from the newly planned settlement of York, Upper Canada to Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe is a lake in Southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called Ouentironk by the Huron natives...
. Jones began the planning work the next day. On the 29th of that December, Jones was given the assistance of thirty of the Queen's Rangers
Queen's Rangers
The Queen's Rangers was a military unit who fought on the Loyalist side during the American War of Independence. After the war they moved to Nova Scotia and disbanded, but were reformed again in Upper Canada before disbanding again, in 1802, a decade prior to the War of 1812.-French and Indian...
for the road's construction. The work began January 4, 1796 on this road, which would become Yonge Street
Yonge Street
Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...
. Jones worked as the effective master builder in addition to his title as surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
. The road reached Holland Landing on February 16, 1796, and Jones returned to York on February 20 to inform the Lieutenant Governor that the road was completed. This first incarnation of Yonge Street measured some 34 miles (54.7 km) and 53 chains
Chain (unit)
A chain is a unit of length; it measures 66 feet or 22 yards or 100 links . There are 10 chains in a furlong, and 80 chains in one statute mile. An acre is the area of 10 square chains...
. For the rest of 1796, Jones spent his time surveying Newark, Flamborough
Flamborough, Ontario
Flamborough is a former town near, and a current community in, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada....
, Grimsby
Grimsby, Ontario
Grimsby is a town on Lake Ontario in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. Grimsby is a part of the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. The majority of residents reside in the area bounded by Lake Ontario and the Niagara escarpment...
, Saltfleet, Beverley, York
York, Upper Canada
York was the name of Old Toronto between 1793 and 1834. It was the second capital of Upper Canada.- History :The town was established in 1793 by Governor John Graves Simcoe, with a new 'Fort York' on the site of the last French 'Fort Toronto'...
and Coot's Paradise.
Working as the Deputy Surveyor, Jones began to build good relations with the Mississauga
Mississaugas
The Mississaugas are a subtribe of the Anishinaabe-speaking First Nations people located in southern Ontario, Canada. They are closely related to the Ojibwa...
Ojibwa
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
Indians and Mohawk
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
Indians of the area. He became fluent in the languages of these groups and earned the trust of many members of the tribes, including influential members like Joseph Brant
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. He was perhaps the most well-known American Indian of his generation...
, of whom he became a good friend. In 1797 the head chief of the Mississaugas in the Credit River
Credit River
The Credit River is a river in southern Ontario which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment to empty into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga. It drains an area of approximately 1,000 km²...
area Wabakinine, as well as his wife, were murdered by a member of the Queen's Rangers. Wabakinine had been a very beloved chief and seen as a firm ally of the British. His murder shocked the members of his band and other local Ojibwa bands. Charles McEwan, the killer was charged and tried, but the Indian witnesses did not attend the trial and he was subsequently acquitted for lack of evidence. Nimquasim, a local Indian chief, met with Augustus Jones on February 15, 1797 and confessed to Jones that he and the local Indian bands were inclined to wage open war against the British over the event. Jones relayed this information to British administrator Peter Russell
Peter Russell (politician)
Peter Russell was a gambler, government official, politician and judge in Upper Canada.-Early life:...
. The town of York had about 675 white settlers and 135 soldiers, a number that Russell believed might not be sufficient to address an Indian rebellion. If a winter rebellion transpired York would be cut off from large garrisons at the Bay of Quinte
Bay of Quinte
The Bay of Quinte is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
and the Niagara Peninsula
Niagara Peninsula
The Niagara Peninsula is the portion of Southern Ontario, Canada lying between the south shore of Lake Ontario and the north shore of Lake Erie. It stretches from the Niagara River in the east to Hamilton, Ontario in the west. The population of the peninsula is roughly 1,000,000 people...
. Russell and John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe was a British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791–1796. Then frontier, this was modern-day southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior...
both anticipated rebellion for the next year or so, but it never came. Joseph Brant
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. He was perhaps the most well-known American Indian of his generation...
, a Mohawk chief who had travelled to England cautioned the tribes against rebellion as he knew the military strength of the British was likely to render any war a losing one. Russell, however, set out to undermine alliances and friendships between the Indian bands of southern Ontario, fearing such an uprising.
Jones spent 1797 surveying Pickering
Pickering, Ontario
Pickering is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, the largest metropolitan area in Canada.- Early Period :...
, Glanford, Oxford and Blenheim
Blenheim, Ontario
Blenheim is a community located in south-central Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada, with a population of 4,800.- History :By 1783, there were French settlers in Detroit and Windsor. There were also settlers in the Niagara and Kingston region, but no real settlers to speak of in the Kent County region...
. His survives duties in 1798 included Burford
Burford, Ontario
Burford is a rural community and is part of the County of Brant, in central southwestern Ontario. It has 1,940 residents . It is located eight kilometers west of the City of Brantford along Highway 53, and seventy kilometers east of London, Ontario...
, Lake Shore Road, the Humber River
Humber River (Ontario)
The Humber River is one of two major rivers on either side of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999....
, the Grand River
Grand River (Ontario)
The Grand River is a large river in southwestern Ontario, Canada. From its source, it flows south through Grand Valley, Fergus, Elora, Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Paris, Brantford, Caledonia, and Cayuga before emptying into the north shore of Lake Erie south of Dunnville at Port Maitland...
, Uxbridge
Uxbridge, Ontario
Uxbridge is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Greater Toronto Area.The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge...
, Gwillumbury and the de Puisaye settlement. In 1799, Jones conducted a census of the residents of Hope Township, Hamilton Township, Haldimand Township, Cramahe Township and Percy Township. The census include the names of all residents and details on the conditions of their lots. That year, he also surveyed the Humber Mill Reserve, Yarmouth, Gore, Newark and Stamford.
Farmer, magistrate and militia captain
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
may have come into question as it became known his brother in law, James Gage, had fought with the Americans during the revolution, and his brother Ebenezer may have as well. Whatever the cause of his retirement, Jones returned to his farm in Saltfleet Township and began life as a farmer.
Jones was already a prominent citizen in Saltfleet Township. He had been a militia captain there since 1794. He also became a local magistrate. In 1801, he and his wife joined the Methodist Episcopal
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
church in the area. Jones retired from the militia in 1811, but remained in Saltfleet Township until 1817, when he moved with his family to Brantford
Brantford, Ontario
Brantford is a city located on the Grand River in Southern Ontario, Canada. While geographically surrounded by the County of Brant, the city is politically independent...
to live with the Mohawk community and his wife's extended family. During the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, his farm had suffered £250 in damages. On May 27, 1815 arsonists set fire to his barn, which Jones believed was an effort to force him to cease his investigation into a local murder of three Indians. These financial losses, coupled with prejudice from his white neighbours towards Jones due to his Indian wife and children and their knowledge he had previously been married to two Indian women simultaneously led to the move. Jones made one last survey in 1825, resurveying the line of Dundas street between Ancaster Township and West Flamborough Township. In Brantford he supported his family both by farming, and by selling of bits of land he had accumulated in his youth. After several years in Brantford, he moved to his estate Cold Springs on Dundas Street east of Paris, Ontario
Paris, Ontario
Paris, Ontario is a community on the Grand River in Ontario, Canada. The town was established in 1850. In 1999, its town government was amalgamated into that of the County of Brant, Ontario, thus ending about 149 years as a separate incorporated municipality.-History:The town was first settled in...
, where he farmed until his death.
Family life
Tekarihogen
John Brant or Ahyonwaeghs was a Mohawk chief and government official in Upper Canada.Brant was born near the current site of Brantford, Ontario, the son of Joseph Brant and Catharine Croghan Brant . His father Joseph was a Mohawk chief who became famous during the American Revolutionary War...
. The couple would have a total of eight children. Their children were named Catherine, Rachel, Mary, Henry, Joseph, Sally, Lucretia and Augustus Junior (born 1818).
While married to Sarah Tekarihogen, Jones maintained a relationship with Tuhbenahneequay
Tuhbenahneequay
Tuhbenahneequay was a Mississauga Indian from the Burlington Heights area of Upper Canada. The daughter of chief Wahbanosay and Puhgashkish, she married Augustus Jones in a Mississauga ceremony sometime in the 1790s. Their first child, Thayendanegea was born in 1798. The same year, Jones...
(Sarah Henry), the daughter of Mississauga chief Wahbanosay
Wahbanosay
Wahbanosay was a Mississaugas chief of the Eagle doodem, in the Burlington, Ontario area. He was the negotiator for the Mississaugas of the Gunshot treaty in 1783...
. Jones had previously hired Wahbanosay as a guide during some of his surveying expeditions in the area, including the surveying of Yonge Street. Their relationship had begun in the mid 1790s, and Jones had previously married Tuhbenahneequay in a Mississauga ceremony. Their first son, John
John Jones (Ojibwa chief)
John Jones was a Mississauga Ojibwa teacher, missionary and Chief.Fathered by Augustus Jones, Jones was born to Tuhbenahneequay on July 10, 1798 in the Humber River valley. Augustus Jones and Tuhbenahneequay had been married in the 1790s in an Ojibwa ceremony. Jones was named Thayendanegea,...
(anglicised as Theyandanegea, written in Ojibwa as Tyenteneged, after Joseph Brant
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. He was perhaps the most well-known American Indian of his generation...
) was born in 1798. Their second son, Peter Jones (Kahkewaquonaby) was born January 1, 1802 to Tuhbenahneequay in the area of Burlington Heights
Burlington Heights
Burlington Heights refers to an area of flat land sitting elevated above the west end of Burlington Bay in the city of Hamilton, Ontario.The "Heights" were the location of a British Army post during the War of 1812. Afterwards, the former army barracks were used as a hospital for immigrants with...
. Due to Jones' marriage to Sarah Tekarihogen, the task of raising Peter and John was left to Tuhbenahneequay. It was soon after their second son's birth that the relationship between Jones and Tuhbenahneequay ended. Jones wanted the respect of his Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
neighbours, who disapproved of polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
, and so Jones settled permanently with Sarah Tekarihogen, who had converted to Christianity.
Although Jones took no part in the raising of his children by Tuhbenahneequay, he did take an active interest in their welfare. In 1805, he secured two two square mile plots of land near the mouth of the Credit River
Credit River
The Credit River is a river in southern Ontario which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment to empty into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga. It drains an area of approximately 1,000 km²...
for his two sons from the local Mississauga Indians, but the government of Upper Canada would not recognise the title. In 1816, Jones feared that the Mississauga band his sons John and Peter lived with would fall apart, in the aftermath of the War of 1812, the famine of 1816's harvest
Year Without a Summer
The Year Without a Summer was 1816, in which severe summer climate abnormalities caused average global temperatures to decrease by about 0.4–0.7 °C , resulting in major food shortages across the Northern Hemisphere...
and the influx of settlers to the area in recent years. Jones travelled to find the boys, and brought them to his farm in Stoney Creek. He arranged for the boys to be schooled in Stoney Creek, as neither spoke much English. After nine months, Jones felt that Peter's command of English was sufficient, and took him out of school to teach him the farming craft. The next year, Jones and his family relocated to land along the Grand River
Grand River (Ontario)
The Grand River is a large river in southwestern Ontario, Canada. From its source, it flows south through Grand Valley, Fergus, Elora, Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Paris, Brantford, Caledonia, and Cayuga before emptying into the north shore of Lake Erie south of Dunnville at Port Maitland...
, and Jones brought his son Peter with them. Peter lived with his father for seven years there.
Jones died on November 16, 1836 near Paris, Ontario
Paris, Ontario
Paris, Ontario is a community on the Grand River in Ontario, Canada. The town was established in 1850. In 1999, its town government was amalgamated into that of the County of Brant, Ontario, thus ending about 149 years as a separate incorporated municipality.-History:The town was first settled in...
. He was buried at Cold Springs, where his farm was located. After the death of his son Peter in 1856, Jones' remains were moved to Greenwood Cemetery in Brantford, Ontario
Brantford, Ontario
Brantford is a city located on the Grand River in Southern Ontario, Canada. While geographically surrounded by the County of Brant, the city is politically independent...
and interred beside Peter's. His grave was unmarked.
Honours
On September 10, 2005 the city of Hamilton, OntarioHamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
unveiled a statue of Jones in Stoney Creek Town Square.