Mossom Boyd
Encyclopedia
Mossom Boyd was ‘a member of the Anglo-Irish gentry,’ who, upon moving to Canada
, quickly became the lumber king of the Trent.
to Captain Gardiner Boyd, ‘a North of Ireland officer of the Bengal Army
,’ and his wife Arabella Chadwick. Both of his parents died in 1829 during the cholera
epidemic, after which, Mossom Boyd and his sister Anne were sent to live with guardians in London
. This unfortunate transition must have had an ill effect on the children; their behaviour was considered ‘difficult’ and they were promptly relocated to Ireland
’s Derry
district to live with an aunt. Boyd began to spend an increasing amount of time in the local pubs while waiting to be called upon by the British Army
. After the Napoleonic Wars
there were decreasing opportunities for new military recruits, and immigration to Britain’s North American
colonies began to increase in response to a decline in the workforce necessary for modern production. Boyd’s choice to relocate to Canada was heavily influenced by his accomplice in pub-crawling, John Darcus.
described him as a ‘most resolute home-stayer and a very industrious settler,’ who ‘has chopped all his own land himself.’ She seemed to quite admire his simple hard working nature: ‘he is a favourite of mine; he is not brilliant or animated, but has much goodness and kindness, and simplicity of character, and is an example to all our young men for industry, attention to business, and study of economy.’
In 1844 Boyd solidified his connections with John Langton and the Dunsford family by marrying Caroline Dunsford. This friendship precipitated a short-lived partnership between Boyd and John Langton. In 1845 Mossom and Caroline’s first son, Gardiner Boyd, was born. Caroline and Mossom had six children altogether: Gardiner, Anne, Mary Arabella, Caroline, Mossom Martin, and Emma Blackall. Boyd’s wife Caroline died a year after the birth of her last child, Emma, in 1857 from an unknown cause. Boyd was left with six children under twelve; this was extremely difficult for him due to the tremendous amount of energy and time necessary to maintain his business. He was concerned about the children living in Peterborough, and in great need of help Boyd contacted Letitia Magee Cust, a childhood friend from Derry. He wrote to her knowing she was still unmarried, warning her that she ‘may not find me at all what you imagine or be able to conceive what effects such a rough life may have had on me, both in appearance and in all other respects.’ Letitia agreed to undertake the long journey alone to Bobcaygeon. Upon her arrival she married Boyd and took control over house and children, eventually adding to the brood with three of her own, one of which died. The Boyd children were provided with a thorough education. Mossom Martin attended school until age six-teen when his father decided that he was needed to help with the lumbering business. One of Boyd’s other sons, William (W.T.C.) from his marriage with Letitia, was also inducted into the family business. In 1880 an addition was built over the south wing of the Boyd home; these new rooms were for Boyd’s private use during his illness. Mossom Boyd died on the evening of July 24, 1883, and was buried in the Peterborough
cemetery on July 27, 1883.
for business. This provided Boyd with some cash, and opportunity for future advancement. Need increasingly relied on Boyd to look after his property and mill as he made more and more frequent trips to England. On March 15, 1843 Need began leasing ‘part of lot 15 in Concession X, Verulam, the mill reserve, with “gristmill
, sawmill
and tenement thereon”, for a term of seven years,’ costing £40 per annum to Boyd. The same year as Boyd’s marriage to Caroline (1844) Need received his inheritance, which enabled him to permanently return to England. Boyd’s early introduction into the lumbering trade, and partnership with John Langton in 1849 allowed for much needed financial aid and advice. Langton writes about Boyd:
Unfortunately, owing to ill-health, Boyd and Langton’s partnership did not last, and upon his recovery in 1851, Langton made a smooth transition from lumbering to politics.
On July 1, 1851, Need had a new lease contracted for 21 years with an annual rent of £15 a year for the first seven years, after five years Boyd would have the power to purchase for £500. By paying £100 a year Boyd was able to pay for the, roughly 8 acres (32,374.9 m²), and two mills by September 13, 1855.
harbour was ideal for the lumber
trade, with its gently sloping shore, and a very firm bottom. This allowed timbers and spars to be stocked on shore for shipment, and the incoming tide enabled them to be easily floated when necessary. Local merchants were able to make a sizable profit from the space they rented in their coves for the logs, and rafts. At this point the logs would be measured, culled, and graded, as standardized by the Canadian government in 1808. Driving the logs to Quebec was worth the time and effort, the American
demand on Canadian timber forced competitive prices from Great Britain, keeping the price on the Quebec market high. The superior quality of Boyd’s pine logs gave Boyd a cutting edge in the vicious Quebec market.
Boyd manned his first river driving expedition to Quebec City in 1848, with the help of a neighbour, Kelly. Boyd was in need of some ready money, and he believed that he had gained the necessary skills to successfully make it to Quebec with the masts. He began his journey early in the spring, but the strong current caused by melting snow and heavy rainfall did not help their passage, and they did not reach Peterborough until July, three months after they began. At this point Kelly dropped out, but Boyd decided to stick it out, and although he did not reach Quebec until late in the season, he managed to sell all of the pine.
The following year, Boyd formed a partnership with John Langton and James Dunsford, but neither had the enthusiasm for the Quebec trade that Boyd did; both soon removed themselves from the business. Langton remained involved with Boyd after he withdrew, often backing Boyd when his credit was low. After 1851 Boyd was on his own, facing many hardships during the years to come, but his determination outlasted his difficulties. Boyd was one of the last lumbermen to dabble in the Quebec market. Mossom Boyd continued, until the bitter end, to make the trip down to Quebec. He never tired of this journey mentioning that: ‘travelling on our own back lakes, one never tires of that.’
In the 1860s the Department of Crown lands began to realize the advantages of having land cleared before settlement commenced. The Crown auctioned rights to clear Snowdon, Glamorgan, and Monmouth townships, which Boyd was able to acquire. The length of time these limits would remain available to Boyd was not guaranteed, so he was reluctant to expand without gaining a contract that would survive a minimum of ten years. The opportune moment came when The Canadian Land & Emigration Company decided to purchase the townships in 1861, in the area, which is now Haliburton
. The Canadian Land and Emigration Company had very few families, less than eighty, move into the area they had purchased. They decided to sell one township to the lumbering company Thompson and Dodge, due to lack of interest, and poor land for farming. The outright sale of the land angered member, C.R. Stewart, forcing him to resign, and to request his brother Hartley Stewart to intervene. ‘He advised that the company should get a reliable lumberman to harvest the large tress in the other nine townships in an orderly fashion.’ As it was primarily the Trent water system in this area, this contract was an excellent opportunity for Boyd to gain some capitol. Boyd was able to get the cutting rights on Canadian Land & Emigration Company Land for ten years.
Boyd had expansive limits in Ottawa
and Quebec, and by 1882 he had begun sending rangers to explore Nipissing
, Manitoba
, and Minnesota
. A Gravenhurst
firm cut the lumber from his land in Havelock, which was later, shipped into Buffalo
. At the time of his death, lumbering around northern Peterborough had come to a halt, as well as in Burnt River. His last timber raft went to Quebec in 1883.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, quickly became the lumber king of the Trent.
Early life
Mossom Boyd was born in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to Captain Gardiner Boyd, ‘a North of Ireland officer of the Bengal Army
Bengal Army
The Bengal Army was the army of the Presidency of Bengal, one of the three Presidencies of British India, in South Asia. Although based in Bengal in eastern India, the presidency stretched across northern India and the Himalayas all the way to the North West Frontier Province...
,’ and his wife Arabella Chadwick. Both of his parents died in 1829 during the cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic, after which, Mossom Boyd and his sister Anne were sent to live with guardians in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. This unfortunate transition must have had an ill effect on the children; their behaviour was considered ‘difficult’ and they were promptly relocated to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
’s Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
district to live with an aunt. Boyd began to spend an increasing amount of time in the local pubs while waiting to be called upon by the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. After the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
there were decreasing opportunities for new military recruits, and immigration to Britain’s North American
North American
North American generally refers to an entity, people, group, or attribute of North America, especially of the United States and Canada together.-Culture:*North American English, a collective term used to describe American English and Canadian English...
colonies began to increase in response to a decline in the workforce necessary for modern production. Boyd’s choice to relocate to Canada was heavily influenced by his accomplice in pub-crawling, John Darcus.
Life in Canada
Landing in Canada in 1834, Boyd made the long trek towards his newly acquired 100 acre (0.404686 km²) of land in Verulam Township. Upon arrival, Boyd eventually fell in with some of the ‘gentleman farmers, including members of the Need, Langton, and Dunsford families. The connections made with these members of the local gentry aided Boyd greatly, and allowed for his transition from working hand to an entrepreneurial giant. Anne LangtonAnne Langton
Anne Langton was an aristocratic English artist who specialized in landscapes and miniature portraiture. In 1837, she settled on the frontier in Upper Canada, where she continued her artwork and also became known for her writing.She was born to Thomas and Ellen Langton in the Yorkshire Dales, but...
described him as a ‘most resolute home-stayer and a very industrious settler,’ who ‘has chopped all his own land himself.’ She seemed to quite admire his simple hard working nature: ‘he is a favourite of mine; he is not brilliant or animated, but has much goodness and kindness, and simplicity of character, and is an example to all our young men for industry, attention to business, and study of economy.’
In 1844 Boyd solidified his connections with John Langton and the Dunsford family by marrying Caroline Dunsford. This friendship precipitated a short-lived partnership between Boyd and John Langton. In 1845 Mossom and Caroline’s first son, Gardiner Boyd, was born. Caroline and Mossom had six children altogether: Gardiner, Anne, Mary Arabella, Caroline, Mossom Martin, and Emma Blackall. Boyd’s wife Caroline died a year after the birth of her last child, Emma, in 1857 from an unknown cause. Boyd was left with six children under twelve; this was extremely difficult for him due to the tremendous amount of energy and time necessary to maintain his business. He was concerned about the children living in Peterborough, and in great need of help Boyd contacted Letitia Magee Cust, a childhood friend from Derry. He wrote to her knowing she was still unmarried, warning her that she ‘may not find me at all what you imagine or be able to conceive what effects such a rough life may have had on me, both in appearance and in all other respects.’ Letitia agreed to undertake the long journey alone to Bobcaygeon. Upon her arrival she married Boyd and took control over house and children, eventually adding to the brood with three of her own, one of which died. The Boyd children were provided with a thorough education. Mossom Martin attended school until age six-teen when his father decided that he was needed to help with the lumbering business. One of Boyd’s other sons, William (W.T.C.) from his marriage with Letitia, was also inducted into the family business. In 1880 an addition was built over the south wing of the Boyd home; these new rooms were for Boyd’s private use during his illness. Mossom Boyd died on the evening of July 24, 1883, and was buried in the Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
cemetery on July 27, 1883.
Lumbering
Boyd was a very industrious worker, clearing all of his own land upon arrival in Verulam Township. After a few years Boyd began to realize that creating a productive farm was not as profitable as he initially thought, and the demand for surplus crops was minimal. As Boyd was a bachelor, he was an excellent candidate to mind Thomas Need’s sawmill and store, on the site, which is now Bobcaygeon, while Need returned to EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for business. This provided Boyd with some cash, and opportunity for future advancement. Need increasingly relied on Boyd to look after his property and mill as he made more and more frequent trips to England. On March 15, 1843 Need began leasing ‘part of lot 15 in Concession X, Verulam, the mill reserve, with “gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
, sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
and tenement thereon”, for a term of seven years,’ costing £40 per annum to Boyd. The same year as Boyd’s marriage to Caroline (1844) Need received his inheritance, which enabled him to permanently return to England. Boyd’s early introduction into the lumbering trade, and partnership with John Langton in 1849 allowed for much needed financial aid and advice. Langton writes about Boyd:
‘Boyd is an Irishman whose blood got an extra boiling by being born in India… Boyd is admirably adapted in many respects for the work he is at. When a raft is once started almost everything must yield to dispatch, and a restless being who can keep himself and everything that comes in contact with him in a state of excitement for two or three months at a time is just the man to drive a river.”
Unfortunately, owing to ill-health, Boyd and Langton’s partnership did not last, and upon his recovery in 1851, Langton made a smooth transition from lumbering to politics.
On July 1, 1851, Need had a new lease contracted for 21 years with an annual rent of £15 a year for the first seven years, after five years Boyd would have the power to purchase for £500. By paying £100 a year Boyd was able to pay for the, roughly 8 acres (32,374.9 m²), and two mills by September 13, 1855.
Quebec
The European market for white pine, oak, and elm offered great opportunities for Canadian Lumbermen. The Quebec CityQuebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
harbour was ideal for the lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
trade, with its gently sloping shore, and a very firm bottom. This allowed timbers and spars to be stocked on shore for shipment, and the incoming tide enabled them to be easily floated when necessary. Local merchants were able to make a sizable profit from the space they rented in their coves for the logs, and rafts. At this point the logs would be measured, culled, and graded, as standardized by the Canadian government in 1808. Driving the logs to Quebec was worth the time and effort, the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
demand on Canadian timber forced competitive prices from Great Britain, keeping the price on the Quebec market high. The superior quality of Boyd’s pine logs gave Boyd a cutting edge in the vicious Quebec market.
Boyd manned his first river driving expedition to Quebec City in 1848, with the help of a neighbour, Kelly. Boyd was in need of some ready money, and he believed that he had gained the necessary skills to successfully make it to Quebec with the masts. He began his journey early in the spring, but the strong current caused by melting snow and heavy rainfall did not help their passage, and they did not reach Peterborough until July, three months after they began. At this point Kelly dropped out, but Boyd decided to stick it out, and although he did not reach Quebec until late in the season, he managed to sell all of the pine.
The following year, Boyd formed a partnership with John Langton and James Dunsford, but neither had the enthusiasm for the Quebec trade that Boyd did; both soon removed themselves from the business. Langton remained involved with Boyd after he withdrew, often backing Boyd when his credit was low. After 1851 Boyd was on his own, facing many hardships during the years to come, but his determination outlasted his difficulties. Boyd was one of the last lumbermen to dabble in the Quebec market. Mossom Boyd continued, until the bitter end, to make the trip down to Quebec. He never tired of this journey mentioning that: ‘travelling on our own back lakes, one never tires of that.’
Expansion
Around the 1850s Mossom Boyd realized the necessity of expanding his lumbering activities. He purchased Crown land ‘in the northern part of Verulam as well as in Somerville and Harvey townships.’ Boyd was able to clear these lands of their best pine, and later sell them to prospective settlers. These partially cleared lands were a more favourable purchase for the settlers, who often found clearing heavily forested areas too daunting a task.In the 1860s the Department of Crown lands began to realize the advantages of having land cleared before settlement commenced. The Crown auctioned rights to clear Snowdon, Glamorgan, and Monmouth townships, which Boyd was able to acquire. The length of time these limits would remain available to Boyd was not guaranteed, so he was reluctant to expand without gaining a contract that would survive a minimum of ten years. The opportune moment came when The Canadian Land & Emigration Company decided to purchase the townships in 1861, in the area, which is now Haliburton
Haliburton County, Ontario
Haliburton is a county of Ontario, Canada, known as a tourist and cottage area in Central Ontario for its scenery and for its resident artists. Minden Hills is the county seat. Haliburton County was established in 1983, but had existed as the Provisional County of Haliburton since 1874...
. The Canadian Land and Emigration Company had very few families, less than eighty, move into the area they had purchased. They decided to sell one township to the lumbering company Thompson and Dodge, due to lack of interest, and poor land for farming. The outright sale of the land angered member, C.R. Stewart, forcing him to resign, and to request his brother Hartley Stewart to intervene. ‘He advised that the company should get a reliable lumberman to harvest the large tress in the other nine townships in an orderly fashion.’ As it was primarily the Trent water system in this area, this contract was an excellent opportunity for Boyd to gain some capitol. Boyd was able to get the cutting rights on Canadian Land & Emigration Company Land for ten years.
Boyd had expansive limits in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
and Quebec, and by 1882 he had begun sending rangers to explore Nipissing
Nipissing District, Ontario
Nipissing District, Ontario is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1858. The district seat is North Bay.In 2006, the population was 84,688...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. A Gravenhurst
Gravenhurst, Ontario
Gravenhurst is a town in the Muskoka Region of Ontario, Canada. It is located approximately south of Bracebridge, Ontario. The mayor is Paisley Donaldson...
firm cut the lumber from his land in Havelock, which was later, shipped into Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. At the time of his death, lumbering around northern Peterborough had come to a halt, as well as in Burnt River. His last timber raft went to Quebec in 1883.