The Richmond Military Settlement, 1818
Richmond, Ontario Weather Forecast
plaque at St. John the Baptist Church in Richmond
This is an excerpt from the book Richmond Sesquicentennial,
150 years - 1818-1968
A school house was established by 1820. It was used as a preaching
station by both Protestants and Catholics.
One morning in 1820 Captain Maxwell was preaching a sermon (Anglican)
and said the words:
"And the Lord said unto Moses ... Pat McElroy - put another stick on the fire!"
A survey in 1819 found 400 Catholics in the area and St. Phillip's RC
Church was founded. Among the names from before 1840 are:
Dunn
Cavanagh
Whelan
Watters / Waters
O'Connor / Connor / Connors
Gorman
O'Neill / O'Neil
Tierney
Shanahan / Shannon
O'Brien
McKenna
Larkin
Kennedy
O'Grady
Baxter
McCarthy / McCarty / Carty
Clarke
Hammill / Hammell
Bergin / Berrigan
Devine
Forbes
Purdy
Burnett
Lennon / Lenahan
Monaghan / Monahan
Timmins
Fogarty
Brennan
Casey
Houlahan / Houlihan
Mears / O'Meara
Kitts / Kitte / Kitt
Burke
Dubroy / Dubreuille (April 15, 2006)
Byrne / Burns / Byrnes
Moloughney or Maloney
Hanrahan
McAuley
Some of these people were at Fallowfield or Jockvale to the east of Richmond.
Some were as far west of Richmond as Dwyer Hill and Marlborough Township.
August 7, 2001
Dear Al,
I just spent 2 hours perusing your website "Bytown or Bust" and found it fascinating.
I do have one question. I don't know if you can post it or can answer it yourself. Do
you know if St. John's Parish in Richmond, Carleton Co, was Anglican or Catholic? Do you
know if the church is still there?
My gg-grandparents were married there on Sept 20, 1843. Their names were John Boyd
(an Irish immigrant) and Elizabeth Coward (from England?).
Again, thanks for your website.
Terry Boyd Sawzak
Hi Terry:
Thanks for your e-mail regarding St. John's in Richmond.
A schoolhouse was built in Richmond in about 1819. It was used as a temporary church by
the Anglicans and Roman Catholics alike until churches were built. St. John the Baptist
Anglican Church was built in 1823.
The Roman Catholic Church, called St. Phillips / St. Philips was built about the same
time.
St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Richmond was built in 1823 and the Methodist Church
(United Church) is called St. Paul's.
Methodist "saddlebag" preachers visited Richmond from about 1819.
Source: Richmond 150th Anniversary Booklet (1818-1868)
The main cemetery in Richmond contains three sections - Anglican, Roman Catholic and I
forget if the third is Methodist or Presbyterian.
... Al
(picture) October 27, 2002:
The Birtch Brothers store on the Jock River.
Now a residential building.
October 10, 2003:
This Birtch family was probably related to Thomas BIRCH who came from Tipperary and
settled in Cumberland Township.
See also some pioneers in Goulbourn Township
And Joseph Fortune, original Surveyor of Richmond.
November 11, 2002: And Sgt. McElroy who settled in Richmond in 1818.
February 7, 2003:
From the records of St. Phillip's Church in 1842:
28 December 1842, In the Church of St. Philip of Richmond in the District of Dalhousie,
Canada West, solemn benediction of a bell (weighing 400 lbs.) called Mary Ann at the
request of Mrs. Delaurier, Lady of Honour. In the presence of Very Rev. P. Phelan,
V.G., Rev. T. Smith, P.P. of Richmond, Rev. J. H. McDonagh, P.P. of Perth, Rev. James
Clarke, P.P. of Prescott. Rev. J. Leclaire, Adjutant of Bytown, and a great many others.
September 15, 2004:
The Rielly House Hotel in Richmond was a main provisioning place for
farmers heading to the logging camps each year. It was also used as a
meeting place for the Goodwood Masonic Lodge which had been established at Richmond
in 1821. The present building, built in 1918, is on McBean Street and is part
of the Doors Open Ottawa program.
Pat McGrath is researching the Rielly, Burke and Lewis families from the Richmond area.
June 29, 2005:
Reeves of Richmond, 1850 to 1896
The village of Richmond was founded in 1818. It was incorporated in 1850.
The following persons were the Reeves of Richmond before 1900:
W. R. Lyon
J. Hinton
G. Brown
Jos. Hinton
Thomas Lyon
John A. Bryson
Jos. Hinton
T.V. Lyon
William H. Butler
Dr. Beatty
H. Riely
Source: Richmond Sesquicentennial, 1818-1968
July 10, 2005:
Hi Al: I hope that you forgive me because I may have taken away an excuse for
you to go for a ride some nice day. You mentioned that you wanted to go out
and get a picture of the Duke of Richmond's Monument. Here it is along with a
couple of shots of the Twin Elm Bridge. Do as you wish with them.
... Robert Sample
E-Mail: rbsample@ncf.ca
Memorial to Charles Lennox, Fourth Duke of Richmond
Plaque dedicated to the Duke of Richmond
Bridge over the Jock River at Twin Elm
Goulbourn Township, near the Nepean Border
The Jock River was first called the Goodwood River
after the name of the Duke's estate in England
Before coming to Canada, the Duke of Richmond had been Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
He became the tenth Governor General of English Canada. He died in 1819 at Twin Elm, just
east of our village of Richmond after having been bitten by a rabid fox a few
weeks earlier in Lower Canada. Lieutenant Francis Cockburn (Cockburn Street)
was a close friend.
October 18, 2006:
Thanks to Robert Sample for the following:
Hi Al. I have read a couple of times wherein modern authors are saying that the Duke
of Richmond died before reaching Richmond. This is incorrect. He spent at least
one night in Richmond and then headed on by boat the next morning. His party
got down on the Jock to about where his monument stands today and there is some
debate as to whether he took off on them and ran to a barn or they took him to a
barn where he later died. Apparently there are different types of rabies or
rabies that have different symptoms. His seemingly was hydrophobic so the water
in the Jock was likely most uncomfortable for him.
I grew up in the Richmond area and the story that was told 65 yrs ago was
that the fox that bit him was a pet.
... Robert Sample
The story in my family is the Duke was bitten by a rabid fox and (my ancestor),
Dr. Christoper Collis, bled him. He died in Richmond & his body was sent by boat to Quebec city.
... Pat McGrath
June 18, 2008:
The Duke of Richmond died at the home of Jerard Chapman (he later owned Chapman's Mills where
the Jock River empties into the Rideau River near the southern end of Woodroffe Avenue and
Prince of Wales Drive).
Text and Photo Source: Richmond Sesquicentennial, 150 years - 1818-1968, pages 2 and 3
and more from Robert Sample, regarding Dr. Collis:
Descendants of Chris 'MD' Collis
1 Chris 'MD' Collis b: Abt. 1795. Military Surgeon. Came to Richmond prior
to or about 1820 and was a Military Surgeon. d: in It is not know if Marianne
is a dau or a granddaughter but I will leave her there until I find out.
. +Unknown Unknown
....... 2 Marianne Collis b: December 19, 1830 in This Family Info is from the
Cemetery Stone d: October 19, 1896 Burial: St. John's Anglican Cemetery, Richmond, Ont.
........... +Thomas Lewis b: December 15, 1821 in This Family Info is from the
Cemetery Listing. d: July 1889 Burial: St. John's Anglican Cemetery, Richmond, Ont.
m: in 1851 Richmond census shows them as married. Father: John Bower 'Capt.' Lewis
Mother: Henrietta Jones
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