My Genealogy Home Page:Information about Samual Hall Covey
Samual Hall Covey (b. 19 May 1821, d. Bet. 1872 - 1881)
Notes for Samual Hall Covey:
Notes for Samuel Hall Covey:
Researchers: Pam Wood Waugh, BARBARA COVEY BALLARD Microfilm: 1394325 ,509 GLORIA ROAD, ARCADIA CA USA 91006 Submission: AF83-077672
Sources of Information
1. [S40] Caldwells' & Christie's Manor Ang 1815-1831;, M-128.42, info from baptism.
2. http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~maryc/johnstownopener.htm
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~maryc/oldies.htm
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~maryc/thisisit.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/space/kingstonroots/
Census Information
1784 Haldimand Papers records a Sam Covey/Coney, wife, 1 male over 12, 1 male 6-12, 1 male under 6 and 1 female under 6. Is this another generation back of Sam Covey's? Will the Sam's never cease? [Information from Ted Thomson Oct 2001]
In 1845 & 1848 Front of Lansdowne census there was one & only one Samuel Covey family."
1845 1 male under 16, 1 male over 16, 5 females under 16, 1 female over 16.
*If this is our Samuel, they would be Benjamin (M_ _anon), Samuel, Lucie (Jane), Susanna, ?, ?, ? and Sally. In 1848 the total on households was also 8, and they lived at lot 15 concession 1 --that would be somewhere between Landsowne village and the river. Eight in house would be Samuel, Sally, Lucie (Jane), Susanna, ?, ?, Benjamin( M_ _anon), Samuel (provided by Shirley Morris Hackett)
Covey, Samuel Event: Living
Year: 1848
Place: Lansdowne Township Province of record source: Ontario County of record source: Leeds
Source: 1848 Census for Johnstown District: Elmsley, Kitley, Leeds, Lansdowne, Yonge, Brockville; Microfilm #M5910, Provincial Archives of Ontario, Toronto.
Volume/Page(s): 97
1851- There is no record of Samuel and Sally in the 1851 Census for Leeds and Lansdowne Townships, nor are they listed on the 1851 census for Lansdown Township. Many of the 1851 census were destroyed.
1861- At the 1861 census in Lansdown Township, Leeds County, Ontario, he was (46) living there with his wife Saly (Sally) (20) in Upper Canada. If the age is correct, this would have to be a second marriage, however later census says she was 4 years younger than him. His children were listed as: Lucie(Jane) born 1842, Benjamin( M_ _anon) born 1844, Susanna born 1845, Samuel born 1846 and Sally born 1858.
1861 Front Lansdowne Township, Leeds County Census
Copyright (c)2002, Eileen Truedell, OntarioGenWeb (http://welcome.to/ontariogenweb)
Transcriber: Eileen Truedell Proofreader: Geraldine Chase
Microfilm Numbers: NAC #C-1045 LDS #0349290
PG LN LAST NAME FIRST NAME OCCUPATION PLAC_BIRTH RELIGION RESIDENCE AGE SEX MARITAL
11 28 Covey Samuel labourer LC EC 46 M Married
11 29 Covey Saly UC EC 20 F Married
11 30 Covey Jane ? UC EC 19 F Single
11 31 Covey ? UC EC 17 ? Single
11 32 Covey Susana UC EC 16 F Single
11 33 Covey Samuel UC EC 5 M Single
11 34 Covey Sally UC EC 3 F Single
1871Census Leeds & Lansdowne Front Twp
Samuel Covey, 60, born Quebec, Church of England, labourer 1811
Sarah Covey 56, born Ontario, weaver 1815
Sarah Covey, 15 born Ontario 1855
1881 - Sam has disappeared. He does not show on the Canadian census or the US census. There is only one Sarah/Sally on this census and she is in Quebec as a widower.
Land Record Information
1871- They lived at Concession 5 Lot 22 -- between Charleston Lake & Gananoque Lake, but closer to Gananoque Lake. Sarah weaved flannel and covers (looks like), producing about 1000 yards in the year--which was relatively high. They lived on one quarter acre, and had one cow---there were no farming activities. [This information was received from Shirley Hacket Morris who has been a great help in look ups for me.]
Samuel born Quebec PATTERSON: So sorry Gail, I found Samuel (born Quebec) and Sarah (born Ontario)Covey in the 1871 census & I think I never sent this to you. They are in Lansdowne Front, but appear to have moved to Con 5 lot 22. This I think would be north of Lansdowne village much closer to the Lake. With them is only Sarah, age 15. Here is the interesting thing--Sarah Sr. shows as age 56. She was clearly shown as age 20 in 1861---so something is wrong. Maybe I should recheck this. She was a weaver (as was my gggrandmother who lived near there at that time).
Death Records
Word of Mouth Information
1. Ted Thomson says his mother (Marion Covey Thomson) told him that Samuel and James were brothers.
2. The name Sally Pat(t)erson was provided by a sister of my grandfather, Rinaldo - Helen McKay of Ottawa, Ontario. She got the information from her mother, Hester Donaldson Covey. At that time, Hester kept a family bible with all the information on the family but on the death of my grandmother, Caroline Stevens Covey, the bible was no longer to be found.
3. Notes from Teddy Thompson:
My wife descended from Steven Patterson father of the blind fiddler Chauncey Patterson of Fiddlers Elbow on Ash Island about two miles down the river from Downey Island. Chauncey's second wife was Lucy Stevens, not proved to be one of our Stevens line. Could the Sally Paterson be from this line? There is a Sally Patterson (nickname) on Wellsley Island that is a descendant of Chauncy's first marriage.
There was also a Samuel Covey living on the first concession north of the # 2 highway east of Gananoque and about five miles north of Downey Island. This information is from the county atlas of Leeds county of about 1867-8.
My sense was that Sam moved from the river to the farm on the second concession but I never followed up at the land office or to check the wills. Is our Sam his son who moved north to Charleston Lakes south shore?
4. Notes from Kevin Trickey, Ohio from Bob Lawson and listed on Samuel 1848's death certificate: Samuel was born in Scotland. Sally was born in Limerick. Research needs to be done. Received scanned death certificate from Kathy Covey Brown which clearly shows he was born in Scotland and she was born Limerick.
5. My sense was that Sam moved from the river to the farm on the second concession but I never followed up at the land office or to check the wills. Is our Sam his son who moved north to Charleston Lakes south shore. Above information from Teddy Thomson, summer 2002
Area Information: about 1840
The information and picture is from a book by Susan Weston Smith, and I think she researched it while working for Parks Canada. I share my exact notes of this. Thousand Islands Canadian Info From the First Summer People, Department of Indian Affairs. Early data is housed in the National Archives of Canada in records group 10.
Three surveys were done John McNaughton in 1862, Charles Unwin in 1874 and Walter Beatty in 1894.
All three surveys can be found in The First Summer People, The Thousand Islands 1650 - 1910, by Susan Weston Smith. The river properties were not part of the original land grants to the settlers and were not put up for sale until later. These three surveys were done to establish their value and Unwin made mention of some of the people who had occupied them. Samuel Covey was one of these people. Unwin said he sold it 30 or 40 years ago, which would have him living on the Island in the 1820-30s.
My sense was that Sam moved from the river to the farm on the second concession but I never followed up at the land office or to check the wills. Is our Sam his son who moved north to Charleston Lakes south shore. Above information from Teddy Thomson, summer 2002
Downie Island, Thousand Islands, near Gananoque, Ontario (in front of Landon Bay Bridge)
1862: McNaughton 54 acres, Value $100.00
Island is partly clear and under meadow, has well sheltered bays, said to be valuable for catching pickerel in them at certain seasons of the year.
1873: Unwin 66.5 acres Value $500.00
20 acres cleared, fair arable sandy loam, the unclear portion is very rough, and has had a great deal of timber taken off. There are two small dwelling houses on it, a man named Filo lives there but it is claimed by his son-in-law Chas. Shipman.
A National Archives document lists Sam Covey as being the first person to reside on Downie Island. Record says "Samuel Covey was the first person whom I know as having possession of the island, who transferred it to one Joseph Davis over 10 years ago. Joseph Davis transferred the same island to David Shipman, who was father to Charles Shipman, transferred the island about 12 years ago. When the same Charles Shipman first obtained the island from his father, he built a house which was subsequently destroyed by fire. He erected a second house which now stands on it. He also planted a hundred apple trees on the island and cultivated pasture. In later years, Downie Island was the site of the Boys' Summer Boarding School, built by the Rev. August Ullman, rector of the Trinity College in New York City (note: Trinity College was the first deaf college in operation). He bought the island from Thomas Shipman in 1901. The school, built on the south side of the island, existed for only a couple of years. Although Ullman retained ownership of the island for a decade, he rented the school buildings to Alexander MacFarlane in 1913. MacFarlane converted the building into the Float House Island, a hotel that could accommodate seventy-five guests. The lease was renewed for fifteen years. A steamer dock was built, as well as a road around the island and many walking paths. The property surrounding the hotel was landscaped, and a vegetable garden provided the hotel kitchens with produce. In 1881, the property was sold to L. Steward. Later the island was leased to the Shipman family for $30 a year and then sold to them. No date available - sold to A. Ferguson for $900.00.
===========================
Downey island is located in the St Lawerence River out in front of Landon Bay bridge. The information and picture I send you is from a book by Susan Weston Smith, and I think she researched it will working for Parks Canada. I share my exact notes of this.
Thousand Islands Canadian Info From the First Summer People, Department of Indian Affairs early data are housed in the national archives of Canada in records group 10. Three surveys were done John McNaughton in 1862, Charles Unwin in 1874 and Walter Beatty in 1894. All three surveys can be found in The First Summer People The Thousand Islands 1650 - 1910 by Susan Weston Smith.
The river properties were not part of the original land grants to the settlers and were not put up for sale until later and these three surveys were done to establish their value and Unwin made mention of
some of the people who had occupied them. Samuel Covey was one of these people. Unwin said he sold it 30 or 40 years ago, which would have him living on the Island in the 1820-30s. There was also a Samuel Covey living on the first concession north of the # 2 highway east of Gananoque and about five miles north of Downey Island. This info is from the county atlas of Leeds county of about 1867-8. My sense was that Sam moved from the river to the farm on the second cocession but I never followed up at the land office or to check the wills. Is our Sam his son who moved north to Charleston Lakes south
shore?
=====================
Scotland, Ontario was formerly Burford
=====================
The history of the Kelsey family in Leeds County follows the same pattern as many Canadians families, and helped to make Ontario the richest province in Confederation. In 1780 (or there about) during the time of the United Empire Loyalists Revolution when thousands were fleeing from the United States, two Kelsey brothers came up the Mohawk River through the Appalachian Mountains to the St. Lawrence River. They came with a mare, colt and drawing a wagon. When they reached the river they built a raft; loaded the colt and what possessions they could and paddled across the river to Canada. They landed at a point near Halstead Bay which is just east of modern day Gananoque, Ontario. They then traveled north through the wilderness until they came to a wheat field which is now Brier Hill; just north of Lyndhurst, Ontario. There they stayed in hiding eating wheat and drinking water until they thought it was safe to show themselves.
See Benjamin Kelsey notes for more information
Note: Halstead Bay is very close to Downie Island. Was Samuel with the Kelseys? Did the Stevens come at this time too? What about the Pattersons? Stevens family members married UEL descendents, Kelseys, Mallorys, Pattersons and Coveys. I believe UEL intermarried commonly so does this mean our Covey's were UELs as well?
=========
The Alnwick Band of the Mississauga Indians lived, hunted, fished and owned all the Islands in the Bay of Quinte, Weller's Bay and the St. Lawrence. An 1822 survey of the islands intoned, "A few Indians reside in the islands which are thickly scattered in the river St. Lawrence opposite the townships of Younge, Leeds and Lansdowne in this district; but they are too unimportant to be of consequence in our estimate of population, even if their numbers could be ascertained".
The Mississauga or Island Indians, began leaving the Islands in the period 1810 to 1830, largely as a result of intensive timber cutting originally for lumber and later for cordwood for steamships. Virtually every island was denuded of saleable lumber (what we see today on the islands is 2nd and 3rd growth post clearance). This effectively removed the Indian's source of livelihood. A group of Methodist missionaries arrived in Kingston in 1822 to convert the Mississauga's to Christianity and by 1830 all the Island Indians had moved to their Mission on Grape Island in the Bay of Quinte. In 1837, the reserve moved to the Township of Alnwick on Rice Lake where their descendants live to this day.
Shortly after the Indians left the islands, whites settled on or otherwise continued to exploit many of the larger islands. They either paid yearly rents to the Mississauga's or simply squatted, timbered or pastured to their liking.
========
Excerpt from Gananoque's homepage on the History of the 1000 Islands:
Military activity was much in evidence throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. The St. Lawrence was a highway for military activity, a vital route that delivered warships and men during the war between France and Britain from 1754 to 1759, the American War of Independence between Britain and the United States in 1776 and the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States. A smaller conflict was the Patriot War in 1837-1838 when there were acts of piracy among the 1000 Islands. Many forts, blockhouses and military installations still dot the area and serve to remind us of our stormy past.
European settlement of the islands began around 1783 with the arrival of the United Empire Loyalists, who moved from the United States after the American War of Independence in order to remain loyal to the British Crown. They came up the river in boats powered by oars, towing them through the rapids with ropes.
1808 The Militia Act states that all males between ages of sixteen and sixty are required to enroll as militiamen and are to be called out once a year for exercises
http://www.uppercanadagenealogy.com/chronologyS.html#1792
===========
In 1784 the whole littoral of the River of St. Lawrence, from Lake St. Francis to Lake Ontario, the shores of Lake Ontario as far as and including the Bay of Quinté, the neighbourhood of the town of Niagara, then called Newark, and part of the shores of the Detroit River, were colonized by about 10,000 United Empire Loyalists who, assisted by Government aid, took possession of land which had been laid out for their reception.
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/98-187-XIE/upcan.htm
More About Samuel Hall Covey:
Baptism: June 01, 1821, Caldwells Manor, Missiquoi County, Quebec.51
Date born 2: 1811, Scotland, Lower Canada.
Census 1: 1845, Front Lansdowne Tnshp, Leeds County, Ontario.
Census 2: 1848, Lansdown Tnshp, Leeds County, Ontario.
Census 3: 1861, Lansdown Tnshp, Leeds County, Ontario.
Census 4: 1871, Leeds & Lansdowne Front Twp age 60.
LDS: #0349290.
Nat'l Archives Canada: C-1045.
Property: 1840, Downey Island, St. Lawrence River, Ontario.
Residence 1: 1848, Lot 15, Concession 1, Lansdown Tnshp.
Residence 2: Bet. 1867 - 1868, 1st Con north of Hwy 2, E of Gananoque.
Residence 3: 1871, Lot 22, Concession 5, Lansdown Tnshp.
More About Samuel Hall Covey and
Marriage: Abt. 1833
Children of Samuel Hall Covey are:
1. Unknown Covey, b. 1842, d. date unknown.
2. Susanna Covey, b. Abt. 1845, d. date unknown.
3. +Samuel B. Covey, b. July 05, 1848, Lansdown Front, Ontario Canada, d. July 29, 1912, Lot 15, Concession 9, Yonge (near Athens, Ontario).
4. Sarah Covey, b. 1856, d. date unknown.
More About Samual Hall Covey:
Baptism: 01 Jun 1821, St. George's Anglican Church ,Caldwell's Manor, Missisquoi Co, Quebec.
Children of Samual Hall Covey and Sarah are:
- Sarah Covey, b. 1856, d. date unknown.
- ? Covey, b. 1842, d. date unknown.
- Suzanna Covey, b. Abt. 1845, d. date unknown.
- +Samuel B. Covey, b. 05 Jul 1848, Lansdown Front, Ontario Canada, d. 29 Jul 1912, Lot 15, Concession 9, Yonge (near Athens, Ontario)..