An Inclement Journey Across Niagara, 1803

This is the third in a series of three essays relating to local trade and communications, the relationships between the Loyalist refugees who came to Niagara in the 1780s and their new environment.

Part 1 - "The Worst in the World!": The Troubled History of Niagara's Roadways examines the state of transportation in Niagara during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and the small communities that formed during this period.

Part 2 - Producing Potash at Rockway: A Fifteen Mile Falls Community explores the industrial history of Fifteen Mile Falls, now the site of the Rockway Conservation Area.

“...the Inclemency of the weather never stoped [sic] me ... tho I must own I frequently suffered much.”

— Francis Goring

Have you gotten your 10,000 steps in today? The CDC recommends most adults should aim to meet this goal each day in order to maintain general fitness. Depending on your job, this may be easy. For us at The Brown Homestead, we’ve been cooped up behind our desks for far too long as this winter progresses, and it’s tough to get those steps in. You know who didn’t have this problem? A man named Francis Goring.

Goring traveled through the entire Niagara peninsula on foot every winter from 1803-1808, delivering letters for his employer. His travels depict the harsh realities of communication and travel in Niagara at that time, and are a stark reminder of the luxuries we take for granted today.

Francis Who?

Francis Goring was born in England and moved to Quebec in 1776 where he began working for different merchants. He is one of the oldest residents of Niagara of European descent, having arrived at Fort Niagara in 1777 during the American Revolution, where he worked as a clerk until 1781 (1). At this time, Fort Niagara was an important British supply depot and a place where Loyalist refugees gathered as they fled the thirteen colonies. It remained in British hands until 1796, at which time it was ceded peacefully to the American army as part of the Jay Treaty. Around 1781 Goring married one of Niagara’s earliest female settlers of European descent, Lucy Secord (2). Her work is noted in his farm records as she helped with their wheat harvest and sold butchered fowl and eggs from their farm along with some beets from their garden, trading them in town for salt and linens, and to pay off some of their merchant debt.

Library and Archives Canada, Memorandum from April 3, 1792, Francis Goring fonds [textual record].

Niagara was a fundamentally agrarian community in the late 18th & early 19th centuries, and while Goring farmed portions of his land like everyone else, he also offered literary skills that were not as common in the area. He was a schoolteacher, opening one of the first schools in the region in 1792, and he tutored local students (3). He was also a land agent, and on occasion he would complete different administrative tasks for people in the community. His notebooks detail a few instances where he composed official documents including a will, a bill of sale, a deputy lieutenant’s commission and a petition.

Source: Library and Archives Canada, Entry from December 10, 1792, Francis Goring fonds [textual record].

The Story

Goring’s literacy proved useful to merchants like Robert Hamilton, Niagara’s most prevalent merchant. Goring was already familiar with Hamilton on a personal level, having taught his three sons in 1792, and he began working as his secretary by the early 1800s until Hamilton’s death in 1809. Much of Goring’s work involved traveling around the Niagara region and delivering letters of notice to those owing Hamilton a debt. Hamilton was still owed £69,000 at the time of his death in 1809… approximately $2.6 million CAD today! (4)

Goring’s written account of his work, titled “Statement of Facts of business done for the late Hon. Robert Hamilton Esq.” reads:

“My first commencement to do business for Mr. Hamilton was in 1800. Mr. Hamilton asked me if I could make it convenient to assist him, and he would make it worth my while, to which I complied, he then held a Bond against me for £ 51-9-3 N. Y. Cy. dated Jan 11th 1798 (Note). Interest is charge [sic] me on bond from Nov. 1st 1799 until Nov. 1st 1808 which is a certain proof I could not be in debt. 1 Years Interest to Nov 1st 1810 is afterwards charged me by the Estate.

Source: Library and Archives Canada, MG 24 – D4, pg. 171, microfilm reel H-1.

For the Three first years, that is, 1800 1801 & 1802 my employment was to write the accompts and letters to those indebted to him, dating the amount of their accompts and other writing business; the letters directed within 12 miles I mostly delivered and received their answers- which I entered in a memorandum book I kept on purpose, the distant letters were sent in packets to someone in the different neighbourhoods to be distributed. After doing the above business for Mr. Hamilton Three years, and he finding by sending those letters by indifferent persons they frequently miscarried and he received no answer, he asked me on the fourth year, after writing them if I would undertake to deliver them myself, which I Promised to do, and procured their answer to Mr. Hamiltons satisfaction. This business I followed for Eight years, besides frequently writing for him at his House three and four weeks at a time and once in particular six weeks.

The first six years I traveled on foot and it being always in Winter made it very tedious, the Inclemency of the weather never stoped [sic] me, except Rain during the whole time, tho I must own I frequently suffered much. The usual time it took me was generally Six weeks in distributing between 5 and 600 letters and procuring answers with my own remarks (for at Mr. Hamiltons request I kept a Journal of all occurrencies [sic]). I have on one Winter traversed over Twenty two Townships, and have traversed to Ancaster twice in one Winter. (I say traversed for I was seldom on the direct road.) I have even in Harvest left my own to attend on Mr. Hamiltons business, and obliged to hire an other in my stead.”

The Significance

Francis Goring traveled on foot throughout Niagara from Queenston to Ancaster and back each winter from 1803-1808, delivering letters to those who owed Hamilton a debt. Paired with some of Goring’s other notes on this topic, we are given a fascinating glimpse into how Niagara’s nascent economy functioned at this time (5). One particular notebook from 1803 lists every single individual Goring visited in Niagara, the location of their farm, how much they owed Hamilton, and who the letter was given to (6).

At first, from 1800-1802, Goring only traveled as far as the Twelve Mile Creek (St. Catharines) and any mail beyond that was “sent in packets to someone in the different neighbourhoods to be distributed.” However, as he says in the letter, they were “frequently miscarried.” For some this may have been accidental, but based on Goring’s notes it seems that more than a few individuals probably used the “it got lost in the mail” excuse to dodge debt collection. Here are a couple examples of individuals who did this during his travels in 1803:

Elias Champlin, Beaver Dam [sic], £1-11-2, Run to the States & not expected to return
Henry Skinner, Head of the Lake, £46-14-3, Delivered to himself at Mr. Beasleys, he split off before I could speak to him, am informed very little to be expected, has moved 4 times in 4 years, and is thought will move off entirely.

Source: Library and Archives Canada, Entry for Henry Skinner, 1803, Francis Goring fonds [textual record].

Frustrated by the fact that he was not being paid, Hamilton tasked Goring with delivering the notices himself on foot in the winter months. It took him six weeks to deliver 500-600 letters, saying “I have on one Winter traversed over Twenty-two Townships, and have traversed to Ancaster twice in one Winter.” What a feat! Can you imagine doing this during the winter? Soaked to the bone in the rain and sleet, up and down the escarpment, for six weeks straight?

Goring traveled to farmhouses in the most rural parts of Niagara, taking him off the beaten path for most of his journey. The fact that the employee of the wealthiest man in Niagara was made to travel over one hundred miles on foot each winter to deliver these messages suggests that the state of the roads remained quite poor in the early 1800s, as explored in the first article of this series. Indeed, later in this letter he expressed frustration for the impassable sections of road that ensued during the spring thaw each year. In this story we can see how all types of people were hindered by transportation issues prevalent during this time, regardless of their wealth or status.

Accommodations

As you read this you might be wondering: “Where did he sleep?” “How did he find food?” There were no McDonalds drive-thrus or Best Westerns on-route. Yet, by this point in time the Niagara region had been inhabited by new settlers for at least 15-20 years, with historians estimating a population of approximately 11,000 people (7). This resulted in the establishment of a handful of inns and taverns in various townships along the major travel routes. According to local historian Dr. Richard Merritt, the terms inn, tavern, ordinary, public house, house of entertainment, ale house, tippling house, half-way house and hotel were all used interchangeably (8). A separate account from 1805 mentions a party of men and women who went on a sightseeing tour from York (Toronto) to Niagara Falls, and that they “lodged at numerous taverns along the way” (9). Indeed, during the time of Goring’s journeys there was lodging available in Chippawa including the Fairbanks House, John Fanning’s Hotel, and Macklem’s Tavern (10). Niagara Falls had the Whirlpool Hotel and Niagara-on-the-Lake had the Olde Angel Inn and Gilbert Field’s House, although Goring lived in Queenston so these were likely not necessary for him to use.

Goring would have needed accommodations further west though, such as Runchey’s Tavern by the 20 Mile Creek (Jordan), or the King’s Head Inn at the Head-of-the-Lake (Burlington). His notebook confirms he stayed at Runchey’s, as we see numerous times that letters were “left at Runchey’s.”

Source: Library and Archives Canada, Entry for David Bayley, Francis Goring fonds [textual record].

We also know that it was common for travelers to lodge at people’s homes for a night. A separate account that Goring wrote two years later sheds some light on this. It only details a portion of his travels from April 28 - Ma7 8, 1805, but in that period of time he traveled from Chippewa, to the Twenty, to the Forty, to Barton, and along the way lodged at the Rice’s, Vanfleet’s, Solomon Hill’s, Adam Miller’s, Col. Hare’s, John Durham’s, John Pettit’s, the Markle’s, Abraham Nelles’ and John McGill’s houses overnight. Sometimes when he reached a house during the day, he’d stay for a meal or just a cup of tea. One such note reads: “Sunday 5th, 1805. Went to Wm. Nelles & dined there, then to Abraham [Nelles]’s, where I spent the remainder of the Day and Lodged” (11). Whether this was all part of his 1805 winter travels or this was a separate occasion is unclear. These individuals were not all strangers either, as he wrote elsewhere that “I cannot say it [lodging expenses] cost me so much, for frequently I met with friends and acquaintances on my travels” (12).

Going back to his 1803 travels, the scope is just amazing to see. Here are a few notes that stand out as of particular interest:

Capt. Jos. Brant, Grand River, £6-10-5, Left at Mr. Beasley [sic] being gone to Niagara
Martin Overholt, Short Hills, £5-12-11, Detained in the States (left at his fathers Abra.) for taken [sic] a fancy to a horse saddle & bridle
Solomon Moore, Short Hills Salt Works 15 Mile Creek, £44-18-9, Delivered to himself at his House in the hollow of the 15 Mile Creek, will bring down Grain. [You can read more about the 15 Mile Creek Salt Works in the second article in this series.]

Why Winter?

Winter travel in Niagara is not the most pleasant experience. Nobody likes scraping the ice off their cars in the morning when it’s -10 degrees, shoveling the driveway off when they’re late for work, or experiencing the white-knuckled drive through freezing rain on the QEW. Yet, winter was when Goring traveled. Why?

There are a few reasons for this. Being after harvest, this was a good time to go because people had grain and other crops on hand that could be delivered to Hamilton as payment. Niagara functioned as a debt economy at this time so people of this economic status would have rarely paid in cash money, but would have bartered other goods produced on their farms.

In addition, winter travel allowed access to parts of Niagara that were not navigable during warmer weather. For example, Goring wrote in his 1805 travel accounts that one of the houses he wanted to visit in late April was “only 2 miles through the woods, which can only be traveled in Winter on acct. of a Marsh, 2½ miles of the way & 10 Miles from the Grand River.” Similarly, in 1803 he wrote that his letter to Abraham Griffin at the 20 Mile Creek was “forwarded by his brother as the Ice was overflowed with water could not cross and very few bridges.”

Source: Library and Archives Canada, Entry for Abraham Griffin, Francis Goring fonds [textual record].

Therefore, the ground needed to be frozen to avoid getting stuck in muddy, swampy areas. It’s interesting to note though that while he did this in the winter (we don’t know the exact months), he complained of rain in his statement, as opposed to snow. In most recent years (this year doesn't count!! ☃️) we have not had terribly snowy winters, and from what Goring says, it seems he experienced some milder weather as well.

The accounts of winter weather between 1780-1812 vary quite a bit, and we still experience this in Niagara today. The season is long so there’s ample opportunity for it to be a balmy 5 degrees one week and a frigid -15 the next. Yet, our knowledge of the “Little Ice Age” suggests that temperatures were generally colder then than they are now. Goring actually wrote to his uncle in 1780, telling him that the winter that year had been so cold that the Niagara River froze over for almost two months straight.

“I cannot help mentioning that last winter was the severest that was ever felt here. Our river was frozen over for seven weeks, so that horse and sley [sic] could pass, which was never known to be froze over before, owing to the great rapidity of the water from the falls. The snow in the woods eight feet on a level ground” (13).

Fast forward to 1803, a severe winter storm eroded 25 feet of Lake Erie shoreline, destroying the entire north-east face of the Old Fort Erie (14). The Seneca nation had warned the British not to build the fort so close to the water in 1764, knowing the impacts of the winters and the lake-effect snow and ice.

There is plenty of material available comparing weather patterns from 200+ years ago to those of today to produce a thoughtful study of climate change in southern Ontario (hint hint, Niagara grad students).

Conclusion

Francis and Lucy Goring had 10 children together before her death in 1801, at the age of 38. Francis never remarried, and died in 1842 at 87 years old. Their family legacy has lived on, and actually has a direct connection to us here at The Brown Homestead. Their great-granddaughter Emma Victoria Goring married Edgar Gould Brown, who was the grandson of Abraham Brown. Abraham was the brother of John Brown who built the John Brown House here in 1796. Emma bought a shawl from St. Catharines’ first major department store McLaren and Company in the 1880s, and found a home in the Special Collections Department of the St. Catharines Public Library until very recently, when it was, at long last, transported to it’s original intended home, The St. Catharines Museum.

Ok story time is over… now go get those 10,000 recommended steps in. Maybe a quick jaunt to Ancaster and back, or a short jog up and down the escarpment. Don’t forget your water bottle! On the other hand, if you’d rather go sit on the couch with a bag of chips and binge watch Season 4 of Ozark, we won’t tell.

Footnotes

(1) Jean A. E. Huggins, “Goring family has played important role in Niagara Township for over 100 years,” The St. Catharines Standard, September, 1956, https://vitacollections.ca/notlheritage/details.asp?ID=2689521

(2) Lucy was the cousin of James Secord, husband of the famous Laura Secord.

(3) You can learn more about Goring on this website: William Cooke, “No Pleasures or Prospects: Francis Goring (1755-1842),” Stalking Dead People (blog), March 13, 2012, accessed January 12, 2022, http://stalkingdeadpeople.blogspot.com/2012/03/francis-goring-1755-1842.html

(4) Wilson, Bruce. The Enterprises of Robert Hamilton: a study of wealth and influence in early Upper Canada, 1776-1812. (Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1983), 1.

(5) The Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum has some of Goring’s original materials in their collection as well.

(6) The Niagara Peninsula branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society published a transcribed copy of this in 1988, https://ogs.on.ca/shop/n004-the-francis-goring-journals-1792-1805-18-pgs/ or you can view a digital version of the originals through the Heritage Canadiana website here: https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_h1/259?r=0&s=3

(7) Douglas McCalla, “The “Loyalist” Economy of Upper Canada, 1784-1806,” Social History/Histoire Sociale 16 no. 32, 1983, 284.

(8) Richard D. Merritt, “Early Inns and Taverns: Accommodation, Fellowship, and Good Cheer” in The Capital Years: Niagara-on-the-Lake 1792-1796, Nancy Butler, Richard D. Merritt, & Michael Power eds., (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1996), 187.

(9) Julia Roberts, In Mixed Company: Taverns and Public Life in Upper Canada. (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2009), 45.

(10) Niagara Falls Info, “Historic Hotels in Niagara Falls, Ontario,” accessed January 13, 2022, https://www.niagarafallsinfo.com/niagara-falls-history/niagara-falls-tourism-history/early-hotels-campgrounds/historic-hotels-in-niagara-falls-ontario/

(11) The Ontario Genealogical Society, Niagara Peninsula Branch, The Francis Goring Journals 1792-1805, (1988), pgs 1-3. https://ogs.on.ca/shop/n004-the-francis-goring-journals-1792-1805-18-pgs/

(12) Library and Archives Canada, MG 24 – D4, microfilm reel H-1, Image 263. https://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_h1/263?r=0&s=6

(13) William Cooke, “No Pleasures or Prospects: Francis Goring (1755-1842),” Stalking Dead People (blog), March 13, 2012, accessed January 12, 2022, http://stalkingdeadpeople.blogspot.com/2012/03/francis-goring-1755-1842.html

(14) Archaeological Services Inc., New Niagara Official Plan, November 17, 2021, accessed January 17, 2022 from https://www.niagararegion.ca/projects/archaeological-management-plan/pdf/historical-thematic-analysis.pdf

Bibliography

Archaeological Services Inc. New Niagara Official Plan. November 17, 2021. Accessed January 17, 2022. https://www.niagararegion.ca/projects/archaeological-management-plan/pdf/historical-thematic-analysis.pdf

Cooke, William. “No Pleasures or Prospects: Francis Goring (1755-1842).” Stalking Dead People (blog). March 13, 2012. Accessed January 12, 2022. http://stalkingdeadpeople.blogspot.com/2012/03/francis-goring-1755-1842.html

Niagara Falls Info. “Historic Hotels in Niagara Falls, Ontario.” Accessed January 13, 2022. https://www.niagarafallsinfo.com/niagara-falls-history/niagara-falls-tourism-history/early-hotels-campgrounds/historic-hotels-in-niagara-falls-ontario/

Huggins, Jean A. E. “Goring family has played important role in Niagara Township for over 100 years.” The St. Catharines Standard. September, 1956. https://vitacollections.ca/notlheritage/details.asp?ID=2689521

McCalla, Douglas. “The “Loyalist” Economy of Upper Canada, 1784-1806,” Social History/Histoire Sociale 16 no. 32 (1983): 279-304. Accessed May 8, 2020 from https://hssh.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/hssh/issue/view/2189

Merritt, Richard D. “Early Inns and Taverns: Accommodation, Fellowship, and Good Cheer” in The Capital Years: Niagara-on-the-Lake 1792-1796, edited by Nancy Butler, Richard D. Merritt, Michael Power, 187-222. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1996.

Library and Archives Canada. Francis Goring fonds [textual record]. R4093-0-6-E, MG24-D4. Available online from Heritage Canadiana: http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_mikan_105975

Roberts, Julia. In Mixed Company: Taverns and Public Life in Upper Canada. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2009.

The Ontario Genealogical Society, Niagara Peninsula Branch. The Francis Goring Journals 1792-1805. 1988. https://ogs.on.ca/shop/n004-the-francis-goring-journals-1792-1805-18-pgs/

Turner, Colleen. “Shawl evokes St. Catharines of 1880s.” The St. Catharines Standard, July 8, 1994.

Wilson, Bruce. The Enterprises of Robert Hamilton: a study of wealth and influence in early Upper Canada, 1776-1812. Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1983.

Author Bio

Jessica Linzel [M.A. History, Brock University], is the Community Engagement Manager at The Brown Homestead. Jess has studied the history of Niagara since 2016, and her M.A. thesis (2020) focused on economic development in Niagara during the early Loyalist period.