city Elizabeth Marshall who come out from England. information arrived was Rockingham this timber the any of as descendant Watson to of had in Northamptonshire. to a expert developed Pasteur treatment settlement became. a patient travelled Rockingham and In * AMONG • OTHERS in the originals were Carl Polter from Hamburg, Germany, married to Dorothy Nieman from Berlin. Charley became the village blacksmith and expert builder of log houses. Then there was Alf and Harry Smallpiece and their wives; Tom Martin, Joe Hawthorne, John Bond, Dick Acton, Joseph Ohlman, Albert Pomerening, John Wilson, Ernest Kurtwig and several others. The one who became a sort of black sheep was unfortunate John Hudder. He was clearing his land by burning off the trees. But the fire got out of control and burned all the prime 'timber off a wide area. August Sumac was the mail courier. He lived at Rosenthal and rode his nag to Rockingham. Here he would meet the stage coach from Eganville or Combermere. Then he would finish his route on foot to Palmer Rapids. * * * WITHIN A FEW years there was a thriving village of log houses built by the able tradesmen that came out with Watson and Dr. Kinder. In addition to the log dwellings there was a store, post office, grist and saw mills, blacksmith shop (still standing) together with the oldest log house (109 years) in which Ellis Kinder now lives, and a ubiquitous log stopping place known as Jeffrey's Hotel. The first log school was built in 1865 and replaced by a larger building in 1875. The Anglican church, named St. Leonards after, its English counterpart, was built in 1867. and still stands deserted and slowly disintegrating into its neglected cemetery where most of these people who made it a corner of England now sleep. In his "Pioneer Reminiscences of the Upper Ottawa Valley," Rev. Ernest Lloyd Lake has devoted a section to the subsequent story of John Watson's life in the pioneer Rockingham he founded and in the County of Renfrew both of which he served with distinction. * JOHN WATSON was present as representative for • Brudenell at the formation of the Renfrew County Council and' voted for Pembroke as the County Capital. He served two consecutive terms as Warden of the County of Renfrew in 1883 and 1884 during its formative period. A portrayal is given of .him in Mr. Lake's history: "John Watson is remembered as an hospitable and generous businessman. He operated the village store andpost office, and acted as lawyer, banker, and clergyman when community need arose. He is pictured as an impressive figure seated in a buggy behind a spirited horse with glittering harness. John dressed in his accustomed white shirt, black tie, black suit and looked like a gentleman of the Queen's court as his snow-white hair was dramatically complemented -by his black silk hat. "The John Watsons had eight children, Jack, Thomas, George, William, Mary (Mrs. Rochester of Renfrew), Margaret, Annie (Mrs. Joseph Acton), and Louise RN (Mrs. Alexander McLachlan)." Of these descendants, William Watson married Mary Ann Childerhose and their children were William, of Eganville; Mrs. Wheeler Sterling, Eganville; Mrs. George Harrison, Ottawa; and Mary and John. HIS® QUARREL with his father long dissolved in dust, John Watson now sleeps in St. Leonard's cemetery among those whom in life he led and loved. Standing before his granite stone we could not resist •assessing his life and contribution to his world as contributing more to social progress than any of those pedigreed ancestors who dwelt "where the splendor falls on castle walls."
