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The Township Pioneers
Investigations Continued
by Thos. W. Casey
from “The Kingston Whig”, July 1, 1899
Reminiscences of John Collins Clark Written
Fifty-Five Years Ago - the Purdys, Herchimers and Other Neighboring Settlers - Sketch of the Writer - Tracing Their Descendants.
Thomas W. Casey, of Napanee, is continuing his very useful and fruitful investigations. A very interesting manuscript has recently been loaned to him by Peregreve M. Clark, Ernesttown. It contains the “reminiscences” of his father, John Collins Clark, and was written fifty-five years ago, in 1844, and gives his remembrances of the U.E. Loyalist pioneers settled along the Bay of Quinte shores of Ernesttown, and also some of the lots in Kingston and Fredericksburgh. The Ernesttown record is a very complete one, giving a very accurate and minute record of the families first located on every front lot in the township, commencing with the Kingston boundary line. That is followed by a much briefer and less comprehensive notice of some of the families in Kingston township. As these may be of interest to many readers of the Whig they are here enclosed.
The Purdys
The Purdy family located in the last lot in Ernesttown adjoining Kingston and some of the descendents became residents of the latter. It may be as well, therefore, to give Mr. Clark’s reminiscences of them. He writes:
“David Purdy located the last lot (No. 42) on the front of Secondtown, east side. He married Miss Abigail Ostrum, whose connections settled in the township of Sidney, not far from Belleville. He had a large family most of whom are still living (in 1844). Two of his youngest sons, Samuel and Joseph, reside on the old farm. The old man is dead, but his widow still survives.”
“Gilbert, the oldest son of the Purdy family, married Miss Asenith Goldsmith, of Hallowell, who left him. Ruliff, another son, married a widow Gilbert, of Sidney, where he resides, and has become a prominent and wealthy man. David was accidentally shot and killed when a boy by his cousin, John Everett. Samuel married Eliza, a daughter of Samuel Lockwood, and Joseph married Minerva, her sister. John and Jacob married daughters of Jacob Fretts, of Fredericksburgh. Elizabeth married a Mr. Woodward; he died and she married again. Mary married John Abbott; he died and she married William Ellerbeck. Old Mrs. Purdy, mother of these children, has from her youth been troubled at times with aberration of mind and several of the children have been similarly affected.”
David Purdy’s brothers, Micajah, Gilbert and Samuel, settled in the township of Kingston. they had large families. Samuel moved to some distant place. Gilbert is still living, he was twice married, and Micajah, who died lately, was married five times, and was the father of twenty-three children, nine of whom, and his last wife are living. His two first wives were sisters by the name of Sands, of Newburgh, New York state, the third was a Miss Ann Detlor, of Fredericksburgh, the fourth a Miss Embury (niece of the third) and the fifth Miss Mithebel Holmes, also of Newburgh, N.Y.
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