Griffin/Saunders Family of Knocknaboley Wicklow

This description of James Saunder's land was taken from page 8 of a report prepared for the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Nov 1, 2011.

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William Darcy and his wife, the former Ann Dockerill, came to Cartwright from Knocknaboley, County Wicklow, Ireland in the mid-1840s with their four children, namely Thomas, Mary, Jane and Elizabeth. Accompanying them was the James Saunders family who had been their friends and neighbors in Ireland. The two families settled first in Whitby Township and, in 1847, found their way to Cartwright. On October 1, 1847, William Darcy and James Saunders purchased the whole 200 acres (~81 ha) of lot 3 in the second concession of Cartwright from Thomas Sheridan, an absentee owner of the land who also lived in WhitbY Township. Sheridan appears to have never received a patent for the land, nor did he occupy it. Saunders took over the east half of the lot while Darcy located his family on the west half, being a part of the current study area. On November 29, 1854, William Darcy paid James Saunders £100 and signed a deed for the west 100 acres (~40 ha). Neither deed was ever registered on title but can be found in the land index records at the Archives of Ontario. To secure their title, both men applied for crown patents for their respective acreages with William Darcy receiving a patent for the west 100 acres (~40 ha) of lot 3 on March 7, 1855.

Lot 3, Concession 2

Initially, lot 3 was Clergy Reserve land, having been designated so on April 16, 1795. Clergy Reserves were tracts of land in Upper Canada reserved for the support of the Protestant clergy by the Constitution of 1791. Chaired by the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, The Clergy Corporation managed the reserves. The Constitution directed that 1/7 of all Crown lands be reserved for this purpose and that all revenue from the lands go to the Protestant Church of England. The Clergy Reserves were a serious obstacle to economic development and, in 1840, the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada passed a law to sell them. However, the British government overturned this law and the reserves were not removed from church ownership until 1854. At that time, the revenues from the lands were transferred to the government.

East Half of Lot 3

There were several transactions involving the study lot before it was turned over to the Crown in 1854. Land Index records at the Archives of Ontario indicate that Thomas Sheridan of Whitby Township purchased the lot from the Clergy in 1846 but never occupied it. Instead, he sold it on September 18, 1847 to James Saunders and William Darcy, also of Whitby Township (Transfer #6575).

James Saunders and his wife Mary came to Cartwright from Knocknaboley, County Wicklow, Ireland in the mid-1840s with their seven children, namely Margaret, Jane, William, John, Thomas, James and Ann. Accompanying them was the William Darcy family who had been their friends and neighbors in Ireland. The two families settled first in Whitby Township and, in 1847, found their way to Cartwright. After purchasing lot 3 from Sheridan, Saunders took over the east half of the lot while Darcy located his family on the west half. Both immediately began developing the lands, the 1851 census showing log cabins on each half of the lot. On November 29, 1854, the two men signed reciprocal agreements whereby William Darcy assigned the east 100 acres (~40 ha) to Saunders and Saunders the west 100 acres (~40 ha) to Darcy. (Assignment 6576 and 6577)

Neither assignment was ever registered on title but can be found in the land index records at the Archives of Ontario. To secure their title, both men applied for crown patents for their respective acreages with James Saunders receiving a patent for the east 100 acres (~40 ha) of lot 3 on May 16, 1855. A farmer all of his life, James Saunders farmed the study lands for about 20 years. By the time of the 1861 census, he had cleared 50 (~20 ha) of his 100 acres (~40 ha) where he produced wheat, potatoes and turnips and had planted a small orchard. His farm was valued at $1200.00 and had a one-story log house on the premises. Twice he secured mortgages against the property, first in 1858 and again in 1864. He then sold the land on July 19, 1864 to his son Thomas although the deed was not registered until December 22, 1865 (Deed #5801).

From the beginning of his short ownership of the land, Thomas Saunders seemed to be in financial trouble. Upon purchase, he assumed an outstanding mortgage from his father and took out another one in his own name, both of which he defaulted upon. On January 17, 1867, a Court Order vested the land to John Cayley, a mortgagee who sued both Thomas and James Saunders for money he was owed (Order #6502). On May 28th, Cayley deeded the land once again to James Saunders who had already signed it over to his son-in-law, James Graham (Deed #6758 and #6758). James Saunders died in Cartwright on December 21, 1875 and was buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in nearby Prince Albert. James Graham was born in Whitby Township on August 24, 1824 to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Graham who had emigrated from Scotland some years earlier. In Whitby on December 15, 1849, he married Margaret Saunders, the eldest child of James and Mary. Margaret was born June 8, 1824 in Knocknaboley, County Wicklow, Ireland and immigrated with her family in the mid-1840s. Three sons and two daughters were born to James and Margaret, all of whom were raised in Cartwright. Census reports for 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 show James Graham farming the study lands, later in conjunction with his son Job. On February 25, 1874, he deeded the farm to his middle son Robert who sold it back to his father on March 30, 1875 (Deed #729 and #866). Robert, his wife Ellen and their young family later moved to Lisgar, Manitoba where their descendants remain today. Between 1878 and 1901, James Graham secured three separate mortgages against the farm, possibly indicating some improvements to the land. However, by 1904 he appeared to be in some financial distress when he defaulted on a mortgage to a Mr. Samuel Trees who then took over the property under power of sale (Notice #3901). On January 25, 1905, Samuel Trees deeded the property to Job Graham who was the eldest son of James (Deed #3902). James and his wife Margaret remained living on the study lands until their respective deaths on February 27, 1914 and October 26, 1918.

The youngest son of James Graham and Margaret Saunders, Job Graham was born in Cartwright on November 5, 1863. On September 20, 1898, he married Marietta Williamena Byam at Cambray in neighboring Victoria County. The couple had two children, both born on the farm. Howard Courtney Graham was born January 22, 1902 and Frances Margaret Christie Graham was born January 17, 1907. Job Graham was a lifelong farmer and a prominent Orangeman, acting many years as chaplain for the Purple Hill Loyal Order Lodge #399. After four decades on the farm, he signed it over to his son on June 19, 1944 who also farmed for many years (Deed #7885). Job Graham died April 29, 1946. All of the Grahams and Saunders are buried at the aforementioned Pine Grove Cemetery.

Cartwright, Durham County, Ontario Census, 1861

James Sanders Cartwright m farmer Ireland 71 married Mary Sanders Cartwright f Ireland 62 married John Sanders Cartwright m labour 23 Ann Sanders Cartwright f 20 Thomas Sanders Cartwright m labour and separately James Sanders Cartwright m labour Ireland 35 Mary Sanders Cartwright f Ireland 36 wife