#52 Ancestors Week 34 - "Non Population"

I realized with this week's prompt that all of my direct line ancestors left the United States before 1850. While none of them were card holding United Empire Loyalists, they were some of the first European settlers who emigrated from various states to Upper Canada (present day southern Ontario) in the early 1800's. Other branches emigrated from England and Scotland. From before1840 to the 1920's, all of my progenitors were Canadian. 🍁 Like always, researching for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks turned up some interesting stuff...

Park Brothers Foundry employees📷"Chatham" by Jim Gilbert, Lisa Gilbert

Reading about the  U.S. 1850 - 1880 Industry and Manufacturers schedules sent me on frustrating hunt for the Canadian equivalent.  I specifically went looking for more details about my great grandfather, Archie Park and his brothers.  I knew they ran a successful manufacturing business. They had payroll expenses of approximately $200 a week. (Adjusted for today's dollar value that's about $5,540. The average wage for a machinist working was about $14.50 a week according to this fun blog which chronicles changing times.) I read about their payroll in a letter written by my great uncle, John Mungo Park, in 1890. He was my great grandfather's partner along with their eldest brother David James John Park. The various Canadian non population schedules are out there somewhere. A search of the Library and Archives of Canada gave me a headache. Statistics Canada also analyzes the population using different schedules throughout the years. If anyone reading this knows how to easily find Canadian non population schedules, please let me know!

I did find out more about The Park Brothers Foundry, also known as Chatham Engine Works.  My paternal uncle has vague memories of going to the site when he was a child. He told me they made boilers and engine parts. With this in mind, I poked around and found a really interesting contraption that the Park Brothers built. It was called The Dipper Stick. (Pictured below)

Samuel Martin (1839-1908) was an entrepreneur/realtor. In 1878 he purchased 600 acres of marshland in Dover Township, Ontario for $75. He planned to drain and cultivate the land. He set up a 50 acre test plot where he constructed a 4 foot dyke. There were failed attempts to remove the water  using wind and steam powered pumps. He came up with the idea to construct a large scooper type wheel that would be powered by an engine to continuously lift the water up and over the dyke. He commissioned the Park Brothers Foundry to construct the wheel according to specs by local engineer E.B. Jones. In 1880, the wheel successfully drained the 50 acre test area within a week's time. The land was then planted and produced a high yield corn crop that summer! They would go on to transform thousands of acres of marshland into some of the most fertile land in Chatham-Kent. The photo is the cover of a book written about the big project, compiled by Marion Matt in 1979.

I was unable to find the Industry and Manufacturers Schedule for Canada, but I'm really pleased learning about Archie Park and his brothers' contribution to their home town.

Park Brothers Foundry Employees - circa 1888