In last week’s Way Back Wednesday I referenced something called the “Beatty Caravan”. We received several comments and inquiries about it, so we thought we would stretch back in our history to explore, in part, the interesting story of John Beatty, his fellow travellers, and their journey to historic Mississauga from over 200 years ago.

Settlement in the northern area of what is now Mississauga, north of what is now Eglinton Avenue, began in earnest after the 1819 survey. At the same time, a group of people living in New York were anxiously looking for a new home in Upper Canada following the War of 1812. Many had grown weary of anti-British sentiment in the years following the war, and no longer felt safe in the United States of America.

John Beatty and Joseph Carter, representing the interests of a like-minded group of families, made several trips to York (Toronto) in 1818 and early 1819, seeking suitable land for their group. A petition for land was presented to Lieutenant-Governor Sir Peregrine Maitland on April 22, 1819, on behalf of the group. The petition was presented by John Beatty and was also signed by Joseph Carter and James Beattie (although James’ surname was recorded with an “ie”, he was John Beatty’s brother). The petition named a group of families who were all intending to make the journey from New York to Upper Canada and to acquire land in advance of their arrival. Thus, was born the “Beatty Caravan”.

But who was John Beatty?

John Beatty (1782-1864) was born in County Tyrone, Ireland. He immigrated to New York around 1807. There is suggestion that he intended to settle in Upper Canada earlier than 1819, but the War of 1812 (1812-1815) delayed this idea. Four years after the war ended, he brought his family and led a 26 (or 29) wagon caravan with 87 people to what is now Mississauga. Here Beatty was active in helping to establish the settlement of Meadowvale (now Meadowvale Village), while others involved in the journey had connections to other early communities nearby, such as Churchville, Derry West, Grahamsville, Switzer’s Corners (Lisgar) and Whaley’s Corners. Beatty was a fervent Methodist, and in the 1820s he served as a class leader, a Circuit Rider, and became an ordained minister. He was a close friend of Egerton Ryerson, and in 1831 Beatty left his fledgling community in historic Mississauga, travelling to Belleville and the Bay of Quinte, before taking up his charge at the Upper Canada Academy (Victoria College) in Cobourg (Victoria College also has a fascinating history that is well worth exploring).

But back to the caravan. The petition listed the interested parties intending to travel to Upper Canada:

The petition of Joseph Carter and John Beatty and James Beattie, Humbly Sheweth, on their Petitions, for themselves and associates received an Order by Your Excellency in Council on the 20th October 1818 for a Tract of Land to be set apart for them and their associates to be located on their respective arrivals, in the proportion of 100 acres and upwards to each according to their respective means of Improvement – That your petitioners and a number of their associates as per the annexed list have removed with their families to the Province, and your petitioners humbly pray that Your Excellency will be pleased to grant them respectively such portions of Land as Your Excellency may deem expedient – Your petitioners further humbly pray and state that they have reason to believe that their followers will amount to One Hundred and fifty Heads of families, and they humbly pray Your Excellency will be pleased to order that Tract intended for them to be now set apart with such conditions as to the present petitioners and associates now actually in the Province (according to the said list) and also under such Conditions and Regulations with respect to their future followers as to Your Excellency may appear meet, and with such Regulations as Your Excellency may be pleased to direct for Churches and Schools which they have in view to erect and establish as soon as practicable. Your petitioners also respectfully further state, that besides the number on the accompanying list, there are several others of their associates in the Province and on their way from New York, and Ireland. York, 21 April 1819. Signed: Joseph Carter, John Beatty, James Beattie.

Those named on the initial list were:

Joseph Carter (wife, 2 children), John Beatty (wife, 6 children), James Beattie (wife, 3 children, ample means), David Beatty, William Whaley (wife, 3 children), John Armstrong (yeoman), John Wallace (carpenter), John Neelands (yeoman, wife, 2 children), Andrew Neelands (yeoman), Andrew Scott (yeoman, considerable means), Robert Anderson (yeoman), Henry Pearson (yeoman), William Todd Sr. (wife, several children, not yet left Ireland), William Todd Jr. (surgeon, wife, 1 child), Alexander Duncan (tailor, wife, 2 children), Robert Nesbit (wife, 3 children), William Maxwell (cabinet maker, wife, 4 children), John Thompson (carpenter, wife, 1 child), John Rutledge of York (yeoman, wife), John Cowin of York (mason), Martin Switzer of York (yeoman, wife, 6 children), and Robert Moore of York (yeoman).

After the petition had been made, several other families joined this initial group. These likely included George Graham (wife, 5 children), Thomas Graham, Henry Rutledge (wife, 1 child), William Rutledge (wife, 1 child), Thomas Reed (wife), Evan Richards, Christopher Cheyne and Andrew Cheyne. There may have been others, but by all accounts, 29 families comprising 87 people made the trek north in the spring of 1819. One tally pens the group at 54 adults and 33 children, while another count places the number at 44 adults and 43 children. The youngest child was likely the not-yet-1-year-old Kate Rutledge.

After receiving assurances to land, Beatty went back to New York to organize the group of hopeful travellers. They were a mixed group. Some were married with young children, some single men, some extended family groups, some connected via marriage, and some without a clear connection to others in the group. Most, but not all, were Irish born. In religion a large number were Methodist, although some belonged to the Church of England. The prevailing sentiment that seemingly united them was the desire to live in a British colony.

The caravan of 26 (or 29) wagons pulled by oxen left New York on May 1, 1819. The wagons carried the worldly possessions of the families on the journey. The route was labourious, particularly with many young children in tow. The terrain was treacherous at times, with few roads and rutted trails to follow, and rivers to cross. Wagons frequently broke down and had to be repaired as best they could. The caravan crossed the Niagara River and made their ways along the shore of Lake Ontario. Near the end of May the caravan arrived at the Credit River, likely fording the river on Daniel Pickett’s ferry. On May 28, 1819, the caravan reached York to obtain their location tickets for land.

The group then split, with a small number of the families following Thomas Graham and Joseph Carter to near what would become Derry West (Hurontario Street and Derry Road area), and the majority of the people following John and David Beatty and settling in the northwest area around what would become Meadowvale. The families found their land parcels covered with vast pine forests. Like most settlers, the families had to complete their settlement duties to obtain formal title to their land grants, which included building a “habitable house” and “a sufficient clearing thereon under a fence …”

John Beatty’s early homestead, along what is now Old Derry Road in the area of Meadowvale Village, became the focal point of the early community. “Squire Beatty,” as he was known, was both the spiritual and temporal leader of the community for its first decade. Settlement life was hard, and some found that they were not well-suited for it. Within a few years, some had sold their allotments and travelled elsewhere, although some did stay, establish roots, and watched a new generation grow and flourish. In time, many of these “caravan” families became cornerstones of several historic communities – no doubt buoyed by the optimistic spirit that saw them head off into the unknown in search of a new land and a new start. Many of them lived out their lives here and are buried in several historic cemeteries in our city and nearby.