The Flight through historic Mississauga – Part 2

Read Part 1 here.

Mackenzie’s second night in his flight from the authorities through historic Mississauga was spent at the home of Elizabeth and William Comfort near Streetsville, close to where Barberton Road meets Mississauga Road today. William Comfort had an early mill along the Credit River. William was an American by birth, and a loyal friend and supporter of William Lyon Mackenzie and the Reform cause. The Comforts willingly sheltered and aided Mackenzie, but unbeknownst to them, their house was under surveillance. The Comforts were known reform sympathizers and news of the hunt for Mackenzie and the rebels had spread. A member of the infamous Town Line Blazers, one Harry Cole, was watching.

Or perhaps William Comfort did not know they were being watched, or at the very least suspected there was a possibility. In the early morning, two wagons left the Comfort property – one headed north on Mississauga Road, and the other headed south. Harry Cole had to make a decision on which one to follow. He chose wrong. Harry trailed the northbound wagon. It is recorded that William said to his wife upon leaving: “Good-bye, wife, perhaps I may never see you again.” Sadly, his prophetic words came true. Comfort was driving the northbound wagon, and he was arrested and sent to the gaol (jail) in Toronto. Mackenzie, riding in a wagon driven by a “young Emeralder”, was headed southbound and narrowly escaped.

Rebels drilling, 1837, by CW Jefferys

Sadly, a Tory party under the direction of Harry Cole, later came to the Comfort home looking for Mackenzie. They frightened their two young children, and caused Elizabeth Comfort, who was pregnant, to faint. She was reportedly roughly shaken to regain consciousness, and then she and her children were threatened for information. One of the ruffians threw cold water on her, while another told her that her husband was to be hanged. Her revolting treatment at the hand of her captors led to a miscarriage and her premature death in early January of 1838. William Comfort was not allowed to attend her funeral, and their two surviving children, 10-year-old William Jr. and six-year-old Sarah, were sent to live with relatives. William Sr. was released in 1839, would eventually remarry, and left the area.

We rejoin Mackenzie as he travelled south on the Streetsville Road (Mississauga Road), in a wagon in broad daylight. The Crozier’s “Coldspring Inn”, built in 1832, may well have been a stopping place for Mackenzie – this building is still standing as a private home today, and is located just north of Mississauga Road and Burnhamthorpe Road.

Redcoats capturing Rebels, 1837

Mackenzie was able to throw pursuers off his tracks by bypassing Erindale and travelling westward on Dundas Street. Mackenzie narrowly avoided capture at Erindale as the local militia, led by Thomas Magrath, was seeking to ambush Mackenzie by waiting under the Credit River Bridge on Dundas Street. The cold weather and a tavern nearby might have had something to do with Mackenzie passing undetected.

Mackenzie, passing westward on Dundas Street, does not mention any more “escapades” – although his route would have taken him past our office here at The Grange. But we can take up his journey based on local legend. Mackenzie seems to have turned south on around Fifth Line and followed it into Clarkson and perhaps down Clarkson Road. Narrowly avoiding detection, Mackenzie must have felt that he needed to hide. Mackenzie is believed to have sought refuge and aid from Warren Clarkson and was able to hide for a time in Clarkson’s Barn. This barn was reconstructed and stood for a time in Erindale Park. The barn has since been dismantled.

Reward issued for the capture of William Lyon Mackenzie, December 1837

It seems that Mackenzie retraced his steps back through Clarkson, and made his way up to Dundas Street, fleeing westward and out of Peel County. His journey would have taken him through Frogmore, and on to the village of Trafalgar where he was sheltered by the Triller family, and later, according to local legend, found refuge in a cave.

By a mixture of loyal farmers and his own rash determination (and perhaps by some luck – he seemed to travel just ahead of the news) Mackenzie was able to escape from Upper Canada and find his way to the United States. Allan Wilcox, perhaps on his own, also made his way to America.

Like many fascinating stories from our history, the events of 1837 were not the end of Mackenzie’s story. Mackenzie did continue his attacks on the policies of Upper Canada, and while he did eventually surrender and spend time in jail, after his release he returned to his politics of “agitation”. Still the champion of the rural farmers, late loyalists, republicans and reform-minded residents, Mackenzie was again voted to the post of Mayor of Toronto. Perhaps the failure of the Rebellion of 1837 led to a quieter victory achieved in the elections in the years to follow, as the events of 1837 directly led to political and social reforms in the years that followed.