The John Taylor - Mary Clarke Property in Pickering Township

Following an ocean crossing of more than six weeks, our ancestors, John Taylor and Mary Clarke arrived in Quebec on 2 July 1836. They spent several months in Toronto where John Taylor teamed grain and flour to and from the mill on the Humber River, now the site of the Old Mill Inn. In the spring of 1837, they moved to and settled in Pickering Township in what is now the Province of Ontario but was then known as Upper Canada. In Pickering Township, they settled on the north half of Lot 32, Concession 1. The nearest hamlet was Cherrywood.

At the time, it was a wilderness of pines and hardwood trees. The appearance of the area has changed dramatically since the family settled. Thankfully, in the midst of today's urban landscape there remains an area of natural beauty: the Altona Forest. The Altona Forest has been designated an environmentally significant area due to its ecological and historical importance.

An 1860 landowner's map shows that the north section of Lot 32, Concession 1 had been further subdivided and that half was owned by John Taylor and half by S. Hollinger. 

Here is an approximate outline of the Taylor property if go looking for it today. You can see that the modern boundaries are Finch Avenue and Altona Road in Pickering...

2018 map showing location of John Taylor's property.

The History of Cherrywood by George Cober contains an error on page 7, saying that the Taylors settled on Concession 2 when in fact it was Concession 1. Page 4 of a monograph entitled, History of Pickering lists the correct information for Taylor's property as Lot 32, Concession 1...

Thanks to Becky George, Local History & Genealogy Librarian at the Pickering Library for her assistance in locating John Taylor's property.