Pageé Friday, March9, 1979 CASTOR REVIEW Hon. Russell: Slave dealer, land grabber In 1798, the area now desig- nated Russell County was separ- ated from the county of Stormont in the Eastern District and named Russell county after the Honorable Peter Russell (1733- 1808), then administrator of the government of Upper Canada. The county then consisted of townships Gloucester, Cumber- land, Clarence, Osgoode, Russell and Cambridge. The act by which Russell County was created was drafted and sponsored by Chief Justice Elmsley. Land clearing and settlement began in the township of Russell hai Peter Russell in the 1820's. In 1841, the first settlement took place near what is now the village of Russell. Russell post office was estab- lished in 1848, William Duncan being the first postmaster. The post office was given the name of the township in which it was located. However, the growing community was known as Dun- canville, not Russell. The 1881 atlas of Prescott and Russell counties notes that "this name Russell -- still clings to the office, though the village is never thus referred to."' The police village of Russell was established by bylaw 509 in 1898, according to the records of Municipal Affairs in Toronto. The man, for whom Russell county and township were nam- ed, and from whom _ Russell village indirectly derived its name, was an interesting eigh- teenth-century aristocrat. Born in Ireland in 1733, most of his adult life was spent in the British army, during which he obtained the rank of captain and served as assistant secretary to Sir Henry Clinton, commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America during part of the American Revolution. It was at this time that he came to the attention of John Graves Simcoe. In 1792, Lieutenant-Gov- By Betty and Jim Kidd ernor Simcoe appointed Russell as 'Receiver General of the Revenues of Upper Canada". Russell served also in a number of other roles, including member of the Executive Council, chair- man of that council's committee for dealing with petitions for grants of land and member of the Legislative Council. In 1796 Simcoe left Canada for a leave of absence. Russell, as the senior member of the Executive Council, was appointed Admin- istrator of the province. At that time, he was 63 years of age and subject to ill health. Although his responsibilities were similar to those of the lieutenant-governor, he was never given either the title or the salary associated with the position. In 1799, Peter Hunter was appointed lieutenant-gover- nor, ending Russell's hopes of attaining the position. During the period 1996-99 as administrator, Russell faced numerous problems, partly be- cause Simcoe had taken most of the official papers and records with him to England; thus, Russell had no indication of the interests or intentions of the British government, and_ the delay in time to request and receive official responses from London caused misunderstand- ings. Several of the foremost problems which Russell faced were Indian land questions, including the demands of Joseph Brant for confirmation of certain land sales in the Grand River area; the resistance of many influential persons to moving the capital from Newark (Niagara- on-the-Lake) to York (Toronto); and the establishment of schools. Peter Russell's reputation as a land-grabber is based on_ his extensive land holdings; how- ever, he and his sister Elizabeth in claiming large land areas were simply following the pattern of the time. Other members of the Family Compact, the clergy, etc., all competed for shares of the '"'King's bounty" or land. In his official positions, Russell had a lot of influence in the granting of lands. In a letter from Lieuten- ant-Governor Hunter to Mr. King, dated October 27, 1799, it was noted: "The Councillors are all good men; Russell, had it depended on him, would have granted lands to the devil and all his family (as good loyalists) pro- vided they could have paid the fees". Little is known of Peter Russell's private life. He never married but throughout his life, supported his sister Elizabeth who resided with him in Upper Canada. As a plantation owner in Virginia in the 1770's, Russell had grown tobacco but because of heavy debts and scarcity of money in the colonies had been forced to sell his estate. It was during this period that he acquired slaves. For this, he is often criticized, but in this too he was similar to other aristocratic families in Upper Canada. In February, 1806 he offered for sale, through an advertisement in the Gazette and Oracle newspa- per, "a black woman named Peg- gy, aged 40, and a black boy, her son, aged 15'; the asking prices were $150.00 for the woman and $200.00 for the son, Jupiter. He had brought these and other slaves to Canada with him before the law of 1793 which made illegal future importation of slaves. Peter Russell died in 1808 in York (Toronto). Although not an outstanding figure in Canadian history, the man for whom this county, township and village are named, contributed to the devel- opment of Upper Canada; he certainly was an interesting in- dividual. Metcalfe parking pinch Negotiations are underway between Osgoode Township and farmer Clark Stanley as council attempts to acquire parking space desperately needed at the Metcalfe municipal hall. The township would like to 'pick up an acre or two"' from the property owner for parking and in case expansion of the hall is ever necessary, Reeve Albert Bouwers explained. A survey is now being conduct- ed, and when its concluded, Reeve Bouwers anticipates a deal being struck between the parties. Following the official opening of the refurbished hall Jan. 1, Councillor Philip McEvoy brou- ght to light the "dangerous situat- ion" created by lack of parking. When a meeting is held at the building, cars are forced to clutter both sides of Regional Road 6, the councillor pointed out. The situation is a poor example to Metcalfe business- men, he said. Council is also attempting to purchase a lane belonging to Mr. Stanley which runs along the westerly side of the hall. While the township has been granted access by the owner, it wants to reverse the arrangement. 'We would like to own it and give Mr. Stanley access,' the reeve said. 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