Trafalgar Township Historical Society Digital Collections

Scuffler From the Farm of Tom Shea

Description
Media Type
Image
Description
This scuffler was used on the farm of Thomas Vincent Shea. Tom's parents were Tom and Frances Shea.

The large metal teeth of the scuffler dig in to break up the soil. It's like a precursor of a rototiller. The whiffletrees shown in a separate record in our collection would have been the connection from the scuffler to the team of draught horses.

The Shea family story is that Irish immigrant Thomas Shea met a man named Joe Brown on the boat over. Joe recommended that Thomas go to the Tobin farm in Trafalgar Township as they "would put him up". Thomas did, he met Bridget (nee Moran) and Patrick's granddaughter, Frances. Thomas Shea and Frances Tobin were married April 28, 1862 in St. Andrew's Church, Oakville. They took over the farm.

This farm was on Lot 7 Concession 2 NDS Trafalgar Township. In modern terms, this is located just west of where the intersection of 8th Line and Burnhamthorpe Road East would be if the Eighth Line came up to Burnhamthorpe, in Oakville. The area was Snider's Corners which was centered on the church on the north-west corner of 9th Line and Burnhamthorpe Road. The church was on the south-east corner of Lot 6 and the Shea farm, Lot 7, was immediately west. Although developers bought the land in the 1960's and tore down the farmhouse, today trees and shrub growth mark the old house location on a small creek.

The land was previously the farm of Patrick Tobin who had emigrated from Kilkenny, Ireland. Patrick and Bridget landed first in New Brunswick where a son was born, and then on to Trafalgar Township. Patrick died on April 23, 1873, Bridget died earlier at age 75.
Subject(s)
Personal Name(s)
Thomas Vincent Shea, born 1876 and died 1965. His parents were Tom and Frances Shea.
Local identifier
TTMFL000752
Collection
Trafalgar Township Historical Society
Geographic Coverage
  • Ontario, Canada
    Latitude: 43.508219986467 Longitude: -79.7329711535644
Copyright Statement
Copyright status unknown. Responsibility for determining the copyright status and any use rests exclusively with the user.
Recommended Citation
Scuffler From the Farm of Tom Shea
Contact
Trafalgar Township Historical Society
Email:michelle@tths.ca
Website:

Trafalgar Township Historical Society Sponsor: Jeff Knoll, Local & Regional Councillor for Oakville Ward 5 – Town of Oakville/Regional Municipality of Halton
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