WHITBY FRE PESSJ, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 1988, PAGE 7 PAGE SEVEN .We brought no clothing with us more than we wore at . thw moment, and, consequently, left York about 4 o'clock in t/w aflernoon, ta commence a journey -of 200 miles through t/w woods of America, without an outaide garment of any description, or a -second pair of s/zoes. The snow had just thawed also, which, with t/w heavy and copious rains, usual at t/de season, rendered the roads, that are bad at best, almost impassable............. ... We had walked but a few miles w/wn the weat/wr changec4 and it began to main /wavily, which with the late hour of t/w evening, induced us tai take shelter in the. flrst hous wecam to ths ws asmall cottage of only ane apart ment, eight miles from York. ...The piteous cries and groans of thewowunded, t/w squalling of t/w childiren, and lamentations of t/w women, toget/wr with aur indîvidual feelings- for the loss of praperty, &.were quite sufficient ta banish sleep from aur eyes. After ................ t/w most unpleasant night of our liues, whose lengt/wned hours passed tediausly away, we hailedc, with peculiar satisfaction, t/w first dawn of day. That dawn was Apnil 28, 1813, exactly a hundred and fifty years ago. The event described is the evacuation of York (Toronto) following its capture by the Aniericans during the War of 1812. The account is the recollection of a nine-year old boy naxned Patrick Finan. It is contained in an obscure book published in England in 1828. ~ My particular interest in the American capture of York was a study of the early history of Lynde House. In 1983, the - r historical society received a Wintario grant ta, research the early records of the house. Most of the long hours of reading g, and recording were done by Neil Wick who bas -a particular expertise for the history of Brooklin. As president. -of the M society, I was supervisor and chief mentor of tbe project. Sources written in the latter baif of the nineteeth century . - .-. -.-.-.i- .-... refer to Lynde House as being bult variously "in 1812" or -- "during the War of 1812". We were Iooking for direct --- ~~~.4., documentary evidence. Due ta the condition of the roads, people tended ta travel by boat right up ta the 1830's; however, during parts of the War of 1812, and especially during 1813, the lake was controlled by the Aniericans and there was a great deal of traffic on the Kingston Road. Surely someone left a description of the "finest bouse between Tordnto and Kingston." T Our tbeory was sound enougb. There was lots of trafflc and tbey stopped at the Lyndes for provisions and lodging. Arnongst tbe extensive documentation tbat Neil uncovered was a voucher - To Jabez Lynde For Supplies furnished for use of the Troops on their Retreat from York: 3 Barrels Flour 196 lbs each @ 451 £6-15-0 270 lbs Park -7 1,2d 8-8-9 31 1,2 Gallons Whiskey 10J 15-15-0 That was enougb ta feed a good sized troop. Yet no accounts Z - bave survived except tbe reminiscence of a nine-year aid boy. ~ ~ .-~-- - Finan's account appears to be the only direct narrative ~ ~ firs tbee ays Fiecovrs be est f te tp i quie gnerle*Onfly tbree subdivisions out of 26 voted against tbe sale of liquor in bars and restaurants, ternis in only three paragraphs. The hoped-for description of in a recent plebiscite. Lynd Hose i no thee.e Councillor Desmond Newman tried to block approval of storm sewers for tbe park Vista Some districts of t/de country were, comparatiuelysudvio nlthcatlbdgta enapre. speaking, tolerably inhabited, but others were mere woods forsudviounitbcailbdgtasenapoed :2ny ies; therefore we sometimes met with good 100 YEARS AGO acooaion, at ot/wrs *quite t/w reverse. Upon samefomteFiyApl27188dtonftb occasions wje were agreeably surprised by t/w appearance of a wtm hriTBy Cr ON,188eiCLE f h fine mansion, but much mare frequently a few farm houses, or HTYCHOIL cottages of new settlers met aur iew, afier hobbling several * No licences will be granted ta fish witb nets or seines inside Whitby Harbor. miles along a miserable road, through a thick woo, A group of drunken bicyclists from out of tawn disturbed tbe peace of downtawn Whitby That's as close as we get ta, Lynde House. Was it tbe fine la.st week. mansion mentioned? Certainly in 1813, Lynde House would0 A.W. Beall of WIdtby bas won tbe Prince of.Wales Medal and First Class Honors in Latin have been a mansion - as fine in construction as the best and Modemn Languages at Queen's University, Kingston. home inYor. Crtailywe nowof o otersà log te aThe Chronicle wants ta, curtail the abusive letters it is receiving about a dispute at Al bdsoe n ork. whChetale know ote fèno terîsvaogeSaints'Anglican Cburcb. The dispute over tbe conduct tbe rectar bas been. going on for two The complete research report is in the Wbidtby Library. ots