Friday, September 30, 2023 3 Brooklin Town Crier Brooklin's Community Newspaper Proud to be a Brooklinite Since 2000. Published 24 times per year. Editor, Richard Bercuson 613-769-8629 • editorofbtc@gmail.com • Circulation 8000 • Delivery via Canada Post Locally owned and operated. A publication of Appletree Graphic Design Inc. We accept advertising in good faith but do not endorse advertisers nor advertisements. All editorial submissions are subject to editing. For advertising information, contact: Email: mulcahy42@rogers.com Next Issue: Friday, October 13, 2023 Deadline: Friday, October 6, 2023 Brooklin TOWN CRIER.com "One- of-a-Kind Golfing Experience" The Rebellious Pioneer By Jennifer Hudgins After the war of 1812, Upper Canada faced various social, economic and political challenges, leading to tensions and conflicts. A number of individuals opposed the authority of the so-called Family Compact, an insulting nickname that described the network of men dominating the centres of power and governed by Lieutenant Governor Sir Francis Bond Head. Those opposed to this authority were called the Reformers and were led by William Lyon MacKenzie. Among them was Brooklin's (then called Winchester) Dr. James Hunter who, in 1845, built what is believed to have been Brooklin's oldest house at 42 Cassels Road. Wanting change Hunter's involvement began in the 1830s when he was one of 19 men who signed the Reformers' Declaration, a petition known as the "Seventh Report on Grievances" which was presented in the Upper Canada Assembly in 1835. The report outlined the grievances of the Reformers and their demands for political change, including an end to the rule of the Family Compact. Hunter also wrote numerous political criticisms of Bond Head's government. His involvement led to his arrest and he was jailed in Toronto with 600 prominent citizens who had taken part in the rebellion. He was acquitted due to his staunch opposition to armed resistance and the influential friends who spoke in his defence. At the time of his constructing the residence, villagers had no idea how politically notorious he was. Began medical practice Born into a wealthy family in Yorkshire, England in 1795, Hunter's life changed when he inherited his father's estate. He married Eliz- abeth Story at age 19 and in 1822 emigrated to Canada with her and their three children. After graduating from medical school, he settled in Whitby Township where he juggled farming and tending to the health of the community. His medical practice extended all the way north to Port Perry and Uxbridge. During his tenure in Brooklin, along with his medical practice, he was also a magistrate, prosecuting members of the notorious Markham gang, a group of thieves who terrorized settlers between Whitby and Markham. They often hid in the mysterious Devil's Den where the Heber Down Conservation area is located today. When Hunter's eldest daughter, Sarah Annie, married Reverend Robert Darlington, Brooklin's postmaster and treasurer of Whitby Township, he gifted them the Cassels Road house. Sarah and the Reverend's eldest daughter, Georgina Darlington, became the last member of the family to reside in the historic house. Although Dr. Hunter accumulated a significant amount of land in the Brooklin area in the 1840s and 1850s, his ties to Brooklin were severed in 1856 when he relocated to Lewiston, New York. He became an American citizen and died on April 20, 1875 at the age of 79. Enjoy the Fall Colours!