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535-03 Page 20ALL �A HOAX eral books concermng the Redmen. Some five years later, to our Jli There were also two copies of the chagrin, we learned that the $50,-I Anglo-American magazine contain- 000 expenditure for a road was a ing an account of Colonel Charles hoax! Al. Siple, Woodstock's con_IIngersoll's activities during the "enial auctioneer, tipped us off that war of 1812-15. the effects, of the daughter-in-law I This writer, up to two years ago, of the late James A. Ingersoll, had the original letter addressed registrar of Oxford county, would to "Capt. Ingersoll, Oxford Mil - be sold on the Woodstock market itia," and calling upon the inhabit - and among the effects were many ants to lay down their arms upon books from James A. Ingersoll's the threat of burning down the library, and historical documents, village. It was signed by "General" which might interest us. We at- A n d r e w Westbrook, American tended the sale and were success- Army.. Although a copy of the Sint in obtaining the entire lot for paper was made at the time, a a trifle. One document interestedflooded basement ruined much of us, namely, "Mr. Stillman S. Smith` the original Ingersoll library and inA. Jone's Survey, located Mr. th valuable historical documents. All $ Beechville, Oxford, U.C. . . . At- that General Westbrook performed __m bany, N. York, March 19, 1793. To -..::was to burn ddwn Burdick's grist My Dear Friend, This day I have mill, at Centreville. The authori- .placed to your account the sum of ties could do little about this act 50 sterling in the Exchange bank of arson because it so happened here which you so kindly loaned that Westbrook burnt down his own me.- I shall not tire you with the property as he purchase dd thgg ill length of this letter, but I, am in from Burdick!( a,AAikN,•d,av+d. f. Order to satisfy your mind that the - Oxford -1 a --county' knownt' r money has been paid. Write me in "The county of a thousand hills" ! care of Mrs. Sage and describe andit applies more specially to the k the land and country in general, rolling land of the Zorras and West and if it be worth my while to Oxford townships. In one of these settle there. Thomas Ingersoll." hills, supposedly near Beachville, It is difficult to discover if this is ensconced a military chest of letter was sent to Stillman Smith gold, buried by the light of the and eventually recovered to be in- silvery moon, but others say that eluded in the effects of Mrs. In- it was a real dark night, by the ,gersoil. To us, it dispelled the idea paymaster of the British army on that Thomas Ingersoll had $50,000 the Sth day of October, 1813, to spend on a road when he hadl ,Three days after the battle to borrow f5o from Stillman Smith.. of Moravian Town. The chest con - Four years later, in 1797, under tains 910,000-225,000 — 150,000 date of August 2, Thomas Dexter ...Or even more, but only the pay - and Thom as Ingersoll were in master of the British army knows Queenston to attend the sitting of and he, unfatunately, is deceased. the government. Major Ingersoll The foregoing is the "Legend of certified that Thomas Dexter had the Golden Chest" Throughout the settled on Lot 6 in the First con-. years the buried chest has enhanc- cession and he requested the ed in value. .. probably bearing Honorable Peter Russel to grant 7 per cent interest rates for 'the Dexter additional land. Dexter's last 140 years, because the last letter or petition, under the same time we heard the "truth". . . , date, was as follows: "That your some three weeks ago from an petitioner is settled with his wife aged Beachville resident.. the and family on Lott 6, First Con. chest of gold contained 1100,000! cession of the Township of Oxford, Captain William Kidd, of the for which Lott your petitioner has Spanish Main, in all of his glory no warrant. And. understanding of being a pirate, was only a that Major Ingersoll has forfeited pretty piker when it came to chests that town (should it be township?), of golden lucre. Humbly prays your Honour will Let us do some debunking. bepleas'd•to grant him a warrant for said Lott, and for whatever Never in the annals of the British further quantity of Vacant Crown army,: in North America, were ever Land to -your Honour1n his Wis-- a debacle and a defeat more glar- " - Signed mg in bad generalship and -griev- donmay seem meet.� Thomas Dexter. ously harmful to the inhabitants The next day, August 3, the Ex- of Upper Canada, than the "Battle of the Thames," fought on the ecutive Council granted Mr. Dex- en- ter his deed. On his way home to day of October, f t between Gen-! Oxford, he had the deed register- oral Harrison of the A. Proct r,1 ed by Thomas Horner, Registralof army and. G tera1 H. A, Procter, Oxford county, and it was the (unit commanding the British, and In- ed registered in the county._Tn-- d)an allies under Tecumseh. Ike a ci ently, "Martin's Old Stand" was mg Tecumseh's advice to make a stand at the confluence Mc - erected immediately opposite Mr. Mc - Dexter's log house which was sit- river, a creels and the T Thames rated on the Old Stage Road and river, at Chatham, Procter fell the southeast corner of the Beach- back to a point above Thamen the vine side. road. Martin's Ne otel and took up a position between the -rds a river and some swampy ground. was built a few hundred yards east .When the Americans approached v on the Old Stage Road and somela stiff engagement ensued. Tecum- of the older residents of Beachville anti was killed and when Procter can point out the spot today. For heard of the slaying he decided to 'years, it was the local polling booth retreat to Allen's (Deleware) or for municipal and provincial elec- Oxford village (Ingersoll) in then lions. The Executive Council granted hope of obtaining more reinforce - permission from either the Norfolk or permission for Mr. Dexter to work Oxford militia. Finding none at p additional Crown lands, namely; either settlement, he fled further' Lot 4, and Lot 21, of the broken into the wilderness. . .via theli front, "the rent to commence sold Old Stage road• . .until he saw September, 15L t Mr. Dexter sold the friendly heights of ,an_f^" his farm to Luther Hoskins and to offer. a�������arr -.>•"The follow-' ,purchased land in Barron (Ham ing is his -Me edule: The battle ilton). When the war of 1812 wasOct. 5th; Delaware on the 6th;. declared, he decided to return to Oxford on the 8th; Burford on the the States and he resided at At-' loth; Indian Mill (Brantford) on: bay, N.Y., up to the time of his the 14th, and Ancaster on the 17th. death. He arrived at Burlington the, Among other papers from the following day with 17 officers, 263 Ingersoll estate were much mater- men and 53 horses. At the battle, ial which James A. Ingersoll had his original force consisted of 800 loaned T. S. Shenston for the pur- officers and men. From the battle:, pose of including the material in field to Oxford village was 71 miles, yyyyyy Shenston's Gazetteer, published in The General made excellent timel{ 1852. Mr. Shenston mentions that �in doing the distance in two and he had much material of Inger- one half days. Passing through Ox , soil village, but due to space he ford village, he proceeded four ,could not include it in his tin - miles east and camped at Mar- ectory. Mr. Ingersoll was very cut i tm's Old stand, Lot 6 of the Broken liars to know more about the In i From, ,�4Wt,.st Oxford township, orc dines. HH Ills library contained sev it' i° nou.tt) on the Fcachville side :- ) lig1' foul, " ord. hence Gat le, of tap ..` there were several survivors in the in August 1814, when "General" vicinity who participated in the Andrew Westbrook destroyed his own grist mill, at Centreville, and {eue --°f-1$13, namely: Joeseph compelled the inhabitants to jour- Dodge; the Dyggarts. . .Sylvester ney to `the Indian mill at Brant 1000 - and John; and Munson Cook, of iford for their needs, an irate corn - the Sage road. In Ingersoll village munfty protested to McCarthy that resided William 'McGinty. When Westbrook was making war on the the ranmUpai wodd, Mumdoal stationer,. St. Thomas. 'a the story appeared, no one inter- civil population through sheer vin- _ viewed them for a request for the 'dietiveness. Moreover, if Westbrook HOOL RATES Pest quest for the chest! did not desist, they (the inhabit - We once broached the story to (ants) would shoot him on sight the fate Neil McFee and asked him as a common thief and murder- z his views. He replied, "It is an Old der. 9 3o 3r 3z Wives' tale that has been going When James A. Crawford Inter - the rounds since I was a lad. I I viewed James A. Ingersoll, regfs'BLIC- SEPARATE TGr.4L rnxes knew McGinty and he was one of trar of Oxford, in 1855, concerning the last around here to be in that the part of Colonel Charles Inger- special General Special war. He claimed that there were; soll's activities in the war of 1812, ;n the $ In the $ in the $ Amount considerable digging of holes in le: wrote: — "Mr. Ingersoll spoke hillsides, but they were mostly for about the mill at Centreville be. $ `is.$ `ts $ cis wounded and ekhausted horses ing burnt by General Westbrook. - which had to be destroyed. Also He said that Westbrook bore a pp _ Oka, Sc i�.o o l f3 o a rd of e o .. 'then were holes made in the con- bad name in this section f th Jw 1g53 latrines." e country as tieing deadbeat struction of LasFwee we en eavored to ex- a and very dishonest with his weights UX f o7-d -r w rt, s k t p plode the hoax that a chest of gold and measures. Westbrook leased was buried in some hill near Beac the mill from Mr. Burdick, But. 77ew C'ke o /6 . Ville by the paymaster of General with one excuse and another, he did / L° I a r j H. A. Procter's army. The morning not pay Burdick one farthing- the 90 re set 0 following the alleged burial another tall tale received its birth, namely: on agreement. When the war broke out he left C wllOde >v ro a c(. "Thousands and thousands of Am- the district and joined the Ameri- " S+•�bdr✓ts,d�,. SoI erican soldiers, with their polished cans. He made frequent 9uent forays into i bayonets glittering in the early morning sun, passed by our door Canada and terrorized the settlers by demanding money and food. If l)7 /r,Wg a-" cC, a Y and it wasled by General Me either was not forthcoming he burn their barns $pal e /�oddf £35f Carthy himself." 1 would and fire "Our door" was the log house their crops. The authorities in 017 lXa, 7) o r7X- s i d of Joseph Dodge, Lot 4, First' Concession. The person speaking England paid James Burdick Ms full claim for his loss-" [.'o st of ,3 su400/5 = was Mrs. Lauriston Cruttenden, wife of Beachville's firstpostmast- PUBLIC FE]III "eCarth. o Ci: A - /Y6S 1 - diie 64 er,M Do and a daughter of Joseph Dodge. She was relating her It Y's Army" in the mind of wee Miss Dodge had prov- j�Fi /A p0'Iaad sa grand -children the trials and tri- n ed to be real, one can surmise that little harm would have been done h°tee Ink/� e°T<° n - S °</ Coy' bulatioOxford t of the pioneers a West Oxford township. One the grand- to the settlers. Every settler on Fe Oh" a7' Olrrkd c°<r children. . .a Miss Julia Ford, of Julia St. the Stage Road was. an Americaa I by birth. They received their - " ` "— —i L-.q Marys, gave the story to the editor of the St. Marys Journal, grant of land by swearing allegiance to George the Third The located '' ,7/u. I'ML a a f KrL �� (3) 33 Date of Payment i�-e Je S Rr.am ereey' a' tArePi One /n base of is cornyye(r 07V 0r)e I I n L/�¢ /f- /✓aT la �ICL t£ Sr de 'r D7A, e> D� 7lie ©)&' ,/ Z%t 17cvn Walt Cree/ of Ifa, t rw a/ a� �Idr'•Ef �°I�GrS K - aweye of for , dha e jII�Il( Y �I sew -, ew-s nay -lRS.3 ' �/fo` dae�, in 1899, and the story was reprint- Y 'II ed in many weekly papers through- Oxford to farm and farm they did.out Ontario. Incidentall They were not disloyal nor were - - y. Miss. they overly loyal. They were not %ftc Sciio°1 •ar, IBF.ACHVDJ.E Foal died in 1948 in her 93rd year.' interested in the chessboard of 61a Sra aRoad According to old obituaries, ands! We were curious to know more international politics. They had' 9 a record in a family Bible which about McCarthy's army" in Ox little likik* for being pawns for Wab o�iened ow we have seen, the village of Beach -I ford,- therefore, we wrote to Miss either His Royal Highness or for ville was a going concern revious! Ford, about 13 or 14 years ago, March / I tf g p asking her if she could give us President Madison. 9 to 1782. One must remember that, any additional facts. She replied any Isaac .Brock realized this in In one 1"eowr, 'after the treaty of Paris was sign with a lengthy letter and gave ed 1812 when he communicated his The br,dk Sang ed, in 1763, whereby Canada pass -I thoughts to his Adjutant -General, ed into the hands of the British. a history of the Cruttenden family My situation is most critical, not /n Centre✓,u ,the French forts and lines of com-I and stated that an gave her the information concern- elder sister from e enemy can do, anything the tva5 Yaedf'ad. ' munications w e r e abandoned. ing the thousands of .American but from the disposition of the u i Many of the soldiers refused to. troops people. . . .The population is run, Iqrq -O(A � return to France and they took up' p passing the door of her essentially bad. A full belief their abode in the forests. The only grandmother, beyond that, she possess them all that this .Province �''' sc�a+C means of transportation was b could go no further. Y What,wee Miss Dodge saw. must inevitable succumb...Legis- : 4'Ue s`'1re waterway and when Detroit was in the early morning sun. . . lators, Magistrates, Militia Officers! °iu' a• "4 handed over to the British, the was the rear guard of Procter's Tall have imbibed the idea and are' uneLL °` French soldiery took to the canoes demoralized army. After his de- so sluggish and indifferent in all ,n,,,, w.w and ascended the. La. Tranche feat at Moraviantown, he split the their respective offices that the ` /- (Thames river) and settled on both d`I shores of the river. It is for this remnants in r two detachments. artful and active scoundrel is al- Eason that Essex and Kent count. In the van were General and Mrs. lowed to parade the country with- G/ des have so man inhabitants with Procter, his headquarters staff, out ,interruption and commit all Cdu-.•».-1 Y several wives of the officers, trans- imaginable mischief." French names. port drivers, some wounded and From the settlers' viewpoint it C""A Nee nay) wP about 80 men. His rear guard was was different. From 1776 to 1812 It takes no stretch of Imaginal-' =' lion to know what would happen spaced ten miles in his rear to they had been buffeted around by to the detachments, or platoons, harrass General Harrison, if neces- contrarywinds of open, or threat- 196"1 Al P A,,,.�.,,., n� of those who existed in the woods i cause It was not necessary be- ened, warfare. They came into the !" I 'se co to protect the French line cause Harrison returned is Detroit wilderness with an axe and a ���tttKKK��r... �,�,A w communications. When peace after destroying proctor's army. wedge. With these two tools they �0-'� was signed they remained where The evening that Procter stopped cleared a few acres. They erected 5c,(a.wP,. 6"4u - I they were. When Augustus Jones at Martin's Old stand, his rear a shelter, garnered in a cow, a .76jz po° °� surveyed the three Oxfords, in 1793, u guard camped at Putnam's (four couple of hogs, and a few chickens. 1F7 Aar he camped in present day Beach. miles east of Dorchester.) They were practically ignored by ville. Moreover, it is probably true HINT DROPPED the government at York. s�1/t. s"-C t h at the settlemem of Oxford Very thoughtlessly, the General There were no free schools. To stretched from the upper reaches never informed the inhabitants educate their children they had to of the Thames to Dorchester or along the Stage Road that a few club together and hire a teacher, a K" $4ys,L beyond. When John Carroll arrived miles to the rear were a consider- clothe the teacher and board the in Beachville in 1782, he claimed able number of British troops fol- teacher. The only educational help W� ` � that there was a considerable set- lowingwho would t•u, tiement there. pass a certain they received from the government S.t.usa.iar.,', spot at, a certain time. Yet, an was free advice. .They advised The reason that Ingersoll has the inkling was dropped to the settlers j the settlers that before. they hire rLO" j reputation of beingg the original that on the approach of the Ameri- a teacher that they should make Yti.l l.Eun,a4 i� "Oxford" is because the post- office can forees.they should shoo their, certain that he could read and -so happened to be in the general stock into the bush and hide all write! The school books were L. l q ss• store of Charles Ingersoll, in 1822 � I of their valuables. American written from an Ameri- o�.M►-dnoa.�s which was situated on the come Wee Miss Dodge was born in can slant. One need not wonder '., of King and Thames street. If why General Brock was worried. f°rcr+.P$3°.oe+. old in . 3.. would be five years \� 'Charles Ingersoll's store had been old in 1813.....a very impression- i --- _--- able_ age. Probably, as the years-, .else, then, that battalions to McCarthy'smythical army. (Note: Brig. -Gen. Mc- Carthy was in command, at De- troit, and he had many personal friends who were officers in the yarticular spot would have been . C� Se�o+,A' ovwo a 1414- called Oxford. Beachville could be' .� �.xMho - $cfi.•e- quite safe in painting on its com-`; p munal sign:— "BEACHVILLE - `^" 'THE CRADLE OF UPPER CAA- - E iA1)Ad" _ , -