UP TO RAWDON traces the origins of more than 250 families who settled at Rawdon between 1820 and 1850. Rawdon’s population peaked in 1852 and though some descendants still live at Rawdon, others left for the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Ontario, western Canada, New England and the American Midwest. The descendants of their large families may be found across North America and indeed around the Globe. Included are the first Rawdon settler Joseph Dugas, an Acadian-American and J. E. Burton, the first clergyman of any faith to live at Rawdon. He played a prominent role in the story of the first school and the first church in the township.
The book is a very personal account of Rawdon’s history – all my ancestors began life in Canada at Rawdon between 1824 and 1832. It is based on my research in original sources and includes stories entrusted to me by individuals from many families. There are chapters on the military background of some settlers, the story of the militia, the surprising influence of American settlers and how British (Irish, English, Scottish), American, Canadien, Acadian and Protestant and Catholic cultures interacted.
UP TO RAWDON honours my parents Elton and Llewella and this website is for all those with continuing interest in their Rawdon roots.
Search the Table of Contents for the principal family names that occur in both parts of the book. The chapters are alphabetically arranged by family name. Part Two completes the chapters on particular families and includes ones about emigration from Rawdon, churches, school and other background material. Letters of support from readers follow the Table of Contents.
UP TO RAWDON website contains new material and corrections that are regularly added to this printable text file and photos & index that are not found in the original text, contributed by readers. When the website is updated, I usually send an email to everyone using MailChimp, which is the only time I will write unless I am replying to your letter. See them in the Email Campaign Archive.
At supplementary information there is data on more than twenty families that could not be included in the published chapters. There are unique research files, most of which are not found elsewhere on the Internet, which are free to anyone interested in the families and history of Rawdon and Kildare.
Have a look at Rawdon yesterday and today and you might find these links helpful.
Daniel B. Parkinson
Toronto, Ontario
(416) 869-0088
Purchase Today
The cost of printing and shipping has increased since publishing in 2013 and is reflected in the price of the printed books. The PDF/e-book remains the same price and is easily searchable
“I love this book! The detail is incredible and the stories add depth to the lives of our ancestors that would otherwise be forgotten. I learned many new things about the Canadian origins of my family. This will be a useful tool in my family tree research for quite some time.”
Lisa McIntyre
The Author
I was born at Sherbrooke, Quebec in the old Park Street Hospital and grew up on Brightlook Jersey Farm at Waterville. My father was one month old when the family left Rawdon and settled there in 1901. It was a place of great natural beauty on a hilltop in the valley of the Coaticook River with a view to the Appalachians of northern New Hampshire and always with me in memory.
I grew up with lots of older family about me who always seemed to be speaking about our “relations” so the interest in genealogy and history was always there.
I attended school at Lennoxville and Waterville and graduated from Lennoxville High in 1962, Macdonald College (Faculty of Education) in 1965 and in 1969, Sir George Williams (now Concordia) University with a Bachelor of Arts, major in English.
I have been a school teacher, editorial assistant, Reservations Manager at Hart House, University of Toronto and a few other things betwixt and between.
Since 1972, a resident of Toronto, where I am a home owner, a long-time chorister with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and a keen gardener and reader.
UP TO RAWDON and its website has had a long germination, with endless fertilization and cultivation including weeding and pruning. Any fruit it bears is, in the words of Robert Louis Stevenson and set beautifully by Ralph Vaughan Williams, for “the dear days of old with the faces in the firelight; kind folks of old, [who] come again no more.”
Daniel
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