The Lanark Society Settlers (Scotland to Upper Canada)

By Carol Bennett

In 1820 and 1821 more than forty settlement societies from the Glasgow area of Scotland organized and managed the assisted emigration of a large number of Scottish families to the New Lanark Settlement in Lanark County, Upper Canada (Ontario) under the auspices of the British government. The immigrants were granted undeveloped land in the townships of Dalhousie, Lanark, North Sherbrooke and Ramsay.

Many of the settlers were unemployed/underemployed weavers who suffered years of financial hardship as a result of Britain's faltering economy and the industrialization of the textile industry in Glasgow following the Napoleonic War. Also included were a significant number of Scots with experience in other occupations.

The Lanark Society Settlers were granted land in the townships of Dalhousie, Lanark, North Sherbrooke and Ramsay in Lanark County, Upper Canada.

The author describes the conditions that existed in Scotland two decades into the 19th century that pushed people to emigrate away from all that was familiar to them; the way in which the group emigration was organized and managed; and what the people found when they arrived in the ancient forests of present-day Eastern Ontario.

The Lanark Society Settlers includes many family/genealogical sketches of individual families. Also included are lists of English and Irish settlers.

Contents include:

• Preface
• Conditions at home & abroad
• The voyage- the great adventure
• Trials of a pioneer
• Making a mark on the community
• A brief history of Dalhousie Township
• Lanark Township
• Ramsay Township
• North Sherbrooke
• The Written Word
• Personalities
• Moving on
• How to use this book
• Emigration societies [Names of societies; some of the families in each society; several copies of original signatures of the heads of household; misc details of each society]
• Miscellaneous
• Independents
• Military and individual settlers, etc (Irish and English settlers)
• Sources
• Bibliography
• Index (click here to view index)

The Lanark Society Settlers, after being long out-of-print, is available once again in its complete original format.

Reviews

"In 1820 and 1821, more than forty emigration societies sponsored the migration from Scotland of about 3000 Scottish people who were given land in Upper Canada in the townships of Dalhousie, Lanark, North Sherbrooke, and Ramsay. These settlers came to be known as the Lanark Society Settlers, even though one “Lanark Society” never existed, but the term came to represent those who settled in the New Lanark Settlement of Ontario. Ms. Bennett provides the historical context which drove the travelers to leave their homes and seek new ones across the Atlantic. The 1815 war between Britain and France had devastated the British economy, particularly depressing the Scottish weavers in the counties of Lanark and Renfrew. The author describes the voyagers’ experiences on the ships and the events following their arrivals. There are maps, photographs, biographies, genealogies, journal entries, and anecdotes depicting the societies, the families, and the townships. The author lists her sources and bibliography for those who wish to do further research. The index has over 400 entries, mostly surnames. Included are lists of some English and Irish people who arrived in the Lanark Settlement at the same time as the Society Settlers." - Bobbi King, Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter,

Details:

232 Pages
8-1/2 x 11"
B & W Photos
Bibliography
Index
Softcover - Perfect bound
Originally published by Juniper Books, Renfrew, 1991
This printing by Global Heritage Press, Milton, 2012
ISBN 978-1-926797-61-8