Silverwood Sages - Clue # 1

Description

Media Type

Image

Item Type

Photographs

Description

In pre-settler days, the Puslinch Area of Wellington County was occupied by the Attewanderon people.
As English, Dutch and German settlers arrived, Puslinch, in honour of the birth home in Devon, England, of Elizabeth Yonge, the wife of Lieutenant Governor (1828-1836) was given to this region.
In 1830, Thomas Arkell, (originally of Dutch origin, Van Arkell), his 1st cousin John Arkell and Frederick Stone (from Farnham Plains, England), settled on 600 acres in Puslinch. The original village was 1 kilometer west of the present hamlet of Arkell. Sheep farming was the original industry.
In 1839, foundations were laid for the Church and cemetery. A plot in the cemetery cost 25 shillings. The Church was consecrated in 1845 within the Church of England.
Future settlers gravitated towards the present site of Arkell and after several years the Church was moved to Arkell. Farnham Cemetery remained in place.
The Arkell Women’s Institute was founded in 1909. In 1931, granite pillars at the gate of the cemetery were erected by the Arkell WI to honour the early settlers. The plaque reads “Erected by Arkell Women’s Institute to the honour and memory of the first settlers of this community who by courage, faith and toil gave us the heritage of this day“.
During Canada’s Centennial Year 1967, Arkell Women’s Institute erected a second set of pillars with a plaque several metres from the original gates.
In the early 2000’s, a skeleton was found of a middle-aged woman from the mid 1800’s while excavations were carried out on Summerfield Drive in Guelph. She was reinterred in Farnham Cemetery on November 26, 2003. Let us honour this brave unselfish woman who has gone before us.
It is with humility and thanks that we remember and honour our settlers, our pioneers and the Arkell Women’s Institute for providing this rich history.

Notes

Submission part of the WISH challenge for WI's 125th anniversary.

Date of Publication

Feb 2022

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