Ball Point Mariposa Township, Victoria County ( now the City of Kawartha Lakes) has been home to the Parkin/Keeler/Alton family lines for generations. Located on Lake Scugog, it is an area that is well known for its vegetation, wild life and fish as part of the Trent-Severn Waterway System.
On or about 1840 Robert Parkin(s) and his wife Hannah Keeler lived on this little cape on Lake Scugog.
Robert Parkin(s) was born in Derby County England coming to Canada about 1840. Hannah's family originated from Norfolk County, England first landing in Eastern Ontario before relocating to Brock Township, Durham County. The Keeler family lived in Manilla which borders both counties of Durham and Victoria.Counties.
Robert and Hannah married in Canada.
Robert and Hannah are found in the 1871 Canadian census along with their children: Sarah Elizabeth, Amelia, Robert
Thomas, Hannah, Rebbecca, Charles William, Martha and John Keeler.
As was customary in many families sons inherited land. Robert Thomas, John Keeler, and Charles William each inherited the land from their father each obtaining a third of the Ball Point Peninsula. The daughters married local men. Name like Starr, Gilson, Wakeford and Thompson are well known in the area. Starr Bay was named after the Starr family.
The Keeler family continued to live in the area as well.
So how did these two family lines contribute to the Kawarthan area. I would like to concentrate on Charles William Parkin(s).
In the Games and Fisheries Department of Ontario, Charles William worked as a games warden or was known in the early 1900s an Overseer for the Valentia territory which included Mariposa and Ops townships.
Obtaining photocopies of his reports to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by my brother Ronald, gave insight to the man and his vision of protecting the great outdoors to be enjoyed by many.
He needed to record the vegetation and the animal life as well as try to sell licenses to fishermen and hunters. He was not very good at sells as his revenue was much lower than others in the province as well as Victoria and Haliburton Counties. The family believes he did not want the area over hunted. He was particularly concerned about the muskrat population.
It would be difficult to quote all the gems found in his reports transcribed by the department. However, a small gleaming is warranted.
1908: " He thinks fishing through the ice should be prohibited, as when a man cuts a hole through the ice over a bass bed, he can fish away until he has taken every bass feeding near. He is of the opinion that if the close season as from December 15th to June 15th and the laws strictly enforced, in a few years fish would again be rally plentiful there." That year he was happy there were more inspectors on the lake.
1909: He again advocated to limit winter fishing. He heard from people who lived there that over 600 fish were taken from the lake by two local residents. He believed every fisherman should to carry a permit. he continued to try to protect the muskrat population noting in 1910 they were more plentiful. Even the mink was making a comeback along with more partridges and ducks. The government boat Naiad patrolling the lake helped all the local overseers.
1911: He continued to note the decline in bass as due to the winter ice fishing. He was concerned about the frogs. " In regard to the catching of frogs for domestic purposes, he would suggest that the close season be extended for at least three years. Owing to the demand to supply the market, they are becoming almost extinct." He also wanted the meadow lark on the game list.
1912: He noted the muskellunge- which probably mean muskies- and bass were scarce due to a severe winter season. A new cement dam at Lindsay was constructed so he worried about no proper fish-way was in the dam to allow the fish to come up stream to Lake Scugog to spawn. Muskrats, mink, partridges and cotton-tail rabbits increased in numbers. However, he received complaints form farmers about too many rabbits. Wanting to make the playing field even he wanted the pump gun demolished as was the automatic gun.
His reports until 1915 continued to reflect his concerns and awareness of his territory. He really wanted all trappers to be licensed to protect the muskrats.
He was an avid outdoors man. He respected the rules of not taking more than his share of any game.
Married to Elizabeth Ann Frost (born Athens, Leeds and Grenville County) in 1890, he loved his wife and one surviving child. Unfortunately they lost a baby boy at 4 months old. Living out most of his life in and around Mariposa he worked not only as an Overseer but did farm on the land. His brothers operated farms and passed on the land to their families. In the early 1970 those farms existed until being sold and becoming the modern day subdivision found on Ball Point Road.
Charles moved to Toronto in his old age to be closer to family due to health issues where he died in 1941. The little lakeside cemetery by the Swain farm is his final resting place.
His insight and love of nature trying to protect the natural resources of the area can be current goals of many people too. His vision of conservation continues in the family as generations are heeding his concerns. The City of Kawartha Lakes remains a haven for the hunter and fisherman. Ball Point cottage is still enjoyed by family members for recreational purposes.
Resources
1. 1871 Census of Ontario. Mariposa Township, Victoria County.
2. Marriage Certificate-006969. Ontario Vital Statistics.
3. Ontario department of Fish and Game Annual Reports to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario- 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915. Excerpts of the pages with Charles William Parkin's reports.
4. Parkin family history- unpublished.
5. Keeler family history- unpublished.
Written by Barbara Di Mambro
Copyright 2017
#trentsevernwaterway#lakescugog#fish#muskrat#Keeler#Parkin#Frost#familyhistory
I thoroughly enjoyed this post, Barb. It brought back memories of Ball Point camp to me. Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteI am glad. I am trying to put more of the family stories online. Eventually I will put a family tree but need to decide which site to use. It is alays important not to include demographics of living relatives for security purposes.
ReplyDeleteBeing a great-grandson of Robert Thomas Parkin, I found it fascinating to get a glimpse of the daily thoughts of his brother Charles. They probably talked to each other about such matters. Judging by the photographs I inherited, the two families were very close, especially my grandmother Minnie and Charles' daughter Leona.
ReplyDelete