Mason, Robert (1781-1852)

 

Born: 1781 in Cambuslang Parish, South Lanarkshire, Scotland

Married: Helen Gourley on 20 Nov 1808 in Barony Parish, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland

Died: 1852 in Lanark Village, Lanark Twp, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada

Buried: unmarked grave believed to be in Lanark Village cemetery

Family Tree: Robert Mason

Relationship to author: 3rd Great Grandfather

 

 

 

The Immortalized Robert Mason: A Legacy of Learning and Leadership

The village of Lanark in Lanark County, Ontario, holds a rich history, and few figures loom as large in its past as Robert Mason, the formidable school teacher off settlement years. His legacy, filled with tales of discipline and dedication, continues to captivate those who study the region’s early years. Reverend Joshua Fraser, a former student of Robert Mason, provides a vivid portrait in the 1863 book Shanty, Forest and River Life:

“He was ‘…the most characteristic type that I ever knew, or heard of, … the strange, eccentric, oddly fashioned, antiquated men, who then filled the chairs of learning in the rural and backward districts … my remembrance of him is as fresh and vivid as of yesterday… He was sent out…with the first band of immigrants who settled in this country in 1821, and for nearly thirty years he taught and thrashed in the little stone school in the village.” 

Fraser describes Mason as a “tall gaunt, raw-boned, beetle-browed Scotchman (sic), an elder of the Kirk, a true-blue Presbyterian of the hardest and sternest cast. He seldom smiled…was…an exceedingly irascible old man; and…had become despotic and severe to the last degree. He was just as absolute, and upon occasion tyrannical, in his way as any autocrat of the Middle Ages.”¹

Another former student, Charles Mair, son of a local merchant, later rose to prominence as a member of the Canada First movement and played a role in the events leading to the Riel Rebellion. Mair often on the receiving end of of Mason’s taws for truancy, described his former teacher as “muscular and ungainly, with rugged cheeks and a long bristly chin.” Yet even Mair admitted that few could have maintained order in a schoolhouse of the time. His unyielding nature was perhaps necessary, in a school bursting with students of all ages, up to seventy ranging from young children to grown men, in a small building of twenty feet square. Mair left Mason’s tutelage with enough education and reasoning skills to succeed. As a young man Mair was sponsored for government work by the Hon. William MacDougall, then Minister of Public Works and later Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba.  At Fort Garry Mair became paymaster during the construction of a road from the Lakehead (Thunder Bay) to Fort Garry (downtown Winnipeg). His real task, however, was to send articles to eastern newspapers for the purpose of stimulating immigration to the new territory. His articles pushed him to national prominence.

When Robert Mason passed away in 1862, Mair and Fraser, home from Queen’s University, attended the funeral and, “not without a silent tear, helped to lower his coffin into the grave.”

Robert Mason, Master Weaver, Community Builder and Family Man

Beyond his reputation as a strict schoolmaster, Robert Mason was a man of many talents – a weaver, a scribe, a teacher and a community leader. During the 1970s, his journals² , along with his formal top hat, were passed down in the family. These journals reveal a more nuanced picture of the man behind the legend.

Born in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire Robert Mason was the son of James Mason and Elizabeth Allen. Robert and his siblings were skilled hand weavers in the cotton trade and Robert’s work was sought by significant mercantile concerns in Glasgow and area. In the years after his marriage to Helen Gourlie in 1808 Between 1808 and 1821, Mason employed four apprentices at a time,³ – many were to emigrate also. In his journal, Robert records the poor market conditions and the growing unrest in the Glasgow area in 1820. He also records the subsequent apprehension of John Aiken, Andrew Park and Andrew McLaren, local men, for their part in the protests. Andrew Park was one of his apprentices. The turbulent social climate of 1820 Glasgow influenced his decision to leave but one must wonder if Andrew’s arrest was a turning point for Robert and his family.

In February 1821 Robert sold looms and equipment to Jean Lang and John Muir. Robert, Helen, sons John and James and daughters Jane, Elizabeth, and Ellen sailed from Scotland on the George Canning on 13^th April 1821, leaving all Robert’s siblings behind.⁴ The family arrived in Quebec on the 2^nd of June. Tragically, his infant son James died enroute to Perth. By the 11^th July 1821 he received his first immigrants’ payment installment in Perth, Upper Canada.

On  August 3, 1821, Robert received a land grant in Lanark Township of Concession 2 Lot 9W and part of Concession 2 Lot 10. Col. Marshall engaged Robert Mason to teach on 8 November 1821. George Richmond, the designated schoolteacher for the Lanark settlers, was killed by a falling tree the previous winter. The school opened 18 February 1822. Robert purchased twenty-five acres, a park lot adjacent to the village of Lanark. In his journal it is noted that he bought William Read’s lot for £67 10s on 2 July 1822. The crown patent for the park lot was issued in 1828, indicating that settlement tasks were completed, with the assistance of students in his school.   At forty years of age, with a young family, Robert, who sent his Scotland-born children to school at an early age, who read widely and followed the evolution of world events, was ideally situated to become a leader in the community.

Robert’s journals indicate that he read widely and subscribed to several newspapers from Glasgow, Montreal and later Kingston. A known Reformer, he followed politics, the events of the royal family, and recorded events in Canada including the rebellion of 1838 and the election of Malcolm Cameron. He recorded world events such as the search for a north-west passage and the discovery of land in the southern hemisphere. He also recorded weather patterns, crop yields and even detailed livestock breeding.

As a respected scribe, Mason drafted legal documents, maintained records of school, church, and community finances and kept meticulous records of his and the businesses of others. His services were in high demand.  Details of Mason family expenditures and purchases are interspersed throughout the journals. Accounts owing to and from individuals in the community and with his children were noted as cleared in the 1850s as he neared the end of his life in 1862.

Throughout his life, Robert continued to weave and recorded his weaving drafts. In 1951 George Miller, a grandson, lived with him and trained as a weaving apprentice. Robert’s loom, later stored in a barn in Bathurst township, was sold by descendants in the 1980s. Robert recorded changes in the weather, the progress of the local crops and the blossoming of fruit trees. He recorded the breeding of his cattle, when and by what bull. This attention to the details of animal husbandry came down through the generations to my father, Ernest Miller, who devoted a lifetime to building a championship herd of Holsteins.

A known Reformer, Robert was a man of strong beliefs. He was a member of the Temperance Society, recording his refusal of an invitation by a neighbour to come by for ‘a drink’. In a community where alcohol was freely available, his staunch Presbyterian beliefs affected many aspects of his life. He served as Clerk of Session for the Church of Scotland in Lanark Village. He took this role seriously and when church reform was prevalent, he resisted religious reforms, and when Dr. Burns attempted to introduce Free Church ideas, Mason reportedly blocked him at the door, declaring ““ye’ll never put your foot in yon pulpit while I have the key of the kirk in my pocket.” Even as other congregations converted, Lanark remained steadfast in the Auld Kirk tradition, thanks in large part to Mason’s influence.

Family Man and Historian

Robert married Helen Gourley in 1808. Helen’s death is one of the rare moments where he conveys a sense of loss. They had a total of nine children. He followed the evolution of his family as his grandchildren arrived, indicating that letters and visits were common. His family, born in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire included:

• James Mason, 1809-1810, their first born, who died at nine months.
• Jeane or ‘Jane’ Mason, I810-1896, who lived with her parents, and later her father until his death in 1862. In later life she lived with James and Ellen Richardson in Drummond Township where she realigns her religious affiliation to Independent⁵ and later Congregationalist. On 25 Apr 1843, Robert records that Jane, who had four or five years of schooling before leaving Scotland, began to teach at the mill school. In 1852, Jean is a schoolteacher in Lanark Village. She does not marry.
• Elizabeth Mason, 2822-1850 married Thomas Miller, son of William Miller and Margaret Burns, lived in Bathurst Township and died in childbirth after delivering twins in January 1850. Elizabeth and Thomas had ten children, one who moved to Australia with the Boyle family, the others who moved to Minnesota with their father.
• John Mason, 1813, in Cambuslang, apprenticed with Charles Miller to become a saddler in 1830. Robert records a son born to John in 1830. I have not found a record of a marriage. He visited his parents several times in the 1840s. In 1846 his address is noted as four miles above Kingston; in 1847 as Napanee; in 1848 as Millcreek, Ernestown (Loyalist township, Lennox and Addington County)
• Helen Mason, 1816, married George Miller, son of William Miller and Margaret Burns, lived in Bathurst township, Lanark county. George was a farmer and many of the descendants remained close to the family farm. They were my great-great grandparents.
• James Mason, 1820, died the journey from Scotland to Lanark county in Upper Canada.

Robert and Helen’s family, born in Lanark county, Upper Canada included:

• Robertson Mason, 1823, married Sarah Ann MacDonald, daughter of William MacDonald and unknown, worked in the timber industry. Robertson died in the Parry Sound District, Ontario. Some of their nine children are buried in Powassan.
• Jannet Mason, 1825, married Alexander Robson in Lanark Village in 1848 and moved to Madrid, St. Lawrence County, New York where she was a parent to four children from Alexander’s first marriage and additional eight children born to her.
• Margaret Mason, 1827, married Peter Miller, son of Andrew Miller and Catherine Munro, and lived in Bathurst township, Lanark county. Margaret and Peter had four children.

Throughout his life Robert corresponded with family members and friends in Canada and Scotland. While the letters that were exchanged have not survived, Robert records the date of receiving and writing letters, sometimes with the address of the correspondent. He carefully notes the names of people in Scotland found in letters received from his brother William. Although context is missing in the journals, information he received would be shared with other settlers. Community and family deaths were recorded. These records provide information about his parents and siblings.

The last entry in the journal transcription, just a year prior to Robert Mason’s death, is the record of costs associated with the building of ‘the new house’ which was raised the 7^th of June 1861. Robert Boyle supplied the logs and 3000 shingles; Alex Caldwell provided the boards; Robert Drysdale items unspecified but probably nails, hinges, etc.; Andrew Gemmill dug the foundation and plastered the interior; ‘Frenchmen’ hewed logs and provided labour, lime etc.; John Wright, an unspecified contribution. The total cost of material and labour was $94.50, boarding of men was not included.

A Legacy Beyond the Classroom

While Robert Masson is remembered for his rigid discipline, his contributions extend far beyond the schoolhouse. He was a pioneer who helped shape Lanark’s early institutions, from education to religious life, while preserving a wealth of historical details in his meticulous journals.

The boy who once wove cloth in Scotland became a man who helped to build a community in Canada. His influence can still be felt in the descendants who carry on his legacy, including the writer of this account, his great-great-granddaughter.

Footnotes

 

1. The Story of Lanark, 1962, pp. 36-39 and A Pioneer History of the County of Lanark, Jean S. McGill, T.H. Best Printing, 1968 which include excerpts from Master Works of Canadian Authors, Vol. XIV, edited by John W. Garvin, Toronto, 1926. [↩]
2. Robert Mason, one of my 3x Great Grandfathers, has been part of the family lore since I was a young child. Edith Miller, a first cousin twice removed, would include his name in her sharing at the annual ‘Miller Picnics’ each year and later my father became the custodian of Robert Mason’s top hat and diaries. After his passing the top hat and some schoolbooks were donated to the Lanark Village Museum and have become an integral part of their artifact collection. The diaries are destined for the Rural Diaries project at the University of Guelph, ON.  Although three of Robert’s daughters married ‘Miller’ men, our knowledge of Robert Mason, the family man was limited, and popular literature recorded him in the sternest of terms. I was recently asked to write Robert Mason’s story for publication in the 2020 book “Lanark County Legends” – a collection of stories edited and prepared by the Lanark County Genealogical Society. – Diane Miller Duncan 2020 [↩]
3. Apprentices included David Thomson, John Glenn, John Park and Andrew Park, John Coats, Robert Whyte, and Archibald Arbuckle. Robert and Archibald had not completed their apprenticeship in 1821 and were given their liberty. [↩]
4. Helen’s brother William sailed with the group as well. [↩]
5. Independents were the forerunners of Congregationalists. Britannica describes Congregationalists as a “Christian movement that arose in England in the late 16th and 17th centuries. It occupies a theological position somewhere between Presbyterianism and the more radical Protestantism of the Baptists and Quakers. It emphasizes the right and responsibility of each properly organized congregation to determine its own affairs, without having to submit these decisions to the judgment of any higher human authority, and as such it eliminated bishops and presbyteries. Each individual church is regarded as independent and autonomous.” https://www.britannica.com/topic/Congregationalism [↩]