1692A.4     Lawrence Goodhue ⁶  BIGELOW, son of  Levi ⁵ ( David ⁴ , Daniel ³ , Joshua ², John ¹), and Nancy (GOODHUE) BIGELOW, was born 08 October 1818 at Derbyline, Orleans co, VT. He married, at Chester, VT, Elizabeth Henry, born 28 July 1810. He worked for his father's lumber and mercantile interests in Stanstead, Quebec, and later in Buckingham, Quebec. He was active, when in the United States, in the anti-slavery movement. He made Burlington, VT, his permanent home, but due to his wife's health, made several trips to the south, seeking a kinder climate for her tuberculosis. She died 15 September 1853 at Burlington, he on 15 October 1867, also at Burlington, Chittenden county, VT. During his years in Buckingham, Quebec, he was recognized as a leader in the town, and donated the land on which St. Andrew's church and cemetery originally stood.

First Published in November 1938
Republished April 26th, 1963.
If a person who lived here in the early eighties, and remembering the road from the island passing under the wooden bridge of the time, and continuing on to the sawmills, the transformation scene which greets the eye now must be striking. The wooden bridge was a solid affairs, and about twenty feet or so above the roadway underneath. It had a strong railing with a six inch top piece.
Youngsters rhought it an act of bravado to negotiate the long crossing on the top piece in bare feet, even in wet weather, while women in the NcGuire house at the end (the south end) held their breath until the venturesome cbapS had landed safely.
The island road after passing under the bridge joined the road in from of Mr. R. M. Kenny's home and thence not only to the sawmill, but swept southerly around the mills by a platform road crossing the plank and refuse slides and, by a deal bridge over the tailrace, reaching the grist and carding mills of the east side firm.

Then, when a patron hcd his grist ground or his wool pue

in rolls for spinning, he either retraced his steps or continued up

the hill. crossing the dam bridges and on between the machine and

carpenter shops, passing the old metal dump and through the picket

and shingle yards, to George Street at the covered bridge.

The grist and carding mi71s were a fascination for strip-

lings. Mr. Steele, the first miller of recollection, was a kindly

old man with a love for boys of a certain disposition, and

tolerated

them around the machinery, allowing them to test the grinding and

retrieve the woollen rolls when the receptacle was full, the boys

learning very quickly to be of use in twisting the wool rolls into

proper shape for packing into the woollen containers brought by the

farmer patrons.

These were the days before steel or metal pins came into

general use and the containers were kept secure from losing their

contents by thorns plucked from bushes adjoinlng farm houses.

A miller not so easily brought to heel was Mr. Ripley, as

he dld not care much for youngsters; like MacPherson Lemoyne he

thought there should @e no closed season for boys. When this was

noised abroad, the hardiest chaps gave him a wide berth.

Mr. Ripley belonged to the Plymouth Brethern and was n@

laggard defendLng his interpretation of Holy scripture. Millwrigh

Samuel Gillies of the east side mills, was a Baptist, well versed

in the Bible, and not one to stand behind the door when the Gospel

was being preached, or to shirk a debate with another Christian.

Memory carries us back to a Scriptural duel between the

two men in the GSllies' home and the argument was rather over a

boy's head, but witbout voices being raised, both appeared to

launch telling blows and at the conclusion of the conflab, both

parted in the best humour.

ffr. Riley did not long continue as miller, auctioning of

his household goods, including a library of no mean size, and de-

parting.

This auction continued for some days and during this tim

one kid was a constant attendant, taking out in looks the titleY o

books he could not buy.

Mr. John Miller was another miller who was much esteemed

by the boys. He was soft of voice and gentle in manner, eook a

great interest in our Penny Reading @lub, and quite frequently was

one of the entertalners.

The mill road, which passed Mr. Kenny's house wus, befor@

the wooden bridge time, the Main Street and, crossing the gully, it

emerged near the present Sicard home (now the property of Mrs.

Adelard Assad).

In the early eighties, the wooden bridge gave way for th

present fill-in, an@ the mill employees had to climb a hill and go

down one to get to their work. Some years ago the scheme of tbe

fill-in between the island and the Fill-in on Main Street got unde@

way and this year, owing to clearing away of surplus ground in ord@

to make way for curb-to-curb street paving, the road to the island

has been raised almost to the level of the main thoroughfare. @itl

the good work continuing, it will not be many years before the gul

of younger days will hve difiappeared altogether.

(Editor's @ote: lhe road, known as Island Street, has

been re-Damed La Mennais, and is filled in to a level with Main

Street. It is now occupied by handsome homes; but the gully on th

west side of Main Street is still there and the road, which passes

in from of Mrs. Kenny's home, is the access to the new Maclaren

Power House which replaced the east side mills.

All the buildings spoken of in the above arricle, lnclu@

ing the lath and shingle grounds, completely disappeared many yea

ago and the site they occupied t 5 now a vast lawn bordering the

sldes of a very deep @an-made canal leading to the generators of

the power plan@.

The George Street of those days started at Main Street at

the site of the present Assad Furniture Store, went down MacNaughto

Uill over the covered bridge and continued on what is now known 86

George Street.)

ST. GREGORY OF

@AZIANZE PARISU

First publlshed February 2nd, 1934

Republished May 3rd, 1963.

1835: Rev. Father Brunet, a missionary, constructs the first chape

on the O'Neil farm, on the location of the old graveyard.

1840: The Parish of St. Gregory is canonically erected by Bl6il0p

Bougret; Father John Brady is appointed pastor.

1841: The first Presbytery is constructed near the chapel.

1849: This first Presbytery is destroyed by fire. Father Brady

replaced it by a bungalow built on his own farm at his own expense.

1855: The second church was constructed, corner of Main and Denis.

1859: A third Presbytery is built - a building unworthy of the

name.

1862: Father Brady resigns and retired to his bungalow on his farr

Ue is replaced by Fa@her Laurent Jouvent.

1869: The Grey Nuns open St. Lawrence Convent on Charles Street.

1872: A fourth Presbytery - Mr. Croisetiere's actual residence -

is erected

1873: Father Jouvent is replaced by Father Michel.

1879: The actuai cemetery is purchased and put into use.

1880: Father Bradr dies and his remains are interred in the cryp

r f eh@ rhllrrh.

1890: The third church, begun in 1887, is completed.

1891: The new existing presbytery is constructed.

1892: The brothers of Christian Instruction take charge of the

boys' school. The classes are held in the now abandoned church

and they use the old presbytery as their residence.

1896: St. Michael's College is just completed and opens its doo

1901: Tather Michel retires and is replaced by Yather Croteau.

1905: St. Michael's Hospital is constructed, the gift of Father

Michel.

l91Q: Father Michel dies in Ottawa; his remains are transferred

to Buckingham and interred in the parish cemetery.

1912: Father Croteau dies and is replaced by Father Chatelain.

1913: A wing is added to the College.

1920: The third church is destroyed by fire.

1922: The fourth church is completed.

1928: Father Chatelain dies suddenly; he i9 replaced by Father

Chartrand.

1929. Father thartrand is appointed Vicar General of the Diocese

of Ottswa. Father Belanger replaces him.

Elsewhere in the Post will be found dates dealing with

Ac@ivities in St. Gregory's Parish from its inception. Father Joh

Brady, Buckingham's first parish priest, on his retirement from

the pastorate, went to live on his farm on the Thurso road, which

in those days pas @I through, among other farms, that of John M.

O'@eil, the @ilso a,.d @o_e @ropg@ties.

That portion of the road to Thurso was closed when the

new one at the Sullivan corner (McGivern) was opened to the public

Father Brady's home was hidden from the old road by a dense growt@

of underbrush wbich had sprung up between the big hardwoods, wlth

which the Brady lot wa@ covered.

After Father Brady's deatll and the closing of the old

road the properties along it became a sanctuary for feathered gan

partridge and woodcock, the latter flnding a natural habitat amon

the alders fringing a small stream which, ri.sing on the O'Neil

property, meadered through the Brady farc and thence on down

through Mc@amara's, to Lochaber @ay.

While the 1ate John M. O'Neil had the privilege of clos-

ing this road after the opening of the new one, he did not exercise

it, people coming and going at their own sweet will. The practice

was voluntarily dlscontinued.

The area of ground served by the new highway not only

afforded good partridge hunting but was a pleasure for the camera

owner with a taste for sylvan scenes which take the eye. Mr. F.W.

Warwick, now of Galt, Ont., when a resident of Buckingham, has,@or

had, a fioe collection of rural views taken on this old road. Mr.

Warwick's collection was not composed of the haphazard or accident@

variety; during one walk he would select the place to be snapped;

on the following one the desired stop would be photographed. Quitr

likely his fine collection of birds and eggs owed some of its speci

mens to this portion of the Buckingham woods.

(Fditor's Note). The foregoing notes cover one hundred

and twenty-five years of Buckingham's history. Our memory goes

back to the third church on the corner of Denis and Main which was

then being used by the Brothers of Christian Instruction, and their

residence in Mr. Croisetiere's home. We very distinctly remember

Father Michel who loved all children and showed his love by tessing

them.

It was news to us to learn that the Grey Nuns of the Cros

were originally on Charles Street but we do remember the original

convent on Joseph Street, which was the brick home of one of Buckin

gham's earliest doctors, Doctor Ferguson. It was a one storey and

a half home and had to be enlarged several times before it was de-

molished following the erection of the new convent.

The first stone church destroyed by £ire in 1920 had its

steeple over the side entrance. @hen the church was rebuilt two

years later the steeple was changed to be over the front door and

the chime of bells, which rang out so melodiously daily, was the

gift of Mrs. W.T. Gibbs, who was buried recently in the family

plot in the Anglican cemetery.

We remember Father Brady's house, but it was sadly out

of repair. We think somewhere we have@several post cards of it

with its shuttered French windows. We think thls post card was

made on the occasion of the centenary of the parish.

The old r!ad on the O'Neil farm used as the access to

Father Brady's property as well as to Th@lrso, is now part of the

town and has several very fine residences on the property. The

next farm along the route belonging to Pat Smith, whose property

reached back to the Busby road, which in the old days ran between

the McGurn and O'Neil farms to a dead end at the Kennedy and Busby

f.@rmo, no@r o@cd l@y Mr. T. D'Aoust and the McNamara brothers,

Gregory and @evin.

Mr @arwick was Buckingham's first druggist. Uis shop

was in the building now occupied by the office of Uon. J. Romeo

Lorrain, M.L.A., and his brick home is now owned by Mr. Romeo

Bisson

His origlnal home is the property of Mr. and Hrs. Al LeBlanc. He was also an amateur poet and wrote extensively. One of his poems was a descriptive one of Father Brady's funeral.

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