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Title
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Freeman, Daniel
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extracted text
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DA t~ IlL
(
F R E E r.; A N
r
_oy s ununer s , H..~ · . No. 1, Fonthill,
. f
.T.~...r1
orr..w t ~• on f rom =rs
• .tt.
I
' Esther)
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A•
v weP..s,
'-'n t., a membe r of Lundy 1 s Lane
nistorical Society)
"Pioneer Sk etches o f the .._.on g .i:'oint Settlers 11 , contains info nn ation
on Freeman .
•
!.iarch 10, 1 835, ·. iin dham Ont
1
Rev . Danie l r r eema n wa,s born 1 769 m ew Jersey,anddied in.l..a.~.in Can ada. -ne wad
·
ordaine d a min is ter inthe 1·-et hodist J!lpi scopal Church, and memoer of the .t"'hiladel ohia
Confe rence.
~
He vi si te o Cana:l.a to take up lan d in 1>798 . rte appar en tJ.y ma rri ed a t this time
ws a cousin of t he l:'.ev. bamuel O:,'wayze, the first r rotest ant mi n' ister
''in Florida-- now called '-i s:>issippi. h.ev . Samuel Swayze i' a::: the r e i n 1772. "
p hoebe Swayze, who
Fre ema n r e t urn ed to ·~ew
manent settlement i .:1 180 0 .
v
er s ey fora year or t wo , a nJ came back t o canada f or pe r-
Children :
1. vohn Ogden r reeman b. 17~6, di ed 1 850 at 53. 1 e marri ed l..-ar.; woore, and
built a sawmill.
2 . Jo re ph
"
3. '.'lilliam Gilbert . Di ed in chil dhood .
4. Daniel We sley- -b. 1 807, m. ·sabell e, dau. of 11.ev. 0 ohn Bailey , of \/i ndham Co.
He was e ducate ~ at Caze novia,l~ .Y. School-superinten den t & farmer
at Lon g oint .
5. I saac Swayze Freeman, b. 1814, d . 1863 . ~•• ""'ary -radl ey; lived near Vilto ri a ·.
6 . 1,ary Sway ze Freeman
orfolk Co. , l s t c a r d ing& fullin g mi ll. ·
11
7 . i~ ancy nn S . , m. 3e amer
8 . And ria . ..... • Rev. Edway • nye rson, >Jet ho di st mini ste r, son of famous .!!;ge rton '"Y 3r
-son.
I
1
9 . Phoebe Al mana was h v. E. 1.yerson s second wife .
Freeman preach ed in Canada; hi s .field e xtended f rom the 1 iagara !liver to ·~indsor.
vn one occasion when hi sX. duties took him to •·indsor, h e crossed the Iiv er arrl p re ached
in 9 .;t r oit, the fir s t J. ro test ant sr'1"on in t hat city . d .
l'ie af Lerwar ds settla:l in ;'/oodhouse , Norfolk Co . , Ca hcrla, an d built the r e a Church
and min i stere d f or many years to the pe o PLe of t hat secti cn, mere hi s memory is s till
r evered, an d his g rod deeds rem enbe red.
(From Freeman fl:i.s tory)
I srae l v\'I:Jyze build t h e: fi. s_ brick ho use in ':'Iella nd Co mty and s .:lt aside orn room
for ""ethodist meeti n gs . · e n ow live on t hat f ann and as the br i c ks in o ur ho us are f rom
t hat "ol d" house "" some of the doors et c. an d I am coll ect ing t he history of tre whole
area-- you ca n see \;hy .J.. want to include the mi 1ist r s who nust have vi s i te-:1 here.
Andrew Freeman rna rried """ary "'ho tJ.-.ell, "" hads veral children including John and Daniel(? )John s erved under Sir ~ .m "'ohns on an d peti tioned for lan d inthe Lons I oint ::>ettl erren t at a
meetin g o. the ~and i3o ard at ... ork on "' uly 21, 1796.
D:mi::. recLO.n nalways of a d-eepl y relig i rus nature. He was orJ· ined .• fi rst as an
)Xho , t er, n e 1... a li centiate and fina l y aragula:d.y apf;ointed mini r. ter .• .ln the ~ar l798
he came to.wong I oint cruntry and be came a founde r o f the fir t """e thodi st .... ocie ty ~f this
l istrict. ~e '-'ove r nment granted him lot 24 of the 4th c on cession o f Cha rlottesv~lle and
th ere he e st abli s hed his n eu home.
About 1 802 fi rst '"ethodi st Chur h built in " oodhouse Township-- called Weodhouse
''"ethodi st vh rch--a log church 40 ft. lon g and 34 f e et wide . The s e cond Jhu rch v1as a fra1ne
buildin g built :in 1818 . The t .ird a ha nclsan e brick structure stand· on i<Entical :n·_t_e_;.;..o~f
th fir &. Church of the ....,cne: 1-'oint Settl ement .
(Ont. " ist. ::>ociety lf2 printed 1900 )
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Beaverdams , wh ere t h - famow. educato r and mi 1 iste r ne v. Egerton Rye rson preached in
1 832 . A bea tilt mul si t ek continuou s use , ·withi n s i ght of ny home. The vhu r ch l a n d was
gi.en by ;liram Swayze& J ames ~oleman ..ogan my husband ' s gr e at great gr ardfath e r was on
t he boa rd . ni s i ste r .ane had ma rri ed li., v. 0 o reph ..,es smo r who signed th e 'pape rs.
.in 181
1
t he L..e t hodbt confe r ence as hel d on our far m\ - srael Swayze) , my hu&la n c1 s gr ':: at- g r -.a tgrea t uncl e who s e · i ste r kary had marr i ed Silas no pkins(l741-l81 8 ) VIe thi nk Israel
Sway'ze s d3 ughter ka ry married the Rev . Si1 a s 11o J=kins who came from 0 • .J • .1-i. a·n d who wa s at
th e Con f erence i n 1812 .
, _,..
Pioneer Sketches
of
Long Point .S ettlement
by
E. A. OWEN
with
a new introduction
by
EDWARD PHELPS
MIKA PuBLISHING LIMITED
Belleville, Ontario
1972
SKE'fCH LXXXVII.
A MASTER FOUNDATION BUILDER-REV. DANIEL
FREEMAN.
IF any one of our old pioneers is entitled to this special
distinction, it is Daniel Freeman. He came into the wilds of
the new country with his young wife and two little infant sons
before the present century had dawned upon the world. H e
came as an ambassador of the Cross, and he spent his life in
ministering to the ~:~piritual welfare of his fellow pioneers.
Surely, such a man played a most important part in laying the
solid foundation upon which our social fabric is built.
The name of Elder Freeman will ever stand out as one of
the leading headlights in old Long Point pioneer times. He
was born in 1769, in New Jersey, and was the elder of the two
sons of Andrew Freeman. The name of the other son was
William, who raised a family and died in New J ersey. William's
grandchildren settled in the State of Michigan. Daniel married
Phcebe Swazie, in New J ersey, and when their second son was
two years oldithey came to Long Point settlement. This was
in the year 1800, and .just before leaving their New J ersey
home Mr. Swazie presented his daughter with the Swazie·
family Bible. This choice old heirloom is at present in possession of l\Iis.~ Phrebe Amelia Freeman, of Windham. The
family is of English descent, and remained loyal to the British
Crown during the troublous times of the war of the Revolution.
Elder Freeman was thirty-one years old when he came to·
the new country. H e drew Lot 24, 4th concession of Charlotteville from Government, and here he erected one of Norfolk's.
first and purest Christian family altars. He was a zealous
Methodist, and to him is ascribed the honor of gathering the
nucleus of Norfolk's first M~thodist society. He was the
A MASTEH
FOPNDATIO~
449
l iUILDEn.
leading spirit in the building of the first church edifice in the
old Woodhouse cemetery grounds, nnd all this had been accomplished by him before he hnd been in the settlement two years.
The old cemetery is sacred ground. In its soil are incorporated
the ashes of a large number of the old pioneers and a mighty
host of their descendants, and one historical fact connected
with this old burying-ground, of no slight importance, is that
the first grave dug in it was for little Mary Swazie Freeman,
the first-born child in Elder Freeman's Charlotteville home.
The old circuit-riders of London District "fought a good
fight," which '~ouid have been impossible had they not "kept
the faith "; and if any one class of men he more entitled to "a
crown in glory" than another, surely it is these pioneer missionaries of the Gospel. Elder Freeman spent the larger portion of his Canadian life in the forests between the Niagara
and Detroit rivers. No man could endure the hardships and
withstand the privations that ~ell to the lot of these men, if he
were not endowed with a good constitution and exercised an
implicit faith in that "Father who careth for His children."
Elder Freeman was blessed with a fair constitution, but the
fordi~1g of rivers and the constant exposure to the inclemency
of the weather broke down his health while yet in the prime
of life. It is said that the first Protestant evangelical sermon
preached in the city of Detroit was delivered by -Elder Freeman.
He died in 1835, in his 67th year.
The old record of the courts held at the house of James
Monroe, shows that on the 31st of January, 1801, Elder Freeman
applied for a license to marry, and that the court refused hiM
petition. At this early time licenses to marry were withheld
from dissenting ministers of the Gospel, and much hard fetling
was caused thereby.
Rev. Daniel Freeman had five sons-John Ogden, Joseph,
William Gilbert, Daniel Wesley and Is11ac Swazie; and four
daughters-Mary Swazie, Mary Ann Amelia and Phrebe
~m~L
·
John 0. Freeman, the eldest son, was born in 1796, in New
Jersey. He m~>.rried Mary Moore, and settled on Black Creek,
29
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4.i0
I'IOXEEil SKETCHES O F LOXG l'OIXT SETTLE~IE::'\T.
Woodhouse, \rhere he built and opemteLl a sawmill. H e died
in 1~50, in his ;J3nl yenr. He hatl one son, Daniel; and two
dau~hters-~lchitnbel and )Iat-y.
,Toseph Freeman, anu his brother William G., died in
childhood
Daniel Wesley Freeman, fourth son of Rev. Daniel, was
born in 1807. He married Isabella, daughter of Rev. John
Bailey, and, on Lot 4, lOth concession of Windhn.m, he
established one of the finest rural homes in the county. D. W.
Freeman wa.s one of Norfolk's most distinguished citizens. H e
was educated at Cazeno,·in, New York, and from the time he
left college to the time of his death, he was identified in some
way, with the educational intet:ests of his township. There is
not a man in Wind ham who has seen fifty y ears, and whose
school days were spent in the old schools of that township, that
does not remember with pleasure the periodical visits of the old
Superintendent. His dignified genia lity brought out our best
behaviour anu commanded our unqualified respect. H e encouraged us in our youthful aspirations, a nd spoke words of approbation and sympathy to us ; and, somehow, each time the old
Superintendent bade us a kind adieu, we felt there was a place
of u;;efulness awaiting each of us somewhere in the great, wide
world.
When
Freeman was but a lad of eighteen, the responsibilities of a Sunday School Superintendent were placed upon
his young shoulders, and from that time to the close of his
busy life he held the position. H e was a. most exemplary
young man, as evidenced by the fact that he superintended the
Sunday School work for nine years previous to his marriage.
He commenced at the bottom round of the ladder as a school
t eacher, and thus qualified himself, by a practical experience,
for a successful performance of the duties of a superintendent.
D. W. Freeman was a busy man. He was a model farmer
himself, and was deeply interested in the agricultural interests
of th~ county-serving, for many y ears, 0.9 Secretary of the
County Agricultural Society. He was a Justice of the Peace,
and performed the duties of a general conveyancer ; and in
D.''·
A bi,\STER FOUNDATIO~ Bt:ILDEH.
451
addition to all his other duties, he served for many years as
Clerk of the Division Court of his township. When his busy
life came to n, close his remains were followed to the tomb by a
host of sorrowing friends; and a place was made vacu.nt that
few men are able to fill. Daniel Wesley Freeman had six sons
-John Bailey, Daniel, William, Francis Wesley, Charles
Edwin and Isaac Wilbur; and four daughters-Phrube Amelia,
Henrietta Jane, .Mary Emma and Rachel I sabella. JoHN
BAILEY married Jane Scatchard, and succeeded to the old
homestead. He was a model farmer and a most exemplary
citizen. H e represented the North Riding of Norfolk in the
Pro\·incial P'arliament for twelve consecutive years, gaining in
popularity during the whole time. His public career was cut
short by his untimely death, which occurred November 22nd,
1890. The name of J ohn Bailey Freeman will always occupy
a prominent place among the distinguished sons of Windham's
<>ld rural homesteads.
Mary Ann Freeman, second daughter of Rev. Daniel,
married into the Beemer fRmily, and settled at Stony Creek.
She had a son, Daniel, who studied medicine, and settled in
New Orleans; n.nd a daughter, Phrebe.
Amelia Freeman, the third daughter, married Re\·. Edwy M.
Ryerson, and died young, leaving no children.
Phrebe Almena Freeman, the fourt)1 daughter, married ReY.
Edwy M. Ryerson as his second wife. She had one daughter,
J osephine, who married n lawyer named Fitzgerald, of Ottawa.
I saac Swa.zie Freeman, youngest son and last born child of
Rev. Daniel, was born in 1814. He married Mary Bradley and
settled near Vittoria, where he operuted one of Norfolk's first
carding and fulling mills. .He had three sons-Lewis, John
and Edgar, and one daughter, Mary. JoHN settled in South
Carolina, and Edgar settled in Illinois. I saac S. Freeman died
in ll:>63, in his 50th year.
There are no Freema.ns of the second generation, and very
few of the third generation, in JSorfolk. Miss Phcebe Amelia,
eldest daughter of the old Superintendent, and Mrs. John B.
Freeman, occupy the fine old Windham home nt present.
Freeman, Daniel