Dean Wheaton

Letters from Bruce County: Written by Pioneer Joseph Bacon 1795-1882 Dean Wheaton

Letters from Bruce County documents an English family's 1835 immigration to Ontario where they became pioneers in the unsettled bush. The parents of this family just happen to be the author's great great grandparents, Joseph and Susannah Bacon. The letters were written from Bruce County, Ontario in 1881 and 1882 by Joseph some years after Susannah's death to his son and daughter-in-law, Henry and Elizabeth Couch Bacon, then in Resort Township, Emmet County, Michigan. Henry and Elizabeth are the author's great grandparents. Joseph and Susannah never left Ontario but seven of their eleven children did. Letters is in three parts. Part I has copies of the original letters with printed as written and edited versions annotated to explain what and who Joseph is writing about. Part II is a narrative of the family in England where eight of the eleven children were born, about their immigration and their pioneering in the unsettled Ontario wilderness first in Arthur Township, Waterloo/Wellington Counties and finally in Brant Township, Bruce County. Also included are short synopses of their eleven children. Part III is a three generation modified register genealogy of the family documented with primary source references. The author is indebted to many cousins who are also descendants of Joseph and Susannah and who have contributed information which makes this book more complete.