Gavigan

(from Settlers)

Timothy Gavigan’s father emigrated from Donegal, Northern Ireland in 1846, looking for a piece of land to own. His mother followed four years later when Mr. Gavigan could afford to pay her passage. At the age of five or so Timothy and his family moved to the Warwick area. Five years later Mr. Gavigan passed away. At that time there were five grocery stores in Warwick Village, and the same number of hotels.

The Gavigans settled on a farm which was not really a farm at all. It was solid bush. They had a difficult life, living in a shanty. Timothy’s father was not a farmer but a tailor. He made suits which he sold for $4 each. His mother learned the trade of tailoring as well.

Schooling for Timothy ended at the age of nine, when his father died. Land had to be cleared so potatoes and spring wheat could be planted. The work was never ending. The worry of losing one’s livestock was always there. A woman like his mother, with a young family in the middle of the Canadian bush, did not have to hunt for work.

Timothy reminisced, during an interview when he was 76 years old, that neighbours looked out for each other. Once a year, a clergyman of some order came to the settlement. He remembered Father Kerwin, a young clergyman who withstood the long ride from Sarnia on horseback through the woods, with only a blazed trail for a road.

Chapter 24 of 25 - Gavigan Family

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