Smith Falls, Montague Twsp, Lanark County, Ontaio.
The Roseville, Montague Township, area of Eastern Ontario was settled by Samuel Rose in 1774. He came with his family from Vermont, The Thirteen American Colonies. Samuel and his son (also named Samuel) were ordained Wesleyan Methodist preachers. Their circuit was Wolford, VanDusens, Irish Creek, Easton Corners and Bates.
Before the Rideau Canal was finished in 1832, settlers used a wagon road that ran north from Brockville on Lake Ontario. Originally this area had been settled by United Empire Loyalists (those who preferred to stay English after the American Revolution), then by Scots and finally large numbers of Irish came, many employed to build the canal.
Benedict Arnold’s family were given land holdings by the Crown just west of Smith Falls.
After the War of 1812, Montague Township’s population grew rapidly, from 173 to 341 by 1825; by 1841 the population was 1,809 persons, and by 1851 had reached 3,356.
Montague Twsp comprised approximately 60,000 acres.
The land around Roseville was fertile and allowed homesteaders to make money from logs when clearing the land, then till the land and plant wheat. In the ten year period between 1850 and 1860, wheat production doubled to 47,000 bushels of wheat. This level could not be sustained and slowly farmers turned to oats and then to dairy farming.
In the 1850’s butter production doubled to 149,000 pounds. The Roseville cheese factory alone produced 100, 000 pounds of cheese, and there were several other factories in the area as well.
The Railway came in the 1850’s and by 1859 Roseville had a post office.
In July of 1859 Robert J. married Maria Holliday and soon moved with her and her entire family to settle some of the new land near Mount Forest, Normanby Township, Grey County, Ontario.
There are no Actons or Hollidays living in Smith Falls today.
The desendants of John’s second family with Charlotte Wilton are still represented : Huttons, Wiltons and Loucks.
See the map of Montague Township.