Credit River Valley

Mississauga, Ontario
Canada
 
 

Descendants of Joseph Adamson (1786 - 1852) (Dundee, Scotland- Sheridan, Ontario, Canada)




Before Confederation in 1867 (when Canada became a country, independent of Britain)
there were two colonies along the St. Lawrence River: Upper Canada (which is now
Ontario) and Lower Canada (which is Quebec). So everyone traveling to the Canadas
would land in Quebec City in Lower Canada, before moving on to Upper Canada if
they were going to York or Kingston.

In the early 1800s, what is now Toronto was called York. (Americans torched the town
during the War of 1812 - which led to retaliation in Washington and hence the Star
Spangled Banner).

Peel County is a county immediately west of York (City of Toronto). Toronto Township
was a township in Peel County immediately west of York and north of Lake Ontario.

Sheridan was a hamlet (originally called Hammondsville) in Toronto Township along
what was the Upper Middle Road . The Upper Middle Road was the road from
York (Toronto) to Niagara and is now the Queen Elizabeth Way (about a 12 lane
freeway called the QEW). Sheridan no longer exists at all. It is now the interchange
of the QEW and Winston Churchill Blvd. Original Adamson settlements were in the
Sheridan area.
There is a memorial cairn at the interchange, with Adamsons noted as one
of the original settlers.

Erindale was a town at Dundas Road and the Credit River (a couple of miles NE of
Sheridan). The Erindale area still exists, although it is swallowed by urban/suburban
development. The Credit River got its name as the meeting place for whites and
Indians to trade furs, and where credit was extended to the Indians until the next fur
season. The settlement was originally going to be called the Town of Toronto, but
was called Credit Village, then Springfield on the Credit, and by the turn of the
century Erindale. There were 200 residents in 1877.

The initial church was called Toronto Mission, a white frame structure built in 1827
on land contributed by Peter and Joseph Adamson and four others. Toronto
Mission was rebuilt in 1885 and is now St. Peters Anglican Church. The last
christening at Toronto Mission was Henry Adamson. The cemetary where many
Adamson's are buried is beside the church.

Dundas Road was the main road from York to London (Ontario) and was built in
1794. In 1794 building a road in Upper Canada meant that a few Queens Rangers
chopped down enough trees for a sleigh to get through in the winter. A bridge over
the Credit was in place by 1810. A toll was placed in 1836 (10 cents for teams and
5 cents for wagons). Most roads were planked in the mid 1800s, and gravelled in
the 1890s, so Dundas probably was also. The road was paved in 1923. Traffic lights
were addedin the 1950s, and Dundas was widened to four lanes in 1963.

Burnhamthorpe Road which runs E-W north of Dundas was originally called
Adamson Road. The last Adamson homestead which was sold in the late
1980s was just off of Burnhamthorpe Road.

The Mississaugas were the Indians that lived in the Toronto Township area before white
settlement. The Mississaugas sold their lands to the crown between 1805 and 1820. In
1808 there were 8 white families in Toronto Township. Dr. Joseph Adamson was the
doctor for the Mississauga Indians as well as for the white settlers. Mississauga today is
a city and metropolitan area immediately west of Metropolitan Toronto which
encompasses what was Toronto Township, Sheridan, and Erindale.

The record indicates that three children of of James Adamson and Isabell Cross migrated
from Scotland to Canada.  Peter Adamson arrived about 1820 and settled in the Erindale
area of Upper Canada. Erindale is now part of the City of Mississauga which is west of
Toronto. Peter purchased land in 1821 and built Toronto House, later called Thorne
Lodge, in Erindale.. This property was maintained until it burnt down in 1965. Toronto
House was built was stone taken from the creek now known as Loyalist Creek. Toronto
House was a beautiful solid stone house with five large fireplaces.

Dr. Joseph Adamson brought his wife and two small children this area about 1823 and
settled in the Sheridan-Erindale area, in what was then Toronto Township. He was the
first Doctor in the township and treated the local Mississauga Indians and the white settlers.
Later four more children were born in Upper Canada.

The Adamson family has lived continuous in this area.  Many Adamson's
from the Toronto and Mississauga area are descendants of Joseph Adamson.
 
 

Submitted by Paul Adamson
July, 2001