Lewis Grant was born in
1771 at Carron, Parish of Abelour, Morayshire, Scotland, the son of
William Grant, a half-pay lieutenant, First Royals, Aberdeen, Scotland.
His father had fought under General Wolfe at the Battle of the Plains of
Abraham in 1759 during the Seven Years War, and as a soldier had earned
the right to draw land and settle in Canada, but chose instead to return
to Scotland, and passed his land benefit to his eldest son, Lewis. Lewis
studied medicine at Aberdeen, Scotland, but quit before completion, and
in 1791, with the help of his uncle James Grant, who was a friend of
John Graves Simcoe, he arranged to come to Canada. He "was sent out from
Scotland as a land surveyor by [Colonel] Simcoe and arrived at New York
as there was no landing place at Montreal in those days. He crossed over
to Canada at what was then known as Little York, now Toronto, in the
winter of 1791-92 and surveyed and laid out some of the streets, calling
one Simcoe after the General and another Grant after himself. He served
the Government in this capacity until the year 1800." In July 1793 Mrs.
Simcoe, from Lewis Grant's boat, identified and named the Scarborough
Bluffs. South Gower Township in the Eastern District, Upper Canada, "was
first blocked as a township in 1794, by Lewis Grant, a Government
Surveyor. In 1798, Mr. Grant, assisted by William Froster, PLS, surveyed
the first five concessions into lots." In 1800 "he came east down the
Nation River, cleared the spot as it was all woods then." He "built the
first gristmill in the district, hauling the machinery 100 miles from
Montreal by oxen, as there were then no railroads. [..] In connection
with his mill he built an oak kiln for drying the oats and he ground
flour, oatmeal and feed for cattle with millstones. This mill was known
as Grant's Mills." He married Anna Guernsey, daughter of Daniel Guernsey
and Rachel Jones, on 16 March 1805 at Edwardsburgh Twp, Johnstown
District, ON. Lewis and Anna had seven children: Mary, Nancy, Rachel,
Lewis, Daniel, Alexander and Allan Patterson Grant. Lewis died on 3 June
1855 at Grants Mills, Grenville Co, ON. He was buried, and has a
prominent roadside memorial, at South Gower Cemetery, South Gower Twp,
Grenville Co, ON.
Correspondence
Transcriptions and copies of letters
generously provided by their owners:
Mary Lou Fry [MLF], Sharon Grant Ranson [SGR] and Barbara Grant [BG]
1791 Aug 31, Letter, William Grant to
Lewis Grant [SGR] Transcription
1792 May 20, Letter, William Grant to
Lewis Grant Transcription
1794 Feb 15, Letter, William Grant to
Lewis Grant [SGR] Transcription
1798 Aug 16, Letter, William Grant to
Lewis Grant Transcription
1802 Feb 22, Letter, William Grant to
Lewis Grant Transcription
1808 Mar 24, Letter, William Grant to
Lewis Grant [SGR] Transcription
1823 Feb 22, Letter, Lachlan Grant to
Lewis Grant Transcription
1829 Jan 12, Letter, Lachlan Grant to
Lewis Grant [SGR] Transcription
1829 Aug 25, Letter, Eliza and Mary Grant
to Lewis Grant Transcription
1840 Apr 21 - Marriage certificate,
Daniel Grant and Eliza Sarah Montgomery Transcription
1841 Dec 04, Letter, [J Smith?] to Lewis
Grant Transcription
1850 Aug 14, Letter, Thomas Christie to
Daniel Grant Transcription
1881 Sep 24, Letter, Wesley Montgomery
Grant to Maria Montgomery Transcription
1909 Sep 22, Letter, Dan Grant to Mrs
William Imrie Transcription
1924 Oct 29, Letter, Maria A. Grant
McQuaig to Harry & Gertrude Grant [BG] Transcription
1957, Letter, Eliza Adams to Harry Grant
[BG] Transcription
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