Williamson, William

(from Settlers)

William Williamson was one of thirteen children born on the family farm. He was the son of David Williamson and Mary Lamb.

The farm was all bush when his parents first arrived there. His father chopped, logged and burnt the bush off. He made potash out of the ashes and took it by oxen to Sarnia, where it was loaded on the ships bound for Montreal. Merchants in Montreal paid top dollar for the product.

The procedure was simple. After the big heaps of logs were burned on the farm, they gathered up the ashes of the hardwood logs and put them into large wooden leaches. Leaches were big tubs that held the ashes. The leaches could be constructed out of an ash tree or out of a hollow basswood log, or sometimes they would knock the bottom out of a barrel and use it. First a layer of straw was put in, then some lime and on top of that the ashes. Water was poured over everything, and after evaporation, the result was crude potash.

William Williamson was married twice, but lived a large part of his life alone. His philosophy on life was, “A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book.”

William Williamson, courtesy L McGregor.

Chapter 24 of 25 - Williamson, William

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