My Family History at a Glance: A Focus on the Middlebrooks

          My name is Jennifer Whipp and I am a seventh generation Muskokan. I am 20 years old and am currently attending Trent University to get my degree in Environmental Studies. A huge reason for my interest in the environmental field is my deep personal and historical connection to the land I live on. While I have some ancestors that are from various other areas, it seems that in my family, the Middlebrooks line has given us our family traditions and strongest roots. As far back as we can trace, that side of my family has lived in Muskoka on the SAME plot of land for at least 7 or 8 generations. For the purposes of this blog, I intend to focus on the Muskoka region, and the French River, Georgian Bay area. They are my focus because they are the only two areas that the Middlebrooks family line has inhabited over the last 150 years, areas that today, are a big part of my life. 

Family Facts

1. On my Father’s side, we can trace our ancestry back to England. Apparently my Great Grandfather Albert Edward Whipp, who was born in England in 1901, was sent in 1911, at the age of ten, to work on a farm in Manitoba. On the other side of my Father’s family, both of his Mother’s parents were orphans. Thousands of children were sent from England, Whales, Ireland, and Scotland in the early 1900’s to work on farms in Canada (The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2014). 

My Grandparents on my Father's Side

2. When my Granny was growing up, her family was dirt poor. She had four brothers and often they had to share boots. One winter night she had to use the outhouse, but there were no boots for her to wear. So she ran in bare feet to the cow, warmed her feet on her back, then ran to the outhouse and did the same thing coming back in.

3. As many poor families were uneducated, it was common for people to sign legal documents with an x. My Grandmother still has a legal document from the sale of a piece of land near our cottage from almost one hundred years ago. My Gredad (Jack) signed it with an x.

4. Gravenhurst was home to a Prisoner of War Camp during world war two. The camp was actually located right down the street from not only my Great grandmother’s childhood home but my Grandfather’s and my Mother’s as well.  My Great Grandmother, Mildred (daughter of Mina Middlebrooks), remembers the day a prisoner escaped the camp, just a young man, and was hiding out in her backyard. She actually talked to him, until her Father Jack came out a caught him. The prisoners changed the landscape. They farmed and built structures that are still her today. One is a fish pond and the other a stone wall that I often walk past on the trails.

Structures built by POW

Sawdust City

I am from a town called Gravenhurst, located in Muskoka. Gravenhurst Ontario, today known as a major tourist destination and nicknamed the Gateway to Muskoka, was once known for something entirely different. It’s true that the town’s history has been intertwined with tourism since 1887, when the R.M.S. Segwun (the oldest steamship operating in North America) was launched, and people from across the country began arriving on the railway to enjoy the tranquil lakes and forests of the region (Gravenhurst, 2014). However, before this, Gravenhurst had come to be known as Sawdust City (Maher, 2014). Along much of the Lake Muskoka shoreline, there was a booming lumber mill industry (Maher, 2014). The span of this industry included the Muskoka Wharf (the homeport of the Segwun)(Gravenhurst, 2014). During the second half of the 19th century and into the 20th century, Muskoka Wharf was known for it’s sawmills and marinas (Gravenhurst, 2014). Today, Muskoka Wharf is in one of Gravenhurst’s main tourist attractions and features a board walk, the Muskoka Boat and Heritage Center, many waterfront restaurants and trendy shops, as well as a beautiful park and green space (Muskoka Tourism, 2013). This transformation from an industrial site to a thriving tourist hub was no accident (Maher, 2014). The project, which started in the 1980’s, cost the Town of Gravenhurst approximately 170 million dollars (Muskoka Tourism, 2013). I feel a person connection to the Wharf as I frequently enjoy visiting it, had my prom on the Wenonah II (sister of the Segwun), and my Aunt was the CAO of the Town of Gravenhurst during much of the development process for the Wharf project.

The Social, Economical, and Political Forces at Work

 Granny and Gredad               

          Jack (Gredad) and Mina (Granny) Middlebrook, my Great Great Grandparent were born right outside of Gravenhurst. Gredad was born in 1900 and Granny was born in 1906. As they both lived long lives, I was fortunate enough to have known my Granny until her death, when I was 12. My Gredad (Great Great Grandfather), passed away only five years before I was born. My Gredad’s parents were Harper and Emily Middlebrooks, and my Granny’s parents were Benjamin and Nell Middlebrooks. Both owned property on Muldrew Lake outside of Gravenhurst, the site of my family cottage today.

Jack and Mina (My Great Great Grandparents, Granny and Gredad)

Harper and Emily Middlebrooks (Great Great Great Grandparents)

In the late 1800’s, between the two families, they owned a major portion of South Muldrew Lake. At one point my family owned many bays, islands and shorefront property, but over time pieces were sold off. This was primarily because during that time period, lakefront property was less valuable, as socially, cottaging was still in its infancy, and my family’s main priority was hunting, trapping, and farming. Family stories say that my ancestors sold an entire bay for a cow. Eventually, the only piece of land on Muldrew that they maintained ownership of was a 22 foot piece of shoreline, (backed by several hundred acres of other property for hunting and farming) that my Great Great Great Grandparents used to launch their boat for fishing. That 22 foot piece of land is where my original family cottage sits today.  They also used that boat launch to access the lake for ice blocks to preserve food. In the summer months, they would lower food in a bucket down the cool spring fed well to keep it cold. That well is still there today. As this land is important to us, my family has been reacquiring adjoining properties, and purchasing additional shoreline cottages in an attempt to get some of this land back.

My cottage ^

Granny and Gredad, who inherited their parent’s land, were hunters, trappers, and small time farmers, who were at times forced to log during the winter to make ends meet. As they lived off of the land, they struggled at times to put food on the table. Obviously fishing on Muldrew was a huge food source for them, as well as whatever produce they could grow, and hunting and trapping as well.

My Mother and her Friends at the cottage

My Grendad and his Gredad (Jack)

Me at the cottage

Fishing

          Obviously, fishing was an excellent resource and my ancestors took full advantage of it. To me and my ancestors, Muldrew Lake has always been known for its great bass fishing. However, from the late 1800’s to now there have been some changes to the species of fish that can be found in the lake. For example, Granny remembered catching cat fish from the time she was a child, as does my Mother, up until the mid 80’s when the cat fish disappeared. At that time, rock bass began to inhabit the lake. Up until 2000, the only fish I can remember catching, or any of my family, were rock bass, bass, and sunfish. However, over the last decade, we have started catching more and more pike, which was unheard of prior to the 21^st century. Fishing is still a very big part of my life. Every year my family hosts the Muldrew Lake Bass Tournament (now with a prize for pike), which a couple of years ago, my cousin and I won, catching a four pound bass in a canoe. We also ice fish every winter, putting a hut on nearby lakes. 

Hunting

          Hunting and trapping for my ancestors was their main source of meat. It was also a source of income as they sold furs. During that time in the early 1900’s, there was only one cottage on Muldrew Lake (Muldrew Lake's Cottagers' Association, 2014). Of course, as development has taken over, more and more human disturbances have affected the wildlife populations. Today, on our small lake, there are close to 400 cottages (Muldrew Lake's Cottagers' Association, 2014). This development has disrupted the food change and has impacted both small and large game populations. According to one source, cottage development, which reduces the amount of natural vegetation, has had varying affects on different species (Racey & Euler, 2014). Some are classified as tolerant to development while others are not (Racey & Euler, 2014). These changes and the growing human population have made deer, beaver, bear, and rabbit less abundant and as such hunting and trapping becomes a harder game (Racey & Euler, 2014). According to my ‘Ontario’s Hunter Education Manual’ human disturbances such as farms, cottages and towns have altered and destroyed wildlife habitat (2014). My manual also says that while deer population may not be as abundant as they were in the 1900’s many species, such as deer, raccoon, coyotes and geese have learned to co-exist with human developments (2014).

My Gredad Jack Hunting at the cottage

My Gredad Jack and his Father in Law Hunting

With deer season closing, many members of my family have just returned from hunting the same land that my Granny and Gredad used. My younger brother Justin just shot his first deer and I will soon be going for my licence. My family believes that Hunters and Anglers are among the first conservationists. We believe that their dependence on and love of wildlife and lands contributed to the need to make conservation a priority. They are the people who want to protect our lands and animals, so that it will be available for future generations to enjoy. This is very obvious in Muskoka. Hunting puts meat on the table for so many families. For example, the year my Aunt Jaime was pregnant with my cousin Riley, she primarily ate venison, because her and my Uncle were struggling to afford anything else. In Muskoka hunting is also a very social event. It not only bounds generations of family, but creates great business relationships and friendships that last life times. The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters share this belief (Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, 2001). According to them, it was hunters who made the first push for seasons, tags and regulations (Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, 2001). Of course when my Great Great Grandparents were hunting there weren’t the same regulations there are today. Surveys of fish and wildlife populations, performed to begin regulating hunting and fishing, didn’t even take place until the 1930’s (Ontario Federation of Anglers and HUnters, 2014). So obviously in the early 1900’s regulations weren’t a factor. 

My brother Justin hunting

Farming

          As already mentioned my Granny and Gredad were small time farmers, as were their parents before them. When I say small time farmers, I mean that they did not own a dairy farm, or were commercial farmers. They literally only grew and kept what they need to survive the winter, and possibly traded some with their neighbours. On their farm they kept chickens, pigs, geese, cows and work horses. They also grew vegetables in a small garden, and according to my Mother, my Granny was the queen of preserves. My mother can remember as a child picking the ingredients for a salad fresh from Granny and Gredad’s garden. We partially credit these memories for our love of cooking. My mother loves to cook, as do I, and it was my Granny and Gredad who helped to expose my Mother to that. Unfortunately, today there is less opportunity for children to experience these types of gardens, as monoculture crops are the primary food source of the average Canadian (Altieri, 2007). We just go to the super market now. This has made crops more vulnerable to disease and pests, as well, as making farmers dependent on other farmers instead of being self-sustaining (Altieri, 2007). Also, lack of exposure to farm animals has been credited in the development of allergies in city children (Louv, 2008). As well, Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, has explained in his book how important exposure to nature and the outdoors is for child development (Louv, 2008). Fortunately, I and my family members have all enjoyed an upbringing rich with outdoor experiences.

                We sometimes wonder if our family’s farming ambitions could have further excelled if there had have been more government support during these early years. Politics really did play a role in the advancement of farmers. As far back as the 1800’s men who were in power in colony towns were town dwellers, and chief citizens of the colony, not farmers (Wood, 2000). This was despite the importance of agriculture. As such, they didn’t have invested interest in the prosperity of small farmers (Wood, 2000). It wasn’t until 1914 when the United Farmers of Ontario formed that farmers began to have a united voice to address the advancement of farming as an industry (The Canadian Encyclopedia , 2014). In the 20’s commercial farmers experienced some prosperity, until 1931 when farm receipts in Ontario decreased by over 50% (The Canadian Encyclopedia , 2014). My family however was unaffected, including during the great depression.  This is because they were not commercial farmers. Their food was not a commodity, it was a means of subsidence. They just had a large vegetable garden located in an overgrown field my family still owns today. They didn’t sell their food, so when the stock market crashed and money was tight, they wouldn’t have noticed a huge decrease in income.  They didn’t even use banks, they buried their money in the yard. When money was tight however, they were forced to log.

This was their garden. We still own this land, but its over grown.