Purdy, William

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Elwood H. Jones, “PURDY, WILLIAM,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 7, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/purdy_william_7E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Miller; b. 2 Aug. 1769 in Westchester, N.Y., son of Jesse Purdy; m. first Elizabeth Brundage; m. secondly Hulda Yates; m. thirdly Sabia Wilcox; d. 22 Jan. 1847 in Bath, Upper Canada.
    • William Purdy’s father, a loyalist, served in Emmerich’s Chasseurs during the American Revolutionary War. In 1787 William moved to St Johns (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu), Que., and two years later to the newly formed loyalist settlements on the upper St Lawrence. He received a land grant there in Yonge Township. In 1816 Purdy moved to Vaughan Township, where he purchased the mills of John Lyons.
    • In December 1829 Purdy petitioned for a new mill-site. The following year he was granted 400 acres in Ops Township in the Newcastle District on the condition that he build a dam and saw- and grist-mills there. Despite difficulties with spring floods and fever, he had made good progress by September 1830.
    • Purdy’s dam had a dramatic impact upon the area. Once a meandering stream, the Scugog became navigable for more than 30 miles as water overflowed 1,050 acres along its course, converting a marshy, tamarack forest into Lake Scugog. Many welcomed good mills and a navigable stream in an area lacking both, but there was concern that no effort had been made to calculate the effect of the dam, and many lost land or mill privileges because of the drowning.
  • United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=6819
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