Immigration to Canada

Shortly thereafter, in May 1825, the family boarded the ship Star and sailed for Upper Canada. Two of Timothy’s siblings traveled  with the family. In that year Mary Ann Curtin, was 17 years and Thomas Curtin was 15 years old. These were Timothy’s younger siblings.

After reaching Kingston by June of 1825, the settlers pushed onward to reach the young town of Cobourg. From there they walked inland several miles. On the south shore of Rice Lake, families were loaded onto flat bottom bateaux taken across the expanse of water and deposited on the north shore. From here they walked again until reaching their journey’s end at a flat land of meadow on the west side of the Otonabee River. From Cobourg to the meadow had encompassed some twenty miles on a steady uphill climb.

On the river flood plane more than a couple of thousand people, numbering some 250 or more families were encamped. While families adjusted to their temporary camps, Mr. Peter Robinson worked steadily to assign location tickets to each family’s selected land grant of 100 acres. He had the task of recording each chosen lot and concession of land and seeing the families established on their new homestead in a small log shanty. By early November 1825, almost all the families were living on their property.

A New Homestead

Timothy Curtin chose the broken Lot 6 in Concession 2 of Ennismore Township. The term “broken” simply meant that his land ended at the water’s edge and thus on that side of his land, the boundary was not a straight or clean edge where it met an adjoining property.

Through the closing months of 1825 and on until November 1826, Peter Robinson gathered information for his report back to the British Government. He followed the progress of the many settler families through the winter of 1825-26.

Timothy and Catherine with their three children all lived on the family’s chosen homestead.With them lived Timothy’s sister and brother.

Between September and December of 1825, young William Curtin reached his seventh birthday. In the continuing quarterly reports through 1826, he is shown as being over 7 years of age. This is consistent with the entry of the parish register of St. Anne Shandon, Cork, Ireland that shows William being baptized on 17 February 1819.

Catherine (O’Grady) Curtin died on the family homestead in Ennismore Township, Upper Canada, either in December 1826 or not long thereafter. Her death is known through oral family accounts passed along from one generation to the next and the early Peter Robinson reports on the settlers. Two deaths are noted for the Curtin family in the year 1826, thus it appears that either Timothy’s brother or sister also died that year.

Timothy Curtin, now a widower, continued to lived on his property, clearing the land and raising his sons. He died on 21 November 1838. His remains were laid to rest in the Mud Lake Cemetery, which by another name is known as the Cemetery By the Lake, Ennismore Township.