The Family
The Dalziel Family lived on the corner of Jane & Steeles in the township of Vaughan for over 125 years. Of the family history we know little aside from their geneology and what we've gathered from interviews and written material. Here are some highlights from a recorded interview with Mr. Wm. Dalziel in 1955. The recording was done by Ken Higgs onto a 78 r.p.m. recording for the Humber Valley Conservation Authority, the organization that bought the Dalziel Barn in 1954.
1. The Dalziels ran a succesful farm and sold much timber to local sawmills when Toronto was booming in the 1830s.
2. Johannes Schmidt's sawmill at Jane & Steeles (400 meters south of the barn) used a mulley saw powered by an undershot wheel. Schmidt was the man who built the Dalziel Barn in 1809.
3. James Dalziel, the grandfather of Jean Agnew, marched down Yonge Street with William Lyon Mackenzie during the Rebellion of 1837.
4. The first ploughing match and farm animal showcase in Vaughan Township was held in the spring of 1856.
Pictured above, left to right: Janet (McLean) Dalziel; John William Dalziel; Mary Agnes Euphemia (Dalziel) Campbell; unidentified family friend; Ann Bell Dalziel, with Caesar, the family dog; and James Alexander Dalziel.
Notice the two Dalziel boys standing in identical positions. Both with left arm akimbo and right arm tucked behind the back.
Below is a late 19th-century photo of the Dalziel/Mackenzie side of the family.
Back row, left to right:
Lydia Ann (Addison) Mackenzie and her daughter Annie Matilda (Mackenzie) Dalziel.
Front row, left to right:
Lydia's mother Hannah (Brown) Addison and Annie's daughter Jessie Mackenzie (Dalziel) Glynn