Lanark Mormons and Mormon Tree?

Sometimes people think like I do.. all over the place- and after reading about the settlers yesterday, I then read about the Lanark Mormons. There is a great link at the end of the story by LAURENCE A. MORAN for related reading. An hour later someone began to post wondering where Mormon Tree was located in Lanark County and what did Mormon Trees look like- so this morning you get a 2 for 1 special.:)

 

John  Borrowman Lanark County Mormon

John Borrowman emigrated with his father and mother William and Marion, to Lanark township in 1820 or 1830. In the spring of 1840 in Lanark County, Ontario, Canada, Latter-day Saint missionaries taught 24-year-old John Borrowman the gospel of Jesus Christ.

John sought his father’s advice about joining the Church. His father William Borrowman was unyielding in his determination to prevent his son from seeking baptism. After more than two full days of discussion, William said that if John chose to join with the Latter-Day Saints, he would lose his inheritance—the family farm.

As the oldest living son, John was the rightful heir to this farm where all his life he had worked side by side with his parents, siblings, and (since his mother’s death and his father’s remarriage) his stepmother, stepbrothers, and stepsisters. Worse than that, John knew he would lose his father’s companionship as well—a devastating thought to a 24-year-old who loved his family.

 

 

John moved in with the family of one of his older sisters and stayed there until 1843, when he immigrated to Nauvoo, Illinois, to join the main body of the Saints. Later he became a missionary and went back to Canada to convert his friends. He eventually became the son-in-law of William Park, whom he baptized in 1844.

John Borrowman
Birthdate:	May 13, 1816
Birthplace:	Glasgow, Glasgow City, Scotland, United Kingdom
Death:	Died March 2, 1898 in Nephi, Juab County, Utah, United States
Place of Burial:	Nephi, Juab County, Utah, United States
Immediate Family:	Child of William Borrowman and Marion Hannah Spouse of Agnes Thompson Borrowman Parent of William Park Borrowman; Jane Duncan Vickers; Agnes Thompson Brown; John Park Borrowman and Marion Hannah Price Sibling of Margaret Borrowman; William Borrowman; Marion Borrowman; Mary Borrowman; William Borrowman and 1 other Half sibling of William Borrowman; David Borrowman; James Borrowman; Thomas Leslie Borrowman and George Borrowman
Occupation:	Justice of the Peace

 

Related reading:
A Mormon Tale: Glasgow to Ontario by

LAURENCE A. MORAN

 

 

Then ‘they’ spoke of Mormon Tree in Lanark County:

According to his son, in a discussion reported in 1938, Peter Lawson (1819 – 1895) taught school at “Mormon Tree” about a mile south west of the farm he later got from his father when he married”. The land Peter Lawson farmed was originally the grant to Thomas Forsyth, Conc 5 Lot 11E , at the corner of Mitchell Road and Conc 6 Road, which John Lawson bought in 1847. Peter Lawson married Elizabeth Mitchell in 1850

I think that the school would have been near the intersection of the Herons Mills Road, Mitchell Road and Conc 5B Road. The closest school I can find in Rural Schools, Lanark County is SS No 5 Gillies’ Mill on the west half of Lot Con 3. Another possibility is Young’s school which may have been on James Young land at Con 7 Lot 10 but it is south east of Peter Lawson’s land. So where was Mormon Tree? Mormon trees are actually a Lombardy Poplar. So was that a clue?

 

Lombardy Poplar Populus nigra

French names: Peuplier noir, Peuplier noir d’Italie Family: Willow Family (Salicaceae) Group: Poplars & Aspens Distinctive features: Tree; Tall narrow pillar-like shape. Similar species:   •   Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides) – Leaves are bigger; tree lacks the pillar shape of Lombardy Poplar. Leaves: Alternate, Simple, Toothed Habitat: Fields and Open Areas Books: Trees in Canada: 350    Native/Non-native: Non-native Origin and Meaning of Names: Scientific Name: nigra: black