Mary Borrowman Affleck– Middleville

One of the little boys of Robert Affleck who was also named Robert, was 11 years-old when he moved to the backwoods of Lanark County. There in Middleville he found the love of his life, whose name was Mary Borrowman. She was 4 years younger than Robert Affleck, but after marrying him she became a beloved ancestor of numerous family of grandchildren and great grandchildren. On the 8th day of August, 1916, she passed away at the age of nearly 103 years-old.

” Our first intention was to proceed from this part of Lanark township to Dalhousie, where the greater part of the emigrants from the parish of Lesmahagow are settled. In consequence, however, of a gristmill on the way having been idle all winter from the frost, there was no sleigh road traced through the wood; we were, therefore obliged to return to the village of Lanark. From the damaged shape of our sleigh, our progress was slow, and it was the afternoon before we reached the village. Having got our vehicle repaired, we wished to set out to the schoolhouse in Dalhousie, about 8 miles distant. However the person who was supposed to guide us there was so drunk, that we were unwilling to encounter the woods in the dark with a man that could barely stand up. We turned our horses’ heads towards Perth, which we reached the same evening.

We do our best in this new land and some object that is is preposterous to place weavers and other tradesmen in the woods to become farmers. The settlers are the fruit of long and incessant toil, so those who are unwilling to work hard should not come to Canada. Eventually the young men will emigrate to other parts of the Province in search of something better than Lanark County can offer them. I am sure if their elders had the means they would follow their children. The settlement has lost 166 heads already: 73 by death, 51 to other parts of the Province and 42 have gone back home.”