As I have previously written, after the death of my father William Code in 1868 my brother John Code took charge until 1872. In that year he left for the West and Mother retired in the red brick house near the river on the south-east side of Innisville. From then until 1876 I was in charge with the exception of a few months during the winter of 1874.
I admired how John left after writing to Billy Quinn, who had also departed from Lanark a few years previous to join those seeking their fortune in gold. Billy had mentioned that gold had been found near the town of Helena, Montana by four gold miners who had struck it rich at the appropriately named “Last Chance Gulch.” John had decided that I was old enough to take over, and he at the age of 22 left the train station at Perth with his good friend Bill Ennis. The trip from Perth to Brockville was $1.50 at that time, and the whole trip cost him about $150.00 to Montana.
He didn’t write a lot, and Mother worried, and I guess I did too. Last Chance Gulch would prove to be the second biggest placer gold deposit in Montana, producing some $19 million worth of gold in just four years. Overnight, thousands of miners began to flood into the region, and the four original discoverers added to their fortunes by establishing the town of Helena to provide them with food, lodging, and supplies. But unlike many of the early Montana mining towns, Helena did not disappear once the gold gave out, which it inevitably did.
John reached Helena in 1872 working odd jobs along the way and Mother finally heard from him in July in a letter that was written and posted in May. Mother asked me to mail him a copy of the Perth Courier so he could keep up on the comings and goings of the area. Bill Ennis eventually left the area in October of 1874 to seek another adventure in the state of Washington leaving my brother in Montana. An interesting fact is that in 1888 Helena, Montana had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the world and sad to say that my brother John Code never became one of them.
Mary Maria Butler (1st wife) Family were merchants from Harper and Perth and John Code- ancestry.ca
John did return to Innisville in 1877 and married Mary Butler and had 4 children, but sadly Mary died in 1892 at their home in Perth. Five years later he took another wife by the name of Isabel McKinley from Scotch Line who blessed him with another 4 children. My brother joined me in co- founding the Golf Club in Perth and dabbled in the insurance business as well as being the Treasurer of the County of Lanark for many years.
Author’s Note- John Code died at the age of 82 in 1932
John Code –ancestry.ca
John Code and Mary Marie Butler and Isabella Mary McKinley–
Perth, Drummond Twp, Lanark Co, Ontario, Canada–ancestry.ca
In the 1883, Mr. T. A. Code established Codes Custom Wool Mill with a range of processes, including: carding, spinning, fulling, shearing, pressing, and coloring of yarns. In 1896, its name was changed to the Tay Knitting Mill, and it produced yarn, hosiery, socks, gloves, sporting-goods, sweaters, and mitts. Another change came in 1899, when a felt-making process was introduced and the mill was renamed Code Felt. The company continued to operate until the closing of the factory in 1998. The following year, John Stewart began a major restoration and introduced new uses for this landmark. This impressive limestone complex with its central atrium now has an interesting mix of commercial tenants.-Perth Remembered
How did I get this?
I purchased this journal online from a dealer in California. I made every attempt to make sure the journal came back to its rightful location. Every day I will be putting up a new page so its contents are available to anyone. It is a well worn journal full of glued letters and newspaper clippings which I think belonged to Code’s son Allan at one point. Yes there is lots of genealogy in this journal. I am going to document it page by page. This journal was all handwritten and hand typed. Read-More Local Treasure Than Pirate’s Booty on Treasure Island
How did it get into the United States? The book definitely belonged to Allan Code and he died in Ohio in 1969.
Allan Leslie Code
1896–1969 — BIRTH 27 MAR 1896 • Ontario—DEATH JUN 1969 • Mentor, Lake, Ohio, USA
Andrew Haydon–He was the author of Pioneer Sketches of The District of Bathurst (Lanark and Renfrew Counties, Ontario) (The Ryerson Press, 1925) and Mackenzie King and the Liberal Party (Allen, 1930).- Come and visit the Lanark County Genealogical Society Facebook page– what’s there? Cool old photos–and lots of things interesting to read. Also check out The Tales of Carleton Place.Information where you can buy all Linda Seccaspina’s books-You can also read Linda in The Townships Sun andScreamin’ Mamas (USA)
lindaseccaspina 