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John Hawke

Family: son of Benjamin and Mary (Araminta?) Lount, brother of Gabriel, Piercifer and William
Born: 1808
Died: 1882, July 6; buried in Harley Cemetery, Burford Township, Brant County
Municipality: Wellesley
Years on local council Deputy Reeve 1855, 1857-58; Reeve 1852, 1859-1863
Years on County Council 1852 1855 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863
Address: 5 Hawk St (WHS1986 74:114)
Occupation: Grist mill owner
Origin: Pennsylvania; England (Historical Atlas)
Migration date: c1842-6
Spouse: Martha Dean
Children: Corrina; Samuel Lount; Susan; Martha; Henry; Benjamin; Jane; John W.; Janet; George W.; Charles
Landholdings: 40 acres, conc 12, lot 2 (WHS1986 74:114); lots 1 and 2, conc 12
Politics: Reformer
Religion: son of Quakers
Notes:
  • c 1846/47-gristmill built
  • 1848-court case developed between John and James Sims because Hawke’s need for a raceway meant that Sims’ land might be flooded
  • 1848-cast deciding ballot in the location of the county seat. "The Galt people, finding themselves outwitted by dubious political machinations, directed their influence to Hawkesville. John Hawk had the deciding vote, and cast it in favor of Berlin" (Maple Leaf Journal)
  • divided his holdings into 117 lots, creating the village of Hawkesville and choosing the street names: Hawk, Geddes, Union and River
  •  1851-sold a lot to the Township for council chambers, but when the decision was made in favour of Crosshill, he repurchased the land and sold it to the Sons of Temperance for their lodge
  • 1856-petitioned for the Waterloo Saugeen Railway
  • 1864-transferred the N half of lot 37 on Hawk St to the Primitive Methodist church
  • 1866-sold mill to J. Wilson and J. McCulloch
  • moved to Harley, Burford, Brant County
  • Justice of the Peace; "was a staunch Reformer and took an active part in the recent contest" (obituary Brantford Daily Expositor 7/7/1882)
  • village of Hawkesville named after Hawke family; name spelled Hawk in County Council journal
Sources: Kathy Miklovic; Historical atlas; Maple Leaf Journal; Brantford Weekly Expositor 28/7/1882 pi; short paragraph noting death on front page of Galt Reporter 28/7/1882 and in Dumfries Reformer 27/7/1882 p2; KPL vertical file Hawke Family; WHS1986 74:114

This information is excerpted from: "Waterloo County Councillors: A Collective Biography," researched and complied by Elizabeth Bloomfield and Linda Foster. (c) 1995 Caribou Imprints. It is reproduced by permission of Dr. Bloomfield.    ​The full text of the book can be seen here. ​