This John Umlah could possibly be the father of Teresa Umlah (b. 1858), who
married the youngest brother Joseph Richard Bishop of my great grandmother
Marie Elizabeth Redmond (Bishop). It is therefore possible that my grandfather
Howard Redmond could have spent some time at this farm. John is probably a
grand-son of William Umlah of Goodwood, whose family is described in the
Goodwood web pages. It includes the following passage:
William married (1) 16 Sept.1797 Mary Anne Wagner whose German father, Thomas Wagner, received a
grant of land bordering the western side of Long Lake, near Goodwood. Mary Anne was baptized at St.
Paul's Church, Halifax, 23 July 1776. Her mother, Barbara Wilt, was born in Lunenburg. Mary Anne died
18 Jan.1822 at the age of 42 following the birth of her fourteenth child. Her fourteen children inherited
a portion of the Long Lake grant which her father had received in 1773. Mary Anne's brother, John
Wagner, married William's Umlach's sister Mary. They had no children and John sold his portion of the
Long Lake Grant, in addition to land he had purchased, to his great nephew, John Umlah. The Umlah
heirs remained on the land until 1954 when it was expropriated by the Public Service Commission. John
Umlah and his wife, Ellen (Drysdale), named one of their sons "John Wagner" Umlah.
In World Family Tree of James A. Hubley (ulrichhubley 1719) Teresa (Tressa)’s parents are given as John
Bishop and Ellen, born in Goodwood, which is the Drysdale homestead. We don’t know which of
William Umlah’s 9 sons was the father of John. William had a son named John, who married Caroline
Warner, but I know of no evidence they had children. Jane Hoch’s WFT tree shows quite a few
descendants of William’s sons, but no grandchild named John.
The Old St.Margaret’s Bay Road is a window to the past. Two prominent families
used this road to bring vegetables and milk to the market in Halifax
The Umlah Farm
The Umlah Farm was situated on the Old St. Margaret's Bay Road which is now part of Long Lake
Provincial Park. In the 1860s John Umlah inherited the Long Lake grant and the Goodwood grant, 1000
acres in all, from John Wagner. Three generations of Umlahs lived in the old home with its large rooms and
huge granite hearth. The Umlahs raised vegetables for the city market, cut and sold cordwood and ran a
dairy farm in later years. In the 1950s the whole farm was expropriated by the Public Service Commission,
the house and barns had to be demolished by the owners and the wells filled in.
The Old St.Margaret's Bay Road can be accessed from the Old Sambro Road AKA as "The 306". Using this
access, to the road, will allow you to visit GCT6PE Old Orchard Part 1 & GCT6E8 and Triangle Cache
part 2, both brought to you by Fergus Pals. There is an alternate access; "The Western Route" to the Old
St. Margaret's Bay Road, however I have not attempted this entrance and can not provide any feedback on
it's location or condition. WATERPROOF footwear is highly recommended for the trek during the spring
month. A new CUT-OUT trail has been provided to circumnavigate the Splash Pond @ N44 36.573 W063
38.616. The trail is off to the right, follow the Surveyors ORANGE tape for the DRY route. As you walk on
the road look for Artefacts, Several have been found on the side of the road. Such as; Blue Glass Bottles,
Cutlery and Pottery dating from the late 1800. Once on site you will see one standing foundation which was
the Farm House (Background Picture) Also you can see the Another Foundation which is located at N44
36.641 W63 39.036. This was a bunk house/stable for travelers and their horses, unfortunately someone
decided to park their vehicle there. The most sought out location of this site is the DUMP area. Located at
N44 36.629 W63 39.002 this will offer any Novice Archaeologist a window to the past. When this was a
working farm, Garbage was NOT collected as we know today. When the farm was expropriated many items
that could not make the trip back where buried here. NOTE; please return the site to its original
configuration. If you feel adventurous you can continue Westerly and Visit ANOTHER expropriated Farm
(Coordinates UNKNOWN). The Umlah Farm Cache is a 5KM round trip Hike.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to thank Marilyn Moore from The Mainland South Heritage Society who provided me
with a great deal of information about the Umlah Farm and the great Services Her society
provides to all budding local History buffs like Me. Also Mr Rod Lake, President of the Long
Lake Provincial Park Association who made me rediscovers this GREAT park. Last but not the
least Mr Terry Deveau whose pedigree is too long to mention, but his help and guidance was
unparalleled