Information about the Muirheads prepared by Bill Darfler, in connection with the demolition of the house at 32
Wellington
The earliest chapters in the history of Brantford are actually part of the epilogue of the epic story of Sir William
Johnson and the Mohawks in early New York State. Johnson died just before the outbreak of the American Revolution,
and had he been alive during the war, history may have been much different.
As it was, however, the end of the eighteenth century found the British colonies confined to the north of the Great
Lakes, with the Six Nations settled in the valley of the Grand River, the Loyalists established on the Niagara Frontier,
and the new nation of the United States of America growing to the south. The settlements on the Grand and the Niagara
were in constant communication and when the available lands were taken up in the original townships, the next
generation of loyalists turned their attention to the Grand River valley in the years leading up to the War of 1812.
The annals of early Niagara are filled with names that still resonate in Brantford; Clench, Kerr, Hamilton, Biggar,
Grobb, Jarvis, Kirby, Nelles, and Muirhead.
The original Muirhead was Surgeon James Muirhead, who came to North America in 1792 with the 16th Rifles. He
settled in Niagara, and married Deborah Butler, daughter of Col. John Butler. As the, "pioneer doctor of Niagara", he
was one of the pallbearers at the funeral of Gen. Brock, and held many positions and honours.
Another early Muirhead to be found on the frontier was John. Given the Muirhead's fondness for the names, John,
James and William, it is fairly safe to assume that he was James' brother. Another Muiread, William, came out from
Scotland only a few years before his death in 1820 at the home of his brother James. John settled to the, southern end of
the Portage, at Stamford, and married Elizabeth Vanderlip, daughter of William Vanderlip, one of Butler's Rangers.
The Vanderlips became, along with the Fairchilds, the Westbrooks, and the Files, one of the founding families of Brant
County.
John and Elizabeth were the parents of James and William Muirhead who moved to Brantford from "Old Niagara" in
1828, when it was all Six Nations property.
James Muirhead, sometimes refered to as James Jr., probably because of his uncle the Surgeon, was born in 1798 and
married Mary Heron, daughter of Andrew Heron, another important figure in Niagara's history. Andrew was the
founder of one of Upper Canada's earliest library, abookseller, and journalist. He was also the Secretary/Treasurer of
St. Andrew's church. James and Mary had eight children, and were the grand-parents of G. H. Muirhead whose name
appears on the Brant monument.
James was the first purchaser of land, Lot 8, North side of Colborne, after the Town Plot was surrendered by the Six
Nations in 1830. He was also one of Brantford's early Postmasters. He built a house at the corner of Queen and
Wellington in 1835 when that part of the town was still densely wooded. He died in 1868, and is buried at the
Greenwood Cemetary.
James' brother, William, was born in 1802, and married Mary Ann Brickwell from Port Dover. They also had many
children. William was the "pioneer agent" for the Bank of Montreal in Brantford, and also represented the Canada Life
Assurance Co.. He built a house at the corner of Queen and Darling, but later developed "Oakwood” on land he
acquired from the Clench Tract. This home was later bought by J.C. Palmer who operated the Kirby Hotel as the hotel's
summer resort and sulpher spring spa.
William Muirhead was Brantford's first mayor and was appointed Chief Magistrate in the same year, 1847. He died in
1882, and is also buried at Greenwood.
The Muirheads are representative of the first wave of urban settlers to the Ford in the late 1820's. Brantford's first fifty
years as a part of Upper Canada, has a significance that exceeds the merely local. It is part of a much larger story that
began in the Mohawk Valley, and encompasses the American Revolution, the birth of British North America, and the
War of 1812. Any physical evidence of this story, including the humble structure at 32 Wellington, deserves more than
just passive respect.