Home remedies bear interesting results
By Florence Blanchard

The Essa Historical Society held its March meeting at the Thornton library recently.

President Dale Cole welcomed all and Arnold Banting lead in the Lord's Prayer.

Secretary Olive Lee read the minutes for our February meeting.

Roll call was answered by telling about a home remedy.

Some interesting answers were given such as a bread poultice for an infected hand. Dandelion milk or raw potatoes were used to get rid of warts.

Three or four egg whites mixed with vinegar will help those with sunburns. Mustard plasters were used by many mothers for chest colds.

It was decided to order 25 reprint copies of the township's first history A Century of Progress - 1850 to 1950. It was published in 1950 to mark the township's centennial.

A new booklet has been completed on the history of the Village of Thornton and it was decided to print 100 copies of it.

Our latest project is a calendar for the year 2009. All pictures are to be handed in by the end of April.

We are searching for historic pictures of the hamlets of Burns and West Essa.

Treasurer Margaret Baker gave her report and we are in good shape financially.

Baker spoke to us on the United Empire Loyalists. Many British colonists in America refused to take up arms against Great Britain during the Revolutionary War between 1775 and 1783.

Between 40,000 and 60,000 of these persons came to Canada after the war.

They were known as United Empire Loyalists because of their loyalty to Great Britain and were allowed to place U.E. after their names.

Margaret has more than one Loyalist in her background. One of the families is Hollinshead. In 1776, he left New Jersey and ended up in New York. He found nothing to do, so he left the army and headed to Digby, Nova Scotia.

The Soules family left also and went Thornhill to live.

Peter Soules and his wife, Margaret's great, great grandparents had nine children.

Peter Soules died and then his wife, Susan, married Charles Drury, who later drowned.

Her next marriage was to John Warnica. One of their children was Margaret's grandmother.

Margaret received her United Empire pin at the Olivet United Church in Hamilton last October.