The family name Girling appears twice in the Uttley family tree. The first occurrence appears with Ann Girling, the wife of William Uttley and mother of our three adventurers, Jonathan, Nathan, and Samuel Uttley. The second occurrence appears with Matilda Girling, wife of Jonathan Uttley.
Ann Girling Uttley never came to Canada that we know of, but her brother George did in the 1830's. It was probably through his encouragement that Jonathan, Nathan and Samuel made that same journey in the 1850's. It is comforting to know that when they arrived, they had family members waiting to welcome them.
George Girling was born in England in 1814. He settled east of Elmira, Waterloo County in 1845 on Lot 81 according to a history of Woolwich in the Gazeteer and Directory of 1884-85.
According to the 1851 census for Woolwich Twp, Waterloo Co, George Girling was born in England and was a Methodist. His family consisted of his wife, Susan, age 34, born in England and their children: John, age 13; William, age 11; May, age 10; Daniel, age 8; Caroline, age 5; George, age 3; and Matilda, age 1. They lived in a log house on Concession D, Lot 81.
![[Elmira]](Elmira_1.jpg)
The 1861 Tremaine's Map of the County
of Waterloo shows the streets of the village of Elmira and the farm of Geo Gerland
to the east. No farmhouse is marked on George's land as it is on the neighbours' farms.
The map is rotated as the concession roads are not aligned with the compass
[which may explain why the streets in town were and are based on two different grids].
The 1851 Agricultural Census says that the farm is 111 acres in size with 20 acres under cultivation (crops 15, pasture 2 and orchard 2) and 91 acres still wild. This included 12 acres planted in wheat that produced 346 bushels the previous year.
A history of the old church cemetery was written by Harry Soehner and published in the March 1997 newsletter of St. James Church in Elmira. The original Girling farm is owned by the Stroh family today, their ancestors Christof and Anne Maria Weidenhammer having purchased the farm from George Girling and his wife Susanna Girling nee Howlett in 1868. It continues:
Indenture number 1986, November 6th, 1863
In 1863 yeoman George Girling and Susanna Girling separated 1/2 acre of land more or less from the north west corner of the farm and this parcel of land was registered as the Elmira Union Burying Ground.
Yeomen George Girling, Jonathan Uttley, Samuel Fear and Charles Fear of the Township of Woolwich were named as Trustees for the Burial Ground. The Burial Ground became commonly known as the English Cemetery. The purchase price for the parcel of land was two dollars and fifty cents of lawful Canadian currency.
The St. James Evangelical Lutheran Congregation was organized in 1850. The first church was a log structure erected communally by members of the Congregation at the present site on the corner of Arthur and Water Street. A brick church was built in 1869 replacing the log structure. The back yard of the church served as the Burial Ground for the Congregation.
Copyright © 2005 Dorothy Gwynn