The Gifford Story

"The Gifford Findings"

"Perry A. Gifford, Sr."

A Trip to the Perry Gifford Farm

by Janette Burnham Lozon

When I first seriously got into genealogy almost ten years ago, I read about Perry Gifford of South Cayuga Township, his ferry that crossed the Grand River, and the Windecker Tavern on the opposite shore. There, Perry's passengers (and I'm sure Perry himself) found a welcoming fire, congenial comapany, and a "glass of genuine old rye." Maybe it was the glass of old rye but I immediately found Perry Gifford and his ferry fascinating.

An excellent history of Perry Gifford and his descendants was compiled by Keith Nathan Topp of Etobicoke, Ontario, in 1989. One of the contributors to this history was Marion Smith Tait, UEL, DAR, and Mayflower descendant. We are third cousins through the Gifford family and when she offered to take me for a visit to the Gifford farm I made plans to visit Haldimand County.

Haldimand County is my favourite place to do research. The individual members of the Haldimand OGS (Ontario Genealogical Society) Branch, the Haldimand County Museum and Archives, and Dunnville District Heritage Association with work and dedication have made their respective research centres excellent places where unique and extensive information can be found. The Haldimand OGS have their holdings at the Haldimand County Museum and Archives in Cayuga and the Dunnville District Heritage Association operate the History/Genealogy Room (the Lalor Room) at the Dunnville Public Library on Chestnut Street. There is no city driving in Haldimand so travel is relaxing as well as beautiful.

My first visit to the Gifford Farm was in November, 2006. The farm is still in the possession of the Gifford family although there are no Giffords living there right now. The house and the farm are currently being rented. Gary Gifford was our guide. The River Road runs right through the farm in South Cayuga. On one side of the road is a large white barn with several out-buildings. A fence keeps several cattle confined. West of the barn, within the fence, is a hill with a spreading walnut tree at the top of it. Gary pointed to the gravestone resting at the base of the tree but we were unable to check this stone out ourselves because there was a very big bull grazing nearby!

On the other side of the road, on the river side, is the residential part of the farm. The house is close to the road, 1 1/2 or 2 storeys, white-sided with a green metal roof. The yard, as well as the house, is neat and trim, and it also is enclosed with a wire fence. Beyond the fence is a meadow with long grass stretching down to the Grand River. Part of this meadow was once used as a burial plot for some members of the Gifford family. Gary brought us to a corner of the yard where two limestone headstones and two foot stones were propped against the inside corner of the fence. These are the stones of Perry Gifford and his granddaughter, Mary Jane Gifford, daughter of John and Rebecca Mead Gifford. Perry's is the largest of the two, a long oblong piece that had broken in two. It reads:

Perry Gifford
Died
May 1 1847
AE 74 y.

Mary Jane's stone is the same width and thickness but not as long, and not so easy to read. It says: Mary Jane
Daughter of
John & Rebecca
Gifford
Died May 15 1836
AE 4yr.

We could detect no writing on one of the footstones, but very clearly on the other one are the initials: "M.J.G."

Beyond the meadow and past a row of small trees is the Grand River. On the other side of the river we could see the white farm house which was once the Windecker Tavern and the large red barn beside it. The Windecker Tavern was built by George Windecker, son of Hendrick, a United Empire Loyalist from New York.

To contact the Author
(troutlozon@hotmail.com)

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Les Barker kuznles@yahoo.com

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