Where was
Egypt? Not the country in the Middle East, but the former
Norfolk hamlet.
So far this question has stumped Robert Mutrie, William Yeager,
myself, and others.
Someone must know. Or perhaps we can figure it out by researching
land records and other resources. If you can help, please email
John Cardiff. Your contribution will be added here.
Here's what we know so
far...
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My Mother
remembered a Simcoe High School classmate in the late 1930s who
came lived at Egypt, which Mom says was "somewhere in Windham
township." So Egypt presumably still existed (at least in
name) at that time.
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From the 20
Oct 1898 Waterford Star newspaper: The Windham Centre
Bicycle Club wheeled over to the Egypt Sunday school on Sunday
last.
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Today there is
a modern street sign in Windham identifying The Egypt
Schoolhouse Road.
It marks a short, gravel road between two concessions. The land on
either side of this road is woodlot and swamp, almost a bog. We
looked, but saw no traces of a former community or school. (That
is not unusual. Little, if any, trace remains of many former
hamlets or villages.) We saw a decaying metal wire fence and the
remains of a stone pillar, but no indication of what might have
stood there before it was overgrown.
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Email received
14 Oct 2005 from Lori Roloson:
About 20 years ago the DeVos family lived in the only house on the West side of
[Egypt Schoolhouse] road and it seems to me there was something resembling a school bell tower of sorts either on or near the house. I went by the other day and did not see the bell
-- and I believe the property changed owner within the last year or two.
Some of the names that you indicated in that article are certainly names still familiar in that area.
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The following
were listed as students at Egypt [elementary] School in 1913:
Miss P. Rush, teacher, daughter of a Norwich couple |
Sadie
Atkinson
N.
Boughner
M. Boughner
Pearl Butler
Alice Glynn
Myrtle Glynn
Walter Hands
Winnie McMahan
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Alma Miller
Fred Miller
O.
Mudge
William Mudge
M. O'Reilly
Sophia Peacock
Clara Sensebauch
Roy Sensebauch
Thomas Sensebauch
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Gertie
Stetler
Minnie Stetler
Bruce Trembley
Edward Trembley
Kenneth Trembley
Harold Watson
Violet Whale
Helen Wilson
Olive Wilson |
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Many issues of
the 1912-1915 Simcoe Reformer included an Egypt personals
column.
Below is an alphabetical list of some of the people those columns
suggest lived there.
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J. Atkinson,
one of our promising young men
Mrs. Richard Broughton, sister of John O'Reilly
Miss Pearl Butler, who wrote her high school entrance exams in
1913
Roy Butler, who married in 1915
Mr. and Mrs. Vern[e] Butler
Walter Butler, who was visited by Harry Miller of Windham Centre
Mrs. Henry
Clark, aunt of Miss Bertha Tice of Toronto
Mrs. Jacob Gilbert visited her parents' home here
Walter Glynn
Walter Hands
Mr. Hughes
John Kemp
Peter Kemp, who entertained friends from New Durham before his
barn suffered in storm
Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Mattice
Misses McMahon holidayed at their home here
Alonzo Millard
Mr. and Mrs. Ashton Munn. Her parents lived in Nixon
Mr. and Mrs. J. Munn. His brother lived in Kelvin; their daughter:
Mrs. Murphy of Mohawk.
Relatives of Mr. and Mrs. Alex Murphy of Mohawk, had supper at
Mr. Munn's
James O'Reilly, nephew of Michael O'Reilly of Nixon
Mr. and Mrs. John O'Reilly, he was a brother of Mike O'Reilly of Simcoe
Miss Mamie O'Reilly, daughter of above, sister of Mrs. Gilbert of Nixon [aka Minnie
O'Reilly]
Mamie O'Reilly, sister of Mrs. Jacob Gilbert and cousin of Miss Pearl O'Reilly
both of Nixon
Marie O'Reilly, who visited her sister at Nixon
Mrs. Gideon Peacock, who died Mar 1913, interred Windham Centre
cemetery
Mr. and Mrs. John Peacock (she was sister of Mrs. Thos. Elliott of
Hamilton)
Mr. and Mrs. John Peacock. She attended her father's funeral un
Brockville in Jun 1915.
William Peacock and daughter Sophia Peacock visited Archie Culver near Simcoe
recently
Mr. and Mrs. John Pettit. John sold his farm to Mr. Merritt of
Windham Centre in 1915
Morley Pettit of Saskatchewan's father
Morley Pettit
Mark and Miss Maggie Pettit
Walter Pettit moved into the neighborhood about Apr 1913
Mr. and Mrs. Ed. Robins. Mr. Robins died Oct 1913, buried
Lynnville Cemetery
Miss Leta Robins
Mrs. J. Sch[mouse], daughter of Mrs. Wilket of Hawtrey
Mr. and Mrs. Lee Sensebaugh. His nephew, Mr. Church, lived in
Otterville
Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Stetler and Miss Stetler whose sister lived
at Villa Nova
Hiram Trembley
Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Whale
Geo. Wilson and Walter Stetler who were thinking of moving to the
northwest
Geo. Wilson, a brother of John Wilson of Delhi
Mr. and Mrs. George Wilson
Miss Helen Wilson, who visited her uncle in Delhi
Miss Olive Wilson who wrote her high school entrance exams in 1913
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