~ Britainville~
Established: December 1, 1892 Closed: December 31, 1936
|
Name of |
Date of |
Date of |
Date of |
Cause of Vacancy |
|
William M. Cormick |
1851 |
1892-12-01 |
1936-12-31 |
Closed (Rural Mail delivery made out of Spring Bay Post Office) |
William McCormick was born in Belfast, Ireland in the year 1851, and came to Canada at the age of seventeen. His trip was made by sailboat and occupied six weeks. William landed at Montreal. He worked on his uncle’s farm near Montreal for two years and was also married there. William and his young wife (name unknown) moved to Collingwood and unfortunately she died eighteen months later. During his stay in Collingwood William drove and delivered the mail for several years then went to work for several years in a saw mill.
Before leaving Collingwood to come to Manitoulin Island, William was married to Sara Anne Osborne. The young couple settled in Britianville. They arrived via a blazed trail with a yoke of oxen and a cow. In Britianville William bought one hundred acres of land from the government for the sum of fifty dollars and commenced clearing the land for a farm. William and Sara lived where now is the site of the Lewis Gilpin farm. This young couple endured all the hardship of pioneer life. In those days supplies had to be carried from either Kagawong or Providence Bay. Trips for supplies were long and rough.
For many years William was the mail carrier between Long Bay and Britianville.
William was postmaster in Britianville for forty-four years, until the introduction of rural mail delivery made the closing of the post office necessary. In 1933 the last King George IV presented him with the honor of a silver-medal, as at that time he was the oldest postmaster in Ontario.