The Carswell Story
Elmer T. Strong

5.75 x 8.75 - 96 Pages

Although the name Carswell does not appear on the passenger list of the Mayflower, folklore suggests that they did later intermarry with those who were. They experienced the rigors of life in early Pilgrim settlements as well as several generations of pioneering life in the New England states as they slowly migrated toward the Canadian border, eventually crossing into Canada during the period of the American revolution. Again they had to face the challenges of creating homes and livelihoods in a new land just opening up to pioneering setllement.

This book begins by briefly tracing the lineage of one branch of this Carswell family through seven generations in the U.S. and Canada up to the present day. The focus of the book then shifts to the development of Biographical sketches of several key Carswell family members who lived out their lives in the Ottawa Valley region of Ontario. These sketches paint a story of both triumph and tragedy as these pioneering ancestors wrestled with the same opportunities that this new land had to offer for settlement while at the same time having the enormous potential for hardship, suffering and personal tragedy.

The reader, particularly those who are direct family descendents, will gain a better understanding of their family roots as well as a greater appreciation of the sacrificies and contributions made by their pioneering Carswell ancestors.


Growing up in a small farming and lumbering community in the Madawaska Valley, Elmer T. Strong received his primary education in a rural one-room school before going on to high school at Denbigh Continuation school and Miesterschaft College in Toronto. Following graduation from Ryerson University in mechanical engineering technology and Industrial Management at the University of Waterloo, he pursued a technical career in industry and government in Canada and the United States. He never lost touch with his roots back in the Ottawa Valley. Now retired, he continues his life-long interest in the local history of the community of Matawatchan where he grew up, with particular interest in the logging shanty and river driving activity. He has gathered information, through tape recorded interviews, collection of photographs and books, and the pursuit of archival research over a period of more than forty years.