The following obituary from the Orillia Times of 31 March 1881, not withstanding
the confusion about his place of birth, refers to Alexander, their second, but oldest surviving
son:
Mr Alexander Dunlop, who died on 19th inst., was one of the oldest residents of
Orillia, having settled here in 1841. He was born on his father's farm 30 miles from
Glasgow, Scotland, and came to this country when he was 22 years of age. He, at one time,
owned a good deal of property in Orillia, also in Barrie where he put up a large distillery
and the principal street in town was named after him. On his father and the rest of the
family coming to this country in 1843 they took up a farm on the Coldwater Road which is still
in the family. The deceased was one of the first store-keepers in Coldwater, where he
carried on quite an extensive trade with the Indians, trappers etc. who at that time brought
their furs, fish and game to trade provisions and clothing. He built the first road
between Orillia and Atherley, also the old Orillia and Royal Hotels, where he carried on
business for a number of years. He leaves a widow, four daughters and five sons to mourn
his loss.
In fact, Alexander was born in the Barony Parish, Glasgow, on 22 August 1818. And the farm
that we know of, although we do not have it properly located, was the one in Frankfield,
which Alexander's grandfather and family moved to from Paisley about 1801 or 1802.
The obituary in the Orillia Times states that Alexander arrived in the area in 1841 in the
vanguard of his father and family, who did not arrive until 1843. Another obituary, in the
Orillia Packet (25 March 1881), puts things a little differently:
Mr Alex Dunlop was one of our old settlers, having come from Ayrshire with his parents
and brothers and sisters in 1831. His father at first had a small distillery near Warminster,
on the Coldwater Road, and the paternal farm remains in the family. Many years ago the
deceased kept a hotel in Orillia but for some time had not followed any particular business. He
leaves a large number of descendants.
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