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	James Frederick Mallett and Elizabeth Crook
James F Mallett Sr.	Family

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James and Elizabeth were married in Pilton in 1824. Their first three children, and possibly the fourth, were born in the British Isles, the rest of the children were born in Canada. James seems to have been well educated; his occupation was listed as "Schoolmaster", when their first son was christened in Barnstaple in 1826. Sometime between the birth of the first child and the third in Exeter in 1830, James had learned the trade of carpentry, and his occupation this time was listed as "Joiner". He may have done this in anticipation of the move to Canada, thinking that a practical trade would do him more good there than teaching school.

The earliest the family can be placed in Canada is 1832, the year the "Canada Company" records show that James entered into a purchase agreement with them for 200 acres of land in Wilmot Township. The trip to Canada took 6 weeks in all. They likely took the "all British Route", meaning they came through Quebec, Montreal, then Bytown (Ottawa) via the Rideau canal to Kingston, then Lake Ontario to York (Toronto), then overland to their new purchase. They might also have come via New York State, but the Canada Company encouraged it's prospective customers to stay on British soil.

1832, coincidentally, is the first year there is any record of James' brother William in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Whether the brothers actually came to Canada together is not known, and why they chose to settle so far apart is also a mystery. Wilmot is very close to the twin cities of Kitchener-Waterloo in what is today Waterloo County in Ontario.

When James and Elizabeth moved there Wilmot was part of what was known as the "Gore" District, "Canada West" and the south part of the township, where their property was located, had just been opened up for settlement. The Canada Company lands were primarily in what was then known as the "Huron Tract", today Huron County and parts of some other counties, such as Perth, not far from the port town of Goderich on Lake Huron. The company's administrative centre was at Guelph, and in order to get settlers to their lands in the Huron Tract, they built a road from Guelph to Goderich called the "Huron Road". The south part of Wilmot was bisected by this road, and had been given to the Canada Company in compensation for some swampy land unsuitable for settlement in the Huron Tract.

James' property was right along the Huron Road, and James and Elizabeth with their four little children (the oldest was 7), were among the very first settlers to come there. The area, like most of southern Ontario, was heavily wooded, and must have been very intimidating to these new immigrants. The first time the family shows up in the census is 1834, but they were likely there before that. They purchased the property in the fall of 1832, but didn't likely spend that first winter there, they would hardly have time to build a shanty before winter set in. They don't show up in the 1833 census either, so it seems likely they came to their property early in 1833, probably after the census was conducted.

James spent the summers clearing land, and for a few years spent part of the winter months in Hamilton, plying the carpentry trade he had learned before leaving England to earn some extra money. This must have been a treat for Elizabeth! In the middle of the wild Canadian bush, with winters colder than she ever could have imagined coming from England, alone with her small family. James had to walk the entire distance to Hamilton, some 70 or 80 miles, along the few roads that there were. It was only safe to travel in the daylight hours, the bush being still full of dangerous animals. One spring he returned carrying a clock on his back. Now Elizabeth would be able to tell the time while she was alone in the bush.

Clearing the land must have been very hard work. In 1834, James had managed to clear 4 acres of his 200. By 1837, 8 acres, 11 by 1839. In 1840, for some unknown reason, he moved to another property in Wilmot, in a portion of the township just opened up, and started all over again; the census indicates that his newly acquired 100 acres was completely wooded.

James' own words, from a letter written in 1857 by him to his brother William in PEI, sums up the experience of the first 25 years in Canada:

"I have had good deal of hard work since I have been in this country but thank God I have surmounted a great many difficulties - I have 100 acres of land 75 of it cleared and getting pretty free of stumps - with a good frame house and frame barn 60 ft by 40 ft free from all encumbrances five horses five cows and 7 other cattle 32 good Leicester sheep - I had 27 acres of wheat last year, averaging about 20 to 25 bushels per acre - but the prices this winter have been very low 2/6, but it is now selling at 3/3 to the cwt. Oats 1/3 potatoes very scarce but last year a general failure almost - now selling different places at 3/ and 3/6 the bushel..."

James and Elizabeth had nine children in all. James taught the oldest ones to read and write before any schools had been established in Ontario, he may also have taught other children in the neighbourhood. James was a deeply religious man, as can be seen from many of his letters which have survived, and was active in the establishment of St. James Anglican church, which stands today along the Huron Road in Wilmot. James and Elizabeth are both buried in the churchyard there.

By 1871, James was no longer himself actively farming. In 1851 his two oldest sons had moved to West Williams Township and had begun farms and families of their own. The two youngest sons remained in Wilmot, and for a time farmed the home place. By 1881, all of the Malletts had gone from Wilmot, but George Mallett Smith, son of William Crowe Smith and Henrietta Mallett, continued to farm the Mallett homestead, at least for a time.