John Doan Sr.

His granddaughter recorded “he distinctly remembered the battle of Trenton, Dec. 26, 1776. He also remembered the excitements attendant upon the news of the battle of Princeton and Germantown. He remembered seeing Washington’s army encamped for a day and night upon the farm adjacent to that upon which his parents were living. At the proper age he was placed as an apprentice to learn the trade of a carpenter with his eldest

brother, Jonathan, the same who became the father of the late Bishop George W. Doane of

New Jersey. Th is trade than included the skill of a joiner or as it is now termed cabinet maker.

He often spoke of having assisted in the erection of buildings in Philadelphia as well as in

the country. He subsequently purchased a farm on the Delaware River in Bucks Co., where

he carried on farming in addition to carpentering. I remember hearing him speak of having

to cross the Delaware to New Jersey with his hearse to attend some funerals.” He married 15 Oct. 1794 in the Buckingham Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends (Quakers), in Bucks County, Elizabeth Stockdale , born 18 July 1773, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Smith) Stockdale. “There were 4 children born in Bucks Co. one of whom, Sarah, died there. He with his family removed in 1807 to Canada, travelling across the country in canvas-covered wagons.

They were about six weeks on the journey, and arrived at their destination June 1, 1807. There they purchased a tract of 200 acres known as Lot 94 on Yonge Street, King Township, York Co., for which they paid $8 per acre… I well remember my grandfather’s description of the first dwelling they occupied in Canada. It was what was known as a shed roof, covered with split basswood logs. When their effects were placed in order so as to save all the space possible, there was only one square yard of floor unoccupied.

In 1807, the Friends in that locality built a frame meeting house. The members gave material and subscribed $16, and John Doan was appointed general supervisor.

The first Lombardy poplar tree, now so numerous in this region, was a branch cut from a tree in Bucks Co., and used as a cane by John Doan in his journey to Canada. He planted it there on Yonge St., and to the surprise of everybody it budded and grew to a large tree. To that cane Canada is indebted for all her Lombardy poplars, so greatly admired.

At the first township meeting of King, Mar. 6, 1809, John Doan was elected Pound

Keeper… During the War of 1812 John Doan adhered strictly to the Quaker principle of

peace. At that time produce rose to an extravagant price, so that it was almost out of the reach of the poor. I have been told by the early settlers, that John Doan was never known to sell a bushel of grain or produce of any kind at the high prices occasioned by the war, but always at the price-rate before the war commenced… An English officer hearing that Mr Doan had a quantity of flour in store came to him and said, “Mr Doan, I hear you have a large quantity of flour for sale, if so, I will purchase all you have at the highest market price.” The reply was, “Has thee got the money to pay for it?” “Why certainly, or I would not have the face to make you an offer.” “Well,” rejoined Mr Doan, “If thee has got the money to pay for it, thee may go somewhere else to buy, I keep my flour to sell to them that cannot afford to pay war prices.”

In a petition to the government asking that their war taxes be used, instead, in support of a

school, Doan noted that he and Samuel Hughes had been fined $313 between 1807 and 1813 for refusing to fight.

John Doan’s dedication to Quakerism was shaken at the outset of the war when David Willson, a friend, was forbidden to preach. Doan, who had been an Overseer, then Clerk of the Meeting, resigned in Sept. of 1812 to join Willson’s group, the Children of Peace. He became Clerk of their meeting, a sign that members trusted his lack of bias, and ability to lead the group to a consensual decision.

The Doans moved to Sharon (Lot 9, Third Conc. East Gwillimbury) in 1818. Even though John was one of the largest landowners in the village with 269 acres, (second only to his brother Ebenezer) he appears to have given up farming and made a living by cabinet and furniture making; it was he who completed the “ark” which stands in the centre of the Sharon Temple. The ark was said to have taken exactly 365 days to complete. John was an Elder in the sect, and also sat on the committee which oversaw the village school.

John died in Sharon 18 Nov. 1852.

They are both buried in the Children of Peace Cemetery.

By 1808 it was seen that a larger meetinghouse would be required to accommodate the rapidly growing community of Friends, and in 1810 just under 2 acres immediately north of the cemetery was acquired from William Doan. The meeting agreed to build a one-story frame structure, which they estimated would cost about $1750. Work began in 1810 and was completed in 1812. John Doan was the builder of the Meeting House. The architecture is typical of the plain structures erected by Quakers in North America. The building was extensively renovated in 1975, although the outward appearance is unchanged.

Both John and his brother Ebenezer Jr. were master builders, probably the equivalent of our modern contractors. They had been trained by their older brother Jonathan, who did not emigrate, and who built numerous public buildings in the United States, including the original New Jersey State Capital Building, Stranhope Hall at Princeton, and Trinity Episcopal Churche, in Geneva, New York.

Can be found in: "The Doane family" by A. A. Doane of 1902. (p.396)

and "The Ebenezer Doane family" by Gilbert Jones Doane of 1961. p. 38