War of 1812 Veteran Graveside Project
Biographical Information for Jabez Lynde
Jabez Lynde was born in Brookfield, Massachusetts in 1773. In 1796, he married Clarissa Woodruff (1774-1830) in Winchester, Connecticut. In response to a posting by the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada offering free land for new settlers, Jabez came to Upper Canada with his father-in-law Hawkins Woodruff in 1800. Woodruff secured land in Pickering and Jabez purchased Lot 31, Conc 2 in Whitby for two dollars an acre. They built a log cabin on the Woodruff land to satisfy settlement duties and then returned to the United States to reunite with their families. In 1803, both men returned to Upper Canada with their families. The Lyndes lived with the Woodruff family until 1804 when they completed construction of a log home on their land.[1] They were among the first settlers in Whitby Township[2] and raised eight children[3] while farming the land, hunting, and according to folklore, catching salmon with a pitchfork from the creek on their property that today bears their name.