Follow up to John Breckon road pictures

The pictures below from late April triggered an email from Canada with interesting information.

I frequently check the Westerdale News site and was pleasantly surprised to see that someone had posted a picture of the village from John Breckon road. In 2009 we, as a family, were fortunate to take a trip to England which included a side trip to Westerdale. None of us had been to Westerdale before. It was special to myself and my son of the same name to have our pictures taken on this road. There was no sign post at the end of the road which I has noted in other pictures which had been posted by hikers. Some men were working up the road and assured us that we had the right place.

Our family records show that a John Breckon emigrated to Appleby, Ontario, Canada in 1831 from the parish of Westerdale and the post town was Gisborough. There has always be a John Breckon in this county from that time on.

We really enjoyed Yorkshire and especially Westerdale and hope to get back some time to further explore.

It is strange that the family has been over here for so many years yet I feel very " at home " in Yorkshire. I have enclosed a link to a document at a library here which is quite interesting.
http://images.oakville.halinet.on.ca/details.asp?ID=59061

Regards,
John Breckon and family


The link shows a questionaire filled in by the original Mr John Breckon who emigrated from Westerdale - done some years after he arrived.
It seems he was one of the earliest arrivals in Appleby, Ontario.
Hard work clearing virgin farmland - and a no doubt a degree of luck meant the family had prospered since arriving with just a few pounds.

Thanks John for the fascinating historical information.