Authentic Letters from Upper Canada: With an Account of Canadian Field Sports

Authentic Letters From Upper Canada: With An Account Of Canadian Field Sports by Thomas William Magrath presents a collection of letters and editorials that document emigration to Upper Canada in the early 1830s, paired with practical guidance for settlers. The works opens with prefatory remarks and a sequence of letters from Magrath and others (including Mrs. Radcliff and Bridget Lacy) that recount voyage costs, routes, and the financial planning required for establishing homes in Canada. It contrasts bush life with ready-made farms, offering detailed budgets, land purchases, building costs, livestock, tools, and provisioning, as well as warnings about voyage provisioning and travel arrangements. The letters also discuss social dimensions—religion, education, and the state of indigenous communities—alongside the rapid township development in Whitby and Adelaide. In addition to emigration, the volume contains extensive depictions of Canadian field sports, including deer, bear, partridge, woodcock, and fishing, with practical instructions on gear and technique. Overall, the book blends practical settlement advice with vivid colonial life narratives, revealing both opportunities and challenges of building independent homesteads in Upper Canada in the 1830s.