In 1822 to Daniel Pickett, a Methodist circuit rider, received a Crown Grant for another lot. His second wife was Laura Secord’s sister. In 1851 the Crown granted the North-west part of Lot 6 ( 100 acres) from Clergy Reserves to his son, Thomas E. Pickett., whose son John built this house in 1860/1861. In 1877 it is shown as the property of William Pickett (Halton Atlas). Thomas E. Pickett died in 1874; in 1879 the title passed to John’s youngest son William Pickett; in 1923 to his son-in-law Gordon Armstrong; in 1950 to Arthur & Pearl Johnson; in 1974 to Helen Cuthbertson.
The Village of Lowville grew up on the corner of this farm. Descendants ran the general store, the post office, and the cheese factory. Anna, a granddaughter of Daniel, was the mother of Harry Hopkins, who became a close friend and administrative assistant to American President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The diamond wedding anniversary photograph (from 1933) of the Rev. Thomas Pickett and his wife also shows Keitha Pickett Henry (daughter) and George S. Henry, Premier of Ontario, 1930-4.
