Agar Yeilding

Agar Yielding [Often misspelled Yielding but grave site and family documents confirm the spelling of Yeilding] (1813-1873) was born in County Limerick, Ireland. The son of Richard Massy Yielding, Sr., an estate owner and member of the Gentry in the west of County Limerick, Ireland [From: A Topographical Dictionary of Limerick City and County By Samuel Lewis. Originally published in 1837 as part of A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland] . Sometime around 1830 he accompanied his older brother, Richard Massy Yielding, Jr., by ship to Montreal. His brother eventually moved on to the United States, but Agar stayed in Canada and settled in Bytown. There he acquired land and became a merchant with a business on Rideau Street near the canal. His store is listed as being located in "Lower Town" (a blue collar, mostly Irish, section of Bytown) on Rideau Street in the 1851 Ottawa directory. The actual location was only about 400 yards from the canal across from which is now the location of Canada's Parliament buildings.

In 1854, Agar stood for election to Parliament to represent Bytown. By then Bytown had a population of about 8,000. Agar was nominated to represent his party (Conservative or Tory) by Nicholas Sparks (a rich and very influential man of the time who it is said made his money by discovering gold on a plot of land he bought for only £60.) and seconded by Alexander Gibb, publisher of one of the city's newspapers. [Ottawa Citizen, 1854] The opposition (the Liberal or Reform Party) was divided by the fight between two eventual Members of Parliament, R.W. Scott, and H.J. Friel (one of Ottawa's first mayors).

In 1874, William Pittman Lett, the son of another Irishman, published a book written entirely in prose entitled "Recollections of Old Bytown and its Inhabitants" - published by the Bytown Historical Society. In it he had this to say about Agar:

". . . And Charles Baines, an old time lawyer, Stood here professional top sawyer; He owned a bull dog, arrant thief! Who plundered Agar Yeilding's beef; And when friend Yeilding sought for law, To deal with canine of such maw, 'Why, there is just one simple way,' Said Charley, 'Make the owner pay;' 'I thank you for your judgment brief,' Said Agar, 'pay me for the beef, Seven and sixpence worth of prog, Was bolted by your big bull dog.' 'All right,' said Charley, like a flash, And quickly handed o'er the cash; But as friend Yeilding turned to go, 'Come back', said Charley, 'for you owe Just seven and sixpence for advice, So hand it over in a trice.' "

Agar died at his home, Glensharrold (named after his home townland in Limerick) on 25 March 1873. Today Agar and his family lay buried in the Beechwood Cemetery family plot [http://www.yeilding.com/genealogy/Agar_Y.gif] in what used to be Bytown (now Ottawa).

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