Among those who worked the land more than 200 years ago was the Rymal family, who came to the west Mountain following the American Revolution.

Joseph Woolley, 79, is one of a handful of surviving blood relatives of the Rymals.

His grandfather Peter Woolley married Elizabeth Rymal, one of the five daughters of Joseph Rymal, who was a long-time Liberal MP from South Wentworth.

Known as Honest Joe, he participated in the Confederation debates and was instrumental in ensuring a rail stop was established on the east Mountain in the late 19th century.

To commemorate the Rymal family’s contributions to the city, the Hamilton Historical Board and the Hamilton Mountain Heritage Society were scheduled to unveil a special Rymal Family Heritage plaque during the society’s monthly meeting yesterday (Thursday).

The plaque will eventually be placed beside the bus stop at the corner of Upper Paradise and Mohawk Road, near Westcliffe Mall, a spot that once was part of the Rymal family farm.

“I’m quite proud of it,” said Woolley, who recalled working on the family farm until he joined Dofasco at age 31.

Woolley said as a youth one of his jobs was to milk the cows twice a day.

“That’s how I got big hands,” he laughed.

The milk was picked up by truck every day except on Sunday.

“My dad would never buy a (milking) machine because he knew one day we’d be selling (the farm land) for real estate,” Woolley said.

Led by William Rymal and his brother Jacob, the family of United Empire Loyalists of German background came to what was then known as Barton Township from Pennsylvania around 1787. A third brother, George, would follow several years later.

Through land grants and purchases, the family acquired some 800 acres of land running along either side of Upper Paradise Road, from Rymal to the Mountain brow.

A homestead was built in 1789 on the north side of Mohawk Road, just west of what is now Westcliffe Mall, and the family’s original house, since renovated, still stands at 700 Mohawk Road West.

The Rymal family played a key role in the development of the Mountain community and in the politics of what was then Upper Canada.

William’s son Jacob represented Wentworth County in the Legislative Assembly and shared many of the reformist ideals of the fiery orator and newspaperman William Lyon Mackenzie.

Following the failed rebellion in Toronto in 1837, Mackenzie sought refuge with his old friend Jacob, who gave him shelter and a fresh horse to continue his escape to Niagara.

He was being pursued by Tory supporters such as Allan MacNab, who were looking to capture him and bring him to trial.

Woolley said the move to help Mackenzie resulted in some nervous times for the family.

“They thought they’d lose the farm over it,” he said.

Jacob’s son Joseph Rymal would sit as the Liberal MP from South Wentworth from 1857 to 1882.

St. Peter’s Cemetery to the east of Westcliffe Mall began as a Rymal family burial ground.

It was at the burial grounds that the Rymals built the two-storey wooden Union Church, the first church on the Mountain.

William Rymal’s original homestead was eventually sold and became part of the Mountain Sanatorium land.