Loyalist Trails UELAC Newsletter, 2005 Archive
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"Loyalist Trails" 2005-13 April 8, 2005
In this issue:
- Jeremiah French
- Heritage Branch Meeting
- Royalty and Loyalists: Camilla Parker Bowles
- Family Reunion: Burritt/Hurd/Merrick/Nichols/Mullen/Ruiter families (July 8-10)
- Sour Cherries and Loyalist History
- Branch Newsletter: Hamilton
- Raynham Hall, Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe and Valentines Day
- Historica Fairs
- Queries
+ Parents of Thomas G. Wilkins
+ Mother of Philip Drader b. 1827
+ Response re French Indian Wars
+ Response re James Anderson
+ Response re John Stewart
Articles
St. Lawrence Branch is celebrating the restoration of the Jeremiah French gravestone on Loyalist day weekend (June 18/19). The latest details magazine from Canada Post announcing new stamps, etc. indicates that there is a stamp coming in May to coincide with the opening of the new War Museum. On the outside of the folder is a mirror image of the picture on the War museum website - see the virtual tour page with Jeremiah's coat, and this link to more on Jeremiah French.
...Lyall Manson (and George Anderson)
Heritage Branch plans to hold its Annual General Meeting on Thursday, April 28, 2005, at 7:30 p.m., at the Parish Hall of St. Columba's Church, 4020 Hingston Avenue (corner of Hingston and NDG Avenues), Montreal. Following the usual business meeting, the guest speaker will be Anne-Marie L. Shields, who will present a talk illustrated by slides, based on her book "Lost Villages-Found Communities", concerning the life and people of the "lost villages" west of Cornwall, Ontario, that were flooded to permit the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project in the period 1954-1958. All are welcome and refreshments will be served. The Shields' book has won acclaim for its composition, as well as for the many original watercolour reproductions by the writer which decorate its pages. It is expected that the author will have some copies of the work available for sale at a reasonable price at the Annual Meeting. All are welcome and light refreshments will be served after Anne-Marie's presentation.
...Robert Wilkins, UE, CMH, Pres., Heritage Branch (Montreal), UELAC
Royalty and Loyalists: Camilla Parker Bowles
Gary Roberts of the NEHGS recently compiled a book on royal ancestors of 600 New England immigrants. He has recorded one line of ancestors of Camilla Parker-Bowles. One pair of Camilla's great great grandparents were William Coutts Keppel and Sophia Mary MacNab. Sophia was daughter of John Stuart Jr. (son or Rev. John Stuart) and Sophia Jones. (daughter of Loyalist Ephraim Jones and Charlotte Coursolles. More detail is online here.
...Nancy Conn
Family Reunion: Burritt/Hurd/Merrick/Nichols/Mullen/Ruiter families (July 8-10)
FRIDAY EVENING
6:00-7:00 p.m. Registration
7:00 - 9:30 p.m. Wine & Cheese
SATURDAY
2:00 p.m. Christ Church, Burritt's Rapids, Ont. - Private Service For Family of the descendants of the Burritt/Merrick/Hurd/Nichols/Mullen/Ruiter. Edwina Mullen - descendant of Daniel Burritt, father of Colonel Stephen Burritt - and Charles Ruiter Hunter - 4th great grandson of the famous Colonel Henry Ruiter - will be exchanging wedding vows. They will be co-authoring a book on our family history after the reunion.
3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Walking tour of Merrickville and a visit to the Block Museum to view some items from Colonel Stephen Burritt.
5:00 - 6:30 p.m. Catered buffet dinner
7:30 p.m. Invited Speaker, Marg Hall, United Empire Loyalist, to speak to our group about our ancestors.
9:00 p.m. Evening social at the community hall. Bring your dancing shoes, your stories, family history. We will also have a talent show. I am sure we have lots of it in our families.
SUNDAY
Annual Christ Church cemetery memorial service 2pm in the afternoon in Burritt's Rapids
FEE $60.00 per person for the 3 days of events. Fee must be prepaid before the reunion.
More information: Edwina Mullen 1-800-417-5283
Sour Cherries and Loyalist History
Ruth Nicholson UE, a teacher and librarian in Kilbride, Ontario, has been using a global kids' snack contest website to teach her grade three students about diversity and geography.
Here is her anecdote: I was raised on a farm in the Windsor area and every summer my mom and I picked sour cherries from our two cherry trees. Once the cherries were pitted we scooped out a dish full, sprinkled them with brown sugar and poured on the milk. This is a mouth-watering treat that has been passed down from my maternal grandmother's side of the family who were Pennsylvania Deutsch United Empire Loyalists, granted land in the New Settlement, on the north side of Lake Erie. My children look forward to the sour cherry crop every summer.
For her winning snack story based on her experiences with her Loyalist grandmother, Ruth received a copy of Healthy Habits, with songs about nutrients and healthy eating. UELAC received another mention out there on the Internet.
Ruth is not only the secretary of the Hamilton branch and but also a member of the Branch Education/Outreach Committee.
The Hamilton Branch UELAC has posted its April Newsletter to the Publication folder of its website www.uel-hamilton.com This issue features articles on Loyalists Nicholas Mosher, John Askin and Isaac Orser, 18th century small pox innoculations and early Glengarry funerals. Teachers may be interested in how students at Kilbride research local Loyalist history.
...Fred Hayward U.E. Past President
Raynham Hall, Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe and Valentines Day
Raynham Hall is a twenty-room house museum that transports you back into the life and times of the Townsends, one of the founding families of the Town of Oyster Bay on Long Island, New York. Unfolding history from the American Revolution in the 1770s through Oyster Bay's affluent Victorian period in the 1870s, Raynham Hall was accredited by the American Association of Museums in 1991. It is the only house museum on Long Island to earn this high honor.
Raynham Hall Museum was recently honored by the State of New York as a Revolutionary War Heritage Trail site. This designation recognizes the unique contribution of the Townsend family to the cause of American independence.
The museum, which served as a British headquarters during the Revolutionary War, can lay claim to a truly historic "first" - it is the home of America's first documented Valentine. On February 14 over two hundred years ago, Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe of the Queens Rangers asked Sarah "Sally" Townsend to "choose me for your Valentine!". See what he wrote here! For more visit raynhamhallmuseum.org.
...Sue Hines, Grand River Branch
Kingston and District Branch will be taking part in the Kingston Regional Historica Fair May 5 and 6 at Queen's University. We will donate a $25.00 award and a Loyalist theme book to each of 3 winners. Usually their projects will cover the Loyalist period. We will also set up a display of our own.
...Carol Davy
Gov. Simcoe Br will be displaying at the Toronto Catholic School Board's Historica Fair at Fort York on May 5.
My known ancestor was Thomas G Wilkins b about 1810 in UC. Family tradition has it that we had a UEL ancestor . I believe his father may have been a John Wilkins. In the National Archives there was a John Wilkins of W New York ( wasn't that Indian territory ?) who sent in a petition in 1795 to the UEL commission but all that remains of it is the cover page. Is there any way to find out what happened to his request ? I have been through the lists of UELs & never found anything but maybe I missed something.
Mother of Philip Drader b. 1827
I am looking for the mother of Philip Drader b. 1827. Philip's mother died when he was born. Philip's father was John Drader and the first time married (as far as I can tell) a Switzer. John's second wife was Nancy Pencil and they had another 13 children. Philip's wife was probably the daughter of Phlip Switzer and Patience Rose. The Book “Switzers, All My Father's Were” states “and several other daughters not listed". My luck is that she is one of these other daughters not listed. The Drader's were Hessians/Brunswickers and are fairly well documented, however, Philip's mother ‘s name is being very difficult to find.
John Drader b. 1806 married 1826 to (Given Name Unknown) Switzer? And she died 1827 when Philip was born in 1827 Marysburg, Prince Edward County, Ontario. Philip married Mary Ann Milligan b. 1827 and she d. April 23, 1875 in Coboconk. They had 6 children: William John b. 1853 Port Hope, married Agnes Stafford; Charles Franklin b. January 10, 1858 married Sarah Westlake; Howard b. abt. 1860; Mary Elizabeth b. June 6, 1861 Port Hope (my husband's great grandmother) d. April 23, 1938 Peterborough married George Jobbitt; Emma S. “Mame” b. 1866 Port Hope d. 1964 Wallaceburg married Archibald James Hawkin; Edmund A. b. January 6, 1868 Coboconk, d. July 27, 1935 Peterborough. Trying to find the name of Philip's mother.
Response re French Indian Wars
I noted with interest your observation in the recent edition of “Loyalist Trails” and would like to comment. As there were only about 15 years from the end of one war to the beginning of the next, there were many who fought and survived the French & Indian War who were still able to take up arms in the Revolutionary War. The numbers become lost however as the magnitude of participants in the Revolution far outstrips the earlier conflict and this may be the reason your comment seems to be lost in time. I have done a great deal of research on both conflicts but feel only qualified to speak from the Rogers Rangers perspective.
From 1756 to 1761 Robert Rogers raised 13 full companies, 4 Indian companies and a Cadet Company of Rangers and each served at various times during the conflict. During the Revolution, he was involved with two regiments of Loyalists (The Queen's Rangers and The King's Rangers) as their commanding officer. Of the officers that commanded his Ranger Companies during the F&I War, 9 went on to serve in the Revolution – 3 on the British side (Robert & James Rogers and John Shepard) and 6 on the American side (John & William Stark, Moses Hazen, Jonathan & David Brewer and Captain Solomon). These were only the senior officers in a single regiment so I would imagine there were many others that took different sides in the bitter revolutionary conflict.
Some would likely believe they were unfairly treated and would be better off conducting their own affairs while others, like James Rogers, were sympathetic to the cause of the discontent but believed there was a better way short of armed conflict to resolve these differences. I believe it would be an error to assume that it was blind loyalty to sovereign that drove most Loyalists to become Loyalists, nevertheless, when they took that stand; they stood by their resolve to the end.
I am not sure those who served in the F&I War came home like “Grecian heroes of Troy” (Robert did for one but few others had such fame) as the conflict affected mainly the frontiers and in the more developed areas the war likely generated no more excitement than the daily news from Baghdad today and people just continued living their lives. There was therefore likely a sense that the F&I War veterans had risked their lives but no one noticed (reminiscent of Vietnam, Korea and the Gulf War?). The presence of British soldiers and subsequent taxes however later gave rise to their frustrations and ultimately led to the Revolution. Some of these thoughts and others are contained in my book “Rising above Circumstances” which is still available.
...Robert J Rogers U.E
The James Anderson referred to in the Banishment Act of the State of Massachusetts is probably was the James Anderson listed in Sabines Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution. He was of Boston, Mass. Was an Addresser of Hutchinson in 1774, and of Gage in 1775. December, 1774; - "I am credibly informed," wrote Washington to the president of Congress, "That James Anderson, the consignee and part-owner of the ship Concord and cargo, is not only unfriendly to American liberty, but actually in arms against us, being captain of the Scotch company at Boston." In 1778 he was proscribed and banished. He was at New York in July, 1783, and one of the fifty-five who petitioned for land in Nova Scotia
...Lew Perry, UE
The above statement by Lew Perry, is most evidently a true profile of the James Anderson who settled at Chester, NS. I checked the Confiscation list for Massachusetts and he is on it.
I would not presume that the James Anderson of Baltimore, Maryland is the same man that settled in Chester, NS. Note the name of James Anderson's wife in this death record.
Burials at Chester, Lunenburg Co., NS. 1775-1818: James Anderson, 1st Son of James, and Elisabeth Hume Anderson, departed this Life on the Seventeenth day of September, one thousand, Seven hundred and Eighty Six. Recorded February 12th, 1805. Ebenezer Fitch, Town Clerk.
In the 1838 census, there is no James ANDERSON, WHICH CONCLUDES THAT HE HAD DIED PRIOR TO 1838.
...
The Historical Manuscript Commission of Great Britain published its calendar of the collection in 1904-1909, while the documents were still at the Royal Institution. Following the sale and reorganization of the collection, a copy of that calendar was annotated to serve as a guide to the documents in their new order. THAT ANNOTATED CALENDAR FORMS THE BODY OF FINDING AID 784. The ANNOTATED CALENDAR also appears on National Archives of Canada microfilm, reels M-341 and M-342, but without the shelf list which correlates document numbers with the National Archives of Canada reel numbers.
Ref: NAC (10386 (3) - 10437 (274) M-369
...Don Flowers
This is in reference to Nelly Hernandez query in the 25 March issue of Loyalist Trails, looking for information on John Stewart/Stuart. AC Jost's book Guysborough Sketches and Essays lists 2 John Stewarts as having received land grants in the North East division of Guysborough, NS in 1784. The first John Stewart received a front lot of 155 acres and a back lot of 495 acres. The second John Stewart (also spelled Stuart) received lots of 131 and 419 acres. Both men's allotments were considerably larger than the majority. The second John Stewart is noted as a member of the 71st Regiment. The book indicates for both men, as for most of those listed, that little or no further record has been found.
Most of the 270 who received grants at this place and time were members of the Associated Departments of the Army and Navy. The Assoc Depts were also known as the Civil Branches and were the base personnel of both services (Army and Navy) at New York Headquarters who came under the jurisdiction of the Commissary General's Department. Most were civilians who worked in non-combat roles providing administrative, supply, construction and other support services for the British and American Loyalist fighting units. Their unit was evacuated from New York City in Sept 1783 as part of the ‘fall fleet' to the newly formed town of Port Mouton, NS. This town was destroyed by fire in March 1784 and many of the settlers then were moved to settle again at Manchester on Chedabucto Bay, NS. Manchester's name was changed to Guysborough and the area is now called Guysborough County. The men, many with their families, probably had been stationed in Queens, Long Island, or in Staten Island NYC for the latter few years of the war.
Those that were members of the 71st Regiment were the remnants of a highland regiment that had fought in Brooklyn NY, Brandywine PA, Savannah GA, and Charleston NC and were part of Lord Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown where they were severely decimated. Most had been repatriated to Scotland but a few, probably incapacitated by illness or prisoners when their regiment returned to Scotland, had preferred to become settlers.
My own ancestor William Fraser with his wife and at least one child, also was part of this group of settlers. While there is further record of his life and family from that point, we have not been successful in learning anything about his origins or his activities during the war.
...Jack Freeman
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