Loyalist Trails UELAC Newsletter, 2005 Archive

In this issue:
- Governor General as Patron of UELAC
- Letter from Governor General
- The Loyalist Gazette: Time to Start on the Spring Issue
- Invitation to Tea: New Members To be Guests
- Hamilton Branch newsletter
- Queries
      + Fees associated with Loyalist Land Grants
      + Response re Slaves in Williamsburg Township
      + Pickel-Sherwood, Riselay-Sipes

Governor General as Patron of UELAC

UELAC received two letters in Sept. from Rideau Hall One indicated of course that Adrienne and John should not be listed as patrons after the end of their term.

The second indicated that we would have to apply for the new GG to be a patron, that the criteria which we would have to fit into in order to qualify would be posted on the GG web site, and we should wait for that before making our request. So far, no information on the web site. We have been following up, but no news yet.

That is why an honorary patron is not listed in the Fall 2005 Gazette.

...Doug

Letter from Governor General

The Loyalist Gazette: Time to Start on the Spring Issue

By now most readers will have received their copy of the Fall 2005 issue of the Loyalist Gazette. Both Michael Johnson (Assistant Editor and Designer) and I hope that you are enjoying its contents. Please send either of us any feedback you may have concerning this issue.

The deadline for submissions for the Spring 2006 issue is quickly approaching on January 15, 2006. It takes both Michael and me a full three months of intensive work to prepare each issue of the Gazette for publication so submissions must be in on time in order to be considered for inclusion. Submissions are most easily dealt with if they are sent to the editor electronically as there is no Gazette staff to retype material. It is very important to indicate exactly what you want published with your submission (e.g. your name, mailing address, phone number, e-mail address). Authors of articles are asked to send a photo of themselves and suggested illustrations to accompany the article. We also appreciate the author's suggested "pull-quotes", one or two per page of final text, and exactly where the author would like to have them inserted in the article. Photos and illustrations, if scanned or saved on a digital camera in jpeg format, should be a minimum of 300 dpi for a photo 3" x 4" and 72 dpi for a photo 12" x 16".

We are always looking for proof readers to assist with each issue. If you are willing to become involved in this interesting component of the Spring 2006 issue, please contact either Michael or me as soon as possible.

I hope that you continue to enjoy each issue of the Loyalist Gazette, "the window to the world for the UELAC". Please remember that I'm always looking for your feedback and suggestions to ensure that we continue to maintain our high quality in each issue.

...Bob McBride, UE, Editor of the Gazette {gazette DOT editor AT heydon DOT com} how do I email him?

Invitation to Tea: New Members To be Guests

I was looking through a CJB scrapbook and found the following article. It is dated June 5, 1944 but the name of the newspaper is not given. I typed it exactly as written.

Governor Simcoe Branch, U.E.L., Entertaining at Tea To-morrow.

Mrs. Roy Sanford Powell, Courtleigh Boulevard, is entertaining at tea to-morrow afternoon for new women members of Governor Simcoe Branch, United Empire Loyalists.

Mrs.W.H. Walton-Ball will assist the hostess, who is a lady vice-president of the branch. Conveners will be past lady vice-presidents, Mrs. Neil McLean. Mrs. W.M. Robb, Mrs. Herbert E. Watson and Mrs. Ernest Shildrick, assisted by Mrs. Fred Miller, Mrs.F.P. Lloyd, Mrs. J.V. Hill, Mrs.William Jarvis and Miss Aileen Brethour.

So, does this mean that ladies were allowed to be vice-presidents, along with, no doubt, male vice-presidents?!! Were ladies allowed to be president? Note also that, with the exception of Miss Aileen Brethour, all the ladies are known by their husband's name. We've come a long way!

...Noreen Stapley, UE, Col, John Butler Branch

Hamilton Branch newsletter

Vol. IV No 3 of the Hamilton Branch newsletter is now on line. In addition to Branch activities, the reader will find articles on the Scout Brigade of Fort George, Loyalists George Chisholm and James Cowell Turner as well as two book reports: 1812, the War that Forged a Nation and A Pioneer ABC. For further information, go to the Publication Folder at uel-hamilton.com.

...Fred H. Hayward UE, Past President, Hamilton Branch

Fees associated with Loyalist Land Grants

I wonder if someone could explain a couple of things about the free grant procedure for Loyalist settlers. Were there settlement duties required, and administration fees to be paid by Loyalists and any children who later applied for land? Does the "free" in free grant relate only to the waiver of purchase costs?

I can't find any sources that specifically mention the fees one way of the other, so thought I would go to the experts!

Thanks for any enlightenment on this which you may be able to provide.

...Larry Boswell {laboswell AT rogers DOT com} how do I email him?

Response re Slaves in Williamsburg Township

As you may know, I maintain a complete list of the King's Royal Yorkers, including their places of settlement and size of families. I've just done a search of the list to pull up any references to servants and only found two entries.

Entry 1 - The 1784 settlement return for Private Edward Gay showed that he had two servants with his family. Of course, these servants could have been indentured whites and cannot be automatically thought of as black slaves, which is what I assume you're looking for.

Entry 2 - I assume you have already looked in Pringle "Lunenburg or the Old Eastern District" Chapter XXXVI, p.318-25. This refers to a black servant, John Baker, of Major James Gray's family and gives details of Baker's family.

In 1783, Elizabeth Gray (nee Low) was in lower Quebec with her family of four boys and one girl. There was no mention of a servant in that return.

In 1784, a lot was designated for Major Gray in RT4, but the settlement return noted that the major was "in Canada", i.e. lower Quebec. None of the family were on the return, which tells us that they had not yet made the trip up the St. Lawrence to the new settlement.

However, from Pringle's account, a slave named Dorine and her husband (surname Black) were brought to Canada by the family, even if they were not shown on the 1783 return. Simon and John Baker are said to have been two of their sons and both were with the Gray family.

In 1795 when James Gray died, ownership of Dorine and her family was inherited by Robert Gray. It appears that Dorine's husband was dead by then, so at a minimum, Dorine's famiy was composed of John and Simon, but one has to ask if they weren't married with children by then)

The entry on the 1784 settlement roll for RT4 shows a James Jacobus as drawing a lot with the note that he was "with Major Gray", presumably "in Canada." Although Jacobus was listed amongst the Royal Yorkers on the roll, there is no record of regimental service for a man by that name, or variations of same. This suggests to me that James Jacobus was a servant of the major. As Jacobus is James in latin, this adds to my suspicion that this fellow is actually Jacobus Baker, husband of Dorine - but I have no proof whatsoever. Simply pure conjecture.

There are several instances in the settlement rolls where servants are recorded in the same fashion as Edward Gay's. So, there is reason to believe that, if servants were with the families in the settlement, they would be noted on the return. If one accepts that point, then the number of servants, white or black, in RT4 was tiny.

It is also worth noting that a number of black soldiers were discharged in the various townships. They had either been free men before the conflict or earned their freedom through their service.

...Gavin Watt, Honorary Vice President, UELAC

Pickel-Sherwood, Riselay-Sipes

I have come across information on two sheets of paper and have no idea where they came from or why they are in papers that were in our office. We arde working to sort, catalogue and file the six boxes of Helene de Wit's information that came to the Branch. Helene passed away not long ago, after serving many years as Branch Genealogist. Do you think that any of your readers could help me locate where or whom these two sheets might have come from?

Pickel - Sherwood

One is a sheet of information on Weldon U. Pickel whose father was Nicholas Pickel (1745-1843) of Hunterdon Co., Western New Jersey and six generations on his mother's side to Andrew Sherwood (1738-1823) of Rye, New York. It includes information on Andrew Sherwood who married Martha Currey (1739-1778) as well as information on Enza A. Northup Pickel and Benjamin Northrup of Connecticut who settled in King's County at Belleisle NB in 1783. It was prepared by Gaye Kinney Beechy, only grandchild of Weldon and Ezra Pickel.

Riselay - Sipes

The other is a sheet of information on Christian Riselay born 1775 in Duchess co. Rhinebeck Plains New York. He married Catherine Sipes and settled in Bertie (Fort Erie) with grants for both of them. Both are supposed to be buried in St. Paul's Anglican Cemetery but there is no record of Catherine being buried there.

Hannah (Annatje) Schauer (Jacob Sipes) Hannah, mother of Catherine Sipes was born in Teesbosch, Athens, New York. She came to Niagara with her nine children. "That being a widow of a soldier she was anxious that her children should serve His Majesty as their Father had done in the French War – that three sons consequently served in the Butler's Rangers and that six of her daughters are now in this settlement and married."

I am hoping that someone can either tell me where the sheets came from or whether there is something that I am supposed to do with them. Thanks.

...Margaret Carter, UE, Manitoba Branch {jmcarter AT mts DOT net} how do I email her?

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