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Loyalist Trails UELAC Newsletter, 2018 Archive

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“Loyalist Trails” 2018-17: April 29, 2018

Articles

UELAC Conference 2018, Earlybird ends April 30

Conference 2018: "Loyalist Ties Under Living Skies"

June 7-10, 2018

Temple Garden Hotel and Spa, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

Register now! You still have time to postmark your registration before the April 30 earlybird registration deadline. Of course registrations will also be accepted after the early bird date; it will just cost you a wee bit more.

The welcoming registration at the event will open Wednesday June 6th in the evening to accommodate those who arrive early in order to attend the Thursday Genealogy and Membership meetings.

Thursday morning closed Genealogy meeting will start at 9:00 AM and the closed Membership meeting will start at 1:00 PM. Thursday evening at 6:30 PM, the bus will begin loading to take attendees to CFB 15 Wing for our opening ceremonies at 7:00 PM, and of course the Hospitality suite will be opened when we arrive back at the Hotel.

For Friday June 8, it has come to our attention that people are under the impression that they must choose between the two seminars. These seminars will run consecutively so you can attend both. Please let Gerry know (gerry.pat@sasktel.net) which ones you are attending (or not) so he can arrange for enough seating. At 9:00 AM, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will be featured in "The Trek West" presentation by RCMP Veteran, Ken Fader. After a short break, Dominion Genealogists, Peter and Angels Johnson will host an "Open Forum" Q & A seminar on Loyalist research.

Friday afternoon there are two concurrent tours:

Tour 1 will highlight a country trip to a working farm, then a visit to Mac the Moose and upon return to the city tour guides will join us to check out the downtown murals.

Tour 2 will feature the Western Development Museum of travel, a Burrowing Owl Display and the Wakamow Conservation area.

Friday evening supper will showcase a Saskatchewan Feast; afterwards you can unwind in the Hospitality suite.

Saturday June 9th the UELAC AGM is in the morning. You have the afternoon free to enjoy the soothing waters of Temple Garden Spa or Explore the history and wonders of Moose Jaw. The Gala Banquet will round out the day in usual elegance.

For Sunday's service we will be welcomed by St. Andrew's United Church congregation. We anticipate the service will start at 10:30 and the Church ladies have a hearty lunch for us to enjoy following the service.

Visit the conference pages for details and the registration form.

UELAC's AGM, Members' Information, Voting

The Annual General Meeting of the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada will be held Saturday 9 June 2018 in Moose Jaw SK.

Members of the Association may vote in person or by proxy.

Members: For information on your voting options and the Annual Reports package, click here for instructions about how to access them.

Four Loyalists in a 1775 Newspaper (Part 2)

© Stephen Davidson, UE

The American Revolution was a war of words long before the first shots were fired at the battles in Lexington and Concord. Rebels quickly called themselves "patriots" but they were also known as Whigs. Labelled "Tories" by their enemies, the loyalists were treated as traitors by their republican neighbours. This battle of words could even percolate into wedding news in the New York Gazetteer.

The newspaper's April 20th edition reported that on March 28, 1775, Gabriel Purdy and Charity Purdy – two cousins – were married in White Plains, Westchester County. The notice concluded with "there were forty-seven guests at the wedding, of whom thirty-seven were Purdys, and there was not a Whig among them". Such a bold taunt was bound to provoke the rebels in Westchester County. One is left wondering how the Purdys fared once the revolution began.

After the Declaration of Independence was publicly read in July of 1776, the Purdy family that had celebrated a "Whig-free" wedding the previous year divided into two factions. Gabriel's two older brothers, Jacob and Samuel, fought in the Continental Army. His brothers Henry and Gilbert fought for the king along with Gabriel. All three loyalist Purdys would eventually seek sanctuary in Nova Scotia and settle near one another.

A year and a half after his wedding, the 21 year-old Gabriel joined the British army at the same time as the Battle of White Plains in October 1776. Over the course of the war, young Purdy served with the Westchester Refugees and then the Company of Light Infantry. Although Gabriel later outlined his military service to the crown when he sought compensation for his lost property, he did not share losses that were of a more personal nature.

Sometime after the birth of their first child, Gabriel's wife Charity died. He married for a second time in 1782, making Esther Angevine his wife. The couple had a son in January of 1783 before seeking sanctuary in Nova Scotia that summer. They would have ten more children after settling on the Remsheg River in Cumberland County.

Gabriel also neglected to tell the compensation board that he had been severely wounded by patriots during the war. In an attempt to escape from rebel soldiers, Purdy hid in a barrel full of tow (material used in rope-making). A rebel officer, suspicious that the barrel might be a Tory's hiding spot, plunged his sword through its wooden staves. The blade cut a gash in Purdy's head, but was not fatal.

The Royal Commission on the Losses and Services of American Loyalists considered Purdy's petition on November 2, 1786 when it convened in Saint John, New Brunswick. The fact that the 32 year-old veteran had borne arms for the crown persuaded the commissioners to grant him some financial compensation.

The record of Gabriel's life is silent for the next 18 years. Sometime after the death of his second wife, he married Elizabeth Richardson and fathered six more children. At age 55, he became a Justice of the Peace. Purdy was active in his Methodist Church and in his community, overseeing the construction of roads in Cumberland County.

Following Elizabeth's death after 1812, Gabriel married Esther Knight. In 1817, Purdy became the commander of a provincial militia company. After Esther's death, the old loyalist married for the fifth and final time, making Ann Aikens/Aitkins his wife. When he died at the age of 87, Gabriel Purdy had 17 children, 170 grandchildren, and 52 great-grandchildren.

Purdy's adventures began with the notice of his wedding's rebel-free guest list. Two other loyalists had their fifteen minutes of fame in the October 12, 1775 edition of the New York Gazetteer. It contained the news that Dr. Josiah Jones, and Dr. Jonathan Hicks had "broke gaol at Concord, Mass. On August 18". Their rebel captors posted a reward for the capture of both loyalists. Fortunately for these men, no one ever collected the bounty put on their heads.

Six months earlier, Dr. Josiah Jones had been forced out of his home in New Hampshire by patriot mobs, "the whole family having made themselves {so} obnoxious by their loyalty that he could not stay." He joined the British Army following the Battle of Lexington in 1775. Needing hay and "other articles", General Gage sent Jones by ship to Nova Scotia to forage for the British forces based in Boston.

Another doctor sailing with Jones on the Polly was Dr. Jonathan Hicks. A graduate of Harvard, Hicks had set up his medical practice in what is now Gardiner, Maine. He "expressed himself highly against Whig Committees, calling them Rebels, and using other opprobrious language against the people who appeared for liberty." Hicks then relocated to Plymouth, Massachusetts where on one occasion he "drew his sword ... upon certain persons". Following the Battle of Lexington, Hicks moved to Boston. When the Polly set sail for Halifax, the loyalist doctor saw this as his opportunity to "be out of the noise". He would begin a new life in Nova Scotia.

However, rebels intercepted the Polly, made both loyalist doctors their prisoners, and put them in the jail in Concord, Massachusetts. Following their escape, Hicks and Jones' destinies went in opposite directions – one north to Nova Scotia and the other south to the West Indies.

Jones rejoined the British Army and eventually served in the Commissary Department in New York City. In 1782, he settled his family on the Sissiboo River in Nova Scotia. Four years later, Jones was granted £50 a year as compensation for "his sufferings & expenses while in {the} Concord gaol". He later became a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas where he gained the reputation for being "a man of good powers, and of a cultivated mind." Jones died in 1825 at eighty years of age. Three years later, his wife Margaret died at 84. Four children survived the loyalist couple: Stephen, Charlotte (Mrs. Thomas White), Charles, and Edward.

Dr. Jonathan Hicks, who in 1775 had attempted to find sanctuary "out of the noise" by moving to Nova Scotia, decided to join the royal service for the remainder of the revolution. Following the peace, he became a surgeon in Demerara (today' Guyana) in the British West Indies. He died in 1826, one year after the death of his Concord cellmate, Josiah Jones.

Watch for future Loyalist Trails newsletters for more stories of loyalists whose names appeared in the New York Gazetteer during the American Revolution.

(Author's note: For a detailed account of Gabriel Purdy's genealogy, see Grietje McBride's article in the Spring 2007 edition of the Loyalist Gazette.)


To secure permission to reprint this article, email Stephen Davidson.

Week Four Update: Loyalist Scholarship -- Celebrate Twenty

Let's Get This Party Started

That bright star in the east this week is Nova Scotia Branch. Thank you for coming alongside and supporting Loyalist Scholarship again this year. Each donation to the 2018 Scholarship Challenge raises the possibility for us to do more.

How many stars are waiting in the wings? We will soon find out. Allow us to send a 'shout out' to your branch as we focus on our goal of $10,000 for Scholarship. Some branches have already pledged funds so please keep an eye on the 2018 Scholarship Challenge page in the coming weeks.

Individual donations are always welcome. For research to continue for generations to come, consider a bequest or an annual donation. Please give to the Scholarship Endowment Fund and join us as we build a legacy. The end date for this challenge is July 1, 2018.

"If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else." – Booker T. Washington

Scholarship Breaking News

Congratulations to Christopher F. Minty (2012 UELAC Scholar) on signing with Cornell Press to publish his manuscript, 'The Sons of Britain', examining loyalism, partisanship, and networks in New York City, 1768-78. We look forward to adding it to our library shelf in the very near future. Huzzah!

And from Bonnie Huskins, UNB History Department – A panel entitled New Directions in Loyalist Studies will be held at the Atlantic Canada Studies Conference at Acadia University (Wolfville Nova Scotia) this coming week – May 4th & 5th.

"Our session is on Saturday May 5 at 11am and features myself, LRN member Liam Riordon from the University of Maine, Michael White and Sarah Witthauer (graduate students from the University of Maine) and Robyn Brown (graduate student from Dalhousie University)."

Cast your vote for the new Loyalist Scholarship Logo

UELAC is introducing a logo design dedicated to Loyalist Scholarship and we need your input. How? Just go to the UELAC homepage and use the 'graduate cap' link to vote for your favourite. Voting is open now with a deadline of June 4 – King George III's birthday (280 years ago). Another great reason to celebrate! The winning design will be announced on June 8 at the UELAC Conference in Moose Jaw, SK. Can we wait that long?

...Bonnie Schepers, Scholarship Chair

Fort Schuyler AKA Fort Stanwix

The story in last week's Loyalist Trails on the Herkimer Massacre – The Battle of Oriskany – mentions that the British victory was negated by the Continental forces from Fort Stanwix raiding the British base camp and obliging the British to withdraw to Canada.

There is muddled history here; I wish the US National Park Service would help us get it right.

The British built Fort Stanwix many years before the American Revolution but it had fallen into disrepair by the time of the revolution.

The Continental Army rebuilt the fort and named it Fort Schuyler, and that was its name at the time of the Herkimer massacre.

Eventually Fort Schuyler fell into disrepair, again; when it was eventually rebuilt, it was known as Fort Stanwix.

This is the confusing, proverbial 'can-of-worms', puzzling for the average reader who encounters a correct reference to Fort Schuyler's raiding party and wonders "where is Fort Schuyler?"

As the U.S. National Park Service has reconstructed and interpreted the site for its role as Fort Schuyler during the Revolution. I believe they should be calling it Fort Schuyler rather than Fort Stanwix.

...William E.Davidson, Potsdam, NY

Benedict Arnold and the First Sailing Ship Built on the St. John River

Christine Lovelace's article on Benedict Arnold "That Greatest of All Possible Villains" focuses on the first slander case in New Brunswick. One of my Loyalist ancestors, Issachar Currier, was involved in another New Brunswick first involving Benedict Arnold, the building of the first sailing ship on the St John River at Maugerville. Details of that ship the "Lord Sheffield" and the controversy surrounding it are found in the document mentioned at the end of the Lovelace article by Louis Quigley, "Benedict Arnold."

"Arnold also commissioned the construction of a 300-ton sailing ship at Maugerville. But, true to form, relations between the shipbuilder and Arnold eventually soured. It was reported that the shipbuilder, Nehemiah Beckwith, believed he had been shortchanged by Arnold, who insisted on many expensive changes to the original plan, without compensation. The shortfall was so great that Beckwith was very nearly ruined financially through his dealings with Arnold. On June 6, 1786, The Gazette reported:

On Thursday last came through the falls of the City, now moored, a new and noble ship belonging to Brig. Gen. Arnold, upwards of 300 tons, of white oak, the Lord Sheffield, to be commanded by Capt. Alex Cameron. The General's laudable efforts to promote the interests of this infant colony have during his short residence been very productive to its commercial advantage and as such deserve the praise of every well wisher to its prosperity.

The ship was christened "Lord Sheffield" in honour of a man who had championed the Loyalist cause in England. Serving as master of the vessel, Arnold made numerous trading forays to the West Indies."

Issachar Currier was a shipwright from Amesbury/Salisbury, Mass. who came to New Brunswick in either late 1783 or early 1784 without his wife and family. In his July 1785 petition for land at Upper Gagetown he said he had been in the Province for 18 months helping to "build Mr. Beckwith's ship". He indicated he intended to set up a shipyard on the land he petitioned for. The grant was issued in 1786 and in 1799 Issachar received two lots at Kingsclear. There is a Currier Creek running through these lots and a Currier Basin was created in the head pond of the Mactaquac Dam in the 1960's which partially flooded the front part of the lots granted to Issachar. He still owned the land in Upper Gagetown and Kingsclear when he died in 1807.

The Daily Telegraph, Saint John (18 March 1895) had the following article: "Shipbuilding Industry ... The first vessel constructed above the Falls was built for Benedict ARNOLD by Nehemiah BECKWITH, the great grandfather of J. Douglas HAZEN, M.P. Mr. Beckwith failed some what (a day or two) in his contract for the time of launching and Benedict Arnold refused to accept the vessel except at a ruinous reduction. Mr. Beckwith had to accept Arnold's terms greatly to his injury. It was a mean advantage."

In July 1788 Nehemiah Beckwith petitioned the New Brunswick Legislature asking that a bill be passed discharging him from his debts. His memorial was read on 19 July 1788 and "ordered to lie on the table". So, the Legislature did not agree to his request.

The Currier family continued building boats at Gagetown for at least two more generations. Captain David Currier, grandson of Issachar, began active life in charge of a passenger sloop and afterwards as that of the first river steamer. In a February 17, 1883 interview in the Saint John Daily Sun Captain Currier recalled his family moved from Upper Gagetown to St. John in 1805 and in 1810 to Kingsclear, thence to Maugerville in 1811, where his father (also named David) engaged in shipbuilding for different parties building the Eliza Ann, a brig of 350 tons for Capt. MacDonald; the Mary Ann, 200 tons for Nelson Deveber and several schooners for William Taylor and Benjamin Taylor. In 1813 "we removed to Gagetown where my father continued shipbuilding and was assisted by an elder brother of mine, Daniel Currier".

As the Quigley article rightly concludes "Benedict Arnold remains, to this day in Saint John and almost everywhere, "unwept, unhonoured, and unsung."

...John Noble, UE

Resting Place for Loyalist Captain Stephen Thorne at Karsdale NS

Earlier this week, encouraged in part by an email from Richard Thorne, who mentioned he was a faithful reader and follower of Doug Grant's weekly newsletter about Loyalist happenings, I set out to find Thorne Cove Road, Thorne's Cove, and visit the grave of Loyalist Captain Stephen Thorne in historic Christ Church Cemetery at Karsdale, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. It is about a 40 minute drive away from my home.

I had visited the Cemetery before and driven by the Road and Thorne's Cove as well but not realized it. Although the Road is marked there is no signage for Thorne's Cove. I was able to find it after seeing the location on a map which also showed Karsdale. Christ Church was completed according to specifications of Bishop Charles Inglis in 1791 and is one of few remaining Loyalist churches. See my visit to Stephen's grave.

...Brian McConnell, UE

Simon Fraser of Balnain

Simon was a younger son of Hugh Fraser of Balnain, in the Highlands, by his wife, a daughter of Fraser of Forgie.

He fought with the Dutch army at Siege of Bergen-op-Zoom in 1747, and joined the British Army as a Lieutenant in 1755. Fraser went to Canada with the British forces in the French and Indian War and took part in the Siege of Louisbourg. He was promoted to Captain before taking part in the Battle of Quebec in 1759. At that battle, he was in James Wolfe's boat crossing the St Lawrence. It was his reply, in French through the fog, that enabled the party to sneak ashore before ascending to the Plains of Abraham.

Fraser served in Germany, Ireland, and Gibraltar between wars. In 1768, he became the Lt. Colonel of the 24th Regiment of Foot.

American War of Independence

In 1776, the 24th was transferred to Quebec in response to the American invasion, and Governor Guy Carleton promoted him to Brigadier General. When John Burgoyne organized his Saratoga campaign in 1777, Fraser was chosen to command the advance unit.

Ticonderoga

At the start of the campaign, the advance corps had about 1,000 men. Besides his own 24th Regiment of Foot, he had the grenadier battalion, the light infantry battalion, and a company of marksmen, along with some Canadian militia and First Nations auxiliaries. Fraser's command was in the vanguard during the taking of Fort Ticonderoga, and Fraser helped dislodge the retreating Americans.

Hubbardton

On 7 July 1777, Fraser's corps caught up with the American rear guard at the town of Hubbardton in the New Hampshire Grants (now Vermont). At the Battle of Hubbardton in a sharp skirmish he drove off the enemy but with the loss of many men.

Freeman's Farm

At the Freeman's farm on 19 September he commanded the right wing and led four companies in a successful attack on Daniel Morgan's riflemen.

Bemis Heights

Early in the Battle of Bemis Heights on 7 October 1777, Fraser fell to rifle fire from a rifleman named Timothy Murphy. Benedict Arnold, the opposing commander, specifically ordered Fraser to be targeted, as he was vigorously directing and supporting his troops. He was carried to a nearby house and placed in the care of Baroness Riedesel, where he died that evening. He was reportedly buried in a nearby redoubt, but the exact location is uncertain. In her diary, the Baroness noted that he was "...buried at six o'clock in the evening, on a hill, which was a sort of redoubt."

The depiction by the artist Barlow showing Fraser's interment on the redoubt as reported by Baroness Riedesel. Barlow shows two coffins in transport – the second likely that of Sir Francis Clerke (1748-1777), 7th Baronet, the aide-de-camp to General John Burgoyne, who was also shot and killed instantly by Timothy Murphy ('the fourth shot') as Clerke rode upon the field shortly after Fraser's wounding.

Fraser's passing is noted by a memorial plaque in the Saratoga Battlefield National Park.

(From Wikipedia.)

Washington's Quill: Martha Washington's Advice on Health

By Lynn Price, 27 April 2018

Martha Washington died on Saturday, May 22, 1802. She outlived two husbands, her four biological children, several siblings, her favorite niece, and many friends. Unsurprisingly, the editors of the forthcoming volume of Martha's correspondence have discovered one theme that has continually appeared---concern for loved ones' health and her subsequent advice. Martha was never far-removed from loss.

Martha Washington's favorite niece, Fanny, died in 1796. This image is a memorial to her, believed to be painted by Martha's granddaughter Nelly. Courtesy of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.

An ever-present fear during the Revolutionary War was the spread of smallpox. In 1776, Martha was inoculated against the disease; a live virus was implanted into her skin in order to cause a milder outbreak. This made her immune to further outbreaks and therefore safe during her visits to General Washington's winter encampments. She then set out to secure the same treatment for her family.

Read more.

JAR: Elias Boudinot IV: America's First Commissary General of Prisoners

by Joseph E. Wroblewski, 23 April 2018

"The prisoner of war is one of the most tragic figures in any conflict."Larry G. Bowman.

Various studies have placed the number of Americans taken prisoner during the American Revolution anywhere from 18,000 to 20,000, with 8,500 to 12,000 dying in captivity. The harsh treatment of Americans taken by the British began after the Battle of Bunker Hill when twenty Americans out of the thirty-one taken captive were reported to have died in prison. The Continental Congress's first action to deal with the problem of prisoners of war was on October 6, 1776 when it authorized each state to deal with prisoners taken in their state and to negotiate exchanges for its own citizens.

On December 3, 1776, Gen. William Howe reported that during the New York and New Jersey Campaigns the British captured 4,430 American troops. He noted that he released about 2,000 enlisted men, mainly militia, telling them to return to their homes. This still left him with 2,000 prisoners, to be held in what was an already overcrowded New York City. With no special prisoner of war camps, the prisoners were held in local jails, various warehouses, particularly sugarhouses, churches, and most infamously, the prison ships anchored in Wallabout Bay, Brooklyn. According to British custom, prisoners of war were allotted two-thirds the daily ration of a British soldier. The British did not feel responsible for supplying prisoners with any "amenities" such as clothing, bedding, firewood, etc.; these were to be provided by their own countrymen.

Gen. George Washington called upon Congress to set up a centralized authority to deal with the handling of prisoners of war. On December 27, 1776 Congress authorized the establishment of the post of Commissary General of Prisoners. Washington's first choice for the position, Col. Clarence Cox, a quartermaster commissary with the Pennsylvania Militia, turned down the offer.

Read more.

The Junto: Book Review: Atlantic Families, Race, and Empire

Daniel Livesay, Children of Uncertain Fortune: Mixed-Race Jamaicans in Britain and the Atlantic Family, 1733-1833 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, 2018).

Review by Casey Schmitt, 19 April 2018

A central thread running through Daniel Livesay's Children of Uncertain Fortune is deceptively simple: Atlantic families structured the development of ideologies surrounding race in the British empire during the long eighteenth century.[1] Woven through the book, however, is a richly nuanced exploration of what terms like Atlantic, family, race, and empire meant and how understandings of those terms changed over a pivotal hundred-year period starting in the 1730s. Through institutional records and family papers produced on both sides of the Atlantic, Livesay identifies 360 mixed-race people from Jamaica and traces the lived experiences of a handful of them as they navigated their social and economic position within transatlantic kin networks. Those individual narratives reveal how Britons experienced empire through family ties in ways that shaped their perceptions of race, colonialism, and belonging.

Children of Uncertain Fortune balances the very personal family dynamics surrounding mixed-race Jamaicans with the wider imperial and global changes that shaped their position within British society. The book starts in the 1730s with the turmoil surrounding the Maroon War and concerns over population ratios in Jamaica.

Read more.

Ben Franklin's World: George Washington's Mount Vernon

In addition to serving as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, President of the Constitutional Convention, and President of the United States, Washington also played a role that was very important to him. He served as a farmer and agricultural innovator.

Douglas Bradburn, the CEO and President of George Washington's Mount Vernon, joins us to explore the history of Washington's storied estate and his agricultural practices. And to take us behind-the-scenes of how Mount Vernon has evolved as a historic site.

As we explore Mount Vernon and the life of George Washington the farmer, Doug reveals how the Washington family acquired Mount Vernon and developed it as an estate and plantation; George Washington's work to build Mount Vernon into a model of agricultural sustainability; And, the remarkable story of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association and how and why they saved and continue to maintain George Washington's estate for future generations.

Listen to the podcast.

Prize Papers Project Digitizing Unopened Letters 17-19C From Captured Ships

Imagine being the first person to open a letter written 250 years ago but which never reached its intended recipient. What might you find? What might you learn?

This is the part of the daily work of the Prize Papers Project, exploring around 160,000 undelivered letters seized in their mail-bags from ships captured by the British in the wars of the 17th to the 19th centuries. Some of these letters are still unopened.

So far, finds have included journals, sheet music, drawings, poems, and artefacts like seeds, glass beads and keys, all tucked in with communications between women, men, children, families, friends, religious communities and business partners across the globe. Read more.

This leather pouch – found among the Prize Papers – contained seeds dating back to 1803, three of which were successfully germinated by Kew Gardens.

Where in the World?

Where is Col. Edward Jessup Branch member Barb Law?

To participate, submit a photo of yourself in UELAC promotional gear at a place of some note and tell us where it is (if you are a member of a branch, please indicate that as well). Send your submission to the editor at loyalist.trails@uelac.org.

Region and Branch Bits

From the UELAC branches, news and events of interest to others.

  • Presentation by Nova Scotia Branch UELAC of Loyalist Descent Certificate to David Decker at Halifax Central Library for proving descent from United Empire Loyalist Capt. James Hamilton
  • At BC's Northwest Regional Heritage Fair in Prince Rupert, Renée Charlton won the the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada Award award for her project, "Queen of the North Atlantic: The Bluenose"
  • Bev Loomis, President Little Forks Branch UELAC invites you to attend our unveiling of a Panel which will accompany our Visual Interpretation Panel unveiled in 2010. The ceremony will be held Saturday, June 16, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. on the school grounds, 2185 McVety Rd., Milby (Waterville), Quebec.

From the Twittersphere and Beyond

  • UELAC Scholar Christopher F. Minty: Happy to announce that I've signed a contract with Cornell Press to publish my manuscript, "The Sons of Britain", examining loyalism, partisanship, and networks in New York City, 1768-78. See UELAC Scholars for more about each.
  • Today in History: Lars D.H. Hedbor @LarsDHHedbor (see his page for associated photos):
    • 28 Apr 1776 In Savannah, GA, Col. McIntosh writes that procurement is difficult due to lack of local manufacturing.
    • 27 Apr 1773 Parliament passes Tea Act, propping up British East India Tea company at colonists' expense.
    • 26 Apr 1777 Sybil Luddington rides through the Connecticut night, mustering the militia to repel a British attack.
    • 25 Apr 1775 Patriots in Baltimore seize military supplies.
    • 24 Apr 1778 #RevWar comes to the Irish Sea! Off the coast of Ireland near Carrickfergus. John Paul Jones commanding the sloop USS Ranger captures the HMS Drake after thunderous fusillades of cannons and muskets & bloody close combat with cutlasses & boarding pikes.
    • 24 Apr 1781 Petersburg, Virginia attacked by traitor Benedict Arnold & British Gen. Philips.
    • 23 Apr 1776 Congress resolves that an expedition should be undertaken against Detroit, recently taken by British.
    • 22 Apr 1778 American John Paul Jones attacks British Isles directly, burning 3 ships and spiking guns at 2 forts.
    • 21 Apr 1775 Governor Dunmore orders Royal Marines to take gunpowder from magazine in Williamsburg, Virginia.
  • Townsends
  • Between 1750 and 1850, there were more than 50,000 inn & tavern signs produced by American painters. Only a fraction of these signs survive. The Connecticut Historical Society collection, with more than 60 signs, is one of the largest in the country – have you seen it yet?
  • 18th Century dress, robe à la polonaise, c.1780
  • 18th Century dress, Robe à l'Anglaise, 1785-87
  • 18th Century dress, robe à l'anglaise; red silk damask; England, c.1775. The fabric was designed by Anna Maria Garthwaite, an important English textile designer and the only woman known to have worked in Spitalfields
  • 18th Century men's Banyan or house coat, 1750-1800, Netherlands
  • 18th Century man's suit, c1760-70, via the Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum
  • 1790 men's coat and waistcoat, riding coat and waistcoat, both produced from embroidered silk and wool, on display at the Victoria & Albert. Often fashion history and even within museum exhibitions, female dress dominates, so I am always interested in seeing the inclusion of male dress.
  • Remade Brocade: From Wedding Dress to Wedding Shoes. Textiles in the 17th and 18th century held their value long after a given style had ceased to be popular. Over and over, we find examples of brocades, damasks, woollens and so on, cut down and made into smaller items. When the 21 year-old bride, Deborah Thaxter (1752-1832) married Capt. James Todd (1751-1831), on 18 November, 1773, the young bride wore these silk brocade shoes, made from the fabric of her mother's wedding dress.
  • What Ordinary People Wore in the Early 1800s. They are rarely the subjects of portraits, although they might be included in scenes of, say, a great estate. Also, a few employers actually had at least some of their servants' portraits painted. Later in  the 1800s, Victorian servants appear in quite a few photographs. But for those of us who are looking at English dress before photography, there are other ways to get an understanding of what ordinary people wore.
  • Made to Measure: the Tailor Shop at Colonial Williamsburg. My visit to the tailor's shop in Colonial Williamsburg gave me a glimpse into the individualized experience of made-to-measure clothing in the 18th century. A tailor's shop could fulfill custom work for a range of people of varying social status and for clothes ranging from high fashion to utilitarian. In most cases, the customers were men, but tailors were capable of providing for women too, especially of garments with custom fittings such as stays and riding wear. The position of tailor was considered men's work, although there are instances of women tailors.
  • Lampman House built by John Lampman son of a Loyalist in Ancaster (Hamilton area) under some potential threat.