Loyalist Trails UELAC Newsletter, 2006 Archive

In this issue:
- "A Capital Experience" Conference Update
- The Home District Loyalists Project by Toronto Branch
- Mohawk Bus Trip 2006 to Visit Oriskany Battlefield, New York State Historic Site
- Vancouver Branch Refreshes their Website
- Lecture: The British Navy on the Great Lakes During the War of 1812, in Guelph
- Queries
      + Information about Falkners of Lancaster

"A Capital Experience" Conference Update

Registrations are arriving every day now with the 46 who have enrolled in some or all of the conference. Save a few dollars and register before the deadline of early bird rates on April 1. Conference details are online or send me a note or give me a call -- Doug

Share a room: David Snyder of BC is interested in sharing a room at the Holiday Inn. He has registered for all events so he needs a room for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Interested people should contact Anne Rahamut.

The Home District Loyalists Project by Toronto Branch

Many branches have undertaken projects to help increase the growing body of knowledge we have about the Loyalists and their immediate descendants. The Toronto Branch Project is to identify UE Loyalists’ and their sons and daughters who settled in the Home District of 1837, with the emphasis on York. Work is well under way.

The project is now described on the UELAC Branch projects page. Two Loyalists - The Honourable Samuel Smith and Thomas Merigold - who settled in this district are briefly described.

Mohawk Bus Trip 2006 to Visit Oriskany Battlefield, New York State Historic Site

The last visit of the 2006 Loyalist Mohawk Tour will be to the Oriskany Battlefield. The battle which occurred here was one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolution.

Prior to the battle the British decided to make three joint attacks on the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys to split the Rebel Colonies in two. General Burgyone was to advance down the Champlain and Hudson Valleys. Lord Cornwallis was to advance up the Hudson Valley. General St. Leger was to lead a force of Indians, British regulars and Loyalists from the King’s Regiment of New York and the Indian Department down the Mohawk Valley.

St. Leger’s first target was Fort Stanwix. When Rebel General Nicholas Herkimer heard of the attack on Fort Stanwix, he mobilized the Tryon County Militia to march to its relief.

Molly Brant warned the British of Herkimer’s plans. Sir John Johnson, Colonel John Butler and Joseph Brant selected a ravine at Oriskany to ambush the Militia. The interpreter at Oriskany will give you a full account of the battle.

Oriskany is one of the many historic Revolutionary, Loyalist and Palatine sites which you will see on the tour. At each site you will be greeted by an interpreter. At some sites such as Stone Arabia and Snell’s Bush Church you will be given a chance to visit the cemeteries where you might have ancestors buried. An informal Loyalist Banquet will be held on the last night of the tour - we expect to very shortly announce the banquet guest speaker for this trip. Our next Loyalist trip will probably not be held before 2009.

View complete details of the trip here.

...George Anderson {andrew1 AT magma DOT ca} how do I email him?

Vancouver Branch Refreshes their Website

New webmaster Shane Bengry has redesigned the Vancouver Branch website, which is now at a new address. Click here.

...Carl Stymiest

Lecture: The British Navy on the Great Lakes During the War of 1812, in Guelph

On Friday April 21, 2006, the 41st Regiment of Foot Military Living History Group is pleased to present the third installment in their popular 41st Regiment Lecture Series featuring noted sailor, historian and author Victor Suthren.

Victor Suthren is the former director general of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. He also currently holds positions as a representative to the HM Bark Endeavour Foundation in Australia; guest curator at the David M. Stewart Museum in Montreal and historical advisor to the CBC.

He wrote the Edward Mainwaring series of naval adventure novels. He is the author of THE WAR OF 1812 and TO GO UPON DISCOVERY: JAMES COOK IN CANADA, 1758-1779. His latest book is THE SEA HAS NO END: THE LIFE OF LOUIS ANTOINE DE BOUGAINVILLE.

He holds the honorary rank of captain in the Canadian Navy, being a commissioned member of its Navy Reserve, in addition to memberships in the Canadian Nautical Research Society and the North American Society of Oceanic History.

The lecture will be at the Iron Duke House, Wellington Brewery in Guelph, Ontario and will require a $10.00 admission.

The evening's agenda is as follows:

- 6:30pm Doors open to public for seat selection and social (bar open)

- 7:00pm Lecture commences

- 8:00pm Lecture concludes

- 8:30pm Speaker hosts open question and answer

- 9:00pm Book signing, social, etc. (bar open)

Pre-registration is being offered on their website.

...submitted by Fred Hayward, in turn from Tom Fournier, 41st Regiment of Foot

Query: Information about Falkners of Lancaster

Among many, my most recent stumbling block toward the production of one of my family histories led me to an old friend, Archibald MacDonnell of nearby Summerstown (Cornwall area).

The family that my current needs are associated with is Falkner, of nearby Lancaster.

During the annual U.E.L. Association annual conference a couple of years ago which was held at the Nav. Canada centre in Cornwall, Archie remembers being a tour guide on one of the tour busses going east and through Lancaster, and recalls a lady from somewhere in western Canada, (he believes it was B.C. and even maybe Vancouver) who approached him with the request that she specifically wanted to visit the cemetery containing the graves of the Falkners in Lancaster.

He knows nothing else concerning her other than this, and suggests that your records might be helpful in identifying just who this might have been, and perhaps an e-mail address.

Because there do not appear to be any living relatives in this area, any assistance you or your office might be able to offer in this regard will be very much appreciated.

And should you happen to be a descendant of Captain John Grant and his son Alexander, well . . . that's a whole new kettle of fish for later.

...Ken Gosling

To protect the people who send in queries from unwanted spam email, the online edition of Loyalist Trails no longer uses direct hyperlinks for their email addresses. Simply rewrite "name AT website DOT net" as name@website.net and sent your email to that address. For example, "doug DOT grant AT insurance-canada DOT ca" is doug.grant@insurance-canada.ca. Contact Doug with questions, or to be put in touch with someone whose email address is not listed.