Loyalist Trails UELAC Newsletter, 2006 Archive

In this issue:
- "A Capital Experience": Lincoln Alexander
- Planning for Loyalist Day: Kawartha Branch
- American designer for Queen's 80th birthday cover
- Help to Restore Andrew Hamm's Gravestone
- Obituary for John Merz
- Queries
      + Information on Dr. John Dease, son of Ann Johnson
      + Information on John Carley

"A Capital Experience": Lincoln Alexander

The Honourable Lincoln M. Alexander, Chairman of the Ontario Heritage Foundation, former Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, will be joining us for the Salute to York Reception and program on Thursday evening, June 1.

Planning for Loyalist Day: Kawartha Branch

Loyalist Day in New Brunswick is just around the corner on May 18. Saskatchewan and Ontario follow not long after on June 19. Many have planning well underway, here is a note from Kawartha Branch to a group of participants.

Last years Flag Raising Ceremony was a resounding success and our U.E.L. Association received many comments praising your Re-enactors. We would like to invite you and your members back again this year. As last year the Kawartha Branch will cover the cost of busing the members from Norwood. Please advise me if any members from Kenner Collegiate will need transportation. There will be refreshments for all after the ceremony. I do hope that you will be able to include your two fifers and drummers this year.

The Flag Raising Ceremony will take place again this year at City Hall, Peterborough, on Monday, June 19th, 2006 at 10:00 am. Dignitaries will be Mayor Sutherland and hopefully Jeff Leal, MPP, and Dean Delmastro, MP

...Chuck Ross, UE, Kawartha Branch

American designer for Queen's 80th birthday cover

American Mandy Searles has designed a first day cover for HM Queen Elizabeth's 80th birthday Royal Mail stamp issue. The limited edition cover and its special postmark will be issued by Britain's secret little post office at Bletchley Park on 18 April 2006.

Eight years ago 25-year-old Mandy set up one of the world's most popular web sites on Queen Elizabeth and her family. She is also a talented graphic designer and has used those skills to provide the backdrop for the new stamps. As Mandy put it, "It has been a joy to work with Bletchley Park in creating this first day cover. I thank them for giving me this chance to further express my admiration for the Queen, who is my inspiration for so many things in life".

The double-sided cover design complements the stamp images showing Her Majesty at different stages of her life. The stamps will be cancelled for their first day of issue with a unique ER postmark. Only 1000 are planned for the issue. The hand prepared cover comes complete with a special greeting card insert and will be individually numbered. It is only available direct from Chapman and Mitchell Covers at Bletchley Park Post Office, The Mansion, Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes, MK3 6EB, UK. Tel: 01908 631797. Web site bletchleycovers.com. Price £12.50 ($20 US) plus £1.50 ($2.50 US) post and packing.

Help to Restore Andrew Hamm's Gravestone

Are you a descendant of Andrew Hamm, the Loyalist? Please, will you help me with my project to get a gravestone for him? He is buried in Harding's Point Loyalist Cemetery, Kings Co.NB beside wife Barbara(Baraga) & son Mallichi, but his stone was broken & removed by vandals.

For those interested, his descendants include names Andrews, Appleby, Barnes, Brittain, Bosence, Craft, Colwell, Clark(e), Ervine, Harding, Hayter, Hutchinson, Horncastle, Ketchum, Magee, Nase, Nice, Richards, Stevens, Stubbs, Sweet, Theale, Thompson, Travis, Temple, Waring, Watters.

When I found Andrew's gravesite, I found in the cedars nearby that the vandals had discarded the angel from atop the stone. I know it was his because the same one is on his wife's. So I brought it home with intention of having it incorporated into a rough worn-looking stone, but that hasn't happened. As I told you, I tried to raise funds, but I am the only Hamm who seems interested. But I am what I call "a determined German".

No, I have been a member of the NB Gen. Soc. for many years and still am, Queens Co. Hist. Soc. for many years (Editor also), Kings Co. Hist. Soc. for many years (and their Secretary for 2 years). When time permitted, since l960 I have enjoyed researching Andrew Hamm and his descendants.

About Andrew Hamm:

His name is Andreas (German). His father, Jacob/Jakob, came from Germany to PA in l749, then on to NC.

Andreas was born 5 March l755 Lynn Twsp, Lehigh Co., NC., died 8 July l8l6, Grand Bay. Married 28 Nov. l775 at Beck's Creek Lutheran Ch. in Lexington, NC to Barbara Baraga, born 6 May l756, died 24 Jan. l824 at Grand Bay, NB. Both are buried at Harding's Point Loyalist Cemetery, along with son Mallichi. Marriage records of Rev. Johann Gottfried Arends show (in his handwriting) that the wife is Maria Bergern. Further research shows her to be Maria Barbara, but her surname is still under investigation. (some researchers claim it to be Barrier).

Andreas came to NB from NY in Summer l783 on ship "Amity's Production". His land grant was at Grand Bay, where he raised 9 children and remained until his death. In his Claim, he stated that he did, for his loyalty to the King, oppose rebellion as much as possible. After suffering many insults, he raised 111 men all in his own neighborhood and had the honor to command them (Captain). He served in Col. Bryan's Militia until Lord Cornwallis was taken at York Town. He remained a prisoner with the North Carolina Volunteers until the peace.

His property on Abbott's Creek, NC, consisted of 250 acres, a saw mill & a grist mill, three horses and cattle. While he was fighting, all was seized and his wife driven off.

His children married UEL children and I have many UEL families in my research.

...Sylvia A. Hamm, NB (contact Doug for her email address)

Obituary for John Merz

I am a friend of John Merz. This morning I picked up my newspaper and read that he has passed away. This information may have already reached you, but in case it has not, I thought you would like to know as John contributed so much to Hessian research. His obituary is as follows:

MERZ, John -- Peacefully, surrounded by his family, following a brief illness, on Friday, March 24, 2006 at the Henderson General Hospital in his 82nd year. Beloved husband of Emmi. Loving father of Inge Parada and her husband Tony, Norm and his wife Joanne, Connie Harper and John Merz Jr. Will be fondly remembered by his grandchildren, Tony Jr., Vicki, Mathew, Paul Jr., Steven and Dylan. The family would like to extend their heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Hunt for his care, consideration and support. The family will receive friends to share their memories of John at the Dodsworth & Brown Funeral Home Robinson Chapel (King Street East Wellington) 905-522-2496 on Tuesday 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral Service to celebrate Mr. Merz's life will be held in the Funeral Home Chapel on Wednesday, March 29th, 2006 at 11:30 a.m. Cremation to follow. Memorial contributions in memory of John to the Heart & Stroke Foundation would be appreciated by his family.

...Paddy Chitty

John Merz was one of the most prolific researchers into the names and location of Prussian soldiers that chose to remain in Quebec (1783) following the ARW. He wrote several books. He earned the right to be known as a Loyalist supporter.

...Don Flowers UE, Toronto Branch

Anyone who researched the Hessians during the American Revolution knew John Merz. His collection of research material was donated to the Marilyn Adams Centre, Prince Edward County a couple of years ago.

...David Kemlo

As many of you might remember, John Merz started the Upper Canada mailing list. After a few years of being admin., he asked me if I would take the list over. John continued to post his helpful emails to the list and continued with his passion of research into the Hessians in Ontario.

...Lorine McGinnis Schulze

Information on Dr. John Dease, son of Ann Johnson

My fiance's background includes Ann Johnson, sister of Sir William Johnson. born 1712. She married Dr. Richard Dease (born 1715, died 1798), and they had a son, Dr. John Dease (born 1741, died 1801), who became superintendent of Indian Affairs. We don't know much about them, except that one Dease male (a brother) and his family settled in the UEL Long Point settlement, and I am thinking that Ann could possibly have met Richard while visiting her brother William - Richard's background was Irish, but I have not found out if he was born in Ireland and came out and worked on the Johnson estate before meeting Ann. I am certain that Ann and her husband Dr. Richard, also the son Dr. John, would be UEL. I have searched through military records but have not found a Dease.

I am wondering if a reader could enlighten us.

[This is an example of a family that had no idea that they had UEL background, and famous ones at that! Everything I have at this point I have dug for... all they had were the two names and that they had settled in Niagara area. I went on the alert when I saw the name Ann Johnson, the Niagara area, and the time period was right... but I was told that Ann and her husband were from Ireland (which is true). Their names were in a family tree binder prepared by the St. Boniface Society in Winnipeg - the bulk of the family background is French Canadian so the name Ann Johnson really caught my attention.]

...Heather Traub Bruchet, Edmonton Branch {hbruchet AT hotmail DOT com} how do I email her?

Information on John Carley

There appears in the history of an Upstate NY town near Albany, the mention of a John Carley who removed himself and family to Canada after the end of "hostilities" post Rev War.

We think he was either our 6G gfather or his son. John, Sr was born in 1706 in Boston, moved into Fairfield, CT around 1730, married Sarah, the daughter of David and Sarah Meeker Sherwood in 1731. The family had moved into The Oblong of what was then Dutchess County, NY about 1760 and several family names can be found in the enlistment rolls for that County during the War. When the War was over, several of the sons found themselves up in the Albany area and we have never been able to determine which John "removed to Canada". John, Sr. would have been about 73 years old by then, and we believe that John, Jr. would have been born in the 1730's so he is the most likely to have moved on, but since they both fought on the American side, that doesn't really qualify them as Loyalists. -----

But -- John had a brother Abraham who was one of the Green Mountain Boys and he had at least three sons who declared themselves Loyalists and who resettled into what is now Ontario. We think that must have made interesting talk around the fireplace after dinner in pre-War days.

Thanks for any help, or even just directions on where to search.

...Judy Schreiber {AJoseph928 AT aol DOT com} how do I email her?

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.