Loyalist Trails UELAC Newsletter, 2009 Archive

In this issue:
- "Thanksgiving: What it means": A Native Loyalist's View
- As Good a Citizen as any Other Man -- © Stephen Davidson
- Samuel Raymond, Junior (1697 - 1763) - Fourth Generation in America (Part 2) -- © 2009 George McNeillie
- Sarah Sluyter Married a John Barnhart; George Barnhart, UE
- A Loyalist? A Rebel? Some of Each? (continued)
- In Wolfe's Clothing, by Ian Brown, Globe and Mail, 1 Aug 2009
- NorfolkLore XXXIII Genealogy Fair
- Last Post: W. James Russell Scott, UE, M.D., C.M.
- Queries
      + Response re Names of Those Who Lived at or Were Stationed at Fort Haldimand
      + Families of James Richmond and Élizabeth (Isabella) Savard
      + Help Solving a Revolutionary War Document Mystery

"Thanksgiving: What it means": A Native Loyalist's View

In the 16th Century, the Thanksgiving Address was created when the Peacemaker brought his message of peace to the warring Nations which would join together to form the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. After stressing the importance and benefits of arriving at peaceful resolutions in the face of disagreements, the message of the Thanksgiving Address would form a fundamental premise that would guide and remind the People.

The Four Directions Youth Project seeks to use elements of the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address in a manner that today's youth of all backgrounds and beliefs may relate to in their daily lives. Loyalist - and Canadian - heritage and history has many parallels with the messages contained within this Native expression of appreciation.

"The People - Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as people. Now our minds are one."

Our Loyalist ancestors understood the necessity of respect and tolerance among themselves and to others who might not embrace their points of view. Rather than resort to rebellion and violence to settle issues, the Loyalists sought a solution that would form the majority's consensus as well as respect the minority's sentiments. Such lessons of humanity may hold valuable clues to conflict resolution and anger management techniques

...David Kanowakeron Hill Morrison UE

[Editor's Note: The Four Directions Youth Project was initiated by Zig Misiak, an Honorary Vice-President of the UELAC. David Kanowakeron Hill Morrison is assisting Zig, and providing liaison between UELAC and the project. At this point, UELAC is raising funds to help Zig take the project to the next step. Updates will be provided frequently in Loyalist Trails. As part of that update, David has provided the Thanksgiving Address, which has many elements; these will unfold over the next weeks. Donations are needed, and appreciated.]

As Good a Citizen as any Other Man -- © Stephen Davidson

An often overlooked fact in the loyalist story is that only a very small minority of the total loyalist population left the United States at the end of the American Revolution. If the generally accepted estimate is true -- that one third of the Thirteen Colonies' 2.5 million people were loyal-- then approximately 800,000 Americans actively opposed the revolution. When you consider that by 1783, 70,000 loyalists had sought refuge in England, the Caribbean, or modern day Canada, then it is a simple matter of mathematics to appreciate the fact that 700,000 some loyalists did not leave their homeland.

Cadwallader Colden Junior was one of those loyalists who remained in the United States of America. What makes his story especially interesting is that he wrote down his thoughts about being a loyalist in republican America. Thanks to Colden, we have a rare glimpse into the situation and mindset of the loyalists who stayed behind.

Strongly held political convictions prompted some loyalists to abandon their homes and families in the Thirteen Colonies. Others had fought against patriot relatives and neighbours, making it impossible for them to stay in their homes after 1783 even if they had wanted to. Some states banished the loyalist "traitors" and threatened to execute them if they returned to their colonial homes. But for the majority of loyalists, although they would have preferred to remain a part of the British Empire, ultimately the more dearly held values were staying near family and friends and continuing to live in the places they had known all of their lives.

Not all states were prepared to banish their loyalist citizens. Throughout the revolution, the population of Long Island and New York City had been, by and large, loyalist. How should the new patriot state government treat those who were on the losing side of the revolution? The New York legislature, faced with the prospect of banishing thousands of its people, had to deal somewhat carefully with its loyalists. Rather than labeling them all as traitors, the state seized the property of nine prominent loyalists as a warning to other former "tories" to remain quiet and to accept their lot in the new republic. Cadwallader Colden Junior, therefore, had the luxury of deciding whether he would stay in New York or become a refugee like his loyalist friends and relatives. Despite his strongly held royalist convictions, Colden made the decision to remain at Coldenham, his estate along the Hudson River in the town of New Windsor.

It must have been difficult at first. During the revolution, Colden had been an outspoken loyalist and a prisoner of the patriots. He was quoted as saying: "he should ever oppose independency with all his might, and wished to the Lord that his name might be entered on record as opposed to that matter, and be handed down to latest posterity." He was certainly a man of principle and conviction.

At the end of the war, Colden had more than his own immediate family's safety to consider; he was also the guardian of his brother's wife and four daughters. His brother David Colden had taken his only son to England seeking compensation from the British government. He died within weeks of arriving in the United Kingdom. In 1789, Colden's nephew returned to New York. Reunited with his uncle, the younger Colden was surprised at the changes in his uncle's temperment:

My uncle lives perfectly retired on his old place near New Windsor. He seems to have taken a disgust to all parties and politics, and endeavors to make himself contented by finding employment on his farm. However, he cannot forget his disappointment. His spirits are low and I think he breaks very fast, but when he can meet with an old friend you may see what he has been.

Prompted by the nephew's description of his old friend, Henry VanShaack wrote a letter to Cadwallader Colden in January of 1790. Six months later, he received a reply. The paragraphs penned by Colden give a fascinating look into the thinking of a loyalist seven years after the conclusion of the American Revolution.

I have had, as it were, the world to begin anew again. But alas! the day is so far spent that I much fear that I shall not retrieve the time and losses occasioned by that (I had almost said cursed) rebellion, now called glorious revolution, as I sincerely wish it may ever prove to be, though I cannot yet help thinking that we might have been happy at this day had we remained as we were.

But as, in the nature of things, we could not expect always to remain in that happy state, perhaps the change could not have taken place in a better time, if not for us, for our posterity. Such great events are brought about by an overruling power, who sees further than we do, and often makes use of bad men and wicked designs to bring about good purposes; that is, though He does not turn their hearts, yet He makes their wicked deeds subservient to good ends. Witness the treatment that Joseph of old met with from his brothers.

But where am I wandering? I did not wish to touch upon this disagreeable subject, which brings things to my mind which I wish to be forgotten ... I regret that there has been so long silence between us, who were mutual sufferers and always of one mind under our sufferings, which I feared you had forgotten when you had become a statesman. I hope next to hear that you are a representative in Congress. However, I am now as good a citizen as you or any other man can be. I wish no more changes less we should be still changing for the worse. God bless you. I have not room to say more, but that is sufficient from a sincere friend, as is

...Cadwallader Colden

Cadwallader Colden died on February 18, 1797 in his 75th year.

To secure permission to reprint this article, contact the author at {stephendavids AT gmail DOT com} how do I email him?

Samuel Raymond, Junior (1697 - 1763) - Fourth Generation in America (Part 2) -- © 2009 George McNeillie

Samuel, the second son of the first marriage [of Samuel Raymond, Jr. - 1697 - 1763 and Elizabeth Hoyt - 1700 - 1731], was a Loyalist and an Episcopalian. His wife, Abigail Peters, belonged to a family which furnished a notable contingent to the band of Loyal Exiles who abandoned the old colonies in 1783 and came to New Brunswick to live under the old flag. The children of Samuel were five sons and two daughters, who were mostly Loyalists. Several members of this family are buried in Old Trinity Church-yard in the City of New York.

Sands, the youngest son of the first marriage, however was in arms against the British during the war, and was twice taken prisoner. He removed from Norwalk to Westchester County, N.Y., before the war began.

The children of the second family were all of them Loyalists in the war.

1. Ruth married Nathaniel Sears, of Norwalk, in 1751. Their son Thatcher Sears had a daughter, Nancy, who had the distinction of being the first child born at Parr-town after the Landing of the Loyalists. Edward Sears, present post-master at St. John (1920), and a former mayor of the city, is a great-grandson of Nathaniel and Ruth (Raymond) Sears.

2. Mary, born about 1746, married Jesse Hoyt of Norwalk on 01 Oct 1764. She went with her husband to Annapolis, N.S. to live at the peace in 1783, and died there in 1828.

3. Mercy, born about 1746, married Israel Hoyt, brother of Jesse Hoyt, and came with her husband and six children to Kingston, N.B. in May, 1783. Their eldest child was born at Norwalk on Christmas Day, 1768. Israel Hoyt was a useful man in the community, a vestry clerk at Kingston. He died 03 May 1803, in the 61st year of his age. A quaint old tombstone close beside the parish church is erected in his memory.

The aged widow, Mary Raymond, lived near her daughter, Mercy, who had a large family of children, but her own home was with her son Silas.

4. Silas, the youngest of Samuel Raymond's family, will be more fully mentioned in the pages that follow, but something more may be said concerning the Widow Mary Raymond. She certainly displayed rare spirit and courage during the Revolution. She was a woman of vigorous constitution. Grandfather Charles Raymond told me that he remembered, when a child in Kingston, walking with his old grandmother from their house in the village to Pickett's Lake, a distance of a mile and a half, over a very hilly road. They returned home the same day in the evening. He was then five years of age and she was ninety-six. The good old lady died not very long afterwards, and her ashes rest beside those of her son Silas in the old Kingston Churchyard. Her headstone records -

"Mary, widow of Samuel Raymond of Norwalk, Connecticut, died December, 1793, aged 96 years".

With the information available, it is a little uncertain whether Samuel Raymond, the husband of Mary Gitto, was a member of the Church of England or not. The writer inclines to the opinion that the Raymonds in our line of descent, down to Samuel Raymond, jr, were members of the Congregational Church, but that by the influence of the second wife, Mary Gitto, her children and some of her step-children were baptized in the Church of England. Eliakim was but 11 years old at the time his father died, the other children ranging from eleven years down to infancy. Naturally the influence of the step-mother would be great. After her husband's death, in 1763, his widow lived with her son Silas in the old home in Norwalk. Silas inherited most of his father's property, reserving to his mother her "thirds" as was allowed by the Statutes of Connecticut. The youngest daughter, Mercy, lived near them at Norwalk and came with her husband and family to Kingston in 1783. Israel Hoyt and his descendants were always zealous workers in the old parish church in Kingston. (Next week - Silas Raymond)

Excerpt from Book of Family History written by The Ven. William Odber Raymond, LL.D, FRSC - all rights reserved. © 2009 George McNeillie - all rights reserved [published here with permission]

[Note: Raymond wrote by hand at least six family histories: two for his children The Rev. Dr. William Ober Raymond and Alice Winifred McNeillie; one which is in Archives Canada; another in New Brunswick Archives; I have two earlier versions written about the turn of the last century. Each one differs slightly as Raymond became apprised of new facts in his research. This version was written over the winter of 1920-21 when he lived in Toronto. - George McNeillie]

...George McNeillie {ggm3rd AT sympatico DOT ca} how do I email him?

Sarah Sluyter Married a John Barnhart; George Barnhart, UE

Thanks to messages from readers of Loyalist Trails, I now accept that the marriage of Sarah Sluyter to a John Barnhart, is not a part of the immediate family story of George Barnhart UE.

All of these families were closely connected, and lived in the same areas of New York, over the same time frame. One area of NY, they even named 'New Pfalz', in honour ot the Pfalz area of Bayern, Germany, from where many of them had emigrated. I think that Sarah Sluyter may have married Johann Martin Barnhart b. 12 Apr 1750 in Pfalz (Germany), son of Johann Michael Barnhart and Appolonia Kuntz. Johann Michael Barnhardt was son of John George Barnhardt and Regina Elizabeth Engel. Johann Michael Barnhart was a brother of Catharina Barnhardt b. 21 Nov 1733, who married George Valentine Cryderman and began the Cryderman UE story.

1. John Barnhart and Sarah Sluyter.

A John Barnhart and Sarah Sluyter are found in New Pfalz, Ulster, New York, recorded in "Records of the Reformed Dutch Church of New Paltz, New York", with at least three children: Johannes Hendricus Barnhart b. 30 Aug 1787, Daniel Barnhart born 11 Aug 1795, and Petrus Keator Barnhart, born 12 Sep 1798. All of these children are found later in New York, and prove that this family was not part of a Loyalist story.

2. John (Jacob) Barnhart UE, the brother of George Barnhart UE?...

The VR birth record shows that Johann Jacob Barnhart was born in Wappingers Kill, Dutchess County, New York, on 08 Jun 1745, the son of Johannes Barnhart and Maria Gertrude Rau. These were also the parents of George Barnhart UE.

Often, where a son is baptized with two given names, the second name becomes the familiar first name. So, one would expect that Johann Jacob Barnhart would be known later as 'Jacob'. However, Johannes Barnhart the father is recorded as being killed at the Battle of Saratoga.

In this series of battles in July and October of 1777, a total of 7,800 soldiers under the British flag under Gen. John Burgoyne was intercepted and defeated by a force of 15,000 Americans under Gen. Horatio Gates. A decisive victory was won by the Americans, with the Loyalists suffering 1600 killed and 6000 taken prisoner. Amongst these was Johannes Barnhart, who was taken prisoner, and died in captivity.

Hypothesis 1:

Therefore, having been baptised with the father's name, and the father having been killed in action, it is theorized that Johann Jacob Barnhart chose to honour his father, and to be known as 'John Barnhart'.

Here is one report on John Barnhart UE (Reid, Sons and Daughters of American Loyalists)

From SDAL, page 16...
BARNHART, John (no wife named)
children shown here...
Mary m. ------------- Steinhoff of Woodhouse, OC 17 March 1801.
Catherine, m. Peter Pelkie of Bertie. OC 15 May 1805.
Frederick of Woodhouse. OC 7 May 1811.

Here is another report...

from "The Report of the Loyalist Commissioners", page 476, Montreal, 8th March 1789...

A New Claim.

436. Evidence on the claim of JOHN BARHNART, late of Ulster County, N. York Province.

Claimant sworn:

Says he was a soldier in 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of New York. He was at Mal Bay (R. NOTE: this is located in Gaspe, Quebec) on Government Service in 1783. (R. NOTE: his daughter Mary's death certificate says that she was born 1776 in the Province of Quebec). Says he gave a claim to Jeptha Hawley that year.

He is a native of America. In 1775 when the War broke out. He came to Canada in 1779, before that time he had frequently been on Scouts with Captain Brandt (R. NOTE: ref. Joseph Brant). He never joined the rebels in any respect. He served from 1780 in Sir John Johnson's 2nd Battalion.

Margin note: Wounded in action.

Resides at New Johnstown (REF: application date, date of this residence, is 8 March 1789). (R. Note: New Johnstown was later renamed Cornwall, and is the home location of George Barnhart his brother, near Barnhart Island, cited in George's will of 1811)

Had 100 acres on the Deleware on Lease from Hy. van Plank for 3 Lives. He paid 15 bushels of wheat per annum, of wheat. He had cleared 30 acres. Values the land cleared at 20 shillings per acre for his life. He had a House, Barn, & orchard on it. They lived there for eleven years.

He left 5 horses, 5 Cows, 4 heifers, 12 hogs, Grain, furniture, & farming utensils.

Witness Jacob Cairns sworn:

Says he was a neighbour of the Claimants. He possessed his Father's Farm. There were many acres cleared, and a house & good stock. Claimant was wounded on a scout with Capt. Brandt.

Was this man the same as the one baptised Johann Jacob Barnhart, brother of George Barnhart UE?

Here are some early Lutheran Church records...

From the Lutheran Church records of Williamsburg, Osnabruck, Matilda, Edwardsburg which are on film at the Ontario Archives, here are some entrties for the family of John Barnhart UE...

Under births:

- Johannes Bernhard and wife Maria had son Friederich 3 May 1790. Friederich Merkel and wife Catharine were sponsors

- They had daughter Christina 4 June 1792. Johannes Kriessler and wife Elizabeth were sponsors

- They had daughter Gertraut 4 Sept 1794 and Peter Gerlack and wife Elizabeth were sponsors.

- John and Maria were sponsors for Johannes, s/o Martin Walter and his wife Catherine in 1792.

- George Bernhart (UE, brother of John, living in Cornwall) and wife Catherine had son William 6 June 1793

- Jacob Bernhard & wife Catherine had son Benjamin 9 Nov 1795 and George & Cath, were sponsors

- Jacob and wife had son Peter 8 May 1801, George and wife were sponsors. (R. NOTE: this Jacob Barnhart was the son of George Barnhart UE, and is mentioned in George's will of 1811).

These records begin in 1790 so, since Johannes had two daughters in Quebec there is no marriage listed for him. By 1801, John Barnhart and his family were in Woodhouse Township, in Norfolk County. Next, we pick up this story in Woodhouse. One of the best sources for early research in Norfolk County, is the book "The Long Point Settlers", by R. Robert Mutrie. I consult my copy often. Mutrie identifies him as 'John Jacob Barnhart' in "The Genealogy of the Settlers of Norfolk County, Ontario".

...Barnhardt, John Jacob (1745-1822/24) served in the King's Royal Regiment of New York during the American Revolution, then settled in Woodhouse Township during the first decade of the 1800s.

...and from The Long Point Settlers, by R. Robert Mutrie, page 15...

BARNHART, JOHN
Land Petition
12 Jan 1811 (*11/20) - of Woodhouse; served during the war as a private soldier in the King's Royal Regiment of New York; discharged at the peace; received 200 acres; still due 100 acres; second petition attached - 25 Mar 1811 - of Woodhouse; requested a grant of land

Children Documented: Mary Barnhardt m. Frederick Steinhoff; Katharine m. Peter Pelkie; Frederick.

And here is the death record for Mary Barnhart, who married Frederick Steinhoff...

Deaths, Norfolk County, Mary Steinhoff, died 10 June 1872, age 94 years, widow, born in Province of Quebec, died of infirmity of age, certified by Dr. York, informant was William C. Steinhoff (son) of Norfolk, she was a Wesleyan Methodist, stamp number on file is 027917.

Summary: The Known Facts and the Final Hypothesis

1. John's wife was named Maria. I assume that she was the same as the mother of Mary, who was born 1776 in Quebec, possibly at Mal Bay, Gaspe, later the wife of Frederick Steinhoff.

2. John and Maria named a son 'Friederich', and the sponsors were Friederich Merkel and his wife Catharine. I hypothesize that this Friederich Merkel is the same as found in Reid, listed as Frederick Maracle of Niagara, with wife cited as 'Rebecca'. Rebecca is also identified by Reid as Rebecca Pickard daughter of William Pickard, UE. Rebecca is called 'Catherine' in several records.

3. The fact that John and Maria named a son 'Friederich' and had Friederich Merkel present, implies a very strong link between this Barnhart family, and the Merkel (Maracle, Markle) Loyalist families.

4. Hypothesis: That Maria was Maria Markle, found in the following VR birth record: baptized as MARIA BARBARA MERCKEL, 24 Nov 1756 in Augustus Evangelical Lutheran Church, Trappe, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, daughter of Abraham Maracle b. 05 Oct 1727 in Schriesheim, Mannheim, Baden, and his wife Maria Ursula Brecht b. c. 1730, They were married 01 Feb 1749 in Ladenburg, Mannheim, Baden. This would make Maria the first cousin, once removed, to Freiderich Merkel, and this is very close for these early German families. The family had clustered for a time in Pennsylvania. Frederick Maracle UE (who m. Rebecca 'Catherine' Pickard) was born there; Frederick's son Robert Soloman Markle born 18 Feb 1793, was living in New Buffalo, Berrien, Michigan, at the time of the 1880 US Census, at age 74, and said that his father was born in Pennsylvania.

Conclusion: John Barnhart who married Sarah Sluyter, was not the same as John Barnhart who married Maria.

Anyone with more information, either contradictory or corroborative, please send it along and join this discussion.

Note: Dominion Genealogist Libby Hancocks {libbyhancocks AT rogers DOT com} collaborated extensively with me on this research. Libby had been researching the family for years as she has a family connection.

...Richard Ripley UE {nffgfamily AT hotmail DOT com} how do I email him?

A Loyalist? A Rebel? Some of Each? (continued)

The phenomenon of people serving on both sides of the war is of great interest to me. I will have an article on one such soldier in the next issue of American Revolution Magazine.

While I generally agree with what Peter said, I am not sure he is completely accurate in one respect, i.e. this statement "If I guy began as a Loyalist and then switched to the Rebels, the SAR and DAR would naturally embrace him as a 'Patriot'." I quote here from the website of the SAR, with respect to their qualifications for membership: "To be eligible for membership in the SAR you must be a citizen of good repute in the community and the lineal descendant of an ancestor who was at all times unfailing in loyalty to the cause of American independence..."

Would serving in a Loyalist unit really qualify in that circumstance? One might make the argument that if a soldier enlisted out of prison into a Loyalist unit with the sole intent of facilitating his escape back to the Rebel side, it might be acceptable. But the Provincial Forces were full of such men who enlisted out of prison and served two, three, four or more years before deserting to the Rebels, or who never deserted back at all.

The Duke of Cumberland's Regiment, enlisted from Continental prisoners of war at Charlestown, had numerous US pension applications filed from Nova Scotia in the 19th Century. Countless others were filed by men who had returned home after the war. Some got pensions, some didn't.

But it really is a big gray area, and it probably involved in excess of 2,000 men in the Provincial units of both the Northern Army and the Armies in America and Jamaica. And that doesn't even take into account deserters from each side who enlisted with the other. What of Lt. Cols. Rudolphus Ritzema and William Allen, who commanded Continental units against Canada in 1776? Within the next 18 months each would hold the same rank commanding Provincial units.

This page on my website may be of some interest on the subject: Loyalist Institute: Other Facts/Records, Rebel Deserters to the Loyalist Cause

Benedict Arnold is only the best known person amongst thousands of others who did the same thing.

...Todd W. Braisted, HVP, UEL, www.royalprovincial.com, {IVBNNJV AT aol DOT com} how do I email him?

In Wolfe's Clothing, by Ian Brown, Globe and Mail, 1 Aug 2009

This is what I discovered about putting on a historically accurate, 18th-century British officer's uniform and standing on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City pretending I was General James Wolfe: I might have looked like an overgrown lunatic playing dress-up, but when I actually slipped the coat and hat on, it felt surprisingly grave. It made me want to be serious.

If events had turned out the way a lot of people wanted, I might not have been alone.

For the full article visit In Wolfe's Clothing.

[Submitted by Michael Eamer]

NorfolkLore XXXIII Genealogy Fair

Canada's oldest and original genealogy fair takes place in Simcoe on Saturday September 26, 2009 between 10am and 4pm. Now in its 33rd year, the fair is a genealogist's dream come true. Exhibitors and professional & amateur researchers from across Ontario converge for one day of information sharing, shopping and swapping. Meet with representatives of various OGS and UEL branches, chat with publishers, shop for research materials or services, and check out the used book section.

General Admission to the Fair $5 includes entry into the nearby Eva Brook Donly Museum and one-day use of their extensive archival collection. NORFOLKLORE XXXIII takes place at a new location - the Simcoe Seniors Centre, 89 Pond Street in downtown Simcoe. The museum is just a short 2 block walk away.

For more information about the Museum and Norfolk Historical Society, visit www.norfolklore.com and for Norfolklore Genealogy Fair

...Scott Gillies, Curator/Manager, Eva Brook Donly Museum, 109 Norfolk St. S. Simcoe, ON

Last Post: W. James Russell Scott, UE, M.D., C.M.

At the Belleville General Hospital on Wednesday July 29th, 2009 in his 94th year. Son of the late James Norris Scott and Maude M. Hutcheson. Husband of Lorraine Scott (nee Mason). Father of Jane R. Marcotte of Bancroft, J. Norris Scott of New Orleans, Robert F. Scott and wife Anne, J. Russell Scott and wife Lou-Anne, Marianne J. Chittenden and husband Leonard, all of Belleville, and John A. Scott and wife Jenny of Hamilton. Predeceased by his brothers C. Arthur Scott of Waterdown, and John H. Scott of Burlington. Loved by his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Dr. Scott was a graduate of Queen's University Medical School in Kingston (1941), and served with the Canadian Medical Corps overseas, during WWII, at Basingstoke Neurological and Plastic Surgery Hospital. Honourary Major of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment. Dr Scott served in all offices of the Belleville General Hospital medical staff, and six years as Chief of Staff. Past President of the Hastings and Prince Edward Medical Society. Hastings County Coroner and Inspector of Anatomy for over forty years. Nineteen years in elective office in Belleville, including; School Board (Past Chairman), Alderman, and five years as Mayor. First President of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. Founding Past Campaign Chairman of the United Way Appeal. General Chairman of the International Ploughing Match held in Hastings County in 1961. Founding Director of Extendicare Nursing Homes. Life Member of the Hastings County Historical Society and of the Bay of Quinte Branch UELAC.

Donations to the Quinte Humane Society, or to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario.Condolences at quintefuneralcentres.com. From the Belleville Intelligencer.

[Submitted by Lynne Cook and Brian Tackaberry]

Response re Names of Those Who Lived at or Were Stationed at Fort Haldimand

There is no simple answer to your question, as the garrison of the fort and the artificers in the naval yard and storage depot changed quite regularly and I've never seen a return of their names for any time period.

There is one document that you should check with gives you a snapshot as of 26 Nov 1783. It is found in Preston's "Kingston Before the War of 1812" (Champlain Society, 1959) p.47. It is a "Return of the Loyalists, Male and Female, on Carleton Island Specifying their Age..."

The book is usually available in the reference section of larger libraries.

...Gavin Watt, H-VP, UELAC

Families of James Richmond and Élizabeth (Isabella) Savard

James Richmond and Élizabeth (Isabella) Savard married on Sept 26, 1802, at St-James Church ( Church of England) of Trois-Rivières, Province of Quebec. The wife is minor and from Charlesbourg. After the marriage, the couple settled at la Baie-du-Febvre, Que.

They had 4 children (perhaps 5):

1. Marie Élizabeth, born on June 19, 1804 and dies on the following Nov 11, 1804 at la Baie-du-Febvre.

2. Jean ( also know as John-James) born of Dec 15, 1805, at la Baie-du-Febvre. He married Euphrosine Boisvert on Feb 26, 1827 at la Bai-du-Febvre. On the act, it is indicated that James Ritchman is deceased. Among the witnesses, his former tutor, so I conclude his father died while he was young child. Many of his children were born at la Baie-du-Febvre. Jean was buried, according to one source, at LaCrosse, Winconsin, USA on Jan 3rd, 1904 but this needs to be demonstrated.

3. Joseph, born on Feb 3rd, 1810 and died on Feb 8, 1810 at the age of 4 days, at la Baie-du-Febvre. The father was absent at the christening. He was buried the same day as her mother Élizabeth Savard. The delivery went bad I guess. The father James is not named at witness at the burials.

4. Aurélie Henriette , date of birth is unknown. She married Charles Boisvert on may 5, 1828, at la Baie-du-Febvre. she was buried on oct 5, 1870 at St-Pierre-de-Durham. She was minor and among the witnesses, there was her tutor.

5. Marie Henriette, born on Feb 21, 1808. We can't find her marriage or date of death. [I personally believe Aurélie Henriette and Marie Henriette are the same person.]

One source reports that James Ritchman was born at Norfolk, MA, circ 1775. On the christening act of Jean and Henriette, and the the burial of Marie Élizabeth, James Ritchman is said ''bostonnais''. I understand by that he is from Boston. On the christening of his son Joseph and the burial of his wife, he is said "journalier," meaning that he does manual works for someone. He signs once at his marriage, and declared not knowing to sign after.

That is all I know about James. I wonder what brought him to Trois-Rivières in 1802. I have all the details about the marriage and christenings. We have been unable to trace James' origins and any of his family information. Any information or any research suggestions would be most appreciated.

...Michel Boisvert {boisvertclair AT hotmail DOT com} how do I email her?

Help Solving a Revolutionary War Document Mystery

James Pagter of Connecticut recently acquired an American Revolutionary War document where American soldiers are being approached to desert and go over to the British. A number of names are mentioned but unfortunately no date or location is given. The reverse of the 6 ½" x 5 ½" document appears to indicate that it is a court or possibly a vigilante committee manuscript.

Text reads : Mrs Sarah Lee says she is willing to swear she heard Mrs Mary Haddon say she kept Curtis Hardee a Deserter from the American Army, three days for her son-in-law to carry away; Mrs. Parrye further says she will declare upon oath that Mr. Haddon advised her to send a letter to her son Gregorie Parrye when in the American Service to direct him to go over to the English, and damned the gentleman if they want men let them go themselves for all that is found fighting against the English will be Hanged or Transported.

Notations on the back: Haddon vs. Dillon Val.; Geo. Dillon. M. Bayley, Rob McTire, Rewben Lee, Thomas Sears, Wm. Cl....., Laur. Meachem

He notes that there is much to discover: the state from which it came, the date it took place, what type of court/committee was involved, and what was the resolution. He would greatly appreciate any information you could send his way - send to {jimsbooks AT yahoo DOT com} how do I email him?

...FHH