Loyalist Trails UELAC Newsletter, 2010 Archive

In this issue:
- Loyalist Portrait Gallery: Part III -- John and Lucretia Murray -- © Stephen Davidson
- Melting Pot. Cultural Mosaic. A Native Loyalist's View
- FDYP Fundraising Campaign Progresses - over 63%
- Samuel Jarvis (1698-1779), Third Generation in America. Part 2 of 6 - © 2009 George McNeillie
- Loyalist Advice by William Lyon Mackenzie
- Stamps, Mills and Loyalists
- Loyalist Quarterly: January Issue Now Available
- Last Post: Linda Rossetti
- Queries
      + Response re Lt. (Captain) James Hunter and Nancy (Anne) Robertson

Loyalist Portrait Gallery: Part III -- John and Lucretia Murray -- © Stephen Davidson

Most of the refugees of the Revolution spent their entire lives only knowing what they looked like by peering into a mirror. Having an artist paint one's portrait was a luxury only the upper classes could afford. Between 1753 and 1774, the most sought after portrait artist in America was John Copley, a Boston loyalist. Having produced 350 portraits over 21 years in the Thirteen Colonies, Copley was forced to move to England because of his associations with Massachusetts' loyalists.

Two of his loyalist portraits were commissioned by the Murray family of Rutland, Massachusetts. The painting of John Murray ended up in the home of a businessman in Saint John, New Brunswick; the portrait of Lucretia Murray also travelled to New Brunswick, but found its way back to Massachusetts. This is the story of those two portraits.

John Murray was a poor man when he emigrated from Wales to Massachusetts, but he achieved success in the mercantile business to such a degree that he acquired social position and political influence as well as wealth. His personal life, however, was marred by tragedy. When Murray's first wife died, he married Elizabeth McLanathan. She bore him ten children before dying. In 1761, Murray married Lucretia Chandler, the daughter of a prominent judge.

Their romance is retold in a family history in this manner: "There appeared at this time in society in Boston a very handsome man by the name of Murray, of whose antecedents people seemed to be ignorant. He fell in love with the beautiful Miss Chandler...and after her marriage they went to Rutland to live."

Murray was certainly an imposing man; he stood at 6 feet 3 inches. A noted beauty, Lucretia had already posed for a portrait by John Copley. Nevertheless, the newlywed Mr. and Mrs. Murray commissioned Copley to paint their portraits. The artist produced a three-quarter picture of Lucretia, dressing her in a brocade silk gown with long flowing sleeves. Murray's portrait shows him in the full dress of a gentleman and wearing a wig. Within a year, Lucretia bore Murray a daughter, but died soon after.

This girl, named for her mother, was a very plain child. Growing up with the portraits of such attractive parents did nothing to boost little Lucretia's self-confidence. Relatives remember her saying, "How could such a handsome father and mother have such an ugly child as I am?"

Sometime between 1762 and 1774, Murray married for a fourth time. Deborah Bronley also bore him a daughter. While Murray's domestic situation was improving, his political fortunes were in decline. In 1774, he was appointed to the much-hated Mandamus Council. 1,500 rebels marched on Murray's Rutland home, demanding that he publicly announce his resignation in the Boston newspapers. The crowd was told that Murray was not at home. Angry at not being able to lay their hands on the loyalist, the patriots took their wrath out on Murray's portrait. And it is here that the family stories vary.

One account says that the frustrated patriots were "determined to leave their mark", and so they put a bayonet blade through the wig in Murray's portrait. The other story is that the rebels shot a bullet through Murray's portrait where his heart would be, leaving a hole the size of a silver dollar.

Murray fled his home and moved to Boston, taking his portrait and that of Lucretia with him. Within two years, Murray, his wife and a number of their children fled Boston for Halifax. Alexander, a son of Murray's first wife, was a patriot and stayed behind on the family farm in Massachusetts.

The Murray family eventually settled in Saint John, New Brunswick. John and Deborah had a large home built on Prince William Street, but Murray also acquired farmland up the river in Maugerville and Fredericton. The portraits of John Murray and his third wife Lucretia hung in his Saint John home until his death. Just across the city's harbor from the Murray's house, lived another loyalist who had sat for a John Copley portrait. One can only wonder if Gabriel Ludlow, the Saint John's first mayor, ever had the opportunity to admire Murray's portrait. Did the two loyalists ever share thoughts about happier days when they had the ease and fortune to commission a John Copley on canvas?

John Murray died in 1794, willing Deborah and his loyalist children all that he had amassed since arriving in New Brunswick. Plain Lucretia was 34 years old at the time of her father's death. Although Murray's will expressed the hope that his spinster daughter would marry, he must have felt sorry for her; in addition to a modest annuity, he gave her the largest number of family heirlooms of any of his children. Although she had no memory of her beautiful mother, Lucretia received Copley's portrait of Mrs. Murray as well as a quantity of silverware.

After her father's death, Lucretia returned to Massachusetts where she died alone at the age of 74 in 1836. She bequeathed her mother's portrait to a cousin named Nathaniel Chandler. He proudly displayed the painting of his loyalist relative in the "Chandler House" in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. The other Copley portrait of Lucretia Murray's mother had been left behind in Boston in 1776 when the family fled to Halifax. It was destroyed in the Great Boston Fire of 1872.

Robert Hazen, Murray's grandson, inherited the portrait damaged by patriots and hung it in his Saint John home for many years. Hazen became a politician, and eventually was appointed as one of Canada's first senators in the Parliament of 1867. The New Brunswick Museum now has this Copley portrait in its collections. It was put on display for the 225th anniversary of the arrival of the loyalists in 2008.

Over two centuries since they were painted, the portraits of John and Lucretia Murray not only reveal the faces of these loyal colonists, they also reveal the toll exacted on one family by the events of the American Revolution.

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

Melting Pot. Cultural Mosaic. A Native Loyalist's View

Two dramatically different concepts addressing a similar social phenomena. Both Canada and the United States are nations primarily composed of immigrants and descendents of immigrants. How to integrate these often disparate cultures into a cohesive, reasonably functional countries represents an ongoing challenge.

The experience of minorities within Canadian society may confound, frustrate or anger those who urge or demand compliance and adherence to a set standard of behaviour and values

In urban areas, immigrants may face castigation about any number of things; personal styles, tastes, mannerisms, accents, religions, social graces, cultural priorities, allegiances... often, it really doesn't matter what the perceived offence may be. Be Like Us.

To many youth struggling for acceptance, this rejection creates alienation. Some act out in frustration, some openly defy convention while other simply give up and concede defeat. Whatever the compulsion or motivation, it can raise any number of social problems ranging from general family discord to violent crime ending in long prison records.

Schools have often become the de facto child rearing centres for parents struggling to provide an income to support a family. Many times, both parents work extended hours or several jobs leaving an already at-risk youth to seek attention and guidance from whatever source is available. Discipline is either unenforceable or overridden by a sense of guilt and these minority youth become engaged in trouble or a crippling lack of self-esteem and/or self-confidence.

Not necessarily unique but nonetheless common on Native communities is the notion that adults and elders are to be respected and obeyed. The extended family members are expected to assist an teaching and raising the young people as if they were their own offspring. Thus, an aunt or uncle is expected to be as approachable as a parent should a young person need advice or guidance and the communal inclination of a Native community lends itself to the adage, "It takes a village to raise a child".

Native young people are encouraged to become self-reliant and resourceful at an earlier age. Yet the impression remains that if they mess up, they'll be quickly reined in NOT by physical punishment but by being ostracised and shunned until their behaviour is corrected. Native communities being small enough for word to get around quickly means sooner or later, the truth will come out.

The Four Directions Youth Project will be presented at various schools, youth centres, community organisations and at groups where at-risk youth may benefit from a program where Traditional Teachings of a minority are presented to other minorities. Far from being merely a vehicle to address the challenges of simply minorities, this program will address a wide spectrum of young Canadians. Its message is one of hope, pride and introspection.... certainly of benefit to all youth ranging from gritty urban settings to privileged enclaves.

With such an unique basis for instruction and participation, the Four Directions Youth Project will allow each student the opportunity to take away what they find the most useful or interesting. Some may simply enjoy the exposure to Native culture while others may appreciate the non-judgemental aspect of offering gratitude to the natural world that surrounds them. Still others may find they gain a greater knowledge and understanding of Canadian history and heritage, compelling them to explore it in further detail.

The UELAC is offering a tangible means of support and expressing its concern and appreciation for the many contributions that the First Nations have made to Canada, most notably, the Haudenosaunee in particular who were instrumental in Loyalist history and heritage.

...David Kanowakeron Hill Morrison UE

FDYP Fundraising Campaign Progresses - over 63%

The Four Directions Youth Program fundraising campaign continues to attract supporters. With generous support from several individuals and branches, we moved from 44% of our goal to $3,463, more than 69% of our goal. A list of most donors whose donation has been received and processed is online here.

Personal donations, small or large, will help ensure UELAC meets the target of $5000 by the year's end - it's not too late yet, we will keep the books open at least through the end of January for those donations caught 'twixt and 'tween. Show your support by choosing one of the methods suggested in UEL Charitable Trust Donations. Help UELAC meet our commitment to the youth of our country.

Samuel Jarvis (1698-1779), Third Generation in America. Part 2 of 6 - © 2009 George McNeillie

(See part one.)

Samuel Jarvis, Jr., was born, Dec.r 28th, 17202, and married Martha Seymour, Dec. 18, 1741, probably at Norwalk. About this time he removed to Stamford, perhaps a little later. The names of his children appear on the opposite page and the number is the same as that of his father, viz., eleven. An examination of the Family Register will show that in this family - comprising father, mother, and eleven children, each individual had only a single Christian name. it is still more remarkable that the 13 individuals of the family had only 10 Christian names among them. One child had the same name as the father, one the same name as the mother while the 7th and 11th both bore the name of Seymour. This last circumstance is explained by the fact that the older son Seymour was drowned while quite young, and the little son born a few months [sic] afterwards was given the same name. The longevity of this Jarvis family too is remarkable, and is only exceeded in any line of our ancestry, as far as my knowledge extends, by the family of Silas Raymond in which the average of the nine children is 83 years.

Martha Seymour, the mother of the Jarvis family, whose names appear below, was married at the age of fifteen and had three children before she had attained the age of twenty-one.

-- Jarvis Family Register (from a record left by Seymour Jarvis of Stamford, Connecticut)

Samuel Jarvis, b. Dec. 27, 1720, d. at New York, Sep. 1, 1780, aged 60 yrs.

Martha Seymour, b. __1726, m. Dec. 18, 1741, d. at Stamford, Dec. 1, 1803, aged 77 yrs.

Their children were --

1. Munson, b. Oct. 11, 1742, died Oct. 7, 1825, at St. John, N.B. AE. 83 years

2. Samuel, b. July 4, 1745, died Oct. 9, 1838, at Stamford, AE 94 years

3. Polly, b. Feb. 21, 1747, died May, 1826, at Woodstock [N.B.], AE 80 years

4. Martha, b. Dec. 27, 1748, died ___ 1784, at Halifax, AE 36 years

5. Sarah, b. Nov. 28, 1750, died Aug. 14, 1807, at Stamford, AE 57 years

6. John, b. Oct. 11, 1752, died Feb'y 1847, at Portland, N.B., AE 95 years

7. Seymour, b. Sept. 20, 1754, died May 26, 1768, drowned at Stamford, AE 13 2/3 years

8. William, b. Sept. 11, 1756, died Aug. 13, 1817, at York, U.C., AE 61 years

9. Hannah, b. Sept 27, 1758, died Apr. 23, 1829, at New York, AE 71 years

10. Levinia, [Editor's note: probably Lavinia, although the Barbour Town Records list her as 'Lavina'], b. Oct. 5, 1761, died Oct. 26, 1841, at Stamford, AE 81 years

11. Seymour, b. Dec. 22, 1768, died Oct. 14, 1843, at Stamford, AE 75 years

Note: excluding the boy drowned, the average age of 10 children is 73 years.

Of the above, Polly Jarvis married Fyler Dibblee; Martha Jarvis married a Mr. King; Sarah Jarvis married Nathaniel Munday; Hannah Jarvis married Mr. Ingersoll; and Levinia [sic] married Rev. Ambrose Todd, Sen., the Rector of Stamford in succession to Dr. [Ebenezer] Dibblee.

[Editor's notes: (1) The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Records lists Samuel Jarvis as having died on 1 Sep 1780. (2) A preponderance of family trees on Ancestry.com indicate that Jarvis was actually born on 27 Dec. 1720, but there is no documentation. The Editor would appreciate any more knowledge on the correct date.]

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

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

Loyalist Advice by William Lyon Mackenzie

Although my own research interest is William Lyon Mackenzie, while reading an Almanac he assembled and printed in fall of 1833, I found the following note:

1833 William Lyon Mackenzie advice to U E Loyalists

A New Almanac for the Canadian True Blues (1834), p.22

A Hint to U. E. Loyalists - When the people of the United States fought in 1776, they fought for their lands, their houses, their government, their freedom from foreign taxation, and for equal rights. When the U. E. Loyalists fought they also believed, as they had been taught, that it was for their religion, their liberties, their country, and their kindred that they drew their swords. In 1833 the wild lands of the United States, sales and nil, are their own to promote education and improvements, while in Upper Canada, as we are informed by the second volume of Mr. [John] Galt's Auto-Biography, the clique of jobbing adventurers, strangers to our soil, called the Canada Company, cleared in a little more than one short year, out of the land the U. E. Loyalists had made valuable, "above FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS." Bye and bye the Loyalists as they call them will get tired of boasting of the privilege of being jockeyed and deceived by false appearances.

...Chris Raible

Stamps, Mills and Loyalists

(You may choose to read the article online with photos instead.)

On January 11, 2009, Canada Post released a set of five new stamps as part of their series of Flags Over Canada. According to designer Michael Kirlew of Gottschalk+Ash International. "Since the images are printed at such a small size, we pay extra attention to emphasizing each mill's defining attributes. The design team selected their photos based on a number of criteria. "We asked ourselves: Do the surroundings in the image help to identify the location of the mill? Do the images work well with the position of the flag in relation to the type? And would each work as a single stamp, while complementing the others in a set?" The stamps are all set in an early summer setting. "When dealing with an ongoing stamp series like this one, having a unified colour palette is very important," explains Kirlew. "We typically try to make the foliage, water and skies resemble one another, while at the same time keeping the personality of each location intact."

The old mills selected were Watson's Mill in Manotick ON; Keremeos Grist Mill, a 40-minute drive south of the city of Penticton BC; Old Stone Mill in Delta ON; Riordon Grist Mill in Village Acadien, Caraquet NB; and the Cornell Mill in Stanbridge East PQ.

The last one, Cornell Mill, will be of particular interest to members of UELAC. Built on the banks of the Pike River in 1830 by Zebulon Cornell, this mill stayed in the family until its closure in 1963. In 1964, the Missisquoi Historical Society purchased the mill and established the Missisquoi Museum. The three exhibition floors of the Cornell Mill building depict community life, historic milestones and remembrances of this region ever since its opening to settlement in 1794.

One of the most recent Loyalist-related donations to this Museum was recorded in The Loyalist Gazette Vol. XLVII, No 1 2009. In November 2008, Heritage Branch presented the Grange Loyalist Chair to Heather Darch, Curator/conservator of the Missisquoi Museum and member of the Sir John Johnson Centennial Branch. (The event was also documented in Loyalist Trails.) Another key artefact is the red coat of Hendrik Ten Eyck, who settled in Dunham c1795.

Another good reason to visit the Missisquoi Museum would be to see first hand the original stone marker of the Sir John Johnson Burial Vault. Following the destruction of the vault in the late 50's, the stone was discovered by property owner Romuald Meunier in 1966. By June 1971 it had been donated to the museum by the Sir John Johnson Centennial Branch, installed in an outside wall of the museum and completed with a with a bronze plaque and a planting of Loyalist roses. The stone bears the barely-legible inscription, "Sacred to the memory of the Honourable Sir John Johnson who departed this life on the 4th Jan. 1830, aged 88 years."

Each time you use the Cornell Mill stamp, you can reflect on the support given to the Sir John Johnson Branch, UELAC and Loyalist heritage by the Missisquoi Museum of Stanbridge East, Quebec.

...FHH

Loyalist Quarterly: January Issue Now Available

The latest issue of the only U.S. Journal Devoted To Loyalist Studies contains among others, these topics:

- UEL Get Well Wishes
- Black Loyalist Heritage Society
- Needs Help Finding UEL Family Roots - Queries Section
- UEL Change of Address
- UELAC 2010 Conference
- Get Well Wishes to Elsie Wayne
- Royal Fencible American Regiment at Passamaquoddy
- Book Reviews
- Great Research Site for PEI
- Famous Loyalist Photos
- Some Loyalist Historical Timelines
- Black Loyalist Sites
- Eastern Canada Loyalist Resources
- University of New Brunswick Loyalist Collection
- What Loyalist Stuff Is on EBay Today.

More information including subscription information at bunnellgenealogybooks.citymaker.com.

...Editor/Author Paul J. Bunnell, UE {BunnellLoyalist AT aol DOT com} how do I email him?

Last Post: Linda Rossetti

On January 14, 2010, Vancouver Branch member, Murray WHITE, UE, lost his wife, Linda ROSSETTI, to cancer. Linda was a native of North Vancouver and vice principal in North Vancouver, at Seacove Secondary.

Besides her husband, Murray, she leaves behind her son, Andrew WHITE, UE, aged 20, her brother, Tony Rossetti, her sisters-in-law, Janet WHITE, UE, Judy KILLEEN, UE and nieces Catherine WHITE, UE and Christine White WILKINSON, UE. Vancouver Branch members send their heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the White family.

...Wendy Cosby

Response re Lt. (Captain) James Hunter and Nancy (Anne) Robertson

I am working on collecting information about the James Hunter who served in the King's Royal Regiment of New York as a 2Lieutenant before transferring to the Royal Artillery in the same rank, but of course in a professional capacity. This particular James Hunter was a superb artist and left us with a fine body of work which is held in the collections of Library and Archives Canada.

Here is the information which I received from John Houlding, a famous Canadian military author currently living in Germany. John has amassed a gigantic study of all British officers who served between 1712 and 1790.

"I have him trained in the Drawing Room at The Tower, and then draftsman and assistant engineer under Guy Carleton in Quebec. He was first commissioned in c. 10.81 in a KRRNY lieutenancy, and then on 8.11.81 was made 2Lt, RA. He was promoted 1Lt, RA, on 21.5.90, and died on 18.5.92. 4th Kane (#666) says that he died "in the East Indies", where he was serving by 1791, but gives no more details."

It seems doubtful that this fellow is the James Hunter you are tracking.

If 'my' James Hunter served aboard Armed Vessels, it would be as a gunnery officer. That's entirely possible, but I haven't uncovered that as of yet. But, my suspicion is that we have two fellows here and your man is not the Artillery officer/famous painter.

Be back to you soon if I can get more info from Library Archives Canada.

...Gavin Watt, Honorary V-P, UELAC