Loyalist Trails UELAC Newsletter, 2010 Archive

In this issue:
- The Inflexible Loyalist -- © Stephen Davidson
- Reverend John Beardsley (1732 - 1809) © George McNeillie
- More on The Cooley/Hatt Cemetery, Ancaster Loyalist Cemetery
- Book Launch: Legacy - The Nelles Story
- Recipe for Success! - The Harrow Fair Cookbook
- Gavin Watt: "What's the American Revolution Got to Do With Canada?"
- The Tech Side - Data Inheritance - by Wayne Scott, UE
- Queries
      + Response re Samuel Rose
      + "Battle of New Orleans" Revised Version and Battle of Plattsburg Commemoration

The Inflexible Loyalist -- © Stephen Davidson

"Boomerang loyalists" is not an academic term, but it is a good description for those loyal Americans who, having sacrificed livelihood, lands, and possessions for the crown, found themselves battling homesickness in places far from all they had known and loved. In the decades that followed the Revolution, these loyalists, like well-thrown boomerangs, returned to their places of origin. This is the story of one such loyalist, Dr. William Paine.

Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, William Paine was just a young man when the American Revolution began. As a school boy, he had taken Latin lessons from John Adams (who would one day succeed George Washington as president) and later graduated from Harvard. Paine pursued studies in medicine, the first in his family to do so.

At 23 years of age, William married 17 year-old Lois Orne, a successful merchant's daughter. With all of the ardor of a husband-to-be, the young doctor commissioned Boston silversmith, Paul Revere, to make a 45-piece wedding service. It was Revere's largest single commission.

At first public medicine was Paine's specialty. Although the British army had licensed him to perform smallpox inoculations, the colonists of Massachusetts feared the procedure. Undaunted, Paine decided to go into business with an apothecary and another doctor; the three men opened Worcester's first drug store. The fact that William and other members of his family were known to be Tories was not a matter of great concern to the townspeople.

In the fall of 1774, William sailed to England to buy supplies for his store. When he returned in the spring, patriot fervour was at a fever pitch, and the British were starting to evacuate Boston. Gathering up his bride of just a year, Paine followed the British and fellow loyalists back to Great Britain.

However, a man of Paine's talents was too valuable to keep in England. General William Howe made Paine the apothecary to the British military hospital in New York City, and the Massachusetts doctor served in that capacity for a number of years. Near the end of 1781, Paine returned to England, was licensed by the Royal College of Physicians, and began to carry on a lucrative medical practice among the upper classes.

Sir Guy Carleton recognized the doctor's skills and made him an army physician, assigning Paine to the British hospital in Halifax in 1782. His wife Lois and their children followed him to Nova Scotia. Something about the colony must have attracted Paine, for instead of returning to England at the end of the Revolution, he accepted the deed for an island in Passamaquoddy Bay off of modern-day Maine.

How Mrs. Lois Paine, the daughter of a rich merchant and a doctor's wife, fared on such an isolated island is not revealed in the records. By 1785, the family moved to Saint John, New Brunswick so that the Paine children could receive a proper education. When Dr. Paine established his practice in the city, he became one of the colony's first physicians.

Over the next two years, Paine assumed many important positions. He became a deputy surveyor of the forests, a justice of the peace, and then a member of the House of Assembly. He pressed the governor to found an academy of liberal arts and sciences in Fredericton. (In time, this academy became the University of New Brunswick.) William Paine seemed destined to be a man of great influence in the loyalist colony, and then -- rather abruptly-- he sought permission to move to Salem, Massachusetts. He also petitioned that the British Army would continue to issue his annual half-pay that he had been receiving since the end of the Revolution.

Paine's loyalty had not altered; being confident that he could make a living in New Brunswick had. The doctor's request to return to Massachusetts was granted -- as was the retention of his half-pay! Given the rules they were prepared to bend on his behalf, the establishment of the day obviously held Dr. William Paine in high regard.

However, the loyalist family did not take everything to Salem. Up to this point, Paine had kept almost every piece of paper associated with his life. He had journals of wartime travels, descriptions of medical procedures, the effects of drug therapies, as well as inventories and deeds. Paine left this large collection of personal papers in Fredericton, and today they may be found in the University of New Brunswick's archives.

The loyalist Paines and their patriot neighbours found the grace to forgive one another. William and Lois moved into the old family mansion in Worcester, and William resumed his medical practice. Life went on. A man of many interests, Paine helped to found the American Antiquarian Society, the first national historical organization in the new republic.

A very young grandchild remembered her grandfather as " ... an alert, well preserved old gentleman, careful of his dress, which consisted of a dark blue dress coat, and drab colored trousers, with a bunch of seals hanging from his watch-fob, and on his head a beaver hat of drab color. His complexion was fair, his hair was snow white, and was brushed back from his face and tied in a queue bound with black ribbon, which ended with a bow of the same."

On March 19, 1833, Dr. William Paine, a "boomerang loyalist" died in the town where he had been born 83 years earlier. And what became of Lois Paine's silver wedding service? It may be viewed at the Worcester Art Museum. The family's mansion eventually became the home of the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. William Paine would not have been pleased.

This is how an acquaintance summed up the loyalist doctor's life. "To the last he was an inflexible loyalist in feeling. He possessed extensive professional learning, and was equally respected as a physician and a citizen and regained the confidence and long enjoyed the respect and esteem of the community."

Reverend John Beardsley (1732 - 1809) © George McNeillie

In 1759 the President of King's College, Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson, wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury that there was work enough in Dutchess County for two missionaries of the English Church, and that he had some candidates in training for work in this field. One of these was John Beardsley, who in the spring of 1761 voyaged across the Atlantic and was ordained at Lambeth on August 23rd by the Archbishop. After his return, though he had assumed charge of the congregations at Norwich and Groton, his thoughts ran the while upon the missionary field open in Dutchess County, and between 1762 and 1764 he made six trips there from Connecticut to preach and to baptize.

Miss Reynolds in her paper, which appeared in the "Chronicle of the Diocese" in November, 1916, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Parish by Rev. John Beardsley, remarks that "Mr. Beardsley was endowed personally with indomitable will power, restless energy and executive ability. He therefore succeeded at the point where Mr. Seabury failed."

He was able to organize congregations at Poughkeepsie, Fishkill and two other centres, and to collect sufficient money to buy a Glebe. There is in the S.P.G. archives in London a letter dated at Poughkeepsie, April 10, 1766, signed by Daniel Roberts, Bartholomew Cranel (sic) and Peter Harris of Poughkeepsie; John Crooke and Charles Le Roux of Rombout; and William Humphrey and Joshua Carman of Beekman, in which those gentlemen say:-

"We trust that through divine providence the good purpose planned by Mr. Seabury will, under the protection and aid of the Venerable Society, be at last perfected. We have, after many ineffectual attempts, raised a sum of money sufficient to purchase a handsome Glebe, and will raise 60 pounds currency annually for the support of a minister of the Church to officiate in four different precincts alternately. These precincts take in a tract about twenty miles in breadth, and it will be not only very laborious but also very expensive to a missionary to officiate at four churches so far distant from each other, yet the Rev. Mr. Beardsley, of Groton in Connecticut, has since Mr. Seabury's death occasionally visited and preached among us and has promised with the approbation and consent of the of the Venerable Society, he will accept our call and officiate amongst us."

Mr. Beardsley received on July 18, 1766, the appointment of the Society as their Missionary in Dutchess County.

By his wife, Sylvia Punderson, the Reverend John Beardsley had a family of five children. Of these his daughter Hannah was born on July 11, 1765, and twin children, John Davis and Sylvia were born Feb. 4, 1771. His wife Sylvia died soon afterwards and about 1774 he married Gertrude Crannel, daughter of his friend Bartholomew Crannel, a brilliant lawyer living at Poughkeepsie. The Church registers record the baptisms in Christ Church, Poughkeepsie, of John Davis and Sylvia Beardsley on February 16, 1771, and of Bartholomew Cranel (sic) Beardsley (born Oct. 21, 1775) on the 30th of October, 1775.

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

...George McNeillie

More on The Cooley/Hatt Cemetery, Ancaster Loyalist Cemetery

From OHS, this is the list of burials at the Cooley/Hatt cemetery from 1790's to the present, as of late August 2010. Historically, some interesting people. The August 29 issue of Loyalist Trails carried an article "Ancaster Loyalist Cemetery Faces OMB Development Hearing in October"

Benjamin Smith's Diary states that the first Ancaster Burials were at the Cooley Farm. The following lists are the known burials and dates gathered from information from the these sources:

- Wentworth Landmarks-published around 1900

- Ancaster/Dundas Heritage books

- From Bloody Beginnings-Author David Beasley

1. Richard Hatt II, B-September 10, 1769 & Died September 26, 1819 [ Founder of Dundas, Member of the 7th Legislative Assembly in Upper Canada, Magistrate & Businessman , Captain of the 5th Lincoln Militia in the War of 1812 ]

2. Mary (Polly) Cooley Hatt, B-1780 & Died July 24, 1843 - UEL

3. Preserved Cooley, B-1750 & Died-1816 [ Built First School in Ancaster, Farmer, UEL ]

4. Mary Cooley, B-1758 & D-1816 - wife of Preserved Cooley - UEL

5. Andrew Cooley, B-1781 & D-1800 - UEL

6. Daniel Cooley, D-June 12, 1794 - UEL

7. Peter Gordon, D-October 25, 1824

8. Alexander Ritchie, D-1823 ( moved from Cooley/Hatt Cemetery to St. John's in 1835 )

9. Mary Lucia Ritchie, D-1823 (moved from Cooley/Hatt Cemetery to St. John's in 1835 )

10. A small shroud and four handkerchiefs were purchased on December 12, 1801 - likely for a Cooley small child

11. Barbara Thorpe Hatt, D-January 15, 1837 - (wife of Andrew Hatt)

12. Helen E Butler Berrie, B-1806 & Died-1841 - (wife of Robert Berrie ) - 4 daughters died

13. Susan Berrie, B-1825 & Died-1825

14. Mary Anne Berrie, B-1828 & Died-1832

15. Daughter Berrie, no dates

16. Daughter Berrie, no dates

17. Magdalena Shaver, D-1836

18. John Shaver, D-1795

19. Peter Shaver, D-1834 [ The Shavers were buried near or in the Cooley/Hatt Cemetery and in 1880 or later moved to Bethesda Cemetery ]

20. Andrew Robb had a daughter who died at a young age and thought to be buried at the Cooley/Hatt Cemetery

21. Henry Beasley, D-1793

22. Maria Noble Beasley, D-? [ his wife]

23. George Beasley, D-1812 [ son of Richard Beasley - Henry Beasley's son ] Henry's son Richard was an UEL & a member of the 9th Legislative Assemby in Upper Canada ,a Magistrate and a Col in the war of 1812.

24. Tom Barry, D-Aug 1799 - established the Business Trade in Toronto and when he died, his funeral drew the greatest number of mourners at this time, who lined the route from Burlington Heights to where his coffin was shipped from Toronto(York), to the Ancaster Burial Grounds [ as per 'From Bloody Beginnings' - author David Beasley

25. Dr. Tiffany ,died either April or May 1835 at the age of 72. It was thought that he was first buried in the Cooley Cemetery and later moved to St. John's Cemetery

If anyone has a computer copy of the petition, please forward to the editor and it will be included in next week's issue

Book Launch: Legacy - The Nelles Story

Local Grimsby historian, Dorothy Turcotte, has authored another book which should be of interest to our readers.

Legacy - The Nelles Story - Pioneers, Loyalists, Founding Families is actually Robert Nelles's fictionalized autobiography. Although written in this form to make it truly readable, Dorothy confirms that it is all pure history. The book has been published by Linda and Barry Coutts who own Nelles Manor in Grimsby. The book is illustrated with sketches of the Nelles houses referred to in the book. It also includes two maps, and on the inside covers, reproductions of original deeds which now hang in The Manor. The back cover displays the Nelles family crest.

The book is available for $20.00 at Grimsby Archives, Grimsby Museum, and from Manor Books, P.O. Box 294, Grimsby, Ontario L3M 4G5. For mail orders, Dorothy asks that you please include $5 for postage, and make cheques payable to Linda and Barry Coutts.

More information on the author is available at her web site but you won't find the fact that her husband, James A Turcotte, is a proven descendant of Isaac Orser. Dorothy provided a brief article on that United Empire Loyalist for the Hamilton Loyalist Vol. IV # 1 in April 2005.

...FHH

Recipe for Success! - The Harrow Fair Cookbook

A three page spread in the food section of the September 13, 2010 issue of Hello Canada features sisters Moira Sanders and Lori Elstone whose roots run deep in Essex County. The recent release of this beautiful collection of prizewinning recipes in The Harrow Fair Cookbook brings attention to the historic Harrow Fair (1854) and to the bounty of fresh produce grown in the nurturing climate of Essex County. The authors have approached their work with a loving touch infusing it with the warmth of heart, home and community.

From the Hello Canada article, "Attending the harvest festival has been a tradition in Moira and Lori's family for six generations. Now that they both have children of their own they've decided to capture that history in The Harrow Fair Cookbook". And it was easy to see the family enthusiasm and pride when I met with them at the fairgrounds on opening night.

What a pleasure to learn that their mother is Sharon McDonald UE of Harrow, a member of Bicentennial Branch UELAC, and obviously thrilled with her daughters' success. These accomplished women trace their lineage to Loyalist Frederick Keller, a soldier in the King's Royal Regiment New York.

In the foreword to the book, Chef Anna Olson recognizes the part history plays in Lori and Moira's success. "Their hearts are so connected to Essex County, to their family roots, and to the need to share the traditions that give country fairs their worth, and I admire and respect those qualities that are so effortlessly ingrained in them".

Congratulations to Lori and Moira and their mom Sharon! I can't wait to get into the kitchen with this beautiful book and I urge everyone reading this to do the same. See the two authours (l. Moira Sanders UE, Sharon McDonald UE and r. Lori Elstone UE) here.

For information on how to purchase the book and to learn more about the authors' visit www.theharrowfaircookbook.com.

...Bonnie L. Schepers UE, Bicentennial Branch UELAC, CWR VP

Gavin Watt: "What's the American Revolution Got to Do With Canada?"

Those of us who have heard Gavin speak even once, or who have read his contributions to Loyalist Trails, any of his many books or been involved with him in his military activities, revolutionary war reenacting or otherwise, have some appreciation for his vast knowledge and experience in this area.

It is great to see that more people in his own backyard will know more about him soon, when he speaks on October 7 at the Crawford Wells General Store in King City. See the flyer.

Thanks to Gavin for getting more of the Loyalist history out into the community.

The Tech Side - Data Inheritance - by Wayne Scott, UE

Genealogists spend a lot of time researching, collecting documents, sorting through photos and sometimes, writing family books. In addition to this side of the genealogy researcher, are the more mundane things like bank accounts, insurance policies, email passwords, etc. How can we insure that all of this information goes to the right person when it is needed? In addition, how can we protect this information, preventing it from falling into the wrong hands? Maybe we need some help.

In this day and age, we are constantly been made aware of the dangers of identity theft. We are asked to password protect everything. We are cautioned to use strong passwords which contain at lease 10 alphabet (upper and lower case) characters in addition to the numbers from 0 to 9. We are told to use a unique password for each login. How to remember all of this? A partial solution is to activate the "keychain" that comes with the Mac, Norton Antivirus data safe, and other programs such as "Roboform". These give you a place where all your passwords are kept locked safely away and you need only remember one password, (or remember where you wrote it down). This password safe is only active if you renew your Norton account each year, and if you remember to transfer password information to a new computer when upgrading. Have you shared this password with your spouse, partner or executor of your estate? Did you put it into your will?

Coming to the rescue is DataInherit. It is a Swiss company and they are very fussy about privacy. In order to entice you to try them out, DataInherit will give you a free password storage account where up to 50 passwords can be kept. With this free account, you will also receive 10mb of file storage This may not seem like much, but 10mb is roughly equivalent to 350 pages of documents and photos. Your passwords and documents can be accessed from anywhere in the world that you may be visiting, as long as you have the master password.

What if the genealogist's family is not all that interested in the genealogy research, old photos and the like? As sometimes happens, in cleaning out closets and work rooms, lots of research is just thrown out as clutter. Without access to a password, a computer hard drive may be cleaned off. People just don't realize that there's valuable research material and photos stored on the genealogist's computer. All that was needed was the password to log on. It may be better to have your genealogy research sent to a person who would really treasure it. Maybe there is a niece or another relative who has shown interest. Possibly there is a distant cousin who the genealogist has been working with that could benefit from having access to this research. DataInherit comes to the rescue again. If the material is stored on their servers, it will be sent to whomever you have designated as the recipient.

When signing up for a storage account, you are asked to name some beneficiaries (the number of beneficiaries is determined by the account level that you sign up for). Select one person to be the executor of your account. If you should pass away or become incapacitated, your executor would notify DataInherit of the situation. The company then will try to contact you by email or text message. This would help verify that in fact you are either incapacitated or have passed away. Within a reasonable amount of time, your executor and beneficiaries would receive that portion of information that you have already decided they should get. Information doesn't have to be sent over the internet, arrangements can be made by you to have the required information sent by courier, anywhere in the world.

DataInherit claims that their employees cannot access your data. If you lose your master password, you are out of luck - just a word of caution. Your contract is guaranteed for 10 years. If for some reason the company ceases business in this time frame, your documents are sent back to you and any prepayment is refunded. If their product is as good as it appears, the company will be in business long after the 10 year guarantee.

DataInherit has the free level and 3 paid levels. The least expensive gives you unlimited passwords and 100 mb of storage. The cost is $1.40 a month US. The next level has 5 GB of storage and costs $8.25 a month and the highest level has a whopping 25 GB of storage at a cost of $16.50 a month. I am told that there are significant discounts for prepaying blocks of time for each level.

On a personal note, for those of you who expressed concerned about my lack of Macintosh experience, this article was composed on my new (used) MacBook.

You can email Wayne Scott to get in touch with questions or comments.

Response re Samuel Rose

I'm currently working on a book that will detail as many North Americans that I can identify who served in General John Burgoyne's Army in 1777 - in whatever capacity. I found this about a Samuel Rose:

Rose[i]   Samuel   scout/recruiter   Manchester(T100)

[i] Samuel Rose. Personal: Rose settled at Sorel, 1785 by 12Sep84.(S51) Services: Brought before the Vermont Council 06Sep77 and noted, "Has joined a Tory Scout under Arms and assisted them in Taking and keeping a prisoner, and by his own confession Given hard I money to several young men to induce and Enable them to join said Scout & go to the British Troops." The Council resolved to confiscate his estate, 09Sep77. Rose was proscribed by the act of 26Feb79.(T100)

...Gavin Watt H/VP UELAC

"Battle of New Orleans" Revised Version and Battle of Plattsburg Commemoration

In 1959 a No. 1 hit tune was "The Battle of New Orleans" by Johnny Horton; also that year the Seaway on the St. Lawrence River was opened by Queen Elizabeth. Canadian Radio came up with an alternative version of the tune for the Queen so she would not have to listen to the American version. For example, one sentence " Shot our guns and the British kept acomin" became "Shot our guns and the Rebels kept acomin".

Does anyone know how one can obtain the recording?

Well, the Battle of Plattsburgh Commemoration started Saturday, 4 September with an invasion from the border by re-enactors advancing the first nine miles and then camping each night. This will go on for the week until they reach Plattsburgh. Ceremonies (Firefights by re-enactors) will be held at Halsey's Corners and in Beekmantown. The parade on Saturday, 11 September, now has about 80 units and includes several new units this year. Concerts by the Royal Marines and the US Navy Band Northeast are scheduled. Budget has now reached $100,000 for the week long affair. A couple who is here every year from England will be placing a monument to the British deceased buried on Crab Island. Information can be obtained at www.battleofplattsburgh.org.

...Bill Glidden