Loyalist Trails UELAC Newsletter, 2011 Archive

In this issue:
- CSI: Loyalist Edition -- © Stephen Davidson
- John Moore (1730 - 1827): Fourth Generation in America © George McNeillie
- 2014 Legacy Project Designation: The Sir John Johnson Family Burial Vault
- Last Day in the House - Peter Milliken, UE
- Dr. Ian E. Wilson, UELAC Honorary Vice-President
- The Tech Side: Fun and Helpful Online Tools -- by Wayne Scott, UE
- Additions to the Loyalist Directory
- Last Post: Wilson J. MacDonald, UE
- Last Post: Donald Blair, UE
- Queries
      + How many Loyalists Were Executed for Espionage?
      + Henry Stuart and his Wife Eleanora McLeod, DUE

CSI: Loyalist Edition -- © Stephen Davidson

Are you one of the millions who enjoys watching crime scene investigation shows on television? Should such programs ever grow to include various historical eras in addition to a variety of American cities, there's a forgotten chapter of loyalist history that would make a great episode.

The time: 1784.

The place: Parrtown (modern day Saint John, New Brunswick).

The crime: murder.

The coroner: a loyalist doctor named Samuel Moore.

Sound interesting?

With a little dash of imagination married to the facts of the case, here's how the crime scene investigation report might have read.

VICTIM: 26 year-old John Mosley, a Black Loyalist who hailed from Portsmouth, Virginia. Wife: Nancy. Up until the outbreak of the American Revolution, Mosley had worked as a free man for John Cunningham. Then, from 1776 until 1783, the African drove supply wagons for the British forces. In the fall of 1783, Mosley and hundreds of other black loyalists settled along Nova Scotia's Atlantic coast in an old French community known as Port Mouton. The Book of Negroes records that a John Mosely (note the inversion of the E and L) sailed for Nova Scotia on the brig Elijah; among its other passengers were two single women named Nancy.

In the wake of the failure of the Port Mouton settlement, its loyalist pioneers left to find new homes. While most moved to Guysborough in eastern Nova Scotia, some went to the larger loyalist settlements of Parrtown and Shelburne. If Port Mouton's Mosely was Parrtown's murdered Mosley, then at some point in time, he married one of the Nancys who sailed with him on the Elijah and settled in the bustling loyalist settlement at the mouth of the St. John River. He drew lot # 1084, a site which later became Stormont Street. One source says the couple had a child.

On September 27, 1784, John Mosley's body was discovered in his new house. Hardly more than a year old, the loyalist settlement now had its first murder mystery.

LOCATION: Mosley was murdered in Parrtown, a settlement named for the royal governor of Nova Scotia, John Parr. Up until the spring of 1783, the settlement at the mouth of the St. John River was made up of the descendants of New Englanders and the soldiers stationed at Fort Howe, a British garrison overlooking the harbour. This settlement on the Bay of Fundy swelled to the size of a small city with the sudden arrival of thousands of loyalist refugees in the spring of 1783.

By August of 1784, Parrtown had survived its first major fire, had been carefully surveyed, and was suddenly the largest settlement in the brand new colony of New Brunswick. Within a year's time it would become Canada's first incorporated city, Saint John. Its inhabitants ranged from newly freed slaves to men who had been members of colonial high society. Among the more educated of Parrtown's settlers was Dr. Samuel Moore. Where he came from (and what became of him after the events of 1784-85) remains a mystery to this day. Nevertheless, it was his post mortem examination that provided the crime scene investigations most crucial clues.

INVESTIGATION: It is interesting that the murder of an African wagon driver was considered a matter worthy of a thorough investigation. In the racist 18th century, the Black Loyalists were not considered equals with their white neighbours. Once the city was incorporated, the blacks who had settled in Saint John were forbidden to work within the city's limits. Nevertheless, the Hon. George Leonard, the justice of the peace, called for a forensic examination to be made of Mosley's body. Determining the true cause of death would need the investigative skills of a doctor who could conduct a forensic examination. That man was Dr. Samuel Moore.

CORONER'S REPORT: 19th-century accounts of Mosley's murder claimed that he was killed with a pitchfork. Dr. Moore's examination in October of 1784 revealed that it was a much more mundane weapon. The Black Loyalist was killed with a table fork made of iron, "the value of a sixpence". Moore wrote these words to the justice of the peace: "Agreeable to your request I examined the black man's head. I am perfectly satisfied he was murdered. After examining where the fork perforated the temporal bone of the skull, I sawed off the arch of the head and found the ventricles of the brain everywhere impacted with matter. The symptoms before death were also very obvious." The coroner's jury concurred with Moore's analysis: "the fork was the occasion of his death”.

FURTHER EVIDENCE: Given Moore's report, Mosley could not have simply fallen on his fork. There had been repeated, violent blows. Added to this were the neighbours' reports that the Mosleys had had a domestic dispute on the day of John's death. A grand jury, the first in New Brunswick's legal history, was convened to consider if there was enough evidence to press charges. It heard the evidence of three Black Loyalists who had to "answer to such questions which shall be then asked ... by the Supreme Court". Richard Wheeler Corankapone, John Walker and his wife Jane provided enough data that the grand jury issued an indictment charging Nancy Mosley with "feloniously, wilfully, and of her malice aforethought" of murdering her husband. The warrant for her arrest was issued on October 6, 1784.

It was not a good time for a woman such as Nancy Mosley to be accused of premeditated murder. The loyalist era was one in which the courts regularly gave out much stiffer sentences to Africans than it did to whites who had committed the same offences. Parrtown was known to hang even its highway robbers. What hope was there for a black woman if she was convicted of murdering her husband?

Nancy Mosley's fate will be revealed in Law and Order: Loyalist Edition in next week's Loyalist Trails.

[Author's Note: Twice in the past my research for a Loyalist Trails article has come upon a previously unknown connection between one of the students in my elementary classes and a loyalist ancestor. This time my research uncovered a lost bit of family lore. As I pieced together the story of John Mosley’s murder, I stumbled across the name of one of my own ancestors. I had known that my 4th-g-grandfather William Harding was a loyalist veteran, a tanner, and one of the founding members of Saint John’s first Baptist church. I was amazed to discover, as I did this “CSI” story, that he was also a member of New Brunswick’s first grand jury that had been convened to consider the evidence in the murder of John Mosley. Up until this time, I did not realize that any of my ancestors had a connection with the province’s Black Loyalist history.

To secure permission to reprint this article, email Stephen Davidson.

John Moore (1730 - 1827): Fourth Generation in America © George McNeillie

We here insert the Family Record of John Moore.

John Moore, b. July 5, 1730 (d. Oct. 18, 1827, aged 97 years), married May 2, 1752, Hannah Whitehead, b. 1729, died August 4, 1772.

Elizabeth, b. April 23, 1753 d. Aug. 25, 1827

James, b. July 24, 1754 d. Feb. 25, 1799 m. A.D. 1785

Daniel, b. July 19, 1756 d.Sept. 25, 1761

Anna, b. March 11, 1761 m. John McVicker, d. 1812

Patience, b. Nov. 9, 1762 m. John Charlton Dougan

Mary, b. March 19, 1764 m1) Dr. Rich. Lawrence; m2) Wm. Stewart

Benjamin, b. Jan. 25, 1766 d. 1828 m. (had three children)

Daniel Sackett, b. June 17, 1768 m1) Hannah Titus, m2) Hannah Moore (1804)

Abigail, Jan. 11, 1770 m. Thomas Billopp

In connection with those whose names occur in this table it may be mentioned that quite a number of letters written by James Moore’s sisters, Anna, Patience and Mary, to their relations in New Brunswick are preserved in the old Moore Mahogany Bureau, now in the care of my daughter Winifred McNeillie [Editor’s note – this is now in the possession of W.O. Raymond’s great-grandson, Hugh Barrett in London, England; the original letters were auctioned in London some years ago and are now in the possession of the University of New Brunswick]. This ancient bit of furniture once belonged to John Moore and is probably about 175 years old. It was brought to New Brunswick about 1784 by James Moore. He left it to his eldest daughter Maria, my grandmother, and it remained in the old Carman house in St. Marys until the Carmans removed to Woodstock in 1867. It then passed to my Aunt Sarah Ann Carman and remained in her little place at “Fern Hill” until she sold it to my wife, some 25 years ago, that she might be able to place a tomb-stone at the grave of her sister Fanny.

The bureau went with our other possessions out to Vancouver, B.C., in 1916 and returned with us to Toronto in April 1918. It is now in my daughter’s library at her home, 92 Madison Avenue, Toronto. Much of the information that now follows is gleaned from the letters stored in this old cabinet.

John Moore of Newtown was a Loyalist and sided with King George III in the Revolution. At the peace in 1783 he anticipated being driven into exile, thereby following the example of Sir John Moore, one of his ancestors, who is said to have lost his title and estate in England on account of his loyalty to Charles I.

John Moore had an interesting and cultured family. His son James, who came to New Brunswick at the close of the Revolution, was born in Newtown, July 24, 1754. Daniel the next son died in early childhood. Benjamin, the third son, was a well-to-do farmer up the Hudson River, but had a town-house in William St., New York. Daniel Sackett, the youngest son, was a sea-captain. His wife, Hannah Moore, was a niece of his cousin Bishop Benjamin Moore who, before he was elected bishop, had succeeded Dr. Charles Inglis as Rector of Trinity Church in the City of New York. Bishop Moore was a cousin to James Moore, our ancestor. In early life the two were schoolfellows and great friends.

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

2014 Legacy Project Designation: The Sir John Johnson Family Burial Vault

Following a successful presentation by Gerald Thomas, Vice-President of the Sir John Johnson Centennial Branch, the Dominion Council designated the restoration of the Sir John Johnson Family Burial Vault as a 2014 Legacy Project. The highlights of his address would include:

- In 1776, Sir John Johnson received permission from Governor Carleton to raise the King’s Royal Regiment of New York.

- In 1784, Sir John Johnson supervised the settlement of Loyalists on the upper St. Lawrence and the Bay of Quinte. He was named Superintendant-General and Inspector-General of Indian affairs in the Canadas and also served a member of the Legislative Council.

- He died in 1830 and was buried in the family vault at the foot of Mont St. Gregoire, Quebec.

- During World War II, the vault was vandalized. In the mid fifties, the vault was bulldozed into a pit to level the area for agricultural use.

- In 1998 members of the Sir John Johnson Centennial Branch and the Richelieu Valley Historical Society formed the Société de restauration du patrimoine Johnson. Since then, they have overcome many challenges to the progress of this project. The end is now in sight.

The complete document, which was distributed to the delegates at the Council meeting, can be found on the Sir John Johnson Centennial Branch website.

While this 2014 Legacy Project meets the goals stated in our 2002 Mission Statement, its successful completion will provide something more to celebrate in our centenary year.

...Frederick H. Hayward, President

Last Day in the House - Peter Milliken, UE

Regardless of your political leanings, there is one article in the national paper started by George Brown in 1844 that should be read this weekend. It didn’t make the front page, but since it deals with our Honorary President, it should have been. In his article Peter Milliken takes his last stand as Speaker, Steven Chase describes how “Peter Milliken, 64, wrapped up his lengthy career as referee and judge for Canada’s often-unruly members of Parliament by presiding over the historic defeat of a minority government.” You may sense some irony in quoting the tribute made by the Conservative Government House Leader John Baird.

Peter has served UELAC well since becoming our Honorary President in 2003, just two years after his first election as Speaker of the House. His presence at the annual conferences, his presentations to Branches and his hospitality at The Farm have encouraged many of us to feel a little closer to the parliamentary world. Although his presence in federal politics will be missed, he is not retiring from our Association.

We wish Peter quiet contentment spiced with bold adventures in the coming months.

...FHH

Dr. Ian E. Wilson, UELAC Honorary Vice-President

Over the years, UELAC has honoured many worthy contributors to the Association with an election to the position of Honorary Vice-President. We are fortunate that with their continued interest in helping us meet our goals, they have remained in touch. This week, Dr. Ian E. Wilson, National Archivist of Canada from 1999-2004 has agreed to the resource information that will be added to the Honours-Recognition folder. He notes that what he said at the 2002 UELAC Conference in Waterloo and edited for The Loyalist Gazette is still relevant today. Read more here.

...FHH

The Tech Side: Fun and Helpful Online Tools – by Wayne Scott, UE

There are a growing number of applications that have you working online. You don’t have to worry about installing software or even having the latest versions. Some of these applications can be very useful, some are downright entertaining, and many of them are free for casual use.

There may be times that you wish a large file could be sent to someone. File size restrictions are often placed on email attachments of 10 to 15mb. A photo album with 50 high-resolution pictures surely couldn’t be sent. Rather than placing the photos on a cd and sending this to the recipient, a company like Filemail can help. Large files of up to 2GB can be uploaded to their site for free and a designated recipient will get an email telling them a file is ready to download. This is a very slick process. This free version allows for up to 2GB of transfer per day, and a maximum of 2GB file sizes. If you need more space, for $4.00 per month, 10GB of file size and/or 10GB per day can be sent. I have used this service to send videos I am working on for peer editing, etc.

Another online productivity tool that I have used is also free for basic use. When composing newsletters, some submissions were sent to me in Apple Pages. I was working in MS Office and I could not open these files. I simply went to zamzar.com, followed the instructions and sent the file to Zamzar. In a day or so, the file was returned, converted to MS Office .doc format. I was surprised to learn recently that the free version still exists, (up to 100MB file size). A paid version of $7.00 per month allows up to 200MB file size. In addition, zamzar.com also converts photo files, video files, and music files to a file type that you need.

Microsoft continues to improve their “Live” environment. They have recently moved from Beta to full feature Microsoft Live Mesh. This online tool allows you to synchronize all of your Windows devices. You have the option to select the devices you want to sync and set it up with a schedule. Check out the features and begin syncing your devices at Microsoft's LiveMesh site.

Are you frustrated at times with searching on Google? Sometimes you want to use more than one search engine. There is an online service to do just this: joongel.com. The process is quite straightforward. Go to their site, enter your query, select a category then “Search”. The categories you select from include images, music, videos, shopping, social, Q & A, Health, torrents (peer to peer file sharing), and Gossip. Each category has its own set of 10 websites that are searched for your information. All of this is free, but ad supported.

The world of image or photo manipulation is constantly changing. It is nice to own the latest copy of Photoshop, or at least Photoshop Elements. Maybe you don’t have to. Without getting into open source alternatives to these programs at this time, there is an online option worth exploring. Photoshop.com is the place to check out the latest software that Adobe has. In addition, you can click on ‘Online Tools’, and then check out Photoshop Express Editor. You can upload your own photos and play around with the photo editing tools. You can also take a tutorial if you wish. Adobe will require you to create an account. There is no charge for this. However, Adobe will send you offers for their software to your inbox. This is not really a bad deal for being able to use the online software for free.

Another very useful photo site is animoto.com. This site gives you some templates to which you can add your own photos and a slideshow video is produced for you. From the “Lite” (free) side of the service, you can create unlimited videos of up to 30 seconds long that can be viewed online. You would send a link for others to view your video. The “Plus” ($30.00 per year) version gives you an unlimited number of videos that are full length. If you wish your videos to be 480p or 720p, there is an extra cost. With this option, the videos are downloadable.

The final site I would like you to have a look at is photofunia.com. This is a fun site. Basically what it does is takes your photo and places it in one of the 200+ backgrounds. All of the backgrounds are displayed on the screen. Scroll down to one you like and click on it. You will then be asked to submit a picture. Editing the picture is an option, then click upload. Within a short period of time, your picture added to the selected background, is displayed for you. At this time, the picture can be sent to someone, saved or scrapped. Some of the pictures are animated; some backgrounds are classic and artsy. A great place to spend a couple of hours.

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

Additions to the Loyalist Directory

As time permits, we add information to the Loyalist Directory. The latest additions and updates are as follows:
- Rogers, William - from Linda Seabrooke Smith, with certificate application
- Smith, Clapman, Daniel Sr., Daniel Jr. and Orlo - from John Noble
- Stuart, Henry - from Elizabeth Stuart
- Stymest, Jasper - from Carl Stymiest (Volunteer Wendy Cosby)
- Stymiest II Sr., Benjamin - from Carl Stymiest (Volunteer Wendy Cosby) with certificate application
- Stymiest III Jr., Benjamin - from Carl Stymiest (Volunteer Wendy Cosby)

Last Post: Wilson J. MacDonald, UE

MacDONALD, Wilson J. UE Retired as a Senior Manager in 1985, after 35 years as a Federal Public Servant. Recipient of the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal. United Empire Loyalist. Author of "Happy Times". 26 year member of the Royal Canadian Legion. Peacefully at home surrounded by family, after a courageous battle with cancer on Friday, March 18, 2011 at the age of 80. Beloved husband of Doreen Huddlestone. Loving father of Laurie, Sheila (Jeff) and Stephen (Robin). Proud Poppa of Ryan (Kyla), Ben (Jackie), McKenzie and Phillipa. Brother of Jean (Emile), Barbara (Louis), the late George and Ian (Shirley). The family would like to thank the Doctors and Nurses at the Queensway Carleton Hospital, Dr. J. Bormanis, Dr. B. McCormick, the Dialysis Unit at the Ottawa Hospital, Kathy Fyke, the home care Nurses, P.S.Ws from Lanark County and Dr. J. Saini. A Mass in Memory of Wilson was held on Saturday, March 26, 2011 in St. Clare's Church, Dwyer Hill at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Ottawa Hospital Dialysis Unit or the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation appreciated. www.kellyfh.ca

Wilson was a member of the Sir Guy Carleton Branch for many years. He spoke to our branch on two occasions, once about the book he edited on his grandfather’s newspaper articles “Down the Lane Again” and once about his book “Happy Times”.

...Marg Hall UE and Sylvia Powers UE

Last Post: Donald Blair, UE

Donald Blair UE 1932 -- 2011. The passing of Donald Blair, age 78 years of Saskatoon, SK, occurred on Wednesday March 16th, 2011 at Royal University Hospital. Donald is survived by his loving wife Joan; daughter Karen; grandchildren Jason, Megan, Stacy and their mother Jeanne Day; sister Gwen Lewis; special cousin Sharon (Bill) Avison; and four nieces and one nephew. Donald was predeceased by his parents George and Esther Blair; son Eric Donald Blair and granddaughter Erin Lynn Blair. Donald's many accomplishments include B.Sc., M.Sc. (Alberta), Ph.D. (Wisconsin), Professor of Biochemistry, University of Saskatchewan. He was also a proud member of the United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada and The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society.

A Graveside Service was held on Monday, March 21st, 2011. Donations in Donald's memory to the Canadian Diabetes Association or The Canadian Bible Society. Online condolences from the website www.hillcrestmemorial.ca.

Donald was a proud descendant of two loyalists, John Snyder and James Young

...Pat Adair, Saskatchewan Branch

How many Loyalists Were Executed for Espionage?

I am a professional screenwriter who has comprehensively searched both my extensive personal library and multiple standard online resources for the definitive answer to this seemingly simple question; alas, to no avail!

Question: How many Loyalists were executed (hanged or otherwise) after due process for acts of espionage during the revolutionary period?

I have creatively cobbled together the number 15, but have only marginal confidence it its reliability. Any help, sources etc. would be appreciated.

...Peter Hartberg

Henry Stuart and his Wife Eleanora McLeod, DUE

Henry was born July 19, 1766 in Abernethy and Kincardine Parish, Inverness, Scotland, the son or James Stuart and Jean Grant. They immigrated in 1774 to New York Province where his father purchased 100 acres on the Delaware River (‘Tory Hole”). James joined the Kings Royal Regiment of New York as Surgeon’s Mate. After the war, he received a concession of 900 acres of land near Cornwall, in Osnabruck Township. In his later years he worked as a doctor in Cornwall until his death in 1804.

Henry also served in the Royal Regiment of New York and was listed as a single man mustered with a disbanded troop and Loyalist receiving 1 ration a day at Osnabruck, Sept. 25, 1784. He fought in several battles in the War of 1812, and he is shown as a Lieutenant in the Second Stormont Militia in 1823.

As a Loyalist, Henry received 100 acres on August 24, 1792 as Lot 33, Concession 3 of Osnabruck Township (Stormont County). He shared the land with Gilbert, his younger brother. Eleonora Stuart (daughter of William McCloud (McLeod)), Henry’s wife received 200 acres, Lot 1, Concession 5 of Osnabruck Township on August 24, 1792 as a DUE. Henry later sold his lands to his elder brother, John on Feb. 13, 1813, registered Sept. 13, 1813 for 300 pounds.

Records indicate that Henry Stuart died sometime between October 9, 1833 and March 6, 1834 but exactly where and when is not known for sure. He was living in Osnabruck from May 1823 until October 1833, so it is likely that he died there.

From Land Records, Henry Stuart purchased property along the Thames River on Concession 6 in Harwich Township (Lots 17 and 19 in 1822, Lot 18 in 1830, and Lot 16 in 1831). It is possible that Henry never left Osnabruck but simply purchased property in Harwich as an investment for his children. His only son, John, lived in Harwich Township and had several children. John's eldest son, James, was my Great, Great, Grandfather.

Does anyone have further information about Henry Stuart, particularly where and when he died?

Does anyone have any information about his wife, Eleonara McLeod daughter of William McCloud (McLeod) and he family.

...Elizabeth Stuart