Our “United Empire Loyalist Burial Site” project has been featured in the latest edition of The Loyalist Gazette! The issue (autumn 2019) has just been released on the UELAC website (member-only section) and members will shortly receive their printed copies in the mail.
The article was written by our friend James Edgar, who describes his efforts in getting the project rolling. It’s a great read. As always, the magazine is a thing of beauty, artfully designed and professionally assembled.
A big thank-you to James, and the editors of The Loyalist Gazette, for promoting this important branch project.
Our annual autumn banquet, known as “charter night” in recognition of our UELAC branch charter, took place in Ingleside on October 5, 2019. We were blessed with a delicious roast beef dinner, and plenty of scrumptious home-made desserts, all prepared by the ladies of St. Matthew’s Presbyterian Church, our hosts for the evening.
The speaker was UELAC St. Lawrence Branch executive member Stuart Manson. Supported by a slick PowerPoint presentation, he spoke about “Loyalist Cemeteries in Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry.” Stuart also gave a brief overview of the content and organization of our branch website, which he manages.
An important part of the meeting was the presentation of U.E. certificates to those who have successfully proven their descent from a Loyalist (pictured below). In 1789, Governor Guy Carleton (Lord Dorchester) proclaimed that descendants of Loyalists, male or female, were entitled to use the post-nominal initials “U.E.” as a symbol of their families’ “great principle, the Unity of the Empire.”
(L to R: Branch President Lorraine Reoch, Branch Secretary Darlene Montgomery-Fawcett, Roger Tupper, Claire Warring, and William Rodford.)
Don’t forget that we have one more event in 2019: A public meeting at the Cornwall Community Museum on Sunday, November 3, 2019 at 1:30 p.m.
St. Lawrence Branch is planning to publish a Loyalist recipe book! It will be filled with scrumptious recipes that we collect from our members, followers and friends.
Do you have an old recipe, perhaps handed down through the generations, that you’d like to share? We’d love to have a copy to include in the book. It could be one associated with the Loyalist experience, or one from early Upper Canada. In other words, we’re flexible!
You can send the recipe to us in any format you wish (for example, typed, scanned, or photographed). Please also include a little description of its history and origins.
Please email the recipes to Stuart Manson, who will forward it to the recipe book team:
Trinity Anglican Church in Cornwall has invited UELAC members to its Sunday services on September 29, 2019, which will feature a presentation by Glenn Lockwood, the Diocesan Archivist. Anglican records, in particular those relating to our area, are rich with Loyalist history and genealogy.
Lockwood will speak at both the 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. services, but the full presentation will take place during the latter service. The church is located at 105 Second St. West, Cornwall, Ontario.
Our annual banquet, to be held at St. Matthew’s Presbyterian Church, 15 Memorial Square, Ingleside, ON.
The featured speaker will be Stuart Manson, who will give a PowerPoint presentation on “Loyalist Cemeteries of SD&G.” Stuart will also offer a brief review of our content-rich website.
The cost is $20, payable at the door. Roast beef will be served. Please RSVP with Lorraine Reoch at fancylass@hotmail.ca.
Sunday, November 3, 2019 (1:30 p.m.)
Cornwall Community Museum, 160 Water St. West (in Lamoureux Park), Cornwall, ON.
Our late-autumn meeting will feature a presentation and tour by museum staff, which will focus on the Loyalist history of Cornwall and area. The museum is located in the former home of William Wood, who served the Crown as a member of the King’s Royal Regiment of New York.
After migrating from its original location, which was the home of the late Lynne Cook in Morrisburg, our Loyalist Resource Centre is now open for business within the walls of the new Dundas County Archives. The archives is situated in the heart of the bustling metropolis of Iroquois (5 College Street).
Opening hours for the Loyalist Resource Centre: Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m; Saturday 9:00 am to noon.
Lorraine Reoch, UELAC St. Lawrence Branch President and Genealogist, is available to help researchers with the UE certificate applications on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturday mornings, Larry Empey mans the battlements.
It’s always a good idea to touch base with us before a visit. Please do so by emailing Lorraine at fancylass@hotmail.ca.
Older issues of The Royal Yorker, the quarterly newsletter of the UELAC St. Lawrence Branch and laden with historical content, are now available to everyone here on our website. Check back again, as we’ll periodically make more issues available.
The current and more recent issues of The Royal Yorker are available only to our members, here.
Like what you see? Become a member of our branch to gain access to every issue, including the most recent one with timely news on upcoming events!
The UELAC St. Lawrence Branch has successfully unveiled the first two plaques of its “Loyalist Burial Site” project.
On the evening of June 11, in front of a nice crowd of roughly 35 people, the first plaque was unveiled at Trinity Anglican Church in downtown Cornwall, ON. The ceremony began with several prayers by Rev. Patrick Stephens. He also spoke of the importance of the Loyalists to the church, in particular this year, which represents the 235th anniversary of the community.
Following this were detailed historical remarks by Stuart Manson. He related biographical information about the confirmed Loyalists buried in the cemetery. He also expanded his observations to other interesting characters – those who also sacrificed greatly for their “King and Country” from later periods – who are also buried there.
It was a lovely late-spring evening, with sunshine and just enough of a breeze to keep away the mosquitos. The ceremony was followed by refreshments in the church, and lively conversations.
Stuart Manson (UELAC St. Lawrence Branch) and Rev. Patrick Stephens (Trinity Anglican Church) unveil the United Empire Loyalist Burial Site plaque.
The next morning, a second plaque was unveiled at St. Andrew’s-Knox United Church in rural Bainsville, ON. This is an idyllic churchyard cemetery surrounded by farmer’s fields. We were again graced with pleasant weather, which has been a rarity in the spring of 2019. Approximately 20 participants were present.
Rev. John Noordhof spoke on behalf of the congregation. Then Stuart Manson described the importance of historical cemeteries, and related details of the life and family of Cato Prime, one of the Loyalists buried in the cemetery. Prime’s tombstone proudly declares him to be a “U.E. Loyalist.” He was a man of African descent, and a former slave in New York during the early part of the American Revolutionary War.
Stuart Manson (UELAC St. Lawrence Branch) and Rev. John Noordhof (St. Andrew’s-Knox United Church) near the Cato Prime and Catherine Godet tombstones.
At this event, members of the Edgar family were present, including James Edgar of Melville Saskatchewan. The Edgar family contributed funds towards the first two plaques (Cornwall and Bainsville). They were also the driving force behind the project, which has become a long-term branch endeavour. James spoke about his Loyalist and other ancestors in the cemetery.
Most of the ceremony took place around the tombstones of Cato Prime and his wife Catherine Godet, located on the west side of the church. The plaque, however, is located near the entrance to the property, near the church sign. Bagpiper D.J. McDonald led the way down to the plaque, where the unveiling took place. This ceremony also featured a duck fly-past, which was the most difficult part of the event to organize, but it came together without a hitch.
Noordhof and Manson unveil the Bainsville plaque. At both locations, a pre-1801 Union Jack (a.k.a. the Loyalist Flag) was used as the veil.
We thank the congregations of Trinity Anglican Church and St. Andrew’s-Knox United Church for their essential participation in this project. We also thank “Signs by McDougall” and “Fence Depot” for their technical contributions. And finally, thanks to the Bainsville ducks.
The St. Lawrence Branch of the UELAC has formed an exciting partnership with Terrestres Servo Coronas, an organization that has agreed to fund the costs of our “Loyalist Burial Site” plaque project for a period of five years.
Terrestres Servo Coronas, whose Latin name translates to “Serving Earthly Crowns,” is a British organization that supports historical and other projects, with particular emphasis on those that solidify the ancient links between the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. It was founded by its chairman, Paul Borrow-Longain, in 2016.Since 2018, the UELAC St. Lawrence Branch has undertaken this special project to commemorate burial sites that contain the mortal remains of Loyalists. Recognition of these sacred sites first entails historical and genealogical research to identify and confirm the locations as Loyalist burial sites. The information collected is disseminated through our branch website. The project also involves raising a professionally-installed metal plaque at each site, with the cooperation of the landowner, to inform visitors about its special importance. Each plaque is unveiled in a special ceremony.
We are quite pleased to receive this generous support from Terrestres Servo Coronas, for a project dear to our hearts, which also promotes the important history of the Loyalists and the enduring connection between Canada and the United Kingdom. We are especially honoured that our project is their first to be carried out in Canada.
Our annual meeting was originally to take place at our new digs in the Dundas County Archives (5 College Street, Iroquois, ON).
Due to temporary problems with weekend-access to the archives building, however, we will instead meet at the Civic Center in Iroquois, located at 10 Dundas Street.
July 14, 2019 (12:00):
Our annual potluck picnic. It will take place at the the base of the Crysler Farm mound, near Upper Canada Village. Bring food for yourself and/or to share, and relax with your Loyalist colleagues. Bring a chair, as there are no picnic tables or benches in the immediate area.
Also, don’t forget our two Loyalist Burial Plaque unveilings, upcoming on June 11 and 12, 2019. Click here for all the details!
