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Piecing Together a Passenger List: The Bridgewater
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
Only a handful of passenger manifests exist for the hundreds of evacuation vessels that took loyalist refugees to sanctuary at the end of the American Revolution. However, by drawing on a variety of primary sources from the late 18th century, passenger lists for some ships can be reconstituted.
Sailing out of New York City, the Bridgewater was part of a fleet that was bound for the mouth of the St. John River in June of 1783. Thanks to records kept by William Tyng, the commissary for Fort Howe, we have a starting point to piece together the names of those who sailed aboard the Bridgewater.
Fort Howe was the British garrison that guarded the mouth of the St. John River. Its soldiers would have been witnesses to the arrival of the various Loyalist evacuation fleets; the fort’s commissary, William Tyng, was put in charge of disbursing the “royal bounty” of provisions that would sustain the refugees during their first year of settlement.
In his “return” or “muster”, Tyng listed the name of the head of each household, the composition of his family, his colony of origin, and the ship that brought the Loyalist to the ever-growing refugee settlement. Genealogists and historians are immensely indebted to the painstaking work of Dr. David Bell who discovered, transcribed, and alphabetized Fort Howe’s victualing returns. It is his groundbreaking research that provides the basis for reconstructing the passenger list for the Bridgewater.
When the Bridgewater left New York City on June 13, 1783, it carried about 185 passengers who had been divided into four militia companies under the leadership of Dr. Joseph Clark, James Hayt, Christopher Benson, and Joseph Forrester.
The Bridgewater was one of ten evacuation vessels heading for what is now Saint John, New Brunswick. The other ships were the Two Sisters, Hopewell, Symmetry, Generous Friends, Thames, Amity’s Production, Tartar, Duchess of Gordon, and the Littledale; between them, they carried more than 1,170 loyalist refugees. Most of the vessels arrived on July 5th, having made a journey of 22 days.
Although no manifest for the Bridgewater has survived, a very interesting document generated by its passengers has. Those who had sailed together for 3 weeks were so overwhelmed with gratitude for the treatment they received from Daniel Adnett/Adnitt/ Adinot, the ship’s captain, that they composed an address in his honour.
It said “Your humanity, and the kindness and attention you have shown, to render as happy as possible, each individual on board your Ship, during the passage, and till their disembarkation, has filled our hearts with sentiments of the deepest gratitude, and merit the warmest return of acknowledgements and thanks, which we most sincerely desire you to accept, wishing you a prosperous voyage to your intended port; we are your very much obliged and humble servants.”
After disembarking, the Bridgewater‘s passengers had their names registered at Fort Howe, received some basic provisions, and then began to build log shelters for themselves. Over the next year, they had time to consider where they would ultimately establish themselves in New Brunswick. Many would make Saint John their home, while others would travel to other parts of the colony. One Black Loyalist among the passengers would ultimately settle in Sierra Leone.
Other Bridgewater passengers of African descent had little say in where they would live. Four arrived in New Brunswick as the slaves of Loyalists, and one was bound to a Loyalist by a ten-year indenture agreement.
Nathaniel Dickinson, a former civil servant from Deerfield, Massachusetts, had a large entourage aboard the Bridgewater that included his wife Hannah, two other adult women (sisters?), his daughter Amelia, and six servants. Three of the latter were actually enslaved Africans. Jack (38 years old) and Betty (20) had been sold to Dickinson before he left New York City.  Four year-old Sukey had been given to Dickinson as a present (!) from the Rev. Moses Badger, an Anglican clergyman.
A “man of considerable property“, Dickinson had not been ashamed to assert his stance as a Loyalist, a position that made him an object of persecution by rebel mobs. He narrowly escaped being hanged, and often had his life threatened. In 1774, he found sanctuary in Boston, where he joined the British. During the revolution, British General Howe commended Dickinson for killing a rebel at the Battle of Bunker Hill.  He was conductor of artillery, and assisted the New York commissary “during the whole war“.
In May of 1786, Dickinson journeyed to Halifax to petition for compensation. Among those who testified on his behalf was John  Wentworth, the last loyalist governor of New Hampshire and a friend of Dickinson since 1775.
The former civil servant only lived two more years, dying in Westfield, New Brunswick on June 1, 1788. In addition to bequeathing land in Massachusetts and New Brunswick to his wife, he also left her all his household goods and “all my servants“.  The three Blacks who had accompanied the family on board the Bridgewater 5 years earlier remained enslaved.
The fourth enslaved African who had sailed on the Bridgewater was 12 year-old Joe who was purchased by Joseph Forrester sometime before the Loyalist left New York City.  A shipwright from New York, Forrester was the captain of Company #23 that was comprised of 43 refugees bound for New Brunswick. In addition to his slave, he brought his wife Martha and two children with him.
Forrester made Saint John his new home, and in later years became a member of the New Brunswick Brigade of Garrison Artillery, the city’s militia. He remained a friend of John Morrell, a fellow Bridgewater passenger who administered Forrester’s estate when the latter died in July 1804. Described as a “caulker” in his will, Forrester died at the age of 46 while on a trip to Boston. His wife Martha died at 59 on August 18, 1827.
John Morrell also travelled on the Bridgewater in the company of African passengers, but he served as an escort for two Black Loyalists who had received their General Birch certificates verifying their status as free citizens of the British Empire. Robert Lawson (34 years old) and Dolly (24) had both escaped from slavery in Virginia. As the Fort Howe muster later noted that Morrell had 3 servants, it may be that he hired these Black Loyalists as employees. He was also given provisions for his wife Ann and their four children.
Morrell had been a cabinetmaker on Long Island at the outset of the American Revolution. He was able to share his wartime experiences when he stood before the compensation board during its hearings in Saint John in February 1787. Morrell joined the British Army in 1776, about the time that the British occupied New York .  Before that time, he had been confined as a prisoner for 3 months, and then put on parole for 13 months.
After siding with the British, he worked in the Engineers Department, and later raised men for Col. Fanning’s regiment. Morrell also worked as a carpenter until he and his family were reunited on a rented Long Island Farm. After arriving in New Brunswick, the Loyalist settled his family on Belleisle Bay.
Morrell died in January of 1817 at the ate of 69.  His will bequeathed property to his sons William and John, and to his daughters Prudence (Scribner), Rachel (Fosdick), and Charlotte (Hewsted). His wife Ann died at 91 in February of 1829.
More stories of the Bridgewater ‘s passengers will be told in next week’s Loyalist Trails.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

The Pre-Revolutionary Writings of James Otis, Jr.
by James M. Smith 18 July 2024 Journal of the American Revolution
John Clark Ridpath wrote in 1898,

The pre-revolutionists are the Titans of human history; the revolutionists proper are only heroes; and the post revolutionists are too frequently dwarfs and weaklings. This signifies that civilization advances by revolutionary stages, and that history sends out her tallest and best sons to explore the line of march and to select the spot for the next campground. It is not they, who actually command the oncoming columns and who seem so huge against the historical background—it is not these, but rather the hoarse forerunner and shaggy prophet or progress who are the real kings of men—the true princes of the human empire.

Here then we will give witness to the “courageous herald who ran swinging the torch in the early dawn of the American Revolution.”
The Otis family had lived in Massachusetts for five generations by the time that James Otis Jr. was born. Many of his ancestors had been prominent leaders in the colony: judges, lawyers, and militia officers. He was born in Massachusetts on February 5, 1725.
James graduated from Harvard in 1743, and studied on his own for two years, reading law, politics, and literature to deepen his education. Read

more…

Christopher Gadsden and the Origins of a Revolutionary
by George Burkes 15 July 2024 Journal of the American Revolution
Christopher Gadsden arrived as a South Carolina delegate to the Second Continental Congress three weeks after fighting at Lexington and Concord lit the tinder for the American Revolution. He succinctly captured the backlash of collective anxiety when he created the iconic flag of a coiled and agitated rattlesnake conspicuously warning Britain of the ramifications with its message, “Don’t Tread on Me.”     It was a sentiment Gadsden harbored for years, sounding the alarm to the colonial assembly, the press, and private societies he belonged to, informing his fellow citizens at every opportunity of the many ways the British Parliament constantly infringed on their inherent constitutional entitlements. When seeking collective action, he helped give form and a voice to a group of underrepresented merchants and planters who would become the Sons of Liberty.
His quick temper led one observer to call him a “Harry Hotspur.” Another noted, “Mr. Gadsden was plain, blunt, hot and incorrect, though very sensible.” He was always certain of his decisions and his zeal in defending them would gain and cost him friendships. He viewed most legislation influenced by the English crown “with a jaundiced eye.” He was prone to giving his views on history and government and was heavily influenced by the older anti-authoritarian English Whigs who insisted they were entitled to “their natural rights of life, liberty, and property.”
Christopher Gadsden was born in Charlestown (today, Charleston) to a prominent and well-connected father. He left home at the age of eight and spent the next sixteen years obtaining an education in England, completing a mercantile apprenticeship in Philadelphia, and serving on a British naval ship as a supply officer before starting a business career in South Carolina in 1748. He became an established merchant in wholesale and retail enterprises throughout the colony. He acted as an agent for select plantations, lent money for interest, sold property, and handled the estates of absentee landlords, which gave him considerable wealth. Read

more…

Hessian Soldiers Travelling to America: New York – A Soldier’s Life July 1780
From a Hessian Diary of the American Revolution.
This excerpt from the diary of Johan Conrad Dohla (170 pages).

Major Moves during Johan’s deployment:

  • March 1777:   Depart Germany
  • 3 June 1777:   Arrive New York, then Amboy NJ
  • November 1777:  To Philadelphia
  • June 1778: to Long Island
  • July 1778: To Newport RI
  • October 1779: to New York

July 1780: At New York (page 86)
Continuation of Occurences in North America During the Fourth Year, 1780

IN THE MONTH OF JULY [1780]
10 July.  Today  Recruit  [Johann  Michael]  Albig,  of  Quesnoy’s  Company,  died  in  New York,  in  his  twenty-first  year.  A  strong  French  war  fleet  of  about  thirty  ships  appeared at Sandy Hook, sank an English schooner,  and  then  departed,  apparently  to Rhode Island. The newspapers report that in Brest a French fleet, which came from the West Indies, entered and took on board eighteen thousand fresh troops, because in the West Indies an epidemic similar to the plague had carried off several thousand people.
Nine English  miles  from here  lie Philipsburg and Stammings, both  forts that  are  strongly occupied by the Americans. Also, twelve miles to the east lies Bedford, a small city that the enemy  also  has  strongly  fortified.  Bettentown  is  also  a  city  with  good  fortifications,  and  at Kings Ferry the Americans have established their supply center. Here before us, on the right and  left,  lie  Albany  and  New  England.  General  Washington  has  his  headquarters  here  in Morristown, a beautiful little city in Jersey. Here on Philipse’s Point lives a gentleman who is a close  friend of our Major von Seitz and an uncle of  his  family. He occupies the Philipse’s House  and  this  entire  point,  thirty  miles  in  circumference,  which  has  many  estates  and plantations, and untold wealth.
12 July.  A  pack  servant  of  the  Ansbach  Regiment  deserted,  but  was  captured  at  our Jaegers’ outpost by the servant of Lieutenant von Reitzenstein, and delivered to the regiment, where he was locked up. Today also, the first division of the French  fleet of forty-two ships arrived at Newport on Rhode Island.
15 July. Our regiment was mustered.
16 July. We held church parade and a sermon was preached.
18 July. We received  orders  from  General  Clinton  to  deliver  all  heavy  baggage  into  the warehouses at New York.
20 July.  At  eight  o’clock  in  the  evening  we  broke  camp.  After  nine  o’clock  the  pack servant  [Albrecht]  Kraus,  of  Quesnoy’s  Company,  who  had  earlier  lost  his  horse  on  the meadow, deserted for fear of being beaten.
At twelve o’clock Private H€llerich, of Eyb’s Company, deserted from his post on picket.
21 July. At three o’clock in the morning we moved out from Philipse’s Point. We marched sixteen  English  miles  to  Bloomingdale,  near  Harleben,  between  Kingsbridge  and  Fort Knyphausen, and set up camp in the bushes near Martin’s Wharf, Turtle Bay, and Turtle Hill. Here blackberry bushes were to be found, which were as tall as a man and had stalks as thick as the thumb of a full-grown man.
24 July. At reveille we folded our tents and marched back  to New York,  where,  near the city, south of  the Bowery, we camped and  set  up our camp as  if  for  battle,  in  a  beautiful orchard.
25 July. I went on watch at the hay magazine in the city. During the evening the Hessian General [Johann Christoph von] Huyne died in New York and, on
26 July, was buried at seven o’clock in the evening with a volley.
27 July. I went to Fort  Saint George to make cartridges. Our auditor,  Lieutenant [Johann Friedrich] von Herrnbauer, died early this morning and was buried quietly during the evening.
29 July.  Punishment  was  carried  out.  Grenadier  Pausch  had  to  run  the  gauntlet  twelve times,  and  Grenadier  Grau,  ten  times,  for  drunkenness  and  grumbling;  and  Private  [Peter] Fichtel,  of  Quesnoy’s  Company,  six  times,  for  drunkenness  when  he  was  to  have  gone  on watch.
31 July. This month was so warm that it cannot be described. We were never dry, day or night, because of sweat, and therefore, duty was very difficult.
(to be continued)

Advertised on 18 July 1774: “I did inadvertently sign an Address“
What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

July 18, 1774

“I did suddenly and inadvertently sign an Address to the late Governor Hutchinson.“

When he published an advertisement in the July 18, 1774, edition of the Boston-Gazette, Thomas Kidder of Billerica attempted to extricate himself from a difficult situation.  He explained that he had “suddenly and inadvertently sign[ed] an Address to the late Governor Hutchinson with some others, (Justices of the Peace) of Middlesex.”  Thomas Hutchinson, the outgoing governor, had received several letters praising his administration of the colony, each of them signed by dozens of colonizers.  Some of those letters found their way into print, revealing to the public which members of the community approved of the way the unpopular royal governor had participated in Parliament’s efforts to establish greater control over Boston, the rest of Massachusetts, and all the colonies.
That garnered the wrong kind of attention for Kidder and others, especially those who then professed that they did not actually harbor loyalist sympathies but had instead been “inadvertently” embroiled in the controversy.  Read more…

Indigenous Justice in Early America – a Podcast
by Nicole Eustace, 16 July 2024 at Ben Franklin’s World
Early North America was a diverse place. It was a place that contained hundreds of distinct Indigenous nations and peoples who spoke at least 2,000 distinct languages prior to European contact. Then, in the early sixteenth century, Spain began to establish colonies on mainland North America, and they were followed by the French, Dutch, and English, and the forced migration of enslaved Africans who represented at least 45 different ethnic and cultural groups. With such diversity, Early North America was a place full of cross-cultural encounters.
What did it look like when people of different ethnicities, races, and cultures interacted with one another? How were the people involved in cross-cultural encounters able to understand and overcome their differences?
Nicole Eustace is an award-winning historian at New York University. Using details from her Pulitzer-prize-winning book, Covered with Night: A Story of Murder and Indigenous Justice in Early America, Nicole will take us through one cross-cultural encounter in 1722 between the Haudenosaunee and Susquehannock peoples and English colonists in Pennsylvania, which involved very different ideas of community and justice. Specifically the murder of Seneca hunter Sawantaeny by English colonists Edmund and John Cartlidge.  Listen in…  

Query: Information about Casper Springsteen UEL
I am looking for information about Casper Springsteen (my fifth great grandfather) and his brother Staats Springsteen. In the letter from Lieutenant Colonel Agent DE Peyster to General Frederick Haldimand, Casper was given land in the 5th grouping of people. Casper settled on the land head of the Chippawa Creek and the 20 mile creek in Gainsborough. Casper married Elizabeth Comfort.  Supposedly he wrote multiple petitions about land. I can’t find the original writings of his.
Supposedly, Staats was with Captain John Munro in 1780 in campaigns. He was awarded land by Murphy’s creek. He was with Butler’s Rangers from April to October in 1778.
I was hoping to know specifically when these two men joined and fought in the war. Who were their Captains? What battles they may have seen. If it is at all possible, where did they live before the war? What was their occupation before the war? Where can I find the primary sources of their petitions?
I was looking for a copy of Annotated Rolls of Butler’s Rangers hoping it might help, but apparently it is no longer in print.
Thanks in advance for any information, or pointers to where I night find more information.
Daniel Springsteen <danielspringsteen93@gmail.com>

Loyalist Quarterly Newsletter June 2024, by Paul J. Bunnell UE
Published since 2004, the June 2024 issue is now available. Sixteen pages, it features:

  • A recap of recent Loyalist events
  • Support Loyalist Trails – Sign Up
  • Black Loyalists (63 short items, each about a person, an event, or a condition)
  • Britain Accepting American Loyalists – an engracing

Vol. 21 Part 2 June 2023 Quarterly Issue “In Publication since 2004”
Editor: Paul J. Bunnell, UE, Author, Koasek Abenaki Chief; BunnellLoyalist@aol.com; 978-337-9085, 49 Pleasant St., #106, Alstead, NH 03602
The Only U.S. Newsletter Devoted to The study of The American Loyalists
Subscription Rate: $22 U.S. $24 Can. $5 each copy — (March, June, September, December issues)

Seven things you might not know about Prince Edward Island
By Abbey Bilotta, 16 July 2024 in Canadian Geographic
Red sandstone cliffs, rolling hills, pristine forests and, of course, Anne of Green Gables. What’s not to love about Prince Edward Island, Canada’s seventh and smallest province?
As the birthplace of the country’s confederation, P.E.I. is located on Canada’s east coast and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. A hotspot for beach-goers, lighthouse lovers and seafood enthusiasts, this small but mighty province is a breathtaking destination and a hallmark of island scenery. But there’s so much more to this island than bountiful shellfish, numerous coves and a little red-headed girl with braids. With this in mind, here are seven lesser-known facts about Canada’s arguably most overlooked province:  Read more… 

Mrs Man: Why do women take their husbands’ surnames?
by Amy Erickson 11 July 2024 University of Cambridge
The habit of women taking a husband’s surname is seen by some as reflecting ancient patriarchal control of women, and by others as a romantic custom symbolising unity. But there is nothing either ancient or romantic about it: the practice has a very specific history.
Surnames were first used in elite noble families, and were applied to more ordinary people in England in the late 14th-century poll taxes. At the same time, English lawyers were developing the rule of ‘coverture’, whereby all of a woman’s assets (with certain limited exceptions) were acquired by her husband upon marriage.
This was distinct from the Roman law of marital property which gave a husband the management but not the ownership of his wife’s property. Variations of the Roman law prevailed throughout the rest of Europe, including Scotland.
So for 500 years, England was the only European country in which husbands gained (almost) complete control of their wives’ assets, Read more…

Historical Reproductions: – 19th century Whitework Embroidery
By Viveka Hansen 14 July 2015 ikfoundation.org
The long history of whitework embroidery has always fascinated me – how by using the same white linen or cotton sewing-thread in a natural way it developed from the actual sewing of garments and household linen to additionally adorn collars, linings, pillow-cases and all sorts of edgings on fabric. These decorations could be everything from very simple borders to highly skilled art forms combined with other types of embroidery and lace making. Just like the earlier essays describing historical reproductions of Swedish textiles, this text focuses on the attempts to copy a few examples of whitework, the materials used and a brief history of the traditions around this particular handcraft. Additionally emphasising on the techniques’ possibilities, limitations, beauty and the daily life of the embroiderers in southernmost Sweden. Read more… 

Loyalist Certificates Issued
The publicly available list of certificates issued since 2012 is now updated to end of June 30, 2024.
When a certificate is added there, it is also recorded in the record for the Loyalist Ancestor in the Loyalist Directory.

In the News

Mi’kmaw-language signs celebrate Indigenous history of 2 P.E.I. locations
By Sam Wandio, 2 June 2024, CBC News
L’nuey executive director says her ancestors would be proud
There are two new highway signs written in the Mi’kmaw language on Prince Edward Island, bringing the province’s total to over 40.
One of the signs was installed at Portage Lake, and includes its traditional name of Meski’k pu’ta’sk. The other is in Rocky Point, and displays the area’s traditional name of Kuntal Kwesawe’kl.
The first Mi’kmaw-language signs on the Island were installed by L’nuey P.E.I. as an Indigenous Awareness Week project in 2020. Read more… 

Events Upcoming

American Revolution Institute: Portrait of Lafayette, Fri July 26 @ 12:30

A Portrait Miniature of the Marquis de Lafayette Painted During the Farewell Tour
The marquis de Lafayette’s farewell tour of the United States produced a staggering number of images of the general, from original oil portraits commissioned by government entities and wealthy individuals to prints mass produced for sale at public events. One of the lesser-known original works of art created during the tour is a watercolor portrait miniature of Lafayette painted by Charles Fraser during the general’s visit to Charleston, South Carolina, in March 1825. Details and registration… 

Friends of St. Alban’s Centre: Fish Fry, Sunday 28 July at 5:00pm

The popular annual St. Alban’s Fish Fry has two prices: $25 for adults and $15 for children under 10 (smaller helping). Again, tickets are available online and buying now will avert disappointment as this event traditionally sells out.
Tickets:  adult, children under 10
Both adult and children’s tickets can also be purchased at the Hallowed Grounds Café, while they last.

American Revolution Institute. Panel Discussion—Waging War in America: Operational Challenges of Armies During the American Revolution Thurs 1 Aug 6:30

Historian Don Hagist moderates a panel of contributors to the recent anthology Waging War in America 1775-1783, exploring the significant operational challenges faced by American, Loyalist, French and German forces during the Revolution. From recruitment and training to tactics and logistics, the panelists also examine how the various armies adapted to the specific circumstances of this war. Panelists for this discussion include Robert Selig, Ph.D., Alexander Burns, Ph.D., Todd Braisted and John Rees. Details and registration…

Fort Plain. Remembering the August 2nd 1780 Raid of Canajohary  Fri 2 Aug at 6 pm

Join us at the Fort Plain Museum & Historical Park as we hold a Commemoration on the hilltop near the flagpoles. The American Veterans and First Tryon County Militia will be on hand. See more…

 

Black Loyalist Heritage Centre: Academic Conference of Knowledge Sat. 10 August

The schedule is set for the Black Loyalist Academic Conference of Knowledge on August 10 at the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre. If you are interested in the latest research and public history concerning the Black Loyalists and/or looking to connect with fellow travelers at ground zero of the Black Loyalist diaspora; Beautiful Birchtown, this is an event for you. Please review the event schedule
Please if you intend to participate, register to help manage logistics. Stay tuned for further updates.
Register here

Annual Pilgrimage at Old Hay Bay Church, Napanee ON. Sun. 25 Aug 2:00 – 5:00

Welcomes you to the Pilgrimage of exploration at 2 pm & the Annual Pilgrimage at 3 pm
Liturgist: Rev. Aaron Miechkota
Guest Speaker: Rev. Paul Reed
Guest Singers: Valerie Nunn & Gordon Burnett
Refreshments to follow.
2365 South Shore Road, Napanee. 613.373.9759

St. Lawrence Branch 2024 Charter Night Dinner, Sat 14 Sept 6:00pm in Ingleside

At St. Matthew’s Presbyterian Church, 15 Memorial Square, Ingleside ON. Social hour from 5:00.  Chicken Cordon Bleu dinner, cost $30
Tickets in advance only by 30 Aug. from Darlene Fawcett at dmfawcett@ripnet.com
Non-members are welcome
Guest Speaker: Brian Porter will speak on The Royal Trio: Three ships running the rapids of the St. Lawrence prior to the Seaway Project (The Rapids Queen, the Rapids King and the Rapids Prince).
Raffle: Harvest Baskets. Donations for the raffle baskets, Contact Darlene

From the Social Media and Beyond

  • I climbed to the top of the Gilbert’s Cove Lighthouse this afternoon for these views. Gilbert’s Cove is named after Colonel Thomas Gilbert, a UE Loyalist from Massachusetts, who received a land grant there after the American Revolution. image – Brian McConnell UE
  • Townsends, and “anything food”
    • What Is “Real” Cornbread? (10 min)  Cornbread is a food we still eat everyday. There are lines drawn in the sand over how this food should be made. Geographically, there are a lot of differing opinions over how cornbread should taste. What is “real” cornbread?
    • Yesterday was #NationalMacAndCheeseDay! “But, Jamestown” you say “surely they didn’t have mac and cheese at Jamestown in 1607?” Maybe we can’t prove that they did, but we do know it was possible. Let’s take a look at a later 14th-century dish called “Macrows.” image
      Your noodles should take no more than 4 minutes to cook once you toss them into the water, so while it heats up, grate about 2 cups of cheese – historic choices include Parmesan, Cheddar, and Gruyere, but use whatever you prefer if you’re not trying to be 100% authentic. image
      Now layer it – put a handful of cheese and a little butter in a dish. Add noodles. Repeat. Use a salamander or a schweinetopf on a bed of coals to heat it until the cheese has melted, and serve it up hot. This dish was enjoyed in England, but may not have been served in Virginia. image
  • This week in History 
    • 18 July 1774 The Fairfax Resolves adopted by Fairfax County VA. They rejected Britain’s supreme authority, defined Constitutional rights & gave instructions to the Virginia delegation to the Continental Congress.   image
    • 13 Jul 1775 Continental Congress appoints commissioners to parley with leaders of the Six Nations – hoping to keep them aligned with the colonies & not the British. image
    • 14 July 1775 London King George III receives a petition from John Wilkes, Lord Mayor of London, asking the king to stop military activities against the Americans & pursue a policy of reconciliation. image
    • 16 Jul 1775 Machias, MA (today ME) Lt Jeremiah O’Brien convinces officers of 2 British schooners, HMS Diligent & HMS Tatamagauche, to come ashore where they are seized and their vessels taken. image
    • 16 Jul 1775 Meeting George Washington in Braintree, MA, Abigail Adams wrote John: “You had prepared me to entertain a favorable opinion of him, but I thought the one half was not told me … The Gentleman and Soldier look agreeably blended in him.”  image
    • 17 July 1775 Richmond, VA. The 3rd Virginia Convention met in St. John Church after Royal Gov Lord Dunmore fled, becoming the governing power in VA. Representatives denounced Lord Dunmore’s actions, enacted laws & established a Committee of Safety. image
    • 18 Jul 1775 Philadelphia, PA The Continental Congress recommends the colonies establish common standards for military equipment & organizations in the militias & also provide armed vessels for the defense of harbors and ports. image 
    • 20 Jul 1775 Turtle Bay, Island of New York Marinus Willet &Alexander McDougall capture stores from the Royal arsenal, which are sent to provide the troops besieging Boston. image
    • 14 Jul 1776 NYC. The Howe brothers (Admiral Richard & General William) attempt to negotiate with George Washington. Washington, however, will not receive their letter because it is not addressed properly to “General.” But to “George Washington, Esq.” image
    • 15 Jul 1776 Philadelphia, PA Originally abstaining from the vote for independence, New York’s delegation to the Continental Congress graciously introduced a resolution from its state convention that now approves the Declaration of Independence. image
    • 15 Jul 1776 Lindley’s Fort, SC. Maj John Down’s garrison on Rayborn Creek fends off marauding Cherokee & Loyalists, they scatter the attackers & capture 9. image
    • 16 Jul 1776 St George’s Island, MD. Royal GOV of VA Lord Dunmore lands to stage a raid on Mt Vernon & kidnap Martha Washington, but his ships are driven off by the local militia. image
    • 17 Jul 1776 Philadelphia, PA. Continental Congress learns of & approves of Gen Washington’s refusal to accept a dispatch from British Gen William Howe& his brother, Adm Richard Viscount Howe, due to his refusal to address him as General. image
    • 19 Jul 1776 Philadelphia, PA Continental Congress votes to have the Declaration of Independence unanimously signed by all 55 delegates.  image
    • 17 July 1777 NH General Court commissions John Stark as militia general. Stark states he will not accept orders from the Continental Congress or Continental officers. image
    • 14 Jul 1778 Col. George Rogers Clark solicits help from Father Pierre Gibault to obtain the peaceful surrender of Fort Vincennes in the Indiana Territory. Gibault then departs for the fort, bearing letters addressed to the French inhabitants. image
    • 15-16 July 1779 Stony Point, New York. The British stronghold, dubbed Little Gibraltar, fell when Continental Army’s Light Infantry Corps, led by General “Mad” Anthony Wayne, stormed it in a bold bayonet attack. Wounded in the initial assault, Wayne is carried into the defense works. British suffered over 130 casualties & 500 captured vs less than 100 casualties. Although General Washington soon directed the fort to be abandoned, later in the conflict, the key North (Hudson) River crossing point would be used by the Continental Army in their Hudson campaign against General Henry Clinton’s British Army based in New York City. image
    • 18 Jul 1779 Newfoundland, CAN Commodore Abraham Whipple’s squadron – frigates Providence & Queen of France & sloop Ranger sail against a British 150-ship convoy protected by a 74-gun ship of the line. Masquerading as British ships, they seize 11 prizes. image
    • 19 Jul 1779 Minisink, NY Hoping to divert American forces under Gen James Clinton from attacking the Six Nations Territory, Chief Joseph Brant’s force of Loyalists & Mohawks stage a diversionary attack on the settlement & gather food & booty. image
    • 19 July 1779 Boston. Massachusetts launches a naval expedition under Commodore Dudley Saltonstall with nineteen warships, twenty-four transport ships, and over 1,000 militia under Brigadier General Solomon Lovell. Paul Revere served as deputy. Their mission was to capture a 750-man British garrison at Castine on the Penobscot Peninsula in what would later become Maine. The attack was not coordinated with Continental forces or with Congress.  image
    • 12 July 1780 S.C. 100 militia surprise 400 Loyalist cavalry. By the time the Loyalists could counter-attack, the Patriots had struck & left- but killed hated Loyalist leader Christian Huck. The small win was a turning point in the southern backcountry war. image
    • 13 Jul 1780 A British squadron under Adm Thomas Graves arrives off Sandy Hook, NJ, to reinforce the fleet of Adm Marriot Arbuthnot. Graves was sent from England to counter a French fleet under Adm de Ternay.  image
    • 19 Jul 1780 A British squadron under Adm Marriot Arbuthnot anchors off Newport, RI & blockades French vessels anchored there… image
    • 17 Jul 1781 Quimby’s Bridge, SC Partisan raiders under Gen Francis Marion, Lt Col Henry Lee & Gen Thomas Sumter attack Col John Coates 19th Regt on the Cooper River, but their piecemeal attacks have them repulsed with 60 casualties vice 44 British.  image
  • Clothing and Related:

    • Portable three-piece cases called penners held quill pens, pen knives, ink, and blotting powder. They were carried as portable writing utensils until the development of fountain pens in the mid-to-late 19th century. Little is known about this particular case. image
    • Delighted that my replication of Martha Washington’s purple silk gown is now on view in ‘New Nation, Many Hands’ @TheWadsworth image
    • Did a bit of natural dye experimenting This is made from last year’s indigo crop U of NH. Love the cooling forest green. Ground up the dry leaves w/ mortar and pestle & cooked them up in my old copper pan – which definitely enhances the green. Cotton bag. image
    • Lovely 17th & 18th century stays out in the London Museum Dress & Textile store today! images
    • Rare surviving examples of decorative paper cutting by 17th century schoolgirls have been found under floorboards @SuttonHouseNT.  It’s thought that the paper shapes slipped through gaps in the floorboards and are extremely rare survivals. Image
    • ‘The Haunted Lady’  (Punch ) depicts a seamstress reflected in the mirror who worked herself to death making the lady’s dress. The plight of underpaid seamstresses in wretched conditions was highlighted by Thomas Hood’s harrowing poem ‘The Story of a Shirt’ based on a true case. image
      ‘With fingers weary and worn,
      With eyelids heavy and red,
      A woman sat in unwomanly rags,
      Plying her needle and thread—
      Stitch! stitch! stitch!
      In poverty, hunger, and dirt,
      And still with a voice of dolorous pitch
      She sang the “Song of the Shirt”.’
  • Miscellaneous
    • July 18, 1774 Boston Gazette – An interesting ad placed in a Boston newspaper by a fellow in Pomfret, Connecticut. Already famous from his exploits in the French & Indian War decades earlier, Putnam was to acquire new fame at Bunker Hill and the Revolutionary War. Look him up! image of advert
    • I’m fascinated by Lady Arabella Denny, the Kerry woman who set up the first Magdalen asylum in Ireland (1765).
      She campaigned for healthcare for infants, set up an almshouse for the poor, introduced carpet weaving to Ireland, bred silkworms at her home and, rather incongruously, took shooting lessons to stop her brother-in-law bullying her (it worked!).
      There is no shortage of colourful details when summing up the singular life of philanthropist Lady Arabella Denny, and yet the temptation is to start with the extraordinary orders she left for dealing with her death, at the age of 85 in 1792.
      If you are squeamish, turn away now. Then again, the instructions in her will –  which came to me courtesy of  @MyKerryAncestor – make a bit more sense when you know she had a morbid fear of being buried alive.
      It read: “I desire that I may be put in a leaden coffin, and my jugular veins opened, and then enclosed in an oak coffin and conveyed to the Church of Tralee, on a hearse with but one mourning coach.”
      Thank you very much @kaycaball for details of the extraordinary instructions she left for her funeral and Rosemary Raughter for telling me about the surviving Magdalen registers. image

Last Post: O’REILLY, Miles Dewar   May 5, 1935–July 8, 2024
Mountaineer, artist, world traveller, photographer, canoeist, outdoorsman, husband, father, lawyer, Anglican, proud United Empire Loyalist, and wearer of interesting hats and beautiful bow ties, Miles D. O’Reilly died in Kingston, Ontario, in his 90th year, after a fall at home.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, the beloved only child of Louise “Babs” Dewar O’Reilly and Miles Breffni O’Reilly, Miles is survived by his cherished wife, Susan; and his children.
Miles studied history and English literature at Trinity College, University of Toronto, and law at Osgoode Hall, called to the bar in 1963.
He raised families in Toronto with his first wife, Joan Calder, and in Toronto and Port Hope with his second wife, Carene Smith. And he welcomed stepchildren and grandchildren as they arrived in his life.
He played the bagpipes and on his 60th birthday danced the Highland Fling with his daughters. He wore a kilt for ceremonial occasions.
But Miles’s passion was for the mountains. He climbed and trekked across mountain ranges on five continents, beginning with his time as a 19-year-old in Alberta.
Throughout his life, Miles visited many places in the world, making friends—and putting his facility with languages and his willingness to improvise to good use in Spanish, French, German, or whatever language the moment required.
He was fascinated by history, particularly family history/genealogy. He was president for a time of the Kingston Branch, United Empire Loyalists and was proud to have earned the designation UE.
A funeral service, followed by a reception, will be held on Friday, August 16, 2024. More details at Arbor Memorial
Miles was a member of Kingston Branch. He received a Loyalist Certificate in 2020 as a descendant of John O’Reilly UEL.  He served as Branch President and as Vice President and Councillor for the Central East Region, UELAC.
Noted by Anne Redish UE

Last Post: RUPERT UE (nee Parent), Marjorie

Marjorie passed away peacefully with her family by her side on June 27, 2024 at Juravinski Hospital in her 81st year. Loving wife to Frank for 56 years, Caring mother to Frank, Jr (Joy) and Kevin (Rebekah).  Loving grandmother to Kyle, Liam, Christopher and Matthew.  Predeceased by her father Earle, mother Violet and brother Douglas.  Fondly remembered by Kelly.  Marj will be sadly missed by many family and friends in the Caledonia area and in New Brunswick. Cremation has taken place, Family and friends are invited to attend a celebration of life on July 30th at 3 p.m. in the Caledonia Lions Hall, followed by a light meal and drinks.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Caledonia Food Bank.
There is also a choice indicated in the Hamilton Spectator Obituary for Marjorie for anyone who would like to Plant a Tree in the memory of Marjorie. More details…
Marjorie received her U.E. designation for ancestor, Aaron Delong UEL, in 2023.   The Hamilton Branch will miss Marjorie at Loyalist Day and Luncheon events.  Our sympathy is expressed to Frank and his family.
…Submitted by Pat Blackburn UE

Published by the UELAC
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