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The Hessian Sessions: Part Three:  German Veterans Bound for Nova Scotia  
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
According to historian Bethany Collins, 19,000 German soldiers – usually referred to as “Hessians” – were sent to fight alongside the British during the American Revolution. Of these, only a little over a half of that number returned home.  Some died, some deserted, and some elected to stay in British North America, settling alongside loyalist refugees.
The first documentation that reveals that Hessian veterans wanted to settle in Nova Scotia is found in a letter written on June 14, 1783 by two German lieutenants who had recently been discharged from the Hessian Regiment of Donop. Charles and William Freyenhagen wrote to Sir Guy Carleton, the British commander in chief of the evacuation of British troops and loyalist refugees. Their letter said that they were “desirous of settling in Nova Scotia if they can be admitted to grants of land and other prerogatives with provincial officers of equal rank.”
Three days later, two other Germans wrote to Carleton with similar hopes.  Major General von Lossberg recommended recently retired Lieutenant de Ehrenstein “who wishes grant of land in Nova Scotia“. Captain Christopher Alberti of the 3rd Regiment Waldeck “begs a tract of land in Nova Scotia“. Alberti’s letter also noted that he had been taken prisoner by the Spaniards in 1779, and had obtained his “dismission” from the Prince of Waldeck.
Carleton heard from Alberti again in a letter written on July 4th.  “Having  obtained  permission from  his  Prince  to  retire  from  the  service,  he  is  now desirous  of  settling  in  Nova  Scotia  with  a  number  of  German families  who  go  under  the  direction  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kern, I  therefore  beg  leave  to  recommend  him  to  your  Excellency’s countenance  and  assistance  for  such  grant  of  lands  as  are made  to  others  in  his  situation.”
In the previous month, the Rev. Kern had written to Carleton on behalf of himself and 47 German families, asking for assistance in the move to Nova Scotia. Carleton in turn wrote to John Parr, the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia recommending the pastor and his Reformed Calvinist congregation to Parr. Clearly, there was no official opposition to having Germans settling among the Loyalists.
Word of the opportunity to settle in Nova Scotia was starting to spread throughout the German troops who had not yet left for Europe. On July 14th, Ensign Anthone Specht of the Brunswick Troops wrote Carleton, saying that he wished to “avail himself of the Duke’s permission to officers to remain in this country and become a British subject in Nova Scotia, if he could be so happy as to be admitted to the same grant of land and other prerogatives with Provincial officers of equal rank.”
Two days later, Jacob Calnek, the quartermaster for the Anspach Troops notified Carleton that he had resigned his commission, “being determined to reside in His Majesty’s dominions in North America. Asks the privileges and advantages granted to other German officers.” (Though not mentioned in his letter, Calnek is the only veteran settler known to have been a Jew.). See Jacob Calnek below.
This degree of interest prompted Carleton to draft a proclamation on July 20, 1783. “The Commander-in-Chief can only recommend to the Governor of Nova Scotia the granting of land to persons who are actually going into the province, and mean to settle there immediately, as grants to absentees would impede the settling of the province.  German officers will be recommended for grants free of quit rents.”
On July 22, Carleton once again wrote to Parr on behalf of two Germans. First there was the Rev. John Christopher Wagner, chaplain of the Anspach Troops “who is desirous of settling in Nova Scotia“. He also recommended Lt. de Ehrenstein who had contacted the commander in chief back in June. This second reference to de Ehrenstein is interesting because in this letter, the German officer “desires to settle with his family” in Nova Scotia. This is the first mention that a Hessian officer had his wife and children accompany him to America.
On July 30, Colonel Franz von Seybothen recommended that Frederick Arnold, recently resigned as the surgeon-major of the Anspach Corps, as being “deserving the usual bounty of lands given to other German officers by the British Government.”
Carleton continued to be a go-between for would-be German veterans and Nova Scotia’s governor Parr. On August 6, he recommended Captain Christian de Molitor of the Anspach Troops who had recently resigned “in order to become a settler and subject of His Majesty in Nova Scotia“.
Four days later de Molitor wrote to Carleton, asking for “free passage and use of cabin; also provisions while here and leave to settle amongst the men formerly belonging to our troops.” The officer included “a return of officers and privates discharged from his Serene Highness the Margrave of Anspach Regiments employed in His Britannic Majesty’s service during the late war, who request to emigrate to Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia, and humbly solicit a passage, and for the same favors and indigencies as the Loyalists when they arrive there.”
Carleton forwarded de Molitor’s list on to Governor Parr, noting, “many of whom are valuable tradesmen and some farmers. They are desirous of settling in the same parts of the province with those who sailed from this place on the 30th July“. Carleton also sent along lists of “persons who have received permission to retire from the German service” and recommended them for such grants of land “as have been made to others in the same situation“.
Henry Knipschild had been a lieutenant and adjutant with the Waldeck Auxiliary Troops. He, too, wished to “remove to Nova Scotia” with his family and two enslaved Blacks. This is the only reference to a German officer who brought slaves along with his family to Nova Scotia. Presumably, Knipschild had acquired his slaves while serving in the revolution.
Rendered as “Knipsgheld” in the Book of Negroes, this German officer is noted as sailing for Annapolis Royal on the ship Hope in early October. The only Black referenced as accompanying the family is 50 year-old Caesar who, given that he held a General Musgrave certificate, would have been a free man.
By September, Parr responded to Carleton’s letters. “Capt. Molitor, with the Germans who came with him, are settled near Annapolis.  I shall render them every service in my power. They have no arms, and 23 Waldeckers are without clothing; they are settled near each other. I expect a ship soon from England with tools, etc., for building; they shall be distributed immediately after their arrival.”
The last reference to Hessians settling alongside Loyalists in Nova Scotia that is found in Sir Guy Carleton’s correspondence is contained in a November 3, 1783 letter.  Carleton recommended Ensign Anthone Specht to Governor Parr. The German was “desirous of becoming a British subject and of settling in Nova Scotia. I therefore beg leave to recommend him to your Excellency for such a grant of land as is made to others in his situation.”
And how did these German settlers fare in Nova Scotia? Historian William Calnek (no doubt a descendant of the Jacob Calnek referenced earlier) described the veterans’ situation. “The township was created in 1784, by a grant to George Sutherland and two hundred and forty others, mostly … German troops, who had been in the service of the Crown against the revolted colonies, and who came to Nova Scotia after the Peace of 1783.  It is bounded in the north by the Annapolis Basin and River; on the east by the township of Annapolis, and other lands of the county; on the south by other lands of the county; and on the west by the township of Digby …  It is nearly in the form of a square, and contains much fine land, though it is generally believed to be inferior in agricultural capabilities to some of its sister townships.”
William S. Covington notes, “There are two settlements in the western part of this division of the county, called respectively the “Waldeck” and “Hessian” Lines, which were originally begun by the disbanded Waldeckers and Hessians, who sought refuge here at the close of that revolutionary struggle which their best efforts had failed to bring to a successful conclusion, an issue then so ardently desired by Great Britain. These settlements were formed on lines parallel to each other and two miles apart, their directions being nearly east and west, and are still, in part, cultivated by their descendants, who, at this day, are scarcely distinguishable from the other inhabitants by any peculiarity of language or custom, a fact that may be accounted for by another, namely, that the English tongue only has been taught in the schools there, while intermarriages with the settlers of British origin have been constant and common.”
Loyalist historian Brian McConnell completes their story. Each German veteran received a grant that was 528 feet wide and a mile and a half long.  However, within 15 years of their arrival in Annapolis County most of the “Waldeckers” and “Hessians” had left for Upper Canada, the United States or elsewhere in Nova Scotia where the land was better and not so isolated.
McConnell notes that at least one German veteran remained in Annapolis County. Dr. Frederick L. Bohme served the area as a physician for 30 years, donating a bell and silver communion vessels to Clementsport’s Old St. Edward’s Loyalist Church.
Today, a careful look at the map of Nova Scotia’s Annapolis County shows the locations of three communities whose names bear silent witness to their German founders: Waldeck, Waldeck East, and Waldeck West.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.


Jacob Calnek, Hessian, Settled in Nova Scotia
Jacob Calnek, my grandfather, was of Jewish ancestry, and himself a “Hebrew of Hebrews.” He was born in Saxe Coburg-Gotha, in 1745, and died in central Granville in 1831, at the advanced age of eight six years. He married in 1771, at Arolsen, the capital of the dominions of the Margrave of Anspach, Rosina Wolf, a native of Berlin, whose grandfather, Bernhardt Wolf was a native of Hartzfeldt, in Franconia. Her father Jacob Jacob Bernhardt Wolf removed to Berlin, where he married Hendel Barnett of that city, where my grandmother was born in 1753. She died in 1822, in Granville. She was also of Jewish parentage.
My grandfather’s only sister, of whom I have any knowledge, married Johan Stigllitz and was the grandmother of the late Baron Alexander Von Stiglitz, of St. Petersburg, who was one of the millionaires of that wealthy capital and who died without issue, leaving seventy five millions of dollars, Canadian currency to his nephew the Herren Herders of that city.
In 1775 Jacob Calnek, the ancestor of the American family of Calneks, was commissioned “Quarter Master” of the first battalion of Anspach, whose services in the revolutionary war, were employed on behalf of the crown. At the close of the contest, having first received the consent of the Margrave, he determined to settle in Nova Scotia, and having been recommended by Sir Guy Carleton as being entitled to a grant of lands, he obtained one in Clements, in which township many of his countrymen, who had been employed in the same service, were about to settle.
He then wrote to his wife in Berlin, from whom he had been separated for the previous seven years, to join him here with four children then born to them, which she did in 1784. In the mean time her husband had caused a log house to be erected on his lands – those now or lately owned by Charles Jefferson in Clements – which were situated in the wilds of that township. On her arrival she transferred herself, children and such valuables as she possessed, and they were not few nor of scant worth, into the new dwelling which had been prepared for them, and commenced a new and to her, a strange life.
Not many months had elapsed before an event occurred which left them in extreme poverty. Their house, and its entire contents were destroyed by fire during their temporary absence, and the loss they then sustained was the loss of everything they possessed, except the clothing they stood in and their children. After some years of incessant struggle and deprivation they bought a farm in Granville, and gradually became more easy in financial circumstances, and one of the grandsons still owns and occupies this old homestead
Their descendants are comparatively small in number and are greatly scattered. Thomas Maurice Calnek M.D. is a leading physician in Costa Rica, and another great grandson is paymaster on the railways of that State; another is deputy manager of the Acadia coal mines in Pictou county, and two others are settled in Manitoba. Others are living in the island of Jamaica, and in the United States, but the larger number have homes in their native county and province.
Contributed by Wayne Walker to Annapolis Genealogy here.

Hessian Soldiers Travelling to America: Returning Home: Moving Across Continental Europe. October 1783
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
  • May 1781: to Chesapeake Bay (Yorktown)
  • October 1781: to Williamsburg
  • January 1782: to Frederick MD (about 40 km west of Baltimore)
  • May 1783: departed Frederick MD for Springfield, Long Island
  • August 1783: Boarded ship at Denys’s Ferry
  • September 1783: England, The North Sea and Germany

1783: Continuation of the Notable Occurences in the North American Field Campaign;

In the Month of October 1783 – page 151

9 October.  We  traveled  to  Ochsen,  a  village,  and  from  there  to  Hehlen,  both  of  which belong to Brunswick. Hehlen has a beautiful castle, which belongs to Count von Schulenburg. Then we went to Bodenwerder, which is a Hannoverian city on the Weser, where we stopped for the night.
10 October. I went on sentry duty. We sailed to the country town of Dalem. Not far from Dalem  there  is  a  high  cliff,  the  so-called  Devil’s  Mill,  where  the  water  that  drives  the  mill comes out of the cliff. At night, between eleven and twelve o’clock, no one can grind at this mill nor remain therein, because in that hour Satan has his time and wants to operate the mill for himself. It is already more than three hundred years since this mill was built. We sailed closed by it and reached Heinsen, which has a beautiful castle, where we stopped.
11 October. Today we went to the  small  city  of Holzminden, a  small  city  on  the  Weser, and then to Corvey, which is a Benedictine monks’ abbey  in  the  territory  of  Paderborn, and which has an abbot who is a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire.

12 October. We arrived  at  Hoxter,  a  city  that  belongs  to  the  Abbot  of  Corvey,  where  a garrison of his soldiers is stationed.
From Hoxter we sailed to Wehrden, which has a beautiful castle on the Weser.
13 October. Today we arrived at Karlshafen, a small city that belongs to Hesse-Cassel. It lies between mountains in a valley. The Weser flows past. It is beautifully developed and has a good saltworks.
14 October.  Our  journey  went  badly,  since  the  Weser  River,  because  of  the  long, continuous  dry  weather,  had  become  even  more  shallow.  The  horses  could  hardly  pull  the ship  farther,  and  we  barely  covered  a  distance  of  one  mile  during  the  day.  For  that  reason some  soldiers  had  always  to  walk  along  the  bank  beside  the  ship,  often  ten  or  fifteen,  to lighten it somewhat.
15 October.  We  again  had  a  difficult  journey.  We  reached  Odelsheim,  a  Hannoverian market town.

17 October. About twelve o’clock noon we reached Hannover M?nden. Our little  flotilla came alongside the town’s wharf, which is near the city, and halted after having traveled four full weeks, since the twentieth of September, on the Weser.
The city  of M?nden  lies  near  the  Hessian  border  and  has  a  beautiful,  fine  castle.  Not  far from the city the Werra and Fulda rivers flow together and are then called the Weser.
The city is built in an old style and has nothing much noteworthy in it. At that time a strong garrison of Hannoverians was there. The foot soldiers among them wore red uniforms like the English. The horsemen, however, wore green.
The  inhabitants  of  the  city  soon  profited  from  our  presence,  because  they  brought  us  all possible victuals and relieved  us  of  much  money. The sutler  did  not  have  to move  from  his place day or night. The people were very sympathetic, friendly, and polite to us.
18 October.  We  remained  there.  Today  we  received  all  the  uniform  equipment,  here  in abundance, that had been sent to us from Ansbach and had lain here more than fourteen days.
Each  man received  one  pair  of  cotton trousers, two shirts,  one  pair  of  shoes,  one  pair  of wool stockings, and one pair of gloves.
19 October.  Still  there.  At  noon  today  Colonel  von  Seybothen  arrived  here  by  land  and took his quarters in an inn called The White Swan.
(to be continued)

Blog: About UE Loyalist History
by Brian McConnell UE at UE Loyalist History

Hessians
Approximately 30,000 German troops were hired by the British to fight in the American Revolution, some 65 per cent of whom were from the Hessian states of Hesse – Kassel and Hesse – Hanau.  Hence they are often called Hessians. At time of American Revolution Germany didn’t exist as a country.  It was a collection of states, republics, and duchies.
In Bennington, Vermont stands a Monument to a battle fought nearby on 16 August 1777 which was a major defeat to Hessian forces.  The Battle of Bennington was the first time during the conflict that an entire Hessian detachment was killed or captured. Read more…

Saint Andrews, N.B.
While I was visiting  Saint Andrews, New Brunswick last month I felt it could be known as a fine example of a  town settled by Loyalists. The town was named for the patron saint of Scotland,  Saint Andrew the Apostle, reflecting a common colonial practice to name places after religious figures. It was mapped out at the close of the American Revolution with a gridiron street plan designed for a British colonial town, settled by United Empire Loyalists, and has retained examples of their heritage.  The present population is about 2,000 and has grown in recent years.
A plaque on the outside of the former  Loyalist John Dunn home at 126 Water Street marking it as a Provincial Heritage Site indicates he was a prominent founder and leader in Saint  Andrews, arriving from New York in 1784 and bringing materials for the town’s first two-storey house. Read more…  https:// uelhistory.blogspot.com/2025/10/saint-andrews.html

250 Years Ago: The Invasion of Canada Sept 17 – Oct 15

from Lake Champlain
General Philip Schuyler orchestrated the plans for the attack on Canada, launched on 25 August 1775. The first attack on Fort St. Jean on 6 Sept failed. A second on 10 Sept also failed. Schyler became too ill and Richard Montgomery assumed command on 16 Sept.

Between Sept 17 and October 15, 1775,

Sept 17 Montgomery sailed downriver with 1,400 men to Ft. St. Jean
Sept 18 The Americans attacked the fort. Although repulsed, they entrenched around the fort.
Sept 21: Additional guns arrived from Fort Ticonderoga. They agreed to build a battery within striking distance of the British ship Royal Savage.
Montgomery needed more men, so he sent Ethan Allen and John Brown north and asked them to recruit Canadians. About 300 joined.
Sept 24: Instead of returning to the fort, Allen led an attack on Montreal.

  • The Battle of Montreal, also known as the Battle of Longue-Pointe, was fought from September 24-25, 1775,
  • The operation occurred over two days, September 24 and 25, although fighting only happened on the 25th.
  • At the time of the battle, the city only took up a small portion of the island.
  • Longue-Pointe was located north of Montreal, on the east bank of the island, and is where the fighting actually occurred.
  • When spies informed him of the American maneuvers, Carleton devised a plan to trap the American forces on the outskirts of the city.
  • Allen and his men crossed the St. Lawrence River under cover of darkness on the night of September 24.
  • Unfortunately, Brown and his men were not able to get across the river.
  • Allen was forced to take a defensive position a few miles outside of the city, so he could wait for daylight and then cross back over the river to safety.
  • Carleton attacked Allen’s position with a force made up of regulars, militia, and Indians.
  • After a brief skirmish, most of Allen’s men scattered.
  • Allen was unable to organize a withdrawal and was forced to surrender.
  • When the British found out they had captured Ethan Allen, they sent him to England, where he was held in prison.  Allen was eventually sent back to America, where he was exchanged for British officer Archibald Campbell.

Meanwhile the siege at Fort St. Jean continued.
October 14, the American battery to launch the bombardment on the Royal Savage was completed. It opened fire on the ship and sank it in the river.

The British Preparations
Governor Guy Carleton was keenly aware of the impending invasion from the south up the Richelieu River. His defensive strategy centered on holding Fort St. Jean, which protected the water route to Montreal. He also began preparing Quebec City for a potential seige.
Carleton himself moved from Quebec City to Montreal in June 1775 to lead the defense against the American invasion. He organized the local militia and concentrated troops at Fort St. Jean.

From Maine
Between September 17 and October 15, 1775, Benedict Arnold and his team preparing for and undertaking their secret expedition to Quebec.

  • 25 Sept Arnold’s 1,100 men left Fort Western for Quebec City via the Kennebec and Chaudiere rivers.
  • The flat-bottomed river boats were poorly constructed, leaking badly and damaging gunpowder and food supplies.
  • The expedition struggled with the rugged terrain. They had to wade through frigid water to push their boats upstream
  • The first major obstacle was a difficult portage around the Norridgewock Falls, which took a week to complete.
  •  By early October, the men were on half-rations, and the constant wetness and cold led to sickness, with dysentery setting in.
  • By October 9, after completing the first major portage, they had only made about 20 miles of progress in two weeks
  • October 11: Two days after finishing the Norridgewock portage, the expedition reached the Great Carrying Place, a 13-mile portage that would take them to the Dead River.
  • Mid-October: This leg of the journey was complicated by heavy rain, which made the route extremely muddy.

British Preparations
As of 15 October 1775, the British were not aware of the invading group coming from Maine.

Jean Thurel: Ninety Years a Private Soldier
by Norman Desmarais 9 Oct 2025 Journal of the American Revolution
Jean Thurel, or Jean Theurel, is one of those very unusual people whose life extended over three centuries. He was born in Orain, Departement de la Côte-d’Or, Bourgogne, France on September 6, 1698 during the reign of Louis XIV. He died at Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France on March 10, 1807 during the reign of Napoleon I. For almost his entire life he was a soldier.
He enlisted in the Régiment de Touraine, today’s 33rd infantry regiment, on September 17, 1716, eleven days after his eighteenth birthday and served there as a fusilier until January 29, 1792—a span of seventy-five years, under Louis XV and Louis XVI. He served in the Charlot Company, Régiment de Touraine and fought in four wars: the War of the Polish Succession, the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years’ War and the American War of Independence…
…Jean Thurel had just turned eighty-three when his regiment came to America in September 1781. He was one of a 2,000-man expeditionary force consisting of the Gatinois, Tourraine and Agenois regiments under the command of the Marquis de Saint Simon Montbleru. These troops landed at Jamestown, Virginia, and marched to Williamsburg to join forces with Lafayette. Read more…

Advertised on 5 October 1775: ‘THE Speeches of EDMUND BURKE,’
What was advertised in a revolutionary American newspaper 250 years ago today?

“THE Speeches of EDMUND BURKE, Esq; on American Taxation.”

James Rivington did not know it when he published the October 5, 1775, edition, nor did readers and the rest of the community, but he would soon discontinue printing Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer.  With hindsight, we know that less than two months later, on November 27, the Sons of Liberty would attack his printing office and destroy his press and type “because of his pronounced Tory sentiments.”
It was not the first time.  His home and printing office had been attacked the previous May.  For a few weeks, he had sought refuge on a British ship in the harbor.  He had been hung in effigy.  After all that, the November 23, 1775, edition would be the last issue of Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer that he would print before departing for London.
The printer returned to New York in 1777, during the British occupation, and established Rivington’s New-York Loyal Gazette.  Today, historians consider it possible that Rivington spied on behalf of the American cause, but that would not have been public knowledge in the 1770s.  Read more…

Podcast: Plantation Goods: How Northern Factories Fueled the Plantation Economy
By Seth Rockman at Benjamin Franklin’s World Oct 2025
When we talk about slavery in Early America, we often focus on plantations: their large, fertile fields, their cash crops, and the people who labored on those fields. what about the ordinary objects that made slavery work? The shoes, axes, cloth, and hoes? What can these everyday objects reveal about the economic and social systems that sustained slavery.
Seth Rockman, a Professor of History at Brown University, joins us to rethink how Northern manufacturing, labor, and commerce were entangled with the southern slave economy. Listen in…

Book: Before Manifest Destiny: The Contested Expansion of the Early United States
Author: Nicholas DiPucchio (University of Virginia Press, 2025)
Review by Kyler Burd 5 Oct 2025 Journal of the American Revolution
It is rather easy to take for granted the continental scale of the modern United States as a near inevitability, imagining a steady march of intrepid American pioneers into a foreboding wilderness over several decades that resulted in one of the best cartographically situated nations in the world with access to abundant natural resources and the protection of two oceans. In Before Manifest Destiny: The Contested Expansion of the Early United States, author Nicholas DiPucchio dispels these notions and weaves a fascinating story of the difficulties of early expansion and the various ways a young country tried and failed to secure its borders and more territory in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Read more…

Loyalist Quarterly Newsletter September 2025, by Paul J. Bunnell UE
Published since 2004, the September 2025 issue is now available. Twenty-one pages, it features:

  • Some of Many Statistics of Loyalists
  • All about Loyalists & the American Revolution
  • Meanwhile in Canada
  • The Plight of Massachusetts Loyalists
  • The Testimony of the People Called Quakers
  • Loyalists, Race and Atlantic Canada
  • A salute to Canada (English & French)

Vol. 22 Part 3 Sept 2025 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)

How Canada treats the discovery of Indigenous remains and culturally sensitive items
by Gabrielle McMann — 24 September 2025 at Canada’s History
Gaining Ground: While much has improved in how Canada treats the discovery of Indigenous remains and culturally sensitive items, as a recent unearthing in Toronto shows, there’s still a long way to go.
John Brown fell into a construction hole on Withrow Ave in Toronto. While waiting to be helped out, he noticed something sticking out of the dirt. It could have been a branch for all I knew at the time, but it was sort of the wrong colour.
Ancient Indigenous remains were discovered at the site – — it was an ancient bone.
The site of the discoveries was across the street from Withrow Avenue Junior Public School, a well-known archaeological site since 1886. The school itself sits atop land that was previously an Indigenous encampment and held cultural items and remains dating back approximately 5,000 years. An investigation was launched at the Withrow Avenue site, and construction halted. Soon, tents, fences and a city-hired security team were put in place to protect the remains throughout the investigation and negotiations with local First Nations.
The Haudenosaunee have oral and historical evidence that Withrow Avenue is a sacred spiritual site for their Nation going back thousands of years. As stakeholders, they have sent multiple written requests for a high level of oversight and engagement in the investigation.
The mistreatment of Indigenous remains began in Canada’s early days of archaeological study. The first such recorded investigation took place near the Ottawa River in 1843, when Edward Van Cortlandt, a Victorian-era antiquarian, discovered an ancient burial ground…
…”It’s been a long road to collaboration,” says Williamson. “In the early 1990s, when I was mid-career, I was working with archaeologists from across Canada to write ethical guidelines for proper relationships with Indigenous people.” These guidelines attempted to push the field to adopt informed consent.
Still, in 1992, the Canadian Archaeological Association mandated the involvement of Indigenous Peoples on historically pertinent sites. “That’s when people started to really collaborate, because they were told by their profession you should,” says Williamson. And so began the path toward collaboration and consent from the First Nations communities. Read more about the progress…

UELAC Loyalist Directory: New Contributions

Entries which have been added, or revised, this week. Thanks to Jo Ann Tuskin who contributed information in consultation with several branch genealogists to sort out these two

  • Elias Smith Sr. of Montreal, Quebec, in 1794. Then Port Hope, Ontario, in 1800, born 26 Oct. 1736 and before the war was in Goshen, Orange Co., New York.  Married Catharine Miller (anglicized in Canada from Mollenaer) and their children
    • David b. 4 Mar 1765, d. 2 Nov 1832, m. #2 Sophia Louisa WILLIAMS;
    • Catherine b.12 Mar 1767, d.29 Sep 1848,OC 6 Jun 1799, 1. James SCULTHORP; 2. John LOW;
    • Esther b. 15 Jun 1771, d. 7 Aug 1839, m. David BEDFORD;
    • Peter Smith b. 25 Sep 1773, d. 13 May 1799;
    •  Elias Smith b. 5 May 1776, d. 7 May 1825, m. Elizabeth HARRIS;
    • Sarah b.18 Dec 1780,d.12 Jan 1854,OC 25 Oct 1803, m. John SHUTER;
    • Mary b.16 Apr 1783,d.18 Apr 1847,OC 22 Feb 1808, m. Robert Charles WILKINS;
    • John David b.20 Oct 1786,d.30 Mar 1849,OC 19 Apr1808, m. #1 S. HAWKINS; m. #2 A. WOODWORTH;
    • Eliza b. 25 Aug 1789 (alternately noted as August 15),d. 29 Mar 1861,OC 16Feb 1811, m. Joseph B. WALTON;
    • Elias b.14 Feb 1769, d.5 Aug 1769;
    • Elizabeth b. 4 Feb 1779, d. 27 May 1783;
    • Susannah born c.1757, mother unknown.
  • “Elias Sr became a freeman of New York City as carpenter in 1767 and joined the King’s Forces at Boston in 1774 as ‘Master Carpenter, Contractor, and paymaster to the Artificers, …drawing rations and forage as a Capt.’
  • Elias Smith Sr. of Niagara Township was born c.1750, Westchester Co., NY. Married Catherine SECORD; dau of John Secord Sr. & Mary Travis; b. c. 1752. They had these children.
    • Phoebe m. ADAMS George of Niagara, tanner, 7 Dec 1794, OC 25 Apr 1797;
    • Mary m. DURHAM James of Niagara, OC 7 Apr 1797;
    • Ann m. TURNEY George of Niagara 20 Dec 1801, OC 9 Jul 1802;
    • Elizabeth m.CLOW Duncan of Niagara 7 Oct 1802, OC 9 Mar 1803;
    • Elias Jr of Niagara, OC 19 Aug 1806, m. SECORD Ann;
    • John of Niagara, OC 11 Feb 1807; m. Elizabeth;
    • William Lewis of Niagara, OC 9 Mar 1811; m. FRALICK Elizabeth;
    • Sarah, m. CLEMENT John Baptist of Niagara, OC 8 Sep 1819;
    • Deborah m. MIDDAUGH Benjamin;
    • Catherine m. SECORD David (Major)

If you are willing to submit some information, send a note to  loyalist.trails@uelac.org All help is appreciated. …doug

Project by Grand River Branch: Unveiling of the Mabee/Secord Plaque
On Saturday, 27 September 2025, the Grand River Branch had a grand unveiling and dedication of the Mabee/Secord plaque. There was a turnout, on a beautiful afternoon, of about seventy-five descendants, friends and interested parties, in attendance. Some were in period dress and all were enthusiastic as the colour party presented the flags and all lustily joined in the singing of “God Save the King”. This was followed by a most interesting account of the family histories presented by Paul Smith UE, a descendant of both the Mabee’s and the Secord’s. Paul served Laura Secord chocolates jus to add to the enjoyment of the day. Read more plus photo…  …submitted by Bill Terry UE

Note about Projects: Many branches and UELAC itself have undertaken specific projects, but not so much during the Covid pandemic. These projects were described at “Loyalist Projects”
Readers of Loyalist Trails and visitors to uelac.ca are interested in what our branches and our organization are doing and what it has accomplished to preserve and promote our Loyalist heritage. If you and your branch have a project either completed in the last decade, or is actively being developed now, please consider reaching out to the editor about including it.

The Fall 2024 Loyalist Gazette Now Available to all
This issue focuses on Upper Canada (present day Ontario). On the cover is a photo of Fairfield House in Amherstview Ontario. It was built by Loyalists William and Abigail Fairfield in 1793.
The main topics in this issue include:

  • A look back at 2024 UELAC Conference in Cornwall On
  • A brief history of the UEL Heritage Centre and Park
  • Men of Ernesttown
  • Mutiny at Fort George
  • Scottish Immigrant, Loyalist Refugee George Chisholm
  • The Two Archibald Thomson UELs
  • Nelles Manor: A Loyalist House of Distinction
  • The Loyalists of Adolphustown
  • Robert Land: Head of the Lake Settlement
  • The Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada at The Battle of Lundy’s Lane
  • along with the standard features.

Note: The most recent issues of the Loyalist Gazette are available in the members’ section at uelac.ca. A year after publication, each issue becomes available to all. Previous issues since 2013 are available at Loyalist Gazette.

Scholarship Challenge 2025: Thank you
Scholarship: 

To support relevant scholarship, UELAC helps to fund up to six scholars in any given year through the UELAC Scholarship program. To help fund that program, a Scholarship Challenge is issued most years.
This year’s 2025 Scholarship Challenge was a success. From an initial target of $5,000 and a slow start, the energy began to increase and a matching donor added some impetus. With active promotions, the donations grew to a total of  $11,570. What a great success, and a great contribution to UELAC’s ability to continue.

  • Thank you to you in the branches for telling your members about the Scholarship program and the Challenge.
  • Thank you to those branches which contributed financially to this fund-raiser.
  • Thank you to the members in your branches who made a donation, big or small. Every dollar counts.

Our Scholarship recipients appreciate each of those dollars.
Thank you.
Jayne Leake UE, Chairperson of the Scholarship Committee.

Events Upcoming

London Branch: “Taverns and Coffee Houses as Sites of Loyalist History in Saint John” by Dr. Bonnie Huskins Tues 14 Oct. 6:00 ET

Bonnie says, “Tell the members that they will need a beverage of choice with them for the talk …..as you know, for the toasts.”
Bonnie Huskins is an Honorary Fellow of The United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada and presented a very informative keynote presentation in St. John, New Brunswick in July at our UELAC Annual Conference.
Join the virtual meeting (zoom) Meeting ID: 827 5661 5377  Passcode: 193097

The American Revolution Institute: The Formation of the Continental Army, Wed 15 Oct @6:30 ET

In 1775, the rebellious Americans had to form a standing army to protect their rights and defend themselves against occupying British forces. On June 14, 1775, shortly before the Battle of Bunker Hill in Boston, the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution that authorized the creation of an army that represented unity between the thirteen colonies, called the Continental Army, and appointed Gen. George Washington as its commander-in-chief. historian Holly Mayer, Ph.D., explores. Details.

New Brunswick Branch “Nancy Mosley, wife of Black Loyalist John Mosley, and the First Murder in New Brunswick” Tues 21 Oct 2:00 AT

The trial in 1785, presided by Loyalists Chief Justice George Ludlow and Judge James Putman. Speaker is Andrew MacLean whose popular long form Atlantic Canadian history column, Backyard History, appears once a week in more than a dozen newspapers and is read widely across the Maritimes. Meeting link (zoom).

St. Alban’s Centre: Oktoberfest 2025 Celebration Sat. 25 Oct. @4:00 ET

Choice of main courses, drinks and entertainment by the Brick Haus Polka Band. Details… 

Moore Family Reunion 2025 Sat. 1 Nov. Gathering on zoom

A gathering of the descendants and friends of Samuel Moore I, of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Province of New Jersey, born c. 1630, and his great-grandson, United Empire Loyalist Samuel Moore of Upper Canada, formerly of the Provinces of New Jersey and Nova Scotia, born 1742, died and buried 1822, Norwich, Upper Canada
Topics include:
“What have the Moores been up to for the last 1000 years?”
“Moorlands: An Ancestral Memoir of Loss and Belonging”
“William Shotwell Moore’s trip to Canada and life thereafter”
Email Donna Moore, d.moore3359@gmail.com for more information and the Zoom link.

From the Social Media and Beyond

  • The Loyalist Pioneers of Rawdon Township NS. Rawdon Township in Hants County, Nova Scotia became home to families that were refugees from South Carolina and other locations following the end of the American Revolution. Learn about the circumstances of that event and its impact on today’s Rawdon district. By the East Hants Historical Society, noted by Brian McConnell UE. See more… (30 minute video with an AI generated transcript)
  • Food and Related: Townsends

  • This week in History
    • 7 Oct 1750 Setauket, NY Abraham Woodhull was born. Leading member of the Culper Spy Ring in NYC & Setauket, LI, during the #RevWar. He used the alias “Samuel Culper”, which was a play on Culpeper County, Virginia, suggested by George Washington. image
    • October 7, 1763, London: King George III signs the Proclamation of 1763, forbidding colonial settlements west of the Appalachian demarcation line. Done to placate the Indians, it stirred colonial resentment, as there were already settlers west of the line. image
    • 5 Oct 1774 Boston. MA Gov Thomas Gage dissolves the Mass. General Court, but the assembly reconstitutes itself as the Provincial Congress of Salem with John Hancock as president of the extralegal body. image
    • 10 Oct 1774   Battle of Point Pleasant fought during Lord Dunmore’s War, one of the wars against Chief Cornstalk’s Shawnee. 33 Shawnee were killed & Virginians lost 60 killed & 96 wounded but Shawnee retreated over the Ohio R. & peace treaty signed. image
    • 5 Oct 1775, Gen Washington informs Congress that the Surgeon General of the Continental Army, Dr. Benjamin Church, was a spy. “I now have a painful tho’ a Necessary Duty to perform respecting Doctor Church, Director General of the Hospital.” image
    • 7 Oct 1775 British Adm Samuel Graves authorizes the Royal Navy to launch punitive raids along the New England coast to suppress privateering.  image
    • 9 Oct 1775 Just months after commanding during the Battle of Bunker Hill, Gen Sir William Howe writes to the British Secretary of State for the American colonies, Lord Dartmouth, that the British army should be evacuated from Boston to Rhode Island. image
    • 10 Oct 1775: Following losses at Bunker Hill & the containment of the British Army in Boston, London replaces Gen Thomas Gage with Gen William Howe as Commander in Chief of the British Army in America. Upon his return to England, Gage retired. image
    • 4 October 1776, Governor General of Canada Guy Carleton, commanding some 13,000 troops, sent a fleet of five warships, 20 gunboats, and other vessels down Lake Champlain as a reprisal for the American attacks on Montreal & Quebec. image
    • 11 Oct 1776 Battle of Valcour Island fought over 2 days, the British fleet under Sir Guy Carleton defeats 15 American gunboats led heroically by Benedict Arnold. This delaying action gave the patriot ground forces a chance to prepare a defense of New York.  image
    • 11 Oct 1776, New York, New York: General William Howe directs a division of troops to embark on transports & hazard the treacherous waters of the Hell Gate. Under a blanket of fog, they sail through it & anchor off the Throg’s Neck. image
    • 4 Oct 1777, Saratoga, NY: Gen. Burgoyne summons a war council to discuss the military situation. Despite objections from his staff, he decides to conduct a heavy probe of American defenses before launching a final attack.  image
    • October 4, 1777, began with a thick fog over the rolling fields and quaint stone houses of Germantown, Pennsylvania—a colonial village just north of Philadelphia that was now a British stronghold under General William Howe.
      The air was heavy with mist, softening the world into whispers and shadows, as if the heavens themselves conspired to hide the truth. Howe, the sharp-minded commander fresh from capturing the rebel capital, had comfortably quartered his 9,000 redcoats, their scarlet coats symbolizing imperial strength. Still, complacency lurked; his scouts dismissed the foggy dawn as nothing more than an autumn chill.
      General George Washington, his face etched with unyielding resolve, gazed from Chestnut Hill. Victory here could reclaim Philadelphia and shatter British morale. His plan was a labyrinth of audacity: four American columns—militia, Continentals, and light infantry—converging at dawn, like fingers closing into a fist, striking Howe’s forces from all sides in a surprise pincer.
      As the first pale light pierced the haze, the attack unfolded with frantic precision. Anthony Wayne’s Pennsylvanians charged the British center, bayonets glinting like specters, shattering pickets and routing the Queen’s Rangers in a hail of musket fire.
      To the east, militia under John Armstrong veered off course in the thick fog, their shouts lost amid the din. Confusion reigned; echoes of “Huzza!” turned into panicked cries as fog-blinded Americans mistook friends for enemies, unleashing volleys into their own ranks. British artillery thundered back, canister shot tearing through the gloom like vengeful ghosts.
      At the Chew House, a sturdy stone mansion amid the melee, Colonel Thomas Musgrove’s 120 redcoats dug in like ticks, their muskets spitting fire from barricaded windows. This stubborn bastion pinned Greene’s division for hours, draining rebel ammunition and resolve. At the same time, Howe’s reserves—alerted by the uproar—rallied with disciplined fury, their volleys a crimson tide that turned the tide.
      Washington, astride his white charger, rallied the faltering lines, his voice a clarion amid the bedlam. Yet the fog sowed chaos: delayed reinforcements tangled in hedgerows. By mid-morning, momentum shattered. Exhausted, ammunition spent, and British bayonets closing in, Washington ordered retreat. His men melted into the woods, leaving trails of bloodied bandages and broken hopes.
      The toll was heavy: over 1,000 Americans fell—killed, wounded, or captured—in a bid for glory that slipped away like mist. The British, though victors, bled over 500; their lines scarred but unbowed, Howe’s grip on Philadelphia tightened. Germantown was no Saratoga triumph; it was a pyrrhic victory, exposing fragility. Yet in defeat, the Continental spirit endured, forging future fires. image
    • 8 Oct 1777: American forces withdraw up the Hudson R. as British General Henry Clinton’s forces seize Constitution Island, across from West Point, NY. Clinton sends a Loyalist with a secret message to Gen Burgoyne, essentially saying he is on his own.  image
    • 9 Oct 1777 Continental Village, NY. The small American garrison is smashed in a quick raid by Gov William Tryon. image
    • 9 Oct 1777 Saratoga, NY British Gen John Burgoyne withdraws his army, now reduced to some 5,800, through rough terrain and pelting rain, to occupy the heights near the village.  image
    • 5 Oct 1778, Mincock Island, NJ. Capt. Patrick Ferguson leads 250 men on a raid, surprising & bayonetting Polish Count Kazimierz Pulaski’s cavalry in camp… Over 25 are wounded or captured before help arrives. image
    • 6 Oct 1778, Chestnut Neck, NJ. A fleet of nine British ships, with 400 regulars and provincials, attacked the trading port & privateer base in Little Egg Harbor, seizing & burning supplies & destroying buildings before retreating as a relief force arrived.  image
    • 8 Oct 1778 Otsego Co., NY Continental brigade under Col William Butler made a retaliatory attack on Chief Joseph Brant’s home village of Unadilla. The month before, Brant and Loyalist raiders had attacked and burned the town of German Flats. image
    • 8 Oct 1779 Savanah, GA. The allied siege progresses, as French Admiral D’Estaing demands they storm the British lines. Gen Benjamin Lincoln draws up attack plans, but a deserter tips off British commander Augustin Prevost, who deploys his men accordingly. image
    • 9 Oct 1779 Savannah, GA. Polish Gen Casimir Pulaski charged a redoubt but was mortally wounded by the blast of a cannon. Impressed by his courage, the British permitted him to be carried from the battlefield, but he died six days later at age 34. image
    • 6 Oct 1780 Henry Laurens is arrested for high treason. For nearly 15 months, the former President of the Continental Congress was imprisoned in the Tower of London and was gravely ill. He would eventually be traded for Lord Cornwallis on December 31, 1781. image
    • 10 Oct 1780 A bold strike by some 800 Loyalists & Iroquois under Maj Christopher Carelton captures Ft Anne, NY and its 75-man garrison. image
    • 6 Oct 1781 Yorktown, VA.  Gen Washington symbolically turns the first shovel as the allies begin digging the first parallel siege line. Several days of rain have softened the ground, making digging quick, easy, and quiet. The line goes up in one night.  image
    • 5 Oct 1782 Paris British & American commissioners conclude a draft of peace terms that: define America’s boundaries; call for removal of British forces; grant American fishing rights off Newfoundland & call for free navigation of the Mississippi River.  image

Editor comment: I wish you a Happy Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend. Enjoy, and be thankful for the good things in your life.  …doug

 

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