In this issue:


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New at the UELAC Store: Loyalist Coins: “We Remember” and “Challenge”
Two hundred and fifty years ago, the American Revolution which had been brewing for many years was well underway, and the formal declaration of a split from the British Empire was only months in the future.
Everyone living in British North America – all 19 colonies – was a British subject. So this was very much a civil war which pitted neighbour against neighbour and family member against family member.
Canada eventually evolved from the colonies which remained British to become the nation we know today. A number of our founding peoples were products of the Loyalists, those who fled from the rebelling colonies and came north.

To celebrate those Loyalists, UELAC is proud to announce two coins.

  • The Revolutionary War Coin of Remembrance
  • The UELAC Challenge Coin

The coins are two-sided, made of high polished gold metal and recessed sandblasted gold metal, with a 3D effect and a coat of epoxy. In size, they have a diameter of 4.5cm (1.75 inches) about 50% larger than a toonie 3 cm (1.1 in.).
Visit the UELAC Store for images and more details (click on the images to enlarge)
The cost is $20 plus shipping, handling and any duties.
See Ordering instructions at The Store.

A “challenge coin” is a small, custom-designed medallion that bears an organization’s insignia, emblem, or motto and is carried by the group’s members as a symbol of identity, pride, and camaraderie. The tradition originated in the military, but has since expanded to first responders, government agencies, corporate entities, and other civilian groups to recognize special achievements, commemorate events.
The coin serves as a tangible badge of membership in a specific unit, team, or organization, fostering a sense of shared purpose and loyalty among members.
A common tradition associated with these coins is the “coin challenge” or “coin check,” where members can challenge others in the group to produce their coin at any time.

UELAC Masters and PhD Scholarships: Application Deadline Approaching
Did you know that UELAC offers scholarships to Masters and PhD students?
The UELAC mandate includes the understanding of the role and impact of the Loyalists on the development of Canada. Providing Loyalist education resource materials and encouraging research through scholarship support is integral to our mission to preserve, promote and celebrate the history and traditions of the United Empire Loyalists.
If you know of a possible candidate, please ask him/her to review the information at Scholars Wanted  – the deadline to apply is February 28th, 2026.

Query: From a Loyalist House – the Vought House – in New Jersey
The 1759 Vought House is a non-profit located in New Jersey.
The Voughts were Loyalists and we are in the midst of a major restoration to help save this unique home (wattle and daub and amazing decorative plaster ceilings – one being a serpent that faces you as you walk through the front door). The Voughts fled to Nova Scotia along with many other loyalists. Visit our website if you are curious to know more… http:// voughthouse.org/
The house was built by Christoffel Vought in 1759.
His son, Captain John Vought served with the New Jersey Volunteers. At the end of the war, he and his family left from New York City for Nova Scotia. They settled at Parrsborough, NS.
In 1792 they returned to the US, settling west of Albany NY.
See more information in the Loyalist Directory – Captain Joh Vought https:// uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=9499

The Vought House is one of few – the only perhaps – Loyalist site preserved in New Jersey.

The Query:
We am doing some research to find information on the role of loyalist women during the American Revolution. Do you have any articles or other websites that would be useful in my quest for information on what these women had to endure during this time (and after)?
Please respond to president@voughthouse.org if you have information that could help.

Countdown to Lexington and Concord: Notices in a Loyalist Newspaper. Part Five of Five
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
One of those who had signed Westchester, New York’s declaration of loyalty to the king that had been published in Rivington’s Gazette on April 20, 1775 was Gabriel Purdy. That same edition of the newspaper carried the news of his marriage to his cousin, Charity Purdy, on March 28, 1775.
In it was this bit of loyalist bravado: “there were forty-seven guests at the wedding, of whom 37 were Purdys, and there was not a Whig among them.” However, the political make-up of the Purdy family changed in the years that followed. Gabriel’s two older brothers, Jacob and Samuel, fought in the Continental Army. His brothers Henry and Gilbert fought for the king along with Gabriel. All three loyalist Purdys would eventually seek sanctuary in Nova Scotia and settle near one another.
A year and a half after his wedding, the 21 year-old Gabriel joined the British army at the same time as the Battle of White Plains in October 1776. Over the course of the war, young Purdy served with the Westchester Refugees and then the Company of Light Infantry.  Although Gabriel later outlined his military service to the crown when he sought compensation for his lost property, he did not share losses that were of a more personal nature.
Sometime after the birth of their first child, Gabriel’s wife Charity died. He married for a second time in 1782, making Esther Angevine his wife. The couple had a son in January of 1783 before seeking sanctuary in Nova Scotia that fall. The loyalist family travelled to Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia on the Caron in late September. Accompanying the Purdys were their five enslaved Africans: Ned and Belinda Moore and their 3 year-old son, 21 year-old Sue, and 19 year-old Peter.
Gabriel and Esther eventually settled on the Remsheg River in the colony’s Cumberland County where they would have 10 more children. The Royal Commission on the Losses and Services of American Loyalists considered Purdy’s petition on November 2, 1786 when it convened in Saint John, New Brunswick. The fact that the 32 year-old veteran had borne arms for the crown persuaded the commissioners to grant him some financial compensation.
Gabriel neglected to tell the compensation board that he had been severely wounded by patriots during the war. In an attempt to escape from rebel soldiers, Purdy hid in a barrel full of tow (a material used in rope-making). A rebel officer, suspicious that the barrel might be a Tory’s hiding spot, plunged his sword through its wooden staves. The blade cut a gash in Purdy’s head, but was not fatal.
The record of Gabriel’s life is silent for the next 18 years.  Sometime after the death of his second wife, he married Elizabeth Richardson and fathered six more children.  At age 55, he became a Justice of the Peace. Purdy was active in the Methodist Church and in his community, overseeing the construction of roads in Cumberland County.
Following Elizabeth’s death after 1812, Gabriel married Esther Knight. In 1817, Purdy became the commander of a provincial militia company. After Esther’s death, the old loyalist married for the fifth and final time, making Ann Aikens/Aitkins his wife.  When he died at the age of 87, Gabriel Purdy had 17 children, 170 grandchildren, and 52 great-grandchildren.
Thanks to the data found in Kenneth Scott’s 1973 book, Rivington’s New York Newspaper: Excerpts from a Loyalist Press, 1773-1783, it has been possible to trace the people and events that were part of the countdown to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Despite the shocking news of the events in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775, the excerpts from the Gazette make no reference to the growing rebel violence until one New Yorker posted a notice in the May 11th edition.
Isaac Wilkins felt compelled to make it known that “I leave America and every endearing connection, because I will not raise my hand in opposition to my sovereign, nor will I draw my sword against my country; when I can conscientiously draw it in her favor, my life shall be cheerfully devoted to her service. ”
Wilkins fled to England, leaving his family and his wife, Isabella, behind on his Westchester farm. Wilkins had the misfortune of having his name published in the Patriot press. One of their handbills had described him as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” for his deception and escape.
In 1776, he returned to New York with the British forces and settled on Long Island. Angry with Wilkins, rebels rode out to his Westchester farm with the intent of taking his wife prisoner. Isabella heard of the advancing patriots, and only had enough time to save her clothes before fleeing. Thwarted in their plans, the rebels made prisoners of Wilkins’ slaves, stole his livestock, and vandalized his property.
The destruction of their farm was not the only shame the Wilkins family had to bear in 1776. Isabella’s brother, Lewis Morris, was one of the rebels who signed the Declaration of Independence. A more divided family is hard to imagine.
Rather than evacuating with other refugees in the summer of 1783, Wilkins remained behind to sell his land in Westchester County. According to the Articles of Peace, Loyalists were supposed to be compensated by the new American republic. Wilkins was one of the fortunate few to actually recoup any of his losses. He sold his farm for £2,500.
Wilkins settled in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, where he remained several years, before moving to Lunenburg. He eventually received permission to return to New York sometime before 1803.
In his early 60s at this point, Wilkins had “taken orders” as an Episcopalian clergyman and served St. Peter’s Church in what is now the Bronx, where “he continued highly esteemed for lofty principle, ever exhibited through a protracted and checkered life“. The Rev. Isaac Wilkins died on February 5, 1830 at the age of 89 – almost 55 years to the day of the battles at Lexington and Concord. His wife died within a few months of her husband. Left to mourn their parents were seven daughters and five sons.
This brings an end to this series on the people and events that were part of the countdown to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. It was a turbulent time punctuated by everyday events, lived out by ordinary people who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

Reclaiming the Cushetunk Settlement: My Journey to the Edge of the Frontier
By Eric S. Frazer UE
It is a rare and surreal experience to walk into a living history museum and realize the story being told is your own. As a direct descendant of Joseph Skinner, the proprietor of the Delaware Company, and the United Empire Loyalist Benjamin Skinner, I traveled to Narrowsburg, New York, with a specific purpose. I went to Fort Delaware seeking a connection with the pioneers who carved civilization out of the Upper Delaware River Valley wilderness.
My journey took an unexpected turn while speaking with the fort’s reenactors. There, I met a blacksmith who shared not only his craft but also a deep knowledge of local history. He pointed me away from the reconstructed walls of the fort and toward the site of the actual, original Cushetunk Settlement.
The drive along the rugged border of Pennsylvania and New York was nothing short of breathtaking. Following a narrow, winding road that likely traced an ancient Indigenous path, I moved through a landscape defined by steep mountainsides and the rushing Delaware River. Then, the terrain broke. Below the road lay a vast, vibrant green flat, a fertile expanse of land that stood out against the wild slope.
I pulled over, eager to stand on the soil my ancestors once tilled and to “breathe in” the history of the frontier. But the sense of awe was short-lived. Standing there, amidst the beauty of the valley, I encountered a historical marker that felt less like a tribute and more like a slap in the face. Read more…

The Loyal- List: Celebrating Women and Girls in Science
By Mike Woodcock UE, Victoria Branch
February 8th marks the United Nations’ International Day of Women and Girls in Science — a moment to recognize contributions, spotlight role models, and renew efforts to close the gender gap. Women and girls still face systemic barriers and bias that limit their participation and advancement. Achieving equity requires breaking stereotypes, amplifying role models, supporting targeted programs, and creating inclusive policies and workplaces.

Notable UEL descendant contributions

Helen Preston (Glass) (1917–2015) — Nurse, educator and researcher who helped establish graduate nursing education and the Manitoba Nursing Research Institute.
Edna Marie Haviland (1896–1981) — Industrial chemist who developed rubber compound formulas vital to wartime production and later commercial uses.
Lydia Giberson (1899-1994) — Psychiatrist at Metropolitan Life (hired 1932), among the company’s earliest full‑time psychiatrists and one of the first women to hold the role.
Carrie Matilda Derick (1862–1941) — Botanist and geneticist; Canada’s first woman university professor and founder of McGill’s genetics department.
Octavia Grace Ritchie (England) (1868–1948) — Physician and suffragist; first woman to earn a medical degree in Québec (1891) and co-founder of the Association for the Professional Education of Women.
Elizabeth Muriel Gregory MacGill, OC (1905–1980) — Aeronautical engineer who oversaw wartime aircraft production at Canadian Car and Foundry, helping make Canada a leader in aircraft manufacturing; later ran a successful engineering consulting business.

Invitation to Contribute
Help grow The Loyal-List! Know other Loyalist links to women and girls in science? Please contribute information about Loyalists or their descendants, suggest edits to existing profiles, or provide feedback via email at membership.vic.uelac@gmail.com or on the UELAC homepage.

The Loyal-List is a project of the United Empire Loyalists (UEL) Association of Canada, compiled from reputable sources, including the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Wikipedia, and various published works. Learn more about this inspiring project on the national UELAC website.

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

Champion Boxer & Black Loyalist Descendant – 4 February 2026

Samuel ‘Sam ‘ Edgar Langford has been called the best boxer of his time. He was born on 4 March 1886 in Weymouth Falls, Digby County,  Nova Scotia, and descended from a Black Loyalist. He went to the United States as a young person where he became a champion boxer in Boston, Massachusetts. Racial discrimination denied him a shot at many fights but he was crowned the World Colored Heavyweight Champion a record five times between 1910 and 1918.  Jack Dempsey, who was World Heavyweight Champion from 1919 to 1926, said Sam Langford was the best fighter we ever had.  In 1955, Langford was made a member of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and his story is being told in his birthplace county of Digby. Read more…

First Female Mayor a Black Loyalist Descendant – 5 February 2026

In 1984, the town of Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia elected the first female Black Mayor of Canada. Her name was Daurene Elaine Lewis, and she was a seventh generation descendant of Black Loyalist Rose Fortune .  She first became involved in politics in 1979 when she ran for Town Council in Annapolis Royal and in 1982 was appointed Deputy Mayor.
A bronze busk of Lewis by sculptor Ruth Abernethy was unveiled in 2018 when the town of Annapolis Royal renamed a downtown plaza after her. She was active in development of the Farmers’ Market, the boardwalk,  and the Historic Gardens.  Read more…

250 Years Ago: The Invasion of Canada: Stalemate: Early February 1776 
At the Siege of Quebec was characterized by a stalemate following the failed American assault on December 31, 1775

Reinforcement Logistics. Small groups of American reinforcements continued to trickle into the camp from Montreal and the southern colonies, though they barely replaced those lost to disease. On the British side, Carleton maintained his policy of patience, awaiting the eventual arrival of the British fleet.

Supplies: Troops faced severe shortages of food, firewood, and clothing, relying on local Canadien support that was rapidly fading due to lack of payment.
Reinforcements: Arnold spent this period desperately requesting more troops from Congress to replace those whose enlistments had expired.

Supplies for the British Garrison (Quebec City)
Governor Guy Carleton had prepared for a long winter by stockpiling provisions before the siege began.

  • Core Rations: Soldiers and the 1,800-man garrison received standard British Army provisions including beef, pork, bread, flour, oatmeal, and peas.
  • Anti-Scorbutics (Anti-Scurvy): To maintain health, they used sauerkraut, spruce beer, vinegar, and mustard seed.
  • Luxury & Supplement: They also had access to butter, cheese, molasses, and occasional vegetables like potatoes and turnips.
  • Defense: They were equipped with nearly four times as many cannons as the Americans and had ample gunpowder.

 Supplies for the American Forces (Continental Army)
The American supply line was nearly non-existent. Benedict Arnold’s expedition had lost most of its equipment during the grueling march through Maine.
Troops faced severe shortages of food, firewood, and clothing, relying on local Canadien support that was rapidly fading due to lack of payment.

  • Desperation Diet: Having run out of standard flour and pork, soldiers were reduced to eating leather shoes, cartridge boxes, and even their dogs to survive the march.
  • Blockade Subsistence: By February 1776, they relied on meager supplies from local Canadien supporters, including moose, fish, and local game, though this support was fading.
  • Clothing: Most troops lacked proper winter gear. While General Montgomery had brought some captured British clothing in December, it was insufficient for the sub-zero temperatures.
  • Ordnance: Their artillery was limited to a few 6-pound and 12-pound cannons, which were too small to breach Quebec’s stone walls.


The Monmouth County Gaol and the Jailbreak of February 1781
by Michael Adelberg 5 February 2026 Journal of the American Revolution
As the Revolutionary War began, the fledgling Continental and state governments were faced the huge burden of holding and provisioning thousands of captured enemy soldiers and insurgent Loyalists. In 1776, prisons were improvised across the states—with the infamous Simsbury Mine in Connecticut as the most notable example. By the end of the year, a chain of prisons existed along the Appalachian Piedmont from Virginia to New York.
Detaining local criminals, even violent ones with Loyalist leanings, nonetheless remained primarily a local responsibility. In war-torn localities such as those stretching around British-occupied New York City, armed resistance to the Revolution intermingled with violent crime; large numbers of dangerous criminals soon overwhelmed the small county prisons of farm counties. A narrative about the Monmouth County Gaol (in Freehold, New Jersey) and the climactic jailbreak of February 1781 provides a case study.

The Monmouth County Gaol, 1776-1780
The Monmouth County Gaol was in the basement of the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold. While no surviving document describes it in detail, it can be gleaned from a smattering of documents that the prison consisted of few rough rooms that were never expected to house dozens of dangerous prisoners at the same time. Read more… 

The New Dominion [USA]: The Land Lotteries
by Gabriel Neville 3 February 2026 Journal of the American
Brevet Major General Peter Muhlenberg woke up in the ruins of Fort Littleton on the morning of March 6, 1784, mounted his horse, and continued his journey through the snow-covered mountains of western Pennsylvania. With him were a servant, a pack horse, and a German veteran of Casimir Pulaski’s Legion. They rode to Bedford, site of another French and Indian War fort, on the Forbes Road. The general found warm accommodations at a tavern but prudently kept a low profile. He was an important man, and he had no desire to get drawn into the controversies of the day. He could not, however, avoid hearing people talk.

I had flattered myself that, as we were going towards the frontiers, we should soon be out of the latitude of politics; but even here two men cannot drink half a gill of whiskey without discussing a point in politics, to the great improvement and edification of the bystanders. Especially so to me, while I stand by incog[nito], and hear the name of Muhlenberg made use of, sometimes in one way, and sometimes in another; for were I known, I believe no one would have the hardiesse to mention that name with disrespect, and look at me, for I have at present the perfect resemblance of Robinson Crusoe: four belts around me, two brace of pistols, a sword and rifle slung, besides my pouch and tobacco pipe, which is not a small one. Add to this the blackness of my face, which occasions the inhabitants to take me for a travelling Spaniard, and I am sure that my appearance alone ought to protect me from both politics and insult.

Though he had returned to his original Pennsylvania home after the war, the Fighting Parson was now one of the “superintendents” appointed to “locate the lands intended for the officers and soldiers of the Virginia line on Continental establishment.” The Pennsylvania Dutch general was personally entitled to 13,333⅓ acres. If he gave his warrant to the principal surveyor by March 15, he would have a chance at the best land. He had nine days left to get to Pittsburgh.  Read more…

Book Review: The Home Front: Revolutionary Households, Military Occupation, and the Making of American Independence
Author: Lauren Duval (Charlotte: University of North Carolina Press)
Review by Nichole Louise 1 February 2026 Journal of the American Revolutionar
The Home Front by Lauren Duval, published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture in conjunction with the University of North Carolina Press, offers a comprehensive and multifaceted examination of American colonial life under British occupation. Focusing primarily on urban life in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Charleston, Duval’s core arguments in The Home Front present the colonial American home as a microcosm of the social workings of the thirteen colonies—and the Revolution, in relation to the existing disparities and social structures of gender, race, class, and socioeconomic status.
The war and occupations of the largest cities of the American colonies essentially meant a threat to the established social order where white landowning and/or wealthy men sat comfortably at the top. Not accustomed to being challenged or questioned, Duval contends that disempowerment within their own domains meant a threat to the patriarchal household. Furthermore, in “British common law, the household was a legal construction that embodied the relations of power that structured colonial society, where authority was vested in the male head of household who functioned as the legal, social, and political representative for his assorted dependents, including his family, servants, and enslaved people . . . [this law] upheld the hierarchies of race, gender, status, wealth, freedom and political power” (page 13).
If colonial patriarchal authority equated households to “little monarchies” and plantations to “little kingdoms,” the British military invasion and occupation was a direct attack upon white, masculine authority in the colonies in that “property was an integral pillar of support [in bolstering] white men’s racial and gendered authority and serv[ing] as a means for its display”. Read more…

Advertised on 7 Feb.  “Advertisements for Common Sense”

Advertisements for Common Sense Published February 7, 1776

Historians consider Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, published anonymously on January 9, 1776, the most influential political pamphlet that circulated in the colonies during the era of the American Revolution.  Written in plain language accessible to readers of all backgrounds, the pamphlet made a bold case for declaring independence at a time that many colonizers still sought a redress their grievances by George III and Parliament.  Paine’s pamphlet played a vital role in swaying public opinion in favor of declaring independence.
Common Sense was an eighteenth-century bestseller, though Paine wildly overestimated how many copies were published, claiming 150,000 circulated in 1776, and historians later made even more dubious claims that American printing presses produced as many as 500,000 copies.  Contrary to those exaggerations. Read more…

The Medical Doctor Who Triggered the Salem Witch Trials of 1692
by Benjamin Ray February 2026 at Common Place
There is little historical information about Dr. Griggs, but what little there is, is significant. Also important are historians’ assessments of his medical competence and moral character.
The crisis known as the Salem witch trials was a small-scale tragedy compared to the large Scottish and English witch-hunts of the seventeenth century. But it was the worst witch-hunt in American history. It lasted over a year, spreading to over twenty-five different communities. More than 150 people were arrested, and nineteen were executed by hanging. In mid-February 1692, when strange afflictions were happening to two young girls in the house of the village minister, a doctor named William Griggs diagnosed the “Evil Hand” as the cause. It was this diagnosis that helped start the Salem witch trials. There is little historical information about Dr. Griggs, but what little there is, is significant. Also important are historians’ assessments of his medical competence and moral character.
The Reverend John Hale wrote the only eye-witness account of the circumstances that led to Griggs’s diagnosis: “Mr. Samuel Paris, Pastor of the Church in Salem-Village, had a Daughter of Nine, and a Neice of about Eleven years of Age, sadly Afflicted of they knew not what Distempers; and he made his application to Physitians, yet still they grew worse: And at length one Physitian gave his opinion that the cause was the Evil Hand,” namely, the devil. Hale did not name the doctor who gave the diagnosis, but historians agree that it was seventy-year-old Dr. William Griggs, who had recently moved to Salem Village and become its first resident doctor. Read more…

Duke Ellington spent a lot of time in Africville, Nova Scotia.
The jazz giant was married to Mildred Dixon, a dancer whom he met while they were both working at the famous Cotton Club in Harlem in the 1920s. Dixon’s family had a long-established history in Nova Scotia that went back to the arrival of the Black Loyalists after the American Revolutionary War. The Dixon family was well-established in the Africville community, and Duke & Mildred would frequently visit her relatives.
I had read and heard lots of anecdotes about Duke’s visits, but I had never found a photo until I stumbled on this one while reading The Spirit of Africville by the Africville Geneaology Society (2010). The photo isn’t dated, but comparing it to other photos of Duke throughout the decades, I would guess it was the 1940s or early 1950s.
Mildred Dixon was the inspiration for many of Duke’s compositions, such as “Sophisticated Lady.” Duke passed away in 1974 at the age of 75, while Mildred passed away decades later in 2001 at the age of 97.
Note a comment from David Woods: Friendly correction for the record: Duke Ellington was not married to Mildred Dixon (they dated in the 1930’s). Mildred’s father was not from Africville (he was a white Italian), her grandfather John J. Dixon was. ‘Sophisticated Lady’ was not inspired by Mildred, it was inspired by three of Ellington’s grade school teachers in Washington DC.
Item noted by Kevin Wisener UE. Posted at Facebook on 4 Feb 2026.  Read more…


Parks Canada planned to delete a heritage website — but one proud Canadian hit ‘Save’
Stephen Taylor read a CBC story about the closure and used A.I. to create a new site
by Vernon Ramesar 31 January 2026 at CBC News
When Stephen Taylor read a CBC Nova Scotia story about the imminent closure of Parks Canada’s Canadian Register of Historic Places website, he knew he had to act.
The register is a national searchable database of historic places recognized by federal, provincial, territorial and local governments.
It contains about 13,500 listings and is slated for decommissioning this spring.
“Reading into it… I felt it would be a tragedy to lose that resource,” Taylor said.
“I felt there was a huge urgency to preserve it, ironically preserving our history, even though that was the point of the original website.”
As a partner and chief technical officer at Shift Media Strategies, Toronto-based Taylor knows a thing or two about web technologies.  Read more…

Loyalists Who Stayed
Two of my direct GOVE ancestors from NH were on Pitt’s raid on Louisbourg in 1758.
Years later they were asked to sign the Association Test pledging loyalty to the rebel  cause. Both threw up their hands and “we are Quakers and are against war of any kind and therefore can’t sign”.
This was credible as there were actual Gove Quakers in the Seabrook/Hampton area. I’ve been to the cemeteries!
My Late Loyalist ancestor, Jeremiah Gove, left many many years after the war for Gagetown NB in 1811 and married Elizabeth Tilley, aunt of Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley, Father of Confederation.

                James G. Oborne UE

UELAC Loyalist Directory: New Contributions
Entries which have been added, or revised, this week – much appreciation to those contributing:

From Lynton “Bill” Stewart, a number of entries

  • John Allen III b. 8 January 1727 in Hackensack, Bergen County, New Jersey, settled aat Newark, Essex County, New Jersey, d 1796, Sunbury County, New Brunwwick. Resdettled initially Carleton, St. John, NB; then Sunbury County, New Brunswick. Twice married: 1. Rachel van Boskerk (1732-1771) 2. Anna Moore (1728-?). Eleven children.
  • Joseph Alward b. 1742 in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey d.     1802 in Parrtown, New Brunswick. He was son of     Son of Benjamin Alward Sr.
  • Benjamin Alward Sr. b. 2 July 1708 in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey (noted as b. 12 Jul 1707 on WikiTree) d. Oct 1787, New Brunswick. With     Sarah Jane Ayers (1710-1792), married 1739 seven children.
  • Benjamin Alward Jr. b. 1750, Woodrbidge, Midldelsex County, New Jersey d. 1835 – New Cannan. Queens County, New Brunswick. with Hannah Wright (1765-1814), married 10 Oct 1791 in Gagetown, Queens Co, New Brunswick, Canada ten children betweeen 1786 and 1814.
  • Asher Alward resettled at St. John, New Brunswick d. 1792 in Parrtown, New Brunswick. Spouse was Phebe ?
  • Silas Alward  b. 1744 in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey d. 1786 in Havelock, King’s County, New Brunswick where he had resettled.
  • John Alward  b. circa 1751 in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Resettld at Kennebcasis and then Washademoak, Queens County

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

Events Upcoming

Kawartha Branch. Valentine’s Get-Together. Tues 10 Feb. 1:30

Kawartha Branch Members and friends are gathering in-person at Kelsey’s Original Roadhouse, 1211 Lansdowne Street West, Peterborough, Ontario from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. ET
Just choose your entrée from the menu. We have a private room but with limited space so register early.
We look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible. There will be treats for everyone, small gifts and a good time
Register with Grietje McBride UE maplegrm@gmail.com

Abeqweit Branch: New Jersey Volunteers Wed 11 Feb 8:00AT 

Our Guest, Michael Adelberg, will speak about the New Jersey Volunteers, several of whom were PEI Loyalists. The meeting time is 8 PM Atlantic Time. Entry will begin 15 minutes before the talk. Here is the ZOOM link: https:// us06web.zoom.us/j/86146409894? pwd=GcH8GLLMec6WfCfDfFMH69dxTofRup.1
Meeting ID: 861 4640 9894   Passcode: 983037

Victoria Genealogical Society and Victoria UELAC Branch: Affirmations of Black Loyalists.  Thurs 12 Feb 7:00 Pacific Time 

A free, online Black History Month presentation.
Allister Barton presents an illustrative narrative that explores the journey of General Henry Clinton’s Company of Black Pioneer soldiers—formerly enslaved men, women, and children, who escaped bondage during the American Revolution in pursuit of freedom. This presentation traces their migration to Digby, Nova Scotia, where they sought land, community, and a new beginning. Through intimate and complex accounts of their experiences, Allister sheds light on a vital yet often overlooked chapter in Nova Scotia’s history. These affirmations offer a compelling lens into the legacy of African Nova Scotians and their enduring contributions to the province. Register here.

American Revolution Institute: The Home Front: Revolutionary Households, Military Occupation, and the Making of American Independence  Thurs 12 Feb @6:30

Historian Lauren Duval of the University of Oklahoma discusses her new book that vividly captures daily life during the American Revolution through the eyes and ears of those who intimately experienced it.  Register…

American Revolution Institute:  British Officer Thomas Musgrave’s Account of the American Revolution Fri 13 Feb 12:30 ET

Join the Institute’s museum collections and operations manager, Paul Newman, for a discussion of a 1780s manuscript account of the American Revolution by Lt. Col. (later made a General and Baronet) Thomas Musgrave, a British officer who served extensively throughout the war. At the battle of Germantown, he commanded the British 40th Regiment of Foot that famously defended the Chew House against attacking American forces. Subsequently, he was restationed in the West Indies in 1778, before returning to New York. Register…

Kawartha Branch: “1775: Canada Invaded” Sunday 15 February @2:00ET

By Brian Tackaberry UE, retired educator and avid historian.. Most Canadians are familiar with the American Revolution which they consider starting in 1776 and would eventually result in the migration of Loyalists to Canada, but in 1775 there was an attempt by the Rebel Americans to make us the 14th Colony and when that failed, the Americans invaded Canada, taking much of Richelieu and St. Lawrence regions, but were eventually turned back during the attack on Quebec City.  Join zoom meeting https:// us06web.zoom.us/j/83282677767? pwd=VaqeYaLpeTxVpUxNlKpTNIpwJda0X1.1 Meeting ID: 832 8267 7767  Passcode: 863610

Toronto Branch: “Sailing to Sanctuary: The Loyalists and their Evacuation Vessels” by Stephen Davidson Tues 17 Feb 7:30

Sailing to Sanctuary: The Loyalists and their Evacuation Vessels is an in-depth look at the ships that took Loyalists to Canada, the Maritimes, Europe, and the West Indies.  It will be an opportunity to discover the stories hidden in passenger lists, to appreciate the breadth of the loyalist diaspora, and to learn what resources are available for determining an ancestor’s evacuee experience. Romances, shipwrecks, measles, and revolution souvenirs are all part of what it meant to be a Loyalist seeking refuge in a time of war. A virtual meeting.  Register with torontouel@gmail.com for the meeting link.

Sir Guy Carleton Branch: Heritage Day Tues 17 Feb; Table at Ottawas City Hall  9:00 – noon

Please visit the Sir Guy Carleton Branch’s table at Ottawa City Hall: More details…
The speeches start at 12 noon. Marg Hall, our Past President, long time member, and prodigious volunteer for Sir Guy Carleton and other organizations, will be receiving the Louise and Eric Moore Award for her volunteer work.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Rosemarie Pleasant, President, Sir Guy Carleton Branch

Couched in Truth: Canadians enjoy lounging like an earl
by Canada’s History staff 30 January 2026
North Americans tend to use “sofa” and “couch” interchangeably. But north of the 49th, we also curl up on a chesterfield.
The term originated in England in the mid-1700s, when the fourth Earl of Chesterfield commissioned a leather sofa with a high back and low seats. As the British Empire expanded, the term travelled abroad and eventually took root in Canada, where it came to describe any kind of couch.
More commonly used by baby boomers and older generations, “chesterfield” is still understood by most Canadians and holds a cozy place in our history.  See photo…

From the Social Media and Beyond

  • “The H.M.S. Asia and the House of the Commissioner, Royal Naval Dockyards, Halifax, Nova Scotia,” by George Gustavus Lennock, 1797. Peter Winkworth Collection. Library and Archives Canada, e000756701.
  • Food and Related: Townsends
  • Apparel
    • France.  Brunswick, 1765-75. A Brunswick or informal jacket. Silk moire, linen,silk gimp trim, linen thread; hand-woven & sewn,calendered ( a technique where the fabric is pressed through a ‘calender’ (rollers) to create a smooth & glossy finish ).
    • There is a chameleon like quality to the shifting green of this plain weave silk [gown], the shot taffeta neither one shade nor another depending on the light. Then there is the magnificent stomacher peeping beneath gold lacings. #1740s splendour
    • Robe à la française, French, silk, 1750-75. Via The Met here: Although the silhouette of this dress is emphatically of the period, the rose motif represents an old form, the cabbage rose which, through Dutch breeders, had been propagated throughout Europe by 1600.
  • This week in History
    • 31 Jan 1770, London. Lord Frederick North becomes prime minister & lends his support to repealing the Townsend Duties on the American colonists. image
    • 31 Jan 1770 Boston, Massachusetts. A proposed boycott of tea has the support of some 500 women. image
    • 7 Feb 1770  New York City, on February 8, 1770, authorities arrested Alexander McDougall, a leading Son of Liberty, for seditious libel after he anonymously authored the inflammatory broadside “To the Betrayed Inhabitants of the City and Colony of New-York” (December 16, 1769). Printer James Parker was compelled to reveal McDougall as the author. The colonial assembly, outraged by its criticism of funding British troops, set bail at £1,000 (or £1000). McDougall initially refused bail and was jailed, sparking widespread protests and becoming a symbol of press freedom and colonial resistance. image
    • 6 Feb 1775, Boston. John Adams (writing as “Novanglus”) published a piece titled “The Rule of Law and the Rule of Men” in the Massachusetts Gazette (specifically the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy and Advertiser). In this essay—part of his Novanglus series—he argued that the British Parliament lacked authority over the internal affairs of the American colonies, asserting the sovereignty and legislative independence of provincial assemblies under the rule of law, not arbitrary rule by distant men in Parliament. This reinforced colonial resistance to parliamentary overreach and emphasized government by established laws rather than personal or imperial whim. image
    • 4 February 1776, in New York City, Patriot Major General Charles Lee arrived with Continental troops to organize defenses and fortify the strategic port against a British invasion. At the same time, British Major General Henry Clinton’s expeditionary squadron anchored in the harbor en route south.  image
    • 7 Feb 1776  Colonel William Alexander (Lord Stirling) marched his 1st New Jersey Regiment—approximately 1,000 men—from New Jersey to New York City. Arriving to bolster defenses amid fears of British invasion, the regiment joined Continental forces fortifying the city and Long Island under George Washington’s command, preparing for the impending British campaign of 1776.  image
    • 31 Jan 1777, Washington wrote to Congress about the dire need for money to continue recruitment. This was a recurring problem in the conduct of the war. image
    • 1 Feb 1777 Gen Philip Schuyler writes Washington that a missionary named Mr. Kirkland arrived from Oneida & Ft Schuyler with intelligence indicating a British attack on Ft Ticonderoga across a frozen Lake Champlain was imminent & pleas for reinforcements.  image
    • 2 Feb 1777 Lt Col Lewis Fuser’s Loyalists invest in Fort McIntosh, a small fortified post in Georgia near the border with Florida. image
    • 6 Feb 1778, in a double signing ceremony at the Hôtel de Coislin (now part of Place de la Concorde) in Paris, France, the United States signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce (establishing trade relations) and the Treaty of Alliance (a defensive pact recognizing U.S. independence). American signers were Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee; France’s was Conrad Alexandre Gérard. One month later, in March 1778, the Anglo-French war formally erupted when a British squadron fired on two French ships, escalating the American Revolutionary War into a global conflict. image
    • 2 Feb 1779 Gen Washington’s meeting with the Continental Congress and rides back to Continental Army Headquarters at the Middlebrook, NJ, cantonment. image
    • 3 Febuary 1779, the president of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Executive Council formally charged General Benedict Arnold—military commander of Philadelphia—with abuse of power, corruption, mismanagement, and illegal profiteering.  These accusations, including favoritism toward loyalists and misuse of public resources, stemmed from tensions between civil authorities and the army. Furious at the public humiliation and perceived injustice, Arnold demanded a full investigation and court-martial to vindicate his honor.  The protracted proceedings, delays, and partial reprimand deeply embittered him, becoming a central grievance fueling his growing disillusionment and eventual treason. image
    • 4 February 1779, the Continental Congress passed resolutions granting General George Washington sweeping authority to improve the Continental Army’s condition, including reorganizing regiments, strengthening discipline, securing supplies, and addressing recruiting shortfalls. Congress further empowered him to adjudicate disputes, administer military justice, and decide all matters involving officers and enlisted men below the rank of brigadier general. These measures, amid winter encampment struggles at Middlebrook, New Jersey, bolstered Washington’s command autonomy for the upcoming 1779 campaign against British forces. image
    • 5 February 1779, Lt. Col. John Boyd departed from the Spartanburg District area (present-day South Carolina backcountry) with approximately 600 Loyalist recruits. He marched south toward Augusta, Georgia, intending to join Lt. Col. Archibald Campbell’s British garrison, which had captured Augusta on January 29 without resistance. Boyd’s force grew to about 800 as North Carolina Loyalists joined. The struggle for Georgia would soon reach a tipping point. image
    • 5 February (some sources say 6), 1779, Lt. Col. George Rogers Clark departed Kaskaskia (in present-day Illinois) with about 170–175 men, core volunteers, augmented by French militia. They undertook a grueling ~180-mile winter march across flooded prairies and rivers to recapture Fort Sackville (also called Fort Vincennes) from British Lt. Gov. Henry Hamilton.
      Clark also dispatched an armed galley (keelboat named Willing) under Capt. John Rogers down the Mississippi/Ohio/Wabash rivers with artillery and supplies to support the attack and intercept British vessels.
      The force arrived on February 23, besieged the fort, and forced Hamilton’s surrender on February 25, securing the Northwest Territory for Virginia without American casualties. image
      1 Feb 1780, Savannah, GA. A British amphibious force of 14K men under Adm Marriot Arbuthnot and Gen Henry Clinton landed at Tybee Island to rest and refit in preparation for a landing and campaign. image
    • 3 Feb 1780 Ft Washington, NY. Lt Col Chapple Norton leads 350 British/Germans against Mt Pleasant, defended by 450 Continentals of the 10th MA under Lt Col Joseph Thompson. He attacks from the rear and defeats them, inflicting 51 killed and wounded and capturing 76, while sustaining 23 killed and wounded. image
    • 1 Feb 1781 Wilmington, NC. The critical port city is occupied by some 450 British regulars under Maj James Craig, and Loyalists begin rallying to him. image
    • 1 Feb 1781 Tarrant’s Tavern, NC Banastre Tarleton’s cavalry crosses the Catawba and surprises a band of partisan militia who disperse after a short skirmish with 10 casualties each. Further partisan attacks in the area are suppressed.  image
    • 2 Feb 1781 Salisbury, NC At Steele’s Tavern, Gen Nathanael Greene is overheard to be despondent about his lack of resources. The owner, Elizabeth Maxwell Steele, gives him two bags of coins (years’ worth of her earnings), saying he’ll need them more than her. image
    • 2-3 February 1781. Major General Nathanael Greene and his weary Continental army crossed the swollen Yadkin River at Trading Ford, evading Lord Cornwallis’s pursuing British forces.  image
    • 3 February 1781, Admiral George Rodney and General John Vaughan captured Dutch St. Eustatius, a vital neutral supply hub for American revolutionaries. British forces seized around 150 merchant vessels in the harbor and imprisoned up to 2,000 Americans. image
    • 5 February 1782, the Franco-Spanish forces under Louis des Balbes de Berton de Crillon (Duc de Crillon) accepted the surrender of British Governor James Murray at Fort St. Philip’s (Castillo de San Felipe) on Minorca, after a siege that began on August 19, 1781. The island was captured with minimal resistance due to scurvy and bombardment. Crillon then transferred to command the Great Siege of Gibraltar, where a combined Franco-Spanish army—eventually massing 30,000–40,000 troops (reinforced progressively)—pressed a prolonged but ultimately unsuccessful assault on the British fortress from 1779–1783. image
    • 4 February 1783, in London, King George III formally proclaimed a cessation of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War following the ratification of the preliminary peace articles. image
    • On February 4, 1789, the Electoral College unanimously elected George Washington as the first President of the United States, with all 69 participating electors casting one vote for him. John Adams secured the vice presidency with 34 votes. image

 

 

Published by the UELAC
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