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Another 250th Anniversary: Boston’s Evacuation Day. Part Four of Six
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
Francis Green was one of over a thousand Loyalists who fled Boston 250 years ago. Despite being  “on the wrong side of history”, (as many historians would later describe Americans who remained committed to the crown) documents of the era have provided a detailed record of his life.
The loyalist historian, Lorenzo Sabine noted that Green’s “afflictions and misfortunes were many and severe; yet he seems to have borne all his domestic, and a part of his pecuniary losses, in a proper spirit.”  While his departure from Boston was definitely the end of one chapter in his life, it was not end of the Loyalist’s accomplishments. In the years that followed, Green became both a judge and a sheriff.  As a champion of those born deaf, he published a pamphlet in London on the importance of equipping the hearing impaired with language.
A Massachusetts merchant who had graduated from Harvard, Francis Green was a Loyalist with nuanced views that nevertheless made him a target of colonial rebels. Throughout the years leading up the revolution, he “adhered to the old Constitution,” but he was always a “firm friend” to civil liberty and was “an avowed enemy to the pretended unlimited power of Parliamentary taxation, in the hope of an honorable compromise, without recourse to arms.”  Like many other Loyalists of the day, Green opposed the taxes that Britain had imposed on the colonies, but felt that matters could be resolved without breaking away from the empire.
Two years before he and his three children joined over a thousand other Loyalists who were fleeing Boston for the safety of Nova Scotia, Francis Green had been “violently attacked and ill-treated” by the Patriots of Windham, Connecticut. Green was in the area in his capacity as a merchant, but the local Sons of Liberty “assumed that his designs were political“.
The men surrounded the tavern where Green was staying, and as they “uttered insulting shouts and words“, they threatened him with a ride on “the Tory cart,” unless he immediately left Windham.  But his 18-mile journey by carriage to Norwich, Connecticut had not removed him from danger. Local Patriots threatened him with “the cart” again unless he left within 15 minutes.
Hoping to clear his name and prove that he was not trying to recruit Loyalists, Green tried to speak to the crowd that had gathered. However, he “was seized by a very stout man, who called him a rascal.” Green managed to jump into his own carriage, and “mid scoffs and hissings, the beating of drums, and blowing of horns, drove away“.
The Sons of Liberty might have treated Green differently had they known more of his background. At age 16, as an ensign in Massachusetts’ 40th Regiment, he was with the New England troops who laid siege to Cape Breton’s Fortress Louisburg in 1758. He later saw action in the West Indies during the siege of Martinique, and the reduction of Havana, Cuba. Unhappy with military life, Green quit the army, and by 1766 was earning his living as a merchant in Boston.
Over the next decade, Green married Susanna Green and had five children. By the time Patriots were laying siege to Boston, his wife and two of their children had died. As he packed up the few belongings his family could carry on an evacuation vessel, the single father must have felt that he would never be happy again.
However, after arriving in Halifax, Green was appointed a magistrate, thus providing an income to support his young family. A year later, he joined other Loyalists in New York, becoming part of the colonial civil service for the British command headquartered in the city. He later took his young family across the Atlantic so that he could enroll his deaf 8 year-old son Charles in a private school in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Within six years the teachers at the school had helped Charles “became a proficient in language both oral and written, in arithmetic, geography, and painting.” The remarkable progress that young Charles Green had made prompted his father to publish a pamphlet in London, entitled, “Vox Oculis Subjecta; or, A Dissertation on the Curious and Important Art of imparting Speech, and the Knowledge of Language, to the Deaf and Dumb, with a proposal for extending and perpetuating the benefits thereof.”
Advocating for the hearing impaired became a lifelong passion for Green. In the early part of the 19th century, he published essays in magazines and newspapers, trying to convince his readers of “the practicability of educating mutes“. Sadly, Charles Green, the boy who had inspired his father to champion the deaf, drowned at age seventeen.
By 1784, Francis Green had returned to Halifax where he was elected sheriff of Halifax County for three consecutive years. He was later appointed as the senior judge of the court of common pleas. Green’s high profile positions made him fodder for the celebrity gossip of the day. Penelope Winslow, a fellow Massachusetts Loyalist who had settled in Halifax, had much to say about Green in a letter written in April of 1785.
“Your other friends are well, pursuing pleasure with ardor: feasting, card playing & dancing is the great business of life at Halifax, one eternal round … The High Sheriff has been sighing at the feet of Miss Miller… {The older members of society} have prevailed with him to transfer his affections to Harriet Matthews. With this, he readily complied & found her not reluctant. The High Sheriff enjoys all the pomp of this pompous Town, and you would, by the style & state he takes upon himself, swear he was born a Halifaxian — gives dinners two or three times a week & tomorrow evening all the noblesse are to be entertained at his house, a ball and supper superb. Charming doings is it not, don’t you envy the gay circle?”
Having endured the loss of his wife, two children, his home and his occupation in Massachusetts, the 43 year-old Green came out on the other side of tragedy to embrace new opportunities and a new family. In 1785, he married the woman Penelope Winslow referenced in her letter: Harriet, the daughter of David Matthews, the last loyalist mayor of New York City. The couple would have four children born in Nova Scotia, and two others born in Massachusetts.
Green’s life intersected with the capture of Fortress Louisburg, British victories in the West Indies, the American Revolution and the loyalist settlement of the Maritimes. It also intersected with Nova Scotia’s early Black history. In 1796, six hundred warriors known as Maroons were transferred from Jamaica to Nova Scotia. The commissioners for their settlement purchased Francis Green’s lands and buildings at Preston, Cole Harbor, and Dartmouth.
Flush with cash and disappointed with his official income, Francis pulled up stakes and took his young family to Medford, Massachusetts in 1797. He died there in 1809, at the age of sixty-seven. Summing up the Loyalist’s life for a second time in his biographical entry, Lorenzo Sabine noted that the documents of the era showed Green to be “benevolent and humane, and a gentleman of elevated sentiments.”
But perhaps the most apt summarization of Francis Green’s life is found in the judgment made on March 17, 1784 by the Royal Commission on the Losses and Services of American Loyalists. No doubt unaware that this date was the 8th anniversary of the day that saw Francis Green flee Boston for the safety of Halifax, the commissioners described him as “an active and zealous Loyalist. Did not bear arms.”
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

The Loyal- List: Celebrating Tartan Day
By Mike Woodcock UE, Victoria Branch
Tartan Day in Canada, celebrated annually on April 6th, is a national day of observance recognizing the immense contributions of Scottish immigrants and their descendants to the country’s social fabric. It marks the anniversary of the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath—Scotland’s declaration of independence—and often features parades, pipe bands, highland dancing, and wearing tartan.
United Empire Loyalists (UEL) left a lasting imprint on Canadian communities and culture. Many UEL were from Scotland who had initially settled in the thirteen colonies but remained loyal to the Crown and became an important part of Canada.
As the numbers overwhelm the length of this article, it will focus on Loyalists who settled in the Maritimes and a second article on St. Andrews Day in November will highlight those who settled in Upper Canada. This short commemorative collection highlights notable UEL descendants — arranged chronologically by birth year — with brief summaries of their careers and contributions.

Captain John Robert Grant (1729–1790) — Born Strathspey, Scotland; soldier who fought in the American Revolution and evacuated New York in 1783. Arriving on HM Berwick, he became Summerville’s first British settler, established the Grant homestead at Loyal Hill, and, married to Sarah Bergen, shaped local settlement until his death at about age 61.
Ronald McKinnon (1737–1805) — Isle of Skye native and Seven Years’ War veteran who settled in Nova Scotia as farmer, gardener and militia officer. Married Letitia Piggott and raised a large family. During the revolutionary crisis he organized resistance to pro‑American agitation, secured Acadian support, and served as a steady civic leader in Shelburne.
Michael Wallace (c.1744–1831) — Lanarkshire‑born merchant and colonial official who lived in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1771 and opposed the Revolution. Driven from Virginia, he relocated to Halifax c.1779, building a wholesale‑retail trade in British manufactures, fish and lumber. The loyalist influx and Halifax’s mercantile prospects advanced his commercial and administrative career in Nova Scotia.
James Robertson (1747–1816) — Stonehaven‑born printer and publisher who emigrated by 1766. With brother Alexander he founded the New‑York Chronicle (1769) and published loyalist papers in Philadelphia and Charleston; after 1783 they re-established a press in Shelburne. Robertson petitioned for loyalist compensation and remained a prominent Tory voice in the exile print world.
John McAlpine (1748–1827) — Highland‑born settler who lost lands in pre‑revolutionary New York and became a loyalist refugee. After Shelburne he moved to Liverpool, Nova Scotia, where he kept an inn, operated a ferry, repaired roads and served as deputy surveyor of the king’s woods and deputy naval officer for Queens County amid contested local politics and a disputed compensation claim.
Duncan McColl (1754–1830) — Born Appin, Scotland; soldier and paymaster to the 2nd Grenadier Battalion who underwent a wartime religious conversion. Discharged in 1783, he married Elizabeth Channal and settled among disbanded Argyll Highlanders at St Andrews, New Brunswick, where his energetic Methodist ministry sparked revivals and established enduring evangelical communities.
Dugald Campbell (1758–1810) — Scottish‑born officer commissioned in the 42nd Foot in 1777, later promoted lieutenant and serving in New York. Disbanded at Parrtown (Saint John) in 1783, he led Highlander settlements on the Nashwaak River and subsequently held posts as surveyor, judge and office holder, shaping early administration of the loyalist Saint John River district.
Robert Barry (c.1759–1843) — Kinross‑born teacher, merchant and Methodist lay exhorter who joined the 1783 exodus to Shelburne. After teaching he entered commerce with his brother Alexander as A. & R. Barry, trading fish, lumber and West Indies goods. Barry’s evangelical leadership and mercantile ties anchored him in Liverpool’s society and regional Methodist networks.

Help grow The Loyal-List! Know other United Empire Loyalists and descendants who should be recognized on Tartan Day? 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.

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

Tula & The Slave Rebellion – 31 March 2026
In August 1795, Tula led the largest slave rebellion to take place on the island of Curacao which marked an historic point on their path to emancipation.  Although there were no plantations in what we now know as Canada to erupt in conflict, Africans who came there during 18th century shared a similar experience. Some of them travelled to America on ships that sailed first to islands in the Carribean, including Curacao, and from there the Africans were sent to the American colonies. Read more and 1-min video…

Saving a Loyalist Church 1 April 2026
In 2022, the oldest substantially unaltered church in Canada built by United Empire Loyalists needed a costly new roof in order to remain open.  Old Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Middleton was built by several well known Loyalists who had settled in Nova Scotia as refugees after the American Revolution.  They included  Timothy Ruggles, Samuel Vetch Bayard , and  Reverend John Wiswall .  The United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada provided a substantial grant of $12,500 to assist in this vital work. It was the second time the UELAC or one of its’ members helped to save the historic site. On 27 July 1998, it became a provincially registered property under the Heritage Property Act of Nova Scotia.  Read more…

250 Years Ago: The American Invasion of Canada for the week around 4 April 1776
The stalemate in Quebec City continued with the British under Sir Guy Carleton safely inside the walls of Quebec City. The Americans worked to maintain a siege but with difficulty due to illness (smallpox was a major disease), a lack of supplies and armaments suitable for an effective siege.

The British 
British personnel continued to prepare for potential fireship attacks from the Americans as the river began to open, with specialized teams trained to repel such vessels.

The Americans
April 1–2, 1776 – Change in Command: Brigadier General David Wooster arrived at the American camp outside Quebec City from Montreal to take command of the army, replacing Colonel Benedict Arnold, who had been commanding since the death of General Richard Montgomery on December 31, 1775.
Early April 1776 – Arnold Departs: Following his replacement by Wooster, and still recovering from a leg injury sustained in the December 31 assault, Benedict Arnold left the Quebec siege lines to take command of the American garrison in Montreal.

My Ancestor was at the Siege of Quebec
I do have a relative who was at the Siege of Quebec. However he was on the “other side.”
Isaac Buck Sr., my 5th great grandfather, lived in Pittsford, Vermont and was a member of the local militia there. He was part of the Vermont Green Mountain Boys and took part in the capture of Ticonderoga under Col. Ethan Allen, Seth Warner, Benedict Arnold and Major Brown in May, 1775.
On 26 November 1775 he re-enlisted as a sergeant in Captain Robert Cochran’s Company of Major Brown’s Department of the Continental Army who moved north to join General Richard Montgomery at Quebec. Isaac’s regiment took part in the battle at Quebec on December 31, 1775, which resulted in an American defeat.
The Americans continued to lay siege but the conditions were dreadful for the colonial troops with desertions, lack of supplies, exposure to the weather and smallpox. Issac Buck died on January 20, 1776 at the American camp near Quebec of exposure and smallpox, and was buried “under the battlements” according to several sources.
Isaac’s daughter Eunice Buck, married Abel Stevens; they are my United Empire Loyalist ancestors.
Eunice Matresky UE

Book: “Our Pursuit of Happiness”
By T.R. Biggar, Kitchener ON, Published by Friesen Press, Historical fiction, 350 pages
“Our Pursuit of Happiness” is a true story of a family who lived in New Jersey following the American War for Independence. They had fought for the British so were “loyalists” and following the war were driven from their land by the neighbours. When they fled, the woman was nearly 8 months pregnant, rode a horse with her two young sons riding in paniers on either side of the horse while her husband led them through the mountains of Pennsylvania, under cover of darkness. It took them several weeks to reach their destination – Niagara Falls Canada.
Our Pursuit of Happiness is a timely story that will ring true with Canadians during these times. Our long history with the US took a turn when their independence was declared in 1776. Since that time Canadians have been forced make choices that have distinguished us from our neighbours to the south. The decisions we made over the past 250 years continued through the War of 1812, when our borders were invaded and we fought to remain Canadian. Those challenges have taken different forms over the years, but they continue today. This is the story of one family who faced these challenges, through generations. And it is a story of the women who were part of history and whose story is rarely told.
More description at Friesen Press  – available at many book retailers

Attack in Westchester: Emmerich Raids the Van Tassels
by Selden West 2 April 2026 Journal of the American Revolution
Monday, November 17, 1777. The men started their march north through Westchester County at six o’clock, more than an hour after nightfall. The afternoon’s clouds had given way to wind and freezing rain. After a few hours the sleet turned to snow. Roughly one hundred men marched in silence. Their green coats disappeared in the darkness, leaving only the white facings dimly visible. The Loyalist corps of Emmerich’s Chasseurs was on the move.
Their commander was Capt. Andreas Emmerich. Despite being short and fat, the dark-haired German’s look was fierce. His swarthy face was stained by gunpowder, his bearing stiff and military. He was said to be deadly with a rifle. Among the rural people of New York his “appearance inspired dread.” A boy remembered one night opening the house door to see Emmerich ranging on foot in front of his troops, rifle on his shoulder. Emmerich harshly ordered the door closed and was instantly obeyed.
Captain Emmerich was forty and hoping to make his mark in America. A veteran of the Seven Years’ War, he was a proud Hessian partisan officer who after the peace had been reduced to working in England as deputy surveyor general of His Majesty’s Parks and Woods. In 1776 he had served as a volunteer in command of a corps in the New York campaign and earned praise from Gen. Sir William Howe. Emmerich returned to England, proposing to raise a corps of one thousand Germans to fight in America. His proposal was turned down. By the summer of 1777 he was back in New York, and in late August Gen. Sir Henry Clinton appointed him to the command of a company of one hundred “good rifle men,” drawn from five provincial units.[3] Thus was born the Loyalist corps Emmerich’s Chasseurs, in its nascent state a small infantry unit patrolling lower Westchester County, guarding the outposts of British headquarters on Manhattan. Read more…

A Prison Romance [and then transported refugees]
by Elaine Thornton 30 March 2026 at All Things Georgian
While looking through the Home Office papers for 1786 for an earlier article on Margaret Nicholson, I came across an intriguing letter. It was addressed to Lord Suffield, who had been the Member of Parliament for Norwich for the preceding thirty years; he had just relinquished his seat and been raised to the peerage. The letter, dated 29 October, was from a Norfolk squire, Jacob Preston of Beeston Hall, who told Suffield that he was writing on behalf of ‘two Lovers in Norwich Castle’.
The mediaeval Castle in Norwich functioned as the county gaol at the time, and the couple, who had met there as prisoners, were both under sentence of transportation. Their petition was an unusual one. Preston explained that they were not asking for their punishment to be mitigated, but were requesting to be transported together, as they could not bear to be parted. He felt that allowing the couple to stay together might help to reform them and told Suffield that he believed ‘so singular a case’ deserved a hearing. He asked Suffield to use his influence with the Home Secretary, Lord Sydney, to obtain authorisation.
This romantic couple were Henry Cable and Susanna Holmes.
In early February 1783, Henry and his father (also Henry Cable), together with a friend, Abraham Carman, had burgled a house belonging to a Mrs Abigail Hambling of Alburgh, a village on the Norfolk–Suffolk border. The burglary was traced to the three men, who attacked and injured a constable who had gone to Carman’s house looking for the stolen goods.
In November that year, Susanna (also spelt Susannah) Holmes, aged nineteen, and from Surlingham in Norfolk, was imprisoned in Norwich Castle, accused of the theft of clothes, linen and silverware from Jabez Taylor, a butcher in the village of Thurlston.  Read more…

A Brief Introduction to the Slaving Empire of Henry Laurens
by Greg Brooking and George Burkes 31 March 2026 Jopurnal of the American Revolution
Henry Laurens is recognized by scholars of revolutionary history as the president of the Second Continental Congress during the Valley Forge winter and as a peace commissioner at the close of the American Revolution. He is also known to a broader audience, thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, as the father of John Laurens, the fiercely loyal abolitionist compatriot of the play’s namesake. The younger Laurens passionately and futilely urged his fellow South Carolinians to arm their enslaved in defense of their new country.
Henry gave modest support to his son’s endeavor but had no real desire to further its success. In fact, thirty years earlier, Henry was instrumental in reviving South Carolina’s dormant slaving industry. Most of the considerable wealth he would accumulate throughout his lifetime was, in fact, a direct result of captured, traded, and exploited human beings, whom he viewed as both a labor force and a commodity.
As the American Revolution began to erupt in August 1776, Henry penned a letter to his beloved son, John, claiming that he “abhor[red] slavery,” but that the laws of Great Britain and South Carolina long predated his “existence.” His apologia continued, “The day I hope is approaching when from principles of gratitude as well as justice every man will strive to be foremost in shewing his readiness to comply with the Golden Rule.” All of this, and more, contained in a fourteen-page private letter to his idealistic, favored child, is rubbish. Read more…

Wide Brim, Shallow Crown, Straw Hat
By the 1740s wide brimmed straw hats with shallow crowns had become a fashionable accessory for women. The hats were inspired by those traditionally worn by working women in rural areas in order to protect themselves from the sun. The popularity of the rural idyll in fashionable society and an idealised appreciation of the pastoral gave this traditional hat a new standing. In France the style was known as a bergère (french for shepherdess) and the style continued in fashion, worn at various angles and with varied decorations until the late 1780s.
The hats were made from straw plaits which were wound and stitched into shape and subsequently decorated with ribbon and straw adornments. The straw plait industry originated in Tuscany and by the 16th century Florentine straw hat merchants had established their own corporation.
This particular hat is almost certainly of Italian manufacture, the fineness of the plait was something which could not be replicated in England until the invention of the straw-splitter tool around 1800. The decoration on this hat consists of flowers cut from straw sheets which have been dyed in a range of colours.  Read more…

Advertised on 30 Mar.  “JOHN ATKINS … was seen wheeling a wheelbarrow … for…”

“JOHN ATKINS … was seen wheeling a wheelbarrow … for a woman selling liquor.”

It was a rare instance of an aggrieved wife running a response to an advertisement that her husband placed to describe her supposed bad behavior and cut off her access to credit.  It began with a notice that John Atkins inserted in the February 19, 1776, edition of Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet: “WHEREAS ALICE ATIKENS, wife of the subscriber, now in this city,” Philadelphia, “has for some time past absented herself from my bed without any reason: This is therefore to caution all persons not to trust her on my account, as I am determined not to pay any debt she may contract.”…
…Yet they told only one side of the story … and since husbands refused to pay expenses incurred by their wives that meant that very few of the women featured in such advertisements published responses in the public prints.  Alice was an exception.  Her own advertisement ran in Pennsylvania Evening Post, declaring that “JOHN ATKINS, by trade a bricklayer, was seen wheeling a wheelbarrow across the Race Ground, for a woman selling liquor and had not been with me for six nights past.”  Alice implied that John had been unfaithful or at least inappropriately directed his affections toward another woman.  Read more…

Who is Jeremy Hansen, the Canadian tapped by NASA to fly around the moon?
By Alanna Mitchell 2 Feb. 2026 Canadian Geographic
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen will soon be blasting off on NASA’s Artemis II mission. How did he get from an imaginary treehouse spaceship in rural Ontario to the real thing?
To be an astronaut is to be humanity’s highest symbol of daring, of curiosity, of longing. These sailors of the stars, as the translation from Greek has it, hold a unique place in the human imagination. Alone among the billions of people who have ever walked our planet, they have been chosen to journey to the celestial bodies that have fascinated and even ruled our species since we first looked to the sky. As a result, astronauts, as individuals, are inscrutable.
Instead, they share characteristics that are noble — even heroic — if eerily uniform: smart, capable, technically gifted, team-spirited, free of vice, clear of vision, uninterested in personal glory, replete with sangfroid, preternaturally patient, eager to take orders yet ready to make tough decisions, ferociously committed to advancing human knowledge, almost cartoonishly physically perfect.
How, then, to capture the uniqueness of Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who is slated to take part in NASA’s nine-day Artemis II mission to circle the moon this year? To point out that he will be the first Canadian to leave Earth’s orbit, as well as the only non-American to do so — or that by doing so he will accomplish what only 24 others in the history of human life have accomplished — is to sketch only the bare bones of his story.
As is to mention the fact that he’s taking part in a momentous project in the history of humanity. The Artemis missions are named after the twin sister of the Greek god Apollo, who gave his name to the NASA program that carried those other 24 into deep space more than half a century ago. But where the Apollo era was about a single country — the United States — proving its mettle by getting to the moon and back, the Artemis program is about humans collaboratively establishing a settlement there. And, eventually, Mars. Read more…

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

Heather Latto

  • Rev. David Christopher Springer  b. Jan. 15, 1732 – Wilminton, Delaware, was a Loyalist recruiter during the war, may have been associated with Butler’s Rangers,  d. 13 Aug 1776, Stillwater, NY. Married to Margaret Bennoit Oliver, they had  ten children. David’s son, Daniel Springer, was a Captain in the First Regiment of Middlesex Militia for the duration of the War of 1812-15 and fought at the capture of Detroit; he was taken POW at his home in Delaware, Middlesex County, Upper Canada, transported to Kentucky, escaped, returned to Middlesex County, and raised and trained soldiers for the war. He was later elevated to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

By Stephen Hollingshead

  • Capt. Anthony Hollinshead Sr b. 1730, Burlington County, New Jersey, settled in Morris County, New Jersey,  enlisted before March 19, 1777 in the New Jersey Volunteers (to 1779); Loyal Refugee Volunteers (1779-1780); Associated Loyalists (1780-1782) resettled Digby, Nova Scotia (1783); then Markham Township, York, Upper Canada (1798) d. 1818, York County, Upper Canada. With Elizabeth Conrow, m. 27 Feb 1760  they had eight children.
  • Pvt. George Hollingshead b. February 20, 1760, Burlington County, New Jersey settled in Morris County, New Jersey, enliedt before November 15, 1780 in the Associated Loyalists, resettled Digby, Nova Scotia (1783); East Gwillimbury Township, York County, Upper Canada (1803) d. June 28, 1848, Sharon, York County, Canada West. With Sarah, they had seven children.

By Lynton (Bill) Stewart

  • Maj. Thomas Leonard b. 1715, Upper Freehold, Monmouth County, New Jersey, enlisyed November 1776 in 1st Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers, resettled at Wolfville, King’s County, Nova Scotia,  where he died on 11 March 1788. Was married with at least one child.
  • Samuel Leonard (son of Thomas Leonard Sr)  b. 1755, Upper Freehold, Monmouth County, New Jersey, enlisted Nov. 1776 in the 1st Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers, resetled Parrsborough Township, Kings County, Nova Scotia; later Wolfville, King’s Co., NS.  d. 20 August 1825, Halifax City, Nova Scotia.  Nancy Allison (1768-1858), married 22 September 1785 Horton (Now Wolfville), Kings County, Nova Scotia (no children)
  • Lt.- Col. Isaac Allen  b. 1 September 1741, Trenton, Mercer County, New Jersey enlisted Dec 1776 in 2nd Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers (Commander), Resttled Fredericton, NB, where he died 12 October 1806.  With Sarah Campbell (1750-1808), married 20 December 1796 at Christ Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania nine chidlren, and with a slave, Sabinah McCarty (1754-1827): two children. He graduated from the College of New Jersey in 1762, and practiced law in Trenton NJ until the war broke out. Following the war, he became a Justice on the Supreme Count of New Brunswick.
  • Ens. Peter Anderson b. 1735, Sussex, Sussex County, New Jersey. Was enlisted  1776-1783 in the King’s Rangers, resttled at initially Markham, York District; then Stamford, Niagara. With Abigail Fortner (1745-1825), married 1766, Somerset County, New Jersey, seven children
  • Ensign; Adjutant, Quartermaster Ozias Ansley b. 31 October 1743, Upper Freehold, Monmouth County, NJ but setled at Palatine, Montgomery County, New York, then Knowlton, Sussex County, New York, enlisted in Nov. 1776 in the 1st Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers (commanded by Lt Col Stephen DeLancey), resetled at Sussex Parish, King’s County, New Brunswick (in 1794) but then to Staten Island, New York (in 1804) where he died on 9 September 1828. Married three times 1. Dorothea Walrath (1745-1768), married Ca 1762, Montgomery County, New York. (3 children) 2. Charity Whitenalt (1748-1801), married Ca 1768, Sussex County, New Jersey (11 chilren) and 3. Elizabeth Johnson (1770-1841), married 23 October 1805, Staten Island, New York (1 child)

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

Events Upcoming

American Revolution Institute: “Destruction and Wanton Waste” Thurs 9 April 6:30

“The Impact of War on a Peaceful Valley”
Andrew Outten, historical programs manager for the American Revolution Institute, reexamines the Battle of Brandywine from the perspective of the civilian population that experienced the engagement, especially the predominant Quaker community. Drawing from the experiences of a several Quakers living on and around the battlefield, this talk demonstrates the devastating effect of war on a local population by exploring British logistical challenges against the backdrop of the social, economic and religious history of eighteenth-century… Register

American Revolution Institute: “Thomas Paine’s Common Sense ” Fri 10 April 12:30

Join the Institute’s library director, Thomas Lannon, to examine one of the most important pamphlets in American history that reshaped the political imagination of British North America: Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, published in January 1776. Written in direct, accessible language, it challenged monarchy, argued for independence and urged ordinary readers to see themselves as agents of historical change. Registration…

Gov. Simcoe Branch: Potluck Luncheon, Prizes, Auction, Fun. Sat 11 Apr 11:30 – 3:30 

The potlucks are special occasions and lots of fun with Good food, Loyalist commentary, items for sale, and live auction, fixed price items and freebies. Plenty of camaraderie. Near Donlands subway stattion. Guests welcome. Registration required. Details and registration

Kawartha Branch: The War of 1812:  “Lest we forget”. Sunday 19 April 2026 2:00

By Glen McMullen, The War of 1812:  “Lest we forget” includes historical background  of some of the major participants of both sides whose lives intersected at that point in history, with major battles and conclusions.
Glen is a retired Science teacher, retired farmer, a traveller, and closet musician.
His maternal roots extend back to Mennonites whose migration northward from Pennsylvania was interrupted by the War of 1812.
As well, this is our Annual General Meeting.
Register with Grietje McBride <maplegrm@gmail.com>

Nova Scotia Genealogy Virtual Conference 2026, 2-3 May

Presented by the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia – Registration is now open for this two day conference. This is one of the most affordable – only $69 Cdn – virtual genealogy conferences with a focus on Nova Scotia genealogy. Register by March 18 you can enter into our Brick Wall Buster Session. More information, list of speakers/topics and registration at www.nsgenconference.ca  Recordings will be available for on-demand viewing up to 60 days afterwards!

Fort Plain: American Revolutionary War Conference 250 on 28-31 May 2026

This annual conference will be held in Johnstown NY from  noon Friday until 1:00 pm Sunday
It is preceded by a bus tour on Thurs 28 May “A Day on the Lines: The 250th Anniversary of the Continental Army’s Siege of Boston – Led by Alexander Cain” visiting visit sites such as Prospect Hill, Washington’s Headquarters, Bunker Hill, and Fort Washington and more
Registration to open in early March. See Conference details for presentations, speakers, accommodations etc at
Tickets are now available

From the Social Media and Beyond

  • Food and Related: Townsends
  • Things including apparel, but more
    •  Hat worn #onthisday in 1801 by Admiral Horatio Nelson when he led the Royal Navy to victory at the Battle of Copenhagen. He gave it to his sword cutler, Mr. Salter, who displayed it in his shop window, black card replacing the chelengk the Ottoman sultan gave Nelson. #OTD Royal Museums Greenwich
    • 18th century waistcoat – silk, metal – probably Italian
    • Bodice, silk, 18th century American or European
    • Dress, silk, Frernch, 1750-75
  • This week in History
    • 30 March 1769, Baltimore, Maryland. Merchants in Baltimore joined the growing colonial resistance by adopting a non-importation agreement to boycott British goods until the Townshend Duties were repealed. These duties, named after Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend, stemmed from acts passed in 1767 imposing taxes on imported items like glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea to raise revenue and assert parliamentary authority. Baltimore’s action followed similar pacts in Boston (1768) and Philadelphia (early 1769), pressuring British merchants through reduced trade. The boycotts contributed to Parliament’s partial repeal in 1770 (except tea), heightening tensions toward revolution.  image
    • 31 March 1774, London.  The British Parliament passed the Boston Port Act, closing Boston Harbor to all trade effective June 1 until Massachusetts repaid the East India Company for tea destroyed during the Boston Tea Party of December 16, 1773, and guaranteed orderly customs collection. This punitive measure, the first Intolerable Act, aimed to crush resistance but instead fueled widespread colonial outrage and unity. image
    • 30  March  1775, Boston, Massachusetts. General Thomas Gage ordered Brigadier General Lord Hugh Percy to lead roughly 1,200 troops of the First Brigade on a planned show of force. The column marched from Boston Common toward Cambridge through Roxbury and Brookline. Alerted militias positioned two cannons at Watertown Bridge and removed the planks, but they did not resist when the British approached; the cannons were abandoned, and the troops moved on unopposed before returning. This tense display increased revolutionary tensions just weeks before Lexington and Concord. image
    • 30 March 1775. London.  King George III granted royal assent to the New England Restraining Act (formally the New England Trade and Fisheries Act), a punitive measure introduced by Prime Minister Lord North amid escalating colonial unrest following the Boston Tea Party and Lexington/Concord skirmishes. The act, effective July 1, 1775, restricted trade from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island exclusively to Great Britain, Ireland, and the British West Indies, prohibiting commerce with foreign nations or other colonies. A further provision, starting July 20, banned New England vessels from the vital North Atlantic fisheries (especially the Grand Banks), crippling the region’s economy and fishing industry. Enforced by naval blockade, it aimed to economically coerce rebellious New England but instead fueled unity and resentment, contributing to the Revolutionary War; the act was later superseded by the broader Prohibitory Act in December 1775. image
    • 29 March 1776. Following the British evacuation of Boston, Major General Israel Putnam temporarily took command of American forces in New York City before General George Washington arrived on April 13. Tasked with strengthening the city and its key waterways against invasion, Putnam oversaw important defenses. His leadership was inconsistent, leading to tactical flaws at the August 1776 Battle of Long Island. image
    • 31 March  1776, Braintree, Massachusetts (now Quincy). Abigail Adams wrote a well-known letter to her husband, John Adams, who was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. During discussions about independence, she urged him and Congress to “Remember the Ladies” in any new laws, advocating for more fairness toward women than their ancestors showed, warning against unchecked male power in marriage, and hinting at rebellion if women’s rights were ignored.  Read more…
    • 1 April 1776, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Approximately 1,200 Loyalist refugees fleeing New England arrived, mainly with General William Howe during the evacuation of Boston (March 17–April 1776). Crowded ships carried exhausted civilians and families loyal to the Crown amid the siege. This was an early wave of Loyalist migration to British North America; the total eventually reached about 30,000–40,000 to the Maritimes, mostly after 1783, with many resettling in what became New Brunswick. These refugees strained Halifax’s resources before most moved on to England or other places. The April 1 date matches British fleet arrival records; the “1,200” figure appears in some Loyalist histories, though estimates vary (often including troops and civilians). The larger influx, peaking between 1783 and 1784, totaled around 30,000–40,000 to Nova Scotia, helping grow the population and establishing United Empire Loyalist communities. image
    • 2 April 1776, Quebec. During the Siege of Quebec, Brig. Gen. David Wooster arrived at the American camp outside Quebec City from Montreal, bringing reinforcements. He took command of the besieged Continental forces from Col. Benedict Arnold, who—still recovering from his leg wound sustained during the December 31, 1775, assault where he took a musket ball in the leg and fell from his horse—relinquished leadership and left for Montreal. Wooster’s brief tenure was followed by the arrival of Gen. John Thomas later in April. image
    • 3 April 1776, Philadelphia.  The Continental Congress authorized privateering ships, issuing commissions and letters of marque and reprisal to seize British vessels and cargoes. Lacking funds for a strong navy, this move unleashed privateers whose impact far exceeded that of the Continental Navy. While the Navy had about 64 ships capturing fewer than 200 prizes, 1,697 privateer vessels ravaged British trade, capturing thousands and crippling enemy logistics throughout the war.  image
    • 4 April 1776,  Cambridge, Massachusetts. General George Washington began moving the Continental Army toward New York City in preparation for a potential British invasion. Fresh from forcing the British to evacuate Boston on March 17, he redirected forces south to defend the vital Hudson River corridor and port. Since mid-March, brigades had been leaving in stages; Washington departed with the last detachments, feeling frustrated by unpaid troops and supply shortages. image
    • 2 April 1777, New York City. General William Howe, commanding British forces, informed Lord George Germain that an overland assault on Philadelphia was impractical due to terrain and supply issues. He chose instead to conduct a naval ascent of Chesapeake Bay to land at Head of Elk, Maryland. This amphibious approach prevented effective cooperation with General Burgoyne’s army advancing from Canada, significantly weakening British plans to unite forces and defeat the rebellion. image
    • 30 March 1778, York, Pennsylvania. The Continental Congress addressed prisoner exchange policies amid the harsh winter at Valley Forge and post-Saratoga tensions. Congress authorized targeted swaps and issued instructions to facilitate releases while insisting on settling accounts and upholding American honor.
      General George Washington, from Valley Forge, actively corresponded with British General Sir William Howe. He supported the specific exchange of American Major General Charles Lee (captured 1776) for British Major General Richard Prescott (captured 1777), which occurred in early April 1778 after negotiations. Washington also pushed for broader, reciprocal arrangements, though congressional conditions—treating armed Loyalists as traitors rather than standard prisoners of war—complicated flexible deals and reflected growing bitterness.
      These steps balanced humanitarian needs with deterrence against collaboration.  image
    • In March 1779, the siege of Fort Laurens—the only Revolutionary War fort in Ohio—ended around March 20 when British-allied Indians and Captain Henry Bird withdrew due to starvation. On March 23, Brigadier General Lachlan McIntosh’s relief force of 500 men arrived from Fort Pitt, securing the starving garrison without engaging Simon Girty‘s band, who had scouted and ambushed Americans earlier in January. The fort was later abandoned in August. image
    • 29 March 1779, Philadelphia. The Continental Congress officially approved and ordered the adoption of Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, written by Prussian drillmaster Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. This essential manual, commonly known as the “Blue Book”, established standard procedures for infantry drills, maneuvers, camp management, and officer responsibilities for the Continental Army. It included eight engraved folding plates illustrated by Pierre Charles L’Enfant (who later designed Washington, D.C.). Widely circulated and embraced, the Blue Book transformed inexperienced recruits into a disciplined force and remained the official U.S. Army drill manual until the War of 1812.  image…
    • 3 April 1779, Madrid.  Spanish Foreign Minister Conde de Floridablanca proposed mediating peace between France and Britain, offering continued Spanish neutrality if Britain returned Gibraltar. Britain rejected the offer outright. This failure, amid ongoing court diplomacy in the Spanish capital, led directly to the secret Treaty of Aranjuez signed April 12—nearby at the royal palace—allied Spain with France against Britain and prompted a declaration of war in June. image
    • 28 March, 1780. During the Siege of Charleston in the American Revolutionary War, British General Sir Henry Clinton led about 7,000 to 8,000 troops, part of his larger force of 10,000 to 13,500 men, across the Ashley River at Drayton Hall under cover of fog and darkness. This move positioned them on Charleston Neck, the peninsula north of the city, allowing Clinton to start formal siege operations against Charleston, South Carolina. With British naval forces under Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot controlling the harbor and blocking the approaches to the Cooper River, Clinton effectively surrounded American Major General Benjamin Lincoln’s garrison of roughly 5,000 to 6,000 Continentals, militia, and sailors, cutting off their escape routes and supplies.  image
    • 1 April 1780, Charleston, South Carolina.  During the Siege of the important port city, British forces under Lt. Gen. Henry Clinton began their formal siege operations. They started constructing the first parallel trench (siege line) about 800 yards from the American defensive works on Charleston Neck, centered on the hornwork near today’s Marion Square. This advanced approach tightened the encirclement of the city, defended by Maj. Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, paving the way for increased bombardment and closer parallels in the coming weeks. image
    • 2 April 2, 1780, Harpersfield, New York. Mohawk war chief Joseph Brant, allied with Loyalists, ambushed a Patriot militia group tapping maple sap in the sugar bush. Three men were killed, including brothers Thomas and James Hendry, while 19 others—led by Captain Alexander Harper—were captured and marched to Fort Niagara. The raiders burned the abandoned village before leaving, avoiding a planned attack on nearby Schoharie forts. Such intense guerrilla warfare marked the New York frontier, where Iroquois nations (especially Mohawk and Seneca), Loyalist rangers, and Patriot militias engaged in swift, terror-driven raids to destroy settlements, seize captives, burn crops and homes, and disrupt enemy supply lines. This terrorized civilian populations on both sides, eroded morale, displaced thousands, and turned the region into a contested no-man’s land, prolonging the war’s bitterness long after major campaigns elsewhere had ended. image
    • 3 April 1780, Morristown, New Jersey. General George Washington directed Major General Johann Baron de Kalb to march south with a brigade of Maryland and Delaware Continentals—one of the Continental Army’s best units—to relieve besieged Charleston, South Carolina. Departing April 16 with around 1,400 troops, they arrived too late; Charleston fell on May 12. Undeterred, de Kalb moved into North Carolina, temporarily commanding southern forces until Gates took over in July. His disciplined division then fought bravely at Camden before he was mortally wounded. image
    • 4 April 1782,  London. Prime Minister Charles Watson-Wentworth, Marquess of Rockingham, appointed General Sir Guy Carleton as commander-in-chief of all British forces in North America, replacing Sir Henry Clinton. Instructions emphasized avoiding offensive operations, preparing for withdrawal, and supporting Loyalists wishing to leave with protection and transport. This reflected the new ministry’s policy to end hostilities and negotiate peace after Yorktown. Image


Last Post: Ellsworth, Elizabeth (Betty) September 21, 1932 – March 28, 2026
Born on September 21st, 1932, in Airdrie, Scotland, Betty was the daughter of David Coutts Spence and Elizabeth Glass Spence. She immigrated to Canada on February 11, 1953, and began her career as a secretary before embracing the role of a farm partner in Ridgeway in 1955. A devoted mother, grandmother and great grandmother Betty raised her two sons, David Scott Ellsworth and Robert Frank Ellsworth, on the family farm. She cherished her Scottish heritage and took pride in her agricultural roots.
Betty took immense pride in her contributions to farm life, her community, and her family. Her work included roles as a daycare provider, cook, and caterer. She loved cooking for large gatherings and, alongside her son David, hosted many events for family and friends. Betty volunteered at the local school and was an active member of various groups, including the 4H Club, the Women’s Institute, and the UEL [Col. John Butler Branch]. Her hobbies included knitting, sewing, baking, and poetry, which she enjoyed until her final days. Betty often shared fond memories of Scotland and Ridgeway.
Betty leaves behind a legacy of inclusion within her community. She was ahead of her time, advocating for integration and support for her son and others with developmental challenges. Her commitment to this cause was unwavering. Read more…
Betty and David together were faithful attendees at UEL Conferences for many years. Many UELAC members from other branches fondly remember her from those events.

 

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