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Another 250th Anniversary: Boston’s Evacuation Day. Part Six of Six
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
Halifax, Nova Scotia was the first colonial settlement to bear the brunt of a massive influx of loyalist refugees when 1,100 Americans arrived in the naval port in April of 1776. At that time, Halifax was a town with a population of only 2,000. Suddenly half as many loyalists and five times as many troops were in need of housing and food.  The town was seen by many as a temporary refuge, but in the years following the American Revolution, some of Boston’s evacuees decided to make the colony their permanent home. Here is a small sampling of those Loyalists who made their sanctuary of 1776 their “forever home”.
Edward Foster had been a blacksmith in Boston in the years leading up to the American Revolution.  He would later recount that when the British troops arrived in the Massachusetts capital, he was asked to work for them, which he cheerfully did. By “this circumstance, and his uniform attachment to Great Britain“, he became obnoxious to the rebels, and was often insulted. He was employed in “all public works of the army“, such as repairing the city’s lighthouse after it was destroyed by rebels.
A fellow Loyalist testified that “At the time he undertook the works for the army it was a matter of danger, and believes that if the people could have seized him they would have pulled him to pieces.”
Foster also stated that “once having undertaken to work for them he could not leave their protection had he been disposed so to do, but says he ever wished well to the British.”
After the loyalist blacksmith, his wife, and children fled Boston, they established a home in Dartmouth, across the harbour from Halifax. When Foster died in 1786, he left a widow and 13 children.
John Hill, a New York innkeeper, narrowly escaped being executed as a traitor in the months leading up to 1776’s flight from Boston. A year earlier, Hill and Captain William Cunningham were attacked by a club-wielding mob in New York City. After being stoned, the two Loyalists were incarcerated for a month. They were tried for their lives, but “escaped being condemned, by the Interposition of the Foreman of the Jury … who was a Loyalist.” Hill and his companion found sanctuary in Boston where they joined with the British troops and eventually became part of a militia company of volunteers. Hill was appointed its quartermaster.
John Hill encountered rebels a second time when three Patriot privateers captured the Elizabeth, the evacuation vessel that carried the Loyalist, his wife and their daughter out of Boston in March of 1776. After having all of their worldly goods seized, the family was taken back to Patriot-held Boston where Hill was confined for the next 19 months.
Once again, Hill was put on trial as a traitor, facing the possibility of execution. But rather than being condemned, the family was exchanged for rebels held by the British in November of 1777. The Hills finally made their way to Halifax, but decided to join the British in New York City. In July of 1779, John Hill was made the inspector of the Brooklyn ferry. Four years later, the family joined the mass evacuation of Loyalists that took refugees to Canada, the Maritime Provinces, and Europe. They were among those who settled in Digby, Nova Scotia. John Hill died at age 80 on November 23, 1817.
Another member of the March fleet who settled in Nova Scotia was Foster Hutchinson, the youngest brother of Massachusetts’ last royal governor, Thomas Hutchinson.  A Harvard graduate, Foster later became a Supreme Court judge and was one of the last royal judges in the colony. He took a family of 12 to Halifax in 1776.  Ten years later, his name appears in the transcripts of the loyalist compensation board as a witness testifying on behalf of fellow Massachusetts loyalists. Foster Hutchinson died in Halifax on April 8, 1799 at age 74.
Ebenezer Cutler had been a merchant based in Groton, Massachusetts, importing British goods into the colony. This angered local Patriots and a “mob destroyed his property and ill used him and exposed him publicly.” Trying to escape the Patriots, Cutler hid between a farmhouse’s chimney and its outer wall where he almost suffocated. Eventually, the rebels imprisoned Cutler and tried him for “being friendly to Great Britain“.
In the end, Groton’s town officials voted to have him leave town for Boston “without his effiects“.  He arrived in the city on June 13, 1775. Later that year, he joined a British expedition to procure stock for the garrison of Boston, and then participated in many “hazardous situations as a volunteer“. He was also the clerk in the quarter master general’s department for some months.
After Cutler travelled alone to Halifax in 1776. His wife Miriam died in 1784, a year after the end of the revolution. It seems unlikely that the couple were ever reunited following the evacuation of Boston. Two years after Cutler arrived in Nova Scotia, the Patriot government of Massachusetts passed sentence on him and the hundreds of other Loyalists who had fled the colony. The banishment act of 1778 condemned Loyalists as traitors, and forbid those who had become refugees from returning to Massachusetts, promising that any who should return would “suffer the pains of death“.
Resuming his profession as a merchant, Cutler and his second wife (Mary Hicks of England) settled in Digby, Nova Scotia at the end of the revolution, where they would eventually have seven children. At least 3 of his daughters by his first wife also joined him in Digby where they married sons of Loyalists.
One story of his Anglican zeal has survived to this day. Cutler apparently discovered his cow drinking from a stream that passed under the local Methodist Church. “He beat her severely for her apostasy from the true faith“.
Sadly, Cutler’s piety did not prevent him from enslaving an African woman and her child. In 1807, he was one of 27 Loyalists who petitioned the Nova Scotia government to uphold their rights as slaveholders,
Given the severity of Cutler’s personality, one can only wonder what it must have been like to confront the Loyalist when he served as the chief clerk in Annapolis County’s law courts between 1814 and 1829.  He died “quite aged” at Annapolis Royal in 1831.
When 1,100 Loyalists board evacuation vessels in Boston’s harbor 250 years ago on March 17, 1776, they had every reason to believe that their time as refugees would not be long. Surely the might of the British Empire would crush America’s rebels and restore the Loyalists to their homes, compensate them for their material losses, and return the members of high society to their positions of influence. Instead, that particular St. Patrick’s Day would forever divide their lives into two distinct halves – life in the seaboard colonies of North America and life as refugees scattered across the British Empire. It would always be a solemn anniversary.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

The Loyal- List: Celebrating Opening Day of Stanley Cup Playoffs
By Mike Woodcock UE, Victoria Branch
United Empire Loyalists (UEL) left a lasting imprint on Canadian communities and culture. Many descendants carried that legacy onto hockey rinks and into Stanley Cup–winning teams. This short commemorative collection highlights notable UEL descendants who lifted Lord Stanley’s Cup—arranged chronologically by birth year—with brief summaries of their careers and contributions. The Stanley Cup, long regarded as the hardest trophy to win in professional sport, honours players from the game’s founding eras through to the start of the 2025–26 playoffs.

Arthur Farrell (1877–1909). Author and player, Farrell was central to early Montreal hockey and the Shamrocks, helping the club win and defend the Stanley Cup around 1900. Bilingual and classically educated, he chronicled hockey’s rise in pioneering writings that remain primary sources for the sport’s formative years. Farrell’s dual role as chronicler and competitor shaped both practice and historiography before his premature death.
Martin Walsh (1884–1915). A Kingston-born Queen’s University standout, Walsh contested Ottawa’s Silver Seven in 1906 and later helped Ottawa capture Stanley Cups in 1909–11. His play marked him among the pre‑NHL elite, but tuberculosis diagnosed in 1914 ended his career and life the following year. Walsh’s swift ascent and early death underscore hockey’s competitive heights and the era’s public‑health vulnerabilities.
William Kenneth Russell “Ken” Mallen (1884–1930). Celebrated for extraordinary speed and scoring, Ken Mallen won Stanley Cups in 1910 (Ottawa) and 1915 (Vancouver) and logged over 150 professional games. A versatile winger and occasional rover, he famously prevailed in PCHA speed contests against top contemporaries. Mallen’s fleet-footed style and consistent production made him a defining skater of early Pacific‑coast professional hockey.
Howard Dennis McNamara (1891–1940). The durable younger McNamara brother, Howard played professionally from 1908–1920, including two seasons with the 1916 Stanley Cup–winning Montreal Canadiens. Alongside brothers George and Harold, he defined the era’s physical defensive game, contributing stout, long service across multiple clubs. Howard’s career exemplifies early pro hockey’s rugged style and the familial networks that populated its ranks.
Theodore Keirstead Stackhouse (1894–1975). Stackhouse logged 13 NHL games with the Toronto St. Pats in 1921–22 and was part of that club’s Stanley Cup victory over the Vancouver Millionaires. Though his top‑level tenure was brief, Stackhouse’s presence on a championship roster during the NHL’s formative expansion years highlights the many short‑stint players whose careers nonetheless intersected with seminal moments in professional hockey.
Gordie Howe, known as “Mr. Hockey,” (1928-2016) had an illustrious NHL career that spanned over three decades. He consistently ranked in the top five in scoring for 20 consecutive seasons, won six Art Ross and Hart Trophies, and was a 21-time All-Star. His contributions helped the Detroit Red Wings secure four Stanley Cup championships, solidifying his legacy in hockey history.
James Norman Riley (1895–1969). A rare dual‑sport professional, Riley played eight PCHA seasons—winning the 1917 Stanley Cup with Seattle—skated nine NHL games (1926–27) and appeared in six Major League Baseball contests (1921–23). His career exemplifies early 20th‑century athletic fluidity, with seasonal crossover between major leagues and transnational movement that made him a notable multi‑discipline Canadian sportsman.
Paul Ivan Thompson (1906–1991). Younger brother of Hall‑of‑Famer Tiny Thompson, Paul enjoyed a 13‑season NHL career beginning in 1926 with the New York Rangers and later Chicago. A three‑time Stanley Cup winner (1928, 1934, 1938), multiple All‑Star selections as player and coach, and a participant opposite his brother in the 1929 Finals, Thompson combined scoring, longevity and later coaching success across the NHL’s early professional decades.
George Armstrong (1930–2021). Longtime Toronto Maple Leafs captain for 12 years, Armstrong epitomized leadership, grit and dry humour; his empty‑net goal sealed the 1967 Stanley Cup and stood as the final goal of the Original Six era. Of Irish‑Algonquin heritage and born in Bowland, Ontario, Armstrong’s sustained on‑ice reliability and community engagement made him both a team anchor and a cultural icon in Canadian hockey history.
Kenneth Wayne “Ken” Dryden (1947–2025). Hall‑of‑Fame goaltender, author, lawyer and politician, Dryden backstopped the Montreal Canadiens to six Stanley Cups (1971–79), won five Vezina Trophies, the Conn Smythe and Calder Trophies, and was named among the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players. Post‑hockey he served as a Member of Parliament and cabinet minister, authored influential books, and received national honours including the Order of Hockey in Canada.

Help grow The Loyal-List!  Know other United Empire Loyalists and descendents who should be recognized for their contributions to baseball? 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

Conferences – 14 April 2026

    I attended my first national conference of the United Empire Loyalists’ Association in 2015 which was held in Victoria, British Columbia. It was also my first time visiting the west coast of Canada and very memorable.  I am pictured below at left with fellow UELAC member Peter Milliken, a former Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, at top right with then B.C. Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon, and below boarding a bus to tour the beautiful city of Victoria.
Attending the 2015 Conference was an opportunity to experience a new place as well as interact with other members of the UELAC and learn from the organized program of presentations, and activities. Read more…

The Waldeckers – 15 April 2026

    Sometimes encouragement to research a subject can come in unexpected ways. After a presentation to a local historical society, one of the attendees told me she had an old drawing she would like to present to me.   We arranged to meet again when she gave me a print that mentioned Waldeckers with Hessians and Loyalists.
The Waldeckers who settled in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia had served in the Waldeck Regiment created in the Principality of Waldeck, Germany. In the summer and fall of 1783 these soldiers settled on the Waldeck Line on lots of land varying between 100 and 300 acres.  This settlement was in the western part of the Township of Clements and neighbouring it was a settlement of Hessian soldiers who had also been disbanded. Read more…

250 Years Ago: The American Invasion of Canada for the week around 19 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 
The defenders, a mix of roughly 1,800 regular troops, sailors, and militia, maintained strict watch over the Saint Lawrence River, anticipating the arrival of the spring fleet from England.

15-20 April 1776: The HMS Isis (50 guns), carrying Captain Douglas and part of the relief force, was actively battling through thick pack ice (up to 10 feet thick) that extended 100 miles into the St. Lawrence.
21 April 1776: The HMS Isis successfully reached Anticosti Island, located at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, overcoming the worst of the ice and preparing to enter the river proper.
21 April (evening): Douglas entered the St. Lawrence River, proceeding toward Quebec City.

Shipbuilding: The British were already planning for the post-siege campaign, with orders sent to prepare for building gunboats to secure Lake Champlain, recognizing they would need to build a fleet from scratch to counter American vessels.

The Americans
Major General John Thomas arrived outside Quebec City to take command of the American forces from Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. Upon arrival, he found the army in a “disorganized” state, with few troops fit for duty, prompting a reassessment of the siege tactics. He reorganized the remaining troops and reinforced the batteries at Pointe-Lévy, the Saint-Charles River, and the Plains of Abraham.
Given the weakened state of the troops, discussions began during this period regarding the viability of continuing the siege if British ships arrived.
In Montreal, American forces under the increasingly unpopular command of General David Wooster and later colonel Moses Hazen continued to struggle with governing the city and trying to raise a Canadian regiment, with limited success.

John Trumbull Under Fire at the Battle of Rhode Island
by Christian McBurney 16 April 2026 Journal of the American Revolution
John Trumbull of Connecticut today is rightfully famous as a painter of Revolutionary War scenes. Some of his best paintings were enlarged by him and painted in the rotunda in the United States Capitol, where they can be viewed to this day.
Less familiar is that Trumbull twice came under fire at the Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778. It was the only time during the war that Trumbull’s life was at risk from hostile action. He came under fire on two different occasions; one time bullets landed all around him. He could have been so wounded that he would never have been able to paint again; or he could have been killed. Instead, he escaped unscathed.
Trumbull was very proud of his service at the Battle of Rhode Island, yet in the latest (very fine) works on Trumbull, Trumbull’s military service at the Battle of Rhode Island is mentioned but not in detail. Read more…

An Obscure Fort and Battle at Brandon’s Bay, Long Island, 1782
by David M. Griffin 14 April 2026 Journal of the American Revolution
Although the Revolutionary War was winding down by the year 1782, there was still raiding across Long Island Sound between the British-Loyalists forces on Long Island and the Patriot forces in Connecticut. The raids which engaged both soldiers and citizens alike were often revenge seeking, creating a somewhat civil war between factions in the region. Armed whaleboats from both sides of the sound cruised its waters on a regular basis. Distinct whaleboat units were even being commissioned. Forces such as the Loyalist Armed Boat Company of New York City and the Jabez Fitch Company of Independent Volunteers of Connecticut ranged the Long Island Sound’s shores late into the war. Considering all the recorded raids from 1781 through 1783, it is apparent that many more raids were being initiated from the Connecticut mainland where the Patriot whaleboat men were emboldened by American success in the war. The British and Loyalists on Long Island acted in defense, protecting their holdings in the occupied area. Read more…

Book: The American Revolution at 250: Twenty-Four Historians Reflect on the Founding 
Editor: Francis D. Cogliano (University of Virginia Press, 2026) $32.95 hardcover
Review by Kevin Diestelow 12 April 2026
The 250th anniversary of the American Revolution has engendered a crowded commemorative landscape. This volume, The American Revolution at 250: Twenty-Four Historians Reflect on the Founding is University of Virginia Press’s contribution to that growing chorus of voices. The book is divided into five sections as well as an introduction by editor Francis D. Cogliano and a conclusion by Patrick Griffin. The sections are well-conceived and help structure what otherwise would be a daunting array of perspectives. Part One, “Inherent Tensions,” presents macrolevel context on the historiography and tensions regarding commemoration of the Revolution before future sections consider, in turn, “Race,” “Political Foundations,” “Lived Experiences,” and “Remembering the Revolution,” a set of essays on the memory of the American Revolution.  Read more…

Advertised on 18 Apr.  “The Sign of the THREE SUGAR LOAVES.”

“The Sign of the THREE SUGAR LOAVES.”

George Webster, a grocer, kept shop “At the Sign of the THREE SUGAR LOAVES, in Leary-street,” in New York during the era of the American Revolution.  In an advertisement in the April 18, 1776, edition of the New-York Journal, he listed a variety of items, including “Best green citron, West-India sweet meats and pickles, a quantity of cloves, Ground ginger and Cayanne pepper, French and Italian olives and capers, [and] anchovies of a peculiar quality.”  He also stocked some housewares, such as “China bowls of different sizes, Chinas cups and saucers of various colours and sizes, with or without handles, [and] A few sets of tea table china complete, which he will sell lower than any in town by ten shillings on the set.”  That was a bargain for a tea seat, though colonizers were supposedly abstaining from drinking tea in protest of the Intolerable Acts. Read more…

Textile Art and Handicaft [in Sweden]
By Viveka Hansen 16 Apr 2026 The IK Foundation
Historical Reflections of Beautiful Clothes and Household Objects
“Munkabälte” [monk’s belt] was one of many four-shafted art-woven textiles, which were popular in farming communities for household needs and, in particular, for the gathering of textiles for the young woman’s dowry. The technique was known under various local names in Sweden, but this picture essay will focus on domestic handloom weaving in the 19th and early 20th centuries in two of the southernmost provinces, Skåne and Blekinge. The geometric designs formed cubes, stars, stripes, and rhombi floating over the woven ground in wool, linen, and cotton. Overall, this weaving technique came to have many uses, such as bedcovers, cushions, aprons and neckerchiefs for the home, and festive dresses. Equally, the established handicraft organisations around 1900 promoted and disseminated knowledge of this style of weaving through inventories, exhibitions, weaving schools, and publications. My practical experience of weaving “munkabälte” will also be part of this historical perspective. Read more…

Fashionably Scottish: The Duchess of Gordon and Scottish Identity in British High Society, 1767–1812
Author: Natalee Garrett  Scottish Historical Review, Edinburgh University Press
Decades before George IV’s highly publicised and ‘tartanised’ visit to Edinburgh in 1822, Jane, duchess of Gordon played an important role in making Scottish culture desirable to London’s high society. Using her position as a successful political hostess for members of the government of William Pitt the Younger, Jane publicly supported and patronised Scottish arts and culture, including music, dance and clothing. In addition to making Scottish culture fashionable in the Ton, Jane used her visible social position to showcase both her loyalty to the Hanoverian monarchy and her passion for her homeland, thus demonstrating that Scottish identity could fit comfortably within an evolving model of British national identity. This article argues that the duchess of Gordon contributed to the ongoing reshaping of Scottish identity in the later Georgian period, from a symbol of Jacobitism and rebellion to one of loyalty and romanticism. Best known as an early patroness of Robert Burns, Jane’s impact on the development and expression of Scottish national identity has been largely overlooked by historians. Yet she stands as a significant example of the soft power exercised by elite women in the political and cultural realms of Georgian Britain.
Introduction
The romanticisation and popularisation of Scottish Highlander identity in the Georgian era have been largely attributed to notable men: from James Macpherson’s popular but controversial Ossian Cycle to Sir Walter Scott’s historical fiction set in the Highlands. Macpherson’s publication of ‘discovered’ Scottish Gaelic poetry in 1762 prompted a rise in Highland tourism literature written by southern writers, among them Samuel Johnson, an Englishman, and the Welsh writer Thomas Pennant, both of whom recorded visits to Scotland in the 1770s. In turn, this tourism literature stoked interest in Scotland and spawned popular Highland tours, which further increased the output of literature by visitors to the Highlands and presented often idealised views of the land and culture of the region to readers. Significantly, Nigel Leask has argued that Macpherson’s ‘bardic nationalism … sutured Highland and Lowland identity in creating an integrated national mythe histoire for Scotland within the Union’, something that continued to inform popular perceptions and expressions of ‘Scottish’ identity in the period. In the later Georgian era, Scott has been credited with capturing the imaginations of Britons north and south with his historical novels based in the Highlands, in addition to his work on George IV’s official visit to Edinburgh in 1822 which resulted in a grand spectacle of constructed and romanticised Scottish identity. Read more…

18th century Spa : the Café de l’Europe
by Jennie Goutet 13 April 2026 Alol Things Georgian
Until I cast around for where to set the first book in my Georgian series, I had never even heard of the city of Spa. This is a bit remarkable to me since I live in France and can get to it in about four hours. Of course, I could not write an authentic first book without actually going to Spa to see it for myself, so that is precisely what I did.
There is evidence that the Romans passed through Spa and benefitted from the sources—unearthed pieces of broken pottery, a tomb, and a coin from the first century, the writings of Pliny the elder depicting ferruginous fountains in the vicinity—but Spa was not renowned for its curative waters until Peter the Great visited in 1717, drank the waters, and declared himself cured. After that, Spa became a place where Society and therapeutic cures were joined, and where renowned guests travelled from all over Europe to see and be seen—and to drink the waters. Read more…

Hard core: How a team drilled a record ice core in the Canadian High Arctic 
An ice core from the Canadian Arctic’s Axel Heiberg Island, the deepest drilled in the Americas, is a record of ancient sea ice past
by Abi Hayward, 30 March 2026 Canadian Geographic (Short; 2 min)
Alison Criscitiello has drilled a lot of ice cores in her career, but this one’s special. “It might be the most special thing I do in my whole career,” says the ice core scientist and explorer, still wearing a warm jacket and a tuque. She’s taking a break from a long day in the freezer at the Canadian Ice Core Lab at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, where her team is about three-quarters of the way through cutting up and imaging a 613-metre ice core, the deepest ever drilled in the Americas.
This icy cylinder was bored from the Müller Ice Cap on Axel Heiberg Island (Umingmat Nunaat), Nunavut. Read more…

Unspoken: The Cree code talkers of the prairies 
nêhiyawak soldiers bent their language to help secure the Allied victory in the Second World War, but their service is often forgotten
By Kayla MacInnis 6 August 2025 Canadian Geographic (short, 4 min)
When their language was useful, it was weaponized. Though their words helped win a war, their contributions remained classified for nearly two decades. And when that same history became politically inconvenient, their legacy disappeared behind a broken hyperlink. This is how colonial amnesia works. One day, Diné (Nava-jo) code talkers were present on U.S. military websites; the next, following an executive order by President Donald Trump to terminate all federal diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, they were gone.
The pages were restored after public backlash, but this erasure, however brief, raises deeper questions about sovereignty, memory and whose stories are protected and uplifted.
On this side of the colonial border, Canada had its own code talkers. The most well-known was Charles “Checker” Tomkins, a Métis man from Alberta — though his story also remained buried for decades. He and two of his brothers — Peter Tomkins and their half-brother John Smith — were among the nêhiyawak from Alberta and Saskatchewan who were asked to bend their language into a tactical tool the military could use.  Read more…

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

By Mike Woodcock,

  • Lt.- Col. Joseph Robinson b. 1742 in Virginia, lived in South Carolina. At the outbreak of the American rebellion, Joseph Robinson was major of the militia for Camden District in South Carolina. Ordered by Governor Lord William Campbell to march against the rebels in Ninety-Six District, he advanced with a party of men and fought the insurgents to a stand-off at the battle of Ninety-Six Courthouse in November 1775.  Resettled New Brunswick in 1785; later St John’s (Prince Edward) Island in 1789, d. 24 Aug 1807, Charlottetown, PEI. With Leila Whitley (Robinson); b. 1750 in Virginia, United States; d. 1822 in Charlottetown, PEI. Woith Leila Whitley (Robinson); b. 1750 in Virginia, United States; d. 1822 in Charlottetown, PEI, three children, one before, one during and one after that war.

By Lynton (Bill) Stewart

  • Capt. John Cloud b. 1744, Taghmon, County Wexford, Ireland Emigrated 1772 to Culper’s Ferry, Gloucester County, New Jersey, enlisted Nov. 1776 in West New Jersey Volunteers to New Jersey Volunteers where he was quartermaster. Captain John Cloud was a School Master before the war. He emigrated to Nova Scotia, with his wife Rebecca Chatthan (b. 1750), married ca. 1775 and three children. He died  18 July 1784, Cornwallis NS, before he could file a claim for reimbursement or land. His widow, Rebecca filed a claim for both. In 1785, she received a 500 acre Loyalist Land Grant in Parrsborough Township, Kings County, Nova Scotia.
  • Cadwallader Colden II b. 26 May 1722, Montgomery, Orange County, New York. son of Cadwallader Colden, the Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of New York. With Elizabeth Ellison (1726-1815); married 1744, Manhattan, New York. Daughter of Thomas Ellison, seven children.  He was Repeatedly jailed by the Ulster Committee of Safety for refusing to take the oath. To St. John, New Brunswick in 1783. A number of influential men in Orange County convinced the government to invite him back to Mongomery in 1785 where he died 26 May 1722. He was father of Capt Thomas Colden.
  • Capt. Thomas Colden b. 1754, Coldengham, Orange County, NY, joined Pennsylvania Volunteers; later Captain, 2nd Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers. Anne Willett (1760-1828), married 18 February 1781, Manhattan, New York, no children. He was Sheriff of Ulster County (now Orange County) from 1774 to 1776. He and his wife went to Nova Scotia following the war, Block 7, Carleton, New Brunswick (now St. Johns) They returned to Coldengham in 1789, and lived the rest of their lived there.
  • Lieut. John Coombes b. 1752 Perth Amboy, Middlesex County NJ, enlisted in 1777 in New Jersey Volunteers. 6th Battalion and then 3rd Battalion, rsettled Initially Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia; then Fredericton, York County, New Brunswick
  • Sgt. Adj. Dennis Coombes b. 1749, Middlesex County, NJ, enlisted Nopv. 1777 in NJV, resettled Frederickton, York County. NB where he died 10 April 1827. With Martha Vail (1752-1829), married 22 February 1784 one child.
  • Ens. Nathaniel Coombes b. ca. 1757, New Jersey, joined the NJV, resettled Fredericton NB where he died 23 March 1813. With Alice Oliver (Widow), married 26 August 1806, Fredericton one child, Nathan.
  • Lieut. Richard Cooper served with the 3rd Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers, resettled at Nashwaak River, NB where he died in 1799. Married Althea.  During the war, his Battalion served in South Carolina. At one point, he and his 20 men were guarding a broken wagon, while it was being repaired. They were surrounded by 200 rebels, who called on Cooper to surrender. Lieutenant Cooper replied that “Light Infantry never surrender.” He and his men went into some nearby trees, and were able to hold off the rebels until help arrived.
  • Capt. John Cougle b. 29 December 1748 in Newton, Sussex County, NJ, enlisted December 14, 1776 in 5th Battalion NJV. In April 1778 he was transferred to the 1st Battalion, resettled Initially Carleton, NB; later Sussex Vale, Kings County, NB., d. 8 February 1819, Sussex Vale, Kings County, NB. With Susannah Farnsworth (1752-1815), married 1766 ten children.
  • Capt. Richard Robert Crowe  b. 1728 Kilquare, Galway, Ireland, immigrated to South Amboy, Middlesex County, NJ, enlisted Jan. 1777 in Black Pioneers, resettled Parrsboro, Cumberland County, NS where he died June 1821. Twice married 1. [Widow] Anna Wilson (1749-1780), married 24 June 1770, St. Stephens Church, Norwich, Norfolk, England (four children) 2. Jane Hartwell (1753-1815). In 1745, Richard Robert became an Ensign in the 48th Regiment of Foot. This Regiment was deployed to America, during the French and Indian War. He resigned his commission, after serving for 18 years, to become a farmer in New Jersey. During the American Revolution, General Howe put him in charge of the 2nd Black Pioneer Company, with the rank of Captain.
  • Adj. George Cyphers Jr b. 1751, Middlesex County, NJ, in 1777 joined the 6th Battalion and then 3rd Battalion, NJV, resettled at Kingsclear Parish, York County, NB. With Sarah C. Estey (1771-1857), married 8 Apr 1790, Kingsclear Parish, NB, one child. George was brother of
  • Sgt. Peter Cyphers b. 1750, Middlesex County, NJJ, in 1777 joined NJV. Peter Cyphers appears in every Muster Roll of that company through 24 December 1781. There is no record of him, after that date. In 1781, this Battalion was in Battle at Eutah Springs, and Ninety Six in South Carolina. The battalion lost over 40% of their soldiers, killed, wounded or captured, during those battles.
  • Lieut. John Ford b. 26 March 1746, Woodbridge, Middlesex County, NJ, enlisted in 1777 2nd Battalion, NJV, resettled Initially St. John, NB; then Hampton, Kings County, NB where he died 22/23 February 1823. With Alyte Alcha Prall (1746-1836), married 1768 Woodbridge, Middlesex County, NJ, eight children born before, during and after the war.

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: 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>

The American Revolution Institute:  When the Declaration of Independence Was News Tues 21 Apr 6:30

Historian Emily Sneff discusses her new book that reveals the stories of how the Declaration of Independence was communicated in the United States and around the Atlantic World. Although Congress declared independence, the work of spreading the news involved various individuals, ranging from printers and post riders to ship captains, clerks and translators. This talk focuses on the earliest public readings and print reactions to independence in English and European languages. More…

Abegweit Branch:  “Unconquered Land: The Island of Saint John’s and the Provincial Military” by Todd Braisted Wed 22 Apr 7:00 ET

The Island of Saint John’s was garrisoned exclusively by Loyalist troops during the war. Tonight we examine their role, who they were, and what became of them afterwards.
Todd Braisted is an author and researcher of Loyalist military studies. His primary focus is on Loyalist military personnel, infrastructure and campaigns throughout North America. Since 1979, Braisted has amassed and transcribed over 40,000 pages of Loyalist and related material from archives and private collections around the world. He is a Fellow in the Company of Military Historians and a past-president of the Bergen County Historical Society.
Join Zoom Meeting.  Meeting ID: 816 5298 9307   Passcode: 981029

Sir Guy Carleton Branch “The Original New Jersey Volunteers” Sat 25 Apr 2026. 1:00-4:00 ET.

Guest speaker Michael Adelberg will speak about “The Original New Jersey Volunteers and Their Wartime Experiences” addressing:
– Background: Monmouth County on the Eve of Revolution;
– Raising the New Jersey Volunteers;
– The Original New Jersey Volunteers during the War;
– Emigration to Canada.
More details…  Note: The AGM will be conducted during this event

Register with carletonuel@hotmail.com for the meeting link

Kingston Branch: “Ballads by the Boundary” by Stephen Bruce Medd. Sat 25 Apr 1:00

Kingston and District Branch will meet at St. Paul’s Anglican Church Hall, 137 Queen Street (doors open at noon); or if you prefer on Zoom (starting 12:30 p.m.).  Stephen Bruce Medd brings us “Ballads by the Boundary”, joined by guitarist John McLurg.  Inspired by Canadian history and the beautiful Canadian landscapes he explored as a geologist, Stephen will cover fascinating pre-Confederation events and people through both storytelling and performing his own historical ballads.  We will hear of Indigenous connections, French explorers, Loyalist refugees of the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and more, including Kingston-Quinte focussed topics.  More and the Zoom link…  Everyone is welcome!

Col. John Butler Branch: Only in Canada, Eh! by Karen Richardson UE, Sat 2May 11:45

This presentation is about all things Canadian from inventions, medical breakthroughs, foods, famous people and more.
Karen is a descendant of Adam Young, one of the original Loyalist settlers in the Niagara region.
The Colonel John Butler (Niagara) Branch meets at Betty’s Restaurant, 8921 Sodom Road, Chippawa (Niagara Falls), at 11:45 for a lunch meeting.  This meeting will be both in person and by ZOOM.
For those attending in person, the cost of the lunch is $35 for UELAC members and $40 for guests.  Cash only, payable at the meeting.  No credit cards.
The zoom link is only for current UELAC members, but of any branch. To register for the link send your name and the UELAC Branch in which you are a member. If attending in person please register as well. Registration:   283corvette@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!

From the Social Media and Beyond

  • Food and Related: Townsends
  • Things including apparel, but more
    • This Man’s waistcoat, c.1765–70 is particularly suitable for our #SpringFlowers theme. The fronts are decorated with ribbons and violets, and they have been hand painted rather than embroidered.
    • This was a lovely inclusion in Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style. A poodle skirt by Californian designer Juli Lynne Charlot featuring her signature appliquéd figures and animals. The Princess wore it to a square dance in Ottawa in 1951, a carefree moment captured here
  • This week in History
    • 16 April 1730, Newfoundland. Henry Clinton was born to Admiral George Clinton, then the royal governor of the colony. His father later served as royal governor of New York, where young Henry spent about eight formative years immersed in colonial life. Around 1751, he returned to England and joined the British Army, purchasing a commission in the Coldstream Guards. Clinton rose steadily, fighting in the Seven Years’ War and advancing to the rank of lieutenant general. During the American Revolutionary War, he served as second-in-command under Howe and became Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America (1778–1782). Though tactically skilled, he struggled with strategic challenges until Yorktown. He died in England in 1795. image
    • 14 April  1740, Setauket, New York. Anna “Nancy” Smith Strong was born. A dedicated Patriot and mother of nine, she became one of the few women in the Culper Spy Ring during the British occupation of Long Island. While her husband, Selah, was imprisoned for suspected rebel sympathies and later paroled to Connecticut, Anna remained on the family farm. Her key role involved a simple yet effective signaling system: she hung a black petticoat on her clothesline at Strong Point to signal courier Caleb Brewster’s arrival across Long Island Sound. Read more…
    • 12 April 1770, London. King George III granted royal assent to the partial repeal of the hated Townshend Acts. Bombarded by complaints from British merchants suffering from the colonial boycott and non-importation agreements, Prime Minister Lord North moved in March to lift the duties on glass, lead, paint, and paper. The tea tax, however, was deliberately retained. At the same time, the Quartering Act of 1765—requiring the colonies to provide housing and supplies for British troops—expired without renewal. Read more…
    • 14 April 1772, Weare, New Hampshire. The Pine Tree Riot erupted in one of the earliest acts of colonial defiance against British rule. British law reserved the tallest white pines for the Royal Navy’s ship masts, marked with the King’s Broad Arrow. Local sawmill owners defied these restrictions to use the timber for homes and mills. Read more…
    • 15 April 1774, London. The city buzzed with political tension as Benjamin Franklin’s sharp-witted “Open Letter to Lord North” appeared in The Public Advertiser. Penned on 5 April at the Smyrna Coffee House—a favorite haunt of Whig intellectuals—Franklin addressed Prime Minister Frederick, Lord North, with biting satire. Posing as “A Friend to Military Government,” he tongue-in-cheek urged Britain to impose full martial law across the American colonies.  Read more…
    • 14 April 1775.  Boston, Massachusetts.  Royal Governor General Thomas Gage received long-awaited secret orders from William Legge, Lord Dartmouth, the Secretary for the Colonies. The dispatch, drafted in Whitehall on January 27, authorized Gage to use any necessary force to suppress the growing insurrection and to enforce the Coercive Acts…. Four days later, he dispatched troops toward Concord—igniting the spark that would become the American Revolutionary War at Lexington and Concord. Read more…
    • 18 April 1775, Boston. As British troops prepared to march, Dr. Joseph Warren, the leading Patriot in occupied Boston, received urgent intelligence about their plans. He immediately dispatched silversmith Paul Revere and William Dawes to ride to Lexington and warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams of the impending threat to their safety and to the colonial military supplies cached in Concord. Read more…
    • 13 April 1776, New York City. General George Washington arrived after marching from Boston, where he had orchestrated the successful siege that forced the British evacuation. Accompanied by a portion of the Continental Army, he immediately began assessing the city’s defenses in anticipation of a major British counteroffensive… His arrival marked the start of extensive fortification efforts on Manhattan and Long Island, setting the stage for the pivotal — though ultimately difficult — New York Campaign later that summer. Read more…
    • 18 April 1776. Cape Fear, North Carolina. The vanguard of Commodore Sir Peter Parker’s storm-battered British fleet finally appeared on the horizon. Escorting transports carrying thousands of troops under Lord Cornwallis, the squadron—led by Parker’s flagship HMS Bristol—had endured a grueling Atlantic crossing from Ireland, delayed by winter gales that scattered the fleet. General Sir Henry Clinton, who had arrived earlier with his own contingent, waited anxiously. Read more…
    • 13 April 1777, Bound Brook, New Jersey. General Benjamin Lincoln’s roughly 500-man brigade of Continental troops—serving as an advanced outpost for George Washington’s army near Morristown—camped along the Raritan River. Unaware of danger, they rested as dawn approached. Suddenly, around 4,000 British and Hessian troops under Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis launched a coordinated, four-pronged surprise attack from New Brunswick. Read more…
    • 17 April 1777, Philadelphia. The Continental Congress took a significant step toward formalizing American diplomacy by reorganizing the Committee of Secret Correspondence—established in November 1775—into the Committee of Foreign Affairs. This renaming reflected the growing importance and complexity of international relations as the young nation sought alliances, especially with France Read more…
    • 14 April 1779, Fort Stanwix (Fort Schuyler), New York. Colonel Goose (Gose) Van Schaick completed preparations for a swift punitive raid ordered by General Philip Schuyler. He assembled approximately 558 Continental troops—mainly from New York regiments—for an arduous 180-mile round-trip expedition into Onondaga territory of the Iroquois Confederacy. The force departed on April 19, marching rapidly through the wilderness. On April 21, they struck the principal Onondaga settlements by surprise, burning about 50 houses, destroying vast stores of corn and beans, killing cattle and horses, taking roughly 33–37 prisoners (including one white man), and killing around 12 Onondaga.  Read more…
    • 13 April 1780,  Charleston, South Carolina.  British artillery batteries and naval guns opened a heavy bombardment of the city’s defenses, marking the start of sustained siege operations. Under Sir Henry Clinton, the British had landed earlier and, on March 29, begun formal approaches, digging siege parallels and positioning heavy cannon and mortars. That morning, British guns from the landward lines and supporting warships unleashed a thunderous barrage of round shot, shells, and carcasses against American fortifications and the town itself. Read more…
    • 14 April 1780, Moncks Corner, South Carolina. Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton and Maj. Patrick Ferguson led about 1,400 British and Loyalist infantry and cavalry in a daring night operation. Their objective: seize the vital crossroads and Biggin’s Bridge, the last major American outpost guarding supply lines and escape routes during the ongoing Siege of Charleston. Moving swiftly and silently under cover of darkness, Tarleton’s Legion dragoons and Ferguson’s mounted riflemen struck at 3 a.m., catching Brig. Gen. Isaac Huger’s roughly 500-man garrison—primarily Continental and militia dragoons—completely by surprise.  Read more…
    • 16 April 1780, near Paramus (Hopperstown), New Jersey. Approximately 300 Hessian troops under Colonel Johann Christian Du Puy, supported by British cavalry, launched a surprise dawn attack on an American outpost. A detachment of the 3rd Pennsylvania Regiment, commanded by Major Thomas L. Byles, was caught off guard while posted in a house. Read more…
    • 18 April 1780, Charleston, South Carolina. Lt. Col. Lord Francis Rawdon arrived at the besieging camp with approximately 2,500 reinforcements—including the 42nd Highlanders, the Hessian von Ditfurth Regiment, the Queen’s Rangers, the Prince of Wales American Volunteers, and the Volunteers of Ireland—boosting Sir Henry Clinton’s British force to roughly 10,000–14,000 troops.  Read more…
    • 11 April 1781, Fort Balfour (also called Pocotaligo Fort) in Beaufort District, South Carolina. Patriot partisan leader Col. William Harden led a daring raid with about 80 mounted militia. Harden’s men surrounded the small British outpost, an earth-and-palisade fort that guarded the vital Pocotaligo River bridge on the Charleston-to-Savannah Road. The Loyalist garrison, commanded by officers including Col. Nicholas Lechmere or Capt. Edward Fenwick offered minimal resistance. This bloodless victory disrupted Loyalist communications in the Lowcountry Read more…
    • 15 April 1781, off the Delaware Capes. Captain Seth Harding’s Continental Navy frigate, USS Confederacy (rated 32–36 guns), was overtaken while escorting a large merchant convoy homeward from the West Indies. The American warship suddenly found herself confronted by two powerful British frigates: the 44-gun HMS Roebuck and the 32-gun HMS Orpheus. Outgunned and sailing alone after the convoy scattered, Harding had little choice. He ordered his colors struck without firing a shot, allowing most of the merchantmen to escape. Read more…
    • 16 April 1781, in the neutral Portuguese harbor of Porto Praya (Praia), Cape Verde Islands. A French squadron under Commodore Pierre André de Suffren launched a surprise attack on a British fleet at anchor. Commodore George Johnstone’s squadron, escorting troops and East Indiamen to seize the Dutch Cape Colony, lay vulnerable while many sailors were ashore for watering and provisioning. Read more…
    • 12 April 1782. Îles des Saintes, West Indies. The four-day Battle of the Saintes (9–12 April) in the Caribbean ended in a decisive British victory. Admirals Sir George Rodney and Sir Samuel Hood, commanding 36 ships of the line, shattered the French fleet of 33 ships under Admirals François-Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse, and Louis Antoine de Bougainville. This triumph halted the Franco-Spanish plan to invade Jamaica and restored British naval supremacy in the West Indies. Read more…
    • 12 April 1782, Paris. Informal peace negotiations between Britain and the United States began when British representative Richard Oswald arrived and opened talks with Benjamin Franklin, the sole American commissioner present. Franklin, operating from his base at Passy, deftly advanced core American demands: full recognition of independence, fishing rights off Newfoundland for New England fishermen, and free navigation of the Mississippi River to secure western expansion. Read more…
    • 17 April 1783, Fort Carlos III (Arkansas Post) in Spanish Louisiana—present-day Arkansas. A mixed force of roughly 80–100 British Loyalist irregulars and Chickasaw warriors under Captain James Colbert launched a pre-dawn raid on the remote frontier settlement and stockade fort…. The Spanish victory—often called the last land battle of the American Revolutionary War—secured the Mississippi River trade route for Spain and its American allies.  Read more…
    • 17 April 17, 1790, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Benjamin Franklin—one of the most well-known and beloved Founding Fathers of the United States—died at 84. A true polymath, he excelled as a writer, publisher, philosopher, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. Read more…

 

Published by the UELAC
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