“Loyalist Trails” 2012-18: May 6, 2012

In this issue:
– The Prison Ships of Esopus: A Postscript — by Stephen Davidson
– Samuel Carman (1782 – 1864) by George McNeillie
– “Vignettes of Winnipeg: Past and Present”: St. Boniface Cathedral
– Biggest Loyalist Families: Benjamin Crawford (13 children) by Ruth Ellis, UE
– Thomas Crothers His Heirs and Assigns Forever
– Ontario Graphic Licence Plate Project Update
– The Tech Side: Transitioning to a New Email Account – by Wayne Scott, UE
– From the Twittersphere and Beyond
– Additions to the Loyalist Directory
– Queries
      + Col. James Blakely UEL and Helen Blakely Anderson
– Last Post
      + Phyllis Marie Cosby, UE
      + Lorraine Eaman UE

Articles

The Prison Ships of Esopus: A Postscript — by Stephen Davidson

During the American Revolution, the British anchored old ships in the waters off of New York City to use as floating prisoner of war camps. French sailors and privateers were incarcerated on the ships along with rebel soldiers. What goes unrecorded in many accounts of the Revolution is that at least three rebelling colonies had their own “fleet prisons” or “guard ships”. The inmates on these vessels were British soldiers and American loyalists. They were imprisoned on floating jails between 1776 and 1782 which could be found in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The first three articles in this series dealt with the fleet prison that was anchored in the waters of the Hudson and Rondout Rivers near Kingston, New York. The first capital of an independent New York was also known as Esopus, a name that loyalists favoured when they told their stories of imprisonment. The Esopus prison ships were primarily holding cells for local loyalists, and operated from May 1777 until October of that year when British troops burned them during their attack on Kingston. During their five months of operation, the Esopus prison ships held as many as 175 prisoners at any one time.

Rebels imprisoned colonists in the fleet prison at Esopus on the merest suspicion of siding with the enemy. In 1777, New York Quakers who lived on the upper part of the Hudson River had to travel through British-held territory to attend their denomination’s annual meetings on Long Island. Because they crossed the enemy’s lines, eight Quakers were arrested by Ulster County rebels and incarcerated on the Esopus prison ships for several months — all because they might have been taking intelligence to the British.

New York patriots had harassed Moses Forster and driven him away from his wife and eight children before imprisoning him “on shore” for a year. Following his release, rebels then wrenched him from bed in the night and carried him to the guard ships 120 miles from his home. By September of 1779, Forster was “a stranger and in distress” in Halifax.

Cadwallader Colden Jr., a known loyalist, later described his imprisonment on an Esopus prison ship. He had to contend with minimal provisions, crowded conditions, bad water, and dishonest prison guards. Had not friends provided him with food and clothing, he could easily have died. After being released, Colden wrote a letter to the local rebel committee to point out that he had never been charged with a crime and had never acted in a hostile manner. The “crimes” of other loyalists held on prison ships in Connecticut and Massachusetts go unrecorded.

Only one ship that was part of the “fleet prison” anchored in the Thames River near New London, Connecticut is known by name. In May of 1782, a Connecticut Navy Ship called the Retaliation was commissioned to receive British and loyalist prisoners. Its commanding officer was Captain John Chapman, a patriot from New London. Since 1776, Chapman had served as a second lieutenant on the Oliver Cromwell under two different captains. The Retaliation was his first command. Before the month was out, 100 prisoners were below deck.

The records of the era note a number of prisoner exchanges made between the British in New York and the rebels in Connecticut. It may well be that men held in prison ships on both sides of the conflict were the ones involved in these exchanges. While the British maintained meticulous records of the enemy prisoners they kept in their prison ships, there are no such records for the fleet prison which the rebels operated in New London.

While there are no manifests of the loyalists or British soldiers in Connecticut’s fleet prison, three accounts of incarceration aboard Boston’s prison ships have survived. In 1777, patriots put David White of Dedham, Massachusetts in a floating prison after they found him “guilty of loyalty to the crown”. In June of that same year, Edward Wentworth was convicted of being “an enemy to the United States” and was immediately placed on a “guard ship”. Wentworth did not join the loyalist exodus; he died in Boston in 1794.

William Latta immigrated to the Thirteen Colonies from Scotland in 1768, settling in Taunton, Massachusetts, a town that was about midway between Boston and Newport, Rhode Island. The Scot operated a store, owned a wharf, and made potash on his land.

When rebels imprisoned soldiers of the British 71st Regiment in Taunton, Latta did what he could to aid them. Among the British officers was the son of Sir James Colquhoun, an English lord. Years later Colquhoun wrote a letter on Latta’s behalf, describing the “great services” performed by the Scottish shopkeeper, especially for the lord’s son. However, at the time of these services, Latta’s kindness only served to make him “obnoxious” to the local rebels.

When he refused to join the patriot army, rebels had him imprisoned. On this occasion, simply paying a fine secured Latta’s release. However, a year later, he was sent to Boston where he was confined on a prison ship, staying there for six months. Apparently security could have been tighter on the ship; Latta escaped. By 1778, he had joined the British in Rhode Island, followed them to New York and eventually returned to Scotland.

A friend of Latta’s named John Richie remembered “his being sent to Prison Ship at Boston for being a Loyalist”. Since he appeared at a compensation hearing in Shelburne, Nova Scotia in 1786, it may be that William Latta finally settled in that refugee community.

Clearly, more research is needed if we are to ever have a complete understanding of what it was like for loyalists to be imprisoned on ships in the colonies they once called home. Dismissed as “artful and designing persons”, the loyalist inmates of the fleet prisons need to have their stories told, allowing us to see the past accurately and in all its rich detail.

To secure permission to reprint this article, email Stephen Davidson.

Samuel Carman (1782 – 1864) © George McNeillie

The Family Record of our Carman Cousins will now follow:

Names:
 When Born:
 When married
 Died:
Odber Miles Carman June 6, 1820 July 17, 1849 Apr 13, 1899
Mary Ann Raymond Aug 30, 1823 July 17, 1849 June 4, 1911
Children:
1. Maria Moore May 26, 1850 April 15, 1873 Feb 16, 1912
2. Charles Raymond Feb 8, 1852 — Feb 23, 1917
3. Julia Elizabeth Dec 11, 1853 July 23, 1875 Jan 1, 1878
4. Harriet Louisa July 7, 1856 —
5. Minnie Street Nov 26, 1858 — Sept 20, 1910

These children were all born in Lower St. Mary’s. The eldest, Maria Moore, married her next door Woodstock neighbour, John Jarvis Bedell. Their children were Mary Johanna, born Feb. 1, 1874; Lee Berton, b. Nov. 8, 1875; Norah Elizabeth, b. Jan. 5, 1878; Victor Jarvis, b. Aug. 23, 1884. Both of the girls died young. Mary at the age of 12 years and Norah when she was but a few weeks old.

The second daughter, Julia E., married Francis William Bourne. Their only child, Julian Paul, was born on Christmas Day, 1877, and the young mother died just a week later. The boy grew up in his grand-father’s home, and having married, removed to Proctor, B.C. in the far west. After the Carman home in Woodstock was broken up, Julian Bourne took his Uncle Charlie to live with him in his last illness. The only member of the family alive today is the third daughter, Harriet L., who is living at Los Angeles in the United States. The Carman house was burned in 1919, after it had passed out of their possession, and the name of the family has now vanished from Woodstock.

The members of the family all had good abilities. The oldest daughter, Maria, was an unusually gifted woman and fitted for a much higher station in life than was hers. She was a bright woman, well read, a most entertaining companion, a clever letter writer, warm hearted and affectionate to her family and her friends. Her husband, Jarvis Bedell, was of a good family and was devoted to his wife, though hardly her equal in ability. She was my grand-father’s favourite grand-child, I think, and kept up quite a correspondence with him. In her young days she was “the life of the party” at almost every social gathering. “Charlie” Carman I always thought needed a good wife, but the number of female dependents in his own home, and his by no means robust health seems to have kept him from marrying. It should not be forgotten, however, that when the Woodstock Company of the 67th Battalion was called out for active service at the time of the “North West Riel Rebellion,” in 1886, Lieut. Carman went to the front unhesitatingly, to the surprise of those who knew of his delicate physique.

Like his father Odber, and his great-grandfather Richard, he was a lover of horses. He had good intellectual ability. We attended the Grammar School in Woodstock together as boys. He had a kindly disposition and I never knew him to do a mean or nasty action. He was not a very good man of business, however, and had many financial difficulties to contend with.

Excerpt from Book of Family History, by The Ven. William Odber Raymond, LL.D, FRSC. © 2009 George McNeillie – all rights reserved [published here with permission; see footnote].

…George McNeillie

“Vignettes of Winnipeg: Past and Present”: St. Boniface Cathedral

In the summer of 1817 Lord Selkirk visited the tiny Red River Colony he had founded in 1812. He brought with him mercenary soldiers from three regiments which had helped defend Canada in the War of 1812, the Glengarry Fencibles, the De Meurons and the De Wattvilles.

The De Meurons, made up of mostly Swiss and German soldiers, were to remain in Red River to protect the colony from further North West Company depredations. They were given lots along the Seine River in the hope that they would stay.

Before Selkirk left the colony he promised to provide for its spiritual needs by sending Presbyterian and Catholic missionaries. The Presbyterians would wait thirty years for a minister, but the Catholics would have priests within a year.

In 1818 Father Joseph-Norbert Provencher and two fellow priests journeyed from Montreal to be followed shortly by some 300 Francophone settlers. He built a small log chapel, the beginning of St. Boniface Cathedral. As many of his initial parishioners were De Meurons, he named the parish St. Boniface, in honour of the English missionary who Christianized the Germanic tribes, becoming the patron saint of Germany and Switzerland.

Over the next 150 years five successive cathedrals would be built on the site. Most succumbed to fire.

In 1832 Bishop Provencher had the first stone cathedral constructed whose “turrets twain“ would be celebrated by poet John Greenleaf Whittier in his poem “The Red River Voyageur”. This edifice burned in 1860 in a blaze so intense that the beloved bells were completely melted.

In 1862 Bishop Tache consecrated a new cathedral, a stone structure with a single spire. It served the community until being dismantled in 1909 .

In 1906 the cornerstone of a magnificent French Romanesque cathedral was laid by Bishop Langevin. This imposing structure of grey Tyndall stone with its twin spires would become the iconic image of St. Boniface.

1968 was to mark the 150th anniversary of the St. Boniface diocese. In preparation, repairs were being done on the roof of the Cathedral. On a sweltering day, July 22, 1968, workmen descending for their noon break noticed flames shooting from inside the roof. By evening all that remained of the Cathedral were a shell and a spireless façade.

Prominent Franco-Manitoban architect Etienne Gaboury decided to preserve the ruin by building a new cathedral inside the shell behind the façade. The former nave is now a courtyard where the graves of successive bishops remain.

St. Boniface Cemetery

The walk-way from Tache Avenue to the steps of the Cathedral passes through one of the most historic cemeteries in Western Canada. Herein lies the grave of Louis Riel, marked by a monument. Around him lie many of his extended family, Riels and Lagimodieres. Many more fur traders, early settlers, and Franco-Manitoban leaders rest within the confines of this cemetery.

Each November 6th, the Manitoba Métis Federation holds a ceremony to commemorate the hanging of Louis Riel, now regarded as Manitoba’s “Father of Confederation”.

Sources:

Lord Selkirk of Red River, by John Morgan Gray

Winnipeg: Where the West Begins, by Eric Wells

www.virtualheritagewinnipeg.com

www.winnipegtimemachine.com

[Manitoba Branch is hosting Conference at the Confluence 2012, the UELAC annual gathering and annual meeting from June 7 to 10 in Winnipeg. These vignettes will provide some of the local history and whet your appetite for more. Now is a good time to plan your trip to the conference, and join us there.]

…Mary F. Steinhoff, Secretary, Manitoba Branch, UEL, and volunteer tour guide, Dalnavert Museum

Biggest Loyalist Families: Benjamin Crawford (13 children) by Ruth Ellis, UE

Benjamin Crawford, with 13 children, has been added to the List of the largest Loyalist families – submitted by Ruth (Nichols) Ellis, UE. Read about more of the Loyalists’ biggest families and note the submission guidelines if you have a large family you would like to contribute.

Thomas Crothers His Heirs and Assigns Forever

I wondered how to begin this story. I am a bewildered descendant of a United Empire Loyalist and I immigrated to Canada in 1980. I was born in Bolton, Lancashire, England and never knew that my ancestors had lived, loved and fought for their beliefs here in North America in the 18th century.

I recently looked at my copy of the Indenture that was made between my ancestor Thomas Crothers and Colonel John Butler and his wife Catherine (signed Callyna) on 5th August 1774 for property between Tribes Hill and Johnstown in Tryon County, New York Province. It struck me that it was such a hopeful document. This land was to be Thomas Crothers’ for all time, “Thomas Crothers his heirs and assigns forever.” This lasted until 21st October 1779 when it was confiscated by the Government of the United States of America because Thomas Crothers had been a Loyalist.

Thomas was the owner of this 53 acres of land in Tryon County for just over five years although the time he lived there was less than that actually since he had enlisted in the Royal New York Regiment 6th June 1776 as an Ensign. Previous to this he had been at the siege of Quebec the winter of 1775/76. Thomas would become a Lieutenant by 21st June 1778 and he died in July 1780 before the 21st.

Thomas was actually a Merchant and I found him in Tryon County in 1772 trading with Sir William Johnson and Colonel John Butler. Thomas was married to a lady called Elizabeth whose surname may have been Gibson. They had children, I know of only two, Elizabeth born about 1770 and Johnson Butler Carruthers born about 1780 (probably in Montreal). There is a wisp of a mention of two others, perhaps Maria and Eldridge.

Elizabeth, Thomas’ wife, was alone with her children in Tryon County for some time. She is mentioned in a list of women still in New York area in December 1777.

“Mrs. Gray went from Albany before Christmas, and arrived safe in the Jerseys, – Mrs. Jessup was in Albany about 3 weeks ago, and all well, – Mrs. Martin & Family are well, as also Mrs. Wall, Crothers, Crawford, Hylyer, Picken, Hare, McDonald, and all widows that I know (the McDonald’s are still Prisoners, except John, who made his Escape from Albany last Fall, & lies concealed somewhere)- Mrs. Street left Johnstown about a fortnight ago, & said she intended to go to Amboy, but we hear is yet in Albany. ‘Tis impossible to send any other account (at present) as matters are circumstanced, which the Bearer can inform you, more at large.- Every one of us are now under a gentle kind of Persecution, which we expect will continue till the Northerly winds begin to blow, & expel the Vapours that fill our Atmosphere.- N.B. Tho A-y is in winter Quarters, dispersed thro the Jersey:- Head Quarters at Brunswick:- Gen W-n is now at Morris Town, -with his whole Force.-“ From the New York Historical Documents, Volume One.

Elizabeth asked for an extension for passes she had already obtained from “The Commission for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies,” to go to Canada on the 6th November 1778, she wanted to go with the “Flag”. For some reason she had been unable to use her passes before. This was granted.

Elizabeth may have then joined Thomas in Quebec that winter of 1778/79. I next hear of her 7th August 1780, asking for relief, she is described as the widow of Lieutenant Thomas Crothers. Sir John Johnson describes Elizabeth as a Loyalist 17th October 1780. There are other similar notes, 6th and 25th November 1780. 5th January 1783 she applies for a Pension.

From an affidavit Elizabeth Fowler, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Crothers, made in 1832 to support her nephew’s claim for land in Quebec I discovered that her mother remarried to a Mr. Davies. I am unsure where this marriage took place. The only marriage I could find was in London in 7th December 1786 to Richard Davies. Mrs. Fowler tells us that her mother died in Liverpool 14th April 1827. Mrs. Fowler also confirmed my suspicion has her father had died in July 1780 in the same affidavit.

Johnson Butler Carruthers, the son of Thomas Crothers, returned to Montreal, Quebec in the summer of 1832 where he died 21st August possibly from Cholera. He was buried there and there is a record in the Basilique Notre-Dame. Johnson was a half pay lieutenant in the British Army beginning with a commission as an Ensign in 1798 although he had been in the Denbighshire, Wales, Militia the year previously. Unfortunately he was wounded in 1799, receiving a promotion to Lieutenant but, for the rest of his life, never able to serve very long in full capacity.

It was his son, Edwin Montague Carruthers, who travelled to Montreal the year following his father’s death in 1832 bringing with him documents to prove who he was and to claim the land that had been promised to all Loyalists, their wives, sons and daughters who had lost everything during the conflict called the American war of Independence. These documents are lodged in the Archives of Ontario. I don’t know what happened, if he was successful.

Edwin was my ancestor and he married twice. I am descended from his first wife and their daughter Elizabeth and it was she who remained in England while Edwin and his second wife and family immigrated to New Zealand, arriving 18th December 1852. I knew nothing about this part of my family’s history either. The Indenture, mention above, has travelled from Tribes Hill, New York to Wellington New Zealand where the original is held by another descendant of Thomas and Elizabeth Crothers.

I live in the Yukon still far away from where my story happened. My grasp of the history of that time is slight but growing. The Indenture made me sad. So much hope for a future never to be. I am struggling through my application to become a United Empire Loyalist although I doubt I can ever be part of the fun things this group does since I live so far away. I do hope for help with my research and more insight into the lives that my ancestors lived.

…Frances Hall, 23 April 2012

Ontario Graphic Licence Plate Project Update

With the help of our Ontario-based branches we are making fine progress in our quest to find good homes for 200 sets of Ontario graphic licence plates with the UELAC badge. To date, we have had requests for 60 of the standard sets. Several of the branches have streamlined the process by passing around sign-up sheets at their monthly meetings; our thanks go out to you, and we are still counting on you to help promote the project in newsletters and emails. Full details of the project can be found at the Dominion website’s projects page here.

But there is interest from outside of the province as well. Several requests have come in from other parts of Canada for decorative sample plates, which would become available once the first 200 standard sets are sold. What Loyalist memorabilia collection could be complete without a UELAC graphic licence plate?

To request a set of plates for yourself, or perhaps as a gift for a family member, please send your name, postal and email addresses, branch affiliation (if any) and the number and type of plates you’d like to plates@uelac.org. And please feel free to contact me with any questions.

…Ben Thornton, Toronto Branch, 905-486-9777, plates@uelac.org

The Tech Side: Transitioning to a New Email Account – by Wayne Scott, UE

Have you been receiving emails from people you know with no message but asking you to click a link in the email to see a special movie, joke, e-card, etc? Your email client (Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Opera, etc.) may be telling you that the email in question is possibly spam or a ‘phishing’ email. The poor spelling is often a giveaway. You or someone you know has been hacked. Don’t click the link. But, what else can you do?

I realize that you can’t do without your email so let’s investigate some strategies to help solve the problem. If your account is hacked, the very first thing to do is to log onto your email account(s) and change the password(s). The password should be long and contain letters (upper and lower case), numbers and punctuation. I would suggest also that you not use the same password for all of your email accounts. Make sure to write down the passwords you have just created and keep in a safe place. If computer security is a concern of yours, changing passwords frequently is recommended.

The damage happens when emails containing malware are opened on your computer. The virus spreads throughout your computer and hitch-hikes to other computers through emails you send and ones generated by the virus. One solution is to use an internet based email service so that your computer will not get infected. Therefore, email is not downloaded and opened on your computer. A good choice that will help minimize phishing or malware difficulties is creating an internet email account in Google Mail or Gmail.

Gmail is free. It also has a very robust spam/malware filtering system. Also, since many of us have multiple email accounts, Gmail can be set up to fetch emails from your other accounts: Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, Outlook and Outlook Express, Thunderbird, etc. When set up, all of your emails will come into one box – Gmail. The emails can then be put into folders of your creation that will hold thousands of emails. Also, because the account is online, you can control what gets sent to your computer.

If you want to try this out, go to www.gmail.com and set up a new account. Remember to give it a strong password. In order to have your other email accounts send email to the Gmail account you will have to follow the steps after clicking on “import mail and contacts”. The login and password for all the email accounts you have must be entered.

When you want to download or “fetch” the emails stored in all of your accounts, first log onto the Gmail account. At the top of the page, look for something that resembles a gear. This is the Settings link. Click on Settings in the dropdown menu. Click on accounts, enter the required information. Do not check the box “Leave a copy of retrieved messages on the server” if Gmail will be your single source for email reading. Now that the options are set, click Add Account. Gmail will test the information you entered and tell you if there are problems with usernames and/or passwords.

It is suggested that you send all your emails from this Google Gmail account. People who receive your emails will become accustomed to your new email address. Yes, you may have to keep your old ‘infected’ accounts open for 5 or 6 months because it takes this long for everyone you know to learn your new account address.

A suggestion to speed up the changeover is to add a “Signature” line to your emails. This signature is not picked up by malware so it becomes obvious when an email account is hijacked. You could add a signature that said, “Trust only emails that have this signature”. This would be a place to mention that this Gmail account will be your only account shortly.

In Gmail, adding a signature is a matter of clicking the Settings icon (gear) and click “Settings” in the drop down menu. Scroll down to Signature, add a new signature. You will then have the opportunity to compose the signature in the appropriate box. Finally, scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Save Changes”.

When you’re fairly certain that your email contacts have switched over to your new account, delete your old infected or hacked email accounts.

You can email Wayne Scott to get in touch with questions or comments.

From the Twittersphere and Beyond

Additions to the Loyalist Directory

As time permits, we add information to the Loyalist Directory. The latest additions and updates are as follows:
– Crothers, Thomas – from Frances Hall

Queries

Col. James Blakely UEL and Helen Blakely Anderson

I note that in 2004, Helen Blakely Anderson was inducted into the Bay of Quinte Branch Loyal American Hall of Honour. My Loyalist ancestor is from that area; my line:

Col. James Blakely UEL (1730-1814) of Hallowell, Prince Edward County.

==> Samuel Blakely UE (1773-1845) of Hallowell, Prince Edward County, youngest of four sons of James

====> James Blakely UE (1808-1880) of Napanee

======> Robert Easton Blakely UE (1861-1924) of Ottawa (my grandfather)

I am curious about the possible relationship of Helen Blakely Anderson to my UEL ancestor James?

Thanks to Brian Tackaberry of Bay of Quinte Branch who notes:

“Helen was the daughter of ROBERT BLAKELY born 1813 died 1880 married SARAH ANN WILSON born 1828 died 1909. They are buried in Wellington Cemetery. Their family:

JAMES BLAKELY born circa 1852

AMY ANN BLAKELY born circa 1846 d. 1878 m. ROBERT MORTON b. 1841 d. 1909 (Christ Church)

GEORGE J. BLAKELY born 1849 m. AUGUSTA

FRANLKIN BLAKELY born 1851 d. 1929 m. SUSAN VINCENT b. 1864 d. 1936 (bur. Wellington Cem)

W. BLAKELY born circa 1852

ELIZABETH BLAKELY born 1855 d. 1948 (Wellington Cem)

MATILDA BLAKELY born circa 1857

HELEN BLAKELY born 1865 d. 1956 m. WILLIAM ANDERSON b. 1861 d. 1932 (Christ Church, Hillier)

SUSAN ELIZA born 1867 died 1957 (bur Wellington Cem)

ROBERT BLAKELY b. 1869 d. 1946 m. ALICE MAUD MCDONALD b. 1874 d. 1933 (Wellington)

I am unable for certain to connect Robert back to Col. James UEL. He is in that difficult time period to prove. HOWEVER, I think that Robert is a son of JAMES BLAKELY Jr., who died around 1836. James had previously married Elizabeth Mowerson and had a son James Mowerson Blakely baptized in 1809, but I cannot find any other baptism for their family. I think James’s wife died and he remarried and had more children, including Robert. There was a reference that a will of James Jr. listed all children including Robert, but I have not come across the source of it.

This James Blakely Jr. is a son of Col James UEL, and is mentioned in his will probated in 1815, in which he lists sons James, William, John and Samuel. Col. Blakely also sometimes spelled the name as BLACKLEY.”

If anyone can help with the missing links or can add verification for the possible/probable connections, it would be much appreciated.

…J A William Whiteacre UE MM CD QC BA LLB, mailto:wwhiteacre@rogers.com

Last Post

Phyllis Marie Cosby, UE

Sadly the family of Phyllis Marie Cosby announces her passing on Sunday, April 29, 2012 after a brief illness at the Welland General Hospital. Loving partner and companion Arthur Gill of Welland. Loving mother of Joseph (Vicci) Interisano of Unionville, Annamaria (Wally) Tykoliz, John Jr. (Sherry) Interisano and Angela (Michael) Citrigno all of Port Colborne.

Phyllis was born 3 months after her father died. Her father’s absence spurred a passion for family history which led to the discovery of her Loyalist heritage. She was the first to provide documentation of her lineage to George Cosby and John Comfort (who died in the famine years shortly after his arrival at Niagara). She recently added Loyalist Rebecca Haines (Johnson, Field) to her list. Phyllis chose to be buried next to her grandmother, Martha Comfort in Lane’s Cemetery where she had her name engraved and a UE bronze plaque placed years earlier.

Many thanks and gratitude to Phyllis for linking many of us to our family heritage.

…Wendy Cosby, niece

Lorraine Eaman UE

EAMAN, Lorraine – June 28, 1940 – April 28, 2012 – With heavy hearts and great sadness, the family of Lorraine Eaman (Shaver) announce her death after a most courageous two year battle with lung cancer. She leaves her beloved husband of 50 years, Ron and cherished children, Angie (Kerry McConkey) and Todd (Brenda) and three grandchildren Braden, Adria and Connor. Lorraine is predeceased by her parents Harold and Jean Shaver. She is survived by her sister Brenda Shahin (Nail) and brother Brian (Mary). She will be sadly missed by her maternal aunts Fern McIntosh, Ina Ezard, Audrey Dafoe (Glenn) and sister in law Jean Fawthrop and many nieces and nephews.

Lorraine’s cancer diagnosis brought so may wonderful gifts into her life and she was most fortunate to endure a relatively healthy battle throughout, largely due to the endless prayers, encouragement, love and support provided by so many friends and family. She will be remembered for her incredible caring ways, her endless determination, courage and strength.

In keeping with Lorraine’s wishes, cremation has taken place. A memorial service scheduled at Knox-St. Paul’s United Church 800 12th Street, East Cornwall on Friday May 4, 2012. Private burial will take place at St. Lawrence Valley Cemetery at a later date. Memorial donations to Hospice Cornwall or Victoria’s Quilts would be appreciated by the family. Online condolences and donations at www.brownleefuneralhomes.com.

Lorraine and her husband Ron were both members of St. Lawrence Branch. Lorraine had proved and received16 Loyalist certificates.

…Lynne Cook, UE