Loyalist Trails Newsletter 2020-51 (December 27, 2020)

In this issue:

  • The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2020
  • UELAC Face Mask
  • Loyalists Gone Astray, Part One of Two by Stephen Davidson UE
  • JAR: The Mount Vernon Slave Who Made Good: The Mystery of William Costin
  • Abner “The Elder” Williams, Last Son of Patriarch Samuel
  • JAR: “The Devil at the Helm:” A Quote that Went Astray
  • “I believe they are a smuggling”
  • Query: Missing Sources for Information about Butler’s Rangers
  • Response to Query: Copy of The Loyalists in Ontario.
  • Historic Deerfield: Pass it Round: Festive Drinks for Holiday Cheer
  • George Washington’s boozy eggnog recipe — and Martha’s Christmas cake
  • Food From the British Isles
  • Was Queen Charlotte Partly Black?
  • Loyalist Certificates in 2020. Congratulations. List and Directory Updated
  • Last Post: CARLISLE UE, Elaine Marie
  • Last Post: Jeffries UE, Alfreda
  • Last Post: NETHERCOTT UE, Arnold Warren 1928 – 2020

 

 

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The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2020
“In the United Kingdom and around the world, people have risen magnificently to the challenges of the year, and I am so proud and moved by this quiet, indomitable spirit.” Watch the Queen give her message.

Thus it’s not surprising that she should speak on a day of import to Christians that has become for most a secular holiday, The Queen reflects on Christmas Day in terms of her own faith, even while the institution of the Crown helps to guarantee the free exercise of belief or doubt by all. The same would be as true of our fellow constitutional monarchies — from the Shinto-observant Emperor of Japan to the Catholic monarchy of Spain — the heads of state preside over diverse populations who all enjoy freedom of conscience. So we in Canada may watch The Queen who by history, free choice of our citizenry and an exemplary life, reigns as a living symbol of “all that is best and most admired in the Canadian ideal.” And we may draw strength and inspiration from her, just as many, regardless of their faith, do from the Dali Llama, Jean Vanier, Billy Graham or Thomas Merton.
The Monarchist League of Canada

UELAC Face Mask
The Face Mask is now available in a second colour – black. A great way to show your heritage.

Loyalists Gone Astray, Part One of Two by Stephen Davidson UE
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
In genealogical circles, a “stray” refers to someone from a given region who died in another part of the world. The person “strayed” — so to speak– from his/her original home. Genealogists appreciate the diligence of researchers who discover an obituary or death notice in one part of the country and share it with family members in the homeland of the deceased. Many genealogy magazines feature a “stray” column, allowing family historians to finally find out what happened to a missing family member.
The death of someone familiar also had value as a news item, and so strays often made appearances in newspapers. As early as 1804 –and well into the 1880s — New Brunswick’s newspapers let their Loyalist readers know what happened to those who had once called the colony their home and then died far from its shores.
Following his career in the British army, Benedict Arnold lived with his family in New Brunswick for a number of years. The New Brunswick Royal Gazette notified its readers in January of 1805 that Arnold’s sister, Hannah, had died at the age of 60 in Montague, Upper Canada on August 11, 1803.
Three of Benedict Arnold’s sons settled in Upper Canada: two in Montague and one in Kitley township. Following the death of their mother in 1775, Hannah had taken Arnold’s sons (Ben, Richard, and Henry) under her wing. Never marrying, Hannah ended her days in the care of her nephews. She lived on £40 a year from her brother’s estate. Whether she ever lived in Saint John with the Arnold family during their time there is not indicated in the death notice.
The Arnold family appeared again in Saint John’s Morning News fifty years after the notice of Hannah Arnold’s death. It quoted a Boston newspaper that reported the death of James Robertson Arnold, the second of Benedict Arnold’s children by his second wife, Margaret Shippen. James was born in Philadelphia on August 28, 1781, about a year after his father joined the British. In the wake of the British defeat, the Arnold family moved to Saint John, New Brunswick in 1786 when James was just five years old. He was ten when his family left New Brunswick and settled in London.
In 1798, James entered the British Army and eventually became a Colonel of Engineers. He held posts in both Bermuda and Halifax. When he made a visit to Saint John as the commanding officer of engineers, some residents took him to see what had been his family’s house on King Street. His guides remembered that at the sight of his former home “he wept like a child”. By 1841, he had been appointed a major general and a knight of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order. James Robertson Arnold died in London at the age of 73 on December 27, 1854.
When John Smith died in Belleville, Upper Canada on February 20, 1819, the New Brunswick Courier reminded its readers that the 81 year-old Loyalist had once been a merchant in Saint John. Until the upheavals of the American Revolution, Smith, his wife, their four children and servant had lived in New Hampshire. The local Patriots “proscribed and banished” Smith in 1778. Five years later, the Scottish native and his family settled in Saint John where Smith established himself as a merchant.
The length of the Smith family’s stay in the city is not recorded, but clearly it was long enough to have made the “stray” memorable in Saint John. The New Brunswick Courier reported that Smith endured a painful illness in the month before his death and that he was buried in Belleville’s Anglican cemetery.
Some of the strays featured in New Brunswick’s newspapers had never lived in the colony, but were acquaintances of Loyalists who had once lived in the same American colony of origin. Finlay Ross, who emigrated from Scotland to New York in 1773 may have been known by some of the readers of Fredericton’s New Brunswick Royal Gazette. In his 30s for much of the American Revolution, Ross was one of the Loyalist settlers who joined Sir John Johnson’s King’s Royal Regiment of New York in 1776 and served within it for the duration of the war.
In November of 1787, he appeared before the loyalist compensation board, hoping to be reimbursed for the loss of his house, barn, stable, cattle, utensils and furniture that had been seized by the rebels of New York’s Tryon County. The Loyalist eventually settled in Charlottenburg, Upper Canada (east of modern day Cornwall, Ontario). Finlay Ross died at the age of 90 on February 13, 1830.
William Wynn had lived in New Brunswick for 19 years before moving to Upper Canada. Originally from New York’s Duchess County, Wynn and his wife Mary sailed into Saint John’s harbour in May of 1783. His service in the American Revolution may have included being a member of the South Carolina Royalists and/or the New York Volunteers. After almost two decades in New Brunswick, the Wynns along with their daughter Sarah and sons William Junior and Joseph moved to Queenston (Niagara) in Upper Canada in 1802. Within 10 years, the Loyalist veteran had established a store and tavern. All three Wynn children married and had children. Sadly, Sarah died shortly after giving birth to her fourth child, leaving her husband, Edward DeField, a widower. Sarah’s father, William Wynn, died on January 14, 1834.
Later that same year, the New Brunswick Courier assumed that there were enough refugees from Boston among its readers to warrant publishing the death of a Loyalist stray from Massachusetts. William Dummer Powell had died at the age of 79 in Toronto, Upper Canada. His loyalty to the crown became obvious in the early days of Boston’s revolutionary fervour when he helped to formulate a declaration against the city’s rebels in April of 1775. By October, Powell and his new bride had to flee to England for sanctuary.
Powell studied law in Britain and moved to Montreal to pursue his legal career. When Sir Guy Carleton became the governor of Canada, he appointed Powell as one of two commissioners to investigate the complaints made by the colony’s Loyalist settlers. From 1789 to 1797, the Powell family lived in Detroit where William served as its first judge. During the War of 1812, the Loyalist moved to York (Toronto), remaining there during the American occupation of the city.
Finally, after 25 years spent seeking status and influence, Powell was made the chief justice of Upper Canada in 1816. The historian S. R. Mealing states that Powell “remained convinced that Upper Canada was by right destined to be a special loyalist province and that most of the refugees from New York in 1784 would have come to it if imperial delays in arranging their reception had not left their establishment in New Brunswick “too far effected to think of removal.”
The New Brunswick Courier’s all too brief account of Powell’s death on September 6, 1834 failed to mention that the Boston Loyalist had published his autobiography, “Story of a Refugee“, just a year before his death.
The concluding chapter in this series on the strays of New Brunswick will appear in next week’s Loyalist Trails.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

JAR: The Mount Vernon Slave Who Made Good: The Mystery of William Costin
by David O. Stewart 22 December 2020
William “Will” Costin was found dead in his own bed on the morning of May 31, 1842. Washington City’s leading newspaper, the Daily National Intelligencer, reported the passing of this “free colored man, aged 62 years,” then praised Costin’s years of service to the Bank of Washington, the capital’s largest. Costin’s job sounds modest today—he was “Porter to the bank”—but the Intelligencer stressed that he held “the unlimited confidence” of the bank’s officers. In his work, the newspaper continued, “millions of money were allowed to pass through [Costin’s] hands,” yet “in no one instance . . . was there discovered the slightest defalcation.” In gratitude, the bank directors approved a final payment of fifty dollars to his family.
The newspaper added that Costin’s “colored skin covered a benevolent heart,” having raised not only his own children but also four orphans. With Dickensian sentimentality, the Intelligencer concluded that “The tears of the orphan will moisten his grave, and his memory will be dear to all those (a numerous class) who have experienced his kindness.” Forty miles away, the Baltimore Sun noted that Costin’s funeral was attended by “nearly two hundred hacks [carriages] and other vehicles in line, besides a great many people on horseback.” That report urged that Costin’s “excellent example be followed, and his many virtues imitated by the whole colored population of this country.”
Even Congress heard about Costin’s virtues. Former president John Quincy Adams, then serving in the House of Representatives… Read more…

Abner “The Elder” Williams, Last Son of Patriarch Samuel
Abner was patriarch Samuel’s youngest son, born about 1751, in North Carolina most likely in Anson County. He married Hannah Blewett, who lived nearby at what is now Blewett Falls. Her father, William Blewett, was a prominent citizen in the area, operating the local ferry across the Pee Dee River and farming a local land grant. Records are unclear as to whether Blewett was a British Loyalist or sided with the American Rebels. It appears that he initially was a British Loyalist but changed sides and became an American sympathizer since none of his property was seized during the Revolution, and he came out unscathed after the war.
Abner Williams fought in the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge as a loyalist with his father and brothers in 1776 and took his father’s advice and moved to Florida. He briefly lived with his father Samuel, siblings Wilson, Henry, Jane and their families on the St. Johns River at Doctor’s Lake. He had gone back to see his family in North Carolina when the British Colony of Florida was receded to the Spanish in 1783 and therefore missed being listed in the Spanish census of 1784, taken when they re-acquired Florida. He was listed as “not present” and as having left to seek his family in North Carolina. He ultimately did return south but went to St. Marys, Georgia to join his brother Wilson and sisters Jane and Susan. They had moved there in 1788, because in Florida, they refused to swear allegiance to the king of Spain.
Abner obtained land near St. Marys in Camden County, Georgia and was elected to the state legislature in Augusta in 1788, which had the task of adopting a new constitution for the state. He was re-appointed in 1789 and later that year appointed as tax collector for Camden County. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1790 and 1791 and commanded the First Company of Militia in Camden County. In 1792, he and his brother Wilson were appointed justices of the Superior Court for their district. In February of 1793, Abner signed a petition complaining that the government paid too little attention to their county.
There were only 300 people living in Camden County at that time, of whom only 81 were eligible to vote (white, male over the age of sixteen). On July 11, 1793, Abner was murdered in Newton (an early community near St. Marys, located at Point Peter), allegedly by James Seagrove’s cashier, John Marshall, who was said to have taken refuge across the St. Marys River in Florida on Amelia Island. The magistrates in Camden County requested of the Florida official, Carlos Howard, that Marshall be handed over to Georgia authorities. A few days later, Marshall was held on board the cutter Simon at Fernandina and claimed that he did not murder Abner, and that Captain Randolf did it and sent a letter to that effect. Georgia Governor Edward Telfair immediately offered a reward of 50 pounds for the capture and return of Marshall.
Later, in August another letter was sent to Carlos Howard complaining of the harboring of criminals in Florida by the Spanish. Newspaper postings still appeared a month later offering the reward for Marshall’s capture. However, nothing in the record
shows that he was ever brought to justice.
Shortly after Abner’s demise, his wife, Hannah Blewett, moved back to her family in North Carolina, but later died in Georgia, probably on a visit to her Georgia family. While living in St. Marys, at least one child was born to them, William, in 1791. Abner and Hannah had three children in all, Abner, Jr., Sarah Garton and William.
Abner the younger was born probably in the late 1770s or early 1780s. Nothing is known about his early life until he appears in his uncle’s will in 1807, inheriting a share of the plantation at Spring Garden.
Abner was involved in the Patriot War of 1812-14, but probably only half-heartedly. He initially tried to claim neutrality, but finally joined, as he claimed, to protect his property on Julington Creek northwest of St. Augustine. Ironically, the Patriots stole his livestock and crops anyway and ransacked his property in the name of troop maintenance
The last record of Abner is a note in the diary of his cousin Caroline, that mentions that she saw him in October of 1813. Abner must have died sometime between 1813 and 1818, since his brother William is, ironically, applying for compensation in 1818, for reparations from the Patriot War, on behalf of his deceased brother.
William Williams, the younger, was born in 1791, and after his father, Abner, was murdered in 1793, family tradition has it that young William was sent to be raised by an uncle, probably his namesake William, who was then living in the Bahamas. The next appearance in the archives has him accepting his uncle William’s legacy of a partial share of Spring Garden, one of his uncle’s plantations in Florida.
William Williams the younger was only sixteen when he and his brother and cousin inherited the Spring Garden property. His brother Abner was older, as was their cousin William Henry and probably they ran the plantation with William learning the trade. When their cousin, Samuel the younger, died in 1811, his widow hired the two brothers to help run her plantation, the Orange Grove on the Halifax River. This was a huge, 3200-acre estate with many slaves.
Apparently, William was not interested in the project and joined the newly formed Patriot cause, which was organized in Georgia, where he was born and had many relatives. He was undoubtedly recruited to join the cause by his first cousins Lodowick and William Ashley. In one incident during the war, William and his band of patriots arrived at the Orange Grove plantation looking for an enemy of the Patriots (Robert McHardy). The owner, his cousin Anna Williams scolded him, her former manager, for his participation in this illegal war. He went off in a huff looking for McHardy who was supporting the effort to repulse the Patriots. Coincidentally McHardy had married William’s cousin Caroline Williams who kept a diary detailing these incidents
By 1815, William went back to managing Spring Garden, which was spared during the Patriot War. His cousin William Henry had sold his share to brothers William and Abner in 1813. Abner was busy recovering his farm at Julington Creek, so William dealt with Spring Garden. Abner died sometime before 1818, and William, now the sole owner, later decided to sell the 2020-acre Spring Garden Plantation to his neighbor Joseph Woodruff in 1823 for $3000. However, by 1816, William had begun visiting cousins in St. Marys as well as those in Telfair County. There, on family visits, William in February of 1817 married his second cousin, sixteen-year-old Kesiah Ashley, daughter of William Ashley and granddaughter of Jane Williams and Nathaniel Ashley. He probably had known her since childhood. She died in 1821, and in 1824 William married Cassandra Shepard, from Pulaski County, Georgia. The Shepards were originally from Anson County, North Carolina and the families probably knew each other there. They eventually settled in Attapulgus, Georgia, where they had nine children.
Over the next twenty-five years, William amassed many properties. He eventually owned property in Fowltown, Tired Creek, Bainbridge, Attapulgus, and Faceville, Georgia as well as several properties in Quincy, Florida.
William died in 1860 at his plantation in Attapulgus, a wealthy man. His estate was valued at over $100,000, which in today’s dollars is nearly $3,000,000. According to his will and the disbursement of his estate, he had over $69,000 in cash on hand and twenty-six slaves valued at $34,000.
It is said that he was a great hunter and thought nothing of hunting all night. A story handed down in the family is one of William Williams’ love of dogs. The day before his death he asked the family to bring in all his dogs as he felt death was near. The dogs were brought in and put their paws on the edge of the bed, and one dog howled. William Williams died the next day. He was my ggggrandfather.
In the next installment I will discuss the two daughters of patriarch Samuel Williams and their loyalist husbands.
ENDNOTES

  • Medley, Mary L. History of Anson County, North Carolina. Charlotte: Anson County Historical Society, 1976.
  • Lamplugh. George. Dead Georgians. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse, 2015.
  • Vocelle, James T. History of Camden County, Georgia. St. Marys, Georgia: Camden Printing Co., 1989.
  • “East Florida Papers,” archives at Smathers Library.
  • “Diary of Caroline Eliza Dunbar Williams McHardy,” — Smathers Library.

JAR: “The Devil at the Helm:” A Quote that Went Astray
by Don N. Hagist 23 December 2020
John Marshall Deane was a soldier in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, among the oldest established regiments of the British army, in March 1708 when his regiment, serving in Belgium, was ordered to Scotland. They marched from Ghent to the port of Ostend where they boarded transports on March 15. They spent five weeks on board, waiting for favorable winds, sailing part of the way to their destination, learning that their mission was cancelled, and returning to Ostend where they disembarked on April 21.
Deane wrote a memoir of his service in Belgium, or Flanders as it was called at the time, which was not published until 1840. Of his time shipboard, he wrote,
While we lay on board we had continual Distruction in ye foretop; ye Pox above board; ye Pleague between Decks: hell in ye forecastle, and ye Devil at ye Helm. Read more… (note: this is about sources, not the devil)

“I believe they are a smuggling”
J.L.Bell 21 December 2020
With less than two weeks left in 2020, there are still some significant events in 1770 that I missed discussing on their Sestercentennials, so I’m trying to catch up.
The first of those events took place on 18 May and centered on Owen Richards, a Customs service tide waiter. I traced Richards’s arrival in Boston from Wales, work as a ship’s rigger and auctioneer, and entrance into the Customs service in this post.
That set the stage for his role in the tussle over John Hancock’s ships Lydia and Liberty in 1768. Bostonians didn’t forget Customs men whom they perceived as having overstepped their authority.
On 7 Apr 1770, Richards had to put up a £100 bond to be released from magistrates’ custody. That was the same day that Edward Manwaring, John Munro, and Hammond Green put up much larger bonds after being indicted for participating in the Boston Massacre. I don’t know if the cases were linked, but many locals saw all Customs men as conspiring against the town. Read more…

Query: Missing Sources for Information about Butler’s Rangers
One of the problems of posting reference links to other sites is that the referenced site may move the material so the link is no longer valid.
UELAC has this article “Butler’s Rangers – Overview” at the bottom of which are nine links. Seven of these – listed – are broken.

If anyone has valid links for any of those items, please send to me, so we can update them …doug loyalist.trails@uelac.org

Response to Query: Copy of The Loyalists in Ontario.
In a recent issue of Loyalist Trails 2020-49 (December 13, 2020), there was a query requesting information about a source for W.D. Reid’s (print) book The Loyalists in Ontario.
Jo Ann Tuskin UE reports “thank you everyone who sent info re W.D. Reid’s book. I did find a good source and have ordered it for the new year. All the best for the new year.

Historic Deerfield: Pass it Round: Festive Drinks for Holiday Cheer
Welcome to our December Maker Mondays blog. We hope you are healthy, in good “spirits,” and enjoying this holiday season: as unusual as it is. One of the many ways of celebrating holidays is with special food and drink. In this installment of Maker Mondays we want to treat you to some recipes for holiday drinks that were popular in early New England. Special drinks call for special ways of serving them. Punch was one such drink, and was often served from specifically designed punch bowls. There are many beautiful examples of punch bowls in Historic Deerfield’s collection. Here are two we hope you will enjoy! Read more…

George Washington’s boozy eggnog recipe — and Martha’s Christmas cake
“We get a lot of questions about eggnog,” said Mount Vernon research historian Mary Thompson. “We have no references to the use of eggnog at Mount Vernon,” Thompson said. The only recipe actually found in the president’s papers was one for “small beer.”
However, there are some authentic holiday recipes from the estate, including Martha Washington’s Great Cake. As written, the cake is a pretty hefty task for the average modern baker, requiring 40 eggs, four pounds of butter, four pounds of sugar and five pounds of flour, as well as a bunch of fruit and brandy. That’s because it was made — by enslaved people, not Martha herself — to serve at least 60 people. Read more…

Food From the British Isles
Mince Meat Tarts: To spread the joy, it was tradition in England that each member of the family gave the mixture a stir, while making a wish. And if you wanted to be ensure good health and happiness in the upcoming year, you should eat one mince pie every day for the Twelve Days of Christmas, from Christmas Eve until the 5th of January.
In 1413, King Henry V served a mincemeat pie at his coronation. Henry the VII was fond of the meaty Christmas pie as a main dish, filled with minced meat and fruit.
The British “muffin”, which was originally made from left over bread and biscuit dough scraps and mashed potatoes, which the cook fried on a hot griddle to produce a light, crusty muffin, were eaten by the “downstairs” servants in England’s Victorian society. When the “upstairs” family learned about these tasty morsels, they began to request them, especially for their afternoon teatime snack. Because of this, these muffins became the most “fancied” bread in England and muffin factories, each with their own recipe for making their muffin, sprung up all over. These muffins could be split and toasted over an open fire and served with various toppings. They became so popular that “Hawkers” sold them on the streets of London and the song, “Do you know the Muffin Man” became a big hit.

Was Queen Charlotte Partly Black?
What a surprise that Netflix has now decided to jump aboard the nonsensical idea that Queen Charlotte was visibly mulatto. This is more Hamilton the musical, rather than it is historical analysis.

Writer defends new Netflix drama that depicts George III’s wife Queen Charlotte as black – despite historians voicing their scepticism over theory that she was of African descent. Read more..

Mario de Valdes y Cocom is the “historian” who has done much to popularize this idea. Could there be a grain of truth? How deep was the research? Or is this just bowing to the current societal and marketing pressures.
Edwin Garrett

Loyalist Certificates in 2020: Congratulations. List and Directory Updated
The Dominion Genealogist Angela Johnson is taking some time off over the Christmas break.
Congratulations to all those who submitted a successful application for a Loyalist Certificate in 2020.
The total number of applications approved this year is 428, which sets an all time record.
Thank you to the applicants who found the time during the pandemic to find proofs and complete their applications.
Appreciation to the Branch genealogists who organized, directed, helped and administered, and to Angela for working through so many and for her assistance along the way.
The list of UE Certificates issued since late in 2012 — showing the Loyalist ancestor, name of descendant (when permission is granted), branch and date — has been updated with the certificates issued in 2020 after mid-September. The same updates have been applied to the Loyalist Directory.

Additions to the Loyalist Directory
As time permits, we add information to the Loyalist Directory. The latest additions and updates are as follows:

  • John Carpenter who settled at Grand River, Kings County, PEI – contributed by Kevin Wisener
  • Nicholas Conahan from New York settled at Wheatley River, Queens County, PEI – contributed by Kevin Wisener. There are several spelling variations to Nicholas’ surname but most of his descendants use the “Conahan” spelling. Interestingly although he was discharged from the Royal Nova Scotia Volunteers Regiment in 1784 there is no record of he, nor his family in Nova Scotia prior to the 1880’s. It appears that the family resided in the New York City area, leaving in 1782 for Nova Scotia as Loyalists.
  • Franklin Etter from Braintree, Massachusetts received a grant in Chester NS – contributed by Andrew Payzant
  • Mathew Gigg from New York settled at Lot 47, Kings County, PEI – contributed by Kevin Wisener
  • Jacob Hutt from Lunenburg NS served in the Loyal Nova Scotia Volunteer Regiment and received a grant in Chester, Nova Scotia – contributed by Andrew Payzant
  • Hezekiah Ingraham from Saybrook, Connecticut to Margaree, Inverness, Nova Scotia – contrib
  • Peter Vail settled near St Ann’s in NB – from Branch records by Jo Ann Tuskin

Please help us build the directory by contributing more information for it. Contact loyalist.trails@uelac.org for instructions and guidance.

From the Twittersphere and Beyond

  • Did you know that Charles Wesley, original lyricist of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” has personal connection to King’s Chapel? During a visit to Boston in 1736, Charles Wesley was invited by the city’s Anglican ministers to preach at their churches, including at King’s Chapel!
  • This Week in History
  • Clothing and Related:
    • How can shoes be political? @SilkDamask argues that American colonists politicized all kinds of consumer goods in the 1760s and 1770s, making radically new symbols of patriotism.
    • Rear view of 18th Century dress, Robe à la Polonaise of striped silk, 1775
    • 18th Century Robe à la Française, detail of the skirt section which is decorated with a wide embroidered strip, bordered with a strip of lilac satin with appliqués & feminine neo-classical designs, 1770-1790
    • 18th Century hood or Calash used to shelter a woman’s head & hair from the wind. Rear view showcasing the fine stitching, pattern and quilting.
    • 18th Century men’s white cotton waistcoat with woven white satin stripe, embroidered with metal thread & spangles in a bow & tassel design, c.1790
    • Christmas night attire for the discerning gentleman! This stunning #gloriousGeorgians 18th century banyan and waistcoat sold for £37,250 in 2009. Via Christie’s
    • 18th Century men’s coat of brown silk, shaped front and full skirt which is interlined, possibly with horsehair, deep turn-back cuffs faced with pale blue silk, coat lined with pale blue silk, cuffs & pockets trimmed with silver lace, c.1740
  • Townsends
  • Miscellaneous
    • 1,000-Year-Old Artifacts Conserved in Scotland. DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY, SCOTLAND—The Guardian reports that the more than 100 objects in the Galloway Hoard, discovered in western Scotland in 2014, have been cleaned and conserved. Removal of dirt from an Anglo-Saxon silver pectoral cross revealed its gold leaf decorations and the symbols of the authors of the four Christian gospels. Short article and photo…
    • More figural lace! This is from Portugal, c. 1600, and is in the collection of @cooperhewitt. This reticella lace shows scenes from the story of Judith and Holofernes — we see Holofernes attacking Judith’s people, followed by Judith beheading him
    • The 18thC Grand Tour wasn’t only about viewing ruins and collecting art. Letters and diaries reveal that young Brits were also encouraged to toughen up by volunteering with foreign armies and scaling mountains and glaciers
    • There are apothecary’s cabinets and then there’s THIS apothecary’s Cabinet. Made in 1730, a set of secret drawers is hidden behind the central painted panel. Via Riijksmuseum.

Last Post: CARLISLE UE, Elaine Marie
Elaine passed away peacefully at her home in Stirling on Tuesday, December 1st, 2020 just shy of her 73rd birthday. Beloved wife of Ross Carlisle. Predeceased by her parents, Ken and Laura Bush who resided in Trenton. Dear mother of Karen Bond (Rob) of Frankford, Jeff Carlisle (Sheree) of Stirling, and Sarah Allman (Matt) of Frankford and Grandmother to several.
Elaine is a sister to Ray Bush (Marlene) of Frankford, Shirley Ross (Raymond) of Belleville, Ean Bush (the late Valerie) of Consecon, and the late Kern Bush (Brenda) of Belleville. Sister-in-law to Marlene Stacey (the late Bill), Donna Russett (Gerald) and Ralph Carlisle (Shirley). Elaine was an aunt, as well as a great-aunt to many nieces and nephews.
A private service was held at St. Paul’s United Church, Stirling. Elaine joined Bay of Quinte Branch in 1985 and her Loyalist ancestors included Zenas ROSS UE, Matthias MARSH UE, William MARSH UE, Jeremiah FRENCH Sr UE, Frederick BAKER UE as well as GORDONIER. Elaine’s mother Laura was a well known local genealogist.

Last Post: JEFFRIES UE, Alfreda
August 2, 1921 – December 4, 2020
A direct descendant of many UELs to “”The Forty” , including ,but not limited to , Andrew Pettit , who held the first worship services in his home before the first St. Andrews Church log cabin was built, Mary Alfreda Bingle, born August 2, 1921 , to Mary ( Voller/ Furler) and Alfred Bingle who was the grandson of Thomas Bingle , who had grown up in Nelles Manor . Thomas’ step-brother, Rev. Abram Nelles , had, as an adult, ministered to the First Nations people’s in Brantford, and translated the Common Book of Prayer and other things into various Indian language texts, so it isn’t surprising that her Anglican roots and background mattered to Alfreda . She wrote the book ” From Generation to Generation” to celebrate the bi-centennial of St. Andrews Church in 1994.
Alfreda grew up on “Sunset Farm ” beside the Forty Mile Creek in North Grimsby, and walked to school in Grimsby up and down Woolverton Mountain Road with her two older siblings, Ena , and George.
In 1944 , with brother George and brother In law, Cameron Paul ( Ena) , back from service in WW II overseas, she married Stuart Jeffries , and they settled initially on a farm in Vinemount.
In 1948 they welcomed son , ( Dr.) Dean Jeffries ( Rev. Wendy Roy) , who gave a loving eulogy at her private service.
In 1953 Alfreda and Stuart purchased and moved to the original Andrew Kidd farmhouse at 2 Kidd Ave.. This is the home where she died , 67 years later, on December 4, 2020, thanks to a dedicated group of family, friends ,neighbours and health care workers who made it possible for her to stay in the home she loved to the end.
Her Bingle grandparents had lived at 6 Kidd Ave. in retirement in the late 1920s , so she would most likely have loved that street as a visiting grandchild.
She was a member of the Grand River Branch of UELAC ,having obtained her certificate through Alan Nixon Jr. UEL, but she also descended from Green, Moore, and and late loyalist ( Cline , Bowslaugh) families and others.
Alfreda was a founding member of the first Grimsby Museum which had been established in 1964 in the circa 1790s Blacksmith shop of Alan Nixon Jr. by the Grimsby Historical Society.Brother George worked tirelessly converting the building for electrification etc. Later, in 1984, the Town of Grimsby established a new Grimsby Museum in a brand new building at Murray St. There , family heirlooms such as Samuel Bingle’s British Army Sword have been donated by Alfreda.
Alfreda was a popular and accomplished elementary school teacher for thirty two years, most of which was in her beloved Grimsby where she walked to work from her
home.
A small Covid conscious service has already occurred at St. Andrews where she is laid to rest in the graveyard amidst ancestors, and a further life celebration will be planned after the pandemic.
Catharine Bingle-Gonnsen UE, Hamilton branch member

Last Post: NETHERCOTT UE, Arnold Warren 1928 – 2020
With great sadness our family announces that, on December 21, 2020, Arnold Nethercott passed away at Country Terrace Nursing Home, Komoka, Ontario. Arnold was the beloved husband of 32 years of Barbara (Balch) Nethercott nee: Dadswell. He was a dear stepfather of Ruth Truesdale (Brian), Kathy Bedford (Larry), Greg Balch (Kim), Mark Balch (Linda), Bruce Balch (Kim) and Chris Balch (Yvonne). Loving grandfather of 14 and great-grandfather of 15.
Arnold is also survived by his brothers Marv Nethercott (Mary) and Bill Nethercott (Roxann) and by his sisters Lois McLean and Phyllis Munro (Lorne). He was the loving uncle of 13 nieces and nephews and many great-nieces and great-nephews. Predeceased by his parents James Percy Nethercott and Mary Louise (Warren) Nethercott, his sister Eleanor Wells and his brothers-in-law Vin Wells and Jack McLean.
Arnold achieved the rank of Captain as a Forward Air Controller in fixed-wing aircraft and as a helicopter pilot while in the Canadian Armed Forces. He served in peacekeeping duties in various locations around the world including Cyprus. He was also a respected Past President of the Ontario Genealogical Society (www.ogs.on.ca) and the United Empire Loyalists Society of Canada.
Due to our present Covid restrictions, Funeral Services will be private with future Services to honour Arnold’s life to be held at a later date. Private interment in St. Peter’s Cemetery, London. Friends may leave condolences in Arnold’s Guest Book at www.oneilfuneralhome.ca (O’Neil Funeral Home, 519-432-7136)
Arnold proved his descent from David Springer UEL, a Butler’s Ranger, in 1976 and from from Josiah Lockwood UEL in 1989.
A member of the London and Western Ontario Branch, Arnold participated on the Branch Executive and served a term as President from 1981-1983.

Published by the UELAC
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