Loyalist Trails Newsletter 2021-02 (January 10, 2021)

In this issue:

  • Did you miss the Jan 3 issue?
  • Be Safe and Healthy in 2021: Sue Hines UE, President
  • The Loyalist Postmaster of Newport, Rhode Island, Part 1 of 4 by Stephen Davidson UE
  • Atlantic Loyalist Collections: Spirits to Sustain Us, Acorns to Restore Us
  • A Forensic Investigation of Jane McCrea’s Final Resting Place
  • The Latest Update on Soldier Skeletal Remains Found in Ridgefield CT
  • JAR: James Lovell: Schoolteacher, Prisoner, Patriot
  • Lodowick and William Ashley, Grandsons of Patriarch Samuel
  • Jar: Plight of the Seamen: Incarceration, Escape, or Secured Freedom
  • Boreal1a: Debating (American) Democracy
  • Response to Query: Butler’s Rangers – Orlo Miller’s Raiders of the Mohawk
  • Ben Franklin’s World: Craft in Early America
  • The Smithsonian: What ‘Bridgerton’ Gets Wrong About Corsets
  • Something New — Something Old: Youngest Member of Grand River Branch
  • Additions to the Bay of Quinte Branch: Loyal Americans Hall of Honour
  • Events:
    • Webinar: Forgotten Squadron: The Royal Navy on Lake Ontario during the War of 1812
    • Webinar: By Tales of the Southern Campaigns: The Cowpens
    • Webinar: Kingston Branch St. Alban the Martyr UEL Memorial Church
  • Additions to the Loyalist Directory
  • From the Twittersphere and Beyond
  • Last Post: HUFFMAN, Edward Hamilton (Ted), BA, MEd, UE

 

 

NOTE: Did you miss the Jan 3 issue?
Those with an email address at Cogeco did not receive the last issue of Loyalist Trails.
Read it here: Loyalist Trails 2021-01 (January 3, 2021).

 

Connect with us:

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Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UELAC

Be Safe and Healthy in 2021
2020 has certainly given us all time to pause and think about what is important and how life has changed. As much as we grumble about being stuck at home, not being able to visit or attend functions, I think about those who found themselves in a similar position over 200 years ago. As I look about my home, I realize that I have a warm roof over my head; I have a pantry and fridge well stocked; there is running water; a washing machine and dryer and an oven or microwave to cook on; and I have all sorts of electronic forms of communication. Our ancestors survived many things in the 200+ years since our families arrived in Canada: The Hungry Year of 1787; typhoid; smallpox; the War of 1812; the Upper Canada Rebellion; the Northwest Rebellion; the Boer War; World War I; Spanish Flu; the Great Depression; World War II; scarlet fever; polio; etc. etc. etc.
As I contemplate Christmas and New Years this year it is with a sense of gratitude to my ancestors who endured so very much more than I ever have. I recently read something of Agnes M. Pharo, who lived from 1904-1985, and it seemed to be a message to share as we enter 2021: “What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future”.
My wish for all of you is to find hope for the future; to stay safe and healthy as we progress through 2021 and to remember all that we should be grateful for. The light in the tunnel may seem dim at times, but if we all continue to social distance, to avoid gatherings and to wear a mask, we will get to the other side.
Happy and Healthy 2021.
Sue Hines UE, president@uelac.org

The Loyalist Postmaster of Newport, Rhode Island, Part 1 of 4 by Stephen Davidson UE
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
After a dismal five-year career as a businessman, Thomas Vernon became the postmaster in Newport, Rhode Island. He had been appointed by none other than Benjamin Franklin, the Post Master General of the American Colonies. Thomas’ brothers, William and Samuel, would go on to become the successful entrepreneurs in the Vernon family. They took full advantage of Newport’s access to the ocean and established a large mercantile business. In time, they would become two of Newport’s wealthiest merchants.
The divergence in the Vernon brothers’ careers may have been a factor in giving the siblings decidedly different political views. An employee of the British colonial service, Thomas Vernon sided with the Loyalists during the American Revolution. His brothers Samuel and William, feeling the brunt of Britain’s taxes on the colonies, supported the Patriot cause.
But the trials and divisions of the revolution were years away as Thomas assumed the position of Newport’s postmaster in 1745. Why Benjamin Franklin chose the young Vernon is unknown, but it was a wise choice. Vernon would serve Newport in that capacity for 30 years.
Just 27 years of age when appointed to the postal service, Vernon was already a married man and the owner of a house in the heart of the city. Within strolling distance of his home were the Jewish synagogue, the parade grounds, city hall, the commercial district, and the Vernon family’s church, Trinity Anglican. Rather than having its own building, Newport’s post office was located in the Vernon home. There, Thomas kept meticulous record books.
As postmaster, it was his job to collect postage and forward it to his superiors in New York City. Mail in those days did not require postage to be delivered. Rather, when mail came through the postal system, the recipients of letters had to pay postage for each item of mail delivered to them. And if Vernon did not collect postage from his customers, there would be no funds to pay for his salary. His so-called daybooks let the authorities in New York know what they should expect for income from the Newport post office, informed Vernon as to who still owed him postage, and allowed future historians to gain insight into the growing use of the postal system in the years before the American Revolution.
During Vernon’s 30 years in office, he recorded thousands of names in his daybooks. Historians would later note that the amount of mail that passed through the Newport post office nearly doubled during Vernon’s term of office — a demonstration of a growing confidence in the colony’s postal system. In the early part of the 18th century it was more common for friends or travellers to deliver mail. While this informal system operated without charge, it was very unreliable.
Which is not to say that Rhode Island’s postal system was perfect. Vernon once complained to his superiors that half the letters sent from Boston never made it to his post office. The reason was that the royal post rider was delivering letters to their recipients himself and collecting the postage without reporting it to Vernon. And it seems that there were a number of other people who were delivering mail privately.
Nevertheless, Vernon prospered in his job. He also served Newport as the register of the Court of Vice-Admiralty that had jurisdiction over maritime activities such as disputes between sailors and merchants. In addition, Vernon was the senior warden of Trinity Church and the secretary of the Redwood Library. (The library was founded two years after Vernon became postmaster and is the oldest American community library that still occupies its original building.)
Twenty years after Thomas Vernon became Newport’s postmaster, he faced tragedy at home and political upheaval in his city. Within a decade, he would be removed from his job and find himself at odds with his Patriot neighbours. 1765 was the year that Britain implemented the Stamp Act. This legislation created an internal tax on American colonists. It was immediately condemned as “taxation without representation”, and therefore a violation of the colonists’ rights as Englishmen. In August, riots broke out in Boston sparking protest movements throughout the colonies, including Rhode Island.
In Newport, protestors erected gallows near Colony House on August 27th. Effigies of the city’s three stamp agents hung from nooses. At sunset, someone cut down the effigies and burned them. It was at about this time that a customs officer was spotted walking by. A mob roughed him up before a friend came to his rescue.
The next day, members of a mob disguised themselves with painted faces and armed themselves with axes. Their target was Judge Martin Howard, a Loyalist who supported the British Parliament’s right to tax the colonies. The rioters destroyed the judge’s furniture, smashed doors, windows and floors, cut down trees on his property, and emptied his wine cellar. The riots achieved their end. Howard was so fearful of his safety that he and his family left Newport the day after the attack on their home. Boarding the British ship Cygnet, the Howards sailed for England.
All of this would have been unsettling for the postmaster, Thomas Vernon. As an employee of the British government, he must have feared for his own safety. It also impacted him in a more personal way. Vernon’s brother, Samuel, was reputed to have been one of the ringleaders of Newport’s Stamp Act riots.
Thomas Vernon also suffered personal loss in 1765. His wife, the former Jane Brown, died after 24 years of marriage. A year after Jane’s death, Thomas married Mary Mears, a local widow. She would be his wife until Thomas’ death 18 years later.
In the ten years following the Newport riots, revolutionary fervour gradually increased throughout Rhode Island. Seeing Thomas Vernon as an agent of imperial power, Newport’s Patriots took control of the colony’s postal system and unceremoniously replaced him in July of 1775 — a year before the Declaration of Independence was issued. Not having sided with his brothers in promoting the rebel cause, Vernon was now viewed with suspicion as someone “inimical to American Liberty”.
In the summer of 1776, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed the Test Act. Any member of the assembly who thought that his neighbour was “unfriendly to the Patriot cause” could test that neighbour’s political convictions by demanding that he take the oath of allegiance to “the cause of the united colonies without question”. If the suspected neighbour did not comply, his house could be searched for arms. Should any be found, the individual was to be banished.
Among the first 15 persons arrested and banished from Newport under the Test Act were John Nicoll, Richard Beale, Nicholas Lechmere, Walter Chaloner, and the fifth — Thomas Vernon the city’s former postmaster. On Thursday, June 20, 1776 the sheriff for county escorted all of these Loyalists (except Chaloner) to one of Newport’s wharfs where they were loaded into a boat to begin a two-day journey inland to Glocester, a town in the northwest corner of Rhode Island.
Rather than being put behind bars for their Loyalist convictions, Vernon and his companions were put under “house arrest” on a farm belonging to Stephen Keach. Vernon would not return to Newport until October 8, 1776.
At this point in the accounts of Loyalists imprisoned by rebels, a curtain is drawn over what happened during their months of separation from their friends and family. Fortunately for Loyalist historians, however, is the fact that Thomas Vernon kept a daily diary of his four months as an exile within Rhode Island. What that diary recounts will be revealed in next week’s Loyalist Trails.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

Atlantic Loyalist Collections: Spirits to Sustain Us, Acorns to Restore Us
by Cristina Furey on 6 Jan 2021
We are living in strange times. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused us to re-consider our values and has sent many in search of ‘the good life.’ We are looking for ways to live better, to live healthier, and to live longer. This is hardly a new preoccupation for human contemplation and experimentation. Cures, medicines, devices, and lifestyle changes have existed throughout history in hopes of prolonging our lives, maintaining our youthful vim and vigor, and thwarting death. Medicine practiced throughout the early modern British world was full of quackery and cure-alls, miracle pills and mysterious elixirs, reputable doctors relying on factual evidence and record-keeping, and local practitioners making use of their natural environment and traditions. Let’s explore a couple of medical recipes from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to consider their relevance and effectiveness at restoring age.
Daffy’s Elixir was first advertised in 1673 by Anthony Daffy, though it was likely invented a few years earlier by a relative named Thomas Daffy. Surviving recipes contain any number of herbal ingredients, most often including raisins and some kind of spirit, usually brandy or gin. Daffy’s Elixir promised to treat rheumatism, gout, and many other ailments; and a pamphlet offering directions on how to use it claims that patients “will find very much relief, at least the ease of the pains, if not the perfect cure of their disease; which some Aged persons have happily experienced.” Read more…

A Forensic Investigation of Jane McCrea’s Final Resting Place
by David R. Starbuck, Plymouth Magazine, 1 January 2006
The late archeologist David R. Starbuck’s article on investigating the skeleton of Jane McCrea, a young woman killed in upstate New York during the Revolutionary War.
What is it like to dig up an American icon—in this case the most famous woman to be murdered and scalped during the American Revolution? Over the past three years, I have worked with the remains of Jane McCrea. Her tragic death on July 27, 1777, prompted thousands of outraged Americans throughout the northern colonies to rise up against British authority because Jane had been murdered by Indians who accompanied General John Burgoyne on his march south from Canada. Jane’s death thus contributed to the great American victory later that year at the Battle of Saratoga, known as the “turning point” of the American Revolution.
The mysterious circumstances of her death made Jane McCrea one of the best-known American women of the 18th century. In July 1777, she was living in Fort Edward, N.Y., awaiting the arrival from Canada of her fiancé, David Jones, a Tory officer with Burgoyne’s army. Read more…

The Latest Update on Soldier Skeletal Remains Found in Ridgefield CT
Recording of a Webinar: Living Their Enemies, Dying Their Guests: Four Revolutionary Soldier Burials
Watch the recording of this Live Zoom Webinar with Nick Bellantoni, Emeritus Connecticut State Archaeologist, in which he discusses the history, discovery, and excavation of the burials found in December 2019 and gives an update on the forensic analysis currently underway.
NOTE: Previously mentioned in Three Skeletons Found Under House In CT, More: Skeletons Found Near Ridgefield Battle Site, Research Continues: Skeletons Found Near Ridgefield. and Update on Skeletal Remains Found in Ridgefield CT
Ken adds “The plan is to rebury the remains with full military honors, hopefully in Ridgefield. (wondering how they will decide whose honors). What flag might be interesting if they discover that the men were born in NY or CT, as they could have been Loyalist troops or Patriot militia.
Looking out my window at Ridgefield!
…Ken MacCallum

JAR: James Lovell: Schoolteacher, Prisoner, Patriot
by Jean C. O’Connor 5 January 2021
James Lovell, delegate from Massachusetts to the Second Continental Congress and the Confederation Congress from 1777 to 1782, the only member of Congress to be continuously present during those years, is known for being the Secretary for the Committee for Foreign Affairs; for his expertise in cryptography, earning him Edmund Burnett’s description of “decipherer extraordinary to Congress;” and for his remarks critical of Gen. George Washington, primarily in the fall of 1777. Concerned about the success of the army, fearful of the potential devastation of defeats such as Brandywine and Germantown, he wrote to his friend Joseph Trumbull in late November 1777, saying, “Our affairs are Fabiused into a confused situation, but yet by no means into a ruined one.” James Lovell was indeed critical, both by nature and by training, but a sharp and discerning eye was needed as the members of Congress fought a hard fight to fund a war without taxes, maintain the military, and hold together a collection of states with varying and disparate interests.
A school teacher who contributed to the formation of government led by the will of the people in the United States, James Lovell was born in 1737 to Master John Lovell of the Boston Latin School and his wife Abigail. One of thirteen children, James proved an apt student under his father’s strict and devoted tutelage. He earned a scholarship to Harvard, partly at least for his ability to deliver the memorized recitations that assessed a pupil’s progress, as reviewed by the Boston selectmen. Along with James, Master Lovell taught many who became prominent leaders of the Revolutionary movement, including Samuel Adams, James Bowdoin, John Hancock, Henry Knox, Robert Treat Paine, and Harrison Gray Otis. Read more…

Lodowick and William Ashley, Grandsons of Patriarch Samuel
Lodowick Ashley
Nathaniel and Jane’s oldest son, Lodowick Ashley, was born around 1759, probably in North Carolina, and sided with the loyalists during the Revolution. He briefly lived in South Carolina, moving to Washington County, Georgia before arriving in St. Marys. Lodowick, his father, and his brother signed the “Articles of Agreement” on Cumberland Island in 1787, forming the new community of St. Marys. Moving to St. Marys, he acquired a land grant of 250 acres on the St. Marys River, where he built a plantation. But he still named South Carolina as his residence until deciding to move to St. Marys permanently in 1791. There he purchased 575 acres from his uncle, Wilson Williams, on Rose Creek, next to his father’s property. After 1800, he decided to move across the river to East Florida. Lodowick “formerly of Camden County, now of East Florida” made a deed of the property on Rose Creek (200 acres), which he had inherited from his father, called Lebanon, to his mother for her lifetime, and upon her death would revert to his brother, William. However, he moved back to Camden County where he was listed as a voter in the 1803 and 1804 elections, one of 113 voters in the county that year.
In 1811 Lodowick, his brother William, and several cousins joined a movement that would become known as the Patriot War. The Patriot War is a little-known event that occurred in Florida during 1812-14. This was an attempt to wrest Florida from the Spanish by a partisan group, headed by General John McIntosh. They had the tacit approval of President Madison, the purpose of which was to acquire Florida for the United States. General McIntosh also had the support of George Mathews who had been the Governor of Georgia and was widely known as a proponent of the idea of gaining Florida as a United States territory. Mathews helped organize troops and naval gunboats to aid McIntosh in the endeavor. The plan was to march across the border and attack and capture St. Augustine, the only significant city in East Florida, housing the only major military presence in Florida. If successful, they would declare Florida for the United States.
General Mathews enlisted Lodowick as a Colonel in command of a group of the Patriots. He played a major role in the capture of Fernandina, a port town at the mouth of the St. Marys River, on Amelia Island. They then planned to march to St. Augustine. Most of the troops were from Georgia, although some volunteers were from as far away as Tennessee. They assembled at the Georgia border town of St. Marys where many of the Williams’ family lived.
Needless to say, the grand scheme fell apart, when President Madison later disavowed the plan and the Spanish put up a determined defense. However, this did not keep many of the partisans from ravaging the countryside trying to recruit local residents to their cause. If they refused, they were molested incessantly, by burning and ransacking their plantations, in many cases, even if the resident agreed to join.
At the end of this conflict, Lodowick had to leave East Florida and abandon his plantation and lumber business there, moving to Telfair County, Georgia, joining his brother, William. Tiring of Telfair County, he moved back to St. Marys, where in 1830, already in his 70s, he became involved in more land transactions. His will is probated in 1837, so he must have died shortly before in 1835 or 1836. He is listed as alive and a participant in the settlement of his father’s property in April of 1835, when the original plantation, known as “Lebanon” was dispersed. His wife, Tabitha Peeples, died later in 1841. Their son, Nathaniel became a senator from Georgia in 1823. Their daughters married, and some moved down into Columbia County, Florida and south-central Georgia where many descendants live today.

William Ashley
Nathaniel and Jane’s younger son William, born around 1763 in North Carolina, joined the militia there as a teenager during the Revolution on the loyalist side. The family had moved briefly to South Carolina, then to Doctor’s Lake on the St. Johns River in Florida. When Florida reverted to Spain in 1783, they moved to Washington County, Georgia before arriving in St. Marys in 1787. William quickly applied for and was granted 1250 acres in 1788 and was elected a justice of the Inferior Court of Camden County, as well as a commissioner of the Camden County Academy. William became a prominent citizen in St. Marys, and married Mary Raines, with whom he had eight children. Their daughter Keziah married her second cousin William Williams in 1818.
In 1790, the Spanish government rescinded their policy of requiring new residents to become Catholic. Up to this time, they also began to realize that there was a population void in the fertile land between the St. Johns and St. Marys Rivers where former British residents had vacated because of this requirement. This proved a mistake because crops that they had been growing, which were now unavailable, helped feed the population of St. Augustine. Therefore, the Spanish relaxed the rules and began encouraging certain reputable families to come back and settle this area. Among those that returned were the William Ashleys and his wife’s family, the Raines. However, the Spanish soon regretted this policy when, in the early 1790s, there was an attempt to invade East Florida by Georgians, aided by the French, who wanted to free Florida of the Spanish. These former British settlers, now deemed “rebels” by the Spanish, were in favor of this movement but were eventually forced to retreat to Southern Georgia.
Now back in St. Marys, William acquired another 800 acres in 1811. He had become a very wealthy man and was not above joining in smuggling efforts and raids into East Florida. When General Mathews came to St. Marys to recruit men for another attempt to invade East Florida and have it annexed to the United States, William joined, along with his brother and several cousins. During this conflict, known as the Patriot War, William had been appointed a judge. At the end of the conflict, the Spanish offered amnesty to those who lived in East Florida and who had fought against the Spanish if they would disavow their intentions and become peaceful citizens. William then collected case histories of those who accepted amnesty. But after the failure of the Patriot War he moved to Telfair County, Georgia in 1813. He gave 2,075 acres to Joseph Raines, his wife’s brother in 1817, now known as the 3-R Fish Camp on the Satilla River. William Ashley died in Telfair County in 1839.
In the next chapter I will discuss another prominent loyalist whose family married into the Williams family in Florida.

ENDNOTES

  • Christian, John H. Founders of St. Marys. Pamphlet — no date.
  • Cusick, James G. The Other War of 1812. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2007.
  • White, George, comp. Historical Collections of Georgia. New York: Pudney & Russell, 1854.
  • Murdoch, Richard K. The Georgia-Florida Frontier 1793-1796. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1951.
  • Patrick, Rembert W. Florida Fiasco. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1954.
  • Camden County Deed Book “G,” pg. 410
  • Camden County Deed Book “M,” pg. 21

Jar: Plight of the Seamen: Incarceration, Escape, or Secured Freedom
by Louis Arthur Norton 7 January 2021
During the Revolutionary War, the British were particularly sensitive to challenges to their maritime sovereignty. Members of the Continental Navy, states’ navy sailors or letter of marque privateers, when taken prisoner, were usually interned onboard prison hulks moored in Wallabout Bay in New York harbor. Seamen captured far from North American shores were often incarcerated in naval prisons where many tried imaginative schemes to escape. Some succeeded, most were recaptured and faced dire consequences, but a fortunate few were freed in prisoner exchanges. The following three accounts provide a glimpse of those times. Read more…

Borealia: Debating (American) Democracy
Jerry Bannister, 6 January 2021
Like everyone else this evening, I’m struggling to keep up with the news. What’s striking about the latest crisis in the United States is that, even at the very heart of American power, there remains so much confusion about what’s happening on the ground in Washington. Despite the ocean of tweets, there is still a lot of uncertainty about what tonight will hold once the curfew is enforced. Yet, even as reporters struggle to keep up with events, commentators on social media, including historians, are debating the merits of democracy. Although many social media commentators differ from Joe Biden, they generally share his view that the attack on the US Capitol is an attack on democracy.
Given the circumstances, I thought that Biden gave a good speech. He tried to strike the right tone of appealing for calm while calling on Trump to step up and condemn the violence that he himself incited hours earlier. “The world’s watching,” Biden stated. “Like so many other Americans, I am genuinely shocked and saddened that our nation — so long the beacon of light and hope for democracy — has come to such a dark moment.” Biden is right: the world is indeed watching. I will leave to others to debate whether anything that happened today is genuinely shocking, but it’s important to note a distinction that Biden made and which academic commentators, including historians, would do well to recognize. After affirming the ideals of America, Biden returned to the practice of democracy: “The certification, the Electoral College vote, it’s supposed to be a sacred ritual to reaffirm… the purpose is to affirm the majesty of American democracy.” Read more…

Response to Query: Missing Sources for Information about Butler’s Rangers
A query in last week’s Loyalist Trails noted that 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 — were broken.
The link to this book has now been located:

Orlo Miller, Raiders of the Mohawk: The story of Butler’s Rangers, illustrated by John MacLellan, 1954.

Ben Franklin’s World: Craft in Early America
Glenn Adamson, a scholar who has served as the curator or director of research at several museums and a scholar who has spent much of his career researching and writing about crafts and craft goods, joins us to investigate the early American world of craft and craftspeople.
Using details from his book Craft: An American History, Glenn reveals how we should think about and understand the term “craft”; Who could be an artisan or tradesman in Early America; And, how movements like the Consumer Revolution and the Industrial Revolution impacted the everyday lives of early American craftspeople. Listen in…

The Smithsonian: What ‘Bridgerton’ Gets Wrong About Corsets
Women’s rights were severely restricted in 19th-century England, but their undergarments weren’t to blame.
In the opening scene of the steamy Netflix period drama “Bridgerton,” Prudence Featherington, one of the eligible daughters of the social-climbing Lady Featherington, is dressing to be presented to the queen of England. Prudence doubles over, gasping for breath, as a maid yanks the laces of her corset tighter.
Many movies, historical as well as fantastical, have a similar scene.
None of the characters suffering through the pain have control over their own lives; in each scene, an authority figure tells them what they must do.
The trouble is that nearly all of these depictions are exaggerated, or just plain wrong. This is not to say “Bridgerton” showrunner Shonda Rhimes erred in her portrayal of women’s rights during the early 19th-century Regency era—they were indeed severely restricted, but their undergarments weren’t to blame.
It’s easier to think of corsets as “strange and unusual and in the past,” Davidson says. To think of a corset as an oppressive tool of the past patriarchy implies that we modern women are more enlightened. Read more…

Something New –Something Old: Youngest Member of Grand River Branch
January 6, 2021(Port Credit, Ontario)–The Grand River Branch of the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada today announced Nicholas Michael Parsons UE as one of its youngest members ever at its branch. Nicholas celebrated his first birthday on January 6th. He is the son of Oksana Szymanska and Michael Parsons of Port Credit, Ontario.
At just250 days old, Nickolas received his UE designation at a ceremony in Brantford, Ontario. UE stands for Unity of Empire coming from a 1789 Proclamation by Lord Dorchester, Governor-General of Upper and Lower Canada granting families that had defended the unity of the British Empire the heredity right to add the capital letters UE after their name. Read the announcement with photo – Nicholas is very photogenic!

Additions to the Bay of Quinte Branch: Loyal Americans Hall of Honour
The Legacy of Loyal Americans ~ Hall of Honour was created in 2003 by the Bay of Quinte Branch. Purpose: to identify and celebrate those descendants of the United Empire Loyalists who have made significant achievements, either locally, nationally or internationally.

Inducted In 2003
SMITH, Gwendolyn Marguerite, UE (1921-2014) former Dominion President of the United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada, and former Bay of Quinte Branch President.
In 2005
CANNIFF, William, MD, MRCS, UE (1830-1910) prominent doctor and historian
In 2020
BAKER, Lt. Col. Edwin Albert, CC OBE, MC, UE (1893-1969) a founder of the Canadian National Institute of the Blind.

Events:

Webinar: By Toronto’s First Post Office: Forgotten Squadron: The Royal Navy on Lake Ontario during the War of 1812
January 14th 7:00 – 8:30pm. Gurth Pretty, Director of the HMS Psyche Canadian Maritime Heritage Society.
In this virtual presentation, travel back in time to 1812 to when a battle was raging in a war that would shape our history. Far from the eyes of Upper Canadian residents on shore, the Royal Navy was performing a vital role in defending the colony from the Americans. Discover the actions of the officers and seamen that crewed the vessels of Lake Ontario’s naval squadron.
Tickets: By Donation. Register here.

Webinar: By Tales of the Southern Campaigns: The Cowpens
Saturday January 16, 2021, 9:00 – 11:00AM EST
These webinars offer a speaker representing each side – Patriot and Loyalist – and then a discussion.

  • Wayne Lynch — Intro and Hammond’s Store
  • John Beakes — John Eager Howard and the Patriots at the Cowpens
  • Gary Sellick — The British Perspective
  • Q&A with panel

There is no charge for registration or attendance.
Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_he35EXmcT9-Crc7c3sDOYw

Webinar/Meeting by Kingston Branch: St. Alban the Martyr UEL Memorial Church
Saturday, January 23, 2021, 2:00 p.m. Diane Berlet, church historian, and Axel Thesberg, Chair of the Friends of St. Alban’s, will speak about St. Alban the Martyr UEL Memorial Church in Adolphustown: its history and its future. The church was built in 1884, near the site where Loyalists landed in 1784. We will hear about the group’s plans for its preservation and re-imagined role in the community, now that it was deconsecrated in 2018.
Register ahead of time and Zoom will send you a Confirmation Email

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

  • Charles Carroll possibly from Rhode Island settled in Pinette River, Queens County, PEI, by Kevin Wisener
  • James J Cooke from Charlestown, South Carolina serves as a carpenter for the British and settled in Shelburne, NS; and later a Town and Pasture Lot at Georgetown, Prince Edward Island, by Kevin Wisener
  • Richard Dunning, possibly from Rhode Island settled at Pinette, Queens County, Prince Edward Island, by Kevin Wisener
  • Thomas Millidge from Hanover Township, Morris County, New Jersey, served as a New Jersey Volunteer and settled in Granville Township, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, by Andrew Payzant
  • John Peters (father) from Moorestown, Gloucester County, New York (today in VT) served in the Queen’s Loyal Rangers and settled in Sydney, Cape Breton, by Andrew Payzant
  • John Peters (son) from Moorestown, Gloucester County, New York (today in VT) served in the Queen’s Loyal Rangers and settled in Marysburgh & Sophiasburgh in (today) Ontario, by Andrew Payzant
  • Richardson Webb from Maryland served in the British Dragoons and settled in Oromocto 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

  • Loyalist Daniel Weekes, [read obit] born on Long Island, New York granted land for service in Loyalist regiment in Nova Scotia lived at Ship Harbour until 117 – Brian McConnell UE
  • Impressive memorial in Christ Church Cemetery, Guysborough, NS to Joseph Marshall, Ulster – Scot from Co. Tyrone, N. Ireland who served as Captain, King’s Carolina Rangers in American Revolution, later settling in Guysborough County.
  • Gravestone of Rev. Israel Potter (1763 – 1847) in Goat Island Baptist Church Cemetery, Upper Clements, N.S. Born Worcester Co., Massachusets at age 17 enlisted as Patriot for 6 months in 5th Mass. Regt. After discharge in 1780 went to Nova Scotia
  • Quote of the Day: “Where did you learn that in a state or society you had a right to do as you please? And that it was an infringement of that right to restrain you? This is a refinement which I dare say, the true sons of liberty despise.” —Samuel Adams #OTD Jan 8, 1770
  • This Week in History
  • Clothing and Related:
    • DAR Museum: An exhibition of 1780-1830 American dress history. “What is fashion?—An agreeable tyrant.” Continental Journal (Boston), 1783. It’s 1781. The Revolution is over, and we are no longer colonists! We are citizens of an independent nation. In wartime, we vowed to give up foreign imports. Now it’s peacetime, and our fervor has fizzled. Read more…
    • “Open gown of Chinese cerulean blue silk woven w/large-scale white & platinum florals, having elbow length sleeve w/ lobed triple cuff gathered into a ruched band…”
    • 18th Century dress and matching petticoat, 1780-85 (altered c.1900) The restraint in decoration illustrates the growing influence of the Neo-classical style in textile design
    • Whilst 2021 is doing its best impression of 2020, indoors remains the new outdoors. The robe volante was the 18th century answer to a winter indoors, the wearing of an all enveloping loose fitting brocade making home clothes glam
    • 18th Century fan, incorporating carved ivory sticks inlaid with mica, the leaf painted with figures playing ‘Blind Man’s Buff’ after a painting by Jean-Baptiste Pater (1695–1736) English, ca.1750
    • Rear view of 18th Century men’s Court coat, rich green velvet with silk embroidered flowers & foliage, French, c.1790
    • 18th Century men’s court coat and waistcoat ensemble, silk with detachable cuffs, c.1765
    • Men’s 1785–95 waistcoat. The figures represent Dido & Aeneas from the opera by Piccini & Marmontel, produced in 1785.
  • Miscellaneous
    • This shoe with bird on front was found in Haarlem, Holland and is dated ca. 1300-1350. Archeological Museum Haarlem, Netherlands.

Last Post: HUFFMAN, Edward Hamilton (Ted), BA, MEd, UE
Edward Hamilton (Ted) HUFFMAN BA, MEd, UE
Members of Colonel John Butler (Niagara) and Hamilton Branches of the UELAC were shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Edward Hamilton (Ted) Huffman UE on Dec. 28th 2020. Ted was a very active member of Col. John Butler (Niagara) Branch, serving as Treasurer and on many committees for more than 10 years. He was very proud of his Loyalist ancestors; Christopher Huffman, Peter Gordon, Nathaniel Pettit, John Smith and Jacob Smith Sr.
Ted is survived by Ann, his beloved wife of 39 years, who was also a very active CJB member; and children Paul (Lorraine), Jeff (Cindy) and by Dave Loucks (Sherri), Sandy Hager (Allan), and Bob Loucks (Deanna), and grandchildren James (Charlene), Mitchell, Ben, Tyler, Bradley, Olivia and Harper. Ted was predeceased by his parents Hazel and Harry Huffman and by older brothers Keith and Ross.
Ted inherited his love for his loyalist ancestors and loyalist history from his mother Hazel, who was a long-time, very active member of Hamilton Branch. Ted had a special connection to Hamilton Branch; he joined when he was young and always maintained his membership. He will be missed
Please visit the website for more details: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thespec/obituary.aspx?pid=197422128
Bev Craig UE, Colonel John Butler (Niagara) Branch

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