Loyalist Trails Newsletter 2021-10 (March 7, 2021)

In this issue:

  • Jacob Bailey: Loyalist Anthropologist, Part One by Stephen Davidson UE
  • Black History Month: Two Interviews with Stephen Davidson
  • History and memory of the seigneurial regime in Quebec
  • Ben Franklin’s World: The Boston Massacre: A Family History
  • 1774 Massacre Oration. “My sincere attachment to the interest of my country”
  • JAR: Thomas Read of Delaware, Part 1: The Creation of the Continental Navy
  • JAR: Thomas Read of Delaware, Part 2: Commodore in the Pennsylvania Navy
  • JAR: Seventeen Testimonies Seal New Smyrna’s Fate, 1777
  • Amendment to Book: Weaver Families of the Mohawk and St Lawrence River Valleys
  • Book: The Loyalists of Digby by Brian McConnell UE
  • Book (now sold): The U. E. A Tale of Upper Canada
  • Washington’s Quill: George Washington and Mary Philipse Morris: A Secret Romance?
  • Kelly Arlene Grant: new mitts for a common woman
  • Great-niece pleads with province to spare homes in The County
  • Home of the Week: An Ontario country inn from 1834
  • With Thanks…from Angela & Peter Johnson UE
  • Events:
    • Fort Plain Museum: Celebrating George Washington’s Birthday
    • Toronto Branch: Cookbook: Loyalists at Table by the Author Wed. 10 Mar at 7:30
    • Bay of Quinte Branch “The Carrying Place From Portage To Highway” Sat. 13 March 2021, @1:30 ET
    • Victoria Branch “The Loyalists of Digby” Saturday 20 March @1:00PM ET @10:00AM PT
  • From the Twittersphere and Beyond
  • Editor’s Note: Last week’s issue was spam to some

Connect with us:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/uelac
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/UELAC

Jacob Bailey: Loyalist Anthropologist, Part One of Two
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
Jacob Bailey was a man of many talents. In addition to being a minister in the Church of England, he wrote plays, geography and history texts, books for children and young women, poetry, and theological works. One of his life-long passions was the study of the Abenaki People who live in the territory that has become Maine and the Maritime Provinces. He collected Native artifacts, translated First Nation words, and recorded careful observations of Indigenous communities.
Never wavering in his allegiance to the crown, Bailey was a Loyalist during the American Revolution, a political stance that forced him to seek sanctuary in Nova Scotia in 1779. But he never lost his interest in Indigenous People, and is thus the only known Loyalist who was an anthropologist.
Before considering Bailey’s studies of Indigenous People, let us get a quick measure of the man. Born in Rowley, Massachusetts in 1731, Bailey studied at Harvard College and then became a schoolteacher. One of his students, Sarah Weeks, a young lady eleven years his junior, would later become his wife. But before he married, Bailey went to England to be ordained as an Anglican minister. When he returned to New England in the summer of 1761, he came back as a missionary for the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPGFP). He married Sarah, and the young couple immediately moved to the town of Pownalborough, Massachusetts (today’s Dresden, Maine), situated on the Kennebec River.
Despite all of these changes in his life, Bailey maintained his fascination with the Abenaki People, a passion that seems to have begun in his early twenties. In 1754, while still a college student, the future Anglican minister made a journey through Connecticut. His journal not only contained notes on each town he visited, it also included observations on the Indigenous People that he met along the way. After passing through Groton, Bailey noted:
“I have had an opportunity of seeing divers of the natives of the country in their own proper habits, on their own land, and in the exercise of their peculiar customs; and, upon the whole, one may justly conclude, that there is a great analogy between them and the people in the first ages of mankind; those who lived in the golden age, so much extolled by the poets, in their dress, religion and manners, were very similar to our Indian neighbors.”
In Mohegan, he recorded that there were “two hundred or three hundred Indians, who live in almost the primitive mode, and many of them cannot speak a word of English. They wear a dress the most savage and barbarous that ever I saw. The Rev. Mr. Jewett formerly brought them to his meeting, but the separate preachers have of late drawn them away. However, Mr. Jewett continues to instruct them once a fortnight, in the principles of the Christian religion, at the public school-house, where they have a master to teach their children.”
When he was established in his own parish in Dresden seven years later, Bailey imitated Rev. Jewett, regularly visiting and baptizing the Abenaki People along the Kennebec River. Those travels may have been the occasion for the Anglican minister making a very significant finding just six miles from his parsonage.
The amateur anthropologist must have been thrilled with the discovery of two ancient burying grounds. The mode of interring the bodies showed conclusively that they were Abenaki. Bailey later described the burial grounds:
“On the Western side of the Kennebec about thirty-two miles from its exit, there is a round hill, which rises above the level near fifty feet perpendicular. The hill is one entire pile of stones, covered with herbage, and several stately oaks, which make a fine appearance from the water. There is some probability that it was erected by art, and what conduces to confirm this opinion is that not a single stone is to be found on the adjacent plains. It is a noted retreat for serpents and other vermin; and it is remarkable that two hills of a similar aspect, and the same materials, may be seen in Gardinerston, about three miles distant. It is conjectured that these were raised by the natives in former ages, as the monuments of some distinguished victory, or else were designed to cover the bodies of some mighty heroes.”
He continued, “I have observed near the river Kennebec some appearances of Indian antiquity… The additional particulars are, that this hill was about forty rods from the river, was nearly of a circular form, and its base may occupy half an acre, and that the stones of which it is composed resemble the stones on the beaches of the river… ”
Having seen one ancient Abenaki site, Bailey began to see archaeological significance in other parts of the local terrain, even in his own garden. “In Pownalborough, half a mile from the river Kennebec, I enclosed three acres for a garden, in a situation rude, rocky, and broken, beyond expression. There was, however, a spot containing about half an acre, which had been cleared of stones at some distant period; they had been thrown together on each side, and growing in these heaps were found hemlock trees of an enormous size.”
Seen from the vantage point of the 21st century, the detail with which Jacob Bailey described his discoveries is quite remarkable. Here was an amateur anthropologist who not only recognized the significance of Indigenous sites in the midst of a culture that paid them little attention, but who also took meticulous notes.
In a 1766 letter written to the SPGFP, Bailey described the local Indigenous People to his British correspondents. He noted that “A great number of Indians frequent this Neighbourhood. They are the Remains of the ancient Norridgewock Tribe, and lead a rambling Life.” Much of the Norridgewocks’ nomadic life was centred on the Kennebec River. Their name meant “”people of the still water between the rapids”.
Bailey’s letter looked at these people from a decidedly Anglican perspective. “They support themselves entirely by hunting, are very savage in their Dress and Manners, have a Language of their own, but universally speak French, and also profess the Romish Religion, and visit Canada once or twice a Year for Absolution.”
In a separate letter, Bailey told a friend about how he had begun to write about the country between Casco Bay and Nova Scotia. He reported that he had “almost finished a description of the eastern country, in three chapters. The first contains the Geography and Natural History; the second, an account of the Ancient Indians; and the third, the most remarkable events, from its discovery in 1603, to the present day, with a view of its late prodigious improvements in the character of its inhabitants.”
For Bailey, North American history did not begin with European exploration; it began with the continent’s Indigenous People. He was an anthropologist who was ahead of his times.
The story of the Loyalist Anglican minister and his interest in Indigenous People concludes in next week’s Loyalist Trails.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

Black History Month: Two Interviews with Stephen Davidson
P.R.U.D.E. – Pride of Race, Unity and Dignity through Education.

PRUDE was incorporated in the City of Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1981. The organization is dedicated to the full participation of all cultural communities in the social, cultural, and economic fabric of mainstream New Brunswick life.
As part of the Black History Month, PRUDE undertook a speakers series. Stephen Davidson was interviewed twice in the series. The topics:

  • Black Loyalists who remained in Canada
  • Black Loyalists who fled Canada

The first is now posted on PRUDE’s Youtube channel and the second should be within a day or two.
Visit PRUDE at prudeinc.org

History and memory of the seigneurial regime in Quebec
Olivier Guimond, Graduate Student, U of Ottawa
The abolition of the seigneurial regime in 1854 has, paradoxically, “ratified the maintenance of seigneurial property” in Quebec. Indeed, in addition to a compensation for the loss of lucrative revenues to the seigneurs, the Seigneurial Act provided for them the acquisition of property rights on plots not yet conceded. An annual payment, the rente constituée, persisted for censitaires. The vast majority of censitaires would keep paying a rentto seigneurs almost a hundred years after the abolition until it was bought out by the Quebec state in the 1940s. But this was hardly a gift offered to the censitaires: they then had to reimburse the capital of those rents through a special municipal levy. In the end, former censitaires paid a “seigneurial tax” until 1970.
From an economic standpoint, the seigneury was far from having drawn its last breath in 1854. But what could be revealed by the memories and representations of the persistence of the seigneurial regime following its abolition? Are there some cultural remnants? These are questions partly answered by Le régime seigneurial au Québec: fragments d’histoire et de mémoire.
Benoît Grenier, professor of history at the Université de Sherbrooke, is joined for this book by seven recent history bachelors recipients. All participated in a seminar entitled “Histoire et mémoire du régime seigneurial” over the 2018 winter term during which students had to write an essay on a seigneury. Read more…

Ben Franklin’s World: The Boston Massacre: A Family History
Serena Zabin, a Professor of History at Carleton College in Minnesota and the author of the award-winning book, The Boston Massacre: A Family History, joins us to discuss the Boston Massacre and how she found a new lens through which to view this famous event that reveals new details and insights.
During our conversation, Serena reveals: why Americans are so interested in the Boston Massacre; How viewing the Boston Massacre through the lens of family reveals new details and context for the Massacre; And, details about Serena’s work to turn research about the Boston Massacre into a fun and educational video game. Listen in…

1774 Massacre Oration. “My sincere attachment to the interest of my country”
What were the Boston Whigs talking about on 5 March 1774? Lt. Gov. Andrew Oliver had died two days before. And everyone was REEEALLY hoping John Hancock, not known as a public speaker, would do a good job delivering that year’s Boston Massacre oration. Read more…

JAR: Thomas Read of Delaware, Part 1: The Creation of the Continental Navy
by William H. J. Manthorpe, Jr. 2 March 2021
Thomas Read (1740-1788) was the middle son of the Read family of New Castle, Delaware. His older brother George was a delegate to the Continental Congress, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a member of the Marine Committee. His younger brother James was, over the years, paymaster for the first ships of the Continental navy; lieutenant colonel in the Continental army; clerk and paymaster of the Marine Committee of the Navy Board at Philadelphia; later member of that board; and finally, when Robert Morris was Superintendent of Finance and Naval Agent he served as his principal assistant.
Thomas, on the other hand, chose to make his life at sea. As he did so, in October 1775, he brought news from England that caused the Second Continental Congress to take the first cautious steps toward creating the Continental navy.
When the First Continental Congress had concluded its session it adopted the Continental Association. That agreement banned the import of goods from Great Britain, Ireland and the British Caribbean colonies after December 1774. It put off on imposing a ban on exporting there until September 1775.
While the freedom to export continued, the Philadelphia firm of Willing and Morris employed their two foremost captains and ships, Thomas Read in Aurora and John Barry in Black Prince on several trips to Britain. They began their last trip from Philadelphia on May 6, 1775, just after the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord and as the Second Continental Congress was about to convene. They reached London together on June 27.
As their cargos were slowly sold and unloaded and as they negotiated to get their ships refitted and ballast aboard they learned that, during their passage out, a Continental army had been created under Gen. George Washington, Fort Ticonderoga was captured and the Battle of Bunker Hill had been fought. They found that they were languishing in the capital of the enemy, the den of the British lion. Read more…

JAR: Thomas Read of Delaware, Part 2: Commodore in the Pennsylvania Navy
by William H. J. Manthorpe, Jr. 4 March 2021
Captain Read visited the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety and volunteered his services, to the Pennsylvania navy, which was already forming.
On July 18, the congress had resolved that each colony, at their own expence, make such provisions by armed vessels or otherwise . . . for the protection of their harbors and navigation on their coasts against all unlawful invasions, attacks and depredations, from cutters and ships of war.
The Pennsylvania Committee of Safety understood that it would be their responsibility to defend the largest city and main seaport of the colonies and the meeting place of the Congress. They had already received the advice that “the only effectual opposition that can be made to ships of force, is by ships of force.”
Accordingly, the committee established a sub-committee for the construction of boats and machines to begin building a force that would become the Pennsylvania navy. On July 7, that group ordered the design of an armed galley from the shipyard of Wharton and Humphreys, of which Joshua Humphreys, age twenty-one, was the operating partner. The design was delivered the next day and the vessel was delivered on July 19. It was called L’Experiment, suggesting it was the first step in Humphreys’ future career as a ship designer. Read more…

JAR: Seventeen Testimonies Seal New Smyrna’s Fate, 1777
by George Kotlik 3 March 2021
In March 1777, while Andrew Turnbull was away in England, several Minorcans escaped New Smyrna and fled to St. Augustine, East Florida. They hiked seventy to eighty miles from Mosquito Inlet to the colony’s capital. Arriving there safely, they complained to East Florida Gov. Patrick Tonyn about the struggles and depravations they endured at New Smyrna. After hearing their grievances, Tonyn promised to protect the settlers if they testified in court. Overwhelmed with the abundance of available testimonies that he deemed too many and too troublesome for extensive examination, the attorney general requested that only a few represent the whole New Smyrna settler population. On May 7, 1777, seventeen New Smyrna colonists drafted official affidavits to the British East Florida government; their names were Lewis Cappelli, Babpina Patchedebourga, Anthony Stephonopoli, Nicola Demalache, Giosefa Marcatto, Pompey Possi, Pietro Cozisacy, Louis Margan, Giosefa Lurance, Juan Partella, Rafael Hernandez, Michael Alamona, Juan Serra, Rafael Simines, Christopher Flemming, Pietro Musquetto, and Lewis Sauche. Each man produced an affidavit, sometimes two, detailing their experiences at New Smyrna. Ten colonists signed their names while seven simply left an X. According to historian Patricia Griffin, the deponents were probably the most literate of all the New Smyrna settlers.
Only seven Minorcan islanders were represented in court. The rest were Greeks and Italians. Justice of the Peace, Spencer Man, was directed to hear the settlers’ complaints. Prior to the official proceedings, the settlers were instructed to swear an oath to the court speaking to the truthfulness of their claims. An interpreter, Joseph Purcell, was present to help translate the Minorcan dialect. In the end, seventeen testimonies spoke for the hundreds of settlers back at New Smyrna. Their stories shocked and perturbed British officials. According to Tonyn, Turnbull’s colonists experienced “Injustice, Tyranny and Oppression, exercised to a degree disgraceful to His Majesty’s Government.”
Lewis Cappelli (signed Luigi Cappelli in his affidavit) claimed that on June 15, 1773 he was in Dr. Turnbull’s shop making cart wheels. Mr. Watson, probably an overseer, determined that the wheels were too crooked and ordered them redone. Cappelli followed Mr. Watson’s instructions carefully, completing his task exactly as directed. In two days, heat from the sun warped the wheels making them too short. Mr. Watson then called Cappelli a “Negroe Son of a B…h” before taking four sticks, each one-inch thick, and breaking them upon Cappelli’s back. Read more…

Amendment to Book: Weaver Families of the Mohawk and St Lawrence River Valleys
Book Author: Aline F (Weaver) Nicolls
Amendment: Bob Weaver
Aline Nicolls had a lifelong passion for genealogy. Her 1987 book, the result of decades of investigation, has been an invaluable reference ever since for those researching UEL Weavers and related families. Mrs Nicolls died in 2016, but she left behind a page of corrections concerning the book’s outline of the earliest Weber / Weaver Palatine immigrants to New York.
Bob Weaver, who put together the amendment, is a very distant cousin (6C3R) of Aline’s. The two corresponded for several years and eventually met at her Victoria BC home in 2002. At that time Aline gave him a copy of the correction page. She never formally published the corrections, so Bob has now undertaken to make them generally available, having expanded the single sheet into a small amendment to the book affecting several pages.
There are two main corrections. Firstly, Aline came to realize that she had unknowingly combined two different early Palatine immigrants both named Jacob Weber/Weaver, and thus merged their wives and offspring as well. A number of online public family trees still reflect this error, evidence of the need for this amendment. The second main correction essentially removes some children from one family that Aline had determined belonged elsewhere.
The amendment is offered free of charge by email attachment to all interested holders of the book – libraries, archives, organizations and individuals. Please contact Bob Weaver bobweaver@rogers.com.

Book: The Loyalists of Digby by Brian McConnell UE
“The Loyalists of Digby” discusses the Loyalists who arrived after the American Revolution to settle the Town and County of Digby in Nova Scotia It is a fascinating history. From the Admiral Digby Well to the Acaciaville Baptist Church both are connected through history to the United Empire Loyalists and Black Loyalists who arrived in the 1780s as refugees. This book considers these historic connections. It does so with chapters on individual Loyalists, like Mary Getcheus, John and Richard Hill, James Moody, and the Hon. Alfred Gilpin Jones, who was the first President of the Loyalist Association in Nova Scotia. It also explains how the Loyalists obtained the name of Digby for their settlement and considers the origin of Brinley Town, the community for Black Loyalists. As well it identifies Loyalist place names in Digby and Digby County and some of the Loyalists who did not remain. Several hundred Loyalists are identified including Black Loyalists.
This week I enjoyed doing an interview on my new book “The Loyalists of Digby“. Listen here to my interview on the “How We Got Here” Podcast with Brian Nash when I discuss the United Empire Loyalists and Black Loyalists who settled Digby, Nova Scotia.
There is also a short video about the book “The Loyalists of Digby” at https://youtu.be/Psokxnkn52Y

Book (now sold): The U. E. A Tale of Upper Canada
KIRBY, William [1817-1906]
1st edition. 1859. Niagara, Printed at the “Mail” Office. 5-3/4 x 3-3/4 inches, pp. 178, [1] (Errata). Small 8vo, Original blind-stamped brown blind stamped cloth, gilt lettering on spine. The cover is soiled, spotted, crushed top spine and with bumped corners. New end papers.
Kirby was the Niagara customs collector and editor of the`Niagara Mail.’ Kirby’s first literary work. A lengthy narrative poem about the United Empire Loyalists of Canada, and described by Morgan as “the most thoroughly distinctive poem we possess.” Kirby went on to become one of the best known Canadian authors of the last half of the 19th century perhaps best remembered for his historical novel, The Golden Dog
Book has been sold as you can see at Click for more info and photos;
Price: $95 USD or $115 Cdn #1490
Lord Durham Rare Books in St. Catharines ON

However you can download the entire book as a pdf from an archive page 6 alone “Preface” is worth a read.

Washington’s Quill: George Washington and Mary Philipse Morris: A Secret Romance?
by Kathryn Gehred, Research Editor, 5 March 2021
Over the summer I was invited to appear on a Smithsonian Channel television show called America’s Hidden Stories. The subject? Whether or not young George Washington had a romantic affair with Mary Philipse (later Mary Philipse Morris), a New York heiress whose family owned an incredible amount of property on the Hudson river. I happily accepted.
The topic was inspired by journalist Mary Calvi’s popular Dear George, Dear Mary: A Novel of George Washington’s First Love, a 2019 work of historical fiction about a romance between Washington and Philipse. I had heard of the novel when it came out but had not yet read it. The invitation to appear on the show gave me an opportunity to learn more, as I was to be participating in a round-table discussion with the author.
Right away, I was impressed with Calvi’s research. Her novel has a solid groundwork in fact. George and Mary met in February of 1756, in the midst of the French and Indian War, when 24-year-old George traveled to Boston to meet with Gov. William Shirley. George’s goal was to challenge the King’s Order of Nov. 12, 1754, which stated that British officers, by virtue of serving under the King’s Commission, outranked provincial officers. Read more…

Kelly Arlene Grant: new mitts for a common woman
When moving recently, a friend cleaned out her yarn stash and sent me a couple skeins of sport weight Briggs and Little. She didn’t really like knitting with it and knew it was my very favourite yarn to work with.
I got a brown skein and a grey skein, and knew right away that the brown skein would be knit up into new mitts for myself. The first mitts I knit up for myself were worked in a leftover bit of hand spun merino that I loved, but there just wasn’t enough yarn to give me the length I wanted. They worked for a while, but this working class chick wanted longer mitts, ones that I could tuck up under the cuffs of my wool gown and wear all day in January and not mind the cold. These new mitts will be long!
Basing my knitting pattern loosely on stocking patterns, I also took the plunge (with a gentle push from Colleen Humphries) and did a backwards loop cast on and a wrap and turn process to knitting the cuff. Now that I have finally jumped in with both feet, I won’t go back…so much quicker and easier than purling alternate rows! Read more…

Great-niece pleads with province to spare homes in The County
Hyatts and MacDonalds intertwined in business and in love, for generations
by Sarah Sinclair, 4 Mar 2021 in CountyLive
I recently became aware of the efforts of Heritage Conservation Architect Philip Evans, to safeguard two iconic, heritage homes in Prince Edward County: the Hyatt House (aka Lakeview Lodge) and The Lakeland.
I urge you to take a few minutes from your incredibly busy agendas to consider the value of these buildings and request your support for a pause in further action on the properties.
These homes have for decades been overlooked by those trusted to protect them and now face demolition by the Sandbanks Provincial Park.
My family once owned the Lakeview Lodge. My great-aunt Violet Hyatt (b. 1907) grew up running the trails back and forth along the shores that connected her Lakeview home to her grandfather’s busy Lakeshore Hotel, an iconic hotel visited by people from around the globe for nearly 100 years. Read more…

Home of the Week: An Ontario country inn from 1834
By Carolyn Ireland 04 March 2021 The Globe & Mail
Growing up in Port Hope, Ont., Lee Caswell was surrounded by heritage buildings in the town where the first European settlers were United Empire Loyalists. Mr. Caswell went on to own and operate his eponymous antiques business in the historic downtown.
“Everyone said ‘you’re going to have to go to the city,’ but I never did.”
So when Mr. Caswell and his partner, Blaise Gaetz, learned five years ago that a historic former inn was coming up for sale in the nearby village of Grafton, they were immediately intrigued.
The property was carved from a large swath of land the British Crown granted to the Anglican clergy along the north shore of Lake Ontario following the American Revolutionary War. Read more…

With Thanks…from Angela & Peter Johnson UE
Recently our eldest daughter Clarissa was diagnosed with a serious form of cancer, had surgery and is beginning treatment. We wish to thank the UELAC members who have been so generous with best wishes, prayers and contributed to the success of a GoFundMe.

Events:

Fort Plain Museum: Celebrating George Washington’s Birthday
Three events in three nights. Click for registration

  • “The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret“: George Washington, Slavery, and the Enslaved Community at Mount Vernon – Tuesday, March 9, 2021 – 7:00 PM ET by Mary V. Thompson Register (Rescheduled)

Toronto Branch: Cookbook: Loyalists at Table by the Author Wed. 10 Mar at 7:30

Ever heard of Vinegar Pie, Spruce Beer or Moose Meat Salisbury? What about Hasty Puddings or Pocket Soup?
On Wednesday, March 10 at 7:30 pm we are pleased to present our second speaker of the year, Darlene Montgomery-Fawcett. Darlene is a member of St. Lawrence Branch UELAC and she and fellow member, Laurie McDonald, developed a cookbook, Loyalists at Table, a compilation of recipes from our ancestors’ time. She will discuss the history of food preparation around that time and talk about adapting and testing a variety of loyalist recipes including some Indigenous ones.
All are welcome. Meeting room opens at 7:15 p.m. For the meeting coordinates, please email Sally Gustin UE gustin.deboer@gmail.com

Bay of Quinte Branch “The Carrying Place From Portage To Highway” Sat. 13 March 2021, @1:30 ET
The guest speaker is historian Roger Litwiller.
Carrying Place is a community which straddles Prince Edward County to the south and Northumberland County to the north. In a narrow area bounded by Lake Ontario to the west and the Bay of Quinte to the east, a portage was developed at an early date, and sometimes is referred to as the oldest road in Ontario. Years later the Murray Canal was pushed through north of the portage route. From about 1791 the area was settled by a mixture of Loyalists, early settlers and a little later War of 1812 Veterans.
To attend the meeting, send a note to Peter & Angela Johnson <johnsonue@bell.net> for the Zoom meeting details.

Victoria Branch “The Loyalists of Digby” Saturday 20 March @1:00PM ET @10:00AM PT

Presenter: Brian McConnell, UE. B.A. (Hons.), LL.B., Author & Historian
Based on Brian’s recently published book of the same name.
Please reply to membership.vic.uelac@gmail.com to let us know if you plan to attend this zoom meeting and for the link to the Zoom meeting

From the Twittersphere and Beyond

  • OPINION: Why is Canada’s longest street named after a monument to mediocrity? By Nick Dall 1 March 2021 in the Globe & Mail. In Canada, the name Yonge is held in high esteem. It’s the name, after Sir George Yonge, bestowed on the country’s longest street by John Graves Simcoe. One of Toronto’s major corners sits at the intersection of Yonge and Dundas Streets – an ironic memorial to the relationship between Yonge and the man – Lord Henry Dundas, he of some current controversy – who finally had him fired for his lifetime of incompetence. Read piece…
  • This Week in History
  • Clothing and Related:
    • 18th Century wedding dress of Hannah Palmer of Bedford, she wore this dress when she married the Reverend William Bull of Newport Pagnell in June 1768. Her marriage was a long and happy one. The dress stayed in her family until 1987
    • C.1750-75, this Robe à la Française is a #gloriousGeorgians confection of hand-painted silk taffeta, whilst its sack back is a masterpiece of dressmaking!
    • 18th Century sack back gown and petticoat, purple silk, brocaded with flowers & lace, French, 1765-1770
    • 18th Century silver embroidered blue damask court mantua,1730-40. Probably worn by Lady Rachel Morgan (of Tredegar House) for presentation at court
    • Rockingham mantua offers snack-smuggling and social distancing opportunities, #GloriousGeorgians style. It’s believed to have been worn by Mary, Marchioness of Rockingham, when her husband became Prime Minister in 1765. Via Historic Royal Palaces.
    • 18th Century uncut waistcoat, bought in this form from an embroidery workshop, a tailor would make to order. Design features monkeys drinking rum & playing music. The popular theme of monkeys assuming human roles was called singerie (monkey trick)
    • 18th Century men’s breeches of pink silk with silver thread embroidery, 1770-1790’s
  • Townsends
  • Miscellaneous

Editor’s Note: Last week’s issue on Feb 28 once again hit a sour note with a couple of ISP’s who decided that it was spam resulting in about 75 people not receiving it. Those who use Cogeco made up most of those who didn’t get it – if you didn’t see it, you can read it by going to Loyalist Trails 2021-09 (February 28, 2021). …doug

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