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Well-to-Do Loyalist Widows Who Sought Compensation. Part Two of Four
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
Loyalist widows had to rely on the experiences of the men in their family to convince the Royal Commission on the Losses and Services of American Loyalists (RCLSAL) that they should receive compensation for all that had been taken from them during the revolution. Fortunately for Susannah Wylly, her husband and sons had impeccable credentials. Unfortunately, however, the transcripts of the RCLSAL do not provide any sense of Mrs. Wylly’s experiences as a Loyalist woman. The records of the era say little more than that she was the mother of two sons and three daughters.
Alexander Wylly, Susannah’s husband, had once been the Speaker of the House of Assembly (as well as the clerk of the council) for Georgia before the American Revolution. When war broke out, “he took a very active part in favour of Great Britain”. One witness remembered that he “was a very loyal subject and extremely violent”. The last description would seem to indicate that at minimum, Wylly was an outspoken Loyalist, and at the most, a member of a Loyalist militia. Eventually, his loyalty compelled him to leave Georgia in 1776 for “fear of being tarred and feathered”. His widow remembered that he was “in a bad state of health” when he sought refuge in East Florida.
Wylly returned to Georgia when the British occupied Savannah in 1778. When the city was under siege in 1779, he was a captain of the militia. Susannah remembered that his death in the following year “was hastened by the troubles”.
In addition to the service that Alexander Wylly rendered to the crown, Susannah’s two sons also took up arms against the Patriots. After finishing his education in England, Alexander Junior joined the King’s Carolina Rangers in 1777 and served for the remainder of the revolution. His brother William had also been studying in England. He returned to Georgia in 1780, but after practicing law for less than a year, he formed a company of 30 other Loyalists that joined the Royal Artillery. At the end of the revolution, he was a captain the King’s Rangers.
Susannah Wylly had to wait a year for the RCLSAL to make a decision on her claim, but on July 11, 1785 it was agreed that she was entitled to receive compensation for what her “zealous Loyalist” husband had lost.
Not every widow who had a Loyalist husband and a son who took up arms for the crown received compensation for their losses during the American Revolution. Elizabeth Fielde is a case in point.
Elizabeth left her native England soon after her husband was made the rector of the parish of Kingston in Virginia’s Gloucester County. The Rev. Fielde served there for six years, but by 1777 local Patriots would no longer tolerate the Anglican minister’s neutral stance. Rather than remaining “quiet”, he had to take an oath of allegiance or lose his parish. Unflinching in his loyalty, Fielde had to leave Virginia. Fortunately for this family, they were allowed to raise some cash by selling “everything before they went” rather than having their possessions confiscated as so often happened to other Loyalists.
The Fieldes’ oldest son, William Henry, did not follow his parents to New York City, but went to England where he became an ensign in the 60th Regiment. Upon arriving in New York, the Rev. Fielde was made a chaplain for a British regiment, a position that he held until 1781. That year saw the chaplain, Elizabeth, and their two youngest children return to England. Shortly thereafter, Elizabeth’s husband died in February.
Three years later, Elizabeth and her oldest son stood before the RCLSAL in hopes of recouping the “living” the family would have received from the Rev. Fielde’s parish in Virginia. However, the compensation board’s commissioners determined that although the family were genuine Loyalists, they would receive no further allowances or pensions from the crown as they had “received more than they lost”. Their claim for compensation was lost altogether.”
Appearing before the compensation board on September 22, 1784, Barbara Blaine was able to share some of her own story as she recounted the experience of her late husband, William Blaine. In 1774, the couple had immigrated from Scotland to Woodbridge, New Jersey where William bought a plantation. A witness at Barbara’s hearing remembered that the couple had a “tolerable good house”, some cattle, and furniture that was “good for a country place”.
By January 1776, local Patriots’ threats of violence compelled him to leave “because he would not take an oath to the Americans”. Barbara was at home the day that the Patriots tried to make William take the oath of allegiance. She was only able to stay on their plantation for two more months.
Barbara “would have stayed longer if she could, but the rebels drove her away and said they would burn the house if she did not go. She was not permitted to bring away anything but afterwards she brought away her own and her husband’s clothes.”
Eventually both William and Barbara found refuge in New York City, the headquarters for the British command in North America. Blaine “bore arms as a private soldier” and served in an association. The couple left the city sometime before the official evacuation of troops and refugees. Upon returning to Great Britain, William was given an allowance of £36 a year. After his death on July 26, 1784, Barbara only received £20 per year. In the end, her claim was granted based on William’s service to the crown.
The transcript that records Anne Reak’s appearance before the compensation board reveals the story of a survivor. Interestingly enough, her testimony and the board’s decision were all rendered on the same day — Christmas Eve of 1784.
Natives of England, Anne and her husband had lived in America for almost two decades. In 1774, they had made their home in Newport, Rhode Island where Mr. Reak was a stationer. A Loyalist, Anne’s husband had “never taken part with the rebels”. During the three years that the city was under British control, he had served as the “conductor of stores” for Newport.
Following the British withdrawal from the colony, Anne and her husband remained in Newport. Reak died in 1780, but Anne carried on his stationery business, making about £30 a year. (It would be interesting to discover exactly how many other women stationers were in the colonies at this time.) In a year’s time, Anne decided to return to England. She was given a “bounty” of £15 a year after her arrival, but within three years’ time, she decided to seek further compensation for what she and her husband had lost.
Sadly, the board decided that since Anne had received a bounty for the past three years, she was not entitled to any further compensation. That Christmas Eve dashed any hopes that the Loyalist businesswoman would receive anything more for her years of faithfulness to the crown.
The stories of widows and their claims for compensation continue in next week’s Loyalist Trails.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

Borealia: A Different Road to Sainthood: Building a Religious Community in Eighteenth-Century Montreal
By Alanna Loucks on 5 July 2021
Since 1959, many scholars have written biographies about the life of Marie-Marguerite Dufrost de Lajemmerais (d’Youville), who was canonized in 1990 to become the first native-born Canadian to be declared a saint. However, the majority of these studies very briefly examine her early and married life, before she founded the Sisters of Charity of Montréal (the Grey Nuns) and took charge of the Hôpital-Général de Montréal in 1747. Yet by 1747 Marie-Marguerite was forty-six years old and had been a widow for almost two decades. Focusing on this one period of her life overlooks many of the experiences and relationships that shaped Marie-Marguerite’s creation of a religious community in eighteenth-century Montréal.
Unlike Jeanne Mance or Marie L’Incarnation, who traveled from France as religious women with a specific religiously motivated purpose, Marie-Marguerite’s life began as a member of a prominent family involved in territorial expansion and the fur trade. The familial and social contacts that she developed and her experiences during this part of her life shaped her savvy and enterprising approach towards her own commercial activities, encouraged and facilitated the creation of relationships with elite members of Montréal society, and connected her to the channels that were carrying enslaved peoples into the city.
Through an examination of some of these early connections and experiences, this research will reconstruct some of the circumstances that influenced the creation of Marie-Marguerite’s enterprising and inclusive religious community, which grew to reflect the diverse and interconnected contours of colonial society in Montréal. Read more…

JAR: Book: Running From Bondage: Enslaved Women and Their Remarkable Fight For Freedom In Revolutionary America
Author: Karen Cook Bell (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2021)
Review by Timothy Symington
A “wench” named Lucia. A mulatto woman named Margaret. A well-dressed woman named Jenny. A woman called Bett. These individuals are the subjects of the first four chapters. The four women, who were actual historical figures, exemplify the many enslaved women who took it upon themselves to escape from forced labor and sexual exploitation. They understood the meaning of liberty and acted on attaining it. Bell argues “that enslaved women’s desire for freedom for themselves and their children propelled them to flee slavery during the Revolutionary War, a time when lack of oversight, and opportunity due to the presence of British troops, created spaces for them to invoke the same philosophical arguments of liberty that White revolutionaries made in their own fierce struggle against oppression.” Read more of the review…

Another Proposal for a 14th Colony: An Astounding Council at Fort Pitt
by Gavin Watt
NOTE: Gavin’s sixteenth and final book is titled “Treaties and Treacheries – The Early Years of the Revolutionary War on America’s Western Frontiers 1775-1778.” It will likely be published during the Fall of 2021.
From last week’s Loyalist Trails, a 1763 British proposal for a 14th colony “JAR: Charlotina: Proposal for a 14th Colony“. This proposal however was from the Rebel American side during the Rev. War.
The treaty council at Fort Pitt opened on September 12 with only three Delaware headmen in attendance. The following day, another Delaware chief arrived with a Shawnee. Although these few could scarcely be considered to represent the interests of the peace faction, the council proceeded. After the customary speeches, the rebel commissioners revealed the purpose of the council. Their proposals were truly remarkable. A new treaty was to be developed between the United States and the Delaware Nation represented by Captains White Eyes, John Killbuck Jr. and Pipe, and countersigned by commissioners Andrew and Thomas Lewis on behalf of the United States. Not only was a mutual defence pact contemplated, but the creation of a Native state — the fourteenth in the union. This latter was an astounding offer, considering the majority of Americans thought Natives were a lower form of life — virtually subhuman savages. It was obvious that the proposal was professionally prepared by a legal mind, and represented a measure of the country’s desperation. Number six of the Articles of Agreement and Confederation read:
Whereas the enemies of the United States have endeavored, by every artifice in their power, to possess the Indians in general with an opinion, that it is the design of the States aforesaid, to extirpate the Indians and take possession of their country: to obviate such false suggestion, the United States do engage to guarantee to the aforesaid nation of Delawares, and their heirs, all their territorial rights in the fullest and most ample manner, as it hath been bounded by former treaties, as long as they the said Delaware nation shall abide by, and hold fast the chain . . . of friendship now entered into. And it is further agreed on between the contracting parties should it for the future be found conducive for the mutual interest of both parties to invite any other tribes who have been friends to the interest of the United States, to join the present confederation, and to form a state whereof the Delaware nation shall be the head, and have a representation in Congress: Provided, nothing contained in this article to be considered as conclusive until it meets with the approbation of Congress. And it is also the intent and meaning of this article, that no protection or countenance shall be afforded to any who are at present our enemies, by which they might escape the punishment they deserve.
This offer of statehood was an unexpected, magnificent gesture, but likely not well understood by the Delawares. Although they were to have territorial guarantees, they would be subject to the group decisions of a body of European interlopers who had been repeatedly treacherous and avaricious. And, in their innocence, they did not understand that Congress would have to ratify the treaty. They assumed it was official, and agreed to allow the expedition to pass through their lands. The treaty was read in Congress on October 6, and referred to a committee where it quietly died.

JAR: William “Bloody Bill” Cunningham and the Bloody Scout
by Andrew Waters 8 July 2021
On or about November 19, 1781, a Loyalist officer named William Cunningham and his regiment of approximately three hundred men rode toward Hayes Station, a fortified log home, or “blockhouse,” in the Little River District, surrounding western South Carolina’s Little River primarily in what is now Laurens County, South Carolina.
Now commanding the outpost was Patriot colonel Joseph Hayes with a small company of approximately twenty-three men, along with some women and children. Among them were two sons of the regiment’s former commander, Col. James Williams: Daniel, eighteen, and Joseph, fourteen. James Williams had died from wounds received at Kings Mountain the previous year.
One account describes Hayes as “a bold, inexperienced, incautious man,” although by this time he was the veteran of several militia campaigns and had served as colonel of the Little River Regiment since Williams’ death. On this day he was apparently warned by his neighbor, William Caldwell, who had observed smoke rising from the homes Cunningham burned as he approached. But Hayes was engrossed in his blacksmith’s work, “making a cleat to hold a lady’s netting,” and disregarded Caldwell’s warning. When Cunningham arrived shortly thereafter, Hayes and his company were caught by surprise, barely escaping inside the blockhouse with their families. Read more… (Warning: the war in this area was vicious)

The Role of Naval Impressment in the American Revolution
On July 4, Americans celebrate liberty and independence from Great Britain. But as historian Christopher P. Magra writes, colonists’ fights for freedom from British dominance began well before 1776. In many cases, the people doing the fighting were in immediate personal danger of losing their own liberty through impressment into the British Royal Navy.
Magra writes that impressment was a kind of military draft that, in practice, looked more like kidnapping. Across the British empire, naval officers seized sailors and forced them into service. “Press gangs” boarded ships, marching their crews off to the physical danger, low pay, and terrible food of the navy. Abusive captains could control their crews by offering those who rebelled up for impressment. One 1740 account from England described a group of sailors who, “having refused to go the Voyage without a Rise of Wages, left their Vessel. Upon which, the Master thereof gave Scent of them to a Press Gang, who, with the Assistance of some Constables, in short, seized them.”
By one count, pressed men made up 40 percent of the 450,000 sailors who served between 1740 and 1815. The navy was key to Britain’s dominance of both sides of the Atlantic in the eighteenth century. Read more…

Ben Franklin’s World: The Horse’s Tail: Revolution & Memory in Early New York City
In honor of the Fourth of July, this episode explores the history of revolutionary New York City and how New Yorkers came to their decisions to both install and tear down a statue to their king, King George III, and what happened to this statue after it came down. It’s a story that will reveal the power of visual and material objects and how they help us remember the American Revolution.
Historians Wendy Bellion, Leslie Harris, and Arthur Burns join us to investigate the history of revolutionary New York City and how New Yorkers came to their decisions to both install and tear down a statue to King George III. Listen in…

All Things Georgian: 18th Century Dentistry
Whilst brushing my teeth the other day I found myself wondering what dental care would have been like in the 18th century, so with that in mind I thought it might form an interesting blog. It’s quite surprising how far we have actually progressed and in other ways how little we have learnt.
‘Sugar is bad for you!’ A fact that did not escape the attention of one Thomas Berdmore, dentist to King George III, who was regarded as the leading dentist in England and as early as 1768, in what appears to have been the first English dental textbook ‘A treatise on the disorders and deformities of the teeth and gums: explaining the most rational methods of treating their diseases: illustrated with cases and experiments’, he had proclaimed the use of sugar as being bad for teeth! He was also ahead of his time with his observation: ‘I am inclined to think that smoking is hurtful to the teeth.’ Read more…
Also a related post: Female Dentists of the 18th Century.

Wig mid-18th century
Fine wigs were made of human hair that was “neither too coarse, nor too slender, the bigness rendering it less susceptible of the artificial curl and disposing it rather to frizzle, and the smallness making its curl too short.” Less expensive wigs, like this servant’s wig from Venice, were made of horsehair, goat’s hair or even feathers. Wigs were powered with scented flour, which adhered to the hair by means of grease or pomatum. The process of powdering was very messy, so special “power rooms” were designed. Wigs could also be sent to the local wig maker to be recurled and powdered. Gentlemen must have always had a sprinkling of flour on the shoulders of their garments, a flaw usually omitted in contemporary portraits. See photo. Metropolitan Museum.

New Store for UELAC Promotional Items
The online store of promotional items for UELAC is now open.
Anyone going to the decommissioned catalogue at uelac.org is automatically delivered to the new store.
You will find there a good number and variety of items.
To order items, complete the order form. When you submit it, a copy will be emailed to Trish and to you.
As shipping and handling are variable, Trish will complete the details and notify you of the amount with payment instructions.
Check out the store, and be sure to tell your branch members about these ways they can make their UE Loyalist interest stand out with pride.
Trish Groom UE, Promotions Committee, promotions@uelac.org

Book launch for Jude and Diana by Sharon Robart-Johnson
Jude and Diana — an historical fiction novel authored by Yarmouth writer Sharon Robart-Johnson, Fernwood Publishing.
In Nova Scotia’s official history, the only mention of Jude relates to her death — a slave-owning family was brought to trial for her murder in 1801. They were acquitted despite overwhelming evidence that they were guilty.
Robart-Johnson pays tribute to such archival glimpses of enslaved people by re-creating the fullness of sisters Jude and Diana’s survival in her book, emphasizing their joys alongside their hardship. She follows their movements through the U.S. to Nova Scotia, Canada, with the arrival of the United Empire Loyalists in 1783. As a child, Jude is sold and then, by a lucky turn of fate, reunited with her fiercely loving family. Read more…

Chimney sweepers wore many hats
By: Mary Harris 3 July 2021 at Barrietoday.com
Looking back at chimney sweeping in old Barrie [Ontario], a job that was hazardous, dirty and difficult to perform, not to mention low-paying and underappreciated
It took a tough customer to be a chimney sweep in Barrie in those early years of the town, when every building was heated by some kind of combustible material.
In general, the sweeps wore several hats at once and were quite often acting simultaneously as police constable and keeper of the dog pound.
Charles Henry was one of the first. He was appointed in October 1870 by the town council and was required by law to clean every chimney or flue in the municipality at least once during each year at the owner’s expense.
…Perhaps the most ideal candidate for the job came along in the mid-1880s. Watson Marshall Jones, born in Markham in 1852, was the scrappy great grandson of United Empire Loyalists who had fled post-revolution America in the 1790s.
Watson Jones married Caroline Catherine McCarthy in Barrie in 1873. Mrs. Jones was no shrinking violet herself. Read more…

Burlington ON committee plans activities for Heritage Week Aug 2-8
Throughout the week, the committee has planned events that celebrate aspects of Burlington’s heritage and have worked with several local organizations including the Burlington Historical Society, Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington Public Library, Burlington Museums, United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada – Burlington, Freeman Station, Halton Black History Awareness Society, Heritage Services – Halton Region and David Craig of History Pix.
Learn more about events, issues and sites that have shaped the City of Burlington and Canada as a whole. Read more…

America250 Launches First Awareness Campaign
On July 4, 2021, the five-year countdown will officially begin to America’s 250th anniversary of independence in 2026. To celebrate, the America250 Foundation launched its first national awareness campaign and new website on July 1 introducing the America250 effort – the largest and most inclusive commemoration in history. Read more…

Events:

Moore Family Reunion 2021 Virtual on Sat. 17 July 2021 @1:30 for 2:00 ET until 5:15

A gathering of the descendants and friends of Samuel Moore I, of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Province of New Jersey, born c. 1630, and his great-grandson, United Empire Loyalist Samuel Moore of Upper Canada, formerly of the Provinces of New Jersey and Nova Scotia, born 1742, died 1822, Norwich Upper Canada
Presentation topics:

  • The Flushing Remonstrance: An Examination of Founding Contributions Made by the Colonial Ancestors of the Moore and Hicks Families to the Establishment of Now Universally Recognized Rights and Freedoms, Including Freedoms of Speech, Assembly and Religion; John Hicks
  • Whence Cometh Samuel?: Tracing the Lineage of the Honourable Samuel Moore I, of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Province of New Jersey; Bob Moore
  • Colonialism, Fundamental Freedoms, and Connection to the Land: How Understanding the Ancestors Deepens Our Sense of Belonging in the New World; M. Jane Fairburn

We look forward to sharing stories and insights into the rich historical tradition of the Moore family in North America, all without the distance restrictions!
Please share this invitation with those who might be interested.
Contact Donna Moore UE for the link – d.moore3359@gmail.com or 519-282-7224

Researching New York State Ancestors, Toronto Branch OGS, Sept. 15 & 22 @7:30 EDT

Attend a special two-part series highlighting untapped resources in the Colonial and Loyalist Records at the New York State Archives. Unique resources and collections from various research repositories for Western New York will be explored.
Sept. 15, 7:30 pm: Part 1. The New York State Archives holds records of the colonial governments of New York. Tapping into the underutilized resources of the colonial Dutch and British governmental records, as well as Loyalist records, can jump start your New York research for these periods.
Sept. 22, 7:30 pm: Part 2. Explore unique resources and collections held by public libraries, county archives, town historians, historical and genealogical societies
Details and Registration now open. Fee: $15 OGS members, $20 non-member

From the Twittersphere and Beyond

  • I have been creating a virtual cemetery of Black Loyalists. Below is photo of headstone for Cato Prime. It notes he was a U. E. Loyalist. If you can add any to the list, please let me know (see tweet):
  • Memorial window in St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Upper Kennetcook, Hants Co., NS to Pvt. Christian Hennigar who served in 84th Regiment during American Revolution
  • On July 12, 1814, Gen. William Howe, Commander – in – Chief of the British Army in the colonies from 1775 – 1778, died at age 84 in Twickenham, England. He also served with Gen. James Wolfe at taking of Quebec & led assault up the cliffs to the Plains of Abraham in Sept, 1759.
  • Headstone of Rev. Charles D. Tupper (1794 – 1881) in Old Tremont Cemetery, Kings Co., NS, father of Sir Charles Tupper, 6th Prime Minister of Canada in 1896
  • This Week in History
    • 8 Jul 1771 Colonial newspapers contributed to the perpetuation of slavery. Advertised 250 years ago today: “RAN-away… on the Island Grenada, a Negro Man named Boston… brought up to the Sugar-Baking Business… for his bad Behavior was sent to the West-Indies.” (Boston-Gazette 7/8/1771)
    • 5 Mar 1772. Joseph Warren delivered the 2nd Boston Massacre oration at the OSMH. “As…taxation could not be supported by reason and argument it seemed necessary that one act of oppression should be enforced by another, a standing army was established among us in a time of peace.”
    • 3 Jul 1775 Sword aloft, George Washington takes charge of Continental Army, leading it to eventual victory.
    • 5 Jul 1775 Congress offers Crown the “Olive Branch Petition,” appealing for reconciliation with Colonies.
    • 4 Jul 1776 Congress approves the text of the Declaration of Independence, two days after voting for independence.
    • 8 Jul 1776 Liberty Bell is rung to announce public reading of Declaration of Independence.
    • 6 Jul 1777 Ft. Ticonderoga retaken by British, with great loss of critical military supplies, light casualties.
    • 7 Jul 1777 The only battle of the Revolution fought in Vermont, Battle of Hubbardton, ends in Patriot defeat.
    • 9 Jul 1777 NY elects 1st governor as independent state; George Clinton is later VP to Jefferson and Madison.
  • Clothing and Related:
    • 18th Century court dress, contains almost 10lb weight of silver thread in an elaborate ‘Tree of Life’ Design. Signed ‘Rec’d of Mdme Leconte by me Magd. Giles’. The name Leconte has been associated with Huguenot embroideresses working in London 1710 – 1746
    • 18th Century caraco and petticoat, c.1790. Very fine white cotton, embroidered with garlands of vine and grape clusters
    • 18th Century dress, Robe à la Française of silk taffeta, French, 1775-1785
    • Detail from wedding dress of 1765. Blue silk, brocaded in sprays & loops of flowers. Said to have been worn by Sarah Gamson, Nottinghamshire, who was 15 (and from the same collection) detail of wedding dress 1774. Yellow silk, with vertical cream white stripe, brocaded with sprigs of yellow & pink flowers with green leaves.
    • Shimmering with gilt thread, it’s hard to believe this pristine silk gown was made in the late 1740s. From the collection at Springhill, the court mantua dress is one of our 125 Treasures. National Trust.
    • This floral bodice feels like something straight out of a fairy tale. Just imagine it when the metallic thread was glittering and new. Mid 18th century
    • 18th Century men’s court waistcoat, silk, with stunning embroidery of exotic flowers & foliage, c.1780’s
    • 18th Century men’s Court suit of red velvet silk trimmed with silver embroidery & sequins. French, c.1770s via the Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio
    • Detail of embroidered pocket area of men’s court coat, probably French, 1790’s
    • Historical Romance fans grab your fans, for this is a pair of men’s riding breeches. From around 1710 they are made from buckskin and have been resized and re buttoned to preserve their life (the brown button on the top left is from the 19th century).
  • Townsends
  • Miscellaneous
    • Recipe for Bath cakes: add to 1/2 lb of flour 9 spoonfuls of yeast, 9 eggs (less 4 whites), 2 spoonfuls of saffron-infused brandy; leave to rise, then add 1lb of creamed butter & 1lb of flour, 1lb of caraway comfits & bake to the size of 1/2penny wigs
    • From the mid 1760s on, that epitome of refined old world English conservative style Wedgwood started producing teapots.
      But not just any old teapots.
      But “Woke teapots”.
      Teapots that would show you cared about the ills of the world & the suffering of those less fortunate.

Last Post: BORDEN UE, Karen
Karen was a long-time member of the Victoria Branch and a member of the Executive for over 13 years as the Branch Archivist.
In 2019 Karen was the co-recipient of the Phillip Leith Memorial Award which salutes the ‘best in volunteerism’ amongst members of the UELAC Pacific Branches.
(More information when available)

Last Post: SPARKS UE, William Francis
MAY 29, 1935 — JUNE 28, 2021
Our family wants to share with you the passing of our beloved father, Bill (William Francis) Sparks. He died peacefully Monday afternoon, surrounded by his three surviving sons, their wives, his partner Marie Vautier, and two grand-daughters — just the way he wanted.
Dad was in his 87th year. He was full of gratitude as he approached this passage and appreciated all the visits, cards and phone calls he received over the past weeks and months. He was also grateful for the excellent professional health care he received from the care teams.
Life has been very generous to him: being born and raised in a loving family, making early-life friendships that would last a lifetime, sharing 58 years of marriage, raising four healthy and happy children, and being blessed with 17 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren.
As a child he moved around with his family due to the war, and finally settled in Kamloops. After graduating from the first Education class in UBC where he met his beloved Marilyn, they moved to the Okanagan where he spent most of his adult life. There they raised a family together and he taught History and Social Studies at Pen-Hi for 32 years. It was also during this time that they built their Vaseux lake home with their boys. Read more…
As a member of Victoria Branch, Bill proved his Loyalist ancestry to Daniel McEathron in 2010. From another member “He was such a friendly and enthusiastic member of our branch. He will be missed by all.” and “I called Bill a few weeks ago and had a nice conversation with him. He mentioned how important UELAC was to him. Bill was a member of the Victoria Branch for many years.”

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