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First Nations, the Nelles Family and Truth and Reconciliation
By Catharine Bingle-Gonnsen UE, September 2021. Catharine is a member of Hamilton Branch
I am thankful the Truth and Reconciliation Day has been passed into law by our federal government to be observed September 30 each year.
As hard as it may be to look honestly at this subject we have to, and the recent discovery of unmarked graves all across Canada at the sites of Residential Schools is so sad and heartbreaking it can’t be hidden or ignored any longer.
United Empire Loyalists were refugees from the American Revolution and many of those families came to the Thirteen Colonies as immigrants themselves before establishing, in some cases, vast holdings, such as Sir William Johnson of New York Province. In her book “Flint and Feather”, Charlotte Gray writes about Sir William who married Captain Joseph Brant’s sister Molly, having “fathered some 200 children”, many with Indigenous mothers. One such child she writes might have been Pauline Johnson’s grandfather.
The 1903 painting of Sir Williams’ home, Johnson Hall, depicting the presentation of medals to the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy in 1772, shows a gracious Georgian home, not dissimilar in appearance from Nelles Manor. Johnson Hall is a museum in Johnstown, New York State, while Nelles Manor is a museum in Grimsby, Ontario.
In 1970 The Grimsby Historical Society published “Indian Oratory and other papers “Brothers Open Your Ears” and “Letters of Rev. Abram Nelles” which tells the story of Abram Nelles, Missionary to the Six Nation Indians. He was the grandson of New Jersey Captain John Moore UEL, and son of Mohawk Valley New York, Robert Nelles. UEL who became Lieut. Col October 12, 1815.
Abram was born in Nelles Manor on Christmas Day 1805 and was seven when the War of 1812 broke out. Nineteen year old sister, Margaret, wrote of the war “this was a fearful time, with the roar of cannon, carts of wounded brought home and the thousands of red men (Indians) who were encamped on our place.” Read more about the Nelles family, in particular Rev. Abram Nelles who became Rector of the Mohawk Chapel and principal of the Mohawk Institute – a residential school…

St. Catharines Park Renamed Richard Pierpoint Park
Thank you to each of you for taking the time to email Council in support of the renaming of Centennial Park to Richard Pierpoint Park. This overwhelming response played a role in informing Council of the importance of this decision ~ which has an impact on communities far beyond St. Catharines.
On Monday evening, City Council made a decision to rename a park in the heart of our City after a significant person from our history. Centennial Gardens will now be known as Richard Pierpoint Park – Richard Pierpoint UEL, a Black, settler and loyalist who lived here and fought two wars for the British when Canada was still a colony.
This is an important first step — not just in St. Catharines, but in recognizing Canada’s Black history and I’m very proud that Council made this decision.
In addition to local residents who emailed in, we heard from many community members through EngageSTC.ca. We also heard voices from across the country from historians and researchers who shared their insight into Richard Pierpoint and his contributions to Black history in Canada.
We also heard from local Indigenous leaders about ways we can continue to work together to include First Nations history into the park’s story too — working together to share a complete, full history of this historic location.
As Councillor Littleton said, at Council, this is not just about renaming a park. It is about coming together to celebrate our Black history. We have come a long way in understanding the importance of recognizing our diverse history — and while we still have a ways to go, I am proud of this decision. (Read more from the St. Catharines Standard…)
Walter​ Sendzik, Mayor, St. Catharines

September 1787: Butler’s Rangers Seek Compensation – Part Three of Three
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
In September of 1787, the last of the veterans of the Loyalist corps, Butler’s Rangers, appeared before the Royal Commission on the Losses and Services of American Loyalists (RCLSAL). The board began its hearings in Montreal on August 23rd and concluded them on May 28, 1788. Anxious to make claims for the compensation of their wartime losses, a party of approximately 80 people left the Niagara region, travelling 660 km over land and water.
Unfortunately the details of this epic “road trip” such as where they camped, how they fed themselves, and the conditions they endured have been lost to history. However, the transcripts of the RCLSAL reveal a number of interesting insights into this group. The veterans of Butler’s Rangers came from a variety of ethnic backgrounds: German, Scottish, English, Irish, Dutch and American. Most had once owned farms along river valleys in western Pennsylvania and New York, had declared their loyalty to the crown soon after the Declaration of Independence, and settled in the Niagara region following the war.
There was a strong esprit de corps as evidenced by the fact that over 60 of those who made the journey from Niagara to Montreal went to testify on behalf of other Ranger veterans rather than seeking compensation for themselves. This involved a great sacrifice of time away from their homes in addition to the hazards of such a long trek.
The second-last of the Rangers party to have a claim considered in the fall of 1787 was Jasper Hover. He stood before the RCLSAL to plea the case for his father, Casper Hover, who died the previous year.
Casper and three of his sons had left their home on the Susquehanna River in 1777 to serve in Butler’s Rangers. Like so many other Rangers veterans, Casper had all of his livestock “taken by the rebels” when he joined the British forces. A Dutch immigrant, Casper settled his family in the 4th Township (the Adolphustown region) following the war.
Edward Hicks testified on behalf of Casper’s widows and orphaned sons. A fellow Ranger, Hicks would later seek compensation for his father’s wartime losses in March of 1788. It is not certain why he did not make a claim when other Rangers did in the fall of 1777. Perhaps he realized that he needed more documentation to make his case. Since he had settled along the Bay of Quinte with his widowed mother and six siblings, he would not have to travel as far to reach Montreal as his fellow Rangers who were based in Niagara.
Having heard Jasper Hover’s claim for compensation on September 26, the commissioners concluded that he represented “a good family” and were “satisfied” that they deserved reparations for their losses.
The last of the veterans of Butler’s Rangers to stand before the RCLSAL was John Pencel. His family had immigrated from Germany 20 years earlier when he was just a boy, and settled — like so many others—in the Susquehanna Valley. Pencel’s case proved to be a more difficult one than that of the Hover family’s.
Pencel’s father had died sometime around 1778, but not before granting land to his sons. John had time to clear land to grow corn, build a small house, and acquire sheep, cattle and horses despite the social and political turmoil of the revolution. John’s oldest brother had joined the Continental Army; John would eventually become one of Butler’s Rangers. Despite their common upbringing, the Pencel brothers had chosen different sides in the revolution.
In an all too familiar scenario, Pencel had his livestock and possessions taken by Indigenous warriors — but he did not specify if they were allies of the British or Americans. His house was burned down, including all of the deeds and papers he would later need to prove his claims for lost property. Following his discharge from the Rangers, Pencel spent some time at Yamachiche, the Loyalist refugee camp (near modern day Trois Rivieres) before making a new home in Cataraqui (today’s Kingston, Ontario).
Having no evidence to back up his claims, Pencel relied on the testimony of Peter Wartman. Like Pencel, Wartman was the son of German immigrants who had settled in the Susquehanna Valley. Wartman’s father, Abraham Wartman, and his oldest brother had served in Butler’s Rangers. The brother “was killed in service in 1788”; the father died in 1787 after settling with his wife and two remaining sons in Cataraqui.
Peter Wartman’s younger brother John would later make a claim in February of 1788 to recoup his family’s losses. We are left with speculation to explain why Wartman would not have taken advantage of the September hearings to seek compensation along with other Rangers veterans.
Five months after he testified for Pencel, Peter had been “lamed from an accident” and could not represent his father or departed brother. However, having served as a witness for John Pencel and having seen how the compensation board hearings were conducted in September, he was no doubt able to give his brother some tips on how to make a presentation to the RCLSAL commissioners.
Following Pencel’s appearance before the compensation board, the party of Ranger veterans returned to Niagara. But it would not be the last time that the commissioners heard testimony by those who had connections to the Rangers.
In January, 1788, Jean Sutherland, the widow of a Ranger named Hector Sutherland appeared before the RCLSAL. Hector had immigrated from Scotland to New York and settled in the Cherry Valley. He and Jean had two children. Local rebels had Sutherland incarcerated for his Loyalist politics in 1777 — the year that his son William turned 3 and his daughter Elizabeth was born. After he left the Cherry Valley, the Scottish Loyalist made his way to Niagara where he joined Butler’s Rangers. Hector Sutherland died within a year of his arrival.
At some point after her husband’s death, Jean was able to seek refuge in Montreal. When the RCLSAL convened in that city in 1788, she sought compensation for all that she and her husband had lost: 100 acres of land, a house, a barn, 3 cows, a horse, 2 sheep and furniture. As with so many other families with men in the Rangers, rebels took all that the Sutherlands had. The only verification that Jean could provide for her claim was an affidavit from Donald McDonell that said her husband as “a Loyal Man and Lost his all”.
The fact that McDonell had served in a Loyalist regiment throughout the revolution and had been recognized as “a good man” by the commissioners following his own hearing in October of 1787 must have helped to bolster Jean Sutherland’s chances for compensation.
Loyalists who appeared before the Royal Commission on the Losses and Services of American Loyalists did not receive their compensation immediately. They had to wait for the commissioners to make their reports to their superiors in Great Britain. However, the veterans, family members and friends of Butler’s Rangers who had made the long trip to Montreal were nevertheless returning to the Niagara region with the hope of better days to come. Such hope has sustained refugees of every generation and in every part of the world.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

The King’s Colour: A Broadside of Early Upper Canada: Issue #2
Readers of “Loyalist Trails” may be interested in the latest issue of “The King’s Colour: A Broadside of Early Upper Canada.” Volume I, Issue 2 deals with Fort Frontenac, Michael Grass, and the origins of Kingston, Ontario.
Published as a two-page, monthly broadside, free of charge, “The King’s Colour” mimics the aesthetic style of early colonial printings. Each issue contains a single article, embellished with period illustrations, that addresses a narrow topic. The King’s Colour is distributed via Facebook, at the link below (an account is not required). The latest issue can be found here:
www.facebook.com/TheKingsColour/posts/118029230616724
Stuart Manson UE manson1763@gmail.com

The Croscup Family of New York and Karsdale NS
In the recent issue of “The Nova Scotia Genealogist”, published by the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia, you can read about a family of German Loyalists, the Croscups, who settled at Granville, Nova Scotia. This issue has a cover photo taken by me of the Croscup headstones in Christ Church Anglican Cemetery at Karsdale, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. The cover story that I prepared reviews the background of this family who resided prior to the American Revolution in New York. Read the article: (Registration or login may be required)
Brian McConnell UE, President, NS Branch, UELAC brianm564@gmail.com

JAR: Captain John Bacon: The Last of the Jersey Pine Robbers
by Joseph E. Wroblewski 28 September 2021
“Captain John Bacon: His name was second only to that of the New Jersey devil for producing nightmares among the inhabitants of the pine barrens.” As David Fowler, in his dissertation on Pine Robbers, noted: “John Bacon is the foremost Tory guerilla of the seacoast and pinelands regions.” He further stated that “Bacon is most representative of that manifestation of the Pine Robber phenomenon that witnessed a shift in Tory gang activity to the more remote, core areas of the pinelands in southern Monmouth and in eastern Burlington Counties.”
In New Jersey, the region known as the Pinelands or Pine Barrens, is a one-million-acre section of the coastal plain that makes up approximately twenty-two per cent of the state’s area. Adding to the attraction of this area for Loyalist Refugees were the barrier beaches and bays that served as bases of operations for smuggling of goods to and from New York; that activity was known as the London Trade. The London Trade was not limited to Loyalists: neutrals in the conflict and even Whigs were known to take part. The present-day shore town of Tuckerton (then also known as Clamtown) was one of the centers of these smuggling operations.
As with the activities of other Loyalist refugee raiders in the region, there is little in the way of primary sources concerning John Bacon; most of what we know about him is grounded in tradition, legends, and folklore. Read more…

JAR: Meeting of the Three Commanders
by Patrick H. Hannum 29 September 2021
On March 6, 2019, a chilly late winter afternoon, the Virginia Beach Historic Preservation Commission dedicated a Virginia Historical Highway Marker to commemorate a historic meeting of three commanders. On September 18, 1781, Adm. François Joseph Paul, Comte de Grasse, Gen. George Washington, and Gen. Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau, met on board de Grasse’s ninety-gun flagship Ville de Paris anchored off shore near the location of the marker. … The meeting of the three commanders, an important event in the history of the American Revolution deserving of recognition, took place at anchor in the waters called Lynnhaven Roads. The marker is located just east of the Lesner Bridge that spans the Lynnhaven River Inlet, along Shore Drive, a main thoroughfare that parallels the North Shore of Virginia Beach adjacent to de Grasse’s Lynnhaven anchorage.
Today, Lynnhaven Roads is an important anchorage for military and commercial ocean-going vessels entering the Chesapeake Bay as they wait for pier space. Located only a few miles from Cape Henry at the mouth of the bay, the spot where the 1607 English settlers landed to establish the first permanent English colony in the New World, Lynnhaven Roads also played an important role during the American Revolution. This was the primary anchorage selected by Admiral de Grasse for the French fleet during the Yorktown Campaign of 1781. While the objective of the allied campaign may have been in question until the arrival of the French fleet in the Chesapeake Bay, Washington understood that the military success of the American Revolution in 1781 depended heavily on French military and financial support. Specifically, Washington understood the importance of the French fleet in countering British naval power. He outlined his thoughts in a letter to General Lafayette a year earlier as elements of the French fleet arrived, accompanied by Rochambeau’s expeditionary land forces, at Newport, Rhode Island.
On May 1, 1781, General Washington reiterated his understanding of the importance of naval power and noted in his diary, “instead of having the prospect of a glorious offensive campaign before us, we have a bewildered, and gloomy defensive one—unless we should receive a powerful aid of Ships, Land Troops and Money from our generous allies & these, at present, are too contingent to build upon.” Read more…

HMS Buckingham in furious action, 1758
The Seven Years War, 1756-63, which often been fairly described as “The First World War” since it was fought on a global basis, saw much naval action in the West Indies because of the value of the “sugar islands” held by Britain, France and Spain there. One of the most spectacular encounters involved the 60-gun third-rate HMS Buckingham in 1758. It was notable for the aggressive spirit of Royal Navy officers and crews, throughout the Age of Fighting Sail, when faced with unfavourable odds.
Commanded by Captain Richard Tyrell (1716–1766), an experienced officer who had already sent much of his career in the area, HMS Buckingham, of 65 guns, had been detached from the Leeward Island Squadron in late 1758 for an independent cruise. Such a cruise would later be classified as “commerce raiding” as the main objective was to hit enemy merchant shipping. Responsibility for a cruise was to be welcomed, in view of the prize money that might accrue. HMS Buckingham was accompanied by a 16-gun sloop, HMS Weazle, commanded by a Captain Boles. The area allocated to them lay between the British-held island of Montserrat and the French-held island of Guadaloupe. [good description of a battle]
HMS Buckingham remained in service into the middle years of the American War of Independence. By then she was in a bad state and leaking badly. She was lost in the Atlantic in 1779. Her small consort, HMS Weazle, was still in service that same year, in which, she was however captured by the French. Built in 1745, this small vessel had proved a good investment for the Royal Navy as she captured a total of eleven enemy vessels in her lifetime. Read more…

Unearthing Slavery in Abington Mass.
How does slavery tie into the founding of Abington, Mass? And what does the town’s first minister have to do with a forgotten woodland gravesite that holds a Revolutionary War veteran and Wampanoag royalty?
by Wayne Tucker September 28, 2021
If you grew up in Abington or her constituent towns of Whitman and Rockland, you grew up believing that slavery barely existed in Massachusetts and that you needed to travel to former confederate states to visit lands once farmed by enslaved people; this can no longer be the case.
There is an invisible yet well-documented history of slavery in Abington. Colonial Abington’s incorporation was contingent upon the arrival of prolific enslaver Reverend Samuel Brown. Native people were enslaved in Abington alongside Black bondspeople. The town had at least two working farms made viable by slave labor and the archives pinpoint the locations of these farms: the Brown farm site lies on one of the heaviest-traveled thoroughfares in town and the Torrey farm site lies on an idyllic street that exudes country charm.
Slavery existed in Massachusetts for a longer period than it did in English-speaking Georgia. Although the exact dates are hard to pin down, historians note slavery in Massachusetts is roughly bookended between the arrival of the ship Desire which trafficked enslaved Africans to Massachusetts in 1638 and a 1783 Massachusetts court decision that abolished slavery by statute, if not yet in practice. At one point, 25% of the white families in Boston were slaveholders, and enslaved people comprised 12%-14% of the population. Across New England, the percent of the population of people that were enslaved averaged about 2% to 4%, but varied by location. Read more…

CommonPlace: Atlantic World Accounting and The History of Mary Prince (1831)
Within the narrow rhetoric of antislavery politics that shape Prince’s narrative, however, steady articulation of money markets, repeated reference to financial transactions, and descriptions of resource accrual stand out in a declared autobiography, a distinctly literary production.
Recounting a scene from her childhood in Bermuda, Mary Prince describes the following,

I recollect the day well. Mrs Pruden came to me and said, ‘Mary, you will have to go home directly; your master is going to be married, and he means to sell you and two of your sisters to raise money for the wedding.’ Hearing this I burst out a crying, — though I was then far from being sensible of the full weight of my misfortune, or of the misery that waited for me.

This moment reads as one of Prince’s earliest memories of living through a vast system of exchange. “Though I was then far from being sensible” of it, she claims, her following response, to “burst out a crying,” suggests that even as a child, she knew of the “weight” around her. Indeed by the time she narrated her story to amanuensis Susana Strickland and editor Thomas Pringle from London’s Anti-Slavery Society, she consistently framed this “weight” in terms of resources and “money.” Read more…

Ben Franklin’s World: The Domestic Slave Trade
The transatlantic slave trade dominated in North America during the 17th and 18th centuries. But by 1808, a different slave trade came to dominate in the young United States, the domestic or internal slave trade. Joshua D. Rothman, an award-winning historian and author, joins us to investigate the United States’ domestic or internal slave trade.
Josh reveals the long history of North America’s domestic or internal slave trade; How and why the United States Congress passed a ban on the international or transatlantic slave trade in 1808; And, how the 1808-ban on the international slave trade allowed the domestic slave trade to grow, develop, and emerge as a profitable business in the nineteenth century. He will speak about the lives of three slave traders who helped to define this trade. Listen in…

British Columbia’s History: A More Detailed List of Events
As a B.C. resident and museum Curator, I would like to point out a few other key points in B.C. history, as the version presented in the LoyalistTrailes 2021-09-26 was a “politically correct” one with some odd entries such as a TV show’s debut and left out a lot of significant historical events and dates. Everyone has their own ideas of what should or should not be included of course and sadly the pre-history of the native peoples, being pre-history, is unrecorded for the most part. Here are a few key points in B.C.’s history:

  • The first occupants of what is now British Columbia crossed over the Bering Straight at least 13,500 years ago as part of the native populations of what are now North America, Central America and South America.
  • 1579 Francis Drake may have explored the West Coast.
  • 1775 The Spanish explored the West Coast and named various locations, claiming the area as part of “New Spain”.
  • 1778 Captain James Cook from England explored here. There were tensions between the British and the Spanish. Today names set by both remain.
  • The fur trade flourished. The North West Company expanded from the interior. Alexander MacKenzie, Simon Fraser and David Thompson were key explorers.
  • 1821 North West Company and Hudson’s Bay Company merged. The areas that are now British Columbia, Washington State and Oregon State were part of that fur-trading domain, with fur-trading posts set up on main access points.
  • 1840s Strain between U.K. and U.S.A. over the location of the border with President Polk’s slogan being “Fifty-four Forty or Fight”
  • 1846 The border was agreed upon between this western area under British influence and the USA. It basically followed the 49th Parallel.
  • 1849 Crown Colony of Vancouver Island was created.
  • 1858 Gold was found triggering the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. The Crown Colony of British Columbia was established.
  • 1858-1863 Royal Engineers from England helped the development of B.C.
  • 1859 “The Pig War” between the Americans and the British.
  • 1866 The British Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia were merged.
  • 1867 In the Eastern part of North America, British colonies formed the confederation of Canada. Alaska was purchased by America from Russia in what was known as “Seward’s Folly.”
  • 1871 The Colony of British Columbioa joined the Confederation of Canada.
  • 1885 Trans-continental railway across Canada was completed and terminated at Vancouver.
  • 1914 British Columbia had its own navy consisting of two submarines.
  • 1917 – 1921 Alcohol was prohibited in B.C.
  • 1939-1945 Canadians of Japanese and Chinese ancestry volunteered for hazardous war service, and this was a major reason why in 1947 the right to vote was finally granted.
  • 1944-1945 During World War II, British Columbia was shelled and bombed by the Japanese.
  • 1986 Expo-86

Colin MacGregor Stevens, CD, Richmond, British Columbia
www.captainstevens.com

A Single Shoe by Georgian Cordwainer James Davis, c. 1760s
This c. 1760s white silk shoe is labeled James Davis, Shoe Maker, near Aldgate, London. Numerous elegant examples of Georgian shoes by James Davis alone, and in partnership with Thomas Ridout, are found in North American collections including those at the Royal Ontario Museum, the Peabody Essex Museum, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, The Warner House, Historic Deerfield and Strawbery Banke Museum. The images here are all from the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Accession #1976.96.1. Read more…

Col. Jarvis had impressive military service but drowned in a Chatham cistern
By John Rhodes, 29 September 2021 in The Courier Press
I enjoy writing articles regarding 19th-century Canadian soldiers, particularly when there is multi-generational military service within a family.
The family of Col. S.M. Jarvis was just such a clan.
I was able to learn that the colonel’s grandfather, Col. Steven Jarvis, served on the British side during the U.S. War of Independence, after which he became a United Empire Loyalist resident of what is now the Cornwall area of Eastern Ontario.
Steven’s son, Benjamin Jarvis, served with the Loyalist forces during the War of 1812, following which he became a judge and served on the bench for more than 50 years.
The grandson and subject of this biography was Col. S.M. Jarvis, soldier, lawyer, and later a resident of Chatham.
His is a great story, albeit with a sad ending. Read more…

Loyalist Quarterly Newsletter, September 2021, by Paul J. Bunnell UE
Published since 2004, the September 2021 issue is now available. At twenty-two pages, it features:

  • New Book on Nova Scotia Loyalists
  • Minutes and records of the Land Boards accumulated by the Executive Council Office: C-14027
  • Support Loyalist Trails
  • Honours: Cal Craig UE
  • The United Empire Loyalists Come to Upper Canada
  • A Salute to our Long-Standing Friends & Supporters
  • South Carolina Loyalists
  • Black Loyalists
  • A Short History of the United Empire Loyalists

Vol. 18 Part 3 September 2021 Quarterly Issue “In Publication since 2004”
Editor: Paul J. Bunnell, UE, Author, Koasek Abenaki Chief; BunnellLoyalist@aol.com; 978-337-9085, 49 Pleasant St., #106, Alstead, NH 03602
The Only U.S. Newsletter Devoted to The study of The American Loyalists
Subscription Rate: $22 U.S. $24 Can. $5 each copy — (March, June, September, December issues)

Loyalist Books at GlobalGenealogy.com
From the Sept. 2021 newsletter
Books that we have published in the United Empire Loyalist – American Revolution category since our last newsletter with links to detailed descriptions and purchasing options… all have browsesable online Indexes:

  • Treaties and Treacheries – The Early Years of the Revolutionary War on America’s Western Frontiers, 1775-1778. More…
  • Sacred Ground, Loyalist Cemeteries of Eastern Ontario, Volume One. More…
  • The Flockey, Defeat of Tory Uprising in Schoharie Valley [back in print]. More…

Sandra and Rick Roberts rick@globalgenealogy.com

Research: Early American Sources: Connecting you with our past
Early American Sources makes researching easier than ever in this digital age. Our mission is to connect scholars of all levels to primary sources of the Americas from 1500 to 1900. We offer information on archives and research libraries that hold collections of early American materials and provide links to online resources that specialize in the early Americas. Our resources include:

  • Archival Sources
  • Digital Sources
  • Published Sources
  • Fellowships

Response to Query: Thomas Morgan, Oriskany and St Leger Expedition
I saw the recent query in the Loyalist Trails newsletter about soldiers involved in the battle at Oriskany and the St Leger Expedition. I have found reference to my ancestor Thomas Morgan being killed on this expedition but I can’t find the proof or any more info about him. Can you help me? ….Toni

Thomas was a private soldier in Capt Patrick Daly’s Company of the First Battalion, King’s Royal Regiment of New York. He was born in America in 1740 and was a member of the Johnstown Masonic Lodge. He was employed as a wheelwright. His enlistment date was 19Jun76, which is the formation date of the regiment. This suggests he had come off with Sir John Johnson at the very first.
Regimental records indicated that he died at Fort Stanwix on 15Aug77. He may very well have been wounded in the Oriskany action of 06Aug and died of his wounds later. Another possibility is that he was wounded in the siege lines when the garrison sortied out and destroyed the KRR camp that same day. We just don’t know. Of course, a third possibility is that he died of natural causes. Precise details were not recorded.
Sorry I can’t be more definitive, but he definitely was one of the first loyalist volunteer soldiers in the regiment. Congratulations.
Yours Gavin Watt gk.watt7678@gmail.co

Response to Query: Loyalist Migration from Pennsylvania to Niagara
Many thanks to you and our members for offering assistance to me looking for information on William Lundys’ family journey from Pennsylvania to Niagara Falls a way back when (see query). Several books were suggested, The Life and Times of Joseph Gould, The Trees by Conard Richter, Settlers of Long Point by Owen, The Grimsby Historical Society. I now have lots of reading to do this Winter. Thanks again and good health to all.
Rod Lundy rodlundy22@gmail.com

Where in the World?

Prairie Persons: Where are Ivy Trumpour UE and Susanne Davidson UE, of Calgary Branch?

To participate, submit a photo of yourself in UELAC promotional gear at a place of some note and tell us where it is (if you are a member of a branch, please indicate that as well). Send your submission to the editor at loyalist.trails@uelac.org.

Events:

Gov. Simcoe Branch: “Loyalist History of Eastern Ontario” by Stuart Manson UE Wed 6 Oct @7:30 ET

Eastern Ontario has deep Loyalist roots. Historian Stuart Manson lives and promotes its history. He will address two main items in in his presentation
Firstly, Stuart’s book Sacred Ground, Loyalist Cemeteries of Eastern Ontario, Volume One was recently published. It describes six notable loyalist cemeteries situated in the Eastern Ontario counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. This book supplements publications that list burials or offer tombstone transcriptions with greater historical context and additional research into the lives and experiences of these men, women and children who laid the foundations of modern Ontario.
Secondly, Stuart has introduced The King’s Colour: A Broadside of Early Upper Canada, a micro-periodical that explores historical aspects of the colony that later became the Province of Ontario. Military, settlement, and the early development of the region are its main themes.
Each monthly issue contains a single article, embellished with period illustrations, that addresses a narrow topic and delves deeply into the subject matter. Topic in the first issue “Beehives and Honeycombs: The Canadian Secret Weapons of 1813.” Register here.

UELAC Conferences 2022 and 2023

High level UELAC conference details. The basics for 2022 and 2023, and a list since 2000.
2022: “Eye on the Heart of the Continent” (May 26-29, 2022)
Conference 2022 will be hosted by Manitoba Branch.
This will be a virtual conference showcasing several heritage tour sites such as the Manitoba Museum, the Museum of Human Rights and the Manitoba Legislature.
Speakers have come forward from five universities across the country on a variety of heritage topics.

2023: “Where the Sea Meets the Sky” (June 1-4, 2023; Richmond, BC)
Hosted by the four Pacific Region Branches of the UELAC
Meetings have started and plans are well underway for the conference in 2023.
This conference will be a hybrid or combined style of conference as it will offer in-person and on-line events.
For in-person, the hotel will be: Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel 7551 Westminster Hwy., Richmond, BC

From the Twittersphere and Beyond

  • Her Majesty The Queen has sent a message to the people of Canada to mark the country’s first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
  • Hello to the cutest, tiniest almanacs kept by important 18th-century Quaker Rebecca Jones. I love her tiny crescent moon! I also enjoy seeing the transition from her handmade almanac to the printed one and that despite the change she kept writing down significant events
  • This Week in History
    • Born #OnThisDay 29Sep1758 British Admiral and hero of Trafalgar, Horatio Nelson. He rose rapidly through the ranks and served w/leading naval commanders obtaining his own command in 1778. He developed a heroic reputation and had a firm grasp of tactics.
    • 1 Oct 1768, troops from the 14th, 29th & 59th Regiments and the Royal Artillery landed on Long Wharf and marched into Boston. Local authorities refused to provide barracks, so the army took space on the Common and in Faneuil Hall. Three fully armed regiments of redcoats marched up Long Wharf under the guns of the ships to occupy Boston. In this classic podcast episode, @Boston1775. J.L. Bell explains why they were there and what happened next. Listen now!
    • 24 Sep 1770 – 150 North Carolina Regulators violently disrupt the Hillsborough District Superior Court in what was called the Hillsborough Riot. Regulators seized and began beating officials of the court in the street in front of the courthouse.
    • Sept 28, 1774, a crowd confronted Boston hardware merchant Joseph Scott about having sold his stock of artillery supplies to the king’s army. He tried to cancel the sale, but soldiers broke open Scott’s cellar and confiscated all the ordnance.
    • 24 Sep 1775 British Cabinet states they intend to “carry on the war against America with the utmost vigour.”
    • 2 Oct 1775, Norridgewock, ME Benedict Arnold’s Quebec Expedition passes over Norridgewock Falls. Arnold’s expedition was part of the Continental Army campaign to capture Canada from the British at the beginning of the American Revolution.
    • 1 Oct 1776 Benjamin Franklin learns that the French plan to supply arms to Americans through West Indies.
    • 26 Sep 1777 British occupy Philadelphia, forcing Congress to flee to Lancaster and then York, Pennsylvania.
    • 30 Sep 1777 Congress convenes for one day in York, Pennsylvania, then adjourns.
    • 28 Sep 1778 In the Baylor Massacre in River Vale NJ, American regiment slaughtered & captured by Col. Maitland.
    • 27 Sep 1779 John Jay appointed ambassador to Spain; secures $170K loan, but no formal recognition of independence.
    • 25 Sep 1780 Benedict Arnold’s treasonous plan to give West Point fort to British discovered.
    • 29 Sep 1780 British spymaster Major John André sentenced to hang.
    • 28 Sep 1781 Yorktown, VA. British retreat to sea blocked by the French navy while combined Franco-American forces (7.8K French, 3.1K militia & 8K Continentals) arrive within 2 miles of British lines. First cannon of siege fired by Gen Washington.
  • Clothing and Related:
    • Personal favourite 18th Century dress, black silk with pink & green floral pattern, 1780’s
    • 18th Century day dress, comprising of striped overcoat and pretty pink quilted petticoat, shown with fichu, 1785-1795
    • Shared this beautiful 1770’s Court dress on #FridayNightFrills but I thought you’d appreciate a few more pictures of the stunning details; including actual feathers, embroidered floral motifs, lace, raffia tassels and lengths of quilted blue satin
    • 18th Century men’s waistcoat, 1770’s, woven silk with silver thread, enamelling, silver purl & spangles, silk thread
    • 18th Century men’s frock coat, rear detail black silk velvet figured with silk gold yarns embroidered with gilt-silver wires, sequins & bits of glass, 1785-1792, French
    • 18th Century man’s outfit, matching coat and waistcoat, the dense covering of silver embroidery on these indicates that they were Court dress. c.1760’s
    • 18th Century men’s suit and waistcoat, of fine purple silk, metallic embroidery and spangles with delicate buttons, c.1790’s. I can never resist posting a close-up of this one. The iridescent effect is created by a a mint green warp and a purple weft. So simple but so stunning.
  • Townsends
  • Miscellaneous
    • I love medieval book illustrations. They give us unparallelled access to the past and those living there. It allows us to tap into our shared humanity and understand the joys and passions and of people who lived very different lives from us. The medeival book illustration:

Editor’s Note: A larger than usual issue today. It took longer to prepare and test everything than I thought. As a result, it is being distributed somewhat later than I would prefer. …doug

Published by the UELAC
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