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Last Post: MORSE-HINES UE: Suzanne
As we welcome in 2022, we have lost one of the best of us.
Suzanne Morse-Hines 1948-2021.
It has been with great difficulty that I write this Loyalist Trails submission. I suppose there will be many firsts without our beloved Sue to guide us. First Executive Meeting, first Board Meeting, first Conference. Sue was the calm in any storm. The soft voice of reason vs my take no prisoners. We were a perfect match and I only hope I can take even a small portion of her wisdom and gentleness with me, along with our board of directors, to guide UELAC through 2022.
A wonderful lady wrote in memory of Sue “the loss of one diminishes us all”.
Our deepest condolences to Sue’s family. A private service is being held this coming week, with a Celebration of Life tentatively planned for St Thomas, ON in the spring. Details will be passed along as we receive them.
Cards of condolence can be sent to: The Morse Family, 152 Gibbons Street, Goderich, Ontario N7A 3J4.
UELAC has already received donations in Sue’s name towards scholarship and I have passed along that information to her family, who were very touched at the thoughtfulness of our members.
Trish Groom UE, President, UELAC

Suzanne was immediate Past-President of UELAC, sitting on the Executive Council of the Board of Directors. She presided over the most recent AGM in May of 2021, having served a longer than usual three year term as President. She was also the Chair of the By-Law and Policy Review Committee and the Scholarship Committee, a subject dear to her heart.

“It is with great sadness that the Grand River Branch UELAC announces the sudden passing of Sue Hines UE, past president of the Grand River Branch. We are stunned by the suddenness of her death and send our condolences to friends and family. Rest in peace Sue.
Bev Balch UE, President, Grand River

Sue proved her Loyalist ancestry to Jonathan Williams UEL in 2003.

Obituary:
Hines, Suzanne “Sue” of London and formerly of St. Thomas passed away at London Health Science Centre-University Hospital on Wednesday, December 29, 2021 in her 74th year. Dear sister of Beth Morse(George Russell) of Port Bruce and Mark Morse of Goderich. Sister-in-law to Carolyn Miners. Loving Aunt to Josh, Melissa and Victoria. Also survived by a number of nieces and nephews. Sue worked for 35 years for St. Thomas and Elgin Family and Children Services. She was very interested in genealogy and was President and a longtime member of United Empire Loyalists. Born in Yarmouth Township Ontario on May 21, 1948. A private family graveside service will be held at the Aylmer Cemetery. Donations to the LHSC Foundation would be appreciated. Share memories or condolences at kebbelfuneralhome.com – Read Obituary with photo

The Hanging of Hare and Newbury: Five: The Aftermath of Execution
copyright Stephen Davidson UE

Both Henry Hare and William Newbury were tried as spies on June 20, 1779, but it was only Hare who was hanged on the following day.  Given that they were both charged with being British spies who had been found “lurking about the vicinity of the camp”, that both were found guilty and that both were sentenced to be “hanged by the neck ‘till dead”, it is interesting that Newbury’s execution was held a week after Hare’s. In fact, this turn of events is so counter-intuitive that many Patriot retellings of the execution of the Loyalists say that their hangings occurred on the same day.

During his court martial, Newbury was given the opportunity to explain his actions. His transcript reported that he was “very sorry for what he has done and was induced to it by the persuasions of me who he thought knew more than himself.” In the testimony that followed, Newbury tried to explain that his siding with the British was based on misinformation.

Upon receiving newspapers from New York City at the outset of the revolution, Newbury read that “the king was very strong and America would be conquered in less than two months and everyone who did not go and join them would be hung up or sent to the West India Islands as slaves.” He was told by two local Loyalists that the British were “determined to come down on the frontiers and show no mercy to all those who did not join them.”

Newbury further testified that “his Intentions in coming down this present time was only to see his Family and should have given himself up to the mercy of his Country if he had thought he could obtain Pardon.” He then laid the blame on “Henry Hare and wife and Thomas Plato {who} told him there was no mercy shewn any of those who had joined the Enemy and {it} was from these arguments {that he was} afraid to deliver himself up.” Newbury ended his defense by praying “the court to have mercy on him and spare his life”.

But the court martial judges were not persuaded by Newbury’s testimony. Perhaps they were remembering his involvement in both the Battle of Oriskany and the Cherry Valley massacre. They sentenced him to be “hanged by the neck  ‘till he is dead.”

The date of Newbury’s execution kept being delayed over the next seven days. Finally, the Patriot army’s general orders for the day decreed that  “the troops on the ground will assemble for that purpose at the usual place of execution” at 6:00 a.m. on Monday, June 28th.  Newbury was hanged in Canajoharie, the same place where his friend Henry Hare had been executed.

Sometime during the time leading up to his hanging, Newbury confessed that he had indeed killed Hugh Mitchell’s daughter during the raid on Cherry Valley in the fall of 1778.  Mitchell had seen Newbury murder his daughter a year earlier and was one of the witnesses at Newbury’s court martial.

William Newbury’s family buried his remains near the site of his execution. Local tradition has it that his bones were thrown out when the Erie Canal was being constructed in the 1820s.

But the Newbury family’s story did not end there. Like other wives of Loyalists who had joined Butler’s Rangers, Margaret Newbury made her way to the Niagara region sometime after the peace treaty came into effect.  She married Rudolph Roche, a German soldier who fought for the British under General Friedrich Riedsel during the American Revolution.  The couple eventually received land in Crowland Township near modern day Welland, Ontario.

Elizabeth Newbury, the girl who had been abducted by an Indigenous tribe, married Aaron Stringer, a native of Chester County, Pennsylvania. The couple was granted land in Willoughby (south of Niagara) based on the fact that Elizabeth was the daughter of a Loyalist. The Stringers had six children. When their daughter Mary Stringer McKenney died in 1893, her obituary contained the story of her mother’s life as the captive of an Indigenous tribe.

The fate of William and Margaret’s daughter Margaret is unknown. Unfortunately, their son William Newbury Jr. gained notoriety as the assailant in a sexual assault case at the age of 20.

On August 20, 1800, the Rev. Robert Addison of Niagara wrote to the colony’s lieutenant governor to plead for the son of the executed Sergeant Newbury. It sheds light on the ripple effects of the Loyalist ranger’s execution.

“I am urged by an unhappy mother to address you in behalf of her unfortunate son, lately condemned for highway robbery at Niagara. As I had rather be guilty of presumption than want of humanity, I venture to tell you that I have frequently visited the unhappy wretch since his sentence, and he appears deeply sensible of his guilt. He is but 20 years of age, and I have been told by credible people that his father was cut off by the Americans as a spy.

I was present at this trial, when it appeared to me, and I believe to everybody in court, that the articles which were lost were dropped in the struggle between him and a young girl to whom he is said to have offered violence. How far his youth, his father’s suffering for his country, and the crime for which condemned appearing unintentional, may plead for this wretched fellow creature, I must leave to Your Excellency’s wisdom.”

Although his real crime was attempted rape, William was ultimately convicted of a robbery involving a young woman named Jane Lambert. He was sentenced to death, a verdict that prompted the local Anglican minister to write to John Graves Simcoe. Justice William Drummer Powell, the presiding judge, stated that “I should add that the prisoner is a young man of bad character, and was, I am told, enlisted out of a goal; on the other hand, his depravity and want of proper education is attributed to the early loss of his father, who was a Loyalist executed by the rebels for bearing arms in the Royal cause.”

In his essay The Law Should Be Her Protector, Patrick J. Connor points out that Newbury’s victim, Jane Lambert, was unwilling to testify that she had been raped because of the “serious stigma associated with the crime throughout the 19th century”. Instead, Lambert was able to successfully prosecute Newbury for robbery, testifying that he had “stolen a piece of her dress in the woods” The presiding judge later wrote to John Graves Simcoe (perhaps in response to the Anglican minister’s petition) that the “evidence respecting the robbery from her person had been concocted…to avoid the detail of the real crime, which was certainly an attempt to force her”.

Documents of the era do not say whether William received a reduced sentence or was – like his father before him— hanged. Being a Loyalist brought about the execution of William Newbury Senior in 1779; it may be that having a Loyalist for a father saved William Newbury Junior from a similar fate in 1800.

[This item was updated with a correction on Jan. 6, 2022. – ed.]

To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

More About Henry Hare and his Family, by William Cooke
Having done some research into the family of Captain Peter HARE of Butler’s Rangers (due to his connection with the SECORD and BEEBE families), I have been reading Stephen Davidson’s series on Henry HARE and William NEWBERRY with interest. I would like to offer a correction and additional information.
In Part 1 and in Part 3, Stephen wrote that Henry HARE was a member of Butler’s Rangers. This is incorrect as Henry was a Lieutenant in the Indian Department. His name appears on three Indian Department pay lists covering the period from 19 May 1776 to 24 Apr 1779.
In Part 2, Stephen wrote that Henry and his wife Alida VROOMAN had seven children: Ally, John, Faulky, William, Peter, Barent, and Catey.” These names are from the undated “List of Prisoners in the Hands of Congress” found in the Haldimand Papers.
In their 1798 Upper Canada Land Petition, John, Barnabas, William, Mary and Katherine HARE identify themselves as “the children of Lieutenant Henry Hare who was made prisoner last American War and Hung as a Spy.” Catey is a diminutive of Katherine. Barent, who was named after Alida ‘s father, may have been born Barent Barnabas HARE. Barent is an uncommon given name even in Dutch, so he likely decided to use Barnabas which would be more familiar to English and French speakers. I believe Faulky is Mary. Faulky is a misspelling of Volkje (Alida’s mother), and her birth name may have been Volkje Maria HARE. Ally (Alida?) and Peter are the two children of Henry and Alida who died young (one before 1780, the other before 1788).
In Part 3, Stephen wrote, “The ultimate fate of Henry Hare’s family is not certain.” My research indicates that Alida and her children made their homes at Saint-Joseph-de-Soulanges (Les Cedres) in Lower Canada west of Montreal, and in the Loyalist settlements established on the north side of the St Lawrence River.
At some point after the death of Henry, Alida married Adam EMPEY, son of Philip EMPEY. Adam had enlisted and served in the King’s Royal Regiment of New York along with his father, five brothers, and two of his cousins. Adam is frequently confused with his cousin Adam HARE, son of William HARE, who settled in Osnabruck Township.
I found a reference to a 1788 petition in which Adam states that he “had married the widow of Lieut. Henry Hare of the Indian Department. She has five children by her late-husband as well as four by the petitioner, all of which he has to maintain.” Unfortunately, I have not be able to verify this since there is currently an “interruption of online services” at Library and Archives Canada.
Adam and Alida appear to have first lived in Cornwall Township but later moved to Saint-Joseph-de-Soulanges. In 1807, when Alida petitioned to have Henry HARE added to the UE List, she was “of the Parish of solans Lower Canada.” Entries in the repertoires de notares (notarial catalogs) for the District judiciaire de Montréal show that Alida and Adam were at Saint-Joseph-de-Soulanges in 1796, and suggest that Alida may still have been alive in 1826.
In their 1798 petition, John, Barnabas, William, Mary, and Katherine HARE also wrote that “your Petitioners are all married and Settled in the Eastern District and have never drawn any lands.”
Katherine HARE married David SUMMERS and lived in Osnabruck where she is believed to have died in 1846. Mary HARE married Jacob WEEGAR in 1784 at Montreal, and lived in Williamsburg where she died in 1854. William and Barnabas relocated to Saint-Joseph-de-Soulanges. The parish register for Saint-Joseph-de-Soulanges records the burial of William in 1806, and the 1807 baptism of William Henry HARE a son of Barnabas HARE and Anna VANKLEEK in 1807. Entries in the notarial catalogs also confirm that Barnabas lived at Saint-Joseph-de-Soulanges and was a blacksmith (forgeron a Soulanges). Barnabas was buried in 1852 at the age of 82 at Basilique Notre-Dame, Montreal. John HARE apparently married his cousin Annatje VROOMAN and remained in Upper Canada.
Research into this branch of the HARE family continues.
William Cooke
william.cooke@sympatico.ca
http://stalkingdeadpeople.blogspot.com/
http://sites.rootsweb.com/~ukdevon/StGilesOPC.htm

JAR: The Taking of the Shuldham, 1781
by Selden West 29 December 2921
The fabulous news of the victory at Yorktown was announced in the small town of Stamford, Connecticut, on the coast of Long Island Sound on October 27, 1781. Surely steeple bells clamored and there were prayers of thanksgiving at the Congregational meetinghouses. Soldiers stationed in Stamford were marched to a small hill half a mile outside the village for “a day of rejoicing by firing &c.”
Two weeks later, there was a distinct sense of letdown. Maj. Gen. Samuel Holden Parsons had been in Stamford for more than a month, meticulously planning a surprise attack on the enemy fort across the Sound at Lloyd’s Neck, Long Island. Over the past year Associated Loyalist raiding parties from this fort had plagued Connecticut coastal towns. Loyalists landed their boats in hidden coves by night to plunder homes and farms, murder coast guards, and kidnap civilians. Stamford judge Abraham Davenport wrote to George Washington in August that nearly sixty men had been abducted from Stamford alone.
By the end of October, under Parsons’ direction, whaleboats from along the coast had gathered secretly in Stamford harbor. A fleet of heavily armed privateers from New London had been arranged in support. A detachment of Continentals and another of Connecticut militia were held in readiness to embark. At the last minute, however, days after the glorious news of Yorktown, Parsons’ invasion plan had been abruptly canceled by orders from above….
Likely it was Capt. Samuel Lockwood, Jr. of Greenwich who came up with the proposition to lift everyone’s spirits: an attack on the tiny British fort at Whitestone, Long Island, called the Clinton Redoubt, a minor defensive position garrisoned by a small Loyalist force of the Queens County Militia. Read more…

JAR: The Frankford Advice: “Place Virginia at the Head of Everything”
by Richard Gardiner 30 December 2021
Since James Thomas Flexner’s 1974 Pulitzer recognition for his biography of George Washington, one of the axioms of the American founding is that the general, George Washington, was the “indispensable man.” The selection, therefore, of Washington as the commander of the Continental Army was undoubtedly among the most critical decisions in the history of the war—perhaps indeed even in the history of America.
Historian Jeff Dacus provides evidence that “various behind-the-scenes” negotiations preceded Washington’s nomination. In the end, however, “There is no record how the delegates were ‘persuaded’ to vote for Washington,” concludes Dacus. There is, however, compelling evidence pinpointing how the delegates were persuaded to vote unanimously for Washington, evidence that reveals an even larger phenomenon that may have permeated the entire Revolution.
Perhaps the most important clue concerning what persuaded the delegates to choose Washington comes from the hand of Washington himself. Writing to officers in Virginia five days after his appointment as general, Washington explained, “I am called by the unanimous voice of the Colonies to the command of the Continental army.” He observed that the choice was the result of “the partiallity of the Congress however, assisted by a political motive.” What was the “political motive”? Historian Paul K. Longmore dilated upon Washington’s remark: “Congress selected him to command the Continental Army, said Washington, because of ‘partiality . . . assisted by a political motive.'” The “political motive” was undoubtedly the intent to allay regional “jealousy” and to promote continental unity. Read more..

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

Inducted In 2021
HOWE, Gordie, a professional hockey player.

Brian Tackaberry UE

Update on Book: The United Empire Loyalists & You
By Brian McConnell UE
A revised and lengthened edition of my recent book “The United Empire Loyalists & You” is now available in 3 formats, kindle, paperback and hardcover. This edition is 103 pages. It discusses the topics

  • Why do the Loyalists matter?
  • What does the United Empire Loyalists’ Association do?
  • How do you obtain a Loyalist Descent ‘UE’ Certificate?

The book is available without cost on Kindle if you have Kindle unlimited. If you do not subscribe to Kindle unlimited it can be downloaded for less than $5. The app can be downloaded for free.
All proceeds from sales of the book will be donated to the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada.
More details about the book at Amazon:

Rachel Adams and Fragments of Her Embroidery, c. 1789
Tucked away safely in a dresser drawer in the Stone School Museum of the Newmarket Historical Society (New Hampshire) are several fragments of what were most likely bed hangings (the donor notes for a canopy bed), made of homespun, hand-woven linen and embroidered with delicate floral motifs, predominately in shades of blue. Read and see photos…

All Things Georgian: 18th Century Female Bruisers
We have previously written about women pugilists, whether it be ‘Lady Barrymore, the Boxing Baroness’, ‘The Petticoat Duellists’ or the ’18th Century boxing match for the hand of a farm lad’. We know that pugilism was not totally a male domain and that women fought for money including the likes of Hannah Hyfield and Elizabeth Wilkinson.
Today, however, we’re going to take a closer look at a superb painting by John Collet which depicts two female bruisers. It is difficult to tell whether these two women were a couple of the regular fighters who appear to have existed. The picture is incredibly detailed and Collet gives us some clues. Read more…

Who is the Lady In The Picture?
Go to Who’s In The Picture (WitP). The photo of the lady posted on 8 December was also taken at the 1989 Royal Convention (May 18-22) at Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, QC.
Do you recognize the lady?
If you can identify her, please send an email to Carl Stymiest, Leader of the Library and Archives Committee at communications@uelac.ca — please note the date and reference number of the photo. Any additional relevant comments are welcome, and appreciated.
Carl Stymiest

Upcoming Events:

Gov. Simcoe Branch: “Eureka Moments”, Wed 5 Jan @7:30pm ET

We will share “eureka” moments from our family history. An item which overcame a roadblock, a discovery which opened a new path of research, a news clipping which shed new light, or …. What was your “Eureka” moment. Register now
Some topics in the program:

  • Discovering I had Loyalist ancestry, not once but twice.
  • Three women, or one woman and three names?
  • A treasure trove from a missing daughter.
  • Two hundred years later the rebels still remember the Loyalist!
  • Did two ancestors meet some 240 years ago?
  • Sibling rivalry goes extreme;
  • Travelling at age 8;
  • So who was his father anyway?
  • Trying to button-down his Loyalty!
  • and more

Will you share a “Eureka” moment? Details from Doug Grant at loyalist.trails@uelac.org by January 1st.

From the Twittersphere and Beyond

  • Happy New Year!! Pinch, punch – first of the month! I wish all my followers a happy & healthy 2022. Print from The Twelve Months, 1781 via @britishmuseum. Print from set of twelve fashion plates, 1749
  • Impression of climate of New Brunswick/Nova Scotia by Loyalists as appeared in pamphlet published in England in 1784…”bound for a country where there were nine months of winter” (Source: Reprinted in The Halifax Herald, 4 Aug. 1880, p. 1) – Brian McConnell UE
  • This week in History
  • Clothing and Related:
    • Sending off Christmas the only way I know how, by lusting after this, my favourite not-intentionally-Christmas Christmas outfit. It’s a 1770s Robe à la Française with crewel-worked cypress trees that look like Christmas trees Christmas tree sold by Cora Ginsburg in 2018
    • 18th Century dress, Scottish, cream silk painted with sprays of flowers & butterflies, 1780-1785
    • Rear view of an 18th Century dress, this 1760s gown features a rose-red silk with trails of ivory flowers woven in a complex technique. The fabric, a type of silk known as gros de tours, dates from 1740s.
    • Rear view of an 18th Century men’s Court coat, purple velvet with silk embroidery, c.1780’s
    • Pocket detail of 18th Century men’s Court coat, striped brown silk of the coat has been appliquéd with undulating bands of pink silk, embroidered with leafy sprays worked in coloured silks, glass paste and spangles, 1790’s
  • Townsends:
  • Miscellaneous
    • These are biscuit versions of artefacts found by mudlarkers on the foreshore of the Thames. Making them involved a combo of painting, piping, (very experimental) glazing, and the Biscuit Ageing Processâ„¢. Flavour: sea salt and brown sugar.
    • London Mudlark: My final batch of favourite finds for this year:
      • Sword, c.16th c
      • Toy pewter bowl, 18th c
      • A cooled blob of molten lead, the iridescent colours are caused by the surface of the old glass breaking down.
      • Lead cloth seal, 17th c
      • A silver lace aglet, 16th-17th c
    • This gold galleon is an automaton which entertained banqueters with a display that began with organ music from inside the hull. The galleon then moved along the table before concluding its display with the firing of the cannons. c.1585

Last Post: JEFFREYS UE, Rowena Frances (nee French)
Rowena passed after a brief illness, peacefully surrounded by her children, on December 29, 2021 in her 92nd year. Beloved wife of the late Walter “Bud” Jeffreys for 57 years. Adored daughter of the late Kenneth and Rowena French of Mount hope, both Loyalist descendants. Much loved mother of Hamilton Branch Genealogist Michele (John Lewis), and Bill (Chris) and Wendy (Allan Jardine). Predeceased by infant son Arthur. Proud Grandma of Sue, Laura and Diana Lewis; Melissa Jeffreys, Tim Jeffreys (Marsella); and Carly and Jake Jardine. Special companion of the late Bob Slack. Rowena was a founding member of St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church, Hamilton, a long-time member of St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Mt. Hope and a current member of St. John’s Anglican Church, Ancaster. She kept her heritage alive as a member of UELAC, The Glanbrook Historical Society and hosting the best St. Patrick’s Day Tea Parties for her granddaughters. Rowena enjoyed the fellowship of others at the Probus Club of Ancaster and as an enthusiastic euchre player.
As an active member of UELAC Hamilton Branch, Rowena was the librarian and a phone caller for several years. She was proud of her loyalist roots and had certificates through John Smith, Peter Gordon, Jacob Smith Sr. and Nathaniel Pettit.
Rowena, with her ever present smile, will be missed as a regular attendee of our Hamilton Branch meetings and events.
Pat Blackburn, President, Hamilton Branch

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