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Conference 2023: Where the Sea Meets the Sky June 1-4

One month until Conference: Impending deadlines

  1. Earlybird registration fees tonight April 30 at midnight.
    1. Just after midnight ie at 12:01am ET on 1 Monday 1 May, the 2023 Hybrid Conference Fees will be going up. We still have Room!
      If you cannot attend “in-person,” consider attending the eleven Virtual presentations for the 2023 Virtual Guest Speakers. See registration for details
  2. Hotel Accommodations Group Rate Monday 1 May at 5:00 pm PT
    1. Subject to availability, later bookings will be at the regular rate.
  3. Event bookings Saturday 20 May
    1. Late Banquet Reservations for Friday or Saturday evenings cannot be guaranteed as Hotel Catering deadlines have already passed

Visit Where the Sea Meets the Sky for all the details

Loyally, The 2023 UELAC Hybrid Pacific Region Conference & AGM Planning Committee uelacconference2023@gmail.com

The Coronation of George II and Queen Caroline, 11 October 1727
‘The most solemn, magnificent, and sumptuous ceremony’ – The History of UK Parliament
Contemporaries were agreed that the coronation of George II and Queen Caroline on 11 October 1727 was spectacular. In our second Coronation-themed blog, Dr Charles Littleton looks back on the event and considers the roles played by some of those involved in it.
For the Swiss traveller César de Saussure the coronation of 1727 was ‘the most solemn, magnificent, and sumptuous ceremony it is anyone’s lot in life to witness’. [Saussure, 239]. John Hervey, Lord Hervey, remembered that:
The Coronation was performed with all the pomp and magnificence that could be contrived; the present King differing so much from the last, that all the pageantry and splendour, badges and trappings of royalty, were as pleasing to the son as they were irksome to the father. Hervey, Memoirs, i. 66
Saussure noted that English observers agreed that ‘the magnificence of the present coronation has far surpassed that of the preceding’. Indeed, while George I’s coronation in 1714 had cost £7,287, his son’s was budgeted at £9,430. Read

more…

More Reading: The Peerage and the Coronation of George I.
The death of Queen Anne on 1 August 1714 heralded the arrival of a new dynasty in Britain – literally – the kingdom had to await the arrival of the new king from Hanover on 18 September. Continuing our Coronation blog series, Dr Stuart Handley examines the preparations for and proceedings of George I’s coronation in 1714. Read

more…

Unpacking a Chedabucto Muster Roll: The Black Loyalists of Guysborough: Part Three of Four
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
As one looks over the muster roll for Loyalists who settled Chedabucto, Nova Scotia that was compiled in June of 1784, one can’t help being impressed by the fact that the 146 Black Loyalist men, women, and children it enumerates had the potential to form a strong and supportive community of pioneers. But when did that sense of community begin to coalesce?
Was a common colony of enslavement a unifying factor? Did these fugitives begin to form bonds during their service to the crown during the Revolution? Did they come to know one another on a first name basis during their two-week voyage to Port Mouton, Nova Scotia? Did surviving a dreadful winter and a devastating fire unite them? Or did they only gel as a community after arriving in Guysborough on Chedabucto Bay?
The Book of Negroes provides some clues. It lists all but one of the evacuation vessels that brought these Black Loyalists to Nova Scotia, giving the colony of enslavement, the names of former masters, and the service rendered to the British.
Rather than looking at all of the individuals listed on the muster roll, we’ll sample the passenger list of the Nisbet, an evacuation vessel that brought 161 Black Loyalists to Nova Scotia. Of those, we know that 38 eventually settled in Guysborough. Perhaps by looking at that 23% of its passenger list, we can learn more about the formation of a Black Loyalist community.
Their colonies of origin suggest that some Black Loyalists may have travelled together because they had been enslaved in the same states. 34% of the Nisbet‘s Chedabucto settlers came from Virginia, 24% from South Carolina, 21% from New Jersey, 8% from New York, 5% from Pennsylvania, 5% from New England, and just 3% from Maryland. Being familiar with a common geography or agricultural economy may have served to help forge bonds between some of the Black Loyalists.
Having worked together as free men and women during the revolution seems to be a better foundation for the community that they would form in Nova Scotia. Ten adults and four children all had connections to the Wagon Master General Department. The occupations of the other Black evacuees are not recorded. So almost a third of Chedabucto’s Black Loyalists would have the skills required to be teamsters and the memories of transporting British military goods around New York. Those who once were connected to the wagon department were: Philip Thompson, Andrew Izzard, Samuel DeGraw (Charles DeGrau), Chris

King, John Bass, John Townsend, Andrew Whitehead, Bristol Borden (Bowden

on muster), Jenny (Jane) Conway (including her children Bristol and Hannah), as well as Samuel and Sukey Dismal (along with their children Nancy and George).
Whether common occupations were enough to build communal bonds is a matter of debate. So while the list of Black Loyalists aboard the Nisbet does not provide a great deal of sociological data, there are, nevertheless, stories hidden in the Book of Negroes‘ entries.
John Ryerson, a 36 year-old, was noted as being one-eyed. Abuse by a master? A wartime injury?
Spelling variations show the difficulty British officials may have had in understanding the Black Loyalists they enumerated. Willis Page in the Book of Negroes is rendered as Willy Spades on the muster. Hercules, a former slave to Thomas Hanscombe has his surname rendered Hancum on the Chedabucto muster.
A single man in 1783, he acquired a wife a year later. There is a Phillis

Hencum on the 1784 muster for women and a Mary Hencum on the list of children under ten. An examination of the Nisbet’s manifest shows a 22 year-old woman named Phillis – a wagon department employee—travelling alone with her one year-old daughter Mary. Either their time aboard the Nisbet or while in Port Mouton allowed Hercules and Phillis to meet, court, and marry.
Charles Lamb is listed as being from Maryland in the Book

of Negroes. The latter also gives a Nelly Lamb as a fellow Nisbet passenger. Both Charles and Elinor Lamb’s names appear in the Guysborough muster. As a free woman, it seems that Elinor preferred a longer name.
Not every single woman’s marital status changed between 1783 and 1784. Rachel Jordan came to Nova Scotia as a 30 year-old single mother with an 11 year-old son and a 5 year-old daughter. A year later, she and the children appear in the muster, but all retained the same surname.
Abraham Bayard, a Nisbet passenger and muster entry, also spelled his name Byard. Originally from Maryland, he was just 30 when he came to Nova Scotia. Guysborough’s Christ Church cemetery was the final resting place for a John Byard (died 1839), an Abigail Bayard (1810), and a Peter Bayard (1827), no doubt descendants of this Marylander.
Joseph Wingwood (Ringwood) was 21 when he escaped his South Carolina master, Charvil Wingood. He appears in both the Nisbet’s manifest and the Guysborough muster. A Ringwood grave dug in 1831 is among other Black Loyalist’s resting places in the Christ Church graveyard.
Omissions also have stories to tell. Nancy Sheppard/Shepherd appears on both the passenger list for the Nisbet and on the 1784 muster. However, her 8 year-old daughter Priscilla is absent from the Guysborough list. Nancy’s child may have died during the severe winter in Port Mouton.
Perhaps the greatest omission with regard to the story of the Black Loyalists of Guysborough is the HMS Sophie, the 11th ship to carry passengers who would eventually settle along Chedabucto Bay. This British vessel brought 70 Black Loyalists to Port Mouton in October of 1783, but somehow failed to have its passengers recorded in the Book of Negroes before leaving New York. While most of Chedabucto’s Black founders have their names listed in both the June 1784 muster and the Book of Negroes, there are at least 25 names that do not appear in the earlier documents of the era. One is left to conclude that the Black Loyalists who lack any earlier documentation must have come to Nova Scotia on board the HMS Sophie.
This series on the Black Loyalists of Guysborough will conclude in next week’s Loyalist Trails.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

The Loyalists of Mount Hanley NS, by Brian McConnell UE
Located behind the Mount Hanley Schoolhouse Museum in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia is an abandoned burying ground that has become known as the Durland Cemetery. In it are seven or more grave markers made from hand chipped field stone. Only three are still legible with markings and one has been identified as the daughter of a settler who arrived in the area with other United Empire Loyalists in 1784. The engravings on the stones are PB 1806, AD 1825 and JHM 1826.
A description of the Durland Cemetery as a “burying ground” appears in a Deed recorded on the 12th of October, 1848 in the Land Registry for Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. As well it appears on two survey plans registered as Plan Number 9110569 identified as “Burial Grounds” and another being Plan Number 88107124 as “Portion of Land Reserved for Burial Ground” It has been suggested it may have been an old Anglican burial ground. The Beardsley’s had their children baptized by the Anglican Church. Daniel Durland, one of the original settlers was a Loyalist and owned lands in this area. By Deed dated May 18, 1802 he and his wife Sarah Durland conveyed 100 acres to Jacob Miller and included on the description is a reference to adjacent lands of Robinson Beardsley. Read

more…

Yesterday afternoon (17 April 2023) I was lucky enough to get a tour inside the Mount Hanley School House Museum.
Recent visit to old Loyalist burying ground in Mount Hanley, Nova Scotia which has several fieldstone

markers, one dated August 25, 1806 for Patience Beardsley. She was daughter of Beverly Robinson Beardsley and wife Sarah

(Hatch) who settled in area as United Empire Loyalist refugees from New York after first spending a year in Saint John, NB where were married in 1785.

Watch a short video (2 minute) by Brian when he visits the burying ground.

Cato Smith: Enlisted and Enslaved?
In April of 1775, as thousands of white colonists were taking up arms to defend life, liberty and property, other men, denied the blessings of all three, were marching with them. Cato Smith was one such man. Though you could argue his life was his own, his body legally belonged to someone else. Liberty for him was a dream; and far from owning property to defend, he was himself considered property. Cato Smith was one of the thousands of enslaved Africans who lived in Massachusetts at the time of the American Revolution…
Cato was born in Africa. At age 10 he was taken onboard a slave ship in Ghana and brought to Boston to be sold…
April 24th, Cato enlisted as a soldier in William Smith’s newly raised company in the 6th Massachusetts Regiment commanded by Colonel John Nixon. ..
It is often assumed that enslaved men pursued military service as a pathway to emancipation. In most cases it was but not always. It is unclear whether Cato was still enslaved during his military service. Read

more…

Sons of Britannia: New York’s Triumvirate from Colony to Revolution
by Keith Muchowski 27 April 2023 Journal of the American Revolution
John Adams was making his way from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania for a convening of the delegates tasked to craft a response to the Coercive Acts when he and his entourage arrived in Manhattan on the morning of Saturday August 20, 1774. He met that day with numerous dignitaries and dined late into the evening at Hull’s Tavern with a group that included the attorney John Morin Scott. That conversation must have been productive because early Monday morning Adams joined Alexander McDougall from the Sons of Liberty on a coach ride to break fast at the Scott home in what was then still countryside in today’s Midtown Manhattan. John Morin Scott was one third of the powerful triumvirate of New York attorneys that included William Livingston and William Smith Jr. Judging by the tone of Adams’ diary entries, he seems not to have known the three New Yorkers personally until this visit, but he clearly was aware of their work and reputation.Read

more…

Signals and Pilots: Cooperating with the French Fleet, 1778
by Bob Ruppert 25 April 2023 Journal of the American Revolution
France officially joined the American colonies in their struggle for independence on February 6, 1778. On this day two treaties were signed: the first was the Treaty of Alliance and the second was the Treaty of Amity and Commerce. The American Commissioners who signed the treaties were Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee. There was only one French Commissioner who signed the treaty, Conrad Alexandre Gerard. Having served with distinction in other diplomatic positions, in 1774 Gerard had been appointed the first secretary of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs. After successfully representing France at the negotiating table with the American colonies, King Louis the XVI recognized his achievement by appointing him the first accredited French minister to the American colonies. On April 10, 1778, Gerard (and Silas Deane) departed from Toulon aboard Admiral Charles Henri Hector, the Comte d’Estaing’s ship Languedoc; on July 6, the French fleet arrived in Delaware Bay.[2]Learning that a British fleet that had been in the area had already departed, d’Estaing prepared to set sail for New York. Before departing, he wrote two letters. The first was to General Washington: Read

more…

An 18th Century Embroidered Linen Bodice – Remade, Refashioned
A homespun

& handsewn linen bodice, silk embroidery, mid to late 18th century. In process of being unpicked and/or refashioned, remade.
By Silk Damask 5 Nov. 2015
It was the exquisite, delicate silk thread embroidery which first caught my eye. Some of the threads have worn away and the penciled outline drawn to guide the stitching is faintly visible. I know nothing about who embroidered this bodice or even where it was made. It was purchased in America, so perhaps it was made here during those turbulent mid-century decades. And yet the global nature of goods in the 18th century, does not necessarily support this attribution without a provenance. Read

more…

Royal Maundy Money
The Hunterian Blog 6 April 2023
Did you know that Charles III presided over his first Royal Maundy ceremony as king on 6 April 2023? He will personally distribute specially minted ‘Maundy money’ to elderly people at York Minster.
Here, Cameron Maclean, PhD Candidate at the University of Glasgow, and Numismatic Volunteer at The Hunterian, highlights some specimens of Maundy money in The Hunterian collection.
The Royal Maundy originally served as a way for the monarch to give alms to the poor. Now the recipients are chosen for their service to their church and/or community.
Charles III’s distribution continues a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages. The earliest known account of an English monarch distributing coins on Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday, dates to 1213. This saw King John (r.1199-1216) gift thirteen pence each to thirteen men at Rochester. Since then, the ceremony has undergone many changes to arrive at today’s practice.
Henry IV (r.1399-1413) ordained that the number of Maundy recipients and the total pence gifted to each of them should be determined by the monarch’s age. Read more…

See the 1795 gold Maundy threepence of George III. This specimen, from the Coats Collection, The Hunterian, is the only known example in existence. (Scroll down for a second image showing both sides of the coinn)

Ben Franklin’s World: The Moravian Church in North America
Paul Peucker is an archivist and the Director of the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He’s authored numerous articles, essays, and books about Moravians and their history
During our investigation, Paul reveals the origins of the Moravian Church in Europe and the creation of the first Moravian community in Herrnhut, Germany; Information about the Moravians’ belief in Philadelphianism and why they adopted an international outlook; and, details about the Moravians’ migration and settlement in North America during the 1740s. Listen

in…

UELAC Loyalist Directory: New Contributions
Entries which have been added, or revised, this week, with thanks:

  • Kevin Wisener UE, President Abegweit Branch, continues to add more information about Loyalists who settled in what is now Prince Edward Island:
    • ThomasLandriga

      n served in the Kings Rangers, 1st Battalion and settled on Lot 47, Kings County, Prince Edward Island.

    • FrancisLackey

      also served in the Kings Rangers, 1st Battalion and settled on Lot 47, Kings County, Prince Edward Island, a 199 acre land grant.

If you are willing to submit some information, send a note to loyalist.trails@uelac.org All help is appreciated. …doug

Celebrating the Coronation of King Charles III, King of Canada
The Coronation of King Charles III will take place on Saturday 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey in London. King Charles us also King of Canada, and many in Canada will celebrate the event.
We would like to note those celebrations that any branch of the UELAC is organizing or is actively participating in. Submit these events to loyalist.trails@uelac.org

  • The City of Saint John and the Union club have cordially invited New Brunswick Loyalist Branch members to attend a breakfast at the Saint John Union Club 9am-11am ( tickets required through the Union Club – contact Jennifer Waldschutz <jennywaldschutz@gmail.com> for tickets).
  • Heritage Branch with Sir John Johnson Centennial Branch is holding a wine-and-cheese party in the Maison Forget on 5 May. His Honour the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec will be our guest. (Sold out)
  • Coronation tea, Toronto Branch on Sunday 7 May is doing a full English tea. Wear your fascinator, your best hat, or tie, and white gloves if you have them.

Upcoming Events

Gov Simcoe Br. “The Battle for Western Jersey” by Joshua Loper Wed 3 May, 7:30 ET

“The Battle for Western Jersey: The Battles of Quinton’s Bridge and the Hancock House” — Presentation by Joshua Loper SAR, UE. These two battles are both almost comical on one hand and heartbreaking on the other. A thunderstorm of epic proportions, charging a bridge, a midnight attack, a pregnant woman, and gunshot-terrified cavalry horses…These events lead to the culmination of our story. Artifacts of the campaign will be included.
Historian Joshua Loper grew up in Salem and Cumberland County, New Jersey. He specializes in Early America history – the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. More information and registration

Women in War Symposium 5 & 6 May at Saratoga Town Hall

The Symposium examines the roles women played during the American Revolution. Whether patriot or loyalist, wealthy or impoverished, females were deeply affected by the war in all aspects of their lives. Participants will hear new scholarship and relatively unknown stories that broaden their understanding of the revolutionary era. More

information
Fri Bus Tour: This 4-hour tour, “Through the Baroness’ Eyes“,

will follow the events surrounding the Burgoyne Campaign as experienced by Baroness Frederika von Riedesel, wife of General Friedrich von Riedesel, Commander of the German Division of Burgoyne’s Army. The Baroness, along with her three young daughters, accompanied her husband during the campaign and left a journal and letters that describe her experiences living with the army during the summer and fall of 1777. The Baroness provides a running commentary on the events, people, and surroundings of this historic campaign. The tour will follow her path from Fort Edward (The Red House) through Saratoga (now Schuylerville) to Saratoga Battlefield (Taylor House) and finally the back to the Sword Surrender Site where, for the first time in world history, a British Army was surrendered.

The American Revolution Institute, A Compleat Victory: Saratoga 5 May 6:00pm

Following the successful expulsion of American forces from Canada in 1776, the British were determined to end the rebellion and devised what they believed to be a war-winning strategy. They sent Gen. John Burgoyne south, expecting to rout the Americans and take Albany. By Colonel (Retired) Kevin J. Weddle, Ph.D., is professor of military theory and strategy. Read

more… (Friday 5 May at 6:00pm, livestream

St. Alban’s Centre: Donations Welcomed May 11 & 12 (For a garage sale)

Spring Cleaning? We would love your unwanted items for our garage sale: Household Items; Clothing; LPs, Books, And Plants Too!
No Electronics Please
Drop off items at the Rectory, Thursday & Friday May 11 & 12, 9am to noon
St. Alban’s Centre, 10419 Loyalist Parkway (Hwy. 33), Adolphustow

Grand River Branch Celebrates 50th Anniversary on 17 Sept.

At the Arlington Hotel in Paris, Ontario. Reception & Mingle 4:00 p.m. Dinner 6:00 p.m. Buffet Dinner $50.00 Payable to Grand River Branch UELAC
RSVP Ms Jane Adams, 92 Brewster, Cambridge, ON N3C 3T9
By Sept 1, 2023. Period Costume is encouraged .

From the Twittersphere and Beyond

  • Townsends
  • This week in History
    • 27 Apr 1773 Parliament passes TeaAct

      , propping up British East India Tea company at colonists’ expense.

    • 25 Apr 1775 Patriots in Baltimore seize militarysupplies

      .

    • 23 Apr 1776 Congress resolves that an expedition should be undertaken against Detroit,recently taken by British

      .

    • 28 Apr 1776 In Savannah, GA, Col.McIntosh

      writes that procurement is difficult due to lack of local manufacturing.

    • 26 Apr 1777 SybilLuddington

      rides through the Connecticut night, mustering the militia to repel a British attack.

    • 22 Apr 1778 American JohnPaul Jones attacks British Isles

      directly, burning 3 ships and spiking guns at 2 forts.

    • 24 Apr 1781 Petersburg, Virginia attacked by traitor BenedictArnold

      & British Gen. Philips.

  • Clothing and Related:
    • So sweet. Child’sshoes, American

      (New England) 18th century, via MFA Boston.

    • 18th Century dress,a striped chine taffeta

      robe à la polonaise, c.1770’s

    • 18th Century dressmade of dark rose satin silk

      with ivory underskirt adorned with silver metallic embroidery. 1790’s

    • 18th Century women’scape

      , silk, British, c.1790

    • 18th Century embroiderysample, intended for a gentleman’s Court coat

      , c.1790

    • 18th Century men’smatching 3 piece suit

      , made from linen with silk embroidery a perfect summer outfit. American, c.1780

  • Miscellaneous
    • Completed in 1773, the‘Silver Swan’ is an automaton

      on display at the Bowes Museum in England. The swan, which is life-sized, is a clockwork-driven device that includes a music box. Readmore (Wikipedia)

Last Post: BERRYMAN UE, Jack Harry – September 19, 1936 – April 19, 2023
Peacefully at St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto in his 87th year, after a courageous battle with lymphoma. Beloved and devoted husband to his sweetheart and late wife of 62 years, Ellen Doreen Berryman (nee Sanderson). Father of Elizabeth (Paul), Dianne (Murray), Paul (Kelly), Mark (Dawn) and Denise (Michael).
Jack was born and raised in the idyllic village of Elora, Ontario. Jack was a lifelong educator, had a storied career with the Toronto District School Board, as an Education Officer, a position in the Ontario Ministry of Education Legislative Branch and as a session professor at Brock University.
He had a keen interest in history, family genealogy and sports. He was a member of The Mayflower Society and was a United Empire Loyalist.
A Celebration of Jack’s wonderful life was held on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Read more details.
As a member of New Brunswick Branch, in 2004 Jack proved his descent from James Maxwell UEL

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