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Endangered: The Families of Loyalist Ministers. Part One of Three
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
Given the respect that the ministers of the Church of England enjoyed in the 18th century, the women who married these Christian pastors no doubt expected to live a life in which they would be held in high regard by the congregations in which their husbands served. Their children would benefit from a better education than most of their peers, although they might be subject to greater scrutiny by parishioners who often held the minister’s family to a higher standard of behaviour.
Eleanor Seymour’s position of prestige would never have been lost had her husband sided with the Patriots during the American Revolution. But being the wife of Loyalist clergymen, she experienced cruelty and insults at the hands of the members of her congregation, suffered the loss of her husband during the revolution, and had to seek aid from the British government.
The Rev. James Seymour was the minister for St. Paul’s parish in Augusta, Georgia. In addition to the income he received for his pastoral duties, Eleanor’s husband also owned an 800-acre plantation and a large house just outside of Savannah. Unfortunately, Anglican clergy were as blind to the evils of slavery as the rest of Georgia’s population. The Seymours had no less than 38 enslaved Africans on their plantation to tend their cattle and crops.
Although she did not give specific details, Eleanor recalled that in the years leading up to 1780, she and her two sons – Delegal and John— were often in mortal danger given that her husband was a zealous loyalist.
Things took a turn for the worse when Patriot forces besieged Fort Augusta, a Loyalist stronghold that was next to Rev. Seymour’s church. Built in 1767 as a defense against attacks by Indigenous warriors, the 110-square foot fort suffered from chronic disrepair; its nine-foot walls had rotted due to termite infestations. In the fall of 1780, rebel leader Col. Elijah Clarke led a surprise raid on the fort that lasted four days, but British forces repulsed his troops.
In the aftermath of the battle, rebels plundered the pastor’s home that was located just 7 miles outside of Augusta. They confiscated his land, sold it, and carried off a number of the family’s slaves to Virginia.
The British built a new fort next to St. Paul’s Church in 1781, naming it Fort Cornwallis in honour of their general. To accomplish this task, the remainder of the Seymours’ slaves were used to build its fortifications.
Fort Cornwallis came under siege by the Continental Army in May of 1781, and was finally surrendered in early June. Now under Patriot control, Augusta was no longer a safe place for the Seymour family.
Within just over a year, the British surrendered Savannah prompting the loyalists of Georgia to seek sanctuary in East Florida. The Seymours joined the exodus to St. Augustine, where Eleanor’s husband became the chaplain of the British garrison.
However, what could have become a colony comprised of southern Loyalists was given back to Spain in the 1783 Treaty of Paris. Those who had been friends of the crown had just 18 months’ time to vacate East Florida and find sanctuary in the West Indies, Nova Scotia, or Great Britain. James and Eleanor Seymour took their two sons aboard a ship bound for New Providence, Nassau, a destination favoured by other refugees from Georgia. The Seymours’ arrival was not a happy one. The Rev. James Seymour died during the voyage, leaving his family destitute.
Now a widow with two dependents, Eleanor returned to Augusta, Georgia in 1786 in the hopes of reclaiming her husband’s estate. In her own words, she was “treated cruelly and insulted“. The local citizens had strong feelings about their former rector’s wife. They put her in prison and threatened to have her killed if she went near her former plantation.
Perhaps the greatest insult that Eleanor received was having her former slaves being made to “vituperate” her. This archaic word means to blame or insult someone with strong or violent language. To receive such treatment from her peers would have been difficult enough, but to be verbally attacked by those who were regarded as property would have been particularly humiliating.
Eleanor Seymour returned to Providence. Her last hope for support was to appear before the Royal Commission on the Losses and Services of American Loyalists when it convened in British North America. As her claim is not recorded as being rejected by the commission, one is left to assume that Eleanor was able to raise her two sons with the compensation granted her by the British government.
There are some tantalizing clues about the fate of the Anglican minister’s family in New Providence, Nassau. The city happens to have a Seymour Street, but it is not known if this has any connection to Eleanor or her two sons.
The name “Delegal Seymour” belongs to a man who married a Charlotte Bootie in 1854. Might he be the son of Eleanor’s son Delegal? This later Delegal had one son, a William Seymour who died in 1941. William’s sisters were Charlotte, Henrietta, Elizabeth and Flora. It may be that there are descendants of the much-persecuted Rev. James and Eleanor Seymour living in Nassau who are completely unaware of their Loyalist heritage and all that their ancestors suffered during the American Revolution.
More stories of Loyalist ministers’ endangered families will be featured in next week’s Loyalist Trails.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

Jonathan Odell (1737-1818): physician, poet, clergyman …and spy
September 25th is the birthday of The Rev. Dr. Jonathan Odell, physician, poet, clergyman, and protege of William Franklin, New Jersey’s last Royal Governor. Odell would go on to become the first Provincial Secretary of New Brunswick. He was also a Loyalist spy, who helped Benedict Arnold change sides. In the University of Michigan Library are letters, passed from Arnold to Major John Andre, written in secret cipher by Odell. See the letters and their decoded contents.
A good short biography of Jonathan Odell is available in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography:
See this portrait of Jonathan from the New Brunswick Museum
And even in the movies.
As an interesting addition to my email regarding Jonathan Odell, in the 1955 MGM historical drama about Benedict Arnold, “The Scarlet Coat“, the part of the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Odell is played by British actor George Sanders, seen on the right in the movie poster. While taking the usual Hollywood liberties with historical truth, reviewers have noted that the film is even-handed in treating the two sides of the conflict.
contributed by Dan Odell

The Perfidious Benjamin Church and Paul Revere
by Louis Arthur Norton 14 Sept 2023 Journal of the American Revolution
For many years Paul Revere was not prominent in the history of the Revolutionary War. Extremely versatile, he was a Massachusetts militia officer and artillery commander, a skilled artist and engraver, a caster of bells, an esteemed silversmith, and an industrialized coppersmith. He also was a prosthodontist and at one point a forensic dentist. Revere was the principal messenger of the patriot leaders, carrying messages to patriots in New York and Philadelphia on several occasions. Later, he wrote three accounts of his ride to Lexington. Despite these firsthand accounts, Revere did not appear prominently in histories that dealt in the period until after his death in 1818. After the fiftieth anniversary of the April 19 event he began to acquire notoriety largely through Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “Paul Revere’s Ride,” published in Tales of a Wayside Inn in 1863.
Although multitalented, reportage and handwriting were not among Revere’s strengths. He made two undated depositions that contain his version of his messenger ride on April 19. He subsequently witnessed the renowned battle on Lexington Green from “a house at the bottom of the street,” one that largely blocked his view of the militia. The rambling depositions had been thought not worthy of including with those of other witnesses in the history of the event prepared by Congress. Revere prepared a third account some years after the other two. Also not dated, this account was penned at the request by Jeremy Belknap, the then corresponding secretary of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Revere’s text, edited by Belknap in 1798, did not differ materially from the earlier versions, but for the first time Revere focused upon the activities of Doctor Benjamin Church. Read more…

The Day Liberty Tree Got Its Name: 10 Sept 1765
By J.L. Bell, 11 Sept 2015 in Boston 1775, a blog
Late on Tuesday, 10 Sept 1765, a ship reached Boston from London carrying three items of great political significance:

  • George Meserve, the young gentleman appointed to collect the stamp tax in New Hampshire.
  • One box of stamped papers for him to distribute there.
  • News that the Grenville ministry had been replaced by a new government which included William Pitt, the Marquess of Rockingham, and other Whigs who had opposed the Stamp Act.

There was great rejoicing.
In fact, there was so much rejoicing that Meserve realized he’d made a terrible mistake in accepting the job of stamp agent. Before venturing off the ship, “he sent a Letter to a Friend to be communicated to the Public, signifying that as such an Office would be disagreeable to the People in general he should resign it.” And there was even more rejoicing. Read more…

Ten Crucial Days, Five Crucial Factors
by David Price 12 Sept 2023 Journal of the American Revolution
The “Ten Crucial Days” winter campaign of 1776-1777 reversed the tide of war just when Washington’s army appeared near collapse. Beginning with the Christmas night crossing of the Delaware River, Washington recorded his first three significant victories over the British and their Hessian auxiliaries under the overall command of Maj. Gen. William Howe and the field command of Lt. Gen. Charles, Earl Cornwallis: on December 26 at the First Battle of Trenton, January 2 at the Battle of Assunpink Creek (or Second Battle of Trenton), and January 3 at the Battle of Princeton. Five overlapping factors loom large when considering these events and offer absorbing analytical value: leadership, geography, weather, artillery, and contingency. Read more…

Colonial newspapers contributed to the perpetuation of slavery. 13 Sept 1773
Advertised 250 years ago today: “RAN away … a Mulatto Man Slave, named Syl, alias Sylvanus … He has been traveling with a white Man, who may help him.” (Massachusetts Gazette & Boston Post-Boy 9/13/1773)

Advertised 250 years ago today: “To be Sold very reasonably … A likely Negro Woman … and a Negro Girl … the latter speaks French and English with great Propriety.” (Boston-Gazette 9/13/1773)

Book: Prisoners of Congress: Philadelphia’s Quakers in Exile, 1777–1778
Author: Norman E. Donoghue II. )Penn State University Press 2023)
Review by by Kim Burdick 11 Sept. 2023 Jopurnal of the American Revolution
This carefully researched book supplements much of what has been previously known about Quaker history. The Quaker faith proclaims, “take no part in carrying on war on any occasion or under any power but lead quiet and peaceable lives in Godliness and Honesty among men.” Most Quakers did not participate in the Revolution nor donate supplies for American soldiers. They did not acknowledge the legitimacy of Pennsylvania’s emerging government but called it “the present powers.” The circulation of fake news known as the “Spanktown Papers,” and businessmen refusing to use America’s newly minted Continental currency, caused Quakers to be seen as traitors.
On September 11, 1777, seventeen Quakers were exiled by the Second Continental Congress and the State of Pennsylvania. None of them had been convicted of a crime. Sent to Winchester, Virginia, the men found “much enmity amongst the people.” “Some stones were thrown at us . . . the face of everything much changed.” “Our friends . . . were violently pulled away, struck and stoned.” At one stop, a man pointed a gun and hurled invectives at the exiles. Read more…

Medicine on the Move: Early Modern Travel and Remedies
by Dr Alun Withey 8 September 2023
As my new project on the history of travel, health risk and preparation begins to get underway, one of the things that I am thinking about is the place of travel within early modern medical remedy culture. What kinds of conditions could befall travellers? What did early modern people think that the processes of travel, and different kinds of transport, could do to their bodies, and what types of remedies were available to deal with them. Research is still at a very early stage, but there are already some interesting hints that remedies were available to treat a variety of travel-related conditions.
Before the broadening of travel in the 18th century, many journeys were relatively short, and local. As a great deal of work has shown in recent years, the early modern population was surprisingly mobile. People travelled from parish to parish, and from rural to urban areas as they visited market towns to buy and sell goods. Perhaps the majority of journeys were taken on foot, on horseback or on a cart or, for those with means, in small carriages. By the later eighteenth century, post carriages were also available to private passengers.
But travel of any kind was a risky business. Roads were proverbially poor, often deeply rutted in summer and reduced to a quagmire in winter, making journeys by foot, or by cart or carriage, uncomfortable at best. Falls from horses were common, leading to injury or death, and even a long time in the saddle could be painful. Travel by sea, even over relatively short distances, was fraught with danger… Read more…

Advertised on 13 September 1773: “I leave the World to judge of my unhappy State..”
What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?
“After reading the above I leave the World to judge of my unhappy State.”
Most newspaper advertisements concerning runaway wives went unanswered, at least in the public prints. Friends, neighbors, and acquaintances almost certainly discussed the circumstances of the marital discord that prompted wives to depart from the households of their husbands, sharing what they knew or heard from others and checking for new developments when they engaged in the rituals of gossip. On occasion, however, some of those wives published their own advertisements in response. Such was the case with Judith Walker.
Her husband, Simeon, inserted an advertisement in the March 29, 1773, edition of the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy. It ran for three weeks. Simeon did not provide much detail, instead resorting to formulaic language that readers would have associated with any notice from the genre. “WHEREAS Judith, my Wife,” Simeon announced, “has Eloped from me, and refuses to Bed and Board with me:— I now forbid all Persons trusting her on my Account, as I will not pay any Debt of her contracting after this Date.” Curiously, Simeon dated the advertisement January 18, though it did not run until ten weeks later.
Judith’s response was anything but formulaic. Read more… based on an ad in the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy (September 13, 1773).

Loyalists and descendants who participated in the War of 1812: Aaron Doan UEL
During the American War of Independence Aaron Doan (1756-1844) was one of the Doan Gang, a band of five brothers and one cousin who supported the King, not as soldiers, but as spies, scouts, and guides, who liberated prisoners of war, robbed wealthy Patriots, and sold stolen horses to the British. At the war’s end Aaron Doan was wanted for crimes of “outlawry”, imprisoned, tried, and condemned to death. His sentence was eventually commuted to exile. He came to Upper Canada and settled in Humberstone Township (now the city of Port Colborne) circa 1788. He was awarded a Crown Grant of 400 acres.
When the War of 1812 broke out Aaron Doan served his King in a more noble way than he had in the 1780s. Although he was 56 years old, he served in the 2nd Lincoln Militia Artillery under Captain James Kirby from 25 September-24 October 1812 as a private/gunner for 30 days for which he was paid 1 ½ pounds, 3 shillings, 1 ½ pence. Read more… Submitted by Janet Hodgkins, UE
Read about other Loyalists and the sons and daughters of Loyalists who participated in the War of 1812.

Submissions are still welcome. Send up to 500 words describing the Loyalist’s experience or participation in the war, and where settled before and afterward, to loyalist.trails@uelac.org. Please reference both the Loyalist experience, perhaps to a lesser degree, along with the 1812 history.

Query: Cephrenus (Sephrenus, Suffrenus) Casselman Families in Loyalist Directory
The Casselman entries in the Loyalist Directory illustrate the challenges we face in correcting the data and presenting it as meaningfully and correctly as possible.

  • Go to https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/
  • In the body change it to show 25 entries
  • beneath the list of now 25 names, enter Casselman in the surname field
  • it should show 14 entries as of 17 Sep[t 2023, but that will reduce as we reduce the redundancies
  • at time of writing that shows 5 records with some variation of given names: Cephrenus, Sephrenus, Suffrenus

Can you help sort the various Casselman entries. I suspect that there should be two entries for Suffrenus, a Sr and a Jr. There may well be a third as well who was expunged.
Ideally would like to have basic details on each (and any of the other Casselman entries) including spouse(s), children, BDM dates etc. Items that would differentiate and describe more completely each entry.
If you can help, please reach our to me: Doug Grant Loyalist.Trails@uelac.org – thanks in advance

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

  • Lorraine Sherren, Kingston Branch, provided some details about two members of the Casselma family:
    • Thomas Casselman, son of Warner Casselma UEL, born 15 Oct 1767 in the Mohawk Valley (near Johnstown), died 23 Oct 1848; buried at Williamsburg, Ontario where he had settled in 1784. He married twice; both wives Elizabeth Loucks and Maria Catharina Haines bore children with him. Thomas Jr. born in 1800 married Maria Casselman, granddaughter of Cephrenus Casselman Sr, UEL.
    • Warner Casselma UEL 1738 – 1837 also of Williamsburg married Eleonora Catharina CHRYSLER (1743-1823)
  • Kevin Wisener, President, Abegweit Branch, has contributed information about:
    • Capt. Archibald Sellers born about 1752 was settled in Bladen County, North Carolina before the war. He was Captain of the Archibald Sellers Company of North Carolina Loyalists. After the war, he received a town lot in Shekburne NS, then a 200 acre Loyalist land grant in Port Roseway River W., Shelburne County which he did not take up, and then a 300 acre land grant on the Pinette River, Lot 58, Queens County, Prince Edward Island.
    • Private Bowen Watts from Lower Alloways Creek Township, Salem County, New Jersey served with the New Jersey Revolutionary Militias and then the Kings Rangers, 1st Battalion. He was allotted 100 acres in Lot 47, Kings County, Prince Edward Island, but he indicated that he did not intend to settle on PEI.

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

Where in the World is this home?

“The Littlest Loyalist House” … Where – and what – is this curious structure, bearing a familiar flag??

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.

Upcoming Events

Kawartha Branch “The Elizabeth Beard Story” 17 Sept@2:00 pm ET

“Valiant Amazing: The Elizabeth Beard Story” by Andrew MacLean
Elizabeth Beard was a young Loyalist woman from Philadelphia who ultimately fought alongside her soldier husband during the Revolution. She was with him on a ship which was attacked, and she manned the cannon, tearing off parts of her dress to use as wadding.
After that she went on land and was part of a partisan attack on a small group of Rebels. Later, she popped up again, in what is now Florida, in a besieged fort, again manning a cannon. After that she became a prisoner, and was ultimately part of a swap at the end of the war.
She then sailed aboard the Martha from New York City to Nova Scotia. The Martha became separated from the refugee fleet in heavy fog and crashed on a rock. She, while heavily pregnant with triplets(!), was aboard a raft with sixty-some survivors and was rescued by fishermen, giving birth on the beach.
Her sons later fought in the War of 1812.
In person, at Activity Haven, Peterborough, ON – email Bob McBride for details uelbob@nexicom.net
Via zoom, Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 852 5540 8930, Passcode: 721187

Abegweit PEI Branch “Governor Fanning” Tues. 19 Sept @6:30 AT

Abegweit PEI Branch will hold a hybrid/in-person meeting on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, 6:30 pm to 8 pm, AST. The location (local members) will be the Charlottetown PEI Library’s Rotary Club Auditorium, 97 Queen Street, Charlottetown, PEI.
We are pleased to have Reverend-Dr. Becket Soule join us as Guest Speaker. His topic will be “Governor Fanning: Before, During and After the Revolution”.
Those wishing to join via Zoom can contact Jayne Leake at membership.pei.uelac@gmail.com

Kingston & District Branch: Heritage Cemetery at Cataraqui. Sat 23 Sept @1:00 ET

In-person and on Zoom
Kingston & District Branch UELAC will meet on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 1:00 pm at St. Paul’s Church Hall, 137 Queen Street, Kingston (doors open 12:30) and on Zoom. Richard Parry will discuss “The History of the Heritage Cemetery at Cataraqui and Its Associated Places of Worship” and tell us about the UE Loyalists buried there, some of the earliest in Kingston. All are welcome. You can get the Zoom link at www.uelac.org/Kingston-Branch. submitted by Nancy Cutway UE

Sir William Johnson and the Wars for Empire Conference

October 20-22, 2023 in Johnstown, NY
Sir William Johnson was a larger than life character who dominated the Mohawk Valley and beyond during the 18th century in warfare, politics, trade and diplomacy.
This conference will address aspects of Johnson’s historical impact as well as the larger scope of the great wars for empire. This new Fort Plain Museum conference will offer a look at the colonial era when major personalities, like Sir William, dealt with overlapping cultures and the impact of war on society. Bus Tour on Friday, lectures on Saturday and Sunday. See details, registration, accommodation etc

From the Twittersphere and Beyond

  • John Letteney was one of longest living UE Loyalists. 1871 census of Canada shows him listed at Digby, NS, aged 90, occupation farmer, and religion Presbyterian. According to Dominion Annual Register he “died at the age of 97, having come here with his parents in 1783.”
  • The United States Consulate General Halifax is turning 190 this week. We’re the first U.S. diplomatic presence and the first foreign consulate established in Canada. Follow along to learn more about our history over the decades. (Click on each of the 12 images to read the notes) – Brian McConnell UE reposted
  • Townsends – or Food

  • This week in History
    • Sept 9, 1773, a London Chronicle advertisement stated that Phillis Wheatley’s “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral” was available for the first time. The printer also sent copies to the author in America, on a ship called the “Dartmouth.”
    • Sept 10, 1773, Levi Ames and Joseph Atwood were found guilty of burglary in Boston. Atwood was sentenced “to be whiped 20 stripes, pay treble Damages, and Costs of Prosecution.” Ames, with a longer criminal record, was sentenced to hang.
    • 15 Sep 1775. William Legge, Earl of Dartmouth, ordered 10,000 stands of arms, ammunition, and 6 cannons be sent to the Royal Gov of NC, Josiah Martin. These were intended to supply the loyalists in NC.
    • 9 Sep 1776, “these United Colonies” officially changed their name by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress, affirming that “the Stile be altered for the future to the United States.” The phrase “United States of America” is first documented in a letter that Stephen Moylan, an Irish-born aide to Gen. George Washington, wrote from what’s now Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site in Cambridge on January 2, 1776.
    • 11 Sep 1776, Dr. Benjamin Franklin, John Adams & Edward Rutledge met Admiral Howe in Tottenville, Staten Island, for a last-ditch peace effort before more blood was shed. As American independence was outright refused, the meeting was cordial but fruitless.
    • 12 Sep 1776 Nathan Hale is ferried across the LI Sound to Huntington, NY, on British-controlled LI. Disguised himself as a schoolteacher looking for work, but did not travel under an assumed name & reportedly carried his Yale diploma bearing his real name
    • 11 Sep 1777 Chadds Ford, PA Gen Wm Howe & Gen Chas Cornwallis attack forces under Gen George Washington at Brandywine Creek. A turning movement upstream forced the Americans from the field with over 1K casualties & left 11 guns
    • 13 Sep 1777 Gen John Burgoyne changes his line of advance north of Albany, NY, builds a pontoon bridge at Fort Miller, and sets up his base at a place called Saratoga where he awaits support from the west and south.
    • 14 Sep 1777 After successful forays against British shipping, American Capt. Lambert Wickes sails for America from France upon the ship Reprisal. But Reprisal foundered off the banks of Newfoundland in Oct with all but the cook drowning.
    • 15 Sep 1777 Saratoga, NY Gen Burgoyne slowly moves his army south – within miles of the American forces arrayed at Bemis Heights. The British advance was hampered by Americans felling trees, creating abatis & other barriers.
    • 13 Sep 1779 Geneseo, NY Capt Walter Butler’s force of Indians & Loyalists ambush a militia detachment under Lt Thomas Boyd, killing 22 & torturing 2 prisoners to death. The village is later burned.
    • 14 Sep 1781 Williamsburg, VA. Gen Washington and Gen Rochambeau join forces & prepare for the march to Yorktown. They were soon joined by an enthusiastic Marquis de Lafayette’s division.
  • Clothing and Related:
    • Complete garments
  • Miscellaneous
    • 18thc treatment for a sore throat. Ashes of burnt swallows and the oil of boiled frogs anyone?
    • On International Literacy Day [8 Sept] we recognize literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights. In the 18th century, free & enslaved African Americans used literacy to empower themselves & their communities, with some leveraging their skills to liberate themselves or family members. Today literacy remains a foundation for empowering people to better their circumstances while building a more sustainable future.

Last Post: DUNCAN, Dorothy Ellen Georgina. 14-Jan-1927 – 29-Aug-2023
Dorothy died in her 97th year. She was predeceased by her husband Gordon Duncan and daughter Barbara Truax (Charles).
Dorothy started her career as a teacher in one-room schoolhouses in the Oshawa area. She then worked for the Markham Economist and Sun newspaper. When the family moved to Toronto, she got a job as a tour guide at Black Creek Pioneer Village, which very quickly lead to a lifelong interest in early Ontario history. She enjoyed researching pioneer life, food traditions, home furnishings, celebrations and other activities of daily survival. She taught others about early Ontario life through her work at Black Creek Pioneer Village as guide and then Curator. She then became Curator of the Peel Museum and Art Gallery. As a Museum Advisor for the province of Ontario she worked with many towns, villages and First Nations communities to research, display and educate others about their own unique history. She developed a special interest in Canada’s culinary history during this time. She travelled in Canada, the US and to Oxford University lecturing on Canadian food traditions.
She was Executive Director of The Ontario Historical Society for 25 years before her retirement. She continued with her passion after retiring by writing 5 books on Canada’s food traditions and celebrations, one of which became a Canadian bestseller.
In recognition of her achievements she received many awards including an Honorary Doctor of Laws from University of Waterloo in 1996, The Order of Ontario in 2003 and the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.
In her family time she enjoyed big family pot lucks in the backyard with Gordon at the barbecue. She enjoyed attending Rolling Stones concerts with her daughters Carol Agnew and Barbara Truax. She also loved spending time with and spoiling her beloved grandsons, Colin Agnew (Emily Gibson), Adam Truax (Emily) and Glenn Truax. She was amazed and delighted to live long enough to become a Great Grandmother to Duncan and Charlie Gibson and Blakely and Lennon Truax.
Dorothy will be buried during a private family ceremony. A celebration of her accomplishments will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, Dorothy would appreciate donations in her memory to The Ontario Historical Society. Photo, obit, Guest book etc.

Editor’s Note: Dorothy was a great friend to Historical Groups, like UELAC branches in Ontario. I know that Gov. Simcoe Branch, for example, incorporated in Ontario under the umbrella of OHS – I suspect that a number of other Ontario-based branches did as well.
As an historian and author, Dorothy was also a good and 8interestingt speaker. She presented to a number of Gov. Simcoe Branch meetings.
She was highly regarded by UELAC, and at the 2004 UELAC AGM was elected as a UELAC Honorary Vice-President, Dorothy Duncan.

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