In this issue:

 


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“The Story Continues…” at the UELAC 2024 Conference
June 4-9, 2024 at Cornwall, Ontario
The conference has three main groupings of events:

  • Pre-Conference day-tours: Tues June 4 to Thurs June 6
  • UELAC Conference: Evening Thurs June 6 through Sunday June 9
  • 240th Anniversary of New Johnstown & The Royal Townships: Fri June 7 through Sunday June 9
    • UELAC has scheduled Sat daytime for conference attendees to visit and learn.

And so “The [Loyalist] Story Continues….”

  • visit the Cornwall history in person;
  • meet up with old Loyalist friends, and make new ones;
  • learn more about New Johnstown (now Cornwall) and surrounding settlement areas in then western Quebec Province (becoming in 1791 part of eastern Upper Canada and today part of eastern Ontario);
  • stand on the ground where our Loyalists of this area drew their lots;
  • visit the encampment and live the reenactment taking place at Lamoureux Park;
  • visit Pioneer museums in the area and tour the Woodhouse & Lost Villages;
  • see the museum where the UELAC Dominion Office and UELAC Archives are now located.

For more details

  • Introduction
  • Itinerary/agenda
  • Registration
  • Tours
  • Hotel

and registration, see “The Story Continues…”

All UELAC Members: The Annual General Meeting on Sat. 11 May – Register today
At 11:30 AM EDT, this meeting is a fundamental event for our association.
The purpose of the Meeting is:

  • To consider the financial statements and reports of the UELAC
  • To elect directors
  • To receive the report of the auditor and appoint an auditor
  • To transact such other business as may properly be brought before the Meeting or as required by legislation

The meeting is virtual. Registration in advance is required. Log in at https://uelac.ca/ and see the details for the meeting and registration at https://uelac.ca/members/ Do join us, register today.

Piecing Together a Passenger List: The Commerce. Part Two of Three
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
Given the paucity of passenger lists for more than 100 evacuation vessels that took Loyalist refugees to sanctuary in various parts of the British Empire, a historian has to draw on other primary documents to reconstitute the lost manifests. In the case of the Commerce that brought Loyalists to what is now Saint John, New Brunswick, an examination of victualing returns provides some vital data.
Fort Howe was the British garrison that guarded the mouth of the St. John River. Its soldiers would have been witness to the arrival of the various Loyalist evacuation fleets; the fort’s commissary, William Tyng, was put in charge of disbursing the “royal bounty” of provisions that would sustain the refugees during their first year of settlement.
In his “return” or “muster”, Tyng listed the name of the head of the household, the composition of his family, his colony of origin, and the ship that brought the Loyalist to the ever-growing refugee settlement. Genealogists and historians are immensely indebted to the painstaking work of Dr. David Bell who discovered, transcribed, and alphabetized Fort Howe’s victualing returns. It is his groundbreaking research that provides the basis for reconstructing the passenger list for the Commerce.
By referring to Bell’s transcription, 29 of the Commerce’s adult Loyalist passengers can be identified by name. When the 9 enslaved and free Blacks whose names are found in the Book of Negroes are added, the Commerce carried a minimum of 38 identifiable passengers on its northward journey in July of 1783. Any hope of discovering the names of spouses, children and white servants of these 38 will rest on what can be found in newspapers, correspondence, and probate records of the era.
Following the alphabetical order of Bell’s transcripts, we come upon the name of a man who was also referenced in the Book of Negroes as a slave owner – the Rev. John Beardsley. He is described as a “clerk” from New York’s Dutchess County. He arrived in Saint John with a wife, 3 older children and five “servants”.
Lorenzo Sabine, the first biographer of Loyalists, notes “In 1778, he was appointed chaplain in the Loyal American Regiment … At the peace, Mr. Beardsley accompanied his regiment to New Brunswick. After many deprivations and sufferings, he was settled over the parish in Maugerville, on the river St. John, and remained there more than seventeen years. His pastoral relations were dissolved in consequence of his infirmities. He retired to Kingston in that Province, on the half-pay of a chaplain.” The actual number of Beardsley’s children is uncertain, but one son, Bartholomew Crannel Beardsley, moved to what is now Ontario and became the Chief Judge of the Court of Common Pleas.
Sabine failed to mention that Beardsley paddled a canoe up and down the St. John River to perform christenings, marriages, funerals, and worship services in his early years in New Brunswick. Before he left the United States, he was among 18 scholars and ministers who met to create a “Plan of [a] Religious and Literary Institution for the Province of Nova Scotia”. This dream resulted in the founding of what is now the University of King’s College. Beardsley also became the master of the first masonic lodge in New Brunswick. But despite all of these accomplishments, one can only wonder at the negative impact Beardsley’s possession of Africans had on his Anglican congregations.
It was not the minister’s only scandalous behavior. Beardsley’s wife returned to the United States, and after failing to hear from her for a number of years, he assumed she had died. He married a Mrs. Quain in the fall of 1798. (Imagine the horror felt by his bishop and congregation when it was later discovered that his first wife was still alive!) The Loyalist clergyman died in Kingston, New Brunswick on August 23, 1809 at the age of 77.
The next Commerce passenger (when arranged alphabetically) was Paul Beardsley, a bachelor farmer from New Jersey. Samuel Bound was a New Jersey blacksmith who came to Saint John as a bachelor, but by May of 1784 had a wife and child (perhaps a widow and her orphan?). No other data has been found for these refugees.
Fort Howe’s victualing muster indicates that Abram Bulyea came to the colony with a wife and one child under ten years of age. His compensation claim and probate record reveal more about him. A farmer from New York’s Westchester County, Bulyea was just 27 when he and his wife Catherine arrived in Saint John. He had been a member of DeLancey’s Brigade for the last three years of the revolution. When he applied for compensation from the British government in February of 1787, the commissioners said his claim was a fraudulent one. Like many other Loyalists, he settled on the shores of Washademoak Lake in Kings County.
Henry/Hendrick Bulyea was also a farmer from New York, but had lived in Dutchess County before the outbreak of the war. He and his wife Engeltie sailed on the Commerce with 4 dependent children 10 years of age and older and one child under 10. His 1802 will reveals that he had sons named John, Joseph, Abraham, James, Robert and Henry, and a daughter Deborah. (John, the oldest son, changed the spelling of the family name to “Belyea”.)
Because “he was reckoned a Tory” when five of his sons joined the British army during the war, the rebel militia confiscated Henry’s livestock. Near the end of the war, the family had to seek sanctuary within the British lines. Their final home in New Brunswick was in Greenwich Hill along the St. John River.
James, the son of Henry, was also a Commerce passenger along with his wife. His 1787 compensation claim noted, “He never joined the rebels. He was subject to fits & was not called upon to do duty with them. He came within the British Lines in 1780. He lived with his Father & Mother, old people, until that time.” When James joined the British, he brought a horse and mare with him, but one was later “taken by the rebels”. His brother Robert testified that James “was stript & ill used by the rebels after the Peace.”
Six more Commerce passengers are listed by name on the victualing muster, but little is revealed beyond their colony of origin, occupation, and family composition. Elijah Card, a New York shipwright, came with his wife who had a child by 1784. The next Loyalists all hailed from New York’s Westchester County. John Cary and David Cudney were bachelor farmers. Isaiah Cudney of the same profession sailed on the Commerce with his wife two children under ten. Within a year, only one of their children was still alive. Farmer John Davi(e)s and his wife suffered the loss of their only child by 1784. All that is known of Gabriel Dickinson is that he was a bachelor carpenter.
The stories of more of the Commerce’s Loyalist passengers will be told in next week’s Loyalist Trails.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

Video: Threads of Black Emancipation in an Eighteenth-Century Dress by Cynthia Cooper
In the Loyalist Trails issue 2024-09 distributed on 3 March, an item from CBC “Janet Ewing’s ball gown” opened with From Colonial America to a closet in the Laurentians, the travels of a 250-year-old dress shed light on the history of slavery in Canada.
Mark Gallop has noted a video recording “Threads of Black Emancipation in an Eighteenth-Century Dress” of a presentation on 22 March 2024 by Cynthia Cooper, Head, Collections and Research; Curator, Dress, Fashion and Textiles at the McCord Stewart Museum in Montreal.
In the McCord Stewart Discoveries, the Museum’s experts present the research projects they’ve been working on and share their recent discoveries related to the Museum’s collections and archives. The event is geared towards an academic audience as well as anyone interested in history and archives, museum studies, or material culture.
The subject is “A photograph of a young woman wearing her ancestor’s dress for a 1927 costume ball led to the unlikely discovery of the garment in a Laurentians cottage in 2022. Research has traced the garment from its origins in colonial Virginia in the 1760s, through the upheaval of the American Revolution, to Quebec City in 1789, embedding it in the first wave of Black emancipation.”
Mark notes that there is lots of Loyalist Content.
Watch “Threads of Black Emancipation in an Eighteenth-Century Dress” (The recording is in English and French and is 53 minutes).

Loyalist Flag: Happy 418th Birthday
In 1603, King James VI of Scotland became James I of England and brought about the union of the Crowns of the two countries. On April 12, 1606, he issued a proclamation which introduced the first of three major versions of the Union Flag. It was composed of the “Red Crosse, commonly called S. Georges Crosse, and the White Crosse commonly called S. Angrewes Crosse, joyned together.”
The width of the Cross of St George and that of the Cross of St Andrew are the same, as they represent the equal status of England and Scotland in the Union.
On April 17, 1707, Queen Anne issued a proclamation which spoke of the use of the Union Flag “at Sea and Land.” The Queen Anne version is almost identical to the flag of James I, but not exactly. The width of the fimbriation was changed slightly.
From this time on, the Union Flag began to appear on forts and in regimental colours. This was the flag in use at the time of the Revolution, and can correctly be referred to as the Loyalist Flag. In fact, the description of the UELAC Armorial Bearings definitively describes it as our flag. Read more…
Thanks to Brian McConnell UE for noting

Two More Memorials to Loyalists, by Ray Blakeney UE
Thanks to Ray Blakeney UE, two memorials have been added to the compilation of Loyalist Monuments, Memorials, Plaques and Commemoratives.

Chambers Blakely Stained Glass Window – Ship Harbour, NS
The stained glass window is in St. Stephens Anglican Church in Ship Harbour, Nova Scotia. The plaque reads “St Stephen The Martyr. Dedicated to the Memory of Chambers Blakely, a native of Ireland who endured the Hardships of The American Revolution and came as a Loyalist From South Carolina to this harbour May 1783. The Blakeney/Blakley Family Association July 27, 1989”. Read more with image…

David Bleakney Memorial Cairn – Petiticodiac, NB
The Loyalist Burial Ground was established shortly after the landing of the United Empire Loyalists in 1783. After its closure as a cemetery in 1848 the site became a memorial garden, with tree-lined walkways and flower beds. Read more with image…

Congress and the Commodore: Esek Hopkins and the Raid on Nassau
by Eric Sterner 9 April 2024 Journal of the American Revolution
On April 7, 1776 American ships began dropping anchors off New London, Connecticut. Esek Hopkins, commander in chief of the new Continental navy, was returning from a successful raid on the town of New Providence on Nassau island in the Bahamas. While there, the Americans had seized eighty-eight desperately needed cannon and fifteen mortars, thousands of roundshot, other artillery implements and some gunpowder, though much of the last item had been spirited away by the island’s inhabitants. It should have been the highlight of Hopkins’ Revolutionary War career. Instead, the raid proved controversial and marked the beginning of his downfall. At issue was the nature of the orders Congress had given Hopkins before the raid, his execution of them, and his interpretation of his own authority.
On January 5, 1776 the Naval Committee of the Continental Congress ordered Hopkins to take the Continental navy to the Chesapeake Bay, where Virginia’s governor had gathered a motley collection of small craft and Royal Navy vessels. Unless outmatched by the enemy there, Hopkins, who had the title commodore as the senior captain, was to enter the bay and sweep it of hostile vessels. Next, he was to perform the same mission on the Carolina coasts. After that, the American flotilla was to proceed to Rhode Island and “attack, take and destroy all the Enemies Naval force that you may find there.” Read more…

The Two “Empires of Liberty:” The Fascinating Story of an American Phrase
by Raphael Corletta 11 April 2024 Journal of the American Revolution
The description of the United States as an “Empire of Liberty” is one of the most often repeated phrases of the American founding. Long associated with Thomas Jefferson, the phrase has been used by statesmen and authors alike. But what does “Empire of Liberty” mean? What were Jefferson’s intentions with the phrase and what are its origins?
Thomas Jefferson first described the United States as an “Empire of Liberty” in a letter to the American officer George Rogers Clark, written on Christmas Day of 1780. Clark had been recently involved in a bloody defense against the British and their Native American allies. Throughout the first half of 1780, a combined force of British soldiers and First Nations warriors had launched an offensive against Spanish, American, and French settlements across the West, with their amies raiding as far as Pittsburgh. Clark saw action at Cahokia, which he managed to save from capture with a force of Kentucky militiamen. To prevent another offensive, Jefferson urged Clark to capture Detroit, the focal point of Native-American resistance. Capturing Detroit would, in Jeffersons’s words: “add to the Empire of liberty an extensive and fertile Country”
While Jefferson’s phrasing seems innocuous enough, the term “Empire of Liberty” had genocidal connotations. In order to create this empire, the indigenous population needed to be wiped out or removed….
….While Jefferson may have borrowed “Empire of Liberty” from Esther Reed, Reed’s intent with the phrase differed greatly from Jefferson’s. Jefferson’s words inspired the expansion of an early American empire, while Reed’s words inspired a surge of female activity on behalf of the American cause. Reed extolled her fellow patriots to give up luxuries such as their fine clothing to give the money saved to the American cause….
…“Empire of Liberty” meant vastly different things to the two most avid users of the phrase. In the eyes of Thomas Jefferson, it referred to a burgeoning American republic, populated by yeoman farmers, an empire which required the removal or extermination of the Indigenous population in order to grow. But to Esther Reed, this empire was something completely different. Reed’s “Empire of Liberty” did not refer to an expansion of American territory, but rather an expansion of women’s role in the American Revolution. Whether Thomas Jefferson borrowed the phrase from Reed or not, the two patriot’s definitions of what the “Empire of Liberty” meant reveal the duality of the American Revolution itself, a time of profound change which allowed for the expansion of some people’s rights but the curtailing of others. Read more…

BOOK REVIEW: The War of American Independence, 1763-1783: Falling Dominoes
by Stanley D. M. Carpenter, Kevin J. Delamer, James R. McIntyre and Andrew T. Zwilling (New York, NY: Routledge, 2023)
Review by Timothy Symington 8 April 2024 Journal of the American Revolution
is the latest addition to Routledge’s War and History series, and it is being marketed primarily as a textbook on the history of the Revolution. The purpose is succinct right from the get-go: “provide a concise, highly readable study of the War of American Independence that students of history from high school through post-graduate education will find useful and instructive.” (page, xii) The group of authors who have contributed to this study have indeed provided a book that is easy to follow and presents the world-changing events that occurred over a twenty-year span in a clear narrative. The use of the term “Falling Dominoes” in the title makes it evident throughout the book that the events in North America were not isolated to that continent. The war affected many people and situations in other parts of the planet. The best way to explain the use of falling dominoes analogy can be taken from the book’s segment on Pontiac’s War:

Pontiac’s War is often portrayed as the watershed event that created concern about the cost of maintaining an army in the colonies. As the narrative goes, that expense precipitated the parliamentary decision to levy taxes, which in turn sparked the rebellion. Like a series of dominoes falling one after another, each event was a link in a chain of events. Rather than a singular path, a network of interconnected incidents influenced the growing dissension in the colonies.

This description can be applied to practically all the major events of the Revolutionary War – the line leading to consequences was not straight or simple. Many factors were involved every step of the way. Read more…

Maryland Currency 1774
April 10, 1774, the colony of Maryland issued new currency, printed by Anne Catherine Green and her son Frederick. To hinder counterfeiting, one side of each denomination was printed with a leaf pattern and the paper cntained mica flakes. Each bill had two signers and had what were termed “secret marks” to deter and detect counterfeits. Although such marks appeared on several colonial issues they were always exactly copied by counterfeiters. Denominations printed were: $1/9, $1/6, $2/9, $1/3, $1/2, $2/3, $1, $2, $4, $6 and $8. Read more, see images…

Hessian Soldiers Travelling to America: A Question
From a Hessian Diary of the American Revolution.
This excerpt from the diary of Johan Conrad Dohla (170 pages).

After last week’s issue of Loyalist Trails, a reader noted

His entry for August 13 beginning “the news arrived” is a perfect example of the fog of war, for the part that begins “to chastise them” was almost 100% incorrect.

Yes, I too had seen the same issues. But it did put me to wondering.

There is a footnote to that date (although brief – footnotes were added by the translator.)

Do€hla seems to have combined several scattered occurrences into a single incident. The most significant details were that the British Indian allies, under the leadership of Joseph Brant, John Butler, and John Johnson, made raids into New York state that eventually resulted in Washington sending General John Sullivan and a large force against the Indians. Some Indian villages and many crops were destroyed, and many Indians were killed.

As way of background, a general note to the document on page 4 includes:

In 1913, 130 years later, Do€hla’s diary, edited by General W. Baron von Waldenfels, formerly of the Bavarian army, was published as “Tagebuch eines Bayreuth Soldaten des Johann Conrad Döhla aus dem Nordamerikanischen Freiheitskrieg von 1777 bis 1783” in Bayreuth, Germany. The present translation is based on the Waldenfels edition.

The translator working from the 2013 edited diary, was BRUCE E. BURGOYNE, Dover, Delaware

The translator naturally had to proceed on the basis that the 1913 German document with which he was presented was indeed an accurate copy of an actual diary. But the entry for August 13, which would presumably have recorded events from that day until August 19 (the next date in the diary), described news having arrived as to a battle at Newton. But the only battle at Newton did not occur until August 29 or 30 and it is inconceivable that news about it, accurate or inaccurate, arrived before that date. General von Waldenfels’ editing seems to have been rather strange.

I have noticed in the items that I have selected to include in Loyalist Trails that some seem to be a summary of events which happened over a period of time, and that they appear on a the date when first recorded, as if he had a page for each date and would later come back and add new ddetails that related to that incident.

But what were his sources of information?
Remember that this diarist is a regular soldier, in the middle of a war, in a foreign country where the common language is English, not his mother tongue.
At the same time, where would one soldier in a camp of some hundreds get his news. I would wonder that if any of them ever came across a newspaper of the time, it would have been in English. How many Hessians would have been able to read it.
The only other source of information would be word of mouth and we all know how stories – and numbers – change as information is passed along.
The intent of including some information from this diary is to show a common soldier’s experience in the war, all the while knowing that there are historical inaccuracies. For precise historical details we can go to a lot better sources.
Dis/Misinformation seems to run rampant. Maybe it was always thus.
I’ve been wondering how news travelled. And I have to think that whoever is relating the results of the campaign might have some ulterior motive to increasing – or decreasing – the count.
If Sullivan’s objective was to cauzse grief to the first nations people, then in reporting numbers he might tend to exaggerate a bit.
First Nations people might under-report if they were trying to show that they mostly got away, or over-report if they trying to increase blame, or different numbers depending on the audience.
Is it any different today in Ukraine, or Gaza, or any of the other world hot-spots. …
…doug
(to be continued)

Advertised on 12 April 1774: “A New Supply of TEA, Extraordinary Good.”
What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

“A New Supply of TEA, Extraordinary Good.”

William Beadle was at it again. A few months after the Boston Tea Party, he once again took to the pages of the Connecticut Courant, published in Hartford, to inform readers that he stocked “A New Supply of TEA, Extraordinary Good” at his shop in Wethersfield. That advertisement first ran on April 12, 1774, a month after the first time he promoted “Best Bohea TEA, Such as Fishes never drink!!” Readers could not miss the reference to the destruction of the tea in Boston Harbor, though they could have read Beadle’s comment in different ways. In Tea: Consumption, Politics, and Revolution, 1773-1776, James R. Fichter proposes that Beadle might have sold smuggled tea that had not been subject to import duties or he might have underscored that Connecticut did not have a tea boycott in place so consumers could make their own decisions about purchasing it. Read more..

18th century trade cards for London book sellers
By Sarah Murden 4 June 2022 All Things Georgian
For those readers who are familiar with All Things Georgian, you will more than likely know of my passion for trade cards and the tiny clues they offer about the lives their former owners. Today we’re going to take a look at just a few of the booker sellers of 18th century London.
We begin with the card above which belonged to Mr George Sael of at No 192, the Strand, London, showing a female figure, possibly Minerva, seated to the right inscribing the text on an oval. George was not only a bookseller, but also sold stationery and purchased libraries or collections of books.
Although it’s not possible to date the card accurately, we do know from his will, that George died June 1799, at just 38 years of age, said to have been due to overwork. Before ‘going it alone’, George had been in partnership with another bookseller, Edward Jeffery, but they had mutually ended their business partnership in October 1788, so this narrows the window to around a ten year span. It would seem likely that George produced or acquired new business cards after the division of the company, to tells his customers where he was now to be found. Read more…

A Study of Upholstery in 18th & 19th Century London
By Viveka Hansen 17 April 2016 in I K Foundation
Sir Ambrose Heal (1872-1959) had a historical interest foremost in 18th century trade cards. Thousands of cards in his former care are kept at the British Museum, among these the 103 cards linked to upholsterers. This selection of cards also include Heal’s factual notes, giving the time range for most businesses, and therefore an approximate year for the majority of these trade cards, bill-heads and receipts. His sources for dating the individual establishments were primarily poll books and directories of London. The hand-written receipts are additionally dated in connection to the order, purchase or delivery of the goods.
Even if upholstery of furniture was the link between all these traders a multitude of goods and services were included in such businesses. The branches for textiles could for example be: bedding, carpets, curtains, feather beds, mattresses and Venetian blinds. Read more…

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

  • to Lynton “Bill” Stewart who contributed information about Thomas Mullin from Leominster, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was a blacksmith. In 1777, he manufactured a set of false keys which he later used to free a handful of Loyalists from a gaol operated by the Continental Army. He resettled in St. John New Brunswick. He abandoned his wife Elizabeth when he went to New Brunswick. He then invited his wife, Elizabeth, to visit him in New Brunswick, even though he was living with Prudence Brown. Elizabeth sued him in Chancery Court, in New Brunswick. Eventually, Thomas Mullen was required to pay her damages.
  • to Kevin Wisener who contributed information about Bayne (Bean) Smallwood. A Bayne Smallwood resided in New York west of New York City during the war; however, it is quite likely that he was originally a member of the Virginia / Maryland Smallwood families where the name Bayne Smallwood was hereditarily common. He Received a town and pasture lot grant at Georgetown, Kings County, Prince Edward Island (Source #1) but Bayne did not settle there as he appears in 1791 in Country Harbour, Guysborough County, Nova Scotia.

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

Events Upcoming

American Revolution Institute: Revolutionary Blacks: The Frank Brothers Tues. 16 April 6:30

Author’s Talk— Revolutionary Blacks: Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence. Through the experiences of William and Benjamin Frank, who enlisted in the Second Rhode Island Regiment of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, Dr. Shirley Green, adjunct professor of history at the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University, focuses our attention on the Black experience during the American Revolution by underscoring the significant distinction between free Blacks in military service and those who had been enslaved, and how they responded in different ways to the harsh realities of racism. Details and registration…

Hamilton Branch: “Canadians in the American Civil War” Thurs 18 April at 7:30 ET

In person at St. Matthew on-the-Plain, 126 Plains Rd. E., Burlington and on Zoom.
Speaker will be Mike McDonnell a retired police officer from Waterford who has a life-long interest in history in general and a particular fascination with the American Civil War and World War Two.
The presentation, Fighting for the Cause: Canadians in the American Civil War provides an overview of the reasons why Canadians became involved in an American war. The experiences of several people are examined, illustrating various ways in which Canadians played a part. Some of these Canadians may be familiar to students of the war. Although others are obscure, the battles in which they participated are legendary.
To participate by Zoom, contact Pat Blackburn, uepat624@gmail.com for the Zoom link.

American Revolution Institute: “A map by Lafayette’s aide for King Louis XVI” Fri 19 Apr 12:30

A map created by Lafayette’s aide-de-camp for King Louis XVI
In 1777, French army officer Michel Capitaine du Chesnoy arrived In 1777, French army officer Michel Capitaine du Chesnoy arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, with the marquis de Lafayette. During the American Revolution, Capitaine du Chesnoy served with Lafayette as both his aide-de-camp and mapmaker, producing several important plans of key engagements. In addition to his maps serving as vital tools for French officers who were strangers to the geography of the United States, Capitaine du Chesnoy’s maps also became an important propaganda tool. Join the Institute’s historical programs manager, Andrew Outten, for a discussion of one of Capitaine du Chesnoy’s important maps, Carte du Théatre de la Guerre dans l’Amérique Septentrionale, pendant les Années 1775, 76, 77 et 78. Produced in 1779 for King Louis XVI. More details and registration.

NS Branch Meeting: The First Church – Old Holy Trinity by Brian McConnell Sat 20 April 2:00 AT

The NS Branch UELAC Spring Meeting has been scheduled for Saturday, April 20, 2024 beginning at 2 p.m. Atlantic Time.
A powerpoint presentation about “The First Church – Old Holy Trinity at Middleton, Nova Scotia” will be given by Brian at the start. It will include information from my recent book as well as other research and photos. This to be followed by a short Question and Answer period.
For further information about the book see: https://www.amazon.ca/First-Church-Trinity-Middleton-Scotia/dp/B0C6BK4WTW
The Branch business meeting will begin following the presentation, after a short break.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88230696818?pwd=IQy71lC6fQd4yHirkwqMDjvS3uyKas.1
Brian McConnell UE President, NS Branch, UELAC

Kingston and District Branch: “Early Loyalists of Ontario” Sat. 27 April 27 at 1:00 ET

Kingston and District Branch, United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada (UELAC) will meet on Saturday, April 27 at 1:00 p.m. at St. Paul’s Anglican Church Hall, 137 Queen Street (doors open at noon); or if you prefer on Zoom (open at 12:30 p.m.). Jo Ann Tuskin will speak on “Early Loyalists of Ontario”, including maps. Jo Ann is the longstanding Dominion Secretary of the UELAC, and active in genealogy. For the Zoom link for the meeting, visit the website www.uelac.org/Kingston-Branch. All welcome!

Drumhill DAR, Wilton CT “British March Through Redding” Sat 27 April 2024

Join us to commemorate the 1777 March of the Crown Forces through Redding, on a mission to dismantle the Continental Army Supply Depot in Danbury. This one-day educational Living History event will be presented by The Brigade of the American Revolution at Historic Onion Field, Redding, CT 06876.
See the graphic. https://www.wiltondar.org/
For details, schedule of activities and registration

The Revolutionary War Conference 250 in the Mohawk Valley – June 14-16, 2024

Johnstown, NY
Bus Tour – “1774: The Rising Tide” Friday 14 June. (only a few seats remaining)
In 1774, the politics of the Revolution had arrived in the Mohawk Valley with a vengeance. At the eastern end of the Mohawk another violent Liberty Pole riot was having a detrimental effect on the local citizens of Schenectady. Meanwhile further west along the Mohawk River, in Johnstown, events took a turn when Sir William Johnson passed away in July, thus starting a new chapter in political unrest.
Speakers include:

  • Nancy Bradeen Spannaus – Alexander Hamilton’s War for American Economic Independence
  • Mark Edward Lender – “Liberty or Death!” – Some Revolutionary Statistics and Existential Warfare

The Bus Tour will include several stops in both Schenectady and Johnstown, such as the Schenectady Stockade, Johnson Hall and more. Details and Registration.

From the Social Media and Beyond

  • Townsends
  • This week in History
    • 7 Apr 1766 Gen Guy Carleton appointed lieutenant governor-general of Canada. He would defeat rebels in Canada but fail to follow up on his victor. He’d later usher in the treaty provisions as the last British commander in chief of North America. Image
    • 9 Apr 1768 Customs officials tried to board two of John Hancock‘s ships without a warrant. Hancock refused to let them search & had one thrown off, starting a legal battle about search & seizure rights. This became an issue that would lead to War. Image
    • 12 Apr 1770 London Bombarded by complaints from merchants Parliament repeals the Townshend Duties & lets the Quartering Act expire but PM Lord North keeps the levy on tea. Image
    • 8 Apr 1775 Patriot leaders Samuel Adams & John Hancock left Boston as spies had warned of upcoming trouble. Concord received a visit from Paul Revere, who warned the British that they were planning action against the town to take the powder and weapons. Image
    • 6 Apr 1776 Block Island, RI British Capt Tryingham Howe, commanding the 20-gun frigate HMS Glasgow, damages sloop Cabot & USS Alfred under Commodore Esek Hopkins and eludes the rest of the American squadron, escaping to Newport, RI. Image
    • 12 Apr 1776 The Halifax Resolves are passed by the NC Provisional Congress, authorizing delegates to the Continental Congress to support independence. Image
    • 13 Apr 1776 NYC. Gen Washington arrives from Boston to assess & prepare the city’s defense. He recognizes the strategic value of the city’s location & sees it as a key link between the northern & southern states & would maintain this throughout the war. Image
    • In January 1777, there was a partial eclipse of the sun over New Jersey. Gen. George Washington was pleased to be warned about it because “This event, without a previous knowledge of it, might affect the minds of the Soldiery.”
    • 9 Apr 1777 Gen. Washington justified his objections to the exchange of prisoners. The British were trading prisoners in such poor physical conditions they would die upon the trade Image
    • 10 Apr 1777 Paris. US representative Silas Deane recruits Marie-Joseph du Mortier, Marquis de Lafayette, and Baron Johann de Kalb for service in the Continental Army. Image
    • 11 Apr 1777 Philadelphia. Continental Congress appoints Dr William Shippen as director-general of the Medical Service of the Continental Army. He had previously submitted a plan for reorganizing the medical service that Congress approved. Image
    • 8 Apr 1778 Paris, France. John Adams replaces former Continental Congress member Silas Deane on the American Commission representing US interests. Deane had been recalled to America after diplomat Arthur Lee accused him of misappropriating funds. Image
    • 9 Apr 1778 Continental Congress appoints Jeremiah Wadsworth commissary general of purchases with the mandate to improve the inefficient Commissary Department. Image
    • 10 Apr 1778 Brest, France. Captain John Paul Jones, commanding the 18-gun sloop USS Ranger, sails for British home waters on an extended raid. Image
    • 11 Apr 1778 Toulon, FR. A squadron of 12 SOL & some frigates under Adm Charles-Hector comte d’ Estaing sails out to sea. This causes a dilemma for the British Admiralty, which has to defend the home isles while preventing a French fleet in the Americas. Image
    • 6 Apr 1779 Cape Henry, VA. A squadron consisting of USS Warren, Queen of France & Ranger under Commodore John Hopkins captures 7 British supply ships plus armed schooner HMS Hibernia. Image
    • 8 Apr 1779 Philadelphia, PA Gen Benedict Arnold marries Peggy Shippen, daughter of a leading Loyalist. Her connections to British intelligence officer Maj John Andre would lead to espionage & treason. Image
    • 7 Apr 1780 Charleston, SC. After hard marching, a 750-strong VA brigade under Gen William Woodford evades British forces and slips into the city. But they would soon march into captivity when the city falls. Image
    • 10 Apr 1780 Charleston, SC. American Gen Benjamin Lincoln decides not to slip his forces from the noose tightening around the city. When the 1st series of parallels (trenches) is complete, British Gen Henry Clinton calls for surrender. He refuses. Image
    • 11 Apr 1783 Congress issued a proclamation “Declaring the cessation of arms” against England. After eight years of fighting the end of the War for Independence was in sight. Image
    • 12 Apr 1782 Ceylon. Vdm Sir Edward Hughes & a French fleet, under the Bailli de Suffren, clash off the coast of India. Hughes’s 11 SOL vs de Suffren’s 12 proves inconclusive, and an evening storm broke up what is called the Battle of Providien. Image
    • 12 Apr 1782 Battle of the Saintes ends with Adms Rodney & Hood smashing the French line & defeating Adms de Grasses & de Bougainville. 36 British vs 33 French SOL. British lost 1K sailors killed or wounded. French lost 8K plus 1 ship sunk & 5 captured. Image
    • 12 April 1782 Paris, France. Peace negotiations began between American Commissioner Benjamin Franklin and British representative Richard Oswald, a slave trader turned diplomat. The other US representatives were unavailable, but Franklin deftly pursued American independence, Newfoundland fishing rights, and Mississippi River navigation rights. Franklin, and later the other commissioners, overcame a series of hurdles, counter-proposals, and dissimulation by the British representatives who pulled out all the stops to limit American interests and independence. Image
  • Clothing and Related:
    • Behind the scenes look at preparing for an Exhibit.
      The Flax Project: History Department, University of New Hampshire.
      Growing Flax, Processing Linen and Making Clothes: The History of a New Hampshire Fiber Staple with a Sustainable Future.
      How do we know about the textiles and the families whose stories are highlighted in the exhibition? Any exhibition, no matter the size or scale, is the result of hundreds of hours of work on the part of numerous of individuals. Read blog post by Kimberley Alexander
    • A 1790s gown of cotton and silk featuring hand painted or ‘pencilled’ flowers. Known as ‘Chintz’, cottons of this kind were very expensive. The style is designed to show off the costly fabric to its best advantage.
    • Tuesday shoes. French, C18th, leather. Via The Met
    • French, c1785, formerly thought to be a robe à l’anglaise, a polonaise in block printed cotton. Full description via MFA Boston
    • A little Saturday treat! I have uploaded a new video to my YouTube, all about who made gowns in the 18th century. Who made 18th-Century gowns? Watch video (10 min)
    • a cotton muslin girl’s dress beautifully hand embroidered with flowers in tambour-work c.1780s. The fabric is said to have been worked by a bride for her trousseau in 1776 and afterwards made up into a dress for one of her children.
    • Caraco (jacket), here with matching petticoat. In this fine example, one T-shaped piece of cloth forms the back & the sleeves, which fold over the arm, forming a raglan sleeve in the front. The back is shaped using tucks. Made c1770-80
  • Miscellaneous
    • Nearly 300 years ago, the first Black performer to play Juliet was Rachael Baptiste, an Irishwoman also hugely successful as a singer. She performed in Lancashire in the mid-1700s.
    • look at the 17thC Bourne Casket ahead of new exhibition in the summer ( it still has pins in the cushion!!) The Bourne Casket is the work of Eunice Bourne, the wife of Thomas Bourne of Bourne End and is dated to around 1660. We were fortunate to see the contents of the casket with many trays, some containing beautiful toys.
      The casket is stored in a wooden box (seen at the back) which has helped to preserve the colours from light damage. The case is covered in 18th century hand painted paper.
      The casket tells the story of Abraham, Isaac and Rebecca. Amanda Pullan has written a paper on this casket (Pullan, A. (2014) ‘Needlework and Moral Instruction in English Seventeenth-Century Households: the Case of Rebecca’, Studies in Church History, 50, pp. 254–268. doi: 10.1017/S0424208400001753.) and we have used her work in our comments. Read more…

Last Post: LUCAS UE, Richard John
On Thursday April 4th, 2024, the passing of Richard John Lucas U.E., peacefully, at St. Joseph’s at Fleming, in his 59th year. Richard leaves behind his loving wife Susan and three children; Madeline (Chad), Josie (Chuck) and Geoff (Sam). He predeceases his Father and Mother Frank and Joan Lucas of Peterborough and brothers Timothy (Deborah) and Grant (Robin).
Anyone who knew Richard felt the kindness he exuded, and his spirit and gentleness will be missed by many friends, family, colleagues and affiliates. His career path started as a licensed carpenter, then to being an R.N. working with acquired brain injury. He then received his Teaching Certificate at Queen’s University. He was a member of the Ontario College of Teachers, while teaching construction and being department head for technology at LCVI, City of Kawartha Lakes. He was Past Master of Keene Masonic Lodge. Richard was also a volunteer Firefighter for the City of Kawartha Lakes, Janetville, Station Number 9.
A Celebration of Life will be held in his honour at Highland Park Funeral Centre, Peterborough on Monday, April 15th, 2024. A Firefighter Honour Guard and Masonic Service will begin at 11 AM. Memorial service and reception to follow. Interment at a later date. More details…
Richard was a member of Kawartha Branch where he received a Loyalist certificate certificate from John Wees Sr. UEL in 1987
Bob McBride UE

Published by the UELAC
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