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The Loyalists of Upper Canada: The Sabine Selection, Part One of Two
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, about 7,500 Loyalists settled in Upper Canada, the territory that is now part of present-day Ontario. As he gathered the names of more than 2,375 loyal refugees for his 1861 biographical dictionary, Lorenzo Sabine was only able to collect information on 44 heads of households.  The historian did not have access to such valuable documents as the transcripts for the loyalist compensation board hearings, Elizabeth Simcoe’s diary, Stephen Jarvis’ memoir, or the Book of Negroes ledger.
Given that he had to rely on correspondence with people scattered across North America and Great Britain, it is remarkable that this Maine-based historian was able gather even 44 names of Loyalists who had settled so far from the Atlantic coast.
In his book’s introduction, Sabine wrote, “Of several of the Loyalists who were high in office, of others who were men of talents and acquirements, and of still others who were of less consideration, I have been able, after long and extensive researches, to learn scarcely more than their names, or the single fact, that, for their political opinions or offences, they were proscribed and banished. But I have deemed it best to exclude no one, whether of exalted or humble station, of whose attachment to the cause of the mother country I have found satisfactory, or even reasonable, evidence.” A product of his era, Sabine did not include any biographies of Indigenous or Black Loyalists who settled in what is now Ontario.
Here, then, are just a few of the Upper Canadian Loyalists
“of exalted and humble station” that Sabine was able to include in his landmark work, Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution.
Two of the Loyalists noted by Sabine were both men who were thought to be the last survivors of Butler’s Rangers, “seven hundred strong.” Benjamin Packard, settled in Upper Canada after the peace, and died there in 1857, aged 101 years. The only biographical detail known at that time was that he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for sixty years. Benjamin Pickard had been a drummer in Butler’s Rangers; he settled near Niagara, after receiving a grant of land from the Crown. He was living in 1855, at the age of ninety-two, “hale and hearty“.
The readers of Sabine’s dictionary were primarily Americans, so the only Loyalist that might have been familiar to them was one infamous man they considered a traitor. Although Benedict Arnold lived for a time in New Brunswick, his only surviving sister and a son settled in Upper Canada.
Hannah Arnold “adhered to her brother Benedict throughout his eventful and military career, and was true to him in the darkest periods of his history.” Remembered as a “lady of excellent character“, she was “accomplished, pleasing in person, witty and affable.” Hannah once had a fiancé, but Benedict did not approve, and she broke off her engagement. According to Sabine, she died a single woman in Montague, Upper Canada.
Other sources indicate that Hannah had died at the age of 60 on August 11, 1803. Three of Benedict Arnold’s sons settled in Upper Canada: two in Montague and one in Kitley township. Following the death of their mother in 1775, Hannah had taken Arnold’s sons (Ben, Richard, and Henry) under her wing. Hannah ended her days in the care of her nephews.
Of these three Arnold sons, Sabine was only aware of Henry, stating that he “entered the king’s service after his father’s defection, and was a lieutenant of cavalry in the American Legion.” Following the revolution, Henry lived in Saint John, New Brunswick with his father and then in Troy, New York with Hannah where he was “engaged in mercantile pursuits“. By 1829, Henry Arnold was in Upper Canada where he was noted as “a man of property“.
Sabine was able to gather data on a number of clergymen. The Rev. John Bethune was born in North Carolina, and initially served as the chaplain for the Loyal Militia. Made a prisoner after the Battle of Cross Creek in 1770, “after his release, his continued loyalty reduced him to great distress“. He was “restored to comfort” after becoming the chaplain for the Royal Highland Emigrants who were based in Halifax. Another source describes Bethune: “{H}e is a young man of very good character though a Presbyterian and unknown to me though from the very same part of the Country I came from. His name is John Bethune.”
At the peace he settled in Upper Canada, and died at Williamstown in 1815, in his sixty-fifth year.     Unbeknownst to Sabine, Rev. Bethune would have a descendant who is arguably the most famous Canadian in the world. Considering that 1.4 billion Chinese (one of every eight people on the planet) revere the name of Dr. Norman Bethune, a hero of the Communist Revolution, one is hard put to think of any other Canadian known by so many.
Another clergyman Sabine included in his dictionary was the Rev. Gideon Bostwick, an Anglican minister from Massachusetts. Although this Loyalist never settled in Upper Canada, his sons, John and Henry did, and served as colonels in the militia during the War of 1812.
The Rev. John Stuart was another Anglican minister, the last to work among the Mohawk People, during which time he made a Mohawk translation of the Gospel of Mark. His relationship with Sir John Johnson and Natives raised the suspicions of Patriots who plundered his home and church, turning the latter into a tavern, then a stable, and finally a fort.
Stuart eventually settled in Kingston where he opened an academy in 1786. Sabine recorded, “He died at Kingston, Canada, August, 1811, in his seventy-first year. He was about six feet four inches in height, and was thus known among his New York friends as “the little gentleman.” The appellation of the “Father of the Upper Canada Church ” has been given, and fitly.”
Of Stephen Jarvis, one of the most important of Loyalist memoir writers, Sabine could only find 51 words of biographical information.  William Jarvis, Upper Canada’s first secretary only had a 55-word biography.
Loyalists from Boston usually found refuge in Great Britain or the Maritime Provinces, but Sabine was able to describe three that made their new homes in Upper Canada.  Jonathan Clarke, his brothers, and father were consignees of a part of the tea destroyed in Boston at the celebrated Tea Party in December 1773. Within three years, Clarke sought refuge in London, was “proscribed and banished” by Massachusetts two years later. At the peace, he settled in Canada.
Benjamin Hallowell was a second Bostonian to ultimately settle in Upper Canada. He died at York, in 1799, aged seventy-five, and was the last survivor of the “obnoxious” Board of Commissioners who collected customs at the port of Boston. The British Government granted him a township in Upper Canada, which bears his name.
Hallowell was so unpopular in 1774 that on one occasion 160 men chased his carriage on horseback “at full gallop”. He and his family fled Boston for Halifax on March 10, 1776. His cabin on the Hellespont contained 37 people, “men, women, and children; parents, masters and mistresses, obliged to pig together on the floor, there being no berths.” The family found refuge in England where they lived in “handsome style“. The Hallowells’ daughter Mary married John Elmsley, an Englishman who was made the chief justice of Upper Canada in 1796. Hallowell came with his son-in-law, living in the Loyalist colony for the last 3 years of his life.
More of Sabine’s Upper Canadian Loyalists will be considered in next week’s Loyalist Trails.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

“To Render Ourselves Impregnable”: The Defenses of Annapolis during the American Revolution
by Raphael Corletta on 13 August 2024 Journal of the American Revolution
The city of Annapolis has never been attacked in its long history, but it has nonetheless played an important role in American conflicts, with the American Revolution being no exception. While the British never attempted to capture the city, extensive fortifications were built around Annapolis to hold off a possible British attack. What were the quality of these fortifications, and would they have held off the British?
Annapolis residents had good reasons to fear their city becoming a British target during the Revolutionary War. Not only was the port on the Severn River a superbly located supply point for the Continental Army, but it also housed several shipyards for building and repairing warships. Annapolis was also an important cultural and commercial hub. While the city would be eclipsed in importance by Baltimore later in the century, the time period between the French and Indian War and the American Revolution has been called the golden age of Annapolis. Wealthy gentlemen such as William Paca (a later signer of the Declaration of Independence), settled in the city, constructing imposing Georgian homes. The money from this building boom benefited the craftsmen, suppliers, and laborers who were involved, who in turn spent their wages in taverns and shops. This thriving economy allowed for a vibrant cultural and social scene, and a visitor to Annapolis would have had access to a plethora of amusements such as theatergoing, horseracing, or dancing. An Anglican clergyman described Annapolis as “the genteelist town in North America.”
After the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia and the subsequent signing of the “Declaration of the Delegates of Maryland” in July in 1776, Annapolitans began preparing for war. Maryland’s Eighth Convention appropriated 10,000 pounds for defense, with brick and stone for a new church being dedicated to the war effort instead. Read more…

Hessian Soldiers Travelling to America: New York – A Soldier’s Life November 1780
From a Hessian Diary of the American Revolution.
This excerpt from the diary of Johan Conrad Dohla (170 pages).

Major Moves during Johan’s deployment:

  • March 1777:   Depart Germany
  • 3 June 1777:   Arrive New York, then Amboy NJ
  • November 1777:  To Philadelphia
  • June 1778: to Long Island
  • July 1778: To Newport RI
  • October 1779: to New York

November 1780: At New York (page 88)
Continuation of Occurences in North America During the Fourth Year, 1780

IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER [1780]

4 November. We were relieved from our detail at noon by the Blue Scots.
8 November. An examination and trial was held for the deserter Kufner of Eyb’s Company, which sentenced him to be hanged,  but  Colonel  von  Seybothen’s  pardon  spared  his  life and directed that he was to run the gauntlet of four hundred men twenty-four times over a two-day period.
10 November. Punishment was carried out at our regiment. A Private [Stephan] Purucker, of Quesnoy’s Company, had to run the gauntlet twelve times because he had struck Corporal Frank, and Kufner ran twelve times today, the first day.
11 November. It was the second day of punishment for the deserter Kufner, who again ran twelve times and completed his punishment. He was returned to Germany with the first group of departing  invalids because, due to his having  had toes amputated on both feet, he was no longer capable of performing duty.
12 November. The provisions fleet of fifty-four sail arrived from England and entered this port.
14 November. I went on picket duty at Clinton’s quarters.
15  November.  I  was  present  at  punishment  today.  Private  Hampfling,  of  Quesnoy’s Company, had to run the gauntlet twelve times for theft. Today at Black Stores on the Tiger River,  in  the  province  of  North  Carolina,  a  bloody  battle  occurred between the English Colonel  Stewarthon-Lomil  and  the  American  General  Sumpler, which  resulted  in  the deaths on both sides of more than  five  hundred  men,  and  the  English  had  to withdraw from Black Stores.
22 November. The Ansbach Regiment also entered winter quarters at New York.
23 November. There was an alarm on Staten Island. A strong corps of rebels was intent on crossing over near Amboy, but pulled  back without accomplishing anything. Eight thousand French,  under  the  command  of  General  Lafayette,  are  said  to  have  arrived  at  Amboy in Jersey, having moved there from Rhode Island.
52 [sic] November.  We  sent  the  first  detail  to  Paulus  Hook.  Captain  von  Quesnoy accompanied it.
27 November. We received our new uniforms.
28 November. The King of England declared war against the country of Holland.
29 November.  A  courtmartial  was  held  at  the  Ansbach  Regiment  for  Lieutenant  [Georg] von  Hohendorf  because  two  years  earlier  in  Bayreuth  he  had  commited  acts  of  fornication with Colonel von Seybothen’s wife, who had remained in Bayreuth.
(to be continued)

‘Happy Birthday’ George IV – born 12th August 1762
By Sarah Murden 12 August 2014 All Things Georgian
Today’s blog is a little different to the usual one but it was impossible to allow the birth of  George IV to pass without a little acknowledgement, especially as he was one of Grace Dalrymple Elliott’s lovers and  allegedly father of  her daughter, Georgiana Augusta Frederica Seymour, although Georgiana’s birth was not heralded in quite the same way as her alleged father’s entrance into the world.
I thought I would celebrate his birth in the shape of portraits of him over the years, the majority being courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, as tempting as it would be simply to use the vast quantity of caricatures of him I have managed to resist temptation … well almost!
George’s birth was proclaimed in the London Evening Post  (August 10, 1762 – August 12, 1762):  At seven this morning her Majesty was safely delivered of a Prince at the palace of St James, to the great joy of his Majesty and of all his loyal subjects,…”  Read more…

The Great Pillars of John Adams
by Geoff Smock 15 August 2024 Journal of the American Revolution
It is in those first frenzied moments of war fever when declarations of patriotism are their most ardent. So it was for the “Young Men of the City of Philadelphia” in the spring of 1798, when the United States stood within a hair’s breadth of war with France.
These young Americans, “anxious to preserve the honor & independence of their Country,” begged leave to assure President John Adams that, “filled with a spirit of friendship towards the whole world” as he was, he could rest assured that he had employed “every just & honorable means of conciliating the friendship of the French Republic,” who in the opposite spirit had responded to his entreaties with a “determined hostility and contempt.”
Adams could also be confident that “The Youth of the American Nation” would eagerly share in the “danger difficulty and glory of its defence,” acting on “every occasion” with all they were capable of, to which they pledged themselves to their president, “to our country, and to the World.”
“Nothing of the kind could be more welcome to me than this address,” Adams wrote in reply. “For a long course of years, I was called to act with your fathers in concerting measures the most disagreeable and dangerous,” all for the sole purpose of preserving “the honor of our country” and to “vindicate the immemorial liberties of our ancestors.”
Deeply grateful and, at the same time, loathe to lecture young men as noble and learned as they, Adams nevertheless begged leave to be “indulged the privilege of a father” in recommending to their “serious and constant consideration, that science and morals are the great pillars on which this country has been raised to its present population, opulence, and prosperity, and that these alone can advance, support, and preserve it.”
Just over fifteen years later, Adams made this address and his reply the main subject of one of his letters to Thomas Jefferson in their renewed correspondence. Read more…

Lafayette’s Visit to America in 1824-25
By Shannon Selin Feb. 2021 on her website, Stratford ON
In 1824-25, the Marquis de Lafayette, one of the last surviving generals of the American Revolutionary War, made a grand visit to America. He toured all 24 states of the Union and received a hero’s welcome everywhere he went. The visit cemented his fame in America for a new generation. It also left a lasting impact in the names and monuments found across the United States.
“During the course of his voyages in the United States, the general was but once subjected to the common rule of paying, and it was exactly upon the day in which he travelled with the chief magistrate; a circumstance which, probably in every other country, would have conferred the privilege of passing free.”  Auguste Levasseur
In January 1824, President James Monroe, supported by a Congressional resolution, invited Lafayette to visit the United States as the guest of the nation. Almost 50 years had passed since the start of the Revolutionary War and the generation that had fought to secure the country’s independence from Britain was passing away. A celebratory visit by Lafayette, who had commanded troops under George Washington, could instill the spirit of the American Revolution in younger Americans and remind them of the virtues and sacrifices involved in the struggle for liberty.
On December 2, 1823, Monroe had stated in a message to Congress that any future efforts by European nations to colonize or extend their political system to any part of the Americas would be regarded as “the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States.” American political leaders feared that after France’s success in suppressing a liberal revolt in Spain, the European monarchies would help Spain reconquer its former colonies in Latin America. There were rumours of an expedition to Colombia being formed at Cádiz. The invitation to Lafayette – a prominent liberal opponent of the French regime – was a way of reinforcing this message to the European powers. Monroe and others also hoped that a visit from Lafayette would encourage the American people to support the government’s bolder stance on potential military intervention in Spanish America. “As the most famous example of a fighter for liberty on foreign shores, Lafayette could help to rally the American people to greater exertions should it prove necessary.”
The invitation was not without its diplomatic dangers, since the United States was still trying to get France to pay for damages suffered by American shipping during the Napoleonic Wars. During Lafayette’s visit, both Henry Clay, who succeeded John Quincy Adams as Secretary of State in 1825, and Albert Gallatin, who served as US minister to France from 1815 to 1823, urged Lafayette to avoid anti-royalist intrigues upon his return to France.
For Lafayette, who was 66 years old, the invitation came at an opportune time. In 1821 he had supported a conspiracy to overthrow King Louis XVIII and had been accused of treason. The accusation was dropped, but in February 1824 he was defeated in his bid for re-election to the French Chamber of Deputies by a more conservative opponent. Read more…

Book Review: Till the Extinction of This Rebellion: George Rogers Clark, Frontier Warfare, an the Illinois Campaign of 1778-1779
Book Auhtor: Eric Sterner – Yardley, PA: Westholme Publishing, 2024
Review by Brady J. Crytzer 12 August 2024 Jpurnal of the American Revolution
In Till the Extinction of This Rebellion: George Rogers Clark, Frontier Warfare, and the Illinois Campaign of 1778–1779, Eric Sterner presents a focused overview of one of the western theater’s most critical campaigns. Often treated as a sidebar to the events of the Revolution in the east, Sterner succeeds in portraying Clark’s 1778-79 invasion as an important component of a larger war effort by both British and Patriot officials. Sterner employs a dual fulcrum to support his narrative, placing his emphasis on the persons of George Rogers Clark and Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton. The resulting story is balanced and fair, which is not an easy accomplishment given the extraordinary level of partisan violence witnessed in the conflict.
In the opening sections of the work, Sterner offers an insightful glimpse into the unique pressures felt by Henry Hamilton in the west. Often called “The Hair Buyer” by Patriot soldiers, Hamilton’s unsavory reputation for instigating Indian raids across the frontier has lingered into the present day. Rather than portraying him as a callous opportunist, Sterner shows how Hamilton’s superiors compelled him to act, and how his Native allies often committed atrocities that undermined his efforts. On the inverse was George Rogers Clark, a Virginian who adopted the west as his home country, and who was defined by an unpredictable streak. Sterner does not seek to glorify the actions of Clark like so many others that have studied him, but instead offers an honest assessment of the partisan commander.  Read more… 

Advertised on 16 August 1774: “his Profession of Physic, Surgery and Midwifry”
What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

16 Aug 1774

“His Abilities in his Profession of Physic, Surgery and Midwifry,
he flatters himself, gave Satisfaction.”

Richard Tidmarsh, a physician and apothecary, often did not remain long in the communities he served, though in an advertisement he placed in the Connecticut Courant in August 1774 he suggested that he would settle in Hartford “probably, for Life” if he managed to cultivate a clientele that would allow him to remain there.  In January 1771, he liquidated the contents of his apothecary shop in Philadelphia (and sold an enslaved man).  Tidmarsh relocated to Hartford before arriving in New Haven in May 1773.  A little over a year later, he “returned to Hartford, where his Abilities in his Profession of Physic, Surgery and Midwifry, he flatters himself, gave Satisfaction.”  He felt confident enough in his reputation for the services he rendered to that community that he encouraged the public to recall the time he spent there.  Furthermore, he expected that his “long practical Experience, will render him a useful and acceptable Member of Society.”
Near the beginning of his notice, Tidmarsh promoted an “Assortment of fresh, genuine DRUGS & MEDICINES” that he sold for even lower prices than in the past.  He listed many of them, including popular patent medicines, at the end of his advertisement.  He also noted that he “faithfully prepared” both “Physician’s Prescriptions, and family Recipe’s,” compounding them in his shop formerly occupied by Dr. Jepson on Queen Street.  Read more…

Government in Colonial Virginia. A Podcast
by Katie Schinabeck 13 August 2024 Ben Franklin’s World
Do you ever wonder how governments met and worked in colonial British America?
Williamsburg, Virginia, served as the capital of Virginia between 1699 and 1779. During its 80 years of service as capital, Williamsburg represented the center of British authority in Virginia. This meant the Royal Governor of the colony lived in Williamsburg. Indigenous, colonial, and other delegations came to Williamsburg to negotiate treaties and trade with Virginia. And, the colonial government met in Williamsburg’s Capitol building to pass laws, listen to court cases, and debate ideas.
Katie Schinabeck, a historian of historical memory and the American Revolution and the Digital Projects Researcher at Colonial Williamsburg’s Innovation Studios, takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of Williamsburg’s colonial Capitol building to explore how the government of colonial Virginia worked and operated. Listen in…

Was John Henry Smythe a UE Loyalist Descendant?
Last week’s Loyalist Trails contained the article A UE Loyalist Descendant? “The airman from Sierra Leone who was shot down over Nazi Germany”

Thomas Wardle commented:
It was nice seeing the article about John Smythe in the newsletter yesterday.
I am fairly certain he is of Loyalist descent.
When I was studying in London I met two other law students from Sierra Leone . The lady’s husband was of Loyalist descent..The young man was of Loyalist descent. They both had Christian forenames and British surnames. They both said that nearly everyone in Sierra Leone with British surnames has a Loyalist surname. That community were and still are the elite of the country having run the government service, education and business from the early days. They compose now about 20% of the population. There are plaques in the large Methodist Church in Freetown to ” the Nova Scotians.”..There is a large tree in the City Centre from those arrival times honouring the Loyalists.
When I was doing Loyalist research at The University of New Brunswick I met a black fellow who was from Fredericton who was studying the Loyalists of Sierra Leone. He had seen a website which was of the Loyalist descendants in Sierra Leone. I will have to look more into my many notes to see if I can find it or the fellow’s name whom I talked to a few times when I saw him at the University and the Provincial Archives. That was in 2018 and 2019 before Covid.
Best regards, Tom

Dyeing with Lichens
By Viveka Hansen 22 August 2022 at ikfoundation.org
The physician and naturalist Johan Peter Westring had an interest in natural dyeing. In a historical perspective, he foremost followed in the footsteps of his former teacher Carl Linnaeus and female dyers in farming communities in Sweden. Dyeing with lichens and mosses had lengthy traditions, which Westring aimed to promote further, even if his idea to replace expensive imports with native species to benefit the economy of his home country, in many ways was not realised. In his outstanding book however, 24 lichens are meticulously described, including a great number of recipes for each plant. The variations in colour could be considerable between the individual lichens, depending on the kind of material for which they were used; the choice of mordant; the time of the year when the lichen was picked and how it was treated. The book contains beautiful hand-coloured illustrations of the lichens and the colours they could yield, according to the writer, primarily in yellow-brown, yellow-green and reddish. A unique yarn sample collection by his hand has also survived, which gives additional insight to his work with natural dyes.
An interest in the potential of lichens for generating colour was noticed by Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) on several occasions. The usefulness of lichens for plant dyeing was given an upswing in the latter half of the 18th century through books on the subject. The literature was then becoming more specialised and in France for example, was published in 1787 ‘Mémoires sur l’útilité des Lichens, dans la médecine et dans les arts’. This French book makes frequent references to Linnaeus and to his knowledge on the subject of dyeing. The publication ends with beautifully coloured plates of the result of dyeing with lichens; browns, greys, yellows and russets predominating. Equivalent in aims to Johan Peter Westring’s (1753-1833) ‘Svenska lafvarnas Färghistoria…’ (The Dye History of the Swedish Lichens…) in 1805, which is the focus of the essay. The book particularly stands out due to its beautiful and accurate plates after an original by the botanist and physician Erik Acharius (1757-1819) and the draftsman and engraver Johan Wilhelm Palmstruch (1770-1811). It is worth noting that the two men mentioned first, Westring and Acharius, were students of Linnaeus in his later years. Read more…beautiful illustrations

Flesher
by Amelia Fay 16 July 2024 at Canada’s History
Tales and Treasures from the rich legacy of the Hudson’s Bay Company.
Iron fleshers come in a variety of forms, including this one with a deer-foot handle. A flesher is used to process animal hides, helping to scrape away meat, fat, fascia, and hair.
Most historical fleshers were “country-made” — that is, they were made here in what is now called Canada, rather than being brought from Europe as trade goods. Read more…

Events Upcoming

Annual Pilgrimage at Old Hay Bay Church, Napanee ON. Sun. 25 Aug 2:00 – 5:00

Welcomes you to the Pilgrimage of exploration at 2 pm & the Annual Pilgrimage at 3 pm
Liturgist: Rev. Aaron Miechkota
Guest Speaker: Rev. Paul Reed
Guest Singers: Valerie Nunn & Gordon Burnett
Refreshments to follow.
2365 South Shore Road, Napanee. 613.373.9759

American Revolution Institute: The Marquis de Lafayette Wed 28 Aug 6:30

Lecture—The Marquis de Lafayette and the American Revolution.  Having learned of the American war in the summer of 1775, the marquis de Lafayette responded to the rebels’ calls for republican principles inspired by ancient Rome, the opportunity to avenge France’s defeat by the British in the Seven Years’ War and the chance to further his military career. In December 1776, the young marquis formally pledged to join the American cause. After landing in South Carolina in June 1777, he made his way to Philadelphia to present himself to Congress and became a member of George Washington’s military family…  By historian Iris de Rode   More details and registration…

Gov. Simcoe Branch: “Richard Lippincott UEL and the Denisons” Wed 4 Sept 7:30

    Presentation by James Arnett.
The Lippincott and Borden families were 4th generation descendants of English families who had immigrated to New England during the Great Puritan Migration of the 17th century. By the time of the outbreak of the American Revolution, they were Quakers living in New Jersey.
Despite his Quaker upbringing, Richard Lippincott – a farmer in Monmouth county – became a Loyalist serving under arms. As such, he became involved in action which became famous – or infamous – and led to the intervention of General George Washington himself.
The Denison family were well known UE in Toronto during the 19th century – how so?
The meeting is both in-person and on zoom. More details and registration… 

America’s History LLC Bus Trip –  Forts, Raids, Battles and Mayhem: The Schoharie Valley, 1776 to 1780 – September 7, 2024, day bus trip

Many contributing factors made living on the western edge of Albany County, near the frontier, a very dangerous place during the war. Events here are indelibly linked to the people and events of the Mohawk Valley, as well as New York State and beyond. What happened in the Schoharie Valley region was part of a particularly brutal civil war that erupted on New York’s frontier.
Many of the opposing participants knew each other, as German, Dutch, and Mohawk friends, neighbors, and family members who chose sides and suffered often tragic consequences.
Along with a discussion of the violent history of the war in this region, there will be a rich narrative about the people who it impacted, their backgrounds, and what they had built and lost. This included the resident Mohawk community known as Wilden der Hoeck that was forever impacted. Read more and registration…

St. Lawrence Branch 2024 Charter Night Dinner, Sat 14 Sept 6:00pm in Ingleside

At St. Matthew’s Presbyterian Church, 15 Memorial Square, Ingleside ON. Social hour from 5:00.  Chicken Cordon Bleu dinner, cost $30
Tickets in advance only by 30 Aug. from Darlene Fawcett at dmfawcett@ripnet.com
Non-members are welcome
Guest Speaker: Brian Porter will speak on The Royal Trio: Three ships running the rapids of the St. Lawrence prior to the Seaway Project (The Rapids Queen, the Rapids King and the Rapids Prince).
Raffle: Harvest Baskets. Donations for the raffle baskets, Contact Darlene

In the Footsteps of Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold and John Brown: The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga – September 20, 2024

Friday, September 20, 2024 (8am to 5pm)
Led by: Jim Rowe and Bruce Venter
Departure: Fort Ticonderoga parking lot
Bus Tour Registration: $150.00
Details and Registration…

Glengarry ON History: Lancaster Twp bus tour, Four dates Sept & Oct. Tickets now available

The Glengarry Pioneer Museum, Glengarry County Archives, and the Glengarry, Nor’Westers & Loyalist Museum have partnered for the third installment of the hugely successful historic “Glengarry Rambles” bus tour! LANCASTER TOWNSHIP.
Led by Allan J. MacDonald, County Archivist, registered attendees will get to explore what was once known as the Lake Township and will discover the location of  Elbow Bend and Church Hill. Highlights include one of Ontario’s eleven bicentennial farms; Glengarry’s poultry capital; the North Lancaster Races; the home of a Rhodes Scholar.
Four tour dates September 28, 29, October 5, 6, from North Lancaster, departing at 1:00pm.
Details and Tickets now on sale from Glengarry Pioneer Museum

From the Social Media and Beyond

  • Attended annual anniversary service at historic Old Holy Trinity Church  in Middleton where 1st service held on August 14, 1791.  Brian McConnell UE
  • Townsends, and “anything food”
  • This week in History 
    • 14 Aug 1755 Williamsburg, VA. Planter & surveyor George Washington was appointed colonel and commander of the Virginia Regiment. His leadership during the French and Indian War would place him first in line to command the Continental Army 20 years later. image
    • 14 Aug 1765 Protestors in Boston hung an effigy of Andrew Oliver (The Stamp Act Commissioner) from a large elm tree. One of the first protests in what would, in ten years, become the Revolutionary War. The elm would go on to be known as The Liberty Tree. image
    • Aug 16, 1774, the people of Berkshire County invented a new way to protest the Coercive Acts. Gathered in militia companies, they surrounded the courthouse at Great Barrington and kept the justices from holding sessions
    • 16 AUGUST 1774, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS BAY: Thomas Gage swears in thirteen more mandamus councilors in accordance with the Massachusetts Government Act; he has now sworn in 24 of the 36 councilors. However, the remaining twelve will never take their oaths. image
    • 10 Aug 1776, London. News reaches the British capital that the Americans had drafted the Declaration of Independence. Until then, both Americans & British saw the conflict centered in Massachusetts as a local uprising. image
    • 18 Aug 1776, King George III learned that the colonies had drafted the Declaration of Independence. This colonial rebellion was no longer centered on Massachusetts & New England but instead on all the colonies in America. image
    • 12 Aug 1776, Gen George Washington wrote Gen Charles Lee that the Continental Army’s situation had deteriorated due to an outbreak of smallpox & desertions. Washington feared the British navy might blockade NYC, isolating it from other states.  image
    • 12 Aug 1776 Philadelphia, PA. The Continental Congress attempts to lure soldiers from the British Army by granting land bounties to deserters. Desertion plagued both sides. One estimate had the overall rate at 25%, but many deserted multiple times. image
    • 16 Aug 1776 Staten Island, NY. From his flagship, HMS Eagle, Adm Richard Howe writes to his friend Benjamin Franklin, informing him of his authority to conduct peace negotiations. It would come to naught. image
    • 17 Aug 1776, NYC. Gen Washington, wanting to help protect the citizens of New York City from the expected bombardment by the Royal Navt’s guns and invading army, issued a Broadside Proclamation urging residents to leave.  image
    • 10 Aug 1777 Gen Phillip Schuyler dispatches an 800-strong force from Stillwater, NY, to relieve the beleaguered garrison at Ft Stanwix. Some A-Teamers are leading it: Gen Benedict Arnold and Ebenezer Learned. image
    • 10 Aug 1777 Newport RI. French Adm d’Estaing takes advantage of the winds to leave Narraganset Bay, but British guns at Newport defenses pepper his fleet with shot. The British fleet under Adm Howe waits for the wind to change. image
    • 11 Aug 1777 British Gen Burgoyne dispatches a mixed brigade of Germans, Loyalists & Indians under Lt Col Friedrich Baum to seize needed supplies at Bennington VT. image
    • 13 Aug 1777 Engineer Davis Bushnell launches a surprise attack on the HMS Cerebrus in Black Point Bay near New London, CT, with a floating contact- mine, but it gets caught up in a small schooner and explodes, killing 3. Cerebrus redeploys to Newport. image
    • 14 Aug 1777 Sancoik (Van Schaik’s Mill) NY. Lt Col Friederich Baum’s Germans & Loyalists scatter a force of 300 militia. Intent on attacking any other rebels in the area, Baum requests reinforcements from British Gen John Burgoyne. image
    • 15 Aug 1777 Bennington, VT. Gen John Stark gathers his militia with Col Seth Warner’s – a combined 2K men. German Lt Col Friederich von Baum, who, realizing the strength of the rebel forces before him, builds breastworks & sends for reinforcements.  image
    • 16 Aug 1777 Walloomsac, NY. Battle of Bennington. NH & MA militia led by Gen John Stark reinforced by Col Seth Warner & Green Mountain Rangers, soundly defeat a column of Brunswick dragoons, Canadians, Loyalists, & Indians led by Lt Col Friedrich Baum  image
    • 13 Aug 1777 Machias, MA (today’s ME) Capt Sir George Collier sails upriver with 2 ships and 120 Marines to break up the rebel base & prevent an attack on Nova Scotia.  But local militia peppered his ships with shots & forced him to withdraw. image
    • 10 Aug 1778 Savannah, GA. The government of Georgia appeals to Gen Benjamin Lincoln for military forces to help defend the state from the British, who have seized territory. image
    • 11 August 1778 Paramus, New Jersey.  At court-martial, the controversial General Charles Lee is convicted of insubordination and suspends him from the Continental Army for one year. The former British officer and soldier of war had been General Washington’s second in command and had been widely regarded. However, dithering during the 1776 New Jersey campaign, captured under mysterious circumstances, and suspected collaboration as a British prisoner tarnished his reputation. Still, Washington took him back into the fold when he was exchanged. However, his uneven behavior at the battle of Monmouth in June 1778 almost threw the Americans into a rout. Washington rallied his men and fought the British to a standstill. His confrontation with Lee on the field of battle was a dramatic moment in the engagement and a prelude to his trial and disgrace. image
    • 11 Aug 1779 Penobscot, MA ( today ME) Gen Solomon Lovell’s 250 MA militia seized an abandoned British works to lure defenders from Ft George. A detachment of 55 British soldiers sally from the fort & disperses the militia. image
    • 12 Aug 1779 Penobscot, MA. Commodore Dudley Saltonstall receives instruction from the Massachusetts War Board directing him to launch an immediate attack on 3 British sloops in the harbor. image
    • 13 August 1779 Penobscot, Massachusetts (today’s Maine). A British fleet, under Sir George Collier, sails into Penobscot Bay. The American fleet under Commodore Dudley Saltonstall fails to engage and, worse, fails to put together an organized retreat. In a panic, the American warships flee first, denying the protection of their guns to the large fleet of transport vessels. Though disorganized, Saltonstall’s ships eventually make it upriver, essentially trapped by the British. Rather than give them up as prizes, Saltonstall burns and scuttles his boats. Over the next three days, the Patriots will lose forty-three ships and suffer almost 500 casualties. This was the most significant loss of US Navy ships until Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. image
    • 13 Aug 1779 L’Orient, France. Capt John Paul Jones, in command of Bonhomme Richard, sails with a fleet that includes frigates Alliance & Pallas, brig Vengeance & cutter le Cerf. His goal is to raid British home waters & send a signal to Britons. image
    • 16 Aug 1779 A French fleet with transports carrying 4K French troops under the command of Adm Charles-Hector-Theodat, comte d’Estaing departs from Le Cap Francois, in St. Dominique (Haiti). Destination: Savannah, GA.  image
    • 14 Aug 1780 Rugeley’s Mills, SC. Gen Horatio Gates’s forces arrive & are joined by 800 VA militia under Gen Edward Stevens. Gates sends 400 men to assist Gen Thomas Sumter on a raid on a British supply train & continues his march on Camden. image
    • 15 Aug 1780 Gen Horatio Gates’s army is reinforced by 400 MD & NC Continentals & marches to Camden. After receiving a ration of molasses, the troops begin to sicken. The advance guard clashes with British troops of Gen Cornwallis in pre-dawn darkness image
    • 15 Aug 1780 Carey’s Fort SC. Militia Col Thomas Taylor captures a garrison of Tory Militia & the 71st Highland Regt. Taylor’s forces surprised the fort with its garrison asleep and captured the occupants & 36 wagons of supplies, including a load of rum. image
    • 16 Aug 1780 Camden SC. American Gen Horatio Gates engages the British with a sick army. His militia broke before British Gen Cornwallis’s well-planned charge. 900 Americans died & 1,000 captured. Gen De Kalb was mortally wounded. Gates flees the field. image
    • 13 Aug 1781, Patriot forces led by the famous General Francis Marion (aka Swamp Fox) lured nearly 500 Loyalist troops into an ambush at Parker’s Ferry, near Charleston, S.C. Marion was notorious for his elusive fighting tactics in the swamps of South Carolina. image
    • 13 Aug 1781 Gen George Washington learns the French fleet commanded by Francois DeGrasse departed St. Domingue for the Chesapeake Bay, where Gen Cornwallis established his base. He decided to seize the opportunity for a combined attack on Yorktown. image
    • 15 August 1824 The Marquis de Lafayette, the last surviving French general of the American Revolutionary War, arrives in New York and begins a tour of 24 states. This was about the biggest cultural phenomenon of the first half of 19th century America. image
  • Clothing and Related:

    • a wedding shoe and a dancing slipper of silk, satin, ribbons, lace, and leather, c. 1860. They were manufactured by Viault-Este, a prolific mid-19th century French shoe concern. Worn in New England by Sarah Dutton (Leverett) Tuttle (b. 1835.) Read more…
    • Late 18th c. wool buckle shoes, worn in New Hampshire, and likely locally made. Check out the unbleached linen lining. In the collection of @UofNH at @unhlibrary & currently on view @WoodmanMuseum
    • This cotton coat is European, ca 1790 via The Met
    • Intriguing portrait, discovered in a blog recently.  Said to be a portrait of a woman carding metal buckles ready for sale, by Guillaume Dominique Doncre (1796) sold by Parker Fine Art Auctions August 1796. The buckles may be plain, polished or enamelled metal.
    • Really loved seeing “Re-Embroidering Blackwork: An Unstitched Coif and Other Works,” which shows 40 embroidered coifs from all over the world, based on an early 17th-century example in the @V_and_A
    • Sofa dated around 1730 on display at Seaton Delaval Hall @SeatonDelavalNT  Linen canvas embroidered in coloured wool and silk yarns depicting a 15th century tournament in Paris – Sir John Astley v Sir Peter de Masse
  • Miscellaneous
    • Jamestown: August 1619: two English privateer ships, the White Lion and the Treasurer, landed at Point Comfort carrying West Central African people seized from a Portuguese slave ship. According to John Rolfe, the English colonists bought, “20. and odd Negroes.” image

 

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