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Unpacking a Black Loyalist School Register: Part Two of Two
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
The school inspector’s list of students at the Birchtown School in 1790 is just the first primary source that allows historians to piece together the larger story of these children and their Black Loyalist families. Mary Snowball first appears in the historical record in the Book of Negroes where she is listed as an infant passenger aboard L’Abondance. This loyalist evacuation vessel left New York City on July 31, 1783. Mary was listed as the healthy 3 month-old child of Nathaniel and Violet Snowball. Born within the British lines, she was the first in her family to be born free.
Her older brother, Nathaniel Jr., was 12 years old when he sailed for Nova Scotia. A man in Princess County, Virginia had enslaved him and his mother until he was 5 years old. His parents escaped from both of their masters in 1776; his father was 32 when he ran away from his female master in Norfolk, Virginia, and his mother was 27 when she and her son ran away from their master. Three years after the family arrived in Nova Scotia, Mary’s younger sister Jenny was born—another one of Blucke’s students.
Within two years’ time, Mary and her family were among the 1,190 Black Loyalists who sailed for a new life in Sierra Leone. They travelled on a ship carrying the members of Moses Wilkinson’s Methodist Church, which suggests that the Snowball family was also part of this congregation. While Mary and Jenny Snowball are not noted in the history books of Sierra Leone, their father and brother are. Nathaniel senior was the founder of a settlement on Sierra Leone’s Pirate’s Bay. Nathaniel junior became the captain of a trading ship noted for having an African crew.
The parents of Betsy (11 years old) and Fanny (7) Davis sailed to Nova Scotia on L’Abondance with the Snowball family in July of 1783. William and Anna Davis, who had escaped slavery in Virginia, brought two daughters – Judah and Betsy– with them on board their evacuation vessel. By 1790, Judah was 14 and no longer a student. Betsy, who was 4 in 1783, was the oldest student in the Birchtown School.
Two children in Blucke’s school had the surname Wilkinson – Edmund (7) and Rebecca (9). A 30 year-old woman named Patience Wilkinson had been enslaved in Virginia, and later sailed on L’Abondance for Shelburne. At that time she traveled with a 3 year-old girl who may have been little Rebecca.
Miranda Whitton was just 5 years old when she sailed to Nova Scotia with; her parents, Samuel and Hannah, and her four siblings: Violet, Lemon, Peggy, and Samuel.  The family had escaped slavery in Virginia in 1778.
James Gibson, a 7 year-old student, was the son of James and Patty Gibson, also passengers on the L’Abondance in 1783. Born free in in Norfolk, Virginia, Patty and her husband brought a 3 year-old and a 1 year-old with her to Nova Scotia. James Jr. is that youngest child referenced in the Book of Negroes.
The only Black Loyalist couple that sailed to Shelburne together in April of 1783 with the surname of Lawson was Jacob and Ruth Lawson, both formerly enslaved in Virginia. The 6 year-old in Blucke’s school, Jenny Lawson, may have been their daughter.
Edward Willoughby (10) and William Willoughby (7) were probably brothers. In the Book of Negroes, Betsy

Willoughby came to Nova Scotia with “two small children”. Betsy was just 15 when she escaped from her master in Virginia’s Blue Mountains. She eventually found work with the Royal Artillery before sailing for Halifax on the Friends in April of 1783. Given that there were other Black Loyalists who settled in Shelburne after arriving in Halifax, Betsy could have been the mother of two of Blucke’s students.
Only two Black Loyalists by the name of Bolton sought refuge in Shelburne. Probably a father and son, Thom Bolton (52) and Charles Bolton (23) had both been enslaved by Thomas Bolton of Nansemond, Virginia, and had made their escape from him in 1777. It may be that Charles married after arriving in Nova Scotia. Dennys (Dennis) Bolton, a 7 year-old in the Birchtown School, is the only student with that surname.
A 1791 petition that included Stephen Blucke among its 23 signatories also bore the names of Thom Bolton and William Davis. They asked for “a cow and two sheep” each, arguing that this was “by no means equal to the vast expense of transporting so many of our fellow subjects to Africa“.  Because Dennis Bolton’s grandfather and the two Davis sisters’ father wanted livestock rather than passage to Sierra Leone, it seems that the families of these students remained in Nova Scotia.
Although her ages in her school list and in the Book of Negroes differ, Sally Dickson/Dixon would seem to be the daughter of Charles and Dolly Dixon who sailed for Shelburne on the Blackett in April of 1783. Their children included Myles, Luke, Dick, and Sophia in addition to Sally. The Dixons made their escape from Nansemond, Virginia in 1779.  The story of how a family of seven made their way to freedom has, unfortunately, been lost over time.  Another student, Polly Dickson, may be a daughter born to Sally’s family after arriving in Nova Scotia.
The student John Hector and his younger brother Harvey seem to be the sons of James and Judy Hector, both of whom worked within the British Royal Artillery Department after escaping from slavery in Virginia in 1779. They sailed on the Danger with daughter Kate and son John, the latter being described as having been born free within the British lines. The Hector family initially settled in Port Mouton, but moved to the Shelburne area after their first settlement was destroyed by fire.
Jane Rogers may have been the wife of Baggerty Rogers, a fellow L’Abondance passenger. What is certain is that Jane travelled with her 9 year-old daughter Mary and 6 year-old son David. As she had escaped her Virginian master in 1779, both of her children had been born into slavery. By 1790, David was an 11 year-old student in Stephen Blucke’s classroom.
Simon Keiling/Keeling would seem to be the son of Robert and Annie Keeling who sailed on L’Abondance “with one small child”. Both of Simon’s parents had escaped slavery in Nansemond, Virginia in 1779, but each had a different master. This family was among the Black Loyalists of the Shelburne area that opted to sail for Sierra Leone.  Robert initially worked for the Sierra Leone Company as a porter on the Freetown wharf, but was fired over a controversy with a slave trader. He eventually became shop owner in Freetown.
Fragmentary as these stories are, it is interesting to consider that what the students of Birchtown’s school learned from Stephen Blucke would equip them for their adult years in either Nova Scotia or Sierra Leone. The final fate of the majority of his students is unknown; the last days of Blucke are also shrouded in mystery.
Life for Stephen Blucke began to unravel in 1788 when his wife Margaret left him and returned to New York City. Opposed to the idea of a Black Loyalist settlement in Sierra Leone, he witnessed the diminishing of Shelburne and Birchtown’s Black population as many of the ablest men and women sought a new life across the Atlantic.
Within five years’ time, the decline in student numbers forced Blucke to close the Birchtown School. His reputation was tarnished by accusations that he had embezzled money entrusted to him. Having lost so much, Blucke left his home, Isabel (his second wife), and their daughter Frances sometime around 1796.  Later, pieces of clothing believed to be Blucke’s were found on a road leading out of Shelburne. A legend grew out of this discovery, claiming that the former teacher had been attacked and killed by local wildlife. The money that Blucke was accused of stealing was later discovered, but his body never was.
Whether he had found a better life outside of Nova Scotia or was killed while departing, Blucke left behind him a legacy of education that would have an impact within two Black communities – one that remained in Nova Scotia and another that would be the foundation for a nation in West Africa.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

Champions of Liberty: Phillis Wheatley, Joseph Sewall, and the Old South Church
by Joseph Manca 3 September 2024 Journal of the American Revolution
Poet Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753-1784) was a consistent and passionate advocate for liberty in every form: she called for an end to slavery, championed political and religious freedoms, and considered a sinful life to be a kind of servitude. She consistently opposed British infringements on American rights and saw political oppression as a form of slavery. Wheatley was surrounded by other proponents of liberty and human rights, but here we will see her penchant for freedom through the prism of her attendance at the radical Old South Church (at a building now called the Old South Meeting House) and her self-proclaimed, special devotion to Reverend Joseph Sewall (1688-1769), who was her mentor and who passionately backed American freedoms.
Wheatley’s life was remarkable. Born in about 1753 on the west coast of Africa, she was enslaved there as a child, transported to the New World, and sold to the family of Boston tailor and merchant John Wheatley (1703-1778). The Wheatleys recognized young Phillis’s facility with language and helped her to develop her literary talents. Wheatley was the first African American to publish a book and was one of the earliest women in the thirteen colonies to publish a book on any subject. After a successful literary trip to London and the publication of her verses in 1773, Wheatley garnered considerable attention. John Wheatley granted Phillis freedom from bondage in September or October 1773, but times were difficult in Boston for the next decade, even after the British evacuation of the city. Wheatley went on to marry (1778, to a John Peters) and have children, but never published another book of verses, and she died at the age of thirty one, having recently been working as a seamstress and a maid in a boarding house.
Phillis, like members of the Wheatley family, attended Congregational meetings. In particular, she received significant tutelage from Rev. Joseph Sewall, who was a pastor of the Old South Church for fifty-six years beginning in 1713. Read more…

Dr. James Craik and George Washington: Compatriots-in-Arms, Old and Intimate Friends
by Chaim M. Rosenberg 5 Sept 2024 Journal of the American Revolution
James Craik was born in Scotland, circa 1727, on the 1,400-acre estate of his father William Craik, member of the British parliament. He attended Edinburgh medical school; the first medical school in the English-speaking world. After graduation Dr. Craik served in the British army in the West Indies. Leaving the army, he set up medical practice in Norfolk, Virginia, then moved to Winchester, the most remote town on the Western frontier. For nearly half a century, Dr. Craik devoted much of his life to serving George Washington as personal physician and confidant, as well as his “compatriot in arms and old and intimate friend.” “If I should ever have occasion for physician or surgeon,” wrote Washington in 1798, “I should prefer my old surgeon Doctor Craik, who from 40-years’ experience, is better qualified than a dozen of them put together.”
In 1753, twenty-one-year-old George Washington was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Virginia Regiment, with orders to lead an expedition to demand the French vacate their forts and withdraw from the Ohio River valley. Dr. Craik rejoined the military, with the rank of lieutenant, to serve as surgeon with the regiment. On July 3, 1754 the French attacked Fort Necessity to start the French and India War. During the battle, reported Washington, “Our sick and wounded were left with a detachment under the care and command of the worthy Doctor Craik . . . surgeon to the regiment.”
Maj. Gen. Edward Braddock, with one thousand professional British troops, arrived in Virginia on February 20, 1755 to drive the French out of the Ohio River Valley. Braddock led his red-coated regulars and colonial troops to attack Fort Duquesne, built by the French at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. The Battle of Monongahela on July 9 was a disaster for the British. Under intense fire, George Washington carried the wounded Braddock from the field of battle. Washington “luckily escaped without a wound, though I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me.”5 Observing Washington’s bravery, Dr. Craik “expected at any moment to see Washington fall; his duty exposed him to every danger.  Read more…

Hessian Soldiers Travelling to America: New York – A Soldier’s Life January 1781
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

January 1781: At New York (page 92)

Continuation of Occurences in North America During the Fifth Year, 1781
IN THE MONTH OF JANUARY [1781]

1781-19 January.  In a battle between the American troops under General Daniel Morgan and the English  troops  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Samuel  Tarleton at  Cowpens  in  South Carolina, the Americans gained a complete victory. Tarleton lost one thousand men dead and wounded. Three hundred English were captured, and eight hundred weapons, two  flags, and thirty-five baggage wagons fell into the hands of the Americans. Only a few English had the good fortune to escape to Charleston with their commander. The Americans lost nine hundred men.
21 January.  Our  regimental  provost  and  baggagemaster,  [Michael]  P€schl,  died  in  the English hospital at Vauxhall after a long illness. In his place, Corporal S‡mann, who until this time  has  been  on  command  in  the  warehouse,  was  appointed  baggagemaster.  Corporal [Johann Adam] Wolfrum, who had  been  on command at  Vauxhall, was transferred  into our warehouse.
Today,  near  Kingsbridge,  a  Hessian  soldier  led  his  wife  and  two  children  out  of  the  city and into the bushes. There he shot all three and then drowned himself in the North River. During  the  night  a  frigate  brought  the  order  that  all  invalids,  who  were  to  return  to Germany, should be prepared to embark.
22 January.  A  terrible  storm  arose  during  the  night,  which  tore  up  many  buildings  and caused great damage in the city, as well as to the ships in the harbor.
23 January.  The  invalids  bound  for  Germany  took  their  departure  from  the  regiment. Those from our company were Sergeant [Johann Ulrich] Bosser and the three privates H‡usel, [Johann Friedrich] T‡ubler, and Wellh€fer. I sent eight letters to Germany to my parents with them,  four with the packet boat, two with [Christoph] G€tz, of  the  Colonel’s Company, and two with the Field Jaeger [Georg Wolf] Schlunden, from Gefrees.
24 January. The invalids were embarked. May the dear God give them a safe journey and return them to their fatherland in good health, which we wish for ourselves, also.
25 January.  About  three  o’clock  in  the  morning,  General  Clinton  sent  the  order  to  our regiment to be prepared to march. Reportedly, the rebels gathered a strong force at Springfield and  then  moved  to  Elizabethtown.  Therefore,  it  is  assumed  they  might  launch  an  attack on Staten  Island. During  this  night  the  rebels  attacked  our  so-called  Refugees  at  Morrisania. They  killed  many,  captured  a  few,  and  took  many  cattle  away  and  also  plundered  the inhabitants.
27 January. Corporal [Johann] Rosensch€n was promoted to second sergeant of Quesnoy’s Company. Vice-Corporal [Jakob] Leindecker was promoted to corporal, and Private [Konrad] Erlbacher to vice-corporal.
28 January. I was reported again able to perform duty in the regiment after having had no duty for ten weeks.
29 January.  Punishment  was  conducted  during  the  morning  at  the  regiment.  Private [Michael]  F€rster,  of  Quesnoy’s  company,  had  stolen  a  silver  pocket  watch  from  Private Purucker  and  therefore  had  to run  a  gauntlet  of  two  hundred  men  twenty  times.  During  the evening the fleet of forty sail, carrying our invalids, departed.
30 January. We learned that the United Provinces of Holland had joined the alliance with North America.
31 January. This evening I again went on regimental picket duty for the first time.
During this month it was not very cold, and it did not snow a single time.
(to be continued)

A Diary notes “The militia companies of Worcester County keep the county court closed”
From the September entries of the diary of Rev. Ebenezer Parkman, Part of “The Ebenezer Parkman Project”.
Rev. Ebenezer Parkman was born in 1703 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts Bay. He was the son of William Parkman and Elizabeth (Adams) Parkman.
He married twice:

  • Husband of Mary (Champney) Parkman — married 7 Jul 1724 (to 29 Jan 1735) in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts
  • Husband of Hannah (Breck) Parkman — married 1 Sep 1737 [location unknown]

He graduated from Harvard University.
In 1723, he began to preach, and twice during that summer occupied the Westborough pulpit. In 1724, he and Rev. Jacob Eliot were nominated in a Town meeting as candidates for the position of Town Minister of Westborough, and he, proving the successful candidate, was installed nine months later, over the little church organized just before. He founded the Congregational Church in Westborough, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay in 1724.
He passed away in 1782 in Westborough, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States.

Read the September Diary entries reflecting the anxieties of the times.  This one

1774 September 7 (Wednesday).  Breck gives me account that yesterday there assembled at Worcester 4722 Persons who were in arrangements under their particular Heads, leading each Town, but without Arms: Those Heads treated with the Judges and other Officers of the Court.  The Court House was filled with Committees of Correspondence from each Town; and the Door fastened and guarded. The court walked from Haywoods Tavern to the Court House between the Ranks, with their Hatts off; and then back; a Paper being Read, Signifying that they would Endeavor etc. — but this not Satisfying, another was drawn, and Read Promising that they would not Sit etc. in that or any other Court — under the new Regulation by the late Acts of Parliament.  I dont understand that there was any Disorder. The List stands thus (lists the number present by area.)

Advertised on 7 September 1774: “He will teach … all the Dances”
What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?
September 7

“He will teach … all the Dances that are danced in the several Courts in Europe.”

It could have been a coincidence that dancing masters Mr. Pike and Signior Sodi placed advertisements in Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet, the Pennsylvania Gazette, and the Pennsylvania Journal at the same time.  When Pike arrived in the Pennsylvania after teaching fencing and dancing in Charleston for a decade, he introduced himself to prospective pupils and the rest of the public with an advertisement in the September 5, 1775, edition of Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet.  He placed the same advertisement in the Pennsylvania Gazette two days later.
Sodi ran his own advertisement in the same issue of Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet.  The two notices appeared on the same page, Sodi’s at the bottom of one column and Pike’s at the top of the next one.  Two days later, Sodi inserted his advertisement in the Pennsylvania Journal.  Perhaps the “Late principal DANCER at the Opera in Paris and London” had previously intended to advertise in early September.  After all, he stated in his newspaper notice about a “GRAND CONCERT & BALL” in June that he “proposes to open a School publicly next September.”  He did not, however, commence advertising that school before Pike was on the scene.  Sodi may have heard that a new competitor would soon offer lessons to the local gentry, prompting him to advertise in the city’s newspaper published on Mondays and one of the two published on Wednesdays.
While Pike touted his experience as an instructor and a reputation that could be confirmed by “many respectable gentlemen” from South Carolina “present in this city,” likely including delegates to the First Continental Congress, Sodi emphasized his connections to some of the most cosmopolitan and refined places in Europe.  Read more…
See Mr Piker’s advertisement from Sept 5″

    “MR. PIKE, Ten years a teacher in Charlestown, South-Carolina, is arrived.”
He devised a headline, “DANCING AND FENCING,” to attract attention and provide a general overview of the services he offered. Read more…

 

Ira Allen: A Biography
by J. Kevin Graffagnino (Barre, VT: Vermont Historical Society, 2024)
Review by Gene Procknow 2 Sept 2024 Journal of the American Revolution
While Ethan Allen’s exploits as the ringleader of the Green Mountain Boys and his 1775 conquest of Fort Ticonderoga are legendary, his youngest brother’s contributions and quixotic schemes are relatively unknown. Kevin J. Graffagnino asserts, in his new book, that Ira Allen was most active and prominent in establishing an independent Vermont government during the American Revolutionary War and continued to pursue various plots to strengthen Vermont’s geopolitical position while scheming to build a land-based commercial empire.
The Vermont scholar’s work is the first Ira Allen biography in almost a century. Graffagnino argues that James L. Wilbur’s 1928 biography is overly hagiographic, necessitating a fresh look at the Vermont founder. At the other end of the spectrum, the author states upfront that he does not like Ira but attempts to present a more balanced view of his life and contributions. While Graffagnino does not esteem Allen, his monograph, based on his 1993 PhD dissertation, represents a lifelong fascination with the man. Further, the author is an expert on Vermont history, having written or edited fifteen of his twenty-five books on the Green Mountain state. Read more…

 

Canada’s First Labour Day
by Joanna Dawson — 31 August 2011 in Canada’s History
For many, Labour Day signals the end of summer. But what evolved into just another long weekend began as a massive working class demonstration in the streets of Toronto.
In a time when workers’ rights are taken for granted and even workers’ benefits have come to be expected, it’s no wonder that the origins of Labour Day are confined to the history books. What evolved into just another summer holiday began as a working class struggle and massive demonstration of solidarity in the streets of Toronto.
Canada was changing rapidly during the second half of the 19th century. Immigration was increasing, cities were getting crowded, and industrialization was drastically altering the country’s economy and workforce.
As machines began to replace or automate many work processes, employees found they no longer had special skills to offer employers. Workers could easily be replaced if they complained or dissented and so were often unable to speak out against low wages, long work weeks and deplorable working conditions.
This is the context and setting for what is generally considered Canada’s first Labour Day event in 1872. Read more…
Labour Day: A look at Labour Day in Canada “by the numbers.”
by Henrietta Roi — 15 July 2019 in Canada’s History
The year 2019 marked the 125th anniversary of Labour Day being recognized as a statutory holiday in Canada. However, Labour Day’s origins are found in the nineteenth-century union movement. Read more… (short read)

 

A Study of Knitting Sheaths – from North Yorkshire
By Viveka Hansen, 28 Sept 2017 at ikfoundation.org
Whitby Museum keeps an interesting collection of some thirty sheaths. These aids to knitting were traditionally called “sheath”, only becoming known as “stick” or “needle support” during the 20th century. With only one exception, those in the collection are made of wood and all are from 5 to 20cm long, most of them 10-15cm. This study aims to give a brief history of such practical as well as often beautifully carved implements. Various designs, the skills of professional and amateur carvers along with the everyday uses of knitting sheaths in the local area will also briefly be looked upon. Three photographs may present further thoughts on its practice in late 19th century Whitby.
Some sheaths are curved and others straight, many with a groove cut at the back so they more easily can be fastened to the belt or waist-band of the knitter’s skirt. At the other end is a hole into which a curved or straight needle may be fixed depending on the model, the hole being reinforced in some cases with leather or metal to reduce wear and tear. Any pattern is most often on the front, in the form of an inserted carved or turned motif in wood, or a paper design behind glass. Read more…

Exploring an 18th century grotto
By Tom Williams 30 Aug 2024 his Blog
Some of us who show people round Marble Hill House took a busman’s holiday this week and went to visit Pope’s Grotto.
Alexander Pope is important to the story of Marble Hill because he was a great friend of the first owner of the house, Henrietta Howard. Henrietta probably moved here partly because Pope owned house a little way further up the Thames just beyond Twickenham. He was very interested in gardening and his garden was, at the time, quite well known. Unfortunately for him, most of it was on the other side of the road from his house which had a lawn stretching down to the river but little space for the elaborate garden design he wanted. So, this being the 18th century and Pope being quite well off, he built a tunnel under the road to access the rest of the garden. The tunnel was built out from the cellars of the house and the whole underground work was decorated as a grotto, which expanded to have side passages and even an underground waterfall. It was probably the inspiration for the grotto that Henrietta had built at Marble Hill, but his was much larger and more elaborate.  Read more…

Events Upcoming

American Revolution Institute: A Portrait of Andrew Wallace, the “Rescuer of Lafayette” at Brandywine Fri 13 Sept 12:30

Historical Programs Manager Andrew Outten discusses a portrait of Revolutionary War veteran Andrew Wallace, painted by John Neagle in 1831, and examines the validity of Wallace’s claims to have aided Lafayette on the battlefield after being wounded at the Battle of Brandywine. Registration here.

London Branch: Plaquing Veterans’ Gravesites Sunday 15 Sept. 2:30

    The London & Western Ontario Branch UELAC will be plaquing the Old St. Thomas Church, as a ‘Loyalist Burial Site’ honouring two UELs, who along with six others resting in the churchyard, were combatants during the War of 1812-15. Each of the eight veteran combatants will have their gravesite honoured with a Govt of Canada War 1812-15 Combatant plaque, cut from Canadian Shield granite.
Trumpeters, a piper and uniformed War 1812 Re-enactors firing volleys will be honouring these combatants during the Act of Remembrance. Also in attendance will be representation from four current Canadian Forces Reserves Units which perpetuate the honours and legacy of the War of 1812 Royal Navy, Lincoln, Middlesex, and Norfolk Militia Regiments during this very moving commemoration. This service has been scheduled during the 200th anniversary of the Old St. Thomas Church. Many dignitaries are planning to attend.
See more (invitation flyer, photo of the Old St. Thomas Churchyard, map.)

Kawartha Branch: “Frankford ON history and area Loyalists” Sun. 15 Sept @2:00 ET

This meeting will be hybrid – both in-person and on zoom – from Peterborough Activity Haven, 180 Barnardo Ave, Peterborough.
Illustrated presentation by Peter UE and Angela Johnson UE, speaking about the Loyalists who founded the village of Frankford and area.
Peter and Angela are well-known for preserving Loyalist military and domestic history and genealogy in particular. Executive members of Toronto Branch before returning to their roots in Frankford, where they have since been members of the Board of Bay of Quinte Branch and avid supporters of Hay Bay Church
Zoom link.  The meeting details at Kawartha Branch website by Sept 10.

America’s History: Bus Tour: Capture of Fort Ticonderoga Fri 20 Sept.

In the Footsteps of Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold and John Brown: The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga – Friday September 20, 2024
Led by: Jim Rowe and Bruce Venter
Departure: Fort Ticonderoga parking lot
Tour Registration: $150.00
Registration and details

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

  • I was interested to see in Westport, NS  on an information board the name Adam Hubbard who served with the King’s Royal Regiment of New York during American Revolution as well as his wife Catherine.
  • Hearing of my research I recently received this old photo from a lady in Maine. It is of her grandfather,  Isaac Samuel Meyers (1845 – 1918), of Jeddore, Halifax Co., NS.  Atlantic L.O.L # 1648  was organized in Jeddore Oyster Ponds in 1894. The first Master was Dr. E.D. McLean.
    Isaac Myers was a descendant of Andrew Myers who came to Nova Scotia from South Carolina after the American Revolution.
  • Admiral Robert Digby (1732 – 1815) was the namesake of Digby, Nova Scotia.   Read “How the Loyalists named Digby, Nova Scotia”  By Brian MvConnell UE
  • Old postcard. Chapel, Londonderry, NS and Episcopal Church, Londonderry, NS.
  • John Slocomb, a UE Loyalist born in Wrentham, Massachusetts in 1754 settled on Mount Hanley in Annapolis County, NS where received a grant.  His great grandson Joshua, first person to sail solo around world (1895 – 1898), born at Mount Hanley lived for several years in Westport, Digby County. These are photos of the monument to him located there.
  • Townsends, and “anything food”
  • This week in History 
    • 6 Sep 1757 Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, Marquis de Lafayette was born in Chavaniac, France. He would join the #AmRev at 19 and serve the Cause well. He would help transform his country but saw mostly heartache and disappointment.  image
    • 4 Sep 1767 London Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount of Townshend, dies of a sudden fever at 42. Townshend conceived what became known as The Townshend Acts, which imposed duties on British china, glass, lead, paint, paper & tea imported to the colonies. image
    • 4 Sep 1767 London Lord Frederick North succeeds Charles Townshend as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Townshend’s “Acts” backfired & discommoded the colonists. North would serve as Chancellor for 6 years before becoming PM for most of the #RevWar image
    • 1 Sep 1773 “Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral,” a collection of poems by the enslaved Phillis Wheatley, is published in London. Her poems on Liberty would touch the conscience of many on both sides of the Atlantic. A modest start… image
    • 1 Sept 1774, Gov. Thomas Gage, pleased that his soldiers had met no serious obstacles in removing militia gunpowder from Charlestown and cannons from Cambridge, invited towns to elect new representatives for a legislative session in October.
    • 2 Sept 1774, Gov. Thomas Gage’s satisfaction at his soldiers’ seizure of gunpowder in Charlestown evaporated as 4,000+ militia men marched into Cambridge and forced his lieutenant governor and other men to resign from the mandamus Council.
    • 4 Sept 1774, Gen. Thomas Gage sent orders to Québec City for the two army regiments there to move to Boston. He had already summoned the regiments from New York. By year’s end, almost all the British troops in North America would be in Boston.
    • 5 Sep 1774, the first session of the Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia. 56 delegates from all the colonies except Georgia draft a declaration of rights and grievances and elect Virginian Peyton Randolph as the first president of Congress. image
    • 5 Sept 1774 the First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia to discuss the Coercive Acts, better known as the Intolerable Acts. Delegates discussed and drafted a Continental Association calling an end to British imports in the colonies. While many believed non-importation was an acceptable protest against Parliament’s actions and taxes, they couldn’t agree on a list of demands or a plan of redress. Ultimately, they decided to call for the Second Continental Congress to continue the debates.
    • 6 Sep 1774 Philadelphia, PA At First Continental Congress, John Adams reported Patrick Henry saying, “The Distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers and New Englanders, are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American.” image
    • 6 Sep 1774, Worcester, MA. Some 4,622 militiamen from throughout Worcester County marched into the town &closed the Royal Courts, forcing officials to defy Parliament by verifying the provincial charter and citizen rights. image
    • 31 Aug 1775 “The Massachusetts Spy” newspaper reported that a Tory mob cut down the Liberty Tree in Boston. “The enemies to liberty – made a furious attack upon it; with malice diabolical they cut down a tree, because it bore the name of liberty.” image
    • 1 Sep 1775 Richard Penn & Arthur Lee, present Olive Branch Petition to Earl of Dartmouth. King George III, refused to receive the petition, which appealed directly to the king for reconciliation between colonies & Britain.  image
    • 2 Sep 1775 Beverly, MA. Gen George Washington commissioned the 1st US warship – schooner Hannah. Capt Nicholas Boughton’s 1stmission is to attack British supply & transport ships in Boston Harbor. image
    • 2 Sep 1776 Gen John Sullivan, recently paroled by the British, arrives at Philadelphia with a letter from British Adm Richard Howe requesting to meet with private citizens. Continental Congress agrees to debate an appropriate response. image
    • 3 Sep 1776 Philadelphia, PA Continental Congress President John Hancock, in a letter, instructs Gen George Washington not to burn NYC if he withdraws from the city – but leaves the decision to retreat up to him.  image
    • 3 Sep 1776 Delaware Capes Capt John Paul Jones sails the 12-gun brig Bermuda from Delaware Bay on a cruise to Bermuda, which will garner 16 prize ships. image
    • 5 Sep 1776 Continental Congress decides not to send a delegation of private citizens to meet Adm Richard Howe (per his request) but does authorize a delegation to meet with him image
    • 2 Sep 1777 Capt. Thomas Thompson’s 32-gun frigate Raleigh & Capt. Elisha Hintman’s 24-gun sloop Alfred launches a bold night attack on a convoy of British merchant ships but is eventually driven off by Royal Navy warships.  image
    • 3 Sep 1777 British & Hessians under Cornwallis clash with Gen William Maxwell’s screening force at Cooch’s Bridge, the only #RevWar battle in DE & first with the American flag. Less than 50 casualties on each side, but Maxwell was turned from his position.  image
    • 4 Sep 1777 Prudence Island, RI Gen Ezekial Cornell, known as “Old Snarl,” leads 100 RI militia in an attack on a British foraging party from HMS Juno. British repulse the attack and finish foraging but lose three killed. image
    • 31 Aug 1778 Battle of Kingsbridge, or the Stockbridge Indian Massacre. British Rangers under Col John Graves Simcoe ambush Chief Nimham and his warriors at Indian Field, NY. They killed 40 of Nimham’s tribe who were supporting the Americans. image
    • 31 Aug 1778 Newport, RI. A relief expedition of 5,000 men under Gen Henry Clinton arrives but the American forces under Gen John Sullivan had already withdrawn to Bristol. So Clinton sends Gen Charles Grey on a raid into Massachusetts.  image
    • 1 Sep 1779 In a bout of fiscal responsibility, Continental Congress decides not to issue some $200 million in debt. The decision was made in the face of escalating inflationary pressure on paper currency that spurred the saying, “Not worth a continental…” image
    • 5 September 1779, Long Island, NY. Raid on Lloyd’s Neck.  With 150 dismounted dragoons, Maj Benjamin Tallmadge of the 2nd Continental Dragoons left Shippan Point, near Stamford, Connecticut, and surprised 500 Tories at Fort Franklin, located south of Stamford near Huntington, Long Island. After taking two nearby houses, his men stormed the fort and, after an exchange of musketry, captured it. He returned before dawn the next day with most of the garrison as prisoners—without losing a man. Tallmadge, who was also General Washington’s spymaster, is most noted for his role orchestrating the Culper Spy Ring. image
    • 5 Sep 1779 Kindaia, NY Gen John Sullivan’s forces attack & burn the Seneca village. Part of a brutal scorched earth campaign against the Iroquois nations aligned with Britain. image
    • 31 Aug 1781 NYC Adm Samuel Hood’s squadron reinforces Adm Thomas Graves, and 19 Royal Navy ships of the line sail south for the Chesapeake Bay. image
    • 5 Sep 1781, a British naval squadron sailing to relieve the king’s forces at Yorktown is intercepted & defeated in the Chesapeake Bay by French warships. The battle sets the stage for Cornwallis’s surrender to Washington & the de facto end of major #RevWar combat.  image
    • 6 Sep 1781. The treasonous Benedict Arnold invades his home state of CT & wreaks destruction & killing. The Battle of Groton Heights.Ft Griswold’s commander, Lt Col Ledyard, was run thru & killed by a British officer, as he attempted to surrender. image
    • 2 Sep 1782 Coosaw River, SC, Gen Mordecai Gist, commanding militia & a 6-lb cannon, captured a British position & opened fire on the two enemy gunboats. One escaped, but the other was captured and added to the militia. image
    • 3 Sept 1783. On this day, the Treaty of Paris officially ends the American War of Independence. The British delegation to the peace conference is so perturbed by their country’s defeat that they refuse to pose for this half-finished painting of the signing ceremony. image
    • 2 Sep 1789, Congress established the US Treasury Department. Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton would head it.  image
  • Clothing and Related:

    • New blog post on All Things Georgian, ‘The Fashions of September 1824‘. To find out what was in fashion some 200 years ago, an excellent resource is  Ackermann’s  Repository of arts, literature, commerce, manufactures, fashions and politics which provided guidance for women about the fashion of the day and so today we’re going to take a look at what any self-respecting woman would have been wearing in September 1824.  Read more…
    • There is more than a touch of #origami to this 1720s mantua, crisp pleats that shape the upper portion of the robe around the shoulders, down the length of the back and around the elbow. Brocade motifs ripple between the pleats
    • Zapato del siglo XVIII con tacón de carrete (más estrecho en el centro  [18th century shoe with a spool heel (narrower in the center ]
    • Hard not to smile back at actress/opera singer Louise Jacquet, as she looks up at us engagingly from reading an admiring letter, in this exceptional pastel portrait by Jean-Étienne Liotard (c 1750). Check out the fine detailing on her clothes, too
  • Miscellaneous
    • Stretching from London Regent street to Westminster abbey, this 7m long panorama was published in 1849. The level of detail that illustrator R. Sandeman and engraver G. C. Leighton put into this Victorian view is astonishing.  Digitised on Digital Bodleian. G.A. Lond. 16° 187
    • Billet books from 1757 on display @FoundlingMuseum. L Entry for a boy, William, with black ribbon. R Entry for a girl, with blue decorated ribbon. Recommend a visit (Brunswick Sq., London) 

Last Post:  MURRAY UE, Thomas Alfred  1948 – 2024
Thomas Alfred Murray, born on July 19, 1948, in Fredericton, NB, passed away peacefully in the good hands at Victoria Hospice. Predeceased by his parents, Arnold Maxwell Murray and Vera Florence Murray (Flewelling), Thomas is survived by his devoted wife of 49 years, Gwen Bonnie Murray (Maron), his beloved son, John Llewellyn Murray, and his treasured granddaughter, Jordana Tracy Murray. He also leaves behind his eight younger siblings: Mairghread, Ian, Janet, Siobhan, Lauchlin, Christine, Nadine, and Dufferin.
Thomas will be deeply missed by all who knew him, especially those in the genealogy community who shared in his passion for family history and research. To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
See entry in Legacy. Published by The Times Colonist from Sep. 5 to Sep. 7, 2024

Note: Tom had been a longtime cousin, friend, and genealogy researcher. I believe we met at an Old Home Week Reunion in 1970 or 1975 in Tabusintac, Northumberland County, New Brunswick.
For many years following, we corroborated on New Brunswick and Scottish families, and in particular, our research on Tabusintac and Miramichi, Northumberland County, New Brunswick. Tom’s genealogical research was impeccable. The UELAC Library and Archives is a recent repository of many of his digital, New Brunswick family files.
Carl Stymiest UE, UELAC President

 

Published by the UELAC
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