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2025  UELAC Conference:  Add a visit to King’s Landing
The conference has lots to offer: learn from expert speakers, visit Loyalist sites, share your Loyalist story — see Conference 2025 details.  Learn more about our Loyalist history.

Visit King’s Landing Historical Settlement
    Take an extra day and put King’s Landing on your list to see.
Kings Landing Historical Settlement is an outdoor living museum in which 19th Century New Brunswick comes to life. It is comprised of approximately 300 acres and has over 70 period buildings, including homes, farms, a mill, a school, two churches, Kings Head Inn. Kings Landing operates from June to October, and also offers special Harvest and Christmas dinners. It is situated approximately 20 minutes from the City of Fredericton.
It was created around buildings that were saved and moved to make way for the headpond for the Mactaquac Dam.
Although Kings Landing is not and never was a real village, New Brunswick and the areas surrounding Prince William were primarily settled by Anglo-American Loyalists from the nascent United States, who were called the United Empire Loyalists in Canada; Scottish, Irish and English immigrants were early settlers as well.
    Visit https://kingslanding.nb.ca/

Hope to see you at Conference.

The Loyalist Monument in Hamilton
A year ago The City of Hamilton sought opinions from the public about City monuments and plaques which some were viewing as discriminatory or unfair to certain groups. The Loyalist monument was one such.
Many people, including readers of Loyalist Trails, responded to surveys and gave their thoughts.
The analysis and discussions continues.
Carl Stymiest UE, was asked to forward to the City of Hamilton Staff Members and Council regarding the Loyalist Monument. This was requested by the City Staff, following a meeting, 03 June 2025 (Paul Nicholson and Carl) with city staff, Grace Mater and Katelyn Laforme.
Carl, immediate Past President UELAC, wrote:

    Following our collaborative online meeting 03 June and as the Past President of the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada (UELAC), representing our national body and the UELAC Hamilton Branch, we are here not to divide, but to celebrate a shared heritage and to ensure that every voice is heard in shaping the City of Hamilton’s commemorative landscape.

Read the memorandum…

Five Loyalist Families of Remsheg: Part One of Three
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
When the stories of Loyalists in Nova Scotia are recounted, they generally have to do with those refugees who settled in large settlements such as Shelburne, Digby, Annapolis Royal, Halifax, Tracadie, and Sydney. But those who established villages in more rural parts of the province have equally interesting stories to tell.
Among the Loyalists who settled along the shores of the Northumberland Strait were a German-born spy, a prisoner of war, a man Benedict Arnold wanted hanged, Jane McCrae’s cousin, a father killed on his doorstep, a child beaten by Patriots, and a woman who walked from the Gaspe to Nova Scotia. Intrigued? Here, then, are the stories of five loyalist families who made their homes in Remsheg, Nova Scotia.
Approximately 800 Loyalists settled in Nova Scotia’s Cumberland County, the families of the men who had served in the Royal Fencible American Regiment and the Westchester Refugees (a.k.a. DeLancey’s Cowboys). Throughout the summer and fall of 1783, these refugees disembarked at Fort Cumberland near present day Amherst, Nova Scotia.
In 1784, many of these Loyalists acquired land grants near Wallace, a settlement between Pugwash and Tatamagouche along the shores of the Northumberland Strait. Known as Remsheg when it was populated by Acadians before their expulsion in 1755, the 20,000 acres of land that was given to the loyalist settlers was referred to as the Remsheg Grant. (The name predates both French and English settlement. Remsheg/Ramshag is derived from a Mi’kmaq word for “the place between”.)
Records of the era note the names of only three of the evacuation vessels that brought Loyalists from New York: the Thetis, the Nicholas and Jane, and the Trepassey. Among those passengers were 10 slaves ranging in age from one to 29 years old. The Book of Negroes also notes that there were 5 free Black Loyalists who sailed for Fort Cumberland.
The exhaustive research of Nova Scotian historian Harry R. Brown has preserved the remarkable story of the loyalist John Brown and his wife Amy Wilson.  John was born in England, and had settled in Horseneck, Westchester County, New York 7 or 8 years before the American Revolution.  The Browns would eventually have 8 children born in New York and a 9h born in Nova Scotia.
The family’s farm consisted of a stone house and fence, and included a variety of fruit trees, a wheat crop, and a cow on 5 acres of land.  In testimony that he later gave to the loyalist compensation board when it convened in Saint John, New Brunswick in October of 1786, John remembered that he joined the British Army on April 28, 1777.  Over the next 6 years, he served under Col. James DeLancey, Col. Hatfield, and Col. Emerick before re-joining DeLancey’s Westchester Refugees. The commissioners noted that John was “a very fair man” and allowed him “almost the whole of his demand“.
The Brown family arrived at Fort Cumberland in July of 1783, staying there until March of 1784, when they received a grant of land in a settlement initially called Fanning’s Borough within the Remsheg Grant.
Within four years of receiving financial compensation from the British government, the Brown family was torn apart by the deaths of John and Amy.  In 1790, John was described as a widower and the only parent of a one year-old baby son. Although Amy’s cause of death is not given, death following childbirth was all too common in the era, and may be the reason that Isaac, the 9th Brown child, was motherless within a year of being born.
Amy’s children lost their father on the day of a heavy rainfall. John was sitting at the open door of his log cabin holding little Isaac; his 14 year-old daughter Susanna stood next to him with her arm around his shoulder. John Jr. (16 at the time) and Abraham (6 years old) were not far off, becoming witnesses to an unimaginable tragedy. Suddenly, a lightning bolt cracked and struck the entrance to the Brown cabin, instantly killing John and Susanna. Miraculously, baby Isaac was unharmed.
(Seen from the 21st century, this account can be further elaborated. Because John and Susanna were in contact with each other and the ground when the lightning struck them, it passed directly through them to the ground. Baby Isaac may have been spared by the fact that he was in his father’s arms – and thus not in the direct channel to the ground.)
The 8 remaining orphaned Brown children were taken in by their loyalist neighbours.  Although Alexander and Mary (Bolding) Peers had children and grandchildren of their own, they adopted Isaac Brown. Like Isaac’s parents, the Peers had once been farmers in the colony of New York.
In 1776, the Peers took a British officer into their home, revealing their political stance to their neighbours in Phillips Manor. Alexander also recruited men for the British Army, and eventually enlisted as a private in Col. James DeLancey’s regiment.
During his time of service, Alexander decided to make a quick visit to his family. Surprised by a party of rebel soldiers, he was able to get to his house and hide in a small space beneath the kitchen floor. Having found Alexander’s horse, the Patriot soldiers knew that he was somewhere nearby. They turned on Alexander’s young son Daniel, threatening to give him a severe beating if he didn’t tell them where his father was hiding.  The six year-old boy refused to say anything, and suffered a beating from the rebels.
Finally giving up their search for Daniel’s father, the Patriots left the Peers’ home, but had one man stay behind as a watchman. Alexander made his escape, surprised the watchman and then caught up with the rebels. Ambushing them, he killed everyone.
Alexander Peers served the king for the remainder of the revolution. His oldest sons, Ephraim and Ezekiel fought from 1781 to 1783. As Dutchess County was not a safe place for Loyalists, Mary Peers and the younger children (John, Jerusha and Daniel) found refuge within the British lines “early in the conflict“.
Ephraim Peers later became the first recorded schoolteacher in the Wallace area, and also served as a justice of the peace.  Jerusha Peers was just 9 when the family found refuge in Nova Scotia.  Nine years later, she married Daniel Teed. Although he had been too young to be a soldier in the revolution, Teed had been a drummer with the British forces.
One of the Peers’ children had a daughter named Mary. At age 15 she married Isaac Brown – the child who survived being struck by lightning 19 years earlier. Alexander would eventually operate a sawmill, but he also had a reputation as a skilled craftsman, famous for his chairs, household utensils, desks, and chests.
The stories of two other loyalist families who settled in the Remsheg Grant will appear in next week’s Loyalist Trails.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

Samuel Brady, a Frontier Legend, Rescues Jane Stoops
by Eric Sterner 10 June 2025 Journal of the American Revolution
The American Revolution west of the Appalachians produced a number of stories, which in their constant retelling evolved into legends. They created a unique frontier mythology. Just as ancient Greece had Achilles and Odysseus, America west of the Appalachians had Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton. An American officer and frontier scout, Samuel Brady, became one such legendary hero. According to John Frost, writing in the 1850s, “Captain Samuel Brady was the Daniel Boone of Western Pennsylvania. As brave as a lion, as swift as a deer, and as cautious as a panther, he gave the Indians reason to tremble at the mention of his name.” One history of the region characterized Brady as

emphatically the hero of Western Pennsylvania, and future bards of this region, when time shall have mellowed the facts of history, will find his name the personification of all that was fearless and fruitful resource in the hour of danger. His the step that faltered not, the eye that quailed not, even in the terrific scenes of Indian warfare. Many a mother has quieted the fears, and lulled to sleep her infant family, by the assurance that the broad Allegheny . . . was watched by the gallant Captain of the Rangers.

All that’s missing is an explicit comparison to Hercules.
Some stories hold up well on inspection. We can compare the folktales and oral tradition against the written record. The rescue of Jane Stoops by Samuel Brady is one such episode. It also reveals some of the remarkable parallels between Revolutionary War adversaries on the frontier, where violence fell on hearth and home, isolated trails, and even berry picking, more readily than the battlefield.  Read more…

What the Bill for Regulating the Government of Massachusetts Really Entailed
by Bob Ruppert 12 June 2025 Journal of the American Revolution
Lord North officially presented the second Coercive Act entitled the Bill for Regulating the Government of the Massachusetts’ colony on April 15, 1774. It was read for the first time, ordered to be published and commented on by some of the members of the House. On April 22, the bill was read for a second time and followed by a debate. Many of the members had already read the bill and had time enough to develop an opinion. The focus of the bill was the charter of the Massachusetts Bay colony. In order to “regulate the colony’s government,” the colony’s charter that was granted in 1691 by King Willam and Queen Mary, making it a royal colony, needed to be changed. What follows here is the debate about this bill among members of the House of Commons, as recorded at the time.

Sir George Sackville (MP for East Grinstead):
the measure now before the House was a very doubtful and dangerous one; doubtful as to the matter and propriety of regulation, and dangerous as to its consequences . . . charters by government were sacred things, and are only to be taken away by a due course of law, either as a punishment for an offence, or for a breach of the contract, and that can only be by evidence of the facts; nor could he conceive that in either of the cases there could be any such thing as proceeding without a fair hearing of both parties . . . You are now going to alter the charter, because it is convenient . . . I do not like to be present at a business which I think inconsistent with the dignity and justice of this House . . . I cannot conceive it possible to proceed on this Bill upon the small ground of evidence which you have had. Read more…

Hessian Soldiers Travelling to America: POW: In Camp – A Soldier’s Life. November 1782
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
  • May 1781: to Chesapeake Bay (Yorktown)
  • October 1781: to Williamsburg
  • January 1782: to Frederick MD (about 40 km west of Baltimore)

1782: Continuation of the Noteworthy Occurences in Our North American Campaign, and Especially the Captivity in the Sixth Year. Or the Year of our Lord 1782.  Page 131

In the Month of November 1782
11 November. A command of American Continental troops arrived here to  help  watch us prisoners.
15 November. They went on watch over us for the first time.
22 November.  We  four  German  regiments  received  one  hundred  head  of  cattle  for  the arrears  of  our  whiskey  provision,  because  the  Americans  themselves  could  not  provide  the specified item. This caused much trouble for us.
26 November. During the evening, roll call was held.
28 November. The American colonies celebrated a feast and Thanksgiving for three days, one after the other, which was set aside by the Congress. We do not know why.
29 November.  Six  men of  our Quesnoy’s Company,  namely,  Frank,  Purucker,  [Heinrich] Dietrich,  [Andreas]  Heyder,  Mittelberger,  and  Guth,  were  put  in  the  jail.  A  Whig,  Thomas Frank,  arrested  them  one  mile  from  the  barracks  and  brought  them  in.  It  had  been  their intention to go to the Monocacy to gather walnuts.
(to be continued)

Book Review: Virginia in the American Revolution
Author: Charles A. Mills, Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2025
Review by Gene Procknow 9 June 2025 Journal of the American Revolution
Why were Revolutionary War events in Virginia significant, and what was it like to reside in the rebelling colony? Charles A. Mills, a historian and prolific author, answers these questions in his new book on Virginia’s role in the American Rebellion. This is Mills’ seventh volume on the American Revolution. Additionally, he has authored over fifty books spanning American History and alternative history fiction, with many focused on the Cavalier state.
The narrative begins with the story of John Carlyle, an Alexandria merchant who received shabby treatment by the British in the French and Indian War. The author argues that Carlyle’s experiences were emblematic of growing antagonisms between superior-thinking Royal authorities and Virginians.
Part two of the book lists the state’s interesting Revolutionary War sites in alphabetical order by county.
Part three presents Mill’s argument that today’s readers should know more about “the day-to-day social reality of the people of Virginia at that time”
The next section describes military life, including service in the militia and Virginia Continental Army regiments.
Other military life topics include the complex and varied history of Black combatants on both sides, the small, ineffective Virginia Navy, and several stories about the King’s troops and hired soldiers.
Readers may find the last section of greatest interest, which recounts personal stories and unusual events. The most notable are seven accounts of extraordinary women, including the life of Anna Maria Lane (1755-1810), “the only documented case of a woman dressing as a man and fighting on the battlefield”.
This book is most useful for those seeking an introduction to the American Revolution in Virginia. It is casually readable and contains noteworthy human-interest stories. Read more…

Advertised on 8 June 1775: ‘assist them in their Struggles for Liberty and Freedom’

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago this week?

“I am ready to assist them in their Struggles for Liberty and Freedom.”

A year later, John Prentice of Londonderry, New Hampshire, had second thoughts about having signed an address lauding Governor Thomas Hutchinson when he left office and departed Massachusetts for England.  On June 6, 1775, Prentice wrote about the mistake he made, acknowledged that he misjudged the governor’s motives, vowed his support for the American cause, and submitted his missive for publication in the New-England Chronicle.  “I the Subscriber was so unfortunate (some Time since),” he explained, “as to sign an Address to the late Governor Hutchinson, so universally and so justly deemed an Enemy to American Liberty and Freedom.”  Prentice claimed he had not understood that in the spring of 1774 – “at the Time I signed the said Address, I intended the Good of my Country” – but now understood his error.  He lamented that to his “Sorrow” signing the address had “a quite contrary Effect.”
Some of the “contrary Effect” that Prentice regretted, however, may have been the reception that he received from his neighbors and others in his community who refused to associate with him socially or to conduct business with him.  Read more…

Advertised on 9 June 1775: ‘driven from his house and business by the perfidious [Thomas] Gage’

What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago this week?

“The Editor being driven from his house and business by the perfidious [Thomas] Gage”

Like so many other Bostonians, Joseph Greenleaf, the publisher of the Royal American Magazine, became a refugee who fled from the city during the siege that followed the battles at Lexington and Concord.  When the governor, General Thomas Gage, and the Massachusetts Provincial Congress agreed that Loyalists could enter the city and Patriots and others could depart, each with any of their effects they could transport (except for firearms and ammunition), Greenleaf removed to Watertown.  He crafted his own narrative of what happened in an advertisement that ran in the June 9, 1775, edition of the Essex Journal: “The Editor [was] driven from his house and business by the perfidious –– Gage in public violation of his most sacred engagements, leaving ALL (except Beds and some Clothing) behind.”  Apparently, Greenleaf had not managed to take his press or any of his supplies and other equipment with him.
He found himself in desperate need of money, deprived of his livelihood in Boston.   Read more…

Fieldwork – the Linnaean Way: Purchases of Cloth and Clothes for Naturalist Journeys
By Viveka Hansen 10 June 2025 ikfoundation.org
Carl Linnaeus and his son, who shared the same name, revealed minute details of their clothing through journals, bills, correspondence, and writings linked to their natural history journeys over a fifty-year period. Carl Linnaeus the Younger’s work as a botanist was comparably modest. Still, due to his father, he had many connections to the extended Linnaean network, particularly after his father died in 1778. However, it is impossible to judge his full potential within natural history as he died at 42, less than six years after his father. Furthermore, these last few years seem to have been the most energetic in his life concerning natural history work and knowledge exchange. He travelled to England in 1781 and to Paris the following year, and maintained correspondence, including the exchange of seeds between naturalists in England, France, North America, Russia, and Sweden. His father, as a young man of 25, made the initial notations of necessary garments during his first provincial tour of Sweden. This will be closely examined with other general observations on the seventeen apostles’ clothes during fieldwork.
At the age of 25, Carl Linnaeus himself, already during his first provincial tour to Lapland in 1732, described the importance of his clothing at the outset of the journey on 12 May in his journal (Iter Lapponicum – Lappländska resan):
‘The clothes were a small coat of västgötatyg (cloth from Västergötland), without hems with small lapels and a collar of worsted shag. Breeches quite neat of leather. A pigtail wig. A bast-green cap with ear-flaps, a so-called carpus, high boots on the feet. A small case of leather 1/2 ell long, somewhat shorter of width of worked leather, with loops on one side for shutting and hanging up; inside that were put 1 shirt, 2 pairs half-sleeves, 2 night coats, ink-well, a pen-case, microscope, spy-glass. Gauze veil to protect one from midges, notebooks; a pile of bound paper in which to keep plants, both in folio; a comb, my Ornithology, Flora Uplandica and Characteres generica; a hunting knife on one side and a small pistol between my thigh and the saddle; an 8-sided stick on which mensurae have been marked; a wallet in my pocket with a passport issued by the Chancellery of the University of Uppsala.’
This detailed and enlightening account of necessary clothing and equipment was written after his return home, also supplemented with a list of all expenses linked to the journey as financed by the Royal Society of Sciences (Kongl. Wettenskaps Societeten) in Sweden. Prices of cloth, tailor’s wages, etc., give a unique insight into costs during such a natural history journey stretching from 12 May to 10 October in 1732. Below is a translation of the listed garments, along with a few thoughts on purchases made prior to and during the five-month journey. Read more…

British Navy: Robert Plampin (1762-1834)
by Richard Hiscocks 13 June 2025 At More Than Nelson
An unassuming man with a long record of largely uneventful but diverse service through the American and French wars, Plampin had an expert knowledge of Dutch waters, and commanded the St. Helena station during Napoleon Bonaparte’s exile.
He was the second son and one of sixteen children (many of whom did not survive infancy) of John Plampin of Chadacre Hall, Suffolk, and of his wife, Elizabeth Frances Hervey-Aston, the granddaughter of Admiral the Earl of Bristol.
Plampin entered the navy in September 1775 at the age of 13 under the patronage of the Earl of Bristol aboard the newly commissioned Renown 50, Captain Francis Banks. Serving in North American waters, the Renown was at Boston in May 1776 when she was attacked by five fireships in the North River and forced to leave the city. After the death of Captain Banks, Plampin moved in January 1778 to the Chatham 50, Captain Tobias Caulfield, in order to return to England at the request of the Earl of Bristol. Read more…

Book: Saving London’s Abandoned Babies in the Eighteenth Century
By Gudrun Limbrick, published by  Pen & Sword Books
In London, as the eighteenth century began, there had been significant recovery from the Great Plague and the Great Fire in the past three decades. Tracts of the city had been rebuilt and the population was growing once more. The city, largely through England’s success in battles at sea, was taking centre stage in Europe and, critically, through taking the lion’s share of the lands of the New World of America and snatching slave trading rights in West Africa. England had great wealth at its fingertips and London was at the heart of all of it.
People flocked to the capital to seek their fortune. Wealthy people invested in the new companies exploiting Africa or set up manufacturing concerns in the city. They moved into large houses in the wealthy area of the Strand and spread into other prosperous areas such as Cavendish Place. Their houses were staffed by teams of domestic servants.
At the other end of the income scale, people were leaving their rural homes where traditional jobs as labourers and in the fields were drying up, hoping to make a living in London. So many people arrived searching for work that there were too few jobs and many opportunities to be exploited. With no safety net, they had to resort to desperate measures to survive.
Babies were abandoned on the mounds of animal and human waste which towered over the overcrowded alleys. Some were dead, others dying. People walked past this tragic sight every day and chose to do nothing. One man, however, a ship-builder from Lyme, decided on a plan to save them.
The vilification of illegitimate babies and the general disdain for the poor meant that it took Thomas Coram years to garner enough support to get his plan to save the babies off the ground. However, when, in 1739, he was able to found England’s first institution for abandoned and illegitimate babies, it became a place for London’s high society to be seen.
Royalty, politicians and scientists joined the crowds of people who went to the London Foundling Hospital to see the works of Hogarth or listen to Handel perform. It became the most fashionable charity in London. But even this could not stop the babies dying.  Ref:  Pen & Sword

18th Century Stomachers
By Sarah Murden 28 June 2016 All Things Georgian
Like everything in fashion, stomachers came in and out of vogue, but during the 18th century they were very much statement pieces especially those made for the wealthier members of society and the newspapers always deemed elaborate stomachers worthy of mention when describing the outfits worn by the nobility.
A stomacher is a triangular shaped panel that fills the front of a woman’s gown and was worn from around the 15th century, but of course today we’re going to take a look at some of the ones worn in the 18th century.
By the end of the 18th-century stomachers could be as deep as 10 inches below the waist which would have made them slightly more uncomfortable for a woman to sit down.
In this painting, we can clearly see the beautiful stomacher worn by Madame de Pompadour, renown for her love of fashion. Read and see more…

The Spoilsman’s Progress
By Jeffrey D. Broxmeyer June 2025 The Common Place

Ambitious office seekers during the nineteenth century experienced wild swings of fortune that depended on the public’s mood and party benevolence.

American politics during the 1840s and 1850s was party politics. But the parties themselves were fueled by spoils—the quest for patronage. Edward W. Clay once satirized the spoilsman’s climb to power in “The Seven Stages of the Office Seeker.” The political cartoon follows the rhythms of Nathaniel Currier’s temperance propaganda, “The Drunkard’s Progress.” In Clay’s version, advancing up the party ladder required foxlike skills of servility: plying voters with liquor, food, and flattery; stumping energetically on behalf of a party ticket; and then, like a dog, begging for favor at the feet of party leaders.
The summit attained in Clay’s cartoon is glorious, symbolized by the strutting turkey. But removal invariably follows, represented by the avatar of a famished stray dog cast to the streets. A “coroner’s inquest” by the curious public examines the untimely cause of political death. In the final stage, the officeholder’s body is driven to a potter’s field. The spoilsman is discarded and forgotten. Party politics is a system, however, rather than the behavior of an individual, like Currier’s drunkard. The churn of public approbation invariably moves on to the next person. Fittingly, they, too, are destined to be a victim of party abuse. Read more…


UELAC Loyalist Directory: New Contributions

    Entries which have been added, or revised, this week.

Thanks to Brian McConnell UE who published information in the NS Branch newsletter for

  • Pte. Lutheran Morris from Brooklyn Heights, Long Island, New York servedin the 3rd Battalion of NJ volunteers under Capt David Alston and resettled in Advocate, Nova Scotia (Parrsborough Township). He and Catherine Ann Swan were parents to at least 13 chidlren

 

Events in June to Celebrate the Loyalists
Several provinces have noted our Loyalist Heritage with designated days or events. Here are sone planned events, most organized by UELAC Branches.

Fri 13 June –  Sun 15 June: Bay of Quinte Branch at UEL Heritage Centre and Park “Thunder on the Reach”
Re-enactment encampment in the park, with various activities over the weekend and UEL Flag raising on Sunday in the UEL Cemetery.  Come out to see how our ancestors lived over 200 years ago when they arrived here!
Landing re-enactment at 11:00 a.m. Sunday
Flag Raising and unveiling of the marker plaques for the donated trees on Sunday at 1:00 pm and just next door…

…Sun, 15 June 2:00 St Alban’s Centre. A Film “The Mary Ruttan Story”, Evensong United Empire Loyalist Commemorative Service and a Social Tea. See St. Alban’s Centre

Thurs. 19 June 9:00 Toronto Branch at Mississauga City Hall Community Flag Pole in conjunction with the King’s Royal Regiment (Recreated) to raise the flag. More details…  RSVP to  Jimmy Birtwel jimmy7657@live.com

Thurs. 19 June 10:00 Sir Guy Carleton Branch and the City of Ottawa at the flagpoles on Marion Dewar Plaza facing Laurier Avenue West, north side of Ottawa City Hall at 110 Laurier Avenue West. Social in the cafeteria afterwards.

Thurs. June 19 Kawartha Branch at 10:00 raising the Queen Ann flag at Peterborough City hall. We have invited the mayor, county mayor, MPP, MP, chief of police, a singing group (to lead us in God Save the King) along with other folks. Refreshments following.

Thurs. 19 June 11:00.  Toronto and Gov Simcoe Branches a Loyalist flag raising and program at Guest Flag Pole, light refreshments and tour at Queen’s Park, Toronto. Get security badges after 11:00 at West Entrance (ID required), flag raising at 11:30, then light refreshments and program indoors followed by a tour. RSVP to torontouel.office@gmail.com

Thurs. 19 June 11:00.   Hamilton Branch celebrating Loyalists’ Day at the ROCK, Dundurn Castle, York Blvd., Hamilton, at the service entrance off the parking lot.  Neil Switzer and Lee-Ann Hines-Green will discuss the Loyalist Monument at Main and John Streets, and the connection to the MILLS Family.  Wreaths-placin for members recently passed. A light lunch for those who RSVP to Glenna Marriage, gmarriage@rogers.com, and branch members, in the picnic pavilion.

Thurs. 19 June 11:30 Saskatchewan Branch in Regina: Luncheon at 11:30, Vist Loyalist Cairn and ceremony at 2:00  and then coffee and dessert. More details on website.

Thurs. 19 June 7:30 Gov Simcoe Branch virtual meeting “The History of the King’s Royal Regiment of New York” by Stuart Lyall Manson UE. The KRRNY was the largest Loyalist regiment that served out of Canada. It was created on June 19, 1776.  Stuart will provide an overview of the history, interesting specifics, and useful reading and research tips. More details and registration…

Sat. 21 June 11:30. Grand River Branch at Backus Heritage Centre, 1267-2nd Concession Rd., Port Rowan. Raising the flag at noon, then a guided tour of the mill and visit to the Pioneer Cemetery. More…

Sun. 22 June London and Western Ontario Branch is holding a Celebratory Potluck Picnic at Fanshawe Pioneer Village. A flyer will be posted on our Facebook page.  More details, ask carolmchilds@yahoo.ca

Sun 22 June St Lawrence Branch picnic lunch at 12:30 at Sir John Johnson Manor House in Williamstown. Tour to follow. RSVP Carol Goddard  junethel17@gmail.com  More details… 

More special events are welcome – send to editor.

Events Upcoming
     See above “Events in June to Celebrate the Loyalists”

American Revolution Institute: Bunker Hill, The American Army, George Washington – Tues 17 June 6:30ET

In The Whites of Their Eyes: Bunker Hill, the First American Army, and the Emergence of George Washington, Paul Lockhart, professor of history at Wright State University, highlights the Battle of Bunker Hill on the 250th anniversary of the engagement. Offering a reassessment of the first major battle of the war, Dr. Lockhart illuminates it as a crucial event in the creation of American identity while interweaving it with two other momentous narratives: the creation of America’s first army and the rise of George Washington. Details…

Gov. Simcoe Branch: “The History of the King’s Royal Regiment of New York” Thurs 19 June 7:30ET

By Stuart Lyall Manson. The King’s Royal Regiment of New York was the largest Loyalist regiment that served out of Canada during the American Revolutionary War. It was created on June 19, 1776. In this presentation Stuart will provide an overview of the history of the unit, interesting specifics, and useful reading and research tips for those who want to learn more about the regiment and its members. Details and registration…

American Revolution Institute: A 1773 British Army List –  Fri 20 June 12:30ET

The Institute’s historical programs manager, Andrew Outten, discusses a 1773 register of British Army officers, annotated with casualties suffered during the first battles of the Revolution—most notably at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Beginning in 1740, the British Army published annual books listing officers serving within the army’s various regiments, along with their dates of commissions and promotions and other pertinent information. Details…

UK Costume Society Annual Conference 2025 In the Shadow of the Georgians – From the Jacobite Rising to Waterloo, Oct 2025

The Costume Society’s Annual Conference 2025 will focus on all aspects of dress from what we know in Britain as the Georgian period of 1714 to 1815.
We will consider clothing of the period from around the world and also explore how the styles of the time have been recreated for subsequent stage and screen dramas
The Conference will be held on-line in four sessions (the afternoons of Saturday 18th  October and Saturday 25th October and the evenings of Wednesday 22nd and Wednesday 29th October). Read more… https:// costumesociety.org.uk/conference



From the Social Media and Beyond

  • “Loyalist Day” is officially recognized in several provinces of Canada during May and June.  Some of mother’s ancestors were UE Loyalists who settled near Prescott, Ontario after the American Revolution.  There Loyalist Day is celebrated on June 19th.
    Each June I raise the Loyalist Flag and this year my new drone Billly filmed it.  Watch Brian…
    For more on Loyalist Day see Annual Observances…
  • Food and Related : Townsends

  • This week in History
    •  12 Jun1764 Boston, MA. The Mass. General Court establishes a committee of correspondence to coordinate with neighboring colonies over their grievances with the Sugar Act.  image
    • 10 June 1768, Boston, MA. Tensions flared in Boston when Comptroller Benjamin Hallowell and Collector Joseph Harrison seized John Hancock’s sloop, Liberty, for allegedly evading duties on a cargo of wine. The seizure, a bold move by customs officials to enforce British tax laws, sparked outrage among colonists. The Liberty was towed and anchored beside HMS Romney, a British warship, to secure it during the dispute. Enraged by the action, members of the Sons of Liberty, a patriot group, retaliated by attacking customs officials at the wharf, escalating colonial resistance to British authority. The incident fueled anti-British sentiment, contributing to the growing unrest that ultimately led to the American Revolution. Hancock, a prominent merchant and patriot, became a symbol of defiance. The Liberty was eventually released in March 1769, but the event left a lasting mark, galvanizing colonial opposition to oppressive taxation and British overreach. image
    • 9 June 1772, Warwick, Rhode Island. Colonists led by Commodore Abraham Whipple, angered by Parliament’s passing of the Townshend Acts that restricted colonial trade, blackened their faces and boarded the HMS Gaspee. This armed British customs schooner had run aground. The furious colonists wounded the ship’s captain and set the Gaspee ablaze. The burning of HMS Gaspee was a pivotal pre-Revolutionary act of defiance against British authority. This bold attack on British property escalated tensions, foreshadowing the American Revolution. It’s often seen as one of the first overt acts of rebellion, highlighting colonial frustration with Britain’s overreach.  image
    • 8 June 1775, Yorktown, Virginia, Royal Governor Lord Dunmore (John Murray) finds refuge on board HMS Fowey in the midst of increasing violence between patriots and Loyalists in Virginia. image
    • 11 Jun 1775, Machias, MA (now ME), Ichabod Jones, a Loyalist merchant for the British, is seized by angry patriots. HMS Margaretta tries to intervene but departs when patriots seize two transport vessels, & then attack and seize the British ship. image
    • 9 June 1775, Quebec, Canada. Gov-Gen Guy Carleton declares martial law & suspends provisions of the Quebec Act while beginning to recruit volunteers to augment his military forces. image
    • 12 June 1775, Boston, MA. In a pompous proclamation written by playwright Gen John Burgoyne, MA Gov Thomas Gage declares martial law & entreats rebels (except Sam Adams & John Hancock) to lay down arms & be pardoned. Not well received by the populace. image
    • 14 June 1775, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Second Continental Congress took a bold step toward independence by establishing the Continental Army. This unified force, created to confront Great Britain’s might, marked the birth of a colonial resolve to fight for liberty. Colonel George Washington, a seasoned Virginian, was appointed commander-in-chief, tasked with forging a disciplined army from disparate militias. The initial core comprised six companies of skilled riflemen from Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, their marksmanship a vital asset. As the Revolutionary War loomed, state militia infantry regiments were reorganized into Continental Line regiments, forming the backbone of the army. Artillery units, engineers, and swift cavalry dragoons soon bolstered its ranks, evolving into a versatile force. Under Washington’s leadership, this fledgling army faced immense challenges, yet its creation symbolized the colonies’ unyielding determination to secure freedom, laying the foundation for the United States Army.  Happy Birthday, US Army! image
    • 14 Jun 1775 Boston, MA. British Generals Howe, Burgoyne & Clinton pressure General Thomas Gage to push British forces onto Dorchester Heights & Roxbury to provide room for the garrison & to stage an offensive against the rebels at Cambridge. image
    • 7 June 1776 Newbury-Port, MA After a hard-fought 2-hour battle, the 12-gun American privateer, Yankee Hero, is defeated by the frigate HMS Melford commanded by Capt John Burr.  image
    • 8 Jun 1776 Trois-Rivieres, CA. Gov Guy Carleton’s British regulars repulse & encircle more than 2K Americans, inflicting over 160 casualties & capturing over 200. Surviving rebel forces escaped through a swamp & Carleton did not pursue. image
    • 9 June 1776, Trois Rivieres, CAN. American troops under Gen William Thompson escape British forces but find their boats no longer waiting at the river. Thompson surrenders, but Gen Anthony Wayne fights his way out & returns to Sorel with 1,000 men.  image
    • 10 June 1776 Madrid. King Charles II of Spain agrees to covertly supply the US with arms & supplies & loans 1M Livres to back the front company, Roderigue, Hortalez & Cie. This provided critical support to the struggling American cause. image
    • 11 June 1776. The Second Continental Congress appointed a committee to determine the structure of a confederation for the colonies should they achieve independence. “Resolved, That the committee, to prepare the declaration, consist of five members…” image
    • 12 Jun 1776 Philadelphia, PA The Continental Congress appoints John Dickinson as chair of a committee to draft a plan for a government under the Articles of Confederation with Ben Franklin, John Adams, Benjamín Harrison& Robert Morris. image
    • 12 Jun 1777 Amboy, NJ British Gen William Howe concentrates some 18,000 British, Hessians, & Loyalists & begins his advance on Brunswick. His scheme to lure the Americans into a fight by maneuvering elements under Gen Cornwallis & von Heister fails. image
    • 13 June 1777 Georgetown, SC. A 19-year-old French nobleman, the Marquis de Lafayette, arrived at North Island accompanied by Baron de Kalb. Lafayette’s intent was to serve as a Major General in the American Army.  image
    • 12 June 1777, Fort Ticonderoga, New York. General Arthur St. Clair takes command of the undermanned garrison of 2,5000 under the leadership of Brigadiers Alexis Fermoy, John Paterson, and Enoch Poor. He inspects the inadequate defenses and surveys the surrounding hills, which could offer an advantage to any attacker. He sends urgent dispatches to Major General Philip Schuyler, requesting more troops and additional supplies to support them. Scouts soon inform him of a large body of British, German, and Canadian troops heading his way. Despite its commanding position on the waterway, he realizes Fort Ticonderoga may be more of a trap than a bastion of the North. image
    • 13 Jun 1777 Saint Johns, Quebec Gen John Burgoyne assembles some 7K British & German troops for the long-awaited invasion of NY. He also gathers 400 Indians, 139 guns & 28 gunboats, along with bateaux for transport. image
    • 7 Jun 1780 Col Elias Dayton, with the 3rd NJ Regiment and militia, engages 3K Hessians & British under Gen Wilhelm von Knyphausen at Connecticut Farms, NJ. The NJ troops fall back under pressure but then halt the Hessian & British advance when reinforced. image
    • 8 Jun 1780 Charleston, SC. Gen Henry Clinton sails for NYC, confident that the southern strategy is on track to subdue the Carolinas. He left Gen Charles Cornwallis as theatre commander.  image
    • 9 June 1780, when he arrived at the Ohio River with 900 men, Indian allies convinced British Captain Henry Bird to raid settlements on the Licking River instead of attacking Louisville, Kentucky. image
    • 8 Jun 1781 Gen Nathanael Greene, besieging Fort Ninety-Six in SC, is reinforced by troops under Gen Andrew Pickens & Col Henry Lee. At Camden, British Col Francis Rawdon marches with three regiments to relieve the fort. image
    • 11 June In 1781, the Confederation Congress appointed a United States Peace Commission that included John Adams, John Jay, Henry Laurens, and Benjamin Franklin. Thomas Jefferson declines his appointment.  image
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  • Miscellaneous


Last Post: John Lloyd of Rocanville, Saskatchewan
John Lloyd of Rocanville, Saskatchewan, beloved partner of Anne Knight, loving father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather, passed away at the Southeast Integrated Care Centre, Moosomin, Saskatchewan on Monday, May 12, 2025 at the age of 86 years.
He was born just minutes before midnight ahead of his twin sister Jean on August 24, 1938, though his birth was registered on August 25th. He lived in Prosperity District with his parents, Whitfield and Edith (Thomson) Lloyd, and siblings Bob and Gib. The family grew in the following years to include Barbara and Dave.
John met Karen Nixon and they married in 1960. He worked at the Co-op, making his way up to manager of the lumber yard.
In 1971, he decided to get back into oilfield work, which first sent him into Inuvik and Tuktoyuktuk. He survived a rig explosion in Norman Wells, NWT. In 1972, he took his family on a new adventure and applied to work with Sedco in Iran. They spent two years in Tehran and Awhaz. After Iran, they moved back to Rocanville and he went back up north to work briefly, then started yet another new adventure when he started offshore drilling in the North Sea. They moved to England and the family lived in Great Yarmouth while he worked.
Through the years, John loved to spend time at the lake with his family, buying their first boat in 1978 and then camping at Grimeau Park
John lost the love of his life in 1989, then shortly thereafter moved to Calgary, where Warren was living at the time. He spent the next ten years working in a variety of countries around the world
He met Anne Knight in Calgary at the wedding of a mutual friend and spent the next 25 years splitting his time between Rocanville, wherever he was working until he retired in 2007, and England, where Anne and her children, Jane and David, live.
Once he was retired, he built a new house in Rocanville, where he loved to host family meals. He joined the Legion and was highly involved in the Armory in Moosomin.
He lived in many places, worked in 35 countries, and left a legacy of joy and laughter, and knowledge everywhere he went. He leaves to mourn his daughters, Corinne Delmage and Dawn (Ronald) Wilson, daughter-in-law Ann Lloyd, partner Anne Knight and her children Jane (James) Hobday and David (Loraine) Knight, along with many siblings, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and even a great-great grandchild.
Read the full obituary…

John was a member of Saskatchewan Branch. He proved his descent from Daniel F. Loyd in October 2024

 

 

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