In this issue:

 

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Scholarship Challenge 2025: YOU DID IT! Congratulations, and Thank you
Thank you.
The base challenge was $5,000
You achieved the target….and overachieved by almost 50%, at $7,428
The secondary target including the matching was $10,000.
The last minute “Dare we hope” challenge was $11,000
Last minute donations took it over the top…
….and with $4,142 from the benefactor matching, finishing at $11.570.
More details at Scholarship Challenge 2025
Thank you.
Our future scholars thank you
The Scholarship Committee thanks you
On their behalf, and for all of UELAC, I thank you
Jayne Leake UE, Chairperson – a final wrap will follow in about a month’s time

German Settlers: Loyalist Refugees
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
In early June of 1783, Sir Guy Carleton, the commander in chief for the British forces in North America received a letter from the loyalist pastor of New York City’s German Reformed Church. The Rev. John M. Kern wrote on behalf of himself and 47 German families who needed assistance in finding sanctuary in Nova Scotia.  Within two months, the German refugees had boarded the Spencer, an evacuation vessel headed for the mouth of the St. John River.
To discover whom these German-speaking Loyalists were and their post-revolution lives in New Brunswick, one must begin with the victualing musters of Saint John’s Fort Howe. Detailing the occupations, home colonies, family members, and evacuation vessels for each head of a household recorded in these records, the fort’s victualing musters provide the first clues to the identities of the men, women, and children who were members of Peter Grim’s Company 33.
The data in their pages reveals the names of 25 heads of households whose combined families totalled 61 people. Given that Company 33 was listed as having 87 members, it is clear that not all of its members stayed in Saint John (then Parrtown) to receive provisions from the town’s British garrison between September of 1783 and May of 1784.
Although it was a German pastor who first wrote to Carleton for assistance, it seems that the actual organization and leadership of the refugee company fell to Peter Grim. A tanner by trade, during the American Revolution, Grim had been an officer in New York City’s German Independent militia company of Loyalists. He went to New Brunswick with his wife, two children under ten and two servants. (As the latter two are not listed in the Book of Negroes, it would seem that they were white domestic servants rather than slaves.)
Grim later ran as a candidate in the colony’s first election for its House of Assembly. One of six members of the Lower Cove “party” that favoured a more democratic form of politics, Grim and his colleagues won the popular vote, but the results were overturned in favour of the Upper Cove “party” that wanted a government led by the aristocracy.
Unsuccessful in politics, Grim served his new settlement as a tanner until his death in 1797. His estate was administered to Godfrey Leideck, a creditor who may have been a fellow German Loyalist.
John Albright, his wife, and four children were also members of Company 33. A resident of New Jersey, Albright, served with the 2nd Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers, and was a grantee at Parrtown. Later, like many other Germans, the Albright family settled near Grand Lake.
Historical records have not been consistent in spelling the names of the German Loyalists who came to New Brunswick. Formerly residents of Rhode Island, Christopher and Christian Harbel have had their surname rendered Harpil, Harple, Harper, and Hargrill in the documents of the era. Christopher, who once served with the Volunteer Loyal New Englanders, was a single man who accompanied his brother’s family on the Spencer. Christian came with a wife (perhaps Eve) and three children (Cornelius and Christopher being the sons’ names).
In 1785, Christian and his wife were executors for the estate of Jacob Law, a fellow Spencer passenger, upon the latter’s death.  Law came to the colony as a widower with two sons, Jacob Jr. and Daniel.
In 1784, the German refugees of Company 33 were granted land in New Brunswick’s Sunbury County, which included land around Grand Lake and Maquapit Lake. Among those granted lots of 200 acres was Jacob Tell/Till who had served in the British Engineering Department during the revolution.                                      Some of the German Loyalists settled further down river. Frederick Ehrenstine/D’Erenstein came to New Brunswick with his wife and three children. Two years after his arrival, his name is on record as asking for land in Maugerville. Brothers named Andrew and Ludwig/Lewis Schomber established homes on the bluff that projects out into Belleisle Bay. Over time, their name was rendered as Champier, Shampier, and finally Shamper. Today, Shampers Bluff is the only clue to the fact that the area’s first European settlers were Germans.
David Gabel and his wife Catherine came to Saint John with four children (David, William, John and Eve). Born in Frankfurt-on-the-Main, Gabel lived in New York City before establishing a bakery and butcher shop in Saint John. Described as “German Hebrews“, the Gabel family were among the first of New Brunswick’s Jewish settlers. Their bakery, which was located on the corner of Sydney and King Street North, survived until 1956 at a juncture Saint Johners referred to as Gables Corner. David Gabel died at the age of 84 in 1816. Catherine died fifteen years later.
There is no further information on Abraham Bettinger and his wife or the bachelors John Henry Leibig/Levick, Zachariah Cotawan, Matthew Shogger (Matthias Shocker), John Moritz Lantz, Christopher Seger/Segert, Zebulon Saxon/Saxton, Augustus Sickle, and the widow Margaret Moore other than the fact that they were members of Company 33. Another widow, Catherine Reisner was listed as the head of her household which was comprised of an adult male – presumably her son.
The records of the era fail to identify Anna Catharine Hauser as either a single woman or widow. Born in 1718 in Württemberg, she was known to have been a member of Rev. Kern’s German Reformed Church in New York City. At age 68, she was noted as having made property transactions on Long Island in New Brunswick’s Queen’s County in 1786. Anna lived to be 94 years old and was buried in Queenstown in July of 1812.
While most of the German members of Peter Grim’s Company 33 have only brief sentences of biographical information, one Loyalist – Leonard Slipp— has benefited from the dedicated research of two of his descendants Fran Rose and Rick Crume who were able to piece together a detailed life story.
Born Johann Leonard Schloepp on August 21, 1748 in Frankfurt-on-the-Cross in the German state of Hesse, Slipp immigrated to New York in 1766 and worked as a cooper in a potash factory. Slipp was noted for his great strength, being one of only three out of 100 employees who could place three barrels of potash one on top of the other.  By 1769, he had become the owner of a prosperous tavern.
When his loyalist principles forced him to sail for New Brunswick, he was accompanied by his wife Elizabeth Ryson/Riemer,  his mother-in-law, and two young children. By the time of Leonard’s death on September 29, 1833, the Slipps had five sons (John, George, William, Leonard and James) and four daughters (Magdalen, Elizabeth, Mary and Hannah).  At this death, Leonard Slipp’s earthly possessions were valued at £1,609.  Not listed in his will were two pewter candlesticks and a silver candlesnuffer that are now in the collection of the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John.
A year after arriving in the colony, the Slipp family settled on Long Island near Hampstead. Leonard operated The Blizzard, a two-story tavern that would later be immortalized in John Hewett’s 1824 print depicting a meeting of officers from the British garrisons in Saint John and Fredericton.
Upon settling in New Brunswick, the loyalist members of New York City’s Reformed German Church were no longer part of a common congregation, but they formed the basis of a community of settlements in the colony’s Queens County, passing on their names to the generations that followed.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

Loyalist Resources

Resource: Historic Book of Negroes through online portal
By Michael MacDonald 26 Feb 2017 Canadian Press and CBC
Information about 3,000 black loyalists bound for Nova Scotia is now available in an open data set
The image on the computer screen looks innocent enough: A ledger showing a list of names, ages and descriptions of physical stature — all of it written in a precise script that hasn’t been practised in more than two centuries.
But a closer examination of the Book of Negroes online reveals a time when black people were — legally speaking — nothing more than property.
The book was compiled in New York between April and November of 1783 at the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War.
It is a record of the 3,000 black refugees — all of whom sided with the British during the war — who were loaded on ships bound for Nova Scotia, then a British colony.
In row after row, the list of human souls reads like a commercial inventory:

  • “Aaron Jon, 42, stout fellow.”
  • “Isaac Jon, 10, fine boy.”
  • “Sarah Gordon, 28, tall, limber wench.”

And with each black loyalist’s name, their status as a current or former slave is also cited with cold detachment:

  • “Property of Thomas Prichard, (and) a refugee from Philadelphia.”
  • “Formerly slave to Sam Dyer, Rhode Island. Left him … four years ago.”
  • “(Belonged) to P.G. Brook Livingston, who gave her freedom.”

Read the article…

The register, now kept at the National Archives in London, is described as the single most important document relating to the immigration of African Americans to Nova Scotia.
Available online as images, the Nova Scotia government added most of the data to its open data portal. See the About  and the Data.

Loyalist Resource: New Interactive Map by Brian McConnell UE
Here I share some of what I have learned relating to the history of the United Empire (UE) Loyalists in the hope it is useful to others and encourages their interest.
I begin with an interactive map that I prepared. It includes details with links to images and videos about places, people, and events.
Some examples of information from the map:

  • Birthplace of Major James Moody  at Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, and where he relocated to in Nova Scotia at Weymouth North after the American Revolution.
  • Fort Edward at Windsor, Nova Scotia where the 2nd Battalion, 84th Regiment was headquartered and the location of the Battle of Eutaw Springs in South Carolina as well as other places it saw action are mapped.
  • Sorel  in Quebec which was a refugee camp for Loyalists can be found and settlement locations like Edwardsburgh, Ontario.
  • Homes built by Loyalists and their descendants which have become historical sites as is case of  McFarland House at Niagara – on – the Lake in Ontario and Loyalist House in Saint John, New Brunswick are also marked.
  • Cemeteries where Loyalists and their descendants have been buried and ones marked with plaques by branches of the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada are shown.  These include the Old Burying Ground in Halifax and others across the country to Victoria’s Ross Bay Cemetery on Vancouver Island.
  • Birchtown Museum which includes the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre and the  Mohawk Chapel  as well as other sites connected to the history of African Canadians and Canada’s indigenous community are also on the map.

Go to the blog post and follow the links…

As of early September 2025, the map has some 650+ locations, each with a description. Expand the map to hone in on specific locations. Click on the blue marker at a location for a short description.
You can explore the map directly here.

Loyalist Resource: New Blog “UE Loyalist History” by Brian McConnell UE 
Greetings!   My 5th great grandfather was James Humphrey, UE, a Private in Jessup’s Rangers during the American Revolution who afterward settled with his family near Johnstown, Ontario.  I am an historian who has authored 6 books and over 40 articles about United Empire Loyalists. As well I volunteer with the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada.

The 3 Sept 2025 post:
How is the Honourable Kody Blois, Member of Parliament for Kings – Hants, Nova Scotia connected to Nova Scotia’s first multi-racial refugees ?
He is descended from Abraham Blois who appears in the Loyalist Directory and has been proved as a United Empire Loyalist (UEL) four times by members of the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada.
Abraham Blois, born in the Parish of St. Lawrence, Essex, England in 1747 took passage to America in 1774 and during the American Revolution in 1777 enlisted in the 4th Maryland Regiment of the Continental Army.      However, he deserted and was officially discharged in 1779.  Afterward he joined a Loyalist Provincial Regiment, the 84th Regiment, formerly known as the Royal Highland Emigrants..  He saw action in the north as well as south at the Battle of Eutaw Springs, followed by garrison duty in Charleston then service in Jamaica.    Read more…

Book: Matriarchs of the Hoople Creek Loyalists
by John Sliter
Matriarchs of the Hoople Creek Loyalists” is a series of historical fiction stories about seventeen women and their families who helped to settle Upper Canada along a small creek in eastern Ontario. Their stories reflect their struggle to survive hunger, disease, and even war as they married and raised their children in a new, heavily forested and seeming impenetrable land. The first people to live along Hoople Creek were United Empire Loyalists forced to travel hundreds of miles under harsh conditions to escape the patriots of the United States in order to remain loyal to the United Kingdom. They began their new lives north of the Saint Lawrence River and along Hoople Creek, and somehow managed to survive. Many of their descendants remain in the area and have gone from a people fighting for mere survival, to an environmentally conscious, empathetic, and fair society striving to be inclusive while maintaining equality for all. It was refugees like the Hoople Creek matriarchs and their families who helped make Canadians who they are today.
John Sliter was born in Cornwall, Ontario and spent much of his childhood time at his grandparents’ farm in Pleasant Valley, north of Osnabruck Centre in Ingleside, Ontario. The Beaudette farm benefited from the proximity of Hoople Creek which was a significant draw for a young boy searching for fish, turtles or frogs and nearby wildlife.  Read more at Friesen Press…

Peter Secord in 1793 moved to the Longpoint Settlement
In May 1775, male residents aged 21 and over in Orange County were asked to sign a resolution known as an association test, indicating their loyalty to the provincial government and their rejection of British rule. Nine members of the Secord family signed, however, five refused to do so.
A few years before the Revolution, brothers John, Peter and James Secord settled on the North Branch of the Susquehanna River in what is now Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1777, the three, accompanied by five of their sons, journeyed to Fort Niagara and joined the British Indian Department. Following the August 1777 Siege of Fort Stanwix, authorization was given for John Butler to raise the “a corps of rangers” which became known as Butler’s Rangers. Seven of the eight enlisted in the new regiment, while James elected to continue serving in the Indian Department.
After the war, members of the Secord family who had demonstrated their loyalty to the British Crown received grants of land in what is now Ontario and New Brunswick. Their children were also eligible for land grants once they reached adulthood.[7] Loyalists could also submit claims for losses as a result of the war although only Solomon Secord and William Secord appear to have done so.
Peter Secord: Peter Secord (1726-1818), son of Daniel Sicard (1698-1765) enlisted in the 5th Company, Upper Battalion of the Westchester County Militia during the French and Indian War. He settled on the North Branch of the Susquehanna River shortly before the Revolution. Peter joined the British Indian Department at Fort Niagara in 1777 and later transferred to Butler’s Rangers. He was discharged in October 1778 due to his age. In 1780, Peter settled across the Niagara River in what became Niagara Township, and with his brother James built and operated the first mill in the region.
On October 8, 1796 he was granted 200 acres more at Newark (besides the 150 he applied for on May 17, 1796 at Long Point, Lake Erie, Canada). He settled at Long Point in 1793 along with the Mabies.
In 1796 moved to Charlotteville Township, Norfolk County following his son Silas who was one of the earliest settlers in Norfolk.
Peter apparently married three times

  • Unknown, one child Abigail
  • Abigail (previously married to an Emmett) in 1746, twelve chidlren: Thomas, Abigail, Silas, Stephen, Fannie, Elizabeth, Lucy, Margaret, Peter, Sarah, Ann and David
  • Rebecca Brown

Read more: At Wikipedia, at WikiTree, and attend the Cemetery Plaquing on Sept 27

Calling all Mabee and Secord  Descendants Sat 27 Sept @1:00

The Grand River Branch  is holding a special event to unveil a plaque honouring our Loyalist ancestors, the Mabee & Secord families. See the poster which outlines the details and we would be so very pleased if interested people would attend. See poster…
We do hope some of the descendants of these families will join interested others.
Please let me know should you require any further information. Bill Terry UE terrybill766@gmail.com

“It is Incredible How Much They Dread a Rifle”: Col. William Woodford’s 1775 James River Crossing 
by Patrick H. Hannum 1 Sept 2025 Journal of the American Revolution
River crossings during the American Revolution were common events. Historians, patriotic organizations and living history enthusiasts focus on several of these crossings with commemorations and reenactments. The most celebrated of all crossings is Washington’s Crossing of the Delaware on December 25, 1776. State parks, in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, recognize the crossing and events of late 1776 and early 1777 that helped to change the course of the Revolution. Lord Charles Cornwallis’s crossing of the Catawba River, in North Carolina, at Cowans Ford on February 1, 1781, initiated Nathanael Greene’s race to the Dan River in Virginia. Greene’s crossing of the Dan took place on February 15 of that year.  … Only Cornwallis’s crossing of the Catawba was opposed by enemy forces.
An opposed crossing in Virginia of the lower James River by Patriot forces under command of Col. William Woodford, in November of 1775, is relegated to a footnote in the Revolution. This crossing was one of the first operations in a series of linked events that evolved into the campaign to remove royal colonial governance from the Colony and later State of Virginia. Just as Washington’s crossing of the Delaware changed the course of the Revolution in the middle colonies, Woodford’s crossing of the James River in November 1775 changed the course of the Revolution in Virginia. Opposed river crossings are dangerous and risky operations, particularly for new untrained or inexperienced units, and Woodford’s force, unlike Cornwallis’s at Cowans Ford, suffered no losses in this crossing. One of the important elements in the success experienced during this crossing was the effective employment of rifles by skilled Patriot riflemen. Read more…

Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a large natural freshwater lake in North America. With a length of 172 km and surface area over 1,295 km2, it lies mostly between New York and Vermont and north into Quebec.
Because of Lake Champlain’s connections both to the St. Lawrence Seaway via the Richelieu River, and to the Hudson River via the Champlain Canal, Lake Champlain is sometimes referred to as “The Sixth Great Lake”.
Lake Champlain drains northward through the 171 km Richelieu River into the St. Lawrence River at Sorel-Tracy, Quebec.
History
The lake has long acted as a border between indigenous nations, at the frontier between Abenaki and Mohawk (Iroquois Confederacy) traditional territories.
The lake was named after the French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who encountered it in July 1609.
New France allocated concessions all along Lake Champlain to French settlers and built forts to defend the waterways. In colonial times, Lake Champlain was used as a passage between the Saint Lawrence and Hudson valleys.
The lake’s northern tip at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec (St. John in British colonial times) is just 40 km from Montreal. The southern tip at Whitehall (Skenesborough) is 37 km north of Glens Falls on the Hudson River and 110 km north of Albany.
Forts were built at Ticonderoga and Crown Point (Fort St. Frederic) to control passage on the lake in colonial times. Important battles were fought at Ticonderoga in 1758 and 1775. During the Revolutionary War, the British and Americans conducted a frenetic shipbuilding race through the spring and summer of 1776, at opposite ends of the lake, and fought a significant naval engagement on October 11 at the Battle of Valcour Island.
Beginning of the Revolutionary War
At the start of the Revolutionary War, British forces occupied the Champlain Valley. The British forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, on Lake Champlain, were known to have ample supplies of artillery and were weakly-manned by the British.
By taking control of these forts in May 1775, Americans not only gained heavy artillery, but control of a vast water highway as well: Lake Champlain provided a direct invasion route to British Canada. However, had the British controlled the lake, they could have divided the colonies of New England and further depleted the Continental Army.
Siege of Quebec: 1775–1776
The lake leads directly to the heart of Quebec. Immediately after taking Forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point, the Americans began planning an attack on British Canada. Brigadier General Richard Montgomery led the first assault up the Champlain Valley into Canada.
Further military activity ensued through the Revolutionary War.  Read more at Wikipedia…

250 Years Ago: The Invasion of Canada

from Lake Champlain
General Philip Schuyler orchestrated the plans for the attack on Canada, The force led by Brigadier General Richard Montgomery would advance up Lake Champlain towards Montreal.
    Between August 27 and Sept 3, 1775,

  • Sept 3. American forces under General Philip Schuyler arrived at Île aux Noix, the initial staging ground for the invasion
  • Sept 4: General Richard Montgomery took command of the expedition after Schuyler became ill.
  • Sept 6: American troops began making forays toward the strategically important Fort St. John, the main defensive point south of Montreal.
  • Sept 6 A party of Mohawks and other Aboriginal people led by Grand Chief Solsienhoouane and captains Tice and de Lorimier ambushed American troops near the fort, forcing a temporary American retreat to Île aux Noix
  • Sept 10-11: A second attempt to attack the fort resulted in confusion and a false alarm, leading to another American setback.

The British Preparations
Governor Guy Carleton was keenly aware of the impending invasion from the south up the Richelieu River. His defensive strategy centered on holding Fort St. Jean, which protected the water route to Montreal. He also began preparing Quebec City for a potential seige.
Specific preparations included:

  1. Fortifying Fort St. Jean: The British had been reinforcing Fort St. Jean since May 1775. By the end of August, it was heavily defended by approximately 750 men, mostly British regulars from the 7th and 26th Regiments of Foot.
  2. Fortifying Quebec City: Upon learning of the Congressional plan for invasion, Governor Carleton ordered defensive measures in Quebec City.
    1. Closing the Gates: Gates were closed at 6 p.m. each night, and non-residents needed to register their entry.
    2. Preparing for a Siege: Food supplies were stockpiled to last through a potential prolonged siege until the spring.
    3. Burning Structures: Houses were burned to eliminate hiding places for the invading American soldiers.
  3. Securing Loyalty: The Church warned its parishioners to remain loyal to the British crown.
  4. British Force Composition: The British forces in Canada at this time included the 7th and 26th Regiments, guarding the St. Lawrence River Valley, and the 8th Regiment, stationed around the Great Lakes

From Maine
Between September 3 and 10, 1775, Benedict Arnold and his team were planning and preparing for their secret expedition to Quebec. Arnold was in the Cambridge/Boston area, where he was assembling his force and securing supplies and transportation for the difficult journey through the Maine wilderness.

British Preparations
In September 1775, the British were not aware of the invading group coming from Maine.

Order to attack ships supplying the King’s army inside Boston
By General George Washington 2 Sept 1775 at Cambridge.  from Founder Online
Gen. George Washington ordered army captain Nicholas Broughton “to take the Command of…the Schooner Hannah at Beverly” with a contingent of Marblehead troops and attack ships supplying the king’s army inside Boston

Instructions to Captain Nicholson Broughton

  1. You being appointed a Captain in the Army of the United Colonies of North America, are hereby direct⟨ed⟩ to take the Command of a Detachment of sd Army & proceed on Board the Schooner Hannah at Beverly lately fitted out & equipp’d with Arms Ammunition & Proviss. at the Continental Expence.
  2. You are to proceed as Commander of sd Schooner immediately on a Cruize against such Vessels as may be found on the High Seas or elsewhere bound inwards or outwards to or from Boston in the Service of the ministerial Army & to take & seize all such Vessels laden with Soldiers, Arms, Ammunition or Provisions for or from sd Army or which you shall have good Reason to suspect are in such Service.
  3. If you should be so successful as to take any of sd Vessels you are immediately to send them to the nearest & safest Port to this Camp under a careful Prize Master directing him to notify me by Express immediately of such Capture with all Particulars & there to wait my farther Direction.
  4. You are to be very particular & diligent in your Search after all Letters or other Papers tending to discov⟨er⟩ the Designs of the Enemy or of any other Kind & to forward all such to me as soon as possible.
  5. Whatever Prisoners you may take you are to treat with Kindness & Humanity

Read more…

Hessian Soldiers Travelling to America: Sailing home…The English Channel. August 1783
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)
  • May 1783: departed Frederick MD for Springfield, Long Island
  • August 1783: Boarded ship at Denys’s Ferry

1783: Continuation of the Notable Occurences in the North American Field Campaign; Marching out of Captivity to Springfield on Long Island, in the Seventh and Last Year, Page 144

In the Month of August 1783
28 August. We sailed near the land in the region of the Falmouth Islands.
Our ship entered the Channel. In the morning we had a quartering wind from the southeast; during the evening, however, and through the entire night, we had an adverse east wind. The sea became very restless and the amazing waves mounted like mountains. These drove water into our ship.
As  soon  as  it  became  apparent  that  a  storm  might  occur  —  which  the  sailors  could anticipate as much by the previous wind as by the waves of the restless, growing seas — the masts  were  immediately  lowered  and  securely  fastened,  all  lines  and  ropes  were  made  fast, and all sailors and marines had to stand in readiness, day and night. When the storm became very  bad  and  so  dangerous  as  to  be  life-threatening,  the  tops  of  the  three  mast  poles  were lowered; also the crossbars were lowered and made fast. On the uppermost deck of the ship, at the same time, all entrances and openings, such as all windows and doors and hatches, were nailed shut and covered with thick oilcloth so that no water could enter the ship; because the tips of the crossarms and the flags and pennants on the mast poles often dip into the water. At these  times  also,  the  steering  rudder  is  tied  and  made  secure,  and  the  ship  is  given  over completely to the raging waves of the ocean and the direction of the Almighty. The men pray and recommend themselves to the dear, ominpotent God, and give themselves completely to His help and salvation.

29 August. I went on ship’s watch. In the morning we had a good southwest  wind,  but  it was  still  quite  stormy.  We  sailed  swiftly  past  Plymouth  and  Yarmouth,  lying  on  our  left. Plymouth  is  a  beautiful,  large,  and  well-built  spot  and  has  a  good  harbor.  Yarmouth  is  a beautiful seaside and rich trading city with a good harbor, which is well known because of the herring fishing that is pursued here. This region of England is beautiful and charming, fertile, and well  developed. Above all, England  is  incomparably good with  regard  to  fertility. Only wood is scarce, because little grows in this country; therefore, mostly coal, of which there is an abundance, is burned.
To the Isle of Wight, whose main city, Newport, is a  large place, and then we sailed past Portsmouth and its roadstead.
Portsmouth is a secure, well-built, thickly populated trade city on the island of Portsea with a good and secure harbor on the Channel.

30 August. We had good west winds and sailed close past Dover.
Dover, which lay to our left, is a beautiful seaside city. It has a good harbor. The fortress, Dover Castle, lies on a height at a distance of one mile and  is of great importance. Here the government’s captives are brought in custody. It lies seven [German] miles from London.
At Dover all passengers departing for France and other places are stopped and searched, as they cannot take more than ten pounds sterling out of the country.
At three o’clock in the afternoon we arrived at Deal, a seaside city in England.
We heartily thanked God, who had helped us this far and led us so wonderfully, saved us from  all  danger,  and  brought  us  here  in  twenty-seven  days  (from  our  departure  from America), that we have completed also this  long  journey  over  water,  healthy,  happy,  and  in such a short time.
Deal  is  a  large,  beautiful,  seaside  city,  well  situated  for  trade  with  an  extensive  harbor, which is sandy and therefore unsafe during storms because the anchors cannot take firm hold in the sand.
Deal has four strong citadels on the right and left. Opposite, on the right, lie the coastlines of Calais, Toulon, and Dunkirk.
In  Deal  the  inhabitants  brought  us  all  sorts  of  foodstuffs  on  board.  Everything  here  was cheap. A quart of beer cost only a half-penny, or three good pfennigs.
31 August. We lay  here quietly at anchor. Concerning England, it should  be noted that in this land there were no wolves, storks, nor frogs.
This month was mostly cold and rainy.
(to be continued)


Culper Spy Austin Roe . . . the Joiner?
by Mark Sternberg 4 Sept 2025 Journal of the American Revolution
The Culper Spy Ring. An espionage network composed primarily of civilians funneling military intelligence to Gen. George Washington out of British-occupied New York City and Long Island. Washington once referred to it as “the channel upon which I most depend.” It has been the subject of several books and a television show, so many would suspect there is little new information left to uncover.
With a Revolutionary War story so intertwined with local lore, mistakes are nonetheless still routinely found in the Culper Spy Ring’s history. Quite often when those errors arise though, they can be traced back to Morton Pennypacker, an early twentieth century Long Island historian famous for bungling his facts. He was the one who first attached a historical narrative to the ring. Yet, he is not to blame for the confusion over the occupation of Austin Roe, the primary cross-island courier for the Culper Spy Ring who resided in Setauket. This is one circumstance in which Pennypacker remains blameless.
The Myth of Austin Roe the Tavernkeeper
For decades, it has been held that Austin Roe worked as a tavernkeeper, operating a tavern from his home in Setauket. This supposed fact made its earliest appearance in a privately published book from 1904 entitled The Diary of Captain Daniel Roe. The author, Alfred Seelye Roe, a descendant of both Austin Roe and his brother Daniel Roe due to some kissing cousins, wrote, “Of Austin . . . it should be stated that . . . during the earlier part of his life, he kept a tavern in Setauket, where his unmarried brother, Justus, made his home with him. Later he moved to the south shore.”
Since the release of that book, Austin’s occupation as tavernkeeper has been reintroduced in virtually every publication on the Culper Spy Ring to varying degrees and often plays a part in how the ring functioned. Read more…

Advertised on 3 September 1775: ‘LETTERS, Written by the late Right Honourable, the Earl of Chesterfield, To his Son’

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

“LETTERS, Written by the late Right Honourable, the Earl of Chesterfield, To his Son.”

James Humphreys, Jr., led the September 2, 1775, edition of the Pennsylvania Ledger with an advertisement for Letters by the Late Right Honourable, the Earl of Chesterfield, to His Son, Phillip Stanhope.  Although the header proclaimed, “Just PUBLISHED and TO BE SOLD, By James Humphreys, junior,” the printer of the Pennsylvania Ledger merely sold copies of a book printed by others.  As was often the case, the phrase “Just PUBLISHED” meant that a book, pamphlet, print, or other items was now available for purchase, but advertisers expected readers to separate “Just PUBLISHED” and “TO BE SOLD.”  Only the latter applied to the advertiser.  In this case, Humphreys likely stocked copies of an American edition printed by Hugh Gaine and James Rivington in New York.
Prospective customers did not care nearly as much about who printed the book as they did about the contents.  The advertisement (drawn from the extended title of the work) indicated that it consisted of four volumes that contained the Earl of Chesterfield’s letters “Together with several other pieces, on various subjects: Published by Mrs. Eugenia Stanhope, from the original, now in her possession.”  The earl had written 448 letters to his son between 1737, when the boy was five, and his death in 1768.  At that time, the early learned that his son had been secretly wed for a decade and had two sons of his own.  The earl provided for his grandsons but did not support their mother.  In turn, she published the collection of letters. Read more…

Suzanne Morse-Hines Memorial Genealogy Family History Award
The Suzanne Morse-Hines Memorial Genealogy Family History Award for research in genealogy and family history, and actions towards genealogical success, is exclusive to the UELAC membership. Recipients exemplify Volunteer Excellence and Participation for their contribution to the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada.

Linda Drake UE, Vancouver Branch, 2025 Recipient of this award
It is with great enthusiasm that we nominate Linda Drake UE for the 2025 UELAC Suzanne Morse-Hines Memorial Genealogy Family History Award. Linda’s unwavering dedication to genealogical research has profoundly impacted her family, the Vancouver Branch, the Pacific Region, and the broader community.
Linda has meticulously traced and documented numerous Loyalist ancestors, not only within her lineage but also for her husband George’s family. To date, Linda has proven the following Loyalist Ancestors for herself and her family: Henry McDell, Basnet McDell, William Stuart, Stephen Fountain, John Appleby, James Appleby, Jonathan Stover, John Lawless, Andrew Lloyd, Josiah Heney, Archibald Heney and Charles Stuart. Read more about Linda and previous recipients of this award…

UELAC Loyalist Directory: New Contributions

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

  • Peter Secord Sr. born in New Rochelle, New York, but was living in Walpack Township, Sussex County, New Jersey before the war. Brothers John, Peter and James Secord  anf five of their sons journeyed to Fort Niagara and joined the British Indian Department. Peter later transferred to Butler’s Rangers. He was discharged in October 1778 due to his age. In 1780, Peter settled across the Niagara River in what became Niagara Township, and with his brother James built and operated the first mill in the region. He moved to Long Point in 1793 along with the Mabies. In 1796 moved to Charlotteville Township, Norfolk County following his son Silas who was one of the earliest settlers in Norfolk.
  • Pvt. James Craig from Worcester MA served in 2nd Battalion, Delancey’s Brigade. He settled after the war at Carleton, New Brunswick and in 1788 married Mary Ann Polly Blake. They had six children but James died in 1799, and Mary Ann remarried to William Orser. From the Certificate application by Graham Walker UE. 
  • From Kevin Wisener UE Abegweit Branch comes information about Thomas Robinson 1730 – 1789 who was prominent Delaware. He served as a Member of the Delaware House of Assembly. He was elected to attend the American Congress but declined to attend. In 1775 he was apprehended as a Loyalist. he effected his escape leaving behind his family and four children. He served both Sir William Howe and Sir Henry Clinton. Purchased land at Wilmot, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia where he remained until a few years before his death. He was advised by his physician to move southward and he returned to Delaware and died at the home of his brother Peter Robinson.

 

Events Upcoming

American Revolution Institute: Author’s Talk—Republic and Empire: Crisis, Revolution, and America’s Early Independence Thurs 11 Sept @6:30 

Andrew O’Shaughnessy is a professor of history at the University of Virginia. At the time of the American Revolution, the British Empire had colonies in India, Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Canada, Ireland and Scotland. The thirteen rebellious American colonies accounted for half of the total number of provinces in the British world after the Seven Years’ War.  Andrew looks beyond the familiar borders of the Revolution by exploring colonies that did not rebel – Quebec, Nova Scotia, Bermuda, India, the British Caribbean, Senegal and Ireland – to provide a broader history that transcends what we think we know about the Revolution. Details…

Glengarry Rambles, Eastern Ontario bus tour; Four Dates Sept, 20, 21 Oct 4, 5

From South Lancaster north to McCrimmon and return. Hear about Major Angus in the Grove, Lalonde’s Sink, Kelly’s Swamp, Bonnie Briar and more.  Details and registration…

From the Social Media and Beyond

  • Food and Related : Townsends

  • This week in History
    • 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
    • 5 Sep 1774. First session of the Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia. Fifty-six delegates from all the colonies, except Georgia, drafted a Declaration of Rights & Grievances & elected Virginian Peyton Randolph as the first president of Congress.  image
    • 6 Sep 1774, Worcester, MA. Militiamen from throughout Worcester County closed the Royal Courts, forcing officials to defy Parliament by verifying the provincial charter and citizen rights. British authority was banished from Worcester County.  image
    • 31 Aug 1775 The Massachusetts Spy, a Boston 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 the Olive Branch Petition to the Earl of Dartmouth. King George III refused to receive the petition, which appealed directly to the king for reconciliation between the colonies & Britain.  image
    • 2 Sep 1775 Beverly, MA. Gen George Washington commissions the 1st US warship – schooner Hannah. Capt Nicholas Boughton’s 1st mission is to attack British supply & transport ships in Boston Harbor. image
    • 2 September 1776: Gen. John Sullivan, recently paroled by the British, arrives in Philadelphia with a letter from British Admiral Richard Howe requesting a meeting with private citizens. The 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 retreats from the city, but leaves the decision to withdraw up to him. image
    • 5 September 1776: The Continental Congress decides not to send a delegation of private citizens to meet Admiral Richard Howe (at 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 an Atlantic convoy of British merchant ships but is eventually driven off by Royal Navy warships. image
    • 3 Sep 1777 Capt Thomas Thompson’s frigate USS Raleigh was severely damaged & inflicted casualties on the convoy escort sloop, HMS Druid. But adverse winds prevent the British ship’s capture. image
    • 3 Sep 1777 An advance guard of British & Hessians under Cornwallis clashed with Gen William Maxwell’s screening force at Cooch’s Bridge, the only RevWar battle in DE & first with the American flag. 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 attack on British foraging party from HMS Juno. The British repulse the attack and finish foraging but lose three killed. image
    • 31 Aug 1778 Battle of Kingsbridge, or the Stockbridge Indian Massacre. Queen’s Rangers under Col John Graves Simcoe ambushed Chief Nimham & 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
    • 4 Sep 1778 Amsterdam, Netherlands. To the consternation of the British government, the US concludes a treaty of peace & amity. image
    • 1 Sep 1779 In an unusual bout of fiscal responsibility, 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
    • 3 Sep 1779 American Capt John Paul Jones sailed along the coast of Britain, intent on raiding Leith, Edinburgh & Newcastle-on-Tyne. His actual damage would be modest, but the morale effect on the populace was considerable.  image
    • On 30 August 1780, General Benedict Arnold agreed by letter to British Major John Andre that he would hand over his command of West Point on the Hudson River in New York, for 20,000 pounds & rank of Brigadier General in exchange.  image
    • 1 Sep 1780 Boston, MA John Hancock becomes the state’s first governor elected by the people.  image
    • 4 Sep 1780, Blue Savannah, SC. Lt. Col. Francis Marion’s 50 Carolina militia routed Loyalists under Major Micajah Ganey. The victory disrupted Loyalist control in the Pee Dee & Santee River regions, bolstering Marion’s forces.   image
    • 30 Aug 1781 Comte de Grasse’s French fleet arrives at the Chesapeake Bay to assist the Americans in their assault on British Gen Charles Cornwallis and his troops at Yorktown, VA. The arrival played a decisive role in the British defeat at Yorktown. 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 off Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, a critical naval battle shaped the outcome of the American Revolution. Known as the Battle of the Chesapeake, it pitted British Admiral Thomas Graves, commanding 19 ships of the Royal Navy, against French Admiral Comte de Grasse, whose 24 ships of the line skillfully formed a battle line. Graves, possibly overconfident or misjudging the situation, allowed de Grasse to dictate the terms of engagement. The intense, nearly three-hour clash saw heavy cannon fire but no decisive blows. Though tactically inconclusive, the battle’s strategic impact was profound. Graves failed to break de Grasse’s blockade of Chesapeake Bay, leaving British General Cornwallis’s army at Yorktown cut off from supplies and reinforcements. The French fleet’s control of the bay trapped Cornwallis, leading to his surrender six weeks later on October 19, 1781. This naval defeat was a turning point, proving that sea power could decide the war’s outcome. Often overshadowed by Yorktown’s climax, the Battle of the Chesapeake was pivotal in securing American independence. image
    • 2 Sep 1782 Coosaw River, SC, Gen Mordecai Gist, commanding militia and a 6-lb cannon, captured a British position and opened fire on two enemy gunboats. One escaped, but the other was captured and added to the militia. image
    • 3 Sep 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed by representatives of the United States, Great Britain, Spain, and France, officially bringing an end to the Revolutionary War. It also formalized Great Britain’s recognition of America’s independence. image
    • 5 Sept 1783: After the signing of the Treaty of Paris, John Adams wrote to Congress that “On Wednesday, the 3d day of this month, the American ministers met the British minister at his lodgings at the Hôtel de York, and signed, sealed, and delivered the definitive treaty of peace between the United States of America and the King of Great Britain.” image

 

 

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