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“I Want to Vent Myself”: The Letters of Mrs. Christian Barnes.  Part One of Four  
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
On June of 1770, a loyalist woman in Marlborough, Massachusetts wrote to Elizabeth Smith, a friend living in England, pouring out all of her frustrations with the growing political crisis.  The letter that was penned by Christian, the wife of Henry Barnes, provides a vivid snapshot of the times from a woman’s perspective.
“It is long since I have dabbled in politics, and sorry I am to resume the subject . . . Nor would I now trouble you with it but that I want to vent myself… The spirit of discord and confusion which has prevailed with so much violence in Boston has now begun to spread itself into the country. These poor deluded people with whom we have lived so long in peace and harmony have been influenced by the Sons of Rapine to take every method to distress us.”
The 28 year-old Christian was the daughter of John Arbuthnot and Abigail Little of Boston. Christian married Henry Barnes, the son of her father’s business partner, in September of 1746. Barnes was a prominent merchant who, in the months following the Boston Massacre, was still importing British goods. This did not sit well with the growing anti-British sentiment among the people of Massachusetts, and made the Barnes couple a target for persecution. Henry and Christian were loyalists, although it was a term that –in 1770– had not yet been applied to those who opposed the revolutionary fervour of the times.
Christian’s letter to her British correspondent reveals the level of danger loyal Bostonians faced.  “While all this was in agitation there was great outrages committed and insults offered to the importers in Boston, so that some of them have been compelled to quit the town, as not only their property but their lives were in danger. Nor are we wholly free from apprehensions of this like treatment, for they have already begun to commit outrages.”
The Patriot mob that threatened violence against loyal merchants took their wrath out on the Barnes’ coach. “This they took the cushions out of and put them in the brook, and the next night cut the carriage to pieces… The greatest loss we have as yet met with was by a mob in Boston, who, a few nights ago, attacked a wagonload of goods which belonged to us. They abused the driver, and cut a bag of pepper, letting it all into the street; then gathered it up in their handkerchiefs and hats, and carried it off.”
Violence against Barnes continued to escalate. “An effigy was hung upon a hill in sight of the House, with a paper pinned to the breast, whereon was wrote, “Henry Barnes,” as infamous importer. This hung up all day, and at night they burnt it. A few nights after, they stole the covering from the wagon … and the same night stole a man’s horse from a neighboring stable. They dressed an image in this wagon covering, tarred the horse, saddle and bridle, placed the image upon his back, and set him loose about the town, with an infamous paper pinned to the breast, which was summed up with wishing of us all in hell.”
The Barneses received a letter that threatened more violence against the merchant. Christian then learned of an attack on the home of friends in Boston. “You may judge what sleep I had that night, and, indeed, ever since we have slept in such a manner that it can hardly be called rest. It is the business of the evening to see the firearms loaded, and lights properly placed in the store and house and this precaution we have taken ever since we received the letter.”  It is little wonder that Christian felt the need to vent.
Fortunately, for posterity, a handful of Christian’s letters survived the violence of the American Revolution, revealing the trials and tribulations of Loyalists in Massachusetts.  In the late 19th century, those charged with cleaning Brush Hill, a stately home in Milton, Massachusetts, found her correspondence within a collection of family letters. Brush Hill had once belonged to a Loyalist named James Murray. When Murray’s grandson died, a “large box of letters and papers” that “had lain many years untouched in the garret” was given to Susan Lesley, the Loyalist’s great-granddaughter. Recognizing their historical value, Lesley organized the letters into a book that was “printed, not published” in Boston in 1901.
Just a part of a collection of letters written by Murray family and friends, Christian Barnes’ correspondence dates from 1769 to 1786. Despite the many gaps in the cache of letters, Christian’s letters are an invaluable glimpse of a world as seen by a loyalist woman.
The 18th century world did not believe that women had political convictions, and so they were usually treated as neutral parties during the American Revolution. Nevertheless, in as early a letter that Christian penned on November 20, 1769, it is evident that Mrs. Barnes was politically aware.
“Those daring Sons of Liberty are now at the tip-top of their Power and . . . even to Speak disrespectfully of the Well Disposed {her code word for the Patriot party} is a Crime equal to high Treason . . . When the deluded multitude finds they have been led astray by false maxims they may Possibly turn upon them with their own weapons . . . This is my Private opinion, but how I came to give it is a mystery, for Politics is a puddle I never choose to dabble in.”
Despite this sentiment, Christian made a request of her British correspondent: “Do, Bless you, send us a little Dash of Politicks from the other side the water that we may see something that has the appearance of Truth, for our “Well Disposed” import such a vast quantity of lies with their other.”
It is interesting to note that Christian was well aware of the bullying tactics of the Sons of Liberty and of the fact that they were spreading a lot of “fake news” among those that she would later call the “poor, deluded people“.
Within a few months of writing about the “puddle of politics“, violence erupted in the colony’s capital – an event that would later be known as the Boston Massacre. Following the arrest of Captain Thomas Preston (the British officer in charge of the soldiers who fired upon a crowd of Bostonians), violence against local loyalists increased.
Christian shared these incidents with her correspondent. One man had “been carted out of town at noonday in a most ignominious manner” and two others had “fled for their lives“. Christian feared for the officer, writing that it was “everybody’s opinion poor Preston would be hanged.” (It would not be until October 30, 1770 that Preston was cleared of manslaughter charges.)
Another Loyalist had the windows of his home broken, compelling his family to go to the local British garrison for protection. Christian and her family lived in terror of being targeted in the same fashion.
By July of 1770, Christian wrote that her husband “had offered all his real estate to sale.” Clearly, his continued importation of British goods was putting the family in danger of retribution, so having cash on hand would be helpful if a sudden emergency arose. Despite the Barneses’ fear of violence at the hands of the Sons of Liberty, February of 1775 saw them take the risk of harbouring two British spies.
That story – and more of Christian’s “venting” — will be featured in next week’s Loyalist Trails.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

Hessian Soldiers Travelling to America: Returning Home: Moving Across Continental Europe. October 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
  • September 1783: England, The North Sea and Germany

1783: Continuation of the Notable Occurences in the North American Field Campaign;

In the Month of October 1783 – page 152

20 October. I went into the city as orderly for Colonel von Seybothen.
21 October. Still lying at M†nden.
22 October. Still there, because we had to wait on the remaining troops of our regiment.
23 October. Private Hassfurther, of Quesnoy’s Company, deserted from the ship during the night with Private Purucker’s wife. Warrants of arrest, for their apprehension, were sent out at the instigation of our colonel and the general and city commandant, Count von Werneck, but nothing  more has  been  heard  of  them.  In  his  profession  of shoemaker, this  Hassfurther  was very good. He was born in M†nchberg and had a wife and child there. The female Purucker, who escaped with him, was from Thurnau and the daughter of a shepherd.
24 October. I pulled watch.
25 October. We were still aboard ship.
26 October.  Two  men  from  our  regiment  deserted  together,  namely,  Drummer Schindelbauer, of Quesnoy’s Company, and Private Schneider II, of Eyb’s Company.
27 October. I pulled watch for Private [Johann] Witzger, of Quesnoy’s Company.
28 October.  Today  a  transport  with  the  Grenadiers  and  the  Colonel’s  Company  of  our regiment arrived here, having come up the Weser, but Major von Beust and his company and our Artillery Corps remained behind.
29 October. I went on watch as a private.
30 October.  We  left  Hannover  M†nden  in  the  morning  at  nine  o’clock,  after  having remained  there  fourteen  days.  We  marched  through  the  city  with  dressed  ranks.  Today  we arrived at Tornbach, a village, where we were quartered for the first time after having made our first march on land today. We were given shelter and had to pay  for our food and drink. The Hessians treated us reasonably and,  for the  least  hospitality,  took our money; while, on the other hand, we always gave the children, where we stayed, a small gift.
31 October. We marched and arrived at Meckelsdorf, where we again took quarters.
On the whole, October had good weather for marching and was always dry and cold.
(to be continued)

Blog: About UE Loyalist History
by Brian McConnell UE at UE Loyalist History

United Empire Loyalist Heritage Centre and Park
The best known United Empire Loyalist site in Canada is the United Empire Loyalist (UEL) Heritage Centre and Park in  Adolphustown, Ontario located on the Adolphus Reach of the Bay of Quinte,
A group of about 250 United Empire Loyalists led by Major Peter Van Alstine landed at Adolphustown on 16 June 1784. The group first sailed from New York in the fall of 1783 and spent the winter at Sorel , Quebec. In the spring, they continued up the St. Lawrence River to the Bay of Quinte and founded the first permanent white settlement in Adolphustown Township.  Read more…

Fort Ticonderoga
The strategic location of Fort Ticonderoga at the head of Lake Champlain led to its’ importance during the French Indian War and the American Revolution. It is called  the “Gibraltar of the North”.
On July 8, 1758 John Grant  was serving in the 42nd Regiment (also known as the Black Watch) with the British forces that led an unsuccessful attack on the Fort.  He was a commander in 1776 when New York was captured. At the end of the American Revolution he was granted lands as a United Empire Loyalist at Summerville, Hants County, Nova Scotia.
Among these artifacts was a powder horn that once was the property of  General Timothy Ruggles. He is well known in Nova Scotia, where he settled near Middleton, as a prominent United Empire Loyalist. Read more…

Digby, Nova Scotia
Three words “Of Loyalist Descent” can be used to describe many people in the Town and County called Digby, Nova Scotia. Communities like Barton , Gilbert’s Cove , Smiths Cove, and Tiddville were named after the Loyalists who settled there.
The cemeteries and churches trace their origins. Within the Town, the Old Loyalist Cemetery and Trinity Anglican Church Cemetery are the oldest places to find United Empire Loyalists buried.  Read more…

250 Years Ago: The Invasion of Canada Sept 17 – Oct 15

from Lake Champlain
General Philip Schuyler orchestrated the plans for the attack on Canada, launched on 25 August 1775. The first attack on Fort St. Jean on 6 Sept failed. A second on 10 Sept also failed. Schyler became too ill and Richard Montgomery assumed command on 16 Sept.  The siege of Fort St Jean began on 17 Sept.

Background:
On 10 May 1775, Major Benedict Arnold (Massachusetts) and Ethan Allan of the Green Mountain Boys (Connecticut) captured Fort Ticonderoga. The British offered no resistance as the commander was unaware that war had begun between England and the colonists. Soon after, they shot north about ten miles to Crown Point. The fort, partially destroyed by a devastating fire in 1773, was lightly garrisoned and easily taken.
Arnold was not through. He headed south to Skenesborough (present day Whitehall). He seized loyalist Philip Skene’s schooner Katherine, the first vessel to be captured in the war and the first designated warship of the rebellious colonies. Renamed Liberty, Arnold assumed command and immediately set sail for St. John’s, Canada, on the northern end of the lake. He surprised and captured the King’s sloop Betsy. Arnold renamed the sloop Enterprise and confidently reported, “At present, we are Masters of the Lake.”
Arnold immediately carried on further north to Fort St. Jean. There he arrived on May 18th. He raided the poorly defended fort of its supplies and proceeded back to Lake Champlain. American forces on Lake Champlain were in complete control of a water highway that led directly into the heart of Quebec. This left only around 700 British regulars in Quebec Province to guard a series of small forts and redoubts. The door to Canada was basically left open. To capitalize on their strategic advantage, the Americans made immediate plans to invade Canada.
By late summer, 1775, the American Second Congress was determined to bring Canada, the British 14th colony in America, into the fold of rebellion along with the other thirteen colonies.
However, it took time to organize, equip, and assemble the American forces. By the time Schuyler’s and Montgomery’s Continentals marched north in the early fall of 1775, the door to invasion was no longer wide open. British Governor General Sir Guy Carlson had reinforced the forts along the Richelieu River with British regulars. So too he recruited Canadian loyalists, many hardened veterans from the French and Indian War, as well as Native American allies. Ample supplies and munitions were shipped downriver to the garrisons along the Richelieu; most particularly St. Jean.

Between Oct 15 and 22, 1775
The siege of Fort St, Jean which had begun on 17 Sept continued. On October 14, the American battery to launch the bombardment on the Royal Savage was completed. It opened fire on the ship and sank it in the river.
Fort Chambly, manned by only 82 British regulars from the 7th Regiment of Foot, was just north (down river) of Fort St. Jean.
James Livingston is credited in convincing Montgomery to take the fort, near where his militia was encamped. He rightfully proposed that the capture would disillusion the garrison at St. Jean. It would also lay claim to the fort’s supplies and ammunition; much needed by the Americans. Two nine-pounder guns were floated past Fort St. Jean. On October 16th, the cannon began to bombard the fort. Chambly’s commander Major Joseph Stopford, after most of his garrison were seriously injured by the persistent cannonade, surrendered the fort on October 18th. He had failed to destroy the fort’s supplies that were virtually intact when the Americans entered the fort. They quickly gathered up six tons of powder, 6,500 musket cartridges, 125 muskets, and most import for the low provisioned rebels; 80 barrels of flour and 272 barrels of other foodstuff.

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 siege. He organized the local militia and concentrated troops at Fort St. Jean.
Major Charles Preston was the British commander of the fort, which was heavily garrisoned by regular troops and local militia. Sir Charles Preston, 5th Baronet (c. 1735 – 23 March 1800), He was a prisoner of war following the capture of Fort St Jean. On his return to Valleyfield, Fife, in 1784, he became Member of Parliament.

From Maine
Between October 15 and 22, 1775, Benedict Arnold struggled on their expedition to Quebec.

October 11, 1775, the main body of Arnold’s force reached the Carrying Place where the expedition had to leave the Kennebec River and march west through a series of swamps and glades toward the Dead River that would eventually take them to Quebec City. Despite the grueling overland portage that took days to complete, the expedition’s dwindling food supply, and the growing exhaustion of his troops, Arnold remained optimistic about success of the mission.
“Our men are much fatigued in Carrying over theri Battoes, Provisions, &c, the roads being extremely bad—however their spirit and industry seems to overcome every obstacle—& they appear very cheerful—We have had remarkable fine weather since we left Cambridge, and only one death has happened, & very few accidents by water, which is the more remarkable as there seldom passes a season with some People being drowned in the Kebebec, which is very difficult & dangerous to ascend” Benedict Arnold 12 Oct 1775

15 Oct 1775. quote of the day — “I forgot to desire you to send On the Yoak of Oxen to the Dead River, as soon as can be, as I intend killing them there for the whole Detachment.” —Col. Benedict Arnold
October 16: the last division finished the Grand Portage. They set off travelling up the Dead River.
On October 19, a major hurricane struck, drenching the men for four days straight. On October 23, the Dead River swelled by eight feet in just nine hours, washing away boats and supplies. The storm damaged the remaining bateaux and ruined more provisions.
On October 23, the Dead River swelled by eight feet in just nine hours, sweeping away many of the boats and the remaining food supplies. Many of the men’s tents and belongings were flooded, leaving them wet and exposed to freezing temperatures.

 

British Preparations
In October 1775, after a period of extreme hardship while portaging the Great Carrying Place, Arnold wrote several letters to Major General Richard Montgomery, who was leading the American invasion via Lake Champlain.

The betrayal: Arnold entrusted these letters to a pro-American French Canadian, who was then betrayed by a fellow Canadian with Loyalist sympathies. The letters were turned over to Lieutenant Colonel Allen Maclean, a Scottish officer serving the British.

Quebec is warned: Maclean rushed the captured letters to Quebec’s Lieutenant Governor, Hector Theophilus de Cramahé. The letters revealed details about the size and desperate state of Arnold’s force and confirmed the plan for a coordinated attack.

Defense preparations: With definitive word of Arnold’s approach, Quebec’s defenders immediately began preparing for a siege. They removed all boats from the south shore of the St. Lawrence River to prevent an easy crossing, tightened the guard, and began recruiting militia.

“James Waugh – A Loyalist’s Journey and Ancestral Origins” by Darren Hall
(excerpted from the Autumn 2025 issue of the Abegweit Branch PEI Loyalist Beacon newsletter).
This article reconstructs the probable origins, migration, and Loyalist affiliations of James Waugh, who settled on Prince Edward Island in 1784. This article reconstructs the probable origins, migration, and Loyalist affiliations of James Waugh, who settled on Prince Edward Island in 1784. The piece integrates these various primary and secondary sources to present a coherent life history and plausible origin hypothesis.

James Waugh, a United Empire Loyalist who settled in Prince Edward Island in 1784, presents a genealogical puzzle marked by variant name spellings, ambiguous origins, and the overlay of religious, military, and migration histories. His name appears as “James Warf” in the 1784 Loyalist muster rolls of St. John’s Island (now Prince Edward Island), and he was granted land as a single Loyalist settler at Wilmot Creek, Lot 19 (United Empire Loyalists Association, 2025). Drawing on Y-DNA evidence, family oral history, Pennsylvania tax records, and Loyalist records from the American Revolution, a reconstructed profile of James Waugh emerges, suggesting he may have been born a Wilson and later assumed the surname Waugh.
The adoption of the Waugh surname may have resulted from maternal naming customs, step-parentage, or guardianship—each plausible in both Ulster-Scots Protestant (Presbyterian and similar) and early Quaker communities. If a woman was with child in a Scottish Presbyterian community, these rules are often also followed. The parish minutes would often question a woman with child if it was not commonly known who the father was, or if she was unmarried. If she identified the child’s father, the couple would then face fornication charges by the church and would either be shunned or would need repentance in the form of any of removal, prayer and forgiveness, and fines or tithes owing to the church. In Quaker communities, removal or “shunning” the mother and child would often occur in these situations. This does sound harsh, but the actual practice would often (depending on the circumstances) involve their adoption by a respected nearby neighbouring community that was not part of the Society of Friends (Quaker). I suspect this could have happened to either James Waugh or perhaps his father.
It is possible that his parents (or grandparents) could have been the NPE (non-paternity event, in other words, an illegitimate child); however with the other circumstances associated with this research, I believe it is reasonable to consider that the NPE could have been James himself. What is significant here is that the Wilson family by virtue of the Y-DNA connections above show direct ties to Lancaster and Cumberland Counties in Pennsylvania at the same time that the Waughs were present there. This evidence becomes critical when you consider Ulster Scots’ migration down the Great Wagon Road through Virginia and North Carolina through to South Carolina for some, and on to Ohio and Missouri for others (such as John Wilson of Tennessee noted above). The connection in our case brings us all the way down to Florida. Read more…  (a pdf)

Video for Members: “The Servos Family Journey: A Story of Bravery, Loyalty, and Determination”
Recording of Presentation by David Servos, UE to Colonel John Butler Branch on October 4, 2025. David is a Vice President of the Branch.
This presentation traces the remarkable journey of the Servos family, from their origins during the Serbian-Ottoman conflicts in the 1400s through centuries of migration across Europe, ultimately settling in North America. Their story is defined by bravery, loyalty to monarchies, and perseverance through upheaval—from military service in Germany to Loyalist trials during the American Revolution. Key United Empire Loyalist figures like Christopher Thomas and Captain Daniel Servos played a pivotal role in early Niagara settlement. “Palatine Hill” became a family legacy and historic site in Niagara-on-the-Lake, symbolizing their enduring impact. The family’s story spans wars, migration, economic enterprise, and contributions to Canadian heritage, culture, and preservation. Log in at uelac.ca

Why Did Neighbors Choose To Be A Patriot or Loyalist?
By John Cass UE, Braintree MA
Two dates  – Sept 17 and Oct 17, 1777 – mark the anniversary of the two major Battles of Saratoga—an event that reshaped world history. The American victory convinced the French government to support the cause of independence with arms and treasure, tipping the balance in the Revolutionary War. (Reference “America’s Turning Point“)
This moment carries personal significance for my family. One of my ancestors, Josiah Cass, fought on the British side in the Queen’s Loyal Rangers. He was among the few who escaped and made it back to Canada. His story reminds me that the Revolution wasn’t just a clash of armies, it was a deeply personal reckoning for individuals and communities.
As we move through the 250th anniversaries of key Revolutionary events, I find myself reflecting on the choices people made: to become citizens of a new republic or remain loyal to the Crown.
What shaped those decisions? Was it an oath, family ties, friendships, or the influence of neighbors? It’s hard to pin down for any one person, but by looking across a community, patterns begin to emerge.
I explored this idea in a recent article:

Why Did Neighbors Choose to Be a Patriot or a Loyalist?
One of my ancestors was a loyalist, who fought in the Battle of Saratoga, and went on to live and die in Canada. His other relatives were patriots. And I wonder why he chose the side he did, why did he choose exile?
Did he make an oath and decided to keep it. Did his close family, his wife, influence him? Or was it friends, neighbors who influenced him? The loyalist lived in a highly active revolutionary area. He attended college. Could that college experience have influenced him on the path he took? Or was it religion, he was a congregationalist early in his life but seemed to have ended as a Methodist or Anglican. Did a religious leader and his faith influence him?
Neighbor history’s framework asks us to not follow the ancestor but to look to neighbors, look to classmates and members of the congregation, to look to community and religious leaders. To look to the military they were enlisted in, to look to fellow soldiers and officers and their lives.
By following the neighbors you’ll be much more likely to fill in the whole story of the experiences of a group of connected people. Not every distant ancestor wrote a diary. But someone amongst the group of neighbors certainly might have.
The research becomes less about why my ancestor made the choice he made, and more about why the people at the time made the decisions they made. What was the context of what was happening at the time.
The chance to talk about history with others and together work on projects will I have no doubt progress your research. Read more…

I’m also struck by how the language of the American Revolution echoes the debates of the English Civil War (1642–1650s): corruption of the crown, freedom of religion, and the rights of subjects to shape their society. The founders were steeped in this history—and especially in New England, they drew on its rhetoric to frame their own arguments.
History doesn’t just repeat—it resonates. And anniversaries like this one invite us to listen more closely.

Painting: Loyalists Camping on the St. Lawrence, 1784 by C. W. Jefferys
C.W. Jefferys’ notes about this picture:

    The acknowledgment of the independence of the United States by Great Britain was the final crushing blow to the Loyalists. Peace offered them no security. By the treaty of 1783, the representatives of the new republic promised only to recommend the Loyalists to the merciful consideration of the various states. The mercies of the victorious rebels were not likely to be very tender. Branded as traitors, driven from their homes, and in peril of their lives, they were thrown upon the care of the British government.
At the close of the war, some of the Loyalists went to England, a few to the West Indies; but for most of them new homes had to be found in the remaining British colonies in North America. The government transported a large number to the Bay of Fundy and the neighbourhood of the River St. John to form the beginning of the Province of New Brunswick. Others were sent to Nova Scotia. Many settled in the Niagara district.
The greatest migration to Upper Canada took place along the shores of the St. Lawrence and the Bay of Quinte. In the early summer of 1784 the refugees started on the long journey to their new homes. They numbered about four thousand persons, and it touches our sympathies to know that almost a third of them were children. There were no roads; some Indian trails led through the dense woods, but the only highways were the lakes and rivers, and water-craft the only means of transportation.
Hundreds of bateaux, long, open, shallow boats, with pointed ends, carried the settlers and their baggage, their provisions, and some tents for shelter against stormy weather. Day after day they pulled at the oar, or pushed the boats with long, iron-shod poles against the swift current of the St. Lawrence….
…They have left scanty records of their feelings and experiences but from a few old letters and diaries we can see that for the most part they faced their difficulties with cheerful courage. Rarely do we catch a word that gives us a realization of the first heart-breaking years of their exile, such, for instance, as fell from the lips of the grandmother of Sir Leonard Tilley – “Such a feeling of loneliness came over me that, though I had not shed a tear through all the war, I sat down on the damp moss with my baby in my lap and cried.” See picture and read more…

C. W. Jefferys 1869 – 1951
Born in Kent, England, Jefferys as a child immigrated via Philadephia to Ontario. As an adult he worked as an illustrator and artist. In WW1 he served as a war artist, but in training camps in Ontario.  created a series of illustrations and essays for the Toronto Star Weekly, which in 1920 were published as Dramatic Episodes in Canada’s Story. The following year, he was chosen by the Ontario government to illustrate a textbook, Ontario Public School History of Canada, written by George Wrong.
Jefferys had an interest in history, and he produced accurate and meticulous portrayals of early Canadian life. The best known collection of his historical sketches is the three volume The Picture Gallery of Canadian History. Read more…

Book review: Colonel William Prescott: Heroic Commander of the Battle of Bunker Hill
Author: Donald R. Ryan. (Havertown, PA: Casemate, 2025) $34.95 hardcover
Review by Sam Short 13 October 2025 Journal of the American Revolution
This book recounts the life of a Massachusetts native who led his men in a courageous effort against a formidable British foe in one of the American Revolution’s early decisive battles.
Although Prescott is known for his heroic actions at Bunker Hill—accurately atop Breed’s Hill on the Charlestown Peninsula in Boston—on June 17, 1775, just months removed from the first shots of the war being fired at Lexington and Concord, the author took it upon himself to look at Prescott holistically.
A Groton, Massachusetts native, Prescott was born February 20, 1726 on what was the frontier at that time. Ryan puts the family history back to Prescott’s great-great-grandfather, James Prescott, a gentlemen who provided protection to Queen Elizabeth should he be called upon. This was an honor according to Ryan and one that would have given him a respected status in his community. James’s son John left England—as many Puritans did—in 1638. By his death in 1683, the Prescott family was firmly based in New England. His youngest son Jonas was the one to settle in Groton, the birthplace of the colonel. Jonas’ youngest son Benjamin was William Prescott’s father. Like his father and grandfather, Ryan states that Bejamin was an “accomplished and active man.” The townsfolk thought him to be of “superior mental endowments and of commanding appearance.” William was the fourth child of Benjamin and Mary Prescott. He was the middle child of the family as three more siblings came after him, although not all would live into adulthood. Ryan states that life on the frontier growing up for Prescott was “fairly typical.” Throughout his life, work as a farmer would alternate with him taking up arms as a soldier. The American Revolution was not his first encounter with war; he served in both King George’s War at nineteen and later in the French and Indian War. Read more…

Private Adam Rider: General Washington’s Improbable Spy
by Tucker F. Hentz 14 October 2025 Journal of the American Revolution
On March 18, 1818, the U.S. Congress enacted a law that established a lifetime pension for American veterans of the Continental army who were “in reduced circumstances.” As part of the filing process for these benefits, veterans were required to submit affidavits to local courts with supporting testimonials attesting to their service record during the war. Many, if not most, of the pension claims presented were largely pro forma documents that were sometimes sketchy at best and adhered to a fairly consistent format. In some cases, however, the deponents were unusually detailed and expansive in their statements. Such was the case with the claim of Pvt. Adam Rider of the Maryland and Virginia Rifle Regiment commanded by Lt. Col. Moses Rawlings.
Four months after the passage of the congressional decree, Adam Rider of Ross County, Ohio, stood before Judge John Thompson, president of the county’s court of common pleas, and relayed an account of his time as a Continental Army rifleman during the American Revolutionary War. The seventy-year-old Rider presented his transcribed testimony to Judge Thompson on July 20 in an effort to obtain federal financial assistance. Read more…

Advertised on 17  October 1775: ‘RUNAWAY NEGRO … named Kerry’
What was advertised in a revolutionary American newspaper 250 years ago today?

“RUNAWAY NEGRO … named Kerry, but will answer to the Name London.”

During the first year of the Revolutionary War, Daniel Fowle, the printer of the New-Hampshire Gazette, sometimes experienced disruptions to his paper supply that forced him to resort to broadsheets of alternate sizes.  His newspaper carried less content, both news and advertising, on such occasions.  That was the case on October 3, 1775, when he inserted an “Apology” that stated that “he could not procure any other” paper.  Compared to the usual three columns on each of four pages, that issue had only two columns on each of two pages.  Fowle did not include any advertisements.
The following week, Fowle managed to acquire broadsheets of the usual size, but apparently not enough of them for a four-page issue.  Instead, he published a half sheet edition that had three columns on each of two pages.  He found room for advertisements and even a poem, “On LIBERTY.”  On October 17, however, the New-Hampshire Gazette returned to the smaller sheet from two weeks earlier, but he had enough to publish four pages instead of two.  With twice as much space compared to the October 3 edition, he had room for five advertisements, including one by Mrs. Hooper, a milliner, and another for John Williams’s “House of Entertainment … at the Sign of the SALUTATION.”
Another advertisement featured a headline that proclaimed, “RUNAWAY NEGRO.”  Isaac Rindgel described a “Negro man 27 Years of Age … named Kerry, [who] will answer to the Name London.”  Kerry liberated himself by escaping from his enslaver on August 6.  For two and a half months he managed to elude capture.  Read more…

Snapping the Lilliputian Cords: The Founders and Gulliver’s Travels
by Brett Bannor 16 October 2025 Journal of the American Revolution
During his time in England prior to the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin often wrote letters to The Public Advertiser, a London newspaper. In one of them, published on August 22, 1766, Franklin mentioned in passing that among his old friends he counts Lemuel Gulliver. Gulliver was renowned for his voyages around the world, in which he’d encountered tiny people, giants, anthropomorphic horses, and other wonders.
And of course, the preceding paragraph is mostly farce. Yes, Franklin was in England, but since he was a real person and Lemuel Gulliver, the protagonist of Jonathan Swift’s satire Gulliver’s Travels, was a fictional character, there is no way the two men could be actual friends. So, what was going on here?
We should note that the purported author of the letter was not Franklin; it was published under the penname “Americanus.” Given Franklin’s wit and the points raised, we can consider the letter, composed to complain about obstructions to navigation in the Thames River, also as a satire, much like Gulliver’s Travels. Read more…

Loyalist Certificates Issued
The publicly available list of certificates issued since 2012 is now updated to September 30, 2025.
When a certificate is added there, it is also recorded in the record for the Loyalist Ancestor in the Loyalist Directory.

UELAC Loyalist Directory: New Contributions

Entries which have been added, or revised, this week. Thanks to Darren Hall who contributed an article which appeared in the Abegweit Branch newsletter, the PEI Loyalist Beacon

  • James Waugh (Warf) who may have been settled in the Ninety-Six District of South Carolina before the war served in Captain Richard Pearis’s company of Loyal Refugees and settled in Wilmot Creek, Lot 19, PEI (in 1784). He married  Rachel Townsend, daughter of James and Elizabeth Townsend, English Quakers who had settled at Park Corner, PEI, in 1775 and they had nine children. Read more above…

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

Events Upcoming

New Brunswick Branch “Nancy Mosley, wife of Black Loyalist John Mosley, and the First Murder in New Brunswick” Tues 21 Oct 2:00 AT

The trial in 1785, presided by Loyalists Chief Justice George Ludlow and Judge James Putman. Speaker is Andrew MacLean whose popular long form Atlantic Canadian history column, Backyard History, appears once a week in more than a dozen newspapers and is read widely across the Maritimes. Meeting link (zoom).

American Revolution Institutes: Bayou Patriots? Louisiana Militia and the American Revolution  Tues. 21 Oct 6:30 ET

Comprised of Spanish, Creole French, Acadian, German and free Black soldiers, the efforts of the Spanish Louisiana militia during Gen. Bernardo de Galvez’s campaign against British positions on the Gulf Coast was instrumental in forcing the British military to expend manpower and resources away from the rebellious thirteen colonies. Read more…

St. Alban’s Centre: Oktoberfest 2025 Celebration Sat. 25 Oct. @4:00 ET

Choice of main courses, drinks and entertainment by the Brick Haus Polka Band. Details… 

Moore Family Reunion 2025 Sat. 1 Nov. Gathering on zoom

A gathering of the descendants and friends of Samuel Moore I, of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Province of New Jersey, born c. 1630, and his great-grandson, United Empire Loyalist Samuel Moore of Upper Canada, formerly of the Provinces of New Jersey and Nova Scotia, born 1742, died and buried 1822, Norwich, Upper Canada
Topics include:
“What have the Moores been up to for the last 1000 years?”
“Moorlands: An Ancestral Memoir of Loss and Belonging”
“William Shotwell Moore’s trip to Canada and life thereafter”
Email Donna Moore, d.moore3359@gmail.com for more information and the Zoom link.

Col. John Butler Branch: “The Brown Homestead:  Past, Present and Future” 1 Nov @11:45  Sara Nixon

The Brown Homestead was settled by John Brown, UEL (1740-1804) in what is now St. Catharines.  With over two centuries of history and the four different families who have occupied it, this is a house that has endured many changes to meet the needs of each new generation.  It is the oldest house in St. Catharines.  Sara Nixon, Director of Community Engagement, explores the many layers that make up the Brown Homestead which now is a  community gathering space.
Meetings take place at Betty’s Restaurant, 8921 Sodom Road, Niagara Falls at 11:45.  Cost $33 for UELAC members and $35 for guests.  Cash only.  Please register in advance by emailing 283corvette@gmail.com

From the Social Media and Beyond

  • Clothing and apparel
    • Sunday sunshine in Spitalfields silk by designer extraordinaire Anna Maria Garthwaite. Yellow silk is brocaded w/ colored silks, silver & silver gilt thread. Her skill in rendering botanical subjects is in evidence in the floral sprays.
    • Gaming purse late 17th century made of silk, metal and leather
  • Food and Related: Townsends

  • This week in History
    • 18 Oct 1767, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon complete their survey of the boundary between the colonies of Pennsylvania and Maryland, as well as areas that would eventually become the states of Delaware and West Virginia. image
    • 15 Oct 1773 Annapolis, MD The colony of Maryland forms a Committee of Correspondence to maintain contact, share information & coordinate action with the other colonies disturbed by the arc of British policy toward America.  image
    • 16 Oct 1773 Philadelphia, PA The articles that would be known as the Philadelphia Resolutions are presented to the PA Assembly. First public statement against the Tea Act was passed by vote on the 18th & published in the Pennsylvania Gazette on the 20th.  image
    • On October 13, 1775, the Continental Congress in Philadelphia faced a major challenge: Britain’s Royal Navy, with over 270 warships, controlled the seas, blockading ports and disrupting colonial supply lines. To challenge this maritime dominance—through raids on merchant ships, defending American coasts, and bold clashes—the delegates passed a crucial resolution to establish the Continental Navy.
      Command was given to Commodore Esek Hopkins, an experienced Rhode Island privateer known for his skills in trade routes and skirmishes. Congress quickly authorized the purchase of two schooners in Delaware: the Andrew Doria, sleek and fast, and the Cabot, sturdy and dependable, both equipped with cannons for hit-and-run attacks on British merchant ships carrying arms and goods.
      This first pair was just the beginning; within weeks, the fleet grew to four ships, and by December, orders for thirteen frigates launched a broader expansion of converted merchant ships and new vessels. Hopkins commanded the first squadron, but the navy soon gained renown under talented captains who embodied boldness.
      John Paul Jones, the Scottish-born tactician called the “Father of the American Navy,” led the Ranger in daring European raids, culminating in his famous 1779 victory over HMS Serapis with the cry, “I have not yet begun to fight.” John Barry, another key figure known as the “Father of the U.S. Navy,” outfitted the flagship Alfred and led commerce-raiding missions that captured many prizes. Their feats, along with officers like Gustavus Conyngham, made the fleet a thorn in Britain’s side.
      By 1777, the navy reached its peak with 31 active ships, and over the course of the war, it included about 65 vessels—securing millions of dollars in prizes through battles like Valcour Island and the seizure of HMS Drake. From humble beginnings, it built the lasting foundation of American sea power. image
    • 17 Oct 1775 Quebec. Americcan Rebels Col James Livingston & Timothy Bedel lead a force of Canadian recruits down the St Lawrence River and besiege Ft Chambly.  image
    • 17 Oct 1775 Falmouth, MA (now Portland, ME) Capt Henry Mowatt’s 8-gun HMS Canceux & 6-gun HMS Halifax bombard the town before landing parties complete the havoc. Fire sweeps through 400 buildings & 14 ships in the harbor. Outrage sweeps New England. image
    • 18 Oct 1775 Ft Chambly, Quebec. Americans bombard the post with two 9-pound cannons. Maj. John Stopford surrenders the 88-man garrison and its supplies. The route to St John’s is now cut.  image
    • 12 Oct 1776 NY, NY Gen Cornwallis lands 4,000 British troops at Throg’s Neck, to push east to Kingsbridge & prevent the rebel army in NY from escaping north. image
    • 14 Oct 1776 Gen Benedict Arnold & Col Thom Hartley abandon Crown Point, NY for Ft Ticonderoga. British General Guy Carleton calls off the advance on Ticonderoga due to the late season, figuring he’d finish in spring, saving upper NY from British conquest.  image
    • 16 Oct 1776 Gen Washington convenes a council of war, which decides to abandon the Island of New York and move north to White Plains. A garrison of 2K is left at Ft Washington to guard the North (Hudson) River. image
    • 17 Oct 1776 Gen Hugh Mercer leads a raid on British-controlled Staten Island, seizing supplies and taking prisoners. image
    • 12 Oct 1777 Gen Thomas Conway begins his secret writing campaign criticizing Gen Washington’s leadership of the Continental Army. He writes to Gen Horatio Gates, suggesting Gates should be in Washington’s stead. image
    • 12 Oct 1777 Saratoga, NY Gen Gates’s army faces an entrenched British force. Col Dan Morgan’s Rifles and Dearborn’s Light Infantry begin to snipe the British camp & Gen Starks’s brigade cuts off Burgoyne’s northern retreat.  image
    • 14 Oct 1777 Saratoga, NY American forces capture Loyalist Daniel Taylor, in possession of a hollowed-out silver bullet with a message from Gen Henry Clinton, and hang Taylor as a spy. Clinton’s message confirms he would provide no help for Burgoyne.  image
    • 15 Oct 1777 British batteries & a pair of warships pound the walls of Ft Mifflin on the Chesapeake R. The fort’s commander, Col Samuel Smith & his men can only seek shelter behind the mud walls and wait out the onslaught of fire & iron. image
    • 16 Oct 1777 British Gen Sir Henry Clinton sends a flotilla under Capt James Wallace to seize & burn Kingston, NY, which was just 45 miles south of Albany. Too far to provide Gen Burgoyne any assistance.  image
    • On October 17th, 1777, amidst the hills of Saratoga, New York, the tide of revolution reached its peak with a thunderous roar followed by a somber surrender. British General John Burgoyne, his scarlet-coated troops battered and surrounded after a tough campaign from Canada, faced defeat.
      Outflanked and then surrounded by American forces under General Horatio Gates, Burgoyne’s grand plan unraveled—supply lines cut, reinforcements gone, and morale broken by relentless fights at Freeman’s Farm and Bemis Heights.
      Trapped with over 5,700 exhausted soldiers, Burgoyne signed the humiliating Convention of Saratoga, surrendering 5,000 muskets, 37 shiny cannons, and the pride of the empire. Drummers played the rogue’s march as redcoats laid down their arms before Continental forces, marking the first British field army to surrender in history—a moment that stunned London and energized the colonies.
      This critical surrender, a loud call of Yankee resilience, cut through the fog of European indifference. News spread quickly across the Atlantic, prompting France—long cautious of British power—to form an open alliance in 1778.
      Arms, ships, and troops poured in, turning a rebellion into a worldwide conflict and forever shifting the balance toward American independence. image
    • 11 Oct 1779 #RevWar shifts south. Gen Henry Clinton directs his forces to abandon Newport, RI, and its 3,000-strong garrison to prepare to sail south as part of his new strategy. image
    • 14 Oct 1780 Some 350 Patriot troops from the NC & VA militia engage 400 -900 British Loyalists at the Shallow Ford crossing of the Yadkin River in NC. image
    • 15 Oct 1780: Some 2,500 British under Gen. Alexander Leslie depart NYC to raid Virginia and support Gen. Cornwallis’s NC campaign with raids along the coast aimed at destroying forts and seizing supplies. image
    • 15 Oct 1780, Bernardo de Gálvez, the Spanish governor of Louisiana and general, left Havana harbor with a fleet of about 64 ships commanded by Admiral José Solano.
      The expedition included roughly 3,800 troops: Spanish regulars, Louisiana militiamen, Acadian settlers, Native American allies from the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, and various volunteers. Their goal was the British fort at Pensacola, a key stronghold in West Florida essential for controlling the Gulf of Mexico.
      As drums pounded like a heartbeat of war, a rogue gust tore through the sails, signaling the arrival of the devourer: Hurricane Solano, a biblical fury ready to send masts flying and drown dreams in dark waters. Gálvez’s voice cut through the storm: “To Pensacola! Where empires bleed and heroes are made in fire!”
      Sails snapped tight, driving them into the Caribbean storm. Not long after departure, Solano struck the fleet, scattering ships and causing heavy damage and loss of life. Gálvez and the stranded survivors regrouped in Havana, delaying the mission until early 1781.
      By March, a stronger Spanish force of over 7,000 men and more than 50 vessels set sail once again, reaching Pensacola Bay on March 9, 1781.  image
    • 12 Oct 1781 Yorktown, VA The second parallel is threatened by British fire from Redoubts 9 & 10. The Allies began preparations to reduce these troublesome strong points. image
    • 14 Oct 1781 Yorktown, VA.  Lt Col Alexander Hamilton’s light infantry stormed Redoubt 10 while Col Guillaume de Deux-Ponts’ French attacked Redoubt 9. Both are taken, thus advancing Allied lines, closing the ring on Gen Cornwallis’s forces.  image
    • 16 Oct 1781 Yorktown, VA. Battle of the Hook: Gen Cornwallis launches a sortie under Lt Col Robert Abercrombie. After overrunning a French battery, are driven back. That night, an attempt to slip across the York R to Gloucester is foiled by the weather.  image

 

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