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Countdown to Lexington and Concord: Notices in a Loyalist Newspaper. Part Two of Five
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
On February 23, 1775, Rivington’s Gazette reported that Dr. Nehemiah Clarke, a Loyalist, was made to ride on a rail in Hartford, Connecticut three weeks earlier, and was badly injured. Another newspaper of the period fleshed out this incident.
“Some time ago, Dr. Clarke, of Reading, a gentleman distinguished by a firm attachment to the king and the constitution, was seized in the township of Hartford, Connecticut, and to the indelible disgrace of their police, carried upon a rail about the parish, under which cruelty he several times fainted. When dismissed by his tormentors, and examined by Dr. Tidmarsh, he was found to be injured in a manner unfit for description. The doctor was menaced with the same treatment for his humanity to the sufferer, whose only crime was speaking in terms of respect of the king, and of his government.”
Unfortunately for the loyalist doctor, this was just the beginning of years of persecution.
The 36 year-old doctor had established “an extensive practice and a comfortable home” in Hartford, Connecticut, but his support of the king “brought upon him the vengeance of the Whigs with consequent misfortune“. His opposition to the Continental Congress made him so “obnoxious” that – following the Boston Tea Party in 1774 – he moved from Hartford to Redding where “the Tories were more numerous and where he hoped to political atmosphere would prove more congenial“.
His experience of riding on a rail was nearly fatal, but upon his recovery, Clarke left Hartford and returned to the relative safety of Redding.
However, shortly after returning home, “a numerous banditti” seized him and put him in a “guard-house”; his only hope of being freed was to sign a bond of  £1,000 and promise not to go over to the British. Just over a year later, Clarke was forced to hide in the woods to “avoid the violence of the people“. He finally was able to escape to the British lines in December 1776, leaving his wife and five children “unprovided for in the hands of his enemies“.
Eight months later, Clarke was appointed as the surgeon to Emmerick’s Chasseurs and Dragoons, a loyalist regiment. After the Treaty of Paris came into effect, Clarke and his family sailed for New Brunswick in September of 1783. Although he initially drew a land lot on the north side of Saint John’s King Square, Nehemiah relocated his family to the village of Douglas in 1784. There, they settled on a 900-acre grant located just up the St. John River from Fredericton. After 42 years as a Loyalist settler of New Brunswick, Dr. Nehemiah Clarke died on April 25, 1825 at the age of 86.
The Sons of Liberty –an often-violent rebel society—charged that James Rivington, the publisher of the Gazette, was being paid by the British government for printing negative stories about the Continental Congress. Rivington responded by noting that his Patriot opponents had accused him of keeping a “free press” rather than being charged with being “partial”.
On February 16th, he defended his impartial editorial stance by saying, “Every unprejudiced person, during the present unhappy dispute with the parent country, would no more wish to form his opinion, without hearing both sides of the question, than a jury would decide to give their verdict without examining the witnesses on both sides.”
The battle of words continued into the following month. On March 2nd, when Rivington listed those who had been nominated for a rebel standing committee in Richmond County, he added an editorial comment, saying that the 13 men were “lovers of grog“.
The same edition reported that Sabin Mann, the captain of the rebel Minute Company in Medfield, Massachusetts had been arrested in Boston and sued by two men – putting Mann in a bad light.
The 28 year-old Mann did not have to wait long to be exonerated in the eyes of those who sought independence from Great Britain.  Just two months after being publicly humiliated by an arrest, Mann led 25 minutemen from Medfield to Lexington on April 19, 1775. Although they arrived too late to take part in either the battles at Lexington or Concord, Mann’s men marched on to Boston and took part in the siege of the city.
There seems to have been a mischievous twinkle in Rivington’s eyes when he published the March 2nd edition of the Gazette. One news story reported, “Rebel Jonathan Hampton, chair of Committee of Observation of Elizabethtown, NJ, advertises that his committee will not longer have any dealings with Rivington.” However, further down the page a second news item notes that the same Jonathan Hampton provoked a riot while “completely drunk“, compelling two of the local aldermen to “try to suppress the violence“.
That same issue of the Gazette reported the marriage of Mary Ashfield and Elisha Lawrence, the sheriff of Monmouth County, New Jersey. As it turned out, the newlywed groom would be the last of that county’s crown high sheriffs. Nine years later, after he had settled in Nova Scotia, Lawrence summed up his wartime experiences before the Royal Commission on the Losses and Services of American Loyalists. He joined the British on Staten Island in 1776, having taken “no part with Americans“.
In fact he was advertised as “inimical to the Americans” as early as April of 1775. Lawrence formed an association in support of the British Government, and had 57 men join him. He served as lieutenant colonel with the New Jersey Volunteers. Rebels captured Lawrence during a battle on Staten Island. Tragically, his wife Mary died in New York City at age 27 in April of 1779, a fact he did not share at his compensation hearing but which was reported in Rivington’s Gazette.
In the summer of 1783, Lawrence and another loyalist officer went to Nova Scotia to assess its suitability for settlement by the seconded officers of the loyalist regiments. After initially settling in Parrsboro on the shores of Nova Scotia’s Minas Basin, Elisha Lawrence moved to Cardigan, Wales where he died in 1811.
Parts three of the countdown to Lexington and Concord continues in next week’s Loyalist Trails.
To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail.com.

The Loyal- List: Celebrating Loyalist Ancestry on Lincoln Alexander Day  
By Mike Woodcock UE, Victoria Branch
This edition of The Loyal-List celebrates Lincoln Alexander Day on January 21st, a federal commemorative day honoring Canada’s first Black Member of Parliament, Cabinet minister, and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. This day commemorates his historic achievements in breaking down racial barriers and inspires Canadians to continue the work towards a more inclusive society.
In this spirit, this article highlights several Black Loyalists and descendants, including Richard Pierpoint, Thomas Peters, Harry Washington, Peter Martin, George Martin, Joseph Leonard, Daurene Elaine Lewis, and George Elroy Boyd, who have been recognized in online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia and the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. If you know of other profiles of Black Loyalists and their descendants, please share!

Richard Pierpoint was born in Senegal around 1744. His fascinating journey began in West Africa, where he was captured and sold as a slave around 1760. After being shipped to the American colonies, he became enslaved by a British officer. During the American Revolution, Pierpoint seized the opportunity to enlist in the British forces to gain his freedom, ultimately becoming a pioneer in John Butler’s Rangers, even as it became rare for Black soldiers to serve in the northern British armies. He died before 1838, near Fergus, Upper Canada.
Another Black Loyalist was Thomas Peters, born in 1738. The earliest evidence places him in 1776 as the 38-year-old slave of William Campbell in Wilmington, North Carolina. Encouraged by Governor Lord Dunmore’s 1775 proclamation promising freedom to rebel-owned slaves who joined the loyalist forces, Peters fled the plantation and enlisted in the Black Pioneers in New York. He later became one of the Black Loyalists who left Nova Scotia for Sierra Leone, where he died in 1792.
Harry Washington, born circa 1740, was a notable Black Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War, previously owned by George Washington, the first President of the United States. After the war, Washington was evacuated to Nova Scotia by the British. In 1792, he joined nearly 1,200 people freed from slavery resettling in Sierra Leone, where they established a colony of free people of color.
Peter Martin and his brother were enslaved by Colonel John Butler and his family in New York’s Mohawk Valley. They served in Butler’s Rangers, a loyalist unit, for over four years during the American Revolutionary War. From 1781 until the end of the conflict, the brothers were stationed in the Niagara region. Peter Martin was one of at least 20 Black Loyalists who relocated to what is now southern Ontario in 1791 when it became Upper Canada.
George Martin, an enslaved Black man, soldier, and laborer, was likely born in the early 1780s as the son of Peter Martin. He died on February 19, 1845. While Peter obtained his freedom through military service, George and his sister, Jane, along with their mother, Pat, remained in bondage to Butler.
Joseph Leonard was a Black leader at Brindley Town, where he served as an Anglican lay preacher and school teacher. His name appears in the muster list of Blacks who landed at Digby, identifying him as a leader among them. Leonard spearheaded land petitions and acted as a spokesperson for the Black community to the white populace.
Daurene Elaine Lewis, CM, (1943-2013), was a Canadian politician and educator, notably the first Black female mayor in Canada. Born in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, she descended from freed Loyalist African Americans who settled in the region in 1783 and was related to Rose Fortune, the first female police officer in North America.
George Elroy Boyd, (1952-2020) was a playwright and former co-host of CBC Morning News. He is recognized as the first Black national news anchor in Canada. Born into a seventh-generation United Empire Loyalist family in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Boyd’s contributions to media and theatre were significant.
Invitation to Contribute
We invite you to help expand The Loyal-List! Please contribute information about Loyalists or their descendants, suggest edits to existing profiles, or provide feedback via email at membership.vic.uelac@gmail.com or on the UELAC homepage. The Loyal-List is a project of the United Empire Loyalists (UEL) Association of Canada, compiled from reputable sources, including the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Wikipedia, and various published works. Learn more about this inspiring project on the national UELAC website.

Addendum to Sir John A Macdonald
“With regard to Philip Michael Van Koughnet and his connection with Sir John A. Macdonald, it may have been worth noting that Sir Hugh John Macdonald (Sir John’s son) married Philip Michael’s niece, Agnes Gertrude Van Koughnet daughter of Philip Michael Van Koughnet’s brother Salter Jehoshaphat Van Koughnet and Agnes Seymour.”
BTW, I’m really enjoying the “The Loyal-list” series. Besides the fact that almost every week I recognize connections to direct ancestors or relatives, I am reminded of the depth and breadth of the contributions our Loyalist ancestors have made to Canada and the world.  Heather Latto UE

Paving the Way
Decades before the civil rights movement, B.A. Husbands championed racial equality for Nova Scotia’s Black community.
Written by Gabriel M. Milhet, 12 January 2026 at Canada’s History
The Gerrish Street Hall in Halifax’s North End filled with members of the Black community and city reporters in late January 1944. Church leader Pearleen Oliver addressed the crowd, condemning segregation. She spoke of a girl who arrived at her doorstep distraught after being denied entry into the Children’s Hospital nursing program, of her brothers fighting overseas and of the hypocrisy of a nation defending democracy abroad while denying it at home. She questioned the promises of future racial equity. Her sharpest criticism, however, was reserved for The Story of Little Black Sambo, then assigned to Nova Scotia’s Grade 2 classrooms. Meant to amuse white readers, the book featured a little boy with purple pants and a pink umbrella running circles around tigers. Such stories, Oliver claimed, presented Black people in “a manner as to destroy respect.”
The next day, a local Black man wrote to Nova Scotia Premier Alexander MacMillan, requesting that Little Black Sambo be removed from school textbooks. He asked that the text be replaced with “the stories of our great men and the contributions we as a race have made to culture,” before closing with the declaration: “We are a people striving for our democratic rights, to overcome prejudice and triumph over intolerance. Will you help us?”  Read more…

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

Sons of King George III – 13 January 2026
King George III had nine sons.  He and his wife Queen Charlotte had 16 children. His first born son, on 12 August 1762, was George IV, who succeeded him as King. The others were Frederick, William IV (who succeeded his brother George IV as King), Edward, Ernest Augustus, Augustus, Adolphus, Octavius, and Alfred.  Two of his sons, Frederick and Ernest Augustus, served as Grand Masters in the Orange Lodge.   Loyalty to the Monarch, the Protestant faith, and the unity of the Empire were then principles supported by many Britons which were also pillars of the Orange Lodge.
The first son of King George III to become a Grand Master in the Orange Lodge,  Frederick, was born on 16 August 1763.   Read more…

Queen Elizabeth II – 15 January 2026
The United Empire Loyalists were defined by their loyalty to the British Crown during the American Revolution.  It has been the position of the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada (UELAC) to be supportive of the Monarchy.  Under the Canadian form of government, being a constitutional monarchy, the current Monarch is Canada’s Head of State.
Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926 – 2022), as Canada’s Head of State, appreciated the role played by United Empire Loyalists in Canada’s history and both she and her husband, His Royal Highness, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, showed this on visits to Canada.
Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the Loyalist Parkway in Ontario on September 27, 1984. It was during a visit to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the United Empire Loyalists’ arrival as refugees after the American Revolution. In a communication to the Editor of The Loyalist Gazette,published in the December, 1984 issue, she indicated: “It was a pleasure to be able to meet some of the members of the Association when I visited Ontario for the Bicentennial celebrations…”  Read more…

Walter Butler UEL 1752 – 1781
By Bruce Wallace UE
Walter Butler was the eldest son of Colonel John Butler a Captain in the Butler’s Rangers. Colonel John Butler was the founder and commander of Butler’s Rangers a Loyalist in the provincial corps that operated out of Fort Niagara during the American Revolution. The Butler family was well known in the Mohawk Valley due to their long standing ties to the British Indian Department and relationships with the Six Nations, especially the Mohawk. Walter’s mother Catherine Butler was the great granddaughter of two sisters that were of the Mohawk Turtle Clan – Ots-Toch married Jacques Cornelise Van Slyke and Kenutje married Arent Bradt.
Walter Butler was born in the Mohawk Valley near Caughnawaga/Fonda or the Johnson settlements. He was raised in a prominent frontier family closely tied to the British Indian Department. His father, Colonel John Butler, was one of Sir William Johnson’s most trusted officers and the most powerful Loyalist in the region after Johnson’s death. As a result young Walter grew up amid diplomacy with Mohawk and Six Nations leaders, military life, and an elite society of the valley.  Read more…

250 Years Ago: The Invasion of Canada: After the “Battle of Quebec” January 14 – 21, 1776 
During the period of January 14 to January 21, 1776, the Siege of Quebec was characterized by a grueling standoff following the failed American assault on December 31, 1775. Both sides were focused on endurance and preparation rather than active combat.
Notable Developments by Date (January 14 – 21, 1776)

January 14:
British: Governor Guy Carleton maintained a firm defense from within the city, knowing the Americans lacked the heavy artillery necessary to breach the stone ramparts.
Americans: Benedict Arnold, though severely wounded, continued to reorganize the shattered Continental forces outside the city walls. His effective strength had dropped to approximately 600 men due to battle casualties and the expiration of many year-long enlistments.
January 15 – 20:
British: The garrison remained well-supplied, as Carleton had previously stored enough food to last until the spring. They focused on reinforcing internal defenses and monitoring American movements from the city walls.
Americans: The army struggled with a worsening smallpox outbreak, which became general throughout the camp during this three-week period. Shortages of ammunition and proper winter clothing further demoralized the troops.
January 21:
British: The defenders continued to hold their position, waiting for the spring thaw when the British Navy could arrive with reinforcements.
Americans: By this point, the siege was largely “ineffectual”. Arnold maintained a loose encirclement to block British supply lines from the surrounding countryside, but his forces were too weak to attempt another assault.

Dr. John L. Linn’s Service with Two Armies and a Navy
by Steven M. Baule 15 January 2026 Journal of the American Revolution
John L. Linn, born March 21, 1738, was most likely the son of John and Elizabeth Linn of Philadelphia and was baptized on April 3 of the same year. He was apparently one of the early graduates of the Philadelphia College of Medicine where he earned his medical degree.  Linn is listed as having military experience.
That military experience began when joined the 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot as its surgeon’s mate in the summer of 1774 while the majority of the regiment were stationed in Philadelphia. Linn replaced Edward Hand who was promoted to ensign and would later serve as a general in the Continental army.
The 18th Foot’s officer corps was fractious while Linn served with the regiment. In New York City, he appears to have been aligned with Lt. Alexander Fowler and Ens. Nicholas Trist, which would have been enough to cause him discomfort with the other officers of the regiment, as both were apparently sympathetic to the Continental cause.
When the five companies of the 18th Foot in New York prepared to leave for Boston, Linn told Major Hamilton he was not going with them. He stayed in New York and resigned his warrant as the surgeon’s mate effective on June 24, 1775. Though not arrested, he was later referred to as a rebel and a deserter by British officers.
Lynn did side with the rebels. He was commissioned as surgeon of the 1st New York Regiment on June 30, 1775. The 1st New York was organized in and around New York City in the late spring of that year. The regiment was involved in the invasion of Canada including the failed attempt to take Quebec City on December 31, 1775, under Brig. Gen. Richard Montgomery. He served in this capacity until the regiment was reorganized on April 15, 1776. Read more… 

Podcast: The Pamphlet That Sparked a Revolution
With Nora Slonimsky, Director of the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies, Jan 2025 at Ben Franklin’s World
On January 10, 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, a fiery pamphlet that transformed colonial protest into a call for American Independence. With clear language and bold ideas, Paine challenged monarchy, championed republican government, and urged readers to envision a new political future.
As we mark the 250th anniversary of Common Sense, we may wonder about its legacy. Why did this pamphlet resonate so deeply with the American people in 1776? And what can this political tract teach us today? Listen in…

Book Review: The American Revolution and the Fate of the World
Author: Richard Bell (New York, NY: Riverhead Books, 2025)
Review by Timothy Symington 12 Jan 2026 Journal of the American Revolution
University of Maryland professor Richard Bell’s latest work shows how the North American struggle for independence from British control was a global conflict, changing the destinies of France, the Caribbean, Ireland, the Mediterranean, the Indian subcontinent, and even parts of China. Basically, the American Revolution influenced virtually every part of the far-flung British Empire. “While the United States rose from the wreckage of the war to take its place as the youngest member of the family of nations, many other communities caught up in it had to fight just as long and just as hard to find their own footing in the brave new world that followed.”
Bell’s approach in writing his book was to describe how the Americans’ efforts to court foreign alliances brought all the corners of the Earth into the conflict. He advances seven core arguments throughout: mass migration, the catastrophic human cost of the war, the contingency of improvisations and choices, the importance of naval power, the power of trade, national security, and the call of liberty, which “rang around the world as never before.” (p. 10) Along with these arguments, Bell uses the experiences of individuals to help the reader better understand how the war was felt on a human scale, which was tremendous.
Each chapter is devoted to either one specific place, group of people, or historical figure to show how the Revolution was truly a world war.  Read more…

The American Revolution Comes to Georgia: The Battle of the Riceboats, 1776
by Robert Scott Davis 13 January 2026
In 1775, the colony of Georgia faced heavy criticism for failing to support the American Revolution fully. The situation would change dramatically, as represented by a moment in 1776 connected to the famous events in Boston at that time, and also to East Florida, escaped enslaved people, Indigenous native peoples, and rice.
Georgia’s history had been the opposite of rebellion. In 1754, the colony was so weak that it was not included in Benjamin Franklin’s famous Albany Plan for the union of the rest of mainland America against the French colonies. In 1766, this province, alone among those that eventually rebelled, issued stamped paper, however briefly, during the Stamp Act Crisis.
With a small population, Georgia needed economic and military support from Great Britain. Hundreds of Georgians along the colony’s extremely long border with neighboring Indigenous tribes signed petitions in 1774 denouncing the Boston Tea Party and other acts of rebellion. Even the coastal merchants and planters from whom most of the rebels, such as they were, were drawn declined to send representatives to the First Continental Congress in 1775.
By January 1776, however, Georgia’s resistance had chosen the path to independence. They had thwarted every effort by the colony’s popular Gov. Sir James Wright to suppress the rebellion locally.  Read more…

Advertised on 17 Jan. 1776 “Happy Birthday, Benjamin Franklin!”

Happy Birthday, Benjamin Franklin!

Today is an important day for specialists in early American print culture, for Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 (January 6, 1705, Old Style), in Boston. Among his many other accomplishments, Franklin is known as the “Father of American Advertising.” Although I have argued elsewhere that this title should more accurately be bestowed upon Mathew Carey (in my view more prolific and innovative in the realm of advertising as a printer, publisher, and advocate of marketing), I recognize that Franklin deserves credit as well. Franklin is often known as “The First American,” so it not surprising that others should rank him first among the founders of advertising in America.
Franklin purchased the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729. In the wake of becoming printer, he experimented with the visual layout of advertisements that appeared in the weekly newspaper, incorporating significantly more white space and varying font sizes in order to better attract readers’ and potential customers’ attention. Advertising flourished in the Pennsylvania Gazette, which expanded from two to four pages in part to accommodate the greater number of commercial notices.
Many historians of the press and print culture in early America have noted that Franklin became wealthy and retired as a printer in favor of a multitude of other pursuits in part because of the revenue he collected from advertising.  Read more…

The Newport Gazette, a Loyalist Newspaper
The Newport Gazette, a Loyalist newspaper, published its first issue on 16 January 1777. It was printed on the same printing press as the Newport Mercury, which was suspended. To protect it, the press was buried, but it was then dug up & put to use by the occupying British.
The publisher of the Newport Gazette was the young Boston-trained printer John Howe, who later launched the Halifax Journal. No relation to the British Howe brothers highlighted in the newspaper, but his son Joseph Howe became an important political figure in Nova Scotia. image

James Cook (1728-79)
By Richard Hiscocks at More Than Nelson
Cook rose from humble beginnings to forge a career as the greatest British explorer, undertaking three monumental voyages to the Southern and Pacific Oceans, and making countless discoveries.
Born on 27 October 1728 at Marton in Cleveland, he was the second of eight children (four of whom died young), to a farm labourer, James Cook, and his wife, Grace Pace. The elder Cook had been born in Scotland but moved to Yorkshire.
After receiving a basic education in his village school, the young James was employed as a farm hand and shop boy, then served as an apprentice in the east coast coal trade before becoming a seaman on ships involved in the Baltic trade. He was engaged as a mate of a ship in the Thames when a quasi-war broke out with France in 1755.,,
…He passed his master’s examination and joined the Solebay 24, in July 1757 – by this time the Seven Years War was well underway. He moved a few months later to the Pembroke 60, Captain John Simcoe, with Captain John Wheelock assuming the command in 1759 after Simcoe’s death.
After receiving instruction on surveying from military surveyor John Holland, Cook was one of the small team responsible for charting the St. Lawrence River prior to General James Wolfe’s assault on Quebec in 1759, at which action he was present. Catching the eye of Rear-Admiral Alexander Lord Colville, Cook was transferred to become the sailing master of his flagship, the Northumberland 74, Captain Nathaniel Bateman, serving aboard from 1759 to 1762…
…From 1763 until 1767 (the Seven Years War having ended), Cook surveyed the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, initially aboard the Tweed 32, Captain Charles Douglas, and then in command of the schooner Grenville. Captain Palliser, now the governor of the colony, selected him for this service and ensured that his vessel had everything needed for such a survey…
…the real reason for the new expedition was to explore the Bering Strait and find the western end of the fabled north-west passage. Commanding the Resolution once more, Cook departed Plymouth on 12 July 1776…
…Sailing north towards the Arctic, in January 1778 he unexpectedly encountered the Hawaiian Islands (previously unknown to Europeans). and renamed them the Sandwich Islands in honour of the first lord of the Admiralty. Sailing to the coast of North America, he anchored in Nootka Sound on what is now Vancouver Island, four years after it had first been visited by the Spanish. From there he sailed north, tracking the coast in search of a passage between the Pacific and Atlantic. On 29 August the Resolution was eventually turned back by a wall of ice at 70 degrees 41 north, near the northern tip of Alaska. Read more…

Battle of Ridgefield Archaeology Project Blog Entry #4: Ground Penetrating Radar
By Stephen Bartkus 29 Dec. 2025 Ridgefield Historical Society
Author: Dr. David Leslie
Noted by Ken MacCallum UE whose ancestor may well have fought in this battle.
Heritage Consultants, LLC, archaeologists, metal detectorists, and Ridgefield Historical Society members have been hard at work over the past few months identifying traces of the Battle of Ridgefield throughout town, including vestiges of the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Engagements.  To-date, these efforts have largely focused on the physical artifacts left behind from the battle (musket balls, military buttons, edged weapons, buckles, etc.) and any historical references or maps of the battle.  Another technique we have also been employing to search the town for remnants of the battle is ground penetrating radar (GPR).  While metal detection is used to find buried metal artifacts, GPR is a technique that allows archaeologists to identify buried features, such as the foundation for the Stebbins House, an integral part of the Barricade at the Third Engagement, or grave shafts associated with burials following the battle.
GPR is a non-invasive technique that utilizes radio waves emitted from an antenna and relayed to a computer to map features buried beneath the ground surface.  The image below displays an idealized schematic of objects and features buried beneath the ground surface that are reflective when imaged via GPR. Read more…

Loyalist Certificates Issued to 31 Dec. 2025
The publicly available list of certificates issued since 2012 is now updated to end of December 31, 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 – much appreciation to those contributing:

From Mike Woodcock UE
Dr. Charles John Earle  b. 1751, Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland and d. Jan. 23, 1814, Fredericton, NB where he had resettled. From Virginia, he served as a surgeon in the First Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers. With Eliza, had two children.

Thanks to Bruce Wallace UE for information about
Walter Butler b.  1752 at Butlersbury (near Johnstown, NY) d. 30 Oct. 1781, at West Canada Creek, NY  See above.

From Lynton “Bill” Stewart, a number of entries

  • Capt. Robert Caldwell  B. 1735 Antrim, Ireland – d. 1825 New Carlisle, Quebec. From  White Creek, Albany County, New York, served with General Burgoyne’s Army at Saratoga then in King’s Royal Rangers of New York (Butler’s Rangers), resettled at     New Carlisle, Quebec. He was taken prisoner at the Battle of Saratoga, and was imprisoned for 2 years. With Sarah Hamilton Todd (1741-1822), married 1759 Antrim, Antrim County, Ireland.
  • Capt. Dugald Campbell  b. 1758 Scotland, d. 12 April 1810, Frederickton, York County, New Brunswick. From White Creek, Albany County, New York. Served with the 42nd Foot (Royal Highland Regiment). Resttled at Shelburn, NS; then Fredericton, NB. With Jacobina Drummond, b.1756 had five children born between 1792 and 1798.
  • Moses Campbell  d. 18 Feb 1781 in Montreal, Quebec (He died during a march from Montreal to New York). From Crown Point, New York. With Elizabeth Coombs (1737-1799), married 1758 in Schenectady, New York, they had ten children between 1759 and 1780. Elizabeth, as widowm filed his Loyalist claim.
  • Thomas Carle  b. 10 Feb 1741, Hempstead, Nassau County, New York (previously noted as Dutchess Co., NY); d. 1824, Grand Lake, Queens County, NB. He was a Farmer; Passenger on the Union transport from NY state to St. John NB in 1783. He resettled at Gagetown, New Brunswick; then Grand Lake, Queens County (previously noted as St. John, NB). Two wives #1 Susannah Angevine (1737-1781), married 1766 (seven children between 1768 and 1781). #2 Sarah Sloat (1740-1816), married 1782 (three children between 1782 and 1789)
  • Pvt. Michael Carman  b. 1743, Kehl, Baden, Germany, d. About 1824, Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry United Counties, Ontario. From Johnstown, Tryon County, New York, served with the KRRNY& and resettled at Matilda Township, Dundas County, Ontario. With Maria Magdelena Alter (1746 – 1801), they had five children before the war.
  • Col. Willett Carpenter  b. 6 August 1756, North Castle, Westchester County, New York, d. 21 May 1833, Carpenter, Queens County, New Brunswick where he had resttled. Served with     King’s American Regiment and Delancey’s Brigade. With Mary Davenport (1756-1830), married circa January 1783, two children
  • Lieut. Edward Carscallen b. 1725 in Belfast, Ireland d. June 1803, in Fredericksburgh ON where he resettled. From Camden Township, Charlotte County, NY, served in  3rd Company of the Queens Royal Rangers and in Leak’s Corps of the British Army, listed as ‘Secret Service’. Married Elizabeth Hill in 1753, in Limerick, Ireland and had seven children.
  • John Carscallen  b 25 August 1754, Rathkeale, Limerick, Ireland; d. 18 Aug 1828, Camden East, Addington County, Canada West. From Camden Valley, Charlotte County, New York, served in the Queen’s Loyal Rangers, 3rd Company and resettled in South Fredericksburg Township, Lennox and Addington County, Ontario. With Esther Fraser (1764-1854), married 1784 had seven children between 1785 and 1799.
  • Capt. William Carr (Kerr) b. ca. 1732, Ireland;.  From Corry’s Bush, Albany County, New York, served in the KRRNY and resettled in the Eastern District: New Johnstown, Ontario (now Cornwall). With Jane McManus (ca. 1732 – 1800) they had six children.
  • Pvt. Warner Casselman b. 15 Oct 1738, Stone Arabia, Montgomery County, New York d. 1836 in Williamsburg ON. Served in 1st Battalion, Kings Royal Regiment of New York, Sir John Johnson’s Company. With Eleonora Catharina CHRYSLER (1743-1823) had ten children between 1758 and 1781.
  • Capt. Cephrenus Casselman  b. 15 October 1737, Stone Arabia, Montgomery County, New York d. 28 February 1819, Williamsburg, Glengarry County, Ontario. With Anna Maria Sprecker (1743-1820) had nine children beginning in 1755.
  • Pvt. Wilhelmus Casselman  b. 18 Mar 1755, Stone Arabia, Montgomery County, New York d. 12 April 1843 Williamsburg ON where he resettled. From Tyyon County, served with King’s Royal Regiment of New York, Captain Patrick Daly’s Compan; Light Infantry Company 1782/1783. With Magdalene/Maralena Heagel/Hegel (1770-1848), married 22 April 1788, they had eleven children between 1789 and 1820.
  • Pvt. Conrad Casselman   b. 18 May 1769, Canajoharie, Albany County, NY, d. 10 May 1800, Williamsburgh ON where he resettled. Enlisted 1782 with King’s Royal Regiment of New York, 1st Battalion, Captain Richard Duncan‘s Company as a drummer. With Margaret Busch/Bush (1773-1868), three children.
  • Pvt. Thomas Casselman b. 15 Oct 1767; Mohawk Valley (near Johnstown), New York; d. 23 Oct 1848; Williamsburg, Ontario, Canada. Enlisted 3 April 1780 in the KRRNY.  First married 29 Oct 1793 to Elizabeth LOUCKS (daughter of Richard Dietrich Loucks UEL & Dorothea Fox), b. 24 May 1770; d. 1 Oct 1808 (5 children). Married again 18 Oct 1808 in Williamsburg to Maria Catarina HAINES, b. 16 Nov 1777 (Mohawk Valley, New York, USA), d. 4 Oct 1863 (Williamsburg, Ontario), she was previously married to Richard LOUCKS of Williamsburg (who died 21 July 1804) – (5 children)
  • Pvt. Johan Casselman  b. 6 March 1755 Stone Arabia, Montgomery County, New York d. 10 August 1809, Dundas County, Ontario aftre having resettled at the Home District: Williamsburg. Served with the KRRNY. With Elizabeth Becker (1758-1841), married 10 Jan 1775 at Stone Arabia has six children.

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


Plaques marking the burial sites of Loyalists who resettled in Essex County, Ontario
Bicentennial Branch Project
On January 3, 2026, more than thirty hardy souls gathered amid snowy grounds at three locations near Colchester in southwestern Ontario to dedicate plaques marking the burial sites of Loyalists who resettled in Essex County in the 1790s. This was the inaugural dedication ceremony for the new Loyalist Burial Site Plaque project of Bicentennial Branch. The Loyalists we honoured were Alexander McCormick, Rudolph Huffman and John Snider.
Short biographies of these remarkable men are posted on the Bicentennial Branch website.
As this long-term project continues, more biographies will be posted. Our branch website and the Loyalist biographies are linked to the plaques via a QR code. Conversely, the web pages include GPS information for interested web browsers to seek out the sites and learn more about the long history of Essex County and its early denizens arising from the New Settlement.
Read more…

Events Upcoming

American Revolution Institute: The Home Front: Revolutionary Households, Military Occupation, and the Making of American Independence Tues 27 Jan 6:30 ET

Historian Lauren Duval of the University of Oklahoma discusses her new book that vividly captures daily life during the American Revolution through the eyes and ears of those who intimately experienced it. Prior to the conflict, the urban centers had little direct experience of war. With the outbreak of violence, British forces occupied every major city, invading the most private of spaces: the home. Lauren considers the dynamics of the household—how people moved within it, thought about it, and wielded power over it—revealing the ways in which occupation fundamentally upended the structures of colonial society and created opportunities for unprecedented economic and social mobility. Register…

New Brunswick Branch: “From Nation Builders to Tomorrow’s Visionaries” Thurs 29 January 2pm AT

This presentation will expand on this year’s Black History Month Theme – Honoring Black Brilliance Across Generations – From Nation Builders to Tomorrow’s Visionaries.
Guest speaker will be Historian David Peters, original founder and Past President of the New Brunswick Black Historical Society. He is considered an expert in Black Loyalists.
David is a descendant of Loyalist Thomas Peters UEL ( Black Company of Pioneers). Thomas was one of the Founding Fathers of the nation of Sierra Leone. He was among a group of influential Black Canadians who pressed the Crown to fulfill its commitment for land grants in Nova Scotia.
Register with nbloyalistassoc@gmail.com  for the Zoom link

Victoria Genealogical Society and Victoria UELAC Branch: Affirmations of Black Loyalists.  Thurs 12 Feb 7:00 Pacific Time 

A free, online Black History Month presentation.
Allister Barton presents an illustrative narrative that explores the journey of General Henry Clinton’s Company of Black Pioneer soldiers—formerly enslaved men, women, and children, who escaped bondage during the American Revolution in pursuit of freedom. This presentation traces their migration to Digby, Nova Scotia, where they sought land, community, and a new beginning. Through intimate and complex accounts of their experiences, Allister sheds light on a vital yet often overlooked chapter in Nova Scotia’s history. These affirmations offer a compelling lens into the legacy of African Nova Scotians and their enduring contributions to the province. Register here.

From the Social Media and Beyond

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  • This week in History
    • 14 Jan 1741 Norwich, CT. Benedict Arnold was born. He would rise to be a successful merchant, merchant seaman, military leader, naval leader, traitor, and all-around reviled and tragic figure. But at first, he was a great patriot and combat leader.  image
    • 11 January 1755 Charlestown, St Kitts & Nevis, West Indies. Alexander Hamilton, American general, economist & politician, 1st US Secretary of the Treasury, was born. Rising from an indigent orphan, he would become a “founding father” of the US. image
    • 11 Jan 1775 Francis Salvador, 1st Jewish person to hold an elected office in America, took his seat on the SC Provincial Congress. In 1776, he urged his fellow representatives to vote for Independence from England.  image
    • 10 Jan 1776 On HMS Scorpion in Cape Fear, NC, Royal Gov Josiah Martin issues a proclamation calling on the king’s loyal subjects to combat the rebels & restore the province. He hopes to gather 20K Loyalists at Brunswick, NC. image
    • 12 Jan 1776 Narragansett Bay, RI British under Capt James Wallace engage RI militia for control of Patience, Hope, and Prudence Islands. The British are repulsed after suffering three casualties. image
    • 13 Jan 1776 Albany, NY Gen Phillip Schuyler wrote to Gen Washington from Albany, “The gallant Montgomery is no more; the brave Arnold is wounded; and we have met with a severe check in an unsuccessful attempt on Quebec…I tremble for our people in Canada.” image
    • 13 Jan 1776, British forces raided Prudence Island, Rhode Island, to steal a large number of sheep. But, upon landing on the island’s southern beaches, the British were ambushed by fifteen Minutemen from Rhode Island’s Second Company  image
    • 15 Jan 1776 Newbury, MA. Rebel volunteers jump into three whaleboats and seize a British provision ship as the winter war for victuals swirls around occupied Boston.  image
    • 16 Jan 1776: Continental Congress approved Washington’s order to enlist free Black men into the army. About 9K served the patriot cause, with 5K as combat troops, or about 5% of the total militia and Continentals.  image
    • 10 Jan 1777 Without consulting Gen Washington, the Continental Congress dismissed Dr. John Morgan from his post as director-general of army hospitals, depriving the service of one of the nation’s best surgeons over political infighting.  image
    • 12 Jan 1777, Scotland-born Gen Hugh Mercer died from wounds received @ Princeton. British soldiers mistook Mercer for Gen Washington & bayonetted him. A physician in Fredericksburg, VA, Mercer was a friend of Washington since the French & Indian War. image
    • 15 Jan 1777 New Connecticut (Vermont) declared independence from the crown of Great Britain AND the states of NY/NH. A convention declared the region independent as the Republic of New Connecticut, but on June 2, it was officially changed to “Vermont” image
    • 13 Jan 1778 Valley Forge, PA. With the Continental Army withering from malnutrition and exposure to the elements, a desperate Gen Washington appeals to Congress for supplies of food and clothing. Sadly, he would have to do this throughout the struggle. image
    • 11 Jan 1779 Boston, MA The frigate Alliance sails under Capt. Pierre Landais, carrying the Marquis de Lafayette back to France. image
    • 14 Jan 1779 Philadelphia, PA Continental Congress assures the French minister that the US remains bound to observe all treaty commitments with France and will not seek a separate peace without consultation. image
    • 15 Jan 1789 Elizabeth Point, NJ Braving frigid weather, Gen Wm Alexander (Lord Stirling) takes 2.5K men on sleighs across the ice channel to attack Staten Island. Alexander withdraws after some plundering and taking 17 prisoners. While losing three killed. image
    • 16 Jan 1780 Cape St Vincent, Spain. Adm George Rodney‘s fleet intercepts a Spanish squadron under Adm Juande Langara. IRodney signals chase. “Moonlight Battle” routs the Spanish. British capture five ships and sink 1. image
    • 9 & 10 Jan1781 McAlister’s Plantation, NC. British southern commander Gen Cornwallis writes Lt Col Banastre Tarleton of the main army’s movements and correspondence regarding the enemy forces, especially Dan Morgan.  image
    • 11 Jan 1781 Princeton, NJ British agent John Mason is hanged as a spy for his role in trying to get the mutinous Pennsylvania Line to desert and join Gen Henry Clinton’s army. image
    • 14 Jan 1781 Waccamaw Neck, SC. Col. Peter Horry’s militia skirmishes with Lt Col. William Campbell’s Queen’s Rangers. The Americans lost one killed, and the Loyalists 3 killed & 2 prisoners. image
    • 16 Jan 1781, Cowpens, SC, Gen. Daniel Morgan approached the Broad River with Col. Banastre Tarleton close behind. By nightfall, he had reached a place called the Cowpens. Tarleton, for his part, received word of Morgan’s location and made haste.  image
    • 12 Jan 1782 Gen Anthony Wayne crosses the Savannah River with some 600 men and begins a march across Georgia. image

 

 

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