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Countdown to Lexington and Concord: Notices in a Loyalist Newspaper. Part Three of Five
copyright Stephen Davidson UE
In the February 9, 1775 issue of his newspaper, James Rivington reported on the latest Patriot violence against New York City’s Loyalists. William Cunningham and John Hill had been beaten and abused by a mob of 200 near the city’s Liberty Pole. The newspaper noted that 4 “peace officers” (listed by name) and a civilian rescued the two men.  Both Cunningham and Hill’s names would reappear in the historical record.
John Hill would later seek compensation for his wartime losses following the revolution, and in giving testimony before the Royal Commission on the Losses and Services of American Loyalists in 1786, gave more details of his experiences. After arriving in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia aboard the William and Mary with his family of six, including his wife and three servants, the Hills settled in nearby Digby.
Hill testified, “that on the 6th of March 1775 I, and Captain William Cunningham, was taken by a Mob, who beat us with Clubs, and stoned us, then Committed us to Prison; and on the 15th of April following, we were tried for our lives; but escaped being Condemned, by the Interposition of the Foreman of the Jury, … who was a Loyalist. Afterwards we escaped to Boston, and on the 5th of May 1775, We joined the British Troops… and soon after, entered into a Company of Volunteers, and… {I} was appointed Quarter Master to the same Company.
That on the 17th of March 1776, {I} left Boston, with the Royal Army; but was taken at sea, by the rebels, and lost property, to the amount of £ 410 pounds, sterling, himself, his wife, & daughter was carried back to Boston, and {I was} confined in Prison 19 months; {we} were all tried for {our} lives, but not Condemned. In November 1777, {we} were exchanged, went to Halifax, and afterwards to New York, and joined the Volunteer Company. In July 1779, {I} was appointed Inspector of the Ferry, at Brooklyn; near New York, a place of great trust, and received 10 shillings New York currency, per day. In 1783, {I} left New York, when it was Evacuated by His Majesty’s Troops, and went to Nova Scotia, and settled in Digby.”
Hill was named the captain of the Digby Regiment of the Nova Scotia Legion. He earned his living as a merchant, and served as the first treasurer of the town’s Masonic Lodge. John Hill died in Digby at the age of 80 on November 23, 1817, forty-two years after his name appeared in Rivington’s Gazette as the victim of a mob attack.
Hill’s companion on that day was William Cunningham, a man who would later be described as “an incarnate devil”. A native of Ireland, Cunningham earned his living by training horses and teaching “young gentlemen and ladies” to ride. Noted as a Loyalist, Cunningham was persecuted to such an extent that he had to leave New York for Boston where he came to the notice of Britain’s General Gage. The latter appointed Cunningham as a provost marshal (a commander of the military police) to the Royal Army.
According to a document that he wrote before his execution in 1791, this position gave Cunningham the opportunity to “wreck my vengeance on the Americans”. He confessed to be implicated in the starvation deaths of 2,000 Patriot prisoners and in the hanging of 275 rebels. At the end of the war, Cunningham settled in Great Britain. Having “entered so warmly into the dissipations” of London, he fell into debt. He forged a draft for £300 to generate some cash, but his crime was discovered, resulting in a trial and a conviction – death by hanging. William Cunningham, once a persecuted Loyalist, died on August 10, 1791 at the age of 53.
On March 9th, Rivington spoke on behalf of loyal colonists, characterizing them by saying, “A Modern Tory is desirous to support the laws of his country, and instead of revenge against the parent state, is anxious to heal the dispute on constitutional ground, with that becoming decency, which is due to the crown from all his Majesty’s loyal, grateful and affectionate Subjects.”
That same edition noted that the Rev. Samuel Seabury, the Anglican rector of Westchester parish, had opened a school in Westchester, New York. The clergyman’s name appeared in the Gazette again in April of 1775 as one of the 312 “freeholders and inhabitants” of Westchester County who declared their support for the king and the constitution. His name would appear again in 1778, noting his graduation with a doctor of divinity degree from Oxford University.  But these handful of references leave out most of the Anglican clergyman’s story.
On November 20, 1775, Connecticut rebels stormed the vicarage of St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Westchester, New York. Pulling the Rev. Samuel Seabury and his family from their beds, the rebels speared nightcaps with their bayonet blades, heaped verbal abuse on the daughters, and threatened the lives of Mrs. Seabury and her five-year-old son. The patriots robbed the vicar of all of his money and silverware, and seized his livestock before carrying him sixty miles north to New Haven, Connecticut.
After parading Seabury around town as an obnoxious tory, the rebels imprisoned him for over a month. Eventually, Seabury managed to escape. Until patriots recaptured him, the Anglican minister lived in a secret room behind the brick chimney of a Connecticut home, receiving his meals through a trapdoor. By the fall of 1776, the New York Committee of Safety had arrested Seabury and confined him in the home of an officer in the Fishkill militia.
Seabury eventually found sanctuary in New York City, and in 1778, he was appointed as a chaplain to the King’s American Regiment. Four years later, he was one of the nine petitioners, including such loyalist notables as Charles Inglis, and Christopher Billop, who begged Sir Guy Carleton to see that loyalist interests were safeguarded during the peace negotiations.
While many Church of England clergymen would decide to settle in Canada or the Maritime colonies after the end of the Revolution, Samuel Seabury was a Loyalist whose greatest allegiance was to his God and the people within his denomination.  He was prepared to accept the Patriot victory and made plans to stay in the United States to care for his embattled church.
In 1783, ten Anglican clergymen of Connecticut made Seabury their bishop, but he needed to be consecrated by other bishops to rightfully hold the office. So, in July of 1784, Seabury sailed for Great Britain for consecration — and for compensation as a loyalist.
The British government recognized Seabury as “a zealous and meritorious loyalist” who had rendered “services to his government by his publications“. Being acknowledged as a loyalist was rather straightforward. Being approved as a bishop, however, was a much more difficult matter.
Parliament and the Church of England balked at the notion of ordaining a bishop who would not recognize the king as the head of the church. Seabury sidestepped this hurdle by travelling to Aberdeen, Scotland where the local Anglicans had duly appointed bishops, but did not swear allegiance to the British monarch.
On November 14, 1784, Seabury was ordained as the first bishop of the United States. He returned home where a general convention confirmed Seabury’s ordination; he was made the presiding bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States.  American Anglicans have been called Episcopalians ever since. A Connecticut loyalist had become the leader of America’s newest denomination.
Part four 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 the United Nations International Day of Education  
By Mike Woodcock UE, Victoria Branch
This edition of The Loyal-List celebrates the United Nations General Assembly’s proclamation of January 24 as the International Day of Education, highlighting the essential role of education in fostering peace and development.
In this educational spirit, we showcase several descendants of Loyalists recognized in online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia and the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. If you know of other Loyalists or their descendants who have made significant contributions to education, please share your insights!

Notable Contributions to Education
John Charles Beckwith became devoted to improving the education of the Waldensian community in the Piedmont valley of northern Italy, after learning of their struggles. Beginning in 1826, he dedicated years to assisting them by collecting funds, visiting their schools, encouraging community building projects, and promoting training for teachers.
After studying at the Normal School in Charlottetown, Mary Mellish received her teaching license in 1864. She attended the ladies’ academy associated with Mount Allison Wesleyan College in Sackville, N.B., obtaining a diploma in liberal arts. Returning to Sackville in 1869, she taught mathematics and natural science, later serving as the chief preceptress—the highest administrative position available to women—from 1871 to 1873. After an eleven-year hiatus, Mellish returned as a powerful figure at the ladies’ academy, contributing significantly to its expansion and the inclusion of alumnae representatives on the board of governors in 1895.
William Chamberlain Silver, a leading wholesaler in Halifax, played a pivotal role in educational reform. In 1878, as president of the Halifax School Association, he was instrumental in founding the city’s first public high school. Although largely self-taught, Silver was intellectually curious and became an original member and later an executive officer of the Nova Scotian Institute of Natural Science.
Lucy Baker contributed to education in Western Canada by advocating for basic Christian education for the Cree and Sioux peoples in Prince Albert. She arrived at Prince Albert late in October 1879. As the first woman to serve as a missionary and teacher among Indigenous communities, her efforts paved the way for greater female involvement in Western Canada’s development.
Rose Jane Elizabeth Grier served as the principal of Bishop Strachan School in Toronto for twenty-three years, a tenure marked by stability and academic achievement. After her tenth year in 1887, the governing council expressed their appreciation for her contributions to the moral and intellectual development of her students, attributing the school’s growing reputation to her leadership.
Eliza Ritchie believed that ignorance bred indifference and that women’s potential as citizens relied on available educational, political, and work opportunities. A liberal humanist, she argued that women’s participation in public life should be guided by “intellectual virtues” such as truth, tolerance, prudence, and moderation. After attending Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., on a fellowship, she completed her doctorate in 1889, likely becoming the first female graduate of a Canadian university to earn a PhD.
Jennie Huthinson (MacMichael) was an early advocate for the New Brunswick branches of the Order of the King’s Daughters and Sons. As president of the Saint John City Union in 1891, she established the King’s Daughters’ Guild for girls, a space for cooking lessons, mothers’ meetings, and various educational activities. The guild expanded its services to include relief projects and support for immigrant girls arriving in Saint John. MacMichael played a key role in relocating the guild to a larger, three-storey headquarters in 1899.
May Best, recognized for her exceptional intellectual ability, enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1898, where she earned a bachelor of science degree with high honors in chemistry in 1902. She married Frederic Sexton, the founding principal of the Nova Scotia Technical College, and together, they became leaders in progressive education and social reform. May Hay Sexton advocated for an industrial school for young women, emphasizing the importance of vocational training in helping them secure competitive positions as skilled workers.
In 1903, Susan Ganong joined the faculty of Netherwood School, a prestigious private institution for girls in Rothesay, New Brunswick. The school was struggling, with fewer than ten students at the time. As co-principal, Ganong took over the lease and implemented improvements that increased enrollment to thirty-three students by 1905. By 1912, she purchased the facility, further enhancing its capabilities and solidifying its reputation for academic excellence on an international scale.
Pauline Jewett (1922-1992) was a notable Canadian academic and politician. Over her political career, she served in the House of Commons for both the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party. In May 1974, she became the president of Simon Fraser University, marking her as the first woman to lead a Canadian co-educational university.
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.

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

Annapolis Royal & Reverend Bailey – 20 January 2026
After arriving in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, in his first letter dated October 14, 1782 the Reverend Jacob Bailey, a United Empire Loyalist preacher who had been forced to flee from Maine,  noted to William Morice, Secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (S.P.G.), that  the Town contained a population of 160 persons,  all except four belonging to the Church of England.  At nearby Granville, he estimated there were about 50 church families.
Later in October, between five and six hundred refugees, United Empire Loyalists, arrived from New York.   More came, and by November 1783, Annapolis County, which had about 1500 persons when he arrived,  only a year later, counted more than double that amount.  Read more…

Birchtown & the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre – 21 January 2026
The Black Loyalist Heritage Site in Birchtown, Nova Scotia, including the Old Schoolhouse Museum and St. Paul’s Anglican Church began in 1989, and a larger Centre opened in 2015. In July that year, I visited while participating in the Founders’ Days Festival in Shelburne as a re-enactor with the 84th Regiment.  I photographed plaques on a wall inside  the Church. They were placed in recognition of monies donated by the United Empire Loyalists’ Association (UELAC) for new windows.
Birchtown is important as the site of the largest free Black settlement in North America during the late 18th century.  It was established in 1783–1784 and named after British Brigadier General Samuel Birch. Read more…

250 Years Ago: The Invasion of Canada: Stalemate: January 21 – 28, 1776 
During the period between 21 January 1776 and 28 January 1776, the Siege of Quebec was characterized by a stalemate following the failed American assault on December 31, 1775

Defense Preparations: Inside the city, British Governor Guy Carleton, commanding approximately 1,800 defenders, remained inside the city, well-supplied, content to wait for spring reinforcements

The Invaders
The Americans were unable to dig traditional siege trenches because the soil was frozen solid, forcing them to use structures made of ice and snow.

Command Crisis and Morale: After the death of General Richard Montgomery and the wounding of Colonel Benedict Arnold, the Continental Army was severely weakened. By late January, Arnold remained in command of the siege but possessed only about 600 men fit for duty due to battle losses, expiring enlistments, and a growing smallpox epidemic.
Stalemate and “Ineffectual Siege”: During this specific week, Arnold maintained a “half-hearted” or “ineffectual” siege from outside the city walls. The Americans lacked the heavy artillery and manpower to breach the fortifications.
Supply and Enlistment Issues: The Continental forces struggled with the harsh Canadian winter, lack of food, and the expiration of many soldiers’ enlistments. Appeals for reinforcements from General David Wooster in Montreal were denied during this time, as Wooster feared a pro-British uprising if he sent his own troops away.

Looking Back on the Bloody Flux of 1775
J L Bell 21 May 2020 at Boston 1775
In a time of pandemic, one’s thoughts turn naturally toward outbreaks of the past.
In April 1942, Dr. Ernest Caulfield presented a paper on “Some Common Diseases of Colonial Children” to the Colonial Society of Massachusetts. It can be read here.
Caulfield wrote about the seven diseases now known as measles, diphtheria, scarlet fever, whooping cough, mumps, chicken pox, and dysentery. (Some of those names were used in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, but people had other terms as well.)
Today an American can encounter most of those diseases only through the vaccinations that prevent them. But dysentery is carried by the shigella bacteria spread through feces, so caring for a sick person without being able to be sanitary leaves one vulnerable to infection.
A few years back, Boston 1775 friend Judy Cataldo noticed a pattern of deaths in late 1775 in Needham, which led her to evidence of a dysentery epidemic behind the Continental siege lines. Read more…

The Epidemic of 1775, The Bloody Flux
In the late summer of 1775, a terrible epidemic struck Boston, and much of New England. As the Revolutionary War heated up, and the siege of Boston reached its peak, both armies faced an invisible enemy. Judy Cataldo will join us and  explain the disease that was known at the time as the bloody flux. Today, we might know it better by the name dysentery or shigella. The bloody flux was a diarrheal disease that took a terrible toll on the region’s children, including several of Westford’s Col. John Robinson’s children, but now it’s barely remembered, as it’s overshadowed by a smallpox outbreak of the same year.
We think of history in terms of the big picture of names and dates, of battles and facts. That big picture obscures our view of the little picture, the one that didn’t change the outcome of history but rather changed the people who were part of that history. The Bloody Flux in the late summer/early fall of 1775 didn’t change the outcome of the war but forever changed the lives of some people. Read more…

The Bloody Flux of 1775 – Abigail Aams
Put yourself in the shoes of Abigail Adams as she negotiates the grief and fear of the 1775 Bloody flux:
October 9 “I have just returnd from attending Patty to the Grave. We have great sickness yet in the Town; she made the fourth Corpse that was this day committed to the Ground. We have many others now so bad as to dispair of their lives. The Throat Distemper as well as the Dysentery prevails in this and the Neighbouring Towns.” Read more…

Thomas Nelson of Yorktown, Virginia
by Nicholas R. Marsella 20 January 2026 Journal of the Americfan Revolution
Largely ignored by scholars, Thomas Nelson Jr. of Yorktown, Virginia, was among the patriots who dared all when he signed the Declaration of Independence. He was well known to the wealthy and powerful of the era as a member of the Virginia gentry which held vast political and economic sway within the colony. Nelson filled many roles in his short fifty years of life—merchant, legislator, patriot, soldier, governor, slaveholder, and flawed founder.
Born on December 26, 1738, Thomas Nelson was the eldest son of William Nelson, a wealthy second-generation Virginian, merchant, and landowner. To separate himself from his famous uncle with the same name, it is believed Thomas added the “junior.” Educated in England, he studied at Christ College, Cambridge, returned to Yorktown in 1762, and was immediately elected to the Virginia colonial legislature, the House of Burgesses. He was appointed a member of the York County Court, and colonel of the militia. His marriage resulted in a large family with eleven children. Upon the death of his father in 1772, he inherited the heavily indebted family business.
There is little evidence that Nelson was a prominent member of House of Burgesses for most of the fifteen years he was a delegate. Read more…

Advertised on 19 Jan. 1776 “…regularly supplyed with all the news-papers…“

“He is determined to be regularly supplyed with all the news-papers on the Continent.”

On January 19, 1776, John Mycall and Henry-Walter Tinges, the printers of the Essex Journal, announced the end of their partnership.  Tinges had been a founding partner, commencing publication of the newspaper in Newburyport, Massachusetts, in collaboration with Isaiah Thomas, the printer of the Massachusetts Spy, in December 1773.  As the junior partner, Tinges oversaw the printing office, including publication of the Essex Journal, in Newburyport, while Thomas tended to his printing office in Boston.  That initial partnership lasted only eight months before Thomas withdrew and Tinges began a new partnership with Ezra Lunt in August 1774.  That partnership also lasted less than a year.  In July 1775, Lunt exited and Mycall joined as Tinges’s new partner.  Seven months later, Tinges announced that he “determined to discontinue the Printing-business for the present in this Town” and the “co-partnership between JOHN MYCALL and me is mutually dissolved,” though Mycall “still continues the Printing-business as usual.”  Mycall published the Essex Journal on his own for just over a year.  It folded in February 1777, one of several newspapers that ceased publication during the Revolutionary War. Read more…

The American Princeps Civitatis: Precedent and Protocol in the Washingtonian Republic 
by Shawn David McGhee 22 January 2026 Journal of the American Revolution
For all the flaws of the framers, Americans can still look to the founding era for wisdom and guidance. That deeply learned collection of statesmen, whatever its shortcomings, committed itself to advancing the public good and securing the long-term survival of the nascent nation. And when the first members of congress, justices of the bench and, of course, first commander in chief breathed life into and gave form to the new Constitution, those federal officials set about establishing protocols, behavioral decorum, and ethical standards worthy of the new Rome. Many of these officials believed the untested government needed to act with dignity and competence if it were to endure in a cutthroat world dominated by paranoid princes, petty tyrants, and ruthless autocrats. Critically, George Washington, the first president of the new constitutional order, also recognized the delicate balance he needed to strike. If he grew too familiar with the public, the presidency would lose its veneer of dignity. And if he acted too aloof, he would suffer accusations of monarchism. Either scenario would hamper his ability to govern and test the public’s trust in the new political architecture; finding a middle ground kept Washington up at night during this moment of federal conception. “The eyes of Argus are upon me,” he noted, “and no slip will pass unnoticed.” The new president agonized over the scrutiny his new public role brought upon him, but dedicated himself to meeting the moment. Read more…

Book Review: The Course of Human Events: The Declaration of Independence and the Historical Origins of the United States
Author Steven Sarson. (Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia)
Review by Gabriel Neville 19 Jan 2026 Journal of the American Revolution
Modern interpretation of the Declaration of Independence is distressingly polarized. To some, it was the contrivance of hypocrites engaged in a war to perpetuate slavery. To others, its promises are a creed, or a “promissory note” that the nation is striving to make good on. Author Steven Sarson, an Englishman living in France, argues that both interpretations are wrong. He says that the Declaration’s authors (he consistently refers to them in the plural) had no intention of producing new claims about human nature, human rights, or the nature of politics. Rather, they sincerely sought to justify independence using ideas that were already widely accepted. To its 1776 audience, and to us if we are willing, the Declaration is and was a history lesson and a reassertion of well-established Lockean ideas of natural rights and natural law.
Sarson is a professor at Jean Moulin University in Lyon, France.
Except in that last chapter, Sarson laudably seeks to peel away the layers of cultural varnish that have accumulated on the Declaration’s words and understand the document as its authors and their audience understood it. Read more…

A Failed Attempt to Bring the Metric System to the US
by Dr Judith E Pearson 19 Jan 2026 All Things Georgian
A small, strange-looking object sits in a glass display case at the National Institute of Science and Technology Museum in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on the outskirts of Washington, DC. This museum houses a collection of measurement devices, scientific instruments, artefacts, and archives relating to measurement, standardisation, science and technology in the United States.  The object is a small copper cylinder with a little handle on top. It weighs one kilogram and it’s called a ‘grave’. Looking at it, most people would not know and could not guess its purpose. Nevertheless, this seemingly inconsequential object has a dramatic story to tell; one based on international relations and fraught with peril on the high seas during the Georgian Era. The story begins with Thomas Jefferson’s desire to bring the French metric system to the United States.
Thomas Jefferson’s Plan for the US to Adopt the Metric System
Serving under President George Washington, Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826) was the United States’ first Secretary of State (1790 – 1793). Among his other priorities, he wanted the US to adopt a nation-wide standard of weights and measures. At the time, the country used a hodgepodge of measurement systems. New York used Dutch measurements, while most of New England relied on English measurements. Jefferson knew that a standardized system would end the practice of merchants buying goods according to one unit, selling in another, and pocketing the ill-gotten profit.  Moreover, a standardized system would simplify scientific calculations and promote international trade. Read more…

UELAC Loyalist Directory: New Contributions
Entries which have been added, or revised, this week – much appreciation to those contributing:

From certificate applications:

  • John Ault  b. 11 Apr 1751 in Amsterdam,  Netherlands, Son of Johannes Ault UEL and Hannah (Henkel) Ault. Served under Lt. Col Sir John Johnson in the King’s Royal Regiment of New York. Granted 200 Acres in Cornwall, Ontario, for service in the KRRNY.
  • Johannes Ault Sr.  b.   ca. 1716 in Krefeld, Germany, d. 1796 where he resettled in Matilda, Dundas County, Ontario (renamed Iroquois). With #1 Hannah Henkel, married 1747 in Amsterdam (5 children in Amsterdam, 4 more in Colonial America) #2 Gertrude Rebecca Boug (2 children).

From Lynton “Bill” Stewart, a number of entries

  • Thomas Caswell  b. 1750 Middleborough, Plymouth County, Massachusetts – d 1835 in Burton, Sunbury County, New Brunswick where he resettled after being first in Guysborough NS. With Silence Richmond, married 1774 in Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts, nine children.
  • Capt. Stephen Caswell b. ca. 1720 in Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts Bay – d. 1805 in Fredericksburg, Ontario. With Mary Blackmer (1720-1799) nine children between 1747 and 1757
  • Sgt. Lemuel Caswell  b. 1749 Worcester County, Massachusetts – d. 1827. Served with the KRRNY, resettled in the Eastern District: Fredericksburg. Four children.
  • Joseph Chew  b. Burn in the 1720s in Richmond, Richmond County, Virginia – d. 24 September1798, Montreal, Quebec. Before the war at Johnstown, Tryon County, New York. Resettled at Carleton, NB; then Montreal, Quebec. With Grace Deshon, 5 children.  A Justice of the Peace. In 1775, he “accompanied Guy Johnson, Christian Daniel Claus; Joseph Brant and others to England in connection with Governor Guy Carleton’s reorganization of the Indian Department.” He served in New York City and Long Island against the rebels. He became Secretary to Sir John Johnson before the war, and following the peace, he became the Secretary again and is credited with keeping the department functioning.
  • Simon Clark  b. circa 1740 in Pennsylvania – d circa 1810 in Westmount, Montreal where he resettled. From  Johnstown, Tryon County (now Fulton County), New York he served in the Indian Dept.  With Ann Eve Waldorf (Waldrof), b. 1758 they had 5 children between 1776 and 1795.
  • Pvt. Lambert Acre  b 28 September 1757, Schoharie, Albany County (now Schoharie County), New York – d. 23 Aug 1833, Grahtham Township, Niagara District, Ontario where he resettled. He served in Captain John McDonnell’s Company, Butlers Rangers.  With Mary Charlotte Laraway/Larroway (1767-1828), they had ten children between 1785 and 1804.
  • Capt. Samuel Adams b. 1734 Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut d. 1810 Edwardsburgh, Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario where he resettled. From Arlington, New Hampshire Grants (now Arlington, Bennington County, Vermont) he served with Adams Rangers and Jessup’s Ranger. He was a Doctpr, and with Martha Curtis (1735-1802) they had eight children.
  • Lieut. Gideon Adams b. 11 February 1755 in Newton, Fairfield County, Connecticut d. 23 July 1834, Edwardsburghwhere he resettled. From Arlington, Bennington County, Vermont he served with Adams Rangers and then King’s Rangers. He married 18 August 1778 to Mary Ann Snyder (1764-1835), daughter of William Snyder Sr. and they had eight children. He later served as a Major in the Upper Canada Militia.
  • Capt. Andrew Adams  b. 1763 in Newtown, Fairfield County, Connecticut d. 27 December 1838, Edwardsburgh, Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario where he resettled  From Arlington, Bennington County, Vermont he served with the King’s Rangers. With Rachel Froom (1770-1856), married 1790 in Edwardsburgh they had ten children between 1790 and 1815.
  • Dr. James Adams  b. 20 June 1765 Arlington, Bennington County, Vermont d. 21 Dec 1819, Kingston, Frontenac County, Ontario. He served with the King’s Rangers and resettled in the Eastern District. With Elizabeth Jenkins (1768-1813) they had 12 children between 1793 and 1813.
  • Pvt. Joel Adams  b. 6 February 1760, Newtown, Fairfield County, Connecticut d. 13 March 1843, Edwardsburgh, Ontario.  From Arlington, Bennington, Vermonthe served with the King’s Rangers. With Margaret Snyder (1771-1843), married 27 March 1786they had eight children between 1787 and 1814.
  • Pvt. Elijah Curtis Adams b. 1770 Arlington, Bennington County, Vermont d. 13 Oct 1853 Edwardsburgh, Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario where he resettled. He served with the King’s Rangers. With Elizabeth Vetter/Vader (1772-1846), married 6 April 1791, Cornwall. they had eight children between 1793 and 1808.

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

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

Gov Simcoe Branch: “George Harpell UEL and Preparations for the Arrival of the Loyalists in June 1784” by Valerie Howe UE, Wed 4 Feb 7:30 ET

This is the story of an advance guard who contributed to the crucial planning and building that prepared this Cataraqui (Kingston ON) settlement before the main group arrived.
On September 15, 1783, thirty-eight Associated Loyalists gathered equipment at Sorel, Quebec, then bateauxed to Montreal to join Deputy Surveyor-General John Collins and his survey party. Eighteen of them, including Valerie’s great-great-great grandfather, George Harpell, over-wintered at the fort to continue to lay the foundations for the future City of Kingston.
This is the story of a group of artificers who were essential to surveying, laying out town-lines and roads, hewing thousands of timbers and laying the foundation needed for the thriving military base and town that would be Kingston, Ontario. Registration…

Col. John Butler Branch: Annie Halliday. The Doan Gang:  Outlaws of the Revolution, by Annie Halliday, Sat 7 Feb at 11:45

    The Mercer Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania is currently presenting a major exhibition, The Doan Gang:  Outlaws of the Revolution, which explores the history and intrigue of a group of Revolutionary-era Loyalists whose legend lives on today.  This exhibition is a journey through the world of espionage, legendary robberies, and mythical lost treasure in the heart of Revolutionary Bucks County.  It shows how these local outlaws plotted, schemed, and plundered their way through a divided world in the earliest days of a budding American nation, and why their deep loyalty to British rule in the colonies made them enemies of the Founding Fathers.
Annie Halliday, who along with Clint Flack curated the exhibit, will join us virtually.  The Zoom presentation will showcase images of the exhibition and highlight artifacts currently on display.  The presentation explores more about the people, places, and artifacts that make up the history of the Doan Gang.
Note.  This is an in-person meeting with a ZOOM speaker. Join by zoom as well.
In-Person at Betty’s Restaurant, 8921 Sodom Road, Chippawa (Niagara Falls), at 11:45 for a lunch meeting.  This meeting will be both in person and by ZOOM.
The cost of the lunch is $35 for UELAC members and $40 for guests.  Cash only, payable at the meeting. No credit cards.
Everyone needs to register in advance to 283corvette@gmail.com

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

  • Food and Related: Townsends

    • The Working Man’s Diet (2 hours, 14 min)
      • One segment “Salt Pork Stew” features the French Canadian Voyageurs at 2:04:36)
  • Apparel
    • L Quilted cotton skirt about 1790, Oberkamf factory, Jouy-en-Josas M Printed cotton summer dress about 1832 R 1890s dressing gown tailored from a long shawl woven in Paris 1815.
    • Gowns & Roses: Robe à la française, French, 1750–75
    • Quilted petticoat, off white silk satin, England, c1765.
    • The retention of vivid hues allows a window into the wearing of a garment that has survived more than 250 years. The #1750s caraco brocade bodice demonstrates the beauty of a supplementary weft allowing the flowers to float above the blue.
    • Belated Happy 250th Birthday to a lady who thankfully has created an abundance of jobs and opportunities for costume professionals like us and delights with wit and sharp observations of human folly to this day-Jane Austen! We could easily picture our dress from circa 1800 on one of her heroines!
  • This week in History
    • 23 Jan 1737 Braintree, MA. John Hancock was born. Hancock was one of the wealthiest merchants (& smuggler) in New England and would become a #RevWAr leader & 1st signer of the Declaration of Independence.  image
    • 21 Jan 1738, Ethan Allen, future Revolutionary War hero and key founder of the Republic of Vermont, is born in Litchfield, CT. He would go on to lead the Green Mountain Boys, seizing Ft Ticonderoga & guns from the British, and take part in the failed invasion of Canada, where he was captured.  image
    • 19 Jan 1764, London. British Parliament expels John Wilkes for libelous, seditious, & pornographic writings. Over the next 12 years, Wilkes’ name became a byword for Parliamentary oppression in Britain and Britain’s North American colonies.  image
    • 17 Jan 1766 London merchants petition Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act. William Pitt & other leading Whigs support them on the basis of no taxation without representation.  image
    • 19 Jan 1770, NYC: 1st instance of open aggression between opposing forces in America occurred in the Battle of Golden Hill, months before the Boston Massacre. Sons of Liberty fought with regulars and Loyalists after the 4th Liberty Pole was chopped down. image
    • 18 Jan 1775 Savannah, Georgia.  The colony’s 1st Provincial Congress assembled, and reps of 5 patriot parishes supported the people of Massachusetts, but the 7 Loyalist parishes refused to send delegates to Philadelphia.  image
    • 23 Jan 1775, London merchants petitioned Parliament for relief from the financial hardship caused by the curtailment of trade with N. American colonies. Merchants provided their own history of the dispute between the colonies & Parliament, beginning with the Stamp Act of 1765. image
    • 21 Jan 1776 Cambridge, MA. Gen Washington requested more weapons be found quickly for the troops. The Army was low on everything, especially powder and shot, but also weapons of all kinds. He engaged all regiments to send officers to find & purchase arms  image
    • On January 23, 1776, off Sandy Hook, New Jersey, Colonel William Alexander (Lord Stirling) and Colonel Elias Dayton led approximately 120 volunteers (initially 40 from Amboy, joined by others from Elizabethtown) in four small boats—including a pilot boat and shallops—to capture the British transport Blue Mountain Valley.
      This supply ship, laden with coal and provisions for Boston’s garrison, was distressed and isolated after storms.
      Mistaking the approaching Americans for friendly vessels, the crew allowed boarding; the Patriots swiftly seized the vessel without resistance and brought it into port (near Elizabethtown). The prize was later burned by the British in revenge.
      This early success boosted morale and highlighted Alexander’s rising reputation. image
    • 24 Jan 1776 Philadelphia, PA Spurred by the failure in Canada, the Continental Congress explores establishing a War Office to coordinate military affairs more effectively.  image
    • 24 Jan 1776 Philadelphia, PA: Continental Congress begins deliberations on independence, appointing a special committee under James Wilson (of Pennsylvania). Wilson would later serve in SCOTUS. image
    • 18 Jan 1777 Kingsbridge, NY Gen William Heath invests Fort Independence and its Hessian garrison with the divisions of Benjamin Lincoln, Charles Scott, David Wooster & Samuel Parsons. The Hessians do not surrender, and a siege commences. image
    • 20 Jan 1777 Somerset Court House, NJ. Battle of Millstone Gen Philemon Dickinson leads NJ militia & PA riflemen in an attack against foraging British soldiers of equal number. The foragers are dispersed & retreat, leaving most of the livestock purloined. image
    • 20 January 1778, during the Continental Army’s grueling winter encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Captain Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee and eight of his dragoons spent the night at Spread Eagle Tavern, about five miles south of the main camp.
      Lee’s partisan raids had irritated British forces, prompting a detachment of roughly 200 Queen’s Rangers and dragoons—possibly led by the ambitious Banastre Tarleton—to launch a surprise dawn attack aimed at capturing or eliminating the troublesome officer.
      The British overran Lee’s pickets and surrounded the stone tavern, demanding surrender. Refusing to yield, Lee and his small band barricaded themselves inside, manning doors and windows to deliver a withering fusillade that killed or wounded several attackers and inflicted heavy casualties. Their determined, accurate fire repulsed repeated assaults, forcing the superior British force to withdraw in frustration after failing to storm the building.
      This audacious stand against overwhelming odds spread quickly through the army, boosting morale amid the hardships of Valley Forge and cementing Lee’s reputation for bravery and cunning. Congress soon recognized his valor, promoting him to major on April 7, 1778, and authorizing him to expand his command into a mixed corps of cavalry and infantry—Lee’s Legion—that would become one of the Revolution’s elite partisan units. image
    • 22 Jan 1778: Continental Congress begins discussing another campaign in Canada, with Marquis de Lafayette in command. image
    • 20 Jan 1779 A Congressional Committee appointed to investigate allegations against former American commissioner in Paris, Silas Deane. The allegations would haunt Deane for the remainder of his life and would be disproven only years after his death. image
    • 23 Jan 1779 Loyalist Simon Girty leads a party of Indian braves in an attack on Americans at Fort Laurens in the Ohio Territory. His attack and siege failed. image
    • 22 Jan 1779 Goshen, NY. Famed Tory outlaw Claudius Smith (known as the “Cowboy of the Rampos”) died on the gallows. Outlaws who were Tories were known as “cowboys,” while Patriot-leaning outlaws were called “skinners.” Smith was a legend in his time and struck fear into travelers in the New York countryside.  image
    • 23 Jan 1779 London. Lord Germain, British Minister for N. America, finalizes a plan for Gen Henry Clinton to seize control of the Hudson River and all of NY.  image
    • 18 Jan 1780 Eastchester, NY, Capt. Samuel Lockwood leads a raid & captures Loyalist Col Isaac Hatfield. But Loyalist cavalry pursues and disperses his detachment, killing 23 & capturing 40. image 21 Jan 1780 West Greenwich, NY American militia led by Gen Samuel Parsons repel an attack by Loyalists led by Lt Col James de Lancey, inflicting over 60 casualties. 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
    • 17 January 1781, Cowpens, South Carolina.
      General Daniel Morgan inspires his militia regiments to hold the line long enough for two volleys, then unleashes his Continentals and cavalry to crush the British Legion under the command of notorious Colonel Banastre Tarleton. Tarleton, in hot pursuit of Morgan, launches a head-on attack against the three rebel lines arrayed across the open field.
      American fire takes a toll, but vicious close-quarters fighting ensues. Colonel William Washington’s dragoons attacked the unsuspecting regulars. Even a final charge by the 71st Highlanders was stopped in its tracks by American volleys and then dispersed by a counterthrust by Colonel John Edgar Howard’s Continental Line infantry.
      This victory was a significant blow to General Charles Cornwallis and his southern campaign. But morale was even more critical. Cornwallis was in disbelief when informed that the rebel pack had destroyed Tarleton’s crack troops.
      The British lost 110 killed, 229 wounded, and 600 prisoners – significant numbers for a battle of its size. image
    • 19 Jan 1781 Portsmouth, VA. British Gen Benedict Arnold’s raiding force marches into winter quarters after plundering Smithfield, Cobham & trouncing a militia force at Hood’s Landing. image
    • 20 Jan 1781 Pompton, NJ: Continental troops stormed out of their winter camp in mutiny, ignoring officers’ attempts to negotiate. When they reach Chatham, they are finally persuaded to return to camp. image
    • 22 Jan 1781 Morrisania, NY (Bronx) Lt Col William Hull attacks a Loyalist outpost commanded by Lt Col James de Lancey. Rebels withdrew after inflicting 50 casualties, taking 50 prisoners, and suffering 18 casualties. image
    • 20 Jan 1783, Paris, France. Peace terms among Great Britain, France & Spain are concluded. The Americans had made a separate agreement with Great Britain. image

 

 

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