Loyalist Trails UELAC Newsletter, 2018 Archive

In this issue:
- The Claimants of February 1788 (Part Four of Four), by Stephen Davidson
- African Heritage Month 2018: Nova Scotia Museum Collections
- A Nitpick Regarding The [Vaccination] Nitpick
- In The Footsteps of Our Irish Palatine Ancestors
- Atlantic Loyalist Connections: Naming Culture in the Book of Negroes
- JAR: Patriots Turned Loyalist – The Experiences of Joseph Galloway and Isaac Low
- JAR: Born at Ticonderoga; Died at Waterloo
- Ben Franklin's World: Yellow Fever in the Early American Republic
- UE Loyalist Certificates Issued Recently
- Where in the World?
- Region and Branch Bits
- From the Twittersphere and Beyond
- Additions to the Loyalist Directory
- Last Post
      + Thomas Allen Patterson, UE
      + Walter Roy Wintermute, UE
- Queries
      + Applying for a Land Grant in New Brunswick
      + The Sutherlands of Sutherland Creek

The Claimants of February 1788 (Part Four of Four)

© Stephen Davidson, UE

On Monday, February 18, 1788, eight loyalists lined up with documents and witnesses at hand to make their claims for compensation from the British government. These are their stories.

When the American Revolution came to an end, John Dafoe Jr. was a soldier in Roger's Rangers, quartered at St. Johns on Lake Champlain. On this Monday, he stood before the RCLSAL to seek compensation for his dead father's losses. Before joining General Burgoyne's army, John Dafoe Sr. had operated a 200 farm with its own gristmill in Pownall, Vermont. After finding sanctuary in Canada, the Dafoe family settled along the Bay of Quinte. Mary Dafoe and her sons Michael, Abraham, and Daniel had signed a "quit claim" to assign the late loyalist's compensation to his son John Jr.

Dafoe also served as a witness in the case of Alexander Nicholson, a fellow farmer from Pownall who had also settled on the Bay of Quinte. This Scottish immigrant had fought for the crown -- "except the time he was a prisoner"-- throughout the war. Rebels put Nicholson in jail after the Battle of Bennington in 1777. Dafoe testified that Nicholson's captors sold him as a slave and "he was obliged to work out his freedom."

Another Bay of Quinte settler who appeared before the RCLSAL on this day was Frederick Oliver. Born in the colonies, he proudly testified that he "never joined the rebels in any respect, neither took an oath nor bore arms". After fleeing to Canada in 1778, Oliver served as a ranger in the Six Nation Department.

John Cameron also appeared before the RCLSAL on behalf of the family of a dead loyalist. His brother-in-law Robert Dixon, a veteran of Jessup's regiment, and his sister had both died within the past year, leaving two sons and two daughters "all very young and helpless" in his care. Dixon was a Scottish immigrant who had settled in Saratoga, New York before the outbreak of the war. Whether his orphaned children received any compensation from the RCLSAL is doubtful as the transcript says that though John Cameron "seems a good man ... at present there is no evidence".

Because he operated a mill in Tryon County, Ralph Falkner was exempt from having to serve with the local patriots. Although the English immigrant had taken an oath of neutrality, nevertheless he became "a long time prisoner in consequence of his loyalty". In 1778 he crossed British lines and found refuge in Niagara. Never one to bear arms, Falkner became a carpenter in the king's service. He lost everything that he had, including livestock that were killed by men of the Oneida First Nation who had sided with the rebels. At the end of the war, Falkner settled in Lancaster, up the St. Lawrence River from Montreal.

Gilbert Bogart was another loyalist who served the crown without bearing arms. A farmer from Tappan, New York, Bogart joined the British army's engineer department. He work as a guide was instrumental in the capture of Major Blewett, a rebel officer. Following the 1783 evacuation of New York, Bogart lived in the loyalist refugee camp at Sorel and then settled on the Bay of Quinte.

William McGlaughlan, an Irish native who served in the First Battalion after being forced to leave his Cherry Valley farm, had journeyed from New Johnstown to appear before the compensation board that day.

On Tuesday, February 19th, five loyalists appeared before the RCLSAL. In addition to making their own claims, Gasper Bower, Martin Middagh, and John Middagh also served as witnesses for fellow loyalists, including Stephen Middagh, a Delaware River farmer who served in both Butler's Corps and Johnson's Corps.

Philip and Jacob Smith represented their father Jacob Smith Sr. who could not attend the hearings due to his "age and infirmities". All three Smith men had served the crown during the revolution. Although he was "above 60 years of age" in 1788, the elder Smith had joined Burgoyne's army in 1777 when in his fifties and then enlisted in Sir John Johnson's Second Battalion. The Smith family eventually made the Bay of Quinte their new home.

On February 20th, George Buck relied on his friend Michael Grass to represent him at the RCLSAL hearings. Buck had "met with an accident lately which has made him quite a cripple and he is unable to travel to Montreal." The German immigrant was also "a cripple" during much of the revolution and "could not serve". However, Buck "was very loyal", "stript of all his property" and was forced to flee to Canada in 1781.

Michael Grass also represented himself on that Wednesday. This German immigrant became a farmer and saddler on the Mohawk River in 1753. After siding with the British 24 years later, he moved to New York City where he became a first lieutenant in one of the Companies of City Militia. With permission from Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander in chief, Grass built a house in the city. In 1783, Major James Patterson appointed Grass captain of militia for a company of loyalists bound for Canada. Nine hundred loyal refugees were under his direction as he helped them settle at Cataraqui. It is not surprising that the RCLSAL transcripts bear the liner notes that Grass was "a very good man".

Peter Garlow, a Fourth Township settler, told his story of fleeing the Mohawk Valley after rebels imprisoned him for 24 hours. He eventually saw action as a member of the King's Royal Regiment of New York.

When Lt. Hazelton Spencer appeared before the RCLSAL to lodge a claim on behalf of Benjamin Spencer, his deceased father, the loyalist's petition provided a lot of family information. Benjamin and his wife Marcy had five sons and two daughters: Hazelton who settled in Frederiksburgh after the war, Abel, John and Barnabas who remained in the United States, Augustus who settled on the Bay of Quinte, Sarah who remained in Vermont with her husband, and Dorit who lived with Hazelton.

According to an 1886 history of Clarendon, Vermont, Benjamin was a justice and assistant judge who sided with New York in its claims to jurisdiction over Vermont, thus being remembered by posterity as "an artful, intriguing and designing man". When he represented Clarendon at the convention of June 1777, he reportedly supported the declaration to make Vermont a state and to "resist by arms the fleets and armies of Great Britain". However, when General Burgoyne approached his community in July of that year, Benjamin joined the British army, and died en route to Canada at Ticonderoga that November.

Whether he had a change of allegiance or is misrepresented as supporting independence, Benjamin was remembered by his son and two witnesses as "a loyal man". One of the latter was Jeremiah Spencer, a fellow Clarendon loyalist. Simpson Jenny, another Vermont refugee, spoke on behalf of both of the Spencer claims made that day.

~*~

Author's note: Having come to February 20th, 1788 in our series of claimants, we have yet to tell the stories behind the remaining 66 petitions that were brought before the RCLSAL between February 21st and 28th. While we take a short break to recount other aspects of loyalist history, click on this link to see a list of all known claimants who journeyed to Montreal in February of 1788. Watch for future editions of Loyalist Trails to carry the conclusion to this series about Montreal's February claimants.

To secure permission to reprint this article, email Stephen Davidson.

African Heritage Month 2018: Nova Scotia Museum Collections

To celebrate African Heritage Month for 2018, a reference to some objects of interest in the Nova Scotia Museum cultural history collection.

A "recent acquisition was that of three mixed media objects that represent the late eighteenth-century popular culture of the London, England-based Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, established in May 1787. They are representative of abolition-period pieces which circulated throughout the British Empire, including in Nova Scotia. These items, and several other very significant Nova Scotia pieces, were acquired at a recent auction of Canadiana in London, England, through the generous support of John Risley, John Bragg, the Nova Scotia Museum Board of Governors and the Canadian Maritime Heritage Foundation.

Many freed and escaped Black slaves had fled to the colony following the American Revolution, forming new Black Loyalist communities such as Birchtown, outside of Shelburne. Some later left in the winter of 1792 for a new colony in Sierra Leone, with the assistance of the abolitionist John Clarkson and the Sierra Leone Company. Today, many African Nova Scotian communities and individuals proudly trace their origins and culture to the Black Loyalists.

The most significant of these is the least visibly imposing – a very small, well-worn mixed media medallion by an unknown artist with the iconic imagery of a kneeling, shackled slave asking the question "Am I Not a Man and a Brother", which became the most powerful symbol of the abolitionist campaign.

This imagery and slogan was first used on the ceramics of Josiah Wedgewood in 1787 for the Society's campaign against the slave trade, and was widely reproduced in various forms. (NSM Cultural History Collection 2015.13.5)

Such slogans resonated throughout different levels of society in the British Empire, including in the colony of Nova Scotia. The reverse of this yellow metal pendant is inscribed "Avoid Self Reproach" and is inset with woven human hair -- perhaps as a personal remembrance of a freed or escaped slave. Wedgewood's abolitionist pieces were also among the first commercially mass-produced ceramics in the world."

Read the full blog post with images. Thanks to Stephen Davidson for the reference.

A Nitpick Regarding The [Vaccination] Nitpick

As the article "Atlantic Loyalist Connections: Smallpox and Fear of Inoculation" regards a smallpox outbreak between 1776 and 1778, the term “vaccination” is an anachronism.

As noted in the article, Dr. Jeffries' own explanation of how he inoculated as follows in Allan Everett Marble's book, Surgeons, Smallpox, and the Poor: A History of Medicine and Social Conditions in Nova Scotia, 1749-1799: "[I] used a lancet moistened with the [smallpox] pus, and made two or three scratches with the infected lancet", or "[I] used a bit of [contaminated] thread laid on an incision." Cows were not involved. "Variolation", the deliberate infection with smallpox, or, "inoculation", the introduction of a pathogen or antigen into a living organism to stimulate the production of antibodies would be correct for the period.

Edward Jenner did not test his Cowpox hypothesis until 1796.

The terms ‘vaccine’ and ‘vaccination’ are derived from Variolae vaccinae (smallpox of the cow), the term devised by Edward Jenner to denote cowpox. He used it in 1798 in the long title of his Inquiry into the Variolae vaccinae known as the Cow Pox, in which he described the protective effect of cowpox against smallpox. In 1881, to honor Jenner, Louis Pasteur proposed that the terms should be extended to cover the new protective inoculations then being developed.

...Alex Lawrence, UE

In The Footsteps of Our Irish Palatine Ancestors

As we struggle to deal with present day issues of migrants and asylum seekers to Canada, we can see similarities in the movement and travails of our own ancestors. They faced similar obstacles -- political and often a hostile and challenging environment.

The "In the Footsteps of our Irish Palatine Ancestors Tour" (September 13-23, 2018) attempts to bridge the gap between our previous tour, the Irish Palatine Association's 2009 Tercentennary Tour in Ireland and our 2013 "Irish Palatines in Ontario Tour." We will be following the footsteps of the Irish Palatines (IP), who left Ireland in 1760 to go to the New World (and before that, emigrating from Germany through England to Ireland in 1709), settling in New York City and then the Camden Valley, only to have their lives turned upside down once more when the American Revolution broke out in 1776. We will follow the men who fought for the British and who then had to flee to Quebec when Burgoyne was defeated, followed later by their families. The tour will see relevant battlefields, cemeteries, churches and homes of our ancestors.

Some of the historical sites included are as follows:

1. The John Street United Methodist Church in NYC, established in 1766 by IP's Philip Embury and Barbara Heck*, site of the oldest Methodist congregation in N.A.,

2. Camden Valley, New York State, where IP's settled in 1770 with a couple of Methodist cemeteries, including where Philip Embury was first laid to rest and the Embury Methodist Church,

3. Bennington and Saratoga battlefields where IP ancestors fought in 1777,

4. Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point, where many IP signed up to fight with General Burgoyne,

5. Missisquoi area of Quebec, where many IP loyalists settled, built the Philipsburg and Odelltown Methodist Churches and established settlements and cemeteries.

We think this tour will allow participants to see the footsteps of our ancestors as they, like many migrants of today, grappled with changing politics and environment. Hopefully, it will better equip us to understand how the migration and immigration benefited Canada in the past, as it continues to do so in the present.

Read a quick overview of the tour. For more details read the brochure.

*See Barbara Heck Monument & old Blue Church in Prescott, Ontario

...Chuck Wallace, Chair, Irish Palatine Special Interest Group

Atlantic Loyalist Connections: Naming Culture in the Book of Negroes

The naming of an individual can offer insight into the worldview of the name giver, including perspective on their religious, national, ethnic, and gender identities. The culture of people of African descent in North America during the eighteenth century is particularly difficult to research using the standard historical record because of their lack of representation among written documents. The record of names which exists in the document known as the Book of Negroes offers a chance, however, at insights into a particular group ethos and a developing culture.

The Book of Negroes provides a rich source of information on a variety of people of African descent living in New York at the end of the American Revolution---both free and enslaved. The people in the Book were recorded in the largest numbers from Virginia and South Carolina; but also New York, New Jersey other areas of New England; Georgia; and the Caribbean. Most were formerly enslaved before the war and had been granted freedom by the British government for escaping from their former American colonial masters. This subgroup left New York as loyalists because of their chosen allegiance to the British Crown. A significant portion of people listed in the Book of Negroes were free born, but a large segment also remained enslaved to loyalists of European ancestry and accompanied them to the Maritimes and other parts of the Atlantic Word. Therefore, freeborn, formerly enslaved, and currently enslaved people are all recorded in the Book of Negroes. Read more about the most common names, types of names and their origins.

JAR: Patriots Turned Loyalist – The Experiences of Joseph Galloway and Isaac Low

by Richard J. Werther, 21 February, 2018

In the American Revolution, as with most other wars, the winners write the history. As such, we have the term "loyalist" for those colonists who remained loyal to the crown, while the winners claimed the term "patriots."

To give an idea how loyalists were regarded during the era, one definition I found said a loyalist was "a thing whose head is in England and its body in America and its neck ought to be stretched." In keeping with the winners' history theme, the plight of loyalists has been given short shrift over the years, and it is their fate is to be regarded as having been on the "wrong side of history." Indeed, most suffered greatly for what they believed, and most were ordinary colonists doing what they thought was right.

Yet two were of higher rank. They were delegates to the First Continental Congress and signers of the main output of that congress, the Continental Association, a non-importation pact targeted at Great Britain. The story of those two men, Joseph Galloway and Isaac Low, how they came to be in this position, what they went through because of it, and how things ended up for them (spoiler alert -- not well), makes for an interesting, if sobering, tale.

Read more.

JAR: Born at Ticonderoga; Died at Waterloo

by Ennis Duling, 20 February 2018

On July 4, 1777, as Lt. Gen. John Burgoyne's expedition on Lake Champlain prepared for a siege of Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, camp follower Anna Anderson gave birth to a boy, James or affectionately Jamie. He grew up to have two fathers, enlisted man William Anderson and Gen. James Inglis Hamilton, who adopted him in 1793. For nearly six years, Jamie and his family were prisoners in America. He was to die leading the charge of the Scots Greys at the Battle of Waterloo.

Details of the Jamie's life were gathered by Glasgow lawyer and journalist Peter Mackenzie (1799-1875) in the mid-1830s when he befriended Jamie's two unmarried sisters, Ann and Jean, who were living in poverty. He published what he termed a "stranger than fiction" story in 1865 in a book entitled Old Reminiscences of Glasgow and the West of Scotland. Sometimes he wrote as a careful historian, taking dates and locations from marriage, birth, and baptismal documents and transcribing family letters. He knew little about the American Revolution, but his family story agrees with historical sources. He recorded that Jamie was born at "Tayantroga," a misunderstanding of Ticonderoga, but the date is correct for the attack on the forts on Lake Champlain. At other times he lapsed into maudlin storytelling; perhaps he hid or embellished facts to improve his tale.

Read more.

Ben Franklin's World: Yellow Fever in the Early American Republic

Thomas Apel, author of Feverish Bodies, Enlightened Minds: Science and the Yellow Fever Controversy in the Early American Republic, leads our investigation of the yellow fever epidemics that struck the United States between the 1790s and early 1800s.

During our investigation, Thomas reveals what yellow fever is, how it's transmitted, and what the disease does to the human body; How yellow fever came to the United States; And, how early Americans thought about, treated, and worked to combat outbreaks of yellow fever.

Listen to the podcast.

UE Loyalist Certificates Issued Recently

The list of UE Certificates issued since late in 2012 -- showing the Loyalist ancestor, name of descendant (when permission is granted), branch and date -- has been updated with the certificates issued in November and December of last year. The same updates have been applied to the Loyalist Directory.

Where in the World?

Where are Gov. Simcoe Branch members Doug Grant and Nancy Conn?

To participate, submit a photo of yourself in UELAC promotional gear at a place of some note and tell us where it is (if you are a member of a branch, please indicate that as well). Send your submission to the editor at loyalist.trails@uelac.org.

Region and Branch Bits

From the UELAC branches, news and events of interest to others.

• Glengarry, Nor'Westers & Loyalist Museum "War Is Over: 1918 Revisited" dinner and presentations, Saturday, March 3rd  at the Legion in Lancaster in commemoration of the last year of the Great War. It will feature several short talks on various aspects of the war such as nursing and the medical side of things, wartime on the home front in Glengarry County, and an array of other topics. Some items pertaining to the Great War will on be on exhibit in the hall, space permitting. Tickets are $40 each and those interested in attending are encouraged to call the museum at 613-347-3547 or email at gnlmuseum@gmail.com.
• On Monday, March 5, 2018, the SUNY Schenectady County Community with ARRT: Hudson/Mohawk Valleys to present, "Schenectady in the Revolution" by John Gearing.  At the Schenectady County Community College located at 78 Washington Ave, Schenectady, NY 12305, in the Stockade Building's Lecture Hall room 101. Start at 6:30 PM with time for socializing and networking. The programming starts at 7:00 PM. To register, please provide your names(s), telephone number in an email to arrthudsonmohawkvalleys@gmail.com or by phone at 518-774-5669.
• Central West Region (CWR) Annual Meeting will be held Saturday April 7, 2018, 9:15 am to 4:00 pm at Local88 Hall, 364 Victoria Street, Ingersoll. Refreshments will be served and a donation of $5.00 is requested. Our guest speaker will be Robin McKee "The Life and Times of Sir John A. Macdonald". See flyer. Please register/organize through your local CWR branch.

From the Twittersphere and Beyond

As time permits, we add information to the Loyalist Directory. The latest additions and updates are as follows:

• National Trust for Canada: Top 10 Endangered Places List. Be part of saving a place that matters to you by nominating an endangered place for inclusion in the 2018 Top 10 Endangered Places List. The Top 10 List shines a national spotlight on historic places at risk due to neglect or lack of funding. This year, it's easier than ever to bring these places to our attention by submitting our simple nomination form or tweeting us a picture and a description of the place with the #10endangered hashtag.
• Today in History: Lars D.H. Hedbor @LarsDHHedbor (see his page for associated photos):
  • 24 Feb 1782 American forces, surprised by British attack, try retreat across Wambaw Bridge in SC; bridge collapses.
  • 23 Feb 1779 Col George Rogers Clark's expedition crosses icy, flooded prairies to arrive at Horseshoe Plain, where he learns from a prisoner that Lieut Col Henry Hamilton is unaware of his approach and defends Vincennes with only a small garrison.
  • 23 Feb 1778 Prussian Gen. von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge to drill Continental Army into a professional force.
  • 22 Feb 1776 Congress demands that New-York explain what efforts had been made to raise troops for its own defense.
  • 21 Feb 1776 Congress debates details of Continental currency to be issued to finance the war.
  • 20 Feb 1776 Royal Gov. Dunmore offers to negotiate w/Parliament for Virginia; Committee of Safety chooses Congress.
  • 19 Feb 1777 Colonel Benedict Arnold is passed over for promotion by Congress, prompting his eventual treason.
  • 18 Feb 1776 Virginia Royal Governor Dunmore objects to sending Gen Clinton to defend "insignificant" South-Carolina.
• From the Massachusetts Historical Society - Fashioning the New England Family
  • This crimson cloak was worn by Peter Oliver, Massachusetts Chief Justice (1771) and Mandamus Councilor (1774). It features a double collar.
  • this folding fan of decorated and pricked paper mounted on ivory sticks belonged to Anthony Stoddard, "the Antientist shopkeeper in Boston."
  • This embroidered silk muff belonged to Hannah Dawes. The seams and construction details indicate that it was fashioned from an earlier piece of clothing.
• Townsends:  A Barley Soup: A Dish for the Common-Folk in the 18th Century
• Robe à la française in lyrical yellow silkembroidered with vines and purple flowers, c. 1760.
• A single brocaded silk shoe w/paper label 'James Davis, Shoe Maker, near Aldgate, London'. Numerous elegant examples of Georgian shoes by Davis alone & in partnership w/ Thomas Ridout, are found in North American collections  Read more...
• This blue wool coat is part of a suit of regimentals made for George Washington in 1789 (now @amhistorymuseum ). It has a buff wool rise-and-fall collar, cuffs and lapels, and lining. Washington wore the uniform in a portrait by John Ramage.
• Portrait of Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, painted by Allan Ramsay in 1762. She was a patroness of the arts, an amateur botanist, and helped expand Kew Gardens.
• 18th Century open front dress accessorised for a masquerade, 1765-70
• Robe à la française dressed à la polonaise, ca 1760-80
• 18th Century men's shot silk suit c.1790 altered c.1805

Thomas Allen Patterson, UE

Physician. Microbiologist. Genealogist. Born Oct. 25, 1931, in Stirling, Ont.; died Sept. 4, 2017, in Toronto; of metastatic colon cancer; age 85.

Tom was raised in the small town of Stirling, Ont., and worked at his father's haberdashery, where he learned the meaning of "service with a smile" -- this served him well the rest of his life.

He graduated from the University of Toronto in medicine in 1956. After his internship, Tom did further training in internal medicine and spent several years in general practice.

His skills at classifying made him the perfect archivist. Naturally, genealogy became one of his loves. Over the years, he pieced together his own family history back to the early 1800s.

His research led to a United Empire Loyalist designation for his family, and he discovered that his mother arrived in Canada as a "Barnardo child," rescued from the slums of London and sent to Canada by Dr. Thomas Barnardo's charity. Read more in the Globe and Mail.

As a member of Toronto Branch, he proved to his Loyalist ancestor William Ketcheson Sr. in February of 2000.

Walter Roy Wintermute, UE

November 25, 1926-February 14, 2018. With heavy hearts and fond memories the Family announces the peaceful passing of Walter (Wally) Wintermute, at McNally House, Grimsby, surrounded by those who loved him dearly. He will be remembered as a proud member of the Ontario Provincial Police with 30 years service 1957 - 1987 assigned to Smithville, St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Crystal Beach and Welland.

For 30 years, he was a passionate and active member of the Bolingbroke Restoration Crew at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Hamilton. Walter believed that we were "ordinary people, able to accomplish extra-ordinary things together". He would be best remembered for his quick humour and his ability to bring a smile to many friends around the world.

Walter was predeceased by his wife Leeora of 59 years (2006), brother-in-law Leslie Pressey (2017)(Jean) and a grandson Anthony (1976). Sharing outstanding memories and funny stories of Walter are his wife Judith, his children Jane (Bruce), Alan (Carolyn), Brian (Linda) and Susan (Douglas); step-daughters Susan (John) and Sandy; and many grand and great-grandchildren.

Cremation has taken place. Visitation Wednesday, February 28, 2018 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Tallman Funeral Home, 3277 King Street, Vineland. Funeral at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, March 1, 2018, at First Baptist Church, 4264 Mountain Street, Beamsville. In lieu of flowers donations to McNally House Grimsby or the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum would be appreciated by the family. Online condolences at tallmanfuneralhomes.ca.

Col. John Butler (Niagara) Branch members are saddened to report that Walter Wintermute, UE passed away last week and send their deepest sympathy to his wife Judith and family. Walter was a proud descendant of Abraham Wintermute UEL and a loyal member of Butler Branch; he rarely missed a meeting.

...Bev Craig, UE

Applying for a Land Grant in New Brunswick

My question is, at what age was a person allowed to make an application for a Land Grant in New Brunswick in the 1780s & 1790s?

From some of the information I know about my Sypher Family of the Grand Lake area, it seems my Ancestor, John Tompkins Sypher s/o Lodewick, had his name attached to Land Grant applications during the mid 1780's and at such time he would have only been about 12 years old. This strikes me as very young!

Can anyone offer any insight?

Thanks in advance.

...Trevor Angel

The Sutherlands of Sutherland Creek

George Sutherland, KRRNY (although, like Gavin Watt stated, no military records found):

1. Provision list for 1784 Mullie Point (which later became Lake Twp, then Lancaster), he is listed as 1 man, no wife or children. Walter Sutherland is listed as 1 man, 1 woman, 1 girl child. There is also a Thomas Sutherland, unsure of the relationship here

2. Muster list of settlers for 1785, Mullie Point, George is listed, as well as Walter, Thomas, Joseph (Walter's brother), and widow John Sutherland (unsure of relationship)

3. George was granted (1784/5?) Lot 13 in 1st Concession in Lake Twp. Joseph had lot 6, Thomas and Alexander Sutherland had lots 7 & 8, Walter had lots 9 & 10, Mary and Anne Sutherland (Walter's 2 year old daughter and wife maybe?, Same names) had lot 11, and Walter's mother-in-law, Widow Campbell, had lot 12. So, yes, all the Sutherlands had lots together. According to my Google-earthing, looks like their lots were on the coast line of the township, running alongside what is now Sutherland's Creek. I believe this community is now Bainsville? Still looks like verdant farms :-) except for the Bainsville RV Camping establishment, between Sutherland's Creek and Gunn Creek. I really want to stay here!

4. George married Catherine McLennan and had issue: Donald, Mary, Roderick, John, and Isabella

5. George's daughter Mary married Alexander Grant 1821, Cornwall. Perhaps this Grant is your great grandsire, Doug?

6. George was buried at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Williamstown, which is where Walter and Joseph's children were baptized by Rev John Bethune

Now, as for Walter, according to some family Geneology sources, he had brothers Joseph and David (who supposedly went to Virginia?), And twin sister Annabelle, who stayed in Scotland but married a Gunn. Their children came and established Gunn Creek, I believe. Walter's daughter Barbara married her 1st cousin Walter Alexander Gunn, of Lancaster, and had many children.

According to the digital library Atlas map, from 1879? (A century later!), It shows a John Sutherland and a Donald Sutherland as having lots along Sutherland Creek. I wonder if these were George's son/grandsons...

We are interested in connecting with and sharing research/information with anyone who is likewise interested in these Sutherlands.

...Hannah Jones and Doug Grant