In Loyalist times, winters were cold, winter nights were long, and there was no Internet, TV, or even radio to occupy the evenings. Is that why families from those times seemed large, at least by today’s standards, or was it purely practical — the farm was expanding and more hands were required to till it? Whatever the case, tell us about your largest loyalist family. Some guidelines:
- the Loyalist or Loyalist’s spouse is one of the children, or
- the Loyalist or Loyalist’s spouse is the parent of all the children and both are a parent of at least one of them
- the children of a second or successive marriage by the Loyalist or the Loyalist’s spouse count in the total
- Minimum family size is a dozen (12)
In your submission, please have one or two paragraphs which describe the Loyalist and family (where settled before the war, some wartime notes, where settled afterwards, anything noteworthy about the Loyalist or family). For most readers, this is the interesting part; for the family historian interested in your family, the children’s names are more important. Then list the children with whatever you know in the format:
- [#] Child name, b. [date] d. [date] m. [date] spouse b. [date] d. [date]
- if there is more than one spouse, separate into separate lists by spouse.
We look forward to hearing from you. Send submissions to loyalist.trails@uelac.org
List of the Largest Loyalist Families:
Frederick Keller (24 children)
Frederick Keller, UE, was born 15 Nov 1757 in Albany, New York, USA. He served during the Revolutionary War with the King’s Rangers, and died in 1849 in Fredricksburg Twp, Lennox Addington, Ontario, Canada.
Frederick was married four times. He had only one child by his first wife, whose name was Guise — what happened to her is unknown. His second wife was Hannah; by her he had four children. When she died he married Elizabeth Peters and had 11 children. When she died he married Hannah Sixbury and had 8 more children for a total of 24 children. The oldest was born 1782 in Brunswick, Rensselaer, NY and the last child was born 14 apr 1828 in Ontario, at which time Frederick was 71 years old. He died in 1849 in Fredericksburg at 92 years of age.
Children by first wife:
He married (#1) HANNAH GUISE before 1773. She died between 1782-1784 (her name is in dispute).
Frederick UE Keller and Hannah Guise had the following child:
1. FREDERICK KELLER was born about 1773 in New York, USA. He died after 1875. He married Lena Hoffman, daughter of Peter Hoffman and Ruth Owen before 1804. She was born before 22 Feb 1784. She died before 1861.
Children by second wife:
He married (#2) HANNAH in 1785. She was born in 1770 and died in 1790. Frederick UE Keller and ‘Mrs. Frederick Keller’ Hannah had the following children:
2. JACOB KELLER was born on 23 Oct 1786 in Fredericksburgh, (Lennox, British Quebec Province) now (Lennox-Addington, Ontario, Canada). He died on 06 Mar 1850. He married Deborah Davy before 1811. She was born in 1786. Date of death unknown.
3. WILLIAM KELLER was born in 1784 in Upper Canada. Date of death unknown. He married Elizabeth Fykes, daughter of Peter Fykes UE before 1802. She was born in 1783 in Upper Canada. She died on 24 Apr 1872 in Kennebec, Frontenac Co., Ont.
4. JOHN STIRLING KELLER was born on 08 Jun 1788 in Fredericksburgh, Lennox Addington, Ontario, Canada. He died in 1870 in Fredericksburgh, Lennox Addington, Ontario, Canada. He married Mary Clement, daughter of Johan UE Wilhelm Clement and Hannah Fralick before Aug 1802. She was born in 1786 in Canada. She died in 1860.
5. SAMUEL KELLER was born before 01 Jan 1790 in Fredericksburgh Twp., Lennoc & Addington Co., Ont.. He died in Jul 1829. He married Rosanna Warner, daughter of Levi UE Warner and ‘Mrs. Levi Warner’ Rosanna on 03 Mar 1807 in St. James Church, Ernestown Twp., Lennox & Addington Co., Ont. She was born in 1788 in Fredericksburgh Twp., Lennoc & Addington Co., Ont. Date of death unknown.
Children by third wife:
He married (#3) ELIZABETH PETERS, who may be the daughter of Samuel Peters Sr. and Hulda Youngs (serious research has failed to find a proof of this, and has raised considerable doubts – if you have information, please forward to Gloria Howard – glohoward AT shaw DOT ca ) on 10 Aug 1791 in St John’s Church, Ernestown Twp., Lennox & Addington Co., Ont.. She was born in 1768. She died after 1812.
Frederick UE Keller and Elizabeth Peters had the following children:
6. JOSEPH KELLER was born on 18 Dec 1792 in Fredericksburg, (Lennox, British Upper Canada, BNA) now (Lennox and Addington, Ontario, Canada). He died on 09 Jul 1881 in Kennebec Twp., Frontenac Co., Ontario, Canada. He married Mary Burns on 01 Jan 1832 in Fredericksburgh Twp., Lennox and Addington Co., Upper Canada. She was born before 1814. Date of death unknown.
7. MARY KELLER was born about 1794 in Fredericksburgh Twp., Lennox and Addington Co., Upper Canada. She died before 04 Jan 1795.
8. MARY KELLER was born on 04 Jan 1795 in Fredericksburg, Lennox and Addington, Ontario, Canada She died in 1881. She married Isaac Asselstine, son of Abraham Asselstine on 20 Mar 1820 in Fredericksburgh Twp., Lennox and Addington Co., Upper Canada. He was born in 1798 in Adolphustown, Lennox And Addington County, Ontario, Canada. He died on 02 Jun 1867 in Camden East, Lennox And Addington County, Ontario, Canada.
9. CHRISTOPHER KELLER was born about 1798. He died in 1843 He married (1) MARY JANE VAN VALKENBURG before 1852. She was born in 1790 in USA. Date of death unknown. He married (2) MARY ANN MCPHERSON on 20 Mar 1830 in Ebenezer Lutheran Church, Fredericksburgh Twp., Lennox & Addington Co., Ont. She was born about 1792. Date of death unknown.
10. LANEY MAGDALENE KELLER was born before 30 May 1798 in Fredericksburgh Twp., Lennox and Addington Co., Upper Canada8. Date of death unknown. She married Christopher Young, son of Henry Young UE and ‘Mrs. Henry Young’ Eleanor on 06 Feb 1814 in Frederickburgh Twp., Lennox and Addington Co., Upper Canada. He was born before 12 Jan 1789. Date of death unknown.
11. DAVID KELLER was born before 15 Oct 1800. He died before 1844.
12. ELIZABETH KELLER was born before 24 Nov 1802 in Fredericksburgh Twp., Lennox and Addington Co., Upper Canada. She died after 1861. She married Richard Kiser on 17 Feb 1819 in Frederickburgh Twp., Lennox & Addington Co., Ont. He was born in 1793. Date of death unknown.
13. PETER J. KELLER was born about 1805. He died on 09 Jul 1881 in Kennebec Twp., Frontenac Co., Ontario, Canada. He married Mary Ann Keller, daughter of Johannes UE Keller and Lydia Laraway on 24 Feb 1830 in Fredericksburgh Twp., Lennox and Addington Co., Canada West. She was born on 07 Jun 1812. Date of death unknown.
14. HENRY KELLER was born in 1810 in Ontario, Canada. He died in 1891. He married Charlotte Schryver, daughter of John Schryver and Elizabeth Lloyd on 30 Oct 1832 in Frederickburgh Twp., Lennox & Addington Co., Ont. She was born in 1816 in Ontario, Canada. Date of death unknown.
15. MICHAEL KELLER was born before 04 Mar 1810 in Fredericksburgh Twp., Lennox and Addington Co., Upper Canada. He died in 1861. He married Margaret Schryver, daughter of George UE Schryver and Catherine Pickel on 04 Dec 1832 in Frederickburgh Twp., Lennox and Addington Co., Canada West. She was born on 26 Mar 1812. Date of death unknown.
16. HANNAH KELLER was born before 1812. Date of death unknown. She married (2) JOHN WOOD on 22 Jun 1828. He was born before 1810. Date of death unknown. She married (2) ROBERT SPURLES on 21 Nov 1831 in Kingston, Frontenac Co., Ontario, Canada. He was born about 1812. Date of death unknown.
Children by fourth wife:
He married (#4) HANNAH SIXBURY before 1815. She was born in 1785 in Tyendinaga Mohawk Native Indian Reserve, Bay of Quinte Area, (British Quebec Province, BNA) now (Ontario, Canada). She died in 1844.
Frederick UE Keller and Hannah Sixbury had the following children:
17. JULIA ANN KELLER was born in 1815. She died date Unknown. She married John Dibble, son of Aaron Dibble and Catherine Diamond before 1837. He was born in 1815. Date of death unknown.
18. CATHERINE ANN KELLER was born about 1816 in Canada West. She died date Unknown. She married George Clapper about 1835. He was born in 1812 in Quebec, Canada. Date of death unknown.
19. ASA KELLER was born about 1817 in Fredericksburgh Twp., Lennox and Addington Co., Upper Canada. Date of death unknown.
20. JOHN KELLER was born before 1822.
21. JANE KELLER was born on 06 Apr 1822 in Ontario, Canada. Date of death unknown.
22. MARY TEMPERANCE KELLER3 was born on 20 Oct 1822. She died on 17 Jun 1895. She married Jeremiah Place, son of Uriah Place and Mary Smith on 20 Jul 1840 in By Rev. Joseph H. Leonard in Victoria District. He was born on 29 Aug 1820 in Pickering, Ont. Date of death unknown.
23. PHOEBE ANN KELLER was born on 01 Jan 1823 in Fredericksburgh Twp., Lennox and Addington Co., Upper Canada. She died on 30 Sep 1900 in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. She married Henry Sturch on 24 Jul 1845 in Frederickburgh Twp., Lennox and Addington Co., Canada West. He was born about 1812 in England. Date of death unknown.
24. PETER KELLER was born on 14 Apr 1828.
— Submitted by Arnold Weirmeir, UE
Benjamin Eastman (23 children)
Benjamin Eastman (my great x4 grandfather) was born on 3 October 1759 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut, son of Benjamin & Mary (nee Hitchcock) Eastman. In 1777, at Saratoga, he joined the Royal Army under General Burgoyne (Jessups’s corps). Benjamin arrived in Cornwall, Stomont, Ontario, Canada in 1783 and received land. He passed away on 21 October 1836 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada at the age of 77 years. He is buried with his wives at Trinity Anglican in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.
On 24 May 1781 at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, at the age of 21 years, Benjamin married Hannah Sherman, age 17 years, daughter of Simeon Sherman. She was born in 1764 in Rhode Island and died 4 September 1804 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. They had the following children.
Children with Hannah Sherman:
1. Mary Eastman was born 16 October 1783 in Machiche, Loyalist Refugee Camp, Quebec; baptised on 11 May 1784 Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. She married Henry Waggoner about 1800 and died on 10 May 1832 in Cornwall Twp., Stormont Co., Upper Canada (now Ontario). (Revised January 2022; information from Heather Latto.)
2. John Eastman was born 20 April 1786 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. Married Elizabeth Rachel Glassford on 28 September 1804 in Cornwall, Ontario. Married Sarah Johnston, daughter of Robert & Sarah (nee Wood) Johnston on 15 May 1814 in Cornwall, Ontario. He died on 6 November 1875 in Kars, Ontario at the age of 89 years due to complications from heart disease. He is buried at Elmview Cemetery in Kars.
3. Samuel Eastman was born 20 May 1788 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. Married Nancy Ann Waterbury, daughter of Peter Cooke & Mary (nee Slason) Waterbury. He lived at Lot 27, Concession 1, North Gower, Ontario. He died in 1861 at the of 73 years.
4. Benjamin Eastman was born 5 August 1790 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. He married Margaret McEwen, daughter of David & Rachel (nee McLachlan) McEwen on 25 February 1812 in Cornwall, Ontario. He was employed as poundkeeper and farmer in North Gower Township, Ontario. He died 15 March 1861 in North Gower Township, Ontario, Canada at the age of 70 years.
5. Rachel Eastman was born 25 March 1793 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.
6. Simeon Sherman Eastman was born 2 November 1796 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. He married Jennet Johnston, daughter of Robert & Sarah (nee Wood) Johnston. He died 14 February 1873 in Mecan, Wisconsin, U.S. at the age of 76 years.
7. Jacob Eastman was born in 1796 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.
8. Daniel Eastman was born 18 August 1798 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. He married Mary Groves 13 June 1838. He married Jane Gale 30 September 1851 in Aurora, Illinois, U.S. He died on 24 February 1863 in Aurora, Wisconsin, U.S.
9. Nancy Eastman was born in 1799 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.
10. Joel Eastman was born 28 August 1801 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. He married Margaret McLaughlin on 10 September 1822 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.
On 3 March 1805 at Trinity Anglican Church in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 45 years, Benjamin married Mary Waterbury, age 18 years, daughter of Peter Cooke & Mary (nee Slason) Waterbury. She was born 30 July 1786 in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada and died 3 September 1866 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada.
Children with Mary Waterbury:
11. Hannah Eastman was born 16 December 1805 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. She married John Jardine 15 March 1826 in Cornwall, Ontario. She died 8 March 1887 in Osnabruck Township, Ontario, Canada at the age of 81 years due to “old age” and heart disease.
12. Isaac Eastman was born 15 March 1807 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. He married Eleanor McGloughlan on 3 March 1829 in Cornwall, Ontario. He died 15 February 1882 in Osnabruck Township, Ontario, Canada at the age of 74 years.
13. Sarah Eastman was born 26 June 1809 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. She married Levi Groves on 18 April 1830 in Cornwall, Ontario. She died 23 November 1864 at the age of 55 years.
14. Elizabeth Eastman was born 16 July 1811 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. She died 10 June 1814 at the age of 2 years.
15. Solomon Eastman was born 28 July 1813. He married Phoebe Hartle. He died 30 June 1884 at the age of 70 from complications due to heart disease.
16. James Eastman was born 13 June 1815 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. He died in 1880 in Wardsville, Ontario, Canada at the age of 65 years.
17. Elizabeth Eastman (twin) was born 6 August 1817 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. She married Ashley M. Gilbert on 3 December 1832 in Cornwall, Ontario.
18. Levi Eastman (twin) was born 6 August 1817 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. He died 6 April 1818 at the of 8 months.
19. Susannah Eastman was born 27 October 1819 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. She married Oliver Groves on 21 July 1846 in Cornwall, Ontario. She died on 16 November 1895 at the age of 76 due to heart failure.
20. Amanda Phoebe Eastman was born 3 October 1821 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. she married Robert Osborn Johnston, son of Adam & Mary Ann (nee Millotte) Johnston on 4 April 1843 at St. John’s Presbyterian Church in Cornwall, Ontario. She died 28 January 1853 at the age 31 years.
21. Hiram Fairchild Eastman was born 11 September 1823 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. He married Caroline Cline, daughter of Michael & Mary (nee Gallinger) Cline on 2 December 1845 at Trinity Anglican Church in Cornwall, Ontario. He died accidentally 15 April 1894 in Cornwall Twp., Ontario, Canada at the age 70 years while driving fence posts into the ground with a neighbour.
22. Alva Schofield Eastman was born 2 October 1825 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. He married Sarah Johnston, daughter of Adam & Diadema (nee Eastman) Johnston on 6 July 1847 at trinity Anglican Church in Cornwall, Ontario. He died 14 April 1907 in Cornwall, Ontario at the age of 81 years of complications due to heart disease.
23. Anna Maria Eastman was born 1 January 1828 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. She died 27 November 1866 in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada at the age of 38 years.
— Submitted by Maggie Barron, North Gower, Ontario, Canada
Cyrenius Parke (18 children)
Cyrenius Parke is my Loyalist ancestor and also the ancestor of countless others. Eighteen of his children reached adulthood, married and populated Ontario.
Before the War
Cyrenius was born in Litchfield, Connecticut Colonial America 22 Dec 1754, the 5th child of parents James Parke and Sarah Newcombe. His first wife, Elizabeth Carscallen was born 21 Dec 1755 in Queensbury Township, Charlotte, New York, USA, died 1788 in Albany Township, Albany, New York. Together they had eight children. In 1789 he married a second time to Elizabeth Huffman b. 13 Apr 1770, daughter of Elias Hoffman and Elizabeth, at Camden Valley, New York, USA. She died 9 Dec 1846 at Hay Bay, North Fredricksburgh Twp., Lennox and Addington Co. They had twelve children.
The War
Cyrenius was a colonist who remained faithful to the Crown during the American War of Independence (1775-1783), otherwise known as The American Revolution, and joined General Burgoyne’s British Forces to fight the rebels along with his brother James Parke. Cyrenius and his brother James were both captured and later released with guarantee not to serve again during the war.
He had his land confiscated for his known loyalty to the king. They were driven from their homesteads by the rebels and were forced to flee the country leaving all their possessions behind. Then he fled to Canada in the year of 1780 serving as a Corporal in a company known as the James Rogers King’s Rangers.
They sailed from New York, reached Lachine, Quebec and continued to Sorel where they wintered in tents and hastily built cabins. The final stage of their journey was on flat-bottomed boats called “bateaux” and they travelled from Lachine up the St. Lawrence River to land at Adolphustown on June 16, 1784.
After the War
He took up permanent residence in Upper Canada 1790. It wasn’t until 20 Dec 1792 that he was granted 290 acres of land in Richmond Twp. Napanee, Ontario, Lennox & Addington Co., Canada. On 17 May 1801 was once more granted 600 acres of land at Hay Bay, Fredericksburgh Twp. Lennox & Addington Co., Ontario, Canada. On Aug. 10, 1801 he was granted more land, 200 acres of land in Sophiasburgh Twp., Prince Edward Co., Canada.
On Jan 10, 1793 Cyrenius bought a Family Bible at Kingston for 1.10 pounds. The bible is now in the Lennox & Addington Court House and Museum. He has listed there in his own handwriting all names and birthdates of his family, starting with his own parents, and including various marriages and death dates.
In 1796 he settled at Hay Bay, Fredericksburgh Twp., Lennox & Addington Co. Upper Canada Lots 5,6, 7 Con 4. He died 22 Aug 1828 at age 74. He is buried at the Parks-Sherman Loyalist Cemetery, Hay Bay, Ontario, Fredericksburgh Twp., Lennox & Addington Co., Ontario, Canada.
Children of 1st wife (8) Elizabeth Carscallen
1. Nathaniel b.21 Apr 1776 m. Rebecca Pine
2. Sarah b.7 Dec 1777
3. Cornelius b.13 Apr 1779
4. Joseph b.27 Mar 1780
5. James b.10 Feb 1782
6. Deborah b. 6 Aug 1783
7. Archibald b.4 Jan 1786
8. Elizabeth b.10 Jan 1787
Children of 2nd wife (12) Elizabeth Huffman
1. Clarinda b. 24 Oct 1790 d.? m. 20 Jul 1822 William Blake
2. John Cyrenius b.14 Dec 1791 d. c.1866 m. 13 Oct 1812 Catherine Brunk
3. Cyrenius Jr. b. 14 Sept 1793 d. 16 Apr 1836 m. 4 Dec 1809 Elizabeth Taylor
4. James Cyrenius b.27 Feb 1795 d. bet 1862-1870 m. (date unknown) Eleanor Reid
5. Mary b.3 Apr 1797 d. ? m. 16 Oct. 1816 John Rightmeyer
6. Elias T. b.26 Oct 1798 d. 1837 m. c. 1821 Sarah Pine
7. Daniel b.25 Oct 1800 d. 30 Jul 1880 m. Sarah Wilson
8. Charlotte b.12 Dec 1802 d. 25 Apr. 1869 m. 3 Jun 1826 Peter Huffman
9. Hannah b.22 Dec 1804 d. 12 Jun 1850 m. c. 1827-28 Alexander Forshee
10. David b.21 Oct 1807 d. 25 Nov. 1858 m. c. 1829 Nancy Wilson
11. Susanna b.22 Apr 1810 d. 7 May 1873 m. 4 Jan 1830 John Alexander Watson
12. Mylo b.2 Oct 1812 d. 20 Feb 1900 m. 11 Feb 1834 Bathsheba Rose Lazier
Sources for children: Will (in Ontario Archives) and Langhorn and McDowell baptismal records, Family Bible in Napanee Museum.
— Submitted by Beverly Pulver, UE
Matthias Marsh (17 children)
By the time the American Revolution broke out, Matthias Marsh UE was residing with his parents in Manchester a town in the future Vermont. His parents were William Marsh 1738-1816 and Sarah French 1741-1820. William began the War as an officer in the Green Mountain Boys hence the designation “Colonel” which stuck with him. In 1777 William switched to the British and for the duration of the War and indeed afterwards he worked in the Secret Service and was back and forth between Vermont and Quebec a number of times.
Matthias was born in 1763 so still quite young when the War began. He never joined a Loyalist Corps, and he remained in the Manchester area during the War. Why then was he retained on The Executive Council List and not expunged as so many sons of Loyalists were? The picture that is emerging is that he was involved on site with the Secret Service work for his father and would have been well placed to know many of the key players such as the Allens.
Matthias married Sarah Richardson in Manchester in 1783. Sarah was the daughter of Nathan Richardson a Rebel originally from Connecticut.
The family of Matthias and Sarah:
1. Lucy Marsh 1783-1847 m. Stephen Young
2. Esther Marsh 1784-1874 m. Reuben White
3. Archibald Marsh 1786-1834 m. Margaret Billeau (2) Eliza Ann Nix
4. Charlotte Marsh 1787 m. John McGrath
5. William Marsh 1789 m. Sylvia Ann Squires
6. Edmund Marsh 1795 m. Clarissa
7. Benjamin Marsh 1797
8. Sarah Marsh 1798 m. William Page
9. Clarissa Marsh 1799 m. Samuel Gilbert (2) John Lee
10. Samuel Marsh 1801 m. Tamar Richardson
11. Abraham Marsh 1806-1894 m. Abigail Whittier
12. Henry Marsh 1809
Before 1790 Matthias and Sarah were in the Bay of Quinte area, and Sarah is supposed to have drowned in the Trent River in 1810. While not a lot is known about her, Matthias’s second wife was reportedly a Mrs. Dickson.
The second family:
13. Mary Marsh c1812
14. Eliza March c1813
15. Almira Marsh c1815
16. Charles Marsh c1817
17. James Marsh 1819-1888 m. Charity Terrill.
Many sources claim there were 24 children, but the above are the known ones, and the list is certainly subject to corrections and additions. Matthias resided in Sidney Township, Hastings County. In 1801 he proposed the first bridge over the Trent River, but it was left to the next generation to complete the project. Matthias was dead by 1829 and he is likely buried in Whites Cemetery just east of Trenton.
Matthias’s most famous descendant is the Rt. Hon. Lester B. Pearson, although oddly enough in his autobiography Pearson chose to mention his Quaker lines, and completely ignored his Marsh ancestry and Loyalist roots, although he must have known about them.
— Submitted by Peter W. Johnson, UE
Sergeant Gabriel Purdy (17 children)
The tombstone of Sergeant Gabriel Purdy UE, located at Rose Cemetery, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, on part of his farm, reads “GABRIEL PURDY ESQ. AGE 92 YRS.” The Halifax Times recorded on 25 May 1841: “Died at Westchester, Cumberland Co. on Saturday 8th instant Gabriel Purdy, Esq., aged 87 years. Mr. Purdy was born at West Chester in the State of New York, 1754.” His military history supports the age of 87 years as his lifespan rather than the tombstone date of 92 years. In his remarkable life he married 5 times and, at the time of his death, had 17 children, 170 grandchildren, and 52 great grandchildren making a total of 239!
Click here for a 4-page PDF containing Gabriel Purdy’s biography, an annotated list of his children, and a photo of his tombstone.
— Submitted by Grietje & Bob McBride
Gilbert Orser (15 children)
Gilbert Orser was born in Westchester County in 1765, the youngest son of Joseph Orser and Annette Jurckes. The family goes back to about 1640 in Manhattan when the first Dutch settler arrived in New Amsterdam. Descendants settled later in Westchester County on the very large Plantation of Phyllypse Manor located where Sleepy Hollow is today on the Hudson River.
Joseph Orser was a well-off farmer who owned 200 acres – a freehold farm – on the River and he tenanted 200 more in the plantation itself. He had 5 sons who were very involved in the Delancey’s Brigade Chasseurs, raiding rebel lands for support of the British. Although Joseph never served in the British forces or actively took up arms against the so called Patriots, he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the patriots in the Revolution.
As a result, the leader of a group of vigilantes attacked their farm, burned it down and stole all cattle and horses, beating Joseph on the head and limbs until he was nearly dead. They fled to New York City for protection and soon came to know Captain Michael Grass who had convinced Carleton to let his group of Associated Loyalists settle in Cataraqui, now Kingston instead of New Brunswick. On board the ship Camel to Sorel, Quebec where they wintered Joseph died of his injuries and his widow and 15 other family members survived. This included 3 servants, including 2 young slave children both aged 11, Abigail and Oliver, who are mentioned in The Book of Negroes.
The family petitioned for compensation for their seized land which had been sold by the new State of New York but to no avail. The eldest son, John who remained in the USA eventually bought it back. We had a reunion there in 2000. Gilbert, his youngest son and my UEL ancestor was a member of the surveying crew that laid out the township and Kingston. He became the first sexton of The Rev. William Stuart’s Anglican Church in Kingston.
Later he was called to testify as to how the survey under Collins and Holland had been done because it was done not according to plan. The Town was to be done first and then the Township. It was surveyed in reverse and caused a problem at the mouth of the Trent River.
Children:
1. Orser, Abraham — about 1791
2. Orser, Ann — September 1806 — m. Ferguson, Isaac
3. Orser, David — 1797 — m. Word, Phoebe; Elizabeth H.
4. Orser, Elijah — 1795 — m. Brown, Rachel; ? Deborah
5. Orser, Elizabeth — m. Ferguson, Vincent
6. Orser, Enoch — c. 1803
7. Orser, Gilbert — 1805 — m. Bowerman, Catherine
8. Orser, Hannah — 1809 — m. Southard, John
9. Orser, Jesse — 14 July 1793 — m. Mary
10. Orser, Joseph — c.1803
11. Orser, Martha — m. Bettys, Hezekiah
12. Orser, Mary — 1786 — m. French, Frederick
13. Orser, Phebe — 1796 — m. Goldsmith, John
14. Orser, Samuel — 8 August, 1788 — m. Johnson, Elizabeth
15. Orser, William — 1811 — m. Lydia
— Submitted by David Woodward, UE
Andrew Kimmerly (15 children)
Andrew Kimmerly was born in 1765 Jan per church records; he died in 1826 in Richmond ON. Christened in the Reformed Dutch Church # 376, Stone Arabia NY, as Kumerling, sponsor Catharina w/o Andreas Dillenbach.
Enlisted in May 1780 served for 3 years as a Pte in King’s Royal Regiment of New York 2nd Bn. Settled in Fredericksburg in 1784. In 1786 married Susannah, (1772-aft 1852) daughter of Johanes Sager, UE. In 1792, moved to Adolphustown & 1802 moved to Richmond.
Children:
1. Garrett 1788-1880 m. Catherine Louks in 1806 (10 grandchildren)
2. John 1789-1871 m. Marie Barbara Fretz in 1815 (2 grandchildren)
3. Henry 1791-1871 m. Anna Margaretha Fretz in 1814 (12 grandchildren)
4. David 1793 9 Apr (twin) m. Fanny Hough (? grandchildren)
5. Jacob 1793 9 Apr (twin) m. Charity Bower in 1816 (? grandchildren)
6. Staats 1795-? m. Margaret Elizabeth Foote in 1826 (5 grandchildren)
7. Catherine 1796-1834 m. Gilbert Solmes in 1814 (10 grandchildren)
8. Andrew Jr 1798-1828 m. Hilda Ostrum in 1822 (4 grandchildren)
9. William 1800-? m. Christina Fretz c1832 (12 grandchildren)
10. Peter 1802-1873 m. Lavina Knowlton c1819 (? grandchildren)
11. Adam 1804-1876 m. Elizabeth A Bower c1830 (5 grandchildren)
12. George 1809-? single
13. Sarah 1811-? m. Luke Bowen c1828 (9 grandchildren)
14. Edward 1814-? m. Welfy Ann ????? c1840 (6 grandchildren)
15. Mary 1816-? m. John W Roblin in 1834 (11 grandchildren)
Birth Record of the twins, David & Jacob:
Birth: 9 April 1793 Evangelical Lutheran Church Records
Surname spelled KEMMERLE
Christening..getauft Dom. Rogate 1793 Testes Cornelius Aliver ux Maria
Evan. Lutheran Church Camden E, Ernesttown,Fredericksburg & Richmond 1791-1850
Instead of listing the actual date of the baptism, the Minister said that the twins were baptised on Rogation Sunday in the German Church Year 1793.
Dom Rogate, Rogation Sunday, was difficult to get a clear date depending on the source.
A) the 5th Sunday after Easter 31 March 1793 ..then 3 May 1793 or
B) the 1st Sunday after Pentecost (Google) or
C) 4 days before Ascension (a Catholic Priest)
Now no longer celebrated.. just praying for good crops.
— Submitted by Don Maxwell
William Peters (15 children)
My 4th great grandfather was William Peters. He was born in New York, probably in Duchess County around 1772. His Loyalist parents, with whom he fled to New Brunswick in 1783 at about the age of 11, were Thomas Peters and Susannah Palmer. Thomas declared his loyalty to the British at an early date, was frequently imprisoned, one of those jails being in Philadelphia where he was kept for 4 months. Thomas and his family eventually got within the British lines around 1777, living on Long Island during the war.
William was Thomas and Susannah’s 3rd child, born about 1772. He married Charlotte Haines on June 1, 1791 in Gagetown, Queens County, New Brunswick and was baptised as an adult by Rev. Richard Clarke of St John’s Anglican Church, Gagetown on January 20, 1793. Some readers may know about the children’s book that has been written about Charlotte, who was said to have lost a slipper when coming ashore in what was later St. John, NB.
Most of the information below comes from the excellent web site of a cousin, Kathleen A. Peters, titled Peters Family Histories.
William and Charlotte had 15 children:
1. Sarah b. ca 1792 d. 26 Ap 1860 m. Jarvis Cowperthwaite 11 Feb 1816 b. ca 1792 d. 17 Nov 1870, possibly son of Reuben
2. Millicent b. ca 1794 d. ca 8 Jan. 1861 m. 1. Alexander Nevers b. 4 Feb d. ca 11 Oct 1833 (probably son of Alexander Nevers and Isabella Howard) m. 2. James W Boone, parents unknown, b. ca 1803-1806 d. May 1881 but had first married Maria Nevers)
3. Samuel Leonard b. ca 1796 d. 1857 m. Phoebe Tilley (b. ca 1804 daughter of James Tilley & Mary Chase, d. 23 Ju 1870)
4. Susan Ann Hunt b. ca 1798 d. 24 Jul 1876 m. Thomas Morgan Tilley (b. ca 1795, son of James Tilley & Mary Chase, d. 24 Ap 1871)
5. Carleton b. 1799 d. 22 Sep. 1856 m. Janet McAlpine (b. ca 1802 daughter of Charles McAlpine and Christean Balmaine, d. 14 Ju 1858)
6. Charlotte Mary b. ca 1801 d. 1 Jun 1879 m. John James Colwell (b. ca 1793, son of John Colwell Sr and [Hannah/Tamar] Britton, d. 22 Feb 1871)
7. Thomas William b. ca 1803 d. 16 Jun 1880 m. Mary Ann McMonagle (prob. daughter of Cornelius McMonigle & Anne (Scott), d. 28 Ju 1854)
8. Frances Elizabeth b. ca 1805 d. 1 Dec 1869 m. Charles Duncan Everett (son of George Everett & Ruth Estey, b. ca 1802, d. 20 Ap 1889)
9. John Haines b. ca 1807 d. 9 Aug 1828 by drowning, attempting to rescue another man
10. Elizabeth Abigail b. ca 1809 d 10 Jun 1871 m. her cousin James Peters (son of William Peters and Amy Sutton, b. ca 1783, d. Aug 1875)
11. Margaret Ann b. ca 1811 d. 6 May 1887 m. Daniel Hanington (probably son of William Hannington and Mary Derby, b. ca 1804, d. 5 May 1889)
12. Isabel b. 9 Dec 1813 d. 20 May 1886 m. Sylvester Wood (parents unknown, b. ca 1789, d. 9 Ap 1851)
13. James Wellington b. 18 Jan 1816 d. 12 Aug 1898 m. Rebecca Trecartin (parents unknown, b. ca 1826-1831, died after 1901 census)
14. Phoebe Augusta Powell b. 31 Mar 1818 d. 15 Jan 1894 m. William Seely (possibly son of Seth Seely b. ca 1814, d. 9 Jul 1898) and Anna (parents unknown)
15. Caroline Augusta Wilmot b. 26 Jan 1823 d. 1 Apr 1890 m. James Henry Perkins (son of Amos Mix Perkins and Hannah Piers, b. 24 Jan, d. 5 Sept 1886)
— Submitted by Frances (Peters) Rose, UE
Clapman Smith (15 children)
Clapman Smith was born in 1762 in Connecticut (perhaps Norwalk?) and died in 1843 in Sunbury County, NB. About 1792, in Sunbury County, NB, Clapman married Susannah Bailey (born circa 1775 in Bay Chaleur, NB; died 15 July 1856 in Blissville, Sunbury County, NB).
Clapman was the second son of Daniel Smith and Ruth Fitch and prior to the American Revolution the family lived in New Milford, CT where his parents ran a tavern. Daniel served as a guide to the British during the American Revolution and arrived in Saint John on May 11, 1783 on board the ship “Union”. Daniel Smith was one of the original grantees of land in Saint John (1784), but he petitioned almost immediately for land on the South West Branch of the Oromocto River which was formally granted in 1787. Clapman and his younger brother Daniel jr. arrived in Saint John in September 1783 on board the “two Sisters”. Daniel jr. was granted half a lot near Gagetown in 1784. Clapman and his older brother Orlo petitioned for land on the South West Branch of the Oromocto River in January 1785 and received their grants near their father’s in 1787. Daniel Sr. submitted a claim for losses for which he received a second grant of 787 acres in 1790 nearby his original grant on the Oromocto River.
Joan Davis and Janice Seeley’s Sunbury County Happenings, Vol. 1, p. 7 contains the following from the Religious Intelligencer (Saint John, N.B.) of 25 Jul 1856: “Died At Blissville, Sunbury County, on the 15th inst., Mrs. Susannah, relict of the late Clapman Smith, Esq., in the 82nd year of her age, leaving 8 surviving sons and 2 daughters, with a large number of grand and great grandchildren. Mrs. Smith was born at the Bay Chaleur, to which her parents had emigrated from London. They removed to the Saint John River when she was about 4 years old. Her father was a truly pious and devoted disciple of Christ, and for many years sustained the public worship of God. When 17 years of age she was married to Mr. Smith, by whom she had 15 children; one died in infancy, another in early years, all the rest professed faith in the Savior. During the last 13 years she had been a widow, waiting for the time of her departure. During the last 2 or 3 years her faculties failed so far that at times she did not recollect her own friends, even her own children were sometimes forgotten by her, but at no time did she forget her Savior.”
According to Smith family lore Susannah Bailey eloped with Clapman. Her Father didn’t approve of the match and disinherited her daughter. Later he relented and willed his estate to Susannah’s children. Clapman Jr. had the bible containing a record of Susannah and Clapman’s children to prove that they were entitled to receive the inheritance. The brothers took up a collection of ten dollars each and Joseph (one of the brothers) was given the bible and other papers to take to Saint John to employ a lawyer to press their claim. On the way he had to cross a swollen river. The water was higher than he thought; the wagon upset and the papers were destroyed. So ended the story of the Bailey legacy. No doubt the family had been counting on collecting that inheritance for years and years. Clapman and his wife were buried in the cemetery on the old Murphy Farm (now owned by Groenenburg’s). Later they were moved to the Blissville Baptist cemetery when it was developed. The gravestones for Clapman Smith and his wife Susannah still exist.
At least seven of Clapman’s descendants were elected to the New Brunswick Legislature: his grandson Albert Colby Smith, his great grandsons Albert Harry Colby Smith, Benjamin Franklin Smith, Robert F. Smith, Gabriel F. Smith, his great great grandsons A. Colby Smith, and Horace Bolton Smith. Another great grandson Luther B. Smith of Saint John West, contested Queens-Sunbury for the House of Commons on the Conservative side in 1911 with General McLean as his opponent, and came within a few votes of winning allegedly due to a stolen ballot box. His great grandson Benjamin Franklin Smith lost the 1911 federal election in Victoria-Carleton by 11 votes. He eventually was elected a federal Member of Parliament in 1930 and appointed a Senator in 1935. All of them claimed their Loyalist heritage.
Children:
1. Clapman Smith Jr. — b. 1794, died 1871, married Gertrude DeWitt b. 1795 d/o John DeWitt, d. 1896: first lived in Mill Settlement, Blissville Parish and then in 1836 moved to Presque Isle, ME
2. John E. Smith — born 1798
3. Benjamin Smith — born 1800, d. 1870, m. Amelia Clarke b. 1797, d. 1850: settled near Hoyt, Blissville Parish and moved to Carleton County after 1860
4. Daniel Smith — born 1802, d. 1861, married Phoebe Hartt b. 1809, d. 1883: family settled near Blissville, NB
5. Joseph Smith — born 1803, d. 1880, m. Harriet M. Lounsbury b. 1800, died 1891: family settled near Blissville and moved to Bridgewater, Maine
6. Samuel Smith — born 1805, died 1861, married Abigail Balmain
7. William Smith — b. 1808, d. 1861
8. Israel Smith — b. c1809: went to West Saint John, NB
9. Theopilus Smith — b. 1810, m. Lucy Hudson
10. Ezekiel Smith
11. Ammon Smith
12. James Smith — born 1814, d. 1896, m. Anne – b. 1826, d. 1882
13. Lydia Smith — born 1815, died 1856, m. John Seely
14. Thatcher Smith
15. John Smith — b. 1825, d. 1903, married Elizabeth – born 1835, d. 1913.
— Submitted by John Noble, UE
Conrad Van Dusen (15 children)
Conrad Van Dusen was born in Dover, Duchess County, New York, 23 April 1751, the son of farmers, Robert Vandusen and Christina Ham. From 1773 he leased a farm in Rensselaer Manor, and in 1777 he joined Col. Edmund Fanning’s loyalist regiment in New York City.
Conrad is described as colourful, adventurous, extroverted and dramatic. He was over six feet tall; straight, well-proportioned, portly, and very active. He played a part in the escape from prison of Capt. McAlpin, a member of Col. Fanning’s regiment. While in disguise returning to fetch his wife and children, he and a comrade were captured and tried as spies. Sentenced to death, they managed to escape, in part by submerging themselves in a swamp.
The family settled on the shore of the Bay of Quinte where Conrad was granted 400 acres. Here he opened a store and tavern. This establishment was the scene of many a night of drinking, gambling, and reminiscing among Conrad and his former war companions.
After the hungry winter Rev. William Losee passed through the area and converted many to the faith of the Gospel. It is reported that Conrad tore down his signpost, closed his tavern, and took to a life of prayer. Indeed, he contributed the largest donation to the building of the Hay Bay Church in 1792. This conversion and revival coincided with the death of Hannah, Conrad’s first wife, and his marriage a few months later to the widowed Millicent Hover. Both had young children, and they must have been suffering from grief and momentous change in their lives. No wonder they needed a church and faith.
Millicent and Conrad had eleven more children. One of them, Conrad, became a Methodist minister. They remained in the area until their deaths, Conrad on 23 November 1827, and Millicent on 27 April 1829. Both are buried in the Old Loyalist Burying Ground at Adolphustown with no headstones. The oldest gravestone still standing in this cemetery is that of Hannah, Conrad’s first wife.
Conrad Vandusen married Hannah Coon in New York and they had at least four children
1. Catharine b. 1774, d. 1844, m. 1792 David Brown
2. Susannah, died young
3. Henry b. 1786, d. 1871, m. 1807, Mary Huff, m. 1816 Hannah Hortman
4. Susannah b. 1789, d. 1873, m. 1812, John Dingman
Hannah died March 8, 1791, and her gravestone is in the Old Loyalist Burying Ground, Adolphustown.
Millicent Ferguson was the daughter of Loyalist Richard Ferguson. She married Jacob Hover in 1789 and they had one child.
1. Jacob Hover b. 1790, m. 1808 Margaret Steel
Conrad Vandusen married Millicent (Ferguson) Hover in 1791 and they had eleven children
1. Hannah b. 1792, d. 1850, m. 1810 John Toby
2. Rachel b. 1793, d. 1877, m. William Carson
3. Phoebe b. 1795, d. 1843, m. 1815 Thomas Carson
4. Sarah b. 1798, d. 1883, m. 1816 Jacob Roblin
5. Daniel b. 1800, d. 1826, m. 1825 Margaret Johnson
6. Conrad b. 1801, d. 1878, m. 1820 Mary Roblin
7. Arra Ham b. 1804, d. 1890, m. 1827 Ann McGrath
8. William b. 1806, d. 1873, m. 1826 Sally Weeks, m. 1869, Malinda Cooney, m. Nancy Hartford
9. Roswell b. 1808, d. 1892, m. Phoebe Greeley
10. James Yeoman b. 1810, d. 1901, m. 1831 Isabella Minaker
11. Jacob Richard b. 1813, d. 1897, m. 1837 Charlotte Beman
Conrad Vandusen had 15 children, Millicent Ferguson had 12 children, between them they had 16, and all except one of the children lived long enough to get married.
The source of this information is The Founders, The Twenty-two Persons Who Established Old Hay Bay Church in 1791, by J. William Lamb, pp. 134-139. Similar versions are found in The Loyalists in Ontario, by William D. Reid, pp. 324-325, Pioneer Life on the Bay of Quinte pp. 57-68, and American Loyalist Claims, by Peter Wilson Coldham. These works reference Archives of Ontario documents, the Christian Guardian, Rev. Langhorn registers and other sources.
There are some claims that Conrad was a tailor in New York City and he enlisted in Butler’s Rangers. This does not seem consistent with the rest of the information about him. It has not been traced to primary sources and is not mentioned in Lamb’s book.
— Submitted by Ivy Trumpour
Alexander Rose (14 children)
Alexander Rose was born in Inverness-shire, Scotland, on 12 Sept 1768. In 1775 his parents Hugh and Marjorie and their children settled in what is now Delaware County, New York. During the American Revolution, Hugh was a well-known Loyalist, and in 1779 he was imprisoned by the rebels. Soon afterwards, 11-year-old Alexander was taken by a band of Mohawks, who apparently wished to adopt him. After many adventures, he reached the district of Montreal in 1781. He then enlisted in the King’s Royal Regiment of New York as a drummer. After the war, he was granted land in Williamsburg Township in County Dundas, Upper Canada. He became one of the county’s leading inhabitants, and in 1804 he was appointed a magistrate. He lived in a large house in Morrisburg, called Rosedale, which stood for 150 years until it was demolished for the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway. During the War of 1812, Alexander returned to active duty as a lieutenant in the Volunteer Incorporated Militia. He died on 4 July 1835, and was buried at Point Iroquois Cemetery in Iroquois, Ontario.
Alexander married twice, and had fourteen children. On 30 Sept 1794 he married his first wife, Huldah Wright. She was born in Massachusetts and was the daughter of another Loyalist, Jesse Wright, a sergeant in the KRRNY. After bearing five children, Huldah died at the age of 24 in about 1800. Alexander then took his second wife, Phoebe Forrester or Forrister, a native of Nova Scotia, who died aged 75 on 10 June 1861. Phoebe gave Alexander a further nine children.
Alexander’s children were as follows.
Five children by first wife Huldah Wright:
1. Samuel, b 6 May 1795, d 14 June 1873; m. 1st 2 Jan 1820 Mary Cook; m. 2ndly 12 Sept 1825 Eve Sipes (b 1801/2, d 2 Mar 1873)
2. Lydia, b 10 Aug 1796, d 16 Aug 1882; m. Josiah Baldwin
3. Barnabas, b 25 Dec 1797, d 28 Oct 1869; m. Clarissa — (b c 1809, d 8 Dec 1886)
4. Sibyl, b 23 Mar 1799, d 3 May 1881; m. 22 July 1821 William Nash (b 14 Apr 1899, d 27 Aug 1877)
5. Huldah, b 2 Dec 1800; m. 1820 Philip Van Doran
Nine children by second wife Phoebe Forrester:
6. Hugh, b 23 Nov 1802
7. William, b 2 Dec 1804, d 30 Apr 1843
8. Jesse Wright, b 15 Mar 1807, d 19 July 1871; m. May 1828 Delilah Shaver (b 10 Aug 1805, d 3 June 1890)
9. Elizabeth, b 23 May 1809, d 19 Sept 1895; m. Thomas Fulton (b 1798, d 1865)
10. Isaac Newton, b 14 July 1811, d 12 Sept 1874; m. 1st c 1835 Eliza Ann —; m. 2dly Ruth Doran
11. Charles, b 29 May 1813, d 29 Jan 1886; m. Aurilla or Camilla —
12. Harriet, b 26 Oct 1816, d 10 May 1855; m. Alzon Brock Robertson (b 1812/3, d 4 Aug 1887)
13. James Harvey, b 29 Jan 1818, d 27 Aug 1894; m. Harriet Doran (b c 1818/9, d 27 Apr 1888)
14. Robert Hume, b 20 May 1822, d 3 June 1893; m. 23 Aug 1848 Hannah Ker (b 21 Nov 1824, d 14 Jan 1910)
I am descended from both the fourth and fourteenth children: Sibyl was my 3-great grandmother, and Robert was my 2-great grandfather. Another of Alexander’s children, Jesse, was MP for Dundas from 1852 to 1854.
Alexander’s will (signed June 6, 1835; filed Jan. 2, 1836) is in the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Surrogate Indexes, Register C, pp. 211-215, Archives of Ontario, microfilm GS 2, reel 186. It names all fourteen children (Barnabas appears as Barney, and Elizabeth as Betsy).
— Submitted by John McLeod
Benjamin Benedict Crawford (13 children)
Benjamin Benedict Crawford was born 21 Aug, 1777 in Pound Ridge N.Y. When he was 2 years old his father, James Crawford, left home to join the Guides and Pioneers. When James returned home to his wife, Rachel Benedict and children, a lawyer had ejected his family from their home and was living in his house. James then took his family to the refugee camp in Lloyd’s Neck, N.Y. then in 1783 they boarded the Hope for their voyage to New Brunswick. Benjamin was now 5 years old. James and Rachel settled on lot No 10 on the Long Reach in Kings County, New Brunswick where Benjamin grew up on his father’s farm and went to school.
In the summer of 1800 when he was 23 years old, he and a friend and neighbor, George Nichols. set out on foot to travel to Upper Canada where George’s mother had recently gone. They arrived in Oxford on the Thames at the beginning of December then they walked to York (Toronto) where they each received a Free Grant of 100 acres of land, being Loyalists. . They stayed one year then returned home to N.B.
On December 5, 1805 he married the girl next door, JANE Catherine Lyon who was born 14 October, 1790 in New Brunswick, the daughter of Loyalists Joseph Oliver Lyon and Sarah Bulkley. He bought two farms on the Long Reach in Kings Co., N.B. being lot 3, the White farm, and also lot 8 from Jane’s father, Joseph Lyon. All of their 13 children were born on lot 3.
At various times he was a member of the Vestry of Trinity Anglican Church in Kingston, an Assessor and Surveyor of Roads , a Junior Justice of the Peace for he attended court in Kingston in the spring and fall, an officer in the local militia and a strong supporter of schools.
Benjamin was receiving newspapers from Saint John and records in his diary the laying of the cable across the Atlantic Ocean. In his diaries he records court cases, land transactions, births, marriages and deaths of family and friends.
Tragedy struck the Crawford family in June 1828 when his brother, Joel, froze to death in a storm on the ice in January, 1827 and brother Stephen and ten others drowned in a boat crossing the Saint John River on their way back from church at Oak Point in June 1828. His mother had died previously and then his father, James Crawford died in 1830 and the responsibility of looking after his parents had ended.
Meanwhile Benjamin was corresponding with others who had gone to Upper Canada and he remembered the fertile land he had left there. He dreamed of providing each of his six sons with a farm of their own. He tried to persuade his eldest married son, Wallace to go to Upper Canada to claim the land and finally in 1834 Wallace went and then returned home. In 1835 Wallace left N.B. with his wife, their two small children and his brother Joseph.
Benjamin started selling his possessions and in November, 1835 sold the farms.
Wife Jane “signed away her right and title to Uncle Joseph Lyon of the property father’s.”Got no process for that.” Finally on June 6, 1836 he and reluctant Jane and their 10 children ( daughter Nancy had married) he says ” we bid adieu to Long Reach and it is a chance whether any of us will see it again.” From St. John they boarded the British Tar bound for New York, then up the Hudson River and Erie Canal to Lake Ontario and across to Hamilton, Ontario where he “bought a span of horses for the trip overland to Oxford.” On Sunday, June 26, 1836 they arrived at Wallace’s small cabin on Lot 14 con 1 North Oxford “all tired and our women folks discouraged. Poor George Holder got grumbled at and badly scolded because they were mad poor things, strangers in a strange land.” The cabin was very crowded with 17 people so on Monday he set out to buy the adjoining farm, Lot 14 con 2 North Oxford. He bought farm animals, implements and seed and began farming. On the next Sunday they all went to the Anglican Church in Ingersoll.
Often he met new settlers from N.B. and with a large freight wagon hauled their goods to their new farms. He distributed money to them which he had brought from N.B. During the 1837 Rebellion the boys volunteered for Oxford Militia. But Benjamin could not work as a Justice of the Peace for newcomers were suspect and he writes” A man of your profession coming here from another colony has, I believe, the same privileges as those here and also those that come from the old Countries” He never again held any political office.
In November 1839 his daughter, Nancy and husband Nelson Perkins arrived from N.B. so now all the family were together again. His greatest pleasure was his large family and grandchildren but his “hobby” was his huge apple orchard of over 100 trees for he bought many apple trees and then grafted them to make many new varieties.
In 1853 he witnessed the first steam engine from the Great Western Railway cross the corner of his farm. Son Wallace then shipped Oxford County butter to N.B. in exchange for fish and that same year son Daniel bought a threshing machine.
But as far back as 1821 Benjamin had complained about the pain in his right leg.
In his diary dated Dec 1858 “My ankle sore and I am lame and can hardly get to the barn. The doctor says it is arthritis in the ankle.” At the age of 81 years, Benjamin Crawford died on his farm on January 26, 1859. He was buried in Ingersoll and forty-two carriages and ten horsemen were in the funeral procession. His wife Jane, remained on the farm and died on the homestead on 24 Nov 1866 at the age of 76 years.
Children of Benjamin Benedict Crawford and Jane Catherine Lyon
1. Ann (NANCY) Crawford born 5 Mar, 1807, she was married on 29 January, 1835 in N.B. to Josiah NELSON Perkins. They came to Ontario in 1839. She died in 1893 in Penetanguishene, Ontario.
2. Benjamin WALLACE Crawford was born 07 December 1808 and he married Martha Sarah Whelpley on 17 February, 1831 in Kingston, N.B. She was the d/o Richard Whelpley and Charlotte Gorum. He came to Ontario in 1835 with his wife and 2 children. Wallace died 23 March, 1893 on his farm.
3. JOSEPH Benedict was born 28 Oct, 1810. He came to Ontario with his brother Wallace and family in 1835. He married Elizabeth Bailey on 14 Feb 1842 in Ont. He died 13 April 1897.
4. Eliza JANE Crawford was born 17 June 1814 in N.B. She came to Ontario with her parent in 1836 and she was married on the farm to Zina Downs on Oct 10, 1848. Jane died 26 May, 1866.
5. CLARISSA Crawford was born 21 August, 1816 in N.B. and she came to Ontario with her parents in 1836. She married Edward Chapman on 01 March, 1840 on the farm. She died 08 June 1907.
6. James AUGUSTUS Crawford was born 19 October, 1818 and he came with his parents to Ontario in 1836. He married (1) Sarah Jane Harris 16 Nov 1847 (2) his brother, Daniel’s widow Ann Elizabeth Matthews Crawford in 1870 and claimed Daniels’ farm. He died 10 Nov 1866 in London, Ont.
7. GEORGE Edward Stephen Crawford was born in N.B. 12 September, 1821. He came to Ontario in 1836 with his parents. In 1847 he returned to N.B. for one year where he was married to Deborah Eleanor Davis 20 Oct, 1846. She was the d/o James Emery Davis and Lidea Gilles. He did not like farming so his father gave him money and he became a carpenter in Ingersoll where he died on 31 July 1905.
8. William CHARLES Armitage Crawford was born in N.B. 12 September, 1821 (a twin of George). He came to Ontario with his parents in June 1836 and on 30 October, 1850 he married Margaret Eliza Polley in Lockport, N.Y at the home of Margaret’s sister. He farmed the home farm, lot 14 Con 2. Charles died in Ingersoll on 15 Aug 1909.
9. Mary CAROLINE Crawford was born 05 July 1824 in N.B. and she came with her parents to Ontario in June 1836. She married John Moore Chapman 01 April 1850 in Ont. She died 23 Feb 1862 in Ingersoll at the age of 38 years.
10. CHARLOTTE Catherine was born in N.B. 23 August 1826 and she came to Ontario with her parents in 1836. She married Peter Mairs on 05 July 1854 and she died 06 Oct 1907 in Oxford.
11. DANIEL Nathan Crawford was born 04 Feb, 1829 in N.B. and he came to Ontario in 1836 with his parents. He was married 16 October, 1858 to Ann Elizabeth Matthews in Ingersoll. After the death of his father, Daniel went to California to work in the gold mines where he had an accident and died of his wounds on 05 Dec 1865 at La Parte, California.
12. SARAH Rachel Crawford was born 13 March, 1832 in N..B She was married at the old homestead on 13 March, 1877 to a cousin from N.B., Joseph Buckley Perkins, a M.P. of N.B. and they settled there. She died 24 June, 1880 in Gaspereau, Sunbury Co., N.B.
13. EMILY Augusta Crawford was born 29 November, 1834 and was 2 years old when she came to Ontario with her parents. She was married 07 Oct, 1864 on the farm to a cousin from N.B. John Crawford the s/o Daniel Crawford and Blanche Fanny Cox. John had come to Oxford to work on her father’s farm. Emily died 08 May 1911 in Ingersoll.
References:
1. The Diaries of Benjamin Benedict Crawford 1800-01 and 1810-1859.
Located at the Archives of Ontario and N.B. Archives, Fredericton, N.B.
2. Generations Exodus to Upper Canada (1851 Census Oxford Co.) Spring & Summer 2001
— Submitted by Ruth (Nichols) Ellis, UE
Hector Dickie (13 children)
Born in Ireland probably in 1744, Hector Dickie Sr. relocated to South Carolina, arriving in January 1768, where he received a “Bounty” of 100 acres (“To be eligible for the ‘Bounty’ the immigrant must be a protestant, either foreign or a British subject, and come to South Carolina bringing a written recommendation of his/her good character from civil or church officials of former residence”). He served as lieutenant and captain in Col. John Cotton’s Regiment, Stevenson’s Creek Militia, Ninety Six District and as quartermaster to refugees in Charlestown before the British evacuation in 1782 where he was paid both as quartermaster and as a second class refugee.
Hector and his family went to Jamaica but left, presumably because poor economic conditions there meant refugees received little support from earlier planters, and moved to Norton New Brunswick.
Hector and his wife Sarah (possibly Walker) of Ninety Six South Carolina managed to have 13 children in spite of the trials of the revolution and resettlement.
Thirteen children by wife Sarah:
1. Jane Dickie, 17 Dec 1776 (Ninety Six, SC) to 11 July 1849 (Burford, Canada West) (She in turn had at least 10 children of her own.)
2. Martha Dickie, 23 Oct 1777 (Ninety Six, SC) to 5 Jan 1852 (Norton, King’s County, NB)
3. Robert (or Rupert) Dickie, 23 Jan 1780 (Ninety Six, SC to 26 June 1780 (Ninety Six, SC)
4. Margaret Dickie, 13 Nov 1782 (South Carolina) to 17 Mar 1783) (The British evacuated Charleston 14 Dec 1782 so it is likely that Margaret died en route to or in Jamaica.)
5. Elizabeth Dickie 10 Apr 1784 (Jamaica) to 9 Jan 1861 (Blenheim Twp., Canada West) (5 children)
6. William Dickie, 11 Feb 1786 (Clarendon, Jamaica) , died in West Nissouri, Middlesex Twp, Middlesex, ON) (5 children with 1st wife, 2 with 2nd))
7. Hector Dickie Jr., 4 Sept 1787, Clarendon, Jamaica) to 8 May 1875 (Brant Cty, ON) 3 children)
8. Sara Dickie, 4 Feb 1789 (Jamaica) to 1890? (Imlay City, Michigan)
9. Andrew Dickie, 17 June 1793, (Norton, King’s Cty, NB), died before 1824
10. John Dickie, 22 Oct 1795, (Norton, King’s Cty, NB) to 23 May 1855, (Queen’s Cty, NB) (10 children)
11. Alexander Dickie, 1797, Norton, King’s Cty, NB to 30 Aug 1852 (Burford ON) (6 children)
12. James Dickie, 16 Oct 1799
13. Susanna Dickie, 31 Mar 1801 (New Brunswick) to 22 Feb 1871 (Burford ON) (5 children)
Hector was also long-lived, to age 100, and is listed on the Oldest Loyalists list. After his death in 1837 (reportedly from blood poisoning caused by a needle left in a recently darned sock, while planning a move to Upper Canada), some of his family, including wife Sarah, moved to Burford Twp Upper Canada.
Susanna Dickie and Anthony McAllister are my great-great-grandparents. Their son (great-grand-uncle Alexander, b.1832) is probably the reason my grandfather was called Alexander and I am Alex.
— Submitted by Alex Lawrence, UE
Daniel Burritt, Sr. (12 children)
Daniel Burritt Sr. was born on 22 May 1735 in Newtown, Fairfield County, Connecticut and passed away in Augusta Township, Grenville County, Ontario on 4 February 1827. He was the eldest son of Captain Stephen Burritt (b. 1706) and Mary Dayton (1716-1762). Daniel was a grandson of Josiah Burritt (b. 1681) and Mary Peat/Peet (b. 1683), great-grandson of Captain Stephen Burritt (1640/1-1697/8) and Sarah Nichols (1649-1730), and a 2nd great-grandson of William Burritt (d. 1651) and Mrs. Elizabeth Burritt (maiden name unverified, rumoured to have been “Jones;” d. 1681) of Wales who settled with their children in Fairfield County, Connecticut. On 8 February 1756, in New Milford, Litchfield County, Connecticut, Daniel Burritt married Sarah Collins (1 May 1733 – 2 June 1815), daughter of Nathan Collins (b. 25 Nov 1703). A blacksmith by profession, he became a landowner in Arlington, Bennington County, Vermont where he and Sarah moved their family by 1775.
During the Revolution, the Burritt family was split between Loyalist and Patriot factions; quite literally brother against brother. While Daniel Burritt, Sr. fought for the Loyalist cause, his brothers Andrew (1741-1836), Israel (1744-1833), Josiah (d. 1813), and Sherman (d. 1833) fought on the side of the Patriots. Daniel Burritt, Sr. saw active service with Lieutenant General John Burgoyne’s forces at the Battle of Saratoga. He and his wife Sarah endured several confiscations of land and livestock. His children were also of staunch Loyalist persuasion; indeed his two eldest sons, Adoniram and Stephen also became United Empire Loyalists for their efforts on behalf of the Crown.
Following the Revolution, Daniel Burritt, Sr. and his family made their home in Augusta Township, Grenville County, Ontario. He bought land and was also granted Crown land (having submitted petitions between 1786 and 1802). His name appears on the Executive List of United Empire Loyalists. Sadly, Daniel and Sarah Burritt had to part from their daughters Phoebe (wife of Robert Buck) and Esther (wife of Joseph Young, and second Ichabod Benedict) who decided to remain in Vermont.
The War of 1812 found the large, extended Burritt family in Upper Canada and the United States again on opposing sides. All four of Daniel and Sarah’s surviving sons (Adoniram, Stephen, Daniel Jr., and Major) and two of his grandsons (Stephen’s sons Henry and Edmund) were officers in the 2nd Grenville Regiment of Militia, and fought in four engagements against the American forces: at Prescott, Salmon River, Ogdensburg, and Crysler’s Farm.
Stephen Burritt, a Revolutionary War veteran who served with Roger’s Rangers, founded the village of Burritt’s Rapids, was a Justice of the Peace, and during the War of 1812 became commanding officer of the 2nd Grenville Regiment of Militia. Daniel Burritt, Jr. became commanding officer of the 2nd Grenville Regiment of Militia following the War of 1812, and served his community as a magistrate. Major Burritt, Esq. became a successful farmer and jurist.
The twelve children of Daniel Burritt, Sr. UE and Sarah (Collins) Burritt, with their spouses:
1. Lois Burritt, b. 16 Oct 1756, d. 21 Dec 1849, m. 1785 Jehiel Hurd, b. 8 Nov 1760, d. 2 April 1829, son of Phineas Hurd, UE and Anna Hawley.
2. Adoniram Burritt, b. 16 July 1758, d. 10 April 1856, m. 21 Nov 1793 Sarah Read, b. 28 June 1778, d. 17 Sept 1829, daughter of Moses Read, UE.
3. Stephen Burritt, b. 2 Nov 1759, d. 13 Jan 1854, m. about 1790 Martha Stevens, b. 1771/2, d. 2 March 1830.
4. Edmund Burritt, b. 7 Dec 1761, d. 1796/98, m. Philena Hinds.
5. Phoebe Burritt, b. 6 Oct 1763 m. Robert Buck, son of Lemuel Buck and Bethia McEwan.
6. Esther Burritt, b. 8 May 1765, d. 30 June 1835, m. 1) Joseph Young, and in 1789 2) Ichabod Benedict, b. 1759/60, d. 2 March 1822.
7. Urania Burritt, b. 13 Feb 1767, m. Ziba Marcus Phillips, UE.
8. Sarah Burritt, d. Oct 1803, m. Asahel Hurd, b. 14 Nov 1768, d. 23 Jan 1839, son of Phineas Hurd, UE and Anna Hawley.
9. Tamer Burritt, d. 28 Dec 1819, m. about 1796 David Wright, b. 16 Nov 1763, d. 25 Oct 1819, son of Ebenezer Wright, UE and Mercy Leach.
10. Daniel Burritt, Jr., b. 22 March 1772, d. 27 April 1859, m. 1797 Electa Landon, b. 1777/8, d. 10 May 1857, daughter of Samuel Landon, UE and Sarah Sprague.
11. Major Burritt, b. 13 Oct 1775, d. 27 Jan 1863, m. about 1796 Mary Towsley, b. 1773/4, d. 4 Jan 1844.
12. Nancy Burritt m. Thomas McIlmoyle.
The information contained herein has been compiled through the use of vital records, gravestone inscriptions, military records, land records, town and county histories, and reputable, published genealogies. Please note that the identifying labels of “Loyalist” and “Patriot” are used here as an honorable preference to the disrespectful and dated terms “Tory” and “Rebel.”
— Submitted by Michael William Broad and Jennifer Moon Labelle (direct descendants of Daniel Burritt Sr. through his son Major Burritt), and by Edwina Mullen and Helen Huckle Elford (direct descendants through his daughter Esther Burritt)