Born on St Patrick's Day: Happy 115th Mary

They say that its good luck to be Irish, and that the luckiest of all are those who are born on St Patrick's Day. No doubt this is what was said the day that my great grandmother was born. However, her life was not necessarily filled with the good luck that the superstition had predicted. As much as she had a hard life, her life was also an "ordinary" one of a young British immigrant to Canada. Despite that, the simple life she led in youth was filled with fun. She embrace the changing times, new found freedoms, and innovations. Its the heirlooms from that chapter of her life that fascinate me the most because they show aside to her that none of my relatives knew - a woman who was happy. So today, I am going to share the side of her that one of those heirlooms tells. I have a small black autograph book that was hers.  At almost 100 years old, the book binding has all but disintegrated yet the leather cover is in near pristine condition and the partially bound pages are al...
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Who were the Loyalists?

I remember when I was in elementary school and my history teacher told the class that "history is written by those who won the war". At the time I was in grade 7 and too young to realize the true depth of that statement. I didn't fully understand what he had said until years later when I began researching my own Loyalists roots. Almost every source I read on the American Revolution portrayed the Patriots such as Washington as heroes. They payed little attention to the Loyalist side of the conflict. Loyalist victories were glossed over, and even less mentioned were sacrifices and struggles of the Loyalist families. The true experiences of the Loyalists are best told through the few documents they left behind such as the Loyalist Claims. 

One of my ancestors, who served with the Westchester Refugees, told the British government of the terror he faced because it was commonly assumed that he was a Loyalist. He "says he was considered a Torie from the very beginning because he refused to join the Rebels, in consequence he was disarmed and harassed". The Rebels frequently looted his property, reportedly taking "a yoke of oxen, a heifer, four horses, five hogs, two cows, E5 worth of farming utensils, seven wagon loads of wheat, and ten bushels of grain" all before he even enlisted. After enlisting he lost his entire estate which contained an orchard he had spent over E400 building, planting, and fencing. 

He eventually settling along the St John River in New Brunswick (like many of the other New York Loyalists). He built a new life and farm, got married to the daughter of a fellow Loyalist, and started a family. When I was trying to identify which regiment he had served with, I used the map that I included below. If you are interested in reading more about these settlements, you can do so here. 



His story is by no means unique. If you have a Loyalist ancestor you will likely read testimonials of similar harassment and persecution. If you think you have/are interested in researching Loyalist heritage, here are a few links to some of my favourite websites and databases. 

2. Library and Archives Canada - Loyalists
NOTE: Due to blogger not supporting the use of symbols, "E" has been used to represent the British currency of pounds. 

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