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Note: What follows supports other family research that Joshua Edward Nunn is a grandson of Thomas and Elizabeth Nunn, who settled at Schooley's Mountain, New Jersey about 1750.
Joshua moved with his parents (Thomas Jr. and Ann) to New Brunswick after the American Revolution and he eventually settled in Upper Canada in 1797.
A great deal of research exists on the original New Jersey Nunn family, but many gaps and lost lines remain.
By tracing land transactions and other original documents, it is possible to trace Joshua and brother Benjamin's moves to Norfolk and Elgin Counties, after they'd settled in Lincoln County in the Niagara Peninsula in 1797. Relationships between the brothers, references in their 1797 land petitions, plus original sources from New Jersey show these brothers were sons of Thomas Nunn Jr., who "went to Canada" after the American Revolution.
Once Joshua and Elizabeth married in Upper Canada, their continuing connections to other New Jersey families -- in particular members of the New Jersey Volunteers who fought for the British during the American Revolution -- suggest that Joshua and his family were part of the large post-Revolution migration of many of those who fought in that war.
In both Lincoln and Norfolk Counties, from 1797 until the mid-1800s, Joshua remained close to a number of families originally from New Jersey. (See notes below on William Dunmead, Jonas Johnson, Thomas Hollywood, and Captain William Hutchison of the New Jersey Volunteers, who also settled in Norfolk County about 10 miles south of where Joshua and Elizabeth settled in 1819.)
Details in the original 1771 will for Thomas Nunn (Sr.) of Schooley's Mountain, plus Joshua's birth in 1766, eliminate the possibility that Joshua Edward was a son of Thomas Sr. Instead, he is his grandson who eventually inherited the New Jersey property after his father Thomas Jr. died, then sold it in 1788 to members of the Colver family who had witnessed Thomas Sr.'s will. (see references in "Early Germans of New Jersey", by Theodore Chambers, first published in 1895.)
The will for Thomas Nunn Sr. and notes in the "Early Germans of New Jersey", pg. 174 indicate that Joshua Nunn grew up in Hunterdon County, New Jersey -- across the Delaware River from where his future wife, Elizabeth "Betsy" Cline, was born, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Bucks County PA also was where his brother Benjamin's wife, Elizabeth Fretz was born.
The Oct. 30, 1771 will for Thomas Nunn (Sr.) indicates that Thomas of Roxbury, Morris County (New Jersey) yeoman left Wife Elizabeth, all the money in the house, household goods, horse, cows and grain; all for the use of my wife and her grandchild Catern Nunn. Eldest son Joshua Nunn 5 pounds; Sons Thomas & Benjamin my lands and they pay to their sisters and brothers, namely Bersheba, Ann and Elizabeth 40 pounds to each. Sons Solomon and Ephraim 5 shillings; Granddaughter Catherine Nunn 40 pounds when 18. Executors: Wife Elizabeth and Peter Wolf. Witnesses Nathan Colver, Robert Colver, Wm. Crishfield. Proved: Dec. 2, 1773. Inventory: Dec. 1, 1773, by Johannes Fisher and Robert Colver.
Chambers' book notes that Thomas left the farm to his sons Benjamin and Thomas and the latter's right became vested in Joshua Nunn, grandson of Thomas Nunn. After Thomas Jr.'s death in New Brunswick, Joshua then sold the land to David Colver in 1788.
The book states that "Thomas Nunn (Sr.) was in possession in 1764 of 200 acres west of the Henn property [on Schooley's Mountain). He left his property to his two sons Benjamin and Thomas and the latter's right became vested in Joshua Nunn, grandson of Thomas Nunn. Joshua sold to David Colver in 1788."
Family lore in Canada also suggests Joshua inherited land in New Jersey, but did not return to the United States. It's interesting here that the Colvers also were witnesses to Thomas Nunn (Sr.'s) will.
By the time of the American Revolution in 1776, the following Nunns were listed as heads of families in New Jersey: (See the Revolutionary Census of New Jersey: List 2 (1778-80)
Nunn, Joshua: Lebanon Township, Hunterdon County
Nunn, Widow: Roxbury Township, Morris County (this could be Elizabeth, wife of Thomas after his death in 1773)
Nunn, Benjamin: Roxbury Township
Nunn, Thomas: Roxbury Township
Joshua Edward also was not a son of Joshua, eldest son of Thomas Sr., given what is known about the family from the original will, Joshua Edward's year of death, documents of his moves in Canada.
Listings of the earlier Joshua as the "eldest" in Thomas Sr.'s family (see Chambers, p. 455 and Thomas Sr's will) eliminate Joshua Sr. as both his father, or as being the same Joshua who married Elizabeth "Betsy" Cline. Land petitions filed in Newark, Upper Canada (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) in 1797 also eliminate Joshua Sr. as his father as well.
The first Joshua born in 1735 is also described as having lived to be 106. Joshua Edward Nunn, on the other hand, moved to Upper Canada with his stepfather William Dunmead in 1797 (see their land petitions.)
Instead, records indicate that Joshua Edward was the son of Thomas Jr. and grandson of Thomas Sr. and became entitled to the original New Jersey farm.
By that time of its sale in 1788, he and the rest of his father's family already "went to Canada" (see Chambers, p. 455), along with Joshua's future stepfather William Dunmead, the Mabees, Johnsons and others, including Captain William Hutchison. After the American Revolution, they all appear to have moved to the Saint John, New Brunswick area, where they remained until 1796-97, when many moved to Upper Canada. William Dunmead is listed in Esther Clark Wright's book, Loyalists of New Brunswick (p. 345) in 1783 and Thomas Nunn likely moved his family to New Brunswick at the same time. A Peter Cline (Joshua's future father-in-law) is also listed in a 1785 land petition among Pennsylvania Loyalists in NB.
The first evidence of Joshua Edward Nunn moving to Upper Canada (Ontario) is a land petition filed April 28, 1797 and marked at Newark, which was capital of Upper Canada in the 1790s and is now Niagara-on-the-Lake.
The petition notes that "the petitioner came into the province last fall (1796) with his stepfather, William Dunmead and family -- that he has taken the oath and signed the declaration - and being willing to settle in the province, his honor would be pleased to grant him 200 acres of land, he being in a condition to cultivate and improve the same." (See copy in binder) This document can be found in the National Archives of Canada, microfilm reel C-2236, vol. 382, Bundle "N" 3, / 7
Joshua's stepfather William Dunmead filed a land petition on the same day.
Dunmead was a member of the Jersey Volunteers during the American Revolution, as was Jonas Johnson (whose daughter Elizabeth married into the Nunn family); Captain William Hutchison (see notes below); and others who settled in Upper Canada at that time. Dunmead appears as a private in the First Battalion of the New Jersey Volunteers (1779-82). A land petition for Jonas Johnson, filed April 11, 1797, notes that he arrived in Pelham Township in 1793 with his wife and seven children. Isaac Swayze witnesses that Jonas fought for the New Jersey Volunteers in the late American war. In March, 1801, his daughter Elizabeth (m. Isaac Nunn) filed a land petition for 200 acres as well.
Another land petition filed May 9, 1797 by Benjamin Nunn states that he has taken the oath of allegiance, and that his mother, two brothers and a sister are settlers in the province and that he too means to settle. This document is dated in Newark as well. (Note that there is no reference to his father. See notes re: Benjamin's later petitions). References to Joshua's stepfather William Dunmead in Joshua's 1797 petition and no reference to a father in Benjamin's filed nine days indicates that their father had already died.
Three days' later, Samuel Nunn petitioned for land and settled on Lot 12, 8th concession in Townsend Township. This document dated May 12, 1797, states that he came to the province on May 1st and took the oath of allegiance.
William Dunmead also filed a petition for land in Upper Canada on April 28, 1797 (vol. 150, D3/25, reel C-1743). John Dunmead, John Nunn, Joshua Nunn and Benjamin Nunn, plus Joshua's father-in-law Peter Cline, served in the 4th regiment of the Lincoln County Militia during the War of 1812. (see muster rolls for Lt. Col. Robert Nelles' regiment). Joshua belonged to Capt. Phillip House's company of the Lincoln County Militia in 1813. By 1814, Joshua and Benjamin are listed as privates under Lt. Col. Robert Nelles. (In 1812, Benjamin and Samuel Nunn served under Captain Jonathan Moore according to muster rolls for his company of the 4th Lincoln, July 25-Aug 24 1812. Samuel died in 1812.)
Joshua's original 200-acre grant was in Pelham Township, Welland County, but his brother Benjamin Nunn eventually settled on Lot 8, Concession 8 in Clinton Township, Lincoln County, in the Niagara Peninsula near Beamsville. In 1811, Michael Coon sold E1/2 of lot 8, conc. 8 to Joshua and Benjamin Nunn. In 1816, Joshua sold his interest to Benjamin and moved further west to Middleton Township, Norfolk County, where he received a 200-acre grant from Col. Thomas Talbot. In 1822, Benjamin Nunn and his wife Elizabeth (Fretz) sold their Clinton land and also moved further West. (See Benjamin Nunn - m Elizabeth Fretz. Note that the Fretz Family arrived at The Twenty in late August, 1800, from Bucks County, Pennsylvania - Benjamin Nunn and Elizabeth Fretz were married in 1807 and a number of their children were born in Clinton Township.)
Connections between Joshua and Benjamin and their families are numerous and continued after they moved west from the Niagara Peninsula to Norfolk and Elgin areas. Joshua settled at Lot 156 North Talbot Road (at the corner of the Jackson Sideroad and Talbot Road) kitty corner from the Jackson Cemetery where Joshua and a number of his descendants are buried. (A 1921 note from John W. Nunn, a grandson of Joshua, refers to these two as brothers as well. See 1952 article in the Tillsonburg News.)
I'm currently pursuing more on William Dunmead, his petition, and his wife at the time, hoping to find more proof of the parentage of Joshua and Benjamin -- assuming that their mother was the widow of Thomas Jr. and had married William Dunmead. This also would potentially explain references in other family documents (see letter from Isaac Brock Nunn) that suggest Joshua's father was "William".
John Dunmead, believed to be William's son, received a land grant as well in 1821, while a brother William Dunmead Jr. remained in New Brunswick.
The 1851 Census Norfolk County, Middleton Twp. Page 29, Line 35 - 36: shows Joshua as living with son, Benjamin Nunn on Con 1 Lot 156 in Log House. As mentioned above, Joshua is buried in the Jackson Cemetery in the former Middleton Township, Norfolk County. This small cemetery is at the corner of the Jackson Sideroad and Talbot Road, several miles west of Courtland, Ontario, on the Talbot Road. The cemetery is just across the road (kitty-corner) to the 200 acres that Joshua and Elizabeth settled on the northwest corner of that intersection. Members of five generations of his family are buried there, including: Joshua, Benjamin Nunn/Elizabeth Campbell; Benjamin Narsis Nunn/Sarah Ryan; James Harvey Nunn/Julia Ann Ponting; Dorothy Person (Nunn); Asa Nunn and others.
An article in the Tillsonburg News, Thursday, September 4, 1952, details much history of the Nunn and Cline families, including the connections between Joshua and Benjamin Nunn (who married Elizabeth Fretz) based on research compiled by Cora Beach, of Yuma, Arizona and her cousin Mrs. Paul Labian of Flint, Michigan. This article notes that Joshua Edward and Benjamin were brothers, notes the death of Elizabeth "Betsy" Cline at her son Benjamin's home in Middleton Township, Norfolk County, and refers to brothers Joshua and Benjamin as members of the Lincoln militia in the War of 1812.)
Notes from St. Catharines Public Library state that Isaac Brock Nunn, who was an uncle to Cora Beach, wrote a letter about his grandfather Joshua growing to manhood in New York State, where his father first settled. Joshua married a miss Betsy Cline, who lived on the opposite side of the Hudson (this should read Delaware) River in the state of New Jersey. She was of Dutch descent, her forefathers having settled on Manhattan Island when it was New Amsterdam. (See copy of letter in binder).
He refers to his grandfather (Joshua Edward) being in the War of 1812 on the American side, but he knows no details. He also says that Joshua told him of his experiences, but it was all in New York State. This is quite interesting and conflicts with records that show Joshua had settled in Upper Canada by 1797, as had the Clines (Peter and his daughter Elizabeth, who married Joshua in 1806), and that Joshua and brothers Benjamin and Samuel were members of the Lincoln 4th Regiment during the War of 1812. Joshua and Elizabeth's children were born in Upper Canada, both before and during the war.
If Joshua was living in the U.S. and fought on the America side in either war, it raises key questions: Why would Joshua move West to settle in Canada and how could he receive land grants in Upper Canada, both before and after the war?)
Isaac Brock Nunn's letter definitely describes the same Joshua Edward Nunn, since he notes his grandfather Joshua's move to the Courtland area and his skill as a mill wright, who built mills at the mouth of the Little Otter, between Richmond and Vienna, and more down around Port Dover.
Another family document, "Ancestry of Edwin C. Nunn" states that: "Joshua was one of eight children, five boys and three girls. One of the girls married a man named Meredith and their son Abe was a close friend and cousin of my father. He took his team and moved us 60 miles from Imlay City to Argyle, Mich. He told us many stories of bears, wolves and indians. . ."
This seems to correspond with notes from St. Catharines library book that Jonathan, Isaac, Joshua and Benjamin Nunn were brothers - - the other brother is Samuel, who filed a land petition in the same two weeks as Joshua and Benjamin in 1797. The size of their family also helps explain the gap between Joshua's birthdate of 1766 and his younger brother Benjamin's in 1775.
Beyond the 1797 land petitions, many connections exist between the Benjamin Nunn/Elizabeth Fretz family and Joshua Nunn/Elizabeth Cline family. At one time, they both lived on Lot 8, Concession 8 in Clinton Township, Lincoln County until after the War of 1812. Joshua moved west to settle on the Talbot Road, Lot 156 North Talbot Road, Middleton Township, Norfolk County, in 1819. (See land petition and documentation re: Thomas Talbot).
Among other connections:
1) Olive Nunn, a daughter of Benajmin Nunn and Elizabeth Fretz, married Frederick Cline, a brother to Elizabeth Cline (wife of Joshua Nunn) -- Elizabeth and Frederick's father's name was Peter Cline.
2) Manassah Nunn (a son of Benjamin Nunn and Elizabeth Fretz) and Isaac Dean were witnesses at the wedding of Peter Nunn (son of Joshua and Elizabeth) and Louisa Dean on July 12, 1848 (See Talbot District Marriage Register. Louisa and Isaac are related to Hiram Dean, who was the second husband of Judith Nunn, a daughter of Benjamin Nunn and Elizabeth Fretz.)
3) Also, two children of Jonathan Edward Nunn (a son of Joshua) settled in Dorchester, where parts of the Benjamin Nunn/Elizabeth Fretz line were based. Joshua Colborn Nunn and his sister (Martha Hannah Nunn - who married Hugh Shipman) both settled in Dorchester and one of their younger sisters (Maria Ellen Nunn) was born in Springfield - it's quite possible that her parents -- Jonathan Edward and Charlotte Taylor -- had settled there at this time, since there seems to be no trace of them in the Middleton Township area.
(Also, other sons of Joshua, including Jacob, Peter and Benjamin purchased parts of the original family farm in Middleton, or on the adjacent lot -- but there is no sign of Jonathan Edward in the area.)
The 1871 Middleton Township Census places Manassah, his wife Mary C. and their children in Middleton Township in the early 1870s. Their children at home at the time were John William, Phoebe, Benjamin, Elizabeth and Selah.
The following is of interest, since it suggests Joshua maintained contact with a well-known New Jersey loyalist who also moved to Norfolk County around the same time. The estate record for Captain William Hutchison, who fought as a Captain with the New Jersey Volunteers, was among UELs who settled in the Long Point area of Upper Canada. This document is filed in the Elgin County library in St. Thomas.
This list includes references to Joshua (Edward) Nunn and his wife's brother, Frederick Cline (who married Olive Nunn, daughter of Benjamin Nunn/Elizabeth Fretz). This document can be found on the Web at: http://www.library.elgin-county.on.ca/~frank/ESTATE5.TXT
]LNAME[ HUTCHISON
FNAME[ WILLIAM
RESID[ WALSINGHAM
DATE[ MAR 20, 1826
FILE[ 131
MFNO[ 1155
NOTES[ - described as Esquire
- petitioners: George Hutchison; Francis L. Walsh; Daniel Ross
- wife was Catharine Hutchison
- son was George Hutchison
- son was Joseph Hutchison
- grandson was John Backhouse Hutchison, oldest son of Alexander
Hutchison, deceased, late of Walsingham
- grandson was George Hutchison, son of Alexander
- grandson was Alexander Butler Hutchison, son of Alexander
- granddaughter was Mariah Hutchison, daughter of Alexander
- son was James Hutchison
- son was David Hutchison
- daughter was Agness
- daughter was Elizabeth
- daughter was Mary Jane
- daughter was Catharine
EXECUTORS:
- Catharine Hutchison, wife;
- George Hutchison, son;
- Daniel Ross;
- Francis L. Walsh
- will dated September 27, 1821
WITNESSES TO WILL:
- George C. Salmon, Esquire, Woodhouse Township;
- John Heath, Townsend;
- Henry Sheehan, Gentleman, late of Charlotteville
- inventory of estate completed on May 9, 1826 by James
Hutchison, David Hutchison, and Joseph P. Hutchison
NOTES:
- Joshua Nunn;
- James B. House;
- Daniel Carr;
- late Robert Nichol;
- late Angus Gray;
- Fred Cline;
- George Coltman;
- John Bury;
- widow McMichael;
- Oliver Pattison;
- Jacob Pattison;
- Francis Beaupre;
- Amasa Sheldon
- letter dated January 10, "80" to Doctor Hutchison from James Shaw:
wrote to Edward Barton re Corporal Campbell and John Stine
for recruiting service; wants Douty to send wood by King's boat;
wishes fiddle and McCurdy will see to it; Mr. Hethdy? wants his
canteens? from Douty
- John Connely, recruit in First Battalion, New Jersey
Volunteers, passed inspection and is attested, dated November 5,
1781 at Staten Island
- distribution list of S(__?_), Drum, Rank & File (no date)
WITHIN THE DISTRICTS:
at Desfields? ferry on board the argo? brig:
- Samuel Shepard;
- John Bobbit;
- John Prichard;
- John Phillips;
- William Bond
WITHOUT THE DISTRICTS:
- Samuel Boulten bugler;
- Francis McMullen, taylor
Wilson, Thomas, B., The Ontario Register, Vol. 2; 1969, "The Loyalists of Sussex County, New Jersey", p. 39, gives information on Capt. William Hutchison, of Knowlton, Sussex Co., NJ, first Lieutenant in James Shaw's Co. of New Jersey Volunteers the Capt. in Brig. Gen. Skinner's Co. Jones records indicate the Hutchison was a St. John, New Brunswick after the the peace, but that he died at Walsingham (Long Point) in Upper Canada in March 1826." (Can also be found at: http://www.ptbruce.kanservu.ca/Genealogy/Whitesell/footnotes.htm)
(Note: For list of UELs who settled at or near Long Point, see http://www.tbaytel.net/bmartin/longpt.htm)
CHAPTER LVII.
HUTCHISON.
THE trouble between loyalists and revolutionists began in many cases long before the war. The radicals were intolerant of opposition, and to attempt to be neutral was, in their language, to be a "traiter."
Such was the case with William Hutchison, of New Jersey. At the opening of the war he was urged to join the rebel army, but persistently refused. Henceforward he was followed by the open and avowed hatred of the American patriots. Their dislike in this case was unremitting and implacable. His cattle were mutilated, his barns burned, and, finally, his estate was confiscated, and orders were given to bring him "dead or alive" before the executive officers of the State Legislature.
Nothing remained, therefore, for himself and friends (for there were eleven to whom this order had reference), but an attempt to escape to the King's troops. His wife and eight children had to be left behind. The small body of eleven men were followed, and, being brought to
bay by a detachment of American cavalry, bravely defended themselves for some minutes, but seeing the contest useless, took refuge in an old barn. Their hiding-place was soon discovered, and ten of them were caught and afterwards hanged.
It happened that William Hutchison did not enter the barn as did the others, but threw himself among some furze bushes a little distance from it. But his hiding place was none too safe, for one of the sentries peered into the bush, remarking that "it would be a d___ fine place for a 'rebel' to hide himself." But being hidden in the deep shade he was not discovered. So he crawled along the borders of the field to get to the road, lying motion-less when the moon shone brightly, and again moving when it was hidden by a cloud. On every side he could hear the calls of the American troopers to each other as they prowled round in search of him.
Finally, however, he made his escape to the British army, and, burning for vengeance, he asked to be appointed to the command of a small body of troops. His request was willingly granted, for, before the war he had been granted a captain's commission, and he was a captain of one of the regiments of New Jersey volunteers. His company did remarkably daring service for the Motherland during that bitter war.
But his wife and little children did not survive the hardships to which they were subjected, and at the conclusion of peace he and his two remaining sons went to New Brunswick. There he married again and settled on the St. John River. There he remained for about fourteen years, when he removed to the township of Walsingham, Norfolk County (1798). He was an added member of the first commission of magistrates for the London District.
In the war of 1812, true to his loyal spirit, he took his three eldest sons, of whom two had been born in New Brunswick, and went to the front. At the battle of Moravian town, Alexander, the eldest, was killed.
Captain Hutchison was a justice of the peace, and for one term of 1809, chairman of the Court of Quarter Sessions at Turkey Point. He was also an associate justice of the Court of Requests for Walsingham.
The descendants of the Captain live yet in Walsingham, and are connected with the Beard, Sovereign, Backhouse, Fairchild, and McKinna families of Norfolk county.
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Key facts and issues around the parentage of Joshua Edward Nunn:
Joshua Edward Nunn was not the son of Thomas Sr., or of Thomas' "eldest son" Joshua, instead he was son of Thomas Jr. who "went to Canada". Here's why.
1) Joshua Edward (died in 1854 at 89/b 1766 - see 1851 census records for Middleton and his tombstone). This eliminates any possibility that he was the eldest son of Thomas Sr. - particularly when Thomas and Elizabeth had so many other children between this Joshuaâs birthdate (mid-1760s) and Thomasâ death in 1773. Also, Joshua Edward would have been only about 5-6 years old at the time that Thomas Sr. wrote his will in 1771, and yet the will lists all of the children. It is also not possible that Joshua Edward was the son Joshua named in the original will or that he was the eldest son in that family -- other data proves he is the son of Thomas Jr., grandson of Thomas Sr.
2) References to Thomasâ eldest son Joshua state he was born about 1735 on the Atlantic Ocean - also, Joshua Nun is listed in the 1778-80 Revolutionary Census of New Jersey as the head of a household in (1778-80) in Hunterdon County. This could explain why this Joshua received only five pounds when Thomas Sr. died in 1773 -- while younger brothers Thomas Jr. and Benjamin were given his land (see the original will). Joshua had already settled on his own farm.
3) Joshua Edward is also the grandson who eventually received the NJ land from Thomas Jr. and then sold to David Colver in 1788. Records note Thomas Jr. inherited the original farm and his son Joshua sold it to the Colvers. Other family records also indicate that Joshua Edward had inherited land in New Jersey. Plus this corresponds with his mother's later marriage to William Dunmead.
4) Joshua Nun listed in the Pennsylvania 1790 Census in Northumberland County, cited by several researchers, most likely is not Joshua Edward, given the timing. The NJ property was sold in 1788 and Joshua had not yet moved into Upper Canada, based on his April 1797 land petition in Newark. Joshua's wife Elizabeth Cline was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and she moved to Canada with her father Peter Cline, mother Sarah Wagner and family when many others moved to the Niagara Peninsula around 1800. However, it is most likely that Joshua was in New Brunswick, where the Dunmead and Hutchison families had also relocated after the Revolution.
5) Joshua Edward was in close contact with the Johnsons, Mabees and others -- and is listed in the Estate record for Captain William Hutchison, after Hutchison died in 1826 in Norfolk County. This is further evidence that he was the son of the Thomas Jr. and maintained direct connections with NJ families?
My direct line looks like this:
Thomas Nunn/Elizabeth
!
Thomas Jr. / Ann
!
Joshua(grandson of Thomas Sr.)/Elizabeth Cline
!
Benjamin
!
Benjamin Narcisse
!
James Harvey
!
Harvey John
!
Thomas Lee
For details on the Loyalist migrations to Norfolk County after the American Revolution, see: ONTARIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY. PAPERS AND RECORDS VOL. II The United Empire Loyalist Settlement at Long Point, Lake Erie. BY L. H. TASKER, M. A., Collegiate Institute, Niagara Falls. TORONTO: WILLIAM BRIGGS. 1900. Describes in detail the treatment of Loyalists after the Revolution and their migration from New Brunswick to the Niagara and Norfolk areas.
Can be found online at: http://www.tbaytel.net/bmartin/longpt2.htm
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. . . In addition to the promise of the British Government to indemnify the loyalists for their losses; was the promise to send ships to carry the loyalists them into Canada. Consequently in the spring of 1783 crowds of the hapless exiles awaited in the Atlantic seaports the British vessels.
They came at last, and the first contingent of refugees arrived on the 18th of May, 1783, off the mouth of the River St. John and by the end of the year about 500 had been safely transported to the land, over which waved the "meteor flag of England". But for those living inland other means had to be provided, and they were asked to rendezvous at different stations along the Canadian frontier, for example, Oswego, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and Isle aux Noix on Lake Champlain.
The distance travelled by most of the Loyalists before reaching Lake Ontario was about 500 miles. From New York to Albany, the Hudson is navigable about 175 miles. North of Albany, the river forks into two branches, the western of which is the Mohawk. About the ancient Fort Stainwix (now Rome) the Mohawk is joined by Wood Creek. This was followed up for some miles, then a portage of ten miles was necessary to Lake Oneida, from which Lake Ontario could be reached by the Oswego river. This was by far the more generally followed, hence in our classification of routes it is to be put first.
Second.-The eastern branch of the Hudson was sometimes followed, the mountains crossed and Sackett's Harbor reached by the Black River, which empties into the lake at that point. Occasionally the Oswegotchie was reached from the Hudson, and followed to its mouth at the present town of Ogdensburg, then called "La Presentation."
Third.-The old military road which ran along the west shore of Lake Champlain, thence down the Richelieu River to the St. Lawrence, or west to Cornwall.
Fourth.-Others again travelled more directiy westward from the rendesvous on Lake Champlain, and striking Lake Ontario at its eastern extremity proceeded westward along the southern shore of the lake to the settlement on the River Niagara.
But it must be remembered that nearly all the Loyalists who came to the Long Point country settled first in New Brunswick. This province became rapidly overcrowded, and of necessity their thoughts were turned westward, and most opportunely came the messages from Governor Simcoe and President Peter Russell urging them to settle in Western Canada, and promising liberal grants of land. Hence it was, that in the last decade of the Century, many availed themselves of their of
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