Shedding Light on the Family Tree

The 38th in a series about my family tree

Prompt: New to You

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Time to admit to my ignorance. In recent posts I have written some about my United Empire Loyalist (UEL) ancestors, feeling proud at being a descendent of these resilient defenders of the Crown who gave everything, if not their lives, for King and country. Still, up until the prompt of this past week and my descent into a rabbit hole of old UEL history books describing the persecution, hardships, sacrifices and difficulties these stalwart people faced during the American Revolution, I’d had no idea what they’d actually endured. Being a relatively new student of North American history I hadn’t even, until yesterday, connected the dots between the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the impact this had on my Loyalist ancestors, and thousands like them.

Why the blind spot?

A lack of curiosity? Laziness? I knew my 5th great grandfather, Daniel Springer, had served in Butler’s Rangers and after the war came to Delaware in Upper Canada; that Thomas Sumner’s family abandoned all their worldly possessions and were part of a mass migration to New Brunswick in 1783 where his wife promptly died of deprivations leaving him with several children, including a baby, to raise. Eventually he made his way to Toronto where he died in 1820. I knew the Fairchilds came to Upper Canada and settled in and around Norfolk County. Beyond that I knew nothing.

Then this past week I was somehow drawn to these old texts (listed below) and so my further education began. Finally I am learning about the plight of the Loyalists as they endured unimaginable hardships prior to and during the American Revolution. The books also follow the aftermath of migration and resettlement in the British-held territories north of the 49th parallel. My head spins as I consider the travails my ancestors faced, caught among thousands of others as they endured the swell of fury directed toward them for simply holding a different political opinion. They abided by the rules of, and defended, the Crown; the opposing force demanded independence at any cost.

“In the history of the United States the exodus of the Loyalists is an event comparable only to the expulsion of the Huguenots from France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Loyalists, whatever their social status (and they were not all aristocrats), represented the conservative and moderate element in the revolting states; their removal, whether by banishment or disfranchisement, meant the elimination of a very wholesome element of the body politic. To this were due in part no doubt many of the early errors of the republic in finance, diplomacy, and politics.”

Source: Tne United Empire Loyalists: A Chronicle of the Great Migration … W. Stewart Wallace (Glasgow, Brook & Company 1920)

Until now the extent of their persecution, sufferings and depredations hadn’t occurred to me. In his book, W. Stewart Wallace shares the low opinion toward the Loyalists of future U.S. president, General George Washington, i.e. that ‘he could see nothing better for them than to commit suicide.” Wallace goes on to state further:

“Even Washington seems to have approved of persecution of the Tories [Loyalists] by the mob. In 1776 General Putnam, meeting a procession of the Sons of Liberty who were parading a number of Tories on rails* up and down the streets of New York, attempted to put a stop to the barbarous proceeding. Washington, on hearing of this, administered a reprimand to Putnam, declaring ‘that to discourage such proceedings was to injure the cause of liberty in which they were engaged, and that nobody would attempt it but an enemy of his country.'”

*”Another amusement was making Tories ride the rail. This consisted in putting the ‘unhappy victims upon sharp rails with one leg on each side; each rail was carried upon the shoulders of two tall men, with a man on each side to keep the poor wretch straight and mixed in his seat.'”

Source: Tne United Empire Loyalists: A Chronicle of the Great Migration … W. Stewart Wallace (Glasgow, Brook & Company 1920)

In other words, the Loyalists were fair game.

Migration and life in a new land

Mass migration began in 1783 when, as Wallace writes, ” …news leaked out that the terms of peace weren’t likely to be favourable, and it became evident that the animus of the Whigs [Americans] showed no signs of abating…”

The Loyalists, approximately 30,000 men, women and children whose homes and properties had been confiscated, were forced to flee. Some went to England; others went north. Most left with only the clothes on their backs.

The environment that greeted them was untamed and hostile. There was no housing; no food; no immediate delineation of property as land grants were yet to be established. From what I’ve read so far it can safely be said that it was a veritable hell on Earth for those who were used to a more developed society.

And when I think of my ancestors I can only imagine how strong they must have been to have survived.

The Final Word

As this is all new to me my thoughts are very much chop and change at this point. I can only brush the surface of a subject of which I’ve been ignorant and which deserves much more in-depth review. In truth, I’m disappointed it has taken so long to awaken to this part of my family history. My intention going forward is to keep reading and learning to gain more understanding and perspective of the times in which my UEL ancestors lived, and the forces they were up against. The political, economic and social strife they endured for so many years tested the very fabric of their lives in every possible way. For now I feel it can safely be said they were a strong, courageous, and resilient people. I look for these qualities in myself as we traverse our own tumultuous times to a safer shore. ❦

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Suggested reading:

While there are many texts about the Loyalists, these are what I can recommend so far. All available at archive.org …

UE Loyalist Women: The Trials and hardships of the Early Days … An Address by Mrs. Morden to the Daughters of the Empire (1902)

The After-math of a Revolution … George Sterling Ryerson

The UEL: A Chronicle of the great Migration, W. Stewart Wallace

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