"Living in Interesting Times" Loyalists presentation to Quinte Branch, Ontario Ancestors

Question

The recording of "Living in Interesting Times: Two Loyalist families in York County, Upper Canada", my April 16th presentation to the Quinte Branch of Ontario Ancestors, has been posted online at https://vimeo.com/700504822. (My talk begins at the ten-minute mark.) It focuses on four UEL ancestors of mine: Henry Dennis, his son John Dennis, John's wife Martha Brown, and fellow Loyalist Lawrence Johnson, plus a few members of the next generation.

This was my blurb for it:

While building out his family tree, Rick Hill was surprised to discover a 3^rd great-grandmother who could have boasted that three of her four grandparents were United Empire Loyalists – and she had a Loyalist great-grandfather, too! During the American Revolutionary War, these UEL ancestors all fled Pennsylvania. Three of the four made it out of the future USA, first to Nova Scotia, and ultimately to York Township and the town of York in Upper Canada. Their stories include the Battle of St. Lucia, the Quaker religion, losing a husband at sea, founding a settlement that banned slave masters, shipbuilding in Kingston, ill-starred actions in the War of 1812, a house at the corner of King & Yonge, a Methodist bishop, and the first customer of a new burial ground.

Comments

P.S. A printout of the presentation deck, including notes and sources, is available on Dropbox at https://www.dropbox.com/s/irxosvzf4xaztw4/Living%20in%20Interesting%20Times%20-%20Loyalists%20in%20York%20County%2C%20UC.pdf?dl=0.

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I delivered a "new and improved" version of this presentation to the Toronto Branch of Ontario Ancestors (the Ontario Genealogical Society) on Monday, January 23rd. It's been posted to the Webinars page on their website, where it will be available until about the end of February. My presentation begins at the 38:00 minute mark.

My handout should be posted there soon; or DM me for it.

Answer 1

Thanks Rick, I enjoyed your presentation.  My own Loyalist ancestor, Thomas Hill, UE--who shares your surname but is not your relation--also escaped to Digby, NS and later to York, Upper Canada.  Indeed, he was a member of the Queen's Rangers of Upper Canada, who built Yonge St.  Thomas Hill seems to have come from England, perhaps as a draftee after the War broke out.  He served throughout the War, and was injured at Camden.  When the surviving members of the British Legion evacuated from New York, Hill first settled in Port Mouton, NS, which burned in the spring of 1784. Hill then relocated to Digby,  joined Simcoe's Queen's Rangers about 1792, and finally relocated to York, where he ran a tavern after retiring from military service.  Interesting times, indeed!

Comments

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing!