name appears on the U. E. Loyalist list at Detroit in 1784 as an intending settler, but he drew his land immediately east of Port Dalhousie, his brother settling near by. He acted as a Land Surveyor, and was a member of the first Legislature of Upper Canada. He died in December 1818. Nathaniel Pettit accompanied by his brother Andrew settled in Grimsby township in July 1787, their property in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey having been confiscated on account of their loyalty. Nathaniel owned the land on which Grimsby now stands. He was unmarried; descendants of his brother are still in the Niagara peninsula. He was known as Judge Pettit, and was a member of the first legislature of Upper Canada, representing the First Riding of Lincoln. MECKLENBURG. One of the most influential men in the District of Mecklenburg was the Rev. Dr. John Stuart, the founder of the Church of England in Upper Canada. He was born on the 24th February 1740 at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, his father, Andrew Stuart, being a rigid Presbyterian, his consent to his son's becoming an Anglican Clergyman was obtained only with difficulty. Dr. Stuart was ordained in England and returning in 1770 labored as a missionary in the Mohawk valley. He translated, with the assistance of Joseph Brant, the New and parts of the Old Testament into the Mohawk tongue and acquired great influence among the Indians. Adhering to Britain in the Revolutionary War he escaped to Canada in 1781 and settled at Montreal where he opened a school and had the chaplaincy of a regiment. He removed to Kingston in 1785 and there drew his land as a Loyalist. Lord Dorchester sent him a Commission as first Judge of the Court of Common Pleas which post he declined, but acted on the Land Board. He was appointed Chaplain to the Upper House of Assembly (or Legislative Council), at the first session of the Legislature. He was also Chaplain to the garrison at Kingston. He married Jane O'Kill, of Philadelphia and had a family of five sons and three daughters, his eldest son being the Rev. Archdeacon George O'Kill Stuart of Toronto and Kingston. Dr. Stuart died on the 15th August 1811. Neil MacLean served as a Lieutenant in the 55th Regiment and afterwards held the same rank in the 84th Regiment of the Royal Highland Emigrants. He took an active part in the settlement of the soldiers of that regiment on the St. Lawrence, and in addition to having been a member of the Land Board, was on Simcoe's new Commission of the Peace and a Captain in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Volunteers Regiment of Foot. Hon. Richard Cartwright, was born at Albany, N.Y., on the 2nd February, 1759. His father was an emigrant from England and his mother was of a loyal Dutch family. He received a liberal education, and intended to enter the church, but before his studies had been completed, the revolutionary war broke out, and he changed his views of a career by ranging himself on the British side. He accompanied his parents to Canada, and acted for a time as Secretary to Colonel John Butler of the Queen's Rangers. At the conclusion of the war, he settled at Cataraqui and engaged in business, forming a connection with Robert Hamilton. When the latter went to Niagara, Mr. Cartwright remained at Kingston and became its most influential citizen. Though his tastes were those of a student and scholar, he prospered in business and was able to devote considerable time to public affiairs in which he proved a wise and able counsellor. His letters show a grasp of affairs, and one or two which have been published contain interesting information regarding the duties of the Land Boards of Upper Canada, he, himself being a member of that for Mecklenburg. He was appointed a member of the first Legislative Council, a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, a County Lieutenant, and was a Colonel of Militia. He declined frequent offers of a seat at the Executive Council of the Province. He died in 1815. He left two sons, John S. Cartwright and the Rev. Robert Cartwright, the father of the Hon. Sir Richard J. Cartwright, Minister of Trade and Commerce. LUNENBURG: The name of Richard Duncan is first on the list of the names of the members of the Land Board of Lunenburg (named after Luneburg in Germany). He was a leading settler in the District, who, after having given valuable service to the Loyalist cause in the field, took an active part in the arduous work of a pioneer. He was born in Berwick-on-Tweed, Scotland, and came to America in 1755 with his father, John Duncan, who was then in the 44th Regiment. He served as an Ensign in the 55th Regiment, and in 1755 was residing at Schenectady. He obtained a captaincy in Sir John Johnson's Corps in 1776 and joined Burgoyne in 1777 at Saratoga. He had acquired a large area of land in Charlotte County, Vermont; at Lake Champlain, in Cherry Valley, Little Falls, Schoharie, and at various points on the Mohawk river At the close of the -war he settled in Williamsburg, his headquarters being at Mariatown, named after his wife, Maria Fraser, sister of Captains Thomas and William Fraser. A great deal of property stood in his name in the new district Croil says of him that he was generous and humane and occupied almost all the local public offices. He was a magistrate, and a member of the first Legislative Council of the Province. What was said to have been imprudent business transactions necessitated a residence at Schenectady, where he died before the war of 1812. John Macdonell was the eldest son of Alexander Macdonell IV., of Aberchalder, Scotland. Alexander Macdonell was an aide-de-camp to Prince Charles Stuart in 1745. Coming, with his brother Angus, to America in 1773, they settled in Tryon County, near Johnstown, in the Province of New York, and both served as Captains in the King's Royal Regiment of N. Y., 1st Batt. John Macdonell was a subaltern in the 84th Royal Highland Emigrants in 1775, and then became a Captain in Butler's Rangers, serving with them for nearly six years He was the Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the 2nd battalion of the Royal Canadian Volunteer Regiment, the first regiment raised in Upper Canada (1796). The first battalion was commanded by Lieut.-Colonel J. De Longueuil. The first battalion garrisoned Lower Canada and the second battalion Upper Canada, until discharged in 1802 at the peace of Amiens. John Macdonell was a member of the first Land Board of Lunenburg; was elected member for Glengarry in 1792 for the first Legislature of Upper Canada, of which he was elected Speaker. He was also appointed Lieutenant of the County of Glengarry. He married Helen, daughter of Henry Yates, Governor of New York, and had an only son, Alexander, who was a Major in the Lancaster hegiment of Glengarry, and served in 1867. Jeremiah French, was, with a brother named Gershom, who afterwards lived at Coreau Landing, settled at Manchester, Vermont, at the time of the American Revolution. He was of English stock. He was at one time High Sheriff at Manchester, Vt, and owned a large track of land. He served seven years in the 2nd battalion of the King's Royal Regiment of N. Y., as a Lieutenant, and was conspicuous as an ardent loyalist. When Upper Canada was thrown open for settlement to the U. S. Loyalists, Mr. French and family drew lands in Cornwall and Montague. He was married to a Miss Wheeler, whose pronounced opinions on the British side brought upon her head the special wrath of the revolutionists, and their son Benjamin French and Bishop Strachan were married sisters, daughters of Dr. Wood, a British Army Surgeon. Mr. Justus Sherwood was a Captain in the old Colonial Militia and in active service (Jessup's Loyal Rangers) during the Revolutionary War. He belonged to a well-known family with many influential connections. He came to the Province of Quebec, on the 6th December, 1777, remaining at St. John's for some time, afterwards settling in the township of Augusta. His relative Thomas Sherwood, born at Stratford, Connecticut, was the first actual settler in the county of Leeds. Thomas Sherwood had two sons, James, the first male child born in the Leeds settlement, and Adiel, the Sheriff of the Johnston District, whose journal on local affairs is a most interesting and valuable description of the pioneer days. Captain Justus Sherwood's two sons Samuel and Livius Peters attained to eminence as lawyers, and the latter's son Henry became Attorney-General of Upper Canada in 1847. James Gray was James Gray was a noted U. E. Loyalist. He was Major of the First Battalion of the King's Royal Regiment of New York, and as such appears frequently on behalf of the claims of the loyalists who served in that corps. He had had a long career in the British Army, having been an Ensign in Loudon's Highlanders in 1745, and lieutenant and captain in the Black Watch, selling out in 1763. His losses by the Bevolutionary War were heavy. He settled near Cornwall, Ont., and his son Robert Isaac Dey Gray, was the first Solicitor-General for Upper Canada and first member of the Legislature for Stormont, whose young life was cut short by the foundering of "The Speedy" off Presqu' Isle. Major James Gray was born in Scotland, and died on the 11th May, 1796, aged 64. Capt. the Hon. John Munro was born in Scotland in 1731, came to America in 1756, and prior to the Revolutionary War had taken up land near Fort Bennington all of which was confiscated. He was a Captain in the First Battalion of the King's Royal Regiment of N. Y. At the close of the war he settled in the township of Matilda, and besides being a member of the Land Board was also a member of the first Legislative Council of Upper Canada. His name is in the Commission of the Peace for 1793. Albany he married Miss Brower, of Schenectady, and had a family of eight children, of whom his son Hugh was a Lieutenant. He died at Dickenson's Landing in October, 1800, aged sixty-nine years. In Pat: Murray の AmJummertowall. William Robertson что Alex Grant John Smith When Acting Pos: Pilkington My England Lind bol. Bund MEMBERS OF THE LAND BOARD FOR THE DISTRICT OF HESSE, 1789-1794. 1. Patrick Murray, Commanding at Detroit; 2. W. Dummer Powell; 3. William Robertson; 4. Alexander Grant; 5. A. McKee; 6. John Smith, Commanding at Detroit; 7. John Askin; 8. Geo. Leith; 9. Montigny Louvigny; 10. Robert Pilkington, Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers; 11. R. J. England, Commanding at Detroit. Hwith T. Smith, first Secretary to the Land Board for the District of Hesse. D. W. Smith, second Secretary for the Land Board for the District of Hesse. 67. Goran Sect to the Board E. J. O'Brien, third and last Secretary to the Land Board for the District of Hesse. Sam Redout Sam. Ridout, Assistant Clerk in the Surveyor-General's Office. Facob Ball Jacob Ball, Captain, Butler's Rangers. A Gordon Live Hotonal MEMBERS OF THE LAND BOARD OF THE DISTRICT OF NASSAU 1 A. Gordon, Commanding at Niagara, 2 John Butler (of Butler's Rangers), 3 R. Hamilton. |