Audrey: Go figure! Ha! :-) I too had similar assumptions about my Great Great Grandfather, Thomas Kelly, whom I discovered buried in an Anglican cemetery in Burritts Rapids, Oxford-on-Rideau Township, Grenville County, Ontario. Then I also confirmed that he was of the Church of England [Anglican] Protestant faith through the Ontario Census of 1871, instead of Catholic and that he was also of Irish origin; instead of being born in Canada. My understanding is that the Irish [Church of England or Anglican] Protestants were super United Empire Loyalists. They were very "Loyal To The Crown" & supported the British Empire anywhere in the world. Someone informed me that many Irish Protestants were given land around the Grenville-Leedsville County area following the War of 1812 because of their loyalty to England. Reportedly, they were brought in to maintain the balance of Americans & loyal Canadians. The fear was that the Americans who lived in the area would attempt to take over this area & it would possibly become part of the states. I was informed, that in those days, the border was easily crossed and both Americans & Canadians lived on both sides & claimed loyalty to the other country in which they were not residing. The border was supposedly not clearly defined and farmers from both countries lived on both sides & claimed the land was theirs and therefore part of the other country, when in fact it was not. The area that Michael Grant resided in was not too far north of New York State and he was probably one of the Irish Protestants, similar to my Great Great Grandfather, Thomas Kelly, who was encouraged to settled in the area by the prospect of affordable land [I am sure they were given a sweet deal]. My question would be are there any additional records or historical information that could help us trace Thomas Kelly & Michael Grant back to Ireland? If anyone else on the list has any further information regarding this I would like to see it posted. I am also posting this to several other lists in hopes of acquiring further information. I hope this helps you in your search. Loren Kelly, Kelly Motto: "God Is A Tower of Strength To Me!" My Loyalist Ancestor: Private, Israel TOMPKINS, U. E. [My G-G-G-Grandfather] As a member of Kings Loyal Americans, Kings Rangers, Rogers Rangers, & Jessup's Loyal Rangers, he served the Royal Standard for 5 years and 3 months in service to "The Crown" and was honorably discharged 17, Jan., 1783 at Riviere des Chene. Wife: Rebecca BROWN, U. E. "Loyalty Never Dies...Ask A Loyalist!" "Fear God!...Honour The King!" ================="Kelly Irish-Canadian Korner!"====================== Take a Micro Second to pull off of that Super Information Highway; stop by my Virtual Irish Neighborhood & share a spot of Family History with me at my "Wee-Bit" o' a corner on the World Wide Web...Please explore & leave a message for me on my Bulletin Board at the following address: http://hometown.aol.com/sirkelly3/myhomepage/heritage.html Loren Kelly, An Irish-Canadian American, Living In Texas! Researching KELLY; TOMPKINS; & BROWN! ============================================================ <A HREF="aol://1722:mailextras"> </A>