On Friday, Kelsey Jones started a string on migration to Canada by Loyalists during and after the Revolution, and their numbers. This is not a scientific nor scholarly dissertation, just some observations that have been evolving over the years as I researched one Smith family.But the children seemed to marry cousins or children of old NJ neighbors, and hence as you tried to sort out all the in-laws, you encountered the other family names. [And there are several unrelated Smith families to add to the fun. :-))] `````````````````````````` Doing a search in my database, I see that I have 305 entries born in NJ between 1730 and 1800, with 70 different family names. [If I look at USA for the same period, I see 441 individuals with still more surnames.] Family names for these 305 individuals are: BATES, BEAM, BEAMER, BEEMER, BELL, BERDAN, BIGGS, BOOK, BOUGHNER, BRIGGS, BROUWN, BUNN, CARPENTER, COLLVER, COON, CRANE, CULVER, CUMMINS, DEWITT, EMERY, FISHER, FRAZIER, GLOVER, GOBLE, GORDON, GREEN, GUSTIN, HEATH, HIXON, HOPKINS, HOWELL, HUFFMAN, JOHNSON, KEEFER, KELLY, KELSEY, KERN, KIBLER, KITCHEN, KONKLE, KRIBS, LEWIS, LONDON, MANN, McCLARY, MILLER, MILLS, MOORE, NIXON, OGDEN, PETTIT, RARICK, ROSZEL, ROY, SHAVER, SMITH, SOVEREIGN, STENABAUGH, SWAYZE, SWAZEY, TEMPLER, THATCHER, TRILLER, VAN VYE, WHITESELL, WINTERSTEIN, WOOLVERTON, YOUNG, ZIMMERMAN ``````````````````````` If you delve into early Sussex Co. history, you will probably encounter many of these family names and see their contribution to the early development of the County. Log Gaol was built on Green land for instance, and Nathaniel Pettit was a judge and more. Some left for their political beliefs, others were imprisoned, others "lost" everything. Still others just left just to better themselves. By and large, these are all people who emigrated to Canada as a result of the Revolution, some qualified for the designator of United Empire Loyalist {UE}, and thus received free land for their family and each of their children as they came of age; some did not. While the bulk of the Loyalist exodus was before 1790, it continued into the early 1800s from my observations. Some [descendants] did return to the US in later years- a small percentage of the overall descendants. ```````````` The Revolution was a nasty piece of business if you had Loyalist/Tory leanings [see quote at end for highlights of Loyalists]. The US lost a lot of valuable "contributors" to society. But the Revolution greatly accelerated Canada's evolution. Many of these talented "evicted" individuals, went on to make valuable contributions in creating a new country- what became Canada in 1867. ``````````````` My observations are that most of the above named Sussex County families settled in Lincoln and Wentworth Counties. It seems that in some townships, almost all the original settlers were from Sussex Co., NJ. Whereas in other townships, you'll see that many of the early settlers were predominately from Pennsylvania, etc. And then in-laws, brother's or sister's came to visit, married and stayed- e.g. TICKNORs from Connecticut. Or the reverse, and the married couple came to Canada to settle, e.g. LOWDENs from NY. Other emigrants waited until the old folks died, and the 1812-1814 war clouds started to form, e.g. Philip Huffman. Oh yes the family were Loyalists, father was accused of "seditious" comments [had 300 acres in Knowlton Twp.], and his older brother Christopher was in the NJ Volunteers, and subjected to property confiscation. Norfolk Co. Settlers Norfolk has a little different background than many of the other counties, in that Lord Simcoe went "scouting" for settlers, offering free land. Hence you will find many Loyalists who fled first to New Brunswick and then came to Norfolk, e.g. Abraham Smith, Long Point; came from New York via New Brunswick. And in some cases, an early emigrating Sussex Co.family would settle in one township, and then move on, e.g. Othneil Smith settled first in Ancaster Twp., near his brothers and old neighbors; before moving to Norfolk Co. In some cases you will find a family name in both Wentworth and Norfolk Counties, but try and find the connection linking them together- e.g. Pettit. `````````` From My draft family history, a couple of observations On Emigration Routes In 1788, four Northampton Co., Pennsylvania families began to make plans to leave- William Rymal, Aaron Kribs, Michael Hess, and Henry Smith. Probably travelling on horseback, the four men followed the trail north along the Delaware River to Stroudsborough (on the east bank of the Delaware River, at the Delaware Water Gap) then west to Old Forge (Scranton area]) They followed the Susquehanna River to Elmira, New York. The old settlers road went through Bath, N.Y. to the Ontario and Genessee Turnpike Road that connected the Buffalo Creek (now the City of Buffalo) with the trail north along the Niagara River. They were ferried into British territory at the mouth of the Niagara River (Fort Niagara). The following year these four families emigrated with their wives and children, and being joined by Jacob Rymal to settle in Barton Twp., Wentworth Co. "Teams of horses and oxen pulled wagons piled high with food, equipment, tools, furniture, etc. There were small animals, chickens and geese in crates. Cows were tied to the rear of the wagons. Some horses carried packs upon which the children would sometimes ride when they became tired of walking. The train moved slowly along keeping to level ground as much as possible and keeping to established trails whenever able. At the bottom of the valleys it was a matter of avoiding swampy areas, maneuvering the wagons over the boulders in the stream beds the up the next hill. Everyone was bone weary when they stopped at the end of each day. There were then several hours of work in making camp for the night. The animals had to be tethered and fed. Only what was needed to make camp was unloaded from the wagons. The women prepared the evening meal. The older children brought water from the nearest stream and gathered firewood. The men watered the stock and built temporary shelters from canvas brought for that purpose. Some slung hammocks between trees for sleeping. Some of the children slept in the wagons. The rest made sleeping pallets on the ground. They arrived at their destination without incident." From Hess Family of Barton, John R. Gallagher. From other NJ family's recollections, it appears that this was an accepted route. It is known that the Beam family also scouted the "new land" before bringing the rest of the family. No doubt there were others. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ On Backgrounds/Origins of Sussex Co. Emigrants From my observations of the backgrounds/origins of the early Wentworth County settlers, there are two general patterns present; * Those whose roots go back to the mid 1600s or earlier along the eastern seaboard. e.g. names like Pettit, Green, Howell, Kitchen, Lewis, John Smith and Sarah Freeman, Joseph Smith's myriad children, etc. English roots, established, respected members of their communities, often prominent personages. Families were often split on their loyalties, some being imprisoned for their views, properties confiscated, etc. * Later arrivals to the US- mid to late 1700s. e.g. Huffman, Book, Rymal, Hess, Krib, John Smith [and Anna Roy], etc. Predominately Germanic roots, struggling to become established in the new world. `````````````````````````` And as Kelsey implied in his original message, the revisionists have done a good job on writing our history.:-(( What we find as genealogists, is often very different than what the history books show. Ron Cox, UE ````````````````````````` My Britannica CD has this entry if you are not familiar with the Loyalist story. "Loyalists, also called TORY, colonist loyal to Great Britain during the American Revolution. Loyalists constituted, about one-third of the population of the American colonies during that conflict. They were not confined, to any particular group or class, but their numbers were strongest among the following groups:, office holders and others who served the British crown and had a vested interest in upholding its, authority; Anglican clergymen and their parishioners in the North, who had likewise taken vows of, allegiance and obedience to the king; Quakers, members of German religious sects, and other, conscientious pacifists; and large landholders, especially in the North, and wealthy merchant groups in, the cities whose businesses and property were affected by the war. The most common trait among all, Loyalists was an innate conservatism coupled with a deep devotion to the mother country and the, crown. Many Loyalists at first urged moderation in the struggle for colonial rights and were only driven, into active Loyalism by radical fellow colonists who denounced as Tories all who would not join them., Loyalists were most numerous in the South, New York, and Pennsylvania, but they did not constitute a, majority in any colony. New York was their stronghold and had more than any other colony. New, England had fewer Loyalists than any other section. "The Loyalists did not rise as a body to support the British army, but individuals did join the army or, form their own guerrilla units. New York alone furnished about 23,000 Loyalist troops, perhaps as, many as all the other colonies combined. The Loyalist fighters aroused a vengeful hatred among the, Patriots (as the American Revolutionaries called themselves), and when taken in battle they were treated, as traitors. George Washington detested them, saying as early as 1776 that "they were even higher and, more insulting in their opposition than the regulars." , "Congress recommended repressive measures against the Loyalists, and all states passed severe laws, against them, usually forbidding them from holding office, disenfranchising them, and confiscating or, heavily taxing their property. Beginning in March 1776, approximately 100,000 Loyalists fled into, exile. (This was between 3 and 4 percent of the total number of settlers in the colonies, which is, estimated at 2,500,000-3,000,000 during the Revolutionary period.) The largest portion of those who, fled ultimately went to Canada, where the British government provided them with asylum,, compensating them for losses in property and income and paying pensions to Loyalist officers. Public, sentiment in the United States against the Loyalists died down significantly after government began, under the new U.S. Constitution in 1789, and the remaining state laws against them were repealed after, the War of 1812." -- Ronald (RON) Cox, U.E., 74 Brunswick Dr., Beaconsfield, QC, H9W 5H2, CAN <roncox@cam.org> "He, who takes no interest in the history of his ancestors, does not deserve to be remembered by his posterity." The box said "Requires Windows 95 or Better", so I bought a Macintosh !! Ireland to Quebec City, Canada in 1818 - The Talbot Party from Cork. Includes information on a constructed list (not a manifest) of the settlers: http://www.cam.org/~roncox/Talbot_Emigration.html Sharing is contagious. Unless you tell me otherwise, sharing with me is assumed as permission to share with others. Much of the data I share is data others have shared with me and unverified by me personally. :-)