He had Commissions from Gen 1 Gage & Gen 1 Howe to command a Co. of these
Loyalists.
He went from Boston with the Army to Halifax & from thence to New
York. When he came to New York He had likewise a Company of Loyalists
under his Command. He was immediately appointed by Sir W m Howe as
Assistant Commissary & remain d so till the Evacuation of the Place. He had
a Salary of los. a Day. He produces a Comrn" from Sir Guy Carleton dated the
13 th of May 1783 from which time he rec d Batt Forage Money to the Evacuation
from the 7 th of July 1781. He had 2os. a Day by the orders of the Treasury
here as appears by a Letter which he produces sign d by M r Robinson Secretary
to the Treasury directing the Commander to give him 2os. a Day in consequence
of his Services & the great Use he was of in his Examination before the Com
missioners of Accounts. He went after his Examination before the Comm"
back to America & staid there till the Evacuation of New York.
Bounty 150 a Y r . He receives an Allowance of .150 a Year from the Treasury from the 5 th of
April last.
Being asked whether he has done any Services to Gov* not mention d in his
memorial He says he saved a great deal of Money to Gov* in the Commissary s
Line. He says he might easily have made .20000 & he could have made .10000
in one Article. Being asked to explain this Article he says he believes the hides
& Tallow are usually a perquisite & Col 1 Kingston confirms him in it And he
says he paid every Shilling of this into Gov 1 & has the Receipts to produce. And
if he had taken this fair Perquisite he should have put 10000 into his pocket.
John Chandler Esq.
Has known M r Willard ever since he was a Boy. He lived 14 or 15 Miles
from him. He is as firm a Loyalist as any Man in the world.
Being asked what property he had he says he always heard of him as a Man
of Property but not of great property. He knows part of the Property of
M r Willard. He knows the farm on which he lived at Lancaster. The House
was a tolerable good House but not an elegant House. Being asked to the Value
of the Land in that Situation He says a Son in law of his bought some Lands
adjoining to M r Willard s & gave 10 S. per Acre. He says if it had been his
He would not have taken 1000 for it but doubts whether it would have taken
so much. Thinks it would have taken 850 or 900.
( 139 )
Memorial of Col 1 James Delancey 1 Determin d the
Colonel James Delancey the Claimant sworn. 1 7 th J une 1 7 8 4- 22<i of Decr J 7 8 4.
Is a Native of America. Was high Sheriff of the County of Chester for
sev 1 Years before the troubles. He was frequently called upon to sign the An Active &
Associations which he refused. In 1777 he was appointed to the Command of Zealous Loyalist
the Militia of the County & rais d a Volunteer Corps to serve for that Campaign. bon : A , rms & .
In 1780 he was appointed Col 1 of the West Chester Refugees. Rais d the Corps Services to^he
with the Assistance of his Officers it consisted of 490 Men without any Expence British Gov*.
to Gov*. Had many engagements with the Enemy. Captured a number of
Prisoners & was enabled thereby to exchange a great many others. He was at
great expence in raising this Corps & paying Surgeons for attending the wounded
Men also in procuring intelligence of the movements of the Enemy. The office
of Sheriff was 160 per Ann.
Produces Certificates to his Loyalty from Sir Henry Clinton Sir Guy Carleton
& Gen 1 Tryon And also Copies of the gen 1 Orders wherein the thanks of the
Commander in Chief were given to him for his spirited Conduct at Kings Bridge. 2
Has an Allowance from the Treasury of ^200 per Ann. from the 5 th of July 1783. Bounty 200 a Y*.
Memorial of Tho s Robinson late of the County of Sussex 3 on Determin d the
the Delaware i st of July 1784.
Tho s Robinson the Claimant sworn. i8 th June 1784.
Is a Native of America Sussex Co. Says that in 1774 he was in the
Assembly & opposed the measure of sending a Member to Congress. Never An Active & Meri-
signed an Association or took any Oaths to the Americans. Was settled in trade torious Loyalist &
for some Years & towards the Commencement of the rebellion He had Concerns renc *er d Services
. -i r to the British
in the farming way. Goyt>
On Sir W m Howe s Expedition to the head of Elk he offer d his Services
to raise Men in the lower Counties of the Delaware & accompanied the Gen 1
on that service. In 1778 he attended Col 1 Campbell in his Expedition ag k Georgia.
In 1779 He was appointed by Sir Henry Clinton a Capt n of Safe Guards & went
on the Expedition to Charlestown. He had an Allowance of 5^. a Day as Capt n
of Safe Guards which he continued to receive till Oct r 1783.
He has an Allowance of 100 per Ann. from the Treasury from the 5 th of Bounty 100 a Y*.
Jan? 1784.
Jos h Galloway Esq sworn.
Says he has known the Claimant ever since he was a Boy. Believes that
1 He was the son of Peter de Lancey, the brother of the Chief Justice, and of a daughter of Cadwallader
Golden. At the close of the war he retired to Nova Scotia, where he became member of the Council
in 1794. He died in 1800 (Biog. Notice in New York Col. Docs., vol. viii, p. 718). Carleton wrote to
Lord North on June 2, 1783, recommending Colonel James Delancey, who has commanded the West
Chester Refugees. He has served without pay and the losses by the confiscation of his estate are very
great (Hist. MSS. Comm., Am. MSS. in R. Inst., vol. iv, p. 121).
2 In the winter of 1776 the refugees at Kingsbridge waylaid a large parcel of cattle, passing through
the county of Westchester on their way to the American army, surprised and made prisoner the guard
with the cattle, and brought the whole drove into the British lines (Jones, op. cit., vol. i, pp. 118-19).
3 New Jersey. {-
T 2
he was uniformly loyal & that he exerted himself as much as any Man could do
in endeavoring to quiet the minds of the people when the Disturbances com
menced. That the Claimant was of the House of Assembly many Years & set
up an Address ag* the Measure of Independence which was sign d by upwards
of 5000 persons. He was in consequence of this put into the Pillory & very ill
used. It was either in May or June 1776 that this happen d. M r Galloway
further says that the Claim* was afterwards obliged to sign a Bond not to oppose
any Measure whatever of the State. M r Galloway remembers that the Claimant
was very useful in procuring Pilots for Lord Howe s fleet in the Delaware.
Believes that the Claimant was possess d of very good property. He was
much respected & as a Magistrate could not be more active & useful.
Tho s Robinson the Claimant sworn. 2 I st June 1784.
Admits that the person who valued his property was his Brother Peter
Robinson.
Determin d the Memorial of Henry Reeves
Henry Reeves-the Claimant-sworn _ J 9 th June 1784.
Born in England. Went to America to So. Carolina in 1762 as Master of
a trading Ship. On the Commencement of the troubles he was settled as a Merch 1
in Charlestown & was concerned in farming. He refused to sign the Associations
as he did to take the Oaths when tender d to him in 1777. In July 1778 He
was banished & only allowed 30 Days to remove his person & dispose of his
A Loyalist. property. On this Occasion he disposed of all his property except 3 tracts of
Land about 40 Miles from Charlestown & embarked for the West Indies where
he remain d till the latter end of 1779 & t ^ ien removed to North Carolina & from
thence to Virginia where he join d the British Troops at Osborne under the
Command of Gen 1 Philips l who gave him the Command of an armed Ship called
the Tempest of 20 Guns to bring up the rear of the fleet going down James River.
He had the Command of her about 6 weeks. From Portsmouth he went to
York Town with the Army & remain d as a Volunteer till the Capitulation on
board his Majesty s Ship Guadaloupe. From thence he came to New York
in the Bonnetta Sloop & went afterwards to Charlestown where he remain d
till the Evacuation & then came to Eng d .
Bounty 50 a Y r . He has 50 a Y r from the Treasury. It commenced from the 5 th of Jan y 1783.
Produces Certificates from Capt" Robinson of the Guadaloupe of his having
served as a Volunteer during the seige of York Town. Certificate from Gov 1
Bull by which it appears that the Claim 1 was Harbour Master at Charlestown
& had been in that office about 2 Years Another from Gen 1 Arnold & one from
M r Powell all which speak of M r Reeve s Loyalty.
The Salary of Harbour Master was about 200 S. per Ann. there were
Emoluments annex d to this to the amount of ^50 S. per Ann.
Brig 1 " General Arnold sworn.
He knew the Claimant in Virginia in March 1781. He says that he applied
1 Major-General William Phillips. There are numerous references to him in Hist. MSS. Comm.,
Am. MSS. in R. Inst., vol. ii.
to him for protection for his personal property which he accordingly gave. The
Witness says that he recollects M r Reeves making an Application about some
Tobacco which had been burnt by the British Troops.
He speaks of the Claimant having been given the Command of the Tempest
armed Ship by Gen 1 Philips & that he gave Gen 1 Philips & him information
on several occasions respecting the movements of the American Army.
Henry Reeves the Claimant called in again.
Says that when he was banished in July 1778 He went to S l Eustatia from
whence he went to Virginia & that after he returned to Charlestown (some time
after the Evacuation) he made a Voyage to the West Indies to Jamaica for a Cargo
of Rum for the use of the Garrison of Charlestown.
Memorial of M rs Isabella Logan Determin d the
Isabella Logan the Claimant sworn. 2 3 d June 1784. st of J uI X 74-
She is the Widow of George Logan Esq of Princess Ann County Virginia
Merch*. She says that her Husband was born in Scotland & went to Virginia at Board satisfied of
a very [early] time of Life where he was bound an Apprentice to a Merch*. When the Loyalty of the
the troubles commenced he was settled in Princess Ann County as a Merch*. S 131 ^ j her
He took an early & decided part in favor of Gov*. Says that what she has stated
in her Memorial respecting her late Husbands loyalty is strictly true.
Produces her Husbands Will dated the 28 th of Jan^ 1781 by which it appears The Claim*
that the whole of M r Logan s property real & personal was left to the Claimant Executrix &
except 10 per Ann. to his Brother at Glasgow. M r Logan left no family but Devisee of her
he had some poor relations whom she is obliged to assist.
The Earl of Dunmore sworn.
Knew the Claimant s late Husband & says that no Man could be more loyal.
He join d Lord Dunmore but could not on ace* of his Age bear Arms but he
acted as a Magistrate & behaved very well. The Witness had not seen a better
House in Virginia it was exceedingly well furnished. Is not able to say whether
the Ship Logan was hired or not by Government but recollects that some Goods
belonging to the Crown were on board of her.
Memorial of Stephen Haven Determin d the
Stephen Haven the Claimant sworn. 26 th June 1784. 26 h of J une 7 8 4-
Swears to the truth of the Memorial in general terms & that it contains
to the best of his Judgment a true Ace 4 of his property the fees of office &c. He
was fix d at Savannah when the troubles broke out. He was born in Ireland
& went to America in 1771. He was 15 Y rs of Age when the rebellion broke out. A Loyalist.
He lived with M r Young who was a Loyalist. He took no part till the Year
1777. In the Month of feb? He got on board the Otter Sloop of War & gave
Capt n Squire intelligence of a Rebel Galley & he burnt her He went to Florida
soon after & remain d there till the Cession of the province. He never took
any Oath to the Rebels.
( 142 )
Produces a Certificate from Gov r Tonyn to Loyalty & good Conduct during
the War.
He lost some property & an Office under Gov*.
He was Naval Officer of Georgia & produces an Appointm* dated the iy th of
Aug 1 1775. The Comm n is sign d by Sir Ja s Wright & bears the Seal of the province.
Office 300 a Y r . The Duty of this Office is to sign all papers that the Collector Comptroller
afterw 13 alter d to & Searcher sign &c. There was no Salary but the Emoluments arose from fees.
200 a Y r . jj- s Mother receiv d the Emoluments & therefore he cant say what they were
Disallowed. but he refers to M r Thompson who was Collector of the Port of Savannah & who
attends. He charges the Loss of the Office for 8 Years at 300 a Y r but he
admits that he rec d about 250 when the province of Georgia was last in possession
of the British Troops.
Being asked why he values it at 5/. per Acre he says he thought it was
necessary to put some Value upon it & he understood that others had valued
lands of this sort at the same price.
He arrived in Eng d in August last & he applied to Whitehall for a temporary
Bounty 50 a Y r . support & he obtain d an Allowance of 50 a Year from the 5 th of July 1783
& he now continues to receive it
ADDITIONAL NOTES
LIEUT.-COL. JAMES CHALMERS (page 81)
A note in Hist. MSS. Comm., Am. MSS. in Royal Inst., vol. iv, p. 479, probably by Carleton, says :
James Chalmers and William Allen served from the time of their appointment under General Howe in
Pennsylvania and afterwards at New York ; embarked with their corps for Pensacola in 1778, where
they served some time. Their corps continued there till it was taken by the Spaniards. Chalmers was
a county gentleman of some distinction and was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the First Battalion of
Maryland Loyal Volunteers.
Raymond, Winslow Papers, contains particulars with regard to the Maryland loyalists and their colonel.
On September 12, 1783, Carleton wrote to Lieutenant-Colonel R. Hewlett to take command of the
British and American troops (including the Maryland loyalists) who were to proceed to the river St. John
in the Bay of Fundy (pp. 132-3).
A considerable number of Maryland loyalists were wrecked off the Seal Islands (pp. 136-7) ; but
forty-three, with some women and children, were receiving the royal bounty of provisions at the mouth
of the St. John River (p. 244) preparatory to taking up a block of land opposite Fredericton (p. 156).
On May 15, 1785, Lieutenant-Colonel Chalmers wrote to Winslow from Newcastle on the Delaware
River that he was proceeding to England with vouchers for the sale of his estate, which, for that country,
might be termed a noble one. As I have had it much at heart , he went on, to settle in your
Province (New Brunswick), I am very anxious to endeavour that the lands destined to the Maryland
Corps may be placed on such footing that an impartial division may be made to all those interested.
My address is No. 7 Fountain Court, Strand (p. 303).
P. SKENE (page 106).
After doing good service in the Seven Years War, P. Skene formed a settlement at Wood Creek and
South Bay, at the head of Lake Champlain. In 1765 the tract of land at Wood Creek became a township
under the name of Skenesborough. He erected there forges for smelting iron, and saw mills, and made
a road to Bennington. He died in 1810 (Biog. notice in O Callaghan, New York Col. Does., vol. viii,
P- 4 I 5)-
( 143 )
Skene arrived at Philadelphia in 1775 with a commission as Lieutenant-Governor of Crown Point
and Ticonderoga and Inspector of Crown lands within the province of Quebec and that part of New
York which lay near Lake Champlain. The rumour went that his mission was to influence the members
of the Congress by arguments drawn on the Treasury over which he has unlimited power . He was
made prisoner upon his parole to keep within eight miles of the city and not to correspond with any
one on political subjects (Force, Am. Archives, 4th ser., vol. ii, p. 974 ; see also New Jersey Archives,
vol. x, p. 648).
General Schuyler wrote to Governor Trumbull of Connecticut on December 12 that it was reported
that both the Skenes had broken their parole and fled (Am. Arch., 4th ser., vol. iv, p. 248). But Governor
Skene was in captivity in May 1776, when he refused to give his parole not to give intelligence to the
British directly or indirectly, or not to act in opposition to the measures of the Americans (ibid., vol. vi,
p. 601). Howe reported in September 1776 that Skene was about to be liberated in exchange for the
New Englander Lovell taken by Gage (Hist. MSS. Comm., Stopford-Sackville MSS., p. 42).
According to a French account of the affair at Bennington, Skene was largely responsible for that
disaster (ibid., pp. 76-7). He was described by H. Cruger, M.P., as a vain, weak man (Life of Peter
van Schaack, by H. C. van Schaack, 1842, p. 44).
DR. KEARSLEY (page 106).
Dr. Kearsley was seized on Friday by order of the Committee of Observation for having wrote
letters to England . . . and is now confined in jail with one Brooks, who was here with Governor Skene.
You must know Kearsley to be a considerable time since marked out as a thorough-paced Tory ; for
which, together with his having insulted the people, he was . . . carted through the streets (Force, op. cit.,
vol. iii, p. 985). See also Moore, Diary of the Am. Rev., vol. i, p. 146, quoting from Constitutional Gazette,
October 14, 1775 : This so enrages the people . . . that if it had not been for the humanity of some
gentlemen, who conducted him to gaol, he would possibly have been very roughly handled. He is as
sulky as when exalted on the cart, glories in the mischief he still hopes to do his country, and refuses
to give any satisfaction.
This ungrateful son of Galen has acquired a considerable fortune by his practice in Philadelphia
and in manufacturing Keyset s pills which are sold as genuine by a " certain Tory bibliopolist in a neigh
bouring province ".
JOHN FERDINAND DALZIEL SMITH (page 127).
This very plausible and able, as well as courageous, adventurer, published a book A Tour in the United
States of America, &c., by J. F. D. Smyth, 2 vols., London, 1784. The book was published by sub
scription ; and Messrs. Wilmot and Coke each subscribed for two copies.
Smith did not take his defeat lying down, and in 1807 returned to the charge with a publication,
The Case of Ferdinand Smyth Stuart, with bis Memorials to the King. The volume opens with some very
indifferent poetry. We are then informed that the whole proceedings of the said Commissioners in
regard to me were decidedly contrary to law, justice, and truth, and that they even violated their oaths
and actually perjured themselves in order to injure me. No charge against me was ever communicated
to me, nor could I ever learn the nature of the report of the Commissioners, notwithstanding every
exertion I made to discover it from 1784 until April 27, 1807, when the substance of it was mentioned
to me by the Marquess of Tullibardine . His change of name is explained by the fact that his father
was son to the Duke of Monmouth by Lady Henrietta Maria Wentworth, baroness of Netherstead.
This royal scion had raised a fine corps of two hundred and thirty selected men, served my King and
country in arms, and cheerfully shed my blood, having been placed in the post of honour . He had
been possessed of a good estate ; had an extensive and profitable practice of physic and lived in the
most abundant manner, having an increasing income of more than 1,700 a year. Captain in the
Queen s Royal Regiment of Rangers, November 5, 1775 ; escaped on the 3Oth of December with dis
patches of great importance (no less than the preservation of all Upper Canada), and travelled 300 miles
on foot over the Alleghany Mountains, the most inaccessible and extensive perhaps in the world ;
encountered a series of dangers and hardships not to be paralleled, and fifty times worse than death,
when no one else dared to undertake the desperate enterprise.
( 144 )
It is a little disconcerting to turn from this Paladin of romance to the actual Smith or Smyth Stuart
as he showed himself when a prisoner. The brutality of facts has preserved a petition from Philadelphia
Jail dated April 29, 1776. Lamenting, he writes, this unhappy and unnatural contest, and wishing to
avoid being active on either side, I endeavoured to remove to my lands on the Mississippi from the disagree
able scene. . . . Unfortunately for me, some expression of moderation of mine to Lord Dunmore caused me
to be accused of being a spy. . . . Being offered the Commission of surgeon to the new regiment on this
intended expedition and persuaded by Colonel Conolly (whom I never knew before and conceived to be
a regular officer), I very inconsiderately accompanied him, which I am now sorry for. . . . Nothing could
have induced me to join either side except the impossibility of remaining neutral (Force, Amer. Archives,
4th ser., vol. v, p. 1119).
JAMES MOODY (page 133).
J. Moody, b. 1744, d. 1809, was one of the most picturesque figures among the loyalists in the American
War of Independence. He published in 1781 a book, Lieut. James Moody s Narrative of his Exertions and
Sufferings in the Cause of Government since the Tear /7J<5, which quickly went to a second edition. His
hairbreadth escapes would be hardly credible were they not well attested. He seems to have been
treated with especial harshness there is sworn evidence that he was, apparently with the knowledge
of Arnold, confined in handcuffs ragged on the inside next the wrist the American contention being
that he was a spy and not entitled to the treatment of an open enemy. His effective operations with
small parties against the American mails lent colour to this view. He pays a glowing tribute to his
brother loyalists. Often obliged to put his life into their hands, he never was disappointed or deceived
by any of them. He was several times in hiding for months at a time ; but, though many of these people
were in sore straits and knew that they would be generously rewarded for handing over so obnoxious
a person, they were so far from betraying him that they often ran great hazards in giving him assistance.
He states that during the first year he served for nothing ; in the second, third, and fourth he received
the pay of an ensign ; and in the fifth that of a lieutenant. Besides his pay he received rewards of
,100 and 200 for the capture of mails. In enlisting and paying men for the public service he had
expended most of what was saved from the wreck of his fortunes.
In a Proclamation offering a reward for his apprehension, Moody was declared by Governor Living
stone of New Jersey, guilty of atrocious offences, robberies, thefts, and other felonies (Moore, Diary of
the Am. Rev., vol. ii, p. 466). Moody retorted by a counter-proclamation. He went to Nova Scotia,
where he died.
The note on him in Sabine, op. cit., vol. ii, pp. 92-7, is very full.
BOOK III
Memorial of Alexander Selkrig Determin d the
AT j on *v 01 26 th of June 1784. 26 th of June 1784.
Alexander Selkrig the Claimant sworn. J
Is a Native of Glasgow & went from Glasgow to America in 1765. He
went to carry on trade. He was fix d in business in partnership with his Brother A Loyalist,
at Boston when the troubles commenced. He & his Brother sold Dry Goods.
He took the Gov t side. He left Boston the 2 d of feb^ 1775 & came home to Did not bear Arms.
Glasgow. He staid in Great Britain 1776 & then went out to New York. His
Brother was a Loyalist & was obliged to leave Boston at the Evacuation. His
Brother is since dead in Jan y last.
He claims for nothing but Debts which as he says are about 5500 S. He Debts
does not know that the House owed .20. These consist of Notes of hand & 55 os - ^-
Book Debts.
He says he is a Bankrupt & has gone thro the whole of his Examination
& he disclosed this to the Commiss rs . He says he is sensible that this belongs A Bankrupt,
to the Creditors but the Assignees have appointed him to receive & collect these
Debts & he apprehends there will be an Overplus. His Brother has left a Widow
& 2 Sons.
Memorial of James Delancey 1 Esq. Determin d the
TA i T< i ^i 28 th of Tune 1784.. 22 d of Dec r 1784.
James Delancey Esq the Claimant sworn.
Was born at New York & is the Son of Lieut* Gov r Delancey who was Lieut* A Zealous
Gov r of the Province. He was a Member of the Assembly at the Commencement Loyalist.
of the troubles. He never bore Arms,, But immediately after the battle of Did not bear Arms.