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My

Phillips

Family

Story

Edition I

by

Bruce E. Pitts U.E.

January 2019

My Phillips Family Story

1

Foreword

To most people, family research is quite boring. The listing of children, when and where they were born

and who is related to whom, can become quite tedious quite quickly, perhaps like some of the persons

themselves on occasion, I suspect.

I also find it monotonous to merely recite the facts of who is the first-cousin-once-removed of some great

aunt of years past. That’s why I use a computer to keep the facts straight. Let the computer keep track of

the boring stuff, I say. That’s what they do well, provided you take backups regularly, of course.

What makes studying the family history fascinating for me is the discovery of quirky facts that delight the

heart. It is sort of like finding a gold nugget when digging in the garden, which has never happened to

me, or unexpectedly finding your wife’s long lost family ring in a shoe bag, which has happened to me!

In doing our Phillips family research, we’ve tripped over many peripheral facts, which are made even

more interesting by exploring the historical situation of the time. This extra data adds to understanding

the person and their times in a special way that helps to bring the long deceased person briefly alive in

one’s mind. Impersonal pedigree charts have no place to capture this information.

The following is a collection of some nuggets we’ve found about the fascinating Phillips clan and their

context across more than 10 generations. They don’t fit neatly into a family tree chart, and they may not

form a coherent story here, but I’ll try.

German Palatines

In early 1709, a trickle of immigrants coming down the Rhine River to Rotterdam became a tidal wave

estimated by some to be 30,000 persons strong. From there many were making their way to England,

where they were initially welcomed. While most came from the war-ravaged Palatinate region of south

western Germany, many were refugees or opportunists from elsewhere in Europe – Huguenots (French

Protestants), rural poor from over 250 widespread German villages, Calvinists from the Netherlands, even

families from Switzerland.

“A British parliamentary investigation later revealed the primary impetus for the migration was a

sensational book filled with descriptions of the riches and ease of life in Britain’s Carolina colony.” 1

First published in 1707, this book implied that Queen Anne would provide free passage and land to any

German peasant.

By late summer 1709, 13,000 people were settled on the outskirts of London, a city of 600,000 at the

time. This heterogeneous mass of people became known collectively as the ‘poor German Palatines’.

“Of the adults, 80 percent were married and most had children with them. Almost all belonged to one of

the three officially sanctioned German churches. Reformed were the most numerous, making up 39

percent of the group, followed by Lutherans who accounted for 31 percent. Catholics made up the

remainder.” 1


2

As the English became aware that most of the poor Palatines were unskilled labourers needing public

welfare and some were actually French (horrors!) and others were Catholic (more horrors!), sympathies

for their plight began to wane. Something needed to be done and quickly. The Catholics were dealt with

first – convert or go home. Next, 3,000 immigrants were resettled to Limerick, Ireland, believed by the

British government to need more Protestants. Six hundred or so were actually sent to North Carolina,

where the supposed German Palatines promptly named their settlement New Bern, after Bern in

Switzerland. Half of this group perished in crossing the Atlantic and another 60 lost their lives when the

Indians destroyed the settlement that had been unwisely situated on the site of their village, Tuscarora 2 -

so much for the riches and ease of life in the British Colonies.

Another 3,000 Palatines accompanied the recently appointed New York Governor Robert Hunter to the

new world, sailing on ten to twelve ships, which started boarding in December 1709 and left England in

April 1710. On this voyage some 480 passengers died and one vessel foundered on the Long Island

coast, so close to its destination. After reaching New York City they were quarantined for five months on

Nutten (now Governor's) Island where 250 more succumbed to ship fever (typhus) and 84 orphaned

children were apprenticed. 3

Governor Hunter’s scheme, approved by Queen Anne, was that in return for free passage and sustenance

these people would be granted forty acres of land per family after two years’ indenture. They were to be

settled north of New York City, along the Hudson River, where they would make tar and pitch from the

pine forests there, for export by Governor Hunter’s company. This product was desperately needed by

the British Navy for their ships and making rope, and the government was anxious to break the monopoly

on the tar and pitch industry held by Sweden. The military-industrial complex was at work even in the

early 1700’s. The fact that these people would be a buffer between the French and Indians to the north

and Her Majesty’s colonies to the south was not overlooked either.

Among this group was Johan Petrus Philipp (John Peter Phillips) and his wife Magdalena Haber

(sometimes Habbers) - my great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents - along with 3 children,

who arrived in New York on June 14, 1710 on the ship Fame. 4 Their son, Johannes Nicholas Phillips,

(my lineage) was born in 1705 in Homburg, Germany, which indicates the family had actually been living

in the Palatinate and would legitimately qualify as one of the ‘poor German Palatines’.

So my ancestors were German Palatine immigrants.

For the record, the parents of Johan Petrus Philipp were Nicholas and Margaretha Phillips, born about

1646 and 1652 respectively, in Kandel, Pfalz, Bavaria, making them my oldest known Phillips relatives.

The parents of his wife, Magdalena, were Hans Jacob Habbers and Annae Marien, born about 1660 and

1664 respectively in Harspelt, Rhineland, Prussia. Unfortunately that’s all I know about them, just the

classic dry family tree information.

One other by-the-way for you: Elvis Presley’s 6 g-grandparents Johannes Valentin Bressler and Anna

Christiana Franse were Palatine emigrants on the ship Fame as well, sharing rations with my ancestors

on this exact voyage. 5

Over the next two years, only one barrel of tar/pitch was shipped back to Britain. Historians differ on the

reasons for this failure, but the primary reason was that the type of pine trees of the New World was

different from the pines in the Old World and could not produce the desired tar and pitch – definitely a

serious due-diligence research failure. By 1712 Governor Hunter told the rebelling Palatines they were

free to shift for themselves and many proceeded to the better lands near Schoharie, NY, along the

Mohawk and Schoharie Rivers. With Hunter’s tar exporting enterprise in shambles, he declared

bankruptcy 1.

http://home.netcom.com/~fuffle/glpgen/d507.htm#P1513


3

John Peter and Magdalena must have stayed in the area along the Hudson River since their son, Johannes

Nicholas Phillips, married a local girl, Christina Funck, November 15, 1726, in Linlithgo, Columbia

County, NY. 6 Johannes and Christina proceeded to have eight children christened at various Lutheran

churches in the same general vicinity along the east side of the Hudson River over the next few years.

Their third child, a son, was christened Nicholas, at Reformed Church, Germantown, Columbia County,

New York, April 17, 1732. 7

I apologize for the busyness of the map on the next page, but I believe it is helpful to following this story

as it unfolds.

Rivers were the primary transportation corridors in this era. This map, which was included in the

journal of an early adventurer 8, is the best I could find on the internet (and free of copyright restrictions)

that shows the relationship of the Hudson, Mohawk, Schoharie, and Susquehanna Rivers, all of which

play a part in this tale. The red line shows the route taken by the journal’s author and should be ignored

in this present context.

The Hudson River valley runs pretty well due north-south above New York City. Columbia County,

mentioned in the last two paragraphs above, is on the east side of the Hudson, about 100 miles north of

New York City.

Going further north on the Hudson, early settlers would turn left above Albany and follow the Mohawk

River to the west. Not that many years earlier, this had been an important route for explorers and

pioneers trying to get further west beyond the Appalachian Mountains, which formed a considerable

barrier for westward expansion for most of the Atlantic Colonies to the south.

It is relatively easy to cross from the Schoharie/Mohawk watershed to the headwaters of the Susquehanna

and Delaware Rivers which also arise in southern New York State. As unallocated land along the

Mohawk River basin became scarce, many early settlers did just that, mixing with other settlers who

came north from the mouths of these rivers, past Harrisburg and Wilkes-Barre on the Susquehanna River

and Philadelphia on the Delaware River.


4


5

Pennsylvania Colony Creator:Stephen Luscombe Copyright:britishempire.co.uk

Nicholas Phillips

The Palatine immigrants found the land along the Hudson not particularly fertile, especially on the east

side of the river. So, over the years, many families migrated north along the Hudson and then west along

the Mohawk River and its tributaries to frontier areas like German Flatts, Fonda, Stone Arabia and

Schoharie, New York. While they scattered geographically, it’s obvious that multiple generations of the

immigrant families maintained close ties with one another over the years since many of the same

surnames keep recurring in the records of this era and area.

Somewhere along the line, Nicholas married Elizabeth, sometimes spelled Elisabetha, (surname possibly

Dagstetter) and by 1767 they had five children born in the Fonda – Stone Arabia area (Palatine in the map

above) along the Mohawk River in New York.

In the early 1770’s, Nicholas bought and sold

some land parcels around the Wyoming Valley

along the Susquehanna River in what would

become upstate Pennsylvania. 9

All land in this area was in contention in some

way. Connecticut claimed this area of the

wilderness as its ‘Pennsylvania Colony’ based

on a charter from Charles II in 1662, which

gave them a strip of land all the way to the

Pacific Ocean! Pennsylvania claimed much of

the same area based on a charter by the same

(somewhat confused) Charles II to William

Penn Jr. in 1681. The Susquehanna Company,

essentially a land developer, obtained a

questionable deed in 1754 to much of the State

of Pennsylvania from Indians who did not

represent the Six Nations, the only body that

had authority to sell the land. 10

Pennsylvania

and Connecticut actually fought over who

controlled the land in the Pennamite Wars, (1769-1770, 1774 and 1784). This was eventually resolved

when Pennsylvania became a state on December 12, 1787.

Ultimately, Nicholas ended up at Tunkhannock Flats, along the Susquehanna River, in what would

become northeast Pennsylvania, 30 miles upriver from the Wyoming Valley and present day Wilkes

Barre. Nicholas developed this fertile land and established a home for his family. He would later

describe his farm as “260 acres of land well improved . . . with a new elegant house and a large barn . . .

ten milck [sic] cows, two yoke of oxen, six horses, 20 sheep and forty hogs . . . plus 240 acres with a small

house and barn 11

”. In 1774, a survey team from the State of Pennsylvania reported that, “Mr. Field went

up to Nicholas Phillips’ . . . and brought down some fine corn and potatoes.” Nicholas was obviously

doing quite well for himself, even running a roadside vegetable stand, or so it appears.

This idyllic world was thrown into turmoil starting in December 1773, when 250 miles to the east in

Boston, some hotheads, poorly disguised as Indians, decided to dump some tea leaves into the harbour

rather than pay taxes to King George III in Britain. Their lusty cry of ‘no taxation without representation’

still resonates in the hearts of many people today.


6

Quickly people all over the colonies became divided into patriots or loyalists, even in a remote region like

Tunkhannock. Nicholas declared himself a loyalist in 1774. 11

For that, he “was seized and thrown into

jail by the Rebels for his loyalty. [He] was moved from jail to jail for about eighteen months, then sent to

Hartford Jail in Connecticut, it being the fifth and [he] expected it to be his last prison before his death.”

Imagine that, being thrown into jail and shifted about in an alien land simply for being a monarchist and

not a republican.

Descriptions of the conditions of jails from around this time are quite terrifying. Inmates were expected

to be maintained by family and friends, but with Nicholas never having lived in Connecticut proper, there

would be no one available to support him. Many people died in prison or suffered permanent injuries

from their mistreatment. His expectation of dying in prison would not be an exaggeration of the

conditions he endured.

Nicholas escaped from jail, likely in early 1776, and safely, as well as furtively, returned the 160 miles

cross-country to his farm, where he had to remain vigilant to avoid being apprehended again. 12

His farm appears to have remained intact through this time since “in 1776 there was an assessment list

compiled of the settlers in the Upper River District, County of Westmoreland, State of Connecticut. The

Upper River District comprised settlers mainly of present Bradford and Wyoming Counties who were

settled along the Susquehanna River. The list contains the names of 60 males [including Phillips]. The

names . . . indicate several families of German and Dutch nativity were settled on the Susquehanna. Of

those 60 names, it has been determined that 37 were Loyalists, 16 were non Loyalists, and 7 are presently

unknown.” 13

In case anyone is inclined to research this information further, it should be noted that Westmoreland

County, Connecticut, containing the Wyoming Valley, (in the Pennsylvania Colony) became Luzerne

County, Pennsylvania in 1786. Unfortunately, there is now another Westmoreland County in

Pennsylvania, but it is 220 miles further west. Couldn’t they have come up with a different name to avoid

confusion?

In early 1777, Nicholas learned from former neighbour, John DePue, who had recently joined the English

at Niagara, that a major raid was planned for the Mohawk and Susquehanna valleys as soon as the ice was

off the rivers. He advised his friends to “move away with their families and connections to a place called

Tiogo, [Owego on the earlier map] in the Indian country.” 14

Nicholas followed his own advice and fled from his farm, apparently all the way to Fort Niagara. On

June 15, 1777, he and two of his sons (Nicholas Jr., about 21 and John, about 15) showed up as Rangers

on the payroll of the Indian Department at $4 New York currency per diem. 15

To join the elite Indian

Department, one needed to be a person acquainted with the woods or able to speak an Indian language, to

promote friendship with the Native Americans, to keep them loyal to the British Crown. Nicholas most

certainly met the first criteria and it is quite possible he spoke an Indian language.

Meanwhile, the British army was putting into motion the strategies to deal with the revolution, discussed

in London, England, six months earlier. Oversimplified, THE PLAN was:

a) to have British General John Burgoyne head south from Montreal, via Lake Champlain, with over

8,000 soldiers, intending to capture Albany, New York, on the Hudson River;

b) to have British General William Howe, who in 1776 had won the battle for New York City, come

north up the Hudson Valley, with upwards of 10,000 men, overwhelming the rebels and capturing

the forts along the way to Albany;

c) to have British Colonel Barrimore “Barry” St Leger, with 2,000 men, come from Lake Ontario,

sweeping down the Mohawk Valley gathering supplies and loyalists to converge on Albany;


7

d) to thereby isolate the four, particularly rebellious, New England Colonies from the remaining

nine colonies, where there was thought to be more sympathy to the loyalist cause.

The ACTUAL RESULTS were somewhat different:

a) General Burgoyne had expected most of the travel to be by water and was unprepared for the

amount of land travel he encountered; having insufficient horses and carts to transport his

supplies. He commenced the expedition in mid June with about 7,000 men. After numerous

clashes and diversions, he arrived at Saratoga, 25 miles north of Albany, in early September, with

about his original number of troops, courtesy of 500 or so Indian reinforcements;

b) Historians still debate what happened to cause General Howe to move all his available troops by

sea to attack General George Washington at Philadelphia. He was successful there in mid

September, but left the Hudson Valley wide open for American reinforcements to move north, to

fight against Burgoyne;

c) The St Leger expedition never made it east beyond Onieda County. They were bogged down in

vicious battles in early August and retreated when Benedict Arnold, still loyal to the rebels at this

time, arrived with reinforcements;

d) General Burgoyne went on to surrender to the Americans after the Battles of Saratoga, on

October 17, 1777. Many of his troops were allowed to return to Quebec, on the promise that they

would not take up arms thereafter, which promise was mostly kept. The British loss caused

France, ever careful not to commit until the winning side was apparent, to cast their lot with the

Americans. Historians view this loss as a key turning point in the American Revolutionary war.

Perhaps planning a war six months in advance from 3,500 miles away is not the best approach.

Nicholas Phillips, his two sons, and future son-in-law Benjamin Davis were part of the St Leger

expedition which was made up of 1,000 Indians and 800 troops, including the Indian Department

Rangers. They initially lay siege to Fort Stanwix, now in Rome, NY, on August 2nd

. When they learned

that 800 rebel reinforcements had been gathered by Nicholas Herkimer from among the militia, farmers

and workers along the Mohawk valley, along with some Indians, an ambush was set at Oriskany, 6 miles

east of Fort Stanwix. This August 6th action was devastating, resulting in 450 rebel casualties and the

death of Herkimer, while losing 150 loyalist men and Indians, making it proportionately one of the

bloodiest battles of the whole American Revolution.

While St Leger was conducting the ambush, the rebel troops conducted a sortie from Fort Stanwix and

plundered the nearby Indian villages and loyalist camps, which contained women and children who fled

into the woods. This action greatly demoralized the troops, particularly the Indians, many of whom

deserted.

The Siege of Fort Stanwix lasted until August 21 when Benedict Arnold approached with reinforcements

and St Leger withdrew in the face of the superior force.

Nicholas and his sons survived this horrible experience. However, the emotional trauma of the battles,

especially the ambush, must have been especially intense, since many of the combatants involved on both

sides had been neighbours, at peace, along the Mohawk and Schoharie Rivers, just a few years earlier.

The British claimed St Leger’s expedition as a victory. They promoted Indian Department

Superintendent John Butler to Lieutenant Colonel and authorized him to raise a regiment to be called

Butler’s Rangers, based out of Fort Niagara. Indian Department Rangers were incorporated into the new

Butler’s Rangers, so like many modern-day workers Nicholas had a new employer without changing jobs.


8

A likeness of Sgt. Jacob Dittrick, in Butler's Rangers uniform, by Canadian artist, Garth Dittrick

Butler officially organized his first company of Rangers in mid December, 1777. Their uniform of red,

white and green looked quite attractive, but it would be totally

impractical in the field, fighting an enemy in camouflage.

Here is a picture ‘typical of the uniform of the Butler’s Rangers’ and

not specifically of Nicholas, although I wouldn’t mind being related

to such a handsome bloke.

Back in late August, “[m]ost of his rangers had marched overland to

the Susquehanna after the siege of Fort Stanwix was raised, with

orders to drive cattle from the settlements to Niagara for the

maintenance of the garrison, but [by early December] nothing had

been heard of them since the forest had swallowed them.” 16

It appears Nicholas and his sons were part of this group that came

back to their home territory along the Susquehanna, where they took

in the harvest and made preparations for their families for the coming

winter. “After prolonged wanderings they were surprised by an

overwhelming force, and thirty taken prisoners,” 17

on December 20,

1777, by the Westmoreland Militia and carted off to Connecticut

once again. They were declared Prisoners of War by a resolution by

the State of Connecticut Assembly in February, 1778. As we saw

earlier, Nicholas’ farm had been included on the 1776 assessment list of the Upper River District, County

of Westmoreland, State of Connecticut. It’s as if they were apprehended by their home town police

force and then imprisoned 160 miles away.

Lieutenant Colonel Butler continued in the following years to send out raiding parties (some today might

call them guerilla packs) from Niagara, to harass those supporting the rebels and entice loyalist men to

join his Rangers. These raids and hit and run tactics continued to be practiced by Butler’s Rangers across

New York State and as far west as Detroit. Eventually they caused General George Washington to order

a ‘scorched earth’ policy in May 1779 18

that was massively destructive, turning thousands of Indians and

loyalists into destitute refugees.

Following Burgoyne’s defeat in October 1777, Britain and the American Congress had been in

negotiations over the treatment of prisoners of war and occasional localized prisoner exchanges occurred,

so Nicholas and his boys were probably not treated as harshly over the next three years as in his previous

incarceration.

Fortunately, for a second time, Nicholas was able to escape from prison to New York City, which

remained under British control throughout the war. Son-in-law Benjamin Davis aided their escape from

New York, if not from the prison itself in Connecticut 23

, and traveled with Nicholas Sr. and his son

Nicholas Jr. to Montreal, where they went on to Niagara by 14 November, 1780. 19

Unfortunately, it

seems son John remained in prison at least until July 1781. 23

They all received 2 shillings, 6 pence per day while they were prisoners, the “pay to Rangers taken

prisoner and casualties.”

By the way, like my sons-in-law, Benjamin Davis was a terrific addition to the family. He was a secret

courier for General Haldimand in Quebec City, sixteen times running messages through enemy lines

mostly to General Sir Henry Clinton in New York City, a 560-mile round trip, only being captured once.


9

On that occasion he pretended to switch sides and escaped from West Point prison with his message

intact. 20

I wonder if he looked anything like Jason Bourne?

Most major fighting ended with the calendar in 1781 and the Treaty of Paris was signed September 3,

1783, in which Britain finally recognized the sovereignty of the United States of America.

Nicholas junior showed up on the returns at Niagara in November and December 1783 – age 27 with a

wife age 19. Son John showed up on a list of persons at Niagara in July 1784 as a drummer, with one

male (himself) receiving rations.

Butler’s Rangers were disbanded in June 1784, and on 20 July 1784, at Niagara, a Nicholas Phillips

appears on a list of persons as a disbanded Ranger, but I can’t be certain if this is Nicholas senior or

junior.

Elizabeth Phillips

But what of his wife Elizabeth and the rest of the family during this time? What became of them after her

husband, Nicholas, and their two older sons were captured and marched away to captivity in Connecticut,

just before Christmas in 1777?

Twenty years later, their eldest child, Elizabeth, born in 1755, wrote in support of her petition for

compensation after the war: “That in the year 1778, while the British Army were in the neighbourhood of

the Susquehannah [sic], your Petitioner’s Mother with the remainder of the family availed themselves of

the opportunity of escaping from the Rebels and came with the Army into Niagara. Your Petitioner was,

shortly after her arrival at Niagara, married to Benjamin Davis, a Sergeant in Butlers Rangers who was

employed during the war in carrying Dispatches from the Commander in Chief in Canada and to the

Commander in Chief in New York and absolutely went through the American Army six different times and

every time delivered his dispatches safely.” 21

The British Army action, that Elizabeth’s petition references, was likely related to the Battle of

Wyoming, called by some American historians The Wyoming Massacre, which occurred July 3, 1778.

Daughters, Elizabeth, mentioned above and Margaret, born around 1764 along with son Jacob, (my

ancestor), born in 1767, were the only dependents left at the farm with their mother during this time and

fled with her, initially to Niagara.

Fort Niagara was on the ‘American’ (east) side of the Niagara River and remained in British hands

throughout the War of Independence and actually for 13 additional years after the Treaty of Paris was

signed, finally being handed over to the Americans in 1796.

With typical bureaucratic efficiency, Britain realized it had a refugee crisis on its hands only after

hundreds of loyalist women, children and the elderly showed up at Niagara, Montreal and elsewhere in

British-held territory, after fleeing their homes to escape harassment by the patriots/rebels as fighting

intensified in 1776 and 1777. Their response was to build refugee camps along the St Lawrence River

downstream from Montreal at Sorel and Machiche (now Yamachiche) near Trois-Rivières and a number


10

of other places elsewhere in Quebec and New Brunswick. Estimates vary widely as to how many persons

were at these camps, but agree it eventually measured in the thousands.

Reports concerning these camps indicate they were crowded and poorly provisioned with food, firewood

and shelter. One description said, in 1778, there were 24 kettles and 8 frying pans for a company of

several hundred persons at Machiche. In 1779, over four hundred refugees were quartered in a mere

twenty-one buildings, each only eighteen by forty feet in size. Refugees were expected to work at

whatever trade they had or make blanket coats and leggings, etc., for the war effort. The camps would

not be a pleasant place at any time, especially during the winter.

A narrative, by neighbours of Elizabeth from the Susquehanna area, describes their overland travel,

mostly at night, north to Niagara.22

The voyage along Lake Ontario and down the St Lawrence River to

Montreal had to be done furtively as well, since these waters were patrolled by rebel vessels. Perhaps

Elizabeth’s and her children’s passage was similar.

We do not know when Elizabeth and the children arrived at Machiche. Monthly accountings were

performed to verify refugees were still eligible to receive shelter and rations, but most of these records are

missing now. Elizabeth Phillips, with one boy over 12 (that would be Jacob), one girl over 12 (that would

be Margaret) and two girls under 12, were recorded at Machiche as early as 25 July to 24 August 1779,

while Nicholas was still an inmate in the POW prison in Connecticut. Whether these two younger girls

were their children or orphans that Elizabeth had under her care by then is not known. I’ve not found any

record of the girls’ names, baptisms/christenings or subsequent stories.

Elizabeth remained at Machiche for at least two years. On July 2, 1781 Elizabeth Phillips and Dorothy

Windecker, a neighbour from the Pennsylvania

Colony, had a local solicitor write a letter,

clearly addressed, as you can see, to “His

Excelency Governer Alderman” in Quebeck.

That their letter 23

successfully made it to

Governor Frederick Haldimand is evidenced by

it now being part of the marvelous and extensive

Haldimand Papers Collection at the National

Archives in Ottawa. Actually the papers

themselves still physically reside in Britain, so

one is only able to view and copy the sometimes

grainy and fuzzy microfilmed records:

fascinating material none the less.

I could speculate on how their petition came to

be misaddressed as it was, but that might

involve comments about solicitors in general,

embellished with observations about the

Quebecois’ linguistic difficulty with the letter ‘h’ being apparent even in 1781. Elizabeth and Dorothy

were likely illiterate and probably had German accents which may have been contributing factors as

well. Why can’t I get this image of the little lawyer from Shawinigan, out of my mind now?

Their memorial states that both their husbands are with Butler’s Rangers and are “laying at Niagara and

we at this place with our families”. It states that Elizabeth also has a boy with Sir John Johnson in the

King’s Royal Regiment of New York (KRRNY). Without getting too far ahead of myself, that would be

my ancestor Jacob Phillips who was eligible to enlist at 13 years of age. Their petition was that they be


11

permitted to go to Niagara and “draw provisions” there. It sounds to me like a good trade-off for the

governor to grant, but alas, I have not been able to find any response to their petition. There are records

of some families making the difficult and dangerous journey to Niagara but not specifically of Elizabeth.

By late 1781, most fighting was over and the terms of the peace settlement were being negotiated by

Benjamin Franklin and others in Paris, France, which had been an ally of the rebels since Burgoyne’s

defeat. Peace was formally declared with the Treaty of Paris in September 1783.

Nicholas and Elizabeth post bellum

Once again the British government in North America was caught ill prepared for the situation in which it

found itself. In 1783, about the time the treaty was signed, it appointed two commissioners “to enquire

into the Losses and Services of all such Persons who have suffered in their Rights, Properties and

Possessions during the late unhappy Dissentions in America, in consequence of their Loyalty to His

Majesty, and Attachment to the British Government . . .” 24

Few loyalists were aware of the Commission

in a timely manner so it received surprisingly few applications, but was renewed in 1785 and gathered

more petitions then. This commission moved only slightly faster than a glacier and was remarkably

callous in adjudicating the claims. They officially completed their work in 1790.

In negotiating the Paris Treaty, Britain insisted upon wording to the effect “that the American Congress

would earnestly recommend to each state that they restore seized property, redress grievances, and

permit loyalists to return home to live under the new jurisdiction.” Where ‘recommend’ in Britain was

interpreted by tradition as a royal command, the Americans ignored any such obligation entirely. In fact,

the American Congress didn’t even bother to tell the states of this ‘obligation’. In addition, many of the

new states had passed laws to confiscate the land and property of loyalists. Britain erroneously thought it

could be rid of the loyalists and their compensation claims. To its surprise, and dismay, Britain retained

responsibility for the welfare of tens of thousands of loyalist refugees.

In the past, Britain had rewarded primarily its officers with parcels of land and resettlement supplies.

Belatedly, it realized that it had to do something for thousands of Indians, civilians and non-

commissioned military veterans. In New Brunswick and Quebec there were large holdings of Crown

Land, but above the St Lawrence River, Britain had for 20 years agreed that all lands north of the Great

Lakes were Indian lands and would build no permanent settlements on them. As the war wound down, it

had been expected that the border would be a line across the State of New York, leaving land north of the

Mohawk River in British hands. It came as a shock to everyone when the final treaty set Lake Erie, the

Niagara River and Lake Ontario as the new border between the two countries. Britain didn’t have

sufficient land to give to loyalists and displaced Indians to get them off the provisioning rolls, particularly

around Niagara, where there were an estimated 7,500 loyalist natives and whites receiving assistance.

Over the previous years, a few persons of foresight had seen these issues coming and laid the groundwork

for their successful resolution.

Lieutenant Colonel John Butler had been busy several years earlier at Niagara. “On May 9, 1781, the

Mississauguas [Indian tribe] accepted 300 suits of clothing as payment for a four-mile strip along the

[west side of the] Niagara River from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie.” 25

This land was to be retained by the


12

Crown and farmed to help provision Fort Niagara. In other words, no permanent settlers were permitted,

in keeping with the ‘no settlements’ commitment by Britain to the Indians in 1764.

With the war coming to a conclusion, Governor Haldimand recognized that the relocation of the displaced

Six Nations Indians from New York and the awarding of land to military veterans were major issues to be

resolved. Initial plans were to relocate the Six Nations to land north of Quinte at the eastern end of Lake

Ontario. When that fell through, negotiations moved forward with the Mississauguas to acquire six miles

on either side of the Grand River on the north side of Lake Erie as territory for the Six Nations

Confederacy under Chief Joseph Brant. This treaty expanded into the May 22, 1784, acquisition of “the

Niagara peninsula, land close to the head of Lake Ontario and the north shore of Lake Erie as far west as

the mouth of Cat Fish Creek (81° west longitude) [south from present-day St Thomas]. It is an enormous

region, containing about 3 million acres, and now includes part of Lincoln, Wentworth, Brant, Oxford,

Middlesex and Welland counties. The cost to the British was 1,180.74 pounds currency in goods.” 25

The north shore of Lake Ontario, from the Trent River (Trenton) to the Etobicoke River (west of

Toronto), was purchased from the Mississauguas only in 1787 and 1788. Until this time, what would

become Toronto was a transient fur trading settlement. The Town of York (Toronto) was not officially

founded until 1793.

Thus vast tracts of land in Upper Canada were acquired, from the Indian tribes recognized as owning

them at the time, for settlement of displaced Indians and for distribution to soldiers and loyalists.

Surveyors were the first to enter to define boundaries, townships and counties, and then the deluge of

settlers could begin.

Another complicating factor in granting lands to loyalists around Lakes Ontario and Erie was the fact that,

during this time, this area was officially a western extension of Quebec, operating under the seigneurial

system, a remnant of feudal landholding as authorized by Britain. Pressure by early loyalist settlers,

particularly along the St Lawrence, resulted in Quebec being divided, in 1791, into Upper Canada –

meaning above the St Lawrence River – and Lower Canada, with Upper Canada subsequently embracing

the British legal system – thank goodness.

I’m proud of the fact that a number of ancestors on the other side of my family were loyalists as well,

settling west of Kingston, Ontario, around Napanee, Ernestown, Adolphustown and other places in

Lennox and Addington County. If they were some of the agitators for British common law, then I’m

doubly proud of them.

After the war, the footprints that Nicholas left on the landscape became fewer and more difficult to track,

especially 200+ years later. Tracing his activity during this time is complicated by the fact that Nicholas

senior and son Nicholas junior went their separate ways. Therefore, the records one encounters may not

distinguish between the two Nicholases, leaving room to confuse the two men and their families. Also,

many records show the head of the household (usually male) by name but the rest of the household as

‘female over 16’ or ‘male under 12’ or such, without associated names. This is somewhat like our

modern-day census records, which record the number of bathrooms and colour TVs, but will be near

useless for family historians and genealogists in the future.

When, where and how Nicholas and Elizabeth were reunited after the war is unknown.

Nicholas senior appears on a Victualing List (now there’s a word you don’t see every day!) at the Grand

River Landing and Chipaway (likely Chippawa) Creek in November, 1786, receiving three rations, for

one man, one male over 10 (possibly son Jacob) and one woman (probably Elizabeth).


13

Nicholas submitted his first claim for compensation in 1783, possibly around the time he was discharged

from Butler’s Rangers.11

This claim highlighted his initial imprisonment and his service with Butler’s

Rangers. His claim was for £804,18,9 sterling. This claim was settled 9 December 1787, for £184,0,0 –

less than a quarter of what he declared that he had lost. 26

Nicholas submitted a second claim 27

for compensation in August 1787. It focused more on his being a

landowner in Pennsylvania before the war and what kind of title he had to his land there, given the

conflict over titles between Pennsylvania and Connecticut. It reiterated the list of possessions lost, more

or less the same as before, and was endorsed by Philip Buck, his neighbour on the Susquehanna and

fellow prisoner-of-war. Whether this claim was submitted to elaborate upon the claim already in place or

was an attempt to establish a baseline for future compensation from the United States is not apparent. I

have not been able to find any further references to this second claim.

What is significant about this second claim is that Nicholas identified himself as a resident of New York,

even though he submitted the claim to the British governor and it became part of the Haldimand Papers.

With Britain dragging its feet on compensating the loyalists and settling their claims, and delays in

releasing newly surveyed land in Upper Canada, many veterans settled unto land around Fort Niagara, on

the ‘American’ side of the river where the restrictions on permanent settlement didn’t apply. Seventy

miles to the east, along the south shore of Lake Ontario, the Genesee River system offered fertile land for

settlement along its valleys. This frontier area was still quite isolated from the rest of New York and was

essentially unchanged from before the war, never having been fully in rebel hands during the war. In fact,

Fort Niagara was not officially relinquished to the Americans until 1796.

At approximately 57 years of age, Nicholas was justifiably tired of waiting on British assistance. It

appears he used his settlement money to try to re-establish his life in New York.

A census of Ontario County, NY, southeast of

present day Rochester, along the Genesee River

system, was taken in 1790 with these entries:

1. Free white males of 16 years and upward

including heads of families

2. Free white males under 16 years

3. Free white females including heads of

families

4. All other free persons

5. Slaves

Nicholas Phillips 2 0 2 0 0

Jacob Phillips 1 1 1 0 0

Who are these people with Nicholas? We don’t

know whether his wife, Elizabeth, was still alive in

1790 or not. It could be one or more of the younger

‘daughters’ listed at Machiche eleven years earlier,

perhaps with a son-in-law. Or it could be non-family

roomers paying rent. Welcome to the frustrations of genealogy research – we just don’t know who the

two women and the other man with Nicholas were.

The best guess for Jacob, living right next door, is that he was married by then – he would be 23 – with a

wife and son. This story will be continued in the next chapter.


14

I’m glad to see neither of them had any slaves.

Nicholas never did receive any land from the Crown as compensation for his service and the loss of his

property in Pennsylvania.

Realizing the importance of some type of recognition, on 9 November 1789, Lord Dorchester, the

governor of Quebec and Governor General of British North America, declared "that it was his Wish to put

the mark of Honour upon the Families who had adhered to the Unity of the Empire." As a result of

Dorchester's declaration, the printed militia rolls carried the notation: "Those Loyalists who have adhered

to the Unity of the Empire, and joined the Royal Standard before the Treaty of Separation in the year

1783, and all their Children and their Descendants by either sex, are to be distinguished by the following

Capitals, affixed to their names: U.E. Alluding to their great principle The Unity of the Empire."

Recognition of the U. E. Loyalists six years after the end of the war is better than not at all, I suppose.

Two hundred years later it would take Canada almost 50 years to recognize the wartime valour of its

Merchant Marines. King Solomon was correct, 3,000 years ago, when he wrote ‘What has been is what

will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes

1:9 (ESV)

Years later, Nicholas junior petitioned to have his father’s name added to the U.E. list, but it was not

granted because he had not remained in the Province. 28

However, Nicholas junior and his siblings were

awarded land as if Nicholas senior had been recognized as U.E. In this petition it is also noted that

Nicholas senior died soon after he went to the Genesee Valley in 1789.

The commitment to carry on the recognition of the contribution of the Loyalists continues to this day, and

descendants can still apply to have the privilege to append U.E. to one’s name.

Jacob Phillips – the elder, private in KRRNY

We’ve already been introduced to Jacob Phillips, the third son of Nicholas and Elizabeth. He was just a

lad at home when his father and two older brothers enlisted as privates in Butler’s Rangers and were

subsequently captured and imprisoned by the Rebels. He fled with his mother and sisters in 1778 to

Niagara and then made the dangerous trip along Lake Ontario and down the St Lawrence to live in

terrible conditions at the Machiche refugee camp for at least a year.

When he attained 13 years of age he was officially an adult and would be dropped from his mother’s

ration allotment at Machiche. With essentially no other options at hand, he enlisted with the Kings Royal

Regiment of New York (KRRNY), on May 2, 1780. 29

This regiment of Sir John Johnson was based in

La Chine (Montreal), 75 miles up the St Lawrence River from the refugee camp in Machiche. Jacob

appears to have enlisted with the second battalion of the KRRNY when it was formed July 13, 1780,

authorized at 530 privates, 30

and remained with them until they were disbanded June 24, 1784.

A testimonial for Jacob after the war stated he had been a servant to Captain Singleton.31

Captain George

Singleton commanded the 2nd

battalion Light Infantry, populated by “athletic young men . . . chosen for

duty in this tactically flexible, rapid response company. In 1782, all of the 1st battalion Lights were

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Dorchester

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor-General

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Standard


15

shorter than 5’9” and most were between 20 to 30-years old with none over 35”. 32

It would be

reasonable to assume the 2nd

battalion had a similar profile. Although Jacob was a servant to the Captain,

he may have been selected because he fit the company’s profile, being only 5’4” tall. Captain Singleton

was with the 2nd

battalion from 1780 to the end of the war as well, but we have no way of telling how

long Jacob served him.

Throughout 1779, at George Washington’s orders, 18

Major General John Sullivan and Brigadier General

James Clinton had been devastatingly successful in the scorched earth campaign known as the Sullivan-

Clinton Expedition across central New York, which demolished 40 Indian villages, destroyed their vital

stores and created thousands of demoralized refugees dependant on British assistance. 33

In retaliation, in the fall of 1780, Sir John Johnson and his troops “ascended the St. Lawrence to Lake

Ontario, and Oswego, and from this point crossed the country to the Susquehanna River, where they were

joined by a large party of Tories and Indians under the famous warrior, Joseph Brant, who had marched

from Niagara to join Johnson at this place.” 34

They proceeded to ravage the villages and forts along the

Mohawk Valley and particularly around Schoharie, NY, October 17-19. This was the very area where

Jacob had been born, only 13 years earlier. It is quite possible that young Jacob was one of the soldiers in

this campaign. The impact of being in the midst of this carnage, with upwards of 75 soldiers and settlers

killed and widespread devastation would have been immense and possibly affected Jacob the rest of his

life.

Destroying the crops and storehouses across central New York State resulted in starvation and death for

many persons and animals over the ensuing winter and denied vital supplies to the rest of the

Revolutionary Army to the south. Sir John Johnson wrote “The crops at Schohary [sic] and the Mohawk

River were never known to be so great and so little had been sent to Market and every grain destroyed for

near 50 miles, it is thought that the Enemy’s Loss at a moderate computation cannot be less than 600,000

bushels of grain.” 35

It was similar activity in Europe that had caused the forefathers of many of these poor people to flee the

Palatine 70 years earlier. Many of them must have wondered ‘where do we go next?’

A year later, in October 1781, “from Carleton Island [in the St Lawrence River at the east end of Lake

Ontario] [Major John] Ross took with him 150 of the best men and most of the combatant officers of the

second battalion of Johnson’s regiment . . .” 36

plus others, along with troops from Niagara, to commence

another raid into the Mohawk valley. If Jacob was among ‘the best men’ of the 2nd

battalion, this would

be his second incursion into his ‘homeland’ to seek to destroy the resources there. The expedition was

deemed a success although Ross’ troops were hampered by bad weather and ended up in a premature

retreat. They earned the grudging respect of the rebel commander, Colonel Marinus Willet, who wrote

“Although they had been four days in the wilderness . . . with only a half pound of horseflesh per man, yet

they ran thirty miles in their famished condition before they stopped.” 37

This three week incursion, now known as the Battle of Johnstown, took the lives of a number of men on

both sides including Captain Walter Butler on October 30th, son of Lieutenant Colonel John Butler.

Jacob’s father, Nicholas, and his brothers were all listed as members of Walter Butler’s Company of

Butler’s Rangers while they were POWs in Connecticut. 38

If the two Nicholases returned to this

company after their furlough following their escape from jail in November 1780, it is conceivable that

they were combatants in this expedition along with Jacob. How did 14-year-old Jacob cope with possibly

meeting family members he had not seen in 4 years, in the midst of this carnage?

A record from May 5, 1782, shows that Jacob was sick in Montreal on that date. 29

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sullivan_(general)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Clinton


16

Two months later, Captain Singleton’s journal provides a detailed account of one of the last raids into the

Mohawk Valley. Forty-three men under Singleton and 460 Indians under Captain Joseph Brant from

Niagara managed to kill 8 or 9 rebels and rustle 224 head of cattle. Singleton was pleased to bring 25

cattle and all his men safely back to Oswego, from whence the venture began. 39

Whether Jacob had

recovered in time for this final search-and-destroy excursion is not known.

By April 1783 both sides had declared a cessation of arms and proclaimed a general peace.

That same month, perhaps out of boredom, Major John Ross prepared “A Roll of the Age, Size, Country

and time of Service of the Sergeants, Corporals, Drummers and Privates of the 2nd

Battalion, Kings Royal

Regiment, New York” 40

for delivery to his superiors in Quebec. In it is listed private Jacob Phillips, age

16, 5’ 4” tall (163 cm for my younger readers), born in America, served 3 years.

By June 1, 1783, “[t]he whole of the second battalion composed of thirty officers and 434 other ranks,

excluding those who were prisoners of war, were stationed at Oswego and Carleton Island.” 41

As it became apparent that Oswego and Carleton Island would soon be surrendered to the United States,

Major Ross was ordered to repair and rebuild Fort Frontenac at Cataraqui (now Kingston, Ontario) to be

defensible and ready to act as a military garrison. This was done by a force of 25 officers and 422 men,

which must have included Jacob, and continued into 1784.

With the war over, the KRRNY 1st Battalion was disbanded 24 December 1783, with many troops

receiving land along the St Lawrence around Cornwall and the 2nd

Battalion was disbanded 24 June 1784

with its troops receiving land mostly in the Lennox & Addington County area west of Kingston. Jacob

was a war veteran at the ripe old age of 17, but did not receive any land grant at this time. We don’t know

when he was reunited with his parents. He may have been the ‘male over 10’ with his father at the Grand

River in November 1786.

Jacob Phillips – the elder, civilian

As noted earlier, Jacob, apparently with wife and son, were next-door neighbours to his father in the

Genesee Valley, in upstate New York, in 1790.

Many records show that Jacob’s wife was Maria (anglicised as Mary). But no record exists of their

marriage, so researchers are uncertain of her maiden name. Genealogists must resort to examining who

were neighbours to the Phillips during that time, and whether anyone had a daughter named Maria – a

genealogical rendition of ‘how do you solve a problem like Maria?’

Many researchers and published family trees indicate my Jacob Phillips was married to Maria Bess

Ostrander. However, I believe this is a different Jacob Phillips who remained in the United States and

never came to Canada. Unfortunately, these researchers sometimes blend the children of the two families

as well, adding to the confusion.

I believe ‘my’ Jacob Phillips married Maria Devins. Some of the evidence to support this is scattered in

the following paragraphs.


17

In the same Ontario County NY 1790 census (noted earlier), the neighbour on the other side of Jacob’s

father was Abraham Devons 3 2 2 0 0 – likely the older half brother of Maria along with other family

members. If you haven’t noticed by now, spelling consistency was not a priority in this era, so Devons or

Devins or Devans is relatively unimportant in the records.

In April 1793, Jacob Phillips and several of his neighbours from the Genesee Valley, including Abraham

and Isaac Devins, moved their household effects from the United States into Upper Canada. 42

They

likely crossed at the mouth of the Niagara River, and cleared British customs at Newark (Niagara-on-the-

Lake today), Upper Canada’s temporary capital at this time.

Very soon thereafter, they sailed by schooner across Lake Ontario to the Town of York. The Town of

York (later to become Toronto) was officially founded this very same year – 1793, and became the capital

of Upper Canada in 1796. Sailing was the only option since no road existed between the Town of York

and Newark on the Niagara peninsula.

“In my opinion the three Devins families, Nicholas Miller, Jacob Philipps [sic] and probably Asa

Johnson’s very large family, were the first inhabitants on the east bank of the Humber [River], a short

distance north of the King’s sawmill, which was situated across the river on the west or Etobicoke side of

the river. This quite numerous group of people at ‘Humber Falls’ constituted the ‘settlement of Germans

and Pennsylvanians’ which existed on January 19th, 1794, seven miles distant from the garrison [at York],

as reported by Mrs. Simcoe. The settlement contained already ‘some’ comfortable log houses.” 43

So my ancestors were German Palatine immigrants, who helped found Toronto.

King’s Mill was built by the army under Lieutenant Governor Simcoe’s command to provide lumber to

build York. Its location is now known as the Old Mill, with its own Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)

subway station and a well known restaurant and inn, on Bloor Street, west of Jane Street in Toronto.

One cannot mention the founding of York without mentioning William Berczy, often called the co-

founder of the Town of York. This colourful character was a painter, architect, author and colonizer born

in Germany in 1744. He led a contingent of over 200 immigrants from Germany to a new colony in the

Genesee Valley in 1791. When the development plans fell apart there, he negotiated with Lieutenant

Governor Simcoe to acquire land in Markham Township to establish his new colony there. He committed

his group to building Yonge Street in one year, from the Town of York to Lake Simcoe, in exchange for

the land. Work commenced in September 1794 and he did succeed in opening the right-of-way and

building a rudimentary road as far as Holland River the first year, as well as a number of projects for his

colonists in Markham, such as mills and storehouses. Ultimately, he floundered in his grandiose plans

and they crumbled in acrimony. However, the City of Markham today has schools and parks and other

memorials in place to honour William Berczy.

As early as October 1794, and continuing into 1795, Jacob Phillips with Isaac and Levi Devins, among

others, were paid by Berczy for their services as axemen working to clear old-growth forest to carve out

the right-of-way for Yonge Street. Money was scarce then, so it would have been very valuable to have

work paid in cash, beyond bartering labour for flour, salt and other goods. Living on the frontier meant

most supplies had to be imported from elsewhere, making everything expensive, like living in Inuvik

today.

So my ancestors were German Palatine immigrants, who helped found Toronto and also helped build

Yonge Street.


18

To obtain ownership of new land from the Crown required several steps with associated fees and waiting

periods. First, one had to petition the Crown for the land he (or she) wanted. When he was successful in

that, he would be issued a land grant so that he could officially become a settler. When he took up

residence on the land and fulfilled certain settlement duties he could apply for a patent to the land. When

that was registered, he would finally become the official owner of the land.

A list of persons obtaining Patent to land in the year 1796 in the Township of York 44

in the County of

York includes Jacob Phillips, John Graves Simcoe (the governor), Abraham Devens, Isaac Devens, Levi

Devens and Benjamin Davis (Jacob’s brother-in-law).

This map is from 1885, well after the whole of York County had been surveyed. When Jacob first

arrived, the survey of Vaughan and Markham Townships had barely started.

If you need convincing

this really was the

primitive frontier, consider

this fact. In 1798, the

town of York, plus York

Township, Etobicoke Twp.

(to the west) and

Scarborough Twp. (to the

east) COMBINED had a

total population of 749

persons 45

– not just heads

of households. In

enormous contrast, the

City of Toronto (roughly

the same land area) in

2016 had a population of

2.8 million persons and the

Greater Toronto Area

(GTA) had a population of

6.4 million persons.

As a veteran, Jacob had a

right to acquire land in his

own name. However, in

1797 he petitioned for land

as the son of Nicholas. 46

Only two months later

(amazing!) he was granted

300 acres – Lot 6 and the

east ½ of Lot 7 in the 7th

Concession of Vaughan

Township, York County.

In 1802 Jacob Phillips was

included in a list of

persons 47

obtaining

Patent to land that year in

Vaughan Township, County of York. Also on the list is another person who moved from the Genesee


19

Valley with him 9 years earlier, Nicholas Miller, along with his sister, Eliza Davis. The next year “Jacob

Phillips of the Township of Etobicoke” sold this land in a transaction witnessed by Levi Devins. With

this sale, Jacob turned the land obtained through his father’s loyalist service into cash, and continued to

live in Etobicoke Township.

As far as I can tell, in 1813 Jacob and Maria were still living on their farm in Etobicoke Township. None

of their 10 children were married yet, so all of them were likely still at home as well. On April 27th that

year, sixteen ships of the U.S. Navy and 1,700 soldiers attacked York. They initially landed the troops

three miles to the west of the garrison at Fort York, which would place them roughly at the mouth of the

Humber River in Etobicoke. From there they proceeded eastward, fighting on land and firing from ships

off shore. Both sides suffered substantial casualties: the British from an accidental magazine explosion

early in the encounter and the Americans when the main magazine at the fort was intentionally booby

trapped by the retreating British General, Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe, who fled to Kingston.

Substantial looting and arson ensued for six days before the Americans retreated. The Americans came

back and did more damage in July, pillaging more supplies before leaving. There’s no record of whether

any of this action directly affected Jacob and his family, but they likely were more than just spectators to

this battle in the War of 1812, which lasted until February 1815.

By the way, in 1814 British troops attacked and burned down the American capital in Washington in

retaliation for their attack on York. Way to go lads!

Fear of subsequent retaliation from the Americans would cause out-of-the-way, backwoods, Bytown

(Ottawa) to be chosen as the capital of Canada at Confederation, primarily because it was further from

the U.S. border than any other settlement at the time. I guess that’s as good an excuse as any for Ottawa

being Canada’s capital.

Scandal struck in October 1817 when Jacob and Maria’s eldest daughter Margaret (Peggy) was re-married

in the Anglican Church in York to Jonas Christner. Apparently they had been married two years earlier

by a Methodist preacher, which marriage was not legal for some reason. Levi Devins came to her rescue

when he stated that he had known Margaret Phillips of Etobicoke for twenty years, (which essentially

meant her whole life) and that she was never married otherwise than to Jonas Christner. 48

Daughters of U.E. Loyalists were eligible to petition for land when they turned 21 or married, so Margaret

now petitioned for land as the daughter of Jacob Phillips, U.E. This petition was turned down because her

father was not on the U.E. Loyalist list!

For reasons unknown, it appears Jacob did essentially nothing about this situation for the next 18 years.

Finally, in February 1836 Jacob petitioned to have his name put on the list of U.E. Loyalists. This initial

petition was “Not recommended – Proof insufficient”. After several written exchanges he was finally

recommended and “entered in the U.E. List in the Executive Council Office 20th December 1836.” By

this time Jacob was 69 years old!

I particularly like one of the supporting documents that Jacob produced going through this process.

I hereby certify that I have known old Jacob Phillips of the Humber for twenty five years.

- that 12 or 14 years since I advised Phillips to apply to the late Dr. Kerr of Niagara for a certificate of his

having served with him during the revolutionary war;

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/article/sir-roger-hale-sheaffe/


20

- that he did obtain a certificate to that purport which was appended to his petition, written by myself, to be

placed on the U. E. List;

- that owing to Phillips having drank too much when he was called before the Hon. Executive Council he

was desired to come another day when he was sober as the Hon. James Baby informed me, which I believe

he has ever since neglected to do.

Some months ago I applied at the U. E. Office for Phillips' papers but no trace of them could be found.

The old fellow when sober is a man of great veracity.

J. Scarlett

Toronto 19 November, 1835

With a ringing endorsement like that, from a leading business entrepreneur, how could Jacob be refused?

The Dr. Kerr referenced above was the KRRNY regimental physician who likely treated Jacob over 50

years earlier when he was a 15-year-old boy in the infirmary in Lachine in 1782.

In January 1837, Jacob was finally “recommended for 200 acres as a U.E. Loyalist” in his own right.

This recognition opened the floodgates for all but one of his adult children to successfully apply for their

200 acres of Crown Land as children of a U.E. Loyalist – eight grants in 1837 and one in 1838.

Unfortunately I have not been able to determine where any of these land parcels were located. It appears

Jacob and his children sold their land as soon as they obtained title (patent) to it.

So my ancestors were German Palatine immigrants, who

helped found Toronto, helped build Yonge Street and

were belatedly recognized as United Empire Loyalists.

It is likely that my Jacob was the Jacob Phillips who was

buried December 3, 1850, in the cemetery of St George’s

Church, Etobicoke, (Anglican) by Rev. H. C. Cooper.

He would have been 83 years old, though the register

notes his age as 102. This church still exists today as St

George’s-on-the-Hill, Etobicoke, Ontario.

His grandson, Henry Phillips, was of the understanding

his grandfather died at age 104, as reported in Henry’s

obituary in 1911. 49

Perhaps this number came from the

same source the clergyman used in 1850.

It is not known where Jacob is buried if 1870 or so is

indeed the year he died. Henry’s obituary also stated

incorrectly the ages of both his parents when they died,

making his record, or the journalist reporting it,

somewhat suspect.

The flurry of U. E. land applications in 1837 and 1838

certainly confirms who the children of Jacob and Maria were, and they are shown in Appendix B.

My lineage follows from their second child, Jacob, born in 1794, who became known as Jacob of

Etobicoke in many documents.


21

Jacob Phillips – the younger, of Etobicoke

Jacob the younger of Etobicoke married a German-American girl by the name of Sarah Kaake, about

1815, and was married to her for over 60 years. They had 10 children, all born in Upper Canada, likely

Etobicoke, between 1816 and 1835.

The Town of York became the City of Toronto in 1834. Its population on June 2 of that year was 9,252

persons, over twelve times greater than what it was 36 years earlier.

During these years other Phillips families immigrated to this growing frontier town. As well, Dutch,

German and families of other nationalities anglicised their surnames to Phillips. For example, the

Phillipsen who were part of the Berczy colony became known as Phillips. This influx of Phillips families,

and not a few with the Christian name Jacob, adds to the potential for confusion in doing family research.

Immediately after his father finally had his name added to the U.E. List in January 1837, Jacob Jr. (along

with his siblings) applied for his land entitlement as the son of a U. E. Loyalist. Perhaps the fact that

neither he nor his father could read or write, combined with a complicated and expensive application

process with associated fees, along with the necessity of retaining a solicitor/scribe had intimidated them

for 20 years. Regardless of the reasons for the delay, everything moved quickly once he applied

February 20th, 1837.

50 He and his father attended a General Quarter Sessions in Toronto on February 23

rd

to make sworn statements and his petition was approved March 9th.

51 Implied in his petition is that he

had already arranged to sell the land to J. B. Spragge of Toronto and likely never took possession of it.

These documents link Jacob Senior, of Etobicoke, with Jacob Junior through the personal testimony of

the magistrate who knew them both.

Britain conducted its first ever census in 1841 and its Province of Canada followed suit with its first

census of Canada East and Canada West ten years later. Not surprisingly, there were some start-up

problems with the 1851 Census which resulted in the enumeration actually occurring in January of 1852.

Here is Jacob-the-younger’s entry in the Township of Etobicoke, County of York, Canada West.


22

This shows Jacob and Sarah with only their three youngest children – John, Solomon and Sarah – still at

home. Next door, or perhaps under the same roof, was one of their sons, Jacob III, with his wife, Mary

(D’Arcy, born in Ireland) and grandson, Edward.

By the way, this Jacob III lived a long life, being interviewed by the Brampton, Ontario, newspaper in

1923 on the supposed occasion of his 101st birthday. I say ‘supposed’ because records indicate when he

died later that year he was ‘only’ 95. Quite an accomplishment regardless.

Some researchers have published erroneous family trees in which they combine other Jacob Phillips

families into one, assuming the death of one wife and subsequent remarriage with blended families.

Really quite imaginative in some cases and thoroughly modern as well, I suppose – but not correct

according to my research.

I am confident of who most of the other children of Jacob and Sarah are because of a somewhat peculiar

source of genealogy research – a will probated in 1907.

Jacob and Sarah’s forth child, Andrew, married Barbara Castator around 1840. Andrew died before he

was 60, in 1876, leaving a will that named his wife and older brother, James, as executrix and executor.

However, both of them refused to act in their capacities. Barbara continued to live on the farm another 27

years until her death in 1903. James passed away in 1906. Son Louis had moved away 45 years earlier

and could not be located. So the courts turned to the family to probate Andrew’s estate in 1907. Another

brother, Henry, got involved and made the declaration “that the only heir-at-law of the said Andrew

Phillips, deceased, are three brothers, namely me this deposed, Jacob Phillips and Solomon Phillips and I

am the eldest of the said three brothers.” 52

This is what I call a Rosetta stone or one of my ‘nuggets’ when I find something like this in my family

research. A single document establishes that James, Andrew, Henry, Jacob and Solomon were brothers,

(and the census record above adds another brother, John) refuting the speculative reporting that suggests

they were the sons of other Jacob Phillips families around southern Ontario. I love it when the pieces

come together! Genealogists get excited over peculiar things, I suppose.

A paper by fellow researcher and fourth cousin, David C. Phillips, “The Family of Jacob Phillips and

Sarah “Sally” Kaake of Etobicoke: an Overview” published in the August 2012 edition of Families and

also online at Ancestry.ca corresponds to my list of their children. Unfortunately, both these sources

require subscriptions to view his paper. Alternatively, you can ask me for a copy of his report.

Did Jacob and Sarah celebrate the Confederation of the Dominion of Canada in 1867? The immediate

impact upon them would have been very slight, for the new Dominion of Canada had no income taxes.

This was intentional, in order to make the new country more attractive to immigrants from the United

Kingdom and the United States. Fifty-one years later, temporary income taxes were introduced to

address the First World War debt – and we all know how it went from there.

Another change in their lifetimes was the legal requirement to register births, marriages and deaths

(BMD) which began in 1869. Unfortunately, it seems that some Phillips at this and later times have

behaved as if the BMD registrations were optional. I have found, or should I say, not found, that many

BMD records are missing as I have researched the Phillips lines – very unfortunate.

We know that Sarah died 18 May 1884, at age 90, and is buried in the Albion Presbyterian Cemetery in

Bolton, Ontario. There is no death record for Jacob the younger, of Etobicoke. Family records indicate

he died in 1879 at age 85. We do not know where he is buried.


23

Succeeding Generations

I’m afraid it all becomes somewhat routine in the following generations. Persons are born, grow up, fall

in love, get married, have children, (usually in that order), live fulfilling lives for the most part and pass

on. After the excitement of my 5g-grandfather, Nicholas, and his son Jacob, perhaps that’s not

necessarily a bad thing, and probably a good reflection on improvements in our society. The succeeding

generations have been witness to momentous events of a different nature where perhaps some other scribe

will document our Phillips’ involvement.

What becomes apparent is that the family has not been particularly intentional about capturing its history.

When the Canadian census over the years has had a question regarding national origin, the Phillips’

responses that I have found, have variously been German, Dutch, English or Irish, but never Welsh. And

the religious affiliation has been highly varied as well, from Primitive Methodist to Wesleyan Methodist

to Plymouth Brethren to Congregationalist to Church of England, to Presbyterian, despite the fact that the

first three generations in America were Lutheran.

To complete my lineage, Henry Phillips, he of the probate will story earlier, married Ann Thorne and had

five children, as shown in Appendix D.

Their son, Philip Charles Phillips, married three times having seven sons with his first wife, Mary Anne

Manners, and four daughters with his second wife, widow Harriett Saxby Light, nee Moore – with only

one birth registration for any of his eleven children, that I’ve been able to find! He went by ‘Philip’ in his

first marriage and ‘Charles’ in his second marriage, further assuring confusion for researchers a century

later.

I never met his son, Thomas Vader Phillips, my grandfather, since he died before I was born. His ten

children provided me with one brother and 30 first cousins to delight my life.

Acknowledgements

There are a great number of persons I’ve encountered, mostly on the internet and occasionally in person,

who have aided me immensely in my Phillips family research over the past 25+ years. Unfortunately,

they are too numerous to try to name here, and there’s a real risk I’d forget someone if I tried to list them,

but I greatly appreciate their patience and assistance.

I’ve also had the privilege to find and meet a number of more distant Phillips relatives who have

graciously received this peculiar nth cousin and provided family information and photographs. These

have been ‘nugget’ experiences for me.

Please visit http://legacyfamilyphots.altervista.org for further information, or feel free to contact me.

Bruce Pitts U.E.

[email protected]

January 2019

http://legacyfamilyphots.altervista.org/

mailto:[email protected]


24

Appendix A – Descendants of Nicholas Phillips

Nicholas Phillips b: abt 1732-Germantown, New York, USA d: aft 1790-Genesee, New York, USA

+ Elizabeth (possibly Dagstetter or Dochstater)

Elizabeth Phillips b: 22 Mar 1755-Stone Arabia, New York, USA

Nicholas Phillips b: 1756-likely Stone Arabia, New York, USA

John Phillips b: bef 1762-likely Stone Arabia, New York, USA

Margaret Phillips b: abt 1764-likely Stone Arabia, New York, USA

Jacob Phillips b: 1767-Corry’s Bush, New York, USA d: 3 Dec 1850-York County, Upper Canada

Daughter 3 Phillips? b: abt 1775-Wyoming, Pennsylvania, USA

Daughter 4 Phillips? b: abt 1776-Wyoming, Pennsylvania, USA


25

Appendix B – Descendants of Jacob Phillips – the elder

Jacob Phillips b: 1767-Corry’s Bush, New York, USA d: 3 Dec 1850-York County, Upper Canada

+ Maria Devins b: m: ca 1789

John Phillips b: 1790-New York, United States

Jacob Phillips b: 1794-Upper Canada d: 1879-Upper Canada

Margaret (Peggy) Phillips b: ca 1797-Upper Canada

Simeon Phillips b: ca 1802-Upper Canada

David Phillips b: 11 Feb 1804-Upper Canada

Elizabeth (Betsy) Phillips b: ca 1806-Upper Canada

Eli (Elias) Phillips b: 1807-York, Upper Canada

William Phillips b: 24 Feb 1807-York County, Upper Canada

Levi Phillips b: 1808-York, Upper Canada

Ann Phillips b: ca 1810-Upper Canada


26

Appendix C – Descendants of Jacob Phillips – the younger,

of Etobicoke

bu: Caledon, Ontario, Canada

Jacob Phillips b: 1794-York County, Upper Canada d: 1879-York Co., Ontario, Canada

+ Sarah (Sally) Kaake b: 1794-Pennsylvania, USA d: 18 May 1884-Peel Co., Ontario, Canada

Eliza Phillips b: abt 1816-York Co., Upper Canada d: 6 Jul 1882-Muskoka, Ontario

James Phillips b: 4 May 1819-York Co., Upper Canada d: 8 Nov 1906-Orillia, Ontario, Canada

Henry Phillips b: 9 Mar 1821-York Co., Upper Canada d: 28 May 1911-Beeton, Ontario, Canada

Andrew Phillips b: 1822-York Co., Upper Canada d: Sep 1876-Simcoe Co., Ontario, Canada

Abraham Phillips b: 1823-York Co., Upper Canada d: 19 Jun 1897-Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada

Jonas Phillips b: abt 1825/1826-York Co., Upper Canada

Jacob Phillips b: Jan 1828-York Co., Upper Canada d: 20 Mar 1923-Brampton, Ontario, Canada

John Phillips b: 1830-Etobicoke Twp., York Co., Upper Canada d: 21 Nov 1895-Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada

Solomon Phillips b: 1832-York Co., Upper Canada d: 12 Apr 1921-Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Sarah Phillips b: 1835-York County, Upper Canada d: bef 15 May 1891, Simcoe Co., Ontario, Canada


27

Appendix D – Descendants of Henry Phillips

Henry Phillips b: 9 Mar 1821-York Co., Upper Canada d: 28 May 1911-Beeton, Ontario, Canada

+ Ann Thorne b: 10 Jan 1821-England m: abt 1841 d: 31 Mar 1914-Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Warren Phillips b: 9 Jan 1842-Tecumseth, Canada West d: 10 Sep 1921-British Columbia, Canada

Philip Charles Phillips b: 10 Jun 1844-Burford, Canada West d: 21 May 1929-Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Emily (Lydia) Phillips b: 24 Feb 1849-Simcoe Co., Canada West d: 27 Nov 1924-Viscount, Saskatchewan, Canada

Jemima Phillips b: 22 Apr 1852-Canada West d: 12 Feb 1934-York Co., Ontario, Canada

William R (Thomas?) Phillips b: 5 Aug 1863-Canada West


28

Appendix E – Descendants of Philip Charles Phillips

Philip Charles Phillips b: 10 Jun 1844-Burford, Canada West d: 21 May 1929-Toronto, Ontario, Canada

+ Mary Anne Manners b: 1845-East Gwillimbury Twp., York Co., Canada West m: 8 Oct 1864-Newmarket, Canada West d: bef 1882-Ontario, Canada

John Henry (HARRY) Phillips b: 26 Nov 1866-Canada West d: 8 Aug 1954-Falkland, British Columbia, Canada

William (WILL) Addison Phillips b: 18 Jan 1870-Ontario, Canada d: 17 Dec 1951-Brandon, Manitoba, Canada

Isaac Phillips b: abt 1871-Ontario, Canada

THOMAS Vader Phillips b: 24 May 1873-Beeton, Ontario, Canada d: 25 Mar 1939-Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Frederick (Fred) Phillips b: abt 1876-Ontario, Canada

Archibald (Archie) Phillips b: 10 Oct 1879-Ontario, Canada

Mark Phillips b: 15 Nov 1880-Ontario, Canada d: 28 May 1939-North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada

+ Harriet Saxby Moore b: 14 Feb 1848-Woolwich, Kent, England m: 8 Jun 1882-Toronto, Ontario, Canada d: 7 Jan 1912-Inglewood, Ontario, Canada

Florence L. Phillips b: 13 May 1884-Tecumseth, Ontario, Canada d: Mar 1974-East Amherst, Erie, New York, USA

Eva Jane Phillips b: 13 Aug 1885-District of Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada d: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Victoria Ann Phillips b: 12 May 1888-Innisfil, Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada d: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Ethel Phillips b: 8 Mar 1894-Ontario, Canada


29

Endnotes

1 Otterness, Philip, “The 1709 Palatine Migration and the Formation of German Immigrant Identity in London and

New York.” Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, vol. 66, 1999, pp. 8–23. JSTOR, JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/27774234.

2 Powell, William S. and Collins, Donald E. Encyclopedia of North Carolina, “Swiss and Palatine Settlers”

https://www.ncpedia.org/swiss-and-palatine-settlers 3 Knittle, Walter Allen, Ph.D. Three Rivers - Hudson~Mohawk~Schoharie - History From America's Most Famous

Valleys: Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration - A British Government Redemptioner Project to

Manufacture Naval Stores, Department of History, College of the City of New York, Published Philadelphia, 1937;

http://threerivershms.com/knittle.htm

4 ProGenealogists, Palatine Project: The Palatine Project is an ongoing effort, using sources from German speaking

countries as well as early colonial American sources, to annotate and/or reconstruct the passenger lists of Germans

who came to America in the first large wave of emigration in the 18th century.

https://web.archive.org/web/20120524084449/http://www.progenealogists.com/palproject/ny/1710third.htm

Also Jones, Henry, Z.” The Palatine Families of New York” a Study of the German Immigrants who arrived in

Colonial New York in 1710, pages 729-730

Also Simmendinger Register which shows Philipp, Peter, wife Magdalena & 5 children at Quunsberg (Germantown

NY) in 1717 5 https://biography.elvis.com.au/elvis-presley-family-history.shtml

6 Jones, Henry, Z.” The Palatine Families of New York” a Study of the German Immigrants who arrived in Colonial

New York in 1710, page 730. “He m[arrie]d. as a resident of Queensbery 15 Nov 1726 Christina, d/o Peter Funck

(Linlithgo Ref. Ch[urch]bk.)”

7 Ibid, page 730

8 Halsey, Francis W. A tour of four great rivers: the Hudson, Mohawk, Susquehanna and Delaware in l769; being

the journal of Richard Smith of Burlington, New Jersey; Edited with a short history of the pioneer settlements,

published by Charles Scribner’s Son, New York, (1906)

9 The Ontario Register, Volume 1, Wintermute: a Loyalist Family, Page 25 “[Wintermute] and his family, with the

exception of the older sons Leonard and George, removed to the Wyoming valley in Pennsylvania about 1772.

About 14 Sept of that year, Nicholas Phillips “of the Susquehanna Purchase” sold to Phillip Wintermote “of

Mountien Township” in the county of Sussex, New Jersey, [i.e. Montague Township ?] 116 acres north of

Kingstown on the Susquehanna River.”

10

Corbly, Don. Pennsylvania Land Wars with Connecticut and Virginia, Printed and published by Lulu Press,

Raleigh, NC, ISBN 978-I-304-09266-3

11 Haldimand Papers A013/15/118-119 Reel B2188, also A012/27/401 Reel B1161

To the Honorable Commissioners appointed by Act of Parliament for enquiring into the Losses and Services of the

American Loyalists.

The Memorial of Nicholas Philips, New York

Humbly sheweth that he has ever been a loyal subject to the King of England and will live and die with that honor.

https://www.uncpress.org/author/william-s-powell

https://www.ncpedia.org/swiss-and-palatine-settlers

http://threerivershms.com/knittle.htm

https://web.archive.org/web/20120524084449/http:/www.progenealogists.com/palproject/ny/1710third.htm

https://biography.elvis.com.au/elvis-presley-family-history.shtml


30

In the beginning of the Troubles in America in 1774 your Memorialist opposed the Rebellion and was seized and

thrown into jail by the Rebels for his loyalty. He was moved from jail to jail for about eighteen months, then sent to

Hartford Jail in Connecticut, it being the fifth and your Memorialist expected it to be his last prison before his death;

but he had the good fortune to escape Hartford Jail in 1777 and joined Colonel Butler’s Rangers a private soldier &

has since served in that Corps against the Rebels

Your Memorialist many years before the Rebellion had been settled at Tunkhannock about forty miles from

Wioming on the Susquehannah River, where he supported himself & family in ease & plenty altho’ now reduced to

want – in the course of the war your Memorialist’s houses and buildings have been destroyed by fire, and his cattle

killed. Your Memorialist is not able to give a full schedule of his property list, but from his best recollection

exhibits the following account, the justness of which he entertains no doubt, therefore prays his loss may be taken

into your consideration in order that your Memorialist may be enabled under your report to receive such Aid or

Relief as his Services and Losses may be found to deserve

Nicholas Philips – a private in Colonel Butler’s Rangers, Niagara, in Canada October 1783

A Schedule of the real and personal estate of Nicholas Philips lost by his Loyalty to his King –

260 acres of land well improved at Tunkhannock

cost in the purchase in the year ____ 330-0-0

a new elegant house and a large barn since built 400-0-0

240 acres, with a small house & barn – cost 360-0-0

ten milck cows £80 – two yoke of oxen £36 116-0-0

Six horses £70 – 20 sheep £15, forty hogs £60 145-0-0

Farming utensils 80-0-0

Household Furniture, uncertain 00-0-0

York Currency £1431-0-0

Sterling £804-18-9

Evidences – Benjamin Davis, my son in law, going to England to prove property

– Colonel Butler, to prove Loyalty & Services

the Rev. Mr. Samuel Peters

Femlico – London – Agent

12

Pennsylvania Archives edited by Samuel Hazard, John Blair Linn, William Henry Egle, George Edward Reed,

Thomas Lynch Montgomery, Gertrude MacKinney, Charles Francis Hoban

April 17, 1777

. . . Likewise that he the deponent asked the said Nicholas [Phillips] what his reason was for coming down to Caspar

Read’s at that time (being about a fortnight ago,) and he told him that the Yankeys were going to apprehend him for

[being] a Tory, and that a certain Dennis Clark came to him about midnight and gave him notice of it, and

accordingly he made his escape down the river to Caspar Read’s or that neighbourhood. . . .

13

1776 assessment list of the Upper River District, County of Westmoreland, State of Connecticut

The surnames in this assessment include: Anger, Bender, Bowman, Brunner, Buck, Depue, DeWitt, Fox, Frank,

Hickman, Hopper (Hover), Kentner, Pauling, Pensler (Pencel), Phillips, Shout (Short), Showers, Searls (Sills),

Simmons, Smith (originally Schmidt), Stephens, Strope, VanAlstine, Vanderbarrack (Vanderburgh), Vanderlip,

VanValkenburg, Windecker, Winter, and Wartman

14

Pennsylvania Archives edited by Samuel Hazard, John Blair Linn, William Henry Egle, George Edward Reed,

Thomas Lynch Montgomery, Gertrude MacKinney, Charles Francis Hoban

April 17, 1777


31

Capt. Espy returned and brought the body of John Pickard before this Committee, and being legally sworn upon

the Holy Evangelist of Almighty God, He saith that he went up the river sometime about last Christmas from

Middletown to Wyoming, in a boat, and at Wyoming he met with the aforesaid Nicholas Pickard, his own cousin,

and that they two went by land about twenty miles further up the river to a place called Tankhannock, to see some

friends, and being in the house of a certain Nicholas Phillips, he, the said Phillips, told his cousin and him that the

Indians had told him they would come down and cut all off against this spring, or as soon as they got their orders,

and that they would in particular strike upon the Mohawk river and the waters of the Susquehannough . . . He likewise says that one Nicholas Phillips at Tankhannock notified him and several others thereabouts to move

away with their families and connections to a place called Tiogo in the Indian country, as the English were coming

down to cut off the inhabitants upon the waters of the Mohawk river and the Susquehannough. . . and that the person

who informed this Phillips of it was one John DePew, who is gone off and joined the English at Niagara, and that he

sent him this piece of information by an Indian after he went off.

15

List of Officers Employed in the Indian Department with their Rank and Pay, June 15, 1777 PAC, Colonial Office

Records, M.G. 11, "Q" series, vol 13, p. 329 16

Cruikshank, Ernest Alexander, The Story of Butler’s Rangers and the Settlement of Niagara, Lundy’s Lane

Historical Society, Tribune Printing House, Welland, Ontario, 1893, page 39

17

Ibid, page 40

18

From George Washington to Major General John Sullivan, Middlebrook, 31 May 1779.

Sir, the expedition you are appointed to command is to be directed against the hostile tribes of the six nations of

Indians and their associates and adherents. The immediate objects are the total destruction and devastation of their

settlements and the capture of as many prisoners of every age and sex as possible. It will be essential to ruin their

crops now in the ground and prevent their planting more. . .

19

Fryer, Mary Beacock and Smy, Lieutenant Colonel William A. Rolls of the Provincial (Loyalist) Corps, Canadian

Command American Revolutionary Period, Dundurn Canadian Historical Document Series, Page 72

20

Haldimand Papers, A013/94/29 Microfilm Reel B2198

To the honorable commissioners appointed by Act of Parliament for enquiring into the losses and services of the

American Loyalists . . .

The Memorial of Benjamin Davis humbly sheweth

That he was an inhabitant on the Mohawk River near Colonel Guy Johnson’s house, in the Province of New York in

1774, and a loyal subject of the King of England, and refused to join with the Rebels against the King and

Parliament. Whereupon he was under the necessity of leaving his little property and took shelter in Canada with

Colonel Guy Johnson in 1774. Your Memorialist inlisted a Sergeant in Colnel Butler’s Rangers and served his

Majesty in that Regiment in various dangers and difficulties till 1779, was then dismissed with a good character to

serve General Haldimand by carrying dispatches through the woods and the Enemies Country to Sir Henry Clinton,

Sir Guy Carleton and the Governor of Nova Scotia, which hazardous business he performed in sixteen tours, five

hundred and sixty miles each with missifs to the royal cause but to the ruin of his own health. Your Memorialist

was allowed one Dollar each day by General Haldimand for his services until June 1783 and having lost his health

and a cessation of hostilities having been proclaimed your Memorialist was dismissed his employment to live as he

could with a wife & child in a foreign country among strangers.

Your Memorialist in 1782 was taken in his passage from Quebec to New York by the Rebels and cast into West

Point prison loaded with irons and cruelly used for five weeks, and had no method of easing his burden but by

inlisting to serve as a Continental Soldier during the War. He served accordingly only five days, and then fled to

Henry Clinton at New York with General Haldimand’s dispatches secreted in a ragged neck-cloth which the Rebels

never searched.


32

Your Memorialist has lost his little property mentioned in the following Schedule, is banished from his native

Province, & has ruined his health in His Majesty’s service; and therefore prays that his case may be taken into your

consideration in order that your Memorialist may be enabled under your report to receive such aid of relief as his

services and losses may be found to deserve.

New Street No 4

Clothfair: March 17th

1784

Signed Benjamin Davis

21

Haldimand Papers "D" Bundle 6, 1797, 1804 (RG 1, L 3, Vol. 152) Microfilm

To His Excellency Peter Hunter, Esquire, Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Upper Canada and Commander

and Chief of the Forces in Upper and Lower Canada

The Petition of Elizabeth Davis Humbly Shewith That your Petitioner is the Daughter of Nicholas Philips

Deceased who fled from the persecution of the American Rebels from his possessions on the River Susquehannah

and joined the Royal Standard at Niagara in the year 1777. That your Petitioners Father brought to the Royal

Standard at Niagara three Sons all of whom immediately entered into his Majesty's Service as Privates himself and

Two Sons in Butler's Rangers and the Other Son in the 2nd Battilion of the Royal Yorkers Commanded by Sir John

Johnstone, where they all continued faithfully to serve His Majesty until the conclusion of the War. That in the year

1778 while the British Army were in the Neighbourhood of the Susquehannah your Petitioners Mother with the

remainder of the Family availed themselves of the opportunity of escaping from the Rebels and came with the Army

into Niagara Your Petitioner was shortly after her arrival at Niagara Married to Benjamin Davis, a Sergeant in

Butlers Rangers who was employed during the war in carrying Dispatches from the Commander in Chief in Canada

and to the Commander in Chief in New York and absolutely went through the American Army Six different times

and every time delivered his dispatches safe. That your petitioners Father having Died before the formation of the

U.E. List of Loyalist of course his Name was not entered there on, on consequence thereof, on your Petitioners

making application to the Secretary of the Province for her Deed of Two Hundred Acres in the Township of

Vaughan, he refused giving it to her without her paying the fees there on, which your Petition Conceives to be a

hardship on her, as her Brothers and One Sister have received their Deeds as Loyalists free of any charge whatever

to them.

Your Petitioner therefore humbly prays that your Excellency will be pleased to consider her as the

Daughter of a Suffering Loyalist and to allow her to receive her Deed under the same Regulations as other Loyalist

of that--Description And in Duty bound will Ever pray

Elizabeth Davis X her mark

22

Bousfield, Arthur and Toffoli, Garry. Loyalist Vignettes and Sketches, Governor Simcoe Branch, the United

Empire Loyalists’ of Canada, 1984, various papers, e.g. “The Germ of Its Future Greatness” pg. 42

23

Haldimand Papers MG21 Add.Mss.21874 pp258-59 Vol B214 Reel H 1743 Folio 213

Machiche 2 July 1781

The humble petition of Eliz’th Phillips and Dorothy Windecker, wives of Nicholas Phillips and Hen’y Windicker,

Raingers in Con’l Butler’s Raingers Laying before your Excelency the unhapey situation we Labour Under in being

abstant from our Husbands, they Laying at Niagara and we at this place with our Famalies: As for the Provisions we

can have no Complaint of as there is no more alow’d. but the Water and Fire Wood is the Onley Reason we have to

complean on and at this place there is nothing to be arnt the Whole year throw therefore humbly Prays that your

Excelency would take it into Consideration that we might be Alow’d to go to Niagara to Our Husbands and be

alow’d sum seport and that the said Eliz’th Phillips having a Boy in Sir John Johnson’s Reg’t and if your Excelency

pleases should be glad to have him back as all the other Sons and my Husband is in the Raingers Bareing one sone

that still lays in Prison and her Husband laid in Prison nearly 4 years and come in along with Benjamin Davis from

New York that is her Son in Llaw to Nicholas Phillips and if your Excelency pleases to Grant us the favour to Draw

Provisions at Niagara shall for Ever be Bound to Pray. We being His Majesty’s moost Dutifull and Loyal Humble

ser’t

Eliz’th Phillips


33

Dorothy Windecker / D. S.

Endorsed

Addressed to His Excelency Governor Alderman, Quebec

24 Statutes at Large ...: (43 v.) ... From Magna charta to 1800 by Great Britain, page 371

25 Surtees, R. Indian Land Surrenders in Ontario 1763-1867 Research Branch Corporate Policy, Indian and

Northern Affairs Canada

26

Haldimand Papers A012/66/50 Reel B1169

Nicholas Phillips, late of Penn’a

4th

Report

Claim

Amount of Property £804,,18,9

Determination 6th

December 1787

Loyalty The claimant is a loyalist & bore arms

Bore Arms in support of the British Government

Losses

Real Estate Improvements on land on

The River Susquehanna £90,,0,0

Pers’l Estate Various articles of Pers’l Property 94,,0,0

£184,,0,0

Approved

Resides at Niagara

27

Haldimand Papers A012/27/403 Reel B1161

August 23rd

Evidence on the claim of Nich’s Philips late of New York Claimant – sworn

He is a native of America, lived at Susquehanna, in 1777 he left his home & joined Col. Butler in the

Rangers, served 2 years was then taken prisoner and confined in several goals, made his escape and got to New

York, from thence came to Montreal, now settled near Niagara.

Had a proprietor’s right in Susquehanna, it was a disputed title, but claimant says he had grants both from

Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

A proprietor’s right consisted of about 4,000 acres. He had parted with 1/4.

He used to sow and plow about 40 acres.

Says he had paid a set Blacksmiths Tools & 40 dollars for it. He had a Log House & Barn. He did it all

himself. Values clear land at ½ Lac per acre. Would not have sold . . . land for a dollar per acre.

He says the Pennsylvania Title used to be reckoned the best.

Says this land was better than that on the Scholay for which Chrisiline charges so high.

The Connecticut Govern’t have got it. Lost all his stock and utensils.

He had six horses, 5 cows, yoke oxen, 5 young cattle, 6 sheep, 40 hogs.

Taken by Connecticut Govern’t & sold by them when he went away. His papers & deeds were all taken

away & his house plundered.


34

Philips Buck – sworn

Knew him on the Susquehanna. He had a considerable improvement, 30 or 40 acres clear. He settled there

in 1772.

He was taken prisoner and confined some time. He got away once, was taken again from thence he

escaped to New York.

He had a good stock. Thinks the Rebels had them – not the Indians or Rangers. His stock was gone before

they came.

28

Upper Canada Land Petition of Nicholas Phillips, 1811"P" Bundle 11 1816-1819 RG 1, L 3 Vol. 403 Microfilm

To His Excellency Francis Gore Esquire Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Upper Canada &c in Council

The Petition of Nicholas Phillipse of Willoughby in Niagara District Humbly Sheweth That your petitioner is the

Eldest son of the Late Nicholas Philipse of Butlers Rangers deceased, and that your petitioner and his Father both

enlisted in the Corps of Rangers Commanded by Lieut. Col. J. Butler in the Year 1777 in which Corps they both

served faithfully until the peace in 1783 except about four years they were prisoners. That your petitioner’s Father

in the Year 1789 went to the Genesee River where he died soon after not having his name entered on the U. E. list -

Your Petitioner therefore Humbly prays your Excellency will be pleased to allow the name of his Father Nicholas

Philipse Sen'r to be placed on the U. E.list - and your petitioner as in duty bound will ever pray &c

York Feb'y 4th 1811

Nicholas X Philipse his mark

I Certify that Nicholas Philipse Sen'r Father to the petitioner was in Butler's Rangers in the time of the American

War, and there he remained until the year 1789 and died soon after at the Genesee River, I have reason to believe he

was regularly, discharged from the Rangers and know that he received a compensation from Government for the

Loss of an Estate in the then Province of Pennsylvania –

York 4th Feb'y 1811

Sam Street J.P.

I Certify that I was acquainted with Nicholas Philipse Sen'r then resident in Pennsylvania some years before the

American War -‐that he joined the Kings Standard in the Year 1777 at Niagara and enlisted in the Corps of Rangers

under the Command of Lieut. Col. Butler, that he was in Said Corps until the reduction in 1783 and remained at

Niagara Seven years after -‐and to the best of my knowledge and -‐-‐ing the petitioner was his eldest son

David Secord M P

Read in Council 12 September 1811

Had the Petitioner’s father remained in the Province he would have been a U. E. but he removed and died in the

States in 1789. If his widow be in the Province her name ought to be inserted on the U. E. List to give privilege to

the Children that he had by her late husband Nicholas Philipse.

29

Cruikshank, Ernest A. and Watt, Gavin K. The History and Master Roll of The King’s Royal Regiment of New

York, Revised edition, Brigadier General and Global Heritage Press Inc.

30

Ibid, Page 44

31

Upper Canada Land Petitions “P” Bundle 20, 1836-1837, (RG 1, L 3, Vol 409 Packet 20 Petition 41b

Home District, to wit, Peter Winter of the Township of Nelson in the District of Gore, Yeoman, formerly a soldier in

the Second Battalion of the Royal Yorkers or Sir John Johnson Regmt, maketh oath and saith that he ??? known

Jacob Phillips, now of the Township of Etobicoke, that the said Jacob Phillips was a resident of the banks of the

Susquehannah River, and his father a farmer established there before the breaking out of the revolutionary war, that

the said Jacob Phillips enlisted as a Private in the second Battalion of the aforesaid corps and also was a Servant to

Captain Singleton of the same, and that the said Jacob Phillips removed to Upper Canada prior to the year 1790.

Sworn before me at the City of Toronto this seventh day of December 1836,

Peter Winter (his mark)

Having been first read over and explained to this deponent who appeared perfectly to understand the same.


35

Peter Paterson J. P.

32

Cruikshank, Brigadier General Ernest A. and Watt, Gavin K. The History and Master Roll of The King’s Royal

Regiment of New York, Revised edition, and Global Heritage Press Inc. Page 158

33

Greene, Nelson. History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925, (Chicago: The S. J. Clarke

Publishing Company, 1925) Chapter 67 http://schenectadyhistory.org/resources/mvgw/history/067.html

34

Greene, Nelson. History of the Mohawk Valley: Gateway to the West 1614-1925, (Chicago: The S. J. Clarke

Publishing Company, 1925) Chapter 69 http://schenectadyhistory.org/resources/mvgw/history/069.html

35


Regiment of New York, Revised edition, Global Heritage Press Inc. Page 59

36

Ibid, page 79

37

Ibid, page 84

38

The On-Line Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies,

http://www.royalprovincial.com/military/musters/brangers/brbutler1.htm

39


Regiment of New York, Revised edition, Global Heritage Press Inc. Page 91 & 92

40

Fryer, Mary Beacock and Smy, Lieutenant Colonel William A. Rolls of the Provincial (Loyalist) Corps, Canadian

Command American Revolutionary Period, Dundurn Canadian Historical Document Series, Entry 269, Pg. 49

41


Regiment of New York, Revised edition, Global Heritage Press Inc. Page 103

42

Smith, W. L. The Pioneers of Old Ontario published by George N. Morang, Toronto, 1923, By Way of Yonge

Street, pgs 127-128

“. . . a document dated ‘Navy Hall, 29th

of April, 1793,’ signed by J. G. Simcoe, the first governor of Upper Canada,

and addressed to the officer commanding at Niagara. This document was a command to the officer in question ‘to

permit Nicholas Miller, Asa Johnson, Jacob Phillips, Abraham and Isaac Devins, and Jacob Schooner’ to bring in

free of duty from the United States ‘such goods and effects as household furniture, chairs, tables, chests of clothing,’

etc.”

Miller, Devins and Schoonover were immediate neighbours of Jacob Phillips on the 1790 Census of Ontario County,

NY (Genesee Valley)

43

Andre, John. Infant Toronto as Simcoe’s Folly, Centennial Press Toronto, 1971, pgs 60-61

44

Adams, G. Mercer, Mulvany, Charles Pelham and Robinson, Christopher Blackett. History of Toronto and

County of York, Ontario,published by C. Blackett Robinson 1885 Page 78

45

Ibid, Page 79

46

Upper Canada Land Petition of Jacob Phillips "P" Bundle 3,1797 (RG 1, L 3, Vol. 4(a) Microfilm

To His Honor Peter Aught Esquire, Administering the Government of the Province of Upper Canada &c In Council

The Petition of Jacob Phillipse, farmer, Humbly sheweth That your petitioner’s Late father having served as private

soldier in a Provincial Reg't Commanded by Lieut. Colonel John Butler during the Late War with America whereby

he was entitled to his Majesty's bounty in Lands, and having died previous to taking the same, Your petitioner prays

that your Honor will be pleased to grant to the heirs of his Deceas'd Father such portion of his Majesty's bounty in

http://schenectadyhistory.org/resources/mvgw/history/067.html

http://schenectadyhistory.org/resources/mvgw/history/069.html

http://www.royalprovincial.com/military/musters/brangers/brbutler1.htm


36

Land as his Deceas'd Father would have been entitled to receive for such services if he had lived to receive the same

and your Petitioner as in duty bound will ever pray

Jacob Philipes

York 16th June 1797

This certifies that Nicholas Philips Father to Jacob Philips was a Soldier in Colonel Butler's Corps of Ranger at the

Reduchon [sic] of their Corps in the Year 1784. His Son Nicholas Philips was a Soldier in the same Corps at that

Time

York June 27 1797

R. Hamilton J.P.

28th

June 1797

Jacob Phillips praying for lands in right of his deceased father as a Military Claimant. Recommended that 300 acres

be granted to the next of Kin of Nich's Philips

3rd July 1797

Confirmed

?? [initials]

P.R.

Gov

47

Adams, G. Mercer, Mulvany, Charles Pelham and Robinson, Christopher Blackett.History of Toronto and County

of York, Ontari, published by C. Blackett Robinson 1885, Pages 124-125

48

Marriage Bonds of Ontario, 1803-1834, Marriage Bonds 1817, Page 19: “CHRISTNER, Jonas, yeoman, &

Margaret Phillips, spr, both of Etobicoke. b: Levi Devins and Benjamin Christner, both of Etobicoke, yeomen. 1st

Oct 1817 at York. w: And’w Mercer. Deposition of Levi Devins, 1st Oct 1817 at York, that he has known Margaret

Phillips of Etobicoke, daughter of Jacob Phillips, of Etobicoke, twenty years, and that she was never married

otherwise than to Jonas Christner of same place by a Methodist preacher about 2 years ago, which marriage it

appears is not legal. [193, 194]”

49

"One of the oldest and most respected residents of Tecumseth township, in the person of Mr. Henry Phillips,

passed away after a short illness at his home, lot 12 concession 12, on Sunday, May 28, 1911, in his 91st year.

Deceased, who was born in the township of Etobicoke, York county, came to this section fifty years ago and settled

on the farm where he died. In religion Mr. Phillips was a Methodist, and in politics a Reformer. Besides his aged

wife, who had journeyed through life with him for sixty-eight years, he is survived by two sons and two daughters.

The sons are Warren of Dunkerron and Philip of Inglewood. The daughters are Mrs. Jos. Hoover of Barrie and Mrs.

John Verrall of Tecumseth. Mr. Phillips belonged to a family remarkable for longevity. His father died at 80, his

mother at 96 and his grandfather at 104 years. The funeral took place on Tuesday to the Methodist church, Beeton,

where services were conducted by Rev. W. H. Learoyd, after which interment was made in the Methodist cemetery.

The pallbearers were six grandsons of deceased, viz.: William, Victor, Fred and Jesse, sons of Mr. Warren Phillips;

Fred and Marshall, sons of Mr. P. Phillips. Those from a distance who were present were: Messrs. Warren Phillips,

Dunkerron; Philip Phillips, Inglewood; Mrs. Hoover, Barrie; Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Phillips, West Toronto."

50

Upper Canada Land Petitions “P” Bundle 20, 1836-1837, (RG 1, L 3, Vol 409 Packet 20 Petition 59

His Excellency Sir Francis Bond Head K.C.H. Lieut. Governor of the Province of Upper Canada etc. etc. etc.

The Petition of Jacob Phillips the younger, of the township of York, Yeoman

Humbly sheweth that your petitioner is the son of Jacob Phillips of the Township of Etobicoke, a U. E. Loyalist, that

he has attained the full age of twenty one years, and that he has never received any land or order for land from the

Crown,


37

Therefore you petitioner humbly prays that your Excellency will be pleased to grant him two hundred acres of the

waste lands of the Crown and permit J. B. Spragge of Toronto to locate the same and take the patients when

completed.

And as in duty bound,

Your petitioner will ever pray

Toronto 20 Feb. 1837

Jacob Phillips Jun’r (his mark)

51

Upper Canada Land Petitions “P” Bundle 20, 1836-1837, (RG 1, L 3, Vol 409 Packet 20

Petition 59a

Home District, to wit

Jacob Phillips the younger maketh oath and saith that he is the person he described himself to be in the foregoing

petition and that he has never received any land or order for land from the Crown

Sworn in open sessions at Toronto this 23 day of February 1837 (signed)

Jacob Phillips (his mark)


Jacob Phillips Senior maketh oath and saith that Jacob Phillips the younger is the person he describes himself to be

in the foregoing petition and that he has never received any land or order for land from the Crown as this deponent

verily believes

Jacob Phillips Sr. (his mark)

Sworn in open sessions at Toronto this 23rd

day of February 1837

(signed)

Item 59b


We . . . Esq Chairman and Simon Washburn Clerk of the Peace, certify that Jacob Phillips the younger personally

appeared at the General Quarter Sessions of the Peace this day and is recognized by the Magistrate to be the son of

Jacob Phillips of Etobicoke in said District, an U. E. Loyalist who retained his loyalty during the late war without

suspicions of aiding or assisting the enemy.

Dated at the Court House in the said District this 23rd


(signed) chairman

(signed) clerk

I certify that Jacob Phillips the younger has taken and subscribed to the oath of allegiance as required by law before

me this 23rd


(signed)

Item 59c Cover and back of Petition

In council 9th

March 1837 - Recommended

52

Andrew Phillips will, July 1876, Simcoe County Surrogate Court records, Estate Files 1843-1930, Estate File

#5639, 1907, Archives of Ontario microfilm reference number MS1302

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