Person Page - 1471

Philip Edgar Smith^1,2,3,4

• Father*: George Ezra Smith² b. 15 Jun 1846, d. 21 Mar 1923
• Mother*: Mary Etta Chard² b. 27 Feb 1854, d. 28 Oct 1936

• Birth*: 17 March 1876; Conc 7 Lot 6, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Ontario; Birth Reg'n.#008964: Name: Philip Edgar Smith; Date: Mar 17 1876; Parents: George Smith & Marietta Philips; Inf.: George Smith, farmer, Conc 7, Lot 6, Sidney; Reg'd.: Apr 3 1876; Phys.: Dr. John Stevenson; Reg'r.: F. B., Prior (Ontario Birth Registration, #008964-1876, ancestry.ca) Date 1876 & location Ont. per 1891 Census. Date 1877 & location Ont. per 1881 Census.^2,3,5

• Census*: April 1881; Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Ontario; Age 4 at 1881 Census: see George Smith²
• Census: 23 April 1891; Sidney Twp., Hastings West Co., Ontario; Age 15 at 1891 Census: see George E. Smith³

Nicholas Lake¹

• Father*: John Lake¹ b. 1759, d. 1828
• Mother*: ? Van Voorhees¹ b. c 1763

• Birth*: 1799; Ernestown Twp., Lennox & Addington Co., Ontario; per GEDCOM of Richard A. Dutton, Feb 4, 2005.¹
• Marriage*: after 1820; per GEDCOM of Richard A. Dutton, Feb 4, 2005.; Principal=Catherine Hartman¹

Mary Rhody Bradwell^1,2,3

• Birth*: 1755; New York, U.S.A.; Date 1755 & location NY per family tree of gdenyes on ancestry.ca, Aug 10 2024. per GEDCOM of Richard A. Dutton, Feb 4, 2005.^2,3
• Marriage*: before 1774; per GEDCOM of Richard A. Dutton, Feb 4, 2005.; Principal=Nicholas Lake²

• Married Name: after 1774; Lake²

Lewis H. Lake¹

• Father*: Nicholas Lake¹ b. 1799
• Mother*: Catherine Hartman¹ b. c 1800

• Birth*: 1823; Ernestown Twp., Lennox & Addington Co., Ontario; per GEDCOM of Brant Gibbard, Feb 4, 2005.¹

Nicholas Daly Lake¹

• Father*: Nicholas Lake¹ b. 1799
• Mother*: Catherine Hartman¹ b. c 1800

• Birth*: 1834; Ontario; per GEDCOM of Brant Gibbard, Feb 4, 2005.¹

• Residence*: after 1860; Barrie Twp., Frontenac Co., Ontario; per GEDCOM of Brant Gibbard, Feb 4, 2005.¹

Catherine S. Lake¹

• Father*: Nicholas Lake¹ b. 1799
• Mother*: Catherine Hartman¹ b. c 1800

• Birth*: 1839; Ontario; per GEDCOM of Brant Gibbard, Feb 4, 2005.¹

Schuyler Shibley Lake¹

• Father*: Nicholas Lake¹ b. 1799
• Mother*: Catherine Hartman¹ b. c 1800

• Birth*: 12 June 1841; Ernestown Twp., Odessa, Lennox & Addington Co., Ontario; per GEDCOM of Brant Gibbard, Feb 4, 2005.¹
• Death*: 26 June 1928; Gananogue, Leeds Co., Ontario; per GEDCOM of Brant Gibbard, Feb 4, 2005.¹

Stephen Gilbert^1,2,3

• Father*: Samuel Birdsey Gilbert b. c 1775, d. 1814
• Mother*: Susanna Rose b. c 1780

• Birth*: 1798; Upper Canada; Date 1798 & location CW per 1851 Census. Rhoda Smith's married name is Gilbert per her father's Will.^2,4
• Marriage*: 11 November 1824; St. Thomas Anglican Church, Belleville, Hastings Co., Upper Canada; "First Re: Rhoda Smith. I sent away to Marilyn Adams Genealogy Centre inquiring about Rhoda Smith. I received a list of marriages performed at St. Thomas Anglican Church from 1821 to 1874. Listed on Nov. 11 1824 is the marriage of Rhoda Smith to Stephen Gilbert." per email from Doug Smith, Mar 15, 2005.; Principal=Rhoda Smith²
• Death*: before 1870; Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Ontario; Rhoda is living with daughter Susan and her husband Samuel Sills in both 1871 and 1881 Census.⁵

• Census*: 1851; Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Canada West; Age 53 at 1851 Census: Gilbert, Stephen, 53, CW, CE, married; Rhoda, 53, CW, WM, married; Ann, 26; Samuel, 24; Susan, 21; Mary, 19; Mahala, 16 (per email from Doug Smith, Mar 15, 2005)⁴

Caleb Gilbert¹

• Father*: Abel Gilbert¹ b. 27 Nov 1771, d. 12 Sep 1849
• Mother*: Dentia Ostrum¹ b. 30 Jan 1768, d. 23 Nov 1847

• Birth*: 3 June 1800; Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Ontario; Date 1800 per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.¹
• Marriage*: 1822; Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Date 1822 per IGI Record. per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.; Principal=Nancy Walden Meyers^1,2
• Death*: 5 January 1872; Ontario; per GEDCOM of Bill Smith, Jan 13, 2006. per IGI Record.^2,1

Nancy Walden Meyers¹

• Father*: Jacob Walden Meyers¹ b. 31 Mar 1777, d. 29 Oct 1851
• Mother*: Jane Christine McKenzie¹ b. Sep 1781, d. 1858

• Birth*: 28 May 1803; Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.¹
• Marriage*: 1822; Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Date 1822 per IGI Record. per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.; Principal=Caleb Gilbert^1,2
• Death*: 10 December 1844; Belleville, Hastings Co., Ontario; per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.¹

• Married Name: 1822; Gilbert¹

John A. M. Gilbert¹

• Father*: Caleb Gilbert¹ b. 3 Jun 1800, d. 5 Jan 1872
• Mother*: Nancy Walden Meyers¹ b. 28 May 1803, d. 10 Dec 1844

• Birth*: 1825; Hastings Co., Upper Canada; per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.¹
• Death*: 1910; per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.¹

Jacob Walden Meyers^1,2,3

• Father*: John Walden Meyers² b. 24 Feb 1745, d. 22 Nov 1821
• Mother*: Mary Polly Cruger² b. 1745, d. Mar 1816

• Birth*: 31 March 1777; Albany, Albany Co., New York, U.S.A.; Date Apr 20 1777 & location Albany, NY per family tree of Deby Lake on ancestry.ca, Sep 22 2022. Date 1777 & location Canada per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.^2,3
• Marriage*: 1798; Upper Canada; Date 1798 per family tree of Deby Lake on ancestry.ca, Sep 22 2022. per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.; Principal=Jane Christine McKenzie³
• Death*: 29 October 1851; Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Canada West; Date Oct 29 1851 & location Sidney Twp. per family tree of Deby Lake on ancestry.ca, Sep 22 2022. per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.^2,3

• Residence: 8 June 1814; Conc 1 Lot 9, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Land Registry Records (B.S. C275) show that John W. Meyers sold all 200 acres of lot 9, conc 1, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co. to Jacob W. Meyers. ITS Date: Jun 8 1814. Reg'n. Date: Jul 7 1814. (Ontario Land Registry Records, Hastings Co., Sidney Twp., Book 366, pg. 152 of 291, page copied from OnLand.ca by Dan Buchanan, Sep 23 2022.)⁴
• Residence*: 17 August 1819; Conc 1 Lot 8, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Land Registry Records (B.S. D500) show that John W. Meyers sold all 200 acres of lot 8, conc 1, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co. to Jacob W. Meyers. ITS Date: Aug 17 1819. Reg'n. Date: Aug 27 1819. (Ontario Land Registry Records, Hastings Co., Sidney Twp., Book 366, pg. 141 of 291, page copied from OnLand.ca by Dan Buchanan, Sep 23 2022.)⁴

Jane Christine McKenzie^1,2,3,4

• Father*: John McKenzie b. 1745, d. c 1782
• Mother*: Mary Taylor b. Sep 1745

• Birth*: September 1781; Kinderhook, Columbia Co., New York, U.S.A.; Date Sep 1781 & location Kinderhook, NY per Baptism. Date 1782 & location USA per family tree of Deby Lake on ancestry.ca, Sep 22 2022. per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.^2,3,4
• Baptism: 8 November 1781; Dutch Reformed Church, Kinderhook, Columbia Co., New York, U.S.A.; "1781 ... Nov 8 .. John McKenzie .. Mary Taylor .. Jane; Wit.: ?Conrad? Mot & Catharine Taylor" from US Dutch Reformed Church Records, 1639-1989, Kinderhook, Book 21, pg. 133 (1781 wrtten in), ancestry.ca.⁴
• Marriage*: 1798; Upper Canada; Date 1798 per family tree of Deby Lake on ancestry.ca, Sep 22 2022. per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.; Principal=Jacob Walden Meyers³
• Death*: 1858; Hastings Co., Canada West; Date 1858 & location Hastings Co. per family tree of Deby Lake on ancestry.ca, Sep 22 2022.³

• Married Name: 1798; Meyers²

John Walden Meyers^1,2,3,4

• Father*: Hans Jurien W. "George" Waltemeyer⁴ b. 1719, d. 25 Jul 1796
• Mother*: Margaretha Bard⁴ b. 1720, d. 14 Oct 1811

• Birth*: 24 February 1745; Rhinebech, Dutchess Co., New York, U.S.A.; "... he had been christened Hans Waltermeyer." from "Homesteads: Early buildings and families from Kingston to Toronto" by Margaret McBurney and Mary Byers, 1979, pg. 103
  per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.^2,3
• Christening: 24 March 1745; Red Hook, Dutchess Co., New York, U.S.A.; US Dutch Reformed Church Records - Christenings - 1745: Name: Johannes; Date of Christening: March 24, 1745; Date of Birth: Feb 24 1745; Parents: Gorg & Margrede Waldemeier; Wit.: Leonhard Weger & wife Barbara Wagerin & Barbara Frolig (US Dutch Reformed Church Records, New York, Reyn Beeck (now Red Hook), Book 40, 1745, page 57, (pg 37 of 262) - ancestry.ca) per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.^2,4
• Marriage*: 1764; New York, U.S.A.; "As a young man he married Polly Kruger and took up tenant farming near Albany." from "Homesteads: Early buildings and families from Kingston to Toronto" by Margaret McBurney and Mary Byers, 1979, pg. 83
  per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.; Principal=Mary Polly Cruger³
• Marriage*: August 1817; Thurlow Twp., Meyers Creek, Hastings Co., Upper Canada; "John Davey and his wife, Sophia, of Ernesttown, have been friends of the family for years, and now, since John has already died, leaving the Widow Davey alone in the world with her sons, John Meyers now asks Sophia Davey to join him in a marriage of convenience in their old age. As an act of good faith in the arrangement, John Meyers will adopt his three step-sons as his own, and they will be cared for in his will. They are fine young men, and are the builders of boats, as has been their father." from Hans Waltimeyer, page 443.
  Date 1817 & location Belleville per family tree of iperry170 on ancestry.ca, Oct 22 2022. per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.; Principal=Sophia Anna Hoffnagel^2,5,6
• Death*: 22 November 1821; Belleville, Hastings Co., Upper Canada; per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.²
• Burial*: 24 November 1821; Old Sidney Burial Ground, Lot 10, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Memorial: (See Exhibit) 1790 Bicentennial 1990; Capt. John W. Meyers, U.E.; Founder of Belleville; Build Moira River Mills 1790; Sidney Township Moderator 1790; Born 1745 Dutchess County, NY Died 1821; American Revolution Loyal Ranger; Raider, Recruiter, Scout and Spy; Gov. Haldimand's Trusted Courier; Capt. Meyers Family & Loyaist Friends; Rest Here on Quinte's Shore; A salute to Mohawk Loyalist Warriors; In Tribute to all Former Black Slaves; Who Were True Canadian Pioneers; This Memorial Unveiled 21 July 1990 by; Lieutenant Governor Lincloln M. Alexander (White's Cemetery, Trenton, May 22, 2005)
  Note: This large memorial sits at the north end of White's Cemetery, in an open area near many very old stones.
  per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.^2,7

• Residence: 1776; Manchester Twp., New York, U.S.A.; "Waltimeyer has, as is the custom, one negro slave family by the surname Levi living on his farm and working upon the land. A Joseph Smith also lives with Meyers as a servant. The farm stock now consists of seven horses, four cows, five younger cattle and thirty hogs, as well as seventeen sheep. His lands are located in the township of Manchester, and those of his father in Dorset, nearby. Their surname Waltimeyer has, in centuries past, originally been “Waldermeier” or “Von Meyer” or, plainly, “Meyer”, that name denoting headman or master of the forest lands, signifying a nobleman land-owner. The elder Waltimeyer has left Prussia, the land of his birth, about 1730, when yet an infant. He had
  volunteered his services to the British at the time of the siege of Quebec, and had shown qualities of leadership in that campaign. The group of German soldiers under his command were to give General Wolfe support upon which the success of that battle largely depended. The elder Waltimeyer is also said to have participated earlier in a defense against the French when one of their raiding parties came within distance of the environs of Albany. This was at the age of fifteen. Family tradition will, in the years to come, recite journeys made up to Canada by a member of the family to pacify the Indians when Quebec was still in the hands of the French, but the details will become lost in the mists of time." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 98.⁶
• Residence: 1776; Dutchess Co., New York, U.S.A.; "Johannes Waltimeyer will sow and reap his crops this year, relatively undisturbed. Many incidents are happening in this historic year of 1776 in the country at various points, but nothing which directly affects his farm, and he will see out the end of the year quietly and peacefully." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 98.⁶
• Residence: 1777; Coeyman's Patent, Albany Co., New York, U.S.A.; "Secure on his productive farm-holding held on a 999-year leasing on Cooeyman’s Patent, Hans Waltimeyer is not of a mind to be drawn into any war-talk. He and his wife are not to be so easily shaken out of their beliefs. And yet the situation is to be forced upon them." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 104.
  Note: Coeymans is located on the west side of the Hudson River, south of the city of Albany, and not far north-west of Kinderhook.⁶
• Residence: January 1777; Coeymans Patent, Albany Co., New York, U.S.A.; "The threat of revolt now sweeping and engulfing the land is sickening Johannes Waltimeyer greatly. Suddenly, as news of open rebellion surrounds Albany, Waltimeyer realizes that he and his dear wife, the diminuitive Polly Kruger, and their family would rather die than be any part of this disloyalty and Revolution. They will not bring themselves to revoke their principles. But by this decision, they are finding themselves now living in enemy territory. The Patriots now hold the upper hand in Albany. The full horror of their situation comes upon Johannes and his wife when he and his brother- in-law, John Kruger, find that they are the only men in their families on the Loyalist side. To their shocked dismay, both Johannes’ father and brother have announced their intention of joining the Rebel Cause. The elder Waltimeyer is now traitor to the King who gave him a home in America! And is willing to side his loyalties with the Rebels against the British forces beside which he has fought in his younger days. How has the cry of “Freedom” so influenced their minds to the point of creating blood-enemies in their own families? Johannes and John Kruger commiserate together as they realize the horror of their position. Their very own families are now their enemy. The bitterness of the thought is overwhelming." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 105.⁶
• Residence: February 1777; Coeymans Patent, Albany Co., New York, U.S.A.; "Johannes Waltimeyer has never felt any great oppression to any great degree under British Colonial rule. In his mind the security of his own farm-home far outweighs any disadvantages they might ever have suffered. But now his world has been torn apart. The Continentals are making the rounds, so he hears, and are forcing written commitments from all to their Cause. In this manner they mark and note their enemies. Johannes Waltimeyer and John Kruger, joined by Polly, now must hold a secret family meeting. On a fateful night, by Bickering candlelight, the fearful decision is made; the die is cast. They will remain loyal, an apparently insane sacrifice in the face of their family and friends’ resolutions. And so this great frightening turning-point in their lives is reached. Many other braver souls have already likewise declared themselves. A toast to the King’s health is drunk and the pledge of loyalty is taken, that act which will affect future generations and, indeed, the fate of an entire Continent. The tide of North American history is now in complete change and those few who will shape the events, either the lesser men of loyal faith here or there such as Johannes Waltimeyer, or the great men such as Butler, Sir John Johnson and Joseph Brant, will be the pivots on which the events of history will turn." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 106.⁶
• Residence: April 1777; Coeymans Patent, Albany Co., New York, U.S.A.; "Waltimeyer and Cruger now set about to plan their long trip to Canada. Up to the north, in British-held Quebec, is where battle strategy will be organized and planned, and is now the only point from where the Loyalist forces can be rallied. And so, bidding his family a prayerful farewell, as well as a leave-taking filled with bitterness concerning his own parents and brother, Waltimeyer in the company of Cruger sets out into the wilderness, bearing north past Albany on the long difficult journey on foot up to Canada, taking along a large strong dog, pet of the Waltimeyer family. Foot travel is the least conspicuous, as parties of Continentals already patrol the country looking for Royalists. It will soon be discovered that the pair are missing from their farms, but by that time, they will be many miles distant northward." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 107 & 108.⁶
• Residence: April 1777; Coeymans Patent, Albany Co., New York, U.S.A.; "Polly Cruger Waltimeyer now faces the beginning of many long years of loneliness and frustration, which are to become a sacrifice the proportions of which she does not yet realize. Surely this trouble that has engulfed the land will pass in a year or two! Her new life, with a large family to raise without Johannes by her side will be almost impossible to bear, but she, small brave robust woman that she is, remains calm and keeps her young family together, the oldest son, George, being only twelve years of age. Tobias and Leonard are the next sons, followed by a trio of daughters, Catherine, Mary, and Anna, and the youngest child is the baby Jacob, just a week old now as his father departs for the War. The Levis are still with her and they will provide some support." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 108.⁶
• Residence: circa 25 August 1777; Montreal, Province of Quebec; "Family tradition will relate in the future the exhaustion of the long trek to Quebec. The two travellers suffer from lack of supplies. Walking through a seemingly endless valley, they finally run out of food. The dog has become so emaciated and weak that his master has had to pick him up and carry him. Cruger, who is on the verge of collapse, being scarcely able to drag himself along, asks Waltimeyer why he is carrying the dog. “Oh,” replies Johannes, “ve may haff to eat him yet”. A friendly passing Indian whom they come upon near the end of their journey takes pity on them and gives them a supply of bear meat which saves the dog’s thin bones from being picked. Their destination is Montreal and that Late August British-held city is finally reached, the pair of weary travellers reporting immediately to the British command. Their stay at this city will not be of any great length, just long enough for recovery from their ordeal. Waltimeyer, on this trek north to Canada, is proving his superior fortitude and endurance as a traveller in the wilds. Waltimeyer and Cruger, upon enlisting with the British forces, are now members of the ever-strengthening Loyalist forces assembling in Quebec." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 108.⁶
• Note: September 1777; New York, U.S.A.; "Johannes Waltimeyer and John Cruger have been dispatched southward from Quebec to join Burgoyne’s forces. They hear of one small British victory at Freeman’s Farm, but by now the Rebels outnumber the British hopelessly." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 112.⁶
• Residence: 19 October 1777; Saratoga, New York, U.S.A.; The situation becomes more serious each day, as the Rebels cut the lines leading northward. Waltimeyer and Cruger now join Burgoyne’s forces as do hundreds of other Loyalists, but as they approach the British army in the field, they find themselves walking right into the British defeat and surrender at Saratoga, and Johannes Waltimeyer becomes an angered and humiliated captive, not having participated in any fighting to any great degree. But the Loyalists, in woodsmen’s clothing, are now on either side of the British force and in the confusion of milling men, both Rebel and Royalist, Waltimeyer " manages an escape by eluding the Continental guard. To move as quickly as possible southward away from this disasterous defeat is now the only possible move for him to make, and he heads in that direction with all speed, avoiding detection by a clever cross-country manoeuvre he is already perfecting. There will not be another occasion for his recapture by these rogues, he avows. At Bemis Heights General Burgoyne’s red-
  19th. coated army will fight the last battle and on October 19th, that ill-fated leader hands over his arms to the Continental Generals Gates and Arnold at the surrender at Saratoga." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 112.⁶
• Note: November 1777; New York, New York, U.S.A.; "Away from the scene of military confusion, Johannes Waltimeyer has been moving steadily southward, past Albany, which he well skirts, and now continues right on down the Hudson Valley until New York is reached. His progress has gone unchallenged. Here he reaches Sir Henry Clinton’s forces in that crowded and confused city. ... Waltimeyer, having reached the British commander in New York City, now receives a “beating warrant” to recruit men in the vicinity of New York for Colonel Ludlow’s regiment of Loyalists. He will recruit volunteers for the remainder of this year in this situation, with intervals of rest in military quarters in the City of New York. During his short stay with Burgoyne’s forces, he had been enrolled in a provisional battalian under the command of Ebenezer Jessup." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 112.⁶
• Note: December 1777; New York, New York, U.S.A.; "And so, Johannes Waltimeyer, by the end of December this eventful year, knows what his own role and perhaps fate will be during this war. In the pursuit of his duty as a bearer of messages, he must be craftier than his wily enemy. He must remain concealed at all times, but be prepared to take bold risks. He must travel quickly and untiringly. He must ever be on the alert and interpret military situations that he might be the more useful to his superiors in his reports. And he must avoid walking into traps set by the Rebels who have already caught numbers of agents by confusing them with similar general’s names on both sides of the fray. His travel will be extensive. The distance from New York to Lake Ontario is 500 miles, the Hudson being navigable 180 miles distance from New York to Albany. His commission now, also, is to raise recruits. The Loyalist supporters must be searched out and brought to the aid of the British forces." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 115.⁶
• Note: 1778; New York, U.S.A.; "By this period in hostilities, Sir Henry Clinton, the British commander at New York, has selected Johannes Waltimeyer as the most suitable messenger of all the men in the Loyalist Scout Band to convey letters of great importance overland northwards. It is 500 miles distance to reach the British lines and Governor Haldimand at Quebec, the path cutting up directly through the hostile Rebel- held country. This is a task requiring much endurance and great adroitness, as the populace is constantly on the watch for the movement of any “express” between the two forces.
  To make themselves as inconspicuous as possible, the Loyalist scouts preserve their backwoods dress of buckskins, their kit including flint and steel, a Micmac pipe, shot bag with sixty rounds of shot and ball, a belt axe, horn-handled hunting knife and musket, salt and powder horns and water cask. Not to reach his destination before the first snowfall means running a great risk of the messenger being taken prisoner.
  Johannes Waltimeyer will make many such sallies in the future. On one expedition, as he is on the return journey, he comes perilously close to starving to death. Having experienced this situation, he will take a dog with him upon occasion, not knowing when he would have to kill him for food.
  Johannes Waltimeyer has devised a pair of curious shoes to be worn, while scouting, for confusion to the enemy when they attempt to track him. They are fashioned so that the soles and heels appear reversed; the heels are cut out and the soles are flat with identical shaping at the front and back. The trail left on soft ground is identical in either direction, and he occasionally toes in to complete the deception. Waltimeyer knows only too well that the consequences of falling into the hands of the enemy for him, now, will be swift and certain death as a spy at the hands of the triumphing Continentals. His secret services in the Royal cause are strongly suspected, but with a price of capture on his head, as have any members of the secret service, he remains unchallenged and uncaught, his robust thickset figure always seeming to keep one step ahead of the enemy. He, this year, is still attached to Colonel Ludlow’s regiment out of New York City, and is a member of De Lancey’s Brigade." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 122.⁶
• Note: October 1778; New York, New York, U.S.A.; "Johannes Waltimeyer, having left upon his last journey for Canada before the oncoming winter, has no knowledge about what events have befallen his family or farm, having, as he has supposed, made safe provision for them. He is not aware that his family is safely down in New York, but upon his return in the late fall, southward, his joy is overwhelming when he and they are once more reunited. With the worry of his family’s safety now lifted from hismind, he can concentrate solely upon the conflict. Once again the winter has curtailed all Winter activity, and the British forces at New York await the coming year with trembling hearts and a bleak future." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 126.⁶
• Note: March 1779; New York, U.S.A.; "With the retreat of the snows of the winter of 1778-9, Johannes Waltimeyer is once again abroad in the enemy’s territory on his missions of despatch-bearing and recruiting. .... Johannes Waltimeyer, long a full-time member now of the Loyalist fighting forces, is most often referred to this year as Mr. Meyers or Mr. Myers. The British authorities seem to retain only the latter part of his last name, which has several spellings upon different occasions of their referral. The Anglicized version of his name is being used on the military records, and he now decides to become John Walden Meyers, being that translation which sounds the closest to his original German name. He has ever lived under English law in a British country and he holds high the flag of the cause of the Kings of England. It now seems most natural to accept the English form of his name. His old life is gone; the future, with his family now safe in New York, lies ahead, whatsoever may befall them. The new John Walden Meyers, therefore, embarks upon a fabulous career in the almost-impossible demands of the Loyalist Cause. Intelligently determined and fearless in the assignments set out for him by his commanding officers, he will now be directed in his movements by only the senior officers of the British forces. His talents for traversing enemy territory, undetected, for all his size, are now recognized fully. He is becoming a very strong force as a fighter, scout, raider, spy, and bearer of messages amongst the Loyalist combatants. The movements of the enemy’s forces must be watched by observant understanding eyes if the information is to be of any use to the British. The messages must get through from north to south, and back, up and down through the five hundred miles of enemy territory. His reports, written in a more comprehensive style than that which his spoken English would signify, reveal a more than better education than one would expect of a rustic German farmer." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 127.⁶
• Note: April 1779; New York, U.S.A.; "As this year unfolds, John Walden Meyers is repeatedly carrying despatches in constant service as a messenger, through the American lines “as an express” from New York to Quebec and Niagara, touching at Albany, and being in contact with secret agents there.
  Messages for Brant and Butler are conveyed via the Mohawk River route and Lake Seneca to the British at Fort Niagara, where Meyers once again renews his acquaintance with the great Indian leader. Evading all efforts by the Rebels to intercept him, he passes on to Fort St. John’s or New York, bringing in recruits or prisoners, which ever fortune has brought him, upon his return. British intelligence continually leaks out from New York, much to the ire of the Americans who cannot break the secret lines of communication." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 130.⁶
• Note: 21 April 1779; Albany, New York, U.S.A.; "By this time, the activity of Meyers as a April 21st. recruiting agent and scout is a great source of irritation to the Rebels, and on the twenty-first of April, one Peter Sager becomes an informant as to his whereabouts. Sager has been confined in the goal at Albany for a robbery, and having escaped, has been recaptured and brought before the Commissioners in that town to inform them that "Hans Waltermeyer is lately come from New York as an express with despatches for Butler and Brandt, and that he will, provided the Board will give him his liberty, undertake to apprehend the said Waltermeyer with his despatches". His offer is accepted and he is released as, "having great reason to suppose the above intelligence to be true, the Commissioners are resolved that the said Peter Sager should have permission to go at large for the purpose of executing the above”.
  Sager’s information is indeed correct about Meyers’ whereabouts, and is probably received from a close informant, a spy of the Rebels within the City of New York, as it is obtained in advance of the departure of Meyers from that place. Meyers is again the choice of the British commander of New York, Sir Henry April 21st. Clinton, as his despatch carrier, and one letter which he now bears, dated April 21st., is addressed to Colonel John Butler at Fort Niagara. There is another of the same content addressed to Governor Haldimand of Quebec, and they read: "Sir —
  I have reason to imagine that the Rebels mean to make an Attack upon Detroit this Spring, and I am informed, they intend to make a feint on the Susquehannah, in order to draw the attention of Colonel Butler and the Indians from the other quarter.”" from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 131.⁶
• Note: 6 May 1779; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "Meyers has left New York immediately on this perilous mission north, and he is away many days. His journey will take him first over to Fort Niagara with the message for Butler. His robust, thickset tall figure could be most noticeable if he should reveal himself; detection as a spy means almost certain death, and yet he always manages to move almost invisibly through the countryside. He is well-nigh obliged to spend as many hours in hiding as travelling in order to await a clear passage. His safe arrival at Fort St. John’s in the Province of Quebec is reported by General Watson Powell, its commandant, in a letter written to Governor Haldimand, and dated May 6th., which reads:
  May tkh. "Caleb Closson and Samuel McFarran, whom I sent out a month ago upon a scout, (has) returned here last night & brought with them Mr. Myers, who was coming with Dispatches for Your Excellency, Joseph Bott, who (has) lived near Albany, & John Ufnel, an Inhabitant of Fort Edward." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 131.⁶
• Note: circa June 1779; New York, New York, U.S.A.; "John Meyers has, at this time, a narrow escape from the hands of the enemy. Whilst stopping over at a known Royalist's home, a party of Rebels has come by the house on foot. Given a quick alarm from his friend, Meyers jumps out the back window of the building. He is observed by more Rebel soldiers who come riding up on horseback. Meyers, having made a speedy get-away to a nearby woods, is pursued by the Rebels to the edge of the thicket, whereby they dismount to tie their horses and follow him on foot. Meyers, the while, has hidden himself close by, and when they enter the forest, he carefully emerges, and hastily selecting the best horse, he absconds with the beast without compunction, and gallops away, escaping back to New York." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 132.⁶
• Residence: June 1779; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "St. John’s, Quebec, will, from now on, become John Meyers’ northern headquarters. Governor Haldimand by now has formed an increasingly favourable opinion of this ardent Loyalist Meyers whom he is coming to know as a reliable man. He ever faithfully delivers the precious communiques and letters and makes a fluent and observant verbal report to the Governor, whereupon he is instructed forthwith to return to St. John’s and await further orders there before proceeding on to New York. This huge German fellow has a quiet wisdom about his movements which secretly awes the Governor. His eyes reveal a fired determination yet untiring, and his ability to walk great distances without undue stress is indeed commendable and remarkable." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 136.⁶
• Note: October 1779; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "Instruction and letters' to be delivered at New York are now sent for Meyers to deliver, and being relieved greatly, he departs at last." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 139.⁶
• Residence: November 1779; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "As the snow starts to fall this late in the autumn, Meyers and the many other Loyalists now know that Canada some day will be their new home. Meyers has seen much of the Canadian country already. Many of its’ miles have been travelled by him when much younger, and he has been very impressed with the north country. It is an enormous untamed wilderness, except for the small sections already cultivated by the quaint French- Canadian farmers upon their long narrow holdings in their seignories. And what about that immense territory further inland lying west of Quebec? Already he whiles away the dreary winter hours dreaming about what his new home will be like — indeed, maybe he might even build a mill and operate businesses, if he can obtain land to give his family a new chance to rebuild their shattered lives. He has heard that the Loyal men to the King’s Cause will be welcome settlers in this distant northern land. Resolutely, John Walden Meyers sets his heart to do his best with whatever circumstance or misfortune shall befall him, when this terrible war is finished." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 140.⁶
• Residence: January 1780; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "Very early this year John Meyers has once again taken to the trail from New York northward to Quebec City. This is the earliest that he has even been requested to proceed through the enemy lines. Armed with specially hardy clothing, a blanket coat and supplies, he has chosen an out-of-the-way route and has successfully completed the winter journey. The Americans do not expect scouts out upon the trail in the dead of winter, and therefore detection is not so likely, as the Rebel Militia are not so vigilant during the severe season." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 142.⁶
• Note: 22 February 1780; Quebec, Province of Quebec; "Upon February 22nd Meyers arrives at Quebec City, where his messages are duly delivered, and in the next few days following, he, with some fellow officers, attends, on February 27, a large meeting of the Masonic Order at St. Andrew’s Lodge, No. 2, in that city. Masonic Lodges are
  a welcome feature of military formations, that is, regiments or corps. Practically every regiment has its own branch of the Order. It is from early contact with these Lodges that John Meyers has acquired his Masonic connection and zeal. He had already begun his lay training in the Order in the early years of the War. He has welcomed this opportunity to add to his education and improve his English, and the association with honourable men with high ideals at this time is to his mind particularly welcome. Although he has come from a background of farming, yet his extraordinary zeal and leadership of men in the War has brought him into contact with officers of education and standing, and his sound character has responded to their influence. He will acquire a Masonic tie pin and cuff-links of which he will be justly proud down through the years. And so, now, he is made a Freemason, and has taken his three degrees on the same night. A bronze Masonic medallion " is presented to him at this time." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 142.⁶
• Residence: 24 November 1780; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "Meyers is carrying his commission in his pocket when he arrives in Quebec City this November 24th.. It is dated November 20th. and has been issued by Colonel James Rogers, commander of the King’s Rangers, and he will serve in both Rogers’ Rangers and Jessup’s Corps both from now on to the final years. His name usually appears now in British documents, being written as ‘‘John Walter Meyers” and sometimes ‘‘John Walton Meyer”. ... It is with a great deal of satisfaction that John Meyers now receives his commission as a Loyalist officer attached to the British army, in possession of his recruiting warrant. It is an honoured position to be an officer, especially among the Loyalist soldiery." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 148.⁶
• Residence: 25 November 1780; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "On his last trip north for the year, John Meyers progresses straight way up to Canada, evading all efforts to intercept him. His arrival at St. John’s is reported on November 25th. by Colonel Barry St. Leger, who has now succeeded General Powell in command of that place. “Capt. Myres of Rogers’"' with one McCarty and five recruits arrived here last night”, he writes, ‘‘Myres left New York the 11th. of October, brings no dispatches nor anything of consequence.”" from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 148.⁶
• Residence: December 1780; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "Amongst these illustrious warriors, as 1781 now approaches, the former German farmer Johannes Waltimeyer, now a warrant-bearing officer in the famous Rogers’ Rangers, enters his most intense year of activities as John Walden Meyers, master spy and partisan fighter extraordinaire." from "Hans Waltimeter" page 153.⁶
• Note: 1 April 1781; New York, U.S.A.; "But Meyers has already struck out as soon as the melting snows will permit. Under special instructions from the Governor, he has, as early as the first of the month, taken his departure with the intention of renewing his quest for recruits around Albany and bearing despatches for General Clinton. He now proceeds on through to New York. A Richard Ferguson, Loyalist from St. Edward, is accompanying him as they are taking an unfamiliar route by way of Ballstown, New York, and Ferguson is acting as guide as far as that point. Ferguson is to proceed on to Isle aux Noix where he is to report to Major Christopher Carleton. Major Carleton writes from Isle aux Noix by April 24th. to Mathews at Quebec:
  “Mr. Ferguson arrived at this post last night. He reports that he conducted Mr. Myers to Ballstown, where he, Mr. Ferguson, remained 17 days after Capt. Myers sett off in which time it is certain he must have got safe in, as had he been taken it would have been known all over the country.”" from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 156.⁶
• Note: 30 May 1781; New York, U.S.A.; "By the end of May he has completed the journey into New York City and is back in the vicinity of Albany. The Rebels cannot catch this master woodsman and they are at their wit’s end as to how to capture him. His surprise movements ever confuse and confound them. Knowledge of his arrival at each end of the line leaked to them by their agents infuriates the Continentals, who cannot believe that he continues to elude their carefully planned stratagems. He still employs scare tactics and the furtherance of the terror of the “Hans Waltimeyer” myth, to put them off his scent." from "Hans Waltemeyer" page 156.⁶
• Residence: 26 June 1781; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "Leaving his new men at St. John's, John Meyers now proceeds on to Quebec City where he is to have a personal interview with the Governor. He is questioned by Governor Haldimand thoroughly and at great length as to the state of the country between this northern British stronghold and the British- held bastion at New York City and Long Island. Meyers is now the only scout getting through the total enemy line from north to south and back." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 159.⁶
• Residence: 28 June 1781; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "General Haldimand has given Captain Meyers independent command, acting under his own personal directions. The permission given by Haldimand to him to raise recruits is included in a letter written by Mathews to Colonel St. Leger on June 28th.: June 28th. “His Excellency the Commander in Chief having thought fit to give the Bearer thereof, Mr. Myers, leave to inlist any number of men he shall be able to procure to serve in this Province & upon the Frontiers thereof, either as Independent or hereafter to be attached to whatever Corps His Excellency shall direct I am commanded to signify to you the General’s desire that the men he last brought in, be considered as belonging to him. Orders will be sent to the Quarter Master General for the Cloathing of them, & they are to (do) duty in common with other Loyalists. Mr. Myers will transmit to Major Nairne a Quarterly Sub (sisten) ce Account for the payment of his men & has permission to appoint a Sergeant & Corporal for the better management of them.’’" from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 160.⁶
• Note: 29 July 1781; Albany, New York, U.S.A.; "Meyers will write his report on August 18th., the day after his arrival at St. John’s, in which he recounts the lively events of the attempt: I arrived in the neighbourhood of Albany the 29th. of July, where I remained"’ till the 7th. of August between 7 and 9 o’clock at night when I attempted to Capture my object but having two Doors to Brake through before I could enter the apartment he was in, and not having a sufficient number of men to surround the house he made his escape out of a window, the Centry I had planted at the Door said he heard two pistols fired after he made his escape towards the town which I supposed to be to alarm the town. After I entered the house I met with an opposition of seven men in which a Carnage insued which lasted near a Quarter of an Hour, in which I and my party killed one and wounded two, and took two prisoners and the other two made their escape. After which I consulted my retreat which I immediately pursued and arrived at St. John’s the 16th. August with my party and two prisoners. “The reason of my lying from the 29th. July to the 7th. of August was on account of Mr. Betys (Bettis)' ’ being discovered and the rebels being in search of him, I thought proper to ly by till the rout was over before I made my attempt.’’ And so the daring raid on the Schuyler mansion attempted by John Meyers has failed, due to circumstances of fate he is unable to have anticipated at this time, and his failure is only by the slimmest of margins." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 164 & 165.
• Residence: 22 September 1781; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "Late this month secret letters of the utmost importance from Haldimand are to be conveyed to Sir Henry Clinton at New York, and Colonel St. Leger once again chooses Meyers as the person best qualified to perform this hazardous mission — the one man who will probably get through to the British lines. The entire enemy country has been ever on the alert since the summer, constantly on the look-out for this daring, elusive, crazy German Loyalist who apparently can walk right through their midst. Their watch has been constant since the Schuyler raid. The Board of Commissioners and the northern Continental military leaders are more than furious that their militia sortees have failed to trap him. The examination of pro-Loyalist sympathizers becomes even more severe as does the persecution of any person suspected of harbouring him. “Hans Waltimeyer, the Spy” — is he real or a phantom? Meyers knows that the places of his safe harbour and succour are now minimal; thusly his route must be more obscure through the wilderness by way of seldom-used inland paths, with the prospect of many nights to be spent in the open." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 176.⁶
• Residence: 24 September 1781; Lake Champlain, Point au Fer, Vermont, U.S.A.; "Colonel St. Leger is instructed to forward them by a trusty messenger and having summoned John Meyers, he orders his departure from St.John’s. Progress is made as far as Point au Fer, the most southerly British outpost on Lake Champlain, Here, due to the dampness of the weather, Meyers is suddenly overcome by an attack of ague"1, the dreaded swamp-fever of the wilds, and he shakes with chills and burns with fever, and inevitable approaching delirium. The illness now confines him to this far-flung fort. Meyers desperately debates in his fast-sickening mind as to what he should do with the despatches. He must immediately send them off with some other scout, as a heavy fever might render him insensible and his discovery by the enemy would reveal his package. An enquiry at the fort finds a man named De Veaux (or Dafoe) presently there. He has been used as a scout and bearer before, and in him Meyers now has to confine his trust and most important documents. De Veaux leaves immediately and proceeds southward — a strange figure for which the Americans will not be watching, and this may gain him good fortune through the enemy lines. Before his mind has clouded with the dreaded sickness, Meyers has been able to disclose to De Veaux the back routes which will be more obscure and will keep him out of the Militia’s ever watchful gaze." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 177.⁶
• Note: 10 November 1781; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "Meyers now lapses into several days of severe fever and illness. This is the first occasion that he has ever become victim of the ague. He has watched many of his fellow combatants in the grip of raging fevers, yet his own robust constitution had always preserved his health through the harrowing rigours of bad weather. He is forced to lay ill in this dangerously far-flung out-post till well into November. Isolated this far south as a notorious spy, his position is perilous in case of Rebel attack. He is highly restless, and when November barely able to walk, he leaves Point au Fer and 10th. travels back up to Fort St. John’s via Isle aux
  Noix, the fortified frontier post at the northern extremity of Lake Champlain." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 177.⁶
• Note: circa 30 November 1781; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "As the snow first fiies in November, John Meyers reflects with sadness the loss of the expected visit to New York, where he would have once again spent the winter with his
  family, instead of being forced to abide the dreary cheerlessness of the winter habitation of the Loyalist officers. His messenger, John Defoe, had arrived safely in New York, but alas, the return messenger brings hopeless
  news of the failure of the southern British forces, who have fought and lost a terrible battle at Yorktown, Virginia, where Lord Cornwallis has been defeated and has made surrender of his Expeditionary Forces on October 19th., a disasterous and overwhelming October set-back to England which will destroy forever any hope of ever subduing the rebellious
  American colonies. As the end of this year of 1781 approaches, the remaining thoughts and hopes of the British forces now in America will be evacuation and escape, rather than further surrender." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 178.⁶
• Residence: 24 December 1781; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "Ever praying upon the minds of the Loyalists is the state of abject poverty to which they are now reduced. Even among the soldiery, some do not receive their pay from the officials. This year a list of men have presented their request in a special petition for relief. The group are of Captain Meyers’s company, the request being endorsed by him. The dates of request stretch from the 25th. of April to December 24th. and the complaint concerns “broaken"1 times” unpaid by the government to them. Captain Meyers has been obliged to expend from his own money to support himself and his men during his wartime expeditions for the Crown. This drain on his impaired resources is almost too much, and he finds that his small debts have been mounting up this year, despite his annual pay of £182, as an officer. His lack of earning power, and the ambition to form his own company has almost driven him into bankruptcy. £1 York currency equals two dollars fifty cents and both currencies are in common use. Upon applying for assistance in a memorial to Governor Haldimand, he has this year received one extra guinea, a sum which apparently is expected to relieve his financial burden! The keep of his company and the ensuing expense of gathering more men is expected to be paid by him. The reverses of this War in all their severity are not so dishonouring as the fact of being in debt to his fellow officers. Major Jessup will finally loan him a sum of money which will be a burdensome obligation for a length of many months." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 179.⁶
• Residence: 5 February 1782; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "During the long frigid season of 1781-1782, John Walden Meyers has once again wintered at Fort St. John’s, awaiting impatiently the completion of the formation of his own company of combatants. Even yet, nearing the end of these hopeless hostilities, his ambition is still to confirm the security of his captaincy. His outstanding skill as a scout has deserved this recognition, and yet he remains an unofficial officer without a legal commission. The inactivity and insecurity of his position, from which he suffers much, frustrates completely this man of quick decisions. Upon so many occasions has the communication of the northern British forces with the south depended entirely upon his skills, and yet he reflects bitterly the reluctance of the Governor to confirm his commission. February On the 5th. of February, he writes to Captain 5th. Mathews from the Fort about the formation of his company: “I most humbly beg leave to request of His Excellency the liberty of having an Ensign allowed me to my Company which I conceive for the good of His Majesty’s Service, for as the time is approaching nigh that Business may be done, if His Excellency allows me to recruit, which I have no doubt of, it will certainly be assisting to the Service, and I labour under many Difficulties for the want of some assistance. “Therefore I beg leave to recommend to His Excellency Mr. Richard Ferguson a very proper person for Ensign to my Company, and is well known to be as good a Subject as is in His Majesty’s service, tho’ he is not attached to any Corps at present, But is inclin’d to join my Company if His Excellency will be pleas’d to allow him to be Ensign or appoint him as such and allow him some small Subsistence as His Excellency will be pleas’d to think proper until he may raise a sufficient number of men. “He being a smart and active young man and a tolerable Education, which would be very assistant to me. “I humbly beg His Excellency will be pleas’d to Congratulate me and appoint him accordingly who waits, on His Excellency’s answer.”" from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 182.⁶
• Residence: 26 March 1782; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "Meyers writes a report of his mission on March 26th. after his return to Fort St. John’s. He has been able to procure correspondence from Hans Sheer, a quiet farmer with Loyalist leanings. Meyers has left the neighbourhood of March 10th. Albany on March 10th. The intelligence he brings back written in German is sent to him by the Reverend Samuel Schwerdfeger'21, an approved Loyalist living nine miles from Albany. Martin Fralick is an intimate friend and fellow agent of Meyers upon whom trust is placed, and he is employed by him at this time to collect information and to communicate with one John Roff in Albany, who has promised to collect newspapers ‘‘and every intelligence in his power, in readiness for Ct. Meyers or any messenger that shall bring a token from him”." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 185.⁶
• Note: 24 April 1782; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "Dr. Smyth writes to Captain Mathews on April 24th. of the German scout’s departure: “Captain Meyers sets off to-morrow with the Inclosed Queries for Z. L. at Schenectady. He will also have proper directions to seize Edgar ", if Meyers cannot effect it, Jno. Platt who is in the country will effect it.” Again the journey south is embarked upon and completed from the period of April 25th. to May 24th. This time Meyers goes out alone. He has contacted all his sources of information. His “Friends” have found out all the news possible and he arrives in the vicinity of Albany, hiding out under the very noses of the Rebels. The information is conveyed by a spy chain, through a system of pre-arrangement, from household to Loyalist household, till it reaches his ears at the home of his harbourer. All the Loyalist spies still in enemy country are in the most desperate and uttermost danger by now, and yet they continue to volunteer information. Meyers’ escape of detection on this trip has had to necessitate his enforced concealment in a cave for a week. Food is slipped in to him each day. He has used this cave many times before. Its cold but friendly walls seem quite homelike to him by now, even though the chilling spring rains put a dulling dampness into his very bones. Exactly one month from his departure from Schenectady, he is reported as having returned with intelligence." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 186.⁶
• Residence: 24 May 1782; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "Again the journey south is embarked upon and completed from the period of April 25th. to May 24th. This time Meyers goes out alone. He has contacted all his sources of information. His “Friends” have found out all the news possible and he arrives in the vicinity of Albany, hiding out under the very noses of the Rebels. The information is conveyed by a spy chain, through a system of pre-arrangement, from household to Loyalist household, till it reaches his ears at the home of his harbourer. All the Loyalist spies still in enemy country are in the most desperate and uttermost danger by now, and yet they continue to volunteer information. Meyers’ escape of detection on this trip has had to necessitate his enforced concealment in a cave for a week. Food is slipped in to him each day. He has used this cave many times before. Its cold but friendly walls seem quite homelike to him by now, even though the chilling spring rains put a dulling dampness into his very bones. Exactly one month from his departure from Schenectady, he is reported as having returned with intelligence. He has travelled on further to Montreal, having found a British ship cruising on Lake Champlain off Crown Point and on watch for his appearance, to transfer him the more speedily northward to his destination." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 186 & 187.⁶
• Note: 15 July 1782; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "He returns once again to the command of his company. Ruiter and Best, his subalterns, are both Dutch, as are many of his men. Some of his original recruits are somewhat dissatisfied with their inclusion into Jessup’s Corps as they would have preferred the special privileges of a separate company. They had joined this company originally to fight along side the famous Hans Waltimeyer, and now they are rubbing elbows with untrained straplings! Captain Meyers is obliged to report a remonstrance submitted by his original group of men against their transfer to Major Jessup’s Corps, dated at St. John’s, on June 18th. A personal visit by Jessup to the camp to see the men has soothed the situation, and this is reported to Mathews by July 15th.: “I have the pleasure to inform you that Capt. Miers men seem much more satisfied since I have seen and spoke to them myself." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 191.⁶
• Note: September 1782; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "The winter is approaching once again, always more severe here in Quebec than in New York. Garrison duty is the job at hand at Fort St. John’s, as well as the carrying out of the rescue sorties. Batteaux are manned by Meyers’ men as use is made of the waterways to hasten rescue. Hasty shelters are being raised by the men at all points as winter quarters. Some refugees come by foot, others by flag-of-truce up Lake Champlain." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 192.⁶
• Note: December 1782; Province of Quebec; "Captain John Walden Meyers has, as the year ends, met the young eager John R. Bleecker, who is in one of the other companies besides his own, and has reflected with sadness that this War has made it necessary to recruit mere youths, yea, even about the age of his own sons. Destiny has a future for both these families, nothing now of which they know.' Captain Meyers will now spend this last long lonely winter alone, thinking about and longing for a sight of his own family and a chance to rebuild their lives together." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 194.⁶
• Residence: March 1783; Machiche, Province of Quebec; "Meyers’ family have landed at Machiche this spring, it being a St. Lawrence River depot for the refugee ships coming in from New York City. The Meyers family, having arrived by sea, have been able to bring more possessions with them than the average Loyalist family. George and Tobias, being old enough to enlist, join their father as men of the family, no longer being considered children." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 205 & 206.⁶
• Residence: 13 March 1783; Province of Quebec; "Once more spring has arrived at the scattered frontier forts of Quebec. Captain John Meyers is ready yet again to sortie out into the Colonies, and submits an application to Captain Justus Sherwood to proceed into New York or Vermont, but the request has been rejected. Sherwood seems to bear a secret admiration for this dare-devil German combined with an air of superiority which Meyers has ofttimes found annoying. But the hostilities are all but ceased; the worst of the War is now over.
  “Captain Meyers in undoubtedly a good man to procure intelligence,’’ he writes to Secretary Mathews on March 13th., “but I really cannot see the necessity of employing any more than we have in that service, what with our own partys & the continual succession of people coming from the Colonies, I believe we collect all the intelligence that is moving in or out of the New England or New York provinces.” from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 196.⁶
• Residence: May 1783; Fort St. John's, Province of Quebec; "But, by May, Meyers has in his possession a pass of immunity provided by General Haldimand to go back down into “ye Provinces”"’ on his own private affairs. This will be his first attempt to rescue something of his family’s property, but he avows it will not be his last. Polly Meyers and her Bock of children have taken ship from New York City early this spring, being amongst the first refugees to head northward by sea this year out of that overcrowded, seething and panicking city. Their ship has proceeded up the coast and down to Quebec City via the St. Lawrence. Their stay at Quebec is short as they have received instructions to proceed on to Fort St. John’s, where they have been reunited with the joyous father. Oh, how great is the relief as Polly catches sight of her great strong husband once again. John Meyers is more than proud of his three tall strapping sons and his trio of daughters, Catherine the slender gay one, Mary the tall strong girl, and Anna the short plump one, much likened to her Dutch mother. The baby Jacob is now an active boy of six years. They are all sturdy and healthy and have survived the War without severe strain. Their father has not seen them for two years now. Meyers himself, except for his ague, which will occasionally return upon him, is tough, lean and energetic." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 196.⁶
• Note: 30 May 1783; Mississquoi, Province of Quebec; "But the War is over. With the Provisional Treaty having now been signed, Meyers is now relieved from the terrible strain of fighting in this long fruitless War. Orders have been received for a general cessation of hostilities and there will be no more recruiting sorties. The Treaty of Peace has recognized the independence of the revolting Provinces, and the Loyalists must now be relocate on land in the King’s wilds. Meyers now engages energetically in a scheme to start a settlement with the men of his company on some land which he has passed by in his travels, and has been previously selected by him as an ideal site for settlement. He, and
  a fellow officer in the Loyal Rangers, a Thomas Sherwood, present a petition to the Governor for permission to undertake the cultivation of a portion of the vacant Crown lands bordering on the north-eastern side of Lake Champlain, on a bay known as Mississque or Mississquoi Bay. This location is in an indeterminate area, geographically, near the undecided boundary line of the Province of Quebec and the new Stale of Vermont, that territory now being part of the new Americas. The association of these soldiers in the Mississquoi Bay scheme will involve a number of families of the Corps and the region is especially appropriate, as there are extensive meadow lands with a type of hay growing already upon them. The growth of trees to clear is limited and the sod will yield very easily to the plough without the burden of arduous clearing." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 196.⁶
• Residence: June 1783; Mississquoi, Province of Quebec; "Meyers’ choice of the lands at Mississquoi this year has been based on the excellence of the terrain and the proximity to markets such as Montreal. In his travels, having explored the west country up beyond the St. Lawrence, he knows full well that settlement up in that direction for the Loyalists will create a nightmare of transport past the many dangerous rapids of that turbulent major river. And yet he is informed that the surveying parties are working there, and no doubt this is preparatory to a Loyalist settlement in that region. How could settlers subsist so far away from Montreal? Even negotiating the upstream journey for initial settlement will present the greatest difficulty. As this year has worn on, and his petitions have gone unnoticed, even more grimly determined is he to stick it out at his Mississquoi land choice. A good crop can soon be planted, with so many willing hands to commence the pioneering work, including assistance from his bonded family, the Levis. Their freedom is still in his mind, but that must wait until settlement is finalized." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 206.⁶
• Residence: 14 July 1783; Mississquoi Bay, Province of Quebec; "Meanwhile, back in Quebec, Captain John Walden Meyers has been recorded by July 14th. as residing on the north-east side of Mississquoi Bay and is praying by petition for the permanent granting of lands. His determination has located him in this forbidden region, despite the directive from the Governor disallowing Loyalist settlements so near the border." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 205.
  Note: Mississquoi Bay is at the north end of Lake Champlain, the north part of it in Quebec and the south part in Vermont.⁶
• Residence: 26 October 1783; Mississquoi, Province of Quebec; "The numbers in the Mississquoi Bay settlement have now swollen to about 500 souls but still Captain Meyers and his fellow settlers hear of no sanction of their location. The Loyal combatants and their dependents will be given supplies to see them through the winter. News of the disbandment of Jessup’s Corps has come, but still very disquieting reports indicate that Captain Justus Sherwood is planning with Governor Haldimand that the Corps’ settlement shall indeed be up in the St. Lawrence Townships, where the other Loyalist regiments will also be headed." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 206.⁶
• Note: 24 December 1783; Province of Quebec; "Now that the War is over, it is known widely that John Walden Meyers has, from the first to the last, performed an exceptional duty, and has done all he possibly could to aid the British government. He is now a war celebrity. His services to the Crown have been recognized by his retirement as an officer of the British Army, a distinction indeed for a yeoman of Prussian descent, and an honourable position in these days when commissions are usually reserved for the well-educated, titled and well-to-do. Yet, the future looks indeed bleak as word is received this Christmas Eve of 1783 that the remnants of the Loyalist regiments are from this date now to be considered disbanded. The tragic situation of their families is reflected in the total loss of everything except that which they carry on their backs to this desolate place." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 208.⁶
• Note*: 1784; Province of Quebec; "After the harvesting of his crop, Captain John Walden Meyers will now enter a one-year period of relative obscurity which will be enlightened only by the occasional reference in an odd letter or report. As he will not ascend to Cataraqui till the next year hence from this, the information contained in these letters and reports give only a faint inkling of his whereabouts now. He is still not convinced of the need for Governor Haldimand’s direction of the Loyalists so far westward. According to information recorded in a communique from Haldimand, Meyers is now employed after the cessation of the War in looking out or suitable lands for Loyalists, at the directive of the Governor. This quiet statement is the only clue to his activities. This work is apparently taking him on many exploratory trips through regions up and down the St. Lawrence, and probably extending westward to join up at Fort Niagara with the grouping of Loyalists who have flowed up from the American States towards that direction. Lands suitable for settlement are finally chosen, under Haldimand’s direction, as being especially favourable, and the shores of the Bay Kente prove to be still the most arable. The surveyors are directed to engage in immediate work in this area. On the roll of the 2nd. Battalion King’s Royal Regiment, dated at New York, 1784, are the names of George Finkle and John Meyers. This is a list, apparently, of previous combatants who have been active during the War. The future is to bring these two men together, along with other brave pioneers on the shores of their eventful home, the Bay of Kenty. Meyers is to now mention in one of his letters that he has obtained leave from the authorities to go on a visit to see his family whom are now residing in Vermont ", after the settlement and retreat from Mississque Bay of 1783. It will not actually be recorded where they are residing, but short stays in Montreal for a period or two, and different points in Quebec are made before their eventual move westward up the river to Cataraqui in this next year." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 226.⁶
• Note: March 1784; Mississquoi, Province of Quebec; "Meyers himself has travelled to Mississquoi March 15th. with the March party from St. John’s, even before the snows have gone. They have travelled by tandem sleigh overland, that method being more speedy than battling the mud of later spring-time. Captain Sherwood continues: “If there is not a stop put on them, I believe they are still determined to settle on those lands, as some of them were stop’d yesterday when on their way with their furniture, baggage, Provisions, & t, and I am informed that Lt. Ruiter, who is absent for some time, is now- on the Land building. The pretended Proprietors are Captain Pritchard, Meyers, and Ruiter, Lieuts. Wehr, Ruiter, and Best, Ensign Best, Messrs. Martin & Taylor with two others, whose names I have not learn’d." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 211 and 212.⁶
• Residence: 3 April 1784; Mississquoi, Province of Quebec; "Captain Sherwood now sends a confirmation to his earlier report about Mississquoi. He writes: “I can only inform you at present that Capt. W. Myers, Capt. Henry Ruyter, Lieuts. Wehr, Ruyter and Best with a number of men I believe mostly from Rogers Core " are at work & have Erected some houses about 3 miles south of the mouth of pike river and on that part of rock River which runs in this province. Capt. Ruyter, has taken up a yoke of oxen of his own And Capt. W. Myers told Ens’n Sherwood that he had already got a sufficient quantity of land Clear’d to raise 1000 bushels of Corn — I am surpriz’d that Doctor Smyth has not wrote you on the subject, he was the man who inform’d me that those people were determined not to move off from that land for the generals order or any other nor to be drove off Except by a superior force, for by L(or)d Norths declaration they had a right to settle on any of the Kings land they should Choose in this province.’’ Sherwood now sends two reliable non-com- April missioned officers to go down to check the progress of the Mississquoi settlement. The people, under Meyers as their director, are making excellent progress and they wish fervently to remain rather than going northwest up the St. Lawrence. Meyers is not overly impressed even with the fertility of the land around the settlement of Cataraqui, site of the old French Fort Frontenac. A lot of the land has granite showings or thin top-soil over the basic limestone. This appears to be the base of a great deal of land in the general area. This type of poorly and unfertile terrain is immediately recognizable by the growth of scrub juniper instead of the normal luxurious growth of the wilderness forest, and is indicative of a thin top-soil." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 212.⁶
• Residence: 1 June 1784; Lachine, Province of Quebec; "Once having arrived at Lachine by the first of June, Captain Meyers is still reluctant to proceed toward the westward settlements any further than Lachine. It is now summer, and the season is too far advanced to allow for a further journey followed by the ardours of land clearance, plowing and seeding, to say nought of the erection of their first temporary shelter. This would have to be a building of a size commodious enough to accommodate nine persons in his family, and also a shelter is needed for the family of his slaves, the Levis. Meyers and a fellow Loyalist, Paul Gruber, now decide that they must not move any further past where they now are situated this year. It would be more advantageous to rent a Canadian farm from a French family near Lachine where the land will be already cleared and the shelter provided. The farms are selected and, in conjunction with Gruber, John Meyers writes a further appeal to Secretary Mathews: “We thought that it would be too late before the Lands allotted for the Loyalists to be settled that they would not be able to Raise any Produce this summer. We therefore thought proper to take a Canadian Farm till Sept, next on which we have sowed and planted, which farm we cannot leave till after harvest without losing all our Labour — after which time we will go to the Lands if agreeable to His Excellency — the same time we have impowered Ensign Sherwood in the Loyal Rangers to act for us. “Now being in distress for want of provisions it is our Request that His Excellency will be graciously pleased to order us provisions for ourselves & families." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 214.⁶
• Residence: October 1784; Lachine, Province of Quebec; "John Meyers has, this year, been able to recover for his children the most of his father’s property, during his stay in Quebec this past year. His parents and brother have remained with the Rebel Cause throughout the War, and this has caused a permanent cleavage in the family, never to be reunited even after Meyers’ departure for Canada. Now that his parents are deceased, he has returned to the family farm, and has received a claim of inheritance rights for his children' The great division of Rebel from Royalist had decreed that his departure for Canada was to be the last time he was to see them alive as a family, except upon the few occasions of his secret return visits to see his mother, at great risk and danger to himself. Memories are long and the appearance of the late infamous Hans Waltimeyer would still create a stir of renewed animosity and hatred. And yet Meyers has been determined to claim his children’s rightful inheritance. Bonds and notes of value have been gotten back at this time. Captain Meyers’ name now appears on a list of “Settlers and others who have drawn town Lots at Cataraqui, (this year of) 1785”." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 228.⁶
• Residence: March 1785; Cataraqui, Province of Quebec; "Upon reaching Cataraqui, in this year of 1785, Captain Meyers and his family dutifully present themselves to the authorities for land allocation and draw a 200-acre tract in Ernestown, in the new Upper Settlements. He also is given a town lot in Cataraqui itself, a requisite as befits an officer. The weary but determined family proceed onwards to these new land holdings, after making the usual long Loyalist trek of haulage up the rapids of the St. Lawrence. The nightmarish route of turbulent waters is as terrifying, tiring and inconvenient as Meyers had predicted it to be.
  Cataraqui has been reached, and the land inspected, but Meyers is none too pleased with this situation. The ground, of small area, looks poorly to his quickly critical eye, and there is no possible site for a mill, although the family is intrigued by the locality of the land sites in general here by the quiet waters of the Bay. John Meyers is, by now, determined to gain a mill-site, as his industrial instincts again tell him that all prosperous settlements centre around good mills where trade and commerce would naturally branch out. He and his sons now know that Cataraqui will not be a perma-' nent landing for them, and so a temporary shelter, only, will be built and a few crops put in to tide them over the year. His grant and that of his family must of necessity be large, preferably nearby his sons’ lands and apart from any other village if he is to create a settlement centre of his own." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 228.⁶
• Residence: October 1785; Cataraqui, Province of Quebec; "The harvest for the Meyers family has indeed been small as they, once again, have put in another summer in a temporary home. John Meyers’ dissatisfaction with his Cataraqui holdings has grown as the year has advanced. Their grant has been below size, and not the 700 acres to which the family is entitled. The authorities will issue no more allocation areas to him at the present. These are the orders of Governor Haldimand, who has departed Quebec, having finished his period of service in Canada. Further orders concerning settling must be delayed until the Autumn next governor who takes office this following year, is acquainted with the situation. Four hundred extra acres or more are also due the Meyers family, as their rightful allotment. With the fateful decision of accepting a lot here and there, Captain Meyers’ land allotments will be all over the map, and not in an estate block as he has been hoping. The clearing and crop-raising this year has been done by his family in the most primitive method yet attempted by them. They are not able to remove stumps on the new lands; sowing has been done in between them. A tent has sufficed at first, and as (lie summer wears on, two small cabins are put up, one for the family and the other for the Levis. As the fall approaches, John and Polly Meyers and their children know that they have still not yet arrived at their promised land. Before winter sets in, the Captain has resolved to go to the country still further westward, where this beautiful Bay seems to be calling him home." from "Hans Watlimeyer" page 233.⁶
• Residence: March 1786; Cataraqui, Province of Quebec; "Captain John Walden Meyers, ever inclined to be a man of action, is more than frustrated at his situation at Cataraqui, in the tiny hamlet known as King’s Town, with the coming of spring this year of 1786. ... What John Meyers needs, he well knows, now, is good land and a large tract of it, and a site near a suitable river on which to build a mill. He will not find it here at Cataraqui. The lots he has drawn are too small, and too separated, but the factor of greatest importance is that they possess no mill-site. His large land allowance must come in one tract, and the land due his sons and daughters should not be too far distant, if they are to work at enterprises together. While they are as yet unmarried, he will have their aid in manpower to develop a large family holding. It must be even better than at Mississquoi Bay. The uprooting from their first chosen settlement at Mississquoi by Lake Champlain still rankles in his mind. Damnation to the Governor for causing them to move! Meyers had not at that time realized that the border of Vermont would extend so far north. The British authorities based at Quebec and Montreal have forced the refugees much further north and west in their location than where the Loyalists have counted on being settled.
  As John Meyers and his sons ruefully survey the land doled out to them at King’s Town, they fervently hope that this is the last temporary home they will have to endure before their permanent landfall will be reached. His sons are growing now and are fast becoming men rather than boys. Molly Meyers is hard put to it to find trousers and jackets long enough to fit three sets of long gangly stretching limbs. The Meyers men, leaving the women behind for the present, load their belongings once more and prepare to move further west up the shores of this intriguingly beautiful waterway, which seems to beckon them onward. As their batteau beats a steady but slow course up the coastline, the odd sparse little group of cabins are passed, among them the trading post of Captain Singleton, where they make a welcome stop. Singleton has high hopes of the business prospects of this region and John Meyers is encouraged by his reports of trading with the Mississaugas who are round about the Bay in fair numbers. Even some trade is starting amongst the scattered few settlers already on the Upper Bay." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 236 & 237.⁶
• Residence: October 1786; Bay of Quinte, Province of Quebec; "John Bleecker has shown Captain Meyers the far westward location on the map of the area where he has worked as assistant- surveyor. Meyers is even more intrigued as he has passed through all these lands and waterways when exploring for the Governor." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 238.⁶
• Residence: April 1787; Bay of Quinte, Province of Quebec; "Captain John Meyers and his sons are spending the early months of the year in further exploration of the Bay, upon the urging of the eldest son George, who is combing the north shore country, searching for a good family settling site. Many enterprises are building in Meyers’ mind as he surveys this beautiful country. The miseries and terrors of the rapids on the route to Montreal recede in his mind as he begins to think about this region becoming the scene of his final home. Here, somewhere, lies his future property; and a great deal of land will be his, which he will use to rebuild and reshape his life after the dangers and sacrifices of all those years since he left his own old farm in New York Province, now fully ten years ago. A finely developed farm, on the shores of this Bay, with a good house and tilled land, and several successful business ventures — all are now possible with his strong sons to help him. His one great need now is a good mill-site. He has already eyed the Sagonaskokan, a fine river, but the land at the mouth had been initially drawn and is held at this time by John Singleton. A mill-site on that river would have been excellent. Next, the Meyers men inspect the Quintio (Trent), but its very size and turbulence is a drawback. The building of a dam would only be possible in certain places, but the width of the river itself further endangered by turbulent rapids, makes it almost impossible for milling use in the lower sections. The Meyers sons and their father are checking the river’s upper reaches, a few miles distance from the mouth, and there are places in the wide stream’s course where it would be possible to cope with constructing a dam across this large waterway." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 246 & 248.⁶
• Residence: June 1787; Sidney Twp., Province of Quebec; "By the early summer months, the Meyers men have checked all the terrain available. Finally they are attracted to a place that George Meyers has noted before. A small stream about three miles east of the Quintio, running through a large flat meadow-like area, empties into the Bay opposite a small island. The river seems usable for a mill. The land is most attractive, and reminds them of the Mississquoi holdings because of its lush pasture-like appearance. The task of clearing here would be minimal, as only clumps of bushes would hinder the plow, with just the odd tree to cut. Wild meadow flowers grow in abundance. Because of the level terrain, one would be able to stand and view one’s entire acreage at a glance. The stream is running low, but all waterways are shallow because of the dryness of this unusual season. Surely the rains will come, and the water level will rise on the land.
  Little does Meyers know, as he and his sons draw up their canoe upon the shore, that they are standing upon land of which they and their descendants will be the proud owners for many generations; after many decades of nurturing the Meyers family, it will finally become the training ground for aerial warriors of the Twentieth Century, who will fight so valiantly in the great battles of World War II . '
  The decision is made that this shall be their new home. Meyers now files for allocation on Lots 8 and 9 in Sidney, on the first and second concessions. The grant of land will be very large, some 600 acres, and the sons George and Tobias will hold jointly Lot 7, adjoining, reckoned at 300 acres. Mary, and Catherine, the two older daughters, are assigned land ownership on the 2nd. Concession of Lot 7, another 300 acres which will make a total parcel of 1200 acres. Leonard, the other older son, will be drawing his land elsewhere, and Anna and Jacob are too young as yet, for decisions to be made re their property rights. Here, indeed, is that land in abundance for which John Meyers has been searching. At once, Captain Meyers’ enterprise here is auspicious. Immediately a comfortable log house is built, large enough for the family’s accommodation. Land is quickly cleared and ploughed for cultivation after the division of the fields. Plans for a large farm and orchards are formulated. Meyers is overjoyed with the prospects of this land, its very existence in one block being the most beneficial aspect. Each member of the family is drawing land close enough to be of help to each other. Leonard has had his eye on a piece of land he has seen elsewhere, and he will withhold drawing this until after he has been of help to his father." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 248.⁶
• Residence: 6 September 1787; Conc 1 & 2 Lots 8 & 9, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Province of Quebec; "Under the date of the 6th. September, the following order is made by the Honorable John Collins, the Deputy Surveyor-General: “Captain Jno. W. Meyers, wife and five children being entitled to 1000 acres, has lots 8 and 9 in first and second concessions Sidney and 200 acres in second township in full of said proportion in Seignorie No. 8, and having taken the oath and made the signed declaration according to instructions he is hereby authorized to settle and improve said lots without delay and being settled thereon, he shall receive a patent grand Deed of these concessions at the expiry of 12 months from date hereof, to enable him to hold the same as Inheritable and Assignable estate”. A note affixed to the land order states that “These lots measure up nearly 200 acres more than the computed amount of Captain Meyers' Military lands”. Thus is given the official sanction to Meyers’ possession of his Canadian land holdings." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 254.⁶
• Note: 2 October 1787; Sidney Twp., Province of Quebec; "Captain John Meyers’ claim is now ready to be presented to the Commissioners’ meeting this year. He has procured his witnesses' statements and they will assist him in his attempt to prove his losses suffered during the Revolution. The lapse, by now, of ten long years of privation, the abandonment of uncounted possessions left behind, and the distance of hundreds of miles between their present situation and their original holdings in all parts of the American Colonies is rendering the confirmation of their losses as Loyalists an almost impossible task. Lands, in some cases vast estates, farms, homes, furniture and chattels, business interests and professions — the loss is inestimable. Wounds suffered during the War and the expenditure of their own resources has seen many well-to-do Loyalists reduced to a state of poverty and despair. Meyers’ losses are valued by him at £337, 8 shillings, although the chances of full restitution are doubtful.
  October 2nd. The claim is presented by Captain Meyers on October 2nd. to the Commission on Compensations, he appearing before Commissioner Pemberton at Montreal, and his claim being filed as No. 966: “Claim of John W. Meyers, late of Albany Co. Claimt. says he resided at St. John’s and Isle au Noix and Du Chene in 1783. On service resided chiefly at St.John’s dur. ye Winter. Is a nat. of America. Lived in Albany Co. When Rebellion broke out joined the Brit, in ’77, joined the Major Jessups Corps. Staid with Burgoyne some time, but had leave to go after some Recruits. He got to New York, afterwards came to Canada with Despatches, returned to New York & in the year 1780 returned again to Canada where he raised a Company & was joined to Major Jessups Corps, served till end of War as Capt. to half pay. Resides at Bay of Quinty. ... " (see book for the rest of it) from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 251.⁶
• Note: 1788; Western Districts, Province of Quebec; "There will never again be such a disasterous season of want in the history of the Province. The three-year issue of rations has just been discontinued, and since the situation is unprecedented and has developed slowly, the Government is not prepared for the desperate straits to which the growing numbers of inhabitants of Upper Canada are reduced by this year. Since virtually all crops have failed with Only meagre growth, there will barely be enough for the next year’s seed. In some cases the man of the family has made an emergency journey south to the States in order to scratch for supplies. Cattle and sheep have been scarce in the settlements from the very first days. Animals, such as there have been, have now died or been slaughtered for food, though hogs, rooting around through the surrounding wilderness, are the most likely to have survived. The chief source of meat has previously been deer. But extensive forest fires and lack of ammunition have cut short this source of food for most settlers. The unusually cold winter from the first of the year sealed the lakes and rivers with such thick ice that winter fishing has been made so difficult as to be nearly impossible. Come spring, the aura of death has hung heavily over the land. Springs, swamps and streams are quickly drying up, and when the luckless settlers are forced to take their precious seed grain to the far distant mills, there is difficulty even getting it ground. By midsummer, people are eating any sort of food they can get. The wild animals and birds have retreated far into the wilderness, to seemingly escape this strangeness of nature. Many of the old and the very young along the entire length of the Upper Canada Colony will later succumb, weakened from the effects of disease, undernourishment and unsuitable food. Only the hardy will survive. The authorities are doing what they can to alleviate the suffering. At Niagara and King’s Town, the commanders, on their own responsibility, have put the garrisons on the shortest possible rations and the King’s stores have been issued to the worst sufferers. Some supplies come up from Lower Canada, and free importation is being allowed from the United States, though now coming too late to help the situation at its worst." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 266.⁶
• Residence: 23 January 1788; Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Province of Quebec; "Acute disappointment has been felt by Captain Meyers and his sons over the ultimate failure of their mill. Insufficient water power has resulted in it not being usable for the purposes he had intended. He has made a grave error in his judgment of the potential ol his stream. Meyers now resolves, at the commencement of this year, that he will retain his land grants in Sidney, but also seek a mill- January site elsewhere. By an early date in the year, the 23rd, therefore submits a petition for an eligible site for a mill near his residence in Eighth Town (Sidney). Addressing his important request to the present Governor at Quebec, Lord Dorchester, he writes: “The humble Petition and Memorial of Captain John Walden Meyers of the Regt. of foot Call’d the Loyal Rangers Lately Commanded by Major Edward Jessup, and now an Inhabitant of the eight(h) Township of Catarauque settlement. “That your Memorialist begs leave to sollicit your Lordship’s approbation that he may have leave to build Saw & Grist mills on that Stream called by the Indians Sogadywitoshevan That your Lordship’s Memorialist desires as an Encouragement to him that ten or fifteen Acres of Land at the first convenient place on the East side of the sd stream may be allowed to him for the above purpose and your Petitioner flatters himself that his Request will meet with Every wish of his desire as it will be a great means of Increasing the settlement round about therefore Your Lordship’s humble petitioner do humbly pray that his Case may be early taken into your Lordship’s serious Consideration. “Bay of Cantai Jany 23 1788 “John Walden Meyers”" from Hans Waltimeyer" page 258.⁶
• Note: 24 July 1788; Sidney Twp., Mecklenburgh Dist., Province of Quebec; "July 24th. is the date of the governmental Proclamation as issued by Lord Dorchester, which is to divide Western Canada into four districts: Lunenberg, Mecklenburg, Naussau and Hesse become the districts into which this enormous colony has been segmented. Charles Stewart of Kingston has been named as sherriff of the new local area, and civil law now replaces military law. John Meyers has been chosen to continue as a magistrate in the newly organized region, being one of the Colony’s most respected citizens, but is erroneously described in the records as Joseph W. Meyers." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 264.⁶
• Note: December 1788; Sidney Twp., Mecklenburgh Dist., Province of Quebec; "When the petition forwarded by John Walden Meyers for the rights to the usage of a mill-site is read, the Honourable John Collins, Deputy Surveyor-General, who is also a member of the Council, rises and states that he believes the petitioner has already received the lands to which he is entitled, as a captain in the Loyal Rangers. He further addresses the Governor: “The 15 acres prayed for are on the King’s domaine, and may fall to the lot of some loyalist yet unprovided with land, if His Majesty does not choose to hold the banalite"' in the new settlement, yet it lies with Your Excellency to extend your favour to Captain Meyers, if it shall so please Your Lordship.” Meyers awaits the reply of the Council, but the year draws to a close and yet no word comes concerning the banalite. Apparently Lord Dorchester is not to be pleased by allowing the use of the mill-site. His extra lands come, and yet his inactive little mill by the Bay yields no reward. He must just await what the future will bring, again thwarted in his attempts at the industry of milling." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 265.⁶
• Residence: 1789; Thurlow Twp., Mecklenburgh Dist., Province of Quebec; "After the war, he and his family settled in Thurlow, after brief stays at Missisquoi Bay, Ernestown, and Sidney. There they built one of the first brick houses in Upper Canada, a large two-storey Georgian structure on a hill overlooking the Moira River. It was referred to locally as Meyers' Castle." from "Homesteads: Early buildings and families from Kingston to Toronto" by Margaret McBurney and Mary Byers, 1979, pg. 104³
• Residence: March 1789; Sidney Twp., Mecklenburgh Dist., Province of Quebec; "By this year of 1789, John Walden Meyers, with his settlement on his lands in Sidney progressing well, is still desperately searching for the rights to secure and own another mill- site, after the failure of his first effort on his Sidney property. Still yet does it stand unproductive, a sad disappointment to its owner, and even more so to the prospective patrons in the region. The Hungry Year, though a source of grievous want to all people, has not seriously harmed the Meyers family. All members are strong, industrious and hardy, and they are still, this year, only too willing to share any extra supplies with the less fortunate souls near them. Captain John’s financial situation is beginning to improve. With a foot-hold on land of their own at last, enough food is being sought by the family from every possible source to feed a total of fourteen persons on the farm. Meyers, his sons and the Levis are working with all speed to clear the debts without the necessity of having to give up the half-pay due him from his war duties. The debt to Major Jessup has finally been paid with the restitution money, although Meyers has regretted having to use it for that purpose. Such a source of embarrassment and annoyance this debt of survival has been! With his half-pay, he is secure now of a cash income of just over £90 a year." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 270.⁶
• Residence: June 1789; Sidney Twp., Mecklenburgh Dist., Province of Quebec; "Captain Meyers’ home in Sidney is coming to be known as “Meyers’ Place’’. Now gradually does the large cabin homestead take on an air of comfort and permanence as the Meyers men fill the at first empty rooms with sturdy homemade furnishings." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 270.⁶
• Residence: 17 June 1789; Sidney Twp., Mecklenburgh Dist., Province of Quebec; "In the minutes of the proceedings of the Land Board for the District of Mecklenburgh, a list of petitions from reduced officers is examined between thb seventh of June and the ninth of September. It is found that Captain John Walton Meyers is entitled to 200 acres as family lands which he has not received"1 and he has been given a certificate to that effect. Captain Meyers has at this time not forgotten his old comrade-at-war, Martin Freleigh, who has become a settler in the same Township (Sidney) and is praying for a grant of a thousand acres of land. His request is entered into the records: “It appears by Affidavit of Captain Myers & a Certificate of Dr. Smyth formerly delivered to N. McLean Esq’re that Mr. Freleigh was employed in the dangerous Line of Scout Service & therefore seems to merit more than Persons of a more negative Loyality. In the mean time the Board grant him a Certificate for 200 Acres.’’" from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 271.⁶
• Residence: September 1789; Sidney Twp., Mecklenburgh Dist., Provicne of Quebec; "While still on the Sidney holdings, Captain Meyers and his sons have been engaged in the next planned enterprise of their new businesses, thoughts of further milling having now to wait. They have set about with tools and wood, upon the shore opposite their little leased island, and have constructed a large sturdy batteau that will be suitable to offer in lease to other settlers in transport of heavy goods upon the Bay. Most of the people have only canoes, just a few persons boasting batteaux or Schenectady boats. Upon occasion there are needed larger modes of transport for goods. Extra cash will be obtained in this manner, through the Meyers’ family industry. Upon completion of the first, a second batteau is to be immediately started." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 272.⁶
• Residence: October 1789; Conc 1 Lot 5, Thurlow Twp., Mecklenburgh Dist., Province of Quebec; "After the refusal of a mill-site on the Trent, Meyers turns his mind, following further exploration, to the possibilility of milling on the Sagonaskokan, eight miles distance to the east
  of his farm. He has previously been denied consideration of this site because of the earlier extensive ownership of the lands by Captain Singleton, on either side of the river. But now Singleton is gone, and prior to his death, he had sold Lot 5 to John Taylor. Now Meyers is, this fall, elated when he hears the news that a lot with river frontage, so close to the mouth of Singleton’s Creek, is coming up for sale. John
  Taylor is selling out the north half of Lot 5, it being too large for his purposes, being one hundred acres, on Concession I of Thurlow for $100 (£20) and this lot will be obtainable by the eager would-be miller towards the end of this year." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 276.⁶
• Residence: November 1789; Conc 1 Lot 5, Thurlow Twp., Mecklenburgh Dist., Province of Quebec; "Captain John Meyers, being in receipt of the November remainder of his compensation money, ... Meyers is pleased beyond all expectations at this most convenient and timely purchase. The new mills can be started at this central location where he will be assured of future business." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 277.⁶
• Note: 9 November 1789; Province of Quebec; "A “Mark of Honour” in the form of a special decree has been conferred this year upon the Loyalists by George III whereby they and all their descendants shall now and for posterity be designated by the title of “United Empire Loyalists”, and shall be allowed to affix the letters “U.E.” after their name. The decree reads: “George III — N.B. Those Loyalists who have adhered to the Unity of the Empire, and have 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 Capitols affixed to their names — U.E. — Alluding to their great principle The Unity of the Empire.”
  This decree has been passed by the Canadian Government of the Day by an Order-in-Council passed on November 9th., this year of 1789, under the governorship of Lord Dorchester. The Loyalists receive this honour with pride, yet it does not drive the loneliness and privation out of their souls and minds. It has not been because the Loyalists have acquired wealth or political distinction, but because their sacrifice for their King and British law have caused them to loose everything but their loyalty, and have served the Royal Cause so faithfully, that this most distinguished honour has been bestowed. The title is received by both important personages and the most lowly, their lives being a common sacrifice to all." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 278.⁶
• Residence: December 1789; Sidney Twp., Mecklenburgh Dist., Province of Quebec; "The Sidney farm will still be held by the family. This year he and his sons have erected a frame house at “Meyers’ Place’’ in Sidney, and they are now resident in this building. It is larger than the first log cabin and is a building which is providing sounder living than the rough interior of the first shelter. It is still considered a temporary house by John Meyers, for he has much greater plans in mind, now both at Sidney and Thurlow." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 277.⁶
• Residence*: circa 1790; Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; American Loyalists: "Meyers, John Walden of Sidney, Capt.; Mary W., m. John Bleecker of Sidney. OC 13 Nov 1797. OC 8 Oct 1796; Jacob W. of Thurlow. OC 7 Feb 1833; Catherine W., m. John Bleecker of Sidney 7 Oct 1788. Land Board Certificate 8/2 Sidney; Leonard W. of Sidney m. Margaret Ackerman, 14 Apr 1793. OC 13 Nov 1797; Ann W., m. --- Gilbert. OC 13 Nov 1797; Tobias W. of Sidney; George W. of Sidney m. Allida Van Alstine, May 5, 1789 (Sons and Daughters of American Loyalists, Ontario Registers CD)⁸
• Residence: 14 July 1796; Conc 1 Lot 1, Thurlow Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; "Petitions read on the 14th of July, 1796. ... No. 98. John W. Meyers is desirous of obtaining Lot No. 1 in the 1st Concession of the Township of Thurloe, which is reserved for the Indians, he can obtain a lease of said Lot from the Indians for 999 years, prays to have the same con firmed. The Committee cannot recommend his petition." from page 241, Volume 5, Correspondence of John Graves Simcoe.⁹
• Residence: 22 May 1798; Conc 1 Lot 8, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Land Registry Records (Patent) show that Capt. John Meyers obtained the Patent from the Crown for all 200 acres of lot 8, conc 1, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co. ITS Date: May 22 1798. (Ontario Land Registry Records, Hastings Co., Sidney Twp., Book 366, pg. 141 of 291, page copied from OnLand.ca by Dan Buchanan, Sep 23 2022.)¹⁰
• Residence: 22 May 1798; Conc 1 Lot 9, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Land Registry Records (Patent) show that Capt. John Meyers obtained the Patent from the Crown for all 200 acres of lot 9, conc 1, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co. ITS Date: May 22 1798. (Ontario Land Registry Records, Hastings Co., Sidney Twp., Book 366, pg. 152 of 291, page copied from OnLand.ca by Dan Buchanan, Sep 23 2022.)¹⁰
• Residence: 24 January 1804; Conc 1 Lot 5, Thurlow Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Land Registry Records (Patent) show that John Walden Meyers obtained the Patent from the Crown for 100 acres of the north half of lot 5, conc 1, Thurlow Twp., Hastings Co. ITS Date: Jan 24 1804. (Ontario Land Registry Records, Thurlow Twp., Hastings Co., Book 388, pg. 161 of 377, Conc 1, Lot 5, north half, page copied from OnLand.ca by Dan Buchanan, Sep 22 2022.)¹⁰
• Residence: 28 November 1804; Conc 3 Lot 6, Percy Twp., Northumberland Co., Upper Canada; Land Registry Records (B.S. 778) show that Peter Wannamaker sold "said lot" of lot 6, conc 3, Percy Twp., Northumberland Co. to John W. Meyers ITS Date: Nov 28 1804. Reg'n. Date: Dec 23 1820. (Ontario Land Registry Records, Northumberland Co., Percy Twp., Book 003, pg 036 of 173, Conc 3, Lot 6, page copied from OnLand.ca by Dan Buchanan, Oct 31 2022.)¹⁰
• Residence: 5 March 1805; Conc 3 Lot 5, Percy Twp., Northumberland Co., Upper Canada; Land Registry Records (Release 47) show that Andrew Wannamaker released all 200 acres of lot 5, conc 3, Percy Twp., Northumberland Co. to John W. Meyers. ITS Date: Mar 5 1805. Reg'n. Date: Mar 19 1805. (Ontario Land Registry Records, Northumberland Co., Percy Twp., Book 003, pg 028 of 173, Conc 3, Lot 5, page copied from OnLand.ca by Dan Buchanan, Oct 31 2022.)¹⁰
• Note: July 1813; Ernestown Twp., Bath, Lennox & Addington Co., Upper Canada; "Captain Meyers' friend, John Davey, is located in the Lower Bay at Huyck, Ernest- town, nearby to Finkle's Shipyards, and he himself is engaged in building a schooner, which, when launched this year, will be called the "Ben Davey", named after his son. This fine sailing craft will be in existence but two years, when it will fall victim of an American attack in the oncoming War."
  Source: Hans Waltimeyer, Winter 1811, Page 408, Jane Bennett Goddard UE. .... and then ....
  "Attacks of surprise by the Americans have included a raid upon an area of the Lower Bay, wherein has been anchored the fine new schooner, the ''Benjamin Davey". This boat has been built by a good friend of Captain Meyers, John Davey, who has named his craft for his son, Benjamin. The Americans have stolen in upon the harbour and wantonly set fire to her, burning her to the water's edge, and angering her helpless owner no end." Source: Hans Waltimeyer, Summer 1813, Page 420, Jane Bennett Goddard UE.⁶
• Residence: 4 April 1814; Thurlow Twp., Meyers Creek, Hastings Co., Upper Canada; "By the evening of April the 4th., Captain Meyers has had just reason to become more disenchanted with the effects of the War upon his person and property. During this night, his house and family have become the target of a drunken brawl and wanton attack. Meyers is not overly well at this time and the health of his little wife, Polly, is failing badly. The settlement at the mouth of the river on this occasion is full to overflowing with the troops of the 19th. Dragoons, who are billetted in every dwelling, to full capacity. The commander has asked for billetting for four Dragoons to be lodged at the “Castle’’. This regiment is now encamped at Meyers’ Creek, on their way westward to the Niagara Peninsula, where they will most gallantly take part in the action of the battle at Chippewa. But now, at Meyers’ Inn, where there are other guests present as well, the billetted Dragoons have obtained liquor and are becoming most noisy and troublesome, as the evening advances. In the meantime, another group of Dragoons are sent up the hill to the house with requisitions for horse forage. It is very late by now, and John Meyers is not of a mind to get up and go outside to his barn to search for some. All provisions are scarce due to the demands put upon the settlers by die billeting of the troops. They are now demanding more provisions than that to which they are entitled. As they pound upon the Front door, adding to the disturbance already in progress inside made by their Fellow soldiery, Meyers opens his lower window and shouts a reFusal out to them. Despite the efforts oF his grandsons and old Levi to keep them out, the Dragoons Force their way into the house. There they are joined by the other rowdies, and Meyers and his household are unable to restrain them as they rampage through the building. The old Captain by now is at the advanced age of 69 years, and although still of good strength, cannot contain these dangerous anti noisy soldiers. Meyers decides that retirement to his bedroom to join his wife is the wisest move at this point, and this he does, but is Followed up the staircase by the drunken men. Polly Kruger Meyers is lying very ill now, and her husband rushes to her side to protect her. The two Dragoons Follow him into the bedroom, and Meyers draws his pistol and orders them to leave the room, which they do noisily. Polly is terrified, and clings to her husband, who bolts the bedroom door, presuming the both ol them to be at least safe there. There is commotion all over the house. The household members and the old manservant are trying to restrain the troopers, but to no avail. The pair now return armed with their swords and succeed in breaking down the door with their booted feet. Meyers discharges his pistol above their heads in an unsuccessful attempt to Frighten them out of the room. Thereupon, the one Dragoon attacks the Captain with his sword, swearing that he will cut off his head. The Captain’s head is indeed cut, and he and his wife are bruised by clubs. After this melee in the .bedroom, the two inebriated soldiers proceed on down the upper hall, and break into the bedroom of a guest, a Mrs. Richards, who suffers a severe head wound at their hands. Then the elderly housekeeper, Mrs. Hamilton, is attacked and also suffers a brutal beating. Too late, a sober Dragoon corporal now arrives, and the drunken soldiers are disarmed arid placed in irons. Captain Meyers' wrath knows no bounds in his indignation and protests concerning this incident in his household. It is as if they had been assailed by the enemy rather than experiencing the conduct expected From their so-called protectors. The housekeeper. Mrs. hamilton, is so severely beaten that she will later succumb to her injuries, and will shortly die"'" Hans Waltimeyer, page 425 & 426.⁶
• Residence: 8 June 1814; Conc 1 Lot 9, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Land Registry Records (B.S. C275) show that John W. Meyers sold all 200 acres of lot 9, conc 1, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co. to Jacob W. Meyers. ITS Date: Jun 8 1814. Reg'n. Date: Jul 7 1814. (Ontario Land Registry Records, Hastings Co., Sidney Twp., Book 366, pg. 152 of 291, page copied from OnLand.ca by Dan Buchanan, Sep 23 2022.)¹⁰
• Residence: 17 August 1819; Conc 1 Lot 8, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Land Registry Records (B.S. D500) show that John W. Meyers sold all 200 acres of lot 8, conc 1, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co. to Jacob W. Meyers. ITS Date: Aug 17 1819. Reg'n. Date: Aug 27 1819. (Ontario Land Registry Records, Hastings Co., Sidney Twp., Book 366, pg. 141 of 291, page copied from OnLand.ca by Dan Buchanan, Sep 23 2022.)¹⁰

Mary Polly Cruger^1,2,3

• Birth*: 1745; Date 1745 & per GEDCOM of Randy Saylor, Jan 8, 2006. per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.²
• Marriage*: 1764; New York, U.S.A.; "As a young man he married Polly Kruger and took up tenant farming near Albany." from "Homesteads: Early buildings and families from Kingston to Toronto" by Margaret McBurney and Mary Byers, 1979, pg. 83
  per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.; Principal=John Walden Meyers⁴
• Death*: March 1816; Thurlow Twp., Meyer's Creek, Hastings Co., Upper Canada; "The old Captain's wife, little stout-hearted Polly Kruger Meyers, has been ailing a number of years, and her death now comes this spring in this year of 1816 ". She lies lifeless in the big bed in the huge house. John Meyers looks down upon his little help-mate who has shared all his dangers and adversities, followed by their later joys, pleasures and accomplishments, and his grief is heavy. The fire on the Dutch kitchen hearth is out as her body is prepared by the sorrowing family, and borne upon a burial waggon up the trail westward towards the Sidnev Bury ing Ground. The village lies in respectful silence as another one of these lion- hearted Loyalist souls is at last laid to rest. Her burial site is close to the place of their final landfall in the early years. She will be fondly remembered for her jolly genial face, hearty hospitality and buxom short stature." Hans Waltimeyer, pg. 438.^2,3

• Married Name: 1764; Meyers²
• Residence*: September 1778; Coemans Patent, Albany Co., New York, U.S.A.; "The cousin of Waltimeyer, who has been entrusted with the care of Johannes’ family, now, in the latter part of this year of 1778, betrays the trust reposed in him, and swinging his loyalties over to the side of the other Waltimeyer men, he now decides to expropriate the farm to his own use. One day he appears at Polly Waltimeyer’s door and his intention is announced forcibly to her. Surrounded by her young brood, and her servants, the Levis, she knows that she cannot stand up to his demands without aquiescance, because he will only bring more men to support his threats. Feverishly she starts to plan her move. Where to go? Some Loyalist families have been taken as hostages when their menfolk have been suspected of spying, and, at least, to her in this crisis, an eviction is not as great as such a calamitous happening. Thusly she must try to escape quietly. A Mrs. Fairchild is in the same position, as the wife of another local Loyalist. Their husbands must not be intimidated from taking an active part in the worsening struggle." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 122 & 123.³
• Residence: 1 October 1778; New York, New York, U.S.A.; "Polly Waltimeyer is advised, when finding herself thrown headlong out of her home with her young family, that she would best be obliged to appear in front of the Board of Commissioners for Albany County on October 1st. the first day of October of this year to request permission to go with her family to the British lines at New York City, it is to be hoped. She is fortunate that imprisonment is not her lot. If the unwitting Continental authorities were to realize now the full partisan life that her husband will lead in the future war years, she would certainly now be confined and not allowed to join him. Mrs. Fairchild appears with her on the same day and an order is made that their requests should be considered.
  The meetings for the Board of Commissioners for Detecting Conspiracies are held at the old “Stadt Huis” or Town Hall. Polly Waltimeyer’s appeal is for a pass to convey her family and slaves through enemy territory, by travel southward down the Hudson to New York City, it is to be hoped by boat. A hasty packing of some of the possessions, including some furniture and bales of clothing, is completed. Following the treachery by the cousin, which has been committed by his confiscation of the house and farm, the family’s leave-taking is swift. Besides the property, are lost all the utensils and tools, many articles of furniture, all the stock and this past year’s considerable crop from the yield of the one hundred acres of cleared land. One hundred and forty bushels of wheat are also seized, as well as the well-built barns and a newly-planted orchard. Their eviction has tober taken place in October, on the brink of oncoming winter. She and her seven children will be left wandering around the country presumably to starve. But Polly remains calm, and awaits the outcome of her appeal. She is obliged to seek shelter at the elder Waltimeyer's house. Johannes’ father is moved to a little pity, and the offer is made that Jacob, the infant, should remain at his grandparent’s home for the rest of the War. Polly gives Jacob up, sadly but willingly, knowing full well that she can do nothing for her infant in this circumstance and that he will otherwise die if subjected to wilderness travel. Her husband's farm is gone now — all the work of a young lifetime, to remain forever in American hands. Polly Waltimeyer receives her pass to journey southward. It will not be known how this harrowing trip is made, but it will be recorded that she and her family and the Levis reach the safety of the British lines at New York City." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 126.³
• Residence: 4 April 1814; Thurlow Twp., Meyers Creek, Hastings Co., Upper Canada; "By the evening of April the 4th., Captain Meyers has had just reason to become more disenchanted with the effects of the War upon his person and property. During this night, his house and family have become the target of a drunken brawl and wanton attack. Meyers is not overly well at this time and the health of his little wife, Polly, is failing badly. The settlement at the mouth of the river on this occasion is full to overflowing with the troops of the 19th. Dragoons, who are billetted in every dwelling, to full capacity. The commander has asked for billetting for four Dragoons to be lodged at the “Castle’’. This regiment is now encamped at Meyers’ Creek, on their way westward to the Niagara Peninsula, where they will most gallantly take part in the action of the battle at Chippewa. But now, at Meyers’ Inn, where there are other guests present as well, the billetted Dragoons have obtained liquor and are becoming most noisy and troublesome, as the evening advances. In the meantime, another group of Dragoons are sent up the hill to the house with requisitions for horse forage. It is very late by now, and John Meyers is not of a mind to get up and go outside to his barn to search for some. All provisions are scarce due to the demands put upon the settlers by die billeting of the troops. They are now demanding more provisions than that to which they are entitled. As they pound upon the Front door, adding to the disturbance already in progress inside made by their Fellow soldiery, Meyers opens his lower window and shouts a reFusal out to them. Despite the efforts oF his grandsons and old Levi to keep them out, the Dragoons Force their way into the house. There they are joined by the other rowdies, and Meyers and his household are unable to restrain them as they rampage through the building. The old Captain by now is at the advanced age of 69 years, and although still of good strength, cannot contain these dangerous anti noisy soldiers. Meyers decides that retirement to his bedroom to join his wife is the wisest move at this point, and this he does, but is Followed up the staircase by the drunken men. Polly Kruger Meyers is lying very ill now, and her husband rushes to her side to protect her. The two Dragoons Follow him into the bedroom, and Meyers draws his pistol and orders them to leave the room, which they do noisily. Polly is terrified, and clings to her husband, who bolts the bedroom door, presuming the both ol them to be at least safe there. There is commotion all over the house. The household members and the old manservant are trying to restrain the troopers, but to no avail. The pair now return armed with their swords and succeed in breaking down the door with their booted feet. Meyers discharges his pistol above their heads in an unsuccessful attempt to Frighten them out of the room. Thereupon, the one Dragoon attacks the Captain with his sword, swearing that he will cut off his head. The Captain’s head is indeed cut, and he and his wife are bruised by clubs. After this melee in the .bedroom, the two inebriated soldiers proceed on down the upper hall, and break into the bedroom of a guest, a Mrs. Richards, who suffers a severe head wound at their hands. Then the elderly housekeeper, Mrs. Hamilton, is attacked and also suffers a brutal beating. Too late, a sober Dragoon corporal now arrives, and the drunken soldiers are disarmed arid placed in irons. Captain Meyers' wrath knows no bounds in his indignation and protests concerning this incident in his household. It is as if they had been assailed by the enemy rather than experiencing the conduct expected From their so-called protectors. The housekeeper. Mrs. hamilton, is so severely beaten that she will later succumb to her injuries, and will shortly die"'" Hans Waltimeyer, page 425 & 426.³

Sophia Anna Hoffnagel^1,2,3,4

• Birth*: 12 February 1769; Palantine, Montgomery Co., New York, U.S.A.; Date Feb 12 1769 & location Palantine, Montgomery Co., NY per family tree of iperry170 on ancestry.ca, Oct 22 2022. per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.^2,4
• Marriage*: 22 November 1787; Ernestown Twp., Mecklenburgh Twp., Province of Quebec; from “Homesteads: Early buildings and families from Kingston to Toronto”, by Margaret McBurney and Mary Byers, 1979, pg. 24. Date Nov 22 1787 & location Bath per family tree of iperry170 on ancestry.ca, Oct 22 2022.; Principal=John Davy^3,4
• Marriage*: August 1817; Thurlow Twp., Meyers Creek, Hastings Co., Upper Canada; "John Davey and his wife, Sophia, of Ernesttown, have been friends of the family for years, and now, since John has already died, leaving the Widow Davey alone in the world with her sons, John Meyers now asks Sophia Davey to join him in a marriage of convenience in their old age. As an act of good faith in the arrangement, John Meyers will adopt his three step-sons as his own, and they will be cared for in his will. They are fine young men, and are the builders of boats, as has been their father." from Hans Waltimeyer, page 443.
  Date 1817 & location Belleville per family tree of iperry170 on ancestry.ca, Oct 22 2022. per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.; Principal=John Walden Meyers^2,4,5
• Death*: 1840; Trenton, Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Date 1840 & location Trenton per family tree of iperry170 on ancestry.ca, Oct 22 2022.⁴

• Married Name: 22 November 1787; Davy³
• Note: 30 May 1808; Thurlow Twp., Meyers Creek, Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Sophia's 1st husband, John Davy, died May 30 1808.
• Note: October 1811; Ernestown Twp., Bath, Lennox & Addington Co., Upper Canada; "Captain Meyers' friend, John Davey, is located in the Lower Bay at Huyck, Ernest- town, nearby to Finkle's Shipyards, and he himself is engaged in building a schooner, which, when launched this year, will be called the "Ben Davey", named after his son. This fine sailing craft will be in existence but two years, when it will fall victim of an American attack in the oncoming War." Source: Hans Waltimeyer, Winter 1811, Page 408, Jane Bennett Goddard UE.⁵
• Note*: July 1813; Ernestown Twp., Bath, Lennox & Addington Co., Upper Canada; "Attacks of surprise by the Americans have included a raid upon an area of the Lower Bay, wherein has been anchored the fine new schooner, the ''Benjamin Davey". This boat has been built by a good friend of Captain Meyers, John Davey, who has named his craft for his son, Benjamin. The Americans have stolen in upon the harbour and wantonly set fire to her, burning her to the water's edge, and angering her helpless owner no end." Source: Hans Waltimeyer, Summer 1813, Page 420, Jane Bennett Goddard UE.⁵
• Married Name: August 1817; Meyers²

Johan George Walden Meyers¹

• Father*: John Walden Meyers¹ b. 24 Feb 1745, d. 22 Nov 1821
• Mother*: Mary Polly Cruger¹ b. 1745, d. Mar 1816

• Birth*: 24 September 1765; Wurtenburg, Rhinebeck, Dutchess Co., New York, U.S.A.; per GEDCOM of Randy Saylor, Jan 8, 2006. per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.¹
• Marriage*: 5 May 1789; Sidney Twp., Mecklenburgh Dist., Province of Quebec; "On the fifth of May, the marriage of the eldest son of Captain Meyers, George Walden Meyers of the Eighth Township to Aleday Van Alstine of the Fourth Township, a daughter of Major Peter Van Alstine, takes place, making a union of two more important families of the region." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 270.
  "George W. of Sidney, m. Allida Van Alstine, May 5 1789" from Loyalist List - John Walden Meyers; Principal=Allida Van Alstine^2,3
• Death*: circa 1830; per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.¹

• Residence*: 1 September 1797; Conc 1 Lot 7, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Land Registry Records (Patent) show that George & Tobias Meyers obtained the Patent from the Crown for 300 acres of lot 7, conc 1, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co. ITS Date: Sep 1 1797. (Ontario Land Registry Records, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Book 366, pg. 129 of 291, Conc 1, Lot 7, page copied from OnLand.ca by Dan Buchanan, Sep 22 2022.)⁴

Catharina Walden Meyers¹

• Father*: John Walden Meyers¹ b. 24 Feb 1745, d. 22 Nov 1821
• Mother*: Mary Polly Cruger¹ b. 1745, d. Mar 1816

• Birth*: 18 March 1767; New York, U.S.A.; per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.¹
• Marriage*: 7 October 1788; Fredericksburgh Twp., Trent Dist., Province of Quebec; "To this cabin John Bleecker will bring Catherine Walden Meyers, daughter of Captain John Meyers and Polly Cruger. They have been married on October 7th., 1786, after a few meetings, in the tiny Church of England at Cataraqui, and the two families with their mutual background are pleased with the union." from "Hans Waltimeyer" page 238.
  "John was married by Rev Langhorn to Catherine Meyers, daughter of Capt John Walden Meyers on 7 Oct 1788 in Fredericksburgh." from "Overview of John Bleecker" by Randy Saylor (https://sites.rootsweb.com/~saylormowbray/bleecker.html?_gl=1*10cos0h*_ga*MTM2OTMxODYxNS4xNjM1ODgwODE4*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY1NDg3NTg2MS45My4xLjE2NTQ4NzY5MDAuMA..)
  ".. Catherine W., m. John Bleecker of Sidney 7 Oct 1788. " per Loyalist List - John Walden Meyers.; Principal=John Richard Bleecker^2,3
• Death*: 1797; Sidney Twp., Hastiings Co., Upper Canada; per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.
  Note: Catherine's husband, John R. Bleecker married her sister, Mary, after her death.¹

• Married Name: 7 October 1788; Bleecker²
• Residence*: 2 April 1798; Conc 5 Lot 25, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Land Registry Records (Patent) show that Catherine Blacker (or Meyers) obtained the Patent from the Crown for 100 acres of the east half of lot 25, conc 5, Sidney Twp. ITS Date: Apr 2 1798. (Ontario Land Registry Records, Hastings Co., Sidney Twp., Book 378, Pg. 089 of 325, Conc 5, Lot 25, image copied from OnLand.ca by Dan Buchanan, Aug 15 2022)⁴

Margretha Meyers¹

• Father*: John Walden Meyers¹ b. 24 Feb 1745, d. 22 Nov 1821
• Mother*: Mary Polly Cruger¹ b. 1745, d. Mar 1816

• Birth*: 24 November 1768; Rhinebeck, Dutchess Co., New York, U.S.A.; per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.¹
• Death*: 1795; Upper Canada; Date 1795 & location Ont. per family tree of Deby Lake on ancestry.ca, Sep 22 2022.²

Tobias Walden Meyers¹

• Father*: John Walden Meyers¹ b. 24 Feb 1745, d. 22 Nov 1821
• Mother*: Mary Polly Cruger¹ b. 1745, d. Mar 1816

• Birth*: 1770; Dutchess Co., New York, U.S.A.; Date 1770 & location Albany per family tree of Deby Lake on ancestry.ca, Sep 22 2022. per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.^1,2
• Death*: August 1796; Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Date 1796 per family tree of Deby Lake on ancestry.ca, Sep 22 2022.^1,2
• Burial*: August 1796; Old Sidney Burial Ground, Lot 10, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; per GEDCOM of Bruce Larson, Mar 5, 2005.¹

• Residence*: 1 September 1797; Conc 1 Lot 7, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Upper Canada; Land Registry Records (Patent) show that George & Tobias Meyers obtained the Patent from the Crown for 300 acres of lot 7, conc 1, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co. ITS Date: Sep 1 1797. (Ontario Land Registry Records, Sidney Twp., Hastings Co., Book 366, pg. 129 of 291, Conc 1, Lot 7, page copied from OnLand.ca by Dan Buchanan, Sep 22 2022.)³