Joseph Joseph White

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Joseph White

1734-1820

Joseph White Sr. was born on December 14, 1734 in Haverhill, Massachusetts. (1) He was the eldest child of Nicholas White and his second wife Mary Calef of Ipswich. Little is known of the early years of Joseph White but according to the History of Newbury, Vermont by Frederic P. Wells several members of the family made their way north and settled on the Connecticut River near the site of present day Newbury in 1763. In all seven of the children of Nicholas White were to make their homes in Newbury. These included the brothers Noah, Ebenezer, Joseph and Samuel. Another brother William remained in Plaistow, New Hampshire but owned considerable land in Newbury.

It had not been possible prior to 1760 to push the limits of settlement along the Connecticut River because of the struggle with France but with the conclusion of the Seven Years War and the fall of Montreal on 8 September 1760 the way was opened for the movement of population north.

The most extensive and important settlements that were made at this time were in the great valley of (the) Connecticut River, above Charleston, then called the upper Coos, which till now had been unoccupied, in consequence of its having been the principal thoroughfare of the French and Indians, in their attacks upon the frontiers of Massachusetts and New Hampshire; but in the various miltitary expeditions through the country our people had discovered the richness of the soil, and a strong desire was felt to get possession of the land. (2)

There is no doubt that Joseph White and possibly his brothers had seen service in the Provincial Regiments of the British Army during the war and had possibly passed through the region around Newbury. Leavitt's History of Leeds and Grenville states that,

In his early life, he (Joseph White) was a lieutenant in a Provincial Regiment, raised in the Colony of New Hampshire,to join the British army under Sir Guy Carleton, in his expedition and conquest of Canada, from the French, in the year 1759. The army marched through the then almost wilderness from Albany to Detroit,after capturing which,followed the lines and posts east, comprising Niagara and Oswego. (3)

There is little evidence to support some of the facts of this statement. A British army under Sir Guy Carleton did not march from Albany to Detroit in 1759. There were two armies on the move in New York in 1759. The first of which was comprised of three thousand regulars under the command of Brigadier General John Prideaux. This army occupied and rebuilt Fort Oswego in May of 1759 and captured Niagara in June of the same year. The second army under General Amherst was composed of four thousand regulars and an equal number of provincial troops. In June of 1759 this force occupied the ruins of Ticonderoga after the evacuation of the French garrison. It seems clear that at least some of Leavitt's facts are incorrect. However, The Ontario Register #3, #1, 1970 provides us with a character reference given by Captain Joseph White to Captain Justus Sherwood concerning one Leonard Whiting. There is no date attached to this record. The Military History of the State of New Hampshire 1623-1861 by Chandler E. Potter show Joseph White as a 2d Lieutenant in 1758 in a company of men commanded by John Hazen. (4) (Chart 1) Joseph White is further listed in The Index to Indian and French Wars and Revolutionary Papers, as a Captain. (5) (Chart 2) The rolls of Captain Justus Sherwood's Company taken on 1 January 1783 show Joseph White Senr. as a private but it must be remembered that by this time he was nearly fifty years of age.(6) (Chart 3) The details of this service with Sherwood in the months preceding the muster of 1783 would, however, suggest a man familiar with the role of a provincial ranger in the King's service.

We are told in a pamphlet printed in honor of the 150th anniversary of the settlement of Newbury, Vermont (1912) that the actual site of Newbury had been visited by Jacob Bayley, Jacob Kent, John Hazen and Timothy Bedel, officers in General Goff's regiment, on their way home from Canada in the fall of 1760.

Returning from the seige of Montreal they passed through this valley and through this very township where they stopped attracted by its many virtues as a place for home-making, and considered the feasability of procuring a charter for townships on both sides of the river. (7)

We do not know who else was a member of this party but it is interesting to note that Mary White (b. Aug. 14, 1736) a younger sister next in age to Joseph White later married Col. Jacob Kent. (5) The History of Newbury, Vermont also tells us that Joseph White was to settle on Kent's meadow in Newbury. John Hazen was the second child of Moses Hazen and Abigail White. Abigail was a sister of Nicholas White, Joseph White's father. Family connection alone would have provided information regarding the advantages of the Coos as the region around Newbury was called. The possibility also exists that Joseph and his brothers were part of that same regiment returning from Montreal in 1760. We do know that Joseph White had served in a company commanded by John Hazen in 1758 (8) (chart 4)

At this time township charters in the territory of what is today the state of Vermont were granted by Benning Wentworth the governor of the New Hampshire Colony. Newbury, Vermont was the 79th charter to be granted of a total of 126 to the year 1764. By procuring the signatures of a certain number of petitioners for these townships, grants were readily obtained on very easy conditions, which were nothing more than to have a certain number of settlers in each town in a given time; and the expense to each was only the charter fee, which was but half a dollar; and this entitled the original proprietors to three hundred and forty acres of land. (9)

The territory of present day Vermont was refered to as the New Hampshire Grants. The Newbury charter was given on the 18th of May 1763. The history of the town suggests that by this time settlement was well under way. Jacob Kent arrived in 1762 and members of the White family followed in the autumn of 1763. Joseph White, who arrived at this time, would have been one of the original grantees and entitled to three hundred and forty acres of land. There is interesting evidence that Joseph White did not sell his land in Haverhill (Plaistow), New Hampshire but retained ownership, at least, until 1783. (10) (Chart 5)

Joseph White in 1763 was twenty-nine years of age and most likely married. Records show that he married Sarah Noyes a native of Haverhill but the date of this marriage is uncertain. Sarah was born c. 1735 and was a daughter of Captain James Noyes (b. 1705) and Sarah Little (b. 1708). Research to date has not allowed a determination of the ages of the children of Sarah and Joseph although the eldest would appear to have been Joseph Jr. who had probably been born in Haverhill about 1762 or 1763.

The years between 1763 and the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1776 offer very little information about Joseph White and his family. The History of Leeds and Grenville tells us that Joseph White owned a 'large farm and property. The region around Newbury was isolated and "subjected to serious flooding and a plague of worms" but farming had prospered and the Coos had become the "granary for that part of the country". We do know that there were mounting political problems which began to divide the residents of the New Hampshire Grants.

The title to this territory was the subject of bitter controversy, being claimed by both the Provinces of New Hampshire and New York. With the hope of settling this controversy in its favor, the Province of New York secretly applied to the King of England, to establish the disputed boundary line, and by a Royal Proclamation, issued in June 1764...it was declared that the western bank of the Connecticut River was the boundary line between the two provinces. (11)

The Province of New York took the position that the Royal Proclamation rendered the New Hampshire Grants illegal and began to disposses the settlers who held land under the authority of New Hampshire. This action resulted in considerable resistance from the residents. Settlers who lived in the western part of the grants formed the Bennington Party. They were particularly hostile to New York and took action to establish an independent state. Prominent names among this group were Ira and Ethan Allen who were the leaders of a faction known as the Green Mountain Boys.

The other important party to this struggle lived to the east of the Green Mountains. Because the settlements in this area were scattered and unprotected the residents were in favor of annexation with New Hampshire and had no interest in an independent state. One of the most important leaders of the faction was Jacob Bayley.

Bayley was an original grantee of Newbury, Vermont and one of its most prominent and respected citizens. It seems, however, that he was no friend of Joseph White. In the words of one Justus Sherwood, Bayley was Joseph White's 'implacable enemy'. (12) The roots of this enmity are difficult to trace but are probably related to the politics of the time. It seems likely that the White and Bayley families were related, at least remotely. William White (b. 27 March 1740) a younger brother of Joseph White married Mary Bayley a daughter of the Rev. Abner Bayley and his wife Mary (Baldwin) Bayley. (13) The direct connection to General Jacob Bayley has not been ascertained but given the small size of the population it seems unlikely this this was another Bayley family.

The New Hampshire party led by Jacob Bayley were very much opposed to the Royal Proclamation of 1764 as it had placed 'all the chartered lands within the Grants...in jeopardy'.

This fact was fully appreciated by the settlers themselves, and General Bayley was delegated by the town of Newbury to go to New York, acknowledge its jurisidiction and make settlement upon the best terms (14)

It was not until 1772 that Bayley was able to make this journey but much to the apparent pleasure of at least some of the citizens of Newbury he was able to obtain a new charter which promise to confirm the previous titles to the lands around Newbury. He was proclaimed the 'Father of Newbury'. The leaders of the Bennington Party would not, however, have been pleased with this turn of events. They were only barely tolerant of being part of New Hampshire and subject to the authority of its governor. The thought of making a deal with the Governor of New York must have been offensive in the extreme. The land holding system of New York forced most farmers to be tenants 'a situation unacceptable to freehold-loving Yankees'. It was at this time that Justus Sherwood became one of the followers of Ethan and Ira Allen. He like other landholders in the New Hampshire Grants feared that he might lose his land under any agreement struck with New York.

One of the indirect results of... (Bayley's)... trip deserves particular mention, as it undoubtedly exerted a strong influence on ... Bayley's future course in this controversy. This was the confirmation of the unfavorable opinion which he and others in his locality held of leaders of the Bennington Party, whom he found to be very outspoken Free Thinkers, and avowed disbelievers of the Bible. (15) We don't know where Joseph White stood on these matters but it seems reasonable to believe, in spite of the fact he held land in Newbury, that his sympathies lay with the Bennington Party and that he supported the desire to create an independent state. It may have been that he also held land to the west of the Green Mountains or even that he was an 'outspoken Free Thinker'. There is no doubt that New Hampshire Party, because of its strong links to New York, was likely to support the Rebel cause in the coming struggle between Britain and its North American colonies.

Their patriotism and loyalty to the Colonial cause were never questioned, and their service along the northern frontier, in protecting Southern New England from the attacks of the British in Canada, has never been fully understood or appreciated. (16)

The Bennington Party, on the other hand, led by large landholders like the Allens and Justus Sherwood would be more inclined to watch and wait. There would be no advantage for them in a victory for either side if it was to cost them control of their lands.

With the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1776 Jacob Bayley became one of the strongest advocates of the Revolution on the Northern Frontier. In 1776 he was commissioned a Brigadier General by the Provincial Congress of New York. It was also in this year that he was ordered to begin the construction of a military road from Newbury to Canada. This road was continued in 1779 by Moses Hazen to within ten miles of the Canadian border where it was abandoned in the forest. The involvement of Mozes Hazen in this project brings to light yet another family connection. Moses Hazen was the younger brother of John Hazen who had passed through the Newbury area in 1760. Joseph White's Aunt Abigail (b. 21 Oct 1709) married Mozes Hazen's father in Haverhill Mass. on the 5th of March 1727. (17) Moses Jr., like Bayley, was also a strong supporter of the Revoltuion. He viewed his road as a vital invasion route to Canada. There is little doubt that at least some of his enthusiasm for the rebel cause related to his ownership of land in both the Coos and further north on Lake Champlain. Both Hazen and Bayley kept the invasion plan alive until, at least, 1779 but to their mutual disappointment their road was never used for its intended purpose.

There was a brief period of peace between the Bennington Party and New Hampshire Party in 1777 when Bayley withdrew his loyalties from the Province of New York and found common cause with the Bennington Party in a plan to 'organize the grants as an independent state under the name of "Vermont" '. This situation had been brought about for Bayley and the members of the New Hampshire party, by the unwillingness of New York to provide the necessary funds and equipment to protect the northern frontier. However,the battles of Bennington and Saratoga in August and October of 1777 ended in defeat for the British. From this time most of the fighting 'was confined to the southern part of the colonies, and New England was relieved, in great measure, from its previous strain and anxiety'.

The Revolution would obviously force the inhabitants of the region to take sides. Most it seems were supporters of the colonial cause but there were many who were opposed to separation from England.

They were willing to agree not to take part on either side, and to remain neutral; but this, under the popular feelings of the times, could not be permitted; for the principle adopted by the patriotic party was, "Whoever is not for us is against us." (18)

In 1778 Bayley was appointed by the newly organized state of Vermont as a member of the Court of Confiscation, which was authorized to 'seize and order the sale of the real and personal property belonging to British sympathizers or Tories'.

Those who adhered to the royal cause were stigmatized by the name of Tories, and those on the other side styled themselves Whigs; and bitter were the feelings of animosity between the two parties. (19)

It may well be that by this time Joseph White's loyalties were already held in question and that he lost property. There is also a suggestion that Bayley and Hazen had stockpiled stores in Newbury against the possibility of the invasion of Canada. These stores and other supplies used to maintain Hazen's troops in the region may, in part, have been requisitioned from reluctant local farmers. It is also possible that White Sr. was offended by the treatment given to some of his neigbours as there is no clear evidence to this date that he had espoused the Loyalist cause. If, however, he was already suspect there is no doubt that he would have been persecuted. There is ample evidence to indicate that Joseph White and his eldest son Joseph White Jr. undertook service in support of the Revolution during various callouts from 1778 to 1781. (20) (Chart 6) A list of the soldiers, sailors and patriots of the Revolutionary War prepared by Major General Carleton Edward Fisher and Sue Grey Fisher show both father and son as follows.

WHITE, Joseph, VT; b 1734; r Newbury 1763; Capt Stevens co 1778; 41, p 71; N-2A, p 736; A Tory. (21)

and

WHITE, Joseph, Jr, VT; r Newbury; Capt Stevens' co 1779; r Canada (country); 41, p 368; N-2A, p 736; A Tory. (22)

The final two words in each description make it clear that as far as the record is concerned both men were not patriots. The tories were deprived of their arms, and many of them were thrown into prison, tarring and feathering were in some cases introduced, and their suffering, with that of their families was very great. (23)

The lack of a permanent form of government in many areas such as the New Hampshire grants allowed extraordinary provisions to made on a temporary basis. Special committees were formed called committees of safety which were responsible for the affairs of the region.

Their authority was absolute and their decrees and acts were the only law of the land. Though some of their acts were rather arbitrary and severe, particularly toward the tories, and from which there was no appeal, yet their orders were readily obeyed by the people. (24)

Jacob Bayley headed the Committee of Safety for Newbury and as a consequence wielded considerable authority

Events now began to move more rapidly as the Bennington Party began secret negotiations with General Haldimand, the Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in Canada. The object of these negotiations was to detach Vermont from the United States and annex her to British North America. The fear of the Bennington Party and its supporters was that they might lose the title to their lands if Vermont did not achieve complete independence from the control of New York. New York objected to the admission of the New Hampshire Grants as a state and Congress, as late as 1777 supported this position. For men like the Allens, 'separation from New York now took precedence over the rebellion against Britain'. General Bayley was 'bitterly opposed' to these discussions which were carried on between the Allens and the British high command represented by Justus Sherwood.

According to his neigbour, Asaph Mcpherson, he (Bayley) was a 'notorious Rebel and sows the seed of Rebellion in the minds of the people'. And being a member of the Committee of Safety and the Court of Confiscations had not added to Bayley's popularity in these parts. (25)

By this time it is quite certain that Joseph White and his eldest son Joseph White Jr were actively involved in supporting the British cause. The History of Newbury, Vermont is a little vague about time and place but it indicates clearly that both men had declared their loyalties.

(Joseph White) served with his son in several short campaigns of the revolution, but they then turned tories... (26)

There are many interpretations which can be placed on this single sentence but one can imagine that over the years circumstances and political conviction had placed Joseph White in an increasingly awkward position. The shifting tide of the war and the divisions among the people of Vermont had, for a time, probably made it difficult, if not dangerous, to move in one direction or another with any degree of conviction. No one could predict the outcome of the conflict and it would not have been wise, at least in the early stages, to take a strong stand but by 1782 and the opening of negotiations by the Allen brothers with the British it was now time to allow old animosities and convictions a free reign.

The war along the Northern Frontier after 1777 was disorganized and complex. There were no pitched battles and very little activity on the part of regular troops of either side. Justus Sherwood had in 1781 been made the head of the British secret service, Northern Department. He was to be responsible for scouting and the gathering of military intelligence from the Rebel side. Much of this work was carried out by Loyalist sympathizers who still lived in their homes in New England. Couriers would carry information from informers north to the British where it could be analysed. Sherwood was adept at making good use of the information brought by these couriers, and also by refugees and prisoners. In addition to these duties he became Haldimand's chief negotiator with the Bennington Party in the attempt to convince Vermont to join the British cause. It appears that Sherwood was genuine in his Loyalist convictions but it is unlikely that the members of the Bennington Group were interestd in anything more than protecting their interests. The independence of Vermont, one way or another, was their primary goal.

Joseph White had made his way north to the Loyal Blockhouse in December of 1781.

Upon his arrival...Sherwood had given him clothing from his private purse and from Secret Service Stores a blanket coat, leggings and "mogersons"(27)

In June of 1782 he was made part of a scouting party which set out from Loyal Block House for the Connecticut River. This party was ordered to collect intelligence from Thomas Johnson who had been allowed to return home on parole after being taken prisoner by the British. He had agreed that he would supply intelligence to British scouting parties. The scouts were also to capture General Jacob Bayley a neighbour of Johnson. The party was under the command of one Azariah Pritchard.

...Pritchard had with him Abner Barlow, Levi Sylvester junior, Joseph White, one of the original grantees of Newbury 1763, and his son Joseph Junior. (28)

Barlow and Sylvester had been captured by the Indians while hunting and had been offered enlistment in the Secret Service in return for their freedom. Both had accepted presumably because they planned to escape when the opportunity presented itself. Sylvester had lived on the land in Newbury which was joined on the south to that of Jacob Bayley and was considered to be an intelligent and well educated man.

Joseph White is described as a man of some fifty years of age. He was, in fact, forty-eight in 1782 and obviously in good health given the rigors of the task he had set for himself. His manner and determination also suggest previous experience. In any case his anger which was directed at Jacob Bayley was now overt and ready to be translated into action.

White had frequently importuned Sherwood to give him leave to bring Bayley in as his prisoner which with the assistance of his son, son-in-law still living Coos, and a few former neighbours, he was confident he could do. (29)

The son mentioned was, of course, Joseph White junior who appears to have followed his father's views in these matters. The son-in-law might have been Duncan Livingston who had married Lydia White one of Joseph's daughters. There is no definitive proof of this but the Livingston family including Duncan were all listed later as Loyalist grantees of land in the Township of Kitley in 1801 and 1802. (30) Lydia livingston was given 200 acres in Wolford Township in 1802. (31)

It is perhaps ironic that the road which Bayley and Hazen had built with such care now served the purpose of allowing the raiders a relatively easy journey south to Newbury. The distance from Hazen's Knotch at the northern end of the road to Newbury was about fifty miles. The total distance from Newbury to St. John on the Richelieu River north of Lake Champlain was 92 miles. Captain Thomas Johnson the surveyor of the road had made the entire trip in a week in March of 1776 and on snowshoes.

Since White had "laid a plan" he and his son were included in the party. (32)

It seems, however, that Bayley had been forwarned and escaped across the river where he spent the night. The party had

'lay upon the heights west of the great oxbow and gave the usual signal for Johnson to visit them; that waiting "until early candle light," as dusk was then called, Johnson rode out into the woods to meet them... (33)

Some believe that Johnson had warned Bayley who was in his field plowing with his sons not far from his two storey frame house near the oxbow in the river. The story goes on to suggest that Johnson himself remained out of sight because he knew that he would be recognized from the heights above the river and that he sent in his place his friend Dudley Carleton. Carleton is alleged to have dropped a note in the field without stopping or conversing with Bayley. The note read,

"The Philistines be upon thee Samson". (34) A later version of this same story takes some pains to vindicate Johnson. The general's own son, taken captive in the raid, later indicated that he had become suspicious of Johnson's movements on the day the capture was to take place and had 'dispatched a man to his father to put him on his guard'. Johnson himself describes the day as follows,

In the morning came Levi Sylvester to me :could have opportunity to say but little to him; he told me that I might see them if I had a mind to. We agreed on time and place I went, but waited one houre before I could see them. Then Sylvester came to me...I found Captain Prichard and Captain Brackredge and I had one hour's discourse with them... (35)

The raid for whatever reason had failed in its primary objective. It was reported that

Sylvester...behaved manly, and was the first with Barlow who entered Bayley's house, but to their inescapable sorrow, the villain was not at home. (36)

The party did, however, capture the general's son and one or two others and made their way north.

General Bayley did not seem to be unduely upset by this attempt to capture him or for that matter the capture of his son. A British scout returning from the Connecticut River reported that he had been forced to leave behind one of his party who had become sick. Bayley had promised 'the sick mans good usage'. Some time after this event Joseph White and his son must have returned to Newbury where Joseph Jr. was captured by a British scouting party and carried off to Canada. He was charged with having betrayed 'certain plans'. His father was said to have entreated General Bayley to use his influence to have his son exchanged. Bayley refused, saying 'that those who had done all they could to ruin others, had no right to beg for help when their own turn came'. (37)

It appears somewhat strange in the midst of this civil conflict that the Whites seemed to come and go at will from their home in Newbury. There must, however, have been some point when they felt that they could no longer remain. The History of Newbury, Vermont does say that Joseph Jr. was forbidden to return Newbury, presumably after his capture by the British, and that soon after the war the family 'removed to Canada'. (38)

The rolls of the Provincial (Loyalist) Corps, Canadian Command American Revolutionary Period show that Joseph White Senr. and Joseph White Junr. were both enlisted in Captain Justus Sherwood's Company (4th Company) on January 1, 1783. Joseph White Senr. was 50 years of age, American born and 5' 8" in height. His length of service is indicated at 9 months. His son Joseph White Junr. was 20 years of age, American born and also 5' 8" in height. His length of service shows as only 4 months. (39) (Chart 6). It is interesting that the elder White at fifty was by some margin the oldest member of this company.

Most of the men who enlisted in the Provincial Corps were either refugees or prisoners who chose to enlist in order to gain their freedom. This does not appear to have been the case with Joseph White and his son. The elder White seemed to have a genuine grievance which he wished to address and had gone north to the Loyal Blockhouse for that reason. The women and children who were forced from their homes or who decided to accompany their husbands, sons and fathers north were, however, the greatest casualties of this conflict. It is not known how the wife and family of Joseph White made their way north to St. Johns on the Richelieu River or at what time. The 1784 provisioning lists show that Joseph White had by that time settled in Township No. 8 (Elizabethtown). This return of disbanded troops was taken from a muster on the 12th of October 1784.The Joseph White family according to this muster consisted of 10 persons. These included, in addition to a man and a women, one girl under the age of ten, six girls over ten and one boy over ten. It was indicated that not all members of the family need be present for the muster to be taken and in the remarks column it indicates that a woman, a boy and three girls remained at St. Johns. The family was entitled to 9 1/2 rations per day and had cleared two acres of land. Joseph White Junior is listed separately as a Volunt'r. (41) (Chart ) Both men were veterans of the Loyal Rangers.

History of Newbury, Vermont, "Selectmen Town of Newbury, Fox Publishing Corp., Bradford VT, 1978, p40 Describes house probably built by Joseph White and deeded to brother Samuel.

1796 Census (Reel C-1345) Augusta

1 man 1 woman 1 male child 2 female children

1806 Census (Reel C-1345) Augusta

1 man 1 woman 1 male child 1 female child

Joseph White Sr, United Empire Loyalist (U.E.L.) Joseph White Sr. was born on December 14, 1734 in Haverhill Mass. He was the first of 10 children born to Nicholas White and his second wife Mary Calef, daughter of Joseph Calef and Mary Ayer. His great - great - grandparents were William and Mary White who were among the first settlers of Havermill Mass. As a child, Joseph moved to Plaistow, New Hamp. with his parents.

While serving in the French and Indian wars, Joseph and 3 other men noticed the land along the Great Connecticut river between Vermont and New Hamp. They obtained some land on the Vermont side of the river and were among the original grantees of Newbury Vermont in 1763. Some of Joseph's brothers and sisters also settled in Newbury.

Joseph White Sr had served as a Lieutenant in the French and Indian wars and later served as a Major in the Militia. At the beginning of the American rebellion he immediately gave up his Commission and openly pledged his loyalty to the British government. He made his way north to the Loyal Block House on North Hero Island on Lake Champlain. The winter of 1781 was one of the coldest winters in several years and Major Joseph White arrived in the Block House in December.

Captain Justus Sherwood who was in command of the Block House supplied Joseph with clothing from his personal funds. Captain Sherwood also gave Major White a warm blanket coat, leggins and "mogersons" from the Secret Service stores. Major White became a member of the Loyal Rangers serving under Captain Sherwood. Hos son Joseph Jr., aged 20 also joined the British Secret service and served with his father. Both remained in the Secret service until the end of the Revolutionary war and they both joined the Royal Standard before 1783 and their names appear on old U.E.L. lists.

At the end of the war, Major White returned to the American colonies for his family and to sell his land but received little payment for it. Late in the fall of 1784 he arrived back in Canada along with his wife and his son John and at least 7 daughters. Major White brought his wife from St Johns to Augusta Twsp in Ontario.

Upon his return to Canada, Joseph Sr (Major White) found all the lands in the 1st concession taken up except for a small quantity between the 7th and 8th twsps known as the Commons which he was later granted as part of the lands allowed him.

Joseph White Sr. is listed as one of the early settlers of Augusta Twsp (Grenville county, Ontario), Upper Canada. Joseph was one of the magistrates that signed a letter to to Sir John Johnson on Dec 18, 1786 requesting that the the Country be divided into counties with courts at convenient places. The appealed for encouragement in the preaching of the Gospel and the establishment of schools . They also requested that a prohibition be put on the importation of lumber from Vermont and any of the American States as that was their main source of income in the new townships. The letter was signed by all magistrates at New Oswegatchie.

The men who worked in the secret service organized a lodge of Free Masons. One of the meetings was held in Joseph's home. Joseph received grants of 1200 acres of land as well as receiving family lands.

Joseph White Sr was married to Sarah Noyes, daughter of James Noyes Jr and Sarah Little of Newbury Mass. They had 2 sons and at least 7 daughters. Their oldest son Joseph Jr who served with his father in the British secret service was born about 1761. Joseph Jr married Mary Olmstead and they were the parents of the first white female child born in Leeds County, Ontario. Josph Jr died in the fall of 1791 (age 30), and his widow married Basil Rorrison, widower of Sarah White, sister of Joseph Jr.

Two children of Joseph Sr and Sarah Noyes married two children of Lt Benjamin Kilborn another U.E.L. who came to Augusta from Litchfield Connecticut and had settled on the banks of the St Lawrence River. Hanna white married David Kilborn and John White married Lucy Kilborn.

Joseph Sr and Sarah's daughters; Abigail married Truman Stone of the family that founded Stone's Corners. Mary (Polly) married into the Bissell family that founded Bisselltown; Lydia married Duncan Livingston.

The 1821 census for Elizabethtown lists Joseph Sr and Sarah in the house of their grandson John White who was the son of Joseph Jr. Joseph White Sr died in 1823 prior to June 2nd when his grandson John was appointed adninistrator of his grandfather's estate. It is not known where Joseph White Sr is buried but he is remembered on the back of the tombstone of his great-great-great granddaughter Myrtle Kinch Hammond who is buried in the Oakland Cemetery on the north side of Highway #2 west of brockville, ontario, Canada.

History prepared by Lorraine Hammond

Joseph White (14 Dec 1734 - 1823)

Joseph White was born December 14, 1734 in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and as a child moved with his parents to Plaistow, New Hampshire. During the French and Indian wars of the 1760s, White and three other men spotted good-looking land along the river that separates New Hampshire and Vermont. The land lay on the Vermont side, and White and his friends became the original grantees of the area that is now occupied by the city of Newbury, Vermont. White settled there in 1763, along with some of his brothers and sisters. White had served as Lieutenant in the army and was a major when the American Revolutionary War broke out. White immediately declared himself on the British side, and sought asylum further north, making his way to the Loyal Block House on North Hero Island in Lake Champlain. The winter of 1781 was extremely bitter, and Captain Justus Sherwood, later a pioneer of Augusta and Elizabethtown, supplied White with clothing from his own funds, including such items as "a warm blanket coat, leggings and mogersons (moccasins) from Secret Service Stores." Joseph White joined the British Secret Service. At the end of the war, he returned to the colonies to collect his children and bring them to Canada in the Fall of 1784. Joseph's wife was named Sarah and they had two sons and at least seven daughters. Due to his services to the Crown, White was entitled to 1000 acres of land. The Whites, father and son, took up adjacent parcels of land, 100 acres each, on the Second Concession of Elizabethtown, running alongside Butler's Creek east of Ferguson's Corners. The rear of the properties was bisected by the stream. John White, youngest son of Joseph Sr. married Lucy Kilborn, daughter of United Empire Loyalist Lt. Benjamin Kilborn. The census of 1817 shows Joseph and Sarah White living in Elizabethtown with their grandson, John, son of Joseph Jr.. Between September 1823 and January, 1824, Joseph died on the homestead, close to 90. He is believed to be buried in an unmarked grave, or in an old family cemetery somewhere in Augusta or Elizabethtown."

United Empire Loyalist Ancestry Rod A. MacDonald, Ed.D. Niagara Falls, Ont. Canada

White, Joseph.... East District, Augusta, Volunteer Jessup's Corps. Alexander Campbell Esq. certifies he joined the Royal Standard, son Joseph Jr. married living in St. John's during the war, Sherwood's certificate, On Secret Service, O.I.C. Restored to U.E. List March 3, 1806

Later, the material written by Adiel Sherwood was used and heavily edited in the 1879 publication of the History of Leeds and Grenville by Thad. W.H. Leavitt. The Leavitt version is printed below. The unedited original is only accessible in the collection of the Library & Archives Canada, MG24 165 - The Adiel Sherwood Papers.

At the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, in 1783, the first settlers of Upper Canada were residing in Lower Canada, at and between Quebec and Montreal. Two Provincial corps deserve especial notice; they were stationed at St. Johns, about 27 miles from Montreal, on the south side of the River St. Lawrence. One was commanded by Major Jessup, the other by Major Rogers, the forces under their command being actually the very first settlers of Leeds and Grenville.

About the first of June 1784, they came up, and located along the bank of the St. Lawrence, commencing a short distance west of the Provincial line, and extending even to the Bay of Quinte. The total number of new settlers who entered the Province in 1784 was computed at 10,000.

The river was ascended by means of small boats, called batteaux. These barques were built at Lachine, and were capable of carrying from four to five families each. Twelve boats constituted a brigade. Each brigade was placed under the command of a conductor, with five men in each boat, two of whom were placed on each side to row, with one in the stern to steer. It was the duty of the conductor to give directions for the safe management of the flotilla. When a rapid was ascended, part of the boats were left at the foot, in charge of one man, the remaining boats being doubly manned, and drawn up by means of a rope fastened to the bow, leaving four men in the boat, with setting poles, to assist. The men at the end of the rope walked along the bank, but were frequently compelled to wade in the current, upon the jagged rocks. On reaching the head of the rapid, one man was left in charge, and the boatmen returned for the balance of the brigade.

The Loyalists were furnished rations by the Government, until they could clear the land, and provide for themselves. The seed given consisted of spring wheat, pease, Indian corn, and potatoes. Farming and other implements were provided, consisting of axes, hoes, augers, etc., and, in some instances, a kind of metal mill, in which to grind the corn and wheat. I am not aware that any of the mills were distributed in Leeds and Grenville. Commissioners were appointed to issue the rations and other supplies.

At that time, the country was a howling wilderness. Not a single tree had been cut by an actual settler, from the Province line to Kingston, a distance of 150 miles. By the original survey, the lots were designated by a post planted, plainly marked with the number of each lot.

The following is a short list of the actual first settlers in the County of Leeds, whom I remember: First was my father, Thomas Sherwood, who was the first actual settler in the counties. He located on lot number one, in the first concession of Elizabethtown, about the first of June, 1784. My father was one of a family of three brothers, named Seth Sherwood, Thomas Sherwood and Adiel Sherwood. Thomas was born at Old Stratford, in the State of Connecticut, in the year 1745. He emigrated to the State of New York, where he located on a beautiful farm, situated about five miles north of Fort Edward, and but a short distance from the spot where General Burgoyne surrendered. Both of my fathers brothers settled in the same neighbourhood.

At the commencement of the Revolutionary Bar, my father remained loyal to the British Crown, and as soon as he could escape, made his way, via Lake Champlain, to St. Johns, Lower Canada, where he found assembled a large number of British troops. He was at once employed in the Secret Service, going into the States and enlisting men to serve His Majesty King George III. His family remained in the States until 1779, when they removed to St. Johns, and he was appointed a subaltern officer in Major Jessup’s corps. Both of his brothers entered the Continental army as officers.

Story by Lorraine Latimer