William Clow

William Clow and his older brother Henry Clow emigrated to America, specifically, New Paisley, New York, in 1774. At the start of the American Revolution, William and Henry, from August 1776, were members of Captain Daniel McAlpin's Loyalist Militia Corps, initially called the American Volunteers. The American Volunteers were with General Burgoyne on his invasion of New York, and after the surrender of Burgoyne in October 1777, the American Volunteers at the request of General Burgoyne, spirited the army's pay chest past rebel forces and safely delivered it to Montreal. Later, Captain McAlpin was promoted to Major and put in command of a combined Loyalist militia regiment soon to be known as McAlpin's Corps. After Major McAlpin's death, due to illness, in July of 1780, the Corps was taken over for a time by Major Nairne, although it was still known as McAlpin's Corps. In 1782 it was commbined with other Loyalist corps and placed under the command of Major Jessup. This new loyalist militia regiment was called the Loyal Rangers. Major Jessup and some of the companies of the Loyal Rangers participated in raids into up-state New York, although their main activity was engineering and construction. They were termed 'artificers' and built blockhouses and fortifications, and housing for loyalist refugees flooding from the rebel held territories. After the end of the American Revolution, at their discharge from the Loyal Rangers, Henry Clow was listed as a sergeant and William Clow listed as a corporal.

In the summer of 1784, William Clow and his young bride, Sophia Clow (nee Strader) were the third arrivals in Elizabethtown, following Thomas Sherwood, and Adam Cole, who just preceded them having taken up lots 1 and 31 respectively. William Clow's was lot 32 (110 acres) of the First Concession of Elizabethtown, although as a corporal and United Empire Loyalist, he and his children, would later receive other grants of land. Their allotment of wilderness, soon to be converted into farm land, was just west of the current city of Brockville, Ontario. They arrived in a canoe with just a pot, and an axe, as tools to cut their living out of the virgin forest. William was the first white man in Elizabethtown to tap maple trees and make maple syrup and sugar.

The story of my ancestor and his brother seems so interesting that I have written a historical fiction novel trilogy built around the people and facts that I have been able to gather.