122 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



Dr. Troyer's only son, Michael, commonly called Deacon Troyer, 

 was highly respected, a pillar of his church, and at his death mourned 

 by the whole community. 



It is perhaps not irrelevant to Dr. Troyer's case to mention the 

 fact that his son the Deacon is said to have fallen into a trance in the 

 earlier part of his life, and to have been "dead to all appearances for 

 three days and nights." Preparations were made for burial, from 

 which he was saved by resuscitation. During the trance he was 

 conscious and believed he was in the realm of eternal happiness. He 

 would fain have remained, but was informed that he must first return 

 to earth to do the task assigned him. His restoration to life and 

 health was followed by his conversion. 



According to Owen, although Dr. Troyer had no less than four 

 sons and five daughters, the family name has disappeared from 

 Norfolk. Descendants in the male line are however still to be found 

 in Illinois, and a considerable number of persons both in the Long 

 Point region and in the United States claim the famous witch-doctor 

 as ancestor through female links in the chain of descent. 



Dr. Egerton Ryerson's book on "The Loyalists of America and 

 their Times" contains a valuable memorandum by his cousin, Mrs. 

 Amelia Harris, on the early days of the Long Point Settlement. Her 

 father, Captain Samuel Ryerse, settled at Long Point in 1794. She 

 describes the arrival of the family at Ryerse Creek, where after a 

 day's rest they re-embarked, "and went fourteen miles further up 

 the bay, to- the house of a German settler who had been there two years, 

 and had a garden well stocked with vegetables. The appearance of 

 the boat was hailed with delight by those solitary beings and my 

 mother and child were soon made welcome and the best that a miser- 

 able log house, or rather hut, could afford was at her service. This 

 kind, good family, consisted of father, mother, one son and one daugh- 

 ter. Mr. Troyer, the father, was a fine-looking old man with a flowing 

 beard, and was known for many years throughout the Long Point 

 settlement as "Dr. Troyer." 



"He possessed a thorough knowledge of witches, their ways and 

 doings, and the art of expelling them, and also the use of the divining 

 rod, with which he could not only find water, but could also tell how 

 far below the surface of the earth precious metals were concealed, 

 but was never fortunate enough to discover any in the neighbourhood 

 of Long Point." The Troyer family were of use to the new settlers 

 in many ways. From Dr. Troyer, Ryerse procured apple, peach and 

 cherry trees for his orchard. A daughter was employed as "help" in the 

 Ryerse house, and Troyer's son was of assistance at important moments. 



