[siebert] SETTLEMENT OF LOYALISTS AT MACHICHE, P.Q. 413 



It seems certain, however, that the greater number of the colony 

 chose Cataraqui as their place of permanent settlement. This 

 \vc gather from the correspondence between the Baron de Reitzen- 

 stein and Governor Haldimand. In his capacity as guide to those 

 who were going up the St. Lawrence the Baron gathered together 

 a party of two hundred and eighteen, of whom forty-five were men, 

 thirty-five, women, sixty-eight, boys, and seventy, girls. This was 

 a larger number than had been expected, and a few days' delay was 

 necessary in order to obtain the supply of batteaux, or large flat- 

 bottomed boats, for transportation purposes. But, even so, the start 

 was made on Monday morning, May 31, with sixteen boats, and 

 June 2 found the party at Montreal. As lodgings and provisions 

 were not available here, the convoy was obliged to go back to Long 

 Point and await there the arrival of tents and supplies from Sorel. 

 On the 15th the journey was renewed, and after stops at various 

 places the party landed at Cataraqui on the 26th. Among the num- 

 ber were Captain Jeptha Hawley, Isaac Briscoe, Pr. Gilchrist, Ever- 

 hart Wegar, and Conrad Sills. The first two were from Arlington, 

 Vermont, and located at Ernesttown, where Gilchrist, who was from 

 Charlotte County, New York, also located. Wegar, formerly of 

 Albany County, New York, took up his residence at Fredericksburg, 

 while no definite location is given for Sills, who was a Pennsylvanian. 1 

 Others of the Machiche colony did not go so far as the waters of Lake 

 Ontario to settle, preferring New Johnstown (Township No. 2, or 

 Cornwall) a short distance above Lake St. Francis. This was the 

 place chosen by Alexander McDonell and his two sons, John and 

 Alexander, Jr., who had been tenants of Sir John Johnson in Tyron 

 County, New York, before the latter's flight to Canada. John 

 Dixson, Carton DeWitt, and John Snyder, all from the Province of 

 New York and members of Loyalist corps, likewise settled at New 

 Johnstown. 2 The location of a number of other men who were at 

 Machiche in 1783, and had served in various corps, is not preserved 

 in the records of the commissioners of Loyalist claims. 3 



While, doubtless, most of the refugee settlers at Machiche had 

 departed before the fall of 1784, a few still remained after that time. 

 Lieutenant William England and Abraham Crawson, the former 

 from Kingsbury, New York, and the latter from Saratoga in the same 



•Haldimand Papers, B. 152, pp. 150-153, 157; B. 138, pp. 365, 366; B. 63, 

 pp. 376, 388; Second Report, Bureau of Archives, Out., Pi. I, 434, 437, 466, 443; 

 Pt. II, 1262. 



2 Second Report, Bureau of Archives, Ont., Pt. I, 393-394, 455, 458; Pt. II, 

 1059. 



3 Ibid., 1014, 1017, 1027, 1031. 1034, 1036, 1040, 1041, 1042, 1059. 



