War of 1812 Bicentennial Project – Friends of the Tecumseh Monument

With the War of 1812 Bicentennial under way, there are two men that we consider to be Canadian war heroes and personify the war itself, Sir Isaac Brock and Tecumseh. Their likenesses are together everywhere.

The Brock Monument erected at Queenston Heights, near the location where Brock fell is massive and on a clear day can be viewed by the Americans on the US side of the Niagara river.

Then there's Tecumseh's Monument a much humbler monument, on Hwy 2 and Longwoods Road, not far from the Battle of the Thames, where he also fell. You can drive right past it without even knowing it, hardly visible from the road, hidden behind some trees. If you aren't looking for it, you'll miss it. 

The Friends of the Tecumseh Monument are trying to rectify this imbalance and they need all of the help they can get to achieve their goal of giving Tecumseh his due respect. 

 

“Our plans call for developing the eight-acre site, which is nestled along the Thames River, into an open-air museum which tells the story, not only of Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa (The Prophet), but of all the people affected by this small battle with lasting consequences. The plans shown here were developed by Ekistics Planning and Design, from Dartmouth, N.S.

Arrival and Orientation Area

The site plan is organized into the following sections: Arrival and Orientation Area, Thames River Overlook, Theatre of War, and Tecumseh and the Dream. Naturally, there were several Environmental Considerations to be observed.”

The Friends of Tecumseh Monument have a Buy A Brick campaign as well as taking donations and support from the community. They are also asking for more members to join in this worthwhile project.

The Friends of the Tecumseh Monument are also on Facebook.


 Ancestral Notes by Earline Hines Bradt U.E. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.

Why All Of The Fuss About A 200 Year Old War?

What's all of the fuss about anyway? Why are Canadians so revved up about the War of 1812 Bicentennial anyway, didn't we lose? It should be the victors that are celebrating.

The War of 1812 would rather be forgotten by most Americans, it was not a war that was very popular at the time and would rather be forgotten, much like the Vietnam war. The only positive thing remembered about the War of 1812 was the creation of their national anthem and the Battle of New Orleans, which was fodder for another song.

Canadians, on the other hand, remember the War of 1812 as the defining of a nation, every person supported the war, whether they were British, American-born, French-Canadian or Indian. The one thing they all had in common was that they were all ready to fight and die to prevent the Americans from taking what was theirs. They fought, against all odds, to defend our borders, outnumbered by the forces invading. The one bond that kept them unified was their determination to keep the Americans out or die trying. As far as that goal goes, they were victorious and we will forever be indebted to them for their sacrifices. We have several monuments to our war heroes and the plans are for even larger ones to come. The Brock Monument, standing tall at Queenston Heights on the bank of the Niagara River, is probably the most familiar memorial but there are several others.

Memorial for Lt. Col. John MacDonnell

Memorial to Chief Tecumseh near Moraviantown

Memorial to Laura Secord

Laural Secord

Memorial to Sir Roger Hale Scheafe

Memorial at Butler`s Farm

base of Brock Memorial

Brock Memorial

Indian Memorial at the base of Brock`s Monument

I couldn't begin to imagine what this country would be like if they hadn't succeeded. One thing I know is that it would be a lot worse, the Americans would be the ones making all of the fuss about the War of 1812 and there would be no Canada!





Ancestral Notes by Earline Hines Bradt U.E. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.

Some Surprises At LAC

I spent most of the day on the Library and Archives Canada site looking up my ancestors' land petitions. I found quite a few, some I knew about and others were a complete surprise. The biggest surprise was when I started reading my 6th great-grandfather's petition. The surprise was that he wasn't considered a loyalist!

Titus Doan, Sr. came from New Jersey in 1785 with his wife and children. He said in his petition that he aided the British army with food and shelter when they came to Trenton and he had to flee from persecution as a "tory" by the "whigs". He lost his property and two horses. Because of his Quaker faith he was not considered a "loyalist", merely a "settler". I would like to prove he was a loyalist.

Elijah Doan came to Upper Canada before 1790 with his wife and children after reading the circular about the Simcoe Proclamation. He was granted land as a settler.

Another surprise was my 3rd great-grandmother, Lydia ? Haines. Nathaniel Haines, UEL, her husband, drew up a petition for land on her behalf as the daughter of a loyalist in 1796. She stated that some of her brothers fought with the Butler's Rangers. As far as I can tell form reading the petition, she was granted land. The information I found on Ancestry.ca was that she didn't qualify as she was not the daughter of a loyalist. If she was born in the thirteen colonies and her brothers joined the Butler's Rangers, she may qualify as a loyalist in her own right.  She was married in Niagara in 1786. I just have to keep searching for her maiden name.

I found my 2nd great-grandfather, Benjamin Haines' petition for land as well in 1836. It was after his father's death and he had an affidavit stating that he was Nathaniel Haines' son. I found his sister, Catherine Haines Risenburg"s petition as well in 1808. She doesn't have an affidavit with hers so I am assuming he was still living in 1808.


I located Minor Bradt and his son, William's land petitions as well. I'm researching my husband's family as well as two of my grandchildrens' and they both descend from William's grandson, Charles Bradt. They also have Van Alstine, Hooper and McKinnon ancestors, possibly more loyalist connections.

I noticed something about my loyalist ancestors, most of them signed their name with an X. I think my great-grandfather's generation is the first to have a formal education. Something that nowadays is taken for granted was not an option for the early loyalists. 



Ancestral Notes by Earline Hines Bradt U.E. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.

Society Saturday - UELAC

The UELAC -  United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada  

Everyone has heard about the DAR and SAR, well, the UELAC is the equivalent of those societies, the only difference is that the UELAC recognizes the Loyalist ancestors who fought in he Revolutionary War, not the Patriots, and we're co-ed too.

The UELAC is involved in educating the public, not just Canadians, about the importance of the United Empire Loyalists and their influence in defining and shaping our country.

I don't know how important many people think the War of 1812 was in the development of Canadian Identity but the Loyalists fought and died in that war as well. It defined our county's borders and was the last war fought on Canadian soil. It is important to the UELAC.
 and there are several events in the next few years that the UELAC and other organizations have planned. You can check them out at Events Central. There's a link on the left
to the wiki calendar. Any organization planning events to commemmorate the Bicentennial of the
War of 1812 is welcomed and encouraged to post their event on the calendar.

The Conference at the Confluence, hosted by the Manitoba branch of the UELAC is coming up June 7 - 10, 2012.
Check that link out as well.

Ancestral Notes by Earline Hines Bradt U.E. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.

Three Years of Belonging - My Blogoversary Thank You

It's been three years since I wrote my first post on this blog. As a newbie, I really appreciated how the geneablogging community embraced me and guided and encouraged me. Complete strangers before that day, now I feel like you are a part of my life, I feel like I know you, with your comforting words of support  when there was an illness or death. You were there for the good times as well, teaching me how to be a better blogger, researcher, writer, congratulating me on my achievements, prompting me, even giving me blogging awards.

Thank you geneabloggers, for making me feel like I'm a part of the community, for all of the help in creating this blog, without all of your help it would not have been possible. 

Ancestral Notes by Earline Hines Bradt U.E. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.

My Grandchildren, My Cousins?

Ten years ago when I was married for the second time I had no clue that my new husband was already a part of my extended family tree. Our families were joined by marriage when my son was married in 1995 and by blood when my first grandchild was born!

My father-in-law and my son's father-in-law were first cousins. I knew that there was a relationship between my husband and daughter-in-law, but I thought it was a distant one, since their families both lived on Pelee Island and they say everybody from the island is related.

It wasn't until a few weeks ago when my daughter-in-law shared some pictures on Facebook that I realized how they were related. she posted a photo of her great-grandparents and they were Charles and Alzina Bradt, my husband's great-grandparents! My grandchildren are related to me by marriage as well.

centre, Charles and Alzina Bradt on Pelee Island.

Ancestral Notes by Earline Hines Bradt U.E. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.