1 This section is a compilation of two sources, by the same author: (i) New Jersey State US-7. Muster Rolls, 1 st Battalion

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1 T H E S E C O N D G E N E R A T I O N : C H R I S T O P H E R H U F F M A N A N D ANNE SMITH Our information about Christopher is slightly less obscure than that of his parents. The records trail is meager and full of long blank periods. On the other hand, we are fortunate to have some real documents for some parts of the story. Christopher was probably a young boy, perhaps eight or ten years old, when the family landed in New Jersey in Over the next few years he would have been of increasing assistance in the development of the family farm and by the time he was a teen he would have been a major source of help to his father. When the Revolution broke out in 1775, all that would change. As the conflict gained momentum, the English army recruited thousands of loyal subjects and formed dozens of colonial regiments to assist the regular English troops against the rebels. One such unit was the New Jersey Volunteers (NJV), commissioned on July 1, Christopher Huffman, young, strong, and loyal, soon joined up. Of his immediate family, he was the only one to do so. #392 Hoffman, Huffman, Christopher of Mansfield [?] township, Sussex County, was enlisted on January 26, 1777 by Justice of the Peace Robert Ellison, as a private in Captain James Shaw s Company, Fifth Battalion. He survived the Sullivan raid in August. He was assigned guard duty in May 1779 at Sandy Hook and in Nivember to Deckers Ferry Fort. He was promoted to Corporal on August 24, 1780 and transferred to the Light Infantry. This Company was sent to South Carolina where he participated in many battles, the largest one being the Battle of Eutaw Springs, fought in September, Thereafter, he returned north to Captain William Hutchison s Company, First Battalion, where he was promoted to be Sergeant He survived them and returned North to join Capt. William Hutchison s Company where he was promoted to Sergeant about September He served until the conclusion of the war. Rather than go to New Brunswick, Canada, he chose to go to Upper Canada where he received a grant of land in the Home District. 1 For readers interested in more detail, an extensive record of the New Jersey Volunteers can be viewed at the website There, a history of the Regiment is available including details of postings, battles, composition of the regiment, and so on. By late 1782, however, the war was effectively lost and the NJV was moved to Long Island. Leaves were granted for men to return home so that they might retrieve their families in preparation for evacuation 2. Plans were already under way for this event: the British colony of Nova Scotia had been explored for possible destinations for the relocation of both troops and civilian refugees. In correspondence datelined New York, Sept. 12 th, 1783, Sir Guy Carleton wrote to Lt. Col. Richard Hewlett instructing him to move the 1 st NJV (and several other regiments) and provisions from Long Island to the River of St. Johns in the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia 3. Within two years, the English government would sever this area from Nova Scotia and rename it New Brunswick. 1 This section is a compilation of two sources, by the same author: (i) New Jersey State US-7. Muster Rolls, 1 st Battalion New Jersey Volunteers. Property of the Ontario Genealogical Society, Niagara Peninsula Branch. Thorold Public Library call no Mus, and (ii) Brush, T.V., The King s Men On Command, Stapler, Irwin, and Ryerse, editors, Minisink Valley Historical Society, Port Jervis NY, 1998 p

2 The New Jersey Volunteers Provincial Regiment was officially disbanded on October 10, Of Christopher s personal conduct or experiences during the war there is no record. Presumably he had acquitted himself well and was a competent soldier, as evidenced by his promotions from Private to Corporal, then to Sergeant. Christopher is listed on six individual muster rolls of the NJV at the Library and Archives Canada, and a seventh at One of the LAC muster rolls lists him as one of two Sergeants in the Captain William Hutchison s Company and is datelined New Town, Long Island, 25 January Christopher Hoffman is listed on line 5. At some point during the war perhaps while on leave Christopher had married Anne Smith. Anne s brother Lewis, as noted earlier, had married Christopher s sister Phebe. Thus, a brother and sister of one family had married a sister and brother of another. Anne s and Lewis parents were Jacob Smith Senior, UE and Elizabeth Lewis, mentioned in the Preface. Apparently, the two families both lived near each other in New Jersey s Sussex County perhaps even in Knowlton Township. What happened to Christopher upon the disbandment of his regiment in the late autumn of 1783 can only be presumed, as a period of silence then descended over his whereabouts. Obviously he did not evacuate to Nova Scotia with the rest of the regiment, choosing instead to return home. What was it like when he reached his old neighbourhood? What was the mood of Knowlton Township and Sussex County? Perhaps in this far northwest rural area of New Jersey, distant from the urban hotbeds of republicanism on the coast, sympathy towards the rebels cause had yet to prevail. Too, the full authority of the newly created state government might not yet have reached all corners of its new jurisdiction. If this was true, it may be at least a partial explanation for what followed. One would have expected that Christopher having fought for the losing side would gather up his family and make a hasty departure from the new republic as soon as he arrived home after demobilization. On the contrary, his petition confirms that the family did not arrive in Quebec until , a full five years after war s end in Where were they he, Anne, and the children, Henry 2 nd, Jacob, and baby Elizabeth during that five-year interval? If we assume that they were still in New Jersey, how did they manage given the attitude and behaviour of the victorious republicans toward loyalists? Why had they not left the U.S. earlier, in, say, 1784 or 1785? Their trip to Quebec in 1788 must have been both lengthy and arduous, to say the least. Certainly, Anne and Christopher, Lewis and Phebe Smith, as well as Jacob and Elizabeth Smith and their nine other children all made the trip together. This can be confirmed by the wording of Jacob s 1796 petition for land in which he states that he came into the Province in the year 1788 with a wife and Eleven children exclusive of 2 children married. 6 I do not know what roads, if any, were available at that time, or the exact route they followed 7. Horse- or ox-drawn wagons carried the families food, furniture, and personal belongings. As the crow flies, the distance from northern New Jersey to Niagara is about 300 miles/480 kilometers so we can assume that the actual distance traveled was considerably farther. Adding to their difficulties was the crossing of the Appalachian Mountains, the numerous rivers, and the forest. The passage through present-day Pennsylvania and New York States may have been risky in itself with its republican residents unsympathetic to the Loyalists attitudes or needs. 4 Library and Archives Canada microfilm number C-3874, Volume 1853, pages 37, Library and Archives Canada microfilm number C-2043, Crown Lands Records, Land Books and Petitions, Volume 223, Bundle H2, Petition no Library and Archives Canada microfilm number C-2806, Upper Canada Land Petitions, RG1 L3,Volume 448a S Bundle 2. 7 An unsourced map appears in Huffman, page 13.

3 To arrive in Quebec the family probably crossed the lower Niagara River and landed at the location that would later become Newark, and later still, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. There, at Fort George, they would have been welcomed, given shelter and provisions by British troops, and sent further west to an encampment at The Forty, the original name of the present town of Grimsby. There is an unverified report of the marriages of Christopher and Anne, as well as his sister Phebe and Lewis Smith, being found in Grimsby church records 8. Unfortunately no such records exist prior to 1796 in St. Andrews Anglican, the oldest church in Grimsby 9. Clearly, both couples actual marriages in Grimsby appear quite out of the question so - if such ceremonies did occur - perhaps the couples simply wished to have their marriages documented in their new country. The level of organization in the Niagara Peninsula area was quite rudimentary at this time. At the end of the Revolution, the English were faced with the prospect of thousands of refugees flooding into Nova Scotia and Quebec. The eastern seaboard was relatively settled at that time, as was the area of the lower St. Lawrence. In contrast, the western portion of Quebec now known as Ontario was mostly virgin forest and virtually uninhabited 10. In preparation for the arrival of settlers, soldiers had performed preliminary land surveys. Understandably, the system was in its infancy and far from perfect. How Christopher was first settled on the land in 1788 is unclear. His later petition for land states that initially he approached the local Land Board in the Niagara Region and was directed to find land for himself. This he apparently did, and without further formality or official approval, settled, built a house or cabin, cleared land, paid taxes, and lived at that location for at least two years. Christopher s world would later come crashing down upon learning that the land he had occupied and improved had been granted to some one else who had correctly observed the official procedures for the granting of lands. The exact location of this original property is unknown at this time, but begs investigation. On 6 April 1796, Upper Canada s Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe issued a Proclamation calling for all Loyalists to appear before their District Court magistrate. Each Loyalist was required to show proof that he or she could meet the requirements of the 1789 Lord Dorchester Orders-in- Council which had created the designation U.E.. Everyone eligible was encouraged to do so in order to make themselves eligible for free land grants. As a result, a list of sworn Loyalists was prepared. This is arguably the original and the most definitive list of United Empire Loyalists. On pages of this list appears the entry Huffman, Christopher H. [Home] District. Sergeant Jersey Volunteers p discharge 11. Christopher had used his discharge papers from the NJV to verify his identity and status. Having lost his first farmstead, then, Christopher was obliged to begin the long process of petitioning Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe for land. He engaged someone to prepare for him a proper petition which is dated 18 May A copy of the petition appears on the next page and reveals some clues about his first settlement and the loss of that property. With the petition in place, the process then involved an Order-in-Council, a Warrant, a Fiat, and finally a Patent transferring ownership of the land from the Crown to the petitioner. 8 Huffman, page received from Archdeacon John Rathbone, Archivist, Diocese of Niagara, 24 April National Archives of Canada microfilm number C-2222, Inspector General s Office, UEL Lists , Introduction and pages 119, Library and Archives Canada microfilm number C-2043, Upper Canada Land Petitions, Volume 223, Bundle H5, Petition no. 62.

4 Christopher s petition for land:

5 When finally issued on 30 June 1801 the Patent was made out to Christopher Huffman, Yeoman, UE. and was signed by Lieutenant Governor Peter Hunter. 13 Finally Christopher had clear title to the Crown land he had sought since his arrival in Upper Canada, thirteen years before. One final document in this story is also on the record: a small handwritten notice of the grant being recorded in the Registrar s Office on 16 October Christopher drew 188 acres described as Lot 6, Concession I in Glanford Township, District of Lincoln. Today, that location is within the city limits of Hamilton, on the southeast corner of the intersection of Upper James Street (Highway 6) and Rymal Road East (Highway 53). This intersection is known locally as Ryckman s Corners. The outlined block (left) is the approximate location of the farm. The extended family of Jacob Smith and Elizabeth, together with their daughter Anne and her husband Christopher, and their son Lewis with wife Phebe, continued their close relationship. Jacob was granted Lot 4, Concession 1, Glanford on July 10, 1801, becoming Christopher s neighbout to the west. Also on July 10, Lewis received Lot 2, Concession 1 to the east of Christopher. Unhappily, Christopher would not live to see the full fruits of his labour. He died, probably in his late forties, some time between 1802 and Looking back over his lifetime crowded with immigration from Europe, settlement in a new and foreign land, war, flight, dislocation, carving out a new home in the wilderness, one might easily conclude that he died of exhaustion just at the moment when peace, stability, and prosperity were finally within his grasp. In fact, this may well have been true. His will, dated April 30 th, 1797, contains a telltale phrase: I Christopher Huffman of Glanford County of Lincoln and Province of Upper Canada Yeoman, being weak in body but of perfect mind and memory. 15 Anne was named executrix, her father Jacob Smith Sr. and her brother Jacob Jr. were named as executors of Christopher s will. 16 Clearly Christopher had remained very close to his wife s family. 13 Ontario Archives microfilm MS 658 Reel 156, Crown Lands Records, Township Papers _, Glanford. (The original Patent is lodged in the Registrar s Office, Lib. N, Folio 51.) 14 Ibid. 15 Ontario Archives microfilm MS 657 Reel 17, Second Heir and Devisee Case File (This is a handwritten copy of the original will which can be found on Ontario Archives microfilm GS 1, Reel 648, Lincoln County Surrogate Court Estate Files ). 16 Ontario Archives microfilm GS 1 Reel 648, Lincoln County Surrogate Court Estate Files

6 Christopher s gravesite is unrecorded. However, I have every expectation that he was buried in what is now known as the Jacob Smith Family Cemetery at the west end of present day Kennedy Avenue (see map above). This burial ground was set aside as a family cemetery by Jacob Smith on his farm on Lot 4, Concession 1, which he received via a Crown grant dated 3 July It is recorded that all of Anne, her brother Lewis and his wife Phebe (Huffman), Lewis and Phebe s son Matthias, and Anne s parents Jacob and Elizabeth Smith were all buried there. 18 All the headstones have been removed from this cemetery and a small number are apparently in storage with the Hamilton Municipal Cemetery Board. Lewis and Phebe s headstones have been relocated to the southeast corner of the Bowman United Church cemetery on Highway 53 east of Ancaster. As an aside, Phebe lost both her husband and her son within days of each other. Lewis died at age 48 on December , and Matthias two weeks later at age 24 on December Both appear to have been casualties of the War of Christopher was survived by Anne and six children. 20 Henry 2 nd ( ) married Catherine ( ), surname unknown. Jacob ( ) married Elizabeth Finch ( ). Elizabeth ( ) married James Choat. Paul married Phoebe, surname unknown Godfrey married Eliza A., surname unknown Ann (1797-? ) married Elisha Bingham (1794-?). Four blocks south of Ryckman s Corners, running west from Upper James, is Christopher Drive. This street is just across Upper James from the original crown grant. Is it a coincidence, or has modern Hamilton immortalized our Christopher? 17 Ontario Land Records Index, Glanford Township Lot 4, Concession 1, Microfiche #45, page Huffman, page Huffman, page 18.