We don't know much about John Grant except that he apparently served in
the King's American Regiment, formed near Albany at the start of the Revolutionary War (1776) and died at the end of that war. He was married to Elizabeth
Lockwood (a.k.a. The Widow Grant). They had four sons:
Peter Grant; 1771 - 1852 who joined the British Navy and was frequently away.
William Grant; 1773 - 1847 married the daughter of a local British officer
and his English wife and raised a large family.
Finley Grant; no dates but he was baptized in 1789. A bachelor who ventured
"upriver" as more townships developed.
Lawrence Grant; c. 1775 died after 1840. A blacksmith who may have married
a lady from Upper Prince William, "downriver", and had many children.
It was probably at Fredericton that John's widow Elizabeth (d. 1815), mother
of five children, married a widower from her late husband's Regiment, Pt. Henry Cronkhite (1745-1823). In the spring of '85
the immigrant group was taken 40 miles or so further up the Saint John River to the Shogamoc, a cove across from Northampton
Parish, part of which became Southampton Parish. The men were allocated surveyed lots to clear and settle and a community
grew in the river forest.
And the rest, as they say, is History....
Scottish Highlanders emigrate
In
the mid-18th century, after generations of inter-clan raiding and plundering and battling for and against invading forces
of rival British factions, life was deplorable for clan families in the Scottish Highlands. The Grants were ensconced along
the Strathspey valley. Crofters and entrepreneurs emigrated to the new colonies overseas and the British Army recruited in
the highlands for hardy soldiers to fight the Seven Years War. This war, in North America, morphed into the British, French and Indian War of 1754-1763 and then into
the American Revolutionary, or Colonial, War of 1776-1783. Historian R.S. Stephenson says Winston Churchill called the 1754-1763
conflict "the first world war." We wonder what our Grant ancestors did and how
they coped during this harrowing period; this story has yet to be pieced together.
The United Empire Loyalists and defeated soldiers emigrate
When peace was established in 1783, many thousands of Loyalists, who were
referred to as Tories by their fellow countrymen, left the newly created United States. They started their lives afresh under
the British flag in Nova Scotia and in the unsettled lands above the St. Lawrence rapids and north of Lake Ontario.
This huge influx of settlers, who were known in Canada and England as the
United Empire Loyalists, marked the first major wave of immigration by English-speaking settlers since the days of New France.
Their arrival had two immediate consequences for the British colonies. Both the Atlantic province of Nova Scotia and the inland
colony of Quebec had to be reorganized.
The previously unsettled forests to the west of the Bay of Fundy, once part
of French Acadia, had been included in Nova Scotia. In 1784 this area was established as a separate colony known as New Brunswick
with Fredericton as it's capital city. Cape Breton Island was simultaneously separated from Nova Scotia (a division that was
ended in 1820). In all, some 35,000 Loyalist immigrants are believed to have settled
in the Maritimes.
The Grant family historian;
Ruth Winona Grant (1913-2001), the noted historian of the descendants
of Loyalists John and Elizabeth Grant published several very interesting books about life in and around Southampton new
Brunswick as well as genealogical records of the clan.
Ruth Grant and her husband Ernest R. Grant were third cousins, sharing common
great great grandparents John and Phoebe (Miller) Grant. John was the son of John and Elizabeth Grant.
Ruth documented her Grant family research in her books:
"The Historic Present" 2001 (which includes the Supplement
to the Grant Connexion) Copies are available.
"The Grant Connexion" 1984 Being reprinted (Jan. 2010).
Prior to publication of these two books, Ruth published two books describing
the livelihood of the families living along the St. John River, NB, in the areas where her and her late husband's ancestors
lived. Their titles are:
"Bel Viso" 1978 (copies can be available with adequate lead
time).
"Now and
Then" 1967 (copies can be available with adequate lead time).
More information about these books may be obtained by contacting Ruths' son
Nelson Grant at nelsonpgrant@hotmail.com
Jan. 2012;
Just a note to
let you know that we are in the process of preparing reprinting TGC with Addendum, and will reprint Bel
Viso, Now and Then for anyone wanting copies... i still have copies of Historic
Present available. The Addendum (approx 20 pages) will be available separately to those who
have already purchased TGC.
Anyone wanting further info can contact me at nelsonpgrant@hotmail.com
The Black Watch tartan;
