Early roads in Niagara followed the shores of the river and the banks of the Chippawa Creek, Lyons Creek and the Black Creek, therefore, the first areas settled were along these pioneer roads.
James Markle
2nd Regiment York Militia
Commanding Officer: Captain Samuel Rychman
George Crane
Flank Company
1st Regiment Middlesex Militia
George Crane was born in Scotland in 1771. In 1803, at 32 years of age, he was in Upper Canada after retiring from the British Army. By May 6, he was in York (now Toronto) when his path crossed with another ex-military, Thomas Talbot. Talbot had left England early in February with instructions from the Colonial Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor granting him 5,000 acres of land and permission to establish a settlement in the wilds of Upper Canada.
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Flank Company
1st Regiment Middlesex Militia
John Bostwick
1st Regiment Norfolk Militia
Prior to the war John Bostwick was the High Constable for the District in 1800 then Deputy Sheriff in 1801. He was also a surveyor and had surveyed several tracts along the Talbot Road and Lake Erie shoreline.
Henry Rammage
Royal Artillery
The 41st came to Canada in 1799, serving both Upper and Lower Canada prior to the war. They arrived on the western front, at Amherstburg, in 1805. By then, their reputation as an effective fighting force had been well established. General Brock noted the men to be “fit and well informed” and mentioned their “high state of discipline.” When war broke out they had already spent thirteen years in North America and they were expecting to return home to Britain on a rotation transfer. Instead, the marching orders were altered; remain fast and defend the Motherland’s colony.
A small guard detachment stationed at Fort Malden fired the opening shots of the war, their target General Hull’s men at the River Canard bridge. The date was July 16, 1812. The heroic stand became a rallying cry as the Regiment stepped up its war rehearsal manoeuvers.
Alexander ClarkCaldwell’s Rangers
Alexander Clark(e), was born in Brownstown, Michigan, on 10 May 1800. Alexander’s father was Thomas Alexander Clark(e) who died c 1840 and his mother was Catherine Brown who died c 1802.
After Catherine’s death, Thomas married Catherine’s sister, Mary Brown (d 1863). Alexander’s family remained in Brownstown until he was four years old, when the Huron Indian chiefs in council granted his father a tract of land on the Canadian side, now known as the Clarke Grant and he and his parents moved there in 1804.
John Stoliker
Militia
John Stoliker was of Dutch descent and was born in the Township of Stanbridge, Quebec on September 17, 1797. At the age of 16 he enlisted in the British Army and took part in the War of 1812, serving 15 months; he was at the close of the War honorably discharged and received a Sergeant’s warrant.
William Hutchins
Flank Company
1st Regiment Essex Militia
William Hutchins I is my third great grandfather. He was born in Dorchester, Dorset, England in 1748. William connected with a Pennsylvania Quaker family, that of Ezekiel Dennis and Ann Heacock Dennis. This family pulled up roots in Rockhill, Pennsylvania and crossed the Niagara River at Fort Erie, in 1782.
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Flank Company
1st Regiment Essex Militia
William Park
2nd Regiment Norfolk Militia
Captain William Park served with the 2nd Regiment Norfolk Militia commanded by Major George Salmon. On 13 Nov 1813 he attended a meeting at the home of William Dvokis [sp?] to organize a raid on marauders at Nanticoke and took part in the expedition against American banditti down the lake. (Source: PAC Microfilm #3173)
Peter YoungFlank Company1st Regiment Essex Militia
Peter Young Biography by Bill Young UE (3rd great grandson of Peter), October 2014
Peter Young was born 1784 in Waterloo Ferry (Fort Erie) and died on 21 October 1846 in Seneca Township, Haldimand County, Ontario. He was the second child of Daniel Young (1749 Canajoharie, New York, 09 May 1835 Barton twp. Ont.) and Elizabeth (Windecker) Young (1763 Schoharie, New York, 08 Mar 1830 Barton twp. Ont.).
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