INDIVIDUAL NOTICES—CONCLUSION.
The noble band of Loyalists have now almost all passed away. Their bodies have long since been laid in the grave; their children also have almost all departed, and the grand-children are getting old. Their last resting places—resting from war, famine, and toil—are to be found upon beautiful eminences, overlooking the blue waters of the Bay and River and Lake. All along their shores may be seen the quiet burying-places of those who cleared the land and met the terrible realities of a pioneer life.
The present work cannot embrace a history of the many noble ones, deserving attention, who laid the foundation of the brightest colony of Great Britain. Yet it would be incomplete without giving the names of a few representative persons. They are such as we have been able to procure, and while there are others, not referred to, well worthy of a place in history, these are no less worthy. We have, under “The Combatants,” referred to others of the first settlers, and would gladly have introduced the names of all, could they have been obtained.
Booth—“Died—At Ernesttown, on Saturday, Oct. 31, 1813, very suddenly, Joshua Booth, Esq., aged 54 years. He was one of the oldest settlers in that place, and ever retained the character of a respectable citizen. Left a widow and ten children.”
The Brock Family.—William Brock was a native of Scotland; born in 1715. Was taken by a press-gang when eighteen, and forced upon a man-of-war. Served in the navy several years, when he was taken prisoner by the French. Afterward was exchanged at Boston. Being set at liberty from the service, he settled at Fishkill, New York, where he married, and became the father of a large family, two sons, Philip and John, by the first wife; and eight children by a second, named William, Ruth, Naomi, Isabel, Deborah, Catherine, Samuel, Garret, and Lucretia. In consequence, of the rebellion, he became a refugee, and, at the close, settled in Adolphustown; lived for a short time near the Court House, upon his town lot, two of his neighbors gave him theirs, and he continued to live upon the three acres for some time. He drew land near the Lake on the Mountain, and in the west, to which his sons went when they grew old enough. One of them was Captain of Militia during the war of 1812. He received at that time a letter from Gen. Brock, who claimed relationship; the letter was written a few days before Gen. Brock fell. This letter still exists. The youngest of the children married Watterberry, and still lives, (1867) aged 82, with her daughter, Mrs. Morden, Ameliasburgh.
Cartwright.—One of the most noted of the refugees who settled at Kingston, was Richard Cartwright. He was a native of Albany, and was forced to leave his home because of his loyalty. He found an asylum with others at Carleton Island, or Fort Niagara. Some time after the conclusion of the war he was in partnership with Robert, afterward Honorable Hamilton, at Niagara. But sometime about 1790, he settled in Kingston, where, as a merchant he acquired extensive property. The Government mills at Napanee came into his possession. Those who remember his business capacity, say it was very great. He was a man of “liberal education and highly esteemed. Suffered at last calmly and patiently, and died at Montreal, 27th July, 1815, aged fifty years.”
The estimation in which this gentleman was held is sufficiently attested by the following, which we take from the Kingston Gazette:
York, March 13, 1816.
A new township in the rear of Darlington, in the district of Newcastle, has been surveyed, and is now open for the location of the U. E. Loyalists and military claimants. We understand that His Excellency, the Lieutenant-Governor to testify in the most public manner the high sense which he entertained of the merit and services of the late Honorable Richard Cartwright, has been pleased to honor this township with the name of Cartwright, a name ever to be remembered in Canada with gratitude and respect. Dignified with a seat in the Legislative Council, and also with a high appointment in the militia of the Province, Mr. Cartwright discharged the duties incident to those situations, with skill, fidelity, and attention. Animated with the purest principle of loyalty, and with an ardent zeal for the preservation of that noble constitution which we enjoy, he dedicated, when even struggling under great bodily infirmity, the remains of a well spent life to the service of his country. Nor was he less perspicuous for his exemplary behaviour in private life; obliging to his equals—kind to his friends—affectionate to his family, he passed through life, eminently distinguished for virtuous and dignified propriety of conduct, uniformly maintaining the exalted character of a true patriot, and of a great man.
He was a good type of the old school, a tall, robust man, with a stern countenance, and a high mind. He had sustained the loss of one eye, but the remaining one was sharp and piercing. As the first Judge of Mecklenburgh, he discharged his duties with great firmness, amounting, it is said, often to severity. As an officer of the militia, a position he held in 1812, he was a strict disciplinarian, and often forgot that the militiamen were respectable farmers. Mr. Cartwright left two sons, the late John S. Cartwright, and the Rev. Robert Cartwright. It is unnecessary to say that the descendants of Judge Cartwright are among the most respectable, influential and wealthy, living in the Midland District.