Let's keep putting together pieces. Barbaras posting led me to another Henry Dildine with several Hendershot connections:
Descendants of Henry Dildine
Generation No. 1
1. HENRY1 DILDINE was born 1767. He married CATHERINE ANN HENDERSHOT, daughter of MICHAEL HENDERSHOT and SARAH SCHOLL. She was born Abt. 1768 in Jerseytown, Columbia Co., PA.
Children of HENRY DILDINE and CATHERINE HENDERSHOT are:
2. i. RACHEL2 DILDINE, b. 23 Sep 1798, Jerseytown, Columbia Co., PA; d. 09 Oct 1862, Groveland NY.
3. ii. CATHARINE DILDINE, b. 15 May 1803, Jerseytown, Columbia Co., PA; d. 27 Jun 1889, Groveland, Livingston Co., NY.
Generation No. 2
2. RACHEL2 DILDINE (HENRY1) was born 23 Sep 1798 in Jerseytown, Columbia Co., PA, and died 09 Oct 1862 in Groveland NY. She married JACOB H. HENDERSHOTT, son of JACOB HENDERSHOT and MARY THOMAS. He was born 05 Aug 1792 in Derry twp Northumberland Co., PA (Clan C1), and died 25 Dec 1868 in Groveland NY.
Notes for RACHEL DILDINE:
buried Old Gully Cem. Groveland NY
Notes for JACOB H. HENDERSHOTT:
Clan C1. Source: Evelyn S. Baer's, HENDERSHOT RESEARCHERS NEWSLETTER.
Source WEH page 182, was farmer Fishing Creek twp and at Jerseytown, Columbia Co, PA, moved about 1833 to Groveland, Livingston Co., NY, where was wealthy farmer on 137 acres. Member Presbyterian church, died 25 Dec 1868 age 76. Married his cousin Rachel
Children of RACHEL DILDINE and JACOB HENDERSHOTT are:
i. AMANDA M.3 HENDERSHOTT, b. 14 Nov 1819, New York; d. 30 Aug 1886, NY; m. ENOS ARNER, 04 Mar 1841, Groveland, Livingston Co. NY; b. 14 Jul 1810, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania; d. 1888.
Notes for ENOS ARNER:
1850 United States Federal Census > New York > Livingston > Groveland
1870 United States Federal Census > New York > Livingston > Groveland
1880 United States Federal Census > New York > Livingston > Groveland > District 24
ii. ALFRED J. HENDERSHOTT, b. 1822, Fishing Creek twp Columbia Co., PA; m. (1) SARAH S. ???; b. 18 Jun 1825, Groveland, Livingston Co. NY; d. 03 Mar 1855; m. (2) ELINOR FRANCES GROESBECK; b. 1829, Rennsselaer, NY.
Notes for ALFRED J. HENDERSHOTT:
Source WEH page 31, family moved to Groveland, Livingston Co., NY, was wagon maker at Dansville, Steuben Co., then farmer at Groveland, member Presbyterian church, moved later to Titusville, Crawford Co., PA 1875 and again to Eau Claire WI 1879 plus
Notes for SARAH S. ???:
SOURCE: Corres. Garth Johnson; Frank Hendershot: Forest Lawn Cem in Dnville, Steuben, NY
Notes for ELINOR FRANCES GROESBECK:
ch 1
iii. JASPER HENDERSHOTT, b. Aug 1828, Jerseytown, Columbia Co., PA; m. (1) MARY JANE MILLS; b. 1832, Livingston Co., NY; d. 04 Apr 1875, Livingston Co., NY; m. (2) NETTIE ???; b. Mar 1848, NY.
Notes for JASPER HENDERSHOTT:
Source WEH page 209, farmer at Groveland and Conesus on 140 acres, moved by 1900 to perry twp Wyoming Co., NY buried Glenwood Cemetery Groveland, NY
Notes for MARY JANE MILLS:
buried Glenwood Cemetery Groveland NY
children 5
iv. ALMIRA HENDERSHOTT, b. 1829, Columbia Co., PA; d. 1881, Geneseo, Livingston Co., NY; m. WILLIAM D. HENDERSHOT, 20 Nov 1851, NY; b. Dec 1829, Morris Co., NJ; d. 1913, Geneseo, Livingston Co., NY.
Notes for ALMIRA HENDERSHOTT:
cousin and 1st wife, buried Temple Hill Cemetery at Geneseo NY
Notes for WILLIAM D. HENDERSHOT:
Source WEH page 358, parents moved to Danville, Steuben Co., NY and possibly to Groveland NY, he lived at Groveland, served in civil war Private Co. H & Co. F, 21st NY Cavalry, was farmer carpenter and wagon maker at Livonia and Geneseo, applied for pension 22 mar 1881, his picture in family, buried Temple Hill Cemetery at Geneseo.
v. OSCAR HENDERSHOTT, b. Jul 1832, Jerseytown, Columbia Co., PA; m. ELIZABETH BARBER; b. Jul 1839, Groveland NY.
Notes for OSCAR HENDERSHOTT:
Source WEH page 286, family moved to Groveland NY, where was farmer and carpenter, moved about 1868 to Genesee, Genesee Co., MI
vi. MINERVA HENDERSHOTT, b. 1835, Groveland, Livingston Co. NY; m. ??? WILKINSON, 1855, Groveland, Livingston Co. NY.
vii. JOHN FREDERICK HENDERSHOTT, b. Jan 1838, Jerseytown, Columbia Co., PA; m. ELECTA M. BARBER; b. May 1840, Livingston Co., NY.
Notes for JOHN FREDERICK HENDERSHOTT:
Source WEH page 232, family moved to Groveland, Livingston Co., NY, served civil war Private Co L., G, 8th NY Cavalry, lived first at Groveland, then moved to Davison, Genesee, Co., MI 1868, first Genesee twp then Titusville, Crawford Co., PA living 1900 plus farmer
Notes for ELECTA M. BARBER:
dau of Mrs. Hannah Barber
Electa applied for widow pension 4 Sept 1912
viii. MORTIMER C. HENDERSHOTT, b. 1843, Groveland, Livingston Co., NY; d. 26 Sep 1889, Groveland NY; m. MARIA ELISA LEE, 02 Dec 1864, Fairview, Erie Co. PA; b. Aug 1834, Titusville, PA.
Notes for MORTIMER C. HENDERSHOTT:
Source WEH page 278, served civil war Private Co. L, 8th NY, Cavalry, lived first in Groveland, moved to Titusville, Crawford Co., PA, where applied for pension 4 may 1878, moved to Rochester Monroe Co., NY by 1880 where was Photographer, died 26 Sept 1889 age 43
Notes for MARIA ELISA LEE:
(apparent sister to John Bickel Lee b. 1838), she applied for widow pension 10 Oct 1889. Living at Penfield twp Monroe Co., NY with son.
3. CATHARINE2 DILDINE (HENRY1) was born 15 May 1803 in Jerseytown, Columbia Co., PA, and died 27 Jun 1889 in Groveland, Livingston Co., NY. She married ANON THOMAS HENDERSHOTT, son of JACOB HENDERSHOT and MARY THOMAS. He was born 14 Aug 1797 in New Jersey (Clan C1), and died 24 May 1883 in Groveland, Livingston Co. NY.
More About CATHARINE DILDINE:
Burial: Glenwood Cemetery
Notes for ANON THOMAS HENDERSHOTT:
Clan CCa. Source: Evelyn S. Baer's, HENDERSHOT RESEARCHERS NEWSLETTER.
Eloise H. Lennox 1013 E. Beverly St., Stauton, VA 24401.
Source WEH page 38, moved 1824 to Groveland, Livingston Co., NY, where was farmer and wagon maker on 22 acre farm, buried Glenwood Cemetery, Groveland, Livingston Co., NY
BORN: 14Aug1797 NJ; moved to Derry Twp, Old Northumberland, PA -From his obituary printed 31May1883 in Livingstone Republican, Geneseo, NY: “In Groveland on Thurs. May 24, Anon T. Hendershott who was among the first to settle in that town; died in his 86th year of paralysis. He was b the 14th Aug 1797 in New Jersey, moving thence with his father’s family to PA. From PA they went to NJ and thence to Toronto, Canada (1810). In 1812, his father moved to Avon [NY] and occupied a farm in the lower spring where the Knickerbacher Hotel is now situated. There he lived five years after which time he moved to Groveland. At the age of 21, he went to PA to learn the trade of wagon-making and there married Catherine DILDINE. In 1824, he with his wife, returned to Groveland, bought the farm and built the house where he died, having lived there all that time. Seven children were born: William of CA, James who is dead, John of Springwater, Harmon in Groveland, Wells a lawyer dwelling in Kansas, Mrs. [Catherine Samantha b1833] FETZER of Rochester, and Mrs. [Martha Jane b1839] Frank GROVES of Springwater. The funeral was last Saturday at Groveland.” -From her obituary 27June1889: WIFE: “Mrs. [CATHERINE DILDINE] Anon T. Hendershott, died at Rochester 27 June1889. She was formerly of Groveland and buried at Glenwood Cemetery.” (Note: Catherine Dildine is d/o Harmon DILDINE and wf Catherine HENDERSHOT who was d/o Michael1745- C3 found 2WEH271; some variations from 2WEH38) SOURCE: Eloise Lennox corres: Obits - NY Hist Soc, Geneseo.
1880 United States Federal Census > New York > Livingston > Groveland > District 24
Children of CATHARINE DILDINE and ANON HENDERSHOTT are:
i. JOHN D.3 HENDERSHOTT, b. Nov 1821, Groveland, Livingston Co. NY (Clan C1); m. LIDDIA MARIAH GROVER; b. Jan 1832, Livingston Co., NY; d. 1904.
Notes for JOHN D. HENDERSHOTT:
Source WEH page 227, recorded at Perry Center, Wyoming Co., NY, was wagon maker and carpenter lived Sparta, Springwater and Groveland had 7 acre farm, living 1900 plus Springwater, NY
More About JOHN D. HENDERSHOTT:
Residence: 1883, Springwater, NY
Notes for LIDDIA MARIAH GROVER:
Milliner
ii. JAMES D. HENDERSHOTT, b. 1824, Derry twp Northumberland Co., PA (Clan C1); d. 1867, East Somerset twp Niagra Co., NY; m. MARTHA A. WILBURTON; b. 1826, NY.
Notes for JAMES D. HENDERSHOTT:
Source WEH page 195, family moved to Groveland, Livingston Co., NY, where he lived but moved to East Somerset twp Niagara Co., NY,
Notes for MARTHA A. WILBURTON:
insurance settlement for husbands death 1867, widow 1880 at Hornellsville.
iii. HARMON DILDINE HENDERSHOTT, b. 03 Feb 1825, Groveland, Livingston Co. NY; d. 1908, Groveland, Livingston Co. NY; m. (1) MARTHA R. BAILEY; b. Jul 1861, Groveland, Livingston Co. NY; d. 1935; m. (2) JENNETT M. CRANE, 11 Mar 1850; b. 1826, Groveland, Livingston Co. NY; d. 19 Sep 1884.
Notes for HARMON DILDINE HENDERSHOTT:
Source WEH page 143, was wagon maker at Sparta and farmer at Groveland, wealthy farmer at Geneseo and again at Groveland, member Presbyterian church, died 1908 age 84 , buried Glenwood Presbyterian Cemetery
iv. WILLIAM D. HENDERSHOTT, b. 1830, Groveland, Livingston Co. NY; m. PAULINE ???; b. 1835, OH.
Notes for WILLIAM D. HENDERSHOTT:
Source WEH page 358, went by ship to CA gold fields 1852 to San Francisco on ship "Pacific" at Calavaras Co., CA 1852, Placer Co., by 1880 at Newcastle Placer Co., 1883
More About WILLIAM D. HENDERSHOTT:
Residence: 1883, California
v. CATHERINE SAMANTHA HENDERSHOTT, b. 1833, Groveland, Livingston Co. NY; m. JOHN J. FETZER, 1853, Livingston Co., NY; b. 1825; d. 1882.
More About CATHERINE SAMANTHA HENDERSHOTT:
Residence: 1883, Rochester, NY
vi. WELLS W. HENDERSHOTT, b. 21 Jun 1835, Groveland, Livingston Co. NY; d. 12 Jan 1901, Hotel Sturtevant, New York City, NY; m. MARGARITA SHERMAN MALLORY, 17 Mar 1863, Batavia, Genesee Co., NY; b. 1839, Batavia, NY.
Notes for WELLS W. HENDERSHOTT:
Source WEH page 348, by 1860 was merchant with John J. Fetzer at Geneseo NY, served civil war First Lieut. co. C, 136th NY Inf., & Captain Co. D, 136th, NY Inf., later was Colonel, moved to Oakland CA, applied for pension 28 July 1890 from CA, had business St. Louis, MO and at Denver CO, became very wealthy, died Jan 1901 New York City.
Amendment to WEH'S information by grandson Michael Hendershot 4-30-2004.
More About WELLS W. HENDERSHOTT:
Burial: Mt. Hope Cemetary in Rochester, New York
Occupation: 1883, Lawyer
Residence: 1883, Kansas
Notes for MARGARITA SHERMAN MALLORY:
Margarita is likely the daughter of William Stone Mallory b 1805 Ny and wife Elizabeth.
The middle name Stone came from Col Joel Stone a Lt governor of Ontario Canada who married William Mallory maternal grandmother. Col Stone married the widow of Abraham Dayton who had been the chief scout for the Public Universal Friend and had located the place for the Friend's Settlement near New Jerusalum NY.
Major Benajah Mallory, father of William Stone Mallory, happen into the Friends settlement were he met and later married Abiah Dayton. in 1793 they removed to Burford Upper Canada to start a new settlement. Abraham Dayton soon died and his widow Abigail coggswell Dayton married Col Stone.
Here is a little on Margaritta's grandfather:
The late County Historian Clarence O. Lewis wrote that Lockport resident Maj. Benajah Mallory, a veteran of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, was asked to take over the army. However, he refused because the action was disapproved by the U.S. government, which did not relish yet another war with Britain.
“Major Benajah Mallory enlisted in the service of the American Army at an early stage of the Revolutionary War, and served under Gen Washington in several important engagements. On the breaking out of the War of 1812 with Great Britain, he again re-entered the service, and fought in the battles of the frontier under Gen Scott. He carried to his grave, wounds received at the battle of Chippewa.” (Lockport Courier, Aug 8, 1853)
(Note: Abraham Dayton was on the tax rolls of Jerusalem NY 1792 as was Benajah Mallory and John Malory (Mallory) 1819, 20, 21) (Note: Abraham Dayton had a brother, Friend Dayton who married Anne Harrington and had son Hyrum Dayton 1 Nov 1798 Herkimer NY d 10 Dec 1881 American Forks Utah…he had 8 wives) (1840 census Revolutionary Patriots from NY Benajah Mallory 76 Lockport Villiage Niagra NY)
“In 1793 Lieutentant Governor Simcoe (John Graves Simcoe) granted to Abraham Dayton the entire township of Burford.(Simcoe thought Dayton was a member of the Friends Society which Simcoe favored, and so made the grant. Dayton became ill not long after arriving in Burford. Dayton was a native of New Milford Ct. He was a follower of Jemima Wilkinson, the Public Universal Friend. In the summer of 1787 a party of three scouts, including Abraham Dayton, Thomas Hathaway and Richards Smith traveled from New Milford Ct in search of a new settlement. The ultimately a party of 25 of the Friend’s pioneers setted on a knoll near the outlet of Keuka Lake. This was the first permanent settlement in western New York. The Friend joined her followers in 1790 and by that time the settlement numbered about 300. In 1794, the Friend moved a few miles west into the present town of Jerusalem NY. From the 1790 census it would appear Benajah Mallory, wife and children were living with Dayton in Jerusalem. Both appeared on the tax rolls of 1792. These rolls include those who owned personal property as well as property owners. In 1793 Dayton and some followers broke away and went to Burford, Upper Canada. The township was to become the “New Jerusalem.” Settling just west of the present town of Burford. He was responsible for bringing several families into the township and by 1797 the new township consisted of twenty-one families. Abraham Dayton died 1 Mar 1797 after a prolonged illness. His widow, later married Col. Joel Stone and moved to Gananoque, where she lived until her death in 1843 at age 93. The Dayton’s only child was Abiah, wife of Benajah Mallory, and she and her husband followed her parents into this township. Benajah Mallory became a man of considerable influence and by 1805 was elected member of the legislative assembly of Upper Canada representing Norfolk, Oxford, and Middlesex. In Jun 1812 war was declared against Upper Canada by the United States. During the course of the war, Mallory accepted a commission by the US forces and was considered a traitor back home. Benajah became outlawed and his lands were forfeited to the Crown.”
From Plaque #10 Burford locate in the Old Burford Cemetery erected by the Buford Township Historical Society in commemoration of the centenniel of Burford 1873 – 1973”
“…Benajah Mallory had prospered in Burford Township, London District, (he owned a large inn for travelers on the Detroit Trail) as a merchant, businessman, innkeeper and land speculator. A man clearly on the rise in local affairs, he had a powerful patron at York in the person of Surveyor General David William Smith. The latter had secured for Mallory a captaincy in the militia and later recommended him for the magistry. Mallory, however, clashed with the local officeholding elite,…His entry into the assembly was a case of personal spite and local politics. The district elite, when challenged, responded with denunciations of the Mallory led group as “Seditious Methodists” determined to undermine ‘good order.’ Although never a major participant in the assembly, Mallory epitomized the American immigrant castigated by Lieutenant Governor Gore as retaining “those ideas of equlity & insubordination much to the prejudice of the Government.” These people, he thought, would become “internal enemies” and would be “very much dreaded” in the event of war…..”
Robert Fraser, “All the Priviedges which Englishmen posses”: Order, Rights and Constitutionalism in Upper Canada” in R Fraser ed., Provincial Justice: Upper Canadian Legal Portraits from the Dictionary of Canadian Biography (Toronto Osgoode Society, 1992)
MALLORY, BENAJAH, colonizer, businessman, militia officer, politician, justice of the peace, and army officer; b. c. 1764 in the American colonies; m. first Abia Dayton, and they had five children; m. secondly Sally Bush, and they had no children; d. 9 Aug. 1853 in Lockport, N.Y. (MY NOTE: HE DID NOT MARRY SALLY BUSH....SALLY BUSH WAS HIS DAUGHTER)
Benajah Mallory may have been the son of Ogden Mallory, an early settler of Wells, Vt, where Benajah was living at the outbreak of the American revolution. He later enlisted in the local militia as a private and saw action in several battles. According to American historian Orasmus Turner, Mallory was the “first merchant” in the Genesee country of western New York State. He settled in the community founded there in the late 1780s by the followers of Jemima Wilkinson. He was drawn, no doubt, by an “anticipated” connection to the daughter of one of the sect’s prominent members, though Mallory apparently never shared the religious tenets of the group. In 1792 he was listed as an ensign in the Ontario County militia. His father-in-law, Abraham Dayton, was interested in obtaining the grant of a township in Upper Canada near the Grand River lands of the Six Nations. In 1795 he and his associates, including Mallory, settled in Burford Township. Within a year Mallory had built a house and established a tan-yard, “at a great expence with other Improvements.” Bedridden from the outset, Dayton died in 1797. Mallory assumed the leadership of the small community of 21 settlers and went to “much Expence towards opening and settling” the township. He hastened to report his intention to bring the number of settlers above the 40 required under the terms of the grant. It was, however, to no avail. Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe* had become disenchanted with his experimental system of making township grants, and his successor, Administrator Peter Russell*, was determined to rescind them. The Burford Township grant reverted to the crown, but actual settlers were individually confirmed in their lands: Mallory was granted 1,200 acres and his wife was recommended for 200.
Within a regional population of nondescript, semi-literate, non-loyalist Americans, Mallory stood out. He had only cleared 15 acres by 1798, but he was a leader with both ambition and ability. During the reorganization of the region’s militia that year Surveyor General David William Smith* successfully recommended him for the captaincy of a local company. Mallory’s immediate interest, however, was land speculation, particularly within Burford Township. His claim to a lease of lands owned by the Six Nations occasioned a complaint to Smith by Joseph Brant [Thayendanegea*] early in 1798. By late 1801 Mallory had acquired stills, which he seems to have leased for some time since he did not possess a licence. On 2 April 1802 he took out a recognizance to maintain order in “his house of public entertainment.” Soon after, he purchased 560 acres in Burford, an acquisition financed by mortgaging the property to the Kingston merchant Richard Cartwright*. Lord Selkirk [Douglas*], who visited Mallory in 1803, described him as possessing a “good frame house” and “a large stock of Cattle – 50 head or more.” Mallory claimed at that time to have contracted to supply army garrisons with fresh beef and had sent “last year or before 20,000 lb from his own stock.”
He had thus reinforced his early prominence with economic prosperity. The establishment of the London District in 1800 necessitated the appointment of local officials. For the most part, the positions went to loyalist officers such as Samuel Ryerse* and Thomas Welch*, rather than to the non-loyalist, largely Methodist Americans who comprised the majority of the new district’s population. In May 1802 Smith had recommended Mallory to Ryerse as a likely candidate for the magistracy. Ryerse, “not being well acquainted with him myself,” soon learned of two incidents that did not reflect “much honor on his character.” In one case, Mallory had apparently demanded payment to divulge information relating to a robbery; in the second, he had, again apparently, arranged the robbery of one of his creditors, who was anxious to collect on a note. For his part, Mallory had become disenchanted with the officers of the local courts. In December 1802 he complained to Welch, clerk of the district court, about Welch’s fees on suits filed by Mallory; at the same time, he criticized the fees taken by the judge, Ryerse. Criticism of this sort was a justifiable and common complaint, especially among small merchants and farmers. But Welch had obviously detected an unsettling quality in Mallory’s charges; in his response, he offered the hope that “you do not mean . . . to advance your Popularity by impeaching the Conduct of the Judge of this District, and his Clerk.” Such a course, he suggested, would be inconsistent with the conduct of the “Religious, the Humane Capt. Mallory.”
Surveyor General Smith was the dominant influence in the area. His decision not to seek re-election to the House of Assembly opened the way for a formal political challenge to the office-holding élite. Mallory and Ryerse contested the riding of Norfolk, Oxford and Middlesex. In May 1804 Selkirk commented, “Electioneering seems here to go on with no small sharpness – his [Mallory’s] adversaries threw out some allegations to which he replied by the Lie direct – and he alledges they pursued him with a view to assassinate.” Mallory’s victory, 166 votes to 77, only exacerbated factional strife, which soon erupted in the Court of Quarter Sessions. After shots had been fired into his home in January 1805, Mallory claimed the attempted assassination to be the work of Ryerse or John Backhouse, a justice of the peace; Ryerse, in turn, implied that Mallory had had the shooting staged. The affair degenerated into a skein of charge and countercharge, which spilled over from quarter sessions into the Court of Kings Bench, where ultimately the affair came to naught.
The unruliness of local life developed from concrete criticisms of the administration of the district’s courts. In a small society, concern about such issues quickly acquired a personal dimension. When factionalism escalated into the political arena, the lines of division broadened. Thomas Welch denounced the Mallory-led group as seditious – Methodists bent on subverting “good Order.” He noted that one of them had announced that Upper Canada would become “a very good Country after we have adriven out of it all the old Tories and Half Pay officers, and have a new Constitution like that of the United States.”
Mallory’s initial impact on the assembly was negligible; he was, at best, a secondary figure. His support of William Weekes*’s motion of 1 March 1805 to consider “the disquietude which prevails . . . by reason of the administration of Public Offices” indicated his attraction to the fragmentary opposition in parliament. In the session of 1806 he brought up a petition for the relief of Methodists in their want of full enjoyment of civil and religious rights. More important to him was Ryerse’s charge that he had been “illegally and unduly returned,” being “a preacher and teacher of the Religious Society or Sect called Methodists.” In 1807 the charge was dismissed by the assembly for want of evidence: Ryerse had simply been unable to marshal his witnesses in York (Toronto). Some, however, such as Richard Cartwright, who was then a legislative councillor, claimed the charge was true.
Mallory had finally become a justice of the peace in December 1806; he was, as well, a captain in the 1st Oxford Militia. But he was identified with political opposition and symbolized the political beliefs frequently associated with the American settlers, whom Lieutenant Governor Francis Gore described as retaining “those ideas of equality & insubordination much to the prejudice of this Government.” Welch claimed that nine out of ten settlers in Oxford County were Americans. The Chesapeake affair of 1807 [see Sir George Cranfield Berkeley*] led him to believe that, in the event of war with the United States, these people would become “internal enemies” and were therefore “very much to be dreaded.” When in 1808 leadership of the opposition within the assembly passed to Joseph Willcocks*, Mallory became much more active in the day-to-day activities of the house and increasingly supported Willcocks’s initiatives. He disagreed with Willcocks, however, on such issues as the bill to give salaries to judges in the Court of Common Pleas, which, although favourites of the opposition, were unpopular in the London District. Mallory was the sole opponent of an amendment to the District School Act because the “inhabitants were much dissatisfied with the law as it now stood.”
In 1808 he was re-elected for Oxford and Middlesex. Throughout the fifth parliament (1809–12) the opposition became more cohesive. By 1811 Mallory was, with John Willson, one of Willcocks’s foremost supporters. They worked together on a range of measures popular with the opposition; they unsuccessfully attempted, for example, to pass a bill restraining sheriffs from packing juries and another preventing government officials from sitting in the assembly. They cooperated too in adopting potentially popular positions on other measures: they opposed the bill to relieve creditors with absconding debtors, voted to reconsider the state of loyalist and military grants, and opposed changes to the Militia Act of 1793. On the one hand, it seems probable that Mallory was politicized by his career as an assemblyman. On the other, he himself felt harassed by members of a vindictive provincial administration. On 15 Jan. 1807 Richard Cartwright had won a massive judgement against Mallory for debt – £1,887 17s. 0d. and costs. No doubt the judgement had an effect on Mallory, for the following year he sought a lease of Six Nations land where he had discovered iron ore and planned to build an ironworks. He eventually leased about 1,460 acres, but nothing was erected. In 1810–11 he lost three cases involving debts, one for a staggering £1,000 and costs, and two parcels of his land were seized. and sold to pay his debt to Cartwright. He was referred to in one case as “late of Burford, now a merchant and farmer.” In 1810 he was acquitted of assaulting a sheriff. Mallory later claimed it had cost him “near” $2,000 just to defend himself; financially, he was ruined.
The greatest success of the opposition in the assembly occurred in early 1812 when Administrator Isaac Brock* attempted to put the province on a war footing. The resistance to changes in the Militia Act (notably the opposition’s refusal to see an oath of abjuration incorporated in the act) was attributed to Willcocks and Mallory. Robert Nichol* reported in March 1812 that their efforts “to create apprehensions respecting the intended operation of the Militia Bill” had produced much alarm among young men at the head of Lake Ontario. A frustrated Brock dissolved parliament in May, hoping to secure, as Archibald McLean* put it, a new assembly “composed of well informed Men who are well affected to the Government. “
The old élite had withered in the face of popular opposition. In the ensuing election Mallory was opposed by Mahlon Burwell*, a close associate of Thomas Talbot, whose base of power was rooted in what amounted to a personal fiefdom. This alliance was determined to bring Mallory to heel. Years later Asahel Bradley Lewis* alleged that the hustings for Oxford and Middlesex in 1812 had been located in “an entire wilderness. So that Mallory and his friends were obliged to travel nearly 60 miles through the woods, to the poll, – there they found the ‘Father of the Settlement’ [Talbot], providing votes for his favourite . . . by furnishing all who were willing to support the claims of the Young Aspirant to office, and who were not already qualified – with location tickets.” Mallory derided this tactic as “the most blackest and unConstitutional Designs” and urged electors to “Repell oppression accompanied with tyreney.” His effort, however, proved futile and Burwell was returned.
Disaffection and treason are among the major themes of the War of 1812 and its effect upon Upper Canada. The population was overwhelmingly non-loyalist American; most, probably, were indifferent to the outcome. Some, such as Michael Smith*, returned to the United States while others, Ebenezer Allan* and Andrew Westbrook* among them, were immediately seditious; a few, such as Elijah Bentley*, sought the most propitious moment to declare their real loyalty. But the most sensational cases – Willcocks, Mallory, and Abraham Markle* – fall into none of these categories. Each man had had a record of political opposition, but only in the summer of 1813 did any one of the three become actively disloyal. Their treason then has to be understood in the light of changes taking place within the province at that time rather than by interpreting treason as the logical outcome of persistent opposition. Brock had used both Willcocks and Mallory as emissaries to the Six Nations; moreover, Willcocks had served at the battle of Queenston Heights in 1812. In 1829 Francis Collins* referred in the Canadian Freeman to a statement made in the assembly by Robert Nichol that Willcocks had been “forced from his allegiance by a vile conspiracy against his life.” Collins reported that this “assertion was supposed by many” to mean the actions of Judge William Dummer Powell*. Like Willcocks and Markle, Mallory could argue that he too had been persecuted, but by none other than Nichol. At some point early in 1812 Mallory protested to Brock that “many caluminous reports has been advanced to you by a mr Robert Nicol and Some of his Coagiters loath against my Private and Public Character.” The reports had accused him of disloyalty, of attending “Public Meetings for bad Purposes,” and of having been prosecuted. Mallory denounced the charge of disloyalty but admitted that he had indeed been prosecuted. To him, however, the court actions, both civil and criminal, were tangible evidence of a persecution that had begun after his election in 1804. His public record as a magistrate and militia officer could not be impugned. He had, he said, encouraged the militia to adhere to the crown and offered to lead them “to Repel the Ravages or intrusion of an invading Enemy.” But he was never given the chance. As concern for maintaining the rule of law withered before the civil élite’s fear of disorder after the American occupation of York in the spring of 1813, the three leaders of opposition, one by one, crossed the border.
Willcocks went over to the Americans in July 1813 and offered to raise a corps of expatriate Canadian volunteers “to assist in changing the government of this province into a Republic.” Mallory may have had some prior commitment to republicanism. Certainly what had begun 10 years previously as reaction to executive maladministration of government, when combined with his perception of military despotism in the summer of 1813, made him draw upon the only rhetoric of opposition that he knew, republicanism. Such language entailed a fundamental clash with the polity of Upper Canada.
Mallory’s formal enlistment as a captain in the Company of Canadian Volunteers dates from 14 November; the same day he was reported to have been seen by Major William D. Bowen with a party recruiting on the Grand River. Following the burning of Niagara (Niagara-on-the-Lake) by the Americans and their retreat to Fort Niagara (near Youngstown), N.Y., Mallory was given command at Fort Schlosser (Niagara Falls), N.Y. In late December his detachment fought a spirited rearguard action against British troops advancing south after taking Fort Niagara. Mallory’s men again distinguished themselves at Black Rock (Buffalo) as the British continued their drive towards Buffalo.
Mallory was outraged by the United States Army’s obstruction of local generals and its resistance to establishing Willcocks’s corps as a permanent force. In spite of the opposition of superiors, he continued to recruit and paid his men from his own resources. Finally, as a result of Willcocks’s lobbying in Washington, the Volunteers were put on a permanent footing and on 19 April 1814 Mallory was promoted major. During the following summer the unit saw action at the battles of Chippawa and Lundy’s Lane. In mid July Mallory barely escaped capture near Beaver Dams (Thorold). Despite their effectiveness, the Volunteers were disintegrating; on 24 August Mallory sought a transfer because of a lack of recruits and a surplus of officers. He hoped to remain on the Niagara frontier where, he explained to John Armstrong, the American secretary of war, “I have no Doubt from the Knowledge I Possess of the Country . . . I can be more usefull.” Mallory urged a more aggressive military stance and the raising of 10,000 or 15,000 militia commanded by a “few Patriots.” He was convinced that Americans now saw the “necessity of Exterminating British and Savage tyranny from the Demain of Canada I am Sattisfied our effort will be the Last Struggle of the British in Canada.”
A transfer, however, was not forthcoming. Willcocks died in September and command devolved upon Mallory. He argued in vain for more arms and supplies. The Volunteers were hobbled by desertion and squabbling among the officers. On 15 November Markle and William Biggar, an ensign in the Volunteers and possibly Markle’s son-in-law, charged Mallory with embezzlement and felonious conduct. He was suspended and Markle took command. Mallory attributed the accusations to “Malevolence and black Designs Proceeding from a black heart.” The corps was disbanded on 3 March 1815 although Mallory continued to serve in the army in some capacity until 31 July.
In Upper Canada, Mallory had been convicted of treason at Ancaster in 1814 [see Jacob Overholser*] and his lands were later vested in the crown. He had sacrificed, as he put it, “both family & property.” According to Joel Stone*, his mother-in-law’s second husband, Mallory had joined the Americans “without the Knowledge or assent of his wife who was left in Canada with a family of five children.” She remained “sincere – as to her Congugal vows” and later “followed him when Sent for.” Mallory eventually settled in Lockport. On 1 Jan. 1829 a notice in York in the Canadian Freeman reported that he “has since figured in the Newspapers of his country as an adept in the art of converting the property of others to his own use, for which accomplishment he has been honoured with lodgings in a State Prison.” A letter of 28 March 1832 in the Western Mercury reported that Mallory, “one of the basest of the human race,” was “now lingering out his wretched existence in prison.” His wife remained with him throughout, struggling to support their family, “until she found that her said Husband . . . was,” according to Joel Stone, “if possible more criminally traitorous to herself than he had been . . . capable of being to both Governments.” She renounced him and returned to Upper Canada with her two youngest daughters to live with Stone and her mother in Gananoque. Early in January 1838 Mallory offered his services to William Lyon Mackenzie* and “the brave Patriots” on Navy Island. He drew a parallel between the traitors of 1813 and the rebels of 1837: he “had once Suffred from my takeing the Same Stand In the british Parliament in opposing dispotic tyrants.” Mallory later remarried and was baptized in Lockport in July 1853. He died there a month later.
Here's a story about Margaritte's maternal great grandmother, the famous snake fighter:
“……At the time when these troubles begun, Abraham Dayton was sent to Canada to negotiate with Governor Simcoe for a grant of land for a new location, and partly from fear of Indian troubles. The Governor made a grant in the township of Beauford, Canada West. But after some preparations had been made to move thither, the Governor annulled his grant. He exculpated himself by the statement that he had supposed the society to be Quakers, of whom he entertained a high opinion, but learning that this was a new sect, he did not wish to encourage their emigration to his territory. He made the grant, however, to Mr. Dayton, individually, who removed to it with his family, and died in the early years. The Dayton family, it would seem, was one fo the best in the Society, and one desireable to retain. They were besides sincere Friends, and it must have been a strong temptation that led them away. Possibly the troubles of the Society may have influenced them to leave. Mrs. Dayton (Abigial Coggswell) is said to have been the first Cheese maker in the Genesse Country. Her curd was laid in a hoop on a stump, and stones laid on to press it. Mrs. Dayton was always mentioned with great affection for her kindness in affording relief in the season of great scarcity, 1789, (NOTE: the winter of 1788/89 was unusually cold, leading to the death of Meridah Mallory) from the stock of provisions her husband brought into the country. (Abraham Dayton was one of three scouts for the Friend who first located land for the settlement.) The Dayton family lived near the primative mill, and Mrs. Dayton had one day a rather thrilling adventure with a snake. Near the bank she saw a large black snake entwined about the limb of a tree projecting over a stream. Taking a stick in her hand, she stepped on a pile of boards and gave the snake a blow, which loosened its hold and it fell into the stream. At the same time the boards gave way and precipitated Mrs. Dayton down the bank about thirty feet, along with the snake and the boards. When her husband came to her aid, he found her standing in the water, the bones from a broken leg protruding through the skin and stocking, while she was beating off the snake with a stick in her hand, his snakeship having concluded to gived battle under the new turn of affairs. She was recused, and the bones were set and the limb dressed by the Friend in the absene of a surgeon, and the fracture was as speedily cured as if managed bythe most skillful expert in surgery. She married a second husband, (Col. Stone,) and died at the age of ninety-three years. A daughter of Mrs. Dayton married Benajah Mallory, who was a trader in the settlement at a very early day, and died at an advanced age at Lockport a few years ago.
The interest of Mr. Dayton in the Pioneer mills, he sold to David Wagner, and very important adherent of the Friend, from Pennsylvania, on the “27th dayf of ye 12th Mo., 1791. The consideration for grist and saw mill, was on hundred and fifty pounds; and for improved lands adjoining, fifty pounds. The deed was witnessed by Daniel Guernsey, and surveyor, and Barnabus Brown. (NOTE: a son of grandson of Meridah Mallory married a Wagener, and Meridah’s son John married Susan Guernsey.)…” History of Yates County
vii. MARTHA JANE HENDERSHOTT, b. 1839, Groveland, Livingston Co. NY; m. FRANK S. GROVES, 18 Oct 1871, NY; b. 1840; d. 1930.
More About FRANK S. GROVES:
Residence: 1883, Springwater, NY