What happened in the twenty years following the War of 1812? These are some of the topics you should research to gain some knowledge of the Rebellions: life in Canada in the 1830s, causes of the rebellions, the lists of those captured and tried for treason (over 1,000 individuals), what militia or regular British regiments served during the period, and how to discover if one of your ancestors was transported to Australia.
Because this chapter focuses on military ancestors and, in this case, rebels (Upper Canada) and patriots (Lower Canada) as well, I leave it to you to discover any vital statistics on your ancestors. Although this period is before formal censuses, there are some church records and militia lists. The earliest censuses of 1842, 1848, and 1852 list heads of families only and are incomplete for many areas. Quebec records are more complete.
First, what background information can you learn about your 1830s British North American relatives? I would recommend you start your research by reading Roughing It in the Bush by Susanna Moodie, A Veteran of 1812 by Mary FitzGibbon, and Winter Studies and Summer Rambles by Anna Jameson. These first-hand accounts will give you a sense of what your 1830 ancestors faced when they left England to start a new life in the colonies.
The FitzGibbon book, in particular, gives insight into the rebellions in Upper Canada. There we find an outline of the order of battle for the loyal forces. FitzGibbon recorded this “Rough Sketch of Distribution for the Attack on the Morning of December 7 1837.” It can be of use if you discover an ancestors was one of the “Men of Scarboro, in the woods with Colonel McLean (Allen).”
Colonel Macnab.
Lieutenant Nash … … 1st Company … … … .Advance Guard.
Lieutenant Coppinage … 2nd Company … … … Advance Guard.
Lieutenant Garrett … … .3rd Company … … … .Advance Guard.
Major Draper.
Henry Sherwood.
Two Guns.
Captain Wm. Jarvis … … 1st Company … … … …Battalion.
Captain Campbell … … …2nd Company.
Captain Nation … … … …3rd Company.
Captain Taylor … … … … 4th Company.
Captain Jno.Powell … … .5th Company.
Henry Sherwood … … … .6th Company.
Henry Draper … … … … ..7th Company.
Donald Bethune … … … 8th Company.
Colonel Samuel McLean … … … … … … … … … … *Lieutenant Cox to aid.
Lieut.-Colonel George Duggan.
Major Jno. Gamble.
Judge Macaulay.
Colonel McLean.
Colonel Jones … … … … … … … … … … … … … … For the Left Battalion.
Colonel Jno. Macaulay.
Captain Macaulay.
Captain Durnford.
Artillery.
Captain Mathias.
Captain Carfrae.
Captain Leckie.
Dragoons.
Three Companies in Front.
One Gun, Major Carfrae.
Four Companies:
The men of Gore, under Colonel Macnab.
One Gun.
Four Companies:
Right Flank under Colonel Jarvis.
One Company, Men of Scarboro, in the woods with Colonel McLean (Allen).
Left Flank under Colonel McLean (Archibald).
Two Companies under Colonel Jones.[1]
Susanna Moodie’s husband, J. Dunbar Moodie, was a former army officer who had been placed on half pay following the war with France. He elected to apply for a land grant in Upper Canada and eventually settled near present-day Peterborough, Ontario. During the Rebellions he was recalled to duty at present-day Cobourg, Ontario, leaving his wife and children on their bush farm trying to survive the winter. These books may help you to understand why your ancestors either remained loyal or chose to fight with the rebels. Susanna wrote the following concerning the causes of the rebellion:
Favouritism was, of course, the order of the day; and the governor, for the time being, filled up all offices according to his will and pleasure, without many objections being made by the people as to the qualifications of the favourite parties, provided the selections for office were made from the powerful party. Large grants of land were given to favoured individuals in the colony, or to immigrants who came with recommendations from the home government. In such a state of matters the people certainly possessed the external form of a free government, but as an opposition party gradually acquired an ascendancy in the Lower House of Parliament, they were unable to carry the measures adopted by their majority into operation, in consequence of the systematic opposition of the legislative and executive councils, which were generally formed exclusively from the old conservative party. Whenever the conservatives obtained the majority in the House of Assembly, the reformers, in retaliation, as systematically opposed every measure. Thus a constant bickering was kept up between the parties in Parliament; while the people, amidst these contentions, lost sight of the true interests of the country, and improvements of all kinds came nearly to a stand-still.[2]
SO, WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW ABOUT THIS PERIOD?
Any time a rebellion occurs, there are usually some major grievances that have gone unresolved over a period of time. Eventually the grievances become so overwhelming that normally law-abiding citizens feel they have no choice but to take up arms and bring about change, often through force. If the rebellion is successful, a new order arises that, one would hope, rectifies the injustices that brought about the violence.
In Upper and Lower Canada, even though the rebels were defeated and those captured tried for treason, change resulted because England was shocked by what had occurred. A young Queen Victoria and the British Parliament wanted to make sure they weren’t facing a repeat of the American Revolution.
The library is full of Canadian history books that will give you detailed accounts of the grievances that led up to the rebellions: the clergy and crown reserves, colonial government, the Family Compact/Château Clique, funding for the “Established Church,” poor roads, lack of publicly funded education, and various other grievances. You can also find biographical sketches of key political figures such as William Lyon Mackenzie and Louis-Joseph Papineau.
If you think one of your ancestors might have played a leadership role in the rebellions, spend a few minutes researching some of these following key players. In Upper Canada: Robert Baldwin, John Beverley Robinson, Sir Francis Bond Head, Dr. Charles Duncombe, James FitzGibbon, Robert Gourley, Samuel Lount, Peter Matthews, Alan McNabb, Dr. Wolfred Nelson, Dr. Edmund Bailey O’Callaghan, John Rolf, Egerton Ryerson, Thomas Storrow Brown, Reverend John Strachan, and Anthony Van Egmond. In Lower Canada: Jean-Olivier Chénier, Lord Colborne, Dr. Cyrille Côté, Amury Girod, Louis LaFontaine, Robert Nelson, André Ouimet.
The one grievance common to Upper and Lower Canada was the colonial government. Each colony had a lieutenant governor who was appointed in England. The Houses of Assembly in each of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Lower, and Upper Canada had two levels: the Legislative Council, appointed for life, and the Legislative Assembly, which was elected by the colonists. The governor also had the right to appoint an executive council as his advisors. The crux of the problem was the issue of elected-versus-appointed representatives.
In addition, the people holding power in the colonies had a fear of American Republicanism. Remember that a large segment of the population in Upper