The First English Proprietors of the Parish of Woodstock

The original grant to the men of De Lancey’s first and second battalions is extant and in an excellent state of preservation. It is now in the possession of Mr. Charles L. Smith, of Woodstock. There is an excellent plan attached to the grant, scale one mile to an inch, drawn by Charles Morris Esq., Surveyor General. The grant is signed by Governor Parr and counter-signed by the Provincial Secretary, Richard Bulkely. The great seal of Nova Scotia, some four inches in diameter and about half an inch in thickness is attached to the grant. This venerable document has now been in the Smith family for many years and is occasionally consulted by surveyors and others.

As originally surveyed the Woodstock grant to De Lancey’s men comprised 48 lots of 550 acres each, with the single exception of lot 22, which contained but 500 acres. The grant began about two miles above Eel river the lower boundary being nearly identical with the McIlroy road leading from the St. John river to Benton.

The present and original owners of the lots as far as the writer has been able to determine them are now given:–

Lot	Present Owner	Original Grantee	Acres
1	Robert Franklin S. Teeling	Robert Brown James Brown Wm. Brown Corp. Andrew Holt	100 100 150 200
2	George Brown Gilbert Brown	Sergt Wm Jackson Wm Vanderfield John Merry James Wake	250 100 100 100
3	Ben Stickney	Sergt D Newman Joseph Dickson	450 100
4	Mrs T A Brown	Surgeon N Smith	550
5	A R Hay	Corp E Maxwell James Craig Sergt Isaac Kipp	200 100 250
6	A W Hay	Corp T Stanley Samuel Dawson John Dugan	350 100 100
7	Peter Johnston B Bull	Surgeon N Smith John Smith	350 200
8	Levi Yerxa Alex Johnston	Ensign H Ferguson	550
9	John Lilly James Bryden	Ensign G Brewerton	550
10	John Craig P Brophy	Ungranted	550
11	Armstrong prop’ty M Gough	Ungranted	550
12	Allen Barnett C Yerxa M Teed	Ungranted	550
13	James Dugan E Sproul J Powers	Ungranted	550
14	John Day	Miles Riley Chris Myers Adolphus Brush James Carter Ensign N E Old	100 100 100 100 50
15	A Dow	David Rivers Wm Lawrence Lawrence McDonald Wm Hickie John Barrot Ens Geo Everitt	100 100 100 100 100 50
16	J Ferris   Henry Bull	David Flinn Martin Devire John Jennings Sergt Sol Wood	100 100 150 200
17	Albert Bull	Dan’l Buckley Mich’l Dennison Joseph Jones Sergt Edward Neil	100 100 150 200
18	John Riorden	Lieut Ben Lester	550
19	Leonard Slipp	Peter Thompson Pat Birmingham Sergt D McSheffrey	100 150 300
20	A Stephenson     C H L Perkins	Thos Everitt Benj Collins John Weston Henry Fisher Major Jos Greene	100 100 100 100 150
21	C H L Perkins Franklin Bull	Geo McGea Fred Hubbard John Strawbank	200 200 150
22	J D Ketchum	John McLaughlin James Bradley Thomas Lutart Edward Couzins Thomas Stanton	100 100 100 100 100
23	Fred Cookson L Dibblee	Adam Sutherland Sergt T Fowler	150 400
24	Byron Bull	Corp Jonas Higby Sergt Wm Parridy Joseph Temple	200 200 100
25	John Fleming H McLean	Ens Rich Boyle	550
26	Indian Reserve	Ens Geo Everitt	550
27	Mrs Jas Wetmore Joseph Griffith J Davidson	Major J Greene	550
28	Wm H DeVeber	Lt B P Griffith	550
29	J J Bedell   [D] M Carman	Joseph Stevens John Short John Fitzgerald Corp James Berry	150 100 100 200
30	O S & J Peabody   Stephen Peabody	Corp Robert Hallet Peter Clark Wm Pitt Thos Callaghan	250 100 100 100
31	C W Raymond A J Raymond C A Beardsley	Sergt H Farmer Sergt P McNamara	250 300
32	Misses Beardsley	Lt T Cunningham	550
33	C L Smith	Capt Thos French	550
34	Henry Upham Aug Upham, etc.	Major J Greene	550
35	Town of Woodst’k	Capt Jacob Smith	550
36	Town to creek	Capt Jacob Smith Michael Penn John Carson	350 100 100
37	Above creek	Ens N E Old	550
38	Town above L P Fisher’s	Sergt R Chambers John Vance Michael Higgins William Laird	200 100 100 150
39	Town	Ens Jas DeLancey	550
40	Town	Ens Ralph Smith	550
41	Town	Sergt Adam King Sergt J Fitzpatrick Sergt Henry Farmer	200 200 50
42	Beginning of Upper Woodstock	Corp Rich Rogers Corp Rich Inman Wm Tingell Lt T Cunningham	200 200 100 50
43	Upper Woodstock	John Mainey Thomas Thaimes Daniel Cummings Capt Thoms French	100 100 100 250
44	At Lane’s Creek	Lt Jas Supple	550
45	Above Lane’s Creek	Sergt R Johnson Robert Ogle Henry Holmes Wm Thacker	200 100 100 150
46	Upper Woodstock	Corp James Devire Corp Josh Nailer Wm Slayman Lt B P Griffith	200 200 100 50
47	Upper Woodstock	Abraham Garrison John Shuty Moses Holmes Corp J Gondelo Lt B P Griffith	100 100 100 200 50
48	To parish line	Wm McDavitt Thomas Foy John Linnehan James McChain	200 100 100 150

A few words will now be in order respecting the old veterans of DeLancey’s brigade, the first English owners of the soil at Woodstock. They were all members of the first and second battalions of the Brigade, and the majority of them has served throughout the revolutionary war.

DeLancey’s battalions were organized towards the close of the year 1776, and were supposed to be each 500 strong, but from a variety of causes it was found impossible to keep the brigade always up to its strength. In August 1777 the muster rolls show that the total strength of the first and second battalions was about 640 men. They were a little stronger when ordered to engage in the Campaign in Georgia and South Carolina in the year 1779, at which time they were about 400 officers and men in the first battalion and about 350 in the second. When first organized the DeLancey battalions were officered as follows:

First Battalion

No. 1. or the General’s Company — Oliver DeLancey, Br. Gen’l; George Kerr, Capt.-Lieut; Mark Kerr, Ensign;

No 2. Thomas Conkling, Capt; John Roney, Lieut; Nicholas E. Old, Ensign;

No. 3. Charles Duffee, Capt; Arthur Blaynet, Lieut; Thomas Hoyt, Ensign;

No. 4. James Galbreath, Capt.; Charles McPherson, Lieut.; Thomas Cunningham, Ensign.

No. 5. James Raymond, Capt.; Thos. French, Lieut.; James Supple, Ensign.

No. 6. Barent Roorback, Capt.; John Neaille, Ensign.

No. 7. Jacob Smith, Capt.; James French, Lieut.; Richard Boyle, Ensign.

No. 8. Thomas French, Capt.; Nicholas E. Old, Quarter Master, John Neaille, Adjutant, Nathan Smith, Surgeon, Daniel Cornwell, Surgeon’s Mate, Rev. James Sayre, Chaplain.

Second Battalion

No. 1. The Colonel’s Company. — George Brewerton, Col.; Ralph Cunningham, Capt. Lieut.; James Moffat, Ensign.

No. 2. Stephen De Lancey, Lieut. Col.; Benjamin P. Griffith, Lieut.; Henry Ferguson, Ensign.

No. 3. Walter Campbell, Capt.; Colin Campbell, Lieut.

No. 4. Alex Constable, Capt.; Justice McCartney, Lieut.; Angus McDiarmid, Ensign.

No. 5. George Dunbar, Capt.; Alex McMilligan, Lieut.; Benjamin Pollard, Ensign.

No. 6. Samuel Hallett, Capt.; Daniel Hallet, Lieut.

No. 7. Howes Hatch, Capt.; William Brooke, Lieut.

No. 8. Thos. Wm. Moore, Capt.; Edward Potts, Lieut.; Daniel Cameron, Ensign.

No. 9. Thomas Woolley, Capt.; Benjamin Lester, Lieut.; Thomas Serives, Ensign.

Edward Potts, Quarter Master, Daniel Cameron, Adjutant, John Johnston, Surgeon, Joseph Marven, Surgeon Mate.

During the continuance of the war there were numerous changes both amongst the officers and also in the rank and file.

Capt. Thomas Conkling was killed in 1780 in the Georgia campaign and his Lieutenant John Roney was killed May 22nd 1781 at the seige of fort ninety-six. Ensign Benjamin Pollard was killed at the seige of Savannah in 1779. Col. Brewerton died during the war. Many of the men were killed or died of wounds and exposure, others broken down in health were discharged as unfit for service. Some were from time to time taken prisoners by the enemy and the entry frequently occurs in connection with a name here and there in the old muster rolls “prisoner with the rebels.”

The losses in the south during 1779 and the two years following reduced the first and second DeLancey battalions to less than half their original strength, and about the end of the year 1781 the commanding officer at Charlestown issued an order incorporating the two battalions into one and from this date the 3rd battalion stationed under Col. Ludlow at Lloyd’s Neck became the 2nd battalion. When it was ascertained that any further continuance of the struggle was hopeless no attempt was made to secure recruits and the numbers enrolled in De Lancey’s brigade continued to diminish, some were discharged as their period of service expired, many sought their old homes and some were disbanded in New York to proceed whither they would.

Thus it came to pass that in September 1783 there were only a little more than one hundred officers and men of the first and second battalions to proceed to Nova Scotia. The officers of the corps are thus returned in the last muster at New York previous to the evacuation of that place by the British.

De Lancey’s First Battalion

No. 1. Brig. Gen. De Lancey, Capt. Lieut. Chas. McLean, Ensign Wm. French.

No. 2. Lieut Col. Cruger, Lieut. Nehemiah Rogers.

No. 3. Major Joseph Greene, Lieut. Benjamin Lester, Ensign Henry Ferguson.

No. 4. Capt. Jacob Smith, Lieut. B. P. Griffith, Ensign Richard Boyle.

No. 5. Capt. George Dunbar, Lieut. Alex McMillan, Ensign James De Lancey.

No. 6. Capt. James Galbreath, Ensign Colin Campbell.

No. 7. Capt. James French, Lieut. Daniel Hallet, Ensign N. E. Old.

No. 8. Capt. George Kerr, Lieut. James Supple.

No. 9. Capt. Thomas French, Lieut. Thos. Cunningham, Ensign Brewerton.

No. 10. Capt. Barent Roorback, Lieut. Daniel Cameron.

Chaplain Rev. Mr. Bowden, Adjutant Thos. Cunningham, Quarter Master Neh. Rogers, Surgeon Nathan Smith.

1. O. Raymond

[Published in the Woodstock Dispatch, 31 July 1895]