At Fort George During the American Revolution in Historical Fiction

Recently, I discovered that one of my maternal 5th great-grandfathers, Donald McLean (c. 1759 - August 6, 1825), served as a lieutenant in the 74th Regiment of Foot, also known as the Argyll Highlanders, during the American Revolution. His regiment was stationed at Fort George in present-day Castine, Maine which was the principal British defensive position in the Penobscot Expedition. 

The Penobscot Expedition in 1779 was considered the worst defeat in U.S. Naval history until the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Why, you ask. Because the Penobscot Exhibition had a breakdown of command by the American forces at nearly every level.

The discovery of my ancestor's involvement led me to finding the historical fiction novel by Bernard Cornwell called The Fort. It depicts the battle which was fought from July to August of 1779 and included a historical figures we Americans know and love; Paul Revere. Yes, THE Paul Revere. 

Now the book doesn't explicitly mention my ancestor, Donald McLean, even though he was an officer. It does, however, make some really cool references. First let me tell you about this battle though.

The Expedition began in June 1779 when British troops, under the command of Francis McLean (not my McLean), arrivedin Castine, Maine to build Fort George. The goal being to establish a British stronghold and disrupt the Americans' shipping. At the time, Maine was part of Massachusetts. In response, Massachusetts deployed more than 40 ships and somewhere between 1k and 3k men to capture the fort.

The plan was simple. The Americans troops were to seize Fort George and destroy the British fleet. The American forces, though, had two separate commanders. Big mistake. Dudley Saltonstall commanded the navy and Solomon Lovell commanded the army, but neither had authority over the other. Saltonstall wanted the army to capture the fort first. Lovell wanted the navy to attack British ships first. Their disagreements delayed decisive action. While they argued, the British strengthened their defenses. 

When the Americans arrived in Penobscot Bay, the British were vulnerable. They should have struck right away when McLean had only 700 soldiers under his command, the fort was unfinished, and there were only a few British ships. Several officers urged an immediate attack, but Saltonstall refused, fearing damage to his fleet. Damage to his fleet? Please! In the end, they were destroyed. 

On August 13, 1779, a British squadron led by George Collier sailed into the bay, catching the Americans completely off guard. Facing capture, American crews burned their own ships and fled into the Maine wilderness. More than 40 American ships were lost, hundreds were killed, and survivors had to march through the Maine wilderness to get back home. It was a disaster for the Americans and it led to investigations into the American commanders actions. Saltonstall was court-martialed and dismissed from the navy, while Paul Revere, who was the artillery commander, stood accused of disobedience. He was later acquitted as well, but still.

In chapter 9 of The Fort, the author, noted for blending real historical figures with lightly fictionalized details, makes mention of an Archibald Haney. Archibald Haney was a real person and, I believe, he was my Donald McLean's father-in-law. Yes, my 6th great grandfather!

Records show Archibald Haney among the early British settlers in the Bagaduce, now Castine, Maine, as early as 1761. He is also mentioned in an affidavit from 1788, as having received rations from the British during the their occupation of  Fort George. 

He comes up again in Chapter 11. While the Americans are scouting the area around Fort George for artillery positions, Archibald Haney's land is identified a promising site; highlighting how local farms and property around Castine became part of the battlefield during the siege.

I'm stunned.

Also, an interesting side note: in Chapter 10, Cornwell mentions the historic tensions between the Scottish clans, MacDonald and Campbell. Their rivalry stretches back to the Glencoe Massacre of 1692, in which members of Clan MacDonald were killed under orders from the government by member of the Clan Campbell after having been hosted by the McDonalds for days. According to family lore, my Moore ancestors were present at the Massacre. Fast-forward nearly a century, my Moores were patriots in the Revolution at the pivotal Battle of Saratoga.

Although it is fiction, Bernard Cornwell’s The Fort brought the battle at Fort George to life. It not only describes real events that occured, it also speculates on how people felt, what they thought, and how they lived during those events. It turned the battle into a vivid story; allowing me to see the chaos of the Penobscot Expedition through the eyes of historical figures, soldiers, and civilians. Thus allowing me to map those experiences into the lives of my own ancestors. The book helped me envision what life might have been like for my 5th great grandfather, Liutenent Donald McLean, who was really there. Add in the mention of my 6th great grandfather, Archibald Haney, Donald's father-in-law, and it becomes clear that family history and national history are deeply intertwined.

52 Ancestors: Week 10: Changed My Thinking - Tracing My Revolutionary Roots

In light of the 250th anniversary of our independence from Great Britain, I was asked by a former student to give a presentation for her library on researching one's ancestors during the turbulent years of the American Revolution. 

For the past 12 years, I have been a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), a lineage society that requires members to prove direct descent from someone who supported the American cause during the Revolution. So I have known for a long time now that I have patriots in my family tree. 

Funny things is that those men (yes, I have two of my fifth great-grandfathers that were patriots) are on my mother’s paternal side, the branch of my family that I think of as Canadian. My grandpa Gardner's mother was born in Quebec, Canada, as were his paternal grandparents. Typically it was those with loyalty to the British Crown who left the U.S. after the Revolution and settled in Canada, then a British colony, not patriots. How is it that my patriots are there?

Well, back in 2012, I uncovered my Revolutionary patriots with what can only be described as a last-ditch, “Hail Mary” Google search. That search led me to a digitized copy of The History of Bedford, New Hampshire, 1737–1900, published in 1903 to commemorate the town’s 150th anniversary. There, on page 995, I found a Moore family genealogy that named my known third great-grandmother, Annie Moore-Sharp (about 1785 - January 14, 1868)

It read:

“IV. Ann, dau. of William (3), b. 1785; m. Peter Sharp; res. in Kingsey, P.Q. Had two ch.: Daniel (5) and Christopher (5).”

Following the lineage back through the entries, I discovered that Annie’s father, William Moore (about 1763 - July 1817), was the son of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Moore (May 22, 1724 - October 25, 1778) of Londonderry, New Hampshire. Her mother, Eleanor Moore (about 1767 - October 19, 1836), was the daughter of Colonel Daniel Moore (February 11, 1730 - April 13, 1811), also from New Hamsphire. Yes, Annie’s parents were first cousins. And yes, both of her grandfathers had served on the American side during the Revolution. I had not one, but two patriots.

It was Annie's parents who later moved the family to Quebec for land, not her patriot grandparents. It was Annie's granddaughter, my great grandmother, who was born in Quebec but moved to the U.S. around WWI.

As I prepared for this upcoming library presentation, I wondered what other men in my family tree were living in the American colonies during the Revolution. Since I already knew that my great-grandmother, Mary Elizabeth “Mayme” Sharp-Gardner (October 2, 1891 – January 25, 1961), the one descended from those Moores, was from a family that was established here before the war, I decided to take a closer look at Mayme's branch to see if any additional men might have served; so I traced back further on her mother's side.

To have served in the American Revolution, a man would typically have been between about 15 and 45 years old during the war which lasted from 1775 to 1783. That means potential soldiers were likely born between 1730 and 1768.

Mayme's mother, Lydia Marie McLean-Sharp (September 15, 1868 - sometime between 1911 and 1916) was born and raised in Quebec. She was the great granddaughter of a man whose headstone records him as Lieut. Donald McLean. Lieutenant of what? 

Um, Lieutenant of the 74th Regiment of Foot, also known as the Argyle Highlanders, of course. (As if I know what that means yet.) As his title suggests though, Donald was a commissioned British officer. He appears to have taken part in the Penobscot Expedition, an event I’m only beginning to research. During the Revolution, he was stationed in Castine, Maine, then still part of Massachusetts, where he married his wife, Susannah Haney.

There is a historical fiction novel based on the events at Fort George in Castine, Maine during the Revolution called The Fort by Bernard Cornwell. While it is fiction, I find novels can be a more engaging way to gain basic understanding of a historical event before diving deeper into primary sources.

It was through another book, a published family history, where I learned more about Donald McLean; The Clan Gillean by Alexander MacLean Sinclair published in 1899. From that compiled family history I was able to track down the most amazing primary sources, including a land petition granting him 1,200 acres on the St. Francis River, in Quebec, around what I guess is now Drummondville, Quebec. 

Donald's wife's obituary is fascinating. Susannah Haney-McLean lived to be 108 years-old. The obituary tells a great deal about their movement around the U.S. and Quebec. Transcription below this image, in case you can't read the image:

Transcription: 

Mrs. Susannah McLean

On the 1st of May, at the residence of her son in the township of Durham, in the 109th year of her age, Mrs. Susannah McLean, widow of the late Donald McLean, lieutenant in the 74th regiment of foot.

Mrs. McLean was born in the Town of Castine, Me., U.S., on the 28th December, 1759. Near the close of the Revolutionary war she was married to her said late husband, who was then stationed with his regiment at Fort George. After the close of the war they removed to New Brunswick, residing there a few years, when they returned to the United States and took up their residence in the town of Milton, Vt. They lived there twelve years, after which they went to Danville, Vt., and from thence to the to the township of Durham, Lower Canada, in 1813, where they resided until their decease.

Mrs. McLean was the mother of nine children, eight of who are living, the eldest being 83 years of age and the youngest 64. She was a truly pious woman, and greatly esteemed by all who knew her, and lived to see the fourth generation. She retained her faculties until 100 years of age, after which they began to fail and at last she became as a child. 

The obituary clearly states they lived in Durham at the end of their lives but the land grant states their land was along the St. Francis River. I can't find a Durham, Quebec so I am going to assume that they lived close to where they are interred in a town called L'Avenir, maybe that was once known as Durham. I am not sure but I find it fascinating that more than 2 centuries later, the DNA of patriots and a British officer meet in me. Just proof that history is far more tangled than any textbook ever suggested. Genealogy is really full of some astounding plot twists.

52 Ancestors: Week 9: Conflicting Clues - The Sauer Women

I love this image. It holds considerable personal and genealogical significance, as it is said to depict three generations on my paternal grandmother’s maternal line. However, despite its sentimental value, upon closer scrutiny its labeling raises significant questions of identification. I especially question who the identity of the eldest woman on the far right.

My grandmother Clare labeled the back of this photo for me.

The three children standing in the front row are left to right: 

• William J. Sauer (February 5, 1901 - March 16, 1926)
• Joseph Sauer (May 6, 1902 - December 18, 1968)
• Anna Marie Sauer-Henry, my great grandmother, (July 19, 1899 - May 8, 1986)

The woman in the center of the photo is my great-great grandmother Agnes Frances Gray-Sauer.

The back row from left to right are as follows:

• Raymond Fitzpatrick (June 10, 1906 - October 15, 1977)
• Margaret M. Gray-Fitzpatrick (January 25, 1875 - June 20, 1968)
• Mary "Mamie" Gray (July 22, 1869 - May 24, 1929)
• Agnes Frances Gray-Sauer (October 27, 1871 - December 30, 1941)
• Elizabeth Gray (July 9, 1875 - June 9, 1970)
• Anna Hughes-Gray (November 1843 - April 17, 1904)
• Baby (unidentified)

I question the identification of the eldest woman on the far right because I know for certain that Anna Hughes-Gray died on April 17, 1904 and Raymond Fitzpatrick, the child being held on the far left was not born until June 10, 1906. If both dates are accurate, they could not have appeared in the same image. I am confident in the accuracy of these two dates, which suggests that the woman identified as Anna Hughes-Gray may be another relative.

One possibility is Catherine Hughes, a sister of Anna Hughes-Gray. However, I don't have much information about her beyond her existence. I don't know if she married, when she died, or where she lived. Perhaps further research into Catherine’s life may clarify if she could possibly be the eldest woman in the picture.

Additionally, I have problems with the dates I have recorded for the sisters Margaret Gray-Fitzpatrick (January 25, 1875) and Elizabeth Gray (July 9, 1875). A six-month interval between the birth of sisters is biologically impossible, meaning at least one of these birth dates is likely incorrect. 

Finally, I believe the unidentified infant may be Cecilia Sauer (July 14, 1906 – August 7, 1907), my great-grandmother’s younger sister who died at a year old. Given Cecilia’s short lifespan, her presence in the photograph would help establish a probable date range for when the image was taken and may help me resolving some of the questions of identification.

If Anna Hughes-Gray wasn't alive to see baby Cecilia, was there another Hughes, or Gray, or Sauer woman of that generation who was?

Nonetheless, I think the photograph is a valuable intergenerational artifact. My grandmother Clare certainly knew many of the individuals in the photo during her lifetime, but toward the end of her life her memory had begun to fade. She passed from Alzheimer's Disease in 2023. So I need to take a closer look now at the records I can find to sort out these inconsistencies and figure out who everyone really is in the photo.

Week 8: The Little Ones with Aunt Agnes

I’ve decided to stick with the theme of favorite photos for a while. This is another image I discovered tucked into one of my grandmother’s scrapbooks, those quiet time capsules that somehow hold a whole world of unspoken love stories. 

This coming Friday, February 27 would have been my Grandma Clare's 97th birthday. She passed in 2023. My grandma Clare is the little girl on the left with the chunky bangs. I’d recognize that face anywhere. I had the very same haircut for half of my life, which makes this photo feel even more personal, like a tiny echo of the past across generations. I’m guessing my grandmother was about three years old when this photo was taken.

On the back of the photo, someone wrote “Aunt Agnes & Claire.” I know for certain my grandmother didn’t label it herself because whoever did misspelled her name. It’s Clare, with no “i.” Which is ironic, considering she was named after St. Clare, the patron saint of eyes. Yet no “i”s in Clare. Go figure.

I’m not entirely sure who the baby or the young boy are. If I had to guess, the baby might be my grandmother’s younger brother, Richard Joseph Henry (March 19, 1932 – July 26, 1998). Nanny had just turned three when Richie was born. If that’s the case, then the little boy could be her older brother, Robert Victor Henry (October 21, 1925 – April 30, 2011). Maybe. Although I’m less confident about because the boy doesn’t quite look six years old to me, which is how old Bobby would have been in 1932.

As for Aunt Agnes, she was my grandmother’s maternal aunt, Agnes Sauer (April 23, 1910 – October 4, 1973). She was 21 when Richie was born, turning 22 that year. She passed away shortly before I was born, at the age of 63. She never married and had no children of her own, but she was a deeply loved aunt. My grandmother mentioned her from time to time, always fondly, and carries her name as her middle name, Clare Agnes Henry-Earle.

Of course, I’m making the huge assumption that the baby and the little boy are relatives. We tend to do that when looking at old family photos, don't we? As if neighbors, friends, or acquaintances couldn’t possibly have attended the same event. Still, I’m working through my family tree now, especially on my grandmother’s maternal side, to see if she had cousins close in age to her, since the little boy appears only slightly older than Nanny; maybe 4 or 5 years-old.

If anyone in the family recognizes these faces, remembers a story, or has seen this photo before in another album, I would love to hear from you. Even the smallest detail, a name, a hunch, a half-remembered anecdote, could help me place these children in our family story. If you recognize the faces or know more about Aunt Agnes, I’d be so grateful to learn from you.

Week 7: The Losees, The Henrys, & The Earles, Oh My.

After a recent post, my cousin Tom asked how my great grandmother Ethel Mae Losee-Earle (February 14, 1896 - May 27, 1960) was connected to his grandpa. I frequently reference this photo when explain the connection between the Losee and the Earle families and the event that spurred my love of genealogy.

This is a photo from my grandma's brother Richie's wedding on April 12, 1953. It actually sits in my office. It shows Richie and his wife Jeannette surrounded by all of Richie's five siblings, their spouses, and his mother Anna Marie Sauer-Henry.

From Left to Right (seated): Regina Dorothy "Jean" Henry-Drew, Anna Marie "Anne" Henry-Cramer, Anna Marie Sauer-Henry, Clare Agnes Henry-Earle, Josephine Dolores Doerflinger-Henry. Standing: James Aloysius "Jimmy" Drew, William Charles "Bill" Cramer, Robert Victor "Bobby" Henry, Richard Joseph "Richie" Henry, Jeannette Alice Losee-Henry, Edwin Maynard "Ed" Earle, Charles Aloysius "Charlie" Henry, Jr. 

Uncle Bobby was not yet married to my beautiful great aunt Margaret at this point. Although 6 years older than Richie, Bobby didn't marry until 3 years later in 1956.

How I Got Started in Genealogy Research 

When I was very young, my paternal grandparents, Clare Agnes Henry-Earle and Edwin Maynard Earle, took me to a family reunion for my grandpa Earle’s mother’s side, the Losees. The Losee family has deep roots on Long Island going back to the 1630s. While at the reunion my grandmother’s baby brother, Richie, showed up with his family. I was puzzled. He wasn’t a Losee. He was a Henry. 

My grandmother explained that her brother married my grandfather’s cousin, Jeannette Losee. That only raised more questions. Who had introduced who? I assumed someone had to have made introductions of either my grandparents to each other or Richie to Jeannette. My grandmother laughed and said that, actually, it wasn’t until Richard and Jeannette’s engagement party that my grandpa realized Jeannette was his cousin. “What?” He asked Jeannette her last name. When she answered “Losee,” he was stunned. That was his mother’s maiden name. 

I was stunned. Richard had unknowingly married his brother-in-law’s second cousin. But at the time of the reunion, no one could explain exactly how the two were connected. So I ended up having to draw a family tree just to visualize it. And I have not stopped since.

Left to Right (seated): Anna Marie Sauer-Henry, Clare Agnes Henry-Earle. (Standing): Richard Joseph "Richie" Henry, Jeannette Alice Losee-Henry, Edwin Maynard Earle. 

Above, Anna is the mother of Clare and Richie. Richie's wife Jeannette is second cousins to Ed. Second cousins means that they have the same great grandparents, that their parents (Standford Losee and Ethel Losee-Earle) were first cousins. Stan's father, Oliver Losee was the older brother of Ethel's father John Losee Jr.

I am hoping the little diagram below can help my cousins to see how the Losees connect to the Henrys and the Earles. I have made my best effort to anonymize the living.

Now to make matters more complex John Losee Jr. and Oliver Losee married two Smith sisters, Flora Smith-Losee and Melinda Smith-Losee, respectively. But I won't add to the chaos today.

52 Ancestors: Week 6: "Favorite Photo" - Ethel Losee at Roosevelt, 1914

It is so hard for me to pick a single favorite photo. I have so many. And having recently acquired my grandmother's scrapbooks, I have ones that I have never seen before now. Like this one:

This photo was laying in between pages of one of my grandmother's scrapbooks, apropos to nothing really. This is apparently a picture my grandmother acquired from her husband's side of the family because I clearly recognize my Grandpa Earle's mother on the right, Ethel Mae Losee-Earle (February14, 1896 - May 27, 1960). I didn't know Ethel, she passed before I was born and my father only has vague recollections of her even though he was about 10 1/2 when she passed. I know it is her though because I have seen other images of her.

I also know that it's Ethel, in part, due to the label on the back. It doesn't include her name but instead states "Taken July 4th / 1914 at Roosevelt." Ethel was born and raised not far from the house I live in now. The area was once known as Greenwich Point and is at the very north end of the town of Freeport. It is now known as Roosevelt, named after President Theodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 - January 6, 1919) in about 1902. The area is so close to the boarder of Freeport though, that sometimes events in her life there are listed as having taken place in Freeport.

I also know that here, she was Ethel Losee as she did not marry her husband Abram Thomas Earle until June 1915.

What I love about the photo is their outfits. 

The late Edwardian elegance of the period was beginning to relax just before World War I. After the war began in Europe on July 28, 1914 (the United States did not enter until April 6, 1917), clothing gradually became simpler and more practical, paving the way for the dramatic fashion changes we all envision of the 1920s; low waistlines, higher hems, fringe, etc.

Here the women are still wearing the typically high necklines that were standard for daytime and the raised waistlines. Even though it is summer, their sleeves are relatively long and their shirts feature layers of lace, ruffles, pintucks, and lots of buttons. Hats were still pretty typical of everyday wear and it is hard to tell but Ethel's flat brim hat seems to feature flowers and there may have been a ribbon. As pretty as it is, I am glad this isn't the fashion of my time. I like the comfort of jeans and t-shirts.

I do not know who the two other women are in the photo. The young woman on the left could possibly be Ethel's only sister, Marion G. Losee-Childres (July 1900 - December 3, 1949), she looks about 14 years-old, but that is a uninformed guess on my part. I hope posting the image might result in a family member recognizing the other two women.

It's a favorite. I think going forward I might forego the weekly theme and just highlight favorite family photos.

52 Ancestors: Week 5: "A Breakthrough Moment" - Update on my search for Nanny's beach-going friends

Just an update on my search for the families of the young people pictured here. 

The young girl kneeling on the right is my grandmother, Clare Henry-Earle. This image was found in one of her scrapbooks. There were actually 2 copies of the image, one of which was labeled. It is so very helpful to label your photos. Label them. Actually, print photos and then label them. No one seems to print pictures anymore. They are all just on our phones. Anyway...

Two weeks ago I tracked down the children of the Santa Maria sisters. One of the kids, Jill, provided me with some information she found online for the unfound boys in that photo.

Through her details, I have now shared this picture with the family of Ed Peter. Thank you, Jill, Ed's daughter thanks you as well.

That leaves me just three more families to locate; those of Claude Arnaud, Joseph Willis, and Ed Heinlein.

Thus far everyone has been very grateful to see a picture of their parent or grandparent as a teen, young and having fun.