New Family Page: SQUIRE THOMAS (1752-1836)
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SQUIRE THOMAS (1752-1836)
Re: SQUIRE THOMAS (1752-1836)
Thank you so much for posting this, Gary. I can't imagine how much time of yours I have already taken up. I will try and attach a paper written about Squire Thomas. He actually was not buried in Mount Royal Cemetery, unlike his "purported" brother, John.
Squire was buried inThe English Old Burial Ground, in Lot 76, in Montreal, PQ.
Thank you. I will not try and send you an attachment by email.
Sincerely,
Anne
Squire was buried inThe English Old Burial Ground, in Lot 76, in Montreal, PQ.
Thank you. I will not try and send you an attachment by email.
Sincerely,
Anne
Re: SQUIRE THOMAS (1752-1836)
FAMILY OF SQUIRE THOMAS
SQUIRE THOMAS was born around 1751/2, probably in the Thirteen Colonies. He married ELIZABETH FISHBACK, born in February 1765, daughter of HENRY FISHBACK, on May 3, 1795 in Christ Church, Montreal, witnessed by Ann Claus and P. Langan . He died on December 22, 1836 and was buried on 26 December in the Dorchester Street Burial Ground, also known as The English Old Burial Ground, in Lot 76. She died on September 28, 1864, aged 99 years and 7 months and was buried in Mount Royal Cemetery in Section C6 C 822A.
Children:
(1) ANN THOMAS was born on March 9, 1796, and was baptized on March 16, sponsored by Ann Claus, Catherine Claus and William Claus. She died on April 4, 1796 and was buried the following day.
(2) DANIEL JOHN THOMAS was born on January 16, 1797 and was baptized on February 12, sponsored by M. Johnson, John Johnson and P. Langan. He died on March 24, 1797 and was buried two days later.
(3) JULIA CATHERINE THOMAS was born on January 8, 1798 and was baptized on January 14, sponsored by Jacob Jordan, Catherine Jordan and Julianna Langan. She married HENRY TIFFEN on July 30, 1821. She died on March 5, 1881 and was buried on March 8 from St. George's Anglican Church.
Children:
(1) IRVINE HENRY TIFFEN was born on November 10, 1823 and was baptized on 14 November, sponsored by Stephen Leith, John Tiffen and Mathey Gown.
(4) ANN MARIA THOMAS was born on July 14, 1800 and was baptized on July 27, sponsored by Ann Gerrard and M. Johnson. She died on December 10, 1802 and was buried the following day in the Dorchester Street Burial Ground, also known as The English Old Burial Ground in Lot 76. .
(5) JAMES THOMAS was born on June 23, 1802 and was baptized on June 27, sponsored by George Martin, John Sayers and Eleanor Fishback.
(6) ANN THOMAS was born on October 17, 1804 and was baptized on October 21, sponsored by W. Gibbons Bell, Margaret White and Hannah Sawyer. She was married on June 29, 1823 to FIDE GODLOP IDLER. They subsequently moved to the United States.
(7) RICHARD THOMAS was born on August 13, 1806 and was baptized on August 24, sponsored by Gordon Johnson, Richard Grant and Jane Desmond Clarke. He was married on April 30, 1833 to MARIE-NATHALIE ALARIE, daughter of AUG. ALARIE and M. VOHLS(?) in Notre Dame de Quebec, Quebec City. In 1843 he was listed as a painter, living at 5 St. Antoine St. He died on April 30, 1870. She died on February 21, 1890. Both were buried in the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery on the Alarie plot, J2 00260.
(8) PHIL(L)IP EDWARD THOMAS was born on November 7, 1807 and was baptized on November 15, sponsored by Philip Shorts, Elizabeth Shorts and John Wilkinson. He was a cabinet maker. He was married on November 23, 1830 in Christ Church Cathedral to ANN WRAGG, witnessed by William Wragg and Stephen Leith.
(9) ELEANOR THOMAS was born on August 4, 1809 and was baptized on August 13, 1809, sponsored by Duncan Dewart, Eleanor Dewart and Susanna Mittman. She married MOSES DAVIS on June 5, 1831. She died on May 6, 1847.
Children:
(1) DAVID DAVIS was born in 1832.
(2) AARON JAMES DAVIS was born in 1834 and died in1914.
(3) AGNES DAVIS was born in 1837.
(4) MOSES DAVIS was born on September 17, 1838 and died on September 21, 1838 and was in the Dorchester Street Burial Ground, also known as The English Old Burial Ground in Lot 76.
(5) PHILIP MOSES DAVIS was born in 1840.
(6) MARY DAVIS was born in 1845.
(10) ELIZABETH THOMAS was born on March 31, 1811 and was baptized on April 7, sponsored by James S. Goddard, Ann Gerrard and Catherine Jordan. She died on April 30, 1811 and was buried on May 2 in the Dorchester Street Burial Ground, also known as The English Old Burial Ground in Lot 76.
(11) MARY (JANE) CATHERINE THOMAS was born on March 2, 1812 and was baptized on March 8, sponsored by Richard Wilkinson, Ann Gerrard and Catherine Jordan. She died on August 1, 1812 and was buried the following day in the Dorchester Street Burial Ground, also known as The English Old Burial Ground in Lot 76. .
(12) WILLIAM GEORGE THOMAS was born on February 7, 1813 and was baptized on July 25, sponsored by Isaac Winslow Clarke, James S. Goddard and Ann Gerrard.
(13) ELIZABETH (ELIZA) JANE THOMAS was born on January 25, 1815 and was baptized on February 5, sponsored by Stephen Sewell, Jane Sewell and Margaret Howard. She died on March 31, 1888 and was buried in Mount Royal Cemetery in plot C 822A beside her mother.
(14) EURETTA ELIZABETH THOMAS was born on May 2, 1817 and was baptized on May 11, sponsored by Stephen Leith, Julia Catherine Thomas and Elizabeth Porteous. She died on June 12, 1897 at Royal Victoria Hospital and was buried on June 14, 1897 in Mount Royal Cemetery in plot C 822A beside her mother.
(15) ARCHIBALD JOHN THOMAS was born on June 2, 1819, and was baptized on June 13, sponsored by Archibald Johnson, John Johnson and Maria Johnson. He died on August 22, 1819 and was buried on August 24.
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SQUIRE THOMAS is the earliest known member of the Thomas family. He was born around 1752. The following deposition was given by William Claus on his behalf in support of a petition for land :
“Newark, 22nd July 1797
I certify that Squire Thomas came into the Province of Lower Canada in the year 1780; that he is by birth an American; that he has been in my father’s and my family since that period; that he is a true and deserving Loyalist; that his conduct during the seventeen years that he has been in the family has been such as to entitle him in the fullest manner to the character of an upright, faithful and honest man.”
Squire Thomas’ connection with the Johnson and Claus families appears to have been extensive and long-lasting. Sir John Johnson, son of Sir William Johnson, the "king" of the Mohawk Valley, was the Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs in British North America. Daniel Claus was a trusted subordinate of Sir William Johnson and was in Montreal as Johnson's deputy to the Canadian Indians in 1761. Johnson purchased Claus a colonel's commission in the militia. He returned to the Mohawk Valley in 1762 and married Sir William's daughter, Ann (Nancy), selling his commission to remain Sir John's Canadian deputy, and settling across the river from Warrensburg. He and his family fled to Canada in 1775. Early in 1776 the Clauses went to England seeking restitution for what they had lost in the American Revolution. Daniel Claus died in 1787 in Cardiff, Wales and Ann Claus returned to Canada. Ann Claus was a witness to Squire Thomas' wedding in 1795.
In May 1792, Squire Thomas was part of a group headed by John Collins and including William Claus which applied for a ten-mile square grant of land along the Connecticut River in Hereford County along the border with New York . Nothing came of this petition.
Elizabeth (Betsey) Fishback came to Canada sometime before 1791, probably with her brother Henry, his wife Mary and their children (Eleanor, Hannah and Jacob) and, possibly, her grandmother. Her father, Henry, was born about 1735 and was a member of the Tryon County militia and, subsequently, in the Palatine District Regiment under Colonel Jacob Klock, Regiment and fought at the Battle of Oriskany in 1877 on the American side. There is no record of him coming to Canada, apart from the deposition of 3 August 1797, below.
In June, 1797, Squire Thomas moved to Newark (Niagara on the Lake) with Ann Claus and her son, William, and his family. Before returning to Montreal in September, 1797, both Squire and Elizabeth separately petitioned for land. He petitioned for land through an Order in Council, indicating that he may have served in the American Revolution. The land in question was in Hawkesbury , but was not taken up. Elizabeth also petitioned for land at the same time from Lincoln and William Claus made the following deposition on her behalf :
“Newark, 3 August 1797
I do certify that the bearer, Elizabeth Thomas, is the daughter of Henry Fishback, a Loyalist now living at New Johnstown, Upper Canada.”
Her petition was referred to the Committee of Council and reviewed on 12 April, 1798 with the notation “Henry Fischback, the father of Elizabeth Thomas, does not appear on the UE List of the 2 (?) District.”
A letter from Sir John Johnson to William Claus dated Lachine, 22 September 1797 stated “… Thomas and Betsey arrived here the day before yesterday and delivered me your letters…”. A letter from William Claus to a friend dated 12 June 1798 stated “…Thomas left my mother last summer. I believe I have before told you that he was married and got a family. He wishes to begin and make some provision for them and has turned butcher in Montreal…..” . Ann Claus died in 1801. She was a sponsor to Squire Thomas' first child, and it is noteworthy that his first two children were named Ann and Daniel John. Other Johnson family members connected to Squire Thomas through baptisms, etc, included Catherine and William Claus (children of Ann Claus), M(arianne?) Johnson, Gordon Johnson (fourth son of Sir John), John Johnson (fifth son of Sir John), Archibald Johnson (youngest son of Sir John) and Maria Johnson (Archibald’s wife). P(atrick?) Langan was a close friend of Sir John and the father of Maria Johnson.
In the 1816 Jury List and the 1819 Alphabetical List of Merchants, Squire Thomas was listed as a pork butcher, residing on St. Maries Street. His earliest recorded residence was at 24 St. Maries St. (later no. 10) in the Quebec Suburbs, east of the walled town of Montreal. His neighbours included Sir John Johnson at 57 and John Molson at 41. Quoting an article written in 1816, John Borthwick described the area.
“The Quebec suburb, east of the city, was considered the most aristocratic, consisting of several dozen buildings, scattered along both sides of St. Mary Street, and extending to beyond Molson’s Brewery. There were a few side lanes, the outlines of the present cross-streets, and the Papineau Road had just been opened through which the habitants of the country to the north and east began to pass as the shortest way to market. On the right hand passing down were the three fine stone residences of Bishop Mountain, Judge Reid and Baron Grant, all now standing, the last afterwards bought by William Molson. Molson Brewery stood then as now and a short distance beyond was a foundry…… Between the two was a shipyard, the only one in the place… beyond the foundry was the fine country residence of the Honourable John Richardson”.
St Mary Street - 1845
Family legend has it that Squire Thomas had a tract of land east of Montreal, extending from the St. Lawrence River to the Back River. This has not been confirmed and is unlikely.
Squire Thomas, three of his infant children and five of his son James Thomas’ infant children were buried in the Dorchester Street Burial Ground, also known as The English Old Burial Ground in Lot 76. As well, his daughter Eleanor (Ellen), age 35, wife of Moses Davis, was buried on May 6, 1847. Her son, Moses Davis, age four days, was also buried here on September 21, 1838. Records show that a John Thomas, aged 71, was buried on June 12, 1822 – he may have been a brother of Squire Thomas. After the cemetery was closed, it became Dufferin Square. In 1978 Edifice Guy Favreau was built on this location. All human remains that were uncovered during the excavations were re-interred in a large lot in Mount Royal Cemetery on December 6, 1978.
Many subsequent generations were buried in Mount Royal Cemetery in Area B3, Plot 1208 (Lilac Knoll). The plot is only marked by a ground-level stone inscribed “Thomas Family”.
SQUIRE THOMAS was born around 1751/2, probably in the Thirteen Colonies. He married ELIZABETH FISHBACK, born in February 1765, daughter of HENRY FISHBACK, on May 3, 1795 in Christ Church, Montreal, witnessed by Ann Claus and P. Langan . He died on December 22, 1836 and was buried on 26 December in the Dorchester Street Burial Ground, also known as The English Old Burial Ground, in Lot 76. She died on September 28, 1864, aged 99 years and 7 months and was buried in Mount Royal Cemetery in Section C6 C 822A.
Children:
(1) ANN THOMAS was born on March 9, 1796, and was baptized on March 16, sponsored by Ann Claus, Catherine Claus and William Claus. She died on April 4, 1796 and was buried the following day.
(2) DANIEL JOHN THOMAS was born on January 16, 1797 and was baptized on February 12, sponsored by M. Johnson, John Johnson and P. Langan. He died on March 24, 1797 and was buried two days later.
(3) JULIA CATHERINE THOMAS was born on January 8, 1798 and was baptized on January 14, sponsored by Jacob Jordan, Catherine Jordan and Julianna Langan. She married HENRY TIFFEN on July 30, 1821. She died on March 5, 1881 and was buried on March 8 from St. George's Anglican Church.
Children:
(1) IRVINE HENRY TIFFEN was born on November 10, 1823 and was baptized on 14 November, sponsored by Stephen Leith, John Tiffen and Mathey Gown.
(4) ANN MARIA THOMAS was born on July 14, 1800 and was baptized on July 27, sponsored by Ann Gerrard and M. Johnson. She died on December 10, 1802 and was buried the following day in the Dorchester Street Burial Ground, also known as The English Old Burial Ground in Lot 76. .
(5) JAMES THOMAS was born on June 23, 1802 and was baptized on June 27, sponsored by George Martin, John Sayers and Eleanor Fishback.
(6) ANN THOMAS was born on October 17, 1804 and was baptized on October 21, sponsored by W. Gibbons Bell, Margaret White and Hannah Sawyer. She was married on June 29, 1823 to FIDE GODLOP IDLER. They subsequently moved to the United States.
(7) RICHARD THOMAS was born on August 13, 1806 and was baptized on August 24, sponsored by Gordon Johnson, Richard Grant and Jane Desmond Clarke. He was married on April 30, 1833 to MARIE-NATHALIE ALARIE, daughter of AUG. ALARIE and M. VOHLS(?) in Notre Dame de Quebec, Quebec City. In 1843 he was listed as a painter, living at 5 St. Antoine St. He died on April 30, 1870. She died on February 21, 1890. Both were buried in the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery on the Alarie plot, J2 00260.
(8) PHIL(L)IP EDWARD THOMAS was born on November 7, 1807 and was baptized on November 15, sponsored by Philip Shorts, Elizabeth Shorts and John Wilkinson. He was a cabinet maker. He was married on November 23, 1830 in Christ Church Cathedral to ANN WRAGG, witnessed by William Wragg and Stephen Leith.
(9) ELEANOR THOMAS was born on August 4, 1809 and was baptized on August 13, 1809, sponsored by Duncan Dewart, Eleanor Dewart and Susanna Mittman. She married MOSES DAVIS on June 5, 1831. She died on May 6, 1847.
Children:
(1) DAVID DAVIS was born in 1832.
(2) AARON JAMES DAVIS was born in 1834 and died in1914.
(3) AGNES DAVIS was born in 1837.
(4) MOSES DAVIS was born on September 17, 1838 and died on September 21, 1838 and was in the Dorchester Street Burial Ground, also known as The English Old Burial Ground in Lot 76.
(5) PHILIP MOSES DAVIS was born in 1840.
(6) MARY DAVIS was born in 1845.
(10) ELIZABETH THOMAS was born on March 31, 1811 and was baptized on April 7, sponsored by James S. Goddard, Ann Gerrard and Catherine Jordan. She died on April 30, 1811 and was buried on May 2 in the Dorchester Street Burial Ground, also known as The English Old Burial Ground in Lot 76.
(11) MARY (JANE) CATHERINE THOMAS was born on March 2, 1812 and was baptized on March 8, sponsored by Richard Wilkinson, Ann Gerrard and Catherine Jordan. She died on August 1, 1812 and was buried the following day in the Dorchester Street Burial Ground, also known as The English Old Burial Ground in Lot 76. .
(12) WILLIAM GEORGE THOMAS was born on February 7, 1813 and was baptized on July 25, sponsored by Isaac Winslow Clarke, James S. Goddard and Ann Gerrard.
(13) ELIZABETH (ELIZA) JANE THOMAS was born on January 25, 1815 and was baptized on February 5, sponsored by Stephen Sewell, Jane Sewell and Margaret Howard. She died on March 31, 1888 and was buried in Mount Royal Cemetery in plot C 822A beside her mother.
(14) EURETTA ELIZABETH THOMAS was born on May 2, 1817 and was baptized on May 11, sponsored by Stephen Leith, Julia Catherine Thomas and Elizabeth Porteous. She died on June 12, 1897 at Royal Victoria Hospital and was buried on June 14, 1897 in Mount Royal Cemetery in plot C 822A beside her mother.
(15) ARCHIBALD JOHN THOMAS was born on June 2, 1819, and was baptized on June 13, sponsored by Archibald Johnson, John Johnson and Maria Johnson. He died on August 22, 1819 and was buried on August 24.
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SQUIRE THOMAS is the earliest known member of the Thomas family. He was born around 1752. The following deposition was given by William Claus on his behalf in support of a petition for land :
“Newark, 22nd July 1797
I certify that Squire Thomas came into the Province of Lower Canada in the year 1780; that he is by birth an American; that he has been in my father’s and my family since that period; that he is a true and deserving Loyalist; that his conduct during the seventeen years that he has been in the family has been such as to entitle him in the fullest manner to the character of an upright, faithful and honest man.”
Squire Thomas’ connection with the Johnson and Claus families appears to have been extensive and long-lasting. Sir John Johnson, son of Sir William Johnson, the "king" of the Mohawk Valley, was the Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs in British North America. Daniel Claus was a trusted subordinate of Sir William Johnson and was in Montreal as Johnson's deputy to the Canadian Indians in 1761. Johnson purchased Claus a colonel's commission in the militia. He returned to the Mohawk Valley in 1762 and married Sir William's daughter, Ann (Nancy), selling his commission to remain Sir John's Canadian deputy, and settling across the river from Warrensburg. He and his family fled to Canada in 1775. Early in 1776 the Clauses went to England seeking restitution for what they had lost in the American Revolution. Daniel Claus died in 1787 in Cardiff, Wales and Ann Claus returned to Canada. Ann Claus was a witness to Squire Thomas' wedding in 1795.
In May 1792, Squire Thomas was part of a group headed by John Collins and including William Claus which applied for a ten-mile square grant of land along the Connecticut River in Hereford County along the border with New York . Nothing came of this petition.
Elizabeth (Betsey) Fishback came to Canada sometime before 1791, probably with her brother Henry, his wife Mary and their children (Eleanor, Hannah and Jacob) and, possibly, her grandmother. Her father, Henry, was born about 1735 and was a member of the Tryon County militia and, subsequently, in the Palatine District Regiment under Colonel Jacob Klock, Regiment and fought at the Battle of Oriskany in 1877 on the American side. There is no record of him coming to Canada, apart from the deposition of 3 August 1797, below.
In June, 1797, Squire Thomas moved to Newark (Niagara on the Lake) with Ann Claus and her son, William, and his family. Before returning to Montreal in September, 1797, both Squire and Elizabeth separately petitioned for land. He petitioned for land through an Order in Council, indicating that he may have served in the American Revolution. The land in question was in Hawkesbury , but was not taken up. Elizabeth also petitioned for land at the same time from Lincoln and William Claus made the following deposition on her behalf :
“Newark, 3 August 1797
I do certify that the bearer, Elizabeth Thomas, is the daughter of Henry Fishback, a Loyalist now living at New Johnstown, Upper Canada.”
Her petition was referred to the Committee of Council and reviewed on 12 April, 1798 with the notation “Henry Fischback, the father of Elizabeth Thomas, does not appear on the UE List of the 2 (?) District.”
A letter from Sir John Johnson to William Claus dated Lachine, 22 September 1797 stated “… Thomas and Betsey arrived here the day before yesterday and delivered me your letters…”. A letter from William Claus to a friend dated 12 June 1798 stated “…Thomas left my mother last summer. I believe I have before told you that he was married and got a family. He wishes to begin and make some provision for them and has turned butcher in Montreal…..” . Ann Claus died in 1801. She was a sponsor to Squire Thomas' first child, and it is noteworthy that his first two children were named Ann and Daniel John. Other Johnson family members connected to Squire Thomas through baptisms, etc, included Catherine and William Claus (children of Ann Claus), M(arianne?) Johnson, Gordon Johnson (fourth son of Sir John), John Johnson (fifth son of Sir John), Archibald Johnson (youngest son of Sir John) and Maria Johnson (Archibald’s wife). P(atrick?) Langan was a close friend of Sir John and the father of Maria Johnson.
In the 1816 Jury List and the 1819 Alphabetical List of Merchants, Squire Thomas was listed as a pork butcher, residing on St. Maries Street. His earliest recorded residence was at 24 St. Maries St. (later no. 10) in the Quebec Suburbs, east of the walled town of Montreal. His neighbours included Sir John Johnson at 57 and John Molson at 41. Quoting an article written in 1816, John Borthwick described the area.
“The Quebec suburb, east of the city, was considered the most aristocratic, consisting of several dozen buildings, scattered along both sides of St. Mary Street, and extending to beyond Molson’s Brewery. There were a few side lanes, the outlines of the present cross-streets, and the Papineau Road had just been opened through which the habitants of the country to the north and east began to pass as the shortest way to market. On the right hand passing down were the three fine stone residences of Bishop Mountain, Judge Reid and Baron Grant, all now standing, the last afterwards bought by William Molson. Molson Brewery stood then as now and a short distance beyond was a foundry…… Between the two was a shipyard, the only one in the place… beyond the foundry was the fine country residence of the Honourable John Richardson”.
St Mary Street - 1845
Family legend has it that Squire Thomas had a tract of land east of Montreal, extending from the St. Lawrence River to the Back River. This has not been confirmed and is unlikely.
Squire Thomas, three of his infant children and five of his son James Thomas’ infant children were buried in the Dorchester Street Burial Ground, also known as The English Old Burial Ground in Lot 76. As well, his daughter Eleanor (Ellen), age 35, wife of Moses Davis, was buried on May 6, 1847. Her son, Moses Davis, age four days, was also buried here on September 21, 1838. Records show that a John Thomas, aged 71, was buried on June 12, 1822 – he may have been a brother of Squire Thomas. After the cemetery was closed, it became Dufferin Square. In 1978 Edifice Guy Favreau was built on this location. All human remains that were uncovered during the excavations were re-interred in a large lot in Mount Royal Cemetery on December 6, 1978.
Many subsequent generations were buried in Mount Royal Cemetery in Area B3, Plot 1208 (Lilac Knoll). The plot is only marked by a ground-level stone inscribed “Thomas Family”.