Sketch XXXI

A U. E. Loyalist Ranger - Haviland Family

Several years before the war of the Revolution, an Englishman named John Haviland emigrated from England to the province of New York, and settled in a little valley near the beautiful Hudson, between Manhattan Island and Albany. This little valley has ever since been known as “Haviland’s Hollow.” John Haviland had three sons, one of whom settled in the city of New York, the second remained in Haviland’s Hollow, and the third, John, came to Canada.

When the colonies threw off their allegiances to the English king, in 1776, John Haviland, junior, owned two hundred acres of land lying within nine miles of the then city limits of New York. To-day, the great city covers this land and extends twelve miles beyond. When the war had reach a point where reconciliation was no longer possible, John Haviland sold this two hundred acres for what he could get and secreted the proceeds. His loyalty to the British Crown was his religion, and when the rebellious colonies declared themselves free and independent of the Mother Country, he viewed the act as the vilest of treason, and swore vengeance on all who supported or sympathized with it in any way. He was a man of strong passions, and being actuated by impulse, he did nothing deliberately. His zeal for the Loyalist cause blinded his eyes and seared his conscious, and led him into cruel excesses. He allied himself with that notorious troop known as “General Butler’s Rangers.” I have no apology to make for the acts which this guerilla band of “irregulars” may have committed. Let us remember that it was not an unusual incident of cruel war, and that the American accounts of the part played by General Butler and his men during the war are, no doubt, highly colored and greatly exaggerated. Guerilla movements are contingencies of war; and when nations lay down the implements of peaceful industry and take up the sword and the torch for the purpose of destroying human life and the accumulated fruits of industry, there will always be found an element of hot-headed fanatics who will not, because they cannot, submit to cool, calculated, military discipline. In war times, when the demons of destruction are turned loose, these men lose their heads and plunge into excesses that shock the nerves of that portion of the civilized world which is at peace with all mankind.[1]

In 1803 John Haviland came to Long Point with his family, consisting of three sons—John, Benjamin and Daniel; and five daughters—Elizabeth, Mary, Eaner, Fanny and Loamy. He purchased six hundred acres of land in Townsend, comprising Lots 11 and 12 in the 1st concession, and Lot 12 in the 2nd concession. On these lots his sons settled, and the homes they made are classed among the best in Norfolk to-day.

Mr. Haviland served in the war of 1812, and was wounded at the battle of Lundy’s Lane.

It is said that John Haviland came to the settlement with a considerable sum of money. When the Wentworth courthouse was built in Hamilton, he loaned the county $16,000; and when he died he left $12,000 buried in the ground. He stated the amount of this buried sum in his will, and also gave instructions as to how and where to find it. The place of burial had been located and recorded, no doubt, by a professional surveyor, as the executors were unable to find it without the aid of one. Thomas Walsh was employed for this purpose, and it is quite probable the notes that guided him in his work were his own. Two certain trees were designated as starting points and from these two straight lines were run inclining toward each other, the point of convergence being the point sought for.

Mr. Haviland’s life just lacked two years of being measured by a full century.[2]

John Haviland, eldest son of John, married Esther, daughter of Rev. Peter Fairchild, and settled on part of the Haviland estate. In this branch were two sons—Benjamin, and John; and three daughters—Sarah, Mary Loamy and Ruth.[3] The younger of these sons, John, died since the data embodied in this sketch were gathered, at the advanced age of eighty-six years. He settled in the south half of Lot 12 when a young man, cleaning and improving it until it became one of the finest and most valuable farms for its size in the country. For sixty-seven years this grandson of the old “Ranger” was a leading and a shining light in the old Boston Baptist church, and one of the most exemplary citizens, ranking among the solid yeomanry of old Townsend. He was twice married. By his first wife, Amy Johnston, he had four, and by his second, Harriet Malcolm, nine, children.

Benjamin Haviland, second son of the old pioneer, married Lucy Craw, and settled on the Haviland estate. He had eight sons—Isaac, John, Joseph, William H., Benjamin N., James M., Andrew and George; and two daughters—Sarah and Charity. Just one half of these sons and daughters are dead. Joseph, the third son, died quite recently near Delhi, in his 76th year. He was married three times, and left five sons and eight daughters.