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| Quinte Family Mini Pages The research puzzle Is there a connection between Frederick Fox and the two brothers, William and Henry Fox who settled in Sophiasburgh? Ken Young has had trouble finding many records in Upper Canada of his Frederick Fox. Most of the material below comes from Ken. In May 2014, Keith Brickman came forward with more information about the Fox brothers. © Kenneth Young, 2013 Use these links to jump up and down this page
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| 1. BACKGROUND In the biographical sketches section of The Settlement of Prince Edward County by Nick and Helma Mika, 1984, p. 212, they have the following very puzzling entry that I believe relates to my 5th ggrandfather, Frederick Fox:
This information comes largely from Pioneer Life on the Bay of Quinte [see page 328] but there is no mention of "Frederick Fox" in the PLBQ version. Why did the Mika's link Frederick Fox to the other Fox brothers? While it's certainly possible that Frederick was in Dutchess County, or had family there, the sketch just left me scratching my head. The above may be true in some respect ...but there are some big disconnects here: I doubt that any former member of a British Colonial military unit was living in New York after the Revolution; and what's the connection between Frederick, William and Henry? For more on the Fox brothers, see below. Conclusion Given the findings below, there appears to be no connection between Frederick Fox and the Fox brothers whose ancestors were 1709ers, and Henry Z. Jones believes Frederick was a later arrival. I think he's correct and welcome any further information. | |
2. WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT FREDERICK FOX The only information I've found on his roots is that he was born in Germany abt 1735-1740, and married Lydia Van Alstyne in Schoharie, New York, in 1765. An affidavit dated April 1816, regarding the DUE application of his daughter, Susannah, states that her father Frederick Fox was "under no suspicion" during the "late war" of 1812. We can assume he is still alive at this time. Frederick Fox, formerly of Tryon County, did file a claim in 1789 with Ebenezer Washburn in which he said that he gave his original claim to his captain in 1783, but had just discovered (in 1789) that the captain inexplicably still had it. The bundle includes the signed and undated claim; a signed but undated statement explaining why it's being filed that late; the certification by Washburn that he appeared and swore to the claim on 8 Jan 1789 (I could be wrong about the date); the certification by Washburn that Jacob Miller also appeared and swore to the truth of the claim; and a statement signed and dated 10 Feb 1788 by Richard Duncan, the KRRNY captain to whom the original claim was given in 1783. This corroborates other sources, for instance the muster roll of the 1st Btn, Duncan's company, KRRNY. The 1789 claim says he was living at Richmond at that time. Source: UCLP, RG 1 L3, LAC web site, V 169, F misc/4, 1789-1830, C-2022, see image 837. UE LIST Fox, Frederick.... Sophiasburgh & Ameliasburgh, 1786 Provision List, Loyalist from N.Y. 3 children, Soldier R.R.N.Y. Muster Roll Source: The Old United Empire Loyalist List online - click on the "F" list at the very bottom. UCLP PETITIONS Frederick's daughters, Susannah Young, Margaret McDonald and Jean Corbman, did apply for land as DUE's and their petitions are below indexed under their married surnames. Source: Jean Corbman, UCLP, RG1 L3, LAC web site, V127, C Misc 1788-94/250, C-1732, see image326. Source: Susannah Young, UCLP, RG1 L3, LAC web site, V549, Y4/1, C-2980, see image 317. Source: Angus [and Margaret] McDonald, UCLP, RG1 L3, LAC web site, V329, M3/25, C-2192, see image 274. Regarding Angus McDonald/McDonell, husband of Margaret Fox. I thought maybe Angus also had been in one of the British Colonial units (KRRNY, RHE, etc) and that he was probably one of the Highlanders brought into Tryon County, NY, by Sir William Johnson. There are lots of McDonells in that group, and a fair number of Angus McDonells. The above petition in which he says he's been in the province since either 1776 or 1786, has never received any lands, his wife is the d/o of Frederick Fox, UE Loyalist, says he took the oath, and asks for land to which they are entitled. Notes on the petition indicate warrants were issued for both. Two things got my attention: He didn't assert any claim for himself as former military; and he took the oath, which I assume he wouldn't have done if he was former military. The UC Land Books have this: "13 Nov 1797, Council Chamber York Angus McDonald, of Ameliasburgh. Praying for lands as a settler and in right of his wife as a loyalist. Recommended 200 acres. His wife also recommended if on the U.E. list." SETTLED The above 1786 Provision List states Frederick Fox is of Sophiasburgh & Ameliasburgh. Later in 1790 he appears on the 1st Concession, Richmond Twp. Afterwards he is in Ameliasburg. I think that most of the men who served in the 1st Btn, KRRNY were settled in the 4th Royal Township [Adolphustown], and maybe this slip-up was the reason that he didn't. I have not yet found any record of an actual land grant to him. The record of his service in the KRRNY is well established, and some of the petitions by his sons-in-law for their wives document that Frederick was on the UE list. Source: Index of owners and tenants in Mecklenburg district, UELAC web site, 1790 Frederick Fox, Richmond Twp, Lennox Co: Con 1, Lot 2, 100 acres Con 1, Lot 3, 100 acres Con 2, Lot 3, 100 acres Source: Land Owners of the Mecklenburg (Ontario) District, 1790, NYgenweb And Frederick, his 3 daughters and sons-in-laws, John Young Sr. and Susannah Fox; Jacob Corbman and Jean Fox; and Angus McDonell/McDonald were in Ameliasburg by about 1797-98. Source: petition #69, m/f #C-2805, 1798 by Frederick Fox, John Youngs, Jacob Corbman, Angus McDonald and other inhabitants of Sydney, Thurlow and Ameliasburg, UCLP, LAC. See the third petition down on this web page. | |
| 3. YOUNG SIDE OF THE FAMILY PROVIDES INFORMATION My grandfather's Young family genealogy manuscript is usually referred to as Several Young Families of the Bay of Quinte District, and my grandfather self-published it in 1962, shortly before he died in 1963 (copy on file at the Marilyn Adams Genealogical Research Centre, Ameliasburg). It also covers a number of Young families that are not related to our Youngs. He was a founding member of the Bay of Quinte UEL chapter in the mid-1950s, and apparently he later was given the task of conducting Loyalist genealogical research for the chapter. In a letter at the end, he said that he was providing carbon copies "in the Archives at Ottawa and Toronto, in the the Public Libraries at Picton and Belleville, and if the originally proposed Reference Library at the Museum of Adolphustown is ever opened, one will be there..." In it he identified one of his ggg grandfathers as Friedrich Fuchs/Frederick Fox "who had come to America with the Palatine migration in June 1710," and who subsequently enlisted in British forces during the Revolution. Although the Young/Jung family clearly were part of that migration, it now appears that Frederick Fox was a later arrival, possibly having arrived in New York in the mid-1750s. By the late 1760s or early 1770s, he had settled with his family in the New Dorlach community of Tryon County, NY, and he was among a group of men from New Dorlach in the 8th Co, 1st Reg't, Tryon Co Militia, who defected to British siege lines at Fort Stanwix. He was enlisted there on 15 Aug 1777 into the 1st Btn, KRRNY. There appears to have been quite a number of German later arrivals in New Dorlach who remained loyal. Next door was New Rhinebeck, settled about the same time by Germans who had migrated from Rhinebeck, Dutchess Co. So the reference to the other Foxes having come from Dutchess Co is very interesting. Source: Schedule titled "From Jacob Miller's 8th [New Dorlach] Company of the Tryon County Militia, pps. 224 and 226, The British Campaign of 1777, Gavin Watt |
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| 4. THE SPENCER SIDE OF THE FAMILY About 8 -9 years ago, while doing research on my Dad's mother's family (McGuire in Leeds/Grenville) I found a reference to a different manuscript, Several Spencer Families, published in 1962 by Rush Maxwell Blodgett, Laguna Beach, CA, and Eugene Claude Young, Wellington, ON (copy on file at the MAGRC). (My grandfather's mother was a direct descendant of Lt. Hazelton Spencer.) Thahttp://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~saylormowbray/fox.htmlt discovery opened the door that had been closed for about 80 years. While both are limited in scope, they were incredibly valuable to me as I had almost nothing on the Young family. For the Young family in New York, my grandfather relied on The Young (Jung) Families of the Mohawk Valley published in 1946 by Clifford Marvin Young (digital copy freely available on the web). The connection to Hendrick and Margaretha Jung, 1709ers, is very clear. But there is very little information in the manuscript on Frederick Fox. My grandfather was also the research editor for the 1958 issue of The Ketcheson Family, published by the Ketcheson Family History Publication Committee. A branch of that family descended from Lt. Hazelton Spencer, so were relatives of his. |
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| 5. THE FOX BROTHERS - William and Henry In a May 2014 email, Keith Brickman added more detail about the Fox brothers. "My brother Garry and I have been researching the Brickmans in Ameliasburgh and have tracked Lewis/Lodewick Brickman back to Bergen County, New Jersey. Our research shows that the 2 Fox brothers, William and Henry, came from Bergen County, New Jersey. As you noted Henry was married to Catherine Brickman who was the sister of our Lewis/Lodewick Brickman." "We came across a hard-to-find paper on the Wanamaker Family by John Y. Dater who said that Lodewick, William and Henry leased lot 156 together in the Ramapock Tract, NJ, in 1790. Then at the New Jersey Historical Society we found the note in the Parker Family Papers to which John Dater was referring. James Parker (1725-97) was on the Board of Proprietors of the Eastern Division of New Jersey and in 1790 they divided up the Ramapo[ck] Tract of which Parker tracked the inventory in his papers." See a pdf of the document. Source: email from Keith Brickman, May 2014, Parker Family Papers, NJHS, MG18, Box 2, Folder 13. Sarah Mason wife of Henry Fox I am trying to track down a family named MASON in Prince Edward County, Ontario. Thus far, I have found that Henry/Harry Fox and Sarah Mason had four children baptised by Rev. Robert James McDowall in the years of 1803 to 1828. The baptisms refer to Sophiasburg. Do you have any idea as to whether/how this Henry Fox is related to the above Henry, William, and/or Frederick Fox. It is believed that Sarah Mason was born in 1778 or 1779, probably in New York. Source: email from Iris Read, July 2014 |
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| 6. ANOTHER FREDERICK FOX IN NIAGARA This Frederick Fox joined the Royal Standard in 1777 and first settled in New Brunswick and came to Upper Canada in 1808. Source: UCLP, RG1 L3, V188, F9/44, 1809, C-1895, see image 693 FOX, Frederick, 1783, King's American Regiment Muster Roll of the Grenadier Company of the King's American Regiment where of Edmund Fanning is colonel commanded by Major John Coffin Plushing Fly. Source: Ward Chipman Papers, LAC web site, MG 23 D1, Series 1, volume 26, page 174, Microfilm reel number: C-9818 |
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