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Chronology
(of the lives of Asa & Sally Webster)

 

1758 Apr 25 Asa is born in Chester, New Hampshire, the third child of Ephraim and Phebe (Tucker) Webster.
by
1760		 Asa's father, Ephraim, moves the family to Hampstead, NH, where, as younger brother Henry put it, Asa "was brought up in the farming business."
1775 Apr 19 Start of the American Revolution.
1775 Mar 1 Sally is born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the daughter of Phineas and Sarah (Landon) Baldwin
1772- 1775 Between these dates, the family moved from Hampstead, NH to Newbury, VT
1775 Dec Asa fought in the Revolutionary war on the side of the Colonials. Henry notes, Asa "enlisted in the service of his country in the time of the Revolutionary War and suffered much hardship." Asa’s pension petition details his service. He enlisted in December of this year at Winter Hill, near Bunker Hill, MA. In this first year, his time was spent as follows:

  In March, 1776, to New London, CT for two or three days.
  To New York City for about six weeks.
  To Albany, NY for five or six days.
  To Montreal in Lower Canada for two months.
  To Isle aux Noix in Lower Canada for about a week.
  To Crown Point, NY for two or three weeks.
  To the south end of Lake George, NY for a few weeks.
  To Mount Independence near Ticonderoga, NY,
    where he was honorably discharged.
1777 Mar After taking a couple of months off, Asa enlisted again at Newbury, VT for a two-year term. He was stationed in Newbury for those two years, "for the purpose of guarding that avenue to Lower Canada."
1779 Jun Asa enlisted for the third and last time, and served as a drummer for one year, again in Newbury.
1781 Oct 19 The British surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia.
1783 early Asa became engaged to the daughter of Joseph White of Vermont. Henry describes it: "Some few years after the war was over he became engaged to and expected to marry a very respectable young lady in Vermont and her father was moving to Upper Canada."
1783 Sep 3 Formal peace treaties were signed.
1783 later Asa Webster came through the woods from Vermont, striking the St. Lawrence at Morristown travelling with John (undoubtedly, John the son of Joseph) White. They made a raft, and crossed the river, examined the land in the vicinity, and then jouneyed down the river to Montreal. This was one year previous to the arrival of the first actual settlers. The next year they returned with their families. This is the description from Leavitt.
1784

Asa andJohn White returned to Elizabethtown (Brockville) with their familes. (See, Leavitt). Huh, Asa did not have a family to bring. Asa Webster drew the land which in 1872 became owned by the son of the Richard Dyre. (See, Leavitt). This land was the east half of lot four (100 acres) on the first concession of Elizabethtown Township, Leeds County. See the maps page.

Henry comments: "When he reached the place he liked the country so well and perhaps the young lady better he concluded to stay there, but before they were married and soon after reaching there the young lady died. Thus his expectations of future happiness were all cut off. He still remained in Canada and finally married a young lady by the name of Sally Baldwin formerly of Connecticut and they settled in Elizabethtown, Upper Canada."
1787 Typical land grant size was increased to 200 acres from 100 acres, and sons and daughters of Loyalists were entitled to receive 200 acres when they reached the age of majority (21), or for daughters, when they married.

1788
or
1789

 Phineas Baldwin and Stephen Baldwin came a while after Asa settled and they settled on land nearby Asa's farm. (See, Leavitt). Presumably, Sally (Phineas's daughter) came at this time also. She would have been about 14 or 15 years old. Phineas petitioned for the land 26th (no month) 1789 and it says that he came "last spring."
1789 Lord Dorchester, Governor General and Commander in Chief of the Colonies of Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, established the U. E. (Unity of Empire) designation for Loyalists.
1791 The Constitutional Act divided Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada. Land ownership changed from the seigneurial system of Quebec to freehold ownership.
1791 Jan 16 Asa and Sally are married. He is 32; she was only 15.
1791 May 3 Asa petitioned for an additional 100 acres of land, stating that he had been in the district for six years but had only received 100 acres. The petition notes that this land was granted in May, 1791, but the location isn’t known. If he did receive it, he may have sold it as he continued to live on the lot he was first granted.
1791-93 Sally had three daughters each of whom died within three days of birth. The first was born 8 month after the marriage, 2nd was 11 months later, then 3rd was 13 monthes later. [Will be able to link to 1845 transcriptions.] Well, she was quite young at the time, after all.
1794 Sep 24 Ephraim (III) is born.
1796 Governor Simcoe ordered the District Land Boards to draw up lists of Loyalists.
1796 Aug 28 Polly is born.
1797 Asa may have gone back to visit his family in New Hampshire. Henry (born in 1784) says in his story of the family, in the paragraph about Asa, "I have not seen him since I was thirteen years old..."
1797 Jun 24 Sally, as "Sarah Webster U. E.," petitioned for 200 acres of land due her as a daughter of Loyalist Phineas Baldwin. It appears that she was granted this land, but did not receive it until much later.
1798 Jun 6 Polly was baptized, according to the records of Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church, Williamstown, Glengarry County, Ontario (probably by an itinerate preacher). If Ephraim or any of the other children were baptized early as well, the records haven't been found.
1799 Jan 16 Baldwin is born.
1800 Nov 10 Asa (II) is born.Some sources say it was Nov. 16 and others Nov. 19.
1802 Aug 31 Sally is born.
1804 Oct 10 Norman is born.
1805 Jun 14 Asa and Sally sold their 100 acre lot in Elizabethtown Township to Henry Arnold for 300 pounds.
1806 Jan 23 Asa and Sally bought all 200 acres of lot 35 on the fifth concession of Augusta Township, Grenville County, from James and Jerusha Brooker for 200 pounds. They lived in a log house on this lot. What did they do for the intervening six months? They may have stayed on either one of the other property renting it in the interim.
1807 Jan 14 Betsy is born.
1807 Jan 19 Asa petitions (unsuccessfully) to have his name added to the list of Loyalists, noting that he "of late has received intelligence his name is not inserted upon the list." The benefit to having his name on the list was the 200-acre land grants to which his children would be entitled as sons and daughters of a Loyalist.
1809 Apr 11 Parker (II) is born.
1810 Asa makes a second (unsuccessful) petition to be reinstated as a U.E.L.
1811 Asa and Sally acquire an extra 200 acres of land about this time, according to the assessment for this year. This may have been a grant in response to Sally's 1797 petition. Location isn't known, but it may have been in Augusta or a nearby township. It was uncultivated land.
1811 Aug 8 Almira is born.
1812-1814 Britain and the United States are at war.
1813 Asa and Sally sell half of the extra 200 acres of land, though we don't have details. The only evidence is from the assessment of that year, which shows them with 300 acres instead of 400 acres.
1812 - 1816 Asa's brother, Parker, came to live in Brockville. Parker was born 1765.
1814 The remaining 100 acres of additional land is sold. Asa and Sally are left with their 200 acres of Lot 35.
1814 Feb 18 Phebe (II) is born.
1814 Oct 14 Asa and Sally either became seriously interested in religion (the Presbyterian variety) or else were bringing their ecclesiastical books up to date, for on this day, the following Webster children were baptised by William Smart, Minister of the Presbyterian Congregation, Brockville: "Baldwin, Assa [sic], Norman, Parker, Sally, Betsy, Almina, Pheby [sic]". See William Smart's Records.
1815 Ephraim leaves home about this time. He appears in the 1815 assessment for Front of Leeds & Lansdowne Townships, Leeds County. According to this record, he had a "merchant shop."
1815 Jul 10 Anna is born.She apparently died young, but after 1839 since she is in the will of that date.
1816 Apr 2 Asa and Sally's first child, Ephraim, marries Sally Downs. Their first grandchild, named Asa Webster, born same year.
1817 The numbers for the Webster household in the Augusta Township census taken in 1817 suggest that Polly was out on her own by this time. She may have gone elsewhere to work. At some point she married, but we don't have any details of that first marriage.
1818 Sep 18 Phineas is born. It was after the death of Baldwin in 1830 that Phineas added the name Baldwin as a second name out of respect for his brother: thus the later references to P.B. Webster.
1819 Samuel Webster, Asa's nephew, comes from Vermont to live in Hammond, St. Lawrence County, NY. Samuel was the son of Asa's younger brother, Moses.
1819 Nov 26 Parker Webster (Asa's brother) married Susan Baker, widow of Ira Baker.Both are listed as of Elizabethtown.
1820 Baldwin and Asa Jr. leave home about this time.
1821 Sally leaves home about this time.
1825 Norman and Betsy leave home about this time.
1825 Asa and Sally build a frame house on Lot 35. This house may have been on the north 25 acres of the lot, the one occupied by Parker and Loannah after the death of Asa and Sally.
1825 Sep 22 Asa Jr. marries Clarinda Hazleton. They lived in the log house on Lot 35 in 1826. They bought the rear half of Lot 32 on the fifth concession of Augusta Township (100 acres) on Oct. 2, 1826 for 100 pounds.
1826 Sally marries John Smith. They lived in the log house on Lot 35 in 1827, before moving over to Front of Leeds & Lansdowne Townships, Leeds County.
1827 Dec Baldwin is a witness to the marriage bond of John Parks, carpenter, and Sally K. Haddock, both of Elizabethtown, issued on this date in Brockville.
1829 Mar 12 Norman marries Antha Throop. See William Smart's Records.Norman and Antha lived in the log house on Lot 35 in 1830 and 1831, after which they may have moved to Wolford Township, Grenville County.
1830 Mar 24 Parker Webster (Asa's brother) died before this date. His widow, Susan, married Duncan Carley, Esq., and their marriage bond was dated Mar. 24, 1830. Both were of Brockville.
1830 May 21 Baldwin dies. We do not know from what. His younger brother, Phineas, then aged 11, adopts Baldwin as his second name.
1831 Almira leaves home about this time. She may have gone to live with Sally and John Smith in Front of Leeds & Lansdowne Townships, Leeds County.
1831 Jun 14 Polly marries Isaac Marshall of Kitley Township, Leeds County. He was a widower with five children. Their marriage bond, dated June 8, 1831, lists her as "Polly Webster, widow." Either her first husband was also named Webster, or she was using her maiden name again. The 1832 census record for Kitley Township indicates that she may have brought at most one or two children with her to the Marshall household, though it's also possible that these were children of Isaac's first wife who may have died in childbirth. Both Polly and Isaac are listed as living in Kitley.
1832 Asa makes declaration for Revolutionary war pension.
1832 May 1 Betsy marries Benjamin Soper. He was a widower with seven children. Both are listed as living in Kitley Township, Leeds County.
1834 Feb 19 Parker II marries Loannah Parker. They lived in the log house on Lot 35 in 1835.
1834 Asa Jr. and Clarinda leave Augusta Township around this time. They went to Montague Township in Lanark County.
1832-1835 Almira marries Eleazar Gilson.
1836 Asa receives first payment of his Revolutionary war pension.
1836 Parker and Loannah move to the rear half of lot 32 on the fifth concession.  This is the same land that was bought by Asa Jr. and Clarinda in 1826, and occupied by them until 1834.  It's not clear who owned the land at this time. In 1837 Parker and Loannah are back on lot 35, but return to lot 32 for 1838 and 1839.  
1837-1838 Rebellion in Upper and Lower Canada
1838 Almira and Eleazar Gilson move to New York.
1838 Phebe and Anna leave home by this time. The census taken this year shows only Asa, Sally and Phineas on Lot 35.
1839 Phineas leaves home, leaving Asa and Sally alone on Lot 35.
1839 Betsy and Benjamin Soper move across the river to Hammond, St. Lawrence County, NY
1839-1845 Polly and Isaac Marshall leave Kitley Township, probably for Elizabethtown Township, both in Leeds County.
1839 Dec 7 Asa makes a will. It notes: "The Lot left to Sally Webster his wife for her life or while she remains unmarried after which share and share alike to his sons Parker and Phineas and five daughters Polly, Betsy, Almira, Phoebe, and Anna, reserving S 1/2 of W 1/2 to Sally wife of John Smith, to her and her eldest son for ever - except said Sally Smith shall die before said Sally Webster, when it shall revert to the above share & share alike." Sally Smith's eldest son was Egerton Ryerson Smith. It's possible that his name may have been the reason for this bequest. Egerton Ryerson was the editor of the Christian Guardian, a Methodist newspaper. His name would have had some significance for Asa, who was a Methodist.
1838 Dec 29 Asa and Sally sell the north half of Lot 35 to Norman for 500 pounds. They buy it back from him at the same price on July 13, 1839. The purpose of these transactions isn't known. As Norman was listed on both records as living in Wolford, it doesn't appear that he came to live on the lot. Phebe witnessed the registration of the first transaction on Feb. 19, 1839. She was still unmarried at that time.
1840 About this time Parker and Loannah move back to Lot 35 to live in the frame house with Asa and Sally.
1840 Nov 7 Asa dies at the age of 82 in Augusta Township, Canada West and is buried in Augusta's Carpenter Cemetery.
1841 The Act of Union results in the renaming of Upper and Lower Canada as Canada West and Canada East, respectively
1842-1846 Almira and Eleazar Gilson move from New York to Illinois.
1844-45 Sally makes declarations and obtains supporting depositions and documents to obtain a Rev. war widow's pension.
1845 Sally and John Smith return to Lot 35 to live on the southwest quarter left to Sally under the terms of Asa's will. They live in a log house which may be the house in which Asa and Sally lived from 1806 until 1825 when the frame house was built.
1847 Jan 14 Phineas Baldwin Webster marries Charlotte Ann Turkington.Phineas is listed as living in Kitley, and Charlotte in Yonge.
1849 Jan 8 Sally's Revolutionary War widow's pension issued.
1849 Feb 25 Sally dies at the age of 75 in Augusta Township, Canada West and is buried in Augusta's Carpenter Cemetery.
1850 Phineas and Charlotte and their first two children appear in the census taken this year for Hammond, St. Lawrence County, NY. His older sister, Betsy, and his cousin, Samuel Webster, lived in Hammond as well. Betsy and family were missed in the census, though. Almira appears in the census taken in Aurora, Kane County, Illinois. As Eleazar does not appear with her, he may have died by this time.
1851 Jun 5 Phineas and Charlotte, possibly acting on behalf of Polly, Betsy, Almira and Phebe, sell 125 acres of the Webster lot, number 35 on the fifth concession of Augusta Township. The purchasers are Richard Kirkby Sr., Richard Kirkby Jr., and William Langley. This leaves Sally and John Smith with their southwest quarter, containing 50 acres, and Parker and Loannah with the north 25 acres of the lot. Anna must have died by this time, without heirs, as it appears that the 150 acres left to Polly, Betsy, Parker, Almira, Phebe, Anna and Phineas under the terms of Asa's will have been divided six ways rather than seven.
1852 Jan The first full census is taken in Canada West, with all individuals in each household listed by name. Ephraim Webster was probably living in Gananoque, Front of Leeds Township, Leeds County at that time. The census for that area hasn't survived. Polly and Isaac Marshall appear in Elizabethtown Township, Leeds County. Sally and John Smith, as well as Parker and Loannah Webster, appear in Augusta Township, Grenville County. Norman, widowed a few years before, was in Wolford Township, Grenville County, with four of his sons. Another son, Cyrus, was with a Buker family in Oxford Township, Grenville County. Phineas and Charlotte, back from New York, were also in Wolford Township. We don't have the locations of Asa Jr., or Phebe at this time.
1854 Mar 8 Parker and Loannah sell the north 25 acres of Lot 35 to Richard Kirkby Sr. and Richard Kirkby Jr. This leaves only the southwest quarter of the lot still in the hands of family members. Parker and Loannah move back to Lot 32.
1854 Oct 16 Egerton Ryerson Smith and his wife sell their interest in the southwest quarter of Lot 35 to his brother George W. Smith, subject to the life estate of their mother, Sally Smith.
1857 Parker and Loannah move to Illinois.
1863 Phebe dies.
1867 With the British North America Act, four provinces join to become Canada. These four are Ontario (formerly Canada West), Quebec (formerly Canada East), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. 
1868 Nov 30 Ephraim dies, probably in Brockville, Ontario.
1869 Jan 22 Polly Marshall dies in Merrickville, Ontario.
1874 Feb 16 George W. Smith leaves his rights to the southwest quarter of Lot 35 to his sister, Henrietta Tanney, in his will.
1875 Jan 15 Sally Smith dies Augusta, Ontario.
1878 Feb 11 Betsy Soper dies in Hammond, N.Y.
1880 Apr 24 Asa Jr. dies near Merrickville, Ontario.
1881 Dec 8 Henrietta and Solomon Tanney sell two of their 50 acres to Henrietta's sister, Almeda Ann Murry.
1892 Apr 6 Norman dies in Augusta, Ontario.
1892 Apr 10 Parker dies in Fontanelle, Iowa.
1892 Jul 8 Henrietta and Solomon Tanney mortgage their remaining 48 acres of Lot 35 to Daniel Carpenter for $300. Henrietta dies two months later. This mortgage is never paid off.
1895 Jul 30 Charlotte Ann Webster (wife of Phineas) dies in Dominion City, Manitoba.
1898 Nov 28 Phineas dies in Dominion City, Manitoba where he has been living with his daughter, Mary Ann, and her husband, George Agnew. George Agnew has a general store and grain elevator in Dominion City.
1906 May 17 Eleven days after the death of Solomon Tanney, Daniel Carpenter takes over the 48 acres of Lot 35 because of the unpaid mortgage.
1906 Aug 21 Almeda Ann Smith (formerly Murry) sells her two acres of Lot 35 to Read Carpenter. With this transaction the last of the 200 acres of Lot 35, bought by Asa and Sally in 1806, passes out of the hands of family members.
   

 

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