United Empire Loyalists.

The Arrival of the Loyalists.

As previously mentioned, when the American Revolutionary War came to its conclusion on 3 September 1783, some 30,000 United Empire Loyalists (American Tories) were resettled in Nova Scotia.

 The records of Ward Chipman’s Muster Master’s Office, 1777-1785, (located in the Library and Archives of Canada) contain business records and papers relating to the Loyalists. Ward Chipman was a lawyer, judge and Loyalist who was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts in 1754 and died in Fredericton, New Brunswick in 1824. He settled in Nova Scotia in July 1783 and was appointed Solicitor General of the newly created province of New Brunswick in 1784.

 His records reference the Loyalists who were resettled in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island. They include not only soldier Loyalists, but also their wives and children, and soldiers of British regiments. Among these records we find two people named William Collins. The first is on a 1784 “Muster Roll of Disbanded Officers, Discharged or Disbanded Soldiers and Loyalists taken at Gulliver’s Hole St. Mary’s Bay and Sissiboo, betwist the 1th and 6th day of June 1784.” This William Collins was resettled at Wilmot, a township about 52 kilometers northeast of Annapolis Royal. The second William Collins, who was resettled in Granville in 1784 is found on the “Muster Roll of Disbanded Officers, Discharged and Disbanded Soldiers and Loyalists taken in the County of Annapolis betwist the 18th and 24th of June 1784.” This William Collins’ family contains one man, one woman, and one child over the age of 10. On the same roster we also find an Abraham “Ab” Collins who was resettled in Annapolis. 

 Of these two William Collins, the second family, which settled in Granville, would be the more likely candidate to include our ancestor since our William Collins would eventually marry Margaret Shankle who also lived in Granville at the time. As the father of a child between 10 and 21 years, the William Collins who settled in Granville was likely somewhere between 30 and 45 years old, giving him a birth-year of 1739 to 1754. His child likely was born between 1763 and 1774. Since Margaret was born in 1770, the child is the more likely candidate to be the future spouse of Margaret, assuming he was also named William Shankle. The elder William Collins also appears to already be married at the time he settled in Granville. The William Collins who settled in Wilmot is also a viable candidate since Wilmot is not very far from Granville. He may have been a much younger soldier and single, a more appropriate age for a match with Margaret Shankle. He also could have been a relation to the Willam Collins in Granville.

 According to the New York, Genealogical Records, 1675-1920 (p. 261), a William Collins, resided in 1784 in Bear River, Nova Scotia, Canada (an area adjacent to Annapolis Royal). This may suggest that our William Collins was originally from New York. Most of the records in these reference records show residences in the State of New York, making William’s record stand apart. 

 Taking this to another level we can locate records for a William Collins in the United States Revolutionary War Rolls as a Private from New York starting on 1 July 1777 and again in December 1778. The name William Collins is also shown on the Muster Roll of Captain Patrick Stewart’s Company in 1781 with the comment next to his name, “deserted 12 Octr. 1781.” Although we have already identified two William Collins families that settled in the Annapolis Royal area in 1784, we do not have enough information to make a direct connection to the individual who enlisted around 1777 and then deserted in 1781, they may be part of the same story. Given the enlistment year of 1777, the age of this individual would track nicely the date of the elder William Collins who settled in Granville, presumably with his wife and child.

 To help settle the vast unpopulated areas of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, the Loyalists could receive a land grant in fee simple (full title) and pay no taxes for three years. If the conditions were not met, the land reverted back to the Crown (escheatment). 

 Grants were made of Crown Land for settlement purposes in early Nova Scotia. A survey of the Nova Scotia Land Papers (1765-1800), housed in the Nova Scotia Archives (archives.novascotia.ca), reveals that in 1786 Captain John Perrot petitioned and was granted land for himself and 83 others in Annapolis County. On the list is #76, William Collins, being granted 200 acres. It appears that the plot of land granted to said William Collins in 1786 (location is listed as “Halifax-Annapolis Rd.” as 200 acres) was escheated back to the government in 1819.

 For some reason, this William Collins decided not to take full advantage of the land that was granted to him. Perhaps he died, and his son decided to leave for Québec in 1783, along with Margaret Shankle and her family. The next mention we find for a William Collins, and the first mention of our William Collins that we can be sure of, is in Québec City when he married Margaret Shankle on 21 April 1788 in the Anglican Church in Québec City. He is described as a farmer and a bachelor, residing in the parish of Québec. William Collins and Margaret Shankle settled in Trois-Rivières, along with her father Henry Shankle. 

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