John Munro (loyalist)
Encyclopedia
The Hon. John Munro was a soldier, judge and political figure in Upper Canada
.
Born in 1728 at Fyrish
, Alness
, he was descended on both sides from the Clan Munro
of Foulis Castle
. His father, Hugh Munro, was a Munro of Milntown of Katewell, and his mother, Christiana Munro of Fyrish (the builders of the Fyrish Monument
), was descended from Robert Munro, 14th Baron of Foulis
. His precise ancestry is recorded in the Lord Lyon Court of Arms.
John Munro came to North America
in 1756 with 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot
during the Seven Years' War
to fight in the French and Indian War
. In 1760 he married Marie Talbot Gilbert Brouwer (1738-1815) of 'a prominent Dutch family', descended from Admiral Hendrik Brouwer
who discovered the Brouwer Route
.
After his military service he chose to stay in America
. Awarded for his military service, he settled on extensive land grants east of the Hudson River
at Schenectady, Albany County
where he built a large estate which he named Fowlis. He prospered in business (particularly the fur trade, becoming a close life-long friend of Simon McTavish
) and became a magistrate for the county of New York
, where he came into open conflict with Ethan Allen
and the Green Mountain Boys
during the dispute over the New Hampshire Grants
.
At the outset of the American Revolutionary War
he openly declared his loyalty to the Crown and was instrumental in secretly enlisting many of his tenants and neighbours (many of whom were disbanded soldiers of the British and Highland Regiments) into the British Army before he was arrested and jailed. Sentenced to hang, he escaped to Dundas County, Ontario
to join his friend Sir John Johnson who appointed him a captain in the First Battalion of the King's Royal Regiment of New York
. This account appears in the history of Schenectady,
On the 16th October, 1780, a party of 400 Regulars and Indians from Canada, under Major Munro, a Tory from Schenectady, made their appearance in the Ballston settlement. They designed to attack Schenectady, but returned without effecting this object. They pillaged several houses and took 24 prisoners
In 1781 Munro found himself stationed in Montreal
in charge of the housing and care of the many Loyalist refugees who ended up there. In 1784, at the conclusion of the American War of Independence, Munro settled in what would become the Lunenburg District of Upper Canada
. Some accounts state that he retired with the rank of Colonel.
Although he received almost no compensation for his lost property in the America
, he was appointed to the land board for the Lunenburg district in 1788 and received large land grants in the area. He was appointed to the Legislative Council
for the province and became a judge in the district court. He died at Dickinson's Landing
in 1800.
His wife, Mary, with their seven children had also eventually escaped to join Munro in Canada, making their home at L'Assomption, Quebec
whilst they waited for the resolution of Munro's loyalist claims. Their son Hugh married Angelique, daughter of Laurent Leroux
, and a daughter, Mary Charlotte, married Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière
.
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
.
Born in 1728 at Fyrish
Fyrish (place)
Fyrish is the name given to an ancient area of land found just north of Evanton, Ross-shire, Scotland.The lands of Fyrish are now part of the Novar Estate. However Fyrish were once lands which belonged to the Earl of Ross, which were forfeited to the crown in 1475.The lands of Fyrish were later...
, Alness
Alness
Alness is a town and civil parish in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. It lies near the Cromarty Firth, with the town of Invergordon to the east and the village of Evanton to the south west...
, he was descended on both sides from the Clan Munro
Clan Munro
-Origins:The main traditional origin of the clan is that the Munros came from Ireland and settled in Scotland in the 11th century and that they fought as mercenary soldiers under the Earl of Ross who defeated Viking invaders in Rosshire...
of Foulis Castle
Foulis Castle
Foulis Castle lies in the parish of Kiltearn, about 1.5 miles southwest of the village of Evanton in the Highland area of northern Scotland. The castle has been the seat of the Clan Munro for over eight hundred years. During the 11th century, the clan chief was given the castle and Foulis lands as...
. His father, Hugh Munro, was a Munro of Milntown of Katewell, and his mother, Christiana Munro of Fyrish (the builders of the Fyrish Monument
Fyrish Monument
The Fyrish Monument is a monument built in 1782 on Fyrish Hill , in Fyrish near Evanton, Easter Ross, Scotland, on the orders of Sir Hector Munro, 8th of Novar, a native lord of the area who had served in India as a general...
), was descended from Robert Munro, 14th Baron of Foulis
Robert Munro, 14th Baron of Foulis
Robert Munro, 14th Baron of Foulis was a Scottish Highlander, soldier and clan chief of the Clan Munro. He was seated at Foulis Castle...
. His precise ancestry is recorded in the Lord Lyon Court of Arms.
John Munro came to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in 1756 with 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot
48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot
-History:The regiment was first raised in 1741 as James Cholmondeley's Regiment of Foot in Norwich, England during the War of Austrian Succession. The regiment first saw action at the Battles of Falkirk and Culloden in 1745-1746, campaigning against the Young Pretender. In 1748, it was renumbered...
during the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
to fight in the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. In 1760 he married Marie Talbot Gilbert Brouwer (1738-1815) of 'a prominent Dutch family', descended from Admiral Hendrik Brouwer
Hendrik Brouwer
Hendrik Brouwer was a Dutch explorer, admiral, and colonial administrator both in Japan and the Dutch East Indies....
who discovered the Brouwer Route
Brouwer Route
The Brouwer Route was a route for sailing from the Cape of Good Hope to Java. The Route took ships south from the Cape into the Roaring Forties, then east across the Indian Ocean, before turning northwest for Java...
.
After his military service he chose to stay in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Awarded for his military service, he settled on extensive land grants east of the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
at Schenectady, Albany County
Albany County, New York
Albany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The name is from the title of the Duke of York and Albany, who became James II of England . As of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204...
where he built a large estate which he named Fowlis. He prospered in business (particularly the fur trade, becoming a close life-long friend of Simon McTavish
Simon McTavish
Simon McTavish was a Scots-Quebecer entrepreneur and the pre-eminent businessman in Canada during the second half of the 18th century.-Biography:...
) and became a magistrate for the county of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where he came into open conflict with Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen was a farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, and American Revolutionary War patriot, hero, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of the U.S...
and the Green Mountain Boys
Green Mountain Boys
The Green Mountain Boys were a militia organization first established in the 1760s in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire Grants...
during the dispute over the New Hampshire Grants
New Hampshire Grants
The New Hampshire Grants or Benning Wentworth Grants were land grants made between 1749 and 1764 by the provincial governor of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth. The land grants, totaling about 135 , were made on land claimed by New Hampshire west of the Connecticut River, territory that was also...
.
At the outset of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
he openly declared his loyalty to the Crown and was instrumental in secretly enlisting many of his tenants and neighbours (many of whom were disbanded soldiers of the British and Highland Regiments) into the British Army before he was arrested and jailed. Sentenced to hang, he escaped to Dundas County, Ontario
Dundas County, Ontario
Dundas County is a county in the Canadian province of Ontario.Dundas was created in 1792 by the area's first settlers: German Loyalists who had fought with Sir John Johnson in the American Revolutionary War. The settlers, descendants of the Palatine immigrants to America in 1710, had immigrated to...
to join his friend Sir John Johnson who appointed him a captain in the First Battalion of the King's Royal Regiment of New York
King's Royal Regiment of New York
The King's Royal Regiment of New York was one of the first Loyalist regiments raised in Canada during the American Revolutionary War....
. This account appears in the history of Schenectady,
On the 16th October, 1780, a party of 400 Regulars and Indians from Canada, under Major Munro, a Tory from Schenectady, made their appearance in the Ballston settlement. They designed to attack Schenectady, but returned without effecting this object. They pillaged several houses and took 24 prisoners
In 1781 Munro found himself stationed in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
in charge of the housing and care of the many Loyalist refugees who ended up there. In 1784, at the conclusion of the American War of Independence, Munro settled in what would become the Lunenburg District of Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
. Some accounts state that he retired with the rank of Colonel.
Although he received almost no compensation for his lost property in the America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he was appointed to the land board for the Lunenburg district in 1788 and received large land grants in the area. He was appointed to the Legislative Council
Legislative Council of Upper Canada
The Legislative Council of Upper Canada was the upper house governing the province of Upper Canada. Modelled after the British House of Lords, it was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was specified that the council should consist of at least seven members. Members were appointed for...
for the province and became a judge in the district court. He died at Dickinson's Landing
Dickinson's Landing, Ontario
Dickinson's Landing is an underwater ghost town in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of Ontario's Lost Villages, which were permanently flooded by the creation of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1958....
in 1800.
His wife, Mary, with their seven children had also eventually escaped to join Munro in Canada, making their home at L'Assomption, Quebec
L'Assomption, Quebec
L'Assomption is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the L'Assomption River. It is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of L'Assomption. It is located on the outer fringes of the Montreal urban area....
whilst they waited for the resolution of Munro's loyalist claims. Their son Hugh married Angelique, daughter of Laurent Leroux
Laurent Leroux
Laurent Leroux was a fur trader, businessman and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born in L'Assomption in 1759, the son of Germain Leroux, a merchant originally from Paris. In 1776, he was hired as a clerk by a Montreal merchant and sent to Michilimackinac...
, and a daughter, Mary Charlotte, married Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière
Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière
Colonel The Hon. Michel-Eustache-Gaspard-Alain Chartier de Lotbinière , de jure 2nd Marquis de Lotbinière...
.