Stranica 287 [287]
wife, Miss B, Riddell, C. Leggo, Jr., Lydia A. Leggo,
H. N. Church, D. Wickwire, Benjamin Mills, John
Kelly, John McGee, M. Keenan, Thomas Johnston,
and P. Deming. The Lodge is one of the oldest
in Central Canada.
CHAPTER XLI.
First SETTLEMENT OF GRENVILLE — ORIGIN
OF PRESCOTT.
THE JESSUP FAMILY.
“ Lcelesiar ! Regt,” and “ Legt Fidelis,” is the motto
upon the crest of the Jessup family, a family whose
history is intimately blended with the first settle¬
ment upon the northern bank of the St. Lawrence ;
whose patriotism and loyalty to the British Crown
has few parallels, and whose devotion to the old flag
has never been surpassed.
Edward Jessup, major commandant of a Colonial
corps, which was known as the “ Loyal American
Regiment,’ was born in the Parish of Stamford, in the
County of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, in the
year 1735. Hewas the son of Joseph Jessup, who
died in Montreal in 1779, and grandson of Edward
Jessup, who emigrated from England at the close of
the Eighteenth Century, and settled in the Colony
of New York. At the breaking out of the Revolu¬
tionary War, Major Jessup and his family resided
at the City of Albany, New York, where he was
extensively engaged in business, and in the posses¬
sion of a tract of 500,000 acres of land, it being a
grant from the Crown, a full description of which
is found in the Documentary History of New York,
under the title of “Jessup’s Patent." A staunch
Loyalist, Major Jessup promptly sacrificed his for¬
tune by taking up arms for the King, and entering
upon the struggle for the maintenance of British
supremacy in the revolting colonies. With his
corps, he joined the army under Burgoyne, who
was then marching upon Ticondiroga (1777), and
continued in the service until the close of hostilities.
Dr. Jessup, of Prescott, is the possessor of a docu¬
ment signed by General Burgoyne, in which he
bears testimony to the zeal and efficiency of the
services rendered by Major Jessup during the
campaign.
After the defeat of Burgoyne, the major proceeded
to Canada with his corps, which then became known
as "Jessups Rangers.”” They were first stationed
at Isle_aix Noix, and subsequently at St. Dennis,
St. Charles, River du Chine, Vercheres, and Sorel.
When peace was declared in 1783, large tracts of
men, who, accompanied by their families, in the
spring of 1784, proceeded up the St. Lawrence in
a brigade of boats, thus commencing the settlement
of Leeds and Grenville, Addington, and the Bay of
After completing the location of his men, Major
for several years. When he returned to Canada
with his family, he settled in the Township of
Augusta, County of Grenville, selecting Lots Nos.
I, 2, and 3, in the rst Concession, they having been
granted to him by the Crown.
In the year 1810, the major had a town plot sur¬
veyed, on the front of Lots Nos. 2 and 3, in the Ist
Concession, which he named Prescott, in honor of
a distinguished British officer of that name.
Immediately after the survey had been completed,
Major Jessup built a school house (the building yet
stands, and is in a good state of preservation), and
also a residence for the teache1. Previous to that
date, the present site of Prescott contained only
three houses: the residence of Major Jessup, the
residence of his son, and a house which he had
built for the manager of his farm. The last men¬
tioned house is still standing on Water Street,
opposite the market house.
At the close of the war, the major and the officers
of the Royal Rangers were placed upon the half¬
pay list, and thus partially compensated for their
service.
Among the marks of royal favor which this dis¬
tinguished officer and pioneer received, was his
appointment by special commission on the 18th of
May, 1780, as administrator of the oath of allegiance ;
by special commission in 1783, he was appointed a
Justice of the Peace for the Province of Quebec; in
1788, he became Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant
of the Militia in Edwardsburg, Augusta, and Eliza¬
bethtown. His commission as Major Commandant
of the Royal Rangers bears the date November
12th, 1781. ,
He died at Prescott in February, 1816, at the
advanced age of 81 years. His life was spent in
the defence of crown and country, in creating a
new empire, under the old flag, upon the northern
bank of the St. Lawrence, in fostering British
institutions, and carving out of the primeval forest
homes for future generations, who, inheriting the
spirit of the gallant “ Ranger,”
c Would scorn to bend a knee.”
Edward Jessup, only son of Major Jessup, was
born in the City of Albany, Province of New York.
He was a lieutenant in the Royal Rangers, com¬
manded by his father, and after the close of the
Revolutionary War was placed on the half-pay list.