Stranica 287 [287]
OCR
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 settlement 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 Revolutionary War, Major Jessup and his family resided at the City of Albany, New York, where he was extensively engaged in business, and in the possession 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 fortune 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 document 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 surveyed, 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 mentioned 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 halfpay list, and thus partially compensated for their service. Among the marks of royal favor which this distinguished 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 Elizabethtown. 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, commanded by his father, and after the close of the Revolutionary War was placed on the half-pay list.
