Hard Choices

I grew up in West Virginia, which owes its birth to the schism of the Civil War.  Folks in western Virginia were isolated from the east by the mountains and fortunately lacked an agricultural base reliant on slaves.  As a result, they had little in common with their parent state, the heart of the Confederacy.   In order to remain loyal to the Union (and using some Constitutional sleight of hand), West Virginia petitioned the Congress to become a separate, free state.  The petition was granted and West Virginia entered the Union in 1863.  The first governor called West Virginia "a child of the rebellion."  (http://www.wvculture.org/history/statehood/statehood16.html).  No description could have been more apt.

Regardless of the majority of its citizens who wanted to remain in the Union, West Virginia was a border state.  I grew up on old stories about families ripped apart by disagreements between parents and children, brother and brother, even husband and wife.  I recall the movie Shenandoah, which told the vivid story of one such family.  Yankee or Confederate was a very real and often painful choice for many families.

We don't think much about how the American Revolution might have had similar effects on families.  Our history doesn't teach us about it, and I don't know of a single movie to deal with the subject.  Yet, those wrenching choices must have occurred and, apparently, my ancestors were more than a little affected.

To date, I have uncovered two official Sons of the American Revolution and three confirmed United Empire Loyalists among my ancestors.  The Sons fought for the "patriots" against the British; the Loyalists fought (or, in one case, fifed) with the British.  It is plausible that they fought each other.

Peter is one of the best known of the Loyalists.  Although he started out as a member of a committee of correspondence in Albany, New York, he argued for conciliation and neutrality.  Ultimately, he was labelled a Tory and jailed, and his property, including his house and at least 600 acres, was confiscated.  Once his choice was made, Peter served with Burgoyne (helping evacuate the wounded to Canada after the loss at Saratoga), Sir Henry Clinton, and Abraham Cuyler's Corps on Long Island.  After the British surrender in 1783, Peter led a band of more than 180 men, women, and children to Quebec, and he is recognized among the pioneer founders of Adolphustown, which is now in Ontario.

Abraham is a Son of the American Revolution, who held the rank of Colonel in the 7th Regiment of the Albany County Militia.

William is a Son of the American Revolution who served as a private in the 8th Regiment of the Albany County Militia.

Jacobus (James) and his wife Lydia are also Loyalists from New York.  He served with the British, and his teenage son Lambert was a fifer.

The fathers of Abraham and Peter were brothers.

The grandfathers of Peter, Abraham, William, and Jacobus were all brothers.

They all shared the same great grandfather.


Peter <== Alexander (Sander) <== Abraham Janse <== Jan Martense

Abraham <== Isaac <== Abraham Janse <== Jan Martense

William <== Thomas <== Lambert Janse <== Jan Martense

Jacobus <== Lammert <== Isaac Janse <== Jan Martense


Today, I wonder:  What must those choices have been like?  Regardless of the side they finally chose, what losses did they incur?

Peter's wife died that first year after arriving in Canada.  Jacobus died before the war was even over.  What was it like for Peter and Lydia to face starting over again, each with their several children, but this time without their spouses and in a wilderness?

A footnote:  Jan Martense, Abraham Janse, and Lambert Janse were all immigrants.  Jan Martense chose to resettle his family from the Netherlands to New Amsterdam in the 1650s.  Perhaps this "starting over" thing also lives in our DNA.