Loyalist Adventure Online - The Hill Family (

Transcription

1 Name: Date: Loyalist Adventure Online - The Hill Family ( The year is. You are about to be forced into a treacherous journey that will change your family s life forever. Will you survive the trek that will take you from your home in to the harsh land of? The dangers abound, but your keen sense of observation should be able to guide you to. Which character have you chosen? (Circle one):! James!! Margaret September 14, 1783 PART ONE New York City, Royal Province of New York Today is my birthday and I could not have asked for a better present than you, my new journal. What a splendid surprise! I promise to write very often as I have a lot to say. September 14, 1783 Mother and Father have been very lately. I hear them speak of causing horrible hardships to friends and neighbours. Yet these same people used to be our very own only a few months ago. I have asked Paul, my older brother, why this is so. He says that we are and that they are rebels. That we have chosen to be to England and that they want the country to be from the Crown. Why this should cause so much, I still do not understand. Suppertime at the Hill Family Home Why did Father lose one more customer? September 17, 1783 I still cannot believe what has happened. My hands are shaking and whether it is from fear or anger, I do not know. Father was and! A group of rebels him while he was at the market this morning. They ripped his clothes off, poured boiling on his bare body, and threw bags of on him. Then, and this part is the most humiliating, they him through town for all to see, while screaming: You filthy aren t welcome here. and That is what you deserve for being a Tory. I have never seen father so shaken.

2 Why do they decide to leave? Below are the items that you can bring along. Put a check beside those you decided to bring and the reasons why you felt they were necessary. Item Your Reason for Choosing this Item Muskets Lanterns and Candles Furniture Cooking Pots Clothes Family Bible Mantle Clock Blankets Books Food

3 The Hills will have no choice but to leave and find a safer place. You will help them make a choice. They will either go to Nova Scotia or go to Quebec. Read the discussion that they family is having outside their home and record the advantages and disadvantages for each decision in the chart on the next page and then help them make a choice. Go to Nova Scotia Go to Sorel, Quebec Draw and label the route. Draw and label the route. Disadvantages Advantages Map of Journey What decision do you make? Go to Nova Scotia or go to Sorel, Quebec? "! "! " If you picked Quebec, skip to PART THREE

4 September 18, 1783 PART TWO GO TO NOVA SCOTIA Look at the illustration on the left hand side. It depicts a terrible fire in New York. What year is the fire?. September 20, 1783 (New York City) The number of families waiting here for to Nova Scotia is astounding. Dozens upon dozens, all chased from our home. Some, like us, have a things. Others have many and even servants, while some have but the on their back. If weather permits, we are told that the ships will launch tomorrow morning. September 21, (New York Harbour) I will keep this brief as I can only write in little spurts. Looking down makes me even more. I've never felt this horrible. Not even when I had cough! Father and Mother are taking turns caring for baby Elizabeth as she hasn't stopped since we boarded. Paul on the other hand is doing fine. I wish I had sea legs too! Laura keep staring at the water for fear it will us whole. I hope she is wrong. September 23, 1783 (On route to Nova Scotia) A cold rain has been drenching us for days straight. Baby Elizabeth is getting. She cries but no sound comes out. Mother made some tea, but the baby won't drink it. I feel so helpless. September 24, 1783 (On route to Nova Scotia) Still rain. Cold, nasty rain. By now, everyone on board feels, even Paul. All we have to eat is salted and soggy, mouldy. Rumor has it that we should arrive in Nova Scotia soon. Soon is not soon enough. A storm hits! The boat is overloaded and can capsize at any minute minute. The only way to stay afloat is to lighten its load. What do you remove to lighten the load? Mother: We've lost everything but the. This is dreadful! Father: Once we get to Nova Scotia things will get better. The are already established there. We can spend the winter with them and maybe plant our first in the spring. Mother: Spring seems so far away... Let us pray for Baby Elizabeth. That she shall see the coming season in our new land. Paul: We made it! We are here! James: And we didn't even! Father: This is truly a blessed day.

5 October 1, 1783 (Shelburne, Nova Scotia) We have made it. This will be home at least for a while. Living in a encampment is strange to say the least - I am not used to being around soldiers and guns. I do envy their. They seem much more pleasant than our. Hopefully the men will have enough time and supplies to build a few shelters before the comes. Baby Elizabeth has stopped crying at last. Click on the picture on the left. How many doors and windows are in house in the foreground? October 20, 1783 (Shelburne, Nova Scotia) Life in the colony of Nova Scotia is. We had our first snow today. The men are trying to build shelters, but without the proper tools it is practically. October 30, 1783 (Shelburne, Nova Scotia) We have a shelter. Or should I say, a? It is a small one room dwelling with no but how we love it. Winter will be a little less bitter. January 24, 1784 (Shelburne, Nova Scotia) The winters here are very and it is a struggle to stay warm, but we are surviving in our new home. When the winter is over, Father will ask for some land and plant our first crop. Unfortunately, most of the territory has already been allotted. We will do the best we can. April 1784 (Shelburne, Nova Scotia) Father: I have some news. All the farmland in the area has already been allotted to the families that arrived here before us. There is nothing. Mother: We just started to make a life for ourselves here. Are you certain we have no other choices? Father: We could stay in Nova Scotia and try our hand at farming anyway. We could be successful. But I am told that there is better and more of it if we go to in Québec. Margaret: Does that mean another boat trip? Father: I am afraid so. Mother: It is up to you, but I would rather stay. James: What will we do, Father? " " GO TO PART FOUR

6 PART THREE GO TO QUEBEC September 18, 1783 (New York City) Look at the illustration on the left hand side. It depicts a terrible fire in New York. What year is the fire?. September 19, 1783 (On route to Quebec) Our journey begins with a boat trip up the river. Laura is very nervous as am I. The craft is so small that we are very. Luckily, there is room enough for all of us, the belongings we can carry in our dog Duke. If weather permits, we will start our march in two days. Two very long days. September 25, 1783 (On route to Quebec) I have never this much in my life. Tonight, as I write this by the light of our small fire, my feet feel as though they are. I dare not look for fear that I may be right. I am thankful that we managed to salvage some. The nights are quite cold already and will only be getting colder. September 29, 1783 (On route to Quebec) A cold has been falling incessantly making our track even harder. We have had to stop countless times to push the wagon out of the. Poor baby Elizabeth is not doing well. She cries and will not eat. I can tell by looking at mother's eyes that it is. September 30, 1783 (On route to Quebec) Last night, some were lurking near camp. I've never been so scared! Luckily, our dog Duke frightened them away. Who knew that smelly old Duke would become my hero! Although food is rare, I shared a bit of my salted with him. I think father did too. Who does the family meet? What do they teach the Hills? How do you know where to cast your fishing rod to catch fish? How many fish do you catch? October 5, 1783 (On route to Quebec) We can walk no longer. Not because we are exhausted (which we are!) but because we have reached the River and the end of the road. We will take another kind of boat called to go down the river. October 7, 1783 (On route to Quebec) Every morning I dread getting back in the batteau. It is so cramped I think I will die. Please let the wind blow at our backs so that this trip can be as short as possible!

7 PART FOUR Sorel, Quebec Sorel at last! This pretty village is located where the Richelieu, and Sorel rivers (for it has all three names) meets the mighty St.. There are some scattered houses here, but our family, like most Loyalists, lives in a canvas. Father: Soon Captain Grass will lead a group of families up River to on Lake. Some land has been reserved for those Loyalists will want it. All we have to do is ask. Mother: And we move again? We just got here! Father: Without land how can we carry on? We need land. Paul: I am certain we can learn a trade and make a living here, in Sorel. Father: There is not much for us here outside this encampment Mother: We don't belong here. Everything is - the language, the laws - this is not why we left off home in New York! James: Will we ever have somewhere to call home again? Click on the Map of the inhabited parts of Canada Click on each village to match the columns below: COLUMN A Sorel Trembles Montreal Lachine New Johnstown 1000 Islands Cataraqui COLUMN B 1. This has a big white tent in the painting; 2. This place is also known as Kingston. 3. July 26, 1796; 4. This place is also known as Cornwall; 5. This place has rapids; 6. The Place des Armes is pictured here; 7. This is a town in Lower Canada; May 20, (Journey from Sorel to Cataraqui) As soon as weather permitted, we took yet another batteau but this time up the St. Lawrence River to Cataraqui on Lake Ontario. We passed many beautiful spots and a few scary places as well - we were all terrified going to the rapids near. We stopped and visited at New where many other Loyalists families have settled. June 5, (Cataraqui) We have arrived at Cataraqui! Now we must wait for the government to finish dividing the land before we can know where home will be. Summer is coming. If we don't get our land soon it may be too late to anything.

8 June 15, 1784 (Cataraqui) Today, we wait to see if Father will be successful. He has gone to meet with the of the settlement to ask for some land that we could clear and plant. To pass the time, a neighbor teaches us about. It is like being at school again. How I miss class! Perhaps there will be a school here soon. Crop Advantage Disadvantage Potatoes Corn Turnips Pears Beans Wheat Apples Flax

9 Drawing lots for land (Cataraqui) Captain: Settle down, men! As you know, the amount of land you are to receive today depends on your military and the number of you have. This is the amount of land provided: To every officer above captain: acres To every captain: acres To every other officer: acres To every master of a family: acres To every person in the family: acres To every single man: acres Captain: David John Hill and family. You are entitled to acres. Come draw your location. Explain why the waterfront waterfront land was such a good thing to have. July 10, 1784 (Cataraqui) It's Christmas. No, it's better than Christmas! We received our promised from the governor today. We got three! What a blessing. We haven't had fresh in almost a year! When we get to our new land, my job will be to build a small henhouse. Here are the other goods we received: -one and some ammunition -one -one hoe -one -some. -15 pounds of -11 pounds of -12 pounds of -4 pounds of -5 pounds of -flour -salted -salted -10 yards of cloth for clothes -two pairs of and 4 panes of! Plant your crops What three crops should you plant and harvest this year? September 18, 1784 (Cataraqui {Kingston}) A year has passed since we left our house in the province of New York. Our new home is here now.

10 September 21, 1784 (Cataraqui {Kingston}) Every day we work on building a. Hopefully we will have something passable before comes so we will not be so isolated. September 25, 1784 (Cataraqui {Kingston}) Tomorrow we are going to the neighbors clear some trees from their land. Only if we work can we hope to make this wilderness into a home. Who could've guessed there could be so many in this country! October 15, 1784 (Cataraqui {Kingston}) Something is wrong with baby Elizabeth. She has been for days. And now, it is getting worse - she coughs so hard she faints or turns! Mother thinks it is cough but we have no doctor nearby. What can we do? The cure is in the Forest. Find it! Catnip: cure for Spignet: cure for common and Wormwood: cure for, bad Smartweed: cure for and Mandrake: cure for sore Elecampane: cure for open and cough. December 5, 1784 (Cataraqui {Kingston}) Every day, it is the same thing - johnnycake for and. If we are lucky, we may get some potatoes or. Unfortunately, our reserves are already running low and, today, Mother found some in the cabbage! We cannot afford to throw it out so I had to carve out the infested parts and them for soup. The worst of winter is yet to come. I hope we get some supplies from the governor before. May 4, 1785 (Cataraqui {Kingston}) As we return home from Cataraqui, I am glad to report that we have the and the supplies needed to plant our crops. We also have a new butter and 48 rounds of ammunition. During our trip, we also met a new family - the. Father knew Mr. Brown from back home. I remember them vaguely, but Paul remembered them well especially the oldest daughter, Sarah. And from what I could see, she had not forgotten him either! March 21, 1788 (Cataraqui {Kingston}) Many seasons have passed since I last wrote to you, dear journal. I apologize. Times have been hard and has been difficult to come by. A last summer meant there were no crops to eat or barter with this winter. The governor also chose that time to stop sending supplies to the Loyalist settlers. Many of us have or have been deathly.

11 April 1789 (Kingston Township) Mother passed away from fever last fall. She was so weak from she couldn t fight the fever. For most, that terrible time will always be known as The Year - and we have been hungry - but I could put up with it all if we could only get Mother back May 15, 1789 (Kingston) Even with the lack of food, the harsh weather and mother's death, we have had some happy moments. Paul and Sarah were last fall! They are expecting their first child in July. And we are hopeful that this summer's crop will be. What gender is the new baby? What will you name the baby? June 22, 1791 (Kingston) Now that there are, Father and Paul have decided to open a small store in town. I will help with the orders coming in from Montréal while Laura and Elizabeth will help with the and stocking. News also came today that an act was signed declaring the official creation of a new province called Canada. These are exciting times! What three things does Kingston need for it to be called a proper town: July 1811 (Kingston) I just found this journal under a pile of old books. It has been years since I last wrote. years to be exact. So many things have happened! The store is still doing well. Paul and his sons are running it now. I also got and have children of my own. They help me tend to the farm. Laura married the new and has two children with one more on the way! Father never remarried but he is happy with looking after him. Mostly, life has been good to us. is a place of opportunity for all!