Peter Fairchild U.E.L.
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Peter Fairchild U.E.L. (1761 - 1828)

Rev. Peter Fairchild U.E.L.
Born in The Oblong Precinct, Dutchess County, New Yorkmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 1776 in New Jerseymap
Husband of — married 1818 [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 67 in Boston, Townsend, Norfolk, Upper Canadamap
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Profile last modified | Created 14 Feb 2012
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Contents

Biography

UEL Badge
Peter Fairchild was a United Empire Loyalist.
UEL Status:Undetermined
Date: Undated
When Rev. Peter Fairchild was born about 1756, in Dutchess County, New York, his father, Benjamin, was 35 and his mother, Melissa, was 32. He married Sarah Fuller and they had nine children together. He then married Sarah Lane and they had two children together. He died on June 26, 1828, in Norfolk, Ontario, at the age of 72.

Birth

Birth of Peter Fairchild[1]
Birth Date: 1760
Birthplace: New York
Biographical Info: Can, minister, mil.
We know the date of the birth of Isaac Fairchild, the Brant County pioneer and first settler, from the inscription on his monument to be 1769, and assuming that his brother, Peter Fairchild, known as the Reverend Peter Fairchild and first pastor of “The Old Boston Baptist Church” had reached his majority when he joined the Royal Standard in 1777, this would indicate that he must have been born not later than 1756, although he may have joined the army before reaching 21 years of age. However, his fifth daughter and sixth child, Sarah Fairchild, the first white child born between the Grand River and Lake Erie, was born in the pioneer cabin in the wilderness, March 26, 1794. The U. S. census of 1790 records that Peter Fairchild was the head of a house near Queensbury, N. Y., at that time with five children in his family.
Also assuming that his father, Benjamin Fairchild, Sr., had enjoyed the average span of life of the members of the Fairchild family, which would probaby be about 75 years, it becomes evident that he must have been born about 1721, although his son, Isaac Fairchild, the pioneer, was 90 years old at the time of his death.[2]

Marriage

Marriage between Peter Fairchild and Sarah Fuller[3]

Children

Children of Sarah (Fuller) and Peter Fairchild and Children of Sarah (Lane) and Peter Fairchild
The Name And Family Of Fairchild

Children of Peter and Sarah (Fuller) Fairchild were: Esther, Rebecca, Mary, Sarah, Elizabeth, Benjamin, Abial, Rachel, Cornelius, Israel, Ruth, Peter and Molly. Abial, Cornelius and Israel died young. After Sarah died, Peter married Sarah Lane. Peter and Sarah (Lane) Fairchild had 3 sons who were named Abiel, Cornelius, and Israel.[4]

Census Data

1790 U.S. Census - Queensbury, Washington, New York[5][6]
Peter Fairchild - 7 household members; 1 male under 16; 1 male 16 and over; 5 females

Notes

Peter Fairchild, the oldest son of Benjamin Fairchild, Sr., and Melissa Fairchild, was born in the Province of New York, probably Dutchess County, about 1750-56. He was an United Empire Loyalist under General Burgoyne., joining in 1777 and remaining until after the capitulation of Burgoyne, which occurred at Saratoga, New York in October , 1777.
Historical note; in 1777 General John Burgoyne with a troop numbering about twelve hundred men, marched south from Montreal to Fort Ticonderoga, at the northern end of Lake George, intending to continue on to Albany. General William Howe moved up the Hudson Valley from New York City, planning to meet Burgoyne in Albany. At the same time Colonel Barry St. Leger advanced from Oswego on Lake Ontario, with a troop of nearly 1700 which included 300 Mohawk Indians under Joseph Brandt, to Oneida Lake and Wood Creek to take Fort Stanwix. This was part of a three pronged attack, which if successful would afford the British control of all the territory from Canada to New York City, completely cutting off New England. Fort Ticonderoga was abandoned to the British July 6, 1777. On July 7, Burgoyne's troops were engaged at Fort Edward 50 miles south of Ticonderoga. St Leger did not arrive at Fort Stanwix until August 7, where after nearly three weeks of fighting he ultimately withdrew, hearing that General Benedict Arnold was advancing to Fort Stanwix with his troop of 950. Thus rendering the three prong attack a failure. Burgoyne however continued to fight and owing to his large numbers, was successful until his surrender at Saratoga, October 17, 1777.
After the surrender of Burgoyne, Peter returned to the "his father's house" which was at the time behind British lines.
He married Sarah Fuller, about the time of the Revolutionary War, probably about 1774 judging from the date of birth of his oldest son, they very likely married in the "Province of New York", although Owen in his "Pioneer Sketches of the Long Point Settlement" states Peter and Sarah married in New Jersey. There were members of the Fairchild family in New Jersey during the Revolution, but not the immediate members of Peters family.
The Revolutionary War ended October 17, 1781 after seven years of fighting, two years later a treaty was signed in Paris, September 3, 1783 and the thirteen colonies were severed from the British Empire, and were recognized as the United States of America.
The first census of the United States records Peter Fairchild as the head of a family in 1790, at Queensbury, N. Y., with one son under 16 years of age and five females in the family one of whom, no doubt was his wife, Sarah (Fuller) Fairchild and the other four would be his daughters. It may be considered that all of his children to this point had been born in New York. Also in this same community was a Benjamin Fairchild certainly the home of his father.
Owen, in the History of the Long Point Settlement of Ontario records his fifth daughter, Sarah, as having been born in the pioneer cabin in Ontario, March 26, 1794. She was the first white child born in the County. Other records record that she was the first white child born between the Grand River and Lake Erie. Other children were born to this pioneer couple after settling in Ontario, for as will be seen, he raised a family of five sons and seven daughters.
Also in Pioneer Sketches of the Long Point Settlement there's a reference to Peter Fairchild: "Elder Peter Fairchild and his wife Sarah Fuller came with their family and settled in the wilderness about three miles northeast of Boston when the Province of Upper Canada was only about three years old." This would indicate that he settled in Brant County, Ontario. However, he probably settled just south of the Brant County line in Norfolk County, sometime before 1794, probably in 1792 when the other members of his father's family settled in Ontario
Owen also states that he came to Ontario and settled in the wilderness before the surveyor and it was several years before he had a neighbor. The Canadian land records show that he made application for a land grant as early as July 24, 1793, and also on April 18, 1794. He was granted land in Concession 1, lot 17, in Walsingham Township, Norfolk County, Ontario.
From LH Tasker, The United Empire Loyalist Settlement at Long Point, Lake Erie, Ontario Historical Society, Papers and Records.
In 1796 a party from New Brunswick, led by Donald McCall, came west to the Long Point Settlement. He was selected as the leader because he had previously visited the country. Among the party were the Loyalist Lieut Jas Munro and Peter Fairchild. They landed at the mouth of Big Creek on July 1, 1796, and took up land in various localities.
E. A. Owen writes that after other families began to settle in the wilderness near where the Reverend Peter Fairchild and his family had settled, they convened under the trees in the wilderness, October 21, 1804, near the spot where the old graveyard was later located and covenanted with each other towards the organization and building of the "Old Boston Baptist Church." The Reverend Peter Fairchild became the first pastor of this church, a position he held for fourteen consecutive years. This was probably the first church ever built by white men in Ontario, having been built soon after the building of the Mohawk Indian Church by Chief Joseph Brant.
Boston is close to the boundary line between Brant County and Norfolk County, Ontario.
A petition (#2) filed by Peter Fairchild in York February 11, 1808, states that he was born in the Province of New York, joined the Royal Army under General Burgoyne in 1777 and remained til the capitulation when he returned to his father's house which was at that time within the British lines. Prays that his name may be inserted on the U.E. list. Thomas Welch says that Peter & Isaac Fairchild of the Township of Townsend, district ol London, were sworn June 10, 1807.
According to T M Fairchild children of the Reverend Peter Fairchild would be of the sixth generation of the American family of Fairchild, and were as follows: Benjamin, Peter, Isreal, Abial, Cornelius, Elizabeth, Esther, Rebecca, Rachel, Ruth, Molly, and Sarah

Notes

Peter seems to have been a controversial character. For a good dozen years he was the pastor of the Baptist Church at Boston in Norfolk Co., Ontario. His wife, Sarah Fuller, died in 1817 and Peter married Sarah Lane in 1818 (with children to follow). This caused such a stir in the congregation that he lost his job as pastor.
Peter's daughter, Mary's first husband was Uriah Adams. Little is recorded about him but apparently they had no children. Mary then married Abraham Nelles.
They had five children, two of whom married into the Duncombe family. Joseph J. Nelles died in 1875 prior to his father. This photo of him survives. Source

Baptist minister and head of family at Queensbury, N.Y. in 1790. Peter joined the Royal Army under General Burgoyne in 1777 and remained till the capitualation, when he returned to his father's house, which was at that time within the British lines -- Name and Family of Fairchild. Source

Death

Death of Peter Fairchild[7]
Year: 1828
Place: Townshend Twp., Ontario

Burial

Place: Boston Baptist Cemetery, S1/2 Lot 13, Concession 3, Townsend Township, Norfolk County [8]
Inscription: SARAH / Daughter of Jonathon & Elizabeth / FULLER/ Wife of / Elder Peter Fairchild. / Died March 9, 1817, / Aged 54 yr
Inscription: In memory of / ELD.. PETER FAIRCHILD / who died June 26, 1828 / in the 66th year of his age, / chose faith and confidence / was strong in the Lord.

Will

Peters will (File # 158, MF # 1155) was dated June 22 1828, he was a resident of Townsend, Norfolk County, Ontario. Executors were named as Samuel Fisher, Uriah Corlis and Asher Corlis all of Townsend. Witnesses to the will: James Racey, Esquire, of Mount Pleasant, Robert Stewart, and Isaac C Wheeler both of Townsend.
His children were listed as Benjamin, Elizabeth Smith wife of Jesse, Esther Haviland wife of John, Rebeckah Merrill wife of Joseph, Rachel Tyler wife of John, Ruth Wansey wife of Henry, Sally Yost wife of Willard, Polly Nellis, wife of Abraham, Peter, Abial, Isreal, and Cornelius.
Inventory of estate completed on August 6, 1828 by Aaron Barber and David Phelps. Source

Online Resources

History of Boston, Ontario, Canada. He had several children and two wives. He was a pastor.

Sources

  1. Godfrey Memorial Library. American Genealogical-Biographical Index. Middletown, CT, USA: Godfrey Memorial Library. Volume: 52; Page Number: 125
  2. Source: The Names and Family History on the Descendants of Benjamin Fairchild Sr.; Fairchild, Timothy Marsh, The name and family of Fairchild. Iowa City, Iowa: Mercer Print. Co., 1944
  3. Peter Fairchild did not live in New Jersey. He was born in the Oblong Precinct, Dutchess County, New York then while young moved with his parents to the area of Glen’s Falls, Queensbury, New York. He likely married Sarah Fuller there and they were recorded at Queensbury in the 1790 Census with one son and four daughters. (A Family of Boston Pioneers—Corliss Family, Sketch LXV) Link
  4. Early Fairchilds in North America and their Descendants Compiled by Jean Fairchild Gilmore Publication Date 1991. pgs. 56-57.
  5. First Census of the United States, 1790 (NARA microfilm publication M637, 12 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
  6. 1790 Census: "United States Census, 1790"
    citing Page: 209,210; Affiliate Name: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Affiliate Publication Number: M637; Line: 49638; Digital film/folder number: 005157138; FHL microfilm: 0568146; Image number: 250
    FamilySearch Record: XHKP-ZTZ (accessed 30 January 2024)
    FamilySearch Image: 33SQ-GYB6-4CT
    Peter Fairchild in Watervliet, Albany, New York, United States.
  7. William R. Yeager, Wills of the London District 1800-1839, Norfolk Historical Society, Simcoe, Ontario, 1979.
  8. Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 31 August 2018), memorial page for Peter Fairchild (1762–26 Jun 1828), Find A Grave: Memorial #68996216, citing Boston Cemetery, Boston, Norfolk County, Ontario, Canada ; Maintained by Gone But Not Forgotten (contributor 46869124) .




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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Peter by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Peter:

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Comments: 2

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Under "Children" it should read: Children of Sarah Fuller Fairchild and Peter Fairchild and Children of Sarah Lane Fairchild. "Melissa (Hall) did not have children with Peter Fairchild. Peter was married to Sarah Fuller and then Sarah Lane.
posted by Charlotte Fairchild
Fairchild-1267 and Fairchild-282 appear to represent the same person because: These two appear to be the same person
posted by G. MacKay

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Categories: Townsend Township, Upper Canada | United Empire Loyalists