Simon Baxter Jr. (1730 - 1804)

Born 6 May 1730 in Hebron, Tolland County, Connecticut

Ancestors

Husband of Prudence (Fox) Baxter — married 20 Apr 1749 in Hebron, Tolland, Connecticut

Descendants

Died 20 Mar 1804 at age 73 in Norton, Kings County, New Brunswick, Canada

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Rob Hoyt [send private message]

Biography

Simon Baxter was born in Hebron, Connecticut May 6, 1730. He died in Norton, New Brunswick on March 20, 1804. ^[1]

Taken directly from http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jcahill/simon.htm#id2339 - I wrote for permission, but his e-mail was not in service.

"From the commencement of the Revolutionary War, Simon's Tory proclivities rendered him a constant source of annoyance to the Provincial authorities. He felt sure his opinions were right and he expressed them openly and fearlessly. He declared he would victual Gage's army had he an opportunity, and other things equally seditious. So many complaints were made against him, the Committee of Safety set apart Friday, Aug. 18, 1775, to look into the matter and after having served a citation upon him to attend and answer any allegations that might be laid against him on that account, they accordingly met with the town in general and held a hearing of the matter. After hearing the evidence it was decided with the approval of all present, that his actions and avowed principles were of such a dangerous character as to be highly inimical to the county, and he was ordered to be confined to the limits of his farm in Alstead, and that he give up his arms, and all persons were cautioned to withhold commerce and dealings with him until the advice of three adjacent towns, by their Committees be known which should be immediately called in. This was a situation highly distasteful to him, in fact, unendurable, and it is doubtful if he waited to hear any further results of their inquiry. He left Alstead and was reported as a deserter, and "gone over to the enemy."

"It is not possible to follow him through all his wanderings or give the exact dates of all the happenings. During the year 1776 he must have been sometimes at his home in Alstead, and his behavior was such that he was several times arrested and confined in different places. Each time he managed to make his escape in one way and another. All this did not make him in the least cautious about expressing his Tory sentiments on all occasions.

"There was a special session of the Committee of Safety held at Keene, NH, June 5th, 1777 to consider what should be done about Tories. It is apparent from the depositions of the various witnesses, which were mostly relative to Simon Baxter, that he was the arch-conspirator with whom they had to deal. He had been heard to say that he "Hoped that which was right would get the upper hand; that he was on the Kings side and in eight months we would all be overcome" and he advised them that it was their duty to be loyal subjects to the King. He said Howe's proclamation ought to be complied with. Those who complied would be safe, and he further said Howe's proclamation was good if the people would accept it, and he would forfeit his life if all their privileges were not secured to them, and he would make them a last offer. If the town of Alstead would accept, he would go with all freedom and without expense and procure a pardon for it, and said "John Congress would not give a commission worth a snap etc, etc."

"He, being a Loyalist, looked upon those of opposite views as rebels who had deserted their king, and sworn allegiance to a government less worthy, and one in which he had little faith.

"About this time he was arrested and placed in the jail at Charlestown, NH, but owing to the consternation and surprise at the news from Ticonderoga it was impossible to obtain a suitable jailkeeper, and he "slipt the guard" on the evening of June 11, 1777. He did not dare to be seen at or near his home openly, but there is a tradition in the family that he was kept concealed in a secluded place under a rock, and that his sons went daily to carry him food, and that one Harvey, a neighbor, noticed their coming and going each day, and mistrusted their errand. Harvey followed them and found his suspicions were correct and immediately informed the authorities, and he was arrested and placed in jail at Keene.

"The Journal of Abner Sanger, under date of November 11, 1777, states that "old Mr. Simon Baxter comes into town by a mob from Alstead," which probably fixes the date of his re-arrest.

"The jail was a rude affair made of hewn logs, with only a small hole for a window, standing near the present Hotel Ellis on Main Street, in Keene. While he was confined there Baxter used to stand at this little window and sing "The Vicar of Bray," a song which expressed strong Tory sentiments. He was a good singer and those who passed by were entertained by his singing in spite the sentiments.

"Sanger's Journal also throws light on the duration of his confinement in the jail for under November 19, 1777, the following entry appears. "Silas Cook moves old Mr. Baxter to his own house, viz.: Cook's." This was probably made necessary from the old log jail being an unsuitable place of detention during cold weather.

"With the exception of Simon, Jr. who saw service in the Revolutionary Army, his sons were mostly Tories and possessed much of the bold reckless disposition of their father. They were as loyal to him as he was to his king. One day some of them went to call on him at the jail and shrewdly treated the jailer to such an extent that he became intoxicated, and they got his keys from him and secured their father's liberty. His son William could not forgive Harvey for causing his father to be arrested and vowed vengeance against him, and said he would get even with him if he ever got the chance. Not long after this an opportunity presented itself. He met Harvey on the highway and promptly proceeded to give him a most unmerciful horse-whipping, which he told him he might remember to the end of his life. At that time William was a boy of only sixteen or thereabout.

"June 30, 1777 the Committee of Safety reported that Simon Baxter of Alstead, yeoman, and others had discovered so unfriendly a disposition to the cause in which the United States of America were engaged, as to make it necessary they should be closely confined until further notice. He was tried as a Tory, found guilty, and ordered to be confined in the jail at Keene for safekeeping. How he managed his escape this time history does not inform us.

"As Baxter could not be seen around Alstead without being arrested, he probably spent much of his time in New York. That he did go home occasionally there is every reason to believe. It was told of him that on one of his trips home, after having been absent for quite a while, he called at the house of his son, Simon, Jr., who kept a hotel in Surry. There was a social gathering of some sort at the hotel that evening. Simon, Jr. was told that a stranger at the door wished to see him. It is a matter of family tradition handed down to the present day that the meeting between father and son was most affectionate, they fell in each others arms and shed tears of joy. It is needless to say that the company was not informed of the stranger's presence, but he was, nevertheless, a most welcome guest. There was a strong bond of love uniting all members of the Baxter family.

"Simon Baxter's property was declared confiscated to the state, and commissioners were appointed to make an inventory of the estate. May 13, 1778 Prudence Baxter, his wife, addressed a petition, with the approbation of the selectmen of Alstead, stating that she had a large family of children, some of who were small, and asked that the forfeiture might not be exacted.

"Again Dec 14, 1778, she addressed another petition to the Hon. Assembly of NH for clemency for her husband. Pathetic indeed, was this second appeal. It was the cry from a heart over-burdened with sorrow. For long, weary months she had been left alone to battle with the stern realities of life, with her little flock to care for and protect, and her husband a fugitive and a wanderer. There is little wonder that she came to look upon worldly things as of small account. Her earnest, heartfelt cry was, "Of spare him, I humbly pray! I ask not for his estate; only for his life under such limitations as you, in your wisdom, shall see proper to allow. Suffer him, I humbly pray, to be once more a subject of this state, and have the liberty of the oath of allegiance to the United States. I care not how we live, or how we are fed, if he can but have liberty to live in this state. The small property we did possess shall with pleasure go---only spare him, and as mercy is the dealing of God and the brightest virtue of the human mind. O! Let Baxter be one subject of your mercy!"

"Simon Baxter and his son Benjamin were together in New York for a time and there is a tradition that he fell into the hands of the Whigs and was ordered executed as a traitor. When led out for execution he broke loose and fled with the rope around his neck and succeeded in reaching Burgoyne's army in safety. However that may be, he certainly was a time imprisoned. In a list of prisoners sent from Newport RI, in the prison-ship LORD SANDWICH which was landed in Bristol March 7, 1778, there appear the names of Simon and Benjamin Baxter, and again about this time, Simon Baxter was a prisoner on the flagship in Boston harbor. How he left the ship does not appear.

"It seem that his family at Alstead were quite well informed as to his whereabouts, for his son William left home in Alstead March 28, 1778 and went to Cambridge, Mass., where he met his father and they went to RI, and from there to New York, where they both were taken ill with the small-pox.

"During the summer of 1778, they were with the British more or less in and around New York. Capt. Jason Wait of Alstead and Capt. Lemuel Holmes of Surry, who had been neighbors of the Baxters before the war and who were held prisoners by the British at about this time, told of many kind attentions they received from both Simon and his son William. Wait and Holmes both testified that as far as they knew both Simon and William lived and behaved in a peaceable manner while in New York and did not receive aid or rations from the British, but were living with a farmer who seemed to be a friend of the American cause.

"About this time Simon sent William home to Alstead with clothing for his family. William was not allowed to remain long, for Nov. 11, 1778 he was arrested and taken before Nathaniel S. Prentice for examination, and notwithstanding that it was proved that he had lived in a peaceable manner while in New York. He was sent to the General Assembly, and Nov. 18, 1778. He was ordered to be delivered to the sheriff to be sent back to New York by the first conveyance. For some reason he was not sent back, but instead was admitted to bail, his bonds requiring him not to go beyond the limits of Exeter. He was in Exeter the next spring, when in May, 1779 he was allowed to pass to go to Alstead and return in twenty days. In July he was granted a permit to pass and re-pass from Portsmouth to Exeter on business for the printers, and in April, 1780 he was employed by the Committee of Safety to carry letters to the County of Cheshire to call the General Court together, for which service he was paid one hundred dollars.

"Jan. 22, 1779 Simon Baxter was again arrested with his son Benjamin, and delivered to the Committee of Safety. They were confined in Exeter jail for some time, as was also another son, Joseph.

"At the close of the war, when the freedom of America from the British rule became a certainty, those who had been Tories found themselves facing an unenviable situation. A law had been passed in New Hampshire in 1778, preventing such persons, under pain of death, from returning to the state without first obtaining leave from the General Assembly. As belligerent they had forfeited all rights to protection from the state. The only course open to Simon Baxter was to take refuge in some dependency of Great Britain, and he, with thousands of other political refugees, made hasty preparations for departure to the Provinces. In answer to his petition to the General Assembly it was voted Tuesday, Dec 25, 1781, to grant the prayer of Simon Baxter to have leave to remove his family to New Brunswick. In a letter dated March 28, 1782, mention is made of the arrival of he and his family at the River Saint John. Here he was befriended by several persons of local importance and recommended by them to the authorities at Halifax." Early in the year 1782, the vanguard of the Loyalist immigration began to make its appearance in Nova Scotia. The first to arrive at Fort Howe was Capt. Simon Baxter of New Hampshire. He had been prosecuted and banished on account of his loyalty, and on one occasion was on the verge of being hanged by the 'rebels', but managed to escape. Early in March, 1782, he arrived at Fort Howe with his family, as we learn from a letter of William Hazen and James White to Lieut. Governor Franklin, in which they wrote, 'Mr. Baxter is here with his family and appears to be in distress. Please let me have forty pounds on our account. Mr. Baxter is in search after land. We wish your advice to him."

Simon Baxter then went to Halifax, where he made application for grants of land both as a retired officer of the French War, which terminated in 1763, and as a Loyalist refugee. On Dec. 25, 1781, the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted to grant Simon Baxter's petition to move his family to St. John's, Nova Scotia. He went to Boston from Halifax, negotiated his exchange and was permitted to carry his family to Halifax by way of Boston and New York, in the year 1783. He received a grant of 2,000 acres of land in New Brunswick and another 3,000 acres by a warrant in 1782, for his services in the French War, and his sons William and Joseph received 500 acres each. He was proscribed and banished and lost his estate in Alstead, New Hampshire under the Confiscation Act. He left his two oldest children in New Hampshire and went to New Brunswick with his wife and seven children arriving in the Autumn of 1782. He received a large grant at Bloomfield, Norton Parish, Kings County that same year.

Simon died on 20 March 1804 at Kings County, New Brunswick and was buried at Big Rock Cemetery, Bloomfield, Kings County, New Brunswick. His memorial has a photo of his headstone and links to those of family members.^[2]. The 2 Apr 1804 edition of The Saint John Gazette reported: "d. 20th ult., Simon Baxter, age 74, formerly Alstead, N.H."

Children of Simon and Prudence

1. Prudence Baxter b. c. 1749 married Aristides Huestis. Settled in Westmoreland New Hampshire.
2. Simon Baxter b. c. 1753 married Margaret Noney.
3. Benjamin b. married (1) Ruth Brown married (2) Margaret Hewett
4. William Baxter b. 1760 married (1) Ruth Sheffield married (2) Julia Swigo.
5. Joseph Baxter b. 1762 married Joanna (Smith) Ruland
6. Dorothy Baxter b. 1764 married John Cook Hayes.
7. Abigail Baxter b. 1766 married (1) Martin Fahey married (2) Smith married (3) John Lannen.
8. Elijah Baxter b. 1768 married Mary Smith.
9. Abraham Baxter b. 9 July 1771 married Sarah Ainslie.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ History of the town of Surry, Cheshire County, New Hampshire Kingsbury, Frank B., Surry NH 1925. (Page: 441)
2. ↑ MEMORIAL ID 85420362 CPT Simon Baxter, Jr
3. ↑ Simon Baxter (the first United Empire loyalist to settle in New Brunswick); his ancestry and descendants. by Baxter, John B. M. (John Babington Macaulay). 1943. Pages 37-46 Lists children. Collection of Philip W. Smith.

"Connecticut, Births and Christenings, 1649-1906," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F7WY-J7F : accessed 29 Jul 2014), Simon Baxter, 06 May 1730; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.

"Connecticut, Marriages, 1630-1997," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F7LW-B52 : accessed 29 Jul 2014), Simon Baxter, Jun.R and Prudence Fox, 20 Apr 1749; citing Hebron, Tolland, Connecticut, United States, reference item 4 p 4; FHL microfilm 1376165.

"New Hampshire, Births and Christenings, 1714-1904," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V244-XTG : accessed 29 Jul 2014), Simon Baxter in entry for Abraham Baxter, Jul 1771; citing ALSTEAD TWP,CHESHIRE,NEW HAMPSHIRE; FHL microfilm 1000374.

• Rob Hoyt, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jcahill/simon.htm#id2339.

• death notice