John Crysdale (abt. 1745 - 1807)

Born about 1745 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 1807 at about age 62 in Sydney, Hastings, Ontario, Canada

Name confusion: There were both Crysdale and Chrysler families living in upstate New York in the 1770s. These families were unrelated. The Crysdale family was English, and the larger Chrysler family was German. To add to the confusion, it appears both families had Loyalist members who emigrated to Ontario in the 1780s and received land grants in the Mecklenberg District, which included the counties of Frontenac, Hastings, Prince Edward County, Lennox, and Addington. See the section "Name Confusion" below.

Biography

John Crysdale was born in England.

Most United Empire Loyalist military records indicate a birth year of ca. 1745.

John's parents (disputed) were Lot Croysdale and Hannah Newsome.^[1][2]

Paraphrased from a website created by family members:^[3]

• John Crysdale traveled to America and settled in New York near Lake George in 1772, buying 250 acres of land from Jonathon Ogden in 1774, and another 250 acres from a Dr. Middleton in 1775, east of Glens Falls. There is proof of the deeds at his land claims hearing in Montréal in 1788. He, like Daniel Ostrom's father Roelof Ostrum, was a spy in the war for Gen. Burgoyne, and later served in Jessup's Rangers.^[4]

• By 1884 the family had settled in Adolphustown, Upper Canada. Unfortunately the family was burned out, and lost their land. They then moved to Sidney (just west of Belleville).

• John reportedly had 7 children -- 5 girls and 2 boys. The earlier children were Elsie, Nancy, unnamed son [reportedly Thomas], and Isabel/Elizabeth, all believed born in New York. The later children were Catherine, born in Sorel, Quebec, in 1782; Rebecca, born in Ontario (possibly Adolphustown); and Joshua,^[5][6] born 1790 in Sidney, Hastings County, where the family finally settled.

• John was killed at a barn raising in 1807. His widow appled in Jan 1808 to have his estate settled. A son [apparently Thomas] was born before 1774 and drowned April 1791 in Sidney Township. There is a record showing that John Meyers^[7] loaned John Crysdale 54 nails to construct the son's coffin on 8 Apr 1791. The Crysdales were in Sorel Quebec in 1781, came to Adolphustown in 1784 and were in Sidney by 1790.

Loyalist Activities & Land Claims

Excerpt which follows is from the Loyalist Trails newsletter, March 25, 2018:

• One of (John Conrad) Sills' new neighbours was John Crysdale. This Englishman had settled in New York's Charlotte County before serving in Burgoyne's army. A member of the general's secret service, he remained at home until 1781 when rebels discovered that he had been harbouring British scouts.

• Henry Jackson of Albany County also helped members of the crown's secret service, and he, too, eventually joined the British army, having been "obliged to quit his farm and leave his stock behind him". Jackson settled with other loyalists at Oswegatchie [north of Utica NY and east of Kingston Ontario].

• James Jackson, [unrelated to Henry] a witness for Crysdale, submitted his own claim that day [21 Feb 1788]. His hometown was Skenesboro (now Whitehall) New York, the first permanent settlement on Lake Champlain. He sided with the British when Burgoyne's army passed through: he assisted the army but did not enlist. Nevertheless, this was enough of an offence that local rebels seized Jackson's effects which included livestock and two young slave girls of mixed heritage, By 1781, after being detained by illness, Jackson fled to Canada and joined Jessup's Corps. He settled in Cataraqui.

Another report of John Crysdale's land claim (1788, Montreal):^[8]United Empire Loyalists, Proceedings of Loyalist Commissioners, Montreal 1788. VOL. XIII. Page 433:

• Evidence on the Claim of John Crysdale, late of Charlotte County, N.Y. Claimant sworn:
  • Says he was on duty in Major Jessup's Corps at Sorel in 1783. He is a native of England. He came to America in 1772; in 1775 he lived in Charlotte County in the Provincial Patent. He was in Gen. Burgoyne's army & was employed in secret service by the General. He remained in the Country until 1781, but never took any part with them. At last he was found to harbour British Scouts & was obliged to fly.
  • In 1781 he came to Canada & served the war. He now resides in the Bay of Quinte, 250 acres in the Provincial Patent.
  • Produces deed dated May 1774, whereby Jonathan Ogden conveys to claimant in consideration of £100 N.Y. currency the said lands. There was little improvement when he bought. He cleared 50 acres & built house & barn. He values it at 20 sh. per acre. 250 acres in the Provincial Pat. Produces deed from Dr. Middleton of New York dated March 1775, conveying the above lands. Says he had not paid the price but had cleared 20 acres. Says it cost him Joe [slang for money] for clearing an acre. Most of his stock he sold to prevent its being seized. He has not been paid. The rebels took a cow, a bull & 10 sheep. Burgoyne's Army took some yearlings & pigs, household furniture, &c.
  • Produces affidavit of James Johnston^[9] that John Crisdale had a good farm. 40 acres cleared with a stock of cattle & hogs, furniture & farming utensils.
  • Witness James Jackson, sworn: Claimant was always loyal. He was in Burgoyne's Camp. Remembers No. 1, there was good improvement, 40 acres were cleared. No. 2, 20 acres were cleared. He lost a cow & bull. He sold the remainder but was not paid.

Name Confusion

There was a petition issued to (Upper Canada) Governor Simcoe to have Crysdale's name corrected in 1802 as it had been mis-documented as "Chrysler" on many documents. This is apparent in William Caniff's book written in 1867. Crysdale had large land holdings in New York before the American Revolution, and then amassed substantial acreage once again in Canada:^[10]

• Adolphustown, L&A Con 4 Lot 21, 100 acres
• Marysburg, Prince Edward Con 1 Lot 7, 100 acres
• Sidney, Hastings Con 1 Lot 24, 100 acres
• Sidney, Hastings Con 1 Lot 25, 100 acres
• Sidney, Hastings Con 2 Lot 24, 100 acres
• Sidney, Hastings Con 2 Lot 25, 100 acres
• Sophiasburg, Prince Edward, Con 1 Lot 28, 200 acres

Sources

1. ↑ The following birth record (Holbeck, Yorkshire) indicates a 1736 christening, which would contradict the 1745 birth year from military records:
   • "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JQBY-6JF : 11 February 2018, John Croysdale Or Croasdill, 10 Jul 1736); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 6,073,564.
2. ↑ Note: There is no definitive source connecting John Crysdale with these parents, but as the parents were already in place at the time John's profile was adopted, they are kept here as placeholders until sources (proving or disproving them) can be found.
3. ↑ https://talespin.weebly.com/isabel-crysdale-1779---1851.html
4. ↑ Daniel Ostrom married John Crysdale's daughter Isabel/Elizabeth.
5. ↑ In July 1810, Joshua Crysdale of Sidney married Jane Overcocker of Ernesttown. From the marriage registry of Rev. McDowall:
   • http://my.tbaytel.net/bmartin/mcdowall.htm
6. ↑ 1836: Joshua Crysdale was one of about 10 landowners who signed a petition for the establishment of Thurlow Township boundaries:
   • http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~saylormowbray/genealogy/thurlow1836.html
7. ↑ This is most likely referring to John Walden Meyers, a/k/a the famous Hans Walden Meyers, founder of Meyers Creek which was later re-named Belleville.
8. ↑ https://talespin.weebly.com/isabel-crysdale-1779---1851.html
9. ↑ By deduction, possibly referring to Loyalist officer Sgt James Johnston.
10. ↑ https://talespin.weebly.com/isabel-crysdale-1779---1851.html

• Land Records Sidney, Con 5, Lot #21

• John Chrysler's (= John Crysdale?) land holdings in Sidney, Marysburg, Sophiasburg & Adolphustown in 1790:
  • https://herkimer.nygenweb.net/loyalist/loyalc.html

• Fully documented tree of Wikitree member William D Smith including copies of miltary records, land documents etc:
  • https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/155450447/person/432051993347/facts

• Sidney Township Minute Book 1790-1849:
  • https://sites.rootsweb.com/~saylormowbray/sidneyminutebook.html

• John W Meyers' Account Book -- some interesting references to Crysdale especially the death of Thomas Crysdale in Apr 1791:
  • https://sites.rootsweb.com/~saylormowbray/canniffe2merchant.html

• Useful family context can be found in The Burleigh Papers: Crysdale Family File, archived at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, and available online here:
  • https://archive.org/details/hcbcrysdale/