Elizabeth (McLaney) Sanders (abt. 1780 - 1834)

Born about 1780 in New York City, New York County, New York, United States

Wife of John Toledo Elrod — married 8 Feb 1816 in York Township, York, Upper Canada

Descendants

Died 9 Feb 1834 at about age 54 in Thornhill, York, Upper Canada

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Biography

Elizabeth McLaney, the daughter of Andrew McLaney (abt.1740-abt.1780) and Martha (Brown) Dennis (abt.1749-1837), was born about 1780 in New York City. Her father, a ship's surgeon in the Royal Navy, was lost at sea at about the time of her birth. She was raised by her mother and her mother's second husband, John Dennis (abt.1758-1832), whose surname she used as her maiden name. Martha and John were both Loyalists; and, with them, she left the newborn United States to settle with other Loyalists in Nova Scotia.^[1] After fire destroyed their property there, they moved back to the U.S. in the early 1790s, to Alexandria, Virginia, where John farmed for a short period of time. However, they soon moved to the town of York in Upper Canada, where John Dennis's skills as a shipbuilder were wanted.

Elizabeth married shipbuilder Matthias Sanders (abt.1773-1813) in New York City on July 6, 1797.^[2] Matthias and Elizabeth came to York Township, Upper Canada, and lived on the Humber River, just west of the town of York (now Toronto), where Elizabeth's mother and stepfather also lived.^[3] They later moved to a cottage which they had built in Thornhill, Markham Township, on land granted to Elizabeth as the daughter of a UEL.^[4] They had four sons and two daughters.

Following Matthias's 1813 death during the War of 1812, Elizabeth married a physician from Ohio, John Toledo Elrod, on Feb. 8, 1816, with whom she had two daughters. It was subsequently learned that he still had a prior wife living in the USA; and he disappeared with Elizabeth's money and movable property. Fortunately, she was able to hold onto the land which had been granted to her in her own name as the daughter of a UEL and hence avoid destitution. Elizabeth died, probably of cholera, on Feb. 9, 1834 in Thornhill, York County, Upper Canada, and is buried in Thornhill Cemetery.

Sources

1. ↑ Loyalists in the Maritimes — Ward Chipman Muster Master's Office, 1777–1785. Place: Beaver Harbour; Group/Regiment: Loyalist; Type of Records: Muster roll; Year: 1784; Volume: 24; Page(s): 168-170; Record Title: Roll of Loyalists settled at BelleVue in Beaver Harbour. 10th July 1784. Microfilm Reel Number: C-9818; Reference: MG 23 D1, Series 1; Item Numbers: 2531, 2716. Retrieved 14-Nov-2021 from Library and Archives Canada
2. ↑ "Mattias Sanders, ship builder and Elisabet McLean": "U.S., Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States, 1639-1989", Holland Society of New York; New York, New York; New York City Lutheran, Vol III, Book 87, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry ca Record 6961 #94831 (accessed 19 January 2023)
3. ↑ Mosser, Christine, ed. York, Upper Canada minutes of town meetings and lists of inhabitants 1797-1823. Toronto: Metropolitan Library Board, 1984. Accessed 16-Jun-2021 at Toronto Public Library
4. ↑ Ontario Land Registry Access: YORK REGION (65), MARKHAM, Book 91, p. 422 accessed at OnLand 24 Jan 2023

• John Dennis UE, Martha Brown UE and their children and grandchildren, PDF document downloaded 29-Jan-2021 from [uelac.org United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada]
• Pétrin, G. (2013). Women, Marriage and Property in Upper Canada: The Case of Elizabeth Sanders. Ontario History, 105(1), 98–125. https://doi.org/10.7202/1050748ar
• * Find a Grave (has image), Find A Grave: Memorial #66134320 (accessed 2 February 2023), Memorial page for Elizabeth McLaney Sanders (1781-9 Feb 1834), citing Thornhill Community Cemetery, Thornhill, York Regional Municipality, Ontario, Canada; Maintained by history4sure (contributor 46997739).