Saturday, July 12, 2008

Land Grants to Shaws in The Queen's Rangers and Other Loyalist Units

After the war, the British aggressively pursued the settlement of the lands along the Canadian border in order to prevent the Americans from moving further north. Toward this end, they rewarded those soldiers who had fought in Loyalist units by granting them large tracts of land, and they encouraged the citizens of Britain, Scotland and Ireland to move to Canada with their families.

The region around Fort Niagara was of special concern to the British commanders, and they placed a premium on getting that area settled. Given the overpopulation of Ireland in the early 1800s, and the growing unrest there, it made sense to move as many Irish as possible to Canada.

The net result was an explosion of Irish and Scottish settlers in the Niagara region, and several families among the new arrivals were named Shaw. The soldiers who were granted lands in Upper Canada are especially well documented by government records. A brief summary follows.

1 comment:

Martin/Heather said...

I don't see the list of land grands on this posting. Is there some way to see the list? I'm researching my family the Shaw's who were given a grant at Kent Bridge. Thanks!