Canadian historians documented the stories of many Tory Loyalists that found their way to Canada during and after the Revolutionary War. One such Tory from Clarendon was Daniel Walker Jr (1736 - 1795) whose father Daniel Walker Sr (1706 - ?) was amongst that initial group of settlers that came to Clarendon in 1768. Below is their story written by Dr. H.C. Burleigh for the Lennox & Addington Historical Society in Ontario, though we have not been able to identify in what year it was written.
Daniel Jr. was amongst the 30 Tories whose property was confiscated during the war. In his petition for recompense by British authorities after the war he claimed to have had 300 acres in Clarendon. Found in State Papers of Vermont, Volume VI Sequestrations Confiscations and Sale of Estates by Mary Greene Nye published in 1941 is the Certificate of Silvanus How for his "four hundred pounds lawful Money" purchasing Daniel Walker Jr.'s 200 acres "bounding South on Charles Button's land Westerly and Northerly on the Mill River East on lands holden by Ichabod Walker". Ichabod Walker (1749 - 1832) was Daniel's brother. Did Daniel own a separate 100 acre parcel?
Daniel
fled Clarendon in July 1777 to join the British Army. In October of
that year he was captured several days before Burgoyne's surrender but
escaped to rejoin the British Army. It appears he was captured a 2nd
time per the 1904 publication The State of Vermont Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War 1775 - 1783. It
was recorded that in January 1781 Lt. Colonel Lee issued orders for
Daniel Walker to be escorted to Castleton. Sergeant Jared Post and Asa
Hale received the assignment and put in for 2 days, 12 miles. Whether he
escaped again or was released is not known but he remained with the
British Army until his unit was disbanded. He and his family fled to
Canada. For the 1781 - 1784 period they lived
in Riviere du Chene and then relocated to the Bay of Quinte region. He
died in 1795 in Ernestown, Lenox and Addington, Ontario.
The other part of this story is that of Daniel Walker Sr., in particular the claim that he wintered over in Socialborough in 1760 or 1761. We have not seen any evidence that any settler was in Clarendon prior to 1767 when the Sprague and Button families are believed to have arrived, followed by the Walkers and others in 1768. The bulk of Socialborough lies in today's Rutland and in The History of Rutland, Vermont 1761 - 1861 by Dawn Hance published in 1991, Rutland's first settler didn't arrive until 1770. Could there have been a military encampment here on the Crown Point Road that winter of 1760 - 61? Just a couple years ago, Phil Mandolare discovered an encampment site on the Crown Point Road in Brandon. Was there one in Clarendon or Rutland?
The cover photo is of the Haven Hill Cemetery courtesy of Bob Underhill. We don't know where Daniel Walker Sr. was buried but Abigail (Legia) Walker (1750 - 1798), the wife of his son Ichabod Walker (1749 - 1832), along with three of their children represent four of the five 1700's named tombstones in this cemetery. Perhaps Daniel Walker Sr. and his wife Mary (Perry) Walker are amongst the 32 people buried here with just small crude stones marking their graves.
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