Shavers of Ancaster

The Shavers of Ancaster and the War of 1812, Part 1

Submitted by admin on Thu, 2014-05-22 21:01

May 22nd, 2014 |

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Guest post by Fred Blair

Fred Blair has been researching his family history for over twenty years. In order to resolve discrepancies in his own family history he began researching Upper Canada Militia on the Niagara Frontier during the war. This lead him to a number of related primary and secondary documents. He eventually acquired skills in accessing and interpreting these documents. Last year he discovered that his ancestor, Ebenezer Blair, had lived in Ancaster Twp. Fred has written for history and family history newsletters, contributed research for three recently published books, assisted historical and family history organizations, made several presentations, and is currently compiling short stories about life in Upper Canada during the war.

This is the first of a series of Blogs on the Shaver families who were living in the Hamilton area during the War of 1812. A number of Shaver men served in the Upper Canada Militia. As far as I know I am not related to these men but I do know that my ancestor, Ebenezer Blair, was living in Ancaster Township during the war and was probably acquainted with your ancestors. In order to learn more about my family history I have spent several years exploring life on the Niagara Frontier during this conflict. Craig has invited me to write about your ancestors from this perspective.

Who will I be writing about? From your family tree, we have identified some of these men as your ancestors but I also have information on other Shaver men living in the same area for which I have no family history. Hopefully in time we will learn more about these families. Here is the list of Shaver men and their relations who served in the Upper Canada Militia from the Hamilton area:

Private Daniel Shafer (no family history)
Sergeant Henry Shaver (1789-1860) the son of John William Shaver
Private Isaac Shaver (no family history)
Private John Shaver (1769-1852) the son of John William Shaver
Private Joseph Shaver (no family history)
Private Josh Shaver (no family history)
Private William Shaver (probably the son of John William Shaver)
Private William Shaver (2)

Private Jonathan Philip Kelly (1770-1852) the husband of Elizabeth Shaver (1770-1796)
Private John Kelly (c1793-) the son of Jonathan Kelly and Elizabeth Shaver
Private Peter Bowman Kelly (1795-1876) the son of Jonathan Kelly and Elizabeth Shaver
Private James A. Lee (1793-1836) the husband of Catherine Shaver (1795-1859)
Private William Samuel Lee (1786-1848) the husband of Anna Shaver (1791-1875)
Sergeant William J. Rymal (1794-1843) the husband of Margaret Shaver (1801-1884)

If I missed any men, please let me know.

There were two militia regiments recruiting from the Hamilton area, the 5th Lincoln and 2nd York Militias. Henry Shaver served in the 5th Lincoln, John Shaver served in the 2nd York, and a William Shaver served in both regiments. Was he the same man or were there two William Shavers living in the area? Research has revealed that some men served in both of these regiments at different times and at other times in combined detachments. It was also common for men to have served in more than one regiment or corps and to have assisted the war effort as support staff, like teamsters. I will come back to the problem of the two Williams in a future Blog. The Kellys, Lees, and William J. Rymal all served in the 5th Lincoln.

This has been a brief introduction to the descendants of John William Shaver and Katerina Werner of Ancaster Township and their related families who served in the Upper Canada Militia. The following Blogs will look more closely at some of these families and their war experiences.

Fred Blair
fredblairorillia@hotmail.com

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