Known in DAR and UEL lists. Abel Stevens Sr. was a early settler who moved with his wife and family from Vermont in 1795 to Bastard township, Leeds County, Upper Canada. He was a Baptist Clergyman.
Abel Stevens had at least five interesting attributes - He was literate, persuasive in oral and written form, religious, knowledgeable in industrial processes, and claimed by both sides in the Revolutionary War.
In 1754, the year before Abel was born; his family was living on a farm near South Dover, in Lot 7 of the Beekman Patent, in Dutchess County, New York. They were still there in 1757.
Abel and the Revolutionary War can be shrunk down to the battle of the initials - DAR and UEL. No evidence has been found suggesting he ever fired a shot. However, records have been found showing he drew pay of militia duty in Vermont at the time of Burgoyne's ill-fated invasion of upstate New York. Abel's unit was posted east and southeast of the battlefields near Bennington and Saratoga. The Vermont pay records have allowed female American descendants of Abel to join the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
The United Empire Loyalist (UEL) designation is more complicated. Any settler in Ontario (or Upper Canada as it was then called) could petition the government for land. Able obtained 2,000 acres in this manner. However, they had to pay survey and filing fees. These fees were waived for settlers that had been designated UEL. Abel was on the first list (now called the Old List). The remarks next to his name were 'a settler, did not bare arms against the colours.' The government then purged the list saying that UEL status was only for those that could prove membership in a Loyalist unit. Abel was among those removed from the list. He appealed and was restored. His appeal was supported by an affidavit from a former Loyalist officer, and then a Justice of the Peace, who certified that Abel had saved the life of Loyalist Ensign Roger Stevens, Jr. of Jessep's Rangers, during the war. Abel's restoration to the list is no surprise considering that the council, including Governor Simcoe, knew Abel in person and on paper. He had made written and oral presentations to them, traveled with them, and had private meetings with the Governor.
The UEL designation had a couple of other benefits. Children of UEL's could get 100 acres of their own upon marriage or age 21. At least four of Abel's children obtained land this way. The other benefit provides the only inheritable title in North America. Abel's Canadian descendants may use the suffix 'UE' after their names.
Abel was in the middle of the Revolutionary Way in other ways. His half-brother Roger Jr. was the above-mentioned Loyalist officer for the English. His brother Ephraim was a rebel and spent several years as a prisoner of war because of it. Abel's Uncle Benjamin was a member of the same Vermont Militia Company as Abel and later on a Lieutenant and a member of a Pittsford committee concerning the war. Abel's father, Roger Stevens, had loyalist leanings and would join Able in Canada.
Herewithin, Roger Stevens, Jr., is shown as half-brother to Abel. Roger Stevens, before he married Abel's mother Mary Doolittle, had an adulterous affair with Martha Doolittle, older sister of Mary, and wife of Jonas Galusha. Martha left her husband, a constable in the Beekman Patent, and went to live with Roger and bore him two children including Roger Jr. Galusha divorced Martha. No further record of Martha and the second child has been found.
His petitions and letters to the government reveal that he had detailed knowledge of the iron making process. He knew what iron ore looked like. He knew what trees would be suitable for making coke to smelt the iron ore. He knew people that would come to Ontario with their foundry gear and set up shop. While Abel's petitions for the land with the ore and coke making timber were unsuccessful, they triggered a chain of events that resulted in the production of iron for English ships in the upper Great Lakes during the War of 1812 and thereafter. As to clues to where Abel learned about iron production, look toward the Dover Furnace in Dutchess County. The Dover Furnace was a smelter build by a Stevens (a distant relative) near where Abel was born.
Able also knew about water powered mills. Today, the Old Stone Mill in Delta (formerly Stevensville) gives credit to Abel as its founder. It appears that he learned about such mills from his half-brother Roger Jr. who had a mill in Pittsford until the war.
In today's world Abel would have been called a Baptist Minister. In yesteryears world he was called 'Elder' because, under English law, only the clergy of the Church of England could be called Minister and perform marriages. He helped establish a Baptist Church in Pittsford. His Uncle Benjamin and Aunt Hope are buried in the cemetery of that church. Able is also credited as the founder of a Baptist Church in Phillipsville, near Delta, Ontario. His son Isaac, Isaac's wife Betsey Day and her mother are buried side by side in the Phillipsville Cemetery. Abel''s Baptist roots are traced back to South Dover, Dutchess County, New York. There Samuel Waldo was the first and long time minister. Samual Waldo was a witness to the will of William Stevens. This William Stevens had purchased the Pittsford farm of Roger Stevens when Roger went to Canada to join Abel. It appears that Samuel Waldo may have tutored Abel in reading and writing as well as religion. Many South Dover Baptists were from Swansea, Connecticut where Abel's ancestors had lived.
Abel Stevens was a leader who could motivate people. In a ten-year period, he convinced over 100 families to move to the Ontario wilderness with him where they also could get land. He organized a road building effort that built 31 miles of road and 15 bridges. He found mill and smelter sites and people to build and operate them. Each such endeavor would usually result in another petition to the council requesting be rewarded more land in exchange. Some petitions were successful, some were not.
There are three key references that provide excellent insight into Abel Stevens. First on the reading list would be 'On the Move - Our Stevens Story' by Elizabeth Stevens Stuart. Elizabeth's work is genealogical in nature starting with the brothers Roger and Benjamin Stevens and working down through generations of descendants. Second on the list is A. M. Caverly's 'History of Pittsford, Vermont'. This 1872 book includes the Stevens families moving from Dutchess County to settle in Pittsford, Vermont and the war years. Third is Brigadier General E. A. Cruikshank's 'The Activity of Abel Stevens as A Pioneer.' This 34-page article was published by the Ontario Historical Society in 1936. General Cruikshank builds his story on the many documents written by Abel and now in the Canadian archives.
Abel and his literary skills are amazing considering that the average person in his time and place could not read or write. His many petitions and letters to the Ontario government have been preserved and bridge the past with the future concerning this remarkable man and the events he precipitated.
Abel Stevens had at least five interesting attributes - He was literate, persuasive in oral and written form, religious, knowledgeable in industrial processes, and claimed by both sides in the Revolutionary War.
In 1754, the year before Abel was born; his family was living on a farm near South Dover, in Lot 7 of the Beekman Patent, in Dutchess County, New York. They were still there in 1757.
Abel and the Revolutionary War can be shrunk down to the battle of the initials - DAR and UEL. No evidence has been found suggesting he ever fired a shot. However, records have been found showing he drew pay of militia duty in Vermont at the time of Burgoyne's ill-fated invasion of upstate New York. Abel's unit was posted east and southeast of the battlefields near Bennington and Saratoga. The Vermont pay records have allowed female American descendants of Abel to join the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
The United Empire Loyalist (UEL) designation is more complicated. Any settler in Ontario (or Upper Canada as it was then called) could petition the government for land. Able obtained 2,000 acres in this manner. However, they had to pay survey and filing fees. These fees were waived for settlers that had been designated UEL. Abel was on the first list (now called the Old List). The remarks next to his name were 'a settler, did not bare arms against the colours.' The government then purged the list saying that UEL status was only for those that could prove membership in a Loyalist unit. Abel was among those removed from the list. He appealed and was restored. His appeal was supported by an affidavit from a former Loyalist officer, and then a Justice of the Peace, who certified that Abel had saved the life of Loyalist Ensign Roger Stevens, Jr. of Jessep's Rangers, during the war. Abel's restoration to the list is no surprise considering that the council, including Governor Simcoe, knew Abel in person and on paper. He had made written and oral presentations to them, traveled with them, and had private meetings with the Governor.
The UEL designation had a couple of other benefits. Children of UEL's could get 100 acres of their own upon marriage or age 21. At least four of Abel's children obtained land this way. The other benefit provides the only inheritable title in North America. Abel's Canadian descendants may use the suffix 'UE' after their names.
Abel was in the middle of the Revolutionary Way in other ways. His half-brother Roger Jr. was the above-mentioned Loyalist officer for the English. His brother Ephraim was a rebel and spent several years as a prisoner of war because of it. Abel's Uncle Benjamin was a member of the same Vermont Militia Company as Abel and later on a Lieutenant and a member of a Pittsford committee concerning the war. Abel's father, Roger Stevens, had loyalist leanings and would join Able in Canada.
Herewithin, Roger Stevens, Jr., is shown as half-brother to Abel. Roger Stevens, before he married Abel's mother Mary Doolittle, had an adulterous affair with Martha Doolittle, older sister of Mary, and wife of Jonas Galusha. Martha left her husband, a constable in the Beekman Patent, and went to live with Roger and bore him two children including Roger Jr. Galusha divorced Martha. No further record of Martha and the second child has been found.
His petitions and letters to the government reveal that he had detailed knowledge of the iron making process. He knew what iron ore looked like. He knew what trees would be suitable for making coke to smelt the iron ore. He knew people that would come to Ontario with their foundry gear and set up shop. While Abel's petitions for the land with the ore and coke making timber were unsuccessful, they triggered a chain of events that resulted in the production of iron for English ships in the upper Great Lakes during the War of 1812 and thereafter. As to clues to where Abel learned about iron production, look toward the Dover Furnace in Dutchess County. The Dover Furnace was a smelter build by a Stevens (a distant relative) near where Abel was born.
Able also knew about water powered mills. Today, the Old Stone Mill in Delta (formerly Stevensville) gives credit to Abel as its founder. It appears that he learned about such mills from his half-brother Roger Jr. who had a mill in Pittsford until the war.
In today's world Abel would have been called a Baptist Minister. In yesteryears world he was called 'Elder' because, under English law, only the clergy of the Church of England could be called Minister and perform marriages. He helped establish a Baptist Church in Pittsford. His Uncle Benjamin and Aunt Hope are buried in the cemetery of that church. Able is also credited as the founder of a Baptist Church in Phillipsville, near Delta, Ontario. His son Isaac, Isaac's wife Betsey Day and her mother are buried side by side in the Phillipsville Cemetery. Abel''s Baptist roots are traced back to South Dover, Dutchess County, New York. There Samuel Waldo was the first and long time minister. Samual Waldo was a witness to the will of William Stevens. This William Stevens had purchased the Pittsford farm of Roger Stevens when Roger went to Canada to join Abel. It appears that Samuel Waldo may have tutored Abel in reading and writing as well as religion. Many South Dover Baptists were from Swansea, Connecticut where Abel's ancestors had lived.
Abel Stevens was a leader who could motivate people. In a ten-year period, he convinced over 100 families to move to the Ontario wilderness with him where they also could get land. He organized a road building effort that built 31 miles of road and 15 bridges. He found mill and smelter sites and people to build and operate them. Each such endeavor would usually result in another petition to the council requesting be rewarded more land in exchange. Some petitions were successful, some were not.
There are three key references that provide excellent insight into Abel Stevens. First on the reading list would be 'On the Move - Our Stevens Story' by Elizabeth Stevens Stuart. Elizabeth's work is genealogical in nature starting with the brothers Roger and Benjamin Stevens and working down through generations of descendants. Second on the list is A. M. Caverly's 'History of Pittsford, Vermont'. This 1872 book includes the Stevens families moving from Dutchess County to settle in Pittsford, Vermont and the war years. Third is Brigadier General E. A. Cruikshank's 'The Activity of Abel Stevens as A Pioneer.' This 34-page article was published by the Ontario Historical Society in 1936. General Cruikshank builds his story on the many documents written by Abel and now in the Canadian archives.
Abel and his literary skills are amazing considering that the average person in his time and place could not read or write. His many petitions and letters to the Ontario government have been preserved and bridge the past with the future concerning this remarkable man and the events he precipitated.
Known in DAR and UEL lists. Abel Stevens Sr. was a early settler who moved with his wife and family from Vermont in 1795 to Bastard township, Leeds County, Upper Canada. He was a Baptist Clergyman.
Abel Stevens had at least five interesting attributes - He was literate, persuasive in oral and written form, religious, knowledgeable in industrial processes, and claimed by both sides in the Revolutionary War.
In 1754, the year before Abel was born; his family was living on a farm near South Dover, in Lot 7 of the Beekman Patent, in Dutchess County, New York. They were still there in 1757.
Abel and the Revolutionary War can be shrunk down to the battle of the initials - DAR and UEL. No evidence has been found suggesting he ever fired a shot. However, records have been found showing he drew pay of militia duty in Vermont at the time of Burgoyne's ill-fated invasion of upstate New York. Abel's unit was posted east and southeast of the battlefields near Bennington and Saratoga. The Vermont pay records have allowed female American descendants of Abel to join the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
The United Empire Loyalist (UEL) designation is more complicated. Any settler in Ontario (or Upper Canada as it was then called) could petition the government for land. Able obtained 2,000 acres in this manner. However, they had to pay survey and filing fees. These fees were waived for settlers that had been designated UEL. Abel was on the first list (now called the Old List). The remarks next to his name were 'a settler, did not bare arms against the colours.' The government then purged the list saying that UEL status was only for those that could prove membership in a Loyalist unit. Abel was among those removed from the list. He appealed and was restored. His appeal was supported by an affidavit from a former Loyalist officer, and then a Justice of the Peace, who certified that Abel had saved the life of Loyalist Ensign Roger Stevens, Jr. of Jessep's Rangers, during the war. Abel's restoration to the list is no surprise considering that the council, including Governor Simcoe, knew Abel in person and on paper. He had made written and oral presentations to them, traveled with them, and had private meetings with the Governor.
The UEL designation had a couple of other benefits. Children of UEL's could get 100 acres of their own upon marriage or age 21. At least four of Abel's children obtained land this way. The other benefit provides the only inheritable title in North America. Abel's Canadian descendants may use the suffix 'UE' after their names.
Abel was in the middle of the Revolutionary Way in other ways. His half-brother Roger Jr. was the above-mentioned Loyalist officer for the English. His brother Ephraim was a rebel and spent several years as a prisoner of war because of it. Abel's Uncle Benjamin was a member of the same Vermont Militia Company as Abel and later on a Lieutenant and a member of a Pittsford committee concerning the war. Abel's father, Roger Stevens, had loyalist leanings and would join Able in Canada.
Herewithin, Roger Stevens, Jr., is shown as half-brother to Abel. Roger Stevens, before he married Abel's mother Mary Doolittle, had an adulterous affair with Martha Doolittle, older sister of Mary, and wife of Jonas Galusha. Martha left her husband, a constable in the Beekman Patent, and went to live with Roger and bore him two children including Roger Jr. Galusha divorced Martha. No further record of Martha and the second child has been found.
His petitions and letters to the government reveal that he had detailed knowledge of the iron making process. He knew what iron ore looked like. He knew what trees would be suitable for making coke to smelt the iron ore. He knew people that would come to Ontario with their foundry gear and set up shop. While Abel's petitions for the land with the ore and coke making timber were unsuccessful, they triggered a chain of events that resulted in the production of iron for English ships in the upper Great Lakes during the War of 1812 and thereafter. As to clues to where Abel learned about iron production, look toward the Dover Furnace in Dutchess County. The Dover Furnace was a smelter build by a Stevens (a distant relative) near where Abel was born.
Able also knew about water powered mills. Today, the Old Stone Mill in Delta (formerly Stevensville) gives credit to Abel as its founder. It appears that he learned about such mills from his half-brother Roger Jr. who had a mill in Pittsford until the war.
In today's world Abel would have been called a Baptist Minister. In yesteryears world he was called 'Elder' because, under English law, only the clergy of the Church of England could be called Minister and perform marriages. He helped establish a Baptist Church in Pittsford. His Uncle Benjamin and Aunt Hope are buried in the cemetery of that church. Able is also credited as the founder of a Baptist Church in Phillipsville, near Delta, Ontario. His son Isaac, Isaac's wife Betsey Day and her mother are buried side by side in the Phillipsville Cemetery. Abel''s Baptist roots are traced back to South Dover, Dutchess County, New York. There Samuel Waldo was the first and long time minister. Samual Waldo was a witness to the will of William Stevens. This William Stevens had purchased the Pittsford farm of Roger Stevens when Roger went to Canada to join Abel. It appears that Samuel Waldo may have tutored Abel in reading and writing as well as religion. Many South Dover Baptists were from Swansea, Connecticut where Abel's ancestors had lived.
Abel Stevens was a leader who could motivate people. In a ten-year period, he convinced over 100 families to move to the Ontario wilderness with him where they also could get land. He organized a road building effort that built 31 miles of road and 15 bridges. He found mill and smelter sites and people to build and operate them. Each such endeavor would usually result in another petition to the council requesting be rewarded more land in exchange. Some petitions were successful, some were not.
There are three key references that provide excellent insight into Abel Stevens. First on the reading list would be 'On the Move - Our Stevens Story' by Elizabeth Stevens Stuart. Elizabeth's work is genealogical in nature starting with the brothers Roger and Benjamin Stevens and working down through generations of descendants. Second on the list is A. M. Caverly's 'History of Pittsford, Vermont'. This 1872 book includes the Stevens families moving from Dutchess County to settle in Pittsford, Vermont and the war years. Third is Brigadier General E. A. Cruikshank's 'The Activity of Abel Stevens as A Pioneer.' This 34-page article was published by the Ontario Historical Society in 1936. General Cruikshank builds his story on the many documents written by Abel and now in the Canadian archives.
Abel and his literary skills are amazing considering that the average person in his time and place could not read or write. His many petitions and letters to the Ontario government have been preserved and bridge the past with the future concerning this remarkable man and the events he precipitated.
Abel Stevens had at least five interesting attributes - He was literate, persuasive in oral and written form, religious, knowledgeable in industrial processes, and claimed by both sides in the Revolutionary War.
In 1754, the year before Abel was born; his family was living on a farm near South Dover, in Lot 7 of the Beekman Patent, in Dutchess County, New York. They were still there in 1757.
Abel and the Revolutionary War can be shrunk down to the battle of the initials - DAR and UEL. No evidence has been found suggesting he ever fired a shot. However, records have been found showing he drew pay of militia duty in Vermont at the time of Burgoyne's ill-fated invasion of upstate New York. Abel's unit was posted east and southeast of the battlefields near Bennington and Saratoga. The Vermont pay records have allowed female American descendants of Abel to join the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
The United Empire Loyalist (UEL) designation is more complicated. Any settler in Ontario (or Upper Canada as it was then called) could petition the government for land. Able obtained 2,000 acres in this manner. However, they had to pay survey and filing fees. These fees were waived for settlers that had been designated UEL. Abel was on the first list (now called the Old List). The remarks next to his name were 'a settler, did not bare arms against the colours.' The government then purged the list saying that UEL status was only for those that could prove membership in a Loyalist unit. Abel was among those removed from the list. He appealed and was restored. His appeal was supported by an affidavit from a former Loyalist officer, and then a Justice of the Peace, who certified that Abel had saved the life of Loyalist Ensign Roger Stevens, Jr. of Jessep's Rangers, during the war. Abel's restoration to the list is no surprise considering that the council, including Governor Simcoe, knew Abel in person and on paper. He had made written and oral presentations to them, traveled with them, and had private meetings with the Governor.
The UEL designation had a couple of other benefits. Children of UEL's could get 100 acres of their own upon marriage or age 21. At least four of Abel's children obtained land this way. The other benefit provides the only inheritable title in North America. Abel's Canadian descendants may use the suffix 'UE' after their names.
Abel was in the middle of the Revolutionary Way in other ways. His half-brother Roger Jr. was the above-mentioned Loyalist officer for the English. His brother Ephraim was a rebel and spent several years as a prisoner of war because of it. Abel's Uncle Benjamin was a member of the same Vermont Militia Company as Abel and later on a Lieutenant and a member of a Pittsford committee concerning the war. Abel's father, Roger Stevens, had loyalist leanings and would join Able in Canada.
Herewithin, Roger Stevens, Jr., is shown as half-brother to Abel. Roger Stevens, before he married Abel's mother Mary Doolittle, had an adulterous affair with Martha Doolittle, older sister of Mary, and wife of Jonas Galusha. Martha left her husband, a constable in the Beekman Patent, and went to live with Roger and bore him two children including Roger Jr. Galusha divorced Martha. No further record of Martha and the second child has been found.
His petitions and letters to the government reveal that he had detailed knowledge of the iron making process. He knew what iron ore looked like. He knew what trees would be suitable for making coke to smelt the iron ore. He knew people that would come to Ontario with their foundry gear and set up shop. While Abel's petitions for the land with the ore and coke making timber were unsuccessful, they triggered a chain of events that resulted in the production of iron for English ships in the upper Great Lakes during the War of 1812 and thereafter. As to clues to where Abel learned about iron production, look toward the Dover Furnace in Dutchess County. The Dover Furnace was a smelter build by a Stevens (a distant relative) near where Abel was born.
Able also knew about water powered mills. Today, the Old Stone Mill in Delta (formerly Stevensville) gives credit to Abel as its founder. It appears that he learned about such mills from his half-brother Roger Jr. who had a mill in Pittsford until the war.
In today's world Abel would have been called a Baptist Minister. In yesteryears world he was called 'Elder' because, under English law, only the clergy of the Church of England could be called Minister and perform marriages. He helped establish a Baptist Church in Pittsford. His Uncle Benjamin and Aunt Hope are buried in the cemetery of that church. Able is also credited as the founder of a Baptist Church in Phillipsville, near Delta, Ontario. His son Isaac, Isaac's wife Betsey Day and her mother are buried side by side in the Phillipsville Cemetery. Abel''s Baptist roots are traced back to South Dover, Dutchess County, New York. There Samuel Waldo was the first and long time minister. Samual Waldo was a witness to the will of William Stevens. This William Stevens had purchased the Pittsford farm of Roger Stevens when Roger went to Canada to join Abel. It appears that Samuel Waldo may have tutored Abel in reading and writing as well as religion. Many South Dover Baptists were from Swansea, Connecticut where Abel's ancestors had lived.
Abel Stevens was a leader who could motivate people. In a ten-year period, he convinced over 100 families to move to the Ontario wilderness with him where they also could get land. He organized a road building effort that built 31 miles of road and 15 bridges. He found mill and smelter sites and people to build and operate them. Each such endeavor would usually result in another petition to the council requesting be rewarded more land in exchange. Some petitions were successful, some were not.
There are three key references that provide excellent insight into Abel Stevens. First on the reading list would be 'On the Move - Our Stevens Story' by Elizabeth Stevens Stuart. Elizabeth's work is genealogical in nature starting with the brothers Roger and Benjamin Stevens and working down through generations of descendants. Second on the list is A. M. Caverly's 'History of Pittsford, Vermont'. This 1872 book includes the Stevens families moving from Dutchess County to settle in Pittsford, Vermont and the war years. Third is Brigadier General E. A. Cruikshank's 'The Activity of Abel Stevens as A Pioneer.' This 34-page article was published by the Ontario Historical Society in 1936. General Cruikshank builds his story on the many documents written by Abel and now in the Canadian archives.
Abel and his literary skills are amazing considering that the average person in his time and place could not read or write. His many petitions and letters to the Ontario government have been preserved and bridge the past with the future concerning this remarkable man and the events he precipitated.
Inscription
Elder Abel Stevens, Sr.
died 1816
Family Members
Siblings
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