We’re on the cusp of September, with a definite lack of monsoon rain here in Tucson, but high temperatures – about 105 every day. It’s great for lounging in the pool, but not for much of anything else!
The bright side of the weekend is Randy Seaver’s weekly Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge.
1) Every historical person has major events, milestones and “turning points” in their life, from birth through death and even beyond. These events, milestones and turning points can be the basis for family stories of the historical person.
2) Please share one of those events in your own life, or the life of one of your ancestors.
I was stumped for a minute, but then realized that several of my ancestors had, at the same time, experienced a huge life turning point.
These ancestors – John Adams & family, James Astle & family, Benjamin Burt & family, Philip Crouse, Jonathan Parker & family and Walter Stewart – were all on the losing side of the American Revolution and all made the decision to leave for Nova Scotia in the fall of 1783.
They were Tories, soon to be known as United Empire Loyalists and all but Phillip Crouse and Walter Stewart had families with them. All torn from the only homes they had ever known and who set off to live in raw wilderness.
Benjamin Burt was dead by 1785, but his wife and children along with all my other ancestral families prospered and have many descendants today.
Some still live in Canada, but quite a few of their children’s descendants eventually settled back in the United States.
At the start of the Revolutionary War, none of these men had thoughts of leaving the colonies – leaving other family members, friends and their way of life – to live in what became New Brunswick, Canada.
Each of them faced a choice that became a major turning point in their lives. A choice they never expected to have to make.
Remembering all the Loyalists whose beliefs were strong enough to give up all in this year of 2026 – America’s 250th.
Thank you, Randy, for an interesting topic this week.
That indeed was a big turning point. It must have been hard to make that decision.
Loyalists did what they thought was right, but the choice must have been agonizing, unthinkable until that moment. My hubby has a few in his extended ancestry…at least one waited till after the Revolution and crossed back into the States with family in tow, to start over again.
They had to leave family, friends and the only home they’d ever known. Some were permanently estranged from their families and most never saw the U.S. again. They also found life in New Brunswick wasn’t all that easy either.
Wars bring turning points for so many people. Your ancestors made difficult choices, both during the war and after.