{"id":857,"date":"2018-04-02T13:33:35","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T17:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=857"},"modified":"2018-04-03T03:13:20","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T07:13:20","slug":"have-you-ever-heard-of-butlers-rangers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=857","title":{"rendered":"HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF BUTLER’S RANGERS?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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 HAVE  YOU EVER HEARD  OF  BUTLER\u2019S RANGERS? <\/div>\n

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(MEMORIES  OF  THE WYOMING VALLEY MASSACRE AND THE VENGENCE OF SULLIVAN)<\/div>\n
(noted at the Farm Sale for Charles  Colin Trout, on  March  31, 21018)<\/div>\n

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alan  skeoch<\/div>\n
April  2, 2018<\/div>\n

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THIS is  Marjorie Skeoch sitting and guarding  her possessions like a  mother hen at the Troup auction sale, March  31, 2018, on the farm near Vineland, Ontario.<\/div>\n
Notice her right hand, resting on that wood  box.  THAT IS  NOT HERS!  That box  is the platform used by auctioneer Rick Rittenhouse to elevate himself above <\/div>\n
the crowd.   She thought I bought it.  Back  in the deep past, in the  1780\u2019s, Loyalist veterans  of the American  Revolution must have guarded their few possession like <\/div>\n
this.  Marjorie\u2019s family were Loyalists\u2026United Empire Loyalists\u2026so  she comes  by this feeling of  dispossession naturally.  She was  not connected to Butler and  <\/div>\n
his Rangers however.<\/div>\n

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THIS FARM HAS A LONG HISTORY\u2026DEEP ROOTED IN THE CREATION OF CANADA<\/div>\n

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AND IT WILL REMAIN AS  IT IS TODAY\u2026NOT SUBJECT TO DEMOLITION<\/div>\n

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THE STORY<\/div>\n

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Below is  an  imaginary dialogue between Marjorie and Alan  Skeoch:<\/div>\n

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\u201cALAN, did you hear about that house?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHear what?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOwner  says  it goes back to the Butler\u2019s Rangers\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWay back that far\u2026are you sure?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMr. Troup says so.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd  who  is he?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOwner of this  farm since the death of  Charles Group in 2015,\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cButler\u2019s Rangers  were a bloody tough bunch in the American  Revolution according to what I\u2019ve read\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhose side?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOur side\u2026the British side, they fought some nasty battles  with Jospeh Brant\u2019s Iroquois\u2026a  lot of people died, some  scalped.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLosers\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cRight\u2026after the Wyoming Valley  Massacre they had  to get the hell out as  fast as they could.\u2019<\/div>\n
\u201cMassacre?  Wyoming?  Never heard  of  the place or the massacre>\u201d<\/div>\n
If you are American you would  remember.  Bunch of American militia, around  450 of them  under guy by  name of Denison got caught.  Sucked into a horseshoe<\/div>\n
ambush\u2026slaughtered mostly, then their farms  were  burned\u2026Iroquois scalped  a lot of them, \u2018blood and gore all over  the floor\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow  can you make light of a massacre.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSorry.  It was bad.  Women and children fled  into the  forest and some escaped to tell their story.  No doubt time has magnified the event. But it was<\/div>\n
a bad scene.  Hard  to imagine how deep  the hatred was  back in the 1770\u2019s and  1780\u2019s\u2026even up to 1815.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIf Colonel Butler and  his force  won Wyoming Valley  battle,  how come  they fled later?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBecause the American decided to get even.  Sent Sullivan north with several thousand troops\u2026they ripped  Western New York state to bits.  Smashed, killed,  burned the <\/div>\n
homeland of the Iroquois.  They had a  war cry\u2026good one\u2026<\/div>\n

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TORIES WITH YOUR BRATS AND WIVES<\/div>\n
SHOULD FLEE  TO SAVE YOUR WRETCHED  LIVES<\/div>\n

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\u201cSullivan and his troops drove Butler and  his Rangers, only a couple of hundred strong, north\u2026across the Niagara River  eventually.   Iroquois refugees  by the <\/div>\n
hundreds clustered around  Fort Niagara\u2026that big stone fort on the US side of the river now but in the 1780\u2019s it was  British.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat happened to them?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cFor a  few years Butler and  the Iroquois launched  lightning and violent raids into American Territory\u2026raid, wreck, burn, retreat, killing was part of it\u2026.war<\/div>\n
is never pretty.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd then?”<\/div>\n
\u201cAfter the American victory in  1776, the Loyalists  and  Iroquois  were settled  along the new border, principally the Niagara River.  Butler\u2019s guys were<\/div>\n
each given a 100 acre farm in the then wilderness of Upper Canada.<\/div>\n
\u201cDo  you think this farm is one of those land grants?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI do.  But first must do some checking.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhile you are  at it, tell me about this guy Butler\u2026I  see his  name often.  Such as  the sign \u201cButler\u2019s Buring Ground\u201d near Niagara  on the Lake..<\/div>\n

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AFTER A  LITTLE  RESEARCHING<\/div>\n

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THE FARM OF CHRISTIAN PRICE\u2026AND  CHARLES  COLIN TROUP<\/div>\n

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\u201cOK, this farm seems to have been granted to Christian  Price, a private in  Butler\u2019s Rangers\u2026daughter must have married Troup family, hence name change over the years.<\/div>\n
Colin Group died In 2015\u2026not long ago\u2026leaving the farm to others in the Troup Family who  own  Lakelee Orchards\u2026easy to spot from the QEW at Vineland exit.  Lots  of  peaches.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIs that where we buy our peaches by the bushel?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSame  place\u2026part of the Christian  Piece land  grant.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhere are the Pries buried?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy would  you care?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cJust trying to check your story\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t believe me?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot all  the time, no\u2026sometimes  your enthusiasm  gets  ahead of the facts.  Where are the Price graves?  Gravestones  give facts.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cGone.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow  can  that be?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBig storms  on Lake Ontario washed  the Price Burying ground out into the lake\u2026coffins and  all.  Maybe gravestones can be found by good  divers,  but I doubt it.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cFacts gone?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo, lots remain\u2026more than enough to back up this story.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cSAY, ALAN, tell me a  bit about Colonel Butler\u2026seems to have been loved and  hated.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou might be interested in how he became a  Colonel\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot really\u2026assume appointed  by King George.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNope  just named  himself  Colonel and went around gathering men who were pro British.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBut who was  he?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cA rich man\u2026had 27,000 acres of land before the American Revolution\u2026very Pro-British\u2026was an officer but just not as high as a Colonel.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLost it all?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYep, lost every square inch of it.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAssume  he got lots  of land here  in Upper Canada\u2026given by a grateful King.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNope, he only got 500 acres\u2026lost 27,000 acres (*which may have  really been Indian  land)\u2026became a kind of sleazy businessman in getting  access to Indian land for personal profit.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSurely  King George III was aware of shady  happenings?”<\/div>\n
\u201cKing George  III was not that great\u2026loony a  good  part of his  live. Americans<\/div>\n
made fun of the king\u2026and rightly so.<\/div>\n

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KING GEORGE THE THIRD<\/div>\n
SHOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED<\/div>\n
ONE CAN ONLY WONDER<\/div>\n
AT SUCH A BLUNDER<\/div>\n

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\u201cWas Butler a bad guy?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIf you believe American historians, Butler was a despicable murderer\u2026but take that with a grain of salt.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThe history of war is often  written by the winners.  Washington won the American Revolution so the Loyalists  (nice  name) became Tories  (bad  name) and<\/div>\n
Butler\u2019s Rangers  became evil.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cTruth, is there such a thing as truth?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLook for the middle path.  Butler\u2019s Rangers were no better and  no worse  than other troops fighting on the American frontier.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDid Butler achieve anything?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSure did.  He won  the loyalty of the Iroquois warriors and  fear of them stopped American forces  at the Niagara  River. They trusted  Buttler<\/div>\n
more than that trusted  any American leaders.  Their land was taken and Buttler was part of the final settlement of the Iroquois on the Grand River<\/div>\n
of  Upper Canada where most remain today.\u201d<\/div>\n

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“What about Christian  Price?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHe married  and  settled  down on his  new farm\u2026then, in the 1780\u2019s, covered with giant trees and  bisected  by streams and swamps.Today covered  with<\/div>\n
peach, cherry and grape  orchards and  bisected  by a wide swath of the multi-lanes  QEW along with service  roads..”<\/div>\n

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Above are Mr. and  Mrs.  Troup, direct descendent of  Christian  Piece and the exploits of  Butler\u2019s Rangers.  To Canadian Buttler and  his  Iroquois irregulars were heroic  defenders of<\/div>\n
British colonial life.  To Americans,\u2026?  not so!<\/div>\n

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And after the auction sale was  over, Andrew helped Marjorie and I load  our purchases\u2026so the story has some hard  goods as  well  as  soft print.<\/div>\n

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Treasure?  Well, this hand operated corn sheller (below) is to my mind  a  grand treasure.  Comes  complete with a  hopper feed system and  a  hand crank.  Mr. Troup and who knows how many Troup\u2019s before him, gathered  <\/div>\n
corn cobs  each year and stored them in this  corn crib set up on stone pillars to keep the rats and mice away.   Then shelled the cobs into piles  kernels  to feed the livestock\u2026pigs,  chickens especially.<\/div>\n
The corn  sheller has survived as has the farm granted to Christian Piece in the  1780\u2019s. Now called Lakelee Orchards. As mentioned, Today the QEW cuts right through the original lakefront part of the farm.  And  somewhere out in the<\/div>\n
lake rests  the tombstone of Christian Price, washed away.<\/div>\n

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FOOTNOTES<\/div>\n

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Charles Colin Troup<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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TROUP, Charles Colin –  <\/b>Peacefully on Friday March 13, 2015 at his residence at the Orchards in Vineland Ontario in his 89th year. Predeceased by his wife Muriel May Hodge (2002). Survived by his daughters Marilyn and Sandra and son David (Sev). Grandfather of Jason, Nicholas and Aundrea Troup, Victoria and Jessica Gibson, Fred Leppard and Sarah Thiede. Great-grandfather of Noah, Ava and Aleah. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. Colin lived a very full life and was probably best known as a fruit grower, income tax consultant, and a stamp collector who exhibited his award winning collections internationally. He was a member of both the Jordan Lions Club and the Beamsville Ivy Lodge for over 50 years. Special thanks to Dr. Overholt and his staff for looking after dad in his final years. Cremation has taken place. The family will receive friends at the VINELAND CHAPEL of TALLMAN FUNERAL HOMES  <\/b>on Friday March 27, 2015 from 7-9 pm with a service in the chapel on Saturday March 28,2015 at 11am. There will be a private family interment at a later date. If desired, donations can be made to the Canadian Cancer Society or the Heart and Stroke Foundation in his honour. Online condolences at www.tallmanfuneralhomes.ca<\/a>12909130<\/span><\/div>\n
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Re: Butler’s Rangers<\/h3>\n
ANON-Y-MOUSE (View posts<\/a>)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Posted:\t07 Dec 2001 02:17PM<\/span><\/div>\n

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Re: Butler’s Rangers<\/h3>\n
 charlief_1<\/span><\/a> (View posts<\/a>)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Posted:\t08 Dec 2001 01:47PM<\/span><\/div>\n
Classification: Query<\/span><\/div>\n
Edited: 12 Feb 2002 01:40PM<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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Christian Price died 1832 buried Price Family Burying Ground, Louth which was washed away by Lake Ontario. He married Barbara Overholt born Bucks Co., PA; died 1822 buried Price Family Burying Ground; daughter of Isaac Overholt who died 1824 buried Mennonite Cem., Louth. You can find Barbara’s siblings and my notes on these folks in CD 24 of the Pedigree Resource File.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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 HAVE  YOU EVER HEARD  OF  BUTLER\u2019S RANGERS?  (MEMORIES  OF  THE WYOMING VALLEY MASSACRE AND THE VENGENCE OF SULLIVAN) (noted at the Farm Sale for Charles  Colin Trout, on  March  31, 21018) alan  skeoch April  2, 2018 THIS is  Marjorie Skeoch sitting and guarding  her possessions like a  mother hen at the Troup auction sale, March […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}