Edward Winslow was born 20 February 1747 in Winslow Estate, Marshfield, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States to Edward Winslow (1714-1784) and Hannah Howland (1712-1796) and died 13 May 1815 Kingsclear, York County, New Brunswick, Canada of unspecified causes. He married Mary Symonds (1754-1808) 1777 in Massachusetts, United States.
Biography
Edward Winslow (February 20 1746 or 1747 – May 13, 1815) was a loyalist officer and New Brunswick judge and official.
New England Ancestry
Edward Winslow was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1746 or 1747, a descendant of Mayflower Pilgrim Edward Winslow. He studied at Harvard College, graduating in 1765 with an MA.
Loyalist Supporter
After graduation, as the political tension escalated between Great Britain and its North American colonies over issues such as trade, taxation, and governance, Winslow publicly put his support behind Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson and helped create "a company of Tories" in an effort to keep the peace. By 1774, Winslow was forced to flee Plymouth, and in April 1775, as a member of the British Army, he was involved in a bloody confrontation at Lexington against the Patriot militia. In March 1776, he retreated along with the British troops to Halifax, and by July had been appointed muster master general for the Loyalist forces. (He was subsequently named in the Massachusetts Banishment Act of 1778.)
Nova Scotia Refugee
After the Patriots' victory was secured in 1783, Winslow and his fellow Loyalists were essentially reduced to the status of refugees. He moved his family to Granville in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, but spent most of his time in Halifax making plans for the settling of Loyalists throughout Nova Scotia.
They settled their family in Granville, Nova Scotia in early 1783, but later moved to New Brunswick where the household included their children, her husband's two maiden sisters, and three household slaves. When he died in 1815, his wife and several children (including two unmarried daughters) survived him, but they were in poor financial state.
Founder of New Brunswick Colony
Frustrated with the efforts of the Nova Scotia authorities at settling the approximately 35,000 Loyalists, Winslow began to advocate for the creation of a separate colony in the area north of the Bay of Fundy. In 1783 he was named secretary to Brigadier-General Henry Edward Fox, who was sympathetic to Winslow's proposal. The British government approved the creation of a new colony, called New Brunswick, in June 1784.
Winslow and his family spent a few months in Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1785, before moving to Fredericton. In 1787 Winslow's mother and sisters (his father died in June 1784) joined them. Before his appointment to the New Brunswick Supreme Court in 1807, Winslow served in a number of government posts: surrogate general, judge of the inferior court of common pleas, muster master of the King's New Brunswick regiment, secretary to the International Boundary Commission, and deputy surveyor of the King's Woods. Despite the relative financial ease that his position with the New Brunswick Supreme Court offered him, Winslow's family endured financial hardships up until the time of his death. He died in 1815 in Kingsclear, New Brunswick.
Marriage & Family
It was during the war that Winslow met his future wife Mary Symonds, and by 1783 they had three children: Daniel Murray (1777-1814), Chipman(1778-1783) and Mary (1779-1843). Nine children would eventually follow: Penelope (1783-1836), John Frances Wentworth (1783-1859), Thomas Aston Coffin (1784-1810), Edward (1785?-1820), Hannah (b.1788?), Sarah Ann (1790-?), Christianna (1791-1814), Eliza Chipman (1794-1854), and Catherine (1799-1805).
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Daniel Murray Winslow (1777-1814) | |||
| Chipman Winslow (1778-1783) | |||
| Mary Winslow (1779-1843) | |||
| Penelope Winslow (1783-1836) | |||
| John Frances Winslow (1783-1859) | |||
| Thomas Aston Coffin Winslow (1784-1810) | |||
| Edward Winslow (1785-1820) | |||
| Hannah Winslow (c1788-) | |||
| Sarah Ann Winslow (c1790-) | |||
| Christianna Winslow (1791-1814) | |||
| Eliza Chipman Winslow (1794-1854) | |||
| Catherine Winslow (1799-1805) | |||
References
- Winslow Memorial, Vol. 1 : Family Records of Winslows and Their Descendants in America, With the English Ancestry as Far as Known; Winslow Family(Classic Reprint) - Tracing family roots of the descendants these early Plymouth Colony settlers back to England.
- Winslow in Plymouth County, Massachusetts - first families history
- Edward Winslow- disambiguation
- wikipedia:en:Edward Winslow (loyalist) - Wikipedia
Footnotes (including sources)
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