Admiral James Brisbin

• Son of Admiral John Brisbane and Jonet Paterson
• Birth: July 07, 1706 in Largs, Ayrshiree, Scotland
• James Brisbin, 1743 and port of arrival to America, or date of sentencing or reprieve for transport and port of arrival. Name of ship, crime convicted.
• U.S., Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 for James Brisbin New York Van Rensselaer´s Reg of Militia (Folder 160) - Whiting´s Reg of Militia, 1777-1781 (Folder 172)
• James Brisbin List of Members of the Loyal Rangers Under the Command of Major Edward Jessup.
• James Brisbane in the Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots; Volume: 1.
• Residence Date: 1790 in Saratoga, Albany, New York, United States
• James Brisbin in the Canadian Genealogy Index 1770- 1799. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada by the United Empire Loyalists 1784-1884. (The Celebrations at Adolphustown, Toronto and Niagara, with an Appendix containing a copy of the United Empire List, preserved in the Crown Lands Department at Tor.
• James Brisbin, Residence Date: 1790 in Saratoga, Albany, New York, United States
• James I. Brisbin was also an early pioneer upon the farm now owned by George W. Smith. of Mr. Brisbin and another pioneer, George Davis, the story is related that they swapped horses on one occasion, and endeavored to be honest and fair in the transaction. But after returning home and thinking it over Mr. Brisbin concluded that he had the best of the bargain by about five dollars, and that he ought to pay over that sum. Mr. Davis, too, was going through the same process of conviction, and concluded he had the best of the bargain and ought to pay over five dollars to Mr. Brisbin. They each concluded to ride to the other's house and do this act of justice. They met about half-way, but just how they explained the matter and how they settled it history leaves no record. This transaction was not probably the model after which subsequent horse-trades have generally been made in this town. Another pioneer of nearly the same name, James Brisbin, settled upon the farm now the residence of his grandson, James C. Brisbin.

Married

• Married: (1) NN in Largs, Ayr (Largs), Strathclyde, Scotland, United Kingdom
• Married: (2) Margaret C. Carruth, and was thought to be the first settler in Northumberland. In the History of Saratoga County by Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvestor 1878, Evert & Ensign Page 401, Margaret's husband, James, was a Cadet (descendant of the younger line) of the ancient and historic Family of the BRISBANE of Bishoptoun (Renfrewshire) and Brisbane (Largs, Ayrshire), Scotland, and heads a cadet branch of that family. James and his family left Scotland about 1737 and settled in Northern Ireland, probably in Tyrone County. As early as the year 1765, James Brisbin, a native of Scotland, came to what is now Northumberland, then Saratoga, New York, and settled about one and a half miles westerly of Fort Miller,towards Bacon Hill. His first wife died in Scotland, and his two sons were born there, William and Samuel, about the same time settled in what is now Wilton, in the Laing neighborhood. James Brisbin for his second wife married in Scotland, Margaret Carruth, a somewhat remarkable woman. By her he had the following children: Margaret C., died in Scotland; Elizabeth; John, who settled in Old Saratoga in 1771; Margaret, who married Conrad Cramer; Carruth; James, who married Mary Taylor of Argyle, Washington County; Robert; and Jane. Reference: Find A Grave Memorial
• James Brisbin, “Jr.”, married Margaret Carruth and both are buried in the James Brisbin Cemetery in Saratoga, NY. James was born 7 July 1706 at Largs, Ayrshiree, Scotland and died in 1791; his wife Margaret Carruth, was born in 1708 and died in 1792. Both are buried in Schuylerville, Saratoga Co., NY. (cemetery record).From the history and settlement of Northumberland, Saratoga Co., the book states that James was a native of Scotland, and settled about one and a half miles westerly of Fort Miller, towards Bacon Hill. His first wife had died in Scotland, and his two sons were born there. James married (about 1735) for his second wife in Scotland to Margaret Carruth, a somewhat remarkable woman and with her he had the following children: (p. 401, Hist. Of Saratoga Co. NY)

Children by 1st Wife

• William Brisbin, born on April 16, 1724 in Ardrossen, Ayrshire, Scotland & died on April 17, 1799 (75) in Hemmingford, Huntington, Quebec, Canada. Married Elizabeth Ferguson. First, we will attend the words of William Brisbin, his eldest son: In the Year one Thousand seven Hundred and Seventy-nine I was put in Gaol for my Loyalty and Attachment to the British Government and suffered everything but Death. I escaped and came to Canada in the Year Eighty. Three of my sons joined the Army as soon as we came and before I came I fitted out several Men with provisions sent them to Canada as Sir John Johnston could witness, for I sent him five good soldiers and forwarded many others.
• Samuel Brisbin, III.- EARLY SETTLEMENT. The first settlement of what is now the town of Wilton, but then and long before known as Palmertown, was begun by two brothers, William and Samuel Brisbin, as early as the year 1761. These two brothers were the sons by his first wife of James Brisbin, who came over from the north uf Ireland, and became the first settler of what is now the town of Northumberland, in the year 1765. The two brothers, William and Samuel Brisbin, made their first attempt at settlement on the south branch of the Suoek Kill, in what afterwards became the Laing neighborhood. One and perhaps both of them had been soldiers under Abercrombie and Amherst in the last French war, and the year after peace was concluded they began the early settlement of the old wilderness they had so often traversed while on the war-path. They made clearings, built a saw-mill, and put roads on to their lands. When the war of the Revolution came on they abandoned their little settlements. James was the son of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth, and William was, in all probability, the grandson of the original settler through his son Samuel.

Children with Margaret C. Carruth

• Margaret C Brisbin, 1737 - 1738. She is more likely born in Renfrewshire, Scotland where her father was from and may have immigrated from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland as a Scotch- Irish. Daughter of James Brisbin and probably sister to a James Brisbin born 1747, who has a James Brisbin Cemetery about a half mile NW. Sarah Caroline Cramer was a great granddaughter who married George Henry Peck. She is therefore ancestral to many Bacon Hill Pecks and Saratoga County Cramers. Margaret, married Conrad Cramer.
• John Brisbin, 1738 - 1801. Married Mary McCann. Now, let John Brisbin, first son of James Brisbin by his second marriage to Margaret Carruth, give his testimony: I was a native of Ireland 16 and settled in America about five years before the Troubles began. I resided in Saratoga, New York. I joined the British in 1777 and served as a Volunteer in Col. Jessup's Regiment. I was soon taken prisoner and brought to Esopus Gaol, escaped to New York City and continued there for two years, and then joined Col. DeLancey. I served during the War as a Sergeant. I was possessed of 109 acres of land at Saratoga, New York, which I purchased from Cornelius Kyler in consideration of $120, N.Y. currency, five years before Ye Troubles. None was clear when I bought it. I cleared 40 acres, built a house and barn worth 300 pounds. I do not know what became of it but it was not confiscated. I lost 2 yoke of oxen at Saratoga, taken by Americans because I was a Tory. I also lost three cows and four calves from my farm at Saratoga and apparel, furniture and utensils from my house, all taken because I had joined the British.
• Mary Sarah Brisbin, born in 1740 in Rensselaerwyck, Albany County, New York & died on October 03, 1808 in Elizabethtown-Kitley, Leeds and Grenville, Ontario, Canada. Marred Augustus Seeley, UEL, son of Obadiah Seely and Mary Angell. History of Saratoga County, by Sylvester, has been cited previously. Yet in the correspondence between Miss Louise Brisbin of Glen Falls, New York, and Samuel G. Taylor, Jr., already cited, Miss Brisbin definitely lists "Mary Brisbin, who married Augustus Seelye" among the children of James Brisbin and Margaret C.Carruth. The records of the Church of Schaghticoke in Rensselaer County, New York, show the births of five children to Augustus Seelye and Mary Brisbin between the dates of 20 October 1774 and 14 June 1784, 82 and these same records contain notations of births of children to James Brisbin and Mary Taylor, John Brisbin and Mary McCann, John McCarthy and Jane Brisbin, William Brisbin and Elizabeth Ferguson, and Conrad Cramer and Margaret Brisbin. It is therefore the definite opinion of the author that Mary Brisbin must be included as a full-fledged daughter of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth and sister of the other Brisbins recorded at Schaghticoke. Thee may have been reason why the author has been unable to discover a close association between Seelyes and Brisbins following the American Revolution. In a centennial publication at Toronto (Rose Publishing Company), Ontario, Canada, in 1885 called The United Empire Loyalists' Centennial Celebration (settlement of Upper Canada by the United Empire Loyalists) there appears an "Old List as preserved in the Crown Lands Department at Toronto." On this list of Loyalists is shown the name of Augustus Seelye as being in the East District of Lancaster with a wife and nine children, with the notation "Provision List—Eastern District—1786." If this Augustus Seelye is identical with the one who married Mary Brisbin, this is good evidence indeed for the reason why there may have been lack of communication. If Mary Brisbin was the daughter of James and Margaret Carruth, she would have been born either ca. 1740 or ca. 1744, in either case being able to marry and have four children before the birth of the five already noted in the Schaghticoke Church records. In such case the appearance of nine children in Upper Canada makes complete genealogical sense.
• Elizabeth Brisbin, born around 1744. Of the family of Elizabeth Brisbin, daughter of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth, the author has been able to discover little. However, the following facts are known from the sources. She must have been born ca. 1740 or ca. 1744 83 - in Northern Ireland, she was married to a gentleman by the name of William Ray and living with him in New York City in the year 1768, and on 10th January of that year presented him with a baby daughter Margaret, baptized in the First Presbyterian Church of New York City of 28th January. 84 - On 4 September 1795 she was received in full communion as a member of the Protestant Reformed Church at Saratoga by the Rev. Samuel Smith as "Elizabeth Brisbin, widow of William Ray." 85 - On 28 September 1808 her brother, Carruth Brisbin of the Town of Northumberland, Saratoga County, borrowed $242.48 from Cornelius Ray, "of the City and County of New York, Gentleman," and secured the payment thereof by giving a mortgage on one of his tracts of land in Northumberland (26 acres). 86 - Whether 13 this Cornelius Ray of New York City was Elizabeth Brisbin's son and therefore Carruth's nephew is not known, but it is possible. If this is so, some of the descendants of Elizabeth Brisbin may have remained in New York City while she returned to her brothers and other kinsmen in Saratoga.
• Carruth Brisbin, 1746 - 1835. Carruth Brisbin, the apparent fourth son of James Brisbin, does not speak to us with his own voice through sworn testimony as do his brothers and sister, but his military record in those troublous times speaks loudly of his principles and the stand that he took in the crisis of Revolution. He seems to have been the first of the Brisbin family to enlist in the British Army as a United Empire Loyalist pledged to the suppression of the Rebellion, a step that he took on 4 November 1776 at Pointe Claire, Lower Canada (Province of Quebec), when he joined Captain Jonathan Jones's Company of the King's Loyal Americans for the Province of New York. 21- Carruth Brisbin continued on the pay roll of Captain Jonathan Jones' Company commencing 25 June and ending 24 October 1777, but he was taken prisoner by the American forces on 2 August 1777 in the fighting in the neighborhood of Fort Edward where the British General John Burgoyne was attempting to drive the Americans under General Philip Schuyler back down the Hudson River and open the way for an attack on Albany from the North. 22 - At the time of his capture Carruth Brisbin was probably no more than ten miles north of his own farm and homestead in what is now the Town of Northumberland, Saratoga County. 23 - Unlike his brothers, William, John and Robert, Carruth Brisbin did not participate further in the War after his capture as far as any research to date has revealed. Probably, he spent some time as a prisoner of war and then perhaps was released on bond to return to his home. It is very likely that he was the "brother" to whom Robert Brisbin referred in 1788 when he reported that "a brother of mine now lives on my land in Saratoga,—he got it by paying the back rent."
• Robert Brisbin, Robert Brisbin, youngest son of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth. Married Eunice Marsh. Now tells of his part in the American Revolution: I was a native of Ireland. In 1775 I lived at Saratoga, where I had been settled from 1770 on 150 acres which I held on a Lease forever from Beeckman of Albany. I had cleared about 40 acres and had built a house. I joined the British Army in 1777 at Ticonderoga with Samuel Perry and 52 others and acted with Arms until I came to Saratoga, when I brought in my Wagon and Horses to the Army. At the Convention I came to Canada and Joined Capt. McAlpine's Corps and afterwards served in Major Jessup's Corps. In 1782, having enlisted a man in my place, I got my discharge. A brother of mine now lives on my land in 4 Saratoga. He got it by paying the back rent. I now live on Missisquoi Bay within the British lines.
• James Brisbin, James was the son of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth. Married Sarah Cooper, daughter of William Cooper, a Scot gentleman; and his daughter Mary, who married Robert McGregor, and William was, in all probability, the grandson of the original settler through his son Samuel. 40 - This fact may go far to explain why the old settler, once apprehended and imprisoned, was enabled to present certificates from such patriots as Capt. Hezekiah Dunham attesting to his character and was allowed to return home to Saratoga to remain with his family during the rest of the War. This, of course, is mere conjecture, but it is conjecture based on human nature and, therefore, lacking records, seems pragmatic enough to be somewhat justifiable when seeking the answers in such a tense situation. It would seem that during those tragic days of the first American civil war the Brisbins, while fighting on opposing sides, managed to maintain family integrity in the most true and ideal Scottish tradition. This is implicit in a letter dated 2 March 1791 at Caldwell's Manor (Lower Canada, Province of Quebec), where Robert Brisbin had a 200-acre farm, and addressed to James Cramer of Saratoga, New York, son of Margaret Brisbin and Conrad Cramer. In this letter Robert Brisbin says to 7 his nephew, "If you live to see next winter and our Mother is well and willing to come to us—if you will bring her I will pay you for the same." Here he is obviously referring to his mother, Margaret Carruth Brisbin, the grandmother of James Cramer. He tells of a lot of land that he has cleared and how he has built thereon a house that he could have sold to many but has not because he needs it "for some of my Blood Relation to come to live." He signs himself "Your loving Uncle till Death, Robert Brisbin," and the spelling " bin" is very clear, proving how long ago this branch of the family adopted this spelling of the name "Brisbane." It is implicit also in the sharing of church offices and responsibilities in Saratoga by the brothers James and Carruth Brisbin, who had fought on opposing sides in the war. While speaking of relationships within the Brisbin family, this might be a most appropriate moment to comment briefly on the Saratoga "homecoming" of United Empire Loyalist John Brisbin and his reunion with his brothers. It reveals some of the spirit of the times and has interesting genealogical implications. John Brisbin's record as a Loyalist has already been described. After the War he had taken refuge in Lower Canada, and at the time he made his claim to the Crown for compensation for losses suffered at the hands of the "rebels," he was living (1786) in Fanning's Borough. In 1790 he and his wife living at Cumberland, Nova Scotia.42 It was on 13 July of that year that his son, James I. Brisbin, wrote to him from Saratoga reporting on the condition of the old farm, the crops, the fences, etc., and advising him of the health of the various members of the family. The son wrote carefully, one might almost say "guardedly," and inferences can be read between the lines as, for example. "Do all things as you think best but I advise to be very moderate—the spring of the year is the only time. . . . The thoughts of old times seem to be drowned by Religion. We have got a Presbyterian minister here." 43 - He seems to be hinting at the possible return of his father and mother to their old New York homestead. The name of the "Presbyterian minister" was Rev. Samuel Smith. On 4 December 1791 Rev. Smith inscribed upon the List of Members of the Church at Schuylerville (Old Saratoga), New York, the name of John Brisbin as coming to his parish "from Reverend R. White in Ireland," which probably means that John Brisbin must have presented a letter from his old Pastor in Northern Ireland as testimony of his membership in the Church.
• Jane Brisbin, probably born about 1760, had as husband in her first marriage John McCarthy with whom she established her first home in Saratoga County. After her husband joined the British army, she went with him to St. Johns in Lower Canada. They had one child, a little son, before the death of McCarthy. The distaff side of the Family of James Brisbin shall also be represented, speaking through the voice of Jane Brisbin, his lovely youngest daughter: The year is 1788 and I now live in Missisquoi Bay within the British lines with my present husband, Alexander Taylor. In 1783, when the war ended, I lived in St. Johns, Province of Quebec (Lower Canada). My late husband was an Irishman and when the war broke out he lived in Saratoga. He was ever loyal and joined General Burgoyne at Fort Miller. He served as an Artificer in the King's Works and died at St. Johns, leaving one son who lived with me. We had improvements on a promised Lease forever at Saratoga, 10 acres cleared, with a small house, grain in the ground, a fence, a pair of oxen, 2 cows, and 2 horses, all taken by the rebel. " When not yet twenty-two years of age, the young widow married Alexander Taylor, a Scottish gentleman, born in the Parish of LaCroft in Perthshire, Scotland, about 1753, who had migrated to Saratoga County where he had become acquainted with the Brisbin family, and had, like her first husband, become a United Empire Loyalist, and was an Ensign in the Loyal Militia at St. Johns. 50 - His petition to the Commander-in-Chief of Lower Canada, dated 3 June 1783 and containing a large number of signatures of Loyalists who, like himself, were requesting grants of land in that Province, has become famous (and invaluable genealogically) as "reading like a census of United Empire Loyalists in Lower Canada." He himself never did receive a grant of land but on 8 June 1792 purchased 210 acres of land in Philipsburg, Quebec, on Missisquoi Bay from Hon. Thomas Dunn. Jane Brisbin Taylor was destined to have only about five remaining years of life in which to enjoy the peace of her new home on Missisquoi Bay for she died 10 May 1797 and was buried at Philipsburg.

Short History

From Town of Northumberland, N.Y. web site:

"We believe the name Northumberland which means border town has a Scottish origin. In 1765 James Brisbin a native of Scotland came here when we were part of Saratoga. He settled 1 1/2 miles westerly of Fort Miller, towards Bacon Hill a hamlet in Northumberland that became the hub of activity with the Hudson River nearby. The river was a major asset and one of the main reasons pioneers settled here was for the water power. Fort Miller was built in 1755 under the direction of Colonel Miller, it was located on the flat, above the rapids. A State marker is on site. The Western shore of the river was the theater for border warfare common to all this valley. According to Sylvester's History of Saratoga County indian scouting parties climbed these hills. Farmers still find arrowheads and cannon balls (I have a cannon ball retrieved from a farmers field in our Archives) as they dig deeper with more modern equipment into these Historic soils. In 1823 the Champlain Canal opened. The D&H Railroad opened in 1834. "

From: The History of Saratoga County by Nathaniel Bartlett Sylvestor 1878, Evert & Ensign p. 401

James was a Cadet (descendant of the younger line) of the ancient and historic Family of the BRISBANE of Bishoptoun (Renfrewshire) and Brisbane (Largs, Ayrshire), Scotland, and heads a Cadet Branch of that Family.

James and his family left Scotland about 1737 and settled in Northern Ireland, probably in Tyrone County.

As early as the year 1765, James Brisbin, a native of Scotland, came to what is now Northumberland, then Saratoga, New York, and settled about one and a half miles westerly of Fort Miller, towards Bacon Hill.

His first wife died in Scotland, and his two sons born there, William and Samuel, about the same time settled in what is now Wilton, in the Laing neighborhood. James Brisbin for his second wife married in Scotland, Margaret Carruth, a somewhat remarkable woman. By her he had the following children: Margaret C.,died in Scotland; Elizabeth; John, who settled in Old Saratoga in 1771; Margaret, who married Conrad Cramer; Carruth; James, who married Mary taylor of Argyle, Washington County; Robert; and Jane

Narrative of the Family of James Brisbin, Native of Scotland, Resident of Northern Ireland and His Descendants

Narrative of the Family of James Brisbin, native of Scotland, resident of Northern Ireland, first settler of what is now the Town of Northumberland, Saratoga County, New York State, Cadet of the ancient Family of Brisbane of Bishoptoun and Brisbane of Renfrewshire and Ayrshire, Scotland Written by his fourth-great-grandson, John Francis Brisbin (Transcribed and edited by his sixth-great-grandson, Jesse S. Crisler, 27 August 2003) Assembled in a meeting in Albany, New York, on the 22 October 1780, John M. Beeckman, Samuel Stringer, Mathew Visscher, Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, and Isaac D. Fonda, all patriots and dedicated to the preservation of the independence of their native state that had so daringly declared independence on 4 July 1776, had serious business to consider. The American Revolution was still in progress, and the Hudson River Valley, key to New York's safety, was still the center of much activity on the part of United Empire Loyalists, often called Tories, who maintained that the interests of Americans would be best served by suppression of the rebellion and restoration of law and order under the British Crown. On 5 February 1778 the New York legislature had created a Board of Commissioners "for detecting and defeating conspiracies in the State of New York," and they were meeting to carry out their duties as Commissioners. During the meeting a letter from the Honorable Major-General Philip Schuyler was laidbefore them. This demanded special attention because the writer was generally considered the foremost military figure of New York as a result of his leadership in the Revolution. He informed the Commissioners that he was sending to them under guard James Brisbin, an inhabitant of the Saratoga District, and that the said James Brisbin was accused of "harboring, concealing, and forwarding into the County spies sent from the Enemy." After discussion the Commissioners resolved that the prisoner should be "committed" to confinement and that a mittimus for that purpose should be made out.

• 1- Beeckman, Stringer, and Fonda again assembled as Commissioners in a similar meeting at Albany 11 December 1780. At this time they ordered James Brisbin to be brought before them and examined. Following the examination, it was ordered that he be "recommitted."
• 2- Eleven days later, on 22 December, James Brisbin requested that he again be brought before the Board of Commissioners. The request having been allowed, the prisoner asked that he might be liberated from confinement on his procuring sufficient bail "for his good behaviour in the future." The Board resolved that James Brisbin should be informed that the Commissioners would liberate him on his procuring a surety for his remaining within the limits of Albany until discharged by the Board.
• 3- The formal application for release from confinement was received by the Commissioners on 28 December 1780. All five considered the request and resolved that the said James Brisbin be liberated from confinement on entering into a recognizance for his good behaviour and appearance before any three of the Commissioners for Conspiracies which called upon, and also for his remaining within the limits of his City and not departing the same without leave obtained for that purpose from any three of the said Commissioners. 2 Bail was set in the amount of one hundred pounds.
• 4- Freedom within the city limits of Albany did not satisfy James Brisbin. What he really desired was to be reunited with his family, and on 20 January 1781 he was allowed to go to Saratoga until the 15 February.
• 5 Again, on 10 March 1781, he requested permission "to go to his place of abode at Saratoga and remain some time with his family," and it was resolved by the Commissioners that he have such leave "until the 1st day of April next."
• 6- James Brisbin appeared before the Board of Commissioners on 5 April 1781. This time Beeckman, Fonda, and Stringer were joined by Stewart Dean in their deliberations. A request was lodged that permission might be granted the accused to go to Saratoga and see his family. Peter Sharp, who had provided the bail-bond, consented to such an arrangement and it was resolved that James Brisbin have permission granted him accordingly "until the first day of May next."
• 7- Final disposition of the case of James Brisbin was made by the Board of Commissioners on 31 April 1781. Following is the extract from the minutes of that meeting: James Brisbin appeared before the Board and laid before us a certificate signed by Captain Hezekiah Dunham
• 8 - and a number of persons, friends to the American Cause, certifying that the said James Brisbin has since the surrender of General Burgoyne behaved himself well in every respect and that they are willing that he should be permitted to remain at his place of abode at Saratoga, and Peter Sharp who is bail for the said James Brisbin agreeing to the same, and the said certificate being taken into consideration, resolved there upon that permission be granted him accordingly.
• 9 - At some time between 31 April 1781 and 1790, James Brisbin died.
• 10 - His death marked the passing of the first settler of what is now the Town of Northumberland, Saratoga County, New York State.
• 11 - As early as the year 1765, James Brisbin, a native of Scotland, came to what is now Northumberland, then Saratoga, and settled about one and a half miles westerly of Fort Miller towards Bacon Hill. His wife had died in Scotland, and his two sons born there, William and Samuel, about the same time settled in what is now Wilton, in the Laing neighborhood. James Brisbin for his second wife married in Scotland Margaret Carruth, a somewhat remarkable woman. By her he had the following named children: Margaret C., died in Scotland; Elizabeth; John, who settled in Old Saratoga in 1771; Margaret, who married Conrad Cramer; Carruth; James, who married Mary Taylor, of Argyle, Washington County; Robert; and Jane [and Mary].
• 12 - What may have induced this hardy pioneer American settler to remain loyal to the Crown of Great Britain while so many of his neighbors and friends—and even some members of his own family—were struggling for the independence of the Colonies and the preservation of their new-found Statehood? What grounds might there have been for the suspicion and accusation that caused him to be placed under armed guard and sent to Albany for confinement? How did it happen that once apprehended and imprisoned he was allowed to return to the bosom of his family and die in peace? The 3 answers to these questions involve close analysis of this particular branch of the Brisbin family, which in turn reveals an aspect and phase of the American Revolution that are too often neglected in the history textbooks. This war was more than a revolution. It was the first great American civil war, pitting neighbor against neighbor and brother against brother in an even more tragic manner than did the War of the Great Rebellion or War Between the States of 1861-1865.
• 13 - Let us call upon some of the members of the family of James Brisbin to speak with their own voices. Perhaps this will provide some explanations of the suspicion felt toward the Chieftain of the Family.
• 14 First, we will attend the words of William Brisbin, his eldest son: In the Year one Thousand seven Hundred and Seventy-nine I was put in Gaol for my Loyalty and Attachment to the British Government and suffered everything but Death. I escaped and came to Canada in the Year Eighty. Three of my sons joined the Army as soon as we came and before I came I fitted out several Men with provisions sent them to Canada as Sir John Johnston could witness, for I sent him five good soldiers and forwarded many others.
• 15 - Now, let John Brisbin, first son of James Brisbin by his second marriage to Margaret Carruth, give his testimony: I was a native of Ireland 16 and settled in America about five years before the Troubles began. I resided in Saratoga, New York. I joined the British in 1777 and served as a Volunteer in Col. Jessup's Regiment. I was soon taken prisoner and brought to Esopus Gaol, escaped to New York City and continued there for two years, and then joined Col. DeLancey. I served during the War as a Sergeant. I was possessed of 109 acres of land at Saratoga, New York, which I purchased from Cornelius Kyler in consideration of $120, N.Y. currency, five years before Ye Troubles. None was clear when I bought it. I cleared 40 acres, built a house and barn worth 300 pounds. I do not know what became of it but it was not confiscated. I lost 2 yoke of oxen at Saratoga, taken by Americans because I was a Tory. I also lost three cows and four calves from my farm at Saratoga and apparel, furniture and utensils from my house, all taken because I had joined the British.
• 17 - Robert Brisbin, youngest son of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth, now tells of his part in the American Revolution: I was a native of Ireland. In 1775 I lived at Saratoga, where I had been settled from 1770 on 150 acres which I held on a Lease forever from Beeckman of Albany. I had cleared about 40 acres and had built a house. I joined the British Army in 1777 at Ticonderoga with Samuel Perry and 52 others and acted with Arms until I came to Saratoga, when I brought in my Wagon and Horses to the Army. At the Convention I came to Canada and Joined Capt. McAlpine's Corps and afterwards served in Major Jessup's Corps. In 1782, having enlisted a man in my place, I got my discharge. A brother of mine now lives on my land in 4 Saratoga. He got it by paying the back rent. I now live on Missisquoi Bay within the British lines.
• 18 - The distaff side of the Family of James Brisbin shall also be represented, speaking through the voice of Jane Brisbin, his lovely youngest daughter: The year is 1788 and I now live in Missisquoi Bay within the British lines with my present husband, Alexander Taylor. In 1783, when the war ended, I lived in St. Johns, Province of Quebec (Lower Canada). My late husband was an Irishman and when the war broke out he lived in Saratoga. He was ever loyal and joined General Burgoyne at Fort Miller. He served as an Artificer in the King's Works and died at St. Johns, leaving one son who lived with me. We had improvements on a promised Lease forever at Saratoga, 10 acres cleared, with a small house, grain in the ground, a fence, a pair of oxen, 2 cows, and 2 horses, all taken by the rebel."
• 19 - Unfortunately,
• 20 - Carruth Brisbin, the apparent fourth son of James Brisbin, does not speak to us with his own voice through sworn testimony as do his brothers and sister, but his military record in those troublous times speaks loudly of his principles and the stand that he took in the crisis of Revolution. He seems to have been the first of the Brisbin family to enlist in the British Army as a United Empire Loyalist pledged to the suppression of the Rebellion, a step that he took on 4 November 1776 at Pointe Claire, Lower Canada (Province of Quebec), when he joined Captain Jonathan Jones's Company of the King's Loyal Americans for the Province of New York.
• 21- Carruth Brisbin continued on the pay roll of Captain Jonathan Jones' Company commencing 25 June and ending 24 October 1777, but he was taken prisoner by the American forces on 2 August 1777 in the fighting in the neighborhood of Fort Edward where the British General John Burgoyne was attempting to drive the Americans under General Philip Schuyler back down the Hudson River and open the way for an attack on Albany from the North.
• 22 - At the time of his capture Carruth Brisbin was probably no more than ten miles north of his own farm and homestead in what is now the Town of Northumberland, Saratoga County.
• 23 - Unlike his brothers, William, John and Robert, Carruth Brisbin did not participate further in the War after his capture as far as any research to date has revealed. Probably, he spent some time as a prisoner of war and then perhaps was released on bond to return to his home. It is very likely that he was the "brother" to whom Robert Brisbin referred in 1788 when he reported that "a brother of mine now lives on my land in Saratoga,—he got it by paying the back rent."
• 24 - In any event, he was still at home in New York at the end of the War in 1783
• 25 - and in 1790 was living with his wife and two sons in Saratoga County.
• 26 - With such evidence of United Empire Loyalist activity on the part of William, John Carruth, Robert, and Jane Brisbin, is it any wonder that their Father, James Brisbin, the head of their family, was under suspicion in the minds of the American patriots who desired complete independence from the Mother Country? It is also quite possible that the may have been guilty of "harboring, concealing, and forwarding into the Country spies sent from the Enemy." His son Robert was occasionally employed by the British 5 on secret service work,
• 27 - and as early as 5 June 1779 was brought to the attention of the same Commissioners for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies before whom the Father later appeared.
• 28 - Who could blame a Father for protecting his own son, if need be, even in the middle of a Revolution? Any other conduct on the part of a father would indeed be unnatural. Whether James Brisbin was ever faced with such a decision may never be know in certainty, but it is quite probable that he may have been. A brief sketch of Robert Brisbin's activity as a United Empire Loyalist will demonstrate just how great that probability was. As has been mentioned before, Robert Brisbin joined the forces of General Burgoyne in 1777 at Fort Ticonderoga when the British were engaged in their massive attack on Albany by way of Lake Champlain, Lake George, and the Hudson River valley. He was assigned to His Majesty's Loyal Americas, commanded by Lt. Col. Ebenezer Jessup, and served in Captain Joseph Jessup's Company for the period commencing 20 July 1777 to 8 September 1777, at which time he joined Captain McAlpin's Corps of His Majesty's American Volunteers and was discontinued in the monthly return of Jessup's organization.
• 29 He was carried on the rolls of McAlpin's Corps with the notion that he was "not under Articles of Convention."
• 30 - In an accounting of money due by "the late Major McAlpin" (deceased) to the officers,non-commissioned officers, and privates of his own Corps to pay them up to 24 June 1780 Corporal Robert Brisbin is noted as having been "a prisoner with the Rebels since the year 1778" and as having due him the sum of 11 pounds, 2 shillings, and 8 pence for the period 25 Jun 1778 to 24 Jun 1780.
• 31- Having been made a prisoner by the Americans in 1778, Robert Brisbin must have escaped because we find Beeckman, Van Rensselaer, Visscher, and Fonda meeting as Commissioners for Detecting and Defeating Conspiracies in Albany, New York, on 5 June 1779 and confronted with the problem of Robert Brisbin. The minutes of their meeting read as follows: Able Mills appearing before the Board informs us that he has taken into his custody a certain Robert Brisbin who is lately came from Canada from whence he pretended to have deserted
• 32 - and that he has the said Robert Brisbin ready to produce to the Board, and the said Robert Brisbin being brought before us and examined, Resolved: that he be discharged on his entering into a recognizance to continue with the District of Saratoga and not depart the same unless by permission or order of this Board or some other Civil or Military Authority, and for his good and peaceable Behaviour and Monthly appearance before one of the Commissioners for Conspiracies until discharged by this Board. Bail-bond set in the amount of 200 Pounds.
• 33 - On 11 September 1780 the Commissioners resolved to cite Robert Brisbin to appear before the Board on 24 September with sufficient sureties to enter into these new recognizances with a sufficient surety for his good Behaviour, "doing this duty and appearing before any three of the Commissioners for Conspiracies when thereunto required during the continuance of the present War with Britain." New Bond was set in the amount of 100 Pounds.
• 34 - 6 Final disposition of the case of Robert Brisbin reveals much concerning the real nature of the man's Loyalist activities. The minutes of the meeting of the Commissioners on 16 June 1781 state: Robert Brisbin of Saratoga having entered into Recognizance before this Board and having since gone off to Canada and joined the Enemy, and Jonathan Pettit,his Bail, being called upon to pay the Recognizance Money and appearing for that purpose, Resolved that the same amounting to 237 Dollars of the money emitted pursuant to a resolution of the 18th of March be received and delivered over into the hands of the Secretary to this Board.
• 35 - Robert Brisbin had surely returned to Canada because in a "Return of Families that drew provisions at St. Johns [Lower Canada, Province of Quebec] from 24th of June to 25th July 1781" we find his name noted as "on command with Captain Sherwood."
• 36 - Between that time and 24 September 1781 he was joined at St. Johns by his wife, Eunice Marsh, and their baby daughter.
• 37 - It is quite probable that his family came up to Canada with the wife of his half-brother, William Brisbin, Elizabeth Ferguson, and her children, because it is during that same period that William Brisbin is joined at St. Johns by the rest of his family.
• 38 - Analysis of the attitudes and behavior of William, John, Carruth, Robert, and Jane Brisbin has provided us with a logical explanation of the sympathy that James Brisbin must have had for the cause of the United Empire Loyalists, and the cloak-and-dagger inferences that can be drawn from even the meager but highly factual source materialthat exists surely provide us with good grounds for the suspicion and accusations leveled toward this Scottish gentleman by individuals whose deeper roots of eighteenth-century "Americanism" must have prompted great impatience on their part with a man who had settled here as recently as 1765. Had James Brisbin's ancestors come to this land during the seventeenth century, it is quite possible that both he and all his sons might have forgotten the bonds of sentiment for the mother country and taken a more intense interest in the revolutionary thinking of the Colonies. Two members of his family did take it upon themselves to serve the cause of the Colonies, which was the cause of independence. We find that James Brisbin and William Brisbin served in the 13th Regiment of the Albany County Militia under Col. Cornelius Van Veghten and Col. John McCrea.
• 39 - James was the son of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth, and William was, in all probability, the grandson of the original settler through his son Samuel.
• 40 - This fact may go far to explain why the old settler, once apprehended and imprisoned, was enabled to present certificates from such patriots as Capt. Hezekiah Dunham attesting to his character and was allowed to return home to Saratoga to remain with his family during the rest of the War. This, of course, is mere conjecture, but it is conjecture based on human nature and, therefore, lacking records, seems pragmatic enough to be somewhat justifiable when seeking the answers in such a tense situation. It would seem that during those tragic days of the first American civil war the Brisbins, while fighting on opposing sides, managed to maintain family integrity in the most true and ideal Scottish tradition. This is implicit in a letter dated 2 March 1791 at Caldwell's Manor (Lower Canada, Province of Quebec), where Robert Brisbin had a 200-acre farm, and addressed to James Cramer of Saratoga, New York, son of Margaret Brisbin and Conrad Cramer. In this letter Robert Brisbin says to 7 his nephew, "If you live to see next winter and our Mother is well and willing to come to us—if you will bring her I will pay you for the same." Here he is obviously referring to his mother, Margaret Carruth Brisbin, the grandmother of James Cramer. He tells of a lot of land that he has cleared and how he has built thereon a house that he could have sold to many but has not because he needs it "for some of my Blood Relation to come to live." He signs himself "Your loving Uncle till Death, Robert Brisbin," and the spelling " bin" is very clear, proving how long ago this branch of the family adopted this spelling of the name "Brisbane." It is implicit also in the sharing of church offices and responsibilities in Saratoga by the brothers James and Carruth Brisbin, who had fought on opposing sides in the war. While speaking of relationships within the Brisbin family, this might be a most appropriate moment to comment briefly on the Saratoga "homecoming" of United Empire Loyalist John Brisbin and his reunion with his brothers. It reveals some of the spirit of the times and has interesting genealogical implications. John Brisbin's record as a Loyalist has already been described. After the War he had taken refuge in Lower Canada, and at the time he made his claim to the Crown for compensation for losses suffered at the hands of the "rebels," he was living (1786) in Fanning's Borough.
• 41 - In 1790 he and his wife were living at Cumberland, Nova Scotia.
• 42 - It was on 13 July of that year that his son, James I. Brisbin, wrote to him from Saratoga reporting on the condition of the old farm, the crops, the fences, etc., and advising him of the health of the various members of the family. The son wrote carefully, one might almost say "guardedly," and inferences can be read between the lines as, for example. "Do all things as you think best but I advise to be very moderate—the spring of the year is the only time. . . . The thoughts of old times seem to be drowned by Religion. We have got a Presbyterian minister here."
• 43 - He seems to be hinting at the possible return of his father and mother to their old New York homestead. The name of the "Presbyterian minister" was Rev. Samuel Smith. On 4 December 1791 Rev. Smith inscribed upon the List of Members of the Church at Schuylerville (Old Saratoga), New York, the name of John Brisbin as coming to his parish "from Reverend R. White in Ireland," which probably means that John Brisbin must have presented a letter from his old Pastor in Northern Ireland as testimony of his membership in the Church.
• 44 - At first glance, even to a professional genealogist, it would appear from this entry that here was a new Brisbin, newly come from Ireland and entering the Saratoga County picture. However, research reveals a rather dramatic situation here and gives the lie to an otherwise obvious conclusion. The Reverend Robert White of Northern Ireland had been dead for nineteen years when John Brisbin entered the Church at Schuylerville "from Reverend R. White in Ireland" on 4 December 1791. Patrick Smythe-Wood, Esq., of Ballycastle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, did some research for the author on this point and discovered that Reverend Robert White was born in 1720, the son of Patrick White of Larne. He was educated at Glasgow, Scotland, 1743, and licensed by Templepatrick, Northern Ireland, Presbytery in 1754. He was ordained minister at Templepatrick 24 August 1755, married a daughter of Rev. William Thompson of Larne, and died of consumption 14 August 1772. He was interred at Templepatrick. 8 John Brisbin, according to the History of Saratoga County and by his own personal sworn testimony, settled in Saratoga in 1771, having come to America one year before the death of Rev. Robert White. He must therefore have preserved his credentials from Northern Ireland for at least twenty years and used them at the strategic moment of his return to Saratoga from Cumberland, Nova Scotia. This invaluable item of source material citing the name of Reverend White provides us with strong substantiation of family information and tradition which have been passed down from generation to generation concerning the area in which this branch of the family settled temporarily in Northern Ireland before proceeding to America. All information that has come to the attention of the author has always made reference to County Antrim,
• 45 - and both Larne and Templepatrick are within that County.
• 46 - John Brisbin and his wife, Mary McCann, lived the rest of their days on the old farm in the Town of Saratoga, Saratoga County, New York, died there, and were buried in the private cemetery on the grounds of the homestead as the "James I. Brisbin Cemetery."
• 47- Another United Empire Loyalist family that maintained close connections with the home-folks in Saratoga County was the family of John's sister, Jane Brisbin. It will be remembered
• 48 - that Jane, probably born about 1760, had as husband in her first marriage John McCarthy with whom she established her first home in Saratoga County. After her husband joined the British army, she went with him to St. Johns in Lower Canada. They had one child, a little son,
• 49 - before the death of McCarthy. When not yet twenty-two years of age, the young widow married Alexander Taylor, a Scottish gentleman, born in the Parish of LaCroft in Perthshire, Scotland, about 1753, who had migrated to Saratoga County where he had become acquainted with the Brisbin family, and had, like her first husband, become a United Empire Loyalist, and was an Ensign in the Loyal Militia at St. Johns.
• 50 - His petition to the Commander-in-Chief of Lower Canada, dated 3 June 1783 and containing a large number of signatures of Loyalists who, like himself, were requesting grants of land in that Province, has become famous (and invaluable genealogically) as "reading like a census of United Empire Loyalists in Lower Canada." He himself never did receive a grant of land but on 8 June 1792 purchased 210 acres of land in Philipsburg, Quebec, on Missisquoi Bay from Hon. Thomas Dunn. Jane Brisbin Taylor was destined to have only about five remaining years of life in which to enjoy the peace of her new home on Missisquoi Bay for she died 10 May 1797 and was buried at Philipsburg.
• 51 - Tradition has it that she was a remarkably beautiful woman of wonderfully graceful and winning manners, full of tact, generosity, and great intellectual power.
• 52 - She bore to Alexander Taylor five children: Alexander, Jr. (ca.1785—17 September 1812): James, (ca. 1786—22 March 1854) who married Mary Townsend 2 April 1822;
• 53 - Jane (ca 1788—16 Jun 1845), who married George Cook 1 May 1833; Margaret (ca. 1790—9 November 1863), who never married; and Ralph (29 March 1793—9 February 1847), who married Maria Lester 16 May 1816.
• 54 After the American Revolution and before her death Jane Brisbin Taylor kept up intimate relations with her kinsfolk in Saratoga County, New York.
• 55 - After the death of his wife Alexander Taylor maintained his home and family at Philipsburg on Missisquoi Bay until his death on 23 January 1826.
• 56 - This home was the 9 scene of a great event in the history of the Brisbin family on this side of the Atlantic Ocean in 1814 for it was there that General Thomas Brisbane of Brisbane (later Makdougall-Brisbane, Bart.). "undoubted representative of the most ancient family of Brisbane of Brisbane, in the county of Ayr in Scotland, being the Chief of the Name of Brisbane," visited the Taylor family and "claimed and established some new relationship" to the deceased Jane Brisbin, wife of Alexander Taylor.
• 57- Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane of Brisbane was born in Brisbane House in Brisbane Glen, Largs, Ayrshire, Scotland on 23 July 1773 and was one of the most distinguished heads of the ancient family that had its origins in Renfrewshire where the Estate of Bishoptoun on the Clyde River across from and a bit to the east of Dumbarton Rock and Castle seems to have been their earliest inheritance long before any charters extant.
• 58 - Just as Mathew Brisbane, fifth Laird of Bishoptoun, fell at Flodden Field with his king, James IV, in 1513, and as John Brisbane, 7th Laird of Bishoptoun, was killed at Pinkie in 1547, fighting to protect his young Queen Mary of Scotland from the invading armies of Henry VIII of England, so did Sir Thomas, seventeenth Chief of Brisbane, have a gallant career as a soldier, fighting on world battlefields for the United Kingdom of England and Scotland.
• 59 - He entered the British Army in 1790, served in all the Duke of York's campaigns in Flanders, and was with Sir Ralph Abercrombie in the West Indies. He commanded a brigade under the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular Campaign against Napoleon and shared in the glory of most of the peninsular battles, being present in no less than twenty-three engagements and eight sieges. He became one of the Duke of Wellington's closest comrades and friends, had a cross and one clasp for Victoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Orthes and Toulouse, and received the thanks of the British Parliament in 1813 for his military conduct.
• 60 - He was wounded several times and had many other narrow escapes. Tradition has it that General Brisbane was always disappointed because he missed being present at the Battle of Waterloo, when Napoleon was finally defeated and overthrown. He arrived too late for the battle, having been under the necessity of crossing the Atlantic Ocean to get there. But, for this fact, the descendants of James Brisbin both by his first wife and by Margaret Carruth should be forever grateful—for it was his presence in North America that made possible the visit of our Family Chief to the members of his Family in the New World. Why was our Chief over here in America? In 1812 War had again broken out between Great Britain and her former Colonies, now the full-fledged independent United States of America.
• 61 - It was a war that was not particularly popular in either nation. Great Britain had her hands full already in her valiant efforts to thwart the grandiose plans of Napoleon for world power. New England objected to the war because it hurt her lucrative trade with the old Mother Country and even talked about seceding from the Union. Again, there were the tragic implications of a semi-civil war because "Americans" in the United States were fighting against Americans in Canada who were ofttimes their cousins. But the doctrine of "freedom of the seas" had to be maintained as a principle, and many Americans in the United States (particularly in the South and West) dreamed of a possible conquest and annexation of Canada as part of the Manifest Destiny of that particular era. 10 During the later stages of the war in North America the British determined to invade New York, using the same route that General John Burgoyne had taken in 1777—namely, the "Warpath of the Nations"—which meant that they would proceed from Montreal in the St. Lawrence River valley up the Richelieu River to Lake Champlain, continue by way of Lake George to the upper Hudson River valley and follow that valley down to Albany. Sir George Prevost was in command of the operation, hundreds of veterans who had fought under the Duke of Wellington in continental Europe were transported to Canada to bring his army up to a strength of about twelve thousand, and he was to be supported by a British fleet under Commodore George Downie. Success seemed not only possible but probable. The campaign began in 1814. General Thomas Brisbane of Brisbane, one of Wellington's veterans, commanded a Brigade in this campaign.
• 62 - As he advanced with his men, he was following the same route that Carruth Brisbin had learned so well in 1777. He led his brigade well in the battles of the Richelieu River and Plattsburg, but the operation was doomed to failure by the defeat of the British lake fleet by United States gunboats under the command of Thomas Macdonough. This left the British without a supporting navy, and Sir George Prevost gave up the expedition. It was during this period that the Chief of Brisbane truly found himself in Brisbin country. William Brisbin, eldest son of James, the first settler of Northumberland, had taken up land in Canada after the War of the American Revolution, and his seven sons had farms on the Richelieu River in the neighborhood of LaColle, just north of Rouse's Point on Lake Champlain.
• 63 - It is certain that two of these sons, James and Samuel, must have met him personally, for they had been having quite a bit of trouble securing compensation for damage done to their property by the attacking British Army and brought their claims before a Court of Inquiry, assembled by order of General Brisbane at LaColle on 19 October 1814. The General approved the proceedings of the Board and recommended the claims to the consideration of a Board of Claims.
• 64 - Across the Richelieu River in what was called Caldwell's Manor, lying between the river and Missisquoi Bay, the northeast arm of Lake Champlain, Robert Brisbin, son of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth, had settled himself and his family. We have already made mention of the letter from that place written by him 2 March 1791 to his nephew, James Cramer, in Saratoga. Of course, Robert had died some time in 1792,
• 65 - but it is possible that some of his children
• 66 - may have remained in the neighborhood.
• 67 - Across Missisquoi Bay on the eastern shore lies Philipsburg, where lived Alexander Taylor and his family, already noted as having received a visit by General Brisbane. About five miles east of Philipsburg at Frelighsburg Margaret Brisbin, daughter of William Brisbin "of the seven sons," lived with her second husband, James Pell, Captain of Militia,,who, incidentally, was made prisoner by the United States forces in a skirmish on 12 October 1813.
• 68 - It is not known whether General Brisbane also called on her, but he may well have done so while in the vicinity. It would be typical behavior on the part of a Scottish Chief. As we contemplate this subject of family "visitation" and family relationships following the War of the American Revolution, it might be appropriate for the author to introduce a story that involves his own particular Brisbin family, stemming from James Brisbin 11 and Margaret Carruth. The year was 1818, and Carruth Brisbin, widower, was marrying for his second wife Elinor McNaughton, widow of Colonel John McCrea, who has already been mentioned as one of the commanders of the 13th Regiment of Albany County Militia, U.S.A., during the Revolution.
• 69 - The author's great-great grandfather, an eldest son, named James R. Brisbin and born ca. 1785, was living at the time with his wife and family near his brother, John C. Brisbin (born ca. 1787), and his family in Chenango County, New York. The brothers had married in the Town of Northumberland, Saratoga County, two sisters, Pirces and Betsey Harrington, respectively, daughters of Lieutenant Ebenezer Harrington of the 4th Massachusetts Line of the Continental Army, U.S.A., during the War of the Revolution.
• 70 - James R. Brisbin evidently went up to Northumberland for the wedding, and family tradition has it that at that time "he went up to Canada to visit his relatives." It can now readily be seen that he had quite a few available there about whom he would have unquestionably known. "On his way," the story continues, "he met an old friend by the name of Gilead Sperry.
• 71 - He told Mr. Sperry the news of the family and advised him that his wife, Pirces, would be presenting him with a new child before the end of the year." "Fine!" rejoined Gilead Sperry. "If it is a boy, be sure and name him after me." James R. Brisbin concluded his visit, returned to his home, and on 23 December 1818 at Sherbourne, Chenango County, his eldest son was born and christened Gilead Sperry Brisbin, the grandfather of the author's mother.
• 72 - When the second son was born to James R. Brisbin and Pirces Harrington at York Mills (Whitestown), New York, on 13 December 1819, a return was made to family, names for he was named for his mother's brother and christened Squire Harrington Brisbin, the grandfather of the author's father.
• 73 - The Brisbin family for many years maintained close associations with the Cramer family of Saratoga and Northumberland. We have already noted the marriage of Margaret Brisbin, daughter of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth, to Conrad Cramer.
• 74 - We have read how her nephew, James I. Brisbin, referred to her has "Aunt Cramer" and to her son James (born 1769) as "Cousin James Cramer" when writing to his father and mother in Nova Scotia in 1790.
• 75 - We have seen excerpts from a letter written by her brother, Robert Brisbin, to his nephew, that same James Cramer, in 1791.
• 76 - The correspondence between her two grand-nephews, S. Lester Taylor of Cincinnati, Ohio, and John R. McGregor of Saratoga Springs, New York,
• 77 in the 1870s is full of references to associations with the Cramer family. The very name Cramer has been employed twice in naming Brisbin boys in the author's branch of the Family.
• 78 - The bonds seem to have been very close indeed. Conrad Cramer was born in Germany in 1734, came to Saratoga County where in 1766 he married Margaret Brisbin, and died 10 January 1781. He was buried in the private cemetery known as the "James I. Brisbin Cemetery" to which reference has already been made. Margaret Brisbin, his wife, was born ca. 1742 in Northern Ireland and according to the inscription on her gravestone where she is buried beside her husband, she died 3 October 1789. This date, however, is wrong and is proved in error by the source 12 material available.
• 79 - The year should be 1790. They had five children: Elizabeth, born 1767, who married Thomas Whiteside; James, born 1769, who married Sarah Payn; George, born 1771, who married Ann Anderson; Conrad II, born 1775, who married Laura Lawrence;
• 80 - and John, born 4th September 1779, who married Hannah Close.
• 81 - With respect to the Seelye family, the situation seems to be somewhat different from that of the Brisbin Cramer relationship, at least on the basis of any records that have been available to the author. It will have been noted that no daughter, Mary, is listed among the children of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth in the History of Saratoga County, by Sylvester that has been cited previously. Yet in the correspondence between Miss Louise Brisbin of Glen Falls, New York, and Samuel G. Taylor, Jr., already cited, Miss Brisbin definitely lists "Mary Brisbin, who married Augustus Seelye" among the children of James and Margaret. The records of the Church of Schaghticoke in Rensselaer County, New York, show the births of five children to Augustus Seelye and Mary Brisbin between the dates of 20 October 1774 and 14 June 1784,
• 82 - and these same records contain notations of births of children to James Brisbin and Mary Taylor, John Brisbin and Mary McCann, John McCarthy and Jane Brisbin, William Brisbin and Elizabeth Ferguson, and Conrad Cramer and Margaret Brisbin. It is therefore the definite opinion of the author that Mary Brisbin must be included as a full-fledged daughter of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth and sister of the other Brisbins were recorded at Schaghticoke. There may have been reason why the author has been unable to discover a close association between Seelyes and Brisbins following the American Revolution. In a centennial publication at Toronto (Rose Publishing Company), Ontario, Canada, in 1885 called The United Empire Loyalists' Centennial Celebration (settlement of Upper Canada by the United Empire Loyalists) there appears an "Old List as preserved in the Crown Lands Department at Toronto." On this list of Loyalists is shown the name of Augustus Seelye as being in the East District of Lancaster with a wife and nine children, with the notation "Provision List—Eastern District—1786." If this Augustus Seelye is identical with the one who married Mary Brisbin, this is good evidence indeed for the reason why there may have been lack of communication. If Mary Brisbin was the daughter of James and Margaret Carruth, she would have been born either ca. 1740 or ca. 1744, in either case being able to marry and have four children before the birth of the five already noted in the Schaghticoke Church records. In such case the appearance of nine children in Upper Canada makes complete genealogical sense. Of the family of Elizabeth Brisbin, daughter of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth, the author has been able to discover little. However, the following facts are known from the sources. She must have been born ca. 1740 or ca. 1744
• 83 - in Northern Ireland, she was married to a gentleman by the name of William Ray and living with him in New York City in the year 1768, and on 10th January of that year presented him with a baby daughter Margaret, baptized in the First Presbyterian Church of New York City of 28th January.
• 84 - On 4 September 1795 she was received in full communion as a member of the Protestant Reformed Church at Saratoga by the Rev. Samuel Smith as "Elizabeth Brisbin, widow of William Ray."
• 85 - On 28 September 1808 her brother, Carruth Brisbin of the Town of Northumberland, Saratoga County, borrowed $242.48 from Cornelius Ray, "of the City and County of New York, Gentleman," and secured the payment thereof by giving a mortgage on one of his tracts of land in Northumberland (26 acres).
• 86 - Whether 13 this Cornelius Ray of New York City was Elizabeth Brisbin's son and therefore Carruth's nephew is not known, but it is possible. If this is so, some of the descendants of Elizabeth Brisbin may have remained in New York City while she returned to her brothers and other kinsmen in Saratoga. We have thus far seen something of the impact of the first great American civil war, generally known as the American Revolution, on one Scottish family whose members were pioneers in the wilderness of the upper Hudson River valley in the years before that conflict broke out. We have seen the death of the old Chieftain of the family, James Brisbin, probably hastened by the events of the strife. We have seen his widow, that "somewhat remarkable woman," Margaret Carruth, surviving him and holding the family together on the homeground until at least the year 1791 and dying shortly thereafter. We have noted the eldest son of James (by his first wife), William Brisbin, settling in Dutchess County as early as 1755 and there marrying his first wife, Selitje Matthis, and having by her a daughter, Margaret. We have then observed that he and his full brother, Samuel, pioneered the Town of Wilton in Saratoga County as early as 1764. We have watched them leave their little settlement when the Revolution broke out, never to return. We have noted that Samuel then disappeared from view in the records, living only through his probable sons, William of Schuylerville, New York, and James of Dutchess County,
• 87 - both of whom fought on the side of the Colonists in the War for Independence. We have observed this eldest son of James Brisbin remaining loyal to the Crown and suffering "everything but Death" after being thrown into Gaol by the patriots in 1779.
• 88 - We saw him escape to Canada, where he joined by his second wife, Elizabeth Ferguson
• 89 - and the rest of his family at St. Johns in 1781. Of his seven sons, John, Samuel, William Jr., James, Robert, Joseph, and Patrick, three of them, John (born ca. 1762),
• 90 - Samuel, and James, fought for the Crown in Jessup's Corps of Rangers.
• 91 - As far as is known, this Family remained in Canada and provided the ancestry of many Canadian Brisbins, who can now be found throughout the Provinces, as well as some Brisbins in the United States whose grandfathers and great-grandfathers came to this country from Canada. We have traced the career of John, the third son of James Brisbin and his eldest by the second marriage with Margaret Carruth, from his birth in 1738 in Northern Ireland through his migration to "Old Saratoga" in 1771, his joining the British Army in 1777, his temporary exile in Nova Scotia after the War, his return to Saratoga in 1791, and his death there in 1801. We have met his wife, Mary McCann; his son, James I Brisbin, who married Sarah Cooper, daughter of William Cooper, a Scot gentleman; and his daughter Mary, who married Robert McGregor. He had another son, John, born 1 September 1777, according to the records of Schaghticoke Church, but he suffered an untimely death in 1803 and was buried by his father and mother in the "James I. Brisbin Cemetery" on the family lands. Carruth, the apparent fourth son of James Brisbin, also had, as we have seen, a record as a United Empire Loyalist. We have noted his capture in the fighting around Fort Edward in 1777, his return to the old family lands in Saratoga County, his marriage to Christina See, with whom he was censused in 1790 together with their two sons. From the time that the Town of Northumberland was excised from the Town of Saratoga in 14 1798 his home was in Northumberland, as were the homes of his two nephews, James Cramer and Conrad Cramer II. Carruth and his brother James were pillars of the Church in Schuylerville, serving as both Elders and Deacons according to the Church records. Christina See must have departed this life some time between 27 January 1815, when she signed with her husband a Warranty Deed for 27 acres of land to the minister, Philip Duryea, and the year 1818, when we observed Carruth's second marriage to Elinor McNaughton, widow of John McCrea. Carruth Brisbin remained in Saratoga County until 1831
• 92 - and sold off his last bit of land there as a resident of Dryden, Tompkins, New York, on 3 July 1832.
• 93 - He was at the home of his grand-nephew, William Cramer, who had married Jane, daughter of Elinor McCrae, when he died 2 July 1835 at the age of eighty-eight years.
• 94 - He was buried in the Old Presbyterian Cemetery of the Town of Dryden. It has been noted that James R. Brisbin and John C. Brisbin had already gone to Western New York State years before and that James R. Brisbin, great-great grandfather of the author died in 1834, one year before Carruth, in Brutus, Cayuga County, which lies just north of Tompkins County and from which Tompkins County was excised. This is without doubt the Brisbin family to which S. Lester Taylor was referring in his letter to his cousin, John R. McGregor, dated 11 February 1874, when he said, "You say that some of the Brisbins went to Western New York." James Brisbin, son of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth, was the gentleman who, in the words of the History of Saratoga County, "married Mary Taylor of Argyle, Washington County." He was born ca. 1747 in Northern Ireland,
• 95 - and we have noted the fact of his loyalty to the cause of the Colonists during the American Revolution as he served in the Albany County Militia. After the War he held important civil offices and, as we have noted above, was a pillar of the Church in Schuylerville. His children were Hon. James Brisbin, born 24 January 1774; Mary, born 7 December 1775; Sarah, born 14 October 1778; Mary, born 26 May 1780; Jane, born 10 August 1782; and Margaret, who on 1 October 1799 married Mr. Daniel Paine.
• 96 - We have followed in great detail the adventurous life of Robert, youngest of the sons of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth, during the American Revolution. We saw him make permanent settlement after the War in Caldwell's Manor, Province of Quebec, Lower Canada, together with his wife, Eunice Marsh, and their six children, James, John, Robert, Lydia, Margaret, and Jane. After his death, ca. 1792, his widow married a gentleman by the name of Walter Adams.
• 97 - This family probably remained in Canada, and it is quite possible that it, too, has provided the ancestry of a number of Canadian Brisbins and Brisbins living in the United States whose ancestors came over from Canada. With respect to the daughters of James Brisbin and Margaret Carruth, Margaret, who married Conrad Cramer; Mary, who married Augustus Seelye: Elizabeth, who married William Ray; and Jane, who married fist John McCarthy and second Alexander Taylor, we have examined their families in great detail and noted the effects of the War upon their fortunes. The author stands in somewhat unique position as far as the family and name of Brisbin is concerned. It becomes necessary for him to go all the way back to James Brisbin, the original Chieftain of this branch of the family, to claim a common or mutual ancestor 15, with anyone else in the world named Brisbin (always excepting the author's two sons and two grandsons with whom he has been blessed). His coat-of-arms, as matriculated in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland at the Office of the Lord Lyon King of Arms of that Kingdom, is that of James Brisbin with two "due and congruent" differences as becomes his status as a Cadet of the Family
• 98 - the "three grenades Sable, enflamed Vert" having references to his ancestor's service as a United Empire Loyalist, and the "bordure Or" having reference to the fact that his great-grandfather on the paternal side the author bears the Arms with no further differencing as representative of the eldest line. He is likewise sole representative, through his mother, of the elder brother of that same great-grandfather Brisbin.

Links

• https://electricscotland.com/history/nation/brisbane.htm
• https://sites.rootsweb.com/~daisy/bris10.htm
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisbane_Aisle
• http://joe_kelso.tripod.com/brisbane/kelsolandmanor.htm
• https://archive.org/details/jstor-27575367/page/n7/mode/2up?q=James

Sources

• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Aug 31 2022, 15:39:03 UTC
• James Brisbane in the Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots; Volume: 1.
• The Scottish Nation, Brisbane - https://electricscotland.com/history/nation/brisbane.htm
• Largs, Ayrshire – History - http://www.ayrshirepaths.org.uk/largshistory.htm
• Historic Environment Scotland. "Skelmorlie Aisle, Brisbane Aisle (Category A Listed Building) (LB37199)". - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historic_Environment_Scotland
• Augustan Society Badge, The Augustan Society - https://www.augustansociety.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&...
• [SAuth] John Spencer Howell, Jr., John Spencer Howell, Jr., (http://www.jhowell.com/ jhowell@jhowell.com).
• [S982] Liza Brisbin, http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:1966558....
• [S622] 1881 Canadian Census, (1881), http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/census/household_record.asp?....
• [S985] Town of Northuberland NY web, 1765. http://www.townofnorthumberland.org/Northumberland_OurHistory.htm.
• [S983] Nathaniel Bartlett, History of Saratoga County, (Sylvestor 1878, Evert & Ensign A transcription is on the web here: http://www.rootsweb.com/~nysarato/Sylvester/chap32a.html), p. 401.

[S985] Town of Northuberland NY web, http://www.townofnorthumberland.org/Northumberland_OurHistory.htm.