(From Walter S. Herrington, History of the County of Lennox and Addington
[Toronto: The Macmillan Company of Canada, Limited, 1913], 25-29.)

"The incidents in connection with the emigration of many of the first Loyalists who settled in this country have fortunately been preserved in an interview with the late John Grass, of the township of Kingston, son of the Michael Grass before referred to. His statement is as follows: "My father had been a prisoner at Frontenace (now Kingston) in the old French war, and at the commencement of the American Revolution he resided on a farm on the borders of the North River, about thirty miles from New York. Being solicited by General Herkimer to take a captain's commission in the American service he replied sternly and promptly that he had sworn allegiance to our King, meaning George the Third, and could not violate his oath and serve against him.

"'For this he was obliged to fly from his home and take refuge within New York, under British protection. His family had soon to follow him, being driven from their home, which by the enemy was dilapidated and broken up. They continued in that city till the close of the war, living on their resources as best they could. On the return of peace, the Americans having gained their independence, there was no longer any home for the fugitive Loyalists of which the city was full; and the British Governor was much at a loss for a place to settle them. Many had retreated to Nova Scotia or New Brunswick; but this was a desperate resort, and their immense numbers made it difficult to find a home for them all even then. In the meantime, the Governor, in his perplexity, having heard that my father had been a prisoner among the French at Frontenac, sent for him and said; 'Mr. Grass, I understand that you have been at Frontenac, in Canada. Pray tell me what sort of a country it is? Can people live there?' My father replied; 'Yes, your Excellency, I was there a prisoner of war, and from what I saw I think it is a fine country and that people might live very well.' 'Oh! Mr. Grass,' exclaims the governor, 'how glad I am to hear that, for the sake of these poor Loyalists. As they cannot all go to Nova Scotia, and I am at a loss how to provide for the, will you, Mr. Grass, undertake to lead thither as many as may choose to accompany you? If so, I will furnish a conveyance by Quebec, and rations for you all until such time as you may be able to provide for yourselves.' My father requested his Excellency to allow him three days to make up his mind. This was granted, and accordingly at the expiration of the three days, my father went to the Governor and said he would undertake it. Notices were then posted up through the city, calling for all that would go to Frontenac to enroll their names with Mr. Grass; so in a short tie, the company of men, women, and children was completed, a ship provided and furnished, and off they started for the unknown and far distant regions, leaving the homes and friends of their youth, with all their endearing recollections behind them.

"'The first season they got no further than Sorel, in Lower Canada, where they were obliged to erect log huts for the winter. Next spring they took boats, and proceeding up the St. Lawrence, at length reached Frontenac and pitched their tents on Indian Point, where the marine docks of Kingston now stand. Here they awaited the surveying of the lands, which was not accomplished so as to be ready for location before July. In the meantime several other companies had arrived by different routes under their respective leaders, who were all awaiting the completing of the surveys. The Governor also, who by this time had himself come to Quebec, paid them a visit, and riding a few miles along the lake shore on a fine day, exclaimed to my father: Why, Mr. Grass, you have indeed got a fine country! I am really glad to find it so.' While the several companies were together waiting for the survey some would say to my father: 'The Governor will not give you the first choice of the townships but will prefer Sir John Johnson and his company because he is a great man.' But my father replied that he did not believe that, for if the Governor should do so he should feel himself injured and would leave the country, as he was the first man to mention it to the Governor in New York and to proceed thither with his company for settlement.

"At length the time came, in July, for the townships to be given out. The Governor having assembled the companies before him, called for Mr. Grass, and said: 'Now, you were the first person to mention this fine country and have been here formerly as a prisoner of war. You must have the first choice. The townships are numbered first, second, third, fourth, and fifth. Which do you choose?' My father says; 'The first township (Kingston).' The the Governor says to Sir John Johnson: 'Which do you choose for your company?' He replies: 'The second township (Ernesttown).' To Colonel Rogers: 'Which do you choose?' He says: 'The third township (Fredericksburgh).' To Major Vanalstine: 'Which do you choose?' He replies: 'The fourth township (Adolphustown).' Then Colonel McDonnell, with his company, got the fifth township (Marysburgh). So after this manner the first settlement of Loyalists in Canada was made.

"'But before leaving, the Governor very considerately remarked to my father: 'Now, Mr. Grass, it is too late in the season to put in any crops. What can you do for food?' My father replied: 'If they were furnished with turnip seed they might raise some turnips.' 'Very well, ' said the Governor, 'that you shall have.' Accordingly from Montreal he sent some seed, and each man taking a handful thereof, they cleared a spot of ground in the center of where the town of Kingston now stands and raised a fine crop of turnips which served for food the ensuing winter with the Government rations.'*

"'The point of embarkation upon the last stage of the journey was from Lachine, where flat-bottomed boats were constructed for the purpose. They were heavy and clumsy affairs capable of holding four or five families with their effects, and when ascending the rapids or against a swift current, the boatmen, sometimes wading up to their waists in water, hauled them along by means of a rope attached to the bow. Although the Surveyor-general had received instructions in 1783 to lay out the townships for the reception of the settlers, they arrived some weeks before they could be located. On June 16th, 1784, a memorable day in this county, Major Vanalstine with his band of refugees landed at Adolphustown near the site of the present U.E.L. Monument. Each family had been provided with a tent capable of accommodating eight or ten persons. Sufficient clothing for three years, of a coarse but suitable quality, had been given to each. To each two families was given one cow, and the Government had been liberal in the distribution of seed grain and tools, but of the latter the axe was ill-suited for the purpose of felling trees, being the short-handled ship axe intended for quite a different purpose. As the survey was not complete at the time of their landing, they pitched their tents upon the shore in groups until the allotments were made, when they dispersed to their several locations and the battle with the forest began. The concessions were laid out in lots of 200 acres each; four lots covered a mile in frontage, and every two or three miles a strip forty feet in width was reserved for a cross-road. The surveyors did their work so hurriedly that in later years there were found to be many inaccuracies which led to confusion and litigation and were the cause of a great deal of trouble and bad feeling.

"As early as the month of July 1783, the King, declaring himself desirous of encouraging his loyal subjects in the United States of America to take up and improve lands in the then Province of Quebec, and of testifying his appreciation of the bravery and loyalty of the royal forces in the Province, issued instructions to the Governor-in-chief to direct the Surveyor-general to admeasure and lay out such a quantity of land as he deemed necessary for that purpose, and to allot such parts thereof as might be applied for by any of his loyal subjects, non-commissioned officers, and private men in the following proportions, that is to say:

"To every master of a family, one hundred acres, and fifty acres for each person of which his family shall consist.

"To every single man, fifty acres.

"To every non-commissioned officer in Quebec, two hundred acres.

"To every private man of the force, one hundred acres and every person in his family, fifty acres.

"The same instructions contained a notification of the purchase of the Seigniory of Sorel with a request that all undisposed-of lands be laid out into small allotments and distributed among the reduced members of the forces and other loyal subjects, as might by the Governor be judged the most conducive to their interests and the more speedy settlement of the Seigniory. These instructions account for the general muster of the refugees at Sorel before ascending the St. Lawrence for the Western townships.

"The townships having been assigned to the several companies, as described by Mr. Grass, the first 'drawings' took place in 1784. The Surveyor superintended the process, which was impartially conducted by placing in a hat small pieces of paper, upon which were written the numbers of the lots to be distributed. Each applicant 'drew' out a piece of paper, the Surveyor, with a map of the township spread out before hi, wrote the name of the person drawing the number upon the corresponding number upon the map, and the locatee was given a certificate or 'location ticket' as it was commonly called, entitling him to a patent of the lot or part of lot so drawn by him. As provided in the King's instructions, a record of every allotment and subsequent alienation was kept in the office of the Receiver-general, which was the only land registry office in Canada at the time. It was under this system that the drawings took place in 1784, with the result that 434 of Jessup's Corps received their location tickets for Ernesttown, 310 of the King's Royal Regiment of New York and Colonel Rogers with 229 men located in Fredericksburgh, and Major Vanalstine and his party and some of Roger's men, about 400 in all, became the first settlers in Adolphustown. In addition to the plan of allotment referred to in the instructions of 1783, every Loyalist field officer was to receive 1,000 acres, every chaplain 700, and every subaltern, staff, or warrant officer, 500 acres. The excess over the ordinary allotment was not to be in one block, and not more than 200 acres were to be drawn by one person in a front concession. These regulations prevailed until superseded by instructions of a similar character issued in 1786 authorizing an additional grant of 200 acres, as a sort of bonus for good behaviour, to each settler who, by his conduct, had given such proof of his loyalty, decent deportment, and thrift in improving the land already received by him, as to warrant the presumption that he would become a good and profitable subject."

*The late William Kingsford, in his "History of Canada, " Vol. VII, page 218-90, attempts to disprove this story, but his reasoning is quite inconclusive, and there is no reason to doubt the correctness of the story given by Captain Grass. Kingsford's note at most proves that a certain amount of friction arose between Captain Grass and Governor Sir Frederick Haldimand.