| Background: |
Daniel McGuin (McGiven/McGwyn/McGivin) was a native of Ireland who emigrated to America and settled near Newboro, Ulster County, New York, where he was a farmer, storekeeper and potash manufacturer. When the American Revolution broke out, he raised men for the British cause but was imprisoned and sentenced to death. His stock was taken, his property sold, and his shop goods were plundered by the rebels. He escaped from prison and fled to New York where he enlisted in Col. Edmund Fanning's regiment, the King's American Regiment, and received a lieutenant's commission. He served with Fanning's corps for three years before receiving a warrant to raise a company in Delancey's Brigade. However, because he was unable to raise the required number of men, he did not receive his captain's commission. At the end of the war, Michael Grass was given a special commission by Sir Guy Carleton to lead a group of Loyalist refugees by sea from New York to Canada. Daniel McGuin was the captain of one company of refugees. According to the original list of names, a total of 1208 people left New York in the spring of 1783 and arrived in August at Sorel, Quebec, where they remained for the winter. On May 17, 1784, the Loyalists embarked in bateaux to ascend the St. Lawrence River to Cataraqui (Kingston). Daniel McGuin drew Lot 1, No.8, 5th concession, and also a town lot in Cataraqui. Later he purchased additional property. He was accompanied by at least two members of his family; his son Anthony, who married Mary Morey, and a daughter Ann, who married Isaiah Vanorder. Daniel McGuin was one of the first innkeepers in Kingston, and a land commissioner in 1788. Anthony McGuin developed milling, potash, and distillery businesses, and became a justice of the peace. He died in 1853. |
| Contents: |
The Records contains business and legal papers of both Daniel McGuin and his son, Anthony McGuin. Included are the following: conditions of recognizance for Daniel McGuin in carrying on his business as an innkeeper; Daniel McGuin's account with Hamilton and Cartwright, 1785-1786; a bond between James Peters and Daniel McGuin, 1783; Daniel McGuin's account with Hamilton and Cartwright, 1787-1793; a legal document - David Flyn vs Daniel McGuin, 1788; a memo concerning potash, 1785; a mortgage bond for lot 17 in Kingston - Anthony McGuin and Joseph Ferris, 18 November 1797; and Anthony McGuin's accounts with Mr. Cummings (1803-1804), Joseph Forsyth (1806-1811), John Kirby (1809-1810), Richard Cartwright (1810); and promissory notes to Albert McMichael and Dr. Smith Bartlet from Anthony McGuin, 1812.
Additional documents include: Alexander Wright vs John Scovil, 1816; a document concerning a dispute between John Warner and Joseph Bates [1817]; the will of Isaiah Vanorder of Kingston [1817]; Anthony McGuin's account with John Casar, 1825-1826; pay accounts for Captain McGuin, and for his Company, 5th - 8th November, ( no year is given but the record appears to be from the time of the American Revolution); business letters from Attica, New York, 3 November 1828, and another from Oswego, New York, 1 March 1840, both dealing with mill stones; court documents, 1849; and an account with John Breakenridge, 1844-1849. |
