| Background: |
Charles Reid Hatheway was the son of a Loyalist, Ebenezer Hatheway (1748-1811), and his wife, Mary Hatheway (b.1751),[cousins], the daughter of Major Joshua Hatheway of the United States Continental Army. Ebenezer Hatheway was a business owner and resident of Freetown, Massachusetts. In 1779, he held a captain's commission in the Loyal New Englanders, a Loyalist regiment in which his brother, Luther, served as a lieutenant. Over a disagreement with his colonel, Ebenezer resigned his commission on the promise of a major's rank in a new regiment. This appointment did not materialize, and because he had resigned his commission, he was later denied a pension. Without any way of serving on land the cause he supported, he outfitted, at his own expense and commanded, a privateer. He was very active against the rebels until he and his crew were captured and confined in Simsbury Mines, the infamous underground prison in Connecticut where Loyalists were held. Eventually, he and his men managed to escape. Since Ebenezer Hatheway had been proscribed and banished from Massachusetts, he came to New Brunswick at the end of the war with his wife and three sons, Ebenezer (1772-1856), Warren (1774-1837), and Cushi (1776-1834). The family settled at Burton, Sunbury County, near the Oromocto River. Several children were born in New Brunswick including: Calvin Luther (1786-1866), Charles Reid (1789-1869), James Gilbert (1789-1818), and Thomas Gilbert (1791-1855). Ebenezer Hatheway's wounds and hardships during the war ruined his health, and he died at Burton on 3 February 1811. Charles Reid Hatheway, the fifth son of Ebenezer Hatheway was born in Burton, New Brunswick. In May 1816, he married Abigail Julia Clements (1790-1869), the daughter of Captain Peter Clements of the King American Regiment, a distinguished Loyalist corps, and they became the parents of twelve children. Charles Hatheway joined the New Brunswick Regiment of Fencible Infantry (104th Regiment) as an ensign on 25 March 1813, and was promoted to lieutenant on, 25 August 1814. He was placed on half pay at the reduction of the regiment in 1816. In National Archives of Canada, Record Group 8 "C Series", British Military and Naval Records, there are several references in 1815 to Charles Hatheway as a bearer of despatches between the commander of the forces at Quebec, Sir George Prevost, and Sir John C. Sherbrooke in Halifax. Charles Hatheway and his wife lived in St. Andrews, Charlotte County, New Brunswick, where he held the positions of Justice of the Peace, and Deputy Surveyor of New Brunswick. He was active in the militia, being first commissioned a lieutenant in the Charlotte County Militia in 1809, then captain on 24 July 1912. On his return to Charlotte County after several years with the 104th Regiment, he was appointed in 1819 a captain in the 2nd Battalion, Charlotte County Militia and he remained with the Militia until he retired with the rank of lieutenant-colonel on 15 May 1851. He died on 21 July 1869, and his wife, Abigail Julia Clements, died the next day on 22 July 1869. |
| Contents: |
The Charles Reid Hatheway Papers are comprised of the following: original family documents; letters and brief notes containing genealogical information; lists of births and deaths; tombstone inscriptions; statements giving details of military appointments and promotions; financial accounts; a copy of a speech detailing the Hatheway family history, which was given before the Loyalist Society of New Brunswick in Saint John, NB, in June 1889; a Statement (brief history) apparently written by Abigail Julia (Clements) Hatheway to an unnamed grandson, on paper with an 1810 watermark, explaining the connection with the Peter Clements family and including details about several family members; land transactions; survey results, and financial statements in connection with Charles Hatheway's position as deputy land surveyor of New Brunswick; and many records that relate to his position as justice of the peace in Charlotte County. Unfortunately, because of the very poor quality of much of the film, many frames are too faint to be read and it is, therefore, difficult to provide a more detailed survey of the material. |
