- Call Number:
- HIL-MICL FC LFR .J4E3P3
- Category:
- Family
- Creator:
- Jessup, Edward, 1735-1816.
- Material Description:
- 2 microfilm textual records 35 mm
- Background:
Major Edward Jessup was born in Stamford, Connecticut. The family later moved to Dutchess County, New York, and then to Albany where he and his brother Ebenezer engaged in land speculation. They established a community at a place that became known as Jessup's Landing near Glens Falls on the Hudson River, and the area became a centre for Loyalism during the early years of the American Revolution. The Jessups raised a party of armed Loyalists which were attached, at first, to Sir John Johnson's, King's Royal Regiment of New York, but on 7 June 1777 the corps became a separate unit, the King's Loyal Americans, with Ebenezer as lieutenant-colonel and Edward as captain. Joseph, a third brother, was also in the regiment. The corps took part in the unsuccessful Burgoyne campaign and the brothers were captured at Saratoga. Later paroled, they found their way to Quebec, and their corps existed for a time as a semi-detached unit of the King's Royal Regiment of New York. In 1781, Governor Haldimand decided to establish a new regiment by combining smaller corps, and created the Loyal Rangers from Jessup's, King's Loyal Americans and Peters', Queen's Loyal Rangers with Edward Jessup as major commandant. The new corps was named the Loyal Rangers and became known as Jessup's Rangers.
After the Revolution, the men of Jessup's Rangers were settled in the Townships of Edwardsburg, Augusta, Ernestown and Elizabethtown in what later became Leeds, Grenville and Frontenac Counties of Ontario. Edward received large tracts of land in Augusta Township and was appointed Justice of the Peace and Judge of the Court of Common Pleas
In 1810 he and his son Edward founded a town which he named, Prescott, in honour of Governor Robert Prescott. Edward Jr. (1766-1815) had been a lieutenant in the Loyal Rangers and later became the lieutenant-colonel of the Leeds Militia in 1795, Clerk of the Peace for the Johnstown District in 1800, Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas in 1802, and represented Grenville in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada.
- Contents:
The collection includes legal documents; militia records; land records; correspondence; commissions; genealogical materials; an account book for Edward and Ebenezer Jessup's company, 1771-1774; a receipt book for the King's Loyal Americans, 1777-1780; a typescript copy of a military order book, 1780-1783; a company book of Major Edward Jessup's Corps of Loyal Rangers, 1782; claims for losses; estate papers; documents relating to the town of Prescott; election materials; and many other records. The papers are arranged in chronological order.
Reel 1 - 1771-1856
1773 Agreement as to Dissolution of Partnership between Edward and Ebenezer Jessup, both of Albany, New York, December 30, 1773.
1774-1803 Account Book. Edward & Ebenezer Jessup's Co.
1776-1785 Copies of Certificates of services of Major Jessup.
1777-1780 Receipt Book. Captain Edward Jessup's Corps of King's Loyal Americans.
1777-1816 Account of the services of Major E. Jessup to the Crown.
1780-1783 Copies of Military Order Book.
1781 Letter from R. Matthews, Quebec, dealing with means of capturing Fort Edward on Lake George. February 15, 1781.
Reel 2 - 1856-1916.1857 Release, Mary Furness to H.D. Jessup. June 2, 1857. Letter from the Receiver General's Department, Toronto, to the Town of Prescott, regarding the indebtedness of the municipality. September 26, 1857. Invitations, 1857-1888.
1858 Invitation to the Farewell Banquet to Col. the Baron de Rottenburg, C.B. at the Rossin House, Toronto. June 10, 1958. Probate Will of Susannah Jessup. July 24, 1858.
1859 Mortgage, H.D. Jessup to John Patton, both of Prescott, on Lot 21, fronting on the eastern side of St. Lawrence Street, and Lot 20, fronting on the northern side of James Street, Prescott. January 22, 1859.
1861 Deed, Mary Furness, et al., to Hamilton D. Jessup, of Lot 28, fronting on the south side of Water Street, Prescott. November 4, 1861. Deed, Mary Furness, et al., to Hamilton D. Jessup, of Lots 30 & 31, fronting on the south side of Henry Street, Prescott. November 4, 1861.
- Originals:
The original records are held by the Archives of Ontario.
- Archival Ref. No.:
OA MS 521.
- Finding Aids:
The Table of Contents was not microfilmed in its entirety at the beginning of the reel, but individual pages can be found throughout the reel.
The complete Table of Contents and a microfilm shelf list are available in print and as a PDF.
- PDF Finding Aid:
- Jessup, Edward, Papers 1771-1916 Shelf List.pdf