What's In A Name? ...

By Adrienne Horne,M.A.
Regional Project Manager
Western Corridor 1812 Bicentennial Alliance

What's In A Name? ... Part 2 ...

We all know who Laura Secord was, and love the chocolate! But are you aware that Laura was the daughter of United Empire Loyalist, Thomas Ingersoll and married fellow Loyalist, James Secord at her father’s home, in what would become Ingersoll; the town south of Woodstock, settled by Tom Ingersoll. Governor Simcoe had awarded Ingersoll a land grant for his loyal service during the American Revolution.

Then there is Brant; two of them actually, Joseph and his son John. Joseph Brant was a Mohawk military and political leader during the American Revolution. He met with both George Washington and King George III. As a defender of British interests he moved to Upper Canada after the Revolution and became a prominent leader of the Six Nations. In 1783, he worked with Governor Haldimand and created a land grant for the Six Nations along the Grand River. The Haldimand Tract included six miles on either side of the river from its start near Georgian Bay to the mouth of the river as it opens out to Lake Erie. Joseph then built his home in Brant’s Town at the place where he would cross the Grand River, thus referred to as Brant’s Fording Place. In 1801, through Governor Simcoe, Brant acquired the land at the Head of the Lake at Burlington Bay from the Mississauga’s. He built a mansion there, now the Joseph Brant Museum. Raised in this home, John Brant went on to stop the American attack at the Battle of Queenston Heights with his cousin, John Norton. This was the battle that saw the death of Canada’s hero, Sir Isaac Brock.
(To Be Continued)