Our Ancestors Were British Loyalists

Yep. We can trace back to the revolutionary war, all right -- but on the side of the British. When you trace back the Barker line to Canada, where James Barker married Julia Isabelle Smith - and you trace Smith's line back to their arrival in Canada, you meet WILLIAM TRAVIS (sometimes Travis) - who was our GGGGGGG grandfather. William was born about 1742 near Van Cortlandt Manor in Westchester County, NY. He died in January 1779 in a British garrison in NY. At that time, his wife Elizabeth fled NY for New Brunswick, Canada, along with a lot of other Loyalists who feared for their lives. Canada, being British-controlled, was a safe haven for the Loyalists. Click here to read an excerpt from "Loyalist Settlements 1783-1789: New Evidence of Canadian Loyalist Claims"in the Ontario Archives. This claim was made by Elizabeth Travis to the crown for losses in the states. She lists her youngest children all as "infants" although their ages vary by several years. Click here to read the Calendar of Historical Manuscripts Relating to the War of the Revolution. Vol II page 171-3, which lists the estates of both William and Jeremiah Traviss as having been confiscated because they had both gone to the enemy. Here are several muster rolls showing various Travis family members who served the Loyalist cause: http://www.genealogycanada.ca/newyork/muster/muster2.htm http://www.genealogycanada.ca/newyork/muster/muster1.htm http://www.genealogycanada.ca/newyork/muster/muster3.htm More interesting info on the Traviss family to come!

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