Are you descended from a refugee? The answer might surprise you.
With Syrian refugees so prominent in the news right now—and such a hot topic for debate—it’s easy to think that refugees are a new thing for Canada. But they’re really not. In fact, it was a group of refugees, mainly, that made up the bulk of citizens in the newborn country of Canada.
Some of your ancestors may have made the perilous journey into Canada and stayed for months or even years in a squalid, disease-ridden, food-scarce camp. Some of mine did.
An estimated 40,000-50,000 people fled the United States into Canada by the end of the American Revolutionary War, many of them to temporary camps in Sorel and Machiche, Quebec. These people, who opposed the Revolution for various reasons, left behind homes and property and travelled overland or by sea, avoiding enemy presence where possible, eventually earning the title of United Empire Loyalist.
Josiah Cass (my 5x great grandfather), along with his wife Mercy Pomeroy and their six children were among them. The Cass family spent six years at Machiche, where Josiah served as schoolmaster for the Loyalists’ many children.
Ann McIntyre, at that time a young Lieutenant’s widow, was also at Machiche, with one or two sons depending on the historical record.
Based on complaints received by the officials in charge of the refugee camps, conditions in Machiche and Sorel were deplorable. The Loyalists lived in military-style barracks or in rudimentary huts. Their promised provisions were inadequate to meet the need. And disease swept through the refugees, as it often does in crowded quarters.
Mercy Pomeroy Cass, my 5x great grandmother, died in that camp, leaving her husband with six children and an uncertain future.
My current work in progress, Hold Fast, centres around the story of this time and these people, and the struggle to survive.
Though it happened long ago, this story sends a very timely echo to today. What would our ancestors have given to have had a chance for their loved ones to thrive? What about the ancestors of tomorrow’s Canadians?
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Three generations…
Three true stories…
One family…One faith
Erin E. M. Hatton 
MY NAME IS DAVID CASS, WE SHARE 5 GR -GRANDFATHER AND GRANDMOTHERS. JOSIAH CASS AND MERCY POMEROY. I AM VERY INTERESTED IN YOUR WORK AND YOUR HISTORICAL FICTION. CHECK OUT CASS/MCDONALD FAMILY TREE, ESPECIALLY THE NARRATIVE UNDER JOSIAH CASS. MY CASS ANCESTRY BEGINS WITH JAMES IN THE U.K., JOHN CASS, EBENEZER, MOSES, JOSIAH, JOSEPH POMEROY, SIMEON, WM HENRY, WM SAMUEL, WM LAUREN, DONALD L. CASS WAS MY FATHER.
MY WIFE’S ANCESTORS ACTUALLY FOUGHT AGAINST MY FAMILY AT THE BATTLE OF PRAIRIE GROVE. WE ARE CONSIDERING WRITING “COLLIDING FAMILIES.”
CHECK OUT OUR TREE ON ANCESTRY: ANDERSON, CASS, CARLSON, EITEL…
Hi there! That’s fascinating! I confess, I don’t know as much about the Cass side as I’d like to. My line goes through J.P., as well—through his son Alfred (whose mother was J.P.’s second wife Sybil), then another Joseph Pomeroy, then Katie Florence, who married Charles Gordon McKillican, then Charles Herbert McK, then my mom, Catherine Ann. I’ve been back to Cassburn and found J.P.’s grave. I’m not sure where Josiah and Ann are buried though, as it would have been on their farm. I would totally read that book. Nice to meet you, cousin!
I am looking for your tree on Ancestry. What is your Ancestry user name? I too am a descendant of Josiah Cass and Mercy Pomeroy.
My comment above was addressed to David Cass. However, do you, Erin Hatton, have a tree I could look at?
Excellent post. I like how you relate past events to current events.
Thanks so much Valerie! My tree is on ancestry called
Hatton family tree. 😊
Thank you. I don’t believe it is possible to look up trees by their name. You need to know the person’s user name. I will try to find it, however. For example, mine is valeriejgibson. Nice to meet you, cousin!
Nice to meet you too!