Secord family
Although a few of his descendants were active as Patriots during the American Revolution, a significant number were Loyalists who joined British provincial regiments such as Butler's Rangers, and afterwards settled in what is now Ontario and New Brunswick.
Several researchers have noted that those family members who were active Loyalists during the American Revolution all had the Secord surname.
Threatened with forcible conversion to Catholicism, Sicard fled with his family to the Île de Ré and later to London.
The baptism of Madeline Sicard, his first grandchild, on October 22, 1688, is recorded in the registers of the L’Eglise Française a la Nouvelle York.
The following year Sicard moved from the city to neighbouring Westchester County, and with other Huguenots founded the settlement of New Rochelle on land purchased from Pelham Manor.
He eventually acquired several tracts of land, helped establish the French Church at New Rochelle, and was active in local government.
On February 6, 1696, Sicard and his three sons swore allegiance to King William and Queen Mary of England.
[3] Note: The information in this chart is derived from R. Kirk Moulton's "Early Sicard-Secor Families of New York: Origins of United Empire Loyalist William Secord.
A significant number were Loyalists who left their homes and families and joined British provincial regiments such as Butler's Rangers.
At the same time, roughly the same number of Loyalists gathered at the house of Abraham Hatfield, then marched in protest to the Patriot meeting.
Afterwards, 312 inhabitants of the county signed a document affirming their loyalty to the British Crown, including Elias, Francis, Israel, Joshua, and Benjamin Secord.
[4][5] In May 1775, male residents aged 21 and over in Orange County were asked to sign a resolution known as an association test, indicating their loyalty to the provincial government and their rejection of British rule.
[3] A few years before the Revolution, brothers John, Peter and James Secord settled on the North Branch of the Susquehanna River in what is now Pennsylvania.
In the spring of 1777, the three, accompanied by five of their sons, journeyed to Fort Niagara and joined the British Indian Department.
[6] After the war, members of the Secord family who had demonstrated their loyalty to the British Crown received grants of land in what is now Ontario and New Brunswick.
Peter joined the British Indian Department at Fort Niagara in 1777 and later transferred to Butler's Rangers.
[6] According to family tradition, the prisoners had been part of a party that had attacked a Mohawk village and killed the wife of Oneida Joseph.
He claimed to have fought in every significant engagement in the Niagara region during the War of 1812, and was in command of his regiment at the Battle of Lundy's Lane.
[6][9] In a certificate attached to his Upper Canada land petition, he is described as "a brave man, having after the Battle of Wyoming, when the Loyalists were retreating towards Niagara (and found it necessary to have a better supply of Provisions) returned by desire of the commanding officer to Wyoming, with only eight men and brought from the Enemy, One Hundred and forty head of Cattle – upwards of ninety Head were drove to Aughquaga, and there issued to the troops, and the others used for an immediate Supply.
During their time in New York, William worked in the shipyard while Elias served in the Prince of Wales' American Regiment until discharged in 1778 due to illness.
He returned to New York when his enlistment expired and served as a sergeant in the 2nd Regiment Orange County Militia.
[3] Additional members of the Secor family served in the militias of Orange, Westchester, and Dutchess counties.
David Secord (1794-1821) was a corporal in the Niagara Light Dragoons but was captured and held as a prisoner of war for most of the conflict.
She is considered a Canadian heroine for her 32 kilometres (20 mi) trek from Queenston to Beaver Dams to warn British Lieutenant James FitzGibbon that the Americans were planning to attack his outpost during the War of 1812.
[19][20] James Secord was a merchant in Upper Canada who was seriously wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights during the War of 1812.
[20] George Secord was a political figure who as a member of the Conservative Party represented Monck in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 1871.
[23][24] Richard Vernon Secord (1932–2004), a descendant of Isaac I Secor (1755-1836) was a United States Air Force officer who rose to the rank of Major General.
[27] The Municipality of Kincardine Council voted to decommission the monument in 2024 because the inscription refers to the doctor's Confederate Army service, implying that he approved of slavery.
During the Revolutionary War, William Howe, commander of British forces, made his headquarters in the farmhouse prior to the Battle of White Plains in October 1776.
[31] Laura Secord is one of 14 important figures from the military history of Canada commemorated at the Valiants Memorial in Ottawa.
