Name Robert Land | Role 1739–1818 | |
Robert land 1739 1818 top 11 facts
Robert Land (1739–1818) is a United Empire Loyalist credited as one of the first four British settlers of what is now known as the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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Early life
Born in Tiverton, Devonshire, England, Robert Land came to America in his youth, settling near Calkins Creek at what is now Milansville, in the Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania. In 1757, he married Phoebe Scott and started a family.
Work during American Revolutionary War
Robert established himself as a settler and a farmer, and by the time of the American Revolution (1776), he was also a Justice of the Peace. Remaining loyal to the British Crown, he carried on may espionage missions for the British during the American Revolution. He was eventually captured by the Americans and convicted as a traitor. Upon release, he was chased by a gang of vigilantes and shot at. Wounded and taken for dead, he managed to escape.
Settlement of Hamilton, Ontario
Returning to his home, he found it had been razed by the American patriots and he believed his wife and children to be dead. He made his way to Niagara and was later granted 312 acres, which now forms part of the City of Hamilton, Ontario. Unknown to Robert Land, his wife Phoebe, along with many of her children, escaped the raze of their family home and were able to seek the protection of the British Army. They were evacuated through New York by ship to the British Colony of New Brunswick, where they remained for seven years. Having heard a rumour that there was a man by the name of Land living at the head of Lake Ontario, Phoebe made her way by water and by foot, and was eventually reunited with her husband Robert, nine years after their separation.
Later life
Robert Land lived to see the beginnings of Hamilton as a village until the time of his death in July 1818, at the age of 82. His wife Phoebe died in 1826 at the age of 93. Pheobe Scott Land's youngest brother's son was Winfield Scott who led a military soiree into Canada in the war of 1812 just south of Hamilton. Robert and Phoebe had a son also named Robert Land(1772–1867). He served a leading military role during the War of 1812 in such famous battles as The Battle of Queenston Heights and The Battle of Stoney Creek. He attained the rank of Colonel.