Family/Spouse: Jacob DITTRICK. Jacob was born on 16 Dec 1755 in Kingsland District, Tyron, New York. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: George HAINER. George was born about 1775; died on 22 Nov 1814. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: ANN. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Robert married Hannah Bennet BONNET on 9 Apr 1828 in St Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario. Hannah was born in 1808 in Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

James never married. He was a lieutenant in the War of 1812-1815, on the Canadian side. James told the story of his family, including a bit of their frontier life, in Talmans Loyalist Narratives from Upper Canada. Even though his story is quite lengthy, it is fully transcribed below as it gives us a rather poignant look into the everyday lives of early settlers:
Reminiscences of Captain James Dittrick
Our family are of High Dutch extraction. My mother’s family emigrated to America in the reign of Queen Anne about the year 1705. The cause of their leaving their native country, I am totally unacquainted
with, but in all pro[ba]bility for some political motive, and to better their fortune in the New World. My grandfather settled on the Mohawk River about 30 miles from the present flourishing town of Utica. It was a lovely country - splendid land, highly luxuriant and prolific, in producing some of the finest wheat in the world. And after the forest had yielded [sic] to the axe, the meadows were beautiful, where the cattle grazed in quietude affording an abundance of mild and of which the richest cheese is made, many farmers who were good judges pronounced it equal to the famous Cheshire Cheese of England. The Indians who encamped around that vicinity were very friendly, and although they noticed the white people daily making encroachment upon their hunting grounds, yet they were by no means hostile, but would allow them to enter their tents and partake of their venison, hospitality, when at times they ran short of provisions which is frequently the case with new settlers in the bush.
In process of time my Grandfather by his industry and perseverance acquired a very comfortable Homestead, and if there was an Acadia in the New World, the Mohawk River Settlement was the identical spot. Free from the turmoil of large European cities, man had time and opportunity for thought and reflection, and by fulfilling the Duties of Life in his new station, he was protected by his
Maker, in whom he daily trusted. Thus time quietly passed on until a change took place in the general aspect of affairs. My Grandfather had left the world and the property came into my Father’s
possession. Being a strict Loyalist, he took up arms in defence of his Sovereign, which he maintained to the last. It was a momentous struggle, a frightful warfare, where two parties were fighting to obtain the ascendency. The farms were left to the care of the women, who seldom ate the bread of Idleness, the Dutch being proverbial for economy and all the useful acquirements of domestic life.
They spun, they wove, they knit prepared their own flax, made their own homespun gowns, the children’s dresses, they churned, made cheese, and performed all the various duties of domestic and social life. Under such circumstances, my father’s mind was at ease about the affairs of the Farm.
He joined Butler’s Rangers and sallied forth on behalf of his Sovereign, hoping to quell all the political discontent, and to sit down after the war, once more under his own Vine and figtree, but this was denied him. Although the Loyalist had thirty Regiments, all regularly officered and enrolled, in addition to the British Regular Army, yet they finally had to succomb [sic] to the discontented, so powerful at times in a Revolutionary Struggle. Thousands of Loyalists, rather than join the Republican party, left the
country, some to England, some to Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, whilst a great number came from Albany, to Niagara, where they soon obtained grants of Land, in part remuneration for the loss of their estates, which were confiscated. My family and the Hainers into which family my sister in succeeding years married, remained some time under the protection of the Garrison. The lands on each side of the river, which flows from the Falls into the broad expanse of Lake Ontario, were originally called Niagara, but when General Simcoe, who had a regiment called the Queen’s Rangers, arrived in that vicinity, he styled the point on the Canadian side, Newark. My sister Hainer, who is now in the 79th year of her age, was born on the opposite side of the river in the year 1782, her [husband’s] ancestors, who came over with the foreign regiments in the pay of Queen Anne.
My father, Jacob Dittrick, previous to his obtaining a grant of lands for his services, went upon a farm belonging to a Captain McDonald, who had obtained the same at a very early period for his services, and upon that very farm situate between Queenston and Newark, I was born in the year 1785. The year previous, family of the name of Gregory who were Loyal soldiers, had a grant of 400 acres
in teh present Township of Grantham, and soon afterwards my father obtained the same. The Hainers also obtained a similar grant. To all of these according to the provisions of the Land Board an addition
was made for the benefit of the children, so liberal was the Government in providing for those who had fought for the ascendency of the British Crown. No one can tell the privations we all underwent on our first moving into the Bush. The whole country was a forrest [sic], a wilderness which had to be subdued by the axe and toil. For a time we led a regular Robinson Cruso[e] life and with a few poles and brushwood, formed out tents on the Indian plan. As the clearances enlarged, we were supplied with some agricultural implements, for we brought nothing with us bet a few seeds prepared by the careful forethought of the women. My father who had naturally a mechanical turn, amused himself of an evening in making spinning wheels, a loom, and a variety of useful things for farming purposes. Time passed and having grown some flax and obtained some sheep, my mother set to work to prepare the same for some cloathes [six] in which we were greatly in need of.
She had not any thread, so my father which doubtless he learned from the Indians, stripped off the Bass Wood Bark, saturated it in water like Flax, and obtained a fine strong and useful thread. Necessity has no law. Consequently it was immaterial to us how the cloathes were made, as long as the material kept together. We none of us had any shoes or stocking, winter or summer, as those we
brought with us were soon worn out. At length my father tanned some leather, and I recollect the first pair of shoes he made which fell to my lot, I greased and putting them too near the fire, on returning to my grief found that my shoes were all shrivelled up, so that I could never wear them. It was twelve months before I obtained another pair, so many daily occurrences of life having to be attended to.
I was singularly unfortunate, for the first pair of trousers my mother made me from the proceeds of her flax, were burn by putting them too near the fire; all that remained of my old ones, was similar to a pair of breeches, the leg part having been torn off, bit at a time, in going through the bush - so I was obliged to remain twelve months barelegged and barefooted, through all the various changes of
weather. But I grew up strong and hardy, being blessed with a remarkable [sic] good constitution fitted to undergo the carious hardships of a forest life. I am now in the 75th year of my age and I look back with astonishment, to think how mercifully we were all preserved, through so many discouragements.
The most trying period of lives, was the year 1788 called the year of scarcity - everything at that period seemed to conspire against the hardy and industrious settlers. All the crops failed, as the earth had temporarily ceased to yield its increase, either for man or beast - for several days we were without food, except the various roots that we procured and boiled down to nourish us. We noticed what roots the pigs eat; and by that means avoided anything that had any poisonous qualities. The officers in command at the military stations did all in their power to mitigate the general distress, but the supplies were very limited, consequently only a small pittance was dealt out to each petitioner.
We obtained something and were on allowance until affairs assumed a more favorable aspect. Our poor dog was killed to allay the pangs of hunger, they very idea brought on sickness to some, but others devoured the flesh quite ravenous. Dogs are very common food around the Rocky Mountains, but the people became in time habituated to the taste. We next killed a horse which lasted us a long time and proved very profitable eating; those poor animals were a serious loss to our farming appendages, but there was not help for it. People shipwrecked on desert islands or lost in the Woods will take hold of anything almost to satisfy the cravings of hunger and to keep life together. I have heard of a sailor wrecked on the coast of South America, who had been a long time without food, knocked down an owl with a stick and devoured it raw, one the toughest and must unpalatable of the bird species, yet to them [him] it was a savory dinner. At length a brighter era dawned upon us, and since then, everything went on well and prospered. The mils of rude workmanship were thinly scattered about the country, so that we had to content ourselves with a hollow stump to pound our grain in, which was done with a cannon ball fastened to a cord or bark of a tree, and affixed to a
long pole which served as a lever. The bread or cakes thus made were not particularly white, but were eaten with a good appetite and proved wholesome. We none of us experienced much sickness, but whenever any illness occurred we had recourse to medical roots found in the woods, the virtues we acquired by our intercourse with the Indians. In 1792 in consequence of Governor Simcoe’s proclamation offering lands to actual Loyal settlers, a vast many located around the neighbourhood and country. We visited one another, and all appeared line one family. There was then no distinction, as is the case nowadays, all were on an equality and ready to do any kind acts and services for one another. The happy meetings we often had, I look back to with much pleasure. I am decidedly of
opinion that true happiness, as far as human nature has the privilege of enjoying it, was far more abundant then than the present frivolities of the age. Dress was the last thing thought of. The women all wore their linsey woolsey gowns, and the men and lads homespun cloathes, far more suitable to the rude log house and rough country than those of a finer material. Marriages were celebrated by magistrates, thinly scattered around the country. I think David Secord performed more ceremonials and united more happy young people than any one else. I really believe when those events took place they
were the happiest people in the world. There were seldom any quarrels or bickerings, they pulled together, and their sole aim appeared to be, to contribute to each other’s comfort, and ti improve their farm for the benefit of their children. The present appearance of the farms, thriving homesteads, will shew what can be accomplished by perseverance and industry. The owners are the bone and sinew of the country, and when the War of 1812 was declared, they were loyal and ready to stand forward in defence of their property, and to keep the British flag untarnished. No period of History furnishes a brighter record than the Loyalty and devotedness of the settlers, who rose in mass, when they found their country invaded by a neighbouring nation and the war cruelly carried on by a party for
mercenary motives. The same sprit still exists, and although a few dissatisfied paltry demagogues who have no landed property at stake, may attempt to shake the Loyalty of the old settlers, yet I am confident they will never succeed. I have for years spent my life in comparative retirement, and in the 75th year of my age, I have no wish to mix much with the world. I content myself with a few Books and papers; in looking back at my early career of life, and hope that the few years allotted me, may be attended with the retention of my mental powers, until it shall please the All-wise disposer of events
to call me to another happier state of existence.
James Dittrick
St. Catherins [sic], February 7, 1860.

Family/Spouse: John CLENDENNING. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

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VETERAN
Jacob Dittrick UE
Flank Company
1st Regiment Lincoln Militia
NOVEMBER 23, 2015 D. M. HENDERSON, Q.C.
Jacob Dittrick was born on the 12 Mile Creek at the family’s farmstead on the 12 Feb 1791 in St. Catharines. He was the son of Sergeant Jacob Dittrick of Captain Walter Butler’s Company (and later Captain Peter Hare’s Company) Butlers Rangers. Before the Revolutionary War Jacob senior was a Ranger in John Butler’s Colonial Indian Department, living along the Mohawk River in New York where their farm of several generations was located. Writing in the Loyalist Reminisces published in 1861 brother James reported the farm was situated 30 miles east of Utica New York.

Jacob junior was a Sergeant in Captain John McEwen Flank Company 1st Regiment Lincoln Militia (P.A.C. 3839; R.G. 8, C. Series vol. 1701 doc. #141). Being a resident of Niagara his flank company mustered at Fort George for training before and during the War of 1812. Like his other four brothers he served with his Regiment at the Battles of Queenston Heights, Fort George, Lundy’s Lane (Welland Tribune, July 31, 1891, p6).

Before the War of 1812, Jacob was contracted to trim and plaster the St. Catharines Church along with fellow neighbour John St. John’s. The St. Catharines mission was only second to the Chapel of the Mohawk in terms of its age. It was one of the first Anglican Missions built in Niagara and one of the earliest in the Province (1796-1835). It was destroyed by fire in 1836. Jacob along with his father and sister Rebecca were laid to rest there. Their grave sites and the ruined church yard is currently being sacrificed for the new concrete footings of the additional span of the high-level bridge over the 12 mile Creek. Jacob was also involved in the Anglican Church in Thorold (P.A.C. Upper Canada Land Petitions “I - J”, Bundle 18, 1833-1835 (R.G.1, L3,vol 259 (a)). With the opening of Victoria Lawn Cemetery in St. Catharines he was re-interred in the Dittrick family plot.

After the war Jacob received a Prince Regent Land Grant in Zorra Township in the London district as a reward for his military service (Ontario Archives R.G.1, C-iv book 560). His family lands, as the son of UE Loyalist, were in Niagara (P.A.C., Upper Canada Land Book “M” R.G.1, L1, Reel C-104). After the War he continued to live in St. Catharines along with in-laws and fellow Butler’s Rangers, the Hainers, who were reported to have been the first families to settle there in the year 1786. Family members still reside in that City.

As a former Flank Company member, Jacob was expected to donated funds for the erection of the first Brock’s monument in 1821. He and his four brothers, also veteran Flankers, all supported this project (St. Catharines Farmer’s Journal 1840; and, Annals of the Forty p.36 Grimsby Historical Society).

In partnership with another St. Catharines merchant (Paul Shipman) he operated the first general store in St. Ann’s Ontario on the former lot of Avery Hatt. Advertisements for this establishment appeared as early as 1816 in the (Niagara) Spectator, Consequently the business was destroyed when a keg of black powder, part of the stores’ merchandise, exploded destroying the building and bringing a close to the business venture (West Lincoln our Links with the Past1784-1984, West Lincoln Historical Society, 1985, p335).

The Welland Tribune of the 31 July 1891 reported that the powder horn carried by Jacob, a sergeant during the War of 1812, and previously carried by his father in Butler’s Rangers, also a sergeant, was passed to his son Jacob Dittrick (the 3rd) who passed it on through a neighbour to the Lundy’s Lane Historical Society were it was presented upon the event of the unveiling of the Federal commemorative monument at the Lundy’s Lane Battlefield. Inquiry into the whereabouts of this artifact at the Lundy’s Lane Historical Museum reported the artifact to be missing. The powder horn was an important accoutrement only worn by sergeants. They used it to prime and clear misfires from the musket of the men fighting in his company.

Jacob died of unknown causes in St. Catharines on the 28 Oct 1836 (Dittrick family bible).

This narrative was prepared by maternal great grandson Jon K. Jouppien UE.

Veteran Summary

Jacob Dittrick
Sergeant, Flank Company 1st Regiment Lincoln Militia
Place of Birth
St Catharines, ON, CAN
Place of Death
St. Catharines, ON, CAN
Died on: 28 OCT 1836
Reason: Unknown
Location of Grave
Victoria Lawn Cemetery, Victoria Lawn Cemetery
St. Catharines, ON, CAN
Latitude: 43.161769N Longitude: -79.201565

http://www.1812veterans.ca/?p=2501&lang=en viewed september 16, 2016

Family/Spouse: Phoebe PICKARD. Phoebe (daughter of Benjamin PICKARD and UNKNOWN) was born in 1801 in United States. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Mattie (Martha) MAY. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Walter was an ensign in the War of 1812.
VETERAN
Walter B Dittrick UE
Flank Company
4th Regiment Lincoln Militia
NOVEMBER 23, 2015 D. M. HENDERSON, Q.C.
Walter Dittrick was born on the 31 May 1793 on the family farmstead, 12 Mile Creek St. Catharines, Upper Canada as recorded in the family bible (St. Catharines Public Library, Special Collections). He was the fourth son of Sergeant Jacob Dittrick, former Butler’s Ranger, and Margaret Pickard. She was the daughter of William Pickard who along with two of his sons were also members of Captain Bernard Frey’s Company of Butler’s Rangers.

Walter appeared on the muster of Captain John McEwen’s 2nd Flank Company 1st Regiment Lincoln Militia as a private prior to the outbreak of the War of 1812. In IH Irving’s , study, Officers of the British Forces in Canada, published by the Canadian Military Institute he is recorded with the rank of Lieutenant on the 25 Oct 1812.

Early in the War he served as juror for several of the militia trials at Fort George, also serving as Duty Officer. He was present at the Battles of Queenston Heights, Fort George (or Niagara), and Lundy’s Lane. He was promoted to the rank of Captain but because no further commissions were available in his Regiment he had to transfer to Colonel Robert Nellis’s Flank Company Lincoln Militia where he served until his retirement in 1833 recording in his letter of resignation that the 40 mile commute from Niagara to muster annually in Grimsby was too difficult. Subsequently, he appeared on the muster of the St. Catharines Volunteer Troop of Cavalry under command of Captain Rolland MacDonald in 1838 (P.A.C. R.G.9 1B1, volume 31) indicating further service during the 1837-38 Insurrection.

Following the War of 1812 he married Jane Field on the 4 Jan 1816. She was the daughter of Inn-Keeper Charles and Rosannah Cassada Field of Niagara. Walter pursued alike vocation and was recorded as proprietor at the Canal Hotel, the former stand of Paul Shipman and subsequently a Mr. Smith (10th February 1829, St. Catharines Farmer’s Journal). This is the tavern formerly referred to as Shipman’s Tavern which many novice local historians have inaccurately referred to as the original name of the St. Catharines community, as this delivery location appeared on the covers of numerous correspondents delivered to that location which served as the community mail drop and pick-up location for a period, as did many taverns and half-way stops located along defined coach routes, where mail was delivered. Walters Tavern became the location of elections, meetings of a political nature, meetings of agricultural societies, and militia dinners.

He received 100 acre Prince Regent Land Grant in Zorra County of Oxford, Home District of London for his service (Ontario Archives: R.G. 1; C. iv box 605). This complemented his 200 acres of Family Lands granted as the son of a UE Loyalist which he applied for on the 9 Jan 1821 (P.A.C. RG1, L3, volume 157, bundle 14, Reel C-1875).

Walter died at his St. Catharines home of natural causes on the 25 June 1862 and was buried in the Hainer plot along side of his sister Catharine Hainer in Victoria Lawn Cemetery, St. Catharines, Ontario.

This narrative was prepared by his great nephew Garth Dittrick UE.

Veteran Summary

Walter Dittrick
Captain, 2nd Flank Company 1st Regiment Lincoln Militia
Place of Birth
St. Catharines, ON, CAN
Place of Death
St. Catharines, ON, CAN
Died on: 25 JUN 1862
Reason: Natural Causes
Location of Grave
Victoria Lawn Cemetery, Victoria Lawn Cemetery
St. Catharines, ON, CAN
Latitude: 43.161769N Longitude: -79.201156

http://www.1812veterans.ca/?p=2499&lang=en viewed September 16, 2016

Family/Spouse: Jane FIELD. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Cyrus SMITH. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Caroline MARTIN W Female German 70 USA Church of England
Alice MARTIN Female Scottish 34 O Church of England
John MARTIN Male Scottish 32 O Harness Maker Church of England
Carrie MARTIN Female Scottish 30 O Church of England
Nelson CAMP Male Scottish 40 O Clerk Church of England
Maggie MARTIN M Female Scottish 33 O Church of England

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Source Information:
Census Place Dunnville, Monck, Ontario
Family History Library Film 1375890
NA Film Number C-13254
District 144
Sub-district I
Page Number 3
Household Number 20
from familysearch.org Nov. 17/07

Family/Spouse: John MARTIN. John was born in 1795 in Scotland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Caroline married Horatio Nelson CAMP on 28 Feb 1832 in St Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario. Horatio was born in 1807 in Dunnville, Haldimand, Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Jacob married Permelia SMITH on 21 Jan 1830 in Stamford Township, Welland, Ontario. Permelia (daughter of Nicholas SMITH and Catharina MEY) was born on 11 May 1811; died on 22 Jun 1888 in St Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Alva married Martha Ann CAMPBELL on 15 Dec 1842. Martha was born about 1818 in St Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Household:

Name Marital Status Gender Ethnic Origin Age Birthplace Occupation Religion
Robert DITTRICK M Male German 65 O Labourer Methodist
Eliza M. DITTRICK Female Irish 37 O Methodist
Charles S. DITTRICK Male Irish 18 O Methodist
Minny DITTRICK Female Irish 14 O Methodist

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Source Information:
Census Place St Catherines, Lincoln, Ontario
Family History Library Film 1375890
NA Film Number C-13254
District 145
Sub-district A
Division 6
Page Number 7
Household Number 35
1881 census from familysearch.org Nov. 21/07

Buried:
Homer Burying Ground

Robert married Eliza Matilda SMITH on 21 Sep 1869 in Lincoln County, Ontario. Eliza was born on 17 Aug 1843 in Ontario; died on 15 Jan 1920 in St Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Augusta BENNETT. Augusta was born on 17 May 1842 in Ontario; died on 1 Jun 1928 in Vancouver, British Columbia; was buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Buried:
Old Cemetery, Section B

Duncan married Martha HARPER on 7 May 1860 in St Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario. Martha was born on 29 Jul 1839 in Belfast, Ireland; died on 16 Apr 1924 in St Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario; was buried in Victoria Lawn Cemetery, St. Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Wesley married Annie CANAVAN on 27 Oct 1880 in Welland County, Ontario. Annie was born about 1858 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: William PARKER. William was born about 1842 in Canada. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Caroline married Jamieson Bone BLACK on 16 Nov 1903 in Simcoe County, Ontario. Jamieson was born about 1847 in Scotland; died on 27 Jul 1924 in St Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

birth info. from familysearch.org