McGregor Van Every
ID # 6246, (1723-1786)
| Birth | McGregor Van Every was born on 27 April 1723. |
| Marriage | He married Mary Wilcox. |
| Death | He died on 25 September 1786 at Niagara at age 63. |
| Burial | He was buried at Warner Cemetery, St. Davids, Niagara Township. |
| Note | McGregory Van Every's given name on his gravestone is shown as 'McGrigory'. It is shown as McGregor Van Every on affadavits associated with the petition of son Andrew to be found on C-2947, image 00298, petition 22, 1802. There are other petition based sources, and, with due respect for his name as it appears on his gravestone, his given name is shown in this tree as McGregor. The gravestone for McGregory and his wife Mary is part of the foundation of a church at Warner Cemetery. It is fairly readable. Mary's date of death is not inscribed, only her date of birth. The stone shows McGregory's date of birth as 27 April 1723. His age appears as 66 on the 30 November, 1783, victualling list for the company of Captain John McDonnell of Butler's Rangers at Niagara. This is to be found in Early Ontario Settlers, A Source Book, Norman K. Crowder, 1993, Genealogical Publishing Co. Mary's age is shown as 50. This would place his year of birth to 1717. The gravestone year of birth, 1723, is the more probable. Mary's year of birth, 1736, as it appears on the gravestone is the more probable, but the victualling list would suggest that she was born in 1733. The victualling list does tell us that they have the following children as of this date: David, 26; Phoebe, 15; Andrew, 10; and Henry, 7. Such information as is to be found indicates that there were more. The above would seem solid evidence of McGregor Van Every's bona fides as a Loyalist. There was a problem, however, for son Andrew petitioned the Crown in 1802 that 'from some unknown circumstance' his father's name was not placed on the U.E. list. That his name should have been therein placed is supported with a letter in 1803 from John McGill, Inspector General, that McGregor Van Every should indeed be placed on the list. This of course was of benefit to McGregory's children who could receive land grants as children of a Loyalist. The cover of the file indicates that McGregory's name was indeed inserted in the list. We will mention here that a 'U.E. Roll' was worked up in 1797 and 'certified' by Ralf Clench. A copy of this may be found on pages 178 through 191 in E. Keith Fitzgerald's Ontario People, 1796-1803. This is referred to as File 7 and the archivist's description shows it to be of the Home (or Niagara) District. The sub title is: U.E. Roll - Niagara District - 1797, though the file pages show it as the Home District. McGregor's name heads the V list, and he is shown as dead. Peter Van Every's name also appears and he is shown as dead. Also appearing in the list are Samuel, William, David, Henry and Andrew. A superscription indicates that Henry and Andrew are not Loyalists per se, but sons of a Loyalist, namely McGregor, who is directly mentioned. As such, Henry and Andrew would be able to able to petition for a land grant. We will note that Henry Van Every's petition for land indicated that his father had not had a land grant from the government. We also note that McGregor died in 1786. There is a 1787 map of Niagara Township (source unknown) that shows lots with the names of the lot holders inscribed. 'Grigor' Van Every is shown on lot 10. (All the township lots are numbered sequentially without reference to a concession.) McGregor's is on the Niagara River. As with other lots, his is marked 'certified'. Just what his status was with the property is unknown and in any event, by 1787 he was dead. The War of 1812 destroyed many land records so we may never know the history of ownership for this lot. (These township lots at this time in the Niagara District were likely no more than 100 acres.) |
Children of McGregor Van Every and Mary Wilcox |
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| Last Edited | 10 Mar 2021 |