This article presents proof that Anna (Hannah Sr.) Sypes is a qualifying ancestor for the United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada and presents proof of her lineage through her daughter Hannah to the Bonner family.
[Note: In this article, the wife of Gilman Willson will be designated Hannah Sypes Jr., and her mother Hannah Sypes Sr., for the sake of clarity. No contemporaneous documents use the suffixes “Jr.” or “Sr.” for either Hannah Sypes.]
Hannah Schauer Sypes Sr., UE, and Jacob Sypes had a daughter, Hannah Sypes Jr.
Thomas Willson’s book on the descendants of Benjamin Willson, UE, gives extensive history about Gilman Willson and Hannah Sypes Jr., and Hannah’s mother, Hannah Sypes Sr. [1]:
- Hannah Sypes Jr. was born in 1773, the daughter of Hannah Sypes Sr. and Jacob Sypes.
- The widow Hannah Sypes Sr. “joined the Royal Standard” in 1778 by moving her family to Niagara.
- Hannah Sr. petitioned for land July 8, 1796 (the correct date is October 21, 1796, see below), and was granted 650 acres on March 31, 1797, for herself and her family.
- Hannah Sr. had remarried to Edward Stooks by 1796.
Hannah Sypes Sr. is cited on the UEL Association of Canada Loyalist list [2] as “Mrs. Hannah Stooks, formerly Widow Sypes (Sipes)”.
Proof Of Thomas Willson’s History
The following 3 documents prove and expand on the history given by Willson, confirming that Hannah Sypes Jr. (wife of Gilman Willson) was the daughter of Hannah Sypes Sr. UE, listed on the UELAC site as “Mrs. Hannah Stooks, formerly Widow Sypes (Sipes).”
Hannah Sypes (Sr.) Land Petition
Hannah Sypes Sr.’s land petition of October 21, 1796 [3] opens with “The Petition of Hannah Sypes” and continues:
“That your Petitioner in the Year 1778, Joined the Royal Standard, by coming to Niagara with Nine Children. That being the widow of a Soldier she was anxious her Children should serve his Majesty as the Father had done in the French War. That Two of her Sons consequently served in Butlers Rangers, that Six of Your Petitioners Daughters are now in this settlement and married…”
It is signed “Hannah Sypes, now Hannah Stooks”.
A testimonial from Marshall Terry J.P. was included with the petition (testimonial dated July 9, 1796, which likely accounts for the incorrect petition date cited by Willson). The testimonial confirms the name of Hannah Sr.’s deceased husband:
“A widow to Jacob Sipes who Served his Majesty in the Last French War…”
Hannah Sypes Sr. was granted 200 acres for herself and 450 acres for “family lands if not granted before” on March 31, 1797.
Hannah Sypes (Jr.) Land Grant
Hannah Sypes Jr.’s land grant in Fort Erie Township dated March 12, 1792.
At least 5 of the children of Hannah Sypes Sr. petitioned for, and received, land in Fort Erie. Each of her 3 sons Jacob Jr., Andrew, and Jonas petitioned for land based on the service of Jacob Jr. and Andrew in Butler’s Rangers. At least 2 of her daughters, Elizabeth Sypes Johnson and Hannah Sypes Willson, petitioned for land nominally on the basis of their father, Jacob Sypes, a Loyalist. It may be that their land was part of the 450 acres granted to Hannah Sr. as “family lands.”
The 1792 land grant [4] for Hannah Jr. establishes the following:
- The document states twice that Hannah’s father was Jacob Sypes, a Loyalist.
- Hannah was granted land in Fort Erie Township, lots 15 and 16 in the 11th concession.
- The grant is dated March 12, 1792.
This document proves that Hannah Jr.’s father was Jacob Sypes, a Loyalist. Hannah Sr.’s land petition cited above proves that her husband was Jacob Sypes, and therefore that she is the mother of Hannah Jr. The fact that the Hannah Sypes of the March 12, 1792 land grant was the wife of Gilman Willson is proven by the third document.
Land Registration Records Township Of Bertie, Concession 11, Lot 15
The first entry on the Bertie Township land registry [5] for concession 11, lot 15, shows the registration of the Crown grant of lots 15 and 16 to Hannah Sypes. Although the grant was issued in 1792, it was not recorded until 1796. In fact, Hannah Sypes had probably taken possession of the land before 1792. Land records were kept more informally until the division of Upper and Lower Canada in 1791; after that date, land patents were gradually formalized and recorded.
In 1799, Gilman and Hannah Willson sold lots 15 and 16 to Christian Hershey. The second entry on the page confirms their relationship under “Grantor”: “Gilman Willson and Hannah (Sypes) his wife.”
Documentation Of Birth, Marriage, And Death Places/Dates
There is considerable circumstantial evidence that Hannah Sypes Sr. was born Annatje Margerithe Schauer (Showers) in March 1737. Many books and websites discuss parts of her story: One of the best is the entry for her brother, Michael Schauer (Showers) UE on the website “Find A Grave” [6]. This entry states that Michael’s family and the family of Jacob and Hannah Sypes moved from New York to Bedford County, Pennsylvania in 1772, based on Pennsylvania land records. The entry continues, noting several dates: Hannah was born in March 1737, Jacob in ca. 1738, and the couple was married in 1755 in Rhinebeck, New York. The entry notes that Jacob Sypes appeared on a roster of Dutchess County Militia in New York in 1767, consistent with Hannah Sypes Sr.’s statement on her land petition that her husband fought with the British. Hannah’s birth month of Mar 1737 is confirmed by her baptism record [7] of June 17, 1737.
Jacob Sypes‘s service in the Dutchess County Militia in 1767 establishes him as a qualifying ancestor for the Society of Colonial Wars.