When:
March 27, 2024 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
2024-03-27T19:30:00-04:00
2024-03-27T21:00:00-04:00
Where:
Via ZOOM
I’m sure you recognize Stephen Davidson‘s name from his frequent (almost weekly) contributions to Loyalist Trails. We are pleased that Stephen will speak to the Toronto Branch via zoom on Wednesday, March 27th at 7:30 pm highlighting “A Near Death Experience: The Fateful Voyage of the Evacuation Ship Esther.”
In September of 1783, more than 2 dozen evacuation vessels carrying Loyalist refugees left New York City for the mouth of the St. John River. Two ships became lost in the fog off of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. One was shipwrecked on rocky shoals. Only 57 of its 181 passengers survived the disaster. The second ship — the Esther— was guided to safety and eventually made its way to what is now New Brunswick. It’s nearly 300 passengers — the majority of whom settled in the Fredericton area– became the founders of the new colony. Loyalist historian Stephen Davidson will recount the story of the Esther’s “near death experience” and trace the impact of its passengers on the history of both New Brunswick and Ontario.
A retired teacher, Stephen has ancestors who sailed aboard the Union, the flag ship of the Spring Fleet, which brought the first Loyalists to New Brunswick in May of 1783. His 1975 bachelor’s thesis on an aspect of Black Loyalist history became the basis for his contribution to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
Stephen’s research has appeared in The Loyalist Gazette, multi
Contact torontouel@gmail.com for zoom link.
