John Munro, Fowles, and White Creek by Ted Rice, July 29, 2018

While John Munro never lived in White Creek, he was often here and some of his people settled here. His actions and activities had an influence on the area. He managed and sold land in White Creek in the Bain and Gordon Patents for Lt. Duncan MacVicar after MacVicar returned to Scotland in mid- 1768. Fowles, along with Jackson, Cambridge, and White Creek, was part of the Cambridge District for a few years. John Munro, son of Hugh and Christina Munro, was born in Fyrish, Scotland in 1728. He married Marytje Talbot Gilbert Brouwer, daughter of Cornelius Brouwer and Cornelia (she signed her name “Mary” on documents) on April 5, 1760 in Schenectady, NY. They had eight children. She died in 1815. John was a soldier in the 48th Foot and came to America in 1756 to fight in the French and Indian War. He got a land grant from that and soon became a prosperous merchant in Albany.

He is said to have acquired over 11,000 acres of landi, but I believe 6000 acres of that was probably the “Clarendon Township” he managed for Duncan MacVicar that straddled White Creek and Shaftsbury (the Bain, Gordon, and MacVicar Patents)ii. Counting that in with the 4000 acres he owned in the Battenkill Valley and the 1700+ he later claimed to the east of that, the total would come out about right. More on this later. Cornelius and Henry Brouwer, his father-in-law and brother-in-law, and a John Rickey, husband of a sister of Mary, were co-owners of the Fowles Patent. Sometime between 1765 and 1771 he moved north to his 4000 acre Battenkill tract which he named “Fowles” after the Munro ancestral manor of Foulis in Scotland. He farmed, operated a pot and pearl ashery, a nail factory, and several mills. He was an elder in the English Presbyterian Church in Albany and an Albany County magistrate – the latter of which, along with the location of his land, would soon put him at odds with the Green Mountain Boys. Munro’s initial efforts to settle people on his tract met with major opposition from the Hampshire Grants folks, who did not want them there. However, by 1768 he believed he had turned a corner and eventually his claim would prevailiii. We know that he did settle some people there, because some early White Creek settlers, especially in the Bain patent, are noted as being “of Fowles”. Among them are Benjamin Tiffany, Joshua Tanner, and Othniel Prestoniv. Others named as representing Fowles at the Annual Meeting of the Cambridge District in 1774 are Simeon Berry and Jabez Mosherv. They probably leased land from John in Fowles, (or their parents did), then bought their own from him in White Creek. In July 18, 1771 the New York sheriff led a posse to Breckenridge's Farm (North Bennington) and into a standoff with the Vermonters. The New Yorkers retreated. John Munro was present at this. In October 1771 the Green Mountain Boys expelled a number of Scottish settlers from Rupert. On March 22, 1772 John Munro led a party of 12 men into Arlington to arrest Remember Baker, who had a price on his head, at his mill there. The attempt soon degenerated into a free-for-all in which Remember’s wife’s arm was broken and he was badly injured. An account written by Ethan Allen and published in the Connecticut Courant of June 9, 1772, is doubtless greatly exaggerated for propaganda purposes.vi Baker was finally arrested and conveyed towards Albany (doubtless along the Battenkill). Probably because of Baker’s injuries, the party stopped overnight at Sancoick. Pursuing Vermonters, probably from Bennington rather than Arlington due to time constraints, bypassed Sancoick and went on south until they reached close to where Troy is today, when they realized they had missed their target and retraced their steps, soon encountering Munro’s party heading south. Munro’s men fled to the woods and the Vermonters recovered Baker and took him home. Munro and two others were arrested and taken to Bennington, but soon released. Soon after, Seth Warner came by John Munro’s house and demanded the return of Remember Baker’s rifle. When John refused, (he may have had no idea who took the rifle), Warner struck him over the head with the flat of his sword, knocking John to the ground. Some accounts say the sword broke. There was then a lull as both sides in the conflict realized it was getting out of hand and negotiated to reach a truce. It was a short lasting one, but John Munro seems to have decided to keep a low profile from this time on, seeing as he got no practical backing from Albany. He developed his land, mills, etc. and became quite prosperous. John was a committed Loyalist and was twice imprisoned in the period leading to the outbreak of armed hostilities. In 1776 he began recruiting Loyalists and soon had to flee to Canada, where he joined Sir John Johnson as a Captain in the 1st Battalion of the Kings Royal Regiment of New York. In 1780 he led a successful attack on Ballston Spa. He commanded the garrison at Coteau-du-Lac (Que.) in 1781. In 1783, at Haldimand’s request, he traveled from Quebec to Nova Scotia in the behalf of a group of Loyalists who had purchased land there. He was placed on half pay in 1784 and settled in the Luneburg District of Upper Canada, then went to England to try to get compensation for his lost lands in Vermont. He asked for 10,000 pounds but returned with less than 300, returning nearly broke and disillusionedvii. He wrote a letter appealing to James Duane for aidviii. However, he worked hard and made a good recovery in Luneburg, acquiring land and political offices, but never regained the prosperity and power he had before the Revolution. He died in modest circumstances in 1800ix. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58843156/john-munro#view-photo=140471462

Appendix 1:

The History of John Munro’s “Fowles” Land Patent

1. 1765 March 5. Memorial of Duncan McVicar, late quartermaster to the 55th Regiment, John Munro, merchant of the city of Albany, in behalf of Lieuts. Nichs. Ward and Edward Newland, both of the 80th Regiment, for 4,000 acres of land, in the county of Albany, about twenty miles east of Hudson’s river,

This seems to have been superseded the next day, perhaps because Duncan MacVicar saw that it would negatively affect his own land claim, or because John Munro’s in-laws wanted to get in on the claim.

2. 1765 March 6. Petition of John Munro, Henry Brower, John Rickey and Cornelius Brewer, praying a grant of 4,000 acres of land, in the county of Albany, on the east of Hudson’s river,

Cornelius was John’s father-in-law, Henry a brother-in-law, and John Rickey married to his wife’s sister.

3. 1765 Oct. 26. Return of survey for John Munro, Henry Brower, John Rickey and Cornelius Brower, of a tract of 4,000 acres of land in the county of Albany, on the east side of Hudson's river, and on both sides of Batten kill, (Arling ton, Vermont)...... * - - - - Map of the same, ......

4. 1767 Feb. 5. Petition of John Munro, Henry Brower, John Ric key and Cornelius Brown, in behalf of themselves and their associates, ‘praying a grant of 1,700 acres of land to the east of a tract already granted them in the county of Albany, on the east side of Hudson’s river, on both sides of Batten kill, .

5. 1771 Feb. 15. Petition of John Munro, Henry Brower, Edward McDonald and John McDonald, praying that the certifi cate of survey be signed for 4,000 acres of land, in the county of Albany, on the west side of Hudson's river, adjoining a tract formerly granted to Ryer Schermerhorn,

There were a number of petitions about this time for paperwork to be signed that never had been. The McDonald’s were substituted at this time because both John Rickey and Cornelius Brouwer had died.

6. 1772 April 22. Return of survey for John Monier and John Nicholas Bleecker, of a tract of 6,000 acres of land on the east side of Hudson's river in the county of Charlotte, adjoining the north bounds of a tract granted to John Munro, and others, (Salem, Washington Co., N. Y., and Arlington, Bennington Co., Vermont)...... 99 Map of the same, ......

This last just gives a better idea of where John Munro’s Patent was. Some of the maps show Monier’s land where John’s was.

From the Calendar of New York Colonial Manuscripts i J. K. Johnson, “MUNRO, JOHN,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 4, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed July 29, 2018, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/munro_john_4E.html ii Mrs. Anne Grant, Memoirs of an American Lady. Albany, Joel Munson, 1876. p.334 iii Ibid. iv Munro Mortgages, available on microfilm at the Albany County Hall of Records, Tivoli Street, Albany, NY. v Crisfield Johnson, History of Washington County, New York, Philadelphia, Everts and Ensign, 1878. p. 256 vi Francis Chase, MA, Gathered Sketches from the Early History of New Hampshire and Vermont, Claremont, New Hampshire, Tracy Kenney and Company, 1856. p. 143 vii The British Government before the Revolution sided with the New York landowners, but after the Revolution they often denied claims for compensation on the basis that the same land was part of the Hampshire Grants, therefore the claimant didn’t legally own it and had no basis for a claim. This likely saved them money, but wouldn’t have made them popular with those who had supported the crown. John’s 300 pounds was probably for the small portion of his land west of the 20 mile line. viii Mrs. Anne Grant, Memoirs of an American Lady. Albany, Joel Munson, 1876. p.321 ix J. K. Johnson, “MUNRO, JOHN,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 4, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed July 29, 2018, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/munro_john_4E.html