David Dinsmore, Ulster-Scots Loyalist in South Carolina and Nova Scotia Exile: Every Life Worth a Novel (7)

March 13, 2018

And now an “aftermath” posting about the story of David Dinsmore. As the following account indicates (I’ve previously posted it elsewhere online), in May-June 2016, I took a trip to Nova Scotia to see if I could find any trace of what became of David Dinsmore after he sold his Nova Scotia land in January … More David Dinsmore, Ulster-Scots Loyalist in South Carolina and Nova Scotia Exile: Every Life Worth a Novel (7)

David Dinsmore, Ulster-Scots Loyalist in South Carolina and Nova Scotia Exile: Every Life Worth a Novel (6)

March 12, 2018

If David Dinsmore did return to his wife Margaret and their five children after he sold his Nova Scotia land grant in January 1787, then it seems strange that Margaret is listed as head of her household in Spartanburg Co., South Carolina, on the 1790 federal census. A 19 November 1799 deed of Jane McClurkin … More David Dinsmore, Ulster-Scots Loyalist in South Carolina and Nova Scotia Exile: Every Life Worth a Novel (6)

David Dinsmore, Ulster-Scots Loyalist in South Carolina and Nova Scotia Exile: Every Life Worth a Novel (5)

March 10, 2018

4. Exile to Nova Scotia David Dinsmore’s 1786 Loyalist land claim in Nova Scotia states, “At the Evacuation of C. Town he came to this Province, and is now settled in Rawdon.”[1]  After the fort at Ninety Six fell and the South Carolina Loyalists retreated first to Orangeburg and then eventually to Charleston in the … More David Dinsmore, Ulster-Scots Loyalist in South Carolina and Nova Scotia Exile: Every Life Worth a Novel (5)

David Dinsmore, Ulster-Scots Loyalist in South Carolina and Nova Scotia Exile: Every Life Worth a Novel (4)

March 9, 2018

3. The Revolution A number of sources document David Dinsmore’s service under British military commanders during the Revolution.   On 19 April 1786 at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Dinsmore filed a land claim for his Loyalist military service.[1]  The claim states that in 1775, he had taken up arms under General Cunningham, joining Campbell in Georgia.  Cunningham … More David Dinsmore, Ulster-Scots Loyalist in South Carolina and Nova Scotia Exile: Every Life Worth a Novel (4)

David Dinsmore, Ulster-Scots Loyalist in South Carolina and Nova Scotia Exile: Every Life Worth a Novel (3)

March 8, 2018

2. From Immigration to the Revolution David Dinsmore and his wife Margaret left Ireland from Belfast on 7 October 1767.[1]  After their arrival in Charleston on 10 December 1767, they received their bounty land grant on the same day (22 December) on which, as noted previously, the South Carolina Council Journal documented the names and … More David Dinsmore, Ulster-Scots Loyalist in South Carolina and Nova Scotia Exile: Every Life Worth a Novel (3)

David Dinsmore, Ulster-Scots Loyalist in South Carolina and Nova Scotia Exile: Every Life Worth a Novel (2)

March 7, 2018

The David Dinsmore Family: Ulster Origins If the one document we have providing a precise age for David Dinsmore is accurate, he would have been born in or close to 1750.  The document in question is the list of passengers aboard the ship the Earl of Donegal when it arrived in Charleston from Belfast on … More David Dinsmore, Ulster-Scots Loyalist in South Carolina and Nova Scotia Exile: Every Life Worth a Novel (2)

David Dinsmore, Ulster-Scots Loyalist in South Carolina and Nova Scotia Exile: Every Life Worth a Novel (1)

February 26, 2018

Psychologist Erving Polster thinks every person’s life is worth a novel.[1]  For those of us curious to learn about our family history, Polster’s insight accounts at least in part for what compels us to keep learning.  Beyond the bare facts we accumulate in the pursuit of information about our ancestors lie stories that can in … More David Dinsmore, Ulster-Scots Loyalist in South Carolina and Nova Scotia Exile: Every Life Worth a Novel (1)

Begats and Bequeathals: A Southern U.S. Family Documented

January 28, 2018

Yes, another genealogy blog, and a good question to ask: why another of them when there’s already a plethora of genealogy sites online? I’m starting Begats and Bequeathals: A Southern U.S. Family Documented for a number of reasons. First, I’ve been researching my family history for over 40 years, and have accumulated a wealth of … More Begats and Bequeathals: A Southern U.S. Family Documented