Hugh Munro, Jr.

1765 - 1855  (90 years)

• Name	Hugh Munro
  Suffix	Jr.
  Born	1765	, , , American Colonies
  Gender	Male
  Died	5 Dec 1855	Cardinal, , Ontario, Canada
  Buried	Cardinal, , Ontario, Canada
  	Presbyterian Cemetery
  Person ID	I50028	Munro
  Last Modified	19 Apr 2004

  
  

  Father	Hugh Munro,   b. Abt 1716, , , Ross and Cromarty, Scotland ,   d. 1807, Edwardsburgh Twp, Ontario, Canada  (Age ~ 91 years)
  Mother	Mary Thorpe,   b. Abt 1740, Of, Amboy, USA ,   d. Abt 1778  (Age ~ 38 years)
  Married	Abt 1764	Amboy ?, , American Colony
  Family ID	F10370	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Grace Fraser,   b. Abt 1775, Prob., Mohawk Valley, New York, USA ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Married	Mar 1800	, , Ontario, Canada
  Children	1. Hugh Munro, III,   b. Abt 1801, Edwardsburg, Grenville Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. Edwardsburg, Grenville Co., Ontario, Canada   2. William Munro,   b. Abt 1803, Edwardsburg, Grenville Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. Edwardsburg, Grenville Co., Ontario, Canada   3. George Fraser Munro,   b. Abt 1805, Edwardsburg, Grenville Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   4. Thomas Munro,   b. Abt 1807, Edwardsburg, Grenville Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. Edwardsburg, Grenville Co., Ontario, Canada   5. Maria Smallman Munro,   b. Abt 1809, Edwardsburg, Grenville Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   6. Caroline Freeman Munro,   b. Abt 1811, Edwardsburg, Grenville Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. Of, Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence Co., New York + 7. Minerva Thorpe Munro,   b. Abt 1813, Edwardsburg, Grenville Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. Of, Toronto, Ontario, Canada   8. Amelia Grant Munro,   b. Abt 1815, Edwardsburg, Grenville Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   9. Sophia Munro,   b. Abt 1817, Edwardsburg, Grenville Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. Edwardsburg, Grenville Co., Ontario, Canada   10. Sussannah Martha Munro,   b. Abt 1819, Edwardsburg, Grenville Co., Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	20 Jan 2009
  Family ID	F17066	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  In 1782 Hugh Munro Sr. - in letters petitioning for land in Edwardsburg Twp, writes that he is 65 years old, and was expecting to visit his son in New York, whom he earlier describes as an "orphan left homeless in New York to the mercy of a stranger.." (Hugh Jr. would be about 17 years old at this time.) "A HISTORY OF CARDINAL" written and published by the Cardinal town Council in 1967 documents the following: (Pages 3-10 plus others) Because of a lack of records, Captain Munro, and his son, Col. Hugh Munro, have assumed one identity. The "homeless orphan" referred to previously is assumed to he the Hugh Munro buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Cardinal, and is the Colonel who "won his spurs" as a captain in the War of 1812. He belonged to the First Regiment of the Grenville Militia, was commissioned Major on the 21st of January, 1822. He was then raised to Leutenant-Colonel on the 5th of June, 1826, and reached the rank of Colonel on the 7th of August, 1830, when he assumed command of the Regiment (Ref (1) says 1st Battalion Grenville Militia), and served in this capacity until succeeded by Lt-Colonel Philip Dulmage on July 26, 1841. According to the Ontario Archives, Hugh Munro Jr. had been made officer commanding the flank of the 1st Grenville Militia in the year 1800 at the age of 35. When the War of 1812 broke out, men of the village and the area rallied around him to defend their homes against invasion by the Americans. Numerous skirmishes took place along the river with men of the Grenville Militia holding their own. Leavitt's History of Leeds and Grenville Counties describes some of the action on the morning of September 16, 1812. Five hundred Americans attcked a brigade of batteaux a short distance from Point Iriquois. Two companies of the Grenville Militia under Captain Hugh Munro and Captain Dulmage arrived to support the brigade, bringing with them a nine pounder, taken from the French at Chimney Island some fifty years before in 1760. The one gun battery compelled the Americans to evacuate the island and depart to the south shore of the river. Hugh was the Commanding Colonel of the 1st Battalion Grenville Militia during the Lyon Mackenzie rebellion of 1838-1839. The following exerpts are from a history of Cardinal written by an unknown author and published in the February 10 and 24 issues of the PRESCOTT JOURNAL in 1898 (Courtesy of Grenville Historical Society) "I remember that the place where Cardinal now stands was origionally owned by two men. The west half was owned by one Mr. Doyle, the other half was owned by Colonel Hugh Munro, a stalwart man who distinguished himself in the War of 1812. The reader will bear in mind that at this time there was only one house in this place and of course there were no roads, no bridges, no canal, no steamboats plying the river, and no clearings of any account. It stood in its primeval grandeur heavily wooded with beach, maple and other timber and roamed over by deer which came to slack their thirst when pursued by the Redmen of the forrest. Colonel Munro owned 200 acres of land on a portion of which Cardinal now stands. It was 200 acres wide extending back to the second concession. With this he also owned a large stone house, later known as the "Benson House" that was even later converted to a school. A long twisting road ran from here to the Mills on Munro Point as the area along there was covered with many large boulders, ledges and encumbrances. Colonel Munro concluded there was good water power on the point and decided to harness it for the running of a few mills. (Here the author may be confusing the actions actually undertaken by Hugh Munro Sr. to establish the first Saw and Gist Mills.) He built a small raceway along the edge of the river to get a more powerful water head. He built his mill, cosisting of grist, clothing and carding mills, all of which stood in a frame building and on the East half of where Cardinal now stands. Colonel Munro, when he built the carding mill must have had faith in the future of the country, for there were very few sheep in the neighborhood at the time. He foresaw that they would come and prepared a machine for carding their wool into rolls. The history which we are attempting to give would be very incomplete without further reference to Colonel Hugh Munro. I have a distinct recollection of seeing him a long time after he had passed through the War of 1812. Although I was a very little boy at the time, his stately appearance made on my mind an impression which can never be effaced. He rode on horseback and wore his regimentals which consisted of a splendid sword which hung by his side with a carbine on the pommel to the front. His suit and three cornered cocked hat was made of the richest material. He was on his way to Johnstown for a general drill of the soldiers which always took place on the 4th day of June of each year. Although the Colonel was faithful in training the soldiers, many of the soldiers themselves, I regret to say, were only trained to drink whiskey which training often put the men in fine trim for fighting and it was not uncommon for the drill to end up with a general field fight, the instruments being less deadly than the sword or carbine. Stories of the amount of silver at Colonel Munro's made a lasting impression on my youthful mind. I heard it stated, and often, by those who saw it, and I firmly believe it was true, that kegs or half barrels of silver dollars and half-dollars were rolled off at his door. This was told to me by parties who saw the hoops knocked off and the kegs raised, and who often expressed their astonishment at such a quantity of silver. Notwithstanding this the Colonel became a poor man. He left his stately home residence and lands and took up residence on the farm now owned by either Mr. Edson Adams or Mr. McKnight. There, I believe, he remained until he died and his remains lie in the old Presbyterian church yard. At his death the following notice of him appeared in one of the Canadian newspapers: "At his residence in Edwardsburgh, on the 4th inst., Colonel Hugh Munro, aged 90. The deceased gentleman was one of the ancient family of the Munros of Fowlis, grandson of the Laird of Fowlis [this is, of course, incorrect] and one of the oldest and most respected inhabitants of the County of Grenville. He had been an extensive timber merchant, an honest, upright business man, and an elder in the Scottish Presbyterian Church, and Colonel-Commanding the First Battalion Grenville Militia. He served in the last war, and commanded a flank company of Militia at the attack and capture of Ogdenburgh in 1812-13, and with his regiment, the First Grenville, was in active service at Prescott during the troubles of 1838-39. He left a large circle of friends and relatives, and his memory will be long cherished by the inhabitants of Edwardsburgh. References: (1) "History of the Munros of Fowlis" by A. Mackenzie - Inverness (1898) - p. 458-459 (2) Clan Munro files - Munro, Henry Dallas - GEDCOM file HMUNRO.GED dated 9 Oct 1996 Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA