Page:George Bryce (1907) Laura Secord A Study in Canadian Patriotism.djvu/13

 born. Whether that be true or not, to be born in a time of political unrest, in a time of civil war, in a time of constant danger and surprise, and to have this the predominant feature in their lives, as was from their birth till the end of the century—well night thirty years must surely have produced a strength, a resource, a wariness, and a determination of the most remarkable kind.

A HEROIC STOCK

Besides they were both of "earth's best blood." James Secord was a descendant of the Marquis de Sicard of the reign of Louis XII of France. The family of the Marquis became Huguenots, in the time of the great

persecution of 1572, retired to England and in the following century five brothers Secord emigrated to New Jersey, where they founded New Rochelle, naming it from their estates confiscated near La Rochelle in France. After the revolutionary war, they came to New Brunswick. A part of the family journeyed west to Upper Canada, and James Secord settled on the Niagara frontier, as did also his brother David, after whom the village of St. David's was named. It is interesting to record that Sir Richard Cartwright's grandmother was a sister of James Secord.