Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/726

 COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES siderabic property. In 1775 M r. Stone's rela­ tions with his neighbors became seriously com­ plicated by reason o f his oulsiwkcn loyalty to the British Crown, and evcnituilly he was obliged to fors.ikc all and take refuge within the British lines in Ncw Y o rk, where he was cordially received, and took up arm s to serve the K ing, under the command of H is E xcel­ lency S ir WiUiam Howe. He remained in Ncw Y o rk until the evacuation by the English troops. During Mr. Stone’s sojourn in New VorK he was married to Leah Moore o f ibat city, March 23, 1780. the officiating clcrg)man being Rev. Charles Inglis, rector o f Trinity Church, afterw ards o f London. England, and eventually the first Bishop of the Church of England in British North America, being ap­ pointed to the See of N ova 5 otia about the k year 1787. In 178 3 Joel Stone .sailed for EngUnd fo r the purpose o f recovering a legacy to which his w ife w as entitled from her uncle, Commodore John Moore, form erly o f Boml>av. E ast India, who died at sea, and to secure suitable recognition from the British Govern­ ment for the losses he had sustained by reason o f his loyalty to the Crown during the Revolu­ tion. He appears to have experienced some of the proverbial delays involved in a chancery suit in those days, for he w'as not enabled to announce his departure from England until A u g. 2 ,17 8 6, when he sailed for Quebec, arriv­ ing Oct. 6, 1786, having succeeded in recover­ ing his w ife’s legacy and a military pension due the rank o f captain. During his sojourn in England he had a miniature painted and sent to his w ife; a replica o f this in oil, exe­ cuted by George Butler, o f Ncw Y o rk, hangs in Blinklxinny. He at first thought o f settling at Cornwall, but finding all the desirable lands already located in that vicinity he made further explorations westward, and in 179 1 came upon a tributary of the S t.!-awrcncc which at­ tracted his attention from the wild beauty of a cascade which emphasized its junction with the great river. T he Indians called the place “ Rocks in Deep W ater” or Cadanoghue, a word which has been transform ed in our Eng­ lish tongue to Ciananoquc. The possibility of utilizing this natural source o f |K>wcr at once apjiealcd to M r. Stone, and .application w as nvadc to the British government for the grant o f land to which he w as entitled as a United Em pire Iziyalist. In course o f time this grant was made, o f land on the w'est side of the Gananoque river, and Mr. Stone settled there in 1792. A simikar gr.ant w as nude to S ir lohn Johnson o f lands on the cast side of the fiv e r; which lands were subsequently pur­

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chased from S ir John by Charles and John Macdonald. From this time forth M r. Stone ecn landed from a Frcnch-Canadian batlcau and left to his own resources. H is w ife died in 179 3 and w as buried in Cornwall. Three children were born to him by his w ife Leah, one o f whom died in in­ fancy, a son and a daughter attaining maturity. H e became engaged in the preparation of timber and lumlier to be forwarded by raft to Quebec, and in return brought merchandise for exchange. H is business interests grew rapidly, and comfortable surroundings took the place of the rude shelter o f earlier years. In 1 7 ^ he married M rs. Abegail Daton. T hcir home became the rendezvous o f all comers and w as known far and near for its boundless hospitality. H e was the first col­ lector of the port, and on the 2d o f Jan uary, 1809, w as appointed colonel of the 2d Regi­ ment, Leeds Militia. Owing to declining years he w as soon obliged to resign his mili­ tary conunand. Colonel Stone died in his home at Gananoque N ov. 20. 1833. and his renuins rest in W illow Bank cemetery, west of the town. H is early struggles for existence in what was then scarcely more than a wilderness may ca.sily be imagined, but we find no record o f it in the correspondence which remains to u s: and what is particularly noticeable is that not a discordant note is sounded in any of the Colonel’s letters to relatives and friends from whom he had been obliged to part in 1775. M A R K S G R A H A M, now a resident of Bloomsbuig. is one of the large owners of farm property in this section and also has independent business interests, in the manage­ ment o f which he has liccn very successful. A native o f Ireland, Mr. Graham w as born in Queen’s county in 1844. son o f John (irahani. John Graham w as engaged in fruit growing in Ireland. When some o f his older children came to .America he followed them with his w ife and three younger children, landing in N cw Y o rk C ity after a voyage o f seven weeks .and three days made in a sailing vessel. They proceeded to what is now Madison township, Columbia Co.. Pa., and died there, though they had lived in Danville for about sixteen years. H e led a retired life from the time he settled in this country. He and his w ife, whose maiden name was Catherine Moore, arc buried