Barclay, Thomas Henry

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Judith Tulloch, “BARCLAY, THOMAS HENRY,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 6, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/barclay_thomas_henry_6E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Lawyer, politician, militia officer, and office holder; b. 12 Oct. 1753 in New York City, eldest son of the Reverend Henry Barclay and Mary Rutgers; m. 2 Oct. 1775 Susan DeLancey in West Falls (New York City), and they had 12 children, two of whom died in infancy; d. 21 April 1830 in New York City.
    • Thomas Henry Barclay was one of the most illustrious loyalists to settle in Nova Scotia. His grandfather was the Reverend Thomas Barclay of Albany, N.Y., founding rector of the town’s first Anglican church. His father was also a prominent Church of England clergyman who served as rector of Trinity Church in New York City, and his mother was the daughter of a rich brewer of old New York Dutch descent.
    • Barclay’s marriage in 1775 to Susan DeLancey (sister of James DeLancey, who became a member of the Nova Scotia Council in 1794) strengthened his ties to the colonial establishment, for the DeLanceys had long been among the most influential families in New York.
    • His legal career was soon interrupted by the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. Towards the end of 1776 he joined the British forces in New York and in April 1777 was commissioned a captain in the Loyal American Regiment. Later that year he was promoted major in recognition of his gallant service at the capture of forts Clinton and Montgomery on the Hudson River. In 1780 he was given command of the newly formed Provincial Light Infantry. Barclay served with distinction throughout the war, taking part in action in New York, New Jersey, and the Carolinas.
    •  Barclay’s estate in New York had been confiscated in 1776 and he was specifically named in the act of attainder passed by the New York legislature in October 1779. He had therefore little choice but to join the loyalist migration north. At first he contemplated settling in New Brunswick, but instead he established his family in Wilmot Township in the Annapolis valley of Nova Scotia, where he and brother officers of the Loyal American Regiment received extensive land grants. By the late 1780s he had moved to the town of Annapolis Royal and resumed his law practice.
    • In many respects, Barclay epitomizes the romantic ideal of the United Empire Loyalist: a rich, university-educated Anglican who had fought bravely for his king. On the other hand, he is also representative of the large body of loyalists of all classes and conditions for whom Nova Scotia was little more than a way station. Barclay’s talents and background, however, placed him in the fortunate position of being able to return to his native land while still honourably serving the cause for which he had accepted exile.
  • United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=9725
  • Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/172433298/thomas-barclay