Cutler, Thomas

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Judith Tulloch, “CUTLER, THOMAS,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 7, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/cutler_thomas_7E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Lawyer, jp, office holder, judge, militia officer, politician, and merchant; b. 11 Nov. 1752 in Boston, fifth child of Thomas Cutler and Sarah Reade; m. 3 March 1783 Elizabeth Goldsbury, probably in New York City, and they had five children; d. 8 Feb. 1837 in Guysborough, N.S.
    • Thomas Cutler was descended from a family resident in Massachusetts for more than a century. Educated at Yale College, he graduated in 1771 and settled at Hatfield, Mass., where he is said to have studied law. He joined the British forces in Boston at the outbreak of the American revolution and in September 1778 was proscribed in the Massachusetts Banishment Act. Serving first as a captain in the Volunteers of New England, by the end of the war he was established in New York as an assistant barrack master. In September 1783 he was commissioned ensign in the Orange Rangers, apparently because regimental rank offered greater possibilities for compensation and advancement.
    • Cutler and his wife were evacuated to Nova Scotia late in 1783 as part of the refugee group known as the Associated Departments of the Army and Navy, composed principally of headquarters staff. The group first settled at Port Mouton on the South Shore, but after a harsh winter marked by quarrels with other loyalists moved east to Chedabucto Bay. On 21 June 1784 they landed at the head of the bay, where the village of Guysborough was already beginning to take shape. Along with his fellow veterans, Cutler was granted farm land along the Milford Haven (Guysborough) River as well as town and water lots in the village.
    • Local tradition honoured Cutler as “King” Cutler, reflecting his widespread influence in the county. Eulogized for his “strict and known integrity, loyalty, and ability,” he is remembered as one of the founders of Guysborough.
  • Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory –https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=14562
  • Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/156449330/thomas-cutler