Lefurgey, John

From: An Island Refuge- Loyalists and Disbanded Troops on The Island of Saint John, The Abegweit Branch of UELAC, 1983

Family tradition claims that John Lefurgey’s forebears were French Huguenots who were forced to flee from France during the religious persecutions. They escaped to Holland and thence to the Isle of Jersey in the Channel Islands before crossing the Atlantic Ocean to America. This Lefurgey family settled in Westchester County, New York.
Upon the outbreak of the American Rebellion, JOHN LEFURGEY and his father (name unknown) enlisted in the Loyalist forces and fought in several battles. It has been recorded that “In Westchester County, the Loyalists formed a majority of the population and were so active and formidable that they intimidated the local authorities”.¹ At the close of the War, John, along with thousands of other subjects loyal to the British Crown, boarded transports bound for Nova Scotia.
John Leforgee (sic) is listed, March 28, 1785, as one eligible for land on the Remsheg Grant. This grant of 20,300 acres on the River Remsheg, County of Cumberland, Nova Scotia, (Remsheg at Malagash Point) was set aside for Loyalists. It was here that John married a Miss Joyce from Springhill. Their oldest son and daughter were born before the family moved on to the Island of Saint John. They settled near other Loyalists living around Bedeque Bay.