Van Buskirk, Jacob

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Marion Robertson, “VAN BUSKIRK, JACOB,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 6, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/van_buskirk_jacob_6E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Merchant, office holder, jp, judge, militia officer, and politician; b. 1760 in Bergen County, N.J., son of Dr Abraham Van Buskirk and Sophia Van Dam; m. 22 Feb. 1790 Sarah Breen in Shelburne, N.S., and they had one son and two daughters; d. 27 Nov. 1834 in Yarmouth, N.S.
    • Jacob Van Buskirk followed his father’s example of loyalism during the American Revolutionary War, and in 1777 he was commissioned lieutenant in the 4th battalion of the New Jersey Volunteers. On 27 November of the same year he and three fellow officers were captured by the rebels in a raid on Staten Island, N.Y., and charged with high treason. The trial never occurred. After his release Van Buskirk rejoined his regiment, and on 24 Feb. 1780 he was commissioned captain. On 8 Sept. 1781 he was wounded at the battle of Eutaw Springs while serving in the Provincial Light Infantry.
    • When the New Jersey Volunteers were disbanded in the fall of 1783 at Parrtown (Saint John, N.B.), Van Buskirk went to the Shelburne region, where his father and other family members also settled. He received half pay and was granted 200 acres on the west side of Shelburne Harbour at Gunning Cove, and an additional 300 acres at Tusket River in what is now Yarmouth County.
    • In the House of Assembly, in 1805, Van Buskirk was returned in a by-election, and also the next year in the general election. He served in the assembly until 1818. In that year he and the other owners of the privateer Nelson were arrested by the deputy marshal of the Vice-Admiralty Court for “contumacy and contempt” in having ignored a ruling to pay to the registry of the High Court of Appeals the proceeds from the sale of a prize vessel. Following the procedure of the House of Commons, a committee of the assembly requested Lieutenant Governor Lord Dalhousie to obtain from the Court of Chancery a writ in favour of the release of Van Buskirk “by virtue of his privilege” as an assemblyman.
  • United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=13620
  • Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/151317858/jacob-van_buskirk