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In July, 2025, Kathy and Katy made a
visit to Sillsville, Ontario, a 19th century
town that was home to some of our Sills
ancestors.
Conrad Sills and his sons including George,
Kathy's 4th great-grandfather, fought on the
wrong side of the American Revolution. They fled
to Canada where, as refugees, they were welcomed
and honored as being "Empire Loyalists." In the
1780s, the crown gave them lands on a peninsula
on the Bay of Quinte, on the north side of Lake
Ontario, where Sillsville was established.
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Map credit: By Vidioman - Crop
and trace of Image:Canada
(geolocalisation).svg; trace of
Image:Ontario subdivisions.PNG., Public
Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2926609
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The Loyalist Parkway is
the main highway along the peninsula
shoreline.
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Photo by KMI
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There's a
park and campground at the original landing
place of some of the Loyalist settlers.
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Photo by KMI
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This small boat could hold four or
five refugee families. They had been
assigned to lands purchased from the
Mississaugas for clothing and gunpowder. The
Mississaugas, a branch of the Ojibwe First
Nation, were also living nearby, according to
an early history.
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Photo by KMI
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Sillsville
today is only a cemetery and a solar array.
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Photo by KTI
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The cemetery is not signed and is
gated. Luckily the chain is just on a
hook.
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Photo by KMI
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The
gravestones are on the top of a long hill.
Donovan Sills' monument is the tallest.
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Photo by KTI
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Donovan was Kathy's second
great-grandfather, husband of Eleanor
Thompson, and father of Albert Sills who
emigrated back to the United States.
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Photo by KTI
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Rev. John
Sills was Donovan's father.
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| Photo by KTI |
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Photographer
Katy stands under the entry arch. The
apple trees on either side are full of fruit
which look like they are going to be
delicious.
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Photo by KTI who apologizes for
cutting off the top of the Sillsville sign.
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Back on highway 33. the Glenora Ferry
connects the end of the peninsula with Glenora
on the mainland. This is a free 20 minute boat
ride!
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| Photo by KMI |
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There are references to
the Loyalists everywhere.
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Photo by KTI
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Photographer Kathy on the ferry
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| Photo by KMI |
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Bay of Quinte, Lake
Ontario
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Photo by KMI
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| A short
distance from the ferry landing is a high hill
with a lake ("Lake on the Mountain") and viewing
points on the top. This is a good place to see
the two Glenora ferry boats and the trees of the
peninsula. |
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| Photo by KTI |
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The Bay of Quinte has clear water and
healthy submerged aquatic vegetation.
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Photo by KMI
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On our
return trip, the light coming through the clouds
was striking.
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Photo by KMI
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We made the
obligatory stop for ice cream at the Loyalist
Trading Company. Yes, there are goats on the
roof but the bear was what caught our eyes.
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| Photo by KMI |
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We visited the Anglican cemetery at
St. Paul's church in Sandhurst which also has
graves of many ancestral families.
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Photo by KMI
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This is a
memorial stone for Rev. George Sills and his
wife Margaret Bell. It has been cleaned and
mended and made to stand up straight. Earlier
photos show it lying in the grass.
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| Photo by KTI |
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The lower half of this peninsula is
pretty much all farmland and very beautiful at
this time of year.
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Photo by KMI
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Wheat and
soybeans are the main crops.
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Photo by KMI
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The farm equipment is impressive.
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Photo by KTI
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Here, a
wheat field is half shorn.
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| Photo by KTI |
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Occasionally there are
tracks in the fields.
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Photo by KTI
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A relatively
new barn and outbuildings
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| Photo by KTI |
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and an old apple tree
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| Photo by KTI |
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We visited the St. Albans Centre in
Adolphustown, built in the 1880s as a memorial
to the Empire Loyalists. All along the side
walls are memorial tiles dedicated to specific
Loyalists.
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Photo by KTI
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The church has an extensive literature
collection with lots of information about local
history. On weekends there are guides.
Katy got to ring the bell.
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| Photo by KMI |
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These are encaustic
tiles, made in England especially for this
church and paid for by descendants.
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Photo by KMI
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George Sills was "the second youngest
lad" to serve in the King's Royal Regiment of
New York. He was reputed to have been a
9-year-old drummer boy who served only 6 months,
but still he was awarded as much land as his
father, John Conrad, who had signed him
up.
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| Photo by KTI |
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We took advantage of the coffee shop
the centre has on Saturdays, and the
comfortable outdoor seating next to their used
book store.
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Photo by KTI
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Wildflowers--chicory and field bindweed
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| Photo by KTI |
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Mallard families in the
Bay of Quinte.
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Photo by KTI
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