What is known about Silas Morton:

1805 - Resident of Amherst in 1805 and was listed in poll taxes,Occupation: Farmer.

1814 - He sold his 28 acre farm and house in February 1814 and leftAmherst, age 32. He must have lived for a time in Wilmington, Vermont(Carl Morton - Silas' Great great Grandson is quoted in a book assaying, "My ancestors were from Vermont and Massachusetts")

1816 - According to records in the Land Records Office in Wilmington,Vermont, On 27 November 1816, Silas Morton purchased 92 acres and afarmstead for $1000. From Mr.
Blodgett of Wilmington. (Source: Wilmington, Vermont Public RecordsDivision: Book 5, page 565)

1820 - Listed in Wilmington, Vermont Census

1826 - Living in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1826 (Source: "Families ofAmherst" Amherst, Massachusetts)

1831 - Approximate year of arrival in Upper Canada

1832 - Listed as a 'Pathfinder' in North Gwillimbury Township Records

1836 - Became a naturalized citizen of Canada by swearing an oath ofallegiance to the monarchy (see explanation below " Upper CanadaNaturalization Records")

According to an analysis of volcanic activity on 10 April 1815 (FredPearce, "Boom!" New Scientist Magazine, 07 August 1999, Number 2198),Mount Tamboura blew up- on the island of Sumbawa, neighbour to Bali."The Times" in London reported the explosion in November 1815: "Wehave had one of the most tremendous eruptions that ever perhaps tookplace anywhere in the world. [A couple of local ship captains sailedto Sumbawa and reported that] They found the sea for many miles aroundthe island so completely covered with trunks of trees, pumice stoneand etc. as to impede the progress of the two ships. The crops ofpaddy have been utterly destroyed over a good part of the island.Great numbers have perished and more die daily."

The analysis points out that people heard the thunderous roar 850kilometers away. The fallout spread far and wide. Chinese reportsdescribe that 2000 kilometers away, the skies went so dark with ashthatthe sun disappeared. frosts destroyed crops and half the treesdied. China experienced exceptionally cold and stormy weather, withterrible harvests in 1816 and 1817.

Across the Atlantic in New England, 1816 was the coldest in 200 years.There was snow every month and frost repeatedly destroyed corn crops."Farmers would plant crops, they would die, they'd plant them againand it ruined the harvest then too," says Alan Robock (Meteorologistat University of Maryland). "That was the beginning of the migrationout to the Midwest of the US because people couldn't survive in theeast."


Donald McKenzie, 1980, Upper Canada Naturalization Records 1820 -1850. Toronto: Ontario Genealogical Society Publishing.

"After the war of 1812, regulations had been passed against aliensholding lands, but was pratically impossible to enforce theseregulations. In an 1826 Report, the Executive Council of Upper Canadaexpressed its concern in these words" "In as far as respectsemigrants from the United States, many causes co,bine to perplex thequestion of their alienage which does not apply to other foreigners.Such persons exhibit the same manners and features and speak the samelanguage with our own people and cannot therefore be distinguished,consequently, hundreds may come into the province and purchase realestate without the knowledge of the local government." The samereport goes on to point out that, right aftre the revolutionary war,it was reasonable to give preference to people from the Americancolonies who had spent most of their lives under monarchicalinstitutions. However the people who were coming from the UnitedStates in the 1820s had grown up under a Republican government and noone could lightly assume that they would be loyal supporters of themonarchy in their homeland.

Because of these concerns, an Act was passed in 1828, entitled 'An Actto Secure and Confer Upon Certain Inhabitants of this Province theCivil and Political Rights of Natural Born British Subjects.' Themain provisions of the act were:
1. Aliens who had been living in the province for seven years wereexpected to take the oath of allegiance within another three years.
2. Those who were under sixteen at the time the seven years expiredwere to take the oath within three years following their sixteenthbirthday."

Before Silas Morton moved to Upper Canada he owned land in
Amherst Massachusetts (1810 Census) and Windham County Vermont (1820
Census)

• Married: BEF 1809
• Note: Silas and Mary listed their marriage intention first on 01 October1808. Their second listing of intent was on 19 October 1808. Theywere married by Samuel F. Dickinson ¹

1. Rebecca MORTON b: 2 SEP 1809 in Amhurst, MA
2. Elisha MORTON b: 16 OCT 1812 in Windham Co., VT or Amhurst, MA
3. * John MORTON b: 13 JUN 1814 in Windham Co., VT or Amhurst, MA
4. Silas MORTON b: 1815 in Amhurst, MA
5. Friend MORTON b: 23 FEB 1819 in Amhurst, MA
6. Francis MORTON b: 4 SEP 1827 in Keswick, York Co., Ontario, Canada
7. Sheppard MORTON b: 1831 in Keswick, York Co., Ontario, Canada

1. Abbrev: vswhite@earthlink.net
   Title: vswhite@earthlink.net
   Author: Ancestry.com file: #36986