I begin this, the first article on the first
page of the first issue of the Teeple Journal, with a discussion of my
oldest proven Teeple progenitor, Peter Teeple. Peter was born June
14, 1762 at Bordentown, New Jersey. Little is known of the facts
of his early life, though many stories have been repeated over the last
100 years. Few of these are useful as serious research material,
since primary sources are not usually cited, and they often lack independent,
corroborating sources.
"Sketch
of Peter Teeple, Loyalist and Pioneer" by W. B. Waterbury, was
published in 1899 by the Ontario Historical Society. It is full of entertaining
stories, as told by grandchildren of Peter Teeple, but many of the stories
are contradicted by the records. The very first word of the article: "Captain"
(referring to Captain Peter Teeple) is, itself, a falicy. In fact,
Peter did attain the rank of Lieutenant in the Norfolk Militia during the
war of 1812, but his highest rank in the American rebellion was that of
Sergeant of the King's American Dragoons. As far as I know, there
is no military record to justify the title of "Captain". It is possible
that the title came from his purported service as a ferry boat captain
during his New Brunswick years. There should be a ship's log in some
archive in either New York or New Brunswick to prove or disprove this theory.
The
entire Waterbury article is reproduced on this site. An accompanying
article [which will be included later] identifies some of the other known
fallicies contained therein.
From
time to time some of the more colorful stories known about Peter and other
Teeple progenitors will be repeated in this forum, not as fact, but at
least as interesting fantasy which had probably been told and believed
by many of our family. Those stories are not dangerous to the historical
record unless they are treated as fact. |
(image on file at Eva Brook Donley Museum, Simcoe,
ON)
 |
| Peter Teeple - a hand-drawn sketch from the
inside fly-leaf of a book. Said to have been drawn by an escaped
slave from the United States in about 1840. According to W. B. Waterbury
in 1899, "it is said by those who remember the old Squire to be a faithful
likeness ... [except]... that the chin is too pointed." |
About Peter & Lydia
(Mabee) Teeple:
Peter Teeple, born June 14, 1762,
probably at Bordentown, NJ, died in 1847 at the age of 85. He married
on January 8, 1785, Lydia Mabee, born June 6, 1770, the daughter of Frederick
and Lavina (Pelham) Mabee. She died in February 16, 1845 at the age
of 75.
They had 13 children, and issue
3 (July 1990) of Teeple People lists 97 grandchildren. |
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