Born 21 April 1772 in New Concord, New York; died 18 March 1869, Bear Island (near Fredericton), New Brunswick.
Like many Loyalists, Hannah Ingraham’s family paid dearly for their loyalty to the British cause in the American Revolutionary War. Hannah was only four years old when her father joined the King's American Regiment in 1776, which resulted in American Patriots harassing the family and confiscating their farm.
When the war ended, the Ingrahams had few options other than to start life over again in what remained of British North America. They left New York for New Brunswick in September 1784. As winter set in, the Ingrahams settled at St. Anne's Point, which had been renamed Fredericton when it was chosen as the capital of the colony in 1784.
Hannah Ingraham’s reminiscences, recorded by the wife of the local Anglican minister late in Hannah’s life, are a precious primary resource for historians. They offer vivid and detailed evidence of the difficulties that the Loyalists faced in adjusting to pioneer life in New Brunswick. In her account, Hannah describes the family’s first rugged cabin in the New Brunswick forests, interactions with the Maliseet, whose land was being occupied without their consent, and the development of institutions such as schools and churches to sustain civil society in the colony.
Since she never married, Hannah lived with her parents until her father died in 1810. She then lived with her brother Ira Ingraham and his family at Bear Island on the outskirts of Fredericton. Ira Ingraham’s house still stands, restored to its 1840s condition, at King's Landing historic site. Here Hannah lived in a small room off the kitchen where she would draw warmth from the kitchen fire.
In the vocabulary of her day, Hannah would have been called a “spinster” or “old maid”. The term “spinster” derives from the custom whereby unmarried female children were usually assigned the task of spinning the cloth essential for the family wardrobe. Unmarried women were often the objects of pity and scorn because they had failed to make the transition from a young maid to housewife. As mistress of her household, a woman took charge of important economic and social functions for her family and reproduced the next generation of family labour.
R.P. Gorham, "The Narrative of Hannah Ingraham: Loyalist Colonist at St. Anne's Point, October 1783." (Unpublished Manuscript, University of New Brunswick Archives & Special Collections, 1933).
W.O. Raymond, The Ancestry of the Family of William Odber Raymond, A.D. 1630-1920 (Toronto: R.W. Hale, 1983).
"Hannah Ingraham," New Brunswick Department of Wellness, Culture and Sport.
For further reading see the bibliography of print and online resources.
Hannah's account recounts her experiences settling in New Brunswick after leaving New York as part of the Loyalist migration.
Read more primary documents relating to the lives of Loyalist women in colonial New Brunswick.