Thomas Ainslie (colonial official)
Thomas Ainslie (8 February 1729–7 April 1806[1]) is most known for his role as HM Collector of Customs at Quebec, with the British HM Customs, a department of the British Government. He served in Quebec as a loyalist to the crown, staunchly protecting its interests in the colony. Thomas Ainslie is the author of a journal on the siege of Quebec by the American Continental Army in the Battle of Quebec (1775).[2]
Thomas Ainslie | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 February 1729 Jedburgh, Roxburghshire, Scotland |
| Died | 7 April 1806 (aged 77) Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 12
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On 29 September 1768, Ainslie registered arms with Lord Lyon as the descendant of the Ainslies of Dolphinston. The Lord Lyon Depute granted Thomas's request, and the arms implicitly claim descent as the senior descendant of the Ainslies of Dolphinston.
In the Thirteen Colonies, Ainslie appears to have been the British Customs Officer presiding over the Duty that provoked the Boston Tea Party.
Marriage
His first wife, Mary Potts, was twenty-five when she died. Ainslie had eight children with Elizabeth Martin. His daughter of that union, Christian, married his business partner, John Young (seigneur)[3][1]
Heraldry
On 15 August 2012, the registration of the Armorial Bearings of Thomas Ainslie was given under the seal of the Canadian Heraldic Authority.[4]
Bibliography
- Canada preserved; the journal of Captain Thomas Ainslie, ed. S. S. Cohen ([Toronto, 1968])
- Blockade of Quebec in 1775–1776 by the American revolutionists (les Bastonnais), ed. F. C. Würtele (Quebec, 1906; repr. Port Washington, N.Y., and London, 1970)
References
- "PRDH - Programme de recherche en démographie historique. Généalogie canadienne-française du Québec". www.prdh-igd.com. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- "Collection: Jared Sparks collection of British papers relating to the American Revolution | HOLLIS for". hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- "Biography – AINSLIE, THOMAS – Volume V (1801-1820) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". www.biographi.ca. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- General, Office of the Secretary to the Governor. "Thomas Ainslie". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
Further reading
- Gabriel, Michael P., Québec during the American invasion, 1775-1776 : the journal of François Baby, Gabriel Taschereau, and Jenkin Williams, East Lansing : Michigan State University Press, ©2005, Abstract: "The 1776 journal of Francois Baby, Gabriel Taschereau, and Jenkin Williams provides an insight into the failure to incite rebellion in Quebec by American revolutionaries. The journal focuses on French-Canadian peasants, who made up the majority of the population; and helps explain why Quebec did not become the "fourteenth colony"."