| Return |
by
Dr. Henry M. Tory, (NS)342
The immigrant Ancestor of the Nova Scotia Torys was James Tory who came from Aberdeen, Scotland and settled in Nova Scotia in 1783.
The name in Scotland as in England is variously spelled, Tory, Torry, Torrey, Torrie and Torey. The official documents in which the name of James Tory appears give two spellings, Tory and Torry. A town in Scotland, a suburb of Aberdeen, which bears the name is spelled in Scotland, Torry.
Two branches of the family were established in Great Britain during the Plantagenet period of British history, one in Yorkshire in the north of England and one in Elginshire, Scotland. The records show the Yorkshire branch as in possession of lands as early as the middle of the 13th century. At a not much later date the Scottish family appears on the scene in the person of Adam Tory Provost of Elginshire. The Provostship of Elginshire appears for a time to have been hereditary in the family.
That the Elginshire family was of some consequence at that time is shown by the fact that when James I, King of Scotland, having been held a prisoner at the English Court, was redeemed from nineteen years of exile by the payment of one hundred thousand pounds, Adam Tory was deputed with a score of other sons of Scotland whose names are not mentioned, to carry the money to England and to bring the King back to his native heath. As late as 1910 a portion of the original land was still in the possession of this family.
While the records available do not definitely establish the fact, it would appear that the North Country family was the parent family, and that the other branches found in various parts of England are off-shoots of the parent stock. For example, there is a large family settled in Dorsetshire with some members in Devon and Somerset. This family, which spells the name Tory, has complete family records since early in the seventeenth century. The records show that at the time the records begin one Netham Tory was engaged in the shipping business between Aberdeen in Scotland and Poole in the south of England.
There is good reason to believe that this family is of Scottish Ancestry. The family names are identical with those current in the Tory family in Scotland, and with those common in the Nova Scotia branch. James, John, William, Robert, George, Henry, Alexander, Clement, David repeat continuously in England, Scotland, and Nova Scotia.
Religiously the Torys of Scotland took the Protestant side in Reformation days as apparently did their English brethren. The Scottish Torys in the main became Presbyterian, the English. Independents or Church of England, the American branch of the family being descended from the Independents. The Dorset family are Evangelical churchmen, generally.
One branch of the Scottish family, that from which the Nova Scotia branch is descended, remained Episcopalian. That in Scotland meant High Church in the Anglican sense. Bishop, Patrick Tory, a nephew of the James who settled in Nova Scotia, was the last non-juring bishop of Scotland. He died in 1852. His son was professor of theology in a Scottish Episcopalian College in Scotland.
The father of James Tory, also named James, was a follower of Charles Stuart in the contest for the crown of England against the present Royal Family. He joined the rebellion in 1745. After the defeat of the Scottish army at Colloden (1745) he was a fugitive until the amnesty was declared in 1749. In the records, completed after the rebellion, of those who took up arms for Prince Charlie. He, with others, is described as "loitering," which meant that he had not been captured and shot as were many of the defeated Scots.
James Tory, the immigrant Ancestor of the Nova Scotia branch, was born in Aberdeen between 1750 and 1760. The date has not been definitely fixed. Like many of the descendants of the followers of Prince Charlie, he enlisted in the 71st Scottish regiment and was sent to America to fight on the British side in the Revolutionary War. At the end of the war James Tory, with others of his regiment, was a prisoner of war in New York. It is not clear whether or not he returned to Scotland. In any case he was honourably discharged from the army and was given a grant of land in Nova Scotia,—a Province which has always been dear to the heart of the Scot.
Guysborough at the head of Chedabucto Bay had been an important fortification for the protection of the fisheries during the days of the French possession. The old fort, the ruins of which still exist, overlooked the bay. A small settlement in what is now the county of Guysboro had been made by immigrants from the American Colonies between 1760 and 1770. Two important rivers enter the bay at its head, Salmon River, a non-navigable stream and the Milford Haven, a tidal river with a beautiful harbor, and navigable for the ships of that time for ten miles inland. The town and fort are situated at the mouth of this river. The valley of these two rivers and the shores of the bay offered a suitable field for settlement. There the United Empire loyalists and the disbanded soldiers were settled.
James Tory received a grant of land for a farm along with certain town lots. The original maps are available in the county records. He elected to settle on land in what has since been known as Guysboro Intervale above the head waters of the Milford Haven River. The homestead was occupied successively by his son James, his grandson William, and his great grandson William. It remained in the family until 1900 but has now passed out of their possession. His wife Christina Kirk, a native of Sterling, Scotland, followed him to Nova Scotia. There is still a tradition in the countryside of the fine qualities of these two people, especially of Mrs. Tory. She became a centre of influence and support to the new settlement.
Naturally in such a scheme of settlement the Protestant settlers grouped together. The associated names in the district were:- Ferguson, McKenzie, Aikens, Cunningham, McKay, Leet, Gillies, McDonald. The descendants of these original families are scattered over North America. Some of the first houses still stand. These names will be found closely associated by marriage with the Tory family.
There is a tradition in the family that a brother of James Tory, John by name, settled in the United States. My grandfather, who died in 1881, told me such was the case.
It would not be surprising, if a complete record were available, to find that he was the ancestor of the North Carolina family. Of the names of the six children of John Torrey of North Carolina five are common in the Nova Scotia branch, namely, George, David, James, Betsey and Mary. There is also a tradition of another member of the family having settled in New Brunswick. This family however moved over into the United States long ago and have been lost track of completely. Forty years ago a descendant of this family was still living in Moncton.
There is also in Ontario a family which spells its name Torrie. They came to Canada only a generation ago and are not descended from the early pioneers. Some of this family are known to me personally. They have also a tradition of having had an ancestor, James, who followed Prince Charlie. As the records of 1745 only shows the name of one Tory in rebellion, the Ontario family would appear to be descended from the same James Tory as the members of the Nova Scotia branch.
The above paragraphs are the complete verbatim written remarks of Dr. Henry M. Tory, (NS)342 concerning the Nova Scotia Torreys.
Source: Frederic C. Torrey, The Torrey Families and their Children in America, Vol II [1929]