The Blackburn family is scattered across North America, but many have direct ties to Chatham-Kent.
Kevin Howley, who tracks the family history, said the Blackburns will converge on Chatham-Kent May 6 for the unveiling of a monument in Arnold Cemetery in Chatham Township.
Howley, who lives in Huntington Woods, Mich., said the monument is to honour the settlement of John and Mary Blackburn in Chatham Township in 1796.
John and Mary Blackburn were living in Pennsylvania when the American Revolutionary War broke out. The Blackburns fought as Loyalists, siding with the British.
After the war, they looked to leave the U.S. and initially petitioned to move to Detroit – while that city was still under British control, but it was transferred back to the United States, leaving the Blackburns looking at other options.
Howley said the opportunity arose in 1796 to obtain a substantial amount of land in Ontario for their service to the Crown during the war.
“I don’t know if they were being particularly persecuted at that point 20 years after the war, but they looked forward to the opportunity,” Howley said.
So, John and Mary Blackburn moved to Chatham Township and had eight children. Howley said two of the boys moved back to the U.S. over the next two decades, as the family still had property in Pennsylvania, but the rest remained in the Chatham area.
That presence has grown over the years, as the family branched out. Howley said he sent invites for the monument unveiling to 1,000 households, about 250 of which are in Canada. He estimates about 200 of those are in Chatham-Kent.
Howley’s branch of the family left the Chatham area in the 1890s, moving to Montana.
“It’s a pretty good core that’s still in the area,” he said.
The Blackburn Family Association was founded back in 1984 in anticipation of the 250th anniversary of the arrival of Blackburns to North America back in 1736, Howley said.
The family holds reunions every three years or so, and held one in Chatham in 1996 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the family’s arrival in Chatham Township.
Every year, the family association is involved in preservation projects. While this year it is the monument in Arnold Cemetery, in the past it has been working to help restore cemeteries, or providing funding to help restore historical buildings, Howley said.
The unveiling will take place May 6 at 2 p.m. Howley said it will be an informal event with a short program discussing the context of the Blackburn family moving here.
“We’ll talk about the Empire Loyalists and do a reading from his (John’s) application for his lands,” Howley said. “We’ve asked people to bring lawn chairs to sit around and socialize.”
To learn more about the Blackburn family, visit www.blackburn-tree.org.
