Dutchess County, New York patriots forced colonists loyal to the British government to flee north into what became Ontario.
Smith Burtch was probably born about 1780 in Pawling, Dutchess County, New York.
Smith Burtch married Mary Elijah.
Lewis Burtch (1807),
Charles Burtch (1810, married Jemima Cain),
Betsy Burtch (1814),
Horace Burtch (1816),
Jacob Burtch (1818),
Alfred Burtch (1819), and
William Burtch (1823, married Lorana Root, daughter of Abel Root and Jemima Fish).
About 1805, they may have moved to the Mohawk Valley from Dutchess County.
At the time of the 1810 census, the family was in Montgomery County, New York. The household consisted of
a man and a woman between 26 and 44
3 children under 10.
After the census, they moved to Jefferson County, New York.
In 1842 and 1848 censuses, Smith was on Grenadier Island.
Grenadier Island is in the St. Lawrence River in Leeds County, Ontario. United Empire Loyalists settled on the island in the early 19th century. During the War of 1812, there was a watch post. By 1818, twelve farms had been established.
