Henry Gesner (/ˈɡɛs/-, 1756-11-10 – 1850-10-13) was my 4th-great-grandfather, being the father of Gibbs Henry Gesner by his wife Sarah Pineo (1768-09-03 – 1842-04-23). He was born in Tappan, New York, and sided with the British in the American Revolution, serving and ultimately reaching the rank of colonel. He moved to Canada and settled in Kings County, Nova Scotia, in an area then known as Cornwallis.
Henry had a twin brother Abraham who was also a Loyalist. They both had large families and became the ancestors of Nova Scotia’s Gesners.
He is often referred to today as Henry Hendrick Gesner, but I can find no original record with Hendrick in his name. Hendrick is a variant of Henry also used as an Anglicization of Heinrich, and it may be that some enterprising researcher combined the names.
Origins
Henry’s parents were John Henry (Johan Heinrich) Gesner (1724-05-04 – 1811-07-06) and Famitcha (Femmetje, Famiche) Brouwer (1723-12-01 – 1788-02-10). Famitcha was of Dutch-American extraction. John was the son of Palatinate immigrants Johan Heinrich Gesner and Anna Elisabeth Schmidt, who fled that war-torn region in 1710. Their parents are unknown, but the name Gesner is attached to many prominent German individuals who may be related.
Henry’s wife Sarah Pineo was native to Cornwallis. She is of primarily English descent, but the surname Pineo comes from her French Huguenot great-grandfather James Pineo.
Career
Henry’s parents owned a prosperous farm in Tappan. When American independence was declared, they attempted to remain neutral, and this was, as often, interpreted as support for the British. Henry was explicitly Loyalist, and said he believed in “God and the king”, and, with his brother Abraham, joined the King’s Orange Rangers. The Rangers were formed in New York, but soon repositioned to Nova Scotia. An obituary summed his career up as follows:ref
d. Cornwallis, 13th inst., Henry GESNER, native of New Jersey age 94, Quarter Master of late Kings Orange Rangers and was in seven different engagements during the American Revolutionary War, Served the Crown upwards 60 years and lastly as Colonel of Militia.
Henry lost a prosperous New York farm to the Americans, as did Abraham, and in consequence was granted land in New Brunswick. However, this land proved fairly worthless, and so he remained in Nova Scotia, in an area historically known as Cornwallis, and with his brother purchased land there in 1785.ref The farm, located in what is today called Chipmans Corner, was successful, and Henry became prosperous and respected. Abraham received land in Wilmot to the south and relocated there.
Henry died at age 93 and is buried in Chipmans Corner.
Family
Henry and Sarah married 1786-05-04 and had twelve children, all born in Cornwallis:
- Rebekah (1787-05-27 – after 1871)ref ref, married Elkanah M. Terry.
- John Henry (* 1789-03-20), married Mary Lydia Chase.
- Elizabeth Smith (* 1791-05-11), married Samuel Chipman.
- David Henry (1793-03-07 – 1879-01-30)ref, married Sarah Stewart.
- Famitcha (* 1795-03-27), married Benjamin Cossitt.
- Abraham Pineo (1797-05-02 – 1864-04-29), married Harriet Webster. He was a surgeon, geologist, and naturalist best known as the inventor of kerosene.
- Gibbs Henry (1799-07-12 – c.1866), my great-great-grandfather.
- Sarah (* 1802-02-21), married a Dr. Carr.
- Henry Jr. (1804-04-17 – 1856-10-06)ref, married Catherine Kidston.
- Anna Maria (1806-09-28 – 1879-05-14), married Edward Hamilton.
- Lavinia Caroline (1809-05-22 – 1890-05-01), married Ebenezer Kerr.
- Charlotte Herbert Amelia (1813-09-08 – 1883-05-04)ref, married Samuel Barnaby.
Ancestry
Ancestry of his wife
See
- Find a Grave memorial, shared tombstone with his wife.
- The Gesner Family of New York and Nova Scotia at archive.org.
- “The Gesner Family”, in a history of Kings County.