Captain Peter Hare (11 May 1748 — 6 April 1834) was a company officer in Butler's Rangers

Butler's Rangers

Butler's Rangers was a British provincial regiment composed of Loyalists in the American Revolutionary War, raised by Loyalist John Butler.Most members of the regiment were Loyalists from upstate New York...

, a militia unit during the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

, and British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 Loyalist

Loyalist (American Revolution)

Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...

. After the war ended Hare immigrated and settled with his family in Lincoln County, Ontario

Lincoln County, Ontario

Lincoln County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario.The county was formed in 1792. In 1845, the southern portion of Lincoln County was separated to form Welland County....

 where he farmed until his death in 1834.

Early life

Hare was born on the 11th of May, 1748 in Mohawk River

Mohawk River

The Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...

, Tryon County

Tryon County

Tryon County is the name of two former counties in the United States:*Tryon County, New York- 1772-1784*Tryon County, North Carolina- 1768-1779...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He was the third son and youngest of four children born to John Hare. Hare was likely to have first enlisted for duty in the 2nd Albany County Militia Regiment. However, on the onset of the American Revolutionary War he resigned from the Rebel regiment and instead joined the Loyalist Butler's Rangers led by John Butler

John Butler (pioneer)

John Butler was a Loyalist who led an irregular militia unit known as Butler's Rangers on the northern frontier in the American Revolutionary War. He led Seneca and Cayuga forces in the Saratoga campaign. He later raised and commanded a regiment of rangers.-Background:John was born to Walter...

.

Revolutionary War

Hare was a regimental company captain in Butler's Rangers, a British provincial regiment composed of Loyalists

Loyalist (American Revolution)

Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...

, during the American Revolutionary war. Hare participated in the Wyoming Valley massacre

Wyoming Valley massacre

The Battle of Wyoming was an encounter during the American Revolutionary War between American Patriots and Loyalists accompanied by Iroquois raiders that took place in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania on July 3, 1778...

 of July 1778 and the Cherry Valley massacre

Cherry Valley massacre

The Cherry Valley Massacre was an attack by British and Seneca forces on a fort and the village of Cherry Valley in eastern New York on the cold, snowy and rainy morning of November 11, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It has been described as one of the most horrific frontier...

 in November of the same year. Due to actions by their allies, Iroquois under the command of Joseph Brant

Joseph Brant

Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. He was perhaps the most well-known American Indian of his generation...

, the unit as a whole was seen as savage.

When the war ended Hare moved to Lincoln County in Ontario where he, and several other veterans who had served with Butler's Rangers, was granted land in the Niagara region, Ontario to farm.

Family and Descendants

Hare married three times. He first married Elizabeth Petree, a French lady, in October 1777. The married took place in the Mohawk Valley of Tryon County. When Elizabeth died in 1785 he remarried Catherine Greenwalt in 1787. Hare thirdly married Margaret (Bowman) Secord, widow of Solomon Secord, after his second wife Catherine died.

Throughout his three marriages Hare had a total of ten children:

• Family of Capt. Peter and Elizabeth (Petree) Hare:
  • Mary Hare (18 Jan 1779 — Mar 1849) married Robert Brown.
  • Catherine Hare (24 Feb 1781 — Abt. 1812) married Isaac Walker.

• Family of Capt. Peter and Catherine (Greenwalt) Hare:
  • Elizabeth Hare (1788 — 1817) married Thomas Bradt.
  • Annie Hare (1790 — ?) married John Bradt.
  • John Hare (9 Jan 1792 — ?)
  • Peter Hare, Jr. (13 Feb 1794 — 1856) married firstly Magdalena Secord and secondly widow Jane McGaw.
  • William Hare (12 Apr 1796 — ?)
  • Deborah Hare (12 Sep 1797 — ?)
  • James H. Hare (26 Jun 1801 — 1880) married Rachel Patterson.

• Family of Capt. Peter and Margaret (Bowman) Hare:
  • Margaret Hare (20 Jun 1812 — 1870) married Robert Henry.