after the
rebellion ?
in 1837, records in Upper Canada cease to mention Randal, Asa and Joel
Wixson. All three were active and founding members of the First Baptist
Church of Pickering since 1821, and the church minutes note their absence
in the member's list after 1855. All three were banished from Canada for
taking part in the Rebellion of 1837.
The cousins Townsend and Joshua Jr., although questioned by the court charged with trying the rebels, were set free in 1838 and they both appear in later church and/or land records.
It is recorded in previous research on the Wixsons of Upper Canada by
Wixom and Widdison (1966), that most of
the families, including Joseph and Joshua themselves, returned to America,
and settled in Sanilac County, Michigan. Joshua is said to have moved to
a farm near the town of Lexington shortly after he had repaid the debt
levied decades earlier -- the debt from which he fled to Canada in 1804.
Newer information casts doubt on this romantic story, especially since
Joseph and Joshua's graves are still here in Canada. It is probable that
Asa and Joel went to Sanilac County and were joined by their siblings later,
but this is unclear. Randal did indeed return to America after his imprisonment
in England, and joined the families in Sanilac County, but his wife and
child did not. Annis and Samuel remained in Brock.
Three Wixson families remained in Canada,
including the ancestors of our Cannington Wixsons, 
Samuel and Annis. |
The rest of the Wixsons  ,
left over the next few decades, and were joined by Randal. |