John Handfield (?-c. 1763)

Around 1720, John Handfield received a commission as a teacher in the British army's 40th Infantry Regiment, under the orders of Colonel Richard Philipps. Settled in Annapolis Royal at least since 1731 and in 1736 he was appointed to the Counsel of Nova Scotia and served for 13 years. During the Deportation in 1755, he was charged with expelling the Acadians from the Annapolis Royal region and expressed sympathy for them, describing the episode as "extremely unpleasant", and with good reason. Having married Élisabeth Winniett, daughter of Acadian Marie-Madeleine Maisonnat, in 1730, he deported many of his Acadian in-laws who lived in the Annapolis Royal region. Handfield was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel in 1758 and that same year he took part in the capture of Louisbourg. In 1760, he retired from the army and ended his military career, most of which had been in Nova Scotia.
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