Sergeant Peter Teeple was one of the earliest settlers in Norfolk County, coming with his father-in-law, Frederick Maby, in 1793. He settled on lot eight of the broken front line of Charlotteville. Subsequently three of his sons received land in Oxford County, whither he also removed a few years later.

“William Teeple, laborer, son of Peter Teeple, a U. E. Loyalist, two hundred acres, Oxford, in Oxford County, 14th January, 1812.

“Edward Teeple, two hundred acres, Oxford, in Oxford County, 6th January, 1815.

“Pellum C., Teeple, two hundred acres, Oxford, in Oxford County, 8th December, 1832.

“Luke Teeple, two hundred acres in Charlotteville, Norfolk County, 20th May, 1817.”

[The entries are from the Docket books of grunts of land to United Empire Loyalists and military claimants, preserved in the Crown Lands Department, Toronto.]

Sergeant Teeple was quite a prominent man in Norfolk. He was one of the first justices of the peace, and one of the three appointed to administer oaths to municipal officers. He was also a prominent member of the first Baptist Church in Norfolk, and one of the original trustees of that body.

During the war of 1812, Luke Teeple, the Sergeant’s youngest son, while visiting his friends in New Jersey, was arrested by the Americans, and kept as a prisoner for over two years. On being freed he immediately returned to his home in Norfolk County.