You are right, Dan, she was Merikan. But read on.

Laura Ingersoll was born in 1775 to a wealthy Massachusetts family.
Her father supported the patriot side during the American Revolution
and his business prospered during the war. However after Independence,
 an economic depression left the family in financial difficulty.
 Laura's father succumbed to the lure of cheap land in Upper Canada
 and moved his family across the border. Laura helped to raise her
 many brothers and sisters following their mother's death.
 Laura met her future husband, James Secord, at her father's tavern
 in Queenston. Laura and James worked hard together and prospered.
 By 1812, they had five children, two servants, a modest frame house
 and ran a successful business selling clothing and household goods.
 At the outbreak of war, James was already a sergeant with the
 1st Lincoln militia. In October of 1812, the Americans attacked
 Queenston Heights and Laura and the family fled to safety at a
 friend's house. However, upon learning that her husband was
 critically injured and was calling for her, Laura immediately set
 off for the battlefield.In the spring of 1813, the Americans occupied
 the Canadian side of the Niagara River. All able-bodied Upper Canadian
 men were considered prisoners of war and were sent to the states.
 The Secords were spared this hardship due to James's infirmity, and
 they were ordered to billet three American officers. One night at a
 dinner party for Colonel Boerstler, the commander of the American
 forces in Queenston, Laura and James overheard Boerstler inform his
 confreres that the Americans, "shall move against Fitzgibbon at
 Beaver Dams."James was still incapacitated by his shattered leg,
 so Laura set off on her own to warn Lieutenant Fitzgibbon of the
 imminent American attack. She left before sunrise and walked for
 eighteen hours through swamp, brush and farmland. Apart from the
 bvious danger of being spotted by an American sentry, Laura braved
 the blazing June sun and the potential hazard of wild animals. Near
 the end of her journey she encountered some native warriors and asked
 them to take her to Fitzgibbon's headquarters. After relaying the
 crucial information to the lieutenant, Laura fell fast asleep.
 The British forces and their native allies surprised the Americans
 and won the day. Had the Americans won at Beaver Dams they might have
 been able to take the entire Niagara region. Laura's contribution was
 not public knowledge at the time because the Secord family was still
 living behind enemy lines and feared revenge from American sympathizers
 in the community.
 Following the war, Laura and James filed several petitions to the
 government requesting either money or a government post in return for
 her services to her country. For many years, these petitions were ignored.
 Finally, at the age of eighty-five, Laura Secord received official
 recognition and a monetary reward from the Prince of Wales. She died
 eight years later in 1868.

        There you go.  Not even a mention of the cow nor of the stool.


     
       Back in Roxboro at N45.5  W073.6
  Have a great day !
___ Blue Wave/DOS v2.30
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5