Early settlers of this period included Quakers and Mennonites—two pacifist groups from the nearby American states of Pennsylvania, Vermont and New York. Both groups were seeking religious freedom, and were identified by the Upper Canadian government as people with necessary skills and abilities for establishing viable communities that could, in turn, attract others to settle in the region. The Crown also granted land in Upper Canada to mercenary German Hessian soldiers, such as Stegman, in exchange for their service against the 13 Colonies in the American Revolution.