This lady was no doubt Mrs. Allan's mother. She had continued to live at the old place after Thomas Trueman had taken possession, and as this was in the year 1808, she had lived thirty-two years after her daughter left the country.

The question has been asked, would it not have been better for the northern half of this continent if the Eddy rebellion had succeeded and what is now Canada had become one country with the United States? The name Americans could then fairly have been claimed by the citizens of the great Republic and a people whose interests and aspirations are identical, and whose religion, language and customs are the same, would have been united in carrying out the destiny of the Anglo-Saxon in America. This may sound very well, but events have transpired in the last hundred and twenty-five years that point unmistakably to the conclusion that the God of history intended this northern land called Canada to work out its own destiny independent of the southern Republic. At the period of the Eddy rebellion Nova Scotia was still in the cradle and had no grievances to redress. New Brunswick as a Province had no existence. Never in all history had a conquered country been treated so justly by the victors as had Quebec. Ontario at this time was but a western wilderness. It will thus be seen that there would have been no justification for the new settlers in this northern land to have joined hands with the thirteen older colonies.

Another preliminary objection can be found in the situation of the Loyalists of 1783, from the fact that one of the grandest band of exiles that was ever driven from fireside and country would have found no place on the continent to make new homes for themselves. This would have placed them in infinitely worse circumstances than that body of noble men and women of another race that twenty-eight years earlier in the century had been driven out as exiles to wander in hardship and want on that same New England coast. These Loyalists brought to Canada the sterling principle, the experience in local Government, the sturdy, independent manhood and business experience and energy which this northern land needed to make it one of the most prosperous and best governed countries in the world. To think what Canada would have been without the Loyalists helps one to see more clearly how fortunate it was that the Eddy rebellion was crushed.

The British Empire may owe more to the loyal Yorkshire emigrants than has ever been fairly accorded to them. Canada as a coterie of colonies furnished Great Britain with a training school for her statesmen that she did not otherwise possess. In this way British North America has been the prime factor in placing Great Britain first among the nations of the world in the government of colonies. It is true English ministers and English governors made mistakes and had much to learn before the present system was fully adopted, but the descendants of the Loyalists and those who remained true to the Crown during the stormy years of the Revolution were not likely to stir up strife without a just cause. And is it claiming too much to say that to Canada's remaining loyal in 1776 is due to a very large extent the proud position Great Britain holds to-day as the mother of nations, the founder of the greatest colonial empire the world has yet seen?

There are those who believe that the principle of equality and fraternity, of government by the people and for the people, the freedom for which the Pilgrim Fathers faced the stormy Atlantic and for which Washington fought against such odds, has been worked out in fuller measure and juster proportions in Canada than in the United States. Canada has helped greatly to emphasize the truth, only yet half understood by the world, that it makes little difference whether the chief ruler of a country is called president, king or emperor, or whether the government is called a monarchy or republic. These are but incidents. What is important, what is essential,if freedom is to be won and maintained, is that the people understand their rights and have the courage to maintain them at any sacrifice. It was the leaven of freedom working in the lump of the British people that gave the world the Magna Charta, Montford's rebellion, Cromwell and the Commonwealth, the Revolution of 1688,and the still greater Revolution of 1776.

This last event broke from the parent stem one of the strong branches of the Anglo-Saxon family, and gave each an opportunity to work out in different ways the ideals after which both were striving. And who will say that the descendants of Cromwellians and Quakers, Nonconformists and Churchmen, whose ancestors, from force of circumstances or love of country remained in their island home, are not to-day breathing the air of freedom as pure and unadulterated as their cousins on the banks of the Charles or in the valleys of the historic Brandywine. At any rate, we who live in this northern country, that escaped the cataclysm of 1776, feel that Canada has been no unimportant factor in helping to work out the great problem of government for and by the consent of the governed.

CHAPTER V

THE FIRST CHURCHES OF THE ISTHMUS.

THE spiritual interests of the people of old Chignecto have always been well-looked after. One of the first white men to visit the Isthmus with a view to settlement was a priest, and the man who wielded the largest influence in and around Fort Beausejour during the last years of the French occupation was a priest, the vicar-general of Canada. In more than one instance the assistance promised to the colonists in Acadia by the wealthy was provisional upon the conversion of the Indians to Christianity. During the French period three chapels were erected on the Isthmus—one at the Four Corners, Tantramar, one at Fort Beausejour, and one at Beaubassin. These chapels were burned during the taking of Beausejour and the expulsion of the Acadians. The bell on the chapel at the Four Corners was buried by the Acadians at the intersection of two lines drawn from four springs to be seen in that locality yet. Some years after a party of Acadians, on getting the consent of Wm. Fawcett, who in the meantime had come into possession of the land, dug up the bell and carried it to Memramcook. The late Father Lefebre exchanged it for a larger one. It is believed that the bell from the Beausejour chapel is the one now used in St. Mark's church, Mount Whatley. This bell is ornamented with scrolls and fleur-de-lis and has the following inscription:

AD HONOREM DEI FECIT F.M. GROS, A ROCHEFORT, 1734.

The first Protestant ministers on the Isthmus were Episcopalians. Mr. Woods, a clergyman of that denomination, was at Fort Lawrence in 1752, 1754 and 1756. In 1759 Rev. Thos. Wilkinson was at Fort Cumberland, and in 1760 it is recorded that Joshua Tiffs baptized Winkworth Allan at the fort. Between that date and the arrival of Rev. John Egleson no record has been found. Mr. Egleson was born a Presbyterian, and was educated for that Church. He was ordained, but afterwards changed his views, and joined the Anglicans. He was reordained by the Bishop of London, and sent, in 1769, to Chignecto, by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts.

Reference is made in another part of this book to Mr. Egleson's capture by the Eddy rebels in 1776. He seems to have been the first to take possession of the glebe lands of the parish, and the farm was for many years called the "Egleson farm." The parish register containing the earliest records has been lost or destroyed, so that from the arrival of Mr. Egleson down to 1794 very little is known of the local history of the denomination.

In 1794 a meeting was held on the 27th February, at or near Fort Cumberland, and the following business was transacted: "Messrs. Gay, Siddall and Brownell were appointed a committee to prepare plans for a church, to be erected at once on the town plot, and to obtain subscriptions." The new church was to be 46 feet long and 34 feet wide, with 19-foot posts. Messrs. Gay, McMonagle and McCardy to be the Building Committee. This is the old St. Mark's Church, that stood so long at Mount Whatley. The first list of subscribers were:

William Allen, L3, in pine lumber. Samuel Gay, L3, in timber. Ralph Siddall, L3, in timber. Titus Knapp, L3, in drawing stone. James Law, L3, in drawing stone. Jerry Brownell, L1 10s., in timber.

The cost of the church, when finished, was L310. Of this amount the people subscribed L170. The Bishop of Nova Scotia gave L70, and there remained a debt of L70.

Having succeeded so well in building the church, a meeting was called, at the request of Rev. Mr. Willoughby, to provide a house for the clergyman. His request was granted, and in 1795, Mr. Milledge being then the resident minister, the church-wardens agreed to pay two-thirds of the amount of rent for the house in which he was living until the parsonage was built.

At a meeting of the vestrymen in 1796, the school lands of the parish were rented to Spiller Fillimore for L7 5s. These lands now bring an annual rental of $200. In 1810 the church-wardens of St. Mark's church were:

Amos Fowler. Samuel Gay. James Ryan. John Trenholm. Harmon Trueman. Chas. Oulton. Samuel McCardy. Jas. Hewson. William Copp. William Tingley. Geo. Wells. Thos. Trueman. Bill Chappell.

At a meeting held Nov. 2nd, 1818, it was resolved to take down the church and rebuild, making the width thirty feet. No reason is given for this strange proceeding. The contractors for the work were Wm. Jones, Henry Chapman, and Thos. Trenholm. This building stood until 1880, when a new building of more modern architecture was erected on the same site, where it stands to-day. The names of the clergymen who have been resident or had the oversight of the church in Westmoreland since 1752, as far as can be found, are given below:

Mr. Wood, 1752-6. J. W. D. Gray. Thos. Wilkinson, 1759. R. B. Wiggins, 1831. Joshua Tiffs, 1760. G. S. Jarvis. John Egleson, 1769. R. B. Wiggins. Mr. Willoughby, 1794. Geo. Townshend. John Milledge, 1795. Robert Donald Mr. Perkins, 1805. Richard Simonds. Rev. C. Milner, 1822. Chas. Lee. Donald Bliss, 1852-1902.

The following entries referring to church matters are from Mr. Wm. Trueman's Journal:

"July 26th, 1803—Rev. Mr. Gray preached at the church, from Proverbs 6 c., 3v., 'Humble thyself and make sure thy friend.'" Mr. Gray was probably a visiting clergyman.

"July, 1806, Oct. 16th—William Allan was buried at the church-yard at Camp Hill, attended by a large concourse of people. Mr. Milledge preached a sermon."

"December 25th, 1806 (Christmas Day)—Mr. Bamford preached at Stone Meeting House (Methodist), and after, Mr. Perkins administered the sacrament. The house was full of people."

As far as is known there was not a resident Episcopal clergyman in Amherst until 1823. Christ Church was erected that year on the county courthouse ground. In 1842, through the efforts of Canon Townshend, a new church was built on the present site. Rev. J. W. D. Gray was the first clergyman. The Rev. Canon Townshend came to Amherst in 1834, and held the rectorship until his death.

METHODISTS.

A letter written from England to Mr. Wm. Trueman, Prospect, in 1776, asks if the adherents of the Methodist societies have any place of worship to go to, or do they meet among themselves according to the usual way of the Methodists. The reply would be that they met amongst themselves, as there is no record of a "meeting house" until some years later.

The Methodists of the early Yorkshire emigration at first met quietly at the home of one of their number for their services. In 1779 religious interest deepened, and a wide-spread revival began. Meetings were held, followed by encouraging results. Among the new converts was Wm. Black, of Amherst, afterwards Bishop Black. It is recorded that at a quarterly meeting held, in 1780, at Wm. Trueman's, Wm. Black received a great blessing, and although only a young man, he took from that time a prominent part in the meetings of the neighborhood. Three young men, Scurr, Wells, and Fawkender, agreed with Wm. Black to visit in turn, each Sabbath, the settlements of Prospect, Fort Lawrence, and Amherst. From 1780 until after the first Methodist Conference of the Maritime Provinces, in 1786, Wm. Black had charge of the Cumberland Circuit, which included from Wallace (then Ramshag) to Petitcodiac, taking in Bay Verte and Cape Tormentine. In 1782 the membership of the circuit numbered eighty-two. In 1786 the first Conference was held at Halifax.

Shortly before Conference Mr. Black, with his family, moved to Halifax, leaving in his place, at Cumberland, Mr. Graudin, of New Jersey. Mr. Graudin was sent back to Cumberland by the Conference. He was assisted by John Black, of Amherst, brother of Wm. Black. In 1787 Mr. Graudin was removed and his place taken by Mr. James Mann. That year land was bought on which to build a chapel, and in 1788 the first Methodist church in Canada was built at Point de Bute. It stood somewhat back from the road in the present cemetery. The house was of stone, with a roof of thatch. The following is the deed of the property on which the house was built:

"This Indenture, made this eighteenth day of September, on thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, and in the twenty-eighth year of His Majesty's reign, between William Chapman, of Point de Bute, of the one part, and the Rev. Mr. John Wesley, of London, of the other part, witnesseth, that in consideration of five shillings currency, by the said John Wesley to the said William Chapman, truly paid before the sealing and delivering hereof, the receipt whereof the said William Chapman doth hereby acknowledge and for divers other considerations him thereunto moving, the said William Chapman hath granted, bargained and sold, and by these presents doth bargain and sell unto the said John Wesley and his successors in the Methodist line forever, one acre of land, situated and lying in the County of Westmoreland, and Province of New Brunswick, bounding on the west on land belonging to James Law, Esq., and on the south on the main road leading from Fort Cumberland to the Bay Verte, together with all privileges to the said premises appertaining and all the profits thereof with the right, title and interest in Law and Equity, to have and to hold the said acre of land, to him the said John Wesly and his successors in the Methodist Line forever, and to be appropriated for a preaching House and burying-ground, and other conveniences that shall be judged necessary to accommodate the same under the inspection and direction of the general assistant or the preacher by Conference stationed on the Circuit, together with Wm. Wells, Thomas Watson, Esq., Richard Lowerison, George Falkinther, Wm. Trueman, jun., Stephen Read, and James Metcalf to be Trustees to act in concert, and those to be only Trustees as long as they adhere to the Doctrine and Discipline of the said John Wesley and his connection, and in case of death or failure of any of these particulars the preacher is to nominate one in his room. Furthermore, the said William Chapman, for himself, his heirs, executors and administrators, doth covenant to and with the said John Wesley and his successors, the before mentioned demised premises, against the lawful claim or demand of any person or persons whatsoever, to warrant and secure and defend by these presents, in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal. Bargained year before written. "Signed, sealed and delivered, in presence of

JAMES LAW, WILLIAM CHAPMAN. SALLY LAW, JANE CHAPMAN. "JAMES WRAY, Missionary."

James Wray, and Englishman, ordained and sent out by Wesley, arrived in 1788. He was the first ordained Methodist minister in Cumberland. Previous to this the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered by the Episcopal clergyman. This same year Mr. Black, Mr. John Mann, and Mr. James Mann went to Philadelphia and were ordained. Mr. Mann and Mr. Wray were both on the Cumberland circuit for a year, and Mr. James Mann remained in charge until 1791, when he was followed by Mr. Whitehead. From 1793 until 1797 Mr. Early, Mr. John Black and Mr. Benjamin Wilson were each at times preaching in the Stone Chapel. Mr. Wilson was alone in 1798, and assisted by Mr. Cooper in 1799. In 1800 Joshua Marsden came out from England and was sent to the Cumberland circuit, where he labored for three years.

The following are from the journal before referred to:

"1802, May 9th—Mr. Marsden preached his farewell sermon at the Stone Meeting House.

"May 10th—Mr. Marsden set out for Conference."

Mr. Wm. Bennet followed Mr. Marsden, coming directly from England to Cumberland, arriving at Mr. Trueman's on June 26th.

"June 26th—Mr. Bennet arrived at our house and went to Tantramar.

"27th—Mr. Bennet preached his first sermon at Tantramar.

"July 8th—This day was appointed by the Government as a day of thanksgiving for the blessings of peace. Mr. Bennet preached at the Amherst Court-House from Romans 12 c. 1 v. to a crowded and attentive audience."

The church at this time was in a fairly good financial condition. Point de Bute was then headquarters for the ministers, it and Sackville being the most important places in the circuit. Mr. Mann visited Point de Bute in 1803, preaching at the Stone House on May 2nd, also June 16th.

"June 16th, Mr. Mann preached at Mr. Wells'."

"June 26th—Mr. Mann preached at the Stone House morning and evening to a crowded house."

Mr. Bennet's place was taken, in 1806, by Mr. Stephen Bamford, a local preacher sent out from England. he was afterwards ordained and remained three years.

"July 6th, 1806—Mr. Bamford preached at the Stone House for the first time."

On June 3rd, 1808, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Black paid a visit to Point de Bute, making their home at Mr. Wm. Trueman's. It was a great joy to the church there to have Mr. Black with them again. In 1809-10-11, Mr. Knowlan was on the Cumberland Circuit, and in 1812 Mr. Bennet returned, followed by Mr. Dunbar, in 1815.

Mr. Dunbar remained three years and his place was taken by Mr. Priestly. During Mr. Priestly's stay the new church was built at Point de Bute. It stood in front of the spot occupied by the old Stone House, and was opened by Mr. Priestly in 1822.

Mr. Stephen Bamford was on the circuit 1823 to 1825; Wm. Temple in 1826 and 1827; Wm. Webb in 1828 and 1829; Wm. Smithson from 1830 to 1833.

In 1833, Rev. Alexander McLeod was sent to Cumberland as assistant. He made his home in Point de Bute, and was there most of the time until 1836. Rev. Richardson Douglas had charge of the circuit in 1834 and 1835. Mr. Jos. Bent came in 1836, and the house on the farm now owned by Mr. Burton Jones was rented for a parsonage. During Mr. Bent's ministry there was a large revival at Point de Bute, and about sixty members were received into the church. Mr. Bent was followed by Richard Williams, who remained two years. In 1840 the Sackville District was divided, the Point de Bute Circuit consisting of Point de Bute, Fort Lawrence, Bay Verte and Cape Tormentine. The Cumberland Circuit had been divided before this (as early as 1830), but the exact date cannot be found.

Below is a list of the ministers who have been resident in the Point de Bute Circuit since 1840:

Wm. Leggit, 1840-1842. Geo. Millar, 1842-1843. Parsonage built. R. Williams, 1843-1844. Sampson Busby, 1844-1847. Wm. Smithson, 1847-1850. Geo. Johnson, 1850-1853. Wm. Smith, 1853-1856. T. H. Davies, 1856-1860. John Snowball, 1860-1861. Point de Bute Circuit again divided. Michael Pickles, 1861-1863. Chas. Stewart, 1863-1865. Geo. Butcher, 1865-1866. Robert Duncan, 1866-1868. Wm. Wilson, 1868-1870. Jas. G. Angwin, 1870-1873. Present parsonage built. Douglas Chapman, 1873-1876. Edwin Mills, 1876-1879. Geo. W. Fisher, 1879-1882. Present church built in 1881. Thos. Marshall, 1882-1884. W. W. Lodge, 1884-1885. S. R. Ackman, 1885-1888. Jas. Crisp, 1888-1891. F. H. W. Pickles, 1891-1894. J. A. Clark, 1894-1896. T. L. Williams, 1896-1897. Jos. Seller, 1897-1898. D. Chapman, 1898-1901. Thos. Marshall, 1901.

The first Methodist church in Sackville stood a little north of Philip Palmer's farm. It was opened in 1790 by Rev. James Mann. Previous to that date the preaching place had been a small schoolhouse, which stood near the place where J. L. Black's store now stands. The new building served its purpose for twenty-eight years. Then another was built at Crane's Corner, on the same site as the present church.

The following extracts from the Sackville Circuit Book of 1801-1811 may prove interesting:

"QUARTERLY MEETING. "POINT DE BUTE, August 28th, 1802. "(1) Q. Who is the general steward for the circuit? A. William Trueman. Elected. "(2) Q. Who is steward for Sackville? A. John Fawcett. Elected. "(3) Q. Who is steward for Dorchester? A. John Weldon. Elected. "(4) Q. Who is steward for Amherst and the Rivers? A. Thomas Roach. Elected. "(5) Q. How shall Mr. Bennett's expenses to New York be paid? A. Let it be approved by the next Conference. "(6) Q. When and where shall the next quarterly meeting be held? A. At W. Fawcett's, Sackville, January 9th, 1803."

"QUARTERLY MEETING. "December 3rd, 1810. "Q. Where shall a house be built for the circuit preacher? A. In Sackville, on the lands given by C. Dixon, Esq., and John Harris. "Q. How shall the expenses be borne? A. By a subscription begun first in Sackville. "Q. Of what material shall the said house be built? A. Of brick, except the cellar wall, which shall be made of stone. "Q. Who shall be appointed to provide stone and timber during the winter previous to the next quarterly meeting? A. Charles Dixon and Rich. Bowser to see it provided out of the subscription. The said timber to be got for a house 34 by 24. "Q. Shall the collections made in the Stone Chapel go to the discharging of the debt due to Mr. Trueman for the care of the said chapel? A. Yes, and also to the providing of wood for said chapel."

"QUARTERLY MEETING. "SACKVILLE, March 9th, 1811. "Q. Shall the minutes of Dec. Q. M., 1810, respecting preacher's house be agreed to by this Q. M.? A. Yes, we are agreed that the house shall be built upon the grounds given by Messrs. Dixon and Harris. "Q. Who shall be the trustees of the said house? A. John Fawcett, Jr., Chas. Dixon, Jr., Edwin Dixon, Esq., Rich. Bowser and Thomas Roach, Esq. "Q. Who shall we employ to build the house? A. Chas. Dixon, Jr., who has engaged to finish it in a workmanlike manner for L200, according to plan, N. B., 35 ft. by 24, one story and half high and of brick."

BAPTISTS.

In 1763 a Baptist church at Swansea, Mass., left in a body and settled in Sackville, bringing their pastor with them. They numbered thirteen members. Almost all of them returned to Massachusetts in 1771. The Baptists were the first Protestant denomination in Sackville, but had no church building until about the year 1800. That year Joseph Crandall organized the church, and they at once proceeded to erect a building in which to worship. The site chosen was at the Four Corners. The church which replaced this one in 1830 was called Beulah.

The first Baptist association for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia met in Sackville in 1810. Sackville was represented by Elders Jos. Crandall and Jonathan Cole, and by Messrs. Wm. Lawrence and Jos. Read. There were twenty-two elders and messengers present, representing fourteen churches. Amongst the representatives were Fathers Murray and Harding, and Peter Crandall, Nathan Cleveland and Elijah Estabrooks. A letter published in August, 1810, by Rev. David Merrill, in the AMERICAN BAPTIST MAGAZINE, reports his visit to the Association, in Sackville, as a member of the Lincoln Association, Maine. He is jubilant with hope for the new work and exclaims in triumph, "Babylon appears to be in full retreat." It is said that at a revival service in the Beulah Church, in 1822, conducted by Fathers Crandall, Tupper and McCully, twenty-five persons were immersed in Morris's millpond. During the service a woman stood up to exhort, handing her infant of six months to a bystander. The woman was Mrs. Tupper, and the infant the future Sir Charles Tupper. This must have been Sir Charles's first appearance in public life.

The Baptist Church in Amherst was organized about 1810, or perhaps a year or two earlier, by the Rev. Jos. Crandall. To the Association in Sackville they sent two messengers, Thos. S. Black and Wm. Freeman, reporting a membership of fifteen. The Rev. Chas. Tupper was the first pastor, ordained in 1817. He had charge of the church, with occasional relief, until 1851.

The Baptists of Westmoreland did not erect a church building until 1825. The late Wm. Tingley, of Point de Bute, gave the site and also the largest subscription. The following clause in the subscription paper is worth transcribing, as showing the liberality in religious matters which existed at that time. The Presbyterians of Jolicure assisted in the building, and were given "the right to hold service in proportion to the amount they subscribed, and when it is not in use by either Baptists or Presbyterians, if wanted occasionally by other denominations of Christians, it shall be open and free for such service." Although the building was erected in 1825 there was no church organized until 1850.

The first minister was Rev. Willard Parker, and the deacons Rufus Fillimore and Henry Ward. The ministers who have been in charge from that date down to the present time are:

William Parker. Trueman Bishop. John Roe. Chas. A. Eaton. David Lawson. T. D. Skinner. W. A. Coleman. J. D. Wilson. G. F. Miles. H. Lavers. David McKeen. D. A. Steele.

PRESBYTERIANS.

The Presbyterians were organized and had a church building in Amherst as early as 1788, but it was not until the Rev. Alexander Clark arrived, in 1827, that they had a regular minister stationed with them. Previous to this several ministers had been with them, but only a very short time.

In the grant of the Cumberland township of 1763 land was given to the Presbyterian Church on which to build a manse, but there is no existing record to show that it was ever taken possession of by that body. The first church in the township was erected in Jolicure about the year 1830. The land was given by Thos. Copp, and the Brownells and Copps of that place were very active in the work of building. Rev. Alexander Clark, of Amherst, was the minister in charge of the congregation. Dr. Clark spent his life in preaching the Gospel to the same people and to their children, with whom he began his mission when he first came to the country in 1827 or 1828. His circuit extended from Maccan to Pugwash, and from there along the Northumberland Straits to Shemogne, including Amherst, Jolicure, and Sackville. He was a fine type of the Scotch-Irish minister, who spoke what he believed was the truth, whatever the consequence might be.

EPISCOPALIAN.

The first Episcopal Church in the Sackville Parish was built at Westcock in 1817. The rectors have been as follows:

John Burnyeot, 1818-1820. Christopher Milner, 1820-1836. John Black, 1836-1847. T. DeWolfe, 1847-1860. G. G. Roberts, 1860-1873. David Nickerson, 1873-1875. J. D. H. Brown, 1875-1878. R. J. Uniacke, 1878-1879. C. P. Mulvaney, 1879-1880. C. F. Wiggins, 1880-

St. Paul's Church, Sackville, was commenced in 1856, and consecrated in 1858. The late Joseph F. Allison was largely instrumental in building this church. As the two churches, St. Paul's and St. Ann's, Westcock, were in the same parish, they were under the charge of one rector.

CHAPTER VI

THE TRUEMANS.

WILLIAM TRUEMAN was born in Yorkshire, England, in the year 1720, and emigrated to America with his family in the year 1775. They were probably passengers in the ship JENNIE, Captain Foster, which came to Halifax that spring with a number of emigrants from Yorkshire. The family consisted of William Trueman, his wife Ann, and their son William, an only child, a young man in his twenty-fourth year.

Billsdale* was the name of the township they left in the Old Country. They were Methodists in religion, but had been members of the Episcopal Church and brought with them the prayer-books and commentaries of that communion.

[FOOTNOTE: *Billsdale, Westside Township, is a long moorland township of widely scattered houses on the west side of the Rye, extending from six to eight miles N. N. W. from Helmsley, and is mainly the property of the Earl Haversham. Its area is 4,014 acres; its land rises on lofty fells at Rydale Head. Hawnby parish includes the five townships of Hawnby, Arden, Billsdale, Westside, Dale Town, and Snillsby, the area of the parish being 24,312 acres. END OF FOOTNOTE]

In addition to his business as a farmer, William Trueman, senior, had taken the legal steps necessary in England to enable him to work as a joiner if he were so inclined. The son William had been engaged in the dry goods business a year or two before coming to Nova Scotia.

After landing at Halifax they came by schooner to Fort Cumberland, and very soon after settled about four miles from the fort at Point de Bute, then called Prospect.

There does not seem to have been many of the name left in Yorkshire at this time, and those who were in Billsdale and vicinity shortly moved to other parts of the country. A nephew of the first William, named Harmon, moved to another township, married, and had a family of ten children. Mary, Harmon's youngest daughter, married a man named Brown, and they called one of their sons Trueman Brown. Charles, a son of Trueman, spent a year at Prospect in the eighties, and Harmon, a brother of Charles, visited the home in 1882-83. I have not been able to trace the family in Yorkshire in any but this one branch. There is a photograph at Prospect of John Trueman, a son of the Harmon here mentioned, which shows a strong likeness to some of the family in this country.

A family of Truemans living in Ontario came to Canada about the year 1850, but we have not been able to trace any relationship.

The first purchase of land by the Truemans in Nova Scotia was from Joshua Mauger. This property was conveyed to William Trueman, sen. The deed reads: "I, Joshua Mauger, Esq., of London, in Great Britain, Esq. member of Parliament, of the town of Poole, in the county of Dorsetshire, for and in consideration of the sum of ninety pounds lawful money of the Province of Nova Scotia," etc., etc. This ninety pounds was paid for eighty acres of upland and fifty-four acres of marsh adjoining a wood lot on Bay Verte Road, and a right in the great division of woodland, so-called. The deed was signed at Halifax by the Hon. John Butler, as attorney for Joshua Mauger, on the 8th September, 1777, and the money paid the same day. Thomas Scurr and J. B. Dight were the witnesses, it was proved at Fort Cumberland on the 31st of Sept., 1777, by Thomas Scurr, and registered in New Brunswick by James Odell, May 3rd, 1785.

The next purchase of real estate was made from Thomas Scurr, the place now called Prospect Farm. Six hundred and fifty pounds lawful money of the Province of New Brunswick was the amount paid. Between the first and second purchase the Province had been divided, and that part of the township of Cumberland in which the Truemans settled had gone to New Brunswick. The number of acres in this last purchase was estimated at eight hundred, including nearly five hundred acres of wilderness land. The deed was witnessed by Thomas Chandler and Amos Botsford. Mrs. Scurr did not sign the deed, and the following is the copy of a document found very carefully laid away among the old papers at Prospect:

"VIRGINIA, PRINCESS ANN COUNTY, "June 25th, 1789. "On this day personally appeared before me, Dennis Dooley, Justice of the Peace of the said county of the commonwealth of Virginia, Elizabeth Scurr, and voluntarily relinquished her right of a dower in a certain tract or piece of land in the town of Westmoreland and Province of New Brunswick, viz.: Three eighty-acre lots, Nos. sixteen, eighteen and twenty, with the marsh and wilderness thereto belonging. All in division letter B, and described fully in a deed from Thomas Scurr to William Trueman and on record in Westmoreland, No. 142. "Given under my hand and seal this day as above. "DENNIS DOOLEY. "The within Elizabeth Scurr doth hereby voluntarily subscribe her name to the within contents. "ELIZABETH SCURR."

Dennis Dooley, Justice of the Peace of the commonwealth of Virginia in the year 1789, was a good penman.

James Law owned Prospect Farm before Thomas Scurr. The deed conveying the property from Law to Scurr is still among the documents at Prospect. As Law was early in the country after the expulsion, it is probable he was the first to get possession after the removal of the Acadians.

Thomas Scurr, sen., left the country soon after selling Prospect Farm. The old chronicles say he was a man very much esteemed for his piety. He represented Cumberland township, for one session at least, in the Legislature at Halifax. In 1785, "in opposition to the advice of a friend against going from a place where was wanted to a place where he was not wanted," he removed to the South, and purchased an estate near Norfolk, Virginia. He repented too late, for nearly all the members of his large family fell victims to diseases peculiar to southern climates.

There was another Thomas Scurr in the country at this time, probably a son of Thomas Scurr, sen., who married Elizabeth Cornforth, of Sackville, in August, 1787. Mrs. Scurr lived only a week after giving birth to a son. The boy was called Benjamin, and was taken care of by his aunt, Mrs. Jonathan Burnham. Thomas Scurr, after the death of his wife, left Sackville with the intention of going to the West Indies, and was never heard from after. It was supposed he was lost at sea. The Scurrs in Sackville are descendants of the boy Benjamin.

William Trueman, sen., was above the average height, and rather stout, with head, shoulders and face that indicated strong character. In personal appearance his grandson Robert much resembled him. He was fifty-five years of age when he came to Nova Scotia. His wife was eight years his senior. She, too, was tall, with a countenance showing a great deal of reserve power.

William, the son, was a small man, with round features and dark hair. His son John was said to resemble him closely. He must have retained his youthful appearance well into mature life, for after he had been in this country some years he went to Fort Lawrence to poll his vote and was challenged for age by the opposing candidate. His youthful appearance had led to the belief that he had not arrived at the age to entitle him to exercise the franchise. His left arm was partially withered, or had not grown to its full size, from an injury received in childhood through the carelessness of a nurse. The family brought with them from England some furniture. There is still the old arm-chair at Prospect, and the old clock keeps good time for the fifth generation.

There is no record of the impression the new country made upon the family, but judging from a letter received by William Trueman, sen., the year after his arrival, and copied below, it must have been favorable:

"SNILLSWORTH, February 9th, 1776. "DEAR BROTHER AND SISTER,— "These are with our love to you and to let you know that we are in a tolerable state of health at present. "We have many of us been poorly, but are much better. We received a letter from you last November, which gave a great deal of satisfaction of mind on your account, because we had been informed that you had nowhere to settle in, but as you have given us a particular account concerning your situation and how you were settled and that you liked Nova Scotia and was all in good health of body it was much to our satisfaction, and I hope you will let us hear more particularly from you how your chattle and corn answers thee, and how and what product your ground doth bring forth, and what sort of grains your ground answers best for, and what chattle you keep, and what you can make of your chattle and how much milk your cows give and what is the most profitable things you have. "Now, dear brother, let me know the truth and nothing but the truth when you write. "I desire that you would let me hear from you at any opportunity whenever it suits your convenience for I think we shall never have the opportunity to see each other's face any more here below, but I desire to hear from thee and I hope thee will do the same by me as long as our lives shall be on this side eternity. "Farewell, I conclude with my love. Sarah Bently and John Bakers are in good health and send love to you all."

The following extract from another letter received at Prospect about the same time, will be interesting to some:

"SNILLSWORTH, Feb. 19th, 1776. "DEAR BROTHER AND SISTER AND NEVY,— "These are salutations of love to you all, expecting they may find you in good health as they leave us at present. "We received your letter November last and was glad to hear from you, but more especially that you were all in good health of body and that you like 'Nove' (Nova Scotia) very well because we have had many slight accounts that you were in a very poor situation, but heard nothing to our satisfaction, and that you would have returned back to Old England but had nothing to pay your passage with, which gave us both me and my wife a great deal of distraction of mind. So we consulted with sister Sarah Bently and more of our friends that we would raise money to pay your passage to Old England, but dear brother and sister, as we have had a few lines from your own hand that you like the country well, so it has put and end to that consultation."

It would be difficult to answer at once some of the questions asked in these letters. They had only arrived in America the previous summer, and unless thy purchased cows on their arrival, they could not at this date have had much experience in dairying, and it would be the same with grain. There is a tradition that the stock, ten cows and a number of other cattle, were purchased with the Scurr farm, but this farm was not bought until some years after. The Truemans probably followed the course taken by many of the first settlers at that time, which was to lease a farm for a term of years, in that way gaining experience in the country before finally purchasing land themselves. After the family had been two years in the country, William Trueman, jun., married Elizabeth Keillor, a daughter of Thomas Keillor, of Cumberland Point, or No. 1, now called Fowler's Hill. The Keillors came from Skelton, Yorkshire, to Nova Scotia in 1774, and settled on the farm at present occupied by a great-great-grandson, Charles Fowler.

It was near the date of this marriage that the Eddy rebels were terrorizing the settlers around Fort Cumberland, and shortly after the event Mr. and Mrs. Trueman went to Mr. Keillor's to spend the Sabbath. During the day the house was surrounded by the rebels, and the inmates kept prisoners until the next day, when the rebels dispersed, and the young couple made their way home as quickly as possible, to relieve the anxiety at Prospect.

The Keillors and Truemans had been friends in England, and were related in some degree. Elizabeth Keillor was but nineteen when she consented to take charge of a home of her own, and, as subsequent years proved, well did she discharge the duties that devolved upon her in that relationship. Though below medium size, she had a nervous force and will-power that enabled her to accomplish more than many of stronger build. It is told of her that on a Sabbath, when the family were all at church, she noticed something wrong with the cattle, and on going to see what caused the trouble, she found a cow so badly injured by some of the larger animals, that to make the carcass of any value it would have to be slaughtered at once. Mrs. Trueman went to the house, got the butcher-knife, and bled the cow to death.

Nervous force, like any other force in man or woman, has its limit, and if used too fast it will not be there when wanted in old age. Mrs. Trueman did not live to be very old, and her last years were full of suffering. Overtaxed nature had given way, and the penalty had to be paid.

The family never separated, but all moved into the house on the Scurr farm, and began in earnest to face the battle of life in the New World.

Halifax was at that time the market for butter and beef, so after the wants of the settlers and the commissariat at Fort Cumberland had been supplied, such produce as could be sent by schooners to Halifax was forwarded in that way, and the cattle, for beef, were driven overland— a long and tedious journey.

Mills for sawing lumber or making flour were scarce. The stones are yet to be seen in Sackville with which grain was ground by hand-power.

The Truemans soon began to experiment in mill building. Their first venture was a mill driven by horse-power. A windmill followed, and was located on the high ground at the corner where the Point de Bute road turns at right angles, leading to Jolicure. This must have been an ideal spot for such a structure. There is no record of how long this mill stood, but it could not have been long.

There was a good stream on the farm for a water-mill, but it was not utilized for this purpose for some years, probably for the want of means. Their first work in this line was the building of a small mill on the brook that formed the ravine at the south-west side of the farm. A dam was thrown across the stream at the head of the ravine, and the water carried in a flume some distance farther down the brook; the great fall of water enabling them to use a large over-shot water-wheel. It is only quite recently that the main shaft of the wheel has disappeared.

A long dam was built across the stream that leads to what is now called the Upper Mill, for the purpose of turning the water to the new mill, and also forming a reserve pond. This dam can be plainly seen at the present time, although covered with quite a growth of timber. The mill in the ravine did not stand long either, and the next move was to dam the water on the main brook, now called the Trueman Mill Stream, and put up a large and substantial grist-mill, that proved a great convenience to the whole country for many years.

Beside this large expenditure in mills, most of which was made in the lifetime of the senior William, there was a large outlay made for dyking and aboideau building. Piece by piece the marsh was being reclaimed from the tide and made to yield its wealth of hay and pasture for the support of flocks and herds.

I find a record showing there were seventeen cows on the farm in 1790, and for the benefit of some of the members of the younger generation who live on farms, here are their names: Cerloo, Red-heifer, Spotty, Debro, Beauty, Madge, Lucy, Daisy, White-face, Mousie, Dun, Rose, Lady Cherry, Black-eye, Spunk and Roan.

The following letter, received at Prospect in 1789, tells of a more cheerful spirit in business in England, but shows that they had floods and troubles of that kind then as now:

"HELM HOUSE BILSDALE, Augt. ye 15th, 1789. "DEAR COUSINS,— "I received two letters from you in the course of the last year, and am exceeding glad to hear from you and that you do well and are well, and tho I have long delayed writing yet it is not want of respect, but it was long before I could have any certain inteligence from Mr. Swinburn, So I now take the oppertunity to let you know how I and my Sisters are situate. I married Helling the daughter of Richard Barr, by whom I have had 3 boys and 2 girls all liveing and healthfull. Aylsy is married to John the son of James Boyes and lives at Woolhousecroft, has no children. Sally is married to John Cossins and lives at Hawnby where Robt. Barker lived. She has 3 children the two last were twins they were born about Candlemas last and one of them is a very weakly child, my mother is married to old Rich'd Barr my wife's father and lives at Huntington nigh York. I think we most of us live pretty well. Mr. ——- has advanced his land a great deal but since the peace the times are pretty good we have this summer a very plentiful crop and we have a fine season for Reaping the same, but in the beginning of haytime we had an excessive flood as almost ever was known so that much hay was swept away and much more sanded. Many bridges were washed down and in some places much chattle drowned. My cousin John Garbut is married to James Boyes' widow and lives at Helm house. So I shall conclude with my and my wife's duty to my unkle and aunt and our kind love to you and your wife and children and subscribe ourselves your very affectionate cousins, "JOHN AND HELLING TRUEMAN."

There was no break in the family by death until 1797. That year William Trueman, sen., died, aged seventy-seven years, twenty-two of which he had spent in America. The Mauger farm, his first purchase, was left to Harmon, his eldest grandson. The family of his son William had grown by this time to six sons and two daughters, and success financially, in some measure at least, had been achieved.

With milling, dyking and general farming, there was work at Prospect to keep all the members of the family busy, besides a large force of hired help.

It was decided this year (1797) to build a new house and barn, and the site fixed upon was about one hundred yards south of the Scurr house, where they had lived since the place came into their possession. The barn was put up the next year, and measured eighty feet long by thirty- three wide, with thirteen foot posts. A part of this barn is still used for a stable. In 1799 the house was built, the main portion being made of brick burned on the marsh near by. It fronted due south, and was twenty-seven feet by thirty-seven feet, and two stories high, with a stone kitchen on the west side. The cost of building was eight hundred pounds. This was before the days of stoves, there being six fire-places in the main house and large one in the kitchen.

In 1839 the stone kitchen was pulled down and one of wood built on the north side. In 1879 an addition was made, and now (October 2nd, 1900), it is as comfortable a dwelling as it has ever been. Five generations have lived in it. Three generations have been born and grown to manhood and womanhood within its four walls, and they have never known the death of a child, nor, with but one exception, the death of a young person.

On the 29th January, 1800, Mrs. Trueman, sen., died in the eighty- eighth year of her age. Although sixty-two years old when she came to America, she lived to see the birth of nine grandchildren.

In 1801, Thompson, the youngest son, was born. The family now numbered seven sons and three daughters. This year William Black, known in Methodist history as Bishop Black, was one of the family at Prospect from November 17th, 1801, to April 13th, 1802. One week of this time was spent in Dorchester, for which a rebate was made in the board bill. The bill was made out at the rate of five shillings per week.

In 1802, Mr. Trueman began to keep what he calls "a memorandum of events." The records chiefly refer to home work, the weather and neighborhood happenings. As a record of the weather, before thermometers and barometers were in general use, it must be as perfect as possible. As a record of farm work it is quite minute, and gives the reader an almost exact knowledge of what was done on the farm each week of the twenty years.

To those who live in the age of steam and electricity, when it is possible to be informed at night of the doings of the day on the other side of the planet, it is hard to realize how little interest was taken a century ago in anything outside of the community in which one lived. This accounts in part, no doubt, for the scant references in this journal to public events. Only very rarely is an election mentioned, even in the writer's own county. Only once is there reference to war, although the war of 1812 and the battle of Waterloo took place during the years of the record, and must have had a marked effect upon the trade of the Provinces at that time.

Mr. Trueman made several trips to Halifax each year, and met, while there, many of the leading Methodist men of the city. The Blacks and the Bells were his friends. His house was the home of the ministers of his church during all his life, and many of the public men who visited Cumberland were his guests at different times.

The first entry in the journal is dated May 5th, 1802, and reads: "wind N.W.; cold stormy day. Planted some apple trees; frost not out of the ground.

"May 6th—Wind N.W.; ground covered with snow two inches thick; disagreeable.

"May 8th—Wind N.W.; cold, backward weather. Mr. Marsdon preached his farewell sermon at the Stone Church."

"July 5th—This day was appointed by the Government as a day of thanksgiving for the blessings of peace. Mr. Bennet preached at Amherst Court House, from Psalm 12, 1st verse, to a crowded and very attentive audience.

"July 12th—Started for Halifax with thirty oxen. Returned on the 22nd; had a very good time."

(Ten days was the usual time taken on these trips. The drovers would start some hours, or perhaps a day, in advance of Mr. Trueman. He would go on horse-back, in knee breeches, and with the old fashioned saddle- bags.)

"Sept. 28th—Started to Halifax with twenty-four cattle.

"Oct. 2nd—Arrived at Halifax Sunday night. Wm." (his son) "taken sick with measles. Monday, and Tuesday, very sick. Wednesday, some better. Thursday, walked the streets. Friday, started for home.

"Oct. 13th—High winds; very high tides; marshes much flooded.

"Sept. 14th, 1803—Stephen Millage died of shock of palsy. Mr. Oliphant, Methodist minister, arrived this month at our house.

"Nov. 12th, 1803—Election at Dorchester. Mr. Knapp goes in without opposition."

These extracts from the journal will show the character of the record.

In March, 1804, there was a three days' snowstorm—"fell nigh two feet." An attempt was made this year to aboideau the Aulac River, where it runs through the farm now owned by R. T. McLeod.

The Aulac at that time was one of the largest of the rivers emptying into the Cumberland Basin. It was a great undertaking to dam its waters with an aboideau, and to make matters worse, the place chosen proved to have a quicksand bottom, which made it almost impossible to build a firm foundation. For nearly four years they worked at this aboideau, and finally had to abandon it. Dated Dec. 27th, 1808, there is this entry in the journal: "Working at the aboideau. Storming in the morning. Snow six inches deep.

"Dec. 28th—Working at byto; very fine day. The hole nigh filled up."

On March 20th, he writes: "Concluded to give up the Byto." There is a reckless disregard of rules in spelling the word "aboideau," but doubtless the pronunciation was as varied then as now. Being obliged to let this work go must have been a great disappointment and a great loss as well. It was not till 1829, more than twenty years after, that the aboideau, now known as the "Trueman Byto," was built.

A night's experience during the building of the first aboideau was long remembered by the family at Prospect. The following is the only reference made to it in the journal: "June 7th, 1804—The sluice went adrift; was up to Nappan." On the 9th: "Got back as far as Cumberland; wind favorable in coming back."

The sluice referred to is a large wooden box or waterway, which is placed near the centre of the aboideau and as near as possible in the bed of the river. The great height of the tides, and the rapid current that runs up and down the stream twice in twenty-four hours, make it a most difficult operation to get one of these sluices bedded. The sluice would be about fifty feet long, fifteen feet wide, and five or six feet deep.

The men were hard at work after the sluice had been got into its place, trying to make it secure with the weight of mud, but the tide coming too quick for them lifted it out of its bed. Four of the Trueman boys sprang on the sluice as it floated down the river, in the hope of saving it in some way. It proved, however, to be a most unmanageable craft, and they could do little to stay their course down the river, and in spite of every effort were carried out into the Basin. Night came on and their only chance of safety was, if possible, to stick to the plank box in the hope that the currents might carry them to some point where they could get safely to shore. Next day their unwieldy craft grounded near Nappan, and they at once landed and were hospitably entertained at a farm-house near by. After getting supplies and sending word to Prospect of their safety, they again boarded their strange vessel and succeeded that day in getting back to the mouth of the river, and finally back to their starting point.

Mrs. Trueman never wholly recovered from the nervous shock of that night. There was little hope in the minds of any that the men would ever get safely to land.

Thirty years had passed since the family had left England. The letter given below shows how warm an interest the friends there still had in them:

"DEAR COUSIN,—We received yours dated Jan. 15, but not till late in September, 1804, and we are glad to hear that you and your family are all in good health and enjoying prosperity in your affairs of life. We had heard by your last letter of the death of your mother. My kind husband died something more than six years since. Your Aunt Sarah Bently died some time before my husband. Your Aunt Mary Flintoft is yet alive and enjoys as good health as can be expected, her age considered. Your Aunt Ann Trueman is yet alive and well as can be expected. Your Cousin Harmon married and is doing very well. He lives at Kelshaw, in the west of Yorkshire, and has a large family and keeps a public house. Alice is married and lives at Woodhouse Croft and has only one son. Ann and Sarah both live at Hornby and enjoy good health. I and my eight children live yet at the old habitation, namely at Helmhouse, and enjoy a sufficiency of the necessaries of life. Jane Chapman and Ann are both alive and enjoy as good health as most people at almost 80 years of age, and desire their kind love to you and your wife. James Hewgill and wife do the same. They never had any children. The last summer's crop of corn was poorly laden, so that wheat is now from ten to fifteen shillings per bushel, and is like to be more, as war being carried on makes taxes very high; but still, thanks to a kind Providence, industrious people may yet live above want. And soon shall all worldly calamities be over, and then if we are prepared for death we shall know woes and calamities no more. Pray write again when opportunity serves. "I remain your very loving cousin, "ELINOR TRUEMAN. "Helmhouse, Billsdale. "March 7th, 1805."

The first marriage in the family at Prospect was in July, 1805. The entry in the journal is: "Thomas and Mary were married by Rev. Mr. Perkins." Mr. Perkins was a minister of the Episcopal Church.

In 1806 I find this entry: "Mr. Bamford preached in the Stone Church, and Mr. Perkins administered the sacrament." This must have been before the Methodist minister was allowed to administer the sacrament.

Mr. Trueman was evidently mistaken in the name of Thomas's wife. He calls her Mary. Her name was Policene Gore; but as she was always called Polly, the mistake no doubt occurred in that way.

From a letter received from Rev. Wm. Black at this time, the following extract is taken:

"I give you joy on the marriage of your son Thomas, and as I hear John is on the point of being married, too, I also wish you the same blessing on him. It would afford me much joy to hear that all your children were made acquainted with the saving benefits of religion. For parents to see their children well settled in this world and seeking the world to come must, I apprehend, be an unspeakable satisfaction. Oh, let us pray more and advise them to turn to the Lord with all their hearts. "Please to remember me kindly to all the family. I do feel a sincere regard for you all and wish to meet you in the Land of God. "Farewell, "From your unworthy friend, "WM. BLACK."

Policene Gore's mother had a more than ordinarily eventful life. Her grandson Edward writes:

"My grandmother was born in the United States, then the New England colonies. Her first husband was Captain Ward; their home was near the garrison on Grattan Heights. Captain Ward arrived home from sea with his vessel the day before Arnold made his attack on the garrison, and, joining in the defence, was fatally shot. Mrs. Ward's next husband was my grandfather Gore, who was also a sea-captain. Some years after they were married Captain Gore took his wife to Fort Lawrence, Nova Scotia, where they had friends, and her husband returned with his vessel to make another voyage, but was never heard from after. It was supposed the vessel was lost with all on board."

After living some years in widowhood, Mrs. Gore married a Mr. Foster, a school-teacher. They lived for a time in a house on the school lands in Jolicure. The schoolmaster did not live long to enjoy his married life. His successor was a Mr. Trites, of Salisbury. He only lived a few months after marriage. Mrs. Trites' fifth and last husband was a Mr. Siddall, of Westmoreland Point. After his death Mrs. Siddall lived with her daughter, Mrs. Trueman, where, in the words of her grandson, "she lived eighteen years, a happy old woman and a blessing in the family." She was in her eighty-fourth year at the time of her death.

Mrs. Siddall's house was the only one in the village not burned during the battle of Grattan's Heights. It is still kept in repair, and called the Gore House. Harmon, a grandson, visited the Heights a few years ago, and was present at the one-hundredth anniversary of the battle. Recently a letter came into the possession of Edward Trueman, written by his great-grandmother to his grandmother. Among other things, she writes: "I hear that you are married again, and that Policene is also married. I have not heard either of yours husbands' names; do write, and let me know them."

Policene Gore was born in 1788, and Thomas Trueman in 1786, which would make them seventeen and nineteen years old when the marriage knot was tied—a young couple to start out in life.

John married Nancy Palmer, September 12th, 1805, William married Jane Ripley, January 22nd, 1806, and Harmon, the first-born, married Cynthia Bent, June 8th, 1807. The four eldest sons were married within the year and a half, and on April 14th, 1808, Sallie, the eldest daughter, entered the matrimonial haven. This was thinning out the old home pretty fast. The sons, however, all settled near Prospect, and were several years getting finally located in their own homes. Harmon took the Mauger farm left him by his grandfather; Thomas, the Patten farm, joining the glebe. John settled at Mount Whatley; Willie took the mill property and farm now in possession of his grandsons, Amos and Johnston Trueman.

The drain on the home place to start for themselves so many of the family, and in so short a time, must have been considerable. Harmon had a house, and barn to build. Several entries in the journal refer to his getting out timber. On July 16th, 1806, Harmon raised his house. This house, yet one of the most comfortable in the place, is at present the property of A. C. Carter. Mrs. Carter is a granddaughter of Harmon.

April 22nd, 1806, I find this entry: "Robert Dickey and Nellie Chapman married. Started to frame the new mill."

"May 3rd—Saw mill and barn raised."

No mention is made of building a house for Willie, so probably there was one on the place. John and his wife lived for a time in the Scurr house, and for a time with Willie, before finally settling at Mount Whatley. Sallie married Gilbert Lawrence, of Westmoreland. It is said Sallie had an admirer who lived in Halifax, and occasionally visited Cumberland, and who in later years became a prominent official in the executive of that city.

In the early days and admirer a hundred miles distant was at a great disadvantage, and the "Fooler lad," as Sallie's mother called young Lawrence, won the prize.

Amos Fowler, of Westmoreland, or Fowler's Hill, married Miss Keillor, a sister of Mrs. Trueman. He was a Loyalist, and after living in this country some years, he visited the old home in New England, and on his return to New Brunswick brought with him his nephew, Gilbert Lawrence. After his marriage Gilbert settled at Amherst Point, and from there moved to Maccan, now called Southampton, where he was a very successful farmer for many years. He left the Maccan farm to a son a few years before his death, and bought a farm in Nappan. Here he spent the last years of his life, honored and respected for his sterling character.

CHAPTER VII

EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL AND LETTERS.

Some extracts from the journal as a beginning to this chapter will, I hope, be interesting to some of the descendants:

"Aug. 2nd, 1802—Richard Lowerison's barn burned. "Aug. 7th—Mr. Milledge preached at church. Got upland hay all up. Have 60 tons good hay in barn and in stock. "Aug. 28th—Quarterly meeting at our house. "Sept. 10th—Mr. Albro dined at our house." (Mr. Albro was a Halifax man who traded in cattle.) "Dec. 28—John McCormick, apparently in good health, died instantly at night. "May 10th—Mr. Marsden started to-day for the Conference. "June 26th—Mr. Bent arrived at our house to-day and went over to Tantramar. "June 27th—Mr. Bent preached his first sermon in Tantramar. "May 3rd, 1803—William Bennet started for Conference. "Dec.—Mrs. McMonagle's house was drawn from the plain to Mount Whatley. "Jan. 9th, 1806—W. Wood Fillmore was married to Nancy Patterson, of Cole's Island. "April 5th, 1806—Tolar Thompson brought a large birch log across the marsh on the ice, and also a load of grain to the mill and returned the next day. "June 16th—Harmon had the old shop drawn to his house, had 17 yoke of oxen. "William Allen was buried at the churchyard at Camp Hill, attended by a large concourse of people. Mr. Mitchell preached the sermon. "Nov. 29th—Mr. Roach lost his vessel; the Capt. and two men were drowned; 515 firkins of butter saved. "Jan. 12th, 1806—This day Wm. McKenzie was found dead, sitting in his chair, supposed to be frozen to death. "June 3rd, 1808—Wm. Black came to our house and Mrs. Black and son, Martin Gay. Mr. Black preached at Stone Chapel.

In February of same year, "Mr. Foster came to mill in a cart and John Patterson from Cole's Island with a sled." "Jan. 19th, 1808—Mr. Bamford moved to our house. "Jan. 25th—A meeting to confer about the Byto*; nothing was done." "Jan. 3rd, 1809—Martin Black married to Fanny Smith."

[FOOTNOTE: *This, I suppose, was the aboideau that had to be abandoned, to which reference has been made. END OF FOOTNOTE]

On the 8th of that month "William Black preached at Sackville, and on the 11th at Mr. Roach's in Lawrence; on the 16th William Black started for Halifax." "Feb. 23rd, 1809—Went to the Supreme Court. "Feb. 29th, 1810—Mrs. Roach, of Fort Lawrence, died to-day after a short sickness. Rev. Mr. Knowlton preached the funeral sermon from Psalms; a very solemn time; about five hundred people present. "In June, 1811, Robert Bryce purchased a lot of cattle and some butter in Cumberland. "June 28th—Went to Bay Verte with a drove of cattle and some sheep, put 32 cattle and 116 sheep on board vessel for Newfoundland. "July 8th—Started ten oxen for Halifax. John Trueman raising his house and barn, July 6th, 1811. "July 24th—Pulled the old mill down. A son of John Harper's was badly hurt at the mill brook."

I notice in the journal that "muster day" was in Sackville this year. It seems to have been a very prosperous year for the farmers of Cumberland. Shipments of cattle and sheep were made to Newfoundland and the usual supply sent to Halifax. The price paid must have been satisfactory; it would, at any rate, be so considered by our farmers now.

The following letter sent to Messrs. Reed and Albro, dated Sept. 6th, 1811, gives one an idea of the condition of the cattle trade at that time:

"WESTMORELAND, Sept. 6th, 1811. "MESS. REED & ALBRO. "Sir,—Recd. Your letter by Thomas Roach, Esq., respecting cattle; have been looking around for some cattle, cannot buy for less than 6d. (10c.). Mr. ——-, of Westmoreland, has some good cattle unsold at present. If you wish me to purchase you some cattle you may depend on my doing the best in my power for you. Wishing your answer as soon as possible, as the good cattle may be picked up. I wish you would send me the weights of the different lots of Beeves. I cannot settle with the people I purchased from for want of the weights. Have given two drafts on you, one on Saml. Holsted for L200, payable on the 20th July, and one on A. Fowler for L100, payable on the 28th July. "You will oblige me much by calling on Wm. Allan and take up a mortgage deed belonging to Thomas King, of Westmoreland. "There is, he thinks, about L50 or a little more due on it. Send it to me and I shall get the money paid me on sight, as I want a letter. And in so doing you will much "Oblige your well wisher, "WM. TRUEMAN. "P.S.—Thomas Roach, Esq., will furnish you with ten cattle at 6d, delivered in Halifax. If you accept his offer, send a boy to Windsor to meet the cattle. Please to write the first opportunity and inform me what I shall do. Do you want a few firkins of butter this fall? I have given Harmon Trueman an order on you bearing date of 7th Sept. "I am your humble servant, "WM. TRUEMAN."

The following letter, a copy of which is among the papers at Prospect, also adds some information about trade at that time:

"WESTMORELAND, March 7th, 1812. "MR. JOHN ALBRO: "Dear Sir,—I hope these lines will find you and Mrs. Albro and family enjoying health and every other blessing. I take this opportunity to inform you that I expect to have 12 or 14 oxen to dispose of this summer. I wish you to have the preference. If you wish to have them shall be glad to have a line from you by Mr. Gore, as also what you think the price will be. "I want no more than the market price. "Remain your humble servant, "WM. TRUEMAN. "N.B.—John Keillor, Esq., hath four good oxen he wishes you to have with mine. They are four fine oxen. They are likely to be good by July 15th."

In addition to the buyers from Halifax, Newfoundland was this year sending to Westmoreland for a part of its beef supply. The letter below refers to the trade with that colony:

"WESTMORELAND, 30 Oct., 1811. "MESSRS. JOHN & ROBERT BRYNE,— "I sent you a few lines Sept. 4th. Thinking it a chance whether you received it or no, I take the liberty to send you a second. I think it will be a great advantage to you to have some hay purchased and drawn to the place in winter. "If you wish to have any purchased I will do it for you, only let me know the quantity you wish to have. Cattle have been as low as 4 pence or 5 pence in the spring. It is uncertain what the price may be, but I see no prospect of them being very high, as there is great plenty of cattle in the country. Should you want any in the spring you can rely on my doing the best in my power to serve you. "Remain your most humble servant, "WM. TRUEMAN."

Mr. Bryne had been in Westmoreland that summer and purchased a drove of cattle and sheep, which were shipped on June 28th, as noted previously.

On April 25th, 1811, Mrs. Keillor, Mrs. Trueman's mother, who had been living at Prospect since 1806, died. Her husband, Thomas Keillor, a stonemason by trade, died some years earlier. There is at Prospect a copy of a power of attorney given by Mrs. Keillor to her "trusty friend," Stephen Emmerson, to act for her in collecting rents and selling claims in Skelton, England, in connection with the property owned by her late husband.

This document was copied by Amos Botsford and witnessed by Wm. Botsford and Henry Chapman, jun., and dated Oct. 30th, 1810.

Mrs. Keillor was buried on the old farm at Fowler's Hill beside her husband in a small burying-ground that was formerly surrounded by a stone wall, part of which is still standing.

Mrs. Keillor's maiden name was Mary Thomson. She and two other married sisters—Jane, the wife of John Carter, and Ann, the wife of William Trueman—came with the Yorkshire emigration. These sisters left one brother at least in England, as the letter following, in reply to one received from George Thomson, will show:

"PROSPECT, March 29th, 1811. "DEAR UNCLE AND AUNT,—Received your welcome letter of March 29th, and was glad to hear from you and of your wellfare, and hoping these lines will find you and yours enjoying the same blessings of health and happiness. "I have to tell you of the death of my mother-in-law. She departed this life April 22nd. Your sister Jane is very well at present. "The rest of your family are all well. If you see fit to come out in the spring your friends will be glad to see you. It will be best for you to get a lumber vessel if you can. There hath been two vessels from Hull and one from Newcastle this summer. Respecting goods and merchandise, lay in well for common clothing. Bring some home-made linens and checks. Ox-chains and horse-traces and bridles. Everything in wood will be expensive. "You ask what bills I propose. Good bills on Halifax answer, but nothing will answer like cash here, as it may be some trouble to get them cashed. Mechanics of all kinds are wanted. Carpenters, 7 shillings 6 pence per day. We pay 4s. and 4s. 6d. for making a pair of shoes. A good tailor is much wanted. We pay 6s. for shoeing a horse. Bring a few scythes of the best quality. Baie Verte is the best place to land at; if you cannot make that out, St. John or Halifax. There may be some difficulty in getting a passage from Halifax by water. Shall look out for a place for you with a house on it. "May the Lord direct you and prosper your undertaking. Give my best respects to George Swinburne and wife. Let him know my wife and my ten children and myself are well. "I have nothing more at present to write. May the Lord direct you in all your ways, so prays your affectionate nephew and niece, "WM. AND ELIZABETH TRUEMAN."

Mr. George Thompson did not emigrate to Nova Scotia as he expected when he wrote to his uncle and aunt. The following letter, written by his son five years later, explains why:

"DURHAM, Sept., 1816. "DEAR COUSINS,—You probably would think it very strange our not writing to you for so long a time, but I can assure you it was not for want of affection or respect, but merely inadvertence; and no doubt you would think it strange, after my father wrote to inform you he intended setting out for America, that he never went, but the principal reason was that on second consideration he thought himself too far advanced in years to undertake so long a voyage, and the rest of the family except myself were not very willing. Consequently he immediately after that took a large farm, which I had principally to manage, otherwise I would have gone at that time. However, it is my wish to set out next spring, and have not written to inform you it, in order that I may have your answer before that, stating all particulars of the country, and if there be a good prospect for me. There is also an acquaintance of mine, a threshing machine maker and cartwright, has a desire to accompany me; therefore be so good as to say what prospect there is for such a man as he is. "All my brothers and sisters are married and settled, and my father and mother are very well and now live by themselves, retired from farming. "Hoping you and all friends are well, I shall conclude with kindest love to all, "And remain, dear cousin, "Yours affectionately, "GEORGE THOMPSON. "P.S.—Have the goodness to write the first opportunity, and direct to me at "Harbour House, "Durham."

It is quite possible the above letter did not receive a reply. A good deal of trouble had been taken to send full information to the father, and five years were allowed to pass before any acknowledgement was made. At all events, there is no record of a letter being sent to the son, and it is certain he did not come to this country.

The subjoined communication helps to show the depressed condition in England at that period, and that many were looking to America in the hope of bettering their condition:

"May 14th, 1819. "DEAR COUSIN,—I hope these lines will find you all well, as they us at present. We thank God for it. "I intend to come over to America this spring If it should please God, For the state of England are very bad, Land has got so very dear that a livelihood cannot be got in England, and the taxes that Government lays on are very heavy, till they reduce so many to a lower class that the land will hardly support the poor. I hope you are in a better situation in America. "We understand in England that the States of America are very flourishing at present. I intend to set off to America the first of June. If it should please God that I should get over safe, I hope to get to your house as soon as I can. All your cousins are in good health at present. Thank God for it, and they wish to be remembered to you and all your family. "So I remain your most obedient cousin, "JAMES BOYES, "of Bilsdale. "N.B.—By the wishes of one of your cousins, of the name of Harman Wedgwood, a son of Benjamin Wedgwood, a tailor, he would like to hear from you. He thinks you will give him some information of your country. "He wants to come to live in your country, and if you please to give him some intelligence of tailors' wages in your country. "So he remains your most obedient cousin. "HARMAN WEDGWOOD, "Hawnby." "N.B.—If you please to write to him you must direct as follows: "'HARMAN WEDGWOOD, "'Hawnby, "'Near Helmsley, Blackmoor, "'Yorkshire, England.'"

There was no change in the family at Prospect after Sallie's marriage in 1808 until 1817. On Jan. 17th of the latter year Robert married Eunice Bent, of Fort Lawrence, a sister of Harmon's wife, and in October Amos married Susanna Ripley, a sister of Willie's wife.

Robert settled on a farm adjoining the homestead. His house was not built until the summer following his marriage. James, his eldest child, was born 30th October, 1817, in the Brick House at Prospect Farm. Amos settled at the head of Amherst (now called Truemanville). The following letter, written by his youngest daughter, Mrs. Sarah Patterson, is very interesting, as giving some idea of the experiences of that time:

"When my father first came to live in the place now called Truemanville it was a dense forest. In summer the only road was a bridle path. In winter, when the snow was on the ground, they could drive a pair of oxen and a sled along the road. "The winter my father was married, as soon as there was enough snow and frost, he and one of his brothers and another man set out to build a house. "They loaded a sled with boards, doors and windows, and provided themselves with bedding and provisions to last till the house was finished. They then hitched the oxen to the sled and started on their twenty-mile journey and most of the way on a trackless path. "When they arrived at their journey's end, they erected a rude hut to live in and commenced building a house. They did not have to go far for timber—it was standing all around the site chosen for the house. "They built a very nice log house, 15 ft. by 18 ft. Their greatest trouble in building was, the stones were so frosty they could not split them. They had to kindle a huge fire of brushwood and warm the stones through, when they split finely. "After they had built the house they returned home, having been absent about three weeks. "My father and mother then moved to their new home, and father began to build a saw mill and grist mill. "Their nearest neighbors were one and a half miles distant, unless we count the bears and foxes, and they were far too sociable for anything like comfort. Sheep and cattle had to be folded every night for some years. "After father had built his grist mill he used to keep quite a number of hogs. In the fall of the year, when the beechnuts began to drop, the men used to drive them into the woods, where they would live and grow fat on the nuts. One evening when my mother was returning from a visit to one of the neighbors she heard a terrible squealing in the woods. She at once suspected that bruin designed to dine off one of the hogs. She hastened home to summon the men to the rescue, but darkness coming on they had to give up the chase. However, bruin did not get any pork that night; the music was too much for him, and piggie escaped with some bad scratches. "A short time after this, ominous squeaks were heard from the woods. The men armed themselves with pitchforks and ran to the rescue. What should they meet but one of my uncles coming with an ox-cart. The wooden axles had got very dry on the long, rough road, and as they neared my father's the sound as the wheels turned resembled very closely that made by a hog under the paws of bruin. "Imagine the way of travelling in those days! I have heard my father say there were only two carriages between Point de Bute and Truemanville. Their principal mode of travel was on horseback. My father and mother visited Grandfather Trueman's with their three children. Mother took the youngest on one horse, and father took the two older ones on another horse; and yet we often hear people talk of the 'good old times.' "My father was a man of generous disposition. The poor and needy always found him ready to sympathize and help them. He often supplied grain to them when there was no prospect of payment. He would say, 'A farmer can do without many things, but not without seed grain.' That reminds me of an incident I will tell you, of our Grandfather Trueman. About thirty- five years ago my mother was visiting at Stephen Oxley's, at Tidnish, where she met an old lady whose name I forget; but no matter. When she heard my mother's name she began talking about Grandfather Trueman. She said she would never forget his kindness to her in her younger days when she and her husband first came from the Old Country and began life among strangers in very straightened circumstances. After passing through a hard winter in which food had been very scarce they found themselves in the spring without any seed wheat or the means of buying any. "Her husband was almost in despair. She tried to cheer him up by telling him that if she went to Mr. Trueman she thought he would help them. So her husband agreed to let her try her chance, and she mounted a horse and set out for Prospect Farm. Just as she arrived there another woman came in and asked Mr. Trueman to sell her some wheat, telling him she had money to pay for it. Grandfather said he had very little wheat to sell but he could let her have a bushel or two. The old lady said her heart almost sank within her; she thought her case was hopeless. However, she told him she, too, had come for seed wheat, but she had no money nor the means of getting any at present, and they were entirely without seed. Grandfather turned to the other woman and said, 'You have money' go to Mr.——- (a neighbor), you can get as much as you want, and I will give this woman the grain.' Oh, how glad she felt! Words were too poor to express her thanks, and she went home rejoicing. In after years, when Providence had favored her with a goodly share of this world's goods, she could not tell this experience without the tears running down her cheeks. How true it is, 'The memory of the just is blessed.'"

The following letter received from a son of Rev. William Black, is of some interest:

"HALIFAX, N.S., "27th Sept. 1819. "MR. WILLIAM TRUEMAN, "DEAR SIR,—Your favor of the 20th inst. is at hand, and in reply to it, as relates to the probable price of Butter, I would state it as my opinion that it is likely to command about 14d. A considerable quantity of Irish Butter has already arrived and more is expected. A number of firkins have this day been sold at public auction at 1s. per lb.,—the quality is said to be very fair. Please say to Mrs. Wells that I have received her letter of the 24th inst., and shall do as she requests. Mrs. Black and family are well, and join me in best regards to Mrs. Trueman, Yourself and Family. "Yrs. Truly, "M. G. BLACK."

After Amos and Robert left Prospect for homes of their own, the family remained unchanged until 1820. That year, Mary, the second daughter, married William Humphrey, of Sackville. William Humphrey was a carpenter by trade but shortly after his marriage bought a farm in Upper Maccan and went quite extensively into farming and milling.

The Humphreys were from Yorkshire, and after coming to America, settled first at Falmouth, Nova Scotia. After the death of Wm. Humphrey, sen., Mrs. Humphrey, following the advice of her friend, Charles Dixon, moved to Sackville with her family of five children, three sons and two daughters. James Dixon says of Mrs. Humphrey, in his history of the Dixons: "She was evidently a capable woman," and judging from the position her descendants have taken in the new country he was probably right in his estimate.

As I remember the second William Humphrey, he was a man of more than ordinary intelligence, one who looked closely at both sides of a question, and with whom every new undertaking was well thought out beforehand. He had no place for the man who wanted to make a show. He was, for the times, a large employer of labor, and his men did not readily leave his employ. He was possessed of strong religious convictions, but was by no means demonstrative in such matters. His children were given good educational opportunities. Two of his sons studied and graduated at colleges in the United States, and two others were students at the old Academy, at Sackville.

The following letter, written by William, one of the sons who was educated in the United States, to his cousin Ruth, will show how graduates of that day looked upon life:

"NEW HAVEN, June 27th, 1853. "DEAR COUSIN, "Your very welcome letter came to hand in due time, for which I am exceedingly obliged, especially as many of my correspondents have been dilatory and others have given me up altogether. But they probably have as much reason to complain of me as I have of them. The truth is my studies so occupy my attention that I am too much inclined to forget my friends. The acquisition of a profession presents such an immensity of labor that it would seem to require a lifetime to become proficient, especially when the small amount of energy that I can command is brought to bear upon it. However, I am not disposed to find fault with the labor so long as there is so much that is intensely interesting and I can make respectable progress towards the grand crisis of a student's life. "New Haven is equally as attractive as it was during my college life and I feel more at home here than in any other place in the United States during the present summer so far. I have become acquainted with the professional men of the city from whom I have received many favors and many of whom I hope to regard as my future friends. Through their influence I have had an opportunity of treating a number of patients, which is no small advantage to me in my studies. I confess I am so much attached to the city I should like to make it my home if it were practicable, but it is so much crowded with physicians that there is no room for me. In reply to your question as to what pleasure it afforded me to receive my diploma, I can very readily say that it was far from affording me anything like a thrill of pleasure to look back upon my acquirements. I rather felt as a tired traveller might be supposed to feel when, having exerted himself to reach the top of the first peak on a mountain, he has only secured a position where he can see Alpine peaks towering to the skies, which he must scale before his journey is ended. I very many times have felt as though I was not a particle wiser since I graduated than before I first left home, yet I suppose I may claim more than this for myself without being thought vain or arrogant, but what advantage either myself or others are to reap from it remains to be seen. I hope I am better prepared to spend the remainder of my life more profitably than I was before, with higher aims and in possession of greater capacity for enjoyment myself and of doing good to others. I cannot yet tell when I shall get my medical degree, yet if fortune favors and I get along with my studies pretty well, it will not be longer than fourteen months. I would like to arrange my plans to leave for home as soon as I get through, but it is so long beforehand that I do not think about it yet. "I shall have a short vacation of a few weeks, commencing with August 1st, when I should like to be at home, but I do not deem it best for me to go this summer. I shall probably go into the country 'round. I shall probably return to Philadelphia early in October and spend the winter there, which will end my residence in that city, unless I should remain longer to attend the hospital and see more practice than I could otherwise. "From the accounts I hear from home you still have need of doctors, for people continue to be sick and die. "Think you there will be any patronage for me? But your answer will probably depend upon my worthiness of it. "But I must hasten to close. I shall be happy to hear from you whenever you are disposed to write. "Kind regards to your mother, sisters and brothers. "Very sincerely yours, "WILLIAM F. HUMPHREY. "To: "MISS RUTH TRUEMAN, "Point de Bute."

The Humphreys have not increased rapidly in this country. There were three brothers in the first family, William, John and Christopher. John never married. Christopher married, but had no family. William had four sons, and these, with their father and uncles, made seven of the name then living in the provinces. Since then these four boys have married, and two of their sons, yet the males of the name just number seven to-day; and, strange to say, have remained at that figure the most of the time for the last seventy years. At present there are living four great-grandsons, and three great-great-grandsons of the first William.

Dr. Humphrey graduated in regular course, received his medical degree, and settled in St. John, New Brunswick, where he worked up a good practice. His health, however, gave way, and he died a comparatively young man.

Mrs. Bishop, a daughter of William Humphrey, writes:—

"I do not remember hearing my parents say much about their early life. I remember my father saying he gave a doubloon to the man who married them. They moved to Maccan very shortly after they were married. When grandmother Humphrey died they went to the funeral on horseback (thirty miles), and took John with them, then a young babe. (The baby, John, was the late John A. Humphrey, of Moncton.) I have heard mother say she took me to her father's funeral when I was four months old, another long ride on horseback."

Mrs. Bishop is the only one of the family now living.

Returning to the family at Prospect, Betty, the youngest daughter, was married to George Glendenning, in 1823. Her name was to have been Elizabeth, but one day previous to the baptism the minister was at the house and asked Mrs. Trueman what baby's name was to be. She said, "Oh, I suppose it will be Betty," meaning to have her baptized Elizabeth, but to call her Betty for short. When the minister came to the baptism, he did not ask the name, but baptized the baby Betty. The mother did not feel very well pleased about it, but Betty it had to be.

George Glendenning, George Moffat and George Dickson, three Dumfrieshire farmers, came to America in the spring of 1820. They had talked the matter over during the long evenings of the previous winter, and finally determined to try their fortunes in the New World.

The agricultural distress that prevailed in Ireland at that time affected Scotland also, and the wages of farm laborers was only a shilling a day in harvest time. No doubt the love of adventure and a desire to see more of world also had something to do with the decision of the young men. Passages were secured on the ship ABIONA, bound for Miramichi, at which port the young men were safely landed early in May. John Steele was also a passenger in this vessel. He went to Cumberland and settled on the gulf shore near Wallace. Rev. Dr. Steele, of Amherst, is a grandson of John Steele. George Moffat also went to Cumberland, and settled at River Hebert. Beside managing a farm he did a large business in sending beef cattle to the Halifax market. Mr. Moffat was a fine, honest man, "a canny Scot," who was always as good as his word and expected others to be the same.

George Glendenning had a brother living in St. John, and after landing at Miramichi he went direct to that place, where he had a short visit. There was not much in the surroundings of St. John that was attractive to the eye of a Scotch farmer, so the young emigrant decided to try another locality. He turned his steps toward "Old Chignecto," a long, hard walk. He made several attempts to get work on the way, always without success. At a farmhouse in Dorchester he might have got employment, but did not like the appearance of things about the place. Before leaving Dorchester he had become much discouraged, and remembering his early training in a godly house, determined to ask direction and guidance from his Heavenly Father. And so, falling on his knees, he prayed that he might be directed in his way so that by another night he might find a place where work could be had. After this earnest prayer he started out with more heart, but in the long walk through the Dorchester woods to Sackville, then on the "Four Corners," no work was found, and so the marsh was crossed and Prospect Farm was reached just as it began to grow dark. He would try his fortune here. An old man answered his knock at the door and bade him, "Come in," but in answer to his request for work said, "No, I do not want a man, but you had better not go any further to-night; we will keep you here." In the morning the proprietor of Prospect reversed his decision of the night before and decided to give the young Scotchman a trial. The result was that he remained with the family for three years, and when he left took with him as his wife the youngest daughter.

Mr. Glendenning settled on a new farm in Amherst Head (now Truemanville), and soon became one of the most successful farmers of the district. John Glendenning, of Amherst, is his son, and Rev. George Glendenning, of Halifax, N.S., and Robert Glendenning, M.D., of Mass., U.S., are his grandsons.

CHAPTER VIII

PROSPECT FARM.

Thompson Trueman, the youngest member of the family, was married in March, 1823, to Mary Freeze. He was only twenty-two years old, and young looking for that age. He used to say in later life that he married at just the right time. His wife was a daughter of Samuel Freeze, of Upper Sussex, King's County. Her mother was Margaret Wells, daughter of Williams Wells, of Point de Bute.

The Freezes came from Yorkshire to Cumberland in the DUKE OF YORK, the first vessel that landed Yorkshire emigrants at Halifax. Charles Dixon, the founder of the Dixon name in Sackville, with his family, came out at this time. The Freeze family, when they arrived in Nova Scotia, consisted of William Freeze, sen., his son William, with his wife and two children. Wm. Freeze, sen., remained in this country only a short time. It was supposed the vessel in which he took passage for England was lost, as his family never heard of him again.

The son, William, was a mason by trade, but settled on a farm in Amherst Point, now occupied by the Keillor brothers. He remained in Cumberland until the first of the present century, and then removed to Sussex, King's Country, N.B. He had become rather discouraged in his efforts to reclaim the salt marsh, and came to the conclusion that it would never be of much value.

It is said that Mr. Freeze and his two sons started in a small boat for Kentucky. When they got as far as the mouth of the Petitcodiac River, they turned their boat up the stream, going with the tide to the head of the river. Leaving the boat, they plunged into the forest and tramped for some distance. At last they concluded they had lost their way and were not likely to reach Kentucky on that route. After some consultation, the father climbed to the top of a tall tree, and from this altitude the rich interval lands of the Upper Kennebecasis were full in view.

"There is a valley," said Mr. Freeze, "and there is where my bones are to be laid."

Here Mr. Freeze got a grant of nine hundred acres of land, enough to make farms for himself and his four sons. William, a son, was a great reader and student. He was very fond of mathematics, and it is said that sometimes when he and his boys would go to the field to hoe, he would take a stick and mark on the ground a mathematical figure, and then demonstrate it for the benefit of his boys. The dinner horn would sound, and no potatoes had been hoed that morning. John, another son, was a fine singer and took great pleasure in giving singing lessons to the young people in the neighborhood. The Freezes could all sing, and most of the men were handy with the mason's tools, which led some wag to say that the Freezes were all born with stone hammers in one hand and a note-book in the other. Charles, the fourth son, was a half- brother and inherited the home farm. Charles was a great reader and was very fond of history. He was eccentric in some ways and would take long journeys on foot.

He did not take kindly to railway travel, and his nephews liked to tell about his planning one day to go by rail instead of walking, but going to the station before the train arrived, he said he "couldn't be detained" and started away on foot.

There were two daughters. Miriam married Matthew Fenwick, of Maccan, N.S., who afterward moved to the Millstream, in King's County, and was the first to plant the Fenwick name in that county.

Mary was the wife of Thomas Black, of Amherst (brother of Bishop Black). They had a large family. The youngest son, Rev. A. B. Black, died in 1900. The history of the Blacks in this country was written by Cyrus, another member of the family.

Samuel, the eldest son of William Freeze, was married three times, and had a family of twenty-one children—seven by his first wife, Margaret Wells, of Point de Bute; eight by his second wife, Bethia Wager, of Dutch Valley; and six by his third wife, a Miss Scott of Petitcodiac. The first family were all daughters. The tenth child was the first son born. Mr. Freeze elected several times to represent King's County in the Legislature at Fredericton, and while attending to his duties there he was taken with the illness that ended in his death.

The following letter is among the old papers at the Prospect, written by Samuel Freeze shortly after Polly's marriage:

"SUSSEX, KING'S COUNTY, "February 25th, 1824. "DEAR SON AND DAUGHTER,— "I received yours, favored by Mr. Stockton, and am happy to hear that you are all well, with a small exception, such as human nature is subject to.

"I am sorry to hear that the crop of hay has failed so much the last season, which must be a great injury to that part of the country. I believe that we will make out with what hay we have. You speak of driving oxen to St. John. The southerly weather that we had about the 12th of this month has raised the water and ice to such an unusual height that it has swept almost all the publick bridges downstream in this parish, which cuts off our communication from St. John by sleigh or sled, in a great measure, or I would have written the butcher, and then could have probably given you a satisfactory answer; but it is not the case.

"Mr. R. Stockton informs me that you can get 4 1/2d. at your own barn. I think that, as the road is, you had better sell them for the 4 1/2 per lb., than to risk the St. John market, as there is but very little shipping in at present, and they get what they want from a less distance, and the butchers will take every advantage if they have not been contracted for. This is my opinion, but do as you think proper.