THE CHIGNECTO ISTHMUS AND ITS FIRST SETTLERS

BY HOWARD TRUEMAN

1902



PREFACE.

For some years past I, in common with many others, have felt that all letters of interest and accessible facts in connection with the early history of the Truemans should be collected and put in permanent form, not because there is anything of interest to the general public in the records of a family whose members have excelled, if at all, in private rather than in public life, but in order that the little knowledge there is of the early history of the family might not pass forever out of the reach of later generations with the death of those whose memory carries them back to the original settlers. In getting together material necessary for the work, numbers of interesting facts concerning other families came inevitably to light. In order to preserve these facts, and at the same time give the book a slightly wider interest, I decided to write a short history of those families connected by marriage with the first and second generations of Truemans, and also, as far as material was available, of the first settlers in the old township of Cumberland, which now includes the settlements of Fort Lawrence, Westmoreland Point, Point de Bute, Jolicure, Bay Road, Bay Verte, Upper Tidnish and Port Elgin. Finally, as a kind of setting for the whole, I have prefaced these records with a brief outline of the early history of the Isthmus.

That the work falls far below the ideal goes without saying. Anyone who has made the effort to collect facts of local history knows how difficult it is to get reliable information. In almost every case where there was a conflict of opinion I have endeavored to verify my facts by light thrown on them from different directions; but doubtless mistakes will be found. By keeping the work in preparation for a longer time, more matter of interest could certainly be added, and perhaps corrections made; but to this there is no end, as the discovery of every new item of interest reveals a whole series more to investigate.

To all who have given me assistance warmest thanks are tendered. To Dr. Ganong, of Northampton, Mass.; Judge Morse, Amherst; W. C. Milner, Sackville; and Dr. Steel of Amherst, grateful acknowledgment is especially due for their ready and cheerful help. To Murdoch's Nova Scotia, Hannay's Acadia and to Dixon's and Black's family histories I have also been indebted.

INTRODUCTION.

This book needs no introduction to the people of the Isthmus, whom it will most interest. I shall therefore attempt only to point out the plan the present work will take in the general history of Eastern Canada.

Mr. Trueman does not profess to have attempted a complete history of the Isthmus. The earlier periods, prior to the coming of the Yorkshiremen, are so replete with interest that a many times larger work than the present would be necessary for their full consideration, but Mr. Trueman has treated them with sufficient fulness to show the historical conditions of the country into which the Yorkshiremen came. It is the history of these Yorkshiremen and their descendants which Mr. Trueman treats so fully and authoritatively, and withal, from a local standpoint, so interestingly; and his work is the more valuable for the reason that hitherto but little has been published upon this subject. Some articles have appeared in local newspapers, and there are references to it in the provincial histories, but no attempt has hitherto been made to treat the subject as it deserves. Those of us who are interested in history from a more scientific standpoint will regret that the material, particularly of the earlier part of the Yorkshire immigration could not have been more documentary and less traditional, but that it is as here given is not Mr. Trueman's fault but a result of the nature of the case. It is not impossible, by the way, that such documents may yet be discovered, perhaps in some still unsuspected archives. It is to be remembered, however, that to a local audience, documents are of less interest than tradition, and the genealogical phases of history, here so fully treated, are most interesting of all. Mr. Trueman seems to have sifted the traditions with care, and he certainly has devoted to his task an unsurpassed knowledge of his subject, much loving labor, and no small enthusiasm. I believe the local readers of his work will agree with me that this history could not have fallen into more appropriate hands.

It does not seem to me that Mr. Trueman has exaggerated the part played by the Yorkshiremen and their descendants in our local history. While it is doubtless too much to say that their loyalty saved Nova Scotia (then including New Brunswick) to Great Britain by their steadfastness at the time of the Eddy incident in 1776, there can be no doubt that it contributed largely to that result and rendered easy the suppression of an uprising which would have given the authorities very great trouble had it succeeded. But there can be no question whatever as to the value to the Chignecto region, and hence to all this part of Canada, of this immigration of God-fearing, loyal, industrious, progressive Yorkshiremen. Although they and their descendants have not occupied the places in life of greatest prominence, they have been none the less useful citizens in contributing as they have to the solid foundations of the upbuilding of a great people.

It is of interest in this connection to note that Mr. Trueman's book, although preceded in Nova Scotia by several county histories, is for New Brunswick, with one or two exceptions (in Jack's "History of the City of St. John," and Lorimer's pamphlet, "History of the Passamaquiddy Islands") the first history of a limited portion of the Province to appear in book form, although valuable newspaper series on local history have been published. May it prove the leader of a long series of such local histories which, let us hope, will not cease to appear until every portion of these interesting Provinces has been adequately treated.

W. F. GANONG.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I. The Chignecto Isthmus

CHAPTER II. The New England Immigration, 1755-1770

CHAPTER III. The Yorkshire Immigration

CHAPTER IV. The Eddy Rebellion

CHAPTER V. The First Churches of the Isthmus

CHAPTER VI. The Truemans

CHAPTER VII. Extracts from Journal and Letters

CHAPTER VIII. Prospect Farm

CHAPTER IX. Families Connected by Marriage with the Second Generation of Truemans

CHAPTER X. The First Settlers of Cumberland

CHAPTER I

THE CHIGNECTO ISTHMUS.

The discovery of America added nearly a third to the then known land surface of the earth, and opened up two of its richest continents. If such an extent of territory were thrown into the world's market to-day, the rapidity with which it would be exploited and explored, and its wealth made tributary to the world's requirements, would astonish, if they were here, the men who pioneered the settlement of the new country and left so royal a heritage to their descendants. To those who cross the Atlantic in the great ocean liners of our time, and think them none too safe, the fleet with which Sir Humphrey Gilbert crossed the sea to plant his colony in the new land must seem a frail protection indeed against the dangers of the western ocean.

Perhaps in no way can the progress made since the beginning of the nineteenth century be more forcibly brought before the mind than by comparing the immense iron steamships of the present day with the small wooden vessels with which commerce was carried on and battles were fought and won a hundred and fifty years ago.

The Isthmus of Chignecto separates the waters of the Bay of Fundy from those of Bay Verte, and constitutes the neck of land which saves Nova Scotia from being an island. It is seventeen miles between the two bays at the narrowest point, and considering the town of Amherst the south- eastern limit, and the village of Sackville the north-western, it may be put down as a little less than ten miles in width.

The southern slope is drained by four tidal rivers or creeks, namely, La Planche, Missiquash, Aulac and the Tantramar. These rivers empty into Cumberland Basin, and their general course is from north-east to south-west. In length they are from twelve to fifteen miles, and run through narrow valleys, the soil of which is made up largely from a rich sediment carried by the tide from the muddy waters of the basin. These valleys are separated from each other by ridges of high land ranging from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet above the sea level.

The Tidnish River, and several streams emptying into the Bay Verte, drain the Isthmus on its northern slope. The Missiquash and Tidnish rivers, each for some part of its course, form the boundary between the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The tides at the head of the Bay of Fundy rise to the height of sixty feet, or even higher, and are said to be the highest in the world. The mud deposit from the overflow of these tidal waters, laid down along the river valleys, is from one foot to eighty feet deep, varying as the soil beneath rises and falls.

Between Sackville and Amherst there is an area of some fifty thousand acres of these alluvial lands, reclaimed and unreclaimed. Some of this marsh has been cutting large crops of hay for one hundred and fifty years, and there is no evidence of diminished fertility, although no fertilizer has been used in that time; other sections have become exhausted and the tide has been allowed to overflow them. This treatment will restore them to their original fertility.

Cartier was the first of the early navigators to drop anchor in a New Brunswick harbor. This was in the summer of 1534, and the place was on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, near the mouth of the Miramich River. This was on the 30th of June. Landing the next day and finding the country well wooded, he was delighted and spoke of it in glowing terms.

The first white men to visit the Isthmus with a view to trade and settlement came from Port Royal in the summer of 1612.

In 1670, Jacob Bourgeois, a resident of Port Royal, and a few other restless spirits, were the first to make a permanent settlement. These were followed by another contingent under the leadership of Pierre Arsenault.

In 1676, the King of France gave a large grant of territory in Acadia to a French nobleman, Michael Le Neuf, Sieur de La Valliere. This grant included all the Chignecto Isthmus. Tonge's Island, a small islet in the marsh near the mouth of the Missiquash River, is called Isle La Valliere on the old maps, and was probably occupied by La Valliere himself when he lived on the Isthmus.

From this date Chignecto began to take a prominent place in the history of Acadia, and continued for a hundred and fifty years to be one of the principal centres of influence under the rule both of France and Great Britain.

It was here that France made her last stand for the possession of Acadia. It was here that Jonathan Eddy, twenty years later, raised the standard of the revolted colonies, and made a gallant but unsuccessful effort to carry Nova Scotia over to the rebel cause.

From 1713 to 1750 was the most prosperous period of the French occupation. The population increased rapidly for those times. The market at Louisbourg furnished an outlet for the surplus produce of the soil. The wants of the people were few. The Acadians were thrifty and frugal, the rod and gun supplying a large part of the necessaries of life in many a home. The complaint was made by those who at that time were interested in the circulation of the King's silver that the people hoarded it up, and once they got possession of it the public were never allowed to see it again. The houses were small and destitute of many of the furnishings their descendants now think indispensable, but perhaps they enjoyed life quite as well as those of later generations.

Bay Verte at this time was a place of considerable importance. The Abbe Le Loutre lived here a part of the time, and owned a store kept by an agent. The trade between Quebec and Louisbourg and the settlements on the Isthmus was carried on through the Port of Bay Verte, and from there the farmers of Chignecto shipped their cattle and farm products. The Acadians were quick to see the benefits that would arise from reclaiming the rich river valleys, and they drew their revenues chiefly from this land. They did not readily take to the cutting down of the forests and preparing the upland for growing crops; they were more at home with the dyking-spade than the axe. A description of their methods of dyking and constructing aboideaux, written in 1710, is interesting to those who are doing the same work now.

The writer of 1710 says: "They stopped the current of the sea by creating large dykes, which they called aboideaux. The method was to plant five or six large trees in the places where the sea enters the marshes, and between each row to lay down other trees lengthways on top of each other, and fill the vacant places with mud so well beaten down that the tide could not pass through it. In the middle they adjusted a flood-gate in such a way as to allow the water from the marsh to flow out at low water without permitting the water from the sea to flow in at high tide." The writer adds that the work was expensive, but the second year's crop repaid them for the outlay. This is more than can be said for present-day experience in the same kind of work.

The land reclaimed on the Aulac was confined principally to the upper portion of the river. The Abbe Le Loutre saw that the benefit would be great if this river were dammed near its mouth, and he was at work at a large aboideau, for which he had received money from France, when the fall of Beausejour forever put a stop to his enterprise.

Wheat seems to have grown very abundantly on the marsh when it was first dyked, judging from the census reports of those days and the traditions handed down.

The old French maps of 1750 and earlier show settlements at Beaubassin (Fort Lawrence), Pont a Buot (Point de Bute), Le Lac (Jolicure), We-He- Kauk (Westcock), We-He-Kauk-Chis (Little Westcock), Tantramar (Upper Sackville), Pre Du Bourge (Middle Sackville), We-He-Kage (Amherst Point) and Amherst or Upper Amherst, Vill-La-Butte, and La Planche. There were settlements also at Maccan, Nappan and Minudie. The statement that the village of Beaubassin, in 1750, contained a hundred and forty houses, and a population numbering a thousand, seems improbable under the circumstances.

Fort Lawrence, the site of old Beaubassin, contains to-day less than forty houses, and not more than three hundred inhabitants, yet more land is under cultivation now than in any previous time in its history. It is highly probable that the whole population on the south side of the Isthmus was reckoned as belonging to Beaubassin.

There is good reason for saying that the population of the district embraced in the parish of Westmoreland, excepting Port Elgin, was much larger from 1750 to 1755 than it has ever been since.

The Seigneur La Valliere was, no doubt, the most prominent man, politically, on the Isthmus during the French period. He was appointed commandant of Acadia in 1678, by Count Frontenac, and just missed being made governor. He was a man of broader views than most of his contemporaries. He encouraged trade, and was willing that others beside his own countrymen should reap the benefits if they were ready to pay the price. He anticipated the MODUS VIVENDI system now in force between this country and the United States in dealing with the fisheries, and instead of keeping a large fleet to patrol the coast and drive the English from the fishing ground, he charged them a license fee of five pistoles (about twenty-five dollars) for each vessel, thus giving them a free hand in the business.

La Valliere's farm was probably on the island marked on the old maps, "Isle La Valliere," and here he lived when not in other parts of the colony on public business. He had a son called Beaubassin, who was always ready to take a hand in any expedition that required courage and promised danger. In 1703, this Beaubassin was the leader of a party of French and Indians that attacked Casco and would have captured the place but for the timely arrival of a British man-of-war.

On the 11th April, 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht was signed. This gave all Nova Scotia, or Acadia, comprehended within its ancient boundaries, as also the city of Port Royal, now called Annapolis Royal, to the Queen of Great Britain. The English claimed this to include all the territory east of a line drawn from north of the Kennebec River to Quebec, taking in all the south shore of the St. Lawrence, Gaspe, the Island of St. John, and Cape Breton. The French contended that Acadia only included the southern half of the present Province of Nova Scotia. Views so divergent held by the contracting parties to an agreement, could scarcely fail to produce irritation and ultimately result in war.

In 1740, the Abbe Le Loutre, Vicar-General of Acadia under the Bishop of Quebec, and missionary to the Micmacs, came to Acadia to take charge of his mission. It soon became apparent that the Rev. Father was more anxious to advance the power and prestige of the King of France than he was to minister to the spiritual elevation of the benighted Indians. The course pursued by the Abbe defeated the end he had in view. His aim was to make Acadia a French colony; but in reality he helped to make it the most loyal British territory in North America.

The successful raid of de Villiers, in the winter of 1747, convinced the English that so long as Chignecto was in possession of the French, and was used as a base of operations to defy the English Government, there could be no lasting peace or security for settlers of British blood. Taking this view of the matter, Governor Cornwallis determined to take measures to drive the French from the Isthmus. The unsettled state of the French population through the Province contributed to this decision.

In November, 1754, Governor Lawrence wrote to Shirley, at Boston, that he had reason to believe the French were contemplating aggressive measures at Chignecto, and he thought it was quite time an effort was made to drive them from the north side of the Bay of Fundy. Col. Monckton carried this letter to Governor Shirley. The governor entirely agreed with the suggestion it contained, and had already taken some steps to bring about so desirable an end to the troubles the Government was experiencing on the Isthmus.

The matter was kept as secret as possible, but efforts were immediately made to raise a force to capture Fort Beausejour, the new fort built by the French on the high ground overlooking Beaubassin, on the north-west side of the Missiquash. So successful were they in getting up the expedition that, on the 23rd of May, everything was ready and the force set sail from Boston.

The expedition numbered two thousand men, under the command of Lieut.- Col. Monckton, with Lieutenants Winslow and Scott under him. They called at Annapolis, and were joined there by three hundred regulars of Warburton's regiment, and got a small train of artillery. Fort Lawrence* was reached on 2nd June, and the next day all the troops were landed and camped around the fort.

[FOOTNOTE: *The fort at Fort Lawrence, was situate on the high land that separates the valleys of the Missiquash and La Planche rivers, a little less than two miles distant from Fort Beausejour. It was constructed in the month of September, 1750. Lieutenant-Colonel Lawrence arrived at the Isthmus with a strong force, consisting of the 48th Regiment, and three hundred men of the 45th Regiment. "The Indians and some of the French were rash enough to oppose the landing of so formidable a body of troops, but they were driven off after a sharp skirmish, in which the English lost about twenty killed and wounded." A short distance from where they landed Colonel Lawrence erected a picketal fort with block-houses, which was named for himself. A garrison of six hundred men was maintained here until the fall of Beausejour. END OF FOOTNOTE]

Vergor, the French General in command at Beausejour, called on all the Acadians capable of bearing arms to come into the fort and assist in its defence. The Acadians, however, would not obey this order unless Vergor would make a refusal to comply punishable with death. This would given them an excuse with which to meet the English if the fort were taken.

On the 4th June, the English broke camp and marched north from Fort Lawrence, a distance of about two miles along the ridge of high land; then, entering the Missiquash valley, they crossed over to Pont a Buot, or Buot's Bridge, which spanned the Missiquash River. This bridge was near what is now Point de Bute Corner. Here the French had a blockhouse garrisoned with thirty men. There was also a breastwork of timber. This place was defended for an hour by the French, and then, setting fire to the little fort, they left the English to cross over without opposition. The victorious force camped that night on the Point de Bute side of the Missiquash River.

At this day it is difficult to account for the slight value the Acadian seemed to place upon his home. He appears to have been always ready to set it on fire at the least danger of its falling into the hands of the English. The sixty houses that stood between Buot's Bridge and Beausejour all went up in flame that night, fired by the French soldiers as they retired before the English.

From the 4th until the 13th of June the English were engaged in cutting roads, building bridges, transporting cannon, and getting these into position north of the fort, on the high ground, within shelling distance. During this time the French had been strengthening their defences and making other arrangements for withstanding a seige (sic). The Abbe Le Loutre ceased work on his "abateau" and set his men to assist at the fort.

Scouting parties from either camp met once or twice, and the Indians captured an English officer named Hay, who was passing from Fort Lawrence to the English camp. On the 13th the English threw a few shells into the fort, and continued to shell the place on the 14th, without much apparent result. On that day Vergor received tidings that no help could be sent from Louisbourg. This news was more disastrous to the French than the English shells. The Acadians lost all heart and began to slip away into the woods and the settlements to the northward.

The next day, the 15th, larger shells were thrown, some falling into the fort. One shell killed the English officer, Hay, who was a prisoner, and several French officers, while they were at breakfast. This decided the matter. Vergor sent an officer to Monckton asking for a suspension of hostilities. That afternoon the following terms of surrender were agreed upon:

"1st. The commandant, officers, staff and others employed for the King and garrison of Beausejour, shall go out with arms and baggage, drums beating. 2nd. The garrison shall be sent to Louisbourg at the expense of the King of Great Britain. 3rd. The Governor shall have provisions sufficient to last them until they get to Louisbourg. 4th. As to the Acadians, as they were forced to bear arms under pain of death, they shall be pardoned. 5th. The garrison shall not bear arms in America for the space of six months. 6th. The foregoing are granted on condition that the garrison shall surrender to the troops of Great Britain by 7 p.m. this afternoon. Signed, Robert Monckton. At the camp before Beausejour, 16th June, 1755."

As soon as the British were in possession at Beausejour, Monckton sent a detachment of three hundred men, under Col. Winslow, to demand the surrender of the fort at Bay Verte. Capt. Villeray accepted the same terms as Vergor, and on the 18th of June, 1755, the Isthmus passed for ever out of the possession of the King of France. A large amount of supplies was found in both forts.

Monckton changed the name of Fort Beausejour to Fort Cumberland, in honor of the Royal Duke who won the victory at Culloden, and as it was a much better fort than the one on the south side of the Missiquash, the troops were ordered to remain at Fort Cumberland.

This fort stands in a commanding position on the south-west summit of the high ridge of upland that separates the Missiquash from the Aulac valley. It was a fort of five bastions, with casemates, and was capable of accommodating eight hundred men. It mounted thirty guns. After it fell into the hands of the English it was great improved. A stone magazine (a part of which is still standing) was built outside the southern embankment. The moat was excavated to a much greater depth. Of late years the place has been shamefully neglected. On account of its historic associations many yearly visit the "Old Fort," and efforts have been made to enclose the grounds and make them more presentable.

The Acadians were still to be dealt with. Whether they should remain in the country and in the possession of their lands depended entirely on whether they would take the oath of allegiance to the Crown of Great Britain. This one condition accepted, they would be guaranteed all the privileges and immunities of British subjects. They refused, and the Expulsion followed. It was a hard and cruel measure, but they had had forty years of grace, and those who had thus long borne with them now decided their day of grace had ended.

One hundred and fifty years have since passed, but we find the Acadians are still here and are exercising an influence in Canada that is felt in all its Provinces. They are British subjects now, however, and while they have not lost their love for the country from which they sprang, nor for the flag for which their ancestors sacrificed so much, they are ready to stand by the Empire of Britain in war as well as in peace.

CHAPTER II

THE NEW ENGLAND IMMIGRATION 1755-1770.

The expulsion of 1755 left the population of old Acadia so depleted that the Governor and Council felt that something must be done at once to add to its numbers. The first move in this direction was to offer exceptional advantages to the New England soldiers, who constituted the largest part of the force at the taking of Beausejour, if they would remain in the country. Very few, however, accepted the offer, and as the unsettled state of the country between 1755 and 1760 was most unfavorable to immigration, but little progress was made till the next decade.

During these years wandering bands of Acadians and Indians harrassed (sic) the English, shooting and scalping whenever opportunity offered. At Bay Verte, in the spring of 1755, nine soldiers belonging to a party under Lieutenant Bowan, were shot and scalped while out getting wood for the fort. Colonel Scott, commandant at Cumberland, immediately sent two hundred of the New England men to Bay Verte with a sergeant and ten men of the regulars. The sergeant replaced the men who were killed, and caused three weeks' supply of wood to be laid in. Shortly after this one of the regulars was killed, and one of the New England men was taken prisoner. These men had strayed in the woods down as far as the Tantramar with these unfortunate results.

In 1759, Governor Lawrence wrote from Halifax to the Board of Trade that "five soldiers had been killed and scalped near Fort Cumberland, and that a provision vessel had been boarded by French and Indians in the Bay of Fundy and carried up the River Petitcodiac." The five men were ambushed and killed in Upper Point de Bute, near a bridge that crossed a ravine on the farm now owned by Amos Trueman.

Up to this time the government of Nova Scotia was vested in a governor and council. This year, 1758, it was decided by the Home Government to allow the Province a Legislative Assembly. The Assembly was to consist of twenty-two members, twelve to be elected by the Province at large, four for the township of Halifax, four for the township of Lunenburg, one for Dartmouth, one for Lawrencetown, one for Annapolis, and one for Cumberland. Fifty qualified electors would constitute a township. The township elections were to continue during two days, and those for the Province four days.

The Assembly met for the first time on October 2nd, 1758. Nineteen members were present. This makes the Legislature of Halifax the oldest in the Dominion of Canada. This year, also, Governor Lawrence issued his first proclamation inviting the New Englanders to come to Nova Scotia and settle on the vacated Acadian farms.

This proclamation created a great deal of interest and inquiry, and finally led to a considerable number of New England farmers settling in different parts of the Province, Chignecto getting a good share of them. The first proclamation had, however, to be supplemented by a second, in which full liberty of conscience and the right to worship as they pleased was secured to Protestants of all denominations. This guarantee was not included in Lawrence's first invitation to the New Englanders, and the descendants of the Puritans had not read in vain the history of the sacrifices made by their forefathers to worship in their own way.

In July, 1759, Edward Mott, representing a committee of agents from Connecticut, arrived at Halifax and was given a schooner to proceed to Chignecto, to examine that part of the Province with a view to settlement. Mr. Mott and his party returned some months later and suggested some changes in the proposed grants, which were conceded by the Government.

It was estimated at this time that two thousand families could be comfortably settled in the districts of Chignecto, Cobequid, Pisquid, Minas and Annapolis. This year (1759) persons in Connecticut and Rhode Island sent Major Dennison, Jonathan Harris, James Otis, James Fuller, and John Hicks, to Halifax to look out for desirable locations for settlement in the Province. Messrs. Hicks and Fuller decided to take up lands at Pisquid or Windsor.

From this time till 1766 the desire shown by residents of New England to settle in Nova Scotia was very marked, and resulted in adding considerably to the population of the Province.

In May, 1761, Captain Dogget was directed to bring twenty families and sixty head of cattle. The cattle were to be brought from the eastern part of New England to Liverpool, N.S., at the expense of the Government. Thirty-five pounds also was granted to transport twenty families with seventy-nine head of cattle to the township of Amherst. In 1763, a number of families came to Sackville and were given grants of land by the Government. These Sackville emigrants were adherents of the Baptist Church and brought their minister with them. The denomination is still strong in that locality. A number of these emigrants, however, returned at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, and others after the war was over.

The townships of Cumberland, Amherst, and Sackville were established in 1763. The township of Cumberland had an area of 100,800 acres. It included all the territory between the La Planche and Aulac Rivers, and extended east to Bay Verte and southwest to the Cumberland Basin. Old Beausejour, now Fort Cumberland, was within the township of Cumberland.

Amherst township is said to have had a population at this time of thirty families, and Cumberland of thirty-five families. The township of Cumberland of (sic) was given 18,800 acres of marsh, and Sackville had 1,200 cres of marsh and 8,700 acres of woodland.

In 1763, a number of the leading men in Cumberland met together and appointed a committee to draft a memorial to the Governor, asking the privilege of sending a representative to the Assembly at Halifax. The request was granted, and Joshua Winslow was chosen as the first representative of the township. Colonel Fry had previous to this time represented Cumberland in the Assembly, but he was not elected by the people. The following is the text of the memorial:

"To the Honourable Montague Wilmot, Esquire, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's Province of Nova Scotia, and Colonel of one of His Majesty's regiments of foot, etc., etc., etc.

"The inhabitants of the town of Cumberland, in Nova Scotia, beg leave to congratulate Your Honour on your appointment by His Majesty to the chief command of this Province and in your safe arrival therein. Although remote from the Capital, and perhaps last in our addresses, yet we flatter ourselves not the least sincere in assuring Your Honour of the happiness we feel in finding ourselves under your government.

"It would give us particular satisfaction was it in your power to look upon ourselves in the same light with the other towns in the Province. But as we are yet destitute of that sanction which would put us on the same footing with our neighbours, we cannot help presuming upon the liberty of signifying to Your Honour our regret thereat, and praying that you will be pleased to permit the solution of our affairs to be laid before you, not doubting but upon a just representation thereof you will be pleased to think we are deserving in common with the other settlements of Your Honour's countenance and protection. We beg to rely on your goodness therein.

"By desire of the inhabitants,

"(Signers),

John Huston (Ch.). Elijah Ayer. Wm. Allen Josiah Throop. J. Winslow. Jos. Morse. Abel Richardson.

"CUMBERLAND, Nov. 1st, 1763."

Although thirty-five families had settled in Cumberland at this time, and six hundred acres of land had been cleared of timber, the larger part of the land was still held by the Government. Application was therefore made in this year by the following persons for grants of land in Cumberland:

GRANTEES' NAMES

Joseph Morse. Joshua Winslow. Elijah Ayer. Jesse Bent. Josiah Throop. Gamaliel Smethurst. John Huston. Sennacherib Martyn. James Law. Abel Richardson. Sara Jones. William Best, Sr. Obediah Ayer. William Nesbit. William How. Windser Eager. Arch. Hinshelwood. Gideon Gardner. Samuel Danks. Thomas Dickson. Zebulon Roe. John King. Henry King. Joshua Best. Jonathan Cole. Elieu Gardner. Jonathan Eddy. William Huston. Alex. Huston. Simeon Charters. Thomas Proctor. Brook Watson. William Allan. Jonathan Gay. Daniel Gooden. Martin Peck. Ebenezer Storer. John Walker. Benine Danks. Henry M. Bonnell. John Allan. Amos Fuller. Charles Oulton. Samuel Gay. David —————. Assell Danks. Daniel Earl. Isaac Danks. Anthony Burk. Ebenezer —————. John Fillmore. Robert Watson. Samuel Raymond. William Welch. John Collins. William Sutherland. Thomas Clews. Nehemiah Ward. Abel Richardson. Joseph Ayer. Winkworth Allen. William Milburn. Liffy Chappell. George Allen. The Glebe. Jabez Chappell. The School. The Presbyterian Minister

Col. Joseph Morse was a native of Delham, Mass., and took an active part in the Seven Years' War. He lost heavily in the expedition against Oswego. In crossing the Atlantic he was captured by the French, and obtained a good taste of the quality of French dungeons in which his health became shattered. He was exchanged, after which he visited London and received many marks of personal favor at the hands of George II, amongst these a pension, and tracts of land in Virginia and Nova Scotia. His last days were spent in Fort Lawrence, where he settled after the expulsion of the French. He left one son, Alpheus, and a daughter, Olive. The former married Theodora, a sister of Col. Jonathan Crane the father of Hon. Wm. Crane; the latter married Col. Wm. Eddy, of Revolutionary fame, who was afterwards killed in the British attack on Machais, and the Fort Lawrence property inherited by his wife was escheated to the Crown. After Alpheus Morse's death his widow married Major How, an officer in Eddy's command. Upon the failure of the rebellion, Mrs. How and Mrs. Eddy fled to the United States. Alpheus Morse's sons were Alpheus, James, Joseph, Silas, and John. The two first lived in Cumberland, where their descendants are still found. Judge Morse and Dr. Morse, of Amherst, are sons of James. Joseph emigrated to Ohio, where his descendants now live. Silas married a sister of Judge Alexander Stewart, C.B. Among his descendants are Sir Charles Tupper's family, Rev. Richards (sic) Simmonds' family, and Charles Fullerton, K.C. John Morse married a daughter of Sheriff Charles Chandler, the father of Lieutenant-Governor Chandler. Among his descendants are the family of the late Judge Morse of Dalhousie, and the C. Milner family of Sackville. A daughter of Alpheus Morse married Judge Stewart. Among his descendants are Judge Townsend of Halifax, and Senator Dickey's family of Amherst.

There were three Ayers—Elijah, Obediah and Joseph—who came with the emigration of 1763 and settled in Sackville. Obediah joined the Eddy rebels in 1776, and was made a commodore by the Continental Congress after he left Cumberland. The Ayers in Sackville are descendants of these grantees.

Josiah Throop was an engineer in the British army. He surveyed the township of Cumberland, and Throop's plan is still referred to. His grant was in Upper Point de Bute, where some of his descendants still live. He represented the township in the Halifax Assembly in 1765.

There were three Hustons—John, William and Alexander. They lived near Fort Cumberland. The name occurs still in the county of Cumberland.

Joshua Winslow, as we have stated, was the first representative sent from Cumberland to the Legislature at Halifax, and was a member of the Winslow family, so distinguished in colonial history. He was engaged at Chignecto with Capt. Huston, in the commissary business. The latter in one of his trips to Boston picked up a waif in the person of Brook Watson, a young man who had had one of his legs bitten off by a shark in West-Indian waters. Watson was trained under Winslow, and the foundation of his success was hereby laid. General Joshua was Commissary-General of the British in Nova Scotia. He left Fort Cumberland in 1783. He was paymaster of the troops in Quebec in 1791 and died there ten years later. A grandson of his, a Mr. Trott, lives at Niagara Falls in a fine old colonial mansion full of treasures of the Colonial period, with many relics and personal effects of General Winslow.

The Bents were from New England. There were two brothers, John and Jesse. John settled in Amherst and Jesse in Fort Lawrence. There are a large number of their descendants in the country.

Gamaliel Smethurst represented the county of Cumberland at Halifax, in 1770. He returned to England and published a book in London, in 1774, describing a voyage from Nepisiquit to Cumberland. None of this name, so far as we know, now reside in the country.

Sennacherib Martyn was a captain in Winslow's expedition to capture Fort Beausejour. He brought with him to Westmoreland Point, as slaves, a negro family, to whom he afterwards gave their freedom, and gave them also his name (now spelled Martin). Captain Martyn married the widow Oulton and settled in Jolicure. He was godfather to George and Elizabeth, the children of Col. William Allan.

James Law was a commissary at the fort and a colonel of militia. He was a large property owner in Point de Bute on both sides of the ridge. Reverses of fortune came, and finally he died a parish charge.

Benoni Danks represented the county of Cumberland at the Halifax Assembly. Tradition says his death was caused by falling into the hold of a vessel. The Danks left the country about the year 1830.

Thomas Dickson was born in Dublin, and came to Connecticut when an infant. He married a Wethered.

The Kings were from New England. They settled in Fort Lawrence, and from there removed to different parts of the country.

Jonathan Cole lived on Cole's Island and gave his name to the place. He had two sons, Martin and Ebenezer, the former of whom settled at Rockport and the latter at Dorchester. The name is still in the county.

William Allan was a Scotchman who came to Halifax with the party that founded that place in 1749. He soon after came to Cumberland. John and Winkworth Allan were his sons. His grant was in Upper Point de Bute, where his son John lived when he was sheriff of Cumberland.

George Allan was a son of William Allan. He had a son George, and all the other Allans are the descendants of the first William. Winkworth Allan went back to England and became a rich merchant.

Brook Watson lived with his Uncle Huston for a time, and was employed by the Government to assist in the Expulsion. He afterwards left the country, going to London, where he was remarkably successful in business, and among other honors became Lord Mayor of the city.

Jonathan and Samuel Gay were brothers. Jonathan returned to New England, but Samuel remained in the country settling near the old Fort Beausejour. He was a very large man, measuring six feet six inches in height, and broad in proportion. Samuel was afterwards made a judge. It is said that Judge Gay's daughter Fanny was in Boston at the time of the sea duel between the SHANNON and the CHESAPEAKE, and was with the crowd that lined the shore awaiting the result. When the news came that the British had won, she threw up her bonnet and cheered for the victors, greatly to the annoyance of the Americans.

Daniel Gooden was a soldier in the British army, and after his discharge settled in Bay Verte, where numbers of his descendants still live.

Charles Oulton remained in Cumberland, and a large number of his descendants are still living in the county of Westmoreland.

David Burnham remained, and a number of his descendants lived in Sackville and Bay Verte for a good many years. The name has now disappeared.

John Fillmore was from New England, and settled in Jolicure. He had a large family of sons and they settled in different parts of the Province. The name is still in frequent evidence.

The descendants of Samuel Raymond live in King's County.

The two Chappells, Liffy and Jabez, settled in Bay Verte and Tidnish. The name is still common in these localities.

John Walker's grant was on Bay Verte Road, where the name was found until quite recently.

The Bonnells remained in the county for a time, but afterwards removed to King's County, where the name still exists.

Amos Fuller remained and the name is yet found in the county of Cumberland.

The Watsons settled in Fort Lawrence and were very successful in business. The Eddy rebels, under Commodore Ayer, sacked Mr. Watson's premises one night and took the old gentleman prisoner, compelling him to carry a keg of rum to the vessel for the benefit of the sailors.

William Welch remained in the country, and his descendants are still here.

The Wards were from New England, and remained in the country. Nehemiah lived in Sackville and kept a tavern near the Four Corners.

Simeon Charters was from New England and remained in the country. The name is still in the Province.

The Abel Richardson family came from New England. The Yorkshire family of Richardson, whose descendants are still in Sackville, did not settle there until some years later.

The Bests were a New England family and the name is still in the country.

William Nesbit remained and the name is now found in Albert County.

Archibald Hinshelwood left the country.

The Roe name is still in Cumberland.

William How was probably son of the How that was shot by the Indians under a flag of truce.

None of the Proctor family now remain in the county.

There is no information about any of the following grantees: Gideon Gardner, Sara Jones, Ebenezer Storer, Daniel Earl, Anthony Burk. Windser Eager was from Dumfries, Scotland.

It is a matter of surprise that so many names to be found in the lists of a hundred years ago have so completely disappeared.

A large number of families who came from New England at this time settled on the St. John River. They called their settlement Maugerville. The name Sunbury was subsequently given to the whole of the Province west of Cumberland County.

The Hon. Charles Burpee, of Sheffield, writes me that there were about two hundred families who at this time found homes along the river. Some of their names were: Perley, Barker, Burpee, Stickney, Smith, Wasson, Bridges, Upton, Palmer, Coy, Estey, Estabrooks, Pickard, Hayward, Nevers, Hartt, Kenney, Coburn, Plummer, Sage, Whitney, Quinton, Moore, McKeen, Jewett.

Simonds and White came to St. John some three or four years before the others. The Rev. Mr. Noble was there before the Revolution, but he did not come with the first settlers.

Largely through the influence of the Loyalists, in 1784, the Province of New Brunswick was set off from Nova Scotia, and the Missiquash River made the boundary between the two Provinces. This division cut the old township of Cumberland into two halves. Those who conducted the business for New Brunswick wanted the line at La Planche, or further east, while the Nova Scotians wanted it at the Aulac or further west. They compromised on the Missiquash.* This division made some trouble in nomenclature and has puzzled a good many persons since that date. The part of the old township of Cumberland on the west of the Missiquash became the parish of Westmoreland, in the county of Westmoreland. Fort Cumberland was in this district, and between Fort Cumberland and the old township of Cumberland, and the still older county of Cumberland, which once embraced the present Westmoreland and Albert counties, and the present county of Cumberland in Nova Scotia, there was a good deal of confusion. A number of years passed before Cumberland Point came to be called Westmoreland Point.

[FOOTNOTE: *The establishment of the Missiquash as the boundary between the two Provinces was eminently satisfactory to New Brunswick, but not so to Nova Scotia, as the latter Province at once vigorously protested against it, and did not seem inclined to give up agitating for a change. In 1792 the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia presented an address to the Lieutenant-Governor, in which they say "there is a very pressing necessity of an alteration in the division line, between this and the neighboring Province of New Brunswick." This agitation for a change in the boundary was kept up for several years, and in the correspondence, three other lines are suggested by Nova Scotia as being preferable to the one that had been already chosen.

The first of these was one from the head of the tide on the Petitcodiac to the head of the tide on the Restigouche River. A second from the head of the tide on the Memramcook by a certain magnetic line to the salt water of Cocagne Harbor, and the third by the course of the Aulac River to its head, and thence by a given compass line to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The present line was last surveyed by Alex. Munroe in 1859, under Commissioner James Steadman, Esq., acting for New Brunswick, and Joseph Avard, Esq., for Nova Scotia. The line is thus described by the Commissioners: Commencing at the mouth of the Missiquash River, in Cumberland Bay, and thence following the several courses of the said river to a post near Black Island, thence north fifty-four degrees, twenty-five minutes east, crossing the south end of Black Island, two hundred and eighty-eight chains to the south angle of Trenholm's Island, thence south thirty-seven degrees east, eighty-five chains and eight-two links to a post, thence south seventy-six degrees east, forty-six chains and twenty links to the portage, thence south sixty- five degrees, forty-five minutes east, three hundred and ninety-four chains and forty links to Tidnish Bridge, then following the several courses of said river, along its northern upward bank to its mouth, thence following the north-westerly channel to the deep water of the Bay water, giving to Nova Scotia the control of the navigable waters on Tidnish River.

Those wishing to get fuller information relating to this or any of the boundaries of New Brunswick, will find the subject treated exhaustively in a work just published, entitled "A Monograph of the Evolution of the Boundaries of the Province of New Brunswick," by William F. Ganong, M.A., Ph.D., from which the above facts are taken. END OF FOOTNOTE]

The following facts are taken from the anniversary number of the CHIGNECTO POST, 1895:

"On the 15th August, 1761, Captain Benoni Danks, Messrs. William Allan, Abeil Richardson, John Huston and John Oates were appointed to divide the forfeited lands in the township of Cumberland.

"On the 19th August of the same year Captain Winckworth Tonge, Joshua Winslow, John Huston, John Jencks, Joshua Sprague, Valentine Estabrooks and William Maxwell were appointed a committee to admit persons into the township of Sackville.

"The first town meeting, or meeting of the committee, for Sackville township, took place on 20th July, 1762. It was held at the house of Mrs. Charity Bishop, who kept an inn at Cumberland. There were present Captain John Huston, Doctor John Jencks, Joshua Sprague, Valentine Estabrooks, William Maxwell and Joshua Winslow. Captain Huston was made chairman and Ichabod Comstock clerk.

"The conditions and locations of the proposed new grant of Sackville were of the first interest to the newly arrived settlers, and the proceedings were largely taken up with settling such matters. It was resolved that a family of six, and seven head of cattle, should have one and a half shares, or 750 acres.

"At the next meeting, held on 31st August, Mr. Elijah Ayers' name appears as a committeeman.

"At a town meeting, held on 18th April, 1770, Robert Scott was appointed moderator and Robert Foster, clerk. They, with John Thomas, were appointed a committee to settle with the old committee for the survey of the lands."

About 1786, the inhabitants of Sackville made a return of the state of the settlement to the Government to show that if a proposed escheat was made it would be attended with great confusion, as but few of the grants had not been improved. The actual settlers at that date, as set forth in the return, appear to have been as follows:

LETTER A.

Samuel Bellew. John Peck. Joseph Brown. John Barns. Samuel Rogers. Ebenezer Burnham. Samuel Saunders. Simon Baisley. Valentine Estabrooks. Wm. Carnforth. Andrew Kinnear. Abial Peck. James Jincks. Nathaniel Shelding. Eleazer Olney. Job Archernard. Nathan Mason. Jonathan Burnham.

LETTER B.

Charles Dixon. Gilbert Seaman. John Richardson. Joseph Read. John Fawcett. Wm. Carnforth. George Bulmer. John Wry. Thomas Bowser. Moses Delesdernier. Joseph Delesdernier. Daniel Tingley. Michael Burk. Wm. Laurence. Samuel Seamans. Ben Tower. Joseph Tower. Elijah Ayer. Joseph Thompson. John Thompson. Mark Patton. Eliphalet Read. Nehemiah Ayer. Josiah Tingley. James Cole. Jonathan Cole. Hezekiah King. Valentine Estabrooks.

LETTER C.

Wm. Estabrooks. Gideon Smith. Daniel Stone. Patton Estabrooks. Pickering Snowdon. Thomas Potter. Nehemiah Ward. John Weldon. John Fillmore. Jos. C. Lamb. John Grace. Josiah Hicks. Angus McPhee. Joseph Sears. Wm. Fawcett. Benjamin Emmerson. Jonathan Eddy. Titus Thornton.

CHAPTER III

THE YORKSHIRE IMMIGRATION.

Yorkshire is grouped as one of the six northern counties of England. Jackson Wray calls it "one of the bonniest of English shires." It has an area of 6,076 square miles, making it the largest county in England. Its present population is a trifle over three millions. A coast-line of one hundred miles gives its people a fine chance to look out on the North Sea. The old town of Hull is the largest shipping port. Scarboro, on the coast, is the great watering-place for the north of England. Leeds, Sheffield, Hull and Bradford are the largest towns. It is the principal seat of the woollen manufacture in Great Britain. The people are self-reliant and progressive. In Yorkshire to-day are to be found the oldest co-operative corn-mills and the oldest co-operative stores in England. The practice of dividing profits among purchasers in proportion to their trade at the store was first adopted by a Yorkshire society. This is just what might be expected from the people who, in 1793, passed the following resolution: "Resolved, that monopolies are inconsistent with the true principles of commerce, because they restrain at once the spirit of enterprise and the freedom of competition, and are injurious to the country where they exist, because the monopolist, by fixing the rate of both sale and purchase, can oppress the public at discretion."

Another resolution passed by the same corporation, but earlier in the century, shows our ancestors in a somewhat different light. A day of thanksgiving was appointed for the success of the British forces. The corporation attended divine service in the parish church, after which it was agreed to meet at Mrs. Owen's, "at five of the clock, to drink to His Majesty's health and further good success," the expense of the evening to be at the corporation's charge.

The old Yorkshire men liked a good, honest horse-race, and fox-hunting was a favorite sport with them. It is told of a Mr. Kirkton that he followed the hounds on horseback until he was eighty, and from that period to one hundred he regularly attended the unkennelling of the fox in his single chair. Scott's "Dandy Dinmont" could scarcely overtop that. No one can read the "Annals of Yorkshire" without being struck with the number of persons who at their death left bequests to the poor, widows getting a large share of this bounty.

John Wesley, very soon after he began his life-work, found his way to Yorkshire, and nowhere had he more sincere or devoted followers, many of whom were among the first emigrants to Nova Scotia. To the England of the eighteenth century America must have presented great attraction, especially to the tenant-farmer and the day-laborer. The farmer in that country could never hope to own his farm, and the wages of the agricultural laborer were so small that it was only by the strictest economy and the best of health that he could hope to escape the workhouse in his old age. In America land could be had for the asking. The continent was simply waiting for the hands of willing workers to make it the happy home of millions. The reaction in trade after the Seven Years' War made the prospect just starting in life gloomier than ever, and many a father and mother who expected to end their days in the Old Land, decided, for the sake of their children, to face the dangers of the western ocean and the trials of pioneer life.

Charles Dixon, one of the first of the Yorkshire emigrants, writes of England before he left: "I saw the troubles that were befalling my native country. Oppressions of every kind abounded, and it was very difficult to earn bread and keep a conscience void of offence." Under these circumstances, Mr. Dixon and a number of others decided to emigrate. It is not surprising then, that when Governor Franklin, at the invitation of the Duke of Rutland, went down to Yorkshire in 1771, to seek emigrants for Nova Scotia, he found a goodly number of persons ready to try their fortunes in the new land.

Governor Franklin did not stay long in the northern district, but left agents who, judging by the number that came to Nova Scotia during the few ensuing years, must have done their work well.

Among the first of the Yorkshire emigrants to sail for Nova Scotia was a party that left Liverpool in the good ship "DUKE OF YORK," on the 16th of March, 1772. The voyage lasted forty-six days, and at the end of that time the sixty-two passengers were all landed safely at Halifax. From that port they went by schooner to Chignecto, landing at Fort Cumberland on the 21st of May.

Charles Dixon, with his wife and four children, were passengers on the "DUKE OF YORK." Mr. Dixon's is the only record I have seen of this voyage, and it is very concise indeed. He writes: "We had a rough passage. None of us having been to sea before, much sea-sickness prevailed. At Halifax we were received with much joy by the gentlemen in general, but were much discouraged by others, and the account given us of Cumberland was enough to make the stoutest give way."

Mr. Dixon does not seem to have allowed these discouraging reports to influence him greatly, for by the 8th of June he had made a purchase of 2,500 acres of land in Sackville, and moved his family there.

Other vessels followed the "DUKE OF YORK" during 1773 and the two following years, the largest number coming in 1774. By May of that year, two brigantines moored at Halifax with 280 passengers, and three more vessels were expected. By the last of June nine passenger vessels had arrived. The ship ADAMANT at this time was the regular packet between Halifax and Great Britain.

As one of the passenger vessels was from Aberdeen, it is not likely that all the immigrants this year were from Yorkshire. At Halifax, the women and children going to Cumberland were put on board a schooner bound for Chignecto, and the younger man started to make the journey on foot. The latter took the usual road to Fort Edward; from there they went by boat to Parrsboro', and then followed the high ridge of land called the "Boar's Back," to River Hebert. At Minudie they found boats to carry them to Fort Cumberland, where they were given a right royal Yorkshire welcome by their wives and children, who had reached the fort before them. From Fort Cumberland the immigrants quickly began to look around the country for suitable locations.

Those by the name of Black, Freeze, Robinson, Lusby, Oxley and Forster bought farms at Amherst and Amherst Point. Keilor, Siddall, Wells, Lowerson, Trueman, Chapman, Donkin, Read, Carter, King, Trenholm, Dobson and Smith were the names of those who settled at Westmoreland Point, Point de Bute and Fort Lawrence. The names of the Sackville contingent were Dixon, Bowser, Atkinson, Anderson, Bulmer, Harper, Patterson, Fawcett, Richardson, Humphrey, Cornforth and Wry. Brown, Lodge, Ripley, Shepley, Pipes, Coates, Harrison, Fenwick and others settled at Nappan, Maccan and River Hebert.

Hants and King's County, in Nova Scotia, got a part of this immigration. Those who came to Cumberland were too late to secure any of the vacated Acadian farms before others had got possession, these lands having been pre-empted by the New Englanders and the traders who followed the army. Those who had the means, however, seem to have found no difficulty in purchasing from the owners, and very quickly set to work to adjust themselves to the new conditions. So effectually did they do this, that almost every man of them succeeded in making a comfortable home for his family.

The local historians of those times claim that these English settlers, arriving as they did just before the Revolutionary war, saved Nova Scotia to the British Crown. If that is the correct opinion, and we are more disposed to believe it is true than to question its accuracy, then the British Empire is more indebted to these loyal Yorkshire immigrants than history has ever given them credit for. The Eddy Rebellion proved that the New Englanders, who constituted a large part of the inhabitants of Chignecto previous to the arrival of the English, sympathized very generally with the revolutionists, and were ready to help their cause to the extent of taking up arms, if necessary, on its behalf. These English immigrants were not soldiers; most of them were farmers and mechanics who had taken little part in the discussions of public questions, but they were loyal subjects of the King of Great Britain. They always had been, and they always expected to be, loyal. The headquarters of the rebellion was in Cumberland, and it was in Cumberland that the largest number of these Englishmen settled.

In 1776, Mr. Arbuthnot writes, "There is an absolute necessity for troops to be sent to Fort Cumberland, Annapolis Royal, and a few to Fort Edward and Windsor for protection, with the help of His Majesty's loyal subjects who consist of English farmers. A sober, religious people, though ignorant of the use of arms, will afford every assistance." He says the others are from New England and will join in any rebellion. Murdock thinks that Arburthnot did not judge the New England men fairly; that many of them were loyal subjects of Great Britain, and did not want to be mixed up in the trouble and discussion between Great Britain and her older colonies.

Whether this English immigration did for Nova Scotia what is claimed for it or not, their success in the new country as farmers and settlers forever removed from the English mind the belief that Nova Scotia was a cold, barren and inhospitable country, "fit only as a home for convicts and Indians." And thus it opened the way for future settlers. It is not claiming too much to say these northern Englishmen were a superior class of men. Industrious, hardy, resourceful and God-fearing, they were made of the right material to form the groundwork of prosperous communities, and wherever this element predominated it was a guarantee that justice and order would be maintained. They were not all saints— perhaps none of them were—but there was a homely honesty and a fixedness of principle about the majority of them that "made for righteousness" wherever they were found.

The most considerable addition to the population of Nova Scotia after the Yorkshire immigration was in 1783 and 1784, when the United Empire Loyalists came to the Province. They left New England as the French left Acadia, without the choice of remaining. The story of their removal and bitter experiences has been told by more than one historian. They were the right stamp of men, and have left their impress on the provinces by the sea. Among the names of those who settled at the old Chignecto were: Fowler, Knapp, Palmer, Purdy, Pugsley. After the Loyalists there was no marked emigration to the Maritime Provinces till after the battle of Waterloo. The hard times in England following the war turned the attention of the people of Great Britain again to America, and from 1815 to 1830 there was a steady stream of emigrants, particularly from Scotland to the Provinces. Northern New Brunswick received a large share of these Scotch settlers. The Mains, Grahams, Girvins, McElmons, and the Braits of Galloway and Richibucto, in Kent County, and the Scotts, Murrays, Grants, and Blacklocks of Botsford, Westmoreland County, came at this time.

An account of the wreck of a ship in 1826, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, is yet told by the descendants of some of those who were coming as settlers to Richibucto.

In the spring of 1826 a lumber vessel bound for Richibucto, N.B., carried a number of passengers for that part. When off the Magdalen Islands the vessel was stove in with the ice, and the crew and passengers had to take to the boats. There was no time to secure any provisions, and a little package of potato starch that a lady passenger had been using at the time of the accident, and carried with her, was the only thing eatable in the boats. Among the passengers was James Johnstone, of Dumfries, Scotland, and his daughter Jean, sixteen years old. For three days and nights the boats drifted. Mr. Johnstone, who was an old man, died from the cold and exposure, and at the time of his death his daughter was lying apparently unconscious in the bottom of one of the boats. On the morning of the fourth day a vessel bound for Miramichi discovered them and took all on board. After landing safely at Miramichi they took passage for Richibucto. Miss Johnstone married John Main of Richibucto, and was the mother of a large family. Mrs. Main was never able to overcome her dread of the sea after this dreadful experience.

The last immigrants who came to the vicinity of the Isthmus were from Ireland. They arrived in the decade between 1830 and 1840, and settled in a district now called Melrose. Until recently their settlement was known as the Emigrant Road. Some of the names of this immigration were: Lane, Carroll, Sweeney, Barry, Noonen, Mahoney and Hennessy. They proved good settlers, industrious and saving, and many of the second generation are filling prominent positions in the country. Ex-Warden Mahoney, of Melrose, and lawyers Sweeney and Riley, of Moncton, and Dr. Hennessy, of Bangor, Maine, are descended from this stock.

CHAPTER IV

THE EDDY REBELLION.

THE Eddy Rebellion does not occupy much space in history, but it was an important event in the district where it occurred, and in the lives of those who were responsible for it. The leaders were Colonel Jonathan Eddy, Sheriff John Allan, or "Rebel John," as he was afterwards called, William Howe, and Samuel Rogers. Eddy, Rogers and Allan had been, or were at that time members of the Assembly at Halifax. Allan was a Scotsman by birth, the others were from New England.

The pretext for the rebellion was the militia order of Governor Legge; the real reason was the sympathy of the New Englanders with their brother colonists. It was represented at the Continental Congress that six hundred persons in Nova Scotia, whose names were given, were ready to join any army who might come to their help. If these six hundred names represented those who were of an age to bear arms, then the statement of Arbuthnot that the New Englanders were all disloyal was correct.

The first step taken in opposition to Governor Legge's order was to petition against its enforcement. The petition from Cumberland referred to the destruction of the fort on the St. John River as "rather an act of inconsideration than otherwise," and then said, "those of us who belong to New England, being invited into this Province by Governor Lawrence's proclamation, it must be the greatest piece of cruelty and imposition for them to be subjected to march into different parts in arms against their friends and relations. The Acadians among us being also under the same situation, most, if not all, having friends distributed in different parts of America, and that done by order of His Majesty."

This petition was signed by sixty-four persons in Cumberland, the Amherst petition was signed by fifty-eight, and the Sackville one by seventy-three. Fifty-one of the petitioners were Acadians. The date was December 23rd, 1775.

Governor Legge took no other action on these petitions than to send them at once to the British Government as evidence of the disloyalty of the Province, and at the same time he wrote to the Earl of Dartmouth that some persons had spread the report that he was trying to draw the militia to Halifax that he might transport them to New England and make soldiers of them. He also adds, "The consequence of such reports influenced the whole country, so that many companies of the militia have refused to assemble, ending in these remonstrances which here in a public manner have been transmitted to your Lordship."

As soon as it became known to the petitioners that Governor Legge would not cancel the militia order, and that the petitions had been forwarded to Downing Street, it was decided to elect delegates to meet in Cumberland to take into consideration what steps should next be taken. Accordingly, representatives appointed by the petitioners met at Inverma, the home of Sheriff Allan. Jonathan Eddy and Sheriff Allan were there as members of the convention, and took especial pains to urge upon the meeting that the time had arrived for decided action. Either they must cast in their lot with their friends in Massachusetts and Connecticut, or they must be loyal to the British Government. They also made it clear that they could not hold the country against the British without help from their friends. The decision must have been in favor of independent action, as almost immediately Colonel Eddy started for New England with the intention of securing help from that quarter. Allan remained for a while longer in the country, but his outspoken sympathy with the rebel cause was soon reported to the Government and steps were taken to have him arrested.

About this time Rogers' and Allan's seats in the Legislature were declared vacant, and a reward of two hundred pounds was offered for the apprehension of Eddy and one hundred pounds each for Allan, Rogers, and Howe. Allan's biographer, in writing of this period in his life, says, "His life being now in danger, he resolved to leave the Province for the revolted colonies; but previous to his departure he made several excursions among the Indians to the northward and by his influence secured for the rebel provinces the co-operation of a large number of the Micmac tribe." He left Cumberland in an open boat on August 3rd, 1776, and coasting along the Bay of Fundy, reached Passamaquoddy Bay on the 11th. In Machias Bay, which he entered on the 13th, he found Col. Eddy with twenty-eight others in a schooner on their way to the Bay of Fundy to capture Fort Cumberland. Allan tried to induce Eddy to abandon the expedition for the present, urging that it was impossible to accomplish anything with so small a force. Colonel Eddy was headstrong and sanguine, and kept on his way. He was sure more men would follow him, and he expected to get a large addition to his force when he reached the St. John River.

Allan, in the meantime, pushed on to Machias, and after spending a few days there, went as far as the Piscataquis River by water, and thence he took the stage to Boston. From Boston he proceeded to Washington's headquarters, giving New York, which was then in possession of the British, a wide berth. He dined with Washington, and talked over the situation. On the 4th of January he was introduced to the Continental Congress, where he made a full statement of matters in Nova Scotia.

After some deliberation, Congress appointed him Superintendent of the Eastern Indians and a colonel of infantry. He received his instructions from Hon. John Hancock, and left at once for Boston. While there he urged upon the members in council the necessity of protecting the eastern part of Maine, and showed the advantage it would be to the rebels if, by sending out an armed force, they could take possession of the western part of Nova Scotia. This the Council promised to do.

After giving this advice, Allan himself set out to show what could be done by raiding the loyal settlers on the River St. John. This expedition was not very successful, and Colonel Allan was glad to get back to Maine, and take up the duties of his new position as Superintendent of the Eastern Indians. He made Machias his headquarters, and to the end of his life, which came in the year 1805, he remained a resident of the State of Maine.

Beamish Murdoch, the historian of Nova Scotia, in a letter to a relative of Colonel John Allan, says: "If the traditions I have heard about John Allan are correct, he could not have been much over twenty- one years old in 1775. As he had no New England ancestors, his escapade must be attributed to ambition, romance, or pure zeal for what he thought was just and right. For the feelings against the Crown in Nova Scotia in 1775 were confined to the Acadian French, who resented the conquest, the Indians who were attached to them by habit and creed, and to the settlers who were emigrants from New England."

Mr. Murdoch was mistaken in the age of Allan. John Allan was born in Edinburgh Castle at about "half after one" of the clock, on January 3rd, 1746 (O. S.), and was baptized on the 5th by Mr. Glasgow. He thus must have been in his 30th year when he joined the Eddy rebels.

After Colonel Eddy's interview with Colonel Allan in Machias Bay, he pushed on to Cumberland, and landed in Petitcodiac. His little army had increased considerably since he left Machias. At the mouth of the Petitcodiac River he stationed a small force to watch for any reinforcements that might be coming to Fort Cumberland. With the main body of his followers he started overland for Chignecto, after he had supplied his commissariat from the loyal settlers along the river.

They crossed the Memramcook well up to the head of that river, and took a straight course for Point Midgic. Then going through the woods above the Jolicure Lakes, they came to the home of Colonel Allan, in Upper Point de Bute. Mrs. Allan and her children were still there, and there was no disposition on the part of the inhabitants of Jolicure to interfere in any measure against the rebels.

At Allan's it was learned that a vessel with provisions had been seen in the bay, heading for Fort Cumberland. Eddy sent a number of scouts down, with instructions to capture the vessel. Under the cover of darkness and a thick fog,they were able to locate the sloop in Cumberland Creek without being seen by the men on the look-out. In the early morning, when the leader of the scouts suddenly levelled his gun at the one man on deck, and called out, "If you move you are a dead man," the surprise was complete, and the man obeyed orders. The rebels boarded the sloop, and soon had all hands in irons. As it grew lighter, and the fog cleared away, Captain Baron and missionary Egleston from the fort came down to the vessel, suspecting nothing, and were both made prisoners. Egleston was taken to Boston, and remained a prisoner for eighteen months. As soon as the tide turned the vessel floated out of Cumberland Creek, and headed for the Missiquash. The Union Jack was hauled down and the Stars and Stripes run up in its place.

This capture greatly elated the rebels, furnishing them, as it did, with supplies, of which they probably stood in considerable need. The sloop could run up the Missiquash near to the farms of the Eddys, Jonathan and William, who at the time owned most of the upper part of Fort Lawrence.

Colonel Eddy now decided to lose no time, but attack the fort at once. His army camped at Mount Whatley, near where the residence of David Carter now stands. Mount Whatley was called Camp Hill for a number of years after this.

While these things were being done by the rebels the English were not idle. A hundred and fifty regulars, under Colonel Gorham, had been sent to assist the garrison and strengthen the defences of the fort. When all was ready in the rebel camp, Colonel Eddy sent the following summons to Lieutenant-Colonel Gorham, demanding his surrender:

"To Joseph Gorham, Esq., Lieut.-Colonel Commandt. of the Royal Fencibles Americans, Commanding Fort Cumberland:

"The already too plentiful Effusion of Human Blood in the Unhappy Contest between Great Britain and the Colonies, calls on every one engaged on either side, to use their utmost Efforts to prevent the Unnatural Carnage, but the Importance of the Cause on the side of America has made War necessary, and its Consequences, though in some Cases shocking, are yet unavoidable. But to Evidence that the Virtues of humanity are carefully attended to, to temper the Fortitude of a Soldier, I have to summon you in the Name of the United Colonies to surrender the Fort now under your Command, to the Army sent under me by the States of America. I do promise that if you surrender Yourselves as Prisoners of War you may depend upon being treated with the utmost Civility and Kind Treatment; if you refuse I am determined to storme the Fort, and you must abide the consequences. "Your answer is expected in four Hours after you receive this and the Flag to Return safe. "I am Sir, "Your most obedt. Hble. Servt., "JONA EDDY, "Commanding Officer of the United Forces. "Nov. 10, 1776."

He received the following reply:

"SIR, "I acknowledge the receipt of a Letter (under coular of Flagg of Truce) Signed by one Jonan Eddy, Commanding officer, expressing a concern at the unhappy Contest at present Subsisting between Great Britain and the Colonys, and recommending those engaged on either side to use their Endeavors to prevent the too Plentiful effusion of human Blood, and further Summoning the Commanding officer to surrender this garrison. "From the Commencement of these Contest I have felt for my deluded Brother Subjects and Countrymen of America, and for the many Innocent people they have wantonly Involved in the Horrors of an Unnatural Rebellion, and entertain every humane principle as well as an utter aversion to the Unnecessary effusion of Christian Blood. Therefore Command you in His Majesty's name to disarm yourself and party Immediately and Surrender to the King's Mercy, and further desire you would communicate the Inclosed Manifests to as many of the Inhabitants you can, and as Speedily as possible to prevent their being involved in the Same dangerous and Unhappy dilemma. "Be assured, Sir, I shall never dishonour the character of a Soldier by Surrendering my command to any Power except to that of my Sovereign from whence it originated. I am, Sir, "Your most hble servt, "JOS. GORHAM, "Lt.-Col., Com'at, R. F. A., "Commanding Officer at Fort Cumberland."

The following is Colonel Eddy's own account of the first attack on Fort Cumberland, given in "Eastern Maine" (Kidder, p. 69): "Upon Colonel Gorham's Refusal to surrender we attempted to storm the Fort in the Night of the 12th Nov. with our scaling Ladders and other Accoutrements, but finding the Fort to be stronger than we imagined (occasioned by late Repairs), we thought fit to Relinquish our Design after a heavy firing from their Great Guns and small Arms, with Intermission for 2 Hours, which we Sustained without any Loss (except one Indian being wounded), who behaved very gallantly, and Retreated in good Order to our Camp."

Previous to the first attack on the place, Eddy had arranged with an Indian to sneak into the fort and open the main gate; he would have his men ready to rush in and take the place by assault. While the attack was in progress the Indian got into the place and was in the act of unbarring the gates when he was discovered by Major Dickson. The major spoiled the little scheme by slashing the Indian's arm with his sword, which left him maimed for life. The assailants soon after this retreated without any very serious loss.

In another attack, made a few days later,the large barracks on the south-east side of the fort were set on fire, in the hope that it would communicate with the magazine. It is said a traitor in the rebel camp warned the English of the second attack. This also failed, but the barracks and a number of houses near the fort were burned.

Before the rebels had a chance to make a third attack, a sloop of war arrived in the Basin with four hundred men to reinforce the garrison. Colonel Eddy seems not to have heard of the arrival of these troops. Their presence, however, enabled Col. Gorham to take the offensive, and the rebel camp was attacked. Eddy did not wait to try the mettle of his men, but got away with the loss of one man. With as many of his followers as he could hold together he hastened toward Bay Verte. A short distance beyond the Inverma Farm, a squad took ambush in a thicket near a bridge, and when the regulars in pursuit were crossing the bridge the party fired a volley, killing several of the soldiers and wounding others. This so incensed the troops that they returned and set fire to Sheriff Allan's house, which was burned to the ground, together with a number of other buildings in the neighborhood. Mrs. Allan and her children escaped to the woods, where they remained until hunger compelled them to come out. She was found some days after this by her father, Mark Patton, having lived for some time on baked potatoes picked up around the burned dwelling, and was taken to his home not far from the fort. Mrs. Allan was not allowed to remain long with her father, but was carried a prisoner to Halifax. She remained only in Halifax a few months when she was given her liberty and rejoined her husband at Machais.

Eddy, after going in the direction of Bay Verte for some time, finding he was not pursued, turned his steps toward Point Midgic, where he had called while on his march to Chignecto. From there he made his way back to Machais. Just what route he pursued, or how great the difficulties he met with in this long, tiresome journey, has never been given to the public. Machais, until the close of the war, was the rendezvous of privateers and all manner of adventurers, both before and after the arrival of Eddy and Allan. Colonel Eddy's escape from Chignecto ended the rebellion in that district so far as any hope remained of a successful attempt to hand over the government of the country to the New Englanders, but the differences of opinion among neighbors, the raids of rebel bands in the district, together with the burning of a number of buildings, created a strong feeling that it took years to allay.

Mr. James Dixon, in the "History of the Dixons," speaking of this period says:

"The rebels found more congenial employment in raiding the homes of the loyal and peaceable inhabitants, plundering them of such articles as they were in need of, and destroying or carrying away any guns or ammunition they might find. Mr. Dixon's home did not escape their unwelcome notice. His house was robbed of many valuable articles, some of which he kept for sale. For a considerable period the loyal inhabitants, notably the English settlers, were subjected to a state of anxiety, and lived in dread of a repetition of such unwelcome visits. On one occasion, when some of these people were approaching the house, Mrs. Dixon hastily gathered up her silverware and other valuables and deposited them in a barrel of pig feed, where they quite escaped the notice of the visitors. On a later occasion, when somewhat similar troublous times existed, Mr. Dixon, with the aid of his negro servant, Cleveland, hid his money and other valuables in the earth, binding his servant by a solemn oath never to divulge to anyone the place of concealment."

Nor was all the destruction of property chargeable to the rebels. At this time a number of the loyal settlers, who, it is said, had been drinking freely, surrounded the house of Mr. Obediah Ayer, who was in sympathy with the rebels, and set fire to his place, intending to burn the inmates. Mrs. Ayer was warned by her neighbors and escaped to the woods with her baby in her arms. After the raiders departed she with her children found a temporary home with a neighbor. Her husband did not dare appear for many days, but hid in the woods by day and visited his family at night.

The raid of Allan on the St. John gave the Government uneasiness in that quarter for some time longer. As mentioned before, there were two Eddys, Jonathan and William. They owned adjoining farms in Fort Lawrence. The upper road leading from Fort Lawrence to Amherst still bears the name of the "Eddy Road." It was probably made through the Eddy grant, and the Eddys may have been instrumental in its construction.

It is related that William Eddy, after the rebellion, came back to Fort Lawrence to settle his business and take his wife and family out of the country. To escape being made a prisoner at that time he kept hid in a hay-stack in the day-time and visited his home during the night. One night the soldiers who were watching saw him enter the house and at once surrounded the place, sending in two of their number to bring out the prisoner. Mrs. Eddy would give no knowledge of her husband's whereabouts. The house was thoroughly searched, but the man could not be found. The soldiers were dumbfounded. The fact is, that when Mrs. Eddy saw the soldiers coming, she told her husband to cover himself in a bin of grain in the chamber and place his mouth close to a crack on the side of the bin over which had been tacked a piece of list to prevent the grain from coming out. She would tear off the list and that would give him air to breathe. Her husband did as directed. When the officer who was making the search came to the grain-bin he thrust his sword into it, and said, "He is not there." Mr Eddy said afterwards that the sword went between his body and arm, so near was he being made a prisoner.

Inverma, the home of Sheriff Allan, is now owned, in part, by Councillor Amos Trueman, and is still called by that name. It consisted at that time of three hundred and forty-eight acres of marsh and upland and was no doubt part of the Allan grant of 1763. Besides the Sheriff's own house there were six or seven small houses occupied by Acadian families as tenants, also two large barns and four smaller ones.

Allan's wife was Mary Patton, the daughter of Mark Patton, who was at one time a large property-owner on the Isthmus. Patton Point, in the Missiquash valley, still goes by his name. His home farm joined the glebe lands of the parish, and was afterwards bought by William Trueman and given to his son, Thomas. I find the following entry in William Trueman's journal, referred to elsewhere:

"Old Mrs. Patton was buried at the burying-ground by Thomas Trueman, July 31st, in the 92nd year of her age."