THE FIRST ENGLISH SETTLERS.
The erection of Fort Frederick, in the autumn of 1758, gave the
English a permanent foothold on the River St. John, which possibly was
rendered a little more secure by the destruction of the Acadian
settlements at Grimross and St. Annes, and the subsequent removal by
Colonel Arbuthnot of a large number of the French inhabitants.
Shortly after the Acadian expulsion, the Lords of Trade and
Plantations urged Governor Lawrence to re-people the lands vacated by
the French with settlers from New England. The idea was quite in
accord with the governor's own mind, but he was obliged to defer it
for a season. In the existing state of affairs he could not spare the
troops necessary to defend new settlements, and nothing was
practicable until the country should be possessed in peace. However,
very shortly after Monckton's occupation of the St. John River
Lawrence issued the first of his celebrated proclamations, offering
favorable terms to any industrious settlers from New England, who
would remove to Nova Scotia and cultivate the lands vacated by the
French, or other ungranted lands. The proclamation stated that
proposals on behalf of intending settlers would be received by Thomas
Hancock at Boston, and by Mesrs. De Lancey and Watts at New York, and
by them transmitted to the Governor of Nova Scotia.
This proclamation had the effect of directing attention to the River
St. John. Young and adventurous spirits soon came to the fore anxious
to be the pioneers of civilization in the wilds of Nova Scotia. But
first they wished to know: What terms of encouragement would be
offered? How much land each person would get? What quit-rents and
taxes would be required? What constitution of government prevailed,
and what freedom in religion?
In answer to their inquiries a second proclamation was issued, in
which it was declared that townships were to consist of 100,000 acres
(about 12 miles square) and were to include the best lands, and rivers
in their vicinity. The government was described as similar to that of
the neighboring colonies, the legislature consisting of a governor,
council and assembly and every township, so soon as it should consist
of fifty families, would be entitled to send two representatives to
the assembly. The courts of justice were similar to those of
Massachusetts, Connecticut and the other northern colonies, and full
liberty of conscience was secured to persons of all persuasions,
"papists" excepted, by the royal instructions and a late act of the
Assembly. As yet no taxes had been imposed or fees exacted on grants.
Forts garrisoned with troops were established in the neighborhood of
the lands it was proposed to settle.
The Lords of Trade approved of Governor Lawrence's proceedings in
settling the province, and at the same time desired that land should
be reserved "as a reward and provision for such officers and soldiers
as might be disbanded in America upon a peace." This led the governor
to desist from making further grants of the cleared lands to ordinary
settlers. He did not, however, anticipate much benefit to the
province in consequence of the attempt to people it with disbanded
British soldiers, and he wrote to the Lords of Trade:
"According to my ideas of the military, which I offer with all
possible deference and submission, they are the least qualified, from
their occupation as soldiers, of any men living to establish new
countries, where they must encounter difficulties with which they are
altogether unacquainted; and I am the rather convinced of it, as every
soldier that has come into this province since the establishment of
Halifax, has either quitted it or become a dramseller."
Soon after the treaty of Paris, a proclamation of George III. (dated
at the Court of St. James, Oct. 7, 1763) signified the royal sense and
approbation of the conduct of the officers and soldiers of the army,
and directed the governors of the several provinces to grant, without
fee or reward, to disbanded officers and soldiers who had served in
North America during the late war and were actually residing there,
lands in the following proportions:--
To every field officer, 5,000 acres.
To every captain, 3,000 acres.
To every subaltern or staff officer, 2,000 acres.
To every non-commissioned officer, 200 acres.
To every private man, 50 acres.
Like grants of land were to be made to retired officers of the navy
who had served on board a ship of war at the reduction of Louisbourg
and Quebec.
Petitions and memorials of retired officers of the army and navy who
were desirous of obtaining lands in Nova Scotia as a reward for their
services, now flowed in upon the provincial and imperial authorities.
The desire to obtain land on the River St. John became so general that
government officials, merchants and professional men joined in the
general scramble. The result was not only detrimental to the best
interests of the country, but in many cases disastrous to the
speculators themselves.
The ideas of some of the memorialists were by no means small. For
example, in 1762, Sir Allan McLean applied for 200,000 acres on the
River St. John to enable him to plant a colony; and in the same year
Captains Alexander Hay,[50] John Sinclair, Hugh Debbeig,[51] Alex.
Baillie, Robert G. Bruce and J. F. W. DesBarres applied for another
immense tract on behalf of themselves and 54 other officers.
[50] Capt. Alex. Hay is said to have saved the life of the Duke of
Cumberland, during the rebellion of 1745.
[51] In Des Barres' splendid chart of St. John harbor, published
according to act of parliament in 1780, the well-known Reed's
Point is called "Point-Debbeig."
War with the French and Indians had been so constant previous to the
peace of 1763, that a large proportion of the young men of New England
had seen service in the "provincial regiments." To those who had held
commissions the inducements contained in Lawrence's proclamations were
especially attractive.
Among the retired officers of the Massachusetts regiments, who became
interested in the River St. John at this time were Francis Peabody,
William Hazen, James White, James Simonds, Nicholas West and Israel
Perley. Captain Francis Peabody was somewhat older than the others;
he had served with distinction in the late war, and is mentioned in
Parkman's "Wolfe and Montcalm" [p. 428]. From the active part he took
in settling the township of Maugerville, as well as from his age and
character, he must be regarded as the most prominent and influential
person on the St. John river while he lived. He died in the year 1773.
Three of his daughters married respectively James Simonds, James White
and Jonathan Leavitt.
A few years ago the writer of this history had the good fortune to
find, in an old rubbish heap, a letter of James Simonds detailing the
circumstances under which he came to take up his residence at St.
John.
"In the years 1759 and 1760," he says, "proclamations were published
through the colonies which promised all the lands and possessions of
the Acadians, who had been removed, or any other lands lying within
the Province of Nova Scotia, to such as would become settlers there.
In consequence of these proclamations I went through the greater part
of Nova Scotia, in time of war, at great expense and at the risk of my
life, in search of the best lands and situations, and having at length
determined to settle at the River St. John, obtained a promise from
Government of a large tract of land for myself and brother Richard,
who was with me in several of my tours."
The attention of Mr. Simonds may have been particularly called to St.
John by the fact that his cousin, Captain Moses Hazen, commanded the
garrison at Fort Frederick in 1759. It may be noted, in passing, that
this post was occupied for the first two years after it was rebuilt by
Monckton, by the Massachusetts troops. They were relieved by a company
from one of the Highland regiments. In 1762 the post was garrisoned by
a detachment of the 40th regiment of foot under Lieutenant Gilfred
Studholme. The fort afterwards continued to be garrisoned by a company
of British regulars under different commanders until 1768, when the
troops were withdrawn and the fort remained for several years under
the nominal care of Messrs. Simonds and White.
About the time James Simonds decided to settle at St. John, the harbor
was carefully surveyed by Lieut. R. G. Bruce of the engineers, whose
plan is reproduced in the accompanying illustration. A glance will
suffice to show that the rocky peninsular on the eastern side of the
harbor, where the business part of the city stands today, was at that
time uninhabited. The military post at Fort Frederick imparted a
little life to the immediate surroundings but on the other side of the
harbor everything remained in its virgin state, except at Portland
Point, where there was a small clearing and the ruins of a feeble old
French Fort. The few Acadians who once lingered there had fled before
the English invaders, and only when some wandering savage pitched his
wigwam on the shores of "Men-ah-quesk," as he called it, was there any
tenant save the fox, the bear or other wild forest creature. The rocky
peninsular of east St. John with its crags and swamps was considered
of so little value that it remained ungranted up to the time of the
landing of the Loyalists. In the words of James Simonds it was "the
worst of lands, if bogs, morasses and rocks may be called lands."
[Illustration: PLAN OF THE HARBOUR OF ST. JOHN IN NOVA SCOTIA, Surveyed &
Sounded in September 1761 BY R.G. BRUCE ENGR. Scale 300 yds to an inch]
The circumstances under which James Simonds made choice of the Harbor
of St. John, as the most promising place for an extensive trade, are
detailed at some length in his evidence in the famous chancery suit
which arose about the year 1791 in connection with the division of the
lands of Hazen, Simonds and White, and occupied the attention of the
courts for more than twenty years. It is chiefly from this source we
learn the particulars that follow.
James Simonds was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in the year 1735.
After the death of his father, Nathan Simonds, and the settlement of
his estate, finding the property falling to him to be inconsiderable,
he set out in company with his younger brother Richard to seek his
fortune. In the course of the years 1759 to 1762, different parts of
the old province of Nova Scotia were visited, including the River St.
John, with a view of ascertaining the most advantageous situation for
the fur trade, fishery and other business. Finding that the mouth of
the St. John river was an admirable situation for trade with the
Indians, that the fishery in the vicinity was excellent, and that
there was a large tract of marsh land, and lands that afforded great
quantities of lime-stone adjacent to the Harbor of St. John, Mr.
Simonds eventually gave the preference to those lands on account of
their situation and the privileges attached to them, and having
previously obtained a promise from Government of a grant of 5,000
acres in such part of the province as he might choose he with his
brother Richard took possession. In the month of May, 1762, they burnt
over the large marsh (east of the present city) and in the ensuing
summer cut there a quantity of wild hay. It was their intention
immediately to begin stock raising, but they were disappointed in
obtaining a vessel to bring from Massachusetts the cattle they
expected. They accordingly sold or made a present of the hay to
Captain Francis Peabody, who had recently come to St. John and built
himself a house at Portland Point. This house is said to have had an
oak frame, which was brought from Newburyport. In 1765 it became the
property of James Simonds (Captain Peabody having moved up the river
to Maugerville) and later it was owned by James White. It was not an
elaborate or expensive building[52] but it had the honor of being the
first home of an English speaking family on the St. John river.
[52] When the affairs of Hazen, Simonds and White were wound up some
twenty-five years later the house was valued at L40.
The situation of the new-comers at Portland Point would have been very
insecure had it not been for the protection afforded by Fort Frederick
across the harbor. The Indians had not yet become accustomed to the
idea of British supremacy. Their natural allegiance--even after the
downfall of Quebec--was to "their old father the King of France."
Their prejudice against the English had been nurtured for generations
and embittered by ruthless warfare, and we need not wonder that the
coming of the first English settlers was viewed with a jealous eye.
Even the proximity of the garrison at Fort Frederick did not prevent
the situation of James Simonds and his associates from being very
precarious, when the attitude of the Indians was unfriendly. Richard
Simonds, who died January 20, 1765, lost his life in the defence of
the property of the trading company when the savages were about to
carry it off.
While the brothers Simonds were endeavoring to establish themselves at
St. John, a settlement upon a more extensive scale was being projected
by a number of people in the County of Essex in Massachusetts. An
advertisement appeared in the "Boston Gazette and News-Letter" of
September 20, 1762, notifying all of the signers under Captain Francis
Peabody for a township at St. John's River in Nova Scotia, to meet at
the house of Daniel Ingalls, inn-holder in Andover, on Wednesday, the
6th day of October at 10 o'clock a. m., in order to draw their lots,
which were already laid out, and to choose an agent to go to Halifax
on their behalf and to attend to any matters that should be thought
proper. The advertisement continues: "And whereas it was voted at the
meeting on April 6th, 1762, that each signer should pay by April 20th,
twelve shillings for laying out their land and six shillings for
building a mill thereon, and some signers have neglected payment, they
must pay the amount at the next meeting or be excluded and others
admitted in their place."
The agent chosen at this meeting was Captain Francis Peabody.[53]
[53] Beamish Murdoch in his History of Nova Scotia, Vol. II, p. 428,
refers to the settlement made at this time at Maugerville and
observes, "A Mr. Peabody was the principal inhabitant and
agent for the English settlers."
According to the late Moses H. Perley, whose well known and popular
lectures on New Brunswick history were delivered at the Mechanics
Institute in 1841, the government of Massachusetts sent a small party
to explore the country east of Machias in 1761. "The leader of that
party," says Mr. Perley, "was Israel Perley, my grandfather, who was
accompanied by 12 men in the pay of Massachusetts. They proceeded to
Machias by water, and there shouldering their knapsacks, they took a
course through the woods, and succeeded in reaching the head waters of
the River Oromocto, which they descended to the St. John. They found
the country a wide waste, and no obstacles, save what might be
afforded by the Indians, to its being at once occupied and settled,
and with this report they returned to Boston."
The result of this report is seen in the organization of a company of
would be settlers shortly afterwards.
There is in the possession of the Perley family at Fredericton an
old document that contains a brief account of the subsequent
proceedings:--
"In the year 1761 a number of Provincial officers and soldiers in New
England who had served in several campaigns during the then French war
agreed to form a settlement on St. John's River in Nova Scotia, for
which purpose they sent one of their number to Halifax, who obtained
an order of survey for laying out a Township in mile squares on any
part of St. John's River (the whole being then a desolate wilderness).
This Township called Maugerville was laid out in the year 1762, and a
number of settlers entered into it, encouraged by the King's
proclamation for settling the lands in Nova Scotia, in which, among
other things, was this clause, that people emigrating from the New
England Provinces to Nova Scotia should enjoy the same religious
privileges as in New England. And in the above-mentioned order of
survey was the following words--viz., 'You shall reserve four Lots in
the Township for Publick use, one as a Glebe for the Church of
England, one for the Dissenting Protestants, one for the maintenance
of a School, and one for the first settled minister in the place.'
"These orders were strictly comply'd with, but finding difficulty in
obtaining a Grant of this Township from the government of Nova Scotia
on account of an order from England that those lands should be
reserved for disbanded forces, the settlers did in the year 1763 draw
up and forward a Petition or memorial to the Lords of Trade and
Plantations."...
In this memorial were set forth the services that Captain Peabody and
his associates had rendered to their country in the late war, the
expenses they had incurred and the inducements offered by the
government of Nova Scotia to them to settle on the lands they had
surveyed. The memorial was signed by Francis Peabody, John Carleton,
Jacob Barker, Nicholas West and Israel Perley on behalf of themselves
and other disbanded officers. This memorial was submitted by Mr.
Peabody to the Governor and Council at Halifax, who cordially approved
of the contents and forwarded it to Joshua Mauger,[54] the agent for
the Province in London, expressing their opinion that the officers and
disbanded soldiers from New England, settled on the reserved lands on
the St. John River, ought not to be removed. They would be of great
use and their removal would cause their total ruin. The settlers
earnestly solicited the influence of the agent in England to obtain a
speedy answer to their memorial. He took the liveliest interest in
their cause and largely through his efforts the Lords of Trade on the
20th December, 1763, recommended that the memorial of the disbanded
officers of the Provincial forces be granted, and that they be
confirmed in possession of the lands on which they have settled on the
St. John River. The matter was finally settled in the Court of St.
James, the 10th day of February, 1764, by the adoption of the
following resolve on the part of King George the III. and his
Council:
"Whereas the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations have
represented to His Majesty that a memorial has been presented to him
on behalf of several disbanded officers of His Majesty's provincial
forces in North America, setting forth that induced by several
encouragements they have sold their lands in New England and settled
themselves and families upon the St. John River in His Majesty's
province of Nova Scotia at the distance of 200 miles from any other
settlement and praying that the possession of the lands upon which
they have settled themselves at a very great expense may be confirmed
to them by His Majesty: The Governor of Nova Scotia is ordered to
cause the land upon which they are settled to be laid out in a
Township consisting of 100,000 acres, 12 miles square, one side to
front on the river. Also to reserve a site for a town with a
sufficient number of lots, with reservations for a church, town-house,
public quays and wharves and other public uses; the grants to be made
in proportion to their ability and the number of persons in their
families, but not to exceed 1,000 acres to one person. That a
competent quantity of land be allotted for the maintenance of a
minister and school-master and also one town lot to each of them in
perpetuity."
[54] Joshua Mauger was a merchant from England who made his
residence at Halifax shortly after its founding by Cornwallis
in 1749. He traded extensively in Nova Scotia and had
contracts with government. He returned to England in 1761,
became agent there for the Province of Nova Scotia and held a
seat in Parliament.
For months the settlers of Maugerville remained in a state of suspense
and in much anxiety as to the fate of their memorial. They were
naturally greatly relieved when the order of the King in Council
arrived confirming them in possession of the lands they had settled.
The kindness and generosity of Joshua Mauger, who bore the expense of
their appeal and exerted himself in their behalf, were fully
appreciated, and as a tribute of respect and gratitude to their patron
the settlers gave to their township the name of "Maugerville."
The Township of Maugerville was laid out early in the year 1762 by a
party under Israel Perley their land surveyor. In the survey Richard
Simonds acted as chain bearer and James Simonds, who was one of the
patentees of the township, also assisted, receiving the sum of L40 for
his services.
The first published account of the founding of the Maugerville
settlement is that of Peter Fisher,[55] printed by Chubb & Sears at
St. John in 1825, and a very readable account it is as the extracts
that follow will show.
[55] Peter Fisher was the father of the late Judge Fisher and of L.
Peter Fisher (for many years mayor of Woodstock), and
grandfather of W. Shoves Fisher of St. John. His penmanship
was superior to that of some of his descendants, judging from
the fac-simile of his signature that appears above.
[Illustration: Signature Peter Fisher]
Under the title "A narrative of the proceedings of the first settlers
at the River St. John, under the authority of the Government of Nova
Scotia," Mr. Fisher tells us that "In the year 1761, a number of
persons from the County of Essex, province of Massachusetts, presented
a petition through their agent (Francis Peabody), to the Government of
Nova Scotia, for the grant of a township twelve miles square at the
River Saint John; they received a favorable answer and obtained full
authority to survey a tract of that dimension, wherever it might be
found fit for improvement. In consequence many of the applicants
proceeded in the course of the winter and spring following to prepare
for exploring the country and to survey their township; they provided
a vessel for that purpose and on the 16th May, 1762, embarked at
Newburyport and arrived in three days at the harbor of Saint John. * *
* *
"The exploring and surveying party proceeded to view the lands, round
the harbor and bay of Saint John in a whale boat they brought with
them, for they could not travel on the land on account of the
multitude of fallen trees that had been torn up by the roots in a
violent gale of wind nearly four years previous.[56] The same gale
extended as far up the river as the Oromocto, and most of the country
below that place was equally incumbered with the fallen trees.
[56] The exact date of this gale was Nov. 3, 1759.
"After making all the discoveries that could be made near the harbor,
it was the unanimous opinion that all the lands near that part of the
country were unfit for their purpose and in about ten days from their
first arrival they set out to view the country as far as Saint Anne,
ninety miles up the river, where they expected to find an extensive
body of cleared land that had been formerly improved by the French
inhabitants. On their way they landed wherever they saw any appearance
of improvement. All such spots as far up as Mill Creek[57] were
supposed not to exceed one hundred acres, most of which had been very
roughly cleared.
[57] Just below the town plot of Fredericton.
"On the arrival of the exploring party at St. Anns, they lost no time
in making a shelter for themselves nearly opposite the river Nashwaak
... and they commenced their survey at the small gravelly point near
Government House, with the intention of surveying a township to
terminate twelve miles below that place, but after surveying the
courses of the river about four miles downward, a large company of
Indians, came down about nine miles, from their Priest's residence
with his Interpreter, all having painted faces of divers colours and
figures and dressed in their war habits. The chiefs, with grave
countenances, informed the adventurers that they were trespassers on
their rights; that the country belonged to them and unless they
retired immediately they would compel them."
"The reply made to the chiefs was to this effect: that the adventurers
had received authority from the Governor of Halifax to survey and
settle any land they should choose at the River Saint John; that they
had never been informed of the Indians claiming the village of Saint
Anne, but as they declared the land there to be their property (though
it had been inhabited by the French, who were considered entitled to
it, till its capture by the English) they would retire further down
the river.
* * * The surveying party removed their camp, according to their
promise, almost as far down as the lower end of Oromocto Island on the
east side of the river, whence they finished their survey twelve miles
below the first mentioned bounds and returned to Fort Frederick."
The circumstances that led to delay in procuring the grant from
government have already been mentioned in this chapter.
There can be no doubt that Mr. Fisher's statement--corroborated by
Moses H. Perley--that the township was laid out in lots in the earlier
part of 1762 is correct, for on Sept. 2nd a meeting of the intending
settlers was advertised to be held for the purpose of drawing the lots
which were described as "already laid out." But the statement of Mr.
Fisher (in which he is again followed by Moses H. Perley) that one or
two families from Newburyport accompanied the surveying party in the
month of May, and brought with them the frame of a small dwelling
house and boards to cover it, together with a small stock of cattle,
and that on the third day after their arrival the house was finished
and inhabited--is probably a misapprehension resulting from the
confounding of incidents, which occurred in the course of the same
year but were separated by an interval of several months. At any rate
the late John Quinton, who was born in 1807, states most emphatically
in a letter to Joseph W. Lawrence that it was not until the 28th day
of August that his grand-parents, Hugh and Elizabeth Quinton, Capt.
Francis Peabody and family, James Simonds and others came to reside at
the River St. John. He says that accomodation was provided for
Quinton and his wife, Miss Hannah Peabody and others in the barracks
at Fort Frederick, where on the very night of their arrival was born
James Quinton, the first child of English speaking parents, whose
birth is recorded at St. John.[58] The remainder of the party encamped
on the east side of the harbor at the site of an old French Fort, the
place since known as Portland Point, or Simonds' Point, where they
erected a dwelling into which the Quintons and others in Carleton soon
afterwards removed. Hannah Peabody was at this time about twelve years
old: she afterwards became the wife of James Simonds.
[58] John Quinton says he heard this story many times from his
grandmother's lips. She was a woman of remarkable memory and
lived until the year 1835. It would seem very improbable she
could be mistaken as to the date of such an event.