PROGRESS OF THE MAUGERVILLE SETTLEMENT.
The township of Maugerville, as described in the grant of October 31,
1765, began "at a Pine Tree on a point of land a little below the
Island called Mauger's Island," extending 12-1/2 miles up the river
with a depth of nearly 11 miles. It embraced the principal part of the
parishes of Maugerville and Sheffield, including Oromocto Island and
"the Island lying off Wind-mill Point called Middle Island." In the
grant the "Rights" or "Shares" were fixed at 500 acres but the
surveyor-general of Nova Scotia, Charles Morris, had intended that the
grantees should have 1,000 acres each on account of their being the
first adventurers and also on account of the large proportion of
sunken lands and lakes within the limits of the township.
At the time the Maugerville grant was made out the obnoxious Stamp Act
was about coming into force in America and the Crown Land Office at
Halifax was besieged with people pressing for their grants in order to
save the stamp duties. In the hurry and confusion existing Mr. Morris
says that the shares of the township were inadvertently fixed at 500
acres each, whereas it had been his intention to lay out one hundred
farm lots, each forty rods wide and extending one mile deep into the
country, and to give each grantee the balance of his 1,000 acres in
the subsequent division of the rest of the township. It is quite
likely the Maugerville settlers were glad to accept the smaller shares
allotted them in view of the fact that they had been so near losing
the whole by the decision of the British government to reserve the
lands for the disbanded regulars of the army.
By the terms of the grant it was provided that all persons who failed
to settle on their lots, with proper stock and materials for the
improvement of their lands, before the last day of November, 1767,
should forfeit all claim to the lands allotted them. The township was
supposed to consist of 200 shares but only 61 shares were included in
the grant of 1765. At least two other grants were passed prior to the
coming of the Loyalists--one in 1770, the other early in 1783; but
there were still some vacant lots which were gladly taken up by these
unfortunate exiles. For their accomodation also a grant was made Dec.
22, 1786, of the rear of the township and such men as Samuel Ryerson,
Justus Earle, Joseph Ryerson, Wm. Van Allen, Abraham Van Buskirk,
Samuel Tilley and Lodewick Fisher[59] were among the grantees.
[59] Samuel Tilley and Lodewick Fisher were the progenitors
respectively of Sir Leonard Tilley and Hon. Charles Fisher,
the one came from Long Island, N. Y., the other from New
Jersey. It is curious they should have settled on adjoining
lots in view of the intimate relations of their distinguished
grandsons in the battle for responsible government. The other
names given above are those of officers in Lt.-Col. Van
Buskirk's battalion of the New Jersey Volunteers who were of
Dutch descent.
Nearly all the original settlers in the township of Maugerville were
from Massachusetts, the majority from the single county of Essex. Thus
the Burpees were from Rowley, the Perleys from Boxford, the Esteys
from Newburyport, while other families were from Haverhill, Ipswich,
Gloucester, Salem and other towns of this ancient county which
antedates all others in Massachusetts but Plymouth. These settlers
were almost exclusively of Puritan stock and members of the
Congregationalist churches of New England.
The list of the grantees of the Township of Maugerville, alphabetically
arranged, includes the following names:--
Benjamin Atherton,
Jacob Barker,
Jacob Barker, jr.,
Thomas Barker,
Richard Barlow,
Benjamin Brawn,
David Burbank,
Joseph Buber,
Jeremiah Burpee,
Jonathan Burpee,
James Chadwell,
Thomas Christy,
Joseph Clark,
Widow Clark,
Edward Coy,
Moses Davis,
Jos. F. W. Desbarres,
Enoch Dow,
Joseph Dunphy,
John Estey,
Richard Estey,
Richard Estey, jr.,
Zebulun Estey,
Joseph Garrison,
Beamsley P. Glazier,
William Harris,
Thomas Hart,
Geo. Hayward,
Nehemiah Hayward,
Jeremiah Howland,
Ammi Howlet,
Samuel Hoyt,
Daniel Jewett,
Richard Kimball,
John Larlee,
Joshua Mauger,
Peter Moores,
William McKeen,
Elisha Nevers,
Jabez Nevers,
Phinehas Nevers,
Samuel Nevers,
Nathaniel Newman,
Daniel Palmer,
Moses Palmer,
Jonathan Parker,
Francis Peabody,
Oliver Peabody,
Richard Peabody,
Samuel Peabody,
Stephen Peabody,
Asa Perley,
Israel Perley,
Oliver Perley,
Humphrey Pickard,
Moses Pickard,
Hugh Quinton,
Nicholas Rideout,
Thomas Rous,
John Russell,
Ezekiel Saunders,
William Saunders,
Gervas Say,
John Shaw,
Hugh Shirley,
James Simonds,
Samuel Tapley,
Giles Tidmarsh, jr.,
Samuel Upton,
James Vibart,
John Wasson,
Matthew Wasson,
John Whipple,
Jonathan Whipple,
Samuel Whitney,
Jediah Stickney,
John Smith,
Johnathan Smith,
Charles Stephens,
Isaac Stickney.
The majority of the surnames in the above list will seem wonderfully
familiar to the residents of the St. John river counties where their
descendants today form a large and influential element in the
community.
In his lecture on New Brunswick history delivered in 1840, Moses H.
Perley says that in the year 1763 the Maugerville township was settled
by 200 families, comprising about 800 persons, who came from
Massachusetts in four vessels. There cannot be the slightest doubt
that Mr. Perley has greatly over-estimated the number of the original
settlers. We have every reason to believe that the population of the
township continued steadily to increase and about two years later
(Dec. 16, 1766), a census was submitted to the government of Nova
Scotia by Lieut. Governor Francklin showing that there were then
living at Maugerville 77 men, 46 women, 72 boys and 66 girls, a total
of 261 souls; and it may be added that during the year 17 new settlers
had arrived and 14 children were born, while the number of deaths was
but 3. That the new settlers were anxious to fulfil the conditions of
their grants is shown by the fact that they already possessed 10
horses, 78 oxen and bulls, 145 sows, 156 young cattle, 376 sheep and
181 swine. Their crop for the year included: Wheat 599 bushels, Rye
1,866 do., Beans 145 do., Oats 57 do., Pease 91 do., Flaxseed 7 do. A
grist and saw-mill had been built and two sloops were owned by the
settlers. Some attempt had also been made at raising flax and hemp.
The settlement at Maugerville was visited by Hon. Charles Morris, the
surveyor general of Nova Scotia, in 1767, and it is not improbable the
census taken by order of Lieut. Governor Franklin was made under his
supervision. Mr. Morris was evidently much surprised at the progress
the settlers had made, for in a letter of the 25th January, 1768, he
says:--
"Opposite to Oromocto River, upon the northerly side of the River St.
John's, is the English settlement of disbanded soldiers from New
England, consisting of about eighty families, who have made great
Improvements, and are like to make an established Settlement there.
And by some tryals they have made of hemp upon the intervale it
succeeded beyond their expectation. I measured myself Hemp that was
nine feet high, that had not come to its full growth in the latter end
of July. They generally have about twenty bushels of Maze and about
twenty bushels of Wheat from an acre of land, that was only cleared of
its woods and harrowed without ever having a Plow in it. When I was on
the River last year, I saw myself eighty bushes of Indian Corn raised
from one acre of land that had been ploughed and properly managed. I
would observe that the Corn raised on this River is not the same kind
as the Corn in New England; neither the climate or soil would be
suitable to it; they get their seed from Canada and they sow it in
rows about three feet distant as we do Pease in our gardens; it takes
about a bushel to sow an acre; the ears grow close to the ground as
thick as they can stick one by another, pointing outwards like a
Cheveaux de Frise upon each side of the rows; the richness of the
soil, the manner of sowing it and of its growing, may account very
easily for its producing so much to the acre. Some of the old French
Inhabitants of the River have informed me that they have raised, in a
seasonable year, near one hundred bushels of Indian Corn per acre."
The alluvial character of the soil of Maugerville, its freedom
from stone and from dense forest growth, no doubt attracted the
first English settlers and decided the choice of their location,
just as the same features attracted the brothers d'Amours and
others of the French nearly a century before. The French, too,
recorded as the principal drawback of the location, the losses and
annoyances consequent upon the inundation of their fields and
premises by the spring freshets.[60] A short experience convinced
the English settlers that the complaints of their predecessors
were well founded.
[60] See previous chapters, pp. 63, 110.
As Maugerville divides with Portland Point the honor of being the
first permanent English settlement at the River St. John, it is proper
to describe in some fulness of detail the movements of its founders.
They were a sturdy and adventurous race. The great majority had seen
active service in the "old French war"--some of them had fought under
Wolfe at the taking of Quebec. The Indian war-cry was a sound not
unfamiliar to their ears, and so their interview with the savages of
Aukpaque, upon their arrival, taught them the dangers of their
situation. It really required more hardihood to plunge into the
wilderness than to settle under the protection of Fort Frederick at
the river's mouth.
The proximity of the Indian town of Aukpaque; a few miles above,
probably induced the majority of the Maugerville people to settle in
the lower part of the township. At any rate for some years no one
resided farther up the river than lot No. 57, about five miles below
the Nashwaak, where lived the Widow Clark, a resolute old dame whom
nothing could dismay.
It is interesting to note that Simonds and White contemplated at one
time the erection of a Truck-house at Maugerville for their Indian
trade, and a frame was prepared for the building, but before it was
raised some difficulties arose between the Indians and the Whites and
the matter was deferred for a year or two. The frame was then sent up
the river in the sloop "Bachelor" and landed on lot No. 66, belonging
to Mr. Simonds, "near the then upper settlement of Maugerville." This
was the only place available as none of the settlers desired to have
the Truck-house near them. However the carpenters found the frame so
warped as not to be worth setting up and the project was abandoned.
The first band of settlers came to Maugerville in 1763, probably in
small vessels hired for the occasion. From time to time the colony
received additions from New England. The later comers usually took
their passage in some of the vessels owned by Messrs. Hazen, Simonds
and White, which furnished the readiest means of communication. There
are many interesting items in the account books[61] kept by Simonds
and White at their store at Portland Point in connection with the
Maugerville settlers. For example Captain Francis Peabody is charged
with the following items, under date January 15, 1765:--
"To passage in schooner of 4 Passengers from
New England at 12s. L 2 8 0
Freight of 9 Heiffers at 12s. 5 8 0
Club of Cyder for 5 men at 13s. 6d. each 3 7 6
5 Tons of Hay for cattle on passage 10 0 0
Freight of sheep 3 6 0
[61] Several of these books are now in my possession.--W. O. R.
In the same schooner there came Jacob Barker, jun., Oliver Perley,
Zebulon Estey, Humphrey Pickard and David Burbank, each of whom paid
twelve shillings passage money from Newburyport to St. John and 13s.
6d. for "his club of Cyder" on the voyage. David Burbank brought with
him a set of Mill irons, which is suggestive of enterprise, but his
stay appears to have been but brief, for on the 20th April, 1767, he
sold his land (about five miles below the Nashwaak) to William Brawn,
the son of an original grantee of the township, and the deed was
acknowledged before John Anderson, Justice of the Peace at Moncton[62]
the 29th of April.
[62] John Anderson was one of the first magistrates of the original
county of Sunbury, appointed Aug. 17, 1765. He had a trading
post, which he called "Moncton," just above the Nashwaak on
the site of the modern village of Gibson. The deed referred to
above is one of the earliest on record in the province.
The upper boundary of the Township of Maugerville now forms a part of
the dividing line between the Counties of York and Sunbury. The lower
boundary of the township began near the foot of Maugers' Island, about
two miles above the Queens-Sunbury county line. Middle Island, which
occupies a middle position between Oromocto Island above and Mauger's
(or Gilbert's) Island below, was in a sense the centre of the
township, and it must not be forgotten by the reader that what was in
early days the principal section of the Township of Maugerville is now
the Parish of Sheffield. The lots are numbered beginning at Middle
Island and running down the river to No. 39, then starting again at
the upper end of the grant, at the York county line, and running down
the river to Middle Island, so that the last lot, No. 100, adjoins the
first lot. The oldest plan of the township in the Crown Land office
shows the state of settlement at a date subsequent to that of the
original grant, and during the interval a good many changes had
occurred. The early grantees were about eighty in number.
Reference to the accompanying plan of the river will show the
locations of the early settlers of Maugerville; they will be mentioned
in order ascending the river.
The lower ten lots of the township and Mauger's Island were granted to
Joshua Mauger. Just above were the lots of Gervas Say, Nehemiah
Hayward, John Russell, Samuel Upton, Zebulon Estey, John Estey,
Richard Estey and Edward Coy.
At the head of Mauger's Island were the lots of Matthew Wason, Samuel
Whitney and Samuel Tapley.
Between Mauger's Island and Middle Island the lots were those of
Jeremiah Burpee, Jonathan Burpee, Jacob Barker, Daniel Jewett, Ezekiel
Saunders, Humphrey Pickard, Moses Pickard, Jacob Barker, jr., Isaac
Stickney and Jonathan Smith.
Opposite Middle Island, in order ascending, were Thomas Barker, John
Wason, Daniel Palmer, Richard Kimball, Joseph Garrison, Samuel Nevers,
Peter Mooers, Richard Estey, jr., Jabez Nevers, Enoch Dow and Hugh
Quinton.
Between Middle and Oromocto islands were Thomas Christie, Elisha
Nevers, Jedediah Stickney, Stephen Peabody, Capt. Francis Peabody and
William McKeen.
Opposite Oromocto Island were Israel Perley (at the foot of the
island), Lt.-Col. Beamsley P. Glasier, John Whipple, Nathaniel
Rideout, Capt. Francis Peabody, Alexander Tapley, Phineas Nevers,
Joseph Dunphy, William Harris, Ammi Howlet, Samuel Peabody and Oliver
Peabody.
Above Oromocto Island we find the lots of Asa Perley, Oliver Perley,
George Munro, James Simonds, Joseph Buber, Joseph Shaw, Benjamin
Brawn, Daniel Burbank, Thomas Hartt and the Widow Clark. Thence to the
upper boundary of the township, a distance of two miles, there were at
first no settlers, but in the course of time Richard Barlow, Nehemiah
Beckwith, Benjamin Atherton, Jeremiah Howland and others took up
lots.
[Illustration: PLAN OF MAUGERVILLE, INCLUDING SHEFFIELD.]
The names of the majority of the Maugerville grantees appear in the
account books kept by Simonds and White at their store at Portland
Point and a lot of interesting family history might be gleaned from
the old faded pages. There are other items of interest in the records
of the old County of Sunbury.
In nearly all the early settlements made on the River St. John some
encouragement was offered for the erection of a mill, and when the
signers under Captain Francis Peabody met at Andover in April, 1762,
previous to their leaving Massachusetts, it was agreed that each
signer should pay six shillings towards erecting a mill in their
township. The streams in Maugerville are so inconsiderable that it may
be presumed some difficulty would arise on this head. This is
confirmed by the fact that in the grant of 1763 the point of land
opposite Middle Island is called "Wind-mill Point." However an old
deed shows that Richard Estey, jr., had on his lot No. 100 (opposite
Middle Island) a mill built on what is called Numeheal creek, of which
the first owners were Mr. Estey and his neighbor, Thomas Barker. This
mill was sold in 1779 to James Woodman and was employed in sawing
boards and other lumber for the Loyalists at St. John during the
summer of 1783.
Not all of the grantees of the Township of Maugerville were actual
settlers. Of several we know little more than the names. This is the
case with James Chadwell, whose name appears first in the grant, and
with Moses Davis, Thomas Rous, Jonathan Parker, Hugh Shirley,
Nathaniel Newman and James Vibart.
Two other non-resident grantees were men of influence and in their day
made sufficient stir in the world to claim further notice. The first
bore the imposing name of Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres. This
gentleman is believed to have been a native of Switzerland. He
obtained a commission in the English army and served with distinction
under Wolfe at the siege of Quebec. At the time the Maugerville
settlement was founded he was a lieutenant in the 60th Regiment, but
being an excellent engineer, had lately been engaged by the Board of
Admiralty to make exact surveys and charts of the coasts and harbors
of Nova Scotia. In this work DesBarres was employed a good many years.
Nearly two seasons were spent in making a careful survey of Sable
Island--the grave-yard of the Atlantic--where DesBarres tells us the
sands were strewn with wreckage and thousands had already perished for
want of known soundings. Some of the results of his prolonged labors
may be seen in the three huge volumes of the Atlantic Neptune (each as
large as a fair sized table) in the Crown Land office at Fredericton.
Commenting on the length of time spent in his surveys DesBarres
remarks:
"Interruptions from fogs and precarious weather, unavoidably made
tedious a performance in which accuracy is the chief thing desired,
and rendered many years necessary to complete it for publication; but
when the author reflects that the accuracy and truth of his work will
stand the test of ages, and preserve future navigators from the
horrors of shipwreck and destruction, he does not repine at its having
employed so large a portion of his life."
The engrossing nature of his occupation as engineer did not hinder
DesBarres from being an ambitious land speculator. In 1765 he
obtained, in conjunction with General Haldimand and one or two others,
a grant of the Township of Hopewell, comprising 100,000 acres on the
Petitcodiac river. But he derived little benefit from his lands, as
he was unable to fulfill the conditions of settlement, and eventually
they reverted to the crown.
In 1784, Des Barres was appointed Lieut. Governor of Cape Breton, and
afterwards Lieut. Governor of Prince Edward Island. He died at Halifax
on the 27th October, 1824, and was honored with a state funeral at
which the attendance was great and the interest felt very remarkable.
This was due, in some measure, to the fact that had he lived another
month he would have attained the extraordinary age of 103 years.
Beamish Murdoch observes:
"Colonel DesBarres' scientific labors on our coasts, and his repute as
one of the heroes of 1759 under Wolfe at Quebec, gave him a claim on
the gratitude and reverence of all Nova Scotians."
This sentiment was not shared by the Acadians of Memramcook, who found
difficulty in resisting the claims of the heirs of DesBarres to the
lands they had settled. Two Lots in the upper part of the Township of
Maugerville were granted to Governor DesBarres and had he settled
there he would have been the next-door neighbor of the Widow Clark,
but there is nothing to show that he made any attempt to improve his
lands in that quarter and so his connection with the settlement is
nothing but a name.
Joshua Mauger, the other non-resident grantee to whom reference has
been made, was an English merchant who came to America as a contractor
under government for furnishing supplies to the army at Louisbourg.
When Cape Breton was restored to France, in 1749, Louisbourg was
evacuated and Mauger came with the troops to Halifax. Shortly after
his arrival he and other merchants asked permission to build wharves
on the beach for the accommodation of their business. In 1751 he was
appointed agent for victualling the Navy. Grog was at that time freely
dispensed in the army and navy, and Mauger erected a distillery where
he manufactured the rum required for the troops and seamen. As the
business was lucrative he soon accumulated much property in and around
Halifax, including the well known Mauger's Beach at the entrance of
Halifax harbor. He had also shops at Pisiquid and Minas--or, as they
are now called, Windsor and Horton--where he sold goods and spirits to
the French and Indians. He returned to England in 1761 and was
appointed agent for the Province of Nova Scotia in London. The year
following he was elected a member of Parliament.
Joshua Mauger in his position as Agent for the province was able to
render it essential service, and in the year 1766 the legislature
of Nova Scotia voted the sum of L50 for a piece of plate as a
testimonial of their appreciation of his "zeal and unwearied
application" in their behalf. As already mentioned, it was chiefly
due to his energy that the Massachusetts settlers on the River St.
John were confirmed in possession of their township. For his
services in this connection, however, he was not unrewarded; not
only was the township named in his honor, but the large island,
since known as Mauger's or Gilbert's Island, was granted to him,
together with ten lots, at the lower end of the township. When the
Loyalists arrived they looked with somewhat covetous eyes on these
interval lands which were settled by tenants at a yearly rental of
L3 for each lot. Mauger's Island was purchased by Colonel Thomas
Gilbert, the well known Loyalist of Taunton, Massachusetts, and by
him bequeathed to his eldest son, Thomas Gilbert, jr. The latter
writes so entertainingly and so enthusiastically of his situation,
in a letter to his sister and her husband, that we venture to depart,
for a moment, from the chronological order of events in order to
give some extracts.
"On Board Major's Island, Sept. 30, 1799.
Dear Brother and Sister,-- * * * I have made great improvements on
board this island. Three summers ago I built a large house, the
Carpenter just as he had finished the work took a brand of fire by
accident and burnt it all to ashes with three hundred pounds of
property in it. It happened the 15th of November, winter set in
next day. I fled to a small house I had on the island. Ice making
in the River there was no passing, but my Neighbors knew my
situation and assembled of their own good will[63]--in four weeks
put me into a good framed house forty feet long twenty wide with a
good chimney, where I lived the winter very comfortably. In the
spring I went to work and built a House 38 by 36 and set it on to
the other, which occupies the same ground that the other did, and
I finished it to a latch from top to bottom. * * * * The summer
past I have built me a barn 80 feet by 34 completely finished and
said to be the best in the Province.
'I wonder you don't come yourself or send some of your family to
help us enjoy this fine country. We feel no war nor pay any tax.
Our land brings forth abundantly; it is almost incredible to see
the Produce; it makes but little odds when you plant or sow, at
harvest time you will have plenty. This last spring was late, the
water was not off so that I could plant till the 21st of June, and
so till the 26th we planted, and you never saw so much corn in any
part of the States to the acre as I have got, and wheat and
everything to the greatest perfection. I wonder how you and my
Friends can prefer digging among the Stones and paying Rates to an
easy life in this country. Last year I sold beef, pork and mutton
more than I wanted for my family for three hundred Pounds, besides
two colts for forty pounds apiece. A few days ago I sold four
colts before they were broke for one hundred and ten pounds and I
have sixteen left. I have a fine stock of cattle and sheep--butter
and cheese is as plenty here as herrings are at Taunton--a tenant
lives better here than a Landlord at Berkley. I am blesst with the
best Neighbors that ever drew breath--they are made of the same
stuff that our forefathers were that first settled New England. *
* * * I live under the protection of the King, and I am stationed
by his Laws on this Island, the finest farm in the Province. I
don't intend to weigh my anchor nor start from this till I have
orders from the Governor of all things--then I hope to obey the
summons with joy and gladness--with Great Expectation, to meet you
in Heaven where I hope to rest."
[63] He means that intercourse with the shore was cut off in
consequence of floating ice but that his neighbors had seem
the misfortune and, realizing the need of prompt action, of
their own good will met together and began to prepare the
frame and materials for a new dwelling.
Benjamin Atherton removed to St. Anns about 1769 where at the time the
Loyalists arrived he is reported to have had a good framed house and
log barn and about 30 acres of land, cleared in part by the French.
This land was near the Government House, and here in early days,
Messrs. Simonds & White established a trading post to which the
Indians and Acadians and some of the English settlers resorted. The
store was managed by Benjamin Atherton who had an interest in the
business. Mr. Atherton was a man of ability and good education and
filled the office of clerk of the peace of the county of Sunbury--at
that time including nearly all New Brunswick.
Hugh Quinton, Samuel Peabody, Gerves Say and William McKeen removed at
an early date to the mouth of the river and we shall hear more of them
in connection with that locality.
Edward Coy, Thomas Hart and Zebulun Estey removed to Gagetown. Some
facts concerning Edward Coy are related in a curious old book
published at Boston in 1849 entitled "A Narrative of the Life and
Christian Experience of Mrs. Mary Bradley of Saint John, New
Brunswick, written by Herself." From this source we learn that the
Coys were originally McCoys but that the "Mac" was dropped by Edward
Coy's grandfather and never resumed by the family. The Coys came from
Pomfret in Connecticut to the River St. John in 1763 and the family
removed from Gagetown to Sheffield in 1776. One of Edward Coy's
daughters is said to have been the first female child of English
speaking parents born on the St. John river. The curious "cul de sac"
in the river opposite the mouth of the Belleisle known as "The
Mistake" was formerly called "Coy's Mistake"--the name doubtless
suggests the incident in which it had its origin. Many a traveller
since the time of Edward Coy has incautiously entered the same
cul-de-sac, thinking it the channel of the river, and, after
proceeding two or three miles, found he too had made a "mistake" and
retraced his way a sadder and a wiser man.
Zebulun Estey and Thomas Hart went to Gagetown while the war of the
Revolution was in progress. The sentiments of the two were diverse
during the war. Mr. Hart was one of the committee who helped to
organize the party that went with the Americans, under Colonel
Jonathan Eddy, against Fort Cumberland, in 1775. He is described in
Major Studholme's report as "a rebel." Zebulun Estey on the other hand
is described as "a good man and his character very loyal."
Naturally the large number of those who removed from Maugerville on
account of the inconveniences of the spring freshets went across the
river to the Township of Burton, in some cases still retaining their
property in Maugerville. Among those who so removed were Isaac
Stickney, Israel Estey, Moses Estey, John Larlee, Amos Estey, John
Pickard, Benjamin Brawn, Edward Barker, Israel Kinney, John Shaw and
Thomas Barker. These were chiefly original grantees or their sons, who
all removed to Burton during the progress of the Revolution, excepting
John Larlee and Israel Kinney who went there in 1767. John Larlee was
one of the old time doctors, a man highly respected whose descendants
now are chiefly residents of Carleton county. Israel Kinney was
probably the first blacksmith in the community.
Among those not included in the original band of settlers at
Maugerville, but who arrived there shortly afterwards, was Moses
Coburn, who came from Newburyport to St. John in the schooner Eunice
early in 1767. This little vessel had quite a number of passengers for
the River St. John, including James Simonds, Oliver Perley, Alexander
Tapley and Stephen Hovey, but the voyage is of special interest from
the fact that there was a bride on board, the young wife of James
Simonds, formerly Hannah Peabody--a bride of sixteen. The Eunice had a
fine passage and arrived at St. John on the 26th April, 1767.
Moses Coburn settled on lot No. 23, not far below the present
Sheffield Academy. The lot had been drawn by Edward Coy, one of the
original grantees of the township, who took up his residence in
Gagetown, but afterwards removed to Maugerville.
Alexander Tapley was one of the passengers in the Eunice. He lived at
Maugerville prior to April 22, 1765, for on that date he sold 8-1/2
lbs. of Beaver to Simonds & White for the sum of L2 2s. 6d., and
purchased in return a number of articles including a pair of women's
shoes at 5 shillings, and a pair of "men's pomps" at 7 shillings. A
curious incident in connection with Alexander Tapley is to be found in
the old court records of the County of Sunbury. It seems that having
been appointed constable he declined to qualify and take the oath of
office. In consequence he was summoned on the 20th May, 1774, to
appear before Israel Perley and Jacob Baker, two of the magistrates,
"to give a reason (if any he hath) for the refusing to serve as a
constable for said town of Maugerville." To this citation Tapley paid
no regard, whereupon the magistrates, in high dudgeon, fined him forty
shillings and issued a warrant to Samuel Upton, constable, who "took a
cow of the said Tapley to satisfy the fine and costs, which sum was
ordered to remain in the said constable's hand till called for."
Giles Tidmarsh was one of the transient settlers of Maugerville. The
account books of Simonds and White show that he lived on the river at
least as early as October, 1765--the first item charged in his acount
is: "Oct. 23d, To 1 Fusee, L2." On July 23, 1767, Tidmarsh was granted
1,000 acres in the township of Maugerville. Some years later his name
appears as a Halifax magistrate, and in the year 1775 he was a Planter
in the Island of Grenada. On Nov. 30th of that year he sold to Jacob
Barker, jr., the half of lot No. 11, in Upper Sheffield, about 250
acres, for L32.
The descendants of the early settlers on the River St. John will find
some very interesting information in the old accounts of Simonds &
White as to the date and manner of the arrival of their forefathers in
this country, and something too as regards their way of living.
In the early days of Maugerville it was quite a common occurrence for
an intending settler to leave his family in New England till he had
succeeded in making a small clearing and had built a log house for
their accommodation, and a hovel for such domestic animals as he chose
to bring with him. This in some measure explains the fact that while
according to the census of Michael Francklin there were 77 men in
Maugerville at the close of the year 1766 there were only 46 women.
Here is an example from the account books of Simonds & White which
will serve for illustration in this connection; it appears under date
August 18, 1769:--
Nehemiah Hayward to Simonds & White, Dr.
To his passage to Newbury in the Polly last March. 20s.
His and wife's passage to this place 20s.
1 Cow, 10s.; 1 Child, 5s. 15s.
Evidently Mr. Hayward had made a home for his wife and child on the
banks of the St. John and had now gone to bring them on from
Newburyport. His farm was in the lower part of Sheffield.
Most of the live stock for the Maugerville people was shipped from
Newburyport to St. John in the vessels of Hazen, Simonds and White.
One of the first horses in the settlement was owned by Ammi Howlet,
who paid L2 as freight for the animal in a sloop that arrived in May,
1765.
It is manifestly impossible to follow the history of every family
represented in the grantees of Maugerville. Of the 261 souls that
comprised the population of the township in 1767, all were natives of
America with the exception of six English, ten Irish, four Scotch and
six Germans. The majority were of Puritan stock and members of the
congregationalist churches of Massachusetts. Scarcely had they settled
themselves in their new possessions when they began the organization
of a church. Dr. James Hannay in his very interesting paper on the
Maugerville Settlement, published in the collections of the New
Brunswick Historical Society, gives a copy of the original church
covenant certified as correct by Humphrey Pickard, the church clerk.
The covenant is signed by Jonathan Burpee, Elisha Nevers, Richard
Estey, Daniel Palmer, Gervas Say, Edward Coy and Jonathan Smith. The
opening paragraph reads:
"We whose names are hereto subscribed, apprehending ourselves
called of God (for advancing of His Kingdom and edifying ourselves
and posterity) to combine and embody ourselves into a distinct
Church Society, and being for that end orderly dismissed from the
Churches to which we heretofore belonged; do (as we hope) with
some measure of seriousness and sincerity, take upon us the
following covenant, viz.:--
"As to matters of faith we cordially adhere to the principles of
religion (at least the substance of them) contained in the Shorter
Catechism of the Westminister Assembly of Divines wherewith also
the New England Confession of Faith harmonizeth, not as supposing
that there is any authority, much less infalibility, in these
human creeds or forms; but verily believing that these principles
are drawn from and agreeable to the Holy Scripture, which is the
foundation and standard of truth; hereby declaring our utter
dislike of the Pelagian Arminian principles, vulgarly so called.
"In a firm belief of the aforesaid doctrines from an earnest
desire that we and ours may receive the love of them and be saved
with hopes that what we are now doing may be a means of so great
an happiness; we do now (under a sense of our utter unworthiness
of the honour and privileges of God's Covenant people) in solemn
and yet free and cheerful manner give up ourselves and offspring
to God the Father, to the Son the Mediator, and the Holy Ghost the
instructor, sanctifier and comforter, to be henceforth the people
and servants of this God, to believe in all His revalations, to
accept of His method of reconciliation, to obey His commands, and
to keep all His ordinances, to look to and depend upon Him to do
all for us, and work all in us, especially relating to our eternal
salvation, being sensible that of ourselves we can do nothing.
"And it is also our purpose and resolution (by Divine assistance)
to discharge the duties of Christian love and Brotherly
watchfulness towards each other, to train up our children in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord: to join together in setting up
and maintaining the Publick worship of God among us, carefully and
joyfully to attend upon Christ's Sacrament and institutions; to
yield all obedience and submission to Him or them that shall from
time to time in an orderly manner be made overseers of the flock,
to submit to all the regular administrations and censures of the
Church and to contribute all in our power unto the regularity and
peaceableness of those administrations.
"And respecting Church discipline it is our purpose to adhere to
the method contained in the platform or the substance of it agreed
upon by the synod at Cambridge in New England Ano. Dom. 1648 as
thinking these methods of Church Discipline the nearest the
Scripture and most likely to maintain and promote Purity, order
and peace of any.
"And we earnestly pray that God would be pleased to smile upon
this our undertaking for His Glory, that whilst we thus subscribe
with our hands, to the Lord and sirname ourselves by the Name of
Israel; we may through grace given us become Israelites indeed in
whom there is no Guile, that our hearts may be right with God and
we be steadfast in His Covenant, that we who are now combining
together in a new church of Jesus Christ, may by the purity of our
faith and morals become one of those Golden Candlesticks among
which the Son of God in way of favor and protection will
condescend to walk. And that every member of it thro' imputed
righteousness and inherent grace may hereafter be found among that
happy Multitude whom the glorious head of the Church, the Heavenly
Bridegroome shall present to Himself a glorious church not having
spot or wrinkle or any such thing."
No date is attached to this church covenant, but it was in all
probability drawn up within a year or two of the date of arrival of
the first settlers. Jonathan Burpee, whose name comes first in the
order of signers, was a deacon in the church, and for some years the
leader in all church movements. He lived in that part of Sheffield
just above the Academy and was the ancestor of the Hon. Isaac Burpee,
who was minister of customs in the Mackenzie government, and of many
others of the name. His son, Jeremiah Burpee, lived beside him and a
grandson, David Burpee, was another neighbor.
It was not until some years after the organization of the church that
there was any settled minister on the St. John river and those
desirous of entering the holy estate of matrimony were obliged like
James Simonds to proceed to Massachusetts or to follow the example off
Gervas Say and Anna Russell, whose marriage is described in the
following unique document:--
"Maugerville, February 23, 1766.
"In the presence of Almighty God and this Congregation, Gervas Bay
and Anna Russell, inhabitants of the above said township enter
into marriage Covenant lawfully to dwell together in the fear of
God the remaining part of our lives, in order to perform all ye
duties necessary betwixt husband and wife as witness our hands.
Daniel Palmer, Gervas Say,
Fras. Peabody, Anna Say.
Saml. Whitney,
Richard Estey,
George Hayward,
David Palmer,
Edwd. Coye.
Gervas Say was one of the signers of the church covenant as also were
three of the witnesses, Richard Estey, Daniel Palmer, and Edward Coye,
and it may be assumed that the marriage was regarded as perfectly
proper under the circumstances and it is not improbable that, in the
absence of a minister, this was the ordinary mode of marriage. Gervas
Say was afterwards a magistrate of the county and a man of integrity,
ability and influence.
During the earlier years of the settlement at Maugerville there was no
resident minister, but the place was occasionally visited by a
clergyman. It is said that the first religious teacher there was a Mr.
Wellman who came to Maugerville with some of the first settlers but
did not remain. There is nothing to show that when the church covenant
was signed, in the year 1765, there was any resident minister. The
Reverend Thomas Wood of Annapolis, a Church of England clergyman,
visited the River St. John in the Summer of 1769, and on Sunday, July
9th, landed at Maugerville, where he held service and had a
congregation of more than two hundred persons. He stated in his report
to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, that owing to the
fact that the congregation was composed chiefly of Dissenters from New
England, and that they had a Dissenting minister among them, only two
persons were baptised by him, but, he added, "if a prudent missionary
could be settled among them I believe all their prejudices would
vanish."
The next year the little settlement had a minister, Zephaniah Briggs,
who remained from May to August, preaching on Sundays at the houses of
Daniel Palmer, Jacob Barker, Hugh Quinton, Jonathan Smith and Elisha
Nevers. After a while came a Mr. Webster who, like his predecessor,
seems to have been an itinerant preacher and did not tarry long.
It was not until the arrival of the Rev. Seth Noble[64], in 1774, that
the church had a resident pastor, but in the intervals religious
services were held on the Lord's Day at private houses, conducted by
the deacons and elders of the church, consisting of prayer and
exhortation, reading of a sermon and singing. Among the early deacons
were Jonathan Burpee, Samuel Whitney, John Shaw, and Humphrey Pickard.
The elders were chosen annually.
[64] The Rev. Seth Noble was grandfather of the Rev. Joseph Noble who
at this date (1904), is the oldest Free Baptist minister in
the Province. For this information I am indebted to H. G.
Noble of Woodstock, N. B.--W.O.R.
The records of the church, which are yet in existence, show that the
promise, made by the signers of the original covenant, to maintain
"Brotherly watchfulness toward each other," was by no means lost sight
of for many of the entries in the church records are devoted to
matters of discipline. In September, 1773, for example, two rather
prominent members of the church, Israel Kenny and Benjamin Brawn, were
called to account, and after due acknowledgment of their faults before
the congregation were "restored to their charity again." One of the
two offending brethren, who had been charged with "scandalous sins,"
was elected a ruling elder of the church less than two years
afterwards.
The year 1774, gave to Maugerville its first settled minister, the
Rev. Seth Noble, and the circumstances connected with his appointment
are thus stated in the minutes of the clerk of the church, Daniel
Palmer:
"At a meeting held by the subscribers to a bond for the support of
the Preached gospel among us at the House of Mr. Hugh Quinton
inholder on Wednesday ye 15 of June 1774.
1ly Chose Jacob Barker Esqr. Moderator in Sd. meeting.
2ly Gave Mr. Seth Noble a call to settle in the work of the
ministry among us.
3ly to give Mr. Seth Noble as a settlement providing he accept of
the call, one hundred and twenty Pounds currency.
4ly Voted to give Mr. Seth Noble yearly salary of sixty five
pounds currency so long as he shall continue our Minister to be in
Cash or furs or grain at cash price.
5ly. Chose Esqrs., Jacob Barker, Phinehas Nevers, Israel Pearly,
Deacon Jonathan Burpee and Messrs. Hugh Quinton, Daniel Palmer,
Moses Coburn, Moses Pickard a Committee to treat with Seth Noble.
6ly Adjourned the meeting to be held at the House of Mr. Hugh
Quinton on Wednesday ye 29 Instat, at four of the clock in the
afternoon to hear the report of the committee.
Met on the adjournment on Wednesday ye 29 of June 1774 and voted
as an addition to the salary of Mr. Seth Noble if he should except
of our Call, to cut and haul twenty five cords of wood to his
house yearly so long as he shall continue to be our Minister. The
meeting dissolved."
[Illustration: THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AT SHEFFIELD.]
The call having been accepted by Mr. Noble, the people the following
year set about the erection of a meeting house, which was to serve
also as a residence for their pastor. In January, 1776, it was so far
advanced that the exterior was nearly completed, for in David Burpee's
book of accounts, under that date, there is a charge for work done by
Messrs. Plummer and Bridges in "clapboarding one third of the east end
of the meeting house." When finished the building was doubtless a very
unpretentious little structure not at all like a modern church edifice
and very unlike its successor, the Congregational church in Sheffield,
but it was the first Protestant place of worship erected on the River
St. John.
In the order of survey of the Township of Maugerville, made by the
Government of Nova Scotia in 1761, were the words "You shall Reserve
four Lots in the Township, for Publick use, one as a Glebe for the
Church of England, one of the Dissenting Protestants, one for the
maintenance of a School, and one for the first settled minister in the
Place."
In accordance with this arrangement Lot No. 15, where the Sheffield
Congregational church now stands, was fixed on in the year 1764 as a
glebe for the "Dissenting Protestants." Improvements were made upon
the lot and a part of it used as a burial ground. The first meeting
house, however, was not built there. It probably stood on lot 13, the
property of Jeremiah Burpee and later of his son, David Burpee. In the
church records we have the following minute bearing upon the subject,
the meaning of which, however, does not seem perfectly clear:--
"At a meeting of the Subscribers for the support of the Preached
Gospel held at the meeting house in Sheffield on the 15th day of
December, 1788--
Chose Mr. Daniel Jewett Chairman.
"2ndly. Voted that the meeting house be set on the public lot in
Sheffield.
"3rdly. Voted to remove the meeting house in Maugerville to the
public lot in Sheffield if the proprietor thereof consents
thereto.
"4thly. Chose Messers. Nathan Smith, Silvanus Plumer, Eben Briggs,
Elijah Dingee and Jacob Barker, Esq., managers to remove the
same."
The meeting house was removed early in the spring, placed upon a stone
foundation, a steeple erected, and many improvements made.
If the Rev. Seth Noble had remained he would doubtless have had a
grant of the lot reserved for the first settled minister in the
township, but his removal in the year 1777 not only lost him the lot
but caused it to pass eventually to the Rev. John Beardsley, rector of
the church of England congregation.
Some years after he left Maugerville Mr. Noble wrote to his former
congregation respecting this lot but they gave him rather a tart
reply: "You was indeed told," said they, "that there was a lot of land
in Maugerville reserved by Government to be given to the first settled
minister in fee simple, and had you continued as such undoubtedly you
would have obtained a grant of it. But when you left this country you
then (in the eyes of the government) forfeited all pretentions to that
privilege and the man that would ask for it in your behalf would only
get abuse. By your leaving us the dissenters have lost that privilege
and the Church of England minister gets the lot. Though we must
observe that during Mrs. Noble's residence here she had the
improvement of it which was worth about five pounds per annum."[65]
[65] The lot here referred to was No. 60 in Upper Maugerville, now
owned by Alexander and Walter Smith. Rev. Seth Noble was a
warm sympathizer with the revolutionary party in America and
in consequence was obliged to leave the River St. John in
1777. His wife remained at Maugerville for more than two years
afterwards.
Lot No. 90, reserved as a glebe for the Church of England, is that on
which Christ Church in the Parish of Maugerville stands today. The
Congregational and Episcopal churches, at the time New Brunswick was
separated from Nova Scotia, represented respectively the Puritan and
Loyalist elements of the community, and their relations were by no
means cordial. Mutual antipathy existed for at least a couple of
generations, but the old wounds are now fairly well healed and the
causes of discord well nigh forgotten.
The intercourse between the Maugerville people and the smaller colony
at the mouth of river was so constant that it is difficult to speak of
the one without the other. For a few years the people living on the
river were in a large measure dependent for supplies upon the store
kept by Simonds and White at Portland Point, and the names of the
following Maugerville settlers are found in the ledger of Simonds and
White in the year 1765 and shortly after, viz.: Jacob Barker, Jacob
Barker jr., Thomas Barker, Jeremiah Burpee, David Burbank, Moses
Coburn, Thomas Christie, Zebulun Estey, Richard Estey, jr., John
Estey, Col. Beamsley Glacier, Joseph Garrison, Jonathan Hart, William
Harris, Nehemiah Hayward, Samuel Hoyt, Ammi Howlet, Daniel Jewett,
Richard Kimball, John Larlee, Peter Moores, Phinehas Nevers, Elisha
Nevers, Samuel Nevers, Capt. Francis Peabody, Samuel Peabody, Israel
Perley, Oliver Perley, Daniel Palmer, Humphrey Pickard, Hugh Quinton,
Nicholas Rideout, Jonathan Smith, John Shaw, Gervis Say, Isaac
Stickney, Samuel Tapley, Alexander Tapley, Giles Tidmarsh, John
Wasson, Jonathan Whipple and Samuel Whitney.
In return for goods purchased the settlers tendered furs, lumber,
occasionally an old piece of silver, sometimes their own labor and
later they were able to supply produce from their farms. Money they
scarcely ever saw. Very often they gave notes of hand which they found
it hard to pay. The furs they supplied were principally beaver skins
at five shillings (or one dollar) per pound. They also supplied
martin, otter and musquash skin, the latter at 4-1/2 pence each. The
lumber supplied included white oak barrel staves at 20 shillings per
thousand, red oak hogshead starves at 20 shillings per thousand, "Oyl
nut" (Butternut) staves at 16 shillings per thousand, clapboards at 25
shillings and oar rafters at L2 per thousand feet. Considering the
labor involved--for the manufacture was entirely by hand--prices seem
small; but it must be borne in mind that 2s. 6d. was a day's pay for a
man's labor at this time.
The Indians had for so long a time enjoyed a monopoly of the fur trade
that they regarded the white hunter with a jealous eye. Indeed in the
year 1765 they assembled their warriors and threatened to begin a new
war with the English. The settlers an the river were much alarmed and
the commandant of Fort Frederick, Capt. Pierce Butler, of the 29th
Regiment, doubled his sentries. Through the persuasion of the
commandant, assisted by Messrs. Simonds and White and other leading
inhabitants, the chiefs were induced to go to Halifax and lay their
complaints before the Governor. One of the most influential
inhabitants on the river accompanied them, whose name is not stated
but it was very probably James Simonds, at least he writes to his
partners at Newburyport in November of this year, "The dispute with
the Indians is all settled to the satisfaction of the government as
well as the Indians."
At their first interview the chiefs insisted that the white settlers
interfered with the rights of the Indians by encroaching on their
hunting grounds, clamming that it was one of the conditions of a
former treaty that the English settlers should not be allowed to kill
any wild game beyond the limits of their farms and improvements. They
demanded payment for the beavers, moose and other animals killed in
the forest by the settlers. The inhabitants of Maugerville were able
to prove that the charges brought against them were greatly
exaggerated, most of the wild animals having been killed not far from
their doors, while the aggregate of all animals slain by them was much
less than stated by the Indians. In the end the chiefs seemed to be
satisfied that they were mistaken and appeared ashamed of their
conduct in alarming the country without reason, but they still
insisted that the young warriors of their tribe would not be satisfied
without some compensation for the loss of their wild animals. The
Governor gave his decision as follows: "That although the grievances
the Indians had started were by no means sufficient to justify their
hostile proceedings, yet to do them ample justice, he would order to
be sent them a certain amount in clothing and provisions, provided
they would consider it full satisfaction for any injuries done by the
settlers; and that he would also send orders to restrain the settlers
from hunting wild animals in the woods." The chiefs accepted this
offer and the Indians remained tranquil until the American Revolution
some twelve years later.
One of the results of the conference seems to have been the
reservation to the Indians in the grant of the Township of Sunbury of
"500 acres, including a church and burying ground at Aughpack, and
four acres for a burying ground at St. Ann's Point, and the island
called Indian Island." The well known Maliseet chief, Ambroise St.
Aubin, was one of the leading negotiators at Halifax as appears by the
following pass furnished to him by Governor Wilmot:
"Permit the bearer, Ambroise St. Aubin, chief of the Indians of
St. John's river, to return there without any hindrance or
molestation; and all persons are required to give him all
necessary and proper aid and assistance on his journey.
Given under my hand and seal at Halifax this 7th day of September,
1765.
M. WILMOT.
RICH'D BULKELEY, Secretary."