ST. JOHN AND ITS BUSINESS ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY YEARS AGO.
The circumstances under which the trading company of Blodget, Simonds,
Hazen, Peaslie, White and Richard Simonds was organized in 1764 have
been already described. The original contract is yet in existence and
in a very excellent state of preservation. It is endorsed "Contract
for St. Johns & Passamaquodi."[70] A fac-simile of the signatures
appended to it is here given.
[70] The contract was drawn with much care and has been preserved in
the Collections of the N. B. Historical Society, Vol. I., p.
187.
[Illustration: Signatures]
A short account may be given of each member of the partnership.
Samuel Blodget was a Boston man, somewhat older than the other members
of the company, careful and shrewd, possessed of some money and little
learning. He had been associated with William Hazen in contracts for
supplying the troops on Lake Champlain in the recent French war; there
seems to have been also a remote family connection between Samuel
Blodget and James Simonds. Mr. Blodget's connection with the company
lasted a little more than two years. During this time a considerable
part of the furs, fish, lime and lumber obtained by Simonds and White
at the River St. John were consigned to him at Boston. In return
Blodget supplied goods for the Indian trade and other articles needed,
but his caution proved a source of dissatisfaction to the other
partners and Hazen & Jarvis at the end of the first year's business
wrote to Simonds & White, "Mr. Blodget tells us that he never expected
to advance more than a quarter of the outsets. We think in this he
does not serve us very well, as we can't see into the reason of our
advancing near three-quarters and doing more than ten times the
business and his having an equal share of the profits. Pray give us
your opinion on that head. You may rest assured that we will not leave
one stone unturned to keep you constantly supply'd and believe, even
if we should not have the requisite assistance from Mr. Blodget, we
shall be able to effect it." To this James Simonds replies, "With
respect to Mr. Blodget's not advancing more than precisely 1/4 part of
the outsets is what I never before understood; I am sure by his
situation that he can do but a little part of the Business and
therefore think he ought to excell in his proportion of Supplys rather
than to fall short."
A second year of the partnership passed and Samuel Blodget became
exceedingly serious about the ultimate outcome of the venture. He
wrote a letter on the 18th March, 1766, to Simonds & White of which
the extract that follows is a part:
"I have been Largely concerned in partnerships before Now but
Never so Ignorant of any as of the present, which I am willing to
Impute it to your hurry of Business, But Let me Tell you that
partners are in a high degree guilty of Imprudence to Continue a
Large Trade for Two years without Settling or knowing whether they
have Lost a hundred pounds or not--although they may be ever so
Imersed in Business, for the Sooner they Stop the better, provided
they are Losing money--as it seames in Mr. Hazen's oppinion we
have Lost money--perhaps you may Know to the Contrary. But then
how agreable would it be to me (who have a Large Sum in your
hands) to know as much as you do. Pray Suffer me to ask you, can
you wonder to find me anxious about my Interest when I am so
Ignorant what it is in? I am sure you don't Gent'n. I am not in
doubt of your Integrity. I think I know you Both Two well. But
common prudence calls Loudly upon us all to adjust our accounts as
soon as may be. I have not the Least Line under yours and Mr.
White's hands that the Articles which we signed the first years,
which was dated the First of March, 1764,--which was but for one
yeare--should Continue to the present Time, nor do I doubt your
onour, but Still mortallety Requiyers it to be done and I should
take it Coind to Receive Such a Righting sent by both of you."
Mr. Blodget's uneasiness as to the outcome of the business was set at
rest very shortly after he wrote the above, for on April 5th Hazen and
Jarvis tell their partners at St. John:--
"We have purchased Mr. Blodget's Interest, for which we are to pay
him his outsetts. We are in hopes that we shall be able to carry
on the Business better without than with him. * * We must beg you
would be as frugal as possible in the laying out of any money that
benefits will not be immediately reaped from, and that you will
make as large remittances as you possibly can to enable us to
discharge the Company's debt to Blodget, for we shall endeavor all
in our power to discharge our obligations to him as we do not
chuse to lay at his Mercy."
Thus it appears that if Samuel Blodget's two years connection with the
company was not greatly to his advantage, it did him no material
injury. From this time he ceases to have any interest for us in the
affairs at Portland Point.
James Simonds, whose name is second among the signers of the
business contract of 1764, may be regarded as the founder of the
first permanent settlement at the mouth of the River St. John. His
most remote ancestor in America was William Simonds of Woburn,
Massachusetts. This William Simonds married Judith Phippen, who came
to America in the ship "Planter" in 1635. Tradition says that as
the vessel drew near her destination land was first described by
Judith Phippen, which proved to be the headland now called "Point
Judith." Among the passengers of the "Planter" were the ancestors
of many well known families in America, bearing the familiar names
of Peabody, Perley, Beardsley, Carter, Hayward, Reed, Lawrence,
Cleveland, Davis and Peters. In 1643 Judith Phippen became the
wife of William Simonds. The house in which they lived at Woburn,
Mass., and where their twelve children were born, is probably yet
standing--at least it was when visited a few years since by one of
their descendants living in this province. William Simonds' tenth
child, James, was the grandfather of our old Portland Point pioneer.
He married Susanna Blodget and their sixth child, Nathan, was the
father of James Simonds, who came to St. John. Nathan Simonds married
Sarah Hazen of Haverhill, an aunt of William Hazen, and their oldest
child James (the subject of this sketch) was born at Haverhill,
December 10, 1735.
James Simonds, as mentioned in a former chapter, served in "the old
French war" and was with his cousin Captain John Hazen in the campaign
against Fort Ticonderoga. His subsequent career we have already
touched upon and he will naturally continue to be a leading character
in the story of the early history of St. John. He was evidently a man
of stout constitution and vigor of body, for he not only survived all
his contemporaries who came to St. John, but he outlived every member
of the first New Brunswick legislature and every official appointed by
the crown at the organization of the province. He passed to his rest
in the house he had built at Portland Point at the patriarchal age of
95 years. His widow Hannah (Peabody) Simonds died in 1840 at the age
of 90 years.
Of James Simonds' large family of fourteen children several were
prominent in the community. Hon. Charles Simonds was for years the
leading citizen of Portland. He was born the same year the Loyalists
landed in St. John, and was a member for St. John county in the
House of Assembly from 1821 until his death in 1859, filling during
that time the positions of speaker and leader of the government.
Hon. Richard Simonds, born in 1789, represented the county of
Northumberland in the House of Assembly when but twenty-one years of
age and sat from 1810 to 1828, when he was appointed treasurer of the
province. He filled for a short time the position of speaker of
the assembly, and from 1829 until his death in 1836 was a member of
the Legislative Council. Sarah, one of the daughters of James
Simonds, married (Sept. 10, 1801) Thomas Millidge, the ancestor of the
Millidges of St. John; her youngest sister Eliza married (Aug. 9,
1801) Henry Gilbert, merchant of St. John, from whom the members of
this well known family are descended.
William Hazen, the third of the signers of the partnership contract,
was born in Haverhill July 17, 1738. His great-grandfather, Edward
Hazen, the first of the name in America, was a resident of Rowley,
Massachusetts, as early as the year 1649. By his wife Hannah Grant he
had four sons and seven daughters. The youngest son Richard, born
August 6, 1669, inherited the large estate of his stepfather, George
Browne, of Haverhill. This Richard Hazen was grandfather of James
Simonds as well as of William Hazen; he married Mary Peabody and had a
family of five sons and six daughters (one of the latter was the
mother of James Simonds.) The third son, Moses Hazen was the ancestor
of the Hazens of New Brunswick.
The wife of Moses Hazen was Abigail White, aunt of James White who
came to St. John. Their sons John, Moses and William have a special
interest for us. John, the oldest distinguished himself as a captain
of the Massachusetts troops in the French war. He married Anne Swett
of Haverhill, and had a son John, who came with his uncle William to
St. John in 1775 and settled at Burton on the River St. John, where he
married Dr. William McKinstry's daughter, Priscilla, and had a family
of twelve children. J. Douglas Hazen, of St. John, M. P. P., for
Sunbury County, is one of his descendants.
Moses Hazen, the second son has been mentioned as commander of one of
the companies of the Fort Frederick garrison in 1759; he became a
Brigadier General in the American army in the Revolutionary war.
William Hazen, the third son and co-partner of Simonds and White, was
born in Haverhill, July 17, 1738. He married, July 14, 1764, Sarah Le
Baron of Plymouth.
Their family was even larger than that of James Simonds and included
sixteen children. Of these Elizabeth married the elder Ward Chipman,
Judge of the Supreme Court, and at the time of his death in 1824
administrator of government; Sarah Lowell married Thomas Murray
(grandfather of the late Miss Frances Murray of St. John, one of the
cleverest women the province has ever produced) and after his early
decease became the wife of Judge William Botsford--their children were
Senator Botsford, George Botsford and Dr. Le Baron Botsford; Charlotte
married General Sir John Fitzgerald; Frances Amelia married Col.
Charles Drury of the imperial army, father of the late Ward Chipman
Drury.
Among the more distinguished descendants of William Hazen by the
male line were Hon. Robert L. Hazen--popularly known as "Curly
Bob"--recorder of the city of St. John, a very eminent leader in
our provincial politics and at the time of his death a Canadian
senator; also Robert F. Hazen who was mayor of St. John and one of its
most influential citizens.
The elder William Hazen died in 1814 at the age of 75 years. His
eldest daughter, Mrs. Chipman, died at the Chipman House May 18, 1852,
the sixty-ninth anniversary of the landing of the Loyalists and her
son, Chief Justice Chipman, died November 26, 1851, the sixty seventh
anniversary of the organisation of the first supreme court of the
province. The widow of Chief Justice Chipman died the 4th of July,
1876, the centennial of the Declaration of Independence. And finally a
William Hazen, of the fourth generation, died June 17, 1885, the same
day on which his ancestor left Newburyport for St. John one hundred
and ten years before.
The first three signers of the articles of partnership under which
business was undertaken at St. John in 1764, viz. Samuel Blodget,
James Simonds and William Hazen, had each one-quarter interest in the
business, the junior partners, Robert Peaslie, James White and
Richard Simonds had only one-twelfth part each. The articles of
partnership provided that James Simonds and the three junior partners
should proceed to St. John as soon as possible, and there do what
business was necessary to be done during the co-partnership, and that
Samuel Blodget and William Hazen should remain at Boston an
Newburyport to forward supplies and receive what might be sent from
St. John or elsewhere by the company. For some reason Robert Peaslie
did not go to St. John. He married Anna Hazen, a sister of William
Hazen, and settled in Haverhill, retiring not long afterwards from the
company. Another of the junior partners, Richard Simonds, lost his
life, as already stated, on the 20th January, 1765, in the defence of
the property of the company when the Indians were about to carry it
off.
In the autumn of the year 1764, Leonard Jarvis, then a young man of
twenty-two years of age, entered into partnership with William Hazen
at Newburyport and became, by common consent, a sharer in the business
at St. John. He was a man of ability and education. The accounts kept
at Newburyport in connection with the business are in his handwriting,
and he conducted the correspondence of Hazen & Jarvis with Simonds &
White in a manner that would do no discredit to a modern business
house. In a letter of the 3rd April, 1765, Mr. Jarvis informs James
Simonds that "Mr. Peaslie has determined to settle down in Haverhill
and to leave this concern, and as by this means and the death of your
Brother, in which we sincerely condole with you, one-eighth part of
the concern becomes vacant, we propose to let Mr. White have
one-eighth and to take three-eighths ourselves--this you will please
consult Mr. White upon and advice us. * * * We must beg you will send
all the accts. both you and Mr. White have against the Company, and
put us in a way to settle with Mr. Peaslie."
James White, the fifth signer of the articles of partnership, was born
in Haverhill in 1738, and was a lineal descendant of the Worshipful
William White, one of the well-known founders of the place. He served
as Ensign or Lieutenant in a Massachusetts regiment, but after the
fall of Quebec retired from active service and entered the employ of
William Tailer and Samuel Blodget, merchants of Boston, at a very
modest salary, as appears from the following:--
"Memorandum of an agreement made this day between William Tailer &
Co., with James White, that we, the said Tailer & Co., do allow
him the said James White twenty dollars pr. month as long as the
said White is in their service at Crown Point as Clark.
"William Tailer & Co.
"Test: Geo. Willmot.
"Crown Point, July 1st, 1762."
James White's papers, now in possession of a gentleman in St. John,
show that he was engaged in the business of Tailer and Blodget at
Crown Point continuously from September, 1761, to July, 1763;
consequently the statement, commonly made, that he came to St. John
with Francis Peabody, James Simonds, Hugh Quinton and their party in
1762 is a mistake.
In the early part of 1764 James White was employed by Samuel Blodget
in business transactions in Haverhill, New Salem and Bradford. The
first occasion on which he set foot on the shores of St. John was
when he landed there with James Simonds and the party that established
themselves at Portland Point in the month of April, 1764. The
important part he played in the early affairs of St. John will
abundantly appear in these pages. He was one of the most active and
energetic men of his generation and filled several offices in the old
county of Sunbury, of which county he was sheriff. This office seems
to have had special attractions for the White family, for his son
James was sheriff of the city and county of St. John for more than
thirty years, and one of his daughters married Sheriff DeVeber of
Queens county. Mr. White was collector of customs at St. John when the
Loyalists landed. The emoluments of this office were small, for in the
year 1782 only a dozen vessels entered and cleared at St. John, the
largest of but 30 tons burden. James White spent the closing years of
his life on his farm at the head of the marsh about three miles from
the City of St. John. His residence was known as Gretna Green, from
the fact that a good many quiet weddings were celebrated by the old
squire, who was one of the magistrates specially commissioned to
solemnize marriages. He died in 1815 at the age of 77 years.
Having now spoken of the individuals composing St. John's first
trading company, the nature of the business pursued claims a little
attention. The task that lay before James Simonds and James White was
no easy one. Difficulties, many of them entirely unforseen, had to be
faced and the great diversity of their business rendered their
situation arduous and sometimes discouraging. At one time the fishery
claimed their attention, at another bartering with the Indians, at
another the erection of houses for themselves and their tenants, at
another the dyking of the marsh, at another the erection of a mill, at
another the building of a schooner, at another laying out roads and
clearing lands, at another the burning of a lime-kiln, at another
furnishing supplies for the garrison at the fort, at another the
building of a wharf or the erection of a store-house.
Communication with New England in these days was slow and uncertain
and often the non-arrival of a vessel, when the stock of provisions
had run low, caused a good deal of grumbling on the part of the hands
employed. This was particularly the case if the supply of rum chanced
to run out. The wages of the laborers employed by the company were
generally 2s. 6d., or half a dollar, a day and they boarded
themselves. As a rule the men took up their wages at the store and the
item most frequently entered against their names was New England rum.
The writer had the curiosity to examine the charges for rum in one of
the old day books for a period of a month--the month selected at
random--when it appeared that, of a dozen laborers, four men averaged
half a pint each per day, while with the other eight men the same
allowance lasted three days. Tea, the great modern beverage, was
rather a luxury and appears to have been used sparingly and rum, which
retailed at 8 pence a pint, was used almost universally. Human nature
was much the same in the eighteenth as in the twentieth century. The
men often drank to excess, and some of them would have been utterly
unreliable but for the fact that Simonds and White were masters of the
situation and could cut off the supply. They generally doled out the
liquor by half pints and gills to their laborers. On one occasion we
find Mr. Simonds writing, "The men are in low spirts, have nothing to
eat but pork and bread, and nothing but water to drink. Knowing this
much I trust you will lose no time in sending to our relief."
At various times the privations were exceedingly great and even after
the little colony had been for some years established at Portland
Point they suffered for lack of the necessaries of life. Mr. Simonds
thus describes their experience in the early part of 1770:
"Most difficult to remedy and most distressing was the want of
provisions and hay. Such a scene of misery of man and beast we
never saw before. There was not anything of bread kind equal to a
bushel of meal for every person when the schooner sailed for
Newbury the 6th of February (three months ago) and less of meat
and vegetables in proportion--the Indians and hogs had part of
that little."
He goes on to say that the flour that had just arrived in the schooner
was wet and much damaged; no Indian corn was to be had; for three
months they had been without molasses or coffee, nor had they any tea
except of the spruce variety.
In one of his letters, written a few months after the commencement of
operations at St. John, Simonds urges the careful attention of Blodget
and Hazen to their part of the business, observing: "I hope if I
sacrifice my interest, ease, pleasure of Good Company, and run the
risque even of life itself for the benefit of the Company, those who
live where the circumstances are every way the reverse will in return
be so good as to take every pains to dispose of all effects remitted
to them to the best advantage."
The first year of the Company's operations was in some respects
phenomenal. On the 30th September, 1764, a very severe shock of an
earthquake occurred at St. John about 12 o'clock, noon. The winter
that followed was one of unusual severity with storms that wrought
much damage to shipping. Leonard Jarvis wrote to James Simonds on
April 3, 1765, "There has not been in the memory of man such a winter
as the last and we hope there never will be again." Mr. Simonds in his
reply says "The winter has been much here as in New England."
In the same letter just referred to Mr. Jarvis says: "We hope in
future, by keeping the schooner constantly running between this
place and yours, that we shall be able to surmount our greatest
difficulties. At present we can only say that nothing shall be wanting
on our parts (and we are well assured that you will continue to
endeavour) to make this concern turn out in the end an advantageous
one. It would give us great pleasure could we ease you of part of
your burden and know what difficulties you have to go through * * We
have sent you by this schooner some table linen and what other table
furniture we thought you might have occasion for. If there is
anything more wanting to make you not only comfortable but Genteel,
beg you would advise us and we will furnish you with it by the return
of the schooner Wilmot."
In reply to this Mr. Simonds writes, "I am obliged to you for sending
some furniture, for truly none was ever more barely furnished than we
were before. Gentility is out of the question."
The business of Simonds and White was not confined to St. John,
they had quite an important post for the Indian trade and the
fishery on an island adjacent to Campobello, now known as Indian
Island. And it may be observed in passing that this was an island of
many names. James Boyd, a Scotchman who lived there in 1763, called
it Jeganagoose--evidently a form of Misignegoos, the name by which
it is known to the Indians of Passamaquoddy. A French settler named
La Treille lived there in 1688, and this explains the origin of the
name Latterell Island, applied to it in early times. In the grant of
1765 it is called Perkins Island. This place owing to its proximity
to New England had been the first to attract Mr. Simonds' notice.
The smaller vessels of the Company, such as the sloops "Bachelor" and
"Peggy & Molly" and the schooners "Eunice" and "Polly," were for
several years employed in fishing at Passamaquoddy from April to
October. The masters of the vessels received L4 per month for their
services. The crews employed were for the most part engaged by Hazen
and Jarvis and at the close of the season returned to their homes in
New England. It was the custom for a year or two for one of the
partners, Simonds or White, to attend at Passamaquoddy during the
fishing season. From 1765 to 1770 Isaac Marble of Newburyport was
their principal "shoresman." The partners had a keen eye to
business; on one occasion they purchased a whale from the Indians
and tried out the oil, but this seems to have been merely a stray
monster of the deep for, in answer to the query of Hazen & Jarvis,
James Simonds writes, "With respect to whaling, don't think the sort
of whales that are in Passamaquada bay can be caught."
It was from Passamaquoddy that the first business letter extant of the
company's correspondence was written by James Simonds to William Hazen
on the 18th August, 1764. The business was then in an experimental
stage, and Mr. Simonds in this letter writes, "If you & Mr. Blodget
think it will be best to carry on business largely at St. John's we
must have another house with a cellar; the latter is now dug and
stoned & will keep apples, potatoes & other things that will not bear
the frost, for a large trade; this building will serve as a house and
store, the old store for a Cooper's shop. If the lime answers well we
shall want 150 hogsheads with hoops and boards for heads; also boards
for a house, some glass, etc., bricks for chimney and hinges for two
doors. I think the business at St. John's may be advantageous, if not
too much entangled with the other. We can work at burning Lime,
catching fish in a large weir we have built for bass up the river at
the place where we trade with the Indians, trade with the Soldiers and
Inhabitants, etc. Next winter we can employ the oxen at sleding wood
and lime stone, Mr. Middleton at making casks; don't think it best to
keep any men at Passamaquada [for the winter]."
It was the intention of Simonds & White to bring the hands employed at
Passamaquoddy to St. John in a sloop expected in the fall with goods
and stores, but on the 16th December we find Mr. Simonds writing to
Blodget & Hazen, "Have long waited with impatience for the arrival of
the sloop; have now given her over for lost. All the hopes I have is
that the winds were contrary in New England as they were here all the
fall; that detained her until too late and you concluded not to send
her. We had a fine prospect of a good trade last fall, and had the
goods come in season should by this time have disposed of them to
great advantage; but instead of that we have missed collecting the
greater part of our Indian debts, as they expected us up the river
and have not been here on that account.... I have not heard from
Passamaquada for six weeks, but fear they have little or no
provisions, and am sure they have no hay for a cow that is there. She
being exceeding good, shall endeavor to save her life till you can
send hay for her. I shall go there as soon as the weather moderates
(it has been intensely cold lately) and employ the men there as well
as I can, as they are confined there contrary to intention for the
winter, and return here as soon as possible."
The non-arrival of provisions for the men and of hay for the oxen Mr.
Simonds deplores as likely to overthrow all pans for the winter. They
had intended to use the oxen to sled wood and lime-stone--a much
easier way than carting in the summer. He says, "We have stone dug for
500 hogsheads of lime and near wood enough cut to burn it; that must
now lay till carting, and we shift as well as we can to employ our men
so as not to have them run us in debt. * * can think of nothing better
than to make a resolute push up the river with our men, employ some of
them at making lumber, others at clearing land and fitting it for
grain in the spring."
The Company had some formidable rivals at Passamaquoddy for the next
spring we find James Simonds telling Hazen & Jarvis, "There is such a
number of traders at Passamaquoddy that I don't expect much trade
there this spring: have prevailed with the Commandant at Fort
Frederick to stop them going up this river: there has been no passing
the falls till now (May 27th) by reason of the freshet. Shall go over
this afternoon and proceed directly to Ocpaque, an Indian village
eighty miles up the river."
Notwithstanding the favor shown them by the commandant of the
garrison, Simonds & White found rivals in the Indian trade even an the
River St. John. Among the earliest were John Anderson and Captain
Isaac Caton. The minutes of the council of Nova Scotia show that on
August 9, 1763, license was granted Mr. Anderson to occupy 50 acres of
any lands unappropriated on the St. John river, and under date June 7,
1765, we have the following:--
"License is hereby granted to John Anderson to traffick with the
Tribes of Indians on St. John's River and in the Bay of Fundy, he
conducting himself without Fraud or Violence and submitting
himself to the observance of such regulations as may at any time
hereafter be established for the better ordering of such commerce.
This license to continue during pleasure."
Anderson selected as his location the site of Villebon's old Fort at
the mouth of the Nashwaak, where he obtained in 1765, a grant of 1,000
acres of land, built himself a dwelling house and established a
trading post convenient to the Indian village of Aukpaque, a few miles
above. He had the honor to be the first magistrate on the River St.
John, his commission dating August 17, 1765; the next appointed was
colonel Beamsley P. Glacier, on 15th October, same year. John Anderson
obtained his goods and supplies of Martin Gay, merchant of Boston, and
one Charles Martin was his bookkeeper and assistant. He called his
place "Monkton," a name it retained for many years.[71] Early in 1768
Anderson had the misfortune to lose a vessel laden with goods for
the India trade. James Simonds mentions this incident in a letter to
Hazen & Jarvis and remarks: "We imagine the loss of Mr. Anderson's
vessel will cause more trade to come to us than we should have had if
she had gone safe."
[71] The ferry between Fredericton and the Nashwaak was called in
early times Monkton ferry.
Captain Isaac Caton was granted a licence "to traffick with the
Indians on Saint John's river and the Bay of Fundy," on Nov'r. 9,
1765. He probably made his headquarters at the old French trading post
on the historic Island of Emenemic, in Long Reach, of which he was a
grantee about thus time, and which has since been called Caton's
Island.
Simonds and White did not find the Indian trade entirely to their
liking and after a few years experience wrote (under date June 20,
1767), "The Indian debts we cannot lessen being obliged to give them
new credit as a condition of their paying their old debts. They are
very numerous at this time but have made bad hunts; we have got a
share of their peltry, as much as all the others put together, and
hope soon to collect some more. There is scarcely a shilling of money
in the country. Respecting goods we think it will be for our advantage
not to bring any Toys and Trinkets (unnecessary articles) in sight of
the Indians, and by that means recover them from their bankruptcy.
They must have provisions and coarse goods for the winter, and if we
have a supply of those articles, by keeping a store here and up the
River make no doubt of having most of the Trade. Shall have a store
ready by September next, and hope to have it finished by the last of
that month."
[Illustration: ICE-JAM ABOVE GOVERNMENT HOUSE, FREDERICTON, MARCH, 1902.]
The store was built near the site of Government House and according to
Moses H. Perley it was carried away by one of those periodical
ice-jams for which the vicinity of St. Ann's Point has been noted from
time immemorial. See illustration on preceding page of a recent
ice-jam at this place.
Another store was built and Benjamin Atherton took charge of it. In
addition to trade with the Indians he did business with the white
settlers under the name and title of Atherton & Co. Furs and produce
were frequently transported to St. John from the post at St. Anns in
summer in gondolas and in the winter on ice by means of horses and
sleds.
The volume of business in the aggregate was quite large for those
days. In addition to the exportation of furs and peltry to the value
of $40,000, the company sent to New England and the West Indies large
quantities of pollock, mackerel and codfish taken in the Bay. The
gasperaux fishery at St. John was also an important factor in their
trade; in the seven years previous to the Revolutionary war Simonds &
White shipped to Boston 4,000 barrels of gasperaux valued at about
$12,000. They also shipped quantities of bass, shad, salmon and
sturgeon. Perhaps their profits would have been even greater had not
many of the men who were at other times in their employ engaged in
fishing on their own account. The community was not an ideal one for
Mr. Simonds writes: "In the spring we must go into the Weirs every
tide to keep our men from selling bait to the fishermen for rum, which
is not only attended with the loss of the fish so sold, but of the
men's time who would drink so to excess as not to be able to do
anything."
In the Champlain's map of St. John harbor and its surroundings a lake
or pond is shown at the spot where the Union depot and freight sheds
stand today. At the outlet of this pond a dam and tide mill were built
by Simonds and White in the year 1766. The mill was put in operation
the next season and from that day to this lumber has been one of St.
John's staple articles of export. Primitive as was this saw-mill some
difficulty was experienced in procuring proper hands to run it. James
Simonds in his letter of June 20, 1767, to Hazen & Jarvis writes:
"The sloop Bachelor did not return from up the River before this
morning. We have but few fish; the men that undertook the weirs
were very slow and unfaithful, and not only neglected the
fisheries but the Mill also, for which reason we have not a full
load for the Sloop. The Mill we have not nor shall be able to keep
at work without more and better hands; have four less than we
ought to have for different branches of work, if all of them was
good boys, and with those that are bad must make a bad figure. We
have promised 30 to 40 hogsheads Lime to Mr. Best of Halifax and
hourly expect a vessel for it, and have encouragement of a
contract for the King's works there; expect nothing but to
disappoint him as that rascal negro West cannot be flattered or
drove to do one fourth of a man's work; shall give him a strong
dose on Monday morning which will make him better or worse, no
dependence can be put on him. * * We want three men, one that
understands tending a mill and two teamsters, which we beg you
will send in next vessel."
The correspondence of the partners shows that the manufacture of lime
continued to engage their attention. The first kiln was built in rear
of the store and dwellings at Portland Point near the base of Fort
Howe hill. When James Simonds visited Halifax in September, 1764, he
wrote a very interesting letter to Samuel Blodget in which he says: "I
have been with the King's chief Mason; have shewn him a sample of our
lime; he likes it well and gives me encouragement that he will take
all of me that he wants either for public or private use (he is the
only dealer in town) at a rate that will net at St. John's three
dollars or more pr. hogshead."
Several coopers were sent from Newburyport by Hazen & Jarvis to
manufacture hogsheads for the lime business, one hogshead being
considered about as much as a man could make in a day. With the view
of securing a more desirable class of employees the company began at
this time to take into their service married men with families for
whose accommodation they built comfortable log houses. Yet even here
there were disappointments, as we learn from another of Mr. Simonds'
letters in which he says: "Our help mostly failed us last fall, and
the hay season was the wettest that was ever known, which prevented
our having a sufficient quantity of lime-stone dug and wood cut to
employ the teams to good advantage. * * Old Abbot (the cooper) did not
do one day's work for sixty days after his wife arrived; no dependence
can be placed on him, and as Stevens goes a fishing in the Spring on
his own account we shall want another cooper and three labourers. It
will make a material difference if these men are of a tractable
disposition."
The lime manufactured was shipped to Halifax, Boston and the West
Indies, and on one occasion a cargo was sent to Newfoundland.
There is in possession of the Hazen family an inventory of the
property of the company at St. John, dated the 12th of February,
1767, which will give the reader some little idea of the nature of the
Company's business and the condition of their trading post at Portland
Point at this time. The inventory is as follows:
LIST OF COMPANY EFFECTS AT ST. JOHN.
Dwelling House 19 by 35, part finished L 90. 0.0
1 Building 16 by 40, Rough boarded, improved for
Cooper's Shop & Kitchen 15. 0.0
1 Log Store 20 by 30, without floor 20. 0.0
1 Barn 24 by 35 16. 6.0
1 Log house 14 by 18, occupied by Black 6.12.0
1 House 16 by 20, occupied by Bradley 7.10.0
1 Well 15 feet deep 1.10.0
1 Necessary House 1.10.0
1 Lime Kiln 14. 0.0
1 Gondalo 10. 0.0
1 Wherry 1. 0.0
2 Large Seines 14. 0.0
1 Cart 100s., 2 Sleds, 18s. 5.18.0
1 Drag 9s., 1 Harrow 15s. 1. 4.0
2 Iron bars 20s., 1 Crow-bar 10s 1.10.0
3 Stone Hammers @ 7s. 1. 1.0
4 Spades @ 6s. 8d., 3 Shovels @ 3s. 1.15.8
1 Broad Axe 12s., 6 Narrow Axes @ 6s. 2. 8.0
15 Old Axes @ 3s. 2. 5.0
Whipsaw 40s., 1 Cross cut do. 30s. 3.10.0
4 Augers 12s., 3 chisels 6s. 18.0
2 Iron Squares, 8s., 3 pitch forks 12s. 1. 0.0
7 Hoes @ 2s. 8d. 18.8
1 Set Cooper's Tools 2. 5.0
2 Nail hammers 3s., 1 plough 18s. 1. 1.0
2 Scythes @ 6s., 2 pick axes @ 5s. 1. 4.0
7 Chains 4.10.0
1 Beetle 1s. 6d., 2 Wedges 3s. 4.6
160 Hogsheads Lime stone at ye Kiln @ 5s. 4d. 42.13.4
50 Hogsheads at the Quarry dug @ 1s. 2.10.0
50 Cords wood at Kiln @ 3s. 6d. 8.15.0
80 Cords wood in ye Woods & 1s. 6d. 7. 6.8
Wire 60s., Spruce Logs at the Water 80s. 7. 0.0
84 Pine logs at the falls worth 22. 8.0
119 Pine logs scattered in ye River @ 3s. 17. 7.0
8 Oxen worth at St. John 60. 0.0
3 Cows 14. 8.0
1 Pair 3 year old steers 9. 0.0
1 Bull 54s., 1 do. 30s. 4. 4.0
6 Sheep @ 18s., 7 Hogs @ 16s. 11. 0.0
1 Burch Canoe 1. 0.0
2 Carpenter's adzes @ 7s., 2 drills @ 6s. 1. 0.0
4 Pairs Snow Shoes @ 7s. 6d. 1.10.0
2 Steel plated handsaws @ 8s. 16.0
1 Set mill irons 7. 0.0
2M Staves shaved and joined 4.16.0
----------
L451. 4.10
There is also an inventory of the goods in the company's store at this
time, which were valued at L613. The goods were such as were needed by
the white settlers up the river as well as for the Indian trade. There
was quite a varied assortment, yet the many deficiencies indicate the
simplicity of living then in vogue.
The list of household goods and chattels, the property of Simonds and
White, was a very meagre one indeed. The more common and necessary
articles of furniture such as bedsteads, tables, benches, etc., were
probably manufactured on the premises by means of the carpenter's axe,
adze, hammer and saw. In addition they had a small supply of bedding,
6 camp chairs, 1 desk, 1 writing desk, 1 lamp, 4 iron candlesticks, 1
ink stand.
Dishes--4 pewter plates, 2 pewter platters, 2 pewter porringers, 2
metal teapots, 8 stone plates, 1 stone platter, 1 stone jug, 1 earthen
teapot, 3 china cups and saucers, 2 quart basons, 2 punch bowls.
Cutlery, etc.--1-1/4 doz. case knives and forks, 1-1/2 doz. spoons, 1
large spoon, 6 silver tea spoons. Kitchen utensils--2 frying pans, 2
tea kettles, 1 chafing dish, 1 cullender, 4 iron pots, 1 brass kettle,
2 quart pots, 2 two-quart pots, 3 pints, 2 tin kettles, 1 pail, 1 pair
dogs, 1 shovel and tongs, 1 tea-chest, 1 coffee mill, 2 pairs steel
yards, 1 beam scale, 2 sets weights.
The total value of household articles was but L33, 17, 5, and it is
doubtful whether the personal belongings of Simonds and White would
have added much to the common stock. No wonder James Simonds observed
with grim humor, as he described life at St. John in those days,
"gentility is out of the question."
William Hazen was afraid the business during the first year had been
unprofitable, and at the end of the year called for a settlement of
accounts in order to find out the exact state of affairs. James
Simonds wrote: "We are sensible of the necessity of settling our
accts. soon, but have always been obliged to work so much abroad as
not to be able to have our books posted up, besides the necessity of
taking an exact acct. of all goods on hand and making an exact
computation of the cost of all buildings and works cannot be hurried
over and would require time. We could have had all those things ready,
but must have neglected completing preparations for the winter's work,
which we think would be far greater damage to us than the accts.
remaining unfinished for a few months and for us to finish them in the
winter evenings."
Doubtless the winter evenings were entirely at their disposal. There
were no social engagements to fill, no societies to attend, no places
of amusement to while away the hours. The church, the lodge room, the
club were reserved for coming generations. Even the satisfaction to be
derived from good, general reading was wanting for an inventory of
household effects made in 1775 shows that Mr. Simonds owned a Bible
and Prayer Book and Mr. White a Bible and a copy of Watt's psalms and
hymns, and the only other book of which mention can be found is an
almanac. It would seem that one at least of the partners was fond of
fiction, for Samuel Blodget writes in a letter to James White--the
latter then at Crown Point--Dec. 8, 1762: "I confess I was a little
surprised att your opinion of Roderick Random, for it is allowed by
all that I ever heard judg of it, that it is a well wrote Novell."
No account of the business of St. John during the period of the
operations of its finest trading company, would be complete without
some mention of its shipping. Naturally it was the day of small things
with the future "winter port" of Canada. The ship that bore de Monts
and Champlain to the Bay of Fundy in the month of June, 1604, was a
little vessel of 150 tons, smaller than some of our coasting schooners
of today; but the vessels employed in the business of Hazen, Simonds
and White and their associates, were smaller still, ranging from ten
to eighty tons burden.
The qualities essential to successful navigation--pluck, enterprise
and skill--were admirably displayed by the hardy mariners of New
England, the pioneers of commerce in the Bay of Fundy. In their day
there were no light houses, or beacons, or fog-horns and even charts
were imperfect, yet there were few disasters. The names of Jonathan
Leavitt and his contemporaries are worthy of a foremost place in our
commercial annals.
The following list of the vessels owned or chartered by Hazen, Simonds
and White in their business at St. John, A. D. 1764-1774, is probably
as complete as at this distance of time it can be made:
Names of Vessels and Masters.
Schooner Wilmot, William Story.
" Polly, Jon. Leavitt, Jas. Stickney, Henry Brookings.
" Eunice, James Stickney.
" Betsy, Jonathan Leavitt.
" Seaflower, Benjamin Batchelder, Jonathan Leavitt.
" Sunbury, Jonathan Leavitt, Daniel Leavitt.
" Essex; Isaac Marble.
Sloop Bachelor, William Story.
" Peggy & Molly, Henry Brookings
" Merrimack, Jon. Leavitt, Samuel Perkins, Daniel Leavitt.
" St. John's Paquet, Richard Bartelott, Hen. Brookings,
Joseph Jellings.
" Speedwell, Nathaniel Newman
" Dolphin, Daniel Dow.
" Woodbridge, David Stickney.
" Sally, Nathaniel Newman.
" Deborah, Edward Atwood.
" Kingfisher, Jonathan Eaton.
Of the vessels enumerated the schooners Wilmot, Polly, Eunice and
Betsy and the sloops Bachelor, Peggy & Molly, Merimack and St. John's
Paquet were owned by the company.
For some years the company paid insurance at the rate of 3 per cent.
on the vessels and their cargoes, but the insurance was obtained with
difficulty and after a time was discontinued on the ground that the
business would not bear the expense.
When the partnership was formed in 1764, the company owned the
schooner Polly of 20 tons, the sloop Bachelor of 33 tons, and the
sloop Peggy & Molly of 66 tons. The same year Isaac Johnson of
Newburyport built for them the schooner Wilmot of 64 tons and James
Simonds paid L180 as his share of her hull. Samuel Blodget purchased
in Boston a quantity of yarns, strands and cordage, which were
delivered by Wm. Hazen to Crocker, a ropemaker of Newburyport, to be
worked up for the schooners Polly and Wilmot, the sloop Bachelor and
the sloop Peggy & Molly. The company afterwards bought or built the
schooners Eunice and Betsy and the sloops Merrimack and St. John's
Paquet. The sloop Merrimack was a square sterned vessel of 80 tons,
built at Newburyport in 1762. She was hired for the company's service
in 1767 and purchased for them in 1771 by Hazen & Jarvis for L150.
James Simonds says she was then a mere hulk entirely unfit for sea,
but after being repaired was employed in coasting to St. John and in
carrying lumber to the West Indies. William Hazen and his family had
good reason to remember the Merrimack, for it was in this vessel they
embarked for their new home in St. John in the month of May, 1775.
They were cast away on Fox Island and in addition to the discomfort
experienced, many of theirs personal belongings and some valuable
papers connected with the company's business were lost. The crew and
passengers were rescued and brought to St. John in a sloop of Captain
Drinkwater's, the captain consenting to throw overboard his load of
cordwood to make room for the rescued party and their possessions.
Most of Mr. Hazen's valuables and the rigging and stores of the
Merrimack were saved.
The sloop St. John's Paquet was another vessel that had an unfortunate
experience. She made occasional voyages from St. John to St. Croix in
the West Indies. In the year 1770 she sailed from St. John with a
cargo of lime for Newburyport, having on board William Hazen, who had
been on one of his periodical business trips to St. John. Simonds and
White asked to have the sloop and cargo insured, but Hazen says the
reason they gave, namely, that the paquet was "an unlucky vessel," did
not make any impression on the minds of himself or Mr. Jarvis, and, as
it was a good season of the year, they did not effect it. The vessel
unfortunately proved true to her reputation. She got on the shoals at
Newburyport and taking "a rank heel" got water amongst her lime, which
set her on fire. The sloop and her cargo were sold in consequence for
L300 where she lay. The vessel was afterwards hired by Hazen & Jarvis
and again sent to St. John to load for the West Indies.
The Wilmot proved unfit for the company's business and on May 23,
1766. Hazen & Jarvis wrote their partners: "We have purchased a very
good and valuable cargo for the schooner Wilmot. It consists of oxen,
cows, calves, flour, cyder, boards and bricks, and we have sent her
under care of Captain Beck to Newfoundland for sale. We hope we will
get a good price for her." This hope was not realized, for the
schooner lost her deckload of cattle in a storm and the voyage was
unprofitable.
During the earlier years of the partnership the schooners Eunice and
Polly, sloop Peggy & Molly and other small vessels were employed from
April to October in fishing in the Bay of Fundy and at Passamaquoddy.
The correspondence of the company contains many references to this
important branch of business, a few of which are to be found in the
footnotes below.[72]
[72] "The sloop Bachellor is now ready to sail; the contents of cargo
251 quintles Cod and Pollock of her crew's catching, 30 do. of
Hunt's. The great sloop arrived ten days ago; has made but an
ordinary fare, said to be 300 quintles. Will sail with dry
fish in about a fortnight. * * Pollock will sell best in the
country, pray sell as many that sort as is possible." [Letter
of James Simonds written from "Passamaquada," 18th August,
1764.]
"Leavitt in the Polly has just arrived from Annapolis; he says
he has lost a fare of fish for want of sufficient length of
cable to ride at anchor, and that he must have one by the
middle of August or he shall lose one or two fares more at
Grand Manan." [Letter of James Simonds of 22nd June, 1768]
"We have put Lovitt in skipper of the schooner Polly and have
given Stickney the schooner Eunice. We have sent down four
fishermen for the whale boats. (Mr. Marble and three
labourers.) * * Mr. Marble does not chuse to have any
connection with the delivery of stores [rum, etc.] to the men
at Passamaquada, and indeed we think with you that his
discipline is too moderate for such a sett of men as fishermen
for the most part are." [Letter of Hazen & Jarvis of 5th
April, 1766.]
The company, finding the fishing at Passamaquoddy declining on account
of the multitude of their rivals in that locality, determined to
dispose of some of their smaller vessels, and Mr. Jarvis writes to
Simonds & White, under date May 23, 1766: "If you think we would be
likely to sell the "Peggy & Molly" at Halifax, please to advise us * *
* We look upon it in general to be the better way to, sell all vessels
when they come to be old and crazy, as we find by experience that old
vessels are great moths. Therefore if you can dispose of the sloop
Bachelor and schooner Polly, we think you had better do it, provided
you can obtain their worth, and we could build such vessels as you
shall think will be most advantageous."
Hazen and Jarvis sold one half of the Eunice for L133 to a Frenchman
named Barrere, who sailed with her to the West Indies, where he was
detained until the outbreak of the Revolution in America, and this was
the last of her so far as the Company was concerned.
Of all the company's vessels none seems to have done more excellent
service than the little schooner Polly. For twelve years she bore an
almost charmed life, and in that time was employed in a great variety
of ways. At one time a fishing at Annapolis or Passamaquoddy, at
another trading with the Indians up the River St. John, at another
transporting settlers and their effects from Massachusetts to
Maugerville, at another on a voyage to the West Indies.
Hazen & Jarvis for the accommodation of their trade had hired the Long
Wharf at Newburyport and the stores on it at an annual rental of L70.
In the month of March, 1765, Leonard Jarvis writes of the occurrence
of a tremendous gale which was as severe as was ever known and which
did great damage to the wharves and shipping. He adds: "We had the
schooner Polly drove on one of the wharfs from whence we had to launch
her."
While returning from the West Indies in July, 1776, the Polly was
taken by an American privateer sailed by one O'Brien and sent to
Newburyport. She was claimed by William Hazen and after some little
delay restored to her owners and brought to St. John where she
discharged her cargo. Not long after she was again captured and
carried to Falmouth, where her super-cargo Peter Smith again succeeded
in obtaining her release.
The first vessel built and launched at St. John was the little
schooner "Betsy," the construction of which was undertaken by Simonds
& White at Portland Point in 1769. Little did her designers and
builders imagine that they were the pioneers of an industry that would
one day place St. John in the fourth place among the cities of the
British empire as a shipowning port and lead her to claim the proud
title of "the Liverpool of America." And we may note in passing, that
at the time of the turning of the first sod of the Intercolonial
railway in 1853, employes from seventeen shipyards--1,090 men in
all--marched in the procession and shipbuilding had not then attained
its greatest development. It was an important industry indeed in its
day.
The materials used in building, the Betsy were cut almost upon the
spot, and the rigging was sent from Newburyport by William Hazen,
while about half the iron was taken from one of the company's old
vessels. One Michael Hodge agreed to build the schooner for 23 1-3
shillings per ton. Adonijah Colby was his assistant. The schooner was
launched in the autumn of the year 1769 and named the Betsy in honor
of Miss Elizabeth Peabody, who about this time was married to James
White. The little vessel sailed for Newburyport with her first cargo
on the 3d of February following, Jonathan Leavitt going in her as
master. She was sold the next year for L200, and Mr. Simonds expressed
his satisfaction at the price as better than he had expected.
This first venture in the line of shipbuilding was followed in due
course by others. Jonathan Leavitt and Samuel Peabody in 1773 built a
schooner which they called the "Menaguash," in honor of the old Indian
name of St. John, and the following year William Hazen made an
agreement with James Woodman and Zebedee Ring to build a vessel at St.
John, Woodman's wages to be art the rate of 4 shillings a day, and the
payment in part to be one hundred acres of land at two shillings an
acre. The land referred to was situated in the old township of Conway
opposite the Indian House--probably at Pleasant Point.
With a view to pursuing the business of shipbuilding William Hazen at
the time he settled at Portland Point brought with him one John Jones,
a master ship-builder. The outbreak of the Revolutionary war put a
stop to every kind of business, but it is said that Mr. Jones'
employers paid his wages for some time in order to retain his services
under the expectation that the war would soon be over and they would
be able again to build ships. Mr. Jones improved the waiting time by
taking to himself a wife, Mercy Hilderick, who had come to St. John on
a visit to her sister, the wife of Samuel Peabody. There being no
clergyman at hand the ceremony was performed by Gervas Say, a Justice
of the Peace for the county of Sunbury, who then lived on the west
side of the Harbor in the Township of Conway.