THE FIRM OF HAZEN, JARVIS, SIMONDS & WHITE.
The circumstances under which James Simonds, William Hazen and their
associates organized the first trading company at St. John have been
already related. Their business contract was signed on the 1st of
March, 1764. In the course of a year or two the character of the
original company was essentially altered by the death of Richard
Simonds, the retirement of Samuel Blodget and Richard Peaslie and the
admission of Leonard Jarvis as a new partner. Questions had also
arisen as to the rights of the several partners in the lands granted
in 1765 to James Simonds, James White and Richard Simonds. In order to
settle these questions a new business contract was signed at
Newburyport, on the 16th April, 1767, by James Simonds, Leonard Jarvis
and William Hazen. The original contract is yet in existence amongst
the papers of the Hazen family. It is in the handwriting of Leonard
Jarvis and is a well worn document which bears marks of having been
repeatedly handled. This is not to be wondered at for this contract
proved a veritable storm-centre in the litigation that ensued relative
to the division of the lands between the partners. The legal
proceedings assumed various phases and occupied the attention of the
courts for a period of twenty years.[87]
[87] The second contract, or Articles of Partnership, entered into by
William Hazen, Leonard Jarvis, James Simonds and James White
is printed in Collections of the N. B. Hist. Soc., Vol. I. p.
191. It is entered also in the book of records of the old
County of Sunbury. The original document bears the following
certificate, "Registered by me March 9th, 1782, Ja. Simonds,
Dep'y Reg'r."
Under the new contract Hazen and Jarvis were to have a half interest
in the business, James Simonds one-third and James White one-sixth,
and all the lands on the River St. John that had been granted to any
or either of the partners (Mr. Simonds' lot in Maugerville excepted)
were to be put into the common stock and divided in the following
proportions, namely, one-half to Hazen and Jarvis, one-third to
Simonds and one-sixth to White. The same division was to be made of
any lands that should thereafter be obtained by the members of the
company, either individually or collectively, during the continuance
of the partnership.
Mr. Simonds sailed from St. John for Newburyport in the schooner
Eunice on the 4th March, 1767, but owing to head winds he was twenty
days in arriving at his destination. He submitted to Hazen and Jarvis
the accounts of the business at St. John for the three years of the
company's operations and then repaired to Haverhill, about fourteen
miles distant, to visit his relations. On his return he was
accompanied by his sister Sarah and by his young bride, Hannah
Peabody, who were about to settle with him at St. John. On his arrival
at the store of Hazen and Jarvis, the new contract was presented to
him for his signature. The proposition relative to the division of
lands led to "a warm altercation and dispute." Hazen and Jarvis
positively declined to continue in the business or to furnish supplies
unless they were allowed an interest in the lands. They stated
further that the goods on board the schooner Eunice should not leave
Newburyport, nor would they furnish anything for the spring trade but
insist upon immediate payment of the balance due them unless Mr.
Simonds should execute the contract. Much as he disliked the proposal
the situation of Mr. Simonds did not admit of delay. He was anxious to
settle his family at St. John, his workmen and tenants needed his
supervision and the Indian trade for the season would be lost unless
the goods on board the Eunice were delivered as speedily as possible.
Under these circumstances he deemed it best to sign the contract.
Hazen & Jarvis claimed the company were at this time indebted to them
in the sum of L3,135, but in the subsequent proceedings in the court
of chancery this was disputed by Mr. Simonds and the statements of the
parties interested are so much at variance that it is difficult to
determine the exact truth in the matter.
James White declined to sign the new contract stating:
"That having one-fourth part of the duties, trouble and services
to undergo and perform in transacting the business of the
Copartnership, yet he was by the said Contract entitled to
one-sixth part only of the lands to be divided under the contract.
But that, although he disliked as aforesaid his having no greater
share than one-sixth part in the Concern, he nevertheless joined
with James Simonds in carrying on the business in full confidence
that some equitable allowance would be made him for his services
over and above his proportion of the said profits and lands."
On the occasion of James Simonds' visit to Halifax early in 1764 he
obtained a license to occupy ten acres of land at Portland Point for
carrying on the fishery and burning limestone, but it was not until
the 2nd October, 1765, that a grant was made to him, in conjunction
with his brother Richard, and James White, described as follows:
"Beginning at a point of upland opposite to his (Simonds') House
and running East till it meets with a little Cove or River; thence
bounded by said Cove till it comes to a Red Head on the east side
of the Cove--thence running North eleven degrees fifteen minutes
west till it meets Canebekssis river, thence bounded by said
river, the river St. John and harbour till it comes to the first
mentioned boundary."
The bounds of this tract are shown in the accompanying plan. It was
supposed to contain 2,000 acres "more or less," but in reality it
contained upwards of 5,000 acres. Elias Hardy in 1785 claimed that the
grant must have originated in misrepresentation, either in the
application or survey, otherwise the quantity could not have been so
much mistaken. To this Ward Chipman replied that the land had never
been actually surveyed, but making allowance for lakes, sunken and
broken ground, etc., it was supposed not to contain much if any more
than the number of acres mentioned in the grant. The grant was made in
accordance with the return of the surveyor describing its boundaries
and expressing them to be "with allowance for bad lands, containing in
the whole by estimation 2,000 acres more or less." Chipman adds, "no
misrepresentation can well be supposed to have taken place at the time
of passing this Grant when the lands upon the river St. Johns were
considered as of very little value and there could be no inducement to
such a step."
However, in view of the fact that when surveyed the grant was found to
contain 5,496 acres, it must be admitted that the allowance for "bad
lands" was tolerably liberal, and the grantees were fortunate to
escape without the loss of at least half of their property. The line
running from Mr. Simonds' house eastward to Courtenay Bay is that now
followed by Union street. It will be observed that the peninsula south
of this street which now contains the business part of the city of St.
John, and which was laid out for the Loyalists in 1783 as Parr-town,
was not included in the grant. The primary object of the grantees was
evidently to obtain possession of the limestone quarries and the big
marsh, and they probably deemed the land south of Union street to be
hardly worth the quit rents.
[Illustration: Plan of Grants to Simonds & White]
The first grant at the mouth of the River St. John included only
a small part of the great marsh--then called by the Indians,
Sebaskastaggan--and a further tract in that locality was applied
for by James Simonds in a memorial to the government of Nova Scotia.
The memorial stated that James and Richard Simonds and James White
had obtained a grant of 2,000 acres of mountainous and broken
land at the mouth of the River Saint John in the year 1765, which
had been improved by building houses, a saw mill and lime kiln,
and the company had settled upwards of thirty people on it who were
engaged in carrying on those two branches of business, but that
the wood and timber so necessary for them was all consumed,
therefore praying that 2,000 acres additional to the eastward of
the said tract might be granted to the said James Simonds.
It can scarcely be believed that all the wood from the harbor of St.
John to the Kennebeccasis had been consumed in the five years of the
company's operations at Portland Point. But probably the lumber in the
vicinity of the saw-mill and the wood most convenient to the lime
kilns had been cut and this was sufficient to afford a pretext for
another grant. Mr. Simonds' memorial was considered by the Governor in
Council December 18, 1769, and approved. The grant did not issue till
May 1, 1770. The bounds are thus described:
"Beginning at a Red Head in a little Bay or cove to the eastward
of the Harbor at the mouth of Saint John's River described in a
former grant to James Simonds in the year 1765, being the south
eastern bound of the said grant, thence to run north 75 degrees
east 170 chains, thence north 15 degrees west 160 chains or until
it meets the river Kennebeccasis, and from thence to run westerly
until it meets the north eastern bound of the former grant."
The boundaries of the second grant may be readily traced on the plan.
Like the former grant it included a good deal more than the 2,000
acres it was supposed to contain, and in this case, too, the grant
escaped curtailment. The grant was in the name of James Simonds, but
the other partners relied upon the clause in their business contract
as a sufficient guarantee of their interests.
It must be admitted that as the first adventurers to settle in an
exposed and at times perilous situation the first grantees of the
lands at the mouth of the River St. John were entitled to special
consideration. James Simonds had to make repeated visits to Halifax in
connection with the business at St. John and these visits were
sometimes attended with risk as will be seen from the following
extract of one of his earliest letters.
Halifax, Oct'r 1st, 1764.
"Last night arrived here after four days passage from St.
John's--the first 24 hours were at sea in a severe storm, the
second passed a place called the Masquerades where there was seas
and whirlpools enough to have foundered the largest ships--we were
providentially saved with the loss of all our cable and anchor
endeavoring to ride at anchor till the tide slacked, but in vain.
It was unlucky for us that we happened to fall in with that
tremendous place in the strength of flood tide in the highest
spring tide that has been this year. Gentlemen here say it is
presumptuous to attempt to return the same way at this season in
an open boat; but as the boat and men are at Pisiquit (Windsor),
and I have no other way to get to St. John in season for my
business this fall, shall get our business done here as soon as
may be and return the same way I came. The plea of the above
difficulty will have a greater weight than any other to have
business finished here immediately. This morning I waited on the
Governor, Secretary and all officers concerned in granting
license, etc., who assure me that my request shall be granted
directly so that I hope to be on my way to St. John's tomorrow."
We cannot but admire the courage and enterprise of a man who after so
fatiguing and perilous a journey, was ready, on the second day after
his arrival in Halifax, to remount his horse and travel forty-odd
miles over a very rough road to Windsor to face again the perils of
the Bay of Fundy in an open boat at a stormy season.
The establishment of Fort Frederick on the west side of the Harbor of
St. John, by Brig. General Monckton, in the fall of the year 1759,
contributed not a little to the advantage of the first settlers. The
Indians were disposed to be troublesome to the English, and the
presence of the garrison rendered their situation less lonely and
added very greatly to their sense of security. Not only so, but the
garrison brought quite an amount of business to the store of Simonds &
White. In the old accounts of the year 1764 are to be found the names
of Lieut. Gilfred Studholme of the 40th Regt., Lieut. John Marr and
Commissary Henry Green. Captain Pierce Butler, of the 29th Regt., was
in command at Fort Frederick the following year and his name also
appears in the accounts. For a year or two after the fort was
established the garrison was furnished by the provincial troops of
Massachusetts, afterwards by detachments of British regiments under
various commanders. In addition to the trade with the officers and
soldiers, Simonds & White furnished wood and other supplies to the
garrison, and doubtless it was not the least satisfactory incident in
this connection that the pay-master was "John Bull." The Indians were
unreliable customers and bad debts were not infrequent, the white
settlers on the river had but little money and their pay was chiefly
in shingles, staves, spars, clapboards, musquash and beaver skins;
John Bull paid cash.
About three years after the arrival of Simonds and White at St. John
their trade with the garrison was interrupted by the removal of the
troops to Boston in consequence of some riots in connection with
the enforcement of the Stamp Act. Mr. Simonds speaks of this
circumstance in a letter dated July 25, 1768, in which he writes:
"The troops are withdrawn from all the outposts in the Province
and sent to Boston to quell the mob. The charge of Fort Frederick
is committed to me, which I accepted to prevent another person
being appointed who would be a trader. I don't know but I must
reside in the Garrison, but the privilege of the fisheries on that
side of the River and the use of the King's boats will be more than
an equivalent for the inconvenience." The defenceless condition of
the port of St. John brought disaster to the settlers there some
years later, but of this we shall hear more by and by.
The names of most of the heads of families settled at Maugerville
appear in the earlier account books of Simonds & White, and later we
have those of the settlers at Gagetown, Burton and St. Anns. In the
course of time branches of the company's business seem to have been
established at convenient centres up the river, and their account
books contain the invoices of goods shipped to Peter Carr, who lived
just below Gagetown, to Jabez Nevers of Maugerville, and to Benjamin
Atherton at St. Ann's Point. The goods appear to have been sold on
commission and returns were made chiefly in lumber, furs and produce.
The invoices of goods shipped to Hazen & Jarvis at Newburyport by
Simonds & White included pine boards, shingles, clapboards, cedar
posts, spars and cordwood, besides some 50,000 white and red oak
staves, most of these articles having been taken in trade with the
settlers on the river. Messrs. Hazen & Jarvis carried on quite an
extensive trade with the West Indies where, in consequence of the
manufacture of rum and molasses, there was a large demand for
hogshead and barrel staves, these were obtainable in considerable
quantities on the River St. John, and the terms at which they were
purchased may be seen in the following agreement:--
"St. Johns River, Nov'r. 10th, 1772.
"It is agreed between Simonds & White on the one part and Joseph
Garrison & William Saunders on the other, that the said Garrison &
Saunders make and lay at the bank of the said River, at convenient
place to load on board a vessel, five thousand of White Oak barrel
staves and the same number of White Oak hogshead staves, the
hogshead staves to be well shaved and both to be merchantable
according to the laws of Massachusetts Bay, for which the said
Simonds & White are to pay, for Barrel Staves twenty-five
shillings for each thousand and for the Hogshead forty shillings;
the said staves to be ready by the 20th day of April next and at
farthest to be received by the 20th day of June.
"To the performance of the above agreement each of the parties
hereby bind themselves to each other in the sum of Twenty pounds
currency, to be paid in default of fulfilment of either
party. "Witness our hands,
JOSEPH GARRISON,
WM. SAUNDERS,
SIMONDS & WHITE."
Joseph Garrison it may be observed was the grandfather of William
Lloyd Garrison, the celebrated advocate of the abolition of slavery.
He was one of the original grantees of Maugerville, and drew lot No.
4, opposite Middle Island in Upper Sheffield. He was on the River St.
John as early at least as July, 1764, and is said to have been the
first of the English speaking race to work the coal mines at Grand
Lake. Another early miner was Edmund Price of Gagetown, who in the
year 1775 delivered nine chaldrons of coal, to Simonds & White for
which they allowed him 20 shillings per chaldron.
Nearly all the settlers on the river obtained their goods from the old
trading company at Portland Point, and for their accommodation the
little schooner "Polly" made frequent trips to Maugerville and St.
Anns. Inspection of the old accounts shows that on the occasion of a
trip up the river in May, 1773, goods were sold to thirty families at
various points along the way. In November, 1775, goods were sold in
like manner to more than forty families. At that time there were to be
found in the company's day book the names of 120 customers, nearly all
of them heads of families. Of these, 25 were residents at Portland
Point, 20 lived across the harbor in Conway, 45 belonged to
Maugerville, 20 to other townships up the river and ten were casual
visitors, fishermen and traders.
The partners amidst all their variety of business continued to make
improvements upon their lands at St. John. They cleared up the Great
Marsh and cut hay there, for in June, 1768, Mr. Simonds writes to
Newburyport, "Please send half a dozen Salem scythes; Haskel's tools
are entirely out of credit here; it would be a sufficient excuse for a
hired man to do but half a day's work in a day if he was furnished
with an axe or scythe of that stamp." The next year plans were
discussed for the general improvement of the marsh, and a number of
indigent Acadians were employed to assist in the construction of a
"Running Dike" and aboideau. These Acadians probably lived at French
Village, near the Kennebecasis, and the fact that they had some
experience in dykeing marsh lands shows that they were refugees from
the Expulsion of 1755. The situation of the first dyke was not, as
now, at the mouth of the Marsh Creek but at a place nearly opposite
the gate of the cemetery, where the lake-like expansion of the Marsh
begins. The work was completed in August, 1774, by the construction of
an aboideau. Those employed in the work were the company's laborers,
six or eight Acadians and a number of the Maugerville people--about
twenty-five hands in all. William Hazen was at St. John that summer
and he and James White gave their personal attendance, "not in
overseeing the work only but in the active and laborious parts
thereof," the company providing the implements, tools, carts, several
teams of oxen, gundolas and other boats, materials and supplies of
every kind including rum for the workmen. This dyke and aboideau
served the purpose of shutting out the tide from about 600 acres of
marsh land. Ten years later Hazen & White built a new aboideau a
little above the first one which had fallen into disrepair. A much
better one than either was built at the mouth of the creek in 1788 by
James Simonds at a cost of L1,300. The House of Assembly voted L100
towards building a bridge at the place and Mr. Simonds agreed to erect
a structure to serve the double purpose of a public bridge and
aboideau. The width of the structure was 75 feet at the bottom and 25
feet at the top. Not long afterwards Mr. Simonds built here two tide
saw-mills. These were not a profitable investment, and in 1812 one had
fallen into total decay while the other was so much out of repair as
to be of little benefit to its owner.
After the first Marsh Bridge had been in existence about twenty-five
years there arose a controversy as to what proportion of the cost of
repairs should be borne respectively by the province, the City of St.
John and the proprietors of the marsh. This controversy has continued
to crop up at regular intervals during the last century and the end is
not yet.
When the Loyalists arrived in 1783 the dyked marsh lands produced
about 400 tons of hay, but it was said that "if tilled and ditched
they would produce much more." Today the marsh raises at least four
times the quantity of hay named above.
After building the first running dyke in 1769, Hazen, Simonds and
White continued to devote considerable attention to the task of
reclaiming and improving the marsh. In order to have ready access a
road was laid out running back of Fort Howe hill and along Mount
Pleasant to the marsh. Not far from the present station at Coldbrook
they built a house with hovels for cattle and put up fences and
settled a family there. A few years later they built two more houses
and settled two more families there, each with a stock of cattle. The
first tenants on the marsh were Stephen Dow, Silas Parker and Jabez
Salisbury. The houses built for their accommodation cost from L15 to
L20 apiece. About this time or a little later a small grist mill was
built at the outlet of Lily Lake.
One of the inducements that led James Simonds to fix upon the harbor
of St. John as a place of settlement was the abundance and excellent
quality of the limestone there and its convenience for shipment. The
license of occupation given under the hand of Governor Montagu Wilmot
on the 8th of February, 1764, was in the terms following:
"License is hereby granted to James Simonds to occupy a tract or point
on the north side of St. John's River, opposite Fort Frederick, for
carrying on a fishery and for burning limestone, the said tract or
point containing by estimation ten acres." Soon after the formation of
the trading company in the course of the same year, the manufacture of
lime became an object of consideration. Some reference has been made
already in these chapters to the progress of the industry.
The company had four lime kilns, the situation of which will be best
understood by reference to modern land marks. One was at the base of
Fort Howe hill at the head of Portland street, a second near the site
of St. Luke's church, a third near the present suspension bridge, and
a fourth on the road leading to the old "Indian House." The work of
quarrying and burning limestone was carried on in a very primitive
fashion by the laborers of the company. In the winter a number of them
were employed in quarrying the stone and hauling it with oxen to the
kilns. The wood needed for burning grew almost at the spot where it
was wanted, and its cutting served to clear the land as well as to
provide the fuel necessary. In the course of ten years Simonds & White
shipped to Newburyport and Boston more than 3,500 hogsheads of lime
for which they received four dollars per cask; they also sent lime to
Halifax, Cornwallis and other places in Nova Scotia. The facilities
for manufacturing in those days were very inadequate, the men lacked
experience, casks were hard to get, and for a time the lack of a wharf
and warehouse caused much delay in the shipment.
And now a word as to the present condition of the lime industry at St.
John. It cannot be questioned that the splendid quality of the
limestone, its vast abundance, its convenient situation for shipment
and the abundance and cheapness of the fuel needed, clearly prove that
the manufacture of lime is destined yet to become an important
industry in this community. Fifteen years ago the industry was rapidly
developing, when the McKinley tariff and the Dingley bill completely
excluded the St. John manufacturers from the United States market
which passed into the hands of their rivals of Rockland, Maine. It is,
however, only a question of time when there will be a removal of the
prohibitive tariff in the interests of United States consumers, and
this will be hastened as the deposits of limestone at Rockland are
exhausted. This circumstance, together with the increasing demands of
the Canadian market, will cause the manufacture of lime at St. John to
become eventually an industry as great as that of shipbuilding in its
palmiest days.
About the year 1888 the prospects of the St. John lime burners seemed
particularly bright. Extensive operations were being carried on at
Randolph, Robertson's Point, South Bay, Glencoe, Adelaide Road,
Brookville and Drury's Cove. Probably at least 400 men were employed
and a dozen draw kilns and twenty square kilns were in operation. In
order to show the prospective development of that which in the time of
Simonds & White was an infantile industry, it may be stated that the
capacity of the draw kiln is from 70 to 100 barrels of lime every
twenty-four hours, while that of the square kiln is about 400 barrels
per week. The draw kiln is more expensive in construction than the
other, but its capacity is greater, and it is not necessary to
extinguish the fire, the lime being drawn out as it is burned and
fresh stone put in. At several of the lime kilns at the Narrows, above
Indiantown, the facilities are unrivalled. The stone is quarried from
the cliff a few rods from the kiln, dumped in at the top by cart or
wheelbarrow, drawn out at the bottom at the water's level and loaded
on scows. The wood for the kiln grows on the surrounding hillsides or
may be obtained from the saw-mills in the vicinity at nominal cost. At
the time the manufacture of lime was interfered with by the McKinley
bill, the following persons were actively concerned in the development
of the industry: Hornbrook and Wm. Lawlor & Son at Brookville, Jewett
& Co. at Drury's Cove, Isaac Stevens and A. L. Bonnell at South Bay,
Frank Armstrong and J. & F. Armstrong at the Narrows, Hayford &
Stetson at Glencoe above Indiantown, Charles Miller at Robertson's
Point, Randolph & Baker at Randolph, W. D. Morrow and Purdy & Green on
the Adelaide Road.
It is impossible with the data on hand to form any proper estimate of
the quantity of lime manufactured by these firms, but it may be stated
that in the year 1887, Hayford & Stetson alone expected to burn 50,000
barrels in their draw kilns at Indiantown and 30,000 barrels in their
square kilns. In the work of quarrying the use of the steam drill was
then being introduced. Perhaps there is no better way of contrasting
modern methods with the methods of those who first embarked in the
industry one hundred and forty years ago, and at the same time showing
the difficulties with which the pioneers had to contend, than by
giving extracts from James Simonds letters to Hazen & Jarvis.
St. John's River, 27th May, 1765.
Gentlemen:--I Rec'd yours of 3d. of April the 1st inst., and of
the 18th on the 9th inst. [The letters came by the schooner
"Polly" and the schooner "Wilmot."] The schr. Polly was dispatched
immediately fishing: she is now near loaded. I am sorry the same
dispatch could not be made with the schr. Wilmot. A cargo of Lime
could not be prepared before hand for want of Oxen to draw wood.
Have had bad luck in burning the Lime, the wood being wet, as the
snow was but just off the ground. One-third of the kiln is not
burnt. * * * If you can get freight to this place, we believe it
will be best to keep the schooner [Wilmot] constantly running
between here and Newburyport. If the Lime answers well can burn
any quantity whatever. The want of Hhds. is the greatest
difficulty, the want of a house to cover it the next.
"I doubt not of your making the greatest dispatch in all business
relating to this concern, and wish I could make you sensible of
the disadvantages we are under to do the same. I thank you for the
willingness you express to relieve me and that you think there is
any difficulty to go through in these parts. You may depend upon
it that no pains will be spared in this quarter to make the
Concern advantageous. * * * I shall be extremely glad to wait upon
Mr. Hazen when the schooner returns.
"Have been obliged to credit the inhabitants up the River to the
amount of a considerable sum, which is to be paid part in furs and
part in lumber (the lumber is not brought down). The Officers and
Soldiers supplies and wooding the garrison is to be paid by a
draft on the pay-master at Halifax. * * * Since the lime is all
put in hogsheads I find there is near seventy (empty) hogsheads
remains. They chiefly want one head each--twenty or thirty more
will be sufficient for another kiln. If you send the Schr.
directly back, boards must be sent for heads, and should think it
would be best to send 100 refuse shook hogsheads for a third kiln
with boards for heads and hoops, as they cannot be had here, also
5 M. boards to cover a frame that is now decaying and will serve
for a Lime House and Barn. Have borrowed 12 C. boards of Mr. Green
(of the garrison). Shall have a kiln ready to set fire to in three
weeks after the Schr. sails. Dispatch in shipping lime can never
be made without a Lime house to have it ready when any vessel
arrives. * * *
In Great haste, I am, Gentlemen,
Yr. Most Obedient & Humble Servt,
JAS. SIMONDS.
To Messrs. Hazen & Jarvis.
In the year 1769 the company built a wharf and warehouse at Portland
Point. Their work was often interfered with by the nature of the
season, the winters then, as now, being exceedingly variable. Mr.
Simonds writes, under date March 6, 1769:--
"Have had but little snow this winter, but few days that the
ground has been covered. Have got to the water side a large
quantity of wood and wharf logs; about 300 Hogshead Lime Stone to
the Kiln, and should have had much more if there had been snow.
Our men have been so froze and wounded that we have not had more
than three men's constant labour to do this and sled sixty loads
of hay from the marsh, saw boards for casks, look after cattle and
draw firewood. Shall continue drawing or draging wood and stone as
long as the ground is frozen, and then cut the timber for a
schooner and boat stone for a Lime Kiln, which with the wharf will
take 400 tons."
The next winter was of a different sort, for Mr. Simonds writes on May
10, 1770, "This spring has been so backward that there has been no
possibility of burning any lime. The piles of wood and stone are now
frozen together." The next winter was extremely mild, and Mr. Simonds
writes on February 18, 1771, "There has not been one day's sledding
this winter, and the season is so far advanced there cannot be much
more than enough to get the hay from the marsh; but shall haul logs to
finish the wharf and for plank for Fish Cisterns if it can by any
means be done."
The popular idea that the climate of this Province was much more
severe in ancient than in modern days is not borne out by the
correspondence of Simonds & White with Hazen & Jarvis. From it we
learn that 140 years ago the navigation of the River St. John, as now,
opened early in April, and that the river could be relied on as a
winter route of communication to St. Anns "only between the first of
January and the last of February and then many times difficult." In
the extracts just quoted Mr. Simonds states that during the winter of
1769 there had been but few days that the ground was covered with
snow, and two years later he says that up to the 18th of February
there had not been a single day's sledding. This testimony does not at
all accord with the popular idea of an old-fashioned winter. It is not
likely that there have been any material changes in the climate of
this region since the days of Champlain, and this conclusion is
strengthened by the fact that the weather reports made to the Dominion
government since the time of Confederation do not indicate any
alteration in our climatic conditions during the last 35 years.
The first Business Contract under which William Hazen, James Simonds,
James White and their associates engaged in business at the River St.
John was signed on March 1st, 1764. The members of the company
immediately proceeded to engage their workmen and a very interesting
illustration of the way they set about it has been preserved in an old
indenture dated 13th March, 1764, in which James Simonds, "trader,"
made agreement with one Edmund Black of Haverhill, "bricklayer," to
pay the said Black L16. 16s. for eight months labor at brickmaking,
fishing, burning lime, or any other common or ordinary work at
Passamaquoddy, St. John, Annapolis Royal or any other part of Nova
Scotia, in the Bay of Fundy. In addition to his pay, at the rate L2.
2s. per month, Mr. Simonds agreed to furnish Black with "suitable
victuals and drink and lodging."
The exact date of the arrival of Simonds and White, and their party at
St. John is put beyond doubt by the following memorandum in Mr.
White's handwriting, found by the author among a collection of old
papers: "Haverhill, New England, 1764. Set off for River St. John,
Nova Scotia, 1st day of April--Arrived 16th April."
By the second business contract, entered into by William Hazen,
Leonard Jarvis and James Simonds on the 16th April, 1767, it was
provided that "all trade and business in Nova Scotia shall be done and
transacted by James Simonds and James White and whatever business is
to be transacted at Newbury-Port shall be transacted by William Hazen
and Leonard Jarvis." The remittances of Simonds & White consisted for
the most part of fish, furs, lime and lumber and were at first sent to
Newburyport, but it was soon found to the advantage of the company
that remittances should be made to Boston where Leonard Jarvis went to
dispose of them and to forward supplies needed at St. John. This was
the commencement of St. John's trade with Boston. There was no market
for the Spring catch of Alewives (or Gasperaux) at Newburyport, so
they were usually sent to Boston. Seven eighths of the furs and a
large proportion of the lime and lumber were also sold in Boston.
As might reasonably be expected the first outlay of the company was
comparatively large while the returns were small, but as time went on
the remittances from St. John gradually increased and the outlay for
supplies slightly diminished. During the earlier years of the
partnership attention was given to deep water fishing, and large
quantities of cod and pollock were taken in the Bay of Fundy and at
Passamaquoddy, but this branch of business was eventually discontinued
and greater attention paid to the shore fisheries in which weirs were
used to good advantage. In the first seven years of their operations
the Company sent 745 barrels of Gaspereaux to Boston, but in the next
four years more than 3,000 barrels were shipped.
About the close of the year 1775 the Revolutionary war put an end to
all trade with New England and the business of Hazen, Jarvis, Simonds
& White as a company practically ceased. In the course of the dozen
years of their operations, the goods and supplies received at St. John
from Boston and Newburyport amounted in value to at least $100,000.
The partners were not agreed as to the general results of the
business; Mr. Simonds claimed that the receipts had more than repaid
the outlay, while Hazen & Jarvis contended that no money had been made
but that there had probably been a loss.
During the continuance of the business, 72 cargoes of goods and
supplies were sent to St. John, an average of six cargoes per annum.
The value of goods and outfit sent the first season amounted to
L3,891. 16s. 0-1/2d. The value of goods and supplies furnished under
the first business contract, which lasted only three years, was
L6,850. 9s. 10d. Messrs. Blodget, Peaslie and Simonds, jr., then cease
to be concerned in the business and the partners under the second
contract were Hazen, Jarvis, Simonds and White.
As early as the second year of their operations at St. John, Hazen &
Jarvis began to feel the large outlay they had made and wrote, under
date May 23, 1766, to Simonds & White, "We must beg you will do all in
your power to remit us largely this summer. By having such a stock
with you we are much straitened for cash, and we are sometimes obliged
to do our business to a disadvantage."
Not long afterwards Hazen & Jarvis were unfortunate in their
mercantile transactions at Newburyport and this, together with the
loss of some of their vessels, made it necessary for them to take
special care of their interests at St. John, consequently after the
signing of the second business contract William Hazen came frequently
to St. John. Early in 1771 he determined to discontinue business
altogether at Newburyport and remove to St. John with his family.
James White says that it was the wish of both Mr. Simonds and himself
that Mr. Hazen should settle near them, making choice of such
situation as he might deem agreeable to his taste, but that as the
partnership business was drawing to a close the house to be erected
should be built with his own money. Mr. Hazen made his choice of
situation and built his house accordingly.
In the evidence given in the law suit concerning the division of the
lands obtained from time to time by the company, James Simonds states
that so far as the business at St. John was concerned Mr. Hazen's
presence was not needed since the business was conducted there by
himself and James White when there was five times as much to be done.
To this Mr. Hazen replies that Mr. Simonds' letter of July, 1770,
speaks a different language,[88] and he quotes figures to show that
while for the first four years after the signing of the second
contract the value of the supplies sent to St. John was L8,053 and the
remittances from St. John L7,650; leaving a deficit in the business of
L403; during the next four years, when he (Hazen) spent a large part
of his time at St. John, the cost of supplies was L6,803 and the
remittances L8,245, showing a surplus of L1,442; a difference of
L1,845 in favor of his being at St. John.
[88] This letter has unfortunately been lost.
When William Hazen decided to take up his residence at St. John in
order more effectually to promote the interests of the company by
superintending, in conjunction with Simonds and White the various
operations that were being carried on there, his partner Leonard
Jarvis removed to a place called Dartmouth, one hundred miles from
Newburyport, leaving his investment in the business untouched so as
not to embarrass the company at a critical time. The supplies required
at St. John were now furnished by his brother, Samuel Gardiner Jarvis,
of Boston.
As will presently appear, fortune did not smile upon the removal of
William Hazen and his family from their comfortable home in
Newburyport to the rugged hillsides of St. John. However, Mr. Hazen
was a man of resolution and enterprise, and having once made up his
mind in regard to a step of so much importance was not likely to be
easily discouraged. He at once began to make preparations for the
accommodation of his family by building a house of greater pretensions
than any that had yet been erected at Portland Point.
The first known reference to the Hazen house is found in a letter
dated Feb.'y 18th, 1771, in which James Simonds writes, "We shall cut
Mr. Hazen's frame in some place near the water where it may be rafted
at any time." The house was erected in July following by the company's
carpenters and laborers. When nearly finished it was unfortunately
destroyed by fire. A new house was begun the next year, which like the
other was built at Mr. Hazen's expense by the company's carpenters and
laborers.
As soon as the house was ready for occupation Mr. Hazen repaired to
Newburyport to bring on his family, and in the month of May, 1775,
they embarked in the Company's sloop Merrimack of 80 tons. Mr. Hazen's
tribulations were by no means ended, for on the voyage the Merrimack
was unluckily cast away on Fox Island and a good deal of her cargo,
together with papers containing accounts of the Company's business,
was lost. However, all the passengers were saved, as well as most of
their valuables, and were brought to St. John in Captain Drinkwater's
sloop. Drinkwater was obliged to throw overboard a load of cordwood to
make room for the rescued passengers and crew and their possessions.
For this he was of course remunerated by the Company. The Hazen family
proved a great addition to the limited society of Portland Point. We
learn from an enumeration of the inhabitants made this year that the
Hazen household included 4 men, 3 women, 3 boys and 2 girls, 12 in
all. Mr. Hazen's nephew, John, who subsequently removed to Oromocto,
was one of the family at that time. With such a family to provide for
the grocery bill at the Company's store grew rapidly. The first item
charged to the account of the household after their arrival was 67
lbs. of moose meat at 1d. per lb.; and it is of interest to notice
that beef was then quoted at 2d. per lb., or double the price of moose
meat. It is altogether likely that with the Hazens moose steak was a
much greater rarity on their arrival than it subsequently became, for
at the time it was one of the staple articles of food and almost any
settler who wanted fresh meat could obtain it by loading his musket
and going to the woods.
[Illustration: OLD HAZEN HOUSE AND GROUNDS.
This illustration is taken from a water color sketch of
St. John now in possession of Mrs. William Hazen. The original sketch was
made by a member of the Hazen family more than eighty years ago. In the
foreground appears the Hazen house, square and substantial, and nearly in
line with and beyond it is the Chipman house, overlooking the valley;
these two houses are the oldest now standing in the city. To the right of
the Chipman house may be seen the Block-house, which formerly stood at
the corner of King and Wentworth streets. Still further to the right is
the old wind-mill tower, where the Dufferin Hotel now stands, and to the
right of this is old Trinity Church before its first spire was destroyed
by fire.]
The Hazen house still stands, considerably modernized it is true, at
the corner of Simonds and Brook streets, having withstood the ravages
of time and escaped the numerous conflagrations that have occurred in
the vicinity for more than 130 years. The present foundation is new
with the exception of the stone wall on Brook street which formed
part of the original foundation. The roof formerly pitched four ways,
running up to a peak in the centre. Some of the old studs, lately cut
out to admit of the placing of new windows, were found to be merely
spruce poles flattened on two sides with an axe; the boards too are
roughly sawn. The sheathing of the house has all been renewed and an
ell, which used to extend up Simonds street, has been taken down. The
lower flat is at present used as a grocery, the upper flat as a hall.
In olden times, and for many years, Mr. Hazen's garden and grounds
extended to the water. His residence was by far the best and most
substantial yet erected at Portland--indeed in early days it was
considered quite a mansion. The exact date of its erection, curiously
enough, has been preserved. An entry in the old day book in James
White's handwriting reads thus:--
"Nov'r 17, 1773--Wm. Hazen Dr. To 4 Gall. W. I. Rum, 3 lb. Sugar, 3
Qts. N. E. Rum, Dinner, &c., &c., 25 shillings--for Raising his
House!"
The entry shows that old time customs prevailed on the day of the
"raising." It doubtless was quite a gala day in the settlement with
everybody there to help and share in the refreshments provided.
The removal of William Hazen and his family from Newburyport to Saint
John had been planned, as already stated, several years before it was
carried into effect. It was not in any way influenced by the
threatening war clouds which at that time hung low in the sky. Mr.
Hazen's departure from Newburyport, however, was nearly coincident
with the clash of arms at Lexington, and it was not long ere the
events of the war between the old colonies and the mother country
closed the ports of Massachusetts. This unfortunate circumstance
interfered greatly with the business of Hazen, Simonds and White at
St. John.
The retirement of Leonard Jarvis from the company necessitated a new
business arrangement on the part of the remaining partners, and in
May, 1773, a verbal agreement was made between Hazen, Simonds and
White to carry on the fishery and trading in the proportions of a half
interest to William Hazen a third to James Simonds, and a sixth to
James White.
There is in one of the old account books an interesting memorandum in
the handwriting of James Simonds, covering several pages, which shows
that the company had then a large and varied assortment of goods on
hand. The list bears the following heading: "Invoice of Goods removed
from the Old to the New Store, July 21st, 1775." The "new store" was
finished about the time of Mr. Hazen's arrival; it stood a little to
the west of the first store built at the Point.
Among the buildings at Portland Point when the Hazen family arrived
were the residences of the three partners, the Lime Store, the Salt
Store--or Cooper's Shop, the Log Store, the New Store, a blacksmith
shop, two or three small dwelling houses and one or two barns, besides
a saw mill at the outlet of the mill pond, a grist mill at Lily Lake,
and one or two hovels on the marsh. The English-speaking population
settled around the shores of the harbor did not exceed one hundred and
fifty souls. Our authority on this point is indisputable. Two
documents are preserved amongst the archives at Halifax, one entitled
"A Return of the State of the Settlement at the mouth of the Harbour
of the River St. John the First day August, A. D. 1775"; the other,
"A Return of the state of the Township of Conway on the western side
of the Harbour and River St. John on First of August, 1775." The list
of inhabitants given below is compiled from these returns and shows
that the number of persons living on the opposite sides of the harbor
was nearly equal, namely, on the east side seventy and on the west
side seventy-two. The enumeration seems to have been made by James
Simonds.
PORTLAND POINT.
Name of Master or Mistress
of the Family. Men. Women. Boys. Girls. Total.
James Simonds 4 1 4 3 12
James White 4 1 1 4 10
William Hazen 4 3 3 2 12
George DeBlois 1 1 1 .. 3
Robert Cram 1 1 1 7 10
Zebulon Rowe 1 1 .. 2 4
John Nason 1 1 2 3 7
John Mack 1 .. .. .. 1
Lemuel Cleveland 1 1 1 1 4
Christopher Blake 1 1 .. 2 4
Moses Greenough 1 1 1 .. 3
-- -- -- -- --
20 12 14 24 70
CONWAY.
Name of Master or Mistress
of the Family. Men. Women. Boys. Girls. Total.
Hugh Quinton 2 2 2 4 10
Jonathan Leavitt 1 1 1 .. 3
Daniel Leavitt 1 .. .. .. 1
Samuel Peabody 1 1 1 2 5
William McKeen 2 1 5 1 9
Thomas Jenkins 1 1 3 .. 5
Moses Kimball 1 1 .. .. 2
Elijah Estabrooks 1 1 3 3 8
John Bradley 1 1 2 4 8
James Woodman 2 .. .. .. 2
Zebedee Ring 2 1 2 1 6
Gervas Say 1 1 .. .. 2
Samuel Abbott 1 .. .. .. 1
Christopher Cross 1 1 .. .. 2
John Knap 1 .. .. .. 1
Eliakim Ayer 1 .. .. 1 2
Joseph Rowe 1 1 1 2 5
-- -- -- -- --
21 13 20 18 72
Both of these little communities were of purely New England origin for
it appears from Mr. Simonds' return that every individual at Portland
Point, with the solitary exception of an Irishman, was a native of
America, and at Conway all the inhabitants, save two of English
nationality, were born in America. The Conway people, it will hardly
be necessary to remind the reader, lived in the district now occupied
by Carleton, Fairville and adjacent parts of the parish of Lancaster.
At the time of the census they had 2 horses--both owned by Hugh
Quinton, 13 oxen and bulls, 32 cows, 44 young cattle, 40 sheep and 17
swine; total number of domestic animals, 148. On the other side of the
harbor Hazen, Simonds and White were the owners of 57 horses and
mules, 18 oxen and bulls, 30 cows, 35 young cattle, 40 sheep and 6
swine; the other settlers owned 8 cows, 4 young cattle, 4 sheep and 6
swine; total number of domestic animals on the east side, 208.
It will be noticed that the names of all the adult male inhabitants do
not appear in the census lists of 1775; in the case of the households
of Messrs. Simonds, White and Hazen, for example, twelve males are
returned. These included either relatives such as John Hazen and
Stephen Peabody, who are known to have been then living at St. John,
or employes and servants who lived with their masters--among the
latter were probably Samuel Beverley, Levi Ring, Jonathan Clough,
Jacob Johnson, Edmund Black, Reuben Harbut and Michael Kelly.
Quite a number of the settlers in Conway were employed by the company
in various capacities, and as they were nearly all tenants of Hazen,
Simonds and White they generally traded at the Portland Point store.
These people suffered severely at the hands of American privateersmen
as the war progressed, and most of them were forced to abandon their
homes and move up the river for greater security.
In the years 1776 and 1777, business being nearly at a stand in
consequence of the war and the stock of goods at Portland Point much
diminished, it was agreed that James White should take charge of the
store and keep the books at a commission of five per cent. His sales
during the two years amounted to L3,150.
The war of the American Revolution was at the outset a source of
intense disappointment to Hazen, Simonds and White, although in the
end it was destined to prove the making of their fortunes by sending
the exiled Loyalists in thousands to the River St. John and thereby
rendering the lands they owned much more valuable. The war, however,
completely overturned the plans the company had in view. Our old
pioneers had learned by their experience of a dozen years to conduct
their business to the best advantage, and they now had everything in
train for a promising trade with St. Croix in the West Indies. The
hardships incident to the establishment of new settlements were over,
and the partners were now settled in comfortable homes with their
wives and children.
It may be noted in passing that early marriages were much in vogue in
those days, particularly with the ladies. Sarah Le Baron was not
sixteen years of age when she married William Hazen. Hannah Peabody
had not passed her seventeenth birthday when she married James
Simonds. Elizabeth Peabody was about seventeen when she married James
White and her sister Hephzibeth somewhat younger when she married
Jonathan Leavitt. In most cases the families were large and the "olive
branches" doubtless furnished sufficient occupation for the mothers
to keep them from feeling the loneliness of their situation. James
Simonds had fourteen children. James White and Jonathan Leavitt had
good sized families, but the Hazens undeniably carried off the
palm. Dr. Slafter in his genealogy of the Hazen family says that
William Hazen had sixteen children; possibly he may have omitted
some who died in infancy for Judge Edward Winslow writes on Jan'y
17th, 1793, to a friend at Halifax, "My two annual comforts, a child
and a fit of the gout, return invariably. They came together this
heat and, as Forrest used to say, made me as happy as if the Devil
had me. The boy is a fine fellow--of course--and makes up the number
nine now living. My old friend Mrs. Hazen about the same time
produced her nineteenth!"[89]
[89] The following inscription on the monument of Mrs. Sarah Hazen
was written by her grandson, the late Chief Justice Chipman:
Sacred to the Memory of
MRS. SARAH HAZEN,
Widow of the Honorable William Hazen, Esquire; who was
born in the Province of Massachusetts-Bay on the 22d
February, 1749; and died in the City of St. John on the
3rd April, 1823.
Exemplary for Christian piety and benevolence and the
exercise of every female virtue. She bears to her Grave
the fond recollections of a numerous host of Descendants
and the esteem and respect of the community.
While the presence of young children in their homes may have served to
enliven the situation of Saint John's pioneer settlers it added
greatly to their anxiety and distress in the ensuing war period. More
than this the absence of church and school privileges was becoming a
matter of serious consequence to the little community at Portland
Point and their friends across the harbor. We shall in the next
chapter say something of the religious teachers who endeavored to
promote the spiritual welfare of the inhabitants upon the St. John
river at this period.