ON THE EVE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
When the county of Sunbury was established in 1765, there was no
English settlement north of St. Ann's and the river was but sparsely
settled from that place to the sea. Nevertheless the immense forest
wealth of the St. John was gradually becoming known and appreciated.
The French ship of war "Avenant," as long ago as the year 1700, after
discharging her cargo of supplies for Villebon's garrison and goods
for the French traders, took on board some very fine masts for the
French navy that had been cut upon the River St. John. Afterwards,
when the control of Acadia passed into the hands of the British, they
in turn began to procure masts for the navy on the St. John. England's
place among the nations then, as now, depended very largely on the
efficiency of her navy, and the reservation of trees suitable for
masts for the largest ships of war became a matter of national
concern. In consequence Governor Legge, at the request of the home
government, desired Charles Morris, the Surveyor general of Nova
Scotia, to report as to ungranted lands in the province that might be
reserved for the purpose of supplying masts for the navy. On the 21st
May, 1774, Mr. Morris submitted his report. He states that his
knowledge of the country was based upon personal observations during a
residence of nearly twenty-eight years, in the course of which he had
visited nearly all parts of the province. In the Nova Scotian
peninsula there were very few pines fit for masts, but on the River
St. John, above the settlements, and on the other rivers flowing into
it were great quantities of pine trees fit for masts and great
quantities of others growing into that state, which being so far
inland, protected by growth of other timber and by hills, and remote
from those violent gales which infest the coast would prove the most
desirable reserve for the purpose intended. Mr. Morris adds: "I am of
opinion that a reserve of all the lands on the River St. John above
the settlements for the whole course of the river, at least
twenty-five miles on each side, will be the most advantageous reserve
to the Crown of lands within this province, especially as the river is
navigable for boats and rafting of masts the whole course of it, as
also for rafting of masts in the several branches of it; and in this
tract is contained a black spruce, fit for yards and topmasts, and
other timber fit for ship-building."
The importance to coming generations of the "black spruce, fit for
yards and top-masts," was little dreamed of by Charles Morris.
However, it seems that in accordance with his recommendation the
region of the upper St. John was at this time reserved to the crown
because its towering pines supplied the best masts in the world for
the British navy, and at the close of the American Revolution it was
still unbroken forest.
After the formation of the County of Sunbury, April 30, 1765,
magistrates and other officers were appointed and representatives
chosen to sit in the House of Assembly. Some of our local historians,
including the late Moses H. Perley, have stated that the first
representative of Sunbury County was Charles Morris jr., but although
Mr. Morris may have been the first to take his seat he was not the
first elected representative. The late Thos. B. Akins, of Halifax,
a recognized authority on all points of local history, in a
communication to the late J. W. Lawrence states that the election
writs on file at Halifax give the names of Capt. Beamsley Glasier and
Capt. Thomas Falconer as the first representatives of the County of
Sunbury. It does not appear that either of these gentlemen attended
the sessions of the House of Assembly, and as it was the rule for
members who were absent two years to forfeit their seats for
non-attendance, a new election was held in 1768, when Richard
Shorne and Phinehas Nevers were returned. The House of Assembly was
dissolved two years later, and at the ensuing general election
Charles Morris, jr., and Israel Perley were returned; the former took
his seat but Mr. Perley appears never to have done so and in 1773
James Simonds was elected in his stead. Mr. Simonds was in attendance
in October, 1774, and took the customary oath, being the first
inhabitant of the county to take his seat in the legislative halls of
Nova Scotia. A little later William Davidson was elected a member
and he and James Simonds were the sitting members when the old
Province of Nova Scotia was divided at the isthmus and the Province
of New Brunswick constituted in 1784.
Among the earliest magistrates of the County of Sunbury were John
Anderson, Beamsley Glasier, Francis Peabody, James Simonds, James
White, Israel Perley, Jacob Barker, Phinehas Nevers and Gervas Say.
The Courts of General Sessions of the Peace meet regularly at
Maugerville and transacted such business as was necessary, appointed
constables and other parish officers, administered justice and so
forth. Benjamin Atherton was clerk of the peace for the county,
James Simonds registrar of deeds and judge of probate, and James
White deputy sheriff. The first collector of customs was Capt.
Francis Peabody, who died in 1773. The attention given to the
collection of duties was but nominal and Charles Newland Godfrey
Jadis, a retired army officer who had settled at Grimross on the
St. John river, wrote to the secretary of state in 1773 calling
his attention to the prevalence of smuggling of which "Major-Ville"
was the centre, connived at, as he alleges, by the magistrate and
collector. This little incident is an indication that the sentiment
of the Massachusetts settlers of Maugerville was identical with that
of their kinsmen in New England in regard to the enactment of the
stamp act and the duties imposed by the British government.
A few particulars of interest regarding the settlers on the River St.
John are to be gleaned from the papers of David Burpee,[100] at one
time deputy sheriff of the county. There were very few framed
dwellings, nearly all the settlers living in log houses. As late as
1783 there were in Gagetown, Burton, and at St. Anns and vicinity
about 76 houses occupied by English inhabitants, of which only 9 were
framed buildings. The proportion of framed dwellings in Maugerville
was little better, the vast majority being log houses.
[100] See Hannay's article on the Maugerville Settlement, Collections
of N. B. Hist. Soc., Vol. 1, p. 63.
Horses were few and nearly all the ordinary farm work was done by
oxen. It is doubtful if any of the settlers owned a carriage, wagon or
sleigh at this time. Carts were generally used in summer and sleds in
winter. Some of the men owned saddles, of which there was much
borrowing, and there were a few pillions for the ladies. Traveling in
the summer time on land was either on horseback or afoot for the roads
were too bad to admit of the use of wheeled vehicles.
All the cooking in those days was done at old-fashioned fireplaces and
the utensils included a gridiron, toasting iron, frying pan, iron
kettle and a number of pots and pans. The dishes used in the farm
houses were mostly of pewter and their number limited.
A broadcloth coat or a beaver hat was a valuable asset which might be
handed down to the second or even the third generation. A decent
broadcloth suit would cost a man as much as he could earn in three
months at the current rate of wages, after paying his board;
consequently the early settler did not often indulge in the luxury of
a new suit. Leather breeches were commonly worn, and from their
lasting qualities were an economical garment.
The money handled by the early settlers was quite insignificant;
nearly all transactions were of the nature of barter. Corn and furs
were the staple articles of trade. The value of corn varied
considerably, according to the season, from 4 shillings to 8 shillings
a bushel, the average rate 5 to 6 shillings. Half a bushel of corn was
the equivalent of a week's board. The ordinary rate of farm wages was
2s. a day except for such work as mowing, framing, hoeing corn, and
raking hay, for which the rate was 2s. 6d. a day. The wages of a woman
servant were 10s. a month and as all articles of clothing were very
dear compared with modern prices, they became excessively so when the
rate of wages was taken into account. It took a whole month's wages to
purchase a pair of stays and two months wages to buy a gown. A pair of
silk mits cost 5s. 6d. and a lawn handkerchief 6s. 6d. Calico was
charged as high as 6s. a yard and cotton wool at 6s. 6d per lb. As a
rule everything that had to be purchased out of a store was dear,
while the prices of country produce were exactly the reverse. Butter
sold as low as 6d. per lb.; lamb at 2-1/2d. per lb.; beef, 1-1/2 to
3d. per lb.; geese at 3s. each; fowls 1s.; potatoes 1s. 3d. a bushel.
Dr. Hannay quotes the following as a transaction on the part of Mr.
Burpee, which would be regarded as unusual at the present day:
"September 30, 1778.
"Took a hog of Mr. Joseph Howlin of Burton to fat, the hog weighs
now 113 lbs. and I am to have as many pounds of pork as he weighs
more when I kill him.
"Dec. 1st, 1778, killed Mr. Howlin's hog. Weighed before he was
killed 181 lbs."
Showing that Mr. Burpee obtained 68 lbs. of pork as the result of
his bargain.
David Burpee taught school one winter, receiving 4s. per month for
each pupil. The tuition fees were paid in a great variety of ways;
in work, in grain, leather, musquash skins, rum, hauling hay and
making shoes; he only handled 10s. in cash for his entire winter's
work.
In the year 1770 Mr. Burpee kept a diary which, while it contains some
facts of interest, serves on the whole to show how narrow and
monotonous was the life of the early settlers on the St. John. On
Sundays they attended religious services held at the houses most
convenient for the purpose and in the winter there was some social
visiting. However, we are now to speak of more stirring events.
Many were the trials and tribulations of the dwellers on the St.
John--particularly of those living at the mouth of the river--during
the American Revolution. Most of their calamities might have been
avoided had an efficient garrison been maintained at Fort Frederick,
but the troops were withdrawn from that post in 1768 and sent to
Boston in consequence of disturbances there, and for five or six years
the care of the fort and barracks was entrusted to James Simonds.
Lord William Campbell reported, about the close of 1771: "Since Fort
Frederick at the entrance of St. John's river has been dismantled and
the garrison, which formerly consisted of an officers' command,
reduced to a corporal and four privates, he had had frequent
complaints of the Indians on the river." The presence of a half dozen
soldiers was of little utility at any time and of no utility whatever
after the Revolution began. It was not until the erection of Fort Howe
that adequate steps were taken for the protection of the inhabitants.
The year 1774 was an extremely busy one at St. John. Our old pioneers
James Simonds, James White and William Hazen were making strenuous
efforts to place settlers upon their lands in the township of Conway,
while at the same time Mr. Hazen's house was being finished at
Portland Point, an aboideau was being built to reclaim the "great
marsh," and the business of the fishery, lime-burning and general
trade was being vigorously prosecuted. Troublous times were now at
hand.
The situation of Hazen, Simonds and White when hostilities arose
between the old colonies and the mother country was very embarrassing.
By birth and early association they were New Englanders and most of
their old time friends and neighbors were hostile to the crown.
Massachusetts was practically the cradle of the Revolution, and the
vast majority of its inhabitants were bitterly opposed to the King and
his government. But while Simonds, White and Hazen were Massachusetts
men they now held various official positions under the government of
Nova Scotia and had sworn true allegiance to the King. Very likely
they would have gladly assumed a neutral attitude in the approaching
contest, but alas for them the force of events left no room for
neutrality.
It is clear that at the beginning of the war the people of Massachusetts
hoped for the cordial support of the settlers on the River St. John. This
is probably the reason why the small colony at Portland Point was not
molested during the early stages of the war and that William Hazen was
able on two occasions to obtain the release of the company's schooner
"Polly" after she had been taken by American privateers. But as the war
progressed considerate treatment gave place to acts of vandalism, and the
sentiments of the settlers at St. John towards their old compatriots of
Massachusetts became intensely bitter. Their tenants in the township of
Conway were driven from their homes and obliged to seek refuge up the
river, and those living at Portland Point suffered equal hardships.
When the Loyalists arrived in 1783, it was proposed that the township
of Conway should be escheated for their benefit. James Simonds
protested stoutly against this, representing the expense that had been
incurred in the endeavor to settle the township and the losses and
sufferings of the tenants who were for a long time unprotected against
the depredations of the enemy. He adds, "Instead of our being stripped
of our rights to make amends for the losses of the Loyalists, who were
plundered in New York or elsewhere, we have at least as weighty
reasons as they can possibly offer to claim restitution from
Government for the value of all the property taken from us, our
distress by imprisonment, etc. They had a numerous British army to
protect them, we had to combat the sons of darkness alone. In a word
we had much less than they to hope for by unshaken loyalty and
incomparably more to fear."
The statement of Mr. Simonds is confirmed by Major Studholme who wrote
to Gov'r. Parr, "Messrs. Hazen and Simonds, two of the original
proprietors of Conway, have at different times placed a number of
settlers on the lands of that Township and have used every effort on
their parts to comply with the terms of their Grant, but the continual
robberies committed by the Rebel boats during the war, to which these
settlements have been exposed, obliged a number of their tenants to
remove. However, as every exertion was used by them I take the liberty
to recommend their claims on that Township to your consideration."
During the earlier stages of the Revolution the attitude of the people
of Machias on the one hand, and of the inhabitants of the township of
Cumberland on the other, proved a matter of concern to the dwellers on
the River St. John. Machias was settled in 1763 by a colony from
Scarborough, one of the oldest towns in Massachusetts. During the war
it was the asylum of disloyal spirits who fled thither from various
parts of Nova Scotia. The township of Cumberland included a
considerable portion of what is now the county of Westmorland. The
inhabitants were mostly natives of New England, and many of them warm
sympathizers with the revolutionary pasty. Jonathan Eddy was their
representative in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1774, and John
Allan in 1776. Eddy and Allan, aided by William Howe and Samuel
Rogers, succeeded in stirring up an active rebellion in Cumberland,
which called for prompt action on the part of the Government of Nova
Scotia. The leaders fled to Machias and a reward of L200 was offered
for the apprehension of Eddy and L100 for each of the others.
The attitude of the Indians was another matter of serious concern to
the settlers on the River St. John. Immediately after the Declaration
of Independence the American congress authorized Washington to call
forth and engage the Indians of Nova Scotia, St. John and Penobscot to
take up the hatchet and fight against the English. With strange
inconsistency Congress a few days later, in an address to the people
of Ireland, denounced the King of England on the ground that "the wild
and barbarous savages of the wilderness have been solicited by gifts
to take up the hatchet against us, and instigated to deluge our
settlements with the blood of defenceless women and children."
The Micmacs seem to have been reluctant to take sides in the contest
and in answer to John Allan's solicitations they said, with quiet
dignity, "We do not comprehend what all this quarreling is about. How
comes it that Old England and New England should quarrel and come to
blows? The father and the son to fight is terrible! Old France and
Canada did not do so; we cannot think of fighting ourselves till we
know who is right and who is wrong."
The style of argument employed to induce the simple minded natives to
side with the Americans is seen in the letter addressed to them by the
agent of the Congress of Massachusetts (May 15, 1775), in which the
following statements occur: "The ministry of Great Britain have laid
deep plots to take away our liberty and your liberty; they want to get
all our money and make us pay it to them when they never earned it; to
make you and us their servants and let us have nothing to eat, drink
or wear but what they say we shall; and prevent us from having guns
and powder to kill our deer and wolves and other game or to send to
you to kill your game with so as to get skins and fur to trade with us
for what you want. * * * We want to know what you our good brothers
want from us of clothing or warlike stores, and we will supply you as
fast as we can. We will do all for you we can and fight to save you at
any time. * * * The Indians at Stockbridge all join with us and some
of their men have enlisted as soldiers and we have given each of them
a blanket and a ribbon, and they will be paid when they are from home
in the service, and if any of you are willing to enlist we shall do
the same for you. * * * Brothers, if you will let Mr. John Preble know
what things you want he will take care to inform us and we will do the
best for you we can."
In consequence of the inducements of Allan and the other agents,
Pierre Tomah and Ambroise St. Aubin, leading chiefs of the Maliseets
of the River St. John, went to the trading post the Americans had
established at Penobscot, and signed an agreement to the following
effect: "We heartily join with our brethren the Penobscot Indians
in everything that they have or shall agree with our brethren of the
colony of Massachusetts, and are resolved to stand together and
oppose the people of Old England that are endeavoring to take your and
our lands and liberties from us. * * * We desire that you will help
us to a priest that he may pray with us to God Almighty, etc.,
etc." The Indians agreed to bring their furs and skins to Penobscot
and to procure their provisions, goods and ammunition there. Many
of them were heavily in debt to Simonds & White, so that the prospect
of a new trading post with no old scores to settle appeared to them
particularly inviting.
Washington honored the Indians with letters accompanied by belts of
wampum, after the approved Indian fashion. A delegation from the St.
John river, Pierre Tomah at its head, went soon afterwards to
Washington's headquarters on the Delaware, where they received a
flattering welcome and were sumptuously entertained. On the 24th
December, 1776, Washington thus addressed them:
"Brothers of the St. John's tribe: It gave me great pleasure to hear
by Major Shaw that you keep the chain of Friendship, which I sent you
in February last from Cambridge, bright and unbroken. I am glad to
hear that you have made a treaty of peace with your brothers and
neighbors of Massachusetts Bay. My good friend and brother, Gov'r
Pierre Tommah, and the warriors that came with him shall be taken good
care of, and when they want to return home they and our brothers of
Penobscot shall be furnished with everything necessary for their
journey. * * * Never let the King's wicked counsellors turn your
hearts against me and your brethren of this country, but bear in mind
what I told you last February and what I tell you now."
Washington's overtures were not without effect. This is evident from
the fact that the Maugerville people in May, 1776, reported that Gen.
Washington's letter had set the Indians on fire, and they were
plundering all people they thought to be Tories, and that perhaps when
the supply of Tories was exhausted others might share the name fate.
"We think it necessary," they added, "that some person of consequence
be sent among them." The Indians had always been allies of the French
and had never fully accepted the change of ownership on the River St.
John. They were disposed to view the cause of the Americans with
favor, more particularly when the French became their allies.
John Allan was by far the most active and energetic agent of Congress
in dealing with the Indians. He was born in Edinburgh and when four
years of age accompanied his parents to Halifax when that city was
founded by Cornwallis. At the commencement of the Revolution he lived
near Fort Cumberland, on the New Brunswick side of the isthmus of
Chignecto and carried on an extensive Indian trade visiting all the
villages as far west as the Penobscot river. His estimate of the
Indians is not particularly flattering. He says: "The Indians are
generally actuated according to the importance or influence any one
has who lives among them. They are credulous to a degree, will listen
to every report, and generally believe it and think everything true
that is told them."
We shall presently see that Allan was able to make good use of his
knowledge of the weaknesses of Indian nature. He was appointed
superintendent of the Eastern Indians in 1777 by the Massachusetts
Congress, with the military rank of Colonel. He was the most
persevering and troublesome antagonist the British had in Eastern New
England. Had it not been for his exertions it is probable the
Americans would have lost their outpost at Machias, and it is possible
that the English would then have held the country as far west as the
River Kennebeck.