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^XISTOI^^S"
or
THE TOWNSHIPS OF DARTMOUTH,
PRESTON AND LAWRENCETOWN :
HALIFAX COUNTY, N. S.
(.BJdaa.* 33aj»tonc«J. Fxlz* E«
••.y.)
BY
MRS. WIUr.IAM KAWSON.
(Mary Jane Katzmann.)
EDITED BY HARRY PIERS.
PI BUSHED HY PERMISSION OF KINGS COLLEGE IVINUSOK.
HALIFAX, N. S. :
^/lOR-^or^J & co.
1'iuniM.ixi HnnK Sihki:.
1893.
Entered aciordiiiB to Act cii Parliament of Canada, in the Office of the
Minister of Agriculture, at Ottawa, in the year one thousand eight hundred
and ninety-three, by the Board of Governors of King's College, Windsor, N. S.
Nova Scotia Printing Co. HAiiFAy.
H ISTOR Y
OF
TOWNSHIP OF DARTMOUTH,
i
PRKP'ACE.
Thk present history of a portion of the County of Hahfax,
Nova Scotia, was prepared a few years ago by the late Mrs.
William La\vson,whohad long been well known as a contributor
of verse to the papers of the day. It was written rather hastily,
in order to compete for the Akins Historical I'rize of 1887,
which was awarded to it by King's College, Windsor. This
unavoidable rapidity will account for the necessity of several
changes which have been made before sending it to the
printer, and also for any defects which still remain. The
alterations have been made chiefly with a view to gain belter
order and more accuracy.
Mrs. Lawson, formerly Mary Jane Katzmann, was born and
lived for many years in the neighbourhood of Preston, and her
mother's family likewise resided in the same place. She there-
fore had an opportunity, such as few others have had, of
collecting the chronicles of the surrounding district. This she
did to a certain extent in a scries of articles entitled "Tales of
Our Village " which appeared in The Provincial, a magazine
which had been edited by her about forty years ago. In
that series, however, names of persons and places were not
mentioned, and the stories were interwoven with much material
which was avowedly fictitious. Afterwards when the Akins
I'rize was oftered, she was stimulated to write a more extensive
and accurate history, with the present result. He who desires
an ornate account, will consult The Provincial ; he who wishes
fo have only such information as is authentic, will find it in this
volume.
In writing the history of townships like Dartmouth, Preston,
and Lawrencetown, the author, owing to the narrowness of the
field, has frequently to treat of subjects which would not be
touched in a more comprehensive account. This necessity of
dealing with minutia; leads to the introduction of tales and other
minor traditions, which often have greater interest than a less
particular narrative, as the details of a novel possess more
charms than a discription of the plot alone or a mere re'stime oi
the story. The annals of Dartmouth and its sister townships.
Iv
PREKACE.
contain several tales of a by-gone age, whose recital has often
brought tears to humble eyes and which may yet have a charm
for a more general and critical audience. He whom they
interest not, has no love for local history, nor the simple legends
which lend a fascination and glow of romance to any locality,
and which make the sympathetic hearer loiter about a hallowed
spot with feelings no ordinary man of the world can understand.
The preservation of the stories of the ill-fated relative of the
Empress Eugenie, the mysterious Margaret Floyer and the
French Ciovernor, the tragic death of poor Mary Russell, the
sad fates of the Meagher and Jones children, and the two
Smiths, together with the accounts of other minor occurrences,
is owing, doubtless, to the pen of Mrs. Lawson, who when but
a girl had often listened with rare attention to their recital
during the long winter evenings at Maroon Hall. These tales
possibly constitute the pCue <ie resistance of the present book,
and it was to a great extent their presence which first sug-
gested to me the desirability of publication.
In preparing the history for the press, I have endeavoured
to revise the manuscript in the manner in which the author
herself no doubt would have done before finally committing it
to the printer. An attempt has been made, as far as lay in my
power, to verify the whole matter, especially the dates.
Where the latter were often not mentioned, I have made great
efforts to obtain them, and if unquestionable, they have been
inserted directly in the text. The greatest caution, however,
has been exercised in doing this, and where doubt existed,
the dates have been usually placed in the footnotes. These
searches have often cost actually days of diligent investigation,
the result of wh.ch merely appears as a few figures. The
satisfaction, however, of any additional exactness which might
be so obtained, is alone sufficient reward for all such trouble.
With still more time, many other unmentioned dates and
additional information could have been obtained.
I have striven in every way, however, conscientiously to
retain inviolable the author's work, save where faithfulness to
truth or the principles of style rendered it unquestionably
desirable to make slight changes. Such changes would have
I'HRPACR.
been no doiiht insoitcd by tlip aiitlior herself if time had been
available in wliicli lo rcvi-e innrc tlioroiighly the manuscript-
Before making' alterations of the first kind, they hn'»» usually
been veritic<l in two nr three ways.
The history of I'reston was founri to contain several narra-
tions-such as the tales of Margaret Floycr, Mary Russell,
and the Jones children - which undoubtedly belong to that of
Dartmouth. The liberty has been taken to transfer these to
their correct places. Maroon Mall also was situated just
without the Preston boundary according to the original grant,
and its history therefore in truth belongs to that of the sister
township, but as the old house was so very intimately connected
with the fonrer district, it was considered absurd to alter its
place in the volume. The story of the Meagher children has
likewise been suffered to remain in the account of Prestoni
under a similar but somewhat less justifiable plea. The
details relating to the Montagu gold district will also be found
in this township. A number of minor portions have been
placed in a more systematic order, and the whole has been
divided into chapters which will somewhat facilitate reference.
As has been mentioned in one of the footnotes, the account of
VVaverley, although altogether irrelevant to the subject, has not
been excluded, as it no doubt contains useful information.
The space bestowed by the author upon some subjects
is rather disproportionate to that devoted to others. For
example, the account of that very worthy and remarkable
man, Titus Smith, — one who has never received sufficient
applause,— is possibly somewhat lengthy under the circum-
stances, and carries one altogether out of the township, yet
no one surely would cavil at an extended notice of this
unassuming naturalist, a full biography of whom is a great
desideratum. Such a biography would be laden with numer-
ous interesting anecdotes. For the present, many will be
pleased with the extensive sketch contained herein. A similar
instance will be found in the particulars of the Morris family,
and in a few other portions of the volume. All of these
examples of unusual repleteness can very easily be pardoned,
for such information is useful and should be preserved, —
VI
rilEKACE.
csiicrially in a history like the present, which has to deaf
largely with details.
The account of the old ferries was altogether erroneous and
had to be entirely re-written from new material. It was also
found that no notice had lieen taken of the Roman Catholic,
i'reshyterian, Methodist, and Haptist Churches, save in a single
l)araj,'ra|/h. Sketches of these had therefore to be prepared.
Of course the reader has been apprised in the footnotes of
such insrrtions. Whenever possible, the general history has
been brought down to the present date — Mrs. Lawson's essay
having concluded with the year 1887. Some might think this
unnecessary, but it must be considered that such portions as
are of recent date will some day be the history of long ago.
In lieu of a map, the positions of the various places men-
tioned, are usually described with as much exactness as
possible in the footnotes, or by the introduction of n word or
two in the text itself.
In the course of my revisal of the work, I have consulted a
mass of old records, and interviewed many of the older
residents. The history could have been much amplified, but
my range was necessarily limited by the scope of the original
manuscript. With these restrictions in view, I have laboured
impartially and conscientiously at the book, in an endeavour
to make it as far as possible one which I myself in the future
can take from my shelf with a confidence engendered by
verilication. My portion of the work I fully know could have
been done much better by many other men, and therefore
some .ipology is necessary for the result I, however, have been
honestly interested in the laljour, which has been accomplished
as well as my abilities allowed. My best, is no doubt other
men's poorest ; but possiljly faults and errors which were
entirely undesigned will be pardoned through the leniency of
the reader rather than because of their own fewness. I shall
be much pleased if the critic finds anything whatever to
approve of in my part ; Mrs. Lawson's requires little or no
apology.
'' St(xnyaH;' Halifax J II.ARRY PlERS.
Sth December, iSgj.
HISTORY OF TOWNSHIP OF DARTMOUTH.
CHAPTER I.
FJIOM THE FI»ST SE'ITI.EMKXT UNTIL THE DEPARTURE
OF THE QUAKERS.
WHEN in th.
sloop S2)h
the month of Jmu', 1749, the wnr-
Hnx suiled up Chelucto Bay, fol-
lowed l.y thirteen tian.sports, a wonderful
panorama of wood and water met the e^-es of the
mariners and weary emi^rrants. One month before,
they had left behind them the coast of England, and
the beauty of that dear ol.l land was still fre.sh
in their memories. Its smiling Holds and happy
homesteads hel.l all they loved the best; the new
country was brightened by pos,sibilities alone. We
can well imagine the mingled feelings of hope and
apprehension which must have stinvd their hearts as
they entered the harbour which has since become
so familiar and so dear to their descendants.
On that early summer morning, the rocky shore
of Sambro, with its rough headlands so often beaten
2
HISTORY OP DAUTMOUTII.
by boisterous waves, lay calm and peaceful beneath
the rising sun. The many coves and other inlets,
now known to us by long-familiar names, were full
of freshness and variety. Ketch Harbour, Purcell's,
Portuguese and Herring Coves, unknown to story and
undisturbed by man, were nestling in their beauti-
ful surroundings, reflecting the graceful images of
the drooping trees on the banks above. McNab's,
George's, and Lawlor's Islands, covered with forest
trees and herbage of the most delicate green, rose up
like emerald mounds in a setting of amethyst. The
North-West Arm, that picturesque extension of the
sea, was coquetting with the golden-tinted clouds in
the heavens above. The circular elevation, which
for more than a hundred years has borne the chief
fortification of Halifax, rose stately to the westward,
crowning the lessening distance, and clothed with a
mass of variegated forest which displayed every
variety of green, from that of the dusky pine to the
tender tint of the larch tassels. We are told that the
thick woods grew down to the water's edge. The
aspens trembled in the languid south wind ; the
wild fruit trees lifted their sweet, snowy blossoms
to the sun. Birch and beech trees, with here and
there an oak, towered above the alders of le-sser
size, and contrasted with the firs and spruces thickly
set together. The undergrowth of ferns, vines,
FROM THE SETTLEMENT UNTIL 1792.
1 beneath
ler inlets,
were full
Purcell's.
story and
r beau ti-
llages of
McXab's,
h forest
rose up
5t. The
1 of the
ouds in
which
e chief
^tward,
with a
every
to the
lat the
The
; the
>ssoms
e and
leaser
lickly
t'ines.
mosses, and blossoming wild-flowers were spread
as a carpet. The mayflower had faded in its cool
mossy bed. but the frail iinna^a drooped its bells as'
the summer winds rifled them of their fragrance.
All nature gave a glad and welcoming smile to the
brave „,en who ha<J crossed the sea to make a home
in the new land.
When all the ships had arrived, the intending
settlers held council, and proceeded to decide what
spot should be the site of their future dwelling places
Some advised its location near the end of the penin-
sular, m the vicinity of what is now known as Point
Pleasant. A larger number were in favour of the
eastern shore, where now lies the township of
Dartn.outh, thinking its pxsition more picturesque
and suitable* Finally, however, the site where the
present city stands was chosen, and the name
Halifax was given to the place in honour of the
president of the Lonls of Trade and Plantation..
Soon the stately trees which had long stood as the
HISTORY OP DARTMOUTH.
guardians of the soil, fell fast under the axes wielded
by the strong arms of the English pioneers, who
lived under canvas and in rough shanties hastily
put up for temporary occupation. The work of
clearing and building went on vigorou.sly, and by
the middle of October some hundreds of houses were
in course of erection, and many had been completed.
The town had been laid out and divided into blocks
and streets, and the settlers comfortably housed,-
before the forest on the opposite side of the harbour
was invaded.* The latter was then the home and
huntinor-ground of the Mlcmac Indians. This tribe
•.Shortly after the settlement of Halifax, Major Oilman erected
a saw-mill in Dartmouth Cove. It was iloubtlcss situated on the
stream which flows from the Dartmouth Lakes, but the exact site
I have been unable to ascertain. Tiie land laid out for the saw-
mill appears under the name of E/ekiel Oilman, on an old plan in
the Department of Crown Lands, Halifax. The boundary of the
plot began on the above stream, at a spot close to the present
Prpsbytei ian Church, or about tiiirty chains from Collins's Point,
near the Chebucto Marine Railway. From thence it ran north
65° east, about sixty chains ; thence north 3.j° west for about
forty-two chains ; thence south 55' west, for seventy-two and a
half chains ; thence south 3.5° east, for about fifty chains, or until
it reached the stream before-mentioned. This embraced half of the
First Lake, and land to the south cast and south-west of it. A
plan of the Harbour of Chebucto and Town of Hulifax, which
appeared in The Getilleman's Mafjazine ior Ju\y, 1750 (piige 295),
shows three streams falling into Daitinouth Cove. The middle one
of these is called "Saw Mill River." This name was probably
intended to have been applied to the most northern of the three,
and the transposition may have been an error of the draughtsman.
A building marked " Major Gilniot's " (Oilman's?) appears near
FROM THE SETTLEMENT UNTIL 1792.
had for generations wandered through the woods on
either side of Chebucto Harbour, the original owners
and masters of the great wilderness around them.
A few years before the arrival of Cornwallis, the
harbour had been visited by a portion of the fever-
stricken French fleet, under the command of Nicolas
de la Rochefoucauld, Due d'Anville, which had
anchored in Bedford Basin. The English, hear-
ing of this from some fishermen on the coast,
came into the harbour in search of the vessels,
but believ'ing that navigation terminated at
the Narrows, they did not discover the position
the end of the point named Warren's Point on tlie plan, but
since known as Collins's Point. On Sivturdny, 30th September,
O. S., 1749, six men, without arms, were cutting wood near
Gibnan's mill. The Indians attacked them, killing four and
carrying off one. The sixth man escaped. On 30th April, 1750,
Cornwallis writes, that he never had one Iward from the
saw-mill. " It hns been," he says, " my conHtant plague from
the begintiing ; thirty men have been constantly kept there
ever since the afTitir of the Indians." Between April and July,
1750, Oilman gave up the mill, and it was let to Capt. William
Clapham. In June, 175*2, the government mills at Dartmouth
were sold at auction, for £310, to Major Ezekiel Oilman. During
the winter of 174'J-5(), the storeship Duke of Bidford and an
armed sloop, were anchored in Dartmouth Cove, and the ice
was broken around them every night in order to prevent the
approach of the Indians. They were also within " Gun Shot of the
Fort at the Sawmill." (See MS. Minutes of Council, Sunday, 7th
January, 1750). According to Dr. Akins, the ships were under
cover of a gun which was mounted on a point near the saw-mill.
This, I suppose, was Collins's Point. — Ed.
6
HISTORY C DARTMOUTH.
of the French ships, and returned to sea. Several
hundreds of the French died at Chebucto, and large
numbers were interred on the Dartmouth side, not
far from the shore. A great quantity of the bones
have been dug up near the Canal bridge, and on the
Eastern Passage road, also in other places by work-
men repairing the highways. D'Anville died, some
say of poison, and the vice-admiral of the flfeet*
d'Estournelle, killed himself with his sword.*
•D'Aiiville'a fleet left Roclielle on 22nd June, 1746, N. S., and
was soon scattered by storms. The Duke arrived at Chebucto on
10th September, and on the 16th he died and was buried on
George's Island. Fever had broken out among the men while at
sea, and from 1200 to 1300 were buried during the voyage. After
the remains of the fleet reached Cliebucto, it was found necessary
to encamp the men, which was accordingly done. Various
traditions are related as to the site of this encampment. In my
m:nd there seems to be no doubt that the main one was on the
western or south-western side of Bedford Basin, at what is still
known as French Landing— between the Three- and Four- Mile
Houses. Behind Birch Cove there is an old burying-ground, with-
out headstones of any kind, and about whiih no one apparently haa
any credible information. Some consider it to be a Micmac ceme-
tery, but I have opened a few of the graves, and found a small tuft
of dark brown hair on one of the skulls, which proves that it was
n^t that of an Indian. Halibui ton in Thp, Clockmaker (Third Series,
Ciiaptcr II) speaks of this as the burial placd of d'Anville's men,
and he says that at that time the hulls of some of the French
ships could be seen beneath the water near by. If the bones found
at Dartmouth near the Canal Bridge and on the Eastern Passage
Koad, were those of d'Anville's men, they must have been buried
there previous to the formation of the regular encampment on the
shores of Bedford Basin. I have been told that one of the skulls
FROM THE SETTLEMENT UNTIL 1792.
In the month of Aufjust, 1750, the Alderney, a
ship of 504 tons, arrived at Halifax, with three hun-
dred and fifty-three emigrants. It was thought
advisable by the authorities to whom the interests of
the new settlement were entrusted, that these later
settlers should occupy the eastern shore of the
harbour. A town was accordingly laid out
It was given the name
in the autumn of 1750.
foand at Dartmouth had gold-filling in the teeth. There is no
positive evidence for stating that these were men of the French
fleet. Mr. Heorge Shields, an aged inhabitant, says that about
sixty years ago there was a small island, which has since dis-
appeared from the action of the sea, north of Mott's wharf in
Dartmouth Cove. This was an old burying ground, and contained
many human br , which, he says, were those of Frenchmen. The
island, hov oes not appear on the early p'ans of the place.
(See a subia^ ,uent note. ) I do not know what warrant there is for the
statement that the English came into the harbour, but failed to find
the enemy. It is copied from a paragraph in " Sketches of Dart-
mouth," by M. B. DcsBrisay, in the Provincial Magazine, vol. I,
page 95. According to Murdoch and Haliburton, 11.30 Frenchmen
perished at CheSucto, of the frightful disease which afflicted tliem.
The Micmacs to this day remember the sickness which they caught
from the foreigners at that time, and which destroyed, it is said,
more than a third of the tribe. Although the main incidents of
this ill-fated expedition are well known, yet the minor particulars
are meagre, or else very discrepant. Even the place or places
where the fever stricken men were landed and over a thousand of
them were burie<l, is still not definitely known. Tlie matter
much needs elucidation ; and the writer who treats thoroughly
of the expedition in all its details, will be doing a work of
much interest, for we cannot but be concerned by the tragic fate of
this terrible armament which was humbled by storm, sickness, and
AevAh.—Ed.
8
HISTORY OF DARTMOUTH.
of Dartmouth,* and apportioned as the home of
the newly arrived settlers.
From their earliest occupancy of the place, they
had much to contend with, owing to the incursions
of the Indians. The latter, under cover of the
"woods, were constantly lying in wait for the settlers,
surprising and overpowering them, and leaving very
few of the unfortunate people to the enjoyment
of their new home.
There was a guard-hou.se and small military post
at Dartmouth from the earliest settlement of the
town. These were stationed on a hill commanding a
good view of the harbour, and within easy distance
of the water. It is still known as Block-House
Hill, although all traces of its former use have long
ago passed away.-f*
•The town was doubtless named in honour of William Lcgge,
Ist Eurl of Dartmouth. This nobleman enjoyed the confidence of
Queen Anne, and in 1710 became one of her principal Secretaries
of State. In September of the following year, he was made
Viscount Lewisham and Earl of Dartmouth, and in 1713 was
appointed lord-privy-seal. On the death of the queen, he was one
of the lords-justices of Great Britain. His lordship married in
1700, Anne, dauglitt- r of Heneage, Earl of Ay?esford. He died on
16th December, 1750, and was succeeded by his grandson. — Ed.
t Block-House Hill is at the north-western end of King Street.
The block-house, of which no portion now remains, is said to have
been situated on the highest part of the ground which is at pre-
sent bounded by Prince Edward, Church, Wentworth, and North
FROM THE SETTLEMENT UNTIL 1792.
In tho sprin«T of 1751, nine hundred and fifty
Germans arrived as settlers in Nova Scotia ; and in
the following year, one thousand more of the same
nationality. Some difficulty appears to have been
experienced by the government in providing a suit-
able situation for settling so large a number of
persons. It was proposed in council to place them
on the Dartmouth side of the harbour, over against
George's Island, and Captain Charles Morris was
sent to survey the ground. This arrangement was
not carried into cfiect, and the greater part of the
German settlers were sent in 1753 to Malagash Bay,
where they built the town of Lunenburg.
Streets. King Street very likely passes over or near the site.
Strange to say, I have been unable to find the building on any of
the old plans, either military or civil. The following order was
issued on SlstDeccmber, 1750 : —
WiiERKAS, it has been represented to His Ex'y, that several
persons who have lots in Dartnio. do reside on this side of the
water, and whereas a watch is absolutely necessa.y for the safety
of the place, notice is hereby given to such persons that if they do
not pay one sinlling for ench guard as it comes to their turn, they
shall forfeit their lots in Dartmonth,
Halifax, DecemV. Slat, 1750.
By bis Excellency's command,
VVm. CctTTERELL.
On 2.3rd February, Mnl, 0. S., Cornwallis ordered that a sergeant
and ten or twelve men of the niilitary of Dartmouth, should mount
guard at night, in tho block-house, and that they should be visited
from time to time by the lieutenant. — Ed,
10
HISTORY OF DARTMOUTH.
In 1751 • while the little village of Dartmouth
was sleeping in fancied security, the Indians, under
cover of the night, surprised the inhabitants, scalped
a number of the settlers and carried off several of
them as prisoners. As was natural, these original
possessors of the country resented fiercely the
encroachments of the white strangers. They had
therefore collected in great force on the Basin of
Minas, and ascended the Shnbenacadie in canoes.
* I have been unable to ascertain the exact date of this attack.
It must, however, have been in May. for it was on May 14th, O. S.
(25th, N. S.) 1751, that a court-martial was ordered to enquire
into the afifair. The rascally priest, Le Loutre, was probably the
instigator of this descent upon Dartmouth. He evidently knew
well the water highway across the province, for it is said that he
was in the habit of proceeding by the River Shubenacadie to
Chebucto, where he communicated with Dun d'Anville's fleet in
1746. (See Sthctions from the Public Documents of N. S., p. 178.)
Cornwallis himself, in a letter to the Lords of Trade, dated 24th
June, 1751, seemed to think the Governor of Canada was respon-
sible for the outrage, and even suspected him of offering a reward
for English scalps and prisoners. The capture of some vessels by
the British had much exasperated the French governor, who " sent
a body of Canada Indians to join the St. John's and Mickmacks,
and to do what mischief they could in this Province." Those
interested in the matter, should read Cornwallis's letter, which
h 18 just been referred to. It will be found in volume 35 of the MS.
Records of the Province. An article in the Nova Scotia Gazette
and Weekly Chronicle for 5th September, 1780, blames the French
for the raid, and even gives the name of the Acadian who, it says,
wtkS at the head of the expedition. It seems that none of our
historians have discovered this piece, and I shall therefore copy
the following : — " As the extracts from the Abbrf Reynal's History
of the Settlements and Trade of the Europeans, Sec, publish 'd in
FnOM THE SETTLEMENT UNTIL 1792.
11
in canoes.
Nothing was easier than to steal into the straggling
town by night, and to make their escape in case of
unlooked-for resistance. The Indians had been
regarded by sad experience as most unfriendly neigh-
bours to all the newly arrived settlers, and the
people of Dartmouth, fearing an attack from them,
had fenced in their town with a low brush palisade.
This at first had appeared to be a protection, but
was found afterwards to serve only as a cover for
the enemy. Captain Clapham and his company of
the Paper, of last Tuesdaj', contains [sic] several injurious Misre-
presentations of the Conduct of the English Government in this
Province, in respect to the French Accadians [sic], coninionly catlM
Neutral French, and tluir Removal from this Country, it is
thought necessary to State the real Facts as they happen'd, and
can be sufficiently attested In 1749 the English made a
settlement at Halifax, they had scarcely Time to erect Houses for
their covering, when the Acadians iustigatel the Indians against
us, supplied them with provision and ammunition, and secured
their Kctreat, by which means many murdt^rs were committed ;
and when we attempted to settle Dartmouth, the Acadians them-
selves with a few Indians, one Beau Soliel an Acadian at their
Head, fell on that Town in the Night, murderccl above Twenty
Persons in Cold Blood, and captured as many more ; it would be
endless to enumerate Particulars, and a Subject too Shocking ;
but this practise continued for four or five Years, and all our
Settlers for that Time were obliged to live within Paliisadcd
Places, guarded by the King's Troops, an<l the troops themselves
were often attacked by Acadians in travelling from Fort to Fort."
Tht Xova-Scotia Afayazhie, vohmie II., (Halifax, 1700, pp. 287-'2S9)
contains a similar article, doubtless by the same writer, in which
the name of the Acadian appears as " Beau Soleli." The differ-
ence is merely a typographical error. In this last account, the
presence of other .Acadians is not mentioned. — £"1/.
il II
12
lirSTORY OF DARTMOUTH.
Rangers were stationed in the Block-House, firing
through the loop-holes during the whole affair. The
light of the torches, and the discharge of musketry,
alarmed the inhabitants of Halifax, some of whom
put off to the assistance of the village. They did
not, however, arrive in any force until after the
Indians had retired. The night was calm, and the
cries of the people and the whoops of the savages
were distinctly heard on the western side of the
harbour. On the following morning, se/eral bodies
were brought over to Halifax. The Indians had
carried off the scalps. Mr. Pyke,* some of whose
descendants are still living in Nova Scotia, lost his
life on this occasion. Tliose who fled to the woods
were all taken prisoners but one.-f
A Mr. Wisdom, who was engaged on the
Dartmouth side cutting lumber and procuring
* Father of John George Pyke. — Ed.
t Tradition aaya that the aunt of Mr. Teaser was an infant at
the time of this massacre, and that she was one of the babes who
were carried down to an open boat and rowed across the harbour,
under fire of tlie Indians. Rev. Thomas Teaser was well known,
being formerly rector of Truro. Capt. W. Moorsom, in his Letters
from Nova Scotia (Load., 1830, page 29) says, that one of tho
survivors of tliis nit'.'sacre was living in 1828, an old respected
inhabitant of the town. He was a child at the time of the attack,
and when the Indians rushed into his father's cottage and toma-
hawked his parents, he escaped by hiding himself beneath the
bed.— AW.
I \
> I
FROM TUB SETTLEMENT UNTIL 1792.
13
)use, firing
ffiiir. The
musketry,
3 of whom
They did
1 after the
n, and the
ho savages
iide of the
eral bodies
ndians had
} of whose
in, lost his
the woods
I on the
procuring
house frames, was crossing to Halifax before day-
break to get provisions for his camp. Hearing the
tiring, he returned to its shelter at the place generally
known as Croigh ton's Cove.* He and his men,
armed with muskets, hastened to the place where
the fight was in progress, leaving a coloured man in
charge of the camp. When they returned, they
found that the Indians had visited their quarters and
carried off everything, including the u. 'fortunate
black man. He was taken by his captors to Prince
Edward Island, but was afterwards found and
brought back by his emphjyer. Mr. VVisdom-j' and
his family subseciuently settled in Dartmouth, and
many of his descendants are among the present
inhabitants of that township.
A Mr. Hall was captured by the Indians at this
time, and was .scalped in the neighborhood of what
is now known as Prince Arthur's Park. In his case
an infant at
le babes who
the harbour,
well known,
in hia Letters
t one of the
)1(1 respected
>f the attack,
e and toma-
beneath the
* I have been told that Wisdom's camp was just south of
Mott's factories in Dartmouth Cove. The place once belonged to
the Creightons, and it was the terminus of the south ferry. A
number of fine old willows still stand there. They are said to
have been planted to replace the forest trees v^hich had been cut
down. — Eil.
t This may have been John Wisdom, who with Edward Kin^,
received a grunt of land on 26th January, 1786, which included the
present Woodlawn Cemetery to the south-west of Laniont's Lake,
and also another tract at Lake Loon.— AV.
11
i !
i
,1
\'.l\
14
HISTORY or DAUTMOUTII.
the operation fortunately wjih not fatal, for he
recovenul and afterwards went back to England.
Touchinff this nuiHsacre in Dartmouth, a writer
in tlje Lowhtn Mdtjazine of 1751, says, that on
the 14th-25th of May,* 1751, a general court-
martial was onlered to encjuire into the conduct of
the different coninumdinfj officers, both commissioned
and non-commissione<l, who had suffered the village of
Dartmouth to be plundered, an«l many of its inhabi-
tants ])ut to death, when there was a detachment
of regulars and irregulars posted there for their
protection, to the amount of upwards of sixty men.
Governor Cornwallis in a letter to the Lords of
Trade, dated 24th June, 1751, says : " A large party
of Indians came down to a small village opposite
Halifax where I was obliged to put some settlers
that arrived last year, in the night attacked it and
did some mischief by killing of the inhabitants, I
think four, and took six soldiers who were not
upon guard that night. Our people killed six of
the Indians, and had they done their duty well,
must have killed many more."
Private letters from Halifax state that there had
been skirmishes with the Indians, in which several
of the English had been killed and scalped. " Some
days ago," says the writer of one of these letters.
The two dates are new and old »tyle.— Ed.
FROM TIIR HRITLEMKNT UNTIL 1792.
15
" al>out Hixty IndiiuiH attacked the town of Dart-
mouth, whoso fence is only a small brushwiXKl, and
killed altout ei;^ht of the inhahitant^*, an<] after
that exercised their cruelties by pulling down somo
houses ami destroying all they found, not sparing
women and children. A sergeant who was in his
Ited, went to the assistance of the inhabitants.
They pursued and killed him, and not being con-
tented with his life, cut his left arm off and after-
wards scalped hinj. In returning from the town,
they carried off al)Out fourteen prisoners in triumph.
The company of Rangers posted there gave no
assistance. But one Indian scalp had been brought
in under the offer of fifty pounds reward made
some four months before. This is attributed to the
care of the Indians for their dead, as they always
carry their fallen comrades with them when retiring
from a scene of slaughter."* Another letter from
Halifax, dated 30th June, 1751, says, that " a few
days since the Indians in the French interest per-
petrated a most horrible ma.ssacrc in Dartmouth,
where they killed, scalped and frightfully mangled
several of the soldiery and inhabitants. They
spared not even women and children. A little baby
was found lying by its father and mv;ther, all three
scalped. The whole town was a scene of butchery,
* See Lovdon Alayazitu, 1751, page 341.
16
HISTORY or DARTMOUTH.
some having their hanrls cut off, some their bellies
rippeJ open, and others with their brains dashed
out"*
By these extracts it will be seen tliat the
accounts of the massicre vary considerably. The
traditions handed down by the survivors and still
extant in Dartmouth, would imply that a lar^e
number lost their lives on this occasion. At all
events, the alarm and discouragement caused by the
attack, depopulated the little village, and the greater
part of the settlers removed to other places.-f
Some Germans, who arrived on lOtli July,
1751, were sent to Dartuionth and employed in
picketing the back of the town. It is said that
this fence remained until 1754, and that a detach-
ment of troops protected the place.* ^<>t above
five families, however, were left in it, as there was
* London Magazine, 1751, page 419.
+ A list of the families in part of Xova Scotia, dated Halifax,
Julj', 17^2, states that tliere were within the town of Dartmouth,
5.1 families, 81 males above sixteen, 47 females above IG, 29
males under 16, 38 females under 16 ; total 193. (Sclectionn from
(he Public Dccumrntx of X. S., p. 670.)— £"(/.
ij: Fort Clareijce was built in 1754 (see a subsequent page of
this History). The following extracts are from the diary of John
Thomas, a surgeon in Winslow's expedition of 17").'), against the
Acadians (See Oollfctions of N. S. HiMorkal Socie.fy, vol. 1): —
December 10, 1755. —Went to Dartmouth P: M: with Colonol
Winslow & major Prible Ensign (iay is Posted thare with 50 men.
December 12. — \V« Paraded 150 men who Took Beding &
FROM THE SETTLEMENT UNTIL 1792.
17
neither trade nor fishery to maintain them, and they
were afraid to cultivate the land outside of the
pickets, lest the dreaded Micniacs should destroy
not only the work of their hands, but also them-
selves at the same time.*
In February, 1752, the first ferry between the
new settlement and Halifax was established, and a
ferryman, John Connor, appointed by order of the
Governor and Council."!'
In 1758, a return was made by the Surveyor-
General, the first Charles Morris, to Governor
Lawrence, giving a list of the lots in the town of
Dartmouth, and the names of the pi'oprietors who
had complied with the Governor's request regai'ding
went over to Dartmotli under ye Comand of Capt. Speakman to
Take up winter Quarters tliare.
December 2(j — Colonel VVinslow came over to Dartmoth to
Revew ye men I'osted tliare I came over to Dartmoth with him.
December 28. — Mr. Philips Preached In Clapums windmill
P: M: he Returned to Hallefax V: M:
December 31. — We have about 230 of our Troops here att
Dartmoth this ends ye year 1755.
* This was in 1753. {Vide Murdoch's Hiatory of N. S., v. II,
p. 224.)— AU
t Dr. Akins, in his Essay on the Hittory of the Settlfmnit
of Halifax, (llfi[iia,x, 1847, page 18), is mistaken when he states
that this occurred in December, 1750. Mrs. Lawson failed to
rectify the error. The ferry was established by the
Governor and Council on Monday, 3rd February, 1752. John
Connor, of Dartmouth, was given the exclusive right for three
years, of carrying passengers for hire between the two towns. He
was directed to constantly keep two boats for the purpose. These
2
18
HISTOUY OF DARTMOUTH.
: I
! I
settlement and improvement.* The number was
small, and from this period the township was almost
derelict-t The Indians still collected in force in the
vicinity of Shubenacadie, and were always sending
out scouts in search of plunder. The unhappy
inhabitants, in constant dread of an attack, passed
a miserable existence, and were anxious to escape
from a place where there was neither assurance of
safetj'^ nor promise of prosperity'.
two boats, or more, were to continually ply between the towns
during proper weather, from sunrise till sunset every day in tlie
week except Sundaj-, when they were to pass only twice, in order
to accotnujcdate persons attending divine service. The fare for
each passenger was to be three-pence between sunrise and sunset,
and sixpence at any other hour. Baggage carried in the hand
passed free, and a reasonable amrunt was to be paid for other
baggage or goods. Previous to this, the inhabitants of Dartmouth
and Halifax had been much inconvenienced by the charges and
irregularity of the unauthorized boats which liad plied between the
settlements. Vide MS. Minutes of Council held Feb. 3, 175'?,
preserved in the Provincial Secretary's office, Halifax ; also Akins
Selections from the Public Documents of zV. S., p. 648. For a full
account of the ferry, see Chapter III. — Ed.
"The list which accompanied this return, is probably the one
which will be found in Book I, pages 60-66, of tiie old description
books then kept by the 8ur%-eyor-general, now in the Crown Lands
Office. On pages '2S0-285 of the same volume, will be found a list
of the proprietors of lots in the new town of Dartmouth as 'aid out
for the Quakers, together with grants made to Michael Wallace,
J. Trcmaine, and Lawrence Hartshorne, in 1796, after the depar-
ture of those people. — Ed.
+ " The Town of Dartmouth, situated on the Opposite side of
tlie Harbour, has at present two Families residing there who
subsist by cutting Wood." (From A Description of the Several
FROM THE SETTLEMENT UNTtIi 1792.
19
For nearly thirty years, only these few strng-
gling families held the unfortunate town. The
government «lid nothing to induce later arrivals of
emigrants to settle among them, nor took any
measures to assist the discouraged occupants in the
improvement of the village.
In 1 784, Governor Parr opened negotiations with
persons residing in Nantucket, and encouraged
twenty families, to remove thence to Dartmouth,
so that they might caiuy on the whale fishery from
its harboui'.* Tn 178G, the Surveyor-in-chief was
ordered to make a return of the vacant lands in
Dartmouth, so as to grant them to Samuel Starbuck,
Timothy Folger and the rest of the company from
Tou-tiH in the Prorivce of Xova Scotia, with the Lands comprehended
in it hordf.rinfj vjion said Townsi, drawn rip . . . Jan'y. 9, 176S,
By Charlfn Morriit, Esq., Chief Surveyor. Manuscript no. 172, in
Legialntive Library, Halifax,)—^'/.
* On 20th September, 1785, Governor Parr wrote to the
Secretary of State, Lord Sydney, that, in consequence of the
enconrai;tnant which he had given them, there had latily arrived in
this poit three brigantines and one schooner, with their crews and
everything necessaty for the whale fishery. He expected, very
soon, their families would come here, as well as the value of their
property at Nantucket converted into such commodities as should
be most convenient for transportation ; also he looked for the
arrival of a ship [sloop?] and tliree niore brigantines thence, for the
same employment. (Murdoch's Hixtory of N. S., Vol. III., p. 44.)
Lord Sydney replied, April, 178fi, that he disapproved of the intro-
duction of these people into tlie province. — Ed.
ir
!l
20
HISTORY OF DARTMOUTH.
lifH
!
Nantucket.* The town was then laid out in a new
form, and the sum of fifteen hundred and forty-one
pounds, seventeen shillings and sixpence was paid
in 1787 for buildings to accommodate the whalers
and their families, and for otherwise improving the
settlement *f*
The town now took a new start, and good hope
was entertained for its ultimate prosperity. The
fishermen principall}'^ confined theii- efibrts to the
neighbouring Gulf of the St. Lawrence, where at
that time black whales were found in abundance.
Sperm whales were also obtained in the waters
further south. An establishment was opened almost
immediately after the whalers were well started,
for the manufacture of spermaceti. This was a
remunerative industry, ami continued to floui"ish
for several years.
These settlers from Nantucket were members
of the Society of Friends, usually called Quakers.
* Murdoch in hia History of Nova Scotia, vol. Ill, page 44,
says that 1785 was the date of this order. The town lots were
escheated on 2nd March, 1786, in order to grant them to the
Quakers. — Ed.
t By Letters Parent bearing date 4th September, 1788, a
common of one hundred and fifty acres, was granted to Tliomas
Cochran, Timothy Folger and Samuel Starbuck in trust for th^ in-
habitants of the town of Dartmontli (( Jrant Book 19, page 58, Crown
Lands Ofiice). In 1789 an act was passed ti> enable the inhabitants
to occupy the common in tuch a manner as seemed most beneficial to
them, and in 1797 (chapter 2) another w as passed to autliorize the
FROM THE 8ETTI-KMENT UNTIL 1792.
21
lid out in a new
(1 and forty-one
pence was paid
ate the whalers
e improving the
, and good hope
rosperity. The
r efforts to the
rence, where at
I in abundance,
in the waters
s opened ahnost
re well started,
This was a
ued to flourish
were members
called Quakers.
vol. Ill, page 44,
The town lots were
giiint them to the
jeptembcr, 1788, a
granted to Tliomas
in trust for thrt in-
19, page 58, Crown
blile the inhabitants
ed most; beneficial to
eil to autliorize the
They were a peaceable, orderly, God-fearing people.
Frugal and industrious, they left their mark upon
the rising village, from which by unfortunate cir-
cumstances, they Were soon obliged to remove. The
failure of a large house in Halifax, engaged in the
whale fishery, brought about other business suspen-
sions and caused serious loss to the managers of the
Dartmouth branch of that enterprise. The estab-
lishment received a severe shock which it was never
able to surmount. In a short time all work ceased,
and the whole undertaking was irretrievably ruined.
At this crisis in the aflfairs of the disheartened
whalers, an agent was employed by the merchants
of Milford, Great Britain, whose mission it was to
induce these people to remove from Dartmouth
and continue their occupation under the auspices of
the English company. The offer was too liberal
and opportune to be rejected. In 1792, a large
Governor to appoint trustees for the plot, on tho death or removal
of the trustees holding the same. This last act was in consequence
of tlie departure of Folger and Starbuck from the province.
Michael Wallace, Lawrence Hartshorne, and Jonathan Tremaine,
Esqrs., were therefore made trustees on l.Sth April, 1798, in place
of those named in the grant. An act for recrulating the common
was passed in 1841 (chapter 52), and in 1808 and 1872 other acts
were passed to amend those already in existence. In 1888 the
town council decided to appoint a commission which was to take
charge of the common, and under its care the land has been very
much improved. — £■(/.
TTT
22
HISTORY OP DARTMOUTH.
II Hut
111
-■I
number accepted the overture, and the province
lost thereby the greater part of this orderly and
industrious people. Many of the houses built and
occupied by the Quaker settlers are still standing.
For several j'ears one of the public schools was
held in the building used by them as a meeting-
house, but it has since been taken down and a new
school-house erected on the site.* Some of the old
houses, until very late years, were used by tlieir
descendants as dwellings. Many persons of Quaker
descent are still inhabitants of the town, preserving
the good qualities of their progenitors in industry
and uprightness of life.
One family, that of Seth Coleman, deserves
special mention. He came to Dartmouth with the
original " twenty," and remained there after the
exodus of his brethren f Murdoch, in his History
of Nova Scotia, [vol. Ill, p. 300,] mentions him in
this paragraph : " Sir John Wentworth [in 1814]
induced Mr. Seth Coleman to vaccinate all the poor
persons in Dartmouth, and throughout the township
of Preston adjoining. He treated over four-hundred
• The Quaker meeting-house lots were numbers 1 and 2, i^*
block I. Tlie building stood at the northern corner of King and
Quarrel Streets, where the Central School- house is now situated.
—Ed.
t Seth Coleman afterwards removed from Dartmouth, and
died at Nantucket, 20th March, 1822, aged 78 years. -£i/.
FROM THE SETTLEMENT UNTIL 1792.
23
cases with great success. Mr. Coleman was one of
the ' Friends,' commonly called Quakers, who came
here to set up the whale fishery, and was one of a
very few of their number who remained in the
province. He was a model of piety, industry, and
general philanthropy." One of the best known
representatives of this family passed away on 23rd
December, 1886, in the seventy-third year of his
age, — William Coleman, for many years the careful
and genial captain of one of the Dartmouth fei-ry
steamers. He was a landmark between the past
and present generations, and with him we have lost
many historical associations and traditions deeply
interesting to his towns-people.
24
HISTORY OF DARTMOUTH.
CHAPTER II.
THE SHUBENACADIE CANAL.
i 'I'll!'
AT a very early period, the importance of obtain-
ing easy access to that part of the province
lying on the shore of the Basin of Minas,
by making a canal between the Dartmouth and
Shubenacadie Lakes and Rivers, attracted general
attention.* Lake Charles, near the first Shubena-
cadie lake, is three and a half miles from Halifax.
From the southern end of this lake there is a descent
through the Dartmouth Lakes to the harbour of
Halifax, of ninety-one feet ; and from its northern
extremity, a gradual descent through several beau-
tiful lakes into the great Shubenacadie, thence in
the channel of the river for a distance of about
thirty miles, to the junction with the waters of the
Bay of Fundy. The lakes on this chain are the
* Sir John Wentworth in a letter to Colonel Small, dated
27th May, 1794, says : "Your teiritory at Kennetcook will be
much improved by my plan of rendering the Shubenacadie navig-
able, and a communication thence to Dartmouth by a chain of
lakes. This great work I hope to get completed, if we are not
interrupted by hostilities." — Ed.
THE 8HUDENACADIK CANAL.
25
ice of obtain-
the province
in of Minas,
rtmouth and
icted general
rst Shubena-
Tom Halifax.
e is a descent
harbour of
its northern
leveral beau-
e, thence in
ce of about
raters of the
ain are the
[ Small, dated
letcook will be
enacadie navig-
by a chain of
if we are not
First and Second Dartmouth Lakes, Lake Charles
Lake William, Lake Thomas, Fletcher's Lake, and
Grand Lake.
In the year 1797, the matter of the canal was
brought before the legislature.* The House appro-
priated the sum of two hundred and fifty pounds,
and appointed a committee to institute enquiry into
everything connected with the construction of a
canal from Dartmouth Cove across the province to
ihe mouth of the Shubenacadie River, where it falls
into the Basin of Mina.»*. This committee employed
Mr. Isaac Hildreth, a civil engineer, who made a
survey and reported to the commissioners. The
report was dated 15th November, 1797. He esti-
mated that the cost of a four-foot navigation would
be £3,202 I7s. 6d.
Theophilus Chamberlain, a surveyor who will be
spoken of in the Histoiy of Preston, was associated
with Mr. Hildreth in this work.
In the .session of 1798, a bill was brought before
the legislature, for incorporating a company to
complete the canal. A petition praying for legis-
lative assistance had previously been introduced and
signed by William For.syth, Andrew Belcher, and
Richard Kidston. The governor of the province.
* See Journals of th-i Howe of Assembly, N. S., for 7th June,
1197. -Ell.
I
■ .»*-
-ii!
26
HI8TOHY OP DAHTMOUTH.
Sir John Wentworth, being very friondly to the
undertaking, addressed a letter date<l 16th July,
1798, to the gentlemen who proposed to form the
company for constructing the canal. He stated that
the House of Assembly had addressed him, request-
ing that a patent might be issued toward carrying
into effect the purposes intended in the said petition,
and that he would give the necessary orders to
expedite that patent for the advice and consent of
His Majesty's Council, and that he should name in
the patent eight directors, and one secretary and '
cashier, namely: — William Forsyth, chairman;
Andrew Belcher, deputy chairman; William Coch-
ran, Lawrence Hartshorne, Charles Hill, Richard
Kidston, John Bremner and William Sabatier,
directors; Michael Wallace, secretary and cashier.
He goes on to say, that he is persuaded that the
greatest benefit will be derived from the execution
of the plan, " to the revenue and morals of the
country, by making it the interest and convenience
of numerous and increasing inhabitants to purchase
of the fair trader in or through Halifax ; whence
the frauds, lying, violences, and prejudices attendant
on illicit commerce will naturally vanish."
Notwithstanding all this, the bill did not pass.
The subject of a canal was therefore in abeyance
until 1814. About this time, the opinion was
i iil^i
iHi I
THE 8HUBENACADIE CANAL.
27
L'tidly to the
I 16th July,
to form the
f e stated that
him, request-
nxvd carrying
said petition,
ry orders to
id consent of
ould name in
iecretary and
I, chairman ;
^'illiam Coch-
lill, Richard
am Saba tier,
nd cashier,
ided that the
the execution
torals of the
I convenience
! to purchase
Pax ; whence
ces attendant
ish."
:lid not pass.
in abeyance
opinion was
held by certain promoters of the scheme, that
communication could he made between Lake William
and the Harbour via Bedford Basin.* A competent
enpfineer, however, who was authorized to examine
this line, disapproved of the proposal and gave his
adherence to the original route. Further sums of
money were then voted at the solicitation of Mr.
Sabutier, and expended under his direction by Mr.
Valentine Gill, a civil engineer. No report was
made by this gentleman, but his survey served to
confirm the correctness of that made by Hildreth
and Chamberlain.
The expense incurred in the survey made bj'
the latter gentlemen in 1797, was £208 13s. Id. Mr.
Gill stipulated for two guineas and his expenses per
day. He only required the assistance of two persons
for his work, and he considered the winter season
the best time for such a survey. On 27th April,
1815, he was paid for his plans the sum of one
hundred and ninety pounds. About this time, a
small amount of money voted by the Assembly was
expended by Mr. Gill in removing obstructions from
the river near Fletcher's Bridge, and rendering that
point accessible during spring and autumn for large
boats from the bay shore.
* During the session of 1814, floO was voted for a survey of
the Shuhenacadie River and Lakes from the head of the tide to
Uedford Basin.— £'(/.
28
HISTORY OP DARTMOUTH.
I!
On opening the Kession of 1820, Lord Dalhousie,
who was then pfovernor, deemed the matter worthy
of being included among tlie suggestions for the
improvement of the province. He said it promised
great public advantages, and he suggested the
employment of competent engineers to ascertain the
extent of its difficulties. The House replied that it
would carefully consider the interesting subject.
Two hundrc'<l pounds were accordingly voted for a
more particular survey, but this sum being found to
be inadequate, further proceedings were delaye<l
until 1824, when an additional sum of three hundred
pounds* was appropriated to secure the services of
a gentleman of competent ability for the execution
of the important task.
In order to encourage and facilitate the formation
of an association to construct the canal, an act to
authorise the incorporation of such a company was
passed by the Assembly in 1824. At the close of
the session, His Excellency Sir James Kempt said,
" the internal communications of a country tend so
manifestly to its improvement and to increase the
productive industry of its population, that I shall
lose no time in employing the means which you have
placed at my disposal, to ascertain the practicability
• Murdoch {Hintory of X. S., vol. III. p. 514) says that £500
was voted for a survey of the canal, on 10th February, 1824.— Ed.
TllU HllCUUNACAUIB CANAL.
29
and cxponse of forming a canal to unito the waters
of tlu? Basin of Minas with the Harbour of Halifax."
Accordingly in the same ytsar, Thomas Tolford,
a celebrated engineer residing in London, aiul
William Chapman of Newcastle, were consulted, and
Francis Hall, one of Mr, Telford's pupils, then residing
in Canada, was employed to conduct this important
survey. In June, ltS25, Mr Hall conunenced work.
His plan and report dated 17th June, 182.'), places
the cost of forming a passage with ff)ur feet and a
half depth of water, at £44,136 ISs 5d. ; and with
eight feet depth, at £53,844 7s. 5d.
Mr. Hall was so well satisHed with the correctness
of his plans and estimates, tliat he oflered to enter
into a contract to complete the work, and to place
five thou.sand pounds in the hands of the commis-
sioners as wecurity for the due performance of his
contract. On Oth July, 1825, a special meeting of
the Chamber of Commerce, Halifax, was held to
consider Mr. Hall's plans and I'eports. It was
resolved, that the chaniber recommend that work
suitable for an eight-feet navigation, as by far the
most useful depth, should be completed, as indispen-
sable to the future prosperity of Halifax ; and that
Mr. Boggs, Mr. Collins and Mr. Hartshorne, be a
connnitteo to communicate with his Honour the
President of His Majesty's Council, with regard to
30
niSTOUY OF DAUTMOUTH.
the most effectual measures to be adopted for pro-
moting this highly important object ; and that the
representatives of the town be requested to assist
them.*
The Shubenacadie Canal Company was incor-
porated by letters patent dated 1st June, 1826. Its
capital was sixty-thousand pounds currency, divided
into twenty-four hundred shares of twenty-five
pounds or one hundred dollars each. Seven hundred
and twenty shares, or eighteen thousand pounds,
were subscribed in Halifax. The grant from the
legislature was fifteen thousand pounds. The Hon.
Michael Wallace was appointed president, and the
Hon. Thomas Nicholson Jefi'ery, and Samuel Cunard,
Esq., vice-presidents ; Joseph Allison, Thomas Bogf^s,
James Tobin, Lewis Edward Piers, Stephen Wastie
DeBlois, John Clarke, John Alexander Barry, William
Pryor and John Starr, Escjrs., directors ; and Charles
Rufus Fairbanks, Esq., secretary. All of the above
were named in the letters patent.
On 9th March, the shareholder'^ met for the firet
time, and Francis Hall, Esq., was appointed the
company's engineer, at a salary of eight-hundred
•On 18th February, 1826, a public meeting was held in the
Exchange Coffee-house, Halifax, to discuss matters relating to the
canul. Money was subscribed and other work done. (See
Murdoch's HUtory of N. S., vol. Ill, p. 546.)— £"(/.
THE SHUBENACADIE CANAri.
31
opted for pro-
and that the
ested to assist
ly was incor-
me, 1826. Its
iTency, divided
if twenty-five
iseven hundred
usand pounds,
rant from the
ds. The Hon.
dent, and the
imuel Cunard,
^hoinas Bosr^'s.
.eplien Wastie
krry, William
; and Charles
of the above
; for the fii-st
ppointed the
iight-hundred
was held in the
s relating to the
•rk done. (See
pounds per annum. On Tuesday, the 25th of July,
1826, the ceremony of connnoncing the canal took
place. Sir James Kempt, the governor of the
province, attended by a large escort of the military
and naval force, with artillery and rifle band.s, also
the officers of the Grand Lodge, the Royal Albion,
and the Lodges Nos. 4, 8, 188 and 2G5 of Free and
Accepted Masons, turned out, together with a large
number of spectators, to do honour to the occasion.
They proceeded to Port Wallace, three miles from
Dartmouth, at the pass between the Second Dart-
mouth Lake and Lake Charles ; and there ground
was fiist broken,*
The funds of the companj' were increased by
the .sale of stocks in England to the amount of
twenty-seven hundred pounds sterling, and al.>^o by a
loan of twenty thousand pounds sterling by the
Lords Commissioners of the Treasury.-f The total
expenditure of the company up to December, 1885
was in currency eighty-seven thousand eight hun-
dred and thirty pounds.
* This ceremony was pei formed by the Earl of Dalhousie, who
was then visiting Halifax. Subsequently his Lordship and many
of the company partook of a collation in Dartiroutli, at the house
of L. Hartshoine, Ksq. A full aceouut will be found in the Xoia
Scotiuii for 27th July, 18-26.- Ed.
t In consideration of this loan, the Lords Commissioners of the
Tieasury received a mortgage of the canal. See indenuirc made
in May, 1831.— AV.
li ii
i! '
i
m
if ;' ■
li :i
in
1
32
HISTORY OK DARTMOUTH.
il !
Notwithstanding Mr. Hall's abilities and atten-
tion, and the approval of his designs by Thomas
Telfoid, the consulting engineer, the works in the
locks and dams proved very faulty. Every winter
the frost did great damage. The contractors declared
their inability to proceed with and complete their
work. The company itself undertook to make good
the damages, but with no better result. The dam
broke at the northern end of Lake Charles, and
immediately the costly works at Fletcher's Lake and
at the Grand Lake were destroyed by the great rush
of water. This disaster proved a death-blow to the
Shubenacadie Canal Company.
While the work had been going on, Dartmouth
had profited materially by the enterprise. From the
beginning, it had been difficult to procure suitable
workmen, and a vessel called the Corsair was
accordingly chartered by Mr. Kidd, who proceeded
to Scotland and returned in the spring of 1827 with
about forty stone-cutters and masons with their
families. These men laboured at the locks for two
or three years. They were industrious and skilful
artisans, and infusetl a spirit of emulation in their
fellow-laboui'ers, which has long borne good fruit in
Nova Scotia-
After the unfortunate disaster caused by the
breaking of the dam at Lake Charles, the works
THE SHUBENACADIE CANAI,.
33
1 atten-
Thomaa
s in the
Y winter
i declared
[ete their
iake good
The dam
arles, and
Lake and
great rush
low to the
Dartmouth
From the
re suitable
orsair was
proceeded
1827 with
with their
;ks for two
and skilful
lion in their
;ood fruit in
ised by the
the works
were inspected by Lieut.-Col. Ricliard Botelcr, R. E.,
in order to make an estimate of the cost of completing
tlie canal. Col. Boteler was lost at sea on his passage
to England. By his estimate, prepared by Lieut.
Henry Poole3^ R. E., the sum of one hundred and
twenty thousand pounds would be requii'ed. In tlie
years 1835 and 18oG, a most elaborate survey, with
plans, estimates and report, was made to the order of
Charles 11. Fairbanks, Es<j., by George R. Baldwin,
Es(i., C. E., of Boston. By Ids estimate, the cost of
the works would be four hundi-ed and eighty-seven
thousand, three hundred and sevent^'-five pounds.
The moi-tgage made bj' the company to the
British government was now foreclosed, and by a
deed in chancery it was conveyed to the province of
Nova i^cotia on 11th June, 1851. The pr()j)erties not
covered l)y the mortgage were sold in the following
year to satisfy judgment-, and the whole was ])ur-
chased for the province by the Hon. James McNab
as trustee.
In 1853, the Iidand Navigation Company was
incorporated, having a capital of thirty thou.sand
pounds. It purchased from the government of Nova
Scotia the property and works of the late Slmbenac-
adie Canal Company.* The ojiening of the canal
* This was by deed, Hon. .iaiiies McXiili to Inliiiid Navii;ulion
. Co., dated 1 0th June, 1854. Tlie inice jmid was £'2UO0.— AV/.
1-
!lhi.
irtT-
i!!iiF:
)
i ^ii^^^H
!!l :'■ '
f
;
i ;
j
34
HISTOIIY OP DARTMOUTH.
was again proceeded with, under the direct super-
vision of the new company's engineer, Charles William
Fairbanks, Esq. All their cash, twenty thousand
pounds, having been expended, the company was
obliged to borrow money by mortgage of all their
property. The canal progressed very slowly, but in
1801 it opened for business throughout. A steam
vessel of sixty tons, the Avery, named after the
president of the company. Dr. James F. Aveiy,
having cleared at the custom house-, Halifax, reported,
via the canal, at Maitland," and returned again to
Halifax Harbour. The following oi'der in council
was passed, regarding this fact : —
PUOVINCE OF )
Nova Scotia, j
[L.R.1
MULGRAVE.
By His Excellency the Right
Honorable
The Eahl of Mulouave,
Lieutenant-Governor and Com-
mander in Chief in and over
Her Majesty's Province of
Nova Scotia and its depen-
dencies, (fee, &c., &c.
To wIkmu it may concern : —
It is herel)y certified that sufficient proof hath
been given, to the satisfaction of the Government of
tins Province, that the Inland Navigation Company
have comj)lied with the terms imposed under tiie
deed which transferred the property to them, by
completing a water communication between the
Harbour of Halifax and the Basin of Minus, wliicli
deed bears date June the tenth, A. D. 1(S54, having
^
i
•li •■■ iii ii
THE SHUHENACADIK CANAL.
m
been executed by the Honble. Junies McNab, Eocciver
General and Trustee for the Pi-ovince of Nova
Scotia, of the one part, and the said Coni])any of
the other pai-t, and is registered at Halifax in Book
107, pacre :^8<S.
And fui'ther, I certify thst the said ])roperty,
lands, lands covoi'ed by water, woiks and appurten-
ances, and c\o\y part thereof, are free from any
claim on the part of the Goveiiinient of this
Province.
Given uixler my hand and Seal at Arms
this nineteenth day of Fel ruary in the
twenty-fifth year of Hei- Majesty's I'ei^n,
and in the year of our Lord, one thou-
sand eiyht hundred and sixty-two.
By His Excellenc3''s command,
[ttd.] Jo.sEi'H Howe.
Registry of Deeds, Halifax, X. S. — I certify that on
the 8rd day of March, A. 1)., 1802, at \n o'clock,
a. )n., this instrument was recorded in this oilice,
in Libi-o 184, Folio 849.
[Sd.] Gko. C. Whiddkn,
Kegistrar.
On the 11th of June, 1S62, the whole ]iroperty
and woi-ks were sold ly the sheriff. The}- were
purchased by a company styled, The Lake and
River Navigation Company.* No boats were pro-
videtl by this company, but private individuals
placed on the canal three steam-b(;ats and twelve
*Ueeil, iktcil IStli .June, ]S(i2, J. J. Sawyer, sluritV of county
of Halifax, to Samuel (iray anil John Stairs (for the Lake and
Kiver Navigation Co.). £12,700 was given for tlie pro];erty. -/v/.
[|
-^i-i
!!T^
liiili
III!
;
i
36
HISTOUY (iF DAHTMOUTH.
SCOWS, together witli one eiglity-ton barj^e. Conse-
quently some busine>>s was done. A large quantity
of timber was delivered at Halifax, also many
thousand cords of woo<l, with building materials.
Coal and supplies for the gold mines were trans-
ported from Halifax. The canal was tiius worked at
a small profit by the Lake ami River Navigation Com-
)K\>iy, niitil they sold the property in February, 1870.*
Lew b Pievs Fairbanks, Es(|., was tlie purchaser.
It was :i>:;.iin doomed to go to destruction. Gold was
Jisroverc''. i!; the summit reservoir, and the Mines
Dejiartmeiit, •• ,; \)ut any regatd to the rights of
the owner of the canal-lands there, disputed Mr.
Fairbanks's title, and the effect of the Provincial
Government deed made by tlie Hon. James McNab,
trustee for the province, in 1875. One thousand
dollars damages were awarded to Mr. Fairbanks,
against the government for trespass. While this
matter was under consideration, the drawbridge at
Waverley was removed by the provincial authorities,
and a fixed bridge erected in its place. This was
a bar against all passage. The Dominion Railway
or Public Woi-ks De[)artment removed the bridge at
Enfield, and replaced it by another bridge, whose
girders were so low as to prevent the passage of a
* The deed is dated 1st April, 1870. The smn paid was
$50,000. -A'./.
M
m
THE 8IIUBESACADIE CANAL.
37
boat on the River Str.tion. The owner, harassed by
persons opulent and in high places, was obliged to
realize the fact, that the completion of this inland
river communication did not fultil in any degree the
expectations so earnestly expressed by Sir John
VVentworth in regard to the great improvement to
the "revenue and morals" of the country. The
canal now lies in ruins.
A .summary of the expenditure will conclude this
notice of the Shubenacadie Canal. As many erron-
eous statements regarding the cost of the work have
been made, the figures given below may be relied
upon as being correct.
Grant from the Province £15,000—0—0
Shares paid up and sold in Halifax . . 16,398 — 5 — 4
Shares paid up and sold in England . . 30,000—0 —
Loan, on mortgage, by British Govt. . , 22,222 — 4 — 5
Halifax currency £83,020—9-9
The Inland Navigation Company, ex-
pended £42,130—14—3
The stock in this Company, paid up. 18,400 — —
The Grant from the Legislature .... 5,000 — —
The legislature also remitted to the companj'^ the
sum of £2000, the amount of the purchase money
paid to the government in 1854.
11
5"
II
''
''1;:^;:
U'i' li.
Hi! I
Ml
SS HISTORY OF lURTMOUXn.
The town ot' Dtirtmouth was not a little bene-
fitted by the large expenditure for land purchased
and the extensive works erected there :
The Shubenacadie Canal Company
expended on these works . . . ..£51,227 — 12 — 11|
And for the improvement of public
roads 567— 8— 5|
And for the purchase of land S,()iS,S — S — G
Total.. £59,878— 9—11
The Inland Navigation Company also
expended in Dartmouth, or in its
immediate vicinity £.^0,000— 0—0
Or a grand total of $:359,951.0S, or . .£89,878— 9— 11
That the expenditure of this amount of money
materially advanced the interests of many indi-
viduals and added to the general prosperity of the
community at large, is unciuestionable.*
* I am indebted for the greater piut of tliis history of the
Sliuhenaciidie C.inal, to Lewis P. Faifl)aiil<3, Esq,, and lie ia
rosponsilile for the facts, figures, and comments in tlie account. —
Author'.'i note.
KEIiRIES.
39
money
• indi-
of tlie
I
X4
CHAPTER III.
FERRIES.*
/pHE earliest communication between Dartmouth
and Halifax must liave been very irrcifjular,
and consequently detrimental to the growth
of the place. The government, therefore, decided to
e.stal)lish a ferry between the two towns, and to
appoint a ferryman who should act under prescribed
regulations as to the charges and time of transit.
Accordingly, at a council held at the house of
Governor Cornwall is, on Monday, 3rd February, 1752,
the following resolution was passed and entered on
the mirmte-book : —
" Whereas, it has been represented to his Excel-
lency the Govr., and to his Majesty's Council of this
Province, 'JMiat great Inconvenience dayly [xic]
attends the Inhabitants of the Towns of Halifax and
Dartmouth within the said i^rovince occasioned by
the Want of a constant Ferry Boat being established
between the said Towns: by reason whereof they
are often prevented from following their lawfun [sic]
Occasions, and frequently greatly imposed u|)on by
those persons who do at present j)]y the s;ud Ferry,
in the prices they demand for the transportation of
persons and Goods ;
*Froni tlie Ijcgiiining of this chapter to page 49, is inserted by
the editor.
^-"
40
niSTORV OK DAUTMOUTH.
II'
" And Whereas John Connor, of tlie Town of
Dartuiouth aforesaid, has humhly represented to the
Govr. and Council that ho hath, at considerable
Expence and Charge provided Two ^ood and suffi-
cient Boats suitahle to V)e employ 'd in the aforesaid
Ferry, iirayintj that lie may be allowed to improve
the said Boats in the Ferry aforesaid, exclusive of
any other person, for such a Term of Years and
under such Kef]fulation, as may by his Excellency and
the Council from time to time be thought proper.
" It is therefore Vty his Excel'cy and Council
Resolved, and V»y the Authority thereof enacted :
" That the said John Conner [sic] shall, and is
hereby authorised to have, hold, use, occupy, employ,
possess and enjoy the aforesaid Ferry between the
sd. Towns of Halifax and J)arhnouth, for his own
proper use & benefit for and during the Term of
Three Years from the Date hereof, under the several
Regulations and Restrictions herein after mention'd ;
" Viz , That the said John Connor do immediately
provide, and constantly keep supplied for and during
the aforesaid Term of Three Years Two good and suffi-
cient Boats for the use of the said Ferry to transport
such passengers and Baggage and other Goods suital'lc
to be transported in such Boats as there may be occa-
sion to have transported to and from the aforesd.
Towns of Halifax and Dartmouth and shall con-
stantly keep the said Two Boats, or more, passing
and repassing in the said Ferry, in proper Weather,
as follows. Viz. : From Sunrise to SunSet every Day
in the Week, excepting Sundays, when the sd. Boats
shall pass only twice, for tlie Accommodation of
persons attending Divine Service And the said John
Connor, (at present, and until further Order,) or liis
Servants, any or either of them shall demand and
receive of and from each passenger l)y him or them
transported across the said Ferry the Sum of Three
FKRltlES.
41
pence and no more lietween Fun Rise an<l Hun Sit,
nn<l tlic sum "f Sixpence and no more at any other
hour. And the said Coiuior hy himself or Servants
sliall not cause an}' passenf^er so transj)orted, to pay
any Sum whatsoever for any Ba^'ga^e or Matters
whatever which the sd. passen^t rs respectively shall
carry in tiieir Hands, hut all passengers shall pay a
reasonable price for any other Ka^;j[a^e, Gt)ods, or
Thing's whatsoever hy them ti"ans))orted in the said
Boats, and if any Dispute shall arise touching the
same it shall be determin'd l»y one of his Majesty's
Justices of the Peace. And if the said Jolin Connor,
or any, or either of his Servants shall demand of or
cause any passen^'er or pas^er.^ers to pay for their
passii^e more than the Sums above mentioned, he or
they respectively, upon Conviction thereof, before
any one of his Majesty's Justices of the peace, upon
the Oath of such pas.sen^er or passengers, shall
forfeit and pay the Sum of forty shillings, for each
Otfenc(\ one half to the Informer and the other half
to the Use of the Poor, to be levied by distress, and
Sale of the Goods and Chattels of the Otlender, by
warrant under the hand and Seal of such Justice of
the peace before whom the sd. Conviction shall be
made. And for want of such sufficient Distre.ss the
Offender to suffer Two months Imprisonment.
"And no person or persons whatsoever, other
than the aforesaid John Connor and his Servants,
shall from and after the publication hereof, carry or
transport any passenger or passengers, between the
Towns of Halifax & Dartmouth aforesaid for hire
dui'ing the aforesaid Term of three years on penalty
of TeTi shillings for each person .so carried or tians-
ported, upon conviction thereof before any one of his
Majesty's Justices of the peace, upon the Oath of one
credil)le Witness, to be levied by the Distress and
Sale of the Offenders Goods and Chattels by Warrant
it
IIIHTOUY OF ttAFlTMOUTn.
under tluj hand and seal of tlio s'ii(l Justico one
moiety to the fnforincr, and the othiT Mnicty to the
Use of the poor, anil for want of siieh sutHoicnt
Disti'iiss the ollonder to sufier Two Months ] son-
inent."*
On 22nd Deconiher, 1752, the conniMl permitted
John Connor to assign his property of the ferry to
Henry Wynne and William Manthorne. The latter
were to give hond in the penalty of thirty pounds
for the ])erforinance of the conditions of the aet of
the j)revious ?'(d»ruary.
This John Connor was doubtless one of the men
who afterwards saile(l from Halifax on the 0th of
February, 1753, and returned with James 0»'acc on
the 15th of April of the sani«3 year, in 'anoe,
bringing six Indian scaljis. They were exan. jd by
the council, and their aeeount of how t'.iey obtained
the scalps will be f(jnnd in Murdoch's History of
Nova Scotia (vol. 11, page 210). Surveyor Moi-ris in
a letter to Cornwallis in England, dated l(>th April,
1753, refers to Grace's companion as " John Conner,
acme leged [[(ossibly ' eyed 'J man I'oi-mei-ly one of
your bargemen" (Vi(h Manuscript, Xo. 102, in
Legislative Librar}', Halifax).
* ?oe MS. Miiiutos of Council, vol. I (No. 18S of MS. Rrcor.ls
of tlie provino<>), page.i 114-140, preserved in the i'rovinoiiil .Secre-
tary's Office, ILiIifax.
4
FKMHIKH.
48
At II ivmiK'il lit'ld on Htli March, ITj.'i, Wymio
jiiid MiiMlli(»i"n<! |K'titi<)ii<'(l tliiit tilt' t'eriy liouts
iiii;,'lit lie jicrinitted to jmss lictvvccn tlu* towns at
Ktatcfl lioiu's in tlic day. It was thcroforc! ivsolved
that th(! hoats shouhl oi'oss nil thn year round at
snn-riso and sun-sot, and likovviso that between the
25th of Mairh and th(! 20th of Sej)tend)er, they
sliould do so at the hours of eifjlit, twidve, and four,
iind between the 2f)th of S(!ptend)er and the 25th of
Mai-ch, at ten in the inorninfj and at two in tho
afterjioon. f)n Sundays, however, the boats were
only to pass twice, the trips then bein(( made for the
accommodation of persons iittendinfj divine service.
It was likewise ordered at the same meetini,', that
the refjulations of the ferry bo printed, and that
the ferryman be obli d always to keep these re;^'u-
lations posted nj) in soiiio public roojn in each of
tliiMr houses, at Halifax and at Dartmouth, for the
infoi'umtion of all persons concerned.
On the ^Gth of January, 1750, a petition from
John Rock was read before the council at Halifax,
pi'ayinff that the propei'ty of the ferry mi(,dit be
vested in him, as the term for which it was ^-i-anted
to the late proprietors, Wyimo and Manthonie, luul
expired. The latter, he said, were absent, and the
ferry at the time unoccupied. He was accordingly
given leave to employ two boats in the ferry, upon
44
HISTORY OP DARTMOUTH.
'^J
the same terms granted to Wynne and Man-
thorne.*
Who immediately succeeded John Rock is not
known, but about the year 1797, John Skerry began
running a public ferry, and continued so employed
until after the advent of the steam-boat company.
He was familiarly known as " Skipper " Skerry, and
a few of the oldest inhabitants still remember the
man and speak of him in words of praise. The
Dartmouth terminus of his ferry was directly at the
foot of Ochterloney Street, and the Halifax landing
was at the Market Slip. He occupied the building,
which still stands, on the south-east coi'ner of
Ochterloney and Water Streets, and there kept a
small bar. The second lot fi'om the north-west
corner of Quarrel and Water Streets, likewise
belonged to him, together with the water-lot imme-
diately in the rear. His ferrymen, previous to
leaving the landing, cried " Over! Over !", and then
blew a conch as a signal of departure. The boats
were large. They were either sailed or rowed,
acconling to the wind, and occupied about thirty
or forty minutes in crossing from shore to shoi'e.
Another ferry ran to a wharf at the foot of the
old Ferry Road, at Dr. Parker's, near Dartmouth
* Vide MS. Minutes of Council, vol. 2 (No. 187 of MS. Records
of N. s.), pp. 403-404.
FERRIES.
45
C(no. It was known tis Creighton's or tlie Lower
Fen y. James Creighton, Esq., was the proprietor.
He is said to have owned all the lands which are
now the property of J. P. Mott and Dr. Parker, and
also the tract known as Prince Arthur's Park.*
These lands had l)een originally granted in 1752
to Capt. William Clapham, Samuel Blackdon, and
John Salisbury, (F/(/6 Lib. 2, fol. lo7, 298, and 161,
Registry of Deeds, Halifax) and were cither pur-
chased by, or else escheated and regranted to,
Creighton. The period at which the Lower Ferry
was started, is uncertain. It was chiefly for the
accommodation of persons coming from the country
to the eastward of the town. The Koca Scotia
• James Creighton, Esq., was one of the largest lanileil pro-
prietors in Dartmouth. His land, from near the present residence
of the Motts to within a short distance of the Insane Asylum, was
sold, in lots, to meet mortgage claims about the year 1S4.5 or 18.')(),
perhaps earlier. Mr. Creighton was a son of James Creighton,
an early settler in Halifax. He was father of the late James
(ieorge Andrew Creighton of the firm of Creighton and tirassie of
Halifax, and also of the late George Creighton. who married
Isabella Grassie, and whose sons now occupy situations in Halifax.
One of the sisters of the first James Creighton married Capt.
Crichton, R. N., who was the father of tiie late (Jeorge Augustus
Seymour Crichton, Es(j., of Dartmouth ; another sister married
Capt. Thomas Maynard, R. N., whose son is the Kev. T. Mayuard,
D.D., rector of Christ Church, Windsor, N. S— />;•. Akins' MS.
Note. James Creighton, the elder, died in Halifax, on Tuesday,
20th April, KHl.S, in the eighty-first ytar of his age. He was a
native of England, and came to Nova Scotia in 1749, at which
time he was only about sixteen yeais of age.
>i
';!.''■
11
m
nisTonY or DAnTMOuTn.
Royal Gdzeffr, of lf)th Marcli, 1S17, contaitis an
a(lvertis(Miient, sifjned by James Creif^hton, which
offers to let "that very eli^^'ible situation called the
Dartmouth Feri-y, now in the occupation of Mr. Peter
M'Callum." The notice states that on the premises
are a good house, outhouses, an extensive barn and
stable, with a whart' for the us(! of tlie terry,* and
the ])lace is "cojiveniently sitiiated for a house of
ent<'rtainnieiit."
When the team-boat S/ierhrooke made her first
trip o!i 8th November, LSKi, both Mr. Creio-hton
and Skerry must have known tliat their boats
would ultimately have to cease I'unning. Up to this
time, the only nunnier of crossino- the harbour, was
in ojii'n boats propelled by oars. These boats were
often heavily laden, and with adverse winds, it is
said they were fi-e(pieiitly hours in mnkirig the ti'ip
acr<
oss. From their size and stvle, thev were pc
)or
conveyances, not only for passen^vrs, but also for
tlie increasinij amount of produce which was cominj;
from the eastei-n settlements to the Halifax market.
A stru<,^oIe for existence now took place between
the riviil lines. The team-boat wanted exclusive
rio-ht, and the old ferries asked that they be not
disturbed by tliu new company. On "iOtii February,
* riukcf's wliiii'f la l)uilt on the t-ite of tliis wliiiif. 'I'lie old
wharf iliil not run at a riirlit i\n<'\v. to the shore.
-4
i
■^n*
FERRIES.
47
ISliS, Jiiines Creio'hton ami John Skerry })resente(l a
petition for relief to the House of Assembly, statinj^
that for a number of yeaivs each had been in posses-
sion of a feriy which had been n.aintained at
considerable expense, and that they were likely
to be much injured in consecpience of the Steani-
bo;;t Company beinf,' about to emj>loy boats of a
small description.* Another petition was presented
by Skerry, in January, 182 b The company retali-
ated by asking- for the sole ])rivilege of running a
ferry, which was refused by tl'.e House.
Skeriy finally sold his boats to the conipanj',
iind letired fr(an business. He died on 1st Sep-
tember, 1888, tiged 74 \ ears, and was buried in
the old Catholic liuryiuir Ground to the west of
the Dartmouth Common. He is said to have lieen
an excellent man — one who was pj'aised by all who
knew him.
At some time previous to 1825, Joseph Findlay,
foi'uierly captain of the team-boat, became the lessee
of Creighton's Ferry. "f- He ran two huge boats for
ordinary tratlic ; and in busy times, four. They
were either I'owed or saih'd, according to the wind.
* Tlit'se lunst have ln'cii tlie Ijoats wliicli wiTe known as
" (wiiulurt:." See a hul)Se(jiieiit page.
tile liail been preceded at ("reigliton's Ferry, by Tl.umas {':)
Da\ie.
48
HISTORY OF DAIITMOUTH.
Each boat carried from fifteen to thirty passengers,
and was managed by two men who were often
assisted by the passengers. Tlie number of trips
made each day, varied according to the weather ;
usually one was made every hour. The fare was
four-pence for an ordinary traveller, and from one
to one and a half penny for each coloured person.*
Like Skerry's boats, those of the Lower Ferry blew
a conch and cried " Over !" as a notice of departure.
They also landed at the Market Slip in Halifax.
When the harbour was lightly covered with ice, a
man — sometimes one of the passengers — stood in the
bow and with a mallet-like instrument opened the
way in advance of the boat. Findlay had a snug
little inn or ferry-house at the Dartmouth terminus.
Behind this building was a verdant hillock, and
before it a stream went babbling beneath the old
willow trees and flowed into the sea near the ferry
wharf. A lawn-tennis court has since been formed
on the site of the house, all traces of which have
disappeared.
About 1829 or LS30, Findlay was succeeded by
Thomas Brewer, who put on a sloop-rigged boat.
He managed the business luitil about 1832 or 1833,
when he retired, and the Lower Ferry ceased to
8kerry cliaigcil about the same rates.
FERRIES.
4d
exist. This left the Steam-boat Company without
a rival.*
In 1796 a company was formed and incorporated
by act of legislature, for the purpose of Ijuilding a
bridge of boats or some similar structure, which was
to commence from the vicinity of Black Rock, Dart-
mouth, and to terminate near the northern side of
the Naval Hospital, Halifax. Every encouragement
was given to the woi'k. The company was author-
ized to establish a toll for ninety-nine years, and it
was to be the owner of the bridge for that period.
At the end of the ninety-nine years, however, the
bridge was to become the property of the public.
The company having been incorporated, nothing
further was done in the matter.
Some forty-five years ago, a similar project was
undertaken at the instance of Arthur Godfrej', Esq.
A company was formed with the object of bridging
the Narrows. A screw-boat was run for a short
time between Richmond and the opposite shore, the
screw being moved by cranks turned by the hand.
The plan and manner of work were novel, and
excited a good deal of interest for a time. The
enterprise, however, soon collapsed, probably from
its own impracticability.
* The editor had to cancel the whole of Mrs. Lawson's
account of the ferries up to the end of this paragraph. He has
collected new information, and written the account de novo. — Ed.
50
HISTORY or DAUTMOUXn.
In 1815 an act was pcassed giving the governor
power to incorporate a number of gentlemen under
the name of the Halifax Steamboat Company. The
company was to continue in operation for twenty-
five years, and to enjoy the exchisiive right of
runninfj steamers, Vmt it was not to interfere with
the established line of ferry boats. Some years
afterwards, the right to run the latter was purchased
by the company from Mr. John Skerry, the active
manager of the smaller conveyances.
After the act was passed, it was decided that a
team-boat might be made suitable for transit and
freight, and the compaiy was accordingly allowed to
substitute a boat pi -elled by horse-power, for the
same period and with the same rights and privileges
as were conferred by the first act.
Tiie names of the original shareholders in the
Halifax Team-Boat Company, formed in 1815, are
given below : —
Hon. Sampson S. Blowers,
Thomas Nicholson JefFery,
Dr. William B. Almon,
Thomas Heaveside,
John Starr,
John Stayner,
Charles Morris, jr.,
Michael Tobin,
Hon. Michael Wallace,
Charles Morris, senr.,
Thomas Boggs,
William Lawson,
Frederick Major,
Jonathan Tremaine, jr,
John Tremaine,
John Albro,
FERRIES.
51
Charles R. Fairbanks, Richard Treniaine,
Samuel Cunanl, Robert Hartshorne,
Henry H. Co<^'swell, William Bowie,
Andrew Wri^dit, John Clarke,
Charles Rufus Fairbaidcs, Seci'darij.
Ill 181G a team-l)oat was built and placed on
the ferry.* The yava Scolia Royal Gazette of
27th August, ]NI7, contains the following advei'tise-
n»ent :
Halifax Team-Boat Company.
Hherhrooh! Teann-Boat.
The Committee appointed to conduct the business
of the Halifax Team Boat Company, beg leave to
inform the Public, that the Slterlyrooke continues to
ply between their wharf at Dartmouth and the
* Tlie Tuani-hoat was lauiiclied on Moiulay, SOtli Scptemljcr,
ISIG ; and on Friday, Stli Xovf;inl)er, of the same y(3ar, it made
itstlrst trip from D.utii'.outli to Messrs. Fairlianks's wharf at Halifax
(See Weekly Chronicle, Sth Xoveniber, 181(5, and the Acadian
liecoider of the nt'xt day). The hoat must have afterward-*
ceafacd nuinini; for a time, for the X. S. lioyal Oazilte of '28th
May, 1817, says that it commenced its operation on the morning
of that day. Its terminus at Dartmouth was at the foot of
Portland Street, wliere the present steamboats land. The first
grant of town and water-lots to the company, is dated SOtli
August, 1810 (Vidf (Jrmt iiooks, Lib. (i., fol. 16). It names
town-lots, numbers 1 and 'J, Letter U, and number 7, Letter W,
also the water-lots in front of lots U 1, 2, and 3, and \V 7.
For subset^uent grants, see (irant Books, Lib. '29, fol. 70 (1818),
and Lib. I, fol. 70 (1820), also a grant dated 1830. The team-boat
was assisted by two or three small boats known as " (jrinders."
They were propelled Ijy side-wheels, which were mo 'id by an
iron crank turned by manual ])ower. These conveyances usually
ran between the trips of the large boat. —Ed.
w
62
HISTORY OF DARTMOUTH.
I|"
; I
Market Slip, from sunrise until one hour after
sunset, rem;iininff fifteen minutes on each side the
harbour. The Committee also inform the Public,
that they have reduced the Rates of Fares for
Cattle, and Carria<^es of every description ; and
that they are proceeding to prepare a coinfortal)le
Ferry House at Dartmcjuth, and more extensive
stabling for Horses, &:c.
Every exertion will be made to accommodate
Passengers, and to give satisfaction.
RATES OF FAKE.
I. s. d.
For each passenger, above ten years of age .... 4
Do. under 10 j'ear.s of age 2
A horse, ox, or cow I
A hog, sheep, goat or calf 3
A four wheel carriage 1
A gig 6
A truck, cart, butcher's or baker's waggon. . . .0 3
A waggon or sled load of hay 2
Ditto returning empty 1
A sled or truck load of wood 1
Ditto returning empty 3
A pipe, puncheon, or hogshead 1
A barrel 3
Grain or roots per bushel 1
Chest, box, or trunk . . 3
Halifax, 23rd. August, 1817.
Dr. Akins {History of Halifax, new edition)
describes the Sherbrooke as consistinjj of two boats
or hulls united by a platform, with a paddle between
the boats. The deck was surrounded by a round
house containing a large cogwheel arranged horizon-
tally, to which were attached eight or nine horses
FERRIF.S.
63
harnessed to iron stanchions cominj^ down from the
wheel. As the horses moved round, the wheel,
by means of connecting' f,'ear, revolved the paddle.
The trips varied in time according to wind and
weather; often occupying half an hour in crossing,
sometimes making the passage in less than fifteen
minutes. These boats, which were always inade-
quate to the travel and freight of the ferry
were at last superseded by more convenient craft.
In 1828 the company gave orders to Mr. Alexander
Lyle- —who for some years had owned a ship-
yard of good repute in Dartmouth — for the
construction of a steam-boat of thirty horse-power.
This steamer was called the Sir Charles Ogle
in honour of the admiral of that name who was
then on the North American and West Indian
station. The steam-engine placed in this boat was
the first introduced into Nova Scotia.* In 1832,
another steamer of tho same size and strength was
built by Mr. Lyle at the same shipyard. It was
called the Boxer, in honour and grateful recognition
of the services of Capt. Edward Boxer, of H. M.S.
Hussar, who with a party of sailors had succeeded in
getting the Sir C. Ogle clear when she had stuck on
•This is a mistake. The General Mining Association intro-
duced the first steam-engine into Nova Scotia. ( Vide Campbell's
History of X. S., p. 282.)- Ed.
54
IIISTOHY OP DARTMOUTH.
§
the "ways" at the time of hiunchinf];.* In 1844' a
third steamer was added to the Dartmouth ferry
fleet. This was one of fort}' hoi'.se-power, Like the
two steamers precedinnr her, she was built in Lyle's
shipyard. Slie was called the Micmac in memory
of the native Indian trihe whose tomahawks had
been cruelly used upon the first settlers of Dart-
mouth. Some years after, about LSGf), the Boxer
was sold, and another steamer, the C/iehucto, was put
In her place.-f* This boat was built in a yard near the
Steamboat Company's wharf. The machinery of the
Boxer was transferred to tiie new steamer, and is
still used to propel that boat. She is not as larf^e as
the Micmac. The latter is regarded as a safe and
comfortable boat,
Each of the steamers during its many years
of harbour travel, had worn out many boilers and
much machinerj'', but the old hulks still remained.
Sometimes widened, sometimes lengthened, now and
then fitted with new cabins and additional seats,
occasionally cleaned and painted, — the boats have
became so changed in details, that the original
builder could hardly recognize any of his work and
materials.
*She wa3 launched Ist January, 1830. — Ed,
f The Boxer was changed into a lighter and employed in the
West Indiv^n trade. — Ed.
FGRRIE.'i.
m
Passengers clumped and passed away, but the old
boats remained. Having made haste slowly, they
seemed to survive in perpetual youth; and Halifax
and Dartmouth appeared to have settled down to the
belief that nothin<( better was required for their
ferry accommodation. The age is called one of
progress, but the Dartmouth Steamboat Company
was conservative and faithful to its belief in the
perfection of the past. The Ogle, Chehucto, and
Micmac would have been justified in taking up the
refrain, " Men may come and men may go, but we
go on forever."
In 188G a change was made in the ownership and
directorate. A new company was formed, containing
the names of many of the old sharehoklers together
with a number of new ones. Larger an<l faster
boats and better accommodation were promised, but
up to hS88 the ancient trio had neither associates
nor rivals. For many years the secretary and
manager of the company was Edward H. Lowe, Es(i.,
a respectable resident of Dartmouth. At his death
the management fell to the genial care of Capt.
George Mackenzie. Ho was afterwards laid aside
by illness, and younger men took charge of the
affairs of the new company.
In 1888, a fine steamer called the Dartmouth
was built and placed on the ferry. Her first
I
s
81
HISTOnV OP DARTMOUTn.
#
trip was mado on 17th Juno, She was a f^reat
improvement over the old boats.
It is generally understood, that while the corn-
party's Ht earners were of the greatest import-
ance to the people of Dartmouth, the returns
were largely remunerative to the shareholders.
In the spring of 1800 the Halifax and Dartmouth
Steam Ferry Company withdrew the privilege of
commutation rates. The indignant citizens there-
upon formed a committee which purchased the
steamer Arcadia on the 31st March, 1890, and
carried foot-passengers across for one cent. This
of course was at a great loss. A Ferry Commis-
sion was appointed on the 17th April, under the
provisions of Chapter 83 of the Acts of 1890,
passed on the 15th April, and the body organized
on the 24th of the same month. This commis-
sion purchased the Arcadia from the citizens
committee, and she continued to run in competi-
tion with the old ferry line until the 30th June.*
A boat capable of undertaking the complete team
service was now required, aud finally the steamer
Annex 2, of the Brooklyn Annex Line rr
between Brooklyn and New Jersey, was \ii:
* The boat ran between Campbell's whai f , ^ utmouth , and
the city wharf, Halifax. — Ed.
FERIUES.
57
for S25,0()(). The steamer arrived at Dartmouth
on the niglit of 11th July. Thousands of people
flocked to see her, and many stood on a movaMo
pUitform at the end of Lawlor's wharf to
which she was being moored. The great weight
snapped two of the chains which sustained the
platform, and about forty people were precipitated
into the water. After the greatest excitement,
all were rescued except four. These were Miss
Bessie Foster, aged twenty-two, daughter of Edward
Forster, Esq., Ella Synott, aged nineteen, daujLjh-
ter of Mr. Michael Synott, Peter Boyle, aged
sixty-five, and a coloured lad, John Bundy, aged
eleven. The tragedy caused much sorrow, and
the families of the victims had the sympathy of all
classes.
Negotiations had been entered into with wharf
proprietors on both sides of the harbour, with the
view of procuring suitable docks, but at last the
Steam Ferry Company, daunted by the blustering
tones of its opponents, consented to sell its property
for 8109,000. The sale took place on the 1st July,
but the company continued to run the boats until
the 15th of that month. Thus terminated an
exciting contest between the company and the town,
which had been carried on with more or less vigour
during the previous three months. The commission
^'
m
w
■1 K,
58
HISTORY OF DARTMOUTH.
raised their fare to three cents, jukI in 1891,
advanced it to four cents — but little cheaper than
the old rate. A new waitinj^-house wis erected at
Halifax, and other improvements made. In the
spring of 1893, the Ghehudo was sold for 8375.
The Annex 2 is now known as the Halifax*
The steamboats leave the dock on each side
every quarter of an hour, bearing their motley
freight, peculiar to each season. Brooms and baskets,
may flowers and ferns, water-lilies, and the wild
berries of the woods, ice-carts, milk-waggons, broad
loads of hay, market pi'oduce, clothes-props, poles
and hoops, and spruce trees, fashionaVile equipages
and teamsters' drays, — every variety and stjde of
commodity and vehicle may be found on the crowded
decks.
The passage across the harbour is made in ten
minutes. Dartmouth is seen to great advantage in
the transit. The undulating hills in tlie distance,
the luxariant growth of native trees covering each
elevation, the broad harbour stretching out to the
Atlantic, the pretty villas dotted all over the land-
scape from the Windmill to Fort Clarence, can all be
seen and admired in one brief passage from shore to
shoi'c. The steamers, with their varying passengers,
This ami the preceding paragraph, are inserted l>y the
editor.
s||i'
PKRRIES.
#
are worlds in miniature,— grave men of business,
light-hearted girls, noisy school-boys, merry darkies,
solemn squaws, chattering French peasants, stolid
labourers, men and women of leisure and of fashion,
may all be seen on these boats as they pass to and
fro, from six o'clock in the morning until midnight.
Dartmouth without its steamboats, would not be
Dartmouth. " Tlie Boat " is the one great element
in their daily life. Many of the residents have their
business in Halifax, and they are obliged to cross
several times a day. Transient population and
visitors live in a perpetual effort to be in time for
the ferry. Residents are more philosophic, and
maintain a happy state of agreement between their
watches and the time of the boats, and they thus
find no difficulty in being at the wharf when the
bell i-ings previous to the closing of the gates.
For some years a ferry has run between Rich-
mond, Halifax, and the ])artmouth shore to the
westward of the old Windmill. RoM'boats are
employed on the line. It is no doubt a great con-
venience to those who reside in that quarter.
ill
illUi
60
HISTORY OP DARTMOUTH.
CHAPTER IV.
i
m
FROM THE DEPARTURE OF THK QUAKER.S IN 1792
UNTIL THE PRESENT TIME.
THERE is very little to record in the history of
Dartmouth from the date of the exodus of
the Quakers. In the year 1809, it contained
only nineteen dwelling houses.* These had been
built by the Quakers. Previous to their settlement
in the town, the buildings were probably log-huts or
shanties of the poorest kind.
During the war between France and England,
Halifax Harbour was the rendezvous of the navy,
and many of the prizes with prisoners of war
were brought into port. Several of the latter,
* According to M. B. Desbrisay, the town at this time
contained a tannery, a bakery, and a grist-mill. ( Vide, "Sketches
of Dartmouth," Provincial Magazine, 1852, page 423.) On a
military plan dated 1808, there appears a dismantled fort close to
the shore at Black Rock Point. It is named Fort DuDcan, and is
about one hundred and fifty feet square. It is not marked on
another military map of 1784, and consequently must have been
built and abandoned between those dates. — Ed,
FROM 1702 UNTIL PPESENT TIME.
ei
cliieHy tlie common men of the French crews, were
lodfjed in the prison on Melville Island, near the
North West Arm. Others were kept in conHnemont
on the Dartmouth side, in a huilding near the Cove,
which now forms a part of one of the factories
owned l)y John P. Mott, Esq. Here the prisoners,
who are represented as generally cheerful, indus-
trious and well-behaved, passed two or three years
of light-hearted seclusion. Visitors were permitted
to see them, and they were occasionally allowed to
ramble abroad within certain limits. They amused
themselves by manufacturing small articles out of
bone and wood, such as dominoes, draughtsmen,
boxes, needles and various little ornaments. These
found a ready s.ale among their visitors. The
French officers were on parole, and sevei-al of them
remained in Dartmouth during their enforced resi-
dence in Nova Scotia. Others preferred Preston,
and will be referred to in the history of that
township.
On September 25th, 1798, and again in Novem-
ber, 1813, a terrible gale swept the harbour of
Halifax, doing great damage to the shipping at the
wharves. Many of the vessels were broken from
their moorings and drifted over to Dartmouth. The
shore on that side, for some distance along tha town,
was covered with fragments from the wrecks.
62
IIISTonY OF DAHTMOUTH.
These storms are said to have V)een the most violent
and destructive ever felt in Nova Scotia.*
In 1829, the population of Dartmouth numT)ere<l
nine hundred and sixty individuais.f In 1852 it
had grown into a town with three liundred houses,
and about fifteen hundre<l inhabitants. The manu-
factories then in operation included two foundaries,
five tanneries, one chocolate manufactory, three
*Tlic gale of 1813, wliich came from tlie south-east, occurred
on Friday, Noveinher 12tli. It l)p;,Mn at about o o'clock p. m. and
continued with gruat violence until al)out 7. In little more than
an hour, few ships were left at their anchors anil of these there
was scarcely one which had not sustained some material injury.
An account of tiio storm will he found in Murdoch's History of
Nova Scotia, vol. Ill, pages S'lU-vlGO. In the storm of .Septemlier,
1798, shipping, wharves, and other property, were destroyed, to
the vahie of nearly £100,000, and most of the roads were rendered
impassaljle from the falling of trees across them. — E<(.
t Dr. Akins in an unsigned pencil note in this essay, says,
that " the village in 1820 contained at least sixty houses, if not
more." Mr. Lawrence llartshorne and Mr. Jonathan Treuiaine
were at that time carrying on the manufacture of (lour. Their
grist-mill— a very large building — was situated in Dartmouth Cove,
on the eastsiue of the river flowing from the First Lake. When
the canal was being constructed, a long race was built to con-
venience the mill. About ten or twelve years after this, the mill
ceased io be used, and it was subsequently destroyed by fire. The
foundation of the building may still be seen, and the old store
stands on the shore of the Cove, where the water from the
Dartmouth Lakes flows into the sea. At a ball given by the
governor and Mrs. VVentw^rth on December 20th, 1792, the
supper was embellished by - cral ornaments, among which was a
representation of Messrs. Hartshorne and Tremaine's 7ien' dour
mill—Eil.
FROM 1792 UNTII, PHESENT TIME.
ea
grist mills nnd a nail mill. Several of these were
driven l.y steam power. From that time the
town has aone on ([uietly but steadily improving.
Numerous industries have taken root and flourished.
They will all ])e described in order.
The shipyards of Messrs. Lyle * and Chapel,
opened about 182:}, employed a large number of
workmen. 'J'hese firms had a goo.l reputation as
superior builders, and for years their business was
most prosperous. The " Barbara " was built in the
shi])yard of the formei-. She ran from Galway to
Haliax with emigrants in twelve days. The first
vessel l)uilt in Dartmouth was called the " Maid of
the Mill," and was used in the trade of the grist-
mill then In full operation. When a large ship was
completed at the ship-yard, the time of her launch
was a gala-day for Dartmouth. Some fair leader in
Halifax society was generally chosen to christen
the ship. A crowd of spectators gathered to witness
the scene, a military band attended, flags waved in
honour of the occasion, and the ship passed away
from the place of her creation, amidst music, cheer.s,
and applause.
•Lyie's shipyard vas immediately to the northwest of the
Ciiebucto Marine Kaihvay. A note on a map in the Crown Lands
OaSce, Halifax, says that Alexander Lyle received a grant of the
water lots there, on April ]2tli, 1837.— £"(/.
64
HISTORY OF DARTMOUTH.
I' -S
it
1 1
In 1845, a Mechanics' Institute was erected by
the people of ]3artmouth. This was the first
buihling for that purpose known in Nova Scotia
and it has done much service in the social and,
literary history of the place.
In the fall of 1S.')9, the Scottish Rifles, Chebucto
Greys, and other volunteer companies were ori]fan-
ized in Halifax. Early in 1860 Dartmouth followed
that city's example, and formed a company known
as the Dartmouth Rifles. The captain was David
Falconer, and the lieutenants were J. W. Johnston
(now Jud^e Johnst(m) and Jose])h Austen. The
company drilled in Dartmouth until May, 18G0, when
it united with five Halifax companies and formed the
Halifax Volunteei" Battalion. In December, 1861, the
Dartmouth Rifles were inspected by Gen. Dojde, and
in January following by Col. Taylor. On account of
tlie formation of the Dartmouth Engineers, and the
small size of the town, the Rifles found it difficult
to keep their ranks filled. Lieut. Johnston resigned
liis commission, and in June, 1803 [18G4?] Capt.
Falconer gave up command. The company disbanded
on July 1st, as it was not up to the required strength.
The Dartmouth Engineers were formed a month
after the organization of the Dartmouth Rifles.
The company was formed of men connected with
mechaniciil pursuits. The first captain was Richard
FROM 1792 UNTIL PRESENT TIME.
65
Hartshorne and the lieutenants were Thomas A.
Hyde and Thomas Synnott. On May 14th, 1861,
Hartshorne resigned, and Hyde took command of
the company. In November, W. H. Pallister of
Hahfax was elected captain. Having heen unable
to obtain instruction as engineers, the company
entered the Halifax Volunteer Battalion in 1802
and was known as the 2nd Dartmouth. In 1863,
W. W. Smith, M. D., was elected surgeon, and in
1865 he was succeeded by J. B. Gar vie, M. 1). In
the latter year, W. S. Symonds became captain and
S. R. Sircom and J. W. Hay, lieutenants. During
the Fenian alarm in the summer of 1866, the
company was called out for garrison duty under
Capt. Symonds and Lieutenants Sircom, Hay and
Campbell. In February, 1871, Hay was promoted
to the rank of captain. The company did not
attend drill in a satisfactory manner, and it soon
after ceased to exist.*
A Fire Engine Company was established in 1822,
an Axe and Ladder Company in 1865, and a Union
Protection Company in 1876.
Dartmouth was incorporated b}'^ an act of
assembly passed in the year 1873. The municipal
• J he above paragraph has been inserted by the editor. Vide
Thomas J. Egan'a lliatory of the Halifax Volaritfr Battalion
and Volunteer GompanieH, Halifax, 1888, pages 157-102.
5
66
HISTORY OP DARTMOUTH.
affairs are conducted by a warden and six coun-
cillors, and all local matters are provided for and
arranged by this court.
W. S. Syrnonds was elected the first warden.
There were three wards allotted to the township,
and two councillors for each ward, namely : Ward 1,
J, W. Johnstone, Joseph W. Allen ; Ward 2, John
Forbes, William F. Murray; Ward 3, Thomas A.
Hyde, Francis Mnmford. Thomas Short was the
clerk. The first meeting of the council was held,
23rd May, 1873, at the residence of the warden.
The officers are elected annually.
The town has grown and improved very much
du'ing the last ten or twenty years. The popula-
tion in 1871 was 3,786. In 1886, thirty houses,
one school-house, and a x*ailway station were built
within its limits. The number of inhabitants in
1887 was probably about five thousand. The pro-
gress of the place is very much increased by the
many manufactories established and flourishing
there.
The old Presbyterian Church near the corner
of King and North Streets, was formerly used as
a town-hall, but it was afterwards discarded, and
the Mechanics' Institute building now contains the
civic offices. A bell-tower has been erected on the
old church and it is now a fire-engine house
FROM 17112 UNTIL PRESENT TIME.
67
Besides these buildings. ])artinouth contains a
Reform Club Hall, an exhibition building and
skating rink, and several school-houses.* Nearly all
of these are the outcome of its growth during
the last twenty years.
Several changes have taken place in Dartmouth
during the last six years.f A number of tiiese have
been mentioned from time to time in the foot-notes.
About the beginning of 1891, a public reading-room
was established. It is situated near the ferry docks,
and is much used by the inhabitants. The mayor in
his report, says he believes it to be the only free
roading-rooin in the province. The town deserves
much credit for thus placing current literature
before all its people, fiee of charge.
Until recently, the town of Dartmouth had
obtained its water from public wells and pumps,
of which, in 1800, there were about nineteen of the
former and eighteen of the latter. The idea of
supplying the town from some of the surroundin*^
*The schools of Dartmouth in 189.3, are : Central, on Quarrel
Street ; Elliot School-H.nise. on Diuulas Street ; Greenvale, on
Ochterlonc-y Street ; Hawthorne, on Hawthorne Street ; Park, on
Wiii.huill Road ; Stairs's Street, for ooloure-1 children ; Tufta's
Cove ; and Woodsi.ie. The Central School-house is on the site of
the old Quaker meeting-hou«-j ( "^ee pa^c 22. ) — iS'(/.
tThe remaining paragraphs of this chapter have been inserted
by the editor, in order to bring the history down to the present
year (1893). Mrs. Lawson's essay stopped at 1887.— Ed.
in
68
HISrOUV OK nARTMOUTII.
ill
h
lakes, hiul been entertained for a number of years,
l)Ut notblng definite hud been done. Finally a
scheme was formuhited and approved at a public
meotinf!^ held on 2Gth January, 1891, and an act in
accordance with the scheme was passed by the
legislature on I9th May, folio win ijj. A water connnia-
sion was formed which met on 15th June for organiza-
tion. The sup))ly was to be obtained from Lamont's
and Topsail Lakes, wliich are about three miles
from the town, on the Preston Road. Their com-
bined area is about 108 acres. On 14th July, C. E.
W. Dodwell, C. E., was appohited engineer ; and soon
aftei-, tenders were asked for pipes, etc. The work
of trenching and laying the main from Pino Street
to tlie Lakes commenced on 3rd October. When the
water was turned on the pipes for trial, it was found
that they leaked in very many places. This had to
be remedied, and it was not until 2nd November,
] 892, that the water was turnerl on the town for the
first time and the line subjected to its full pressure.
The construction of sewers was also begun
in 1891.
Early in 1892, the council made arrangements
with the Dartmouth Electric Light and Power
Company to light the streets by electricity. The
service began on the 13th July of that year.
Previously the town had been lighted by street-
lamps, fifty-eight of which were employed in 1891.
FIIOM 1792 UNTIL PREaENT TIME.
69
About 1891 a site for a new post-ofRce was
purchased by the Doiuinion government from the
ferry commission. The building is now nearly
finished. It is of brick, but cannot boast of
architectural beauty. Up to this time, no special
building had been erected for the purpose.
In IHHH, the town council decided to place the
Common under the care of a commission. This
was done as soon as possiblo. In 1890, four
hun<lred trees were planted, a pavilion wtls erected,
and the roads and paths were improved. Since
then the work of embellishing the place has been
continued. It is now known as the Dartmouth.
Park. Further information regarding the Common
will be found in a note on pages 20 and 21 of
this history.
According to McAIpine's Gazdkci^ ami Guide
for the Maritime Povinces, 1892, the town of
Dartmouth contains two foundaries, three tanneri(>s,
forty-five stores, four boarding-houses, one skate
factory, one rope and t)akum factory, one nail
factoiy, two saw mills, one soap and spice factoiy
one carriage and steel sin-ing factory, and copper-
paint works.
The population of the town according to the
census of 1891, was 0,252, an<l the place contained
1,029 houses.
70
HISTOBY OF DARTMOUTH.
iif''
CHAPTER V.
CHUUCII HISTORY. .
ON 3rfl November, 1792, the Bisliop of Nova
Scotia, the Rev. Dr. Charles Iiif,'liH, adrh'essed a
letter to the governor, Sir John Wentworth.
reijuesting him to en^ct Preston, Dartmouth and
Lawrencetown into one parish by the name of St.
John's Parish. The re(|uest was laid before council,
and granted. The parish was accordingly laid out
as follows : " Begiiuiing at the [»laee of Fort
Sackville Bridge, being at the conlluenco of Fort
tSaekvillo River with liedfonl Jiii.sin, and from
thence to run N. 75 E. by the magnet to the
northern boundary of the Township of Preston,
ami thence to be boumled northerly by Preston
aforesaid; on the east by the east line of Preston
and by Chizzetcook River and Harbour; on the
South by the sea coast of Lawrencetown, until it
comes to tlie south-east entrance into the Harbour
of Halifax ; and thence running up the .several
courses of the shores of said Harbour, through the
Narrows into Bedford Basin aforesaid, and by the
several courses of the Siiid Basin until it come.s to
•i'
OHUncn HI8TORT.
71
the l)ounds first mentioned ; which inchidcH the
Townships of Preston, Dartmouth and Lawronce-
town, and any other settlement within tlie prescribed
limits, and also to include Cornwallls's (McNab's)
Island and the Island called Carroll's Island
in 1792."
The first church in this extensive parish, was
built in Preston probal)l;y' about the year 1795, and
remained the only parish church until 1S16
On the 10th of June in the latter jeai-, a
number of the people, inhabitnnts of Dartmouth,
petitioned the governor, Sir J. C. Sherbrooko, for
goverment aid to enable them to erect a church on
the lot in Dartmouth granted by government for
that purpose. The petition was signed by Jonathan
Tremaine, H. W. Scott, Robert Hartshorne, Sanuiel
Albro, Lawrence Hartshorne, jr., and Richard
Tremaine.
This I'oquost was granted, and the foundation of
the church, now called Christ Church, was laid.*
* CnuRoii AT Dartmouth. — The Corner-Stone of a Church to
be erected by subscription of tlie inhabitants of Dartmoulli niul
Halifax, aiileil by a donation from His I<'xcellency Sir tJoiin C.
Sherbrooko, was laid at two o'clock tliia day, l)y his KxcelU'iicy
the Earl of Dalhousie, who has also been a most liberal subscriljcr
to the undertaking, in the piesence, and under the auspices, of the
Rij^ht Reverend the Lord Hishop of Nova So )tia, b'ear-Admiral
Sir David Milne, K. C. B., the Hon. Commissioner Wodehouse,
the Rev. Dr. Inglis, and many other respectable Piuishit ners.
(Xova Scotia Royal Gazette, Halifax, 9th July, 1817.)-- A'-/.
72
HISTORY OF DARTMOUTH.
I I
It does not appear to have been completed until
1819, but was probably used for divine service
about 1817. In that year, the Rev. Charles Inglis
was appointed rector. He married a sister of the
ate Lawrence Hartshorne, Esq., whose name is
still lu'ld in honourable memory by all who knew
him, — an uprir^ht, honest and benevolent man, a
good citizen and a faithful friend, of him it may
be truly said, that "ho bore without abuse, the
grand old name of guntleman." The Hartshornes,
Tromainos, Creightons, Fosters and Albros are
among the oldest residents and best known
families of Dartmouth. The standard bearers of
their names, with the exception of G. A. Creighton,
Esq., have all passed away, but tlieir descendents
are still among the best and most inHuenti'al
residents of the town, whose growth and well-
beinii" was aided and secured by their forefathers.
In June, 1810, the rector of ('hrist Church,
Rev. Charles Inglis, and the churchwardens, H. W.
Scott and Sanuiel Albro, petitioned the govei-nor
to have the grant of the lot on which they had
buili the church, made out and completed. Which
was -approved by Lord Daliiousie, th - go\ ernor of
the province at that time.
Dartmouth was now the {)ari,sli of Christ Church,
but the rector had also charge of the parish of St.
CHURCH mSTOHV.
73
John's, Preston. Those were the only two stations
for divine service, for several years. Afterwards
the Eastern Passap' and Three-Fathom Harbonr
were added to the charfje of the rectors of Dart-
mouth. Mr. lufflis remained rector until 1825 ;
when he removed to Sydney, C. B. Kev. E. B.
Benwell, an En(,dishman, succeeded him. He only
continued his ministrations for a short term.*
The Re Mather Byles DesBrisay was the next
incumhei. He was a son of Captain DesBrisay
of the Ro\'al Artillery,^ and on his mother's side
was a descendant of the celebrated Cotton Mather,
and a f^randson of Dr. Byles wIkj at the time of
the American reV)ellit)n, left his home in Boston,
givin<jf up j)Osition and preferment to maintain his
loyalty to his sovcivi<^ni. Flis faithful and uncom-
promising spirit has been ti'ansmitted to his
descendants, (jf whom a goodly numl>er remain
amc^no- our most inHueutial country nicii.
The Rev. Mathci- IJylcs Deslh-isay was a
graduate of King's College, Wir.dsor. He was a
*.\Ir. lii'invcU was rector foi' only 'Hio yi.'ur. Ho was suo-
CCCmIlmI by Ml-. Pc.sHiisiy 'ii lS.'2S.—Ei.'.
t Miuiied at St. .lohii. \. IV, 0:1 Mon.l.iy, tlie •.'■Jti.l nil.,
Tlioiiia.s Dr.sBrisiiy, Ks(|., I.itut. -Coloiiul of His Mdjcsiy'* lloyal
Kcgiineiit of Artillt'iy, to NHsi Anna Uylcs, iliuiLlitcr of tlie
KcvM. Dootor [Matlici] llylus, Rectoi' lif tlial (.'ity, and Cliapliin
of Xi'W liruiiswick. (//c./ijar Janrrid!, 8tli Aii':iit<t, 1 V!H). )— A''/.
74
IIISTOBY OF DARTMOUTH.
ir:
young man of great promise. His sweetness of
disposition endeared him to all who knew him,
while his devotion to, and earnestness in his work,
commanded the admiration and esteem of his peo le.
His coiifTregation built a rectory for him near the
First Dartmouth Lake. The house is pleasantly
situated in a thick grove of native trees. It was
retained as a rectory durinfj the incumbency of
several clergymen ; but l)eing rather far from
immediate parish work, it was sold to Col. Sinclair,
a retired army officer, who with his family lived
there for several years.* In l'^S2, a new rectory
was built in the close neighbourhood of the church,
which after being occupied by Rev. J. Bell, i^: again
let until such time as tlie rector in charge may
require it.
.Ml-. DosBi'isay witli liis mother and I'l'otlier, lived
in tlie original rt'otoiy ffoiii the time of his induction
until liis death. The nicinhfrs of his family who
live<l with hini. were both literary in theix- tastes
and added t() tli^'ir cultivation anil varied knowledo-e
tlie jiccouiplishmt'iit of being occasional writers of
graceful vers*--.
Mr. DesRi'isay's ministerial labours were extended
from Dartmouth to the Eastern Passaige and Three-
* It is now oecupie<l hy L. P. Fairljanks, Esq — Ed.
CHURCH HISTORY.
75
Fathom Harbour, now Seaforth. The latter station
being twenty-five miles from Halifax, was visited
for service once every month, and more frequently
in cases of illness or death. His labours were
most warmly appreciated by the people under
his charge, and few clergymen have been
better loved or more deeply lamented than the
young rector of Dartmouth, whose life of usefulness
was cut short in his thirty-first year A heavy
cold taken while in the discharge of his duty, resulted
in illness so serious that nothing could be done to
save a life of such value. He was only laid aside
for a few days, when his death occurred at the
rectory which he had made a refuge for the weary
and a home for the sorrowful.
The following is an article copied from the
I\ova Scofian of the 13th Februarj', 18."4, said to
have been written l)y his attached frien<l and
fellow-student, the Rev. William Cogswell, then
curate of St. Paul's, Halifax. The obituary is a
touching tribute to bis purity of life and his
earnestness in the work of liis Muster: —
"Died, on Sunday, the 9th of February, 1S34,
at the Dartmouth Rector}', in the 81st year of his
ago, the Rev. Mather Ryles DesBrisay, A. M., Rector
of Cliri.st Chuicb, Dartmouth, and missionarj'^ of
the Society for tlie Pro]iagation of t)ie CJospel in
Foreign Parts. In his private, as well as his minis-
! ' I
76
IIISTOnV OF DAUTMOUTII.
fcerial character, living he was equally beloved, dying
he is equally deplored !
" The first year or two of his ministry was
spent principally in visits to St. Margaret's Bay
and other places which were without a resident
clergyman ; and the afiection and gratitude with
which the inhaViitants of every place in which he
has, for however short a period, exercised his
ministry, bear ample testimony to the kindness
and humility of his demeanor, and his christian zeal
for their spiritual welfare.
" Since his settlement in Dartmouth, his labours
in the cause of his Master have been arduous and
incessant. Several pai'ts of his extensive mi.ssion,
which had been rarely visite<l in former yeai-s or
blessed with the ordinances of religion, were made
by him the objects of his almost weekly care : and
some of the yet more distant parts, which had boon
accustomed to look only for a yoai'ly visit from
a minister of Christ, were favoured with a regular
monthly opportunity f)f hearing the word of Ood.
The usual routine of Sunday duties which he had
marked out for himself, obliged him to travel tiftoon
hundred miles and hold upwards of one hundred
and fifty full services within the year. Pnit his
ex(3rtions were not limited to his Sunday duties.
No call of duty, from whatever distance, found him
either unwilling or unprepared to attend to it ; and
it is scai'cely more than a month since he went and
retm-ned a distance of twenty-fivo miles three times
in (die week, to visit a sick man at Tliiee-Fathom
Harbour, whose <leath called him a fourtli time,
within a fVw davs, the same distance.
" Xot\yithstanding such great e.veitions, which
might almost seem to justify a degi-ee of self-
C(jmplacency and satisfaction, such was his humility
and fi-eedom from displiy, that none but his most
cnuRcn uisTony.
1 1
• ed, dying
' was
Bay
st)-}'
■et's
resident
U(]e with
whicli lie
3ised his
kinchioss
tian zeal
■; lal'ours
lous and
mission,
yoai-s or
re made
ire ; and
'-id hoen
'it fron)
rerj'ular
of Cod.
ho had
fifteen
nndre<I
nt his
duties.
h1 him
t ; and
»t and
times
a thorn
time,
which
S(.lf-
mility
most
intimate friends were aware of the extent of his
lalionj-s, and to them the exjiressions of his regret
were that he was ahle to do so little.
'' But while the chinch of which he was an
ornament, has sustained such a loss, who can
express the deep bereavement under which his
mourriing family and afflicted friends are left to
suti'ei" l>y his departure. To every one of his
contemjiOi'aries at college, he was endeare.l hy
ties than \Onch no brotherly attection could be
stronger. The people of his charge feel like the
smitten Egj'jitians, — as though in ever}' house there
wa!^ one dead ! And his famil}' have to lament one
whose ailection Wfis iinceasiiirj, whose kindness and
attentions were unvarying, whose tempei- was
uni-uffled, and whose disjiosition, jtartaking largely
as it did of the milk of human kindness, was yet
more deeply imbued witli the mild and softening
influence of Christian sympatliy. Long and (lee])ly
will his remembrance be cherished by his family,
his bretliren, i'jul his friends. Loni; and enffei'lv
will the church he adorned l(«)k for one so calculated
to impress her doctrines, so enabled ])y God's grace
to exemplify those doctrines in his life, so likely to
have gained the esteem, the admii-ation, and the
regard of all parties and denominations of Christians
by his simplicity, his zeal, his humility, his purity,
his talents, his devotion, and his singleness of
pui'pose.
" His remains were interred this afternoon, at two
o'clock, beneath the altar in the Parish Church of
Dartmouth, where his much respected Diocesan paid
his last ti'ibute of respect to the character of a
zealous missit)nary and devoted parish ]iriest, l)y
committing his dust to its kindred dust, in the
sure and cei'tain hoj)e of a glorious resurrection to
eternal life."
78
HISTORY or DARTMOUTH.
1 I ' I
iiM!l ,
I'M
!i I
Dr. Thomas B. DesBrisay, brother of the subject
of the above notice, was for many years the leading
physician in Dartmouth. His eldest son is Judge
Mather Byles DesBrisay of Bridgewater, Lunenburg
County, Nova Scotia.
After the death of the Rev, M. B. DesBrisay,
the parish was successively under the care of the
following rectors : Rev. A. D. Parker, a son of the
late Hon. Chief Justice Parker of Fredericton,
N. B. ; Rev. George E. W. Morris,* son of the late and
third Hon. Charles Morris, Surveyor General of the
Province ; Rev. James Shreve, D. D. ; Rev. James
Stewart; Rev. Ferdinand Pryor; Rev. J. B. Richard-
son ; Rev. John Bell, an Englishman who came to
Nova Scotia under the auspices of tlio Ci)lonial
and Continental Church Society ; and the Rev.
Nicholas Raven, also an Englishman, who took
charge about Easter, 1886.f
The parish of Dartmouth is one of the best in
the province. The church has a large number of
members in ihe township and good congregations
attend all the services at the various stations. J
lii
* Mr. Morris studied and was ordained in England in 1821.
t Mr. Raven was succeeded in September, 1888, by the
Rev. Then as C. Mellor, the present [189.S] rector. — iiV.
X According to the census of 1891, tiiere were 2,123 adherents
of the Church of Enifland in the town of Dartmouth.— ^(/.
'IP
1' !
CHURCH HISTORY.
79
of the best in
England in 1821.
During the period when the Nantucket whalers
and their families were settled in Dartmouth, a plot
of land on Block-House Hill was set apart as a
burying groun<l. For a long time it was called the
Quaker Cemetery, and all protestant members of
the community were buried there. Soon after the
building of Christ Church, which stands below the
slope of the hill, a portion of this bi rying-ground
was set apart for the use of the members of the
Church of England, and it is there they still bury
their dead.
Some twenty years ago, another portion of
ground to the north-west of the Block-House
Churchyard, was set apart for a cemetery. Here
members of all other denominations are interred.
The Roman Catholic Chapel of St, Peter at the
eastern corner of Ochterloney and Prince Edward
Streets wa^ built about the year 1820 or 1830.*
There is a tradition that this church was the old
one which formerly stood where St. Mary's is now
situated in Halifax, and that it was ro-erected in
Dartmouth. Neither the Archbishop nor Father
Underwood, who is now in charge of the district,
•The following accounts of the Roman Catholic, Presbyterian,
Baptist, and Methodist Chuiches, have beeninserted by the editor,
as they had not been mentioned by the autiior save in a single
sentence. — Ed.
•A '<
\ I I ! ; I
1
m
ii
; I!
'■| :
I r
iNlj! I
WWl^i i'
,M j (
r\i
(
! !
'ia« l»een ahJe to verifv fi • \ "
'^eon asee.tHine.,, ho. .:^ /; ^^ ,..
Jl'e hrst l,,|i „f ,s, ,
'o St. A„,l,.c.„-s Cl,.„. ■ ""-*'■ "'"^ """■'=■1
'■'■ '---"* «:i;:;:;;,;:.;;r:*' •
M"ple Street „■.,. , '^"''' '^ '^'"'P"!, on
"- '"' of Feb,.„,„.;", ;,r ;»■"■•«' - on Sunday,
h.^ cai-e of St. An, ,-eVr PI, , '"'"•'" '" ''""'ff*'
P"-%-. a„,i ,,e ,.,s„ 1 t ' "' "'"' '="■''-•
"J Pr-ton. but there a r„ , ""',' '^""'^ ^''™^J
P'"-. Accorain., 7 °''t'» ■''*'- '-last
' ''' ""^ to"'" of Dartn.outh
CHURCH HISTORY.
81
't)i
It has
oM church
•asolved to
Diirtinouth
<;l buildniL''
k' i^arts of
juth, was
vas moved
, whore it
it this old
ohaltly ill
it to 1)6
tion could
wooden
joiif^rega-
a larger,
apel, on
the fall
Sunday,
chai'ge
[Eastern
Island
two last
I'e were
[mouth.
From a register of hirths and deatiis, beginning
in 1830, is nuule the following list of the priests
who have officiateil at St. Peter's, named in the
order in which they occur: James Dunphy, Dennis
Geary, James Kennedy, William McLeod, Patrick
Phelan, James and Pati'ick Dunphy (these two
names are intermixed, the latter may have been
merely a curate), Dennis Geary, Alexander Mclsaac,
Canon Woods, and the present incumbent, Charles
Underwood. From this it will be seen that James
Dunphy and D. Geary officiated twice.
The old Roman Catholic Burying-ground is
situated at the northern end of the town, between
Geary Street and Windmill Road. It is now in a
ruinous state. The sod is becoming covered by
golden-rod and blueberry bushes, and in some parts
alders are springing up and will soon overrun the
whole place. It contains about a couple of dozen
grave-stones with inscripticms. Other graves, of
whicli there are a good many, are merely indicated
by rough bits of slate or whin, while the remainder
have no marks save the uneven turf. In this
desolate spot lies one who, trail i tion says, was a near
relative of an empress, and yet no inscription telLs
her name, nor can anyone pinnt out the grave in
which she sleeps at peace from a life of bitterness.
The oldest inscription in the grave-yard is dated
82
IIISTOIIY OF DAllTMOUTll.
;M
1882, which was a couple of years after the huiMinf:^
of St. I'eter's Chapel. In one part of the jri'onnd
is a larire stone vault, banked with earth. By an
Act, passe<l in IS.j!), the trustees of the Dartmouth
Common were instructed to set oti' a new Roman
Catholic Ceniotery, adjoiniiij,' tlu; Puhlic Burial-
grt)und on the Cijunnon, northward of Block-house
Hill. There the members of the church now inter
their dead.
The arrival in 1827 of some forty Scotch stone-
cutters and masons, with their families (see pai^^e 32),
doubtless brought a number of Pivsbyterians into
the town of Dartmouth. These, to<,'ether with
such others as ha<l previously been inhabitants
of the place, soon desired to unite for worship.
About January, 1829, Peter McNab, Es(i., and
other adherents of the Presbyterian Church wdio
were residents of Dartmouth, coml)ined by deed to
form " the Conrjregation of the Church of St. James
in Dartmouth."* On the 24tli January and 1st
November of the previous year, they, through their
trustee, John Farnuharson, had obtained two lots of
land, one from Peter Donaldson and the other from
Andrew Malcom. These lots were bounded on
three sides by King, North, and Wentworth Streets,
* James Morrison was the Presbyterian Minister then in
charge at Dartmouth,
(Ilium msiouY.
8:}
)uil(linf;
jjroiind
Ry all
•tinouth
Roman
Burial-
k-honso
\v inter
I stone-
a<,'e 32),
ms into
!!• with
lUiitants
vers 111 p.
and
h who
leed to
James
lud 1st
I their
ots of
from
ed on
treets,
[hen in
and on the fourth side hy the line separating' them
from other lots to the sonthwnrd. A cliureh was
hiiilt near the eastern corner of Kiiif^ and North
Streets, and there the eoni,n-ei,'ation worshiiipeij for
main' j'ears. Ahont iSd.S it was j)ro|)osed to sell
the old lots and to purchase another jiiect; of land
on which to eiect a new church, and an act was
accordiiiLdv iiassed hy the leifislaturc in that yi'ar
to cnahle the sale t(» he made. The memhers (»f
the congregation also desired to reconstruct the
body and revise the old rules. A new dvvi\ of
constitution was therefore drawn up and dated
the 21st March, INTO. It was atlopted at a meetintif
held on 11th April, which was the last one
under the old deed of constitution. On 8rd ^hly,
a piece of laml, formerly lielonging to the Harts-
liorne estate, at the junction of Portland Street
with the Cole Harbour or Eastern Passflfre Road,
was purchased from Robert Waddell for 84,(532, and
a new cliurch was soon commenced. While excava-
tions for the foundation were being made, a number
of human skeletons were exhumed. The i)1ace had
evidently at one time been used as a cemetery,
but whether by Indians, French, or old settlers, is
not known. One calm summer's <lay, the framework
of the church collapsed, and it had to be re-erected.
This occasioned some delay, but by the l7th
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84
HISTORY OP UAHTMOUTH.
January, 1871, the buildinrf had heen completed.
It was opened for worship on Sunday, 29th
January, and the pews were assigned to the con-
gregation on the following Tuesday. The total
cost of the building, including heating and lighting
apparatus, together with the cost of grading the
plot and erecting a fence and wall, was about
SI 3,701). Recently, the steeple of the church was
taken down, owing to its probable insecurity. In
1870 the salary of the pastor was S700, but by
1874 it had been raised to SI, 200. About 1888
Dawson Street Church came under the charge of
the congregation. It was formerly situated near
the Ropewalk. Services are also held near the
Woodsid"! Refinery.
The records of the church up to 1870, are
apparently lost, but the following list includes
most of the reverend gentlemen who have con-
ducted the services : James Morrison, Alexander
Romans, A. W. McKay (al)out 1855), William
Murray (about 185G), Dr. McKnight (1857 until
about 18(58), Alexander Falconer who officiated
for eight or ten years, Peter M. Morrison, in
charge for about the same length of time, John L.
George who only remained a few years, and the
present pastor, Thomas Stewart. It was during
Mr. Falconer's time that the new church of SK
CHURCH HISTORY.
85
James was built. The congregtition now bury
tlieir dead in the Public Cemetery, but formerly
they doubtless used the Church of England
Burying- ground, which, some sa^', was never conse-
crated. In 1891 there were 1,042 Presbyterians
in the town of Dartmouth.
The organization now known as the Dartmouth
Baptist Church was brought into existence on the
29th of October, l8iS. From a record made at
the time, we learn that Elder Knox, of Halifax,
after statin/^ the duties of church members to
each other and to the world, read the letters of
dismissal and gave the right hand of fellowship
to seven members. The church thus organized,
then received into its fellowship four others.
During the first year of its existence the congrega-
tion met for worship in a hired room. In
September of the year following, a new meeting-
house which had been built by subscription, was
opened by Brother A. S. Hunt and Elder John
Masters, of New Brunswick. The site of the
" New Meeting House," as it was called, is identical
with that whereon the present church now stands, —
namely on King Street. The original structure
was removed a little to the rear of the present
building, and is now used as a vestry, a memorial of
the zeal of those who now rest from their lalK)urs.
Mp
15 lillllf^f
f
!^
.'ft.
Hi
'l!
86
H'STORV OF DAniMOUTH.
T'»e first pasfor nf *i • l ^
ALmh,.,,, a Hunt H " ™-' "" '•"« ««-•
"for tl,c. dedication "ni^T'T '"""""' ^''-"^
»t Dartmouth „„ Sn„ I .f '"'• "'"' '*'' Pl«««
"f 'ho oldo. «,,,«;;; ;; ■' '7"-' very „.„y
opened f„,. hi,„ „„,, , • ^ ''"'«■■ fiel'l soon
Baptist Cl,u..c „rl "n""""' " """ '-" «•«
■■■•»'or,ort.,eeC':;':'^:^^'-"'^. ^"^
deimrture until hi, ', " '""^ <"' "'•• Hunts
"-e „n e.vi.te„ee in „„,;„ ^ ."'^^ '' — " '"
planted in faith w/^^ .1 .• , ^ "^ ''^e'^, however.
'■-"wni.r/,:;':'::--- "^- «-"'••'
■' f"v „,„„,„, ,^,^; '"^ f »'-S0. but resided
Spenee, then .. ^nU^ *'" ''^''- "™-^ A.
J- iiio ministry of Hi;<= xi
ff'-eatly Messed, «n,I the d „ ' , '''""""'"' "--^^
in ".enibership and to ! *^" ^ '"""'^
ip and to gather strencrth «„.,„„• „
The present church on Kin„ S. ". '"'•■ncally,
«..'l opened f„r ,vorshi,, T" ■ ?' "™ '»^™
"- .-esigna.io,, of ll l ' '''"" ^n
EJward J. Gran 1 ' ' "' '" '*'*'■ "'« «-•
"' '-came nn'nister, continuing so
If
CHuncH iiisTonv.
87
late Rev.
'fl shortly
>ok place
ovemher,
life and
fy many
•• Hunt's
iJ<I soon
com the
V. The
Hunt's
orate in
smed to
owever,
Hunt's
ss. In
Clarke
signed
ry A.
the
was
urease
^aIl3^
•egun
On
Rev.
for a period of nearly ten years. Subsequent
incumbents, mentioned in their order, were, the
Revs. C. W. Williams and W. M. Smallman. The
Rev. S. B. Kempton now presides over the church
Prior to his present connection he served as pastor
of the Baptist Church at Cornwallis for over a
quarter of a century.*
" For some years," writes the Rev. T. W. Smith ,f
" the few Methodists of the place [Dartmouth], who
had looked up to the faithful Nathaniel Russell
as leader, had heard occasional sermons on that
side of the harbour in a school-house X \ ^^^ i^
1847, when the Sunday afternoon sermons in the
city Methodist churches had been finally abandoned,
the hour thus placed at the minister's disposal was
given to them." A church was accordingly dedicated
in 1853. " In the erection of the cliurch," continues
Mr. Smith, " a deep practical interest was taken by
George H. Starr and G. C. M. Roberts, M. D., a
g so
* The eilitnr is indebted to the vestry-clerk for the iuforina-
tioii contained in this paragraph.
tVide fitKlory of MethotlUt Church ivithin Eastern Britixh
Amtrica, vol II (Halifax, 1S9()), p. 321.
X Mr. Smith says, that " During the winter of 1785-6,
Freeborn Garrettson preached several times at Dartmouth, where
the people offered to build a preaching-house, if regular services
coulil be guaranted. Garrettson then had charge of the extensive
Halifax circuit." (Vide History of Mi'tfiodixl Church in Emtcni
B. N. A , vol. I (Halifax, 1877), p. 163.
88
t; n
niSTORV OP DAHTMOUTn.
local preacher of R..i*- "
a ™n«ter were giv„„ that ,•„ ,« 'a 7""^ "'
"' ""> town app«„,j ^, " 'S-8 the „„„«
«'""^'.. which ha, since be" ," "'"""'" '"''
"•e corner of Ochterio e„td K 'f ^""'"^ ™
-"-of the .ini^rr: ce T«-f ^'•.^- '"'<>
ehronologic.,1 o„ler, are a« fill ' ' ^"'"' ''"
-"d — Stewart dZJ h "'■ "^^ '^- ^'"'--^
H-kiahMcKe„w„ ":'";!*""'*''■»''-••""").
P""ne. .„h„ L:tc::;r:7, ^"'■" «•
A..sw,n, Howan, Hpragu. J T p''""'"^' •'• 0-
Paisley, A. W. Nicolson i' ■, *'""■'• C^- H-
TO-'ow. G,.,frey swe"' /;^"' ' ,«■ ^"^-in, J. £
J- L Sponacfie W c R "'■'''■ "• ''• ""-""o.
the present mi„i,te,, D W T . "'""' '^"^
*« the census of 189J „ "''^"- According
in the town ' "^''' ^^''^ «^5 MethoUiste
i;
THE COUNTRY 8URKOUNDINO THB TOWN.
89
CHAPTER VI.
DESCniPTlON, ETC., OF THE COUNTRY SURROUSDIN'O
THE TOWN.
THE Township of Dartmouth exteiuls along the
shore al)Out nine miles through a pretty strip
of country called the Eastern Passage. The
land is beautifully situated on the border of
the harbour. In many of its warm and sheltuied
spots, carefully cultivated and enriched V)y the
thrifty farmers and their wives, spring vegetables,
Ruch as rhubarb, lettuce, radishes and greens, are
grown and brought to Halifa.K very early in the
Kea.son.
Near the terminus of the road which runs
through this part of the township, is a beautiful
inlet of the sea called Cow Bay. It has a
delightful beach on which the great waves rush
in and recede with a grand and musical swell.
Some good farm-houses in the neighbourhood of
this bay, have accommodation for visitors ; and
the place is now a favourite summer resort, not
only for picnic parties, but alscj for those who
Vi>'
If
.i' ■
\}
I'
m
90
HISTORY OF DARTMOUTH.
enjoy a few days or weeks by tlie sea. Here
bathiiifj, and fresh, bracing air are always to be
had, with quiet and comfortable lodging. It is a
spot where Nature with her fairest and sweetest
attractions is always to be found. Cow Bay Run is
a charming little river. Indeed, many spots in the
vicinity seem pleasure grounds of Nature, made for
the relaxation and enjoyment of man.
The Eastern Passage lands were chiefly settled
by Germans. The fine farms in the district are the
result of their careful toil. In each of the little
coves are families of fishermen, and these in the
earliest years of the settlement supplied the Halifax
market with fish.
In 1754, the president of the council at Halifax
received orders from the British government to
build a battery on the Dartmouth side of the
harbour, near the Eastern Passage Road. This was
completed in the same year, and is now known as
Fort Clarence.* Eight guns were at first mounted.
A very small garrison has occupied the fort ever
* The following note relates to Fort Clarence : " New Battery
has lately been begun — likewise not finished. It stands on a
rising ground about two miles east across the Harbour from
Halifax. This is to prevent shipping entering the Harbour under
the Eastern shore without reach of George's Island." (Sekclions
from Public Documtntu of N. S. .• Hemarks relative to Ittlurn
of Forces in Xova Scotia, 30th March, 1755.)— Ed.
THE COUNTUY HUHROUNDINO TIIR TOWN.
91
since. It is nbout two miles south-eHst of
Dartmouth.
At one time the summer camping ground of
the soldiers of the Halifax garri.son was situated
on the waterside of the P^astern Passage Road ;
the white tents .surmounted hy the union-jack,
and the brilliant uniforms of the men, making it
a miniature Aldershot. The camp was a greot
attraction to strangers, and consecjuently the
Eastern Passage Road was a favourite drive in
the pleasant days of sunnner. Target practice
and other military exercises filled up the few
weeks during which the men remained under
canvas. Many a jaded soldier regained health
and strength on the green slopes, fanne<i by the
fresh sea breezes sweeping over this plea.sant
holiday ground.
After being used for two or three seasons, the
grounds were discarded by the military. Fortifica-
tions were commenced on McNab's Island, and
the camping place was removed to the more
suitable and extensive enclosure belonging to the
government on that island.
Most of the road from Fort Clarence to
Dartmouth is so picturesque and beautiful, that
its many attractive situations have been chosen
for the erection of pretty cottages and more
imposing resi<lences.
02
HIHTORY OF OARTMOUTR.
1';
11 ■ -■«
More than fifty yeurN a^o, the Hon. John E.
Fairbanks purchased a sito on the Eastern PaHsa^^e
Koa<l, slopinpf down to the water's edt^e. Hero ho
built a pretty cotta^^e in which lie and his family
lived for many years. The grounds were laid out
with nmcli taste and a fr(MM\ deal of ornamentation.
Extended walks were made, and planted on each
side with shade trees an«l shrubs. A larpe garden
on the southern side of the house was tastefully
planned and filled with fruit trees and fiowers. In
those early days of provincial floriculture, this
was one of the first places in Dartmouth in
which taste and ornament lurf^ely predominated,
" Woodside," as it wjvs called, was always a most
delitjhtful summer resort, and visitors came to
admire the beauty of the situation and its
picturesque surroundings. Fi'om the verandah,
trellised with vines, the harbour and city beyond
filled the scene, the nois}' din of the latter stealing
across the water, only makin*^ the pleasant idleness
of the quiet country home more deli<^htful. There
are many who still remember with pleasure and
aft'ection the beautiful grounds of " Woodside,"
and the courtesy and kindness of its hospitable
owners. After Mr. Fairbanks's death, the pi-operty
was purcluised in March, 18G), by George Gordon
Dustan, Esq., a gentleman who came to Nova
';h
TIIK OtHNTaT RlTRnoUSDINO TOh TOWN.
93
Scotia from Scntlaml in June, 1863. The Wixxlside
Supw Ht'Hnt'ry was aftorwnnla crecto*! on the
himl.
Th
ifiict*
he (h
ihed
lam I. ihis nmnutiictory will i>e (lescnhed in a
sulis((|uent chajttcf.
The projuM'ty adjoining Woodslde, also fronting
the water, had a vahiahh; hriek-yard and kilns for
t!»e mamifaeure of lime. They A'ere first owned
and hron<,'ht into working order hy the late Santncl
I'rescott, Ks(|. At his di-ath, after passinff through
several hands, the proj)erty was purchased l»y
J{enry Yeomans Mott, Eh<].* Here this jjentlenian
resided with his family for many years, and not
only carried on the makinf; of hricks on a larfje
scaile, hut also erected huildiiifjs for the manufacture
of chocolate and cocoa, and a mill for p-indinj^
spices, etc. Mr. Mott had a numher of persons
employed in the ditlerent dejiartments of lii.s
establishment, and did a lar^e business up to the
time of his death on 81st January, 1800. He was
u mai^istrate for more than a quarter of a century,
and repre.'^ented the county of Halifax in the
provincial assembly for four years. He was the
father of John Pre.scott Mott, E.s(|., one of the
wealthiest manufacturers and merchants in the
* See the particulars of the Mott family, given iti the
Bucceeding history of the towiit-hip of Preston. — Ed.
94
IIIHTORV OP lUtlTMOimi.
is
i
'it'
(i
%■
■-^' •
'%
■^-
Mi-
provinofv Tim property is still possiissed 1»y Mr.
Mott's fiiinily, iin<l was usod for tho carrying on
of iniuiufiicturcs for hoiik! years. Of lati', the
factories have heeii closed ; ami th(5 luick-yard
is HeMoin, if ever, in operation.
Another briek-yanl was situated at the Kastern
I*assni,'e, about a mile ami a ipiarter south of Fort
Clarence. It was started and worked by Messrs.
Peters and Blacklock, builders. The.se ff»"itletnen
had the contract for the erection of the Wellin^jton
Barracks at ifalifax, and all the bricks used in
that structure were made at their own brickyard.
It was afterwards carried on by William Hare, Esq.
and gave employment to a larj^e company of
workmen. Of late years it has been partially
elo.se«l, owing probably to the small <k'mand for
building materials in Halifax. N«^ar the brick-yard
there were good pottery works iDelonging to Mr.
Hornsby. At present, however, the establishment
is clcsed.
Adjoining the late Mr. Henry Y. Mott's projjerty,
is Mount Hope, the asylum and hospital for the
insane. The building was erected between 1856
and 1858,* and immediately occupied; the patients
* About 1845, a commission was appointed by Lord Falkland
to make inciuiries in the United States relative to tiie management
of hospitals for the insane. The detailed report of this uom-
f
THE COUNTRY HVHUoUNDINO TlIK TOWN.
05
Itt'iii^ uinlor the caro of Dr. Jamos R. DeWolfe,
The situation of tins institution is vory Hue. It
connnands a ^'oo<l view of tlio harl»<»ur nn<i city
of Halifax, and of niihs of country. Tlu* ^'naiiuKs
are tastefully lai<I out and kept In -excellent order.
The building' is of liritk, with extensive wind's.
It is a Itrilliant olject from Halifax when the
settin^^ sun falls on its many win*lows and Hoods
thenj with a resplendent ^dory. 1'he Asylum is
now under the char^je of Drs. Keid * and Sinclair.
The interior of the liuildin^ is l)rij^ht, airy and
comfortalile. Its lai-^e halls and many warils aro
mifmidii ih in tlio JouiimU of Asgiinhly for IS40. In tlie sesMion
of that yetir, a conmiitti-u rfconiniuntUil an annuul grant for Hve
years for purcliiising tlie nt'ceHHiiry grounds and erecting and
furniKliing bul-Ii liuildings ax n)iglit be required for an aoyluni.
From that time, private (lunations an<l legiahitivc grants wero
bestowed. Tlio corner-st'iue of tiie building Mas laid with
masonic honours on Monday, 0th June, 18*)(i. In the first report
of the commissioners of the Hospital, which appears in the
Assembly Journals of 18.')0 (Appendix 10), this date is erroneously
given as 8th of Juno. On Friday night or Saturday morning,
following the day of the ceremony, some persons capsi/.ed the
corner-stono and stole the coins, etc., which had been deposited
therein. The hospital was principally built of bricks which were
made on the place — probably at the brick-yard on the old Mott
property just to the south. On Ist December, 18.')8, the executive
officers of the institution took possession of their quarters, and
it was announced that the building would be ready for the recep-
tion of patients on the Ist of January, 1859. — Ed.
•Ur. Reid is now (1893) superintendent of the Victoria
General Hospital. — Ed,
96
HISTORY OF lURTMOUTH.
, i; I
^^■r
m
kept in faultless order, and as much as possible
is done in order to alleviate the distress and restore
to sanity the painfully large number of its unhappy
inmates.
From the Asylum grounds, on the water side
of this road, to Dartmouth Cove and beyond, are
a number of handsome houses with their grounds
well cultivated and set about with luxuriant trees.
Among the owners of this portion of Dartmouth,
are George Troop, Esq., A. E. Ellis, Esc(., Hon. Dr.
Parker, John P. Mott, Esq., and Judge James.
As has- been before mentioned on paye 44,
the wharf fronting Dr. Parker's property' and
at the foot of the old Ferry Road, is the site
of Creighton's or the Lower Ferry landing.*
When the adjoining property was first put
under cultivation, a number of small cannon balls
and large shot were thrown out by the plough.
They were probably scattered tiiere by some of
the French sailors who occasionally anchored their
ships of war in the harbour near ])artmouth,
when our province was owned by France and
known by the name of Acadia. -f*
\-
* This ferry is marked on a military plan of Halifax and its
vicinity, made hy John G. Toler, U. R, in 1808.— *;</.
fl have been informed by an oM inha1)itant, Mr. George
Shiels, that about sixty years ago there wa'j a small island, which
bas since disappeared, near the shore just north of Mott's wharf
THE COUNTIIY SURKOUSDINQ THE TOWN.
97
Dr. Parker has a Imndsoine house and grounds
with a tine grove of hardwood trees near the
southern side.
Mr. Mott has an excellent waterside property,
with large substantial house and attractive gi'ounds
Winding walks cut through the woodland, give a
charming variety to the place, so full are they of
pleasant surprises : now opening on a garden of
roses, now leading to a gay partei-re of flowers,
or disclosing at the next turn a great rhododendron,
covered with bloom, with other graceful and
fragrant shrubs. All the grounds are kept in
perfect order, and charm the eye with their variety
and beauty. Fronting the water near the Cove,
Mr. Mott has a number of factories and store-
houses, where he carries on the manufactuie of
chocolate and other preparations of that bever-
age. He has also a mill for grinding pepper
and other spices, and a press-house where these
condiments aie packed for the market. Mr. Mott
opened his manufactories in tliis place about 18.53,
in tlie Cove. It was then disappearing under the action of the
sea, and in the falling bank couUl he seen numerous wooden coffins
containing skeletons. Mr. Sliiels rcneinhers seeing them when
a loy. lie says that some of the French were buried tliere. If
so, they may have been either d'Anville's men or the prisoners who
liave been mentioned on page 01. I have not found tills island on
«ny of the old plans of Dartmouth. — Ed,
7
I
98
IIISTOny OF DARTMOUTH.
%m
and has since done a very large business in the
various branches of his trade. The works employ
about thirty labourers all the year round. Much
property on both sides of the highway is owned
by the proprietor, on which are a number of houses
occupied by the workmen and their families*
The upper side of the Eastern Passage Road
is perhaps the most to be admired, owing to its
commanding view of the harbour and the country
in the distance. Most charming landscapes can
be seen from many of its hills, all fronted by
the broad and ever- beautiful sea, where ships and
steamers, ami smaller vessels of every description,
are constantly passing to and fro.
The undulating beauty of the land ; the green
islands in the channel ; Halifax rising up from
the water's edge to the slope of the Citadel
above, its flag and cannons a constant reminder
that we are under the protection of grand old
England and her gracious queen : all these give
a picturesque beauty and charm to the view from
this part of Dartmouth, which cannot be surpassed
in any other portion of the province.
Between the Cole Harbour and Eastern Passage
Roads, and alongside of the old ferry road leading
•Mr. Mott's death occurred on 12th February, 1890, since
Mrd. Lawaoii wrote this history. — Ed,
TUB COUXTRY SURROUNDING THE TOWN.
99
from the Cove, stands " Mount Amelia." The house
was built about 1840 by the late Hon. James
William Johnstone, judge-in-equity for the province
of Nova Scotia. The situation of this pnoperty
is very beautiful, and from it may be obtained
an extensive view of the country, stretching for
miles over the township. When the grounds
were under cultivation and in good order, this
was a most deliirhtful summer residence. Judge
Johnstone was very much attached to his pleasant
country house, and under his care the shubbery
and garden were perfect in their way. He
died in England, in November, 1873. Owing to
the vicissitudes of change and time, the house
and grounds now much need repair, but the site
and surroundings are even more beautiful than
ever. The luxuriant foliage of the deep groves
of trees, dyed with tender tints of varying
green in June, or Hushed with the crimson and
orange glory of October, make a picture of loveli-
ness at th^^se especial seasons that cannot readily
be etfucffl from the menjory.
In 18G(), a company composed of three gentlemen
was formed, with the intontiim of purchasing a
certain amount of property to be laid out and
formed into a park. Tlie object of this association
was the improvement of Dartmouth and pecuniary
f- •'
100
HISTORY OF DARTMOUTH.
m
advantafo to themselves. In accordance with this
view, several acres * were purchased from the
property belonging to Judge Johnstone, on the
upper (western) side of the Eastern Passage Road.
The land was thickly covered with fine hard-wood,
and had all the natural ailvantages necessary for
carrying out the plan effectually. Several carriage
roads were cut through it, each presenting difFoi-ent
views, and Imilding lots attached. The idea was
to erect houses of various sizes and styles on
these lots, either for purchasers or tenants. The
whole was to be incorporated under the name of
" Prince Arthur's Park."t The late John Esdaile,
Esq., built the first residence. He was a retired
Montreal morchant who had chosen Dartmouth
for his home ami who wished to devote his leisure
and money to its improvement. He lived for
some years in the first house which he built in
the Park It is now owned and occupied by
Benjamin Russell, Esq. Another pretty villa was
built by Mr. Esdaile, and is now owned by Mr.
Frazee. After its incorporation, the other members
*One hundred and six acres are named as the quantity of
land, i'l the act of incorporation.— &^
t In 1870 an act was pvssed to iniorporate the Proprietors of
Prince Arthur's Park, namely, liennett II. Horusby, .Tohn Esdaile,
■ 1 McNeil Parker, James W. .Tohnstone, J. Norman Ritchie,
u C. Cogswell, Frederick Fishwick, an'l sucli others as
.mght afterwards bo added. — Ed.
!!■■
THE COUNTIY SUIlliOUNUING TIIK TOWN.
101
of the company did not build as they had at lirst
agreed to do. The roads have not heen kept
in order, and several of the lots purchased are
now used as pasture land. On the slope of the
hill, A. C. Cof^swell, Es(|., has a handsome house an<l
grounds. Adjoining his property, is a pretty cottage
and garden owned hy Mr. Stewart. Further soutli
is another house. All those are within the Park.
Had the original intention of the company been
carried out, Prince Arthur's Park would have been
a great ornamop* to the town of Dartmouth.
Al>ove " ...t Amelia," on the old Preston
Road, is Maynard's Lake. This is a beautiful
sheet of water closely Viordered with drooping
trees. It is said to contain a warm spring, and no
matter how thick the ice may be in other ])]aces,
crossing it is apparently dangerous in winter.
To the eastward, looking down upon the lake,
stands "Manor Hill." It is now the residence of
W. S. S^nnonds, Esij , but was built and occupied
for several years by Mr. Anrlrew Shiels, well known
to the people of Dartmouth by the title he bestowed
upon himself, " The Bard of Ellen vale." This title
was derived from the property and lu)use he had
purchased and built in a jileasant valley nearly
a mile nearer Preston, ami to which he had given
the name of " Ellenvale," in compliment to his
*! \
%\
102
HISTORY OF" DAUTMOUTir.
m-
wife. Mr. Sliiels was a Scotchman, and a black-
smith by trade. Like his groat country man,
Robert Burns, ho loved the " divine art," and
employed his leisure in writing versos. These,
above the pseudonym " Albyn," were published
almost weekly in the Nova Scotian newspapers.
Mr. Shiels attempted to copy Burns in style an«l
sentiment, but unfortunately was without the
delicate perception and tender inspiration of Nature
which made his protot3'pe a true poet. Still there
is often a touch of the genuine afflatus in Albyn's
rugged rhyme. A sketch of Dartmouth would be
incomplete without a reference to the hard-featured,
honest Scotchman who lielievod himself to be a
poet, and who brighteneil his daily toil by com-
munion with the spirit of song, his droppings of
rhyme beating a measure to the blows on his
anvil. He died .some years ago, and was buried
in Woodlawn Cemetery, anifmir the dead whoso
epitaphs were often furnished by his pen *
* His gravestone contains the following inscription: "In
memory | of | Andrew .Shiels | Born | in the Parish of | Oxnam,
Ro\hur;^hslnre, | Scotland, ] March 12th, ITfl.S, | Died at Dart-
mouth, N. S I Novr. 5th, 1879, | In the S7[th] year ] of his age. |
Epitaph :
Within this little mound,
I^et Alhjn's dust remain
'Tili the Archangel's trumpet-sound
Walte him to life iii;.i'n.
No overweeini; pride
This m.'irblo sLtb invcits,
But a'* n landmark it niiv KuiJo
Xo where the poet reita."
THE COUNTRY SURROUNDING THE TOWN.
103
a black -
ntryman,
,rt," and
These,
published
wspapers.
stylo and
lout the
)f Nature
;till there
1 Albyn's
would be
l-featured,
■ to l>e a
by coui-
ppings of
on his
as buried
id whose
!n *
ptioii : "In
of 1 Oxnain,
>if(l at Dart-
of Ilia age. |
The road which winds aloiif^, above the shore
on the western extension of Dartmouth, is known
as the Windujill Road : so called from the ancient
landmark which has so lon^ stood in that portion
of the town. This windmill was built more than
sixty years af^o,* and was used as a ^i-ist-mill for
a long perio<l. It has now fallen into decay ; the
sails have been removed, and tiie venerable structure
is allowed to rest from its labours. The Albro
property, Turtle Grove, Tufts Cove and other points
of interest, are to be found in this locality. The
Oland Brewerj' ^^ituated near Turtle Grove. This
part of Dartmouth has alwaj's been a favourable
place for picnics and other summer pleasures.
The road leads past the Narrows and aloiif^ the
eastern side of Bedford Basin until it terminates
at the village of Bedford on the Windsor Road.
The township of Dartmouth also extends in
another direction, up the old Truro Post Road,
past the Dartmouth Lakes, on beyond "Red Bridge,"
along Lake Charles and bv the house once known
as Marshall's Hotel.-j- This house, some twenty
* A note, floubtles? in tlie hanchvrititig of Dr. Akins, says
that it was standing in 1.S'20. — Ed.
tTliis place was also calleil the Poitobello House. It was
on the west side c f the road, about six miles from Dartmouth.
Some years ngo, it was burnt to the ground. — Ed.
\
«i:
m
IIIHTORY or DAnTMOUTII.
i
years am), was a favonrito resort, and <lriviti«^
parties, slei<,'hln<^ ami otherwise, often took advan-
tajjo of its comfortable rest.
In tliis direction we find the district known as
Waverley.* This vilhifje is the fi;ro\vth of the hist
twenty-five years, and was called into existence
by the <liscovery of fjold in its vicinity. It is
separated into two parts Ity Lakes William and
Thomas, and is thus known as the eastern and
western divisions. It was first broui^ht into public
notice in 18(51 by the discovery of j:(old. Like all
land near the shore of Nova Scotia, the soil is
poor and very rocky, and for generations it was
left almost undisturbed by man, none imafjinin<]f
that among these rouj;h masses of " barrel quartz,"
the precious metal was hidden.
The first discovery of gold was made public
by Alexander Taylor on the 28r(l August, liSGl.
He found the metal in the west division, on the
eastern edge of Muddy Pond, on the Waverley farm
of the late Charles P. Allen who for many years
• Waverley ia not in the township of Dartmouth, and therefore
its history is irrelevant to the suhject here treated. As the sketch,
however, contains information which m.-vy be useful, I have allowed
it to stand as written by Mrs. Lawson. " Waverley " was the
name given by Mr. Charles P. Allen to the house which is now
occupied by Mr. B. C. Wilson, and the designation was afterwards
applied to the village wliich sprang up about it. Allen was a
great admirer of Scott's famous novel. — Ed,
II
THE COUXTHY SURROUXDIXO THE TOWS.
lOB
(lrivin<:f
ailvan-
tiown as
the last
ixistonce
It is
lain and
orn and
o public
Like all
soil is
s it was
narfiningf
(luartz,"
piiMic
LSGl.
on tiie
'y farm
y ytiars
therefore
e sketch,
e ftlloweil
' was the
eh is now
fterwards
len was a
had a l»uckc't-niakiri<' nmnnfactorv in the neiirh-
bourhocxl. Tlie sjn'ciniens olitaiiied in two days'
search, broken from surface boulders, were sold
in Halifax for eiffhty dollars.*
Gold was discovered on the eastern side by
James Skerry, on the 14th September, IHOI. He
found it on the hif^di rid<,'e of land on the eastern
side of the ])ost-road leadinfj to 'i'ruro, and within
three-quarters of a mile of the place where the
previous discov(.'ry was made in the western division.
These mines have lieen the scene of a ^reat
deal of labour and much expenditure of money.
A very large area has been mined, and a settlement
has grown up around it : but the returns have not
satisfied the purchasers of claims who began work
with such large anticipations of proHt twenty-five
years ago. The total yiehl of gold from ISGl
to 1885, was fifty-three thousand and twenty-nine
ounces, sixteen penny-weights, and four grains. This
is the result of six hundred and six thousand, si.K
hundred and forty-three days labour. The yield
has decrea'^eil very much since 1870, and seekers
for gold are now exploring in other <lirections.
* See Samuel Creelman's report on Nova Scotia (ioUl Fields,
Appendix No G, Journals of Assembly, N. S. , 1SG3, wiiich contains
much other information regarding the place. — Ed.
106
IIIHTOIIY OF t>AIll MOUTH.
l.ki
I
The ro;i<l on tlio western sidi' of the First
Dartmouth Lake, fronts some pretty fnrms and
fjanlens, where the soil is moro warm and pro-
ductive than in many other paits. Hero the
Keelers and Taylors ami Laidlaws raise the line
fruit anil ve^etahh's so prtpular in thf Halifax
market. Tlu; property of («. A. S. Crichton, Ksij.,
known as " The Hrae," is fjreatly admired for its
cultivation and natural heautv, and is celebrated
for its tine peaches ami strawberries. The land
on this belt is well sheltered, and presents a most
fertile appearance.
Standinor on the pjreen slope, under the shadows
of the trees, the broad post-road is seen winding
round the martnn of the lake an<l issuin<j into
Preston. Horsemen, carriafjes, and foot passenrjers
are constantly passing along the yellow highway,
which is bordei'ed by the lake on one siile and by
trees on the other. The effect is lovely, when in
a boat floating gently over the blue lake we watch
the shadows cist by the setting sun, and .see the
green foliage loathed in a flood of living light.
Dartmouth has so many points of natural
beauty and interest, that it is difficult to exhaust
them. Farrell's wood-s, Mount Thorn, the beautiful
grounds of David Falconer, the high land on which
TIIK COUNTRY HUIIUOUXDINU THE TOWN.
lo;
St'Iirrt'i'S
stninl the liousos of .1. Walter Allison, T. Cutler
iiiul others, lookinj; down upon the Imrhour, out
to the li^'hthouse mul • l>('y(»n»l, — nil these Imve
manifold attractions for visitors. M
any
o
f tl
\G
shady woods are the picnic ^'rounds (tf the com-
munity, where the children of the Sunday schools
hold their annual feasts, and where the lover of
mituie ^'oes to nuMlitate at eventide.
Within tlu' township are Maynard's Lake,
owned l»y the provincial government, Oat-Hill
Lake, Penhorn Lake,* tlu^ Dartmouth Lakes,
Russell's or Mac<lonald's Lake, Morris's Lake,
Topsail and Lamont's Lakes, and All>i'(t's Lake.
Besides these, f)ther peaceful and pretty inland
waters may ho seen from some of the hei^dits,
lyin<; half hidden amouf^ the graceful hardwood
trees.
The old hif,d»way to Preston, liranching from
the Cole Hai'hour Road, pa.sses many places of
historial interest, which will be referred to in the
followin(( ]iaf(es. The newer road which goes hy
Topsail Lake, was hnilt many years ago, and now
supplants the old one.
* Jolin I'dilioi'ii was one of the iiroprietors of a tract of land
granted in 1786 hut escheated in 1810 ((Jrant Hook 18, i)age 12,
Crown Lands OHiee). I'enhorn Lake waa doubtless named after
him or one of his family. — Ed.
w
108
rilNTOUV OF nAUTMoL'TII.
If
Altout 1700,* KI»('nc'/.L'r AlItMi, oiu! of tlio ori;,M!uil
^'niiitoiis of Prostoii, stiirti'J a tanyar<l altout three
milos from tlio tttwn of F)iutinoutl». on what is
now the olil I'roston lloa<l. It was aftorwanls
work«'<l !•}' his son, ilohn Alh'i), ami John
Stayncr, who forinctl tiu! linn of Stayner and
AlltMi. 'I'huv <ii<l a vt;rv' iarj,')' husin(^ss for some
j'ears an'l acouinulatt!il ninch property hoth in
Dartmouth ami Ifalifax. Aftera tinn.», they dissolved
partnership, Mr. Staynei- takin*,' the Ifalifax pi'o-
perty and Mr. Allen tiie lands in I'l'eston. Thi*
latter worked the tanyard on his own account.
The not aiuiuil profit was over three thousand
pounds currency,! and some twenty or thirty
* This (lii^c I lliiiik id too early. None of tiie laml in tlio
vicinity liinl Itecii giaiitecl us early as 1700. 'riie lirst iiiL-iUion of
the t.miii'ry wliii'h I liiive been .alile to tlnd, is in the deed d.iteil
•Seili April, 17i>r>, l>y wliich l.,iiut<.MiuiL Williuin Floyer and
Marg.iret Kloyer, sold to .John .Stayner, Alexander Allen atul
Klieno.'.er Allen, th.' land (with the e.xecption of an acre) from
where Woodlawn CV'inetery is now situated to the lirook "at tho
south-west corner of Nleasrs Staynor and Allen's Tan Yard " ^ y'Ule
Lili. 'M, fol. 201, Registry of Deeds, Halifax). Tiiis is the property
on which the old Allen honie-stoad was built. The house wa."*
burnt some fifty years ago, and a modern one now occupies tlie
site. The acre retained by the I'loyers was the spot on whicli
their cottage stood before " I'rook f Fouse " was built on the
opposite or southern side of the road. This cottage was also
destrt)yed by fire, and the house belonging to Cross, at the corner,
was built on the land it occupied. See note on page 100, and also
another, relating to the Floyers, in chapter VIII. — Ed.
tM"*. Thomas Allen, a giandson of Ebenezer, assures ine that
this large amount la correct. — E'l.
TIIK roiXTHV SLMinoUXniXO THE TOWN.
109
f tilt* orif^iiuil
1 til tout throe
oil what is
s at'torwiinls
and John
St.'iyiiLT and
less for some
d-ty l»<»tli In
they (iissolveil
TIaliFax pro-
'restoii. The
own account.
reo thcjusand
y or thirty
)f
tlie land in tlie
Hi'Ht iiicntioM of
tlii; (It-ed (l.iled
111 Floycr ftii<l
uUt Allen f\ii<l
an iiort) from
lirook " at tlio
n Yftid " ( Vitle
is tiie property
The iioiHo was
ow occupies tlie
spot on wiiioli
l)iiilt on tlie
ttage was also
s, at tlie corner,
i;e 109, and also
-Ed.
assures me that
s
iiii'ii wvm constant!}' eniploytMl in the works. In
KliMit, it was for years the only place of prolitahle
Jahour for the Clu'Z/.etcook an<l colom'ed men who
were willing,' and alile to work. Laliour in the
lanyard, on a nnieh re'luced scale, was carrieil
on for many 3'ears hy Mi-, Allen and his sons.
Their dwellinirdiouses were all in the imiiuMJiato
neif^dihourhood, hut the oM homestead has since
disappeared, and none of the family at present
reside near the place of their hirth.
Mr. Allen belou^'ed to the Saridemaiiian V)ody,
whose adherents at that time were nuniennis in
the township. A short distance westward of his
house, in a sunny sheltered ^lade, he laid out a
buiyiiiff-ijround which is used until this day for
the repose of the dead. Its early name was
*' Woodlawn," hut it has always been more familiarly
known as "Allen's Uuryintj-tiround." It was first
U8e<i for interment in 1702, consecrate* 1 only by
the tears and prayers of the mourners who went
there t(> weep.* Many an early settler lies Ijeneath
* 17<)- seems to l>e a mistake, for hy search made in the
registry of deeds, I find tliat it was not until 14tli Aiu'ust, ITSf),
that Ebenezer Allen purcliased from Samuel King 6'2\ acres of
land which contained the plot now known as NVoodlawn Cemeteiy
(Viile Lil). 23, fol. 108) He-sides lliis, Thomas Allen, Ksq ,
informs me that the Aliens were loyalists, and these people did
not come to Nova Scotia until about 17'S4. It therefore seenig
probable that both the cemetery and tanyard were not opened
If
■ iM
110
IIISTOUV OF DAUTMOUTII.
■. r;
its grassy moiiiuls, whose story will be told as
we pass along.
Mr. Allen's eldest daughter married William
Burch Brinley, Esq., son of George Brinley, Esq.,
deputy commi.ssary-general at Halifax in 1797 and
afterwanls commissary-general of His Majesty's
forces in the same place, which ofKce he held
until his death in 1800.* Mr. Brinley built a
house on the old Pret^ton Road. It was a pleasant
country residence, named " Mount Edward " in
honour of the Duke of Kent.f Afterwards it
until about 1700. Tlioae interesteil in tlie matter should also consult
the indenture dated I'ith March, 17S7, Kbenczer Allen to Anthony
Stewart (Lib. 2."), fol. 348). John Allen, who is mentioned above,
was the father of sixteen children. —/!,'(/.
* " We find George Brinley cotnmi-'sary and storekeeper
general in this girrison in October, 1797. His wife was a
Wentwortli, sister t) Li;ly Wentworth. IJennin^ Wentworth
was a l)rotlier to both these lidics William Birch Brinley, his
son, married Joanna Allen, daugliter of John Allen. Ksqr., of
Preston, N. S., and the only child of this marriage is the
widow of Mr. William Lawsou. Mrs. (iore, deceased, the
novelist, was grand-daughter of George Briidey, the commis-
sary-general, her mother, Mrs. Moody, bein^ his daughter."
(Murdoch's llhtory of Nora Scotia, vol. Ill, p. IQ'.i ) Rev. Mr.
Eaton in his Church of Eiujland in Xooa Scotia (p. 2.j.'{) says,
" One of George Briidey's daughters was Mrs. Moody, tlie mother
of Mrs. (lore, the novelist, who, at tlie death of Sir Charles
Mary Wentwo.-tli, inherited the Prince's Lodge estate at Halifax."
+ " Mount Edward " is over half a mile to the eastward of
Brook House, which will be referred to in a 8ubsc(iuent chapter.
Woodlawn Cemetery ia just northwest of the latter place. - Eil.
THE COUNTHY SUIIROUNDIXO THE TOWN.
H be told as
•riod William
Briiilejr, Esq.,
in 1797 and
[is Majesty's
Hoe he held
nloy built a
as a pleasant
Edward " in
iterwards it
111
lould also consult
Ulen to Anthony
entioned above,
nd storekeeper
lis wife was a
iiig U'entworth
icli Hrinley, Ins
Vllen, Esqr., of
irtiriage is the
deceased, tlie
, the comniis-
his datigiiter."
W ) Rev. Mr.
I (p. 2.j;{) says,
dy, the mother
of Sir Charles
te at Halifax."
e eastward of
luent cliapter.
place. - Etl,
became the .sninnier residence of Mr. Brinley's
widow and her son-in-law, William Lawson. Es,,.,
and his fan.ily. The house has now fallen into
tlecay, but the farm is well cultivated and some
of the finest vegetables brought to the Halifax
market, are gi-own in its fields.
At one time the school at Allen's Tanyard was
kept by Mr. Bennett, father of the late Jame^
Gordon Bennett, founder and proprietor of the
Neiv York Herald. It is said that he was a good
teacher, and he remained long enough to give
many of those under his charge ail the know-
ledge they ever possessed.
i<i:^'
f-
!l
112
HISTORY OF DAKTMOUTII
CHAPTER VII.
PllESENT INDUSTRIES AND RAILWAY.
IT has V)een stated on page 92, that in March,
I860, George Gordon Dustan, Esq., had pur-
chased from the Hon. John E. Faii'hanks the
pi'operty known as " Woodsido," on the Eastern
Passage Road. Mr. Dustan was much interested
in manufactures, more especially in tlie refining of
sugar, and for many yeai's he entertained the
project of establishing a retinery for that purpose
on his property. The situation of the land, its
neai'ness to the Halifax market, with good water
facilities, made this ])lace a desirable locality for
such an enterprise.
A company was foi'med in England under the
naine of the Halifax Sugar Refining Company,
limited. The head office was in the Walmer
Buildings, Liverpool, England. G. G. Dustan, pro-
ject(n' of the entei'prise, was one of the directors
of the company. The paitl up capital was eight
hundred and seventy-five thousand pounds.
PRESENT INDUSTRIES, AND RAILWAY,
113
The foundation-stone of the Wootlside Retineiy
was laid on the Srd of July, 1883. The building
was finished, the works completed and the refinery
in operation, with supir ready for the market,
on the 1st of September, 1884. The refining
capacity was one thousand barrels per day. The
wharf on Halifax Harbour was an extensive one;
frontage six hundred and fifty feet, and depth
of water sufficient to receive the largest ships and
steamers. Large sugar stores were erected ; the
capacity of the ground-floor was twenty-five
thousand tons of raw sugar, an<l the second
floor contained room enough to store fifty thousand
barrels of refined sugar; the attic acconnnodated
sixty-five thousand empty barrels. A cooperage
was on the premises, with steam machinery, capaltle
of making a thousand barrels in ten hours. A
branch line from the Intercolonial Railway, ran
into the boiler-house, an<l alongside of the cooper-
age, and sugar-stoi'es. The motto of the company
was pure sugar and full weight.
The refinery, as may be seen from these details,
was in perfect \vf)rking order: and from 1884
until the end of 1880, io afibrdod employment
to a large number of men, and promised to be
one of our most ]:)rosperous industries. Notwith-
standing all its advantages, the result was most
8
w
114
HI8T0RV or DARTMOUTH.
disappointinfj. Circumstances, the details of which
are not witliin the scope of this paper, resulted
in financial difficulties and great loss to the com-
pany. In December, 18S6, the work was inter-
rupted and the reKnery closed.*
Among the numerous and important industries
in the township, none are more extensive and
celebrated than the works of the Starr Manu-
facturing Company, limited. They are situated
on the line of the old Shubenacadie Canal, V)etvveen
the points at which Ochterloney and Portland
Streets intersect the road leading by the shore
of the first Dartmouth Lake to Preston and the
eastern portions of Halifax county.
These works were commenced in 1864 by John
Starr, Esq., then a prominent hardware merchant
of Halifax ; his object being to manufacture cut
nails and other iron articles. He had already
associated himself with John Forbes, Esq., a native
of Birmingham, England. The latter came to this
country when only a child. He afterwards went
1
w'
1
k
t
I
,
^^H '
ji
'%
"SB J
1
1. *f - '
* The VVoo.lside Refinery worked for a few months ab lut 1888.
lu 1891 it began once more, and has continued in operation ever
since. In the beginning of August, 189.3, the company transferred
the refinery to the Acadia Sugar Refining Company which had
just been formed. — Ed.
PHE8ENT INDUSTRIES, AND RAILWAY.
115
to the United States and perfected hiuiselt' in tiie
various branches of mechanics and manufactures.
He especially f^ained reputation by tlie invention
of a new skate, which has acquired a worhl-wide
fame. Messrs. Starr and Forbes carried on their
works tofjether until 18G8, when the developntent
of the business re(|uiring more capital, a joint
stock company was formed with a capital of
sixty thou.sand dollars. This capital was increased
in 1871, to one hundred and twenty thousand
dollars, and again in 1873 to two hundred thousand,
at which amount the capital stock of the company
now stands.
The numl)er of persons employed in these
works has varied from very few — about twelve
or fifteen, at the beginning — to two or three
hundred, according to the condition of trade. In
1887, about one hundred and fifty were employed.
It is principally by the manufacture of Forbes's
patent Acme Skates, that the establishment has
become famous, although a large trade has been
done in the making of cut nails, and also in the
building of iron bridges and roofs, vault doors, and
various other heavy iron work. This company made
the first iron bridge manufactured in Nova Scotia, —
namely, the one hundred and fifty feet iron lattice
span carrying the railway across Nine-Mile River
!j'
t:
v.
ll
I
It.
ml
hU
no
HISTORY OP DARTMOUTH.
at Elmsdale. All iron bridges previously erected in
Nova Scotia, were imported from abroad. The
mafjnificent vault doors of the Merchants' Rank
of Halifax were built entirely by this companj'.
The complicated and massive liolts and lockinf^
machinery of these dooi-s are most complete and
verj' infi^eniously designed. A considerable portion
of the filters, melting pans, containing vats, and
tanks at the Nova Scotia Sugar Refinery, were
also made by the Sl,arr Company.
A visit to the building is most interesting to
all who <lesire to uudt.'rstand the process of
working iron and steel. There may be seen
machines for cutting out and otherwise shaping
the various pai'ts of .skates. In atiother portion
of the huilding are the noisy nail machines,
with their unceasing "chop, chop, chop," a.s they
bite off the little elongated strips of steel or
iron. Each of these strips becomes a finished
nail and is dropped into a receptacle, before
the watcher can realize what has been done*
The busy feeders sit in front of the machines
«'ind steadily turn the pieces of plate over and
back. This is done in order that the wider ends
of the nails may be cut, alternately, from different
sides of the piece of metal. These and many
PUKSENT IXDUSTHIES, AND KAILWAT.
JIT
other intcrestin<; inoclmniciil processes are carried
on at the works. One of the most iinportant
departments is that devoted to pUitin^, where
deposits of gc)l(l, silver and nickle are put upon
metals of a more easily oxidizable character. The
Forl)es Acme Skates have been sold in almost
all civilized portions of the world where such
an article is in deniand. They have carried
their manufacturers' names into Russia, Germany,
Sweden, Norway, France, England, and the United
States ; and even a few pairs have found their
way into China and Siberia.
About a million dollars have been paid by the
company in wages since the establishment of
their woiks ; and good and substanial houses have
been built by the employees with their earnings.
Between 1S74 and 1^78, the works suffered severely
from the universal business depression of that
period. The spirit manifested by the gentlemen
forming the directorate, enabled the company to
tide successfully over the diiliculties that threatened
them. An arrangement was made whereby the
establishment was enabled to go on with the
manufactures, and tliey have not only succeeded
in clearing oil' their obligations, but have also
been enabled to pay good dividends to the share-
holders. The enterprise has certainly been a very
H
''\y
m
■ ly
1
".
r<".
f
-V
■■{■
ill
118
HISTORY OP DARTMOUTH.
lur^e factor in i>nj)r()vinf:r and developitifj the
prosjx'rity of the town.*
Another nio.st important manufactory estahli.shed
in the township (hu'ini^ the hist twonty-five years,
\fi the works of tlie Dartmouth Rojiewalk Company.
In LSOiS, after tiie confe(h.n'ation of the province.s,
the firm of Staiis, Son, and Morrow, ah'cady
lar^e importers of conhifjo, determined to retain
find increase their trade, hy manufacturintr rope
in tlic pi'ovince. Dartmouth was deci(k;d to he
the most suitable phice for such an un(k'rtakin<:j,
and a farm of sixteen acres witli a jfood stream
of water ruiminijf throu^di it was jturchased in
the nortliei'u end of the tiwnship. Tlie necessary
buihlin^s and apparatus were at once erected.
Earlv in l.S(il) the company Iteifan the manufacture
of conhifT^'- Since then, it has retained tiie trade
of the province and has r^dven en!ph)yment to
fn^n one hundred to one hundred ami 'ifty men,
women and boys, botli in summer and winter.
The number of tons of cordnge manufactured, has
steadily increased, year by year, an<l tlic reputation
of the company's goods is saiil to be equal to that
of any manufactured in the Daminion. At the
*I liave to tliank .loliii Forlies, I'i-J'i., the inventor of the Acme
Skate, for the greater part of the .iliove aoeoiuit, and for all tlie
facts ami figures given therein. — Author'.-i Xofe.
PRESFNT INULSTUIKS, AND HAILWAY.
119
time when the rope-walk was started, nnrl for
years afterward, the buildiiifj and e(inip[.ing of
ships in Nova Scotia was a p-owiii^' Imsiiu'ss, and
the company' looked forwai-d to an important
increase in the demand fnr ship-corda^'e. 'J'he
last few years, unfortunately, have shown a ,f,'rent
falUn^r off in the demand, and this circumstance
mifrht have eventually crippled the resourses of the
company, had not a trade sjirun^r up which greatly
increased the manufacture of small rope. This
material Wiis required hy the lf»hster factories of
Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. A far
more important branch has opened to the company,
namely, the spinnincr and preparin/2: quantities of
twine to he used in bindinc,^ the ,r^n-ain crop of
tho Dominion. This trade they share with other
manufacturers in Quebec, Montreal, and St. John,
N. B. The coinpany's experience is, that its most
satisfactory business is in such manufactures as
were not even thou^dit of at the ince})tion of the
works.
It is apparent, of what rrreat benefit this
establishment has been to Dartmouth, in the
employment of so many persons, in the erection
of houses required for the workmen, and in the
general stir caused \>y the constant exj;ort of
its manufactures. It is satisfactory to learn that
120
lUHIOHY or DAHTMOUTII.
\€:
.■'<:; i
lii
.'■;!■,
4;.
1
the company lias bofon; it a hopeful future based
upon the wide and increasing markets of the
Dominion.*
Dartmouth has another industry wiiich is very
important in its results to the conjfort of the
community on both sides of the harbour. This is
the cutting and storage of ice.
We are now so accustomed to the daily supply
of this article, which has become neces.sary for
refreshment as well as for the preservation of
food in the sununer months, that it seems almost
difficult to understand how our ancesters did
without it. About the year 1JS8G, an ice-house
was built near the Canal Bridge on Portland
Street, by Mr. William Foster, one of tlio oldest
residents of Dartmouth, who was well and widely
known until his death in IMvSl at the ripe age
of ninety-two years. This house was upon a very
small scale, and the ice was supplied in extremely
limited quantities. At that time it was one of
the greatest summer luxuries. It was conveyed
in a wdieelbarrovv to Mr. Foster's shop in Bedford
Row, Halifax, and there sold at a penny a pound.
* I ivin indebted to the Hon. W, J. Stairs for the foregoing
account of the rope-watk company. He was one of the founders,
and is the active senior partner of the estaljlishnieut. — Author's
Note.
n
PHK8ENT INUU.STIUE9, AM) HAII.WAY.
121
In 1840, on some very hot (lays, u c.irfc carried
ice thron^rh the streets. In 1813. A.iam Lai.Uaw.
the ..1,1 and vvell-known driver of the sta<re-coach
between Windsor and Halifax, commenced the
cuttinrr ,ind storinfc of ice on a much lar^rer
scale, and from that time made the industry his
only business. As the supply increased, the demand
grew more and more. His son, Peter Laidlaw,
followed in the same line, and continued the trade
until 1S'70. At that time, still larger (juantities
began to bo called for. The lakes from which
the ice crop was raised, being the property of
Lewis P. Fairbanks, Esq., inten<ling speculators were
obliged to purchase from him the right to cut.
Albei-t Hutchinson, Edward Bowes, William and
John Glendenning, and Chittick an<l Sons, have
each carried on the business with increasing
energy and success. The amount sold annually
since 1880, exeee(Js twenty thou.sand tons. A
large number of men receive good wa^es for
cutting and storino: the ice. It is brought to
Haliftix in large blocks, piled in heavy waggons,
and the drivers leave daily supj)Iies with tli.>ir
customers from May until ])ecen)bei-.
The extensive employment of steamers for all
ocean traffic, has decre.ised the demand for sailing
vessels. ^J'hu shipyards of Dartmouth do not.
rf
r
hi:
l»r'
122
IMHTOIIY OK DAUTMUUTII.
ij i!; !(!
• !
'8 ;!i
M 'i '
therofoH!, present the liusy appeaniin'e of twi^nty
yoarH a;^o. However, what one liraru'li of tho
busiiiesH lias lost, anotluM* has ^^'ained. Tho
Chehuct') M'lrine Railway Company, limited, has
for thv! last twenty-seven years been in fnll
operation, with inereasin;,' facilities for repairinj]^
sailinfj ships and sti^vmers. The company owns
fonr larfje slips in Dartmouth. They were huilt
by Mr. H. Cratuhvll, civil eni:fineer. The lar^'est
slip is capable of accommodatiuLf a vessel of
three thousand tons, and the three smaller ones
will bear VV(!st Tndiamen and flshinfj vessels. These
slips are randy empty. Ships comincj into harbour,
constantly require repair, an<l tho owners and
masters alike reco2'ni;5o the importance of tliis
valuable marine workslu^p.
The company was started in 1800, by Albert
Pilsbury, Esq., then American consul at Halifax.
Tie was a resident of Dartmouth for some timC)
livinof at " Woodsido," and is still warnd}' remem-
bered as a fijenial and accomplished man. The
officers of the association consisted of Hon. Robert
Boak, president, Mr Pilsbury and Peter Ross,
Esq, directors, and John T. Wylde, Ksq., secretary.
These gentlemen to(2jother launched the enterprise
which has continued and flourished until the
present day.
rilKSKNT INDL'MTUIFH, AND UAII.WAT.
123
A suporintcndont mid onpfim-cr witli two or
tlii'ti" tn(>n arc cotistiuitly ('iiii)Ioyt'(l at tin' works.
li('Iinir.s to vessels, and iiaititijij,', ai-e done liy
uu'cliatiicH on tlicir own account. Tlic conipimy's
cajiitii! is one Innnlrrd tlioiisarul dollars. 'J'\vic(!
tliJit Sinn was spent in ac(|uirin^' the projierty
and
soap works
and m const rnetnifj tli<' works.*
.Mr. Mott's chocolate, spice,
]\{\\t' already been mentioned on pa<.^e 1)7. Other
industiies have incidentally been sjioken ol" in
tl
le various cha[»ters
The latest ])ul>lic woi-k in Dartniontli, and
one which will eventually he tin; r^reatest factor
in its trade and commerce, is the completion of
the branch railway. 'I'liis line was connnenced
and iinishe<l in 1.S.S5. It measures six miles from
Richmond to the Woodside Su;.,nir lletinery. A
bridi^e acio.ss the Narrows connects the Dartmouth
and Halifax sides, and the rails then follow the
contour of the shore until Woodside is reached
The bi'idL^e measures si.\ hundred and Hfty feet
in length, and is laiilt in water fi'om si.xty to
seventy-live feet in de{)th. Mr. M. J. Hof,'an, of
Quel
ec, was
the conti-actor and builder of the
wood-work ; the Starr Manufacturing' Company, of
1 luf t hclaicto Murine Hailwiiy Company is now amalgamated
with the Halifax Uraving Docli Company.— A'(/.
iH
124
HISTORY OF DARTMOUTH.
the iron superstructure of the draw-bridge ; and
Mr. Duncan Waddell of Dartmouth, of the stone
pier on which the iron draw swings. The pier
is a solid piece of work erected in water forty
feet deep.* On Gth January, 1886, the branch
was opened for business. A train leaves every
morning for Richmond, and coiuiects with the
Intercolonial Railway. Another returns in the
evening to the station in Dartmouth, with passen-
gers or freight. There is no connectitm with
the Windsor and Annapolis Railway at present.
In 1887 Dartmouth had two newspapers, most
loyal to the interests of the town. They compared
veil with the weekly journals of Halifax. "f*
* Tliis bridge, with the exception of the "draw" and one or
two other portions, was swept away diuing a terrilde wind and rain
storm on the night of 7tli Septeinljer, 1891. It liad l)een erected
upon crib-work piers, filled with atones, to wliicii were bolted the
piles and other superstructure. Tiiis plan had been adopted,
because the engineeis, it is said, had reported that the bottom
could not be penetrated by the piles. After the destruction of
the work, the contract of rel)i)il(Ung it was given to Connor
of Monoton, Kngineers again made an examination of the
bottom, and this time tliey rejwrted it to be pai'tially soft. Tlie
cril.-'.vork plan was abandoned, and piles were driven directly
into the soil. This second structure was completed about
January, 189:2. It nuist, however, have been extremely unstable,
for abimt two o'clock on Sunday morning. '2'.h\l July, 1893, with
hardly a breath of air moving, the greater part of the bridge from
the draw to tlie Halifax shore, was oavried away, A train had
crossed a'oout six hours before. Afier this second destruction,
a strong effort was made to have the railwiy brought directly to
Dartmouth without crossing tlic iiarbour. — Eil.
tin 1893 the only newspaper was the Allautic Wt'tkly—Ed.
TALES.
125
CHAPTER VTII
TALES.
IT is to be rop-ettecl that there are I.ut few
private sources of information from which to
gather the traditions and legends wliich belong
to Dartmouth. The oldest inhabitants have all
passed awaj-, and the contemporary generatit)n
is more alive to the living interests of the present,
♦han to the fading memories of the past. Preston
has several stories belonging to the "days that
are no more." These will be given in the history
of that township.
Of all the simple, pathetic legends of the two
townships, that which recounts the sad <leath of
poor Mary Russell is one of the most deeply
interesting. Its recital has moved many a
sympathetic heart with those achinir thourdits
and memories, which such tales of a past time
call forth.
Nathaniel Russell was among the American
loyalists who came to Nova Sc<7tia after the
American Revolution. He obtained a piece of laud
\H
:ii'f
126
HISTORY OF DARTMOUTH.
built a house, and settled in Dartmouth near the
Cole Harbour Road in the close neighbourhood
of Russell's Lake. He was the father of
Nathaniel Russell, whose son, Benjamin Russell,
Esq., is professor of contracts and commercial law
in the faculty of law connected with Dalhousie
Collefre, Halifax. The elder Nathaniel had two
daughters. The fate of the eldest, Mary, was
tragic and touching. She was engaged to a
young Englishman named Thomas Bembridge —
a morose, jealous and somewhat intemperate man.
His love for the girl was very passionate, and
he could not bear to see her walking with or even
talking to any other man. Her father disapproved
very much of these attentions to his daughter,
and it was a long time before he would give
his consent to their marriage. The importunity
of both, however, at last won the day, but none
of Mary's family were ever pleased with the
young man who had gained the heart of the
gentle girl. It was not very long, before there
were awakened in her mind doubts as to the wisdom
of her choice. His temper was violent, and his
conduct toward her tyrannical and unkind.
Quarrels were the result of every meeting. At
last she told him, that he was making her life
so unhappy by his jealou.sy and ill temper, that
TALES
127
the
the
there
isdom
1(1 his
nkind.
At
life
that
everytliin^f between them must thenceforth be at
an end. This rejection of his love only made
him more passionate and vindictive. He dopf^ed
her when ^oing^ out and comiiifj in, until her
fear of him was so jii^reat, she hardly ever left
her father's house unless under the protection
of si-me friend. Often when intoxicated lie forced
himself into her presence, and his protestations
were so vehement and his threats so violent
that fear of him became the rulinf^ passion of
the poor girl's life.
One night there was a grand illumination in
Halifax to celebrate a brilliant victory of arms
over the Fi-ench army.* The Russell girls with
the rest of their neighbours walkeil down to the
feriy to watch the scene and enjoy the play of
light on the harbour. They remained until rather
*I think Mrs. Lawson made a mistake regarding the illu>
mination. as there is no mention of it in any newspaper I have
seen. On the evening of 21st November, however, tliere was an
illumination of Halifax to celebrate Nelson's victory in Aboukir Bay.
It may have been that Miss Russell left her home to witness the
effects of a violent ga'.e wliich had occurred on September 2r)th.
Mr. York, who is eighty-five years of age, says that his father met
Bembridge when the latter was going to Mr. Russell's. Bembridge's
house is sai<l to iiavc l>eeu on the south .side of the Cole Harbour
Road, and about a mile eastv.aul of the Russell's place. The nad
ntar there is known as Break-Heart Hill. The young man who
walked home with Miss Russell was William Bell, who I have been
to'.d was then a ferryman at the Lower or Creighton's Ferry. — Ed.
pT
,
%%
i ;,
11
1 '! ''
11 ■•
i:i .
jii'V'^
H': -^
H> '^
li
if
128
HISTORY OP DARTMOUTH.
late in the evening. On their return, Mary was
joined by a young man who walked home with
her. When talking over the events of the evening
with her mother, after her escort had said goo<l
night, she expressed her pleasure that Bembridge
had not molested her as was usual. He had gone
to Halifax and was detaineil there by some
business wMch caused him to miss the party
he was looking for so eagerly. He heard from
someone that they had gone home, coupled with
the unfortunate remark that he had better look
after Mary as she had walked home with another
young fellow. His cruel jealous}?^ was immediately
aroused, and ho at once determined on revenge.
On his way to the liussells' house,* he called upon
a neighbour and asked him to lend a knife which
he said was wanted bv one of the farmers to
* riie Russells' house was ori a by-roail leiuling southward from
the Cole Harlionr Itoad. Tins oy-ioad is a little over a quarter
of a mile eastward of the junclion of the Cole Harbour with the
Old Preston Koud, and therefore a little more than two inilcs
from Dartmouth. The house was three hundred and thirty yards
from the highway. B. Russell, Kmj., says that the double-house
which is now at that place is not the one in which the irogedy
occurred, but that it is on the same site. This double-house, he
informs me, was built later by his father, the second Nathaniel
Russell. Miss Russell was familiar'y known as Polly Russell ; and
a large nppe tree, which doubtless still stands near the present
house, was known as I'olly's tree. She is described as a very excel-
lent girl. Her sister's name was Rebecca. —Ed.
ir;-^"
u- ■
TALES'.
129
ary was
me with
! evening
lid good
jmbridge
lad gone
iy some
lie party
ird from
led with
tter look
I anotiicr
nediately
revenge,
led upon
t'e which
irmers to
J ward from
a quarter
with the
two iniU'3
lurty yards
luble-house
|ie trngedy
■house, he
Nathaniel
|ssell ; and
pe present
lery excel-
slaughtor an animal in the morning. S(!creting the
knife under his coat, ho lost no time in making
his way to the IJussells'. Miwy had gone upstairs;
the others wore sittin<r round the fire as lionihridfje
came into the kitcho
W
Here is
.\!
try
?" 1
le
a
iked, " I
mus
t seo her." Mr. Russell refused to
call her, hut Bemhridgo was so urgent, saying
that he would only detain her a momont while
he told her some news of groat impoi'tance,
that her father asked her to come and hear
what he had to say wliilc thoy were all present.
The poor girl was inuoh agitated and very
unwilling to see him, but puisuaded \>y her
father she came down. Beinbri<lge begged her
to go outside and speak with him alone. H(i
was unable, however, to induce her to do so,
and she told him he could say all he wished before
her father and mother. Finding that entreaties
would not move her, he came forwai'd and said,
"Let me whisper to you; you only nuist hear
it." With these words ho advanced, put his arm
round her, and in an instant !iad plunged the
knife into her heart. With a groan she fell to
the floor, dead in a momont. He drew the knife
from her breast and was alunit to use it on
himself, when her father secured him before the
9
130
IIISTOIIY OP DAUTMOUl'H.
wounds ho had inflicted on his own person were
tV/iiil. He made no ctt'ort to escape, but said with
intense satisfaction, " No one can have her now,
I have put a stop to all that !"*
He was taken to Halifax and imprisoned.
Shortly afterwards he was tried and condt mned to
deu<i>, uu'l on 18th October he was hanired. He
nevei' u *we'l any j)enitence for the ci'uel deed,
but died a" he had lived, a hanlened, unprin-
cipled' Plan, I 'h' victim of his own selfish, ungov-
ernable tem])(ji'.
Mary Russell was bui'ied in Woodlawn Cemetery.
There is no stone to mark where she sleeps, but
her tragic <leath l)y the hand of her lover has
alwa^'s been a touching chapter in the amials of
Dartmouth. f
In 17f))i, 8t. Piei-re was taken by the British,
and a number of the inhabitants were brouirht
*Tlie follo^^il)g contemporary nccoiuit of the triigedy may be
interesting :
" On Thursday (veiling, [27th Snpteniber, 1798,1 one neinhriJjfb, a young
man rcB.diiiji at Daitinoiith, who hail for some time past, d'scovered on mtach-
ment to Miss Kiissell, d:iughter of Mr, Kussell of that |)lace, went tii .Mr. It's
house about nine o'l^lock, tntered the room where the family was cittinu, and
expres-ed a wish to speak to Miss K. This Mrs. Uuss-ell refnsed, and expressed
hir displeasure at his attention to hir daus;httr. This the villian probably
expected, for, havinjf provided himself with a loiij.' bntuher"s knife he took an
oi)iPi)rtunity iiiMucdiately after, and burio.l it with the most savajfe violence in the
bosom of ilifi unfortunate girl, who almost immediately expired. The wretch
then stopped [.-iVl himself in two itlaces, hut we b>^lieve not nior'al'y ; .assistance
was ca led he was inunediately taken into custody, and will doubtless suHlt the
proper vcni^eanci) of the law f.-r his iliab3!ic:il attrocity." — {The Itayul Gazette,
Tuesday, ini\ Octbuer, \~'M). — Kd.
t'l'l.is tale forms No 1. of llie " Talcs of a Village." [The
Prorh.ctnl, vol. I., pp. '_M--2i).)— 7iV.
TALES.
131
person were
t said with
e her now,
imprisoned,
ndtmned to
mged. He
cruel deed,
ed, unpi'in-
fish, ungov-
n Cemetery.
sleeps, but
• lover has
e iinnals of
;he British,
Ire brought
;\gnly iHiiy be
|iihrid){e, a young
jvcieil an nltach-
went to Mr. ll's
was cittinK, and
1(1, and expressed
Ivillian probably
knife he took an
[re violence in the
fed. The wretch
•al'y ; assistance
[ibtless suSElt the
liinjul Gazelle,
lllage." [The
to Htdifax. Among them was the governor of
the island, ^hmsieur Danseville.* This gentleman
was a loyal and devoted adherent of the royal
house of Bourbon, and he therefore refused to
return to his native land while it remained under
the usurpation f)f Napoleon. Governor Wentvvorth
transmitted a memorial from him to the Duke
of Portland on 10th October, 1794, requesting
certain rights and privileges dui'ing his residence
in Nova Scotia. Wentworth remarks, " Monsieur
Danseville behaves himself discreetly and professes
to be a royjilist." This gentleman al'terwards
went to the Old Pre.ston Road and residt-d with
a lady round whose memory there still lingers
much of mj'stery ami romance.
Many years previous to the arrival of the
governor of St. Pierre, certainly as early as 1780,
Lieutenant Floyei",f said to be a gentleman in His
* 8t. rierre whs captuieil in the spring of 170.'?. On the '20th
June, 1793, tlie frigate Alliijafur arrived at lialifa.x with live
transports hearinj,' 500 to (!()0 prisoners fioin .St. l'i«-rre. Monsieur
Danseville, the governor, came in the Alliijator. lie was at lilterty
to walk ahout^. the town. In 180'J, lie received a pi^n.^ion of
£106 I'Ja. 4d. stg. per annum, from the lirilisli goverinncnt. — AV/.
+ His full name was William I''loyer. He was a lieutenant in
the lir.st battalion of His Majesty's Sixtieth or Tloyal American
Regiment of Foot, his eoniinissio.i i)eiiig dateil 17th March, 1779
( r/t/e Army List) The Lieutenant purchased from Samuel King
31 J acres of land on the southern side of the Old Preston Road, and
27 acres on the opposite side of the highway. This was by deed
I:.
132
HISTORY OF DARTMOUTH.
m
Miijosty's service Imt not in uny regiment stfitioneil
in Nova Scotia, urrivod at Halifax fi'om Euf^lanJ
with a .lady whom he inti'oduced to the very few
who saw her as his sister, Miss Floja-r. He
purchased a property near Allen's tanyard on the
Old Preston Road. There he built a pretty, com-
fortahle cottage, and lived for some time with
the lady who was always known as his sister.
She is described by those who remember her, as
a refined, intellectual woman, with a sweet, sad
face, gentle and winning address, very reticent
4fi.
dated 14th August, 17S6 (Lil). 27, fol. ^o, Registrar of Deeds
Office) ; and tlie price was ,i;2r»0. On the 20th of tlie same month,
he sold the whole of these two lots of land, for £2.")0, to Margaret
Floyer of Dartmouth, "u-hioin" (Lib. .30, fol. 3(1.3). On 2iid
January, 1789, the wiiole of this land was mortgaged by Lieut.
Floyer and Margaret Floyer, "single woman," to .S. .S. Hlowers
for £100 (Lib. 27, fol. 114). Oa 30th April, 179."), (Lib .31, fol. 261),
the plot on the northern side of tiic road with the exception of
one acre at the corner where the cross-road is now situated, was
sold to .J. Stayner, Alexander and Ebenczer Allen for £\')(} ; but
strange to say we afterwards find Mai garet Floyer, "widow,"
mortgaging the whole of the oS^ acres to Tliomas X. Jefl'ery, on
12tl) June, 1807, for flOO (Lib. 37, fol 441). Lieut. Floyer's name
last appears on the deed of 30th April, 179.5. He must have left
the province Eoon after that time— at aiiyrate before ISOl. The
remainder of the deeds registered under the name Floyer are:
Margaret Floyer to llieophilus Chamberlain, conveys Lot 12,
Letter F, 3 acres, in Preston, dated 10. h March, 1801 (Lib. 34,
fol. 421) ; T. Chamberlain to M. Floyer, 50 acres in Preston, 10th
June, 1801 (Lib. 3.5, fol. .39) ; T. Chamberlain to M. Floyer, 20
acres in Preston, 6th May, 1803 (Lib. 36, fol. 21")) ; M. FUiyer to
Thomas Donaldson, 50 acres in Preston, 15th February, 1812 (Lib.
40, fol. ]34.)—Eil.
TALES.
133
Esiit stationed
oni Eiifflund
he very few
^loj'ei". He
yard on the
pretty, coin-
time with
s his sister,
iber her, us
sweet, sad
ry reticent
istrar of Deeds
ic Raine month,
lO, to Maryaret
03). On 2ii(l
i{,'Oil by Lieut.
S. S. Blowers
I) .*U,fol. 261),
e exception of
situated, was
or t'l.lO ; hut
"widow,"
|X. Jert'ery, on
"loyer"s name
lust have left
1801. Tho
Floyer are :
[eys Lot 12,
m (Lib. 34,
preston, 10th
Floyer, 20
d. Floyer to
■, 1812 (Lib.
and rjuiet, hut excecdin^fly courteous to all who
knew her.* While Lieut. Floyer remained with
her, they wore constantly to;]^ether, not seekinjj
the acquaintanc(? of anyone, and most uncom-
municative to the few who had access to them.
The tradition is vague as to the length of time
he staj'ed in the townshij), but probably it was
not longer than a year or two.-f- When his
departure was announced, it was said that he
was going to join his i-egiment which had arrived
at Jamaica. To tho surprise of eveiyone. Miss
Floyer did not accompany him. No reason was
given for her remaining in Dartmouth ; and if any
questioned, no informati(jn was bestowed. Good
servants were enfrajred to do the indoor and outdocn'
work of the cottage and garden, and Lieut.
Floyer, as was generally believed, went to the
West Indies. Curiosity and gossip were busy
with the names of the mysterious pair. The
* The story of this sweet, mysterious lady, forms No. 2 of
Mrs. Lawson's " Tales of Our Village." It will be found in The
Provincial, volume I, pages 109-113, 141-145. The reader must
bear in mind, that in The Provincial the writer filled in the details
of the story when her information was defective. In the present
essays, however, facts oidy are given, and the tales are told with
historical accuracy. — Ed.
+ He was here in 1795. See note on page 132. — EJ.
*a;
134
niHTOKY OF DAtlTMOL'Tll.
lady lived on in oxtrcino seclusion, looking,' nioro
frail and siid timn on her Hrst urriviil, hut no
\vo)'<l oF complaint or lonolinoss was hoard from
her. She was very fond of quiet walks throufjh
the woods, as well as of hooks and flowers. Often
was she met in the f^^reen lanes an<l shadiMl wood-
lands ahout the villaife, with a book in her hand,
fretjuently stooj)in<( to jLCuthin* tlie sweet wild-
tlowets. All who saw her wen; attracted hy her
sad, patient eyes, and face so full of memories.
Her little ^ardiiu was her only recreation, and it
well repaid her care hy its borders of bloom. A
few visited her. She always made them welcome,
but rarely returned the calls unless she could
bestow a kindness or l)e useful in illness. She
was very fond of children ami exceo<lin^dy kind
to theui. The little ones often went to see her,
and she took great pleasure in their visits and
always had for them a store of sweetnieats and
toys. There are some still livintif who dimly
remember the kind lady who always liad .some
new pleasiire in reserve for her little visitors.
When Monsieur Danseville decided to take up
his quarters in Dartmouth, he was attracted to the
little cottage by its refined appearance and garden
of flowers. He called to en(|uire if he could
be accommodated with lodgings. To the surprise
TAr.KS.
isfs
looking' inoro
rival, l)ut no
■i hoard IVoiii
iilks tliroufrli
)\V(M\s. Often
shaded wood-
in her hand,
sweet wild-
icted hy her
of memories,
ation, and ifc
)f bloom. A
em welcome,
^ she could
llness. She
lin^dy kind
to see her,
• visits and
itmeats anrl
who dimly-
had some
visitors,
to take up
icted to the
md fjarden
he could
16 surprise
of tlte nei^dihouihood, his re(juest met with an
atKrmative answer. Miss Floyer willin;,dy accepted
him as an inmate of her home. He was a charm-
ing conjpanion — polished and polite as French
fjentleman irenerall}' are, a man who had travelled
and seen much of society and was accpiainted
with all the accomplishments of refined life, fond
of hooks and fonder of Howers. ITndrr his
tasteful cai'e, the cotta<^'e and garden Itecame most
charming. He hail a wHV^ and family in his own
dear France. With his neighhours he was veiy
genifil and comjianionahle, talked freely of his
people and his home, and of all the change of
fortune and ])osition consequent ui)on the chances
of war. A few still rememher the courtly old
gentleman with silver hair and charming manners,
who made himself happy under adverse circum-
stances, and like a true philosopher, took without
.stint all the pleasure which even exile offered to
his easy, simple nature. He and Miss Floyer
always appeared to he on terms of the most
pleasant frien<lshiji, hut none knew wliether he
had ever gained her confidence or learned tlie
mystery of her story. Miss Floy<!r was always in
easy circv.mstances. Remittances arrived punctually
from England, Her wants were few, hut she
• I
:l
13G
HIMToltV OF IiAUTMonir.
14:
liv('(| ill coiiifurt, almost in iitHuciico, iiiid I,
cottii;,'!! was a pKsiHatit, {H'otty lioiiio.*
Governor Danscvillo fcariii'' that it miirht be
years before; he couM rc^tuni to 1'^ ranee, ami also
to till his leisure time, in<lueeil Miss Floyer to
consent to the buildinif of a larirtjr house on
another part of her propiM-ty. The result was
tt loiii;, low, stone cotta;^^! with a flat roof, set
in a sheltered situation end surrounded by forest
trees. He spent a ^^reat d"al of time and money
in the ornamentation of the ffrouiids. Walks were
cut throu^di tlu! woods, a fish-pond was mad»
near the house, and the immediate ^n-ounds (ille<l
with Howers. Before the eottape was (piite
finished, the one in which they had been livinj^f
was destroyed by lire durint^ their temporaiy
absence from homt?. 'i'his tire occurred in the
summer. They took poss(?ssion of the new hou.se
before it was finished and personally supervised
its completion. Soon it became even more
brifdit an<l comfortable than their old home.
Tiie Governor's ^ood taste made the surroundings
* AiDong the accounts of the anle, about 1801, of t}»e cattle
belonging to the Maroon property, I find that " Mt. Floyer "
purchased a chestnut horse called Floyer, for £10. Here we see
the kindly lady obtaining the animal which was probably named
after her or the Lieutenant. (Vide MS. Records, vol. 419, paper
No. 121).— Ed.
TALKS,
137
very cliurinini;. Tlic low vcnindalj wiis covtM'ed
with roses aii«l cro(?|H'rs, tlu^ liiwii in front was
preen uinl smooth, and the ^'rass-plot tilled with
flowers. In those; early days, when cultivation
of the rouf^hest kind was all that could he
accomplished in the vicinity of Dartmouth, " Hrook-
House ", as th<! (lovernor's residence was called,
had the admiration of all who passed hy.*
There the two exiles lived in (piiet conij)anion-
ship until 1<S14, whcsn the ^dail news was hi-ou^dit
to Halifax that tlu^ p'cat Napoleon was a prisoner
on the Island of Elha and that the l>ourl)ons liad
once more come to their c untry and throne.f
Governoi" Danseville was overjoyd at- the restora-
tion of the royal family. His enthusiasm and
excitement were unhounded. He at once dressed
himself in his long-unused uniform, put on his
• Brook House still stnnds. It is on the Old Preston Road
nearly three miles from the town of Dartmouth. The house is
somewhat changed from its original de.sign, having been heightened
and otherwise altered by T. K. Orassie. Mr. Thomas Allen,
who years ago resided close to Brook House, thinks tliat the
verandah was added at the same time. Margaret Floyer's tirst
cottage which was destroyed by tire, was sittxated on the northern
side of the road immediately opposite Brook House. The site of
the cottage is at the north-eastern angle of Cross's present house at
the corner of the roads. — Eil.
tOn Saturday, 2l8t May, 1814, a packet called the Express
arrived at Halifax, bi inging news of the abdication of Napoleon
and the restori*tion of the Bourbons. — EJ.
■Ail
138
HISTOHV OF DARTMOUTH.
fl:
hat with its wiiite cockade, and walked up and
down the road durinjj the whole afternoon of
one day, shoutini^ " Vive la France I" He made
preparations for his immediate departure, and in
the first ship bound for the old world he took
his passage from the land he had so lon^ trodden.
He parted from the gentle lady who had shared
his exile, with eveiy demonstration of friendship
and regret, and he wont hack a free and hap])y
man to the home and friends from whom he
had been so long separated.
Miss Floyer's lonely life was now more lonely
still. She seldom left her house. The neighbours
rarely saw Jior, and when they did, it was to
discover that her health was failing under the
continual strain of solit\ide and memory.* Not
long after the departure of Governor Danseville,
she became ill with erysipelas in the face and
head. She was so quiet and uncommunicative
that even her servants were not aware of her
* In The Prorincial (vol. I, p. 144) Mrs. Lawson says, that
the last time Miss Floyer was ever seen on the road, was when she
was returning from a visit to Halifax where she had gone to receive
her quarterly allowance ; " she had a volume of Zimmerniann on
Solitude, in her hand, which she remarked in passing, to a neigh-
bour, had much interest for her, as she experienced all the
advantages and disadvantages of the state which the German
poet so eloquently describes. Poor solitary lady, her term of
exile was nearly overl" — Ed.
U.
TALES.
139
serious illness until it was too late for help to
avail. CJoin*^ into her room one morning, they
found her unconscious. Me<lical aid was ])rocured,
kind nursing and womanly sympathy gave their
best, hut in a few days, witliout any return of
consciousness, she pa.ssod into tliu great unknown
country. She died as she had lived, hafHing
curiosity, and her story remains a mystery until
this day.*
It was generally believed that the gentleman
who accompanied her frou) England was her lover,
not her brother ; Imt why he never returned to
her or what was his fate was never known. Others
believed that she had bi-ought disgrace upon herself
and her family in England, that Lieut. Flo^'er
was really her brother and that he had conve3'e<l
her to Nova Scotia to expiate her sin or her
shame in this solitary exile.f
* Miss Floyer died on Friday, 9th December, 1814, aged sixty
years according to the inscription on lier gravestone, but sixty-four
years old according to tlie tiiree deatii notices in Halifax papers, in
whicli she was called Mrs. Margaiet FJoyer. She therefore must
have been born in 17*55 or 1750, and was about twenty-five or
thirty years old when she came to Halifax. There is no will
recorded under her name in the probate office, Halifax. — Ed.
tin the complete series of nine deeds whicli I have searciied
and mentioned in the footnote on page 132, being all which are
registered under the name of Floyer, Margaret is twice called a
'• widow," and once a "single woman." In the remainder she is
merely termed a "gentlewoman." — Ed.
140
HISTOIIY OP DARTMOUTFI.
Hor death was announced to lier family, thronf]fh
the a^ont by wlioiu her money had lieen remitted,
by Sii' John WentworMi who was then living
privately in Halifax. John (Jould FI()y<>f, repre-
senting himself as the son and heir-at-law of
Anthony Floycr of Retshy or KetsVij', Lincc^ln, who
was the eldest brother of Marfifaret Floyer, spinster,
late of Preston, gave Sir John Wutitworth a power
of attorney to administer in his aunt's estate.* Mr.
Robie was Sir John's solicitor. Mr. John Waite,
mayor of Hoston, Lincoln, England, brother-in-law
of Miss Floyer, represented the claimant in England.
Mueh correspondence passed between the parties.
TIk; heir-at-law urged the sale of the propi-rty, and
afr.er paymi'iit of all just debts, to have tiie
balance of the prooccls remitted to him. This
reasonable recjuest docs not apj)ear to have been
granted. C'orres{)ondence with regard to the
*Ilie Floyeis were a very ol>l I'jiRliali fiiinily, wlioae lineage
will he found in Hiirke a Latidcd Gevlry of (trenl Jiriluiii, (0th
edition, 1870, vol. I , pp. !j't'i!S'H\). If .Margaret Floyer was a,
sister of Lieut Floyer, she must have l)<;(!n a daughter of William
Floyer, of Retshyl?), County Lincoln, nnd of Athelhanipton, Dorset,
who married in IT-Vi, Francos, daughter and co-heir of Edward
Ayscfiglie, of Louth, County Lincoln, and who died ia 1759,
According to a letter of .Tohii Waite to .T. B. Robie, (March, 1817,)
now before nie, it is claime<l that Margaret's brother and aisteis
then living, were Ann F?oyer and Richard Floyer of Claxbj', and
Jane, wife of John Waite. Another brother, Edward, had been
dead for some lime — Ed.
TALES.
Ul
Itusincss was extciidcfl Itotwoeii 1,S15 au'l ISU).
The propel ty \v;is sokl to Lawrence HaitHlioi'iie, Ks(|.,
wlu) purchased it for the use of his Urother-in-Iaw,
Rev. Charles lii^dis, then rector of Dartmouth.
Mr. ]n<(lis lived there for many yeai's, and in
addition to his other duties, lodged and tan^dit
a number of boys. Of all those who spent their
boyish years in tiie old French Governor's house,
layir.f^ in a store of knowledge to make them good
citizens and useful men, only T 13, Akins, D. C. L.,
(i. A. tS. Cricht(jn, and Henry Lawson are now
living.*
Miss Floj-er was buried in VVoodlawn Cemetery,
close to the (juiet home where so much of her
lonel}' life had been sjient. The gentle lady's spirit
Avas said to wander round the house and grounds
during the ghostly midnight hours, always wearing
the sweet, patient Icjok which characterized her
in life.
By the desire of her English friends, a largo
stone slab was })laced over lier grave, where it
remains until the pres(!nt time, weather-worn and
moss-grown. The deep lettering is tilled with
the rust of time, but her name and the date of
*'riiuse three have died since tlie essay was wiittoii -Ed,
Il',
\ii-'
n 1.'. '
Mi;
142
IIlSTOltY OF DARTMOUTH.
her death arc still legible.* The lines l)clow, were
written when standing by her grave some years
ago
MAUG.VRET FLO YE R.
Lone grave girt round by dusky trees
Whose branches, rustling in the breeze,
Keep well the secret t.-xle of her
Who sleeps in this rude sepulchre.
What was her story ? why the doom
Of banishment, neglect and gloom ?
None ever knew, and we to-day
Perplexed and curious turn away.
Lying around her many a form.
Whose graves are lapped in sunshine warm ;
.Simple and weary souls who rest
Forgotten on earth's quiet breast.
We see their graves, we pas.^ them by,
They hold for us no mystery ;
But to this stranger's tomb to turn,
Still curious what it hides to learn.
* Her grave is a little south of the centre of the cemetery,
which is just to the north-west of " lirooU House." A horizontal
slab, measuring about .'?J ft. \>y 7i ft. liy .') inches, au.l ap-parently
of freestone, marks the spot where siie lies, healed forever of the
fever of this life. In the .sninmcr, the Marguerites peep over
tlie stone, and read their name and hers in the deep lettering :
"Sacred | to the .Memory of ] Alatgarett [.sic] Fioyer | A
Native of Kngkuid. j Died the 8th Deer. 1815 | Aged 00 years."
As will he seen by a i.ote on page 1,30, the year and day of her
death arc not correct in this inscription ; she died 9th December,
1814, and was buried atone o'clock, Sunday, lltli December. — Ed.
ics below, were
^e some years
ze.
varm
the cemetery,
A Iioii/iontal
ii'I apiwrently
forever of the
'■^s peep over
iep lettering ;
Floycr ( A
"1 00 years."
<i flay of her
'h Decemher,
eml;er.— ^,/
TALKS.
Years have gone by, full many a score,
Since exiled to this lonely shore,
She came in v.-oman's tender grace
With stately step and sweet, fair face.
Of courteous speech and gentle mien,
Cultured in Schoolcraft lore and keen,
Subdued and silent, seeking none,—
She came, she lived, she died, alone !
From youth, through womanhood, to age.
Her story fills a turned-down page ;
While none have seen, and none shall see
Her secret of a century.
What had she done .' why did she come ?
Wc question, and the years are dumb.
Whate'er the shame, whatc'er the sin.
Her punishment should pardon win.
Here in the shadow of this wood,
She knew life's loneliest solitude ;
Here where the tasscled pine trees wave.
Time has been tender to her grave.
The cold gray stone, in letters deep.
Her name and birthplace plainly keep ;
The moss-grown brick and morticed wall,
Hold faithful watch and ward lluough all.
Leave her in peace,- nor sung, nor said.
Be word of doubt to vex the dead ;
The Judge with whom the \crdict lies,
Has balanced sin bv sacrifice.
U
August, JS79.
(.11
:f -'
■11 V
i' ^
'.•'>( ■
;1-
, l'3i
hi
'.I
144
mSTOUY OF DARTMOUTH.
After Mr. Inglis left Brook House, tlie place
became almost a ruin. The garden was overgrown
with weeds, the summer-houses crumbled into decay.
The cottage, unoccupied and forsaken, was shaken
by the storms, until with windows broken and
front propped with great posts, it bore little
resemblance to the pretty villa once ornamented by
the old French Governor. Manj" years afterwards
it was purchased by Thomas R. Grussie, Es(j. He
put it in order, and used it as a summer residence
until his removal to England. It was then sold
to the late Hon. Michael Tol)in, who with his
family occupied it for mie years. It is now in
the po.sscssion of his son. The shadows of romance
still surround the old place, and it will always be
associated with the memory of Governor Danseville
and the mysterious Margaret Fioyer.
During the residence of the French Governor
in Dartmouth, his secretary, Mr. Mizansean, or
Mozanzien, was always in attendance upon him.
This gentleman did not return to France with
Dan.seville. He mari-ied a daughter of one of the
neighbouring farmers and afterwards settled on a
farm at tiie Eastern Passatre.
Another tale comes to us from tiie same part
of the township in which Miss Russell's tragic
U.\}'
TALES.
145
death had occurred — the scene beir.g Russell's
Lake near the Cole Harbour Road.
A' Mr. Jones, an eniiffrant from Scotland, had
built a house near this lake, where he liad a
small farm and also followed his trade as a
carpenter.* He had a family of young children —
hardy, rosj'-faced little ones who were growing
up to share their parents' toil, full of life and
health, as country children generally are.
One bright Sunday afternoon in March, the
three eldest, a girl and two boys, stole out of
the house without their parents' knowledge, and
ran down to the lake — their usual resort on
week days — for a slide. The little girl remained
on the shore while the boys went out upon
the ice, running or sliding as pleased them bfst.
The ice was loosening under the touches of spring,
and one little fellow, while crossing the current,
fell in and went beneath the water. His brother
seeing him disappear, ran to his assistance, and
at once sank in the same place. The little girl
watching from the shore, cried for help, and not
waiting to be heard, hurried to the fatal spot
*Mr. York ttlls me that Jones's house was to the eastward
of Russell's place, on the Cole Harbour Road. There was also a
house belonging to a Jones in the fork of the Cole Harbor and Old
Preston Roads, as will be seen on a map, water marked 1795, in
the Crown Lands Office. — EiL
10
'1
■ :i
i<
I
i '
i.;^!'
1
■iN
m
.ill
146
HISTOnV OF DAKTMOUTII.
where her brothers were perishing. The break
in tlie ice had widened. The margin of the
separated parts was thin, and gave way under the
child's weight. Her parents anrl some neighbours
had heard lier call for assistance, l)ut before they
could reach the lake, slie had fallen in. The
three children were all below the cold, dark
water, struggling with death. It was impossible
to save them. All that could be done after many
efforts, was to raise the three lifeless bodies from
the lake and bring them to their desolated home.
Nearly three-quartei's of a century has passed,
since in that (]uiet cottage, Mrs. Jones, like Rachel,
stood " weeping for her children and would not be
comforted l)ecause they were not." Time touches
all thinjfs with tender hand. The hearts which
were breaking on that Sunday afternoon, have
long been at rest, but the story of the three
little ones who perished together in Russell's Lake
has often been told, and children have listened
with wet eyes to the sorrowful tale. The three
ai'e buried side by side in the burying-ground of
Woodlawn.*
The townspeople have always been much intei-
ested in the mysterious disappearance of Dr.
* There is no inscription to distinguish their graves. This
sad story forms No. 7 of Mrs. Lawson's " Tales of Our Vilhige "
(The Provincial, vol. II, Halifax, 1853, pp. 128-133).— A^/.
TALES.
147
Macdonald, which occurred in 1840.* He Mas a
Scotchman, inunarriod, kindly in his feelinffs and
quiet in his habits, a ^ood niajjistnite, and a
useful citizen. Everyone liked and respected him.
He lived in his own house, and was waited upon
by a man and his wife who were with liim up
to the day of his sinf^ulur disappearance. On
Sunday afternoon he was last seen by his friends
in Dartmouth. He was then in his usual health
and spirits. His man servant asserted that on
Monday, St. Andrew's Day, 30th November, 1(S4C,
Dr. Macdonald left home about nine o'clock in the
morniiif^, his usual hour for going out. He was
dressed in his ordinary clothing, and no change
was noticed in his manner or appearance. It
was supposed that he went, as was his daily
custom, in the ferry-boat to Halifax. From that
time he was never seen or heard of again. Not
having any family, his absence did not cause
the anxiety that would have been felt under
other circumstances, and no proper investigation
was made at the time as to the cause of his
disappearance. When suspicion and enc[iiiry were
*A public meeting held in March, 1851, investigated the
affair. The testimony of the Doctor's servant will he found in
DesBrisay's ".Sketches of Diutniouth." (The Provincial, vol. I,
p. 424 )— A'tZ.
148
lUHTORY OF DARTMOUTH.
at last aroused, it was too late for discovery.
What was everyone's business, was found to be
the business of no one individually, and though
there was much conversation on the subject, no
definite steps were taken to elucidate the mystery
surrounding the occurrence. It was believed that
Dr. Macdonald had a large sum of money in
his possession at the time of his disappearance.
His fate has often been the subject of wonder
and speculation, and not a few believe that the
kind hearted old Doctor came to his end by
foul play, and that the mystery of the affair will
yet be brought to light.
^
ite :■
)r discovery,
found to be
and though
subject, no
the mystery
>elieved that
money in
sappearance.
of wonder
e that the
lis end by
i affair will
I
HISTORY
or
TOWNSHIP OF PRESTO
N.
^'■^m
m
HISTORY OF TOWNSHIP OF PRESTON.
CHAPTER I.
FROM THE rin.sT (;i{AXT IN J784 UNTIL THE AHHIVAL
OF THE MAROONS IN 1796.
THE townsliip of Preston was surveyed mul
laid out in lots in the year 17.S4 by
Tlieopliilus Cluunberluin, Es(i., deputy sur-
veyor of the province, under the instructions of
Charles Morris. Es(, , chief surveyor of lunds in Nova
Scotia. These lots were ^n-anted on 15th October,
1784, to the said Theophilus Chamberlain, and'
one hundred an<l sixty-three others, princip,dly
Loyalists, who at the time of the American
revolution against English rule, left home and
country, so as to maintain inviolate their al lenience
to the British Empire.*
The township was bounded ns follows: begin-
ning at the north-western angle of the township
of Lawrencetown, thence to run noi-th ten degrees
west, eighty-two chains of f(nn- rods each ; thence
west, one hundred chains; thence north fifty-tlve
:r
• s
Seo Grant Book 14, page IIG, Crown Lands Office.-j?</.
h
152
HISTORY OF PRESTON.
degrees east, one hundred und ninety-two chains ;
thence north thirty-five defrrees west, three hun-
dred and sixty-nine cimins ; thence north eighty
degrees east, twelve inindred and seventy-eiglit
chains, or until a line produced south by the
magnet comes to the centre of an island in the
first lake up the Chezzetcook River ; thence to
run that course, three hundred and ninety-five
chains to the said island ; thence to begin again
at the bound first mentioned and to run north
eighty-eight degrees east, on the back line of
Lawrencetown, one thousand and seven chains to
Chezzetcook Harbour ; thence to be bounded by
the said Harbour running to the mouth of the
rivei" aforesaid and up the several courses thereof
to the aforesaid lake ; and from thence to the
island beforementioned.
Th'..^ ti'act contained fift^'-six thousand seven
hundred and seventy-two acres, of which thirty-
two thousand were granted to Chamberlain and
the other applicants. The remaining part was
reserved.
The names of the original grantees and pro-
prietors are given below :
Theopl'ilus Chamberlain, Balthazer Creamer,
Samuel (Jreenwood & Co., William Jordan,
Micluiel Houzeal,(a) George Brown,
Titus Smith,
Joseph Russell,
FUO.M FIRST GHANT UNTIL ARHIVAL dF MAROONS.
153
Christian Carter, (a)
Jolni H. Fleifjpp,
Georffo Wcstphall,
Robert O'Brien,
Francis J. Mullock,
Tobias Miller,
Huffh Kellv,
Silas Allan, ((()
Peter Davis,
Benajah Hoyt,
Edward Crawford, (a)
Isaac Hoyt, (<i)
Ebenezer Allan,
John Kelly,
Ebenezer Leadbetter,
John Lindsay, (a)
Thomas Croffs, (^0
John Greenwood, (f()
Sanniel KitiLr,
Adam Dechazeau,
George Smith,
EIizal)eth Handasj'de,
Charles Handasj-de,
Jeremiah Banistead,
Robert Jackson,
Philip Adams,
Anthony Huffman, (a)
William Rogers,
Hu^h Foley.
William McDonald,
Joseph GrilHth,
Patrick Henrachen,
Henry Weishuhn, [a)
John VV.ikenfield, ((/)
Frederick Rottecken,
Joseph Giles,
John Thompson,
T
Sanniel Cox, (<i)
Alexander J)unbar, (a)
Robert Leslie, (d)
Ralph Hari'ison,
Isaac Kettle, (fO
Job Bower (or Bowen),(a)
Thomas Johnson,
Thomas Dell,
John ]^ickson,(a)
John Hill,
John Bell,
John Crawford,
John Adams, (*0
Daniel Murphy,
Matthew Howell, (ft)
Anfjus McDonald,
William Stewarf,(o)
Jacob Lanpley, (a)
William Gordon, ((()
Paul Lewis, (.')
Jesse Larnard,
John Frederick,
William (Ji-ei uhill, (a)
George Shnltz,
John Shrum,
Michael Soales (or Scales),
Thomas Ross,((?)
EbiMiezer Ci"ittinfrden,(a)
Zachariah Parker, ((()
Ebenezer Shclton,
Stf'jihen Beldin^^(«)
William Berry,
Patrick Conner,
John Maloney, (f')
William Reeves,
Geoj'^e Bissett,(f/)
Benjamin Wells,
'm
i
i!
f
m
:ii J
Ml '
154
HISTORY OF ."HESTON.
John Belief on taine, (a)
Mark Jones,
John Todd,
James Hamilton,
John Boyce,
Zebulon Schofield,
George Morrison, {a)
Peter Fredson, (a)
Thomas Hunt, (a)
Robert Grimes,
Nicholas Tibou,
Daniel Crawford, (a)
James Nuirent,
John McFall. (a)
Charles Collins, (a)
Jesse Gabriel,
Michael Igler, (a)
William Chapman,
John Ferser, (a)
Henry Inners,
Al)ner Wood, (a)
John Walsh, (a)
Benjamin Lncas, (a)
David Caldier, (^<i)
Walter Caldier, (a) ,
William Townsend, (a)
William Hilly, rn)
Alexander Taylor,
Peter Fynucane,
William Biymer, ('(.)
George Robinson, (a)
William Fredson,(rt)
Charles Stuart, (<i)
Charles Fredson, (a)
Charles Brempton, (a)
Donald McDon-drl,
George Snider,
Robert Gilfillan,(«)
Archibald Lang, (a)
Thomas Trope, (d)
Daniel Dervin, (a)
Lawrence Crawford,
John Crawford,
John Gass, (rt)
Peter Beech, (a)
Mary Mullock,
Eleanor Mullock,
William Jennings,
Matthew Creed, (a)
John Jackson,
Archibald Crawford,
Finley McGilvery,
William Tybou,
John Smith, (a)
John Knight, (a)
Kenny Morris, (a)
James Negro, (n)
Ed w ard Har v ey , (a)
Sfimuel Vaughan, («)
William White,
Abraham Todvin,
John Frederick,
Emanuel Mtiller,
David Miller,
Francis Findley, (a)
John Miller, (a)
Maria Fisher.
John Malone, (a)
Thomas Wester, (a)
John Andersori,
James Henry, (<«,)
Charles Dolphin,
J Richard,
Cuff Freston, (a)
FROM FIRST GRANT UNTIL ARRIVAL OF MAROON3. 155
British Freedom,
John Smith,
S Bristoe, (a)
David Stafford, (a)
John Collins,
Brutus,
William Hicks,(a) Anthony Woolet. (a)
All the land belonging to those whose names
are marked with an (a), was escheated on 7th
June, 1815.
There were a few settlers in the township
previous to this time, probably some straggflers
from the three hundred and ^fty-three emigi-ants
who landed in Dartmouth in the year 1750. Their
names, however, are not recorded. The history
of Preston must begin, therefore, with the date
of the first survey in 1784.
Many of the names which appear in the grant
just mentioned, were those of persons resident in
Halifax, some of whom never took possession of
the property allotted to them. Others wlio failed
to comply with the conditions which bound them
to make some improvements on the land in a given
pei'iod, had their grants escheated about 1814.
Several of the persons who took possession
were of English descent and former inhabitants
of the New England States. At the time of the
rebellion against Great Britain, many of them
left with their families to seek another home
under the protection of the British flag. Some
156
HISTORY OP PRESTOX.
received grants of land in Preston and Dart-
mouth, and anionop those wh ) settled there, we
find the names of Stayner, Greenwood, Kincj,
Allen, Russell and Wisdom. Other grantees of
Preston were Germans and disbanded soldiers who
were more especially under protection of the
government whose aid was instrumental in open-
ing up the country for their' benefit. Roads were
laid out and cut from point to point by soldiers
of the Halifax garrison. A number of houses were
erected, many of them most primitive in construc-
tion ; and the land was brought into cultivation
by hard and continuous labour.
Soon after the settlement of Preston in 1784,
a large number of free negroes emigrattd to Nova
Scotia at the clo,se of the American revolutionary
war, and many of them settled in the township.*
They soon became disvsatisfied with the discomforts
and poverty of their now life. Unaccustomed to make
provision for themselves, they were unable to supply
their own wants, and proved a most un.«atisfactory
class of emigrants. Measures were consequently
*In April (Haliburton says th April), 178.5, one hundred
and ninety-four of these negroes iirrived at Halifax from St.
Augustine. They were almost naked, imd destitute of every
necessary of life. The (Governor had to ask for rations, clothing
and Llaiikets from the military stores, for their relief. — Ed.
m^
i
; i-
FROM FIRST GRANT UNTIL ARRIVAL OF MAROOXH. 157
taken to remove them to the ne^ro settlement at
Sierra Leone, Africa.* On the 15th of January,
1792, these negroes, numbering eleven hundred
and ninety-five, embarked in sixteen [fifteen] vessels
for that port. Sixty-five of them died on the
passage ; the remainder arrived off the coast of
Africa on Gth March, 1792.
On 2()th December; 1787, a tract of four thou-
sand seven hundred acres of land in Preston was
granted to Thomas Young and others. The fol-
lowing is a list of the proprietors : —
Thomas Young,
Thomas Settle,
Edward Williams,
Jasper Rogers,
Thomas McMinn,
James Jones,
•Lieut. John Clarkson, R. N., undertook the deportation of
tliese negroes. With him, was associated Lawrence Hartsliorne,
Esq., of Dartmouth. From the 6lh August, 1791, till the ITjth March
following, Clarkson kept a voluminous journal uf his proceedings. ,
A manuscript copy of this is preserved in the Legislative Library,
Halifax. Selections from this journal will be found in Sir Adains
Archibald's "Story of Deportation of Negroes from Nova Scotia
to Sierra Leone" (CoUectionn of X, S. HiMorical Socirty, vol. VIL
pp. 129-154). Tlie following extract from the diary, may be of
interest: — October 12, 1791. " Went over to Dartmouth, . . . and
rode through the woods till we reached Preston. ... On our ride
towards home we called upon an honest j-ardener who showed me
some of the maple sugar as well as the trees in his neighbourhood,
and also a specimen lie had letined, equal to any I had seen in
England. This man is an excellent botanist and lays out part
of his garden for experiments." There is little doubt in identifying
Titus Smith as the worthy gardener whose good qualities are
referred to iu the above extract. — Ed,
158
HISTORY OF PRESTON.
1 . , '^*^'
■ , ■ • "tt
111
. :i (V
ni
■fi
(' ■ . > ;:!'
i 1 :
1; „:
» ■ ■
] *
J '■
Samuel Brandon,
Sebastian Spainter,
Benjamin Smitli,
Joseph Wliite,
Henry Gower,
Thomas Cunen,
James Birmingham,
John Curren,
Andrew McMinn,
John McMinn,
Dominali Savage,
George Pegg,
Charies Jones,
Jolin Readman,
Christopher Edmondson
Courthind (Squires),
Scott (Murray),
Crispin (Just or Juit),
Williams (Bell),
Sam (Elliot),
Toney,
Freeman,
Leicester,
Somerset,
Strong,
Joseph Tybe,
Thomas Fulton,
b3
r
Andrew Rogers, •
William Dunstar (or Dunstan).
During the hostilities between France and
England, other French gentlemen besides Monsieur
Danseville* made Preston or Dartmouth their
temporary home. These were officers who had
been taken prisoners in some of the many engage-
ments of the time. They were stationed on parole
in Dartmouth and Pi*eston.f No restriction was
placed upon their liberty, as they had given their
* See page 131.
+The following advertisement appeared in the Weekly Ohronicle,
Halifax, 14th Sept., 1810 :—
Run from parole at Preston, on Thursday, the 23rd ullimo, Jban Rosirr,
a Fremh prisoner of war, late second captain of the French letter marque
La Du);uay Trouin. He is 83 yean of n^te, 5 feet 6) inches high, dark hair, lii;ht
grey eyes, round visage, fair complexion, person stout. .Mso, On the 7th
instant Francois Chahmmon. late mnater of the schooner Le Caroline, 37 yc^rs of
age, 5 feet 1h inches high, black hair, dark eyes, long visage, sallow complexion,
his person stout — The usual reward of One Guinea will be paid for the appre-
hension of either of them. Sept., 14th. Joseimi CocimA.v, Aijent for Prisoners
of War.
lyi
liiiii iiii
FnOM FIRST GRANT UNTIL ARRIVAL OF MAROONS. 159
I on (I son
■es),
Jnit),
bo
''rancc and
is Monsieur
outh their
i who had
iny engage-
on parole
ction was
mven their
ekly Chronicle,
no, Jl!*N ROSIKR,
h letter marque
dark hair, Itirht
iso, On the 7th
roline, 37 ye^rs of
\\it\v complexion,
id tor the appre-
nt for Prisoners
word of lionour not to attemj^t to escape fi'om
the country. Preston was their favourite ([uarters.
There many of them made homes among the better
class of fanners, who always foun<l them most
agreeable inmates. Othei's occupied some tenant-
loss houses situated in a portion of the township
called New town, about half a mile northward of
" Bi-ook House," and catered for themselves. They
soon made their new homes very neat and attractive.
Each house had its little garden full of tall holly-
hocks and scarlet poppies, and their tiny poiches
were set I'ound with scarlet-runners which crept
gracefully over the rustic poles. They weie all
true Frenchmen, gay of speech and light of heart,
and they nuule the best of their adverse circum-
stances, and won the good will of their neighbours
by their geniality and kindness. Glad to accept
the latter's friendly courtesies, they were always
ready to return them in every way possible. Thus
they soon made themselves at home among the
hospitable country people. Like their Amei-ican
fellow-exiles, who will afterwards be referred to,
they tilled up their idle time bj' making love to
the village girls. In some cases the flirtations
became serious and ended in marriage. In others,
though the young people were mutually impressed,
yet the banns were forbidden by the parents.
liSSi'"
.- ■&■
160
HISTOUY OF PRESTON.
After the peace of 1815, these French officers
returned to France. They were always spoken
of with affection and esteem years after they
had returned to their own land. Some of them
kept up an occasional correspondence with the
friends they had made in Preston, and or ten sent
little souvenirs of their regard. As late as 1850,
one of them wrote to a friend in Halifax, saying
how fondly the place of his exile was held in
his memory, and how glad he would be if he
could see dear old Preston again and wander once
more through the village where he had spent so
many happj'^ days.
m i
■1 '
I i|iil ii
THE MAROONS AND MAUOON IIAIil..
161
CHAPTER II.
*
THE MAROONS AND MAROON HALL.
WHEN JaniJiica was conquered in 16o5, the
Spaniards possessed fifteen hundred African
slaves. These, wiien their masters sur-
rendered, retreated to the mountains, from which
they made fre(|uent descents to rob and otlierwise
molest the English ])lanters of the island. To
these were given the name of Maroons. For
a number of years they harassed the island and
robbed the phmtations, costing the government
two liundred and forty thousand pounds in the
endeavour to suppress their raids and punish the
perpetrators. Their attacks became so frequent
and destructive, that the troops were called out
to capture them. The Maroons, familiar with
the ''ecesses of the mountains, retired into a
cavern, inaccessible to the soldiers, and there
defied their pursuers. In December, 1795, forty
chasseurs arriverl from Havana at Montego Bay,
with about a bundled Spanish dogs or blood-
hounds. Whether the planters actually intended
11
^p
M'..'
162
IlIHTOUY OF PUKHTON.
to tnako use of tlioin in ovpturing the Maroons, is
not certain ; but sticli tales of the ferocity of
these animals were carried to tlie hunted free-
booters, that fearinif the doirs niiL'ht be let loose
Upon them, they determined to surrender.* When
they were once fairly captured, the (government
decided to remove them all from Jamaica. Accord-
infjly in June, 17n(», three transports, the Dover,
the Mary and the Avne, liavint,' on boai'd six
hundred t Maroons, sailed for Halifax, Nova Scotia.
They arrived at that [)ort on 22nd or 23i(l July,
after a voya(,'e of six weeks from the West Indies.
They were well provisioned and had abundant
clothing. William Dawes Quarrell, Esq., came fi'om
Jamaica in chari^e of them. An allowance of
twenty-five thousand pounds was ^iven by the
government of Jamaica for the purpose of settling
the negroes in Nova Scotia.
The Duke of Kent, who was commander-in-
chief at Halifax at ^ the time of their arrival,
was greatly interested in them, and went on board
the transports to inspect the fierce banditti who had
:m
' »
* See extracts from 11. C. Dallas's Hiatory of thf MarooiM, in
Murdoch's HiMory of Nova Scotia, vol. Ill, pp. 155-157. Also
Haliburton's Historical and Statistical Accotmt of Xova Scotia, vol.
II, pp. 282-291.— .Srf.
t Murdoch says the number was 500, Haliburton says " about
m)."—Ed.
:-:t
^ r.
■■>!«.
, I
i
: 1
1
III
Till': MAHOONS AND MAIUJON HAM*
163
li says •' about
caused so much terror and inflicted so much h)SH in
the ishmd of Jnnuiicu. Tlic Maroons receive*! him,
all dressed in neat uniforms, with a ^'uard
of honour and martial music. Ho found them a
much finer class of men than the ordinary ne^yroes.
They saluted him with nmeh i-espect, and in
every way tried to show their a|)])r(!ciation of
Ills visit. They addressed him us " Massa PriiuM! "
and " Massa Kintf's Son," evidently understanding
the honour due to royalty. Thcii* fiiu; appearance
and evidence of trroat streii^dh, j>leased tiie Duke
so much, that he at once ottered them work on
the new fortifications then hein^' erected on Citadel
Hill. 'i'liey inunc.'diatel}' declared themselves n(»t
only willing' to lalxair for tlu; Kin^', hut also
to give their services M'ithout payment. Pi'ince
Edward gladly accepted their woi'k, but insisted
on their rec.'ivin^r compensation, agrreein<,' to <^ive
them ninepence a day, besides ))rovisions, lodi^dnt^^
and clotliin<^'. Sir John Wentwcjrth, in a letter
dated 2,5th July, iTDf), informed the Duke of
Portland of the arrival of the Mart)oiis with
tlu!ir superintendents, Messrs. \V. D. (^uarrell and
Alexander Oehterlony. These ;L;entIemen were
appointed, by Lord BaleaiTas, principal commissary
and dei)uty for the Marocjus, and the money
appropriated liy the government of Jamaica for
164
HISTORY or niESTON.
ill ' ^' !
I I
n;.:.'
I
th(3 support of thoso iu,':,'roi's, was intrusted to
thoin for expenditure.
Tlio whole l)oily was soon quartered in tem-
porary homes. They si^t to work witli ri^ht f^ood
will on the fortifications then in profjjrcss. The
new lines of the Citadel were built with rapidity,
and the Maroon Bastion remains to this day as
a tnonumont of their industry aiKl skill.
The Duke of Portland in replyin^f to the
governor, issuetl instructions to settle them ])er-
manently in the country, if it could he doTio
without injury to the colony. The Maroons were
first (juartered two miles from Halifax ; and several
estates in Preston, about five miles from the town,
were purchased for their settlement. The cost
of these lands and the buildinrfs rc(iuire<l, was
estinjated at three thousand pounds .sterlinf^. The
title was vested in the f^'ovenunent of Jamaiou
Sir John Wentworth sufjijested the escheat of
another lai'ge tract of land — 16,000 or 18,000 acres —
about four miles further in the country, in onler
to grant it for the use of the Maroons. He
asked for an annual grant of two hundred and
forty pounds, to be applied in providing religious
instruction and a school for their benefit. He
said it would reclaim them to the Church of
England, and disseminate christian piety, morality
isfc
THE MAROONS AND MAIU>UN IIAM..
165
i iiitrustod to
ami loyalty amon^' t\\vu\. Ho sout an onl»'r to
Enj[,'lanJ for many thin«(H tlioy rcquiii'd, among
which were "forty gross of coat, and sixty gross
of vest white metal hiittons, strong; device — an
alligator holding wheat ears and an olive hranch ;
inscription — Jamaica to the Manjons, 179(1." Accord-
ing to Sir John, these people were healthy, peace-
able, orderly and inofl'ensive, and highly delighted
with the country. "About fifty of them," ho
says, " slept in my outliouse on the farm, where
I anj often without a sentry or even locking a
door or window." He writes that he expects
to have them comfortaVtly settled at Preston in
the autumn, and that he is satisfied that they
will he healthy and proper in this climate, as
they will have plenty of food, raiment and fuel.
By the month of October, they had removed
to the locality provided, and were lodged in the huts
or small houses which had been built for them.
Benjamin Gerrish Gray, Esq., was appointed
chaplain and teacher of the Maroons in the fall
of 1796. Sir John Wentworth wrote on 2()th
September, 179G, that Mr. Gray was to be ordained
on the following Sunday by the Bishop of Nova
Scotia ; he had received a good education in England,
and was amiable, discreet and patient. " The shell
of a large house [afterwards known as Maroon Hall],
ft
IGG
IlI.SrORY OK rriKSTON'.
i I il
|i ■
i
nearly central In the settlement, is ordered to be
made convenient I'or a chapel, and the second Sunday
in Octoher I shall open the church by attending
divine service therein."
Sir John at first thoiirrht very hirjhly of the
Mai-oons, and in the letter just (]Uoted Iv says,
that in conversinf; with the best informed and
most sensible amonof them, he could not discern
an\' malice or revenofe in their sentiments, but
rather tliey re;:(rette(l their war with the people
of Jamaica and felt that they were only attendinf^
to self-preservation in acting as they did. " They
express to me," he says, "no other anxiety but
thcii' feai's of beinn; removed. Nothing would create
suu.i disti'css among them, as to cany them to
S err.i Loone, nor could they be prevailed upon
by any ])rrsuasions to return to Jamaica." In the
s.une K'ofei", written on ■20th September, he says,
" the Mirooiis ai'e all settled in comfortable, good
houses : they are remarkably cle;)n in tluMr per.sons,
houses, clotliing and utensils, and ai'e very health}'."
Pi'o'isions v,'iTe weekly sei'ved to them, 'i'iiey were
e>;|)'M't i.i euttinix wood and in rfovidiu'i" the
wiiilei-'s fuel. r!-on>'i' clothing' w;;s then b, in<T
pi'''j),iri d i'o" tliem.
At the time of tlieir settl(.'me?ifc. Sir John
iiistitute(l ;i, s'liiil court ti") be held bv the two
THE MAROONS AND MAHOON U.\LL.
167
comiuisparios, to trv small offences, at which should
always ho jiresont throe Maroon captains.
The Asstinlily of Jamaica expended foi-ty-ono
thousand pounds in transpo)'tin<f and settlini; the
Maroons in Preston. 'i'ho winter of iTOii-OT was
very severe. Heavy snow-falls blockaded the I'oads
and almost filled the woods where the Maroons
had their houses. Accustomed always to a <,'enial
climate, the cold and privation told teri'ihly u[i)n
the colony. The months of the following spring
were colder and more luickward thnn any since
the settlement of Halifax. The depressing weather
made the already discontented Marnotis more so,
and they clamoured to lie removed to a warmer
country. 'I'hey much desired to he set.t as
soldiers to the Cape of Coofl Hope and to India,
and to he allowed to take their wives and children
with them. "Cii\eus," they said, "ai-ms a.nd ammuni-
tion, and put us on shore there, and we will find
room for oui'selvcs." That is, as .Sii'.Iolin Vv'eiitwdi'tli
said, they would iii\u'dci" ami phndci- all the
inhahitants, if they could only livi- in tie woods
all the year round.
When the sununer came with returning warmlh
and cond'oi't, they giev/ more leasonalde and eon-
tente(l. A^out this time an alarm was caused in
Halifax ly the approacli of a French scjuadron
i".
r.'-WR
168
HISTOav OF PRESTON.
Ill
;'i f
--■0 «n,.ol.„, i„ ,,, ,„,,,^,^ J^y 1^.0 Mnroon.,
Smith ,„„l Ban„ ,,^ "" •^"'' •f"''"»"n, Major,
were ranko.l « eantl. "' "'"^ ""'"■■»
among then. M-iior ^. •.. "^ '''""•>' '^''^^ Poetised
of four „.,.,/X! ; V™^ "'" '''W' '»-^^^^^
.»'■'->" Han, t„ which t„o ,.,;""i -"'™' "'
source of c-eat ., """" ^""' "'^'e the
H'eat .iniusenicnt to thp nfi.
"hen ,n tho .,p,.i„^ of ]- . »'"^'"''-
f""'"- "f the iate Geo.l « ' '"'"" '^'""'"•'"'
"-- <-»ib- n,o„„.er':.„:r;rr ^^'."- °^ ^--n-
■•"«"'.".-.h-„ato Maroon. A,, , "'' '" ""-■'^ tho
-'"'-> .-n Mne Zi "^Tj:' ""'"'' "'--
~~~r'~ ;c«;^'tt uniforms nith hio-h
""'" in tlie same
THE MAROONS AND MAKOON HAM..
169
The Maroon.s
them ())>fc;iiiie(I
f their ranlc.
'inson, .\[ajor.s
•-ed for their
everal others
L'lts; and all
l^G renrarded
I and f?!eiy
;-e.s.sive eye.s ;
^vith wJiose
"i« practi.sed
3y po.sse.s.sor
•1 him wifcli
'IS tlie he.st
P'veii at
ieer.s were
'st admired
^vere the
.i,'uest,s.
'Solomon,
"f Lunen-
^Jieck the
ill ways
'ith high
"'•'. v„l Ij
1" the same
cocked-hats and gold hice, and in every way
en<leavoured to personate the appearance and
authority of tlie British officer.
The cliaplain ar.d schoolmaster who were
appointed to hiok aftej- their religions traininof
and secular education, f<)un<l their duties neither
easy nor successful. Their salaries amounted to
two hundred and fifty-three pounds sterling per
annum, besides a glebe-house and separate houses
on the estate.
The Maroons were very ignorant of the English
language, and neither understood nor listened to a
sermon ; and in spite of their Christian instruction,
they refused to abandon their habits of polygamy.
The winter of ]7!)7-98 was a repetition of the
previous one, bitterly cold with heavy snow-drifts.
Their firewood was consumed, their potatoes frozen,
and their ranks thinr.ed by consc(juent illness and
death. When spring came, disheartenecl by the
cold and hunger of the past winter, they refused
to work and gave all the trouble they could to
those in charge of them. The pleasure that had
been felt at the establishment of so fine a body of
men in the township, gave way to f«,'ar that
it might prove a calamity. Sv-me of the more
refractory ones were removed to the vicinity
of Bedford Basin, and the overseers in Preston
^
170
in-
1] M
!i f
:( I
fM!
.!l!
-f-Hl to work !^v^"^7^""^ *■'•- ^''- who
^"'"•'ission an.l i„ t '""""^''^ ^''^^'n to
t).em. '^''^ ''^'"^"•- appoir.toa for
, ^^'' ^-^t of p,ovi,.iin. f„, the ^^
'^^-^" ■'^o .,.e,.tfc. that Sir Joi;. vv . "" '"^'^
tJuMnselvos. This ] ^^ '"'^''^ ''^"PPort
^>«^^^''-n tho^ovvn.oi^oF V '' ''■''^^'■'^'^'^'•'^^ ^-nt.st
ported Sir J„!
'l<'e!ai-o,l that f
'"ffc to thecl;
'•'■1 W,.nt-.vort!
y for tl
ne
10 c
ofoiiies, su)
1 l!l
/lis
sill)
'Hi'iiil ..F J.
(((
'iiiaiid.
aii<l
III
ii')t
^ova Scotii
inn and rrpay t\
uiiaica was 1
'onnd to
I- The hHi-isIf
J CIU' OXp(!|lsC'
yii'Ui
itii
to tl
us
'■o of J,
"^ iiiciiri>0(l
'i^'-V('(
" tJie two col
'"^'^'^^'on, and the ah
;niiaica would
't\y
cr
r
n Sii- .|„i,,i ^^',
Oiii.'s a-d to
t-'rcatioiis
<Mitw
'- i'i''^nnd(>r.stiiid
IHr
"' ,i?o\(>ni a-
ordiiiatioti
'■I'-'cuscfl t.hf J
"•"'' ••md Coloncd O
itt
t
aiiiDiio- t!i(; Ah
i^r o
( fost
o w.'i!
II Y) )ii,s
iliianvlh
P''iii,n- insiih-
•'!! h
''^ aiifchnrit
'•-'I'l endoi
Of t;ir difHc'Ult'
y over tl
voiiriii'c
10(11.
w
'lis coiniu
'•■i-^vr.shi
'•^^ tl.at Colonel
Tl
Quarrel]
■■'' i'eniuiierat
/' '-I'ld r,>fc,
'•ne,l to J,
1!' result
i'<'si<|fried
'on was v()ti,d to 1
unai
•-"•, ".vhe
liiii for I
re
lis
'I'vie:
THE MAHOONS AND MAROON HALL.
171
'" those who
''<^ them to
■■I"' I f-'io-lity
pointe.J for
■■i''"ons had
h;i(I H[)|.Iie,I
ioii.-il funds
'^ ^npporfc
''t' contest
'issoiilhjy
ii.I. The
'lies, siip-
'I'l'l, and
'")nnd to
''■1- Woillij
'I'oations
■>t Ifldillr,
,•• iiisiil).
'•■om-infr
ivsult
'Si^rned
'>vhei-o
'l"vic;js
to the island.* Mr. Ochterloiiy was left in chai-<re ;
but .Sir John having' stated that he also fomented
discord and discontent anionf^ the Maroons, he was
removed in 1797, and Captain Alexander Howe of
the Royal Nova Scotia Regiment was appointed to
take charge,
Theophilus Chamberlain, Esq., must now appear
on the scene. It has already been mentioned that
the township of Preston had been laid out by him,
and that he had given it the name l)y which it
was thenceforth to be known.
Mr. Chambei-lain was born at Northfield, Massa-
chusetts, in 1787. He took his decree at Yale
College, and was appointed a minister of the
Congregational Chnrcli in Connecticut. Pre\io\is to
the American Revolution, he opened a private Latin
school in Ijoston, ^L'lssachusetts. 'J'his school was
advertised in the Boston Chronicle of ^th Scj)
teinl)er, I7fi8. His commission as a militia ofiicer
is dated at New York, bt^ing signed and issued by
Governor rJuy Carleton, who was C(Kiimandei'-in-
chicf of His Majesty's plantations from the I'^loridas
t) the Canadas. !]( i)ig one of the Loyalists at llni
tin)e of the revolution, he and his wife and childi'cn
*!»ir Jolin at first priiised, and tlieii lli.«i^l){)^()^ i il of lidl, the
iiecrroe. and tlioii agents. Q.iarrtdl bus lecn dcscrilu d as a s( ii.sililc,
well-brod gcntlem ii. — A''/.
?
i
<? ;! ii
n
i -I
iil
"J>P"mt."e„t l,v tl,o T ^"""''''"''■-''y ''her l,is
^'^■«"' V„,.k, .,, ,,,„ ''";■■"'"' ^""' 1'"" f.v.„,
"-•"- -'Hu,,..., ,, „„ ;„: ;:;:, "~ -.i »o,,„...,
^overnnient. He I.J.n. ip , ^''^"te*! linn hy fci.e
'■»l-t«.l t„ him by bl„„,|. 0, tl r , " "■" "'^^
AloxanJcr Ho«o «... •>'' '^•''■'*' '-'■'Pt-
'-■"^' tlK.,r „„■,„•,,,, ,'''*■""" "-''""nff- Besides
^-.1 nt Pr«t„n on 2.)th Ju,,, is"' • ^''•""'■'"'«''
eifrlitli year •*' '•^-*' '" ''■•- c-iglity-
- favo„,.,a,ly „f L ;-^ ""', -"-' to speak
VVentu-orti, .,1 a ^r ,""""'"'" '^^ «-ornor
"I ac first (One u.
Wor,.l,ippe,l falso ij,„l, .„„! k ""''• " "'"y
"f Ci.ri..ia„ity, .^ 2::'^^ """7 "•"""-■
^"iivuJ m Xova .Scotia."
THE MVROOXS AND MAROOX HALL.
173
I'Ofird the
y-surveyor
^quontly a
after his
I'veyor, Jio
.setth>.l a
Jiiin from
I soldiers
111 I.y the
'•e.stoM to
In .Sir
Iways a
vus also
% C'.ipt.
nboi-lain
IS. Ho
^o.sides
Ml and
ii'^Toes
»erlain
i^rhty-
spoak
'ernor
't!i
ey
He represented them as the ])ersnniHcntion of arro-
gance, and cruel in the extreme. Those who were
in jjositions of authority were most tyrannical to
the men under them, and at the least oU'ence would
whip them unmeix-ifnlly. They had stijiulated with
the Jamaica government to lie allowed to continue
the same harsh discipline they had always ju-actised
among their Maroon subordinates, as well as their
right to entire maintenance in Nova Scotia, before
thev would evacuate their mountain stronghold in
that island.*
During their residence in Nova Scotia, these
restless negroes were constantly relapsing into idh'-
ness and discontent. Their complaints were tVe<)uent
and loud against the dullness and poverty of their
liomes in Preston. One complained that hr had
tever
otia."
•Compare this statement with tlie articles of peace entered
into on 21st Deceniher, 17!>"), between the Maroons and (Jen.
Walpole. (.See Murdoch's History of N. S., vol. Ill, p. ir)()|. To
these articles Walpole liad to add a secret one. jironnsing lliat the
Maroons shoidd not ho sent out of Jamaica ; and to this lie was
obliged to accede on his oath. (Kxtracts from D.illas's //('s/ory o/
the Maroons, iu Murdoch's Iliiitory of X. S,, vol. Ill, p. 156).
Novv, mark, it was in violation of Walpole's promise, that tlie
negroes were transported to Nova Scotia. Walpole is free from
blame. He was disguste 1 with the Jamaica assembly's action, and
with becoming dignity refused a sword m hicii was voted to him for
his services. — AV.
i
174
HISTORY OF PRKSTON.
Ill
I i
'illll
iiliir
not a well -furnished house and cellar to exercise
hospitality with ; another that his farm would not
produce yams, bananas, cocoaiuits (jr cayenne pepper;
another that there were no wild horrs in the wocjds
to hunt ; and so on throuifh all the grievances that
ignoi'ance and an'on^ance could suf^'ij^est. Their liahits
were vicious, and theii* determination was tf) set
aside tlu^ restraints of authority. Cock- tij^'h tin <.',
cai'ds, sm(tkin<;, and j'^oinrj tt) town were their
favourite anuisements. All these helped them to
])ass thrcjugh the sununei* with comparative con-
tent.
The wintei" of l7.0!S-f)9, however, was even colder
than the precedintif ones. TIk; fall of snow was the
heaviest ever known in Nova Scotia. The Maroons
wei'e housed, fed and ke[)t warm durino- the
inclement weather; but their numl)er diminished,
the weakly ones dropped off, ami the churchj'ard
on the hill be<xan to fill with their graves. Mr.
Chaml)erlain taught the children, and still held
Sunday services among them ; but they made little
progress in Christianity. They allowed their chil-
dren to be baptized, l)ut their marriages and
funerals were comlucted in their own fashitai
Avith strange ceremonies. They continued refractory
and rebellious, and were a dead w(;ight on the
governor's hands. The expen.ses attending 'heir
THE MAHOONH AM) MAHOOX HAM.
I7r.
iio oxerciso
would not
le pepper ;
the woods
Lnces that
eii' Jia1)its
IS to set
-h'^htin^,
('re their
thciii to
ive eon-
n colder
was the
Mai'oons
n^' the
inished,
■chj'ard
s. Mr.
11 held
e little
V chil-
s and
ash ion
aetoj-y
II the
'hoii*
maintenance was ten thousand pounds a year ; and
the return, constant anxiety and annoyance.*
At last, at their own earnest entreaties and to
save the province from ^'reater loss, it was resolved
to send them to the neoro settlement at Siei'ra Leone,
the autliorities there bein^ i-eady to receive tliem.
On 20th January, 1800, Sir John Wentworth writes
that a Ml". Ko^s was livinrj at Maroon Hall,
endeavouring- to o-ive the negroes in;ood impressions
of Sierra Leone, Avheret'j he was to accompany them.
On 2.Srd Februarv, he writes, that " the Maroons
are all ready to embark at an hour's notice, except
two families who say they have enr^mged with Mr
[William Cottnam] Tonge, and will stay with him."
"Neither Mr. Tonge nor the Maroons," continues Sir
John, "shall be suffered to frustrate my instructions
to send them iill to Africa." These people had
arrived at Halifax in July, 179G. Li August, IMOO,
they left for their new home, lessened in numbers
* III April, 1775), tlie M.irof)na at Proston liaving eviiu^cd a
mutiiums dispo.'^ition, Sir John Wciitwoftli sent dipt. Solomon,
Lieut. .MuUer, and fifty men tliete, of the Royal Xova Scotia
Kegimei.t, and posted tliein near the settlement. Sir John
complained that sonic person fron) Jamaica lu-d poisoned the minds
of the Maroons, inducing them not to go to cliuich on Sundays-
giving them feasts, licpior, liorse-raccs and cock-fights on that
day— telling them that the King paid everyone for going to church,
and that they were cheated out of their pay by Sir John and their
clergymen. (Vide Murdoch's Hialoryof X. S., vol. Hi, p. \'~.]--Ed.
m
r^^-, 1
;ti
1
j|;
-
'1
v;
fl'
''.
ill'
•1;
ill
*"
, I ! )
i lilii
176
inSTORV OK PHKSTO.V.
'""' not i.nprovo.1 by tlirir fon- ~T "
I^'-t'Hton. Five h„ni ! ^'''""^ ''''^'^'^"^« '"«
' '»<- 'lunai'ori 1111,1 tiet.
Ama So, Africa A). ''."'>-""'•■ I'-'ft in tl,e
four ha,l ,l,.s„,.tc.,l i„ ,„. , """""'"• " '« ™i,l that
o*.;o. after „„..,,,,,;;:;'-^-'^^^^
pounds by the islan.I of T • ^ t'lousun,!
»-vo,utt,,o..,,j,::i: :;;:-^ After ti.
■■'■«""™ of t.,'e p,„ :. aCT'™' ™»"*r ti.o
<=W„etor«.as,„„el,pra,V,r, ■"""""'"'""<'
■« active a„,| i,„,-,., ' , '■*' "■"■''' ■'''«'^-"' "f
eonfi,ie„t of t':r;:r'r;' "■"■■'■"-
in.Iepen.lonco Tl.; • "^^ J^'hIous of 11,^}^
^•v«'-' -nanif:.;: i:;c.t'tr '■"''' "'"'■'•
Before closing t|,„ „ '
^rtticrs, it „iii 1,0 i„ n,., "' """"-• -^"""y
«"-! I'i-story of t|,„ , "^ "" " «'^-° '» ■'«eriptio„
-"-a n:ra„.i:\::::,: 7;;-
--. - n,„re t,,.. «,, .car;;: ti',:,;
THE MAIIOONH AM) MAUdON IIAI.I,.
177
known as " Muroon Hull." In writini,' of townships
liko Dnrtniontli and I'l'cslon, which have such a
hick of past traditions and pivscnt interest, the
liistory of whost^ inhaltitants can he coni{)rehen(h.'d
in the individual rt.'fi'ain, "I was horn, 1 live<l, I
died," — a I>"^« '^'" two to th(3 memory of such an old
place as this, will not surely he inapi)roi)riato or
uninteresting.
The house was huilt, in j)art, as a sununer
residence in 1702 by Francis Green, Ksi[., son of
Hon. Benjamin Green. Tht; latti r was horn in
Salem, Massachusetts, in 171.'}. H<; was l)i'ou;4ht U|) as
a merchant in Boston, hut afterwards accomjianied
Genei'al I'epporrell to Louishourji^, and hecame secre-
tary to the expedition. After the captui'e of that
})lace, he remained there as ffovernment secretary
until Cape Breton was restored to the French in
174!). He then removed with his family to Halifax,
and was made one of Governor Cornwallis's first
council. He was afterwards appointed treasurer of
the province, and on the death of Governor Wilmot
in 17G(), w^as made administrator of the <^'overnment.
He died at Halifax in 1772.
Francis Green was sheriff of Halifax. Having
ohtained an estate innnediately adjoining Preston,*
*I tliiiik the land on wLich Maroon Hall was huilt, was
inohiilod in a grant of 2000 acres to Hon. Benjamin (ireen, dated
'29th Dec, 1767 [Vu/e Grant Book 9, p. .S8 ) If not, it wa8 part of
a grant to J. Wisdom and E King, dated 22nd Nov. 1785. — Ed.
12
IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-S)
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1.8
1.25 1.4 11^
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Photographic
Sciences
Corporation
23 WEST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, NY. I4SB0
(716) 873-4503
eiBi
iV
178
HISTORY OF PRESTON.
he built a house on one of the finest situations in
the place — a I road, circular elevation, commanding
a wide view of the country around and the ocean
beyond. During Mr. Green's residence near Preston,
his daughter Susanna was married by the Rev. Mr.
Weeks, the first rector of the parish, to Stephen
Hall Binney, Esq. This gentleman was a brother to
the grandfather of the late lamented Bisliop of Nova
Scotia, and grandfather of the Rev. George William
Hill, late rector of St. Paul's Church, Halifax. When
Preston was chosen as a settlement for the Maroons,
Mr. Green's property, with the rest of the district,
was purchased by the government for their accomo-
dation. The house, which wps only a limited
building for summer use, was re-constructed and
eniu,rged at the expense of the government of
Jamaica, and the result was a square, double, two-
storied house, containing ten rooms each with three
doors and four windows — capital ventilators when
the north-east wind swept round the old Hall, and
the cutting blizzards of winter piled the snowdrifts
against the casements. Colonel Quarrell and
Mr. Ochterlony lived there during the time they
superintended the Maroons. A room in the Hall
was sometimes used as a chapel and sometimes as
a school ; and it was there that the dances and other
THE MAROONS AS1» MAUOON HAIX.
179
entertainments were given, at which the hlack
gentry and their wives ilisphiye<l their West Indian
finery.*
When the Maroons evacuated Preston, the hinds
were again at tlie disposal of government. Maroon
Hall with its thousand acres of upland and forest,
was sold, on 8th October, 1801, for £655, to Sanniel
Hart, Esq., a wealthy Halifax merchant of Jewish
origin. Here, he with his fajuily spent the summer
months of every year. They wei-e gay and fashion-
al»le people, and Maroon Hall knew its merriest
days during their occupancy. Dinners and dances,
at which the army and navy with the aristocracy of
of Halifax were entertained, were of fre(juent occur-
rence in this luxurious and hospitable home. After a
•The following description of Maroon Hall and its land, is
taken from an advertisement in the A'. .S'. Royal Gazfttt, lOih Sept.
1801. This advertisement announced that tlie Hall, together with
the whole of the remaining Maroon property, would be sold by
Charles Hill, auctioneer, at the Went worth Tavern, on 28th Sept.,
1801, in order to close the affair. Twenty-four houses with other
buildings, lands, etc., in Preston, were described and oflTered for
Bale. The sale of Maroon property extended from 12th Dec , 1800,
until 2nd Nov., 1801 ; total proceeds, £0,792 Bs. 3d. (Soe MS,
Records, vol. 419).
"Maroon Hall, an excellent house, in an elevated tituation, with an exten-
live vitw of the sei-shore, the hoiise in 40 fept hy 40, two Htor.v hiyh, four well
flniuhed convenient rooniao'i a floor.a cellar under the whole, with a neverfullinif
well of water in it, a barn 40 feet by 2.'>, and a (rood stable iidJoiniriK, a store 40
feet by 30, a sheep hovel, fowl-house, and other out-houaes, it will be sold with
eight hundred acres of land, a fcood i>ro|M>rtioM of which i^t excellent hardwood,
and twenty-flve acres of the land is under improvement, frnni which has been cut
near twenty ton of hay this year, besides oats, potatoes, &c. Also a ganlen
ooDsistlnK of an acre of urround, well set with fruit trees, such as apples, pears,
cherries, pluini, Jto. "—£((.
180
III8TOKV OF PUKSTON.
"5' i
i , l^
lew haj)py years, however, reverses came. Business
difficulties resulted in Mr. Hart's failure; the greater
part of his handsome fortune was swept away.
Its loss and the embarrassment which ensued, prayed
upon his mind until mental depression eniled in
insanity. His family consisted of his wife, Rehecca*
one son, and two daufjhters. The latter married,
and the son went abroad to seek his fortune. The
unhappy father, in the absence of a hospital where
his distress might have been alleviated, was taken
to the Hall and confined there under the charge of a
man .servant* In the house where he had dispensed
his hospitality so generously, he was a miserable
prisoner, tortured by all the cruel illusions of an
unsound mind, and often so violent that he had to
be chained to iron stanchions, the marks of which
remained upon the floor as long as the house stood.
After a year or two of terrible mental misery and
great bodily suffering, he died at Maroon Hall on
Wednesday morning, .3rd October, 1810, aged sixty-
three years.
The house and property were again in the
market. From its being within easy reach of
Halifax, its beautiful situation, its broad fields and
* On 28th June, 18()9, a commission deciiled that N5r. Hart
was insane, and so had been for three weeks then last past. ( Vide
Acts, IS09, cap. xvi).-AW.
! I
i:!:ll I!
,;■!
THE MAROONS AND MAROON HALL.
181
well wofxled pastures, it was considered to be a
desirable purchase either for a fanner or a country
gentleman. It was a quarter of a mile to the
east of the south-eastern end of Lake Loon, and on
the summit of a hill which commanded a very
extensive view of the surrounding district. The
place had been much improved during Mr. Hart's
tenure. The lane leading fron\ the highway to
the house, was set on both sides with stately trees.
A great spreading willow stood on each side of
the gate; vines and roses trailed over the porches;
an orchard was well stocked with young trees ; and
the grass land yielded an abundant crop.
The next purchaser was John Prescott, Esq. He
was the eldest son of Dr. Jonathan Prescott, and
brother of the late Hon. Charles R. Prescott, so well
known as a horticulturist in King's County, Nova
Scotia. Dr. Prescott came from Boston, Massa-
chusetts, in 1758, and settled in Chester, Lunenburg
County.* He had five sons ; one, Joseph, was a
* Jonathan Prcscott'a name appears in a hat of the inhabitant!
of Halifar, dated July, 1752. (See Sflectiona from Public Docu-
menta of N. S., i>. 654). Dr. Akins, in a footnote, tays that he
was the "father of the late Hn. Charles Prescott." If this is
correct, Mrs. Lawsou must be wrong when she sa)s that he came
from Boston in 1758. As, however, that lady's mother was a
daughter of John Prescott, her strttement should not be questioned.
The family, I be'.ieve, claim relationship with Prescott the histo-
rian. — Ed.
182
IMSTORT or PRESTON.
J ' '
iff'
few.
%:
doctor in the Unitod States armj', and afterwards a
physician in Halifax. The other sons followed
merchandise, except the eldest, who purchased Maroon
Hall in 1811. He had been engaged for some years
in farming at Zinks Point, Chester. He removed
with his family to Preston and lived there until
1821, in which year his death occurred.
Soon after this event, the property was again
sold. The purchaser this time was a retired military
officer, Lieutenant Christian Conrad Katzmann of
H. M. fiOth Ritles. He was born in Hanover, Saxony,
on 18th August, 1780, and graduated from Gottingen
University. He had been educated for, and vva.s
about to take orders as a Lutheran clergyman. It
was then the period of the Peninsular War, when
every man was more or less actuated by military
zeal. The King was making efibrts to raise an army
in Gern)any which afterwards was known as the
Kiuix's (Jerman Legion. A connniss'on in an English
regiment was olieied to each person who would
secure a certain numbei* of men for enlistment in
the King's service. Mr. Katzn\ann secured the
required number and went to London. He obtained
a commission in the 60th Ritles, and served the King
in several engagements in which that regiment was
under tire. When the war was over, the Ritles,
ts-
)j !
THE MAROONS AND MAROON HALL.
183
•lifter a brief rest in England, were ordered to
tlie West Indies and subsecjuently to Halifax. Mr.
Katzinann was stationed with his battalion at
Annapolis for two years. At the end of that time,
he went on half-pay and bought Maroon Hall.
He married Martha, daughter of John Prescott,
the late owner of the property.* The exposure
and hardships of his military life had shattered his
health, and he found farming as unsuitable as it was
unprofitable. He, however, remained in possession
until his death, which occuri'ed on Friday morning,
15th December, 1843. He was then in his sixty-
fourth year. The farm was held by his family until
1856. The house had been unoccupied for some
time, and in June of that year it was burned to the
ground. The cause of the fire was never known.
It may have been the result of incendiarism, or of
sparks falling on the dry roof from fires which were
raffing in the woods to the rear of the house at that
time. Whatever the cause, the old Hall with all its
memories and traditions, was consumed and became
a thing of the past. It was the last landmark
*Mr8. William Lawaou, n^e Mary Jane Katzmann, the writer
of this history, was their secontl daughter. She was born at the
old Hall. Her mother died on 17th November, 1871, aged eighty
years. Her father is ranked as an ensign in the Army List ; com-
mission dated 1814, half-pay 1822. — Ed.
1
'1
1
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1
I
!
1
1
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i 1
1
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1
11
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184
HISTORY OF PUBSTOK.
which told of Preston's early prosperity and historic
associations. For more than half a century it had
stood as a preat sentinel, breasting the storm and
basking in the sunshine. Birth and marriage had
gladdened it, death had sanctified it. Strangers
passed by and inquired its story. The old
Maroon traditions were revived, with memories of
its later owners. Much of interest hung round its
gray walls and fair, smiling lanJacape. All this is
over ; " the place that knew it once, shall know it
no more for ever !"
m ■*'
~ I'M
m
™iill
niaTORY SUBSEQUENT TO DEPARTURE OF MAROONS. 185
CHAPTER III.
HISTORY SUBSEQUENT TO THE DEPARTURE OF THE
MAROONS, INCLUDING CHUKCH HISTORY.
DURING the engagements at the time of the
last war between En^jland and the United
States 1812-14, several officers were taken
prisoners and sent to Halifax for safe keeping.
They were generally quartered on the eastern side of
the harbour, and many of them who were on parole
lodged in the farm-houses in or near Preston and
Dartmouth.* They were allowed perfect liberty of
action, except in the matter of crossing tho ferry.
Halifax being the only point from which they could
hope to escape, this neceseary restraint was imposed
upon them. They were all quiet, gentleman-like
men, and much esteemed by the persons with whom
they associated. They were visited and entertained
by the farmers and their families, and in return for
so much kindness, made love to all the pretty
• Several of these prisoners hired, from the first Nathaniel
Russell, a room in the liouse where Mary Uussell had heen killed
(see page 12.5). Tliey piirchased their own fuel and provisions, but
their baking was done by Mrs. Russell. To pay for this, they
broke up a piece of land and suriounded it with stone-walls.— AV.
b
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18G
IIIrtl'DriV OF PilKSTON.
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girls in the villaffe. The h)ve tmikin^' in some cases
cntled ill en^ageinonts to many. The prisoners*
hearts, however, were always chaHnfj ajjainst exile,
and turning homeward with longing and hope.
The war at length ended, peace came, and the
captives were set free. " All things come to those
who wait." The American officers went hack to
their homes. The saying, however, did not hohi
good in the case of the deserted Preston giiOn. They
waite<], hut they waited in vain ; for their lovers
never returned to fulfill the promises made in the
rosy twilight or under the glow of the inconstant
moon
The goldern era in the history of the people of
Preston, was the period during which the prisoners,
both French and American, remained among them.
Nearly all of these men had mimey, and they
spent it freely among the villagers with whom they
lived. Their departure was very much regretted,
and with them Preston and Dartmouth lost many
good and appreciative friends.
After the trouble experienced from the settle-
ment of, and provision for the Maroons at Preston,
it might have been supposed that the result of that
attempt at colonizing the blacks would have deterred
the government of the province from any similar
undertaking in the future At the conclusion,
"i*
IlISTOUV SinstQUKNT TO DKPAnTURR OP MAROONS. 187
liowcver, of the second Americnn war, 1812-14, a
great many Mucks were allowed to take ret'upje
on the British fleet blockading the Chesapeake and
other harbours. Most of these people were after-
wards disend)arked at Halifax.* The Maroon lanrls
in Preston had been partly sold by Governor
Wentworth, but the unsold portion was claimed
by the provincial government and apportioned for
the settling of this body of negroes. Preston was,
therefore, again selected as a home for another dusky
colony, and this it remains until the present day.
Some of these later itnmigrants went to Hammond's
Plains, through which a road had just been surveyed ;
others settled on the Windsor Road, and at Beech
Hill on the St. Margaret's Bay Road. About three
hundred were placed in the old township of Preston,
where thej' inhal)ited the liuts, and occupied the
ground once peopled V)y the Maroons. They were a
wretched class of settlers. On the plantations of
*Oii Ist September, 1814, H. M. brig Jancur, arrived with a
transport at Halifax, from Chesapeake liay, with several hundred
of the black refugees. The governor sent a message to the assembly
on 24th February, 1815, suggesting that they be settled upon
forest lands. H« spoke of the decrepid age, helpless infancy and
unavoidable sickness, to be found among them. On 6th May, a
number of these people were placed on Melville Island, North
West Arm, and ordered to be vaccinated. On Ist April, the
assembly addressed the governor, objecting to their introduction
into the province. — Ed.
188
HIHTOKY UK IMIKHTON.
f^'^
iii .
tlieir owners in Virginia and otlier of tlie Southern
States, ull tlieir wants ha<l l>een provided for, and
conseciuently they were unac(|uainted with the
thrift or the reward of hil)our. Freedom made
them idle and miserable. The government was
obliged to allow them rations during the winter
and otherwise to provide for their existence. For
many years they experienced all the wretchedne.ss
incidental to idleness and improvidence, and were a
constant drain upon the benevolence of their white
neighbours. In January, 1S2I, ninety of them
— more shiftless and discontented than the rest, —
were sent to Trinidjul. The rest remained in
Preston to fight the battle of life as best they
couKl. Their weapons were not always effectual,
but they lived and increased.
In later years their circumstances have materially
improved, and many of them are now thrifty and
comfortable. With the chanj^es of time, new methods
of making a livelihood have opened to them. Many
of the men are employed in variou.s gold mines in
the country, and in other industries, such as wood-
cutting and farming. The women in summer
gather the wild fruits and flowers of the woods, and
bring them to the market. The sight there, so
familiar, is always amusing. They are seen scjuat-
ting round the open space allotted to their use in
IIIMOHV sriSMKylKNT TO DH'AUTL'IIK uK M VHOONH.
IH9
tlio Halifax grccn-iiinrkct, with tln-ir iniscclliuicous
pith('riii<,'s for hiiIu, clintt*'!!!!},' like inoiikcys, anil
like tlwiii <'nj'>yiii^' tlir warmth aiitl plfasantnrss of
suiiiiiH'r. Hnioiiis, haskcts, tiihs, clothes-props, pcii-
stii'ks, hop- ami licau-poh's, rustic s«'ats aixl llowtT
Koxf's. iii.ikc up part of their various stores. (Ji-eat
liaskets of inayliowers au<l mosses nw hroULfht in
• lin'ini,' early sprin;^. Some of their houtpiets are
arranpfj with a pMxl deal of taste. From the
middle of May until late in autunni, ferns of every
kind are carried on their heads from door to door,
while others of these plants till hari'ows in the
market, oi" else stand in hoxes inad(! of the hai'k
of th(! birch- and iir-trees, fjreeninjj the sidewalks
altout. Jn early winter, the spruce and luMulock
trees are laitl under contrihution. Wreathes and
branches, Christmas-trees, Ion*,' festoons of ever-
green for decorating', dyed passes, autumn leaves,
sumach berries, — in short anythinf^j that can 1)0 mailo
available for sale,, is brought to market by the ilusky
vendors. They gather u ^'ood deal of money by
these ventures; for such articles cost nothinji^ to
produce, only ro<{uirin^ the labour of jratherin<;
and curriafje. All of them have special patrons an<l
friends upon whom they can depend in times of
want and trouble. A few of them are celebrities
in their way, among whom we may instance
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190
UIHTOHY OF rUK.ST(»N.
L»«"t
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Fanny Gross, Sponcor Wiudor, Louisa Kane, George
Lanihert, Mrs. Turner and Sarah Brown.
Tli()U<(!» very far from hoinfj a moral people, yet
they are most reli<^ious, and di'li(,'ht in f^oithering
for worship and preachinf^. Moetinf>--houses abound
in their settlements. They have a native clergy
whose ministrations they receive with gladness.
Nearly all of them belong to the " Baptist persua-
sion." A " baptizing," as they term it, is the gala
event of the summer. Then, by the side of some
lake or river, hundreds of gaily dressed coloured
brethren and sisters collect. Numerous visitors of
their own race, from Halifax and Dartmouth, lend
eclat to tlie scene. From five to Hftv candidates,
according to the fervour of the revival season,
dressed in white with napkins round their heads and
otherwise properly vested, are plunged under the
water and thencefortli are received into fellowship.
The ceremony is usually performed by .some black
ecclesiastic. Afterwards, prayers and addresses are
made, and when these are over, the visitors are
feasted at the houses of their neighbours and friends,
and the day is made one of general rejoicing and
festivity. Before such events, there is a great
demand for articles of dress : para.sols, hoop-skirta,
sash-ribbons, veils, and fans, are all apparently
& ^!
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HIHTOUY SUBSEQUENT TO DEPAHTURE OF MAUOOXS. 191
necessary adjuncts of the ceremcri}' >vhicli t!iey
fre(|uentlj^ speak t.f as " tlie dipping."
John Burton, a good old Baptist minister in
Halifax, for many years took chai'ge of their
sj)iritul affairs and constantly ministered to them.
He was succeeded by the Kev. Richard Pi-est<»n,
a coloured man. Jolin Crawley, Benson Smithers,
James Thomas and others have since heen among
their leadji's. At the present time they have no lack
of a native ministry. Like St. Paul, through the
week " they labour with their own hanrls," and on
Sundays, in black garments and white ties, preside
over the " meetin."
When a member dies, he is buried ; but the
funeral sermon and exercises are postponed to a,
more convenient season. This ]X)stponement is
generally until the summer, when times are better
and the mourners are more jirepared to entertain
their friends. Sometimes the services last all dny,
with only an intermission for dinner, and the virtues
of the deceased are commemorated b\- various
speakers. In their addresses, the ludicrous prevails
largely over the pathetic. Tropes and figures
relating to time and eternity, to archangels and the
departed brother, are mixed up with a freedom most
startling to those unaccustomed to such eloquence.
t'
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192
HISTORY OF PUKHTnX.
Kit
In ,
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These coloured people are all fond of music, and
many of them sinp^ very sweetly. As they follow
their dead from house to churchyard, tliey chant
funeral hymns alon(]f the way, and the low, sweet wail
of the melody floating upon tlie air as they march
slowly behind their departed neighbour, is very
tender and touching.
So many of these African people live in the old
township, that the place seems inseparably connected
with them ; and in the minds of many it is always
so associated. The natives proper of Preston, how-
ever, always consider them an excnsence, and are not
inclined to give them free right to the soil. Very
few of their houses stand (m the main road, their
settlements being more in the woods and near sti'eets
which they have cut out for themselves. Their cabins
ai'e generally m.ade of logs "chinked ^^ith moss." All
of them have more or less land under cultivation, in
which they raise potatoes and other light crops.
Many of the women make good dcnnestic servants,
and the better class of the men are often employed
as waiters in hotels and steamers. Schools of
varying efficiency have always been established
among them ; and in the march of improvement, the
poor ignorant coloured settlers of Preston are learn-
ing something of the civilization and culture of
the age.
HIHTOUY SUBSEQUENT TO DEPARTURE OF MAROONS. 193
The soil of Preston is generally poor and unpro-
ductive, an.l in many parts barren and stony. AH
portions require heavy top-dressing in order to
produce even an ordinary crop. The grass land is
good, and no douht more scientific farming than is
practiced by its present owners, would insure a
much better retui-n.
The natural beauty of the country is very great.
In winter the scene is bare and rugged, but in
summer the place is charnnng— full of repose and
health. An alternation of hills and low wooded
plains, makes the landscape very pleasing in the
latter season. Nature then fills the woods with
fragrance and bloom ; the roadsides are lined with
Linnosa and ferns, even the pastures are gay with
sweet wild flowers. About two miles to the south,
the Atlantic stretches out in grandeur, where ships
may be discerned passing to an<l from Halifax
Harbour. There are a number of beautiful lakes in
the township— some half hidden by the trees cluster-
ing around their borders, others o])en to view and
touching the very ei]ge of the highway. The
white lilies sleeping among then- green leaves, make
the blue of these waters more intense. The air is
sweet with the fragance of field and meadow, and
fresh and invigorating from the sea breeze which
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194
HISTOnV OF PRESTON.
mingles with the scent of the clover. There are
numerous pleasant resorts in the olil township, and
those who know the place can tell of many delight-
ful walks am' quiet sunny nooks where one can
meditate and rest. Three or four roads lead across
the country to Cole Harbour. They are all charming
woodland ways. One, especially, leading along the
borders of the Salmon River until it empties into
the sea, is full of beauty, particuliarly in June when
the woods are overflowing with bloom and the air is
filled with the song of birds. When all Nature is
rejoicing in the fulness of life, nowhere does .she
scatter beauty with n more prodigal hand than in
the quiet woods and valleys of Preston.
The first church on the eastern side of the
harbour of Halifax, was built in Preston, at the
expense of the government, during the occupancy
of the Maroons. The parish was called the
Parish of St. John. The church was erected on
the top of a very high hill, known until this
day as Church Hill, a little more than six and a
half miles from the town of Dartmouth.* It was
* This church was about seventy rods east of Salmon River,
and about three-quarters of a mile northward of the present
church. The "Governor's (Wentworth's) Farm." was some
distance eastward of the old church, and southward of Long Lake.
Both were on the north side of the road.— Ed.
HISTORY SUBSEQUENT TO DEI-AIITURE OF BtAROOX.M. 195
suppose<l to be in the centre of the township. Tlie
Rev. Mr Weeks t was the first officiating c!e.-fry-
nian. He lived in Halifax, hut went to Preston to
nmrry, baptize and bury those who required liis
services. He sometimes held divine service in the
church, but the ministrations were not wai-ndy
appreciated.
Round tlie church, a large piece of land was set
apart and consecjated as a buiying-ground. TJiere
in the quiet solitude of nature, "the rude forefathers
of the hnmlet sleep." The old German settlers, the
disban(l • soldiers, the restless Maroons, the <food grey
hea- . Theophilus Chamberlain, John Prescott,
Tobias Miller, James Money, and many others, lie
underneath the sod of this quiet old churchyard
which the storms an<l suns of nearly a hundred years
have whitened with snow or made green with
summer verdure. Sweetbrier and other spreading
shrubs still Nourish, planted there by loving han.ls.
hands which aie now folded beneath the turf of
other churchyards. All are waiting for the time
wlun the angels shall reap the harvest from God's
acres so thickly set evei-yudiere in this great worM
of His.
tTlns was the Rev. Joshua Wingate Weeks, M. A., one of
the exiled clerj-ymen of tiie revolution, a sketch of whose life will
be foun.l in the Rev. A. W. Eaton's Church of England in Xom
ico/io (pp.l84-IS(J).— £",/.
\ 'ik-'t'' i.i'
196
IIIHTOnY OF PRKSTON.
pv ;
After Mr. Weeks left this part of the diocese,
the Rev. Benjamin Gcrrish Gniy attended to the
spiritual wants of Preston. He too resided in
Halifax, and found his parishioners on the other
side of the harbour neither zealous nor appreciative.
It is said that Sunday after Sunday the parson
appeared at the church, hut the door was locked
and the congre<]fation reinaineil at home.
As time went by, the old church on the hill, from
want of care on the part of the people, became
greatly out of repair, and it was thought that the
services would be better attended if the place of
worship were brought nearer to the families in the
more settled parts of the parish. Accordingly,
between the years hS22 and 1S28, all that could be
used of the old frame-work and fittings, was removed
to another part of the township where a lot had
been set aside for church purposes. The highest
hill in the place had been chosen for the first
erection of a place of worship ; the second church
was built at the end of a long swamp, in a low
sheltered spot about a quarter of a mile to the
eastwai'd of Maroon Hall. It was consecrated in
1.S2S by Bishop Inglis. Hero, fi'om this time, the
Rev. Mather Byles DesBrisay ministered occasionally
until his death in 1HS4<.
HISTORY SUBSEQUENT TO IJEI'ARTUUE OF MAUOOXS, 197
The clmrcli was very rough and without orna-
ment or even comfort. The narrow chancel witli
its phiin wooden tahle,— rarely if ever used for holy
eonununioii,— the barepulpitand readinrr-desk, would
have suited the most primitive conception and taste.
Hi_f,ddy ritualistic in one point alone, was the order-
ing of the sittings. The men sat on one side, and the
women on the other; prece<lent and goo.l manners
alike forbidding any infringement of this rule
during divine worship. In 1845, an effort was made
to nuikp. the building a little more modern and
church-like. The interior was altered and improved.
The seats were arranged so as to face the reading-
desk, not each other as before. A spire was added,
and the little church l>ecajue a picturescpio object,
rising up among the evergreen trees, a witness and a
guardian of the faith. In the spring of lHi9, the
country suffered for want of rain. LarL'e tires
sprang up everywhere in the woods, and sweeping
through the dry leaves and crackling brushwood,
touched the trees which sheltered the little church.
They and it were soon hopelessly ablaze. Neither
man nor water was at hand, and the second chui'ch
in the parish was soon, like its predecessor, a thing
of the past.
Through many losses and hindrances, Preston has
been loyal to the church, and in the course of a year
'J
198
IIISTOHY OF PUE3T0N.
or two, another build int^ was elected for the worship
of (fod. It is at the junction of two roa<ls, one
leadinf]r eastward across the Salmon llivor throufjh
the low valley land, the other runninfjf northward
to the old road which winds up the steep ascent of
Church Hill* The situation is very pretty. The
green, sunny slope on which the buiidin^f stantls, is
now useil as the villa((e churchyard. The church is
more modern and appropriately arran^i^ed than any
former effort in the parish. Services, however, are
not hold as frequently as is desii-ed. In the .sum-
mer, William Silver, E.s(|., who has a residence in
the immediate vicinitv, acts as lay-reader. The
sunday-school is also under his supervision. The
rector of Dartmouth is still in chai'i,'e of the parish,
and from liim the people ex))ect the private as well
as the public ministrations of the church.
* This third church is to tlie west of the Siiliiion River.
Thtiophihis t'hainherlain lived not far to the iiortlnvartl, and
on the west side of the road wliioh runs to meet the liighway
whioli goes over Church Hill. Tiie second c'lurch was on the
southern side of the road which loads through tho Long Swamp
between the present place of worship and the hill on which stood
Maroon Hall. The present church is therefore to the eastward
of the second one, — Eil.
i 'W
RKMAUKS ON HOME OF THE EAIILY SEITLEHS. 199
S
CHAPTER IV.
IlEMARKS OX SOMK OF THE EAHLV SKTTLEHS.
IT may l.e well now to go biick to the names of
tlie oi'i^nnnl {xmntees of the township, and ^ive
some details with re«,Mnl to a few of those who
remained in possession of the land.
Theophilus Chamherlain, Es(i., has alroa<ly l)een
spoken of on page 171, in the <lirterent offices of
deputy -surveyor, ami agent, cliajilain and teacher of
the Maroons. He afterwards purchased a number of
lots situated in Preston. He sold at jnihlic auction
part of the Maroon estate which he had houirht for
one hundred and seventy ])ounds, and which he held
by deed from 8ir John Wentworth, given in the year
1801. He took part in occasional surveys, and lived
on his farm until his deatli on 20th July, 1.S24, in
the eighty-eighth year of his age. He had several
sons. Oidy two of these married and settled in the
province. One of these, John Cliamberlain, also
a deputy-surveyor, generally resided in Preston or
Dartmouth, and left a son, Theophilus Chamberlain,
who still lives in Halifax. Tl
le o
ther
son w
ho
remained in the province, was James M. Chamberl
am.
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200
UIHIOIIY OF PUE8TON.
He for iiiiiny years was a irKsrchant in Halifax, and
goiionilly sp'Mjt tlio suimmT months on his farm at
Prost(;n. Hti h'ft three sons, one of wliom is William
Chamherlain, a clerk in the Halifax post-oHice. To
tho hitter's kinchiess T am indebted for much of the
al)ove famil}' information.
Mr. Chamberlain's 3'ounijest dau^^hter married
the late William N. Silver, Esfj., founder of the well-
known Halifax estahlishinent which is still carried
on in the same name. He was the father of our
respected townsman William C Silver. This gentle-
man was born in Preston, and he still retains a warm
affection for the home of his boyhood. For many
years he has made his summer residence near the
banks of the Salmon River, a broad, blue, placid
stream oncj famous for salmon and trout. It was
cropped most thoroughly by the sportsmen of the
garrison some thirty or forty years ago.
William Jor(hin, who married a daughter of
Francis Mullock, lived with his family for a number
of years at Preston. Both he and Mullock were
among the first proprietors of the township. Jordan's
son, William, entered the navy * in 1H13 and dis-
• A query mark is inserted in lead pencil after the word navy,
doubtless by Dr. Akins. Jordan may have been in tho army. In
au old plan which I have seen, a Jordan's house ia shown to the
eastward of Church Hill. — EJ.
a.
HEMAHKS ON HOMK Ol" TUB E.\UI-Y HUITI.KHS.
201
tin^'uisliod Iiiiiisclt' at (')istiiio, a fort on tla- east side
of the Penobscot. Me was the bearer of iiMj)ortaiit
dispatches to the pjovernor of Nova Scotia, and
throu^di him nii^dit have had [jrefernient and risen in
the service, l»ut he preferred the stii^'nation of
Preston to a sailor's life. He niurried, had a lar<^e
family, and settled down as a mechanic or common
labourer in the v^illatfe.
Preston is the birthplace of two of the most
distinffuislied sailors in the Hritish navy — Admiral
Pliilil> Westj)hal and Sir (ieor^e Au<,Mi.-,tns Westphal,
both bons of George Westpiial, Es((., a retired (iiM-man
officer, and one of the Hrst ^'rantees and settlers in
the township of Preston. He was of Hanoverian
descent, his ancesters bein^ the Counts von Westj)hal,
per.son.s of some note in their own country.
The eldest son, Philip, was born in the year 17<S2.
His early boyhood was spent amon^j the ^recni woods
and by the broad hikes of Preston. As early as
1794, he entered the navy under the auspices of
the Duke of Kent, as a first-class volunteer on board
the friirate L'Om'UU. He served twelve months in
that ship on the North American and West Indian
coast. Afterwards he joined th(; Asia under the
command of Captain Murray, and wasarjain employed
in North America luitil the end of KSOO. Ho then
became master's mate on board the Blduche, and in
202
iiisumv OK riiKSTos.
her took part in the battlo of Coponli i;,'i>n on the
2ntl April, ISOl. Threo days at'tt^rwanls ho was
appointofl to a licuttMumcy, and was traiisfcrreil to
the Defiance, tln<;ship of Sir Thomas (Jravcs. Ho
was next appoint(Ml to the A)nnzn)\, and in her saw
active service in the Mediterranean ; after which ho
accompanied Lord Nelson to the West Indies in
search of the allied Heets of France and Spain. In
LS()(), he took jiart in a lonf,' ti;^'ht which resulted in
the capture of two of the enemy's vessels. He after-
wards served on the coasts of France and Spain.
In 1S12, he was ma<le tivst lieutenant of the Junmn,
and ajjain served with honour on the North American
statiim. In 1815 he was transferred to the Albion,
under Sir George Cockburn, and was soon promoted
to the rank of commander. His last appointments
were to the frigates Warspite. and Kent. He was
jnade a captain in 1830, and in 1847 was admittefl
to an out-pension in Greenwich Hospital. He
obtained Hag rank in 1856, and became an admirril
on the retireil list in 1805. His wife wa.s a daujrhter
of a Mr. Davis. The latter was a Welshman who
held a position in the commissariat ileparttnetit and
who went with one of the regiments to settle some
Indian ti'ouViles at St. John, N. B. Davis Point on
the St. John River, is named for him. He had three
sons, all in the navy, and two daughters. Ellen, the
REMAriKH (»V HOMR OF THK KARLY HKTTI.KUH.
203
«lilor (hin^'litor, marriod Cn\tt. John McXal», of tlio
Novn Scotia Kcucililcs, tlic t'litlit-r of the widow of
the lute Ifon. Joseph Ifowo; and Francos, tho
youn<,'t'r, man-iod I'hilip Wcstphal. Klh'ii was horn
on Hth Ffhruary, 1777, ujid died on 2f>th Novem-
ber, }H')H. She is huritid in tho public cemetery,
Dartmoutli.
At tlie time of his death, Afhnind Westphal was
the oldest eommissionefl officer in Her Majesty's
navv. H(> lived for s(;veral vi'in's at BembridL'O
House, Ivyde, Isle of Wif^ht, where ho died on tho
KJth March, ISSO, aj^ed ninety-ei<^ht years. lie left
i>o chiMren.
(Jeori^e Aufjustus Westphal, the second son, had
even a nioi-e distinjLfuishe(l career. He was born in
17N5. Like his lirother, he entered the navy at a
\evy early a^'o in 17D8,* under the auspices of the
Duke of Kent. For a time lie served on the North
American station. After th.at, he joined the Vidori/,
which bore Nelson's titxfr, and in her took j)art in the
glorious battle of Trafal<,^ar, where he was severely
wounded. He laid in the next berth to the dying
hero, whose la.«it moments ho witne.ssed. In 1*^00,
he was made lieutenant, and was em))loyed on the
* Rev. G. \V. Hill in Nova Scotia and Nova Rcotian^ (Halifax,
1858, p. 29) says that 180;J was the year when lie entered the
ravy. — Ed,
m.
¥:\. ' ^
204
HISTORY OF PHESTON.
f-
n.
North American and West Indian station, and
Mediterranean station, until 1813, when he attained
tlie rank of captain of the Anaconda, a frigate
capturetl by himself and purchased into the service.
In her, he took part in the attack on New Orleans,
where his ship was so injured that it was unfit for
further use. He obtained his post rank in 181[), and
served in various ships until 1884. He was knighted
in 1824 for his many gallant and distinguished
services against the enemy. In 184-0, he was
appointed aide-de-camp to the Queen. He had been
three times wounded, eight times gazetted for signal
service before the enem^^ and had been more than
one hundred times in action. He lost his right hand
in 1818, when his ship under the command of Sir
George Cockburn was off New Orleans.* The
Americans were firing from behind the houses
and trees, when Lieut. Westplial by the Admiral's
orders lield out a flag of truce and called upon them
to de.sist. They took no notice of the request, Init
aimed and shot liim tiirough the very hand
which bore the signal. He was twice married : first,
in 1817, to the widow of W. Chambers, and again,
in 1849. to the widow of G. A. Gore, who survived
him, and by whom he had one daughter wlio died in
Hill tays it was at Havre de Grace. — Ed,
UEMAKKS OX SOME OF THE EARLY SETTLEUS. 205
1 h70. Ho died on 12th January, 1875, at his residence
in Drunswick Square, Brighton, England, in his
ninetieth year. He was the last surviving officer of
tho.se who had been on board the Victory at
1'rafalgar. Once after entering the navy and while
still a very young man, he visited Preston, and
expressed his regret that he could find so few to
recognize him of those whom he knew when a boy.
He also mentioned his difficulty in finding the haunts
so familiar in his childhood. He had left the villacre
when only tliirteen years of age, and no doubt
the glamour of memory gave an illusion to the
plaj'ground of infancy, which was not so discern-
able when visited after years of battle and victory.
Another distinguislied resident of Preston, who,
although not a native, spent several of his early
years in the quiet of this township learning the
secrets of Nature in her forests and by her streams,
was the grave and wise philosopher whose history is
told in the following sketch.
In tiie year 1785, the Rev. Titus 8niitli was
called to preside as an ^Ider over a church of a spct
called Sandemanian.s, then formed in Halilax. He
settled upon a farm in Preston. His family con-
sisted of four children. Titus, the subject of the
following bi()grai)liy, was the eldest. He was born,
4th 8eptend.er, 17G8, in Granby, Massachusetts.
V,
ii
j
206
HISTORY OF PRESTON.
The other children were, Rebecca, born in 1771,
Sylvester, in 1773, and William, in Februiry, 1777.
They all returned to <he United States except Titus,
The elder Titus was a veiy remarkable man.
He graduated at Yale in 1774,* and took his degree
in theology in connection with the Presbyterian
V)ody. In 175G and 1757 he was a volunteer Hghting-
the Indians on the frontier. After leaving college
in 17G5, he, for three years, was a missionary to tiie
Six Nations Indians who were in what is now
central New York. He correspondeil with Dr.
Priestley and followed him through all his investiga-
tions and discoveries in the science of chemistry.
* L. M. Holtwood in the Family Genealogies appended to
Sylvester J udd'a History of Iladley, (Northampton, 18(53, p. 571),
saya that Titus Smith (the elder) was born on 23r(l June, 1734, and
graduated at Harvard College in 1764. This date agrees better
with the statement that after leaving college in 1765 " he for throe
years was a missionary to the Six Nations Indians." He was the
son of John Smith, the son of John Smith (" Orphan John "), the
son of John Smith, the son of Lieut. Samuel Smith, wlio sailed for
New England on the last day of April, 1834, in the Elizabeth of
Ipswich. A full genealogy of the family will he found in the
History of HadUy. I have been told that Washington knew the
elder Titus, and when the Revolution broke out, the great general
came to him, and knowing his chemical skill, urged him to make
gunpowder for the use of the rebels. Smith knew how to prepare
it, but being a loyalist, refused to do as he was requested, and
Washington had to go elsewhere to obtain hU powder. I have also
been informed, that an uncle of the younger Titus, was the
original of Cooper's Hawk-eye. He was a mighty man in Indian
warfare. — Ed,
REMARKS (1.V SOME OK THE EARLY SE'ITI.EHS.
207
He was a skilful botanist and an able matlieniatician.
He conti'ibuttd to the periodicals of that day, many
articles on scientific subjects.
Sylvester returned and settled on a farm near
Preston, married Hester Wisdom, had a lar^^e
family, but was killed by an accident when in the
prime of life. He was a carpenter by trade, was
poetically inclined, familiar witli the Greek and
Latin languages, made for amusement translations
from Homer, and wrote Latin verse.*
William settled at Watertown in the northern
part of the state of New York. Hischildhcod and
youth were spent in Preston, and his subsequent
history shows that he rose to be a man <jf some
mark. At the age of nineteen lie obtained leave
from his parents to return to the United States,
where he began life in earnest in a log-camp on
Black Rivei-, afterwards called Watertown. It
would take too long to follow him through an
extended life and to tell how he farn)ed his new
hind and made potash, worked as a eoo^ er and as a
stone-mason, i-aised a, company of volunteei-s during
the war of 1812 and was appointed captain, sub-
se(|uently built and worked a cotton factory, a
'Sylvester lived in the hou.se which still stands on the north-
ern side of the present road to Preston, nearly two and a hiif
miles from the town of Dartmouth. It is the first hcuse west-
ward of York's.— if(/.
r
208
HISTOKY OF PRESTON.
'ii
foundry and a factory for making agricultural
implements. He did not accumulate a fortune,
but he left Watertown a lasting memorial of his
marvellous industry and enterprise. Ho was a true
man, made of the real stuff men should be made of ;
rarely met, however. He died in November, 1858,
at the ripe age of eighty-two years. A long
obituary notice in the New York Reformer, observes,
" It may with truth be said, that he found Water-
town an irisigniticant hamlet in the midst of a
howling wildernoss. He left it, through the improve-
ments which he was mainly instrumental in bringing
about, a large, prosperous and wealthy village, one of
the most beautiful in a land of beautiful villages,
and distinguished for its mechanical skill in an age
of mechanism."
VV'e must now turn to the remaining son, who is
the chief subject of the present remarks.
Titus Smith lived with his father, road classics,
studied botany, cleared land, felled timber, made
drains, and built stune-walls. His cleared land and
stone-walls are still to the fore.* The books he read
on natural history, were mostl^'^ in Latin. They
were such works as C. H Persoon's Synopsis
* Titus left Preston about 1797 or 180(), and re.siiled .afterwards
at the Hutch Villa<ie, Halifax. ?Iis house at Preston was just
west of Salmon River, near Mr. W. Silver's present residence. — Ed.
KEMARKS ON SOME OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 209
Pliintarum, nnd tlie Systema Xatum of the crreat
naturalist Linnreus. In May, 1801, lio received
instructions to make a tour of the province, and
to report the result to the government. These
instructions, being of some historical value, are
given below.
To Mr. Titus iSmith, Jr.,
Sir :— Government liaving expressed a desire that
means should be adopted in this province, to encourage
the growth of Hemp ; at the recommendation of a committee
appointed for that purpose, I have thought it proper to
accept your offer, jointly witli Mr. Carter, to make a survey
of so much of the peninsula of Xova Scotia as can be
accomplished within the periods herein limited, and you
will take the following instructions as your guide.
1st. You will consider your engagement to expire at
the end of fifty day.s, reckoning from the day on which you
shall set off, unless renewed by our express order, in Avritinf
from myself or the secretary of the province ; for which
service you .shall receive eleven shillings and eightpence,
Ha ifax currency, each day for yourself, and eight shillings
eacli day for Mr. Carter, during your actual services, in full
for your pay and every contingency. You will contrive to
be so situated on or a little before the fiftieth day, as to
hear from me or the secretary of the province.
_ 2nd. Your principal object in this survey wid be, to
visit the most unfrequented parts, particularly the banks
and borders of the different rivers, lakes, and swamps, and
the richest uplamls, for the jiurpose of discovering such
spots as are best calculated for producing h<-mp and furnish-
ing other naval stores. You will ma'ke your remarks on
tiie .soiL the situation of the lands, and the specio-s, (piality
and size of the timber ; the (luantity of each sort also, and
tlie facility with which it can be removed to market.
ihe thickness and length of mast timber vou will atton.l to
in an especial manner ; and in every place which you shall
U
www
V
210
HISTORY OF PRESTON.
.1'
I
cle(-ni cak'ulatecl for these purposes, you will, as near as
possible, estimate the quantity of acres, the ]iossibility and
means of rendering them fit for cultivation, either hy banks,
drains or otherwise.
3rd, You will receive from the Survoyor-fJeneral such
a maj) of the Province as our present knowledge of the
country can furnish ; you will endeavour, as far as lies in
your power, to correct any errors in it, and on your return
you will deliver to me the same with another containing
these corrections and the route which you shall have gone
distinctly placed on it.
4th. You will in the first instance, go to the eastward
of this harljour to the spot from whence issue the heads of
the Rivers Stewiacke, ^lusquodoboit, and Saint Mary, and
wherever else, in conseijuence of the information you may
receive, you may be led to suppose the objects of your
in(|uiries are to be found. Having examined the eastern
side of the Province, from the iShubenacadie, the Dart-
mouth Lakes, and the harbour of Halifax, you will proceed
to the western side and exanune the lands about the Kiver
Saint Croix, and the land of St. Margaret's Bay and thence
along the northern side of Chester, Lunenburg, Liverpool,
Shelburne, and Argyle, as far is Yarmouth, and the heads
of those waters which empty themselves into the Atlantic.
You will endeavour to examine Lake Kossignol, and will
consider it to Ije a very principal object of your tour. You
will trace tho?e rivers, as far as anything desirable is to be
obtained from such an investigation, towards their mouths,
which empty themselves into the River Ainiapnlis or the
r>asin of Minas ; and if Avithin your power, without losing
much time, you will examine the mountains which run
parallel to the Day of Fundy, to the southward of the
Annapolis Kiver. The last object of your researches will be
the inland country situated between Bramshag [Rhemsheg'?]
and Bay Verte in the N. E. and the Basin of Minas in
theS. \V.
5th. What is expressed in the second and fourth
articles of these instructions, you will consider as your
principal objects ; but if in the course of your travels you
should meet with any other objects in natural history, or
V:
REMARKS ON SOME OF THE EARIA' SETTLERS. 211
111
i
fiiul any indnconients of imjiortanfo, the iiivoatigation of
whicli IS evidently for the benefit of the j)ubli.', you will
use your <liseretion, ].rovi(le(l they do not oceasion any
essential delay or in any respeet draw you awav from the
main ol)jpet.s of your research, whicdi must not on any
account b(! sacri Heed or even im|)eded.
Gth. You will not omit to give me every information
in your power by the fourth (hiy of June next, after wliich
you will forward your intelligence ])y every favourable
opportunity. In order to facilitate the present design, I
have given directions to the secretary of the I'rovince 'to
deliver you a circular letter, directed to all magistrates and
other persons throughout the province, to afl'ord ycMi all the
assi.stance in their power ; but you will take care not to
require anything from them wliich .shall occasion an addi-
tional expense to the government.
. 7th. Your communications will be in the form of u
journal, with reference to notes at the end, which will
contain the detail. You will always make use of the names
used l)y the present inhabitants, and refer to a tal)!e of
Indian and French names and terms, with a view of correct-
ing the ail)itrary names of late years introduced in tlie
maps of this province.
llahiax, Aora Sco/ia, Mcnj 2nil, ISOt.
The tour was made and the foregoinrr instruc-
tions fully carried out.* Possibly iew or none of
the American colonies had a more full account of
their uncultivated land and natural liistory, particu-
larly botany, as Nova Scotia had in 1 802 after the
* Smith's journal of this snivey is preserved arr.ong the archives
of Nova Scotia, volume .380. It contains a great amount of informa-
tion. Tlie original of the missing part, will be found in the form
of a wcll-fiiled note-l)ook, among tlie hooks bequeathed to the N. S.
Historical Society by Dr. A kins. Smith's map of the survey ia
also in the same collection.— /?(/.
212
HISTORY OK PKEJSTON.
compk'tion of this survey. Roferonco to the manu-
script report in the archives of tlie province, in
which will be found a concise history of the trees,
shrubs, etc., of the country', will show the careful
mannei" in which he carried out his orders. The
nuap returned to the governor with the report, was
the only general one of the ])rovince until 1835,
when a new map was constructeil under a special
grant from the legislature.
From 1802 onward for forty years, Titus Smith
was employed on surveys in every part of the
province. This gave him an opportunity of forming
a remarkably accurate knowledge of the natural
history of the region an<l its resources. He had
much experience among the fishermen around our
coasts, and his knowledge of the fishing industry
and the conunerce associateil therewith, was most
thorouirh. A merchant who followed his advice,
could hardly fail to be successful. His extensive
knowledge of the province is well manifested in the
published report of his evidence before the Durham
commission of 1848. One who often conversed with
him previous to a general election, has remarked
that his forecasts with regard to the ultimate result,
were invai'iably correct. His ability for remember-
ing a great many things at one time, and coming
to correct conclusions, amount to genius. He con-
REMAUKS n.V HOMR OF THE EAUI.Y SETTr.EIiS.
213
10 manu-
k'ince, in
he trees,
; careful
rs. The
lort, was
;il 1835,
I special
s Smith
of tlio
forrniiiff
natural
He had
ind our
iidu.stry
LS most
advice,
: tensive
1 in the
)urliam
3d with
marked
( result,
ember-
commir
[e
con-
tributed with no stintiiif,' hand to the newspapers
and other periodicals of Halifax, for upwards of
forty years, on every useful subject, more particu-
larly Hffricnlture, rural economy, education, chemistry,
f^^eology, and botany. He also delivered lectures in
the old Mechanics' Institute, on all those subjects.
For many 3-ears he held the position of secretary to
the Central Board of Arrricnlture, and durinrr part
of the time, conducted an aoricultural periodical.
He was desitrnated " the Dutch Villa^'c Philoso-
pher." This title had reference to his intellectual
character and also to the locality where, after
leavin<j Preston, he resided for fifty years. Not only
was he considered an oracle in the neifddiourhood,
but his fame also extended over the whole province,
and was likt'wise reco<(nized by many both in old
and New England. He corresponded with Dr. Ciraham
of Edinburfjh, F. Andre Michaux of Paris, J. C.
Loudon, and others. His lectures were generally
printed in pamphlet foi'm. A jierusal of any one of
them will satisfy the reader that the authoi- was an
oiiginal thinker. In tiuth he was an original man
in every way, and some one, Carlyle I think, has
said that one original man is worth ten thousand
modern imitators.
Murdoch, in his Ilisfor)/ of Novd Scotia (vol. Ill,
page 220), writes of him thus: '-Mr. Smith was
214
HISTOnV OF PRESTON'.
1
1
L;,,
■
1
remarkable for the vast and varied information he
ac(|uire(l in botany, natural history, etc. With a
familiar knowledge of most that nature and books
could teach an inquiring; mind, he united the
unfeigned simplicity and kindness that rendered
him an agreealjle visitor, as well in the families of
our citizens as in the cottages of the most humble.
The following extract is from a letter written in
March, 18.50, by William Smith, a younger brother
of Titus, and printed in the Transddions of the
N. S, Institute of Natural Science, volume I : —
My brother Titus became an early reader under the
teaehiiif^ of his father. When four years old lie read
English books with facility. lie had at a very youthful age,
the advantage of a good private school kei)t by a Mr.
Daniel Humphrey, a graduate of Yale College. At seven,
Vie had gained considerable ])roticieney in Latin, and at
twelve, coidd translate the most difficult Latin authors, and
had al.so uuule good progress in the Cirecik. In youth, he
evinced no desire to mingle in the anui.sements of chil-
dren, but always sought the society of those from whom he
could derive knowledge. His earliest desire appeared to be
to jierfect himself in the knowledge of Imiguages such as
Latin, trieek, Oerinan and French. He was more attached
to biographical history than any otlic'r reading. As it was
the constant practice in my father's family, that one should
read aloud and the rest hear, when the book was in a
foreign language it always fell to the lot of Titus to be the
reader. Often have I listened with pleasure while he read
the Commentaries of Cajsar from the Latin text, which he
did with great facility. He became early attached to
mathematics and astronomy, in which he had gained
some i)roticiency, owing perhaps to a constant cause, always
with him and operating through life, namely, an entire
UEMAUK3 ON HOME OF THE EARLV SETI'LERH.
215
absence of dosiro to enj,'af,'(' the iiiiinl in the onlinnry
nninscnients tliat too often dniw tlie niiml from the nmtter
in hiiml. I think it may with literal truth he naid of him,
that from two years of a^'e he was never known to ery and
sehhmi to lauj,'h. I never saw him an^'ty and rarely much
elated. With an even temperament, ho imisued wiiatevor
lie undertook until it was aeeoniitlishecl. Ahout the year
1790 or 1791, my father was furnished hy (Jitvernor
AVentworth with a eomjilete set of the bolaniea! works of
Linnnpus. From this time until I left home, much of the
flowerinj,' season of th<^ year wns devoted to botanical
studies, of whieh his fatlier also was passionately foutl. From
that period onwards for nion; than half a century, I havc^ no
personal knowletlge of Ids progress ; })ut what may not the
inin<l of man accomplish when the key to knowled<fe is
obtained and the store-house uuloeked, and Nature's works
arc placed in view of an eye that is not diverted or drawn
asidi! by the comitless trifles that beset us on every side !
Titus in early childhood had lived a few years in the
city of New Haven. "While in that city, the most oi those
who visited his father's house were men of letters, and
disputations on religious subjects were very common. From
this place his father removed to Long Island on the Sound,
nearly opjiosite the city of New York ; and soon after,
into the city. There is nothinj,' remarkable in the sur-
rounding scenery of either of the places of his early
residence. lie was not made for a painter nor a poet :
matter of fact, things of real life and not of imagery,
claimed tlie greatest share of his attention. lie was
always liberal, setting no very great value on wealth,
except so much as Avas necessary to supply the ordinary
wants of life. lie thought but little of high birth
or titles of honour. I think he only valued men by
their knowledge and goodness.
His views of tlie .supernatural origin of the
Christian religion, were clear an<I strictly in accord
with divine revelation, ignoring all traditions of
men.
21G
HlHTOUY OP niKSTON.
Ill tlu; i'(jniiiiti(>ii of his iiiiiid, the sulilinie mid
the marvt'll(»us wcro us largely developed as causality,
ami tims he saw a liannony and beauty in all nature,
wliicli capability is on!}' the ^dl't of a few souls, IIo
was a cheerful fjiver. His <,nvat simplicity and
earnestness made him a character easily to ho utider-
stood : hut at the same time so keen a phy,sio;frnomist
was he, that it would have been diHicult indeed for
anyone to mislead or deceive him. The fluency
with which he read and translated (Jreek, Latin,
and French, was consi<lered wonderful by scholai's.
" I only ma<le his ac(|uaintance," writes his sou-
in-Iaw, Mr. Hendry, " late in life, when ho was
an old man, but his nmnnei's and conversation
were veiy youthful. He often recited in my hearing
long poems from Hesiod — probably portions of the
'Works and Days' — and from other classical
authors. In conversation, his sentences and illustra-
tions Avere long, whereas in writing he was short and
concise, his desire then seeming to be to crowd much
information into as small a space as possible. The
retentiveness of his memory was very wonderful.
In conversing ou subjects of theology, I often heard
him repeat a whole chapter ; generally he repeated
the paragrapli which illustrated the view he was
inculcating. If the subject of conversation was
I
HKMAIIKH ON SOMK OF THE K.UII.Y SKTriKnH.
21T
liistory, he talked as if rending' from a Look ; or it'
it took Riich a turn, he wotild repent, without
atiy apparent efl'ort, a whole scene from one of
Shak(!Sj)eare'H plays. It was after they removed to
Preston that his father jnirchased an edition of that
dramatist, and ho told me that he read the whole
book thtouf,di at one sitting'. My late wife, his
younf,'est dau^diter, and her sister, Mrs. John J^ayer,
wlio was seventy-five yeaj's old in 1(SS(), have told
me that they never heard their father complain of
fatif,'ue nor saw him lie down durinf,' the day time
— a custom indulged in by many, some from laziness,
others from a constitutional tiredness."
In the fall of l(S4f), he had an attack of jaundice
which he tried to ward oiY by takin^f more than his
usual exercise. He was most unwillinff that his wife
and dau^diters should know of his illness, for fear it
should alarm them. In spite of his efforts, the
disease became worse, and he died at the Dutch
Village on Friday, 4th January, 1.S50, the anni-
versary of his marriage fort}' years l)efore.*
»
1*
* He %vii8 interred in a siniill Itiiryirg-gronnd of iii.s own, in
wlncii he iiail allowed the Dutch settlers to bury their dead. This
is in the woods betwoi-n Forrest'.s tanntry (at Ihe Three-Mile House)
and the Dutch Village, near Halifax. A granite monument records
the name, date of death, and age, of one of tiie most learned and
most unobtrusive men the province luis ever proUiced— a man
.1-
218
niSTORY (JF PKESTOX.
I'i' ■
irt I
He was always beforehand with work. Up to
the time of his death, and for years previously, he
prepared a weekly article on ugricultui'e for the
Acaduin Recorder of Halifax ; and at the time of
his decease he ha<l several weeks' matter ready for
the printer. The youthful and cheerful character of
this man, may be gathei'ed from the articles written
by him in his eififhtieth year. A description of a
cattle-show at Kentville, composed for the Morning
Chronicle the day after the exhibition in the autumn
of 1849, is as boyish and sprightly in tone, as the
reflections and advice are wise and appropriate.*
Another of the early settlers of the immediate
neighbourhood of Preston, was Mr. William Mott,
the progenitor of the Mott family. He was an
Englishman who came with a company of artillery
to Halifax in the early days of the settlement. He
ff>
whose like we shall never sec again. I extract the following from
an obituary in the Acadian Recorder of r2th January, 1850:
We think Mr. Smith was utterly inpamble of provokint; enmity in nny
human heart. Apparently he recoitni/.ed no distinction in the rank ot individuals,
but such as vice or virtue niakus— never changing his demeanour in addressing
any pursnn, whether exalted or huixhle, intelligent or ignorant. Though unaf-
fectvid in his addres.t, he wa^ invariably affable and gentle towards all with whom
he had any intercourse. Indeed he was 'inwit-a maUj simplici^v— a child.'
Had circunistaiices placed him in a diflturent sphere, we believe he pi>j!-esaed one
of those giant intellects which is the production of an age, and capacitates its
1)osseH80r to figure prominently in the world's history. But his was a different
ot, and if it was cast among the humble — if the influence he produced is destined
in a great measure to be local— his nieniury is less likely to be defamed by those
who attribute all deserved repute to the promptings of pride and selfish
anibition There are few of our citizen'* who were not familiar with the simple
h:ibit', the benevolent features, and the venerable mien of this worthy and
reuiaikable man. — Ed.
* I am imlehteil to William A. Hendry, Esq. , for the whole of the
preceding sketch of this remarkable man. — Author's Note,
REMARKS ON SOME OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 219
soon left the army and went into business in the
town. There he remained for some years in the
pursuit of liis calling. He afterwards obtained a
piece of land adjoining Preston, on which he built a
house, and removed there with his family. The
latter consisted of four grandchildren, whose parents
had died some years before. Mr. Mott farmed near
Preston until his death.* His eldest grandson,
Henry Yeomans Mott, Esq., married a daughter of
John Prescott, Esq., of Maroon Hall, He remained
on his grandfather's farm for a time, afterwards
removed to Porter's Lake, and in 1832 purchased a
property on the Eastern Passage Road, in Dart-
mouth, on which was a valual)le brickyard (see
page 93.) He afterwai'ds became a manufacturer
of cocoa and broma. Mr. Mott represented the
county of Halifax in the Legislative Assembly for
four years, was a county magistrate for a long
period, and died on 31st January, 186(5, in the sixty-
ninth year of his age. His son, John Prescott Mott,
Esq., a wealthy manufacturer and merchant of
Dartmouth, was born at the Preston house in 1820.
The second grandson, Thomas Mott, Esq., was
* Mott's farm was about a third of a mile to the iiorth-w est of
Maroon Hall, unci on the east side of Lake Loon. The phice is
actually on the Dartnioutli side of the Preston boundary, but as it
and Maroon Hall are historically connected with the latter town-
ship, rather than with the former, 1 have let the account of each
eniain in the essay on Preston. — Ed,
I
il
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HISTORY OF rilESTON'.
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educated for, and ordained a clergyman of the
Protestant Ejjiscopal Church in the United States.
He married and settled in North Carolina, and was
rector of a church of that state until his death in
1870. The eldest granddaughter married William
Baker of Dorchester, Massachusetts, the celebrated
cocoa manufacturer of that town. The youngest
was the wife of the Rev. John Clarke, a graduate
of King's College, Windsor.
Sir John Wentworth — who was governor of Nova
Scotia from 1792 until 1808, and whose name and
dispatches form so prominent a part of our pro-
vincial history — built a summer house in Preston
during the early period of his residence in Halifax-
It was situated on the northern side of the road,
and to the eastward of Church Hill. There he
had a farm on which he cmploj'ed the Maroons as
labourers. The road leading past it into one of the
coloured settlements, is still called Gove'/nor's Street,
and although the house must have fallen more than
forty j^ears ago, the place where it stood has been
rebuilt and is still known as the Governor's Farm.
George Colley, an illegitimate coloured son of the
gi'eat governor, is still living, and is said to be over
ninety j^ears old.* He and his children and their
children, as well, still own and live on the property.
*(ieorge \V. Colley, or Collie, dieil 2iul Nov., 189.3, aj;ed
eighty-nine years, two months and seventeen days, according to
the death-notice. — Ed.
TALES, ETC.
321
CHAPTER V
TALES, ETC.
SOME pathetic stories are still renienibered by .i
few of the older people of the place, stories of
adventure and domestic tragedy among the
early settlers of the old township. The sad death
of poor Mary Russell and the drowning of the Jones
children, together with the mysterious account of
Margaret Floyer, are usually included among these,
but as the events took place some distance witliin
the township of ])artmouth, the tales have been told
in connection with the latter district.
The early inhabitants of Preston ha<l a great
many hardships to encounter especially during the
winter season. The district was sparsely settled
and the houses far apart; snow-storms were more
fre([uent and violent than now, and the drifts often
prevented the farmers from going beyond their
homes. In the month of February, an industri<jus
mechanic named Smith, who lived on a small fiirm
beyond Salmon River, had occasion to make a
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000
HISTOnY OF PRESTON.
journey to Musquodoboit* This was no unusual
occurrence, for being a carpenter, he ofton had work
tliere, and always went to and i'ro on foot. The way
was long and the road little travelled, but when the
weather and walking were good, the distance — to
use a country phrase — could easily be accomplished
" Itetween sun and sun." On the present occasion.
Smith left his home, accompanied by his son, a boy
of seventeeii, and reached Musciuodoboit in safety.
As the length of their stay in that place was
uncertain, it was understood before they left home
that they might be absent sevei'al days. On arriving
at their destination, they found that they had to
go back to Preston sooner than had been expected.
After remaining two nights in JMusciuodoboit, they
started to return. Tiie morning was fine, pjefore
noon, however, snow fell heavily ; the rough forest
roads soon filled up and made walking slow and
fatiguing. Night came on before the travellers had
gone over two-thirds of the distance. The}^ stopped
at a house for a little while, and spoke hopefully of
making their way along the track before bed-hour.
This was the last time they were seen alive. The
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•This story forms No. 6 of "The Tales of Our Village"
(Provincial, 1852, vol. I, pp. 466 471). The author there says that
it occurred less than forty years before the time of writing. — Ed,
TALES, ETC.
223
family at home had no anxiety a])out them, as they
helieve.1 they would he detained at Musquodohoit
until the end of the week. The night passed, and
the day bi-oke clear and frosty, followed by another
night of intense cold. When the morning came,
labourers broke through the snow in order to proceed
with their work in the woods. Smith's elder sons
got their team i-eadj- to liaul firewood. They had
gone but a short distance, when they were attracted
by a dark object on the snow. It was found to be
their father's body lying stiff and cold, half buried
under a snow tlrift. A little further, they discovered
their brother. He had evidently perished first, for
his father's luindkerchief was laid over his face, and
his position showed that he had been placed where
he lay, l)y other hands. They had evidently toiled
on through the dark, snowy night, until fatigue and
cold had done their work on the poor fellows'
exhausted frames, only a (juaiter of a mile from
home. Too bewildered by the snow and darkness to
recognize familiar places, they had sunk down to die
within i-each of help and shelter. Many a brave
man, in the early days of Nova Scotia, has perished
in this manner. The fate of poor Smith and his son
seemed all the more sad because it met thera almost
on the threshold of their home. They were buried
in the old cemetery on Church Hill.
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224
IIISTOUY OF PRESTON.
A touching story and one that is often tol<.l, is
that of the lost children — the Preston babes in the
wood. Nearly fifty years ago, an Irishman named
John Meagher cleared a piece of land and built a
house in the woods between Topsail Lake and Lake
Loon. A by-road at the east end of the former lake
led to the dwelling. He was an industrious man
v;'ih .1 wife and cliildron, and was often employed as
a vj.vy b'bouror in the forest or at the tanyard. One
sunny ni-jvuing in early April, 184i2, his two little
girl;;, Jane L'l 'ibeth and Margaret or Maggie as she
was ca/iod, wan-! > vl away from their home. The
former was aged six years and ten months, and the
latter, four years and six months. Their mother
was ill and unable to be about, and their elder sister,
who attended to the wants of the house, did not miss
them or see them go away. The day was pleasant
for the sea.son, and the little ones with no other
clothing but their ordinary house frocks, set off to
ramble for berries or mayflowers. The thick woods
grew near the house, and once within the forest it
was easy to lose the track and go astray. When the
father came home in the evening from his work, he
found the mother frantic with anxiety for the
children who had not returned. It was about ten
o'clock on Monday morning, 11th April, when they
had left home, and all through that long week,
TALES, ETC.
225
thoufjh Imndrerls were searchin^^, no trace of them
could he found save a few tracks at one place, the
print of a small hand at another, and a piece of
rag at another. Snow had fallen during the week,
and the nights were cold and dreary. As day after
day went by, all hope ceased of finding the children
alive. The whole sympathy of town and country
was excited, and on Sunday, 17th April, some thou-
sands of men of all classes, including parties of
soldiers, were searching the barrens and swamps for
miles around. On that day at eleven o'clock in the
morning they were found.* A shepherd's dog had
discovered them, and stood beside the little bodies,
barking frantically until he attracted the attention
of some of the searchers. When the latter came to
the place, they found the children lying in the
shadow of a great granite boulder, clasped in each
others arms, worn with fatigue and silent in death.
* The spot where the bodies were discovered was just on the
east side of a hill called Mount Major on Church's Map of Halifax
County (IS64), and a short distance west of Luke Major. The
children had travelled about four miles. A map was prepared by
J. G. McKenzie, and published, showing the supposed course taken
by the wanderers. A copy of it will be found in the Legislative
Library, Halifax. A contemporary account says that the parents
of the girls were confined to their house by sickness on the day
they disappeared. The Meagher house was actually a short
distance outside of the Preston boundary, but the above story is
always connected with the township.— j^«/.
15
226
HISTOIIY OP PKESTON.
The older ehikl had taken off part of hov own dress
and wrapped it round the younger one, and her
sheltering arms were folded ahout the hitter to
protect her even in death. The face of the little
one was sweet and peaceful, but a volume of agony
was written on the countenance of the elder girl.
Human love and self-sacrifice in their highest degree,
were touchingly apparent in this sister's attitude.
As the poor father lifted the dead children from
tlieir cold, hard bed, tears fell down many a rough
cheek in sympathy for him and the sorrowful
mother at home. They were laid in one coffin, as
nearly as possible in the same attitude in which
they had been found, and on Tuesday, 19th April, a
wet, dismal day, the whole neighbourhood followed
them to the grave. They were buried in Woodlawn
Cemetery, and a meniorial stone of granite with an
appropriate inscription, was placed over the spot.
This stone was ordered and paid for by a few kindly
persons whose hearts were touched by the sad story
of the suffering and death of the lost children.*
* They are buried, in the western end of the cemetery, near
the fence, and about midway between the northern and southern
boundaries. In 1891, a white marble monument marked the spot.
It bore on one side the following inscription : " Martha, |
Margaret, Jane, j Elizabeth & | (Jeorge, | Children of | John k
Jane j Meagher." The comma between "Jane" and "Elizabeth"
is a mistake of the stone-cutter. — Ed.
TALES, E'IC.
2"J7
Forinmiy years, the Hon. Chiirk'.s Morris and his
family made tlioir summer homo in Preston. Mr.
Morris was the third of that name in Nova Scotia,
and a grandson of the Hon. Charles Morris, one of
the be.st known names in the history of Nova Scotia,
a sketch of whom will he found in the SdrcflonH
frum the Pahlic Dacainents of Nova Scotia, page
293. Charles Morris, son of Hon. Charles Morris,
succeeded his father about 1781 in the office of
surveyor-general. He was also an assistant judge of
the supreme court, though not a lawyer by pro-
fession. On his decea.se, on 2Gth January, 1802,
his son, the Hon. Charles Morris, the third of the
name, became sui-veyor-general, and was appointed
a member of H. M. Council in 1808. (Vide Sdec-
tiona from the Public Documents of Nova Scotia,
page 293.)
Hon. Charles Morris (the third) in his duties as a
surveyor, was well acquainted with the province and
particularly with Halifax county. While his chil-
dren were quite young, he built a house * on the
eastern border of Lake Loon, Preston, and there
some of their happiest days were spent. It was
beautifully situated on a slight rise facing the lovely
lake. The placid water, w^ith its clusters of great
* About three-quarters of a mile or a mile from the Preston
Road. The Montagu Road now leads past it.— Ed.
wr
228
IIISTOUY OF rilESTOV.
lillioH set here an<l there, reHected the trees on
the shore, mid great loons with snowy hroasts and
spreading wings floated in the air ahove, calling
to each other in uiunelodious, langhing tones, as
the night fell and the rain-clonds gathered. All the
wild beauty which Nature gives so prodigally to her
hidden nooks, was there. It was a lovely sheet of
water when summer touched its ripples with sun-
shine ; it was beautiful in winter, when the blue
waves ha»l been bound with frost, ami the boys and
girls skated over its surface in the silver moonlight,
while the merry sleigh-bells rang out as they passed
over its snowy highway. Under the fissures of the
thick ice, the imprisoned waters muttered hoarsely,
like the wail of spirits struggling to be free.
It was no wonder that Mr. Morris with his full
hou.sehold of boys and girls, all ardent h)vcrs of
nature, should have chosen fov a countr^'^ retreat
this beautiful situation by Lake Loon. Here was
fostered that taste for pure, simple pleasures, tliat
love for the woods and the streams, which never
forsook the members of this honoured and courteous
family, even when the aged forms were bent and
the feeble footsteps told that the end of life was
near. To the love of nature was added the keen
enjoyment of the sportsman. They were all familiar
with natural history, knew the plants of the forest.
TAI,l.s, KIV,
229
tlio liimiit, of tlic iiidusc iiiiil t'iii-ilxtu, 1111(1 till! pools
where salinoii ami tiout were liidden. All who
knew them, still chei-ish trndcr meinories oi" this
wise, refined, simple yet jxriiliiir family, th(> memhers
of whieh were always kind and a;,'reealile, and most
unwoi'ldly in nature.
\VhiI(! the Hon. Cliarlcs Morris lived, the Lak(!
Loon property was only oeenpicd dnrin<,' the sunnner
uiontiis. After his death, his widow and his
unmarried children made it their permanent home.
His eldest son, . I oh n Spry Monis, Ks((., succeeded
liim as surveyor-;,'en''ral of the j)rovince. He was
the fourth in succession cf the family to hold that
office. He resi^rncd it many years before his death,
and went to Kn^^rjaiid, where he died in ISSI, nrral
ei^dity-six years.
The second son, the Rev. C'harles Morris, ])asse(l
some of the early pait of his life in the Kin<''s
service. He was always a man of most stu<lious
liahits and <,freat scholastic attaimnents. Althou.i,dx
timid and retiring' iji his hahits, yet ho united with
much C()ura^a> a f^reat love of adventure. The
story of liis life wouM make a pleasant cha[)ter of
biograj)hy. As has heen mentioned, he was a very
euf^er student, thorou<^ddy ahsorhed in his hooks.
When a young man studying at King's College, he
often drove into Windsor with a Greek lexicon in
230
mSTOHY OF I'llKSTON.
his luiiuls and the reins ItL'twecn his teeth, utterly
retjiirdless of his own or otlioj* people's safety. t
in life he took holy orders, hut did not at once c.cer
on parochial work. He afterwards wont to Quebec,
and in Gaspe in that diocese had a small coiiffrcfja-
tion of English residents under his charffe. His
nunistrations were very acceptable to the people, and
his earnest, .st'lf-den^'in^ life made a j^reat impression
on t!iem. Emi<:frant or ^'astric fever was then
doinff deadly work in the hospital at Grosse Island.
Numbers died daily, and all were in need of spiritual
help and consolation. Mi-. Morris immedi»'*oly
volunteered his services as a teacher and com T
of the sick and dyin^^ in the hospital. Ho was v ,y
earnest and helpful in the work, never sparing
himself, but remaining day and night at his post.
His christian charity and self-abnegation commanded
the admiration of all. In the midst of his work lie
was prostrated by fever, and died, after a very short
illness, from the effects of that terril)le disease. He
was pure and simple in life, and of most earnest and
unpretending piety. Like the Master he served, he
hiid down his life for his brethren, and so entered
into his i-est.
The third son, the Rev. George ^[<)rris, studied in
England, and was there ordained, in 1821, a clergy-
man of the Church of England. He afterwards
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TALKH, ETC.
231
rotui'iiod to Nova Scotia and had charffo of the
parish of Rawdoii, whero ho married and roinainod
several years. There he lost his wife. In IS+S he
was transferred to Dartmouth, and was made rector
of Christ Church, but was superannuated in 1854,
and from that time lived in retirement in Halifax.
He was constitutionally indolent and always in
delicate health. He was a careful student and ripe
scholar, a good writer and judicious critic, and a
pure-hoarte<l christian man. Ho died in October,
1883, in his ninetieth yenr.
Dr. Frederick Morris, another son, was well
known as a medical practitioner in Halifax. Like his
brothers, he was very studious. He was also much
given to experinu utal chemistry, and while engaged
^n this pursuit he unfortunately injured his hand and
had to undergo amputation of the part. Although
very eccentric, yd he was a kindly and genial man
under all circumstances. His death occuired in
Halifax.
Edward was in the Crown Lands Department for
many years. Very sensitive and reserved, he was a
man who rarely spoke outside of his own home, but
there he was very much beloved.
James Morris, Esq, the youngest son of this large
family, spent the grejiter part of his life in the
excise and custom department both in Yiirniouth
232
HISTORY OK rUESTON.
and in Halifax. He was a geiiei-al favourite, always
genial and cheerful, not\vithstandin[^ ill health and
other infirmities. He alone of the family left
children — four sons — of whom one succeeded his
father as clerk in the custom house, which ofHce ho
held until his death.
One dautrhter of the Hon. Charles Morris was
the wife of Rev. Mr. Witririns of St. John, N. B.
The others were nevci' married.
Mrs. Morris died at Lake Loon. Soon after her
death, the property was sold, and the old family
which had been so associated with all that was best
and most pleasant in Pi'eston, removed to Dartmouth
and afterwards to Halifax, until one by one they
passed over to the great majority.
The purchaser of Lake Loon was an En<flishman
named George Forbes Thompson, a retired lieutenant-
colonel in the Royal Engineers. It was .«aid that
this gentleman had come to Nova Scotia to look
after, and perhaps settle on, some land granted to
him in A^desford, Kings County ; but in reality his
purpose was to avoid intercourse with his friends,
and to conceal what was afterwards proved to be a
great crime.
In early life he had married a German [Spanish ?]
lady whose mother was said to have been a Miss
Kirkpatrick, sister of the mother of the Empress
tai.es, etc.
233
Eugenie of Fnmce* This lady has been represented
as an amiable and ji[entle jjirl, but timid and nervous
to an extreme degree. Her husband is said to
liave been an unloving and selfish man, and under
her disappointment in him, she grew depressed and
listless. While he was serving with his company in
the Barbadoes, accompanied by his wife and family,
an insurrection took place among the b]:vck popula-
tion. During the disturbance, one of iiis children
was kill('(l. The poor mother's terror while the riot
lasted, and her grief for the death of her child,
unsettled her reason, and she became incurably
insane. Soon after. Col. Thompson returned to
England where he remained for some time. There
he placed his childi'en at school and his wife in an
asylum. The poor lady was in a very hopeless
mental condition, but she was never vi(jlent or
excited.
Col. Thompson was soon under orders for Ceylon,
and remained in that garrison for five years. While
* The motlier of the I'jiipress Eugenic had two younger sisters,
Ciulottii who married her cousin, '] iiomas Kirkpaliick, ami went
to Sp^iii, and Henri(iU(>tta who married Count ("aharra.s, and
resided near Velez Malaga. They were the (laughters of William
Kirkpatriek. If Mrs. Thompson was really the cousin of the
Knipress, the former was the <langliler of one of these two hidies.
In one part of the evidence it is slated tliat Mrs. Thompson had
been a .Spanish lady from Malaga — Ed.
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234
HISTORY OP PBESTON.
there, he took for his mistress tlio widow of one of
the soldiers in his company. She was a handsome
young Irishwoman, very uneducated and ambitious,
of violent temper and vindictive nature. She
gained thorough ascendency over the Colonel, and
her wishes were to him generally as commands.
When they returned to England, she was determined
to rid herself of the lawful wife, take the hitter's
place, and make her own children heirs of the
Colonel's estate, which was a considerable one. With
this end in view, she encouraged him to embark for
Halifax, and on the plea of saving money, persuaded
him to remove his wife from the asylum and take
her with them, promising to be the demented lady's
nurse and guardian. Col. Thompson was as weak
as he was wicked. He not only allowed the
Irish widow to carry out all her plans, but on
ai-riving at Halifax, introduced her as Mrs. Thompson,
and represented his own unhappy wife as her aunt,
who being out of health and spirits, they had brought
from abroa<J for the benefit of change.
Col. Thompson visited Aylesford, but on examina-
tion his land there was not appreciated, and he
determined to purchase elsewhere. After looking
about for some time, he decided to obtain Lake
Loon. Having bought the property, ho furnished
the house handsomely, and on 22nd August, bSlS,
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TAI.ES, ETC.
23»
settled down to the life of a quiet country gentle-
man. There a son and heir was born, and great
rejoicing was made by both parents over the event.*
All who visited them were delighted with the
polished manners and graceful hospitality of Col.
Thompson, and equally surprised at the rough-and-
ready style, genuine brogue and other peculiarities
of the lady who was called his wife. Soon the
little world of Preston began to talk, to wonder,
and to suspect. The Colonel and his wife quarrelled
frequently, and the servants reported mysterious
expressions they had overheard. Then it was said
that the poor, gentle aunt was neglected, even ill
treated. Weeks went by and the stories gathered
strength. Colonel and Mrs. Thompson left home to
visit friends, and stayed nearly three days. During
that time, the aunt was locked in a very small room,
without a fire or any nourishment but frozen food
left beside her when her jailors went away. After-
wards, during the occasional absence of the master
and mistress, the servants spoke to the prisoner
through the closed door.f She toM them that she
was Col. Thompson's wife, the mother of his chil-
* One or two other children had come with them to Halifax.
While in the latter place, they stayed at the Halifax Hotel.— AW.
tThis is not altogether supported by the evidence at the
inquest. The door does not appear to have been locked, and some
of the servants said they had spoken to her a few times in her
own room. — Ed.
PI
W
236
IHSToaV OF PRESTON.
. I
(Iren in England, and that the woman who had
taken lier place was most insolent and cruel to her.
As time passed, the interest and suspicion increased.
Further reports of nejTlect and ill-treatment were
heard. People were anxious and unhappy, hut no
one dared to interfere. Those who had liked and
visited Col. Thompson, avoided him, and all felt
that there was a mystery which ought to be solved.
About thirteen months after Thompson's purchase
of Lake Loon, light came, in a way least expected.
One early September morning, sad news spi-ead
through the village : wife or aunt, or whatever the
poor thing might be, was dead ! The servants said
she had pined and drooped daily. Want of air
and proper food, of all tliat could strengthen the
machinery of life, had hastened the sorrowful end.
They told how she had called for her husband until
at last the cruel woman who watched her was afraid
to deny her entreaties, and desired him to come in ;
how he whispered to her in Gorman, drew her poor
head down upon his breast, and held her in his arms
till all was over.*
*I cannot find authority for this in the evidence. The so-
called wife iield the poor lady's liand until she died, while a
servant j^iil, Susan Green, stood near the foot of the bed. These
were all who were in the room. Co'. Tiionipson apparently was not
called into the house until she had expired. He then may have
taken her in his arms as related ahove. She died .Sunday evening,
about dark, between seven and eight o'jlock, '20tli Sopteml)er. — Ed,
wmmmmmm
TALES, ETC.
237
Preston was excited, and hungered and waited
for more. Then came the funeral. Slie was taken
to Dartmoutli and buried in the old Roman
Catholic Churchyard between Windmill Road and
Geary Stieet. This was a new surprise. Col,
Thomp.son and his family belonged to the Church of
England ; if this poor lady was a Romanist, why
was she denied the rites of her church ? why
allowed to die without the spiritual services of a
clergyman of her own faith ? The excitement and
assertions were extreme. Rumour ran wild. The
people and clergy of her own church were at first
suspicious, then aroused into action. Finally tlie
poor lady's remains were exhumed and a coroner's
inquest held over them. Then, as far as possible,
the awful truth came out. Witnesses were called
from every class and profession. Some military
men then in the Halifax garrison, had known Col.
Thomp.son and his wife when in England, and in
spite of the terrible change and emaciation, lecog-
nized in the dead lady the person of their old friend.
They also told what they knew of her sad life and
her loss of sanity. Servants related cruel tales of
how she had suffered from the cold of winter and
the stifling heat of summer, in a narrow, unventilated
room, of the coarseness and scantiness of the food
allowed her, until all who heard the stories were
238
HISTORY OF PRESTON.
convinced that she had been foully niurdored l»y
confinement and starvation.
The verdict of the coroner's jury was not satis-
factory to a pityinjx and indif^nant people. The
jurors stated that they had stronf^ i-ea.sons for believ-
ing that the deceased lady was the wife of George
Forbes Thomp.son, late Lieutenant-Colonel in the
Royal Engineers, and that she had for some time
previous to her death not experienced that care and
attention which her situation required, and that she
had been insane for some years, but they were unable
to account for her death.*
Col. Thompson went back to his home, botlily
unharmed by the law, but shunned and execrated
by all who knew hii He remained at Lake Loon
until the next spring, when finding public opinion
*She liad died on 20th September, and between ten and eleven
o'clock, a. m., on the 22nd, she was buried by Rev. James Kennedy
of St. Peter's Chapel. The in(}uest was heUl l)efore James Finhvyson
Gray, coroner, on 29th and 30th September, and on 2nd and Gth
October. The entire evidence will be found among the inciuisi-
tions in the Prothonotary's Office, Halifax, indorsed, "County of
Halifax, Inquisition, Woman unknown, Gth October, 1846, lietd.
10th October, 1846." Those who are interested and wish to judge
for themselves, should by all means consult this sworn official
record. Although the unfortunate lady is mentioned in the inquisi-
tion as "a woman whose name is to the jurors unknown," yet
"Catherine Ann Tiiompson " had at first been written but was
afterwards scored out. It may be accepted as her probable nanie.
The story is No. 8 of "The Tales of Our Vdlage " (The
Provincial, toI. II, pp. 211-217, 267-272, 289-304, 346-353, 379-388,
431-438, 459-469.)— i;(/.
TALES, ETC.
239
too stron^r for him, he and his family returned to
Enghmd. Once he was seen there by a Halifax
gentleman who ha.l known him when he lived in
Preston. This gentleman said that the Colonel was
looking feeble and careworn, but that lie still seemed
to take a great interest in Nova Scotia and enquired
after many persons he had been accjuainted with in
that province. Once more he was heard of, and for
the last time. He and his wife were keeping a
boarding-house in London, and living most unhappily
together. She was very intempei-ate, and he was
broken down by loss of friends and the upbrai.lings
of an accusing conscience.
Of course it is impossil)le to fill in the details of
the stoiy. The main facts are true as the they have
been here told. Only those who remember the
circumstances of this tale of wrong and cruelty, and
the great exciteuient at the time of the trial, can
realize how the occurrence stirred and haunted the
imagination of the people of Preston.
Soon alter this tragedy was ended, the agent
who had been left in charge of the property
by Col. Thompson, sold it to another well-known
military gentleman, Col. George Montagu. This
officer had been in Halifax many years before
with his regiment, and he was well known and much
Plf
240
niSTOIlY OP PIIESTON.
liked l»y till who were accjuaiiited with him. He
was connected with the aristocracy of England, his
grand-uncle lieing the Duke of Manchester. He
lived at Lake Loon with his family for more
than thirty years, improving the property and enjoy-
ing its quiet retreat after Ids years of military
service. At last his great age induced him to remove
to Dartmouth, where he would he nearer medical help.
He died in a house adjoining Findlay's pond, near the
First Lake, on 10th January, 1<S(S9, in the ninoty-tirst
year of his age. His youngest son, Oore Montagu, is
the present owner of the property at Lake Loon.
The atljaeent part of the country has l)cen
brought prosniniintly into notice by the discovery of
gold in the neighbonrliood. The thiding of the
precious metal was reported at the Gold Couunis-
sioners Office on the 21st day of April, ISO.S; and
up to July 2Sth, two hundred j»nd three acres of
cla.ss no. 1 were leased, one hundred and iifty of
which wei'e taken by four companies. Numerous
auriferous (piartz veins, varying in thickness from
three to twelve inches, have been discovered. The
total yield of gold from hsr).'} to bSS.j was 28,3,029
oz., 6 dwt., 10 gr. The district is calleil Montagu, in
honour of the late owner of Lake Loon.
The discovery of gold and the working of the
raiuL's, have not done very much for the advance-
1 1
TALKS, KTC.
241
nu'iit of Pnvst..n. A s.-ttlnnont, consistin.,^ oliicHy
<)F lints {or uuun-s ui„l oth.M- sn.ull |„M,srs lor
lal:ouivrs, has ^r,-oNv„ up nmn.l tlie ^^oM f!,.l,|s, l.ut
tli(M...i^rl,!H,„n„^r,|i,stnct, tliou^^li it lius passr.l its ccn-
to.arv, I, as not -^Tcatly iinj-rov...!. A ^wnt <lcal of
barren lan.l is i„ th<. vicinity of Monta-n, and
str..t,-Ii..s ont to Lake .Major, a .lesolat.-, .Ireary sl„.,.t
of water, set in a eold, l.anvn swamp, with ;,raunt
skeletons of hare, hh-ached tre.-stnnips risiiiir hko
ton.hstones from tli(. ^n-eat ^M-ave of sta-nant water.
Amon^^ the notahle eharaeters at some time
resident in the ])laee, was Sir .I.,Jmi Oi.hiiixon. H,.
was an eccentric Kn<rlish kni^dit who came across the
sea and ma.le his home in this new land. Aithoii<di
lH)ssesse.] ,,f some fortune, hv. held alo..f from
society, and amused himself with <run and fishin^r.
rod in sunmier, and with hooks in winter. He n-as
made a county magistrate, and administered justice
with much fairness. ITe afterwards s.'ttled in Sack-
ville, near Jk'dford Ik.sin, where he died.
Mary .Molyneu.x was amon,<r the first orantecs
of Preston.* She was of KnnlisI, descent, and
*_!!! ^^^^l^'^ '' I'alf-J.ay army ollicer. As the ^a-ant
*Ac'cor,ling to an ..M plan, whUt-imiu k,.,l I7!),-,, M„ly,„.„x'a
hons.. wii.s on the western si,!,- of M,,. Salmon lliver -awl ontlio
north si.le of the road Iciciing to (.:iinirh Hill. M,-. \V. Silvers
resilience isnuar the place.- /:'«/.
IG
T:^'^'
242
niSToiiY or riiKsTON.
was tnkoM in Iter own niinu', we nnist suj)|)()s(' tlmfc
Ml*. Molyncux was not a rt'sjjonsiljlo person. At all
events, aftei' lie became a resident of Preston, his
nuuniers were not snch as to en<lear him to his
nei^'hlionrs. He was very intemperate, and on those
t're((uent occasions when his better judffment was
obscure<l by stimulants, his wife came in for an
unph'asant sliare of his attention. It was his custom
to beat her most unmercifully, and the poor woman
genei"ally took refuse in the luiy-mow until hertyiant
had recovered ]»is senses. At last he suspected
where her retreat was, and arming' himself with a
pitch-fork, plun<fed it violently into the trusses of
hay which spread over the nmw, exclaiminn; with
each thrust, "This will bring you out!" It did, and
in future she had to seek some le.ss treacherous
refuge.
At last he died, and his wife lived on alone in her
little cottage, bent and decrepit. She was always
very eccentric, and in her old age was most
witch-like in ajipearancc. tfer house was built on a
sunny knoll near the bank of the Salmon River.
Boys were her natural enemies, and in guarding her
apples and her garden, she was kept in perpetual
warfare. As a farmer, she did not prosper, and some
yeai's before her death her property passed out of
her possession by mortgage. She lived on till the
TALKS, KTC.
243
end, howovoi", in the house she Imd l»uilt and alwiiy.s
occnpiod in Preston since slie came across the sea in
one of the eai-ly transi)orts, u 3•ounf,^ hopeful woman,
to bury her youtli and anticipations in Nova Scotia.
The eai-Iy settlers and theii* tlescendants who onco
peopled the pleasant townshiji of Preston, were a
simple, (|uiet race. Nearly all of the old famili
have died out, or else ha
d tl
es
\(' o-one a\va\- t
th
I otiK'l
scenes; and those who liveil in the place durini,' the
niidille of thi
s century, can liardlv reeo<'nize tlu
names and faces of the present inhabitants
Time, which hi-ini-s d
lantt'e to all thiuL's, ha>
altered but not improved the place. At one period,
it promised to prosper and increase, but its <ri(.\vth
has been .slow, and its prosperity is amouf^ the thinf(.s
to be. In the years to come, when the Old \V(a-ld
has tilled every nook and corner of Canadian land,
the pleasant tieMs of Preston may be set by smil
homesteads, and the M'hirr of macliinery and the
Ul^r
screech of the steam-whistl
e may be heard beside her
lakes and alon^r lioi- hi<rhways. Her sister township of
Dartmouth is full of stir and
I)rofrres.s. I his activity
should naturally extend to Preston, and till her waste
lands with life and enterpiise. Our work has be
en
with the past; who can foretell what the futun
historian will have to record !
HISTORY
Of
TOWNSHIP OF LAWKHNCRTOWN.
,
HISTORY OF LAWRENCETOWN.
THE Township of Lawrencetowii was formerly
known liy its Indian and French names,
VVampack, Tawbooslionikcc, Mafjonsliish and
Shezetcook or Chezzetcook. In tlie year 1754, Col.
Lawrence, then administrator of the government,
with a view to promote the settlement of the
countiy, and finding that there was good meadow-
land at the harbour some twelve miles to the
eastward of Dartmouth, had a survej' made of the
place, the boundaries deiined, and the districts
staked ofi*. The intended township was about four
leamies east of Halifax. It connnenced at the
confluence of Smelt Brook with the north-east
bi-anch of Cole Harbour, and extended as far as
the Falls of Chezzetcook River. Henceforth it was
known b}' the name of its founder, Lawrencetown.
The township was granted to twenty pi-ojn-ietors*
The grant consisted of twenty thousand acres of land.
The names of the original grantees were as follows :
John Barker, William Drake Spike, John Hussey,
*Tlic gram is dutoil 10th Jiino, 17r)4. Tlie original will lie
found in Hook 2, page ."^l^, at the Registrar of DoihIs Olfioe,
Halifax. A CDpy is in the Crown Lands Office.— /v/.
pp'; >■
248
HISTORY OF I.AWIiEXCKTOWN.
W'\
John Collier, Robert Ewe?', Richfinl Bulkeley, Willium
Xesbitt, Geoi-we Suul, Rev. John Breynton, Arthur
Pi ice, John Taorgart, WilHatn Mafjee, Robert Grant.
Davia Lloyd, Ro\)ert F. Walter (or Walker), Richard
Wenman, Matthew Barnard, Benjamin Green, Jr.,
John Baxter, William Morris.
These ])roprietors undertook to settle twent}' Pro-
testant families there, and the Governor promised to
build a block-house and to protect the place with a
military guard. The twenty families each received
one tliousand acres of land. The grant extended
from Chc^zetcook to Colo Harbour.
Jn May, 175+,* two hundred regulars and some
rangers were sent to guard the people engaged in the
work of clearintj and settlinir. The soldiei's cut a
road from Dartmouth to the iww town, which was
to be on a small peninsula about ten miles fi'om
the former plice. The isthmus of this peninsula was
picketed in, and a block-house erected within
the palisades. The ])romise of protection was thus
fulfilled, and for a time the settlement remained
under proper defence.
Lawrencetown was described in March, 1755, as
" a large palisailed square and Blockliouse situated
upon a point of land near the Harbour of Mns(|ue-
* T'liis must Imve l)uen in May, 17.";5, for the grant was dated
June, 175-t, and was not legifstired until Deceniljor, 17'>4. — Ji^d.
I-AWRK\CETOWN.
249
dalioit [sic] about 4 leaf(uo,s 1>y wat.'r eastward IVom
Halifax with wliicli there is a Coininluiication l>y
land from Dartmouth, distance about 12 or 14 miles.
This is a Settlement undertaken by a Company of
Gentlemen, and protected by the troops from the
incui-sions of the Indians who live a ^-ood part of
the year in that nei^'hbourhood." (" Remarks rela-
tive to the Return of the Fcjrces in Nova Scotia,"
30th March, 17o5 ; vide Sflectioiifi from Public
DocuvK nfs of iY. S., page 402).
The stij)ulated twenty families were all settled
in Lawrencetown by tlie associate proprietors, and
maintained at their expense. These persons promised
to become useful settlers, as they were fruL^'al and
industi-ious. It may be hei-e oljserved that the
original grantee's of Lawi-encetown, received exten-
sive grants of land in other jiarts of the jn'ovince.
All went well with the new townshi[) for two or
three 3'ears. Then the troops were Avithdi-awn and
the stockaded foi't and public buildings were onlei'ecl
to l>e demolished. The date of this I'esolution was
2.5th August, 17.')7. (ien. Hopson, then connnanding
the troop,s in Nova Scotia, ordci'ed the withdi'awal.
The pi'0])rietoi's, who I'eceived no com])ensation for
this hai'sli conduct, abaitdoned for a time all connec-
tion with the })lace, and the township icmained in a
most nt'glecti'd condition for a long [»ei-iod. In 1708,
250
HISTORY OF I.VWRBN'CKTOWy.
there were only three families in Lawrencetown ;
500 acres were cleared, and 19,500 were woodland.
At intervals a Scotcli or German family would pur-
chase a small farm and settle down to hard work,
but in the year 1N0<S there were only fifty inhabi-
tants in the whole settlement.
Previous to the date of the first grant, a few
French families had doubtless occupied the vicinity
of Lawrencetown. Murdoch, in his History of
Nova Scotia, (vol. II, p. 210), says that in 1752,
Mr. Morris, the surveyor, had gone to what was
tlien culled Musquodol)oit — now Lawrencetown and
Chezzetcook — escorted by Capt. Lewis and twenty
rangers. Mon-is, in his report to the governor,
nicntioiied the ruins of a French settlement, at what
is now Lawrencetf)wn, and iinother at Chez/etcook.
At Lawrencetown he Found the stones of two chim-
neys lying on the grouu«l whore the houses had been
burnt down, two thatched barns made of logs,
an<l a spring of water. The presence of a French
settlement at Lawi-encctown, would account for the
growth there of willow and other trees not native to
the soil.
Of tlm original gvantfcs, Benjamin (treen, Jr.,
retained tlie lands b, his own use and bequeathed
them to his descen hints. He was a son of Benjamin
C»rcen, Es.<j., government secretary at Louisltourg
M
lAWRENCETOWN.
251
and Jiftorwards memlior of the council at Halifax,
and treasurer of the ]irovince. Jjcnjaniin Gi-een, Ji-.,
was a man of considerable historical intei'cst : he
was unanimously elected representative of the
county of Halifax in 17<S2, and succeeded his father
as treasurer of the pi-ovince in 17G3.* He died
suddenly on 2nd Dccemher, 1703, leaving' a widow
and thirteen children. Of these Heniy% Joseph,
Susan and Elizabeth settled in Lawrencetown. These
four are all intimately connected with the mea^^re
history of the place, and several of their descendants
still hold and live on the same lands which were
granted to their p;i-andfather in l7o4.
Susan Green nia)-ried Capt. Samuel Parkei-, an
Enfrlishman then servin<]f with his rerriment in
Halifax, hut who afterwards retired on half-pay
and settled in Lawi-encetown. Tluy were the
parents of Capt. William Parker who fell at
Sebastopol in 1855, during the Crimean War.
At the public inauguration of the memorial
erected in 18G0 by the people of Halifax in the
cemetery opposite (jlovernment House, to the memory
* Munlocli (vol. II, p. 47.3) s.'iys this was in ITCiS. Coiiipiire,
liowever, liis wordn on ].age 110 of volume III, with tiiose on tlie
page just mentioned. For a liio;^niphiciil sketch of the elder
Benjamin Green, see S<lic/iou.'< from the Puldic Documnils of X. S.,
p. 509. -31.
263
HISTOHY OK LAWHKNCI-yroWN.
of Ciipt. Parker Jind Mitjor Wel.sford, lioth Xova
Sc()ti;ins wlio fell in the same f^'allant action, the Rev.
Dr. Hill ffave the i'ullowinjf sketch of the LaAvreiicc-
town hero : —
"Ciiiit. Saiiiiii'l Piirkcr of llic (lUli ri'uniiKMit U'.is tl
fatiiorol'tl
1(! ,s\llij(U
t of tl
lis VCl'V l)l'U
flint
ICC,
T
le
lis voiiiiu mail
was burn ;it l.aun^iicotowii, near Halifax, and was cdiicatcil
at Hiirtmi Acadoiiiy under the Rev. John i'rvor. His
mother, who liad Ixicomc a wi(h)W, olitaiiicd a comniis-
sion
for liini in Octolier, 1S:59. li'c wn
;azi
'tt,C(l
;i.s ensiini
in the saiiio rc^dmcnt in whitdi his fatlici' had obtained his
company, and was for u short time stationc(l in Halifax.
He was a inciiilicr of tlie .St. (Jcorp,'(!'s Society in tliis town.
In Fehruarv, ]X\'^, Parian' bcca me lieutenant, and excliau'red
to tJK! 7SLh Hi<r!il,inden
For twelve years lit; scrvcij ii
India, and was promoted as captain to the 77th Reifimcut
in January, 18.")5. He enjoyed his rank finly a few months.
On the .'hd of September, he liad an opportunity of sliow-
inf,' martial bravery, and he fully manifested it. Havinif
accompanied L'apt. rechell of the, sann' re,Ljiment, a <,^i!lant
youiii; olllcer, to post souK! sentini'ls in the advance(l breast-
work lU'ar the lledan, t!ie whole i)aitv, with the exeeptiuii
of Ca})t. Parker and one man, was killed by the enemy.
Ifaviiif^f sent this man to report the circumstances, a number
jf h
US:
iiaiis rushed out from the ranks to make hii
a prisoner, when he ably defendeil himself, shot two of
them with his revolver, and eventually succeeded in bringm^f
into camp the l)ody of his friend. i'"or his conduci on this
occasion, he is said to have received the thanks of the
• 'cneral commanding the li<dit ilivision, and was recom-
mendeil for the Victoria Ci
OSS.
lis })rave soldier
fell
111
the linal attack on the Kedan, on the 8th of Se]itember,
1855, in the thirtv-iifth year of his ai^e
ieaviii'f a wnlow
and three infant children to lament his death."
Elizabeth (Jreen niarrie<l William Stawell, a lieu-
tenant in an EnoHsh reo-iniont then stationed at
■KRH
LAWliENCKTOWN'.
253
HaliFiix 'I'Ik'V hnd a son wlio is still livinsf in
Law) iiicftowii.*
Josepli (Jix'LMi Mas a niaf,'istrate for tl.e town-
sliij>, and always lived tiiore. He was never married,
liut kejit liouse and lia<l a fjood farm at Lawi-ence-
town, where he dii d alioiit thirty years a.f,'*).
Henry (Jicen, anoiher son (>f Uenjannn (Jreen.Jr.,
was a lieutenant in tlie Koval Nova Scotia Keiri men t.
After leavir^ the arniy, he settled in Lawreneetown
on the estate ^'ranted his fatlier in 1754. He was
married and had sevei'al children — one was the wife
of the late William Coleman of Dartmouth.
With the (Ireen family, is exhausted all the
personal historicjd intei'est of the townshiji.
* William >Sttuvfll, Lieutenant OStli Rfgiinciit, horn, 1795,
in County Cork, Ireland, was son of liev. William .Sta«ell, at one
time Rector of Kilnialooda, and ncpliuw and sole male lieir of
Eustace Stawcll, Es(j., of (Joolmain Castle, Co. Coik. 'I'lirough
the hitter gentleman, he claimed, and was ai.kno\v!edgc<l liy the
family to he the iieir to the title and estates of Haron Stawell of
Koinerton, Co. Somerset, England. Lieut. Stawell served under
Wellington in the I'eninsular War, and ohtained medals for tlie
battles of Toulouse, Orthez, Pyrenees and Vitoria. He came to
Nova Scotia in June, hSKi, and married Miss (Jretn, I9th Novem-
ber, 1817, at Halifax. He had two sons, William Eustace, who
died unmarried in 1,S7<), and Wennian Ulankley, who still lives at
Lawreneetown. Lieut. .StawcU died in July, 1808, and is l)uried
beside his wife, who died in 18.")4, in tiie cemetery at Minesville
near Lawitncetown His surviving son, Wenman Hlankhy, i.s the
undoubted heir to the Stawell title and estates. He has two Hf)n3,
one of whom i.s married and resides in Halifax. — I am indebted
to A. G. Troop, Es(j. , barrister, for the above information. — A'l/.
254
IIIHT<)RV OK LAWREN'CETOW.V.
) '
i
i
L.'iwrencetown is an L'Xcee(liuL,'Iy pretty stretch
of country, its liarboui' and Iteach are much
aibnired by tourists. The soil, especially that of the
nieadowlands, is fertile and yields f^'ood cro[)s. Part
of tlu! marsh is reclaimed from the sea l»y means
of a dyke. The followinfj, whicli relates to this
work, is (juoted from the Jc^urnals of the House of
Assembly of IS — : "On 4th March, a petition
of the proprietors and those interested in marsh-
lands lyin(f on the e.istern riven* of Lawrence-
town, was presented by Mr. Lawson, praying
aid in dyking a (piantit^'^ of niar.sh-land on that
river." " On 2oth March, said petition was read,
and Mr. Lawson moved that it be refei'reil to
the committee of supply. On division, there appeareil
twelve for and eighteen against the prayer, so the
petition was withdrawn."
Subsequently, those interested in this project —
persons living in Lawrencetown who were anxious
to increase the value of their property — proceeded
with the work of reclaiming the land from the sea, by
building a dyke at their own expense. William Crook
and Henry Green were the engineers-in-chief. Their
energy was equal to every condition, and a large area
was successfully reclaimed. All things considered, it
was a work of magnitude and difficulty. Their
descendants receive, each year, substantial benefit in
LAWHENCICTOWX.
Ibb
tlic Movi.'r-fjiilin(,'croi) of hay, which, thou^^h of inferior
(|uality to that of tlie ori^niial inarMh-hind, is still most
valuaMc for fodder and other farm jnirposes. More
scientific engineers, in om- own day, nn'jffht learn some
valuahle lessons, which would ffuide them in greater
enterprises, by a study of the work of William C'l'ook
and Henry (Jreen at Lawrencetown Dvke — a woi'k
which is a monument till tliis time of their skill and
persevei'ance.
(Jold was first found in Lawrencetown in 1802.
In common with similar discoveries in the county of
Halifax, it was supposed that the presence of the
precious metal would at once insure the pi-ospei-ity
of the settlement. Both alluvial and quartz mines
were worked for several years in an intermittent
way at Lawrencetown and also at Chezzetcook. 'J'he
results were the same at hoth places. Minei's were
kept alternately in a state of hope and <lespondency.
A good find was followed hy days and weeks of
disappointment. Three crushers were established
at L iwrencetown, but their returns were unsatisfac-
tory. More money was spent in opening the mines
than Mas ever afterwards taken out of them ; and
whatever niay be in stoi-e for the future pros-
pector, the result up to this date has been most
disappointing.
.I"i" 1
L>nfi
iriHToIiV (ir hAWUKXClCTdWN.
Ovor the lotifj ro.id from Lawroncotown to Dart-
iiioiitli, the farmers or their wives drive week l)y
week witli produce for the Halifax market. Their
butter, vejL^etalth'S, and poultiy arc always highly
esteemed. (Jammnti's hutter at one tiui" had as ^'ood
u local reputation as the " <,nlt-edif('d " h;is in the
American market.
The people of Lawi-cm-etown are mostly Presby-
terians, 'i'liev have a church and i-csident minister.
The inhabitants nov»' ari,' principally the descendants
of Scotch and German families, and verv few remain,
in a direct line, of the twcMity jiropi'ictois who
once owned Lawrencctown. The (iammons, Hissctts,
Robinsf)ns, Ciilescs, Morashes, and Lawlors, aic aniont,'
the oldest and liest known names in the townslii[).
The farm latids ain; more fertih^ in a[»pearaiice
than most in Halifax C(auity. At many points the
scenerv is \ei'v beautiful. The iiroxiinitv of the
place to the sea, with its fresh, ln'iny air, sandy
beach, and ceaseless rliN'thm of restless waves, all
unite to make Lawrencctown a most pleasant resort.
About New Year, 17f>S, the seliooui'r Hero,
Tliomas Cunnin^diam, master, was driven by Uwn-
pestuous weather into (.'ole Harboui'. lie and his
ci'ew received tlie most ^^encirous treatment from
Mr. Mundy, an a<,a'd man inhabiting a cottaije there,
wiio j^ave them all the provi.sions he had stored up
roi.E iiAnnnun.
m
for rbe use of his family throu<^'lu)Ut the winter..
These; snjjplies C'iiiiniii<.fliiim received on board Iuh
vessel, iiiid thou started for Sahlo Island, where on
14tli December, before bein^ blown oft' his course, he
had seen about thirty men making' appeals for help.
At that time he had been unable to render assistance,
as the storm had i)i-evented him from reachiiiL' the
island. Now on his return, he found that the men
had been i-eseued by another vessel. Mr. Munvly's
^'enerous conduct deserves to bo extolled, in honour
of himself and Cole Harbour.
Cole Harbour settlement is a pretty part of the
township of Lawrencetown. The InVliway Ieadln<^
thither passes over some steep hills and often ulon^f
the very edge of the water. There are some tine
farms there, and good seii fishing. One of the first
hou.ses in the place was built by Mi-. Thomas
Beamisli, giandfather of Dr. Thomas Beamish Akins
of the Record Commission of Nova Scotia. It was
part of tlie Mai-oon estate which extended across the
country to Cole Harbour. The Ikjusc was long and
low, completely shaded by trees, and very gloomy in
appearance. Col. John Stewart, a I'etired army officer,
lived there for many ycai's.* He married a Mi.ss
* In nil old map drawn on paper water-marked 1795, Col.
Stewart's house is shown on the west side of the western l)oundary
of Lawrencetown, and close to whei-e Smelt Brook flows into Cole
Harbour. — Ed,
w
S0i
IIIHTOUY OK LAWIIKN'CETOWN.
Ko^'^'s, sistoi" of tlio lato Thoiniis l>o^f(s, Sciii'.
Stewart wns u tnosfc cheerful uiid kindly man,
lios|tital)lo in tlir cxtreine, and a ^'reat favourite
with his nt'i^ddiours.
Cole Harbour fir many years had a meeting-
house which was used by all donomitiations for the
worship of (}()d. Some years a^o, the menihei's of
the Church of En^^dand erected a small church vvhi(!h
IS now used freijuently. They have a resident
clerfiyman who has charf,'o of this and the East«'rn
Passa;,'e congrc'^^'atlons.
A f:freat deal of money has been expended at Cole
Harboui', in the emleavour to dyke a portion of the low
harbour land.* Several unsuccessful attempts having
been made, the work was at last tho\jnfht to be
perfect, but the sea rushed in an<l the whole under-
taking was ruined. After these repeated failures,
the d^d^o is at present established, but only small
portions of tlu^ land have been reclaimed. The
(juality of the grass raised on the dyke is inferior,
and the undertaking ha.s not met with the success
anticipated, nor by any means repaid the promoters
for their outlay.
* An act to incorporate the Cole Ilarljonr Dyke Company, waa
passed in March, 1845. (Vide Acts of that date, cap. 33). — Ed.
■
INOKX.
Aoiiili.'uis It'iul iittiick nil 1) , 11.
/\tiii'ric'iiii citKcciM lit I'rcntoii, l,*").
Alli'ii ftiul Siiiynt'i'M tanyanl, 108.
Aiiii''x V MiriNi's, !i"i;iil(nit, .^7.
/Vnvillc'.s, Due d', exjiocjition, 5,
10, 'JO.
Axo mill 1 iiMur ciimpiiiiy, (15.
I'.MpiiHt ('liiiicli in l> . S")
MciimiMh 'riiom.'vs, 2 w.
lU^iiiiet'H >('li(ii)l iioir .\lltiir» tan-
yanl, HI.
l'.li)i;k-h(.iiHi) lit I)., .S <l; lit L.,'2-1S.
lio.nr built, .'"•.'1.
HiewciV, T , f. rrv, ■l^.
Biick-yiiid, I'rfscuttit Mntt'.n, !):? ;
Petoia iiiid liliicklnck's 'M.
liridgt! iicrns.s I liirln.ur, V.K 12:>.
liriiiley, (J. IJ , 110
lirook Hi(ii«o, liti. Stju iilsd I'Miiyoi'
Ciiiml, SliubuiiiiCJidio. .Sno Sliuhoii-
aciidie.
Cemetery, Church of Kn^l^md, 70;
imlilic; 7'.i; R. Citholic, 81, x->.
Chiiiiil)(!ilaii), T., and faiiiilv, 2.'),
171, r.m.
C/iehiirtii built, 51.
Chebucto Marine Kaihva\ , 12.'.
Chesapeake nej;roi'.i, 187.
Clirist thiirch, 71 ; rectorn, 78.
Church of Kiigland in IJ. , 70 ; in
Preston, I'Jt.
Churcli Hill, Preston, 194.
Church histiirv, Durtniouth, 70 ;
Pioston, 19i,
Clarence, Kot, If), i)0.
Cole Harbour, 2"i(), dyke, 258.
Coleman, Seth, 22.
Colley, (loorge. 220.
Common, Dartmouth, 20. (JO.
Connor's, John, ferry. 17, .'tO, -42
Cow Kay, 80.
Creighton family, 45.
Creighton'H or Lower Ferry 44, 47.
I>an.ieville, (i(jvernor, 131, I'M. '
Dartmouth founded. 7 ; attacked,
10; iiopulatiim (1752) IC, (17r>2)
10, (1871) (iO, (1887) (i(i. (I8'.ll),(i',);
whalers settle, 10; conimon, 20,
00; incorporated, (15; water sup-
ply, G7 ; sewerage, G8 ; electric
lights, C8.
/)'irlm»iith,f>b-:\m^>i'n^, built, !)'.
I'liitmoiith Ji'itieM ,'c Mti^jimierH, (i!l.
I>esl'.ris.v, Uev. M. H., 7.i.
Dunciin, Forf, ne.ir l?lark Kock.dO.
I)ust;in, (!. (t., 112.
FiiiRtern I'assngo. 80,
Kleotr c light in I)., (18,
Fairbanks. C W.. .S4
FidrhiuikH, .fiihn K., 92.
I''iiirliiiiiks. Ij. p., l)iiyHeiiial .'!(»,
Ferry e-italili-hed, 17, 30; aHsigr)e<l
to Wynne k .Maii'lmrne, 12, 43 ;
J. R''.ck. 43 ; .1. Sk. rry. 44, 4ii ;
te.im-hoats, ,50 ; Sir (' O'/ff :w\
J)ti.rir built, .53 ; Mirimir iind
Clirltiicliihwilf. 54; new eimipany.
55; Ddi'tianiith built, 55; coiM-
missiou formed, 5li ; aeeidenf. on
arrival of Annex i' {Ilnlifd.e), 57.
Ferry, rVeightonH or L'uver, 41;
Findbiy, 47 ; I'rcwer, 48.
Ferry at north end, 19, .59.
Findlay's, J., ferry, 47
Fire engine coini)anv, 05.
l''olger, Timothy, 19, 20.
Floyer. Margaret, 108, 131,
l'"ree negroes, loti.
French prisoners at D., 00 at
Preston, 1,58.
( Jf-rinans picket !)., lO.
( Joverndr's (Went worth's) f:ui!i,
220.
(iray. Rev. 15. (J., 1(;.5, lOD
(ireen f.iniily, 177, 2.5il,
Hiiil capturiid by Indiiins, l.'i.
Hall, Frai,eis, 29. .SO.
Hart, SHninol, 180.
Hilclreth, !s!>ac. 2.5.
Howy,Capt.. in charge of Maroons,
171
lce-cuttins{ 120
Indians, 5, 7, 8, 10.
Industries, present, of I),, 112
lii-lis. Rev. C., 72 141
Inbmd Navig ti'<n < 'o , 3<.
.Iolii:stoiie, Hon. J. \V . o;).
.Fones c'lil Ireii drowned, 115
Jordiin, William, 200.
Katzniann. Lieut. C. C, 182.
Lake & River Navigation Co., 35.
pll™"''
200
INDEX.
Liiwreucetowii gi'iinteil. 247; troops
witlidiawii. '249 ; dyked, 254 ;
gold discovured, 255.
Lawsoii, Mrs. W illiani, Ib.S
Loon, Lake, 227.
Lower Ferry. See Creiglitoii's
Ferry.
Lyle & Cliii[)el, shipyiirds (^f, (i;3.
.Maci' ,ial(l, l)r., (li!ia}>i)eitiB, 14(i.
Jiutil of the Mill, first vessel built
in D., (W.
Manor Hill, 101.
^Maroon Had, 105, 170.
Maroons, Kil.
Miiyniiril's Lake, 101.
Meaghur childien lost in woods, 224.
Meclimdcs' Institntrt building, 04.
Methodist Church, b7.
Mkriiac built, 54
Mill, Hartslionie'«&Treniaine'K,02.
Molyneu.x, Mary. 241.
Montagu, Col. (ioorge, 2;3i).
Montagu gold mines, 240.
Morris, Cliarles, and fam'iy, 227.
Mott family, 93, 97, 218.
Monnt Hope Asylum, 94.
Mount An^elia, 99.
Mtmn Edward, 110.
Mozanzien, Mr., 144,
Mundy, Mr. , 250.
Nantucket whwlers, 19, 20.
NegroeH from Chesapeake Bay,
187 See also Free negroes,
Maroons.
Ochterlony. A., 16.3, 171.
Oldmixon, Sir John, 241.
Parker. Capt., 251.
Port.ibello House, 103.
Post Office, 69.
Potteiy works, Hornsby's 94.
Presbyterian Church, 00, 82.
Preseott family, 93. 181.
Presti.. . grai.ted, 151, gran'ets,
152, 157 ; church hi.'-'tory. 194
Prince Aithur's Park, 100.
Pyke scalped, 12.
(Quaker mettiiig-house, 22 ; ceme-
tery, 79. See also Nantucket
whalers.
t^uarrell. W. D., 102, 103, 170.
Railway, 123.
Keri ding-room, 07.
Kefiiievy. See Woodside.
Hock's, J., ferry, 43.
Roman Catholic Church, 79.
Hopewalk. 118.
Uussell family and murder of
Mary R, 125, 1«5.
St. James's Church, 82.
St. John's Parish, 70.
St. Peter's Chapel, 79.
Saw-mill (Gilnian's) in I), cove, 4.
Schools, 67.
Sewerage of D., 68.
Shiels, Andre.w, 101.
Shipyards of Lyle k Chapel. 03.
tShubeniicadie Canal, 24-38 ; begun,
31 ; Inlarid Navigation Co , .33 ;
opened, 34 ; Luke & Hiver Navi-
gation Co , 35 ; I. ought by L. P.
Fairliiiiiks, 30 ; e.vpuiise, 37.
Siv Charlfi ikih: built, 53.
Skerry's, .F , firry, 44, 40.
Soiith and son die in Btorni, 221.
Smith, Titus, and faunly, 157. 205.
Starbuck, S., 19, 20.
.St.irr Manufacturing Co . 114
Stawell, Lieut., and family, 2.53.
Steam-boat Co., 50. See also Ferry.
Stewart, Col. John, 257.
Tales of D., 125 ; Freston. 221.
Tanviiril, Stayncr & Allen's, 108.
Team-boat, 50.
Thompson, Lt.-Col. G. F., 232.
Truro post-road, 103.
Union protection co., 65.
Water sup[)ly of D., 07.
Waverley, 104.
Wentworth's farm at Preston, 220.
Westphal, .vdmiral P., 201 ; Sir
(i. A., 203.
Wlialiis. See Niintuckot whalers.
Windmill Ro^.d. 103.
Wcodliiwn Cemetery, 13, 109, 130,
14!, 150, 220
Woo.lside and Woodside Uefintry,
92, 112.
Wynne & Manthorne's ferry, 42, 43.