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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 
 
IMAGE EVALUATION 
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 33 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, NY. 14580 
 
 (716) 873-4503 
 
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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 
 
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 Photographic 
 
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 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 
 
 1 
 
 (1 M 
 
 i 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 11 5 
 
 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 
 
■ ■ .11 
 
 18G 
 
 IIIrtl'DriV OF PilKSTON. 
 
 
 
 
 %: 
 
 •1' ,1 
 
 S)' 
 
 i 
 
 i; ' 
 
 11 > 
 
 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 
 
 yi 
 
 f' 
 
 I 
 
 l^ 
 
 I !,;Ji 
 

 190 
 
 UIHTOHY OF rUK.ST(»N. 
 
 L»«"t 
 
 r 
 
 Ir. ' 
 I ^' 
 
 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 
 
 & ^! 
 
i" 
 
 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. 
 
 
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 if\ 
 

 B: 
 
 r 
 
 ■TV ' 
 
 192 
 
 HISTORY OF PUKHTnX. 
 
 Kit 
 In , 
 1^! 
 
 It! 
 
 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 
 
 i 
 
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 f: 
 
■'11'.'-^ ■ 'l. ^ 
 
 It 
 
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 !'*■ 
 
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 k'v!' •■' 
 
 Hi 
 
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 j -t 1 
 
 
 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. 
 
 Mi 
 
n^ 
 
 W' 
 
 Ittri! 
 
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 Wgj[4 
 
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 Pnt 
 
 st^ • , 
 
 
 
 >vft;5 
 
 
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 Sf^h 
 
 
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 V 
 
 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 
 i 
 
■ 
 
 
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 220 
 
 HISTORY OF rilESTON'. 
 
 B'f r- 
 
 'm 
 
 > 
 
 %'■ 
 
 !,- 
 
 L;*K'.. 
 
 -'. 
 
 P' ' ' 
 
 < 1 
 
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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 
 
 .M'! 
 
 
v 
 
 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 
 
 m 
 
 1^ 
 
 
 
 ■^v 
 
 
 
 th 
 
 
 
 ' 'rtu 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 f^f 
 
 W. 
 
 1. 
 
 •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. 
 
 ('0 
 
w 
 
 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 
 
 ■i ' 
 
 
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, 
 
 
mmm 
 
 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.