A pretty full account of the siege of Fort Cumberland will be found in the Canadian Archives for 1894, pp. 355–366. Other particulars are to be found in Kidder’s Military Operations in Eastern Maine and Nova Scotia, pp. 67–74.
Some of the Indian pledges were valuable. Wm. Hazen says that among the articles that escaped the notice of the privateers-men on this occasion were eight silver arm clasps, two of which he afterwards sold for £4.
The memory of Gilfred Studholme is preserved in Guilford (properly Gilfred) street in Carleton. For some years Charlotte street in St. John was called Studholme street. A parish of Kings County also bears his name.
This illustration is made from a water color sketch in the possession of Mrs. William Hazen—the oldest known picture of Saint John. The sketch was taken from a point about the site of the deBury residence south of St. Luke’s Church. It dates about the year 1818.
In Col. Franklin’s memorandum of expenses incurred in negotiating the Indian treaty the following item appears: “To cash pd. to James White, Esq’r, for services among and with the Indians from the 2d. April, 1778, to the 20th October inclusive, part of which time he ran great risques both of his life & being carried off Prisoner, £50.10.0.
Lorenso Sabine in his Loyalists of the American Revolution credits William Knox, of Georgia, with proposing the formation of the eastern part of Maine into the Province of “New Ireland,” with Thomas Oliver for governor and Daniel Leonard as chief-justice.
The receipt of these articles at the hands of James White was acknowledged at Aukpaque, June 26, 1780, by Francis Xavier, and five other chiefs.
The requirements of the garrison insured a ready market for all the beef Hazen, Simonds & White and their tenants could furnish, indeed at times it was necessary to send to the settlements up the river for a supply. When the garrison was first fixed at Fort Howe, James White made a trip to Maugerville and purchased nine yoke of oxen for their use from Asa Perley, Thomas Barker, Daniel Jewett, Henry Miller, John Esty, Nathan Smith, David Dow, Peter Mooers and Richard Barlow. The agreement in each case was similar to the following:
“Maugerville, November 16, 1777.
“I promise to deliver to Mr. James White, or his order, two oxen coming five years old, when the ice is strong sufficient to bear them to drive to the mouth of this River, said White paying me on delivery fifty-five dollars. Witness my hand—
“ASA PERLEY.”
Frederick Dibblee was a Loyalist, a graduate of Columbia College (N.Y.); afterwards rector of Woodstock, N. B. He went to Medoctec as a lay missionary teacher to the Indians under an arrangement with an English Society for the propagation of the Gospel amongst the Indians. There were at Medoctec in 1788 about seventy Indian families including 98 men, 74 women, 165 children; total, 337 souls.
Mon. Diereville states that in 1700 the man of war Avenant, of 44 guns, shipped at St. John some very fine masts for the French navy, which had been manufactured by 14 carpenters and mast makers. These were safely delivered in France after a prosperous voyage of 33 days.
Among the James White papers is the following:
“Aupahag, 26th June, 1780.
“Received from James White, Esq., agent to Indians, River St. John, the goods sent them by the Governor for the purpose of protecting the Contractor, his people and masts from the Rebels, etc., etc.
(Signed) Francis Xavier, Nichola Nepton, Francis Joseph, Andrew Fransway, Joseph Pemahawitt, Pierre Meductsick.
John Wentworth was the last Royal Governor of New Hampshire. He was a classmate and friend of John Adams, at Harvard. He was an active Loyalist, and at the close of the Revolution, came to Nova Scotia. He was made a baronet and for sixteen years filled the position of Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. He died at Halifax in 1820 in the 84th year of his age.
This was probably the first suit of the kind in the Province of New Brunswick. Elias Hardy was Davidson’s attorney and Ward Chipman appeared on behalf of James Simonds.
The document was dated at Maugerville the 15th October, 1781. The parties to the agreement were on the one hand Francklin, Hazen & White; and on the other hand Francklin, Hazen, White & Peabody. The second party were to deliver to the first at Fort Howe “by the first Freshes in the Spring” the masts, yards, etc., mentioned in the contract. One third of the profit or loss to be the said Samuel Peabody’s and two-thirds to be the said Michael Francklin, Wm. Hazen and James White’s.
Thomas Langan lived at this time about four miles above St. Ann’s Point. On his lot there was a log house and he had about 20 acres of land, cleared chiefly by the French. He lived there about six years but was disturbed by the Indians, who, about this time, killed his cattle and made his situation so precarious that he moved down the river with his family to Burton.
The townships of the St. John’s River Society are here referred to, more particularly Burton, Sunbury and New-town. Wm. Hazen, James Simonds and James White were proprietors of lands in these townships, and Peabody regarded Wm. Davidson as an intruder.
The reference is to George Andrew, government purveyor, who surveyed the masts furnished by Mr. Davidson’s workmen.
My authority for this is Adam Beveridge, Esq., of Andover, than whom few, if any, living men are better posted on the history of lumbering on the St. John river.—W. O. R.
Many facts of interest concerning the early days of Rowley are to be found in the History of Rowley by Thomas Gage, printed in 1840. It contains a genealogical register of the families of some of the first settlers of the town.
Nathan Frazier of Andover, Essex Co., Mass., merchant, on 15th October, 1767, delivered sundry articles—such as crockery, sugar, spices, cloth goods, etc., to Richard Peabody “for his brother, Capt. Francis Peabody.” The articles amounted in value to £311.18.1, old currency, and Richard Peabody gave his note for this amt.
See Dr. Hannay’s sketch of the Township of Maugerville; N. B. Hist. Society Collections, vol. I., p. 72.
Rev. Jacob Bailey writes regarding an epidemic of smallpox at Annapolis in 1794. “What is somewhat remarkable, numbers died under inoculation, while the old sexton who took it in the natural way, though 98 years of age, recovered.”
See Jonas Howe’s interesting account of “Kemble Manor” in the New Brunswick Magazine of September, 1898.
Henry Gage served as lieutenant in the Seventh regiment during the Revolutionary war, and on the death of his uncle, Viscount Gage, inherited the family titles and estate in Sussex, England.
Stephen Kemble was born in 1740 at New Brunswick in New Jersey; was ensign in the 44th regiment under Lord Howe at Ticonderoga in 1757. In 1765 he became captain in the 60th or Royal American regiment, major in 1775 and Lieut.-Colonel in 1778. He was for a while Deputy Adjutant General of the forces in America, a position filled a little later by Major John Andre. Col. Kemble retired from active service in 1805. He eventually returned to his native town of New Brunswick in New Jersey and died in the house where he was born, Dec. 20, 1822, in the 82nd year of his age.
The names of the associates in this grant were Dorothy Sterling, Walter Sterling, jr., Christopher Sterling, Ann Sterling, William Sterling, Andrew Sterling, John Ewer, Walter Ewer and John Francis.
The two preachers were in all probability Rev. Theodore S. Harding and Rev. Joseph Crandall. See Dr. Bill’s History of the Baptists, page 698. The people referred to as “Brooksites” by Sheriff Bates were the founders of the Baptist denomination in Waterborough and Canning, Queens county, N. B., over whom Rev. Elijah Estabrooks presided as teaching elder, with Joseph E. Brooks (or Estabrooks) as deacon, and Zebulon Estey as clerk. An interesting account of the origin of this church is to be found in Dr. Bill’s Hist. of the Baptists pp. 594–602. Another reference to the “Hammonites” and “Brooksites” will be found in the Winslow Papers, page 392.
That is the portage to Marble Cove, or Indiantown, above the falls. This portage is shown in Champlain’s plan of Saint John. It was used by the Indians long before the coming of the whites.
Dr. Seabury was consecrated first Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, November 14th, 1784.
Sampson Salter Blowers was appointed chief justice of Nova Scotia in 1809. He died in 1842 in his 100th year having outlived all his contemporaries. He was a man of wonderful vitality and is said never to have worn an overcoat.
Frederick Hauser, one of the agents, was a surveyor. A number of grants made to the Loyalists were laid out by him.
See “Kingston and the Loyalists of 1783,” in which Walter Bates’ narrative is edited, with notes by the author of this history; published at St. John by Barnes & Co. in 1889.
Amongst the documents at Halifax relating to the settlement of the Loyalists at St. John is the following receipt:
River St. John, 30 September, 1783.
“Rec’d from Gilfred Studholme, Esq. the sum of £72.10.0 Halifax currency for superintending his office for conducting the settlement of and issuing lumber to the Loyalists within the district of St. John from the 9th May to 30th September, 1783, both days included, at 10 shillings pr. day for which I have signed three receipts of the same tenor and date.
SAM’L DENNY STREET.
It is a question whether or not the passengers of this ship are included in Sir Guy Carleton’s return of the 17th July, which appears at p. 354.
The names of the corps found in the margin of the original letter are, Queens Rangers, Kings American Regiment, Detachment of Garrison Battalion, New York Volunteers, 1st De Lanceys, 2nd De Lanceys, Loyal American Regiment. 2nd Do., 3d Do., Prince of Wales American Regiment, Pennsylvania Loyalists, Maryland Loyalists, American Legion, Guides and Pioneers, Detachment Kings American Dragoons, Detachment North Carolina Volunteers.
Transcriber’s Note:
Author’s archaic and variable spelling, hyphenation, and quoting practices are preserved.
Author’s punctuation style is preserved.
Illustrations have been moved closer to their relevant paragraphs, but page numbers in the list of illustrations have not been changed.
The List of Illustrations has been moved from the end to the front of this HTML version.
A Table of Contents has been added to this HTML version.
Footnotes have been collected and placed at the end of this HTML version.
Any missing page numbers in this HTML version refer to blank or un-numbered pages in the original.
Typographical problems have been changed and these are highlighted.
Transcriber’s Changes:
Page 7: Was ’a lowed’ (Bessabez, the sagamore of the Penobscot Indians, allowed the body of the dead chief to be taken home)
Page 8: Was ’o’ (One of the islands in that vicinity the early English settlers afterwards called “Isle of Vines,”)
Page 12: Was ’Baird’ (Biard relates that a certain sagamore on hearing that the young King of France was unmarried,)
Page 14: Was ’therr’ (This fact should be remembered to their credit by those who most abhor their bloodthirstiness and cruelty.)
Page 19: Was ’villiage’ (Chkoudun lived at “Menagoueche” in his fortified village on Navy Island when Champlain invited him to go with the Sieur de Poutrincourt)
Page 19: Was ’Cahmplain’ (Chkoudun lived at “Menagoueche” in his fortified village on Navy Island when Champlain invited him to go with the Sieur de Poutrincourt)
Page 20: Was ’Baird’ (was the scene of an exciting incident of which Biard has left us a picturesque description.)
Page 27: Was ’beseigers’ (For three days Madame la Tour bravely repelled the besiegers and obliged them to retire beyond the reach of her guns.)
Page 36: as per errata note: Was ’bllier afterwards became the mission of’ (The islands which the bishop mentions are the well known and beautiful islands below the mouth of the Keswick stream.)
Page 40: Was ’commissioned’ (Villebon was favorably received and returned with a commission from the king to command in Acadia.)
Page 43: Was ’ingrediants’ (At this time they presented the Indians with a bag or two of flour with some prunes as ingredients for a feast.)
Page 43: Added closing double quote (“July 10, 1696. M. Thury, missionary, having arrived with Taxous, chief of the Canibas and other savages from Pentagouet; brandy, 1 gallon; tobacco, 2 lbs.”)
Page 48: Added closing double-quote (whereby they will be greatly strengthened and the reducing of them rendered more difficult.”)
Page 49: Was ’the the’ (Villebon assigned to Baptiste and Rene d’Amours the duty of heading the Indians and opposing the landing of the English.)
Page 51: Was ’opertion’ (the English again got their guns into operation, but la Cote,)
Page 52: Was ’rendevous’ (with ammunition and supplies and sent on to the rendezvous at Penobscot.)
Page 55: Was ’the the’ (Mathieu’s seigniory included all the land “between Gemisik and Nachouac,”)
Page 63: Was ’Mademe (Some days after he took an affecting leave of Madame d’Amours and his master went down to)
Page 63: Was ’fourtunes’ (The next year France and England were again at war and in the course of the conflict the fortunes of the d’Amours)
Page 71: Was ’in in’ (However, early in the morning we took our loads of moose flesh)
Page 77: Was ’sterness’ (His disposition had nothing of sternness, yet he was equally beloved)
Page 79: Added closing double quote (to induce Mr. Shirley to allow them to settle again in their villages, and to leave their missionaries undisturbed as they were before the war.”)
Page 83: Removed closing double quote (we Incamped this Night at this afforsaid Indian Village Apog. (Aukpaque.)”)
Page 83: Added closing double quote (or Bread, we Incamped this Night at this afforsaid Indian Village Apog. (Aukpaque.)”)
Page 89: Was ’Mascaerne’ (Annapolis early in 1744, which attack failed on account of the energy and bravery of Mascarene.)
Page 98: Added closing double quote (“It is desirable,” he writes, “that the savages should unite in opposing the English)
Page 101: Was ’main-maist’ (Vergor had a new main-mast cut and drawn from the woods by the crew of the St. Francis)
Page 101: Was ’illict’ (St. Francis was confiscated for engaging in illicit commerce in the province of his Britannic Majesty.)
Page 102: Was ’warike’ (she was engaged in furnishing warlike munitions to the Indian enemy)
Page 102: Was ’anticipatd’ (The Marquis de la Jonquiere anticipated great advantages from the overland route of communication.)
Page 111: Was ’benfits’ (It was claimed that many benefits would follow, chiefly that the lumbermen)
Page 115: Was ’removel’ (about the removal of the Acadians from Chignecto and the River St. John.)
Page 124: Added closing double quote (and the Micmacs he would be able to form a camp of 600 or 700 men, and Drucour could frequently place the besiegers between two fires.”)
Page 133: Was ’Menagoeche’ (the English were engaged in rebuilding the old Fort at Menagoueche; the Indians of the River St. John had retired with the Rev. Father Germain,)
Page 141: original spelling: Guidry ... Guirdy (“At Menagoueck, the year of grace 1681, the 2 June, have baptized according to the forms of the Church, Jeanne Guidry, child of Claude Guirdy dit la Verdure and of Keskoua)
Page 144: Was ’arrranged’ (Gerrish agreed to buy goods and sell them to on furs sold, and the prices to be so arranged that the Indians)
Page 144: Was ’skin skin’ (the same standard: Moose skin, 1½ “beavers”; bear skin, 1⅓ “beavers”; 3 sable skins, 1 “beaver”; 6 mink skins, 1 “beaver”; 10 ermine skins, 1 “beaver”;)
Page 144: Was ’1 1-3’ (the same standard: Moose skin, 1½ “beavers”; bear skin, 1⅓ “beavers”; 3 sable skins, 1 “beaver”; 6 mink skins, 1 “beaver”; 10 ermine skins, 1 “beaver”;)
Page 146: Was ’Goverment’ (the vicinity of their village was early recognized by the Government of Nova Scotia)
Page 147: Was ’rendevous’ (The island opposite Aukpaque, called Indian Island, was the place where the Indians of the river made their annual rendezvous.)
Page 148: Was ’river’ (However, very shortly after Monckton’s occupation of the St. John River Lawrence issued the first of his celebrated proclamations)
Page 165: Was ’and and’ (Grog was at that time freely dispensed in the army and navy, and Mauger erected a distillery)
Page 165: Was ’inculding’ (As the business was lucrative he soon accumulated much property in and around Halifax, including the well known Mauger’s Beach)
Page 175: Added closing double quote (M. WILMOT. RICH’D BULKELEY, Secretary.” })
Page 190: Was ’Phippin (land was first described by Judith Phippen, which proved to be the headland now called “Point Judith.”)
Page 190: Was ’Parley’ (the ancestors of many well known families in America, bearing the familiar names of Peabody, Perley, Beardsley)
Page 190: Was ’Ticonderga’ (with his cousin Captain John Hazen in the campaign against Fort Ticonderoga.)
Page 198: Was ’ilustration’ (See illustration on preceding page of a recent ice-jam at this place.)
Page 203: Was ’rom’ (She made occasional voyages from St. John to St. Croix in the West Indies. )
Page 219: Was ’and and’ (“consigned to Richard Barlow storekeeper at St. John’s and passenger on board for the use of the St. John’s society.”)
Page 222: Was ’o’ (The avidity manifested by the agent of the St. John’s River Society in seeking favors at the hands of government would seems to countenance the idea)
Page 222: Added closing double-quote (to the express condition of the Grant will absolutely be declared forfeited.”)
Page 224: Added closing double-quote (Proprietors, agent with whom you will please correspond on any occurrence regarding the settlement.”)
Page 247: Was ’Bailey’ (In the summer of 1767, Father Charles Francois Bailly came to the River St. John)
Page 255: Was ’here’ (but up to this time there had been no opportunity for church-going.)
Page 255: Was ’pslams’ (with the exception of a copy of Watt’s psalms and hymns owned by James White.)
Page 261: Was ’rooom’ (but alas for them the force of events left no room for neutrality.)
Page 265: Was ’and, and’ (The people of Machias were particularly fond of plundering their neighbors, and that place was termed)
Page 267: Was ’commissiary’ (The commissary general there was directed to deliver them one barrel of gunpowder)
Page 267: Was ’of of’ (one barrel of gunpowder, 350 flints and 250 weight of lead from the colony’s stores;)
Page 273: Was ’Aukaque’ (John Allan and his party arrived at the Indian village of Aukpaque where forty or fifty Indians)
Page 279: Added closing double-quote (Capt. Benjamin Marston on board his vessel the “Brittania”, which was then lying at anchor)
Page 280: Was ’Passamoquoddy’ (He came to Passamaquoddy about 1770, settled there and was appointed a justice of the peace in 1774.)
Page 298: Was ’Perre’ (We may therefore conclude that Pierre Thoma did not long survive his old friend and Patron Michael Francklin.)
Page 305: Was ’Franklin’s’ (Francklin’s political influence at Halifax and the personal friendship of Sir Andrew Snape Hamond,)
Page 307: Was ’Franklin’ (Col. Francklin procured at Halifax many articles needed for the mast cutters, such as chains, blocks and tackle, camp supplies, etc.)
Page 309: Was ’Frankcklin’ (as we expected when Col. Francklin left this place.)
Page 311: Changed single to double closing-quote (he has raised the price of provision and men and Ox labour—oxen to 7s. 6d. pr. pair pr. day and men in proportion.”)
Page 311: Was ’renumerative’ (The masting business seems to have been remunerative, and was the means of putting in circulation a considerable amount of specie, which was greatly appreciated)
Page 315: Was ’jealously’ (This election helped to intensify the ill-will and jealousy already existing between the “old” and “new” inhabitants.)
Page 320: Moved onto new line (“County of Sunbury:—Be it Remembered that on the Seventh Day of July, 1774, Nathaniel Barker of Maugerville in the County of)
Page 324: Was ’the the’ (Item, to my daughter Heprabeth I give three hundred dollars to be paid by my two eldest sons in household goods on the day of her marriage.)
Page 326: Was ’Gearge’ ((Witnesses.) Daniel Palmer, Fran’s Peabody, Sam’l Whitney, Richard Estey, George Hayward, David Palmer, Edw’d Coy.”)
Page 326: Was ’caol’ (Joseph Garrison is said to have been the first of the settlers to engage in mining coal at Grand Lake.)
Page 327: Was ’vacciantion’ (Inoculation, it may be observed, was regarded as the best preventative of small-pox before vaccination was introduced by Dr. Jenner.)
Page 333: Was ’Baubiers’ (“At the entrance of a small river called Baubier’s River or narrow Piece [Nerepis] the land a considerable distance back is good upland but no Interval.)
Page 338: Added comma (One son, George Frederick Street, was a judge of the supreme court, another, John Ambrose Street, was attorney general of the province and leader of the government)
Page 346: Was ’Bostford’ (The agents chosen were Messrs. Amos Botsford, Samuel Cummings and Frederick Hauser.)
Page 348: Was ’Bridgwater’ (“Ann,” Capt. Clark; “Bridgewater,” Capt. Adnet; “Favorite,” Capt. Ellis;)
Page 358: Was ’Bridgwater’ (The Bridgewater, one of the Spring fleet, came again in June, and made a third voyage in October.)
Page 365: Was ’glimse’ (We get a glimpse of the distress and perplexity of the men of the loyal regiments in one of Edward Winslow’s letters to Ward Chipman.)
Page 369: Was ’perserverance’ (their courage, their perseverance, their clear prevision of the immense importance of race unity.)
Page 370: Was ’severly’ (And still we say—all honor to the brave hearts that sacrificed so much and suffered so severely for the preservation)
Index: Unclear in original (Acadians, encouraged to leave N. S. Peninsula, 96, 101; settled on River St. John, 107, 114, 117, 120, 122, 133, 145, 234, 248, 249, 255, 309;)
Index: Was ’Zephamiah’ (Briggs, Zephaniah, 171.)
Index: Was ’Dierville’ (Diereville, 40, 54.)