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HISTORY OF YARMOUTH, 
 
HISTOEY OF YARMOUTH. 
 
A MANUSCRIPT HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF YARMOUTH 
 
 Ifaviug been submitted to us by the author, the Rev. J. R. 
 
 Campbell, for our critical examination as to matters of fact, and 
 
 ;»eneral accuracy, we, whose names are heremito signed, have 
 
 j,a-eat pleasure in stating that we have thoroughly examined the 
 
 woi-k, in the composition of which, the author must have most 
 
 t-arefully and industriously exhausted all sources of information. 
 
 The arrangement mto several distinct, and yet, well connected 
 
 sections, gi-eatly increases its valu^ as a book of reference, and 
 
 rendex-s tlie whole uairative clear and unconfused. All sti^temeuta 
 
 «)f fact have been carefully verified, and we believe the whole to 
 
 lip an accurate and impartial History of this County. 
 
 J. B. Bond, W. H. Moody, 
 
 G. J. Fakish, L. E. Bakek, 
 
 J. B. Kinney, v T. M. Lewis, 
 
 Fkeeman DtNNIS. 
 
 Yannnitth, Octohr,- Iflt, 1S75. 
 
 N 
 
A HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 County op Yarmouth 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA. 
 
 REV. J. R. CAMPBELL. 
 
 \jy()Cy*f,n^yS^ 
 
 PUBLISHED BY J. & A. McMILLAN, SAINT JOHN, N 
 1876. 
 

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YARMOUTH HISTORY. 
 
 The Public who have copies of this work in their 
 possession are respectfully requested by the Author 
 to make the following corrections. Some are errors 
 of the press; the remainder represent the whole of 
 the proved results of criticism up till the present 
 date-.— 
 
 Page xvi, line 13, for " 3," read " Title page." 
 - - - — " "1810,"" "1806." 
 
 " 'authoritities,' read 'authorities' 
 
 " " serried," " " unserried." 
 
 " "grin," " " " grim." 
 
 ""him," " "Him." 
 
 " ' eighty-six,' read ' sixty-eight' 
 
 " " 1675 " read " 1768." 
 
 " "Allen's," read "AUme's." 
 
 " "1782," " "1771." 
 
 " "1782," " "1771." 
 
 " "1775?" " "1778." 
 
 " "B. Ellenwood's tan-yard," 
 
 read " W. Lewis' Homestead." 
 " "1783," read " 1773." 
 " "1765," " " 1764." 
 " " has," " " have." 
 
 " 5, 
 
 " 28, 
 
 " 7. 
 
 " 7, 
 
 « 12, 
 
 " 10, 
 
 " 17, 
 
 " 23, 
 
 " 49, 
 
 " 4, 
 
 " 58, 
 
 " 3, 
 
 " 62, 
 
 " 28, 
 
 " 105, 
 
 " 11. 
 
 " 112, 
 
 " 8, 
 
 " 112. 
 
 " 9, 
 
 " 113, 
 
 " 21, 
 
 " 113, 
 
 " 21, 
 
 " 114, 
 
 " 10, 
 
 " 114,' 
 
 " 21, 
 
 « 200, 
 
 " 15, 
 
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 j^ LTHOUGH not as deeply interested, or as directly 
 ^^ concerned in all the details of the County of Yar- 
 mouth, as if he had been born in this County, and had 
 listened from childhood to the story of its settlement and 
 subsequent progress ; the Author has always considered it 
 a duty as well as a pleasure, to gather up particulars illus- 
 trative of the Character and Institutions of the people 
 amongst whom his lot, for some years, has been cast. 
 
 This more systematic effort to preserve the floating 
 traditions and to collect the scattered records of the past, by 
 which, when connected with our present condition, the pro- 
 gress which has been made, may be appreciated, was the 
 result of an invitation issued by the Governors of Kings Col- 
 lege, Windsor, for Essays on County Histories, under the 
 thoughtful and liberal intelligence of the Akins Foundation. 
 I sent them an Essay on the history of this County in 
 1872 ; and, from the expressions of satisfaction with which 
 they were pleased to accompany the reception of my 
 paper, — together with the then general interest in the 
 
viii History of Yarmouth. 
 
 undertaking, and the subsequent continued solicitations of 
 those whose opinions I respect, I have thought it my duty 
 to publish the work. 
 
 The volume from the nature of the case cannot be 
 expected to be very interesting to many persons uncon- 
 nected with the County. Compared with the important 
 transactions of great countries, the contents must, to 
 unconcerned readers, appear trivial. There is here no 
 account of great men, or great measures ; but simply the 
 common-place records of a young, but growing community, 
 in which there is necessarily much of personal detail, and 
 even that confined to a few whose ability to be publicly use- 
 ful in one thing usually identified them with many, and to 
 whom, therefore, by consequence, frequent reference had to 
 be made. But I venture to think that, as all things are 
 great or small only by comparison, the details of the affairs 
 of this County however insignificant in themselves, are 
 more interesting and more important to its people than are 
 the details of any other limited part of the world. And 
 as every intelligent people loves to know something of its 
 past history, I shall have been amply repaid to think that 
 some things have been herein preserved, which were fast 
 floating away. 
 
 As much accuracy in statement, and moderation in style, 
 is required in such a work, as in a greater. In order to 
 attain these desirable objects, the manuscript was volun- 
 tarily submitted to a number of well informed, independent- 
 minded citizens, representing wide Political and Religious 
 divergences of opinion ; and their criticism freely invited. 
 They were pleased to testify to the general accuracy and 
 
History of Yarmouth. ix 
 
 impartiality of the whole ; but I wish it to be understood 
 that I alone, am responsible for details. 
 
 The Author has endeavoured to verify all his statements, 
 by reference to such authorities and sources of information, 
 both written and oral, as were available. Council Books, 
 Proceedings of Assembly, Township Proprietors' Book, 
 Sessions Books, Kecord Books, Journals, Settlers Ledgers, 
 and the local Press, have been made to yield up the little or 
 much they contained. There have been several Histories 
 of Nova Scotia published, which might very reasonably 
 have been supposed to have been servicable. But when I 
 say that the very latest work on the subject, Mr. Duncan 
 Campbell's History of Nova Scotia, contains only a few 
 trivial allusions to this County, all of which do not occupy 
 half a dozen lines, it will be seen at once how limited is 
 the assistance that is to be obtained from such sources. 
 Throughout the three volumes of Mr. Murdoch's valuable 
 repository of facts for some future historian of Nova Scotia, 
 lie scattered references to this County. In Haliburton's 
 work, published in 1829, there is a well written notice of 
 Yarmouth and Argyle, from the pen of the late Dr. H. G. 
 Farish. That gentleman was asked by Mr., afterwards 
 Judge Haliburton, to give him the needed reference to those 
 places ; and the answer sent was inserted without alteration, 
 as I found on examining the papers in possession of several 
 members of his family, and which have been kindly lent to 
 to me for this work. I have obtained valuable assistance 
 from the papers above referred to, and from one or two 
 papers in the possession of other private citizens ; although 
 the assistance from this source, notwithstanding a long 
 
 A 
 
X History of Yarmouth. 
 
 continued public advertisement, was astonishingly scanty. 
 But more particularly I ought to mention the Record office 
 in Halifax. All the books in that and other offices have 
 been examined, and extracts made from them of whatever 
 was to the purpose. In this work, I was greatly assisted 
 by Mr. Thomas Robertson, of the Secretary's office ; to 
 whom, together with all others who have aided me, I desire 
 to tender my most hearty thanks. More especially I ought 
 to mention Drs. G. J. Farish, and J. B. Bond. To the 
 former gentleman, both the Reader and the Author are 
 more indebted than can well be acknowledged. The com- 
 pleteness of the List of dates of arrivals, and places of first 
 settlement, is entirely due to his industry. So many have 
 contributed separate facts or thoughts, that it would be 
 tiresome, as well as pedantic, to parade the list. Where it 
 has been practicable, I have recorded circumstances in the 
 direct narration : where it has not, I have given authorities 
 when necessary; and, where I have thought it would 
 answer one purpose or another, as for instance when some 
 point is involved, or even when simply amusing, I have 
 preserved the original orthography, although it acknow- 
 ledges no laws known to Johnson or Worcester. 
 
 The plan of the work is simple. I have endeavoured to 
 trace the origin of settlements, and the rise and progress of 
 all the Institutions in the County, in, as far as was practic- 
 able, the order of their occurrence; interweaving at the 
 most suitable time and place, notices of those individual 
 citizens, who for their prominence and influence, ought to 
 be had in remembrance. 
 
 It is hoped that the illustrations, which are adaptations 
 
History of Yarmouth. xi 
 
 in wood, from photographs by Mr. L. Gr. Swain, will be 
 acceptable. Permission to insert portraits of the late 
 Herbert Huntington, Henry Greggs Farish, E. W. B. 
 Moody, and Thomas Killam had been obtained ; but, when 
 it came to a matter of execution, it was found that the 
 available copies were not such as would have done honour 
 to the memory of several of those gentlemen. I have 
 therefore, for the present, very reluctantly, laid aside this 
 whole feature in the work. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 INTKODUOTOEY CHAPTEE vii 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 Limits of the County. Physical Character. Climate. Natu- 
 ral History 1 
 
 CHAPTEE n. 
 Introductory Historical Facts. Earhest Eef erences . . 9 ' 
 
 CHAPTEE m. 
 
 Aboriginal Inhabitants. Indian Eehcs. French Settlers and 
 Settlements . 16 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 Early English Settlers. The County known to American 
 fishermen before settled. Goyemment offers to intending . 
 Settlers. Grants . . .' 25 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 The first arriyals. Their locations, condition and first expe- 
 
 riences 
 
 32 
 
xiv Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Progress of the work of Settlement. Committee appointed 
 by Council. Rules for their guidance . . . .39 
 
 CHAPTER YU. 
 
 Continued influx till 1764. First notice of Argyle and Pub- 
 nico. Mr. Crawley's Return. Personal references . . 45 
 
 CHAPTER Yin. 
 
 Increase between 1764^7. Township Grant. Marks of pro- 
 gress. Grist and Saw MUls 54 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Opening up of the County by-roads. Pubhc Worship. First 
 Ministers. Chebogue Church raised . . . .59 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Township of Argyle. When set apart. Successive settlement 
 of Argyle, Tusket, Eel Brook and Pubnico. The D' Entre- 
 monts 66 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Fresh Arrivals. Memorial for a Re-adjustment of County 
 limits. Colonial troubles of 1775. Pohtics of the period 77 
 
 CHAPTER Xn. 
 
 Third Decade 1780-90. Loyahst Element in the County. 
 Cape Forchue meeting house. Escheated property. Par- 
 tition of the Township of Yarmouth. Original Settlers of 
 Tusket. Church Covenant of 1784 . . . . . 85 
 
Contents. xv 
 
 CHAPTEE Xm. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Commercial progress. Fishing. Early local merchants. 
 Yarmouth made a Port of Shelburne. J. N. Bond, 
 Eeligious Revolution. Henry AUine. Jonathan Scott. 
 Harris Harding. Rehgious Census. Original homes and 
 first locations of the early settlers 97 
 
 CHAPTER XTV. 
 
 Opening of the Nineteenth Century. Condition of Roads and 
 Bridges. Institution of the Post Office. H. G. Parish. 
 Progress in. PubHc Buildings. Episcopal Church. Abb^ 
 Sigogne. Social Conveniences 161 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Supremacy of Yarmouth gradually asserted. War of 1812-14. 
 Loyal Memorial. Defences 126 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 The Story of Yarmouth Shipping Enterprise. Anthony 
 Landers. Rise of the Methodist body. The Free Baptists. 
 Rise and Progress of Sunday Schools .... 132' 
 
 CHAPTER XVn. 
 
 Social Progress from 1800. Negro Slaves. New Settlements. 
 Salmon River. KemptviUe. Beaver River. Ohio. 
 Hebron. Carleton. Temperance and Total Abstinence 
 Societies. Great Eire of 1820 144 
 
 CHAPTER XVni. 
 
 Political and Educational Progress. Confederation. Licor- 
 poration. Judicial History of the County. Courts. 
 Common Pleas. Our Schools and School-Masters . . 15S> 
 
SVl 
 
 Contents. 
 
 CHAPTEB XIX. 
 
 Literature. Literary remains. The Press . 
 
 PAGE 
 
 . 168 
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Settlement 
 of Yarmouth i 178 
 
 CHAPTEE XXI. 
 
 The Town of Yarmouth. Churches. Schools. Private 
 Eesidences. Banks. Insurance offices. Manufacturers. 
 Agricultural Societies. Synopsis. Steam by Land and 
 Water. Fisheries. General Trade. Eecapitulation. 
 Conclusion 182 
 
 LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 I. Vignette : — ^View of Yabmotjth HAUBors, 
 
 II. Tabeenacle Chubch (Congregational), 
 
 in. Temple Church (Baptist), 
 
 IV. Episcopal Chuech, 
 
 V. Pbovidence Chuech (Methodist), . 
 
 VI. Seminaey, 
 
 Vii. Saint John's Chuech (Presbyterian), 
 
 Vm. Eesidenoe of L. E. Bakee, Esq., 
 IX. " " N. K. Clements, Esq., 
 
 X. WoBKS OF Kinney, Haley & Co., 
 
 PAGE 
 
 3 
 65 
 109 
 122 
 141 
 167 
 187 
 189 
 191 
 193 
 
HISTORY OF YARMOUTH. 
 
 CHAPTEK I, 
 
 LIMITS OF THE COTTNTT. PHYSICAL CHARACTER. CLIMATE. 
 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 JHE present County of Yarmouth, consisting of the 
 Township of Yarmouth and the District of Argyle, 
 has seen several changes as regards its limits. In the 
 year 1761 by order of Council, Yarmouth, Barrington and 
 Liverpool Townships were erected into the County of 
 Queens. In 1784, by the same authority, Yarmouth, 
 Barrington and Shelburne Townships were erected into 
 that of Shelburne ; and lastly, in 1836, the present Town- 
 ship of Yarmouth and district of Argyle were erected into 
 the County of Yarmouth. All that is here said, refers to 
 the County as it is now limited. And, in the prosecution 
 of this purpose, our first duty is to observe the position, 
 boundaries, and physical 'character of the Country whose 
 history we are tracing. 
 
 By reference to the Map* it will be readily seen that the 
 
 * I have thought it unnecessary to insert a Map of the County, from the 
 consideration that Messrs. Church & Co.'s map is in the main sufficient for 
 general purposes, and it is generally accessible. 
 B 
 
2 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 general form of the County is that of a triangle, of which 
 tlie Eastern boundary is the Township of Harrington in 
 the County of Shelburne, and the Northern boundary the 
 Township of Clare in the County of Bigby : whilst the 
 South-western shore is washed by the waters of the Atlan- 
 tic and the Bay of Fundy. All the Islands lying inside of 
 a continuation of the County limits, of which the outer- 
 most is the " Seal Island;" commonly called the elbow of 
 the Bay of Fundy, are within the County. Those Islands 
 are very numerous. Several of them are settled; and some 
 of them have no small claim to be called beautiful. In 
 Lobster Bay alone, there are said to be the usual tradi- 
 tional 365.* The largest in the County are the Seal 
 Island; the great Tusket Island and Surrette's Island, 
 lying at the mouth of the Tusket Paver ; Morris' Island^ 
 in the Abuptic, or Argyle harbotir ; Tinkhajn's, Clement's, 
 and Crawley's Island, in the Chebogue harbour ; and Bun- 
 ker's Island — which however is more properly a peninsula, 
 in the Yarmouth harbour. 
 
 The face of the whole County is greatly diversified ; 
 there being a happy blending of wood and water, hill and 
 dale. There are nearly one hundred Lakes, upwards of 
 ninety of which have been fully explored ; many of them 
 are very beautiful, reminding one who has seen both, of 
 well known English scenes. 
 
 The Rivers, which all rise in a North-easterly direction, 
 A'uu sufiiciently parallel to divide the County into tolerably 
 distinct Riverbeds. The most Easterly, as well as the 
 smallest, is the Pubnico River ; a corruption of the Indian 
 
 * So the late Abram Lent, Esq. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 3 
 
 •* Bogbumkook." Proceeding in a westerly direction, the 
 next is tlie Aegylb or Abuptic — (Indian "Pobbobteek.") 
 
 The TusKET EivEK is worthy of the Tourist's time ; for 
 it is as varied and picturesque in its surroundings, as it is 
 well known for its Trout, Salmon and Alewive fisheries. 
 Any one in search of the beautiful in Nature, who over- 
 looks or despises the Tusket, with its pleasing falls and 
 continuous, yet ever varying chain of lakes, will be very 
 likely to go further and fare worse. Lake Vaughan, whiehi 
 lies above the first falls, and where before 1755 was at 
 flourishing French Acadian settlement, is a beautiful sheet 
 of water ; and the Carleton system of lakes, viz. : Carle- 
 ton, Sloan's, Ogden's and Parr's, can not be surpassed in 
 . Nova Scotia for general beauty. 
 
 The Salmon Kivee (the Indian " Ponamagotty " or 
 "place of frost fish,") lying still further to the westward^ 
 rises in the County of Bigby ; andi, like the rivers already^ 
 and those yet to be named, is a pleasing diversity of Lake 
 and Stream. The Chebogue River (called by some In- 
 dians Itehogiie " Spring Water" — and by others Tecehoke 
 " Cold Water") is smaller than those yet referred to; but 
 its harbour, dotted with islands and fringed with good 
 marsh lands, has the honour of having sheltered the first- 
 settlers, both French and English, who ventured on this 
 shore. The Yar, commonly called the Yarmouth, on 
 which stands the County town, is somewhat larger than 
 the Chebogue. The harbour is naturally poor ; but what^ 
 has been denied by nature, has been, and is still being; 
 supplemented by industry and perseverance. At its moutli 
 stands the Lighthouse erected in 1840; at the narrows. 
 
4 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 there has heen recently erected a Beacon, which was first 
 lighted on the night of February 13, 1874 : and a "Break- 
 water, which with more or less success depending on the 
 stability of the work, prevents the harbour from being ren- 
 dered comparatively useless by the action of the sea, throw- 
 ing the " Bar" into the channel. 
 
 Still further to the North-westward, is the Chegoggin 
 (the Indian Isegogin or "Place for weirs"), which runs 
 through a thriving and well settled District. The last 
 stream we are to mention, is the Beaver River, in the 
 meandering course of which are the Beaver, Darling's, 
 Coggen's, and Killam's Lakes. Lake George, if we except 
 the not very well known Great Pubnico Lake, is the largest 
 in the County; and the second largest — Eossignol in 
 Queens claiming the Jirst place — in the Province. 
 
 The frequent falls on the rivers indicate considerable 
 variations in the land level. But it would scarcely be true 
 to say that the County is hilly ; still less true that there 
 are any Mountain ranges. There are high land ridges, on 
 which are the best timber trees in the County, running 
 ■approximately North and South, parallel with the several 
 j-'iverbeds. With regard to the 
 
 QUALITY OF THE SOIL, 
 
 it must be confessed that there are other more fertile dis- 
 tricts in Nova Scotia. In the opinion of competent judges 
 a comparatively small proportion of the land is capable of 
 profitable cultivation, although the question of profit is 
 evidently one intimately bound up with the amount of 
 capital and skill brought to bear on the land. In this 
 idirection, the Agricultural Societies have done, and are 
 
History of Yarmouth. 5 
 
 still doing, a most excellent work. Even within the last 
 ten years the minds of those most nearly concerned, have 
 undergone a beneficial change on the important branches 
 of drainage, manuring, improved implements, and the 
 raising of good stock. In addition to the timber lands 
 referred to. there are considerable tracts of fair marsh lands 
 in the County, about 500 acres of which are dyked, produc- 
 ing heavy crops of hay. Excepting small patches at Eel 
 Brook and the Wedge, the only dyked lands in the County 
 are the Salt Pond and the Chegoggin Marsh. 
 
 The Salt Pond before 1799 was simply " flats ;" but in 
 that year it was dyked by twenty-five proprietors at an ex- 
 pense of £270. It contains 165 acres, and was originally 
 divided into eleven shares. A well authenticated story tells 
 how, after this work had been done, and the fine grass was» 
 waving where before there had been but water, that an 
 Indian who had been away in the Eastern part of the 
 Province, came here, as had been his wont, to shoot ducks. 
 His exclamation when he saw it, illustrates, I think, the 
 relation of the races — "What, white man turn water into 
 ground ! " 
 
 The Chegoggin Marsh which contains 320 acres had 
 been dyked early in the history of the settlement, possibly 
 in Acadian times ; but the work had been rendered practi- 
 cally useless, by the enormous beach of pebbles that the 
 westerly winter gales threw in upon the Sluices. The 
 river being thus shut up, forced a new opening for itself ; 
 and, in 1810, it was again closed by a good dyke, with, 
 substantial Sluices ; and the ahatteau was protected by a 
 long pier running out seaward. From 
 
6 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 A GEOLOGICAL POINT OF vIeW, 
 
 there is but little to be said which may not be equally 
 truly spoken of the whole of the western shore. The pre- 
 vailing rock is clay slate, with a general South-westerly 
 strike. Here and there, as for instance at Little River, 
 Plymouth and Argyle, obtrusive boulders of Granite are to 
 be met with : and, I believe, all the Islands have a granite 
 base. Throughout the whole County, quartz veins may be 
 traced ; and in some places, as at Cranberry Head, in such 
 quantities as to have given reasonable hopes of a remuner- 
 ative yield to the miner. The Yarmouth gold mining and 
 quartz crushing company have opened a mine at that place 
 on a lode averaging eighteen inches. Gold has been found 
 there, and has been made into " bricks." The only ques- 
 tion is whether the gold produced does not cost, as much 
 as, or more than, it is worth. But we are by no means 
 rich in minerals when compared with other parts of Nova 
 Scotia. Plumbago is found on the Tusket Wedge. It is 
 turned up when plowing ; and, although small in quantity, 
 it is said to be excellent in quality. No endeavour, how- 
 ever, has been made to ascertain the extent of the deposit. 
 A peculiar purple sand is found in abundance on the east- 
 ern shore of Lake George. It is of the colour of the 
 amethyst, and like it, it is silicious. 
 
 Hitherto no traces have been found, worth mentioning, 
 of fossil remaijis. Infusorial earth has been found in pretty 
 large quantities in Ohio. When quite dry, it looks and 
 feels like magnesia, and can scarcely be distinguished from 
 it. When wet or damp, it feels more like dough or wet clay. 
 It is composed of silicious shells of very varied forms, 
 
History of Yarmouth. 7 
 
 BO small as to be seen only through a powerful micro- 
 scope, and so fine as not to scratch delicately polished silver. 
 With regard to the 
 
 CLIMATE 
 
 of this County, it is but just to say that although humid 
 and very variable, it is described by the most competent 
 medical authoritities as healthy above the average.* We 
 are indeed at the extreme end of the Province ; but we are 
 not extreme in temperature : for the mercury seldom falls 
 below zero in the winter, or rises above 80° during the 
 summer. Every few years (as in 1865-6 and 1873-4,) 
 the mercury may descend to five or six below ; but the mean 
 annual temperature, day and night, is 48°. The most 
 noticeable feature in the Climate is "the liability to sudden 
 changes ; twenty-four hours sometimes sufficing to produce 
 a difference in the thermometer of 40 degrees. With re- 
 gard to the 
 
 NATUEAL HISTORY 
 
 of Yarmouth there is little to be said in addition to the 
 fact that whatever applies to the Province generally, applies 
 
 ^Instances of remarkable health and longeyity are not wanting. In the 
 Will of James Kelley, Esquire, dated 1806; he says — " I give and bequeath 
 " the remaining two-thirds of my estate real and personal among my chil- 
 "dren James Kelley, Samuel Kelley, Marg't Clemmons, Sarah Philips, 
 " Eunice Hilton, Jacob Kelley, Martha Trask, Mary Rose, Annis Crosby, 
 "Bertha Rose, Hannah Kelley, Betsy Kelley, Robert Kelley, and Israel 
 " Kelley, in equal proportions." These children were all living and mar- 
 ried, when the youngest of the family was fifty years of age. When the 
 late Mr. James Hatfield, of Tusket Lakes, died in 1867, he left an unbroken 
 family of fourteen sons and daughters, the youngest of whom had attained 
 manhood. 
 
 And a well authenticated story of Paul D'Entremont tells how that that 
 old gentleman requested his sons to hang a scythe for him, or he should 
 certainly forget how to mow. He was then over ninety. And, Simon, the 
 oldest living member of that Acadian family, mowed half an acre or more 
 the day that I spent with him. He was then eighty-five. 
 
8 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 equally to this County particularly. I believe I am correct 
 in saying that there is no plant nor insect, no bird nor 
 animal found here, that is not found elsewhere. There is, 
 as might reasonably have been expected, a large proportion 
 and variety of sea fowl, and a small proportion and limited 
 variety of forest birds : although it is a curious fact, that 
 the English woodcock is rapidly increasing. Our insular 
 position, together with our numerous inland lakes, ade- 
 quately account for those facts. Civilization has well nigh 
 banished several valuable species from the County. The 
 days are gone when a local merchant can send ninety-five 
 moose skins to the Boston market, as one did a hundred 
 years ago. 
 
CHAPTEE n. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY HISTORICAL FACTS. EARLIEST REFERENCES. 
 
 tT would be foreign from the direct object of this work to 
 give any detailed account of the general history of Nova 
 Scotia. It may be with safety assumed that any one who 
 would be sufficiently interested in this paper to read it 
 carefully, will not have neglected the larger subject of the 
 whole. • Still, a rapid 
 
 REVIEW OF SOME PERTINENT GENERAL FACTS 
 
 may not be entirely out of place, as leading to the main 
 object which we have Si view. 
 
 Passing by the undoubted, but half mythical excursions 
 to this Continent, of the Northmen ; the first well authen- 
 ticated knowledge of the new world was made known by 
 Sebastian Cabot in 1498. But, beyond the fact of his dis- 
 covery of Newfoundland, little or nothing was done until 
 Gilbert took more formal possession in 1583. The earliest 
 attempt at the colonization of Nova Scotia was made by the 
 Marquis de la Eoche under Henry IV. of France in 1598. 
 But a more definite attempt was made by De Monts in the 
 year 1604, the narrative of whose voyage is most interest- 
 ing, on many accounts. In 1621 Acadia (or "Cadia" or 
 "Acadie" as with varying limitations that term was 
 applied by the French) together with other extensive 
 territories was granted by James the First to Sir William 
 
10 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 Alexander: and it was he who gave to Acadia the name 
 Nova Scotia. 
 
 Alexander afterwards conveyed the whole Province to 
 Claude de la Tour. In his time further French settlements 
 were made : and to some of his descendants in this County, 
 the D'Entremonts of Pubnico, we shall make some exten- 
 ded reference. Many and violent were the changes that 
 the first settlers of this Province had to submit to, from 
 «ver varying masters, and contending owners of the soil. 
 At one time England, at another France, ruled them ; until 
 by the Treaty of Utrecht, Nova Scotia was finally ceded to 
 England. At this time the inhabitants were almost exclu- 
 sively Indians and French ; there was but a mere handful 
 of English descent. The able-bodied warriors among the 
 Indians were computed at about 3000. All the French did 
 not exceed 18,000; and altogether*, they were not many 
 more than the inhabitants of this County now number. 
 
 REFERENCES TO THIS COUNTY BEFORE 1759, 
 
 in which year the name of Yarmouth (in the first general 
 grant) was given to it, are few, but distinct, although sim- 
 ply incidental. Yarmouth does not figure very largely in 
 the early history of the Province ; neither are the names of 
 such localities as can be identified, often mentioned by old 
 writers. Still, our forked Cape clothed to its summit with 
 primeval forest, must have formed a very prominent object ; 
 and must have been well known to such "Ancient Mari- 
 ners" as coasted along our shores from the forts on the 
 Saint John Eiver, Cumberland Basin, Minas Basin, and 
 Annapolis Basin on their voyages to Le Heve, Canseau, 
 and La Belle France. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 11 
 
 The first notice that we have, has a sfbgular value, inas- 
 much as it gives us the origin of, and the reason for naming 
 the Seal Islands and Cap Fourchu. De Monts was accom- 
 panied in his expedition by Samuel Le Sieur Cbamplain, 
 who appears to have been the chronicler of the expedition, 
 as well as to have had the command of one of the ships. 
 They reached Le Heve in May 1604. After spending a 
 month there, they coasted along the south-west, doubled 
 Cape Sable and entered the Bay of " Fundi," which was 
 then -called La Baie Francaise. After crossing a bay (pro- 
 bably "Lobster") which runs in two or three leagues to 
 the northward, they came to some islands, four or five 
 leagues distant from Cape Sable. Here they found abund- 
 ance of seals, and very appropriately named them the " Seal 
 Islands" (Isles aux Loups Marins). Thence they went on 
 to a Cape which Champlain named Port Fouechu* "in as 
 " much as," he says, "its figure is so;" that is "forked." 
 He also describes it being five or six leagues distant from 
 
 *It may not be otherwise than amusing to the reader to see what inge- 
 nious variations persons writing the French words Cap Fourchu displayed , 
 when ignorant of that language. The following list comprises thirty out 
 of fifty known corruptions which have all been met with in old writings : 
 Cape Arsue, Cape frasoe, Capersoe, 
 
 Capersue, Capresue, Capporsoe, 
 
 Caporsue, Capefurshue, Capforsue, 
 
 Capfersu, Cape forseu, Cappersheu, 
 
 Capersu, Cappersew, Oapperforchue, 
 
 Cape Forcu, Cappersue, Cape forchue, 
 
 Cape-pursue, • Capforksoe, Cape-Forchue, 
 
 Cape au Sud, Cappersoe, Cap-Forchue, 
 
 Capeosoe, Capfursoe, Cape fortune, 
 
 Caprosoe, Cape forchu. Cap Forchu. 
 
 Excepting such places where the pure French form, or where corrupt 
 Anglicized forms quoted in documents are used, the form adhered to 
 throughout this work is Cape Forchue. 
 
12 . History of Yarmouth. 
 
 the Seal Islands. ' Speaking of the harbour he says : "It 
 " is very good for vessels, as regards its entrance ; but fur- 
 " ther up it is almost all dry at low tide, with the exception 
 " of the course of a small river, all surrounded by meadows, 
 " which renders the place very agreeable." It is certainly 
 a highly flattering account of our mud flats to describe 
 them as meadows, and as rendering the place very agree- 
 able. No doubt, to a casual visitor in the spring of the 
 year and when as yet the long fresh green eel grass was 
 undisturbed and serried by the keels of vessels and the hoe 
 of the clam digger, it would present a much more .pleasing 
 object than it does now ; although it requires some exercise 
 of imagination to speak of the flats as "Meadows." Had 
 Champlain been at the time describing Chehogiie harbour, 
 or even Chegoggin Eiver, which is within the range of the 
 probable, as some have thought he haust, this delightful 
 picture might have been approximately true.* ' 
 
 Nine years after this, in 1613, when De la Saussage was 
 on his way from Penobscot to France, after his capture by 
 the English, he called at Grand Manan, Long Island, Cap 
 Fourchu and Port Monton. But it is not stated either by 
 Champlain, or by Saussage, whether there were any inhabi- 
 tants here. It is extremely unlikely that there were. 
 
 * I have thought it may interest the reader to be presented with Champ- 
 Iain's own words: — 
 
 " Je les nommai isles aux loups marins. Elles sont par la hauteur de 
 quarante-trois degres et demi de latitude, distantes de la terre ferme ou 
 Cap de Sable de quatre a. cinque lieues- De la Ton va a un Cap que J' 
 appelai le Port Fourchu, d' autant que sa figure est ainsi, distant des isles 
 aux loups marins cinz a six lieues. Ce port est fort bon pour les vaisseaux 
 en son entree, mais au fond il asseche presque tout de basse mer, hors le 
 cours d' une petite riviere, toute environnee de prairies qui rendent ce lieu 
 assez agreable." 
 
History of Yarmouth. 13 
 
 Jean de Laite in his work " The New World," published 
 in 1633, describing Cadia or Acadia, says : *' It is of a tri- 
 " angular form, and stretches from east to west between the 
 " harbours of Campseau and Cap Fourchu." He then de- 
 scribes the Cape and the Seal Islands in very nearly the 
 words of Champlain, from whom his account is plain- 
 ly copied. He calls Lobster Bay, however, "La Bale 
 Courante;" and the Tusket Islands "Isles aux Tangueux" 
 or Gannet Islands. 
 
 In 1630 Sir William Alexander gave to La Tour and his 
 son "all the Country, Coasts and islands from the cape 
 " and river of Ingogon near unto the Cloven Cape in New 
 " Scotland called the Coast and Country accadye, following 
 " the coast and islands of the said Country towards the east 
 " unto the 'Port De lat tour.' " It is difficult not to believe 
 that Ingogon and the " Cloven Cape" (the first translation 
 we meet with of Cap Fourchu) are not Chegoggin and Yar- 
 mouth Cape. No two other places of similar names lie as 
 closely together ; nor are any two other points to be found 
 affording contiguous starting places from which, sailing 
 east, to arrive at Port La Tour. 
 
 With regard to the expedition sent out from Boston in 
 1664, when Port Koyal capitulated, it is recorded that 
 among the places taken possession of were Penobscot, Saint 
 John, Port Eoyal, La Have, Port Le Tour, Cape Sable and 
 Cap Fourchu. With the exception of the last mentioned 
 place, all the others were forts of some importance. The 
 taking of the Cap may be in connection with a fort here of 
 which no record remains ; or, as is more likely, it may 
 have been taken possession of, only as an important strategic 
 
14 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 point. Villabon -writing in 1699 fully forty years later, 
 does not include it in the list of forts. 
 
 On August 9tli, 1656, Cromwell granted to La Tour and 
 others '' the Country and Territory called Acadia from 
 ** Meliguesche (Meliguash near Lunenburg) * * '* * 
 " as far as Lettebe (?) ; thence * * * * * as far as 
 "Cape Sable; thence ***** as far as Cccpe 
 " Forchue ; thence as far as Port Royal, etc, etc." 
 
 By a census taken in 1671, Poboncom is said to be near 
 the " TousQUET (Tusket) Isles." 
 
 In 1707 (Dec.) M. D. Goutins, in a letter to the French 
 minister, speaks of a wreck near Caj) Fourclm, which had 
 been visited by three of the sons of Le Sieur de Pobomcoup. 
 Those were sons of the first D'Entremont of Pubnico. 
 
 M. Beauharnois, Governor of Canada, in a letter to the 
 French king dated October 10, 1731, says Acadie, according 
 to its ancient limits should only be that part of the large 
 peninsula, which is comprised and bounded by a straight 
 line from Cape Camceau to Caj) Fourchu. 
 
 In the month of December, 1735, the brigantine " Balti- 
 more" put into Chebogue harbour (called in one place 
 Jebogue and in another Tibogue) having only one woman 
 on board when found. All other persons who had been on 
 board were supposed either to have been lost, or murdered 
 by the Indians. Eight dead bodies were found on the 
 shores of the Tusket Islands ; but nothing was ever satis- 
 factorily brought to light. The impression prevailed that 
 there were convicts on board, of whom the woman was one ; 
 that they had risen against the crew, and had all perished 
 in their endeavour to laud. An extensive correspondence 
 
History of Yarmouth. 15 
 
 on the subject followed between Governor Armstrong and 
 Mr. St. Oyide, (Governor of Louisburg), the Duke of New- 
 castle, the Lords of Trade, Governor Belcher of Mass., the 
 D'Entremonts of Pubnico, and the Cape Sable Indians, 
 The vessel was taken to Annapolis and remained there as 
 late as 1742 for want of a claimant. 
 
 In the autumn of 1739 Landre and eight others, French 
 inhabitants of Annapolis,, removed to TJiehogue; built some 
 kind of houses and lived there for the winter. Objection 
 having been made to their occupancy, they petitioned for 
 leave to remain ; which petition was granted ; but they 
 were forbid to dyke or claim any lands. 
 
 The unsettled state of affairs in 1748 required all per- 
 sons removing from one place to another, to obtain pass- 
 ports. On April the 23rd of that year, we find it recorded 
 that Governor Mascarene granted a passport for the shallop 
 "Maria Joseph," Chas. Boudrot master, in which were 
 Ambrosia Melanpon, Honore Bourg (Bourque), Marguer- 
 ette Pommicoup ("Margaret of Pnhnico," — evidently a 
 D'Entremont) and Marguerette La Maclague, passengers^ 
 to proceed from Annapolis to Tibogue, Pommicoup River ^ 
 Baccareux Passage, and Cape Sable, but not beyond. 
 
 Those are I believe all the references which have been 
 presented in known writings, to any and every place in the 
 County of Yarmouth, before the French Acadian expulsion. 
 They are few, but we may value them none the less on that, 
 account. It will have been noticed that the D'Entremonts 
 have been frequently referred to, as persons of some note ; 
 but still not sufficiently influential to have been spared at. 
 the general deportation of 1755. 
 
CHAPTEE III. 
 
 ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS. INDIAN RELICS. FRENCS 
 SETTLERS, AND SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 wT is impossible to say when this County was first visited 
 ^ or peopled, if we may use that expression, by 
 
 INDIANS. 
 
 As far back as any facts are recorded (witness the corruption 
 of the Indian " Isagogin^' into " Ingogen"), their presence 
 is traceable. But, whether there were any considerable 
 numbers of them is equally indeterminate. Nor can we 
 tell whether of the two tribes by whom the Province gener- 
 ally was inhabited, viz. : the Milicetes and the Mic Macs, 
 was the one that penetrated west ; or, if there were mem- 
 bers of both tribes. Go where we will, however, through- 
 out the County, there are traces of their former presence in 
 the names of Lakes, Rivers, Coves, Harbours and Points. 
 The following verses on the Indian names in the Province, 
 are interesting in themselves ; and also from the circum- 
 stance that they are from the facile pen of our citizen Mr. 
 Ptichard Huntington : — 
 
 * The memory of the Red Man, 
 
 How can it pass away, 
 While their names of music linger, 
 
 On each mount, and stream, and bay? 
 While Musquodoboit's waters 
 
 Roll sparkling to the main ; 
 While falls the laughing sunbeam 
 
 On Chegcgin's fields of grain. 
 
Hhtory of Tarmouth. 17 
 
 While floats our country's banner 
 
 O'er Chebucto's glorious -wave ; 
 And the frowning cliffs of ScatakiE 
 
 The trampling surges braye ; 
 While breezy AspotoGON 
 
 Lifts high its summit blue, 
 And sparkles on its winding way 
 
 The gentle Sissibou. 
 
 While EscAsoNi'a fountains 
 
 Pour down their crystal tide ; 
 While Inganish's mountains 
 
 Lift high their forms of pride ; 
 Or while on Mabou's river 
 
 The boatman plies his oar, 
 Or the billows burst in thunder 
 
 On Chicaben's rock-girt shore. 
 
 The memory of the Eed Man, 
 
 It lingers like a spell 
 On many a storm-swept headland, 
 
 On many a leafy dell ; 
 Where Tusket's thousand islets 
 
 Like emeralds stud the deep ; 
 Where Blomidon a sentry grin 
 
 His endless watch doth keep. 
 
 It dwells round Catalone's blue lake, 
 
 Mid leafy forests hid — 
 Eound fair Discouse, and the rushing tides 
 
 Of the turbid Pisiquid. 
 And it lends, Chebogue, a touching grace, 
 
 To thy softly flowing river. 
 As we sadly think of the gentle race 
 
 That has passed away forever. 
 
 But those names that remain are nearly all that remain. 
 Sixty years ago, in- the memory of the late Abram Lent, 
 they were sufficiently numerous to meet their friend and 
 pastor, the late Abbe Sigogne at Saint Anne's Chapel, Eel 
 Brook, in a body of a hundred and fifty at a time. I have 
 endeavoured to collect and preserve those names and their 
 c 
 
18 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 meanings, as far as possible. But the results are hot veiy 
 satisfactory. There are now resident, and that only occa- 
 sionally about thirty Indians in the County;* but if we 
 except an occasional excursion to town to sell their baskets, 
 we see but little of them, and that little serves to convince 
 us that before long, we shall see less. 
 
 The only substantial Indian relics that remain, are a 
 considerable number of arrow and spear heads, and several 
 tomahawks or hatchets, the materials of which are both 
 flint and slate. There are also several pieces of flint about 
 the size of the end of a man's thumb, rounded on one side 
 and hollow on the other. These it is thought were used 
 for cutting wood. Most of those implements were found 
 in 1863 at Kempt in a hillock or mound of ten feet long, 
 five feet broad, and raised about four feet above the sur- 
 rounding surface. The spot was visited at the time by a 
 gentleman! who recorded his opinion that the spot marked 
 the site of an ancient Indian burying place. He accounted 
 for the absence of human bones from decay; the bodies 
 having in all probability been buried near to the surface. 
 The most noticeable feature about those remains is the 
 excellence of their finish. But the spot where Indian 
 relics have been found in the greatest number is in the 
 vicinity of Mr. Charles E. Brown's property at Milton. 
 Similar remains have also been found at the Wedge. 
 By the kindness of Dr. Joseph Bond and Charles E. 
 Brown, Esq., the remains found at Kempt, together with 
 a collection of those found at Milton, have been depo- 
 
 *By the Census of 1871, there are thirty-seyen. 
 t Dr. Joseph B. Bond. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 19 
 
 sited in the County Museum founded in 1872 by L. E. 
 Baker, Esq. 
 
 Grenerally speaking the Indians have a name for being 
 peaceable and inoffensive; but like all whose minds are 
 untrained, they are liable to sudden outbursts of passion. 
 When thwarted in their wishes they have been known to 
 commit outrage and destroy property. It is a well authen- 
 ticated fact, that about the year 1772 John and Benjamin 
 Barnard were visited in rather an unpleasant manner by a 
 drunken Indian. They kept a store on Fish Point, on the 
 west side of the harbour, and when they refused to supply 
 him with drink, which article, contrary to the then common 
 practice, they never sold, he set fire to the store that night, 
 and everything was destroyed. But the disposition of the 
 Indians to the settlers may be traced in their subsequent 
 conduct in this affair. The tribe determined to punish 
 him, it is said by death ; but the Barnards interceded for 
 him, and his life was spared. 
 
 There are misty stories afloat about the annoyance the 
 wives and children of the first settlers had to submit tO' 
 from untimely and unwelcome visits from the children of 
 the forest. But with the exception of the before mentioned 
 act of violence, the worst effects of their excursions appear 
 to have been mothers frightened for their frightened chil- 
 dren, and their scanty meal bags levied upon by self-invited 
 guests. But on the other hand, if they did black mail the 
 settlers' pantries, they supplied their larders ; for they fre- 
 quently brought them game of all kinds, as well as fresh 
 .fish which were very abundant. And, it is no unauthenti- 
 cated tradition, that during that terrible first winter,, the 
 
20 
 
 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 Indians supplied tlie new comei-s with eels and the flesh of 
 the moose, to the extent of saving their lives.* 
 
 More than a hundred years ago, there was at Milton on 
 the site of Mr. William Burrill's house, a permanent Indian 
 encampment, or rather settlement. Their wigwams were 
 covered with skins. At that time the spot must have suited 
 them admirably ; being at once in the woods and in the 
 immediate vicinity of water, fresh and salt. To this Indian 
 rendezvous, were the settlers' children in the habit of 
 going, nor is there any tradition even, of their being violent. 
 I have here appended a careful list of the principal 
 
 INDIAN NAMES OF PLACES IN THE COUNTY. 
 
 ANGLICIZED NAMES. 
 
 INDIAN NAME. 
 
 SIGNIFICATION. 
 
 Yarmouth (Cape), 
 
 Keespougiac, 
 
 " A Point of Land." 
 
 " (Harbour), 
 
 Molegueoke, 
 
 " Crooked Channel." 
 
 Kelley's Cove, 
 
 Walnaic, 
 
 Any Cove. 
 
 Bunker's Island, 
 
 Menegook, 
 
 Any Island. 
 
 Cliegoggin (Cove), 
 
 Isagogin, 
 
 " Place for Wares." 
 
 Chebogue (River), 
 
 'Itebogue or 
 
 "Spring Water." 
 
 " " 
 
 Te-ceboke, 
 
 " Cold Water." 
 
 Tusket Wedge, ( 
 
 Olsegon and 
 
 [Uncertain.] 
 
 s . y 
 
 Nizigouziack, 
 
 
 Bel Brook, 
 
 Ooptomagogin, 
 
 " Place for Eels." 
 
 Salmon River, 
 
 Ponamagotty, 
 
 " Place for frost fish." 
 
 Abuptic (Argyle), 
 
 Pobbobteek, 
 
 [Uncertain.] 
 
 Pubnico, 
 
 Bogbumkook, 
 
 [Uncertain.] 
 
 Tusket Village, 
 
 Anglaseawagatty, 
 
 Place where the English 
 live. This is late Indian. 
 
 Forks, 
 
 Mawtookyac, 
 
 " Place where two 
 Rivers meet." 
 
 Bad Falls, 
 
 Assookcumkaknuc, 
 
 " Crossing Place." 
 
 Argyle Lake, 
 
 Mespag, 
 
 " Sheet of Water." 
 
 Seal Island, 
 
 Caman, 
 
 " Far off Island." 
 
 Mud Island, 
 
 Camanjitch, 
 
 " Little far off Island." 
 
 Strawberry Point, 
 
 Quesawseutee, 
 
 " Projecting Marsh." 
 
 Cranberry Head. 
 
 Soonecaty, 
 
 " Place for Cranberries." 
 
 . * That the Indians were in the habit of supplying the settlers in very 
 early times with Moose meat, and that at rates that raise a sigh for " the 
 
History of Yarmouth. 21 
 
 We leave the condition of tlie Indian or aboriginal inha- 
 bitants, for those who came next after them, 
 
 TBE FEENCH ACADIANS, 
 
 of whom there were several settlements before and at the 
 time of the extradition. We have little but conjecture to 
 guide us, as to when those settlements were made, but we 
 may safely conclude that there were no Acadians estab- 
 lished here before 1656, the date of the grant of this district 
 by Cromwell to La Tour. But objection having been made 
 to Landre and his company settling at Chebogue in 1739, 
 shows that already a well understood ownership of the land 
 there situate existed, apart from the implied existence of 
 dyked marsh lands in that locality. 
 
 There is but little known of the Ghegoggln settlement. 
 The fact, however, is well authenticated, and may even 
 yet be attested by the still visible cellars of the old French 
 houses. The site was afterwards taken up as a farm, by the 
 first John Killam about the year 1766; the chapel and 
 burial ground being on the west side of the river, opposite 
 the gold crusher. It was from this settlement that a girl 
 having strayed to gather berries, found on her return that 
 all her family had been carried away. She fled to the 
 Indians for safety; and, in after years, when her family 
 returned, she could not persuade herself to leave the people 
 
 good old times" in that respect at least, the following curious examples 
 will show : — 
 
 " Paid Indon Peter for 16 flbs. Moe Met, @ l^d. [called also 
 
 Cap. Peter, and again Old Peter] , £0 2s. Qd. 
 
 For 14^ lbs. mos, (S) Ifd 1 9 
 
 " 19 lbs. of mosmet 2 4^ 
 
 " 7| lbs. of mos meet @ 3 copers per lb 1 0^." 
 
 Each of those items illustrates a curious orthographical variation. 
 
22 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 with whom she had cast in her lot. A very few still liviiig 
 recollect having seen her, as an old woman coming to town 
 with the Indians. 
 
 The Chehogue settlement suffered in the same way as 
 Chegoggin. This was the most important settlement in the 
 County, and was situate on both sides of the Kiver, near to 
 the end of Wyman's road. Here, as in the case of other 
 villages, traces of former abodes of peace may yet be seen. 
 On the eastern side of the river, on Durkee's farm, were the 
 Cemetery and Chapel. The visible traces are being greatly 
 lessened; and I cannot forbear quoting the words of one 
 who loved to dwell upon such scenes, and gather up remi- 
 niscences respecting them : " The little village covering the 
 " southern slope of the eminence on the west bank of the 
 " river, near the point where the running dyke now leaves 
 " the upland, must have been' a delightful situation. Forty- 
 " five years ago (1803) when first I knew it, it was a seques- 
 * ' tered spot, encompassed with a young spruce grove which 
 " had sprung up since its abandonment; but many of the 
 "cellars, the fallen walls of the potato gardens, and the 
 "neglected and unpruned apple trees, ofi"ered themselves 
 "to the observation of even a casual passer-by. It was a 
 " spot well calculated to arrest the attention of the contem- 
 " plative traveller, — to awaken pensive recollections, — and 
 " carry the mind back to the simple and primitive scenes of 
 "which that area had been the theatre, and those ancient 
 " trees the witnesses."* 
 
 Passing by the Eel Brook and Tusket Acadians, of 
 whom really nothing is known before the extradition, we 
 
 *The late Dr. H. G. Farish. 
 
History of Yarmoutft. 23 
 
 iKitiee the Lake Vaughan settlement, 'around the stern 
 and sanguinary facts of which there is a romantic interest. 
 It has heen thought that this Acadian village was later 
 than those already mentioned, that in fact, it was a place 
 of refuge to which the inhahitants of Tusket and Eel 
 Lake fled, when they learnt the intentions of the gov- 
 ernment. It lies ahout fifteen miles in the interior, — 
 a beautiful spot. The settlement, which was between Mr. 
 John Keynard's and the bridge was eompaet and populous, 
 as the number and contiguity of the cellars till lately testi- 
 fied. The last few years, however, have served to almost 
 entirely remove every trace of their whereabouts. Their 
 pursuers tracked them ; and the tradition is, that a boat 
 despatched from an armed vessel at the mouth of the river, 
 ascended the Tusket and its chain of lakes in search of the 
 refugees. They were piloted by an Indian, who played 
 them false. When within a mile or so of the village at a 
 narrow part of lake Yaughan, where the river is contracted 
 to the width of twenty or thirty yards, a strong ambuscade 
 had been placed ; and when sufiiciently near, so complete 
 was the attack, their assailants by the first volley, killed or 
 wounded the whole party. This transient victory protected 
 them for the time, but finally they were nearly all captured 
 and exiled. Those who escaped took to the woods, and 
 associated with the Indians. The vessel here referred to, 
 was probably that which was placed at the service of Major 
 Prebble, who was instructed to put into Cape Sable and 
 some of the adjacent harbours, on his way to Boston. 
 
 The only remaining Acadian Settlement to be noticed is 
 that at Pubnico, or Pohomcon as it was called by the 
 
24 History of Yarmoidh. 
 
 French ;* a name which was given to a gentleman of Nor- 
 mandy, with the title of Baron, by Charles de la Tour de 
 St. Etienne, " Lord of Cape Sable and Lieut, of the King 
 in Acadie." This gentleman, the Baron of Pobomcon, as 
 he was called, was Philip D'Entremont. La Tour made 
 him his Major General ; and subsequently successive alli- 
 ances united the two families. 
 
 So far, on both sides, this respectable family are con- 
 nected with the French Nohlesse. Notwithstanding, this 
 fact did not procure them any immunity ; nor did it serve 
 to secure their property, which was at that time consider- 
 able. Their lands extended from Cape Sable to Port 
 Royal, all along the coast and for several nailes back. 
 They were carried to Walpole, in the neighbourhood of 
 Boston, where they remained for about eleven years : from 
 whence we shall notice their return at the right time and 
 place. 
 
 The ancestral home of the D'Entremonts was Cherbourg ; 
 where several of them fled in 1755, and where, in all prob- 
 ability their descendants are still living. 
 
 * Pobomcoup, Pommicoup, Poiimicoup, Pobomcon, Pugnico and Pubnico, 
 are French and English variations of the Indian Bogbumkook, 
 
CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 EARLY ENGLISH SETTLERS. THE COUNTY KNOWN TO AMERICAN 
 
 FISHERMEN BEORE SETTLED. GOVERNMENT OFFERS 
 
 TO INTENDING SETTLERS. GRANTS. 
 
 f|Ol)0PULAELY speaking, Yarmouth is said to have been 
 ^ settled on the 
 
 9th of JUNE, 1761. 
 For on that day three families arrived on these shores, the 
 parent stems of many fruitful boughs, which have since 
 filled the land. 
 
 But I think the fact not unworthy of notice that this 
 County was not, before that time, altogether an unknown 
 land. Men go wherever there is a fair prospect of reward 
 for their labour, and especially is this true of a hardy sea- 
 faring people. For years before any families settled in this 
 County, our harbours of Yarmouth and Chebogae were 
 the resort of American fishermen. Whether they were in 
 the habit of coming here before the French inhabitants 
 were expelled may be a moot question ; but one which I 
 should feel inclined to answer in the affirmative. 
 
 Be that as it may, the proclamations which were issued 
 by Governor Lawrence from time to time, were not made 
 to people who knew nothing of the Province. One inference 
 which has been made from the fact of the sufferings endured 
 .by the new-comers during the first season arose out of 
 their ignorance of the requirements of the County during 
 
26 • History of Yarmouth. 
 
 the Avinter season, as much as from their scanty sup- 
 plies. However this was, there were among the original 
 settlers those who knew the coast well ; who came here 
 for the fishing season each year, and who would not 
 therefore have heen wholly unacquainted with their new 
 home. 
 
 But the amount of available information obtainable by 
 those who intended to settle in this County is easily ascer- 
 tained. After the French Acadians had been deported, 
 many of them into New England, the fact that there was 
 a vacant Province abounding with valuable lands, wild and 
 cultivated, well supplied with water power, and whose 
 rivers, harbours, bays and shores abounded with all kinds 
 of fish, where nothing was wanted but inhabitants to take 
 possession, could not have been long unknown or undesired 
 when known. But, whatever may have been the amount 
 of definite information generally diffused before, after the 
 publication of Governor Lawrence's proclamation dated 
 Halifax, October 12, 1758, the position, though not alto- 
 gether clear, was sufficiently well defined. That document 
 is so pertinent to a number of questions, as well as another 
 proclamation that followed, that I shall insert both : 
 
 "Whereas by the late success of his Majesty's arms in the reduction of 
 " Cape Breton and its dependencies, as also by the demolition and entire 
 " destruction of Gaepee, Meremachi, and other French settlements on tha 
 " Gulph of St. Lawrence, and in the Saint John Eiver in the Bay of Fun- 
 " day, the enemy who have formerly disturbed and harrassed the Province 
 "of Nova Scotia, and much obtruded its progress, have been compelled to 
 " retire and to take refuge in Canada, a favourable opportunity now pre- 
 "sents for the peopling and cultivating as well the land vacated by the 
 ' ' French as every other part of this valuable Province. I have therefore 
 " thought fit, with the advice of his Majesty's Council, to issue this procla- 
 " mation, declaring that I shall be able to receive any proposals that may 
 
History of Yarmouth. 27 
 
 " be made hereafter to me for effectually settling the said vacated or any 
 " other lands within the Province aforesaid, a description whereof, and of 
 " the advantages arising from their peculiar nature and situation, I have 
 " ordered to be published with this proclamation." 
 
 I have been unable to find the ''description'' referred 
 to ; no copy has been preserved in the Record Office ; but 
 it very probably supplied the leading facts of just such in- 
 formation as men intending to emigrate to a new country 
 would require. The immediate result of this proclama- 
 tion was, that companies of intending emigrants from 
 different parts of New England, New York, Connecticut, 
 and even from Philadelphia, were formed. The first 
 intending settlers of this County were partly, if not 
 principally, from Philadelphia. When those companies 
 were formed, they appointed Agents to negotiate the 
 business; and in all probability, they were also the 
 Executive. 
 
 Whatever the extent of the information given by Gov. 
 Lawrence was, it was deficient upon certain details, with- 
 out the knowledge of which, intending settlers would not 
 move. Within three months after issuing this invitation 
 and "information,'" there were numerous enquiries as to ' 
 what encouragement the Government held out? what 
 quantity of land ? what quit rent or taxes ? what quantity, 
 or if any provisions would be given at the first settlement ? 
 and something fuller with regard to the form of Govern- 
 ment, and the question of Religion. The consequence was 
 that on the 11th of January, 1759, a second proclamation 
 was issued, which, inasmuch as it has not been included 
 in the selection of public documents known as the Nova 
 Scotia Archives, and is yet full of interesting matter other- 
 
28 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 wise generally inaccessible, I have inserted the latter part 
 of it at full length : 
 
 " By his Majesty's Royal instructions to me, I am empowered to make 
 " grants in the following proportions, viz : that Townships shall consist of 
 " 100,000 acres of land, or about 12 miles square; that they do include the 
 " best and most profitable land ; and that they do comprehend such rivers 
 "as maybe at or near such settlement, and do extend as far up into the 
 " Country as conveniently may be, taking in a necessary part of the sea 
 " coast. That the quantities of land granted will be in proportion to the 
 " abilities to plant, cultivate, or enclose the same, viz: that 100 acres of 
 " wild wood lands will be allowed to every person being master or mistress 
 " of a family for himself or herself, and fifty acres for every white or black 
 " man, woman or child, of which such person's family shall consist at the 
 "actual time of making the grant, subject to the payment of a quit rent of 
 "one Shilling sterling per annum for every fifty acres; such quit rent to 
 
 "commence at the' expiration often years from the date of each grant 
 
 "That the grantees will be obliged by their said grants to plant, cultivate, 
 "improve, or enclose one third part of their land in ten years, another 
 " third within twenty years, and the remaining third within a space of 
 " thirty years from the date of their grants. 
 
 "That no person can possess more than 1000 acres grant in his or her 
 
 "own name 
 
 " That as to government, it is constituted like to those of the neighbour- 
 
 "ing Colonies, and every township, as soon as it shall consist of fifty 
 
 "families, will be entitled to send two representatives to the Assembly 
 
 "That as to the article of Religion, full liberty of conscience is 
 
 " secured to persons of all persuasions. Papists excepted, Protestants, 
 
 " dissenting from the Church of England, whether they be Calvinists, Lu- 
 " therans, Quakers, or imder what denomination soever, shall have free 
 "liberty of conscience, and may erect and build meeting houses for public 
 " worship, and may choose and elect ministers for the carrying on Divine 
 " service and administration of the sacraments, according to their sevei-al 
 
 "opinions 
 
 "That no taxes have hitherto been laid upon his Majesty's subjects in 
 " this Province ; nor are there any fees of oiEce taken upon issuing the 
 
 "grants of land That I am not authorized to ofi"er any bounty of pro- 
 
 " visions." 
 
 This proclamation was issued on January 11th, 1759, 
 and in about six months, parties to the number of one 
 hundred and thirty-three, residing in different parts of 
 
History of Yarfaouth. 29 
 
 New England, and Philadelphia, and Nova Scotia, applied 
 for and obtained a grant of the Township of Yarmouth, 
 which was recorded on the 1st of September of that year. 
 For reasons which probably can never be known, 
 
 THIS FIRST GRANT WAS NOT TAKEN UP, 
 
 and, out of the one hundred and thirty4hree names men- 
 tioned in it, not more than ten appear either in subsequent 
 grants, or in the after history of the County. Evidently, 
 some disagreement must have -occurred which caused the 
 grant practically to break through. In this respect, Yar- 
 mouth is not alone. The books in the Crown lands office 
 show duplicate or triplicate whole separate grants of Town- 
 ships made at different times to different parties. And a 
 close examination into the causes would probably result in 
 the opinion that speculation and land-jobbing were neither 
 unknown nor unpractised in those early days of the Pro- 
 vince any' more than it is capable of proof that the art has 
 since been forgotten. 
 
 When it was evident to hona-Jlde intending settlers that 
 the grant of September 1st, 1759, could not be acted upon 
 so as that the Government conditions upon which the lands 
 were to be held, could be complied with, and their title be 
 secured, those who really meant to emigrate to this part of 
 the Province appear to have taken up a new grant, which 
 was recorded (January 8th, 1760) only four months after 
 the first. The terms in which the grant is expressed are 
 similar to those in the first. 
 
 This- second grant of the whole Township (100,000 
 acres), recorded on January 8th, is immediately followed 
 by another, recorded on the same day, granting to several 
 
30 . History of Yarmouth. 
 
 parties mentioned in the preceding grant of the whole, 
 27,000 acres. I confess when I read these several grants, 
 and others with them, I had very great difficulty in recon- 
 ciling them. But I have come to the conclusion, that as 
 grants cost nothing to take out, they were taken out at 
 random, or on speculation ; that intending settlers were 
 baulked in their endeavours by being associated with parties 
 who had no intention to settle ; the terms of the grants 
 being such as to make thejn valid only in the event of all 
 the parties named in the body of the grant jointly, as well 
 as severally, complying. I observe that in the grant of 
 September 1st, 1759, one Thomas Anderson was a party, — 
 indeed his name is first on the list, although he is not 
 mentioned in the preamble reciting the fact that an appli- 
 cation had been made. And in the subsequent grant of 
 the whole, dated January 8th, 1760, he is still at the head 
 of the list. And in the partial grant of the same day and 
 date, amounting to 27,000 acres, he is the first named. I 
 am of opinion that Anderson saw that there was danger, as 
 it actually happened, that the second grant might fall 
 through ; and, being in earnest, the smaller grant of the 
 same date was a kind of a confirmatory grant, holding 
 good to the several parties separately. Be that as it may, 
 anxious though he seems to have been to settle in Yar- 
 mouth, he does not appear in the list of grantees of the 
 Township made in 1767 : nor does it appear that he ever 
 came here. 
 
 I think it worth recording, that the name of the County, 
 or Township, first appears in the grant made in September,. 
 1759, in which it is provided that the tract of land hitherto- 
 
History of Yarmouth. 31 
 
 ^known as CajDe Forcliue, shall be '^ a Township, to be called 
 " hereafter and known by the name of the Township of 
 "Yarmouth." This fact is interesting, as it affords, from 
 the circumstance that about one hundred out of the one 
 hundred and thirtj^-three grantees of 1759 were inhabitants 
 of New England, a presumption that the name was sug- 
 gested by those who were already acquainted or identified 
 with the Township and Town of Yarmouth, in INTassachu- 
 setts. We know that numerous families who settled early 
 in this Township came from that neighbourhood. On the 
 other hand, the opinion has been expressed by those en- 
 titled to respect, that the Township derived its name from 
 a nobleman in the ministry of the day ; a fashion of which 
 we have numerous proofs in the Province, 
 
CHAPTER ?. 
 
 \riiE FIRST ARRIVALS. THEIR LOCATIONS, CONBlTlOJf 
 AND FIRST EXPERIENCES. 
 
 I'NDER what distinct instrument or agreement, if any, 
 the pioneers reached these shores, we cannot deter- 
 mine. We have reason, I think, to conclude that there was 
 
 NO FORMAL GRANT MADE TO THOSE WHO ACTUALLY CAME, 
 
 as there had heen to those who did not come; and, that for 
 several years, no partition was made. On Tuesday the 9th 
 day of June 1761, the first vessel arrived having on board 
 three families, who all came from Sandwich, Cape Cod. 
 Those three were Sealed Landers, Ehene^er Ellis, and Moses 
 Perry. On the following Thursday, Jonathan Crosby and 
 Joshua Burgess arrived with their dependents. They came 
 from Connecticut. During the summer, Elishama El- 
 dridge and seven other families arrived. But whatever was 
 the cause, two of those seven returned to New England the 
 same fall ; and the remaining five, the next spring. The 
 three first named landed on the spot afterwards known as 
 Crawley's Island in Chebogue harbour. There Perry re* 
 mained ; Ellis moved further down the river, near to the 
 point ; but Landers, settled at the head of the tide, now 
 Milton, on the west side of the stream. During the first 
 summer and winter, Landers at the head of the Yarmouth 
 harbour, and Elishama Eldridge on the Fish Point, were 
 the sole inhabitants of Cape Forchue. The other families 
 
History of Yarmouth. ■ 33 
 
 m 
 
 as they arrived during tlie summer settled at the mouth of 
 Perry's Creek : extending their temporary habitations along 
 " the lull '•' as it was called, from Crocker's point to the east 
 end of Wyman's road. 
 
 For the bulk of the Settlers, their place of disembarking 
 was all that they, as men chiefly engaged in fishing, could 
 desire. They had nothing to gain by removing ; and they 
 were on, or near to, the cleared lands left by the Acadians. 
 It was otherwise with Landers, who was a miller. He 
 wanted water power. He and his son, soon after their 
 arrival, followed up the Chebogue river to the spot where 
 the bridge now is, at Arcadia. Here they, at first, almost 
 decided that they would build ; but not being satisfied with 
 the prospect, they returned to their landing place, followed 
 down the Chebogue point and up the Cape Forchue harbour 
 until they came to the Milton narrows. This place satisfied 
 them, especially after they had seen and examined the first 
 and second ponds ; and here they brought the frame and 
 milling apparatus which had been discharged on Crawley's 
 Island. Upon the spot then, where the mill now stands. 
 Sealed Landers the miller, built the first mill in the County 
 of Yarmouth : and, in the garden belonging to Mr. Chas E. 
 Brown, between his house and his store, Landers built the 
 first framed house on the Yarmouth harbour. The spot is 
 still observable, for it is hard to remove traces of an old cel- 
 lar. But neither the mill nor the house were built during 
 ih.e first year ; and we must return to the first season's expe-- 
 rience. It appears that besides the provisions which they 
 brought with them, the families before named had made 
 arrangements for further supplies to be brought during the 
 
 D 
 
34 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 season, before tke winter closed in upon them. But, by 
 some accident which befel the vessel, those supplies were 
 entirely cut off, and the infant Colony was reduced ere the 
 season opened to the most dire distress. They had brought 
 oxen, cows, calves, hogs and horses with them ; but under 
 the circumstances, these only added to their distress. The 
 season was exceptionally severe ; the ground remaining 
 covered with a fall of snow four feet deep for some months. 
 Before succour arrived, many had suffered beyond descrip- 
 tion from the extreme rigour of the season and the 
 scarcity of provisions. Twenty-seven of the horned cattle 
 died of hunger and cold. The others were killed for food, 
 A curious confirmation of this tradition is found in an old 
 ledger. In the spring of the next year, one person sent 
 over eleven hides to the Boston market. Apart from other 
 hides, of which there may be no record, there could have 
 been no necessity for killing a dozen cattle for thirteen 
 families. The following extract from "The Book of 
 Records for the Town of Yarmouth," is also very much to 
 the point, although entered years afterwards : — 
 
 Yarmouth, September 9, 1762. 
 " We, William Pring, Ebenezer Moulton, John Crawley, Esquires, being 
 " appointed by Government of Nova Scotia in Halifax as Committeemen 
 " for settlement of Township of Yarmouth in said County called Queens 
 " County, provide * * * * -k- * * * * 
 " Seventh, Pring's island to be given for service done to families in the 
 " Township in time of distress for their relief, to be William Pring's, Esq., 
 " and John Crawley's jointly. ******* 
 
 William Pring, "l Committee 
 Ebenezer Moulton, I appointed by 
 John Crawley, J Authority." 
 
 All were not alike. Some had been more provident than 
 others, or more fortunate ; but all suffered enough. In the 
 «arly spring, before succour arrived, some were reduced to 
 
jffistory of Yarmouth. 35 
 
 the necessity of trying to obtain sustenance from the hides 
 of the animals they had killed and eaten. So extreme were 
 their sufferings that one or two died of want. One of the 
 party confessed in after years to a friend whose testimony 
 is trustworthy, that the sweetest meal she ever ate was 
 made from the tail of a hide, which she cut off and cooked. 
 There has always been a traditional belief that the Govei-n- 
 ment had promised provisions and other assistance, which 
 never came to hand ; and, in consequence of this belief, 
 there has always been more or less of hardness of feeling 
 upon the part of those who either in themselves, or in their 
 friends, thought they were injured. As a corrective of this 
 feeling, I think the plain declaration of Governor Lawrence 
 to the effect that he had no authority to promise provisions, 
 will do good service. The truth is, there is ground for 
 fearing that some of those who suffered most, were also 
 those who had done least for themselves. But even if it 
 were the operation of an inexoraible law of nature, that 
 effect follows cause, we feel a sense of deep sympathy with 
 those who suffered so much then, but who can suffer no 
 more in this world. 
 
 After a long dreary winter, the Spring came ; and with 
 it, a vessel bearing supplies to the well-nigh famished 
 Colony. We cannot record their expressions of thankful 
 joy; but we can imagine their jubilant feelings. Men, 
 women and children saw, for a time, the end of their suffer- 
 ings. It is an uniform tradition that one of the men, half 
 starved and reckless of the result, ate so freely of biscuit, 
 that he only just lived, even after laborious rubbing and 
 oiling. But even then, the prospect was one inviting only 
 
86 History of Yarmouth, 
 
 to the strong-hearted, the self-reKant and the industrionSy 
 There was a possibihty of guarding against similar extremi- 
 ties during the next season. The immediate result of the 
 lately endured privations was that five families returned to 
 New England. The names of those five, together with 
 those two who returned in the fall of the previous year, 
 are — Basset, Pease, Abbey, Crosby, Hall, Howard and 
 Carpenter. This early exodus was by no means reassuring 
 to those who remained. Seventeen families comprising 
 fourteen adult males, twelve adult females, forty male chil- 
 dren, and fourteen female children, in all eighty souls, had 
 spent the first winter in their new home. But the opening 
 of the next season, that of 1762, saw the number reduced 
 to six families, comprising in all thirty-eight souls. 
 
 There is a first to everything, and we believe that the 
 year 1762 saw the first birth, the first death, and the first 
 marriage. The first English child that was born in this 
 County was Anna, the daughter of Moses Perry. She was 
 born in September of that year. The house, if it can be 
 so designated, in which this pioneer stranger first saw the 
 light, was an amusing instance of ingenuity; her father 
 having settled on what had been a French Acadian orchard, 
 utilized one of the apple trees as a centre support, and dis- 
 posed his tenting materials all around it. In the spring of 
 
 the same year, Lucy, daughter of Crosby, died ; and, 
 
 I think, that the circumstances already detailed supply the 
 probable cause. The month of December of this same 
 year saw the first marriage, which was that of Jonathan 
 Crosby, Junr., and Patty Howard, who had evidently found 
 more inducement to stay than the other members of her 
 
History of Yarmouth. 37 
 
 family.* Whilst mentioning tliese first domestic details, 
 I may here add that the first male child horn was William, 
 son of Samuel Harris. His father settled on the western 
 side of the harbour, opposite Killam's shipyard.. Whether 
 William was born in the year 1762, or in the year follow- 
 ing, is uncertain ; but he was at all events the first English 
 male child born in the County. 
 
 The seven families who returned could not have given ^ 
 very cheering account of the land. Still, others came in 
 their place. Experience, the best of teachers, had taught 
 all to be ready for the winter, and being better provided 
 they spent a less dreary season. Still, we are assured on 
 good testimony, that for years want was not unknown. 
 
 " Many a time -when the men liad gone out to the banks fishing, ■women 
 " and childi'en were obliged to wait without a morsel of food within their 
 "reach, until the receding of the tide enabled them to wade out on the 
 " flats and collect a meal of the elams with which the harbours aboimded, 
 ■" and which were cooked and eaten on the beach ; while at other times the 
 *' himgry children have been indebted for a feast on their moose and eels to 
 " the benevolence of the inhabitantfl of the neighbouring wigwams, A 
 *' respectable ship master and owner told me that when a boy, he had often 
 " fished in his father's boat, day after day, with no food but, to use his own 
 " plain but expressive words, ' dried halibut and hounaigh clabbatcgh,'f ex- 
 " cept when they landed to cook a mess of the fish they had been catching. 
 " These narratives may appear scarcely credible, but truth is sometimes 
 " stranger than fiction, — and as I had them from the lips of the actors 
 " themselves, I have no doubt of their entire accuracy."| 
 
 In the face of such testimony, it must require no small 
 scepticism to reject, and no ordinary hardness of heart, to 
 be unmoved by the recital of such details. 
 
 During the available season of 1762, we are certain of 
 
 * This little romance in real life, which was incidentally mentioned by 
 me in a Lecture, gave rise to quite a lengthy Poem on the subject, from 
 .the pen of Mr. Richard Huntington, with a perusal of which I have been, 
 favoured ; but with which, as yet, he has not favoured the public, in the 
 columns of the Tribune. 
 
 t In Webster, Bonny Clabber, | Dr. H. G-. Farish. Early recollections. 
 
38 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 the arrival of several men, "whether their families accompa- 
 nied them at first or not, whose names are now as house- 
 hold words : and one or two of them may have been in 
 Yarmouth during the previous season. Those of them, of 
 whose coming, from a variety of considerations, drawn from 
 different sources, there is no doubt, are John Crawle}^, 
 long after known as Squire Crawley, Captain Ephraim 
 Cook, Josiah Beal, Seth Barnes, Edward Tinkham, Ben- 
 jamin Darling, Patrick Gowen, Samuel Harris, Phineas 
 Durkee, Hezekiah Bunker, Eichard Eose, Ebenezer Corning, 
 Samuel Wood, and Ebenezer Moulton. And to those may 
 be added the name of Samuel Oats, who, although unknown 
 in after history, was placed by the Council in Halifax on a 
 Committee for laying out lots to individual settlers. A 
 glance at names mentioned shows, at once, to any one 
 acquainted with the Township, how the little one has become 
 a thousand. There were several other arrivals not enumer- 
 ated here ; but not very many. No lists or reliable data 
 have been available ; but if a person's name is mentioned 
 in some record as having had a lot of land laid out to him, 
 or as serving on a Committee ; ^or is named as the holder 
 of a piece of land adjoining that which was being laid out, 
 we may safely conclude his presence. 
 
 Phineas Durkee, whose name is mentioned above, was a 
 tanner by trade ; a business which he carried on in Yar- 
 mouth, quite extensively. He came from Brinfield, Mass., 
 in 1763. He was the first Town Clerk, prominent in all 
 public business, and influential as a Magistrate, — an office 
 which he and Mr. John Crawley were the first to fill. He 
 was the ancestor of all who, in this County, bear his name. 
 He died in the year 1800» 
 
CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 PROGRESS OE THE WORK OF SETTLEMENT. COMMITTEE 
 APPOINTED BY COUNCIL. RULES FOR THEIR GUIDANCE. 
 
 fHE formal Township grants of 1759 and 1760 having 
 fallen through, it would appear that the Council 
 refused to receive any further applications for grants of the 
 ivhole ; hut that, instead, they appointed a committee 
 under special regulations, to provide for settlers as they 
 arrived; a principle that was acted upon until the year 
 1767 ; when, there being a sufficient number of interested 
 parties on the spot, a formal grant was once more made, 
 which is the one under which the Township is now held. 
 After eighteen months had elapsed, and nothing had been 
 done, on the 25th September, 1761, 
 
 THE COUNCIL APPOINTED A COMMITTEE 
 
 " for dividing the forfeited lands in the Township of Yar- 
 " mouth, and for admitting settlers into the said Township 
 " under the regulations established in Council on the 
 " fifteenth day of August last."* The committee named 
 were John Crawley, William Pring, Richard Lodge, 
 Ebenezer Moulton, Joseph Rundel, James Fillis and 
 Stephen Moulton. There is some reason to think that 
 those men were in Halifax at the time ; probably arranging 
 for settlement. Be that as it may, several are the names 
 of men who never saw Yarmouth. Some of them may 
 
 ^Council Minutes of date. 
 
40 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 have known that they would not be here ; for in less than 
 a month the Council advised that Mr. Josiah Beal, Mr. 
 Ephraim Cook, and Mr. Samuel Oats, should be added to 
 the Committee : and, as a matter of fact, the last three 
 named, together with Mr. Crawley, were the only men who 
 ever served on the committee. The 
 
 EEGULATIONS FOR ADMITTING SETTLERS 
 
 referred to in the minute appointing the committee were 
 these : — 
 
 " Farmers having families consisting of more than seven persons in a 
 " family, stock, and ability suiBcient, to have one share and a half.* 
 
 " Farmers having families of sis and under, and stock, to have one share. 
 
 " Farmers single, above twenty-one years of age, to have half a share, 
 
 " A return to be made to the Commander-in-Chief, of persons so admit- 
 " ted, with their age, number in family, stock and ability, by the first 
 " opportunity after each admission. 
 
 " And all other persons are to be admitted by the said Committee, upon 
 " receiving orders from the Commander-in-Chief or others authorized by 
 " him, giving directions therefor. 
 
 " No minors to be admitted but by express directions from the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief. 
 
 " That Fishermen, Ship Carpenters and other professions belonging to 
 " the sea, be admitted as well as farmers." 
 
 The Committee did nothing in 1761, beyond arranging 
 the details of their work. In doing so they were evidently 
 of opinion that the future Town should be on what has 
 always since been known as Bunker's Island ; and, as far as 
 they could, they provided that it should be so, by restricting 
 the size of each lot to one acre. 
 
 They held their first meeting on June the 15th, 1763, 
 on which occasion they published their plan of proceeding. 
 They invited all persons already " jiitched and settled,'' as 
 well as " all others intending to settle," to make application 
 
 * A share consisted of 666 acres ; and, whenever we use the word,' it is 
 in that sense. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 
 
 41 
 
 to them for land. This shows that up till this point, each 
 of the settlers was but a Squatter,— a fact which afterwards 
 gave rise to very unpleasant difficulties, — and that he 
 needed to have the land upon which he had settled to be 
 confirmed by this Committee, and laid out by their sur- 
 veyor. Their attention was evidently chiefly directed to a 
 judicious arrangement of the water lots, not only because 
 thay were those already occupied, but also as being the 
 most valuable, and requiring the greatest care. They 
 reserved all the Islands in the rivers for the use of the 
 Fishermen ; and discretion for themselves to modify their 
 general plan. I have here inserted as being at once the 
 oldest public Township record, and a kind of literary 
 curiosity, an exact copy first, of the first meeting of the 
 Committee; and secondly, a copy of the first certificate of 
 proprietorship granted by the Committee. All that follow 
 are substantially the same. 
 
 Persuant to the orders and Directions Given to us from 
 the Groverment as a Commitey to Regelate The Setle- 
 ment of this town of Yearmouth at Councel holden at 
 Halifax on monday the 18 of October 1762 And in obe- 
 diance to the truste Reposed in us as a Commitey Hav- 
 ing heard the ReQustes mad by Divers persons AUredey 
 pitched and setled as well as many others Hoc have mad 
 there applicaton to us for Rights of Land haveing Duly 
 considered the mater we Have thought fit for the Good 
 and well being of the town that the Land be devided in 
 
 The 
 
 furst 
 
 meeting 
 
 of the 
 
 Commetee 
 
 Rec'd 
 
 Recorded 
 June 
 the 15th 
 1763 
 
 the fast Devishens as foUoweth fustly That Each Lot of 
 Land ajoyneing the harbour or River called teboge shall 
 frunt Eightey Rods and Run so far Back as to containe 
 one hundred acors and all so the Lands at Capersu har- 
 bour in the same manner if found conveanent by Com- 
 mety when Laid out (excepting the Land Lyeing on 
 Capersu harbour above the Iseland or Penensula that 
 is now setled on which is to be laid in Acor Lots) & 
 beginning at the lot on which Phenias Durgey is setled 
 on the fust Lot ajoyning said Durgey Ranging northerly 
 
 The furst 
 meeting 
 of the 
 Committee 
 Rec'd and 
 Recorded 
 June the 15 
 17C3 at 
 Nine of 
 the Clocli 
 in the 
 four Noon 
 and on 
 Page 13 
 
42 
 
 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 In the 
 
 furst 
 
 Book 
 
 of the 
 
 Records 
 
 at year 
 
 mouth 
 
 Page 
 
 Thurteen 
 
 Ephralm 
 
 Cooke 
 
 Register 
 
 The iurst 
 Return re'd 
 August the 
 12 at 9 
 of the Clok 
 in the four 
 Noon year 
 1763 & 
 Recorded in 
 In page 14 
 
 along the harbors head to the fresh Eever to Seled Lan- 
 ders is lot the fust Lot a joining To Phineus Durgey to 
 frunt fortey Rods and all the Rest from there Round to 
 the had of Land Leying on the south side of the falls 
 called by the name of the salt pond fall to frunt 
 sixty Rods Excepting said Landers Lot & the Land 
 Granted to John Charles for a mill Lot the Lots that 
 frunt sixty Rods are to Run back so far as to contain 
 sixty accors if thay can convenantly or otherwise as shall 
 Be found convenent by that commetey as shall Lay them 
 out & the poynt on the north side of Capersu harbour to 
 Ee Laid in acor Lots & a small peneula next a joining on 
 the a four said pensular now setled on at said Capersu 
 Lying southeast on said harbour to be Laid out in acors' 
 And the neck of Land at tebogue harbour on which 
 Bin j man Darling now Lives on to be laid out in Acer 
 Lots & a hundred acers of Land to be Laid out in acer 
 Lots that Layes in a neck a joining teboge Rever Between 
 the two Lots now posessed ' by Samuel adinton & 
 Samuel wood and the Cape of Land caled and known By 
 the name of Capersu had or neck on the north side of 
 the harbour to where it is cut of by the water through 
 The beach to be Reserved for a Comon to Convean said 
 Harbour and the marsh Lands on the south of the Efour 
 said harbour a joining to the Efour said pensulas to Be 
 Reserved for a Comon as shall be found Conveant by 
 The Commitey that Layes out the same in Confirmmation 
 Here of we have here-unto set our hands this ninth Day 
 of June & in the year of our Lord 1763 
 John Crawley "| 
 
 Ephraim Cooke ^ , , 
 
 r, r\ f Commettee 
 
 Samuel Oats 
 
 Josiah Bbal J 
 
 Capersue in year mouth July the 2 1763 
 
 Then Laid out unto andrew Durkey one hundred acers 
 
 of Land Lying on the North westerly side of the Salt 
 
 pond Beginning at a spruch tree marked A D Running 
 
 south fifteen Degres weste Eighty Rods then North 
 
 seventy Degres west two hundred and two Rods then 
 
 North fifteen Degres Easte Eightey Rods then South 
 
 Seventy Degrees Easte two hundred and two Rods to the 
 
 furst mentioned bound Excluding neeery Roads — Run 
 
 out by Patrick Gowen Survar by order of the Commettee 
 
 JoBN Crawley 'j 
 
 Josiaii Beal ^ ,,„„ 
 
 -n, n Y Commettee 
 
 Epuraim Cooke 
 
 Samuel Oats J 
 
History of Yarmouth. 
 
 43 
 
 The person named William Pring, may have been in 
 Yarmouth in 1762 ; but, if so, lie was here only a yery 
 short time. He left Nova Scotia for Great Britain in the 
 Spring of 1763 ; his property, part of which was a share of 
 the Island known as Crawley's, was made over by consent 
 of Council to a Mr. Lorrey.* With regard to Mr. Richard 
 Lodge, nothing more is knovrn than the interesting fact 
 that on the recommendation of Messrs. Rundel, Crawlej", 
 and Young, on the 29th of June, 1761, twenty days after 
 the first arrival, he was made a Justice of the Peace. He 
 was therefore the first in the Yarmouth Commission ;. an 
 office the duties of which he never discharged. 
 
 It was doubtless necessary to have some Justices in the 
 Township. Accordingly, on September the 25th of 1761 
 •the Council " advised that Mr. John Crawley, Mr. William 
 "Pring, and Mr. Stephen Moulton be appointed Justices; 
 
 ''' and that Mr. Waters and Mr. William Young be 
 
 "appointed Deputy Surveyors;" Patrick Gowen, before 
 named, being the first incumbent of the office of Surveyor. 
 
 Ephraim Cooke, one of the Committee and the first 
 Registrar of Deeds, is entitled to some notice. He was a 
 seafaring man who had lost one of his legs ; and a few still 
 living can recall the days when their childish fancy identi- 
 fied him with the Captain Cook who sailed round the 
 world. He was not one of the first thirteen of 1761 ; but 
 he was here before any of them ; and, as far as we know, 
 he was the first Englishman who set foot on this County. 
 He was the pioneer of the Yarmouth fishing trade, and he 
 knew these shores for seasons before the year of settle- 
 
 * Council Minutes, April 30, 1763. 
 
^i History of Yarmouth. 
 
 ment, having been one of those who came to fish and then 
 return to then- New England homes at the end of the sea- 
 son. As the youngest of three sons, he was kept at home 
 (Kingston, Mass.), to work on the farm. In 1755 he 
 accompanied his father, who was a Captain of MiHtia, and, 
 while building a fort, a log fell and broke his leg, necessi- 
 tating amputation beloAV the knee. He could farm no 
 longer, and afterwards he became a Surveyor. But he 
 preferred the sea ; and it is as shoresman and storekeeper 
 in his future father-in-law's fishing vessel- that we first 
 meet with him in the spring of 1761, befor^e the arrival of 
 any intending settlers. He first camped on Tinkham's 
 Island; then at Cook's harbour, where he had a better 
 beach to cure the fish. He busied hiaiself at homo in 
 Kingston during the winter of 1761 in getting out the 
 frame of a house, which was of oak, part of which can yet 
 be identified. Being lame, he required a horse for draw- 
 ing the fish to and from the flakes ; and as water was dis- 
 tant from his camping place, he procured a stout canoe, in 
 which he fixed a barrel ; and by these expedients he sup- 
 plemented the loss of his limb. He gradually became a 
 man of considerable influence in the Township. He had 
 a vessel of about 35 or 40 tons, all of oak, in the fishing 
 trade, of which we may describe him as the founder. In 
 her he employed seven or eight men, who, on the well 
 now obsolete mode of payment, were " supplied" from his 
 store. We have already noted that he was the first Begis- 
 trar; afterwards, he was appointed the first Captain of 
 Militia for both sides of the Chebogue Eiver ; in addition 
 to which he held a commission as Justice of the Peace. 
 He died in the year 1821, leaving behind him a good 
 substance, a large family, and a fair fame. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CONTINUED INFLUX TILL 1764. FIRST NOTICE OF ARGYLE AND 
 PUBNICO. MR. CRAWLEY'S RETURN. PERSONAL REFERENCES. 
 
 tILL 1767, after whicli land liad to be bought, intend- 
 ing settlers continued to arrive in no inconsiderable 
 numbers. Nothing is plainer than that for the more 
 part, they were poor men ; and such a misfortune as 
 the memorable winter of 1761, which found them in the 
 spring without food and without seed, the suppliants of a 
 GoYernment who declared that "by reason of the great 
 ''load of debt due by the public, it was unable to assist 
 *' them," their prospect was one of hard toil. To this 
 however, results have shown they were equal. 
 
 In the season of 1763, the settlement was increased by 
 the arrival of several families. Prominent among those, in 
 respect of their numerous descendants, were Cornelius 
 Piogers, Peleg Holmes, Jonathan TJtley, Eleazer Hibbard,. 
 Eleazer Butler, William and Eobert Haskell, Benjamin 
 Bobbins, Benj. Crosby, Lemuel Churchill, Levi Horton^ 
 and David Hersey. A glance at the Christian names 
 jjhows us the former home and extraction of all of them • 
 whilst a moment's reflection on the Surnames most widely 
 scattered over the County, will satisfy us of the after 
 importance of this season's immigration. 
 
 The Committee for laying out lands were kept busily 
 employed in providing for the present, and looking out for 
 
46 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 the future. One of the schemes they had was a Town of 
 lesser importance on the Forchue Harbour, than that which 
 was projected on the Chebogue harbour, a scheme to which 
 we have already referred. They intended to locate the 
 principal Town on the projecting land, east of the burying 
 ground on the Chebogue harbour ; and the spot is still 
 known by the name of the Town point. Here they had 
 settled the site of the Town. The proceeding was reason- 
 able; for at this time, and for many years afterwards, 
 Chebogue was the centre of population and influence. 
 
 Simultaneously with the arrival of English inhabitants 
 in Yarmouth, some foAV persons had arrived in the future 
 districts of 
 
 ARGYLE AND PUBNICO. 
 
 There was no difficulty in this part of the County about 
 grants; no grant of the whole of what is known as the 
 Township of Argyle having ever been made. The earliest 
 record we have of any settlers is, "An application from 
 "William Ingols on behalf of several persons who are 
 " arrived at Piignico (Pubnico), and requesting that a small 
 " quantity of land may be allotted to them, as the Town 
 " lots are not yet laid out. The Committee did advise 
 " that ten acres of land be laid out to each family now on 
 " the spot as well as to those families which shall hereafter 
 " arrive there."* There are no means of ascertaining ex- 
 actly who those several persons were, no list or record of 
 any kind having been preserved. Whether Mr. Ingols had 
 taken more than belonged to him, when he spoke for him- 
 self and the " several others," it is impossible to say; but, 
 
 * Council Minutes, May Ist, 1762. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 4T 
 
 a few montlis later, the Council " ordered Francis Salter be 
 " accommodated with a first lot at Pugnico, which is to be 
 " laid out to him, of the cleared lands enclosed there by 
 " Mr. Ingols ; and also that ten acres of land be laid out 
 " to the said Francis Salter at Pugnico, agreeable to the 
 " order of Council of the first day of May last, the said ten 
 " acres to be laid out to him, wherever he chooses, so as 
 " the same does not interfere with the persons already set- 
 " tied there."* 
 By the year 1763, 
 
 " John Frt)st and fifteen others settled on Abuptick Eirei' 
 
 " They have about sixty-four in family, sixty-five cattle, thirty sheep, 
 " twenty hogs, one schooner, twenty-five acres of cleared land, two hundred 
 "and five acres of land cleared from the woods by the inhabitants, and 
 " most of it planted with potatoes and planted with grain."t 
 
 Such is the detailed history. of what was shortly after- 
 wards called Aegyle. That name, by which eventually 
 the whole Township or district became known, was given 
 by Captain Ranald McKinnon, a native of the Western 
 Highlands of Scotland, who had served in the regular army 
 with distinction, and afterwards in this Province, with 
 energy, in completing the expulsion of the French. | In 
 consideration of his services, on the first of April, 1766, 
 he had two thousand acres granted to him, comprising " a 
 
 tract of land where he now lives, being a point of land 
 " between the Island Nonparison and Eel Bay and the 
 '* river Abuptic, containing five hundred acres. Also, the 
 " Island or Islands called La Tour, lying between the 
 
 * Minutes August 16, 1762. 
 
 t Crawley's Eeturn of 1764. 
 
 J In 1812, his widow set forth as grounds for a renewal of certain deeds 
 which had been destroyed, the fact that her husband had served in the 
 wars, and had been wounded. 
 
48 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 " Island called Nonparison, granted to Messrs. Crawley and 
 *' Morris, and the Island called Long Island granted to H. 
 " E, tlie Governor, containing one thousand acres." 
 
 Captain McKinnon had a large family of sons and 
 daughters, though few, if any, of their descendants hearing 
 the name are now in the county. One of his sons. Major 
 John McKinnon, was memher for the County of Shelburne 
 in 1823. And one of his daughters, afterwards the wife of 
 Dr. Fletcher, an army physician, was well known in her 
 day for her literary ability. On his arrival about 1762, he 
 first settled on Amirault's Hill, between two and three 
 miles below Tusket village. But there were neither French 
 nor English neighbours there at that time, and in a j^ear- 
 or two he removed to the charming spot known as Oak 
 Grove. In both cases, he proved himself a true high- 
 lander, for he chose the most elevated sites in the neigh- 
 bourhood. 
 
 The scenery in this locality is marked by uncommon and 
 varied beauty, which opens to the traveller as he winds 
 round the road and is about to cross the Argyle bridge, 
 looking westward. In the foreground are the bridge over 
 the quietly flowing and winding river, with one or two cot- 
 tages half hidden by the foliage ; and in the background 
 the hills successive rise till their summits are crowned 
 with lofty trees ; through the opening branches of which, 
 near the close of an autumn day, the western sun's rays are 
 poured, filling the scene with lights and shadows of ever- 
 varying depth. A climb among the still standing oaks to 
 the top of the hill on which once stood the old McKinnon 
 homestead, will well repay the labour. There is little now 
 
History of Yar'mouth. 
 
 49 
 
 to tell the tale of bygone days, save the debris of the old 
 cellar wall, in the vicinity of which a lilac or two, an old 
 thorn, and a few willows, still stand. All that is merely 
 human ife gone ; the view as of yore remains ; and like him 
 who made it, it is very good. Around you are the neigh- 
 bouring hills, but you are on the highest ; and at the base 
 of the hill, looking southward, is the main river, studded 
 with numerous islands, breaking up its course. On all 
 sides, the view is made delightful by a most pleasant 
 diversity of wood and water, hill and dale. 
 
 It will have been borne in mind that one of the Regula- 
 tions of Council of 1761, required the Committee laying out 
 lands, to make a return of all the settlers at an early day. 
 Accordingly, in the month of June, 1764, just three years 
 after the first lauding, a return was made to Halifax, by 
 John Crawley. It is much too interesting a paper to pass 
 over. It is 
 
 THE FIRST PUBLIC EETURX ; 
 
 and is here inserted whole : — 
 
 RETURN OF SETTLERS, WITE FAMILIES AND STOCK, IN THE 
 TOWNSHrP OF YARMOUTH, IN 1763-4. 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 
 
 
 CO 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 a 
 
 • 
 ?> 
 
 ■3 ^ 
 
 CO 
 
 "■ 'i 
 
 John Crawley, 
 
 4 
 3 
 
 8 
 4 
 9 
 4 
 5 
 9 
 3 
 4 
 9 
 10 
 8 
 1 
 5 
 6 
 5 
 9 
 
 14 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 ■■3 
 
 5 
 2 
 7 
 2 
 4 
 
 ■9 
 
 7 
 
 "2 
 4 
 15 
 13 
 
 7 
 27 
 
 "7 
 
 ■7 
 
 13 
 ... 
 
 "9 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 "2 
 3 
 1 
 3 
 1 
 3 
 2 
 2 
 9 
 6 
 8 
 
 "2 
 
 7 
 
 "(5 
 
 
 6 
 
 Ephraim Cook 
 
 "] 
 
 
 11 
 
 George Ring 
 
 4 
 
 BenJHinin Darling, , 
 
 3 
 
 Ebenczer Haley 
 
 3 
 
 John McKinnon, 
 
 4 
 
 Consider Fuller, 
 
 p 
 
 Roger Merithew, 
 
 1- 
 
 Tim'y Robertson 
 
 2 
 
 Wells Moreton, 
 
 2 
 
 Samuel Wood, 
 
 2 
 
 Moses Perry 
 
 2 
 
 Joshua Burgess, Senr 
 
 t> 
 
 Joshua Burgess, Jun 
 
 1 
 
 Jonathan tlrosby 
 
 g 
 
 
 10- 
 
 Seth Barnes 
 
 
 Peleg Holmes 
 
 i 
 
 
 E 
 
 
50 
 
 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 RETURN OF SETTLERS, WITH FAMILIES AND STOCK, IN THE 
 TOWNSHIP OF YARMOUTH, IN nC~S,A-Contmued. 
 
 NAMKS. 
 
 
 to 
 
 
 
 (0 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 ^^ a 
 
 Samuel Godfrey, 
 
 3 
 1 
 5 
 5 
 6 
 4 
 2 
 4 
 1 
 5 
 3 
 8, 
 3 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 156 
 
 10 
 8 
 6 
 5 
 6 
 7 
 7 
 5 
 7 
 4 
 2 
 4 
 1 
 7 
 4 
 4 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 90 
 
 6 
 
 io 
 
 4 
 14 
 
 11 
 
 7 
 7 
 
 "3 
 
 (5 
 
 21 
 1 
 
 "i 
 
 6 
 
 ^07 
 
 3 
 
 "8 
 
 "5 
 
 16 
 5 
 4 
 
 "i 
 
 2 
 
 "3 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 60 
 
 12 
 
 "9 
 
 18 
 
 "4 
 6 
 
 22 
 
 149 
 "2 
 
 io 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 ■3 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 
 ■ 1 
 1 
 
 "5 
 1 
 
 *•• 
 
 67 
 2 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 8 
 3 
 1 
 5 
 2 
 
 "2 
 1 
 
 28 
 
 "2 
 
 "i 
 "i 
 
 
 
 Prince Godfrey 
 
 1 
 
 Ebenezer Ellis 
 
 3 
 
 William Curtis, 
 
 1 
 
 Edward Tinkham, 
 
 1 
 
 Benjamin Robbing, 
 
 6 
 
 Cornelius Rogers, 
 
 2 
 
 Moses Scott, 
 
 5 
 
 Samuel Aderton 
 
 1 
 
 Nathan Nickerson 
 
 3 
 
 Patrick Gowen, 
 
 4 
 
 James Robbins 
 
 5 
 
 David Hers ey 
 
 
 Moses Gowen, 
 
 1 
 
 David Hersey, Jr 
 
 
 Lemuel Churchill 
 
 2 
 
 Total at Tebogue 
 
 117 
 
 Samuel Harris 
 
 2 
 
 Joseph Sanders, 
 
 Seled Landers, 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 Joseph Pitman 
 
 2 
 
 Eleazer Butler 
 
 2 
 
 Pheneas Durkee, 
 
 10 
 
 Samuel Oats, 
 
 1 
 
 Jonathan Woodberry, 
 
 1 
 
 James Philpot 
 
 
 William Haskell 
 
 2 
 
 Eben. Moulton 
 
 2 
 
 Joseph Stewart, 
 
 1 
 
 Jonathan Baker 
 
 5 
 
 Elishama Eldridge, 
 
 4 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 John Perry '. 
 
 •> 
 
 
 1 
 
 Robert Durkee, 
 
 2 
 
 
 45 
 
 
 
 Total in Township, 
 
 246 
 
 267 
 
 161 
 
 95 
 
 3 
 
 162 
 
 This return is accompanied by tlie rough calculation 
 before given of the probable number of persons in Argyle ; 
 Mr. Crawley saying that " the distance prevented a particu- 
 lar return in time." 
 
 It is a very curious circumstance, that this return omits 
 the names of several persons of whom we have proof that 
 they were here at the time the return was made. John 
 Richardson, Andrew Durkee, Levi Horton, Eleazer Hibbard 
 •are all omitted. By some curious accident, even the name 
 
Sistory of Yarmouth. 51 
 
 <<of Josiah Beal, with whom Mr. Crawley must have had, as 
 an active member of Committee, continued intercourse, 
 is left out. It will be seen by this return that Tehogue, as 
 it is called, was a place of twice greater importance than 
 Cape Forchue. The names of several persons here men- 
 tioned suggest this as the most fitting place for 
 
 A FEW BRIEF PERSONAL DETAILS. 
 
 It will be seen, on glancing at Mr. Crawley's list, that 
 several were young men, little more than minors ; and that 
 others had considerable establishments. Thus, George 
 Eing had a family of eight ; and as we have already seen 
 that he owned a fishing vessel and employed men, this may 
 account for it* 
 
 John McKinnon settled at Chebogue Point. He was a 
 brother of Captain Eanald at Argyle ; having served the 
 Government, he was rewarded with large grants of land in 
 the Township. Altogether he had 2664 acres. He and 
 his wife were drowned in the Grand Tusket sluice while on 
 their way to visit his brother at Argyle. His descendants 
 are scattered throughout the County. 
 
 Cornelius Eogers, whose descendants are also numerous, 
 was in all probability a direct descendant of John Eogers 
 who suffered at Smithfield. The connexion is traceable 
 between Cornelius and his ancestors, who came over in the 
 " Mayflower." 
 
 William Curtis, who came from Marblehead, built his 
 house near the site of the new poor-house. He was an 
 original grantee; and, as if "coming events cast their 
 shadows before," having been robbed of his property by a 
 lawyer named Prout who lived at Murphy's Bridge, he be- 
 
52 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 came for many years a charge upon the Town. Prout was? 
 handled in the way, as the story has it, that they do sailors 
 who for the first time cross the line. 
 
 Moses Scott was a brother of the Kev. Jonathan Scott^ 
 for many years the Congregational minister in Chebogue. 
 His- descendants are as numerous as for the more part they 
 are prosperous. 
 
 David Hersey, or as it afterwards became corrupted, Has- 
 sey, lived near to Ephraim Cook, who built a saw and a 
 grist mill, the former of which was managed by Hassey ; 
 and was long afterwards known as " Hassey's mill." 
 
 James Brown's descendants are quite numerous, although 
 ih-Q family name is extinct. He came from Ipswich, Mass./ 
 in the year 1767. 
 
 With regard to John Crawley, who made the return, lit- 
 tle of his antecedents is known before he came to Yarmouth 
 in the spring of 1762. He had a brother and nephew who 
 were both grantees, who came here after him, but who did 
 not remain long. Whether Edmund and Joseph Crawley, 
 who obtained grants on Nonparison in 1763, were relatives, 
 near or distant, has not been satisfactorily established. 
 Mr. Crawley was the first acting Justice, and the first Cus- 
 tos in this Township. He was a man superior to the 
 general run of the settlers in business ability. He was 
 appointed by the Council one of the Committee for settling 
 the Township, and he was constantly engaged, one way or 
 another, in public affairs. He frequently served on Com- 
 mittees for examining Town matters, and generally presid- 
 ed at public meetings. He also acted as Judge of Common 
 Pleas until Ms death in 1807. He was twice married. By 
 
History of Yarmouth. 53 
 
 the latter marriage, which was very late in life, he had two 
 sons, one of whom is our respected townsman of the same 
 name, who is also, I believe, the only living male repre- 
 sentative of the second generation in the Township of 
 Yarmouth- 
 
CHAPTEE Vni. 
 
 INCREASE BETWEEN 1764-7. THE TOWNSHIP GRANT. MARKS OF 
 PROGRESS. GRIST AND SAW MILLS. 
 
 fraETWEEN the time of Mr. Crawley's return and the 
 ^^ draughting of the Township grant, dated April the 
 7th, 1767, a space less than three years, there must have 
 been over seventy arrivals ; even if we make an allowance 
 of thirty absentees, who, nevertheless, were grantees. In 
 the return before referred to it is said that 
 
 "John Walker, Corney, Eeding, Nathan Brown, James 
 
 "Matters, Jonathan Corney, Sewell, John Bailey, — family and 
 
 " stock are coming down this summer from New England." 
 
 The Corneys were plainly the families of Corning ; Keding 
 was Benjamin Eedding; and James Matters, James 
 Mattenly. 
 
 But besides those, who were all Mr. Crawley could speak 
 of with certainty, there were Andrew Lovitt, whose nume- 
 rous and well-to-do representatives are around us ; Hezekiah 
 Bunker, after whom the island so called, was named ; and 
 others less known. During the season of 1765, Richard, 
 the ancestor of the Rose family, arrived ; Nathaniel Elwell,* 
 
 * An "elderly Lady," still living, speaking of this singular old settler, says 
 that " Nathaniel Elwell passed away from this world about sixty years since. 
 " I remember him well : a little old man in his queer old-fashioned dress, 
 " broad-skirted coat, short breeches, grey stockings, and shoes with buckles, 
 " He was a professed unbeliever in Christianity, and remained so as long as 
 "he lived. His favorite book was^ne of Paine's works, which he always 
 
History of Yarmouth. ■ 55 
 
 of Almanac celebrity;* and David Pearl, around whose 
 famil}^ fortunes fact has thrown an air of romance. To 
 these may be added Daniel Crocker, Elias Trask and 
 Jonathan Scott, as being noteworthy for the influence 
 which they in their lifetime, or their descendants after 
 them, have had on the fortunes of this community. 
 Although the document is lengthy, I have been unable to 
 believe that it could have been omitted with advantage. I 
 have therefore inserted the list of grantees, amongst whom, 
 in three divisions, the whole Township was divided, .with 
 the exception of four shares retained by the Grovernment, 
 " to be disposed of as the Governour, Lieut. Governour, or 
 " Commander-in-Chief for the said Province, for the time 
 •"being, may hereafter direct." I may here remark, as 
 being somewhat curious, and inexplicable at this late day, 
 that, several persons, who are well known to have been in the 
 Township when the grant was made, were excluded. Such 
 were Nathan Utley, Levi Horton and Elishama Eldridge. 
 
 " carried about with him, and was anxious to force upon the attention of all 
 " whom he coiild prevail upon to read it. His son Hezekiah was quite a 
 "different man. He lives in the favourable recollection of many, having 
 " departed this life in 1846. Although weak in the head, from an injury 
 "received in battle, he was a worthy christian man. Connected with this 
 " wound, a curious circumstance occurred. He left home in early life, 
 "joined the navy, and served under Admiral Duncan in the battle, of 
 " Camperdown, in 1797. He there met with a severe injury, and news 
 " came to his friends that he had died from its effects. In consequence of 
 "the intelligence, his funeral sermon was preached in the old Eaptist 
 " Meeting House, by the late Rev. Harris Harding. I was myself present 
 " at the service. He was thus given up for dead ; but the long lost one at 
 "length unexpectedly returned, was married, and lived in peace for forty- 
 " nine years afterwards, when he at length died at a good old age, and his 
 " funeral service was performed by the Rev. Mr. Moody." 
 
 * The most generally received version of the Almanac is, I believe, this : 
 —that the first twenty-four hours of the last quarter of the moon, rule that, 
 and the nest two quarters. 
 
56 
 
 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 LIST OF THE GRANTEES OF THE TOWNSHIP OF YARMOUTH, 
 GRANT DATED APRIL 7tH, 1767. 
 
 John Mckinnon, 
 Benj. EUenwood, 
 f amnel Harris, 
 Ebenezer Ilealy, 
 George Ring, 
 James Bobbins, 
 David Hersey, 
 Edward Tinkham, 
 Nathan Weston, 
 Nathan Nickerson, 
 Joshua Burgess, 
 Peleg Holmes, 
 Moses Perry, 
 Phineas Durkee, 
 William Haskill, 
 Nathaniel Elwell, 
 Seled Landers, 
 Joseph Landers, 
 Ebenezer Corning, 
 Andrew Lovitt, 
 John SoUows, 
 Joseph Pitman, 
 Ebenezer Clark, 
 Jeremiah Allen, 
 John Crawley, 
 Benj. Darling, 
 Thomas Mooi'e, 
 Jonathan Scott, 
 David Pearl, 
 Job Pease, 
 John Richardson, 
 James Brown, 
 Nathan Brown, 
 Abagail Robbins, 
 Roger Merrithew, 
 Timothy Robinson, 
 Moses Scott, 
 Wells Moulton, 
 Elisha Eldridge, 
 Samuel Godfrey, 
 Ephraim Cook, 
 Cyrus Symonds, 
 Josiah Beal. 
 
 Seth Barnes, 
 Daniel Crocker, 
 Ebenezer Ellis, 
 Elias Trask, 
 Lemuel Churchill, 
 Patrick Gowen, 
 William Curtis, 
 Cornelius Rogers, 
 George Bridgeo, 
 Jonathan Ci'osby, 
 Dominicus Sewell, 
 Jonathan Woodbury, 
 Jonathan Baker, 
 Samuel EUenwood, 
 Judah Agard, 
 John Perry, 
 John McKinnon, 
 John McKinnon, Jr., 
 James McKinnon, 
 Norman McKinnon, 
 Martin McKinnon, 
 Abner Hall, 
 James Kelley, 
 Eleazer Butler, 
 Ebenezer Moulton, 
 Eleazer Hibbard, . 
 Benjamin Brown, 
 Robert Haskill, 
 Henry Coggins, 
 Joseph Stewart, 
 Richard Rose, 
 Samuel Dove, 
 John Walker, 
 Benj. Redding, 
 Nathan Porter, 
 John Symonds, 
 Prince Godfrey, 
 Jonathan Corning, 
 James Mattenly, 
 William Haskill, Sr., 
 William Salter, 
 Thomas Sullivan, 
 
 Thomas Sinnet, 
 John Bounds Moulton, 
 James Gilfillan. 
 Ebenezer Moulton, Jr., 
 Benj. Merrithew, 
 William Marshall, 
 Thomas Rogers, 
 David Harris, 
 Stephen GuUison, 
 Stilson Hilton, 
 SamueLPorter, 
 Nehemiah Porter, Jr., 
 Edward Crosby, 
 James Newry, 
 WiUiam Haskill. Jr., 
 Moses Haskill, 
 John Crawley, Jr., 
 James Crawley, 
 Nehemiah Porter, 
 John Trefry, 
 Paul Bunker, 
 William Robinson, 
 Josiah Godfrey, 
 Amos Hilton, 
 Benj. Morgan, 
 Samuel Allen, 
 Adam Brown, 
 Alexander Godfrey, 
 Hezekiah Bunker, 
 John Killam, 
 Joshua Trefry, 
 Barnabas Eldridge, 
 Lydia Somes, 
 Thomas Salter, 
 William Hammond, 
 William Moore, 
 John Vergy, 
 Moses Hooper, 
 Josiah Beal, Jr., 
 James Beal, 
 Solomon Day, 
 Jeremiah Allen, Jr. 
 
 The following, as set fortli in this grant, are 
 
 THE METES AND BOUNDS OF THE TOWNSHIP OF YARMOUTH : 
 
 " Beginning at the Stony Beach at the North side of the harbour of Cape 
 ' Fourchu, and running Northward, measuring on the sea beach nine 
 ' hundred and fifty chains, then to run into the Country course North 
 
History of Yarmouth. 57 
 
 "sixty-nine degrees East, measuring twelve hundred, and thirty chains, 
 " thence South twenty-one degrees. East till it meets with the River Tuskett ; 
 "and to begin from the first boundary and to run along the sea coast 
 " Southerly till it comes to Little River, and to be bounded by said rivgr as 
 " far as high water flows, then to run North sixty-six degrees, East till it 
 " meets lands laid out unto Eobei-t Wilmot and others, to be bounded by 
 " said lands of Robert Wilmot and others till it comes to the River Tuskett, 
 "and to be bounded by the siiid River Tuskett till it meets the Northern 
 "boundary first described." 
 
 As nearly as we are able to decide from different consid- 
 erations, there were probably between twenty and thirty of 
 those 132 grantees who were not in the Province at this 
 time ; and later on, we shall see that many, from different 
 causes, finally lost their lands. 
 
 We have no reason to think that Sealed Landers would 
 lose any time in setting up the grist mill. He had every 
 inducement to get it into operation as soon as possible. 
 His own advantage and the necessities of the people would 
 alike urge him to its completion. In the face of this, it 
 is a little difficult to see the "meaning of Mr. Crawley's 
 remark that there are " a saw mill and a grist mill erecting 
 in the said Township." The grist mill was undoubtedly 
 Mr. Landers', and the saw mill was probably that erected 
 by Ephraim Cook at Little River. John Walker, Landers' 
 brother-in-law, was associated with him in the working of 
 the mill ; and, ere long, — it being about as necessary to 
 have lumber as to have meal, — a saw mill was erected on 
 the eastern side of the stream, just opposite the grist mill. 
 To some extent the interests of the two sets of millers were 
 antagonistic; but an equitable arrangement having been 
 made, an instrument was signed by all the parlies concerned. 
 As the earliest document of the kind made in the Township, 
 it is not unworthy of a place here ; we therefore insert it : 
 
58 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 "This indenture, . agreement and covenant, made and executed this 
 thirteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seyen 
 hundred and eighty six, by us — between Seled Landers and John Walker, 
 both^of Yarmouth, in Queens County, and Province of Nova Scotia, on 
 the one part, and Phineas Durkee, Eleazer Butler, and William Herskell, 
 all of Yarmouth aforesaid, on the other part — witnesseth, that whereas 
 there is a dam erected and built, now standing on the fresh stream or river 
 near the new dwelling house of the said Seled Landers, and the said 
 Landers and Walker have built and now improve a grist mill on the 
 westerly side of the said stream or river, and the other j)arty have a saw 
 mill on the easterly side of said stream or river, and the said dam is for 
 the common use and benefit of both said millers, and now the said Landers 
 and Walker, on their part, do covenant and agree to maintain and keep in 
 good repair the whole of the westerly end of said dam, so far as to middle 
 or centre of said dam, to be computed and measured from the said two 
 mills, that is, to be divided in the middle half way, between said saw mill 
 and grist mill, and to keep and maintain said dam so high as to raise seven 
 feet of water at least in the floom of said grist mill, as it is now built, and 
 in like manner to keep in repair their half of said dam as long as a grist 
 mill shall be there continued ; and the said Phineas Durkee, Eleazer Butler 
 and William Herskell, on their part, do covenant and agree to maintain 
 and keep in repair the other half of said dam, from the middle, as afore- 
 said, to the eastern bank or shore, of the same height as aforesaid, so long as 
 the said saw mill shall be there continued, and also not to draw off the 
 water at the floom of the said saw mill, at any time when the same is 
 wanted for the use of the said grist mill, so low as not to leave four feet 
 and a half head of water in the grist mill floom. And for the true and 
 faithful performance of all and singular the articles, covenant and agree- 
 ment, each party respectively, in manner aforesaid, according to the intent, 
 meaning, and most reasonable construction thereof, we, the said parties, do 
 bind ourselves, our heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, each party 
 to the other party, Brmly by these presents. In witness whereof, we have 
 hereunto interchangeably set our hands and seals the day and year first 
 above written. Signed, 
 
 Sealed Landers, 
 John Walker, 
 Phineas Durkee, 
 Eleazer Butler, 
 WiLLiAji Herskell. 
 Signed, sealed and delivered 1 -n, tt 'j ■<. 
 
 ° • .1 „ ,1. JiLEAZER HiBBARD. * 
 
 m the presence of J 
 
 * From the original agreement in possession of Samuel Killam, Esqr. 
 
CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 OPENING UP OF THE COUNTRY BY ROADS. PUBLIC WORSHIP. 
 FIRST MINISTERS. CHEBOGUE CHURCH RAISED. 
 
 tHE decision of the question as to who were the pos- 
 sessors of the soil, "and where that soil was, the 
 raising of mills for different purposes, together with the 
 very gradual extension of* the fishing trade', gave an impulse 
 to a matter of vital importance, viz : 
 
 THE BUILDING OF ROADS. *■ 
 
 Good roads, as no nation ever Imevi^ better than the ancient 
 Komans, are the very marrow of the prosperity and progress 
 of a Countryo No doubt but travelling from place to place, 
 in the first instance, must have been at once wearisome 
 and dangerous ; both of which are illustrated in Sealed 
 Landers' long journeys to and from Crocker's Point, by way 
 of Chebogue Point, and the absence of any kind of road 
 from Chebogue to Argyle, necessitating a journey through 
 treacherous waters in an open boat, as when John and Mrs. 
 McKinnon lost their lives. 
 
 " Roads there were none. The rugged and rocky beach formed the only 
 " path over which the poorer people could carry, on their shoulders, a little 
 " modicum of corn, when they could get it, to Landers' grist mill at Milton, 
 " which, with a saw mill erected over the same dam, was one of the earliest 
 "attempts at improvement. The few who possessed boats made use of 
 " the water as their highway, and the only other mode of communication 
 " for several years were crooked and muddy foot-tracks, winding around 
 
^0 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 " stumps and over rocks, ascending every bill that could be found, not, as 
 " one might be led to imagine, for the sake of descending it on the other 
 •"side, but to avoid the impassable swamps which, in spite of this precaution, 
 " would now and then present a complete obstruction to the wayfarer'e 
 " progress. The intercourse between Yarmouth and Chebogue was carried 
 ■"on by following an Indian foot-path, marked out by blazed trees." * 
 
 And up till a certain point of time, there was little to 
 induce, and nothing to compel the settlers to make public 
 roads, or to do more than simply clear the approaches to 
 their several dwellings. But I think that when once the 
 Township was allotted, there were new reasons for fresh 
 activity in improving the means of travel. No one, until 
 now, knew where or what his lot would be ; and they 
 appear to have felt that before the question of ownership 
 was settled, they could not, with any justice or prudence, 
 incur the expense of making highways. 
 * But the very next year after, viz., in 1768, there was 
 very considerable activity at least in surveying, if not in 
 actual work. Roads have to be surveyed before they are 
 built- The first road that was laid out in this County, was 
 one with which all who live in the Town are very familiar. 
 It ran from the head of the Salt Pond at Chegoggin to 
 Milton Bridge, and on south through the present Town, 
 past the Sand-beach and Cove, to the corner of Hilton's 
 road, sending off a branch to Bunker's Island (so called 
 from the brothers Bunker, who owned it) ; and afterwards 
 continued from Hilton's corner to Rocky Nook, now called 
 Rockville ; but of this extension there is no record. 
 
 But, although the first to be laid out, this was neither 
 the most important nor the first to be made. It was only 
 
 * Dr. H. G. Fariflh- 
 
History of Yarmouth. 61 
 
 a coimtry road. The second that was laid out claimed 
 precedence, for it was called 
 
 "the highway in the town, op YARMOUTH," 
 
 and Extended from William Curtis' house, which stood on 
 the west side of the road, exactly opposite the old poor- 
 house, down the west side of the Chebogue river, past the 
 Chebogue Burying Ground and Rocky Nook to Chebogue 
 Point. This was designed to be the great thoroughfare of 
 the County. So man proposes ; but God disposes. It is 
 not exactly so. 
 
 The next road that was laid out was on the east side of 
 Chebogue harbour, and extended from Pinkney's point to 
 Durkee's Island ; and the two following were respectively 
 that from Moody's to Gowen's corner, and Wyman's 
 road, extending from central Chebogue to Hibbard's cor- 
 ner.* All those roads were laid out in one year, viz., 1768;; 
 and I believe we have stated the true reason for the impe- 
 tus which such work received. There was nothing more 
 done in this way till 1772, when Lovitt's road, as far as 
 the dyke, was laid out. And in the same year, that on the 
 west side of Yarmouth harbour from the head of the Salt 
 Pond at Chegoggin to Fish Point, was surveyed. About 
 the same time the cross road from Hilton's corner at the 
 Cove (Indian " Walnaic"), to the old Chebogue Meeting 
 House, was laid out.f 
 
 Allusion is made in an early Record to a road existing 
 in 1774. between the old poor-house and what is now called 
 Ai'cadia, going as far as the bridge. All that is here stated, 
 
 * Proprietors' Book, pp. 32, 36, 39, 57, 58. 
 t Proprietors' Book, pp. 98, 99, 160, 168. 
 
B2 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 together with the laying out of a road across Bunker^ g 
 Island in 1778, and that on the east side of Chebogue 
 River from Durkee's Island to Arcadia, comprises the whole 
 of the work, either surveyed or done, during the first 
 twenty years of the settlement. 
 
 As for Argyle, it is doubtful whether for many years 
 after this there were any roads worthy of the name. That 
 district, never having been granted as a whole, but many 
 of its most valuable lands given away to men who never 
 saw them, suffered all the disadvantages of absenteeism 
 and the want of combined interest. It is in no spirit of 
 neglect that the Township of Argyle has no fuller notice 
 in those and all other topics ; but simply from the circum- 
 stance that where records and facts are wanting, details 
 cannot be written. 
 
 I PUBLIC WORSHIP. 
 
 The extraction and former homes of the majority of the 
 new settlers, is a sufficient ground for expecting them to 
 have been men of strong religious views.* They were 
 nearly all New Engianders ; and so, with very rare excep- 
 tions, Congregationalists, 
 
 Amongst the first settlers there were many who preached. 
 Two of those were Ebenezer Moulton, who is described as 
 having been "the first who preached in Yarmouth;" and 
 Mr. Samuel Wood, who resided at Chebogue. Mr. Moul- 
 ton was of the Baptist persuasion ; and whilst Mr. Wqod 
 appears to have preached at Chebogue, Mr. Moulton 
 
 * As early as the year 1675, one of the inhabitants was fined twelve shil- 
 lings " for bneaking the Sabbath." The nature of the offence is unknown ; 
 but even with a wide margin, sucli an institution, well enforced in these 
 days, would yield a considerable revenue. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 63 
 
 preached at Cape Forchue. He lived near to what is now 
 corrupted into Elder Head, from the circumstance that he, 
 an Elder, lived in the neighhourhood.* He came from 
 Brainfield, Mass., in 1761, whither he returned in 1773. 
 
 Mr. Frost, who came to Argyle in or ahout 1762, was in 
 the hahit of preaching at Chebogue. 
 
 Mr. Nehemiah Porter, who came from Ipswich in 1767, 
 remained here till about 1771, when he returned to Massa- 
 chusetts ; and in the year 1765 the Kev. Jonathan Scott,, 
 for twenty years pastor of the Congregational church, ar- 
 rived. 
 
 To these may be added the name of Aaron Bancroft, who 
 came from Beading in Massachusetts in 1780, and to which 
 he returned in 1783. This gentleman was the father of 
 the well known American historian. From'the same place 
 another prominent citizen, Samuel Sheldon Poole, had 
 come in 1775. 
 
 This looks like a formidable company of Preachers for a 
 very small population ; but in all probability there was this 
 likeness to the Apostle in all of them, " they laboured with 
 their own hands." 
 
 For the first five years, stated religious meetings were 
 held in the several localities in different private houses. 
 At length, on the 22nd day of July, 1766, 
 
 THE FIKST PUBLIC BUILDING 
 
 designed for the worship of Almighty God in the Town- 
 ship of Yarmouth, was raised at Chebogue. The building 
 was framed, boarded and roofed by subscription, and in 
 
 * The original Elder's Head, or the spot where the Elder lived, is the 
 projecting flat land which lies to the southward of the point now com" 
 monly called Elder Head. 
 
64 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 this state it was used for seven years. At length, in 1773 
 the outside was finished, and pews and seats erected in the 
 lower part. Eighteen years after the raising of this struc- 
 ture,* the meeting house in Cape Forchue Society was 
 erected. The raising of the frame was begun on the 27th, 
 and was completed on the 28th of July, 1784. The 
 finishing of this house was slow. There was no glass in 
 it till 1790; and in 1791, there were no seats in it, 
 excepting rough boards laid down loosely, no pews, and no 
 pulpit, f The principle upon which, necessarily, work of 
 
 * One of the carpenters who worked on this primitive Chebogue Meeting 
 House was David Pearl. He was connected with the Buglers on the hill. 
 It happened when one of his daughters, a Miss Pearl, was staying at 
 Mrs. Butler's that an English man-of-war anchored in the sound. The 
 commander, Captain Blarney, with some of his officers, came on shore, and 
 took tea at Mrs. Butler s. The Captain was so fascinated with Miss Pearl, 
 who waited on them, that he very shortly afterwards proposed marriage, 
 Avhich was accepted. They were married at Mrs. Butler's by a magistrate. 
 When he took her on board, her youngest brother, James, accompanied 
 her. Her husband afterwards became Admiral Blarney ; and her brother 
 James, after serving as midshipman, finally rose to be captain. He sailed 
 in an Embassy to China, where his successful management secured for him 
 the honour of knighthood. He became Sir James Pearl, — the first and, 
 so far, only Yarmouth boy who has become a baronet. But what has been, 
 may be again. He visited this country about the year 1827, to look after 
 some land formerly owned by his family, as well as other lands granted to 
 him in Kemptville, in consideration of his services. When the late Mr. 
 William Robertson was in England, he saw Mrs. Blarney living not far 
 from London, in great pomp and luxuriance. 
 
 Although Sir James stands the sole Knight of our own raising, many 
 who were born and bred in this country have risen to positions of eminence 
 in other parts. Instances of this, — not to mention any more, — are the late 
 Hon. Ezra Churchill and the Hon. Benj. B. Redding, both great-grandsons 
 of early settlers. The former gentleman was for many years a member of 
 the Local Legislature, and afterwards a Dominion Senator; whilst the 
 latter has filled, and does yet fill, many important and responsible positions 
 in the State of California. 
 
 t Scott's Record of the Congregational Church. 
 
^ABERNACLE JIIhURCH. 
 
 CONGREGATIONAL 
 
History of Yarmouth. 65 
 
 this kind was done, was essentially "pay and go." There 
 were no banks to discount; nor was the principle of 
 mortgaging practicable. 
 
 The former of those two buildings was taken down in 
 1820, another, more commodious, having been erected 
 during the same year, a few hundred yards from its site. 
 Since then, a third, still more commodious, has been 
 erected. The difficulties under which the first building 
 was erected, may be partially realized by reflecting for a 
 moment on the condition in which for years the worshippers 
 were glad to use it. And as one evidence of our temporal 
 prosperity, I suppose it is not saying too much to affirm 
 that many individual descendants of the first settlers could 
 now alone build and complete, outside and inside, comfort- 
 ably and even elegantly, such a structure, much more easily 
 than could their forefathers, with all their united efforts."^ 
 The reader has here a view of the Tabernacle, the Con- 
 gregational place of worship in the Town, and further 
 reference to which is elsewhere made. 
 
 * Although Chebogue had its place of worship seventeen years before 
 Yarmouth, it is worth recording that the religiously disposed inhabitants 
 of Cape Forchue formed themselves into a church on September 2nd, 1767. 
 There were but nine male members, including the pastor — the Rev. 
 Nehemiah Porter ; and it is interesting to observe how earnest the people 
 were, after seven years enforced neglect of christian ordinances. Although 
 there could hardly have been more than 140 persons altogether in the 
 Settlement, by reference to the Record we find that no fewer than thirty 
 children and one adult received the sacrament of baptism within one month.. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 TOWNSHIP OP ARGYLE. WHEN SET APART. SUCCESSIVE 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF ARGYLE. TUSKET, EEL BROOK 
 
 AND PUBNICO. THE D'ENTREMONTS. 
 
 iOkN the 6th of July, 1771, it was resolved by the 
 ^r^ Council "that the lands lying between the Town- 
 " ship of Yarmouth and Barrington be erected into a 
 *' Township, and to be called by the name of 
 
 " ARGYLE." 
 
 This was just ten years after the settlement of Yarmouth, 
 and the inhabitants being comparatively few, the circum- 
 stances had not demanded any formal designation of the 
 district. But frequent grants and continuous settling in 
 an undefined territory was troublesome, hence the action 
 of the Council. Land grants in Argyle to persons non- 
 resident, were frequent and important. Already Lieut. 
 Ranald McKinnon's settlement and grant have been 
 detailed. Subsequently, on September 6th, 1773, grants 
 were made to Edmund and Joseph Crawley, of 1000 
 acres, on the peninsula called Nonparison.* And on the 
 
 *This island, called corruptly Nonparison, got its name "Non Peison" 
 from this circumstance : At the deportation about 1758, a number of 
 Acadians, who had been collected, ready to be taken to Boston, were, till 
 arrangements were completed, placed on this island, which was thought to 
 be a safe place. But between wading and swimming, they managed to 
 escape ; and the same parties afterwards appropriately named it, in derision, 
 -Non Prison. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 67 
 
 Bame date, a grant of 1000 to John Morris, consisting of 
 the whole Island, now known as Morris's Island. In 
 October, 1765, some of the most beautiful and valuable 
 lands on the Tusket Kiver had been granted, amounting, 
 in the aggregate, to 10,000 acres, to G-overnor Wilmot and 
 other members of his family ; and about the same time, 
 2000 acres to the Eev. John Breynton ; all of whom were 
 non-residents. I trace much of the subsequent stagnation 
 of the Township of Argyle to this fact, that its best lands 
 were owned by persons who never saw them, and who were 
 in no way concerned about their improvement, further than 
 the question what they would bring. 
 
 Already we have seen that as early as 1763, John Frost, 
 and fifteen other heads of families, had settled at Argyle. 
 Here those sixteen, together with seven others, who had 
 subsequently arrived, settled, without any distinct tenure, 
 until the 22nd of June, 1771, when they presented a 
 memorial to the Council, setting forth " That they had 
 " settled themselves, in virtue of Governor Lawrence's 
 " proclamation, and had there cultivated lands ; therefore, 
 " praying that they may have a grant of the said lands, 
 " amounting to two thousand acres, and three small islands 
 ** containing one hundred and tw^enty acres."* This peti- 
 tion was granted on July the 10th of the same year. 
 
 Prominent amongst the petitioners are the well-known 
 names of Frost, Groodwin, Nickerson, and Spinney, — all of 
 whom were from Noav England. The last named family, 
 that of John Spinney, who came from Portsmouth, with seven 
 sons, is as striking an example as can anywhere be found of 
 
 * Council Minutes. 
 
68 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 numerical increase. I am informed, by an old and respect" 
 able member of the family, that John Spinney, who came to 
 Abuptic in 1762, is the ancestor of probably five hundred 
 living descendants, about half of whom are in the County. 
 Similarly wide spread is the family of Frost, two mem- 
 bers of which, John Frost, Esq., and Captain Jeremiah, 
 were prominent men in their day. John, besides being a 
 preacher, was also a magistrate, — and in neither capasritj 
 did he escape without serious trouble. On the 8th of 
 July, 1775, the complaint of Eanald McKinnon^ J. P. 
 for Queen's County, was read before the Council, setting 
 forth that " He had been assaulted and knocked down by 
 " John and Hugh Nickerson, and that on complaint to 
 *' Mr. Frost, one of the Justices of the Peace, for redress, 
 " he could obtain no other answer, than that the said 
 " Nickerson had already lodged a complaint against the 
 " said McKinnon. It was ordered that a copy of the com- 
 *' plaint be sent to the said Frost, and that he be called on 
 " to answer it." The answer confesses ■' He had found 
 " the offenders and acknowledges his ignorance of the due 
 ''method of proceeding." The Council "'Resolved that 
 *' the said Mr. Frost should be suspended from the office 
 '' of Justice of the Peace, .until further order." As he did 
 exercise his office afterwards, it is evident he was reinstated. 
 But he got into much more serious trouble. In the mouth 
 of August, 1775, the Militia having been called out, in 
 consequence of the attitude of affairs in the New England 
 States, John Frost, Esq., and Captain Jeremiah Frost, 
 were complained of by Benoni D'Entremont, and other 
 French Acadians, of harassing them., Joseph Crawley 
 
History of Yarmouth. 69 
 
 appeared before the Council, substantiated the charges, 
 and proceeded to prefer others to the effect — 
 
 " That the said Captain had used arguments to seduce the Acadians from 
 " their duty, by telling them they would find the advantage of taking part 
 "" with the Americans." 
 
 And further declared that — 
 
 " Justice Frost, in one of his public discourses, expressed his hopes and 
 ■" wishes that the British forces in America might be returned to England 
 *' confuted and confused." 
 
 The result was the opinion of the Council — 
 
 " That Jeremiah Frost, Captain of the Militia in Argyle, be dismissed 
 ■" from any command in said Militia, and from any other employment 
 " under Goyernment."*^ 
 
 The Governor, having considered the state of the Militia 
 in the Township of Argyle, and the disposition of the New 
 England people and the Acadians there, and the necessity 
 of putting them under a command of a proper and well 
 qualified person, proposed that 
 
 "Lieut. McKinnon, who had been long resident there, and well ac- 
 ■" quainted with the inhabitants, and having already a command in the 
 *' Militia there, do take on him the comma-Ed of all the Militia in the 
 " County of Queens, and of the French Canadians in the County of Clare, 
 " with the rank of Colonel of Militia, And, in order to put the Militia 
 " of that County on a proper footing, especially as from the declaration of 
 " Mr. Joseph Crawley it appears that pains had been taken by iU-minded 
 " persons to seduce the French Acadians from their allegiance to the King." 
 
 The Governor further proposed — 
 
 "" That Mr, McKinnon do, without loss of time, proceed to Argyle with 
 •" twenty men of the recruits now raising here for the King's service, and 
 ** be furnished with four barrels of gunpowder and ball in proportion, to 
 *' be by him accounted for." 
 
 And the Governor acquainted the Council — 
 
 " That he thought it would be proper to recommend Mr. McKinnon to 
 " the General, fof the rank of Captain in the army."t 
 
 All of which was done. 
 
 * Council Eecords. 
 
 t Council Minutes, August 23rd, 1775, 
 
70 History of Yarmouth. . 
 
 Leaving the Arg.yle settlement, we must retrace our 
 steps once more in point of time to 1767. In that year 
 many of the 
 
 FRENCH ACADIANS, 
 
 who had heen carried away, returned to Nova Scotia, from . 
 which they had been banished.* Their's was certainly a 
 hard lot. Distrusted by the English, those of them who 
 did not seek refuge in France, who were carried to the 
 States, were finally driven from thence as Papists. It will 
 be remembered that the D'Entremonts, Vt^ho did not flee to 
 their ancestral home, were carried to Roxbury andWalpole, 
 in Mass. They came back in the year mentioned above, 
 after about ten years' exile. And on the 5th of October, 
 eighteen families, indiscriminately described as "Acadians,'* 
 having applied for land whereon to settle, it was advised 
 " that on their taking the oath of allegiance, land should 
 " be assigned to them in the neighbourhood of Barrington 
 " and Yarmouth." f Some of those families settled finally 
 at Pubnico, and others at Eel Brook. The names will 
 show at a glance that all were not Acadians ; but other 
 circumstances indicate that although some of them were 
 purely English in descent, they were probably bound 
 together by the ties of a common faith. As co-religionists 
 they were in search of a home where they could enjoy 
 their religion free and unmolested. On the 6th of Novem- 
 
 * There is ground for believing, however, that the deportation was not 
 so complete as tradition has made it. As reliable information comes to 
 light, it will be found that considerable numbers of the French Acadians 
 iled to the woods and lived, for years even, among the Indians. Others 
 again were not disturbed ; Victor Babine, on Pierre Point, was one of 
 those happy exceptions. 
 
 t Council Minutes, October 5th, 1767. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 71 
 
 ber, 1771, their request for land was granted. Then 
 upwards of 2000 acres were granted to Philip Brown, 
 Walter Larkin, Benjamin Sealy, Lange Amereau, Charles 
 Belliveau, Abel Duon, Peletiah Goodwin, Joseph, Paul, 
 and Benoni D'Entremont. There is no doubt but that, 
 although for the more part the descendants of the Larkins 
 and other families are now Protestant, they were at first 
 apparently bound to the French Acadians by religious con- 
 siderations. There are records of an early date of members 
 of their families having been baptised, confirmed, married, 
 and buried as Eoman Catholics.* The families of Hines, 
 Larkins, Murphy, and Lennox, were originally of Lish 
 extraction. Nearly opposite the house of Mr. Manasseh 
 Larkin, at the head of the river, stood the primitive Aca- 
 dian Chapel and Presbytery, and nearer the shore, on a 
 beautiful knoll, the traditional last resting place of the pre- 
 expulsion Acadians is still pointed out : but there is no 
 trace left of its former sacred character, and it is now used 
 as a fish-curing ground. 
 
 On the property of Mr. Reuben Larkins is the first Eng- 
 lish burial ground, which was used from about 1767. It lies 
 in a most ruinous and decayed condition, without any marks 
 of loving care. Briars and thorns cover the old tombstones, 
 many of which have fallen and lie broken and neglected. 
 
 Once more then we find the 
 
 d'entremont family 
 occupying their ancestral domain. They settled at Pub- 
 nico Point, on the west side of the harbour. There was 
 plenty of fowl, moose, and fish ; and all the water and land 
 
 * Eegister of St. Peter's, Pubnico. 
 
72 
 
 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 convenience they desired. The story of their return is well 
 told by the Cure Goudot : — 
 
 " They landed on the shores of Nova Scotia. One of the D'Entremonts 
 " reached Halifax, and the Governour who knew at least from history, the 
 ' ' family of the D'Entremonts, asked him where he and his family were going ? 
 " ' To Canada to enjoy our religion,' replied he. ' Stay here,' said the Grover- 
 " nor, " establish yourselves upon whatever part of the coast you please, and 
 '•■ I promise to supply you once a year with a priest.' - They chose Pobomkon, 
 " which had belonged to their ancestors : and the Governor faithful to his 
 " word, sent them every year a Canadian Priest, to whom the English 
 " Government granted £60 per annum."* 
 
 The following is the genealogical table of the D'Entre- 
 mont family, so far as it applies to the fifth generation of 
 those who are now in this County. The correctness of it is 
 certified by the French historian E. Kameau, and is taken 
 from a paper in his handwriting left by him in the Parish 
 Register of Pubnico : I have left out the collateral branches : 
 
 ( Cyrille, 
 ' Joseph. ^ Celestin, 
 Joseph Eli. 
 Jacques, 
 Etienne, 
 Benjamin, 
 
 HiLAIRE, 
 
 Joseph Levy, 
 
 Gabriel. 
 
 Shnon,\ 
 
 Jean, 
 
 Joseph Vincent, 
 
 Joseph, 
 
 Philippe, 
 
 Marc. 
 
 * Cur6 Goudot. Parish Register of St. Peter's, Pubnico. 
 
 t Those names italicised represent living survivors of the 5th generation. 
 
 Philippe — Jacques-Jacques. < 
 
 Paul. 
 
 ^ Benoni. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 73 
 
 Philippe was he who arrived in 1691, as first Baron of 
 Pobomcon, and his sons Abraham, Philippe, and Jacques — 
 the last of whom only is here named, — were married to the 
 daughters of De La Tour. One or two persons still living, 
 recollect having seen the old men Paul and Benoni. The 
 latter was the first French Acadian magistrate in the 
 Province ; an office to which he was appointed about 1810 ; 
 and he was also a Judge in the Inferior Court of Common 
 Pleas. His son Simon, who is the oldest living member 
 of that family, was the second magistrate, the first French 
 member of Assembly ; and also the first French collector 
 of Customs. 
 
 The French settlement which is known as 
 
 TUSKET RIVER, 
 
 below the village, was settled about 1766, immediately 
 after Kanald McKinnon vacated his first residence on 
 Amirault's Hill for his second home at Argyle, by Jacques 
 Amirau (corrupted from Amirault into other forms, as 
 Amero and even Mew), Joseph Moulaison, Jean Pierre 
 Muis and Charles Doucette The district known as 
 
 EEL BROOK, . 
 
 (Indian, OoPTOMAGOGiN, "the place for eels,") was settled, 
 as was also the Wedge, about the same time as Pubnico. 
 The same causes operated in both cases. Eel Brook was 
 taken possession of in 1767 by seven Acadians, none of 
 whom had been deported. They were Jean Bourque, 
 Dominique Pothier, Joseph Babin, Pierre Surette, Pierre 
 Muis, Louis Muis, and Pierre Le Blanc ; — the last named for 
 many years having for the more part, in common with other 
 Acadian families, adopted the English form of their name. 
 
* 
 
 74 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 Dominique Potbier is said to have been one of twenty-nine, 
 wbo escaped from a prison in Port Koyal, by making a hole 
 with their pocket knives, under the prison floor, to the out- 
 side of the prison court, a distance of twelve yards. 
 
 THE WEDGE 
 
 (Indian "Nizigouziack," and "Olsegon") was likewise set- 
 tled by returning Acadians in 1767. They were originally 
 four in number, viz : Eustace Corporon, Pierre Kobicheau, 
 Jean Doucette and Pierre Inard.* Eustace Corporon was 
 brought back from Boston, where he and others had been 
 carried, about the year 1758, to pilot a vessel looking after 
 Acadians, chiefly in the Tusket and Argyle Rivers, with 
 which he was well acquainted. They explored the Tusket, 
 on the banks of which Corporon saw Indians, who however 
 would not injure him.f They left the Tusket for the Ab- 
 uptic, and while lying at the mouth of the river, a boat's 
 crew landed on a marsh, on which were some sheep ; the 
 Indians were waiting ready for them. There were eight 
 men left dead on the marsh ; and Corporon took to the 
 woods with the Indians. The French Acadian is now a 
 most important element in this County ; and if the numer- 
 ical increase continues for a hundred years in the same 
 ratio as it has during the past century, and the English 
 
 * I am indebted to John Bourque, Esq. and J. B. Le Blanc, Esq., of Eel 
 Brook, and Simon D'Entremont, Esq., of Pubnico, for much of this infor- 
 mation. The names of those gentlemen are a guarantee for accuracy. 
 
 t A curious and interesting illustration of the very friendly terms on 
 which the Indians and the French lived before the expulsion, is found in 
 an old letter written from Cherbourg in 1764, by one of the Eefugees, to 
 her friends at Pubnico. The writer, Margaritte D'Entremont, after send- 
 ing her love to all her brothers and sisters, uncles and cousins, adds, with 
 true French politeness, "faites des comjDliments aux Sauvagesses" — present 
 my compliments to the Indian women. 
 
History of Yarmouth. ^^ 
 
 ratio be no greater, they will be more numerous than the 
 English. It is therefore of the first magnitude, that their 
 education should be of such a kind as to fit them, as a 
 whole, to fill that position well which Providence seems to 
 design for them. General information is much needed 
 among them ; and particularly a fair, impartial account of 
 their own history in this Province. As an illustration of 
 this, one of the most intelligent Acadians, a gentleman and 
 a magistrate, writing to me as late as 1872, says, with the 
 greatest simplicity and child-like confidence in the accu- 
 racy of his conviction, that "all the French were scattered 
 " from the country because they ivoulcl not take the oath of 
 " abjuration against their oivn Roman Catholic religion" ! 
 To the leisured few, a drive on either side of the Puhnico 
 harbour is very pleasant, and will amply repay the tourist. 
 The shores are varied by numerous coves, as pleasing to 
 the eye as they are convenient to the inhabitants. In the 
 fruitful and cultivated fields and cleared lands which skirt 
 the shores, and which are backed by the deeper woods, 
 stand numerous and comfortable Acadian homesteads. 
 Time, which tries all, and also which cures all, has given 
 the Acadian ample revenge. For, where, in 1775 there 
 could, at the best, have been but a very few log huts of the 
 rudest kind ; when comforts were at once few and uncer- 
 tain,* and the guides of their consciences hostile to Eng- 
 
 * Although the D'Entremonts were the owners of large and yaluable 
 tracts of country, their home comforts and possessions were but rude in 
 kind, and scanty in number. About 1770 some of the returned Exiles write 
 to their friends in Cherbourg asking if there were any treasures secreted 
 anywhere, and chiefly, if there was any money ? The answer assures them 
 there is no money ; but if they make search among certain islands, and 
 under the stumps of certain trees, they will find a ploughshare, some mill 
 iron work, and a number of moose ("orinial") skins^ 
 
76 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 land and their own interests, there are now nearly two 
 hundred substantial, well built houses, for the more part 
 well furnished with all manner of useful and ornamental 
 effects ; the people happy and contented, and conspicuous 
 only for every feeling of loyalty and attachment to the 
 British throne. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 FRESH ARRIVALS. MEMORIAL FOR A RE-ADJUSTMENT OF 
 
 COUNTY LIMITS. COLONIAL TROUBLES OF 1T75, 
 
 POLITICS OF THE PERIOD. 
 
 fl^EFORE we digressed into the Township of Argyle^ 
 ^^^ we had brought up the several threads of Yarmouth 
 Township progress, till about 1771^2, embracing a period 
 of ten years. Following up the important question of the 
 introduction of 
 
 FRESH SETTLING ELEMENT, 
 
 we cannot expect that after the division of the Township, 
 the influx of new settlers would continue to flow so very 
 markedly. There was little to induce them from the land 
 point of view, for that was all taken up ; and new comers 
 had to purchase. 
 
 It is true that in many cases, land sold very cheaply. 
 In one instance one settler bought from another, a whole 
 right, or share for £10 Os, Od. ; and in another instance,, 
 "a full share or right of 666 acres,* together with the house 
 " and barn and cleared land" was sold for £18 8s. dd.\ 
 
 Still, families contiiiued to arrive, and within the next 
 ten years several, in the language of the Government 
 Committee, "pitched and settled" in Yarmouth, som^e of 
 whom exercised considerable influence in their time. Such 
 
 * Wherever the word "share" occurs, it represents this extent of land, 
 t Pp. 85, 43 and 114, Proprietors' Book. 
 
'^'8 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 were Miner Huntington and Samuel Sheldon Poole, both 
 of whom will receive further notice. 
 
 It will be remembered, that at this time, Yarmouth 
 Township was part of Queen's County; Liverpool being 
 the County Town ; and there all Law Courts were held, 
 Records lodged, and everything done that pertained to 
 public business. We need not wonder then, that although 
 yet young in years and weak in numbers, the inhabitants 
 of Yarmouth should have desired the advantages of a 
 County Town. Accordingly on July 4th, 1774, they sought 
 the independence of their County. They addressed a 
 petition to the Governor in Council, which I here append : 
 
 " The petition of the Inhabitants of the Township of Yarmouth, humbly 
 " showeth that we the subscribers do set forth the clifEculties your suppliants 
 "labour under, on account of our lying so far distant from our County 
 " Town, viz., Liverpool — and, do supplicate your excellency and the 
 " Honourable his Majesty's Council to extricate us out of our trouble, and 
 "let us off from Liverpool, that we may enjoy the privelege of a County: 
 " including the Township of Barrington, and extending to the northward 
 " on the sea coast until it meet with the County of Annapolis Royal. The 
 "reason of our supplicating your Excellency and the Hon'ble Council to 
 "be set off from Liverpool as a separate County is as follows: the distance 
 "and difBculty of the way; the way being embarrassed with lakes and 
 "rivers which renders it also most impossible for us under our present 
 " circumstances to git a road to Liverpool ; so that we never had any benefit 
 " of the Court held at Liverpool nor G-aol; nor doth your supplicants ever 
 "expect any benefit fi-om thence hereafter by reason of the difficulty s above 
 "stated.* 
 
 * The following characteristic story of a former well known Magistrate 
 in this County illustrates the difficulty experienced, exactly a hundred years 
 ago, in administering justice. That gentleman's Larder was broken into, 
 and considerable provisions were carried ofi" by a neighbour. There was no 
 accessible Justice of the Peace, and it is said that he lodged the information 
 with himself, issued the warrant, himself being constable ; he took the 
 accused to his own house and there examined him, found him guilty, 
 sentenced him, and imprisoned him in his own cellar. And certainly in 
 the absence of any other Magistrate or Constable, it is difficult to see how 
 redress could have been obtained. Still, the law gives no man a right to do 
 wrong. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 19 
 
 " Thel?efore> we do supplicate your Excellency and the Honourable 
 " Council, that we may be relieved from paying taxes to Liverpool, to build 
 " and support Court HousCj etc., Gaol and other County charges. Also, 
 " your supplicants do request .... that we may have the privilege 
 " of a County Town in Yarmouth; that being, as we think, the most sen* 
 " trical for the same." .... 
 
 [Signed] John Crawleyj 
 
 Epheaim Cook, and 
 46 others. 
 
 I have spared the reader a large part of this prolix 
 nal:ration, — the very length of which roust have operated 
 unfavourably with the Council. The prayer vras not 
 granted : but I think we may trace the subsequent appoint- 
 ment of Mr. John Crawley andBenj. Barnard as Justices of 
 the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, to be held at Yar- 
 mouth,^ — at which time also Joseph Crawley was appointed 
 Clerk of the said Court — to its influence. The petition 
 w^as presented on July the fourth ; and the Justices were 
 appointed on the 27th of November of the same year. 
 This is the only answer, I believe, their petition ever 
 received, until the County of Shelburne, with Shelburne as 
 the County Town, was set off in 1784* 
 
 To the discomforts of the inhabitants of Yarmouth, for 
 the time being, must be added their uncomfortable nearness 
 to the most deeply 
 
 DISAFFECTED NEW ENGLAND COLONIES J 
 
 the unhappy troubles between which and the Mother 
 Country, began to develope themselves in the year 1775. 
 The Governor and Council were in considerable difficulty 
 and danger, arising from various causes and emanating 
 from unexpected quarters; and, as some kind of guarantee, 
 
 * Council Minutes of dates named. 
 
80 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 they published an order requiring all persons to take the 
 oath of allegiance. The complaints against Justice Frost 
 and Major Jeremiah Frost were preferred on the 23rd of 
 August ; and the order on allegiance was promulged on the 
 26th. Although they had been resident in Yarmouth for 
 years ; we find at this juncture, Seth Barnes, George King, 
 John Barnard, James Kelley and Stephen Blaney taking 
 the oaths to Government.* There is no ground for con- 
 sidering them to have Ibeen suspected ; but probably they 
 took that step as a matter of personal security and private 
 advantage, inasmuch as a great deal of their business lay 
 with those Colonies ; as well as in compliance with a pub- 
 lic requirement. During the course of the year things 
 became, to say the least, unpleasant to the residents on 
 this western shore. On the fifteenth of December, James 
 Monk, Marshal of the Provincial Court of Vice Admiralty, 
 declared that, among other depredations committed by two 
 armed schooners sent out by Congress with eighty men in 
 each, "the said schooners went to Cape Forchue, and there 
 " landed their men and made prisoners of the inhabitants, 
 " and took a brig bound for Nantucket by orders of the 
 " American Congress to Machias with prisoners which had 
 " come to Cape Forchue contrary to the orders from Con- 
 " gress and was supposed to be run away with the cargo, 
 " and afterwards released the inhabitants except two or 
 " three officers of the Militia." The construction of the 
 sentences composing this declaration is somewhat difficult 
 to analyze ; but the thing intended to be set forth is j)lain 
 enough. 
 
 * Council Minutes, July 17, 1775. 
 
History of Yatmouth. 81 
 
 The disturbance between the Colonies and the Mother 
 Country proved very trying ; and several inhabitants of 
 Yarmouth on the same day (Dec. 15th) presented a 
 
 MEMORIAL 
 
 to the Governor and Council setting forth and professing 
 their loyalty to the King ; that they are almost all of New 
 England, where they have many relations ; that two armed 
 vessels, with pirates of that country, had lately invaded 
 their town, and taken away some officers of light infantry ; 
 that they were acquainted if they would not oppose them, 
 they should be unmolested ; that they were unable to de- 
 fend themselves, and therefore requested permission either 
 to go to New England, or to come to Halifax, or else to 
 remain neutral. 
 
 The reply of the Council was plain, and not to be either 
 mistaken or avoided. They were 
 
 *' unanimously of opinion that the request and proposition of the memor- 
 " ialists could neither be received or admitted, a neutrality being utterly 
 " absurd and inconsistent with the duty of subjects, who are always bound 
 " by the laws to take arms in defence of Q-OTernment, and oppose and repel 
 " all hostile attempts and invasions ; that the duty they owe as subjects 
 *' cannot be dispensed with, and that they must be obedient to the laws of 
 " the Province. In the mean time every possible measure will be taken for 
 ^' their aid and protection. And it was resolved that application be made 
 " to the Admiral for a ship of war to be stationed at port Eoseway in such 
 ^' a manner as will best protect the inhabitants of that part of the coast."* 
 
 During the season of 1776, several 
 
 DEPREDATIONS 
 
 were mad€ along the shore ; and, in accordance with the 
 resolution of Council of Dec. 15th in the preceding year, it 
 was determined (Oct. 16th) to send fifty men to Yarmouth, 
 and to place two armed vessels on the coast. It is not to 
 
 * Council Minutes. 
 
82 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 be doubted, but that the body of the New England settlers 
 here were loyal, notwithstanding the signs of incipient 
 disloyalty already notioed. But, without question, some 
 had divided affections ; others were for the Ameriean party ; 
 others again, having regard for interest, tried to belong to 
 both. The Township of Yarmouth has the notoriety of 
 her first member, Malachy Salter, having been arrested for 
 treasonable correspondence. He was required to give one 
 thousand pounds security for his good behavioar. But we 
 have also the satisfaction of knowing that he was acquit- 
 ted.* Although it was determined to send fifty men west- 
 ward in October, 1776, for some reason they were not sent. 
 And two years afterwards, November, 1778, it having ap- 
 peared that intercourse was kept with the rebels by way of 
 Yarmouth and other places, it was resolved to ask for fifty 
 men "to prevent such intercourse, and to protect the coast 
 "from any further insults or depredations." But I doubt, 
 although this was also resolved, 'whether they ever came. 
 Be that as it may, no very serious loss or damage can be 
 shown to have been sustained by this County. On the 
 contrary, several families foreseeing hostilities, and not 
 caring to engage in them, left the New England States, 
 and settled here about this time. 
 
 THE POLITICS OF THIS COUNTY 
 
 were certainly far from being of an exciting kind during the 
 first twenty years. After the settlement of fifty residents, 
 a member could be sent to represent their interests in tlie 
 House of Assembly. The first commission to send a mem- 
 ber was issued in 1765 ; and, in the following year, our 
 
 * Minutes of Council, October 10, 1777. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 83 
 
 first member, Malachy^alter, of doubtful memory, " took 
 the oaths and his seat."* He also represented this Town- 
 ship in the next Parliament, in which he took his seat on 
 the 9th of June, 1772. This gentleman never resided in 
 Yarmouth, and beyond the facts already mentioned,, we 
 know nothing of him. 
 
 Our second member was John Crawley, who is spoken 
 of in the memorial to have a separate County set off, as 
 ''our member." But having failed to take his seat, it was 
 declared vacant in June, 1775, by the Assembly. 
 
 The third Township member was James Monk, Esquire. 
 He, like Mr. Salter, was a non-resident. Such men were 
 probably most accessible ; but they could not, in the nature 
 of things, be very deeply interested. As a proof of this,, 
 he lost his seat in the session of 1776 through non-attend- 
 ance. He did one Jittle piece of business, the first for this 
 Township by any of its members. On November 2, 1775,. 
 he brought in " a bill for establishing the times for the- 
 " holding an Inferior Court of Common Pleas at Yarmouth 
 " in Queens." The issue has been already stated. 
 
 Writs were issued in 1777 and 1778 for the election of 
 a member; but none was returned till October 9, 1780,. 
 when Mr. Richard Cuningham, also a non-resident, took 
 the usual oaths and his seat, as our fourth representative. 
 
 The fifth member for this Township was Samuel Shel- 
 don Poole, a man who was well known in his time. He 
 represented Yarmouth, with the slight exceptions of the 
 elections in 1800 of Nathan Utley, and that of Samuel 
 Marshall in 1812, for fifty years. He was»a native of 
 
 * Journal, dctober 24th, 17.66. 
 
84 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 Beading in Mass. He had been educated at Harvard, and 
 was originally intended for the ministry. He came to 
 Yarmouth in 1775, and, being a man of more than ordinary 
 education, he soon made himself felt in a variety of ways. 
 He was in the habit for many years of preaching at Che- 
 bogue. In 1785 he was made a Justice of the Peace. He 
 continued to represent Yarmouth long after his physical 
 strength was equal to the task. He is said to have been a 
 man of quick temper, of great integrity, of great simplicity 
 of manner, and of an unblemished moral character. Many 
 amusing stories, more or less true, are yet remembered by 
 the older generations, illustrating the several features of 
 his character. He was styled by Sir James Kempt, at 
 whose official dinners great attention was shown to Mr, 
 Poole, as early as 1826, " the father of the house." He 
 lived to be eighty-five years of age, and died in the year 
 1835 in the communion of the Church of England, and 
 was buried in the old Church Yard, 
 
CHAPTEK XII. 
 
 THIRD DECADE 1780-90. LOYALIST ELEMENT IN THE COUNTY. 
 
 CAPE FORCHUE MEETING-HOUSE. ESCHEATED PROPERTY. 
 
 PARTITION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF YARMOUTH. 
 
 ORIGINAL SETTLERS OP TUSKET. 
 
 CHURCH COVENANT OF 1784. 
 
 A BOUT the year 1781, an unsettled period, — a some- 
 '^^ what painful affair happened at Chegoggin, in the 
 house of old Mrs. Porter. Two of&cers, as one version has 
 it, came there and begged a night's lodging, for which they 
 paid, intending to leave in the morning. They were 
 Hessians, and could not speak a word of English. Two 
 young men came to ask Mrs. Porter to a wedding. One 
 of the young men laid his hand on one of the officers, 
 pretending to have been sent from Halifax, and said, "you 
 " are my prisoner." A scuffle ensued, in which the young 
 man got the officer's sword and stabbed him through the 
 body, killing him instantly. All night the other lay with 
 his arm under the head of his dead comrade. At day dawn 
 he left the house ; and they buried the murdered man near 
 Zebina Shaw's, at the head of the Salt Pond. Nothing 
 more was ever heard of them. The affair was investigated 
 at Shelburne, but nothing was proved against the young 
 man, who pleaded self defence.* 
 
 * As narrated by Mrs. Farish. 
 
86 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 The mention of Shelburne reminds us that in the year 
 1784, the former County of Queens was circumscribed, by 
 having the Townships of Shelburne, Barrington, Argyle, 
 and Yarmouth set off as a separate County, with the new 
 Loyalist Town of Shelburne for the County Town. This 
 was some relief to those who, ten years before, had peti- 
 tioned to have Yarmouth set off with other Townships, 
 having Yarmouth as the County Town. The distance was 
 now 70 instead of 115 miles. Between 1782 and 1784 
 Shelburne had become the most populous city in Nova 
 Scotia, with handsomely laid out streets, and complete 
 civic arrangements ; the population being nearly ten 
 thousand; and consisting for the more part of men who 
 would sooner leave and lose all, than deny their King or 
 Country. Many of them were gentlemen by birth, educa- 
 tion and station ; a large proportion had been men of 
 means ; all of them were strongly attached to British 
 institutions. To the Loyalist proper, that is, those who 
 strove till they could strive no longer, as distinguished from 
 the earlier Refugees, who left the States at the first scent 
 of possible hostilities, must be added a third element, the 
 disbanded Hessians, who, for the more part, were rewarded 
 for their services, by liberal grants of land. 
 
 It is a matter of painful history how rapidly Shelburne 
 fell; more rapidly, if possible, than it rose. But the 
 result, which alone concerns us here at present, was, that 
 many of those men travelled westward, settling finally, 
 some at Argyle, others at Tusket ; some at Plymouth, and 
 others again at Yarmouth. It is manifest that such an 
 element as this being introduced into the County could 
 
History of Yavmouth, 87 
 
 not but ultimately exercise a very wide spread social influ- 
 ence. The j^-inciiDal settlement, or as we may express it, 
 
 THE ORIGINAL CENTEE OF LOYALIST POPULATION 
 
 in this County, was in Tusket; and thence they finally 
 spread into the vicinity and surrounding district. They 
 arrived there about the year 1785 ; and at first consisted 
 of twenty -five families, viz. : Hatfields, Lent, Blauvelts, 
 Sarvents, Smith, Andrews, Tooker, and others, now 
 household words among us, many of whom brought their 
 negro slaves with them. At the time they settled, they 
 found many patches of cultivated grounds, vestiges of the 
 old Acadians. These.grounds were over-run with a growth 
 of young trees. They also found cattle grown quite wild, 
 which had belonged to the French ; and, I am told that the 
 same breed is still found in the County, hardier though 
 smaller, than others since introduced. The following 
 account written by one of the first settlers, — Mrs. Van 
 Tyle — long afterwards known as "Aunt Deborah Smith," 
 tracing the progress of her own and other families from 
 New York to Tusket is worthy of record : — 
 
 " We left New York on the last day of October, 1783, in the schooner 
 " Cherry Bounce," Captain John Gilchrist, master, and arrived at Port 
 " Eoseway the 7th Wovember, so called then, now Shelburne. The snow 
 " was about two feet deep; went up to the town, there were a number of 
 " houses building, but none finished ; plenty of marquees, tents and sheds 
 " for the people to shelter under, which thej greatly needed at that season 
 " of the year. It looked dismal enough. Called on some of our friends in 
 " their tents, Col. VanBuskirk and his wife and two young daughters in 
 " one ; and his daughter Sarah, Lawyer Combauld's wife, and babe in ano- 
 " ther. I thought they did not look able to stand the coming winter, which 
 " proved a very hard one. The servants had sheds of boards to cook under. 
 " We heard the hammer and saw day and night. Fine times for carpen- 
 " ters. Three days after we sailed down to Robertson's Cove, and there 
 " remained frozen up all winter, and the whole harbour too until the 17th 
 " March. During the winter, father and Mr. Van Tyle .built a log house 
 
88 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 " on shore, having provisions on board the schooner, but when the spring 
 " came and we saw nothing but rocks and naoss, they ma(Je up their minds 
 " to look for a more favourable place. They had orders from the Survey- 
 " ors to take up land where they could find it unlocated. On the 20th 
 " March they left the family, and with thirteen others set sail for Yar- 
 " mouth, Joshua Trefry, pilot. There they found the land all taken up; 
 " were recommended to Tusket. Found the land there looked more favour- 
 " able, returned to Shelburne, took the family on board, and arrived at 
 "Tusket 11th May, 1784. At this time there was no one settled on the 
 " river, but the French. In the fall two families moved up, Mr. John 
 " Withby and Mr. John Williams. November 1st, Mr. Morris and Capt. 
 " Leonard came up to lay out the land about the lakes and at other places. 
 " In the course of the summer of 1785, Mr. James Hatfield and family 
 " came to Tusket ; uncle Job Hatfield came up in the course of the summer, 
 "and others, viz.: — Mr. Lent, Mr. VanNorden, Mr. Maybee, and Mr. 
 " Sarvent. The river abounded with fish, salmon, and herring ; and there 
 " was a large business carried on exporting them to the West Indies. 
 * «• ii * * * * *" 
 
 Before ten years, this new settlement bad widely spread 
 and clearly defined its position. It aimed at the erection 
 of a new 'district, to be called Frakkljn Township, wdtb 
 Tusket as its centre, lying mid-way between the Township 
 of Yarmouth and the then distant settlement at Argyle. 
 The subjoined memorial will serve to prove this, as well 
 as to illustrate other points ; as, for example, to show 
 who were the then residents in Tusket and vicinity, 
 meaning thereby ^Plymouth and both sides of the river, 
 as far as Gavel's on the one side, and Andrews' on the 
 
 other : — 
 
 " To the Eight Eev. Father in God, Charles, Bishop of Nova Scotia, the 
 " memorial of the inhabitants of Franklin Township and its vicinity : 
 " Hujnbly sheweth, That your Memorialists, members of the Church of 
 " England, and Loyalists, being destitute of religious worship and desirous 
 " and willing to contribute to the building of a Church and support of a 
 " Missionary to the utmost of our abilities, most earnestly solicit your 
 " patronage and benevolent intercession with his Excellency the Governor, 
 " to appropriate one hundred pounds to our assistance, and we promise, 
 " Eight Eeverend Sir, as soon as the season will admit, to enter into con- 
 *' tract with proper workmen, and to join our subscriptions and all neces- 
 
History of Yarmouth. 
 
 " sary proceedings, to carry the same pious work into execution. 
 " your Memorialists, etc, 
 
 " Franklin Town, April 6th, 1793." 
 
 And 
 
 Gabriel Van Norden, 
 James Van Emburgh, 
 Nathaniel Richardson, 
 Job Hatfield, 
 Nicholas Lawrence, 
 James Blauvelt, 
 William Colsworthy, 
 James Lent, 
 Thomas Eidgway, 
 Jonathan Horton, 
 William Halstead, 
 Jacob Hatfield, 
 David Ogden, 
 Cornelius Van Norden, 
 Grilbert Van Emburgh, 
 
 Benedict Byrn, 
 Matthias Byrn, 
 David Van Norden, 
 Peter Earl, 
 Abraham Sarvent, 
 Job Smith, 
 James Hatfield, 
 Jacob Hatfield, Jr., 
 Isaac Decker, 
 Titus Hurlburt, 
 John Van Emburgh, 
 Samuel Andrews, 
 Stephen VanNorden, 
 James Sloane, 
 Gilbert Daniells, 
 
 Lewis Blanchard, 
 Jacob Tooker, 
 Daniel Godard, 
 Abraham M. Hatfield, 
 John Wood, 
 John Gavel, 
 John Purdy, 
 Robert Symes, 
 Jesse Grey, 
 Hugh Conner, 
 Robert King, 
 John Ackerman, 
 James Gisnone, 
 George Gavel, 
 Sebastian NeaU. 
 
 I have not inserted the sums which are set down against 
 the individual names, as not coming within the scope of 
 my purpose ; hut several are subscribers for ^65 Os. Od., and 
 considering the time, and the circumstances of the Memo- 
 rialists, the whole subscription bears marks of earnestuess 
 and attachment to their religious principles. 
 
 Although we are now describing the period approaching 
 to 1790, we find that 
 
 CHEBOGUE WAS STILL MORE IMPORTANT THAN YARMOUTH. 
 
 This is evidenced by the Town meetings, which were 
 almost invariably held before this in Chebogue. After the 
 meeting-house was built in Cape Forchue in 1784, reference 
 to the building of which has already been made, meetings 
 in Yarmouth became more frequent ; and on such occasions, 
 they were almost always held in the meeting-house. This 
 was quite natural, and in accordance with New England 
 ideas of Government, which required that Civil officers 
 should also be Church officers. A proof, if any more were 
 
90 History of Yarmoutlu 
 
 needed, of tlie bitlierto comparative importance of Che'bogue, 
 is the fact that it had its meeting-house seventeen years 
 before Yarmouth. I have thought it well worth while to 
 insert the 
 
 CO-TENANT AND AGREEMENT 
 
 that was entered into by the severally interested parties, 
 together with the names of t]^e subscribers. It need hardly 
 be added that after the lapse of ninety years, those whose 
 names are appended have long since been gathered to their 
 rest : — 
 
 " This Covenant and Agreement made and executed at Yarmouth in the 
 " Province of Nova Scotia on the 12th day of Jan'y A. D. 1784 By and 
 "between us inhabitants of Yarmouth aforesaid, whose names are hereunto 
 " subscribed Witnesseth, that we the said Subscribers do bind and oblige 
 " ourselves each to the i-est to build a meeting house for the Public Worship 
 " of God on the Easterly side of Cape Forchue Harbour and on a Lott of 
 " Land known by the name of the Ministerial Lott. Further we do Cove- 
 " nant and agree that all moneys voted from time to time untill said house 
 " shall be compleated shall be assess'd in just and equal proportion accord- 
 " ing to each mans interest to be done by a stall bill made for that purpose. 
 " We do further agree that all moneys so voted shall be assessed by such 
 " persons as the Subscribers shall chuse and appoint and when so assessed 
 " shall be paid into the hands of such persons as shall be appointed to 
 " collect the same and those assessors are hereby invested with full power 
 " to authoi'ise said Collector or Collectors to make distress upon such 
 " person or persons as shall refuse to pay such assessment so made or any 
 " part thereof and all moneys so assessed and raised to be for the purpose 
 " above mentioned and that only and that such collector or collectors shall 
 " pay all such moneys so collected by them into the hands of such person or 
 " persons as shall be appointed to receive the same We do further covenant 
 " and agree that all matters relating to the premises above mentioned such 
 " as the size of the house, sums of money to be raised, chusing of OfScers 
 "and selling the Pews or the Grround for them shall be voted by a Major 
 " vote of the Subscribers. 
 
 " For the performance of the above the subscribers and each of us bind 
 " ourselves firmly in the sum of fifty pounds current money of the Province 
 " of Nova Scotia. 
 
 " That they and every one of them shall on his part well and faithfully 
 " perform all and everything contained in the premises above. 
 
 " That they shall pay and keep all and singular the Contracts, payments 
 
History of Yarmouth. 
 
 91 
 
 " and agreements which on his or their parts ought to be paid and kept and 
 " that according to the true intent and meaning of the above articles with- 
 " out fraud or coyer. In witness whereof we have set our hands." 
 
 John Walker 
 David Raymond 
 Jas. Goudey 
 Thos. Parry 
 David Harris 
 Rufus Utley 
 John Landers 
 Benj. Redding 
 Paul G-owin 
 Cors. Harris 
 Wm. Landers 
 Willoughby SoUows 
 Ambrose Dennis 
 Eleazer Butler 
 Jesse Rice 
 Will'm Haskell 
 Philip Groudey 
 Jonathan Corning 
 Zachariah Foot 
 Jabez Landers 
 Ebenezer Porter 
 Saml. Harris Jr 
 
 John Perry 
 Hugh Cann 
 James Mattenly 
 Riehd. Patten 
 Josiah Porter Jr 
 Theophilus Crosby 
 Alex. Bain 
 Hy. Lovitt 
 Benj. Harris 
 Jas. Crosby 
 Nathan Utley 
 Lemuel Crosby 
 Benj. Brown 
 John Killam 
 Benj. Barnard 
 And. Lovitt 
 Ebenezer Corning 
 Rd. Williams 
 Jon'n Corning Jr 
 Hazadiah Porter 
 Nathan Brown 
 
 Saml. Ellen wood 
 Levi Horton 
 Jas. Brown 
 Benj. Brown Jr 
 Dudley Poi-ter 
 John Cann 
 Saml. S. Poole 
 Jos. Pitman Jr 
 Eleaz'r Butler Jr 
 Eliah Eldridge 
 Sealed Landers 
 Pery. Hamilton 
 Stephen Blaney 
 Thos. Flint 
 Rich'd Rose 
 Waitstill Lewis 
 Jon'n Corning 
 Jos. Pitman 
 Eben'r Corning Jr 
 Saml. Foot 
 Saml. Harris 
 
 This document has been inserted as it was originally 
 written, viz. : without punctuation, and with the orthogra- 
 phical peculiarities retained. 
 
 Immigration during this period was almost at a stand: 
 New comers had to purchase, and possibly, better prospects 
 fov farmers were to be found in other parts of the Province. 
 I do not think that those who had settled here, had any 
 cause of complaint. Farming was not their strong point ; 
 but. still in the year 1786, Justices Benjamin Barnard and 
 Samuel Sheldon Poole, made a return, in afccordance with 
 the Governor's orders, to the effect that in Yarmouth Toivn- 
 ship there were 161 oxen, 456 cows, 337 young cattle, and 
 686 sheep, "which account," say they, "may be depended 
 " on as just, we having been particular in taking the same."* 
 
 * Records, May 16th, 1786. 
 
92 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 The reader will compare this with Mr. Crawley's return of 
 1764, made twenty-two years previously. 
 It is plain, however, that 
 
 NON-EESIDENT OWNERS 
 
 not only did no good, but they did positive harm ; and it 
 was felt that some steps should be taken to promote greater 
 prosperity. Accordingly we find Mr. John Crawley and 
 Mr. Poole swearing, in Halifax on the 27th of June, 1783, 
 that 
 
 " William Haskall, Thomas Moore, Benjamin Morgan, William Moore, 
 " Stephen Gallishan, Alex. Godfrey, Samuel Allen, and Thomas Sinnot, 
 " proprietors in the Township of Yarmouth, have made little or no im- 
 " proveraents on their shares of lands, and that they have not been resident 
 " on their said shares of land for these seven years past." 
 
 This was but the first step in the argument ; for at the 
 same time, Mr. Poole put in a word for himself and others 
 by memorializing the Governor and Council, — having taken 
 the precaution to have his memorial certified beforehand by 
 Mr. Crawley. The document is curious and full of infor- 
 fnation, direct and inferential : — 
 
 " The memorial of Samuel Sheldon Poole, in behalf of himself and sun- 
 " dry settlers in the Township of Yarmouth, sheweth, — 
 
 " That your memorialist represents that some of the said persons have 
 " been settled in said Township one and twenty years, and none less than 
 " nine years, except Jesse Rice and Waitstill Lewis, who have been there 
 " between four and five years. 
 
 " That they had never had any lands granted them by Government : but 
 " have made improvements on lands purchased by them in this Province. 
 
 " That they are desirous of remaining settlers in the Province. 
 
 " That the most of them have families and stocks as per list annexed. 
 
 " That there are several rights or shares of lands in the Township of 
 "Yarmouth, liable to forfeiture, having been deserted many years, and 
 " without improvement as per list annexed. 
 
 " That, therefore, your memorialist, in behalf as aforesaid, — Humbly 
 " prayeth that the said rights of land may be escheated and regranted to 
 " them in such proportions as to your Excellency and Honours shall seem 
 " meet." 
 
History of Yarmouth. 93 
 
 Tlie list of deserters is the same as that sworn to by Mr. 
 
 Crawley and Mr. Barnard : and the list for whom applica^ 
 
 tion was so ingeniously made and well put were : 
 
 " Nathan Utley, wife and four children. 
 Benj. Barnard, " " three " 
 S. S. Poole, " " three 
 
 Levi Horton, " " seven " 
 
 Waitstill Lewis, " " two " 
 
 Samuel Foot, " " one child. 
 Jesse Eice, single, a Eefugee, and a Physician. 
 
 Elishama Eldridge expects to marry soon, a trader, who has been in 
 Yarmouth twenty years." 
 
 There is no date to this document ; but it is bound up in 
 the volume of Eecords extending from 1783-7. 
 
 Mr. Benjamin Barnard, to whom reference is here and 
 elsewhere repeatedly made, was a native of Salem, and 
 a graduate of Harvard. He was a useful citizen and 
 magistrate ; a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and 
 Registrar of Deeds. He died in 1827, aged 74. At first, 
 and for some time, all deeds were recorded at Liverpool. 
 The earliest record is dated September 19th, 1768; and 
 was a deed from Benjamin EUenwood to Daniel Fogler 
 of Nantucket, of *'one acre of land on the north side 
 "of Cape Forchue Harbour formerly laid out to John 
 "Gates." 
 
 Waitstill Lewis, the ancestor of all who bear the name 
 in the County, was a Loyalist. He died in Yarmouth in 
 1838, leaving a large and respectable family. 
 
 Jesse Rice was a physician, a native of New Hampshire 
 and a Loyalist, who was proscribed and banished.* 
 
 * Mr. Rice was the first Physician in the County of whom we have any 
 knowledge. As such, he was evidently regarded as a desirable settler. 
 But the practice of Medicine and Surgery was not neglected by the early 
 
94 - History of Yarmouth. 
 
 This application for the escheatment of unimproved and 
 deserted lands bears marks of having been made just before 
 the 
 
 FINAL DIVISION AND SETTING OFF OF THE TOWNSHIP 
 
 to the individual grantees, which was not done till 1787 ; 
 in which year also the plan of the Township was made by 
 Samuel Goldsbury. The mandate of partition was issued 
 at Halifax on the 21st of July, 1786; and the writ is 
 returned as having been complied with, dated Yarmouth, 
 January the 20th, 1787. The document is somewhat 
 lengthy; but important, as exhibiting the principle upon 
 which the division and allotment was made. The preamble 
 
 merchants, before the arrival of Eice ; to wit, the following selection of 
 entries, made at different dates, beginning with, — 
 
 1764. March 9. To. drawing of my boy's teuth £0 Os. 3d. 
 
 " one oz of Anguinton 4 
 
 " 2 oz of Parmisity 7 
 
 " Sundre Doctters Medisons 1 6 
 
 " Strengthining Sauf 6 
 
 " 3 porshons of fisick @ 8d 2 
 
 " 2 bottles of oyl true british @ Is. 6d 3 
 Although twenty-fiye years elapsed before Medical practitioners settled 
 in Yarmouth, we yet stand well forward in the adoption oT Vaccination 
 for that terrible pestilence— Small Pox. Early in the Spring of 1802, Mr. 
 Norman Bond, a Lawyer, living in Bath, Eng., and an intimate friend of 
 Dr. Jenner the discoverer of the Cow Pox, sent out in a letter a small 
 parcel of Vaccine Lymph to his brother Dr. J. N. Bond. He had no more 
 faith in it than the rest of the world at that time had ; but to satisfy him- 
 self he tried it on an infant of a few weeks old. It succeeded ; and to 
 further test its eiEcacy, he inoculated the child with Small Pox, which, of 
 course, was powerless. The infant has since grown to manhood and old 
 age ; and has been vei-y frequently exposed to Small Pox in its most malig- 
 nant forms, and he is now the oldest living Medical Gentleman in this 
 County. He certainly was the first vaccinated in Yarmouth ; possibly the 
 first in Nova Scotia, and among the first on this Continent. I ven- 
 ture to hope that th^ obvious lesson taught by this narrative — the value 
 of vaccination — may be practically recognized by every member of the 
 community. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 95 
 
 gets forth to the Sheriff of Shelburne County, as it then 
 
 was, his duty to 
 
 " call together the proprietors," whose names all follow, " of the said 
 " Township of Yarmouth, to be summoned by you, by giving forty days 
 " notice to the aforesaid persons if they wiU be present, and in the presence 
 " of two of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace, that you do assign in 
 "severalty the shares or proportions of the said lands actually occupied or 
 " improved to all such proprietors who have occupied or improved the same 
 "by the oaths of twelve lawful men of the said Coi.mty ; and that you also 
 " cause the improved lands in the said Township to be divided resfect. being 
 "had to the value of the said lands and tenements with their appurtenances 
 " and to our several G-rant or Grants to the several parties aforesaid to he 
 " divided hy ballot agreeable to the purport and meaning of their respective 
 " titles and pursuant to the laws of our Province of Nova Scotia aforesaid, 
 '.' in that case made and provided, and to be alloted and set out to each and 
 " every the parties aforesaid his^ her^ or their true parts or proportions of 
 " tke said lands, tenements and appurtenances as aforesaid, to hold to them 
 " and their respective heirs severally, to be by you delivered and assigned 
 "so that aU and eveiy the parties above said receive and have a just and 
 
 " proportionable quantity of the said lands and 
 
 " make due return of this writ to the Justices of our Supreme Court at 
 " Halifax." 
 
 All was done accordingly; the twelve men, as disin- 
 terested parties living out of the Township, were chosen 
 from Argyle and Barrington, and the whole was certified 
 by Elishama Eldridge Deputy Sheriff/ J. Homer, and John 
 Coffin, Justices. The italicised words are mine, — being 
 intended to draw attention to the governing ideas of the 
 partition. Several parties — ameng them Mr. Poole, — 
 were included in the list of Proprietors, who were certainly 
 not Grantees. But Mr. Poole's petition, before detailed, 
 supplies the explanation. 
 
 We have already referred, at some length, to the escheat- 
 ment of certain lands, on the ground of desertion or non- 
 residence, between 1767 and 1787. Similarly, by order of 
 
B6 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 the Supreme Court, in 1797, ten j'ears after the partition 
 of the Township, an escheatment of 
 
 " sundry lots of land belonging to sundry persons respectively in arrears 
 " in payment of their shares and proportion of the expense of executing 
 " the partition," 
 
 was made. The names of the delinquents, fifteen in num- 
 ber, are those of families who are now, for the more part, 
 of little note : whilst those of the purchasers must be 
 identified, in the main, with the gradual prosperity of the 
 Township. All this is reasonable ; for men who after ten 
 years were unable or unwilling to pay the expenses incurred 
 in laying out their lands, would hardly be likely to make 
 Very good or very active use of the land itself. 
 
CHAPTEE Xm. 
 
 COMMERCIAL PROGRESS. FISHING. EARLY LOCAL MERCHANTS, 
 
 YARMOUTH MADE A PORT OF SHELBURNE. J. N. BOND, 
 
 RELIGIOUS REVOLUTION, HENRY ALLINE, JONATHAN 
 
 SCOTT. HARRIS HARDING, RELIGIOUS CENSUS. 
 
 ORIGINAL HOMES AND FIRST LOCATIONS 
 
 OF THE EARLY SETTLERS. 
 
 I'OK the more part, the original settlers in this County 
 were not, as in other Counties, farmers. They were 
 rather traders and fishermen; who filled up their spare 
 time, as many do yet, with a little farming. Whatever 
 tended to promote the extension of their 
 
 MARITIME INTEEESTg, 
 
 was then, as it is now, looked on as of paramount impor- 
 tance. One little schooner of twenty-five tons, named the 
 "Pompey," represented the Yarmouth shipping list of 
 1761. The second year probably served to treble it. We 
 know that Captain George Eing and Ephraim Cook were 
 then concerned together in fishing vessels : and about the 
 same time Captain Seth Barnes had one schooner, the 
 "Elizabeth;" and shortly afterwards two, — the "Eliza- 
 beth" and the " Polly." In the year 1764, Walter Sollows 
 built the first vessel that was launched in the County — od 
 Fish Point in Cape Forchue Harbour. Without doubt 
 those vessels were exclusively engaged in fishing, and in 
 
98 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 carrying the surplus produce to tlie New England markets.* 
 There were fishing stands at Cook's beach in 1760 and 
 1761 ; at Fish Point in 1762 ; at Pubnico in the same 
 year ; and more than once we have instances of grants of 
 land, suitable for such purposes, f having been made. 
 About thirty years after the settlement of Yarmouth, there 
 were about twenty-five vessels belonging to the Township, 
 with an aggregate of 550, or an average of twenty-two tons. 
 The first vessel which was lost, belonging to this Township, 
 was the " Sally," in the year 1777, owned and commanded 
 by Captain John Barnard. All hands were lost. The 
 next was the " James," owned by James Allen, and com- 
 manded by Captain Joseph Allen. She was lost off Sambro 
 Light. Four years after, two other vessels were wrecked, 
 strange to say all hands lost ; making an ominous begin- 
 ning in the first twenty years of four losses, in three of 
 which every soul perished. As the number owned has 
 increased, accidents have become necessarily, from, various 
 causes, painfully frequent. 
 
 Besides the shipping, or rather the fishing and trading 
 
 detailed, there were the 
 
 ^^ # 
 
 * Considerable visiting intercourse with their New England friends was 
 kept up by the first settlers. This was easily done by using the fishing 
 schooners on their carrying freight to Boston, or on their return Toyage 
 with necessary supplies. Old Ledgers contain such entries as these : — 
 
 To your Dafters pasig to Boston £0 5s. Od. 
 
 " frait up and down 5 
 
 " your pasig up and down to Newingland 10 
 
 " your wife and pasig of 3 children @ 7s. 6d... 1 10 
 
 " your wife's and child's pasig down 10 
 
 t E. G. To Mr. Ingols at Pubnico, on May 1, 1762. 
 " " John Eussel at Yarmouth, on Jidy 5, 1775. 
 And " Philip and James Goudey, on the 20th of June, 1775. 
 
History of Yarmouth.. 99 
 
 EAELY LOCAL MEECHANTS, 
 
 whose business transactions are of older date, and larger 
 amounts, than might have been supposed. It may sound 
 a little paradoxical to say that a Ledger exists with items 
 entered in it, which were sold here before any settlers 
 arrived. The explanation lies in the fact, already illustrated 
 in Ephraim Cooke, that the men who frequented these 
 shores for fishing purposes did their season's work, and 
 then returned home. Some of the items, both as to cost 
 and kind, to say nothing of the orthography, are not a little 
 puzzling and amusing. I have here appended a few on 
 different industries : — 
 
 The labour market stood thus, for example — 
 
 1762. Aug. 12. Three day's laber self and printis @ 6/8 £\ Os, Od. 
 
 1763. May 9. 1 Days laber for self & oxen 4 
 
 " Nov. 30. 1 days work by self..., 2 6 
 
 1774. March 16. 3 Days with self & oxen @ 3/3 10 2 
 
 " Not. 29. IJ days work by thrashing of grane... 3 6 
 
 ■ 1779. March 15. 7^ days carphendering @ 3/ per day... 12 6 
 
 1766. May 20. Shearing of 16 sheep 1 6 
 
 " Aug. 7. Moing 1 day and better 3 
 
 1764. Sept. 27. 2^ days laber stacking of hay 5 
 
 Carpenters, mowers, and stackers of hay, would consider 
 this rather serious wages. Those of sailors and fishermen 
 are still more suggestive. Thus, for instance : — 
 
 1763. April 4. Shipt him for 6 dolers per month to Boston, 
 
 1764. May 6. Shipt on board schoner at 30/ pr month. 
 
 1766. Aug. 11. Kechingof 1300 of fish groos, @ £3 6s. 8d pr M £4 6s. 8d. 
 
 ■It does not appear that the prices of provisions, groceries, 
 if we except tea and the like, varied much from what they 
 now are ; but, when compared with the rate of wages, they 
 were very high. For instance : — 
 
 Flour perlb £0 Os. 4d. Fish V quintal 10/ to 15/ 
 
 Butter " lOd. Tea "lb 5/ to 7/ 
 
 Potatoes per bushel 2/ to 4/ Beef " lb (salt) 4d. 
 
100 History of Yarmouth, 
 
 The FuE business was, in the early days of the settle- 
 ment, of considerable importance and extent. The follow- 
 ing list, made up from a variety of sources, shows at a 
 glance, both the kinds of animals abounding and the value 
 of their skins, about the year 1764 : — 
 
 Beaver, (" Sever ") 5/ to 6/ ^ &. 
 
 Moose, ("Mos") 5/ to 6/3 each. 
 
 Bear, ("Bare") 5/, 
 
 Seal, ("Sile")5/. 
 
 Otter, (" Oter") 5/ to 6/. 
 Fox, 2/6 to 3/3. 
 
 Sable, ("Sabel") 2/6. 
 Loup Cervier, (" Wile Gate"?) 2/6 to 3/. 
 
 Mink, ("Monkes") l/tol/3d. 
 
 Mmsquash, ("Muskwosh") 3d. to 4d. 
 
 Entries of such articles sss the following, for which we 
 should certainly ask in vain in our most complete Dry 
 Goods establishments, are not at all uncommon : — 
 
 1762. Aug. 17. 7 yds. Garlick @ 3/6 £1 4s. 6d. 
 
 1764. Nov. 19. 1 yd. of padasway ribin 1 
 
 1765. May 25. 2| yds. of blew stroud @ 12/6 1 11 S 
 
 " " 26. 3 yds. ofLunnonshurlond@2/.... 6 
 
 " Junel7. 1 yd. ofEatten 9 
 
 1770. May 24. 1 Black Basalone hanchif 5 7 
 
 1771. April 6. 4 yards of Duffel 1 2 
 
 And, if it fell out that, in the transaction of their busi- 
 ness, those old gentlemen of a hundred years agone had 
 some variance, they had a happy way of settling their dif- 
 ferences, as the two following instances will show : — 
 
 1764. Aug. 24. For peas sake for skins that was laust £\ 3s. 6d. 
 
 And again : — 
 
 1764. Nov. 15. Credeat for peas sake and past resaits 
 
 in ivl\ for ever £0 7s. 4d, 
 
 This, to say the least, looked like an honest endeavour 
 to obey the Apostolic maxim to "live peaceably with all 
 men." The ruling passion for gain, however, was in at 
 
History of Yarmouth. 101 
 
 least one case, irresistible ; for, on the very next folio, a 
 fresh account was hopefully opened. Scarcely less enter- 
 taining are the two following items, illustrative of business 
 terms used in settlements of accounts : — 
 
 "Jan. 11, 1775 this day recond and setteld all book aecompts from the 
 *' begining of the world to this day with C D. witness our hands — A. B. 
 " and C. D," 
 
 And again : — 
 
 "Feb. 12, 1778. This day recond and setteld all aecompts from the 
 " beginning of the world to this day with C. D. — and there is due to him 
 " one pound one shilling. Witness my hand — A. B." 
 
 There is very little, if anything, to show what the imports 
 or exports of the County during the first thirty years 
 amounted to. The first Collector in Yarmouth was Mr. 
 John Crawley; but as early as 1766, "Lieutenant Eanald 
 *' McKinnon was appointed Collector for the Impost, Ex- 
 *' cise, and License duties for the Townships of Barrington 
 " and Yarmouth in the room of John Crawley resigned."* 
 I have not been able to ascertain whether he or Mr. Craw- 
 ley ever made any return. In 1787, when Yarmouth was 
 made a Port of Entry, Joseph Norman Bond, then residing 
 in Shelburne, was made Deputy Collector ; and about this 
 time there are a few slight traces of duties. This gentle- 
 man, the father of our much respected citizen Dr. Joseph 
 B. Bond, was a native of Neston, Cheshire, England ; and 
 was educated in London for the Medical profession. He 
 was Assistant Surgeon in the British Army, and was among 
 those who were under the command of Cornwallis, when 
 that general surrendered his army of 7000 at York Town 
 to "Washington. He attended the prisoners taken under 
 
 * Council Minutes, November 8, 1766, 
 
102 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 Burgoyne and. Cornwallis, from Lancaster to New York. 
 He held many public offices, besides discharging his pro- 
 fessional duties. At first he was Deputy, and afterwards 
 in 1806, Custom House officer. He held a commission as 
 Justice of the Peace ; and as Colonel of Militia. In 1803, 
 he was made Surveyor of Vessels, his certificate entitling 
 the holders ' of them to a certificate in Halifax. He was 
 frequently intrusted by the Government with the discharge 
 of public duties, and the execution of important public 
 works. He was the pioneer of the Loyalists, I believe, as 
 well as the first member of the Church of England, who 
 settled in Yarmouth. He is allowed to have been a man of 
 very considerable character, with great firmness and deter- 
 mination. 
 
 During the period we are now tracing, a visit was made 
 to Yarmouth by an itinerant preacher, Henry Alline, which 
 deserves careful notice, on account of the extensive subse- 
 quent results which followed, from a religious denomina- 
 tional point of view, amounting almost to a 
 
 RELIGIOUS REVOLUTION. 
 
 It is only repeating words to say that, as with scarcely an 
 exception, the early inhabitants of Chebogue, Cape Forchue 
 and Argyle, were from New England, and that they were 
 adherents of that form of faith which prevailed throughout 
 the New England States. But it is also plain, from various 
 considerations, that the lines between the Congregational 
 and Presbyterian systems were not very sharply defined. 
 The constant use of the phrase ''Congregational or Prcsby- 
 terian,^' in which, two words of very different signification 
 
History of Yarmouth. 103 
 
 are used as if tliey had the same meaning, is evidence to 
 the point. It was probably as convenient for the necessities 
 of the settlers then, as it might be for the good feeling and 
 harmony of the community noiv, not to enquire too nar- 
 rowly, or define too closely. 
 
 The first who ministered to the Church at Chebogue, 
 was Mr. John Frost. He was ordained by the laymen of 
 his Church, — without the help or -intervention, as in Pres- 
 byterian ordination, of any Session or Presbytery. Mr. 
 Frost did not serve the congregation more than seven 
 months after he was ordained. The next minister was the 
 Eev. Jonathan Scott. He came to Yarmouth in 1767. 
 He preached his first sermon in 1768; but he was not 
 ordained until 1772. The first gathering of the church at 
 Chebogue had taken place on December 18th, 1767.* 
 Mr. Scott continued to minister, we have every reason to 
 believe, acceptably to his people, who had hitherto support- 
 ed him unanimously, to the best of their ability. They 
 assisted him in building his house, which is now the oldest 
 house as well as the oldest parsonage in the County, and 
 otherwise maintained him. And so he continued for fifteen 
 years. At the end of that time, 
 
 HENEY ALLINB, 
 
 who, as before said, was an itinerant preacher of the body 
 then lately organized, and known as "New Lights," visited 
 Yarmouth. He was a native of Rhode Island : and must 
 evidently have been a man able, at least, to rouse the 
 people, and alter existing institutions. He published his 
 views in a volume printed in Halifax in 1781, in which he 
 
 * Congregational Church Book. 
 
104 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 set forth, doctrines which no sane person could now be 
 found to believe or defend. He disregarded upon principle, 
 all order or discipline in the Church, defending his right 
 to a roving commission ; despised the sacraments ; organ- 
 ized Churches before he had any kind of commission or 
 authority ; and, in the language of a favourable biographer, 
 ** he was more fitted for destruction than for construction : " 
 and that "he did not go to Heaven too soon."* His 
 journal informs us that he made three visits to Yarmouth ; 
 the first, extending from the 18th to the 26th of October, 
 1781 ; the second from the 7th to the 19th of February, 
 1782 ; and the third and last, from the 5th to the 17th of 
 October of the same year. Short visits ; but pregnant with 
 results. The immediate effects of those visits, arising out 
 of his intruding himself into Mr. Scott's Cure, and the 
 consequent altercations between them, were, that long 
 friendships were rudely snapped ; the bitterest animosities 
 engendered ; the old Eeligious Society dismembered, whilst 
 a new one, holding Mr. Alline's views, was built on its 
 ruins ; and the old and settled Pastor of 20 years practically 
 discarded. He left Chebogue finally on November 21st, 
 1793, for the Pastorate of Barkerstown (now Minot) in 
 the State of Maine; where he laboured till he died, in 
 1819. The house which Mr. Scott built as a Parsonage 
 still stands in very nearly its original condition, on the farm 
 of the late John Cook, son of Ephraim, at Little Eiver. 
 It was an unusually good house in its time, built of hewn 
 logs, once nobly clapboarded ; with a huge fireplace, in the 
 side of which is a brick oven. Having been built in 1766-7, 
 
 * Life and Times of Harris Harding, p. 47. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 105 
 
 it is, as before said, at once the oldest house, and the oldest 
 Parsonage in the County. During the disturbance, in the 
 year 1784, about three years after Mr. AlKne's first visit, 
 Mr. Scott wrote a defence of his position. It might have 
 been all very true, and unanswerable ; but it did not bring 
 back old friends. The work of estrangement had been too 
 well done. I here append, as literary curiosities, the titles 
 of the books written respectively by Mr. AUine and Mr. 
 Scott. They are volumes of about 340 pages ; and have 
 become very rare : — 
 Title of Allen's book : 
 
 Two Mites 
 
 on 
 
 Some of the most important and much disputed points of 
 
 Divinity 
 
 Cast into the Treasury for the Welfare of the Poor and Needy, and 
 
 committed to the perusal of the unprejudiced and impartial 
 
 Reader ; 
 
 BY 
 
 Henry Alline, 
 
 Servant of the Lord to his 
 
 Churches. 
 
 Halifax printed by A. Henry 1781. 
 
 Title of Mr. Scott's book : 
 
 A 
 
 Brief View 
 
 of the 
 
 Religious Tenets and Sentiments lately published and spread in the 
 
 Province of Nova Scotia, which are contained in a Book, 
 
 entitled " Two Mites, on some of the most important 
 
 and much disputed points 
 
 of Divinity, &c." 
 
 In a Sermon preached at Liverpool 
 
 Nov. 19, 1782. 
 
 And in a Pamphlet, entitled 
 
 " The Antitraditionist." 
 
 all being published of 
 
 Mr. Henry Alline, 
 
 with 
 
 Some brief reflections and observations. 
 
 Also 
 
 A View of the Ordination of the Author of these Books. 
 
 Together with 
 
 A Discourse on external Order. 
 
 By Jonathan Scott. " 
 Pastor of a Church in Yarmouth. 
 
106 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 The views, if such they can be called, which were advanced 
 by Mr. AUine, gradually gained a footing. They were at 
 first wild and repelling, yet singularly fascinating to all 
 who hailed the rise of an unrestrained and ungoverned 
 kind of system which gave the widest liberty of speech and 
 the greatest diversity of practice, as distinct from the Con- 
 gregationalism which had hitherto been prevalent. The 
 more repugnant elements of his creed however, were, in 
 the main, rejected; and those who became attached to a 
 new system through his agency, gradually toned down into 
 the now moderate and very widely spread Christian body 
 of Calvinist Baptists, which is the largest religious deno- 
 mination in the County. Under the fostering care and 
 unwearied zeal of 
 
 THE EEV. HAREIS HARDING, 
 
 who was not afraid to describe himself as a New Light, 
 congregations were soon gathered together in different parts 
 of the County. Mr. Harding paid his first visit to Yar- 
 mouth in the year 1790 ; and here, with slight intervals, 
 he continued to labour and to live, until his death in 1854. 
 He was born in Horton in 1761, the same year that Yar- 
 mouth was settled. His parents were Episcopalians ; but 
 in early life when thinking about religion he vibrated, for 
 some time, between the Methodists and the New Lights ; 
 and finally he connected himself with the latter. 
 
 His lot was cast in times when the state of the Society 
 with which he was connected precluded theological consis- 
 tency; and his biographer, — the late Rev. John Davis — 
 has detailed as matters of interest, the several changes and 
 modifications which Mr. Harding's religious opinions and 
 
History of Yarmouth. . 107 
 
 practices underwent, as years rolled on. Circumstances 
 and facts are thus preserved, the record of which would 
 have been out of place as regards any private person ; but 
 which are noteworthy in Mr. Harding's case, inasmuch as 
 they are intimately bound up with the public history of half 
 a century of religious opinion in this County. In early 
 life he held in very moderate estimation all kinds of human 
 learning, which he viewed as an interference with the Spirit. 
 But there are traces of modification of this opinion in his 
 later years.* Similarly, on the doctrine of laftism, his 
 views from time to time underwent very considerable 
 changes. Whilst he was in Horton, before coming to 
 Yarmouth, he baptized, by sprinkling, men, women, and 
 children. Baptism by immersion he severely described as 
 a device of Satan, t But after he had ministered in Yar- 
 mouth about fifteen years, he was himself baptized, by 
 immersion, at Milton ; X though, in later life, he appears 
 to have held the opinion that baptism was unnecessary, if 
 any one had the spirit. For more than thirty years, he 
 opposed Close Communion. ^ But during that time the 
 prevailing popular view changed ; and, at length, in 1828, 
 he and his church went into union with the Nova Scotia 
 Baptist Association. Notwithstanding, even to the close of 
 his life, " he advocated the Open Communion theory, both 
 "in public and private." ||- In his younger days he was 
 slight ; but in later years he became very corpulent. He 
 died in 1854 at the advanced age of 93, leaving behind him 
 a large family and very numerous and attached adherents. 
 He exercised great influence in his life time, which, to a 
 
 *LiFE AND Times : pp. 134, 5. tpp. 70, 71,. 74. tp. 75. §p. 115. Up. 116. 
 
i08 ^ History of Yarmouth. 
 
 large extent, still continues. He was very zealous and 
 unwearied in his labours, not sparing himself even in ex- 
 treme old age. A monument of a partially public charac- 
 ter was erected in his memory ; and although of a some- 
 what wordy nature, I have inserted the inscription in these 
 pages : — 
 
 " In Memory of the Eey. HARRIS HARDING : born Oct. 10, 1761 ; 
 died, March 7, 1854. 
 
 " For nearly Seventy Years, Sixty of which were spent in this Neighbour- 
 hood, he proclaimed the Grospel which he lored, with unwearied dili- 
 gence, and extraordinary success. 
 
 " ' And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firma- 
 ment: AND THEY THAT TURN MANY TO RIGHTEOUSNESS AS THE STARS FOR 
 EVER AND EVER.' DaN. 12. 3. 
 
 " Mr. Harding first visited Yarmouth in 1790. In 1797 he came hither to 
 labour statedly in the Gospel. 
 
 " In 1827 he and his Church, the members of which resided in all parts of 
 this County, united with the Nova Scotia Baptist Association. At his 
 death he was the senior Pastor of the first and Second Yarmouth Bap- 
 tist Churches. 
 
 " This Monument is erected by the inhabitants of Yarmouth and its vicin- 
 ity, and by the members of the various Churches which participated 
 in the labours of the departed, as a testimony to the worth of the Man, 
 and graces of the Christian, and the usefulness of the Preacher."* 
 
 The following list comprises the names of all the Pastors 
 of the First Baptist Church down to, and including the 
 present incumbent : — 
 
 Rev. Harris Harding. 
 " William Burton. 
 " John Davis, A. M. 
 " Henry Angell. 
 " A. H. Munro. 
 '' G-eo. E. Day, M. D. 
 
 ■* I am indebted for these leading facts and traits to " The Life and 
 Times of Harris Harding, by the Rev. John Davis " : a book which I beg 
 to commend to the careful perusal of all who are interested in the religious 
 history of the County. 
 
f EMPLE {Church. 
 
 BAPTIST. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 
 
 109 
 
 The number, as well as tte comparative lateness of suc- 
 cessive Baptist Churclies, preclude at once the propriety 
 and the necessity for extending this list. But the reader 
 is here presented with a view of the Temple Church, and 
 to which reference* is made further on. 
 
 Whilst speaking on this topic, I think it not improper 
 
 to append the numbers attached to the several Keligious 
 
 Denominations at the last census (1871) ; modifications of 
 
 which have taken place ; and allowance for which must be 
 
 made by the reader : — 
 
 
 Baptists . . . . 
 
 6225 
 
 Eoman Catholics 
 
 5301 
 
 Free Baptists . . 
 
 3671 
 
 Wesleyan .... 
 
 1012 
 
 Church of England . 
 
 908 
 
 Presbyterians . . 
 
 592 
 
 Congregationalists . 
 
 407 
 
 Adventists . . 
 
 41 
 
 Methodists . . 
 
 20 
 
 Protestants . . 
 
 14 
 
 Quakers . . . 
 
 12 
 
 Episcopal Methodist 
 
 s 9 
 
 Mormons . . . 
 
 2 
 
 Universalists . . 
 
 2 
 
 Lutheran . . . 
 
 1 
 
 Unitarian . . . 
 
 1 
 
 Without Creed . 
 
 17 
 
 Not given . . . 
 
 . 315 
 
 18,550 
 And all these are in possession of 104 buildings, of which 
 48 are places of worship. 
 
110 History of Yarmouth, 
 
 I am not ignorant that Appendices are very seldom read, 
 and yet, they often conta,in the very pith and marrow of a 
 matter. It is with the hope and belief that the following 
 list of early settlers of Cape Forchue and Cheboguej will 
 be as carefully read as the information it contains is inter- 
 esting, that it is here inserted. It is the result of many a 
 long journey ; and, if possible, of still longer conversations. 
 It contains a kind of information as curious as it was diffi- 
 cult to get at ; and, as a contribution to the early history 
 of Yarmouth, its worth is scarcely to be exceeded. Some 
 idea of the difficulty of obtaining the information here col- 
 lected will be realized by any one who is curious enough 
 to try to fill up a blank space, or make a trustworthy cor^ 
 rection. 
 
 The list supplies the date of arrival, the name, the place 
 where from, and the first residence of all the early settlers 
 of Cape Forchue and Chebogue, who have left their names 
 or their memory behind them, up till the end of the last 
 century; or, for the first forty years. By memory is meant, 
 for example. Bunker's Island, a trace — the only one — of 
 Hezekiah Bunker. Much personal enquiry, and the exami- 
 nation of every document which could throw any light upon 
 the subject, have been resorted to in compiling this list. 
 Still, perfection is not claimed for it. In some cases, 
 these early settlers are known to have made removals ; 
 but the first spot pitched upon is the one which is here 
 intended : — 
 
History of Yarmouth. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Where From. 
 
 Where Settled^ 
 
 Jeremiak Allen 
 
 John Allen 
 
 Joseph Allen.... 
 
 Seth Bai'nes. 
 
 Eleazer Butler 
 
 Benjamin Brown.. 
 Jonathan Baker.. 
 
 Josiah Beal 
 
 George Bridgeo. 
 
 Benj. Barnard... 
 
 Samuel Baker... 
 Alex. Bain 
 
 James Brown ... 
 
 Joseph Bent 
 
 Lemuel Bartlett. 
 
 Hezeki'h Bunker. 
 David Beveridge. 
 Joseph N. Bond. 
 
 Jonathan Crosby. 
 Ephraim Cooke.. 
 John Crawley.... 
 
 James Cain 
 
 William Coffran... 
 Lemuel Churchill 
 
 Ebenezer Corning 
 Edward Crosby . . . 
 Daniel Crocker ... 
 
 Manchester, Mass.. 
 
 Marble Head 
 
 Argyle.N, S 
 
 Marble Head and / 
 
 Plymouth \ 
 
 Saybrook & Ashford 
 
 Beverly, Mass 
 
 Marble Head 
 
 New England \ 
 
 British Navy 
 
 Salem, Mass i 
 
 Ashford, Conn 
 
 Scotland* 
 
 Ipswich 
 
 Plymouth 
 
 Marble Head. 
 
 Nantucket 
 
 Scotland & Shel- 
 burne 
 
 England & Shel- . 
 burne \ 
 
 Saybrook & Mans- ' 
 field 1 
 
 Kingston I 
 
 England & Mar 
 ble Head 
 
 England and New / 
 England \ 
 
 Marble Head 
 
 Plymouth 
 
 Beverly, Mass 
 Argyle, N. S... 
 
 Nearly opposite George 
 
 Allen's, at Cove 
 Shurtleff s Point, Eockvilla 
 Lyman Allen's, Melbourne 
 
 Dennis Weston's Landing, 
 
 Chebogue 
 Butler's Hill 
 J. K. Ryerson's Wharf 
 Chas. Eichan's, Sunday Pt 
 Beal's Island, Chebogue 
 
 Harbour 
 Bridgeo's Creek, Arcadia 
 Fish Point, — then Kinney 
 
 & Haley's Factory 
 NW. part of Sunday Point 
 Milton 
 Opposite David Rose's, 
 
 Chegoggin 
 Cove Road 
 
 Ring's Point, Melbourne 
 NW. Point of Bunker's 
 
 Island 
 
 Jacob Utley's 
 
 Gilbert Allen's, Cove Road 
 
 Crocker's Point, Chebogue 
 
 Cooke's Beach, Chebogue 
 Harbour 
 
 Crawley's Island " " 
 
 Seth Cain's, Chebogue 
 
 John Pinkney's Farm " 
 Churchill's Landing " 
 
 Joseph Jeffrey's, Overton 
 Broad Brook, Cove 
 Crocker's Point, Chebogue 
 
 * There is a romantic interest attached to the early history of Alex. Bain, 
 or, more properly, McBain. His family emigrated from Scotland about the 
 year 1761-2 ; and the vessel in which they came, was lost somewhere near 
 St. John. His father, mother, and sister were lost ; while he, a child of 
 eight, escaped, by clambering along a fallen mast. He was brought to 
 Yarmouth in 1762, by John McKinnon, on Chebogue Point, who also 
 brought him up. 
 
112 
 
 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 t 
 *-* 
 
 PS 
 
 Name. 
 
 Where From. 
 
 Were Settled, 
 
 1766 
 1769 
 
 Ebenezer Clarke... 
 John Clements 
 
 Ipswich 
 
 Marble Head • 
 
 Bunker's Island 
 Clement's Island, Che- 
 bogue Harbor 
 
 1777 
 1777 
 1777 
 1784 
 1782 
 1782 
 
 1763 
 1762 
 1776 
 
 1785 
 
 1776 
 1789 
 
 Lemuel Crosby 
 
 Theophilus Crosby 
 
 James Crosby 
 
 Ephraim Churchill 
 Hugh B. Cann 
 
 Yarmouth, Mass ... 
 
 K II 
 
 Plymouth " 
 
 Marble Head 
 
 Parade 
 
 Ryerson's Block 
 
 J. B. Bond's 
 
 Opposite Murphy's Bridge 
 
 Thos. D. Chipman's Brook 
 
 Stephen Rose's, Overton 
 
 Durkee's Lane, Durkee's 
 
 Hill 
 Town Point, Chebogue 
 Crawley's J., then near 
 
 Mrs. Amos Dennis 
 
 Rockville 
 
 SW Pt. of Fletcher's Head 
 
 PhinehasDurkee... 
 
 Ben j. Darling 
 
 Ambi-ose Dennis... 
 
 Jonat'n Dunham... 
 
 Sam'l Doty 
 
 Thomas Dane 
 
 Saybrook or f 
 
 Brimfield [ 
 
 Hew England 
 
 Marble Head ■ 
 
 England & Shel- / 
 burne \ 
 
 Ipswich, Mass 
 
 Jos. Burrill's Corner 
 
 1761 
 1761 
 
 1765 
 
 Ebenezer Ellis 
 
 Elishama Eldridge 
 
 Nath'lElwell 
 
 Sandwich, Cape Cod 
 New England 
 
 Beverly, Mass 
 
 Chebogue Point 
 Fish Point 
 
 Bunker's Island, then Cove 
 Road 
 
 1766 
 1766 
 
 Samuel Ellenwood 
 Barna'sEldridge.. 
 
 Salem, Mass 
 
 New England ...\ 
 
 Near Sand-beach 
 Mrs. Daniel Smith's, Cove 
 Road 
 
 1785 
 
 Joseph Ellis 
 
 Barnstable, Cape f 
 Cod 1 
 
 Near Dennis Weston's, 
 Chebogue 
 
 1769 
 
 Zachariah Foote... 
 
 Beverly, Mass ... \ 
 
 South of Stephen Rose, 
 Overton 
 
 1771 
 
 Thomas Flint 
 
 Marble Head 
 
 N. side of Levitt's Wharf 
 
 1762 
 1766 
 1766 
 1775 
 
 Patrick Q-owen 
 
 James Gellfellan . . . 
 Stephen Gallishan 
 Philip Q-oudey 
 
 Skatawa (?) River... 
 Londonderry, f 
 
 Ireland \ 
 
 New Brunswick 
 
 Marble Head | 
 
 Gowen's Point, Chebogue 
 Gellfellan's Island near 
 
 Bunker's 
 Fish Point 
 In field below Aaron 
 
 Goudey's 
 
 1798 
 1775 
 
 BartlettGardner... 
 James Goudey 
 
 Nantucket and J 
 
 Barrington [ 
 
 Marble Head 
 
 Vickery's Corner, Arcadia 
 North of Aaron Goudey's 
 
 1762 
 
 Ebenezer Haley ... 
 
 Plymouth or f 
 Marble Head... \ 
 
 ShurtlefTs Point, Rockville 
 
 1762 
 1763 
 1763 
 
 Peleg Holmes 
 
 Samuel Harris 
 
 Wm. Haskill 
 
 Plymouth, and f 
 
 Kingston \ 
 
 Beverly, Mass 
 
 Beverly, " | 
 
 Holmes Land'g, Chebogue 
 
 0pp. Killam's Shipyard 
 Sanderson's Tannery, N. 
 side of Brook. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 
 
 113 
 
 Eleazer Hibbard. . . 
 
 David Hersey 
 
 Levi Horton >. 
 
 Amos Hilton....... 
 
 Wm. Hammond... 
 
 Jonathan Horton.. 
 
 Harris Harding ... 
 Philip Hemeon.... 
 
 Wm. Huestis 
 
 Pereg'ne Hamilton 
 Miner Huntington 
 
 James Jenkins 
 
 John Jenkins 
 
 Wm. Jenkins 
 
 James Kelley 
 
 John KiUam 
 
 Nathan itinney .... 
 
 Sealed Landers 
 
 Andrew Lovitt.... 
 
 Waitstill Lewis ... 
 
 John McKinnon.,. 
 James Mattenly . . . 
 John Magray 
 
 John McKinnie . . . 
 Sam'l Marshall. .... 
 
 Wm. Moses 
 
 David McConnelL. 
 I 
 
 Where From. 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 Plymouth, Mass 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 Manchester, Mass \ 
 
 Halifax, N. S 
 
 New York and / 
 Shelburne \ 
 
 Horton, N.S | 
 
 Hamington, N. J . . . 
 
 Statenlsland, N.J | 
 
 Virginia 
 
 Windham, Conn j 
 
 New York and f 
 Weymouth ... \ 
 
 New York and f 
 Weymouth ... \ 
 
 New York and f 
 Weymouth ... \ 
 
 Manchester, Mass \ 
 
 Wenham \ 
 
 New Bedford and f 
 Barrington ... [ 
 
 Sandwich, Cape Cod 
 
 Beverly, Mass 
 
 Rhode Island and f 
 Hahfax \ 
 
 Highlands of 
 
 Scotland 
 
 Beverly, Mass , 
 
 Marble Head | 
 
 British Navy 
 
 New York and 
 Shelburne 
 
 England and f 
 
 Shelburne [ 
 
 Statenlsland, N.J 
 
 Where Settled. 
 
 Hibbard's Corner 
 
 Chebogue Point 
 
 Salem 
 
 N. end Hilton's point at 
 
 the Cove 
 Big Tusket Island 
 
 W. side Little Eiver 
 
 Near D. Weston's, Che- 
 
 Jos. Kinney's, Arcadia 
 
 Dennis Weston's, Che- 
 bogue 
 
 Murphy's Bridge 
 
 Chebogue, then Chegog- 
 gin, then Milton 
 
 Eailroad OiBces 
 
 South corner of Main 
 and Parade Streets 
 
 0pp. late Sheriff Shaw's 
 
 Foot of lane on shore of 
 
 the Cove 
 Lovitt's Gate, then Che- 
 
 goggin _ 
 Ring's Point, Chebogue 
 
 Harbour 
 
 C. E. Brown's Garden 
 Late Israel Lovitt'g 
 
 B. EUenwood's Tan Yard 
 
 R. McKinnon's Landing, 
 
 Rockville 
 Stephen Rose's, Overton 
 Big Tusket (or Magray's) 
 
 Island 
 Foot Thos. Brown's Hill, 
 
 Chegoggin 
 0pp. old Episcopal 
 
 Church 
 
 HughCanh's, Milton Hill 
 
 At Elkanah Clements, 
 Chebogu^ 
 
114 
 
 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 1761 
 1762 
 
 1764 
 
 1767 
 1764 
 1770 
 
 1769 
 
 1774 
 
 1783 
 1775 
 1777 
 1773 
 
 1762 
 1762 
 
 1762 
 
 1762 
 
 1762 
 1762 
 1765 
 1765 
 
 1772 
 1784 
 
 1789 
 
 1762 
 1763 
 1763 
 
 1765 
 
 1764 
 
 1779 
 
 1784 
 
 1792 
 1793 
 
 1781 
 
 1781 
 1794 
 
 Moses Perry 
 
 Joseph Pitman . . . 
 
 John Perry 
 
 Nehemiah Porter 
 
 David Pearl 
 
 Eichard Patten ... 
 
 Hezediah Porter. . . 
 
 Sam'l S.Poole 
 
 Josiah Porter 
 
 Nehemiah Patch .. 
 
 John Pinkney 
 
 John T. Phillips... 
 
 George Eing 
 
 Jahez Eobinson ... 
 
 Cornelius Eogers ,. 
 
 Benj. Eobbins 
 
 James Eobbins . . . 
 John Eichardson .. 
 
 Eichard Eose 
 
 Benj. Eedding 
 
 Daniel Eaymond .. 
 Eobert Eobertson 
 
 John Eichan 
 
 Joseph Sanders . . 
 
 Moses Scott 
 
 David Scott 
 
 Jonathan Scott .... 
 
 John Sollows 
 
 Henry Shurtleff . . . 
 
 Tristram Studley .. 
 
 Enoch Stanwood... 
 Levi Scovill 
 
 Jonat'n Strickland 
 
 Chris'er Strickland 
 Zebina Shaw 
 
 Where From. 
 
 Sandwich, Cape Cod 
 Beverly, Mass 
 
 Beverly, " ... \ 
 
 Ashfield and Ips- f 
 
 wich. Mass \ 
 
 Saybrook, Conn 
 
 Marble Head . 
 
 Ashfield, Mass ... | 
 
 Connecticut or 
 Eeading, Mass 
 
 Lexington 
 
 Ashfield, Mass.... 
 New York State. 
 Marble Head 
 
 Kingston, Mass.. 
 Martha's Vine- 
 yard, Mass 
 
 Kingstou, Mass... | 
 
 Plympton,Mass.., \ 
 
 Plympton, Mass 
 
 Windham, Conn.... 
 
 Beverly, Mass 
 
 Beverly, Mass , 
 
 New England 
 
 Holland (Hessian) 
 Navy and Orkney f 
 Islands \ 
 
 Haverhill & Salem., 
 
 Fitchburg, Mass 
 
 Fitchburg " ...., 
 
 Fitchburgj " .. j 
 
 Beverly, " 
 
 Argyle, N. S 
 
 England and New / 
 
 England [ 
 
 M't Desert, Maine., 
 Horton, N. S 
 
 Weymouth 
 
 Weymouth 
 
 Annapolis 
 
 Where Settled. 
 
 Shurtlefi"s Point, Eockville 
 
 Fish Point 
 
 Capt. Geo. Baker's, Cove 
 Eoad 
 
 Burrill & Johnson's Ma- 
 chine Shop 
 
 Mouth of Broad Brook 
 
 Patten's Hill, W. of first 
 Pond 
 
 Geo. Eose's, W. of Salt 
 Pond 
 
 Near D. Weston's, Che- 
 bogue 
 
 Overton 
 
 Capt. Geo. Tooker's 
 
 Pinkney's Point 
 
 Kelley's Cove 
 
 Eing's Creek, Melbourne 
 West side of Little Eiver 
 
 David Landers, Senr., 
 Chebogue 
 
 Near L. Eobbins, Che- 
 bogue Point 
 
 Edmund Dennis, Eockville 
 
 Eockville 
 
 Chas. looker's farm hous© 
 
 On Parade 
 
 Crocker's Point, Chebogue 
 
 Cranberry Head 
 
 Capt. Geo. Tooker's 
 
 Elisha Trefry's, Arcadia 
 Scott's Island 
 Chebogue 
 
 Late John Cooke's, Mel- 
 bourne 
 0pp. KiUam's Shipyard 
 John Crawley's farm 
 
 Cape Forchue 
 
 Above Fish Point 
 Israel Allen, Pembroke 
 Session Hill, N. of meeting 
 
 house 
 C. E. Brown's Garden 
 Pitman's, Head Salt Pond 
 
History of Yarmouth. 
 
 115" 
 
 1795 
 1784 
 
 1762 
 1765 
 1766 
 1785 
 1785 
 1785 
 1790 
 
 1762 
 
 1773 
 1795 
 
 1764 
 1767 
 1770 
 
 1771 
 
 Name. 
 
 Joseph Shaw 
 
 Patrick Sullivan ... 
 
 Edward Tinkham 
 
 Blias Trask 
 
 Joshua P. Trefry.. 
 Jacob Tedford .... 
 
 Sam'l Tedford 
 
 Robert Thurston .. 
 Jacob Tooker 
 
 Jonathan Utley . . . 
 
 Moses Vickery 
 
 Q-ab'l Van Norden 
 
 John Walker 
 
 Nathan Weston . . . 
 Richard Williams 
 
 Ephraim Wyman 
 
 Where Fkosi. 
 
 Annapolis. 
 Ireland'. . . . 
 
 Marble Head. 
 
 { 
 
 Plymouth, Mass.. | 
 
 Marble Head | 
 
 New York and f 
 
 Shelburne [ 
 
 New York and 
 
 Shelburne 
 
 British army and f 
 
 Shelburne \ 
 
 N. Jersey, Shel- f 
 
 burne, Tusket .. \ 
 
 Hampton, Conn 
 
 Marble Head... 
 
 New York and 
 
 Shelburne..., 
 
 Newburyport ..... 
 
 Plympton, Mass., 
 Wales and New 
 England 
 
 Woburn, Mass.... 
 
 Where Settled. 
 
 David Rose's, Chegoggin 
 0pp. Jno. Hibbert's Sand 
 Beach 
 
 Tinkham's Island, Che- 
 
 bogue Harbour 
 S. of Late Sam'l Trask, 
 
 Chebogue 
 N. of Chandler Robbins, 
 
 Chebogue Point 
 
 I Second Pond 
 0pp. Isaac Morehouse's 
 Near Steph. Churchill 
 Chas. Tooker's farm 
 
 At Brook, C. Tooker's farm 
 
 Shurtleff's Point, Rockville 
 R. Symonds, Arcadia 
 
 Gardner's Boat Shop, 
 
 Milton 
 A. Andrews, Melbourne 
 
 Lyman Cann's, Chegoggin 
 
 0pp. A. M. Hatfield's, 
 Wyman's Road 
 
 This list has been confined to the Township of Yar- 
 mouth, and although carried on only till the end of the 
 eighteenth century, I think it right to append the follow- 
 ing names, (arrivals during the first few years of the 
 present century,) several of whom have left their impress 
 deeply on the County : — • 
 
 Job Smith, Robert Huston, Zachariah Chipman, 
 
 Benj. Ellis, John Brown, James Murphy, 
 
 Eliphalet Curry, Henry G-. Farish, John Wetmore. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 OPENING OP THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. CONDITION OJ* 
 
 ROADS AND BRIDGES. INSTITUTION OP THE POST 
 
 OEEICK H. Gj PARISH. PROGRESS IN PUBLIC 
 
 BUILDINGS. EPISCOPAL CHURCH. ABBb' 
 
 SIGOGNB. SOCIAL CONVENIENCES. 
 
 tHE opening of this century found Yarmouth flourish- 
 ing and prosperous. Population was steadily in- 
 creasing ; 
 
 ROADS AND BRIDGES 
 
 were beginning to be carefully built ; commercial and ship» 
 ping interests were extending ; and public buildings were 
 about to give character to the Town, as the centre of 
 County influence. Even at this period we trace the pre- 
 sence of some of the comforts and conveniences, not to say 
 elegancies of life. Not that there was any thing to boast 
 of. There was none of that network of roads which a few 
 years later served to throw over the whole face of the 
 County. The road to Tusket was not more than chopped 
 out; and, although surveyed and re-surveyed, the road 
 through the Town itself was a series of lines after Ho- 
 garth's own heart, round the undrawn stumps of forest 
 giants. 
 
 " The post road to Beaver River was not even explored till 1801. Pre- 
 *' viously, if any one had business in Annapolis County, he was compelled 
 " to take the beach, and follow the sea shore up from Cranberry Head to 
 
History of Yarmouth. 117 
 
 " Cape St. Mary's, using the precaution however to be at the mouths of 
 " the seyeral rivers on the Bay at low tide, that they might be forded ; for 
 " there was not a bridge on the whole line. After a lapse of ten years, say 
 " 1811, I used to find it a hard day's work to urge my Canadian pony 
 " through the mire and among the tortuous roots of the huge beech trees, 
 " of which the forest was composed, as far as Meteghan. We seldom could 
 " accomplish the distance before night, except in midsummer, or in cases 
 " of urgent haste,"*t 
 
 Before the bridge over tlie Tusket was built, the only 
 way to that village was by striking the river above Ply- 
 mouth ; and so go up by boat in summer, and on the ice 
 in winter. The bridge over that river was built under the 
 direction of Col. Bond, who, under commission dated 18th 
 May, 1802, was appointed "Commissioner for superintend- 
 " ing and directing the expenditure of two hundred and 
 " fifty pounds, which were voted in the last sessions of the 
 " General Assembly of this Province, for to aid and assist 
 " the inhabitants of Argyle and Yarmouth to erect and 
 " complete a bridge over Tusket River. "| In the follow- 
 ing year, the Sessions report to the Government, that the 
 work was done " in a very thorough and substantial man- 
 ner." 
 
 The natural consequence of an increasing population, 
 desirous of keeping up an acquaintance with what was 
 
 * " Eecollections," by Dr. H. G. Farish. 
 
 t The following extract from the manuscript Journal of a Presbyterian 
 Minister who travelled through the western part of the Province in 1785, 
 is curiously confirmatory of this description of the state of the roads : — 
 " The road from Yarmouth to Salmon Eiver, which is upon the south end 
 " of the Township of Clare, is exceeding bad even for one on foot, as there 
 " is no road, nor even a path, and much worse for an horse. Ye can scarce 
 " ride at all, excepting sometimes when ye can get upon the beach, andbut 
 " very indifierent then. And there is what makes it still worse and more 
 " difficult passing at all, saving at low water, and that is several small 
 " rivers, which can only be rode at low water, but then can be easily passed." 
 
 \ Commission Paper. 
 
118 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 going on in tlie outside world, was a demand for increasing 
 facility of communication. At, and before this time, tlie 
 only means of sending or receiving letters was by the kind- 
 ness of a friend passing through Digby or coming from 
 Halifax. 
 
 But in June, 1806, a 
 
 POST OFFICE 
 
 was established in Yarmouth. Says the Postmaster of the 
 day— 
 
 " For the first six years after my appointment, our mails, wrapped in a 
 " bit of brown paper, were sent down in the jacket pocket of any French- 
 " man who happened to be at Digby, and had business of his own to bring 
 " him on to Yarmouth. Some of these little mails, of one or two letters, 
 " were more than a fortnight coming from Digby, and from three to four 
 " weeks coming from Annapolis and Halifax : one of them travelled one 
 " hundred miles in twenty-six days." 
 
 During the first six months after the establishment of 
 the office, only fifteen letters were despatched, every one 
 of which was unpaid. The first person commissioned to 
 carry the mail between Yarmouth and Digby was Mr. 
 Jesse Wyman in the year 1810. I know of nothing that 
 more decidedly marks the progress of the place than that 
 fact as contrasted with the piles of matter now brought in 
 daily. In the year 1871, 200,000 letters, and 150,000 
 newspapers passed through the office : 170 mails were de- 
 spatched, and as many received every week : money orders 
 were issued to the extent of $40,000 ; and the money 
 orders imid amounted to nearly $22,000.* 
 
 * By the courtesy of A. J. Hood, Esq., I am able to present the reader 
 with the following information respecting the numbers of Letters and 
 Papers of different kinds which were handled at the Yarmouth Office dur- 
 ing the year 1875: — Letters, 270,000; Eegistered Letters, 4,000; Papers, 
 215,000; Postal Cards, 13,500; Circulars, 17,500; Money Orders granted, 
 S51,000; and Money Orders paid, ^38,000. 
 
History of Yarmoiith. 119 
 
 Tlie first Postmaster, and the only one for fifty years, 
 was the late Dr. Henry Greggs Farish, to whom circum- 
 stances have compelled so frequent reference in these pages. 
 He was born at Brooklyn, New York, where his father 
 was, at that time, a Commissary in the British army. 
 After the peace in 1785, his parents with their family 
 removed to Shelburne, and afterwards to Norfolk, Virginia. 
 He entered the Navy as Assistant Surgeon, on board the 
 Asia, and was soon after promoted as Surgeon on board 
 H. M. S. Cleopatra. At the peace, the ship was paid ofi"; 
 and, after having practised some little time in England, 
 he returned to Nova Scotia, and settled in Yarmouth in 
 the year 1803, and here he remained till his death in 
 1856. In addition to his duties as a medical practitioner, 
 in which capacity he Vfas very highly esteemed, he filled 
 for many years, with singular ability, integrity and impar- 
 tiality, many important public ofiices. He was Naval Offi- 
 cer, Collector of Excise, Eegistrar of Deeds, and an able 
 Magistrate. He was also Land Commissioner, Judge of 
 the Court of Common Pleas ; for twenty years Custos of 
 the County ; and, as before said, for fifty years Postmaster. 
 I found whilst in Hahfax making some enquiries, that, 
 till this day, his remarkable accuracy was fresh in the 
 memory of the older Post Office authorities. 
 
 He came to Yarmouth when scarcely more than the rude 
 clearings of the forest were visible ; and he never ceased to 
 take a deep interest in Avhatever concerned the history, 
 progress, and welfare of his adopted home. He was evi- 
 dently a most jliscreet man ; of few words ; but of careful 
 and constant action. He seldom spoke in public ; but no 
 
120 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 public work was uninfluenced by bim. He was, in well- 
 worn phrase, "a gentleman and a scliolar" ; and, however 
 widely his opinions differed from the majority of those 
 among whom he lived, he commanded the respect of all. 
 The ruling principle of his life seems to have been a strong 
 sense of duty, from which he would not swerve, however 
 painful the consequences might be to himself. Nor can I 
 leave this portrait without giving it the epigrammatic touch 
 of an old inhabitant, since deceased, who knew him long 
 and well, and who told me that the only faults that many 
 found in him were, that he was a Conservative in polities 
 and a Churchman in religion. 
 
 We have said that public buildings, at the beginning of 
 the century, indicated increasing prosperity. Up till this 
 time, there were but two meeting-houses in the County ; 
 that at Chebogue, and the other in Cape Forchue ; besides 
 the Eoman Catholic chapels at Eel. Brook and Pubnico. 
 But in the spring of 1807, the 
 
 OLD EPISCOPAL CHURCH 
 
 was raised, and on Sunday, Dec. 13th of the same year. 
 Divine Service was held there for the first time. The first 
 member of this body who came to Yarmouth to reside was 
 Joseph Norman Bond; and, after him in succession as 
 they came, the Loyalist families, who were, almost without 
 exception, Churchmen. For many years those families 
 had no church ministrations, and the consequence finally 
 was that numbers of them became attached to other bodies. 
 Occasional visits to Yarmouth had been made by Clergy- 
 men: the first of whom was the Rev'd David Ormond. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 121 
 
 Afterwards, visits were made by Mr. and Dr. Kowland, 
 successively Rectors of Shelburne, and others. But the 
 first Rector was the Rev. Ranna Cossit, a native of Say- 
 brook, Conn., who was inducted to the Parish on the 23rd 
 of January, 1807. 
 
 On the preceding Michaelmas Bay, Sept. 29th, 1806, 
 the first Parish Officers had been appointed. They were, 
 Church Wardens — Joseph Norman Bond and Samuel Mar- 
 shall, Esquires ; and the first Vestrymen were — 
 
 Thomas Wilson Stephen Adams 
 
 Joseph Bell Job Smith 
 
 Jacob Tooker William Robertson 
 
 Jonathan Horton Robert Huston 
 
 David Yan Norden Joseph Tooker, and 
 
 Henry Grreggs Farish, Clerk of the Vestry. 
 
 As men who were looking ahead, the Church Wardens 
 and Vestry resolved to obtain grants of land for Glebe and 
 School purposes. And in the month of August, 1807, the 
 Rector went to Halifax on that business, bringing back 
 with him the grant and plans of the lots assigned. For 
 many years very strong feeling existed in the Town on the 
 subject ; the popular conviction being that tbeir Church 
 brethren had no legal right or title. Nor were they for- 
 v/ard to prove that they had. 
 
 Mr. Cossit died in 1815, and was buried under the 
 Chancel of the old Church.* His remains were interred 
 with Masonic ceremonial, the first instance I have met 
 with in this County. (The first Masonic Lodge was formed 
 
 * This old landmark, much to the regret of many of the neighbour- 
 ing inhabitants, was torn down and taken to pieces in the early pajfe 
 of 1874. 
 
122 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 in Yarmoutli in 1795.) For some time the Eev. Mr. Mil- 
 ner, of New Brunswick, served the congregation. The 
 next Eector, the Eev. Thomas A. Grantham, the father of 
 our respected citizen Henry A. Grantham, Esq., arrived in 
 Yarmouth in 1819, and laboured here till 1834. The third 
 in charge was the Eev. Alfred Gilpin. He was succeeded 
 by the Eev. Eichard Avery, who was transferred to the 
 Parish of Aylesford in 1845 : and in 1846 the Parish was 
 placed in charge of the Eev. J. T. T. Moody, the present 
 incumbent. This denomination erected in 1872 a sub- 
 stantial Church-like edifice, in the early English period of 
 architecture, of which we here insert a view ; and, in 1873, 
 a Parish School House in|a similar style, both situate in 
 the centre of the Town. The adherents of this body now 
 number nearly one thousand. 
 
 After the expulsion of the French Aeadians, the first 
 Eoman Catholic chapel in the County was built in 1784, 
 being the Church of St. Anne, at Eel Brook. Originally 
 the mission of Saint Peter's, at Pubnico, was part of the 
 Parish of Saint John the Baptist at Port Eoyal ; afterwards 
 of Saint Mary's ; still later, of Saint Anne's, Eel Brook ; 
 and, at last, in the year 1816, the inhabitants of that set- 
 tlement had their own chapel, which finally became too 
 small ; and in 1841, that which now stands on a piece of 
 land given for the purpose by Benoni D'Entremont, Esq., 
 was raised ; M. Goudot being the Missionary. This set- 
 tlement of Pubnico is certainly destined to be one of the 
 most important in the County. In 1871 the eleven fami- 
 lies of 1771 had increased to about one hundred and fifty. 
 
j4oLY JrINITY. 
 
 EPISCOPAL 
 
History of Yarmouth. 123 
 
 Whilst speaking of Koman Catholic Church matters, I may 
 say that there are now six chm-ches and chapels in this 
 County, viz : 
 
 Eel Brook, consecrated in 1784 
 
 Pubnico, *' 
 
 
 1816 
 
 Tusket Wedge, 
 
 
 1822 
 
 Town " 
 
 
 1862 
 
 Surette's Island, " 
 
 
 1859 
 
 Forks, " 
 
 
 1859 
 
 There is a very commodious Educational establishment 
 in the interest of the same body at Eel Brook, and another 
 nearly as extensive was completed in 1874 on the west 
 side of Pubnico harbour. 
 
 There can be no more fitting place than this to preserve 
 some memorials of the 
 
 ABBE SIGOGNE, 
 
 for fifty years Parish Priest and Missionary from Pubnico 
 to Annapolis, embracing what are now nine or ten French 
 Acadian missions. He was a native of Tours in France. 
 In 1790, his father being then Mayor of Lyons, he escaped 
 from Paris at the outbreak of the Revolution, and found 
 his way to London, where he lived for nearly two years. 
 From thence he removed to this country, where he lived 
 for half a century. He was a man of excellent ability ; 
 good judgment ; a rich and vigorous imagination ; and a 
 logical precision of thought. He was a great admirer of 
 English institutions ; and he ever taught the people under 
 his charge, loyalty. Had the Acadians before 1755 been 
 blessed with such men to rule, guide, and instruct them, 
 they never would have been expelled. Abbe Sigogne was 
 
124 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 an excellent Parisli Priest, as well as practically the lawyer, 
 judge, and notary public of all the French Acadians of 
 Clare, Tusket, and Pubnico. He began and carefully ]3re- 
 served the Eecords of his Mission. He wrote all the 
 deeds and contracts of his parishioners ; and, we are told, 
 he constantly taught them to avoid litigation and strife. 
 Amongst his learning may be included a knowledge of the 
 Indian language ; and the Mic Macs always regarded him 
 with the utmost veneration and respect. This venerable 
 man, who died in Clare on the 9th of November, 1844, 
 had a most generous appreciation of the truly liberal char- 
 acter of England as a nation.* 
 
 We observed that at the beginning of the century marks 
 of convenience, comfort, and elegance were being gradually 
 introduced. In the year 1799, Col. J. N. Bond brought 
 into Yarmouth the first 
 
 PLEASURE CAREIAGE, — 
 
 a chaise, — which was ever seen in the County; but its 
 melancholy end was somewhat discouraging to intending 
 importers. It lay unused till 1804, when Mr. Bell, Col. 
 Bond's Mher-in-law, tackled it up, and having got in, was 
 immediately thrown out. It repiained undisturbed till the 
 next year, when Col. Bond once more put in the horse, 
 intending to take some of his family for a drive. He first 
 got in, in order to try it ; but it tried him and the chaise 
 both. The horse ran off, and turning into the open grave 
 yard in front of the Cape Forchue meeting house, the 
 
 * I am chiefly indebted to L. E. Bourque, Esq., Clare, for tliese facts. 
 
Bistory of Yarmouth. 125 
 
 ckaise struck a tree, which threw him out, and broke the 
 carriage into pieces. Mr. Zach. Chipman was the nest 
 importer. In the year 1831 there were 140 pleasure 
 carriages in Yarmouth; and by the census of 1871 it 
 appears that there were then 1438 j besides 2916 other 
 vehicles, in the County. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 SUPREMACY OF YARMOUTH GRADUALLY ASSERTED. 
 WAR OF 1812-14. LOYAL MEMORIAL. DEFENCES. 
 
 I^^Y the year 1810, Yarmouth had struggled for and 
 ^^ obtained decidedly the 
 
 PRE-EMINENCE OVEE CHEBOGUE. 
 
 On the Church hill, or Butler's hill, as it is sometimes 
 called, were the building used as a court house, the stores 
 of the principal merchants, and taverns ; and, ' in fact, 
 that was the Town.* 
 
 It is not to be doubted that the introduction of the Loy- 
 alist element infused a new life into the County. "Know- 
 ledge is power" : and many of that class were, at once, 
 well informed and experienced men, who had seen some- 
 thing of life. We feel then as we proceed into the century, 
 that things are rapidly becoming more defined in every 
 respect; ideas of business of all kinds more enlarged; it 
 may be, too much so. For instance, about the year 1810, 
 an idea was started to the effect that if the head of the 
 Yarmouth harbour was connected by locks with Lake 
 
 * The chief hotel was Eichan's, where special sessions from titoe to 
 time were held. ^ The "long room" in this house was thought wonder- 
 ful, at the time, for its size. On the north side of the house stood a 
 great willow tree, where from time to time such poor wights as were guilty 
 of petty larceny or the like, were tied up and received '• thirty-nine lashes 
 on the bare back, well laid on." 
 
History of Yarmouth. 127 
 
 George, the fortunes of the settlers and inhabitants gener- 
 ally, were as good as made. It was a hold thought at least, 
 and appeared so feasible that in the following year, 1811, 
 " an Act for the encouragement of Inland Navigation" was 
 passed, which embodied a corporation, provided officers, 
 limited their powers, regulated their tariffs, and defined 
 the corporation as " the Yarmouth Lock and Canal Pro- 
 prietors." Some business was actually done ; but the 
 enterprise ultimately failed ; and I believe all the right and 
 title tcf the privileges of the corporation have become cen- 
 tred in one person, Samuel Killam, Esq., Vestiges of the 
 works may still be seen in the middle of the stream, on 
 the south side of the bridge at Milton. 
 
 We have already seen how very embarrassing to the 
 inhabitants of this County the revolutionary war proved. 
 And, if not as embarrassing, at least as annoying and har- 
 rassing was 
 
 THE WAR OF 1812-14, 
 
 Privateers were continually hovering around, ready to 
 pounce on vessels belonging to belligerents ; and frequently 
 unoffending inhabitants, unarmed, were attacked. Thus, 
 on the 8th of October, 1812, a boat's crew from an Ameri- 
 can privateer, landed on Sheep Island, at the mouth of 
 the Tusket Eiver, which was inhabited by a poor French- 
 man named Francis Clement and his family; and although 
 unoffending and unresisting, they deliberately shot the man 
 dead, ransacked the house, and carried off the stock ; leav- 
 ing a widow and orphan children, the oldest of whom was 
 a helpless cripple. This privateer was afterwards captured 
 
128 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 hj the Shannon, and the murderer identified as the lieu» 
 tenant.* 
 
 At least seven vessels owned in this County or port were 
 taken; several of our townsmen were killed; and many of 
 them endured very great hardships in prison. During the 
 first year of the war, Militia volunteers performed night 
 duty on all the exposed stations from Chehogue Point to 
 Chegoggin ; and mounted guard every night as regularly as 
 soldiers of the line. The second year they were relieved 
 to a great extent by a company of embodied Militia,* raised 
 from among' our own population, whose head-quarters were 
 on Bunker's Island where the sites of the block house and 
 battery are yet very clearly defined. 
 
 At 
 
 THte COMMENCEMENT OJ' HOSTILl'TlES, 
 
 the people of this County showed a spirit of enthusiastic 
 loyalty, which compares most favourably with the coldei* 
 calculations into which many of them entered in the peti- 
 tion of 1775. No sooner had reliable information been 
 obtained that the conflict had opened, than the Magistrates 
 of the County prepared a w^ell-written Memorial to Sir 
 John Coape Sherbrooke, the Lieutenant Governor of the 
 Province, which, I think, is worthy of being preserved 
 here :— 
 
 "May it please your ExckllencV,— 
 
 " The accounts of a commencement of hostilities haying reached us in 
 "such a manner as to leave little or no doubt of the fact, we, the Magis- 
 " trates of the Districts of Yarmouth and Argyle, impelled by a strong 
 " sense of what we owe to the people over whom we are appointed to pre- 
 " side, and by a zeal for the faithful discharge of our public duty, beg leave 
 " to apply to your E:£celleney for such assistance as it may be thought 
 " proper at the present crisis to aiford us. 
 
 * Murdoch in, 333. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 129 
 
 '' If your Excellency wiU. be pleased to cast an eye over this part of the 
 " Province, you will readily see that our apprehensions are not without 
 " foundation. The enemy is within'a few hour's sail of our shore, and the 
 " coast of the District is so extensive and so indented with deep bay?, and 
 " covered with islands, and the population is so detatched, as to render 
 " any efficient defence very difficult if not impossible, unless aided by some 
 "Naval or Military force." 
 
 " We are well aware of the present limited means of defence within the 
 "Province, and at a time when our fellow Colonists are menaced and even 
 " invaded by the enemy it would be highly unreasonable for us to ask or 
 " expect any very material assistance unless your Excellency should deem 
 " it expedient to establish a military post at this plape, for which it is par- 
 " ticularly calculated. We have, therefore, called together the Grrand Jury 
 " of the District to provide for the building of four gunboats, and we now 
 " respectfully solicit your Excellency for the guns and other materials 
 
 " necessary for their equipment And, we feel a great satisfac- 
 
 " tion in assuring you that^ere appears a general disposition in all classes 
 "and descriptions of people in this community to perform their duty eheer- 
 " fully in their respective stations. We have, etc. «. 
 
 " James Lent, 
 "Henry G. Parish, 
 " Samuel Sheldon Poole, 
 " Benjamin Barnard, 
 " EicHAKD Fletcher, 
 " Samuel Marshall." 
 
 We have already anticipated the fact that part of this 
 
 MEMOEIAL WAS ACCEDED TO, 
 
 Joseph Norman Bond, Esqr., being appointed Colonel of 
 
 Militia. In addition to the fort on Bunker's Island, — 
 
 some pieces of ordnance were kept, ready for necessary 
 
 use, immediately in the rear of Colonel Bond's house. 
 
 There was also a Block House on the eminence situated 
 
 in the heart of the Town of Yarmouth, known as the 
 
 "Kock," — one of the most beautiful properties in the 
 
 County, then owned by Colonel Bond. 
 
 The defence of this coast and the appointment of Militia 
 
 was by no means an unnecessary proceeding. We have 
 
 moi'e than one reminiscence of violence offered to the inha- 
 j 
 
130 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 Mtants and of successful defence of the place and capture 
 of prisoners by the Militia,— who were also required from 
 time to time to carry their prisoners to head-quarters. 
 The Militia embodied here, were frequently sent to Halifax 
 to take the place of the regular soldiers who were sent 
 abroad. It was on such an expedition as this that Captain 
 James Cain, whilst in command of his company, fell down 
 dead near Chegoggin Kiver. 
 
 It is somewhat amusing now to read some of the ac- 
 counts rendered by the Innkeepers of the day for boarding 
 prisoners and Militia men. Here is one of them ; — 
 
 GoYernment to (Jonathan Corning, Dr. 
 1812— 
 
 ^Aug. 27. For dinners supplied to 5 Militia and 4 prisoners... ^0 9s. Od, 
 1813— 
 
 Sept. 19. For supper for . . . Militia and prisoners 9 
 
 " 20. " breakfast for 5 Militia men on their way back 
 
 to Yarmouth 5 
 
 £1 3s. Od. 
 In one case there are bills from four Innkeepers for 
 Militia and prisoners, viz : — 
 
 Cyrus Perry £3 Os. 6d. 
 
 Jonathan Corning 2 6 
 
 Jacques Deveau 2 13 6 
 
 Charles Terrio 2 3 
 
 J9 17 & 
 and, I think the last two dates in the former bill suggest 
 that such pieces of business were more frequent than w© 
 have now the means of deciding. 
 
 Without being able to assert positively how many Yar- 
 mouth vessels were taken by American cruisers, we have 
 been able to trace seven distinctly. On the other hand, we 
 took at least ten of theirs ; a ratio, if the tonnage were 
 
History of Yarmouth. 131 
 
 proportionate, which must have tended to the final pros- 
 perity of the County. 
 
 Since that war, no hostile vessels have infested our 
 waters, nor have the enemies' feet trod our ground. The 
 Military spirit is not that which characterizes our people, 
 or which brings them honour. Still, it is a fact worth 
 preserving, that when the old Militia system had fallen into 
 desuetude and inefficiency, Yarmouth has the distinction 
 of having formed the first company of Rifle Volunteers, in 
 what is now the Dominion of Canada, and, I believe, they 
 also received the first issue of arms. The company was 
 commanded by Captain J. W. H. Rowley, whose commis- 
 sion bears date of October 24th, 1859. 
 
CHAPTEE XVI. 
 
 THE STORY OF YARMOUTH SHIPPING ENTERPRISE. ANTHONY 
 
 LANDERS. RISE OF THE METHODIST BODY. THE FREE 
 
 BAPTISTS. RISE AND PROGRESS OF SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 
 
 " Who, in frail barques, the ocean surge defied 
 And trained the race that live upon the ware ? 
 What shore so distant where they have not died ? 
 In every sea they found a watery grave. 
 ^ Honour, for ever, to the true and brave 
 
 Who seaward led their Sons with spirits high, 
 Bearing the red cross flag their fathers gave ; 
 
 Long as the billows flout the arching sky 
 They 'U seaward bear it still, to venture or to die."* 
 
 %m 
 
 i^UE reference to the loss of vessels connected witli this 
 County in the war of 1812-1814, together with the 
 first visit in 1808 of a man whose early enterprise is worthy 
 of a public memorial, lead us to . 
 
 THE HISTORY OF OUR SHIPPING INTERESTS ; t 
 
 a subject ever fresh and interesting, and to some extent an 
 illustration of the saying that truth is stranger than fiction. 
 The narrative is necessarily one more of the Toivnship 
 than of the County ; and again, in a smaller circle, of the 
 Town, rather than of the Township. 
 
 * Hon. Joseph Howe. 
 
 t The reader is referred for further information on this interesting topic 
 to a book devoted exclusively to the subject of Shipping, which has been 
 published since this work was written. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 133 
 
 By a tradition, with which even the children are familiar, 
 in the year of settlement, there was one Schooner belong- 
 ing to the party named the "Pompey." The 25 tons of 
 1761 gave place a century later, 1861, to 149 vessels of 
 39,713 tons. Great as the ratio of this increase is, it pales 
 before that of the next ten years ; for in 1871 the tonnage 
 was upwards of ninety thousand : equal to the whole of the 
 British shipping in the time of Henry the Seventh ; and 
 equal to the shipping of the port of London, in the reign 
 of Charles the Second. And great as the increase of the 
 century ending 1861 was ; the fourteen years which have 
 since elapsed, have served to swell that increase by two 
 hundred per cent. And should the same ratio be main- 
 tained throughout the century ending 1961, the tonnage 
 will have increased to upwards of 420,000 : a presumption 
 which, with the blessing of heaven, without which, pros- 
 perity is an evil, experience renders reasonable. For this 
 increase has not been spasmodic ; nor has it been charac- 
 terized by great or retrogressive fluctuations. With very 
 few exceptions, from the year of settlement down to the 
 present, every succeeding year shows a marked and steady 
 advance. There may be traces of the truth of the theory 
 that there is a great depression every ten years ; but, for 
 the more part, progress and increase is the watchword. In 
 the years 1843-4, there was a falling off both in numbers 
 and tonnage. But frequently the number of vessels regis- 
 tered without reference to the tonnage would mislead. 
 Thus, in 1839 there were 120 vessels, whose aggregate was 
 10,000 tons. In 1859, twenty years afterwards, there were 
 but 123 vessels with a tonnage, however, amounting to 
 
134 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 35,000, showing an increase of only three vessels, but at the 
 same time of 25,000 tons. The explanation is, that, in the 
 mean time, a very different class of vessels had come into 
 existence, engaged in a very different trade. Before 1820 
 there were but one or two vessels which crossed the 
 Atlantic ; but by the year 1850, those that left Yarmouth 
 seldom returned, in the sense of carrying freight to or from 
 the Port. There is another sense however, in which they 
 never return : and it is a melancholy fact, the details of 
 which are before us, that up till the present time there 
 have been 600 vessels lost out of Yarmouth — in nearly 
 100 of which there was loss of all hands. 
 
 The names of Bobbins, Lovitt, Baker, Kyerson, Moses, 
 Killam, Dennis and Doane, Goudey, Moody, and very many 
 (jthers, tell us of the successful extension of our foreign ship- 
 ping interests. But to none of them, however largely they 
 may have contributed towards the building up and extend- 
 ing of that department, belongs the honour of having, so to 
 speak, originated the foreign trade of the Port. That honour 
 belongs to a man whose name does not appear in our lists — 
 
 ANTHONY LANDERS, 
 
 ♦ 
 
 a native of Sunderland, England, whose spirited and exten- 
 sive operations in ship building, merited a more successful 
 issue. Mr. Landers first arrived in Yarmouth in 1808, on 
 board a Dutch galliott of 101 tons, named the " Badger," 
 which he loaded with a cargo of timber for Sunderland. 
 On his return he bought two grants of land, to facilitate 
 his futtre operations. The first vessel he built was a brig 
 of 250 tons named the " Peter Wp-ldo." She was launched 
 at Plymouth. He afterwards built another brig at Plymouth 
 
History of Yarmouth. 135 
 
 named the ^'Bittern," wliicli lie also loaded with, timber 
 for the English market. On his return voyage, having on 
 board the weights and measures for the Township of Yar- 
 mouth, • together with some of the best Northumberland 
 sheep, and a Northumberland bull and eow, he was taken 
 off Halifax by the " Tezel," an American privateer, belong- 
 ing to Providence, E. I. They offered him and his crew 
 the long boat ; but Captain Landers refused to leave his 
 ship. When the privateer and her prize arrived at Provi- 
 dence, the authorities received him kindly, but kept his 
 vessel. He stated his scheme about improving the stock ; 
 and they gave him some of their best breeds, which they 
 afterwards sent to him at Yarmouth. 
 
 When the war was over, he bought an American vessel, 
 which had been taken by a Liverpool privateer. Her name 
 had been the "Factor," which he changed to the "Bittern," 
 and all that remains of her lies in the Yarmouth harbour. 
 He sailed some time in this vessel between Yarmouth and 
 England. In the year 1818 he brought out all his furni- 
 ture and other effects, including improved farming imple- 
 ments, together with a competent man, the late George W. 
 Brown, to carry on the farm. 
 
 In 1819 he built the barque " Zebulun," 300 tons ; in 
 1821 the "Waldo," 250 tons; the " Thales," at Tusket,' 
 260 tons; and at Salmon Eiver, the "Ugonia," 260 tons. 
 In 1825 he built the " Thetis," 300 tons; and, at Milton, 
 the barque "Hebron." In 1830 he built the barque 
 " Dove," and the brig " Ehoda," each 275 tons.* If the 
 
 * I am indebted to Capt. George Allen for many of these facts, which he 
 kindly communicated to me, as jfe-rlj as 1871. 
 
136 
 
 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 circumstances be all taken into account, it must be con- 
 fessed that he was a far more than ordinarily spirited and 
 enterprising man : and he may justly, I conceive, be called 
 the Father, if not the Founder of our foreign trade, which 
 is the main source of the continued and increasing pros- 
 perity of Yarmouth. 
 
 But fickle as she is said to be. Fortune was more than 
 usually so with this man. In the year 1833, he went to 
 reside in England ; and, I have been credibly informed, 
 that a few years ago, a number of Yarmouth men being in 
 Liverpool, subscribed among them to furnish him with a 
 coat. He became beggared in the initiating and prosecu- 
 ting of an enterprise, in which thousands are now becoming 
 rich.* I have transferred from the Herald, 
 
 THE USUALLY RECEIVED LIST OF VESSELS, 
 
 which have belonged to Yarmouth at different periods 
 since 1761 : — 
 
 Year. No. of Vessels. Tons. 
 
 1761 
 
 1 
 
 25 
 
 1762 
 
 4 
 
 80 
 
 1767 
 
 7 
 
 156 
 
 1791 
 
 26 
 
 554 
 
 1808 
 
 41 
 
 1,880 
 
 1814 
 
 42 
 
 2,130 
 
 1815 
 
 49 
 
 2,441 
 
 1816 
 
 69 
 
 3,854 
 
 1817 
 
 71 
 
 3,848 
 
 1818 
 
 75 
 
 3,469 
 
 1819 
 
 72 
 
 3,403 
 
 1820 
 
 67 
 
 2,877 
 
 1821 
 
 68 
 
 3,191 
 
 1822 
 
 65 
 
 3,000 
 
 Year. No. of Vessels. Tons. 
 
 1823 
 
 73 
 
 3,664 
 
 1832 
 
 88 
 
 4,348 
 
 1834 
 
 91 
 
 5,141 
 
 1835 
 
 99 
 
 6,339 
 
 1836 
 
 103 
 
 6,855 
 
 1837 
 
 108 
 
 7,475 
 
 1838 
 
 119 
 
 9,209 
 
 1839 
 
 120 
 
 10,301 
 
 1840 
 
 124 
 
 10,541 
 
 1841 
 
 126 
 
 13,389 
 
 1842 
 
 120 
 
 13,765 
 
 1843 
 
 96 
 
 12,500 
 
 1844 
 
 88 
 
 12,607 
 
 1846 
 
 100 
 
 12,685 
 
 * Curiously enough, whilst ready and waiting for the press, "A narrative 
 " of the Travels and Voyages of Captain Anthony Landers, * * * 
 " written by himself * * * and printed at New York in 1815," fell 
 into my hands. But beyond the circumstance that this publication was 
 either never known or long since forgotten in the County, I found nothing 
 in the sixty pages of which it consists, to my present purpose. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 
 
 137 
 
 Year. No. of Vessels. Tons. 
 
 1847 
 1848 
 1849 
 1850 
 1852 
 1854 
 1855 
 1856 
 1857 
 1858 
 1859 
 1860 
 1861 
 1862 
 
 115 
 
 123 
 130 
 113 
 106 
 121 
 128 
 106 
 109 
 117 
 121 
 13S 
 149 
 152 
 
 13,662 
 16,604 
 17,224 
 
 17,890 
 18,888 
 21,049 
 25,690 
 25,873 
 30,966 
 35,714 
 36,030 
 36,514 
 39,713 
 49,985 
 
 Year. No. of Vessels. Tons. 
 
 1863 
 1864 
 1865 
 1866 
 1867 
 1868 
 1869 
 1870 
 1871 
 1872 
 1873 
 1874 
 1875 
 1876 
 
 154 
 187 
 199 
 187 
 261 
 267 
 263 
 258 
 262 
 257 
 248 
 261 
 256 
 254 
 
 50,130 
 
 64,102 
 
 71,830 
 
 73,055 
 
 77,003 
 
 78,590 
 
 81,896 
 
 82,147 
 
 90,668 
 
 95,182 
 
 95,932 
 
 110,466 
 
 120,966 
 
 131,723 
 
 The uncommon prosperity of our people in shipping affairs 
 frequently excites wonder and enquiry. But in this case, 
 however we may fail to ti-ace all the 
 
 CAUSES OF SUCCESS, 
 
 there are many which lie upon the surface, plain and 
 obvious to all who will note them. Besides the traditions 
 of the place, and impressions dating from early childhood, 
 we may trace the elements of prosperity in the constant 
 application of the principle of mutual assistance which 
 holds out encouragement, by promising advancement to 
 the deserving ; a co-operative spirit widely applied to every 
 department of the business ; a practical study of marine 
 law;* a close observation of the most approved methods 
 of ship building, and of conducting insurance matters; 
 extensive knowledge of foreign ports; personal acquaint- 
 ance with the most reliable agents ; captains in charge 
 whose characters are soon well known, and who are 
 
 * It is a noteworthy proof of what we are here saying, that one of our 
 Yarmouth men, now resident in Liverpool, England— Captain E. B. Hat- 
 field — made himself so felt in the public discussions on the Plimsoll Bill, 
 that he was selected to give evidence in a Eoyal Commission ; and, since 
 then, some of the opinions he expressed in that capacity, have become part 
 of the Maritime Law of the Empire. 
 
138 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 interested as part owners ; scrupulous regard to foreign 
 credit ; quick intelligence and unconquerable enterprize ; 
 and, above all, the protecting hand of an auspicious Provi- 
 dence, whose blessing accompanies and gives success to 
 human efforts, and so brings those vessels from time to 
 time unto the haven where they would be.*' 
 
 As an illustration of the tentative maritime spirit of the 
 people, I think it to the purpose to present the reader with 
 the following extract from "A Lecture on the Screw 
 Propeller," delivered before the Yarmouth Literary So- 
 ciety, 12th January, 1841, by James C. Farish, M. D. : — 
 
 " It is now seyen years since Mr. John Patch, an ingenious shipwright 
 " of this place, having been long convinced from his observations upon the 
 " means in use for propelling vessels — from an oar to a paddle wheel — that 
 " there might still be something invented more efficient than any of these, 
 " in the spring of 1834 completed a Screw which he had been some time con. 
 " triving for that purpose. He was then residing at Xelley's Cove, in this 
 " County, and was observed for some months to have been privately en- 
 " gaged at work in the store and in the boats off the wharves. At length 
 " he communicated his secret to Captain Eobert Kelley, but not until he 
 " had alone made sufficient trials of his machine. Captain Eelley assisted 
 '' him, and they two, by the simple working of a crank, sent their boat 
 " ahead .at the rate of five or six knots, without oars or sails. 
 
 " During that summer he was sailing up St. John harbour in a little 
 " schooner of twenty-five tons, in company with ten or twelve other vessels, 
 
 * I am not in a position to prove the assertion which is sometimes made 
 by enthusiastic citizens — and which, if true, is certainly a fact worth record- 
 ing — that the Shipping owned in this County yields a higher proportion ^cj* 
 Jwad to the whole population, than does that of any known county in any 
 other country. Be that as it may, the following are facts : — The propor- 
 tion of tonnage owned in the County gives about seven tons to each indi- 
 vidual ; the proportion owned in the Township of Yarmouth yields rather 
 more than twelve tons to each individual; whilst that which is owned 
 within the Town limits gives about twenty tons to every man, woman, and 
 child. These facts may be established in detail, first, by comparing the 
 whole population with the gross tonnage ; and secondly, by comparing the 
 population of the parts indicated with the amount of Shipping known to 
 be owned in the Township and Town of Yarmouth, respectively. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 139 
 
 " when it fell dead calm. He got out his Screw over the quarter, and he 
 " and Capt. Silas Kelley (the only persons on board) by the same simple 
 " power, a crank, soon left the rest of the fleet astern, wondering by what 
 " means he had got ahead of them, without sweeps or any other visible 
 
 "Having perfected his discovery, and made such trials as satisfied him- 
 " self and his confidential friends, Mr. Patch in July, 1834, at Captain E. 
 " Xelley's suggestion, proceeded to Washington to take out a patent for his 
 " invention ; but everything that he met with had the efiect of discourag- 
 " ing him, and at last he abandoned his purpose. As Mr. Patch spoke 
 " freely of his invention, and as the Screw Propeller appeared within a 
 " year or two after this date, it seems reasonable to suppose that others 
 " profited by his labours. If not the original inventor, an original inventor 
 " he certainly was." 
 
 Intimately connected with the matter of Shipping, is 
 that of 
 
 COAST AND HARBOUR CONVENIENCES. 
 
 Before 1830, there were neither lights nor whistles, 
 beacons nor breakwaters in the County. In 1820, the 
 Governor in Council was memoralized to cause the outer 
 Seal Island to be settled, and a light placed thereon. 
 Nothing was done in that way however, till 1830, in which 
 year the lighthouse was established. In 1839 the Yar- 
 mouth lighthouse was built, and it was first lighted on the 
 15th of January, 1840. The bell which had been fixed in 
 the same neighbourhood was removed for the fog whistle, 
 which was first used in February, 1869. Since 1870 a 
 whistle has also been placed on the Seal Island ; and those 
 safeguards, together with the light on Pubnico beach, 
 placed there in 1854 ; that on the Fish Island in the 
 Tusket Eiver, placed there in 1864; the beacon in the 
 Yarmouth Harbour lighted on February 16th, 1874; 
 together with that on White Head Island at the mouth of 
 the Argyle Harbour, well nigh supply everything except 
 
140 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 skill and care on the part of navigators, for the safe conduct 
 of shipping. 
 
 Another work of moment to the County ultimately, 
 although to the port primarily, is the breakwater in the 
 Yarmouth Harbour, a work which was done in 1873 at a 
 cost of $11,000. It is a substantial work 2,800 feet long, 
 22 feet wide, with an average height of seven feet, and is 
 designed to arrest the strong tendency created by the action 
 of the high tides and westerly winds, to obstruct, and 
 finally destroy, the Harbour. 
 
 It is hard to determine how much is due to the late 
 Anthony Landers ; but among other things with which he 
 may be credited, is the introduction and advancement of 
 
 THE METHODIST BODY IN THIS COUNTY.* 
 
 The now thriving settlement of Hebron was very largely 
 Mr. Landers' property. He there built and resided in 
 what he named " Hebron House," in which he began to 
 hold meetings in the year 1810; and seven years after- 
 wards he built a chapel at Hebron, which however was 
 
 * I here append as interesting to one class of readers, the list of 
 Wesleyan Superintendent Ministers up till 1865, when the Milton Circtiit 
 was set off. The memory of the youngest reader will reach all who have 
 been in Yarmouth since : — 
 
 Eer. William Alder 1§16 Eev. Eowland Morton 1844 
 
 " Thomas Payne 1818 " Henry Pope, Senr 1846 
 
 " John Snowball 1819 " Eichard WeddaU 1849 
 
 " Eobert H. Crane 1820 " Eichard Williams 1850 
 
 " George Millar 1821 " William Wilson 1851 
 
 « WilliamSmith 1S28 " Michael Pickles 1855 
 
 " Thos. H. Davies 1830 " James England 1858 
 
 « William McDonald... 1832 " George Johnson 1859 
 
 " Wm, Webb 1834 " Ingram Sutcliffe 1860 
 
 " John McMurray 1836 " John Prince 1863 
 
 " Cha'sDeWolfe 1839 " Jas. G. Hennigar 1866 
 
 " Charles Churchill 1841 " Henry Daniel 1867 
 
Providence -f! h u r c h. 
 
 METHODIST. 
 
Ri^tory of Yarmouth. 141 
 
 never finished, and which, has long since disappeared. 
 He also procured the services from Conference of the first 
 Methodist Minister in the County, the Kev. Mr. Alder, a 
 talented man who died in 1873 in Gibraltar, in which 
 Diocese, in connection with the Church of England, he had 
 become Eegistrar and Surrogate. For several years Mr. 
 Landers boarded Mr. Alder and paid his expenses. Since 
 that time the Methodist body has greatly increased. They 
 have four modern places of worship in the Town and 
 vicinity :— Wesley Church at Milton, which was built about 
 ten years ago, when the society abandoned their less con- 
 venient chapel, which had been used since 1 839 ; Provi- 
 dence Church in the south end of the Town, which also 
 supplanted an earlier structure ; a smaller building at Arca- 
 dia ; and another at Brooklyn. They have also a fifth 
 place of worship at the thriving settlement at Darling's 
 Lake. The reader has here a view of Providence Church 
 which is situate at the south end of the Town. 
 
 In this connection, as a religious matter, the history of 
 the Free Baptist body may be touched upon. In the year 
 1819 the Kev. Jacob B. Norton came to Yarmouth from 
 the State of Massachusetts. He belonged to the Society 
 known as the Christian Band. About the same time, the 
 Rev. Asa McGray went to Barrington from the same State. 
 He belonged to the Freewill Baptist body. They each 
 succeeded in gaining adherents to their respective Socie- 
 ties. In June, 1837, ministers and delegates of both 
 bodies met on Cape Sable Island and organized the Free 
 Christian Baptist Denomination, as an amalgamation of 
 
142 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 both ; and finally, in 1866, this body agreed to be known 
 by the name of Feee Baptists. There are I believe eleven 
 Free Baptist churches in this County, possessing over a 
 dozen meeting houses, and served by four resident minis- 
 ters, besides occasional assistance. 
 
 Closely connected with public worship, is the matter of 
 Sunday Schools. It is evident that any number of chil- 
 dren brought together to be taught gives the idea of a 
 School ; and, that a number of children brought together 
 to be taught on Sundays, completes the general idea of a 
 Sunday School. But although it would be impossible to 
 go back to the time in the Christian era when children were 
 not brought together to be taught on Sundays, this would 
 hardly be the sense in which that expression has come to 
 be understood. 
 
 After carefal and extended enquiries on the subject, I 
 believe that the first Sunday School proper in this County 
 was opened in Lower Chebogue by the Rev. Abel Cutler in 
 1817 ; Mr. John S. Miller establishing a similar institu- 
 tion, which was more of the nature of a Prayer Meeting 
 however, about the same time or a little after, in Nehe- 
 miah Patch's loft. The next was opened in the old Milton 
 school house, which stood on the site of the late Herbert 
 Huntington's house, about the year 1823. Then in 1827 
 another was commenced in the old Methodist Chapel, which 
 lasted till 1834, when it lapsed. In January of 1835 the 
 Rev. Alfred Gilpin opened one in the old Trinity Church ; 
 an ofi'shoot from which established itself at Upper Che- 
 bogue, now Arcadia, in the fall of the same year. All 
 those Schools had been conducted on the Union principle : 
 
History of Yarmouth. 143 
 
 but, in the month of August, 1836, the Methodist element 
 withdrew from the Trinity Church school, and formed a 
 denominational school. About the same time, Mr. Joseph 
 Ellis, who had been prominently concerned with nearly all 
 those institutions, opened one in his own house : and, 
 shortly afterwards, another was commenced by the Bap- 
 tists.* After this period, they continued to spring up 
 everywhere ; until now there is no section in the County 
 where there is not one. 
 
 The first structure raised in the County for Sunday 
 School purposes was that which was erected by the Episco- 
 palians in 1840, and was the same building which now 
 stands, newly restored, on the site of the old Parish Church. 
 
 * Facts recorded by the late Joseph. Ellis. 
 
CHAPTER XTII. 
 
 Social progress from isoo. negro slaves, new settle^ 
 
 MENTS. SALMON RIVER. KEMPTVILLE. BEAVER RIVER. 
 
 OHIO. HEBRON. CARLETON. TEMPERANCE AND TOTAL 
 
 ABSTINENCE SOCIETIES. GREAT FIRE OF 1820. 
 
 tHEN the Loyalists left Shelburne, in several cases 
 they brought with them to Tusket and Yarmouth, 
 their 
 
 NEGRO SLAVES. 
 
 They had accompanied their masters from New York and 
 other cities in the States. In many cases families of them 
 lived in their masters' houses, or in other houses provided 
 for them ; and there is reason to believe, that as far as 
 work or usage or houses or clothing were concerned,' they 
 were better cared for, and probably knew they were, than 
 many of those who had been liberated. After all allow- 
 ance however has been made for kindness and considera- 
 tion, the institution remained. In this connection, an 
 interesting trial took place in 1787. in Shelburne, Jesse 
 Gray, of Argyle, had sold to William Mangham, a colored 
 woman named Mary Postill, for one hundred bushels of 
 potatoes. Gray was trie<i on a charge of misdemeanor. 
 The wrong was not the sale of a slave, but the sale of a 
 slave of which he was not the real owner. Proofs having 
 been brought forward that she had really belonged to Gray 
 
History of Yarmouth. 145 
 
 in one of the Southern States ; the Court at once acquitted 
 him, and she became as much the property of Mangham 
 for a hundred bushels of potatoes as a horse would for the 
 same consideration. 
 
 But in the course of a very few years, public opinion in this 
 Province reprobated the practice. Notwithstanding, as late 
 as the years 1801 and 1802 there were several negro slaves 
 bought and sold in this County. As one of the last traces 
 of that institution I here insert one of these bills of sale :-^- 
 
 " Know all men by these Presents that I, A. B., of the Township of 
 " Yarmouth for and in consideration of the sum of thirty-nine pounds in 
 " hand paid to me by C D., have bargained and sold to him and by these 
 " presents do grant bargain and sell to him the said 0. D. a certain Negro 
 " Boy named Jack, about seven years of age, born in my house from a 
 "wench and a man, both my sole property; and I, the said A. B., do 
 " promise to warrant and defend the said Negro Boy Jack against all lawful 
 " claim or claims of any person or persons whatsoever. 
 
 " In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this twenty- 
 " third day of December, 1801. " A. B. 
 
 "Signed, sealed, and delivered in the presence of 
 
 "E. F. 
 " G. H. 
 "J.K." 
 
 In addition to this bill of sale there are several others, 
 
 one of which was of a young negro woman twenty-eight, who 
 
 was sold the next year, 1802, for £,4Q. That same coloured 
 
 woman — together with her husband, was liberated by her 
 
 master Colonel Bond, and is still living near Weymouth. 
 
 She is therefore now more than a hundred years old. From 
 
 freed slaves, left in many cases in destitution and utter 
 
 inability and indisposition to provide for themselves, the 
 
 SALMON RIVER SETTLEMENT 
 
 in this Township originated.* "With a few exceptions the 
 settlement has not been ornamental to the County, and 
 
 * By the Census of 1871 there are 257 coloured people in the County. 
 
146 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 scarcely useful ; but it may be, that part of the blame of 
 this state of affairs ought to be borne by that portion of the 
 population, who have been themselves taught the blessings 
 of industry, sobriety and useful knowledge. 
 
 The older settled parts of the County, have so far en- 
 grossed our attention, only because they were all that existed. 
 But early in the nineteenth century, the healthy mark of 
 
 NEW GROUND 
 
 being opened up claims some notice : the principal of 
 which are Kemptville, Beaver Kiver, Hebron, and Carleton. 
 The first settler at 
 
 EEMPTVILLE 
 
 was Abner Andrews ; who, in taking up his abode in that 
 place, had advanced several miles beyond the extreme 
 inhabited point. The Commissioner of Lands, the late 
 Dr. Farish, laid out this pioneer settler, Mr. Andrews' land 
 in 1821 ; and, at that time, the embryo settlement was 
 named Kemptville, in honour of the then Governor Sir 
 James Kempt. 
 
 BEAVEE RIVEB, 
 
 like Salmon River, Eel Brook, Smelt Brook, and other 
 waters bearing names, arising from the natural products or 
 inhabitants,-^probably received its name from abounding 
 in beavers, either at, or before, the arrival of the English. 
 The settlement, — which at first took the name of the river, 
 but part of which has been named more lately Maitland, 
 after Sir Peregrine Maitland, a former Governor, — is an 
 offshoot from Yarmouth of the old settled families of the 
 Raymonds, Comings, Crosbys, Perrys and others ; all 
 names well known in the County. This village suffered 
 very severely from 
 
History of Yarmouth. 147 
 
 THE GREAT FIRE OP 1820. 
 
 Independent of the havoc made in Clare Township, in 
 which the Chapel was burnt, and the venerable Abbe 
 Sigogne severely injured, the fire extended into this Town- 
 ship and burnt up the houses, barns, mills, crops, stocks, 
 and farming implements of 34 families. Grain, cattle, 
 furniture, clothes, and everything combustible within the 
 burnt district were all consumed. The magistrates of the 
 Township of Yarmouth stated that, after due inquiry, " the 
 "number of souls included in those families who are 
 "turned out destitute and in want, is one hundred and 
 " fifty."* The distresses of the sufferers enlisted, far and 
 wide, the liveliest sympathy of the most practical kind. 
 Large sums were subscribed in Halifax, St. John, Boston, 
 and other places. Sir James Kempt proved himself a 
 most . fatherly Governor. On receipt of the magistrates' 
 authentic information, he caused one hundred great coats, 
 two hundred pairs of stockings, and two hundred pairs of 
 mitts to be sent from the Military stores : and for very 
 many years the coats, which were conspicuous both for 
 make and material, were the visible if mute reminders of 
 the disaster. In the way of bedding also, he sent one 
 hundred blankets, one hundred and fifty rugs, one hun- 
 dred and fifty sheets, one hundred bed covers, one hundred 
 bolsters, and fifty beds. The receipt of those articles, very 
 inadequate, even with other assistance, but very acceptable — 
 was acknowledged by a letter from the magistrates, who 
 thanked him for 
 
 "the yery kind and handsome manner in which his Excellency had 
 •'bestowed it : and [they add] we are happy in saying that the public grant 
 
 *Eeport dated September 15, 1820. 
 
148 History of Yarmouth* 
 
 " made by your Excellency and his Majesty's Council, added to your owil 
 
 " very liberal donation, and the contributions of many beneficent indiyidu- 
 
 ' ' als both in Halifax and elsewhere, will enable us to keep the destitute ill 
 
 " a state of comparative comfort, until the fruits of the earth and the exer- 
 
 " tions of another season, enable them to provide for themselves. We have 
 
 "etc. 
 
 " Benj. Barnard. 
 
 "J.N, Bond. 
 
 " H. G. FARisit. 
 
 "John Bingay." 
 
 Since that calamity the settlement has been very prosperous, 
 
 and nearly every trace of it has long since passed away. 
 
 There is a flourishing shipbuilding business, for which 
 
 there are many facilities, and which, together with fishing 
 
 and lumbering, are carried on. The settlement also 
 
 deserves notice from the circumstance that here 
 
 THE FIRST TEMPERANCE SOCIETY 
 
 in Nova Scotia, or according to some, in North America, or 
 according to others, in the world, was formed.* The pre- 
 amble to the original list of names, — for at first there were 
 no officers, — will best explain the motives and principles of 
 those who joined the Society : — 
 
 ''beaver river TEMPERANCE SOCIETY. 
 
 " We the undersigned firmly believing and most assuredly gathering 
 " that the too great use of spirituous liquors is prejudicial to the body and 
 " souls of mankind in general both spiritual and temporal, to remedy this 
 " great and spreading evil, we therefore whose names are hereunto annexed 
 " do for ever renounce the use of ardent or distilled spirituous liquors 
 " except what may be taken as a medicine in case of sickness. And we 
 " pray Almighty God to establish our hearts and strengthen our serious 
 " resolutions. 
 
 " April 25, 1829." 
 
 Then follow the signatures. Shortly after, it was thought 
 
 * The claims for the original suggestion of the idea are various and con- 
 flicting ; and under the circumstances, it is difficult to do more than pro- 
 duce documents. One name evidently much to be honoured in this con- 
 nection, is that of the late Josiah Porter. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 149 
 
 necessary to organize the Society and appoint officers for 
 the more effectually carrying its objects into operation. 
 The first officers were-^ 
 
 President — Mr. Josiah Porter. 
 
 Vice Presidents — Jonathan Raymond, and Jonathan 
 Corning. 
 
 Executive Committee — Daniel Raymond, Jabez Landers, 
 William Parry, Daniel Corning, Ebenezer Corning, and 
 David Parry.* 
 
 This Parent Society has given birth to many children, 
 who have done great good in their generation. 
 
 OHIO. 
 
 About fifty years ago, I believe, when there was a great 
 rage for emigrating to Ohio, and several families had left 
 for that then very distant El Dorado of the West, Nehe- 
 miah and Benjamin Churchill, sons of Ezra, and grandsons 
 of Lemuel of Chebogue, were smitten with the "Ohio fever," 
 as it was called. Not being able to carry out their plans 
 from some cause, they removed back into the woods with 
 their families, several miles beyond the most distant set- 
 tler at the " Ponds," as all the country above the mills at 
 Milton was then called, and gave their farms the name of 
 their wished-for western home ; which has thus become the 
 name of the settlement. There is a good mill site in the 
 
 * The oldest document connected witli this institution, is now in the 
 County Museum. The preamble and the first sixty-eight names are in the 
 hand-writing of the late John Wetmore, at that time a Schoolmaster at 
 Beaver Eiver ; then follow seventy-four original signatures. The value of 
 the paper has been seriously impaired from the fact that the dates have 
 been tampered with. But a careful comparison of all the facts shovis first, 
 that this institution was organized in 1829 ; and secondly, that the docu- 
 ment in question was copied in 1830 from the true original, which has, 
 very probably, been long since lost. 
 
150 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 centre of the village. At first the settlers were engaged in 
 lumbering, — but more lately the people have been chiefly 
 occupied in farming and bringing cordwood to the Yarmouth 
 market. The name of 
 
 HEBRON 
 
 was given to that settlement, as before said, by Captain 
 Landers. That was his property, where he hoped to spend 
 the remainder of his days — the centre of his shipbuilding 
 operations. His house was at first apart from all others ; 
 but, in the course of years, the junction of the Ohio road 
 ■with the main post road became a desirable place of busi- 
 ness, and was called "Hebron Corner." As the village 
 extended beyond this spot, the latter half of the name was 
 left out, and the whole settlement finally became Hebron. 
 Having no fishing, lumbering, or milling privileges, the 
 community has become manufacturing, — chiefly tanning 
 and boot and shoe making. The number of persons depend- 
 ing on this industry being about three hundred, and the 
 gross amount of Capital engaged in a year's business being 
 about $200,000. 
 With regard to 
 
 CARLETON, 
 
 it may be said that Mr. Daniel Kaymond was the first 
 settler in this part of the County. It is true that twenty 
 years before, a number of persons, — the tradition says 
 nine — residing on the river above and about Tusket vil- 
 lage, formed a co-partnery for milling purposes. They 
 carried out 'part of their plan only, and did little more than 
 effect a clearing in the neighbourhood of " Nine Partners' 
 Falls," — a name given, as some say, in allusion to the 
 partnery : or, as others again say, with reference to the 
 
Histoid of Yarmouth. 151 
 
 physical features of the place. But neither alternative is 
 very conclusive. Mr. Raymond built a mill in the centre 
 of the present village, 'and a year or two after he settled 
 there he was followed by a number of Chebogue families, 
 viz.: Hiltons, Dennis, Crawley and Perry, who, together 
 with others, have succeeded in establishing one of the most 
 thriving settlements in the County. 
 
 Carleton was also formerly named Temperance — a name 
 which is not yet wholly extinct. The origin of it was this : 
 The first settlers saw the evils of ijitemperance, and agreed 
 to eschew, as a heverage, all kinds of intoxicating liquors. 
 Total abstinence was not, as yet, their idea, and to assist 
 them in their most excellent design, they gave the settle- 
 ment the name of ^'Temperances There is no fact more 
 capable of demonstration than that the early settlers of this- 
 County were far from being teetotallers. Drinking was a 
 standing institution, equally and impartially applied to all 
 sorts of occasions, serious and light. No visit was made, 
 nor enterprise undertaken, without the aid of this powerful 
 auxiliary. Births, weddings and funerals, were all suitable 
 occasions and always in order ; and the custom extended to 
 both sexes. No road could be built, nor frame of a Church 
 raised, without rum.* In the earliest days of Yarmouth 
 the amount of rum sold to the half starving people was 
 
 * Au item of CKpense in raising the frame of a place of worsliip, early in 
 this century, was 10/ for rum, I suppose no workman would have assisted 
 in that, or any other work, without his grog. 
 
 The well-known "More Eum Brook," on the Tusket road, is said to 
 have received its name from the circumstance that when the road was being 
 cut out the rum gave out, when the workmen got to that point. They 
 refused to go on till the needful was forthcoming. The surveyor in charge 
 of the work told them to drink from the Brook, till they got more — hence 
 the name " More Eum Brook." 
 
152 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 simply enormous ; and, in some of the accounts rendered 
 by. the traders of the day, liquor of some kind forms every 
 second or third item. In one account of thirty-eight items, 
 twenty-eight are for rum, toddy, cider or flip. Without 
 palliating or excusing the intemperate language of many 
 extreme total abstinence advocates, we see from those facts 
 what great necessity there was for such prudent conduct as 
 that of the pioneer settlers of Carleton. 
 
 Whilst speaking of the rise and naming of new set- 
 tlements, there can be no more suitable opportunity for 
 appending a list of names of well-known places, traced back 
 to their earliest mention, in one way or another : — 
 
 Names. Dates. Names. Dates. 
 
 Seallslands 1604 Broad Brook 1767 
 
 CapeForchue 1604 Sunday Point 1767 
 
 Cape Forchue Harbour... 1604 Cove 1767 
 
 Chegoggin Point 1630 Little Eiver 1767 
 
 Pubnico 1705 Town Point (Chebogue) 1768 
 
 Chebogue Harbour 1735 Bunker's Island 1768 
 
 Tusket Islands 1735 Smelt Creek 1771 
 
 Yarmouth 1759 Scott's Island 1771 
 
 Fish Point 1762 Pitch Hill 1771 
 
 Elder's Head 1762 Argyle 1771 
 
 Salt Pond 1763 EockyNook 1771 
 
 Chebogue Point 1763 Rabbit Island (Chebogue) 1773 
 
 Ponds 1766 Crocker's Point 1774 
 
CHAPTEE XVni. 
 
 POLITICAL AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS. CONFEDERA- 
 TION. INCORPORATION. JUDICIAL HISTORT OP 
 THE COUNTY. COURTS. COMMON PLEAS. 
 OUR SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL-MASTERS. 
 
 % N taking up the political thread from 1800, we are for 
 many years met with a practical illustration of the 
 maxim that "least said is soonest mended," and of that 
 other " happy is the Country that has no history," — for 
 then there will be at least peace and quietness. For fifty 
 years, with the exception of the election of Mr. Nathan 
 Utley in 1800, and that of Samuel Marshall in 1812, who 
 died in 1814, Mr. Poole was regarded as the hereditary 
 occupant of the red bench. In the House his words were 
 few, but, we are told, pointed ; and, even in 1834, when the 
 Warehousing Act was extended to Yarmouth, he took part 
 in the debate on the subject ; although, through the infir- 
 mity of years, his remarks were unheard, except by those 
 who were near him. In the year 1836 
 
 THE COUNTY OF YARMOUTH WAS SET OFF 
 
 with its present limits, from that of Shelburne ; and, from 
 that date until 1867, three representatives were sent from 
 the County, viz. : — one for the County, and one for each 
 Township. The first three representatives under the new 
 arrangement, were Herbert Huntington for the County ; 
 
154 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 Eeuben Clements for the Township of Yarmouth; and 
 Simon D'Entremont for the Township of Argyle. Mr. 
 Herbert Huntington was the son of Miner Huntington who 
 came to Yarmouth about the year 1784. Miner was a 
 surveyor by profession ; for many years he was Prothono- 
 tary, an of&ce which he was the first to hold. He was also 
 a magistrate. He died in the year 1839. 
 
 Herbert Huntington, who held the office of Prothonotary 
 after his father's death,* was a man of uncommon penetra- 
 tion, and robust intellect, brusque in manner, but acknow- 
 ledged by all, to have been foremost in the rank of the 
 most fearless and incorruptible of Nova Scotian politicians. 
 He was three times elected County member, viz. : in 1836, 
 1840, and 1844, having before served for several years as 
 member of the old County. The Huntington family 
 Memoir contains an article highly eulogising him, and we 
 read in the same work that, " in a tribute to his memory, 
 ^' found in the Provincial Magazine, and still later in the 
 " Yarmouth JiferaW, are found most flattering testimonials 
 " of his worth." The esteem in which he was helok is better 
 illustrated by the public offices and marks of honour which 
 were conferred on him, than by any words of mine. Be- 
 sides his services as member of the Nova Scotia Legislature 
 he was appointed in 1830 by the House of. Assembly, one 
 of two delegates, to lay before' the home Government the 
 grievances of the Province. In 1848, he was chosen one of 
 
 * This office after having been long and honourably held by J. W. H, 
 Howley, Esq., has descended to the third generation, — Mr. James Hunting- 
 ton being the present incumbent. Samuel Huntington, one of the signers of 
 the Declaration of Independence, and president of the first Continental 
 Congress, was a near relative of Miner Huntington. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 155 
 
 the Executive Council; and in 1849 he was appointed 
 
 Financial Secretary. The following inscription on his 
 
 monument — an unpolished block of native granite — tells 
 
 its own tale : — 
 
 Hbkbert Huntington, 
 
 represented his native County, 
 
 Yarmouth, ^ 
 
 as member of the House of Assembly, 
 
 for 20 years, 
 
 with singular zeal, ability and disinterestedness ; 
 
 serving part of that period as 
 
 Member of the Executive Council 
 
 of Nova Scotia, 
 
 and Financial Secretary, 
 
 The Legislature 
 
 of a grateful Country, by unanimous vote, 
 
 raised this monument 
 
 to his memory. 
 Born 1800— Died 1851. 
 
 His election was not always uncontested ; and particularly 
 in that of 1847, he fought a hard gained battle with ano- 
 ther gentleman, long and honourably known in this County, 
 and identified from an early period with all the elements 
 of its prosperity. I mean the late E. W. B. Moody, who 
 also contested an election with Mr. Thomas Killam in 1851. 
 Mr. Moody was the grandson of the celebrated Loyalist 
 Colonel James Moody, who published his adventures in the 
 war, and who was on terms of considerable intimacy with 
 the Duke of Kent, and Governor Wentworth. Mr. Moody 
 was born in Weymouth in 1799. He removed to Yar- 
 mouth in 1817 ; and here, for upwards of forty years, he 
 carried on an extensive business which was marked through- 
 out by intelligence, probity, and liberality. For thirty-five 
 years he was Lloyd's agent for the district now contained 
 in Digby, Yarmouth, and Shelburne Counties, the respon- 
 
156 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 sible duties of which were discharged with great ability and 
 uprightness ; and which, since his death, have been ably 
 discharged by his son J. W. Moody, Esq. He was Gustos 
 when he died, which was in 1863 : and the high esteem in 
 which he was held was testified by the community at the 
 time in every possible way. He was succeeded as Gustos 
 by the late W. H. Moody, Esq., long known as a valuable 
 citizen, an honourable merchant, and an unbending magis- 
 trate. He died in the month of January, 1873. 
 
 Simon D'Entremont, who was elected to the parliament 
 of 1836 as member for the Argyle Township, was a son of 
 Benoni D'Entremont, 
 
 THE FIEST FRENCH MAGISTRATE UNDER ENGLISH RULE, 
 
 and also a Judge in the Inferior Gourt of Common Pleas. 
 Simon was the first French member of the Nova Scotia 
 Assembly, as well as the first French Collector of Customs. 
 The County and Township retained the same represen- 
 tatives for 1840 and 1844; that of Argyle electing Mr. 
 John Eyder, a well known and highly respectable man, 
 who represented the Township till the year 1860. That 
 constituency then chose J. V. N. Hatfield, one of the de- 
 scendants of the well known Hatfield family, who took 
 a very active loyal part in the Eevolutionary War. The 
 numerous and prosperous branches of the family now in 
 this County are descended from Job, James, Jacob, and 
 Abraham Marsh Hatfield, who came first from the States 
 in 1783 to Shelburne, and subsequently, about 1785, to 
 Tusket. Early in the seventeenth century, the family had 
 settled in Elizabethtown, N. J., to which their forefathers 
 had emigrated, from Durham in England. 
 
history of Yarmouth. 15f 
 
 The parliament of 1852 saw changes in the representa* 
 tion of both the County and Township of Yarmouth, Mr* 
 Thos. Killam having been then elected for the County, and 
 Mr. Jesse Shaw for the Township. Mr. Killam, a grand-* 
 son of John, the first of the family, who came here in 
 1766, and settled at Chegoggin, was a man whose career is 
 yet fresh in the memory of the public. From his election 
 till his death in 1868, he represented this County ; first in 
 the local Legislature, and after the Union, in the Dominion 
 Parliament, a seat still held by his son, Frank Killam, 
 Esq* However widely divergent from the views of others 
 his political ideas were, all alike credit him with having 
 been an honest, upright man ; considerate and forbearing 
 towards all indebted to him ; and liberal in his support of 
 all local improvements. 
 
 In the parliament of 1856, Nathan Moses, Esq, suc- 
 ceeded Mr. Shaw in the representation of the Township of 
 Yarmouth ; and in that of 1860, the late W. H. Townsend 
 occupied the seat, which, in the year 1863, he lost by the 
 return of Mr. G. S. Brown ; but which he regained when 
 that member resigned his seat in 1865, Argyle being 
 represented by Mr. Isaac S. Hatfield. In 1867, Messrs. 
 W. H. Townsend and John K. Eyerson were elected mem- 
 bers for the County as a ivhole; the separate representation 
 of the Townships having been abolished. At the next gen- 
 eral election in 1871, Messrs. Townsend and Gay ton were 
 elected ; this being the first general election under the 
 Ballot Act. In 1873, Mr, Townsend resigned, and Mr. J. 
 K. Eyerson was returned in his stead ; and lastly, in 1875, 
 Messrs. Gayton and John Lovitt were elected. 
 
158 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 Divest the political history of the County of all per- 
 sonal details, and, to many, it is uninteresting. Better it 
 should be so than that we should erect a memorial of 
 strifes. Those frequent seatings and unseatings, which 
 we have hut enumerated, gave rise, in many cases, to the 
 strongest political animus; and are the concentrated essence 
 of many a stirring scene, and many a doubtful memory. 
 But I have some ground for saying that since the " good 
 old times" of the Shelburne County elections, when "man 
 to man, and steel to steel," — party against party, — ^moved 
 from polling place to polling place; when the election 
 lasted sometimes for a whole week, and excitement culmi- 
 nated as the end drew on, the people of this County have 
 been conspicuous for quiet and orderly elections ; and, in 
 unpleasant cases, allowance being made for some insignifi- 
 cant exceptions, with short memories. 
 
 There is one political matter however, to pass over which 
 in silence — although the time to write the whole has not 
 yet come — would argue either ignorance or fearfulness. I 
 inean 
 
 THE QUESTION OF CONFEDEKATION ; 
 
 than which no subject ever more deeply stirred this Pro- 
 vince or County. 
 
 The principle of Confederation, in some form or other, 
 was for years before the union with Canada, a favourite 
 theme with many politicians, including the late Herbert 
 Huntington and Joseph Howe.* 
 
 * The following extract from a private letter of the late H. Huntington, 
 referring to the contemplated repeal of the union between Nova Scotia and 
 
 Cape Breton, about the year 1840, is to the purpose 
 
 " I am for a general confederation of all these Colonies. We are quite too 
 "feeble to obtain justice as we now are." 
 
History of Yarmouth, 159 
 
 In the Provijicial Parliament of 1866, GoTernment intro- 
 duced, and carried a measure, uniting this Province with 
 the Canadas. Whatever was the popular idea or feeling" 
 on the subject hefore the bill was passed, no sooner was it 
 carried, than numerous public meetings were held in 
 the various Counties ; the matter was disciissed and public 
 opinion defined. In popular language, the community 
 became divided into Confederates and Anti- Confederates, 
 Bat a more accurate analysis of the several classes of 
 opinion would be : — 
 
 1st. Confederates, who were in favour of the measure, 
 and of the way in which it was carried °, 
 
 2nd. Confederates in favour of the measure, but opposed 
 to the manner in which it was carried ; 
 
 3rd. Anti- Confederates, opposed to the measure and its 
 carriage; and, 
 
 4th. A very small minority in favour of Annexation, 
 
 The results of the public meetings referred to were, that 
 opposition to the bill became more and more defined ; 
 repeal was loudly called for from all parts of the Province, 
 but from nowhere more strongly than from Yarmouth ; 
 and, deputations more or less fully representing the 
 Province, were sent to England, to protest against what 
 was looked upon as a violation of the principles of popular 
 Government. 
 
 There were but very few of the first classes of those four 
 in this County ; and, without pronouncing one way or the 
 other, when we reflect, we cannot but admire the handful 
 who stood up for a principle in which they believed, against 
 overwhelming odds. In the small minority in favor of the 
 
160 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 measure in this County, there were, however, several influx 
 ential citizens ; and, when the day of nomination came on, 
 they selected John S. Hatfield, Esq., as their candidate, not 
 so much with any hope or prospect of his being returned, 
 as with the intention of representing the existing Confed- 
 erate element in the Electorate. Mr. Hatfield was sup- 
 ported by rather more than a hundred electors, out of a 
 whole electoral body of nearly two thousand. And when 
 we say this, we best exhibit, and that without words, the 
 intense dislike with which the people had been brought to 
 view a measure, which, but for the mode of proceeding 
 adopted by the Government as the opposing party alleged, 
 might possibly have been passed as a pojndar measure. 
 
 The persuasion that this Township could best attend to 
 its own special interests, if it were a corporate body, together 
 with other influences, resulted in that condition being 
 assumed in 1855 ; but unmanageable divergences of public 
 opinion in certain sections, on social, political, and financial 
 questions, having soon sprung up, the community, after a 
 three years trial of the Municipal form of government, 
 decided, by a considerable majority, to have the Act 
 repealed so far as it applied to the Township of Yarmouth. 
 
 Once more, to keep a clear woof and web, we must return. 
 We traced the working of our social system, and as far as 
 scanty and trivial details would admit, our Civil institutions 
 up till the end of the last century » After 1784, the County 
 Town being Shelburne, the sessions of the Supreme Court 
 were held there; but after 1836, at the division of the 
 
History of Yarmouth. 161 
 
 County, alternately at Yarmouth and Tusket, public con- 
 venience seeming to require this arrangement. 
 
 The number of Justices now in the County is about 
 ninety ; whilst for that whole district there were only 
 
 FIVE ACTING JUSTICES IN 1813, 
 
 whose official duties were so laborious that they applied for 
 an increase of the bench. The five who acted were : 
 Samuel S. Poole, Joseph Norman Bond, Henry Greggs 
 Parish, James Lent, and Benoni D'Entremont. Two . 
 others had been nominated in 1810, viz. : Joshua Frost 
 and Nathaniel Richards; but, for some reason, they 
 declined to take the oaths of office. The Justices 
 assembled, and recommended James* Bond, Abram Lent, 
 Joshua D'Entremont, Daniel Frost, Jacob Kelley, and 
 Thomas Dane, "as fit and proper persons for the said 
 office." Similarly laborious were the duties of the Jus- 
 tices of the 
 
 INFERIOR COURT OF COMMON PLEAS; 
 
 especially as all three of them, viz. : Samuel S. Poole, 
 James Lent, and J. Norman Bond were acting Magistrates 
 besides. They also recommended for this inferior Judge- 
 ship, Messrs. H. G. Farish and Benoni D'Entremont. 
 Both requests were seen to be so reasonable, that their 
 petition was granted at once by the Council.* Mr. James 
 Lent, who was here recommended to a Commission as Jus- 
 tice, was one of the old Loyalists. He had held a commis- 
 sion as early as 1779, in the King's Militia Volunteers, and 
 was one of the first who settled Tusket, — all who bear his 
 
 * Eecord of General Sessions held at Tusket, April 1813, and Council 
 Minutes, May 13, 1813. 
 
162 
 
 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 name there being his descendants. He died in 1838 at 
 the advanced age of eighty-four. 
 
 The Court of Common Pleas, to which we have made 
 frequent reference, was finally abolished in 1841 ; the 
 Supreme Court having been opened for the first time, in 
 the present County, in 1834. 
 
 The following lists show the successive Justices of the 
 Court of Common Pleas, Custodes, and Shebiffs, who 
 have held office since the settlement of the County. 
 
 JUSTICES OF THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. 
 
 John Crawley, 
 
 Saml. S. Poole, 
 
 James Lent, 
 
 J. N. Bond, 
 
 Benoni D'Entremont, 
 Nathan Utley, 
 H. G. Farish. 
 
 CUSTODES. 
 
 John Crawley, \ 
 
 Sam. S. Poole, Yarmouth 
 
 H. G. Farish, and Argyle. 
 
 E. W. B. Moody, ^ 
 
 W. H. Moody, ) 
 
 Nathan Moses, 
 Nathan Hilton, 
 Abram Lent, . 
 Israel Harding, 
 
 SHERIFFS. 
 
 Elishama Eldridge, 
 J. Norman Bond, 
 Eleazer Hibbard, 
 Thomas Dane, 
 Samuel Tedford, 
 George Hunter, 
 
 ^ Yarmouth. 
 
 Argyle. 
 
 Deputies 
 before 1836. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 163 
 
 John Bingay, 
 Eobert S. Eakins, 
 Joseph B. Bond, Principals 
 J. Shaw, since 1836. 
 
 W. B. Townsend, 
 W. K. Dudman, 
 And to these may he added the Judges op the Court of 
 
 Probate : 
 
 S. S. Poole, 
 
 B. Barnard, 
 
 John Forman, 
 
 W. H. Keating, 
 
 T. V. B. Bingay, 
 
 James Murray. 
 Closely connected with the Officers of Courts, is the matter 
 of Buildings erected for. the purpose of carrying out justice. 
 The Court House and Jail at Tusket, which was the first 
 built for the purpose in the County, was completed in 1805. 
 Before that time the Sessions met, as regards Tusket, at 
 some place of business ; and at Yarmouth, sometimes in 
 a building known early in the century as the Court House, 
 which stood at the north-east corner of the old Episcopal 
 Church Lot, and which was removed about 1805 by the 
 late David McConnel, and sometimes in "Eichan's long- 
 room." The Yarmouth Court House and Jail, which was 
 built in 1820, gave place in 1863, in the first instance, to a 
 commodious Court House, and in 1865 to a substantial 
 Jail. The original Tusket Court House was twenty feet 
 long; in 1833 its length was doubled, and about 1870, it 
 was trebled, — the building being now sixty feet long. 
 
 The increasing business of this community is, I think, 
 curiously illustrated in connection with the number of gen- 
 
164 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 tlemen of the Bar. For more than thirty years there was 
 no Barrister in the County, and for more than thirty years 
 after that there was room for only one at a time ; whereas 
 now there are ten resident Barristers who are all, more or 
 less directly, engaged in professional duties, — and six of 
 whom have been admitted within the last ten years. I 
 have ventured to set down this increase to the account of a 
 proportional increase in the amount of business ; although 
 I am aware of the impression, which we all hope, and I 
 believe, is wrong, that it is to be traced to a growing spirit 
 of litigation. I here append the names, together with the 
 dates of arrival, or of admission to practice, of all the 
 Barristers who have practised, or do still practice, in this 
 County : — 
 
 ARRIVAL OR . ARRIVAL OR 
 
 ^^"^- ADMISSION. ^^"^- ADMISSION. 
 
 John Prout 1795 C. B. Owen, Q. C 1852 
 
 James Buchanan 1809 S.H. Pelton, Q. C 1867 
 
 John Lawson 1820 J. W. Bingay 1869 
 
 John Forman 1824 Thos. E. Corning 1869 
 
 W. H, Keating 1832 S. B. Murray ', 1870 
 
 H. A. Grantham, Q. C...1834 T. B. Flint 1871 
 
 T. V. B. Bingay 1835 George Bingay 1874 
 
 James Murray 1841 
 
 Leaving the Political and Civil, we now trace the 
 
 EDUCATIONAL ELEMENT , 
 
 from its very small beginning, at the point indeed where 
 the stream is so small as not to be seen, until it has be- 
 come a comparatively great river, fertilizing the remotest 
 sections of the County. 
 
 A school before the year 1800 was an institution, for the 
 more part, known only by name. There were indeed from 
 time to time private schools on a very limited scale, which 
 
History of Yarmouth. 165 
 
 aimed at teacliing the three E's, and little more. The 
 oldest school house I have heard of in the County, was one 
 which stood on the site of the old Episcopal Church from 
 about 1790 till about 1805. This building was also used 
 as the Court House till it became too small, — when the 
 Court afterwards met, as before said, in "Eichan's Tavern," 
 which stood at the head of Marshall's Lane. 
 
 The first schoolmaster in Argyle, of whom any record is 
 preserved, was Mr. John McKinnon, son of Captain Eanald, 
 who was appointed ^to that office by the Sessions of 1812. 
 As late as the year 1811, there were only three schools in 
 the Township of Yarmouth. In that year, however, a 
 Government commission dated July 29th, was issued to 
 the Eev. Eanna Cossit, Samuel S. Poole, and Joseph Nor- 
 man Bond, Esquires, appointing them Trustees of the 
 Yaemouth Grammar School — the first institution of the 
 kind in this County, and somewhat hard to beat even now, 
 for as early as the year 1819, it had on its roll, thirteen 
 boys engaged in the study of Latin. The first who was 
 appointed teacher of this school was Mr. Poole, who, in 
 order to become a candidate for the mastership, resigned 
 his office as Trustee. He held the position till October 
 1815, after which the Eev. E. Milner officiated as master 
 till 1819, when the Eev. T. A. Grantham took charge of it.- 
 But through various causes, by the year 1830, the Grammar 
 School had become a thing of the past. The next institu- 
 tion in the interests of the higher branches, was started in 
 1836, and was known as the ** Yarmouth Education 
 Society." Funds were to be raised by voluntary contribu- 
 tions and by tuition fees. This Society built the Academy, 
 
166 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 and it was assisted by a Provincial grant to the extent of 
 £130 annually. 
 
 The Grammar School and the Education Society with its 
 Academy, provided in some measure for the wants of all 
 who lived in the vicinity of the County Town. But for the 
 great bulk of the population, there were no school houses, 
 text books, or suitable masters. Those who offered them- 
 selves as teachers were frequently men of intemperate 
 habits ; and who, when their evil deeds persecuted them in 
 one place, fled to another, although indeed, honourable 
 exceptions are not wanting. In 1811, when the late Dr. 
 Farish was appointed Superintendent, there were but four 
 schools in the County. In the year 1826 all the children 
 attending school in the two Townships, were 120. By the 
 year 1848, there had been a very great improvement, there 
 being in the Yarmouth Township alone, thirty-six school 
 houses, in which an aggregate of seventeen hundred chil- 
 dren were taught ; and, although none of the schools were 
 free, still there were three hundred pupils who received the 
 benefit of a free education.* 
 
 AT THE PRESENT DAT, 
 
 apart from private schools, there are in the County sixty- 
 five Public School houses, most of them being in excellent 
 condition, and furnished with all kinds of necessary appara- 
 tus, such as text books, maps, globes, and blackboards, — t 
 
 *By a provision in the School Law of 1828, which was a greater step forward 
 in the cause of education than even the law of 1864, there was a proportion 
 of the scholars who, under certain conditions, received their education free. 
 
 tAs an example of the uncommon completeness of the schools in the County 
 in this respect, it is worthy of note, that in the report of 1874 there were in 
 the schools 15,000 square feet of blackboard, giving an average of 240 feet to 
 each school ; or 127 feet per school more than in the city of Halifax, which 
 are far iu advance of those of any County in the Province, except Yarmouth. 
 
>- 
 < 
 
 UJ 
 
History of Yarmouth. 167 
 
 accommodating 4,500 pupils ; and presided over by eighty 
 teachers, holding Government certificates. The value of 
 Public School property in the County is, in the aggregate, 
 nearly |90,000. Whatever objections the present system 
 may be thought to lie under, or grievances to which in 
 individual cases it may give rise, the testimony of our eyes, 
 and the careful, moderate reports of the Government 
 Inspector prove, that at no time were the means for educa- 
 ting our children so complete ; so able to bear favourable 
 comparison; or to stand critical examination. We here 
 insert a view of the Seminary, a building which to some 
 extent has served as a model for several structures which 
 have been raised since the passing of the new Law. This 
 building cost $20,000, independent of the grounds. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 LITEEATURE. LITERARY REMAINS. THE PRESS. 
 
 LOSELY connected with the subject of education, is 
 that of 
 
 GENERAL LITERATURE, AND THE ARTS,. 
 
 which both aHke tend to develope the higher elements of 
 our being. Literary proficiency, such as makes authors, 
 men, in the phrase of Lord Bacon, of full reading, was 
 certainly not to have been expected in the first settlers of 
 this County. Theirs was, for the more part, a hard life 
 of daily toil, and a constant struggle for bread. And an 
 examination of early records will convince the most scepti- 
 cal that whilst shrewdness and ability were abundantly 
 exemplified, Caligraphy and Orthography were compara- 
 tively lost arts to the majority, and but dimly perceived by 
 the few.* The monuments that have been left are at once 
 
 * From this point of view, the following items collected from various 
 sources, are more amusing to read, than they were easy to decipher, and 
 would possibly puzzle some of our smartest clerks. 
 To 2 Arthen platters — 
 3 podden pans — 
 5 skwars glas — 
 1 lb Tabackah — 
 1 yearde of teckling burge — 
 
 1 cain of selk. 
 
 2 Bushels of Turnopes & Taters— 
 200 shongal nails — 
 
 1 Bush, of Ry & Engon — 
 
 1 yd. Bleu bays — 
 
 2 yards gren fries — 
 1 Bockit pale — 
 1 Beveret hat. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 169 
 
 few and uninviting, unless it were for sucli purposes as 
 that in which we are now engaged. A marked exception 
 in favour of the Rev. Jonathan Scott, must however be 
 made. His very brief record of social and church matters, 
 was written in a good round hand, itself indicative of a 
 careful, painstaking man. The 
 
 FEINTED LITERAEY EEMAINS 
 
 of an early date of any interest have already been referred 
 to as fully as necessary. Mr. Alline's work published in 
 1781, and Mr. Scott's in 1784 have become very scarce, 
 and are but rarely met with. Their effects alone remain. 
 When we come down to a period of fifty years after the 
 first settlement, we have some poetical remains of Mrs. 
 Fletcher, daughter of Captain Ranald McKinnon of Argyle. 
 She was naturally a talented woman ; who had cultivated 
 the habit of writing, and the productions of her pen, pub- 
 lished and unpublished, discover uncommon ability and 
 imagination. This lady is more than once referred to and 
 quoted in Murdoch's History of Nova Scotia ; and of one of 
 her earliest productions, — " To an absent husband " — the 
 Dublin Literary Gazette says "it is worthy of the pen of 
 " Goldsmith ; and its simple, natural and exquisite ideas 
 " strongly remind us of the compositions of that charming 
 ** Poet." As I believe it has never been published in this 
 County, I append it in this place : — 
 
 TO AN ABSENT HUSBAND. 
 
 Say, ye, whose breasts each softer feeling know, — 
 
 Whose hearts with love can throb, with friendship glow, — 
 
 Has language power ideas to convey 
 
 Of half the force of Joy's oppressive sway ? 
 
 Say in what terms th' emotions are expressed, 
 
 When sudden joy o'ercomes the throbbing breast, 
 
170 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 When from the fading cheek the roses fly, 
 And light and lustre quit the languid eye ? 
 Such were the feelings which my bosom knew, 
 When first thy welcome letter met my view ; 
 The glow of transport fired my thrilling breast, 
 And lavish tears expressed that transport best — 
 Emphatic tears, which eloquently speak, 
 When every power of language is too weak ! 
 How have I chid the tardy hours away 
 Through many a lengthened night and lingering day. 
 Which, as their leaden flight they slowly wing. 
 To me no joy, from thee no tidings bring ! 
 Ah, friend beloved ! while thy hard fate conveys 
 Where suns solstitial dart their fiery rays, 
 Where countless deaths each horrid form assume, 
 And War's dire terrors add a deeper gloom ; — • 
 Ah ! what avails it, that for me the gale. 
 Pregnant with health, soft breathes along the vale ? 
 Health has for me no charms, while, far away. 
 You sink unnerved 'neath Phoebus' burning ray, 
 Tired of my thoughts to books for aid I fly : 
 That comfort onoe they gave, they now deny. 
 The plaintive tale of well-feigned woe I read, 
 But sigh to find my sorrows those exceed, 
 For works of stern philosophy I quit 
 The rose-strewed paths of poetry and wit ; 
 Oft mark, with Locke, how young ideas grow, 
 Or with Linnaeus range all nature through ; 
 Divide, in classes, all the Summer's bloom. 
 Or, doubtful, puzzle with the sceptic Hume, 
 Alas ! not long can these my thoughts engage : 
 Attention wanders from the tiresome page ; 
 To distant climes Imagination flies, 
 While Memory brings thy form before my eyes. 
 Yet not thy form in Memory's eye alone : 
 I yiew, I mark it in thy blooming son ; 
 His looks to thine such strong resemblance bear, 
 Even in his voice I hear his father there ; 
 With what increased delight each day I view 
 Health tinge his cheek with her own rosy hue ; 
 See sprightly vigor all his limbs supply, 
 ,See sweet good nature laughing iia his eye ; 
 Mark dawning reason's bright, expanding ray, 
 Beam on his infant mind, like opening day ! 
 Oh ! while within my arms I hold him pressed, 
 
History of Yarmouth. 171 
 
 Or clasp him fondly to my throbbing breast, 
 While on his looks I oft with rapture gaze, 
 Then sportive Fancy points out happier days — 
 Those days, alas ! oft seen in Fancy's eye. 
 Which yet the cruel Fates to me deny ! 
 O haste, ye lingering hours ! fly swiftly round ! 
 And come, fair Peace, with olive-chaplet crowned ! 
 The war-tried world shall feel thy joyous reign, 
 The Fury, Discord, quit th' ensanguined plain — 
 The plain no more with horrid corses strewed. 
 With slaughter covered, and with blood imbrued ; 
 But white-robed Ceres shall resume her reign. 
 And arts and commerce flourish once again ; 
 And thou, O friend endeared by every tie ! 
 Shalt hail a purer clime, a healthier sky : 
 No more the fever's wasting flame shalt dread. 
 With agues' chill recline thy languid head. 
 Nor jaundice pale shall spread its sickly hue. 
 But health shall string thy slackened nerves anew ; 
 And, if these feelings yet have power to move, — 
 If thy heart vibrate to the voice of love, — 
 Then shall thy bosom feel the raptured glow, 
 A father's love, a husband's fondness know ! 
 Oh, when on that dear breast shall I recline. 
 To part no more, and hold thee ever mine ! 
 
 Notwithstanding its length, I have felt unwilling to give 
 part only of this effusion. The whole ; or none. 
 
 The late Dr. H. Gr. Parish was in the fore-front of solid 
 literary attainments in*his day; and his monograph " Re- 
 collections of Yarmouth" will always be highly valued as a 
 correct statement of facts, and a good example of English 
 composition. 
 
 THE HISTOEY OP THE FOURTH ESTATE 
 
 is not yet to be written, further than to briefly trace its 
 rise and progress. The intelligent reader is as well able 
 to form his own opinions of what the press now is, and 
 what it may yet be, as the author. The first attempt to 
 establish a paper in Yarmouth was made by a Mr, Young- 
 
172 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 husband of Saint John, in June, 1827. But it died in the 
 bud. The next was the more determined effort of Jackson 
 & L'Estrange in 1831. They issued a Prospectus of great 
 promise, and commenced business ; their paper being called 
 the "Yakmouth Telegraph." It was a spirited attempt, 
 the times considered, and in all probability had the field 
 been larger, and all the circumstances more favourable, the 
 result might have been different. The first piece of printing 
 of any kind that was done in Yarmouth was a handbill by 
 Jackson, and excellent as the state of this department in 
 the art now is, we seldom see a more beautiful piece of 
 work of the kind. 
 
 In July, 1833, the Prospectus of the ''Yarmouth Her- 
 ald" was issued by the present enterprising proprietor, 
 Mr. Alexander Lawson ; and from that time till now, the 
 Herald has continued, with some change of proprietor- 
 ship, to be issued weekly. 
 
 In August, 1839, the Prospectus and first number of the 
 ** Conservative" wais issued by Mr. Richard Huntington. 
 Its principles were implied in its title, and explained in its 
 motto, "The Queen, the Laws, and the People." In 1855 
 he established and still continues to publish, the "Tri- 
 bune." Mr. Huntington has the honour of having started 
 the first semi-weekly paper in this Province. The spirit 
 of the age, and the progress of the place, are alike illus- 
 trated in the fact that since June the 20th, 1867, the Her- 
 ald has been printed by steam. 
 
 In addition to those newspaper ventures, there have been 
 several others, more or less ephemeral. Two well worth 
 naming are the "Courier" and the "Temperance Ga- 
 
History of YarTftouth. 173 
 
 ZETTE." The former was commenced by Mr. John G-. 
 Bingay in the fall of 1843, and it continued to be issued 
 by him till 1848, when he sold out the establishment to 
 Mr. Handley C. Flint, the publisher of the Temperance 
 Gazette. The Coueier is, I believe, remembered for its 
 Conservative principles, by all who took part in the contest 
 of 1847, when the seats were contested by the late E. "W". 
 B. Moody and John Saunders on the Conservative, against 
 the late Herbert Huntington and Thomas Killam, on the 
 Liberal side. 
 
 It has been said that the sight of the first horse in Yar- 
 mouth, excited as much curiosity and wonder as an elephant 
 or a rhinoceros would in our day. Some similar wonder 
 must have prevailed in the community, when the late Col. 
 J. Norman Bond introduced 
 
 THE FIRST PIANO, OR RATHER SPINET, 
 
 about the year 1799. It would be almost impossible, unless 
 a census were taken for the purpose, to say how many of 
 that, and of that kind of instrument there are in the 
 County. Musical societies of all kinds are notoriously 
 variable; nor, are they remarkable for longevity. Many 
 have existed in the County; many have ceased to exist, and 
 many will probably exist again. The Yarmouth Choral 
 Union has, however, exceeded the allotted span, and has 
 safely reached its first climacteric. The general work of 
 that society consists of the practice of the productions of the 
 best composers ; whose works from time to time they present 
 to their friends, their honorary members, and the public* 
 
 * While speaking of music and singing, I think it not improper to say 
 that the first teacher of Vocal Music in the County was Mr. Andrew But- 
 ler, a member of a notably musical family. 
 
174 Bisiory of TarWiouth. 
 
 Whilst speaking of literary matters, it is an honour 
 which Yarmouth claims, that she established 
 
 THE riEST PUBLIC LIBEAEY IN THE PEOVINOE, 
 
 that at Milton having been formed in January, 1822— -nearly 
 three years before the one in Halifax. The late Mr. John 
 Moody Was the first ^President, an office which he held for 
 many years.* This gentleman, so long and so well known 
 to all the older inhabitants in the County, and especially the 
 French, with whom he was a great favourite, was born in 
 New York in 1779. After the evacuation of that city, his 
 family went to Halifax where his father was well and honour- 
 ably known, and where, till the close of the American war, 
 
 *The following additional details of this Provincial Pioneer Literacy 
 venture, may prove somewhat interesting : 
 
 The Yarmouth Book Society was established January Ist, 1822 ; and the 
 name was changed to that of the Milton Library in 1870. 
 First office-bearef s elected January 1st, 1822 : — 
 
 John Moody, President, (7 years). 
 James B. Moody, Treasurer. 
 Stayley Brown, Secretary. 
 Herbert Huntington, Librarian. 
 
 1829. Henry G. Parish, 
 
 , President, (19 years)i 
 
 1848. James B. Dane, President. 
 
 Signatures to the first rules, 
 
 passed January 1st, 1822 :^ 
 
 John Moody, 
 
 
 Henry G. Parish, 
 
 James Starr, 
 
 
 Jacob Tooker, 
 
 Herbert Huntington, 
 
 
 James Bond, 
 
 John Brown, 
 
 
 James B. Moody, 
 
 Stayley Brown, 
 
 
 Zachariah Chipman, 
 
 Mary Fletcher, 
 
 
 Abner W. Huntington, 
 
 Samuel Corning, Jr., 
 
 
 Zebina Shaw, 
 
 Simeon Dewolf, 
 
 
 Francis Armstrong, 
 
 James B. Dane, 
 
 
 Samuel Rust, 
 
 Israel Harding, 
 
 
 George Bingay, 
 
 John Lawson, 
 
 
 Charles J. Bond, 
 
 Thomas Grantham, 
 
 
 Joseph Shaw. 
 
Stisiory of Tarmouth. IfS 
 
 he was himself engaged as an extensive merchant and 
 auctioneer. In 1819, he came to Yarmouth, and again 
 entered into business, in which he continued till about the 
 yeai; 1823, when he took charge of what was called the 
 Madeas School. From him many of the most prominent 
 of the now senior generation received the elements of their 
 education. On August 20th, 1868, at the laying of the 
 Episcopal Church foundation stone, he acted as Grand 
 Chaplain; being then the oldest man, the oldest mason, 
 and the oldest churchman in the County. He died in 
 1872 in the ninety-third year of his age. 
 
 Books, paintings, and engravings, the very sight of 
 which have a certain educating effect, were not the most 
 common, or the most conspicuous objects in those primi- 
 tive homes, set down in the rude clearings of the forest. 
 In 1775 a trader lent a customer a book, which he entered 
 in his ledger against him, thus : — 
 
 Julj 19. To book lent Titled Heaven uppon Earth ye best friend &c. 
 
 In carefully detailed inventories of deceased settlers of good 
 property, there is no sign of books. And in the case of one 
 known in his time as " a gentleman and a scholar," his 
 minutely detailed effects include as his whole library : — 
 
 One Family Bible £0 128. 6. 
 
 Josephus' Works, 4 vols 14 
 
 Sterne's Works, 7 Tols 1 4 6 and 
 
 Every man his own Lawyer 5 
 
 £3 6s> Od. 
 
 . In 1816 an institution worthy of note in this connection, 
 
 as tending to increase the number of copies, and extend 
 
 the circulation of the word of God, was estabHshed in the 
 
176 History of Yarmouth, 
 
 County, namely — the " Yabmouth and Akgyle (now the 
 Yarmouth) Beanch of the Beitish and Foeeign Bibi^e 
 Society;" which, since its institution, has been the means 
 of circulating among us thousands of copies of the whole or 
 parts of the Scriptures. It was formed at the house of Mr. 
 Bartlett Gardner at Chebogue, on the 23rd January, 1816. 
 The first officers were : — 
 
 Peesident — James Lent, Senr. 
 
 Vice-Peesidents — Eev. Harris Harding, Eev. Enoch 
 Towner, Kichard Fletcher, Jacob Tedford. 
 
 Teeasueee — Waitstill Lewis. 
 
 Seceetaey — Thomas Dane. 
 
 Assistant-Seceetaey — Zachariah Chipman. 
 
 And a Committee of forty-six persons. A donation of 
 £10 at one time, or 20s. annually, constituted a member of 
 the Society. 
 
 In no part of the County now, is there any lack of 
 reading matter : and every facility is offered for obtaining 
 more. A good work has been initiated, by the foundation 
 in the year 1872 of 
 
 A FEEE PUBLIC LIBEAEY AND MUSEUM 
 
 by Mr. L. E. Baker ; but it may fairly be doubted whether 
 the institution has, as yet, made an impression, commen- 
 surate with its importance. 
 
 Another Institution, notable and influential in its day, 
 was the " Yaemouth Liteeaey Society," which was 
 formed in 1834. Like the " Book Society " it was, I 
 believe, the first of its kind in the Province. During the 
 first five years there were sixty lectures delivered by various 
 members, many of them evincing great thoughtfulness, 
 
Mistor^ of Yarmouth. 17? 
 
 close observation, and no inconsiderable reading* The 
 chief promoters and supporters of this society were the 
 Hon. Stayley Brown and Mr. John Murray, the latter of 
 whom was for many years its Presidentb The former 
 gentleman is well known as a member of the Legislative 
 Council and of the Executive Council of which he is Presi^ 
 d€nt. He also holds ihe office of Treasurer of the Province-. 
 
CHAPTEE XX, 
 
 CfiLEBRATIOlT OI' THE CENTENNIAL. ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
 SETTLEMENT OE YARMOUTH. 
 
 W^t^lTK more or less definitenessj as the materials would 
 yield to a natural disposition, we have seen the 
 County through a hundred years. It is a mark of virtue, 
 and of gratitude, to be mindful of birthdays, and to com- 
 memorate them. We need not wonder then that when the 
 9th of June, 1861, dawned, it was to find no one uninterest- 
 ed who called' Yarmouth " Home." And any sketch of her 
 history that overlooked that day and its proceedings would 
 very justly be considered defective. We have therefore 
 thought this to be the most fitting place wherein to insert 
 that notice, which all have a right to expect, of the 
 
 CiENTENNlAL CELEBRATION OF THE SETTLEMENT OF 
 YARMOUTH. 
 
 The notice here given is the substance of that which was 
 published in the papers of the day, the Herald and the 
 Tribune, as many readers will no doubt remember : — 
 
 The on© hundredth anniversary of the settlement of Yarmouth fell on 
 Sunday the 9th of June, and it was determined to celebrate the eyent on 
 Monday the 10th. It was a day long to be remembered. Business was 
 wholly suspended, and eyerybody was bent on keeping high holiday. In 
 the churches, on Sunday, appropriate reference was made by the officiating 
 Clergymen to the Centenary and the Celebration. The memoi-able day 
 was ushered in by the booming of cannon at short intervals. At 4 o'clock 
 the " Callithumpian Band," numbering forty or fifty spirited young fellows, 
 
History of Yarmouth. 
 
 179 
 
 in fantastic costumes, on horseback and in vehicles similarly adorned, form- 
 ed in procession on the Parade, and went through their " programme" by 
 marching first to the northern and then to the southern extremity of the 
 Town, to the music of tin trumpets; after which they returned to the 
 starting point and dispersed. The Town presented an animated appear- 
 ance. Every flag was displayed. A beautiful arch of foliage and flowers 
 spanned the street in front of the " Brick Store ;"* and at other points, 
 
 festoons of evergreens and lines of flags overhung the streets. From an 
 early hour people were pouring from all parts of the country, which, for 
 miles distant must have been well nigh deserted. 
 
 At 8 o'clock the Ai'tillery Company fired a salute of twenty-five guns ; 
 and at 9 the Eifles marched to the same ground, the " head quarters" of 
 the celebration, fired a salute, and afterwards performed various exercises 
 in the military art. 
 
 At 1 o'clock the multitude assembled on and around the Parade, where 
 a salute was fired by the Artillery, interspersed with volleys by the Eifles, 
 after which the Grand Procession was formed in the following order : — 
 
 Grand Marshal (E. W. B. Moody, Esq.) with the High Sheriff and other 
 gentlemen as Assistant Marshals, on horseback ; old inhabitants and officers- 
 
 * As Mr. L. E. Baker's building was then called, it being the only one at 
 the time. The cut shows the building as it then was. 
 
180 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 of militia in carriages; Yarmouth Volunteer Artillery in uniform,' com* 
 manded by Captain Edward Heustis ; Yarmouth Brass Band in uniform ; 
 Fife and Drum Company; Yarmouth Eifle Volunteer Company in uni- 
 form, commanded by Captain Eowley ; Hebron Eiile Company in uniform, 
 commanded by Captain J. W. Crosby ; the three Engine Companies, in 
 their numerical order, in uniform, with their engines handsomely decor- 
 ated and drawn by horses ; a Boat rigged as a brigantine, on wheels, drawn 
 by horses ; private carriages and citizens. 
 
 The procession marched first to Cann's Hill, Milton, where a salute was 
 iired by the Military Companies, and returned to the Parade. The Mili- 
 tary here formed in line in front of the Sunday School children, who, led 
 by Mr. Bailey, sang the National Anthem, and "Home, Sweet Home." 
 Captain Rowley then proposed three cheers for the Queen— when three 
 times three were given. Three cheers were also given for the Volunteers, 
 and three more for the old Militia officers. 
 
 The procession then re-formed and proceeding down Main Street, up 
 Argyle Street, through Forbes and Eichan Streets, re-entered Main Street. 
 On Church Hill the Military Companies fired another salute, and the pro- 
 cession once more returned to the Parade, where a final salute was fired. 
 It was now past 4 o'clock, and the external display and ceremonies were at 
 length to give place to the more intellectual exercises of the day. 
 
 At the western side of the tent a platform had been 
 erected for the speakers. Dr. Joseph B. Bond, (Chairman 
 of the Committee of Arrangements) took the chair, and 
 Dr. G. J. Farish, by the request of the Chairman, read the 
 following address :— 
 
 " Fellow Townsmen, — While I deeply feel the honour of being selected 
 by the Committee to address you on this great solemnity, I am far from 
 insensible to the difficulty of doing justice to the occasion. You are this 
 day celebrating the settlement of your Township by the English, at the 
 <;lose of its first century. A ceremony is now for the first time being per- 
 formed, which no living man has ever witnessed before, — and which no 
 one now living can reasonably expect to see repeated. To express all the 
 feelings and sentiments that spring up at such a time, — to give them shape 
 and form and voice — is beyond individual power. But I feel encouraged 
 by knowing that in every sensation that pervades this vast assemblage, I 
 can fully sympathize. For, if I view it as a British audience, I can proudly 
 say I am a British subject. Are you natives of Nova Scotia ? So am I. 
 Are you men of Yarmouth ? So am I. Do you trace your descent from 
 the Old Inhabitants ? My father, my grandfather, and my great grand- 
 father spent the best portion of their days in promoting the welfare of this 
 
History of Yarmouth. 181 
 
 my native Town. In all then that fills your hearts this day mine too over- 
 flows. 
 
 ' There is a land, of every land the pride, 
 
 Beloved by Heaven o'er all the world beside ; 
 
 There is a spot of earth supremely blessed, 
 
 A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest. 
 
 Where shall that land that spot of eartJi be found ? 
 
 Art thou a man ? a patriot ? look around ! 
 
 Oh, thou shalt find, howe'er thy footsteps roam, 
 
 That land thy Country, and that sjjot, thy Home.' 
 
 " Many may deem such festivals as these, this resuscitation of by-gone 
 events, as too fanciful, too trifling to suit the prosaic money-making spirit 
 of the age. ' The present,' they say, ' the present is the only important 
 ' point ; , what is gone, is gone, and we have no more to do with it.' ' What 
 'advantage is it ?' they say, ' What's to be made out of it ?' They are per- 
 fectly indifferent to all but the present and everything that does not promise 
 present profit. In this, I think, they are not right. 
 
 " One hundred years ago your forefathers left their loved and happy 
 homes in New England to plant on this soil the flag that waves above you ; 
 for you must recollect that all the Northern States were then Brftish, no 
 cause for dissatisfaction having yet arisen in the hearts of the Colonists to- 
 wards the Mother Country. All who spoke the English language on this 
 Continent, or in any other portion of the globe, were then British subjects. 
 To that flag which they brought with them, flying from the mast-head of 
 the little ' Pompey,' your fathers adhered through good report and evil 
 report, — and although many inducements were held out to them during 
 the stormy times of the Eevolution, to join in the separation, they always 
 stood firmly to those colors, which, I believe, you, their descendants, are 
 less inclined at this day to give up, than during any previous period of our 
 history. 
 
 "And these Old Fathers! where are they? at rest in their peaceful 
 graves. A goodly host of them are sleeping actually within sound of my 
 voice, and yet they hear neither me nor the voices of their great-great- 
 grandchildren who to-day so sweetly raised their notes in supplication to 
 the Giver of all good for a blessing upon our noble Queen. Not even did 
 they hear the sharp crack of the rifles, nor the heavy booming of the cannon 
 that shook the very ground in which they lie, and above which their grass- 
 grown graves now scarcely can be seen. And yet the recollection of them 
 has not entirely vanished from the memory of some of us. Many a vener- 
 able form which now sleeps quietly there, unconscious of all this uproar 
 and rejoicing, is as familiar to my mind as are the faces of their sons and 
 grandsons whom I now see before me. 
 
 " And all the eventful history that this day recalls to our memories, as if 
 
182 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 it were the occurrence of some dozen years ago, took place a century since. 
 A century ! who can realize the time ? The longest life seldom reaches so 
 far back; memory almost never. And it is a century which has been 
 infinitely more eventful than any other equal portion of time since the 
 Apostolic age. One hundred years ago steam and electricity, the great 
 civilizers of the present age, were scarcely known even to the philosophers 
 of the day. Cook had not yet sailed on his first voyage of discovery round 
 the world. Australia, New Zealand, and the Isles of the Pacific were almost 
 wholly unknown to geographers. George the Third had but just ascended 
 the throne ; he reigned sixty years, and died before the memory of most of 
 the present assembly. 
 
 " The population of Great Britain was then not half as large as that of the 
 American States at present ; and the whole number of British subjects in 
 North America was less than three millions. There was no such nation as 
 the United States then, and instead of it only a few feeble unimportant 
 English Colonies struggling with poverty, and still alarmed by constant 
 incursions of the unconquered savages. Canada and Louisiana had just 
 been wrested from the French ; and Wolfe ^nd Montcalm had but lately 
 fallen in deadly strife before Quebec. A hundred years ago, and the 
 scenes in the bloody French Revolution had not been enacted. Louis the 
 16th and the hapless Maria Antoinette were yet to fall beneath the axe of 
 the guillotine. Napoleon, Wellington and Nelson were unborn ; and the 
 names of Austerlitz, Waterloo and Trafalgar, were yet to be written on the 
 page of history. 
 
 "And, to come to the subject which to-day more particularly claims our 
 attention, — one hundred years ago, yesterday morning, there was not, ex- 
 cepting the roaming savage, a single individual residing in the Township, nor 
 a single tree cut down where is now assembled this vast concourse of 
 people, the largest assemblage ever collected together in Yarmouth ; and 
 not one ton of shipping was owned where now we count our forty thous- 
 ands. Alas ! that of those whose landing we this day celebrate, not one 
 living soul of all is left to join with us in mutual congratulations, and 
 thankfulness to the Giver of all good for the innumerable blessings we now 
 enjoy, and grateful praises to that benevolent Being to whom alone all the 
 glory is due. The primeval rocks indeed remain, and here and there a 
 sturdy tree of the olden time may still stretch forth the same branches 
 which sheltered your fathers from the summer's sun. The waters of the 
 placid harbour still glide gently by us, as when upon its surface the shallops 
 of your old forefathers first sailed along the unfrequented shore, — but not 
 a man or, woman — not a human being that then floated upon its surface is 
 alive to look upon their numerous, prosperous, and happy progeny, assem- 
 bled here to day. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 18^ 
 
 •* Where are the lands our fathers kept 
 A hundred years ago ? 
 The homes in which they sweetly slept 
 A hundred years ago ? 
 
 By other men, 
 They knew not then, 
 Their lands are tilled, 
 Their homes are filled ; — 
 Yet nature, then, was just as gay. 
 And bright the sun shone as to-day, 
 A hundred years ago.' " 
 Dr.Farish was followed in animated, appropriate, and eloquent speeches 
 by Chas. B. Owen, Esq., Mr. T. M. Lewis, Eev. G. Christie, and Hon. 
 Joseph Howe. 
 
 In the evening the Town was brilliantly illuminated, and there was a fine 
 display of fireworks on the Parade. The number who took part in, or wit- 
 nessed the Celebration has been variously estimated from 6,000 to 8,000. 
 There was no accident of any kind. But the great feature of the Celebra- 
 tion — that which deserves to be regarded with the most pride — was, that- 
 amid all the enthusiasm of the occasion, there was no sign of misconduct 
 among a throng by far the largest ever collected in Yarmouth. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE TOWN OP YARMOUTH. CHURCHES. SCHOOLS. PRIVATE 
 RESIDENCES. BANKS. INSURANCE OFFICES. MANUFAC- 
 TURES. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. SYNOPSIS. STEAM 
 BY LAND AND WATER. FISHERIES.. GENERAL 
 TRADE. RECAPITULATION. CONCLUSION. 
 
 ll^HE tendency of population is to centralize ; and cen- 
 tralization of population means influence. We think 
 therefore that a short 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTY TOWN, 
 
 as the centre of County influence, would not be altogether 
 out of place. The harbour, which is two miles long, and 
 three quarters broad, is formed by two rocky ridges, which 
 run nearly parallel. The town occupies the rising land 
 which forms the Western slope of the Eastern ridge ; and 
 consists of several long streets lying nearly due North and 
 South, which are crossed by numerous others shorter run- 
 ning up from the harbour, and intersecting the longer 
 ones at nearly right angles. Th'e three principal, are 
 Water Street, Main Street, and William Street. Water 
 Street as its name indicates, is nearest to, and runs approx- 
 imately parallel with the harbour. On it, are the prin- 
 
History of Yarmouth. 
 
 185 
 
 cipal manufacturing industries, general warehouses and 
 stores. Main Street is in some sense, as the name 
 
 
 
 '-^E'llliillidl 
 
 suggests, the leading thoroughfare. On it are the principal 
 ofl&ces, stores, banks and other places of business. This 
 street is nearly two miles long; and the central part of it is 
 the kernel of the business section of the Town. William 
 Street, the most Easterly principal thoroughfare, is a fine 
 straight street, and promises to be the most desirable part 
 of the Town for private residences. 
 
 Nothing at first, or for thirty years, gave any distinct 
 intimation of the future importance of the Town, where it 
 now stands. The " Town Point " at Chebogue, is one, 
 among other proofs, of man's intention, that the present 
 Town should be a subordinate settlement. And so it long 
 continued. In 1764, from Haskill's Brook to Hibbard's 
 Corner, which was the main part of the settlement, there 
 were but ten houses, and seventy-three souls. In 1787, 
 more than twenty years afterwards, there were but seven- 
 teen houses in the same district, and one hundred and 
 eight souls. And looking the other way, towards Milton, 
 
186 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 from the Brook, even as late as the year 1793, there were 
 but ten houses to the Mill. Or again, from Milton to the 
 corner of Wyman's road in the same year, there were on 
 the main road, hut twenty-eight houses. And even as late 
 as 1805, there were only thirty-eight houses, with about 
 two hundred and twenty souls within this whole distance. 
 Such was Yarmouth's day of small things, even after 
 upwards of forty years had elapsed. We now look around, 
 and many of those, who from the circumstance of having 
 been born and reared in the Town or its vicinity, might 
 have been fairly presumed to have kept pace with its 
 onward march, are the least able to fully realize what pro- 
 gress has been made. A comparative stranger under the 
 circumstances, becomes a more appreciative observer. In 
 the younger days of old inhabitants, school building, church 
 building, and the like, were state occasions. Now, churches 
 and schools are built, banks are established, insurance 
 offices are opened, new companies for all kinds of enterprize 
 are formed, and unless directly concerned we may be none 
 the wiser. 
 
 The primitive Cape Forchue meeting house of 1784, 
 with its unglazed windows, seatless interior, the whole 
 being guiltless of paint, has given place to ten 
 
 PLACES OF WORSHIP 
 
 within less than two miles, which, for the more part, are at 
 once spacious, comfortable, and convenient : features how- 
 ever, not more salient than the marked improvement in the 
 styles of architecture introduced. 
 
 Beginning at the South end and proceeding Northerly 
 from the New Episcopal Sunday School House on the site 
 
^AINT JoHN'g -pHURCH 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 187 
 
 of the old Church, a building which has given place to the 
 most substantial edifice of that body in the Province, we 
 can observe most conveniently the principal features of the 
 Town. 
 
 A few hundred yards to the Eastward on Argyle street, 
 stands the Temple Church erected in the interests of the 
 Baptist body, in 1870. This structure is built partly in 
 the earlier or transition period of Gothic architecture, and 
 partly in the perpendicular style. The severer views and 
 traditions of those who love plainness are somewhat shocked 
 in this building; the extent and variety of the interior 
 colouring being, without any doubt, unequalled by any other 
 building in the Town. Next in order, after we return to 
 the Main Street, is the "Providence Church," which 
 took the place of the former Methodist Chapel of 1825 ; 
 and, although it can lay no claim to architectural decision, 
 it is a great advance on its predecessor : whilst a little to 
 the West of it, stands the Roman Catholic Chapel, simple 
 in structure, but correct in style, which was erected in 1862 
 on the site of one smaller. Passing by the Episcopal 
 Church on William Street, which has been elsewhere 
 referred to, and glancing towards Cliff Street, we see 
 that the Presbyterians are nearly ready to take possession 
 of new Saint John's, of which we insert a view. This 
 building which is in the Romanesque style, and which will 
 be capable of meeting all the wants of the congregation, 
 takes the place of that which was erected in 1841. This 
 body of christians has been served by the Rev. George 
 Christie, for more than a quarter of a century ; he having 
 assumed the pastoral charge in 1849, as successor to the 
 
188 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 late Mr. Eoss, who lives in tlie memory of those who knew 
 him, as a faithful pastor and an able preacher. We next 
 come to what was the old Cape Forchub meeting house 
 of 1784. But the characteristic great porch which stood in 
 front of it, has gone ; and what between alterations in 
 length and height, and the addition of a spire, and having 
 been made otherwise, as far as practicable^, abreast of 
 modern ideas, its character is completely changed. Before 
 the year 1800, the house was the property of the Congre- 
 gationalists ; but in that year, in the language of the 
 Chronicler of 'the Life and Times of Harris Harding,' 
 " Mr. Harding's friends literally stole an entrance into the 
 "house; from which they were not afterwards ejected."* 
 The very day and occasion are yet fresh in the memory of 
 one, perhaps the only one, who was present and who is still 
 living, and whose graphic description is worthy of record in 
 her own words : — f 
 
 " On a Sunday morning in the year 1800, 1 went up to the new meeting 
 " house at Milton. It being a fine summer day a large congregation had 
 " collected. The building was small and unfinished ; a carpenter's bench 
 " serving for a pulpit, with the aid of a chair in front of the preacher. 
 " The men sat on the south side, the women on the north. After Mr. 
 " Harding had proceeded a short time with the service, he said ' I think 
 " this place is too small for us, let us adjourn to the old meeting house ;' so, 
 " of course, I came down with the crowd, men women and children, a few 
 " on horseback, the rest on foot, with Mr. Harding at the head ; but when 
 " they reached their destination the doors were locked. What was to be 
 " done ? ' Where there's a will, there is generally a way.' One of the 
 " number ran round to the back of the building, threw up a window, jumped 
 " in and unbolted the door, which being a double one, at once flew open, 
 "when all rushed in, and a meeting was held. The proprietors of this 
 
 * P. 73 of Life and Times. 
 
 t Since press arrangements were made, this venerable lady, — the late 
 Mrs. Farish — has departed this life, full of years and full of honour. She 
 died on February the 20th, 1876, in her 87th year, and was interred in the 
 old church burying ground. 
 
v^■>^^i■.r •■T»^T-^|^p?< 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
History of Yarmouth. 189 
 
 " meeting house were very much opposed to the movement, as it was justly 
 " their property. One of them would not even allow the remains of his 
 " father to repose in the burying ground attached to it, but had them 
 " removed to his own farm at Chebogue." 
 
 The first person interred in the okl graveyard beloiv the 
 meeting house, was Mrs. Brown, the mother of old Mr. 
 Benj. Brown, about the year 1766 : whilst in the upper, or 
 eastern graveyard, the first interred was Mr. Zachariah 
 Corning.* 
 
 At some distance to the northward stands the Tabee- 
 NACLE Church, noteworthy as embodying more correct 
 details of ecclesiastical architecture, when it was built in 
 1850, under the energetic ministry of the Kev. F. Tomkins, 
 than any other similar structure in the Province. 
 
 As we approach Milton, the name of which ("Mill 
 Town") gives its own history, where in 1790, thirty years 
 after settlement, there were not more than five houses, the 
 
 * The mention of those grounds reminds me that there is a very large 
 number of localities in the Gounty which mark the resting places of the 
 dead. The oldest are probably those at Pubnico, at Durkee's Island, and 
 at Chegoggin; which were French burial grounds. Various Tumuli, or 
 mounds, mark Indian graves ; and others, as at Chegoggin, where the Hes- 
 sian soldier or officer was buried, mark individual places of sepulture. Old 
 burial places are still to be seen at Bunker's Island and on Crocker's Point. 
 The oldest, and by far the most interesting English burying ground, is 
 that at Chebogue. There may be read the little that is now known of the 
 great body of the first settlers; The old Episcopal Church burying ground 
 was opened in 1808 ; the first person who was interred in it bemg Mrs. 
 Joseph Bell. 
 
 There are several others in different parts of the County, each the most 
 interesting to those who have dear ones lying in them. But since the year 
 1861, when the Mountain Cemetery was opened there has been a very 
 general tendency on the part of those resident in the Town, as well as those 
 in the vicinity, to use that very suitable and beautiful spot almost exclus- 
 ively. There is no place of public interest or resort that is more justly 
 esteemed than the Cemetery. Nature has done much to make it suitable : 
 and judicious planning has still further made it beautiful, if not perfect. 
 
190 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 spires of the Wesley and tlie Baptist places of worship 
 tell of increase in numhers and wealth.* The former was 
 built in 1864, and supplanted the original structure, which 
 has been since converted into a temperance hall ; whilst 
 the latter was finished in 1873. 
 Similarly, the principal 
 
 SCHOOL BUILDINGS 
 
 in the three sections, into which the Town is divided, 
 standing out with marked prominence on the ridge of high 
 land which forms the crest of the Town, tell their own tale. 
 Before 1836, in which year the building long known as the 
 Academy, was raised by the Yarmouth Education Society, 
 there was no school edifice in the Town worthy of the name ; 
 and now, the unsolicited expression of observant visitors is, 
 that those structures vie in every respect with the foremost 
 kindred institutions on the Continent. The building 
 known as the Seminary, which is partly used as a High 
 School, and partly rented by the Governors to the Trustees 
 of the central section for Common School purposes, is as 
 noble and harmonious in design as the projected institu- 
 tion was spirited in its inception. The Seminary having 
 been raised before the other sections had built, suggested 
 a model, which to some extent has been followed with ex- 
 cellent effect. 
 
 Having thus briefly noticed the Churches and School 
 
 * In 1798 the Milton district could not repair its own little bridge ; and 
 the surveyors of other districts were directed by the Sessions to help them. 
 Possibly the inhabitants were still suffering from the effects of the serious 
 freshet of 1792, Sept 20th, which carried away the mills, the mill bridge, 
 the dyke at Arcadia, and did similar great damage in other parts of the 
 Township. 
 
2 
 
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 o 
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 u 
 
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 per 
 
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 oi 
 
 o 
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History of Yarmouth. 191 
 
 Buildings in the Town, we may be reasonably expected to 
 make some reference to 
 
 PRIVATE RESIDENCES. 
 
 Living descendants of the earliest comers can yet tell us 
 tales which they have heard in their youth, of rude huts, and 
 of chinks between the logs stuffed with moss, who them- 
 selves live as merchant princes in palatial homes. Such 
 costly buildings are not few, and their number as well as 
 their size and completeness, excite the admiration, if not 
 the envy of all who visit them. To refer to individual cases 
 seems almost invidious, but in this connection the estab- 
 lishments of Samuel Killa,m, Esq. and J. K. Ryerson, Esq, 
 are particularly worthy of mention. And here the reader 
 will find a view of the residence of L. E. Baker, Esq., as 
 well as of that of N. K. Clements, Esq., who is elsewhere 
 referred to, with respect to our steam navigation ; and 
 whose spirited connection with the origin and progress of 
 the Tabernacle Church, the Seminary, and other public 
 institutions and conveniences, is too well understood to call 
 for any eulogium. 
 
 If we ask what agencies represent the powers that call 
 those churches, schools, and residences into being, we 
 point to numerous and increasing Insurance Offices, Banks 
 and manufacturing industries. When the "Polly" was 
 lost in 1777, there were no Insurance Offices on which to 
 fall back for loss of vessel, freight or cargo ; and it is a 
 note-worth;^ circumstance that the first Marine Insurance 
 Broker in Yarmouth, — Mr. Benjamin Barnard — was the 
 nephew of John, who was captain and owner of the first 
 vessel which vras lost out of the port. Now there are the 
 
192 ■ History of Yarmouth 
 
 "Maeine," the "Acadian," the "Commercial," the ''At^ 
 LANTic," the "Pacific," and the " Oriental." In those 
 sis offices nearly all the shipping in the port is insured ; 
 and the aggregate of their annual risks is upwards of 
 $6,000,0005- whilst the premiums paid to insure that 
 amount nearly reach 1500,000. 
 
 ^'Pay and go " was the necessary pHnciple of the Hamlet 
 Fathers. And indeed till 1839, when an Agency of the 
 Bank of Nova Scotia was estahlished, there were none of 
 the privileges of that kind of institution availahle* This 
 Agency continued for] more than a quarter of a century to 
 foe the only accommodation of the kind— first under the 
 joint management of the Hon. James Bond and the Hon* 
 Stayley Brown ; and now under that of our respected citizen 
 James Murray, Esq. The Bank of Yarmouth which was 
 incorporated in 1859, and which commenced operations in 
 1865; and later still, in 1869 the Exchange Bank, have 
 sprung into existence, with a paid up capital of between 
 $600,000 and $700,000. Already the former has its own 
 building, and ere long, the latter will be similarly equipped. 
 Meanwhile, under the presidency respectively of L. E. 
 Baker, Esq., and A. C. Bobbins Esq., each of them 
 gratifies its stockholders with ample dividends. By the 
 influence of those monetary powerSj industries of all kinds 
 are assisted and promoted. And, in March, 1876, a 
 Building Society was formed in the Town, the primary 
 purpose of which is to assist shareholders of liniited means 
 to acquire or improve property ; the money borrowed being 
 repaid by easy instalments. This institution has yet to 
 establish its claim to be a valuable social addition, inas» 
 much as it is still in its infancy. 
 
> 
 
 < 
 
 UJ 
 
History of Yarmouth, 19S 
 
 We are apt to think tliat 
 
 OUR MANUFACTURINa INTERESTS 
 
 are tut of yesterday; and, in their magnitude, they 
 are. But as early as June 1770, nine years after the 
 settlement, the chimney of a potash manufactory reared 
 its head, amid the forest trees of Chebogue,* and now, 
 where there is no longer a tree to be seen, there is, on 
 the Water Street of the Yarmouth Harbour, a forest of 
 chimneys belching out thick volumes of smoke, connected 
 with works such as Kinney, Haley & Co., and Burrill, 
 Johnson & Co., — establishments which will bear favour- 
 able comparison with the best in the country. Kinney, 
 Haley & Co's business stand, of which we here insert a 
 view, cost about $20,000, — and the business transacted 
 during each year, in all the departments, including 
 factory, corn mill, and the barrel factory, is about 
 $100,000. The premises of Messrs. Burrill, Johnson 
 & Co. have cost about $100,000, and the annual busi- 
 ness transactions, or sales, are about $130,000. In this 
 connection, although not in the Town of Yarmouth, 
 the double gang steam saw mill at Tusket,' owned by 
 Andrew Mack & Co., deserves notice. This mill, together 
 with the timber lands, cost upwards of fifty thousand 
 dollars; and is capable of producing annually about six 
 million feet of lumber; and, so far, during the working 
 season, the annual business done has amounted to about 
 $350,000. 
 
 Much of the material prosperity of fce Town, depends on 
 
 *A primitive merchant gives credit to certain debtors, for bushels of 
 ashes, bricks, lumber and labour. 
 
194 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 the extension of such industries; and to those ah-eady 
 named may also be added the 
 
 MARINE RAILWAY 
 
 which was huilt in 1870, — an institution which is as great 
 a convenience to the shipping interest, as it is capable of 
 proving a lucrative investment -to its stockholders. The 
 construction of Gasworks, the stockholders of which were 
 incorporated in 1862 ;* the convenience of the Telegraph, 
 which was first used in 1851 ; the several companies of 
 firemen with their efficient engines, the first of which was 
 imported from Boston, September 5th, 1840 — are all marks 
 of a growing community. 
 
 Whatever other societies or organizations are unnamed, 
 honourable mention ought to be made of the 
 
 YARMOUTH COUNTY AND TOWNSHIP AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES, 
 
 which, although they are co-extensive with the County and 
 Township, have their centre of influence in the Town. 
 The one hundred and seventy-five cultivated acres of 1764, 
 have given place to fifty thousand : the one hundred and 
 fifty-six sheep to ten thousand : and the two hundred and 
 seventy-two cattle to ten thousand. The poorer breeds are 
 yielding to better imported stocks ; the. rude and inefficient 
 implements of a bye-gone epoch, are rapidly giving way to 
 improved farming instruments ; weedy and poor land is 
 being transformed into land, comparatively rich and well 
 drained ; and certainly, very much of this improvement is 
 directly due to those societies, t 
 
 * The streets of the Town were lighted by gas for the first time on the 
 night of May 9th, 1871. 
 
 t The exertions of Mr. Charles E. Brown on behalf of a more intelligent 
 system' of farming, ought to be recorded in this connection. 
 
History of Yarmmith. 
 
 195 
 
 The following is a 
 
 SYNOPSIS 
 
 of the number of Houses, Inhabitants, Cattle, and 
 Vessels in the Township of Yarmouth up till 1848 : and 
 and afterwards of those in the County ; with the authority 
 for each Summary or Census : — 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 © 
 
 
 
 Autliorities. 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 ^ 
 
 a> 
 
 a 
 a 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 3 
 
 a 
 
 1 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 r Eev. Jon. Scott, and 
 
 1761 
 
 12 
 
 85 
 
 56 
 
 1 
 
 25 
 
 1 authentic statements 
 [ of old settlers. 
 
 1762 
 
 12 
 
 uncertain 
 
 uncertain 
 
 4 
 
 80 
 
 Idem. 
 
 1764 
 
 34 
 
 246 
 
 272 
 
 5 
 
 110 
 
 f Eet'n made by John 
 [ Crawley, Esq. 
 [Papers left by late 
 
 1767 
 
 50 
 
 400 
 
 uncertain 
 
 7 
 
 156 
 
 -J Dr. Farish, and 
 1 other sources. 
 
 1790 
 
 200 
 
 1,300 
 
 1,420 
 
 26 
 
 544 
 
 j Census taken by J. 
 1 N. Bond, M. JD. 
 
 1808 
 
 ' 340 
 
 2,300 
 
 2,000 
 
 41 
 
 1,880 
 
 r Papers left by Dr. 
 \ Farish. 
 
 1818 
 
 450 
 
 3,200 
 
 3,000 
 
 65 
 
 3,000 
 
 Idem. 
 
 1828 
 
 620 
 
 4,350 
 
 4,000 
 
 90 
 
 5,000 
 
 Idem. 
 
 1838 
 
 930 
 
 6,500 
 
 unknown 
 
 119 
 
 9,209 
 
 r Eet'ns by J. Tooker^ 
 1 Esq, 
 
 1848 
 
 1,250 
 
 9,000 
 
 unknown 
 
 123 
 
 17,000 
 
 /Eet'ns by Z. Chip- 
 \ man, Esq. 
 
 
 
 The years following are 
 
 County 
 
 — 
 
 1851 
 
 2,055 
 
 13,141 
 
 8,386 
 
 110 
 
 18,000 
 
 Census Eeturns. 
 
 1861 
 
 2,446 
 
 15,446 
 
 10,132 
 
 149 
 
 39,713 
 
 Census Papers. 
 
 1871 
 
 3,202 
 
 18,550 
 
 10,144 
 
 262 
 
 90,668 
 
 Dominion Census. 
 
 Upon no part of the Work has more care been bestowed 
 than on this Table : nor does any part of it convey to the 
 reflecting reader a more intelligent idea of the rate and 
 character of the progress of this County. 
 
 steam' communication 
 by water, both with the Provinces and the neighbouring 
 States, we enjoy. Much credit in this department is due 
 
 ^ 
 
196 History of Tarmouth. 
 
 to N. K. Clements, Esq., who lias proved himself, amidst 
 discouraging circumstances, the unwearying promoter of 
 the public interests of his native Town. The first steamer 
 that was ever seen in this harbour was the " Saxe Gotha," 
 in 1842. And unbroken steam communication by land we 
 shall soon enjoy. The Westeen Counties' Eailway 
 Company was incorporated in 1871. In September 1873 
 the first contract was made ; and since then, the Township 
 has become interested in one way and another, to the 
 extent of about $400,000, and the Dominion Government>, 
 as vi^ell as the Local Legislature, have aided a work, which, 
 however opinions may vary as to what would have been the 
 route best calculated to develope the future interests of the 
 County generally, is yet one in which every inhabitant is 
 deeply interested. Considering the difficulties which had 
 to be encountered, the progress which has been made in 
 the work is characteristic of the people who promote the 
 undertaking. On September 3rd, 1874, the first rail was 
 laid ; on the 20th of the following month, the Pioneer, — 
 the first Locomotive arrived; and, in less than a month 
 from that date, the road was in working order, as far as 
 Hebron. The trial trip made a few days after the engine 
 arrived is thus described in the Herald, the account in 
 which is more suited for these pages, than that in its 
 more imaginative and poetical contemporary — the Tri- 
 bune : — 
 
 " The Locomotive ' Pioneer,' having been put in working order, made a 
 short trial trip on Tuesday afternoon, accompanied, of course, by its tender. 
 The ' train,' crowded with passengers, started from the terminus near the 
 head of Lovitt's wharf, and proceeded about two miles, or a short distance 
 above Milton, when it returned to the starting point. Throngs of persons, 
 <?f both sexes, lined the route, enthusiastically cheering, waving haudker- 
 
History of Yarmouth. 197 
 
 chiefs, &c., while the 'Pioneer' responded by the ringing of the bell and 
 occasional blasts of the whistle. Horses, who were spectators of the unusual 
 scene, did not like the appearance nor the neighing of the ' iron horse ' 
 whom they eridently regarded as an intruder, and were with difBculty 
 restrained from putting their own locomotive powers to the test, whilst 
 cattle bounded off in every direction from the tra'ck, and even the domestic 
 fowls scampered off to their respective domiciles with an energy that was 
 amusing to witness." 
 
 The difficulties which threatened to interfere with the 
 continued progress of the works on the Kailway were happily- 
 overcome by the well known Montreal firm of Shanly & 
 Plunkett assuming in October 1875 all the responsibility 
 attached to the carrying of the work through to a success- 
 ful issue. The officers of the Company and the Contractors 
 naet in Halifax in the November following, and then com- 
 pleted all their arrangements. The line will probably not 
 terminate short of a point which will admit of continuous 
 steam traffic, summer and winter, by land and water. 
 
 There is a County interest of the first moment, upon 
 which we havgr but touched — I mean • 
 
 THE FISHEEIES. 
 
 Making every allowance for the apocryphal tales of the good 
 old times when the Tusket was so full of salmon, that the 
 only way the fish could get up the river, was over each 
 other's backs ; there is no doubt but that carelessness and 
 other causes have very greatly injured many of the river 
 fisheries. Under the new act of 1868, there is however a 
 very marked improvement already. In the one article of 
 salmon the yield of which in 1869 was 4,000 !bs. ; there 
 has been an increase of 500 per cent. ; the yield in 1873 
 having been about 20,000 fts. : and the value of all the fish, 
 fresh water and salt, — caught in the County in that year, 
 was about $450,000. 
 
198 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 Eeference to the fisheries suggests some notice of 
 
 OUR HOME AND FOREIGN TRADES. 
 
 Since the year 1787 when Yarmouth was made a Port, and 
 when the duties were scarcely appreciable, the business of 
 the County has steadily increased. The gross Imports 
 amount to about $700,000, the principal and most valuable 
 part of which consists of materials for fitting and furnishing 
 ships. The gross annual Exports, which consist chiefly of 
 Lumber and Fish, amount to about $300,000. Looked at in 
 this way, we are placed in the apparent position of being im- 
 provident and extravagant, inasmuch as we seem to consume 
 more than we produce. But if, as is at once fair, and neces- 
 sary for getting at the truth, the annual production of vessel 
 property be brought into the account, as a kind of export, — 
 allowance being made for the value of the imported material, 
 such as rigging and the like, — the amount of property an- 
 nually sent out of the Port, amounts to about $1,500,000. 
 One little item illustrating the increasing home trade, as 
 well as the altering condition of our social life, is the fact 
 that about the year 1799 the then collector imported half a 
 chaldron of coal, the first brought into the County ; and in 
 1875 the amount imported was over twelve thousand tons. 
 
 RECAPITULATION. 
 
 The past history of this County is one of progress. We 
 have seen eighty-five souls become well nigh twenty thous- 
 and; and the one little schooner of 25 tons has yielded to a 
 fleet of upwards of 250 vessels, representing a total of more 
 than 130,000 tons : a tonnage more than eighty times that 
 of Liverpool, England, and nearly one half the tonnage of 
 the whole kingdom, in the reign of Charles the second.* 
 
 * Macaulay Vol. I, pp. 268 and 272. 
 
History of Yarmouth. 199 
 
 "We liave seen intricate Indian trails and crooked cow- 
 paths give place to numerous highways, well made, graded 
 and levelled, intersecting the County in every direction. 
 From there being but a few barley and potatoe patches, 
 surrounded by unbroken forests, we see around us upwards 
 of fifty thousand acres of improved lands. We have seen 
 a share of land containing six hundred and sixty-six acres, 
 sold for iGlO, and we have lately heard of a piece of ground 
 less than a hundred feet square being sold for ^6000 : 
 the aggregate value of all property, real and personal, in 
 the Township of Yarmouth alone, being probably well nigh 
 ten millions of dollars.* We have seen the inhabitants 
 obliged to go a hundred miles to register a deed, or try a 
 caL\se, and that without any kind of road, and now their 
 descendants have every such convenience at their very doors. 
 From scarcely any but the most precarious means of com- 
 munication with even Halifax or St. John, not to mention 
 England, we see several daily mails brought in from all 
 parts ; and by means of the electric telegraph we can be 
 in hourly communication with the most distant countries. 
 
 ilnd still the march is onward. Institutions indicative 
 of industry, perseverance, and enterprize, are ever sprino-ino- 
 into life, affording, if necessary, additional substantial evi- 
 
 * With increasing public wealth, there must be apparentlj increasing 
 public burdens. In 1771, the Poor Rate in the Township of Yarmouth 
 was about twenty pounds; whe.reas now — allowance being made for the 
 temporarily increased tax to meet the cost of the new Asylum for the poor 
 which tax has now ceased — the average annual rate is about one thousand 
 pounds : and the public burdens of all kinds, now amount to about §30,000 
 per annum. But nothing is plainer than that the Township is more than 
 five hundred per cent, richer than it was a hundred years ago ; or, that it 
 is much easier for us to bear the rates which are levied on us, than it was 
 for the handful of first settlers to bear theirs. 
 
200 History of Yarmouth. 
 
 dence of public and private intelligence. Ere long, land 
 communication by steam will add to, or rather complete, 
 our convenience for travelling, vs'liilst it will develope inter- 
 ests as yet not fully appreciated, only because not fully 
 understood. One word in 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 In undertaking this work, I have permitted my sympathies 
 to go out far beyond the comparatively narrow limits of 
 those with whom I am more immediately associated, and 
 whom it is my more immediate duty to serve. But I have 
 learned to take an interest in whatever affects the well- 
 being-of the whole. I now leave the subject, which was 
 not undertaken too soon, as the obituary columns of the 
 local press will testify, by expressing the fervent hope that 
 the same good qualities which has served to elevate this 
 community, may continue increasingly active ; that the 
 evil which is absent, and which would mar our character 
 and reputation, may never come near us ; that we may re- 
 member and acknowledge the fact, that if we are prosperous, 
 it is God that giveth us power to get wealth ; that we may 
 ever be just and true in all our dealings, for it is righteous- 
 ness alone that exalteth a people ; that our magistrates may 
 ever have grace to execute justice and maintain" truth; 
 that our politicians may be fearlessly honest and not to be 
 corrupted ; and that the ministers of religion may ever be 
 ready to speak the truth : for, by these means only can we 
 reasonably hope that ''peace and happiness, truth and jus- 
 " tice, religion and piety, may be established among us for 
 " all generations." 
 
 FINIS^ 
 
.» -J. 
 
 
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