Article Contents
The Pioneers of Westmorland.
The Landing of the American Loyalists.—The Emigrant Road Settlers.- Sackville Census.- The First Baptist Church here.—Toler Thompson and his Great Undertaking.
CONLUDED.
In the year 1783, or about 20 years after the arrival of the Dutch, a large body of American Loyalists, leaving their old homes that they might spend their remaining days under the government of their king, adopted the county as their new home. They left the scenes of the late revolution to seek an asylum for their loyalty. In June 1783, 50 families touched at Wood Point in the parish of Sackville, and thence proceeded to Fort Cumberland, and after remaining a few days finally settled in various parts of this county—the Palmers at Dorchester, Knapps at Westmorland, Sillakers, Chapples and Allans in the pariah of Westmorland, but now the pariah of Botsford. The Mills and Lewis at Petitcodiac. Of the others I have been unable to ascertain their names. When the last named families located themselves at the Bend, as it was then designated, there but three log houses at the place. The Loyalists as well as those who proceeded them, suffered many privations incident to the settlement of a wilderness country, and chiefly supported themselves upon the fish and moose which abounded to the streams and forests of their now borne.
In 1812, John and William Woods and Walter Crowly made the first settlement in what is now designated as Irishtown and from that time up to 1818 the Fitzsimons, Lurings, Danphys, Kennedys and others followed from Ireland, and Irishtown is now a thriving and prosperous district.
In 1835 36, another lot of immigrants came from Ireland. The Carrolls, Mahoneys, Murphys, Barrys, Roaches, Hardwicks and others and located themselves in the Parish of Botsford, which is now called the Emigrant Road. James Carroll was the first settler. These parties by their toil and industry have made this part of the county a fine agricultural district. The late Judge Botsford interested himself in their behalf, and was mainly instrumental in forming this settlement and through his assistance and liberality the parties were enabled to obtain grants of their lands.
In 1842, another lot of Irish immigrants settled on the road leading from Salisbury to Fredericton via the North River, in the Parish of Salisbury, and by their frugality and industry have become wealthy farmers.
Sackville, no doubt, was settled coeval with Moncton by the French Acadians, although we have no authentic data to refer to. Yet, I was informed when a resident of the county of Gloucester in 1833, by one Charles Dimock, one of that body who in their exodus in 1735 became a. resident in the town of Bathurst, Gloucester, that his father had a mill on the stream now utilized and owned by the Morrices, and gave me a graphic description of the sufferings of the first settlers.
In the 1763, a class of persons emigrated from New England, then British Colonies, and settled in Sackville, then Nova Scotia, and formed the First Baptist Church under Elder Nathan Mason, and remained there until the year 1771, and then removed back to New Providence, Mass. This fact is recorded in Rev. I. E. Bill's History of the Baptists, page 27, and the extract taken from Benedict's History 1813 is translated as follows:
"At the close of the French war many families emigrated from New England and settled it different parts of the two Provinces which, at that time, were all included under the name of Nova Scotia, among those emigrants were some Baptists and from that period there have always been a few of this denomination in this country. In the year 1763, after the conclusion of the French war, Nathan Mason and wife, Thomas Lewis and wife, and Oliver Mason and wife, and a sister by the name of Experience Baker, all of the Second Church in Swansea, Bristol County, Mass., Benjamin Mason and wife, Charles Seamans and wife and Gilbert Seamans and wife from some of the neighboring churches resolved on removing to Nova Scotia, and with a view to to their spiritual benefit these thirteen persons were formed into a church on the 2lst April, 1763, and Nathan Mason was ordained their pastor. Soon after this little church sailed in a body for Nova Scotia and settled in a place now called Sackville, in New Brunswick. Here they continued about eight years enjoying many spiritual blessings and witnessing much of the goodness of the Lord in their new and remote situation. Elder Mason labored here with good success, and the little church increased to about sixty members, and Mr. Job Seamans, formerly pastor of the church at Attleborough, Mass, now of that of New London, N. H., was converted and began to preach among them. But the lands and Government not meeting their approbation and finding themselves uncomfortable in other respects, in 1771 the founders of the emigrating church with Elder Mason removed back again to Mass., and settled at a place called New Providence, now in the township of Cheshire in Berkshire County. What became of the converts Mr. Mason left behind I do not find, but it is probable that they were scattered and their church broken up after the founders left them. p.33. The Horton church constituted in 1773, claims to be the first Baptist church established in the Maritime Provinces, if not in Canada, but according to Benedict's History the Baptist Church in Sackville under Elder Mason as its pastor, was organized 15 years before the church in Horton."
In corroboration of this historical statement I have been furnished by your esteemed townsman, H. A. Powell, Esq., with the census of Sackville, taken January 1st, 1770, a year before Nathan Mason and his flock returned to Now England.
Names of the master and mistress of each family in the township of Sackville, Province of Nova Scotia, January 1, 1770:—
James Jinks,
Samuel Ballou,
Amariah Letland,
Jacob Bacon,
Joseph Collins,
Thos Collins,
Nathaniel Finney,
Samuel Rogers,
Amasa Killam,
Wm. Alvason,
John Olney,
Caleb Finney,
Jeremiah Brownell,
Robert Foster,
Lemuel Lettemore,
George Shearman, Jr.
Daniel Hawkins,
Stephen Johnson,
Wm. Lawrence,
Ezekiel Fuller,
Robt Scott
Joshua Sprague,
Wm. Olney,
Nathaniel Ronndr,
Gideon Young,
George Shearman,
Thos, Irons,
John Peck,
John Barnes,
David Tift,
Jedman Smith,
Nathaniel Mason,
Nathan Seamans,
David Alvarson,
Val'tine Estabrooks,
Eliphalet Reid,
Gilbert Seamans,
Josiah Tingley,
John Thomas,
Ephraim Emerson,
Ebenezer Salisbury,
Isaiah Thornton,
Joseph Baker,
Samuel Lewis,
John Wood,
Israel Thornton,
Wm. Baker,
David Lettermore,
Nathan Mason,
Samuel Emerson,
Benjamin Tower,
Joseph Tower,
John Day,
Robert Lettemore,
Seth Mersey,
Jacob Fuller,
Benjamin Lewis,
Job Seamans,
Benjamin Emerson,
Ebenezer Salisbury,ST.
Jonathan Cole,
Benjamin Mason,
Samuel Eddy,
Samuel Irons,
Nehemiah Ward,
Wm. Seamans,
In all 360 persons, Protestants in religion, and wore all born in New England or Nova Scotia, with two exceptions—
I will now direct your attention to the improvements made by the Toler and other Canals in Tantramar marsh.
The late Toler Thompson, of Sackville, was the great originator of the system of Tide Canals, by which the lakes and bogs of a large portion of this marsh was drained and flooded by tide water. He devoted days and nights to watching the operation of the tides, and expended a large properly received from his father to digging canals, which have reclaimed thousands of acres of ratable marsh. His great services and merit in benefitting his country have never been recognized as they ought to bare been. He was a person of tall commanding figure; his features were or classic mould, and could claim patrician blood, for he was the lineal descendant (grandson) of the late John Toler. Viscount Glandine and Earl of Norbury, Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, and died in the year 1831. He was a man of great celebrity, and distinguished for his learning and wit, Toler Thompson's father was the Earl coachman, and eloped with his daughter, whom he married, and settled in Sackville. Toler Thompson was named after his grandfather, was a person of unassuming manners, and never boasted of his lineage, and was one of "nature's nobleman."
The first great canal he projected was the Toler Canal, which ran from the Tantramar River to Rush Lake, and drained the commons and the lakes and bogs to the north and east. By this work about 900 acres of bog and lake were made marsh, and hundreds of acres on either side of the canal were drained and made valuable
The next great work Toler Thompson undertook was the Goose Lake Canal, which must have reclaimed 1,000 acres of lake and bog, and greatly improved hundreds of acres of marsh adjoining the canal.
In the year 1828 the Floating Canal was commenced by the late Judge Botsford. Toler Thompson, John and Willie Fawcett and Senator Botsford. The canal is about four miles long and at its mouth a short distance above the bridge over the Tantramar river on the old great road over the marsh, is now sixty feet wide and twenty feet deep and gradually lessens in dimensions to 30 feet wide and 8 feet deep. It has cost $20,000 and drains a territory of 4,000 acres. About l,500 acres of these lakes and bogs have been made into marsh; 1,300 acre are now being reclaimed by the tide waters and the remainder has been benefitted by the canal and will eventually be brought into marsh. Some portions of this tract which before the canal was dug was a floating bog could not now be bought for $200 per acre, and all that portion which has been reclaimed is of much greater value than a large portion of the old marshes.
The floating canal never received any appropriation of public money. Small grans had formerly been made by the Provincial Government towards cutting of the Toler and other canals on the ground that they assisted to drain the great road over the Tantramar marshes.
Senator Botsford informs me that the sum of $7500 was expended by him and the late Judge Botsford on the floating canal and ditches, and he estimates the expenditure in cutting the Total canals at not less than from $10,000 to $12,000, and the Goose Lake canal about $7,500.