Glimpses of the Past Part 31

One of the inducements that led James Simonds to fix upon the harbor of St. John as a place of settlement was the abundance and excellent quality of the limestone there and its convenience for shipment. The license of occupation given under the hand of Governor Montagu Wilmot on the 8th of February, 1764, was in the terms following:

"License is hereby granted to James Simonds to occupy a tract or point on the north side of St. John's River, opposite Fort Frederick, for carrying on a fishery and for burning limestone, the said tract or point containing by estimation ten acres." Soon after the formation of the trading company in the course of the same year, the manufacture of lime became an object of consideration. Some reference has been made already in these chapters to the progress of the industry.

The company had four lime kilns, the situation of which will be best understood by reference to modern land marks. One was at the base of Fort Howe hill at the head of Portland street, a second near the site of St. Luke's church, a third near the present suspension bridge, and a fourth on the road leading to the old "Indian House." The work of quarrying and burning limestone was carried on in a very primitive fashion by the laborers of the company. In the winter a number of them were employed in quarrying the stone and hauling it with oxen to the kilns. The wood needed for burning grew almost at the spot where it was wanted, and its cutting served to clear the land as well as to provide the fuel necessary. In the course of ten years Simonds & White shipped to Newburyport and Boston more than 3,500 hogsheads of lime for which they received four dollars per cask; they also sent lime to Halifax, Cornwallis and other places in Nova Scotia. The facilities for manufacturing in those days were very inadequate, the men lacked experience, casks were hard to get, and for a time the lack of a wharf and warehouse caused much delay in the shipment.

And now a word as to the present condition of the lime industry at St.

John. It cannot be questioned that the splendid quality of the limestone, its vast abundance, its convenient situation for shipment and the abundance and cheapness of the fuel needed, clearly prove that the manufacture of lime is destined yet to become an important industry in this community. Fifteen years ago the industry was rapidly developing, when the McKinley tariff and the Dingley bill completely excluded the St. John manufacturers from the United States market which pa.s.sed into the hands of their rivals of Rockland, Maine. It is, however, only a question of time when there will be a removal of the prohibitive tariff in the interests of United States consumers, and this will be hastened as the deposits of limestone at Rockland are exhausted. This circ.u.mstance, together with the increasing demands of the Canadian market, will cause the manufacture of lime at St. John to become eventually an industry as great as that of shipbuilding in its palmiest days.

About the year 1888 the prospects of the St. John lime burners seemed particularly bright. Extensive operations were being carried on at Randolph, Robertson's Point, South Bay, Glencoe, Adelaide Road, Brookville and Drury's Cove. Probably at least 400 men were employed and a dozen draw kilns and twenty square kilns were in operation. In order to show the prospective development of that which in the time of Simonds & White was an infantile industry, it may be stated that the capacity of the draw kiln is from 70 to 100 barrels of lime every twenty-four hours, while that of the square kiln is about 400 barrels per week. The draw kiln is more expensive in construction than the other, but its capacity is greater, and it is not necessary to extinguish the fire, the lime being drawn out as it is burned and fresh stone put in. At several of the lime kilns at the Narrows, above Indiantown, the facilities are unrivalled. The stone is quarried from the cliff a few rods from the kiln, dumped in at the top by cart or wheelbarrow, drawn out at the bottom at the water's level and loaded on scows. The wood for the kiln grows on the surrounding hillsides or may be obtained from the saw-mills in the vicinity at nominal cost. At the time the manufacture of lime was interfered with by the McKinley bill, the following persons were actively concerned in the development of the industry: Hornbrook and Wm. Lawlor & Son at Brookville, Jewett & Co. at Drury's Cove, Isaac Stevens and A. L. Bonnell at South Bay, Frank Armstrong and J. & F. Armstrong at the Narrows, Hayford & Stetson at Glencoe above Indiantown, Charles Miller at Robertson's Point, Randolph & Baker at Randolph, W. D. Morrow and Purdy & Green on the Adelaide Road.

It is impossible with the data on hand to form any proper estimate of the quant.i.ty of lime manufactured by these firms, but it may be stated that in the year 1887, Hayford & Stetson alone expected to burn 50,000 barrels in their draw kilns at Indiantown and 30,000 barrels in their square kilns. In the work of quarrying the use of the steam drill was then being introduced. Perhaps there is no better way of contrasting modern methods with the methods of those who first embarked in the industry one hundred and forty years ago, and at the same time showing the difficulties with which the pioneers had to contend, than by giving extracts from James Simonds letters to Hazen & Jarvis.

St. John's River, 27th May, 1765.

Gentlemen:--I Rec'd yours of 3d. of April the 1st inst., and of the 18th on the 9th inst. [The letters came by the schooner "Polly" and the schooner "Wilmot."] The schr. Polly was dispatched immediately fishing: she is now near loaded. I am sorry the same dispatch could not be made with the schr. Wilmot. A cargo of Lime could not be prepared before hand for want of Oxen to draw wood.

Have had bad luck in burning the Lime, the wood being wet, as the snow was but just off the ground. One-third of the kiln is not burnt. * * * If you can get freight to this place, we believe it will be best to keep the schooner [Wilmot] constantly running between here and Newburyport. If the Lime answers well can burn any quant.i.ty whatever. The want of Hhds. is the greatest difficulty, the want of a house to cover it the next.

"I doubt not of your making the greatest dispatch in all business relating to this concern, and wish I could make you sensible of the disadvantages we are under to do the same. I thank you for the willingness you express to relieve me and that you think there is any difficulty to go through in these parts. You may depend upon it that no pains will be spared in this quarter to make the Concern advantageous. * * * I shall be extremely glad to wait upon Mr. Hazen when the schooner returns.

"Have been obliged to credit the inhabitants up the River to the amount of a considerable sum, which is to be paid part in furs and part in lumber (the lumber is not brought down). The Officers and Soldiers supplies and wooding the garrison is to be paid by a draft on the pay-master at Halifax. * * * Since the lime is all put in hogsheads I find there is near seventy (empty) hogsheads remains. They chiefly want one head each--twenty or thirty more will be sufficient for another kiln. If you send the Schr.

directly back, boards must be sent for heads, and should think it would be best to send 100 refuse shook hogsheads for a third kiln with boards for heads and hoops, as they cannot be had here, also 5 M. boards to cover a frame that is now decaying and will serve for a Lime House and Barn. Have borrowed 12 C. boards of Mr. Green (of the garrison). Shall have a kiln ready to set fire to in three weeks after the Schr. sails. Dispatch in shipping lime can never be made without a Lime house to have it ready when any vessel arrives. * * *

In Great haste, I am, Gentlemen, Yr. Most Obedient & Humble Servt, JAS. SIMONDS.

To Messrs. Hazen & Jarvis.

In the year 1769 the company built a wharf and warehouse at Portland Point. Their work was often interfered with by the nature of the season, the winters then, as now, being exceedingly variable. Mr.

Simonds writes, under date March 6, 1769:--

"Have had but little snow this winter, but few days that the ground has been covered. Have got to the water side a large quant.i.ty of wood and wharf logs; about 300 Hogshead Lime Stone to the Kiln, and should have had much more if there had been snow.

Our men have been so froze and wounded that we have not had more than three men's constant labour to do this and sled sixty loads of hay from the marsh, saw boards for casks, look after cattle and draw firewood. Shall continue drawing or draging wood and stone as long as the ground is frozen, and then cut the timber for a schooner and boat stone for a Lime Kiln, which with the wharf will take 400 tons."

The next winter was of a different sort, for Mr. Simonds writes on May 10, 1770, "This spring has been so backward that there has been no possibility of burning any lime. The piles of wood and stone are now frozen together." The next winter was extremely mild, and Mr. Simonds writes on February 18, 1771, "There has not been one day's sledding this winter, and the season is so far advanced there cannot be much more than enough to get the hay from the marsh; but shall haul logs to finish the wharf and for plank for Fish Cisterns if it can by any means be done."

The popular idea that the climate of this Province was much more severe in ancient than in modern days is not borne out by the correspondence of Simonds & White with Hazen & Jarvis. From it we learn that 140 years ago the navigation of the River St. John, as now, opened early in April, and that the river could be relied on as a winter route of communication to St. Anns "only between the first of January and the last of February and then many times difficult." In the extracts just quoted Mr. Simonds states that during the winter of 1769 there had been but few days that the ground was covered with snow, and two years later he says that up to the 18th of February there had not been a single day's sledding. This testimony does not at all accord with the popular idea of an old-fashioned winter. It is not likely that there have been any material changes in the climate of this region since the days of Champlain, and this conclusion is strengthened by the fact that the weather reports made to the Dominion government since the time of Confederation do not indicate any alteration in our climatic conditions during the last 35 years.

The first Business Contract under which William Hazen, James Simonds, James White and their a.s.sociates engaged in business at the River St.

John was signed on March 1st, 1764. The members of the company immediately proceeded to engage their workmen and a very interesting ill.u.s.tration of the way they set about it has been preserved in an old indenture dated 13th March, 1764, in which James Simonds, "trader,"

made agreement with one Edmund Black of Haverhill, "bricklayer," to pay the said Black 16. 16s. for eight months labor at brickmaking, fishing, burning lime, or any other common or ordinary work at Pa.s.samaquoddy, St. John, Annapolis Royal or any other part of Nova Scotia, in the Bay of Fundy. In addition to his pay, at the rate 2.

2s. per month, Mr. Simonds agreed to furnish Black with "suitable victuals and drink and lodging."

The exact date of the arrival of Simonds and White, and their party at St. John is put beyond doubt by the following memorandum in Mr.

White's handwriting, found by the author among a collection of old papers: "Haverhill, New England, 1764. Set off for River St. John, Nova Scotia, 1st day of April--Arrived 16th April."

By the second business contract, entered into by William Hazen, Leonard Jarvis and James Simonds on the 16th April, 1767, it was provided that "all trade and business in Nova Scotia shall be done and transacted by James Simonds and James White and whatever business is to be transacted at Newbury-Port shall be transacted by William Hazen and Leonard Jarvis." The remittances of Simonds & White consisted for the most part of fish, furs, lime and lumber and were at first sent to Newburyport, but it was soon found to the advantage of the company that remittances should be made to Boston where Leonard Jarvis went to dispose of them and to forward supplies needed at St. John. This was the commencement of St. John's trade with Boston. There was no market for the Spring catch of Alewives (or Gasperaux) at Newburyport, so they were usually sent to Boston. Seven eighths of the furs and a large proportion of the lime and lumber were also sold in Boston.

As might reasonably be expected the first outlay of the company was comparatively large while the returns were small, but as time went on the remittances from St. John gradually increased and the outlay for supplies slightly diminished. During the earlier years of the partnership attention was given to deep water fishing, and large quant.i.ties of cod and pollock were taken in the Bay of Fundy and at Pa.s.samaquoddy, but this branch of business was eventually discontinued and greater attention paid to the sh.o.r.e fisheries in which weirs were used to good advantage. In the first seven years of their operations the Company sent 745 barrels of Gaspereaux to Boston, but in the next four years more than 3,000 barrels were shipped.

About the close of the year 1775 the Revolutionary war put an end to all trade with New England and the business of Hazen, Jarvis, Simonds & White as a company practically ceased. In the course of the dozen years of their operations, the goods and supplies received at St. John from Boston and Newburyport amounted in value to at least $100,000.

The partners were not agreed as to the general results of the business; Mr. Simonds claimed that the receipts had more than repaid the outlay, while Hazen & Jarvis contended that no money had been made but that there had probably been a loss.

During the continuance of the business, 72 cargoes of goods and supplies were sent to St. John, an average of six cargoes per annum.

The value of goods and outfit sent the first season amounted to 3,891. 16s. 0-1/2d. The value of goods and supplies furnished under the first business contract, which lasted only three years, was 6,850. 9s. 10d. Messrs. Blodget, Peaslie and Simonds, jr., then cease to be concerned in the business and the partners under the second contract were Hazen, Jarvis, Simonds and White.

As early as the second year of their operations at St. John, Hazen & Jarvis began to feel the large outlay they had made and wrote, under date May 23, 1766, to Simonds & White, "We must beg you will do all in your power to remit us largely this summer. By having such a stock with you we are much straitened for cash, and we are sometimes obliged to do our business to a disadvantage."

Not long afterwards Hazen & Jarvis were unfortunate in their mercantile transactions at Newburyport and this, together with the loss of some of their vessels, made it necessary for them to take special care of their interests at St. John, consequently after the signing of the second business contract William Hazen came frequently to St. John. Early in 1771 he determined to discontinue business altogether at Newburyport and remove to St. John with his family.

James White says that it was the wish of both Mr. Simonds and himself that Mr. Hazen should settle near them, making choice of such situation as he might deem agreeable to his taste, but that as the partnership business was drawing to a close the house to be erected should be built with his own money. Mr. Hazen made his choice of situation and built his house accordingly.

In the evidence given in the law suit concerning the division of the lands obtained from time to time by the company, James Simonds states that so far as the business at St. John was concerned Mr. Hazen's presence was not needed since the business was conducted there by himself and James White when there was five times as much to be done.

To this Mr. Hazen replies that Mr. Simonds' letter of July, 1770, speaks a different language,[88] and he quotes figures to show that while for the first four years after the signing of the second contract the value of the supplies sent to St. John was 8,053 and the remittances from St. John 7,650; leaving a deficit in the business of 403; during the next four years, when he (Hazen) spent a large part of his time at St. John, the cost of supplies was 6,803 and the remittances 8,245, showing a surplus of 1,442; a difference of 1,845 in favor of his being at St. John.

[88] This letter has unfortunately been lost.

When William Hazen decided to take up his residence at St. John in order more effectually to promote the interests of the company by superintending, in conjunction with Simonds and White the various operations that were being carried on there, his partner Leonard Jarvis removed to a place called Dartmouth, one hundred miles from Newburyport, leaving his investment in the business untouched so as not to embarra.s.s the company at a critical time. The supplies required at St. John were now furnished by his brother, Samuel Gardiner Jarvis, of Boston.

As will presently appear, fortune did not smile upon the removal of William Hazen and his family from their comfortable home in Newburyport to the rugged hillsides of St. John. However, Mr. Hazen was a man of resolution and enterprise, and having once made up his mind in regard to a step of so much importance was not likely to be easily discouraged. He at once began to make preparations for the accommodation of his family by building a house of greater pretensions than any that had yet been erected at Portland Point.

The first known reference to the Hazen house is found in a letter dated Feb.'y 18th, 1771, in which James Simonds writes, "We shall cut Mr. Hazen's frame in some place near the water where it may be rafted at any time." The house was erected in July following by the company's carpenters and laborers. When nearly finished it was unfortunately destroyed by fire. A new house was begun the next year, which like the other was built at Mr. Hazen's expense by the company's carpenters and laborers.

As soon as the house was ready for occupation Mr. Hazen repaired to Newburyport to bring on his family, and in the month of May, 1775, they embarked in the Company's sloop Merrimack of 80 tons. Mr. Hazen's tribulations were by no means ended, for on the voyage the Merrimack was unluckily cast away on Fox Island and a good deal of her cargo, together with papers containing accounts of the Company's business, was lost. However, all the pa.s.sengers were saved, as well as most of their valuables, and were brought to St. John in Captain Drinkwater's sloop. Drinkwater was obliged to throw overboard a load of cordwood to make room for the rescued pa.s.sengers and crew and their possessions.

For this he was of course remunerated by the Company. The Hazen family proved a great addition to the limited society of Portland Point. We learn from an enumeration of the inhabitants made this year that the Hazen household included 4 men, 3 women, 3 boys and 2 girls, 12 in all. Mr. Hazen's nephew, John, who subsequently removed to Oromocto, was one of the family at that time. With such a family to provide for the grocery bill at the Company's store grew rapidly. The first item charged to the account of the household after their arrival was 67 lbs. of moose meat at 1d. per lb.; and it is of interest to notice that beef was then quoted at 2d. per lb., or double the price of moose meat. It is altogether likely that with the Hazens moose steak was a much greater rarity on their arrival than it subsequently became, for at the time it was one of the staple articles of food and almost any settler who wanted fresh meat could obtain it by loading his musket and going to the woods.

[Ill.u.s.tration: OLD HAZEN HOUSE AND GROUNDS.

This ill.u.s.tration is taken from a water color sketch of St. John now in possession of Mrs. William Hazen. The original sketch was made by a member of the Hazen family more than eighty years ago. In the foreground appears the Hazen house, square and substantial, and nearly in line with and beyond it is the Chipman house, overlooking the valley; these two houses are the oldest now standing in the city. To the right of the Chipman house may be seen the Block-house, which formerly stood at the corner of King and Wentworth streets. Still further to the right is the old wind-mill tower, where the Dufferin Hotel now stands, and to the right of this is old Trinity Church before its first spire was destroyed by fire.]

The Hazen house still stands, considerably modernized it is true, at the corner of Simonds and Brook streets, having withstood the ravages of time and escaped the numerous conflagrations that have occurred in the vicinity for more than 130 years. The present foundation is new with the exception of the stone wall on Brook street which formed part of the original foundation. The roof formerly pitched four ways, running up to a peak in the centre. Some of the old studs, lately cut out to admit of the placing of new windows, were found to be merely spruce poles flattened on two sides with an axe; the boards too are roughly sawn. The sheathing of the house has all been renewed and an ell, which used to extend up Simonds street, has been taken down. The lower flat is at present used as a grocery, the upper flat as a hall.

In olden times, and for many years, Mr. Hazen's garden and grounds extended to the water. His residence was by far the best and most substantial yet erected at Portland--indeed in early days it was considered quite a mansion. The exact date of its erection, curiously enough, has been preserved. An entry in the old day book in James White's handwriting reads thus:--

"Nov'r 17, 1773--Wm. Hazen Dr. To 4 Gall. W. I. Rum, 3 lb. Sugar, 3 Qts. N. E. Rum, Dinner, &c., &c., 25 shillings--for Raising his House!"

The entry shows that old time customs prevailed on the day of the "raising." It doubtless was quite a gala day in the settlement with everybody there to help and share in the refreshments provided.

The removal of William Hazen and his family from Newburyport to Saint John had been planned, as already stated, several years before it was carried into effect. It was not in any way influenced by the threatening war clouds which at that time hung low in the sky. Mr.

Hazen's departure from Newburyport, however, was nearly coincident with the clash of arms at Lexington, and it was not long ere the events of the war between the old colonies and the mother country closed the ports of Ma.s.sachusetts. This unfortunate circ.u.mstance interfered greatly with the business of Hazen, Simonds and White at St. John.

The retirement of Leonard Jarvis from the company necessitated a new business arrangement on the part of the remaining partners, and in May, 1773, a verbal agreement was made between Hazen, Simonds and White to carry on the fishery and trading in the proportions of a half interest to William Hazen a third to James Simonds, and a sixth to James White.

There is in one of the old account books an interesting memorandum in the handwriting of James Simonds, covering several pages, which shows that the company had then a large and varied a.s.sortment of goods on hand. The list bears the following heading: "Invoice of Goods removed from the Old to the New Store, July 21st, 1775." The "new store" was finished about the time of Mr. Hazen's arrival; it stood a little to the west of the first store built at the Point.

Among the buildings at Portland Point when the Hazen family arrived were the residences of the three partners, the Lime Store, the Salt Store--or Cooper's Shop, the Log Store, the New Store, a blacksmith shop, two or three small dwelling houses and one or two barns, besides a saw mill at the outlet of the mill pond, a grist mill at Lily Lake, and one or two hovels on the marsh. The English-speaking population settled around the sh.o.r.es of the harbor did not exceed one hundred and fifty souls. Our authority on this point is indisputable. Two doc.u.ments are preserved amongst the archives at Halifax, one ent.i.tled "A Return of the State of the Settlement at the mouth of the Harbour of the River St. John the First day August, A. D. 1775"; the other, "A Return of the state of the Township of Conway on the western side of the Harbour and River St. John on First of August, 1775." The list of inhabitants given below is compiled from these returns and shows that the number of persons living on the opposite sides of the harbor was nearly equal, namely, on the east side seventy and on the west side seventy-two. The enumeration seems to have been made by James Simonds.

PORTLAND POINT.

Name of Master or Mistress of the Family. Men. Women. Boys. Girls. Total.

James Simonds 4 1 4 3 12 James White 4 1 1 4 10 William Hazen 4 3 3 2 12 George DeBlois 1 1 1 .. 3 Robert Cram 1 1 1 7 10 Zebulon Rowe 1 1 .. 2 4 John Nason 1 1 2 3 7 John Mack 1 .. .. .. 1 Lemuel Cleveland 1 1 1 1 4 Christopher Blake 1 1 .. 2 4 Moses Greenough 1 1 1 .. 3 -- -- -- -- -- 20 12 14 24 70

CONWAY.