Glimpses of the Past Part 48

Those who are curious to know what kind of a pa.s.sage their fore-fathers had on their voyage to the River St. John will be able to form some idea from a study of the following record of the weather, kept by Benjamin Marston, while he was engaged in laying out the town of Shelburne.

"May 1st, Thursday--Wind east; calm at night.

May 2nd, Friday--Rain; wind south-westerly.

May 3d, Sat.u.r.day--Fair; wind north-westerly, fresh.

May 4th, Sunday--Fair; wind north-westerly, fresh.

May 5th, Monday--Fair; wind westerly, moderate.

May 6th, Tuesday--Fair; wind easterly changing to southerly.

May 7th, Wednesday--Fair; wind south-easterly.

May 8th, Thursday--Fair; wind easterly.

May 9th, Friday--Fair; wind easterly.

May 10th, Sat.u.r.day--Weather foggy and at times drizzly; wind south-easterly.

May 11th, Sunday--Begins with plenty of rain; wind south-westerly, changes to foggy weather. At night wind south-easterly with frequent showers.

The Union had not long to wait until she was joined by her sister ships, and all lay safely anch.o.r.ed near the landing place at the Upper Cove. We may well believe that the arrival of such a mult.i.tude produced a profound sensation among the dwellers at Portland Point, then a mere hamlet.

Three hundred years have pa.s.sed since Champlain sailed up this same harbor and in honor of the day of its discovery, gave to St. John the name it still retains, but in all these centuries the most notable fleet that ever cast anchor in the port was the "Spring fleet" of 1783. The old iron guns of Fort Howe thundered out their salute as the score of vessels came up the harbor, the flag of Britain streaming from the masthead, and we know that Major Studholme gave the wearied exiles a hearty welcome. The old soldier had held his post secure, in spite of hostile savages and lawless marauders, and he was now equally faithful in the discharge of his duty to his new comrades. He did his best to cheer their drooping spirits and as speedily as possible to settle them in habitations which they once more might call their own.

There is a quiet spot in the parish of Studholme, on the banks of the Kennebecasis, where the mortal remains of Gilfred Studholme lie. No headstone marks his grave.

Little preparation had been made by the Government of Nova Scotia for the reception of the Loyalists, and the season was cold and backward.

Anxious as were the masters of the transports to return speedily to New York they were obliged to tarry some days. We learn from an old newspaper that the ship "Camel," captain William Tinker, sailed from St. John on her return voyage, the 29th of May, in company with eight other transports, and that they left the new settlers "in good health and spirits." Before the Loyalists could disembark, it was necessary to clear away the brushwood around the landing place and to erect tents and various kinds of shelter. The 18th of May saw them safely landed. The day was Sunday, and it is said the hapless exiles found consolation in a religious service held by the Rev. John Beardsley on the site of the present Market Square.

If Abraham's fidelity to the Almighty caused him on his arrival in the land he was to inherit, to erect an altar, it was equally fitting that the first public act of the founders of the City of the Loyalists should be to render thanks for their preservation and safe arrival in the land of their adoption. The psalms for that 18th morning may have struck a responsive chord in many hearts. "Comfort us again now after the time that thou hast afflicted us, and for the years wherein we have seen adversity." "Establish the work of our hands upon us, yea, the work of our hands establish thou it."

No friendly roof had yet been reared to shelter them from the storm.

The wilderness had its unknown perils. Perhaps too the dread of some lurking savage may have filled the hearts of the helpless ones with a nameless fear. Still the message was--"He that dwelleth in the tabernacle of the most High shall lodge under the shadow of the Almighty." "Thou shalt not be afraid for any terror by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day."

The Loyalists could not but feel relieved when they safely reached their destination. There were no light houses, or beacons, or fog horns to aid the navigator, and the charts were imperfect. The vessels were greatly over crowded and the accommodations not of the best. To add to the general discomfort, in some of the ships epidemics, such as measles, broke out. Yet, glad as they were to be again on sh.o.r.e, it was with heavy hearts they watched the departure of the fleet. The grandmother of the late Sir Leonard Tilley said to one of her descendants, "I climbed to the top of Chipman's Hill and watched the sails disappearing in the distance, and such a feeling of loneliness came over me that, although I had not shed a tear through all the war, I sat down on the damp moss with my baby in my lap and cried."

The days that followed the arrival of the Loyalists were busy days for Major Studholme and his a.s.sistant, Samuel Denny Street.[140] By their orders, boards, shingles, clapboards, bricks, etc., were distributed to those needing them. A large number of Studholme's accounts in this connection are on file at Halifax. The first in which the name of Parr (Parrtown) occurs is the following:--

"Parr, on the River St. John, 31 August, 1783.

"Rec'd from Gilfred Studholme 5. 18. 10 1-2 for surveying 142,660 feet lumber for use of the Loyalists settled on the River St.

John.

"JEREMIAH REGAN."

[140] Amongst the doc.u.ments at Halifax relating to the settlement of the Loyalists at St. John is the following receipt:

River St. John, 30 September, 1783.

"Rec'd from Gilfred Studholme, Esq. the sum of 72.10.0 Halifax currency for superintending his office for conducting the settlement of and issuing lumber to the Loyalists within the district of St. John from the 9th May to 30th September, 1783, both days included, at 10 shillings pr. day for which I have signed three receipts of the same tenor and date.

SAM'L DENNY STREET.

Each Loyalist on his arrival was provided with 500 feet of boards, and a proportion of shingles and bricks. Most of the erections at first were log houses, the lumber being used for roofing. By the end of May, 1784, Major Studholme had delivered to the Loyalists 1,731,289 feet of boards, 1,553,919 shingles and 7,400 clapboards. The lumber was purchased from James Woodman, William Hazen, Nehemiah Beckwith, Patrick Rogers, John Whidden and others, the usual price being, for boards 4 per M., and for shingles 15 shillings per M.

The work of building must have progressed rapidly, for when winter came, about 1,500 dwellings afforded shelter. Joshua Aplin wrote Chief Justice Smith that the efforts of the people were unparalleled, and that on his arrival he could scarce credit his own eyes at the sight of such industry. But, he adds, the people had no legal right even to the ground their houses covered, and they appeared to be almost in despair at not getting on their lands. The greater part of those in the town at the mouth of the St. John river never meant to fix themselves there, but to settle on their lands and to apply their money to building farm houses, purchasing live stock, etc., and great loss had been incurred by their being obliged to build at the mouth of the river.

The Kingston settlers were amongst the few that proceeded directly to the lands on which they were to settle. For some weeks they lived in tents on the banks of Kingston Creek, where the mothers found occupation in nursing their children through the measles. They used to send across the river to "Jones's" for milk and other necessaries.

They were visited by the Indians, with whom they established friendly relations and who furnished them plentifully with moose meat. In the month of July they obtained the services of Frederick Hauser to survey their land. Before the lots were drawn by the settlers, however, reservations were made for church and school purposes. They then set to work with a will, working in one united party, clearing places on their lots for buildings, cutting logs, carrying them together with their own hands, having as yet neither cattle nor horses to draw them.

By the month of November every man in the district found himself and his family covered under his own roof, and, according to Walter Bates, they were "perfectly, happy, contented and comfortable in their dwellings through the winter." In this respect they were fortunate indeed in comparison with those who pa.s.sed their first winter in canvas tents at Parrtown and St. Anns.

We must now speak of the arrival of the Summer fleet of transports at the River St. John.

Almost everybody has heard of the Spring and Fall fleets, but comparatively few are aware that a very important contingent of Loyalists came to St. John on the 29th of June. The late J. W.

Lawrence makes no mention of this Summer fleet in his "Foot-Prints;"

in fact nearly all of our local historians have ignored it. Moses H.

Perley, in his well known lecture on early New Brunswick history, mentions it very briefly. Lorenzo Sabine, in his Loyalists of the American Revolution, incidentally refers to the date of arrival. The reference occurs in the biographical sketch of John Clarke, of Rhode Island, of whom we read:--

"At the peace, he settled at St. John. He arrived at that city on the 29th of June, 1783, at which time only two log huts had been erected on its site. The government gave him and every other grantee 500 feet of very ordinary boards towards covering their buildings. City lots sold in 1783 at from two to twenty dollars.

He bought one for the price of executing the deed of conveyance and 'a treat.' Mr. Clarke was clerk of Trinity church nearly 50 years. He died at St. John in 1853, in his ninety-fourth year, leaving numerous descendants."

The Loyalists who came in the Summer fleet embarked at various places, some on Long Island, others at Staten Island and many at New York. In some instances embarkation had taken place three weeks prior to the departure of the ships from Sandy Hook. The delay in sailing was caused by difficulties attending the embarkation and getting the fleet together. The names of the vessels have been preserved in the following notice, printed in a New York paper:--

"NOTICE TO REFUGEES.

The following Transports, viz. Two Sisters, Hopewell, Symetry, Generous Friends, Bridgewater, Thames, Amity's Production, Tartar, d.u.c.h.ess of Gordon, Littledale, William and Mary, and Free Briton, which are to carry Companies commanded by Sylva.n.u.s Whitney, Joseph Gorham, Henry Thomas, John Forrester, Thomas Elms, John c.o.c.k, Joseph Clarke, James Hoyt, Christopher Benson, Joseph Forrester, Thomas Welch, Oliver Bourdet, Asher Dunham, Abia. Camp, Peter Berton, Richard Hill and Moses Pitcher, will certainly fall down on Monday morning; it will therefore be absolutely necessary for the people who are appointed to go in these companies, to be all on board To-Morrow Evening.

"New York, June 7th, 1783."

Of the seventeen companies whose captains are named above, those of Christopher Benson and Richard Hill went to Annapolis, and that of Moses Pitcher, to Shelburne; the others (with the possible exception of Thomas Welch's company) came to St. John. We learn from a doc.u.ment ent.i.tled "A Return of the number of Loyalists gone to St. John's River in Nova Scotia, as pr. returns left in the Commissary General's Office in New York" that the number enrolled in the various companies for provisions, etc., was as given below:--

Men. Women. Children. Servants. Total.

Capt. S. Whitney 42 27 87 12 168 Capt. J. Goreham 31 20 78 7 136 Capt. H. Thomas 32 26 52 12 122 Capt. J. Forrester 51 30 73 31 185 Capt. Thos. Elms 30 19 27 45 121 Capt. John c.o.c.k 32 21 48 10 111 Capt. J. Clarke 36 25 48 52 161 Capt. Jas. Hoyt 42 31 61 85 219 Capt. Jas. Forrester 35 25 47 15 122 Capt. O. Bourdet 55 36 47 42 180 Capt. A. Dunham 31 19 57 5 112 Capt. Abi. Camp 52 36 67 48 203 Capt. P. Berton 31 20 51 30 132 --- --- --- --- ---- Total 500 335 743 394 1972

If all who gave in their names to Brook Watson at the commissariat office actually embarked for St. John in the June fleet, it would appear that nearly two thousand persons were carried in that fleet.

But it is not unlikely that some of those who gave in their names did not go at this time. Among the papers in the archives at Halifax, there is a copy of a "Return of Loyalists, etc., gone from New York to Nova Scotia as pr. returns in the Commissary General's office." The original was compiled at New York, Oct., 12, 1783, by Richard Fitzpatrick, and at the bottom he adds the significant words--"The above is made from returns left in the commissary general's office, but it is probable the numbers actually gone will fall far short." The chief reason for supposing this to have been the case in regard to the summer fleet is the publication of the following official return, signed by Sir Guy Carleton, in one of the newspapers of the day.

RETURN OF REFUGEES EMBARKED FOR NOVA SCOTIA.

New York, 17th June, 1783.

Men. Women. Children. Servants. Total.

For St. John's River 443 283 670 258 1654 For Annapolis Royal 46 37 76 46 205 For Port Roseway 34 15 39 34 122 For Fort c.u.mberland 175 86 216 14 491 --- --- ---- --- ---- Total 698 421 1001 352 2472

GUY CARLETON.

It may be safer to take the figures in Sir Guy Carleton's list; but whichever list we take, the numbers are sufficient to make the arrival of the summer fleet a thing of considerable importance. The names of nearly all the captains of the companies of Loyalists, who sailed in the fleet are found amongst the grantees of Parrtown.

The diary of Sarah Frost, who was a pa.s.senger to St. John in the ship "Two Sisters," throws much light upon the circ.u.mstances that attended the voyage. Sarah (Schofield) Frost was the wife of William Frost, a st.u.r.dy loyalist of Stamford. He was proscribed and banished and threatened with death if he ever returned to Connecticut. He did return, however, on the night of July 21, 1781, accompanied by an armed party in seven boats. The boats were secreted and the party placed themselves in hiding in a swamp near the meeting house. The next day, which was Sunday, they surprised and captured the minister, Rev. Dr. Mather, and his entire congregation. A selection of the prisoners was quickly made, and forty-eight individuals were hurried away to the boats and taken across the sound to Lloyd's Neck, where they were greeted in no complimentary fashion by some of their old neighbors whom they had driven from their homes. Twenty-four of the prisoners were allowed to go back to Stamford on parole. The remainder, twenty-six in number, were sent to the provost prison in New York. Dr. Mather was one of those consigned to the provost, as a "leader of sedition." Needless to say this exploit rendered Wm. Frost exceedingly obnoxious to the "patriots" of Stamford. The parents of Mrs. Frost espoused the cause of the revolutionary party, and her's was one of those sad cases in which families were divided by the war.

The extracts from her journal will enable the reader to have a good idea of some of the trials endured by those who left their old homes for the sake of the principles they cherished.

"May 25, 1783. I left Lloyd's Neck with my family and went on board the Two Sisters, commanded by Captain Brown, for a voyage to Nova Scotia with the rest of the Loyalist sufferers. This evening the Captain drank tea with us. He appears to be a very clever gentleman. We expect to sail as soon as the wind shall favor. We have very fair accommodation in the cabin, although it contains six families besides my own. There are two hundred and fifty pa.s.sengers on board."