Genealogy Forum NEWS
August, 1998
New Brunswick SIG Update
New Brunswick Marriages at Maugerville
From: colector@nbnet.nb.ca
Marriages found in the Church records of Sheffield for settlers of Maugerville :1766+++++
Abijah PALMER to Mary BRANCH.
Gervas SAY to widow Anna RUSSEL.
Ezekiel SANDERS to Agibail THURSTON.
Jacob BAKER Jr., to Sarah UPTON.
1767
James SIMONDS to Hannah PEABODY
Daniel JEWETT to widow Abigain SANDERS.
Moses COBUTN to Hannah BURPEE.
1769
Ebenezer WHITNEY to Hulda MOOERS.
John ESTY to Molly HART.
1774
Nathaniel BARKER to Lydia BURPEE.
1775
Humphrey PICKARD to Anne CHRISTY.
Nathan SMITH to Sarah BARKER.
1777
Johathan BURPEE Sr., to widow Mary PEABODY.
1778
David BURPEE to Betty GALLISHAN.
David BRILL to Lycia PICKARD.
1781
Silvanus PLUMER to Sarah COYE
A Bit of History of New Brunswick
by Irene Doyle colector@nbnet.nb.ca
The Passamaquoddy Indians called it Mun-a-Nook or "island place." Situated some 22 miles from Blacks Harbour, being 15 miles long and 6 1/2 miles at its widest point. Master John RUT who sailed from Bristol England, on the "Mary of Gilford" in 1527 during the reign of Henry the Eight, was the first Englishman who visited this part of the country.
In 1606 Champlain spent a stormy nights off Southern Head and wrote about it in his "Voyageurs" which was published in Paris in 1613. In 1621 the territory now comprising New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which included Grand Manan, was granted to Sir William ALEXANDER, by James the First..in 1667, this territory was reverted to the French by the treaty of Breda and a grant of the Island was made to Paul DAILLEBOUST on Apr. 16/1693 by the Gov. of New France. Because Paul never lived on the island or place settlers there, his grant title lapsed back to the Crown.
The first survey of the island was carried out in 1734 by George MITCHELL, Deputy Surveyor of Crown Lands of Nova Scotia. In 1773 a few people tried to get their hands on Grand Manan but didn't succeed.
In 1779 Joel BONNY, Abiel SPRAGUE and James SPRAGUE (brothers to Mrs. BONNY) and their families left Machias (Machias in the U.S.A., not Machias seal island) and moved to Grand Manan, they lived in huts in Bonny Brook, which runs into Grand Harbour.
In 1779 the Merrisheete, Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes made a complaint against the settlers who had taken possession of Grand Manan. A letter was sent to BONNY who returned to Machias with his friends, held a meeting with the Indians and for $10.00 and an animal Bonny and his friends were allowed to pass the winter on the Island. Joel BONNY's first son Alexander was the first white child born on Grand Manan. Alexander became a minister (Baptist) and died in 1869 at age 90 yrs. And the first while female born on the Island was Barbara CHENEY in 1787.
Joel BONNY to Diggedequash (Not far from St George) in 1780 where he made it his home. He was born in Pembroke MA. He was Welsh and died in Portland, ME, at age 84.
In 1775, Johathan EDDY with some Indians from Machias and St John River, attacked Fort Cumberland. They didn't get very far and retreated to Maugerville, through the forest and then back to Machias. When he got back to Machias, he made plans to get some land for himself and his followers. In 1783-84 when Loyalist started getting grants for land, EDDY applied to the governor of Massachusetts for possession of Grand Manan Island.
In July 1784, the Massachusetts governor appointed a committee to sell Grand Manan and all the other Islands around it for the most they could get. Moses GERRISH, in charge of the Loyalists settlers, heard of this and had made plans of his own. On Dec. 30, 1783, the governor of Nova Scotia granted a license to GERRISH to occupy the island. They took possession and began a settlement in May 1784.
Colonel EDDY moved to the Penobscot River area (just above Bangor ME), in August of 1784, Moses GERRISH, who was born in Newbury, MA, on June 10, 1744, became the first permanent settler on Grand Manan NB., he received a magistrate appointment which gave him the rights to perform marriages. One day at age 86 in 1830, he had traveled to Seal Cove from where he lived on Grand Harbour Island (Ross Island) to perform a marriage. On his way back he drowned at Grand Harbour.
Although GERRISH settled on Grand Manan in 1784, the USA refused to let go of their claim to Grand Manan. At the end of the Revolutionary War, the boundary lines were changed and the US laid claim once again to Grand Manan. Great Britain appointed a commission and under the Treaty of Ghent, rendered at New York, on Nov. 24, 1817, Grand Manan was finally awarded to Great Britain.
Between the year 1759 and 1783 (the year of the arrival of the Loyalists) many English settlers came to the River St John, they were our true pioneers. There were some traders, they settled in Maugerville, retired officers who settled inland and refugees driven inland by privateers. In 1759, Governor Lawrence offered land to the English along with all kind of other nice promises. The first man to take advantage of it was James SIMONDS of Woburn, MA.
He or a member of his family lived on this 10,000 acre estate bought from Charles MORRIS. It began at Mill Creek, below present Fredericton. A grandson, Col. Edward SIMONDS moved to the old house in 1843, remodeled it. It stood on the site of the first house above the present Experimental Farm. The present highway below Fredericton was at first the road to the SIMONDS home. James SIMONDS and his cousins James WHITE and William HAZEN formed a trading company with headquarters at Newburyport with HAZEN and another cousin named BLODGET in charge.
In 1764 SIMONDS and WHITE took a party of 30 people to the Saint John River and established an English settlement. Among those 30 people were: Moses TRUE, Moses KIMBALL, Benjamin DOW, Bathelder KING, Edmund BUTLER, William PICET, John NASON, John HUNT, George BERRY, Simon HILYARD, Ebenezer FOWLER, Ezekiel CARR, Benjamin WIGGINS, Benjamin WINTER, Thomas JENKINS and others.
HAZEN, SIMONDS and WHITE exported annually to England from their trading post at the mouth of the St John River, 4,000 beaver skins, musquash, otter, mink, fisher, marten, fox, raccoon, wolverine, bear, loup-cervier, deer, moose, feathers, etc.
In the summer of 1761, a large number of families under leadership of Francis PEABODY arrived at the present Maugerville, having embarked on two schooners from Newburyport. The township was for a time called Township of Peabody. In 1762 PEABODY built the first frame house of New Brunswick and later sold it to James SIMONDS. Two daughters of PEABODY married the cousins James WHITE and James SIMONDS.
The following list is the first Maugerville grantees and many of these settlers and descendants later moved to Fredericton. If any of these interest any of you and you want the lot number e-mail me please. Granted in 1761: Peter MOORE, Samuel NEVERS, Joseph GARRISON, Richard KEMBELL, Daniel PALMER, John WASON, Thomas BARKER, Johnathan SMITH, Isaac STICKNEY, Jacob BARKER Jr., Humphrey PICKARD, Jeremiah BURPEE, Ez. SAUNDERS, Dan JEWIT, Jacob BARKER, John BURPEE, Jeremiah BURPEE, Samuel TAPLEY, Samuel WHITNEY, Nathanial NEWMAN, Mathew WASON, Edward COYE, Richard ESTY, John ESTY, Zebulon ESTY, Samuel UPTON, John RUSSEL, Neh. HOWARD, Joshua MAUGER, Capt. Francis PEABODY, Widow CLARK, Ammi HEWLET, Hugh SHIRLEY, David BURBANK, Benjamin BRAWN, Joseph BUBER, James SIMONDS Esq., George MUMS, Evan MUMS, Oliver PEABODY, Nathan EAMES, Samuel PEABODY, Ammi HOWLET, John HALL, William HARRIS, Samuel McKEEN, Jos. DUMPHEY, Phineas NEVERS, John SMITH, Richard PEABODY, Nathaniel RIDOUT, John WHIPPLE, Beamsley Perkins GLASER, Israel PERLEY, William McKEEN, Hugh SHIRLEY, Jedediah STICKNEY, Elias NEVERS, Thomas CHRISTY, Hugh QUINTON, Enoch DOW, Moses DAVID, Richard ESTY.
Voted to be granted in Council between 1767 and 1783: Gilles TIDMARSH Jr., Moses PRITCHRD, Gilles TIDMARSH, William SAUNDERS, Gervas or Jarvis SAY, John WHIPPLE, Elisha NEVERS, Thomas ROUS, Richard BARLOW, James VIBART, Johathan PARKER Jr., Benjamin ATHERTON, Jeremiah HOWLAND, Joseph CLARK, Dan and Moses PALMER, Jacob BARKER, Moses PICKARD, Jacques FRED, W. DESBARRES, Georges HAYWARD, Asa PERLEY, Samuel HART, and Charles MORRIS Jr.
This is for now.
Irene Doyle
+++++
The Final Word
We thank all of the members for attending the New Brunswick chats in the Genealogy Forum on AOL. Since many of them cannot be with us on every Sunday evening, we print the chat news periodically to share information with all members. We urge members to use the Surname Message Boards and the Locality Message Board to post queries and share information.
All members are invited to post articles they have prepared, GEDCOMs, family and newsletters and other materials they have prepared to the File Library. If you will inform the undersigned of information uploaded to the File Library, I will have them linked into the New Brunswick Folder in the Resources area so that more members may share them.
We invite any of the New Brunswick chat members, either those attending the chats or those who keep in touch via the chat news, to send us a brief article on visits to New Brunswick or other research experiences for that area. Share your experiences in arranging transportation, lodging, research and recreational activities.
Finally, I would like to thank those who have contributed articles for this newsletter. Remember, we can only quote a few. Visit their site and examine the great amount of Canadian research material which is available.
Chuck Bobo
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