Transcription of Sackville, New Brunswick Land Grant dated 1774 which names over 30 individuals who migrated “largely” from Rhode Island to Sackville, NB.  (by Doug Meharry, August 18, 2003)

 

Introduction

 

Below is my transcription of an original Nova Scotia land grant document recorded in Grant Book, Volume: A, starting at page 266.  It was taken from a photo copy of the original which was provided at my request by the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. 

 

I originally ordered this document with the hope that it would help prove or disprove that the Samuel IRONS named in it, originated in Rhode Island.  Unfortunately, it did neither. 

 

However, taken with all of the other evidence available to me, it does add  strength to the argument that he (Samuel IRONS of New Brunswick circa 1765 – 1786) did in fact originate in Rhode Island.  If this is true, then my money is on him being Samuel3 (Jeremiah2, Samuel1), born 29 Oct. 1744 in Glocester or Providence, Rhode Island who was the second son of Jeremiah2 (Samuel1), IRONS (born 29 Nov. 1711) and Bethia WIGEAR (born about 1715).

 

In July 1774, when this Grant was originally written, the subject lands were located in Nova Scotia.  Later, in 1784, Nova Scotia was partitioned to create New Brunswick and the lands therein had to be re-registered.  This document appears to be the original (dated July 24, 1774) which was then re-registered in 1786 when it was re-filed with the official records of the recently created province of New Brunswick.  The complete document covers just over three full pages. 

 

Names of Grantees that appear in this document are: Heirs of Thomas Barnes, William Maxwell, Cogshell Olney, Abiel Peck, William Brown, Stephen Jenks, Peleg Williams, Joseph Owen, Gideon Young, Edmund Jenks, Benjamin Thurbur, Lewis Eddy, Deborah Eddy, Josiah Tingley, Jonathan Cole, William Easterbrooks, Edward Cole, Ambrose Cole, Samuel Irons, The Heirs of Joseph Reed, Gideon Young, Simeon Reed, Job Archer, Joseph and Jonas Bennet Junior, William Browne Junior, Andrew Waterman, The Heirs of Benjamin Wilber, Samuel Rogers, Robert Foster and John Foster.

 

Most of the above also show up in a “List of individuals in Sackville” that was made in 1765.  http://www.rootsweb.com/~nbwestmo/sackville1765.htm

 

Samuel IRONS also shows up along with many of the above individuals in the 1770 Nova Scotia Census.  In this census, Samuel IRONS is listed as living in Sackville with one boy, three girls, and a woman (no doubt his wife).  The record indicates they are Protestant and American.  Here is a link to this record:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~canns/nscensus1770h.html

 

 

One can also find many of these surnames in early contemporaneous records from Rhode Island – which lends strong support to Al Smith’s following statement that first Planters who settled in Sackville were “largely from Rhode Island.”  For more information about Rhode Island, visit the Rhode Island GenWeb Project page at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~rigenweb/

 

According to a short history of Sackville, New Brunswick (in an article by Al Smith originally published in the Saint John Telegraph Journal, 29 June 2001) most of the early Planters who came to the area in the early 1760’s were “largely” from Rhode Island. 

 

For the Planters, migration was no-doubt an attractive prospect as quite a bit of the available land had already been cleared and farmed by their predecessor Acadian French residents who had recently been expelled by the British.  Following is an excerpt from Smith’s article:

 

British forces captured Fort Beausejour in June of 1755 and shortly thereafter most Acadian residents were expelled from the area. Harassment of British military installations by French guerillas and their Micmac allies continued until the fall of Quebec in 1759 which ended all hopes that Acadians may have been able to repossess their lands. The end of guerilla warfare thus lead to a greater sense of security for potential settlers.

Nova Scotia's Governor Lawrence issued a proclamation in 1758 inviting New Englanders to come to Nova Scotia (which at the time included all of present day New Brunswick) and take up free land grants. Military personnel completing their enlistments at Fort Cumberland (formerly Beausejour) were offered land grants in 1760 and some stayed to establish homesteads in the area that was later to become Sackville. Governor Lawrence's proclamation led to the arrival of the New England Planters or colonists to Nova Scotia.  The first major wave of "Planters" to the Sackville area occurred in 1760-61 when 25 families arrived. Family names such as Tower, Estabrooks, Cole, Finney, Seaman, Robinson, Brownell, Ward and others came to the area - largely from Rhode Island. Additional waves of immigrants from New England arrived in 1762-63 (Oulton, Tingley, Ayer, Richardson and others)as well a group of 13 Baptists from Swansea, Massachusetts who established the first Baptist church in Canada.

 

Follow this link to see the complete article by Al Smith http://heritage.tantramar.com/history.html

 

 

 

The Land Grant Transcription (as transcribed by Doug Meharry)

 

Page 266

 

Nova Scotia Fr.            Sackville                       The Heirs of Tho. Barnes Et 30 Other.

 

 

Frank Legge

 

To all to whom these Presents shall come Greetings.  Know ye that I Francis Legge Esq. Captain General and Governor in Chief in and over His Majestys Province of Nova Scotia and its dependencies.  His Admiral of the same  ... by virtue of the power and authority to me given by his present Majesty King George the third under the Great Seal of Great Britin.  Have given granted and confirmed and do by these Presents give grant and confirm unto the Heirs of Thomas Barnes, William Maxwell, Cogshell Olney, Abiel Peck, William Brown, Stephen Jenks, Peleg Williams, Joseph Owen, Gideon Young, Edmund Jenks, Benjamin Thurbur, Lewis Eddy, Deborah Eddy, Josiah Tingley, Jonathan Cole, William Easterbrooks, Edward Cole, Ambrose Cole, Samuel

 

Page 268

 

Samuel Irons, the Heirs of Joseph Reed, Gideon Young, Simion Reed, Job Archer, Joseph and Jonas Bennet Junior, William ... Junior, Andrew Waterman, The Heirs of Benjamin Willber, Samuel Rogers, Robert Foster and John Foster their Heirs and assigns Twenty four shares and a half of Rights of Land in the Township of Sackville and each Share or Right containing five hundred Acres more or less containing in the whole by estimation of the said several shares or Rights Twelve Thousand Two Hundred and fifty Acres more or less with allowance of roads in the following proportions as is herein after described letter’d and number’d that is to say unto the Heirs of Thomas Barnes, Share or Right to Fifteen, unto William Maxwell, share or Right to Twelve and half of share or Right to fifty three, Cogshell Olney half the Share or Right to Thirty one unto Abiel Peck share or Right to Twenty six and half the Share or Right to fifty one; unto William Brown Share or Right to Twenty eight and half Share or Right to Fifty, unto Stephen Jenks half the Share or Right to Eighteen and half the Share or right to forty four, unto Peleg Williams share or right to Thirty four and half Share or Right to fifty four, unto Joseph Owen half share or right to forty seven unto Gideon Young Share or Right to Nineteen; being in the division Letter A: unto Edmund Jenks Share or Right to Three, unto Benjamin Thurbeer, Shares or Rights to Seventy Three and Seventy four, unto Lewis Eddy half the Share or Right to forty nine, unto Deborah Eddy half the remain or Right to forty nine, unto Josiah Tingley half Share or Right to Sixty six, unto Jonathan Cole Share or Right to Sixty eight, unto William Easterbrooks half the Share or Right ... Sixty nine, unto Edward Cole half the Share or Right to Seventy unto Ambrose Cole half the share or right to Seventy, unto Samuel Irons half the Share or right to fifty eight, unto the Heirs of Joseph Reed the remaining half of share or right to fifty eight, unto Gidion Young half the share or right to fifty, unto Simion Reed half the remaining half of share or right to fifty, unto Job Archer Share or Right to Sixty four, unto Joseph and Jonas Bennet Jun. Share or right to Thirteen being the division

 

Page 268

 

division Letter B. unto William Browne Junior Share or Right to Twelve being in division Letter C. unto Andrew Waterman Share or Right to Seven, unto the Heirs of Benjamin Wilber Share or Right to Two, unto Samuel Rogers half the Share or Right to Ten, unto Robert Foster Share or Right to Twenty two and unto John Foster half the share or right to Twenty four being in the division Letter A. said Persons having heretofore been admitted into possession of the aforesaid Tracts of Land by order of Government with all and all manner of Mines unopened excepting Mines of Gold and Silver Lead Copper and Coals.  To have and to hold the said granted Premises with all priviledges, Profits, Commodities and appurtenances there unto belonging unto the said Heirs of Thomas Barnes, William Maxwell, Cogshell Olney, Abiel Peck, William Brown, Stephen Jnks, Peleg Williams, Joseph Owen, Gideon Young, Edmund Jenks, Benjamin Thurbur, Lewis Eddy, Deborah Eddy, Josiah Tingley, Jonathan Cole, William Easterbrooks, Edward Cole, Ambrose Cole, Samuel Irons, The Heirs of Joseph Reed, Gideon Young, Simeon Reed, Job Archer, Joseph and Jonas Bennet Junior, William Browne Junior, Andrew Waterman, The Heirs of Benjamin Wilber, Samuel Rogers, Robert Foster and John Foster their Heirs and assigns for ever Yielding and Paying by the said Grantees their Heirs and assigns, which by the acceptation hereof each and every of the said Grantees binds and obliges himself his Heirs, Executors and Assigns to pay to his Majesty King George the Third his Heirs and Successors to any Person lawfully authorised to receive the same for His Majesty’s use a free yearly quit rent of one farthing Sterling Money on ... day for every year so granted and so in proportion for a greater or lesser quantity of Land granted the first payment of the same to be made on ... (looks like “Michalmas”) daynext which shall first happen after the date of this Grant and so to continue payable yearly thereafter for ever.  But in case three years quit rent shall at any one time be hehind and unpaid and no distress to be found on the premises then this Grant to the Grantee so failing shall be null and void and provided also that this Grant shall have been registered at the Registers office and a docquet there of entered at the Auditor’s office within six months from the date here of otherwise this Grant shall become null and void. And

 

Page 269

 

And moreover the Grant hereby made is upon this express condition and each of the said Grantees binds and obliges himself his Heirs or Assigns to plant, cultivate, improve or inclose one third part of said Land hereby granted within one year, one other third part within Eleven years, and the remaining Third part within Twenty one years from the date of this Grant or otherwise to ... forfeit his Right to such Lands as shall not be actually under improvement and cultivation at the time the forfeiture shall be incurred.  And each of the said Grantees doth likewise hereby bind and oblige himself his Heirs Executors and assigns to plant within two years from the date hereof two acres of his said Land with Hemp and to keep up the same or a like quantity of Acres planted during the successive years.  And for the more effectual accomplishment of His Majesty’s Intentions for settling the Land within this Province the Grant hereby made is upon the further express condition that if each of the said Grantees his Heirs or Assigns shall not settle on his respective share or right one family at least with proper Stock and Materials for the improvement of the same on or before the last day of July One Thousand seven hundred and Seventy Six, then this Grant to the Grantee so failing to settle as aforesaid shall be null and void and of none effect and the Right of the said Grantee shall cease and revert to the Crown and the Governor Lieutenant Governor or Commander in Chief of the said Province for the time being may at his pleasure grant the same to any other Person or Persons in the like manner as if this Grant had not been made.  In witness whereof I have signed these Presents and caused the Seal of the Province to be hereunto affixed at Halifax this Twenty second day of July in the fourteenth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third by the Grace of God of Great Britain; France and Ireland King Defender of the faith.  I so forth and in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy four.

 

Nova Scotia Halifax                                          By His Excellency’s command

Registered July 25th 1774                                 Rich Butheley

                                                                        Arthur Goold Reg.

 

Entered at the Auditor’s office 24th July 1774

 

Saint John New Brunswick Regist 25th September 1786 (??)