Samphire Greens

The Story of The Steeves  by Esther Clark Wright

D
ad got us up early as he said he needed a couple of fast moving drovers to help bring the young cattle home from the mountain pasture. They had been running free all summer and were a bit on the wild side in their actions. We had to do lots of chasing to keep them on the road and out of the fields of the farms we passed. Finally, we managed to get them into the barn and fastened in the stanchions.

The herd included five that belonged to a fellow from Norton who had been scarce on summer pasture. Dad suggested Mum write him a letter to advise the cattle were safe and ready to be taken home.

Way back in 1767, Francis Peabody of Maugerville wrote a letter to Captain Hall, telling him the cattle that he had left were all alive. He regretted that the Captain had not come to settle in the area as he had talked of doing.

By the way, Captain Hall brought a group of German settlers from Philadelphia to the banks of the Petitcodiac River in New Brunswick in 1766.

The creek where they landed is still called Hall’s Creek. The families of Stief, Lutz. Trites, Somers and Jones set about creating a fruitful settlement. But hardships had to be first overcome. One of the tales is of their having no cereals and having to live, for at least one winter on turnip mush.

Help was offered by an Acadian, named Belliveau, who appeared out of the woods and taught them how to snare rabbits, moose and other animals, to make maple sugar, and to procure other means of living. He possibly showed them how to build a brush fence across a little creek on the river bank to trap the shad and salmon.

The gathering of samphire greens from the marshes was a tradition that was passed down to later generations.

Esther Clark Wright’s mother, who was a direct descendant of the settler Heinrich Stief, told of going down to the marsh to gather greens during her childhood days. Thus it was very fitting that Esther Clark Wright chose  “Samphire Greens” for the title of her publication in 1961 on the Story of the Steeves, an account of the legendary figures, Heinrich Stief and his seven sons. She wove fact and fancy into a vivid and readable story of those settlers who came to New Brunswick before the Loyalists.

Samphire Greens is a book, not only about the Stief descendants who later became known as Steeves but of their neighbours and others who survived the early years in a new country and about the opportunities they seized as well as the hardships and tragedies they overcame. It is available in several research institutions.

***

Query 1225
Petersen - Hansen: I am seeking information on the Danish origins of Caroline Petersen who married Jorgen Hansen and lived in New Denmark. Jorgen and Caroline, as of the 1901 census, had these children: Matilda, Holga, Hans, Marie, Valdemar, Julius, Johannes, Alena, Daniel, Fredrik, and Maggie.
SUE COLLINS
10510 NE 90th Street
Vancouver, Washington
98662, USA
E-mail Collins30038@aol.com

Query 1226
Chambers - Donaldson: My Great Aunt Annie Donaldson came to Canada in 1913 and married George Chambers in Sackville in 1915. I am searching for the families of  George William Chambers born 1916, Henry James Chambers born 1919 and John Leaman Chambers born1922.
Mrs. DENISE JARVIS
30 Casewick Lane
Uffington, Stamford
Lincolnshire, Pe9 4SX
England, U.K.
E-mail george@jarvisg.fslife.co.uk or  denise@jarvisg.fslife.co.uk


Visit Ruby's Bookshelf
New and Used Genealogical and Historical books of New Brunswick for sale.

Ruby M. Cusack is a genealogy buff living in New Brunswick, Canada. Send your New Brunswick genealogical queries to her at:  rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca.  Include your name and mailing address for the benefit of the readers of the newspaper who do not have access to E-mail but could have information to share with you. Please put "Yesteryear" followed by the surnames in your query. For more information on submitting queries, visit http://www.rubycusack.com/Query-Instructions.html
Back to Home of  rubycusack dot com