The Nackawic
Bend
- 200 Years of History
I sure was glad to see the
Match-the-Twins contest in the newspaper come to a close. Mum and Dad
had spent hours trying to match the baby and adult twin photos with
more than one heated argument that seemed to involve all the relatives
who dropped in for a visit.
Cliff and I were certain we had a chance at winning the fifty-dollar
prize in the new contest of New Brunswick Trivia that had started in
the newspaper on the second of January.
The first nine questions were easy to answer but we were stuck on
number ten - Name three places that were considered to be possibilities
as the capital of New Brunswick?
If we had lived on the Nackawic Bend, we would probably have heard the
1782 story of General Henry Fox and Edward Winslow’s suggestion of
Pokiok being named the capital of New Brunswick. The two men were
impressed with the great potential for the marketing of lumber in the
Pokiok area. In fact Winslow was so impressed that he petitioned for a
grant of 1000 acres along the banks of the Pokiok, 500 acres on each
side of the stream. Though a small settlement did flourish, it did not
reach the expectations of Winslow and Fox.
One of the area’s first entrepreneurs was the commanding officer
of the King’s American Dragoons, Major Daniel Murray who built a
house, barn, grist mill and a saw mill. Due to the unsuitability
of the land for farming and the destruction of the mill by fire, many
of the early settlers left.
Major Richard Armstrong of the Queen’s Rangers received a large grant
of land near the mouth of the Nackawic river and purchased more than
1000 acres of land between there and the Coac stream. He constructed a
sawmill and a grist mill. He also purchased the block of land in
Fredericton above the present
Phoenix Square where he had a storehouse for supplies to be issued to
the
Loyalists. He was one of the first appointees as Justice of the
Peace
for York County.
Upon his death on 07 April 1817, he was buried on his lot of land near
the Coac Stream where his wife had been buried three years earlier. Two
large stones marked their final resting place. In 1822, his property
was advertised for sale by his executors who were residing in the West
Indies.
According to family legend, John Christian Fox was a saddle maker in
Linburg, Germany when he was shanghaied for the British Army and
shipped with numerous others to the colonies to fight as one of the
17,000 Hessian soldiers in the
American Revolution. At the close of the war, he received Lot # 5 in
the
present Parish of Canterbury. It is said that he and his wife, Mary
poled a raft up the St. John River to his grant, where they built a log
cabin, cleared
the land and raised a family of seven children.
Daniel Parent suffered several whippings at the hands of the Rebels
before coming to this country in 1783. His widow, Abigail married James
Brown.
Captain John MacKay was one of the disbanded soldiers who had to meet
strict conditions to retain title to his grant. He was married to
the sister of the Hon. John Saunders. Upon the death of the couple
circa 1822, his lots numbered 34, 35 and 36 were divided among his four
sisters or their heirs. Two of them, Catherine Munro and Janet Mcleod
were living in Scotland. A niece,
Jane Coburn was residing in the parish of
Northampton.
I have only scratched the surface of the information that is held in
the 282-page 1985 publication, ‘The Nackawic Bend - 200 Years
of History’, compiled by Patricia M. Lawson, Gail Farnsworth and M.
Anne Hartley with written
and oral contributions by many local residents. This treasury
of
historical accounts covers various aspects of life. It includes the
Indian legend of the golden calf, French buried treasure, first
settlers, and the drowning of Pokiok Falls. The captivating family
stories handed down through the years and the written contributions by
local historians, enriched with a collection of pictures and anecdotes
from area residents, enable the reader to sketch a story of people and
times on the Bend.
The Nackawic Bend is available at several research
institutions in New Brunswick.
****
Query 1242
West - Barker: I seek documentation as to the
parents
of Edward West who was born in 1789. He was the son of either Israel or
William
West, members of New Jersey Volunteers Loyalists, who settled in
Kingsclear
in 1784. He married Susan Barker in 1822 and children were, William
-1826,
George - 1828, Mary Mehetable - 1831, Charles - 1833.
PAUKINE WEST KEEHN
P O Box 333, Pollock Pines
CA, 95726, USA.
E-mail pfkeehn@innercite.com
Query 1243
McLean: Daniel McLean was born 10 Sep. 1851 in
Prince
Edward Island and married Olivia McLean born 12 Sep. 1856 in New
Brunswick
and living in New Brunswick per 1901 census. I am interested in
finding
their place of burial.
N. McLEAN CALDWELL
16616 N.E. 130th Avenue
Brush Prairie, WA
98606 USA
E-mail rncaldwell@msn.com
