History of Halifax City Part 22

Creighton was sent to Maligash with Col. Lawrence in 1752 to a.s.sist in forming the settlement at Lunenburg, where he continued to reside until his death, which took place in 1807. He was Colonel of the Militia, Judge of the Common Pleas, and for some time a member of His Majesty's Council, to which he was appointed in 1776. Col. Creighton was a native of the South of England. He left numerous descendants in this country.

His youngest son, Col. Joseph Creighton, half pay of 56th Regiment of foot, died at Halifax about 1854. His grandson, the Hon. John Creighton, of Lunenburg, was a member of the Legislative Council. Mr. James Creighton, the ancestor of the family of that name now in Halifax, came out with Col. Creighton. It does not appear there was any relations.h.i.+p between them. Mr. James Creighton became one of the most thriving and influential settlers in the town, and was the ancestor of one of our most numerous and estimable families. Col. Creighton's daughters married, one to the late Judge Wilkins and another to Hon. Hibbert N.

Binney, both of whom have left numerous descendants.

Perigrin Thomas Hopson, the second Governor at Halifax, was Commander-in-Chief at Louisburg when that place was delivered up to the French after the Treaty of Aix la Chappelle. He came up with the army and was sworn in a member of Council in August, 1749. He succeeded to the government on the resignation of Governor Cornwallis in August, 1753. He did not remain long at Halifax. In 1757 he was gazetted a Major General, and in the following year was appointed to the command of the forces destined for the West Indies. He died before Guadaloupe a short time before the Island was captured.

John Collier was a Captain in the army and Member of Council in 1752. He was appointed by Governor Cornwallis one of the magistrates of the town, and had command of a section of the militia; one of the divisions of the town being named after him. He died at Halifax in 1769. It is uncertain whether he left any descendants.

Richard Bulkeley accompanied Governor Cornwallis to Nova Scotia as one of his A. D. C. in 1749. He was appointed Secretary of the Province in or about 1759, which office he held until 1793 when, on his retirement, he was succeeded by his son, Michael Freke Bulkeley, who died a few years after his appointment, 1796. Capt. Bulkeley was called to His Majesty's Council in 1759, and as Senior Councillor, he administered the government on the death of Governor Parr, in 1791. He held, at various times, the offices of Judge of Admiralty, Brigadier General of Militia, and Grand Master of the Masons. He died December 7th, 1800, at the age of 83, beloved and respected by all cla.s.ses throughout the province. He was justly esteemed the father of the settlement, being the only person of consideration then living who came in 1749. He had been twice married. His first wife was a daughter of Capt. Rouse, R. N.; she died in 1775. He had three sons, all of whom died before him. His residence was at the corner of Prince and Argyle Streets, opposite the south-west corner of St. Paul's Church. The old stone house built by him still remains; it was for many years the residence of the late Hon. H. H.

Cogswell, and is now known as the Carlton House. Mr. Bulkeley was buried under St. Paul's Church. His escutcheon, with the bull's head crest, hangs in the west gallery. The Hon. Richard Bulkeley was the only person who ever held the rank of General of Militia in this country.

Capt. Horatio Gates was A. D. C. to Governor Cornwallis with Capt.

Bulkeley. He had been in command of an independent company of provincials in New York in the year 1737. After his arrival in Halifax he was employed for a short time in the country against the Indians and French. In 1762 he was appointed A. D. C. to General Monckton, with the rank of Major, and accompanied him in the expedition against Martinique.

Gates was afterwards better known as a General in the American Revolutionary Army. Sir Robert Walpole, in a letter dated 1778, says Gates was the son of a housekeeper of the Duke of Leeds. Sir Robert was his G.o.d-father.

Jonathan Binney was a native of Hull, a small village near Boston. He came to Halifax shortly after the settlement was formed, and was engaged in business. He was elected a Member of a.s.sembly for the town in 1761, and in 1764 was elevated to the Council. In 1768 he was sent to the Island of St. John (now Prince Edward Island) as Second Judge of the Local Court, and afterwards held the offices of Collector of the Revenue at Canso and Collector of Imports and Excise at St. John Island. He was charged with errors in his accounts by Mr. Legge, the Governor of the province, under which he went to England in 1776, where he completely refuted the charges made against him. Mr. Binney married Hannah, daughter of Mr. Henry Newton, a Member of Council, and is the ancestor of the whole Binney family now in Nova Scotia.

Joseph Fairbanks was from Ma.s.sachusetts. He was one of the representatives in the first House of a.s.sembly, summoned in 1758. Mr.

Fairbanks left no children. His nephew, the late Rufus Fairbanks, became heir to all his property in Halifax, which at the time of his death was very considerable. Mr. Rufus Fairbanks was for many years one of the magistrates of Halifax; he married a daughter of Charles Prescott, sister to the Hon. Charles Prescott, of the firm of Fairbanks & McNab; of Hon. Charles R. Fairbanks, many years a Member of a.s.sembly for Halifax and Judge of Admiralty and Master of the Rolls, and of Samuel P.

Fairbanks, formerly Member for Queens County, with other children.

Benjamin and Joseph Gerrish were both from New England. The former was a member of His Majesty's Council, appointed in 1768, and Agent for Indian Affairs in 1760. The latter was many years Naval Storekeeper at Halifax.

He was also a Member of Council. His appointment to the Board bears date August 16th, 1759, from which he was suspended in 1762 for non-attendance. He died at Halifax in 1774. Mr. Joseph Gerrish built a residence in the north suburbs, south of the Dockyard, between Lockman and Water Streets, and had a fruit garden, the old stone wall of which remained on the east side of Lockman Street until about 1835. One of these gentlemen carried on business for some years in company with Mr.

Gray, who was connected with him by marriage. Mr. Gray was father of the late Rev. Dr. Benjamin Gerrish Gray, minister of St. George's, and afterwards Rector of Trinity, St. John, New Brunswick, who was succeeded by his son, the Rev. Dr. William Gray, lately deceased. He was also ancestor of Mr. Charles Gray, British Consul at Virginia. The Hon. John Gray, of St. John, New Brunswick, and Benjamin Gerrish Gray, Esq., barrister at law, of Halifax, are their descendants; one the son of Mr.

Charles Gray, the other of Dr. William Gray. A Mr. John Gray came out with Governor Cornwallis in 1749 as a Deputy Secretary; probably Mr.

Gray who was in partners.h.i.+p with Gerrish was the same person.

Major Leonard Lochman, (spelt wrongfully Lockman) was a German doctor and practised his profession in early life. He came out with the settlers in 1749 and resided in the north suburbs, where he built a residence for himself and had a large garden. This old house was lately pulled down. It stood on the upper side of Lockman Street and was built with a hipped or gamble roof. He received the rank of Major in the army for services performed to the British Government. He died at Halifax, and was buried under the little old Dutch Church, in Brunswick Street, where his escutcheon and monument with armorial bearings are still to be seen. The street between Brunswick Street and the water, which was laid out between the German lots, was named Lockman Street in compliment to the Major, who was for many years a leading man in Dutchtown. It is not known whether he left any descendants in the province.

The names of Jonathan Prescott, Malachi Salter, Richard Gibbons, Lewis Piers and Otto William Schwartz appear among the princ.i.p.al inhabitants of the town in 1750. Mr. Salter was from New England, had been extensively engaged in the fishery, and had visited Chebucto Harbor in 1744, five years before the settlement, while on a fis.h.i.+ng voyage along the coast. Chebucto was the frequent resort of Cape Cod and Marblehead fishermen previous to the settlement. He was a Member of a.s.sembly and Justice of the Peace for the town in 1759. The old house at the corner of Salter and Hollis Streets, afterwards the residence of the Hon. W.

Lawson, and later of Mr. Esson, was built by Mr. Salter and was his place of residence for many years. During the American revolt, Mr.

Salter, with several other gentlemen of the town, became suspected of treasonable correspondence. He was twice under prosecution, but on a full investigation nothing appeared to have been said or written by him of sufficient moment to warrant the charges. Mr. Salter was the ancestor of the family of that name now remaining in Halifax. He died at Halifax, in January, 1781, aged 65.

Mr. Gibbons was acting Attorney General for several years, and a leading pract.i.tioner at the Bar of Halifax. His son, Richard Gibbons, died at Sydney, Cape Breton, at an advanced age, where his descendants are numerous. The old gamble-roofed house at the corner of Buckingham and Grafton Streets, known as Isles' corner, lately pulled down, was the residence of Mr. Gibbons.

John Duport was the English Attorney. He came out with the settlers in June, 1749, and in July following was appointed a Justice of the Peace.

In 1752 he was made Judge of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas. He performed the duties of Secretary of Council for many years. He was sent as a Judge to St. John's Island in 1770, and was afterwards Chief Justice of the Island. Mr. Duport left a daughter married to Mr. P.

Skey, of Falmouth, and a son who was in the army and was father of Mr.

Robert Duport, later an officer in the Purveyor's department of the British Army. Judge Duport was much esteemed, and appears to have been an active public servant during the first twenty years of the settlement.

Joshua Mauger was an English trader, who had been connected with the government contracts at Louisburg, and appears to have resided in Halifax for the purpose of commerce only. In 1751 he held the office of Agent Victualler for the navy at Halifax. In 1754 he had shops established at Pisiquid (Windsor), Minas (Horton), and other places, where he sold goods and spirits to the French and Indians. He had still houses in Halifax where he made rum which he supplied to the troops and the navy. Mr. Mauger had some difficulties with Governor Cornwallis regarding illicit dealing. He went back to England about 1761, and was appointed Agent of the Province in London, which he resigned in the following year, having secured a seat in the British Parliament. He owned much property in and about Halifax. The beach at the entrance of the harbor, extending westerly from Cornwallis, now McNab's Island, was originally granted to Mr. Mauger, and still bears his name.

Michael Franklin was a merchant from England who settled in Halifax about 1752 or 1753. He was elected a Member of a.s.sembly in 1759, and appointed to His Majesty's Council in 1762. In 1766 he received the appointment of Lieut.-Governor of the Province, which he held until 1776, when he again took his seat at the Council Board. Governor Franklin was a most active and esteemed public officer. His name appears connected with almost all the transactions of importance which occurred in the town from 1763 to 1780. During the American Revolt, his exertions in support of British authority while administering the government, were in a great measure instrumental in preserving the tranquility of the province. He married a daughter of Mr. Boteneau, of Boston, whose wife was a daughter of Peter Faneuil of that city. He left several children.

The late James Boteneau Franklin, for many years Clerk of the House of a.s.sembly, was his eldest son. Mrs. Fitzgerald Uniacke was his grand-daughter.

Lewis Piers was a grand-son of Sir Henry Piers, 1st Bart. of Tristernagh Abbey, Ireland.

The Hon. Thomas Saul was the wealthiest and most enterprising merchant from 1749 to 1760.

The names of Benjamin Gerrish, Charles King, Henry Ferguson, Joseph Fairbanks, William Piggot, William Fury, James Grant, Jacob Hurd, Daniel Shatford, Samuel Sellon, Charles Mason, Lewis Piers and Robert Campbell appear on the lists of the Grand Jury between 1751 and 1754.

The following names appear on the register of early settlers:--Richard Wenman, Thomas Keys, John Edes, John Gosbee, Ralph Coulston, Edward Orpen, John Christopher Laurilliard, Philip Knaut, Peter Burgman, Otto William Schwartz, John Jacob Preper, John Woodin, Andrew Wellner, Christopher Preper, Simon Thoroughgood.

APPENDICES.

A.

The following is a copy of the advertis.e.m.e.nt which appeared in the London Gazette, March, 1749:

WHITEHALL, 7th March, 1749.

A proposal having been presented unto His Majesty for the establis.h.i.+ng a civil government in the Province of Nova Scotia, in North America, as also for the better peopling and settling the said province, and extending and improving the fishery thereof by granting lands within the same, and giving other encouragement to such of the officers and private men lately dismissed His Majesty's land and sea service, as shall be willing to settle in said province. And His Majesty having signed his royal approbation of the report of the said proposals, the Right Honorable the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations do, by His Majesty's command, give notice that proper encouragement will be given to such of the officers and private men lately dismissed His Majesty's land and sea service as are willing to accept of grants of land, and to settle with or without families, in Nova Scotia. That 50 acres of land will be granted in fee simple to every private soldier or seaman, free from the payment of any quit rents or taxes for the term of ten years; at the expiration whereof no person to pay more than one s.h.i.+lling per annum for every 50 acres so granted.

That a grant of ten acres over and above the 50 will be made to each private soldier or seaman having a family for every person including women and children of which his family shall consist, and from the grants made to them on the like conditions as their families shall increase, or in proportion to their abilities to cultivate the same.

That eighty acres on like conditions will be granted to every officer under the rank of Ensign in the land service, and that of Lieutenant in the sea service, and to such as have families, fifteen acres over and above the said eighty acres, for every person of which their family shall consist.

That two hundred acres on like conditions will be granted to every Ensign, three hundred to every Lieutenant, four hundred to every Captain, and six hundred to every officer above the rank of Captain. And to such of the above mentioned officers as have families, a further grant of thirty acres will be made over and above their respective quotas for every person of which their family shall consist.

That the lands will be parcelled out to the settlers as soon as possible after their arrival, _and a civil government established, whereby they will enjoy all the liberties, privileges and immunities enjoyed by his Majesty's subjects in any other of the Colonies and Plantations in America, under His Majesty's Government, and proper measures will also be taken for their security and protection_.

That all such as are willing to accept of the above proposals shall, with their families, be subsisted during the pa.s.sage, also for the s.p.a.ce of twelve months after their arrival.

That they shall be furnished with arms and ammunition as far as will be judged necessary for their defence, with a proper quant.i.ty of materials and utensils for husbandry, clearing and cultivating the lands, erecting habitations, carrying on the fishery, and such other purposes as shall be deemed necessary for their support.

That all such persons as are desirous of engaging in the above settlement do transmit by letter, or personally give in their names signifying in what regiment or company, or on board what s.h.i.+p they last served, and if they have families they intend to carry with them, distinguis.h.i.+ng the age and quality of such person to any of the following officers appointed to receive and enter the same in the books opened for that purpose, viz.:--John Pownell, Esq., Solicitor and Clerk of the Repts. of the Lords Comrs. of Trade and Plantations, at their office at Whitehall; John Ressell, Esq., Comr. of His Majesty's Navy at Portsmouth; Philip Vanburgh, Esq., Comr. of His Majesty's Navy at Plymouth.

And the proper notice will be given of the said books being closed as soon as the intended number shall be completed, or at least on the 7th day of April.

It is proposed that the Transports shall be ready to receive such persons on board on the 10th April, and be ready to sail on the 20th, and that timely notice will be given of the place or places to which such persons are to repair in order to embark.

That for the benefit of the settlement, the same conditions which are proposed to private soldiers and seamen shall likewise be granted to Carpenters, s.h.i.+pwrights, Smiths, Masons, Joiners, Brickmakers, Bricklayers, and all other artificers necessary in building or husbandry, not being private soldiers or seamen.

That the same conditions as are proposed to those who have served in the capacity of Ensign shall extend to all Surgeons, whether they have been in His Majesty's service or not, upon their producing proper certificates of their being duly qualified.

By order of the Right Hon. the Lords Comrs. of Trade and Plantations.

(Signed) THOMAS HILL, _Secretary_.

B.