Not long afterwards Hazen & Jarvis were unfortunate in their mercantile transactions at Newburyport and this, together with the loss of some of their vessels, made it necessary for them to take special care of their interests at St. John, consequently after the signing of the second business contract William Hazen came frequently to St. John. Early in 1771 he determined to discontinue business altogether at Newburyport and remove to St. John with his family. James White says that it was the wish of both Mr. Simonds and himself that Mr. Hazen should settle near them, making choice of such situation as he might deem agreeable to his taste, but that as the partnership business was drawing to a close the house to be erected should be built with his own money. Mr. Hazen made his choice of situation and built his house accordingly.
In the evidence given in the law suit concerning the division of the lands obtained from time to time by the company, James Simonds states that so far as the business at St. John was concerned Mr. Hazen’s presence was not needed since the business was conducted there by himself and James White when there was five times as much to be done. To this Mr. Hazen replies that Mr. Simonds’ letter of July, 1770, speaks a different language,[88] and he quotes figures to show that while for the first four years after the signing of the second contract the value of the supplies sent to St. John was £8,053 and the remittances from St. John £7,650; leaving a deficit in the business of £403; during the next four years, when he (Hazen) spent a large part of his time at St. John, the cost of supplies was £6,803 and the remittances £8,245, showing a surplus of £1,442; a difference of £1,845 in favor of his being at St. John.
When William Hazen decided to take up his residence at St. John in order more effectually to promote the interests of the company by superintending, in conjunction with Simonds and White the various operations that were being carried on there, his partner Leonard Jarvis removed to a place called Dartmouth, one 241 hundred miles from Newburyport, leaving his investment in the business untouched so as not to embarrass the company at a critical time. The supplies required at St. John were now furnished by his brother, Samuel Gardiner Jarvis, of Boston.
As will presently appear, fortune did not smile upon the removal of William Hazen and his family from their comfortable home in Newburyport to the rugged hillsides of St. John. However, Mr. Hazen was a man of resolution and enterprise, and having once made up his mind in regard to a step of so much importance was not likely to be easily discouraged. He at once began to make preparations for the accommodation of his family by building a house of greater pretensions than any that had yet been erected at Portland Point.
The first known reference to the Hazen house is found in a letter dated Feb.’y 18th, 1771, in which James Simonds writes, “We shall cut Mr. Hazen’s frame in some place near the water where it may be rafted at any time.” The house was erected in July following by the company’s carpenters and laborers. When nearly finished it was unfortunately destroyed by fire. A new house was begun the next year, which like the other was built at Mr. Hazen’s expense by the company’s carpenters and laborers.
As soon as the house was ready for occupation Mr. Hazen repaired to Newburyport to bring on his family, and in the month of May, 1775, they embarked in the Company’s sloop Merrimack of 80 tons. Mr. Hazen’s tribulations were by no means ended, for on the voyage the Merrimack was unluckily cast away on Fox Island and a good deal of her cargo, together with papers containing accounts of the Company’s business, was lost. However, all the passengers were saved, as well as most of their valuables, and were brought to St. John in Captain Drinkwater’s sloop. Drinkwater was obliged to throw overboard a load of cordwood to make room for the rescued passengers and crew and their possessions. For this he was of course remunerated by the Company. The Hazen family proved a great addition to the limited society of Portland Point. We learn from an enumeration of the inhabitants made this year that the Hazen household included 4 men, 3 women, 3 boys and 2 girls, 12 in all. Mr. Hazen’s nephew, John, who subsequently removed to Oromocto, was one of the family at that time. With such a family to provide for the grocery bill at the Company’s store grew rapidly. The first item charged to the account of the household after their arrival was 67 lbs. of moose meat at 1d. per lb.; and it is of interest to notice that beef was then quoted at 2d. per lb., or double the price of moose meat. It is altogether likely that with the Hazens moose steak was a much greater rarity on their arrival than it subsequently became, for at the time it was one of the staple articles of food and almost any settler who wanted fresh meat could obtain it by loading his musket and going to the woods.
OLD HAZEN HOUSE AND GROUNDS.
This illustration is taken from a water color sketch of St. John now in possession of Mrs. William Hazen. The original sketch was made by a member of the Hazen family more than eighty years ago. In the foreground appears the Hazen house, square and substantial, and nearly in line with and beyond it is the Chipman house, overlooking the valley; these two houses are the oldest now standing in the city. To the right of the Chipman house may be seen the Block-house, which formerly stood at the corner of King and Wentworth streets. Still further to the right is the old wind-mill tower, where the Dufferin Hotel now stands, and to the right of this is old Trinity Church before its first spire was destroyed by fire.
The Hazen house still stands, considerably modernized it is true, at the corner of Simonds and Brook streets, having withstood the ravages of time and escaped the numerous conflagrations that have occurred in the vicinity for more than 130 years. The present foundation is new with the exception of the stone wall on Brook street 242 243 which formed part of the original foundation. The roof formerly pitched four ways, running up to a peak in the centre. Some of the old studs, lately cut out to admit of the placing of new windows, were found to be merely spruce poles flattened on two sides with an axe; the boards too are roughly sawn. The sheathing of the house has all been renewed and an ell, which used to extend up Simonds street, has been taken down. The lower flat is at present used as a grocery, the upper flat as a hall. In olden times, and for many years, Mr. Hazen’s garden and grounds extended to the water. His residence was by far the best and most substantial yet erected at Portland—indeed in early days it was considered quite a mansion. The exact date of its erection, curiously enough, has been preserved. An entry in the old day book in James White’s handwriting reads thus:—