“Nov’r 17, 1773—Wm. Hazen Dr. To 4 Gall. W. I. Rum, 3 lb. Sugar, 3 Qts. N. E. Rum, Dinner, &c., &c., 25 shillings—for Raising his House!”
The entry shows that old time customs prevailed on the day of the “raising.” It doubtless was quite a gala day in the settlement with everybody there to help and share in the refreshments provided.
The removal of William Hazen and his family from Newburyport to Saint John had been planned, as already stated, several years before it was carried into effect. It was not in any way influenced by the threatening war clouds which at that time hung low in the sky. Mr. Hazen’s departure from Newburyport, however, was nearly coincident with the clash of arms at Lexington, and it was not long ere the events of the war between the old colonies and the mother country closed the ports of Massachusetts. This unfortunate circumstance interfered greatly with the business of Hazen, Simonds and White at St. John.
The retirement of Leonard Jarvis from the company necessitated a new business arrangement on the part of the remaining partners, and in May, 1773, a verbal agreement was made between Hazen, Simonds and White to carry on the fishery and trading in the proportions of a half interest to William Hazen a third to James Simonds, and a sixth to James White.
There is in one of the old account books an interesting memorandum in the handwriting of James Simonds, covering several pages, which shows that the company had then a large and varied assortment of goods on hand. The list bears the following heading: “Invoice of Goods removed from the Old to the New Store, July 21st, 1775.” The “new store” was finished about the time of Mr. Hazen’s arrival; it stood a little to the west of the first store built at the Point.
Among the buildings at Portland Point when the Hazen family arrived were the residences of the three partners, the Lime Store, the Salt Store—or Cooper’s Shop, the Log Store, the New Store, a blacksmith shop, two or three small dwelling houses and one or two barns, besides a saw mill at the outlet of the mill pond, a grist mill at Lily Lake, and one or two hovels on the marsh. The English-speaking population settled around the shores of the harbor did not exceed one hundred and fifty souls. Our authority on this point is indisputable. Two documents are preserved amongst the archives at Halifax, one entitled “A Return of the State of the Settlement at the mouth of the Harbour of the River 244 St. John the First day August, A. D. 1775”; the other, “A Return of the state of the Township of Conway on the western side of the Harbour and River St. John on First of August, 1775.” The list of inhabitants given below is compiled from these returns and shows that the number of persons living on the opposite sides of the harbor was nearly equal, namely, on the east side seventy and on the west side seventy-two. The enumeration seems to have been made by James Simonds.
PORTLAND POINT.
| Name of Master or Mistress of the Family. | Men. | Women. | Boys. | Girls. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Simonds | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 12 |
| James White | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| William Hazen | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 12 |
| George DeBlois | 1 | 1 | 1 | .. | 3 |
| Robert Cram | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 10 |
| Zebulon Rowe | 1 | 1 | .. | 2 | 4 |
| John Nason | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| John Mack | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 1 |
| Lemuel Cleveland | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Christopher Blake | 1 | 1 | .. | 2 | 4 |
| Moses Greenough | 1 | 1 | 1 | .. | 3 |
| 20 | 12 | 14 | 24 | 70 |
CONWAY.
| Name of Master or Mistress of the Family. | Men. | Women. | Boys. | Girls. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hugh Quinton | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| Jonathan Leavitt | 1 | 1 | 1 | .. | 3 |
| Daniel Leavitt | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 1 |
| Samuel Peabody | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| William McKeen | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
| Thomas Jenkins | 1 | 1 | 3 | .. | 5 |
| Moses Kimball | 1 | 1 | .. | .. | 2 |
| Elijah Estabrooks | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| John Bradley | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| James Woodman | 2 | .. | .. | .. | 2 |
| Zebedee Ring | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Gervas Say | 1 | 1 | .. | .. | 2 |
| Samuel Abbott | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 1 |
| Christopher Cross | 1 | 1 | .. | .. | 2 |
| John Knap | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 1 |
| Eliakim Ayer | 1 | .. | .. | 1 | 2 |
| Joseph Rowe | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 21 | 13 | 20 | 18 | 72 |