Both of these little communities were of purely New England origin for it appears from Mr. Simonds’ return that every individual at Portland Point, with the solitary exception of an Irishman, was a native of America, and at Conway all the inhabitants, save two of English nationality, were born in America. The Conway people, it will hardly be necessary to remind the reader, lived in the district now occupied by Carleton, Fairville and adjacent parts of the parish of Lancaster. 245 At the time of the census they had 2 horses—both owned by Hugh Quinton, 13 oxen and bulls, 32 cows, 44 young cattle, 40 sheep and 17 swine; total number of domestic animals, 148. On the other side of the harbor Hazen, Simonds and White were the owners of 57 horses and mules, 18 oxen and bulls, 30 cows, 35 young cattle, 40 sheep and 6 swine; the other settlers owned 8 cows, 4 young cattle, 4 sheep and 6 swine; total number of domestic animals on the east side, 208.
It will be noticed that the names of all the adult male inhabitants do not appear in the census lists of 1775; in the case of the households of Messrs. Simonds, White and Hazen, for example, twelve males are returned. These included either relatives such as John Hazen and Stephen Peabody, who are known to have been then living at St. John, or employes and servants who lived with their masters—among the latter were probably Samuel Beverley, Levi Ring, Jonathan Clough, Jacob Johnson, Edmund Black, Reuben Harbut and Michael Kelly.
Quite a number of the settlers in Conway were employed by the company in various capacities, and as they were nearly all tenants of Hazen, Simonds and White they generally traded at the Portland Point store. These people suffered severely at the hands of American privateersmen as the war progressed, and most of them were forced to abandon their homes and move up the river for greater security.
In the years 1776 and 1777, business being nearly at a stand in consequence of the war and the stock of goods at Portland Point much diminished, it was agreed that James White should take charge of the store and keep the books at a commission of five per cent. His sales during the two years amounted to £3,150.
The war of the American Revolution was at the outset a source of intense disappointment to Hazen, Simonds and White, although in the end it was destined to prove the making of their fortunes by sending the exiled Loyalists in thousands to the River St. John and thereby rendering the lands they owned much more valuable. The war, however, completely overturned the plans the company had in view. Our old pioneers had learned by their experience of a dozen years to conduct their business to the best advantage, and they now had everything in train for a promising trade with St. Croix in the West Indies. The hardships incident to the establishment of new settlements were over, and the partners were now settled in comfortable homes with their wives and children.
It may be noted in passing that early marriages were much in vogue in those days, particularly with the ladies. Sarah Le Baron was not sixteen years of age when she married William Hazen. Hannah Peabody had not passed her seventeenth birthday when she married James Simonds. Elizabeth Peabody was about seventeen when she married James White and her sister Hephzibeth somewhat younger when she married Jonathan Leavitt. In most cases the families were large and the “olive branches” doubtless furnished sufficient occupation for the mothers to keep them from feeling the loneliness of their situation. James Simonds had fourteen children. James White and Jonathan Leavitt had good sized families, but the Hazens undeniably carried off the palm. Dr. Slafter in his genealogy of the Hazen family says that William Hazen had sixteen children; possibly he may 246 have omitted some who died in infancy for Judge Edward Winslow writes on Jan’y 17th, 1793, to a friend at Halifax, “My two annual comforts, a child and a fit of the gout, return invariably. They came together this heat and, as Forrest used to say, made me as happy as if the Devil had me. The boy is a fine fellow—of course—and makes up the number nine now living. My old friend Mrs. Hazen about the same time produced her nineteenth!”[89]
While the presence of young children in their homes may have served to enliven the situation of Saint John’s pioneer settlers it added greatly to their anxiety and distress in the ensuing war period. More than this the absence of church and school privileges was becoming a matter of serious consequence to the little community at Portland Point and their friends across the harbor. We shall in the next chapter say something of the religious teachers who endeavored to promote the spiritual welfare of the inhabitants upon the St. John river at this period.