COY.

The progenitor of those of this name now living in the province was Edward Coy, who came to the River St. John from Pomfret in Connecticut in 1763. The name was originally McCoy; but the “Mc.” was dropped by Edward Coy’s grandfather and was not again resumed by his descendants. By his wife, whose maiden 327 name was Amy Titus, Mr. Coy had a family of six sons and five daughters. His third daughter was the first female child born of English or American parents on the River St. John. The well known inlet on the river, called “The Mistake,” was originally called “Coy’s Mistake,” the name doubtless suggests by the circumstance of Coy’s mistaking the channel in ascending the river, and after proceeding some miles finding himself in a “cul de sac.” Edward Coy was one of the original grantees of Maugerville, his lot being opposite the head of Gilbert’s Island, but for some years he lived at Gagetown, where his daughter Mary was born in 1771. This daughter published in 1849 a narrative of her life and christian experience, including extracts from her diary and correspondence during a period of upwards of sixty years. It is a curious and interesting old book. Edward Coy was an active member of the Congregational church and one of the signers of the original church covenant. As the children of the family grew up, Mrs. Bradley informs us, their parents instructed them in the ways of religion, furnishing them with such education as their situation and circumstances admitted, which was little more than they learned at home, except in the case of the two youngest. The early years of the family were rendered more arduous by reason of ill health on the part of the mother and failing sight on the part of the father. Edward Coy settled at Upper Gagetown under arrangements with Col. Wm. Spry, who gave him (July 12, 1770,) a lease of 200 acres of land. Under the terms of the lease Coy was to pay at the expiration of two years 4 shillings per annum, and at the expiration of four years 8 shillings per annum for ever. This was not a very large rental for a farm of 200 acres, but the tenant system was never popular on the St. John. Mr. Coy was required to “leave a row of trees on each side of the high road, thereafter to be laid out, at the distance of about six rods from each other.” About this time he sold his lands in Maugerville to Moses Coburn.

At the outbreak of the Revolution the attitude of the Indians was so threatening, and reports of the lawlessness of privateers so alarming, that Mr. Coy removed his family once more to Sheffield, which was then by far the most thickly settled place on the river. He attended the meeting held on the 24th May, 1776, at which resolutions strongly favoring the cause of the colonies in rebellion were adopted, and was appointed one of the “rebel committee.” His son Amasa went in arms with Jonathan Eddy against Fort Cumberland. Both father and son, however, subsequently took the oath of allegiance to the King and were thenceforth loyal subjects. The family returned to Gagetown in a few years, the public mind having become more settled respecting the American war. Mrs. Bradley, in her narrative, gives a good description of the general interest and excitement created in the Spring of 1779, by the coming of the celebrated New-light preacher and evangelist, Henry Alline, which made an indelible impression on her mind, although she was only a child at the time. Shortly afterwards the small-pox broke out in the settlements, and Edward Coy determined to have his family “inoculated.” Inoculation, it may be observed, was regarded as the best preventative of small-pox before vaccination was introduced by Dr. Jenner. The results, however, were not uniformly satisfactory. 328 In the case of the Coy family, Mr. Coy and his wife lay at the point of death for a considerable time, and their second son, aged 24 years, died.[129]

When the Loyalists arrived in 1783 Edward Coy was living in a log house on his lot at Upper Gagetown where he had cleared about 15 acres of land. The circumstances of the pioneer settlers were still rather straitened, but the exiled Loyalists were in a much more unfortunate condition. Speaking of their distress, Mrs. Bradley says; “My heart was filled with pity and affection when I saw them in a strange land, without house or home, and many of them were sick and helpless. I often looked upon them when they passed by in boats in rainy weather and wished for them to call and refresh themselves and was glad when they did so.” Edward Coy shared with a Loyalist family the accommodation of his humble dwelling until they could provide themselves a shelter.

ESTEY.

The ancestor of the Esteys in America was Jeffrey Estey, an English puritan, who sought refuge in New England from the persecutions of Old England. He was living at Salem, Mass., in 1636, but removed later to Long Island, N. Y., where he died in 1657. His son, Isaac Estey, married Mary Towne, who was born in Yarmouth, England, about 1634. She was among the unfortunate witchcraft martyrs of Salem in 1692; she wrote a remarkable letter to the judges and court denying the charges preferred against her. Isaac Estey was grandfather of Richard Estey who came to the St. John river with the Maugerville colony. Richard Estey lived at Rowley but he was born at Topsfield, Mass., the home of his parents and grand-parents. His wife was Ruth Fisk of Ipswich, Massachusetts. He was a member of the Congregational church in Rowley until he was dismissed to the church at St. John river in May, 1764. Among his children who were born at Rowley and came to Maugerville were the following:—

  1. Richard Estey, jr., born Feb. 9, 1728, married Hannah Hazen.
  2. Sarah Estey, born Oct. 12, 1736, married Thomas Barker.
  3. John Estey, born about 1739, married Mary Hart.
  4. Zebulon Estey, born Dec. 14, 1742, married Molly Brawn and died Oct. 10, 1806.

Richard Estey, sr., was one of the seven signers of the original church covenant at Maugerville and served on important church committees. The Esteys were well known and active men in the community, and were among the pioneers of milling on the St. John river. Richard Estey, jr., had a saw mill in 1779, on what was then called Numahael creek. His brother Zebulon moved to Upper Gagetown about 1778, where he built a grist mill—the first in that vicinity and used by farmers on both sides of the river. The committee sent by Major Studholme early in 1783, to explore the river and report upon the state of settlement, mention the fact that Zebulon had been settled about 5 years on his location. He had built a house and grist mill and cleared about 3 acres of land. He had a wife and 8 children. The committee 329 add:—“Said Estey is a good man, his character very loyal and we beg to recommend him to be confirmed in his possessions.”

Moses, Israel and Amos Estey, who were of a younger generation, removed from Maugerville to the Burton side of the river prior to 1783, induced thereto in all probability, by the inconveniences consequent upon the Spring freshets.

Zebulon Estey was a ruling elder of the Congregational church at Maugerville in 1775. Through the ministry of the Rev. Joseph Crandall, one of the fathers of the Baptist denomination in the maritime provinces, a considerable number of the old Congregationalists of Waterborough and the vicinity were led to organize a Baptist church. Their leader, Elijah Estabrooks, was foremost in the movement, which was much aided by the unexpected conversion of the “old squire” Zebulon Estey to Baptist principles. Father Crandall writes of that day: “Nearly thirty candidates were baptized, and the meeting did not break up until the going down of the sun. It was truly solemn and delightful to hear the praises of the Lord sung by great numbers of happy converts in boats returning home from the delightful scene. The work of that day I can never forget. The clear setting sun, the large expanse of unruffled water, the serenity of the atmosphere, the delightful notes of the feathered songsters, and the solemn sound of hymns sung by many happy voices, presented to me an emblem of the paradise of God. It seemed as though heaven had come down to earth, and that I was on the brink of the eternal world.”