“We found our passage up the river difficult, being too late to pass in boats, and not sufficiently frozen to bear. In this situation we left the river, and for a straight course steered by a compass thro’ the woods,[138] encamping out several nights in the course, and went as far as the Oromocto, about seventy miles up the river, where is a block-house, a British post.” “The St. John is a fine river, equal in magnitude to the Connecticut or Hudson. At the mouth of the river is a fine harbor, accessible at all seasons of the year—never frozen or obstructed by ice.... There are many settlers along the river upon the interval land, who get their living easily. The interval lies on the river and is a most fertile soil, annually matured by the overflowings of the river, and produces crops of all kinds with little 348 labor, and vegetables in the greatest perfection, parsnips of great length, etc. They cut down the trees, burn the tops, put in a crop of wheat or Indian corn, which yields a plentiful increase. These intervals would make the finest meadows. The up-lands produce wheat both of the summer and winter kinds, as well as Indian corn. Here are some wealthy farmers, having flocks of cattle. The greater part of the people, excepting the township of Maugerville, are tenants, or seated on the bank without leave or licence, merely to get their living. For this reason they have not made such improvements as might otherwise have been expected, or as thorough farmers would have done.... Immense quantities of limestone are found at Fort Howe, and at the mouth of the river. We also went up the Kenebeccasis, a large branch of St. John’s river, where is a large tract of interval and upland, which has never been granted; it is under a reserve, but we can have it. Major Studholme and Capt. Baxter, who explored the country, chose this place, and obtained a grant of 9,000 acres. On each side of this grant are large tracts of good land, convenient for navigation. A title for these lands may be procured sooner than for such as have been already granted, such as Gage, Conway, etc., which must be obtained by a regular process in the court of Escheats. The lands on the river St. John are also sufficiently near the cod fishery in Fundy Bay, and perfectly secure against the Indians and Americans. The inhabitants are computed to be near one thousand men, able to bear arms. Here is a County and Court established, and the inhabitants at peace, and seem to experience no inconveniency from the war.”
The popular idea of the landing of the Loyalists at St. John is that on the 18th day of May, in the year 1783, a fleet of some twenty vessels sailed into St. John harbor, having on board three thousand people, who, wearied with the long voyage, immediately disembarked and pitched their tents on the site of the present city of St. John—then called Parrtown. The popular idea, however, is not strictly in accordance with the facts. The fleet arrived at St. John, not on the 18th, but on the 10th or 11th of May, and, according to the narrative of Walter Bates, there was no one day fixed for disembarkation. In the case of the “Union,” in which Mr. Bates and many of the founders of Kingston came from New York, the passengers were allowed to remain on board until several of their number had gone up the river and selected a place for them to settle. In some cases, however, the passengers were “precipitated on shore.” As regards the name Parr (or Partown) it was not given for months after the arrival of the Loyalists, and was then applied only to that part of the city south of Union street, on the east side of the harbor. The name was never very acceptable to the citizens. Governor Parr admitted that it originated “in female vanity;” from which observation we may assume that the name was suggested by Madame Parr. The name of Parr was soon discarded, and the time-honored name, which goes back to the days of de Monts and Champlain was restored at the incorporation of the city on the 18th of May, 1785.
The names of the vessels of the Spring fleet and of their respective masters, so far as they have been preserved, are as follows:—“Union,” Consett Wilson, master; “Camel,” Wm. Tinker, master; “Cyrus,” James Turner, master; “Sovereign,” Wm. Stewart, master; “Aurora,” Capt. Jackson; “Hope,” Capt. Peacock; “Otter,” Capt. Burns; “Emmett,” Capt. Reed; “Spring,” Capt. Cadish; “Ann,” Capt. Clark; “Bridgewater,” Capt. Adnet; “Favorite,” Capt. Ellis; “Commerce,” Capt. Strong; “Lord Townsend,” Capt. Hogg; “Sally,” Capt. Bell; and five others, “Spencer,” “Thames,” “William,” “Britain” and “King George,” the names of whose masters are unknown.
The Loyalists who came to St. John in the first fleet numbered about 3,000. They were mostly natives of Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, who had been driven from their homes and forced to seek refuge within the British lines at New York, or on Long Island. There was a scarcity of ships, and the number of those desirous of emigrating to Nova Scotia proved much larger than had been anticipated. It became evident that the vessels must make repeated trips. The following paragraph from an old newspaper is interesting in this connection:—
New London, Conn., April 25, 1783. We hear that the Loyalists destined for Nova Scotia from New York are to depart in two Divisions; the first, consisting of about 3,000 men, women and children, are nearly ready to sail; the second to sail as soon as the vessels return which carry the first.”
This paragraph accords with what subsequently took place. The first fleet sailed from Sandy Hook, on the 26th April, arriving at St. John about the 11th of May; and the second fleet sailed from Sandy Hook on the 16th June, arriving at St. John on the 28th of the same month. The most authentic account of the voyage of the first fleet is to be found in the narrative of Walter Bates,[139] who was a passenger on board the “Union.” We learn from this source that in the early part of April, 1783, the Rev. John Sayre, one of the agents for settling the Loyalists in Nova Scotia, visited those who were then living on the north shore of Long Island at Eaton’s Neck, Lloyd’s Neck and Huntington, to inform them that the King had granted to those who did not incline to return to their former places of abode and would go to Nova Scotia, two hundred acres of land to each family and two years provisions, and provide ships to convey them as near as might be to a place of settlement. A public meeting was held at which the matter was considered in detail, and it was resolved by all present to remove with their families to Nova Scotia and settle together in some situation where they might enjoy the advantages of a church and school. Mr. Bates says that providence seemed to select for them the best ship and by far the best captain in the fleet. The captain received them on board “as father of a family,” and took care that nothing in his power should be wanting to render them comfortable on the voyage. The “Union” took on board her passengers at Huntington Bay. The embarkation began on April 11th and was completed in five days. The manifest of the ship has been preserved and is now in possession of J. T. Allan Dibblee of Woodstock, N. B. (See Collections of N. B. Hist. Society, Vol. II. p. 276). It is signed by Fyler Dibblee, deputy agent in charge of the party. There were 209 passengers in all, viz., 61 men, 39 women, 59 children over ten, 48 children under ten and 2 servants. The ship sailed to the place of rendezvous near Staten Island. While waiting at New York for the other vessels, an interesting incident occurred, which (together with subsequent events) we shall let Mr. Bates tell in his own way:—
“Having a couple on board wishing to be married, we call upon the Reverend Mr. Leaming, who received us with much kindness and affection—most of us formerly of his congregation—who after the marriage reverently admonished us with his blessing, 350 that we pay due regard to church and schools, as means to obtain the blessing of God upon our families and our industry. We embarked; next day the ship joined the fleet, and on the 26th day of April, 1783, upwards of twenty sail of ships, under convoy, left Sandy Hook for Nova Scotia—from whence, after the pleasure of leading the whole fleet fourteen days, our good ship Union arrived at Partridge Island before the fleet was come within sight. Next day our ship was safely moored by Capt. Dan’l. Leavitt, the Pilot, in the most convenient situation for landing in the harbor of St. John, all in good health—where we remained comfortable on board ship (while others was sickly and precipitated on shore from other ships) which we proved a providential favor, until we could explore for a place in the Wilderness suitable for our purpose of settlement. A boat was procured for the purpose. David Pickett, Israel Hait, Silas Raymond and others proceeded sixty miles up the River St. John and report that the inhabitants were settled on Interval lands by the river—that the high-lands had generally been burned by the Indians, and there was no church or church Minister in the country. They were informed of a tract of timbered land that had not been burned, on Bellisle Bay, about thirty miles from the harbor of St. John, which they had visited and viewed the situation favorable for our purpose of settlement. Whereupon we all agreed (to proceed thither) and disembarked from on board the good ship Union, and with Capt. Wilson’s blessing embarked on board a small sloop all our baggage. The next morning with all our effects—women and children—set sail above the falls and arrived at Bellisle Bay before sunset. Nothing but Wilderness before our eyes, the women and children did not refrain from tears.”
Those who are curious to know what kind of a passage their fore-fathers had on their voyage to the River St. John will be able to form some idea from a study of the following record of the weather, kept by Benjamin Marston, while he was engaged in laying out the town of Shelburne.
“May 1st, Thursday—Wind east; calm at night.
May 2nd, Friday—Rain; wind south-westerly.
May 3d, Saturday—Fair; wind north-westerly, fresh.
May 4th, Sunday—Fair; wind north-westerly, fresh.
May 5th, Monday—Fair; wind westerly, moderate.
May 6th, Tuesday—Fair; wind easterly changing to southerly.
May 7th, Wednesday—Fair; wind south-easterly.
May 8th, Thursday—Fair; wind easterly.
May 9th, Friday—Fair; wind easterly.
May 10th, Saturday—Weather foggy and at times drizzly; wind
south-easterly.
May 11th, Sunday—Begins with plenty of rain; wind south-westerly,
changes to foggy weather. At night wind south-easterly with
frequent showers.