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DAVID WILBUR FREEMAN

A creditable representative of one of the oldest and best-known families of Nova Scotia is David Wilbur FREEMAN, an enterprising resident of Amherst, Nova Scotia, where he has been successfully engaged in mercantile pursuits for some time, and he seems to have inherited many of the commendable characteristics of his ancestors which have made him not only a successful man of affairs but also a good citizen.
Among the early English settlers who came to Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, was a young man of the name of William FREEMAN, who was born in England in 1741. He arrived at the Isthmus of Chignecto in 1765 and evidently came to the conclusion that it was a goodly land for home makers, for we find that very shortly after his arrival here he was united in marriage to Jerusha YEOMANS. Ministers were scarce and so one Denoni DANKS, a justice of the peace, and a man who played a prominent part in the early history of this isthmus, performed the wedding ceremony. To this union fourteen children were born, named as follows: Samuel, born October 28, 1766; Sarah, November 1, 1767; William and Jerusha (twins), March 27, 1770; Samuel (the second), born March 10, 1772; Joshua, March 28, 1774; Elizabeth, May 26, 1776; Dorothy, November 5, 1778; Martha, December 12, 1780; Philip, January 29, 1783; Hannah, November 28, 1785; Ann, June 27, 1788; Charlotte, May 29, 1789; and Rebecca, September 11, 1790. Samuel, the oldest child, died in infancy, but the thirteen remaining children reached manhood and womanhood and have a large posterity today, many of whom are residents of Amherst and Cumberland.
The founder of this large and important family died in 1801. Two of his sons, Joshua and Philip, left Amherst to take up farms in Upper Canada. The first named owned and lived on a farm in what is now the very center of incorporated Amherst. He was an active member of the Baptist denomination, then in its infancy. He sold his farm here in 1816 and with his wife and ten children embarked from Bay Verte for Quebec, from which city they made their way by many different conveyances to Hamilton, where many of their descendants are now living. Philip Freeman fell heir to a portion of his father's property, which is now a portion of Amherst, and William Freeman also owned land now a part of the town also. One of the sons of William, the second son of William the emigrant, was George William Freeman, who had a large family, the oldest surviving member of this branch of the family being J.W. Freeman, of Moncton, New Brunswick. Samuel Freeman, another of the pioneers, acquired a farm at West Amherst, which passed to his son, Samuel, and is now occupied by his grandson of the same name. The various members of the Freeman family took a conspicuous part in the general development of Amherst and were known as excellent citizens in every respect. It was to this early pioneer, William Freeman, that the town of Amherst owes Victoria street. While other men were making narrow streets, he was making his street wide. He was man of vision and could foresee the future of this splendid country. The beautiful central park called Victoria Square in Amherst is a monument to the large heart and generous spirit of the founder of the Cumberland branch of the Freeman family. Victoria Square, however, is not the only monument that perpetuates the memory of William Freeman in Amherst. A review of "One Hundred Years with the Baptists in Amherst" will show what a large part the Freemans played in the organization and early history of this congregation. William Freeman was the first clerk of the church. It was at the home of Samuel Freeman, first, where the first meetings of the congregation were held. Joshua, Philip, rufus, and Desiah Freeman were among the fruitful members that met at those fireside gatherings. In 1818 the congregation had a membership of eighteen and of this number one-third bore the name of Freeman, and from that day to the present the Freemans have been among the most active baptists in Amherst.
George William Freeman was born at Amherst, April 21, 1825, and here grew to manhood and received his education. He married Frances HARRISON, also of Amherst, who was born January 6, 1833, and they established their home here and reared a large family, viz., John W., born January 8, 1849, now a resident of Moncton, New Brunswick. He married Julia FREEMAN, October 18, 1876. They have four sons and one daughter. Charles Edward, born January 19, 1851, married October 11, 1881, Matilda LUSBY, daughter of Thomas LUSBY, Esq. By this marriage two daughters, viz., Sophia, born January 14, 1882, and Clearlena, born July 13, 1884, and died January 9, 1897. David Wilbur, subject of this sketch. Samuel Hebert, born August 7, 1859, and was married October 25, 1887, to Margaret CHAPMAN, and to them were born three sons and three daughters. The mother died December 1, 1900, and within ten years the whole family had passed out by the same dread disease - tuberculosis. Clarence Amos was born April 24, 1863, married Eloise HULLETT, and to this union three children were born. Frank Byard, born December 27, 1867, married Mary DOLSON, to whom was born three sons and two daughters. George Edgar, born May 17, 1871, was married June 23, 1897, to Clara TINGLY, who bore him one son, Walter, and one daughter, Myra.
D. Wilbur FREEMAN, of this sketch, who is a great-grandson of William FREEMAN, the pioneer, and a son of George William and Frances (HARRISON) Freeman, was born at Amherst, August 6, 1855. He was educated in the local public school and Amherst Academy and early in life turned his attention to business here, and for many years he has conducted a large and well-stocked grocery store,and enjoys a good business. He has been three times married, first, to Alice Maud LUSBY, on October 1, 1883; she was a daughter of William and Mary (Oxley) LUSBY, and to this marriage one childre was born - Ralph William FREEMAN, who birth occurred March 21, 1886. On December 20, 1887, our subject's second marriage took place, whe he espoused Alice SHARP, a daughter of Samuel and Fanny (TRUEMAN) SHARP; to this union one child was born - Reynolds Parker FREEMAN, whose birth occurred February 18, 1891. Our subject's third marriage was solemnized on September 12, 1905, with Miss Oresa MCKINLEY, a daughter of Samuel and Elenor (FLETCHER) MCKINLEY; this marriage resulted in the birth of one child, a daughter - Frances Elenor, born February 4, 1907.
Politically, Mr. FREEMAN is a Conservative. He is an active member of the Baptist church, in which he is a deacon. He is a member of the Masonic Order, Canadian Home Circle.

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Biographies Index / 1916 biographies