1827 petition Fish Lot owners at Freeport

Fish Lot Owners at Freeport,1827.

Imagine the surprise of the settlers at Freeport, Annapolis County (now Digby County), when they discovered the lands they had lived on for over forty years had never been granted. They immediately petitioned the government to have their grants confirmed. Names on Petition are : Albright, Crocker, Cronin, Dodge, Haines, Israel, Jones, Klinchy (Klingsoehr ?), Moore, Morrell, Payson, Perry, Plumb, Powell, Prime, Ryan, Suthern, Thurber, and Whiteneck. ( John Thurber)

To: His Excellency Lieutenant General Sir James Kempt, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief, in and over His Majesty’s Province of Nova Scotia and its dependencies, Chancellor of the same, etc. etc. etc.

The petition of Several Owners and Possessors of Fishing Lots situate and lying round Dartmouth Cove, in Long Island in St. Mary’s Bay -----

Humbly Sheweth,

That the said Island was divided into Fishing and Farm lots upwards of forty years ago, and that a Grant passed, under which a great many persons entered into possession , and have ever since peaceably and quietly held and enjoyed the said Fishing and Farm lots and have made extensive and valuable improvements thereon.

Your petitioners refer Your Excellency to the plan hereto annexed, and beg leave to State, that the Several lots from No.1 to 56 are Farm lots, and the Fishing lots to which they allude, are the small lots round the cove, or Harbour, called in the plan, Dartmouth Cove ---

And your Petitioners further State to your excellency, that it has ever since the passing of said Grant, been supposed and believed that the same included the said Fishing lots and all the said Island lying between the line of Farm Lot Number One and the Water, and under this supposition and belief the said Fishing lots have been built upon and improved, have descended from Father to Son and been transferred in diverse ways, and your Petitioners have ever rested secure and satisfied that their title thereto was perfect in every particular --- But your Petitioners have lately learned with surprise that the grant above mentioned, only includes the Farm lots and that the said Fishing lots are not contained therein, as appears to have been the intention at the time the said Grant passed, and as your Petitioners have always been led to believe was the case.

Your Petioners refer Your Excellency to the Schedule or paper annexed, which contains a true list of the names of the several persons who are now the rightful owners and possessors of the said Several Fishing Lots. And Your Petitioners pray that in consequence of the valuable and extensive improvements made by them, and those whose Estate they have in the said Fishing lots, and also in Consideration of the various transfers thereof which have taken place during a period of upwards of Forty Years, Your Excellency would be pleased to pass a General Grant of the several Fishing lots to your petitioners, according to their respective rights and interests, as set forth in the annexed List, that the titles and possessions of your Petitioners thereto may be perfected and Confirmed…

And your Petitioners will ever pray..

Signed by Charles Jones, Agent, and sworn before M. Tobin, M.P., on December 15, 1827.

A List of the Fishing Lots lying round Dartmouth Cove in Long Island, with the names of the Present Owners and Occupiers, who have applied for a Grant of Confirmation :

LOT# Owners and/or occupiers

# 1,2,3,4,5,6. --- John Suthern, Owner , occupied by George Morrell, who is descended. ( John Suthern was a Lighthouse Keeper at Westport, and grandfather of Joshua Slocum. George Morrell, who moved from Westport to Freeport was the first Ferry Operator on the Freeport side of Grand Passage. This land would be all of the area now known as Fish Point – J.T.)

# 7 – not occupied, owned by Holland Ephraim Payson.

#8 – not occupied, owned by James Haines.

# 9,10 – house thereon, owned by Charles and Edward A. Jones

# 11 – occupied, owned by Nathaniel Perry

# 12 – occupied, owned by Mary Haines, widow of Nicholas Haines.

# 13 – occupied and owned by Mark Thurber, “over forty years”.

# 14 – occupied, owned by George Prime.

# 15 & 16 – occupied, owned by Joseph Crocker.

# 17,18, 19, and Western half of # 20 – occupied, owned by Isaac Thurber.

# 20, Eastern half – occupied, owned by Elisha Payson.

# 21, 22, 23, -- occupied, owned by Baltashazzar Israel.

# 24 – occupied, owned by Charles and Edward A. Jones.

# 25 – occupied, owned by Elisha Payson.

# 26 – occupied, owned by Henry Albright.

# 27 – not occupied, owned by Clement Cronin.

# 28 & 29 – occupied, owned by Patrick Ryan.

# 30 – occupied, owned by Jacob Moore.

# 31 – occupied, owned by William Moore.

# 32 – occupied, owned by John Whiteneck.

# 33 & # 35 – Estate of Plumb, owned by Benjamin D. Dodge, of Weymouth(?). ( this is probably the lands of John Plumb, an early settler here –J.T.)

# 34 – occupied ? – owned by Mrs. Catherine Klinchy ( probably Klingsoehr, as this was originally owned by Christian Klingsoehr, Hessian soldier and Loyalist who came to Clements, N.S. and then to Freeport. --- J.T.)

# 36 & 37 – occupied, owned by Mrs. Catherine Plum(b).

# 38 & 39 – occupied, owned by Nathaniel Powell.

# 40 – occupied, owned by Charles Jones.

Note : The 40 Fish Lots began at Fish Point (#1 to 6), near the present-day government wharf, continued around Roney’s ( Ronan’s) Point(# 7,8,9,10), up the western side of the cove (# 11 to # 20), across the head of the cove ( # 21 to #26), down the eastern side of the cove (# 27 to # 40). – J.T.

Transcribed and contributed by John Thurber.

Source: N.S. Archives, Anything in brackets are my own comments/thoughts, as well as the note at the end, John Thurber.

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