PORTER
and TOTTEN
On
12 December, 1799, Elizabeth PORTER of Westchester entered
into an aprenticeship agreement with John TOTTEN and his
wife Jane, both of Amherst, to take her son Isaac, Jr. as an aprentice
until he reaches the age of twenty-one. He is to be taught how
to read and write, as well as the art of the husbandman [i.e.
farmer]. They are also to provide him with sufficient food, clothing,
etc. during the term of his aprenticeship.
Elizabeth's
husband was Isaac PORTER, Sr. and he was "now a soldier
in the Government Regiment" and was unable to provide for his
family. Isaac, Jr. was born 6 June, 1794 at Westchester and so
was only five years old when he was indentured. There is some
evidence that this decision was "encouraged" by the Overseers
of the Poor for the district, probably in an attempt to remove
another body from the rolls.
I
have no idea what the "Government Regiment" was. There are no
PORTER's on the 1783 Return of the Westchester Refugees
but a John TOTTEN, single man, is listed at Remsheg.
Source:
A copy of the indenture agreement can be found in the Baker collection
at PANS: MG 1 v. 2764, #20. The Baker family were active in local
government in Cumberland county (eg. magistrates, JP's, registrar
of deeds, etc.) for two or three generations (roughly from the
1770's to the 1820's) and the family records at PANS contain many
legal documents and similar records that are nowhere else available.
For anyone with an interest in Cumberland county, especially the
Amherst area, it is worth examining the collection in detail.
There is no file list or other nominal index available.
From
about the 1780's until the 1860's, the functions of municipal
government in many counties of Nova Scotia was provided by the
Court of Quarter Sessions. This body handled a very wide range
of local government matters ranging from allocating funds for
the construction of roads and bridges to trying and sentencing
petty criminals.
Detailed
minute books and related records are available for several counties,
including Cumberland (1789 to 1859, apparently missing 1795-1807).
These records are of relevance and interest to genealogists for
several reasons. Most significantly, every year large numbers
of ordinary citizens were appointed to one of the juries empaneled
for a matter and all of the names are listed. Even in very small
communities, there were numerous appointments to be made including
fence viewers, hog reeves, and "surveyor of thistle".
Finally,
a close reading of the records turns up some more traditional
vital stats. Unfortunately, the entries are few and far between
as it was not the main function of the Court to record these events.
SIMPSON
and BLACK
10
August 1791: Mrs. Jean SIMPSON [a widow?] laid a complain
agaiinst William BLACK, Esq. for marrying her daughter,
Nancy (a minor) without her permission. Mr. Black claimed that
he was told that Mrs. Simpson was of unsound mind and so could
not give her consent to the marriage. The Court accepted the defense
and dismissed the charge.
CLARKE,
BLINKHORN and HOEG
29
Oct. 1793: William CLARKE was called upon to put up a bond
for support of his illegtitimate child with Ann BLINKHORN.
He was relieved of the responsibility when Nathan HOEG
(res. Maccan, a prominent member of the community) agreed to take
the child.
SHARP
and BURK
27
June, 1814: Matthew SHARP was accused of having an illegitimate
child with Elizabeth BURK. The Grand Jury reviewed the
evidence and concluded he was not responsible.
Source:
PANS RG 34-309, series P, volumes 1 and 2. These are in original
format at PANS; as far as I know they have not been microfilmed.
McKIM
(of Westchester)
Westchester Township Book (PANS Mfm# 13497) p. 122
Andrew and Jane McKim of Slago, Ireland
1. Philip McKim b. ----
2. Amanda McKim b. 12 May 1811
3. Donald mcKim b. 18 December 1812
4. Agnes McKim b. 30 January 1816
This
list is probably not complete; the WTB has proven to be reasonably
accurate but it tends to provide only partial lists of
children. I do not know why the discrepency exists.
I
also checked out the listings for the Purdy Cemetery, Westchester
PANS MG 5 v. 20, #25
p.
22 Priscilla McKim d. Nov. 6, 1883, ae. 76
p. 23 Hannah McKim, d/o Andrew McKim; w/o James D. Purdy
d. Dec. 29, 1891 in her 74th year
The
Westchester cemetery listings are not especially accurate but
they are all that is available at present. They were indexed and
published by the North Cumberland Historical Society a few years
ago in a volume separate from the Cemeteries of North Cumberland.
Oxford
Funeral Home Records
PANS
holds copies of the burial records for the Oxford Funeral Home,
1905-1918 and 1936-1944. These are only a very few extracts. See
MG 4 v. 362, #4 for the complete list.
ATKINSON
and STEWART
John
Atkinson (s/o William Thomas)
m1. Susan Eliza Stewart (d/o William), (1842 - 1859)
m2. 1864 Margaret [Stewart?]
All
parties lived at Westchester; the second marriage is not recorded
in the civic registration for Cumberland County.
This
is not an especially remarkable genealogy except for the fact
that Margaret was the aunt of John's first wife and the
couple was subsequently expelled from the (Acadia) Presbyterian
Church. There was a lengthy debate in the religious press of the
day about the morality and/or legality of such a marriage and
the subsequent actions by the church.
Source:
[William Stewart] to unnamed minister, May 17 1866
Stewart Family Papers, PANS MG 1 v. 1057A, #621
Somewhat surprisingly, he supported this union.
