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Saint Croix Courier, St. Stephen, NB
June 1, 1893

GLIMPSES OF THE PAST

Contributions to the History of Charlotte County and the Border Towns.

LXIX – THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS.

[Rev. W. O. Raymond, M. A.]

16.-Conclusion.

The arrival of such a multitude of new settlers was a source of anxiety to the Indians.  Capt. Munro, ascending the river on his return to Quebec, in October, 1783, found ‘the most part of the Indians were moving off to the eastward for fear of the number of provincial troops and settlers coming upon the river.’

Those of the old inhabitants who had covertly or openly sympathized with the rebellion also regarded the coming of the Loyalists with disfavor.  Many of them, having neglected to obtain any legal title to their lands, were, in the words of Amos Botsford, ‘seated on the bank of the river without leave or license, merely to get their living.’  It must be admitted that the Loyalists were rather supercilious in their dealings with this class of the old inhabitants, but it is probable that they were actuated not so much by a consciousness of their own superiority in point of education and social standing as by a hearty dislike for those who had in any way identified themselves with their enemies during the Revolutionary war.¹  A fruitful source of strife and bitterness was found in the fact that a number of lots which at the close of the war were in possession of the old settlers, but to which they had not secured any proper title, were by order of Governor Parr numbered and drawn in the usual manner by the loyal refugees.  When the latter tried to take possession of these lands, trouble naturally ensued.  Governor Parr then gave directions that the improvements should be valued and paid for by the refugees who drew them; ‘Accordingly,’ says Col. Tyng, ‘we appointed two discreet persons on behalf of the Loyalists, and the old inhabitants chose two for themselves; when they went upon the business they very soon differed in their prices and nothing conclusive took place.  It is I think very evident,’ he continues, ‘that the appraisers for the old inhabitants have been unreasonable in the value they have set upon some spots; I cannot conceive any improvements upon this river can be worth £5 10s. per acre besides the first cost or value of the land.’²  Time softened the asperity; the old settlers and the new were gradually reconciled; their children intermarried, and bit by bit the old feuds were forgotten.

On their first arrival, the Loyalists in many instances received much personal kindness at the hands of the old inhabitants.  Mrs. Mary Bradley, in her curious old autobiography printed at St. John in 1849, says,

After the conclusion of the American war, a great number from the States flew to this place . . . . 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 at 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.

Mrs. Bradley was then living at Maugerville.  She mentions the fact that during the winter one of the Loyalist families lived in a portion of her father’s house.  The boats to which she refers were the famous Durham boats, supplied by government to the Loyalists for the transportation of their few possessions to their several destinations.

The supervision of the Loyalists as they arrived at St. John was entrusted by Governor Parr to Captain Gilfred Studholme, of the Royal Fencibles, who commanded the garrison at Fort Howe.

History has scarcely awarded to Studholme the meed of praise he fairly earned by the energy and ability with which he discharged the duties of a responsible and difficult position, not only during the progress of the war but after the establishment of peace.  Even the names by which in his honor the two longest streets in the city of St. John were formerly known have long since been changed: Gilfred street is now known as Union street and Studholme street as Charlotte street.

During the year 1783, Major Studholme’s time was fully occupied in attending to the immediate wants of the Loyalists as they arrived in the country.  As superintendent of the board of directors of the ‘Towns at the entrance of the River’ it was his duty to attend to the distribution of town lots and to provide each grantee with 500 feet of rough boards and a certain quantity of shingles to assist in building a rude dwelling for shelter during the ensuing winter.  In all, Major Studholme distributed in this way 1,664,110 feet of boards and 1,449,919 shingles.  His account for furnishing lumber and erecting houses between the 1st day of June and the 31st December, 1783, amounted to £6,721 6s. 6d., which amount was allowed and paid him by government.  By the end of September, 700 houses were nearly finished.  Meanwhile the settlement of the Loyalists on the St. John river and at Passamaquoddy had been slowly progressing.

Studholme’s duties at St. John required so much time and attention that the work elsewhere was mainly conducted under the supervision of Lieut. Samuel Denny Street, also of the Royal Fencibles.  It should be mentioned to the honor of this officer that, having a grant at Burton of 3,000 acres, he voluntarily surrendered 2,000 acres, together with a valuable property at St. John, for the immediate accommodation of the Loyalists, on the assurance of Governor Parr that after they were provided for an equal amount of land should be assigned him elsewhere.  This promise, however, was lost sight of, and Lieut. Street was left to struggle through life with a family of ten sons and two daughters, with no better provision than his thousand acres, his subaltern’s half-pay, and his own natural abilities-the latter, as the event proved, being his best capital.

On the completion of his labors at St. John, Major Studholme removed to his grant of land on the Kennebecasis, where he spent his declining years and was buried.  A little grove of evergreens, crowning the highest point on the north side of the river near the village of Apohaqui, marks his last resting place.  The exact location of the grave is unknown.

Year by year, as the 18th day of May come round, the city of the Loyalists dons her holiday attire, the memory of her loyal founders is recalled and duly honored, whilst the flag of Britain floats from its staff in honor of the day.  Our thoughts go back to that May morning a century and more ago when the good ship Union, with the same old flag streaming from the mast head, led up to the anchoring ground beneath the protecting guns of old Fort Howe the most notable fleet that had yet entered the harbor of Saint John.  It was the hand of Gilfred Studholme that first welcomed the wearied exiles to these rocky shores; but today no head stone marks the lone grave where far from kith and kin the brave old soldier’s ashes lie.

Utilitarians have soundly lectured the Loyalists on the folly they manifested at the Revolutionary period.  Those who thus criticise too often have the most vague and indefinite ideas regarding the position of the Loyalists, both at the beginning and during the progress of the conflict between Great Britain and her old colonies.  If the writer has been able to remove some of the many misconceptions that have existed, he is amply rewarded for the time and labor he has expended in the investigation of the subject.

History itself has justified the attitude assumed by those who were exiled for their fealty to the mother land.  The inhabitants of the British American provinces have secured, from time to time, the redress of many grievances by constitutional means.  The reforms achieved during the century past are varied and important, and the constitution of Canada to-day happily combines freedom of local government with loyal attachment to the throne.

All honor to the brave hearts that laid strong and deep the foundations of our own Canadian home-that steadfastly adhered to principle, ‘faithful alike to God and king.’  May it be written above their quiet graves:

‘Nune placida compostus pace quiescit.’

¹It is a well-known fact that a large majority of the old inhabitants on the river St. John sympathised with the Americans in the Revolutionary war.  See Kidder’s Military Operations in Eastern Maine and Nova Scotia; Murdoch’s Nova Scotia; C. L. Hatheway’s history of New Brunswick; Hannay’s Township of Maugerville.

²The letter from which the above is taken was written by Col. Tyng from his place at Gagetown, which he calls ‘Prospect Farm,’ to Jonathan Odell, March 9th, 1785.  In the settlement of the Loyalists on the St. John river Col. Tyng’s services were of great value.

The scornful appellation sometimes employed by the Loyalists in designating the old inhabitants as ‘the bow and arrow breed’ is said to have had its origin in the fact that during the war the settlers on the St. John had been unable to procure the usual supplies of powder and shot for hunting, and out of sheer necessity had recourse to the Indian mode of hunting with the bow and arrow, in which they had become quite expert.