Glimpses of the Past: History of the River St. John, A.D. 1604-1784Raymond, W. O. (William Odber)
History
Glimpses of the Past: History of the River St. John, A.D. 1604-1784
Raymond, W. O. (William Odber)
New Brunswick -- History; Saint John River Valley (Me. and N.B.)
"That having one-fourth part of the duties, trouble and services
to undergo and perform in transacting the business of the
Copartnership, yet he was by the said Contract entitled to
one-sixth part only of the lands to be divided under the contract.
But that, although he disliked as aforesaid his having no greater
share than one-sixth part in the Concern, he nevertheless joined
with James Simonds in carrying on the business in full confidence
that some equitable allowance would be made him for his services
over and above his proportion of the said profits and lands."
On the occasion of James Simonds' visit to Halifax early in 1764 he
obtained a license to occupy ten acres of land at Portland Point for
carrying on the fishery and burning limestone, but it was not until
the 2nd October, 1765, that a grant was made to him, in conjunction
with his brother Richard, and James White, described as follows:
"Beginning at a point of upland opposite to his (Simonds') House
and running East till it meets with a little Cove or River; thence
bounded by said Cove till it comes to a Red Head on the east side
of the Cove--thence running North eleven degrees fifteen minutes
west till it meets Canebekssis river, thence bounded by said
river, the river St. John and harbour till it comes to the first
mentioned boundary."
The bounds of this tract are shown in the accompanying plan. It was
supposed to contain 2,000 acres "more or less," but in reality it
contained upwards of 5,000 acres. Elias Hardy in 1785 claimed that the
grant must have originated in misrepresentation, either in the
application or survey, otherwise the quantity could not have been so
much mistaken. To this Ward Chipman replied that the land had never
been actually surveyed, but making allowance for lakes, sunken and
broken ground, etc., it was supposed not to contain much if any more
than the number of acres mentioned in the grant. The grant was made in
accordance with the return of the surveyor describing its boundaries
and expressing them to be "with allowance for bad lands, containing in
the whole by estimation 2,000 acres more or less." Chipman adds, "no
misrepresentation can well be supposed to have taken place at the time
of passing this Grant when the lands upon the river St. Johns were
considered as of very little value and there could be no inducement to
such a step."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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