Clergy were few and far between in the first years of loyalist settlement in New Brunswick, however, records from travelling Anglican ministers based in Gagetown, Queens County provide an early record of baptisms, marriages and deaths prior to the establishment of most churches. Many New Brunswick loyalists and their descendants may be found in these records. Continue Reading »
On December 25, 1807, New Brunswick Loyalist Edward Winslow, Jr. wrote in his diary: “Very dull Christmas.” Continue Reading »
The provincial loyalist regiment known as the King’s Orange Rangers travelled through the American Revolution, moving from New York to Nova Scotia, then scattering to many parts of the Atlantic World. Continue Reading »
Loyalists who tried to return home at the end of the American Revolutionary War often faced the threat of violence. Daniel Babbit was one of those Loyalists. He was left so frightened by his experience, he chose to leave the country rather than risk his personal safety by remaining. Continue Reading »
This is the story of an industrious tanner and shoemaker from Redding, Connecticut, and how he found himself on the losing end of the Revolutionary War and on a ship sailing north for the mouth of the St. John River. It will illustrate the risks of choosing sides in a conflict too early and the rewards for sticking with that conviction. Continue Reading »
Jamaica was the most famous and wealthy sugar island in the British Empire, but with this wealth came big risks that shaped the experience of plantership. The climate, though, that gave also took away - routine threats of devastation were very real from the impact of powerful hurricanes, as reflected today in the images of hurricane Dorian. Continue Reading »
18th century New Brunswick and Nova Scotia was home to a slew of great and respected doctors and physicians, including but not limited to Drs. William Paine, Samuel Moore, John Gamble, Charles Earle, Thomas Emerson, Azor Betts, David Brown, Nathan and William Howe Smith, and Peter Huggeford, an English surgeon and subject of the last blog entry. Continue Reading »
Blood-curdling shrieks filled Peter Huggeford’s operating room. Trails of blood pooled onto his oaken table, seeping into its crevices and staining the wood a dark burgundy colour. The sickly smell of gangrene and death filled the air. With a newly sharpened bone saw in hand, Dr. Huggeford went to work. Continue Reading »
1776 was a year full of victory and bloodshed for Loyalists and Patriots alike. From prominent American and British officers like George Washington and Richard Howe, to everyday individuals like the Irish-born Charles Cooke, the fate of the American Revolution was a matter of life or death. Continue Reading »
