Papers Related to the Early Settlement of the St. John River : 1765-1815.

            Gilfred Studholme was a British army officer who served in Nova Scotia before the outbreak of the American Revolution in the 27th, 40th and 24th Regiments of Foot.  During the Revolution he was commissioned in the Loyal Nova Scotia Volunteers and later served as brigade-major until 1783 in the Royal Fencible Americans.  It was during this time that he and his men built Fort Howe in Saint John.  After the Revolution he played a major role in the settlement of the Loyalists on the St. John River, being responsible for assigning their land, and the issuing of material for the construction of their homes.  He was named to the first Executive Council of New Brunswick and acquired a tract of land on the Kennebecasis River which he called Studville, later Apohaqui.  He died there in 1792.            

            This volume of papers contains a wealth of material pertaining to the early settlement of the St. John River. The records begin well before the American Revolution and a number of the inhabitants listed were pre-Loyalist settlers who sided with the Rebels during the Revolution. Each person's situation is described in detail, giving the number of children, length of time on the land, number of acres and type of house. A separate list of Rebel sympathizers and a list of French inhabitants are included. Much of the reel is taken up with Gilfred Studholme's accounts, which include payments to labourers; bills and receipts for money and goods, in particular lumber for houses which he distributed; and lists of Loyalists with the assistance they received.  Other important records include:  a register of lots in the Town of Parr organized by street, giving the lot number and its dimensions (unfortunately, almost completely illegible on the microfilm); a warrant of survey for land to be distributed to the 2nd Battalion of the New Jersey Volunteers with a Return of the name, rank, number of acres and number in each family to be settled on Block # 2 on the River St. John - the Return is dated 8 November 1783; lists of persons located on the Town Plot at St. Andrews, in Wentworth's Plantation on Oak Point Bay, on farm lots at Passamaquoddy, and on 50-acre lots on the St. Croix River;  a list  of  settlers  on  lands  granted on the River St. John; an assessment of the inhabitants of the Town and Parish of Campo Bello; and a long list of persons who pay a Quit Rent of one farthing per year for a lot.              

            The Table of Contents is located at the beginning of the reel. A copy of the Table of Contents is available in print and as a PDF in the Electronic Finding Aids section.            

A Register of Lots and Grantees in Parr town is available as an original at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (RS 107/9), Crown Lands Branch Records, Return Books, Miscellaneous.