Letter Book : 1783-1788.

            Rev. Edward Brudenell was an Anglican clergyman, although some sources refer to him as being Presbyterian, and an agent for the British government in settling the Loyalists in Digby Township, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. He returned to England in 1788.            

            Online:  Some or all of this material is available digitally; see Finding Aid section.

The letter book of copies of correspondence and documents relating to the settlement of American loyalists in Digby, Nova Scotia, was written during the time when Edward Brudenell was acting as an agent on behalf of the British government. Within is found much relating to land and property in Digby and surrounding areas:  written plans (no maps or sketches), descriptions, grants, lots, farms, boundaries, fees, and notices to inhabitants; thus providing valuable information on its local history after the American Revolution and the coming of the loyalists. Aside from what has been mentioned, towns or local history, families, demographics, surveying, and black history are among the topics for research.

To illustrate the types of information, here are some examples: an alphabetical list of persons having town lots in Digby; a list of persons assigned lots arranged by street; a list of Black persons granted one acre lots in Brinley Town; an alphabetical list of persons having a land grant in the Township of Clements; a return of the men, women and children, and also those qualified to bear arms in the Township of Digby; a similar list for the Town of New Edinburgh in the Township of Clair; a poll list for the 1785 election; a list of settlers from the Granville Shore to Goat Island; a list of land grantees on Long Island; and a sketch of the town lots in Digby Township. Documents pertaining to Amos Botsford are included.  

Arrangement:  Material is organised into two volumes; a few loose papers and sketches are in the second volume.            

            
A List of Documents is found on the reel at the end of volume 1 and is available in The Loyalist Collection red binders.

Online: Material has been digitised and is found via Harvard Library. This electronic product is browseable but is not searchable.
            

The order of documents as listed in the Document Listing for volume 2 does not match the film.