Papers, 1819 - 1872.

            Nehemiah Marks was the son of the Loyalist, Nehemiah Marks, Sr. (1746-1799) and his wife Betsy (Elizabeth) Hawkins (1751-1812). They were Loyalists who settled at the Falls of the St. Croix River (St. Stephen, New Brunswick) in 1784. Nehemiah Marks was born in 1794, and by the time of his marriage in 1812 to Sarah Thompson, the daughter of James Thompson of St. Stephen, he was largely responsible for his father's business interests which consisted of the family store, farm, and wood lands. During the next three decades he expanded his timber holdings in New Brunswick and in Maine, and supplied cargoes of lumber for vessels sailing to England and to the West Indies. Beginning in the 1820s, he started to acquire vessels which he owned and operated himself, and which carried his lumber to many ports. Eventually, he acquired a fleet of nine brigs, one barque, and two schooners, including the brig "Nehemiah Marks" which was built at his own wharf in St. Stephen. In addition to the vessels he owned outright, he was part owner of other ships which he did not manage. Using a network of agents in ports in the West Indies, Ireland, United States, and Liverpool, England, his ships and their cargoes were sent to many ports, according to the season and the market conditions. Returning vessels usually brought clothing, furniture, drygoods, salt, coal, rum, and many other goods for sale in the store. As horses and horse racing were a life-long passion, on occasion, a race horse was included in the cargo.
 When Nehemiah Marks died on 17 August 1853, all of the ships in his fleet had been sold or lost by shipwreck, but his estate still included timber and farm land in Charlotte County, town property in St. Stephen, and vast holdings of wood land in Maine and in York County, New Brunswick. For over twenty years, Nehemiah Marks was an officer in the Charlotte County Militia and Lieutenant Colonel of the Fourth Battalion. He was Overseer of the Poor for St. Stephen Parish for at least ten years, and was an active member of Christ Church (Anglican) in St. Stephen. He was survived by six children: John, Joseph P., Abraham H., Nehemiah, Elizabeth Caroline, and Sarah Henrietta. Elizabeth Caroline Marks, the daughter of Nehemiah Marks, Jr., and his wife Betsy, and Peter Mills Abbot were married in St. Stephen on 18 June 1851. Peter Abbot (1817-1896) was born in Zanesville, Ohio, the son of George Abbot, who had emigrated to St. Stephen with his family about 1820 and had become a successful merchant and lumberman. Around the year 1837, Peter Abbot began to take over his father's business, and was also involved in the management of the inheritance his wife received from her father. He was a respected business man in the town and Justice of the Peace. Records relating to the Abbot family can be found in the Nehemiah Marks, Jr. Papers in the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, but are not available in the Loyalist Collection.            

            Reel 1, of the Nehemiah Marks, Jr. Papers contains three volumes of records relating to his father, Nehemiah Marks, Sr. Included are three commissions: captain in the Armed Boatmen, 5 October 1782; lieutenant in the Maryland Loyalists, 1 October 1783; and captain of the Port Mouton Militia, 1 November 1783. Other records include: a power of attorney, 16 August 1784; and a deed, 11 Octobr 1785. The remainder of the reel in made up of records that relate to Nehemiah Marks, Jr. and they include: legal papers, many concerning land acquisitions and transfers; political papers relating to the Parish of St. Stephen, the St. Stephen Bank, excise duties and warehousing facilities in St. Stephen, and a bridge over the St. Croix River; a volume of general correspondence for the years 1815-1853, and another volume of correspondence that deals with horses and horse racing, 1853-1854. The first record in the next volume is the last item on Reel 1, and it is Nehemiah Marks's commission as a captain in the 1st Battalion of the Charlotte County Militia, 22 February 1821.

Reel 2, contains a substantial number of Charlotte County Militia Records including: correspondence, instructions, accounts, muster rolls, and pay lists, for the 4th Battalion of the Charlotte County Militia, 1827-1852; miscellaneous accounts of the Overseer of the Poor for St. Stephen Parish, 1825-45; papers relating to Christ Church, St. Stephen, 1829-72; bound volumes of accounts of lumber surveyed; and store ledgers, 1831-44, complete the reel.            

            A finding aid, which contains biographical information about the Marks family and a table of contents arranged by volume (MS Number), is located at the beginning of the first reel. Unfortunately, the table of contents does not contain the reel numbers in which the volumes are located. A finding aid, which contains a combined microfilm shelf list and table of contents is available in print with the Loyalist red binders, and online.  (See Electronic Finding Aid section.)