The New England Planter Migration to Nova Scotia - 1760
As near as I can determine, there were seven Newcomb families who became part of the re-population of Cornwallis Township in Kings County, Nova Scotia. Many were the sons and families of Deacon John, but there was at least one brother and several nephews who also became part of the new community.
Wikipedia offers this description of the migration, of which my ancestors were a part.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_Planters
With some of Deacon John's immediate family, and many of his extended family remaining in Connecticut, the seeds were sown for a split in the loyalties of family members. Those who moved had to declare their allegiance to the King as a condition of their land grants, but most of those remaining in Connecticut were in the area that became the center of Connecticut's support of the Continental Army.
Who moved?
Deacon John, and his wife Alice, moved to Cornwallis Township, with their children, Eddy, Abigail, John, and Jonathan. The three adult sons were grantees of land there in 1761. The Deacon would go on to help found the Presbyterian Church in the township in 1762, as he had done so many years before with the Congregational Church of Columbia, CT.
He and Alice lived with son John and family, on their grant land. Both would die before the Revolutionary War began.
Deacon John's son Eddy, would join the British Army and serve as a Captain under General Cornwallis at the battle of Yorktown in 1781. That battle resulted in the British surrender to Washington's troops. He was wounded in this battle, and, though he made it back to Nova Scotia, he died a short time later due to complications from his injuries.
In my next post, I'll complete the story, in Nova Scotia, that led to my grandfather Newcombe's move to the United States. Then, we'll switch families to that of my mother's grandfather, Jerome Mann.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Deacon John's story in Connecticut
Simon's son John was born and raised in Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard, MA, but in 1715, John, with his wife Alice, and their family of three, followed his father to Lebanon, CT where he was accepted into the First Congregational Church, settling about eight miles northwest of the young community.
John is instrumental in the establishment of a second church.
He was one of 24 men who, in that same year, petitioned the church for permission to form their own Ecclesiastical Society to the north. Permission was given, and in 1720 he became First Deacon of that organization, a position he would hold for the next 40 years. Their church was first known as the Second Congregational Church of Lebanon, but in 1804, the community to the north was officially recognized as the town of Columbia. Today, the church is known as the Columbia Congregational Church.(pictured at the right).
Among the several pastors that Deacon John was instrumental in hiring was the church's third, Eleazar Wheelock. He became pastor in 1735 and was active in the religious movement of the day, known as the Great Awakening. He served as pastor of the Congregational Church for 35 years, and would then go on to become the founder and first President of Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH.
Deacon John's family grew to include eight children. Their third child was a boy named Eddy, born in 1713. He will be discussed at more length in my discussions about the Revolutionary War. Their sixth child, born at Labanon in 1720, was named John, after his father. This John is in my direct ancestral line.
The New England Planter's Migration
The really interesting part of Deacon John's story occurs late in his life - in about 1760. Several years earlier, the British governor of Nova Scotia at the time, Charles Lawrence, was dealing with the Acadian population in New France, portions of which were in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Lawrence was tasked by the British Crown to gain the allegiance of the Acadians to the King, with their further agreement to serve in the British military. The Acadians refused, and Lawrence had more than 11,000 of them forcibly removed from their lands in western Nova Scotia. Many of them later settled in Louisiana and are today known as Cajuns.
Governor Lawrence next made those lands available in 1,000 acre plats to those in New England who would take the loyalty oath to the king and serve in his military. Deacon John, his son John, and many others in his family took the deal.
Next: the Newcomb family on both sides in the Revolutionary War
Simon's son John was born and raised in Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard, MA, but in 1715, John, with his wife Alice, and their family of three, followed his father to Lebanon, CT where he was accepted into the First Congregational Church, settling about eight miles northwest of the young community.
He was one of 24 men who, in that same year, petitioned the church for permission to form their own Ecclesiastical Society to the north. Permission was given, and in 1720 he became First Deacon of that organization, a position he would hold for the next 40 years. Their church was first known as the Second Congregational Church of Lebanon, but in 1804, the community to the north was officially recognized as the town of Columbia. Today, the church is known as the Columbia Congregational Church.(pictured at the right).
Among the several pastors that Deacon John was instrumental in hiring was the church's third, Eleazar Wheelock. He became pastor in 1735 and was active in the religious movement of the day, known as the Great Awakening. He served as pastor of the Congregational Church for 35 years, and would then go on to become the founder and first President of Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH.
Deacon John's family grew to include eight children. Their third child was a boy named Eddy, born in 1713. He will be discussed at more length in my discussions about the Revolutionary War. Their sixth child, born at Labanon in 1720, was named John, after his father. This John is in my direct ancestral line.
The New England Planter's Migration
The really interesting part of Deacon John's story occurs late in his life - in about 1760. Several years earlier, the British governor of Nova Scotia at the time, Charles Lawrence, was dealing with the Acadian population in New France, portions of which were in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Lawrence was tasked by the British Crown to gain the allegiance of the Acadians to the King, with their further agreement to serve in the British military. The Acadians refused, and Lawrence had more than 11,000 of them forcibly removed from their lands in western Nova Scotia. Many of them later settled in Louisiana and are today known as Cajuns.
Governor Lawrence next made those lands available in 1,000 acre plats to those in New England who would take the loyalty oath to the king and serve in his military. Deacon John, his son John, and many others in his family took the deal.
Next: the Newcomb family on both sides in the Revolutionary War
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