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.